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What do you get if you cross a national treasure with a spectrum of sound that covers post-rock, doom, shoegaze, and most things in between? Obviously, it’s the Stoke-based, genre-defying Vordermann, whose second EP Feeding on Fireworks is a three-song journey through a spectrum of sound. First track “Ego Land” is the unseen musical juncture … Continue reading EP Review: Vordermann – Feeding on Fireworks

See what members of the rock and metal community are saying about the death of Dolly Parton. Continue reading…

Album Review: Black Door – Shadows of a Funerary Gleam

Reviewed by Eric Clifford

If you have ears, then you are in need of black metal with which to fill them. It is what it is, I don’t make the rules. In observance of this, Black Door have essentially crafted a textbook for modern-day second wave inspired black metal. That’s not a new tome to write for sure, but it’s nonetheless possible to write it well, or write it poorly. It’s not always easy to articulate what separates a joyous modern rendition of the style from an underwhelming doppelgänger either, because it often comes down to gradations of how well different bands do very similar things. Fortunately, Black Door have not come to fuck around, and open fire with sulphurous, mephistophelean barrages of apex black metal riffs and harmonies that slam endless rounds into the bullseye between ferocity and melody. “Forged by Promethean Fire” is a masterclass of venomous animosity studded with brimstone hooks. Have you heard it all before? Absolutely, but when it’s done this well, it doesn’t dilute the thrill of it just because an outfit like French national treasure Mutiilation has a hundred songs of similar stripe. It’s epic, an aerial bombardment of raw guitars and hateful percussion that circles the killing field from on high like the descending hordes of the Tsva HaShamayim. A lethal ¾ time swing like scimitars through throats rows the song along towards the album’s conclusion with a confidence and passion that places it among the finer examples of traditional black metal that I’ve heard this year.

Each song is a tooth in a vast charcarodon maw of black metal. A back-end track like “Under the Yoke of an Older Spite” clamps down on writhing prey with one of the most malicious melodies on the album at 5.18, the song rumbling through tom hits until this final stretch when it javelins you through the eyeball with a stream of musical invective. Meanwhile, earlier blows – the title track for one – bring forth the blizzards with gushing curtains of frigid Immortal-esque chord progressions and reverb-saturated croaking like some demented cavern-dwelling frog deity. Raw but readable, a production like jaws yawning in the gloom stretches ahead, light enough for you to know full well what manner of death awaits while still that dark and obscure that imagination paints nightmares into the shadows. If not as harsh as the “Raw Black Metal” genre tag on metalarchives.com might imply, it’s still abrasive, ragged, sheathed in thorns and bone spurs. And it’s this that really seals the deal for me, this production style, taking material that seethes with reverence for unholy black metal and tomahawking it into your skull with all the might it’s arm can grant.

Even so, sometimes the album really is too close for comfort with it’s influences. Black Door would hardly be the first project to find inspiration in early Burzum, but even so parts of “Entrancement in Dusk…” do sound awfully close for to “Ea, Lord of the Depths”. It’s not as though Varg himself is averse to a bit of musical hijacking – among his many, many sins is…shall we say “homaging” a riff from Bathory’s “Necromancy” so closely that it’s a wonder he bothers to deny having pilfered it at all, but even so there are moments where Black Door’s own points of reference became a little too obvious for their own good. A few other quibbles remain. Nothing fatal, but “The Stale Humid Mist” bothers me in one of two ways that I can’t decide between. It’s slow, atmospheric, and deeply miserable. It’s also rather plodding and meandering – worse, it’s the second song on the album (discounting the brief intro) and after the barnburner that precedes it (the title track) “The Stale Humid Mist” feels as though it stalls the album’s engine a bit. If it were placed perhaps after the following track (“Entrancement in Dusk…”) then the sense of stunted momentum would be reduced, though that wouldn’t solve the issue of it being probably the weakest of the brood overall.

The above gripes – among a few others (I’m not wild about the clean vocals that crop up here and there) – shoved out of the way for a beat, Black Door otherwise mercilessly storm the ramparts and slaughter the wailing unfortunates trapped within. The wheels on its chariot remain steadfastly beyond reinvention of course, but the conviction and songwriting Black Door hold in reserve is more than enough to keep the old tropes as rewarding as ever. So it is that the black flame flares still. Before it’s beckoning fingers do the holy tremble, through it’s billowing smog do legions vomit lungfuls of steaming blood, within the crackle of it’s embers does the sum total of all knowable agony see infliction upon shrieking, writhing flesh. And for so long as bands like Black Door draw breath, it will continue to flare forever more.

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Album Review: Black Door – Shadows of a Funerary Gleam appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Unless that’s just an abbreviation, but you get the picture.

The post The Callous Daoboys Tease New Single “WUK” appeared first on Theprp.com.

For Jürgen Breforth, signing with Fireflash Records represents less a change of direction than a return to the principle that set his musical career in motion more than four decades ago: an enduring devotion to traditional heavy metal. His current band, BREFORTH, have officially joined the Fireflash Records roster. The partnership will produce the group’s […]

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Trumpeter Will Miller has been a fixture of Chicago’s music scene for years, appearing on key 2010s releases from artists like Chance The Rapper, Whitney, and Twin Peaks and branching out beyond the Windy City for work with heavy hitters like SZA and Mavis Staples. And for many years now, he’s been leading Resavoir, an oft-morphing Chicago jazz ensemble that used to record for the city’s esteemed International Anthem label.

The post Resavoir Announce New Album <em>Above The Clouds</em>: Hear “4th Cloud” (Feat. Gregory Uhlmann) appeared first on Stereogum.

The band have also aligned themselves with Judge & Jury Records.

The post Earshot Channeled Chris Cornell’s Passing Into Their New Single “Love Left” appeared first on Theprp.com.

Ninth Realm have been one of the United States’ strongest death-thrash practitioners since forming in 2018 and they’re in their sharpest form yet on Damnation’s Veil, their second full-length and tenth release overall. Though it doesn’t come out officially until later this week on Transcending Obscurity, you can stream the album early via Decibel.

Packing ten songs and an intro into 37 minutes doesn’t allow for much time wasting and Ninth Realm make the most of it. There’s a distinct crossover bent to the Maryland cohort’s brand of extreme metal that really shows on songs like “Cohorts of the Abyss,” which gives us some of the best mosh parts this side of Manifest Decimation. “Wyrd of Strideborn” throws a little black metal into the formula, while “All Hail Treachery” is a straight-up ripper that waves the heavy metal and thrash flags high. The album is based around the band’s fictional world of Tythorin, which adds to the retro heavy metal influence felt throughout.

Damnation’s Veil ends on “Twilight’s Blade,” ensuring the listener gets one last shot of adrenaline on the way out. Throughout the record, Ninth Realm find exciting ways to incorporate their influences without getting bogged down. Those who like their metal fast will certainly find something to like.

Hear the full release below and find pre-orders via Bandcamp.

 

The post Full Album Stream: Ninth Realm – “Damnation’s Veil” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Interview: Viking Skull @ Bloodstock Festival

Interviewed by Cat Finch

Never ones to do things by half, Viking Skull light up our interview schedule at Bloodstock.

We talk about the many talents of Frank Regan, falling out and making up again, their antics getting them in trouble at Damnation Festival, upcoming EP ‘Triple Denim’ and so much more!

You can listen to the interview below, or jump over to any of the usual streaming services!

Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music

Check out all of our interviews on the usual podcast channels!

Youtube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music

For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.

The post Interview: Viking Skull @ Bloodstock Festival appeared first on The Razor's Edge.

Progressive trailblazers Enslaved have officially announced their forthcoming studio album, Mið, set for release on October 30 via Nuclear Blast Records. Throughout their 35 year journey, across 17 albums, the Norwegian vanguard have continually redefined the boundaries of progressive black metal, weaving Old Norse histories and sacred traditions into complex modern soundscapes. With their latest offering, Enslaved turn their gaze toward the fundamental concept of the axis: the middle, the origin, and the infinite reach of the present moment.

Alongside this news, the band have unveiled the transcendant new single ‘Solar Will’, both a paean to a divine spark, and a testament to the album title’s fundamental concept: a centre whose reach is infinite. It’s accompanying video was created by Kolibri Media, long term partners of Enslaved based in Bergen.

Guitarist Ivar Bjørnson stated:

“There have been sun cults as long as Magic Man has been around (at least). The Sun is a nurturing and terrifying parent that can grant as well as obliterate life totally. Such a classic and awe-inspiring object of our worship and myths requires classic and awesome riffs, Bonham-esque drum grooves and blistering melodic flares celebrating its horrific glory. This is what that sounds like to me: “Solar Will”!”

Voicalist / bassist Grutle Kjellson adds:

“Solar Will explores archetypal conflicts, those that manifest in nature, the cosmos, mythology, and, above all, within the human mind. In this instance, the central struggle is expressed through one of the enduring rivalries found in Norse mythology, embodied by two important, though often somewhat overlooked, figures within the pantheon. Readers familiar with the Norse mythological tradition will likely recognize the identities rather instantly, yet I shall refrain from naming them, allowing each reader the opportunity to engage with and decipher the lyrics on their own. After all, perhaps this is one of the essential functions of lyric writing: to invite interpretation and cultivate a sense of wonder? The conclusion, or more precisely, the absence of one, suggests that, for human beings, chaos and dreams are at least as significant as the realities we perceive through our senses. Ultimately, the work advocates not for resolution, but for the acceptance, assimilation, and shaping of these often contradictory forces.”

Pre-order Mið here: https://enslaved.bfan.link/mid

Mið – Tracklisting

1. Non-Being
2. I Am Ice (featuring Johan Sara Jr)
3. Solar Will
4. Mountain
5. Spirit Helper (featuring Kevin Kicking Woman)
6. Parting
7. Tales of Trees
8. I Miðju

Enslaved live in 2026

18 Sep 26 NO – Sortland @ Sortland Jazzfestival 2026
29 Oct 26 NO – Bergen @ Kulturhuset – Album Release Show
30 Oct 26 NO – Oslo @ Big Dipper – Signing Session / Meet & Greet
31 Oct 26 NO – Oslo @ Oslo Spektrum w/ Dimmu Borgir & Satyricon

Enslaved live in 2027

27-30 May 27 US – Baltimore @ Maryland Deathfest 2027

The post Enslaved announced new studio album ‘MIÐ’ and new single “Solar Will” appeared first on The Prog Report.