New from Sol y Nieve: Nemorensis & Hellebore

Today I'm featuring two releases currently available for a discounted pre-order from Sol y Nieve. It's been a few reviews since I touched on something purely black metal, so this is a perfect fit. I've always been thrilled with Sol y Nieve's releases and these two show the label continuing a tradition of working with bands that are unheard yet as talented as larger names. I'm super excited about these two tapes, so let's jump right in.

Starting things off here is Nemorensis, with its epic offering, "The Lady In The Lake." Clocking in at 27:27, this is a monolithic beast that works in movements more than functioning like a song rooted in rock structure. The opening section has a slowed down, ethereal gloom that features a melody that strongly reminds me of Depeche Mode's "Policy of Truth" at about 20% of its normal speed. It's haunting and beautiful, but feels somewhat like drowning or falling into an unplanned, drugged sleep. The ominous nature of this otherworldly drone begins to peak as chants and voices emerge, as if carried across great distances by an unexpected wind. As soon as I'm almost entirely lulled into calmness, I'm startled by the dissolution of peace as electric guitars are introduced. Dissonance begins to take hold, yet the guitars begin as merely an extension of the droning ambiance, slowly growing into something entirely of independent. Like an ancient evil awakening from slumber, it rises slowly into view, growing more dreadful by the minute, dripping with grime and reeking of death. With a transition so slow it's almost unnoticeable, the music shifts from droning guitars to a more aggressive, decidedly black metal approach, with a jagged pulsing approach that all but buries the distant percussion. By the end, the song builds to a radiant, glistening passage that feels like a rawer cousin of Lustre. In case my words don't make it obvious, this is already one of the most exciting things I expect to hear this year. Sol Y Nieve's release of this  gem is limited to 100 cassettes, packaged in a plastic case with a heavy stock J-card and a scroll attached with twine.

As if one massive, spacey black metal release wasn't enough, Sol y Nieve will also be releasing Hellebore's "Anouof Thwo." I have no idea what the title means, but the album art leads me to believe that the cosmic atmospheres have a lyrical direction that matches. While I don't listen to too many bands that take ambient black metal this far, this release genuinely captivates me. While my initial listen left me slightly confused and uncertain about my feelings, repeated visits have planted this in my head. Pounding rhythms and oddly textured leads are par for the course here, but this does not make for a straightforward listen. I'm all for unorthodox, and Hellebore seems keen on delivering just enough strangeness for me to be hooked without running the risk of scaring away more traditional listeners. Even the mellower interludes here (like stunning yet brief centerpiece "Udrea") have an unearthly feeling that isn't quite sad so much as detached, which really adds depth to the experience for me. The vocals have enough reverb to resonate across the void yet they aren't as buried as many similar bands might have them, allowing for a more balanced approach that still yields a raw coldness that pleases me. This surprised me in many ways and I'm glad I gave it a full and fair listen. It's limited to 100 copies on cassette with a heavy stock J-card and a button.

Dalla Nebbia- "The Cusp of the Void" CD (Razed Soul Productions)

American black metal act Dalla Nebbia doesn't just dabble in unorthodox black metal sounds, it revels in taking the traditional and expanding upon it in a majestic way. With "The Cusp of the Void," Dalla Nebbia's debut full-length, they seem poised to place themselves among bands like Enslaved and Agalloch, with songs that feel equally at home in wintry black metal atmospheres as they do pushing the boundaries into slightly less conventional territory.

While galloping drums and meandering guitars are tried and true trademarks of the genre, these only appear to provide a foundation upon which the band builds a strangely familiar yet unique atmosphere. Synths echo stringed instruments, replicating the folk-inspired feeling of fiddles and violins, yet the band doesn't just cash in and head straight into folk landscapes. Instead, as with everything Dalla Nebbia does, they dip their toes in and carry a bit of it with them as they continue on their journey. Even the seemingly acoustic interlude track "Sovereign Moments" builds up into something slightly more present and full-formed than I might have anticipated. It seems fitting to me that these guys end their debut offering with a cover of a classic Windir tune, as they seem to share the same wandering spirit. Their musical products may differ, but the approach and effect on the listener turn out quite similarly. These eight tracks capture the sensation of being surrounded by a white flurry of snow and chaos. It's blindingly beautiful yet potentially lethal. In other words, it's exactly what I love to hear in my black metal.

Five hundred copies of this promising debut have been released by Razed Soul Productions. As always, I recommend purchasing a copy if you're at all interested in this group. However, for skeptics and those of us who can't afford to buy everything we like, the band has the whole album streaming on their bandcamp, with a purchase price set at only $5.

New music: Judas Christ, Nostalgique, Craar

Judas Christ- "American Gulag" CS (Male Activity)
This four song cassette marks South Carolina death industrial outfit Judas Christ's debut, and boy is it a handful. Waves of minimalist noise crash back and forth over sparse percussion and shredded howling in opener "Labourgrave." The constant restraint and bare approach are what make "American Gulag" more than just an experiment in horror from another young noise group. It's obvious that these creeps know exactly when and where they want to add the uneasiness and it's the expert control of atmosphere that ultimately makes this such a convincingly dark album. Lyrics seem to focus mostly on the inherently oppressive nature of capitalism, hence the smothering dread all around. This tape is limited to fifty copies and seems to have been selling rather well. Get it from Male Activity while supplies last.

Nostalgique- "Veil" (Self-Released)
Nostalgique is the solo project from a member of Baltimore black metal group Barbelith. This album is a forty minute testament to the potential of the "depressive" black metal subcategory. While groups aiming at sounding bleak usually just sound cheesy to me, there's a buzzsaw-like consistency to the fuzz here that really does it right. There's just enough pain and misery to feel urgent and honest without falling into cliches and the melodramatic suicidal claptrap that surround this otherwise promising community. At moments Nostalgique even delves into the subtle beauty of "Souvenirs" era Alcest, which really broadens things and prevents this release from turning into mindless repetition. This sounds like it was recorded in a small home studio setup, but the rawness is welcome in such a somber release. Isolation reigns supreme here and this makes for a great solo listen. Download it for the price you desire from Nostalgique's bandcamp page.

Craar- "In Solitary Minds" CD (Self-Released)
"In Solitary Minds" is the debut full-length album from Belgian atmospheric black metal group Craar. This album works well on many levels for me, with surprisingly crisp production for a black metal debut and instantly familiar yet original tunes. These guys are working on a slightly bigger feeling sound, with crunchy guitar tones and open chords that resonate endlessly to contrast with black metal that seems to take influence from progressive giants like Enslaved. The overall clarity and largeness of sound do not prevent Craar from buckling down and producing some fast and aggressive black metal, and in fact serve to further accent these chaotic passages. Craar's ambition seems to be to break into the larger black metal community and with an album this well honed and clever, they stand a good chance of receiving more widespread recognition with future releases. Order a CD from the band directly via bandcamp.

New music: Dodenkrocht, Cold Crypt, Sacramence/Golden Milk

Dodenkrocht- "Misery Chords" EP (Self-Released)
This EP is probably the most appropriate album I could be sharing in time for Halloween. Before you decide it's a collection of spooky sounds and cheap gimmicks, let me explain. The funereal vastness provided by Dodenkrocht on these three original compositions (and closing Manes cover) is majestic and so inherently visual that I can almost imagine an entire short scene for each tune. The pace of their second-wave inspired black metal is moderate at its fastest, which works nicely as this album is full of notes that ring out and howls that trail away into the darkness. If this wasn't recorded in a foggy forest clearing in the dead of night, I'd be none the wiser. The atmosphere is dense and the musicianship is solid. Even when the guitars are sped up, the drumming maintains a steady and hypnotic pace that really cements the ominous nature of Dodenkrocht's music. While this was my introduction to this project, I'm keeping an eye on these guys for future releases and you should do the same.

Cold Crypt- "Darkest Symphonies" CD (Self-Released)
These guys were kind enough to send me a copy of their CD all the way across the pond. Fortunately for me, it's good enough to feature even if I'd had to hunt it own myself. Working with roots in black metal, Cold Crypt frequently deconstructs the musical paradigms of the genre to bare bones only to craft new sounds with them. Hazy guitars and murky production create an almost electronic fuzz, with some tracks creeping into icy pulsing synth-heavy horror soundtracks. Some groups's names are quite telling, and Cold Crypt is absolutely one of them. Eerie without becoming campy, this album frequently treads into territory more often found on power electronics releases than traditional black metal albums, which is refreshing. Samples and sonic trickery fit in comfortably besides scathing metal assaults and cold minimal synth tracks. Absolutely worth a listen. Obtain a copy from the artist if you're located in Europe or from Badgod Music here in the USA.

Sacramence/Golden Milk- Split Cassette (Born Dead Records)
In a year when Raspberry Bulbs' newest album is making its way into massive mainstream success (well deserved, I might add), one might expect offerings falling into "noisy blackened punk" territory to suffer in quality, perhaps as trendhoppers.  I'm pleased to say this tape delivers the goods wholly and sincerely. Sacramence is the solo project of S. Jordan and submits two songs of blown out filth to start things off. Sacramence claims to deal with themes of nihilism and animal rights, which sounds awesome to me, but I can't pull a single word from the murk here. Opener "Revered Filth" starts off pretty slow and textured, with distortion building into an almost psychedelic bliss until chaotic drumming and distant howls break through at a frantic gallop. The second tune, "Decrepit Obedience" is much slower and more ominous, slowly shifting around and through itself in the most haunting way. Golden Milk follows with three compositions all thematically linked as separate parts of the same song, entitled "Through Force and Intolerance." These three songs are even more warped and fuzzy than Sacramence's portion of the split, yet are stripped of the hazy layering and are instead a focused and aggressive assault upon the listener. The pace varies but it's pretty straight-up, which I completely respect. This is currently available as a free download if you visit Sacramence on bandcamp and will be available from Born Dead Records' webstore as a cassette sometime soon.

New Music: Smorg, Astral Rebirth, Being

Smorg- "A Morbid Chapter" CDr (Self-Released)
Have you, dear readers, ever wished for the maddened howls of LLN-inspired black metal to be fused with the punkier side of grindcore? Smorg sees an absence of this in the overall metal community and is filling this void. The rawness of this demo only adds to the fabulously murky sound these guys have crafted. While the songs are aggressive and the vocals are as inhuman as it gets, there are occasional melodic leads that are well integrated, allowing for even less adventurous listeners to become assimilated as Smorg grows to engulf the weak. The CD-r the band sent me is about as DIY and simple as it gets. My laptop even refuses to play it (although other devices of mine seem to have no issue--thanks computer), perhaps because it can't handle the intensity of Smorg's assault. With songs like "Spilling Imperial Blood" being both addictive and vicious, it's safe to say these guys deserve a listen. They just released a split with Cold Crypt on Depressive Illusions, so snag a copy of that if you enjoy what you hear.

Astral Rebirth- "Surrendered to the Black Immensity" CD (Winterglow Records)
Immensity is as apt a term as any to describe the majestic black atmospheres Astral Rebirth creates on this beast of an album. I've had the promo email sitting in my inbox for four months, and like the fool I am, I've listened many times and neglected to review it. This hazy brand of ambient black metal is perfect for rainy days, contemplation, and even winding down in the evening. That's not to say that Astral Rebirth makes mellow music, but it embodies heavy grey days and clear starry nights. On a deeper level, the name and the atmosphere here make it clear that this music comes from a place of deep focus and possibly self-reflection. I'm not able to speak to the themes on this release, but these songs capture a vastness and timelessness that I can't quite place. It appears that copies are sold out from the label, although I'd keep an eye out, as I'm sure more will emerge.

Being- "II: Nyx" (Super-Void)
If Astral Rebirth isn't cosmic enough for your liking, Being's most recent release will surely capture the right state for you. Easily the cleanest recording featured in this post, "II: Nyx" is a two-track affair of cosmic melancholy. Opener "Hypnos" has a purposefully repetitive vocal melody, driving a sense of great emptiness in over the course of many minutes while the music spirals from somber to chaotic. Closer "Ex Nihilo" is decidedly more planted in progressive metal territory, yet doesn't lean towards needless noodling. There are absolutely no harsh vocals on this album, which might not suit all fans of extreme music but works quite nicely here, with a clean presence that is firm yet almost ghostly in its wavering nature. The bleakness of the music and the solemn determination of the vocals work together to create an elegant and multifaceted album. While just under twenty minutes in length, "II: Nyx" feels fully realized and lacks little. Download it from the Super-Void/Being bandcamp.

CAPA- "This is the Dead Land This is Cactus Land" (Self-Released)

CAPA is a group whose music defiantly stands on its own. While it's easy to call them a black metal group, it would be inaccurate to throw a genre at a band whose entire statement of purpose is to remove itself from the norm. That said, "This is the Dead Land, This is Cactus Land," CAPA's first full-length album, borrows many elements from the black metal genre, which it fuses with elements of post-hardcore, traditional ambient (think early 80's Brian Eno), and whatever else the band feels is important at any given moment. This isn't the "kitchen sink" approach that bands like to take when trying to do something new. Instead, CAPA has made a commitment to releasing intelligent, well crafted music that sets itself into a category of quality rather than leaning on any one stylistic concept.

"This is the Dead Land, This is Cactus Land" is the culmination of a trilogy, preceded by their EP "Shallow Towers" and their debut release, "The Road is a Grey Tape" (released on Ivory Antler).  This third chapter details the world's end from the perspective of an individual removed from society, perhaps the last human being alive. Appropriately, the journey through the wastes of the world that was before leads the story's protagonist deeper both into the desolation as well as into his or her own psyche. The pairing of introspection with reflection on humanity's indulgences and the damage caused is both painful and illuminating, and the music contorts itself to fit whatever mood needs to be created. The musical direction seems to be guided more by the lyrical content than any other needs, and works accordingly. The vocals are actually intelligible and hoarse in a way that is more commonly associated with groups in the "post-metal" category (whatever the hell post- anything means anymore) but works quite well for this album's purpose. As with previous releases, CAPA refuses to be limited and seems just as content to allow for three minutes of blissful ambiance as they are creating dizzying tension with entire songs spiraling upward to simply provide a mere moment's release. Whatever terms I could use to describe these songs in regards to actual musical content will inherently fall short.  Instead, this album is a complete piece of artwork, more of an emotional and mental process that the listener must undergo to fully comprehend than a piece of aggressive music meant to be enjoyed as simple ear candy.

The album is now out for digital purchase and streaming via CAPA's bandcamp page. The band is in the process of finding a label and format for physical release in the near future. This post will be update as details arrive.

New from Temple of Torturous: Fyrnask and Vom Fetisch Der Unbeirrtheit

Temple of Torturous has graced Black Metal & Brews once this year already with a couple of the most pleasantly surprising releases I'd received, so when I heard there would be more, I knew I had to check these out. Once again, these groups are almost entirely new to me (although I'd heard the name Fyrnask thrown around a bit) so it's been enjoyable coming into this review with virgin ears, so to speak. Let's not waste any time here, as these albums are already up for pre-order. Time to read the reviews and decide if these are for you.

From the beginning of Fyrnask's newest offering, "Eldir Nott," there is an uncanny sense of coldness. Not necessarily in the grim, pure icy evil black metal sense. Instead, I feel the beauty and slight darkness of seeing my breath at night and watching snow slowly take over my surroundings. The production on this album gives the right amount of clarity to Fyrnask's elegantly layered atmospheric black metal while still allowing it to retain its edges. Nothing is cleaned up into oblivion, instead it's nicely presented so that I can hear what I'm trying to hear. As the intro fades into the first "proper" song, "Vigil," the coldness becomes something of a heavy blanket. Still, this music doesn't feel evil so much as it feels passionate, perhaps even deeply spiritual or personal to the artist. The songs flow as almost a seamless piece rather than as a collection of independent songs, allowing for me to fully immerse myself in the dark and fantastic landscape created by Fyrnask's music. It's sometimes suffocating, sometimes tranquil, but it's constantly captivating. If you've ever wanted to go into a snow-covered forest at night and meditate upon your darkest personal demons until the sunrise comes to thaw you from the chilling intensity of your own uneasiness, this might make the perfect soundtrack. This brilliant album is already one of my top releases of the year, and it's unlikely that something will come along to challenge it. Snag this on 2xLP (black or splatter) or CD formats while they last.

Removing oneself from the meditative personal journey of Fyrnask is quite easy when Vom Fetisch Der Unbeirrtheit's jagged and cerebral electronic-heavy black metal assault on "Vertilger" starts with things cranked to eleven. For an album obsessed with the concept of decomposition, it's appropriate that things feel like a series of synapses misfiring. I'm not musically inclined enough to comment on time signature, but VFdU clearly enjoys toying with stop-start dynamics and sporadic drumming that will keep even the most math-oriented listeners on their toes. The vocals are often throaty and painful on this album, and the music is maddening in a way that even makes me feel uncomfortable at times. Conventions such as genre and form are thrown aside to create something truly depraved and unsettling, perhaps this would be a dance party for the sickest of souls, but I find it hard to do much more than simply keep up with the music. I often indicate that an album is challenging, but this album will challenge even those in search of difficult music, which to me is a good thing, but I can easily see this being intimidating to folks who like their metal to be predictable or familiar. Frequently I find songs disintegrating into electronic mush with little regard for length or anything else that most artists use to create boundaries. The album's centerpiece is even a sparse and glitchy industrial piece that feels like it could be at home equally well on a power electronics album as in the midst of this black madness. Normally a release with such little restraint would feel like a forced experiment in excess, but it seems that VFdU is constantly in control of this psychotic acid trip of an album, and the brief moments of overwhelming sound are so well integrated that I can and do find it to be worth visiting. Even if you're not that brave with your musical choices, this is a great example of how to properly generate chaos in your music without allowing your songs to become bloated and masturbatory. Grab this CD (with or without a patch) and lose yourself for a while. Sometimes losing your mind is the sanest thing you can do.

Paramnesia- "Ce Que Dit La Bouche D'Ombre" CD-r (Self-Released)

Here's another post about a band that caught me off guard. I make a lot of these, because apparently most of the bands that are really shaking things up are interested in contacting me but aren't being discussed by my friends. So, meet Paramnesia, an engaging and incredible French black metal group. I received an email from a member of the band politely requesting that I listen to his music, and I'm thrilled I paid attention.

While there's a slight language barrier in our communications, I believe this album was written and recorded in a three day period. These two tracks are each fully formed journeys through territory that bring to mind tracks from equally crushing groups like Deathspell Omega or The Great Old Ones, both of whom also happen to be from France. It's definitely safe to say that French (and French Canadian) bands have frequently been among my favorites, so I'm pleased to see that Paramnesia are carrying the torch. While elements of shoegaze and doom weigh heavily in this music, atmospheric black metal is the primary focus here, and Paramnesia seldom stray into territory that would disappoint purists. Guitars weave textures and melodies more than riffs, while the drums and vocals accent the overall bleakness of the music without any one musician forcing the others out of the spotlight. The coordination here is really something to notice, especially if this album was churned out in such a rapid fashion.

Copies of this brilliant release are available from Paramnesia's bandcamp page, and feature stellar artwork from Business For Satan. Grab this while you can and prepare for the next offering, which the band has indicated will draw influences from groups like Paysage d'Hiver and Leviathan.