[When I add labels to the Metal Labels on Bandcamp page I usually scan their releases looking for anything interesting I might have missed. The reviews on The Metal Archives are a great help when doing this: a couple of great reviews means an album I should probably check out. With this series I'd like to share some of my finds - in this edition we have three very different takes on black metal from Bulgaria, Brazil, and Scotland.]
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| Artwork by Stidesigner.com |
Perfectly Calm starts off with a medieval-symphonic and melancholic touch that runs for trying to create an atmospheric passage which is easily accomplished, "Indifferent" shows the display of powerful soundscapes and slow vibe that will rise even more in the following tracks, a great opener that sets the vibe for the emotions, keep an eye the violins presence, voices and ambient, this is a song that may seem out there at first, but will grow on you over time. "Dissolving into Nothingness" deserves a special mention, depression, emotion and despair running through the violins, dense fog rising on the vocal work and despaired atmosphere, simply 7 perfect minutes of atmospheric black metal with an epic touch, indeed the highlight in the whole album and simply stunning... [read InternalStruggle's full review here.]
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Perceiving these guys as an entity that serves in the temple of form and structure would be much more accurate observation, as their music is all about the melody, proportion and carefully conceived arrangements. The opening track "All Man’s Redemption" stands as the best possible testimony to that claim, there is no need to go any further. The guitar sequence at the beginning, the way they build dynamic of the song by placing layer after layer of outstanding riffs, only to culminate at the 3:16 mark with that amazing guitar break – absolutely nothing about this song indicates a beginner’s effort. Which leads us to the true highlight of this album and that is the outstanding guitar work. Literally every song on The Wayward Ceremony has some interesting and contagious guitar hook that is catchy and apt to get instantly remembered... [read Towards The Inevitable's full review here.]