Suffering so you don't have to!
Metalcatto
It’s been some time since I dared to return to the oversaturated nightmare that old school Death Metal has become. Astriferous has at least a name that indicates the band feels serious and comfortable in its corpse skin. Atavistic Unraveling should have enough tentacles for everyone. I’m just worried about the adrenaline dump this might cause me if it’s too old school.
Pegah
I had never thought that my ideology in life might have a name. Yet the truth is that each of us carries a personal worldview—one that inevitably finds expression in different aspects of life, including the art we create. Here, this personal ideology is reflected in Qroba (Vanishment), the latest album by the Georgian funeral doom band Ennui. Qroba is one of those albums that questions the very concept of existence. Even through its title, it suggests both disappearance and the possibility of never coming into being at all.
Metalcatto
How to say this? I’m a Draconian fanboy. I’ve been digging the band’s work since Where Lovers Mourn. Every album since has been a 4.0 out of 5.0 to me. In my book, no other Doom Metal band has been this consistent for so long. If anything, this is the band that truly got me into depressive music, which is why my expectations for In Somnolent Ruin are more than just huge—they’re absolutely ridiculous. But let’s get into it, alright?
Metalcatto
Honestly, when I heard this was an Atmospheric Black Metal promo, my first reaction was “noooooooo.” After I managed to recover from my panic attack, I gathered the courage to click play and give Gemynd Beadu a chance. How sad can it be if the title is Continued Degradation of Life? Okay, it sounds grim, but does it sound grim? That’s what we’re here to find out.
Metalcatto
Among the bands with some of the best names there’s Sarcasm—do I mean that? I guess you’ll never know. The band has its own approach to Death Metal, and needless to say, I approached their work with curiosity and even excitement. It’s not that I’m a diehard fan or anything, but you know weirdness and idiosyncratic moves are what we live and die for at MER. Keep on reading and find out.
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.
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