Mortiis : "Ghosts of Europa"

 Havard has been taking notes from Ulver in regards to the more synth wave direction he is heading in. Not what you expect from someone dressed up like a goblin. Its not like anyone is still bitter about the fact he is no longer making black metal as that ship sailed decades ago. The transition to this makes sense even with the vocoder autotuning the vocals. It was not that long ago he was making darkwave, and doing a pretty decent job of it, I felt like the goth scene was a good fit for him. So the electronic thing is not the problem , what is a marginal issue is it's not that dark, though thick on the atmosphere.

Maybe he wants to start making soundtracks for A24 movies , as that is the vibe we are getting from "Return to the Old Fields" The song takes more form in the final minutes but drifts more often than not. "The Faith That Fades Away"  has a sparse ritualistic beat , and the layers of vocals are pretty cool, it does finds things moving in a somewhat more brooding direction which I approve of but could use more of a bass line to give it a backbone. If it was not for the vocal arrangements it would fall on the side of being more focused on a sound than songwriting. 

There is more of a solid groove to "Violent Silence". The vocals are more androgynous than what you expect from this project, making me think of the Pet Shop Boys. I like the future pop leanings that flow through the song. "Transcending Morpheus" is atmospheric in almost a more Dead Can Dance direction. There is a little dynamic ebb and flow but not enough to hook you in .Not even the robotic vocals can make it more potent. Four and a half minutes in there is more of a groove, but it can't gain momentum by then    

It's odd that a song called "Tundra Heart of Hell" would sound like old Depeche Mode.  There is more of a 90s new age feel to "Tribes of Dystopia" but the vocals anchors it. The last song works well enough , it's a little darker vocally. He puts more guts into his delivery to create more dynamics. I will give this album a 9, once I warmed up to and got use to the change it grew on me. It comes out June 26th thanks to Prophecy Productions. 

pst211

HEXVESSEL : "Nocturne"

Seven albums into their legacy, this Finnish band continues to ebb and flow with both neo-folk and black metal in their veins. In some way, this picks up where "Polar Veil" left off; in other ways, it expands upon it, with more layered voices that sound like the hippie choir persona of their folk era, now haunting this album, and finds a more balanced blend of those melodic folk textures. So if you are a fan of both the folk and black period, then this album is for you. What I like about it is how it darkness the hippy tendencies. I mean, my favorite hippy is Charles Manson, so I want it pretty dark. 

I don't remember harsh vocals on the last album, though they might have surfaced sparsely toward the end. I think the balance of vocal styles here works really well. There is a more Burzum feel to the cold riff that opens "Inward Landscapes". The vocals sit further back in the mix, with the guitars very forward.  This song is also broken up with a more drastic shift into folk guitar. When the electric guitar returns, there are a few layers with some of which have a more ghostly reverb.  The graceful vocal melody balances out the old-school black guitar on " Dark Graceful Wilderness". Synths also swirl around to create a deeper level of ambiance. 

The first time the vocals do not settle over the more jarring guitar in a flowing manner is on "Masked Spirit Wolf". It's a more belted vocal than what we are used to hearing from him. The darker, more deliberate chug to "Nights Tender Reckoning' feels like a metal version of Grave Pleasures, which  I am always up for. Things get pretty grim for "Mother Destroyer" but still work well. "Concealed Descent" is more of a folk interlude. The syncopated stomp of "Unworld" is one of the album's strongest moments. The last song finds his sung vocals trading off with screamed vocals, which align with black metal more expectedly. I want the unexpected. Still the strongest moments of this album feel more dynamic than the previous album so I will round this up to a 10.Dropping June 13th on Prophecy Productions.

pst226

Kall : "Brand"

I used to love Lifelover, so when I heard they were kind of back together in this band , it made me happy., This album is more of a blatant black metal direction compared to the first one. There is more of a gallop than blast beats, which is fine with me. There is a more of a modern Darkthrone feel to this than anything that depressive. Things get darker on the second song. More emotive. Perhaps not outright depressing, but tormented for sure. Sax is the odd unsung instrument. It is interesting how much of a prescence it has in black metal over the past few years. There is more of a rock n roll feel to the wonderfully written groove of "Eld" . It is both melodic and dynamic. Not the most black metal moment of the album in fact it is more indie rock like Hum than anything. That is except for the angry scowl of the vocals.

"Fukta din  Aska"  or "Moisten your ashes" has a great deal of metallic kick going into it then allows it's self to drift off into a dark place. I would be all about it except for the fact the song is over 17 minutes which is excessive. What goes down is sprawling and beautiful. Not something you can listen to on the way to the store. Is there fat that could be trimmed from this song? Yes. The sax solo is cool , but some of this could have been edited down and then they could jam out as they see fit on stage. They go full on blast beat by the end, though it does not end up sounding like everything else. For all my criticism of blast beats they can be effective when used sparingly. There is a whole jammy section that while it has impressive guitar playing and is pulled together nicely, is more than I am going to listen to on a regular basis. The song after this one is almost 13 minutes and leads in with another jammy section. Once again great guitar playing that makes it more forgivable. Almost five minutes in before the vocals commit to anything more than a sparse scream. The musical scope of what they are kicking up sonically impresses me. It explodes with more of a rock n roll drive.

The drop things back into a darker creeping groove for the last song "Fall" . It's eight and a half minutes long ,which at this point in the album doesn't seem like very long. At the two minute mark it kicks in with the distortion. The sax comes in over a big sludgey riff that they jam out on . I will round this down to a 9.5 ,because it is not a perfect album due to some of the jammy bloat. It might not be perfect, but is it still pretty fucking awesome with the massive sounds they bring to the table here and the places this album takes you are pretty epic as well. Out on Prophecy.

Eye of Nix : " Ligeia"

This album goes in two different directions. These are not unforseen. One is darker the other more metallic. Sometimes both happen in the same song. They balance the two out pretty well on the first song. It is a more atmospheric take on similar sonic ground that has been covered by Atriarch. The difference here is the wider range of Joy Von Spain. The second song is more of a straight forward hammering metal affair. It is well done , but they have already shown us they are capable of more. She comes in with her more operatic approach, which reminds me of when Celtic Frost would use similar vocals. "Tempest" finds them back in black. The soprano vocals of Von Spain providing a counter balance. This is my third listen to this album and so far this song has grown on me the most. They are conforming more to what a mainstream black metal audience might expect from them. It could be a worse path they chose.

"Stranded" is dark ,but as a composition makes some odd choices. The more explosive aspects of it are rowdier and more crusty than what I expect from these guys. The title track leans toward black metal , but is dark and melodic enough in the sonic sense to balance things. Then things go back to a darker place with the atmosphere to "Adrift". I think this softer approach to Spain's singing is a better use of her voice than the more grandiose vibrato employed on her more soaring moments. It is a hypnotic dreamy song, but not one that grabs you and makes you want to listen to it again if it were to pop up on shuffle mode. It is a seven and a half minute long song of this kind of ethereal wandering. Is this album well recorded ? Yes. The vocals sound great, when they are not belted with the bombastic Wagner like gusto.

"Stone & Fury"  is like the first song in that it balances out the darker more melancholy melodic moments that carry the tension of a coming storm with their metallic side. By metal here it is almost an old school 80s metal flair, if we are thinking of bands like Celtic Frost of Sodom. Her vocals once again tug this back into a more unique direction. She is resonant here with out going too sky high. It is a nine nd half minute song so there is plenty of room for it to go places.  After a few listens I decided this is out of all the genres they touch upon mainly a black metal album. I will give it an 8.5.  It is a worthwhile listen and solid next chapter, though not their best album to date. With that said it is still better than most of the black metal you are going to hear these days. Out on Prophecy Records.

Secrets of the Moon : " Black House"

It have have been since 2012 that I gave these guys a listen. How things have changed. I am fine with them being a goth band I just hope they have not forsaken their metal side altogether. They have not had the German stiffness to their sound, though it would make more sense for them to go in an industrial direction than the more romantically layered guitars. By end of the first song the vocals do get more aggressive. It might be way more accessible , but I do like the vocals that lead into "Don't Look Now". The ghostly vocals layers in the background are cool. It is almost like these guys are a different band altogether. While I appreciate what they are doing, they might as well just changed their name. Jarboe joined them on these sessions , so that gets points in my book.

They are more straight up jangling rock in roll, with "Veronica's Room" . I obviously missed the album that bridged this transition, but I despite what most might think, I do not want every band to turn into a goth band. If you were metal, please do be dark, but be a metal band.  Guitar solos do not make you a metal band. They thrown some in like it should be a reminder of who they were. The hammer on like a metal player would though. Their bass player remembers they were a metal band, this can be felt on " He is Here". The vocals take on a more Mike Patton like bellow to them. "Cotard" leans more in a metal direction. There is a touch of 90s rock to the title track. This makes it harder than the more Mission UK feel of the previous songs, but not metal. It's still a well written song.

There was some debate on a site that I write for if saying a band's sound is maturing is wanting them to become more mainstream. I do not listen to the radio. Yes I do listen to pop music, but I seek that out without help from mainstream media, so I have no horse in the race. I have been listening to metal for 35 years . What might be called goth for 30. As long as the Cure doesn't try to make a metal album I am fine. I think we all learned our lesson when Morbid Angel tried to sound like KMFDM. I was never a huge fan of these guys. When it came to metal, they were pretty much middle of the road black metal to begin with so it is no great loss to the state of metal that these guys have crossed over into another genre. I am glad they give more of an edge to "Heart". I am ok without blast beats. Yet even this song could use a little more balls. By the time we got to the last song 'Earth Hour" it feels they had begun to run of of gas in the song writing tank. As the album progressed it retained the cool sound, but the songs had less to them. I will give this one an 8.5.

the November Doom of November's Doom : "Nephilim Grove'

This ironically is going to be the only death doom band I cover this month, well because of their name. This is the same line up that has been enact for the past  9 years.  The first song finds the  clean vocals are more prominent, even the rougher ones are in a throaty sung growl rather than total cookie monster. The cookie monster vocals are not far behind as they kick in for the second song. There are melancholic shades, but the first two songs are more uptempo and rooted closer to death . It is not until title track that things darken into a more morose direction. Then it is doom in the same way Katatonia roughly is. The sung vocals remind me more of how Enslaved uses sung vocals. They are not soulful but more of a crooned despondency.

I do like the mellower shades of gray the work in on " What We Become", this finds all of their more typical tropes working with flowing precision.  They hit the chords with authority and the melody fits perfectly. I need more of this and less meandering. It is this part of the album where we here their more traditional doom sound. The growls return on "Adagio" . The chorus to this song works as it is heart felt. In these moments they remind me of My Dying Bride" .  "Black Light' finds them returning to more of a eath metal feel, but the morose vocals still linger. They return to the melodic gloom that beats their death metal on " the Clearing Blind". It has both groove and melody.  "Still Wrath" is pretty heavy and look more towards their death metal direction. As a song it is pretty straight forward.

The drumming on this album is excellent. I also the reason they go in more of a death metal direction at time, if it was less bombastic and more plodding this album would have more of a doom sound. This can also be heard in "the Obelus " .  Which is another uptempo song with more of a  death metal feel. I will give this a 9 as there are some where catchy songs that grow on you, even though this is almost  too well produced in terms of guitar tones for my taste.

Silence in the Snow : " Levitation Chamber"

When reviewing post -punk the first thing I ask of the the band is what are you doing  that is not Joy Division or Siouxise. The vocals are going to be the challenge as they are on the Siouxsie side  More so on the up tempo songs like the second one , though there it is offset by the pummel of tribal drums. The synths create a some what uniform sound at times. There is a simple drone to verse of "Crystal Spear" , the chorus to this song is really cool and paves the way for me to not mind the Siouxsie thing. The drumming is consistently great like the flourish of double bass on "Garden of Echoes" it gives the song a little more heft than your typical post-punk that leans into disco beats.  I fell like the mix while crisp could have the guitars pushed further up and the vocals might fare better sitting back against the guitar. This works really well of Gold's new album.

"In the Dark" does have the guitar changing it up a little and providing some cool moments, the synth also breaks away from the normal drone. This album is not the darkest post-punk I have heard. The mood is sullen and introspective for sure. It feels like a deep blue rather than pitch black.  Though "Cruel Ends " is marginally darker than the other songs up to this point. It feels like storm building in the distance. The synth sounds help contribute to "Dread The Low' which is clearly a song about depression with the lyrics 'happy in my heart / I don't understand / the waves come crashing in". This might be the album's best song.
 
I get that the Siouxsie thing might be a key selling point for some. For me it's how it works against that and their attempts to be their own person I find more impressive. I will give this album an 8.5. I think it's a good thing the post- punk revial has died down and I am not getting a huge deluge of this kind of thing. Granted some of it like this band have gone more underground, so I am not getting worn out by it like I am getting worn out by the whole death doom thing this year. Anyways if you want atmospheric post-punk with great drumming look this kids up.

Nachymystium : " Resilient"

I stand by the fact I don't want to hear music by anyone who is not in some kind of struggle or pain. I have written reviews before where I have said "these guys would be better if they got out and did some drugs and lived a little" . Blake Judd has them covered when it comes to that. It seeps out of every pore of every note. I also will stand by the fact that these guys are one of my favorite black metal projects. They are not all blast beats. In fact it's just a dark tortured pulse. Very similar to depressive suicidal black metal, though Judd is just not being melodramatic about it and has tried to kill himself in other ways than the most obvious , which I think is also a metaphor for his music. The first song finds more melodic and melancholy elements creep in as it progresses.

The band's first album for Prophecy Productions finds a Lyrical shift as there is a darkly romantic theme to  the beginning of "Sliver Lanterns"  then it goes back into the more familiar subjects of emptiness, silence, darkness, sorrow and addiction.  Musically  this song is more aggressive than the opener working off of more of a gallop. The vocal remain in a scathing mid range rasp. They slow to let the guitar tone clean up a little and shift into a more melodic passage. There is a sample of a spoken narrative about a trip in an ambulance after an over dose. When the song builds into it's nastier blast section it still works rather than being a sloppy cop out.

Then things enter a more wandering landscape of psychedelic sound with "Desert Illumination". I sat on this review for about a week because it had not clicked in my head enough for it to come together in my mind to put into words. I can now here it has more of a Black Sabbath groove and when I say that I mean their more experimental moments, so think "Sabotage". The vocals are spoken and screamed. I'll give this album a 9.5, it might not be as perfect as some of their previous releases, but pretty fucking close and better than most black metal acts have mustered since it is not at all redundant.