SHADES OF BLACK: ORDER OF THE EBON HAND, THY LEGION, TIME LURKER, ZWIESPALT

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Oct 272024
 

(written by Islander)

I guess it’s obvious from the size of this weekend’s two-part Saturday roundup that I had more than the usual amount of NCS time yesterday and this morning, and therefore kind of lost my mind.

I have only a small amount of mind and time left at this point, so today’s SHADES OF BLACK is so brief it could be labeled a token effort. But I didn’t want to skip it altogether, especially because, although the recommendations are few in number, they still loom large in the remnants of my head. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: THIS GIFT IS A CURSE, ISSFENN, TIME LURKER, SAMMATH, VERWÜSTUNG, ZATEMNO, DE DOUĂSPREZECE STATUI ALE STĂRILOR DE UMBRĂ ALE SUFLETULUI

 SHADES OF BLACK  2 Responses »
Mar 312019
 

 

I had decided to limit this week’s column to advance tracks from forthcoming albums, but then couldn’t resist adding a single-song EP that was released on Friday (by that band in the post title with the mile-long name). I’m hoping to do another SHADES OF BLACK round-up devoted to highlighting a few recent albums, but since it’s only an idea right now, I’m not going to call this post Part 1; Part 2 may remain only an idea, depending on how the next 24-48 hours go.

Obviously, I really like everything you’ll find in this collection. Some of the music is so scorching it might leave you with third-degree burns. Other tracks are more atmospheric. And I think you’ll be surprised by some of what you find here as well. So please do give everything a chance.

THIS GIFT IS A CURSE

On their last album, All Hail the Swinelord (2015), This Gift Is A Curse made music that ruthlessly takes you apart and sends what’s left of your mind into a very dark place. It was stupefyingly heavy, implacably savage, and frighteningly eerie. We premiered one song from the album and a video for another song, but I failed to review the whole thing. I’ll have a second chance to do right by this Stockholm band, because they now have another album on the horizon. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: A FEW ALBUM REMINDERS (VULPUS, KAFIRUN, VONNIS, TIME LURKER, CHAMBRE FROIDE)

 SHADES OF BLACK  4 Responses »
Jun 252017
 

 

As everyone who writes for our site has remarked from time to time, we just don’t have enough time to write reviews of every new album, EP, and split that catches our fancy, no matter how fine we think they are. I have no doubt we would still fall short even if we all did this as a full-time occupation instead of a part-time un-paid labor of lust.

I also have no doubt that we could throw more good music at your head if we truncated or eliminated our verbiage and simply installed music streams and yelled, “LISTEN TO THIS MOTHERFUCKERS!” Or maybe, “LISTEN TO THIS PLEASE AND THANK YOU”. But where’s the fun in that? Maybe more fun for you, but less fun for us… and that might lead some of us to spend more time playing with ourselves and less time playing with you.

Nevertheless, I’m admitting defeat to the hands of time in this post. There are a handful of recently released new albums in a blackened vein that I’m simply urging you to hear. Please. And thank you. Motherfuckers. Continue reading »

NEW MUSIC FROM ARKHON INFAUSTUS, MONOLITHE, SPECTRALE, AND HEIR

 RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  7 Responses »
Jun 092017
 

 

Yesterday, in a single release, Les Acteurs de l’ombre Productions premiered enough new music from stylistically significant bands to populate an entire SEEN AND HEARD post here, in addition to furnishing many other previously released songs that are well worth hearing and re-hearing.

I spotted this compilation not through the push of press promotion, but because many of my musician friends and other appreciators of extreme music spattered my Facebook feed with notices about it. So glad they did.

And because the stream is on Soundcloud and Bandcamp, I’m installing it below. And there you will hear brand new songs by Arkhon Infaustus, Monolithe, Spectrale, and Heir — about which I’ll offer some unrequested impressions — plus other excellent songs from previously released albums by Au-Dessus, Time Lurker, Pénitence Onirique, Maïeutiste, and Pensées Nocturnes. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: HAVUKRUUNU, TIME LURKER, KAOSOPHIA, ENISUM, SANCTUS HEXE, OPHIUCHI

 Album Reviews, Metal News, SHADES OF BLACK  10 Responses »
Apr 092017
 

 

Greetings again from Seattle, where the sun has chosen to shine on this Sunday. Nevertheless, I will again try to help darken the sabbath with a selection of new black metal that I hope you will find pleasing. All of this has certainly pleased me.

HAVUKRUUNU

I hadn’t been awake for long this morning when I learned (thank you Conor!) that Naturmacht Productions had revealed the first taste of music from the new album by Finland’s Havukruunu — an album I have been very eagerly awaiting.

The song is brilliant, and so at the last minute I’ve added it to this post in a prominent position. I’m now especially anxious to explore the rest of the album, which it seems I now have in my clutches. Something will have to yield to it today… perhaps food, bathroom breaks, interaction with my spouse… one must establish the correct priorities. Continue reading »