Eshtadur/In Darkness All Shadows Gone/Rockshot Records/2026 Full length Review

  Columbia's  Eshtadur  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2026  album  "In  Darkness  All  Shadows  Gone"  which  was  released  by  Rockshot  Records.

  A  very  dark  sounding  intro  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  acoustic  guitars  and  voices  before  going  into a  heavier  direction.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  a  lot  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  album  also  add  in  a  lot  of  blast beats  and t he  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  emtal  growls.

  At  times  the  music  also  gets  very  experimental  sounding  while  the  album  also  adds  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  along  with  some  songs  adding  in  atmospheric  and  folk  music  touches.

  Spoken  words  can  also  be  heard  at  times  as  well  as  on  song  also  introducing  clear  singing  onto  the  recording.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  acoustic  guitars   are  also  used  briefly  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  mysticism,  transformation  and  innder  transmutation.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Eshtadur  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  symphonic  and  melodic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Into  The  Woods"  "Fire  Above  Mountain  Below"  'A  Black  Winged  Waltz"  and  "Soy  Real".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/EshtadurOfficial/​

​https://www.instagram.com/eshtadur/    

Wooden Shadow/Silverlake/Inverse Records/2026 Full Length Review

  Finland's  solo  project  Wooden  Shadow  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  folk  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2026  album  "Silverlake"  which  will  be  released  in  November  by  Inverse  Records.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  keyboards  can  also  be  heard  at  times  and  clear  singing  is  also  added  in  certain  sections  of the  recording.  Harsh  vocals  are mostly  black  metal  screams  mixed  in  with  some  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  adding  in a   lot  of  melody.   

  Folk  instruments  are  also  utilized  at  times  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  When  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  along  with  one  track  also  adding  in  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals,  some  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  acoustic  guitars  are  also  introduced  on  an  instrumental.

  On  this  recording  Wooden  Shadow  continues  the  melodic  mixture  of  black,  death  and  folk  metal  that  he  has  introduced  on  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  nature  and  the  darkness  of  the  human  mind.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Wooden  Shadow  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  black,  death  and  folk  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Dawn"  "Blackened  Roses  Fall"  "Shadowdance"  and  "Breath  On  Backwinter".  8 out  of  10.

  https://www.instagram.com/woodenshadowofficial

https://woodenshadow.bandcamp.com

Cloudy Skies/Bury Me Beneath The Stars/Argonauta Records/2025 Full Length Review

  Cloudy  Skies  are  a  duo  from  France  that  has  been  featured  before  in  this  zine  and  on  this  recording  goes  for  an  atmospheric  mixture  of  post  black  metal  and  dreamgaze  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2026  album  "Bury  Me  Beneath  The  Stars'  which  will b e  released  in  october b y  Argonauta  Records.

  Atmospheric  sounding  synths  start  off  the   album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Most  of  the  music  is  very  heavily  rooted  in  more  of  a  post  metal style  while  the  clean  sections  also  add  in  elements  of  shoegaze  along  with  a  lot  of  the  vocals  being  done  in  more  of  a  clear  singing  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  harsh  vocals  are  mostly  high  pitched  black  metal  screams.  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  more  of  a  melodic  blackgaze  style  and  most  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.

   When  the  music  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  one  song  also  being  an  instrumental,  growls  are  also  used  at  times  and  the  album  also  has  its  progressive  moments.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  and  melancholic  themes. 

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Cloudy  Skies  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  atmospheric  post  black  metal  and  shoegaze,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Depth's  Spell"  and  "A  Room  For  Dreams".  8  out  of  10.

  ​https://www.facebook.com/cloudyskies.fr  

Bryan Eckermann/Return To Helmbrook/Bonespill Recordings/2026 Full Length Review

  Texas'  solo  project  Bryan  Eckermann  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2026  album  "Return  To  Helmbrook"  which  was  released  by  Bonespill  Recordings.

  

  Symphonic  sounding  keyboards  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times.  Vocals  are  mostly  grim  sounding  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  melody  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.

  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  great  portion  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Clean  playing  is  also  used  at  times  along  with elements  of  death  metal  also  being  utilized  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  album  and    when  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard

  Spoken  words  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  songs  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  as  well  as  the  music  also  adding  a  more  modern  approach  to  the  genre.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while t he  lyrics  are  a  concept  album  based  upon  a  horror  story  which  takes  place  in  Helmbrook with  some  references  to  the  occult.     

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Bryan  Eckermann  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  and  death  emtal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "10  Years"  "Apparitions  In  The  Attic"  "The  Spirit  World"  and  "Tragic  Endings".  8  out  of  10.

  https://youtu.be/KqEk0e65joY

Stonelore/We Were Kings/2026 Full Length Review

 

  Stonelore  are  a  solo  project  from  Scotland  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  folk  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2026  album  "We  Were  Kings".

  

 Folk  instruments  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  while  the  vocals  are  mostly  death  metal  growls  mixed  in  with  some  black  metal  screams.  Melodies  are  also  added  into a   lot  of  the  guitar  riffing  and  back  up  shouts  are  also  utilized  at  times  and  some  tracks  also  add  in  spoken  words.

  

   All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  some  tracks  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  keyboards  which  also adds  in  some  symphonic  touches.  Clear  singing  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  album,  nature  sounds  can  also  be  heard  briefly  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  more  of  a  classic  metal style  when  they  are  utilized  and  when  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast b eats  can  be  heard..

  

  Stonelore  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a  symphonic  form  of  folk  metal  and  mixes  it  with  melodic  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  history  of  the  Kingdom  Of  The  Valley  of  The  Moon  -  an  ancient  dwarf  mine  whose  rise,  prosperity  and  eventual  decline  unfold  across  centuries. 

  

  In  my  opinion  Stonelore  id  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  melodic  mixture  of  folk  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Death  Awaits  Those  Down  Below" "Goblin  Stop"  "I  Eat  Dirt"  and  "I  Am  The  Land".  8  out  of  10.

  https://www.facebook.com/blackettsmusic   

Vanaheim Interview

Mike Seidel: First of all we want to thank you for giving us the chance to present our new concept album “Roede voor de Borst” in your magazine. We truly appreciate that! 

1.Can you give us an update on what has been going on with the band since the recording and release of the new album? 

Mike Seidel: Our new concept album “Roede voor de Borst” was released on the 4th of September 2026. We are simply overwhelmed by the sheer amount of positive feedback we have received so far from genre veterans, metal critics and our fans. We had a different approach for this album, also because the whole team behind the band had grown since the release of our previous album “Een Verloren Verhaal”, which was our self-released debut album. We signed a record deal with Fireflash Records, joined the artist roster of Rock The Nation, who took over the bookings and, additionally, we now work closely together with Mastermold Music as our management team. Soon we will go on our first ever European tour, together with TYR, Twilight Force and Dragonland. The tour carries the name “Valhalla Calling Europe”. It will bring us to many countries we have never performed in before, with a total number of 25 shows in 15 countries. Exciting times ahead! 

2.Recently you have released a new album, musically how does it differ from the stuff you have released in the past?

 Mike Seidel: “Roede voor de Borst” is a concept album. It tells a completely different story than our previous album, “Een Verloren Verhaal”. While the story for our debut album was grand, epic and fantastical, the story of “Roede voor de Borst” is more down to earth, more emotional and relatable. The sound of the album reflects this aspect as well. While we are using the orchestrations in the album more focused, we shifted the epicness factor towards the use of different elements this time. For example, we recorded a real choir of thirty people in the studio. This is pretty unique nowadays, because it is common to use simple plug-ins and VTS or samples for your music and everything seems to be becoming more and more digital. Especially in the time of artificial intelligence, where everything becomes so easy and generic, it is even more important to bring back real instruments into music. All the songs on the new album are connected through the story, but still every song works on its own. Every song has its own flavor and that makes the album interesting and raises the replay ability a lot! We widened the dynamics between hard pounding metal riffs and soft melodic parts cohesive to the story of the album to deepen the feeling of the story.

3.The lyrics on the new release is a concept album, can you tell us a little bit more about the story you covered with this recording?

 Mike Seidel: The story takes place in a fictional Dutch village from the 19th century, surrounded by wetlands. Our main protagonist is the miller of the village. An old man who has seen ghostly figures around the wetlands and who thinks they are a potential threat to the village and its inhabitants. Nobody believes him when he tries to warn the villagers every night. They think that he is just a bitter and crazy old man. One night, he goes on an unexpected journey which makes him reflect on his life choices. I don't want to spoil it too much, but it is a thrilling story full of emotions, regret and hope. It supports the music really well and if you read the lyrics while listening to the album, it deepens and enhances the whole experience. We are aware that not everyone in this world understands Dutch. That is why we offer translations in three other languages (English, German and French) on our website for the lyrics. We are still working on it but the translations will be finished soon. Just go to vanaheim.nl and follow us to the lyrics section. 

4.Your earlier lyrics covered Folklore and Mythology themes, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in those topics?

 Mike Seidel: As a folk metal band we bring stories around the world. Stories of our heritage but also stories of our own. We love to write our own stories. That is the reason why we write a complete concept for an album, before we even start writing the music. The concept is a guideline for the music, the lyrics and the visuals that accompany the album. Folklore and mythology are a part of almost every band in this genre. With us the difference is that we like to create our own stories, which are inspired by different aspects but also by local stories, myths and urban legends. Historic happenings, culture and ethics are a big influence as well. 

5.Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new album cover?

 Mike Seidel: The album artwork is made by Julian Bauer. We had already worked with him on our debut album ”Een Verloren Verhaal” and we were so blown away by his work, that we had to work with him again. His style fits perfectly with our music. It represents epicness, displays the thrilling aspects of our music and the liveliness of his paintings tells a story. Julian can transform our music into a painting. What you see displayed in the artwork is a scene from the story of “Roede voor de Borst”. It shows a specific and tragic moment of the story and if you watch closely, you can already understand a part of the album’s story, only by watching and understanding the artwork. There is even a secret message hidden in the artwork. We are curious if you can find it. 

6.The band members live in different parts of Europe, what impact does this have on the musical style that you play?

 Mike Seidel: I wouldn't say that our location has a direct influence on the Vanaheim sound or style. We do have a very wide range of influences on our music, but even though we are split over three countries, our ethical and cultural backgrounds are very similar. Most members live in the Netherlands, our guitar player in Belgium and I live in Germany. The cultural difference is actually not that big. The fact that we live that far apart, doesn't make it easier to write music. Most of the songwriting happens online, where we exchange ideas in meetings. Towards the end of the writing phase, we meet up in person to finalize song structures, melodies or lyrics. Being in the same room while writing, makes the whole process much faster in our experience.

 7.Out of all the shows and tours the band has done so far, which one stands out the most?

 Mike Seidel: I guess every band member would give you a different answer to this question. For me personally, the Seafarer's Dream Tour with Ensiferum was one of the big highlights. Being able to be the support act for one of your childhood heroes is a moment that I will never forget. Back in the day, when one of my best friends gave me a USB stick with music on it, I discovered folk metal with Ensiferum. About 15 years later, I am sharing the stage with Ensiferum while supporting them with my own band. This is a dream coming true. When I discovered their music, I didn't even dare to think about this happening in a couple of years. Unbelievable! 

8.What are the touring plans for the new album?

 Mike Seidel: Soon we will embark on the “Valhalla Calling Europe” tour across 15 countries, with 25 shows, together with TYR, Twilight Force and Dragonland! Then we do have some ideas for possible tours in 2027, but nothing we can talk about yet. There are some big festivals in the pipeline, and we are looking forward to conquering the stage in countries we have never performed in before. We want to play as much as possible to bring “Roede voor de Borst” to as many countries as possible! It is so exciting to have a new album under the belt, which we can finally perform live with an energetic performance and a lot of crowd engagement.

 9.The new album was released on 'Fireflash Records', how did you get in contact with this label?

 Mike Seidel: We got in contact with Markus of Fireflash Records through someone we met after our performance at Wacken Open Air 2024. It was a total coincidence that we got in touch that day. We got offers from other labels for “Roede voor de Borst” as well, but none of them felt like a good fit for us. We almost decided that we wanted to release this album independently, like our debut album “Een Verloren Verhaal”. When we started talking with Markus, we were sure that he was the right guy to bring us forward. The collaboration with Fireflash Records has been nothing but great so far. They truly understand the vision of our band, our music and our intentions. It was a match we were missing with other labels, and we are happy that we found our way to Fireflash Records now

10.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of folk metal? 

Mike Seidel: The reactions to “Roede voor de Borst” are overwhelming to be honest. It is great to see that we have created a worthy follow-up to our debut album, “Een Verloren Verhaal”. The album has received many great reviews and high album ratings so far and our fans are very happy with our new music. Some even say that we are the ones who can bring back “the golden era of folk metal”. It is not my task to judge if that is true or not, but we take these words as a big compliment! You must know that we do not simply write music for a new album and then we release it. We are making a whole story around the album with fitting lyrics, visuals, themes and so on. Everything has to be right. We want to create an immersive story or world for us and our fans. A story that they can live through while listening to the album or watching the music videos. It has to be authentic. 

11.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

 Mike Seidel: Since our debut album we have found our own style. We want to keep it this way but still fresh it up from time to time. Here and there we implement some new elements or influences. That keeps it interesting. We don't want to create the same album repeatedly.

 12.What are some of the bands or musical styles that the band members are currently listening to nowadays?

 Mike Seidel: We do listen to a lot of different styles and music with some parallels. Three of us are big folk metal lovers. It is the music that we grew up with. Nightwish also always plays a big role in our playlists. Some others are more oriented towards folk or traditional music, while I also listen to a lot of heavy rock or black metal. It is the mixture of all these influences that creates the Vanaheim sound. 

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts? 

Mike Seidel: We want to thank you for this great interview and all readers of the ADifferentShadeOfBlackMetalZine. If you want to support us, buy our album in a physical format or come to our shows all around Europe. The Valhalla Calling tour is starting soon and we are so much looking forward to present our brand new concept album “Roede voor de Borst” together with an energetic performance and many crowd engaging elements. You are in for a real treat on this tour. We hope to see you on the road!

 -:𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫:

- 24.11 | SE | Malmö | Babel 

25.11 | DK | Aarhus | Voxhall 

26.11 | DE | Bochum | Matrix 

27.11 | DE | Regensburg | Eventhall Airport 

28.11 | CZ | Zlin | Masters Of Rock Café 

29.11 | DE | Leipzig | Hellraiser 

01.12 | DE | Saarbrücken | Garage

 02.12 | AT | Wörgl | Komma 

03.12 | DE | Berlin | Musik Brauerei 

04.12 | NL | Drachten | Iduna

 05.12 | BE | Brugge | Het Entrepot 

06.12 | NL | Uden | De Pul

 07.12 | DE | Stuttgart | Im Wizema

09.12 | AT | Vienna | Viper Room

 10.12 | DE | Weinheim | Cafe Central 

11.12 | DE | Geiselwind | Strohofer 

12.12 | CH | Pratteln | Z7 

13.12 | IT | Milan | Legend Club 

14.12 | HR | Zagreb | Boogaloo

 15.12 | HU | Budapest | Barba Negra

 16.12 | PL | Krakow | Hype Park 

17.12 | PL | Warsaw | Proxima 

18.12 | LV | Riga | Melna Piektdiena 

19.12 | EE | Tallinn | Helitehas 

20.12 | FI | Helsinki | Ääniwalli 

-:𝐔𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐘:-:𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒:-:𝐔𝐒:-:𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆:-

https://vanaheim.nl/

https://www.facebook.com/VanaheimBand/

http://instagram.com/vanaheimofficial/

https://www.tiktok.com/@vanaheimband

https://vanaheim-official-merch.myshopify.com/

Zornheym/Descending Into Madness/Noble Demon/2026 Full Length Review

  Sweden's  Zornheym  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and death  emtal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2026  album  "Descending  Into  Madness"  which  will be  released  on  October  2nd  by  Noble  Demon.

  A  very  dark  sounding  prologue  starts  off  the  album  which  also  introduces  the  symphonic  and  orchestration  sounds  which  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  Clear  singing  and  choirs  are  also  utilized  at  times 

  Harsh  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  emtal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  decent  amount  of  melody.  When t he  music  speeds  up  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats  can be  heard  along  with  the  album  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  classical  guitars  can  also  be  heard  on  a  couple  of  tracks.

  On  this  recording  Zornheym  expands  on  their  symphonic  black  metal  style  by  adding  in  elements  of  melodic  death  metal  and  classical  music to create  something  very  different  from  previous  releases.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  the  Zornheim  Asylum.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Zornheym  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  symphonic  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Deus  Rex"  "Anneliese"  "The  Funeral  march"  and  "Come  Sweet  Death".  8  out  of  10.  

https://www.instagram.com/zornheym_official/ 
https://www.facebook.com/zornheym  
https://zornheym.bandcamp.com/