Cirith Ungol - Forever Black (2020)

What truly makes Forever Black such an excellent 'comeback' is not only that it maintains consistency with the records that came 30 years or more before it, but it also doesn't rest so much on its laurels to feel safe or redundant. There are new riffs to be found, song structures that are arguably more adventurous than Paradise Lost; but at the same time, it's so damn loyal to the Cirith Ungol aesthetic that you feel as if all that intervening time never happened...the band admirably avoided all the trends that might have poisoned its sound. There's no grunge here, no groove beyond what they already incorporated from their 70s hard rock influences, and no technical acceleration towards the more European power metal sound or polished, sterile modernization. This is the tried and true heavy/doom style, only with a production more in line with what younger and newer bands were meting out in the 21st century.

And even then, I'd say that mostly just applies to the volume of the mix and perhaps a bit of thickness to the rhythm guitars. Tim Baker's grating, unforgettable, tyrannical timbre sounds like his pipes haven't aged since the 80s, and it's mixed here with just enough air and reverb to flow perfectly above the charging and thundering of the instruments. Songs like "Legions Arise" hearken back to a favorite like "Blood & Iron", but they've also got steady proto-metal vibes in "The Frost Monstreme" with its dour, bluesy little licks, or "The Fire Divine" as an epic, primal stomper. "Stormbringer" is perhaps the most epic tune among the bunch, a tribute to the black sword which adorns Elric's person and most of their album covers, and given a properly moving chorus with some barbarian choir backing vocals that give it that fantastical atmosphere it so deserves. Even as you get deeper into the track list, there really are no weaknesses, with some killer little hooks appearing in the verse of "Nightmare" or the title track that rivals "Stormbringer" in strength.

This might in fact be their most consistent offering to its day, with nothing semi-silly like a "100 M.P.H." to break up the proceedings, and it's the perfect way for the band to return to Metal Blade, the Michael Whelan artwork, and also to a fanbase which had grown in the interim since the divisive Paradise Lost. Not only has their style of epic/doom become more popular with younger audiences thirsty for retro sincerity, but also the literature upon which they base a lot of their lyrics. The number of bands covering Moorcok, Tolkien, Howard and their ilk has only expanded drastically, and Forever Black slides in like a titan to those nostalgia-fueled expectations while satisfying modern standards as well. I don't know that I'd put it as their best album, but it's clearly in the upper half, and I'd even go so far to say that it's superior in craftsmanship and performance to One Foot in Hell, only the songs don't seem to stick with me quite as much...but time will tell.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

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Cirith Ungol - Live at the Roxy (2025)

What if I told you Cirith Ungol didn't have but one awesome live record, but they actually have two? Live at the Roxy does feature a lot of crossover with I'm Alive, with regards to the second half of the set presented, but what makes this one stand out is that it kicks off with an astonishingly good performance of their ENTIRE excellent Dark Parade album from 2023. In fact, while I might be caught blaring the studio version more often from my motor vehicle at unhealthy volumes, I can honestly not tell you which version is better, because they perform the record with such clarity and conviction and prove beyond the shadow of any doubt that they are one of the most legit epic/fantasy heavy metal bands in the history of mankind.

That they get through all of that material and then announce 'they'll be back for some classics in five minutes', you have to wonder how these legends have anything left within them. How does the crowd, after being steamrolled by that flawless album performance? And yet, here they go with some recent renditions of "Frost and Fire", "Chaos Descends", "Master of the Pit", "Join the Legion", and the very track that got me into the band to begin with, "Blood and Iron". I'd also mark that I prefer these to the recordings on I'm Alive, for while that was a damn good live offering, the band sounds much more road worn and sinister here, there are just that many more cracks beneath the surface that make the clobber you all the harder. Tim's voice does sound slightly less studio perfect, but it's got a vicious wisdom and age to it that makes it all the more impressive, while the rhythm guitars and rhythm section perform everything a little harder, making it sound more natural than its live predecessor.

I do wish a little more love had been given to Half Past Human and Forever Black material, but at least we've got "The Frost Monstreme" to represent the latter, and it sounds awesome. For some of the earliest tunes, I think the versions here are so good that they supercede the original studio recordings as the place I'd most like to listen to them. Just an amazing release, and considering the band are on the verge of stopping live performances, they've really saved the best for last. As of my writing this, Live at the Roxy is only a couple weeks old, and it's well worth your time picking up, whether you're familiar with the band or just crave some badass traditional metal, it's one of the best live albums I've heard in recent years.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

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Cirith Ungol - I'm Alive (2019)

I'm Alive had the distinction of being our first proper Cirith Ungol recording after their 2015 reunion, but the catch was that it was a live recording from Greece's Up the Hammers Festival, featuring the modern lineup and 90 minutes of material from the first four albums, the last of which had been put out close to three decades before this. It's also spectacular, with almost studio quality sound that perfectly captures the band's doomed, epic metal vibes and even helps bulk up some of the earlier tunes with some well-needed muscle so they can tango at the gym with One Foot in Hell or Paradise Lost. There's probably a tiny fraction of sloppiness that one could attribute to any live performance, but it only adds to the personality and the glorious triumph of having this long underrated band deliver a solid beating to the audience.

The guitars are nice and chunky to carry the classics like "Blood and Iron" or "Atom the Smasher", and maybe if there were any complaint they almost sound a little too cleanly performed. However, once the leads erupt you get a great balance of atmosphere against the rhythm player and in this I think it does sound superior to even the studio takes. The bass sounds good and the drums have a simple shuffle to them but hit hard enough to support the straightforward riffing. Most importantly, Tim Baker sounds like an absolute menace, like there isn't even an iota of grime or age beyond which he already had on his delivery back on those 80s performances. I can only imagine if you were a longtime Greek fan just how ecstatic you would have been with this live set, the band playing almost all your favorites and sounding pretty much how you would have dreamed when you purchased your ticket. 

No, they don't play ALL the material from the earlier albums, some fun ones like "The Troll" are mysteriously absent, but all the surefire hits are played back to back for a very long set and, without knowing that the reunion would also be producing some great NEW records later on, this would have been a one and done experience, since it would be unlikely to get any better. They do a great job capturing the audio here with excellent quality, just a little hint of crow noise that's never intrusive, and it's so clean that you might even think part of it was overdubbed in the studio like some famous classic 'live albums'. Or Cirith Ungol were just damn serious about getting back and giving back to their fans, and even did so here with another Michael Wheln cover art featuring the legendary Elric. A benchmark live recording for epic heavy/doom metal fans or for anyone wanting to hear some veterans return from the dust, stand and deliver.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

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Cirith Ungol - Servants of Chaos (2001)

Servants of Chaos makes for an interesting fan package in that it offers an extensive exposure to what the band was up to in that entire decade before they dropped their debut record. Largely comprised of their 1978 and 79 demos, each album-length in of itself, with some live tunes tacked on, it's about as comprehensive a backlog as one might ask for and really rounds out the collection of any completist. Naturally the presumption is that this material is going to embrace the 70s hard rock aesthetics even more than their first few official studio efforts, and I think that holds true, but even then I wasn't prepared for just how wild and adventurous the band was going to be. This shit is raw, it's often all over the place, but you can generally hear how they formulated the heavier hitting sound they would progress with.

"Hype Performance", the opener slaps you with some very Hawkwind-sounding spacey hard prog rock, with weird sounds and keys glitching through the guitars, where some of the other tunes like "Last Laugh" have more of the vibe you'd expect from their era, bluesy hard rock with some talky vocals that almost remind me of punk and garage, or even later grunge stuff like Mudhoney. There are a number of the recognizable tracks like "Frost and Fire", but they sound even quirkier with the acid synthesizers, or "Better Off Dead" which sounds like you're jamming it through even more of a marijuana haze coming from the back of some airbrushed van. Even "1000 M.P.H." makes an appearance, sounding a little more suited to this mesh of material than on One Foot in Hell where it ended up. Tim's voice is already in that grating, warlike mode on many of these earlier tunes, and to be fair, the demo-level production has a good raw charm to it that makes the band sound absolutely savage, despite the nerdy prog cheese that they are often escaping towards.

Some highlights for me were the instrumental duo of "Ill Met in Lankhmar" and "Return to Lankhmar", based on the Fritz Leiber classic fantasy stories, they really manage to capture the vibe of those old anthologies with the prog rhythms, synthesizers and blazing leads, making me which they'd have these all re-recorded on some possible concept album in the Lankhmar setting. In fact a lot of the stuff from that '79 demo is instrumental, and while it does feel weird not to have Baker's voice present, they experiment with some weird sounds in "Witchdance" and "Feeding the Ants" too. To that extent, much of the material does feel unfinished or not properly organized, it's clearly not the full band spread we'd expect since there are also a lot of drums missing, but it's definitely imaginative. 

The live recordings are from the 80s and kick some ass, raw and ripping and Baker himself sounds phenomenal, potentially even more menacing than he does in-studio. The cover of "Secret Agent Man" was unexpected and doesn't feel as if it belongs, but they definitely create a dirtier and amusing version of that song which feels like it's filtered through acid trips in some abandoned garage. There are also some rehearsal recordings which sound alright, again the rawness seems to work with the vocal style and certainly makes the rhythm guitar sound more crushing. All told, there's a lot going on with this compilation, they include some extensive notes on their earlier years, and while I can't say I'd make a recommendation for new fans, or that it's got a high ratio of quality to the quantity, old heads who already love Cirith Ungol band might find it an entertaining, flawed retrospective.

Verdict: Indifference [6.5/10]

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Cirith Ungol - Paradise Lost (1991)

Paradise Lost came out a little too late to capitalize on the three albums before it, or at least that's how I felt back at the time, but it was also the first 'new' Cirith Ungol record for me, so I was elated to see the beautiful cover art and logo at the CD shop and made the purchase instantly. For 1991, it felt truly out of place against all the waning thrash metal, emergent death and black scenes, grunge and groove and The Black Album and all that jazz. It's also proven to be one of their more divisive offerings (even the drummer has spoken at length about the various issues with its production and release), but I have to say that Paradise Lost was pretty catchy out of the starting gates, for the most part it's another damn solid example of their style, and I kind of admire how defiantly traditional it felt in its day.

Cirith Ungol had the tendency to include a sillier sounding track or two on numerous of their efforts, the then-most recent example being "100 M.P.H." from the awesome One Foot in Hell. I would say that Paradise Lost has a few examples of this, one being the cover of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's "Fire", which they've heavied up and assimilated to their own style quite well. That said, while the lyrics seem somewhat relevant to their own dark fantasy themes, it does stand out a little, whereas Prophecy's "Go It Alone" is just absolutely cheesy here, not a deal-breaker so much, since the musicians and Baker make it sound slick and atmospheric, but unnecessary for sure. "The Troll", an original which features one of the catchiest verse riff patterns in all of metal history, also comes across a little goofier than probably intended. I love that song, so it doesn't bother me, but pair this up with other tunes that feel a little flightier and more melodic than their prior fare, such as "Heaven Help Us", and you've got a disc that doesn't quite match its kick-ass, crushing predecessor.

Beyond those exceptions, though, this is great stuff, with cuts like "Join the Legion", "Before the Lash" and "Fallen Idols" cut from the same cloth as all their epic heavy/doom greats, and could have been outtakes from One Foot in Hell. The band mixes up the vocals a little more here, with searing clean passages on "Chaos Rising" that work pretty well, and the album overall does feel like an evolution upon the ideas of its predecessors. They blend in some new tempos, some good atmospheric lead guitars (as in the title track finale), and a palette of riffs that ironically make it feel fresh and forward-thinking, despite how dated the band's appeal might have felt next to the more trendy and budding styles of the time. I personally enjoy "The Troll", I know others who don't, but I definitely think the covers could have been scrapped for one more serious original and the album might have gotten a warmer reception. But even then, I still break this one out at least as much as I do Frost and Fire, there are a number of essential tunes and it fits the legacy quite well.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

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Cirith Ungol - One Foot in Hell (1986)

One Foot in Hell was the first Cirith Ungol record I picked up on cassette, smitten after repeated exposures to the opening track "Blood and Iron" on Best of Metal Blade Volume 2, which I played so much that I infuriated all my family and another family that were camping together in New Hampshire over the summers. While that might be my go-to anthem among the band's catalogue, I was satisfied to find that the rest of the album is nearly on par, and for me the most evocative in terms of the dark fantasy/sword & sorcery that influenced the Californians both lyrically and sonically. They basically took everything great from the earlier album and covered it with a suit of iron, occasionally flecked with some rusty spikes to poison the blood of the impaled.

While other bands were ratcheting up the technically and extremity, Cirith Ungol were sticking to their formula and just making it more consistent and engaging. I mean, this album dropped in a year that also produced Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood, two discs that have done lengthy (and often competing) rotations as my metal GOATS, which make for quite a contrast against this simpler sound. This band was already becoming an anachronism by the mid 80s, but that's exactly what makes One Foot in Hell so damn cool, the stark and straightforward blend of riffs and atmosphere. I do actually think this one is less varied than its two predecessors, but the production feels a little more '80s' in line with a lot of the band's Metal Blade peers, there's more of a reverb and resonance coming out of the speakers that it exchanges for the jam room feels of its older siblings, and this works in tandem for the soaring, brooding chorus parts as in "Nadsokor". The whole album here feels like it was written and performed by orcs as they beat their siege machines together and prepare to roll across the realms, stamping out the civilizations of man, elf and dwarf...

...and for a 12 year old, that was MIGHTY FUCKING AWESOME. And still is! Whether because such an idea is timeless, or because I never stopped being 12, that's a conversation we can have another time, but judging by the band's continued popularity and the fact that the following three records they would produce over the 30+ years after this one, seem more like attempts to revisit this magic than that of the first two records. So I am not alone. Now, having heaped such praise upon this one, I can't quite say it's perfect, there's a little bit of goofiness here with the obvious party track "100 M.P.H.", which is fun in its outright, but sounds like they're trying to create their own "Ballroom Blitz", still keeping it well within the realm of the heavy metal lyrics, but had this one been replaced by another more serious piece like all its neighbors, the album would be even better than it is. Just saying. At least the lead at the end is really slick.

Otherwise, this is everything you want. Tim Baker's harrowing vocals launch over the mix like a stone heaved over some poor castle's wall by a trebuchet, especially in the doomiest tunes like "Chaos Descends" or "Doomed Planet", where the voice is such a weapon against the slower churn of the guitars. The rhythm guitar tone has a lot more 80s steel to it than the 70s-cloaked earlier albums, and I also think the lead guitar blends in better where it often seemed to bleed a little on the debut. There is a bit of passivity to the drums, if only because they are just crushed by the awesome weight of the riffs and vocals, but in a way that works in its favor, and I'd say the same for the bass...it doesn't have that pop to it like it did on the first two, but it definitely bulks up enough to enforce the rhythms, and I think that approach just worked better for this material.

One Foot in Hell is a bonafide American metal classic that deserves to be placed on the same pedestal as classics from Manowar or Twisted Sister, and to this day remains my favorite of the whole Cirith Ungol canon. It has one track that doesn't live up to the rest for me, sure, and it got absolutely buried the year it came out by so many other amazing releases, but it's totally timeless, sounding just as potent now as it did when I was hitting puberty. I think the band really hit the level they wanted musically, and where they would remain barring slight tweaks to production and aggression. A nice "Waaagh!" we could stick in the faces of our poseur friends and siblings who listened to Poison and Bon Jovi.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

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Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead (1984)

King of the Dead might not have hit peak Cirith Ungol for me, but this record was certainly meaner and more substantial than its predecessor, and even the younger Me appreciated it a little more right out of the box than the debut. Stylistically, it's not a lot different, there's still a lot of bluesy hard rock coursing through its 60s-70s fantasy veins, but Tim Baker's vocal performance here is a lot more evil and over the top and that alone gives the tunes a darker atmosphere. They still maintain that pop to the bass guitars which made them stand out against a lot of other heavy metal bands of the day, and the focus on memorable, simple rhythm guitars with plenty of groove to them, and melodic leads definitely stood alongside bands like Trouble and Pentagram to help the doom metal style evolve from Sabbath into a genre.

For many fans, this is the de facto Cirith Ungol experience, and while I'm an outlier to that idea, I can certainly understand why. It kicks your teeth in with steady blazers "Atom Smasher" and "Black Machine", but then after dispatching the minion hordes on the surface, creeps through the caverns in "Master of the Pit" with its bass line and leads, or the lumbering title track, which is both understated and epic in equal measures, Baker spitting out some of his most dangerous elongated screams to the slightly choppy, proggy grooves in the bridge. This also has a much mightier second half than the debut, with awesome pieces like "Death of the Sun", or the doomy power 'ballad' "Finger of Scorn" which once again features some of Baker's more eerie wailing dowsing it with atmosphere. The instrumental "Toccata in Dm" was something slightly different, a classical adaptation spun into a nice contrast of effected leads and spooky bass lines. They also pace this whole 46 minute journey quite well, and end on a strong note with their namesake track that exemplifies all their patient, pounding dynamics.

King of the Dead is more or less a template for One Foot in Hell, and that I appreciate, but it's also the perfect accompaniment for a night paging through your old epic fantasy paperbacks by Moorcock, Tolkien, Howard or Cook, or perhaps your Warlord comics. It's sword & sorcery writ into musical form, something not a lot of bands were doing at the time as the hair metal was starting to rage, thrash was in its infancy and a lot of Cirith Ungol's own Metal Blade peers were starting to eke out their own strains of what we'd now dub USPM. An umbrella they themselves might belong to, but has a pretty diverse palette...Omen and Manowar, Lizzy Borden and this band all sound quite different, with just enough overlap to interest a mutual audience. In the end, though, this sophomore just feels more committed to the sound established on the debut, slightly more consistent in production and songwriting and there's a pretty understandable reason why fans might hand you this first if you express interest in the band.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

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Cirith Ungol - Frost and Fire (1981)

Though I was introduced to metal music at a very early age, it wasn't until The Best of Metal Blade Volume 2 cassette that I really ran across Cirith Ungol's music. I was obsessed with that entire compilation during Middle School and especially at summer camp where their Orcish anthem "Blood and Iron" really sparked off a lot of fiery inspiration in me for various D&D games. As I backtracked to the Californians' first two records, I was obviously hooked by the unforgettable Michael Whelan artwork, but truth be told I wasn't as immediately taken by the music of the debut, which existed (understandably) on a more 70s hard rock threshold and lacked a little of the ironclad threat that a record like One Foot in Hell would later muster.

Gradually, I grew to appreciate these formative albums, and looking back now it seems silly to have spent years undervaluing Frost and Fire, because the DNA is much the same, and for the time it dropped it probably delivered the same punch as I associated with the later 80s stuff. I don't think this is their most consistent offering, and it probably remains the least visited in their catalogue for me personally, but it was quite a novel epic heavy metal piece, a sound felt like a midway between AC/DC, Judas Priest and early Manowar, rooted in blues and groove and injected with a bit of prog rock adventurism through the use of the crispy acid organ synthesizers on "What Does It Take". There are a few party tracks like "Edge of a Knife" which seem like they dip a little into a Rolling Stones or Stooges vibe, but even there you get some more epic guitars in the bridge, and clearly if they hadn't already arrived at their stylistic destination, they were well underrway in most of the instrumental categories.

The most important two are how the stark, blue collar weight of the guitar riffs collides with the more adventurous phrasing and plotting, almost like a West Coast counterpart to the Budgie stuff which was so great throughout the 70s; and the grating intonations of the legendary Tim Baker, who seems like an Udo, Bon Scott or Brian Johnson if they were forged thousands of years ago in Middle Earth along with a particular set of rings. The guy just sounds downright and nasty as early as this debut, whether it's the full on metal charge of the titular opener or the dirty hard rock bar blues in "Better Off Death". There's an acid to this higher pitch which seems to drip directly into your brain and there forever remain, as melodic as it is vicious, and when you think about it in retrospect, it brought something different to what would later be known as 'doom metal' from an Ozzy or Bobby Liebling.

Elsewhere, the drums are crisp and clean, and another big feature is the bass which has a nice pop to it where it pokes out from the other instruments. The whole band is fairly clear, and though the album might lack the 'heaviness' of later outings, I think the production here is quite perfect for the time, and has an organic, boxy nature to it which sounds like you'd experience in the jam room, though they can get a lot of resonance and atmosphere where needed like the intro to the closing instrumental "Maybe That's Why" with its acoustic guitars and droning electric harmonies. Some of the mixes aren't as balanced as others, and the leads can sound a little noisy or crude. Also, it's hard not to feel that the record is front-loaded with its catchiest tunes in "Frost and Fire", "I'm Alive" and "A Little Fire", but with age I definitely find myself exploring its nether regions rather than just skipping past them. A worthwhile introduction to a formidable band, and despite how 'dated' I might have initially found this one when rubbed against the band's first 'Reckless' records offering, it ironically ages well, and deserves new life amidst all the recent exploration of proto-metal and retro-doom styles which have spawned so many tasty throwback acts.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

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Spring Breakdown 2025

 

Off for the month of April. I will return for new discography reviews in May, June and July! Thanks as always for checking the place out. - autothrall

Versatile - Les litanies du vide (2025)

With a moniker like Versatile, I think you're setting yourself up for certain expectations. Possibly disappointment, if you wind up with a rather typical, commodified sound, or perhaps victory if you're using that branding as an inspiration to head out as far as possible into broad and wild musical amalgamations. I won't say that this debut Les litanies du vide quite achieves the latter, but they definitely mix it up enough to the point where you're never going to get bored headbanging along to their industrialized black metal mash-up. I would compare them to their countrymen Borgne, whose new album I recently covered, but whereas that group simply filters its more conventional black metal sound through some mechanical beats and atmospheric keys, this one does embrace the 'industrial' element a little more boldly.

Lots of grooves; choppy, churning rhythms that feel machine-like or robotic in nature, but then smothered in the atmosphere of the chants, sirens, and sinister, thick rasped vocals. I'd almost liken this to Fear Factory if they'd had more of a black metal foundation than a death metal one. Perhaps The Kovenant is  a better comparison, but despite having a similar set of crazy costumes, Versatile is a little less quirky, and they're delivery is equivalent to the harshest and most serious material of those Norwegians. This album is also soaked in this menacing, Gothic personality, with lots of organ sounds that make you feel as if you're in some haunted house cosplaying as an assembly line. They would be far on the heavier side of a lineup at some European fetish/Goth/industrial festival. There is a little bit more of a dated techno vibe here, too, which might seem cheesy, but this band never plays it for laughs. They even go straight EBM in places, like "Ieshara", but even that is taken dead serious, and for such reasons the record doesn't devolve into the sort of aural circus that you usually associate with bands using the masks, gas masks, contact lenses, prosthetics and all such dressings.

I give the band points for being quite catchy, and having these loud walls of chugging guitars, drums, deep rasps and synthesizers all crashing into one another with a solid level of coherence. There are moments on this album where the heavier instruments drop away and it feels like a horror soundtrack, and others where they embrace a slightly more dissonant industrial metal sound circa Godflesh, though the vocals and the melodic organs and such offer majorly different vibes. It's definitely a muscular debut, and while its acceptance will (as always) rely heavily on the particular preferences of the metal audience towards the adjacent genres on parade, there was undoubtedly a good deal of effort in its writing and recording. The 'black metal' here is largely through some of the vocals, so I think this one's headed more towards rivet-heads that like the noisier guitars and pounding drums, but if your listening habits are open to something like a more brutal, and yes, rhythmically versatile alternative to Neue Deutsche Härte, without the moody male vocals, then have at it.

Verdict: Win [7.25/10]

https://versatilemetal.bandcamp.com/

Borgne - Renaître de ses fanges (2025)

Of all the black metal bands out there that go relatively unnoticed, I think that Switzerland's duo Borgne might be one of the most worthy. 27 years of material, much of which is good, and has only gotten better with their infectious recent records like Y and Temps morts. Renaître de ses fanges does seem like a slight step backwards in quality to those, but all of the bands captivating mechanisms are retained for an experience that is overall rewarding. This is 'industrial' black metal, largely delivered through the beats, which are certainly caustic, cold and machine-like, but they're not layering in a lot of the clanking and whirring and techno instrumentation that defines a lot of other acts that hybridize the genres. Really, this is atmospheric and even traditional black metal with the programmed drums and just a few embellishments like spacey, ambient, slightly noisy passages, striking piano sounds, etc. It's not corpse-painted Ministry.

The production is pretty great, just like the last couple efforts, but with an added sheen of rawness, where everything simmers in its glorious, fell majesty. The tracks are almost all on the longer side, from 7-10 minutes, but I rarely felt like any inherent monotony outweighed the immersion. The guitars have a real noxious distortion to them which seems to hover around the chords like an aura of decay, but the melodic tremolo picked lines just blaze straight through, and Lady Kaos' keys settle just below them to create a constant, oppressive level of atmosphere without sapping away from the aggression of the guitars. Bornyhake's vocals are nothing too terribly unique for the genre, but they always sound like they're hovering over the brink. Some of the tunes have a blasted structure, others a more melancholic, mid-ranged flow like the closer "Royaumes de poussière et de cendre". There's still a little bit of a death metal subtext to some of the lower riffing patterns, but not as prominent as on the excellent "Swords of the Headless Angels" from 2021.

And that's pretty much the most negative thing I can say about this, it's just not as packed with hooks as the albums leading up to it. This combines a slightly more primal production with some chord patterns that feel a little rinsed and repeated, not only in the canon of Borgne themselves but black metal as a whole. Renaître de ses fanges is still an effective mood-inducer, you can almost feel like you can close your eyes to this and see the spectral cover figures drifting through an apocalyptic industrial bombed out urban landscape, and there are a few riff patterns in the depths of some of the tunes that are pretty glorious once they're rolled out. The balance of the ambiance to the aggression is also quite nice, I just think the metal progressions don't stand out to me nearly as well as some off Temps morts or Y. Still a pretty dependable effort, from a band I've kept in rotation since at least 2010's Entraves de l'âme, and one that's built itself an enduring legacy nearly as comprehensive as some of their French peers.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://borgne.bandcamp.com/

Räum - Emperor of the Sun (2025)

Räum's 2023 debut Cursed by the Crown was a serviceable slab of surging, atmospheric Belgian black metal, which didn't leave much of an impact with me, but was clearly competent in most of the ways that matter. They follow it up with a sophomore that somewhat copies and pastes the style of its predecessor, but also offers just a fraction more variety in its atmospheric segues where they break away from the sheer force of the venomous rasps and pounding, tidal chord patterns. That's nothing new, perhaps, since tunes like the title track of the debut were already exploring some vague acoustic passages to help mediate the unbroken intensity of the black metal ammunition, but I think there's a better balance here with slightly more substance.

Examples include "Grounds of Desolation" with its almost funereal, minimalistic bridge upon which the cleaner guitars eventually begin to shimmer, carving out the streaming guitars and thundering drums into halves; or the dour and folksy cleans in "Towards the Flame" and "Nemo Me Impune Lacessit", where they almost get experimental with the metal dropping out but the continued rasping as a few massive chords just drone onward to a light percussive shift. This binary technique isn't used all over the disc, as something like "Obscure" just seethes along, basking in its own barbaric juices, with dynamics relying on the layers of guitars that continue to swell and embed into the vaulted ceiling of the record's mix, while the beats and snarls maintain a stay cadence. I think my favorite piece is the titular "Emperor of the Sun", though, which cycles through a number of tempos during its own bridge and feels the most rhythmically adventurous and delivers a depth and mood.

I do think the vocals are good but a little monotonous, retaining the same vile pitch across a lot of the faster material. Emotional and volatile, sure, though some added chants, cleans, growls or maybe even effects would help match the variation the band exhibits as its shifting between to the two extremes. The guitar riffs are also not the stickiest, they always feel like they're just a few notes off from truly burning their way into your memory. There is also something about the production which didn't really resonate for me, I think it's the mix of the vocals and the shining guitar patterns which makes it all feel a bit blunt and streamlined. Those quips aside, I did feel like Emperor of the Sun tiptoes past the debut and shows a slight incline in potential.

Verdict: Win [7/10]

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Aura Noir - Aura Noire (2018)

The eponymous Aura Noire follows a fairly similar trajectory to its predecessor Out to Die, a faster and uglier callback to their early records that maintains the stronger and more memorable composition of the 2000s material. But there's a tonal shift here which brings out a little more of that old1 1984-87 Voivod influence I've been mentioning over a couple of their releases. This is largely achieved through the mix: the bass has a louder and chunkier voice to it, perhaps more important than on any of the prior albums, the guitars are produced with a boxed-in tone that feels slightly off-putting and alien without obfuscating them from the listener, and the nihilistic vocal barks are spit out very clearly but with some resonance and a bit of reverb that helps engrave them into the more affected sounds of the instruments.

This is consistent through the whole record, which again clocks in about 32 minutes to never wear out its welcome, and while some might prefer the mix of The Merciless or Out to Die, I kind of enjoy the quirk this decision gives to the record, it becomes more distinct among their catalog. Song-wise, this is another of my favorites, with coherent ideas translated into earworm riffage, absolutely evocative and killer lyrics (long a trademark of this band), and a genuine sense of creepiness and bleakness that is created through the note progressions and vocals. I remember Deep Tracts of Hell had a similar effect on me, but while this one isn't as abrasive as that I feel it's somehow more atmospheric. All of the songs are bangers, but I'd specifically point out "Hells Lost Chambers" with its steady trot and eerie atmospheric ending with the cleaner guitars and scarce bass, or "The Obscuration" where they spit forth a tremolo-picked intro more akin to some psychologically piercing black/death metal, or "Mordant Wind" which applies a little more of that Voivod structure to their post-Hellhammer grooves that became so prominent on Hades Rise.

But this is another album I almost always plow straight through, with other amazingly direct thrash numbers like the catchy "Shades Ablaze" and the swaying "Grave Dweller". Every one of the Nocturno Culto-adjacent vocal lines is riveting, pissed off and effective, like a tether to my corroding soul. And there's a special 'surprise' waiting at the end, a brief two-minute instrumental with a slightly brighter, yet still evil disposition due to the siren-like higher-pitched guitars they pitch over the rhythm riff. This is somewhat new for Aura Noir and foreshadows some potential ideas they might one day explore for the future, but it's also brief and might have been some unfinished track that they just slapped on there. Nevertheless, this s/t quickly became one of my favorite records they've done besides Hades Rise, and it definitely puts me in this weird blackened thrash trance when I'm listening. Even the weird, vague, minimalistic artwork by Kristian Valbo (drummer of bands like Obliteration) captures the imagination quite well. The trio split up for a spell some years after this disc released, but pretty quickly reformed, so I hope it's not too long to hear what they've been up to next.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

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Aura Noir - Out to Die (2012)

Out to Die isn't exactly a step 'backward' from the more tightened and refined sound of the last two albums, but it takes that songwriting and splashed in a measure of savagery from Deep Tracts of Hell. Right out of the starting gate, if there were any sort of divide between fans of this or that era, a track like "Trenches" would seem to unify them. Fast, vicious, perhaps not as dissonant as some of the later 90s material, but definitely matching the intensity, with a much stronger studio sound to support it. And it's no fluke, because the next few tunes also carry this violent momentum, like the material from Hades Rise has been given an injection of hell serum. It's not entirely a barrage, as you'll get offerings like "The Grin from the Gallows" or "Priest's Hellish Fiend" which channel more of that Sarke/Hellhammer vibe, but more often than not this thing blazes along without abandon.

Fortunately, that speed conceals loads of catchy, thrashing rhythm guitars nearly as catchy as the prior album, and this is probably the first album Aura Noir record I'd point to for fans of the last two decades of blackened speed and thrash which has become quite a prevailing trend (and I am there for it). Everything is precise, angry, and gives just a hint that it could lose control without doing so. The feet and fingers are getting a workout, riff after riff formed into a lethal execution like "Abbadon" or "Withheld" which make them sound like a much younger trio showing their chops. Another record like Hades Rise where the bass has a more formidable presence, although I do think the speed of the material relegates it more to a low end back seat. The raving TG Warrior/Culto barks are applied as rapidly as ever, with a lot more syllables spitting than their inspiration, and you get a lot of these raucous, sustained roars and snarls bounces back and forth between Appolyon and Aggressor, this really feels as if it might have the most diverse delivery.

All the songs are listenable, there might be a few minutes in which I find myself zoning out, but at 32 minutes I feel like it nails the same consistency they hit with The Merciless. I still hear all these little riff nods to earlier material from bands like Voivod and Sepultura, which might be in my imagination, but it ends up keeping the band in its own space, this doesn't sound like your usual derivative worship of Bathory and Venom, and honestly they never have, it's more as if you took the more aggressive side of earlier Celtic Frost and then turned it into a Death Race, where each lap they gradually apply another influence from the Teutonic or South American thrash, but it never becomes monotonous, as they will insert some more atmospheric or mid-paced passage to keep seizing the listener's attention. Great album, one or their better for sure.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

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Aura Noir - Hades Rise (2008)

I'm a huge fan of bands like Sarke, Slegest and Darkthrone, and also enjoy the black & roll era of Satyricon or the newer Tulus records which also employ a very stripped-down aesthetic. There's just this very centered vibe with the clear mixes, honing each riff and vocal line to be sinister and effective without the smokescreen of ceaseless extremity and rawness. Those are both formidable devices in their own right, mind you, but I appreciate that this sort of sub-scene has developed parallel to the rest of Norse black metal's evolution. I bring it up because I feel Aura Noir also belongs in that realm, albeit approaching it more from the thrash embedded in their past works. Hades Rise might be the foremost example of this catchy simplification through their canon, and it also happens to be one of my favorite records they've released.

Right from the start, you're getting these amazing, memorable grooves and hooks which feel like the prodigy of that Hellhammer influence I've mentioned elsewhere, tempered with a little pure dirty heavy metal ("Hades Rise") or some Slayer-like licks (in the amazing "Gaping Grave Awaits"). All of the chords feel so carefully chosen and timeless, and there's little fat to be had, where a few of the past records would spit out savage hit-or-miss vitriolic progressions. The vocals have a dry hostility to them, as they're not too dressed up in effects, but at the same time you can capture all the emotion of the throats torn to each syllable, and it works just as well as Nocturno Culto's great performance on the Sarke albums. The bass is a lot more prominent and the guitar tone has an organic charm to it, delivering pure riffage rather than studio wizardry or technical wanking. The drums have a strong shuffle about them and aren't as acidic or splashy sounding as they once were. Clearly this is still thrash metal, there are plenty of classic licks of that vein paraphrased throughout, with even a little early dissonant Voivod influence ("Schitzoid Paranoid"), but you can also hear the punch-drunkenness, rock & roll bravado and the lingering darkness of the black metal throughout, or even a little death metal in the verses to "Iron Night/Torment Storm".

This is also extremely consistent, perhaps the Aura Noir record that I'm most willing to listen straight through. None of the tunes overstay their welcome, the lyrics are evocative and awesome, and there's enough variation within that black/thrash/rock aesthetic where it's recognizably coherent but never too repetitive...the more brash "South American Death", for example, with its looser leads and wall-like barrage of riffs is quite different than "Gaping Grave Awaits". It's a fantastic effort that has only grown with me through time, I remember first hearing both this and The Merciless and being hypnotized by them far more than the earlier efforts that my friends and bandmates had championed upon me. Hades Rise is not something they would quite repeat with the follow-ups, however it does inform their sound enough they retain a lot of its sticky riffing and crank up the intensity. Love this disc.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10]

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Aura Noir - Increased Damnation (2000)

Increased Damnation is an interesting fan package which covers a few historical components for Aura Noir, studio and live material for the completionist. That said, this is not a compilation you are turning to for consistently, the contents are all over the place, but, along with the first two records and the live record they'd put out years later, dating back to 1996, this sort of 'completes' the first phase of their career. The entirety of the Dreams like Deserts EP is present, giving that a needed reprint for the time, and there are a selection of live tunes from another of their 'Elm Street' gigs, though I think these are later recordings than on the live album and there is a track difference since Deep Tracts of Hell was available, with "Swarm of Vultures" represented in a pretty raw and blistering form.

The Fenriz-fronted "Mirage" starts things off, transplanted from the EP, but featuring his vocals, and this is a much cleaner-produced version that fits more with forthcoming album The Merciless than the original EP. There are also some demo tracks from Deep Tracts of Hell, and they sound pretty sweet, I'd hazard that I found these a bit more impactful than what ended up on the actual album, just some writhing and nasty Teutonic-flavored thrash with ravenous vocals that hover just below the attack of the guitars. As the closer of the compilation, they've even got the most primitive version of "Tower of Limbs and Fevers" with just Aggressor performing, and his vocals are wild and hilarious almost like some sort of drunk narrator...some of their goofiness actually reminds me of lines that Fenriz has included on some of the 2000s Darkthrone output. Ridiculous but also charming, and this version of the tune has a weirdness in general to it that almost sounds like it's part Ved Buens Ende if that were thrash-injected.

The lack of rare or unreleased materials here limits its viability to me as a product, sure there are specific mixes of tracks you haven't experienced, but several are redundant just to this compilation. Granted, there was not a lot of Aura Noir material out there by this period, and if you hadn't had access to the EP then this might have been worth it for that fact alone, but this is not something I would ever have even broken out for a listen again if I wasn't writing through their discography. That's not to say it sucks at all, some of the alternate mixes are quite good or perhaps even preferable, but unless you're hell bent on grabbing everything the band has ever released, this is easily passed over for any of their full-length studio material.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

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Aura Noir - Live Nightmare on Elm Street (2006)

Live Nightmare on Elm Street is a little hard to come by, the only Aura Noir live album that I've heard, but it's also quite a treat for fans of their first few releases, recorded in 1996 on their home turf, and features a track list that incorporates just about all of Dreams Like Deserts and Black Thrash Attack. Despite releasing a decade after that period, it also SOUNDS like it represents that, because it's raw and hissy, something that was a characteristic of their earlier studio mixes, but thankfully not as dry as Black Thrash Attack. There's a sinister depth that the live setting brings out in the material, and while it partly sounds like its resonating off the walls of some rusted metal factory, it has a charm to it which is worthy enough of the studio counterparts that spawned it.

They were playing as the three-piece with Rune, and just smashing through all this material with some seasoned hands, feet and snarls. Audience interference/sound is kept to a minimum, and through it does feel rough around the edges, the audio is ultimately listenable and really conveys the hellish fervor of the riffing. Ironically, I noticed the bass guitar a lot more here than the first 3-4 studio efforts, and I kind of like how it prods against the rhythm guitar riffing better, though you lose some of the strength of the latter without numerous members tracking it in the studio. Heck, in "The Rape" it sounds incredible pounding out that ominous intro before the blast. The drums crash loudly, and the cymbals can get a bit too irritating, a symptom of many live captures, but overall I don't have many complaints about the mix levels. When the band gets a little more focused, on tracks like "The One Who Smite" which has a moderate pace, it can get pretty powerful; but then again, as they carve out barnburners like "Mirage" or "Conqueror" it also sounds pretty awesome.

I might even go so far as to say I enjoy the experience here more than their 1995-96 studio output, just in its presentation it manifests the hellion within a little more. Not that I go out of my way to collect live recordings, but I wish this one were a little more broadly available, as I had to listen through it digitally. Someone did re-issue it on cassette a few years ago, and I think this mix is perfect for that format, and fanatics for that format would probably be the ones to most appreciate this to begin with, but even if you can't track a copy down, purists for that earliest era of Aura Noir's career would probably enjoy this one a whole lot.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

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Aura Noir - The Merciless (2004)

The Merciless was definitely the juncture where my attention to Aura Noir started to grow, from a mere appreciation to genuine interest. The sound has been tidied up to an extent, with a cleaner mix, and while I can understand how this would prove a turn-off from some listeners, there was just something captivating about the vibe. Songwriting would definitely lean further into the Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Darkthrone sphere, even going so far as to make a reference in the opener's title, with Fenriz providing some guest vox! You can hear those primeval Swiss grooves in tracks like "Condor" and the awesome "Black Deluge Nigh", while the vocals continue to wield a heavy Tom G. Warrior intonation throughout; actually it's probably closer to Nocturno Culto's interpretation of that style, which I'm a huge fan of to begin with.

Note that they were doing this right before Darkthrone's own transformation towards exploring more speed, heavy metal and punk influences, but this doesn't quite come across like The Cult is Alive or Dark Thrones and Black Flags. It's somewhat a more streamlined version of the two albums before it, on cuts like "Funeral Thrash" or "Merciless", which flail about with an aggressive, thrashing abandon, but lack the sewer-like production aesthetics of Deep Tracts of Hell. There's nothing necessarily 'weaker' to the sound, no softening, it just feels much cleaner and like you're hearing a solid, organic performance in a rehearsal recording rather than the skin-peeling filth. The material does tend towards slower or middle pacing, but not so much as some of the later works. Riffs are nothing novel, but definitely drop some of the old Sodom and Kreator inspiration for more of that Hellhammer and perhaps some archaic Slayer if they were moving around half speed. Blasphemer/Rune Eriksen has returned for some guitars, having skipped the second album, and I think in this department the band does feel a bit stronger and more consistent, although there's nothing tremendously technical or nuanced here, they keep it pretty straightforward.

The bass still doesn't play a major role, usually buried beneath the rhythm guitars, but I do feel as if I can notice it slightly more, while the drums sound great as they shuffle through their grooves and the moderate blast beats they'll mete out to accompany one of the nastier thrash licks. I also really appreciate the continued commitment to having quality lyrics, as with the previous albums; in this way too they resemble the evolution of Darkthrone, albeit with slightly less of a tendency towards the tongue-in-cheek obscuring the deeper meaning...yes, a tune like "Funeral Thrash" is pretty much straight up silly self-flagellation of its genre, but then "Black Deluge Night" and "Black Metal Jaw" and others have a lot of great imagery in there. The Merciless isn't quite 'sea change' level for Aura Noir, but it definitely honed in and expressed the band's love of primitive thrash and black metal in a way that hooked me more than the first few attempts, which were good, but when I'm preparing my playlists of the band's material this is where I start to draw more selections.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10]

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Aura Noir - Deep Tracts of Hell (1998)

Black Thrash Attack might have taken its foot of the brakes, but the full length Aura Noir sophomore Deep Tracts of Hell nearly crashes off the speedway proper and levels half the neighborhoods surrounding the tracks. In fact, I think this record goes a little too far into a more purist black metal direction, not unlike some of what the band's Scandinavian peers like Marduk or Dark Funeral were all about during the same time frame. That's not to say it's just endless, soulless blasting, but the hints of thrash here are a little more scarce, especially in the first two tracks which crash through your ear canals like a corpse painted locomotive that has come flying off the rails. They do steady things out in later tunes like "Swarm of Vultures", while others like "Blood Unity" sound like alternate mixes to tracks from the debut album, but this is pretty much the peak of extremity this band has ever achieved.

Like the more colorful cover tones, the mix here has a little more depth for me than Black Thrash Attack. That's not to say it's perfect, you can still expect plenty of grime to it, but it doesn't feel so neutered and dry as it did on that album. They experiment a little more with lead sounds (like the warped and wavy dissonance in "Blood Unity"), and once again you get some Hellhammer/Celtic Frost/Nocturno Culto vibes, although this comes through primarily in some of the barked vocal lines, or the tune "Purification of Hell" which is a total foreshadow of what would be coming after, though this particular track has a weird hard rock party atmosphere to it, especially in the bridge and lead. But if I'm being honest, that's one of my favorites here, the more intense and fast material, while not badly executed at all, just sort of passes in and out my ears like so much barbed wire floss. There's a little bit of a 'sewer' quality to the record, imagine a black metal approach to Prong's Force Fed, and I find that the more weird and atmospheric it gets ("The Spiral Scar"), the more engaging, but there's not quite enough of that to keep it consistently compelling.

It's corrosive, filthy and furious, and the lyrics rule, but for every lick or vocal line that perks my attention, there are several more that evade it. They were back to a two piece here, and certainly Deep Tracts of Hell has more of an originality to it than the records preceding it. The sharing of the various instrumental duties by Aggressor and Apollyon is pretty unique, certainly a more even distribution than, say, Darkthrone, but it doesn't ultimately shift me in one direction or the other. This was also a sort of 'cusp' for the band, headed into a divisive territory where they would partly change their sound to something more organic and directly worshipful of Tom G. Warrior's bands, so I can see why some people greatly prefer this one (or Black Thrash Attack). For whatever reason, even though these discs were my first exposure to their music, I just happen to favor where they were headed to where they came from, unique or not. But none of that detracts from what a daunting effort this is...if you favor a more dissonant black metal edge cross-bred with the hyper death/thrash or something like Altars of Madness, and some Bathory or Hellhammer for good measure, this remains a pretty intense listen.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

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Aura Noir - Black Thrash Attack (1996)

Where the EP felt like a bit of German thrash worship, Black Thrash Attack feels like a more direct hybrid of its two genres, a faster and more intense attack than its predecessor, but still bursting into those frilly Destruction-like riffing patterns to remain recognizable. This record is a complete assault on the senses, with loads of blasting and much heavier riffs, almost as if the Norwegians' core sound is evolving much like their German influences did through the later 80s and beyond. The band had added Blasphemer here on guitars, and that might explain why it has a denser sound to it, but not necessarily through the production, which is nearly as raw as the EP, and rather dry on my ears, which for me does detract some points away from the experience.

That's not to say I dislike it, because the band's passion and songwriting manage to bleed through the mix. The rhythm guitars are more meaty and varied, in any given track like "Caged Wrath" or "The Pest" there is just a lot more going on, it doesn't feel like it couldn't been scratched out in an afternoon like the EP. They are definitely building a broader portfolio of riffs here, while still keeping some of their elements like the tinny clash of the drumming. Speaking of which, I think both of the core members perform on a few songs and they've improved since the debut, some of the more intense batteries wouldn't have felt out of place on the earlier Marduk offerings. The bass is kind of a non-starter here, the dry and direct production highly favors everything else out so you can only really hear it curving out a little like the low-end thrum of some rhythm chords. Like the EP, there are few riffs or songs overall that really stand out to me over time, but in the moment they can certainly prove exciting ("Eternally Your Shadow" is a favorite, or the title track), and this is also the point where that heavy Hellhammer and Celtic Frost influence turns up ("The One Who Smite"), which would have a huge impact on their later works as the band partly shifted its focus.

The lyrics here are quite a bit better penned than Dreams, although I still get the impression that lots of the song titles and general attitude are paraphrased from Sodom and Destruction. Which, for 1996, wasn't all that dated a concept, but still left the band a little shy of becoming its own distinct identity. Regardless of that, I know a good handful of people that consider this Aura Noir's finest hour. I am not one of them, as the production does little for me and I just feel like this formative 'half' of the band's career has been bested by so many others (Nekromantheon, Deathhammer, and Antichrist would be just a few examples), but Black Thrash Attack was unquestionably a stride forward from the previous release and shows a lot more effort, structure and ambition. Again, not the first record I'm pulling off the shelf, but a damn solid example of how this earlier style and the one it partly inspired can fuse together into something violent and fresh.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

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Aura Noir - Dreams Like Deserts EP (1995)

Dreams Like Deserts came along at a critical point when the whole blackened thrash/speed amalgam was a bit of a novelty; by no means was this some reimagining of the formula, but other than the obvious forebears like Bathory, Venom, Slayer and Possessed, or the earliest works of the German trio of Sodom, Kreator and Destruction, this was not the most popular route for most lingering thrash acts in the 90s to follow. The Scandinavian scene, however, did not get that memo, and so you had acts like Swordmaster, Gehenna, Bewitched, Aura Noir, and the evolving Impaled Nazarene around to spearhead this sort of retro- evolutionary backwashed vitriol, themselves sort of split between the influences of black, death, thrash or speed in differing proportions, but all offering this sort of 'slick', leather-harnessed back alley to the more intense, extremity that was taking over the pure black and death metal genres at the time.

This early Aura Noir recording was among the earlier works of Aggressor and Apollyon, two musicians who would go on to a lot of projects, including Aggressor's similar Infernö which would take off at around the same time in a more decidedly speed/thrash configuration with more of a punk foundation. And here you've got what sounds to me like pretty basic larval Teutonic thrash with the sinister vocals, for fans of In the Sign of Evil and Endless Pain, with some perhaps more pronounced black metal rasps that would keep them current with their Norse and Swedish peers of the time. But the riff structures here seem like they leap forth from the inspiration of "Riot of Violence' or "Total Desaster", not so much of the driven, supremely sinister Slayer in terms of riffing strength or diabolic harmonies, but rough and tumble with frilly licks and tin-can crashing drums that give it a real street vibe, knuckle-dusting the listener into some heaps of offal and refuse in some dimly lit pile of garbage bags.

To that extent, it's got a cool primacy to it that would set up the framework for their first two full lengths. The hellish energy is legit, although I don't think I ever found the riffs themselves to be as resilient or memorable as those they'd write later on. In fact, in today's saturated scene of blackened speedsters, Dreams Like Deserts would seem rather average, but it was in fact well ahead of the trend that would follow, and the few atmospheric moments it has like the intro to "The Rape" with its bass grooves reminiscent of Voivod, or the thundering bridge of "Forlorn Blessings to the Dreamking" do help to distinguish it slightly from being too generic. A fiery start, though this is admittedly the Aura Noir recording I return to the least whenever I'm seeking my fix, with some of its influences a little too much on its razored-up sleeves, like having a song titled "Angel Ripper".

Verdict: Win [7/10]

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Arcturus - Arcturian (2015)

Arriving a decade after Sideshow Symphonies, I recall Arcturian being a relief for me, as I felt I might never hear from this Norse supergroup again, its members so involved with other projects that saw a more direct level of success. When this finally showed up, I was instantly smitten, as it sounded like the band hadn't skipped one scatterbrained beat, with material just as wild, varied and weird as La masquerade infernale or its 2005 predecessor, only catchier like the records I greatly preferred throughout their career (The Sham Mirrors). It's another fusion of black metal, classical influences, and experimentation, but matured and really well balanced to appeal to fans of all their catalogue, with little nods here or there to particular tracks or records from the past, but still feeling forward, grasping at new tricks as early as the tubahorn that blares through the opener "The Arcturian Sign".

And though that's probably my least favorite tune on the album, it's still an intense exhibition of the members' individual chops, like Hellhammer's percussive flexing and ICS Vortex' yowling, atop the sinister symphonic swells that tether it to the genre that birthed it. The songcraft dramatically improves with the lush, swirling "Crashland" and its beautiful strings, or "Warp" which sends the band out across the universe with its infusion of beats, ambiance, and weird sci-fi keyboard sounds, something that was surely hinted at through lyrics and tunes in the past, but here becomes the most apparent. "The Journey" goes even more electronica with those continued seasonings of world music, multi-instrumentation and odd but soothing whispers and choirs that stretch across the atmosphere like a membrane. There are even tunes here like "Archer" or "Pale" that wouldn't have seemed out of place on the debut album, so it's quite cool how this feels like an ouroboros that hears the band swallowing its own tail once venturing past its own brain area.

The instrumentation is supreme, from the little blitzes of flagellant leads to the stark orchestration and aforementioned drumming that is at times as fast and hard-hitting as anything else HH has performed. The production is airy but clear, capturing both the depths of space and the Renaissance quirkiness the group seems to shift between. There's still a little bit of the goofiness you'd expect, particularly in Vortex's vocals and the carnival-like structure of the closer "Bane", but it never pushes it too far so that it takes over the more serious side, it's more cynical than silly. This was just an awesome comeback, the first year or so I might have considered it their best work, but I think The Sham Mirrors still holds that honor, with this a worthy second. Sadly, the band has taken another ten year hiatus from the studio by this time, but they've stuck around for some great live performances, and there are buzzings of new material to come. If that's going to be the cycle, where I get new Arcturus every decade, then I suppose I'll take it.

Verdict: Epic Win [9.25/10]

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Atrophy - Asylum (2024)

80s thrash metal reunions have reached the point of inevitability by now, and really over the last decade or so, but when some bands decide to give it another go, it feels like they haven't skipped a beat, where some others have attempted to modernize themselves in unflattering ways and evade the reason we heshers enjoyed them in the first place. Arizona's Atrophy, a really strong band across their first two efforts Socialized Hate and Violent by Nature, have fortunately fallen into the first of those categories, with a sound here that feels as if this album had dropped around 1992-93 as thrash declined, stubbornly loyal and aggressive to a fault. My first few spins of the record, I was impressed with the level of energy and strict adherence to their style, but the songs didn't stick out to me as much as their earlier material when I was a teenager.

That has changed in the intervening months, and it's grown on me to a degree, just because of the sheer tenacity of the material. There's not a lot separating this from the old days, largely mid-to-fast paced rhythm guitar-driven punishment with a Bay Area sound mirroring Testament and Forbidden, the one exception might be a little more of a melodic, dramatic vibe in some of the leads. Brian Zimmerman's crunchy, memorable delivery is still the central foundation upon which all this thrives, he's always had sort of a nastier, back alley Chuck Billy intonation and that has not changed, he delivers plenty of grit and his very presence keeps anything from becoming too sterile or polished. I'm also blown away that the rest of the band is all new, but they just nail the precision and playing of their predecessors. There was clearly every intention of making this as close to the source as possible, and they studied well. A few little glints of modernization can be noticed through the production, but everything from the guitar tones to the drumming style is reflective of where they left with the Roadracer discs. Hell, I think the cleaner vocal and acoustic at the very finale of "Close My Eyes" stood out all the more by it.

For me it works the best when you've got that little bit of reverb on Brian's voice, the delivery is so powerful especially when it's followed by some lead guitar that tears through the atmosphere. The lyrics are no-nonsense social and political rantings which were always at the core of the style, but not written in some reckless way, they champion the anti-establishment, anti-corporate, anti-war themes which are just as relevant today as four decades ago when punk and trad metal spawned this hybrid. It's all hammering, intense, and proficiently written, and really so consistent that it's difficult to pick out high or low points as there's such an even distribution over the 44 minutes. I will maintain that the choruses and riffs don't quite embed themselves into my brain as they once did, but as I listen through this it's engaging, entertaining and there are few flaws to point at. A solid reunion effort that gets back to what was important, and perhaps now that they've settled back into this they can come up with a blazing set of tunes to rival their early years. Well met, and welcome back.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/atrophyofficial

Arcturus - Shipwrecked in Oslo (2014)

Arcturus was one of the bands that put on a pretty sweet live-set stream during the COVID 2020 period, something I really appreciated in those times as an example of bands thinking of their fans and trying to keep that interchange and communication together in the face of the uncertain. I'd not gotten to see them in concert before (still haven't), so it was at that point I decided to check out their earlier live album, at least the audio component taken from the Season of Mist DVD back in 2006. It turns out that Shipwrecked in Oslo is quite a substantial tour through the band's catalogue with around 80-90 minutes of material captured on a single CD (or the two-LP variant). This was the Sideshow Symphonies lineup for the band, with ICS Vortex instead of Rygg, and it holds pretty too with the overall atmosphere and tone on that studio record.

But yeah, they bust out a lot of material off most of their records to that point, with only Aspera Hiems Symfonia underrepresented via "Raudt og svart" at the tail end of the track list. It's great to hear favorites like "Ad Absurdum", "Nightmare Heaven" and "Painting My Horror" represented, and all of them sound as bright and detailed as they do in their studio incarnations. Sometimes frightfully so, played so cleanly that it occasionally feels like someone might be blasting the studio album over the loudspeaker without the vocal track and then having Simen go wild over it. His take on most of the earlier tracks is pretty close to his predecessor, but his voice definitely waves a lot here, as he's getting more emotional or aggressive on a lot of the lines. It does sound somewhat corny in spots, but then again, so did Garm on a lot of the studio originals, and I don't think the vocals ever become a detraction, he's just having a lot of fun with a band that has such a wild mesh of styles to begin with. Something else unique here are the solos, Steinar doing a sweeping classical piano piece, Tore an atmospheric guitar bit that sounds like Eric Johnson, and Knut deciding to go for a more brooding ambient interlude, which might seem pretty bland and minimalist next to Tore's, but I actually appreciate they tried to make these all sound so different.

Of course, these are just distractions against what everyone really came to hear, the album originals, which are all delivered with the grandeur and weird cosmic circus pomp that you'd expect. The electronics and symphonics both blend in seamlessly with the more acoustic impact of the drums and guitars, Simen sitting just perfectly in the mix, loud and distinct but even at his most spontaneous he's never drowning out the rest. I'd have probably preferred 1-2 more early tunes than some of the stuff off Sideshow Symphonies, but it's still a strong enough, professional set that makes me want to check them out if they're ever passing through New England in the future. Not the most exciting or explosive live you'll encounter, but a strong representation.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10]

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway

Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies (2005)

Sideshow Symphonies is one of those rare records that, for whatever reason, I have occasionally forgotten about. Part of that might be that I wasn't hooked with it nearly as much as its predecessor, or maybe there was just an influx of new metal I loved around that 2005-2006 era; In fact, I think it's probably a combination of these factors. I'd liken it to ANOTHER 2005 record, Sigh's Gallows Gallery, which is also playing as an avant-garde/progressive style derived from the black metal niche; but where that one still hasn't ever connected with me, the Arcturus has slowly become a more appreciated part of their canon, in combining a lot of elements of prior albums Aspera Hiems Symfonia, La Masquerade Infernale and The Sham Mirrors into a more familiar, if less adventurous work, and while it doesn't stand out to me as much as its neighbors, it is certainly going to scratch the itch when you're pining for their particular sound.

The album's just as detailed and intricate as the two before it, with a lot of variety pasted atop a slick prog metal foundation. Scathing licks and savage drumming support sweltering atmospheres, sizzling synth lines that are often shredding more than any of the guitars. A major change here is that Simen/ICS Vortex has taken over the lead vocal duty from Jester/Garm, and he expands his forebear's intonations out with that memorable, yodeling pitch. If you've enjoyed any of his records with Borknagar than I think this is a pretty solid parallel, only its nature-worship is devoted more to the cosmic carnival this band manifests more so than the fjords and forests. Though they're constantly glazed by the symphonic keyes of Steinar Sverd, I feel as if there's a stronger metallic presence through the guitars than some of the other albums, or at least on par with any of them. There's still an air of mystique captured through the riffing patterns, but at the same time I feel like this is the 'safest' of their albums, in that it doesn't really step forward as much as any of those that were written before it. Performance-wise, though, Sideshow Symphonies proves just as technical and practiced as nearly anything else its members have ever releases in their myriad projects.

The production here is also one degree above The Sham Mirrors or La Masquerade Infernale, with all of those aforementioned intricacies captured at consistent levels. The thin pinch of the guitars manages to balance off well against the airy soundscapes swaddling the keyboards, and everything is crystal clear, working wonders for the natural contrast between the busyness of the instruments and the folksy melodic primacy of Simen's vocals. Purely symphonic pieces, like the intro to "Evacuation Code Deciphered", sound lush, and yes, this album has a lot of those cool three-world titles that Dimmu Borgir was often using throughout the 90s and 00s. "Hibernation Sickness Complete", "Shipwrecked Frontier Pioneer", "Nocturnal Vision Revisited", they're all over the place, and it makes this record seem like it's some kind of prognard sibling to Death Cult Armageddon. In fact, if you want a lighter touch to that symphonic surge, or you're into the stuff Ihsahn was starting to create post-Emperor, or of course Borknagar, Enslaved, Solefald, Winds and Age of Silence, this one's worth having around. It's still, for me, the least memorable full-length they've dropped, the highs are just not the heights of those before and after, but it's an immersive enough listen from a band that has yet to land a dud on me.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

https://www.facebook.com/arcturusnorway