#blackmetal — Public Fediverse posts

TSALAL (Canadà) presenta nou àlbum: "Adhikāra Chinnamastā" #Tsalal #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #Noise #Setembre2026 #Canadà #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

NOCTURNAL TYRANTS (Brasil) presenta nou àlbum: "The Return of the Southern Winter" #NocturnalTyrants #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Brasil #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

NOCTURNAL TYRANTS (Brasil) presenta nou àlbum: "The Return of the Southern Winter" #NocturnalTyrants #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Brasil #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

IN DARKNESS BORN (Estats Units) presenta nou àlbum: "Echoes of Dust" #InDarknessBorn #Folk #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #EstatsUnits #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

IN DARKNESS BORN (Estats Units) presenta nou àlbum: "Echoes of Dust" #InDarknessBorn #Folk #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #EstatsUnits #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Schedule at the end of my birthday month (September 2026):

- Fr, 26th of Sept. 2026: Keine Farben , 21:00 CEST / 3ish pm EDT - #postpunk #punkrock #depression #ebm #industrial #synthwave #darkwave #goth

- Su, 27th of Sept. 2026: For the Love of Music raid train, 17:00 CEST / 11 am EDT

- We, 30th of Sept. 2026: Black'N'Deather, 22:00 CEST / 4 pm EDT - #blackmetal #vikingmetal #DoomMetal

- Fr, 2nd of Oct, 2026: Keine Farben + Weirdsville Weekend Kickoff Raid Train, 21:00 CEST / 3 pm EDT

Schedule at the end of my birthday month (September 2026):

- Fr, 26th of Sept. 2026: Keine Farben , 21:00 CEST / 3ish pm EDT - #postpunk #punkrock #depression #ebm #industrial #synthwave #darkwave #goth

- Su, 27th of Sept. 2026: For the Love of Music raid train, 17:00 CEST / 11 am EDT

- We, 30th of Sept. 2026: Black'N'Deather, 22:00 CEST / 4 pm EDT - #blackmetal #vikingmetal #DoomMetal

- Fr, 2nd of Oct, 2026: Keine Farben + Weirdsville Weekend Kickoff Raid Train, 21:00 CEST / 3 pm EDT

NAJT (Mèxic) presenta nou àlbum: "Ecos del núcleo" #Najt #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Mèxic #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

NAJT (Mèxic) presenta nou àlbum: "Ecos del núcleo" #Najt #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Mèxic #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

FLAMMENWERFER (Austràlia) presenta nova demo: "A Noose for All Traitors" #Flammenwerfer #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Austràlia #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

FLAMMENWERFER (Austràlia) presenta nova demo: "A Noose for All Traitors" #Flammenwerfer #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Austràlia #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4 #blackmetal #gentechejukebox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4 #blackmetal #gentechejukebox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVTXPUF4Oz4 #blackmetal #gentechejukebox

Today, it's Oranssi Pazuzu. All Day. Because fuck the MAN.
https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/music

#music #oranssiPazuzu #Blackmetal

Today, it's Oranssi Pazuzu. All Day. Because fuck the MAN.
https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/music

#music #oranssiPazuzu #Blackmetal

Today, it's Oranssi Pazuzu. All Day. Because fuck the MAN.
https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/music

#music #oranssiPazuzu #Blackmetal

Today, it's Oranssi Pazuzu. All Day. Because fuck the MAN.
https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/music

#music #oranssiPazuzu #Blackmetal

Today, it's Oranssi Pazuzu. All Day. Because fuck the MAN.
https://oranssipazuzu.bandcamp.com/music

#music #oranssiPazuzu #Blackmetal

TAURUS (Itàlia) presenta nou àlbum: "Possessed by the Gleaming Light of Aldebaran" #Taurus #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Itàlia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

TAURUS (Itàlia) presenta nou àlbum: "Possessed by the Gleaming Light of Aldebaran" #Taurus #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Itàlia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

HAJDUK (Bulgària) presenta nou àlbum: "Мир" #Hajduk #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Bulgària #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

HAJDUK (Bulgària) presenta nou àlbum: "Мир" #Hajduk #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Bulgària #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

FÖRFALL (Suècia) presenta nou EP: "Till jordens förfall" #Förfall #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Suècia #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

FÖRFALL (Suècia) presenta nou EP: "Till jordens förfall" #Förfall #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Suècia #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

BLACK ANGEL (Perú) presenta nou Split: "Signs of the Black Oath" #BlackAngel #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #Setembre2026 #Perú #NouSplit #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

BLACK ANGEL (Perú) presenta nou Split: "Signs of the Black Oath" #BlackAngel #BlackMetal #DeathMetal #Setembre2026 #Perú #NouSplit #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

In the spirit of Noctule—Svalbard frontwoman Serena Cherry’s solo meloblack/Covid lockdown project—and their video game theming, I have lore with this band. Noctule’s debut, 2021’s Skyrim tribute Wretched Abyss, was the subject of my audition review for this very blog. Given the assignment was to review an album you’d rate as mixed/2.5, you can infer my assessment of it. So, why then was I so excited to relieve Dear Hollow of reviewing Noctule’s follow-up, Extinguish Thy Flame? It’s not because it’s tackling Elden Ring this time,1 a game Cherry credits in the promo with saving her life.2 It’s because, though Wretched Abyss was a one-note record, that one note was massive. Noctule’s coiling melodies kick ludicrous butt on that album, and I had long hoped Cherry would give her side-project another swing. Well, here it is: Extinguish Thy Flame. Does Noctule seize upon their potential, or is their flame more meager than I had believed?

Rest assured that the aspects that made Noctule’s debut compelling remain untarnished on Extinguish Thy Flame. Wretched Abyss’s formula of interwoven hyper-melodic leads soaring over pummeling drums and Cherry’s commanding bellows was potent in 2021, and you’d best believe it works just as well today. Behold “Become My Blade Once More” and true opener “Devour the Gods;” disregarding Extinguish Thy Flame’s clearer production, these songs could’ve been off the debut. Noctule is still an approachable, hook-first project, typified by surefire bangers like “Grafted,” swapping between chuggy chops and spacious melodies and “Hallowhorn Grounds” with its surprisingly bright atmospheres. The only strength of the debut that takes a minor backstep on Extinguish Thy Flame is in its pacing, as two brief interludes in “Welcome to Limgrave” and “O’ Death” delay/interrupt the action a smidge more than Wretched Abyss ever did. Even so, Extinguish Thy Flame is still a tight and vital listen, and Noctule’s approach to melodic black metal is just as enjoyable as before.

However, Extinguish Thy Flame improves on Wretched Abyss’s greatest weakness: monotony. Where Noctule struggled in refreshing their formula before, an injection of melodeath into their style drastically ups Extinguish Thy Flame’s memorability. Adopting the school of InsOmnium Gatherum sad boi gorl melodeath riffing, Noctule sounds supercharged on emotional barnburners like “Lord of Blood” and “Age of the Stars,” sounding more precise and simply bigger than ever. “Age of the Stars,” “Devour the Gods,” and “Become My Blade Once More” alone have better-quality melodeath riffing than most bands not named At the Gates in 2026. “Big” is ultimately the word for Extinguish Thy Flame; Noctule embed gravitas into cuts like “Lament of the Omen King” and “Grafted” through rich and capacious arrangements, tom-heavy fills, and synth-backed symphonics. Where Wretched Abyss had few moments that broke its mold, every song on Extinguish Thy Flame has its standout aspect. Although monotony does show somewhat in Extinguish Thy Flame’s mostly uniform tempo, Noctule only needed a touch more diversity to level up their game.3

Against the opulence of Extinguish Thy Flame, Noctule casts a shadow of sadness across its runtime. It’s a Serena Cherry album, after all. Noctule manifests as a less confessional, more grandiose version of Svalbard on Extinguish Thy Flame, bearing Cherry’s signature burden of sorrow across its fiery tracks. Overt mourning weighs heavy on “Goddess of Rot”‘s slower tempo and tortured wails, while “Hallowhorn Grounds” wields Svalbard’s bittersweet post-hardcore riffing with conviction. Clean and acoustic guitars coil and harmonize like their distorted counterparts across Extinguish Thy Flame, most noticeably in bridging “Grafted” and “Goddess of Rot,” and succeed in evoking sadness as convincingly as the distorted harmonies do in raising hell. Lyrically, Cherry succeeds in drawing out the tragedy of Elden Ring’s various storylines (“Goddess of Rot,” “Age of the Stars”), proving further the beauty of a bad time. Noctule is as easy-listening as black metal gets, but that doesn’t mean Cherry’s not gonna try and pluck at your heartstrings on Extinguish Thy Flame.

Just as I’d hoped, Extinguish Thy Flame is Noctule better realized. Stronger arrangements, stronger musicianship, a more varied songwriting approach; there was no question that Noctule could weave a killer hook, but their sophomore outing proves the project has legitimate staying power. If you like your extreme metal big and melodic, you owe yourself a listen to Extinguish Thy Flame. If I discover future wannabe N00bs auditioning with this record, I will personally see them snuffed promoted back into the readership expeditiously. Detractors of Extinguish Thy Flame, I brook thee no quarter.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: noctule.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/noctuleband
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

In the spirit of Noctule—Svalbard frontwoman Serena Cherry’s solo meloblack/Covid lockdown project—and their video game theming, I have lore with this band. Noctule’s debut, 2021’s Skyrim tribute Wretched Abyss, was the subject of my audition review for this very blog. Given the assignment was to review an album you’d rate as mixed/2.5, you can infer my assessment of it. So, why then was I so excited to relieve Dear Hollow of reviewing Noctule’s follow-up, Extinguish Thy Flame? It’s not because it’s tackling Elden Ring this time,1 a game Cherry credits in the promo with saving her life.2 It’s because, though Wretched Abyss was a one-note record, that one note was massive. Noctule’s coiling melodies kick ludicrous butt on that album, and I had long hoped Cherry would give her side-project another swing. Well, here it is: Extinguish Thy Flame. Does Noctule seize upon their potential, or is their flame more meager than I had believed?

Rest assured that the aspects that made Noctule’s debut compelling remain untarnished on Extinguish Thy Flame. Wretched Abyss’s formula of interwoven hyper-melodic leads soaring over pummeling drums and Cherry’s commanding bellows was potent in 2021, and you’d best believe it works just as well today. Behold “Become My Blade Once More” and true opener “Devour the Gods;” disregarding Extinguish Thy Flame’s clearer production, these songs could’ve been off the debut. Noctule is still an approachable, hook-first project, typified by surefire bangers like “Grafted,” swapping between chuggy chops and spacious melodies and “Hallowhorn Grounds” with its surprisingly bright atmospheres. The only strength of the debut that takes a minor backstep on Extinguish Thy Flame is in its pacing, as two brief interludes in “Welcome to Limgrave” and “O’ Death” delay/interrupt the action a smidge more than Wretched Abyss ever did. Even so, Extinguish Thy Flame is still a tight and vital listen, and Noctule’s approach to melodic black metal is just as enjoyable as before.

However, Extinguish Thy Flame improves on Wretched Abyss’s greatest weakness: monotony. Where Noctule struggled in refreshing their formula before, an injection of melodeath into their style drastically ups Extinguish Thy Flame’s memorability. Adopting the school of InsOmnium Gatherum sad boi gorl melodeath riffing, Noctule sounds supercharged on emotional barnburners like “Lord of Blood” and “Age of the Stars,” sounding more precise and simply bigger than ever. “Age of the Stars,” “Devour the Gods,” and “Become My Blade Once More” alone have better-quality melodeath riffing than most bands not named At the Gates in 2026. “Big” is ultimately the word for Extinguish Thy Flame; Noctule embed gravitas into cuts like “Lament of the Omen King” and “Grafted” through rich and capacious arrangements, tom-heavy fills, and synth-backed symphonics. Where Wretched Abyss had few moments that broke its mold, every song on Extinguish Thy Flame has its standout aspect. Although monotony does show somewhat in Extinguish Thy Flame’s mostly uniform tempo, Noctule only needed a touch more diversity to level up their game.3

Against the opulence of Extinguish Thy Flame, Noctule casts a shadow of sadness across its runtime. It’s a Serena Cherry album, after all. Noctule manifests as a less confessional, more grandiose version of Svalbard on Extinguish Thy Flame, bearing Cherry’s signature burden of sorrow across its fiery tracks. Overt mourning weighs heavy on “Goddess of Rot”‘s slower tempo and tortured wails, while “Hallowhorn Grounds” wields Svalbard’s bittersweet post-hardcore riffing with conviction. Clean and acoustic guitars coil and harmonize like their distorted counterparts across Extinguish Thy Flame, most noticeably in bridging “Grafted” and “Goddess of Rot,” and succeed in evoking sadness as convincingly as the distorted harmonies do in raising hell. Lyrically, Cherry succeeds in drawing out the tragedy of Elden Ring’s various storylines (“Goddess of Rot,” “Age of the Stars”), proving further the beauty of a bad time. Noctule is as easy-listening as black metal gets, but that doesn’t mean Cherry’s not gonna try and pluck at your heartstrings on Extinguish Thy Flame.

Just as I’d hoped, Extinguish Thy Flame is Noctule better realized. Stronger arrangements, stronger musicianship, a more varied songwriting approach; there was no question that Noctule could weave a killer hook, but their sophomore outing proves the project has legitimate staying power. If you like your extreme metal big and melodic, you owe yourself a listen to Extinguish Thy Flame. If I discover future wannabe N00bs auditioning with this record, I will personally see them snuffed promoted back into the readership expeditiously. Detractors of Extinguish Thy Flame, I brook thee no quarter.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: noctule.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/noctuleband
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

In the spirit of Noctule—Svalbard frontwoman Serena Cherry’s solo meloblack/Covid lockdown project—and their video game theming, I have lore with this band. Noctule’s debut, 2021’s Skyrim tribute Wretched Abyss, was the subject of my audition review for this very blog. Given the assignment was to review an album you’d rate as mixed/2.5, you can infer my assessment of it. So, why then was I so excited to relieve Dear Hollow of reviewing Noctule’s follow-up, Extinguish Thy Flame? It’s not because it’s tackling Elden Ring this time,1 a game Cherry credits in the promo with saving her life.2 It’s because, though Wretched Abyss was a one-note record, that one note was massive. Noctule’s coiling melodies kick ludicrous butt on that album, and I had long hoped Cherry would give her side-project another swing. Well, here it is: Extinguish Thy Flame. Does Noctule seize upon their potential, or is their flame more meager than I had believed?

Rest assured that the aspects that made Noctule’s debut compelling remain untarnished on Extinguish Thy Flame. Wretched Abyss’s formula of interwoven hyper-melodic leads soaring over pummeling drums and Cherry’s commanding bellows was potent in 2021, and you’d best believe it works just as well today. Behold “Become My Blade Once More” and true opener “Devour the Gods;” disregarding Extinguish Thy Flame’s clearer production, these songs could’ve been off the debut. Noctule is still an approachable, hook-first project, typified by surefire bangers like “Grafted,” swapping between chuggy chops and spacious melodies and “Hallowhorn Grounds” with its surprisingly bright atmospheres. The only strength of the debut that takes a minor backstep on Extinguish Thy Flame is in its pacing, as two brief interludes in “Welcome to Limgrave” and “O’ Death” delay/interrupt the action a smidge more than Wretched Abyss ever did. Even so, Extinguish Thy Flame is still a tight and vital listen, and Noctule’s approach to melodic black metal is just as enjoyable as before.

However, Extinguish Thy Flame improves on Wretched Abyss’s greatest weakness: monotony. Where Noctule struggled in refreshing their formula before, an injection of melodeath into their style drastically ups Extinguish Thy Flame’s memorability. Adopting the school of InsOmnium Gatherum sad boi gorl melodeath riffing, Noctule sounds supercharged on emotional barnburners like “Lord of Blood” and “Age of the Stars,” sounding more precise and simply bigger than ever. “Age of the Stars,” “Devour the Gods,” and “Become My Blade Once More” alone have better-quality melodeath riffing than most bands not named At the Gates in 2026. “Big” is ultimately the word for Extinguish Thy Flame; Noctule embed gravitas into cuts like “Lament of the Omen King” and “Grafted” through rich and capacious arrangements, tom-heavy fills, and synth-backed symphonics. Where Wretched Abyss had few moments that broke its mold, every song on Extinguish Thy Flame has its standout aspect. Although monotony does show somewhat in Extinguish Thy Flame’s mostly uniform tempo, Noctule only needed a touch more diversity to level up their game.3

Against the opulence of Extinguish Thy Flame, Noctule casts a shadow of sadness across its runtime. It’s a Serena Cherry album, after all. Noctule manifests as a less confessional, more grandiose version of Svalbard on Extinguish Thy Flame, bearing Cherry’s signature burden of sorrow across its fiery tracks. Overt mourning weighs heavy on “Goddess of Rot”‘s slower tempo and tortured wails, while “Hallowhorn Grounds” wields Svalbard’s bittersweet post-hardcore riffing with conviction. Clean and acoustic guitars coil and harmonize like their distorted counterparts across Extinguish Thy Flame, most noticeably in bridging “Grafted” and “Goddess of Rot,” and succeed in evoking sadness as convincingly as the distorted harmonies do in raising hell. Lyrically, Cherry succeeds in drawing out the tragedy of Elden Ring’s various storylines (“Goddess of Rot,” “Age of the Stars”), proving further the beauty of a bad time. Noctule is as easy-listening as black metal gets, but that doesn’t mean Cherry’s not gonna try and pluck at your heartstrings on Extinguish Thy Flame.

Just as I’d hoped, Extinguish Thy Flame is Noctule better realized. Stronger arrangements, stronger musicianship, a more varied songwriting approach; there was no question that Noctule could weave a killer hook, but their sophomore outing proves the project has legitimate staying power. If you like your extreme metal big and melodic, you owe yourself a listen to Extinguish Thy Flame. If I discover future wannabe N00bs auditioning with this record, I will personally see them snuffed promoted back into the readership expeditiously. Detractors of Extinguish Thy Flame, I brook thee no quarter.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: noctule.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/noctuleband
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

In the spirit of Noctule—Svalbard frontwoman Serena Cherry’s solo meloblack/Covid lockdown project—and their video game theming, I have lore with this band. Noctule’s debut, 2021’s Skyrim tribute Wretched Abyss, was the subject of my audition review for this very blog. Given the assignment was to review an album you’d rate as mixed/2.5, you can infer my assessment of it. So, why then was I so excited to relieve Dear Hollow of reviewing Noctule’s follow-up, Extinguish Thy Flame? It’s not because it’s tackling Elden Ring this time,1 a game Cherry credits in the promo with saving her life.2 It’s because, though Wretched Abyss was a one-note record, that one note was massive. Noctule’s coiling melodies kick ludicrous butt on that album, and I had long hoped Cherry would give her side-project another swing. Well, here it is: Extinguish Thy Flame. Does Noctule seize upon their potential, or is their flame more meager than I had believed?

Rest assured that the aspects that made Noctule’s debut compelling remain untarnished on Extinguish Thy Flame. Wretched Abyss’s formula of interwoven hyper-melodic leads soaring over pummeling drums and Cherry’s commanding bellows was potent in 2021, and you’d best believe it works just as well today. Behold “Become My Blade Once More” and true opener “Devour the Gods;” disregarding Extinguish Thy Flame’s clearer production, these songs could’ve been off the debut. Noctule is still an approachable, hook-first project, typified by surefire bangers like “Grafted,” swapping between chuggy chops and spacious melodies and “Hallowhorn Grounds” with its surprisingly bright atmospheres. The only strength of the debut that takes a minor backstep on Extinguish Thy Flame is in its pacing, as two brief interludes in “Welcome to Limgrave” and “O’ Death” delay/interrupt the action a smidge more than Wretched Abyss ever did. Even so, Extinguish Thy Flame is still a tight and vital listen, and Noctule’s approach to melodic black metal is just as enjoyable as before.

However, Extinguish Thy Flame improves on Wretched Abyss’s greatest weakness: monotony. Where Noctule struggled in refreshing their formula before, an injection of melodeath into their style drastically ups Extinguish Thy Flame’s memorability. Adopting the school of InsOmnium Gatherum sad boi gorl melodeath riffing, Noctule sounds supercharged on emotional barnburners like “Lord of Blood” and “Age of the Stars,” sounding more precise and simply bigger than ever. “Age of the Stars,” “Devour the Gods,” and “Become My Blade Once More” alone have better-quality melodeath riffing than most bands not named At the Gates in 2026. “Big” is ultimately the word for Extinguish Thy Flame; Noctule embed gravitas into cuts like “Lament of the Omen King” and “Grafted” through rich and capacious arrangements, tom-heavy fills, and synth-backed symphonics. Where Wretched Abyss had few moments that broke its mold, every song on Extinguish Thy Flame has its standout aspect. Although monotony does show somewhat in Extinguish Thy Flame’s mostly uniform tempo, Noctule only needed a touch more diversity to level up their game.3

Against the opulence of Extinguish Thy Flame, Noctule casts a shadow of sadness across its runtime. It’s a Serena Cherry album, after all. Noctule manifests as a less confessional, more grandiose version of Svalbard on Extinguish Thy Flame, bearing Cherry’s signature burden of sorrow across its fiery tracks. Overt mourning weighs heavy on “Goddess of Rot”‘s slower tempo and tortured wails, while “Hallowhorn Grounds” wields Svalbard’s bittersweet post-hardcore riffing with conviction. Clean and acoustic guitars coil and harmonize like their distorted counterparts across Extinguish Thy Flame, most noticeably in bridging “Grafted” and “Goddess of Rot,” and succeed in evoking sadness as convincingly as the distorted harmonies do in raising hell. Lyrically, Cherry succeeds in drawing out the tragedy of Elden Ring’s various storylines (“Goddess of Rot,” “Age of the Stars”), proving further the beauty of a bad time. Noctule is as easy-listening as black metal gets, but that doesn’t mean Cherry’s not gonna try and pluck at your heartstrings on Extinguish Thy Flame.

Just as I’d hoped, Extinguish Thy Flame is Noctule better realized. Stronger arrangements, stronger musicianship, a more varied songwriting approach; there was no question that Noctule could weave a killer hook, but their sophomore outing proves the project has legitimate staying power. If you like your extreme metal big and melodic, you owe yourself a listen to Extinguish Thy Flame. If I discover future wannabe N00bs auditioning with this record, I will personally see them snuffed promoted back into the readership expeditiously. Detractors of Extinguish Thy Flame, I brook thee no quarter.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: noctule.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/noctuleband
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

In the spirit of Noctule—Svalbard frontwoman Serena Cherry’s solo meloblack/Covid lockdown project—and their video game theming, I have lore with this band. Noctule’s debut, 2021’s Skyrim tribute Wretched Abyss, was the subject of my audition review for this very blog. Given the assignment was to review an album you’d rate as mixed/2.5, you can infer my assessment of it. So, why then was I so excited to relieve Dear Hollow of reviewing Noctule’s follow-up, Extinguish Thy Flame? It’s not because it’s tackling Elden Ring this time,1 a game Cherry credits in the promo with saving her life.2 It’s because, though Wretched Abyss was a one-note record, that one note was massive. Noctule’s coiling melodies kick ludicrous butt on that album, and I had long hoped Cherry would give her side-project another swing. Well, here it is: Extinguish Thy Flame. Does Noctule seize upon their potential, or is their flame more meager than I had believed?

Rest assured that the aspects that made Noctule’s debut compelling remain untarnished on Extinguish Thy Flame. Wretched Abyss’s formula of interwoven hyper-melodic leads soaring over pummeling drums and Cherry’s commanding bellows was potent in 2021, and you’d best believe it works just as well today. Behold “Become My Blade Once More” and true opener “Devour the Gods;” disregarding Extinguish Thy Flame’s clearer production, these songs could’ve been off the debut. Noctule is still an approachable, hook-first project, typified by surefire bangers like “Grafted,” swapping between chuggy chops and spacious melodies and “Hallowhorn Grounds” with its surprisingly bright atmospheres. The only strength of the debut that takes a minor backstep on Extinguish Thy Flame is in its pacing, as two brief interludes in “Welcome to Limgrave” and “O’ Death” delay/interrupt the action a smidge more than Wretched Abyss ever did. Even so, Extinguish Thy Flame is still a tight and vital listen, and Noctule’s approach to melodic black metal is just as enjoyable as before.

However, Extinguish Thy Flame improves on Wretched Abyss’s greatest weakness: monotony. Where Noctule struggled in refreshing their formula before, an injection of melodeath into their style drastically ups Extinguish Thy Flame’s memorability. Adopting the school of InsOmnium Gatherum sad boi gorl melodeath riffing, Noctule sounds supercharged on emotional barnburners like “Lord of Blood” and “Age of the Stars,” sounding more precise and simply bigger than ever. “Age of the Stars,” “Devour the Gods,” and “Become My Blade Once More” alone have better-quality melodeath riffing than most bands not named At the Gates in 2026. “Big” is ultimately the word for Extinguish Thy Flame; Noctule embed gravitas into cuts like “Lament of the Omen King” and “Grafted” through rich and capacious arrangements, tom-heavy fills, and synth-backed symphonics. Where Wretched Abyss had few moments that broke its mold, every song on Extinguish Thy Flame has its standout aspect. Although monotony does show somewhat in Extinguish Thy Flame’s mostly uniform tempo, Noctule only needed a touch more diversity to level up their game.3

Against the opulence of Extinguish Thy Flame, Noctule casts a shadow of sadness across its runtime. It’s a Serena Cherry album, after all. Noctule manifests as a less confessional, more grandiose version of Svalbard on Extinguish Thy Flame, bearing Cherry’s signature burden of sorrow across its fiery tracks. Overt mourning weighs heavy on “Goddess of Rot”‘s slower tempo and tortured wails, while “Hallowhorn Grounds” wields Svalbard’s bittersweet post-hardcore riffing with conviction. Clean and acoustic guitars coil and harmonize like their distorted counterparts across Extinguish Thy Flame, most noticeably in bridging “Grafted” and “Goddess of Rot,” and succeed in evoking sadness as convincingly as the distorted harmonies do in raising hell. Lyrically, Cherry succeeds in drawing out the tragedy of Elden Ring’s various storylines (“Goddess of Rot,” “Age of the Stars”), proving further the beauty of a bad time. Noctule is as easy-listening as black metal gets, but that doesn’t mean Cherry’s not gonna try and pluck at your heartstrings on Extinguish Thy Flame.

Just as I’d hoped, Extinguish Thy Flame is Noctule better realized. Stronger arrangements, stronger musicianship, a more varied songwriting approach; there was no question that Noctule could weave a killer hook, but their sophomore outing proves the project has legitimate staying power. If you like your extreme metal big and melodic, you owe yourself a listen to Extinguish Thy Flame. If I discover future wannabe N00bs auditioning with this record, I will personally see them snuffed promoted back into the readership expeditiously. Detractors of Extinguish Thy Flame, I brook thee no quarter.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Self-Release
Websites: noctule.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/noctuleband
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

HAIL CONJURER (Finlàndia) presenta nou àlbum: "Abyss & Ekstasis" #HailConjurer #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Finlàndia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

HAIL CONJURER (Finlàndia) presenta nou àlbum: "Abyss & Ekstasis" #HailConjurer #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Finlàndia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

ll Silenzio di Dio Antenne

Il Silenzio di Dio
Antenne
"Antenne" su Taxi Driver Records è il debutto discografico de Il Silenzio di Dio, gruppo genovese di atmospheric black metal, black metal e ambient.
#ilsilenziodidio #antenne #taxidriverecords #atmosphericblackmetal @taxidriverworld @isddbmofficial
#blackmetal

iyezine.com/ll-silenzio-di-dio…

#iye #iyezine #inyoureyesezine

ll Silenzio di Dio Antenne

Il Silenzio di Dio
Antenne
"Antenne" su Taxi Driver Records è il debutto discografico de Il Silenzio di Dio, gruppo genovese di atmospheric black metal, black metal e ambient.
#ilsilenziodidio #antenne #taxidriverecords #atmosphericblackmetal @taxidriverworld @isddbmofficial
#blackmetal

https://www.iyezine.com/ll-silenzio-di-dio-antenne/

#iye #iyezine #inyoureyesezine

ll Silenzio di Dio Antenne

Il Silenzio di Dio
Antenne
"Antenne" su Taxi Driver Records è il debutto discografico de Il Silenzio di Dio, gruppo genovese di atmospheric black metal, black metal e ambient.
#ilsilenziodidio #antenne #taxidriverecords #atmosphericblackmetal @taxidriverworld @isddbmofficial
#blackmetal

https://www.iyezine.com/ll-silenzio-di-dio-antenne/

#iye #iyezine #inyoureyesezine

ll Silenzio di Dio Antenne

Il Silenzio di Dio
Antenne
"Antenne" su Taxi Driver Records è il debutto discografico de Il Silenzio di Dio, gruppo genovese di atmospheric black metal, black metal e ambient.
#ilsilenziodidio #antenne #taxidriverecords #atmosphericblackmetal @taxidriverworld @isddbmofficial
#blackmetal

https://www.iyezine.com/ll-silenzio-di-dio-antenne/

#iye #iyezine #inyoureyesezine

REVENGE FROM BEYOND (Itàlia) presenta nou single: "The Twilight of Golden Blood" #RevengeFromBeyond #DeathMetal #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Itàlia #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

REVENGE FROM BEYOND (Itàlia) presenta nou single: "The Twilight of Golden Blood" #RevengeFromBeyond #DeathMetal #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #Itàlia #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

HELGLAVST presenta nou EP: "The First Sacrilege" #Helglavst #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

HELGLAVST presenta nou EP: "The First Sacrilege" #Helglavst #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

SXUPERION (Estats Units) presenta nova demo: "Demo III / Demo V" #Sxuperion #DeathMetal #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #EstatsUnits #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

SXUPERION (Estats Units) presenta nova demo: "Demo III / Demo V" #Sxuperion #DeathMetal #BlackMetal #Setembre2026 #EstatsUnits #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Dreams are no longer just the soundtracks to sleep. Dreams are a disease, transmitted from sleeper to sleeper, gaining strength until it consumes the final victim entirely. Dreams are a sticky, tar-like affair. Dreams wait patiently; dreams can kill. We sleep and turn off the real world, but its reprieve offers no rest. Dreams dwell among the uncanny, the images of our loved ones or the places where we’ve felt safe, but nostalgia is in distant lands; this time, these figures are haunted: eyeless mothers and children with black spewing from their gaping mouths. These dream places and figments are just masks for some darkness lurking behind it – an inevitable malady. Sleep is not safe.

Capturing an audio darkness better than most, the woefully underrated Rorcal has created something new for each release: mammoth post-metal (Myrra, Mordvynn, Marayaa), suffocating sludge (Heliogabalus), fiery grind (Világvége), shuddering black metal (Creon), and sprawling industrial drone (Muladona). The Swiss collective has retained that shadow within them, however, making each iteration another vision of the void. In 2024’s Silence, we saw a more streamlined approach: a blackened hardcore backbone fleshed out by skin and muscle of drone and sludge. It was a tad disjointed, but its eerie approach to hardcore nabbed the second spot on my Albums o’ the Year. Mahre is three years in the making, toning down the drone and the hardcore for ritualistic doom and post-metal in a sonic exploration of dreams as disease. If unease is your drink of choice, Rorcal will be a dreamland.

Rorcal’s song construction has always been extremely calculated even among their already intricate contemporaries (Amenra, Bolt Gun, Fall of Efrafa), and this has made them all the more terrifying. Rorcal addresses the disjointed nature of Silence in Mahre while significantly toning down the hardcore influences, offering five movements to a common descent into a darker and darker ritual through meditative, suffocating sprawls and pulsing percussion. Focusing on atmosphere, the drone influence is likewise diminished in favor of dissonant atmospheres punctuated by punishing attacks. Each movement offers its own identity that colludes for a resounding payoff, from scathing, otherworldly dissonance and blackened blastbeats (Movement I & II), climactic sludge beatdowns recalling the late-and-unhinged Admiral Angry (III), ten-ton hammering sludge riffs (III), and chaotic derailing to reveal the capitalization of the descent into degradation (V).

Rorcal’s wherewithal to burn in calculated intensity or explode in unhinged mania is Mahre’s clearest asset. Its five-movement crescendo, while intensely planned, features plenty of breath across its tidy forty minutes, allowing these movements to crash and burn in natural deterioration. The evolution from movements I to V is not only the progression from ominous blackened dissonant atmospheres to crushing sludge weight, but also from calculation to mania. By movements IV and V, the rhythms start deteriorating, and the simmering viciousness begins to derail, and the sonic dream sickness feels more like succumbing. A descent guided by vocalist Yonni Chapatte’s manic barks and shrieks, the anchor that holds your sanity in place, the transitions from the sprawling creepy dissonance of the first two movements, the punishing centerpiece “Movement III,” to the conclusions when the rhythms start falling into disarray, are truly an experience to behold.

By the time “Movement V” closes, your mind will have been dragged to one of the darkest corners of the metalverse by one of the most premier acts to specialize in it. Mahre is remarkably clean compared to Rorcal’s catalog, toning down the drone and hardcore influences for a sound whose filth comes from placement of dissonance or sludge riffs and throat-shredding vocals – a potential point of contention among long-time fans. Recalling this year’s Aversio Humanitatis in its hypnotic dissonance and dreamlike rhythms, but second-to-none in its fusion with sludge and doom, Rorcal nevertheless remains one of the most prolific acts in extreme metal, each iteration feeling uniquely theirs despite wild stylistic differences. Their sixth full-length is pitch-black and unrelenting in ways that only its creators could do. The Swiss collective has created a dreamland that feels infected, contagious, and terrifying, and you’d be foolhardy to sleep on Mahre.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Humus Records
Websites: rorcal.bandcamp.com | rorcal.com | facebook.com/Rorcal
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

Dreams are no longer just the soundtracks to sleep. Dreams are a disease, transmitted from sleeper to sleeper, gaining strength until it consumes the final victim entirely. Dreams are a sticky, tar-like affair. Dreams wait patiently; dreams can kill. We sleep and turn off the real world, but its reprieve offers no rest. Dreams dwell among the uncanny, the images of our loved ones or the places where we’ve felt safe, but nostalgia is in distant lands; this time, these figures are haunted: eyeless mothers and children with black spewing from their gaping mouths. These dream places and figments are just masks for some darkness lurking behind it – an inevitable malady. Sleep is not safe.

Capturing an audio darkness better than most, the woefully underrated Rorcal has created something new for each release: mammoth post-metal (Myrra, Mordvynn, Marayaa), suffocating sludge (Heliogabalus), fiery grind (Világvége), shuddering black metal (Creon), and sprawling industrial drone (Muladona). The Swiss collective has retained that shadow within them, however, making each iteration another vision of the void. In 2024’s Silence, we saw a more streamlined approach: a blackened hardcore backbone fleshed out by skin and muscle of drone and sludge. It was a tad disjointed, but its eerie approach to hardcore nabbed the second spot on my Albums o’ the Year. Mahre is three years in the making, toning down the drone and the hardcore for ritualistic doom and post-metal in a sonic exploration of dreams as disease. If unease is your drink of choice, Rorcal will be a dreamland.

Rorcal’s song construction has always been extremely calculated even among their already intricate contemporaries (Amenra, Bolt Gun, Fall of Efrafa), and this has made them all the more terrifying. Rorcal addresses the disjointed nature of Silence in Mahre while significantly toning down the hardcore influences, offering five movements to a common descent into a darker and darker ritual through meditative, suffocating sprawls and pulsing percussion. Focusing on atmosphere, the drone influence is likewise diminished in favor of dissonant atmospheres punctuated by punishing attacks. Each movement offers its own identity that colludes for a resounding payoff, from scathing, otherworldly dissonance and blackened blastbeats (Movement I & II), climactic sludge beatdowns recalling the late-and-unhinged Admiral Angry (III), ten-ton hammering sludge riffs (III), and chaotic derailing to reveal the capitalization of the descent into degradation (V).

Rorcal’s wherewithal to burn in calculated intensity or explode in unhinged mania is Mahre’s clearest asset. Its five-movement crescendo, while intensely planned, features plenty of breath across its tidy forty minutes, allowing these movements to crash and burn in natural deterioration. The evolution from movements I to V is not only the progression from ominous blackened dissonant atmospheres to crushing sludge weight, but also from calculation to mania. By movements IV and V, the rhythms start deteriorating, and the simmering viciousness begins to derail, and the sonic dream sickness feels more like succumbing. A descent guided by vocalist Yonni Chapatte’s manic barks and shrieks, the anchor that holds your sanity in place, the transitions from the sprawling creepy dissonance of the first two movements, the punishing centerpiece “Movement III,” to the conclusions when the rhythms start falling into disarray, are truly an experience to behold.

By the time “Movement V” closes, your mind will have been dragged to one of the darkest corners of the metalverse by one of the most premier acts to specialize in it. Mahre is remarkably clean compared to Rorcal’s catalog, toning down the drone and hardcore influences for a sound whose filth comes from placement of dissonance or sludge riffs and throat-shredding vocals – a potential point of contention among long-time fans. Recalling this year’s Aversio Humanitatis in its hypnotic dissonance and dreamlike rhythms, but second-to-none in its fusion with sludge and doom, Rorcal nevertheless remains one of the most prolific acts in extreme metal, each iteration feeling uniquely theirs despite wild stylistic differences. Their sixth full-length is pitch-black and unrelenting in ways that only its creators could do. The Swiss collective has created a dreamland that feels infected, contagious, and terrifying, and you’d be foolhardy to sleep on Mahre.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Humus Records
Websites: rorcal.bandcamp.com | rorcal.com | facebook.com/Rorcal
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

Dreams are no longer just the soundtracks to sleep. Dreams are a disease, transmitted from sleeper to sleeper, gaining strength until it consumes the final victim entirely. Dreams are a sticky, tar-like affair. Dreams wait patiently; dreams can kill. We sleep and turn off the real world, but its reprieve offers no rest. Dreams dwell among the uncanny, the images of our loved ones or the places where we’ve felt safe, but nostalgia is in distant lands; this time, these figures are haunted: eyeless mothers and children with black spewing from their gaping mouths. These dream places and figments are just masks for some darkness lurking behind it – an inevitable malady. Sleep is not safe.

Capturing an audio darkness better than most, the woefully underrated Rorcal has created something new for each release: mammoth post-metal (Myrra, Mordvynn, Marayaa), suffocating sludge (Heliogabalus), fiery grind (Világvége), shuddering black metal (Creon), and sprawling industrial drone (Muladona). The Swiss collective has retained that shadow within them, however, making each iteration another vision of the void. In 2024’s Silence, we saw a more streamlined approach: a blackened hardcore backbone fleshed out by skin and muscle of drone and sludge. It was a tad disjointed, but its eerie approach to hardcore nabbed the second spot on my Albums o’ the Year. Mahre is three years in the making, toning down the drone and the hardcore for ritualistic doom and post-metal in a sonic exploration of dreams as disease. If unease is your drink of choice, Rorcal will be a dreamland.

Rorcal’s song construction has always been extremely calculated even among their already intricate contemporaries (Amenra, Bolt Gun, Fall of Efrafa), and this has made them all the more terrifying. Rorcal addresses the disjointed nature of Silence in Mahre while significantly toning down the hardcore influences, offering five movements to a common descent into a darker and darker ritual through meditative, suffocating sprawls and pulsing percussion. Focusing on atmosphere, the drone influence is likewise diminished in favor of dissonant atmospheres punctuated by punishing attacks. Each movement offers its own identity that colludes for a resounding payoff, from scathing, otherworldly dissonance and blackened blastbeats (Movement I & II), climactic sludge beatdowns recalling the late-and-unhinged Admiral Angry (III), ten-ton hammering sludge riffs (III), and chaotic derailing to reveal the capitalization of the descent into degradation (V).

Rorcal’s wherewithal to burn in calculated intensity or explode in unhinged mania is Mahre’s clearest asset. Its five-movement crescendo, while intensely planned, features plenty of breath across its tidy forty minutes, allowing these movements to crash and burn in natural deterioration. The evolution from movements I to V is not only the progression from ominous blackened dissonant atmospheres to crushing sludge weight, but also from calculation to mania. By movements IV and V, the rhythms start deteriorating, and the simmering viciousness begins to derail, and the sonic dream sickness feels more like succumbing. A descent guided by vocalist Yonni Chapatte’s manic barks and shrieks, the anchor that holds your sanity in place, the transitions from the sprawling creepy dissonance of the first two movements, the punishing centerpiece “Movement III,” to the conclusions when the rhythms start falling into disarray, are truly an experience to behold.

By the time “Movement V” closes, your mind will have been dragged to one of the darkest corners of the metalverse by one of the most premier acts to specialize in it. Mahre is remarkably clean compared to Rorcal’s catalog, toning down the drone and hardcore influences for a sound whose filth comes from placement of dissonance or sludge riffs and throat-shredding vocals – a potential point of contention among long-time fans. Recalling this year’s Aversio Humanitatis in its hypnotic dissonance and dreamlike rhythms, but second-to-none in its fusion with sludge and doom, Rorcal nevertheless remains one of the most prolific acts in extreme metal, each iteration feeling uniquely theirs despite wild stylistic differences. Their sixth full-length is pitch-black and unrelenting in ways that only its creators could do. The Swiss collective has created a dreamland that feels infected, contagious, and terrifying, and you’d be foolhardy to sleep on Mahre.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Humus Records
Websites: rorcal.bandcamp.com | rorcal.com | facebook.com/Rorcal
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

Dreams are no longer just the soundtracks to sleep. Dreams are a disease, transmitted from sleeper to sleeper, gaining strength until it consumes the final victim entirely. Dreams are a sticky, tar-like affair. Dreams wait patiently; dreams can kill. We sleep and turn off the real world, but its reprieve offers no rest. Dreams dwell among the uncanny, the images of our loved ones or the places where we’ve felt safe, but nostalgia is in distant lands; this time, these figures are haunted: eyeless mothers and children with black spewing from their gaping mouths. These dream places and figments are just masks for some darkness lurking behind it – an inevitable malady. Sleep is not safe.

Capturing an audio darkness better than most, the woefully underrated Rorcal has created something new for each release: mammoth post-metal (Myrra, Mordvynn, Marayaa), suffocating sludge (Heliogabalus), fiery grind (Világvége), shuddering black metal (Creon), and sprawling industrial drone (Muladona). The Swiss collective has retained that shadow within them, however, making each iteration another vision of the void. In 2024’s Silence, we saw a more streamlined approach: a blackened hardcore backbone fleshed out by skin and muscle of drone and sludge. It was a tad disjointed, but its eerie approach to hardcore nabbed the second spot on my Albums o’ the Year. Mahre is three years in the making, toning down the drone and the hardcore for ritualistic doom and post-metal in a sonic exploration of dreams as disease. If unease is your drink of choice, Rorcal will be a dreamland.

Rorcal’s song construction has always been extremely calculated even among their already intricate contemporaries (Amenra, Bolt Gun, Fall of Efrafa), and this has made them all the more terrifying. Rorcal addresses the disjointed nature of Silence in Mahre while significantly toning down the hardcore influences, offering five movements to a common descent into a darker and darker ritual through meditative, suffocating sprawls and pulsing percussion. Focusing on atmosphere, the drone influence is likewise diminished in favor of dissonant atmospheres punctuated by punishing attacks. Each movement offers its own identity that colludes for a resounding payoff, from scathing, otherworldly dissonance and blackened blastbeats (Movement I & II), climactic sludge beatdowns recalling the late-and-unhinged Admiral Angry (III), ten-ton hammering sludge riffs (III), and chaotic derailing to reveal the capitalization of the descent into degradation (V).

Rorcal’s wherewithal to burn in calculated intensity or explode in unhinged mania is Mahre’s clearest asset. Its five-movement crescendo, while intensely planned, features plenty of breath across its tidy forty minutes, allowing these movements to crash and burn in natural deterioration. The evolution from movements I to V is not only the progression from ominous blackened dissonant atmospheres to crushing sludge weight, but also from calculation to mania. By movements IV and V, the rhythms start deteriorating, and the simmering viciousness begins to derail, and the sonic dream sickness feels more like succumbing. A descent guided by vocalist Yonni Chapatte’s manic barks and shrieks, the anchor that holds your sanity in place, the transitions from the sprawling creepy dissonance of the first two movements, the punishing centerpiece “Movement III,” to the conclusions when the rhythms start falling into disarray, are truly an experience to behold.

By the time “Movement V” closes, your mind will have been dragged to one of the darkest corners of the metalverse by one of the most premier acts to specialize in it. Mahre is remarkably clean compared to Rorcal’s catalog, toning down the drone and hardcore influences for a sound whose filth comes from placement of dissonance or sludge riffs and throat-shredding vocals – a potential point of contention among long-time fans. Recalling this year’s Aversio Humanitatis in its hypnotic dissonance and dreamlike rhythms, but second-to-none in its fusion with sludge and doom, Rorcal nevertheless remains one of the most prolific acts in extreme metal, each iteration feeling uniquely theirs despite wild stylistic differences. Their sixth full-length is pitch-black and unrelenting in ways that only its creators could do. The Swiss collective has created a dreamland that feels infected, contagious, and terrifying, and you’d be foolhardy to sleep on Mahre.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Humus Records
Websites: rorcal.bandcamp.com | rorcal.com | facebook.com/Rorcal
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

Dreams are no longer just the soundtracks to sleep. Dreams are a disease, transmitted from sleeper to sleeper, gaining strength until it consumes the final victim entirely. Dreams are a sticky, tar-like affair. Dreams wait patiently; dreams can kill. We sleep and turn off the real world, but its reprieve offers no rest. Dreams dwell among the uncanny, the images of our loved ones or the places where we’ve felt safe, but nostalgia is in distant lands; this time, these figures are haunted: eyeless mothers and children with black spewing from their gaping mouths. These dream places and figments are just masks for some darkness lurking behind it – an inevitable malady. Sleep is not safe.

Capturing an audio darkness better than most, the woefully underrated Rorcal has created something new for each release: mammoth post-metal (Myrra, Mordvynn, Marayaa), suffocating sludge (Heliogabalus), fiery grind (Világvége), shuddering black metal (Creon), and sprawling industrial drone (Muladona). The Swiss collective has retained that shadow within them, however, making each iteration another vision of the void. In 2024’s Silence, we saw a more streamlined approach: a blackened hardcore backbone fleshed out by skin and muscle of drone and sludge. It was a tad disjointed, but its eerie approach to hardcore nabbed the second spot on my Albums o’ the Year. Mahre is three years in the making, toning down the drone and the hardcore for ritualistic doom and post-metal in a sonic exploration of dreams as disease. If unease is your drink of choice, Rorcal will be a dreamland.

Rorcal’s song construction has always been extremely calculated even among their already intricate contemporaries (Amenra, Bolt Gun, Fall of Efrafa), and this has made them all the more terrifying. Rorcal addresses the disjointed nature of Silence in Mahre while significantly toning down the hardcore influences, offering five movements to a common descent into a darker and darker ritual through meditative, suffocating sprawls and pulsing percussion. Focusing on atmosphere, the drone influence is likewise diminished in favor of dissonant atmospheres punctuated by punishing attacks. Each movement offers its own identity that colludes for a resounding payoff, from scathing, otherworldly dissonance and blackened blastbeats (Movement I & II), climactic sludge beatdowns recalling the late-and-unhinged Admiral Angry (III), ten-ton hammering sludge riffs (III), and chaotic derailing to reveal the capitalization of the descent into degradation (V).

Rorcal’s wherewithal to burn in calculated intensity or explode in unhinged mania is Mahre’s clearest asset. Its five-movement crescendo, while intensely planned, features plenty of breath across its tidy forty minutes, allowing these movements to crash and burn in natural deterioration. The evolution from movements I to V is not only the progression from ominous blackened dissonant atmospheres to crushing sludge weight, but also from calculation to mania. By movements IV and V, the rhythms start deteriorating, and the simmering viciousness begins to derail, and the sonic dream sickness feels more like succumbing. A descent guided by vocalist Yonni Chapatte’s manic barks and shrieks, the anchor that holds your sanity in place, the transitions from the sprawling creepy dissonance of the first two movements, the punishing centerpiece “Movement III,” to the conclusions when the rhythms start falling into disarray, are truly an experience to behold.

By the time “Movement V” closes, your mind will have been dragged to one of the darkest corners of the metalverse by one of the most premier acts to specialize in it. Mahre is remarkably clean compared to Rorcal’s catalog, toning down the drone and hardcore influences for a sound whose filth comes from placement of dissonance or sludge riffs and throat-shredding vocals – a potential point of contention among long-time fans. Recalling this year’s Aversio Humanitatis in its hypnotic dissonance and dreamlike rhythms, but second-to-none in its fusion with sludge and doom, Rorcal nevertheless remains one of the most prolific acts in extreme metal, each iteration feeling uniquely theirs despite wild stylistic differences. Their sixth full-length is pitch-black and unrelenting in ways that only its creators could do. The Swiss collective has created a dreamland that feels infected, contagious, and terrifying, and you’d be foolhardy to sleep on Mahre.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 11 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Humus Records
Websites: rorcal.bandcamp.com | rorcal.com | facebook.com/Rorcal
Releases Worldwide: September 25th, 2026

❗Du Black Metal poussiéreux, claustrophobe et sans concession au programme de l'excellent "Entropi" des danois de 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗿𝗲...

https://www.coreandco.fr/chroniques/martre-entropi-10966.html

#review #chronique #blackmetal #denmark