Zgard, formed in 2010 in the region of Lviv, are a project by Yaromisl, who’s also active in Говерла (to be pronounced as goverla), by the way. The past two years, Zgard released three albums and a split (with Romanian act Prohod), all of them bringing a pretty typifying form of Pagan / Black Metal.
I’ll skip every unnecessary introduction about the huge discography, lengthy history or influential theory by Swedish act Vintersorg. I have no intention to go into Andreas Hedlund’s enormous curriculum vitae either. Just read what I think about this new Vintersorg-album, whether you like it or not.
Finally New York-based Tombs (Mike Hill-g, v; Ben Brand-b; Andrew Hernandez-d; and Garett Bussanick-g) return with the successor of the splendid Path Of Totality, which was released in June 2011. In the Archive of this site you will find the review within one of the Relapse-specials I did; see update September 18th 2011.
When Stig Ese left Norwegian act Vreid, where he did the guitars (we’re talking about the year 2010), he had some specific ideas he wanted to canalise by means of an own project, which eventually was called Slegest. In 2012 he debuted with a self-called mini-album under this moniker, which was pretty positively accepted.
After Unearthly Dance split up, some of the members decided to form a new band, Serpentine Path. Soon after they recorded and released a self-called EP and a self-called full length (yet both with different tracks, despite the very same title). Shortly after they recruited a second guitar player (Stephen of legendary Winter), and the band, now a five-piece, recorded the sophomore full length, Emanations, which has duration of forty five minutes.
Of Things Seen & Unseen is the sophomore full length by UK-based Serpent Venom, after Carnal Altar. This new full album was recorded at the Skyhammer Studio in Autumn 2013 with nobody else but Chris Fielding at the helm - think Conan, Moss, The Wounded Kings, Ageless Oblivion or Electric Wizard, amongst tens of others.
Omega are a Greek combo, consisting of Goulthor (g, v), Hades (v, g), Disaster (b), and Minion Of The Antichrist (d). They were formed about nine years ago and after a first demo, they were able to sign to Evil Spell Records, a sub-label of Undercover Records from Germany. In 2010 they released a first album (Second Coming, Second Crucifixion), followed in 2012 by a split-EP with Ravencult.
Very recently I did review the newest album by Quebec-based act Neige & Noirceur, Gouffre Onirique Et Abîmes Cosmiques, posted on June 1st on Concreteweb. But this one-man project has a pretty impressive, and highly interesting discography as from 2005 on. This review deals with a re-release of Neige & Noirceur’s second demo, 2007’s L’Abîme Des Jours, L’Écume Des Nuits, originally released via defunct Ohio-based Dungeons Deep Records.
The Finnish band Katakombi was formed in 2011 and debuted one year later with Hämärän Vartija. Since that moment, Katakombi played millions of gigs (at least: almost…), especially in their home country, which made their fan-base grow enormously. Now they return with an untitled mini-album (duration: twenty six minutes), which was recorded and mixed at the Space Junk Studio with Kimmo Nyyssönen. And damn yeah, but it comes with fantastic cover artwork, done by Heikki Hautala, known from bands like e.g.
Inexistenz are a Slovenian one-man project by a guy called B., formed in 2010, with a first (and self-released) album shortly after (called Lebensweg). Inexistenz now return with the sophomore full length, Erfundene Welten, which lasts for about thirty six minutes (six tracks).
