Valkyrja - 2005 - Funeral Voices

Out of Sweden comes this Black Metal band with their first demo. Three tracks of mid-paced to fast Black Metal are presented to us on this release, plus an intro and an instrumental interlude. The material here is actually quite good. Slightly melodic Black Metal which reminds me a bit of Marduk, Satyricon and Borknagar, but mostly of a more varied Dark Funeral.

The vocals sound similar to those done by Legion when in Marduk, with a slight touch of those from early Borknagar.

This demo has a really good production. The instruments and the vocals can all be heard clearly. The material presented on this demo shows that there are still new bands out there worth checking out. This is a band to keep your eyes on. Limited to only 50 copies, so act fast!


Standout track is "Another Prophet to the Wolves".

Sunday July 10 2005, by :Vragh:

Valaskjalf/Hrodvitnir - 2005 - Under the Ban ner of Vinlandic Heathen Might

Presented on this split effort are two American NS Black Metal bands. Each band contributes with four tracks.

Valaskjalf presents us with Black Metal ranging from slow to mid-paced, slightly melodic Black Metal in the vein of the real early '90ies bands, but with a melancholic sound rarely found. I find both Kvist, Beherit and Root influences here. Also presented on this release is a cover of Hellhammer's classic track "Euronymous".

The vocals mostly sound like a more guttural version of those done by Legion of Marduk and also somewhat like those done by Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot and Quorthon.

The soundquality is quite good, with all the instruments being audible in the mix.

Standout tracks are "Grove of the Neoliths" and  "Black Forest".

Hrodvitnir play a mid-paced to fast, more Viking / Folk themed Black Metal, and is the band I liked best on this release. Musically this sounds like a mix of Falkenbach and amore Black Metal oriented version of Borknagar, with vocals that mostly remind me of those done by Garm on the first Borknagar album. Some traces of Wyrd are also present in the overall sound here.

The soundquality on these four tracks varies a bit, which I found to be slightly annoying. You can hear the instruments and all, but the two last tracks have a murky, slightly distant sound to them, and the volume is lower.

Standout tracks are "Dawn of a New Aryan Empire" and "Hrodvitnir (The Wolf Unleashed)".

Quite a good split album, actually, with both bands being quite able to handle their instruments. This release is limited to 500 copies.

Friday December 2 2005, by :Vragh:

Strevlosh Zvezda - 2005 - Strevlosh Zvezda

Out of Serbia comes this band with their very own brand of Black Metal. Haven't really heard that many hordes using classical guitar as the most prominent instrument in Black Metal, I must say. This is quite good, mostly slow but with faster parts from time to time. On this promo we are presented with four tracks, and the last one is a rehearsal version of track three, but the finished demo will contain six tracks, without the rehearsal. For the most part there's just the classical guitar and the vocals, and here and there the songs explode into faster parts with blasting drums. Some parts of this album reminds me musically of Empyrium's Where at Night the Wood Grouse Plays and Ulver's Theme's from William Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, with the vocals reminding me mostly of the harsh vocals by Garm on the first Borknagar album.


The soundquality here is very good, the guitar and the vocals can be heard clearly, and the drums are just slightly towards the back of the mix, keeping the focus on the guitar and the vocals in the parts with drums. The rehearsal track gives an interesting insight into how the band sounds outside the studio. A very interesting listen, this demo. It is not often you are taken by total surprise when you put a demo in the player to review it. The only bad thing about this disc is that it is far too short. I want more of this. Most highly recommended!

Standout tracks are "Nocturnus..." and "Leve Ruke Staza".

Wednesday January 18 2006, by :Vragh:

Mord - 2004 - Morde

Out of Germany comes this Black Metal act, featuring members of Zorn in the ranks. Six scathing hymns of mid-paced to fast hatefilled Black Metal, mostly reminiscent of Blodulv, but also early Ulver, Ildjarn because of the often rather repetitive riffing, and Borknagar. The tracks are rather long, averaging 8 minutes.

The vocals are raw, somewhat in the vein of those by Grendel in Blodulv, those by Garm on the first Borknagar album, mainly because of the drawn out screams, and of Dead of Mayhem, sounding at times like those by Dead on the Live in Leipzig album. Sabnock also does the vocals in Zorn.

The soundquality on this recording is harsh, but not too unclear. This does remind me of Ildjarn as well, but the earlier days, when he had a bit clearer soundquality on his releases. The drums are a bit towards the back in the mix, along with the bass. This is filthy Black Metal, as it should be!

Standout tracks are "In the Forest of Dead Souls" and "Necrophage".

Monday November 27 2006, by :Vragh:

May Result - 2004 - Svetogrdje

Out of Serbia comes this Black Metal horde with their fourth fullength. The music presented is symphonic and slightly melodic, mostly mid-paced to fast, with parts towards the more progressive side of the genre. This reminds me of a lot of different stuff; Taake, Borknagar, Grimm (Nl), Dissection, Enslaved, Ajattara and Summoning, and yet they don't sound like any of these bands. There are some Folk and Thrash in here as well.

Metal influences here as well. There is of course a rather obvious Dimmu Borgir reference to make, as this is Symphonic Black Metal, so there, I said it.

The vocals are somewhat towards the depressive kind, with similarities to those by Jon Nødtveidt of Dissection (R.I.P), but with a clear Eastern European edge to it. Perhaps slightly similar to those in the Czech band Dark Gamballe as well as those by Ruoija of Ajattara, at times.

The recording has a bit more of a Rock n Roll sound to it, but there is also a rather Eastern European sound here, mainly on the vocals and the keyboard. Keyboards can many times be used too excessively, just listen to the first pressing of In the Nightside Eclipse by Emperor, however this is not the case here. Most of the tracks on this CD are around the 10 minute mark. This is a very interesting and varied listen. All members have been or are also in The Stone.

Standout tracks are "Mesec Je Sad Sa Nama...", "Noc Crnoga Plamena", "Zloslut" and "Pogrom".

Sunday January 14 2007, by :Vragh:

Long Voyage Back - 1998 - Long Voyage Back

This is the first album by this Australian one man band, featuring Phil Gresik who has previously been involved in Deströyer 666, Bestial Warlust and Hobb's Angel of Death. This album is very varied with influences ranging from Viking era Bathory via Borknagar, Gorgoroth and In the Woods... to regular Metal, from slow parts to faster parts and back again. A very progressive album, not too much Black Metal in it, really. Dark Metal, maybe?

The vocals remind me of Kreator at times, but they are as varied as the music,ranging from clear to spoken to growl, whichever fits the mood of the music at the time. The album has a good production, nice and clear. The overall feel to this album is one of Anti-Christian values and good musicianship, really.

Some really catchy songs here, without being In Flames catchy, of course. There are only five tracks, and all are actually very enjoyable. The bass is heard throughout the album, which is very nice. A drum machine seems to be utilized, but it doesn't really sound like one, which is a good thing. Drum machines are no good. The album following this one, just called II, is a lot softer than this one, so be forwarned.

Standout tracks are "Long Voyage Back / Poison Wood", "Reflection" and "Nomadic Paths".

Monday May 31 2004, by :Vragh:

Ljå - 2002 - Vedderbaug

This is the Norwegian Black Metal band Ljå's only demo so far, but it is indeed a promising piece. This was originally released under the band name Knøfflihei. Fierce Black Metal with acoustic parts is what they play, and it works very well. Musically it sounds similar to Ulver's Bergtatt, early Borknagar and early Marduk, the latter mostly due to the drumwork, with some folkmusic influences added just for the Hell of it. The vocals sound like those on the first Borknagar album. Not at all a bad mix.

They have managed to get a good production on this demo, it reeks of dirty, old-school Black Metal, and it fits the music just right. These guys handle their instruments very well, all of them have been in other bands since the early '90ies. I suggest you do yourself the favour of getting this demo.

They are going to record a fullength album during 2004, and they released a split 7" with Koldbrann on Aftermath Music in April, with a track from the demo. This demo was rereleased on CD in 2008 with four extra demo tracks.

Standout tracks are "Skamslaadte Engler", "Vind", "Udenomskjaersk Faen" and "Victorinox".

Monday May 24 2004, by :Vragh:

Eschaton - 2006 - Causa Fortior

Out of Greece comes this Black Metal horde with their first fullength album. We are presented with six tracks of mid-paced to fast and slightly melodic and depressive Black Metal. The music and sound has changed quite a bit since the demo from 2004, but this is still very good. This reminds me somewhat of Taake, for some reason, as well as the music presented on the 1349 mini cd. Some parts earlier Marduk are also present.

The vocals are rather reminiscent of the vocals by Garm on the first Borknagar album, if a bit more guttural, with parts Chuck Schuldiner of Death.

The soundquality here is slightly muffled and a bit chaotic, and there's more bass in their sound now than on their demo. The sound reminds me of the 1349 mcd mentioned earlier, as well as of that specific sound many of the Eastern European bands have. Very nice.

Standout tracks are "Glorious Crusade", "Transfigured Visions" and "Steel Glowing in Darkness".

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh:

Bloodoline - 2005 - Storm and Brilliance

Out of Spain comes this Black Metal band with their first album. The material on this recording has been waiting for a few years to be recorded, and judging from the songs here, this was not at all a bad thing. This is an album that is very well executed, and it seems the arrangements are well thought through. We are presented with thirteen tracks on this album, with six instrumental interludes
and an outro. Musically this reminds me of a lot of things. I find both La Masquerade era Arcturus and some 1349 here, but mostly I think this sounds like early Borknagar with a twist of Zyklon-B, the Norwegian allstar band. This recording sounds very Scandinavian. Really good.

The vocals sound like a mix of Chuck Schuldiner of Death and Garm of Borknagar, being somewhat similar to those by Garm on their first album, but a bit more growled and sounding quite desperate at times. The instrumental interludes sound like a mix of earlier Mortiis and the instrumental Borknagar tracks that usually are present on their albums.

The soundquality is quite good, you hear all the instruments and the vocals clearly. The vocals are slightly in the front of the mix, being the driving force with the guitars. Be sure to check this album out! To be released by Blackend Records in March 2005, so it should be available to order from your local store or distro.

Standout tracks are "Warlike Spirit", "Aeons End" and "Nihil Storm".

Monday March 7 2005, by :Vragh:

Ansur - 2005 - Carved in Flesh

Norwegian Black Metal horde Ansur have just re-released their first demo through Nerbilous Productions. Wellplayed mid-paced and slightly melodic Black Metal is what we get here. Musically this reminds me of a more melodic version of Disiplin with parts Orcustus, Borknagar, Watain and later Satyricon. A nice mix. A drum machine is used on this recording, which sounds ok, apart from the sound of the ride.

The vocals remind me of a harsher version of those by Slavia, formerly of Disiplin, mixed with those by Satyr, Erik of Watain and Taipan of Orcustus.

The soundquality is quite good on this recording. The emphasis is more towards the treble, to get that special, cold feeling. The guitars and the vocals are what stands out in the mix a bit, but you hear all the instruments here. Definitely a band to keep an eye on. Limited to 200 copies.

Standout tracks are "Murder", "Carved in Flesh" and "Through Snowlands".

June 4 by :Vragh: