As a fledgling metalhead in the 90s and early 2000s, I spent many a day scouring my local record shop for new, interesting bands and artists due to magazine interviews, reviews, and the occasional word-of-mouth treatment from friends and artists alike. This adventurous time period was responsible for my dalliances and appreciation of the world of neofolk. Between the somber atmospheres of Tenhi and the thriving, teeming music of the late Nebelhexë, it opened up new avenues to explore and bands to check out. With this in mind, I decided to tackle Acou, the fifth album from Russian quartet Moon Far Away, only to realize that they’ve been around since 1994 and this is the first time hearing about (or anything from) them.

Well, at least I got to finally experience their music, as Acou is a fairly enjoyable album with some interesting angles. After a brief interlude, featuring a lone trumpet and some ambient chantings and melodies, the title track kicks off in earnest, showcasing just why Moon Far Away have earned the reputation as “The Russian Dead Can Dance” as the vocal harmonies of multi-instrumentalist Count Ash and his counterpart (and song lead) Leda intertwine during the chorus over a playful bassline from Zhigich and some driving percussion by Victorion, creating a rapturous atmosphere that also plays homage to their Russian roots. Elsewhere, “Steel Light Love” shows off their more Gothic leanings, with Count Ash taking the lead with Leda softly wailing in the background throughout the song’s majority. On these three songs, the band’s artistic strengths shine brilliantly, giving off the impression that this is a neofolk classic for the ages.

Acou by Moon far away

The problem is that there are other songs on here, and some of them pull the proceedings down quite a bit. “17 Years” features an older vocalist1 chant-singing partially off-key for over three minutes. Speaking of off-key, Count Ash’s voice on “Look, the Human Flocks…” keeps to a monotone, often at odds with Leda’s angelic vocals, and the song ends without building up to anything. But the biggest issue lies with “Soulofkey,” which starts off promisingly enough, with a haunting piano melody that burrows into your skull. Still, it keeps burrowing, because other than a few key changes, it just keeps going and going and going for the entirety of the song’s seven-minute runtime, losing all potency and interest.

At least Acou sounds great from a production standpoint. Zhigich’s bass is thick and meaty, and Victorion’s percussion hits with the impact his performances need. Even the traditional instruments, such as the flute and trumpet, all ring with a stark clarity that’s sometimes missing from neofolk music. I just wish the arrangements and performances were a bit tighter overall, because when Acou shines, it’s with a brilliance that few can match, and that’s no mean feat.

And that kills me, as I wanted to like Acou more than I do. When everyone’s on top of their game, Acou is a compelling album that’s teeming with life and vibrancy. But the hiccups on some of the tracks keep my enjoyment tempered, and that’s a shame because Moon Far Away impressed me on their best tracks, and they are giving me a new band to check out in the future. That said, there’s still plenty to like on here, and if you enjoy any of the bands I mentioned above, you could do much worse than what’s on offer here.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Prophecy Productions
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Release Dates: EU: 2026.03.13 | NA: 03.27.2026

In 2019, I accidentally stumbled upon St. Petersburg’s wacko dark cabaret metal freaks Tardigrade Inferno’s debut Mastermind, depicting an adorable evil water bear as mascot. You can imagine that I was immediately hooked. Their legitimately heavy riffs and whimsical songwriting kept me coming back for more when Burn the Circus dropped four years later. That release doubled down on original material backed by a more focused metallic spirit, and all the better for it. Initially, it sounded like third installment, Hush picked up right where Burn left off. However, gone is my beloved little tardigrade. What could this mean?

While Tardigrade Inferno’s sonic formula remains largely the same as it was on Burn the Circus—albeit with the addition of accordions and kazoos and one very unexpected burst of blast beats (“I Am Eternal”)—it’s clear that they moved away from their titular character on Hush. A darkness follows that disappearance, reflected in the dour and morbid attitudes imparted throughout Hush’s 45 minutes (“Dead Fish Smile”). Absent the maniacal main character that gave Tardigrade Inferno’s music life, direction, and purpose, Hush’s storytelling feels aimless and shallow. Thankfully, those trusty hooks, bouncy riffs, and infectious choruses entertained me just enough as I navigated through an uncomfortable grieving period for the Tardigrade Inferno I once cherished.

Hush by Tardigrade Inferno

After a time, I felt ready to embrace Hush, knowing it wasn’t going to offer the same wacky storyline as previous records spun. However, I never escaped my disappointment that Tardigrade Inferno chose an album of vignettes, pulling from a wide gamut of fairy tales and ubiquitous monsters, as their solution. Cuts like “Deadly Fairytales” and “Goor” hammer that generic storytelling home musically as well, though there are small moments in each that make for a great idea or an ear-catching setup (see the howling vox and silent rests in “Goor”). Others like “All in Your Head” and “I.C.D.,” in contrast, expound upon the natural horrors that plague the human mind in the real world. While that topic works quite well in metal writ large, Tardigrade Inferno don’t sell it with the same compelling gravity or subversion as other acts who adopt this exuberant cabaret influence (like Pensees Nocturne or Sanguine Glacialis). Consequently, Hush lacks substance and excitement for a good chunk of its duration.

However, there are a number of cool ideas, new tricks, and fun details found here that Tardigrade Inferno could, and should, take advantage of on future endeavors. The title track is a certified bop, with a bouncy riff backed by fun synths and a sticky chorus that I can’t stop involuntarily repeating. “Subatomic Heist” is a bizarre little number that brims with vibrancy and energy as well, and it’s no surprise that it also calls back to those virtually unkillable microscopic creatures of past installments. Similarly, the proggy and doomy closer “I Am Eternal” foreshadows a tardigrade resurgence inside off-kilter melodies, unorthodox songwriting (for this band, at least), and gorgeous lead guitar work. Naturally, returning to the critters and characters that gave Tardigrade Inferno its primary appeal also gave this song the backbone and direction it needed to feel worthy and interesting. This, in turn, further exemplifies the issues that plague all of the songs on Hush that make no such return.

I’m not normally one to recommend a band revisit past ideas or themes. In fact, I am a firm proponent of a band sticking to their guns and finding their way whenever they make a potentially divisive shift from past work, either musically or thematically. In this case, however, I think killing off their main character and the silliness that came with it—not to mention the dearly missed conceptual storytelling—doomed Tardigrade Inferno’s third outing. Hush isn’t unsalvageable, as it has nifty ideas and some new songwriting tricks and fun instruments that fit well into Tardigrade Inferno’s sound, but it’s missing the direction and compelling arcs that made their first two records successful. My wish for Tardigrade Inferno is therefore to ditch the horror stories and rebuild the circus, for the show must go on!

Rating: Disappointing
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-Released
Websites: tardigradeinferno.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/tardigradeinfernomusic
Releases Worldwide: March 5th, 2026

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically. Over the course of 11 albums, as well as various EPs and splits, Frozen Ocean follows their own muse, without any musical correlation between them. It’s a big toss-up what you’re going to get per release, and I can’t help but respect the hell out of that.

I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#Skyforger
Sword Song
Where Will You Ride, Brother?

🎸 Live Stream:
https://nowplaying.themetaldog.net/

YouTube Search:
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Skyforger+Sword%20Song+Where%20Will%20You%20Ride%2C%20Brother%3F

LastFM:
https://www.last.fm/music/Skyforger/_/Where+Will+You+Ride,+Brother%3F

Listen on major platforms:
https://song.link/s/34z8AkNgvp6KEim0DFqdXo

#Skyforger #Alex #Igor #Anton #Sergey #FolkMetal #VikingMetal #NordicFolk #Metal2000s #RussianMetal

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalInjection
SLAUGHTER TO PREVAIL Vocalist ALEX TERRIBLE's Mask Factory In Russia Partially Collapses

https://metalinjection.net/news/slaughter-to-prevail-vocalist-alex-terribles-mask-factory-has-collapsed

#SlaughterToPrevail #AlexTerrible #MaskFactory #Russia #FactoryCollapse #MetalNews #RussianMetal #Deathcore

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#Blabbermouth
Grizzly

https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/grizzly

#SlaughterToPrevail #Grizzly #AlexTerrible #Sumerian #RonnieRadke #Babymetal #RussianMetal #Deathcore #NuMetal #Metalcore

This week's #ThursDeath is the excellent new debut EP that Saint Petersburg, Russia's PUTRID REQUIEM just put out a couple weeks ago, 'Engulfed in Rot... You Lay'. This is a crusty, grody, growly and surprisingly dynamic and tight ripper with a dark, OSDM feel. And the last track is a Mortician cover. What else could you ask for.

https://putridrequiem.bandcamp.com/album/engulfed-in-rot-you-lay

#metal #DeathMetal #OSDM #RussianMetal #SaintPetersburg #RussianBands @wendigo @HailsandAles @rtw @umrk @lola

#ThursDeath this week is one I've been listening to a lot of, the new LP 'Desire for Murder' by Russia's NECROGENESIS. This one chugs and rips and has a lot of great dynamics, especially for death metal- there's a bit of brutal death on it sometimes, a black metal vocal or two for emphasis here and there, some great guitar and drum work. Give this one a listen-- it's a wild ride.

https://coyoterecords.bandcamp.com/album/desire-for-murder

#metal #DeathMetal #RussianMetal #RussianBands #2025Albums #2025Records @wendigo @HailsandAles @rtw @BlackenedGreen @lola @umrk @Kitty

Grima – Nightside Review

By Carcharodon

Siberia’s Grima and I are old friends. Even though I only managed to snaffle reviewing rights on their last outing, 2022’s Frostbitten, each of their three releases since I started my indeterminate sentence here at AMG Industries has made my year-end Lists. From the raw, folksy, accordion-driven black metal charms of Will of the Primordial (2019), through the more grandiose (if ever so slightly tropey) atmoblack of Rotten Garden (2021) to pick-of-the-pack Frostbitten, Grima has my number. Keeping runtimes tight (apart from their 2015 debut, always in that 43-48 minute sweetspot), accordions high and temperatures close to absolute zero, brothers Vilhelm and Morbius (also of Second to Sun1) just know how to construct great albums. Since we last saw them, however, Grima has moved away from the great black metal label Naturmacht Productions, to join Napalm Records. While no doubt very good for the band, and deserved recognition of their labors, this left me doing infuriating battle with Napalm’s stream-only version of latest outing, Nightside. Have the repeated pauses and refusals to play2 dented my enjoyment?

At this point, it feels like Grima’s songwriting is quite deliberate. That may feel like an odd thing to say. Isn’t songwriting always deliberate? Well, yes. And no. Perhaps “reflective” would be a better descriptor. What I mean is that it seems like the brothers take time to digest their last work before tweaking the dials to lock in what worked while refining other parts. We saw the ‘atmoblack’ dial being cranked for Rotten Garden, while it was nudged back down again and the ‘speed’ knob twizzled for Frostbitten. For Nightside, the dial marked “accordion/bayan” has had a damn good thrashing (courtesy of Sergey Pastukh, once again) and, if there were an adjustment labelled “urgency,” that has also hit 11. Nightside feels vibrant, alive and dripping atmosphere (“The Nightside”), with guest drummer Vlad in propulsive gear (“Beyond the Dark Horizon”), while Vilhelm and Morbius’ dual guitar attack channels every crystalline, hoarfrost encrusted tremolo we could want (“Where We Are Lost”).

Taking everything that was great about Frostbitten, Grima has circled back to sweep up some of the more traditional influences on Will of the Primordial, combining them with liquid smooth pacing that shifts perfectly track to track. It seems unnecessary at this point to note that Vilhelm’s harsh vox are among the best black metal rasps available today, marshalling the iciest of tundra winds to shred your eardrums. On “Impending Death Premonition” and “Curse of the Void,” he is joined by guests Savely Nevzorov and Ilya Panyuko, who contribute deep, clean backing vocals that elevate the sound further. Echoing this vocal feel, in the slower moments of Nightside, there’s something teetering on the edge of a symphonic doom sound (the opening to “Flight of the Silver Storm” and mid-sections of “Skull Gatherers”). While, in the faster passages (including the accordion … riff? … that rears up during instrumental “Intro (Cult)”), there is a sort of rabid intensity that hits peak Grima (front half of “The Nightside” and back half of next track “Where we are Lost,” forming a great arc).

Mixed and mastered, as before, by Second to Sun guitarist Vladimir Lehtinen, Grima sound just as good on Nightside as they did on Frostbitten (subject to the caveats around only having a stream, yada yada, etc.). The guitars are quite forward in the mix but their crystalline tone means they don’t dominate, while the accordion is given a lot of space to do its wonderful thing. Vilhelm’s vocals are well-balanced and cut through like the proverbial icy wind, giving the whole an extra bite. Grima’s songwriting continues to progress, and Nightside feels like the most nuanced and best-paced outing to date. If I have one criticism of this record, it’s that I’d like it to just go a little harder in a few places. The one-two of mid-album cuts “The Nightside” and “Where we are Lost” is some of, if not the, best material Grima has ever written, and that is because they go hard.

So, did the stream ruin Nightside for me? Well, no, but it tried its bloody hardest. And I do think that, if I’d been able to enjoy this record’s obvious flow without it constantly stopping, refusing to play, and so on, the score could have been even higher than it is. While that may see Steel celebrating, and I hope the new deal serves Grima well, I don’t know why it’s so hard for labels—if they insist on sharing stream-only promo—to make those streams, I don’t know how to put this, um, work? Since it tends to be higher profile bands that are impacted by this, the labels are only harming their most valuable assets.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream only
Label: Napalm Records
Websites: grima.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/grimablackmetal
Releases Worldwide: February 28th, 2025

#2025 #40 #AtmosphericBlackMetal #BlackMetal #Feb25 #FolkMetal #Grima #NapalmRecords #Nightside #Review #Reviews #RussianMetal #SecondToSun