Weekly album: Alcest - Kodama

Alcest - Kodama

2016 / Blackgaze, shoegaze, dream pop

1. Kodama

2. Eclosion

3. Je suis d'ailleurs

4. Untouched

5. Oiseaux de proie

6. Onyx

7. Notre sang et nos pensées

tp5170: I was simply delighted when it became clear that Kodama was not going to be a continuation to the band's previous album, Shelter. Not that Shelter was a bad album, but stripping the music entirely of black metal elements was an innovation that didn't really work for me. 

Style wise Kodama instead continues right from where 'Les voyages de l'âme' left it and it works absolutely beautifully. Though, I have to admit that even I was slightly shocked about the lack of surprises on the first spin, but at the same time this was exactly what I was hoping for - a glorious return to the older sound and that's just what Kodama has to offer.

It doesn't really change the formulae of the older albums, but it makes up for the lack of innovation with superior execution. It's the little things here and there that tighten the album as a whole and make Kodama one of the band's more enjoyable releases.

Orostider: Alcest, the dreamy blackgazers of France managed to cause quite an uproar with their previous album 'Shelter' by disregarding the previously present black metal elements. Even though I am not as fond of 'Shelter' as I am of the first three albums, I did enjoy it, but hearing the news about the return of the black metal elements made me happy. Spinning 'Kodama' for the first time felt quite anxious due to my high expectations.

'Shelter' leaned more towards the dream pop and shoegaze sides of Alcest and many feared that the cold shrieks of Neige were long lost. The first track is once again free of the shrieks as seems to be the pattern. 'Souveniers d'un Autre Monde' lacked the shrieks completely, but both 'Écailles de Lune' and 'Les Voyages De L'Âme' started to have shrieks after the first song. Not sure if this is intentional, but it seems to work quite well. The vocals in general are just an instrument among the others, but on Alcest's albums the usage of vocals as another instrument seems to be distinct. This is not an awful thing at all in my opinion, because Neige's vocals, both clean and harsh, are top quality as usual. 

The rest of the album doesn't really surprise me, which actually was sort of a disappointment. 'Shelter' was enjoyable due to its freshness among Alcest's discography and I hoped for something unexpected from 'Kodama.' Black metal influenced shoegaze and dream pop was what Alcest did in the past and now they have returned to it. Once again, this is not a bad thing, but 'Kodama' fails to convince me that it offers something new. It's a solid album and it can easily be compared to 'Les Voyages De L'Âme' and some people would definitely choose 'Kodama' as the winner. 

Steering clear of making such decisions is what I do, but I can say this: 'Kodama' is a wonderful addition to the discography of Alcest and I will probably spin it several times like I've done with the rest of the albums. Despite the fact that it is a damn good album, it still could have given something more: something new. I'm also glad that Alcest returned to blackgaze because they seem to know the drill, but I would also be happy if they released another album with different material. 

Favourite track: 'Eclosion'

btcarey: This was my first Alcest album so it was pretty cool to get a feel for the band from a completely outside perspective.  “Kodama” was a pleasant break from my normal listening agenda and I must say the calm, relaxed mood of the album was a nice change. While Alcest is generally classified as blackgaze I really don’t see the similarities with the blackgaze bands I’m familiar with (which is pretty few). “Kodama” is a peaceful, smooth piece of work that many people from an even non-metal background could really dig. This being said, there are a few moments where you can recognize Alcest’s alleged black metal roots. Screeched vocals occasionally seep into the music but are done with such a subtle grace that it feels completely natural in this tranquil atmosphere. With a light drum mix and plenty of echo the album is a hypnotizing piece that can make for some excellent background music on a calm night.

Favorite Track: “Eclosion”

Weekly album: Kalmankantaja - Waldeinsamkeit

Kalmankantaja - Waldeinsamkeit

2016 / Atmospheric black metal, black metal

1. Hautamaa

2. Maailmankaski

3. Kalman kivinen kohtu

4. Vaeltaja

5. Waldeinsamkeit

btcarey:  I just recently found out about Kalmankantaja when I was checking if Wyrd (one of my Finnish favorites) had released anything recently. To my surprise, I came across a split from a couple months ago that I had completely missed. Kalmankantaja did an excellent job on it and I figured if the guys from Wyrd thought highly enough of the band to do a split release, then they must be worth checking out. As I dug a bit deeper I quickly found out that these guys were powerhouses! Over the course of about 5 years, Kalmankantaja had already released 9 studio albums and a slew of EPs and splits. As they say, “quantity isn’t necessarily quality” but in Kalmankantaja’s case I am thoroughly impressed by what I’ve heard.

“Waldeinsamkeit” has stood out to me the most so far and since it’s one of their more recent releases (early 2016, already a full length album, EP, and split old) I figured it would be a good choice to talk about. First off the band delves deeply into the atmospheric side of black metal. The guitar parts are mostly repetitive tremolo riffs (with plenty of echo), but do a good job of providing nice melodies to accompany the raspy vocals. One of my favorite aspects of the instrumentation was the synth. Mostly composed of two tones, one of which, very thin and bright, reminding me of wind chimes on a blustery fall day. The other tone was a much more ghostly, dark, background noise that just enveloped the music. Together, these two phrasings made an incredibly vivid atmosphere.

I would easily recommend Kalmankantaja to any fan of atmospheric or even pagan black metal. Fans of bands like Wyrd or Urfaust should also check these guys out.

Favorite Tracks: “Vaeltaja”, “Kalman Kivinen Kohtu”

Orostider: Kalmankantaja wasn't familiar to me even by their name before they were added to Steelfest 2017 line-up. While browsing through their Metallum page, I noticed their tendency to do splits quite frequently and it isn't common to release more than one album in a year so I had to dig into their info a bit more. 'Waldeinsamkeit' is the first Kalmankantaja album released in 2016 and they've already released another one this year. In 2014 Kalmankantaja released four albums which is a lot. This made me think of a chance that they are compensating quality with quantity, but we'll see about it. 

Kalmankantaja's black metal leans towards the more atmospheric and moody side of the scene. The positive side is that they are executing their style quite well and the quantity compensation I feared is inaudible. The problem is, however, the lack of creativity. The album itself is quite decent slab of black metal and there isn't really enough atmospheric black metal written in Finnish, but the music itself doesn't stand out from the rest of the scene. It might be just me, but in my opinion the amount of mediocre black metal has been growing a lot past ten years and it's really hard for a black metal band to offer anything new. So the imperfections of Kalmankantaja aren't actually theirs only, but the whole scene's.

The songs follow the common guidelines of atmospheric black metal. Simple repetitive riffs combined to slow beats and adding echo and reverb to the stack. I'm not saying that the combination is faulty or anything, but I'm hoping for something more even though 'Waldeinsamkeit' could be above average quality overall. The hollow synths used in 'Kalman kivinen kohtu' were a fine addition but I was disappointed of their overall scarcity. The synths are heavily present in the last instrumental track 'Waldeinsamkeit', but the track just proves that the cold and eerie synths should've been used more. 

Even though 'Waldeinsamkeit' doesn't really bring anything new to the table I can easily recommend it to people who are into black metal. The album is probably the most enjoyable if this kind of black metal isn't too familiar already. 

Favourite tracks: 'Kalman kivinen kohtu', 'Waldeinsamkeit'

tp5170: Waldeinsamkeit is what I'd call a pretty competent atmospheric black metal album. It's really entertaining stuff, even if it felt to me like they seriously should have pressed harder with the black metal elements on the instrumental side. It's not a major issue really, but the cleanness of it just hinders my enjoyment a bit.

Another thing about the album is that it gets maybe a bit repetitive at some points, and this is something I thought I'd never say about a atmospheric black metal album because we are probably talking about one if not the most repetitive sub genres of black metal, but they just kept using some of the same tricks throughout the album annoyingly often.

Minor complaints aside, the album sounded surprisingly good and the vocals are absolutely spot on for the album's atmosphere. Even if it's a lot cleaner sounding, Waldeinsamkeit reminds quite bit of Wyrd which is not a bad thing at all in this case.

I don't really know how this compares to other albums of Kalmankantaja, but I wouldn't find it surprising if this was one of their better albums.

Favourite track: 'Hautamaa'

Weekly album: Soul Gutter - Soul Gutter

Soul Gutter - Soul Gutter

2016 / Dark hardcore, Blackened hardcore

1. Idols of Rot

2. Pariah

3. Terra Nullius

4. The Parting

5. Martyr

6. Cloak and Dagger

tp5170: I have to admit that I was slightly skeptical about towards this album because grincore releases just are not typically my thing, but after giving this album some time and thought I think it might actually be an exception.

Soul Gutter is still definitely grindcore in essence, but it's clearly heavily influenced by at least black metal. The resulting sound is pretty grim despite being fast and the atmosphere is tense throughout the whole album. I really dig what they are trying to do here even if the grind influences still sound a bit strange to me, and it actually took me a couple of spins just to get used to those in the first place. The grind stuff aside I think there is some rather interesting influences to be found here.

 Overall I think it's not a bad piece of work and it feels surprisingly honed, and while it's not quite there as far my preferences go as someone who mainly listens to black metal, I already know it's still entertaining enough for me to return to it sooner or later. 

btcarey: Soul Gutter’s debut, self-titled EP is an upside down cross between ferocious death metal and some sinister black metal, with a little bit of Grind-glue to hold it all together. If done properly this mix of genres is my ultimate form of music and Soul Gutter hit the nail on the head. The songwriting on their EP is incredibly mature for band that just released their first EP and feels like they’ve been perfecting their sound for years. This being said, it’s still hard to feel out what the band can really do, since there’s only about 22 minutes of released material to evaluate. Whether the band just got lucky or has serious potential, Soul Gutter has seriously peaked my curiosity and I will be looking forward to their future releases.

Favorite Songs: “Terra Nullius”

Weekly album: Samael - Ceremony of Opposites

Samael - Ceremony of Opposites

1994 / Black metal

1. Black Trip

2. Celebration of the Fourth

3. Son of Earth

4. 'Till We Meet Again

5. Mask of the Death

6. Baphomet's Throne

7. Flagellation

8. Crown

9. To Our Martyrs

10. Ceremony of Opposites

Orostider: Switzerland isn't home to a large black metal scene, but Swiss black metal bands have played a large role in the global black metal scene. Celtic Frost and Hellhammer paved the way during the 80's and while the rest of the European scene focused on the rawer execution of black metal, Samael started to forge something that would be known as their unique sound.

'Worship Him', the first Samael album, was released in 1991 and even though it isn't mentioned often, it actually offers quite a slab of black metal of the era. The next album 'Blood Ritual' had an increased amount of death metal elements and should be seen as blackened death metal album. 'Blood Ritual' may be my lesser favourite of these two, but it had some signs of what was still coming.

'Ceremony of Opposites' is seen as the Samael album where they found their unique industrial black metal sound. Whereas the rest of the scene kept the tempos high, Samael found their calling in massive slower pace songs that feature both black and death metal riffs. The material shouldn't be thought to be even near to bestial black metal, which was the dominant form of blackened death metal in the early 90's. One could think that 'Ceremony of Opposites' is bashed due to its unorthodoxy, but instead of getting dirt thrown on it, it's almost considered a classic. An underrated classic for sure.

The album may not be what second wave black metal purists seek, but that doesn't explain the lack of credit. Vorph's vocals itself separate Samael from other black metal bands of the era. Not to mention their electronic era, which didn't suck and the utter heaviness of their songs. 

I would recommend this album to almost anyone into heavier forms of metal, but I seriously recommend listening to their whole discography to actually realize the way Samael kept refining their sound.

Favourite song: 'Baphomet's Throne'

tp5170: I got originally acquainted with Samael through their later releases and it was only much later when I discovered that they had started out as black metal band. In the end it turned out that that their black metal albums are also kind of great, and it really amazes me how little praise those releases get considering how solid all of those actually are and how early they were released - we are talking about the period when the whole genre barely existed. 

But out of those original three black metal albums, I think it's the 'Ceremony of Opposites' that stands out the most. It offers a straightforward, but polished BM experience (it was after all released in 1994 so this shouldn't really surprise anyone), but what's special about it is that you can find for the first time some of those elements that later became the trademark of the band. If you have ever listened to Samael's later albums you'll know exactly what I am talking about and if you haven't then you probably should. In my eyes 'Ceremony of Opposites' goes highly recommended for every fan of BM or Samael.

Favourite song: 'Crown'

btcarey: Samael’s 1994 release “Ceremony of Opposites” showcases the band’s distinct take on black metal, proving that speed is not essential in making a good album in the genre. While several bands from this era were doing something similar, “Ceremony of Opposites” is probably one of the heaviest examples I’ve ever heard. I expect this is due to the influences from the relatively seasoned death metal genre of that era. When bands from the early black metal scene in Norway, like Darkthrone, were dumping their death metal roots, Samael honed them into a much heavier form of the budding genre (while maintaining a bit of production value as well). This can be seen in many aspects of “Ceremony of Opposites”, whether it’s the very riff-oriented songwriting or the quasi-death metal barked vocals found in albums like God Dethroned’s “Toxic Touch”.

This is a perfect album from people who like a bit heavier black metal album or a bit blacker death metal album. All in all this is a good listen and easily worth a few spins.

Weekly album: Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

Perturbator - The Uncanny Valley

2016 / Synthwave

1. Neo Tokyo

2. Weapons for Children

3. Death Squad

4. Femme Fatale (Feat. Highway Superstar)

5. Venger (Feat. Greta Link)

6. Disco Inferno

7. She Moves Like A Knife

8. Sentient (Feat. Hayley Stewart)

9. Diabolus Ex Machina

10. Assault

11.  The Cult of 2112

12. Soult At Zero (Feat. Astronoid)

13. The Uncanny Valley

tp5170: To be frank I have never been the biggest fan of how most Pertubator’s albums are structured with the lengthy song intros and the stuff going on between the tracks. I mean some times those things have their own charm and so on, but at the same time more often those also make the albums a bit annoying to follow by creating unnecessary breaks between the songs. And this brings me to my point – there is none of that on nonsense on ‘The Uncanny Valley’, and I dig it. While this might be pretty trivial thing for most people, I found myself simply enjoying this album probably more than any other Perturbator album on the first spin because of its straightforwardness.

All in all ‘The Uncanny Valley’ represents the same style and quality I would have expected from Perturbator - meaning it’s pretty darn solid, and in my opinion it’s even capable of competing in quality with the best releases of Perturbator.

Orostider: If there currently are certain genres that are hot and gaining ground, synthwave is one of them. The crawl out of underground started to be notable after Kavinsky's Nightcall was featured in the 2011 movie 'Drive.' After 2011 the popularity of the genre has risen quite a bit. Video games and movies, such as Hotline Miami and Kung Fury increased the heat and on top of them Blood Music started to do some serious work in synthwave scene. All of this combined and probably more have caused the 'synthwave boom' to gain it's current form. The brand new 'Stranger Things' series is also helping with the next wave of John Carpenter and 80's action flicks influenced synth madness.

I myself got familiar with synthwave in 2011 through Kavinsky's EPs and I've been following the scene grow ever since. Perturbator got my attention after releasing 'Terror 404' and managed to impress me almost instantly. His early and current releases are quite similar in a way, but there's a clear movement towards darker, heavier sounds and topics. The cheerier 'miami vice' tunes have been present in every release and add variation quite well. 'The Uncanny Valley' is a clear continuum to 'Dangerous Days' both music- and theme-wise.

Perturbator's grim synthwave, or as some people say darkwave, has a distinct sound which separates him from the rest of the seemingly endless sea of synthwave artists. The formulae he has found have turned out to produce two absolutely solid albums, even though their overall sound is terrifyingly similar. If the next Perturbator album has something completely new I'm eternally glad, but I wouldn't mind third album using these patterns. One could think that 80's influenced electro could be monotonous. To some point the statement is correct and considering the absolutely massive amount of artists, it's quite hard to separate the wheat from the chaff. Perturbator is definitely the wheat.

'The Uncanny Valley' includes the good old and safe darkwave, but the sudden bass lines and even one whole song with obvious jazz influences result in an album that isn't completely predictable. Certain things are predictable, but that's one of the ideas of the genre. If a listener is already familiar with lighter themed synthwave, the 'heaviness' and gloominess of Perturbator might actually be surprising. But nothing's better than getting caught off guard. 

This album isn't a drastic exception in Perturbator discography, but it shows that he still has unrevealed aces up his sleeve. And even though I sort of dislike synthwave's mainstream attention, I'm glad that the artists receive what they deserve. The thing I'm the most happy with is the fact that synthwave phenomenon has helped close-minded metalheads to realize that there's a lot more than metal music out there. 

If synthwave is still unknown to anyone, my recommendation is to start with either this album or the previous one, 'Darkest Days' and then move on to other albums and artists.

Favourite tracks: 'Disco Inferno', 'She Moves Like A Knife', 'Sentient'

btcarey:  I’ll start off by saying that Synthwave is a completely foreign genre to me. One that I didn’t even know existed until about a year ago, and since, have only heard the name mentioned randomly. For those of you like me, who have little to no concept of what “Sythwave” actually is, I’ll give you the beginner’s tutorial. Synthwave is a form of modern(ish) electronic music that pays homage to retro 80’s soundtracks and culture. The music is usually centered on the synthesizer and, other than the occasional sample, is often purely instrumental. Unlike techno or dubstep, synthwave’s focus isn’t completely based on rhythm or melodies (although they are important); it’s the atmosphere that plays a key role in the music, giving the listener a much more immersive experience.

Now that we all know what synthwave is, we can talk about this week’s album, Perturbator’s “The Uncanny Valley” (which just so happens to be sythwave). In all honestly the album blew me away. I’ve been listening to “The Uncanny Valley” as well as the rest of Perturbator’s discography all week and I love it. This being said, I’m not entirely sure, if it’s Perturbator, more specifically “The Uncanny Valley”, that I love or the synthwave genre in general.

Due to my meager background, I really don’t have anything to compare with (besides the soundtrack to Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon), resulting in the possibility that I’m giving the album more credit than it deserves. Whether or not this is true, “The Uncanny Valley” is a very approach album, and great for noobs like me. Plus, it was apparently good enough to get me hooked, so I think you should all go give it a listen.

Weekly album: Inquisition - Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith

Inquisition - Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith

2016 / Black Metal

1. Intro: The Force Before Darkness

2. From Chaos They Came

3. Wings of Anu

4. Vortex from the Celestial Flying Throne of Storms

5. A Black Aeon Shall Cleanse

6. The Flames of Infinite Blackness Before Creation

7. Mystical Blood

8. Through the Divine Spirit of Satan a Glorious Universe Is Known

9. Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith

10. Power from the Center of the Cosmic Black Spiral 

11.  A Magnificent Crypt of Stars 

12. Outro: The Invocation of the Absolute, the All, the Satan 

13. Coda: Hymn to the Cosmic Zenith

btcarey: This week’s album may come as no surprise to the readers of Utterance of Evil. Inquisition’s hot-off-the-press release “Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith” was an obvious choice as well as an album I’ve been looking forward to for some time. “hot” is probably the last word I should use to describe “Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar…” (or any of Inquisition’s releases), after all, the band’s primary purpose is to explore the desolate corners of the icy cosmos and achieve a higher level of individualistic enlightenment.

Inquisition isn’t necessarily my favorite band but I have the utmost respect for its themes and members. Everything is done to the highest level of detail, from the brilliant lyrics to the stunning album art. It’s obvious that Inquisition’s members pour every ounce of themselves into their music, and it sounds simply incredible.
It’s bands like Inquisition, who after a 20 year career don’t have one bad album, give me hope for modern metal. “Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar…” is a perfect fit into their discography and may even top their previous release “Obscure Verses for the Multiverse” (which was a great album).

This album is a must for Inquisition fans and metal fans in general. I would also specifically recommend Cult of Fire fans to this album and vice versa.

Favorite Songs: “Vortex From the Celestial Flying Throne of Storms”,  “Wings of Anu”

tp5170: I don’t really know how to best describe the style of the Inquisition, but let’s just say that if you happen to have any room in your heart for straightforward black metal with high quality composition and interesting riffs, it’s a band you should definitely check and as it happens, “Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith” might be an excellent album to get started with that.

My expectations for this Inquisition’s new album were high, but I think that the band managed to deliver a spectacular album once again. Inquisition’s albums have always had a unique touch to them and this one is no exception, it’s really engaging stuff right from the start and it definitely keeps you charged for the whole duration. This is one of those albums that in my opinion don’t even need to be innovative to excel because the formulae the band has come up with just works so well.

Orostider: Inquisition was one of those bands you were aware of for so many years but for unknown reasons you never checked them out. A friend of mine reminded me to spin 'Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm' around in early 2013 and I was instantly sold. Dagon's gnarly vocals are a huge turn off for some, but for me, they are exactly the right sort for Inquistion's cosmically twisted black metal.

'Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith' doesn't really surprise you if you're familiar with Inquisition already, but even though you know exactly what's to be expected, you really don't know what's ahead. That's one of the reasons why Inquisition impressed me instantly. Their riffs, or actually their songs overall, seem to follow a certain trail but tend to add some unexpected moments. Quite often actually. The scheme results in a constantly high quality album with enough twists to endure several spins but also including the familiar Inquisition elements.

Even though I keep saying that the album is just what is to be expected, it doesn't mean it's overly predictable. Inquisition's riffs and song structures aren't exactly similar to the more traditional black metal's, but the traditions are present just enough. Twisting riffs from unknown realms and the continuing unique sound are the reason 'Bloodshed Across the Empyrean Altar Beyond the Celestial Zenith' and Inquistion overall deserve to be held high.

Weekly album: KYPCK - Ниже

KYPCK - Ниже

2010 / Doom metal

1. Гифарус (Gifarus)

2. После (After)

3. Аллея Сталина (The Alley of Stalin)

4. Чужой (Stranger)

5. Фелица (Felitsa)

6. Разрыв (Rupture)

7. Бурлаки на Волге (Burlaks on the Volga)

8. Бардак (Brothel)

9. Товарищам (Comrades)

10. Вальс смерти (Death Waltz)

Orostider: Курск have been around for a while now and if someone mentions Russian doom or sludge metal, Курск are usually brought to the conversation. The twist is, they're Finnish and dedicate the project to Soviet Union themed grief filled doom. Their style isn't exactly comparable to traditional doom metal. Some of the people speak of them as a sludge/doom artist, but as the hardcore elements are scarce, they shouldn't be categorized as sludge.

'Ниже' was released in 2011 and showed a bit faster side of Курск. Their first album, 'Черно', managed to keep the overall tempo rather slow. When I first heard 'Ниже' in 2011 I instantly noticed it being a bit more hectic. Not a bad thing at all, because the band manages to keep the despair sounding atmosphere throughout the whole album. All of the Курск albums require several spins before they really open up. Some people may find the stress on the Russian language and spelling. Despite not being a native speaker, Seppänen manages to perform solid vocals with tons of emotions.

As I've told people asking how Курск sound: They're the Soviet T-34 of doom metal, while not exactly being doom metal. Each of their elements somehow enhance the utter heaviness while still being tone rich and interesting. The soundscapes are surely similar to traditional doom metal atmospheres, but the thing Курск has is the ability to tie the sound to a certain image. Deserted metro tunnels, Soviet era industrial areas and oppression.

Курск fits for those who do not search and search for doom metal simultaneously. Their albums require patience and are not exactly albums for any occasion.

Favourite tracks: 'После', 'Товарищам', 'Аллея Сталина'

btcarey: A Finnish doom metal project dedicated to Russian war history; with lyrics, track names, and album titles all written in Russian, sounds pretty cool at first glance. Because of this alluring description, and the fact that Finns are know for producing some pretty good Doom, it was no wonder that I was intrigued when I was first told of KYPCK. Unfortunately KYPCK’s “Ниже” really didn’t stand out to me as an exceptional album, which left me feeling really disappointed after all the hype.

“Ниже” isn’t necessarily bad; in fact there were some pretty good moments throughout the album. It just didn’t offer anything I hadn’t already heard from the genre, the vocals, being my least favorite aspect of the record. The cleaner vocals just felt weak and dominated most of the tracks. The harsher vocals were actually quite good and had me wishing the band would have concentrated on them more, leaving the cleans for the calmer moments.

The instrumentation was good but for me the vocals play just as an import role. When it comes to Doom, if you have average vocals, you get an average album.

Favorite Tracks: “Бардак (Brothel)”, “Товарищам (Comrades)”

tp5170: It took a couple of spins before I got used to ‘Nizhe’, but now that I am at least slightly familiar with the band’s style I can safely say that it’s a decent album overall.  I dig the soviet style used on the album a lot, but can’t help to think that they could have pressed those influences even harder and maybe made the album and its  atmosphere more unique and memorable.

Otherwise the album felt like pretty standard doom metal to me and everything seemed to work the way one would expect in this genre, and maybe that’s the thing that bothered me the most with it. Everything is well executed and the composition is surely neat, but I think the album lacks in surprises and the sound ends up being maybe a bit too plain for my taste. It’s as if there were points in the songs that felt like downtime between the actually interesting parts, because the atmosphere was not simply fleshed out well enough in them. But this is of course something that comes down to a personal preference.

In the end I think it’s the soviet influences and theme that makes ‘Nizhe’ rather interesting experience and even if it didn’t exactly match my ideal doom metal it was still easily worth the listen.

Weekly album: Paavoharju - Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne

Paavoharju - Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne

2013 / Experimental, folk, hip-hop 

1. Metsän hämärä

2. Patsaatkin kuolevat

3. Krabat

4. Sä olit

5. Tumulus

6. Kuolon uni

7. Tattarisuo 1931

8. Penuel

9. Valkeat majat

10. Olet maailman syli

10. Minä nousen sinne

10. Kolmas voima

Orostider: Paavoharju was completely unknown to me before my visit to the record store bus in 2013. I went in and inquired if they had any stoner doom with them. The response was negative, but they told me to grab 'Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne' if I'm into psychedelic and fuzzy music. I have no regrets.

Paavoharju got originally known for their experimental and psychedelic folk, but my first contact with them was this album. Their previous albums are also amazing, but I enjoy how this album differs from the rest of their discography. Heavier electronic elements and dark hip-hop/rap elements possibly make this album more approachable, but they are also the reason why the album's atmosphere is almost completely different than, for example, how the mood is on 'Yhä hämärää.'

Paavoharju is also completely different than anything we've written about, because the lyrics play such a large role. The album is magnificent otherwise too, but when combined to arcane and morbid lyrics with deep rap vocals, the album takes its true form. My absolute favourite track of the album, 'Tumulus', is a fine example of a perfect symbiosis between the vocals and the rest of the track.

Even though I really like the album, there are some flaws. The repetitive style doesn't work as well as it could and the album as a whole loses some of its replay value. Other flaw, at least in my opinion, is the single song that feels like a filler: 'Penuel.' It could work as an intro, but the low pitched vocals sort of break the immersion and are, in the end, pretty awful.

Even with its flaws 'Joko sinä tulet tänne alas tai minä tulen sinne' is a wonderful album that should be visited by everyone interested by experimental music. Unless rap vocals are a huge turnoff. 

Favourite songs: 'Tumulus', 'Valkeat Majat', 'Minä nousen sinne'

TP5170: As someone who finds the vocal style of Finnish rap / hip-hop really uninspiring, I wasn’t really able to get much out of this album. It is a shame that the instrumental side feels so underwhelmed, because the slightly trippy and experimental sound could be kind of interesting, but as it stands the way the music is composed is simply so vocal dependent that I can’t really see anyone listening it just for the instrumentals. There are surely some cool moments on for example the track, ‘Tumulus’, but the vocal style just unfortunately kills it completely for me.

To be frank I can’t come up with a reason why I’d ever want to return to this album as it was quite far from being my cup of tea, but at least I am now an experience richer. (PS. why does the guy on the cover have an asshole on his back?)

Btcarey: “Joko Sinä Tulet Tänne Alas Tai Minä Nousen Sinne” immerses the listener into a deep, hypnotic, trance with a psychedelic fusion of hip-hop and folk. The dreamlike atmosphere delves into both the darkness and beauty of a nocturnal state. It keeps the listener isolated, in musical purgatory, drifting between a dissonant storm and an alluring wonderland.

The atmosphere of the album is perfect, maintaining a consistent discord of musical scopes, yet fitting everything together flawlessly. Only issue I had with the album was that the lyrics were in Finnish. For any form of hip-hop, lyrics and vocal style play a key roll in the overall tone of the piece. Due to this language barrier I ended the album feeling as if it was incomplete, like there was this profound world with nothing in it. For this reason I would probably suggest the album to strictly native Finns, but if a language barrier is not a deterring factor for you then any fan of experimental hip-hop or psychedelic music could find something to enjoy in this album.

Favorite Songs: “Sä Olit”, “Kuolon Uni”, “Valkeat Majat”

Weekly album: М8Л8ТХ - Чёрным крылом

М8Л8ТХ - Чёрным крылом

2004 / Black Metal

1. Пролог / Prologue

2. Где ветви опавшей листвой / By the Fallen Leaves

3. Запах крови / Scent of Blood

4. Вселяющий страх / The One Inspiring With Fear

5. Под падающей звездой / Under the Falling Star

6. Мразь / Scum

7. По ту сторону сумерек / Beyond the Twilights

8. Чёрным крылом / By the Wings of Black

tp5170: This album originally caught my interest when just I happened to hear a glimpse of one of its tracks, and I am really glad it did because the whole album turned out to be a rather interesting one. These days when there are steady streams of new black metal projects and releases coming from basically everywhere, I have slowly started to appreciate more and more those bands that try to mix up things or otherwise do something differently.
I think that M8L8TH is a decent example of such a band. ‘By the Wings of Black’ is essentially recognizable as black metal, but it doesn’t really feel or sound like an average release of the genre.

The strongest aspects of the album are without a doubt in my mind its composition and the peculiar vocal style used. Every track is clearly different from the rest and interesting at least on some level. And the vocals are just amazing, bouncing between aggressive screams and shrieks of insanity and desperation in a rapid succession. The execution of vocals is pretty much top notch and it easily bypasses the other elements of the album in quality.

The only ‘complaint’ I have about the album is the fact that the mixing is kind of meh, and the drums sound maybe a bit too flat at some points, but in the end, those things don’t feel like a such a big deal in in the grand midst of things. So, if you don’t mind the ideology or can look past it, like every grownup should be able to, you are left with a surprisingly invigorating take on black metal.

Favourite song: ‘Чёрным крылом / By the Wing of Black’

btcarey:  “By the Wing of Black” is a studio album released in 2004 by the Russian NSBM band M8L8TH. Even though NSBM is not my favorite type of black metal, there is no doubt the subgenre has strengthened the black metal scene and inspired some of the best black metal albums of the past decade and a half. “By the Wing of Black” isn’t necessarily one of those classic black metal albums but it is a solid piece of work.

 M8L8TH is a pretty traditional black metal band, relying heavily on the drums, guitars, and vocals. There were quite a few moments where the album reminded me of Taake or Horna’s “Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne”. The riffs were a bit slower paced, melodic, and heavy metal influenced, with the frantic screams of the vocalist being the main factor of contrast.

Overall “By the Wing of Black” is a good, approachable, album that I would recommend to any fan of NSBM or black metal in general.

Favorite Song: “Scum”, “By the Wing of Black”

Orostider: Tp's picks are almost always most likely black metal of some form and this case was not different. Russian black metal scene is not too familiar to me and it's probably the least familiar to me from the Eastern European scenes. The Eastern European black metal I usually listen to incorporates quite a lot of pagan influences and M8L8TH's head is actually part of Temnozor these days.

'By the Wings of Black" is quite a slab of black metal, but it ends up being pretty mediocre. Don't get me wrong, this album will probably charm quite many black metal enthusiasts, but these days the genre itself is overflowing. The riffs and production were standard quality. Like usual, there were also superb riffs, but the rarity of them is kind of a letdown.

Even though the instrument section is important in every genre, vocals are the true focus in black metal. 'By the Wings of Black' really caught me off guard with the hallowing shrieks. You can almost feel physical suffering via them, but not in a bad way. This is how you differentiate yourself from the infinite sea of average black metal.

Even though M8L8TH didn't really impress me completely, I do recommend this album to fans of black metal and especially the ones who want some dsbm elements.

Weekly album: Profanatica - The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

Profanatica - The Curling Flame of Blasphemy

2016 / Bestial black metal

1. Ordained in Bile

2. March to Golgotha

3. Magic & Muhr

4. Black Hymna

5. Host over Cup

6. Rotten Scriptures

7. Yahweh Rejected

8. Bleed Heavenly Kingdom 

9. Vile Blessing 

10. Curling Flame

btcarey:  Profanatica is a seasoned black metal band with an impressive career that spans more than two decades. The band cannot only boast a worldwide kvlt following but also has a solid discography that’s helped establish bestial black metal as we know it. Profanatica has my utmost respect, but I couldn’t help feeling disappointed after hearing their most recent release, “The Curling Flame of Blasphemy”.

I understand the band has a minimalist perspective but the album was lacking. It felt like Profanatica was just “going through the steps” when writing the record rather than actually creating something. Sure, there are some solid riffs and the songs aren’t bad, I just expected more from such a notorious band. I probably listened to their previous record, “Thy Kingdom Cum” ten times but it was a struggle to get through “The Curling Flame of Blasphemy” even twice.

To any fans of bestial black metal or Profanatica, of course check out their new album. But to prospective listeners start with Profanatica’s earlier stuff to get a feel for the band, because this album is not their finest moment.

Favorite Song: “Ordained In Bile”

tp5170: Despite being a longtime fan of bestial black metal, I still haven’t found the time to check out Profanatica more thoroughly, even though I have known for quite a while that those guys seem to know what they are doing. I can’t really say how their albums usually are, because I haven’t digged that deep yet, but I sure hope there has been more variation on the band’s previous releases than on their new one. The biggest problem for me with the new album, ‘The Curling Flame of Blasphemy’, is that it can simply get a bit dull at times. 

During my fist spin before realizing what the album was aiming to do I felt like killing someone just to get some changes in the tempo. The simplistic and repetitive nature of the music is an iconic trait of the genre and I usually enjoy it, but when it gets to the level where you don’t actually care about the track changing because they are all so very similar, it’s a bit strange, maybe even frustrating considering we are still talking about bestial black metal here. 

But what you gain from this kind of style at the same time is a consistent atmosphere throughout the album. This is probably the only bestial BM album I have encountered that has devoted itself to this extent to creating an atmosphere. The setting is somewhat interesting and in this case it works reasonably well I guess, but only because the atmosphere is pretty entertaining and the album’s playtime is not especially long - but though I kind of liked the way the album played out, I have to point out that a cool atmosphere alone can carry an album only so far. I don’t think that ‘The Curling Flame of Blasphemy’ is a bad album, but on the other hand the genre has also much more memorable experiences to offer.

Orostider: We went to see Profanatica perform earlier this year and I kind of forgot to familiarize myself with them beforehand. This didn't really matter, because the performance Profanatica put up was a good one. Bestial black metal bands don't really disappoint with their live shows and most of the well known artists of the genre release magnificent albums. Will Profanatica succeed in delivering the same ferocious atmosphere and groove as they did live on their latest album 'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy?'

The album isn't exactly as high tempo and chaotic as Archgoat and Diocletian, but it also isn't as sludgy as Ride for Revenge. This, of course, can be counted as a pro, since distinguishable sound is always enjoyable in this genre. The album starter 'Ordained in Bile' is a powerful opener, but when the rest of the songs are similar mid-tempo bestial black metal with high echo vocals, the album gets a bit dull in the end. 

At some point the track changes are quite difficult to notice and the album just keeps going. 'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy' isn't a bad album, but it somehow falls into the 'background music' category. Some of the riffs are clearly far above average, but the rest are ridiculously mediocre. The album's production receives a huge plus from me. This is how modern black metal albums should sound. The echo could be decreased, but all in all the production is wonderful.

'The Curling Flame of Blasphemy' won't be remembered as the classic of the genre, but it certainly isn't the worst of the genre. The album would probably have sounded better in the right state of mind so I will re-listen to it when the weather is more grim and cold. 

Favourite track: 'Ordained in Bile'

Weekly album: '68 - In Humor and Sadness

'68 - In Humor and Sadness

2014 / Noise rock, Hardcore

1. Track One R

2. Track Two E

3. Track Three G

4. Track Four R

5. Track Five E

6. Track Six T

7. Track Seven N

8. Track Eight O

9. Track Nine T

10. Track Ten .

Orostider: Intensity is a broad term in music and comes in many different forms. Some artists trust velocity, some trust emotion and some trust precise rhythms. '68 aren't as high speed as grindcore bands, but there's a lot happening in quite short time periods. Emotion and intriguing rhythms on the other hand can be found in large quantities. When '68 was recommended to me by a friend, the description was: "It's noise rock." Noise as a genre is somehow strangely therapeutic and when mixed to other genres, the result can be amazing. 

The album consists of ten songs only named as tracks or/and letters. The influence variation varies from noise and hardcore to blues and classic rock, which sounds like sort of a bad idea, but in the end the result actually works well. The intensity of '68 comes from the gritty and unpolished sound, catchy and groovy riffs and powerful vocals. After hearing the first songs, the listener may already assume what's to come, but '68 manage to surprise with alternating elements. The ubiquitous elements of the album are the noise-ridden rockish passages and hardcore elements similar to Converge's. 

The noise element isn't really harsh noise like in Insect Warfare's 'Noise Power Grind Death', but the sound of amps failing and miscellaneous cracks and pops. The way the guitar tone breaks and results in amp screeches somehow sounds magnificent and doesn't even cause your ears to bleed. In an interview, the vocalist/guitarist Josh Scogin stated that he writes audibly stressful music. I found the statement to be true, but the sense of stress and even anger just add intensity. 

The album isn't good only because it has noise elements or because it's louder than many records. The real reason is the overall quality of the material '68 managed to deliver even though they didn't polish the recordings. The cracks and pops give the album a humane touch. The instrument work and songwriting are of high quality and the mood varies from mania to feels. 'In Humor and Sadness' is the album you could listen to while trying to rip your own head off and think of the reasons after trying.

Favourite tracks: 'Track Two', 'Track Four', 'Track six', 'Track Ten'

tp5170: I didn’t really know at all what to expect from ‘In Humor And Sadness’. Pretty much the only thing I knew about it prior listening was that it was supposedly quite a ride style/genre wise. And I can’t really argue with that now that I have listened to the whole thing. 

There is a constant variation in style throughout the album and the music can quickly go from something rather punkish to something that seems like a heavier version of Muse, or basically anything in between. The randomness is absolutely delightful and every track, with the exception of the ninth one which felt a bit out of place, is pretty well composed and has clearly earned its own place in the mix. On the other hand, although I liked almost every track at least on some level, there were definitely three tracks that just instantly made me wanting to hear them again, and in the end kind of outshined the rest. 

Also, as someone who doesn’t really hear that punkish vocal style in the music I usually go for – you can count the punkish albums I have listened during the last few years with fingers from one hand -, I have to say that I really, really liked the vocals throughout the album if nothing else. 

But overall the ride was pretty enjoyable and offered a nice change of pace for an evening, and left yearning for more of those sweet vocals. 

Favourite tracks: ‘Track Seven’, ‘Track Two’, ‘Track One’

btcarey:  ’68’s 2014 release “In Humor and Sadness” is an energy-packed emotional roller coaster that had me completely enthralled by the end of the album. Each song has its own character and mood, keeping the album fresh and me attentive the whole time. With such a diverse array of songs you would think that the album would lack an overall direction. To the contrary, the album had a very unified feeling, and this diversity provides impressive replay ability and enjoyment.

’68 doesn’t really fit into any specific genre. While some call it punk rock, I would argue there’s much more to it. Sure, most of the songs have somewhat of a punk passage, but the outside influences are far too great to be defined as such. There is a heavy blues/rock aspect to the album that's comparable to Jack White’s guitar and vocal style.

I would recommend “In Humor and Sadness” to almost anyone, whether they like blues/rock, metal, or punk. This is an excellent album.

Favorite Songs: “Track Two”, “Track Five”, “Track Eight”

Weekly album: True Black Dawn - Come the Colorless Dawn

True Black Dawn - Come the Colorless Dawn

2016 / Black metal

1. Intro

2. Come the Colorless Dawn

3. The Light Goes Out

4. Cinereous

5. The Ring-Pass-Not

6. Downwards the Serpent Spiral

7. Strange Shaded Sky

8. The Sectile Shadow

9. Eyes of the Cadaver

10. Into the Tomb of Her Mirror

11. Outro

tp5170: I think Wrath has always been one of the more interesting personalities in the Finnish black metal scene and his past band, Enochian Crescent, was actually rather good and also somewhat different from the other major BM bands around. So after realizing that he was involved in the True Black Dawn I got pretty excited to see what kind of material the band would be producing. I actually haven’t yet listened to the band’s debut album of 2001 for some reason, but now that band’s second album is here, I thought it couldn’t hurt to start with the new one. And it turns out that the new album is in fact pretty darn good. 

The sound of “Come the Colorless Dawn” might be slightly more traditional than Enochian Crescent’s in general, but it’s very, very well put together and Wrath’s characteristic vocal style is fortunately still there, adding a lot to album’s atmosphere. I thought that there were no weak tracks on the whole album, and with the healthy amount of variation between the tracks and some well composed build-ups this has to be one of my favorite releases this year.

Favourite track: ‘The Light Goes Out’, ‘The Ring-Pass-Not’

Orostider: After Wrath left Enochian Crescent and told about his plans to focus on True Black Dawn, my anxious wait begun. Some folks shared this feeling, but some wished for a release similar to Enochian Crecent's albums. Even though I think highly of Enochian Crescent's albums, I anticipated something that would reflect Wrath's fascinating visions.

True Black Dawn occasionally reminds me of Enochian Crescent, possibly due to Wrath's unique sound, but the album mainly consists of more traditional black metal than Enochian Crescent were. Some of the riffs are actually rather high quality black metal riffs and prove that the wait wasn't in vain. There aren't really any low quality songs or riffs, only somewhat generic ones, but black metal albums without any generic attributes are almost impossible to produce. 'Come the Colorless Dawn' is a mighty slab of fine black metal. The production is as modern and high quality as I predicted. If the approach would be rawer, the album could possibly lose some of its punch, so modern production is a pro here.

'Come the Colorless Dawn' is a worthy album and proves that there's still room for great black metal albums. Even though the album is purely black metal, there's plenty of variation. The wait to witness True Black Dawn's live ritual begins. 

Favourite song: 'The Light Goes Out', 'Cinereous', 'The Sectile Shadow'

btcarey: With releases from both True Black Dawn AND Behexen, 2016 is starting to look like a pretty good year for Finnish Black Metal. I’m not all that familiar with True Black Dawn’s other material or it’s band member’s other projects, so I went into “Come the Colorless Dawn” with almost no expectations.

The record carries a deeply dark and haunting atmosphere, as if a raving asylum patient gave birth to it. An eerie dark-noise aspect is prevalent throughout the album giving it an even more dismal sound. The vocals might be the most distinguishable trait of the music and are delivered by the somewhat symbol of the band, Wrath. His distinctive style ranges from a slow distorted drone to an almost power metal shrieking style allowing the album to rise above the black metal masses and be something special.

Favorite Songs: “The Light Goes Out”, “The Ring-Pass-Not”, “Eyes Of The Cadaver”

Weekly album: Behexen - The Poisonous Path

Behexen -The Poisonous Path

2016 / Black metal

1. The Poisonous Path

2. The Wand of Shadows

3. Cave of the Dark Dreams

4. A Sword of Promethean Fire

5. Umbra Luciferi

6. Tyrant of Luminous Darkness

7. Chalice of the Abyssal Water

8. Pentagram of the Black Earth

9. Gallows of Inversion

10. Rakkaudesta Saatanaan

btcarey: Finland is an extremely fortuitous country. It’s not for their top-notch education, impressive healthcare system, or indestructible cellphones, but the country’s unwavering ability to produce some of the best metal bands in the world. Charging in the front lines of Finland’s Black Metal Battalion is the almighty Behexen. The phrase “black metal” can scarcely be brought up without reference to the legendary band or their classic album “By the Blessing of Satan”. For this reason when Behexen’s most recent album, “The Poisonous Path”, was released I had to check it out.

The album is more “clean-cut” or professionally mixed, than previous releases, giving the songs a less chaotic yet tight sound. As far as songwriting, the album’s pace is much faster than Behexen’s previous record with better, more memorable songs. The vocals are about the same as on “Nightside Emanations”, but the guitar tone is the best of any of their releases. It has an incredibly powerful, crushing tone with a sweet fuzz that really pulls the mix together.

This is an solid album and could even have the balls to be one of the top black metal albums of 2016. I recommend it to any fan of Finnish Black Metal.

Favorite Songs: “The Poisonous Path”, “A Sword of Protean Fire”, “Chalice of the Abyssal Water”

tp5170: Behexen has always kept the quality of their work rather high despite the numerous changes to the band’s musical style and it’s nice to see that they managed to keep the flag high also with the band’s fresh, fifth full-length release. ‘The Poisonous Path’ represents a return to a slightly more traditional black metal and the album sounds far more conventional than its predecessor ‘Nightside Emanations’ did. Now whether this can be considered a positive or a negative thing is highly subjective. Though I have to say that for me the biggest problem with the album is indeed the return to the traditional style as otherwise the album is of superb quality. The fact that apart from the excellent execution there is basically nothing, at least in my eyes that would separate this album from the rest of the bunch is frankly unfortunate. 

But like I said, I think Behexen has yet to release a bad album. ‘The Poisonous Path’ is far above the average conventional BM releases in almost every respect, but it lacks the innovation to be a true gem.

The thing is that today there exists simply so much black metal in the world that one needs to mix up the formulae at slightly to make it actually interesting again. Behexen didn’t really set out to do this with their new album, which is a shame in my opinion because even though the album is solid it doesn’t really stand out all that well.

Orostider: Behexen have been preaching their black mass since 1996 and have done it in several different styles. Their early material, the material I discovered Behexen from, was fierce and raw black metal. Just what I sought at the time being and won't be forgotten. Especially 'By the Blessing of Satan' which could quite possibly be my all time Behexen favourite. As the time passed by, Behexen's sound transformed into less lofi and raw form of black metal, but the core was still the same. For me the evolution reached it's glory on the split with Satanic Warmaster and 'Nightside Emanations.' 'The Poisonous Path' seems to follow the same path as 'Nightside Emanations'.

'Nightside Emanations' offered semi-modern sounding black metal with catchy grooves and powerful riffs. The high shrieks that were present on the first two albums were gone and were almost completely replaced with lower chanting vocals. The same pattern is repeated on 'The Poisonous Path.' These new Behexen releases are definitely more approachable than their previous material, but that doesn't mean quality loss. I enjoyed 'Nightside Emanations' and 'The Poisonous Path' offers the continuum I've waited for this ritual.

'The Poisonous Path' is a worthy successor by all means, but it would probably be more powerful it it wasn't as lengthy as it is. I wouldn't call the album repetitive, but the overall sound stays pretty much the same throughout the almost an hour long album. Apart for lengthiness and the somewhat dull snare sound, I have no complaints. This is what modern production black metal should be. I can always go back to the early years if I long Behexen's raw black metal days, so complaining about their new sound is pointless.