The Asteroid Bullet Belt

Rage from the thousand lakes.  It’s been nearly two weeks, and I’m still buzzing over how good the concerts I attended were. Admittedly, my pace when it comes to writing does not quite reflect that, but rest assured that I’ve been incredibly excited to put this particular report together. As I alluded to in my Conan report, the weekend was set to start on a thoroughly blackened note, with the first show that we were to attend being Havukruunu and Heretoir, at the Eightball Club, as per usual. I always talk about how attendance waxes and wanes depending on the genre, and this show proves that Thessaloniki has a blackened heart. For the first time in a good while, I saw the club almost filled to capacity, with people standing shoulder-to-shoulder. It’s always a pleasure to see that, even if it can in part be attributed to Havukruunu having exploded in popularity since the 2020s rolled around, with albums like Uinuos Syömein Sota and especially Tavastland having broken containment out...

Your boy H.P. Lovecraft is back at it again with the fish people. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on December 28th 2022)  2022 has been yet another productive year for the Sysoev twins. It's the second time where the duo has released full-length works across all three of their projects, those being Second to Sun, Grima, and Ultar. Truth be told, I don't much care for the first of the three, but I've been keeping tabs on the other two for quite some time, with Grima being my favourite of the bunch. That being said, Ultar is no slouch either, with their brand of post-black being an example of the genre being done right, in that they manage to explore new sonic ground while at the same time keeping the black metal core intact. 3 years after Pantheon MMXIX , the group has come back with their third full-length, At the Gates of Dusk , which I've been looking forward to ever since the first single was announced. The question remains though, was it w...

The beauty of the Great Old Ones.  (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on January 16th 2022)  Post-black metal is a genre that has been met with quite a bit of controversy among purists, who have dismissed it as trendy hipster garbage. While that accusation is true to an extent, the marriage of post-rock and black metal can net some surprisingly interesting results, seeing as the two genres do have a tendency to focus on atmospherics. Ultar, and their sophomore Pantheon MMXIX manage to make a case for the style, and show that it can be more than “black metal for people who don’t like black metal”. While most bands in the style tend to go for long, meandering compositions, Ultar here keeps things compact, and for the most part, succinct. Throughout the album’s 47 minute runtime we are presented with a near-endless stream of tremolo riffing, offset by the band adding a little something to keep things fresh. Whether it’d be an emotive lead like the one at...

Albums I like a lot: Part VIII (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on October 23rd 2021) There are periods in our lives that are defined by the art we consume. Whether that’d be a movie, a videogame, or in this case, an album. Harakiri For The Sky’s III:Trauma came in my life during a transitional period, and has since become one of my favourite albums. The music and themes presented through it resonated greatly with me, and have stuck with me for the better part of the last 4 years. This album marks the point where the band truly comes into its own and establishes the trademark sound they’re now known for. The songs ooze atmosphere thanks to acoustic instruments that are used sparingly to punctuate the more emotional moments. That being said, the album is far from being a riffless affair like most of the albums permeating the post-black subgenre. There’s a slew of aggressive tremolo riffs that wouldn’t feel too out of place on a black metal release, and they...

Songs that remind us of our fall. (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on March 4th 2021)  After 4 months of waiting and 1 delay it's finally here! Harakiri For The Sky's Mære has without a doubt been my most anticipated release of the year so far and I'm pleased to be able to review it. I've been following these Austrians' endeavors since 2018, having gotten into them through their 2016 effort, III:Trauma . 4 years and 1 live show later, this is the first "fresh" release of theirs I've actually experienced the release of, singles and all. It is with great pleasure that I say that it was worth every second of the wait, with the band delivering another fantastic album where they further tweak and improve their sound. Things start off on a very strong note with "I, Pallbearer", which, following a lengthy buildup, launches immediately into one of the band's trademark spacey tremolo riffs. It has no shortage of cool mo...

 Shattered beliefs and hearts in hands.  (Originally submitted to the Metal Archives on February 1st 2021)  Over the past few days I have been doing a run of Harakiri For The Sky's discography in preparation for the upcoming Mære , which I was originally planning to review. Sadly, news of its release date being pushed to February 19th changed that plan, which led me to their 2012 self-titled debut. While it's undeniably a Harakiri For The Sky album, it is a bit of an outlier in the grander scheme of their discography, thanks to some small details that set it apart from its brethren. A melancholic acoustic guitar against the sounds of rain falling sets the tone for "Lungs Filled With Water" to come in with a slow riff, giving us an immediate example of what the band is about: moody and spacey soundscapes The band deftly weaves acoustic instruments with the rest of the music, creating a depressing atmosphere. One thing of note when it comes to this release i...