Faustian – Parable Of The Sewer 9/10 There are those who claim to be blasphemous and there are those who embody it. Australia’s Faustian is one such act, a supergroup if you will (featuring members of Werewolves) that represent the utter nihilism within. Their second release is the utterly defiant Parable Of The Sewer A sacrilegious interpretation of the parable of the Sower (the trade of the soul for knowledge or power) the exchange in this instance is the convergence of t

Valkyrie’s Fire - Out of Darkness 9/10 Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee one of the unlikeliest locations for Symphonic Power Metal is Valkyrie’s Fire. with several singles and an Ep under their belt their debut album is the truly Epic Out of Darkness. Strap self in, Out of Darkness is colossal, truly colossal, thirteen tracks at over seventy-two minutes, it is grandiose, cinematic, and majestic with its wonder and alluring charm. It is also incredibly metal with some of the

Skjult – A Perfect Devouring Light 8/10 From 2015 Cuban Conspirator (vocals/ all instruments) has led Skjult with such an uncompromising vision that its intensity is felt throughout his interpretation of modern black metal. Its fast frenetic yet multilayered and the fifth full length release ‘A Perfect Devouring Light’ is a deconstruction of ideals where light is not the revelation but a violent penetrative force. Musically excellent, this is a feverish rejection of the acc

Myrkviðr – Harmur 8.5/10 Myrkviðr (Black Forest) are an Icelandic Conglomerate that explore the darkest corners of faith, violence, and the human condition. Their debut release is the raw and chaotic Harmur (Sorrow) four tracks performed in the native Icelandic that encapsulates the bans steadfast vision, that is intense and uncompromising. Harmur is blessed with an atmosphere that is so deeply imbedded it is a natural part of their style. When it does explode it is a lit

Firtan Helios 9.7/10 The fifth album from Germanys Firtan is a masterwork of atmospheric black/ death metal that incorporates the classical to create a truly uncompromising, steadfast piece of art. Much Like its namesake Helios it is a conquest over darkness, the shining sun over brutal enslavement to create the strongest personification of self. After the melancholic intro of "Himsa" and its beautiful strings every Firtan album is blessed with an incredible opening riff a

Exitium Sui- Unravelling 9/10 The third full length release from Exitium Sui is Unravelling, an album that explores the disturbing reflection of experience. Its sole creator E.S. has delivered a masterclass of atmospheric doom-laden black metal. At times Unravelling feels like a nightmare of epic proportions, its tormented howls punctuated by frantic screams that is a cathartic release of anxieties and nightmares. Its atmosphere is dense and cloying, at times inescapable, a

Tir – Vengeance/ Possessed 8.5/10 Tir is the creation of solo instrumentalist Oytun Bektas. A progener of the modern dungeon synth movement. With over fifteen releases in ten years, it is an accomplished body of work that is rich and sweeping with its textures that is vivid and emotive. Tir’s latest release are the Vengeance and Possessed singles. Vengeance is a slowly building crescendo born of dread and darkness, its horn like

Hulder – Verbolgen 9/10 Pennsylvania’s Hulder have developed a formidable reputation for not only their uncompromising black metal, but their underground heritage and ability to surprise with every new release. No longer a solo act, Hulder (Vocals /guitars /keys) has welcomed Necreon (Bass /vocals) into her inner circle as a creative partner. Verbolgen is the result of this partnership, their third full-length release (Separate from the collectable Eps and

Argul - Soledad and Orgullo 8.5/10 Formed in Peru in 2014 by guitarist Mauricio Guerrero and drummer Jose María Venturi, the road to their debut album has been a long one. Soledad and Orgullo is that debut and it is a celebration of the undeniable power of traditional doom merged with flourishes of psychedelia and stoner. From the opening note with its dual guitar passages Soledad and Orgullo is an ode to Traditional doom, the style purely emotional without any of the mo

Blodtar – Monark 8.5/10 The Stockholm based duo that is Blodtar have returned with their third release, the incredible Monark. An album created in tragedy and the urgency to create and release it, yet without a sense of optimism and hope. Created in darkness yet yearning for light. The self-titled Blodtar reflects the urgency of this album’s creation. It is melodic yet quintessentially black metal, carrying a vitality and a tangibility this is undeniab

A Grave Ascent - Lumen Ad Mortem 9/10 Hailing from what is undeniably the extreme metal state of South Australia Is Lumen Ad Morten. Following up from their debut 2023 release ‘Upon the Edge of Darkness’ is ‘A Grave Ascent’, an album of atmospheric black metal that is so utterly uncompromising displaying their immense musical capabilities and depth. A Grave Ascent is an album of contrasts. Its overwhelming sense of melancholy is marked by extreme tremolo and temp

Finsterforst- Still 9/10 For those uninitiated, the sixth full length album by Germanys Finsterforst is a celebration of their black forest metal and the crossing of genre boundaries. Dynamic and steeped in tradition, the result is an album that celebrates life and exemplary musicianship. From some simply beautifully clean guitar sections to the simply huge riff that is ‘Obduktion’’, the pacing is tempered and sparse to allow everything to fully overwhelm the senses with a s

Valfurlogi – Gneisti af eldi Guðs 8.5/10 Gneisti af eldi Guðs (A spark of God's fire) is the second album from Iceland’s Valfurlogi. It is a masterclass in modern melodic black metal that is as experimental as it is uncompromising and extreme. Gneisti af eldi Guðs reeks of a maturity that comes for compositions created over a twenty-year period. For all the chaos of the title track there is a methodical almost mathematical urgency to the riff that threatens to spin out of c

Duir- Catarsi 7.5 /10 The Second album from the faceless collective that is Italy’s Duir, Catarsi is an ambitious WWI concept record exploring the psychological despair of a soldier, the result is desolate and haunting expressed through raw folk infused black metal. From the opener of Manifesto and its grim settings the hurdy gurdy and guitar stand at equal footing, and the result is a sound that is recognizable yet also unique, it is a vast cinematic infused style that capt

Fyrnask – Íosir 9/10 For their fifth album the collective of Fyrnask from Lübeck, Eitorf (Germany) have embraced the rage and the terror of inevitability that is the conceptual “’Iosir”. Described as a ‘’album that follows a single consciousness through the realm of the dead — across burning gates, wrathful and luminous forces, and a final dissolution.” It is an all-encompassing plunge into the depths of the utterly uncompromising black metal. Fyrnask has created an alum tha

Tsar Stangra – Hymns of the Broken Worlds 8.5/10 Bulgarian Black/Folk metal band/collective Цар Стангра (Tsar Stangra) are an enigma within the extreme metal underground. Their music is truly of a cultural view that combines the harshness of modern black metal with pure Belgium tradition. Химните на разрушените светове (Hymns of the Broken Worlds) is their second full length release that continues the odyssey. Hymns of the Broken Worlds is an album that is ting

Illwind – The Unfolding at the End of Light 8/10 Hailing from Peru is Illwind. Their debut album is The Unfolding at the End of Light, a doom-infused piece of art that takes its inspiration from any source. It is as dreamlike as it is bone crushingly heavy, a modern form of doom that is also richly indebted to the masters of it across its epic five tracks. The clean vocals make for a refreshing change compared to the more prevalent funeral Doom at present. It has a moder

Grimveil – Beneath the Veil of Silent Woods 8.5/10 Beneath the Veil of Silent Woods is the debut album by Swedish /German duo Revenant (Order of Nosferat) and Simon (Tårfödd), it an atmospheric black /folk metal release that is a truly epic adventure across its eight tracks and sixty-two-minute running time. This is a richly dark album that is as beautiful as it is bleak and confronting. The overlaying melody line of opener’ ’Where the Path Fades to Nothing’ is literally fa

Moonspell - Far from God 8/10 Lisbon, Portugal Icons Moonspell return with their twelfth full length offering Far from God. This is Dark metal at its most pure, a gothic slow burn of an album that cements their status after a five-year break from the sounds of Hermitage in 2021. Far from God is a lavish beautifully recorded album, that captures the essence of pure gothic rock and, tinged with a sense of 80’ sensibility , there are echoes of Sisters and Field of the Nephil

Haemoth – Black Dust 8.5/10 Shrouded in mystery, the duo of Haemoth and Syht, began in 1999. The French black metallers return from their slumber after almost fifteen years with their latest masterwork, the oppressive and nightmarish Black Dust. Not so much an album as a haunting, hellish journey through the underworld. “When The Dust Finally Settles” is the perfect example, its frenetic, breakneck black metal, that dips into pure second wave excell