Dagger Lust – Aggramica [US, Black / Death] (2016)

Vrasubatlat | 7-10-16

Hype! Hype! Hype! Ever since the 2015 release of Uškumgallu, I have been enthralled by the work of Portland based collective Vrasubatlat. To be quick, a guy from Ash Borer is teaming up with other musicians from the area and making dark noise released in demos and full lengths. If one were to recall the Triumvir Foul LP that was priased by myself and others at the end of last year, that could be your starting point to a misery laden universe of hate and turmoil.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Celestial Grave – Burial Ground Trance [Finland, Black] (2016)

Iron Bonehead | 7-7-11

Cool name. Check. Cool album title. Check. Iron Bonehead check. Finland. Check. Demo. Check. Cryptic artwork. Check. Well it looks like we got everything we need ladies and gentleman. Sometimes a release already comes with so much to like about it, it is amazing how much it grows beyond expectations. Celestial Grave already has at least 50 fans just on paper but this Finnish duo’s demo is so impressive that it may have the ability to capture the tortured imaginations of so much more.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Void Omina – Dying Light [US, Black] (2016)

Self Released | 6-20-16

Black metal being played in 2016 is nothing new. In fact,I feel this blog wouldn’t exist if it were not for this fact. Void Omina plays black metal and are from the United States. Again, this is nothing new. In fact, there is nothing really remarkable about Void Omina, on the surface, that would separate them from everything else. Besides a brightly colored album art with space things, this is just black metal played with fierce precision from five guys from Oakland California. Maybe that is why it is receiving a substantial following from people.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Cloak – Cloak [US, Black / Rock] (2016)

Boris Records | 6-20-16

Cloak is special to me. I first encountered the band at Blood of the Wolf Festival in the middle of three days of death, black, and everything between bands in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. Cloak fit the bill with their harsh vocals but stood out in not only their instrumentation but just the way they carried themselves. Instead of a full out frenzy, the band donned a mantle of rock and roll swagger which made their already dark imagery something special. This was party music for the recently deceased.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Inculcator – Void Abecedary [UK, Black / Thrash] (2016)

Caligari Records | 5-23-16

Ohhhh goodness, my head. It is swirling with madness and chaos. Inculcator is a black / thrash project which looks like it falls in line with the Voivod / Vektor mission of space based thrash. Once you learn that Inculcator is a one man side project for the one man band Abyssal, things become clearer. Oh wait, did I say clearer? I mean more disconnected and crumbling to shambles. That is what I meant. If you ever want to know what it felt like to be hit by an asteroid in zero gravity, please take a step towards Void Abecedary.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Iskandr – Heilig Land [Netherlands, Black] (2016)

Haeresis Noviomagi |6-5-16

I love it when band names are autocorrected in search engines so finding them is even more of an adventure. No worries as I think myself and Iskandr have already met, or atleast have been introduced between friends. Iskandr is a tortured soul from the Netherlands who also does duties in Lubbert Das and Turia both excellent bands with excellent releases in 2015. Where Both previous bands were multiple in nature, the man known as “O” breaks out for a hellish ride through grief and suffering.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Fyrnask – Fórn [Germany, Black / Avant] (2016)

Ván Records | 5-20-16

Black metal? Yes. Rituals? Yes. Angular structures? Yes. Artsy album cover? Of course. A sensing grip of fear and dread? Hell yes! when finding something like one realizes how well put together all of the elements they enjoy being made into one album.On Bandcamp, this album comes wityh the tag of “Cascadian” which maybe fitting only in the deep sense of nature as Fyrnask has hiked out leagues ahead of where other Cascadian black metal bands have stopped and found that weird shrine with all those bones.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Haunter – Thrinodίa [US, Black / Death / Progressive] (2016)

Self Released | 5-30-16

There are sometimes when an album or even a band can baffle you to the point of taking a while to process. There are sometimes when a band’s sound is so untraceable that it develops a type of charm in its mystery. This is what the Texas based band Haunter is doing. This is what Haunter is doing. While the style of cryptic black/death has been well explored, this Texas based band is riding through the cavernous sound on a rickety progressive rollercoaster. Unlike even other bands who do the same thing, Haunter’s dedication or addiction to lo-fi production and destruction makes this release a treat or complete fucking puzzle for some people.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Sanctuaire – Le Sang sur l’Acier [Canada, Black / Ambient] (2016)

Les Productions Hérétiques | 5-28-16

I feel that putting Ambient and Atmospheric on top of an album as a description can be akin to pushing it in certain direction that may not be appropriate. Le Sang sur l’Acier is not ambient in the same way as lets say Darkspace but it is not atmospheric in the same way as the thousands of other bands that share that style. There is a small knoll of earth reserved for bands that not only love atmosphere but also rotting vocals, organs, and perhaps some woodsy chants. For all of that, this space of earth is perfect for Sanctuaire.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Draped Urn – Degenerate [Brazil, Black] (2016)

Self Released | 5-16-17

Wow. Careful now. Don’t burn yourself on how new this is. Put it down. It is too hot. This release is almost 24 hours old and as of right now it has no other points of contact other than the few bits of information. All we have to go on is that Draped Urn is from Brazil and the sound is fucking ferocious.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.