Vinny's Forum Replies

Hi Ben, can you please add Marble Orchard?

Here you go Sonny:

Nattverd - "Hvisk Deg Vekk" (from "Tidloes Naadesloes", 2025)

Wode - "Celestial Dagger" (from "Servants of the Countercosmos", 2017)

Sinmara - "Shattered Pillars" (from "Aphotic Womb", 2014)

The Great Sea - "The Maze" (from "Noble Art of Desolation", 2025)

Fitting tribute Sonny

My review from earlier this year:

Themed around the Kubler-Ross model (the five stages of grief), Mares of Thrace fourth album is an uncomfortable listen for anyone who has endured any kind of loss. Be that the death of a loved one, the breakdown of a relationship or the end of a friendship, The Loss feels multi-faceted in its possible applications for its listeners. Playing as a multitude of elements, ranging from noise rock through to sludge and on into acoustic passages, MoT keep the attention with this array of seemingly transparent yet emotionally heavy collection of tracks.

Previously unknown to me until this past week, the duo of Thérèse Lanz and Casey Rogers have made an impact immediately in my world. Whilst the tracks are charges with a jarring and lumbering intensity, the riffs do not rely on simple heaviness for impact. They have an almost loose quality to them, played as if in organic creation in some jam session, their blend of dark rock ‘n roll adding an interesting edge to proceedings. Similarly, the drums follow an uncomplicated path. Sat just right in the mix, they undertake the perfect supporting role. Operating just under the fuzzy haze of the strings they are a solid foundation for the bashing bleakness of The Loss.

The star of the show though is most definitely the vocals. As you would expect from my description of the album thus far, the vocals of Thérèse are not pretty. They are incredibly versatile in the reactions they can invoke in the listener, however. For me they mirror frustration, desperation, unfathomable sorrow, scathing fury and stinging vitriol across the nine songs that make up the record. At times they do bring tears to my eyes, such is the level of pleading futility that is on display on some songs. It feels like they are on occasion, seeking refrain from the relentless cycle of grief that I so brilliantly exemplified by the music. I am no expert of the Kubler-Ross model, but it feels like the songs are well researched and as a result are performed in a legitimate and convincing way.

The album highlight for me is penultimate track, ‘The Fifth Stage: Depression’. Anyone with any experience I would imagine would find this track a valid exploration of the horrible affliction. Here, the desperation borders on being demented. The utter, all-consuming sense of being completely overwhelmed and rendered dysfunctional by the illness is exhibited in HD on this track. You can hear the vulnerability, the rawness of losing someone and the agonising disintegration of your reality at the same time.

MoT have the uncanny ability to make their songs sound as the track titles suggest they should. ‘Complicated Grief’ has an air of challenge to it, for example. Meanwhile, shock, anger, denial and even acceptance all get personified in the corresponding track performances. The Loss is (ironically) an album that gives me so much. Possibly an early contender for album of the year, it has connected with me so instantly and so effortlessly. It is one of those albums that I am beyond being merely entertained by, I am genuinely grateful to have heard it.

5/5

Hi Ben,

A couple more additions if I may please:

Dark Blasphemer (Argentina)

Khaos Aura (Norway) 

Echoes of Gloom (Australia)

We've both been forced to give up red meat & to give blood regularly in order to control it. 

As a carnivore, doing my very best to adhere to the ketogenic diet, the thought of not eating red meat sounds terrifying (although I absolutely get why it needs to happen for you).  I hope your health improves.

I have spent the last two years or so trying to remove carbs and other sugars from my diet after lots of reading into how damaging they can be to health overall.  As someone who used to suffer badly with digestion (bloating), eczema and even niggling things like fatigue in the middle of the day (which I now know to be due to the massive insulin spikes due to consumption of high amounts of carbohydrate for breakfast and lunch at the time).  My bloating was gone within weeks of starting to eat just meat and dairy and my ezcema cleared up too.  Kicking the booze was the real game changer though from a dietary aspect.

Reading some of the history of the fodo industry is genuinely terrifying when you see all the chemicals they used back in the late 1800's and through into the 1900's to make bread look fresh when it was in fact mouldy, they even used to put bone charcoal in milk that was off to make it look fresh still.  Thankfully we live in more sensible times but the link to your gut and your physical and mental wellbeing can't be denied.  We literally are what we eat.

I have recently had a bit of a health scare. After feeling unwell for a few days I went to see the doctor and they found my blood pressure was at dangerously high levels. In order to avoid going onto long-term medication I have had to undertake some radical lifestyle changes, including a strict diet and exercise. I also need to reduce my stress levels, so I have pretty much stopped consuming news and curent affairs which have been a massive source of stress (and anger) recently.

This does, however, mean I have needed to stop writing reviews for the time being as I actually find it incredibly stressful trying to write several paragraphs of thoughts on music as I am not a natural writer like some of you guys. I would like to continue participating though, so I will probably only contribute shorter, more concise comments for the time being.

The good news is that the steps I have introduced seem to be paying off and my BP is steadily coming down to more normal levels, so hopefully I will still be around for a little while longer!!

Be well big man.  Look after yourself.

I was on an unplanned hiatus from death metal in 2025. The draw of death metal was starting to wear a bit thin unfortunately for me after some thirty-six years of listening to it. I mean I had heard all the classics already. Altars of Madness, Cause of Death, None So Vile, Dawn of Possession had all been on my turntable or in my CD player many times over the years. Cementing their place a little later than most of the above came Suffocation, with their brand of brutal and technical death metal hitting their peak on Pierced From Within. And so, in 2025, I soon found that my appetite for death metal had somewhat abated from what it was in its prime. Convinced that there was little out there to match anything I still bothered with, I took my attention to black metal and sludge/doom. Then Karl nominated this record for the feature in The Horde.

Copenhagen’s Iniquity were completely unknown to me going into this record. In fact, I don’t recall listening to much in the way of Danish death metal in my time. If it all sounds as good as Serenadium does, then I am 100% back from my death metal hiatus. This album is so much more than Suffocation worship as I have read some reviews suggest. Serenadium lacks the outright chaos of a Suffocation record and as a result has the better level of clarity around the riffs which do at times possess underlying promise of Swedish crunch, albeit never quite getting there. What does draw valid comparison with the New York masters of brutality is the technical aptitude of the artists performing as Iniquity.

This record barely puts a foot wrong in my opinion. Unafraid to vary the pace and the levels of brutality on display, Iniquity tread an exciting path, one which does make me wonder why this record is not spoken about more often. I guess that 1996 was simply too late for this record, with most of the established artists either off experimenting with their traditional death metal sound or just giving up due to the oversaturation in the sub-genre by this point. The fact is though; you will struggle find a better record than this from the mid to late nineties. It is so rhythmical and choppy at times that you cannot help but be totally enamoured with both the process and the outcome here. I have been sat here each time I played this record with a big shit-eating grin on my face, whilst struggling to type as I am headbanging along.

It is like listening to a more adept Cannibal Corpse at times, but I could honestly sit here and churn out comparators all day long. So just play it folks. For those of us around in the 90’s to enjoy the growth of death metal in realtime, take some time to discover a hidden gem. If you missed the action back in the day and are wondering what all the fuss was about at the time, put this on, and question answered, I am sure.

5/5

Fans of Austin Lunn will be happy to know that he will release Laurentian Blues on 15th August.  This is his eleventh full length and is released via Bindrune Recordings.  

New Drain record due out 07th November, ...Is Your Friend.  First couple of promo tracks are very aggressive and vocally remind me of Anselmo this time around.

Sodom have a new record out and I am hearing positive things, but I am yet to venture myself.

New Paradise Lost album, Ascension is due 19th September.  I have heard the first couple of tracks and been a bit underwhelmed to be honest.

Hi Ben, can you add The Great Sea from Germany please?  They have just one album "Noble Art of Desolation".

Latest update:

1. Altar of Woe - The Triumph of Malignant Narcissism

2. Gràb - Kremess

3. Grima - Nightside

4. The Great Old Ones - Kadath

5. Warmoon Lord - Sacrosanct Demonopathy

6. Kveldstimer - The Cursed Oak

7. Void of Hope - Proof of Existence

8. Cryptosis - Celestial Death (increasingly an outlier)

9. Drudkh - Shadowplay

10. Norrhem - Aurinko ja teräs

Ken Pomeroy - "Cruel Joke" (2025)

Fallen in love with this 12 track record from an artist I picked up randomly on a Bandcamp recommendation.  That voice just resonates in my very soul.  Could be a purchase on vinyl once finances permit.

The enjoyment I found in Nattestid ser porten vid... from Taake, released all the way back in 1999, has never been topped by anything that I have heard by them since. Considering my praise for it (a generous 4.5 stars, no less) with its excellent songwriting, I could have been forgiven for wondering how good things would get on subsequent releases. Admittedly my coverage of the rest of the discography is patchy at best, but even on the more casual listens to the likes of ...Bjoergvin... or ...Doedskvad those albums have not lived up to being anywhere near the debut release's standard. My main criticism of Stridens hus was that the rock elements had gotten just too brazen and there was a regurgitation of ideas that had already had more than enough airtime over the years.

Noregs vaapen appears to be an earlier version of the same issue. Whilst I can acknowledge that it sounds nowhere near as sterile and dull as Stridens hus, it most certainly has the same underlying issues. Gone are the clever arrangements of the debut, replaced instead by ad-hoc instrumentation and random sections. It seems unrealistic to say that such a shadowy and controversial figure puts out music for clickbait purposes, yet Noregs vaapen just does not sit well with me in terms of being a black metal album with kvlt credentials galore. That probaby sounds more elitist than it is supposed to, and as someone who listens to a variety of music, I can honestly say that incorporating your influences into your sound is an absolute given. That is not to say it always works though, and there are always some boundaries I am uncomfortable with being pushed too far.

What is here is well played, and this is by no means a terrible record. The longevity factor is stunted for me though and the appeal wears of far too quickly. There is not any shock value to it, yet bizarrely there is no sense of familiarity from it either, as a black metal record it feels quite alien to me.

3/5

Got some unexpected respite from work this afternoon so threw this on.  It's fucking amazing.  Imagine a just as brutal, but less chaotic Suffocation.  These dudes can play.

Here we go Sonny:

Coltsblood - "Until the Eidolon Falls" (from "Obscured Into Nebulous Dusk", 2025)

Ossuary - "Forsaken Offerings (to the Doomed Spirit)" (from "Abhorrent Worship", 2025)

King Witch - "Sea of Lies" (from "III", 2025)

Fer de Lance - "The Feast of Echoes" (from "Fires on the Mountainside", 2025)

That Fer de Lance record walks a line dedicated to mostly epic heavy metal for the most part and so if you feel that track is not for The Fallen then feel free to exclude.

Nightfall  - "The Traders of Anathema"  (from "Children of Eve", 2025)

Chestcrush - "Existence is Punishment" (from "ΨΥΧΟΒΓΑΛΤΗΣ", 2025)

Gorguts - "Absconders" (from "Colored Sands", 2013)

Portal - "The Back Wards" (from "Vexovoid", 2013)

Disma - "Lost in the Burial Fog" (from "Towards the Megalith", 2011)

Tomb Mold - "Two Worlds Become One" (from "Manor of Infinite Forms", 2018)

Amenra - De toorn EP (2025)

De toorn is a two-track EP running for 25 minutes and is the first of two EPs already released this year by the belgian atmospheric sludge band. Both tracks follow a very similar path, starting off in a very gentle, minimalist manner. The opener "Heden" begins with soft, heartbeat-like drumbeats and a murmuring bassline interjected with gentle guitar strumming and vocalist Colin Van Eeckhout quietly intoning the lyrics with a spoken word delivery. We all know this quiet calm cannot last and that it is just a matter of time until the wave comes crashing in. That it takes until the final quarter of the track for it to happen, just as you start to wonder if this is not the track you thought it was, it almost takes you by surprise. Van Eeckhout goes into full desperate, Burzum-like shrieking mode as the heaving tsunami riff hits and the shuddering climax is brought to fruition. Heden is definitely a case of the payoff being worthy of the build-up and is a decent, if not exactly unpredictable piece of atmo-sludge songwriting.

The problem for me is that they then try to pull off exactly the same trick with the second track, the EPs title track. This time the quiet calm, post-rock led extended intro is provided by a jangling guitar and snare beat with the vocals again pretty much being spoken word. The climax this time around hits at the two-thirds in mark and takes a very similar form to the opener. Whilst the atmospherics on both tracks are exceedingly well delivered and they are obviously very comfortable with both their instruments and songwriting technique, the similarity of the two tracks feels almost a little lazy and too comfortable for a band who have delivered much more variety in the past. Look, these guys are good, and both these tracks are too, but I expected a bit more from such a talented bunch.

3.5/5

Couldn't agree more, both the releases this year did nothing for me.

Lo-Pan "Get Well Soon" (2025)

In all honesty, I have never really gotten along with stoner. The concept of stoner rock vs stoner metal still confuses me as I never find the (limited) stoner that I have listened to venture far enough into metal to justify the tag. Accepting that I am formulating this opinion on a minority listening experience, I chose to look at stoner releases in my 2025 summary of The Fallen just as I would sludge, trad doom or death doom (drone can fuck off). Still, I approached Get Well Soon with a “get this over with” mentality. What began as a mere exercise to trim down the to do list of ever-growing releases this year, soon became a much cooler undertaking than I first imagined.

Clearly, there is a very virulent strain of hard rock running through the hazy, stoner vibes of Lo-Pan’s sound. It is not delivered in a mainstream manner though, which makes it an interesting style of rock to listen to. Whilst the stoner elements assist in that, the driving rhythms don’t follow a particularly linear or predictable narrative. This is on occasion detrimental to my enjoyment of the record. ‘Rogue Wave’ seems disjointed as opposed to oddly entertaining and the following track ‘Harpers Ferry’ develops a laboured edge to the music as it appears to slow to allow the vocals to catch up; it is almost as if they wrote too many words on the lyric sheet at times.

I have little in the way of genuine stoner influences to be able to call them out here, but I do hear elements of Chevelle in the rolling riffs. At the same time, the structure of the tracks, with their bounding yet still balanced nature gives me Helmet vibes. The tuneful yet edgy vocals belie perhaps the fact that they are singing about topical and confrontational themes. Lo-Pan sings about real world issues, talking about them against a backdrop of seemingly benign hard rock tunes. This tempering process works well; it negates the sense that the messaging is overtly preachy but still lets the grown up have the necessary focus. You can nod along and tap your foot in time to the music whilst contemplating the message behind the lyrics, all done without the need for rampant or juvenile incitement of violence as a response to the ills of the world. In short, Lo-Pan lets the music do the talking.

Percussively powerful without ever becoming overbearing, the solid drums complement the rest of the instrumentation well. Perhaps except for the bass, the repertoire of instruments all gets good representation in the mix. Whilst I cannot go as far as to call the album catchy, it lingers on the brain after the event. I find bits of it playing distantly in my head in the hours or days after the last listen and this makes me understand that there is perhaps still some growth to happen with Get Well Soon. For now, the record sits in my solid score range. A side note has been made for a review of the review in the coming weeks and months though.

3.5/5

Kveldstimer "The Cursed Oak" (2025)

Consisting of three members, Kveldstimer contains Alex Poole (Krieg amongst a million others) on guitar, bass and synths, Rory Flay (former Ash Borer) doing vocals, guitar and synths and Seguigo just doing drums and keeping it simple. The first two list a multitude of other bands as active projects currently and clearly bring a wealth of experience to the set-up, as The Cursed Oak nods firmly back to the early days of Norwegian black metal. With Ildjarn and Sort Vokter influences clearly on display, the nine tracks on offer here possess a chilling vibrancy and an ambient allure for fans of atmospheric black metal. But fear not, ye blastbeat loving masses, for The Cursed Oak has a hefty old share of higher tempo stuff to please all of you.

What is immediately obvious upon starting to listen to the album is that the music is written by well established and highly skilled musicians. The instrumentation all fits together seamlessly for the main part. Tremolos are well picked and those insanely screech guitar melodies sit just the correct side of not grating territory. This component reminds me of Akhlys on opening track ‘Withering Storm’. Beyond mesmerising at this early point in the record, the guitars possess a real potency to them. The whole album seems to command an offensive position without ditching the ethereal and haunting atmospherics in the process. The drums are solid and consistent, unafraid to blast yet also I hear a couple of runs and fills here and there that fit the aesthetic of tracks well. Rory’s vocals are a vicious rasp for the most part, with there being one occasion on ‘Broken Limbs in the Frost’ where they take on a bellicose, folk element which if I am honest is an uncomfortable moment for me, even after hearing it multiple times.

The synths are deployed effectively on all the tracks here and the album would be at a loss without them for me. Providing a real supporting role as opposed to dominating proceedings, they swell tracks with a richness, and within the swirling chaos that they help develop, I sense them growing, filling all available space behind those prominent guitars. The soundtrack to my late summer evening listening playlist will have instrumental track ‘Solitude’s Garden’ in the mix. The cold resonance of the synths creates a cooling ambience in the harshest of temperatures for me. The track also provides a well-placed palate cleanser, positioned towards the middle of the record.

As with all atmospheric black metal releases, there are comparisons with BAN almost inevitably made and The Cursed Oak does not escape this either. There seems a little more of an acute intensity to Kveldstimer’s sound (just a touch mind). If you pay close enough attention though you will hear the great build that tracks possess. The early third of ‘Their Eyes I the Shadow of the Moon’ being a fine example of this, as the guitar makes a sound like a war horse about to charge into battle before unleashing the tremolo upon the track. Again, that Akhlys sound is on full display during the melodic riffing of this track, something which please me no end. It may have taken me a few listens to get there, but I have discovered a real gem in this one. Addiction levels are high currently.

4.5/5

Hi Ben can you please add Ruinous (US) and their one release to date "Graves of Ceaseless Death"?

Hi Ben, please can you add:

Altar of Woe - Russia

Draugveil - "Cruel World of Dreams and Fears" (2025)

The internet is losing its shit over the cover of a black metal record featuring an armour-clad male in corpse paint lay on a bed of red roses, gazing wistfully into the camera lens whilst his sword is casually placed front of shot. It is an unexpected cover shot in many ways, yet it is also in keeping with the contents of the record itself. Cruel World of Dreams and Fears possesses an innate poignancy within its sound of strained melodies and catchy percussion patterns. It is very much on the south side of gaze (which is a massive positive in my book) yet at the same time is not entirely conventional in the black metal sound. Just as the album photo suggests, there are some depths to the record. “Is it AI?”, cry the internet purists. Well, I don’t possess any such detection means, so I will have to go with my own instinct instead.

The artist himself has many other projects ranging from trap metal to shoegaze. In a recent interview he said "I don't believe in rigid identities or linear artistic paths. I see every project as a vector—a path of escape,”. As the die-hards don their 1,001 nail arm bands and grab pitchforks and torches before they off marching en masse to Warsaw to demand Draugveil bathe in a vat of make up remover to banish any vestige of black metal from their being, I prefer to take a listen and understand what I can find on the album of any interest.

Amidst the clatter and batter of the percussion and the jangle of the tremolo, there sits a droning, whining and at times outright wonky guitar or keyboard melody. It invokes gothic tropes, nearing an almost new romantic appearance at times. It is an album that is unafraid of ambience also. ‘Beneath the Armor I Rot’ bristles with ethereal sorrow, the piano keys pinpointing moments of sheer beauty in what at times can be a frantic paced record to absorb otherwise. Dungeon synth influences seep into the record as well, not overdone yet not hiding at the same time either. The various elements that get deployed all do have a sense of balance about them. Yes, there are constants in the performance, but they maintain a connection for me as a listener, no individual element manages to alienate at any stage.

90’s generic black metal? Well, yes, it is guilty of that to some degree. That most certainly does not qualify it as AI generated though. Cruel World of Dreams and Fears is a good description of the reaction to this record I feel. We live in age when familiarity genuinely does breed contempt as an auto-response. A not too distant second place goes to the poking of fun and aiming humour at something that in one breath is accused of being generic yet in the other ridiculed for straying down a path of being too camp for black metal. Draugveil finds himself in an isolationist position, whether he planned it or not. Which again, is another huge irony that for all the criticism of it, the record ends up in a very black metal place still.

3.5/5

Norrhem’s fourth full length release has been bobbing around near the surface of my fathomless pool of new releases this year for months now. As soon as I get into it again, something else distracts me and then I go back see it marked as a “contender” on my list of new releases I am working through, and I remember to give it some more plays before I fallback into the whirlpool of new music that I cycle in nowadays. Nominating it for feature release in The North clan this month had a hidden purpose of giving its review an added dependency.

Now, I am not overly familiar with pagan black metal, however I do know a hint of Moonsorrow when I hear one and after multiple listens, I think that the reference is the nearest I can make to how I can define the sound here. The tracks for the most part have solid, driving rhythms, offset with acoustic, atmospheric passages that give time for reflection. Clearly Norrhem have a deep sense of pride in their Finnish heritage and this nationalism is strong in the sound of the music. Embracing the melodic aspects as they do on Aurinko ja teräs alongside the more choral/chanting effects makes for a good mix of foot stomping black metal that carries an almost hidden catchiness (in the sense that it takes a few listens to pick up on it – well at least I did). Unexpectedly, I find some of the tracks quite warming, despite the colder atmospheres associated in general with the music.

I did baulk at the symphonic comparisons I saw with other bands but, again, upon repeated listens I did start to increasingly notice this in the sound. Even when the band drifts a bit too far on the eerie ballad ‘Mullan marttyyrit’, they still manage to make it work well in the grander scheme of things as a (albeit slightly grandiose) intro to the title track. Despite this symphonic and pagan meleé the band can add a great selection of riffs into play also, ranging from the squally efforts on ‘Hävitetty maa’ through to the relentless chop of ‘Teräsmyrskyssä’ which is my album highlight here. Some of the keys remind me of 80’s pop whilst on other occasions they sound like chimes straight from a Burzum record.

Aurinko ja teräs has worked its way onto my rotation with an almost dogged determination. It is not my usual bag really but is hardly celebrating sub-genres that I go out of my way to avoid either. My overarching sense from multiple connections with it is that the record grows stronger as it goes on without quite reaching the imperious levels of pagan black metal that Havukruunu have achieved in recent years. It is unlikely to walk away with any massive accolades this year but it certainly deserves recognition.

4/5

I had a quick look to see if I had encountered Structure's main man, Bram Bijlhout, before and the only time our paths have crossed was Officium Triste's 2013 album, Mors Viri, which I honestly can't remember listening to and which I rated a measly two-and-a-half stars, so not an auspicious start then. However, whether my long forgotten score is an accurate reflection of Mors Viri's quality or not, one of us has changed because I honestly cannot express how utterly affecting and emotional I found Heritage to be. This may sound a bit odd considering Pim Blankenstein uses the guttural growls of extreme metal and the ponderous riffs are huge, crushing affairs, but there is also a melancholy yearning oozing out from under that crushing weight which is often accentuated by lighter instrumental moments.

Heritage actually straddles the line between death doom and funeral doom, allowing for well-executed tempo variations that ensures the generally medium-length tracks don't succumb to saminess. The riffs are melodic and memorable in the main, and really do strike an impressive balance between musical and emotional weight, providing the discerning metalhead with more than enough heaviness to satisfy their craving whilst simultaneously tugging at their heartstrings. The lead work often soars above the miasma created by the riffs, rhythm section and guttural growling like a released spirit taking its leave of the soul-crushing grind of earthbound existence, shrieving itself of its earthly cares and reaching towards its personal nirvana.

I haven't sat down with a lyric sheet, so I don't know what the philosophy behind Heritage is, but for some reason I can't help but feel uplifted and hopeful both whilst and after listening to it, as if it is saying, no matter how hard and heavy things may be, ultimately everything will be OK. This may be fanciful on my part, and yes, it is steeped in melancholy and a gruelling weight, but there is a ray of something more at the heart of the album that genuinely makes me feel good and that is something that I have found in very short supply in recent times. I am exceedingly impressed and it will take a fucking great record to beat this to my AOTY for 2025.

5/5 (and then some!!)

Do you know if there is a vinyl version available, Vinny? I have ordered the CD from Bandcamp but would love this on vinyl.

Just looked on the label website and only has CD option.  Metal Archives lists digital as only other option.

I have found myself really missing messing around with The Fallen playlist on a regular basis, so I am going back to compiling it monthly, starting with July. As main co-contributor, Vinny, if you want to post any suggestions before the end of the weekend then that is cool. Any non-clan members may make one suggestion each, again before the end of the weekend. David, if you want to contribute with any suggestions as a clan member let me know and I will spell out the deal.

So, going forward I will be compiling two playlists a month with the Fallen playlist being issued every month and the Horde and North playlists alternating. July is the turn of the North, so The Horde will be August, the North September and so on. 

Thanks folks...

Thanks Sonny, I can offer:

Rothadás - "Vértükör" (from "Töviskert... a kísértés örök érzete... Lidércharang", 2025)

Daevar - "Mirrors" (from "Sub Rosa", 2025)

Secret Cutter - "Spleen" (from "III ", 2025)

Mares of Thrace - "The Fifth Stage: Depression" (from "The Loss", 2025)

Ex-Officium Triste guitarist, Bram Bijlhout raids his old band for assistance as he drafts in Pim Blankenstein to deliver vocals on his debut full length under his solo outfit, Structure. Not being familiar with Officium Triste at all, I cannot say how much similarity there is here between the two acts. Plus, I do not think it would be best use of the review either, especially given the obvious quality of Heritage. As a standalone, atmospheric doom/death metal act, Structure is a strong offering. How we got here is not necessarily as important as enjoying what we have got here. Heritage is a fine debut album, one that sounds like it has been put together by established artists with a strong ear for immersive compositions that the listener can absorb as opposed to just listen to.

In attempting to put some of the above into coherent reference to parts of the album, one’s attention is immediately drawn to the rich melodies of the guitar that soar alongside the intense weight of the riffs that you would expect to hear on any doom death release. Adopting an almost funeral doom depth at times, the guitars go for the very depths of the sound at times, yet they also create big sounding, almost rock-esque riffs on other occasions. ‘What We Have Lost’ showcases this perfectly. Unafraid to take off into more mid-paced territory, this track develops into much more than standard doom death fare would normally permit. This early, promising trend continues across all of Heritage I am pleased to report, resulting in a very fulfilling experience. Whilst it most certainly is doom death at its core, this is a record that holds no trepidation for expansive compositions.

Clearly well-produced, the sound on the album is big, surrounding the listener in all the glorious tropes of the instrumentation present here. Those keyboards are elevating and elegant, adding distinct majesty to the darkness, uniting with the melancholy of the guitar perfectly. Both elements do really work well in tandem with one another, the guitar comes out with the upper hand still though, maintaining prevalence throughout much of the album. As a reference point, I am reminded often of Shape of Despair when listening to Heritage, such are the acute levels of melancholy and the sense of the sheer distance that is created in the atmospherics. At times I would go further and say there’s a bit of Bell Witch present here also. The dramatic opening to album closer ‘Until the Last gasp’ lives up to this comparison for sure.

If I were being super-critical, I would be asking for a little more from the drums, which do sound a little timid at times. Just the slightest of an increase in space in the mix would have afforded them a greater presence. Whilst this measure of component parts does allow for the focus on the guitars and vocals, it does diminish some of the power behind tracks such as ‘The Sadness of Everyday Life’. There is almost too much of a distance between them and the rest of proceedings. It is a minor compliant however on an album that is a consistent, intriguing and above all else immersive experience end-to-end.

4.5/5

Welcome David

Hvile I Kaos - Lower Order Manifestations (2025)

The cello is my favourite classical instrument.  Capable of creating such slow, haunitng and melancholic sounds as well urgent and oppressive timbres as well, I find a versatile and always pleasing instrument.  Hvile I Kaos deploy the cello alongside guitar, frame drum and bass to create 'dark chamber music'. This has been on a few nights as I have laid in bed with the lights out ready to get into a peaceful slumber.  Full of mystique and dark terrors, the descripton from the Bandcamp page sums it up perfectly:

"This collection of recorded workings is a series of invocations to eight Lower Order Spirits, as steps leading to the sacrificial altar of Moloch, the King of Fire. This is done in accordance with the practice of Sinister Magick known as Vedantic Nihilism, as outlined in the grimoire "Codex Aversum" by Caine Del Sol.

The forces presented by these workings are those of collapse, madness, death, and decay. They have served and will continue to serve those ends to devastating effect, in real life, in real time.

You have been warned."

4/5

Still maintaing my list of releases for The North this year.  Top Ten looks like:

1. Gràb - Kremess

2. Grima - Nightside

3. The Great Old Ones - Kadath

4. Warmoon Lord - Sacrosanct Demonopathy

5. Void of Hope - Proof of Existence

6. Cryptosis - Celestial Death (increasingly an outlier)

7. Drudkh - Shadowplay

8. Serpentes - Desert Psalms

9. Blood Abscission - I I

10. Svartsyn - Vortex of the Destroyer

Full Top 20 here https://metal.academy/lists/single/310

Quite the milestone.  Metal Academy continues to a great resource, especially in my discovery of new music this year.  Thanks Ben.

Probably on your radar already but the new Sargeist album just dropped "Flame Within Flame" if you could add please Ben?

Frustratingly, it now appears that only side A of the album is available on YouTube.  I have tried Bandcamp and some other platforms but have been unable to locate it.  Let me know if anyone else has any joy.

It appears that these guys must be especially trve, because the album is only available as a 12" along with a 7" vinyl in its complete form, so it is going to be very hard to hear a full version, at least for now anyway.

Yes, I have switched to another Finnish band I have been spinning a bit this year.  Included them on my track listing for The North next month as it happens.

Frustratingly, it now appears that only side A of the album is available on YouTube.  I have tried Bandcamp and some other platforms but have been unable to locate it.  Let me know if anyone else has any joy.

Here we go Sonny:

Häxkapell - "Metamorfos" (from "Om jordens blod och urgravens grepp", 2025)

Regnum Noricum - "Aminata Muscaria" (from "Lost Legacy", 2025)

Void of Hope - "The Hollow Hymn" (from "Proof of Existence", 2025)

Norrhem - "Teräsmyrskyssä" (from "Aurinko ja teräs", 2025)

June 2025

1. Warbringer – “The Sword and the Cross” (from “Wrath and Ruin”, 2025) [Submitted by Shadowdoom]

2. Anthrax – “Now It’s Dark” (from “State pf Euphoria, 1988) [Submitted by Sonny]

3. Metallica – “No Remorse” (from “Kill ‘Em All”, 1983) [Submitted by Sonny]

4. Skeletonwitch – “Sacrifice for the Slaughtergod” (from “Beyond the Permafrost”, 2007) [Submitted by Saxy)

5. Sacred Reich – “Crimes Against Humanity” (from “The American Way”, 1990) [Submitted by Sonny]

6. Confess, George Kollias – “Slaughterhouse” (from “Destination Addiction”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

7. Machine Head – “Atomic Revelations” (from “Atonement”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

8. Grave Digger – “The Rich the Poor the Dying” (from “Bone Collector”, 2025)

9. Artillery – “Death Is an Illusion” (from “My Blood”, 2010 [Submitted by Sonny]

10. Parkcrest – “Dwelling of the Moonlights”, 2019) [Submitted by Sonny]

11. Vektor – “Tetrastructural Minds” (from “Outer Isolation”, 2011) [Submitted by Sonny]

12. Venus – “Sons of Grus” (from “Obscured Until Observed”, 2023)

13. Smiqra – “I Am the Broken Generation” (from “Rɡyaɡ̇dźé!”, 2025)

14. Antichrist – “Death Rays” (from “Forbidden World”, 211) [Submitted by Sonny]

15. Whipstriker – “Heartrippers” (from “Cry of Extinction”,2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

16. Black Mass – “A.S.H.E.S.” (from “Feast at the Forbidden Tree”, 201)

17. Satan’s Wrath – “At the Strike of Twelve” (from “Die Evil”, 2015)

18. All Hell – “Suffer for Me” (from “All Hail the Night”, 2023)

19. Frightful – “Into the Phantom Hearts” (from “What Lies Ahead”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

20. Oxygen Destroyer – “Awaking the Malevolent Destroyer of Heavens and Earth”, 2024)

21. Extorted – “Deception” (from “Cognitive Dissonance”, 2024)

22. Combust, Terror – “Paid with Pain” (from “Belly of the Beast”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

23. Doomsday – “Holy Justice” (from “Never Known Peace”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

24. Stress Test – “Suffer” (from “Stress Test”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

25. New World Man – “Murderworld Pt. 2 (Murder Is What's on My Mind)” (from “Peeling Through the Skin”, 2025) [Submitted by Vinny]

26. Crimson Storm – “Outrageous” (from “Livin' on the Bad Side”, 2025)

27. Refore – “Illusion of Existence” (from “Illusion of Existence”, 2024)

28. Korrosive – “In the Name of Destruction” (from “Katastrophic Creation”,2024)

I am so sorry to hear this Sonny.  I hope she continues to make a solid recovery.

Finally got round to a review of this:

I already expressed my love for 2018's The Incubus of Karma by Mournful Congregation in my earlier review on Metal Academy, so it was with a hopeful spring in my step that I ventured into this month’s feature release. It is fair to say that my previous positive experience was instantly replicated as I started to listen to The Exuviae of Gods: Part II. This is instantly recognizable as funeral doom, of course. However, there’s a shrouded light implicit in the songs of Mournful Congregation that at first glance was unexpected the last time around and I am pleased to say is still present now. All the oppressive, crushing elements are lined up here on this macabre and morose parade. The deathly plod you would expect from a funeral doom release continues to trudge at an agonisingly slow pace towards the inevitable end. Still, I cannot shake that flicker of sharp light that Is burning at the centre of all that murk.

There is an odd sense of comfort that I take from good funeral doom, and this release has made for great bedtime listening to drag me off into the land of nod on a few occasions now. Whilst it is a little too short to truly encapsulate many of the great things that I heard in 2018’s offering, in a way that is okay as there is still a distinct sense of fulfilment from the thirty-nine minutes that the three songs run over. The harrowing and punishing repetition never become arduous or boring, indeed it seems to help tracks grow in stature as it repeats. I believe this is successful because once again Mournful Congregation display a real penchant for songwriting of the highest quality. Just as with my comment on The Incubus of Karma, The Exuviae of Gods: Part II continues to grow those strong roots of songwriting prowess. These tacks aren’t just long, they are nurtured, they are grown, cultivated into their optimal form.

The melancholic melodies of the guitar on ‘The Forbidden Abysm’ genuinely moved me to the point of welling up tears in my eyes. It is such a sudden burst of despondency that it caught my completely off-guard. There is a limitless patience to how the drums are played on this track. It would have been easy to lose them in the mix against the backdrop of the relentless wall of riffs and dense atmospheres present here, yet there is no loss of power to the work Tim Call puts in. Some of the picked string work is exquisite, with the intro to the final track 'The Paling Crest' being of note. It is this sense of pacing and build that keeps the release interesting for the whole duration. There is little in the way of criticism, other than to say it needs perhaps a little more bite to really keep things entertaining. However, once again, Mournful Congregation cement themselves as true masters of funeral doom, with a knack for songwriting that few I have experienced can touch. My only regret is not having listened to Part I.

4.5/5

Mysterivm Xarxes - 'In Resonance with the Carnalized Manifestations' (2025)

In Resonance with the Carnalized Manifestations has been on my review list for what feels like months now. I mean, yes it was released way back in January and we are now well into May, but it feels like I have been toying with it for longer than the last nearly half a year. As I just start to remember why I usually find keeping up with the slew of new releases each year such a challenge, here I am finally committing my thoughts to review. With Austria not being my usual go to country for black metal, to find such a raw and intense experience that instantly recalls the jarring horror of Leviathan is a real treat. Indeed, first track proper, ‘Bound and Condemmed in the Chamber of Your Insignificance’ is as harsh and unforgiving as the track title suggests. It is clear from the off that if you are looking for some catchy, black ‘n roll style bm, you are in the wrong hole.

The crude melodicism of the dashing tremolos, which are generated by the guitarist just dashing their hand up and down the fretboard it seems, does bring an unexpected sense of underlying depth when you take time to listen critically. In fact, the more I listen to this EP the more it has grown. The EP format does not make this a smash ‘n grab bm release either, Homvnkvlvs does everything on Mysterivm Xarxes releases and his marauding style of black metal more than hints at thought and structure beneath the ghastlier aesthetic that he presents in his music. The melody is primitive to an almost pagan extent at times, but the fact is that the tracks are in a continued state of flux. The pacing and tempos change with a degree of regularity, keeping you guessing as to where tracks might be going next. By the time we get to the middle of third track ‘At the Threshold of Purification’ we are almost straying into a progressive build for a few bars before we descend back into raging black metal fury again.

Therefore, despite being only a little over thirty-one-minutes in duration, the EP feels very fulfilling. It is like everything that is wanting to be said is expelled in an enormously entertaining manner. The ambient sections work just as well as the more aggressive parts when they are given the floor. Keying up the final act of the release, instrumental number ‘Dawn of Inner Renewal’ does just enough with its gentle ambience to settle our nerves for one last foray into the rampant black metal of ‘Shards of Lasting Rememberance’. This last track comes charging out of the blocks like a possessed animal. That fearsomely strummed tremolo drives the track forward with unrelenting fury, all making for a satisfying end to fine release overall.

4/5

Hi Ben, could you please add:

Abyssal Vacuum from France

Dausa from Lithuania

Drape from USA

Hound of Zeus from Germany

Lurid from USA (Chicago)

Varlok from USA

Veneraxiom from USA

Vultur from Italy

Latest release from Warmoon Lord - 'Sacrosanct Demonopathy'

I have listened a couple of times to this but have not managed to gather enough thoughts to justify a review and this is clearly a special record for Sonny and so I would only want to comment in a review after sufficient listens (which is unlikely to be this month).  Also, I did move away from this NWOBHM, trad metal, heavy metal sound a few years back and it is far away from my regular listening patterns nowadays.

The above has happened to me today in my The Fallen 2025 list only it also appears to have duplicated my review of the affected album (Morast 'Fentanyl') as well. 

EDIT - I just deleted one of the reviews and it solved this issue.

Mizmor & Hell - 'Alluvion' (2025)

As with anything involving two of the biggest names in doom metal, Alluvion was destined to succeed from the off. With main Hell man, Matthew Scott Williams deciding to collaborate with Mizmor supremo (and live drummer for Hell), Liam Neighbors on a full-length album, 2025 just got a lot more interesting. Both are established artists in their own right of course and so anything they collude on is bound to be monstrous, right? Well, the simple answer is yes, yes, it is. Alluvion is an absolute triumph of a release. It achieves that rarified atmosphere of being vast and expansive without ever becoming boring or taxing to listen to. Indeed, the only struggle I have when listening to it is to not immediately play it again on loop.

The atmosphere on Alluvion is nothing short of humongous. It is repressive in that it takes all your attention to truly admire its oppressive density. The whole experience is devoid of leniency in that it simply does not let up once for nearly forty-minutes. The boldness of artists who can produce such domineering sounds and not think to give any respite at all is a joy to behold in a world of mass produced, easily accessible and safe music. This album is just the soundtrack to your worst, unending nightmares by comparison. It relies on no pillars of technicality or musical fanfare. Repetition and (largely) slow grinding riffs are the order of the day here. Inflections of atmospheric chaos litter the record (those shrieking voices at the end of ‘Vision II’) along with black metal fury (‘Pandemonium’s Throat’) flooding in to really spice things up.

These bursts of variety give an impression of a morose record, its ill-tempered nature seemingly impatient with itself even at times. Yet perversely, in the main, it continues to pick agonisingly slowly at a festering scab that barely conceals an infected, gaping wound. Building is the wrong word to describe how tracks come together; they lumber into existence. Drenched in reverb and with a somehow beastly psychedelic edge to some of the guitar riffs, Alluvion continues to develop its hideous soundscape without respite. My only criticism is the drums seem too far away in the mix, they sound like they are treading water at times, notwithstanding they have a wall of noise to compete with most of the time. When they do bob their head above the crashing waves of misery there is a deftness in their delivery that probably could have been allowed to shine a little more in the mix.

It is still a minor quibble in an otherwise sensational auditory experience. As an aside, I am unsure if the it was the intention but it looks to me as if the album cover is trying to recreate the painting ‘Sadak in Search of the Waters of Oblivion’ by John Martin.

4.5/5

Machine Head - 'Unatoned' (2025)

Here we are again. Another Machine Head album, another handful of tracks to unpick, another round of discerning if Robb has settled on any direction this time around. By now notorious for injecting virulent amounts of nu-metal, alt metal and even rap metal into their music, any new record from MH certainly gets greeted with the guard somewhat up. My absolute horror at the shitshow that was Catharsis from seven years ago was probably the peak of my derision with Flynn’s continued dilution of their core groove metal sound. Sitting here in 2025, I felt kind of desensitised to anything that Unatoned could throw at me, and so listening to the usual plethora of styles being blended across a lengthy twelve tracks did have me once again rolling my eyes in frustration that the skip button was out of reach.

The main frustration I have had with latter day output from MH is that when they stick to straight forward groove metal, MH are simply one of the best groove metal acts around. Tracks like ‘Atomic Revelations’ and ‘Unbound’ more than prove this. These tracks are clear examples of MH at the pinnacle of their powers. Think of recent releases by Exhorder and you are in the right ballpark for these two tracks. Unfortunately, there is very little of any comparable quality beyond these on the rest of the album. Heavily front loaded, Unatoned fades badly from around the mid-point of the record. Whilst it may not actually tank altogether, it clearly suffers from filler after the passable ballad ‘Not Long for This World’.

I can stomach the strive to write catchy tunes (‘Outsiders’) and I can even tolerate the chiming electronics that accompany some tracks (even though I have heard Bad Omens, Sleep Token and Architects do them much better). However, there is still the problem of the album lacking much in the way of identity, or much in the way of direction. Even though it has started to sound more cohesive with repeated listens, Unatoned lacks any assured purpose overall. There are some great riffs and leads present across the record, however they are too disparate in distribution and for me should have had far more consistent focus across the album. I will say though that this record is probably the best record MH have done since Unto the Locust and it proves there is more than enough life in the old dog yet. They just need to settle on a pathway.

3.5/5

Update:

1. Katatonia - Fall of Hearts

2. Deftones - White Pony

3. Deftones - Diamond Eyes

4. Faith No More - The Real Thing

5. Faith No More - Angel Dust

6. Jane's Addiction - Ritual de lo Habitual (least metal release on here, sue me)

7. Alice in Chains - Dirt

8. Soundgarden - Louder Than Love

9. Bodycount - Bloodlust

10. Sleep Token - Take Me Back to Eden

Recent life events have seen me now enjoying the Fall of Hearts a lot more.  It is the album that has accompanied me through my recent marriage break-up, so this is perhaps to be expected.  Rediscovering Diamond Eyes this weekend has seen that catapulted into my top ten.  Sleep Token's 2023 album has slowly worked its way into the tenth spot, it has definitley grown with repeated listens.

Deicide - "Trifixion" (from "Legion", 1992)

This got me pining for the album so blasting Legion right now.

Hey, Vinny. The Phrenelith track is on the current Horde playlist, so do you want to choose something else? Another track from the same album is fine.

S'ok to drop that one thanks.

Vinny, Karl, please have your submissions in for June's Horde playlist by 15th May. Thanks in advance.

Here you go Sonny:

Suffocation - "Seraphim Enslavement" (from "Hymns From the Apochrypha", 2023)

Nile - "I Whisper in the Ear of the Dead" (from "In Their Darkened Shrines", 2002)

Phrenelith - "Stagnated Blood" (from "Ashen Womb", 2025)

Asinhell- "Inner Sancticide" (from "Impii Hora", 2023)

Vacuous - "Stress Positions" (from "In His Blood", 2025)

Obscureviolence - "Refuting the Flesh" (from "Refuting the Flesh", 2025)

Cancer - "Enter the Gates" (from "Inverted World", 2025)

Caustic Wound - "Blood Battery" (from "Grinding Mechanism of Torment", 2025)

Wombbath - "Malevolent" (from "Beyond the Abyss", 2025)

Hi Ben, can the new one from Conan be added please?  Violence Dimension.