In the third part of September, six albums from the black, death and doom fields came together, all sharing heavy atmosphere and attention to detail. Wherever there’s a player, you can hear them in full.
Blodtår – Monark (Stockholm, melodic folk black metal)
The Swedes’ second album slowly lets go of the style that recalled Windir and moves toward more dramatic and at the same time more personal moments, without losing the pagan feel. The vocals are full of intensity and the sound is massive, while on «Paradis» their epic side comes clearly to the front. An album that shows a band coming out of its shell.
Ch’ahom – Anthropic Rites of Sublimation (Essen, black/death metal)
The Germans build their second album on themes from Mexica culture, within an atmospheric, warlike environment. Here their progressive death side comes out more clearly, something that will appeal to those who can stand the harsh production in the era of Into Coffin and Grave Upheaval.
Runemagick – After Chaos: Nocturnal Vigil (Sweden, death/doom metal)
Their fifteenth album is a double LP of about 90 minutes that continues «Cycle of the Dying Sun». Rudolfsson and his crew move into a psychedelic, abstract version of death/doom, with multiple layers of vocals, slow tempos and tracks that are built with patience. «Urðr’s Cosmic Weave» shows where the story is going, while the second disc is the more experimental of the two.
Windswept – A Sign of the Cloven Hoof (Ukraine, black metal)
Behind Windswept is the man of Drudkh and Hate Forest, and this fourth album moves between raw classic black metal and more atmospheric passages. The inspiration comes from Ukrainian demonology and the early works of Mykola Gogol, while «Buried Face Down» is the album’s most direct track.
Hail Conjurer – Abyss & Ekstasis (Helsinki, black metal)
Tenth album in ten years for H.K.’s personal project (Hooded Menace, Ride For Revenge), and among the most composed he has put out: the experimentation with noise stays further back and its place is taken by a primitive black metal with dark romantic melody, close to the black/doom of the early 90s. «Ecstasy of Flesh», «Golden Pages of Contempt» and «Nocturnal Ardour» stand out.
Autumnfall – The Archaic Sins (Finland, melodic black/death metal)
Behind the project is Jussi Hänninen, a founding member of Fall of the Leafe, along with people from The Bleak Picture. The fourth album plays with the sound of Finnish melodic death metal of the late 90s, with guitars up front and tracks like «Pulse» and «Lightless Depths» running fast and clean.
See also: Krallice – Scour Order | Mittags-Abgrund – Mittags-Abgrund
