The North
The North Threads
Abigor - "Verwüstung/Invoke the Dark Age" (1994)
The debut album from this popular Austrian black metal outfit isn't a bad first up effort but it's also not anything particularly special. It's all pretty standard stuff for a European act of the time although there are signs of the experimentation Abigor would undertake in future years, particularly in a melodic sense as there's a clear melodic black metal influence to the way the tremolo-picked guitar lines interact with each other. The vocals aren't all that great but I find that the band sound at their best when they get their blast beats on & focus on laying waste to the listener's ear drums. Abigor would improve their game noticeably before their next couple of releases which would surface just a year later.
For fans of Amestigon, Dødheimsgard & early Emperor.
3.5/5
Drudkh - 'Shadow Play' (2025)
Drudkh tailed off for me not long after Microcosmos. A Handful of Stars was a poor follow up to 2009’s triumph of a release and I progressively lost interest in the band. In writing this review, I looked back at some of my ratings for what has come after 2010 and found that on the few I had rated, I had little if any memory of what they sounded like (ratings on relevant releases have therefore been deleted from MA). Whereas I would have once looked forward to a Drudkh album, I found news of Shadow Play arriving landing with a less than muted applause. For me it almost feels like Drudkh have said everything I wanted to hear on their first few records. Those first four albums were the band’s golden run in my book and although they most certainly do have albums outside of that window of releases that I enjoy, I sensed that Shadow Play was not going to see me reaching for the higher end of the scoring range.
My fears were confounded by the frankly boring album opener ‘Scattering the Ashes’, a seven-minute plus track that is frankly one of the dullest pieces of music the Ukranians have ever written. I get the sound of the footfalls in the snow are of someone carrying an urn, however the track itself goes nowhere in between the footfalls that bookend the instrumental. Not a positive start then. Hold on though, both ‘April’ and ‘The Exile’ immediately get me interested in the album again with their driving rhythms and charging pace. The riffs seem to wrap effortlessly around one another, seemingly at home regardless of the tempo being deployed at the time. The rich melody that Drudkh are famous for is certainly still at the forefront of their music. The sound of the guitar alongside Roman’s grim vocals are familiar and welcome sounds. There’s a jangle to a Drudkh tremolo that sometimes sounds like a 60’s psychedelic rock jam. As we get onto the halfway point of the album, things are looking up.
I would go as far as to say that the previous two tracks are a couple of the best songs Drudkh have pulled together in a long time. Solid and memorable, urgent and pressing, as well as sounding like they are performed with passion and guile. ‘Fallen Blossom’ introduces a more aggressive sound, not dissimilar to the overall sound of album The Swan Road. Whilst the melody is still obvious, there is a harsher, colder edge to it on here. Even when the track seems to settle down into a rhythm, it still feels oppositional. The keys do little to soothe this abrasive edge, seeming to support its threat and intent with menacing atmospheres. The track builds into a tumultuous mass of tremolos and percussion, never taking its foot off the gas for the final third of the song. A more melodic opening greets us on ‘The Eve’, even if we are still seeing no signs of the pace letting up in the first instance. At this point I did start to wonder if some variety was missing here, but just as the demons started to have me doubting Drudkh, there’s a swell of accessible, more leniently paced melodies that is cleverly given space to breath and develop before becoming consumed again in the more raging torrents of the track. There is great use of pacing here, even though I missed this on my first few listens, it seems so obvious as I listen through on my review write-up.
Album closer, ‘The Thirst’ sounds like there may be some folk instruments at play in the raging mix that starts the track. I cannot see anything listed other than guitars and keyboards, so it may just be clever use of the keys, but I hear some light droning warbling in the background that seems to be a different pitch to the tremolo that I would normally attribute such sound too. In the end though, Shadow Play is not an album that needs much in the way of expansion. It says what it needs to say very well without much in the way of thrills being needed. It is one of the most consistent Drudkh albums that I have heard in a while and it really is only let down by that lifeless opening track which thankfully soon becomes a distant memory as the real quality of the album soon starts to take over.
4.5/5
Ben, Sonny, Xephyr, Rex....this amazing offering of power metal-ish symphonic black metal might just be worth you guys' time:
Revenge - Violation.Strife.Abominate (2025)
Canada's Revenge are not a band for fucking around - they burst in, drop their war metal ordinance which is designed to cause the maximum number of aural casualties and then they get the fuck out. It isn't pretty and it isn't melodic. It is vicious and nasty and is meant to provoke a reaction of repulsion from the general record-buying public - and even the majority of metal fans I would surmise. To say that a band like Revenge only play for themselves and their fans is no hyperbole. I can't imagine them giving a shit about what anyone says about them because they make no concessions to trends, they make no attempt to expand their sound to appeal to a wider audience and they exhibit no desire to stretch themselves artistically. And you know what, I can respect that because I always appreciate those who are comfortable in their own skin and who couldn't give a toss what naysayers think or say.
Then, on the other hand there is a counter argument which says, how many Revenge albums do you actually need if they all plough exactly the same furrow? How can you get excited about a new Revenge release when it sounds so much like all the others? These are both good questions and certainly have a validity. They are charging $9.99 for the digital version on Bandcamp, $16 for a CD and from $29 for the vinyl - even the cassette version is $18, so why should you pay that much for a further rehashing of the same old sound? I am sorry, but I don't have a nice, neat answer for you and if you need to ask the question in the first place then I would have to say dont bother and look elsewhere for your musical kicks.
So what is that sound I probably don't hear you ask? It is a pulverising deathly black metal cacophony that is typical of the war metal genre. It is abrasive and unrelenting - there are no lulls in the perpetual aural bombardment, no reduction in tempo, no dropping into the odd groove-laden riff or dishing up of the occasional hook to give the brain a fragment of flotsam to hold onto in a boiling sea of blood and steel. The vocals are distorted shouts and hideous growls that often don't even seem to be issuing from human throats, shearing away even that shred of human connection from the listener. The drums batter away with a basic brutalisation of blastbeats whilst the few guitar solos just sound like somebody torturing their six-stringer into acquiescence. War metal in general and Revenge in particular produce metal that is meant to test the endurance of the listener. It is meant to be a visceral, almost physical, experience that is supposed to leave you feeling worn out and spent, it isn't deep and contemplative, or designed to make you think, unless it is about unmentionable horror and fear. This is metal that is uncompromisingly primal, raw and uncaring, so if that sounds truly awful to you then don't waste your time here - Revenge wouldn't thank you for it anyway.
3.5/5
How's it going, fellas, as it is my turn to nominate the featured release for The North, I would like to, once again, use the opportunity to introduce you to one of my personal highlights of 2024, this time of the black metal variety. My pick this time is going to be the second full-length from the New York-based conventional black metal crew Spite, "The Third Temple". The album offers a nice marriage between the Immortal-esque melodic riffing against the backdrop of cozy pre-Norwegian warmth and heavy/speed metal tendencies reminiscent of the likes of Master's Hammer and Grand Belial's Key. The lyrical themes form another link with the latter, concerning ancient biblical tales and Jewish mysticism, although notably without the antisemitic component that is notorious of GBK. All in all, I've found plenty to enjoy on this record - let me know what you think!
https://metal.academy/releases/55216
Abigail Williams - In the Shadow of a Thousand Suns
Genre: Symphonic Black Metal
This debut album is basically what would happen if a bunch of metalheads discovered real extremities for the first time, decided that Born of Osiris was just as good as Emperor, and then thought they would be the coolest thing on Earth if they decided to mash the two. Well, they didn't end up the coolest thing on Earth, but it's not that bad of a debut.
The most important thing to keep in mind are the veterans these guys got to help with the album, notable a couple of metal veterans: Emperor drummer Tryn, and metal producer James Murphy. High grade celebs. The worst thing to keep in mind is the constant deathcore-infusion, which the symphonics can't quite drown out. The writing itself is pretty good, going into a lot of complex and unpredictable parts while maintaining a constant vibe. But with the album always switching between another blast beat, violins and the bare essentials that symphonic black metal needs, it pretty much becomes 46 minutes of the same thing; it's variations of the same song that gradually get less original and slightly worse overtime. Now this doesn't mean the album eventually sucks. In fact, the first two songs: The World Beyond and Acolytes, are actually very good. Acolytes is almost incredible in a way, largely due to a keen awareness of what extreme metal needs to sound like. Obviously, we have our two veterans to thank for that. But eventually, the album bears the same originality as any Fleshgod Apocalypse album. Thankfully, there's one shining example of great writing on side B: Empyrean. That song really carries some of the Emperor spirit and is one of the heavier tracks. I might even say it's my favorite song on that album.
So, starts of great, finishes decent, has instances of brilliance. Stays brutally heavy throughout, and beautifully produced.
82/100
So with the start of a new year it's once again time to have a look at the covers for all the releases for each clan. I personally like to rate a whole stack of covers all at once, rather than doing them one at a time throughout the year, as it allows me to get a better feel for where each cover sits in comparison to others. With that in mind, I've just rated every cover for releases in The North for 2024.
Below are some of the releases that are currently competing for the prestigious 2024 The North Cover of the Year Award. The winner will be announced on the 1st of February, so there's still time to get your ratings in.
The following link will take you to the Gallery, displaying the top North releases that you have not rated yet: CLICK HERE
Gaerea - Coma
Polish black metal (dubious) band Gaerea gave me a lot to think about when it came to what this album should be categorized as. It's a far cry from anything related to the original source material, but it does have some open ended tremolo guitar and pummeling blast beats. At times it did remind me of some of the atmospheric black metal records from bands like Summoning and Saor. But the lower guttural vocals and post-metal interludes leave this feeling more like progressive death metal.
Not that this is a bad thing. The record sounds gorgeous and leaves me feeling uplifted when I hear it. However, it runs out of ideas pretty quickly and can be a slog to finish. But this style of death/black metal crossover project is rare as far as I can tell, so I'm willing to overlook it due to a lack of saturation.
3.5/5
Korpiklaani - Spirit of the Forest (2003)
Now, I am not the biggest fan of most folk metal, but I don't have any particular ideoligical opposition to it, it is just that it is so badly done, so often and usually comes off as a bit goofy and corny. But, that said, even a notorious miserablist like myself occasionally needs to hear something uplifting and life-affirming and, when done well, folk metal can provide that for me, particular with it's jaunty naturistic celebrations and it's use of folk instrumentation, of which I am a big fan. Korpiklaani seem like just one of a few of those bands who strike the right balance for me. I think it is because they take both the folk and metal aspects of their sound seriously and come off as sounding more authentic than a lot of bands within the genre, who often feel too gimmicky. So when I want to hear something with a bit more of a positive, celebratory atmosphere and feel that some good folk metal may do the trick, then I don't usually look far beyond Korpiklaani or Finntroll. Maybe it's something hiding in those finnish forests that influences those two band's take on a genre that can go horribly wrong and enables them to transcend the embarrassing corniness that too often accompanies it.
This was actually Korpiklaani's debut and is a strong one at that, especially for a genre to which I am largely indifferent and is one of only a handful of folk metal albums I can stomach. The songs are mostly shortish affairs and the album varies it's tempo a fair bit, so it never feels too "samey" and if a particular track doesn't strike your fancy then it isn't long before something else takes it's place. It's mostly a jaunty, jigging affair, that makes you think of summer nights under a starry sky, drinking and engaging in generally raucous merry-making around the leaping flames of a camp bonfire with good friends. I have spent quite a few nights in my younger days in just such a way and maybe it's success for me personally is in evoking nostalgic visions of good times.
3.5/5
This old favourite has finally packed it in after being structurally weakened by the Queensland sun with both elbows having increasingly bigger holes in them. You can kinda see the fade lines where the clothes line sits too. Clothes lines are metal as fuck, aren't they?