This highly regarded Ukrainian duo first crossed my path back in 2009 through their excellent 2004 sophomore album "Autumn Aurora" which triggered me to explore the rest of Drudkh's back catalogue (well, at least the metal releases from it) over the next couple of months. Their 2003 debut album "Forgotten Legends" would be positioned quite early in that journey & didn't disappoint either, gradually becoming my drug of choice when it came to Drudkh. "Forgotten Legends" is a surprisingly accomplished atmospheric black metal effort for a first-up release & very quickly shows the duo of vocalist Thurios (Rattenfänger/Astrofaes/Blood of Kingu/Hate Forest/Old Silver Key) & guitarist/bassist Roman Saenko (Hate Forest/Precambrian/Rattenfänger/Windswept/Blood of Kingu/Dark Ages/Necrom/Old Silver Key) to possess a very strong understanding of the elements that make the subgenre engaging. Session drummer Yury Sinitsky (Lutomysl/Blood of Kingu) keeps things very simple in a similar way to that of Varg Vikernes on the classic Burzum records which allows Saenko's trance-inducing & repetitive riffs to slowly envelope the listener. I wouldn't say that these riffs are taken from the top shelf of the black metal spectrum but they are unanimously enjoyable nonetheless, keeping the tempo around mid-pace throughout & never being tempted into frenetic blast-beat territory. It's only when those riffs are combined with Thurios' blackened shrieks that we see the atmosphere reaching its full potential though & I'm subsequently gonna suggest that it's Thurios' contribution that is the most important component of the early Drudkh sound. His keyboard work is surprisingly scarce which leaves "Forgotten Legends" sounding quite traditional. The listener will no doubt pickup on the nature themes even if they can't interpret the lyrics because this record simply "feels" earthy, without ever fully crosses the line into the pagan black metal territory.

The tracklisting on "Forgotten Legends" is extremely consistent with the three lengthy metal tracks & the rain-soaked atmospheric outro piece all being very strong but never tempting me to claim any of them as genuine classics. All three of the proper songs have their moments & harness a pretty dirty guitar tone that always maintains a bit of bass to good effect. If pushed, I'd probably suggest that the sixteen-minute opener "False Dawn" is my pick of them as it slowly draws you in & maintains your interest for the full duration of the piece. It was a bold move to open their first full-length with such an epic undertaking but it has paid off in my opinion. One probably needs to remember that both of Drudkh's band members had paid their dues by this point though given that they'd both been a part of Hate Forest for seven years when they recorded "Forgotten Legends".

As with Drudkh's other popular releases, I've really enjoyed this revisit & feel that "Forgotten Legends" is a solid black metal record that will satisfy most punters who maintain a penchant for the more restrained, measured & atmospheric side of black metal. While 2006's "Blood in Our Wells" is often referred to as Drudkh's pièce de résistance these days (along with the previously mentioned "Autumn Aurora"), I tend to favour this record just slightly over both of Drudkh's other early masterpieces. I really enjoy its epic feel as the two musicians show a clear enjoyment & an undeniable talent for their chosen craft.

For fans of Burzum, Hate Forest & Walknut.

I first became acquainted with Sweden's Unanimated through their debut album "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" which I picked up through one of my Neuropath band mates shortly after it was released in 1993. While Unanimated's initial effort didn't exactly fit inside my traditional extreme metal comfort zone, I nonetheless found myself quite enjoying its unique blend of melodic death & black metal sounds & gave it a few repeat spins at the time. In fact, I still regard "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" as one of my top ten melodeath releases to this day which is really saying something. By 1995, I was more heavily involved in the tape trading scene than ever before so, when I heard news of a brand-new Unanimated record, I immediately went about picking it up through one of my European contacts, looking for more of the same from the Swedes yet also hoping that they might push things up to a new level. Many death metal fans will tell you that they did too. Me? I'm not so sure.

"Ancient God of Evil" is a very polished release for the time with the crystal-clear Dan Swanö production job giving Unanimated the best possible chance at succeeding in their quest for extreme metal stardom. It's also a touch more melodic than its predecessor with the black metal component being a little stronger & taking the form of some pretty cool keyboard-backed atmospheric sections. It's worth noting that these guys were amongst the first to attempt the more melodic black metal sound & were quite influential on that subgenre so they were old hands at it by this point in their careers. Raspy vocalist Micke Jansson (Damnation) does an excellent job as the band's main focal point while the all-star rhythm section of bassist Rickard Daemon (Dismember/Murder Squad/Carbonized/Damnation/General Surgery) & drummer Peter Stjärnvind (Merciless/Murder Squad/Black Trip/Damnation/Entombed/Krux/Nifelheim/Pest/Regurgitate) hold down the back end with aplomb, leaving plenty of room for their band mates to build their instrumental hooks. While guitarists Jonas Mellberg (Therion) & Johan Bohlin (Desultory) may present a plethora of memorable melodic ideas between them though, they aren't exactly virtuosos & struggle to achieve anything above a very basic guitar solo so I think they often would have been better off going without & focusing purely on the riffs.

The song-writing on "Ancient God of Evil" is very consistent in that there are no weak tracks included, mainly because Unanimated were a class act so, even during the songs that sit furthest from my comfort zone, I generally maintain some level of admiration for the scope & execution. Despite the undeniable class & consistency though, "Ancient God of Evil" isn't exactly chock full of highlights. Like most melodeath, I find popular, hook-laden songs like opener "Life Demise", "Oceans of Time" & "Dying Emotions Domain" to be more agreeable than they are exciting. It's the short instrumental "Mireille" & catchy closer "Die Alone" that hit me the hardest & show the full potential in the mid-90's Unanimated sound. There's no doubt that Unanimated knew what they were doing. I'm just not quite sure this sound & style is something that I can get completely onboard with though so I'd probably position "Ancient God of Evil" slightly behind its older sibling "In the Forest of the Dreaming Dead" in terms of my overall enjoyment of the package. It's still one of the better examples of blackened melodeath that you're gonna find though so I've managed to find some space for it at the bottom of my top ten melodeath releases as well.

For fans of Dissection, Necrophobic & Thulcandra.

"Vaenir" is this Gothenburg doom trio's 2015 sophomore full-length, following relatively hot on the heels of the debut, "Empress Rising" from the previous year. They play lengthy distorted doom metal dirges with towering chords, sloth-like pacing and a 'washed-out' vocal style that feels like it is coming to you across huge cosmic distances. Despite the thunderously robust foundation laid down by bassist Mika Häkki and drummer Esben Willems and the undoubted weight of the riffs, the vocals impart a certain ephemeral quality to the atmosphere and act as a spiritual counterpoint to the immensity of the bottom end.

Monolord have a distinct blueprint for how they want to sound and pretty much stick to it throughout. There is very little variation in pacing within tracks, no sudden changes of gear to spice things up, these Swedes being pretty much fundamentalists when it comes to doom metal. If you are impatient for variety and innovation in your listening diet then chances are that Monolord will hold very little appeal for you and you may be better served moving on elsewhere. More recently I feel they evolved a slightly more lightweight sound with hints of psychedelia thrown in, but back in the heady days of 2015 they were all-in on the crushing repetitiousness of 'true' doom metal and were unrelenting in its delivery.

And that, not wishing to sound in any way dismissive, is pretty much everything there is to know about "Vaenir". How you feel about that depends on what you want from your metal. Me, I am more than happy with an album of heavy and uncomplicated doom metal done well and with an unpretentiousness that speaks to a band fully committed to shaking the cosmic walls.

The second full-length from this Canadian war metal duo offers much the same as their debut album "Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist" from the previous year i.e. a short, savage & relentless storm of blast beats & screaming vocals that will invariably get your blood pumping if you're a fan of this niche extreme metal subgenre. As always, Revenge showcase a strong passion for grindcore, although the production job doesn't allow for much in the way of variation or articulation. There's not really much of a need for it though as everything flies by like an out-of-control battering ram, leaving the listener holding on for dear life. I think I enjoy "Victory.Intolerance.Mastery" slightly more than Revenge's other more popular releases like "Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist" & "Behold.Total.Rejection" but there's not really much point in separating them from each other as they're all basically the same shit (as hinted at with the series of very similar album covers). I will say that I was on my way to a four-star rating for the first five tracks here but the quality level just tailed off a bit through the end of the tracklisting which saw me falling just short. The damage was already done though & I'm not sure I ever expect Revenge to produce something deep & meaningful anyway. They're very much a role player whose aim is to satisfy a well-defined need & they do what they do well. I'm just not sure that they'll ever really change my world with this sort of offering.

For fans of Conqueror, Diocletian & Blasphemy.

This is a fully flushed out medieval black metal record with a lot of power and grandiosity, while still having the room/time to leave some space for pieces of reprieve and recollection. Unlike yesterday's review of Stormkeep's newest album, Archvile King are not afraid of their dungeon synth inspiration and use it both as a powerful intermediary, as well as complimenting these strong black metal foundational tunes. Musically, the album is quite diverse while still maintaining strong motifs. Furthermore, the record does not have a moment of wasted space. Production of the album is splendid with plenty of low end to make songs scream and howl. Speaking of howling, the vocals on the record are deliberate and visceral. This sounds like the type of black metal record so many major record label bands wish they could make, but are restricted from doing so. Sometimes it pays to be independent. 

Best Songs: L'excusé, Sépulture, Le chant des braves, À ces batailles abandonnées

For Fans Of: Véhémence, Obesquiae