Altar Of Plagues - Mammal (2011)

Band: Altar Of Plagues
Album: Mammal
Year: 2011
Country: Ireland
I've followed Altar Of Plagues since their first full length-album, and their development is so interesting to follow. Ever since their demo, when they mostly were extremely influenced by Wolves In The Throne Room, you can hear that they have the potential to make something great that's never really been done before. And for every release they've done, they've gotten closer to that.
Altar Of Plagues has their own sound, but it twists and turns a bit from every album, so you can never foresee anything. When I heard the atmosphericness in the first few seconds of the album, I could not imagine the intenseness that would follow. And those are the key words for the whole album. You'll get escorted into this repetitive atmospheric part, and then all of a sudden, you just get carried away in the speed of darkness. Some may probably say that this album is too repetitive with these parts, since the tracks are also quite long, but they haven't understood the patterns of this journey Altar Of Plagues will serve you.
I also know that some people have commented on the production of this. This album is very well produced, but they don't do it the common way. Their drums are set very high, the guitars are quite low, and the vocals are really distant. It sounds like they come from a man screaming out his desperation alone in the woods. I just think it sets the whole album.

Song(s) you should listen to: Well, I got this album yesterday, confirmed that it was really good, and uploaded it. Therefore I would say that you should just listen to the album from the beginning to the end, but some song will maybe grow you a favourite after a couple of listenings. The first track - Neptune Is Dead, will blow your mind though. The Sun Drowns In The Ocean is very experimental, with a humming and joiking woman together with an atmospheric mood. I could imagine many would skip this track, because it's very unexpected, to say the least. But the end of the song flows perfectly into the last track All Life Converges To Some Center, which I really adore. I actually got tears in my eyes while listening to it, it's really beautiful.

MYSPACE / DOWNLOAD

Deafheaven - Roads To Judah (2011)

Band: Deafheaven
Album: Roads To Judah
Year: 2011
Country: USA
Last time we wrote about Deafheaven I wished them the best of luck in the future. That was probably unnecessary, because this album just blew my mind. And last time I also said that you would get the same feeling while listening to this band as you would with Agalloch, Wolves In The Throne Room, or Altar Of Plagues. Damn you guys to hell, I have to take those words back, because I was wrong. Again.
Even though it's their first album, they already have a picture of how they want their music to sound like, and follows that thread for every second. The most impressive part is that this is unique. This is not Black Metal, Shoegaze, Post-Hardcore, or whatever. They're not scientists or such, but they've borrowed influences from so many different genres that it is impossible to fit it into anything. Stuff such as fluttering "butterfly guitars" isn't something new, but it's already the signature of Deafheaven. And damn, those butterfly guitars are great. Combined with the pounding drums they make the whole album both intense and vulnerable at the same time.
And yeah, I know that the album cover is too lame for vikings such as us, and that they're still somewhat considered as a "hipster-band". They even have a Tumblr instead of a real band page. But come on, just watch some live clips - they know what they do, and they're tight as hell. End of discussion.

Song(s) you should listen to: Violet is a perfect opener of this album. It's slow melancholic intro will certainly get you into right state of mind before it really starts. But don't let go of all your consciousness, when the song really starts, be prepared to grab on to your chair.
Language Games is a bit more aggressive and intense, such as Tunnel Of Trees. Just the way I like it. The only song I'm not very into is Unrequited, but I know that some of you would like that as well. So just listen to the whole album.

BANDCAMP / DOWNLOAD

Peste Noire - L'Ordure À L'État Pur (2011)

Band: Peste Noire
Album: L'Ordure À L'État Pur
Year: 2011
Country: France
Peste Noire has been a very special band from the start. They named their first demo "Aryan Supremacy", but  Famine - the man behind PN, claimed that they weren't nazi's, since that's a German device. And since then Famine has provocated the whole scene with stupid statements.
The band was also been very noticed because of the fact that Neige - the man behind Alcest, were a session band member during the demo releases. He then also made some guest apperances on the first two albums, and wrote one single song during his whole time in the band. Some distros and record labels have claimed that Peste Noire is "one of Neige's bands", just to sell more PN-records. This makes Famine rage, and he says:
"To claim that Neige is an important figure in PN is the same as saying that the person who plays the triangle in SOPOR AETERNUS AND THE ENSEMBLE OF SHADOWS is the main man in SOPOR. Our lives are different and so are our tastes, friends, ambitions, views, and so forth. I don't spend time in the same places. I don't even spend time with them. I am nothing like them. They are rich, idle, with hardly any responsibilities on their hands; they use their parents' money to pay for recording costs. I am poor, I write with a sense of urgency, I record using very crappy equipment. I don't write teenager poems from the balcony of a rich Parisian apartment, I just want to destroy all that, and I know exactly what I'm talking about. Now let me reiterate: I hold no grudge against Neige and his friends, but it just so happens that if Neige or his friends refute these facts, which are nothing but the truth, in one way or the other, I will be forced to shave their heads, take a picture of it and post it on the internet. I'd prefer not having to do that. I hate to take it out on weaker individuals, but if they choose to go against truth, I will be forced to perform such an act as I cannot tolerate lies. I therefore swear on my cat's life before the whole world: if they deny these facts I will shave their heads."

Song(s) you should listen to: This album is just fucking hilarious. So I'll just go through the songs one by one:

Casse, Péches, Fractures Et Traditions starts off kind of mysterious and medieval, as we're used to. But then I don't know what the fucked happened. They sure had a dope party with the Oompa Loompas, Mora Träsk, and the guy who wrote the French coffee song though. Just when you thought it couldn't get more awkward, Famine shouts "COCORICO!" and counts a choir in, who are all going nuts as crazy roosters. What the fuck?

Cochon Carotte Et Les Soerus Crotte is a about having sex... maybe with animals? I just don't know. Not my cup of tea at all.

J'avais Rêvé Du Nord 1 has a very electro-influenced intro, controlled by a repeated guitar riff during the first 3 minutes of the song. But it's quite interesting! Then a mellow part kicks in, and Audrey from Amesouers does some soprano vocals for a while. Then the song develops quite well, and maybe you can actually think about listen to it a second time.

J'avais Rêvé Du Nord 2 is the rawest on this album. It's focused on common dirtyness, with the smoker-on-his-deathbed-vocals, some coughing which actually makes me twist and turn a bit... But after a while you will burst out in laughter again due to the hooligan choir who shouts "LALA-LALA-LALA LAAA-LAAA!".

I don't know if you just have gotten used to the sound of the album when you get to this song, but Sale Famine Von Valfourte is actually good! It's very aggressive, and contains so much darkness that it will summon your grandmother. Just the way we like it.

La Condi Hu is actually very sweet! It's not anything like Peste Noire. It even contains beautiful cello and post-rock influences, and it's combined in a way making me get goosebumps. The only Peste Noire-thing about this is that the lyrics is mostly just words for different kinds of diseases in French, so it's not the kind of sad love song you thought it would be. But I would recommend you to download this and suffer through the whole album just to listen to this song, It's worth it, I promise.

WEBSITE / DOWNLOAD

Darkthrone - Circle The Wagons (2010)

Band: Darkthrone
Album: Circle The Wagons
Year: 2010
Country: Norway
Everyone knows or SHOULD at least know who Darkthrone is. They have been around since the very beginning and even if you like them or not you can't deny that they set the standard for many bands in the black metal-genre. People talk a lot about the death-era ala Soulside Journey and the black metal-era that followed but I think that people don't give the newer era the attention that it deserves. We have come a long way since Transylvanian Hunger which is and always will be a masterpiece for the genre but that is no reason to turn down on the newer albums. Maybe someday Fenriz and Nocturno will close the casket and retire to a life in piece but Circle The Wagons shows that they have a long way to go before that happens. If I were to make a list of the best albums from the previous year Circle The Wagons would definitely be in the top five. Everything about it just reeks of Darkthrone even though it sounds like a dirty and possessed version of Motörhead. The riffs are beyond great, the primitive drumming pounds you like a woodpecker determined to bash your skull in and the vocals sounds like a foul and angry drunk that just got out of bed only to find out that there's no coffee left, cursing the whole mankind for being against him. The first song Those Treasures Shall Never Befall You is about black metal never breaking any new grounds and to me that is what this album is about, breaking new grounds. But if you are contempt with treading water in the past then I really can't blame you. But at least give this record a try. You don't want this treasure to get out of hands.

Song(s) you should listen to: I Am the Working Class always gets me going. It's a real killer and whenever I try to convince people to listen to this record this is the song I always show. If there were an award for best metal-riff the price would go to Darkthrone without a doubt.

BUY/DOWNLOAD

CELESTE - NIHILISTE(S)

Band: CELESTE
Album: NIHILISTE(S)
Year: 2008
Country: France
Those who know me in real life will probably go like "FINALLY, she's uploading it!" when they read this post. I heard this album short after it's release in 2008, and since then I've been really nagging for anyone to listen to it. Everyone knows that CELESTE is one of my favourite bands, and this album is very close to my heart.
And why? It's not just only because CELESTE is formed from the ashes of Mihai Edrisch. It's also because this shit is so fucking intense that you need to grab on to your seat while watching your whole life passing by. I have no idea about how, but in some way they make the most raw and evil pieces of music I've ever heard. They use very sludgy guitars most of the time and the drums often set the intensity-level. The reason I talk about that intensity all the time is because they are masters of build ups. First of all there can be a small change of pace to a slower direction to catch your attention. Then it builds up, and creates a tension making movie writers jealous. And all of a sudden hell breaks loose and you're about to have an epileptic attack. They're not called "Hell's Choir" for nothing.

Song(s) you should listen to: Mais encore faut-il pouvoir renier tout un programme is the song that I think represents the build ups I was talking about earlier the most. It's so intense that it makes me want to slam my face to the wall until it's gone. Literally.

MYSPACE / DOWNLOAD

Dödfödd - Demo I & II

Band: Dödfödd

Album: Demo I & II

Year: 2002

Country: Sweden

It's only April and it already feels like summer here in Sweden. And what better way to shield one self from the radiant sun than listen to ice cold Black Metal? . Dödfödd, which means Stillborn in Swedish, is a hidden gem in Swedish Black Metal and is often overlooked. After the split up the founding members went on to form the band Ofermod that perhaps is a bit more well known. Dödfödd released three demos during their short lifespan, this is a compilation of the first two demos Livlös Massa, Dödfödd Själ and Förfall, Undergång och Död. I personally prefer the second part of the demo which is a bit better produced but still has that dirty sound that make it sound like the band just crawled up from a grave somewhere, thirsting for blood and reeking of rot and decay. The complaint I have about this release is the intro to the first part, perhaps it's just me but I feel like a three minute mash-up of outtakes from something that sounds like a bad B-movie horror is a proper way to start a demo. But if you don't suffer from the lastfm-syndrome and need to scrobble every song you can just skip that part.

So if you don't feel like lush green grass, popsongs and sunshine is your game then I suggest you treat yourself to some nice raw and misanthropic Black Metal. Treat yourself to some Dödfödd, I guarantee that it will wash the smile from your face.

Song(s) you should listen to: The whole second part of the demo shows progression over the first without drifting away from the roots. The best and rawest of them all however is Viddernas Herre, it is also the fastest. Some might say that this is a stereotypic song that don't bring anything new to the table but who cares as long as it's good? I have to give extra credits to the drum fills that really gives this song an extra dimension.

DOWNLOAD

Deafheaven - Demo (2010)

Band: Deafheaven
Album: Demo
Year: 2010
Country: USA
I've read some reviews on this demo, and this band sounded really interesting. So I decided to look them up. And then I figured out that they recently signed to Deathwish Inc., the label that nowadays mostly seem to sign hyped bands and suck out money from kids who idolize Converge. We also have the fact that this cover is baby blue and pink, combined with a try to be trve kvlt by writing "DFHVN" instead of just "Deafheaven". This combination doesn't make sense. The third reason not to listen to this is that when you look at their live pictures on lastFM, they all have nice haircuts, everyone but one wears bright coloured shirts, and not a single goat was shedded. No fucking way that I would get involved in this shit by free will.
But in a weak moment I just happened to listen to it anyway. And my facial expression 10 seconds into the first song is probably priceless. My expectations was some kind of basement recording by young hipster boys who realized playing Emo won't get you any girls these days. I was kind of wrong.
This is a very well produced demo riding the popular wave of combined forces of Post-Hardcore and Black Metal. Since this band is from USA, you will hear that the big influence is Xasthur instead of Lifelover, which is a good thing since the Lifelover is kind of worn out these days. This is not original or evolving though, you will get the same feeling when you listen to Agalloch, Wolves In The Throne Room, or Altar Of Plagues. But on the other hand, this is just a demo, and I wish the best of luck to these guys in the future.

Song(s) you should listen to: The first track Libertine Dissolves is a good one. It's explosiveness in the beginning kind of reminds me of treasures such as Celeste. Then it calms down a bit and gets quite emotional, then it blows you away again.

MYSPACE / DOWNLOAD

Fides Inversa - Hanc Aciem Sola Retundit Virtus (The Algolagnia Divine) (2009)

Band: Fides Inversa

Album: Hanc Aciem Sola Retundit Virtus (The Algolagnia Divine)

Year: 2009

Country: Italy

Try to pronounce that album-title six times fast, could be a great drinking game. Apparently the title is Latin and means something like Just Virtue Lowers the Acuteness, the name Fides Inversa means Inverse Faith. The album starts off with a intro consisting of an orchestra playing something that sounds like battle-music. Then the music cuts through the room like a roman gladius and the battle is upon you. Volley after volley of dark and relentless Black Metal is thrown at you with remarkable speed, rarely the bpm reaches below the "evil mark". This dark legion of extreme music shows no mercy and if I would have seen that album-cover as a banner on the fields of battle I would turn my back and run for my life. Fides Inversa could well enough be one of the next big names in Black Metal and if a band from Rome whom plays Orthodox Black Metal and sings in Latin is not the perfect mixture then I don't know what is.

Song(s) you should listen to: The last track, Algolagnia Divine, has some really great riffs and a lot of variation. There's a bit of blast beat-mayhem, a bit of melodic jibber jabber as well as some slower and heavier parts. My favourite part begins at about 7:20, the fast drumming and the sliding guitar-riff really works out great together.

MYSPACE/DOWNLOAD

Altar Of Plagues - Sol (2008)

Band: Altar Of Plagues

Album: Sol

Year: 2008
Country: Ireland
If you're the kind of person who gives a fuck about the environment, people starving, and those kinds of things fat lazy politicians are causing by sitting on their thrones doing nothing but eating tortured pig pork and expensive chocolate reaped by poor African children, Altar Of Plagues maybe will be something for you. It will maybe also suit you if you're the kind or person who pretends to care about that because it's trendy.
I won't deny that Altar Of Plagues will grow into a trendy band, if they're not already considered as one. Somewhere around 2006 they probably discovered that Wolves In The Throne Room made a huge success with their first full length album of environmental hippie black metal, so they decided to kind of copy them. And add some influences of other successful epic sludge bands such as Neurosis, Isis, etc.
But, Altar Of Plagues is definately not a bad band. This EP is their second release, and naturally it's a bit more dirty and less refined than their last two releases (White Tomb (2009), and Tides(2010)). Therefore my personal opinion is that this isn't their best release, but they found their trademark; modern Black Metal very influenced by Sludge, Doom, and Post-Metal. It's not very trve, if you prefer corpse painted warriors fighting each other with sticks in the woods of Norway, but it will leave you with an impression. And if Sol is the first thing you've heard of Altar Of Plagues, you will expect shitloads from their later releases.

Song(s) you should listen to: With Fire In Our Veins We Drown In Light is the song that includes the most genre crossings on this EP I guess. It starts off with a really catcy post intro, then evolving into an anthem-ish part where two singers sings something that would probably sound cheesy if it was written down. Then the song evolves a tons of times into tons of different parts, which is quite good for a reason, since the song is about 14 minutes long. But sometimes it involves into things that you don't really understand (like at 08.29, it starts off pretty good, but ends in a total disaster).
There are two or three vocalists on this track, and the one who starts to sing at 02.35 will maybe be disliked by some people because it sounds like a young teenage boy in complete desperation. I, on the other hand, thinks these vocals are quite interesting, probably mostly because of the desperation level, but also because it's so not expected.

WEBSITE / DOWNLOAD

Vestiges - The Descent of Man (2010)

Artist: Vestiges

Album: The Descent of Man

Year: 2010

Country: United States

I first heard about this band some months ago from a guy I bought some Fall of Efrafa-records from. After a little bit of smalltalk he then says that he and his band are soon about to release their debut album and that if I like Fall of Efrafa then I might like what they had to offer. That got my attention and I was looking forward to hearing this new mysterious band. During the weeks that past i read about the band on their homepage to see if I could find more information about them. It didn't take long to realize that this was a band that was about more than music and selling records. The record was going to be a storyline describing the creation and downfall of man and the damage we have caused on this earth through industrialization, militarization, theism and so on. Since I'm a sucker for bands that has a story behind their music my expectations was quite high when I finally got a hold of the album, but I did not expect to be blown away the way I did. The record started out with an intro with some distorted noise and a voice which I couldn't interpret. Then, slowly but steady, a guitar sneaks up on me while playing a really cozy melody, then some bass and some drums joined the mellow dance. So far so good. Then suddenly the music smites me down like lightning and the post-metal appocalypse is upon me. I could not believe what I was listening to. This did not sound like a new band whom are just trying out their new wings, it sounded like a band whom has been around and developed for quite some time. The range of different genres that were thrown at me was amazing. One moment I was being cradled by sweet and mellow post-rockish tunes only to be thrown into a hail of speeding Black Metal-riffs and relentless Crust and in the next turn I was being crushed by epic post-hardcore build ups with sing-along parts that stuck inside my brain like glue.

Some months have passed since the first time I listened to The Descent of Man and it has only grown on me. Two more albums are planned to follow the narrative and I for one can't wait to see how Vestiges will progress from here.

Song(s) you should listen to: If I had to choose one song that stands out from the rest it would probably be IV. It's a solid song that has about everything a good post-metal song should have and to please all the crusties out there you find a really good D-Beat part about 5 minutes into the song. This song also contains the best sing-a-long part of the record at the end, it's impossible to not get swept away in the lyrics and I can only imagine how good that particular part must be live. However this record is supposed to be seen on as a whole rather than individual songs. They all connect and it gives a whole other perspective of the message that Vestiges are trying to give across.

HOMEPAGE/DOWNLOAD

Skendöd - Vanskapt (2008)

Band: Skendöd

Album: Vanskapt

Year: 2008

Country: Iceland/Sweden

Since it's still winter and cold as hell here in Sweden you get to listen to a lot of DSBM. Kind of like people associate ice-cream with summer, DSBM and winter goes perfectly hand in hand. Skendöd is a collaboration between two persons, one from Iceland and one from Sweden. Though I don't know much about the music-scene from Iceland, Sweden has a very strong tradition with good depressive music, must be the weather. The album "Vanskapt" is the only release so far from these guys and was recorded and released without the help of a label. Now everyone can record and release an album without significant knowledge or skill but very few bands reach out to a greater audience that way. That is were Skendöd excels from the rest, both music-wise and production-wise. These guys sure knows what they're doing. The music is dark as to be expected from this kind of music and both guitars and drums are executed in a excellent way with layered riffs and melodies and very intense drumming. The vocals provided by Swedish Ulf is a little different from many other band due to that instead of using high pitched shrieking he has a lower and rawer register that suits really well with the dark music. I think that these people has really found a great formula for writing cold and atmospheric Black Metal. I mean what could be more dark and cold than the realms of Iceland? Just adding a little touch of the Swedish forest-landscape and you cant go wrong.

Song(s) you should listen to: Tiden Bränner Allt which translated means "Time Burns Everything" is a really good song that shows the range of the skill that Skendöd possesses. Especially when the music suddenly fades and turns into a great performance of string instruments that really sets the mood without being cliché. From there the music builds up and then unleashes in sheer desperation as the music progresses into more and more darker realms. Some blast beats is thrown in as well and who doesn't love some good old blast beat?

MYSPACE/DOWNLOAD

Hypothermia - Skogens Hjärta (2010)

Band: Hypothermia

Album: Skogens Hjärta

Year: 2010

Country: Sweden

Since this song is ridiculously long (68 minutes and 44 seconds to be exact) I rarely manage to squeeze in enough time to listen to the whole song. But just the other day I had an hour and a half long bus journy through dark and snow-covered woods ahead of me so I couldn't resist the temptation. I didn't have a outer worldly experience but it sure made the drive comfortable and relaxing. Hypothermia is perhaps the most common name in the Depressive Black Metal-scene with multiple releases in their bag. Some think that they are amazing and some say that they are just overrated, everyone seems to have an opinion on them though. With this release you can clearly tell that the music tends to drift more and more to the Depressive Rock sound, kind of reminds me of a gloomier and heavier Red House Painters with it's slow and mellow guitar-play and simplistic drumming. The production on Skogens Hjärta is without a doubt the best to feature on any Hypothermia-release to date and overall the sound is more cleaner than before. Although there is some more distorted and harsher parts which for the most part gives the song a heavier background, the focus is mainly on the repetitive and very catchy melodies. This may not be easy listening due to the length and lack of variation, besides some nice build-ups and slightly different drumming on some parts the whole song evolves around the main melody. For me that is the beauty of the song and i think it makes the song more melancholic. Like a lullaby to a suicide.

Song(s) you should listen to: Speaks for itself doesn't it?

HOMEPAGE/DOWNLOAD

V/A Grå Fraktion (2010)

Artist: V/A (Gravsten, Evilblood, Lavender, Untitled, Galge, Marching Church, Garrotte, Salome)

Album: Grå Fraktion

Year: 2010

Country: Denmark

From the country that brought us Tuborg, pølse and piskeflø comes this bizarre collection of underground Black Metal. This LP contains 8 projects where 7 of them have their debut-releases, only Garrotte has previously released something and has gained a reputation among black metal-lofi'ers. It seems like there is a strong punk-vibe in the danish underground-scene which I think is a good thing, it makes the music sound even more dirty and foul. I can imagine that this music is created by a bunch of drunk people smashing instruments at some random party while listening to Darkthrone and GG Allin.

Song(s) you should listen to: All of these bands play a similar form of music with a few exceptions. I think the band that stands out a bit from the rest is Marching Church which has a more wierder build-up in the songs, choppy riffs and stuff like that. Also the vocals are a bit similar to bands like Circle of Ouroborus. Other than that Garrotte and Salome has some really good songs as well.

HOMEPAGE/DOWNLOAD

Weakling - Dead As Dreams (2000)

Band: Weakling

Album: Dead As Dreams

Year: 2000

Country: United States

This blog needs more Black Metal if we want to live up to its name. Therefore I thought I'd upload this band that a friend of mine told me to check out. As he has been into Black Metal for quite some time he has a good taste in music, and when he talks about a band, it's definitely worth listening to. So I went home, looked them up and the first song that blasted out of my speakers knocked me out of my chair. Weakling plays a style of Black Metal that is just my cup of tea, long songs with great guitarplay and drumming topped with vocals that are characteristic to Depressive Black Metal, full of despair and pain so to speak. Its clearly that Wolves In The Throneroom has been inspired by these guys. If you're looking for extremely raw and gnarly music then you might want to pass this up but if you fancy some really great and well played BM with lots of thought and feelings behind then you don't want to sleep on this one.

Song(s) you should listen to: This Entire Fucking Battlefield. This entire fucking song is fucking great. From start to finish it's a really good but some parts in it is absolutely amazing. You will find a build-up-part about 5 minutes into the song that transfers into a blast-part at 6 minutes that makes you feel like someone just poured a bucket of cold water over you. You might also like the last minutes where the song is slowed down and turns into an mellow and epic outro.

MYSPACE/DOWNLOAD

ColdWorld - Melancholie² (2008)

Band: ColdWorld

Album: Melancholie²

Year: 2008

Country: Germany

It's November and winter is just waiting around the corner, in fact we already had the first snow a couple of weeks ago. Time to start planning for Christmas, what are you gonna have on your vegan christmas buffe, where and with who are you gonna spend the holidays and when in between all the planning and stress are you gonna have a heart attack? Well I say screw that. Instead of going through all that most normal people do I suggest that you download this album and let yourself be reminded of the beauty of the winter times. Inspired by band such as Burzum this one man band combines atmospheric black metal with cold ambient and a hint of classic music. This is a masterpiece in depressive black metal and the soundtrack to my winter.

Songs(s) you should listen to: Tortured By Solitude

This is a song that instantly sticks in your head. The main riff is what makes this song so good. In fact the word "good" is an insult to the song, it's simply amazing and one of the best riffs I've ever heard in a Black Metal-band. I remember playing this song to a friend who loved the music but said that the vocals destroyed the song for him. If your not into this kind of music I can understand that but for me the vocals is perfectly suited for this. Georg Börners monotonous chant-like vocals is filled with despair and you can really feel the pain and tormention behind every word.

Hymn to Eternal Frost

A song that stands out from the rest of the album since it's actually quite uplifting and joyfull. Don't get me wrong it still has that lonely and sorrowfull vibe to it but instead of making you want to burst out in tears it puts a sad smile on your face instead. Check it for yourself and you will see what I mean, you won't get disappointed.

MYSPACE/DOWNLOAD

Sorgeldom - Innerlig Förmörkelse (2009)

Band: Sorgeldom
Album: Innerlig Förmörkelse
Year: 2009
Country: Sweden
We've been uploading some black and white-album covers in a row now, so let's continue with that, even though this is the ugliest thing I've ever seen. This band does not include happy native africans dancing around a voodoo pole though, as it may seem from the cover. On the other hand, it does contain three very talented musicians from the dark woods of Sweden. And as I'm thinking about what would be the most epic of these two, you can read more about the album below...
This version of the album is the original, with all lyrics in Swedish. There is a newer release called "Inner Receivings" which I predict is the same, but with all lyrics translated. I don't know for sure, since I haven't listened to it.
This album is a must-listen to everyone who is cold hearted and bitter. Because this is very cold hearted and bitter. It does start off pretty calm, then the second track, which is a raw black metal-song, comes and slaps you in the face. Then it shifts from being raw and evil to more sensitive and melancholic parts.


Song(s) you should listen to: Insikter is actually just the intro of the album, but it's really the best tracks on it. It just consists of a very repetitive guitar, giving you some kind of Ättestupa-feeling. It's what I call "hippie-melancholic" - meaning that it's not that melancholic that you want to lay down and die, but you get very calm of it. Livslusten For Med Vinden is a shorter interlude, but it has the same concept with it's repetitive guitar.
Geväret Lades Fram, Processen Blev Kort (roughly translated as "the rifle was handed over, the process became short") is one of the real songs on the album which I really do like. It takes the intro- and interlude-guitar which I adore, and but it into a mixture of the raw song. And it endurances those 10 minutes a song has to be to get cred by the those "post-kinds" of people (like myself). Amazing.

MYSPACE / DOWNLOAD

Líam - Journey... Two Years And A Fragment (2008)

Band: Líam
Album: Journey... Two Years And A Fragment
Year: 2008
Country: Germany
This album title may sound like the most thoughtful complex title in the world, maybe a concept album about someone who went through a state of *insert random emotion here*, but I have to spoil it for you - it isn't. Líam just picked out some of the songs they made in the last two years, and made this album. It may not sound so extraordinary, but the album itself is pretty interesting. It starts off with a post-rock sound. Though the band is claimed to be negative about this society we're living, the first track is pretty light and upplifting, sounding like Mogwai's baby cousin. As the album continues, you will start to notice that it will get a bit darker, but still with those instrumental post-rock influences. It flows in the landscape of Alcest, until the middle of the album, when a shriek suddenly wakes you up. This is the black metal-part of the album, where you can truly hear bitterness and agony mixed in a apocalyptic kind of way. This is therefore an album suitable for everyone, since the first part is uplifting for happy days, and the other part is not-so-happy for those days of hell.

Song(s) you should listen to: As I told you before, this album is divided into two parts, one lighter, and one darker. Since I joined the dark path before I was born, I prefer the last one. Etienne is the longest song on the album, and since the post-person I am, I tend to like that one very much. It's very moody from the beginning to the end, so it will best be served in a dark isolated room with a cup of despair to drink.
But everyone has different tastes, so I think you should just listen to the album and pick your favourite.

MYSPACE / DOWNLOAD

Aäkon Këëtrëh - Dans La Forêt (1996)

Band: Aäkon Këëtrëh

Album: Dans La Forêt

Year: 1996

Country: France

Yeah I dont have a clue how to pronounce the name of this one man project either.

Aäkon Këëtrëh is a part of the infamous Les Légiones Noires, a circle of french underground Black Metal-musicians and their projects. The LLN was known for producing a shitload of demos that are almost impossible to get a hand on, apparently every original pressings of the demos released by Aäkon Këëtrëh was destroyed so the ones existing nowadays are all bootlegs. Don't you just love stories like that?

Anyhow, this isn't pure Black Metal although you clearly hear what environment this music came from. There are no other instruments except guitars and occasionally som vocals, but for the most part it's the guitar that do the talk. Sounds boring? Well if you'r not a fan of Dark Ambient i can see why you would turn the deaf ear on bands like this. To me this is as good as it gets. Each song is a hymn to despair and loneliness that sends shivers down your spine. A true Ambient masterpiece.

Song(s) you should listen to: Hard to say since all the songs are missing proper titles but the first track on the demo really does the work for me. It starts of with 4 simple yet powerfull chords which stays there as the backbone through the entire song. The rest of the songs are a bit more complex but the feeling you get from that first song stays with you through the whole album. Really you should listen to the whole album in it's whole, preferably in a dark room with some candles lit.

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Voqkrre - Malveillance Demo (2008)

Band: Voqkrre

Album: Malveillance Demo

Year: 2008

Country: France

Just looking at this cover gives me the creeps. Imagine waking up in the middle of the night and see this fine Frenchman standing at the end of your bed, you would probably never be able to sleep again after that.

This demo is dark,raw, evil and monotonous, a real sinister one. Although the music is very deppressing I would'nt go as far as lable this DSBM. But I leave that for you to decide.

Song(s) you should listen to: La Cave aux Rats Necrophages

This song starts out with a little bit of speed but then fades out in a slower and darker tempo. Featuring some really tormented vocals which further strengthens the evil tone makes this song a perfect end to this demo.

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Lantlôs - Neon (2010)

Band: Lantlôs
Album: Neon
Year: 2010
Country: Germany
If you haven't heard this album already, you should, since it's one of the best album of 2010. If not THE best album of 2010, but the year it's not over so I'll try to hold my horses.
Lantlôs is half french and half german, and includes the best of both countries. The french part contributes with atmosphere, emotion, and the almighty touch of Neige. The german part contributes with a rough shell and some small influences from one of the best bands of Germany - Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore. The result is a band that somehow is able to ride the wave of "blackened shoegaze", but I would rather consider this as "shoegazed black metal", or just call it black metal.
This album is fairly short with only 6 tracks, but strong enough to leave an impact. Some songs starts of really jazzy, then turn into an inferno of blasting drums and well written guitar riffs. That maybe doesn't sound as much, but it's intensity vs. it's melancholic calmer parts will leave you in a state of despair and hopelessness. And as if that wasn't enough, the vocals are flawless. Neige's harsh vocals sounds like anxious suffering. And what's even more extraordinary is that he can change it into honeysmoothed singing in "Pulse/Surreal".

Song(s) you should listen to: These Nights Were Ours pretty is without a doubt the best song on the album. It seems to deal with the pestered theme of a wretched lovestory you've heard so many times. But in this song you believe every single word being said. Especially the last sentence, since Neige voice cracks as if someone tore out his heart with their bare hands.

MYSPACE / DOWNLOAD