I quite liked some of Hellenic black metal heavyweights Necromantia's early works like 1993's "Crossing the Fiery Path" debut album & particularly their 1992 split album with Varathron, both of which I picked up through the tape trading scene during the first half of the 1990's. This led to me purchasing their highly praised 1995 sophomore record "Scarlet Evil Witching Black" on CD at the time of release & I gave it a decent chance to win me over like it did a number of my tape trading associates. While there's no doubt that I generally enjoyed the experience, I'd only spend a week or so with this record before it would be placed towards the back of my CD collection & I wouldn't find myself reaching for it very often over the few decades that have passed since. This week I thought I'd see if I could discover why that is as "Scarlet Evil Witching Black" appears to have gone on to become somewhat of a classic release for the Hellenic black metal movement over time.

For those that aren't already aware, Necromantia offer a unique take on black metal given that they've overlooked the requirement for a rhythm guitarist, instead opting to replace it with two bass guitarists (one a four-string & the other an eight-string), both utilizing a distorted tone that gives them a very identifiable sound. Necromantia also incorporate symphonics quite readily although I don't think it's enough for the symphonic black metal tag to be considered. Does it work? Well, in a word yes but that doesn't mean that it's always exciting &, as a guitarist myself, I do find myself missing my usual frequency band. There are some guitars thrown in for random solos here & there but they're not particularly well executed & their neoclassical approach doesn't feel like the best fit for black metal either. On the positive, the vocal screams of front man Magus Wampyr Daoloth are very good & the faster, more aggressive passages really appeal to me & are largely the reasons I enjoy the record overall. During the times when the four-piece outfit embrace more of a traditional heavy metal influence, I find myself losing a bit of interest & it's hard to deny that the first couple of tracks are clearly the best (particularly my personal favourite in opener "Devilskin"), leaving the remainder of the tracklisting to chase those levels of quality in vain.

Still... I think you have to hear this record at some point if you regard yourself as an avid black metal nut, if only to experience the bass-driven assault, & this release is generally considered to be the peak of Necromantia's powers so it's probably the box you need to tick. I just can't see it as any sort of classic myself. It's decent enough but rarely draws me back.

For fans of Mortuary Drape, Varathron & Thou Art Lord.

I was 12 when this was released. I bought the album at the little record store in my town. Those were the days. Anyhow I fell in love with this album and I never got tired of it. This to me is my favorite Metal Church album. There is so much emotion and power to it. Yes it’s a tad lighter than the self titled album but there’s something richer about the music. I’m so partial to David Wayne’s voice /style. I will listen to the Mike Howe albums but I kind of pretend it’s a whole different band. 

Gorrch are over fifteen years into their existence and are only just getting around to their sophomore album. The duo of Chimsicrin (drums, vocals and keyboards) and Droich (guitars and bass) make for a quite a melodic take on the sound stylised by DSO. They lack the foreboding edge of the DSO sound, forming a more urgent and dashing movement to the music with a frankly excessive use of the tremolo. Nonetheless, the comparison is unavoidable.

Over only six tracks, the repetition of the guitar does get a little tiresome, however. That sounds like a dumb thing to say for a black metal record, given that repetition is a key factor of black metal in general. However, I do feel that the tremolo is simply overused, certainly across the first half of the album at least. For the latter three tracks there does appear to be a little more variation, and the album improves for it.

The drums are perhaps the best part of the whole album for me. Well produced and unobtrusive, yet at the same time they are as varied as they are prominent. I do not get the sense that they are particularly complex in their patterns, yet the skill of the musician is still obvious. The other standout from the second half of Stillamentum is the use of dark choral vocals. Their inclusion gives tracks a ritualistic theme that grabs the attention well.

Eleven years between records is a long time, and I have not heard their debut record to know how marked a difference, or not, there is to what goes on throughout Stillamentum. Both members have roles in other bands I can see which may explain the huge gap in output. I cannot say that Stillamentum suffers in any regard, more that it labours somewhat. If the guitars could match the drums in both variety and positioning in the overall sound, then I would enjoy the album more. However, this is not a bad record by any means, and I will be keeping an ear out for album number three if it ever arrives.

I'm not too surprised that I've never heard of Mirrorcell until sometime this week. They released their debut album Long Nights in Lovescape (sounds like if someone spent all night using an AI dating app) two months ago. It's an album that can go back and forth from ethereal to intense, but it ends up inconsistent with only a few exciting tracks.

The album's sound is basically alt-metalcore with some shoegaze. I find the more shoegaze side of them a little too much, often interfering with the times when the band is meant to go heavy. As a result, the offering is plagued with generic tracks. And in the few that are actually fun to listen to, it's because of the experimentation they add to the sound. It's really only then that I realize the band's true potential...

I'm not gonna go through most of the first half of the album in detail because of how sh*tty it is (the Cane Hill feature making me remember why I'm done with that band), the worst offending track being "Otherside". It sounds worse in the composition than everything else and shows how f***ing generic ALT-metalcore at times, which is part of why The Gateway is no longer for me. Let's just skip through some tracks to the ones I like, starting with a reminder of this album's 3-star rating, "Hurt Me". An incredible highlight with well-executed electronics and breakdowns. It has really gotten me hooked with fun catchy melody. I consider it the album's true standout!

After a couple more bad generic tracks, we have "Ichi", which deserves attention for its VCTMS guest feature and its intense heaviness. I heard that it's a common song to start listening to Mirrorcell, but that would've raised some people's expectations too high. Either way, another fantastic track! I also love "U(phoria)" (Wait, did I just admit my love for the band Phoria? I'm not into art rock!). "Prey" is a solid beautiful ending track.

All in all, I would consider Long Nights in Lovescape a decent album, just not really a great one. The alternation between generic and anthemic tracks is just underwhelming for me. Still they're a new band with some potential, so I'll give them the benefit of a doubt. They just need to improve on their sound and seal it as something unique. I have nothing totally against shoegazey alt-metalcore, yet the generic sh*t is what made the sound stop being one of my favorite metal styles in the first place. There's still some good in the fusion, they just need to really let it out. Otherwise, we would have another decent yet generic release like this. We'll see what the future holds....

Favorites (only tracks I really like): "Hurt Me", "Ichi", "U(phoria)", "Prey"

Anytime I see at least two bands that I enjoy in the "for fans of" part of an album review, I feel the need to check out and review the album myself. Such is the case for Saxy's reviews for this album and that Archspire one. And they also happened to be those two tech-death albums in a week! What are the odds?! Seems like tech-death with some slight touches of math/deathcore is the hot metal topic of this month. Though for this Growth album, I say it's more like progressive tech-death...

This Melbourne-based band released their second album Under the Under over 5 years after their debut. Apparently, the two albums form part of an ongoing trilogy like what Green Carnation and Lord of the Lost are doing right now. Most of the 6 tracks here are 9-minute epics of heaviness and experimentation.

"Remember Me as Fire" kicks things off with no time to waste, filled with guitar fury and bass picking. Within the aggression is some melody to make an incredible contrast. The title track begins with ominous guitar/bass strumming. And that's just the start of a 9-minute ride of multi-time riffing. Well it doesn't cover all 9 minutes, as the second half has clean melody and clean singing by vocalist Luke Frizon, at a baritone range that I can probably do myself.

You can hear more of those clean vocals in "Slings That Shatter", sounding more emotional than the previous track. It helps with the desperation for recovery that the lyrical concept is centered upon. The melody is greatly balanced with the chaos in the music, thereby making this one of the most well-rounded tracks of the album. Although nothing new is brought into "Pain is Never Far Away", it displaying their raging moods quite well. They continue kicking things up in the drumming and riffing, showing their progressive almost djenty side. Not a total loss there!

We get some buildup in "Forward, Further, Spirit Killer" which wanders through technicality. As great and heavy as it is, I was hoping for a little more adventure. Luckily, I'm about to get my wish... Closing track "Death Cannot Hold Me" is both f***ing heavy and progressive. This is what I really want to hear from this band for diversity's sake. Nothing's hold me back from enjoying this epic!

Under the Under has great consistency and a heavy/melodic blend that should catch the attention of open-minded listeners. I wish the structures were more balanced and diverse in some songs though. Still, Growth have made a progressive tech-death blast. Something Rivers of Nihil could've done instead of going the mainstream route....

Favorites: "Remember Me as Fire", "Slings That Shatter", "Death Cannot Hold Me"