Orcustus/Self Titled/Southern Lord Records/2009 CD REVIEW

  Orcustus are a band from Norway that consists of band members that have played in Gorgoroth, Enslaved, and Gehenna that plays a raw form of Satanic Norwegian black metal and this is a review of their 2009 self titled album which was released by Southern Lord Records.

Drums are mostly fast with a lot of blast beats being utilized, while the bass playing is really fast and primal which follows the riffs coming out of the guitars.

Rhythm guitars are very fast morbid and raw sounding fast black metal riffs with some mid paced riffing and some parts that are very thrash influenced and there are no lead guitars or solos on this album.

Vocals are all high pitched black metal screams with some deep growls on one song, while the lyrics are about hatred for the world with an Anti Christian as well as a theistic form of Satanism message being presented and there are some spoken word samples used on a few songs, as for the production which was recorded and produced at Misantrof Studios with the vocals being recorded at Slimecave Studios during the years of 2007 and 2008 sound very professional but retains the raw black metal feel.

In my opinion this is a very good album and while it is not very original it is still very heavy, raw and well played by a bunch of veterans that have been apart of the black metal scene for almost 20 years, if you are a fan of raw Satanic Anti Christian Norwegian black metal you will not be disappointed.

RECOMMENDED BUY

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Wolves In The Throne Room/Black Cascade/Southern Lord Records/2009 CD REVIEW

 Wolves In The Throne Room are a band from Olympia, Washington that plays a brand of eco-fascist black metal with some ambient influences and this is a review of their 2009 album "Black Cascade" which was released by Southern Lord Records during the year of 2009.

Drums are mostly fast with alot of fast blast beats and some ocassional slow parts while the synths when they are utilized give the music a very dark ambient feel, as for the bass playing it follows the riffs coming out of the guitars and is all rythym bass.

Rythym guitars use alot of variety with some slow atmospheric riffs that have some doom metal influences that are very depressing sounding mixed with alot of fast primal black metal riffing while the lead guitars when they are used are very melodic and there is not much in the way of guitar solos, acoustic guitars when they are used use alot of full chords and give the music a very dark and depressive atmosphere.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams, while the lyrics touch on the teachings of Rudolf Steiner and one of the songs is based on his novel "Lucifer And Ahriman" mixed with some nature orientated shamanism/occultism that carries an extreme left wing message. as for the production of the album which was recorded at London Bridge Studio during November of 2008 with some additional recording at Aleph Studios sounds professional but still raw in a raw black metal way.

In my opinion this is a really good album and prove's why Wolves In THe Throne Room are one of the leading bands in the United States Black Metal, if you are a fan of their prevoius albums you should enjoy this one as well, also check out their live hhows, I have seen them play a couple of times and they have one of the best live performances I have seen for a black metal band.

Standout tracks include "Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog" and "Ahrimanic Trance". RECOMMENDED BUY

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Old Wainds/Death Nord Kult/Moribund Records/Debemur Morti Productions/2009 CD REVIEW

  Old Wainds are a band from Russia that plays a raw style of nature orientated black metal and this is a review of their 2009 album "Death Nord Kult" which was released by Moribund Records under exclusive pact with Debemur Morti Productions.

Drums utilize a lot of mid paced beats that are influenced by thrash metal with some brutal blast beats, while the synths when they are used sound very dark and it is only used as a sound effect instead of being a dominant instrument, as for the bass playing it follows the riffs coming out of the guitars and it is all rhythm bass.

Rhythm guitars use a mixture of thrash influenced riffs mixed with some mid paced parts as well as some fast, raw and primal black metal riffing and there are no lead guitars or solos being utilized on this recording.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with a few seconds of clean singing, while the lyrics are about death orientated subjects with some nature themes as well as a touch of Slavic Paganism, as for the production which was recorded during the months of July through October 2007 at Leo Fucking and The End Studios, mixed during the months of February through May 2008 sounds very professional but retains the raw feel that is needed for this style of black metal.

In my personal opinion this is a decent album from a great band and while it is probably not the most original album that I have heard it is still a good album and I am looking forward to hearing more stuff from this band in the future, If you are a fan of thrash orientated raw black metal this is a worthwhile album to add to your collection.

Standout tracks include "Storm-Whip" and "Born In The Freezing Dark". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Archgoat/The Light-Devouring Darkness/Moribund Records/Blasphemous Underground Productions/2009 CD REVIEW

  Archgoat are a legendary black metal band from Finland that has been around since 1989 and helped create or pioneer a style of blackened death metal known as Goat Metal and this is a review of their 2009 album "The Light-Devouring Darkness which was released by Moribund Records under exclusive pact with Blasphemous Underground Productions.

Drums are very brutal with slow slow beats that turn into some very brutal blast beats while the bass playing follows the riffs of the guitars and is mixed down low in the mix.

Guitars contain some very fast primal black metal riffs mixed with some slow heavy stuff that has a heavy death metal influence and there are no lead guitars contained on this recording.

Vocals are mostly deep growls with some Satanic chanting mixed in, while the lyrics cover a very dark form of Satanism with Luciferian overtones that also have a lot of blasphemy and Anti Christian topics as well, as for the production it is very raw and primal which I am sure that is what the band wanted.

In my opinion this is a very good album that sounds as good as the stuff they did in the 90's but with a lot more heaviness, if you are a fan of Archgoat and all the other true Satanic black metal bands from the 90's.

Standout tracks include "Apotheosis Of Lucifer" "Goat and The Moon" "The Light-Devouring Darkness" and "Fornicated Messiah". RECOMMENDED BUY

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Spiculum Iratus/Summa Anti Theologica/Baneful Genesis Records/2009 CD REVIEW

Spiculum Iratus are an underground black metal band from Los Angeles, California and this is a review of their 2009 album "Summa Anti-Theologica which was released by Baneful Genesis Records.

Drums are mostly fast with a lot of brutal blast beats being utilized, while the bass playing has a dark tone that utilizes a lot of fast riffing, as for the intros in between the songs they are very evil sounding and has a very anti Xian as well as Catholic feel with some Satanic type chanting

Rhythm guitars are very fast,raw, melodic and primal black metal riffs with a grim and depressive feel with little or no lead guitars being used, while the vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams with some deep growls being mixed in as well.

Lyrics contain a lot of hate that contain a religious black metal feel with a very anti  Catholicism/Christian message, while the production sounds very raw and primal in the classic black metal vein, as for the cover work it is very dark and occultic.

In my opinion this is a very good from from an underground U.S black metal band and I am looking forward to hearing some newer material, they also  put on a brutal stage performance which I witnessed last summer.

Standout tracks include "Orations Recited From The Mouths of The Jawless" "Dismantle Of The Sensus Divinitatus" and "Expurgated Omnopotence". RECOMMENDED BUY.

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Kult Of Azazel/Destroying The Sacred/Artic Music Group/2009 CD REVIEW

  Kult Of Azazel are a band from Florida that has been around for more than a decade and are one of the best known U.S black metal bands and this is a a review of their 2009 album "Destroying The Sacred" which was released on Artic Music Group.

Drums are mostly fast with a lot of blast beats that sound very brutal while the bass guitar follows the riffs coming from the guitars   with on bass leads being utilized and is mixed down low in the mix except for the last song which is a cover of some old 80's hardcore punk song.

Rhythm guitars are very fast mixing some of the fastest elements of black metal with some death metal and thrash influences that has some melody being utilized, while the lead guitars are fast and you can hear a lot of influences from all of the fastest forms of metal.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams mixed in with some deep death metal growls, while the lyrics are very anti Christian, Jewish, Muslim as well as hatred for other forms of Abrahamic religions mixed in with some Satanic topics, as for the production which was recorded at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and Produced by Brian Elliott and Kult Of Azazel sounds very professional and you can hear all of the musical instruments.

In my opinion this is probably not the best album this band has not put out since it adds nothing new to the table but it is still a good album and fans of fast and brutal black metal with a death metal edge wont be disappointed.

Standout tracks include "Nocturnal Blasphemy" "Destroying The Hatred" "Ancient Evil" and "Angel OF Fatal Winds". RECOMMENDED BUY

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Throne Of Katarsis/Helvete Det Iskalde Moket/Candlelight USA/2009 CD Review

Throne Of Katarsis are a band from Norway that consists of 2 members that play a raw form of Norwegian black metal and this is a review of their 2009 album "Helvete Det Det Iskalde Morket" which was released by Candlelight USA.

Drums range from being slow to mid paced with some brutal blast beats mixed in the give the music some variety, while the bass playing utilizes a very dark tone and is all rhythm bass, as for the sound effects when they are utilized sound very evil and give the music a dark avant garde feel.

Rhythm guitars are very raw with some slower riffs mixed with a depressive doomy edge that evoke some memories of being stuck in a forest at night with some fast playing that utilizes a lot of tremolo picking but there still is a lot of mid paced parts as well, while the lead guitars are very distorted and melodic, acoustic guitars when they are used utilize a lot of finger picking mixed with full chords and there is some use of a classical guitar as well.

Vocals are mostly high pitched black metal screams mixed with with an occasional deep growl which contains a lot of agony with some clean singing that sounds very dark and sinister and brings back memories of the early 90's Norwegian black metal scene mixed in with some choir type of vocals, while the lyrics are written in a mixture of Norwegian and English languages cover a lot of topics mostly being of a very ritualistic form of Satanism along with some nature as well as some very Anti Christian themes, as for the production it sounds very professional and you can hear all of the musical instruments.

In my opinion this is a very good album and while I prefer their earlier album to this one, I still feel this is a masterpiece in its own way, if you are a fan of raw Norwegian black metal you will not be disappointed.

Standout tracks include "The Winds of Blasphemy Have Returned" "The Darkest Path" and "DET Iskalde Morkrt". RECOMMENDED BUY

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