Funeral Mist - Hekatomb

Band: Funeral Mist
Title: Hekatomb
Label: Norma Evangelium Diaboli
Release Date: June 15th, 2018
Country: Sweden
Format Reviewed: Digital MP3

And so, on a cold June day, the mist came around us again, untimely, like a halo of inescapable misery, and Black Metal became an inescapable certainty, again, in the most inhospitable funeral of our minds.

Arioch is back, without warning, and after nine years of having edited his last Full Length, "Maranatha", in 2009, his approach of non-Orthodox Swedish extremity becomes flesh and blood again, to delight us with a pure assault to our senses. 

Perhaps, most of our readers know about the origin of this demon, but, for those new enthusiasts of this incredible music, I clarify that Arioch is also a member of a well-known Swedish band. I speak of Marduk (who coincidentally will also be releasing an album in a few days), where he takes care of the vocals. 

But Funeral Mist is another kind of succubus. Is the personal project of this musician, in which he takes charge of all the instruments, except for the drums that, in this case, are also occupied by a former member of Marduk: Lars, who turns out to be a fundamental piece to analyze the vehemence that this marvel reveals, in its totality.

"Hekatomb" does not take a moment to submerge the listener in an occult sound vortex, which results
in the discovery of an artist perfecting a facet that he had already demonstrated in his last album.

Far has been the excessive chaotic delirium of his cult work "Salvation", from 2003 (One of the best Swedish black metal albums of all time), and his sound search seems to be more in connection with the sound clarity shown in "Maranatha". And this characteristic, in other artists, could be understood as a counter, but in the case of Funeral Mist, it works as an incredible tool for the promotion of aggressiveness without precedent.

I think that what always stood out for this project was the audacity and talent of the artist to develop, in his vision, a unique cosmogony that, even being far from the Avant-Garde niche, could advance the genre towards unsuspected territories of originality. This album is not the exception and, in its somewhat scarce 43 minutes, we attend a concatenation of ideas that are fresh, and totally necessary, that undoubtedly raise the genre to a peak rarely reached this year.

Many will notice certain similarities with Marduk in the most aggressive moments. Technically, the fury and direct disposition of Arioch's riffs and the precision of Lars' blasts manage to reach a climax of absolute insanity very much in tune with his other band. 

Arioch is totally accurate in the guitars, totally abrasive or spitting blasphemies with mastery with his tone so particularly intense.

But the intensity also flows, intermittently, and also yields to sections where original and peculiar ideas can be appreciated. For example, in the song "Naught but Death", you can hear a kind of gospel choir that, far from being artificial, gives a mysterious aura to the composition, which fits perfectly. There are several moments of this nature, that emerge during the work, and that give surprise and the sensation of being listening to a monument of extreme music, unique in its kind, that fluctuates, intrinsic and magnanimous, like a cursed testament of black nature as the deepest hours of nocturnality.

The world of Black Metal is in luck, because Funeral Mist returned with a revitalizing force, with one of the best and radical albums of this year.

Intense, original, lacerating, like a freshly sharpened blade cutting the flesh of your most morbid desires. 9/10. Sergio

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9/10 Epic Storm

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Down Among The Dead Men - …And You Will Obey Me

Band: Down Among The Dead Men

Album: …And You Will Obey Me

Lable: Transcending Obscurity 

Release Date: June 15th 2018
Country: International

Format reviewed: Digital MP3

Obviously sleeping is for the weak. Why sleep when you can spend every waking minute writing riffs and constructing death metal tunes ad infinitum until you die. This, my friends, is how one Rogga Johansson and Dave Ingram choose to operate on what is, seemingly, a daily basis! 

The roll call for these two metal reprobates is a veritable feast of Death – Ingram, currently set down with ‘Just Before Dawn/Echelon/Ursinne and Ex of the mighty ‘Benediction’ and ‘Bolt Thrower’. Johansson? – Well, whom hasn’t he worked with? – But for the sake of examples; Megascavenger/Paganizer/Revolting/Ribspreader/The Grotesquery…you get the idea? Prolific is an understatement. 

Somehow, with the help of the talents of session musicians Kjetil Lynghaug on leads and Erik R. Bevenrud on session drums, Dave and Rogga have put together the third offering from their ‘Down Among The Dead Men’ (DATDM) collaboration. From the outset and to the very end of this thirty-minute beast, it is clear that DATDM take no prisoners. No reprieve, no mercy – just all out annihilation.

DATDM play exactly the type of steamrolling Death Metal I love to hear. Nothing complex about it – straight forward Old school Death (think Ingram’s other legendary acts) combined with a killer Crust/Dirty Punk element that is captured and delivered with sublime ferocity and power. Furthermore, there is a dark melodic feel to the 10 compositions on offer here. Match that with the deep-seated grooves that Rogga employs with his riffs and the whole thing just explodes with a fire and energy that is truly addictive. The album title itself is almost prophetic in nature as it implores you to reach for the repeat button just one more time. Oh yes, repeated spins is a given such is the spell that this album casts over the listener! 

For me personally, it must be stated that as great as Rogga’s work is on this album, it is Dave Ingram’s vocal performance that has me doing cartwheels. As a massive fan of classic Benediction, nothing pleases more that to hear Dave’s characteristic roar and distinctive tone given the full treatment on this record. Like a Willets or a Van Drunen, Dave’s phrasing and enunciation stands out amongst the crowd, and he is truly one of a kind in the way he constructs his lyrical delivery for maximum impact. For me, Barney Greenway is his only peer when it comes to all out Death Metal style conveyance.

The sound of this album is also a major deal breaker! So Heavy! Superbly crafted with just enough dirt and grime in the back end to heighten it’s ‘Crust’ vibe, ‘Obey..’ possesses a thick pummelling production that only accentuates further the power and devastating intensity of Rogga and co! Such is the experience of the two main protagonist here; they just simply know how to play to each other’s strengths and as such, the whole album flows with unadulterated conviction and sonic precision. Put simply, ‘Obey..’ crushes. 

‘Obey..’ is a fantastic album. At its core, a record that pays pure homage to Old School Death Metal – dark and foreboding, yet the direct and unyielding Crust/Punk element gives a real streamlined edge to DATDM’s compositions. Not a second is wasted here. From the get go of ‘Destroy the Infinite’ to the superb crunch of ‘Darkness of Glass’, ‘Obey…’ is turn on, tune in, heads down, see you at the end! It will be your master…You will Obey! Confident this will be considered as one of the Death Metal albums of the year.  8/10 KMaN

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8/10 To Greatness and Glory
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Defiatory - Hades Rising

Band: Defiatory

Title: “Hades Rising”

Label: Black Lion Records

Release Date: 11 May 2018

Country: Sweden
Format Reviewed: CD (BLP 0049)

My insatiable thirst to identify and support the crème de la crème of newer Thrash Metal bands is at a fever pitch! Reviewing fantastic bands the likes of Terrifier, Objector, Conjurer and more, I’m truly starting to gain confidence that despite the imminent loss of stalwart bands such as Slayer, the up and coming crop of thrashers continue to improve…And we just may be in good hands after all.

In 2016 Defiatory released their debut album “Extinct” which certainly had a very raw Bay Area Thrash feel to it; but with a more modern approach in the mold of recent releases from Testament and Exodus. Although the genres faithful were impressed, the album honestly was overlooked by most.

Which leads us to “Hades Rising” a recording that doesn’t loose it's highly influenced riffing from the debut release, but adds a fresh coat of spit, fire and polish to their already impressive sound and vocals! This my friends is not to be overlooked, as the band takes in this reviewers opinion a major leap forward. Much of Martin Runnzell‘s vocal style is nestled somewhere between Nick Melissourgos from Suicidal Angels and Tom Araya, just listen to the familiarity on ‘Death Takes Us All’. But it’s the furious riffage that truly bares comparison to the Bay Area Thrash Scene of days gone by. Ludvig Johansson and Ronnie Björnström making the Masters of the Thrash Universe incredibly proud with their true to form performances on tracks such as ‘In Hell’ ‘Dance of the Dead’ and ‘Down to His Kingdom’ just to name a few standout renditions from the duo. Their old-school fueled and relentless approach from the debut is still rampant throughout, but with a bit more variety to their delivery and execution on “Hades Rising”. Making for a more varied experience from beginning to the end of the album. Perhaps my only issue with the first two releases is the bands apparent lack of variety in style and substance does exist.

But it’s really where tracks like ‘Morningstar’ and ‘Bane of Creation’ unveil a fresh and distinctive approach that the album truly strikes a nerve! Even the sinister intro and delivery to the crunchy ‘King in Yellow’ is another example of this advancement. This formula may be a real opportunity for Defiatory to significantly advance their sound and differentiate themselves next time around. As those standout performances along with ‘In Hell’ and the vicious title track kept me coming back for more and more of “Hades Rising”. So if you like your thrash in modern times where clean sound, vocals and production are so prevalent, but you yearn for the raw 80’s and early 90’s formula then Defiatory is the band for you! Perhaps becoming almost too clean for this reviewer on one hand…Maybe? But honestly this is truly an excellent all-around album that should quickly make its way on to your playlists and whatever listening format you prefer.

Highly recommended for fans of Evile, Vader & Suicidal Angels with obvious Bay Area Thrash and Testament Riff Worship throughout! Hail to the King! 8.5/10 Mö

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8.5/10 To Greatness and Glory

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Wormlight – Wrath of the Wilds

Band: Wormlight
Title: Wrath of the Wilds
Label: Black Lion Records
Release Date: 25 April 2018
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: CD-quality Digital Promo

Wormilight began as Unhallowed in 2014, but soon after that rebranded, including name, lyrical orientation and inspiration, as well as members. Now with Tiamat Invictuz on guitar and vocals and King Antichrist on drums from the original line up, as well as of course Lord Arktos (bass) and Lator Mortis (guitar), with two EPs behind and overcame all the changes, the band is stronger than ever. This resulted in the just released “Wrath of the Wilds” – a brand new wild full-length album with so much wrath and energy. A mayhemic one. A passionate one. A very inspired black metal. A huge burning pyre on the ice of the Northern vastlands. Intensive. Taking one’s breath.

Compared to their previous efforts, the material in “Wrath of the Wild” is big step onwards in terms of composing and in terms of lyrics approach. Once being an antichrist oriented, now Wormlight turns much more to the Scandinavian mythology and this can be sensed in the melody of the tracks, as well as naturally into the lyrics. With Tiamat Invictus being responsible for all the music and the lines on this record, his personal tastes and influences are clearly displayed and incorporated into the bands artistry.

Ice cold and fiery at the same time, with 9 tracks with a total running time of crushing 55 minutes, this debut is an absolute celebration for all the fans of the Scandinavian black metal, as well as the new waves and bands. Very well structured songs, meaningful and long enough to feed the hunger for black metal. Energetic drumming turning into blasts, melodic solos all the time, fast tremolo pickings, open to palmed chords and riffs. Vocals are surprisingly good too – from the typical black metal, tenebrous screams and shrieks to death metal growls. My favorite tracks – the opener “Wrath of the Wild”, then “The Ghostlight’s dance”, “On Tattered Wings” and of course the absolute culmination of the album – “Nightmare”.

“Wrath of the Wild” is a very deep record, very enjoyable, melodic yet extreme, easily taking over the listener. It has its own cold atmosphere but carrying an explosive load. A black metal to really appreciate, bringing fire in the eyes and a faster heartbeat. “Wrath of the Wild” has own soul and direction. It definitely could be ranked among the finest black metal records of 2018. Highly recommended. 8/10 Count Vlad




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8/10 To Greatness and Glory

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Grá - Väsen

Band: Grá
Title: Väsen
Label: Carnal Records
Release Date: 27 April 2018
Country: Sweden
Format reviewed: CD-quality Digital Promo

Grá was formed in 2010 with the purpose to describe and present the “dark aspects of the ancient Scandinavian spirituality”. It’s a blasting Swedish black metal - intense, atmospheric, open-chorded. With three albums behind now, Grá really are creating their own world on the black metal map and following their own way.

The name Grá is a mixture of the Icelandic “grár” and the Swedish “grå”, which means “gray”. And I really imagine the music of the band in grey – ashen grey, desperate grey, hopeless grey all over a stormy grey land with gun metal grey sky where only Death reigns.

There are important changes coming with "Väsen". The band introduced a new logo, created by Lucitania. The rebranding is a milestone on the band’s way towards discovering new territories. Furthermore, Natt is no longer with the band and most of the guitars were recorded by Heljarmadr himself (everybody knows he is performing vocals in Dark Funeral since 2015), the main man behind Grá. This is not a concept album, another difference with the previous releases. So now each and every song stands on its own and has its own meaning. Another interesting fact is that the artwork is done by Axel Turvenius, the art director of Machine Games, recently known for the award-winning video game Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. The artwork is in all shades of grey of course…

Produced, recorded, mixed and mastered by Heljarmadr Productions, the album’s sound is not that raw now and offers a much closer, more intimate, even dreamy grey atmosphere. On top, there are much slower elements and passages in comparison the old productions. Dreamy and lazy, I would call them, with open chords and swirling melody…They are like some helpless sunrays trying to break through the grey skies.

“Väsen” contains 8 tracks and has a total running time of 41 minutes. The opening “Till sörjerskorna” (incl. even some electronic elements) and “King of decay” are a great introduction to the typical Grá world. “Hvedrungs mær” is slow, deceptively moving away from the cold grey clouds for a while. The first single “Krig” is very atmospheric, slower too, taking us back to the grey death fields. The ambient electronic main line in “Gjallarhorn” brings the seeming calmness of the reigning death, accompanied by acoustic guitar elements, trying to fight with the blasting desperation. “Dead Old Eyes” is a catchy, blasting grey metal track. In Devil’s Tribe, the Death dances around in a mystical tribal dance before it goes collecting new souls. The album finishes with the title track Väsen – an epic, cold, sorrowful, aggressive, mournful end of a grey existence…

No doubt, with “Väsen” Grá, are giving us a very good black metal album in 2018. Solid and very diverse, yet not showing off – humble and looking over at all the posing in the genre... Making no compromise to the style, but at the same time presenting us their own grey world of death and desperation. 7.5/10 Count Vlad

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7.5/10 Victory Is Possible

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Sojourner – The Shadowed Road

Band: Sojourner
Title: The Shadowed Road
Label: Avantgarde Music
Release Date: 15 March 2018
Country: New Zealand/Sweden/Italy

Welcome to Sojourner’s world - a romantic and melancholic one, lost in times and centuries.  The Shadowed Road is band’s second full length album, after Empires of Ash, released in 2016. Sojourner are a New Zealand quintet band, but includes musicians from Sweden and Italy. The Shadowed Road easily takes the listener to ancient magic kingdoms. The wind brings Past into the music, it rushes through the leaves and the grass, swings into the air, and whispers into your ears.
Overall I can state that the album is a fantastic production with very deep and powerful sound. And it can’t be something else! The album was mixed by Øystein G Brun form Borknagar, at Crosound Studio (Norway) as well as mastered by Dan Swanö in Unisound AB (Sweden). On top Anders Jacobsson of Draconian provided the lyrics for “Titan” song. Stylistically it is a magnificent melodic atmospheric black metal with epic parts, longing sad moments and folk motifs. The songs are long. 7 tracks in 51 minutes total running time urge the listener to take The Shadowed Road and experience the magic. The cover art is impressive too. It has been crafted by the Romanian illustrator Bast, along with all internal artworks. The cover art describes very well the album – a picture of a glorious  temple somewhere on a silent forgotten cliff shore of a vast land, already in ruins, touched by the hands of time, drowning in oblivion.
Melodic, epic and in search for the glory of the lost empires and their mightiness – this is The Shadowed Road. There are two types of heavy vocals – one black-kind and another more into the death spectrum, often overlapping. Of course there are the gentle female vocals. All the seven tracks are abundant of piano and synth passages, solos and sometimes acoustic guitars. A lead guitar, tin whistle and synths, all mixed in one main melody, are running almost all the time across every song. The tin whistle especially creates that folk heroic feeling from the past times, ancient lands and nature. However, this somehow turns into a disadvantage, because it gets too much (for me) at a certain point of listening, and on top it creates similarity in the tracks. I really liked the rawer solid and intensive parts, where the band adds emotional pressure to the romantic beautiful moments. There is a lot of soul put down in the transcribed ancient melodies, mixed with aggressive, yet lonely melodic black elements. The Shadowed Road is an album that builds an overall grandiose atmosphere. It is a metaphor album, a voyage. And I invite everyone to take and walk alone The Shadowed Road and to enter the mighty forgotten kingdoms. And stay forever there. 8/10 By Count Vlad

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8/10 To Greatness and Glory!