Suffering so you don't have to!
Vicky
I would like to dedicate this review to my English teacher, who taught me that there is more to Edgar Allan Poe than just “The Raven”, who helped me see both depth and vulnerability in Poe’s works, such as “Dreams”, “Song”, and “Serenade”.
Vicky
Alright, so I am quite late with a few albums, but I have a good excuse: for the past month I have been practicing and polishing my Latin skills with the poetry of the great Ovid. As a result, yours truly returned from a contest dedicated to Ovid’s literature with a special award and appreciation for great deciphering of his poetries. I’m saying all these not to brag, but to give you some clarity regarding my absence amongst the family reunions held at the Metal Eclipse Reviews webzine (in clear translation, I am saying these for you to understand why you haven’t read anything written by me in quite some time). Anyway, since I also missed our two-year anniversary, I have returned holding a bouquet of roses and am here to shout out: Happy Birthday, MER! May you grow more and more powerful!
Metalcatto
You know what I miss, people? Some direct Post-Black Metal. It’s been scarce this year. We’ve had a lot of blasting tremolo-picking, but what if I want the blasting to come with more suffering? Well, that’s what Belialed is trying to achieve with The Echoless Chasm. German Post-Black rarely disappoints. Everything here promises to be cathartic and devastating. Honestly, I can’t wait. So let’s jump into the misery blender.
Metalcatto
It’s not every day we see something that claims to blend Post, Sludge, and even Prog elements to a level that makes me think Tooms – Karst (short words, I love it) is going to bring us excellent work or just something that will give us a depressing realization that nothing really matters in this cruel world devoid of mercy or fairness. Maybe I took that last part too far and ended up projecting some stuff, but let’s return to the Metal then. Shall we begin?
Metalcatto
You wouldn’t be crazy to think that Blood Countess has a blood fetish. I mean, the album is called Imperatrix Sanguinus. Wasn’t it easier to just use a self-title? It’s also obvious there’s some infatuation with royalty. Anyway, if you haven’t noticed already, this is an old school Black Metal album that promises everything the style represents, and yet I’m cautious as usual.
Metalcatto
I see the album has five tracks and almost nothing below the five-minute mark. I started sweating, because when a band is this into length, there are only two ways to go: a blast or a bust. Angellore‘s Nocturnes has no easy task to fulfill. It’s going to be hard to make the time count, but that’s why you’re here—to see if you can find that hidden gem, right?
Metalcatto
You know what we haven’t done in a while? Reviewed some Black N’ Roll. Granted, it’s not the most common release in the mailbox, but that only made me more curious about what Wrang‘s Verwording had to offer. Will it be more static noise, or will it give us a great ride into tribulation? I assume it’s about the sea this time, because my Dutch is at a coma patient level. So let’s start.
Metalcatto
This review is dedicated to Patrick, one of our patrons. It was his pick. Thanks.
The year is 2005. Hurricane Katrina ravages New Orleans. London suffers a horrible terrorist attack. YouTube is launched. So is the Xbox 360. Yes. Right, the Metal. I almost forgot. It was an insanely strong year, to be fair. Something like a silver age, with Nile, Opeth, Arch Enemy, and Pelican releasing timeless classics. But today we’re going to talk about a criminally underrated gem: Between The Buried and Me‘s Alaska.
Metalcatto
Some would argue—and be kind of right—that pure Black Metal with genuine quality is kind of dead. Let me tell you that I sort of agree with this statement. However, that doesn’t mean we’ve given up the hopeless search. Enter Doodswens‘s self-titled album, a project that is still in diapers but promises a lot. In fact, everything about this thing screams commitment to the craft. Yet, I’ve been let down so many times before that I don’t want to hold my breath.
Metalcatto
Six Feet Under is back, and honestly, I’m terrified. Not because of how ruthless the material could be, but because in case you don’t know, the band has become a meme in our community regarding all the things you shouldn’t do as an old Death Metal band. So is Next to Die going to torture me out of this job? Is it going to be the most painful experience I have this year? You can see that my expectations are at least realistic.
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