Tag Archives: Melodic Black Metal

Sarcoptes – Prayers to Oblivion (2023) – Review

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Sarcoptes - Prayers to Oblivion - Album Cover

Sarcoptes do like it dreary – and brutal to a fine point. Already their rough-hewn EP Plague Hymns was a friggin’ scorcher and it landed them straight on the 2020 Top 3 year-end list for EPs.

And the band truly does like its themes, too. There’s no light or joy left in that dystopian and depressive end-of-world view of theirs. Grim topics such as disease, endless war, massacres, and catastrophes abound. That’s their daily rotten bread. All of that served with a mighty stew of gore and tribulation and an avalanche of energy to turn Anaal Nathrakh yellow1 with … [...] Click to raid more!

Frozen Dawn – The Decline of the Enlightened Gods (2023) – Review

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Frozen Dawn - The Decline of the Enlightened Gods - Album Cover

Sometimes nomen est omen. But for Frozen Dawn‘s new record, it’s actually two things. The name and the album art. And indeed, the band name already hints at abject, ice-cold, and razor-sharp harshness. But look at the cover and feel the cold howling winds of Kadath seep into your bones. This actually made me light a fire. True story, by the way.

And it looks like we’re going to have a great run with Melodic Black Metal of different couleurs this year. Deviser and …And Oceans just issued pretty good records. And Sarcoptes should drop their newest piece later … [...] Click to raid more!

Deviser – Evil summons Evil (2023) – Review

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Deviser - Evil Summons Evil - Album Cover

Ah yes. Deviser. A band that’s been lurking somewhere out there in the outer Sphere ov Elusive Reviews for a long time. A well-known and darkly ominous Extreme Metal entity from Greece. A band standing proud alongside the likes of Rotting Christ, Septicflesh, or – again – Isolert. The RMR crew indeed waited forever and a day for that new album to drop. To the point that this started to feel somewhat like the Patrick Rothfuss1 experience all over again.

So, here we are in the loveless2 and (as yet) very unholy year of … [...] Click to raid more!

…And Oceans – As in Gardens, So In Tombs (2023) – Review

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...And Oceans - As In Gardens So in Tombs - Album Cover

Gardens, tombs, strange eerie galactic soundscapes. Disturbing visions come to mind once you read the title of this here new record of …And Oceans. The album art doesn’t really alleviate that feeling of impending doom either with dead souls seemingly trying to avoid the dark embrace of Old Nick1 and escape into the light. Some cosmically-challenged, mysticized Christian theme on an album cover in greys, blues, and gold. Or is it?

I guess we’ll never know. Because the lyrics on As in Gardens, So in Tombs are undecipherable. And I am sure they’re very elaborate, as is paradoxically … [...] Click to raid more!