Witcher –
Boszorkányszimfóniák 9/10
The Hungarian Duo of Karola Gere (Keyboards, Vocals) and Roland Neubauer 9 Vocals, Guitars, Drum programming) are Witcher. Taking their name form the fictional novella, they traverse atmospheric black metal with a romanticism steeped in classical and fiction. Their follow up to 2022s lauded Lélekharang album is ‘’Boszorkányszimfóniák’’ a seven track EP that is a collection of the band’s interpretation of influential classical pieces.
Beginning with their trademark sumptuous, textured keyboards ‘’Hymn of the Cherubim – Op. 41, No. 6’’ (Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky cover) is beautiful. It is transformed onto an elegant stripped-back piece of melancholic majesty. Witcher has an innate ear for the beautiful that when it is combined with their Black metal as on ‘’ Sarabande – Suite No. 4 in D Minor’’ (Georg Friedrich Händel cover) both styles of music are accentuated, the classical made more grandiose, dynamic more eminently listenable as an entity that breathes and moves throughout the music. ‘’Åses død (The Death of Ase) – Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46, No. 2’’. (Edvard Grieg cover) combines the guitar and keys to create a rhythmic interpretation of another challenging piece that exemplifies the heritage of music and its ability to transform into something unique and vibrant.
Their version of Carmina Burana: Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi is quite simply excellent. One of the most instantly recognizable pieces of classical music in metal is transformed into exactly that. A true combination of the two styles that builds into an excellent crescendo. ‘’ Three Shakespeare Songs: The Cloud-Capp’d Towers – No. 2 (Ralph Vaughan Williams cover)’’ is another that needs no introduction. The underlying riff is pure metal under the instantly recognizable refrain that becomes more extreme throughout the progression of the track.
Boszorkányszimfóniák is a passionate, pure and cinematic journey through sumptuous soundscapes that merge the timeless with the modern to create something that is new and powerful. It is a testament to their talent as composers and arrangers to reinterpret untouchable classics and make them sonic parts of their own diverse discography.
Nyrak – Devourer of All 8.5/10
The Belgium majesty that is Nyrak returns with their second album, ‘’Devourer of All” a release that continues the band’s musical evolution into a progressive orchestral form of black metal.
Musically demanding and riddled with their inherent melancholy, Nyrak burns with an intensity that is inherent in their music. The atmospheric introduction of ‘’ The Eyes of Time’’ is but a microcosm of their true nature, and ‘’Meaningless’’ ventures deep into the realms of funeral-inspired doom yet it is nimble and surprising, the musicianship flawless the percussion of Bram Veldeman excellent and the counterpoint to the orchestrations and guitar work of Guy Van Nieuwenhove.
Classical influences abound on Devourer of All yet the main riff on ‘’The Abstract Shape of Life’’ is pure black metal. It is aligned with a sense of melody and purpose combined with some excellent time changes that make it along with ‘’Oceans of Lies’’ grandiose without being indulgent, this is pure extreme music infused with grander orchestrations that enrichen the compositions and does not distract from them, it is balanced the symphony in harmony with the dynamic guitar leads and the harsh vocals of Lukas Risbourg. “Lament” is yet another technical, demanding emotive piece.
Devourer of All is an album that celebrates its uniqueness without denying its intensity, from horns sections to melodious keyboard breaks, frantic tremolo riffing and a sense of wonderous against a backdrop of pensiveness and melancholia. It is an album where gothic walks in unison with black metal and its classical inspirations. It is grandiose and outstanding.
Dødsferd – Wrath 8/10
Dødsferd is an act that is immediately recognizable in the underground. Their output is staggering with eleven full-length releases and countless splits, collaborations, and EPS since the Greek’s inception in 2006. The duo of Wrath and Neptunus return with their twelfth full-length offering to the black metal hordes. Wrath is an album that celebrates everything darkness eschewing the experimental notions, and depressive leanings of recent years.
Pure unadulterated second-wave infused black metal that revels in its blasphemy and celebrates its misanthropy to the masses and narrow-minded, It is a glorious return to their older sound that Dodsfred excels in. Speed and manic riffing combined with an ear for melody and dynamics make “Spiritual Lethargy” instantly memorable, yet it is the epic ‘’ Raging Lust of Creation’’ and ‘’ Failure Ablaze in Your Existence’’ that are true highlights, pure, effective with great leads that belly the tracks lengthy run times, blistering in their zeal and energy, the DSBM influence is gone ( yet there is a bonus track “Back to my Homeland…A Beast in Calm,” lurking on some variants that is a DSBM nightmare). Dodsfreds indictment of corruption and the consequence of capitalism are visceral in their intensity, Wrath’s vocals are accusatory, condemning and ultimately scathing of the world Dodsfred inhabit but does not belong to.
Wrath heralds a return to the nineties Norwegian style that is innately confident and coherent. Dødsferd has delivered an assault on the senses that whilst being instantly recognizable, it is fresh and burns brightly with its passionate hatred. Raw and bristling with a bleak atmosphere that is brittle and unforgiving Wrath is the perfect black metal record for those seeking untainted aggression.
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