There’s a good reason why fantasy books and movies are so popular, in that they provide a means to escape our normal lives and dive deep into another world where the events don’t have long-lasting implications on our real lives. Like, fuck, we have a potentially terrifying election coming up this year, and I’ll need every distraction possible in order to keep my head straight as fire rains.

Louisville-based black metal band Volcandra know this very well, and during their run they have plied their thunderous music with fantasy elements designed to both destroy your senses and give you some time to get out of the real world. Early heavy metal always has had its sword in magical and mythical adventures, and the band—vocalist Dave Palenske, guitarists River Jordan and Jamie DeMar, bassist Andrew Casciato, drummer Mike Hargrave—goes in full bore on their second record “The Way of Ancients,” electrifying their music and your experience, which always helps after you’ve consumed the fucking news.

“Birth of the Nephalem” slowly dawns from the darkness before a melodic assault gets under way, the growls gutting as the playing gets uglier. A fiery solo begins to gut as the riffs sprawl, the power scrapes, and the growls crush mercilessly. “Fouled Sanctity” is bruising as the vocals punish, the playing splattering as the blood flows. Leads twist as the pace shifts, trudging as things get more evil sounding, slashing and drawing lava from the earth.   “Nemesis Confession” starts with icy keys, and then the detonation strikes, black metal fury tangling, the tempo driving slowly but steadily. The playing tangles before things gets faster and deadlier, the power destroys, and the shrieks do damage, leaving you lying in ash. “Maiden of Anguish” delivers a guitar blur before the hammers strike, the growls mar, and the leads tingle. Gazey melodies pull you under and make blood surge, devastating and leaving behind destruction.

“Seven Tombs” start mystically, clean guitars drizzling before the carnage arrives. The playing is fast and brutal, a noticeable increase in intensity, group shouts rousing and making the ground quake, forceful blasts crushing to the end. “The Blackened Temple” blisters and zaps, tornadic terror making its presence felt, destroying with a fervor that’s impressive to behold. The pace trudges before the soloing melts, delivering melodies laced in thorns, ending in brutality. “Not Even Death” has stinging, bruising guitars that eventually work into a lather, and then the growls darken the scene, curdling your stomach. Acoustics wash in to add some cooler air to the heatwave, the playing explores the skies, and delicate guitars return to wash away the pain. Closer “The Way of Ancients” starts cleanly and proggy, and then the pace picks up and storms, melodic leads firing and increasing the sense of adventure. That fades into a cold front where the guitars murmur, and rustic storms pick up before the explosion rips out walls. The playing continues to rampage as everything fades into delicate shades, slowly fading into mystical clouds.

Having an escape from reality, especially the one in which we’re ensconced, always is something we can embrace, and Volcandra continually answer the bell when it comes to giving us something into which we can disappear. “The Way of Ancients” is another chapter that takes on a fantasy adventure into a melodic black metal storm that actually feels fun to experience. This is a great record for when you want to hear something devastating and don’t want to walk away sullen and depressed. This one does the opposite!

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Volcandra

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://prostheticrecords.com/

When thinking about monsters, it’s easy for your mind to go to some fictional creature that may or may not be living under our beds or in our closets. Instead, there are real forces among us every day who we perceive as beasts. Sometimes it’s a very easy accusation to make with evidence to back it up, while others are open to interpretation depending on your own thoughts and viewpoints.

Los Angeles-based doom power Stygian Crown tackle that very idea on their great second record “Funeral for a King,” a nine-track, 44-minute offering of traditional doom that goes heavier than most of the bands in their corner of the world. The band—vocalist Melissa Pinion, guitarists Nelson Miranda and Andy Hicks, bassist Eric Bryan, drummer Rhett Davis—tackles the idea of monsters among us, those from history, and others from mythology and gives a chance for these beings to be viewed in different ways. Musically, there are tenets of death metal laced into the band’s deep cauldron of doom, and Pinion’s singing and lyrical content create a backbone for this record, one that hopefully puts their name into more people’s brains.

The title track opens, and it’s a rousing instrumental cut, muddy and chugging, ideally setting the stage for what’s to come, burning off into “Bushido.” The track centers in Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese solider unaware WWII had ended. The track makes your heart pump, Pinion’s commanding singing making things move as she calls, “I’m ready to die fighting for my kind, I’m the last alive, honor be my guide.” The soloing keeps ramping up the temperature, bringing things to a blistering end. “Scourge of the Seven Hills” is cold and sludgy, the singing soaring, doom bells ringing and pulsating. The leads are balmy and warm, and Pinion’s singing bellows, with everything ending in a steam bath. “Let Thy Snares Be Planted” is a gothy, shadowy interlude, strings glazing, the orchestral winds whipping through your hair. “The Bargain” drags a pall, strings riveting, the driving force taking over and pushing through your chest. “I’ll grant you the key to rise from this cell, your life for my power, you’ve bargained well,” Pinion calls as the mauling takes hold. The guitars go off as things get muddier, the playing bruises, and Pinion wails, “ Wash away your shame, time’s running short, cast the blame on me.”

“Where the Candle Always Burns” opens with smearing riffs, more aggression, and raspier singing. The chugging gets heavier and weightier, and then the soloing cuts through, a blade through bone, the playing tangling as Pinion calls, “Life, force, cut, short, pray for endless sleep.” “Blood Red Eyes” enters as keys drip, strings blare, and the pace is a little slower and ramps up the emotion. The playing is cold and murky, a beam of elegance just burning through the cloud cover, the singing feeling huskier and powerful. As the song goes on, the sadness and pain multiplies, everything coming to a gloomy end. “Beauty and Terror” is bruising from the start, the singing pushing harder, the playing getting burlier as the temperature spikes. “Best me and you shall win the throne,” Pinion declares, “I’m the deliverer, sword of the titans, here at the gates you die alone,” as smoking doom obscures the senses. The guitars soar as the playing plasters, the charge reignites, and the final moments fade into dust. Closer “Strait of Messina” feels properly Sabbathy, the power flexing its muscles, Pinion wailing, “I fight for my father, creator of the tides.” Everything here feels epic and dramatic, the guitars rip through, and the vibe feels misty and fantastical. The guitars then get to dueling, all sides pulling and creating tension, giving off a Maiden-like vibe as Pinion declares, “Your crew none the wiser as evil draws nigh, six snapping heads descend from the sky.” Chilling end to a scorching record.

Stygian Crown’s examination of monsters and how perspectives can impact how they’re perceived is an interesting one that’s made even more impactful by these nine incredible songs. Taking “Funeral for a King” on its music alone means you’re in for a beastly serving of doom that’s equal parts traditional and sharp in a modern sense, a collection that’s easy to revisit to fully absorb. This is a massive, mighty display from a band that’s in full command of their sound and message, and they’re a force with which to be reckoned.  

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/stygiancrown

To buy the album, go here: https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/

Nature is basically undefeated. Sure, not everyone who faces a massive natural disaster such as a hurricane or a tornado or a flood dies, but no one scores any points against it. There constantly are forces beyond our control that can do us in at any moment, and there’s nothing we can do other than try to survive and pick up the pieces.

Long-running black metal force Borknagar always have held nature in high regard, but maybe never more so than they do on their great 13^th record “Fall.” Here, the band—vocalist/bassist ICS Vortex, clean vocalist/keyboardist Lars A. Nedland, guitarists Øystein G. Brun and Jostein Thomassen, drummer/percussionist Bjørn Dugstad Rønnow—not only pays tribute but acknowledges the struggle many face when trying to measure up to a force larger than us all. “Fall” also is a season of change and decay, another sign that we are temporary, and one day we, too, will fall to a beast we cannot overcome.

“Summits” wooshes open, the guitars dripping as a wild gust swallows everything. Shrieks crush over the verses, and then the soaring clean singing injects progressive energy, bringing surging, exciting power. Things go cosmic as moody guitars take off, slipping into a dreamy aura. “Nordic Anthem” is rousing and, well, anthemic, spirited singing punching, the rustic elements giving off folk pride. “We bow our heads to nothing but our past,
our breath is cold, we know our history will last,” Nedland calls, great fire spitting, making your heart race as everything bleeds away. “Afar” opens with warm guitars before things begin to chug, the keys surge, and glorious melodies lather with energy. Shrieks strike as they strengthen their grip, prog-style keys blazing and making your blood race, the drums plastering. A giant gust comes out of that, picking you up on a wave, landing you with force on the ground. “Moon” begins charging, keys drizzling, the singing pumping as every element comes to life. The leads melt before the soloing takes over, muscular singing stinging the senses, disappearing into a stormfront.

“Stars Ablaze” has a clean open with rushing singing and airy synth, making a pillowy landing for when the roars arrive. Singing sweeps as the shrieks rip, the guitars bring more heat, and out of an immersive sequence comes ravenous thunder, the strong guitar work dissolving into the sky. “Unraveling” starts with keys bursting, the pace pulled back a bit, and then shrieks exploding with energy. The dual vocals mix and add to the accumulating drama, then the shrieks go demonic, bringing the track to a daring and emotional end.
“The Wild Lingers” enters amid humid guitars, singing spilling, and the steam thickening and rising. The chorus quakes the earth as symphonic glory spreads, the singing bellows, and a fantastical sweep captures minds. Closer “Northward” is balmy at first, but it isn’t long until molten rock flows, fiery howls rattle cages, and a fiery assault pulls into the lead. The shrieks rain down before the playing grows colder and reflective, the singing soothes, and the chorus crushes, everything ending in a synth haze.

Nature is a force that cannot be conquered, and we are at its mercy if we want to simply survive. Borknagar’s breathtaking progressive black metal addresses that truth with great power and heart on “Fall,” a record that respects its subject matter and pays off the strength that is holds. This is a great-sounding album, another step into a similar sonic territory as “True North” but that holds its own unique qualities, making it music that’s bound to stick in minds through every passing season.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/borknagarofficial

To buy the album, go here: https://centurymedia.store/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.centurymedia.com/

Being a big fan of regional mythology, it’s always exciting when a band comes around that dresses their music in the tales of their homeland. It’s both continuing one of metal’s great tenets to put these stories to music and also gives dorks like me a reason to retreat to the internet to learn things I ordinarily would not have had I not encountered said band.

Scottish duo Hand of Kalliach fall deeply into that category, and their new record “Corryvreckan” sends you headlong into their country’s folk tales, namely the legend of the Cailleach. She lives at the bottom of a whirlpool that gives us our album title, and depending on who tells you the tale, it either can be a positive story or one of great horrors. That dichotomy aligns with the members’—husband/wife vocalist/guitarist/drummer John, and vocalist/bassist Sophie—vocal stylings. Sophie has the more delicate melodic voice, while John shrieks and growls with devastating effects. They also weave melodic death metal in a similar vein as Amon Amarth where things are brutal, but there’s so much infectious fire cooked into the songs, you can’t help but get swept away by this album.

“Three Seas” opens with waves crashing and Sophie’s angelic vocals coating with mystery, synths pumping, the drama about to break. The track erupts, and John’s howls crush, the pace getting melodic but more muscular. Howls whip as the waters splash, everything dissolving into a folkish pocket. “Fell Reigns” is fiery and rustic, trudging and mauling with ferocity, the dreamy singing/bloody growling playing dueling roles. The playing sweeps and makes blood surge, a swell of power crawling and then sprinting, lathering with energy that jolts your adrenaline to spike. “Dìoghaltas” instantly lays waste, Sophie’s singing floating in the clouds, the relentless chaos rippling down spines. Once again, both voices mix and bring brutality and beauty, the music then plinking as the mists rise, fading into the cold. “Cirein-cròin” is beastly and heavy, destroying amid massive blows, trudging as the synth glistens brightly. Howls land punches, melodic calls rampage through the woods, keys drizzling on a hazy end.

“Deathless” piles up the riffs, plastering as the roars crush with force, and then the singing infects, making it feel like you’re ensconced in a fantasy. Yet, the sonic ugliness takes precedence, pushing into your ribs like a blade, the deathly assault ending in dust. “The Hubris of Prince Bhreacan” basks in humidity, Sophie’s singing rising above the heat, and then the growls sinking in their teeth. Sophie’s vocals reach a register higher as the lava begins to flow, the drama suddenly thickens, and folkish melodies usher in a calming ending. “Unbroken You Remain” is sludgier, the howls blasting, the singing glistening as the energy begins to swell. The track sounds like a battle anthem, riveting forces into the chaos, the anthemic chorus driving the attack, soaring off into adventurous waters. “The Cauldron” enters in glowing synth before the playing explodes, meaty death metal pounding away, even as Sophie’s singing soothes some of those wounds. The duo hits everything head on, bringing storming ferocity, jarring punishment, and an abrupt end to a short, satisfying track. Closer “Of Twilight and the Pyre” opens with plucked strings and Sophie’s singing haunting, a misty and numbing pace setting out what seems like it’ll be a fantastical journey. And it is, but it also has plenty of thorns and daggers. The playing blasts and wrenches, crushing with sickening fashion, the sounds washing through as the howls strengthen their grip. Strings glaze as the growls destroy, and then we slip back into chilling waters, the singing numbing, slipping out into echoes.

Hand of Kalliach’s mix of death metal and Gaelic folk on “Corryvreckan” might not be unique in concept, but their execution of this sound is what makes them more interesting and devastating. The mythology mixed into the record adds even more adventure to the pulsating waves, and even besides all of that, it’s an exciting collection that explodes with power from front to back. This can take your mind out of whatever doldrums in which it’s entrenched and give you a reason to get lost in metal’s power all over again.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/HandOfKalliach

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://prostheticrecords.com/

How surprised would you be to wake up tomorrow morning and find yourself in the midst of a post-apocalyptic world, your life completely undone, and survival is something that doesn’t come naturally. Yeah, not sure how you slept through that, though I get it. I’m a heavy sleeper. How do you proceed? Do you give up? Do you make the best of a horrible situation and try to scrape by no matter what?

Guiltless is a new project that brings together members of bands such as A Storm of Light, Battle of Mice, Generation Vipers, and Intronaut, and their debut EP “Thorns” imagines a world that follows a society that follows a mass extinction event and what follows. Yeah, it’s bleak, and if you look at that list of other bands in which its members are involved, you have a good idea of what to expect here sonically. The band—vocalist/guitarist/noise master Josh Graham, guitarist/noise maker Dan Hawkins, bassist Sacha Dunable, drummer Billy Graves—immerses you in darkness and chaos, bringing along with them a doom-infested, post-metal assault that isn’t run of the mill and feels like a gathering a subgenre powers looking for new ways to expand this sound into a world on the brink of collapse.

“Devour Collide” dawns amid thick fog and sludge, gruff howls turning into full-throated cries, the heaviness rumbling the Earth beneath you. Sounds scorch and pulverize, menacing and bludgeoning, Graham wailing, “Devour! Collide!” as the power finally dissolves. “All We Destroy” brings atmospheric pressure, battering as the vocals corrode, bringing total devastation. Sounds ache as scathing howls ripple with energy, leveling with weighty chaos, delivering a calculated beating on its way out. “Dead-Eye” opens in decay, pained howls leaving bruising that cuts deep, the synth storm coming to a head. The might is punishing, slowly crushing with enormous gravity, a doomy cloud cover blanketing everything with darkness. Closer “In Radiant Glow” is immersed in noise buzz, moody playing stretching, growls dragging you over hot coals. The tone is ominous and violent, drubbing mercilessly, bringing insurmountable pressure, the sounds ricocheting, guitars dropping the final curtain.

Picking up the pieces of a global extermination isn’t the far-fetched idea it might have seemed at one time, and Guiltless plaster those harrowing ideas all over their debut EP “Thorns.” You can feel it packed into these four songs and in the heaviness both musically and lyrically, and nothing is bound to feel the same when it’s all over. This is but a start for this band, and already they have set the bar high, the mood violently low, and where they morph from here only can live in our imaginations until that time comes.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/guiltlessband

To buy the album, go here: https://neurotrecordings.merchtable.com/?

For more on the label, go here: https://www.neurotrecordings.com/

There are videos all over the internet where you can watch people taking very dangerous chances in order to gain some kind of clout, only to fail spectacularly and pay the ultimate price. Sure, it’s sad seeing people spend their final moments in incredibly violent fashion, but it’s something that easily could have been avoided by, you know, not doing the thing that led to their demise.

Seeing life slip from one’s grasp is the main inspiration behind German black metal power Farsot’s new record “Life Promised Death,” one of their most varied creations to date. Over seven tracks and 51 minutes, the band—vocalist X.XIX, guitarists III.XXIII and I.XVI, bassist/keyboard player XX.VIII, drummer/percussionist XIX.XVII—does their most exploration yet, digging into the numerous means in which people and their lives can be separated. Some of these acts are ones of hubris, others are things that wear away at mental health, still others brought on by selfishness, making it seem like a deserved end.

“Nausea” opens in static, snarling before kicking into gear, throwing psychic punches as the shrieks crush your gaze. Keys glaze as clean singing enters the mix, the feeling heading into atmospheric range, vile howls landing before hitting its end point. “Buoyant Flames” is daring and tornadic, the vocals digging under fingernails, guitars racing and making blood pump. The singing coats with warmth, acoustics mix into the chaos, and a thrashy burst increases the drama. Keys drip as the howls sicken, going dreamy and rustic, settling amongst the stars. “Into Vertigo” starts with speaking swirling, then shrieks arriving with great weight, fantastical playing adding a gust of adrenaline. Sounds breeze even as fiery playing increases the heat, guitars glide, and the singing swells. The tempo surges as howls slice through bone, clean notes wash through the electricity, and everything slowly fades.

“Chimera” starts gently, the singing inviting the darkness before turning into shrieks, spacey jolts activating cells. The playing is airy and exciting, acoustics explode, and whispery words drizzle the ground, setting off to ghostly heights. “Stray Dogs” lights up with strong riffs and purposely monotone singing, progressive fires spreading as the voices warble. The pace trudges as throaty howls ignite, singing slinking in behind the carnage, giving off an essence that reminds of vintage Voivod, disappearing into noise. “Descent” permeates the senses, X.XIX wailing, “Why does this happen? What has happened to this place?” Growls retch as a vibrant pace lights up the sky, breezing into progressive waters, growing more propulsive by the second. Acoustics then lean in, washing away the dust. Closer “Lost Momentum” blasts open, growls marring, the calculated pace detaching you from reality. The playing soars and then trudges, howls scrape rust from the walls, the drums punishing your body. Sounds splatters as keys glimmer, the pressure building in your chest and brain, the final moments finally letting up and bringing rest.

“Life Promised Death” not only is a sobering statement on its own, but it thematically powers this record and makes the messages contained within even more powerful. Along the way, Farsot have grown as a unit and spread their progressive and avantgarde powers into their music that has grown in leaps and bounds. This likely is not a record you visit every day; it might be better for situational listening when your mind is aligned to our finite existence and you need a medium to get you into the proper mind frame.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/farsot.official

To buy the album, go here: http://lnk.spkr.media/life-promised-death

For more on the label, go here: https://us.prophecy.de/

Over death metal’s more than three decades of miserable existence, it’s gone through more changes and shifts than most metallic subgenres. From the early days in the gutters and swamps to the technical explosions to the progressive flex into mind-altering territories, there are so many ways to play death metal that the possibilities are limitless.

When it comes to Oregon death metal crushers Petrification, they have their boots entrenched deeply in the mud and bloodied roots of the early days. On their beastly second record “Sever Sacred Light,” the band—vocalist Jason Barnett, guitarists WarVest and David Pruitt, bassist Nukes, drummer Mario Thunder—digs deep into the most brutal and punishing territories imaginable, feeling like the proper band to pick up the war hammer Bolt Thrower left behind. On these eight tracks, you’re put to the test, squeezed for all the life you have left in you, your face bloodied from the assault. Yet, it’s a satisfying ache, one that scratches an itch you didn’t know you had until you heard this record.

“Twisted Visions of Creation” opens cold and twisted, guitars burning, Barnett’s brawny growls cracking through chest cavities, reminding a lot of Karl Willetts. The pace is punishing and constantly re-engages, dragging you face-first through the dirt. “Oneiric Obscurum” brings boiling guitars that simmer in doomy death, decimating with gigantic riffs and rumbling bass. The lower end of this track is muscular as hell, chugging and destroying, ending abruptly. “Temporal Entrapment” smashes and batters, throaty howls laying waste, the playing tearing you apart limb from limb. The pace then spatters, roaring with speed until the pace pulls back and ends in mystical fog. “Cadaverous Delirium” simmers in blood as strange speaking chills, hypnotic gasses turning into a burst of chaos. The playing crushes and batters, howls scar, and then the guitars go off the edge, the menace thickening, hammering away at prone bodies until only goo and ground flesh remain.

“Sepulchral Lesions” runs at a slower pace, but it’s no less heavy as the bruising sets in deep, doomy leads swagger, and the power is sinewy. The growls add pressure as the playing lathers in balmy madness, coming back with a final burst that’s sooty and devastating. “Seething Cosmological Dread” is ashen and jolting, blood blazing the walls, a ruthless, savage attack that goes for the throat. The guitars layer as the muscular texture thickens and rises, going for broke as the pace stampedes, ending in vicious horror. “Transmissions of the Unseen” opens with synth heat spiraling, the leads snaking and exploding, destroying everything in its wake. “Evil will prevail! It exists within!” Barnett howls as the pace pulls back and forth, the guitars smoke, and everything slithers into hell. Closer “The Hourglass Dissolves” opens with gruff howls, decimating terror, and soaring guitars that char flesh. The force is ominous, the guitars glazing and intoxicating, exploding with planetary pull, blinding and echoing, tearing off into oblivion.

“Sever Sacred Light” feels like a record that could have landed in 1994 and been right at home, yet here we are 30 years later, and it fans the flames of old-school death metal that’s come to the forefront. But this isn’t worship music; it’s a slab of the good stuff that Petrification mine and make as deadly as possible. This is massive and mangling, a death metal attack that puts meat on your bones and terror in your heart.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/petrificationdm/

To buy the album, go here: https://www.svartrecords.com/en/product/petrification-sever-sacred-light/11973

For more on the label, go here: https://www.svartrecords.com/en

Doom metal wasn’t really designed to be pretty. Scary, unsettling, fucking evil? Sure, all of those things apply to that subgenre that crawled from the darkness half a century ago. But it never was a style of music that was meant to be widely palpable, something that brought assholes together with cheap light beer and high fives. This is supposed to pound in your head, make you bow your head in sorrow, and worship the riff.

York, Pa., pounders Cultic have mastered the ideal of doom being both something that makes your bones shake and a form of art that doesn’t have an ounce of beauty. We’d have it no other way, and the band is back with a stellar new EP “Seducer” that feels like it is burying your head in a cavern of fuzz and power. The band—vocalist/guitarist Brian Magar, drummer Rebecca Magar, bassist Andrew Harris—released this collection last year, but Crucial Blast stepped in to give it expanded treatment with adding on the songs from the “Prowler” demo as well as some live cuts, which makes for a generously served, brutal collection. These songs combine primal doom with soundscapes from old B sci-fi and barbarian movies and mix them into a satisfying, punishing serving.

The title track is the first of two new songs, and as anyone with knowledge of the band would expect, it’s sooty and dripping with dank basement water. The synth breaks through a noxious cloud as wild howls punch, and the metallic burst smears your face with blood. The chugging bathes in reverb, lurching and smashing as cries and cackles melt your face, and then guitars let loose and increase the smoke cloud, lashing out into the cold darkness. “Seduced” revels in synth beams and a strange aura before the muddy pounding takes over, beastly howls coming at you like a runaway boulder down a hillside. A monstrous force puffs its chest, blistering hell leaves welts, and the final moments bury you in the dirt. The demo version of “Seduced” follows, and it sinks ever further into dream-inducing keys, swimming through a fantasy mist that is a precursor to the grim, beastly assault. Doomy echoes crackle in the sky, organs glaze, and Magar’s wild howl of, “You are seduced!” jams a hammer into your chest. The expanded release also includes “Cruel Orders” and “Prowler” from the 2017 “Prowler” demo, which is nice to have tacked onto this, important building blocks that led to “High Command” and “Of Fire and Sorcery.” Then live cuts of “The Conqueror” and “Seducer” give you a raw, punishing sample of what this battalion is like in the flesh, where you’re sure to walk away bruised and deafened.

“Seducer” is both a fitting introduction for newcomers to Cultic’s magic and a meaty tide-over release for their upcoming third full-length album. This band is a crushing unit, but it’s also different than a lot of other modern doom machines in that they’re hypnotic and nearly suffocating in the best possible way. This is as mighty an EP as you’re going to find anywhere and a promise that the future is barbaric and physically unforgiving.   

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/culticband/

To buy the album, go here: https://crucialblastshop.net/album.php?ID=10046

For more on the label, go here: https://www.crucialblast.net/

It’s strange to look at the sky at night and realize the stars you’re seeing emitted that light eons ago. There are worlds we’ll never see, never hope to visit, and what is illuminating the overnight hours might not even be there any longer. The universe is so vast, that who knows what lurks beyond, in the reaches no human ever could hope to traverse?

Swiss cosmic black metal trio Darkspace also cannot physically go to these places, though the music they’ve made over a quarter century of existence might make you think otherwise. They’ve been silent for the past decade, taking universal sojourns in their heads, and now they’ve returned with their fifth full-length record “Darkspace – II.” At 47:12, it’s their shortest album by far and the first that’s comprised of just a single track. The band—guitarist/vocalist Wroth (also of Paysage d’Hiver), guitarist/vocalist Yhs, bassist/vocalist Zhaaral—creates a dreamscape of an adventure, a track that settles into your brain and makes you able to envision these mysterious pockets, chilling your mind and body.

“Dark -2.-2” starts like a strange transmission reaching out from well beyond our galaxy, a woman’s voice warbling, something that snakes through the entire 47-minute song. Pressure builds as the voice continues to worm into your brain, drudging through a hypnotic sheen as the drum programming belts, gushing energy, the beams frying. A synth cloud surrounds as the growls curdle, the atmospheric trauma settling in, zapping and cooling, sometimes pulling way back, entering a dreamlike vortex. Growls retch as the spaciness grows sooty, the keys washing down like a great wave, the playing chugging and trudging as the alien strength builds. The keys get murky just as things grow more dramatic and regal, soaring past worlds, lathering with power, driving with more force into the distance, swarming with majesty that sounds like it’s about to break. The mesmerizing powers cascade, beats circulate, and the faceless voice returns, disappearing into the ice.

Darkspace inhabit a universe all their own, and “Darkspace – II” continues their mission into the coldest, most isolated stretches of the great beyond to witness an existence we can’t even imagine. As a several-movement singular piece, the band is demanding your attention, and they’re likely to get it with their all-immersive approach to cosmic black metal. The decade-long wait was more than worth it, and this album is further proof that this three-headed beast is operating on a level no mere mortal can realize.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.darkcyberspace.com/

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/band/darkspace

Or here: https://shop.season-of-mist.com/list/darkspace-dark-space-ii

For more on the label, go here: https://www.season-of-mist.com/

We write about tons of bands every year, and the amount of them that we deem as having promise is too numerous to count. That also makes it sound like the band or artist isn’t doing great work yet, which isn’t necessarily the case. It just means there is something there that could push the band into rarified territory if they keep adding to their foundation and find a formula that truly puts them over the top.

Black metal force Hulder is one of those, a project helmed by its namesake and creator that has been on the cusp of true greatness. That level has arrived with the band’s second full-length “Verses in Oath,” an album that captures the spirits of the style’s formative years three decades ago but that burns and bleeds right now, culling current influences and the power of nature into the project as well. This 10-track, 40-minute opus is a fantastical wonder, fully alive in black metal glory and adding more frigid symphonic elements to the music that give the album an extra level of enchantment. Hulder handles vocals, guitars and synth, and her voice goes deeper here, giving a bloodier, raw feel to her expression. She’s joined by bassist Necreon and drummer CK on a record that pays off that promise we knew she had inside of her and now has fully realized on this amazing collection.

“An Elegy” opens with birds cawing and winds whipping, an intro track that pushes into “Boughs Ablaze” where we get an instant taste of the ferocity of this storm. The riffs are glorious, and Hulder’s vocals register the aforementioned deeper growl. Keys chill bones as acoustics blend into the mix, the fire slowly coming to a close. “Hearken the End” brings a mystical sheen, icy playing, and singing that freezes your flesh. Growls then smother as the playing goes dramatic, a symphonic blaze picking up energy, bringing back memories of the early 1990s. The playing then pulverizes, destroying with fiery chaos, blending into the deep night. The title track attacks with vengeance, the drumming plasters, and the vicious tempo shakes your guts violently. Then wintry hell suddenly takes over, bringing scraping howls, frosty synth, and chaotic swirls, the blistering drumming leaving behind rubble. “Lamentation” is a brief instrumental with warped, operatic singing, static spitting, and ghostly wonders chilling your bones.

“An Offering” also is an instrumental track, complete with funereal orchestration, solemn singing, and a thickening sorrow, blending into “Cast Into the Well of Remembrance” a melodic force that attacks with a bloodlust. Growls scorch as the black metal power lurks, pulling back and forth with violence, the ground quaking dangerously. Acoustics sweep in and offer relief, and a wondrous front dashes into oblivion. “Vessel of Suffering” is thunderous from the start with vicious growls pounding and drawing blood, keys glistening, and a cavernous display making you feel like you’re trapped in the heart of a mountain. Mystical fires burn as the playing rampages anew, the growls gut, and the final moments drive the last nails. “Enchanted Steel” brings molten riffs and a blast furnace of intensity, the synth enrapturing and ushering you into the murk. The keys storm as infectious playing chars, drums stomp, and a frigid jolt leaves everything dead in its tracks. Closer “Veil of Penitence” is glorious from the start, the guitars blinding with force, trudging through tornadic weather fronts. Growls engorge as the brutality batters without mercy, crushing and pressing, ending with an iron fist to the chest.

Hulder as a band is growing in leaps and bounds, and “Verses in Oath” is a record that remembers grim and frostbitten are terms that meant something because they were turned into memes. This is a wintry beast raging toward you, a record that is steeped in black metal tradition but also forges a blazing path toward the future. This is a coming-out celebration of a record, a portrait of a band that held and showed incredible power and promise and have put it all together seamlessly on their amazing second record.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/HulderUS

For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/hulder

To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/