Album Review: Empyrium’s Über Den Sternen (Prophecy)

Since Empyrium’s inception in 1994, the music of the German band has evolved from progressive doom / black metal to classical-influenced dark folk. With their sixth record, Über Den Sternen (translating as “Above The Stars”), they have “finally reconciled [their] vintage sound from the early days with the acoustic expression of the later Empyrium,” according… Continue reading Album Review: Empyrium’s Über Den Sternen (Prophecy)

Album Review: Mære by Harakiri For The Sky

Editor’s Note: This album’s release date has been moved to February 19th, 2021 — exactly three years to the day since the band’s last album Arson was released. The black metal scene has a reputation for being purist and conservative. Over the last decade or so, however, more bands have begun to emerge who have fused elements… Continue reading Album Review: Mære by Harakiri For The Sky

Album Review: Death Cult by Völur (November 13th, Prophecy Productions)

Often the most innovative, emotive and powerful music defies categorisation. Sometimes you just have to hear it to understand it. A case in point is Canada’s Völur, whose third album, Death Cult, has just been released on Prophecy Productions. Often labelled as doom metal, they do indeed owe a large debt to the likes of… Continue reading Album Review: Death Cult by Völur (November 13th, Prophecy Productions)

Album Review: Sólstafir’s Endless Twilight of Codependent Love

Iceland’s Sólstafir have for the past 25 years straddled genres including black metal, post-rock, and shoegaze. Singer and guitarist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason says he feels “privileged being able to mix all my favorite genres and get away with it.” With Endless Twilight of Codependent Love, the band’s seventh album, they don’t merely “get away” with incorporating… Continue reading Album Review: Sólstafir’s Endless Twilight of Codependent Love

Album Review: Pallbearer’s Forgotten Days

Forgotten Days, Pallbearer’s fourth album, is heavy in more than one sense. Placing the actual music to one side momentarily, the lyrics deal with some serious and difficult themes and concepts. Joseph D. Rowland (bass, harmony vocals), who wrote many of the words, talks about the songs often being a kind of dialogue with his… Continue reading Album Review: Pallbearer’s Forgotten Days

Album Review: Kariti’s Covered Mirrors (Aural Music, Sept. 18th)

Mourning. It is a process that we all have to deal with in one way or another throughout our lives. It is a sorrowful and painful experience but it can also involve cleansing, rejuvenation and acceptance. Mourning is the dominant theme of Kariti’s debut album Covered Mirrors. Kariti is a Russian-born artist living in Italy… Continue reading Album Review: Kariti’s Covered Mirrors (Aural Music, Sept. 18th)