Dawn Of A Dark Age are a new project by two Italian guys, Vittorio ‘Eurynomos’ Sabelli (guitars, bass, drums & percussion, saxophone, clarinet, piano, keyboards, additional vocals, music, lyrics, and production; sole member of new project Suicidal Ruins, and member of R-Evolution Band) and Pierluigi ‘Buran’ D’Amario (lead vocals, both screaming and clean; also involved with, for example, Athanor, Rigor Mortis and Hellsteps).
Chasma are an Oregon-based act, formed in 2008 in Portland, and named after an astro-geological term that refers to something like ‘a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression’. It was meant to be a side-project by the members, besides their main activities in Nanda Devi (defunct in mean time). After some demonstrational releases via Aural Offerings, the band joined the mighty Moribund-roster with a two-album deal.
Two years ago I reviewed a split called Triunity with bands / projects from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus (via Casus Belli Musica), but that has nothing to do with this split-release, which is a French co-operation.
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.
