Hierophant Nox

NAZXUL : ICONOCLAST Eisenwald Australia’s Nazxul have long operated a policy of not rushing greatness. It has been fourteen years since their debut full-length, “Totem”, which so impressed with its sense of monumental atmosphere, and willingness to break ground, and there must have been fans who have ticked off every slow, painful day until “Iconoclast” [...]

HAT : THE DEMISE OF MANKIND Antichristian Front Records I first came into contact with Norwegian duo Hat at the beginning of last year, following the release of their debut demo, “Livet Ebber Ut”, a biting collection of three songs which very nearly spread leathery black wings and soared, but for a little too much [...]

LEAVES’ EYES : NJORD Napalm Records Four years seems to be a relatively long time to have gone without a release from Leaves’ Eyes, given the fecundity of some of their scene peers, but then again, they’ve been busy elsewhere – 222 live shows over four years is an achievement not to be sniffed at. [...]

MALFEITOR : INCUBUS Agonia Records You’ve had my paean of love for the Italian black metal scene often enough; suffice to say that Malfeitor, the band started by M. Fabban back in 2006, are one of my favourite shades on this nation’s palette. That these hateful and raucous cultists have gone the distance and continued [...]

While I never really tire of broaching the same old subjects with the same old bands, there’s something genuinely exciting about getting stuck in with an act like Conquest of Steel. For those who aren’t in the know (you should be ashamed), CoS are at the forefront of traditional heavy metal in the UK. Having [...]

AUSTERE : TO LAY LIKE OLD ASHES Eisenwald Just as I was sitting in a lovely, mournful post-Nazxul haze this week, wondering if there was anything equally beautiful in the whole of the nation of Australia, Austere pop along, also with a sophomore album, and put some incredibly black icing on the gloriously morose cake. [...]

BLACK SKIES : HEXAGON I’m Better Than Everyone Records My taste for the all-American sludge-groove power trio began a few years ago with a chance witnessing of the mighty Stinking Lizaveta; Black Skies plough a slightly different furrow – they have vocals, for starters – but hell, the appeal is just the same: raw, distortion-laden [...]

BOHEMIAN GROVE : THE AGE OF RETROGRESSION Hyperblasted Recordings Blazing from the country of Greece, Bohemian Grove reveals “The Age of Retrogression”. Composition-wise, the music heard certainly concocts beautiful swathes of melodic guitars and significant vocal ranges, quite similarly in comparison to a late Enslaved album, for example. It is certainly clear that Bohemian Grove [...]

DRUDKH : MICROCOSMOS Season of Mist What has always made Drudkh a precious commodity in the metal scene is their sense of the mysterious. I don’t mean their policy on interviews, the internet and biography, which is all fairly dull, but rather the sheer unearthliness which they manage to weave into their evolving but always [...]

POWER PELLUT : POWER PELLUT I’m Better Than Everyone Records Where label-mates Black Skies bring the charm and nostalgia of hard rock to the sludge sound, Shreveport LA’s Power Pellut are a far more angry, fetid beast, churning, nasty, primal, sprawling and all set to turn your mind into an uncomfortable, ugly mush. The spirit [...]