Even the most devoted fans of black metal may stifle a yawn when they read about a new band whose music is portrayed as an embrace of the genre’s groundbreaking second wave. After all, that wave has been rolling forward and swelling in its mass for 30 years. It doesn’t need to be revived, and some may already feel drowned by it. But embracing the second wave doesn’t mean becoming entirely one with it, and it’s the differences that can still make a band stand out.

Vaamatar are a band who stand out, and that’s strikingly obvious when you listen to their debut album Medievalgeist. We can plainly hear what inspired this SoCal group, but we can also marvel at the sophistication and multi-faceted nature of the songwriting, and at how well they have succeeded in creating magical and mesmerizing atmospheres to go along with assaults of racing ferocity and bouts of brawn and brazenness that are red meat for a battle-vested headbanger.

We’ve got tangible proof of this in the fantastic song we’re premiering today. It’s time to feel the band’s “Plundering Claws” in action. Continue reading »