Hey, My Blog's A Year Old!

Hey, my blog's a year old!

They grow up so fast....

-Black Vice- Austin, Texas based black metal.

Photo by blogger. 2017

Black Vice

Black Vice / Haunter, by Black Vice

3 track album

The Marching Fire

13th Sky

I've learned over the years that I'm terribly picky about my goth rock, death rock, and post-punk in general. I have a small selection of bands I love dearly, yet outside of that I struggle to find new material that appeals to me within the genre.

Well 13th Sky have easily joined my small selection. This is a beautiful blend of dark influences that roars like a punk album, but remains catchy and melodic like the best goth rock. It's fast, fiery, melancholic and scathing.

The guitarwork is superb, clearly pulling from classic deathrock, Sisters of Mercy jangles, and even what sounds like horror punk and surf rock on some tracks. The vocal work is blessedly it's own thing, no Andrew Eldritch try hard here. I would equate it to a deeper Mat McNerney of Grave Pleasures with almost a touch of Michale Graves.

The rhythm section is energetic, catchy, and foot-tappingly good. The drumming is upbeat and reminiscent of the finest punk batteries. The bass lurks in the background, taking center stage when evoking that classic goth rock sound, such as on Solace. And the synths are tastefully utilized, creating atmospheres and filling out the overall sound while never being overdone.

You can pick up this Los Angeles, California based band's material from their Bandcamp page.

I don't see this UK black metal band shared around as much as they should be. Traditional black metal full of venomous rage, if you enjoy the classic black metal sound these fellows are worth checking out. They're raw and unapologetic, rabid and fiery.

Agents of Satan is a 7in you can pick up via Apocalyptic Witchcraft Recordings, and I believe the label might have their full-length available as well, The Great Mortality. A new album should also be on the way soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Eden in Reverse

Hail Spirit Noir

(Preorder/Upcoming)

Looking forward to the newest release from Greece's psychedelic black metal wizards Hail Spirit Noir, to be released June 19th from Agonia Records. Two tracks have been released so far, with the second featuring guest vocals from Borknagar's Lars Nedland (who released a fabulous album last year).

So far the tracks have leaned heavily towards prog, capitalizing on the bands kooky, ethereal capabilities. The insane spiraling synth of The First Ape on New Earth is simultaneously creepy and beautiful, with the guitars following suit. And the soft clean vocal work hides an undertow of foreboding that permeates the track.

Nedland's vocals work wonderfully on Crossroads, a perfect match of progressive musical beauty. The track might have almost fit in on Borknagar's last album, but yet not at all, with HSN injecting their usual infectious strange into the track.

I've definitely enjoyed the teasers, but really look forward to getting to hear the whole thing, as HSN are one of those bands where the whole album is simply an experience unto its own.

----The album is available for preorder, though depending on your location you may not want to preorder physical copies from Agonia Records' Bandcamp page, as shipping is rather hefty. You may check local record distributors for your home country, and it also looks to be available on at least the American Amazon store as well, depending on where you shop. -----

Dutch progressive black metal duo Urfaust are easily one of my favorite 21st century black metal bands. Their mix of ambience, atmosphere, and the avant-garde is excellent, and they consistently release quality music.

Their 2016 release, Empty Space Meditations, is a slow building crescendo of ambience that morphs into aggressively majestic howls, a bellowing wail into the void of existence. Each track builds upon the last, flowing seamlessly into one another while still maintaining individual identity.

This duo are exceptional musicians, and they work together flawlessly. This is some of my favorite black metal vocal work, from the tormented screeches to the majestic roaring cleans. And the drumwork. Meditatum V is my favorite track, mostly for the drumming. Its perfectly woven around the chant-like vocals, blending wonderfully with the riffs in a ritual of cosmic comprehension.

I believe most of their material is available from Van Records, and can be found easily on Bandcamp. Highly recommend them if you want a powerful and magical music experience.

Adversarial Light

Lothric

There's not much I can say about this album just yet, except that I bought it after just one song. So far it has been a fantastic modern homage to second wave black metal, and I found the riffs to be exemplary. The vocal work is really well done as well, it has a sort of lilting quality to the harsh bellows before transforming into fiery damned roars. And the drumming remains consistent even while galloping at full pace with the guitar, making nice complex transitions to underline vocal and riff changes. As I explore more of it I'm also finding some superb Viking/Folk metal forays with the guitar riffs and overall song pacing that pleases me greatly. Overall, I strongly recommend checking out this project.

The album can be picked up digitally from the artist on their Bandcamp page, unfortunately it looks like physical copies are currently all out of stock, not that I can blame people for snatching them up.