#experimentalblackmetal — Public Fediverse posts

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nova demo: "An Ode to the End of Light Part III" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Setembre2026 #França #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou àlbum: "Shroud Of Pestilence" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Setembre2026 #França #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

BLACK TRIBE (Alemanya) presenta nou single: "A Whisper" #BlackTribe #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Various #Setembre2026 #Alemanya #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VIHAMEDITAATIO (Finlàndia) presenta nou àlbum: "Aistiharhojen puutarhassa" #Vihameditaatio #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Juliol2026 #Finlàndia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

CIRCLE OF OUROBORUS (Finlàndia) presenta nou àlbum: "Pölysade" #CircleOfOuroborus #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Acoustic #Juliol2026 #Finlàndia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nova demo: "An Ode To The End Of Light Part II (Demo)" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Juny2026 #França #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

RIDE FOR REVENGE (Finlàndia) presenta nou àlbum: "Angels Fly Low" #RideForRevenge #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Juny2026 #Finlàndia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou àlbum: "Vortex Of Void" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Juny2026 #França #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

WITCH HOUSE (Estats Units) presenta nou EP: "Great Sorrow of Celestial Origin" #WitchHouse #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Juny2026 #EstatsUnits #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

FIORI DEL MALE (Itàlia) presenta nou EP: "Fiori del Male" #FioriDelMale #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Juny2026 #Itàlia #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

MARTRE (Dinamarca) presenta nou àlbum: "Entropi" #Martre #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Maig2026 #Dinamarca #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

OSSEMENTS (Canadà) presenta nou àlbum: "V" #Ossements #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Maig2026 #Canadà #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

KEXELÜR (Xile) presenta nova demo: "El último soliloquio" #Kexelür #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Maig2026 #Xile #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Back To Perplexity" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Maig2026 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Cult of Fire – The One, Who is Made of Smoke (2025) | vía #SonidosOcultos

https://www.sonidosocultos.com/discos/cult-of-fire-the-one-who-is-made-of-smoke-2025/

#cultoffire #discos #experimentalblackmetal #reseñadedisco

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou àlbum: "Vacuum Permittivity" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Maig2026 #França #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou àlbum: "Mecha/Driver 2798" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Abril2026 #França #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Delta Liquid Void Reactor" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Abril2026 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

MORBID DARKSTAR (Canadà) presenta nou àlbum: "Stellarum Superi Et Vltra" #MorbidDarkstar #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Abril2026 #Canadà #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Foghazer – He Left The Temple
#BlackMetal #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Metal #ambientblackmetal #atmosphericblackmetal #avantgardeblackmetal #deathdoom #doommetal #postrock #triphop #Amadora
CC BY-NC (#CreativeCommons Attribution Non Commercial) #ccmusic
https://hypnoticdirgerecords.bandcamp.com/album/he-left-the-temple

BEGGAR (Estats Units) presenta nou EP: "Ploughshares to Swords" #Beggar #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Març2026 #EstatsUnits #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Review: Celestial Shadows – The Wheel and the Fire

Published by Andy on January 17, 2026January 17, 2026 No artist credited 🙁 Style: Black metal, experimental black…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Music #2 #2026 #Australia #BlackMetal #Englishlyrics #Entertainment #experimentalblackmetal #harshvocals #JANUARY #RassilonRecords
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/413590/

CELESTIAL SHADOWS (Austràlia) presenta nou àlbum: "The Wheel and the Fire" #CelestialShadows #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Gener2026 #Austràlia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Cut Deep Into The Flesh Of Stars" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Desembre2025 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID PARADIGM (França) presenta nou àlbum: "Tout ira mieux sans nous" #VoidParadigm #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Desembre2025 #França #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

DAWN OF A DARK AGE (Itàlia) presenta nou àlbum: "Ver Sacrum" #DawnOfADarkAge #Atmospheric #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Desembre2025 #Itàlia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

MULTA (Finlàndia) presenta nou àlbum: "The Tepid Rite of Warm Flesh and Cold Steel" #Multa #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Desembre2025 #Finlàndia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

DØDTHORN (Letònia) presenta nova col·laboració: "Im Angesicht Baphomets" #Dødthorn #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Goregrind #Noise #Desembre2025 #Letònia #NovaCol·laboració #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

https://www.europesays.com/uk/594414/ Master’s Hammer – Maldorör Disco Review #2025 #3.0 #BlackMetal #CzechMetal #DarknessShallRiseProductions #Entertainment #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Heldmaschine #KMFDM #Kraftwerk #MaldorörDisco #Master'sHammer #MortuaryDrape #music #Nov25 #Review #Reviews #Root #TurmionKätilöt #UK #UnitedKingdom

Master’s Hammer – Maldorör Disco Review

By Grin Reaper

Besides a stout back catalog, experimental black metal weirdos Master’s Hammer vaunts an intermittent history both in band activity and AMG coverage. After releasing two largely unsung platters of black metal in the early 90s,1 the band unleashed the terminally forgettable Šlágry and hung up the hammer. In the same year our estimable blog was spawned, Master’s Hammer returned with Mantras, further augmenting their core sound with synth layers and an expanded songwriting tool belt. Before shuttering the project again in 2020, Master’s Hammer earned a glowing review and a similarly positive TYMHM at AMG, while another three albums went untested in our halls. The fires of creation never quelled completely, though, and now the Czech outfit reemerges with Maldorör Disco. Can this hammer still pummel, or should it have remained in Master’s toolbox?

Maldorör Disco marks a departure from Master’s Hammer’s earlier eras, dropping black metal vestiges in favor of a sound more in line with Neue Deutsche Härte and electro-industrial. On the likes of Vracejte Konve Na Místo and Formulæ, synths bolster atmosphere and texture. Here, Master’s Hammer adopts the keyboard as the primary driver of melody, and though Root and Mortuary Drape served as apt reference points on earlier albums, Maldorör Disco merits a new set of comparisons. Hints of Turmion Kätilöt, KMFDM, and Heldmaschine permeate Master’s Hammer’s landscape, but more than any other act, I find Maldorör Disco evokes Kraftwerk. ”Anděl Slizu” and “Bicycle Day” exemplify the electro-pomp that Germany’s finest man-machines defined decades ago. With the hooks predominantly occupying synth-driven territory, other instruments are relegated to supporting roles across Maldorör Disco’s ten concise and lively tunes.

Despite Maldorör Disco’s pivot in musical direction, Master’s Hammer retains much of the talent that supported the success of their second era. The only raw recruit is full-time keyboard player Kamil Princ, a sensible addition given the album’s dedication to synth. Princ crafts tenacious melodies that sink their teeth in and don’t let go, a testament to the memorability of Disco’s schtick. Meanwhile, bandleader, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Franta Štorm asserts his uniquely gruff croon and mixes its deployment with other effective stylings ranging between soft cleans (“Anděl Slizu”), backing falsetto injections (“Bicycle Day”), and vocal effects (“El Teide,” “Slatina”). Melded together, these elements fashion a diverse and engaging listen against the synth-laden backdrop. Necrocock (guitars) and Honza Kapák (drums) round out the rest of the band, ably bracing Maldorör Disco’s grooves.2

The revamped, key-centric concept on Maldorör Disco pumps a breath of fresh air from Master’s bellows, although a flaw or two hold the forge fire back from a full-on blaze. The focus on electronic influences adds a new dimension to Master’s Hammer’s sound, and while it works, I lust for more of the oddball shit that made past albums such a blast. The shift in musical approach grabs the limelight, but at the expense of what makes Master’s Hammer so lovably eccentric. Maldorör Disco also stumbles in its adherence to mid-paced tempos. Slower songs don’t pose an inherent problem,3 but restricting song speeds places a heavier burden on songwriting dynamics. Though not a fatal flaw, I wonder what Maldorör Disco might have sounded like with a couple tracks oozing the fury and venom of “Psychoparasit” or the varied velocity on “Zvířecí Zvuky.” Aiding Maldorör Disco are the restrained runtime and improved production, both of which have detracted from previous albums. Forty-two minutes are enough to explore what Master’s Hammer crafts here, and though synths don’t require the dynamic range that denser compositions do, the production is rich enough to highlight when the other instruments break out of the pocket.

After seven dormant years, Maldorör Disco proves Master’s Hammer still strikes with potency. Štorm and the gang might be longer in the tooth, but time hasn’t stripped their ability to pen tunes that stick with you long after Master’s forge has cooled. Nearly forty years since forming, Master’s Hammer bangs out another set of craftsmanlike ditties that’ll keep you whistling while you work. Though I wish Master’s Hammer would have incorporated more of their inimitably kooky antics, I enjoyed my time at the Disco, and assuming electronics aren’t anathema to your metal intake, I recommend giving it a spin or three.

Rating: Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Darkness Shall Rise Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: November 26th, 20254

#2025 #30 #blackMetal #czechMetal #darknessShallRiseProductions #experimentalBlackMetal #heldmaschine #kmfdm #kraftwerk #maldororDisco #mastersHammer #mortuaryDrape #nov25 #review #reviews #root #turmionKatilot

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Cygnus A" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Novembre2025 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

BLACK TRIBE (Alemanya) presenta nova demo: "En smilet av svart (Caitiff remix) Unreleased 2000 Demo" #BlackTribe #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Various #Novembre2025 #Alemanya #NovaDemo #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

BLACK TRIBE (Alemanya) presenta nou EP: "2025 Remasters" #BlackTribe #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Various #Novembre2025 #Alemanya #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou àlbum: "1,007 276 5 u" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Octubre2025 #França #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Ich hab da vielleicht ein #Lieblingslied. Ich liebe die #CelestialShadows und #TheEnd von der #AnEndlessVoid vielleicht etwas mehr als angebracht wäre.

#ExperimentalBlackMetal

https://celestialshadows.bandcamp.com/track/the-end-2

DØDTHORN (Letònia) presenta nova col·laboració: "Pesttanz" #Dødthorn #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Goregrind #Noise #Octubre2025 #Letònia #NovaCol·laboració #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

GEGENENTWURF (Alemanya) presenta nou àlbum: "Høstens fargeglede" #Gegenentwurf #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Octubre2025 #Alemanya #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Calabi–Yau Manifold" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Setembre2025 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

BLACK TRIBE (Alemanya) presenta nou single: "Weltuntergangsmusik" #BlackTribe #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Various #Setembre2025 #Alemanya #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

KAMRA (Eslovènia) presenta nou àlbum: "Unending Confluence" #Kamra #Atmospheric #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Setembre2025 #Eslovènia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

CURSE OF THE CAPRICORN (Estats Units) presenta nou EP: "Chrysalis" #CurseOfTheCapricorn #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Setembre2025 #EstatsUnits #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

OUROBORIC DEITY (Austràlia) presenta nou àlbum: "Age of Vice and Misery" #OuroboricDeity #ExperimentalBlackMetal #PostPunk #Setembre2025 #Austràlia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

ABJETO (Brasil) presenta nou single: "Argumento VI" #Abjeto #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Setembre2025 #Brasil #NouSingle #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

SEA MOSQUITO (Regne Unit) presenta nou àlbum: "Majestas" #SeaMosquito #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Noise #Industrial #Agost2025 #RegneUnit #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Fountains Of Stars" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Juny2025 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

HAAGENTI (Bèlgica) presenta nou àlbum: "Diabolical Lunacy" #Haagenti #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Maig2025 #Bèlgica #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

LUGUBRUM (Bèlgica) presenta nou Split: "Lugubrum / Botulistum / Triste Saison" #Lugubrum #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Abril2025 #Bèlgica #NouSplit #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

GENITAL SHAME (Estats Units) presenta nou Split: "Genital Shame / Lust Hag" #GenitalShame #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Març2025 #EstatsUnits #NouSplit #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Ethereal Void Presence" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Març2025 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Shamanic Meditation II" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Març2025 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

INCANTVM (Itàlia) presenta nou àlbum: "Maleficia" #Incantvm #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Febrer2025 #Itàlia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

VOID OF NOTHINGNESS (França) presenta nou EP: "Poincaré Recurrence Theorem" #VoidOfNothingness #ExperimentalBlackMetal #Febrer2025 #França #NouEp #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

The Elderbranch Campaign – Sacred Songs Of The Field
#Ambient #ExperimentalBlackMetal #ambientindustrial #darkambient #drone #experimental #soundart #soundsculpture #soundscape #Denver
CC BY-NC-ND (#CreativeCommons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives) #ccmusic
https://theelderbranchcampaign.bandcamp.com/album/sacred-songs-of-the-field

Ragana – Unbecoming
#Metal #blackmetal #blackeneddoom #blackenedscreamo #doom #doommetal #experimentalblackmetal #olympia #witchy #Olympia
CC BY-NC-SA (#CreativeCommons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike)
https://ragana.bandcamp.com/album/unbecoming

Tomorrow! 6:00 PM EST

Join the Bandcamp Listening Party for the debut album by my band Am I in Trouble?— Spectrum

Hear the entire album early, before the January 3 release date. Vinyl and cassettes will also be available to order!

RSVP at this link; would love to have you!

#blackmetal #avantgardemetal #AvantgardeBlackMetal #progressiveblackmetal #ExperimentalBlackMetal #postblackmetal #weirdblackmetal

https://amiintrouble.bandcamp.com/merch/spectrum-listening-party

Other fantastic #newrelease, really cool split #Krieg + #Withdrawal, with an amazing cover of #NewOrder!!!

#blackmetal #crust #experimentalblackmetal #usbm

https://open.spotify.com/album/3QQPME3IylmraeRqSuLxfn?si=mcTgJ5JjQmeX-BWR828DWA

Doedsmaghird – Omniverse Consciousness Review

By Thus Spoke

I, too, did a doubletake when I first read Doedsmaghird. Your brain isn’t playing tricks, Doedsmaghird is a project of Dødheimsgard vocalist and guitarist Yusaf “Vicotnik” Parvez and Camille Giradeau respectively. And the two bands are related in more than name and members. Debut Omniverse Consciousness could believably be another Dødheimsgard record, sounding, as it does, like a natural extension of Dødheimsgard’s signature sound. Exploring further along the vividly electronic path that Black Medium Current set out, Doedsmaghird brings in—or brings back—the wildness and irreverence that Vicotnik largely set aside for that album. Did you hear Black Medium Current and think it was a bit soft, that Vicotnik had lost his edge and everything was far too ‘ordinary’? Do you just want extra Dødheimsgard? Awaken to the Omniverse Consciousness.

Doedsmaghird makes music the way Dødheimsgard does; by which I mean music that accurately replicates the experience of hearing technical extreme metal whilst on mushrooms.1. Rather than assault with mud-drenched gutturals and impossible patterns of string and drum, Omniverse Consciousness evades accessibility through weirdness. Blips, whooshes, jabs, yips, chimes, and throbs of electronically conjured noise are this outing’s distinctive element of wackiness, accompanying—if not dominating—the riffs and drum work. This is, of course, in addition to the expected unhinged vocals that lurch from croaks, to wailing moans, to surprisingly mellifluous cleans. Sometimes it even sounds like everything is being played backwards. But it works. The duo say of the album that it was conceived with more spontaneity and freedom than recent Dødheimsgard output, and this comes through in how jam-packed with ideas, and elastic in its transitions it is. But unlike A Umbra Omega, Doedsmaghird’s debut isn’t pure sonic schizophrenia; it isn’t sharp and abrasive. Rather, it’s an uncomfortable dream, one that stays just on the right side of becoming a nightmare, its strangeness found in the dominance of synth-soundscapes that mould a black metal no one else could replicate.

What’s so impressive about Omniverse Consciousness is the contradiction inherent within it. With individual movements dissonant, real harmony sings through overall. With multiple jarring elements playing on top of one another, cohesion arises from the chaos. Doedsmaghird neither supplement their black metal with experimental electronica nor supplement their electronica with experimental black metal; the two genres are simply one here. Sometimes, this means overtly psychedelic and wobbly à la Blut Aus Nord (“Endless Distance”), others something far more exotic. The clicks and pulses accompanying demonic croaking narration (“Death of Time”), clipped, squeaky moans (“Sparker Inn Apne Dorer”), and jangly yelps and yips of…something (“Then, To Darkness Return”) separately appear grating. But like an apparently unnatural dab of colour in an impressionist painting, they are essential to the picture, and collectively compose something wonderful. Doedsmaghird really seem to be able to do whatever they like, and pull it off. A suddenly thunking, cardboard drum tone (“Min tid er omme”); whiplashing between whooping, sampled moans, and dissonant black metal (“Sparker Inn Apne Dorer,” “Then, To Darkness Return”); playing tremolo riffs to a clacky trap beat (“Adrift into Collapse”). I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it all sounds awful. But, by some magic, it isn’t. Throwing two fingers to the traditional idea of tension and release, Doedsmaghird take you by surprise with (their version of) synthwave and mournful cleans (“Heart of Hell”), enigmatic piano (“Endeavour”) and the coalescence of warbling synth and burring guitar (“Min tid er omme”) being suddenly beautiful.

Before long, you won’t even remember thinking anything about Omniverse Consiousness was ‘that weird’. Soon you’ll notice more and more that there is actually a plethora of harmoniousness on display, and that everything transitions as logically as can be. The sliding keyboards shine (“Heart of Hell”), lurching drum patterns blend slickly into whirring thuds of noise (“Then, To Darkness Return”), bubbles and pops melded to burring tremolos whoosh into fun, compelling melodies (“Endless Distance,” “Min tid er omme”), and more! Doedsmaghird also ice this beautifully mad, moist cake with a rich fondant of stellar production, meaning that you get your money’s worth on the creative intricacies they throw in at every beat, and the insanity is just that much more immersive. Better yet, it’s little more than three-quarters of an hour long, making it far more digestible and eligible for repeat listens.

Omniverse Consciousness is just an extra portion of modern Dødheimsgard. But this is not “the Dødheimsgard at home,” it’s a bona-fide helping of the real deal. It may not be as epic as Black Medium Current, but for how little time it’s been, it’s phenomenal. Further developing and twisting the electronic edge into a black metal only they know how, Doedsmaghird shows that its creators stand head and shoulders above the crowd. Embrace the Omniverse Consciousness.

Rating: Great
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Peaceville
Website: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: October 11th, 2024

#2024 #40 #AvantGardeMetal #BlackMetal #BlutAusNord #Dödheimsgard #Doedsmaghird #ExperimentalBlackMetal #NorwegianMetal #Oct24 #OmniverseConsciousness #Peaceville #Review #Reviews

Botanist – Paleobotany Review

By Thus Spoke

A band with a strong conceptual identity is always something. Whether that’s 1914 and their commitment to depicting the true horrors of world conflicts, or The Ocean, and their exploration of Earth’s many (pre-) historic eras. And were that a spectrum, experimental black metal collective Botanist would fall towards the latter end. Not only insofar as their music leans towards an airy, progressive, post-rock, but also their concept, which, if it wasn’t obvious, is flora. Paleobotany—the band’s eleventh LP—sees this similarity become even more blunt, centering as it does on the prehistoric plants of many millions of years ago. But let not such a comparison fool you; Botanist are–as they always have done—making music that’s totally unique to them. And it’s about ancient plants. Cool right?

Paleobotany is a subtle record, and it’s not what it first appears. Botanist have dialed back the ethereal atmospheres, whispers, and the deep-in-the-mix vocal production of previous outings. Taking a big step out of atmo-black and into something quite different, they remain just as roaming, progressive, and deep. This evolution is deceptively peaceful, with sunny melodies and harmonizing singing dominating its first half. But its carnivorous side soon comes to the fore with the prevalence of throaty growls and barbed tremolos. Songs that begin with gentle post-metal find their apexes in buzzing blackened bursts, and vice-versa. These dual aspects of light and dark are the two voices that tell the story, in wonder and zeal respectively, and their interplay leads to a compelling, if strange musical experience.

The strongest aspect of Paleobotany is its charm. There’s something about the way that delicate piano and hammered dulcimer meet with ripples of elastic, energetic drumming and the warmest of riffing that’s oddly magnetic. And Botanist pull this off in so many ways; from the dramatic, with surging refrains and blastbeats (“When Forests Turned to Coal,” “Archeamphora,” “Strychnos Electri”) to the subtle, with the ‘softer’ instrumentation taking the lead (“Aristolochia,” “Magnolia,” “Sigillaria”). Melody flows smoothly through floating, sparkling major, to wistful (“Magnolia,” “Royal Protea”), or even urgent (“Archeamphora,” “Dioon”) minor modulations, and into dissonance—and back—with grace. The dynamism is electric, but somehow understated, and never overwrought, as tremolos rise into glittering apexes, and d-beats cluster, rock-operatic cleans burst out into a new, subtly hinted-at refrain. It’s all genuinely lovely, the compositions so cleverly woven together that they carry you along through ups and downs on a stream of dancing arrangements. “Archeamphora,” “Sigillaria,” and “Royal Protea,” especially take the listener on one such miniature journey, whilst snappy “Wollemia Nobilis” injects a little much-needed bite by way of blackened jazziness, in direct opposite to “The Impact…”‘s drifting peace.

Such is the pull of Paleobotany that it seems to open up a little world of its own. It certainly helps that it’s so beautifully produced, with every strum, beat, every little sung note floating crisply like falling leaves in the air. Combined with interesting, intelligent song structures, the music becomes hazily, subtly immersive, and the cleans downright endearing. On paper, this album is not my thing at all, and yet I now find myself singing along happily throughout—especially at those moments when the vocals ascend into soaring, uplifting reprise (“Strychnos Electri,” “Royal Protea”). Not to mention how listening to this album set me off reading about the subjects of every song, from the “first to be carnivorous” “Archeamphora,” to the poisonous “Strychnos Electri”—the “ancient ancestor of everything that flowers”. Given how many albums Botanist have under their belt, you know what you’re getting in for when it comes to these cleans, but I’m guessing, if not, that they could be an acquired taste. Then again, they won me over, so I’d give them a chance.

Paleobotany was the breath of fresh air I didn’t know I needed. As someone who spends the majority of their listening time deep in the dissonant, angry, and bleak, Botanist’s ability to coax me into the light is a testament to the brilliant storytelling and compositional craftsmanship on display here. And it makes a good starting point for any new listener, with memorable, distinctly pretty refrains, and a solidity gained from the distancing from abstractions of atmo-black. Maybe it’s too early to say whether it’s Botanist’s best album, but it definitely marks a new moment in the sun for these plant-worshippers.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Prophecy Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: May 17th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AmericanMetal #BlackMetal #Botanist #Deafheaven #ExperimentalBlackMetal #ExperimentalMetal #May24 #Paleobotany #PostBlackMetal #PostMetal #ProphecyProductions #Review #Reviews #TheOcean

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
Album Review: INTER ARMA New Heaven
"This album isn't one for genre purists, but lovers of pure expression created by people with a deep understanding of multiple types of music."

https://metalinjection.net/reviews/album-review-inter-arma-new-heaven

#interarma #newheaven #albumreview #heavymusic #experimentalblackmetal #diverseinterests #neofolk

Sacrificial Vein – Black Terror Genesis Review

By Thus Spoke

There’s that strain of black metal, straddling if not disregarding boundaries between atmospheric, post, melodic, dissonant, and second-wave, where the music, true to its occupying the less-mainstream corners of the genre, sits like a shadowy presence in peripheral vision—preoccupying itself not with Lovecraftian horrors, or overt, antagonistic portrayals of Satanism, but with terrors less far-fetched and obscure. An occultism of an introspective, existential bent, premised on the human mind. Sacrificial Vein, comprised of fragmented members of Nothingness, Aegaeon, and a mysterious JU, follow this dark trajectory. Their style, borrowing heavily from these wonky, frightening realms of black metal, culminates in an album that crept silently up behind me, grabbed me by the throat, and dragged me into a fiery abyss. That’s a good thing, by the way.

For the avoidance of doubt, Black Terror Genesis sounds nothing like Nothingness, or Aegaeon. Its drawling, cruel chords and creeping malignancy have far more in common with early Deathspell Omega, and its voids of presence, and weirdly wise-feeling solemnity take a page from Schammasch. At times, it veers into Dodecahedron territory with frightening, claustrophobic layers of fury and mania, but always stays on the right side of overwhelming. Much of it is quite beautiful. But, as with all extreme music, this beauty is paid for with harrowing, and confrontational assault. Eerie at its most calm and inexorable at its most urgent, across the three-quarters of an hour you spend with Black Terror Genesis, you are liable to forget everything else.

Key to the album’s power is how Sacrificial Vein weaves frenetic madness into deeply atmospheric profundity. While clustered, anxious riffery and impossibly accelerating percussion cause tension to spike wildly (“The Blood of the Wicked Shall Entomb the Earth,” “Throne of Perversion,” “Wombs of Depravation”), spacious, echoing melodiousness softens the edges, and calms without losing the sense of anticipation (“The Blood…,” “Apparition,” “Abjection”). Horror is injected not only through dissonance, but with vocals that lurch into deranged laughter (“The Blood…,” “Throne of Perversion,” “Wombs of Depravation”) and heave to ragged, unhinged wails (“Throne…,” “Rites of Malignancy,” “The Unbearable Stench of Malediction”). At the same time, tracks like “Throne of Perversion,” and in particular album highlight “Cruciatum Aeternam” are violently compelling through a balanced building of drama, horror, and ecstasy, mournful catharses breaking out of bleak brutality. And the seamless way that tracks tend to spill into one another—a spidery guitar riff transitioning into a blastbeat-led frenzy (“The Blood…”/”Throne of Perversion”); a continued rumbling chord (“Throne of Perversion”/”Rites of Malignancy”); a crescendo of heavy synth (“Wombs of Depravation”/”Nil”)—makes it all that much more immersive.

It can’t be overstated how viscerally frightening Black Terror Genesis can be, and how thrilling the releases of melodious emotion are when they come (“Throne…,” “The Unbearable…,” “Cruciatum Aeternam”). For this reason, it is incredibly frustrating that the music is as compressed as it is. With a DR of 4, there’s simply not enough room for the abyssal lows and anxiety-inducing highs to have the intense impact they ought to. It is a testament to the mad genius of the compositions that I do nonetheless feel afraid, exhilarated, and possessed when I listen. But when the ominous layered chants and screams (“Rites of Malignancy”) or sinister tremolos (“The Unbearable…,” “Abjection”) are pushed too far back, I can’t help imagining what could have been. This is why the interludes “Apparation,” with it’s horrifying laughter and menacing synth; “Abjection,” the mournful, breathless denouement to “Cruciatum Aeternam”; and “Nil,” the disturbing swansong of the record, hit as hard as they do. Far from being shoehorned in, their comparatively empty spaces feel like natural pauses in the macabre ritual, and their atmospheric depths lend themselves well to abyss-gazing.

Since first laying my hands on Black Terror Genesis, I’ve hardly been able to turn it off. Sacraficial Vein seem to have found that magical recipe for immersive, inexorable, intoxicating black metal that’s as beautiful as it is horrifying. I hope these guys get their production sorted out for the next one, because if they do, it’s going to be incredible. For now, they’ve made an impressive, visceral impact that I’m continually drawn back to like a moth to a dark, sinister flame.

Rating: Great!
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Total Dissonance Worship
Websites: Bandcamp | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: March 15th, 2024

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