Thou Art Lord - Daemoniorum EP (2022)

The Magus has really been on a tear in the last couple years, offering up fiery revivals of some of his popular bands, and even forming a new solo project which has plenty to offer the Hellenic black metal advocate. In 2022 he laid Necromantia to rest with a brilliant tribute album to the late Baron Blood which was one of my favorites of that year, even if it eschewed that project's bass-driven roots for something more overtly symphonic and accessible. There was also a new EP release for Thou Art Lord, and like the aforementioned, it takes on a slightly more polished and contemporary sound without betraying a 30 year legacy. Having Necromayhem (Sakis Tolis of Rotting Christ) and drummer J. Maelstrom back on board doesn't hurt, and the three blaze what must be the fastest trail this Greek act has ever cleared.

Three tracks, all around 2-3 minutes, totally less than 10 minutes, and just blowing the listener the fuck away with memorable melodic guitar lines, perfectly rasped vocals, and snappy drums. Sakis must have wanted to get this stuff out of his system for a long time, it's absolutely written with the Hellenic style in mind, but really faster than you'd expect from most of his stuff, almost like it was a later Rotting Christ record which someone set at the wrong speed on a turntable (especially the opener "Hades"). There's a slight atmosphere of choir on the excellent "The Black Halo", and "Fire, Chaos and Doom" has a bit of a speed metal/punk propulsion to it which is quite a cool balance against the more epic feel of the other two tracks. Production is likewise awesome, just airy and clear without sounding digital or poppy, it conducts this EP like a trio of winds howling at you from high on an ancient temple, Gods and mischief, sacrifices and fornication splayed out below your gaze and grasp. If they do follow this one up with another full length, I hope it's got a bit more dynamic variation, for that is the one flaw here, but as it stands I think you can pick these tunes up on a reissue of DV8 if you don't want the download or the 7". Exciting stuff.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/thouartlordofficial/

Septicflesh - Reconstruction EP (2023)

Reconstruction is essentially the leftovers for those of who don't have a particular version of the Modern Primitive full-length to chew on, and I happen to be one of those poor schlubs, hearing these for the first time when I had access to the digital files. As it turns out, these are purely symphonic, cinematic pieces that don't incorporate the death metal elements the band have been built upon. However, they do possess the same glance back at the great times of antiquity, perhaps more so than the heavier tracks, and the Philharmonic really gets to excel over these pieces with the freedom from accompanying the dark grooves and the extreme metal drumming. Both "Salvation" and "The 14th Part" are pretty good, especially the choirs and vocals of the former, which set up a sort of audio play, sometimes creepy, in which to lose yourself.

The final track is the pure symphonic rendition of "Coming Storm" without the aggressive instruments, and this too is quite cool to experience, like a rousing scene in a film where battle is joined or there is some great escape from disaster. The depth here is wonderful, equivalent to what you'd hear in a film or video game score, and proves again the multi-faceted talents of Septicflesh composers, and what having those broader interests can bring into their metal music. Ultimately it's not the most memorable stuff, but if you're into dark opera then it's worth hearing even if you don't like death metal. I'd definitely at least recommend that, if you haven't picked up Modern Primitive, you get the version that includes this for additional value if the price difference isn't too great. It's a fine addition and bumps up the album just a fraction in my estimation. But on its own, a well-executed if passing curiosity.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

https://www.septicflesh.com/

Septicflesh - Modern Primitive (2022)

Modern Primitive is now the sixth album in this heavily symphonic, modern phase of Septicflesh's career, which has never produced a single stinker, and yet for all the quality, I can't help but feel a little tired of the whole affair. Granted, when I want a giant orchestrated blast to the face, I will happily mend my ways and turn back to the Greek juggernaut's unparalleled commitment to this style, but I do from time to time miss the 'innocence', or maybe that's not the right word, but the more subtle mysticism of their older recordings, and wish they might find a bridge between the two. What I can say for this album is that it has a mildly more organic feel to its production values...it doesn't feel quite so large and stunning, as if you're standing in some modern museum, but this one almost has a live vibe going on that I appreciate, even though they are still collaborating with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Otherwise, it does feel a lot like a Codex Omega II. Loping grooves that occasionally shift into the harmonic melodies or dissonant chords, enormous percussion between the actual drummer, Krimh, and the orchestra timpani and other drums that crash along. The songwriting actually feels a margin more intricate than the prior album or two, but it's somewhat interchangeable do to the constant, rolling chugs. Spiros' vocals are your usual massive guttural but often affixed with some snarls to create an additional depth, and I think this more natural production also makes him sound a little more ominous. The songs often have a more sporadic and progressive feel to them, like the crazy and chaotic "Coming Storm", but that's not to say they're always interesting, just swinging more for the fences where Codex Omega might have come off a little more conservative to the strengths of the albums before it. The chemistry between tracks is still just as potent, but I have a few hear that I could escape into more than others, such as "A Desert Throne" and "Self-Eater" with their eerie or glorious atmospheric sequences. "Psychohistory" is another one that benefits a lot from the symphonics, erupting blast beats and dreamy, carried-away vibe.

I'll still give the nod to Codex Omega over this, and this one doesn't have me howling in ecstasy quite like The Great Mass, which was a simpler affair but for me the one that best exemplified this style with the catchiest tracks of the era. If you're not exhausted yet with this phase in their career, then I can't imagine this one is going to turn you off...it brings the goods, and tries to submerge them in a fresher audio space, but there might not be quite enough to expand them into new horizons. I feel like this is probably the point where the band would take a hiatus, Spiros and Sotiros and company plotting out a more nuanced and compulsory evolution forward, but for all I know we'll get another half dozen of these records with their deformed, statuesque cover beings and the same sort of grandiloquent, symphonic aesthetics that their material has transformed into exclusively. And of course I'll be there if I still draw breath, but the shine is starting to wane a bit.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.septicflesh.com/  

Septicflesh - Infernus Sinfonica MMXIX (2020)

It's somewhat disgusting to me that a band like Septicflesh can bring so many elements to the table and still sound so fucking professional in the live setting. If you told me this was just clips of their recent studio LPs with a little bit of live audience/ambiance sound thrown in, a few knobs tweaked to make it sound like a smidgeon messier, then I might believe you. But, no, the Greeks can travel to Mexico City, have another orchestra join them (Toluca Philharmonic) and then sound as perfect as this, just fuck off already! I kid, and in fact I'm happy to have listened through this, because as brickwalled and flawless as some of these tunes sound on their studio incarnations, the live performance of the Orchestra brings out an acoustic depth that is often missing in those more sterile enclosures... 

The crowd banter is good, Spiros sounds like he's barking out lots of rock & roll theatrics throughout the whole songs, the track selection is also quite good, visiting a lot of their recent efforts and especially some of my personal favorites off The Great Mass like "Pyramid God" and "The Vampire from Nazareth", which sound truly epic. If you're a big fan of the band's earlier catalog, they don't really bring that forward into this style, which could be interesting, as I think a lot of the elements in those tunes would lend themselves well to orchestrated modernization, but if you're into the entire Sumerian Daemons and beyond era of Septicflesh, you will be in paradise across the two discs. It's one of the better studio translations I've experienced on this kind of release, and maybe even too good if you're hoping to hear a lot of improvisations or minor changes in how they perform the material outside the safety of a studio. To even think that bands like this which used to be, for me, underground death metal bands that I could rarely even find anyone to talk about with, are now on such a level as to perform internationally with such a massive production is the most jaw-dropping thing about it...

There's also a DVD to go along with the audio, and I think this is becoming the new standard for this sort of packaging, which is a good value for the fans. Video quality is quite good here, and of course it feels just that much more magnificent when you can see the large orchestra playing as the band dances around in their strange Clive Barker-world leather costumes and the audience pumping their hands in the air, despite the serious mysticism and intensity of the bands' themes, everyone is having fun and it just goes to show that this is a band which has your back. Septicflesh doesn't fuck around, if they're going to put this together, they're going to do it right, and they did, and kudos to them for doing so. One of the best live album sets on my shelf.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

https://www.septicflesh.com/

Septicflesh - Codex Omega (2017)

Septicflesh have become such solid composers, and so synonymous within the symphonic death metal medium that it's hard to believe they could ever truly cock it up, and Codex Omega is another success in that category. It does falter in the same way that a lot of records of this style tend to, but in terms of capturing the Greeks' mythos and esoteric occult lyricism and themes, lending them a larger-than-life, exoticism, this is one of their better rounded efforts since Sumerian Daemons really kicked off this modern stint of their career. They do keep going back to that well, and it has become very heavily produced and for some a little too clean if you miss the hazier atmosphere of their early works, but it's hard not to put one of these 21st century 'flesh records on in your card and hear the rumbling orchestral apocalypse and not nod in admiration.

And that rhythmic battery and volume is so important to an album like Codex Omega, because it's the ticket to its grandiosity, just that modern, sweltering arrangement that washes over you like a cyclops or titan's boot on the way to its personal hot spring. Spiros continues with that bold if monotonous guttural that works so well in unison with the intense drumming, and the bass and orchestration are also highlights of its straight-to-the-dome mix. Back that all up with numerous guest vocals in tenor, alto, bass, and soprano and the fucking City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and you've got something lush and weirdly oriental, kind of like a throwback to Celtic Frost's To Mega Therion or Into the Pandemonium but built more in line with the needs of the modern brickwalled audience. Plenty of catchy, well-arranged tunes here that balance the orchestra with the death metal groove, "Martyr" and the dreamy "Faceless Queen" come to mind, tracks that remind me of what I loved so much about an album like The Great Mass. The clean vocals cut through quite nicely where they appear, reminding me of Therion's later 90s and early 00s output before they got a little too limp.

Codex Omega is great, and there's a lot of that, but if there's one area in which it lacks, it's that like so many of these heavily symphonic-infused efforts, the guitars are often reduced to just percussive chug offs that are meant to support the orchestration and choirs rather than strike out much on their own. To be fair, there are some mournful melodies in places, a little dissonance where needed, some solid acoustics, and there are far worse offenders out there, but I just wish the rhythm guitar wouldn't always be the sacrificial lamb in these cases. It's not that it feels terribly 'missed' here, because you've got all that loud chugging, and I don't think they ever had them in mind to begin with, but I'd like it more if they could use more melodies to blend with the other non-metal elements, or at least more complex rhythm patterns for the heavier parts. Maybe a few more tremolo-picked breaks, etc. They do exist here but it does bring the album a bit short of a masterpiece. That said, I don't think much of the audience for an album like this has quite the same concern, and there are some decent evil harmonic riffs and such to sort of fill in that space. Overall, a very good effort here, not their first and probably not their last.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

https://www.septicflesh.com/

Varathron - The Crimson Temple (2023)

I haven't been enamored with everything Varathron has ever put out (Crowsreign, I'm looking at you), but they've always struck me as the Greek black metal band which took what it was doing most seriously, and the result is usually a work of depth that keeps me coming back for years, whether we're discussing the earlier albums or the underrated modern epics like Untrodden Corridors of Hades and their last one Patriarchs of Evil. So I know immediately without even hearing a note of The Crimson Temple that I can trust what Stefan and company will manifest into the world, and this time it might be an album that many could consider a consummate Hellenic black metal work, one that can withstand almost all scrutiny and hopefully match the timelessness of its lofty forebears.

Note, I'm not saying it's the best, or my favorite for that scene, but if you had someone who wasn't in the know inquiring about the distinction of this niche, The Crimson Temple does it all and then some. Not a 'starter kit', mind you, but an album which is probably accessible to those new to the sound. You have the incorporation of glorious metal melodies into the hammering black substrate, with rhythmic patterns that wouldn't be foreign to their fellows like Rotting Christ. Necroabyssious has just one of those iconic rasped vocals, one of the best in the medium, capable of some sneer and sustain but usually just barking along to the beats and guitars with the utmost occult class. The drumming is great, tribal and ritualistic and definitely helps enhance the more folksy moments of this album, whether they be nestled into the harder tracks like "Crypts in the Mist" or the amazingly festive intro "Ascension". Choirs and other native style instruments are non-intrusive and tastefully implemented only to the elevation of the material.

Most importantly, this is super consistent material, and while it all feels coherent in style, they can throw you for a few loops like the slightly doomier, awesomeness "To the Gods of Yore", the charging force of "Immortalis Regnum Diaboli", or the aforementioned tribal bits which take you back to the ancient times which weigh heavy on Varathron's imagination. All this with a glorious, bombastic production which does justice to all of the instrumentation without being overwrought. Are these always the catchiest guitar riffs in their catalog? Not necessarily, and I'd also add that this is hardly the darkest of their works, I feel like Untrodden Corridors of Hades takes that crown, but this is just so brazen, exotic, and magnificent busting out of my speakers that I couldn't care less. Hellenic black metal royalty retained.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

https://varathron.com/

Varathron - Glorification Under the Latin Moon (2020)

Live records come and go from more popular acts stuffing up their contracts or feeling an overzealous need to shower such products upon the masses, but getting to hear one from the mighty Varathron is a treat, because it's just not something I'd expect. Recorded in Brazil back in 2019, this one also stands out because the band includes a full run though its classic His Majesty at the Swamp album from 1993, with a few other formative tunes on there ("Genesis of Apocryphal Desire") and then a few newer pieces. Fine by me, because this is not a band that has lost its touch, and efforts like Patriarchs of Evil, Untrodden Corridors of hades or Stygian Forces of Scorn are just as formidable as the efforts they produced during the rising tide of Hellenic black metal 20-30 years ago.

To top it off, Glorification Under the Latin Moon actually sounds pretty damn good, without ever sounding over-mixed. The drums, synthesizers and vocals are all prominent, but the guitars also shine through, especially since they're so melody-focused and the effects on the rhythm and lead tones just pop right into the atmosphere. This sounds like it was truly a treat to experience, with a solid chunk of picks from their most recent work Patriarch of Evil ("Tenebrous", "Saturnian Sect", "Ouroboros Dweller") all sounding fantastic, and then what everyone was looking forward to, a 40 minute odyssey into Greek black metal nostalgia which sounds like it belongs back in the dingy crypts of antiquity, and I mean that only as a complement. Stefan's vocals sound so gnarly and awesome, a natural product of that Tom G. Warrior gruff rawness, and the keys and guitar on tracks like "Son of the Moon" and "Unholy Funeral" really dazzle. I mean, guilty admission here...I probably enjoyed hearing these tracks in the live format even more than I did listening to them on the studio incarnation of the album almost 30 years ago...

In fact, this might be the best live Greek black metal album I've ever heard? Lucifer Over Athens from Rotting Christ was pretty solid, but this is just amazement. I mean Juanjo's cover art alone might be worth the entry price, giving it a vibe very similar to Walpurgisnacht or the first few Necromantia records. That the performance and selection is so great is merely icing on the cake. Varathron is not a band that makes many missteps (Crowsreign debatable), and this is top shelf. Hear ye this or suck!

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/varathron

Sad - Misty Breath of Ancient Forests (2020)

Sad is an unsung, relatively long-standing act in the Greek black metal community which might be dubbed as 'dependable', truly committed to the most fundamental aesthetics of their genre but never really manifesting anything truly impressive or unique, nor anything that really drags the bottom of the well. Albums like Devouring the Divine and A Curse in Disguise are textbook cases of the medium, with nasty rasped vocals and nihilistic energy that is derived from the European forebears and iconoclasts like Mayhem and Darkthrone. They don't have a terribly Hellenic feel or sound to them, although I'd say a few melodic parallels might be drawn towards the more sinister Rotting Christ or Varathron material.

Misty Breath of Ancient Forests is the duo's sixth proper full-length installment, and while it might be considered more of the same, I'd say this was easily the band's best produced record to date, and also cultivates a consistent melodic might to it that should sate purists. I was immediately taken in by the muted, murky artwork and just how well the musical content lives up to that. You're clearly thrust into the role of some corpse-painted barbarian scouring the ancient boreal landscapes of sound, wrestling with other predators to the unending glorious melodies that spew out of Ungod's strings. The vocals are standard for the genre, but definitely get crazy and suicidal enough sounding to compete with the incessant momentum of the music, and you might get a grunt to back up all the snarling. There can be a bit of a monotonous nature to the song structures...they cycle through a good number of riffs, and few that disappoint, but often the blast parts can grow a little weary, where if they had just thrown in an added break or simpler, slower transition a lot of this could come across far more sick and effective, especially when you're juggling 6-9 minute tracks.

Just listen to when they curb the speed a bit in "White Death" and you get those really great sounding melodies to the surging chords, or the saddening guitar strings that ring out over the roiling bass drums of "Hades Gazing". These aren't a huge deviation from the main thrust, but they hint that Sad could benefit from even more versatility in tempo and riff selection. But that's the only major gripe I can say about Misty Breath of Ancient Forests, because it sure as hell is well-assembled, and if you're a fan of classics like Transilvanian Forest which could also be pointed at for its too-persistent pacing, despite it being a masterpiece, then I don't think this one will bother you. A bit overlong, especially without some more breaks, segues, or varied tempos, but with ease this is one of Sad's better outings.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://hordeavsad.webs.com/

Rotting Christ - The Heretics (2019)

While it feels like forever since I've really been digging on a new Rotting Christ record, it hasn't actually been all that long. I had been slightly underwhelmed by the last two, Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού and Rituals, but neither of them was actually 'bad', they just didn't further the bands' expansive Hellenic sound the way I knew they'd be capable of, and they seemed like a downturn after the very good Aealo back in 2010. After listening through this latest effort, The Heretics, I found some commonality with a lot of their albums that I've enjoyed since pioneering that highly melodic, choppy style of Thy Mighty Contract and Triarchy of the Lost Lovers. The overall tone and production is more in line with the last few, and there are points at which it still feels like a choir-driven affair, but a lot of those catchy if predictable riffing patterns have returned, and I was into it for the most part.

Whereas earlier albums in the prime of this band focused very heavily on the guitars to create the action, offset by the Takis bark, this one features so many different vocals floating about its neo-classical narrative that sometimes the guitar melodies have to settle for the background. So a lot of the orchestrated influence is still present here, but they do their best to render it all down to that simple, heavy metal riffing which has long made bands of this scene more distinct from the blast oriented, chord-streaming black metal acts of Northern Europe. There aren't a lot of guitars that stand out quite as much as their later 90s fare, but they manage to make the tunes soar emotionally and really leave the impressions of these ancient religious clusterfucks that shaped faiths, nations and peoples. The album has a very thick, bombastic atmosphere thanks to the thundering beats and the simple depth of the rhythm guitars, plus the mournful timbre in most of the vocals. There are a number of riffing passages here which are just borderline doom, and each tune tends to take its time with just a few basic ideas and not become too cluttered...

Which helps when you're involving the choirs, the varied vocal styles, and other atmospheric embellishments, since the album feels more genuinely realistic, a solemn mantra of antiquity channeled through electric guitars, percussions and growls. Granted, this album sometimes has a lot more in common with Batushka or Therion than A Dead Poem or Sleep of the Angels, but if this is the direction Rotting Christ is determined to explore forevermore, then at least I can appreciate that they're pacing themselves to offer the listener some real gravitas, some sadness, some stakes to the topics they explore. The lyrics here are a mixture of quotations from authors and philosophers, and then very simple repeated lines of imagery that represent the Biblical subjects at hand, which is to say they aren't getting minimal simply out of laziness, but for aesthetics. And that is what The Heretics comes down to, orchestrated drama they've been exploring for the past decade, only this time it has a little heft to it. I was rarely mesmerized by the record's austerity, but it got a couple hooks into me early and kept me listening through a number of cycles.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

https://www.rotting-christ.com/en

Varathron - Patriarchs of Evil (2018)

It can't be any coincidence that, ever since Rotting Christ started to take a downward swerve in quality, their countrymen Varathron have really picked up their slack and gone on what must be the most consistent and memorable run of their career, first with the excellent Untrodden Corridors of Hades and following EP The Confessional of the Black Penitents. It's almost like they snuck into the Tolis brothers' minds one eve and devoured their dreams and aspirations, then converting it into their own creativity. I jest, but boy has this band translated this classic Greek black metal style into something truly splendid and fulfilling through the sorts of albums you want to listen to front to end repeatedly, picking out the details each time as they deliver nothing other than solid, worthwhile riffs.

Again, this is not super blasting black metal territory, they can pull that trick out of their collective hats if they need to, but this is more about the varied, slower riffing which draws a lot from thrash metal, but due to the exotic note and chord patterns, the raspy vocals, the choirs and synthesizers and the mighty drumming which feels like the advanced course to Celtic Frost or Therion's foundation. Considering the amount of musical satisfaction you get, they rein a lot of the tracks in around 5-6 minutes, with the exception of the finale, "Ouroboros Dweller (The Dweller of Barathrum)", that clocks in over 8. Within such a humble span they get a lot accomplished, each set of riffs feeling like it tells a complete, grandiose story, and it does, a saga of magic or mystery which transports your mind back several thousand years despite being conveyed to you with instruments that weren't used in this format until fairly late in the 20th century. While the great lyrics often delve into the 'evil' that the album title hints at, Varathron is musically pretty consonant and warm on this record, and I think it'd honestly make a great gateway for fans of epic heavy/doom metal looking to break into the black metal field but striving to avoid the cliches they might not like of lo-fi production and cold Nordic blasts (their loss!) It's just that universal of a sound, despite being part of such a tight regional style.

All the instruments sound clear and effective, and the band can seamlessly mix in acoustic passages to heavier riffs, while Stefan Necroabyssious' primitive grunts are far more effective than you'd think from his range, somehow managing to sound just as distinct and glorious as the brighter melodies of the instruments, only with that crude edge. I don't know that the riff level here is such that every pattern is insanely catchy by itself, but combined into the whole of Patriarchs of Evil, there are few notes here that I'd really want to change. It all serves the mystique of the band's occult explorations well enough that you can forgive an occasional dud, and I admit that this is one of those albums that has continued to grow on me since I first started listening. I'll rate this one even higher now than I would have one year ago, and I think it's very close to being on par with their last (and my favorite) full-length, missing only by a fraction which I'd attribute to just having a stronger connection to that mildly darker experience. But stylistically this is on point, and an essential Greek black metal disc for anyone into their past works or those of their better-known, ailing countrymen.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (storms and dead suns)

http://varathron.com/

Varathron - The Confessional of the Black Penitents EP (2015)

As loved as Varathron's first two albums are in the Greek black metal canon, it was the band's decades-long transformation into the atmospheric, epic, dynamic juggernaut Untrodden Corridors of Hades which proved my favorite of their releases, and still quite loyal to the sound they helped develop on their national scene. So needless to say I was quite looking forward to the follow-up, and The Confessional of the Black Penitents EP isn't quite that in its scope, I was at least satisfied to hear that they were largely going to continue the sound from that underrated gem the year before. There isn't a ton of new material to pore over, even though it's 40 minutes of material, but the two 7+ minute new metal tracks are more than satisfactory and could have easily been tacked onto the end of the prior album and contributed even further to its greatness, with only minor tweaks in production.

Heavily varied, constantly interesting, majestic Hellenic black metal, with many know is performed out in a slower fashion than their Scandinavian counterparts, though Varathron can bust out a blast at any second they desire and maintain the same quality. It's all about the mystique, the representation of ancient Gods, temples, and the occult, cultivating nostalgia for fallen times while simultaneously resurrecting it forward to future generations. Grand melodies play out against thundering currents of drumming while a humble rasp leads it all like a tour guide through a violent midnight bacchanal. You can always tell that this crew is putting constant effort into how to piece together their tracks, and I can't imagine any diehard for the classic sounds of Rotting Christ and Varathron not falling for "Sinister Recollection" and "Utter Blackness" upon first listen, they are so well composed and such a dependable manifestation of that scene's cult sound. As for the titular intro piece, it's just some strumming strings with a few rasps above them that let you know the feast is about to begin, and I don't know that it stands on its own quite as much without what is to follow.

Now, if the EP were just this new material I'd rank it accordingly alongside the previous album, but the remaining tracks are from a live gig in Larisa, Greece...and they also sound pretty damn good. The mix is quite clean, permitting you access to the intricacies of the picking, the bass and drums and vocal slather without anything wresting dominance away from the rest. The material is also very level sounding even where it's drawn from such a big spread of their career. "Unholy Funeral", off His Majesty at the Swamp, sounds just as impressively potent as "Kabbalistic Invocation of Solomon" off the last record, and everything fits in so well to the performance, from the choirs and dark ambient back-scapes to the metallic core of the band. The result is that this whole damn EP is worth hearing and owning. You won't find the studio tunes or live cuts elsewhere, everything is quality checked and if you've been into any of their stuff ever (sans the lukewarm Crowsreign) then they've got you well covered.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://varathron.com/

Vultur - Entangled in the Webs of Fear (2018)

Don't let the fact that Vultur doesn't fit entirely snug into the general population of the Sevared roster throw you off, this is an immensely brutal band...only brutal by an earlier genre standard than a lot of the more tech Suffocation or Deicide-inspired acts you often hear from that camp. Entangled in the Webs of fear feels like a more muscled alternative to the Floridian death metal once spawned by Death in the 80s, only with a lot more blasting and bulk through the enormous production, and vocals that feel a lot more in the vein of an Incantation, Wombbath or Rottrevore. So they do 'old school', sure, but they do it like a bunch of heavyweights in a grudge match against a much smaller opponent, and that opponent is your fucking skull.

This album sounds huge, with an ominous airiness coming from the speakers that really lets those churning guitars, growls and beats settle in for punishment. No tricks or gimmicks, just a slab of the purest death metal you're like to hear this year, an album that could appeal across several generations of fans. The guitars are a mix of dense chugs and coiled, evil tremolo picked lines that actually make you feel somewhat creeped out in spots, especially when the light, eerie leads break out over the surface. It doesn't sound like it took a whole lot of effort to come up with these riffs, for when you're in the mindset of how to just make something sound evil and aged, a lot of them seem like they'd spring directly to the muscle memory of your palms and fingers, but that's quite alright here because they exude a pummeling, claustrophobic intensity that transcends time. The bass is thick and oozy, and doesn't stick out too much in terms of note choices but just an extra layer of syrup driving home the darkness. Beats are thick bottomed, with nice fills, double bass rolls and effortless blasts where those work.

It should be noted that several members of this group are in another comparable outfit known as Ectoplasma, which isn't terribly different in style, and also has a recent album out called Cavern of Foul Unbeings that you should probably check out if you're into this. I actually liked the Vultur disc a bit more, but it's certainly blunter. Straight to the gut, vile and colorful death metal which bends the imagination way back to when it all felt so fresh and new, even though there is literally nothing new or innovative about a single damn thing they do. Doesn't matter, when it's wrought with such brute sincerity and passion, and even though the songs do grow a little samey throughout, I've had a great time spinning this one on numerous occasions, and highly recommend it if you're a fan of some of the groups I listed above, Spanish bands like Avulsed and Putrevore, or Finns like Purtenance and Slugathor. The cover art by Raul 'Mortuus' Fuentes is also really noteworthy, had this album come out back in '87-88 it's the sort of image that would be considered iconic decades on.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (ghouls and manglers gathered to feast)

https://www.facebook.com/vulturathens/

Naer Mataron - Lucitherion "Temple of the Radiant Sun" (2017)

Naer Mataron has long been one of the most intense, aggressive of the Hellenic black metal acts, but even with that knowledge in mind I couldn't have prepared myself properly for the beating that was Lucitherion. The band has long nurtured traces of death metal in its punishing delivery, but this is the first album where I can say that it's actually not just balanced off against the group's black metal fundamentals, but actually dominant through the mix. From the guttural vocals implemented by veteran Kaiadas, to the way a lot of the more dissonant riff progressions are phrased, to the sheer force and speed of the drumming, I detected more than a few traces of both the Brazilian blast mavens Krisiun and Rebaelliun or the more local European hybrids, specifically Behemoth at their most propulsive as they too were crossing over from blacker roots into frenetic, brutal death metal territory. While this all adds up to a clear departure from 2013's more atmospheric Και ο λόγος σάρξ εγένετο, my favorite of their offerings, it's performed with obvious consistency and proficiency.

A good portion of the record is devoted to blasted tempos lathered with guitar patterns that carry an Eastern or Middle Eastern feel through their note selections, creating a ritualistic framework that occasionally reminds one of a Melechesh or Nile, but also not cast too far from a lot of this band's previous albums like Praetorians or River at Dash Scalding. However, rather than the monotony of using this technique like a one trick pony, Naer Mataron punctuate the tracks with slower to mid paced breaks that help flesh out the compositions. Not every track is equally memorable, and they often tend to bleed in with one another, but not entirely, and I found Lucitherion was back loaded with a lot of the better pieces, like "Uprooting of the Shepherd King Hyksos" or "Ra-Horakhty-ATEN", each packed with some of the more distinct riffing palettes and dynamic impact. You never get a sense that Naer Mataron are attempting to simply flaunt their extremity, they don't wank off with a lot of lead guitars or have the audience repeatedly banging itself against a brick wall of boring material, this is strictly songwriting to which the frenzied, demanding pace is best suited.

Lyrics involve occult, ritualistic, mythological matters spun out with titles in Latin, Greek, Egyptian and other tongues, which is in fashion with the band's interests from previous albums, and draws a parallel with some of its countrymen ala Acherontas or Rotting Christ. To that effect, they don't involve a lot of ritual atmosphere or haunted phrasings, which are not necessarily missed, but might have helped at least round out the first 4-5 tunes. This also isn't the first time they've gone so over the top, but in terms of production it's their most punchy and polished, and the structure of the riffs, plastered with all the guttural grunting. It's a deeper, meatier effort than something like River at Dash Scalding, which also featured insane blasting but had thinner, sharper guitars and vocals that were set at more of a howl and rasp which didn't stand out much from the instruments. Here it all sounds fluid and falls into place, a different experience but one that marks a successful reinvention of their style which doesn't abolish their 20+ years of history. One of their best, though I wasn't as absorbed quite as much as its predecessor.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/Naer-Mataron-official-122029807867493/?timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&timeline_context_item_source=100011664823332&pnref=lhc

Deviser - Howling Flames EP (2017)

Deviser is a lesser known but long-lived entity on the Hellenic black metal scene which has survived nearly as long as its far more popular peer Rotting Christ, if less prolific and a lot less distinct. Their first two full-lengths were pretty good, in particular the sophomore Transmission to Chaos (1998), but the subsequent and scarce recordings showed some growing pains and the band were not able to really define or register themselves against such an exploding European scene. The Howling Flames EP comes six years after their last album, Seasons of Darkness, and does well enough to rekindle my interest in the potential these guys once exhibited, to the extent that if they could pull off a full-length of quality comparable to these tunes I'd honestly be excited.

It's not because Deviser are coming up with anything really unique here, not in style or in actual riffing progressions or overall songwriting. These are just very well-rounded, catchy melodic and symphonic black metal tracks which fluidly balance proficiency and atmosphere. From the guitars you'll definitely notice that Greek streak of majestic, mid-paced riffing you'll recognize from their rotting messianic countrymen, but try and imagine if that were layered up with massive swells of operatic instrumentation. A technique employed by Greece's premiere black metal export on their more recent recordings, to be sure, but this is more like Triarchy of the Lost Lovers or Thy Mighty Contract with that extra layer of orchestra pit paint, and it results in some glorious, solemn shifts in tone over the 12 minutes of material that held up a cool contrast and fulfilling stereo experience. The music is never complex, just robust with how the various strings and keys resonate alongside the meat of the rhythm guitars, while Matt Hnaras barks off with a nihilistic, Sakis Tolis-like growl that blends in very well with the melodies and the thundering of the drums and peels of effects.

These guys don't get very fast, but there's a feel of momentum through most of the EP like you're gliding along the moonlit battlements of some fell castle in a Castlevania game and about to engage some aristocratic undead or Satanic adversary, and so it truly nails what it's going for. Mileage is going to vary as to whether or not you like having such hugely textured, orchestrated accompaniment to a simple black metal core, but Deviser due wonders to never let it overwhelm the basics, and the two cuts here both complement one another and vary it up enough to make a difference. It's short, but right up there with any of the highlights off Transmission, and a lot more tasteful and well integrated than other modern bands who over-employ the symphonics (Fleshgod Apocalypse, recent Dimmu Borgir, etc).

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/Deviser-135734023147260/

Bannerwar - Anthems of Blood & Soil 7" (2017)

Nestled deep into the Hellenic underground, Bannerwar is a band which must be almost forgotten after a decade plus absence in the wake of its solid if unheralded sophomore Centuries of Heathen Might. And while I can't quite claim that the two tracks present on this Anthems of Blood and Soil 7-inch are going to reverse that fate, it's certainly not because the band is lacking in the hellish energy required to perform the sort of orthodox, traditional and spiteful black metal they employ. But apart from the band's NSBM roots, which may or may not persist in their inspiration, there's just not much of a 'gimmick' to this style, or any single component which can separate them from so many others performing in such a similar, straightforward realm.

If you've never experienced them, it's more or less charging European black metal with a strong 90s feel to it, very basic riffing structures spat out at a faster pace or brought down to a might, barbaric charge. The chord progressions are quite predictable here, but that doesn't really diminish much of their savagery, with the guitars loud and frontal, the vocal rasps doing a good job of providing an evil impetus towards the uptempo blasted sequences. Definitely a classic Swedish or Norse black metal vibe here circa bands like Marduk and Satyricon, but occasionally with "For Blood and Soil" itself they hit a glorious stride reminiscent of vintage Rotting Christ off Thy Mighty Contract or Triarchy. The drums are rather on the tinny side in the mix, but nonetheless efficient, while the bass is good and think, but doesn't otherwise do a lot to carve its own existence from the solidarity of the rhythms.

The two songs are reined in at about 5 minutes each, so thankfully Bannerwar has no interest in beating the listener over the head with ceaseless repetitions of tired riff patterns, and I feel that for the length of the 7" there is enough variation represented, assuming on a hypothetical third full-length they'd have an even broader range (as they did on Centuries). But the question is, at the end of the day, when the onrush of the night is inevitable, do you want another pure atavistic black metal listening session which offers you little to nothing new? If the conventions continue to attract you, then these Greeks are an adequate vehicle for vengeance and ferocity, but although the material here is just as solid as the stuff on their albums, they still just don't stand out against the crowd.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

Sad - Utter Nihil Worship (2016)

Long and forever a fixture of the Hellenic black metal underground, Sad is a band arguably mired in convention to the extent that there is no possibility of them escaping the shadows of the more eclectic, ritualistic or melodic acts of their region, a fact that I'm sure suits Ungod and Nadir pretty well. The emphasis here has always been on pursuing purist, Scandinavian-rooted raw black metal in the tradition of groups like 90s Darkthrone and Horna, where just about all variation on an album will come strictly through the balance of tempos and the minor production details, but little else in terms of lyrical matter, riff construction or stylistic shifts. They've released some solid fare like 2007's A Curse in Darkness and their album previous to this one, Devouring the Divine, but understandably have not flagrantly publicized themselves or revolutionized their material to the extent that they really stand out.

Their sixth full length, Utter Nihil Worship does nothing to deviate this course. Tremolo picked, dire melodies threaded above hammering chords and harrowed rasps, with a production to the rhythm guitars that is slightly fuzzier and more ear-bleeding than on a handful of earlier recordings. They set up songs structurally so that you won't be constantly bombarded with the exact same riffs and speed patterns that surround them, but that's not to say that when you break down what they're writing on a fundamental level, that it's anything you haven't heard a thousand times before. Truly, only a small selection of the riff patterns here stick to me, like the opening salvo in "Aprophenia", which would have sounded truly evil if joined with some haunting, ancient synth lines as per In the Nightside Eclipse; or the raw and roiling, melancholic tribal war pattern that introduces "War, Father of All", immediately conjured up nostalgia for the fell beauty that even this ugly genre of music can conjure when the mood strikes alongside the toms.

Beyond those few moments, though, there's just not a lot of excitement. Stronger riffs with cede to those that are decidedly less compelling, and the vocals or general atmosphere of the record aren't vile or memorable enough to overcome it's stylistic loyalty, to a fault. There are occasionally a few nice bass-lines, and the production was well suited to the genre, if a little dry, but the riffs just don't offer much of a thrill if you've heard so many similar efforts before. Utter Nihil Worship is by no means a bad album, it's just going to depend on how 'authentic' of a course you want your black metal to stay upon, or if you've grown jaded. But I have no evidence that there is any other objective here, and if you're solely in the mood for what the album promises in its title, then I can't imagine you'd be all too put out. Utter Nihil Worship did not earn my interest, but Sad does continue to earn my respect.

Verdict: Indifference [6.25/10]

http://hordeavsad.webs.com/

Ithaqua - The Black Mass Sabbath Pulse EP (2016)

Longing for a throwback to that Golden Era of emergent Hellenic black metal, when bands like Rotting Christ and Thou Art Lord started to refine their sounds from their cruder origins into what has now become the defining, unique 90s aesthetic of that region? That is more or less exactly the wheelhouse in which Ithaqua operates, a two-piece band featuring members of Caedes Cruenta and Opus Magorum that seek to revisit and flesh out this sound without shaking the tree down that much. You might initially have thought this was a doom record for some reason, or possessed of the frigid countenance of the Mythos entity it is named for, but The Black Mass Sabbath Pulse is more or less Non Serviam, Thy Mighty Contract, Eosforos and Triarchy of the Lost Lovers incarnate, from the base construction of riffs to the pacing and plotting of the songs. No attempt whatsoever to muddle or disguise this influence.

And, for what it's worth, they make a fairly strong showing of the style, which has long been defined by its mid-paced, cavalry charge riffs with tinnier chugging patterns splayed out into more uplifting melodies than the dissonant and dextrous Scandinavian strain that took off with Immortal and Emperor. In other passages, primarily in the second track here ("Walpurgis, the Flight of Spectral Witches"), the guitars feel like pure driving heavy metal highlighted by the arcane but cheesy synth lines, bluesy leads and then little popping, perky melodies highly redolent of Triarchy of the Lost Lovers, albeit with the production of the two previous Rotting Christ records, even some cutoff points where the guitars take over before the charge begins anew. Bass lines are pretty pedestrian, in that they don't often disengage from the root notes to explore the atmosphere of broaden out the songs as a whole, but at least you can hear them audibly plugging away, and the drums play with the similar shuffling rock beats to their influences, rather than trying to extremify it all with endless walls of double bass and blasting.

Vocals have a murky snarl to them, which is surely reminiscent of Tolis, if not exactly the same, but they don't ever shine quite so much as the guitars, which are going to be the make or break aspect of this 7" for almost anyone interested in hearing it. The tunes run a little on the long side, 16 minutes for just the pair of them, and they might have proven more effective with a bit of editing down; but at the same time, it's not like they just stuffed them with boring content. Personally, while I appreciated Ithaqua's attention to detail in both composing the songs and mirroring that early to mid-90s style of production, I just don't know that they're quite as majestic as the material they pay homage to, and so I'm more likely to run into August Derleth's Great Old One in a tabletop session of Arkham Horror or Eldritch Horror than I am to bring this one back out, when instead I could just pop on some vintage Rotting Christ and still get more from that. But don't view that as a rousing rebuttal on my part. N.C.M. and Echetleos certainly know their business here, and get about it quickly for anyone who direly misses the sound and wants it trapped on vinyl yet again.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

Seventh Xul - Qliphothic Rites of Death EP (2010)

A defunct project by a pair of musicians who between them are responsible for probably half of Greece's underground black metal recordings, Seventh Xul's lone EP recording is getting a reissue through Iron Bonehead on 7". Featuring a new cover treatment that seems to convey its cryptic, nihilistic aesthetic mood rather well, but perhaps not the production level, which is quite good here. If you follow this scene, or these pages closely, then you might recognize Acherontas from his maintay of the same name, or other bands he's played with like Acrimonious, Nocternity and Stutthof. Necro/Necrotormentor you might recognize from Burial Hordes and Enshadowed. Together, with beats provided by Fotis Bernardo, another musician heavily involved in that scene with credits in Septic Flesh, Necromantia, etc, the duo concocts a formidable enough mesh of black and death metal to warrant a second look, even within its two-track lifespan.

"Sitra Ahra" immediately grabs the attention with its repeated, evil melodic phrase and the punchy precision and bulk of the rhythm guitar used to accent it like percussion. Once the song develops further, it's composed of largely predictable tremolo picked death metal patterns redolent of old Deicide, accented with bold octave chords ala Morbid Angel, but while they honor these old, overt Floridian influences, there is also a tiny hint of ritualistic Greek black metal that you'd associate more with Thou Art Lord or Rotting Christ, only a lot of the fetchier melodies have been supplanted by pure sepulchral aggression. Granted, this is more often captured in some of the break riffs, where the drums drop out, and the meat of the thing is far more conservative to its inspirations, but there are moments of departure, especially in the 2nd track, that bring this native spirit to the fore. Bernardo's blasting and double bass have a mechanical nature to them which seems better suited to a pure brutal death experience, not that it doesn't work within the context of this material, but it also doesn't leave much up to the imagination.

In all, while I didn't really enjoy the two tracks enough to spin them more than a handful of times, there were some decent ideas here which were clearly the foundation of great potential. As mentioned, the production is really good, better than what you'd find on a number of albums by its constituents. I do wish the drums were a little less clinical, and more atmospheric in volume, but he was more or less serving as a studio player and I'm not sure how much attention he was able to give the project. Also, the majority of the riffs are just not as compelling as the intro to the first tune, or the choppier atmospheric breaks nestled into the trenches of either of them, and one wishes they had fleshed that out more to make this stand out against a wider variety of old school death metal acts, because this is clearly more in that subgenre than the blackness, which manifests through only a handful of riffs and themes. Still, Seventh Xul was quite competent, and Qliphothic Rites of Death has its moments. With more space allotted for their ideas to gestate, they could very well have climbed 'the ranks' and become more radar-worthy across the underground.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

The Temple - Forevermourn (2016)

Greeks The Temple are part of a new wave of European acts who pay either conscious or unconscious homage to the crushing, dreary, Gothic doom foretold by bands like Candlemass and Scald over the decades past. Slower paced, mournful rhythms driven by a straight rock beat, with distinct vocals. Never devolving into a morass of riffless sludge or boredom, or dragging their songs out to the point of insidious repetition. Sabbath is certainly a reference, as they are with all bands in this tradition, but The Temple layers on a lot of humble melodies that give the Forevermourn's compositions a slightly more uplifting edge to the melancholy on exhibit, and many of them feel as if they were forged in the fires of traditional British heavy metal, like a more creeping echo of classic Maiden harmonies adapted for a funeral.

Frontman/bassist Father Alex has a clean, mid-to-upper range which falls between a higher pitched Peter Steele and the Finnish Goth metal stylings of a band like To/Die/For or Yearning. A chant, a crooning effect. Consistent above the slough of sadness created by the guitars, but never really throwing anything from left field, so his process does feel rather predictable as you sojourn across the seven cuts. This is also due largely to the fact that they very often play with the same structure and tempo, occasionally added some bombast with double bass drums, or slowing to an even more sluggish crawl in sequences that feel like more funereal doom without the gutturals. Some of these passages, like in "Death the Only Mourner" really shine, the vocals and sparse chords coming together with some real emotional impact. The bass is also really fat and juicy, compensating a little for the rhythm guitar tone, which is pretty subdued since they implement so many melodies.

On the downside, while it's by no means a deal breaker, it wouldn't kill The Temple to invest in a little more variation, even if that means bringing in other instruments for greater, somber depths. Acoustic pianos and strings would go brilliantly into and out of some of these progressions. I liked the album, but I did feel that many of the riffs were a little too similar, and a bit further guidance from legends like Sabbath or Candlemass in how to diversify the offerings would go a long way to creating a better rounded album. The level of evenness here does show that the Greeks can start off and finish a record fairly strong, and the album overall cultivates a moody, organic production which helps avoid the sterilization that often comes with over-wrought, over-polished Gothic doom metal which is too clean to crush your sunshine. Majestic doom, for sure, but just needs a few more shades of color to stand out even further from the legion lamentations already set to record.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/the.temple.doom.metal

Rotting Christ - Rituals (2016)

Rituals is on one hand a monument of Rotting Christ's trajectory towards a near-complete saturation of the mythic and mystical in their compositions. It might feel uncanny to label this as 'folk', but a lot of the charging, galloping charioteer rhythms so pervasive in their last 10-15 years of work are out in full force, to the extent that they, along with the multiple layers of chorus vocals shouted with maximum amplitude and testosterone, have become the primary component in the Greeks' music. It's not out of the question to consider what the band has become the aural, metallic equivalent to the Trojan War, only somewhat less long-winded and intricate in its details and designs. Lyrically, this is an album dealing with the dark occult, and that has little to no bearing on the particular imagery it conjured in my skull, but about 50% of the percussive, blitzing, tribal music here feels fit for a duel between Ajax, Paris, Achilles, and Hector in any combination you can dream up. 'Come, friend, you too must die. Why moan about it so?'

On the other hand, it's just another slight case of returns diminishing, a half or full rung down the ladder of quality which its Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού began to descend. Glorious, but empty. If I can say one thing that is truly in Rituals' favor, it is the production level. Massive, polished, precise, the low degree of intricacy and complexity here translates into a good fit for the bombastic volume of the somber and rasped vocals, the snares, kicks, overall momentum. Rituals 'sounds' so good that I am almost driven to grant clemency to the fact that there's just not that much here by way of those infectious, 'classic' Rotting Christ guitars that I've been smitten with for over 20 years. When and where they do appear, they instantly shine, like the gleam of a Hoplite's sword after a morning of carnage in the sun. But too much of the writing here focuses on a predictable slog of chords and syncopated rhythms that are meant more as an added layer of percussion than having any melodic capacity. It's as if the band is using two or three drummers, only they had one kit so made the others bang on other instruments, and everything serves as a vehicle for the vocal arrangements; which are acceptable, and bridge the band's obsession between extremity and antiquity, but not enough to inter this album deep within the memory fields.

It wouldn't be a stretch to compare Rituals to a record like Chaos A.D., another example in which a band simplified its approach in lieu of adopting native cultural aesthetics to some of its metal core, only that one really stuck with me (and I know it did not for a great many listeners). Rituals is instead about as exciting as its cover art, another example of the band shunning its great logo for something plain and uninspired, much like its predecessor. I understand this is all to 'let the music speak for itself', but apart from the cultural feel and immersive mix of this album, it didn't end up resonating with me or making much of any statement. A few good licks exist here or there, and in truth a lot of the tunes are well enough structured, but would have been better served with a few extra riffs that deviated into more memorable and unexpected patterns alongside the warlike veneer of the drums and vocals. Like the figure on the cover, it feels like there was initially some life or inspiration here which succumbed to the petrifying gaze of a gorgon. There's a surface pulse, but it could have gone so much further if it had felt fully alive, capable of bleeding. Not an awful effort at all, especially if you're in the business of sacking cities for a member of the fairer sex, but once again I found myself pining away for the elegance of A Dead Poem, Triarchy, or at least some of their more eager experimentation in the earlier 00s.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

http://www.rotting-christ.com/