Clandestine Blaze - Falling Monuments (2010)

Clandestine Blaze - Falling Monuments

Label: Northern Heritage, 2010

1.     Unfolding Madness     06:00
2.     Possession of Nordic Blood     03:50
3.     Call of the Warrior     05:45
4.     Melancholy of the Falling Monuments     05:27
5.     Bloodsoil     04:38
6.     Horizon of Ego Annihilation     02:56
7.     Endurance of Supremacist Ritual     04:40
8.     Discordant Howls of Tormented     09:00    

Clandestine Blaze is one of the better-known bands from Finland, and rightly so. Their first albums marked the revival of the Second Wave spirit in Finland and served as a flagman ship for the future bands to come (along with Horna, Warloghe and Behexen). Mikko Aspa, who is the sole member of this cult, is also very well known for his labels Northern Heritage (Satanic Warmaster, Ildjarn, Deathspell Omega, Stabat Mater, Unkreation's Dawn, Mgla, Warloghe and countless others) and Freak Animal (mostly power electronics and harsh industrial). Furthermore, he's also an editor of "Erotic Perversions" and an owner of a metal store in Finland. And the last, but much more relevant to this review, he is a member of Deathspell Omega (the prophets of Neo-Orthodoxy and metaphysical approach to the Divine within the Black Metal Cult), Stabat Mater (deeply tormenting Funeral Doom Metal outfit) and Grunt (a cult power electronics project). It's possible to name at least a dozen of other projects he contributed to (like Satanic Warmaster, for which he played drums once, or Nicole 12 and the likes), but I believe the reader is smart enough to use Google, if he's interested to find more information about him. Either way, the review....

And the album sure does differ from what you would usually expect to hear from Clandestine Blaze. While the vocals are 100% recognizable, the music changed a bit. While the previous works were reminiscent of the early to mid era Darkthrone with keyboards to some extent (even though it's a bad example, as CB always had its own original unoriginal style), here Baptism, Mutiilation, Corpus Christii, early Deathspell Omega and perhaps Moonblood come to mind first. Why is that? The riffs are not exactly dark or evil, much more melancholic, nostalgic and perhaps longing for something. Like an autumn rain, that falls for hours and hours, perhaps even for days, painting everything gray. Here the band comes closest to the depressive black metal sub-genre, while not completely crossing over, but rather balancing on the edge. The riffs are very melodic and atmospheric. And the melodic part did come to rise on this one, which is perhaps not the best thing, as for me Clandestine Blaze was always that rough gem, which, while not polished, channeled the anger of the artist in a simple, yet very effective way. Now the music carries an assortment of different shades of gray melancholy, which might appeal to some people more, than the more straightforward previous works. Then, the music became a little bit more complex. Not like Watain or DSO, but Mikko definitely gained quite some skills throughout the years of training. The drumming is fantastic in its rawness and naturality. Every beat comes placed as it was supposed to be, everything flows very smoothly and without any unexpected turns. And, what is really beautiful, the drums sound very natural. Come to think of it, the sound overall is really blissful in its rawness, I wish more bands would record like this.

Overall, I expected a bit more from Clandestine Blaze, to be honest. The album doesn't really fail in any particular way, but it was much more convincing before, definitely until "Deliverers of Faith", which was an indisputable highlight of the band. The moods channeled here don't really correspond to what I would usually listen to, though on occasion it might as well work. Definitely recommended to atmospheric/depressive black metal fans though!

Carpathian Forest - Black Shining Leather (1998)

Carpathian Forest - Black Shining Leather

Label: Avantgarde, 1998

1.     Black Shining Leather     04:32
2.     The Swordsmen     04:08
3.     Death Triumphant     04:28
4.     Sadomasochistic     04:02
5.     Lupus     03:06
6.     Pierced Genitalia     04:19
7.     In Silence I Observe     03:43
8.     Lunar Nights     06:34
9.     Third Attempt     03:18
10.     The Northern Hemisphere     06:43

First of all, if you still haven't heard this one, chances are you never heard about Carpathian Forest anyway. You know, this fame, this "sax can sound cold, colder than it seems" attitude. And now it's the time to listen it again, even if it's the 1000th time, doesn't matter, as after these 10 years of spinning the CD I came to realize, that this music(k) is absolutely timeless! Sekond: this release doesn't have any sax yet. There are but rare creepy (really tomb-like) keyboard sounds. And it's operated masterfully, at the very background, fitting nicely with the overall atmosphere.

The sound is clear, yet raw, and it sticks to your freshly cut flesh like a blood-smeared rug. And once the blood is curdled, chances are you'd think twice before trying to peel it off. The vocals sound freaking cold! This raw, frozen voice somehow disappeared from their later releases, yet is widely present here. Every part of the mix is really beautiful. It has a certain depth, a soul, a mood, and still is heavy as fuck. Just start to listen to it at proper volume and you'll see what I mean. The result is bound to devour you!

And of course this album can serve as a background for any decent rape (even though I myself always prefer Electric Wizard for that, but that's unbeatable), with its rhythm section being as perfect as it gets. You know, deep in a forest cabin in a candlelight, with a slight touch of perverted sadomasochism... Either way, these deep, brilliant bass lines shake the whole picture and can easily replace the drums, so well-played they are. But the drums here are also masterful, courtesy of the one time session drummer, Lazare of Solefald. What can I say, it sounds erotic in a way.

The whole album is a truly majestic Celtic Frost-worship, in its most evil form, with a strong touch of chilly, dark Norwegian woods...

http://www.myspace.com/blackshiningleather

(a guest review from mr. A. Held)

Blasphemophagher - Nuclear Empire of Apocalypse (2008)

Blasphemophagher - Nuclear Empire of Apocalypse

Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions, 2008

1.     Intro / Dawn of Chaoscratic Tyranny     04:21
2.     Bringers of Extermination     03:49
3.     Abyss of Lust, Chaos & Death     03:04
4.     Curse of the Phosgene Fog     03:21
5.     Devastating Radioactive Torments     03:52
6.     Holocaust Summoning of Nuclear Storm     04:10
7.     ...Of Atomic Orgies & Demoniac Elements     03:23
8.     Demiurge of Thermonuclear Damnation     03:12
9.     Teratogenesis of Doom     03:33
10.     The Return of Bestial Vomit     02:33      

Blasphemophagher is a direct musical descendant from such cults, as Blasphemy, Sarcofago, Archgoat & Morbosidad. Moreover, they have already climbed upon the pantheon and today they are among the leaders of so-called "War Metal Scene".

This is a debut full-length offering from Blasphemophagher and it KILLS. It kills throughout the whole album, giving us no single moment of rest. Musically-speaking, Blasphemophagher plays raw, filthy, grinding and violent form of Death Metal, that is labeled today as "War Metal" or "Goat Metal". Growling vokills, chaotic guitar chainsaw, and violent wardrums! I won't say that this band carries that 80's feeling, as some people tend to say, but rather a modern day adaptation of it. The sound is pretty much clean even, which doesn't pose any obstacles for this devastating Hateful Metal Warmachine. Everything is executed just perfectly! The roaring guitar uses thrash riffs from time to time, while still retaining a chaotic edge to it. Blasphemophagher uses a variety of tempos. Most of the time the music is fast-paced, but there are quite slow moments as well, and it still sounds freaking violent even then!

I see no point in describing instruments separately. Let us just say, that they all contribute to the hellish cacophony that is Blasphemophagher! BUT this band doesn't sound like any other War Metal outfit, but rather shares the same spirit of total underground chaos! And I strongly recommend you to get the die hard LP edition (of course if you have an LP player) of this masterpiece, since it features two absolutely killer bonuses on a separate 7''! Lyrically the band deals with Atomic Nuclear Fucking Chaos! No more, no less.

Honestly, I stumbled upon this band absolutely randomly, having never heard anything prior to this full-length. But I was really impressed by it! I would say, that they are among my all-time favorites now! For all Ross Bay Cult fanatics, this is a MUST! No more words needed, just get it.

http://www.myspace.com/blasphemophagher

Crown Of Thorns - Eternal Death (1997)

Crown Of Thorns (The Crown) - Eternal Death

Label: Black Sun Records, 1997

1.     Angels Die     04:48
2.     Beautiful Evil Soul     04:06
3.     In Bitterness And Sorrow     03:29
4.     The Black Heart     08:33
5.     World Within     05:28
6.     The Serpent Garden     04:45
7.     Kill (The Priest)     01:40
8.     Misery Speaks     04:41
9.     Hunger     04:45
10.     Death Of God     10:09


While this is neither a new release, nor a Black Metal one, it's probably one of the best things to ever come from Sweden. First of all, this is not Melodic Death Metal, even if it might be branded as. Sure, it's melodic, and, sure, it's Gothenburg, but this is so much darker and more evil, than anything you'd ever see called MDM. Hell, if MDM were like this, I'd be the first admitted fan of the style. Alas, it's not the case. What you hear here is pure damn blasphemy, hatred and aggression put to music!

The album opens with "Angels Die", which quickly shows you what to expect from "Eternal Death". Melodic intro leads out into a full-speed audial assault, which is what it is all about. Hatred flows through this music. In every note, in every growl of the vocalist you hear it pulsate, ready to explode. This is the first standout track from this album, of which there are ten. "Beautiful Evil Soul" basically continues the line, started on the opener. Still as fast, still as hateful, still as melodic, still like a sledgehammer landing into your sorry brains. Possess me, beautiful evil soul! Devotion, dedication, it echoes through your veins. The lyrics are very remarkable as well and you're likely to scream it along from the second time onwards (and hell, there will be a second time). Needless to say, it's definitely one of the highlights here (of which there are ten).

"Nothing left for me, but Eternal Death"! "In Bitterness and Sorrow" is one hell of a slaughterfest. You guessed it right, it's one of the best songs here, but I am not going to describe it, just try for yourself. "The Black Heart" is a slow one, almost a ballad. Dedicated to one and only Per Yngve "Dead" Ohlin from the legendary Mayhem and Morbid, it frequently quotes his statements and follows his artistic path, until the very gory happy end. While a somewhat letdown on the original listen, it very much grows on you, thanks to inventive arrangements and drum lines. "World Within" might make you think of the good era of At The Gates and rightfully so. Catchy melodies and skillful riffing, paired with Johan's desperate screams, produce an excellent result! "The Serpent Garden", which follows next, is very melodic, but also dark, pretty much in line with the previous song. But nothing would prepare you to the machine gun extravaganza, that is "Kill (the Priest)", 100 seconds of madness and blastbeats! The Panzer-era Marduk is the best comparison I have to this, but, trust me, Crown Of Thorns manages to pull the same tricks much more convincingly, making this a definite favourite of mine from "Eternal Death" (of which there are ten).

I am just going to skip "Misery Speaks" as there is really nothing wrong with it, a perfect song for a perfect album. "Hunger" is another very memorable one. Starting slowly, it explodes with a f**king hurricane, when the chorus starts. Apart from the obvious musical quality, it's also very inspiring and, unless you're just planning to kill yourself without accomplishing your goals, you're bound to love the message. Then again, if you're planning to kill yourself, you should probably just do so, instead of listening to this, you weak pathetic scum. Another amazing track!

And the finisher is "Death Of God", which spans into 10 raping minutes of deathbliss. Starting with a quote from "Warlock", it features a wide variety of tempos, which the band utilizes to accomplish what Nietzsche once started - the total and utmost destruction of the god's feeble kingdom. "Cursed be thy name, your kingdom of slaves, blessed be those who rise up against God"! Isn't that beautiful? Definitely makes it into my top songs from this one (of which there are f**king ten).

If I am to describe the instruments separately, I would say, that the musicianship shown here is very remarkable. The guitars are very well done, with both solos and rhythm parts merging perfectly. The bass is audible and roaring, which is a good thing, as it's often neglected. The drumming is diverse and skilled and it's one of the things, that would make you bang your head to almost every beat, once you're familiar enough with the songs. And, of course, the vocals! This voice spews forth blasphemy and hatred in such a desperate fashion, that most other vocalists would never dream of. What I mean is, sometimes when you listen to a band it just sounds like if the vocalist doesn't really believe in what he's singing about. Doesn't that annoy you? It sure does annoy me. Well, it's certainly not the case here, as Johan's screams are true as f**k.

Overall, it's about 52 minutes of Total Death Worship. Sure, it's no "religious" or "orthodox", like the new school bands claim to be, but the message is deep and honest and it's sure as hell much more wicked, than about 95% of the so-called Satanic underground, so this is NOT to be missed.

www.myspace.com/thecrownonlineswe

Setherial - Treason [EP] (2011)

Setherial - Treason [EP]

Label: Goathorned, 2011

1.     Treason [A Death That Breeds Through Aeons]     04:58
2.     Warfare [God is Dead]     05:15
     

Okay, first of all I'd like to say, that I didn't expect anything from this one, as the album before it didn't impress me at all. Turns out I was wrong. Here we have one new song and a cover of Zyklon B and, while being very short, this EP is a great example of Swedish Black Metal.

Not much to say here, except, that it is a great work, as both songs manage to capture your attention and hold it until the end. The sound is very well produced (unlike "Death Triumphant") and the songs (or more like "the song") have thought out and followable structures (unlike "Ekpyrosis"). Sounds very natural overall and flows just fine, despite having a somewhat complex structure. The "Warfare" cover is done rather well, although the original is of course absolutely unbeatable. Made me think of DiabolicuM, one member of which, Sasrof, was once handling bass in Setherial.

Overall, it is a very solid work, so if you're into well-done (modern? I hate this word, related to) Black Metal, I'd recommend you to check it. Of course it's not a landmark release, but worthy nonetheless.

www.Setherial.com
www.myspace.com/setherialsweden

Daäth Shadow - Crowns for Kings (2009)

Daäth Shadow - Crowns for Kings

Label: Osmose Productions, 2009

1.     Untitled     00:33    
2.     The Great Sabbath     05:48    
3.     Servant of L.C.F     04:37    
4.     Dominus Diabolus     00:40    
5.     Crowns For Kings     03:46    
6.     Veni Omnipotens Aeterne Diabolus     01:39    
7.     Anthem of Death     05:03    
8.     Blood of Qayin     01:24    
9.     For Him     05:37    
10.     Nicolstreet 1888     09:38    
11.     Through The Dark Waterfalls     07:57      


This mystery band is officially from the Netherlands, even though I am almost sure, that it features at least two members of Nehemah from France. My hypothesis comes from the distinctive vocals of the band's screamer, as they almost certainly belong to Corven (if you have heard him, you will have little trouble recognizing the style).

If I am to put this band's music into certain boundaries, it would probably be Black Metal. Yet it's not so easy, as the influences and vibes here are many and they are all important parts of Daäth Shadow's music. It at the same time is reminiscent of Dissection, Nehemah and Asphyx, even if it sounds unmergeable to those unfamiliar with Daäth Shadow. Indeed, here solos and melodies of Dissection merge with cold and somber atmospheres of Nehemah, accompanied by chugging and groovy guitar riffs in the vein of Asphyx. And, you know what, it sounds perfect! The harmony achieved here is very remarkable and the result is anything but trivial.

The official line-up is:

Inem Trah - Guitar, bass, samples
Six - Drums, samples, vocals
Nahash - Vocals
Neb-Heru - Vocals
ZLT - Narratives, samples
I-Nferii - Guitar
Y-Soth - Guitar

As you can see, there are two main vocalists. Of which one is a screamer (most probably Corven of Nehemah) and another one provides deep old school Death Metal growls. Almost always the same lyrics are sung by both singers at the same time and it very much works. Sometimes it sounds as if the growls are more background, merging with the bass and rhythm guitar lines, with the screams being the main channel of the lyrical message. Another thing to notice are the solos. They are amazingly well done! Some associations are perhaps Selim Lemouchi and The Devil's Blood and Jon Nodtveidt and Dissection. While very melodic in nature, the leads sound dark as hell itself, contrasting with the old-schoolish rhythm guitar work.

The lyrics here are of occult adversarial nature, drawing inspiration from both the traditional Crowley teachings and the more recent TOTBL/MLO works. Several ritual ambient interludes nicely complement the overall picture. And, surprisingly enough, the studio and sound are provided by Dan Swano (Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath, Pan-Thy-Monium, Nightingale and a whole host of others) and his Unisound studios (Dissection, Marduk, Ophthalamia and dozens more). Despite what you might fear, this is perhaps his best job since early 90's. While everything is recorded top notch, there is that old school Death Metal sound to it (Asphyx "Death the Brutal Way" comes to mind as the closest association).

What amazes me though, is that, while being brilliant in both idea and performance, the album didn't draw that much attention from the scene and the critics. Perhaps it's because of the band's shunning from the standards of the scene, perhaps it's because of the relative lack of promotion by the, otherwise highly respected, label Osmose. In either case, the band definitely deserves much more, than it received.

Highly recommended to people, interested in Occult Black Metal and occult art in general, as well as for those, who just enjoy high quality (melodic?) Black Death Metal. While it might be sometimes hard to track this one down, it is well worth it. An unconventional masterpiece of Occult Metal art!

www.myspace.com/666deathshadow666

Black Witchery - Inferno of Sacred Destruction (2010)

Black Witchery - Inferno of Sacred Destruction

Label: Osmose Productions / Hells Headbangers, 2010

1.     Holocaustic Church Devastation     04:28
2.     Antichrist Order of Holy Death     02:42
3.     Apocalyptic Carnage     02:59
4.     Barbarism Domination     01:53
5.     Inferno of Sacred Destruction     03:58
6.     Kingdom Against Kingdom (Conqueror cover)
7.     Sepulchral Witchcraft     02:05
8.     Ascension of the Obscure Moon     04:00


There are good albums, there are great albums, there are fantastic albums, then there is BLACK WITCHERY.

Okay, to start with, this album is only 20 something minutes long. There was a 5 year break between the previous one and this one and, honestly, nothing changed at all since then. If anything, music became even more monotonous. No single new riff. Hell, there are almost no melodies here. It's still the same Black Death jackhammer fest as it was back then. The drumming is as monotonous as ever. The guitars are buzzing and the sound is very far from the (so popular today) Abyss or Necromorbus polishedness, so it's hard to distinguish separate notes from this mess. As I mentioned, it's only 20 minutes long, but even a minute of this is enough for every good citizen to turn this off and throw the CD into a garbage disposal unit. I imagine, christians catch serious nausea from this music, pregnant women give birth to stillborn babies, while children, that are already born, receive very late term abortions. The lyrics are simple and, in general, they retell the same old story in the same very words, as if the person, who wrote them, has a very limited vocabulary and doesn't plan to learn anything new any time soon. A traditional cover of Conqueror finishes the picture. An ambient song amidst the massacre briefly changes the pace, but not for long, so who cares. The cover has absolutely no new ideas to it whatsoever. Just a bunch of disgusting demon creatures and a burning church in a traditional Chris Moyen style. We all saw and heard it all a thousand of times already.

In short, it's Black Metal AS IT SHOULD BE. My absolutely favourite album of 2010 and an absolute MUST for those of you, who values real substance over worthless image wankery.

For exquisite perverts, the normal non-exclusive edition features a bonus DVD, so you could see this hell live on your TV/computer screens.

Funeral Mist - Maranatha (2009)

Funeral Mist - Maranatha

Label: Norma Evangelivm Diaboli (aka NoEvDia), 2009

1.     Sword of Faith     04:34
2.     White Stone     04:13
3.     Jesus Saves!     08:12
4.     A New Light     04:51
5.     Blessed Curse     11:53
6.     Living Temples     06:28
7.     Anathema Maranatha     06:10
8.     Anti-Flesh Nimbus     07:14


"Maranatha" saw its release in 2009 and received mixed reviews from both fans and press. Some people panned the CD, implying that the album by no means reaches the quality of the godly "Salvation", some people said, that "Salvation" is never ever to be topped to start with. While I do consider "Salvation" to be one of the best jewels to ever be produced in Sweden, "Maranatha" left a deep impact on me as well.

Starting with the glorious "Sword Of Faith" and finishing with the epic masterpiece "Anti-Flesh Nimbus", this album delivers nothing short of Magic. That magificient feeling of total religious madness, which the classics of the genre carry (Watain "Casus Luciferi", Antaeus "De Principii Evangelikum", Ondskapt "Dodens Evangelium", Ofermod "Mysterion Tes Anomias" et cetera), blossoms here to its full potential. I must say, I am a big fan of Arioch's vocal abilities. This man crossed the boudaries of your usual black metal vocalists and transcended into a category of visionaries, that are not bound by any genre or style. The unmistakable passion, that you hear in his voice; the fearsome growls and screams; you hear him LIVE through it, not sing the lyrics. The lyrics come alive at this man's lips. And those lyrics are not even your usual black metal lyrics to start with.

But, while the vocal and lyrical aspects are very important, it's not the only reason to love this album. The music is perhaps best described as a furious hurricane, that sometimes slows down, sometimes becomes a raging beast, sometimes appears to be over, only to once again manifest its malevolent being minutes later. And when it's over you are sure as hell to discover the whole damn town torn to pieces.

The change of drummer, feared by many, only reinforced the band, as the new drummer is just as good, if not better, than the original Necromorbus.

I heard a fair share of criticism concerning "White Stone", with people comparing the song to "nu metal" and Slipknot, but it couldn't be further from the truth. And the truth is, "White Stone" is perhaps the best song on this album, if there is indeed one. No blastbeat? No "cold northern" riffs? Well, if that's what you need from Black Metal, you're better off listening to immortal and the likes, as this is not for you in the first place.

"Anti-Flesh Nimbus" brings a perfect end to the album, with its slow and crushing pace, grandiose choruses, brilliant lyrics and malicious vocal performance. And, as a trademark of the Arioch's touch, the song ends with a borrowed classical orchestral piece, which works as a great outro for "Maranatha".

I could describe this album song by song, as each and every single one of them is a masterpiece on its own accord, but there really is no point to it. What you get with "Maranatha" is a pure hell in the audial form. The highest refinement!


www.myspace.com/thefuneralmist

Negative Plane - Stained Glass Revelations (2011)

Negative Plane - Stained Glass Revelations

Label: The AJNA Offensive / Invictus Prod., 2011

1.     The Fall     02:25    
2.     Lamentations & Ashes     07:02    
3.     Angels of Veiled Bone     08:04    
4.     The Third Hour     01:49    
5.     The One and the Many     08:29    
6.     Charnel Spirit     01:13    
7.     All Souls     09:48    
8.     The Number of the Word     08:20    
9.     Stained Glass Reflections     02:47    
10.     Stained Glass Revelations     11:30


After their amazing 2006 debut, "Et In Saecula Saeculorum", Negative Plane disappeared from the scene for 5 whole years and now re-emerge with "Stained Glass Revelations", their second onslaught of adversarial magickal current.

Did they change their direction? Is the new attack just as raw, dark and hateful as the first one? The answer is both yes and no. The sound changed a lot, becoming more refined and, perhaps, soft. The aggression and chaos, previously prevalent, now take a more secondary role, while the atmosphere and the melodies are still present. "EISS" featured many signature Celtic Frost moments and those are mostly gone by now. BUT. The album's style can't be confused with any other band. The moment it starts you KNOW it's Negative Plane. While you continue the listening, the changes slowly creep in. Fewer fast riffs, more slow and melancholic moments, dark organ interludes...

Definitely, an album, whose quality can't be appreciated by a couple of quick listens, it is much more of a slow grower, than the immediately storming first one. What is undeniable, Negative Plane is a genuine gem among the, mostly, rubbish, that comes from the US nowadays, together with bands like Nightbringer and Bestia Arcana, spearheading the new front.

Featuring a lot of great artwork, the CD's booklet is a masterpiece on its own right. I do think, that some of the old fans might miss the chaos within the band's music, as I do so myself very much, but give it a listen. Open yourself to it. Accept it and it might creep under your skin like a surgical needle.