Matricide - 2004 - Blasphemic Fire

Swedish Black Metal act Matricide has offered us seven tracks on this cassette, which is a re-release of their 2002 demo with three bonustracks added, including a Von cover. The music is mid-paced to fast and the first four tracks remind me of a tighter version of early Emperor and Sorhin. The vocals on this part sound very much like the vocals of Sorhin.

The bonus material shows some progress toward the newer Swedish Black Metal sound similar to the likes of Watain, Ondskapt and Funeral Mist, with the vocals sounding reminiscent of those of
Ondskapt. The first four tracks have a considerably worse soundquality than the bonustracks, the music can be heard somewhere in the distance, but the feeling in these tracks is just amazing.

Be sure to check out their recently released debut album Black Mass Gathering.

Standout tracks are "Blasphemic Fire" and "Seven Daemons".

Friday October 29 2004, by :Vragh:

Watain - 2004 - Casus Luciferi

Another one of the Swedish bands that have emerged from the dark depths have released their second album, the follow up to Rabid Death's Curse, and they have made great progress. The opening of this album is as much De Mysteriis as is possible, almost to the point of plagiarism. This does not last, but there are many De Mysteriis moments throughout this album, the bass in "Opus Dei (The Morbid Angel)" is another example. Some Shining moments are present on this album too, and the intro to the title track is very much Black Sabbath.

The soundquality has been greatly improved since their last album, and the heavy Death Metal influence that was prevalent on their debut isn't as much in your face here. Greatly improved soundquality doesn't mean perfect, since it was rather bad on Rabid Death's Curse, but it is rather good here, more treble oriented, with the guitars slightly in the foreground.

Overall this album is a lot more listenable than their first, mainly because of the improved soundquality and also a lot better material. They have also rerecorded "Puzzlez ov Flesh" for the album.  Watain plays fast Black Metal, just the way I like it.

Standout tracks are "Black Salvation", "I Am the Earth" and "The Golden Horns of Darash".

On a sidenote I find it strange that both Watain and Abruptum release an album with the exact same title only a few months apart.

Thursday May 20 2004, by :Vragh:

The Frost - 2006 - Damned and Forgotten

This Croatian outfit is back with a second demo. We are presented with five tracks, four of which are mid-paced to fast, slightly melodic Black Metal in the vein of early Ancient and Isvind, and an intro that sets a clear Ancient tone from the get go, with a small part Blood Axis in there.

The vocals here also remind me of those by Aphazel from Ancient, as well as of Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot fame, with some traces of Erik of Watain.

The soundquality is very good, as with the first demo, this does not sound like a demo recording at all. A drum machine is still utilized on this recording, which at times sounds a bit too plastic, but overall sounds quite ok. Compared to the previous release there is some progression here, when it comes to the overall sound and the drum machine. The material presented here also feels a bit fuller, somehow. Both demos have been collected on a single CD by Kerzakraum/Nerbilous Productions. I suggest you check it out.

Standout tracks are "In the Name of Eternal Darkness" and "Lost in the Valley of Death".

Monday November 27 2006, by :Vragh:

The Frost - 2005 - In Conspiracy With Nature

Out of Croatia comes this one man Black Metal band with a first demo. The music presented on these three tracks is slow to mid-paced, and at times even slightly melodic, Black Metal. Musically this reminds me of Long Voyage Back, Shining, Armagedda and Blodulv. A drum machine is utilized here, but it doesn't sound as bad as the average drum machine does.

The vocals sound like a mix of Graav of Armagedda, Erik of Watain and those of Grendel in Blodulv and are really well done, aggressive and angry, just as it should be.

The quality of the recording is really quite good, with a clear and full sound. This does not sound like an average demo recording, but rather as a professional album recording. Very impressive. I would strongly urge you to buy this demo. Limited to 120 copies.

Standout track is without a doubt the extremely good "...Where the Wolves Path Lead" with

its sound of the '90ies.

Saturday June 4 2005, by :Vragh:

Nightbringer - 2005 - Rex Ex Ordine Throni

Out of the United States comes this Black Metal act with a promo of their part of a split with Temple of Not, a band they share members with. This promo consists of 4 tracks of mid-paced to rather fast and slightly melodic, wellplayed Black Metal in the vein of Emperor and Carpathian Forest, with parts Watain and a less plastic sounding Limbonic Art at times, even. An interesting mix of Norwegian Black Metal with a slightly American sound.

The vocals remind me a bit of those in earlier Emperor, Ancient and Dark Funeral, but with a slight American sounding twist to them.

The production is a bit towards the thin, rather like the early days of the scene. The drums are what you hear most in the mix, with quite a De Mysteriis feel to the sound of the fills. There is also a keyboard present, which is more towards the front of the mix on the two last tracks. The use of the keyboard is the main similarity to Carpathian Forest. This has clear potential.

Standout tracks are "The Void" and "Mors Philosophorum".

Sunday January 14 2007, by :Vragh:

Interview with Mannevond of Koldbrann 2005

Norwegian Black Metal horde Koldbrann played at the pre-Infernoconcert in Drammen, Norway. :Vragh: caught up with vocalist Mannevond after the concert for a little chat about the past, the present and the future.

:Vragh:: So what's happening with the new material?

Mannevond: What's going on with it? We're currently recording 3 new songs for two seven-inchers,
which have been known for quite some time, too long, but things take time. Everything is coming along now at any rate, we have finished the bass.. No wait! Not the bass, the drums, vocals and the guitars are done. One of them is an EP with two songs, one of which we played here tonite, "Atomvinter" [Nuclearwinter]. The other is a split-seven inch with Faustcoven, quite a good doom-black band from Norway signed to Barbarian Wrath.

:V:: Similar to Furze?

M: No, not at all. Imagine Darkthrone mixed with Pentagram, something like that, very chic.

:V:: When is the new album coming out?

M: No we dare not divulge any date this time, you know what happens when we set one, we're waiting until we've finished a couple of songs, but we're hoping it'll be out by the end of the year, I don't dare be any more specific.

:V:: There was a reprint of your first album, recently. Was that remastered or edited in any way?

M: That's right. There are no bonustracks, or anything new at all, unfortunately. The only difference is probably the addition of lyrics.

:V:: Lyrics for all tracks?

M:  No, four tracks only. For collectors it could be mentioned that the cover is slightly different. And I could mention that it'll be out on vinyl finally.

:V:: And is there anything extra on the vinyl?

M: No.

:V:: ...or nothing new there either, no.

M: But at least there will finally be a vinyl!

:V:: On the German label Northern Silence?

M: That's right. We've had a lot of offers about releasing it on vinyl, but we wanted to wait until we found a label that we would keep working with, then they could release both the CD and the vinyl, but as things go, despite everything we licensed it to a label that had previously asked to press it, so it could have been out 18 months ago on the same label.

:V:: As I understand it, you've had good reviews and an overall good response to your album?

M: It's been surprisingly good actually, we really hadn't expected it. It's pretty funny, the album is two years old and we still get reviews as it's reprinted, and it's still getting good critique, and that's
always nice.

:V:: Is the current lineup the same as on the album?

M: No. There's three of us, well we're essentially the core of the band, I guess you could say, there's been problems with bassist and second guitarist, people have come and gone, it's difficult to find people who aren't already involved in a hundred other bands, and that don't have that real feeling and dedication. But now it's working out great, we've had the same lineup for a year.

:V:: Considering sideprojects, is anyone of you involved in any sideprojects?

M: Yeah, the drummer Fordervelse has been playing a bit with Slavia, I'm not sure if you've heard of them.

:V:: Sure, he [Slavia] played on your album.

M: Yeah I've no idea what the fuck is happening there, it's all moving so slowly. He's my roommate that man.

:V:: But he's probably busy with Disiplin. [Note: Disiplin guitarist Drakul Azacain has since kicked out all other bandmembers since they weren't members of MLO.]

M: Yep. That's right. It's been slow with Slavia but he's [Fordervelse] still playing on with his things. There was talk of him playing drums on the next Vulture Lord album. Chic old-school death metal with some members from Urgehal among others. There's not much more to be said really.

:V:: You haven't been at it for long have you?

M: No we started in 2001, so four years now, three years with the old lineups.

:V:: And then an album after two years?

M: Ah yes, it's gone fast, very rapidly, maybe a little too quick.

:V:: No plans for any extensive touring?

M: Fuck no, we really have to finish recording the new album, there'sbeen far too many concerts lately, but when you get an offer, it's just really hard to say no. There's one more concert planned, in

Fredrikstad with Myrkskog, and there will be some festivals in Germany, but the rest of the time we'll spend concentrating on the new album, it's just about time.

:V:: There's an awful lot of touring in Germany among scandinavian bands it seems, I assume black metal is pretty big there...

M: Ye-ees..

:V:: ...despite them being german.

M: Oh yeah, Watain and Dissection were touring at the same time as us, we almost followed in their footsteps, every place we arrived at there were Watain stickers, it was like, OK! They were here three days ago! Fucking awesome band by the way.

:V:: To finish up, a standard question; What do you listen to?

M: Heh, well that's a lot really. Good ole black metal, DHG,  Mysticum, those types of bands. Of course it's more norse, oldschool-norse, but Sweden has a fucking copious amount of good bands now, Craft, Arckanum, Watain, I could probably ramble on for half an hour, Grand Belial's Key has to be mentioned. I listen to other genres aswell, crust like Skitsystem and similar, it's just so good. It's important for me to not limit myself within black metal, it quickly becomes boring. Like, metal and extreme-metal as a base, but there's so much else you have to catch on to.

This concludes the interview. It should be mentioned that halfway through, the proprietor of the establishment wanted to kick us out as he was closing, however, confronting him with an official look of importance and mention of interviewing, quickly shut him up, and kept him coming back for a seemingly small part of this piece. So here it is.

Also, I love germans, you're just so easy to make fun of.

-:Vragh:

Interview conducted Wednesday March 23 2005, by :Vragh:

Translated into English from the Norwegian and Swedish languages.

Haemophilia - 2006 - Demo 2006

Out of Sweden comes this Black Metal horde with their first demo. 4 tracks of well executed mid-paced to fast, slightly melodic blastbeating Black Metal with a slight twist of Death Metal from time to time is what we get here. There are some interesting ideas in the music here. There is a distinct Swedish sound to this release. This reminds me of the newer Swedish bands like Ondskapt, Watain and Chaos Omen. Quite interesting.

The vocals sound like a hoarser version of early Quorthon of Bathory, with added reverb and not as highpitched. Also slightly like Graav on the earlier Armagedda releases.

The soundquality is very good, well above the usual demo quality. Every instrument can be clearly heard in the mix, with a slight focus on the drums and the vocals. Over all a very enjoyable demo. This is a band that, if given time, can go far. They have since changed their name to Orcivus. Limited to just 50 copies, so act fast!

Standout tracks are "Interitus" and "Corpus Ferrugineum".

Monday November 27 2006, 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:

Frozen Shadows - 2004 - Hantises

Here we have the second assault from this Canadian Black Metal horde. We had to wait for 5 years for this release, but it was well worth the wait. 8 tracks of blistering fast Black Metal with the occasional slower and heavier parts is what we are presented with here. As with their first album, this
sounds very Nordic and it is nice to hear that some bands can still get that special old sound. Musically I would say that this reminds me of the newer school of bands, like Watain and Ondskapt as well as older Immortal, Enslaved and the old side project Zyklon-B, with members of Emperor, Satyricon and Dødheimsgard.

The vocals remind me mostly of those by Grutle of Enslaved, mainly because they sound as insane as the ones he did on the Frost album. If you've heard that album you know what I'm talking about.

The soundquality is very good. The drums and the vocals are what you hear most in the mix, but the guitars are not far behind. I must say that I really do enjoy this album. A keyboard is utilized at times on this album as well, but as with their previous album they're used sparsely. Good musicianship and good production gets us a real good album. I would strongly urge you to get this album. If you're lucky you might even find the limited edition of this album with their demo as a bonus cd.

Standout tracks are "As Old as Time Itself", "Des Siecles d'Epitaphes", "Battered Souls" and "Towards the Chambers of Nihil".

Monday November 27 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:

Angst - 2003 - Divine Wrath

Swedish Black Metallers Angst have some really raw and catchy riffs here. On this release Angst were forced to utilize a drum machine, since the drummer suffered a knee injury. I am not that fond of drum machines, but this one isn't as in your face as many can be, and the guitars cover up the more inorganic sounds of it. On the forthcoming 7" a new drummer has been added to the ranks, which will be very interesting to hear.

Presented on this promo are four tracks, and they sound like Swedish Black Metal of today. Slightly catchy, a good production, some parts remind me of Watain other parts remind me of Shining. Not bad at all. Mostly midpaced to faster Black Metal here, with some slower parts and some Metal influences as well.

The production is good and clear. The vocals remind me a bit of those of Carpathian Forest and earlier Marduk. A new album is to be recorded in 2004.

Standout tracks are "The Aeon of Genocide" and "Deathraped".

Tuesday May 25 2004, by :Vragh:

Acrimonious - 2006 - Broken Bonds of Balance 7"

Out of Greece comes this Black Metal band with a promo of an upcoming 7" containing 2 tracks of mid-paced to fast, Swedish and French sounding Black Metal. The material presented here reminds me of both Watain and Deathspell Omega, really, and is just slightly melodic. You can hear a distinct progress since their Perdition Gospel demo here. The material is harsher and sharper.

The vocals remind me quite a lot of those by Erik of Watain.

The soundquality is quite good, and has improved since their demo as well. Slightly murky sound, but that is something at least I enjoy. You mostly hear the guitars and the vocals with the drums ever so slightly further back in the mix. The production reminds me slightly of that on Mayhem's De Mysteriis dom Sathanas and Watain's Casus Luciferi. Both the tracks presented here impressed me, I must say. I am most definitely keeping track of this band, and so should you!

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh: