Saturday, May 10, 2025

Bryan Eckermann/The Fall Of Heaven/Bonespill Recordings/2025 Full Length Review

 


  Texas's  solo  artist  Bryan  Eckerman  has  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  the  music  going  for  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2025  album  "The  Fall  of  Heaven"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Bonespill  Recordings.


  Clean  playing  and  synths  start  off  the  album  while  the  solos  and  leads  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style.  Vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  at  times  the  music  also  gets  very  progressive  sounding.


  Melodies  are  also  added  into  a  lot  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  faster  sections  of  the  songs  also  add  in  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats.  Throughout  the  album  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  singing.


  On  this  recording  Bryan  Eckermann  goes  for  a  very  melodic  and  progressive  form  of  blackened  death  metal.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  afterlife  themes.


  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  album  from  Bryan  Eckermann  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  melodic  and  progressive  black  and  death  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Deafening  Silence"  "Death  By  Dream"  "Denied  Of  Grace"  and  "A  Darker  Grey".  8  out  of  10.


  



  

Dramanduhr/Vertuhn/Broken Bones Promotions And Productions/2025 Full Length Review

 


  Dramanduhr  are  a  solo  project  from  Italy  that  plays  an  avant  garde  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2025  album  "Vertuhn"  which  will  be  released  in  June  by  Broken  Bones  Promotions  and  Productions.


  Synths  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  at  times  while  the  clear  vocals  bring  in  more  of  an  avant  garde  style.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  when  the  music  speeds  up  a  lot  of  black  emtal  style   tremolo  picking  and  blast b eats  can  also  be  heard.


  The  harsh  vocals  are  mostly  grim  screams  when  they  are  utilized  on  a  few  songs  while  back  up  shouts  can  also  be  heard  at  times.  Throughout  the  album  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  dark  yet  melodic  style.


  Spoken  chants  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  album  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  folk  music  style  percussion.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  clean  playing  is  also  added  on  a  couple  of  songs,  one  track  also  adds  in  a  brief  use  of  female  vocals.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  Italian  and  cover  esoteric themes.      


  In  my  opinion  Dramanduhr  are  a  very  great  sounding  avant  garde  black  metal  solo  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Andeterlit  Stahr  Hammit"  "Dertèh  Marlàhk"  "Thermanos  Trekitat"  and  "Vertuhn".  8  out  of  10.


  Bandcamp: https://dramanduhr.bandcamp.com/ 

Sito ufficiale: https://linktr.ee/Dramanduhr 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dramanduhr/


  


  

Epic Death/The Seer/2025 Full Length Review

 


  Epic  Death  are  a  band  from  Houston,  Texas  that  plays  a  symphonic  and  technical  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  with  elements  of  thrash  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2025  album  "The  Seer".


  Symphonic  and  orchestral  sound  start  off  the  album  and  also  mixes  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  a  lot  of  the  guitar  riffing  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  black  metal  screams  and  death  metal  growls  along  with  the  music  also  getting  very  technical  at times.


  When  guitar  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  also  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  while  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  very  long  and  epic  in  length.  Elements  of  thrash  metal  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  some  of  the  tracks  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  clear  singing.


  Clean  playing  is  also  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  a  couple  of  songs  also  adding  in  a  small  amount  of  samples.  When  the  music  finally  speeds  up  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  as  well  as  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them,  back  up  shouts  are  also  added  on  a  few  tracks  and  one  song  is  also  an  instrumental.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  lyrics  cover  Norse  Mythology  themes.


  In  my  opinion  Epic  Death  are  a  very  great  sounding  symphonic  and  technical  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Freya;s  Fire"  "Chieftain  King"  and  "The  Epic".  8  out  of  10.


  https://www.facebook.com/EpicDeathOfficial

http://www.instagram.com/epicdeathband

https://x.com/EpicDeathBand

https://www.youtube.com/epicdeath  


  

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Dark Solstice/Where Black Stars Beckon/2025 EP Review

 


  Dark  Solstice  are  a  band  from  Germany  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  dark  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  self  released  2025  ep  "Where  Black  Stars  Beckon"  which  will  be  released  on  May  23rd.


  Clean  playing  starts  off  the  ep  before  going  into  a  heavier  direction  while  the  riffs  also  add  in  a  lot  of  melody.  Vocals  are  mostly  blackened  metal  screams  mixed  in  with  some  clear  singing  also  being  utilized  at  times  along  with  the  solos  and  leads  also  being  done  in  a  very  melodic  style  and  the  songs  also  add  in a  lot  of  dark  metal  elements.


  Symphonic  sounds  are  also  mixed  in  with  the  heavier  sections  of  the  songs  when t hey  are  utilized  while  the  recording  mixes  in  both  old  school  and  modern  influences.  Death  metal  growls  can  also  be  heard  at  times  along  with  some  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  also  being  introduced  into  on  one  of  the  tracks,  spoken  words  can  also  be  heard  briefly.


  Dark  Solstice  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  a very  melodic  and  symphonic  form  of  black  metal  and  mixes  it  with  dark  metal  and  a  touch  of  death  metal  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  cosmic  darkness,  despair  and  emotional  turmoil.


  In  my  opinion  Dark  Solstice  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  and  symphonic  mixture  of  black  and  dark  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACK  "Where  Black  Stars  Beckon".  8  out  of  10.


  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darksolstice.official/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/darksolstice.official/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@darksolstice.official
Bandcamp: https://darksolstice.bandcamp.com

Website: https://darksolstice.de  

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Mors Silens/Infernal Legacy/WormHoleDeath Records/2025 Full Length Review

 


  Mors  Silens  are  a  band  from  Hungary  that  plays  a  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2025  album  "Infernal  Legacy"  which  will  be  released  on  May  9th  by  WormHoleDeath  Records.


  Epic  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  melodic  direction  which  also  utilizes  a  great  amount  of  blast  beats.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  while  the  vocals  are  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams.


  Throughout  the  recording  you  can  also  hear  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  while  spoken  words  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  album.  A  lot  of  the  music  is  also  very  heavily  rooted  in  the  90;s  era  along  with  some  tracks  also  adding  in  some  clear  vocals  and  whispers  and  some  songs  also  add  in  a  small  amount  of  clean  playing  and  acoustic  guitars,  stringed  instruments  are  also  used  briefly. 


  Mors  Silens  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  the  melodic  forms  of  black  and  death  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own.  The  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  social  critique,  emotional  turmoil,  and  humanity's  darker  aspects.


  In  my  opinion  Mors  Silens  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black  and  death  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "End  Of  Eternity"  "Scarlet  River"  "Nine  Circles  Of  Hell"  and  "Infernal  Legacy'.  8 out  of  10.


  www.facebook.com/morssilens

www.youtube.com/MorsSilens
soundcloud.com/mors-silens
www.tiktok.com/@morssilensofficia

morssilensofficial.bandcamp.com   

Embitterment/Demise Of The Elite/2025 Full length Review

 


  Embitterment  are  a  solo  project  from  the  New  England  region  of  black,  doom,  death,  thrash  and  speed  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  self  released  2025  album  "Demise  Of  The  Elite".


  A  very  thrash  influenced  sound  starts  off  the  album  while  also  adding  in  a  lot  of  touches  speed  metal.  Melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  vocals  being  a  mixture  of  death  metal  growls  and  black  metal  screams  and  the  solos  and  leads  are  done  in  more  of  a  melodic  early  80's  metal  style.


  When  the  music  speeds  up  a  decent  amount  of  blast  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  all  of  the  musical  instruments  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.  Elements  of  doom  metal are  also  added  into  the  slower  sections  of  the  recording  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  good  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts,  the  whole  album  also  sticks  to  a  heavier  direction.


  Embitterment  goes  back  to  the  80's  and  90's  era  of  melodic  black,  doom, death,  thrash  and  speed  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own.  The  production  sounds  very  old  school  while  the  lyric  cover  modern  societal  values.


  In  my  opinion  Embitterment  are  a  very  great  sounding  melodic  mixture  of  black,  doom,  death,  thrash  and  speed  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Demise  Of  The  Elite"  "Slay  The  Alpha"  and  "Mercenaries  Of  The  Oligarchy".  8  out  of  10.


  mbitterment.bandcamp.com/album/demise-of-the-elite


https://open.spotify.com/album/4916SZDh43tSADfZRvMe8q    

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

RawMoor Interview

 

1.Can you give us an update on what is going on with the musical project these days?


Moordrawn: Hi, thanks for having us! We are currently writing and demoing our next album. I'm refining some aspects of my studio and getting some maintenance done, plus minor gear updates to get a smoother workflow and to ease our process of making albums. Brim is working on some of those aspects for me as well, and also has his own projects regarding the same matter on his end. We have a clear vision of our next album, and I'm sort of trying to look beyond that already. Never let the future catch you unprepared.


Brim:  Hello there! And at first, thank you for this interview! We're making some improvements to the studio and writing new songs for the new album as well. Busy times, but still doing fine! 


2.So far you have released one full length, can you tell us a little bit more about the musical style that you went for on the recording?


Moordrawn: I started out as a keyboard player, so melodies have always been at the core of my songwriting. I like to think of our music as symphonic black metal. I try to represent my take on that musically. I freely let other songwriters influence and feed my inspiration, and follow my intuition throughout the writing process. You can definitely hear a lot of influences from a variety of great bands in our music, and that will continue on in our future albums, as I have no desire to shut them out. 

I approach music and writing of music most of the time with religious fervor, a sort of fanaticism that I long to hear and feel through music. Especially when it has to do with Satan.


Brim: Both of us are fans of black metal genre. Also death metal and progressive metal are in our favourites. We try to mix all of them together. Black/Death metal is also a perfect genre to express yourself lyrically.


3.A lot of your lyrics cover political themes, which aspects of politics do you writ e about with the songwriting?


Moordrawn: We have our own political views. I detest blind equality and favor meritocracy. I value nationalism and healthy trade. I see merits in working together without handing over the rule. I am very territorial and loathe border violations. 

I hold no value to life in itself: we are free to give value to it, but we can never demand that of others. Instead we should only be prepared that they never will, and be free to act accordingly.

I favor death penalty as I see no reason to waste resources on trying to fix a cog that is beyond repair. I value family or a comparable collective. Hierarchy is very important to me.

Through my life I've seen the leftists and their trends causing damage to nations, damage to people, corruption to culture and on top of that they try to enslave nations by making them dependent on various support programs that are put in place to patch the failures of their own policies. They want to solely determine everyone's needs and force a society based on their standards and belief system. They want to be able to control speech, opinions and thoughts, spewing prison sentences for any opposition. They want to be able to twist any law to benefit themselves without taking responsibility of their own actions. The amount of hypocrisy and corruption in their ranks is beyond contempt. Do not get me even started on the left and the migrants...


Brim: As there are many people, there will be different opinions about politics. I think, that our lyrics is about to make people stand up for their own political stand. I like to make my political opinion listening to different kinds of views. But I recall the power to the people and not to the machinery. 


4.What are some of the other lyrical topics and subjects the band has explored so far with the music?


Moordrawn: There is the strong presence of opposing the left wing. We've brushed the migration issues, politicization of judicial system, invasion and both internal and external oppression, vengeance and satanism. We are determined to hold true to our values, yet develop our lyrical direction. I'm prone to building albums around concepts.


Brim: Much of the lyrics contain a political stands, but also we add Satanism, heresy and blasphemy to the songs, for that the religions are not the way to right a wrong.  


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


Moordrawn: I really love to talk about this! Veera Arstio did a terrific job on the artwork, and I hope to commission art from her for our future albums too!

I had this vision for the album cover, which is a scene taken quite directly from Frostglade, the second track on our album, featuring a wartime execution of prisoners. They are hanged and left on display to demoralize the opponents. There is a reference for the holy trinity as well, hanged.

We put much thought on the perspective and balance of the scene. I presented my vision to Veera and she sketched it out before my eyes and I was sold. We discussed the details of the scene and then she set out to make it happen. I got the original artwork with me still, though I forgot to return the folder it came with! She's also responsible for our logo, which, I think, is a homage to death metal of 80's and early 90's. Veera is very talented artist and easy to work with.


Brim: A great artwork by Veera! I think that the essence of the lyrics is drawn in one picture. The three hanged figures represents something, the frostglade and pine pranches also has a meaning. It is up to everybody to find these meanings in the lyrics.


6.Currently there are only 2 members in the band, are you open to expanding the line up or do you prefer to remain a duo?


Moordrawn: I am open to it. It does not mean that there would be a lot of willing participants after a week of recording with me, though. I am not willing to dilute a good song and make compromises on the quality of an album. I work with what tools I have, bring out the best of them and drive them hard. That includes myself. As I was responsible for our first album, I got to order Brim to perform according to my vision and he more than delivered. He suggested and added stuff for the songs too. But I was in charge and got the final say. That is not a healthy way for a band to work, so we have found a workaround for the future. We divide the songs between us, and we take the role of the director for those songs. 

Now if we had three more members, it would become increasingly difficult. It would leave very little motivation to write songs if someone could just rewrite most of them. So in a way it could become counter productive. I don't want RawMoor to become another failed attempt at democracy either.


Brim:  This is an interesting question. Sure, if we find artists who share the same opinions, views, and the desire to make a stand in life. Also we have our own way to make music. But if these standards meet, I would definitely flag for expanding. 


7.The psychical version of the album is going to be released on 'WormHoleDeath Records', how did you get in contact with this label?


Moordrawn: Jacopo, their A&R specialist, contacted us after we released En Route on bandcamp and asked if we were interested to do a collaboration. I dismissed the whole thing as I thought a collaboration meant some split album with another band, and told Brim that he was free to follow up if he had the time. And boy, am I glad he did. It's safe to say that without Brim's initiative and curiosity we would not be answering any interviews.


Brim: A guy called Jacopo contacted us, after releasing En Route on bandcamp, He said that there could be a chance for collaboration of some kind. So, I answered him and he gave the address to be in touch with. And pretty much then collaboration started with WHD. 


8.On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans of symphonic black and death metal?


Moordrawn: I am genuinely pleasantly surprised. We have had a lot of positive feedback around the globe! WormHoleDeath is doing great work promoting us!


Brim: Thankful for all the positive feedback so far! Thanks to all the supporters and fans! 


9.Do any of the band members also have experience playing in other bands or musical projects?


Moordrawn: Yes we have and yes we do. But I would rather keep this subject separate from RawMoor, as I hold us a sort of "detatched space", free of and from the burden and burdening of our other musical pursuits. RawMoor is my unholy sanctuary.


Brim: Yes, We have had and have projects in the past and in the present. 


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


Moordrawn: I will try to elevate everything. We are doing a sort of a concept album next. Brim will take lead in directing some of the songs, and i will continue to lead others. Brim will also take charge of writing some of the lyrics. So far I will be responsible for the musical output, although we already involve both of us in songwriting. I have a "producer's seat" in my studio, where Brim can sit hungover and tell me how a song should be played!


Brim: As said by Moordrawn. Nothing to add.


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


Moordrawn: Lately, aside all my old staples, I've listened to Havukruunu, Advent Sorrow and Minenwerfer.


Brim: There´s lots of genres and bands I listen to.. But if I have to say some: Turmion kätilöt,Fear of Domination,Behemoth.. 


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


Moordrawn: Again, thanks for having us! It was a pleasure to answer an interview that clearly was tailored for us. I hope you enjoy our music, and continue to do so.


Brim: Thanks for this interview! And to all disciples out there, keep supporting metal! Thanks to listeners and supporters!


www.youtube.com/channel/UCv5TPiRLJo-OHOaxl5p3b1g
rawmoor.bandcamp.com