I know that this is quite a ‘late’ response (date of release: about eight months ago) and it will be a short review, but then again: whatever???!!! This chronicle does deal with a new piece by Funeral Tears, which is a project by Nikolay Seredov, whom you might know as well from e.g. Taiga or Stakhanovite (стахановец). It’s a single ‘song’ this time, being released more than four years after the former official effort, The Last God On The Earth.
Next year, in 2025, In Loving Memory will celebrate their 20th anniversary. Despite two decades of existence, however, they have never been the most productive act on our planet.
For many years, the scene from Quebec, Canada, is blooming and shining (un)bright.
[released on May 25th 2020, yet the scroll-down menu does not go back that far anymore...]
Recently I was listening to A Dark Shining Light again. It is almost exactly four years ago that this album got released. Since I did not write a review on this recording yet, but seen the fact that it is nothing but a masterwork, I will write down some of my ideas and thoughts about it.
I have to admit that I did not know the band Wardra. However, this act from Moscow did release a full-length in 2017, an EP in 2018 and a split with Logos (defunct in the meantime) in 2020. But it never came my way. Wardra was formed as a duo in 2016 and evolved throughout the years into a ‘real’ band (nowadays a quartet). Original member W (Vladimir Snegotsky) was part of the Aethyr line-up too, and collaborates with Majestat.
Location: Singapore
Members: Andi (the talking that accompanies the dead into the Lahad = lead vocals) / Khairil (the emptiness upon excavation of Kubur = all guitars) / Edi (the embedding of the Nisan = drums & percussions)
Formed: 1991-1993 / 1999-now
Recorded: at Studio 47 by Nizam Aziz
Artwork: Armaada Art (Andreas Christanetoff)
Format: jewel-box CD with twelve-page booklet & digital
Edition: 1,000 copies
Location: Ukraine
Members (sort of anonymous): M. (guitars) / J. (drums) / V. (bass) / A. (vocals, synths)
Mix / recording studio: Forest Den Studio
Artwork: Hellcatfairy Art (logo: Paint-It-Black Design)
Type: jewel-box with eight-page booklet
Edition: 500 copies
Duration: 37:29 minutes
Genre: Second Wave Black Metal
[another ‘older’ recording which this review will deal with, so I’ll keep it short; yet this material is worth being promoted anyway]
(released May 21st 2020, yet the scroll-down menu does not go back that far anymore…)
Country (for what it’s worth): Romania
Members: Alex Costin (bass guitars), Flaviu Roșca (synths & piano), Xander Coza (vocals, guitars, synths), Liviu Pop (guitars), Luca Breaz (drums & percussions), Cosmin Farcǎu (guitars), Florentin Popa (backing vocals & field-recordings)
Lyrics: Florentin Popa
Older release, shorter review (yet written with passion)
Country (for what it’s worth): Russian Federation
Members: WV (lead vocals, basses, guitars), Namiros (guitars), E.J.C. (drums, basses, backing vocals)
Music: WV & Namiros
Lyrics: WV
Mix & mastering: E.J.C.
Cover artwork: Taya Rostovtseva
Layout: Aleksey Korolyov
Design: WV
