Tag: black metal
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Agalloch – The Serpent and the Sphere
From beginning to end this album is a wonder, combining moments of crushing heaviness with overwhelming beauty, and I found it a tall order to find the words to describe this feat. Produced by Billy Anderson and featuring three acoustic interludes, and using elements like a waterphone and a 100 year old zither, Agalloch’s The Serpent…
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Lord Mantis – Death Mask
I namedropped the new Lord Mantis record in my Coffinworm review, so I figured I should probably say a few words about it. Oppressive, abrasive, blacked sludge. There. Oh, so you were expecting more than a few words? Opener “Body Choke” sounds like Neurosis set to super-slow-mo, a disturbing dash of death-doom that’ll haunt you in your dreams. The title…
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Metal Alliance Tour: Behemoth & more, Toronto, April 23, 2014
METAL ALLIANCE TOUR: BEHEMOTH with GOATWHORE, 1349, and INQUISITION At The Opera House, Toronto, April 23rd, 2014 Recap and photos by Danielle Griscti An ambitious tour like this inevitably means early set times; so though I didn’t make it for Black Crown Initiate, I was still endlessly pleased to see the size of the crowd gathering…
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AGALLOCH US/CANADIAN tour announced
New album The Serpent & The Sphere out from Profound Lore May 13th: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/agalloch-complete-work-on-new-album/ New track “Celestial Effigy” streaming link: http://agalloch.bandcamp.com/album/the-serpent-the-sphere Soaring and epically beautiful, what longtime fans know as the standard from Portland, Oregon’s AGALLOCH. From 1999’s Pale Folklore their sound has often invoked the atmosphere of a dark forest; this track follows that path…
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Alcest – Still the same stone, but what you see is different
January saw the release of Alcest’s latest album, Shelter. Even though I myself am not a big fan of this particular offering from the band, it’s clear to me that it is a proper culmination of gradual changes in Alcest’s sound and direction. As a long-time Alcest fan, I’ve read a number of interviews with…
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Amon Amarth/Enslaved/Skeletonwitch @ Granada Theater, Lawrence KS, February 9, 2014
Review by William Seay Photos by Jackson May (Amon Amarth main, Enslaved) and Jake Dodge (Amon Amarth) So I’ve decided that Amon Amarth are, in their own way, the Manowar of death metal. They’ve stuck to their formula pretty much since 1998 and it has been paying off now for easily 10 years or more. Since…
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XUL: Poised to take the world of metal by storm
Photo by Bailey Ann Gottlieb Interview by Patrick Chappelle Occasionally, the boundaries of metal are tested and stretched beyond the confines of what its fans find acceptable, by bands bands who seek to create something distinctive. Such efforts by artists who lack percipience or talent to make it happen, result in abominable recordings that often…
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Hexer – Hexer
By Matt Hinch This fall Gilead Media released the eponymous debut LP from Hexer. Actually, each side consists of their previous two cassette releases, Cassette 1 and 2 respectively. With new art by vocalist Ansgar and a remaster by Adam Tucker at Signaturetone Recording, Hexer is one vicious slice of wax. The most striking aspect…
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Cokegoat – Vessel
By Gruesome Greg Truth be told, I was drawn to this Chicago sextet by their bizarre moniker, along with the promise there was doom to be found on this, their debut album. I’d say that if anything, the band’s name suggests frantic, buzz saw black metal—as opposed to a handle like Weedeater or Bongzilla, which just…
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Avichi – Catharsis Absolute
By Matt Hinch Dark times call for dark music. So it happened that following my grandmother’s passing last week Catharsis Absolute by Avichi came around on my playlist. And stayed there for days as I grieved. What Avichi mastermind Aamonael (aka Adam Markuszewski) performing as this one-man black metal project has managed to do is…