Album Reviews

In 2020 when the world shut down, Ensiferum released 'Thalassic' which was the best album yet from Ensiferum. I gave them the highest score possible. The world opened but then well... covid off course. Founding member Markus Toivonen was a prisoner at home, so he had to find new ways to write music. Trying to work with Logic Pro was more stimulating than before. He was able to try and experience how the ideas would sound by building the band with digital midis, adding stems and other stuff into songs. With this in mind the band sounds more epic and gloomier than ever before, adding Pekka Montin's crystal-clear melodic high notes and you have yet again a masterpiece. Let's dive in, shall we.
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Black metal act 1349 trademark always fit the classic style of Norwegian sound; the band gained popularity at the beginning of 00s with their first studio album “Liberation”. Although 1349 hasn’t been quite consistent in their recent albums their solid foundation is established from the roots of the second wave of black metal “The Wolf & The King” is the 8th studio album out via Season of Mist on October 4th, 2024, instantly delivers an undulated mixture of aggression and straight-forward machine-gun blast beats.
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Stadium rock band Kissin Dynamite is Back with a Bang! Their 8th album released on July 24, 2024. Let's see if this album explodes as loudly in our ears as the bright yellow cover with dynamite on it makes us expect it to do.

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Of all the current Finnish black metal bands in the scene today, Aethyrick’s style appeals to me the most: their melodies have grown gloomy and catchy, and the time has now come for the duo Exile and Gall to craft their newest album 'Death Is Absent', their fifth and first album released under the banner of Norma Evangelium Diaboli. The sense of atmosphere lurking in the composition is very akin to bands such as Thy Serpent. The subtle keyboards in the background and the dark guitar playing hold much of the essence of the duo’s musical qualities.
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Dutch blackened death metal formation God Dethroned returns with the new studio album 'The Judas Paradox' out via Atomic Fire Records on September 6th, 2024. The success of the quartet since the mid-nineties has inspired a generation of bands in the extreme metal scene. Their hybrid style enabled them to churn out eleven albums. The grandiosity seems to have worked well for the band on its predecessor 'Illuminati'. In a similar fashion God Dethroned cements polished and refined ideas concerning their grand musical arrangements.
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Dampf is one of the more unique bands out there right now. Their mix of different genres and styles keeps their music fresh and interesting. Also due to the fact that this band has three singers with different vocal styles, there's barely any limitation for them within their songwriting process: if they can think it, they can write it or at least so it seems. If you haven't heard of them before, I certainly suggest giving them a listen.
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Debemur Morti Productions released the sophomore album 'Endless' of the International black metal project Modern Rites on August 30th, 2024. The comeback album sees the duo Katalyst aka Berg (Aara and Taubrą) on guitar and the multi-instrumentalist Archytekt aka Jonny Warren (Kuyashii). What makes the album so wonderfully atmospheric is the excellent utilization of keyboards and the guitar which has a highly ornamental backing to the raspy vocals.
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Portland, Oregon-based heavy metal/gothic rock band Unto Others (formerly aka Idle Hands) has become a hallmark of gothic metal in recent years, with prominent acts such as Tribulation. The trademark of Unto Others would remind many fans of Type O Negative and Sisters of Mercy and this is exactly what the third album “Never, Neverland” presents fiery guitar riffs and deep vocals of Gabriel Franco packs sixteen rocking songs. The organic composition captures more of the atmosphere of the driven guitar riffs of Sebastian Silva, the stomping drums of Colin Vranizan and the bass riffs of Brandon Hill are groovy yet powerful.
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Britain’s enigmatic duo Zetra is more than a gothic synthwave band that aspires to rise to the stardom of majestic gothic fame and while they certainly have come close to bring their enthralling sonic oeuvre in the latest release. Even though little is known about them the two mysterious figures clad in leather and chains had mistakenly tricked me into thinking they were black metal, that’s because of the corpse paints and the gothic settings of the musical presentation.
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UK’s symphonic black metal Wraithfyre debuted its first full-length album 'Of Fell Peaks and Haunted Chasms' on July 26th, 2024. The band was formed by the multi-musician and vocalist Tom O'Dell whose composition is draped in dark and somber tones of the second wave of black metal. The debut presents seven tracks and an intro and more amusingly the artist combines melodic elements attributed to atmospheric black metal.
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