Lightbearer/Mountain Hermit/Dark Acausal Architectures Of The Black Archetypes/Black Metal Musicians Productions/2024 EP Review

 

  This  is  a  review  o0f  a  split  ep  between  Germany's  Lightbearer  and  Italy's  Mountain  Hermit  called  "Dark  Acausal  Architectures  Of  The  Black  Archetypes"  which  was  released  by  Black  Metal  Musicians  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Lightbearer  a  band  that  plays  a  very  raw  form  of  occult  black  metal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  with  some  clean  playing  and  ritualistic  chants  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them ,  a  lot  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  old  school  era.

   Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also adding  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Luciferian,  Occultism  and  left  hand  Path  themes.   

  In  my  opinion  Lightbearer  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  occult  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Sorcery  And  The  Black  Arts".

  Next  up  is  Mountain Hermit  who  return  with  their  atmospheric  style  of  black  emtal.

  Their  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  dark  soundscapes  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  synths  also  add  in  some  atmospheric  touches.  Vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  along  with  some  melodies  also  being  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing.

  Spoken  word  parts  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  esotericism  and  mysticism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mountain  Hermit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  their  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Ghosts  In  The  Corridors".

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  raw  and  atmospheric  black  metal.

  https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Lightbearer/3540461522

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mountain_Hermit/3540459875

        

Mountain Hermit/The Last Weapon/Echoes Of Enigma: A Journey Through Shadowed Realms/2023 Split Album Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  a  self  released  split  album  between  Italy's  Mountain  Hermit  and  Panama/U.S.A's  The  Last  Weapon  called  "Echoes  Of  Enigma:  A  Journey  Through  Shadowed  Realms"  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Muntain  hermit  a  solo  project  who  returns  with  more  experimental  style  of  black  metal.

  His  sid  og  the  split  starts  out  with  some  keyboards  which  also  capture  the  atmosphere  of  a  horror  movie  soundtrack  while  also  adding  in  some  touches  of  ambient  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  and  all  of  his  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Dark  soundscapes  are  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  vocals  being  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams.  All  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed  as  well  as  the  riffs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  distorted  sounding  melodies  and  on  the  last  track  a  small  amount  of  blast b eats  and  tremolo  picking  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  esotericism  and  mysticism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mountain  hermit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  experimental  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Archon".

  Next  up  id  The  Last  Weapon  a  solo  project  that  has  released  more  black  metal  orientated  material  in  the  past  but  on  this  recording  goes  into  more  of  a  dungeon  synth  direction.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  keyboards  which  also  brings  in  elements  of  dungeon  synth  while  also  adding  in  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  which  also  captures  the   atmosphere  of  a  fantasy  movie  soundtrack  along  with  all  of  the  music  also  being  instrumental.  All  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  each  song  bringing  in  a  different  style  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  The  last  Weapon  are  a  very  great  sounding  dungeon  synth  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "The  Rabbit  Journey".

  In  conclusion  i  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  experimental  black  metal  and  dungeon  synth.  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mountain_Hermit/3540459875#

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/The_Last_Weapon/3540515499

     

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with    

Mountain Hermit/Silenced Minstrel/Dark Musings Of The Ages/Satanica Productions/2021 Split CD Review

 

  This  is  a  review  of  a  split  album  between  Italy's  Mountain  Hermit  and  Malaysia's  Silenced  Minstrel  called  "Dark  Musings  Of  The  Ages"  which  was  released  by  Satanica  Productions  and  we  will  start  off  the  review  with  Mountain  Hermit  who  returns  with  his  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  some  horror  movie  style  keyboards  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  which  also  introduces  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  onto  the  recording.  Growls  can  also be  heard  at  times  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  dark  style  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them. 

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  along  with  most  of  his  tracks  also  being  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Clean  playing  can  also  be  heard  briefly  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

 All  of  the  drum  beats  also  being  programmed,  the  vocals  also  have  their  deep  and  grim  moments  and  his  side  of  the  split  closes  with  a  cover  of  Darkthrone's  "Transylvanian  Hunger"  a  song  that  has  been  covered  too  many  times  and  should  of  probably  picked  a  different  cover.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy,  nihilism,  esotericism  and  mysticism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mountain  Hermit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Towers  In  the  Storm".

  Next  up  is  Silenced  Minstrel  a  solo  project  that  returns  with  an  occult  style  of  black  metal.

  His  side  of  the  split  starts  out  with  a  very  fast  and  raw  sound  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals  are  done  in  mostly  an  angry  black  metal  style  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  songs  also  mixing  in  a  decent  amount  of  90's  influences.

  Throughout  his  side  of  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  One  of  the  tracks  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  as  well  as  all  of  the  drum  beats  also  being  programmed.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  Occultism  and  Darkness  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Silenced  Minstrel  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  his  side  of  the  split.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Ex  Lucis  Tenebres".  

  In  conclusion  I  feel  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  split  and  I  would  recommend  it  to  all  fans  of  atmospheric  and  occult  black  metal.  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mountain_Hermit/3540459875

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Silenced_Minstrel/3540448849

       

Vintermorke/Mountain Hermit/Una faccia, una razza/2020 Collaboration EP Review

  Greece's  Vintermorke  and  Italy's  Mountain  Hermit  are  2  solo  projects  that  have  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  they  team  up  together  and  mix  their  2  different  styles  together  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2020  ep  "Una  faccia,  uns  razza"  which  will  be  released  in  September.

  Sounds  of  glass  breaking  start  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  very  fast,  raw  and  lo-fi  musical  direction  which  also  sues  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Vocals are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  the  music  also  adds  in  some  influences  of  the  90's  era.

   All  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed  while  the  keyboards  also  gives  the  music  more  of  a  classic  horror  movie  atmosphere  when  they  are  utilized  as  well  as  adding  more  diversity  on  another  song  and  touches  of  ambient  are  also  used  at  times.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very powerful  sound  to  them.

  The  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow, mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  clean  playing  and  whispered  vocals  can  also  be  heard  briefly  as  well  as  all  3  of  the  tracks  also  sound  very  different  from  each  other  along  with  the  closing  song  being  very  experimental.  The  production  sounds  very  dark and   raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  misanthropy  and  destruction  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  a  very  great  sounding  collaboration  from  Vintermork  and  Mountain  hermit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  raw,  lo-fi,  misanthropic  and experimental  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  ep.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Cold  Dead  Souls".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Vinterm%C3%B8rke

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Mountain_Hermit/3540459875 

        

Mountain Hermit/Parapsychedelic Eye/Nailed Nazarene Industries/2020 Full Length Review

  Italy's  Mountain  Hermit  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  into  more  of  an  instrumental,  experimental  and  avant  garde  style  of   atmospheric  black  metal  from  his  previous  releases  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2020  album  "Parapsychedelic  Eye"which  was  released  by  Nailed  Nazarene  Industries.

  Gothic  horror  movie  style  keyboards  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  melodic  guitar  riffing  a  few  seconds  later.  The  solos  and  leads  also  bring  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  while  a great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  all  of  the  drum b eats  are  programmed.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  atmospheric  sounding  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Experimental  and  avant  garde  elements  can  also  be  heard  in  some  parts  of  the  music  along  with  some  clean  playing  also  being  added  into  some  parts  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  music  sticks  to  either  a  slow  or  mid  tempo  style,  stringed  instruments  can  also  be  heard  briefly.

  On  this  recording  Mountain  Hermit  takes  his  instrumental  style  of  atmospheric  black  metal  into  more  of  an  avant  garde  and  experimental direction  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mountain  Hermit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  experimental,  avant  garde,  instrumental  and  atmospheric  black  metal, you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hills" and  "A  Night  In  The  Early  90's".  8  out  of  10.

https://nailednazareneindustries.bandcamp.com/album/parapsychedelic-eye  

Mountain Hermit Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?


Mountain Hermit is a Black Metal project officially born in 2012, when I lived in Lazio  countryside, before moving to Rome. The project was born as a one-man band, a personal and intimate attempt to give birth and spit out my dark side, something that has characterized me since I was a child.


2.So far you have released 3 demo's and a collaboration, musically how do they differ from each other?


Every Mountain Hermit work embodies one of the facets composing my personality, that is why they are all different. When you will listen to the new work, "Parapsychedelic Eye" (out next July 29th July), a single episode of experimentation, outside the typical canons of black metal orthodoxy, you will realize how Mountain Hermit can be interpreted and plays in several different ways.


3.The project started out in 2012 but waited until 2019 to release any music, can you tell us a little bit more about the earlier days?


I actually have a longer musical history. I started to play the guitar when I was 12 but I started to listen metal when I was about only 10 years old! I played in a couple of underground bands in my hometown in Sicily, between mid 90's and early 2000's, but unfortunately we never released any recorded stuff. We played various lives but nothing more. After those years, for a long time I just played for myself and never published anything. In 2011 I started a solo project of atmospheric and experimental music, “Woods at Dusk” and in the meantime I started to play in a really natural way some black metal riff… I waited a couple of years more to release my music (both Woods at Dusk and Mountain Hermit saw the light in 2019). After the first release, with Mountain Hermit I started to feel the artistic need to play and release my music.


4.So far all of the music has been instrumental, are you open to using any vocals or lyrics in the future?


Yes, I actually do. After the collaboration with Vintermørke I decided I would like to partner with a singer, but I do not think I will get myself to writing lyrics in the very next future. However it is something I consider for the future.


5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Mountain Hermit'?


Mountain Hermit is my very deep essence, my soul.

The mountain is the place that I love with the woods acting as a temple and altar and representing the closest place to transcendence.

The Hermit is the priest who guides souls along this journey through music. To reach certain levels of gnosis and wisdom he passes through isolation and solitude and strict contact with nature, he feels very distant from the corrupted human nature and he is not strictly interested in human contacts.



6.With this project you record everything by yourself but have worked with other musicians in the past, how would you compare the two?


I compose every song that I play and I usually want total control on everything because I compose for all the instruments involved (in the past, lyrics and vocals too). In my opinion also mix and mastering are part of art creation so I chose to perform them myself.

With bands, in the past, I had the luck to work with good musicians so explaining and communicating certain concepts was easy, but when you are on your own it means that you undertake total control on everything. As I said, now I found a singer and I chose to leave him total artistic freedom and we merge our ideas.


7.Recently you have done a collaboration with 'Vintermørke', how would you compare your musical style to his?


Mountain Hermit and Vintermørke are totally different concepts of black metal but we discovered something great in our collaboration… we like playing together to combine the raw souls of both projects and the atmospheric and experimental side of Mountain Hermit. We both have issues with mankind so there are good common extra musical roots too.



8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of black metal?


Mountain Hermit is actually a pure underground project and it has been appreciated by a small niche of people from various parts of the globe. Generally, I received positive vibes and support but I also met fans of the black metal scene who do not appreciate my musical proposal.


9.Are you currently involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?


Yes, I am. My project “Woods at Dusk” is actually quite lively. I received a proposal by a label to release all the singles in an album.

Maybe I will start something new with this project in the next future.


10.When can we expect a full length and also where do you see yourself heading into musically during the future?


As I said, I am releasing a work called "Parapsychedelic Eye" in these days. It is over 40 minutes and composed by five songs. This will be the latest instrumental work of Mountain Hermit. Also the collaboration EP with Vintermørke is coming and after this there is a project for a split work with a black metal band from Asia.

I do not know the future of the project yet but I am sure about one thing: I am an artist and I still need to express myself by releasing a lot of music.


11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?


I have been and still am (despite the age) one of those kids crazy about heavy metal in all its forms (although I remain tied exclusively 80s and 90s metal) but I also listen to classical music, jazz, blues, punk/hardcore, psychedelic music, lots of ambient/drone music, industrial and much more.


12.According to the website page you also have an interest spiritual, mystic, dark, extreme, esoteric and paranormal related issues, can you tell us a little bit more about these interests?


As a child I started to develop an interest for paranormal and mystic/esoteric/spiritual topics but also for extreme and sick themes, like gore, serial killers and similar. I grew up reading with curiosity the books of authors like H. P. Lovecraft and about the most disparate things like parapsychology, demonology or black arts like goetia or necromancy ecc. ecc. In the mature age, I started to study also various religions, sacred texts and the esoteric paths behind them so I can say that my life is characterized by a contact between me and the metaphysical world and black metal is another personal instrument to communicate with it.


13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?


I would like to thank you once again for both the reviews of "Lucus" and "Gnostic Isolation", for this interview and for all the support that every day you give to the underground black metal scene, forgotten by the mainstream channels.

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Mountain Hermit/Gnostic Isolation/Nailed Nazarene Industries/2020 Demo Review

  This  is  a  review  of  another  recording  from  Italy's  Mountain Hermit  which  continues  the  atmospheric  style  of  black  metal  from  his  previous  release  and  the  demo  was  released  in  2020  by  Nailed  Nazarene  Industries  and  called  "Gnostic  Isolation".

  Tragic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  ep  while  also  adding  in  a  decent  amount  of  ambient  elements  while  also  using  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys.  When t he  music  speeds  up a   great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  be  heard  which  also  gives  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.

  The  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  All  of  the  drum  beats  are  also  programmed  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  music  also  having  its  atmospheric  moments.

  The  ambient  elements  also  mix  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  music  at  times  along  with  all  of  the  tracks  also  being  instrumentals  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  All  of  the  songs  sound  very  different  from  each  other  while  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and r aw.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Mountain  Hermit  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  instrumental  and  atmospheric  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  demo.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Hidden  Doors  in  The  Wood  (Pan)".  8  out  of  10.

https://nailednazareneindustries.bandcamp.com/album/gnostic-isolation

    

Mountain Hermit/Lucus/Nailed Nazarene Industries/2020 Demo Re-Issue Review

  Mountain  Hermit  are  a  solo  project  from Italy  that  plays  an  atmospheric  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2020  demo  "Lucus"  which  was  re-issued  in  2020  by  Nailed  Nazarene  Industries. 

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the  demo  while  also  adding  in  some  touches  of  dark  ambient  and  utilizing  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  they  also  mix  in  with the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  When  the  music  speeds  up    great  amount  of  blast  beats  can  be  heard.

  Melodies  are  also  added  into  the  guitar  riffing  while  all  of  the  drum beats  are  programmed  along  with  the  tremolo  picking  also  giving  the  songs  more  of  a  raw  feeling.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  as  well  as  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  raw  yet  melodic  style w hen  they  are  utilized,  all  of  the  tracks  are  also  instrumentals  and  the  songs  also  add  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Mountain  Hermit  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that is very  atmospheric  sounding  sounding  while  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  dark  ambient  elements  as  well  as  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw.

  In  my  opinion  Mountain  Hermit  are  a  very  great  sounding  atmospheric  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  re-issue.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Silent  Star".  8  out  of  10.

https://nailednazareneindustries.bandcamp.com/album/lucus-demo