(Andy Synn reviews the debut EP by Seelenmord, which is now available for free download on Bandcamp.)

It’s important to start off your week right. Most of us are heading back to work, and the Monday morning blues can easily get you down. So what better than a slice of darkly melodic, spirit-crushing black metal from Argentina, whose name roughly translates to “Soul Murder”?

And it’s free too!

The five tracks that make up this EP pick and mix a variety of influences from the black metal spectrum, melding the earthen grandeur of primordial Ulver with the relentless dominance of Anaal Nathrakh and the raw ferocity of early Gorgoroth, taking the listener on a wild journey of penitence and paranoia.

Though all the more overt trappings of the genre are present and correct – blitzing tremolo guitars, sacrilegious snare blasts, a raging undercurrent of bile and scorn – it’s the more subtle and artful touches which really make this EP stand out. Continue reading »