Sólstafir – Köld

Iceland is a rather small rocky and icy country on the northern edge of Europe, surrounded by rough seas. Besides a lot of volcanoes the island has spawned some cutting edge musicians and bands, like Björk, Sigur Rós and The Sugarcubes. When it comes to cutting edge hybrids of metal and postcore, Sólstafir is the band to look out for. After releasing a string of demo’s and EP’s the band released their first full length album under the guise of Masterpiece Of Pain (2005), which got raving reviews. Sólstafir’s current album, entitled Köld, was released in 2009. Let’s take a closer look.

Enslaved – Ruun

It’s quite a challenge for a band to come with a worthy follow-up record when the previous album is one of the best in your career. That happened to Enslaved and their ISA record. It received great feedback and the public simply loved it. With such a tough act to follow a band has few options. You can either make a record which is very likewise or you can drastically alter your course with the risk of losing a part of your fan base. Enslaved chose to walk the middle road with Ruun…

Enslaved – ISA

Enslaved made quite a name for themselves for pushing the stylistic boundaries of the black metal/viking metal genre. This they achieved by adding elements from seventies prog rock and psychedelics, a process Björnson and Co started from Monumension (2001) and Below The Lights (2003). On ISA (2004) Enslaved try to bring their music to an even greater progressive level.

Altar Of Plagues – White Tomb

Ireland isn’t known for having a particular large metal scene, but they do have some high calibre bands over there. Mourning Beloveth, Primordial and Cruachan are fine examples of that. Recently I stumbled upon Altar Of Plagues, an Irish atmospheric black metal ensemble. Subject of review is their White Tomb album, which is also their first full length. Let’s have a closer look.

Lantlôs – .Neon

Lantlôs is a German post black metal project with Herbst as main composer and musical visionary. This time around he’s joined by Neige (Alcest, Amesoeurs) on vocals. Their latest is called .Neon. Let’s have a closer look.

Nachtmystium – Addicts: Black Meddle Part II

Blake Judd and his Nachtmystium are a strange breed within the black metal community. Once influenced by bands like Darkthrone and Burzum, Blake Judd and Co discovered their profound love for 60’s psychedelics and other musical influences, eventually culminating in a black metal salute to Pink Floyd in the form of the Black Meddle diptych. The second instalment is on display here, so let’s have a closer look to what experimental heights Black Judd has gone on Addicts: Black Meddle Part II.

Ludicra – The Tenant

One of my favourite pastimes is to lurk about on the internet and look around for unknown and interesting bands. A band called Ludicra is one of my most recent discoveries. They’re from San Francisco and as is the case with many ensembles from that area, they have a rather unorthodox approach to their music. They released an album earlier this year, entitled The Tenant. Let’s take a closer look.

Agalloch – Marrow Of The Spirit

Agalloch aren’t exactly the most productive outfit in the world, but a new release by them is always something to look forward to. Their somewhat raw, yet sophisticated combination of black metal, folk, progressive rock/metal and post rock tendencies have resulted into rough gems, such as The Mantle (2002) and Ashes Against The Grain (2006). This year the band finally released their latest effort, entitled Marrow Of The Spirit.

Solefald – Norrøn Livskunst

The dynamic duo behind Solefald are Lars A. Nedland and Cornelius Jakhelln. Both are accomplished musicians in their own right. Nedland was involved with Age Of Silence and Winds, and is still an active member of Borknagar. His musical partner in crime is active in Sturmgeist, but he’s also a renowned poet and writer in Norway. Over the years they used Solefald for their own experiments with black metal, culminating in albums such as Neonism (1999), Pills Against The Ageless Ills (2001) and

Samael – Above

Originally Samael started out as a black metal band on Worship Him (1991) and Ceremony Of Opposites (1994). Through the years they evolved into something totally different by adding more and more keyboards, electronic and industrial elements on albums such as Passage (1996), Eternal (1999), Reign Of Light (2004) and Solar Soul (2007). Despite their musical evolution Samael always managed to maintain a certain dark edge over their music. On Above, the band’s last album, the musical direction has changed again.