I like to find music from all corners of the globe, particularly places where I haven’t really explored before. Central America is one of those places, and the debut record from Costa Rican (and German) black metal duo Umbra Conscientia had me intrigued from the getgo. ‘Yellowing of the Lunar Consciousness’ came out late last year through Terratur Possessions.
The eerie ambience of the intro ‘El caos que precede a la creación’ immediately prepares you for music coming that is not always of this world. ‘Maze of Exile’ erupts with blasting black metal ferocity, blastbeats peppering a landscape of scything guitar and shrieking roars. Umbra Conscientia are intense, a pyroclastic flow of prime black metal riffs cascade through the fiery ‘Romance of Contradictions’ and the caustic, bilious fury of ‘Citrinitas’. You can feel the influence of Marduk or Funeral Mist on these guys; the relentless push forward through violent impacts. ‘Umbra Conscientia’ thunders like a raging tornado of hate fuelled black metal glory, while the scabrous riffing of ‘Lord of Phosphorus’ may be even more visceral and hypodermic sharp.
Closing with the mesmerising, undulating devastation of the title track, ‘Yellowing of the Lunar Consciousness’ is an album that challenges your perceptions of just how savage and hellish black metal can be without descending into lo-fi clattering and murk. Aided by a razor sharp production, Umbra Conscientia have crafted an album that lays fire upon all that has come before it and challenges anyone to pick up the mantle and take them on. I wouldn’t if I were you…
The trve Norwegian theme runs deep through this debut demo from raw black metallers Skarntyde. Their name is the Norwegian name for ‘poisonous hemlock’, which any self respecting druid will know is nasty stuff, and their lyrics and song titles are all Norwegian too. Nasty, second wave worship is what we are in for here. it is out now through their Bandcamp.
Opener ‘Sult’ is an exercise in the cathartic power of proper raw black metal. Scalding riffs breathe fire over snarling vocals and an impenetrable drum battery in the background. The concept of the album follows the sparrowhawk in its hunger and hunt for prey. It is a really interesting concept for an EP to contain and follow, and it works. The eagerness of ‘Fokus’, searching for prey amongst savage riffs. ‘Jakten’, the hunt itself with a pensive guitar building into the crescendoing attack run. ‘Ferskt Blod’, rife with the fresh kill, blood drenched vocals scouring harsh, midpaced black metal and ‘Fred’, a dark sense of satisfaction and completeness.
I love the idea that ‘Spurvehauk’ builds upon, and with each track you can imagine the drama unfold in your mind. The pure violence of nature, captured within icy raw riffing and primal shrieks and growls. ‘Spurvehauk’ is an intrguing proposition whose concept elevates it above most raw black metal I’ve heard in recent memory.
Portugeuese duo Oak have delivered something truly mighty in their debut “Lone” They class themselves as funeral doom/death and my oh my did they deliver this. It came out late last year through Transcending Obscurity.
I decided that ‘Lone’ was going to be my soundtrack for a long walk with my dog and it turned out to be the absolute best soundtrack for the location and weather. Album opener ‘Sculptures’ builds slowly but with real menace. The drums sound and feel like that are being hit with real violence even as the pace is slow, really emphasising the funeral here. At about 3:30, once the heavy musical tempo begins the vocals hit. Low, with rasping coming through you get a sense of the torture which someone might be feeling as they struggle to be alone. We hit 5:55 and suddenly there is a change in tempo in the double kicks, you feel the urgency yet so much else remains the same that you feel that going any faster is too much. And as soon as it hits we are back to truly beautiful guitar work which is tender and works hand in hand with drums which are still being hit as though they offended their player.
All this as I walk through a local wood which is drenched in history as it is the location to some of the Antonine Wall, the furthest north the Roman Empire managed. The atmosphere is fitting. The track, clocking in at 16:34 really takes you on a journey and gets better with repeated listens. “Sculptures” closes as delicately as it opened and drifts seamlessly into the second and longest track ‘Mirror’. ‘Mirror’ really came to life as the rains fell today, and boy did they fall, right as I entered a local woodland walk I had never been down and was delighted to discover how apt it all was, it was a medieval oak woodland. Add to all this the image of the fantastic art work for this album finding its way vividly to my train of thought and we were set up to truly be in the right place. At 19:13 you would be forgiven for thinking that ‘Mirror’ would feel a slog yet nothing could be further from the truth. Oak’s real strength lies in their ability to bring you along, let the song breathe and reel you back in for more crushing funeral death doom performed at a high level.
Oak have a fantastic touch and allow moments of calm to have their space and let you take in everything you are hearing. Much like when you go out on a walk and pause to admire your surroundings, that is what you get through ‘Mirror’. There I was, in the middle of built up suburbia, in a medieval wood, walking my dog in the pouring rain, rain which was only getting heavier and right as I think the rest of the walk home will be rubbish the aggression kicks back in and I decided to rally against the “woe is me” rain soaked thought and power on. Moaning about it will not make me any drier and there are miles to be walked and music to be enjoyed. ‘Mirror’ continues in a similar yet never monotonous manner of giving you space to relax with the calmer moments before shaking you back into action with the hell roar and the sound of instruments being played for all they are worth.
We launch into the latter half of ‘Lone’ with the aggressive and visceral ‘Abomination’. This is the most continually menacing and evil feeling song on the album. Perhaps being surrounded and covered by trees, rain battering my hood added to this, who knows. It is only when you hear old school chugging riffing that you realise how heavy they guys have been without going to classic methods. It is truly astonishing. There is genuine weight here. When there is but a second between this and the next track I swear you will feel it. Like that eye of the storm, only the eye is a blink. We close out this wonderful album with a splash of black metal for good measure. if ‘Abomination’ was the most menacing track then ‘Maze’ is the most aggressive. Blasting, roaring and a chopping guitar. But, just when you think you know what you are in for, Oak changes the pace. It was when ‘Maze’ had slowed down to a more classic funeral pace that I myself had a choice about when to turn home, I had reached the end of a path which I knew connected to roads not leading where I needed to go. As the resonating notes from the guitar rang out and the tempo picked back up I knew what to do, I headed back to a turning I passed which should bring me back to the location of a Roman fort, connecting the start and ending of my journey with that famous lost empire. Sure enough, as the trees began to part and a field opened before me i knew I had chosen wisely. As I made my way up the hill the blasting returned as though to give me a little bit of extra energy as Thor threatened to beat his mighty hammer upon the heavens. Then, right before the top. Silence. It was done. The album had reached its sudden, yet inevitable, conclusion. Here I once again thanked the gents from Oak as I turned around and took in the rain soaked landscape of Glasgow and her surrounding hills.
I then did the only sensible thing I knew to do. started the album again and headed home. In ‘Lone’, Oak has created some excellent funeral death doom which I feel separates them from the pack. They know song craft but understand the timing and need for aggression. For myself it formed part of a glorious day of exploration and as of writing I have finished playing it for the third time today. I normally like to pick a standout track but here I feel I would be doing a disservice to the rest. Start at the start, enjoy the journey and go a long walk while you do.
The sixth full length from Chilean doom lords Poema Arcanvs is the latest in a long history stretching back to the early 90s. ‘Stardust Solitude’ sees them taking their Yorkshire doom worship to new and dark places, and after approaching 30 years of plowing these furrows Poema Arcanvs sound like they know exactly how to write this kind of music.
The ghostly clean guitar that haunts the opening chords of ‘Stardust Solitude’ is a bit of a tease for what occurs next. This is some mighty doom, laden with death vocals but not just simply more of that genre. You’ve got a bit of epic doom melancholia seeping in with vocalist Claudio Carrasco proving to be incredibly versatile. There’s a lot of Paradise Lost in his delivery, and that goes for the music as well. There’s a gloomy grandeur to it that I really appreciate. The grinding churn of ‘Orphans’ evolves into something evoking Gojira in places, while the rumbling darkness of ‘Haven’ is lit by an impassioned croon.
It’s hard to describe what is most enchanting about this album. The quiet bleak moments in ‘The Lighthouse Keeper’ are a personal highlight, as is the sweeping crush of ‘Pilgrim’ and its world rending solo. Maybe it is the roiling guitar of the seasick ‘Straits of Devotion’. I suppose the true magic of this record is the way it can sound like Candlemass one second and Swallow the Sun the next, and the transition never seems jarring. That ancient Yorkshire doom thread keeps everything together, where the mood rarely lifts from a sense of poignant loneliness, encapsulated in the slow, drifting heft of closing track ‘Brave’.
‘Stardust Solitude’ is almost an hour long but the music within never outstays its welcome. There’s so much variety in what I assumed would be a standard doom record that I am taken aback. The dynamic shifts, the weight and yet fragility of the songwriting will leave you in awe. ‘Stardust Solitude’ is a glorious ode to a founding strand of doom, and Poema Arcanvs pay tribute with grace and vitality.
Folian, the solo outlet of multi-instrumentalist David Fylstra entered into 2020 with the reflective ‘Blue Mirror’. Without fully knowing it, Folian explores the struggle for clarity and emotional well being long before the world faced such a task during the lockdown. It is out now through Anima Recordings.
‘Go Alone’ is the first big track of the album and hits out with a strong yet tender sound. The bass is heavy in the mix and if like me you find yourself sitting next to a subwoofer then you will feel every note! Instrumental ‘Away’ gives way to ‘I Am You’ which starts off with a brooding rumble, like an animal ready to pounce. A brief moment of calm and then an on-edge feeling begins to rise again; you think the kill is coming but no, it walks away, slowly with a superb touch. There are quiet vocals here but it merely adds to the feeling of unease and control. ‘Further Give’ is a lighter, optimistic feeling song. One that feels like it could greet a sunrise and set you off on a great day but as is the case with this album, not without a touch of reservation.
‘Unwanted’ is up next which is a longer, brooding song which misses the mark for me, Fylstra delivers a good haunting vocal once again but overall the first track I would likely skip. The same cannot be said of the bare bones ‘No Wake’. With prominent acoustic guitar you can feel the heart in this track. Other instruments are deftly added in to add a feeling of weight and seriousness as we are brought alone on the journey. This song rises as a wall of sound and drops back to a brilliant, barely there ambience. For me this is the track of the album.
‘Erasure’ guides us home with a true plethora of emotions and highs and low. It is the audio cleansing of the soul. While it is not as clear and brilliant a track as ‘Go Alone’ or ‘No Wake’ it still fits the plan for the album which then seamlessly leads into the acoustic closer ‘Tomorrow’. While their Facebook page describes Folian as “experimental sludge pop” I feel it falls more under the Jesu style of post metal, granted on the lighter side of that world.
Blue Mirror is a robust album with a few highlights. It doesn’t quite stand out from the crowd until you spend a bit of time with it which may be a drawback in the days of streaming and choice everywhere. If you want a soundtrack for an evening walk in the summer days stick this on.
Hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, home of the Bengals, Solar Flare deliver a slice of old school heavy metal that might not be reinventing the wheel but does deliver a decent smile. It is out now through the band’s Bandcamp.
The album opens with the galloping ‘Medievil’ has all the hallmarks of the bands their Facebook page declares as influences. The musicianship is clear to hear and the shredding is immediately apparent. It also ties together the feel that the bright and eye catching album cover conveys. The Iron Maiden influence is clear on ‘Under the Sun’ while Judas Priest is apparent on the very opening of the highlight track ‘Born to Burn’. This is the track you would pick out for a mate to listen to too. The solo will absolutely have you reaching for the air guitar and pulling out some back to back shenanigans with your previously mentioned mate.
However this album is not without its foibles.
While clearly drawing from the power metal/NWOBHM world the guitar tone is a lot more distorted and muddy sounding for a band in this genre. It is great to see bands trying something new but in this instance the distortion can feel at odds with the soaring effect Ethan ‘Loki’ Jackson is trying to achieve. Speaking of Loki, he delivers a really solid performance and has a fantastic range. The only time I ever felt he was off the pace was some of those higher notes in the thumping track ‘Pharaoh’, a track which ends in a stunning battery of pinched harmonics and head banging.
As we close out the self titled album ‘Taken to the Other Side’ has all the signs of a crowd singing along which would no doubt be brilliant to be part of. ‘World in My Head’ sees the album off just as it began, at a high tempo with soaring vocals, thick sounding guitars and foot tapping gusto that leaves you smiling.
In the six years these guys have been going, you can tell they care what they are about and have talent in abundance.
That fresh new band energy comes though “Solar Flare” in spades. However I can’t help but feel that with six years behind them they would feel a bit more polished and have a tone which doesn’t take you out the moment as much. But overall I enjoyed this album and look forward to what they have in store next.
Londoners Dawnwalker deliver to us an album in ‘Crestfallen’ which casts up a very Nordic, pagan vibe with their quite beautiful album cover, which I also encourage you to visit on the artist’s Facebook page, its a gif and the movement is most calming. It is out now through the band’s Bandcamp.
As with all album covers you create a idea about what this band will sound like. I assumed it would be something progressive and they did not disappoint. In fact the class themselves as post/progressive metal. Opener ‘Crestfallen’ has a bass line which could put doors in, or at least result in a chap from the neighbours if played at sufficient volume. The vocals by Mark Norgate fit the music really well, it is clean, well delivered and something which could absolutely make an evening walk that little bit better. ‘Pollen Cloud’ continues the measured and delicate tone set up by the sweeping ‘Crestfallen’. The very subtle flute played by Sian Alex really gives this track a very ethereal feel. Around the two min mark things change and there is more of a purpose delivered, I am reminded for reasons I cannot quite put my finger on, of ‘Antenna’ era Cave In. Wonderful stuff.
My favourite track off the album is next and it is ‘Towpath’. Having said it is my favourite it is also the most jarring on the album as here we hear a harsh black metal vocal. It fits the feel of the track which you conjure images of a frozen windy environment with some poor soul trudging ever onward into the night. Thereafter we have a smashing cover of ‘Lost Wisdom’ by Mount Eerie which ends with the last harsh vocal we hear. We close out the album with the marvellous acoustic track, ‘Pagan Plains’. This deserves a place in every garden playlist right now and would be my other pick from this album depending on who I was airing it too.
Overall this is a gem of an album made in the heat of lockdown. In a way, even with the jarring moment of ‘Towpath’ this album encapsulates all the various moments and emotions of the lockdown. Take the time, dig this out, play it a few times and let it unfold before you.
Ah Finland. Land of a Thousand Lakes. Home of some of metal’s most incredible and influential bands, particularly in the field of doom. Astral Sleep have been churning titanic riffs for over 15 years now, and their third full length ‘Astral Doom Magick’ is another opus of mournful, marsh quaking doom for us all to sink down into oblivion in accompaniment. It follows the crushing ‘Visions’ from 2012 and the more recent psychedelic EP ‘Subconsciousnesslesskoe’ and is out now through Saarni Records.
Four tracks spanning over forty minutes will tell you a lot, but not all of the tale can be told by length. Opener ‘Vril’ begins our journey with a rumbling, paleolithic riff that is drenched in classic death/doom before a more Reverend Bizarre-esque majesty appears. Melancholic leads churn below growled vocals, skittering gently upon the surface of a lake of pure darkness. ‘Integration’s grand sweep and soaring melodies form a glorious dichotomy within Astral Sleep. You’ve got some serious death/doom weight flowing beneath the kind of massive epic doom melodies you might find lurking on a Candlemass record, where delicate clean guitars can invoke the bleakest of emotions and hefty riffs can crush those same emotions to miserable dust.
The gatefold vinyl edition of this record comes with its own board game, which tells the tale of the album’s mythical world. You could definitely find it easy to become absorbed in this world of light and dark, feuding endlessly through time for supremacy. The album personifies that, with the dense low end and mourning guitar wails battling against an innate sense of melody. The glacial crawl of ‘Schwerbelastungskörper’ is pure misery, howled into a void of painfully wrought guitar leads, while the closing ‘Aurinko ja Kuu’ is more open and spacey. In fact, it wouldn’t feel out of place on some latter day Devin Townsend records, which is not a reference I thought I’d be making at the start of this review. But after a section that nods to the band’s more psychedelic past moments, we delve downward into some heavier territory to close.
As I mentioned before, the album on vinyl comes complete with a board game to play, and the band were kind enough to send me a copy of said vinyl to review those elements. First off, the artwork is even more glorious on the vinyl cover, and that special magic that vinyl always brings really adds something to the music. I’ve always been a CD man, but this could convert me permanently. The board game is a perfect companion to the music, helping explain the narrative and mythology of the world created here. You can play on your own or with others, and I can recommend having the music on repeat behind you as you delve deep into this world.
In a world where we’re all facing misery, the grim face of death haunting our thoughts and the collapse of society, it is kinda nice to have a record that brings you a soundtrack to it with a little hope lurking in there. ‘Astral Doom Magick’ is a conjuration of grey beauty, where the rawest of sorrowful rage exists besides an emotional plea for a better place. Astral Sleep are magnificent, and this is their greatest triumph.
Apologies in advance if I appear extra fawning in this review (even more than usual), but I have been waiting for this record for three goddamn years since I feel in love with Jupiterian’s last record, ‘Terraforming’, which I reviewed here. That was almost my record of the year that year, and this already has a chance for 2020. It is out in September through Transcending Obscurity.
‘Homecoming’ builds with the ominous clang of a bell(?), ambience humming beneath a swell of brass as if it is ready to announce the arrival of some ancient god. ‘Mere Humans’ is that god, a vast crushing riff churning beneath a vortex of inhuman growls. There’s more than a taste of atmospheric black metal poisoning this album too, bringing with it some fuzz, spoken word and chanting backdrops. Death/doom often has a nascent beauty about its heaviness, and Jupiterian temper this with on ‘Protosapien’, where ‘Voidborn’ feels like the music is being ripped from a black hole and drowned in tar.
But you also have tracks like the gloomy ‘Capricorn’, that builds with a glorious riff pattern and bathes in mesmerising atmosphere before the destructive power comes in. ‘Protosapien’ has a number of moments like this, where we head towards a more Paradise Lost/My Dying Bride direction. You never get Lousiana sludge, this is more like Amazonian sludge; a primal, natural beauty trapped with cloying, sweltering heat. ‘Starless’ is the sound of other dimensional titans clashing in the void of space, while the closing ‘Earthling Bloodline’ would render the earth cracked and broken forever should it ever make landfall.
Is ‘Protosapien’ better than ‘Terraforming’? This is a hard call for me but I think it is. There’s more nuance, more darkness and more emotional weight draining you during these songs, and for Jupiterian to top their previous work is, for me, astounding. This is the standard to beat this year now, and I think it’ll finish either atop or second at the end. If you only hear one record this year, make it ‘Protosapien’.
The new EP from Portugal’s Summon is called ‘Helios’ and it is a three track odyssey through a journey of morbid black and death metal released through Godz ov War Productions.
Split into three parts, ‘Helios I’ is a clattering, yawning chasm of utter filth and raging depravity. The production is murky, screams echo from untold places of horror and the changes in pace from rampant ferocity to dismal, sludgy crawls is foul genius. ‘Helios II’ rises from fiery blasphemy into a bigger, more powerful adversary to the light. Waves of doom build from below, on which tortured roars rise towards a blackened sky. Powering all of this is a triumphant battery of drumming, a solid foundation for such a dark quest. ‘Helios III’ takes the black/death blueprint with which we’ve been working and slowly warps it into a maelstorm, before closing it with one of the most sinister sections of a song you’ll ever hear. Silence apart from eldritch moans, dissonant whispers and rumbling ambience really confirms that there is no souls left unsold in this band.
‘Helios’ is a record that is an epitome of darkness, of terror and subconscious fear. Summon have achieved here in twenty minutes that whcih many bands try for decades to do. This is superb.
The Killchain 