Self Released | 12-19-17
I saw Erlkonig this year at a local festival in the woods. The band is comprised of most of members of Genevieve plus a smattering of other local Baltimore metal musicians. I now feel weird since I not only know these guys but their music is really fantastic leading me to assure people Im not just talking up a band I know.
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.
Third Eye Temple | 12-18-17
Before beginning, I want to acknowledge the cover art/layout for this split as being one of the coolest covers of the year. Though I am confused who did the cover since the Metal Archives has the personal sort of mixed up, the artwork looks similar to Fenomeno Design which did Barshasketh’s 2015 album. I know someone is responsible and it fits aesthetically with this split. Even if this is just a rearrangement of classical artwork, the colors and layout are phenomenal and is something I want on all covers of metal albums.
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.
Xenoglossy Productions | 11-3-17
This is a weird split. weird not in a grotesque or horrible way but more in a creeping sense of uncanny atmosphere. Xenoglossy Productions is a newish label from Italy representing a slew of underground European acts. One of their missions is to hammer out a visual style to unite all of these releases under one aesthetic banner. Until this happens, most of the releases on Xenoglossy range from the odd to the bizarre with the Illuminated Manuscripts / Deathvoid being a solemn photo of a canopied bed. Again nothing outright and shocking just a growing sensation that not everything is right.
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.
Self Released | 9-14-17
No Metal Archives Page. No Facebook page. No additional information about this project. Fuck it, I can call this whatever I want since no one seems to be correcting me. With the additional picture of two figures in non metal looking raincoats, the first (?) demo (?) from Skrik poses a lot of questions which are answered in counterattacks.
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.
Self Released | 12-2-17
there is a lot of weird shit to discuss with this record. Just by the Bandcamp alone, we have a set of polyhedral dice, strong allusions to ancient magic, and an album cover that looks like a grind record which even has two purple strips on the edges. I do not know why these things are grabbing my attention other than it seems to add to the mystery of a project which seems to be casting spells via black metal.
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.
Self Released | 12-1-17
I have had a problem with a lot of depressive and atmospheric black only in that there is always a lot to choose from. With this comes the dulling of what is suppose to be the linchpin of the music which is emotional resonance. When you can 50 bands doing the same thing all releasing records at the same time, the impact can be muted. This of course is true for most genres of metal but sort of ruins the aesthetic for certain types. This is why it is interesting when an album art can grab your attention and the music can hold it in place.
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.
Self Released | 11-24-17
I need to ease up on my pre judgements surrounding atmospheric black metal. For a style that has a ton of directions, I feel I have been jaded to a legion of albums with trees on the cover and a fawning for post rock melodies. Mammon is tagged at atmospheric black on Bandcamp yet does not walk the line of nature reverence, philosophical transcendence, or emotional longing. Rather this Detroit based band feel cold as concrete, full of disease, and possibly undead rot.
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.
Self Released | 11-23-17
I find it amusing and comforting that the Banedcamp header is the famous still from The Seventh Seal which is a movie that has become known for its vintage depiction o death and mortal pondering. This maybe a perfect place to start for black metal and in fact, is probably one of the more honest framings of the sound as beyond costuming lies the dance of life and death.
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.
11-13-17 | Narbentage Produktionen | The Hidden Art
Krÿs is from Germany and I do not think the band’s name has any easy translation into English. The name Hexen is already known enough not to be mysterious and most of the song titles do not hold any deep level of esoteric meaning. For the most part this demo is a pretty transparent package of black metal without many gimmicks or talking points. I feel for this reason, it succeeds beyond similar releases of this year.
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.
Self Released | 5-25-17
Yes. this is the weird shit I come to the internet for. From the very fitting grainy cover to the fact that since its release back in May, I have heard very little of this project proves that this is a great find. to be honest, I started this review months ago and let it go to draft only to find it sitting waiting for me. What I realized is this sound is still pleasing and still exciting even after these many months.
The ambient side of this project is important as the swirling atmosphere is completed by the distant and fading memory of black metal. Similar to things like Paysage D’hiver, these types of releases rely on the support of people who want to hear music that is closest to white noise as possible. When discussing fidelity and choices in sound production, Himelvaruwe succeeds at brining the sound perhaps to the edge of music/noise while still retaining its emotional components. I am glad I found this after so many months.
there are a lot of releases in 2017, and sometimes releases just sit on shelves without he attention it deserves. This band has not done anything outside of this demo but still has some updates regarding physical copies of this demo. I am going to strive to make it a point to follow this act and make sure I listen and report the same month as their next release. No promises though.
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.