Aug 5, 2020
0:25-6:23
GAEREA
(Portugal)
Null
— A stunningly produced Portugal
black metal album with crisp edges around each instrument, and even
though a lean to melodic, it remains icy and sharp.
7:24-12:04
HAAPOJA
(Finland)
Kulmapoimu
— Finnish black metal is lined with a
gravelly vocalist, pummeling pace and a mist of melancholy guitar
that creates space.
12:56-19:25
IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT
(NYC)
Transmission to Mercury
— My #1 album of 2018, they are
already back. Still sophisticated and avant garde, multidimensional
in concept and imagery. Stunning.
19:49-24:13
HIGH SPIRITS
(Chicago)
Midnight Sun
— Another jaunt for Chris Black,
speaking with the souls of 80’s rockers
24:49-32:03
DRAGHKAR
(CA)
At the Crossroads of
Infinity
— Groove and death with serpentine
heavy metal guitar solos and passages of black metal.
32:31-37:15
BULLETBELT
(NZ)
Impaler
— A blast of riff thrash with a
charismatic sharp edge of a vocalist even within the
ballads.
37:54-42:30
SPIRIT POSSESSION
(Portland)
Twin Tongued Pathways
— Ulthar bassist and vocalist is part
of this duo, creating a completely different sound. Distorted, raw
black metal with the energy of thrash that lends to groove, and
modern electronic.
42:55-46:12
SHEZMU
(CAN)
Ode À Hathor
— Shezmu is a mean death and black
mix often collapsing into slowed-down passages, but pummeling
outward to dense.
47:05-55:51
SEVENTH
(CAN)
Disheartened
— French-Canadian black metal is as
romantic as you expect: black metal sweetened with melody and
organic instrumentation.
56:09-END
RITES OF DAATH
(Poland)
Shrines of Seclusion
— Poland proves to be angry and
heated in a cavernous