Revisionist Western

 I have a new review up at DIY Conspiracy of the new albums by Bonjour Tristesse and Trespasser which, more broadly, discusses black metal as a rejection of modernity and how leftist bands draw on that tradition. Check it out if that sounds cool to you. 

  Keening, the first EP by UK-based, atmospheric black metal band Cairns, is a genuinely powerful debut release. Between the artwork, song titles, and sound, it evokes a sort of naturalistic, otherworldly, occultic vibe, like you've gotten lost in a particularly grey forest in the British countryside at dusk. The music has a misty, ethereal feel which reminds me of the best of contemporary blackgaze and atmospheric post metal, namely bands like Numenorean, Violet Cold, and Vukari. The song writing on Keening is really top notch, and Cairns are quite good at breaking songs up with a nice combination of melody and dissonance, shifting between parts that can feel quite different even as they all remain drenched in walls of shimmering distortion and reverb. They even make really effective use of sporadic singing vocals alongside of more throat-ripping screaming.  If you're into atmospheric black metal, I would definitely give Keening a listen. I'm looking forward to more by Cai...

Germany's Beculted sound, to me, like what would happen if Thou was a black metal band. They have these ugly, crawling sludge riffs that just tunnel into your brain which alternate with blast beat driven grind reminiscent of something like Vanum or Panopticon . A truly dirty guitar tone gives the album a raw and churning vibe, and with only 3 songs (despite each clocking in at over 10 minutes), it's a relatively quick listen that leaves you wanting more. If you're into contemporary, blackened sludge, I would absolutely give this record a listen. I enjoyed it a lot.  Arcane Manifestations by beculted

I mean, come on. Look at that album cover. You know exactly  what you're getting here. And yes, it shreds.  Mist of Doom is an absolutely ripping mix between raw black metal and crust. I would compare them to a more hardcore-influenced version of bands like Bütcher, Hellripper, and Bewitcher, with the same kind of driving, raw, blackened attack, but a little less-NWOBHM in the mix and a little more dis-crust going on. If you listen to those bands and wish they sounded more like Wolfbrigade or Martyrdöd, Mist of Doom is your band.  The songs on Revenge of the Ancient Gods are short, the beats are fast, the vocals are throat-ripping, and the riffs are catchy and anthemic. This is really everything I want in blackened crust, up to and including a furious album closer called "Black Metal Nazis Must Die." It's the kind of quick, brutal listen that makes it hard not to bob your head along as it pummels you.  The album is free on Bandcamp, and given that I've listened ...

As someone who likes melody in my metal, I admit that it's tricky line to walk to get it right. If metal is, typically, trying to have some kind of edge or aggression to it, too much melody potentially blunts the impact. Particularly in something like black metal, where the lineage of the subgenre can be traced back to a desire for an uncompromising sonic rawness, the endless chatter about whether or not this-or-that (too) melodic black metal band is really black metal is a testament to how challenging it can be to maintain the central appeal of the sound while also writing songs awash in melody.  All this to say that Sol Sistere's new self-titled album is a rager.   Sol Sistere are an atmospheric black metal band from Santiago, Chile that remind me of bands like Numenorean, Violet Cold, or Uada. They have that really nice shimmering-while-still-noisy quality that the best bands of this genre have (there are literally two songs on the album called "The Shimmer pt I" ...

Currently driving cross country, but just stopping in to say that Barren and DAHTM, two bands I have written about previously, and who are both quite good, have new releases.  Barren has an EP of furious grind that delivers on the promises of their demo, and DAHTM has released two new churning songs from their upcoming full length. You can stream both below.  Some longer posts coming soon.   Kurungaituku by DAHTM And Then There Were None by Barren

Prague-based solo black metal project Eerie Heir's first release, We Were Beautiful Once , is gloriously depressing in that way only spacey black metal can be. Alternating between dreamy, effects-drenched fog and sparse, clean strumming, the EP uses its relatively quick 18-minute running time to paint an impressionistic picture of pain and loneliness. The work is a genuine testament to how the aesthetics of an album, from the artwork to the song titles to the texture of the recording, can complement the music. From the decidedly not-very-metal-yet-perfectly-evocative cover, to the album title, to the distant, lo-fi sound on the album, the whole thing feels like a small, intimate diary of someone's quiet ruminations on sadness. When I listen to a sparse instrumental song called "I've Always Thought I had Time" or a slow-burn piece that builds from and an ambient introduction to a thick wall of distortion by the end titled "Never Worn Wedding Dress," ...