First this: since both projects involved on this collaborative album have been reviewed several times before by undersigned, I’m not going to give a full history / biography / discography on either Iran-based act Alphaxone nor Ukraine’s ProtoU. Let’s just say that both Mehdi Saleh and Sasha ‘Cats’ Puzan are not a stranger to the magnificent Cryo Chamber label, and this isn’t their first mutual effort either.
Our sympathetic friends from Immortal Frost Productions will organize a second edition of their air market. The first one left me broke, but that wroth and infuriated look on my wife’s face made it all up, haha. It’s dedicated to Black Metal especially, as well as related underground genres (Death / Speed / Thrash Metal, and some Folk and Ambient stuff); compact disc, vinyl, tape, DVD from their own label and loads of other material. Free entrance.
Address: Reynsberg 24, B-3290 Diest, Flanders, Belgium
I know, a fourth one got compiled and released in the meantime, yet then again: so what? Indeed, this third compilation deserves all additional promotion and support too, just like the first and the second, and hopefully the fifth up till the 667th one!
Hecate or Hekate was a goddess originating from the Anatolian region, also divinized by the ancient Greeks. She was a goddess of magic, witchcraft, natural medicine knowledge, birth, spiritualism, you know, an important entity for sorcery, necromancy, health and death. This mythological figure has been a huge source of inspiration for several religious and artistic trends, and she appears a lot within the darker currents of the musical spectrum too.
Well, you know, I do not mind -not ever- to listen to stuff that lacks of originality. I just have a few conditions: please do not act like a cheap copycat, please respect the scene (which does not mean that you cannot reinterpret narrow-minded borders, of course), and please convince me.
And that’s exactly what this German act does: playing uncompromising, no-nonsense Death / Thrash material in the vein of ‘the old school’ (whatever this might mean this time), yet without becoming some cheap ‘tribute’ band whatever.
Belgium in general (and Flanders more specific) might not be that ‘huge’ as, let’s say, Norway, the U.S., Poland, Sweden or Botswana when it comes to ‘true’ or ‘orthodox’ Black Metal. However, this country houses so many excellent acts for sure. That’s the case right now, as it was in the past. It would be a stupid thing to sum up all bands and projects that deserve to be mentioned, but as part of that (unlimited) list, Thronum Vrondor must be added for sure.
I do not have the intention to go way too deep into this release’s core, but still I will write down some ideas and thoughts on it, because of 1) the label behind it and 2) the material itself. Let’s start with the label. Dunkelheit Produktionen is a label that I do follow as from 1867 or so. Okay, that’s somehow exaggerated, but this label never disappointed me in the past.
Since I am such a great, and therefor popular, reviewer (don’t you dare to laugh), I focus on material that I get directly from a band / project or a label - after they did ask me, politely of course, whether I would be that kind to spend some time on listening to, and writing about, this or that specific recording. I am that sympathetic that I do invest my confined spare time on reviewing material that I do like, and which deserves my time and energy. Sort of…
As mentioned a 1,000 years of cryo-sleep before… Oops, I’m mistaken. I mean: as mentioned a 1,000 times before, Oregon-based label Cryo Chamber might be an institute, a standard, an authority when it comes to Ambient-based collaborations. With collaborations I do not mean ‘split’ releases, yet really two (or more) artists joining forces to create something new, something that withholds elements from all musicians involved, and focusing on a mutual goal to achieve.
Hailing from Rome, Italy’s capital city, Invernoir is quite a young band that includes current and former members of e.g. Ars Onirica and Black Therapy. As a quintet, they independently released a three-track EP in 2018 (actually three tracks and an outro, to be honest), aptly titled Mourn – a title that surely points the musical direction where we have to define this band. After a few line-up changes, the band decided to enter the studio in order to record their debut full-length.
