Metalhead Spotted

Album Review :~ Nexion - Seven Oracles

When someone tells you about Icelandic black metal at first a scenario will click automatically in your imaginary that now you are going to spin some abyssal, cavernous, furious, orthodox black metal hailing from the land of the midnight sun with blurry, cold, wintery weather. That surpasses the usual stereotypes and presents something enjoyable, chaotic and decidedly well-presented. While some excellent band attempting to sell their flavor of the month band to potential listeners, some simply exist outside of pre-existing molds. Some challengers exist, such as Nexion. The geographical shift in the propagation of black metal has changed drastically over the past three decades. Iceland is currently spewing forth the most interesting blackened acts. Casting darkness and death upon us Icelandic black/death metal horde Nexion found that their views on Black Metal, the Occult, and the origins were perfectly in synchronizing and prove that they are the insane, evil black metal fury in their released works. They burning with eternal delight, in the darkest reaches of the concrete garden. This not only sounds like traditional black metal but also forges through the unknown in cultivating a distinct sound that will continue to place them as one of the prominent black metal bands for decades to come.

After a long year of slumber finally, they have unleashed their debut studio effort "Seven Oracles". Latest grimoire is the culmination of them where they played fast, grimy and primitive black/death metal consists of pummeling drums, atonal melodies. "Seven Oracles" released via Avantgarde Music with 46:32 min running time along with an aptitude for dark atmospheres with intense and uncompromising sound as ever. Their new opus whole compositions are an extremely filthy and unsettling piece of sinister euphoria and unearthly ambiance, astounding, critical acclaimed, claustrophobic misery, enigmatic melodies and the right amount of brutality. The rawness of it makes it ideal for the nostalgic, Bringing back the past days when Black Metal was intended to be unsettling and highly creepy. When I was spinning their latest studio effort for the first time I was overwhelmed, invaded my ears and this album sounds so authentic, mature and truly epic. This is triumphant sophisticated, spine-chilling black metal. Nexion banishes all our doubts regarding the genre describing the music of "Seven Oracles" and putting particular emphasis on the first word and rekindle my endless love for black metal. I cherish all band members unsurpassed quality, ability and skill along with tremendous effort radiantly portrayed in this album with excellent diligence and nailed it. After a multiple listen their debut studio effort infused me with their unabating, powerful, overarching, chromatic, multi-layered,ultra-dense, monolithic black metal musical style laced with a grimness which the cold icy following riffs just blew me away. Their musical style has a hypnotic effect but at the same time, the vocals and other parts of the riffing are straight forward furious simultaneously.

This whole album reflects the grand diversity of sound brought together on this album. Black Metal with unconventional influences enjoys indeed tend quite popular. It has the familiar uniqueness yet flow of a black metal record that was common back when the second wave began. A natural synthesis of dissonant sounds and disparate styles all combined in one bold, enlightened display of unbound creativity. It’s devoted to death the way black metal ought to be. Their bizarre, cavernous croak sounds sound simply magical. More a die hard-friendly reaffirmation of potency than a plea for renewed recognition, this is convincing evidence that the grim magic has faded not. Their concoction of black metal is more sprawling, adventurous, twisted into more madness, variation and dissonant. This is so damned unrelentingly heavy with such a dose of morbidity and grimness. Overall shattering and memorable enough to stave off the banalities of the other albums tunes with its lurching, grooving riff patterns and linear, raspy, chaotic black metal vocal lines. This is encompassed by an atmosphere steeped in evil and menace as well as enhance and accentuate the pervading evil atmosphere. It’s tumultuous, furious and rather unrelenting."Seven Oracles" fueled by an immediately magnetic riff and an equally gripping, bubbling bass line, the song is vibrant and fiery. The kind of music that swells the heart even as it rips with fury and speaking of fury, the song eventually ignites in a conflagration of seething riffs and blasting percussion, only then to segue into yet further bounding and barbarous variations, becoming even more dark and predatory by the end.

"Seven Oracles" opens with sonic assailment, the obtuse, grotesque sound followed by an onslaught of a tremulous, dark eerie, savage, dense swarm of pestilential riffing and a wall of blast beating, spectacular, jolting thunder of attacking drums laced with aggression, deliberate cadence that immediately set the mood then blaze into the darkness with virulent strength and fury and easily the song throws open the gates to black chaos. There’s true savagery in vocals growls, and there’s also a morphing of the sensations conveyed by the music as the song progresses, with the seething riffs reaching heights of incendiary ecstasy and the melody turning from ominous to elevating and inspirational. Their musical representation evolves into souls wandering the vicious, crushing and ominous wasteland. This whole album gives you pitch-black feel from beginning to the end with blasphemous lyrics and I warn you this is a gloomy journey.

This album is filled with a slew of cadence, apocalyptic, squalid, ominous, filthy, crawling, powerful riffs work. In each track, breathtaking, morbidly delicious, scalding, macabre, soaring riffs, bass lineups matched in a good manner with hellish, devilish chords are rightly used as an additional uncanny harmonic layer. This whole albums sound deliver a dissonant, grim feeling, sinister, gruesome, ghastly black metal with pure raw energy. A massive piece of musical brutality and so damn immersive and evil. “Seven Oracles” endures beauty of black metal. This album indulges strong songwriting and brilliant musicianship. Vocals howling scream, hoarse, inhuman, deep rasps, deep lung-burning roars, immense, a large voice emerged on this album in a good manner and intertwined perfectly with their utterly spellbinding, obtuse, bizarrely arrogant, mysterious, fully blistering, grandiose black metal and embedded perfectly. The vocals ranging dynamically through savage growls make this album even more intense. Overall you will get sinister, gloomy, desolate, mysterious ambient from this whole album.

Each song has energy and fluency. Stand out tracks are all of them. Album artwork is atrocious, grisly, indelible. The production gives the music a powerful clarity, the blood-rushing atmosphere, drum propulsion and vibrant guitar and bass performance producing a non-stop surge of adrenaline. The rocketing rhythmic drive subsides past the mid-point before Nexion return to the grim ferocity and tumultuous explosiveness of the song’s main course, with the vocals reaching a crescendo of barbarity just before this expression of fury comes to an end. Overall “Seven Oracles” whole album Perfectly balancing dark eerie atmospheres with ravaging Black Metal. This album is Spectacular,engrossing, significant, rich that oozes rawness. Nexion manages to catch that atmosphere of Katharsis and the likes of that. This album sounds so authentic and a truly remarkable sonic journey from beginning to end. Indeed this album is such a true gem. This is highly recommended to add it in your collection. Nexion strip back the black metal aesthetic and explore new avenues. If you are looking for something different, epic this pure unadulterated black metal album is perfect. "Seven Oracles" is a persistent attraction towards the void of existence. Nexion alive and once you dig in it's impossible to escape. Such excellence that revisits a piece of art that defined a genre and which reminds us time and time again that black metal is Krieg. In one record the listener is exposed to all the power, glory and contradictions inherent in this black metal thus making it a fascinating artifact from the dark past, and an essential piece of black metal listening.

My Rating:

Reviewer: Souvik Basu. Published on 28/06/2020

Underrated: The exquisite 90s death metal of France’s Sthygma

This post highlights the obscure 90s death metal band Sthygma from France. I’ve pulled out their two releases from my personal collection, and I hope to convince you to check them out. I absolutely love this band, and I think it’s a shame that they vanished into obscurity before reaching worldwide appeal. France has never been known as a hotspot for death metal, which likely worked against the band in the global market. In attempting to research the band, the only interview I even found was within a French fanzine that the original publisher didn’t even have a personal copy of, so my information about the band remains lacking. The information on metal archives also indicates that each member of Sthygma seemingly fell into oblivion after the band ceased, as none of the members are listed as having been in any other bands. All mystery aside, let’s get right into what we do know:

Sthygma formed in 1993, and they put out two releases before breaking up sometime in the early 2000s. Both releases are part of a single loose conceptual arc based on their album titles, however, there is not a consistent narrative across the lyrics. The first release was the 1995 EP titled Act 1: Sthygma. The second release was a full-length album released in 1997 under the name Act 2: Khalimäa, although calling it a full-length might be somewhat generous, since the final bonus track is the entirety of their debut EP combined into a single track. The band was a three-piece act that maintained the same lineup for both releases. That lineup was Quentin Moreira (drums), Arnaud Hattat (guitars), and Dave Morel (vocals & bass). Dave Morel was the main songwriter and lyricist, and he was also responsible for the band’s artwork and logo. He also provided album artwork for Dementia’s 1998 album Answer, which was another death metal band out of France.

There are many bands that have been lost to the sands of time, but why Sthygma should be brought up from the depths is because of all of the qualities that made them unique, innovative, and experimentally different. Musically, they could be compared to dissonant-era Gorguts, however, Sthygma’s music was not drenched in dissonance, and it included more movements. They interweaved something akin to the avant-garde nature of Gorguts alongside sometimes atonal playing and moments of profound beauty, but without ever losing sight of the intensity and brutality of death metal. Sthygma’s music sounds just as fresh now as it did in the 90s, which is as telling as any description about how timeless their music is.

The music wasn’t the only thing that stood apart from other 90s death metal acts as they also had a novel album aesthetic and thoughtful lyrical themes. Both album covers used bold colors – the EP drenched in green, and the LP in yellow. Instead of the gory works of their contemporaries, their album covers were sensual and almost psychedelic depictions of elongated human-esque bodies. On Sthygma a woman’s torso is seen melting into the background that is conjoined with another feminine figure with a more masculine figure between them. On Khalimäa a similar woman is depicted towering over a second woman. Further hints about the depictions can be drawn from the album titles, and although I cannot say with absolutely certainty that these translations are correct, I believe that they’re both references to Hindu mythos. Khalimäa is likely referring to Kali Ma (with ‘Ma’ meaning ‘mother’), who is often considered to be the kindest and most loving of all the Hindu goddesses. Kali is traditionally depicted with four arms, and as we can see on the cover of Khalimäa, the knife-wielding woman has four arms. There are also some unorthodox qualities to this image too, which could indicate a differing interpretation, as Kali is depicted with hooves on the album cover, so it’s difficult to know more about the image and what it means without being able to track down the band.

The lyrics are largely poetic and introspective. All of the lyrics are written from the first-person perspective on the first release, and are more varied, often told in third person, on the second. The lyrical content varies, with some depicting mythological stories, with ‘(Let You) Hear Out the Mermaids’ being a tale of being tempted by a mermaid, ultimately resulting in the protagonist’s death. As another example, the song ‘Inner Peace’ is about struggling with mental illness. The lyrics are largely abstract, with the aforementioned examples being somewhat more straight-forward.

If you needed yet another bizarre facet about this band, they released their Sthygma EP on a three inch CD – a practice that was just as uncommon then as it is now. Although Act 1 is difficult to obtain having been released through a now-defunct label, Act II is still cheap and pretty easy to track down. Note that Act II was released through Kaly Productions, which is another label that is now defunct, so if you want to add the Act II discography album to your collection, be sure to seek it out soon. I love it, and I hope you do too! You can find both albums on Youtube, but I've also included a couple of tracks below for your sampling pleasure.

Author: Kyle Messick

Russian Folk Metal band Plamya V Nas released their debut album «Vremena». The album was recorded at the band home studio, and mixed/mastered by Vladimir Lechtinen in "Blastbear Sound Studio".

Russian Power Metal band Arida Vortex released their new album «Riders of Steel» in "SoundAge Productions". The album was mixed/mastered at "Navaho Studio" by Arkadi Navaho. Artwork done by "Mayhem Project Design" .

Tracklist:

01. Guests From My Nightmares
02. Small Toy Soldier
03. Riders Of Steel
04. We Will Rise Again
05. Run To Nowhere
06. My Turn
07. The Invincible
08. Damned And Killed
09. To Be By Your Side

Irrespective of the endless regurgitation of nonsense that constitutes the majority of these opinions, it must be acknowledged that few bands have been capable of generating such intense anticipation of their album solely on the release of a demo and a few tracks, Yet that is exactly what Impenetrable Darkness did. Metal’s pantheon is inexplicably vast. The entities that reside in the depths of the abyss outstrip the heavenly host in variety, if not in devotees. It's always reassuring to find something that is blatant in your face about being black metal. We’ve all got our different reactions to the classification black metal. Numerous bands have created albums based around their own ideas that take insight from creative writing, but few bands will dedicate the entire span of an release to relevant interpretation of the belief With the emergence and escalation of the novel and notorious tendency. While some excellent ,unique band attempting to sell their flavor of the month band to potential listeners, there are some that simply exist outside of pre-existing molds and take a few years to realize their full potential and thusly grasp the imaginations of many who are fortunate enough to witness their evolve talent. Shadowy, Anti-Religious Hellenic black metal Stalwarts Impenetrable Darkness latest offering is cut above the rest. Spawning from the depths of Occultism, Chaos, Darkness, Blackness, Magic, Anti-religion, Negation is the newest record from orthodox black metal Impenetrable Darkness - Cosmic Termination. Impenetrable Darkness is a remarkably quintessential black metal bands of all time. Impenetrable Darkness this Hellenic group married the ritualistic fury of esoteric,occult black metal with a creeping dose of mystical,ominous,sinister madness. The atmosphere and tightly plotted EP's were based on mystical, occult, Anti-Religious, Darkness while still employing their own take on black metal.

While many of thee black metal bands have fallen into commercial decadence or abandoned black metal altogether over the past few years, Hellenic black metallers Impenetrable Darkness unveiled their latest EP entitled “Cosmic Termination” on 1st May, 2020 with 12:10 min running time along with hellish,skin-ripping artistry. Greek ritualistic black metallers Impenetrable Darkness have smuggled into their recipe for success is actually a rather difficult task and manage to sound wholly original without resorting to mere divergence or wacky experimentation. This new EP consists of 2 tracks. Impenetrable Darkness was formed in 2011. They have developed into an independent mystical, occult, Anti-Religious and grand entity with their debut grimoire Loyalty in Blackness(2014). Impenetrable Darkness is dedicated to keeping the spirit of the black arts alive in their true form and unveiling them through uncompromising music. Raising the darkness since their inception in 2012. Now I am straight going to the point about this new EP.

When you sit down and listen to this newest record, though, this reveals itself to be a worthy description, as across their discography black metal has been the most noticeable element. From their manifestation I was clinched that I have to check this whole for sure material and this would be savage beast. Impenetrable Darkness delivers atmospherically evil,vivid,horrifying form of black metal. They Playing the type of scathing, otherworldly black metal. This bands each and every musician did fantastic job on this EP in radiant way and It’s really great when your high hopes are not misplaced. Impenetrable Darkness manage to strike the right balance between raw, atavistic aggression and a more sophisticated, occult approach. Spitting in the face of everything the blind, deaf and dumb masses consider sacred is Impenetrable Darkness with their vicious, mystical gleam release is the exact sort of thing that made us all fall in love with black metal, such a grandiose piece of authentic black metal as well remind us black metal transcendent and beautiful, but also that black metal is a war. Their hate-filled scowls, corpse-painted visages to the Satanic mysticism that inspired their musical style. This whole EP reflects the grand diversity of sound brought together on this opus . It is really not easy to describe their musical style. Impenetrable Darkness create a constantly shape shifting maelstrom of crushing chaos and disorder. Atonal sounds and disparate styles all combined in one bold, enlightened display of unbound creativity Despite the often crushing,fast ,furious,cacophonous black metal assaults with a lots of segments of slower tempo too where Impenetrable Darkness combines a melodic, mysterious, introspective passages with cavernous drum thrashes, whirlwind guitars and those effective rasps.

well,their latest incantations opening track "Ageless Death" starts with slow build and eerie vibe followed by an onslaught of tremulous, massive,fast paced black metal. The layered tapestry of slightly trebly and heavily laden with reverb, duo-tonal whirlwind of guitar noise laced with aggression,deliberate cadence and progression seasonings supporting the likewise crooning, almost moaning deeply in the throat, high-pitched , vocals drown a bit in the almost unhuman-like furiously fast though muffled drumming with ripping and snorting bass, although this evolves to a more dynamic sound on the rest of the EP. The EP has a solid underground sound that does the material justice, allowing it to glow with a cold, infernal light, the music dips deep into the realm of the occult and otherworldly, fashioning hymns to blackened evil that firmly make their mark on the listener also unsettle and disturb with their dark ambiance and morbid atmospheres. The band is equally adept at blasting with hateful speed, slowing down to a doom-infected crawl that’s relentlessly aggressive. All instruments are dynamic, clearly discerned, yet none stand out amidst the cacophony and indeed they have far surpassed it.

This new releases whole compositions are extremely filthy and unsettling piece of sinister,grim euphoria and unearthly ambiance . “Cosmic Termination” commences chronologically invigorating and destructive. Their distinct entity infused me by a lot . They produce malevolent, evil black metal with some old-school death metal and doom elements and embraces the blackened aesthetic and frozen Satanic evil of the style with more misanthropic qualities. Honestly, after a multiple listen this EP just blew me away with their ethereal abyss,multi-dimensional,the multi-layered,ominous musical style . Cosmic Termination perversely brims with an illuminating light, devouring the cosmic light of life and scurrying through the sort of black metal whose radiance is so obsidian as to consume energy as austerely as it expends it. Each musicians have exudes tremendous,cohesive effort on this EP with excellent diligence and nailed it . In this moment which is eternal yet transitory, a new and pure energy grows within the womb of chaos, and which ignites the source of a new aeon, a flame needless of air to exist. Impenetrable Darkness really does the trick for murky,mysterious, Juxtapositions of darkness and light, misty sound that comes from the music. A new true god that breeds its new self, purified and sanctified in chaos without an end nor a beginning. I highly cite and embrace this release . in their new EP they have portrayed their influences probably more blatantly and unashamedly than ever before.

This is filled with a slew of cadence, apocalyptic,pummeling, ominous,hellish, powerful riffs work . As well bass line up is whopping,intense,strong ,rumbling, slithering . Drumming,percussion line up is bleak, frantic,solid,clattering and powerful . The guitars are solely focused on creating a grandiose atmosphere, but predominantly rely on walls of sound and swerving rhythms.In each track morbidly delicious,macabre,soaring,dark eerie,ghastly riffs,bass lineups matched in well manner .This whole EP's sound deliver a horrific,grim feeling,sinister,melodic,gruesome black metal with raw emotion and pure energy . “Cosmic Termination” endures beauty of black metal . This EP indulge strong songwriting and brilliant musicianship . This EP have a hypnotic effect on the listener . Vocals decently large voice that does well for Impenetrable Darkness. Especially his menacing and hoarse voice are excellent . Vocals howling scream,immense,deep rasps voice emerged on this EP in a well manner adds a thick murky sound and intertwined perfectly with their utterly spellbinding,obtuse,bizarrely arrogant, mysterious,fully blistering black metal,distant musical style with a lots of melodic,atmospheric accompaniment and embedded perfectly . Their sound,musicianship is absolute prime, with every song unleashing a seething torrent of scalding music and insidious melody, scorching distortion, and barbaric, blasphemous invective, all of which combine to produce an overarching atmosphere of creeping, crippling dread. Overall you will get sinister,gloomy,desolate,mysterious ambient from this whole EP. These guys flow onward and upwards in their endeavours, a solid effort brimming with darkness and the black arts.Their new material is an exercise in total filth, delivered with unnerving levels of aggression, dark, dirty and proudly invidious eruption of unholy noise.

Each song have an energy ,fluency and draw a savage landscape .Stand out tracks are all of them .Every song, every hellish, skin-stripping riff and vile vocal incantation, is delivered with the righteous fury and unwavering conviction of the true believer. Vision of the EP cover is nefarious, macabre,atrocious,grisly, gorgeously hideous. Overall “Cosmic Termination” whole EP is Spectacular,engrossing ,significant and goes all the way through with a relentless rage from the beginning. Impenetrable Darkness is surely the apotheosis of everything. The sound has a depth to it, that with brief distortion. "Cosmic Termination" is a elite black metal sophistication in their music without sacrificing the feral, ugly core of the style. This EP sounds so authentic and a truly remarkable sonic journey from beginning to end . "Cosmic Termination" is a deep and winding journey throughout the mysterious and stifling occult. The production is absolutely impeccable,capable of handling gargantuan heft.Outstanding another one release of this year so far .“Cosmic Termination” is shattering culmination in black metal evolution. Impenetrable Darkness can effectively capture a pristine essence of bloodthirsty transcendent abandon, disenchanted delirium, or perhaps even a very inhuman strain of mystical experience. The Hellenic bruisers still possess all the necessary skills and hard-won experience to put younger,newcomer challengers in their place With " Cosmic Termination", Impenetrable Darkness writes another chapter in their book of successive masterpieces. This is astral projection through a viscous dense black cosmic ocean. Impenetrable Darkness fuel their creations with loathing and abhorrence, seemingly guided by visions of fire and plague, and of the ascendancy of evil and the triumph of sin. This is black metal at its bleakest, most oppressive and most "occult" in terms of being evocative of the forbidden, hidden and unspeakable. Ways to see the world in a frightening and exhilarating new light.

My Rating – 4.9/5 Review done by - Souvik Basu. Published on 05/025/2020

The emptiness that masks substance as souls embark on the final journey, life is dead and death is here. I enjoy prototypical brooding doom band. When someone tells you about atmospheric death/doom metal at first a delineation will click automatically in your imaginary such as excruciatingly slowly, pulchritudinous heavy, eschew crushing, bleakest, most hauntingly beautiful, graceful, down-tuned, slow-motion soundscapes of drifting, floating, dreamlike music, moving in gentle transitions to vaguely shifting perspectives of mood. Feel yourself decay, gaze helplessly, thoughtlessly as the preternaturally odious head over the horizon, blotting out the last scarlet gasps of a moribund sunset, looming over the eerily tranquil and temperate ocean like an antediluvian menhir - massive, silent, mysterious and unspeakable journey, alone in a darkened room, lighting a few candles, unsealed some good wine and settling in for an uninterrupted hour of beauteous melancholic death/doom sound driven by feelings and thus creates immense power and resonate overpowering as it is a purely exquisite voyage of yielding passion. That's probably just me and my definition of depression.

When it comes to atmospheric doom and gloom, melancholy doom-metal firebrands Clouds always atop for me with their breathtakingly sad and beautiful, like wanting to cradle painful songs. Clouds have a special place in my heart. There are a few distinct bands in the world of heavy metal who, by so effectively honing their musical vision, have the unique talent of creating a rich, almost visible atmosphere. It's difficult to imagine, but "Durere" surpassed than their previous work and moved Clouds to the whole new level with their something absolutely new and unimaginably great music level. Clouds unleashed their fifth full-length opus entitled “Durere” in starting of the predecessor month with 58:28 min running time along with atmospheric, morose, forlorn but heavy as fuck doom with more sadness and pathos than you can stand and you will definitely feel oppressed. Mixing death/doom metal with atmospheric, gloomy vibe was their forte. The new album is filled with more unearthly, astounding, critical acclaimed, heavy, claustrophobic misery, enigmatic melodies. This new album is consist of 7 tracks. Now I’m straight diving to the point about this new album.

This new studio efforts whole compositions showcased such power and emotion conveyed throughout the duration. This album embrace of the most beautiful of deaths. Monstrous lead voice rumbles deep in passing observations and recollections of forgotten memories, accompanied by a choir of ghostly angels soothing the sorrow of fading light that signals the end of experience in a world incapable of sustaining its illusionary promise of an ideal state of beauty and truth and a painful realization from which this music sleepily drifts away. This is truly a beautiful, wondrous piece of music, very organic and is constantly in motion along with your feelings, emotion. When I was spinning their latest studio effort for the first time I was overwhelmed, invaded my ears and this album sounds so authentic, mature and truly epic and from then I was clinched that I have to check out the whole material for sure and indeed this would be unblemished. This is triumphant sophisticated, spine-chilling atmospheric death/ doom metal.

Daniel Neagoe himself banishes all our doubts regarding the genre describing the music of "Durere" and putting particular emphasis on the first word and rekindle my endless love for atmospheric death/ doom metal. I cherish all of the member’s unsurpassed quality, ability and skill along with tremendous effort portrayed in this album in a radiant way with excellent diligence and nailed it. After a multiple listen their latest studio effort infused me with their unabating, powerful, overarching, chromatic, multi-layered, ultra-dense, monolithic, heart wrenching, sorrowful atmospheric death/ doom metal just blew me away. Their musical style has a hypnotic effect and especially more atmospheric kind of death/ doom metal but at the same time, the soundscape brings on sensations of crushing depression and evoke feelings of desperation making for a very dynamic performance.

This whole album reflects the grand diversity of this album. A natural synthesis of mournful sounds and disparate styles all combined in one bold, enlightened display of unbound creativity. Easily this whole album hooked me up with its vocals filthy, crushing voice, some clean vox as well as and their doom-laden, deep, unrelenting, melancholic, sorrowful, distant musical style with marvellous, exquisite piano works and builds layers of melancholy through high reverb along with the slow tempo. Their musical style avoids themselves falling into the usual funeral boredom. These are truly nit-picking.”Durere" fueled by an immediately convincing, weeping riff and an equally gripping bass line also it flows effortlessly and though the music is a pretty dirge. They manage to shift tempos just at the right moments to keep things rolling along like a grim parade. The kind of music that swells the heart even as it rips with sorrow and loneliness and music is so emotional you can almost see the individual notes break down and cry. I highly appreciate and embrace this album.

This album is filled with a slew of delicate, whopping, intense, slow but powerful, heavy riffs work. In each track breathtaking, rumbling, filthy, soaring riffs, bass lineups matched in a well manner with mournful sounds are rightly used as an additional uncanny harmonic layer laced with dazzling, epic, exquisite piano-laden melodies. Amazing things about Cloud is with a single introductory note of a piano contains volumes of pain and suffering where the next can hold release and liberation while the surrounding strings and drums hammer in each gruesome heartache after another into the darkest corners of your mind while the always immaculate vocals keep bringing them back to surface so all of your self-hatred and doubt rise back up like the tide; an experience that’s all too real for many but somehow amazingly attractive in its presentation. The album carries with it an aura that is austere, melancholic, bereft of sunlight but one that above all excels at comprehensively nailing the listener into place and fixing his mind on the subject matter.

A grand manifestation of melancholy. This album indulges strong songwriting and brilliant musicianship. Vocals howling scream, hoarse, inhuman, deep rasps, deep lung-burning roars, immense, large voice and Clean vox as well as emerged on this album meticulously and intertwined perfectly with their utterly spellbinding, obtuse, melodic, doomy, fully blistering, grandiose, sorrowful, distant musical style precisely with a lot of atmospheric accompaniment, piano leads and embedded perfectly. Overall you will get sinister, gloomy, desolate, mysterious ambient from this whole album. Some excellent, emotional stuff right here.

Each song has energy, fluency and magical quality. Stand out tracks are all of them. I personally "Above the Sea", "The Sailor Waves Goodbye" and "A Father's Death" tracks but to be honest all tracks are splendid. Album artwork is precise, indelible and meaningful too. The production gives the music a powerful clarity, the atmosphere, drum propulsion and vibrant bass performance producing a non-stop surge of adrenaline. This new album displays their virtuosic performance and versatility with tremendous ability, skill and this one really makes sense and carries real emotions. Clouds always gifted us great riffs but these are some of their best yet. Always melancholy and sombre, they flit between beautiful and crushing and maintain that delicate equipoise across the album’s length. Overall "Durere" is equally wrist slitting with some truly unhappy lead riffs that smother whatever hope you may have squirrelled away deep in the crevices of your dark heart. This album is Spectacular, engrossing, significant, rich and another terrific atmospheric piece that oozes despair, sadness and solitariness. The production is absolutely impeccable, capable of handling both the massive atmospheric and gargantuan heft. Clouds manage to catch that grim atmosphere of Katharsis and the likes of that. After all, every event in our life that has to do with death has a profound effect on us, making us analyze and philosophize about our existence we are, unmistakably, both frightful of and intrigued by it. "Durere" sets your mind alight, rather than your senses. This album sounds so authentic and a truly remarkable sonic journey from beginning to end. Indeed this album is such a true gem of 2020. This is highly recommended to add it in your collection. They stir up mournful energy however there is always a balance between bliss and bitterness. “Durere” reinforces the sonic resemblance of despair. It makes me dream bigger, thinks harder, envisions broader.

My Rating – 5/5 Review done by – Souvik Basu. Published on 03.04.2020

Metal’s pantheon is inexplicably vast. Black metal redefined as an exploration of endless skies and elusive eternity, rather than a bitter squint into the abyss. The entities that reside in the depths of the abyss outstrip the heavenly host in variety, if not in devotees. Athens, Greece has become one of the veritable cradles in the metal world, producing countless acts within all of the subgenres, especially black metal. Greece itself is known for producing black metal acts with an aptitude for dark atmospheres and a mild pompous flair, known by most as Hellenic black metal. Greek pagan black metal masters Kawir is indeed one of the most consistently exciting and forward-thinking acts in the pagan black metal landscape. Kawir embarks on a perilous quest to restore the glory of Hellenic metal with their latest full-length album "Αδράστεια" consists of tasteful riffs, artistic vision, rhythm with the sound of triremes traversing the Mediterranean and brought an ancient atmosphere. Numerous bands have created concept albums based around their own ideas that take insight from creative writing, but few bands will dedicate the entire span of an album to an existing piece. Kawir has attempted an unwieldy mission to set the dark sounds of their past to the typically kaleidoscopic expanses of pagan black metal for better, audacity is an essential aspect. It has always demonstrated its malleability throughout its existence, being infused with elements ranging from Avant-Garde. Kawir delivers both the groaning textures and deserved, overpowering climaxes. When they repeatedly cycle through riffs and valleys, that audacity starts to become an onus, turning what should be an adventure into a rote marathon through the vortex of sound and changes less than the music’s overall embrace and intensity.

Hellenic antiquity, Paganism themes based pagan black metallers Kawir unveiled their latest full-length opus entitled “Αδράστεια” on January 10th, 2020 via Iron Bonehead Productions Records label with 41:02 min running time. This new album consists of 6 tracks. Kawir was formed in 1993. Kawir this pagan black metal act is helmed by the ever-provocative my long-time friend Therthonax brings this to another level entirely right and then you dive into the ever-expanding abyss of pure black that has carved from the very souls of the damned gloriously. Kawir's particular sonic vision, things won’t end with a whimper. Instead of dominating the record and coming across as whiny and ear-aching, they are used to emphasize the already melancholy and lugubrious atmosphere set by the albums murky yet coherent production. I'm empowered by the luxuriate vision in hand as it expresses the warrior’s pulse and the unwounded paganistic psyche of the devout and moves me, uncontrollably and repeatedly, toward emotion and imagination. That’s the difference and that’s what separates Kawir from the rest of the younger garb who are trying to innovate and keep things fresh. Kawir invokes scenes of ancient monuments built to honor and subtle layering of harmonious and disharmonious aspects that allow the listener to choose how they want to enjoy the closeness. Now I am straight diving to the point about this new album.

When at first checked out their manifestation I was overwhelmed and the track sounds so authentic, mature from then I was clinched that I have to check this whole material for sure and this would be unblemished. Kawir delivers a distinctly experimental, atmospheric, vibrant form of black metal. Mixing rollicking pagan metal with classic Hellenic black metal was always their forte. Their use of vibrant melodies, even utilizing classic folk materials like the kanonaki, flute, and various wind instruments that all seem to meld together to create the kind of folk atmosphere. The wonderful skills the band possesses that ability hits its apex here. This band's musician did a fantastic job on this album in a radiant way and It’s really great when your high hopes are not misplaced. This whole album reflects the grand diversity of sound brought together on this album. It is really not easy to describe their musical style. A natural synthesis of dissonant sounds and disparate styles all combined in one bold, enlightened display of unbound creativity. Strong melodic riffs with flowing melodies and full bore percussion blend nicely with the wind instruments, offering an album that blends rollicking pagan metal with classic Hellenic black metal. This is filled with more unearthly, astounding, critical acclaimed, heavy, claustrophobic misery, enigmatic melodies and this new album redirect the image of black metal through a dervish funhouse.

Well, their opening track is “Tydeus” where the stirring meander is inherited by the riff and Kawir‘s inclusion of Alexandros of Macabre Omen for clean vocals is birthed again even more prominent and glorious than prior. Quickly the song returns to the sonic assailment and the musical style transformed into a heavier, melodic musical direction of guitar noise laced with deliberate cadence and progression seasonings. Their whole composition and musical style are impeccable also borrow great atmosphere with majestic riffs work. They emerge undaunted, with black metal sustain, an infinite beat providing platform. This album boasts some of the most creativity tinged black metal and every single song is meticulously crafted and shows an incredible sense of flow and instrumental acumen. Their efforts would subsequently crystallize into the Hellenic black metal sound with a more comprehensive mode of expression and instantly recognizable through its techniques. Where the outward signs of excellence live on long after the initial burst of creativity has been extinguished like a silent witness to the achievements of a once-great but now degenerate civilization.

“Αδράστεια” is an incredibly rewarding album and the musical content remains highly underwhelming. Their distinct entity infused me by a lot. Their musical style has some quite soft and smooth edge in the guitar playing along with clean vox which adds to the more atmospheric, unique kind of black metal but at the same time, the vocals and other parts of the riffing are straight forward ferocious simultaneously. Honestly saying after a multiple listen this album just blew me away with their multi-layered, tricky, complex musical style. Kawir has exuded tremendous effort on this album with excellent diligence and nailed it. Kawir really does the trick for the atmosphere is the overall phenomenal sound that comes from the music. I highly cite and embrace this album. "Αδράστεια" is depicted as a blade-bearing rebuke of hubris between gods and men alike. The greater sum of its influences and everything more than that.

Starting from quaint origins, then swelling ever more quickly into something of magnificent proportions, containing within itself so much power that it has no choice but to end with a massive conflagration, then allowing space to return to the calm stillness it was before. The music is engorged with interludes of peaceful quiet, which is then released in a burst of rage and power. As well bass line up is whopping, intense, strong, rumbling, slithering. The guitars are solely focused on creating a grandiose atmosphere but predominantly rely on walls of sound and swerving rhythms. In each track delicious, dark riffs, bass lineups matched in a good manner. The deliberate mixture of vocal, guitar riffs which fluctuate between pride-inducing melody and ominous moods with occasional forays into the traditional acoustic territory and create a truly dynamic experience rarely found in post-90s black metal. They have portrayed the perfect image of the congregation of every emotion invoked from war to make an album that revels in chaos and beauty. “Αδράστεια” endures the beauty of black metal.

This album indulges strong songwriting and brilliant musicianship. Lyrically, there are interesting, intellectually stimulating and still be interesting to explore. This inhuman ability, however, is inconsequential, as the music needs such a delivery. This album has a hypnotic effect on the listener. Vocals decently large voice and clean vocals as well do well for Kawir. Tremolo melody just carries Kawir to the epic towering and tragic unraveling, something the band has become the masters of. Daunting and dark as it may be, it retains so much vitality and, dare I say, vibrancy. Vocals howling voice, an immense, deep voice emerged on this album in a good manner adds a thick sound and intertwined perfectly with their utterly spellbinding, obtuse, mysterious black metal, a distant musical style with a lot of musical accompaniment and embedded perfectly. His vocal expressions land droplets over the audience like rain. Overall you will get sinister, gloomy, mysterious ambient from this whole album with hallucinogenic with a healthy dose of harmonization, echoing death growls, and exotic instruments like mouth harps and medieval drums. I really worship this band and highly embrace Kawir‘s heinous deliverance.

Each song has energy, fluency and draws a flawless landscape. Stand out tracks are all of them. I personally Cherish each and every single track. The vision of the album cover is Pretty neat, solid, atrocious, grisly, gorgeously hideous. Overall “Αδράστεια” whole album is Spectacular, engrossing, significant and goes all the way through with a relentless rage from the beginning. The sound has a depth to it, with brief distortion. This album sounds so authentic and a truly remarkable sonic journey from beginning to end. Indeed this album is such a true gem of this year. The production is absolutely impeccable, capable of handling both the massive atmospheric and gargantuan heft. Indeed would be outstanding another one release of this year so far. The full-length clearly show whether this act has enough in the tank to strive on to better things, or eventually dissipate into mediocrity. The Greek bruisers still possess all the necessary skills and hard-won experience to put younger, newcomer challengers in their place. This black metal hybrid has built up steam, showing their ultimate culmination thus far. This is as intended, music meant for submission. Frightful atmospheres bring down the curtain on another exhausting, shattering listening experience that maintains Kawir's status as chief purveyors of pagan black metal yet creative carnage. Kawir has written the material of this album carefully to make every single moment an amazing experience for those who adore the mythological musical theme. The album is full of adventurous journeys into a world long ago and a world today. Each track has some sort of guitar works that deserves to be mentioned. They perfect the image of what they wish to create, which is a congregation of every emotion invoked from war to make an album that revels in chaos and beauty. This is a crowning achievement. Kawir instills expectations for the future. If you choose to embark on this menacing journey then good luck and don’t get lost in the dark.

My Rating – 5/5 Review done by Souvik Basu. Published on 08/02/2020