Friday, April 2, 2021

Review: Farawisa's debut album "Darraðarljóð"

So today Lachryma Christi was pleasantly surprised with an email from Naturmacht Productions with the debut album of Farawisa for review.
For those who don't know, Farawisa formed in 2017 in Vienna. They will be releasing their debut album called Darraðarljóð on the 2nd of May.
Oh man, this is so good. 
They seem to be very loyal to the Scandinavian old times, since they only sing in Old Norse, and their name Farawisa is also derived from Proto Norse, and it means "the one with dangerous knowledge", meaning a master of Runes and of their magic. 
However, their concept is based on Norse mythology and Old Icelandic literature.
So what can you expect from such a masterpiece? Yes, it really is a masterpiece.
Well, you can expect Black Metal music as a basic ingredient, but then there are a lot more ingredients added, which create a fantastic result, such as keyboards that add a great atmosphere, as well as very dragged and angry guttural voices combined with clean majestic voices, and which are quite powerful and respectful indeed. Then there are some raw cold riffs. And when appropriate, there are also some acoustic guitars. The rhythms are sublime.  They really didn't leave anything out, it's terrific, formidable.
It is like it takes you to a different world. A magical and mighty ancient world of ice and beautiful landscapes.
It is so bloody good, difficult to describe in words, really.
They made a song available, Darraðarljóð, which is the track 6 of the album.
My favourite track of the whole album is track 1, Baldrs Draumar. So, when you have a chance, listen to the whole album. You might even have a different favourite. The whole album is brilliant.

Well, you can stream Darraðarljóð here:








Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Review: Åskog's upcoming debut album "Varþnaþer"

Black Metal band from Sweden Åskog, are releasing their debut album Varþnaþer, on the 12th of May, on CD via Grind to Death Records, and digitally via Leviaphonic Records. A vinyl and cassette release by Corrupted Flesh Records might come out around the same date but could be delayed by a few weeks.
For those who don't know, Åskog released a demo last year, called Varg.
So, what can you expect?
It is very furious, very fast, very full of rage. Touches the traditional lines of the old Black Metal, reminding, at times, Marduk and other great bands of the sort.
Varþnaþer has 8 tracks, all full of fury and anger. Everything falls well and into the right place.
You can tell the musicians are extremely talented and professional. It is not just a Black Metal album, it has a lot of quality. It is indeed a very good album. So good that I am going to listen to it all over again just now.
Although the sound isn't totally original, it brings that fresh air feel that we all need sometimes.
As I said before, 2021 is already being great year, regarding Black Metal music, and Varþnaþer will certianly be on the top 10 list.









Friday, March 5, 2021

News: Discarded Self

In the end of January, Lachryma Christi shared with you that Discarded Self had released a song from new self-titled album of the band, scheduled to be released on the 30th of April, through Sarcophagus Recordings.

So now, they just released another song, Dead Upon the Dead, and you can liste to it here:

This song is notoriously more sludge/doom with less Black Metal influences than the previous song Orbitoclast . However, if you listen to the voice, it is right there.






Jarret Beach, the perso Hoen behind the one-man-band that is Discarded Self has this to say about the song Dance Upon the Dead:

“I’ve been watching a lot of serial killer movies for I don’t know, the last 25 years haha. I used those types of films for the inspiration of this song. This song was written coming from the perspective of a husband or father of a victim of a serial killer. It is clearly a revenge song, and describes the hate and rage that would be felt by the families of the victims. It’s a disgusting dive into that reality, and ends in a way that quenches the thirst of pure revenge.”

Pre-orders through the band's Bandcamp page are available now, with other pre-orders opening soon through iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Napster, Deezer, Tik Tok and Tidal






Read more in:


Review: Lebensnacht's upcoming album "The Realm Beyond"

German band Lebensnacht is back with a new album called The Realm Beyond, which is set to be released on the 28th of March, through Naturmacht Productions.
It will be the last album of this era for Lebensnacht, since Robert Brockmann is relocating to Lapland.
If you have heard their albums before, you know that Lebensnacht play an old school Black Metal music, with atmospheric sounds and very strong singing.
The Realm Beyond is no exception. It has 6 tracks, filled with emotions. It sounds short, you want more afterwards. Or at least, I do.
With keyboards that take us around 20 years back in time, it is very powerful and even brings you a sense of nostalgia, although the album is still to come!
The sound has the normal Black Metal fast blast beats, but also the ballad bits, which we don't find a lot nowadays, unless we are listening to something with more symphonic influences, which is not the case.
The guitars bring a whole feel to the music, whether they are in acoustic or distorted mode. The riffs are very melodic, and it suits perfectly.
My favourite track might be Ravens Flight to the Realm Beyond, which starts with an owl sound, and then evolves into very intense, melodic, full, fast, impressive music.
The Realm Beyond brings memories of some 90s Black Metal. It is melancholic, introspective, emotional, with some good sadness attached, if we can say it that way.
So if you are into this kind of Black Metal, don't miss out. It is beautiful work.







Friday, February 26, 2021

News: Abbath

Abbath are in studio recording their third full-length.

The band is currently residing in the Dub Studio in Kristiansand, Norway with producer Endre Kirkesola.

The album should be released some time later this year.






In case you're not aware, the previous album of Abbath was called Outstrider, and was released through Season of Mist on the 5th of July 2019.

You can stream it here:



 
Read more in:



News: Vreid

Black 'n Roll band from Norway Vreid are releasing a new album called Wild North West through Season of Mist, on the 30th of April.

It is a concept album, that developed alongisde a full movie.

You can watch the video for the self-titled song here:







All the information about the album is here:




Read more in:



News: Fuath

One-man band (Andy Marshall) Fuath from UK, is releasing a new album called II through Season of Mist, on the 19th of March 2021.

In the meantime Fuath just released the song Into the Forest of Shadows from the album, and you may watch the video here:




You may also pre-order II here:



Recording studio: Fortriu Studios
Producer / sound engineer: Andy Marshall
Mixing: The Amplogia Studio, Vitold Buznaev
Mastering: Turan Studio, Tim Turan
 
Recording line-up: all songs composed and performed by Andy Marshall
Session drums by Carlos Vivas



(Artwork: Luciana Nedelea Artworks)


Tracklist

1. Prophecies (09:28)
2. The Pyre (06:51)
3. Into the Forest of Shadows (06:23)
4. Essence (09:26)
5. Endless Winter (09:23)