black – Page 3 – DIRENOTES

May 14, 2016

REVIEW: Seedna – Forlorn

SEEDNAFORLORNTRANSCENDING OBSCURITY RECORDSSeedna\’s Forlorn is an exercise in emotion, a swath of myopic themes ranging from the melancholy to that of shattered hopes and endless regrets. It\’s all about depression, and, to me, it\’s about as depressing as an album can get. For some people this is a welcoming experience, and for the most part I… Continue reading

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black, blackened, bride, depressive, doom, dying, end, forlorn, light, metal, obscurity, record, records, seedna, transcending, world

May 9, 2016

REVIEW: Battle Path – Ambedo

BATTLE PATHAMBEDOWOOD AND STONE PRODUCTIONS Variety is a make or break sort of thing. If a band can do it cohesively, then there is little problem with a little experimentation. If said experimentation is jarring, misplaced, or just doesn\’t seem to fit where it\’s put, then it\’s not going to go over well. You probably… Continue reading

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ambedo, battle, black, blackened, borgir, dewar, dimmu, doom, metal, opeth, path, pr, productions, stone, wood

December 12, 2015

REVIEW: Ecferus – The Tourniquet Hemisphere EP

ECFERUSTHE TOURNIQUET HEMISPHEREBLACK HORIZONS Atmospheric, progressive, and experimental breeds of extreme metal have long been favorites of mine; at a time, they were my bread and butter. I do love the slow climb, the inevitable climax (if the album is good enough to provide one), and I\’m sure that anyone reading this has a soft… Continue reading

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atmospheric, black, blackness, ecferus, experimental, metal, progressive, symphonic, underground

September 17, 2015

REVIEW: VAMPIRE – Cimmerian Shade

VAMPIRE CIMMERIAN SHADE CENTURY MEDIA SWEDEN There was a time where I\’d thought VAMPIRE\’s debut album was the next best thing and, though a lot of other stuff has come along since, I still sort of feel it\’s a stand-out album. I even purchased it digitally and I hate owning digital copies of anything, that\’s… Continue reading

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album, black, blackened, celtic frost, century, century media, cimmerian, death, ep, gothenburg, media, metal, september, shade, sweden, thrash, vampire, vinyl

August 30, 2015

MINI-REVIEW: Mord\’A\’Stigmata – Our Hearts Slow Down (MINI-ALBUM)

MINI-REVIEW:MORD\’A\’STIGMATAOUR HEARTS SLOW DOWNPAGAN RECORDS MORD\’A\’STIGMATA leans on a more calm, experimental approach to Black Metal. Though, yes, it contains a good deal of the genre\’s tropes – it\’s almost more akin to a progressive rock album then anything. Somehow, however, this works extremely well. A stark contrast is drawn between harsh vocal content and… Continue reading

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black, celtic, down, experimental, frost, hearts, metal, mord’a’stigmata, pagan, progress, progressive, records, satyricon, slow, triptykon

January 27, 2015

REVIEW: Haapoja / Dephosphorus Split

HAAPOJA / DEPHOSPHORUS SPLIT Handshake Inc. To me, splits are monumental and still very new – little brother to the mighty Compilation. I love the idea of two or three bands coming together, occasionally feeding off each others creativity and sharing their fan-base for crisscrossing exposure. Now, I\’m no stranger to the stylistics of self-professed… Continue reading

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astrogrind, black, death, dephosphorus, grind, grindcore, haapoja, handshake, hapoja, hardcore, inc, lp, obscure, split

January 16, 2015

REVIEW: Black Cilice – Mysteries (On Echoes And Dust)

Check out my latest review -Black Cilice \’Mysteries\’- on Echoes And DustClick Here Continue reading

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black, bleed, cilice, dust, ears, echoes, howl, mysteries, ouch

January 15, 2015

REVIEW: Ecferus – Prehistory

ECFERUS – PREHISTORYFragile Branch I\’m not afraid to admit that I own and have reviewed droves of heathenish material – and I\’ll keep doing it. Its not that I am personally an Atheist, follower of Satan, Pagan, or anything like that. Its just that, simply, I just like hearing alternate viewpoints on life – even… Continue reading

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alp, atheism, atheist, black, branch, creation, creationism, ecferus, fragile, metal, mysticism, nature, prehistory, records, science

January 11, 2015

REVIEW: Astral Blood – Self Titled EP

ASTRAL BLOOD – ASTRAL BLOOD EP If you\’ve read my INFESTUM Review, you know that I love it when Black Metal steps out of its boundaries to do something new. And, contrary to popular belief – the rawness and complexities of the genre are far more flexible than one would think. Truth is, Black Metal… Continue reading

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astral, black, blood, cassette, ep, lofi, metal, new, physical, records, self, tape, titled, tridroid

January 7, 2015

REVIEW: Dhampyr – Oceanclots

DHAMPYR – OCEANCLOTS The advent of black-gaze has so completely jaded me these days. For some reason, my focus on that particular sub-genre had me so simultaneously entranced and annoyed that I forgot all about these Progressive Atmospheric Black Metal groups altogether – and, you know, that is a damn shame. Though DHAMPYR isn\’t the… Continue reading

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acoustic, atmospheric, black, cavernous, clean, dhampyr, drone, experimental, extreme, fell, lofi, metal, noise, oceanclots, progressive, voices