Hierophant Nox

ANTHONY CUMMINS : BLACK BURZUM SPEECH Wordclay Hmmm, somewhat of a contentious one, this one. When it comes to Count Grischnackh/Varg Vikernes (or whatever he calls himself these days), he is truly representative of the phrase “love him or hate him, you can’t ignore him”. Antony Cummins (MA) seems (and I DO emphasise SEEMS) to [...]

IAN GLASPER : TRAPPED IN A SCENE – UK HARDCORE 1985 – 1989 Cherry Red Books The third and final chapter of Monsieur Glasper’s exquisite monumental historical musical triumvirate, chronicling the UK’s extreme music scene from 1980-1989, “Trapped In A Scene” is a wonderful ‘trawl’ through all the bands that made Britain the MOST exciting [...]

BEHEMOTH : LIVE ESCHATON – THE ART OF REBELLION (RE-ISSUE) Metal Mind Productions Capturing what is, to my mind at least, a very interesting period in the history of the unstoppable and awesome Behemoth, the “Live Escaton” release offers a window to the band’s ridiculously successful metamorphosis into a modern, complex yet gut-rippingly savage death [...]

CARPATHIAN FOREST : WE’RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD FOR THIS (RE-ISSUE) Metal Mind Productions Along with Behemoth’s “Live Eschaton”, reviewed last issue, “We’re Going to Hollywood For This” comprises Metal Mind’s latest onslaught of live DVD re-releases, re-packaged and re-touched for our extreme metal viewing pleasure. Even if watching live performances in the comfort of your [...]

EMPEROR : LIVE INFERNO Candlelight Records If you missed this ‘live’, once-in-a-lifetime total auditory experience, shame on you! Yet now you have the chance, for one last time, to sample and revel in the sheer blackened majesty of these Norwegian black metal gods in their infinite concert glory. For almost all black metal fans, Emperor [...]

GHOUL : INTO THE CRYPTS OF THE MOST BLASPHEMOUS De Umbris/Akousmatikoi Ghoul was an underground UK black metal/ambient back which operated between 2002 and 2007, when leader Unknown Ghoul decided to call it a day. Since then, there has been an effort to expose the corrosive, tortured and experimental demos the act released to new [...]

MYRRDIN : GRAVITY AND OPPRESSING/GEOMERUNG Akousmatikoi Technically a single, although I’m going to go with ‘demo’ so that I don’t end up having to explain somewhere along the line why I won’t review Nightwish’s latest mini-disc, Myrrdin’s latest release “Gravity and Oppressing/Geomerung” is a highly effective example of how the double A-side format should be [...]

MYRRDIN : ROOTS Akousmatakoi “Roots” would appear to be UK underground black metal act Myrrdin’s most lengthy original release to date, and bears witness to this artist’s recent, confident strides across the stepping-stones that border black metal and ambient. Although the demo presents distinct tracks, a slice of searingly raw black metal sits at the [...]