Graven Dusk are a Canadian one-man project, courtesy of Yves Allaire aka Evil Lair. He’s also the guy involved with the Epic Doom-act Dark Covenant (with two former members of Malleus Maleficarum) and frontman of Nordicwinter (still active???), and formerly sole member of orchestral Black projects Strigoi Mort and Azkiria as well. The album this review deals with is the sole album under the Graven Dusk moniker till now.
Greece-based Dødsferd are the kind of band that did confuse me a while ago. I could appreciate the things they did in the past (cf. the early years), though I have never been that enormously enthusiastic; let’s not exaggerate. …until 2011. The band came up with Spitting With Hatred The Insignificance Of Life (once again via Moribund) and I was truly blown away! What a cult-album! Check out the Archive-tab, May 22nd 2011-update for the review.
As from the very beginning I am truly in love (oink?) with Germany’s Desaster. They debuted in 1996 with A Touch Of Medieval Darkness.
Despite their well-appreciated live reputation and a huge selling number, I for myself have never been such a big ‘fan’ of Germany’s Burden Of Grief. Don’t get me wrong, for I do not dislike any of the former releases they did (at least the ones I do know). But even the productional duties provided by top-meisters like Dan Swanö couldn’t guarantee fulfilment or satisfaction.
American quartet Ambient Death nowadays consists of Lucas Klepacki (vocals and guitars, lyrics and music, and artwork), bass player Aady Pandit (who took care of the production as well), John Orsi (guitars) and Jaimen Shinn (drums). Dismembering The Image Of God is their third studio effort and it lasts for about thirty seven minutes.
This year, Immortal Frost will release two splits with Sarkrista involved. In a couple of months (probably towards the end of 2014) there will be one with Forbidden Eye and Sacrificium Carmen, but first we have the mini-album with Unhuman Disease, one of the many projects by Nocturnus Dominus. That’s the same guy, by the way, who’s involved with Forbidden Eye (the band that will appear on the upcoming split I just mentioned).
This album is in the vein of the latest one, meaning no more (Black) metal anymore, yet another Ambient-laden recording; what was going on? Is our dear Count sentenced to prison once again, or didn’t he want to caress his guitar strings anymore? I do not know, I have no idea, but just like last year’s Sôl Austan, Mâni Vestan, The Ways Of Yore is rather comparable to albums like Daudi Baldrs or Hlidskjàlf- though there are differences for sure as well.
This release is a compilation of material written and composed by Ross ‘Korihor’ Major, who’s active in Murk Rider as well, and formerly in Folivore and the defunct Black-duo Lurid. MMXI - MMXII consists of five hymns, lasting in between seven and thirteen minutes. Most tracks are taken from hard-to-get splits (with the likes of Nattferd or Korium, a.o.
Distant Voices are a very young label from France, but for sure it is a special one. Premièrement it has to do with the musical direction, i.e. a mostly underground-oriented kind of grim, depressive, ambient, melancholic and / or atmospheric Black Metal. Je l’adore! But there are more labels that do so. What does distinct this label from any other is the time-intensive care the crew takes for each single release.
Odmetnik are a pretty young label from Beograd, Serbia, focused on Doom Metal especially, yet not of the poppy kind. The label, by the way, is run by Miloš Vojinović, aka Škoms, the guy behind the Serbian Doom-band Propoved. The fifth release on their roster is the debut-EP of Swedish act Acolytes Of Moros, which was formed in 2010 as side-project for Anguish and Inception, if I’m not mistaken.
