Vultyr - 2001 - Monument of Misanthropy

This is Finnish Black Metal band Vultyr's debut album. Presented here are eight tracks of grim Black Metal including an intro. The soundquality is very necro and dirty, reminding me somewhat of that on Transilvanian Hunger. There's a nice '90ies feel to this release. The drums are a bit in the back of the mix here, apart from the snaredrum for some reason, with the guitars and vocals dominating.

Musically this is raw Black Metal, with a twist, sounding at times like a more necro version of Panzerfaust era Darkthrone, with some seriously groovy tracks. The vocals are reminiscent of Nocturno Culto and a bit of Satyr, but grimmer and with a very eerie and haunting twist to them. This is something that just has to be heard.

If you're into early Gorgoroth, Darkthrone and the likes you'll certainly enjoy this album. Vultyr features members of Azaghal and Wyrd.

Standout tracks are "Evil Coming Winter" and "The Spectre and I".

Monday November 1 2004, by :Vragh:

Trelldom - 1999 - Til Et Annet...

This is Norwegian band Trelldom's second album, and what an album it is! The production is greatly improved from their first album. The songs are better arranged, and everything about this album just feels right. Gaahl, founder and only fulltime member, has really outdone himself here. This is very well executed, rather fast, harsh Black Metal with some even faster parts at times, and good sound to boot. Some similarities can be drawn to Gorgoroth, but that might not be so strange since Gaahl does the vocals in Gorgoroth as well.

I don't think I have heard anything that is really similar to this album. Something about the drums and the repetitive songstructures that work extremely well makes this album stand out from the crowd.
A perfect example of this is the song "Slave Til en Kommende Natt". Mutt, currently in Taake, handles the drums on this album, and his playing reminds me in a way of the drumwork by Fenriz on Darkthrone's Soulside Journey, although not as technical, mainly because the drums are used as a full instrument.  Strangely enough this release hasn't been nearly as well circulated as it deserves. This is one of the hidden gems of Black Metal. Gaahl is also a member of Gaahlskagg, Gorgoroth and Sigfader.

Standout tracks are "Slave Til en Kommende Natt", "Min Död til Ende", "Höyt Opp i Dypet" and "Sonar Dreyri".

Friday February 6 2004, by :Vragh:

Spektr - 2004 - Et Fugit Interea Fugit Irreparabile Tempus

Out of France comes this horde consisting of members from Haemoth and Battlehorns. On this their first album we are presented with eight tracks of industrial tinged mostly fast Black Metal, intense and unlike most others. This is quite an impressive first release.

Musically this is a bit similar to ideas from 666 International era Dødheimsgard in structure, but taken many steps further, with some parts Thorns added. I am also reminded of Gaahlskagg's Erotic Funeral, but that is mainly due to the intensity and the sound on this recording. Samples are used extensively throughout the album, and here are also parts sounding like soundtrack music. It is quite a
varied album, composition wise, with crushing speed and aggression one minute, which then flows into calmer parts and then gets back to crushing your bones once again.

The vocals remind me quite a lot of Ildjarn, with a hint of Filosofem era Burzum, earlier Immortal and some early Gorgoroth as well, for good measure.

The soundquality on this album is very sharp and clear. Everything seems to be on the same level here, the guitars with their sharp, lethal sound, the crushing drums and the possessed vocals form a wall of sound where you can still hear the details. This is an album where you're not entirely sure what's coming next. Most excellent! This is an album that works best if you play it from start to finish. This is among the elite bands, along with such acts as Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist
and Glorior Belli. Very highly recommended!

Standout tracks are "Reveal the Four Seals", "A Return to the Flesh", "Wizened Hand" and "Confusion/The Persistence (Ending Contakt)".

Wednesday October 15 2008, by :Vragh:

Skaur - 2005 - En Hymne til Dauden

Out of Norway comes this one man Black Metal band with a rerecording of a previous demo bearing the same name. This version has been rearranged to bring together the 4 tracks on the previous release into one long track, which works very well. The music is mid-paced to fast, slightly melodic,
rather epic and very aggressive Black Metal, with quite a few acoustic parts. Earlier Ulver comes to mind, as well as Kampfar and Gorgoroth, but with a big chunk of originality, which is not something you find every day in the Black Metal scene of today.

The vocals mostly remind me of the distorted snarls by Gaahl on the Destroyer album by Gorgoroth, though more raspy than guttural.

The soundquality of the recording is well above the regular demo sound, rather clear and yet comfortingly filthy. The different instruments can be heard in the mix, though the vocals and the guitar are slightly in the front of the mix. The production reminds me of Gorgoroth's earlier efforts, though this has a superior sound. This comes very highly recommended! The original demo is sold out, but this track is also available on the split with Riddle of Meander. I strongly urge you to check
 this out.

Thursday November 15 2007, by :Vragh:

Pyre - 2005 - Behold a Pale Horse

American Black Metal band Pyre offers us their first official release. Chaotic mid-paced, but mostly fast, slightly thrashing Black Metal is what we are presented with on this album. Musically I find a few De Mysteriis era Mayhem in some of the tracks, and some Ildjarn moments, in others. Judas Iscariot is something I hear in this too, as well as some very Thorns sounding basslines. Very interesting. A cover of Darkthrone's "En Vind av Sorg" is presented here, which they do rather well
I must say, considering that they're doing it in Norwegian!

The vocals sound a bit like those by Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot, mixed with Nocturno Culto, Maniac and, at times, Attila of Mayhem. Quite an interesting mix to hear.

The production is slightly murky and the bass is a bit unclear, which leads to a somewhat chaotic sound, as stated earlier, but this is something you get used to quickly. The production reminds me somewhat of Gorgoroth for some reason. Over all I must say that this is an album that shows a band with great potential. Well worth checking out, and don't forget to keep an eye on this band in the future.

Standout tracks are "The Torrents of Thamuz", "Devil Pig" (No, actually not a Von cover), "Ten and Forty Centuries" and "Behold a Pale Horse".

Friday December 2 2005, by :Vragh:

Orcustus - 2002 - Demo

Orcustus is a Norwegian Black Metal band with a few rather known names in the ranks. Tormentor (Gorgoroth, Gaahlskagg), Dirge Rep (Gehenna, Enslaved) and Infernus (Gorgoroth) are members of this band, along with newcomer Taipan. This demo is really great, retro Black Metal at its finest.
The soundquality and vocals give a feeling of classic 1992-93 era Black Metal with the vocals sounding reminiscent to those of Emperor on their split with Enslaved and Marduk on their Those of the Unlight album.

The music is midpaced to fast with influences from the Emperor part of the aforementioned Emperor / Enslaved split and early Gorgoroth. The last track, "Lucifuge Damnation", could very well have been from Zyklon-B's Blood Must be Shed MCD. This is very interesting, and the coming fullength, to be released probably towards the end of 2004, certainly is something to look forward to.

Two of the three tracks from this demo, "World Dirtnap" and "Death Becomes You", have also been released on a 7" by Southern Lords in 2003. Unfortunately both of these releases are sold out. Both the demo and the 7" were limited to 1000 copies.

Standout track is "Death Becomes You".

Thursday May 20 2004, 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:

Kroll - 2003 - Jesous Christos Ave Satani

Presented on this demo by Australian Black Metallers Kroll are 14 aggressive tracks. The intro is very haunting, taken from the Omen soundtrack, though not "Ave Satani". The music presented here is very much in your face, with fuzzy guitars and distorted vocals being in the front of the mix, with the drum machine being a bit in the background. Musically this is mid-paced ("Drink the Blood") to fast (the rest) Black Metal. This actually reminds me mostly of Gorgoroth's cover of Darkthrone's "Slottet i det Fjerne" off of their Destroyer album, with some early Manes parts here and there, but the chaotic song structures, the soundquality and the vocals are very similar to the Gorgoroth track. The second track, "Drink the Blood" has a nice Volkurah sound to it.

As mentioned earlier, a drum machine is used here, but fortunately it doesn't sound too mechanical. The sound is rather harsh, which gives the music an extra edge. At times this is rather monotonous, but there are many unexpected twists on this album, and the entirety of the demo feels very refreshing.

This release clocks in at close to 48 minutes, so it's unusually long for a demo. Well worth to check
out if you're into the more aggressive kind of Black Metal. Limited to 300 copies.

Standout tracks are "Drink the Blood", "Inverted Crucifix" and "Alas... Death is Near".

Monday November 8 2004, by :Vragh:

Gotmoor - 2005 - Pain Provider

Out of Belgium comes this Black Metal horde with their first fullength album, following their demo collection a few years ago. 17 tracks are presented on this disc (some of them being shorter interludes). The music is at times mid-paced, but mostly fast Black Metal reminding me of Watain and Funeral Mist, due to the chaotic feel to it, as well as Niden Div. 187 and Gorgoroth, which is a bit more descriptive of what the band sounds like.

The vocals remind me mostly of those by Ares of Aeternus but also of  those by Nacht previously of Goatlord Corp., consisting of Black Metal vocals with a slight Death Metal growl approach.

The production is slightly muffled and rather chaotic, with the vocals in focus and the drums slightly behind them. This is for sure an intense release. It took me a few listens to get into, which is usually a good thing. Releases that take a bit more time do tend to keep my interest longer, and I return to them more often.

Standout tracks are "Hate Addiction", "Lebensraum", "Family Man" and "Aftermath".

Thursday November 30 2006, by :Vragh:

Gast - 2004 - Gast

Swedish Black Metal horde Gast has presented us with a four track demo. Musically this is in the vein of Darkthrone and earlier Gorgoroth, crushing mid-paced to fast necro Black Metal, slightly towards the melodic, but with an added dose of Thrash in it. There is a great energy in the music, here.

The vocals consists mostly of hoarse, desperatesounding screams reminding me of Filosofem era
Burzum, for some reason (despite the fact that those are whispered rather than screamed), Arckanum and those on the earlier Gorgoroth releases.

The soundquality is raw and a bit chaotic, somewhat towards that of a rehearsal tape, although not quite as bad. The guitars are what you hear the most in the mix. The only thing to complain about are the effects at the beginning and the end of the two tracks in the middle. In fact, the demo would have been better, had they been left out.

Also, in the booklet they have the following text: "Mixed, rehearsed and recorded in 3 hours and 17 minutes. Up yours, Darkthrone!" in reference to Darkthrone's steatement on Hate Them - "Recorded and mixed at Pan lydstudio in 26 hours, December 2002." A little fun there.

Standout tracks are "Krig i Vinterland", "Jesuslakt Gastmakt" and "Förfall".

Saturday February 11 2006, by :Vragh:

Frozen Shadows - 1999 - Dans les Bras des Immortels

Here we have the first album by Canadian Black Metallers Frozen Shadows, an album well worth to check out. Aggressive northern style Black Metal with keyboards that are not used excessively. I find traces of earlier Emperor, Marduk and Ulver as well as Gorgoroth here, but this album actually reminds me mostly of Enslaved's second album Frost, and the vocals are very similar to Grutle's Black Metal vocals on that album.

The music is mostly fast, with the occasional midpaced parts. The soundquality on this album is also very similar to that on Frost. You can clearly hear the drums and the vocals, the bass is a bit muffled and the guitars are slightly in the back of the mix. Some longer tracks are on this album, clocking in at around 8-9 minutes each. These Canadians have actually managed to catch some of the Northern spirit that usually just is not present on so many albums.

Be sure to also check out their recently released second album, Hantises.

Standout tracks are "Dans les Bras Des Immortels", "Au Seuil des Tenebres" and "Lunes Funebres".

Tuesday June 22 2004, by :Vragh:

Blodulv - 2003 - Blodulv

Yet another Swedish band with a drum machine. What tends to annoy me, among other things,
with drum machines is the fact that the percussions sound exactly the same all the time, which just doesn't sound right, and at times the percussions on this album are indeed a bit annoying. Nevertheless this album is actually quite good. The guitarsound is very aggressive and the production is very good.

The music is midpaced with faster parts, actually sounding quite a lot like Norwegian Black Metal of the mid 90ies, somewhat in the vein of earlier Gorgoroth, but with a Swedish Black Metal twist to it.
The vocals are nicely distorted, reminding me a bit of Gaahl, but not sounding quite as full. This is their first album, but there's already a second album out, so they are quite productive.

Standout tracks are "Regulus - Peacemaker" and "Waffen Blodulv".

Sunday June 6 2004, by :Vragh: