#profound-lore-records — Public Fediverse posts on home.social

Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] · 2026-02-22 · 14:15 UTC

Night of the Vampire – The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade Review By Samguineous Maximus

I love black metal, but it certainly has a reputation for taking itself too seriously. Now and then, though, a few bands remember that this is the genre that gave us pseudonyms, corpse paint, and grown adults pretending to be forest demons. Acts like Old Nick and Ordo Vampyr Orientus have been a welcome slap in the face, embracing black metal’s inherent goofiness and piling on the camp without collapsing into total self-parody. Which brings us to Night of the Vampire, the latest addition to this batch of kitschy kvlters. This is the handiwork of one “Astral Shadow,” whose 2022 EP hinted at something genuinely fun—a danceable, blackened darkwave hybrid that didn’t sound like it hated the listener for existing. Now our Gothic overlord returns with a full-length debut, modestly titled The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade. The question is simple: can this gloriously silly idea survive album-length scrutiny, or is it doomed to be background noise for a vampire-themed goth night attended by six people and a fog machine on its last legs?

Night of the Vampire’s take on blackened darkwave is oodles of fun. Across Enchanting Winds, songs are led by gaudy synth lines atop simple distorted guitars, classic 80s drum patterns, and finished with a blackened rasp. This is an effective formula that’s as fun as it is addictive, evoking the playful jubilance of vintage synth-led sounds and sharpening it with black metal’s frostbitten cudgel. The result is campy and over-the-top, but Astral Shadow has plenty of tricks up their satin sleeve to make this formula more delectable. Whether it’s adding tasteful lead guitar and campy clean vocals (“Children of the Immortal Blood”) 1, going full Simple Minds with a driving synth pop rocker (“Sacrificed to the Night”) or deploying some ignorant mid-tempo chugs underneath the ocean of synth (“Casting Shadows in an Ocean of Time”), there’s no shortage of clever adornments to spice up the core blackened darkwave sound. Night of the Vampire might sound more like Depeche Mode than Darkthrone, but that’s fine when this pernicious platter is this delectable.

The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade by NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRE

Enchanting Winds provides meaningful variety in its execution, keeping this rave from getting too stale. Night of the Vampire goes full Blade nightclub with “The Cosmic Darkness Calls me,” a delightful goth rager which ditches the guitars for a throbbing synth bassline and icy, programmed drums. The faster tempo of “Mother Moon of the Astral Dawn” is a nice, energetic break from the dancefloor, utilizing effective drum pullbacks to keep its forward momentum, and “Misty Illusions” is a solid dungeon synth closer that eases you out of the whole vampiric experience. With relatively short song-lengths and a curt 30-minute runtime, this is also a record that doesn’t overstay its welcome, allowing for repeated spins without running the risk of blood withdrawal. Enchanting Winds is an enjoyable, blackened journey from start to finish. I only wish it set its sights a little higher.

The main thing preventing Night of the Vampire from reaching sanguine ecstasy is the relative lack of ambition in Enchanting Wind’s songwriting. Astral Shadow’s approach is simple: latch onto a catchy synth melody and then ride it for the song’s entire duration, with minor variation for choruses. This works exceedingly well on shorter pieces or in conjunction with more inventive additions, but falls a bit short when it’s the only tactic on display. As a result, songs built almost entirely around a single synth line, like “The Prince of Many Faces and the Lady of the Night” or “Beyond the Howls of the Celestial Wolves,” end up feeling one-note, with little development or variation. Once you notice this pattern across the record, the impact of individual tracks diminishes. That’s especially frustrating given that “Children of Immortal Blood,” with its contrasting choruses, proves Astral Shadow is capable of writing dynamic, multi-part songs with distinct elements. As it stands, the straightforward songcraft doesn’t prevent these tracks from being exciting in the right context, but it does keep Enchanting Winds from evolving beyond its initial premise.

The Enchanting Winds of the Dreamweaving Masquerade is a charming debut from Night of the Vampire. The essential idea of “black metal meets 80s synths” is effective, entertaining and often moves beyond the simple proposition, even if the straightforward songcraft detracts from my enjoyment at times. I’ll gladly place Night of the Vampire alongside their unserious contemporaries in my “kvlt cheese-maxing” playlist and look forward to whatever Astral Shadow produces next.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore Records
Website: nightofthevampire.bandcamp.com | Instagram
Releases Worldwide: February 6th, 2026

#2026 #30 #AmericanMetal #BlackMetal #Darkthrone #Darkwave #DepecheMode #DungeonSynth #Feb26 #NightOfTheVampire #OldNick #OrdoVampyrOrientus #postPunk #ProfoundLoreRecords #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #simpleMinds #Synthwave #TheEnchantingWindsOfTheDreamweavingMasquerade

#americanmetal #blackmetal #darkthrone #darkwave #depechemode #dungeonsynth

Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] · 2025-10-24 · 11:22 UTC

One of Nine – Dawn of the Iron Shadow Review

By Thus Spoke

If you aren’t already familiar with One of Nine, how quickly did you catch the Nazgûl reference? The Tolkien vibes are fairly obvious,1, but it took me an embarrassing amount of time to connect the band’s actual name and concept with specific LOTR lore. You might therefore accuse me of being severely under-qualified to write this review. However, One of Nine’s music is not just nerding out about iconic fantasy, it’s black metal. And I learnt from Stormkeep’s fantastic Tales of Othertime, that while my knowledge of and passion for the Tolkien-inspired pales in comparison to say, Felagund‘s, I do know that fantasy-themed dungeon-synthy meloblack kind of slaps; at least when it’s good. Dawn of the Iron Shadow, One of Nine’s sophomore, may not break any moulds, but it is definitely good.

Dawn of the Iron Shadow rides straight out of the gate with its heart on its banner. Opener, “Parley at the Gates,” sets the precedent for frequent bouts of booming, solemn narration as the speaker entreats mysterious lords for their service to a malevolent leader. We later get midpoint exposition (“Bauglir”) and the final lines of closer “Death Wing, Black Flame” are spoken with gravitas over the rumbles and crashes of thunder. Harplike, flutelike keys and soft horns playing quaint refrains, and syrupy synth choirs interrupt or duet with the tremolos, pushing percussion down to a tempered crashing, and planting the vibe firmly in the medieval camp.2 The echoing roars, variously jaunty and galloping tempos, in combination with the above, are indeed reminiscent of Stormkeep, while some more theatrical tendencies dimly recall Dimmu Borgir, and more explosive guitar melodies Mare Cognitum. Much like the tales of magical quests and battles it outlines, Dawn of the Iron Shadow is event-filled, grand, and charming, sustaining its audience with well-crafted music, and an uplifting sound.

One of Nine capture the spirit of their conceptual world and the listener’s attention by integrating their musical threads brilliantly. Dungeon synth elements are woven seamlessly into the fabric of the soundscape, prefiguring a theme (“Behold the Shadow of my Thoughts,” “Quest of the Silmarilion”), enhancing drama or emotion (“Dreadful Leap,” “Death Wing, Black Flame”), or just adding that extra flair (“Age of Chains”) to create passages that make you smile and take a guitar line from vanilla to vibrant. But it’s not as though the tremolo melodies themselves are even that plain, as One of Nine wring an impressive amount of expression from such refrains, which, emphasised by their keyboard companions, are downright anthemic; “Dreadful Leap” stands out in particular here. The effect of these predominantly cheerful—dare I say major—melodies, whether chimes sprinkled amidst the drums, or a plinky upbeat interlude, is that even the most mournful of tremolos herein becomes uplifting and hopeful. These songs sound like fantasy quests, and the narration, the shift between marching and galloping tempos (“Desperate Valor”), the group chants (“Death Wing Black Flame”), the horns and the harps, all work together to make it happen.

Dawn of the Iron Shadow is epic in nature, but it is not epic in length, and that makes it even more digestible. The music is so endearing in its sweeping soundscapes and so-serious commitment to its subject matter, that it ends far sooner than anticipated. This is excellent for replayability, but also works against the record’s overall impact if you’re not overly invested in the story or listening actively enough to pick up on One of Nine’s idiosyncrasies. That isn’t to say you won’t have a good time—you probably will. But a lack of big stand-out moments like those in “Dreadful Leap” and “Death Wing Black Flame” means that while the songs are enjoyable and the atmosphere is impeccable throughout, it doesn’t demand attention not willingly given.

I say all the above as someone with a layman’s interest in the source material. The music speaks for itself, and there’s plenty to enjoy for any fans of the hearty, happier side of black metal. Whether you come for the stories or not, the dreadful Nine’s tales of Middle-earth are fun and winsome enough to make you stay.

Rating: Very Good
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore
Website: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: October 31st, 2025

#2025 #35 #BlackMetal #DawnOfTheIronShadow #DimmuBorgir #DungeonSynth #MelodicBlackMetal #Oct25 #OneOfNine #ProfoundLoreRecords #Review #Reviews #Stormkeep

#blackmetal #dawnoftheironshadow #dimmuborgir #dungeonsynth #melodicblackmetal #oct25

Angry Metal Guy @[email protected] · 2025-08-07 · 10:46 UTC

Theurgion – All Under Heaven Review

By Steel Druhm

I’ll give it to the folks at Profound Lore’s PR department. As I processed the All Under Heaven debut by unheralded doom-death act Theurgion and prepared to hurl it into the reeking promo sump, I felt the irresistible urge to take it for myself due to this subtle teaser tidbit: “comprised of seven sculptured sonic monuments that hail those that came before Solitude Aeturnus, OLD Katatonia, OLD Anathema/Paradise Lost, first October Tide LP….” Those are mighty big FFO nods, and I fell victim to the hype like a lowly n00b, tucking the promo in my ape pouch and skulking into the sultry night. The PR spinners didn’t lie either. What Theurgion do is totally what I want doom-death to be. I initially feared a frightful blow to the Score Safety Counter might be as inevitable as a hangover after 5 glasses of Doc Grier‘s cactus pruno punch. The atmosphere is rife with weepy melancholy. The heavy doom riffs are there and effectively crushing. What could go wrong with so much rightness happening? Did I find the next Fvneral Fvkk?

Though I’m not much for instrumental openers, I can’t knock “Mourning Tide” at all. It’s a tremendously moody, engaging table-setter promising an album’s worth of despondent despair, and it’s well executed from soup to sadboi nuts. When the first proper track, the 10-plus minute “Lavender & Silver,” kicked into existence with mournful chanting, weepy trilling, crunching doom riffs, and booming death vocals, Steel was in his happy place. As the pained and plaintive clean vocals arrived, they seemed solid and appropriate; a forlorn mid-range croon with muscle behind it, sort of halfway between Danzig and The Cult’s Ian Astbury. Things kept building upward toward greatness, with me held in thrall. For the first 7 minutes, all was right in the world, but as things started to wind to a conclusion, the clean vocals of vocalist/drummer L.C. started to go off the rails as he reached for ever higher registers with his macho man bellowing. He starts to sound like an old, tired Danzig, and increasingly struggles to stay in tune. It ultimately doesn’t ruin what is a very effective doom-death epic, but the chinks in the armor become very visible by the end. These vocal issues resurface immediately in follow-up “Thrice-Named” as L.C. tries to sound anguished and tormented. As the album develops, those shout/sing/bellows become more problematic. Eventually, you feel relief when he lapses into death roars. This is a real shame, too, as the song has a lot going for it. It reminds me of the early days of Deathwhite, and I love the Goth-infused atmosphere Theurgion craft here.

There are many high-quality moments to be found on All Under Heaven, and the band can certainly write compelling doom-death epics that grab the listener by the ghost nuts and squeeze. But the vocals become a kind of wrecking ball blasting through the carefully curated moods to bring disorder and irritation to the listener. On “The Storm,” L.C. tempers his delivery enough to beguile and enchant on a track filled with vibrant guitar work and a strong Enshine-meets-Primordial vibe. It’s a beautifully glum and downcast little number, and it works because the vocals largely compliment the music instead of sucker punching it with a sack full of antique doorknobs. Unfortunately, on the 12-minute title track, L.C. overdoes his shout-singing to the point where you’d gladly fork over funds to send him to Count Orlok’s quiet time retreat deep in the Carpathian Mountains. One could also quibble about the 3 instrumental interludes, including the intro and outro. They aren’t bad, but aside from the opener, they feel unnecessary.

The real shame of it all is that L.C. is actually a capable vocalist. His death roars are fully on point, and he can manage effective cleans when he stays in a middle range and refrains from forcing his upper range to the point where control flies out the window. He’s a case study on less is MOAR, and proves that MOAR can be way too much. Guitarists A.P. and R.F. do a rock-solid job across the album, creating richly melancholic soundscapes without forgetting to use the doom riff cudgel to keep the listener honest. There are nods to all the bands name-dropped in the PR material, especially Paradise Lost and Katatonia, and they know how to deliver grimly beautiful doom-death. If we are going solely on instrumentation, this thing is close to a 4.0. With vocals added, things get slicey dicey and make scoring Under All Heaven a real trial by fire.

There’s a lot to love on Theurgion’s debut opus. The atmosphere is dark and mournful, and the guitar work is inspired. Hell, even the vocals deliver the doomy goods about half the time. I struggled a lot with how to rate this thing, but ultimately, your enjoyment will come down to how well you vibe with L.C.’s “unique” style. For me, his “elderly Danzig on the toilet” style killed too many otherwise glorious moments. Mileage may vary, and I sincerely hope it does, because Theurgion have the potential to become something great.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 10 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Profound Lore
Websites: Too mysterious for the webz?
Releases Worldwide: August 8th, 2025

#25 #2025 #AllUnderHeaven #AmericanMetal #Aug25 #DeathMetal #Deathwhite #DoomMetal #Katatonia #ParadiseLost #ProfoundLoreRecords #Review #Reviews #Theurgion

#allunderheaven #americanmetal #aug25 #deathmetal #deathwhite #doommetal

Pieter @[email protected] · 2024-07-29 · 20:11 UTC

Fantastic discovery thanks to @buffyleigh also listed in the #1001otheralbums list. If #DiamandaGalas is ever looking for someone to carry her torch.....
#LinguaIgnota - Caligula dl 2019 on the marvelous #ProfoundLoreRecords
http://linguaignota.bandcamp.com/album/caligula

#profoundlorerecords #linguaignota #diamandagalas #1001otheralbums

🤘 The Metal Dog 🤘 @[email protected] · 2024-06-25 · 13:51 UTC

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalSucks
Spectral Wound Announce ‘Songs Of Blood and Mire’, Drop “Aristocratic Suicidal Black Metal”

https://www.metalsucks.net/2024/06/24/spectral-wound-announce-songs-of-blood-and-mire-drop-aristocratic-suicidal-black-metal/

#SpectralWound #SongsOfBloodAndMire #AristocraticSuicidalBlackMetal #ProfoundLoreRecords #BlackMetal

#themetaldogarticlelist #metalsucks #spectralwound #songsofbloodandmire #aristocraticsuicidalblackmetal #profoundlorerecords

midheaven/revolver usa @[email protected] · 2024-02-19 · 22:21 UTC

Out April 19 - Antichrist Siege Machine "Vengeance Of Eternal Fire" LP/CD from Profound Lore. The third album from these death/black metal hellions expands upon the latent evil in their hearts and bears the banner of violence and chaos furthering the duo's commitment to utter brutality.
https://midheaven.com/item/antichrist-siege-machine/vengeance-of-eternal-fire
#antichristsiegemachine
#vengeanceofeternalfire
#profoundlorerecords
#blackmetal
#deathmetal