News: Nastergal announce new album "The Untold War"

International Black Metal band Nastergal are releasing their first album The Untold War on the 25th of March, through Wormholedeath.

"We are grateful to work with such a dedicated label to make “The Untold War” a worldwide reality," expressed the band. "This album is an extension of our musical journey, delving deeper into the depths of philosophical introspection and raw emotional intensity."

You can watch the lyric video for the song Underworld from the upcoming album, here:

Tracklist:

1. Brothers in War

2. The Stillest Hour

3. Redemption

4. Involuntary Bliss

5. The Underworld

6. Will to Power

7. My Wandering Soul

8. The Vision

9. Immaculate Perception

10. The Three Evils

Read more on:

www.youtube.com/@nastergal1558

www.facebook.com/Nastergal

www.instagram.com/nastergal_metal

Spotify: tinyurl.com/SpotifyNastergal

Review: Opvs Noctvrne's EP

So, a couple of days ago, I was telling a friend how a certain social network is basically useless, when Opvs Noctvrne contacted me, saying they found Lachryma Christi precisely on that platform. Not a useless one after all, it seems!

Opvs Noctvrne released their self titled EP last December.

Who are Opvs Noctvrne? Opvs Noctvrne are actually a duo from Poland, who play a very interesting progressive Black Metal. To be honest, I wouldn't call it progressive. It is different, very heavy, definitely has a lot of influences of other styles, but I still wouldn't call it progressive. It is very melodic, but what stands out more to me, is a huge Thrash Metal influence, specially on the second track of the EP "Half-Life". 

If I like it? I like it. It is varied, strong, potent, enticing.

It has clean voices as well as extremely grave voices in the gutural bits. Which mixes quite well with everything else, and is still different from other bands. 

And I already mentioned before, but will mention again, that although very heavy, their music is very melodic. Groovy sometimes, with pleasant beats, and when you least expect, here it comes, Black Metal in all its glory. I just wish there was more of it, or that those bits lasted longer.

Also, usually in the more traditional Black Metal music, everything is very high pitched, shrill even. And these guys are the exact opposite, grave and low. Bassy and deep. It's quite different.

I have a favourite track, which is the third one Frozen. It's fantastic, obscure riffs, powerful voice, heaviness, fastness. I've listened to the EP three times on a row, and that's definitely my favourite song.

So, if you like Black Metal music that is more slow paced, more heavy and dragged, more melodic and thrashy at the same time, Opvs Noctvrne might be your thing, check them out! If it's not your thing, I suggest you check them out anyway, you might get surprised.

Review: Urbain's debut album "A Soul Purged"

This is the perfect example of "better late than never", although I deeply regret that only now I'm listening to this album. I wish I had included it on the top 10 releases of last year.

Urbain contacted Lachryma Christi last year, but I was taking a hiatus, so I didn't see it. Who are Urbain? Urbain are a band from the USA, who play a very intricate progressive Black Metal. Or as the band themselves say, urban Black Metal.

They released their debut album A Soul Purged last year in July, through Hypnotic Dirge Records.

A Soul Purged is made of pure talent. 

Mind you, I prefer simpler music. This is not the music I listen to on a daily basis (or now it might become a part of it, who knows?). But these guys are extremely talented, professional, passionate. It's all so intense and different. 

The first track left me teary even, so many bloody emotions. Even if this isn't your kind of music, I'm sure you'll feel amazed by the quality of Urbain's work, the same way I do.

There are 9 tracks. The first one starts with a piano, a bit of a very emotional and profound intro, opening ways for the awesomeness I was really not expecting. 

They know how to integrate clean voices and gutural low and high pitched voices with mastery. It is not boring. Sometimes when I tell people about clean voices, automatically people think it's boring. With Urbain, I'm sure there is no space to feel bored. Nothing is boring here. 

With Urbain, prepare your emotions, prepare your mind, because their music touches places I didn't think were touchable. What a journey!

My favourite track might actually be the first one Perception. But the whole album is brilliant, intense, deep, powerful. The production is fantastic as well. No detail goes unnoticed in there.

Urbain explore in depth what we usually think was already explored enough in this kind of music. There are some really good bands who play progressive Black Metal, but Urbain blew my mind. Their music is extraordinarily full, it is rich, sharp, it is majestic. 

I'd like to see them live.

You won't find the raw traditional stuff here, but you'll find amazingly performed Black Metal music, sometimes almost touching the orchestral music, other times touching the experimental. Sometimes very melodic and very instrumental. But never lacking the fastness and the anger, never lacking the suffered and desperate voice. Never lacking the dedication nor the characteristic atmosphere and feel, which in the end of the day, are the most important things for a Black Metal fan.

Review: Liminalanimal's latest album "The Furies and Futility"

So recently I got this album in my inbox, and after listening to it a couple of times here I am, writing a few lines about it. 

Liminalanimal is a one man band from Scotland. Last December he released the second full length of the band. The release is called The Furies and Futility, and it has 7 tracks, of quite an experimental Blackened Doom Metal. 

What can I tell you about it? I can tell it is a bit strange at first, but the more you listen, the more you want to listen to it. The more curious you feel about what will the next track sound like. It's strange and at the same time so familiar, for some reason.

I'm fascinated, I must say. I love Black Metal and I like Doom Metal, and there are some bands who do this mix, but Liminalanimal is different from any other band I've heard of the kind. It's groovy even at times. And that's where the experimental bit comes in.

There is definitely a very intense Doom element, it's dominant. But as you keep going, it gets into Black Metal without you even noticing. When you realise, you're there. There is no shock, there is no "oh shit what was that?", it is all very well put together, everything fits together. This is a very well conceived, composed and performed album. 

It brings you some nostalgia feeling, some melancholy, some sadness even, I must add. But the melodies are so beautiful, the solos are so full of feel, I'm very impressed.

My favourite track is number 4 The Furies (Part One). It's proper melodic and yet fast and aggressive Black Metal music. Not only, but mostly.

The voice is very different too, it's not the growling we're used to, it's more sung than growled but with its fair share of distortion and noise even. Subtle and yet filling, very dragged and dragging too. It's great. It's original.

So if you want to listen to something a bit different, full of peculiar ideas, and if you're a fan of Doom Metal or Black Metal or even better, both, The Furies and Futility is for you.

Review: Grievance (PT) @ Spacy Club, C. Rainha (PT), 19/01/2024 plus show announcement for TOMORROW (09/02)

I wasn't supposed to review this gig, because I actually didn't go there. I was supposed to go, but had a last minute change of plans. However, they streamed it live, and today I watched it. So, I was thinking, if I reviewed Cradle of Filth live stream during COVID isolation, why not reviewing this one too? 

So this show was supposed to be with another band, a Doom Metal band called Lord of Confusion, but due to health reasons they were forced to cancel, sadly. It ended up being a one band gig, Grievance.

I've seen Grievance live a few times, and apparently I missed a hell of a gig this time. For those who don't know, Grievance is a one man band, with a lineup that plays the live shows. Grievance play a sort of traditional, more melodic than not Black Metal, with pagan elements. It's right up my alley.

The first time I saw them live, I thought they were heavily influenced by Nordic Black Metal music and also looks (if you read that review - 2019 I think - you'll remember my description of their corpse paint). Haven't listened to them or seen them live in a few months, and my impression now was exactly the same. When the solo of the first track came up, my mind went straight up to Bathory, as much as I hate comparing bands. It's funny, that I don't get that impression when I listen to their albums though, it's only when I see them live.

However, although influenced by this or that band (because, let's be honest, we all are influenced by something), Grievance has that original bit that stands out. The songs stay in your mind, the riffs are different, there is a repetition and a persistence that is almost hypnotic, the lyrics are different, and it's that originality that makes their shows different too, and makes you go home wanting more.

Either way, I had been told by someone who was in the public that the show was magnificent, intimate, and bloody hell, who told me this was very right. They played quite a long set. There was a very mystical environment, almost ritualistic. The dedication was full, both from the band and the public. There was definitely a great connection.

I forgot to mention when I spoke of the looks, that this time Koraxid was carrying a sword in his belt. I thought it was going to be only a part of the outfit, but at some point he actually exhibited the sword, in a way that was almost ceremonial. That added some more mysticism and atmosphere to the show. It was not just another Black Metal show.

They played some of my favourites, as I mentioned above it was a long set, entertaining, interesting, pleasing. Great show. If I'm satisfied? No, I would be satisfied if I actually had been there. 

The photos are ridiculous, because they are prints of the Instagram stream. I like rough photos though. But, if you check their page, you'll see great photos. And also you can watch the show there too!

So if this review inspires you, and if you are in Portugal, you can always go see them live TOMORROW, the 9th of February in Almada, with Gandvr. Please check flyer below. I don't guarantee swords will be present this time, but I guarantee they'll put on a good show.

Review: Offret's upcoming album "Затмение" (The Eclipse)

Offret are a Black Metal band from Russia. Quite a different Black Metal music, I must say. There is a bit of an experimental branch there.

They have been around for nearly 10 years, and they have quite an interesting discography. Затмение is their second full length, and is coming out on the 21st of February, via War Productions / Void Wanderer Productions /

Dead Red queen Records / Onism Productions.

I have to say that Затмение is different from anything I've heard in the last times. Every track is a surprise. When you think the song is going to be a certain way, it changes drastically, and those twists are really really interesting.

It is utterly atmospheric, dark, deep, introspective and furious as well. I like it.

Затмение has 5 tracks. All of them with ambience elements, which take you to a complete different dimension. Very mystical, very musical, very meditative, sometimes tribal, even hypnotic. The thing is, when you think "oh wow, this is different, i can go along with it", comes a twist that makes your jaw drop. So fast and full of fury and anger, so bloody unexpected. It's marvelous. 

It all is really powerful, very very out of the ordinary, and yet so pleasant and goosebumpsy. The whirlpool of emotions is something else.

I was completely taken by surprise by the intensity and immensity of this album. And, this kind of experimental thing and mix and blend isn't even my cup of tea. Imagine if it was. 

So if you enjoy some more environmental music, you get it. But, if you're a fan of really heavy, enraged, heated, fast Black Metal music, you get it too! It is all perfectly matched together. I can't even chose a favourite track. They are all enormous. Затмение is a fantastic album, indeed. 

Review: Duindwaler's upcoming album "In het Heemskerks duin"

Dutch Black Metal band Duindwaler are releasing a new album called In het Heemskerks duin, on the 21st of March, through War Productions (CD) / Void Wanderer Productions (CD) / Zwaertgevegt (MC).

In fact, Duindwaler is a one man band,

This is very good Black Metal, I must say. It really is composed and performed with brilliance.

What can you expect from In het Heemskerks duin?

It is actually the first album of Duindwaler. Before this, the band had released a EP, and participated on a split. Which I haven't listened to yet, but now I want to.

So In het Heemskerks duin is like a shot of adrenaline. It is full of obscure but fast paced riffs and blast beats. Of course, not just that, that was only a brief introduction, since this album is a lot more profound. But yes, I wouldn't call it traditional, but familiar and welcoming.

The voice is very rough and thick, grave. Not the more common high pitched voice. I personally prefer the high pitched voices, as per my personal taste. But the voice here combines perfectly. It is quite respectable and majestic. I wouldn't change anything in it.

So, the album is composed of six tracks, all of them very powerful, intense, deep, strong, fierce. It is actually extraordinary. I could go on describing it for a long time.

You can tell this it is composed and played with all the passion possible and imaginary. Every track is very inspired and inspiring too. My favourite tracks might actually be the first and the last ones. Because they have a perfect blend of melody and harshness. There is an inherent anger and melancholy (if it makes sense that those two go together), that are even difficult to describe, but which bring together a whole atmosphere you won't want to get out of. I know I don't.

It is really good, it is beautiful.

Keep an eye on the date, it is the 21st of March!