Cemetery Lament

Words like mood and atmosphere get thrown around a lot these days especially when you are talking about black metal albums. In the early years of the genre it was pretty easy... evil and Satan ... But eventually, (unless you happen to be Dark Funeral) that subject is going to run it's course. Obviously over time bands have tried to explore other subjects, sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail miserably. Creating an atmosphere or having a theme for an album means more than just writing different lyrics set to the same old black metal tropes that have been done a billion times before. Just because you are screaming about 16th century baked goods doesn't mean you have successfully conveyed the "mood" or "atmosphere" of your concept album about medieval pastry. Fortunately for all of us Geisterfels clearly understands that it takes more than just lyrics about medieval castles and ancient forests to convey a message... especially, (if you are...

I've said it before and I will say it again... One of the most amazing things about a site like SoundCloud is how it brings artists from around the world into contact with one another so they can pool their evil genius into a dark opus that would have otherwise never happened. If you've been following the blog for a while you are probably familiar with names like  Tahazu , Skyggefigurrer and Belzebut who have all been featured on Cemetery Lament at one time or another. Each of these artists have put out a mass of incredible work individually but when you bring their talent together you end up with... well you end up with Ordo Malum an EP of blackened brutality that can only be born in the true underground black metal scene.  Living half a world apart the trio didn't seem to have much trouble pulling this project together with each of them contributing their own unique talents to create a single cohesive vision of darkness that oozes from each of the six tracks....

H.P. Lovecraft stories in heavy metal music aren't anything new. In fact next to Satan I would be willing to bet that Cthulhu probably is a close second in getting the most play in the occult/death/black metal music world. Not that I have any problem with that since I'm a lifelong fan of Lovecraft and his various works. So when I was contacted by Cthuluminati I was pumped as hell to check out their music. It was definitely worth it! Of course one of the first questions I had for the guys in Cthuluminati was how the hell they came up with a name like this in the first place.  Hiss Squidniss (Devi) - Vocals, Guitar and Percussion provided me with the following answer... "We wanted to tell stories Based on Lovecraft's mythos as well as conspiracy theories. At first Calarami (guitar) came up with it as a joke, but we all were very enthusiastic about it, so we decided to go on with it." You can't argue with that kind of logic. Cthuluminati has been...

Hailing from the great white north... of Utica, New York... It's my honor to present Vile Tyrant and their 2016 EP, Consummation of the Black Arts . A full force black metal release that quite honestly impressed the unholy hell out of me. Here in the U.S. it's a bit of a rarity to find a band that really understands the alchemy involved in making black metal so when you come across a band like Vile Tyrant you better pay attention because these guys have fucking nailed it.  Formed in 2012 Vile Tyrant has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years before the release of Consummation of the Black Arts . Their current lineup [per the EP release] consists of Aphotis (vocals and bass) Khandrak (lead guitar), Bezual (guitar and synth) and Kimaris (drums).  I asked the band about their music style and the general themes they are trying to convey. After listening to Consummation of the Black Arts I wasn't surprised at all by the answer I received... F...

O ne of the best things about the underground music scene, especially when it comes to genres like black metal and it's related sub genres is the diversity and creativity of the artists making music. There will always be the purists who go out of their way to make sure that every aspect of their sound stays firmly on that raw, dark, gloomy path laid down by the founding fathers of black metal. Then there are those who are a bit more adventurous blending a couple of safe themes together to create the nu-metal, 2nd or 3rd wave, ( insert trendy label here ) style of hybrid metal that somebody is sure to bitch about on the internet... and then there are the rare few who go above and beyond the archetypal tropes of a genre and create something truly unique unto itself. They blend themes and atmosphere that aren't typically found within the genre and somehow using a special brand of demonic sorcery make a one of a kind experience that is true to the genre yet stepping outside ...

I have to be honest... Virginia Beach is the last place that comes to mind when I think about black metal but after listening to Serpentshrine's debut album Besetting the Alter (released January 2017) obviously I don't know shit about Virginia Beach.   Photo courtesy of Jessica Vivier Founded in 2015 by Bryan Bosch, bass/vocals and Connor Randlett, guitar (BS - Studio Drums) Serpentshrine was born out of the hope of blending melodic/minor harmonies with raw black metal. But when you listen to Besetting the Alter from end to end you realize that there is a hell of a lot more than just black metal going on here.  Right out of the gate I'm going to warn you that if you are a black metal "purist" (or just a douche) you're probably going to listen to Serpentshrine and bitch that it's not "real" black metal. I'll admit that you're probably right but that doesn't make you any less of a douche and you're probably missing ...