Author: Kaptain Carbon

Antediluvian – Vengeance Marches in Sacred Flames​.​.​. [Sweden, Black / Death] (2023)

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Self Released | 7-25-23

This is a Swedish act with the same name as the Canadian Antediluvian on NWN. Bands can do whatever they want but I feel the market for black / death with the name Antediluvian is already crowded. Vengeance Marches in Sacred Flames​.​.​. is the debut demo from the act which has yet to have any information on Metal Archives. What we are given is three tracks which are decent in length are powerful in ferocity. Black / death can be a overbearing at times where you wake up from a haze and ask yourself just how long you have been listening to this wall of noise. Antediluvian manages to break up that monotony with some flair befitting the style. Deep drums, flashy guitar, and of course the vocals which sound like they are echoing from an abyss. This is music for the court of Satan.

Atra – Death Coven [Australia, Raw Black] (2023)

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6-1-23 | Altare Productions

Eternally stoned. I once again got you ere under false pretenses. This record is a 2023 reissue of a 2010 album originally on the Portuguese label Discipline Productions. Atra is an Australian act which is apart of a circle of musicians known as Order of the Black Serpent. That circle is comprised of members from Drowning the Light, Erebus Enthroned, Eternum, and a whole host of others who have more projects than members of the group. Death Coven is one of two reissues by once again Portuguese label Altare Productions. This is abut the extent of knowledge I could gleam from Metal Archives age but suffice to say Atra along with their friends prefer to stay enshrouded in mystery. Death Coven is a feature length album complete with introductions and interludes which makes up a theater of the macabre. If your idea of a party is stalking in a graveyard after dark, then take this ghoulish limb by the hand. .

Fathomage – Autumn’s Dawn, Winter’s Darkness [Australia, Epic Black / Dungeon Synth] (2023)

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Self Released | 3-10-23

For anyone curious, the cover for this record is “Multnomah Falls” by Albert Bierstadt. The use of canonical western art in black metal album covers is wild and hilarious especially given that I would like to know what Bierstadt, and maybe the rest of the Hudson River School painters, would think about their work being paired with atmospheric black metal. If I would hazard a guess and as long as Bierstadt was cool, he would find this paring complementary. Fathomage is an Australian act with lyrical themes ranging from fantasy to Christianity. Autumn’s Dawn, Winter’s Darkness is the seventh full length album since 2018 and honestly the sound feels so much more accomplished than what one would expect from a self released Bandcamp album. Fathomage feels like they have much more to investigate beyond this album including some of the lyrical content and a dark ambient beginning. For now one can rest assured that Autumn’s Dawn, Winter’s Darkness is a fantastic album from an artist that has been operating in the shadows way too long. Bierstadt would be proud.

Mithrandir – Towards the Spires of Dol Guldur [Finland, Black] (2023)

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Self Released | 3-4-23

I seem to be finding more raw black adjacent material through dungeon synth searches than the more general new metal release searches. This is fine with me as I get to come across raw Finnish black debut is completely into Tolkien. Mithrandir is mostly a fantasy based project though I suspect some of the non fantasy (maybe?) titles of the tracks are remnants of earlier work. This is fine since a dedicated Tolkien metal project isn’t the most novel of an idea so having something which feels fantasy related but also uses colloquial terms like “välikuolema” is intriguing. Towards the Spires of Dol Guldur is a raw love letter to many themes and throws anything on hand into a melting pot. Black metal, dungeon synth, dark ambient all go and get melted down into a thick murky soup. There is no expectation from the band nor the audience which makes Towards the Spires of Dol Guldur a delightful find that I would have missed had not been in the right search.

Astarot – Journey from Melancholy Landscape II [Mexico, Dark Ambient] (2023)

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Self Released | 3-3-23

Journey from Melancholy Landscape II is a “compilation of Dark Ambient / NeoFolk / Neoclassical tracks from 2017-2021.” This is the second volume of ambient tracks with the first being a 2017 collection of ambient tracks from 2012-2016. It is a strange thing to only have a relationship with one style of music from an artist. Even though Astarot is a black metal act, these two compilations are entirely in a separate space. This space is contemplative, emotional, and eerily mystical in its foundations. Ambient tracks within black metal records are suppose to set mood and tone and now removed and placed within their own album, that thematic aura echoes off each other. While I enjoy listening to black metal, I am thankful these types of songs can be enjoyed on their own as they possess a personality that can be appreciated. If this type of stuff is interesting, one might be inclined to travel over to the 2023 release De Mystica Silva ad Cosmos which is the same type of atmosphere just added with atmospheric black metal. Astarot seems to deal in the trade of ambience and Journey from Melancholy Landscape II is a testament to that.

NACHZEHRER – Eternal Deities of the Black Hordes [US, Raw Black] (2023)

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Self Released | 2-27-23

There are a lot of things I have to qualify about this release. The self released tag is only because MA lists it as an independent release. The Bandcamp comes from a Virginia based label called Planetary King Records which seems to be defunct. The main MA page lists Eternal Deities of the Black Hordes, as well as a related band Vergewaltiger, as coming from Mamzer Records. Mamzer is the label with the most active YouTube page so by right of proving, I am deferring to Mamzer as the label but still releasing this as independent until things become more clear. When you get to the lower floors of heavy metal, there is some wandering around and investigation which comes with the process of listening to a record. Eternal Deities of the Black Hordes is a decent enough release to warrant this investigation as indicated by the artist’s unabashed love for Satanic Warmaster and black metal that abandons all decorum and modesty. In a short 16 minutes, this act proves to be aware of the aesthetics and vibe and they execute it with grace and energy.

Sigils of Ruin – Demo I [Indonesia, Death / Doom] (2023)

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I usually like to find albums that only a few people know about since I get to be really excited about sharing things. I think Sigils of Ruin already came enjoyed by at least 10 people. Indonesian death has been on the rise for the past couple of years and the style of riff heavy death in the court of bands like Undergang and even Vastum feels like a knockout. It is a knockout and everything about Demo I comes off with such little effort with classic songs titles like Untitled and Untitled II, it is amazing this came without more people knowing about it. I am sure that will change once more time passes. For now grind your face against concrete.