Yodh (2016)

Yodh's atmosphere comes along with its songs, rather than being written into them, which means that it is refreshingly devoid of cued ambient bits and post-rock influences (yay!!!!!!). It is ugly and beautiful all at once and this is achieved through the spontaneous act of making, not some compositional contrivance. In an interview with Stara Rzeka the musician opines that black metal and doom metal are devoid of testosterone and more "like a ghost" than anything, which is something I clicked with right away and recalled when listening to Yodh- it is unapologetically a genre piece, but the band finds a ghostly sadness within this, leaving no need for counterpoint

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Allir vegir til glötunar (2016)

stream / -o-

Drudkh - Autumn Aurora (2004)

Not grotesque, singular, or ideological enough for open-minded hipsters or metal elitists, Drudkh's Autumn Aurora merges guitar, synth, and shriek together with something subtler: grace. Their folkish origins manage to humble the band into steering clear of the ideologies of their influences, and have Drudkh celebrating the natural in its strength (Summoning) and forgiveness (Sunwheel). This complacency would remain with the band for the underrated follow-up The Swan Road, but unfortunately leave as Drudkh looked to history for the heartwrenching aggression of their epic Blood in Our Wells

A

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Enmerkar - Starlit Passage (2009)

Buried vocals and pointless drums, the rest is crazy blended guitar layers reminiscent of avant-garders or shoegazers, although there's nothing avant-garde or shoegaze about it- too singular in its vision to be avant, too pretty to be ambient, and too mysteriously sad to be shoegaze. Those guitars..

B

Animus - Poems for the Aching, Swords for the Infuriated (2005)

1. I 8:23

2. II 7:44

3. III 6:22

4. IV 8:28

5. V 6:08

6. VI 13:19

Best way to avoid accidentally letting ignorant national socialist bullshit into your black metal? Make sure it's Israeli. Ha.

Animus is a one-man black metal (band?) who on this album nails atmospheric lo-fi black metal in the vein of Nattens madrigal. It's raw and at times really beautiful. Highly recommended.

B+

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Katharsis - VVorldVVithoutEnd (2006)

1. Eden Belovv 8:11

2. Kross Fyre 6:04

3. VVytchdance 11:09

4. Ascent From Ghoulgotha 8:39

5. Kosmik Sacrifice 1:46

6. VVorldVVithoutEnd 16:23

This is fun. An onslaught of quick ear-splitting riffs and echoed distorted shrieks reminiscent of a decent noise rock record's intention to shock and excite the listener simultaneously.

B

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