2017 : Brave Mysteries / Shadow of the Stone Format : Cassette / CD The highland Clan known as Campbell takes it’s name from the grandfather of Sir Colin Mor, known by the Gaelic “CAM BUEL”, or “Crooked Mouth”. There are many legends behind the origin of that epithet, but the truth is lost to…
2017 : Urban Yeti Format : CD / Digital There’s a thread that runs through the latest from the Pennsylvania-based Dreadlords, and if you tug hard enough for the stitches to unravel it will lead you straight to Samhain. Not the Gaelic high holiday that became the toned-down version that we now call Halloween, but…
2017 : Désordre Nouveau Records Format : 7″ File this one under “out of left field” for me, it’s one of those splits your not sure how or why came together, only glad that it did. For those that don’t know, Dreadlords is basically the flipside to the Black Industrial unit TOMB. Make no mistake, it’s…
2017 : Sepulchral Voice Records / The Ajna Offensive Format : LP / CD Now that I’ve been able to sit down with it for a bit, I’ve been struggling to find words for this one. I know a bunch of people were expecting a sequel to the debut MLP that shook the Death Metal scene way back…
2016 : Aurora Borealis Format : Cassette/Digital I’ve been a fan and ardent follower of Anji’s work since stumbling across it a couple of years back. I’ve featured her on the podcast, asked her to contribute to our yearly “best of” (which she’s so graciously complied), but I’ve never actually reviewed one of her releases.…
MMXVI Yes, 2016 was a dumpster fire, but the flames are not burning any hotter or reaching higher than the ones before…or the ones to come. Politicians are a corrupt lot and most answer exclusively to mega corporations. Few, if any, hold our best interests at heart. We live in a world where religious extremists kill…
2016 : Not Just Religious Music Format : LP “Neo” is a prefix with it’s roots in the Greek néos; young or new. Attaching that to “Folk” almost seems like an oxymoron, and the combination is one I’ve never been completely comfortable with. Alas, it is what it is, as they say, but for me, there’s…
2017 : Listenable Records Format : LP/CD It’s been two years since Hetroertzen released their last full length album, Ain Soph Aur. What an incredible album it was. I exalted it as one of the best records I’d heard over the past few years, and to this very moment it’s still in regular rotation right…
2016 : Ván / Not Just Religious Music Format : LP / CD / Digital As 2016 (thankfully) comes towards it’s end like a mountain troll, dragging it’s club behind it, every day I look at my shortlist of “Best Of’s” and think, “I should really write a review for that”. Unfortunately I usually end up in…
Listen, I’ll be the first to admit my fanboy bordering on obsession love for this label. Founded in 2001 by Akitsa frontman Pierre-Marc Tremblay, this Québécois label has been releasing some of the most intense underground Black Metal there is. However, my complete adoration comes not only for Tremblay’s impeccable taste in metal, but for having…
2016 : Dark Adversary Productions Format : CD Noun. oneironaut (plural oneironauts) A person who explores dream worlds, usually associated with lucid dreaming. It’s been far too long since we’ve had a proper full-length release from Crimson Moon. Before I explain to you why this is probably the best release of the year, I’m going…
2016 : Peaceville Format : LP/CD Total Occultic Mechanical Blasphemy, or TOMB as they are commonly known, have been creating their own strain of noisy, Blackened electronic desecrations for nearly 20 years now. After a slew of releases on various formats and a myriad of independent labels, this latest offering on Peaceville marks the culmination of those…