dark art Archives - Page 2 of 2

Album Review: Hate – Auric Gates of Veles 8.3 (Black Metal)

July 27, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

Despite having formed a year earlier than Behemoth, Hate has always been in the shadow of their more distinguished compatriots. As it is very common within this domain, they have undergone several (read many) personnel changes. But approximately three decades into their career, they have established themselves with stumping iron feet and bellowing screams of triumph. It was in 2017 that they released Tremendum, a paradigm-shift in their long career and a praiseworthy album for certain. 2019 marks a second step toward their new destination; it is Auric Gates of Veles that further emphasizes their trajectory away from the so frequent themes of sacrilege and toward a more deeply pagan sphere, in particular probing and reflecting the Slavic rituals and folktales, at the same time having an eye on lesser known tales of other parts of the world. […]

Album Review: Rogga Johansson – Entrance To The Otherwhere 8.5 (Melo Death)

July 22, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

This is a solo project. Now go listen and hold a physical copy of this beautiful artwork, then let that fact sink in. This material is of higher quality than most bands and it’s the result of one prolific madman, Rogga Johansson, whose metallum credits are longer than a receipt from Coles. Check it out for yourself here. All of this experience has culminated in this full force effort, finally eliminating his need for other bandmates entirely. He does everything on this record to great acclaim – his vocals aren’t as trained or technical but it serves its purpose perfectly. Everything on this record is in line with Swedish death metal so if you know you like that then dig into this with wild abandon. […]

Album Review: Swallow The Sun – When A Shadow Is Forced Into Light 9.5 (Doom Metal)

July 17, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

Four years after the release of their magnum opus Songs from the North, a triple album introduced in 2015, and after the tragic demise of Aleah Starbridge (the front man Juha Raivio’s life partner and Trees of Eternity’s lead vocalist) in 2016, the Finnish death-doom giants have returned with an album which leaves no heart untouched. A short while ago, late 2018, a single album was put forward which best depicted the dark depths of their sorrow: Lumina Aurea, a heart- wrenching blend of black and funeral doom with dashes of folk created by Einar Selvik of Wardruna. […]

Album Review: Horrisonous – A Culinary Cacophony 9 (Death Metal)

July 3, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

This is how I like my death metal, with a healthy dose of Aussie doom. It’s becoming that kind of place, the kind of country that needs doom to seep through the cracks in the bleach white wall of the Starbucks joined to an Apple store. There’s plenty of pent up rage on this island just waiting for the chance to crush the ‘surface’. This is raw, heavy and real. This is probably one of the filthiest death releases this year. For fans of death like The Chasm and Autopsy and death doom like Swallow The Sun. The balance is really good here, leaning into death heavily. […]

Album Review: Iron Eagle – Audio Nasty 9 (Grindcore)

June 10, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

It’s been a while since I’ve heard some good punk influenced death metal. Deathgrind, grindcore, whatever you want to call this, It’s pretty fucking rad and definitely some dirty shit through and through. It’s not as simple as you’d expect though, with many tasty treats hidden beneath a repulsive outer layer. The name is based on an old movie, Iron Eagle, if that gives you any insight into their more playful influences, humor and old films have always been effective within the genre. […]

Album Review: Virgil – The Pacer EP 8 (Prog)

June 9, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

I got put onto this one after chatting with Dr.Knudson who did the cover art for Welcome to Bonkers. He also did the art for this tight little EP from an american prog instrumental outfit called Virgil. So check him out, this artwork speaks a lot to the complicated and chaotic nature of the music. It’s pretty badass. […]

Album Review: Hellripper – Black Arts & Alchemy EP 9 (Speed Metal)

June 6, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

At this point I’m covering so many one man bands and it’s crazy the level of quality an individual can put out now. This guy has a bit of a history having released a slew of recordings over the past few years, a lot of which are well received. He’s clearly onto something. I’ll definitely be going back to check out the LP which holds a whopping 89% at the Metallum. This has 91% with less reviewers. Just for context, most of the time fully fledged and veteran bands get worse scores than this every day. There’s plenty of blackened speed metal here with zero compromise to the sound or intensity. Definitely check this one out. […]

Album Review: Grimdor – Stone Of The Hapless EP 10 (Black Metal/DS)

June 5, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

I did not know that I wanted to hear lofi dungeon synth black metal until this started playing. I can’t believe how listenable this. It’s clearly something finely crafted, using imperfection to accentuate the music. This is some more of the nerdy black metal shit I love. This is my first time hearing them so I have no idea what the rest of their discography is like but I’ll have to take a look back. This is a nice succinct concept album with an audio premise. […]

Album Review: Solus – Insight 8 (Black Metal)

May 31, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

I will preface this review with the fact that I enjoy melodic black metal and typically can’t stand symphonic metal of any kind. But this self recorded and self released solo project is winning me over with the symphonic aspect, it’s a lot darker than it’s typically arranged. It’s an interesting little detour away from all of the bigger bands. It’s more about the project itself, the craftsmanship and hobby. […]

Album Review: Ruff Majik – Tarn 9 (Stoner Doom)

May 22, 2019 Noob Heavy admin

South African garage doom? fuck yeah. Ruff Majik embody the stoner sound with such reverie and mastery. I’ve described it a million times now, we all know what stoner doom sounds like. Sometimes it’s slow and bassy, then sometimes it’s fast and bassy. Sometimes it’s average, and every now and then something awesome like this comes along. […]