Tag Archives: black metal album reviews

ALBUM REVIEW:  Wolves in the Throne Room – Estuary

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While I have certainly been a big fan of the “crushing” or “heavy” music, there’s something about bands that are able to produce music that really paints a soundscape in my brain. Atmospheric Black Metal legends Wolves in the Throne Room are one of the very best to do that, and prove it once again on their latest album, Estuary (Relapse Records). Conceptually, the album creates a glimpse into 1,000 years after the fall of humans, how nature reclaims the Earth, and how there are magical estuaries that act as portals for physical and magical realms to connect.

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ALBUM REVIEW: Anagnorisis – Caregriever

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Anagnorisis is back after a ten-year absence. During this time, frontman Zachery Kerr acted as the caregiver for his father-in-law, which served as the creative catalyst for Caregriever (Negative Reflections). In processing the emotions connected to watching the terminal decline of a family member, it transitioned to a bleak sonic display of this more organic experimental direction. The darkness presented here is much more real and honest than Black Metal bands that dressed things up in obligatory occult fashion, appropriating belief systems they are immersed in. This dark emotional honesty is what gives this album its heaviness. 

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ALBUM REVIEW: Avrak – Avrak

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Avrak self-titled debut album cover, Peaceville Records, October 2026

Founded in 2023, Norwegian act Avrak is the brainchild of guitarist Ted Skjellum (aka Nocturno Culto of legendary Black Metallers Darkthrone) and vocalist/guitarist Anders Hegna of Nød, and El Kayenne. With their name rooted in Norse mythology (Avrak and Alsviðr were two horses that drew the chariot bearing the sun) you could be forgiven for thinking the band’s primary subject matter would be derived from Nordic history and folklore. However, while those themes and inspirations may be present, their eponymously titled album focuses more on personal empowerment, fighting back in a time of increasing corruption.

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