Hagel- The Veil of Shadows

The 90's were an interesting time for metal. It had been well and truly shunted underground as a whole. This allowed for it to take different and more interesting shapes. Soon into the early part of that decade more metal bands started playing with dark atmospheres. Death/ doom took on a Gothic flair and black metal inhabited a crypt-like and sinister aura. But there were bands that were flirting with similar atmospheres but followed their own crooked path.

A lot of these bands became known as Gothic Metal and sometimes Dark Metal. Some of them were like Type O Negative, combining elements of Gothic Rock into metal music. Some walked a more straightforward metal path like Moonspell's Wolfheart, Tiamat's Clouds or Katatonia's Dance of the December Souls. Others took extreme metal templates and reforged them into a poetically dark and majestic atmospheres by using classical instruments like Theatre of Tragedy and Sirrah.  Either way, it was a time when metal wrapped itself in melancholy and majesty and I loved it and still do. These records still get regular plays around here.

So we have Hagel who claims to be influenced by this very era of music. They name check many of the bands I listed above. So, do they live up to the hype? Well, let's find out. So Hagel has been around for a while, apparently having formed in 1995 and reformed in 2000. They have a previous album that was released in 2021 but somehow this is my first run in with them. 

I have to say the description they give is spot on. Somewhere between early Moonspell, Tiamat and Katatonia lies this nearly perfect EP. Powerful riffs collide with melodic leads and strong mid-paced drumming. The vocalist has a style that is reminiscent of a mid range croak being neither a shriek nor a growl and it really works for the Dark Metal atmosphere on display here. The proceedings end with a majestic acoustic outro. This EP gathers majestic, melancholic and nostalgic sounds to really create something of the time period but not copying anyone. It truly is a great little record.  One thing I do love about this record is everything is achieved with simply guitar, bass, drums and vocals.

This EP will be one of my favorite things to come out this year. I could name a hundred bands it has either been influenced by or has some strong similarities with but it doesn't sound like any of them. This is a very good EP and I will be diving into the other record as well. I hope I hear more from these guys sooner rather than later. 

This whole EP is a highlight and should be listened to as a whole. Personally I can't stop listening to it and this will be on my top ten this year. Go and listen to this record if you like any of the above bands mentioned in this review.

Again thanks for reading! More reviews are coming soon so keep coming back! Bang or be banged!

https://personal-records.bandcamp.com/album/the-veil-of-shadows

Taetre- Into the Eternal Eclipse.

 So, one interesting thing about my musical journey is I'm actually a huge fan of the melodic strain of Death Metal that came out of Gothenburg, Sweden from 1991 to 1997. After 1997, most of those bands either disappeared or, with some very few exceptions, walked away from what I loved about that style. That specifically being German Speed Metal melodicism grafted over Death Metal. Very few bands stayed the course and even then they disappeared pretty quickly into the new millennium.  
So we have one of those old guard bands releasing a surprise new EP in the year 2026. Taetre was a pretty solid band up until their final record, which wasn't to my taste. So how does this record hold up? Well, let's find out. 

"Into the Eternal Eclipse" is a couple of new and older songs reworked for a new EP. Apparently its the first in a series of EP's this project will be releasing in upcoming months. And I think it successfully recaptures that early sound of the Gothenburg bands. The five tracks feature razor sharp riffing with buzzsaw guitar tone, Blasting, thrashing drums and fantastic guttural growls. The only place this EP slows down is the Rainbow cover, "Gates of Baylon", which is a solid rendition. To be frank, I'm a fan of these bands covering old classics and this track shows why I like it. 

The proceedings start with "Eternal Eclipse" a solid stab of Death Metal that showcases some tasteful twin guitar melodies done right. Some great lead work stabs in and out of the songs but the focus is on the twin guitars, which I love. This ends with a clean playing of the main melody and flows into the pounding "Ator" with its solid thrashing riffing and opening mid-paced savagery. It stays rough and ragged until the end. This EP doesn't relent until the mid point for the above cover and then quickly returns to its fast paced savagery for "In the Shadows Underneath" and  "Pedophile Pope".

All-in-all a great showing of Gothernburg melodic Death Metal. I am very much looking for to more of these EP's. HIghlights: "Eternal Eclipse and "Ator". Its a  cohesive statement of intent for the future of this project and you should check it out if you love Melodic Death Metal!

Thanks for reading! More reviews are coming soon, headbangers

Taetre's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100056436831805

Kill Witch- Raise the Dead

 Well, I hope everyone had a loud and fun Halloween! 

I have a checkered past when it comes to crossover thrash. Overall, I like a few bands but, generally, its not a style I'm fond of. I tend to think its too silly and lacks any real musical aggression. Obviously there are exceptions. I do love Suicidal Tendencies and DRI. However, overall, I find the style lacking in the mania and insanity I love about thrash. 

Kill Witch is a new crossover thrash band from up in Canada. I ran across them a few years ago on an underground compilation called Tapes from the Crypt. They had two songs that actually played a crossover thrash style with the needed amount of aggression and mania I look for in thrash. Since then, I have followed them with interest waiting for new music. In the meantime they have released a few songs that also hinted at greatness. 

So, here we have their debut EP. And I have to say it lives up to the promise of the other songs I've heard. Though, to be fair, all of these songs have been released before in one way or another. Here in this EP, they are reworked slightly, making them faster and harder. Thrashy hardcore riffs collide with strong drumming and underlying bass thunder. Veronique's vocals have a half crazed sound that fits perfectly for this style. Good leads peal out of the guitar when the songs demand it. Wild lyrics celebrating horror and lamenting crackhead neighbors complete the picture as a humorous wink and a nod to the listeners, reminding me of a slightly more serious Cross Examination. 

Deadly serious in its execution but still mosh worthy and a little bouncy in a fun way, Raise the Dead is a really good debut from a young thrash band these days. They are original as well. While I could list bands I can hear influence from the songs and style are Kill Witch's own. Anyone into crossover or Thrash, in general, should pick this up. I am certainly looking forward to more. Until that comes though I will continue to mosh around my rec room to this fantastic EP for years to come, at least as long as my body allows it. 

Highlights: This is a short 17 minute blast and all the tracks are great so just listen to the whole thing. Make sure to check them out at their Bandcamp page. Here's hoping for more material soon,

Thanks for reading! Come back soon for more reviews and keep banging those heads!

https://killwitch.bandcamp.com/album/raise-the-dead-2

Angelburner- Impure Sacrament of the Underworld.

 What is Black Metal? My uderstanding of Black Metal is that it is darkness forged into a sonic weapon. The primary constituent is hatred. Hatred in a misanthropic sense. When successfully created it walks away from all that is aesthetically pleasing into raw and pure rage and darkness. This used to be common place but as I have gotten older, this is rarer to find in the style.

This is partially because it became more accepted as a form of Heavy Metal. This is very far from where it was when I first started exploring it as a teenager. It was reviled by metalheads and normies alike. If you ever pickup the book Petrified: Under the Full Moon (which, if you are interested in the history of Black Metal, I recommend you do) you can read an interview with Thorns about his own experience with listening to second wave Black Metal. In that interview he describes delving into Black Metal as further isolating yourself from others. I have to echo that premise. This did change somewhere in the late 90's- early 00's, for good and ill. It meant that Black Metal was given a place as an accepted form of Heavy Metal but it also removed the potent darkness and raw hatred in the genre. that's not to say that there aren't bands that still do capture that spirit, there are just less of them. 

So this is a release, I randomly ran across on the internet and decided to give it a listen. Angelburner is an international collective. They play midpaced and riffy Black Metal much closer to the stuff I was listening to as a young Black Metal head. Its dark and rage filled. Each song is anchored by an almost doom metal oriented drum style, completely eschewing blast beats entirely. The songs feature strong power chord riffing as the centerpiece for them which gives them a darker and primitive atmosphere. Here and there, the songs do speed up but never above a speed akin to early thrash. Eerie keyboards float over the proceedings adding to  the crypt- like atmosphere presence here. The songs are  "amateurish" but in the best way possible. The vocals are a fog-choked croak that supplement the already dark and evil feelings that radiate from the songs. The production is raw as all Hell but that just increases the overall effect.

Equally headbang- worthy and dark as pitch black night, this is a fantastic black metal record that immediately calls to the early days of second wave Black Metal without ripping anyone off. I can absolutely say I love this record but if you're more of a fan of more professional production, I would not suggest to you. However, if you, like me, desperately long for a time when Black Metal was raw, hate-filled and could summon darkness while getting a good headbang out of the listener, then this record is for you. 

Highlights include:  "Magna Mater Daemonium", "Agios Baphomet", and "Satanic Werewolf Order" but this is great morbid Black Metal all around and I will be watching this project with great interest. Thanks again for reading and this train will keep rolling so look for new reviews soon. Bang or be banged!

https://arsmaligne.bandcamp.com/album/impure-sacrament-of-the-underworld

Nergal- Blessed

 Ah, Greek Black Metal... 

There are 2 types of black metal coming from Greece. One is just basically Greeks doing Norsecore-style Black Metal. and the other is a truly interesting, original and regional style. This second style starts happening in Greece right around the same time as the Norwegian style crops up. Yes, bands like Varathron, Rotting Christ and Necromatia are as old, if not older than, their Norwegian counterparts.

I fell in love with this stuff because I got Varathron's "His Majesty at the Swamp" as an alternate in a mail order for underground metal. It really was wildly different from the Norwegian and American bands I was discovering at the time.  The Greeks were adept at forging darkness into a sonic weapon but they did that by welding more traditional heavy metal riffing onto a morbid midpaced sound still using the same crazed scream many bands at the time were employing. It sounded akin to Bathory meets Manowar. It was brilliant. 

Like many of these regional scenes, the old guard walked away from this into more normal styles of metal, disappointing me and others who love this style. Well, one of those old guard has resurfaced with a surprise new record. What does it sound like, you may ask? Is it disappointing like the others? Well, let's find out.

From the opening riff of "Echoes from the Shadowpath", you know what you are in for. Morbid and dark but built on the backbone of glorious traditional heavy metal riffs, this record is a dark and headbanging worthy return to the early 90's Greek Black Metal sound. The riffs are hard hitting, the bass pummels you in the face and drums are beaten within an inch of their lives. All the while a tasteful ambient keyboard floats over the entire affair adding just the right amount of drama ro the proceedings.

Mild atmospheric moments occur throughout the record. There is an acoustic part with a whispered spoken word section in the title track, "Blessed", that gives the listener some breathing room  before diving right back into that stellar, headbang-worthy riff. This record truly reminds one of the glory days when Black Metal was both Black and Metal. 

At six tracks, this record is short sharp shock or raw and riffy Black Metal goodness and I can't praise it enough. All six tracks are highlights and it would do you good to check out the entire album, if you can locate it. Either way, its fantastic and I hope for more music sooner rather than later.

Thanks for reading, all! And Check out Nergal at the social media link below. As you can tell, we are rolling through so expect more  reviews soon! Bang the Head the doesn't Bang!

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100061182858134#

Arcana- Magna Silentia

...And now for something completely different. 


I've mentioned my love for post-industrial before, and no other label had the influence on my taste as Cold Meat Industry did. It was formative in shaping my taste beyond Metal music which also shaped my taste in Metal as well. I like a fair amount of "atmospheric" Metal and I consider that a by product of Mr. Karmanik and his label. 

Now, while most of the label was more dark industrial and noise oriented, he did release a few other releases that I loved. Including releases from Penitent and Arcana both of which used neoclassical with a Dark Ambient flourish. So, when I heard the label was coming back and the first release would be the new album by Arcana, I hoped I was in for something special. I can tell you my hopes were satisfied.

Magna Silentia is the perfect Arcana album. Combining choral voices with neoclassic instrumentation and cold Dark Ambient drones, this album provides a wondrous and enthralling listening experience. Every time I listen to it, I feel drawn into another world. A world shrouded by shadow but still cracked through with light. The voices are used like an instrument. I'm not even sure there are lyrics as most of the utterances seem more like "Ah"s than anything else. "The Adversity Bell" is a standout using the  aforementioned choral arrangements most effectively while also showcasing mercerizing percussion that backs up the entire piece.  

As mentioned before, the album highlights darkness mixed with light. The overwhelming shadows in the record are partnered with a delicate tracery of light and one has a hard time separating one from the other. In fact this record would be nothing without both. It is a very mature and atmospheric piece that draws the listener into Arcana's world with each note. 

This is easily one of my favorite records this year and a triumphant return for CMI. I hope we get more future endeavors from the label that are this serene, melancholic and beautiful. I recommend this for anyone who is Ambient, Neo-classical or post-industrial music, in general. Every bit of this record is glorious in its structure and will stand the test of time. 

Highlights: "The Adversity Bell", "The Obsidian Mirror" and  "The Collapsing of All Light", but, again, a fantastic record from start to finish. Thanks again for reading and look for more reviews this week.  We'll return to your regularly scheduled program shortly, headbangers.

https://brighterdeathnow.bandcamp.com/album/magna-silentia
https://www.facebook.com/arcanasweden/

Nazarene Death Command- Adversarial Ordinance

 Ah, War metal. One of the most extreme and, yet somehow, most diverse metal sub genres. It's also one of my favorites. I've loved it since we just called it Black Metal. Yep, there was a time when the differences were glossed over in these genres. When Blasphemy was touted alongside Mayhem as the same genre. Ahhh, memories...

But those days have passed and most stuff like this is either called War Metal or, in the case of the more black metal oriented stuff, Bestial Black Metal. War Metal is more than being about war, though that is a part of it. It's about roaring black or death metal vocals, searing chiansaw guitars and rampant blasting drums. No other sub genre is more extreme and, I would argue it's really the last vestige of real metal left. 

So here we have Nazarene Death Command  This is a first recording of this band and, honestly, I can't find much information other than it appears to be the one man project of Tom Nuclear. On the Bandcamp page I found this on it says, "FFO  heavy machinery, high velocity operations, 90's Cogumelo". This is a lofty claim as I love the Cogumelo scene. So, does this demo live up the the hype? Well, read on and find out.

First, this definitely lives on the more Death Metal end of this style but all of the genre pieces are in place: blasting drums, chainsaw guitars and angry, grunting vocals.  Musically this does owe much more to the 90's Cogumelo sound than the 80's. It's more strictly Death Metal in its sound than I was expecting. In fact,  I feel like I can hear shades of early Bolt Thrower and Morbid Angel. The drums beat you down with a more steam roller kind of constant rhythm than a chaotic blasting you might hear in other bands of a similar style. It really helps set this project aside from more of the War Metal set because of that. 

I do recommend any fan of War Metal, early Death Metal and 90's Brazilian metal check this demo out. It's short and powerful. It got quite a bit of headbanging out of me. Highlights include:  Adversarial Ordinace and Mass Destruction Metal. I will follow this project with interest. "Inhuman Death Metal", indeed.

Anyway, thanks for reading, Heads of Metal! More to come soon and Bang the head that doesn't bang!

https://nvnm.bandcamp.com/album/adversarial-ordnance