KRATORNAS - Devoured By Damnation

Kratornas - Devoured By Damnation (2016, Grathila Records)

The two man project blending Black Metal and Grindcore formed of Zachariah (vocals, guitars, bass) and GB Guzzarin (drums) releases its third LP this December. Originally from the Philippines, front man Zachariah is now based in Canada and it is its first recordings with a human drummer. As a drummer myself, I couldn’t be more thrilled about that.

VOW OF THORNS - Farewell to the Sun

Vow of Thorns - Farewell to the Sun (2016, Forest Dweller Inc. /self-released)

Apparently Black Metal and Doom is the trend for new bands to make music. The long fuzzy tirades of Doom metal and the screamy vocals of Black Metal can harmoniously go together. Canadian band Vow of Thorns and their first LP Farewell to the Sun are no exception to this ever growing fusion of genres. Is it just a flavor of the week or some bands will actually stay and form another subgenre like ‘’Blackened Doom Metal’’ or ‘’Doomy Black Metal’’? Only time will tell but this review will tell if you must or not take the time to get to Vow of Thorns’ Farewell to the Sun.

SORCIER DES GLACES - North

Sorcier Des Glaces - North (2016, Obscure Abhorrence Productions)

Back in the early 2000s, I was still discovering Black Metal and its most obscure bands of the second wave especially out of Norway. There was a website called American Nihilistic Underground Society whose’s musical reviews were highly influential on me and helped me to discover lesser known bands like SDG. Back then, I ordered directly from ‘’Roby’’ Sébastien Robitaille his first CD that he burned himself and printed the jacket from his computer. It was Snowland that he recorded by himself and sold almost as in the vein of tape trading back in the days. Shortly, we met at the record store he used to work for and I was a regular customer for many years after and he began to make me discover many of his favorite albums and talked a lot about his SDG project, that was on a hiatus back then, and his current project Moonlyght as well as Passages, Doom metal entry. It’s been many years since I’ve talked to Roby but I kept following his musical path because I always felt that he was carrying the essence of Black Metal.

NEIGE ET NOIRCEUR - Les Ténèbres Modernes

Neige et Noirceur - Les Ténèbres Modernes (2016, Sepulchral Productions)

This one man band from Québec with its sole member Zifond and in this release the vocals of Schimaera offers another Ambiant Black Metal record that is based on the Great War or for the non-Historians the First World War of 1914-18.

FORTERESSE - Thèmes pour la Rébellion

Forteresse - Thèmes pour la Rébellion (2016, Sepulchral Productions)

The legendary band of Québécois Black Metal, or as they described it in their mother tongue Métal Noir québécois, Forteresse has already a wide fanbase and is probably one of the most well known Black Metal acts from Québec. As a side note, it is also my home and place of birth but I must add that I am not in touch in any way with the band and I got this promo by the usual daily promo emails. Nonetheless, it was one of the releases I was most excited to receive since there was a long wait and high expectations for Thèmes pour la Rébellion.

ASTRAL PATH - An Oath To The Void

Astral Path – An Oath To The Void (2016, Avantgarde Music)

The Canadian duo of Justin Bourdeau (vocals, guitar, drums) and Ana Dujakovic (bass, synth) of Astral Path recently released their debut album titled An Oath To The Void. Sometimes when a new band is formed and they release a new album we critics tend to say made up sentences like this is a promising first album and other banalities of the genre. 

VOÏVOD – Post Society [EP]

Voïvod – Post Society EP (2016, Century Media)

Québécois progressive metal legends and speed metal masters don’t need no introductions when it comes to music connoisseurs.

NECRONOMICON – Advent of the Human God

Necronomicon – Advent of the Human God (2016, Season of Mist)

Extreme metal masters from Montréal, QC Necronomicon have released thru the renowned label Season of Mist their most recent attack Advent of the Human God.