It’s no big secret that I have long been a champion for the creations of A Death Cinematic, and it seems to have become a biannual occurrence that I would find myself sitting down to my desk to write on yet another exquisite release from his own imprint, Simple Box Construction.  While for many artists, […]

At this point in time, it’s rather hard to fathom what the metal underground would be like if it were suddenly void of Heathen and Pagan imagery. For those whom are entrenched in underground music, especially black metal, they should be no stranger to the mindsets that are found within these musicians. Black metal, despite […]

Eastern Europe seems to swarm with Slavic Pagan Metal acts, from renowned bands such as Drudkh to more obscure settings trying to fight their way through. Paganland is of the latter kind, hailing from Ukraine, taking pride in their ancestry and delivering it into songs from lands of freedom and epic melodies. Founded in 1997 […]

“I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” –Albert Einstein War is a horrifying and bleak experience, especially the wars of the last century, yielding millions of casualties, destroyed countries, and bleak futures for the species who created them. It’s […]

Before saying anything at all in regards to this release, I have to admit that I was one of those whom purposely avoided anything to do with its original incarnation on France’s Faunasabbatha because of the — perhaps irrational — fear that I’d quickly tear the thing apart in hatred, due in part to frustration […]

I’m turning into some kind of ‘cohesion’ junkie. Every dark ambient album that doesn’t have a linear or abstract theme, that doesn’t have a discernible thread, that doesn’t in some way present itself as a self-tied package plumped with consideration and significant import seems to fall below the line for me. Promoting such an opinion […]

I find it, at times, difficult to fathom how certain intangibles in a nation’s perceived character can come to define their spirit as a culture and as individual people.  It has long been a noted understanding, perhaps even a cliche, that the Russians have ice running through their veins; a toughness that is both uncharacteristic […]

Whatever their virtues may be, the first and foremost reason anyone has to be interested in Rage Nucléaire’s debut album is the return of the Quebec death metal scene’s prodigal son, Dan Greening, better known to the world as Lord Worm. One of the original members of DM pioneers Cryptopsy, he’s renowned for his vocal […]

One of the kindest compliments that I can pay to a recording is stating the desire to listen to it while staring out of windows on trains or buses. The landscape hardly matters. The slowly blurring images of travel have always been the greatest companion for deep, attentive listening. Playing Banana Pill’s self-titled cassette on […]

Ever since Heathen Harvest reported on Halgrath’s Liquid Mind album eighteen months ago, I’ve been avid in following her every aural move. Halgrath, otherwise known by her second alias Agratha Mirrait, is a female dark ambient artist whose outpourings of work seem to know no bounds, with every other week a new track sprouting up […]