Reviews

Well, well, well. We delayed our descent into proper brain drilling for exactly one year — long enough for the specimen to mature, rot, and ferment in its own sealed jar. And here it is, ladies and ghouls: I present to you Larvae — Arousal of the Crawling Creature!...

31 January 2026 finally brought Gaerea to a Romanian stage, a band whose path has been defined by constant experimentation across black metal, post-black metal, and even hardcore. The Portuguese shared the Quantic stage in Bucharest with Морок, one of the projects of the Ukranian Illia Rafalskyi, centred on...

There are albums to which you return again and again, records for which the passage of time does not matter, as they age like fine wine. One of these comes from Ukraine under the original title “Шляхом світла” and “By the Way of Light” in English, realised by Severoth, and...

The beginning of a year has a way of sharpening perception, especially when live music is involved. In terms of live shows, 2026 began for me with three names from the local scene: Dordeduh, The Thirteenth Sun, and Pâenil Era. At the very start of the concert, I told...

When it comes to musicians who build their material around heavy themes such as depression and misanthropy, a few artists automatically come to mind. Among these names are Kim Carlsson, 1853 and Déhà. And over the years, as I kept following their work, I discovered Ritualmord. Ritualmord’s story is...

In the autumn of 1994, Italy was about to add a new black metal band to its catalogue, namely the heartfelt creation of Claudio Alcara, Frostmoon Eclipse. Now, more than 30 years later, the world is introduced to “As Time Retreats”, the eighth album into which the band members...

“Strong essences are kept in small bottles”, or so the saying goes. In our case, those essences are kept in short albums. Sainte Obyana Du Froid, from France, prove it with their debut record, “The Purest Ending”, issued through Transcendance. It is an honest atmospheric black metal release, out...

All things considered, but when you see that Blut Aus Nord from France return with a new album, you stop and listen. And I do mean stop, because their compositions demand a certain degree of attention due to their complexity. It has been this way ever since the 1995...

It is that grim sort of day when the sky presses close and you feel an urge for something steeped in black metal shaped by nature, folklore, bitter reflection and long roads walked alone. It is the kind of mood that points you straight to the Ukrainians from Drudkh,...