Leda Spiridon - An Erratic Crusade

Band: Leda Spiridon
Title: An Erratic Crusade
Label: War Productions
Release Date: 26 February 2018
Country: France
Format reviewed: Digital CD quality

Pretend that you are Dante Alighieri, crossing the gates of hell and finding yourself in the Anteinferno. The anteroom of the limbo. A place where sinners run naked, being eternally bitten by insects and wasps. You continue going through the circles of hell and you get to the ninth. What music would be heard in that immense well constituted by a huge lake of ice? Your body freezes, tied, in a desperate cry towards the eternal vacuum of misery. The only thing you hear, when you stop screaming, is the album "An Erratic Crusade" by Leda Spiridon.

The work has only 3 Tracks, although of great duration (one of them reaches to spend the 20 minutes of duration), and starts with "Hellyon My Faith", showing its most energetic facet. Hypnotic programmed drums, raw guitars, very reminiscent of the first wave and rough vocals, sinister and with a certain effect treatment, very satisfactory. I can not help but think of a mixture of Mirkvid with a very Old School Industrial flavor of the 80's, like Un-Kommuniti, when I listen to it. The next song, "An Erratic Crusade" begins to show the true essence of the band, and the feature that surprised me the most about them. The first half continues with the caustic and metallic tone, although from the middle it becomes purely industrial, recalling those sickly and bizarre atmospheres to which I referred earlier. The song crawls, and evaporates like a schizoid ode to the darkest places of our unconscious.

The Odyssey continues, and we reach the star of the album: The suite "Oaze", which starts slowly, almost like a doom lament, as if invoking ancestral spirits, until it ends in a climatic and highly atmospheric passage. The trip lasts just over twenty minutes, and the notion of time and space disintegrates, as our futile attempt to get out of the strange trance. The epic is alternating between black/doom chants, lacerated by synthesizers and the intoxicating coldness of moments closely linked to dark ambient, excellently achieved. It is in these structures of dark narcolepsy that the band reaches the sumum of their synergy. Where the thin line between the Dark and Ritual Ambient find the perfect osmosis between the heavy psychedelia and the most unorthodox black metal of their proposal.

The recording exudes grace and certain references that only the most trained and fine palates will know how to discern. Undoubtedly a different proposal, carried out by musicians who risk going through little explored paths and away from the most accepted and safeguarded standards of today's black metal. "An Erratic Crusade" is an original album, haunting, and full of excellent ideas, from a band that promises to become a future legend of the most original extreme underground music. Totally recommended. 9/10. Sergio

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9/10 Epic Storm

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Grievance "Pilar, Pedra e Faca"

Band: Grievance
Title: Pilar, Pedra e Faca
Label: War Productions / Blackwood Productions / Base Record Production
Release Date: January 26, 2018
Country: Portugal

"Pilar, Pedra e Faca" is the second full-length release of the Portuguese black metal band Grievance, coming in 2016 on digital format only, just two years after their debut album “Retorno". Now in the beginning of 2018, War Productions released the album on CD, and it is great opportunity to present the band and this record here.  Pilar, Pedra e Faca is 40 min long and contains 9 tracks in total. For me it was fantastic discovery and really enjoyed while listening. Lots of reasons for that. First of all the whole atmosphere which the music creates, transcending into ancient obscure worlds and landscapes. At certain points I had the feeling that I’m back into the mid 90s, listening to some of my favorite atmospheric black metal classic records. Basically almost all the all music, lyrics and voices were performed and written by Koraxid, except "Subliminar Voz Interior” which is performed and written by Tiago da Neta. Some special guests also appear on album: Tiago da Neta (Portuguese guitar on tracks 06, 08 and 09) and Joaquim "Vulture" Moreira (electric bass guitar in tracks 06 and 07).
Perhaps the greatest thing about all the songs is their inner diversity - full of various structures, combining melancholic sorrowful moods, acoustic passages with aggressive blasting riffs and screams. All the time I felt the hidden tension of grief and eternity; a similar feeling to the one when gazing into the majestic winter night sky…
The album can be listened at one breath - Fortaleza, O Novo Dia, Nausea, Un trono vazio are the perfect soundtrack for the winter sunset in the mountains. Pilar, Pedra e Faca ends with the glorious Agora e sempre - an epic and sorrowful soundscape into the dark nature and the full-moon existence, with no forgiveness in vain. 9/10 By Count Vlad

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Alastor "...The Dark Tower..."

Band: Alastor
Title: The Dark Tower
Label: War Productions / Dead Sheep Productions
Release Date: January 26, 2018
Country: Portugal

Portugal’s Alastor plays black thrash metal exactly the way as it was done when it appeared in the 80’s. It is worth to mention that they are also the origin of Porugal’s black metal band Decayed.
Alastor started in 1988 with JA on guitars/vocals and JF on drums. Their music mixes in a very good way the black metal made in the 90's with the aggressiveness of thrash metal of the 80's.
The Dark Tower is Alastor’s sixth full-length album. It celebrates band’s 30th anniversary in the best way. Now the line up consists of JA on rhythm guitars, GC on vocals and bass guitar, NS on lead guitars and FS on drums. The new album represents 47.33 min of pure black thrash whirlwind. The songs are real anthems, neck-breakers, and easily can be remembered and sang along despite of being in Portuguese (by non-Portugesse speaking fans).
There is an intro, middle-album intro and of course Final obscuro. The overall mood suggests satanic dark evil all the time. The intensive "O Mal Morto", "Nas Trevas", "O Poder do Inferno", "Possuída por Satã", "Máquina Infernal (O Olho do Inferno)" are riffy, very speedy, evil, breath-taking. Invocacoes is an amazing rushing instrumental. "O Pai Da Mentira", "Depois Do Sarcófago" and "Portal Maldido" are chants easily evoking the darkest powers. Between the tracks can be heard disturbing, abusing dark dialogue-introductions which additionally stress on the evil nature of the record. For me personally this record is a gem just in the beginning of the year. It can be considered an excellent player in the so popular in the last couple of years blackened thrash. Being a contemporary, but at the same time carrying the nostalgia of the 80s and the real aggressive passion when recording unmerciful music. 9/10 By Count Vlad

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Split - Stormstone / Vanth

Band: Split - Stormstone & Vanth
Title: A Prophecy to Come / Chalice of the Faithless
Label: War Productions / Vertebrae 
Date: September 18th, 2017
Country: Spain
 

 Stormstone:
Tempos alternate from all out-blasting drums, to mid pace stomping gallops leading into slower rhythmic pieces as the drum kicks keep everything flowing together in this tale of dark misery. The fast chord strumming of 6 strings vary from total speed and aggression that rage on, then slowing down into breakdowns of catchy power chord rhythms, with melodic folk style leads that create sorrow filled moments. The wretched pain and misery of the vocals continue through out while complimenting this cryptic audio composition.
 

Vanth:
An overall, demo like sound comes across here, perhaps purposely, hinting on the older like styles of Mayhem both musically and vocally. Dirge like tones from the guitars bring out the lament, from fast speed picking riffs and harmonies, to sustaining chords and morbid leads which enhance the darkness of this beast. While varying drums beats carry out tempos of sorts, from fast blasting snare hits, to mid-paced segments, to slow up beats hammering down, while the use of both alternating single and double kick drums also occur. The main vocals capture the grimness of a demon like growl and at times go into agonizing screams that promise total suffering is happening here.
7/10 By Wolven Deadsoul

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Svipdagr "To Torment the Men"

Band: Svipdagr
Title: To Torment the Men
Label: War Productions
Date: August 8th, 2017
Country: Caceres, Extremadura/Barcelona/Lleida, Catalonia (Spain)

Here we have Svipdagr “To Torment the Men” which is now their second release to date. This takes us back to the prime sounds of the 2nd wave styles of black metal with melodic verses, classical elements in the guitar playing, with chord strumming and single note speed picking and use of scales. Along with the odd subtle sounds of nature sampled in here too there are also small acoustic segments within the songs that paint the picture of a doomed kingdom in misery, and with the added in throat ripping, tormenting vocals that summon all life to cease, this completes this dark age fantasy. The tempos range from very slow stagnating drum beats that help create the darkness in these moments, to the mid-paced sounds of something awakening from the depths, to the full out blast beats that sound the calls of both triumph and death being foretold. Hints in relation to the older sounds and styles of Satyricon can be heard here at times and even though this has a slight lo-fi sound to the production, all is still very audible and effective for this CD of more than 45 minutes of music. 7.5/10 By Wolven Deadsoul

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