Way back in the year before the Great Plague, I took a chance and reviewed an unheralded, self-released album by a one-man band from Belgium called Ethereal Darkness. We received the promo from the AMG contact forms without fanfare or fluff, but what I heard on Smoke and Shadows really impressed me. Project mastermind Lars created a monumental slab of melancholic, melodic doom in the vein of Insomnium, Rapture, and Before the Dawn, and the material had depth, power, and gravitas. It seemed like the work of a seasoned and polished group of musicians despite some rough edges. The years have drifted by since that review, and I’d all but given up Ethereal Darkness for dead. Imagine my surprise when Lars reached out recently to alert me to the pending release of his second album, Echoes. 6 years on, the solo project is now a full-fledged band ready to tour in support of their latest release. And what a large release it is! At 60 minutes, Echoes takes the style from the debut and goes way bigger, with much longer compositions and greater ambition in the writing. If that’s not big enough, it also features cover art from Adam Burke and a production from Dan “The Fücking Man” Swanö!1 Is bigger better in this case? Can more really be MOAR? And how are these guys still unsigned?? These are the questions of our time.

It takes ample ballsack to open with a nearly 11-minute song, but Ethereal Darkness do just that with “Gone With the Tide.” If the atmosphere on Smoke and Shadows impressed you, this will knock you into the next multiverse. It’s an epic, sweeping tableau of massive melodoom that holds nothing back as it transports you to majestic forests and towering mountains of snow and ice. It recalls the best works of Be’lakor and Black Sun Aeon, but there’s plenty of Insomnium in the DNA too. The guitarwork is phenomenal, full of sadboi trilling and doomy weight. The death vocals by Lars are very effective, the clean singing by acoustic guitarist Brecht hits the right way, and the lapses into blastbeating blackness are well-timed adrenaline spikes. This is a stupendous song and one of the best so far this year, and it goes by in a flash despite its girth. “The Cycle” continues to maintain the sky-high quality. It’s like a crazy mash-up of Eneferens and modern Amorphis, and you should pay big money for such a potent potable. It’s the kind of song you get lost in and lose track of time, and when you write songs in the 8-10 minute window, this is essential.

Elsewhere, “Winter” moves toward more blackened environs, channeling Saor and Nechochwen as epic soundscapes are raised and explored. The guitars here are beautifully rendered, and it’s another triumph for this unheralded project. Equally monolithic is “On the Edge of the Cliff,” where the music turns more aggressive and urgent, merging black and melodeath idioms adroitly for maximum impact. There’s an epic Viking metal energy here that makes you want to conquer and rule the weak, and it feels dangerously powerful. Despite so much magnificent opulence and aural decadence, there are some weaker moments. “IV” is very, very good and hints at my beloved Rapture, but it ends up feeling too long at 9:45, and trimming it by a few minutes would have helped. Ginormous closer “Realization” runs over 13 minutes, and despite good to great moments throughout, it’s undone by its sheer width and breadth. In its final minutes, I find it increasingly difficult to stay locked in and attentive. At just over 60 minutes, Echoes can be a daunting listen due to its density and length, but the reward is well worth the effort. I can’t find fault with the Swanö-ified production, as everything sounds lush, gorgeous, and heavy without being loud or oppressive.

Lars handles guitar, bass, keyboards, and harsh vocals, and to say he did an amazing job across the board doesn’t begin to cover it. There are some big, emotional moments here courtesy of his 6-string heroics, referencing the works of Tuomas Saukkonen without imitating. His deep death roars punctuate the music with force, and his blackened cackles and screams pierce through like lasers. His restrained use of keyboards should be a case study for other acts in the genre. They add atmosphere but rarely rise out of the distant background. Becht provides soothing acoustic guitar passages and clean vocals that deliver pathos and emotion. Peter’s drumming is a vast improvement over the programmed percussion from the debut, imbuing the material with vibrancy and weight. Applause all around for this crew!

Echoes is a bigger, better album than Smoke and Shadows in every way, with several tracks worthy of Song o’ the Year consideration. The album length and the bloat on a few tracks hold it back from even greater heights, but just barely. This is a sumptuous feast for the ears and mind, and I get the feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time with this over the next few months. Ethereal Darkness are about to get a lot more attention in the metalverse, and they deserve it. Hear this massive monster or be a lesser mortal. Somebody better sign these guys toot-sweet!



Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: NA | Format Reviewed: WAV
Label: Self-Release
Websites: etherealdarkness.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/etherealplace | instagram.com/etherealdarknessband
Releases Worldwide: March 20th, 2026

I’ll take “Global Notables” for $600, please, Ken—The clue: Country famous for its waffles, chocolate, beer, and castles. The answer—What is Belgium?! Correct! Belgium is also home to some pretty decent black metal bands—Lugubrum, Enthroned, and Wiegedood, to name a few. Here to add another branch to that blackened Belgian family tree is Erbeet Azhak, the side project of one pretty busy Corvus von Burtle—C.V.B.(Cult of Erinyes, Wolvennest, LVTHN, Aerdryk). Erbeet Azhak’s debut album, Only the Vile Will Remain, helmed by his Cult of Erinyes bandmate and all-around metal maestro Déhà at Blackout Studio, promises to stand “as a manifesto in which hatred and chaos coexist under the dominion of a faceless yet resolute entity.” Let’s plant the dark seed of Erbeet Azhak’s Only the Vile Will Remain together and see what slithering roots sprout from within.

Erbeet Azhak’s black metal is desolate and chaotic, but doesn’t stray far from trails travelled by C.V.B.’s other projects. Still, it finds him further flexing his vocal muscles, which are a mix of everyman blackened rasps alongside tonal shouts and growls that sound a lot like F.O.A.D.-era Nocturno Culto. Even as Erbeet Azhak brings C.V.B.’s own guitar and bass talents to bear, guest musicians S. Iblis’s (Possession) lead guitar, Onbra Oscoura’s (Abyssal Vacuum) bass, and Laye’s (Putrid Offal) drumming flesh out a sound palette that explores several black metal styles. Sargeist lurks in the riffs of galloping melodicism present on “The Wings of Liberation,” just as Blut Aus Nord fans can belly up to a bar stocked with blasting beats and decaying dissonance (“Lecherous Angels,” “Death to the Self”).1 Further examination finds traces of Aosoth in the near blackened war metal of “Only the Vile Will Remain,” while devotees of doomier plods ala late-era Darkthrone should find comfort in the folds of “Erbeet Azhak.” Despite what seems such a mixed bag, Only the Vile Will Remain encases its twists and turns in a production that provides sonic consistency.

Raw but nuanced, Erbeet Azhak packs as many interesting details into Only the Vile Will Remain as Luciana Nedelea did her excellent cover art. I particularly enjoyed the engaging guitar leads that creep amongst the riffs and blast beats of “The Weakness of Our Cycle” as much as I did the intriguing riff patterns and spacy, atmospheric interlude that hijacks “The Inner Circle” around the 2:45 mark, segueing into a really nice melodic guitar solo. Iblis’s performance warrants particular note, as he peppers the whole of Only the Vile Will Remain with lots of satisfying, melodically intricate solo work not present on most black metal of this ilk (“The Wings of Liberation,” “Death to Self”). C.V.B.’s performance on the mic also deserves a nod. While he’s never contributed in this way on any of the other projects he’s involved with, save Aerdryk, his vocals fit what Erbeet Azhak does well and add a layer of gravelly, gothic tension and menace. The vocal cherry on top, however, belongs to Zd from LVTHN, whose inhuman screeches absolutely haunt the back-end passages of “Lecherous Angels.”

While Only the Vile Will Remain isn’t a sprawling, over-bloated behemoth by any means, it could benefit from a little nip and tuck. Erbeet Azkhak traverses the many planes of its black metal existence with relative ease and is most compelling when song lengths provide enough room for all the transitions to develop. Evident even on the albums second shortest song, “The Wings of Liberation,” which transitions from a galloping mid-pace to a blast-furnace passage before moving on toward a guitar solo flowing with melodicism and then back again, all within the span of 4:06. Ironically, this leaves the 3:46’s of the title track stuck in my craw as the album’s most boring; its straight-forward, blast-beat-overloaded war-metal approach sticking out sorely amidst the much more atmospheric fare on display. Cutting this and the mostly superfluous intro would have left Only the Vile Will Remain a more lethal beast.

Erbeet Azhak hasn’t revolutionized the landscape of black metal, neither in Belgium nor in the broader, raw-as-misanthropic scene in which Only the Vile Will Remain operates. Those intrigued by the name drops above should find something of value here. I know I got more than I was expecting. For now, I’d say there’s a fresh sprout on the Belgian black metal family tree with Erbeet Azhak’s name on it; whether that grows into a sturdy branch or not, only time will tell.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Amor Fati Productions
Websites: Bandcamp
Releases Worldwide: March 7th, 20262

In case you’re unfamiliar, The Epic of Gilgamesh is an ancient Mesopotamian poetic narrative, whose first complete form is dated to approximately 1800 BCE. It follows a story of King Gilgamesh and his dealings with gods and other mythic monsters, culminating in a journey for the secret of immortality.1 What better way could there be to consume this rich, literary epic than have it interpreted by the collection of artists behind From the Waters of Death? Obscure black/doom duo Swords of Dis; death metal veteran and experimenter Serpent Ascending; Neptunian Maximalism’s darker, heavier incarnation Ôros Kaù; and ambient-black dreamer Midnight Odyssey. All are infamous—if you know who they are—for their strange, unconventional styles and love for long-form expression that borders on the self-indulgent, which may make them ideally suited to a Gilgamesh retelling. You may already be experiencing a sinking feeling of dread at those name-drops. But together these artists achieve something that exceeded my expectations even as it met them squarely.

While appearing to be a split, Waters is more of a collaboration as each individual contributes vocal or instrumental talents across multiple songs, including on those they wrote and take the lead in themselves. Spearheading the whole thing are Richard and Alice Corvinus of Swords of Dis, who have a hand in all lyrics and appear on every track. These lyrics, inspired by the words of the epic itself, consist of narration interspersed with dialogue between the various characters, and the five musicians rotate and share roles depending on who is involved in the corresponding part of the story. 2 This improves the album’s internal coherence—which might otherwise be hindered in a split format—whilst also allowing each movement to take on the personality of its lead artist. As a form of adaptation, the five tracks of reverb-filled, noisy, strange, melodramatically or demoniacally vocally-led, black-adjacent fringe metal lean into the grand, frightening side to the tale whose gravity us modern-age folk probably can’t appreciate properly. And it’s that excessive, almost absurd commitment to being different, which—and I can’t believe I’m saying this—actually works.

From The Waters Of Death by SWORDS OF DIS

Drama is at the heart of oral poetic tradition, and it’s Waters’ drama that similarly grounds its best aspects. Utmost credit goes to Alice Corvinus and her fierce (“From Egalmah They Rode…”3, operatic (“Araru Births the Lord of the Wilderness,” “From Egalmah…,” “Blood Stains The Altar…”4), sometimes eerie (“Into the Wailing Darkness”5) vocal performance. Her presence dominates as she provides some narration in addition to voicing every female character (and there are a lot of goddesses involved). Dark, minor tremolo refrains and Middle-Eastern-inspired melodies support her delivery, and the theatrical, flowing style Swords of Dis employ lends itself to this expression perfectly. In a different vein, the inhumanly gurgling snarls of Guillaume Cazalet (Ôros Kaù) make for a barbed contrast to otherwise vague, even beautiful, passages (“Blood…”), and can be genuinely frightening (“Into The Wailing Darkness”). All vocals—clean or harsh—are odd to a degree, sometimes even off-putting (“Araru…”). Yet most breaches of the cringe line are brief, and ameliorated by interesting instrumentation (“Blood…,” “From the Setting…”6). Those totally averse to what we anaemically refer to as ‘avant-garde’ in extreme metal can beg to differ, but the back and forth between dissonance and harmony (“Araru…,” “Blood…”), and between uncomfortable slowness and sudden speed (“From the Setting…”), is not only well-performed, it makes sense for the record’s narrative concept. A journey represented through a monotonous pattern (“From Egalmah…,” “From the Setting…”), the fury of a deity by means of an operatic surge (“From Egalmah…”).

Waters embodies the manner of epic poetry so well, however, that its digestibility is harmed as well as helped. Whether appropriate or not, its near-90-minute runtime makes engaging with its entirety a daunting prospect, and this is a record that fares best when you do give it the time and space to immerse you.7 The very aptness of the compositional style—long repetitive sections on the one hand, and frequent switches between tempo, melody, and vocalist on the other—which mimics recitation amongst orators, can prove taxing. It creates a dynamic of brilliant moments and stand-out performances, scattered unevenly inside overextended filling. It’s perhaps not a coincidence that the album’s midsection—the two tracks led by masterminds Swords of Dis—is by far the best and most even in quality, whereas its final act—Midnight Odyssey’s—is the least engaging and unable to support its length.8

Though Waters cannot escape the idiosyncrasies of the artists behind it—and so inherently restricts its audience—as an expression of this epic poem, these approaches to black metal are surprisingly apt. If you have the time to go on this adventure with Serpent Ascending, Ôros Kaù, Swords of Dis, and Midnight Odyssey, there’s plenty to enjoy. But if nothing else, let it be an excuse to learn about the original myth that inspires such weird, sometimes wonderful music.

Rating: Good(!)
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: I, Voidhanger
Websites: Album BC | Serpent Ascending BC | Serpent Ascending FB | Ôros Kaù BC | Ôros Kaù FB | Swords of Dis BC | Swords of Dis FB | Midnight Odyssey BC | Midnight Odyssey FB
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

Psychonaut – World Maker Review

By Kenstrosity

Over the course of the last five years and change, my estimation of Belgian three-piece Psychonaut has only increased. Where I unfortunately missed out on Violate Consensus Reality for review duties, I didn’t let it slip outside of my listening rotation—certainly not after such an impressive debut, Unfold the God Man. I underrated that outing, citing bloat as the main drawback. Little did I consider that Psychonaut’s music often needs much more time than we’re given as our standard reviewing window to fully bloom. The psychedelic proggy post-metal purveyors boast a thoughtful and deeply layered songwriting approach that can’t be captured by a casual spin or three. Hence why I asked for World Maker, the trio’s third opus, early.

This proved to be a wise choice, as World Maker once again showcases the kind of writing that expands with a seemingly infinite upper limit over the course of time and attention. Less immediate than Violate Consensus Reality and less intimidating than Unfold the God Man, World Maker plucks the ripest fruit from each endeavor to formulate a rich and tantalizing concoction worthy of peddling alongside household names like The Ocean, Pink Floyd, and even Tool. World Maker is in some ways more intense (“Endless Currents”), and in others more relaxed (“…Everything Else is Just the Weather”), and all-around more psychedelic than what I’ve heard from Psychonaut before. Yet, it wholly retains Psychonaut’s uncanny knack for organic, almost primal rhythms, fluid transitions, and captivating phrases that achieves comparable success with or without vocals (“Origins”).

What sets World Maker apart from either of its predecessors is refinement in songwriting. Their base formula remains intact, but the methods with which Psychonaut compose and perform these latest arrangements ooze sophistication and finesse. Epic tracks like “And You Came with Searing Light” and “Stargazer,” in particular, showcase some of Psychonaut’s strongest and most satisfying writing to date. Exploring a wide gamut of textures, tones and tempos, these long-form journeys balance the power of the riff utilized on “You Are the Sky…” and “Endless Erosion” with the introspective post-metal lightness illuminated on “…Everything Else is Just the Weather” and “All in Time.” Generous and varied application of this strategy album-wide affords Psychonaut’s impeccably detailed compositions ample room for natural transformations between the monstrous and the gentle. This, in turn, allows World Maker to feel alive, to grow and evolve with every passing minute, and each subsequent spin.

As such, World Maker takes time and commitment to fully appreciate. It moves with such grace that its hour-long 1 runtime shrinks dramatically before me; that much became evident almost immediately. At the same time, it’s a dense and complex work that unfolds across multiple dimensions more rapidly than any one explorer can keep step. Perhaps this is a reflection of the circumstances surrounding its creation. With guitarist/vocalist Stefan de Graef’s entry into new fatherhood to devastating news of his father’s and bassist/vocalist Thomas Michiels’ father’s advanced cancer diagnoses, a newfound focus on the here and now illuminates the emotional shades that help define and color World Maker’s deeply affecting compositions. Trading off bright glimmers of hope with the looming shadow of grief, and simultaneously carrying the weight of everything that falls between, informs every moment of World Maker. This makes it a much more personal record than its predecessors. Moreover, Psychonaut curated an inviting, vulnerable space so that I might join in their joys and their sorrows through this work, creating a special kind of intimacy that is a privilege to share.

Even for those who lack the context in their own lives yet to fully identify with the stories and messages explored here, World Maker will likely have a substantial impact. It is a record that demands not just your full attention, but also your recurring presence. A single spin, or even three, is wholly insufficient to chart in totality what Psychonaut attempts to communicate here. These are songs meant to somehow, in some way, encapsulate the breadth of life and all of the lessons it teaches, the pains it inflicts, and the exhilaration it inspires. In my opinion, Psychonaut achieved a difficult, delicate balance within that astounding spectrum. All you need to see it for yourself is an open heart and a little time.

Rating: Great!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Pelagic Records
Websites: psychonautband.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/psychonautband
Releases Worldwide: October 24th, 2025

#2025 #40 #BelgianMetal #Oct25 #PelagicRecords #PinkFloyd #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #PsychedelicMetal #Psychonaut #Review #Reviews #TheOcean #Tool #WorldMaker

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#Blabbermouth
The Radiant Veil

https://blabbermouth.net/reviews/the-radiant-veil

#Hemelbestormer #TheRadiantVeil #PelagicRecords #PostMetal #BelgianMetal #Neurosis #Isis #BlackMetal #PostRock #Shoegaze

#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords–WhereMusicLives
FIREFORCE Unleash Music Video For New Single “Living On The Edge”

https://bravewords.com/news/fireforce-unleash-music-video-for-new-single-living-on-the-edge/

#FireForce #LivingOnTheEdge #RageOfWar #TheBattleOfRamadi #CombatMetal #BelgianMetal #MetalMusicVideo #HeavyMetal #NewMetalSingle #BraveWords

This week's #ThursDeath is a recent find I've been listening a lot to this week, Belgium's DISCARNATION have re-released their 2023 demo as 'Mournful Incantations of Mortality'. This is a fantastic piece of gloomy, death-doom that's super growly and cavernous, just how I like it-- much like this year's Cave, Ovenhead or Annihilation Cult. Definitely one to try out, for fans of the death-doom - great dynamics and everything else. It hooks you and draws you in.

https://morbidchapelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mournful-incantations-of-mortality

#metal #DeathMetal #BelgianMetal #BelgianBands #Discarnation #doom #DoomMetal #DeathDoom @HailsandAles @rtw @wendigo @Kitty @umrk @lola @flockofnazguls

Brutal Sphincter – Sphinct-Earth Society Review

By Dolphin Whisperer

DEAR DOLPHY:

The world seems to grow more hostile by the minute, so I feel like I need to be more “on guard” with the media around me. So, I’ve been seeing this guy for a while now. He was going to therapy pretty regularly with a Dr. Moshe Pitt as part of maintaining a healthy outlook on life—or so he told me. But when I was at his place the other day, I saw this little booklet on his nightstand called Spinct-Earth Society. I did a little research on it, and it turns out that it’s a self-help book by some organization from Belgium called Brutal Sphincter. I confronted him about it, and he confessed in full to using only this manual—not a therapist! But he seems happier than ever, and things are going great? Should I be worried? Can Brutal Sphincter be trusted? — CLENCHED BUT CURIOUS.

DEAR CLENCHED BUT CURIOUS:

I think it’s natural to distrust Brutal Sphincter as an organization. You see, the crowd they hang out in—squealy scuzzmeisters like Gutalax, Rectal Smegma, and Torsofuck—doesn’t inspire much in the way of integrity and honesty. But Sphinct-Earth Society holds a mission a little separate from the extreme scatalogical nature of Shit Happens! (Gutalax, 2016) or the drunken party manifesto of To Serve and Protect (Rectal Smegma, 2025). As the world continues to turn and burn in its humanistic down-spiral, Brutal Sphincter calls for the absurd.

Yet, despite the gateway to sanity seeming closed—closed as your instincts, CLENCHED BUT CURIOUS, let them free!—an earnest base of death metal, saliva-bound like a pliable, welcome bolus, travels from mouth to gut-ears by an unstoppable groove. Brutal Sphincter puts in a touch more effort than your average meme-loaded goregrind act, using important topics like tough guy smearing of “Beatdown Syndrome” and border patrol bashing of “Abolish Frontex” to pull away, with thick and driving riffage, away from the expected oompa-skank. Sure, not every headline across Sphinct-Earth Society holds as much weight as the next (“The Juice Did It,” “Persona Non-Greta”). But with the continuous dual-mic assault of intelligible shouts and unintelligible, warped beatboxing, it doesn’t always take alignment with Brutal Sphincter’s causes to find a brutish release. After all, Sphinct-Earth Society’s thoughtful construction allows its pig-frenzy, impropriety-focused dialogue to unfold with punky abandon and affable suspension, a key factor in success for replacing someone like Dr. Moshe Pitt.

Sphinct-Earth Society remains so committed to the groove, however, that its institutional guitar demonstrations often hold less weight than its growling and kicking rhythmic accessories. In some situations, the urgent and playful kit presence that Julien Racine (Xaon) runs under more trope-leaning chapters like “Crusta-Colada (Crack’n Kofola)” and “Unvaxxed Lives Matter,” elevating the sermons of caffeinated Eastern Bloc aggression and public health naïveté.1 Yet, where the guitar would often run crunchier and with precise malice in a death metal lane, Brutal Sphincter keeps to a lower gain chug that rattle dull and blunt alongside a beefier bass rumble (“Beatdown Syndrome,” “Name Three Songs,” “The Juice Did It”). None of these sidesteps in tone derail the two-step in tow; they do cause a bit of amplified confusion, though. So I can see where you, CLENCHED BUT CURIOUS, may have had trouble parsing the full extent of Sphinct-Earth Society’s veracity—you have to vibe with where Brutal Sphincter stews in the low, gurgly, and rumbly goregrind halls.

Nevertheless, Brutal Sphincter intend to provide both laughter—the best medicine—and an easy-to-follow bounce and scowl. Satire via absurdism defines the narrative of Sphinct-Earth Society, and if your partner seems to be having better days at its pages, I think he got the memo. In this life, we all must find ways to cope with the frequently uncontrollable news-worthy happenings on the local, national, or worldwide scale—it’s far from easy. Some choose to do it with people like Dr. Moshe Pitt. Others, like your loved one, have chosen the path of the o-ring warrior. No need to worry, CLENCHED BUT CURIOUS, Brutal Sphincter has got a tight hold on the groovy path. And don’t be surprised if their earlier works end up on your partner’s mantle.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Time to Kill Records | Bandcamp
Websites: brutalsphincter.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/brutalsphincter
Releases Worldwide: May 23rd, 2025

#2025 #30 #BelgianMetal #BrutalDeathMetal #BrutalSphincter #DeathMetal #Goregrind #Gutalax #May25 #RectalSmegma #Review #Reviews #SphinctEarthSociety #TimeToKillRecords #Torsofuck

Solfatare – Asservis par l’espoir Review

By Kenstrosity

Belgian trio Solfatare prime the release of their debut record, Asservis par l’espoir, at a challenging time to compete in the black metal arena. With heavyweight acts dropping records right and left in this space in 2025, Asservis par l’espoir has its work cut out for it to make a big splash and a lasting impression. With only a demo to their name so far, Solfatare launch with a blank slate, adopting the traditional methods of offering as little identifying information as possible before unleashing its hellish shadow upon the land. We can only hope that that shadow obscures in totality all that stand before it, leaving only Solfatare in the hearts and minds of those who witness.

Asservis par l’espoir is nothing if not familiar. Black metal of this ilk gushes profusely out of the metalsphere, especially from regions of France, Germany, and Iceland. Belgium isn’t too far removed from those places, so influences ranging from Silhouette to Sun Worship to Svartidauði fit the prompt when taking in Solfatare’s material. Inject a bit of Vimur‘s sparkling brand of riff-craft, and Asservis par l’espoir becomes a compelling entry on paper. Boasting a rich and full mix that balances the razor’s edge of black metal with modern clarity and sharp detail, Solfatare’s debut record is a pleasure to hear. In short, we’re off to a great start with all of the surface-level check boxes ticked.

On the songwriting front, many of Asservis par l’espoir’s best tracks showcase the genre at its finest, writhing with curled tremolo bends, serrated riff patterns, and immense momentum. Of those best tracks, “Du deuil affairé” rises as the cream of the crop. In this example—and in penultimate epic “Sous des cieux absents” at its midpoint—the particular progression of oscillating trem-picked phrases and slithering arpeggiated embellishments that Solfatare implement make a stunning sequence, memorable for its musicality and striking in its gnarled form. More melodious—though still corrupted by a twist of discordant harmony—offerings such as “D’hommes et d’isoptères” and “Ozymandias” take advantage of their position, setting up (in the former) and resolving (in the latter) those vicious riff-centered outbursts. In fulfilling those roles, they create a dynamic experience unified by a common sound and structure. A predictable result of these dynamics is that Asservis par l’espoir races through its 42-minute span so quickly that I feel obligated to spin it again, if for no other reason than to make sure I didn’t miss out on any other notable moments.

As strongly as I maintain that albums like these are easy to love, and even easier to spin both casually and with focused intent, the challenge remains to distinguish oneself from the greater pool of artists creating similar works. It is here that I am not convinced Solfatare fully matured yet. To call Asservis par l’espoir a competent record in the style would be a mild understatement. It’s a compelling record in its own right for a significant chunk of its runtime, and an enjoyable one for the rest. However, its back half entries don’t shine as brightly as the first half’s, and even those don’t stand out well against the wider set of the style. Closing duo “Sous des cieux absents” and “Quand ton cerveau te surine le crâne” don’t lag behind in overall songwriting consistency, but they lack flavor. All of the elements are there—layered tremolos, vomitous wretches, thunderous percussion, transformative transitions, the works—but the intangibles remain on the table, unable to help Solfatare establish a distinct identity in their chosen field at the most important juncture for them to do so. If at the end of the record I am this unconfident that I could pull the band out of a lineup, it’s clear something that was needed didn’t make it to the final product.

Still, listeners could do worse than Asservis par l’espoir. Boasting a ton of high-octane, easily enjoyable material, Solfatare’s debut does justice to its genre. However, it lacks a unique voice to help it stand above the crowd. It just so happens that that crowd is very good at what they do, and it’s become overpopulated. While that means Solfatare have to work to find that special thing that gives them a voice and a point of view, I look forward to hearing the result of that inevitable discovery.

Rating: Mixed
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Signal Rex
Websites: solfatare.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/Solfatare
Releases Worldwide: May 2nd, 2025

#25 #2025 #AsservisParLEspoir #BelgianMetal #BlackMetal #May25 #Review #Reviews #SignalRex #Silhouette #Sofatare #SunWorship #Svartidauði #Vimur

Coffin Feeder – Big Trouble Review

By El Cuervo

Sometimes you can judge a book by its cover. The intellectual property rights-busting album artwork of Big Trouble by Coffin Feeder pays tribute to the silliest action movies of the 80s and 90s, just like the music within. This album represents the band’s full-length debut after a pair of EPs that tickled our very own Kenstrosity. Though the core members may be Belgian, the bands through which these guys ordinarily peddle their wares (Aborted, Leng Tch’e) are fused with a steaming smorgasbord of high-profile guest spots (Benighted, Cattle Decapitation, Archspire). The result is an energetic fusion of various cores, from death to grind to hard (also the order of events at Dr. A.N. Grier’s place on a Friday night). How are these sub-genres fused?

Distilling Big Trouble down into its key elements is relatively easy, even if those key elements themselves don’t offer easy listening. It combines the monumental heft of deathcore with the sneering attitude of hardcore and the speedy intensity of grindcore. “Porkchop Express” is prototypical of the album, as it blends a stomping lead that reeks of slam with a faster, tremolo-picked verse, while the vocals unpredictably flip between pig squeals, hardcore shouts, and deathly growls. These songs are extremely extreme, favoring an obnoxiously loud master, boisterous riffs, and relentless energy. It’s a lot, but also – at least on first listen – a lot of fun. It’s difficult to dislike something so active and aggressive, and it’s all too brief to become bored. The cacophony is more of an experience than mere music.

I also admire how Coffin Feeder lean into their own silliness; they represent the diametric opposition to bands that take themselves too seriously. It’s difficult to dispute the “What is best in life?” speech from Conan the Barbarian when layered over beefcake deathcore (“The Destroyer”). But I would also argue that Big Trouble favors style over substance. The sense of humor pastes over an album that’s solid in execution of the fundamentals, but not much better. It feels like the band has used up all their ideas by the back half of the record. The songs become predictable, shuffling between mid-paced/deathlier passages, faster/grindier passages, and slower/breakdown passages. Likewise, most of the riffs sound basically the same. Though the leads are typically entertaining, not many of the tracks really stand out because they follow similar sounds throughout.

Like all good -core music, the breakdowns are often the highlights. When those blast beats are broken down with a slower but groovier lead, heads will bang. In fact, breakdowns are such an easy win in -core music that they feel like a song-writing crutch. Big Trouble accordingly struggles more where there are longer gaps between those fist-pumping moments. “Plain Zero” is a straighter death metal track with a hefty punch, but the relative absence of breakdowns means my attention is less focused. Paradoxically, there are other tracks with poorly deployed breakdowns that disrupt their flow. “Love at First Death” features a pause that becomes a beefy breakdown, but it’s too sudden and changes the tone of the song. Despite solid leads and entertaining grooves, some tracks aren’t particularly cohesive. The music is so frenetic that it can feel disjointed; it’s an amalgamation of ideas but not written into tidy, individual songs.

Coffin Feeder boast some qualities that will undoubtedly appeal to those with a brutal, slamming proclivity. The songs flex with muscular riffs and mighty breakdowns, and the motley vocals go some way to offering a little variety. But Big Trouble (in Little Belgium) ultimately fails to distinguish its individual songs due to repetitive songwriting. Its sheer power can’t overcome a lack of creative spark or ingenuity required to elevate music beyond the average. I feel like there’s more to come from these Belgians.

Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Listenable Records
Websites: coffinfeederband.com | coffinfeeder.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/coffinfeeder
Releases Worldwide: April 25th, 2025

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