Ask anyone to name their all time favourite Irish metal bands and Primordial will likely sit near the top, if not at the very summit of the list. Formed three decades ago but with roots that date back further to when they were known as Forsaken, the Dublin based act have only ever made the barest minimum of changes to their line-up over the years, their most recent move seeing them return to operating with four members after nearly twenty years as a five-piece.
It has been six years since we last saw new material from Chris Grigg’s Black Metal outfit Woe, and on a global scale it has certainly been an eventful and ultimately catastrophic time in which humanity seems consciously hell-bent on self-destruction and that of the world itself. It is pretty easy to see therefore just where Grigg’s inspiration comes from in the overarching narrative of Legacies of Frailty (Vendetta Records), an album that holds the anguish of such at its forefront alongside a sound of striking ferocity.
Having reviewed Grave Pleasures‘ Plagueboys for Ghost Cult earlier this year, as a Mat McNerney fan I was excited to see he had another record out, this time via his folk-orientated project Hexvessel.
Mayhem have one of extreme metal’s most *ahem* colorful histories. With that notoriety along with their groundbreaking and phenomenal album, De Myseriis Dom Sathanas, Mayhem has always been the black metal band to check out when you first discover the genre.
Black metal, in and of itself, can be very polarizing due to the imagery, lyrical content, and if the band is “true” black metal or not (side note: what a stupid debate to have). One such polarizing band, UADA, has dropped their fourth full-length album, Crepuscule Natura (Eisenwald Records) and is some of their best work to date. Sticking to their signature melodic black metal sound with lyrics mostly about nature and the cosmos, the Portland, Oregon, four-piece put us on a spiritual journey for forty minutes.
Disharmonium – Nahal (Debemur Morti Productions) is the sixteenth full-length release from Blut Aus Nord, the enigmatic French avant-garde black metal band that have now existed for thirty years. Following on from last year’s Disharmonium – Undreamable Abysses, this new record also draws inspiration from H.P Lovecraft and is claimed by its accompanying press release to be “womb-like, detail-rich, disturbed and transformative”.
Whilst perhaps not as highly regarded for the genre as the likes of Norway, the United Kingdom does have a formidable pedigree for producing Black Metal, whether that being down to recognisable names such as Cradle Of Filth up to a current and brilliant crop including the likes of Underdark and Dawn Ray’d. Adding to these ranks are the enigmatic The Sun’s Journey Through The Night, led by vividly masked architect No One (and now joined by equally mysterious Corvus, Deimos, and Lune) and quickly growing a formidable reputation following three, contrasting, full-length albums encompassing raw Black Metal and a full ambient release, plus several smaller releases and demos, leading up to this, their fourth full-length and most realised and adventurous work to date.
If there was ever a time I could put the label of “abrasive” on an album, it would have to be for the debut full-length from Disimperium, Grand Insurgence Upon Despotic Altars (Sentient Ruin Laboratories). Take the mystical and obscure portions of black metal, lay them upon the bones of death metal, and crank up the intensity with grindcore and this makes up the uneasy feeling in your gut as you listen to the Oakland natives. Nine tracks at around half an hour is all you need to feel like you got hit by a truck filled with speakers turned up to eleven.
Prosaic (Profound Lore Records) is the latest release from the impressive solo Black Metal project, Mizmor. Hailing from the US Pacific Northwest and recorded in multi-instrumentalist A.L.N’s home studio in Portland Oregon, the record follows last year’s Wilts End EP, and Long-Players Cairn in 2019 and Yodh in 2016, which also received a live release following a rare performance recorded at the prestigious 2018 Roadburn Festival.
In a world of ever-increasing hardship and struggle, it is easy to feel that dread is a more regularly present and less surprising companion day to day. Certainly, that is a sense that the multi-national (consisting of members from Brazil, France, Italy, and the UK), London-based Calligram convey throughout their sound with their roots consisting largely of Black Metal and Hardcore to a harrowing and ultimately relatable effect. Continue reading
