Tag: Atmospheric
A Devil’s Dozen – Blut Aus Nord
For Vindsval, Blut Aus Nord’s many modes are the point. “Our albums are built around the control of contrasts — darkness and light continually feed one another, and the band’s entire discography is shaped by …
Miserere Luminis – Sidera Review
[Cover art by Adam Burke] Sweeping, tactile strokes. Threads of light and iridescent color pervading an inky blackness. A sense of continual but ever-shifting movement, like water. You might think these descriptive passages were written …
An Abstract Illusion – The Sleeping City Review
[Cover art by Alex Eckman-Lawn] If you look at other pages and conversations about An Abstract Illusion, you’ll likely find that they are most often saddled with the progressive death metal genre tag. Surely, I’m …
Krigsgrav – Stormcaller Review
In 2023, Texas metal quartet Krigsgrav released an album that resonated with me more than any that year, clinching the top spot on my AOTY list. A beautifully sinister cacophony of melodic black and doom …
Aara – Eiger Review
Free Solo is the story of a death and doom-defying mountaineer. It scared the shit out of me in an instinctual way, like the thick cloak of night might in an unfamiliar forest. Ascending the …
Sear Bliss – Heavenly Down Review
You know Sear Bliss, right? They bring the brass with class. They make bliss like this [snaps fingers as a demonstration of extreme ease]. They’re just like that famous old pirate joke: “These Magyars are …
Borknagar – Fall Review
There is something beautiful about Borknagar’s career. In many ways, they’re a poster band for consistency. Their sound has evolved so much over the years that they probably lost a few second-wave-of-black-metal-die-hards. Still, for those …
Hulder – Verses In Oath Review
There is a strange comfort in seclusion. Indeed, you’re aware by now that I’m no psychologist. Hell, I’m barely at liberty to talk to you about the state of my psyche. But I remember routinely …