Suffering so you don't have to!
Milo Lane
Cue Monday! If Mondays make you feel like smashing your face in with a rock, I come bearing a remedy to your ails — something that feels just as intense, but without the medical expenses. Coming from the Emerald Isle, here is Horrenda and its most recent EP, Think On Your Sins.
Metalcatto
We have unfinished business with Behemoth, and as we prepare for The Sh@t ov God to be smeared all over us, let’s continue this journey through its discography. If you haven’t read the first half, click here! Now, without further ado, let’s jump into the best half of this band’s catalogue — the one filled with actual legendary work!
Metalcatto
If you follow us on social media, you’ll know I have a complex relationship with Behemoth. This is because the band only has two modes: either it absolutely blasts me away, or it makes me sink into the worst depression ever—because of how much disdain I end up feeling. So in the end, I’m not angry, just disappointed. Join me in this ranking, where we’ll reach the lowest lows and the highest highs Metal can offer before we dive into The Sh@t ov God.
Metalcatto
It’s time to return to the roots of this forsaken section. Today, I bring you nothing but dirty, rancid Black Metal from the pit. However, don’t let all my adjectives fool you—there’s something interesting about every release I’ve picked. Whether it’s how at home they make us feel or how real they sound, there’s no doubt in my mind that Black Metal is more dead and alive at the same time than ever before. But enough babbling—let’s get to what you came for.
Metalcatto
Perhaps it’s the rage against the Central European Bank, but it’s already been decades since Greece became a Black Metal powerhouse. However, old school wouldn’t be the first term I’d use to describe that scene, which is why Eleventh Ray got my attention. Its upcoming album Reviving Tehom promises a strange return to an era when Black Metal wasn’t too filthy nor too clean—but let’s find out if there’s anything original to blast here.
Stargazer Scholar
The last thing we need is to add another branch to the ever-spreading tree of Heavy Metal subgenres. Yet I can’t help but think that many bands emerging over the last decade would fall neatly under the umbrella of Cathartic Black Metal. Something must have shifted in our perception of the world, and instead of the ever-venomous, devilish malice of the cold second wave, we arrived at a different kind of darkness. Bands like Mephorash, Mgła, or Schammasch spearheaded a more comprehensive approach to Black Metal, blending the cosmic and the personal in one existential cauldron. These bands may be different in their aesthetic direction and the subject matter of their lyrics, but the underlying urgency of their craft and the strength of emotions they evoke in the listener somehow make them a part of a movement.
Milo Lane
A surefire way to pique my interest is to record one song and call it an album. However, not many things can be Dopesmoker or Crimson. A slightly more realistic move in today’s age of thirty-second attention spans is to put four humongous songs next to each other and call them an album. And in A Flock Named Murder – Incendiary Sanctum‘s case, I found it quite hard to lose focus.
I’ve been hearing whispers about Karg for a while. It’s another band that can proudly join the whole German/Austrian Post/Black Metal scene. It’s been dominating this small niche for at least the last ten years. So yeah, I do feel kind of guilty that it took me this long to give the project a proper chance. Marodeur has a serious name, a serious cover art—so you obviously expect serious music. The kind of album that reminds you of those small mistakes you thought you’d let go, but still haunt you at night. Uplifting stuff, right? Let’s start!
Vicky
I get that Burzum, Darkthrone, and Mayhem are considered to be the best Black metal bands, but can we agree to disagree? There are people (much like myself) who prefer Doom, Atmospheric, or Gothic Black Metal, and they probably won’t agree with those who think the style doesn’t go farther than those aforementioned bands. As a matter of fact, I want to tell you more about the latest album released by the Black Metal project Exiled Hope, Apocrypha—you can thank me later for helping you discover this hidden gem of dark music. First thing’s first, Apocrypha is Exiled Hope’s third full-length album, a follow-up to the band’s previous LPs, Exiled Hope (2020), and Angel of Greytown (2021). So this band plays Black Metal, but here’s the twist: it’s a US-based one-man band—or should I say, a one-woman band—founded by Sofia Frasz, also known for her work with the bands Figures and Stygal.
Hi there, my beloved blog-dwellers. It’s been a long time since we had an interview. However, that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about you—the people who can read for longer than three minutes! (The blog stats show that not only do you exist, but you also come back often.) Anyway, we talked to Hedonistica from Völva, one of the most interesting Black Metal bands out there. Why? Because it’s actually rebellious and controversial without being edgy. But “Catto, how’s that even possible?” Read below, kiddo!
Metal Eclipse Reviews 