Wishes for 2014

Best wishes for 2014 to everyone who has been supporting Lachryma Christi, such as bands, labels, PRs, fans, readers and friends. And a big thank you!

                (Photo by L.K.H.)

Lachryma Christi

Top Ten Black Metal albums for 2013

As for last year, here is the top ten albums for 2013. You may consider this as the playlist for the week too!

Saille - Ritu - Code666 Records

Galaktik Cancer Squad - Ghost Light - Hypnotic Dirge Records

aNgreNOST - Planet Muscaria - Code666 Records

Endstille - Kapitulation 2013 - Season of Mist

Vreid - Welcome Farewell - Indie Recordings

Ov Hollowness - The World Ends - Code666 Records

Fen - Dustwalker - Code666 Records

Aborym - Dirty - Agonia Records

Australasia - Vertebra - Immortal Frost Productions

Imperium Dekadenz - Meadows of Nostalgia - Season of Mist





Other releases Lachryma Christi really enjoyed:


Wrong - Memories of Sorrow
Rotting Christ - Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού
Necrophobic - Womb of Lilithu
Ewigkeit - Back to Beyond
Obsydian Tongue - A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time

Review: Scorned Deity's latest album "Adventum"

Recently Lachryma Christi was contacted by the vocals of Scorned Deity, a Blackened Death Metal band from USA, Detroit. They released recently their second album called Adventum. After listening to the music, it was actually a very good surprise. The music is in fact amazing. The album has 11 tracks, all of them very melodic and powerful. They are very sober, their sound is very cohesive, they sound really professional. The band formed almost ten years ago, and they have everything to be great, if they keep presenting us with such nice stuff.
Everything sounds very perfect, very complete, the keyboards bring a very strong atmosphere, melodies are just beautiful. Voice couldn't be better nor more suitable than this, sounds really good all together. There are also female voices as in background, along the songs. Very epic.
Besides the melodies you can also find very fast and majestic rhythms, really big, huge stuff. Guitars also sound very tuned and assured especially on the solos.
So yeah, go for it. Give these guys a chance, you won't regret as their music is really good.
An interview will come up in the near future.

Review: BUIO's promo "Buio"

Italian one man band Buio will release their debut album in January 2014 through Firstborn Chaos, limited to 300 copies on CD format. But recently they released a promo (more precisely in September) called Buio. It has two tracks. If you are familiar with Buio's work you know what to expect. Never disappointing, very Burzum influenced, very melodic and melancholic. Voice is just great, really perfect in the genre of music that it is, very dragged and suffered. It is good Black Metal, good hard work of this musician, Count Morgul, that always does things in a very personal and meaningful way.
One of the tracks is shorter and instrumental only. Both of them are very introspective and inspiring.
If you like Burzum's old stuff you will certainly like Buio.
Much respect to musicians like this, who do what they really enjoy doing, and who are so pure and honest in their art.
Hopefully the  album will be as good.

Review: GIG Arcturus + Fen + From The Bogs Of Aughiska @ O2 Islington Academy (London) 13/12/2013

Best way to spend a Friday 13th evening. This gig was just great, excluding the first band...
Well, let's see the details for the three of them.
From The Bogs Of Aughiska were the first live act. From Ireland. A shocking , completely disturbing performance by two men, wearing shirt, tie and balaclava mask. One word to describe their music: noise. One guitarist and one "laptopist" doing as much noise as possible. There was a screen behind them with interesting images, but the music was horrifying. At some point the man in the laptop started yelling at the microphone, and it was the end of it for Lachryma Christi who abandoned the room and went to the merchandising area until they finished, looking for some peace. There were others doing the same, and almost all of them applauded when it finished, clearly relieved, and going back inside to see next bands. LC heard it on some studio release later, and wasn't much better than live.
Fen, British band, were the next. The thing with Fen is, or you like what they play or you don't, there is no middle point. Or you are into what they do, or forget about it. Lachryma Christi heard some bad opinions, yes they had some sound difficulties (as sadly has happened a lot in that venue for some reason, and only with some bands), but their performance was really great. If you like them, that is.
The guitar wasn't very easy to listen at times, the drums were again extraordinary loud, but not as loud as in Satyricon a few weeks ago, where your heart almost jumped through your mouth and your eyes almost went off their sockets. With Fen the sound was not so agressive, and after three or four songs, it actually started sounding alright. Only the guitar kept coming and going, sadly. It was a really powerful and emotional gig, really intense, strong. The three of them make an excellent team, was really good to see them live.
(By the way, you can find an interview with Fen and a review to their last album  here: http://lachrymachristizine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/interview-with-fen-plus-review-to-fens.html )
And then came Arcturus. So awaited. Vortex is such a nice, fun, bouncy frontman. He really looks people in the eye, he is very interactive, making the public feel special. The whole band was wearing strange outfits, Vortex had some kind of mask with spectacles, something hard to describe. Not sure what sort of mask is that.
So yeah, there was place for old stuff, more recent stuff, there was place for some jokes, for a lot of fun, public was happy, satisfied, sadly the curfew was not late, so it felt like a short gig, but really good. Ok, some more old songs would have been nice to hear too. On the last song Vortex loosened his hair and public lost it and started doing a violent mosh pit on the middle of the place. 
Was really good and hopefully there will be more opportunities to see Arcturus again. Really good atmosphere, good vibes, cheerful band, everything really awesome and inspiring.
Lachryma Christi has no pics for this. If you have some, and if you wish to share them, you can always leave a comment with a link, or if you want to see them posted together with this article (they will be credited of course), you can e-mail lachrymachristizine@gmail.com

Review: GIG Marduk + Grave + Death Wolf + Valkyrja + Critical Solution @ Underworld (London), 5/12/2013

Another gig of Marduk in London. Lachryma Christi had seen the previous one, but hasn't reviewed it.
There were quite a few bands playing on the day.
First band was Critical Solution. Thrash Metal from Norway, something like a copy of Metallica. The voice was almost the same. The sound was nice though. Nice tunes, public was enjoying it, nice stuff. At some point they played a cover of Iron Maiden, which was weird, as in James Hetfield singing Iron Maiden. But was nice, entertaining. Interactive.
Second band, Valkyrja, Swedish band. Was good, very good indeed. Nice guitar riffs, entertaining, clean, Black Metal.
Following band, Death Wolf also from Sweden, sort of varied stuff, ok, entertaining, nothing amazing but did the trick. Morgan from Marduk plays bass with them, just in case you didn't know.
After Death Wolf it was Grave's turn. Death Metal from Sweden. Hard to describe it. Everyone was looking forward, including Lachryma Christi, but it wasn't as great as expected. A bit more of the same, all songs were very similar, nothing very original, nothing very exciting. 
And at last, Marduk. Marduk is one of those bands that are always good live. Always professional, always clean, pure, good. Always very interactive, people always very welcoming, their shows always make people go home happy. Songs selection was a nice choice,  all good. The expected, not more, not less.
In the end though, felt as if Valkyrja and Marduk did the night. The other bands seemed a bit off, a bit nothing to do with the rest. Interesting but odd choices.
Lachryma Christi has no pics for this. If you have some, and if you wish to share them, you can always leave a comment with a link, or if you want to see them posted together with this article (they will be credited of course), you can e-mail lachrymachristizine@gmail.com

Review: GIG Shining + special guests @ Electrowerkz (London), 3/12/2013

On the 3rd of December there was this gig at Electrowerkz in London, Shining were headlining.
Before Shining, we could hear special guest bands.
First band was Vatigal Surrd, band from London. Very good. The music is good, good Black Metal, the sound was OK, easy to understand what the musicians were playing. No stressful situations, Kristian is a nice frontman and a nice vocals. All of them very united, very good atmosphere. Just the red light on the ceiling was too low, which became sort of fun when Kristian's hair got stuck on it.
Following band, Premature Birth also from London. Sadly they played a very confusing and noisy sound. Looks like the two guitars don't work very well there with them, and the two singers even less. They sound not only confusing but confused. Thankfully there were the keyboards to guide us and to let us understand the tones, the tunes, the melodies, otherwise it would have been impossible to understand anything.
Third band, Scutum Crux from London too, with Polish musicians, was very good indeed. Nice music, nice Black Metal. The only problems were really the problems with the sound of the guitar. They managed to sort them out, and to keep going with the show, which only shows that they are ready to play live and ready for any inconvenience that can happen. So even if they had technical problems (which also included hair of the bassist stuck in the guitar), their attitude was good and professional. Still, was easy to understand the music, which is good music, very nice vibes, nice corpsepaint, good stuff.
Next band was Sterbhaus, Swedish Thrash Death metal band. Incredibly boring. Hard to say more than this. The tracks all sounded like the same, as if it was a neverending track.
Crest of Darkness cancelled their appearance. Which was sad, since they were one of the bands Lachryma Christi was really looking forward to see.
And then there comes Shining and Niklas Kvarforth, bringing two bottles in his hands, of which seemed to be Jack Daniel's. People were finally reacting very positively, very happy to see Shining, even though the venue wasn't packed. Niklas started the show caressing one of his musicians' hair, which he did a few more times during the gig. Very entertaining show, very dramatic, very full of expectation and thankfully nothing weird happened. Apparently the red light on the ceiling also had an important role for Niklas, since he spent almost all night holding it, even though it was obviously very hot. This only made the show even more intense, more theatrical and passionate. Sound was nice, songs were what the public wanted to hear, apparently.
And there must be something really weird with that room at Electrowerkz. Rotting Christ a few weeks or a month ago played in the same room and Sakis asked with gestures, for a moshpit, which is very unusual. Kvarforth did exactly the same, which is even more unusual. Public obeyed though.

They didn't play last song until the end, sadly, but anyway, from beginning to end, it was good, musicians are really talented.
It was the first time Lachryma Christi had the chance to see Shining live, and even after reading all the interviews, all reviews and hearing opinions of people about Niklas Kvarforth (which are not usually positive), and even though he was a bit rude to some people in the crowd, it was a very good show, emotional, powerful, and Niklas Kvarforth performed his role with perfection.

Lachryma Christi's playlist for the week

Marduk - Serpent Sermon
Mayhem - Wolf's Lair Abyss
Fen - Dustwalker
Amorphis - Tales From the Thousand Lakes
Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors
Notre Dame - Nightmare Before Christmas
Nekrogoblikon - Goblin Island
Skitliv - Skandinavisk Misantropi
Ghost - Infestissumam
VNV Nation - Automatic

Gig TONIGHT! Arcturus @ London O2 Islington Academy

Lachryma Christi's playlist for the week

Apologizing for not posting a playlist last week, here is the playlist for this week!

Finnr's Cane - A Portrait Painted By The Sun
Endstille - Kapitulation 2013
Falkenbach - Asa
Australasia - Vertebra
Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk
Borknagar - Empiricism
Handful of Hate - To Perdition
Empyrium - Into the Pantheon
Satyricon - Nemesis Divina
Arcturus - The Sham Mirrors

Review: Finnr's Cane's recent album "A Portrait Painted By The Sun"

Finnr's Cane released recently their second album called A Portrait Painted By The Sun, through Prophecy Productions.
For those who don't know, Finnr's Cane are a doom post black metal band from Canada. Well, in fact it is not as much post black metal. Maybe we can say it is a melodic atmospheric black metal.
Well, labels and definitions aside, these guys are good. This album is quite melancholic, but quite emotional and introspective.
In a time when this kind of music is so trendy, it is important to see which bands do it naturally and well, and which bands do it to follow the trend, ending up doing everything wrong and sounding really fake. Finnr's Cane are a good example of the first group and A Portrait Painted By The Sun is here to show us exactly that. So if this is your kind of thing, or if you simply like to listen to different and varied stuff, still with a strong black metal presence, go for this album. It is really good.
You can expect a lot of heaviness, as well as some acoustic parts, some atmospheric sounds, as in winds for example, and a very nice combination of every instrument with the voices. Beautiful details here and there. Really a great work.

Review: Falkenbach's recent album "Asa"

German one man band Falkenbach just released a new album called Asa, the first one to be released through Prophecy Productions.
Asa is the sixth album of the band, all of them have been really good. Asa is one of the best. It is quite melodic, at the same time heavy, never losing any quality in any of their different and varied bits. Yes, because Falkenbach has their own style, their very proper thing, that very special voice, and they have quite a lot of different influences, from viking stuff, too black metal stuff. Asa is just another masterpiece of the band, but maybe more catchy, more melodic, more interesting.
Falkenbach truly seem to be very genuine in everything they do, very honest very transparent. This album just shows their purity once again. Really majestic, strong, emotional, huge, an album to listen to over and over again, and to never get bored of.
Definitely a great musician behind all this.
Go for it!

Review: Endstille's latest album "Kapitulation 2013"

German Black Metal band released recently their new album called Kapitulation 2013 through Season of Mist.
What is good about this album? Everything. Honestly, really hard to find even one thing to point out as bad. Endstille prove once again that they are really great at what they do. Again they present us a very angry and powerful album, full of good stuff, each track stronger and more intense than the other. Full of rhythm as well, full of so much goodness, really hard to describe in words.
Endstille definitely work out much better on studio than live, as their sound is so full of detail, that in a show it is hard to listen to everything so clearly and to notice so many bits that make their music so great.
Once again, if you like Endstille, go for it, you won't regret. It is full of what any fan of Black Metal would like to hear, and surprisingly it is still original, and not just more of the same.
Not much more to say, really. In the meanwhile you can read an interview with Endstille here:
http://lachrymachristizine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/interview-with-endstille.html

Review: Australasia's first album "Vertebra"

Not a long time ago, arrived at Lachryma Christi's mailbox the first album of Australasia. Australasia are a post instrumental Black Metal band from Italy. Lachryma Christi had the pleasure to listen and review their previous work Sin4tr4 and became a big fan of the band right away. It is with an enormous delight that Vertebra is heard and reviewed as well. It is just great, from the artwork to the music. Released earlier this year through Immortal Frost Productions, the album is as mentioned before, instrumental. There are some female chorus, but don't expect any main singer, because there is none. And don't expect it to be boring either, because it is not. It is absolutely amazing.
Vertebra has 10 tracks, all of them with interesting and short titles, and all the songs manage to match the titles somehow.
It is not just a random post Black Metal album, it has great professionalism, from the compositions to the production. Great musicians, great details and influences along all the album.
It is varied. You can find proper heavy bits with great heavy guitars, you can also find great electronic details, and also acoustic passages.
Vertebra is so entertaining, so easy to get into, so captivating, it is really hard to not like it.

News: Eindhoven Metal Meeting

Eindhoven Metal Meeting is starting on the 12th of December.
Please find below the official flyer and the list of bands:

Aborym
Accept
Accuser
Arcturus
Arkona
Asrai
Belphegor
Bodyfarm
Brutal Truth
Carpathian Forest
Centurian
The Church of Pungent Stench 

Coroner

Death Angel
Deströyer 666
Deranged
Deus Mortem
Dew-Scented
Disastrous Murmur
Downfall Of Empires
Elvenking featuring Martin Walkyier’s Skyclad
Entrapment

Extrema
Fleshgod Apocalypse
Gothminister
Hail Of Bullets

Hatriot

Heavenshine

Hooded Menace
Impaled Nazarene
In Solitude
Islay
Izegrim
The Monolith Deathcult
Morgoth
Napalm Death
Nargaroth
Natron
The Rotted
Sabaton
Sound Storm

Ostrogoth
Therion
Tiamat
Vomitory
Watain

Read more in:

www.eindhovenmetalmeeting.com

http://www.facebook.com/eindhovenmetalmeeting

Review: A Land Beyond the Sea's first release "Weltenwandere"

A while back, Lachryma Christi received an e-mail from a Black Metal band from Finland called A Land Beyond the Sea, with their first release called Weltenwandere. It happens to be an EP, self-released in June.
Weltenwandere has some Death Metal influences, but it is mostly Black Metal music.
The EP has four tracks and it is really great. Really fast, really melodic and obscure.
It is a shame that only now Lachryma Christi had the chance to lay hands on this (hectic times lately!), because it is really nice.
There is nothing extraordinarily different here, buy these guys are good at what they do. Very good in fact.
Give it a go, you won't regret.
The band is quite recent, formed in 2012, but they are already very "together", very cohesive, very strong and the melodies are so deep and majestic.
Hopefully next release will be as good or even better!!

Review: Negura Bunget's recent single "Gînd a-prins"

Romanian band Negura Bunget released recently a single called Gînd a-prins through Prophecy Productions. It has two songs.
Negura Bunget have changed a lot with time. Ten years ago they were completely different. Still, they haven't lost their atmospheric thing.
Gînd a-prins is very calm, quiet, silent in it's musicality, if that makes sense. It is deep, immersed in a great mystical and nature oriented atmosphere.
It was a good surprise, after all the changes they have shown us, after all the Black Metal characteristics that make sure we notice they have left behind. This is a release that works out. It is very pure, very relaxed, very beautiful.
Certainly Negura Bunget still has it in them, and still can share with all of us a great amount of professionalism and quality. All of it works much better like this, on a studio work, and sadly not live anymore. So anyway if you like this kind of thing, give this single a listen, it is good.

Lachryma Christi's playlist for the week

Forgotten Tomb - And Don't Deliver Us From Evil
Glorior Belli - Gators Rumble, Chaos Unfurls
Abigor - Supreme & Immortal is the Art of the Devil
Nocturnal Depression - L'isolement
Obsidian Tongue - A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time
Nhor - Within the Darkness Between the Starlight
Endstille - Kapitulation 2013
Twilight of the Gods - Fire on the Mountain
Marduk - Serpent Sermon
Upon Shadows - 7 Chapters

News: Hail Spirit Noir

Greek band Hail Spirit Noir are releasing their second album called Oi Magoi on the 20th of January 2014 through Code666 in a special Digipack llimited edition and as digital download.

Oi Magoi tracklist:

01. Blood Guru
02. Demon for a Day
03. Satan is Time
04. Satyriko Orgio (Satyrs' Orgy)
05. The Mermaid
06. Hunters
07. Oi Magoi

Read more in:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hail-Spirit-Noir/260062670728238?fref=ts

News: Aenaon

Black Metal band from Greece will be releasing their second album called Extance on the 20th of January 2014 through Code666/Aural Music. 
It will be available in special Ultra Limited Wooden Box, Standard Cd version and Digital Download, and the cover artwork is by the painter Lukasz Wodynski.

Extance track listing:

01- The First Art
02- Deathtrip Chronicle
03- Grau Diva
04- A Treatise on the Madness of God
05- Der Mude Tod
06- Pornocrates
07- Closer to Scaffold
08- Land of no Water
09- Algernon's Decadence
10- Funeral Blues
11- Palindrome

Read more in:

https://www.facebook.com/aenaonofficial?fref=ts

News: Drudkh

Black Metal band from Ukraine will release a compilation of rarities called Eastern Frontier in Flames on the 17th of January 2013, through Season of Mist.
You can now pre-order the limited Digipack-CD edition at the Season of Mist e-shop here:

http://e-shop.season-of-mist.com/en/items/drudkh/eastern-frontier-in-flames/cd-digipack/36930

Eastern Frontier in Flames tracklist:

01. Fallen Into Oblivion
02. Ashes
03. Tam Gdzie Gasnie Dzien (SACRILEGIUM cover)
04. Indiánská Písen Hruzy (MASTER'S HAMMER cover)
05. …W Krainie Drzew (HEFEYSTOS cover)
06. Ten, Ktery Se Vyhyba Svetlu (UNCLEAN cover)
07. Recidivus (SACRILEGIUM cover)

It includes 2007's Anti-Urban EP, the Master's Hammer and Sacrilegium covers of the Slavonic Chronicles EP (2010) as well as Drudkh's part of the vinyl-only collaboration with Winterfylleth.

Read more in:

www.facebook.com/DRUDKH.official  

News: Nocturnal Breed

Thrash Black Metal band from Norway Nocturnal Breed will release their first album in 7 years in February 2014 through Agonia Records.
The current line up of the band includes S.A. Destroyer on bass and vocals, Tex Terror on the drums,  I.Maztor and a new member, also guitarist, V.Fineideath. 
Nocturnal Breed also announced a headlining appearance at the Hammerslag Festival in Tonsberg (Norway), on 14th of February.
More details on the new album coming soon.

Read more in:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nocturnal-Breed-OFFICIAL/250907411181 

About top 10 Black Metal albums for 2013

Just as last year, in the end of 2013 Lachryma Christi will post the top 10 Black Metal albums for this year. It is already being sorted out, but the year hasn't finished yet. So you can always send your album to Lachryma Christi, never know!

Contact Lachryma Christi on:

lachrymachristizine@gmail.com

Or find LC on facebook and twitter:

https://www.facebook.com/LachrymaChristiWebzine
https://twitter.com/L_ChristiZine

Review: Into the Nethermost's latest album "Once Upon the Graveyard"

Into the Nethermost are a band from Spain, more precisely from Barcelona. They play a very nice Death/Black Metal.
Earlier this year they released their album Once Upon the Graveyard. It is a 8 track album. Really good. It is always good when Lachryma Christi is surprised by e-mails from bands who are still not famous worldwide. Sometimes there are good surprises like this album.
Once Upon the Graveyard is really melodic, really heavy, really full of good vibes. These guys really know what they want, which direction they are going and what they want in the end. Their sound is really sober, really big, really emotional. The voice is very angry and serious, matching all the professionalism of the rest of the band.
It has some rock bits, and some acoustic details, but in general it is really heavy, with strong melodies and a really good attitude.
Hopefully they will get what they deserve. Hopefully we will hear from them at some time soon again.

Review: Necrophobic's latest album "Womb of Lilithu"

Wow, this is such a strong release!
So, Death/Black Metal band from Sweden, Necrophobic just released a new album through Season of Mist called Womb of Lilithu.
Necrophobic has been around for a long time now, but seems like this album is the stronger one so far. It is so heavy and wise and mystic. It is really full of fury at the same time. When you think nothing will surprise you, it does, and always in a very good way. It is very epic, grand, monumental. If you haven't heard it yet, don't miss it, or you will regret later.
The voice is amazing, so full of expression and of power.
Production is amazingly good, really easy to listen, no noise, no confusion, nothing wrong really.
Choirs on the back are impressive, everything sounds so great, so majestic.
14 tracks of pure amusement astonishment. Honestly, really good.

Review: Nocturnal Depression's upcoming EP "L’isolement"

Nocturnal Depression, Black Metal band from France are releasing an EP on the 29th of November through Avantgarde Music, called L’isolement. It will be released on vinyl only and 100 copies of this EP will include a bonus CD featuring two extra tracks (Nargaroth and Forgotten Tomb cover songs).
This is a really good work. Original tracks are just awesome, really powerful and full of rhythm. It is aggressive enough, melodic enough, really good. Really melancholic and even romantic at times if we can put it that way.
The covers are just perfect. Both tracks are the most remarkable of each band for Lachryma Christi. They are not only great amazing songs, as the covers are really good as well.
Nocturnal Depression are a very good band, but this EP is such a good surprise. So good, everything is really good in here, so pleasant. Depressive, yes. But good, very good.
Go for L’isolement when it comes out, only 9 days to wait now, it is perfect.

Review: Abigor's recent EP "Supreme & immortal is the Art of the Devil"

Austrian cult Black Metal band Abigor released last month an EP called Supreme & immortal is the Art of the Devil through Avantgarde Music. It is just great. So good it is even hard to describe, almost painful. If you are a fan of the band you will just love this EP. If not, you will probably love it anyway.
Two tracks, so much power, so many emotions, so much strength on it. It is no doubt one of the best releases of 2013, really genius. Everything so damn perfect, so controlled, so amazingly professional, so much awesomeness all together.
Proper Black Metal, everything just matches, all the melodies, all the riffs, all the tiny details, all the rhythms, the voice, just really great stuff. To listen over and over again and still feels like wanting more.
Make a favor to yourselves and just get into a fantastic journey while listening to Supreme & immortal is the Art of the Devil because it is really amazing.
Short review, but Lachryma Christi is speechless.
And by the way, you can find an interview with Peter Kubik here:
http://lachrymachristizine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/interview-with-abigor.html

Review: Grim Funeral's recent album "Abdication under funeral dirge"

Grim Funeral is a Spanish one man band. Abdication Under Funeral Dirge is the second album and it was released earlier this month through Avantgarde Music. Grim Funeral has been around for ten years now. The album is good as a global thing. The concept is quite good, but the guitars are somewhat baffling when they are heard by themselves as they are so out of tune. Lachryma Christi made a big effort to understand if it was on purpose on not, but sadly the conclusion came out blank.
But, as said before, the concept is good. All together actually sounds good, interesting work. The voice is so full of pain and despair, really hard to not feel sympathy with it.
All tracks are very "funeral" but the music is nice, if you can put up with the guitar issue, that is. Still, there is nothing very original here, it is normal for nowadays. If you like the sort of dragged black metal with screaming hurt voice and a bit of confusion here and there you will like this. Don't expect anything very neat, expect something OK.

Review: Obsidian Tongue's latest album "A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time"

Obsidian Tongue, Black Metal band from USA released a few months ago a new album called A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time through Hypnotic Dirge Records.
Even though the two member band formed in 2009, they sound as if they have been playing together since always.
This is their second album and hopefully they will present us with so many more like this, so good! It is very atmospheric, very melodic, very tuned and serious and professional. Tracks are just amazing, mixing all the ingredients a good Black Metal album must have. You can find some traditional bits here mixed with some experimental stuff, lots of good melancholic melodies, lots of fast beats and riffs, acoustic bits here and there, voice is just perfect along with all the instruments. It is a really inspiring album, everyone should give a listen to it. There are some doomish parts with clean voice that make it really special and really great.
A Nest of Ravens in the Throat of Time is in fact a masterpiece. It has only 6 tracks but all of them very strong and powerful, very majestic, really, go and get it. You won't regret it.

Lachryma Christi's playlist for the week

Endezzma - Erotik Nekrosis
Aborym - Dirty
Code - Augur Nox
Handful of Hate - To Perdition
Ov Hollowness - The World Ends
Abigor - Supreme & immortal is the Art of the Devil
Nocturnal Depression - L’isolement
Empyrium - Into the Pantheon
Koldbrann - Vertigo
Tsjuder - Desert Northern Hell

Interview with Endezzma (NOR)

This time Lachryma Christi had the pleasure of interviewing this great Norwegian band that is Endezzma. After trying for a long time, it was now finally possible.
For those who don't know, Endezzma released an album last year called Erotik Nekrosis (you can find a review for the same here http://lachrymachristizine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/review-endezzmas-new-album-erotik.html ), and they are currently working on new stuff. Let's see what Morten Shax told to Lachryma Christi.

What does the name Endezzma mean?

Endezzma is a personal expression about death and internal darkness, a word that spell the meaning of our transcendence into the black.

Can you tell a bit of the story of the band?

I short terms Endezzma as the last constellation that formed and lead us to where we stand today, started back in 2005 when I decided to pick up the music again and create something that I thought was missing in the era of modern dark music which we know it today. I got Trondr Nefas from Urgehal with me, and together we made the Alone EP and got Jontho from Ragnarok with us on drums. We played some shows across Europe in the coming years and started to work on a full length album namely Erotik Nekrosis. But as many people is aware of a lot of thing occurred on the way to the final release date, among others Trondr Nefas sudden death! But we have now a strong line up and for the moment we are in studio working on album nr.2 so in one way I will say we are stronger than ever.

Erotik Nekrosis is such a masterpiece, why did you wait such a long time to release an album?

Thank’s for your consideration. Well, it’s easy to look back in time and tell that we should have done this and that, but obviously we made some bad decisions concerning the working method on the recording, and we faced some problems with lost data on our way. We had some line-up changes and some other difficulties. And then in the end when we were close to the end of the production Nefas died. But all in all I just think we just didn’t rush anything. I didn’t wanted to take quick solutions to be done and at some places the hardest roads was chosen. Looking back today I’m proud we took the decisions we took based on the quality of the end result. It’s something I can stand behind 110% and that was the goal all the way during the process even though it took a light-year to be done. I can ensure everyone that the next album will be out much faster though. Actually already next year, since we already had a lot of material ready for the next album even before Erotik was released.

How has been the appreciation of the public to Erotik Nekrosis?

It’s as good as it get. The critics have been very good and united in high scores excellent reviews. Even it’s a cliché I must say that I’m not too much into leaving the faith of the band into the hands of media and the journalists. I’ve been in the scene since 1990, and I think I’m more capable of knowing what’s good and not than the majority of kid having a journalistic affair, or a “fling” with the scene for a period doing some reviews for a magazine or a website. When I think we have done the right thing, I’m confident in myself. But of course it’s less annoying to see that everyone agree with me. But at the end of the day we don’t base our musicianship on critic’s, after all we’re Black fucking Metal !

Endezzma have been playing quite a few gigs this year, was the reaction of the public as you expected?

Yes we did a lot of gigs around Europe and many more to come. The reactions from the audience have been just one dimensional awesome, I think the audience really catch the vibe and receive the energy that we put into our live shows. We give everything on the stage, no matter a small or huge crowd. It’s a darkness that burns inside us, on stage we open the gates to our inner self. When we go out on stage we don’t look back until the final tune dies out. I think too many bands today put way too little into a good live performance, or they just have nothing to tell, nothing genuine in their hearts. But if you have something you want to preach, something that really comes out from the genuine soul, you automatically speaks from your heart and express a certain energy and atmosphere on stage that people absorb and relate to very fast.

What is your own favourite track? Why?

Do you ever manage to make a mother favorite one of her children? All the songs that made it to the album have a strong position in my soul.  But maybe I can say that a song like Swansong Of A Giant have a special meaning to me. There is an energy in that song that make my blood shiver and boil when we perform it live.

What have been your biggest influences along your career?

The Devil. Hail H.I.M !

What was your most remarkable show? Why?

There have been a few memorable shows. But one that first that comes to mind must be a show in Varna,Bulgaria. We drove like 1 million kilometer, I think we was driving from Bosnia from a show the day before. It was such a fucking long drive into nowhere on the Bulgarian cost.  When we arrived, to our surprise we was met with people lined up outside the venue. The venue was very good and professional with a crazy and huge crowd. The organizer had planned a show for us in front of the stage while we was doing our shows, with local soldiers and fighters doing a battle play with helmets and swords in front of the stage during the first 2 songs, before they let the audience to the front. That was a crazy and absurd experience.

What are the plans for the next future after playing live all these gigs?

We’re entering studio this week to record the new album. We will lock our self in the studio for the rest of the year, seal the doors and come out again when we in our minds believe we have the dirtiest, sickest and most degenerated black masterpiece of all times in our hands. Like a bear in hibernation of damnation. Either we kill each other in there or we come out half alive with a documentation for the world to hear.

Next year the plan is to release the upcoming new album. And to do some dark sick live celebrations around the globe. A tour in Mexico and the U.S is under negotiation. And we will most certainly do a west European tour.

Any last message you would like to leave to fans of Endezzma and of Black Metal in general?

To the sick people out there, see you on the road!  Fans of Black Metal in general ?, well I find it hard to believe in you, who are you and will you be there in 10 years. Can’t expect everyone to have been there from the beginning, people find the darkness with time, but when you first find it, stick to it, last and stand the distance..

Line up:

Morten Shax - vocal

Nihil - Guitar

Sregroth - Bass

Mattis Malphas - Guitar

Carl Balam - Battery

Latest release:

Erotik Nekrosis (2012)

You can find more information and music of Endezzma in:

https://www.facebook.com/endezzma?fref=ts