Ancient Hostility - Ancient Hostility (2019)

Artist: Ancient Hostility

Album: Ancient Hostility (S/T)

Genre: Dissonant Black Metal

Country: Ukraine

Label: Akashic Envoy Records

Preview Track:

At this point it seems undeniable that 2019 is the year of black metal. The parade of excellence has been nearly unending; Yellow Eyes, Remete, Saor, Vanum, Vimur, Akasha, even total shockers like Murg's latest have exceeded expectations. Thus, it comes as little surprise now that Ancient Hostility, a brand new Ukrainian/American duo (most of the work done by Ukraine's SadVoice while Imber provides vocals from the US), have succeeded in slipping their self-titled debut into my list of favorites for the year.

At first appearing fairly normal, Ancient Hostility soon advance beyond the well trodden boundaries of dissonant hellfire black metal into more interesting territory. Not that their take on it is stale in the first place, there's an unusually weighty low end to the album and the riffs, while not as demonically concocted as some from the famous Icelandic scene, vary wildly between straightforward tremolo barrages to doom dirges and death metal thunder. Dismal melodies dance on top of the often pummeling riffs so that there's always a multi-dimensional sound, a foundation laid to maintain atmosphere and imagery while the guitars paint grim portraits from the abyss. "Bloodied Fields", found late in the back half, betrays the duo's ambitions beyond just nihilistic BM. It's a startling melodic song backed with the same colossal low end, but with truly beautiful and meditative sounds overhead. It's not long though that we see a return to pummeling riffs and even some spastic breaks akin to something you might find in metalcore were it not for the murkier paint job. Ultimately not as adventurous as their follow-up will likely be, Ancient Hostility still impress greatly with a varied and well executed debut that sets up grander things in the future.

A N C I E N T H O S T I L I T Y

With The End In Mind - Unraveling; Arising (2016)

Artist: With The End In Mind
Album: Unraveling; Arising

Genre: Atmospheric/Cascadian Black Metal 

Country: United States

Label: U N S I G N E D 

Preview Track: 

The season for Cascadian black metal has come and gone. It feels like only yesterday the movement was still green -from 2009 to 2012, you couldn't escape Cascadia's looming shadow - but in recent years, its popularity has silently withered away. It's certainly not for lack of quality material; last year Alda released Passage, their finest fusion of folk and black metal yet, while on …And the Lamps Expire Addaura further harvested the forestral landscape they cultivated on prior albums. As with most things in this age of the internet though, the focus of black metal fans has simply shifted elsewhere. However, in 2010, when With the End in Mind formed, a seed was planted, first sprouting with their 2013 effort Thresholder, and finally coming to bloom with this year's Unraveling: Arising. There may be hope for Cascadia yet. 

Unraveling: Arising is the catharsis of sole member Alexander Roland Freilich. It carries the vibe of an album forged through trial. It's summed up perfectly in opening track "Sing The Sky", where Freilich desperately caterwauls "O’ to be scoured clean/Sings the Sky in falling stars/Roaring, whipping, saying: “Cast off those tattered rags, and emerge anew”. Musically, the song reflects that rebirth. It starts out cold and emotionless, brimming with icy black metal conviction. Transitioning into a folksy, Addaura-like segue, it pensively builds to its climax, a surge of transcendental leads that ply the middle plane between Deafheaven-esque post-black metal and the naturalistic wonder of the Cascadian scene. It's a striking transformation that leave its mark. Therein lies the album's greatest strength; its ability to simultaneously embody the heart-wrenching frenzy of blackgaze and the stoic beauty of the wild. 

There's a very spiritual element to Unraveling: Arising. It sounds like a record composed around the campfire, inspired by a starry night and the reflection of flame against the trees. Many Cascadian black metal albums feel similarly, but few have ever felt quite as genuine. The title track is the best example of this. A purely ambient piece, the song features a bass-y drone, hurried acoustic strums and ritualistic chants that swirl into the sky like ashes from a blaze. The primitivism makes it feel like it was created from instinct alone, an aural manifestation of man possessed by nature. 

Alexander may be the only "official" member, but what With the End in Mind accomplished here wouldn't have been possible without a few contributions from others, which are best seen on the closing song, "Wheeling, Endlessly Wheeling". Caitlin Fate's ethereal vocals create an excellent counterpoint to Freilich's scarring rasps. Her Bjorkian croon is haunting, mesmerizing, and memorable. Drummer Pierson Roe is fantastic throughout the record, but on this track his performance is stellar. His ability to transition from a crusty punk blitz to tribal battering is essential in the album's level of immersion. The album was created from Freilich's vision, but without these other key players, he never would have been able to see it through. 

Unraveling: Arising is a gorgeous record, that modern black metal fans would be insane not to clamor for. It's both stargazing and shoegazing. It perfectly captures the idea of tumultuous introspection and reinvigorating epiphany through our connection to this earth. Nature is magical. It's ancient but revitalizing. It will always be a source of inspiration, and this record is reminder of not only that, but the woodsy charm that made us fall in love with the Cascadian scene in the first place. Like nature, we have tendency to forget its importance and impact; but thanks to With the End In Mind hopefully Olympia will come to blossom again

W H E E L I N G,   E N D L E S S L Y  W H E E L I N G

Murg - Strävan (2019)

Artist: Murg

Album: Strävan

Genre: Atmospheric/melodic black metal

Country: Sweden

Label: Nordvis Produktion

Preview Track

What has impressed me most about Swedish duo Murg's third LP, Strävan, is the delicate balancing act between raw, rough and true black metal and majestic, melodic atmo black that they've found here. There's a clash of worlds here in more than just the music to be sure. You glance at the grey and black album art and murmur the name that would probably fit the mouths of orcs better than humans. But then you eye the relatively clean looking font for that guttural sounding band name and notice that the art seems like something an art student (who happens to be a metalhead) might create. Opening cut "Ur Myren" approaches you unexpectedly. A washy, reverb-drenched guitar passage that could've been taken from one of Alcest's more grimly designed tracks eventually shifts into crashing waves of distorted guitars and pounding drums, but the melody remains inherent. Therein lies the key.

It seems that to Murg violence and beauty are two sides of the same coin. If the framework on the song is a powerful melody, then something must be violated. If the aggression is front and center, then a melody will creep in to making the end product grandiose rather than bullish. The vocal performance is one of the few aspects that holds its ground tonally, the harsh, powerful screams being pushed up just enough in the mix that no matter what is happening in the music beneath, there is still that ferocity on top. The production, while pretty clear by the genre's standards, is equipped with just enough feedback and crackling distortion dancing at the edges of the songs that it never feels ill-fitting. The drums kick and pound with the right amount of urgency that even the more blackgaze-y passages feel energetic. While songs like "Korpen" carry an old school edge, there are also moments like the intro to "Altaret", which is melodically akin to something you might find on an InVogue records band circa 2013 or 2014, albeit filtered through black metal. I suppose the way to summarize Strävan in the end is that beneath an unassuming veil lies a record with a rare sense for blending the old with the new, making Murg a name to keep a very close eye on in future.

S T R A V A N

Måneskygge - Untitled (2018)

Artist: Måneskygge 

Album: Untitled [Demo]

Genre: Raw/Atmospheric Black Metal 

Country: United States
Label: U N S I G N E D

Preview Track:

Even for a black metal, a genre that thrives when cloaked in an air of mystery, it is usually possible to unearth the details behind obscure artists/bands when you buckle down and commit yourself to hours of mining the internet, even if it is just for mere pebbles. Besides discovering the entity behind Måneskygge is also responsible for the ambient/dungeon synth endeavor Bergtatt and that they reside in "The Beaver State" aka Oregon, there is N O T H I N G more to be found about this enigmatic black metal project; N O T  O N E  I O T A. And honestly? It kind of makes their music all the more irresistible.

Måneskygge's introductory demo feels like the work of a lonesome and wizened winter apparition. For those who can read between lines of this untitled effort's grainy production, they are rewarded with exquisite shards of frostbitten black metal, an aural conjuring of glacial beauty that can only be achieved through reflective isolation. I will repeat this line ad nauseam - winter black metal, for the most part, is BORING - however, there are  few acts that manage to buck the trend, which Måneskygge skillfully does. Worth listen for fans of raw and uncompromising black metal. 

                                               U N T I T L E D

L'Acéphale - L'Acéphale (2019)

Artist: L'Acéphale

Album: L'Acéphale

Genre: Atmsopheric/"Cascadian" Black Metal

Country: United States
Label: Eisenwald

L'Acephale predated the Cascadian black metal boom by a few years, but was undoubtedly one of that movement's greatest inspirations. Now, about a ten years after Cascadia's nature-inspired black metal influence had started to decay, these innovators have returned with their most ambitious album yet. Though their "Cascadian" essence remains, L'Acephale, like always, has proven to be so much more; elements of dark folk run rampant throughout the band's self-titled effort, restraining a portion of the blackened fury present. This in of itself isn't **too** peculiar, but when supplemented by an eerie almost-martial atmosphere, L'Acephale feels more imposing than most other albums of its ilk. Cascadia may be dead, but its ghost remains.

W I N T E R N A C H T

Remete - Into Endless Night (2019)

Artist: Remete

Album: Into Endless Night

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal

Country: Australia

Label: Cold Ways

Remete continues to be one of the only worthwhile cold and blizzardous black metal band worth investing in. This album rages with the tempest of only the fiercest winter storm yet the underlying ambience remains surprisingly soothing. It's a beautiful album and at this point D has cemented himself as a one-man wunderkind on par with Austin Lunn, M. Rekevics, and any other black metal visionary that's debuted in the last decade.

I N T O E N D L E S S N I G H T