CTULU - Ctulu

Ctulu - Ctulu (2016, MDD Records)

With a name that’s synonymous with the greatest Horror writer of all time’s, read here H. P. Lovecraft, most grotesque and disturbing creation, Ctulu, the Germans are coming in 2016 with an untitled or self-titled fourth album that is full of ‘’pathetic disappointments transformed into hate’’. Think of the Extreme Metal of Behemoth, Rotting Christ, and Temple of Baal.

DARKEND - The Canticle Of Shadows

Darkend – The Canticle Of Shadows (2016, Non Serviam Records)

There seems to have a weirdly forced vibe going around the release of this album with the A-list Black Metal guest performers in the name of Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Niklas Kvarforth (Shining), Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ), and Labes C (Abysmal Grief) for the release of the Italian Symphonic Black Metal act Darkend’s The Canticle of Shadows. As with any buzz surrounding a movie or a new record I tend to take a step back and wait for the confetti of fandom and trend followers to get down to make a more thoughtful opinion about the thing. With the new Darkend, I wanted to get my review out in time for the release date so I spaced my listens in time and I tried to distance myself from the many promotional emails and rainfall that I had over this new record.