#apocalypticwitchcraft — Public Fediverse posts

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically. Over the course of 11 albums, as well as various EPs and splits, Frozen Ocean follows their own muse, without any musical correlation between them. It’s a big toss-up what you’re going to get per release, and I can’t help but respect the hell out of that.

I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically. Over the course of 11 albums, as well as various EPs and splits, Frozen Ocean follows their own muse, without any musical correlation between them. It’s a big toss-up what you’re going to get per release, and I can’t help but respect the hell out of that.

I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically. Over the course of 11 albums, as well as various EPs and splits, Frozen Ocean follows their own muse, without any musical correlation between them. It’s a big toss-up what you’re going to get per release, and I can’t help but respect the hell out of that.

I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically. Over the course of 11 albums, as well as various EPs and splits, Frozen Ocean follows their own muse, without any musical correlation between them. It’s a big toss-up what you’re going to get per release, and I can’t help but respect the hell out of that.

I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically. Over the course of 11 albums, as well as various EPs and splits, Frozen Ocean follows their own muse, without any musical correlation between them. It’s a big toss-up what you’re going to get per release, and I can’t help but respect the hell out of that.

I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

Old Year – No Dissent Review

By Tyme

Amidst the tenebrous shadows of Boise, Idaho’s underground metal scene, death-doom dronesters Old Year first formed as a duo in 2017 and were content from the outset to operate in secret, as a rumor, a cathartic side-project contained behind closed doors. Until 2021, that is, when Old Year grew from a duo to a trio comprised of founding guitarist/vocalist Robert Taylor Roark, drummer Jered Veeneman, and newcomer bassist Skyler Rezendes, and saw fit to emerge from their post-pandemic dungeons of self-isolated slumber to unleash dark arts on stages across the Boise underground. UK record label Apocalyptic Witchcraft took note of Old Year’s eleven-minute eponymous single in 2023, then signed the three-piece to a deal, resulting in the band’s forthcoming debut full-length, No Dissent. Does Old Year have what it takes to make a ripple in the ichorous pool of their chosen genre, or will they drown in the quick sands of missed opportunity?

Old Year’s droning form of doom metal is big, and No Dissent leaves little room to argue the point. Rezendes’ massive, tectonic bass lines shift under Roark’s squealy guitar feedback, distortedly sustained chords, and morosely haunting leads, conjuring an atmosphere that fans of Khanate, Evoken or Hell might appreciate (“Rotting Illusion”). Veeneman’s drums, monstrous and restrained, serve as the twisted backbone that keeps the rest of the band from getting too far ahead of themselves, expertly managing the funereal tempos, while Roark’s guttural roars, a mix of Incantation’s John McEntee and Bolt Thrower’s Karl Willetts, resound cavernously over the whole cacophonous affair, just this side of discernible. Tried and true death doom tropes are adhered to, boundaries left unstretched as Old Year seem less intent to innovate than devastate.

What drew me to Old Year is the result of something I refer to as the Jute Gyte effect, and not because Old Year share much of anything in common with Adam Kalmbach’s atonal dissonant metal project either. But because, while sumping the promo pit for something to snag, I was listening to a few minutes of No Dissent’s advance track, “Mechanical Birth,” and what I heard, though initially dismissed, refused to leave my mind, demanding I return to it. Which is precisely how I ended up falling for Jute Gyte’s Perdurance, and why I ended up pulling Old Year out of the murky waters. It just so happens that “Mechanical Birth,” with its eleven-plus minutes of relentless, pulsing death doom decimation, encapsulates every weapon at Old Year’s disposal and executes it all at a high level, making it an album highlight.

With a compact run-time of thirty-six minutes, No Dissent is an appetizer of the drone doom genre. While this personally nonpluses me, there may be purists, especially those of the funeral variety, who rabble over No Dissent’s length, shouting, ‘Why it’s barely an EP!’ And though I appreciate the bite-sized nature of Old Year’s debut, the album itself, wrapped in production that, though loud, complements what No Dissent is trying to do, consists of four separate tracks that, when taken as a whole, flow more like one continuous thirty-six-minute song, each one beginning and ending in very similar waves of screechy feedback. This undulation, combined with the simplistic construction of each song’s core, does wrap No Dissent in a drone that belies the album’s intent. There is nothing here that moves the genre forward in any way, at least not in ways that bands like Hellish Form are pushing things, perhaps rendering No Dissent too short, sweet, and simple for some.

For the interested yet uninitiated, Old Year’s No Dissent wouldn’t be a bad place from which to launch your journey into the death doom drone world. Its short run time and solid, albeit overly simple, representation of the genre could serve as training wheels, guiding you to bigger and more complex adventures. No Dissent didn’t blow my socks off, but I can see myself returning to it because it’s big, powerful, and doesn’t demand hours of my time. For now, I recommend you try plumbing its depths as well, and know that I will be scanning the horizon to see what Old Year does next.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AmericanMetal #ApocalypticWitchcraft #DeathMetal #DoomMetal #Drone #Evoken #Hell #Khanate #NoDissent #Oct25 #OldYear #Review