INTER ARMA - Paradise Gallows

Inter Arma - Paradise Gallows (2016, Relapse Records)

Looking back at the year that was 2016 in music, we mainly focused on albums that we received promos except for the exceptional albums that came out and that we felt were too important to be left out of our review database. The case of Inter Arma’s Paradise Gallows is interesting because we didn’t received it and I was not sure about it either. How wrong was I?

BATHYUM - Rituals of the Damned

Bathyum - Rituals of the Damned (2016, Heathen Tribes)

The so-called second wave of Black Metal of the early 1990’s has been a huge influence on many formations of Metal. The transition of the first four albums of Bathory to the Unholy trinity of DarkThrone has carried a shitload of great and not so great albums and bands. Is it still possible to take what was at the time an evolution in the counter culture that Black Metal was inventing and make it as interesting without falling into the obvious nostalgia of this long gone era?

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.

ATHAME - With Cunning Fire and Adversarial Resolve

Athame - With Cunning Fire and Adversarial Resolve (2016, Grimoire Records)

The Maryland/West Virginia act of Athame is a vicious and dark interpretation of Black Metal with a sheer sense of American underground Metal like Krieg. A band that would not be afraid to take Grindcore textures and slower Noise passages à la Today Is The Day.

THROES - This Viper Womb

ThrOes – This Viper Womb (2016, Aesthetic Death Records)

Tasmanian Metal, what to expect? Well, surpringly this is more than a good album from the duo ThrOes and their own kind of self proclaimed Dissident Metal. Usually, when a band comes out with a definition of its own sound I am more than suspect about it. In this case, we are navigating between the boundaries of Black Metal, Crust, and Punk. Yound And In the Way, Thränenkind, and Mantar are the first names that comes to mind.