At this point, I’m really not sure if Norwegians are resilient, tough, or just plain masochistic. Three months into a year that has already seen record-low temperatures set across the globe and they seem quite happy to let it stay that way. Forget thoughts of spring or summer, Thomas Eriksen, the mastermind behind black metal act Mork, seemingly wants the world to remain in perpetual winter, grimmer and more frostbitten than your average Immortal video.
The Swedish death metal scene, especially the Gothenburg-based one with quintessential names like At the Gates, Entombed, and Dark Tranquility surrounding, is indeed all-around influential; many bands heavily inspired by the Gothenburg death metal scene have emerged throughout the past years. The Minneapolis-bound Majesties is one of the said bands. With members originating from the equally groundbreaking extreme metal acts Obsequiae and Inexorum, there was born a convergence, an allied force between those two acts– which is Majesties who recently have just released their first full-length entitled Vast Reaches Unclaimed, through 20 Buck Spin.
In the world of heavy music, there needs to be some degree of weird, strange, maybe even taboo. Without this, all we have is anger and aggression with little bursts of sadness. This need is currently being filled by that of Pennsylvania’s own duo dissonant black/death metal group, Veilburner. These two have been dropping full-length releases consistently since 2014 (first I am hearing of it, color me interested) but now the sixth record has disturbed the planet in the form of VLBRNR (Transcending Obscurity). Sometimes the most comforting music, given the right environment and levels of vulnerability, is actually the most uncomfortable music.
Legendary Black Metal innovators Immortal have announced the completion of their upcoming new studio album. Their new record, War Against All, will be released via Nuclear Blast Records in 2023. With music and more details to be announced soon, War Against All is the band’s 10th studio album, and it will feature feature new songs in classic Immortal style. The album features found Demonaz, and was produced by Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal of Enslaved and Audrey Horne, who also played bass on the album. Longtime drummer Horgh (ex Hypocrisy) is not part of the album and drums were performed by Kevin Kvåle.
The Ashen Abhorrence (Debemur Morti Productions) is the debut album from Finnish duo Pestilence Hex, who delivers a full-on blast of heavily old-school Norwegian-influenced black metal. The project brings together vocalist M.Malignant (Corpsessed / Tyranny) and multi-instrumentalist L.Oathe (Desolate Shrine / Convocation) two musicians better known in death/doom circles, but who certainly appear to also know exactly what they’re doing when it comes to the black stuff.
Upon hearing there was a forthcoming third Abbath album about to drop, to say I was excited would be a serious understatement. The first two really kicked some ass but, with that being said I always try to approach every new album I get whether doing a review or not with a completely open mind. I do my best to try and not compare it to anything and just let it stand alone. Dread Reaver (Season of Mist) will definitely stand on its own.
Common wisdom would have you believe that most bands approaching their third decade, and / or seventh album, will have found either a comfortable groove, or a furrow that they like to plough, and that the desire to challenge themselves and their supporters, to expand or revitalise their sound, has probably been dissipated to some degree. The cycle begats the (album) cycle and the artist, conscious of the desired output, sates the audience even if they do make token refinements to keep their own creative beasts content. For while there may be tweaks and tinkerings, there are, deep-down, a forest path of a woodland much explored, not often adventures anew.
Viking Metal started out by combining the epic energy of Black Metal with the mystical grace of Folk music. Enslaved is a band at the pinnacle of this heavy, Nordic sound. Starting out as teenagers, this Norweigian act has successively enhanced the Scandinavian metal scene for nearly thirty years. Their beginnings were more in the realm of the extreme, but over time Enslaved has not been afraid to dip into other genres like Prog Rock and Jazz. It’s encouraging to witness their ability to be undaunted by their explorations while still being true to their Viking roots. Their new fifteenth full-length album, Utgard (Nuclear Blast) verifies their astute ambition of experimentmentation and expression.
Immortal’s members Harald “Demonaz” Nævdal and Reidar “Horgh” Horghagen are involved in a legal dispute over the rights to the band’s name. One of Norway’s first and most successful black metal acts, Immortal was formed by Demonaz and Olve “Abbath” Eikemo in 1990. Horgh joined the group in 1996. Six years ago, Abbath and the rest of the group went through a bitter breakup.Continue reading
Tough times for Lorna Shore to begin the new year. Frist the band had to dismiss vocalist CJ McCreery after he was accused of sexual and emotional abuse by several women. Now the band has opted to cancel their tour of Asia set to start later this month. You can see the message below from the band. The bands’ debut album in their new deal with Century Media Records, Immortal, is set to arrive January 31st, but the band has yet to determine their future in the wake of their recent issues. Fans are understandably upset and have taken to the bands’ socials to comment. We’ll keep following this story as it develops. Continue reading