Atmospheric Black

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.

Kryatjurr of Desert Ahd – Unbearable Nightmares of Heat and Desertification [Australia, Raw Atmospheric Black] (2022)

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Self Released | 6-30-22

I have spent a considerable amount of time searching for the meaning of “Kryatjurr” and looking up any references to the name. What I have surmised is I know less about this Australian project than when I started. Obscurity seems to be a veil for Kryatjurr of Desert Ahd as this black ambient project comes with little information and is even supplemented by potentially misleading lyrics. “tauhn ruo eerufg” is a jumble of the title “Haunt our Refugee which is part of this EP’s closing track. If I am spending most of this review talking about the puzzle it presents, it is because the music for Kryatjurr of Desert Ahd is deeply immersive and leaves one in an abstract space after it is finished. Through lo fi black ambient, this EP presents a charred landscape that is constantly transformed by fire as if destroyed and then rebuilt once finished. The cover for this release presents a confusing picture of dark hands reaching out from a void which is fitting for music that is continually interesting and foreboding.

Kvad – Cold & Dark, As Life [Norway, Atmospheric / Raw Black] (2022)

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Self Released | 6-10-22

It is difficult to type the phrase Norwegian black metal” and not have it anchor to a certain time period. For better or worse this county and style elicits certain images which is a shame for bands and artists who are just making music for the void. Kvad is related to another Norwegian black metal act Darkest Bethlehem who had one single in 2021. Cold & Dark, As Life, for Kvad, represents the debut full length following an EP in 2021. This seems like the start for the act with an explosive 30 minute statement that is full of energy and entropy. There are obvious nods to Norway’s history in black metal with frostbitten aesthetics yet Kvad succeeds as a raw black act that sculpts landscapes of torment and demise. Each of the tracks which run 4-5 minutes feel like a swirling void where the vocals bounce around walls of madness. This is truly music for the distraught and Kvad commands its like a symphony.

Fōr – The Life Feeding Flame [?, Black / Death / Doom] (2021)

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Nihilstic Noise Propaganda | 5-11-21

Ah, another entry in the “dissolving” extreme metal tag. What does that mean anyway? I use “dissolving” to describe that kind of caustic black, death, or doom with hollow vocals, percussion that’s stilted or curiously laborious, and guitars with a precipitated limestone crust. Allegorically, it’s the “I’m being dipped in the acid pools at Yellowstone” kind of metal. (Not that I know what that’s like.) And here’s one of those: the anonymous Fōr from who-knows-where and their 23-minute, 3-track release “The Life Feeding Flame”. This combines black, death, and doom metal in a way that recalls a cavernous Icelandic black metal album – and it’s nearly as scary. Dissonant and, yes, dissolving. The shorter runtime does it a ton of favors in hookability with its tempestuous yet mid-paced drums. Everything about this adds to a slow, creeping dread that is accurately demonstrated through the smouldering lake on the album art. The bass is a steady rumble under every percussive pummel; and the lyrics echo, overlay, and roll off each other in a conflagration. Give me more fire!

Antikythaera – Untitled [?, Atmospheric Black] (2021)

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Self Released | 3-1-21

At this moment, I enjoy the aesthetic. Untitled release from a black metal act that has no country listed nor is there anything on the internet regarding this release. Anonymity does not substitute for quality but an already interesting release is certainly helped by a lack of information. It feels this release skirts the definition of existence and could disappear tomorrow (has happened before). Antikythaera is here, right now in this moment, making haunted music which is cast like shadows against bleak walls. This demo (?) is less of a release than it is a proof of concept that an entity making this music actually exists. I do not expect this release to be shrouded forever, but at this moment it adds to the enjoyment.

Moon – Saturn Exerzitium [Australia, Black] (2020)

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Self released | 6-14-20

So this is an interesting place to start with Moon. While some would think this is a new hot demo from a fresh artist, the entity known as moon has been operating for .. more than 10 years. The Saturn Exerzitium demo is the first release in 5 years following a 2015 full length. The Saturn Exerzitium demo is also a change in pace for the artist as it presents two lengthy instrumental black tracks that despite the lack of vocals presents a world full of horror and cold. While instrumental black usually never retains my interest, the landscapes of misery and toil are vivid in the world on Moon with a complete picture painted by the artist. I do not know if I would approach the other material but for now this is incredibly entertaining.

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Kyriss – Olden Ruins & Miry Depths [Germany, Atmospheric Black / Raw Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 6-9-20

Kyriss, known also as Kyriss the Perverse, was a Keeper of Secrets, a Greater Daemon of Slaanesh, who was active during the Horus Heresy in the early years of the 31st Millennium. Alongside the infamous Bloodthirster Ka’Bandha, a Greater Daemon of the Blood God Khorne, Kyriss served as one of two daemon overlords or “generals” who helped orchestrate the Signus Campaign, in a coordinated effort to lure the Blood Angels Space Marine Legion to the Signus Sector and corrupt them to the worship of the Ruinous Powers.

I am not assuming the band’s name is after this Warhammer 40K lore but I am going to pretend it is since it is pretty cool to read. Now with the potential context of deep fantasy lore in front let us move to the music with is something you would NOT expect given the potential fantasy component. Within the world of Olden Ruins & Miry Depths, lies atmospheric black that is twisted and forgotten to the point of being fossilized. Here among the scarred landscape of where once tall trees stood, is the toiling of witches and oppressive synths. I love this so much and I believe it is the polarization of potential aesthetics that is fueling the greatness.

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Afsky – Ofte jeg drømmer mig død [Denmark, Black] (2020)

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Vendetta Records | 5-12-20

“Tags: black metal, depressive, black metal, depressive blackmetal.” The previous line is not something I initially seek out though I feel atmospheric black is getting back to normal in terms of its output. For a little bit there was a glut of wood themed black metal that was almost indistinguishable from the next. Depressive black can be the same way which is why Afsky is intriguing for its cover depicting the social realist artist H. A. Brendekilde and his most famous painting Udslidt or Worn Out or The Martyr(1889). The use of fine art on covers is nothing new but not only does this painting circumvent the typical artists pillaged for covers but it also transcends the thematic trappings of depressive black with not a noose or suicidal imagery in sight. This is all talking about the visual components to a record that is stunning in its approach and is something that has the potential to be a crossover success among black metal fans and people interested but turned off by its pageantry.

Dekagram – Through The Dark [Norway, Atmospheric Raw Black] (2020)

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Poisonous Sorcery | 4-13-20

Raw atmospheric black or atmospheric raw black could both fit into this aesthetic. While Dekagram sounds ominous and cryptic, it is a unit of measurement equal to 10 grams. That in of itself may have significance but this is perhaps the first black metal act to embrace units of measurement to project their aura. Through the Dark is a compilation of two demos, one of them being a 2018 release and the other, I believe, being new. Whatever the case, the listener is given the experience of 43 minutes of atmospheric freefall not into the soft embrace of pine trees but rather an belfry on top of the most desolate looking church. This compilation is icy, moody, and above all else effective in its efforts to cast the world in darkness.

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Glemsel – Unavngivet [Denmark, Black] (2020)

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Self Released | 3-18-19

This EP was tagged under the genre of “atmospheric black,” though I feel we are going to collectively move past any assumptions regarding sound. Glemsel is a trio from Denmark whose first statement in this heavy metal world comes by way of Unavngivet — a powerful release full of spite, longing, and heavy textures. Unavngivet comes in as a longer EP at almost 30 minutes though this time is truly spent crafting an emotional experience, which for anyone who does not speak Danish, is going to remain a mystery. Beyond lingual comprehension, however, the work of Glemsel and its seething attitude regarding life and death transcends spoken words and washes over the listener in cascading riffs.

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