Wintersun - The Forest Seasons
“The four songs (named after the seasons) average 13 minutes long, and each carries its own flavour. Interestingly, it’s a heavier and less flowery affair than, for example, Time I – indeed, The Forest That Weeps (Summer) even enters Primordial-esque territories. The blacker take arguably pushes the music closer to extreme territories, which strangely suits them.”
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Sun Of The Sleepless - To The Elements
“A solo venture by Ulf Theodor Schwadorf of German neo-folk duo Empyrium, Sun Of The Sleepless first appeared in the 90s, though there hasn’t been a huge amount of activity until now, this being the project’s first full-length. The increased efforts were justified, though. To The Elements is a slow-growing gem that plays it relatively straight in terms of Northern European second wave black metal, with plenty of 90s overtones and emotion within the compositions.”
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Tau Cross - Pillar Of Fire
“When Amebix frontman Rob ‘The Baron’ Miller joined forces with Voivod drummer Away, expectations were high. The band’s self-titled debut duly delivered the goods, with nods to both men’s bands and plenty of muscular metal oomph ensuring that Tau Cross sounded relevant and just a little dangerous. Second crack, Pillar Of Fire, is a more adventurous affair, veering from the expected four-to-the-floor chugging to the title track’s acoustic reverie, but the band’s fiery spirit remains resolute.”
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- TeamRock Radio is back. But after what happened, why have we kept the name?
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- Jari from Wintersun on growing up in Finland and discovering heavy metal
- Read Classic Rock, Metal Hammer & Prog for free with TeamRock+
Decrepit Birth - Axis Mundi
“Full of plenty of fretboard wizardry, album number four features nine original tracks, plus three fun and faithful covers, including a strong rendition of the Sepultura classic, Desperate Cry. At times crushingly heavy (Transcendental Paradox) and others almost cosmic (the organs and guttural vocals on Spirit Guide make for a powerful one-two punch) Axis Mundi is packed with inventive, virtuoso guitar playing – Mirror Of Humanity features a solo Steve Vai would be proud of – that showcases their versatility.”
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GlerAkur - The Mountains Are Beautiful Now
“The debut of Elvar Geir Sævarsson’s alias GlerAkur was written as a soundtrack for a play about Icelandic outlaws, Fjalla-Eyvindur & Halla. Now, his multi-layered, atmospheric and spacious soundscapes are the perfect soundtrack to evoke images of glaciers and snow-clad sceneries. But while the first two songs feature impressive build-ups, beautiful ambient vibes and sludgy heaviness, the middle part sounds like one gigantic interlude and reminds you that these songs weren’t created to stand alone but to accompany a play.”
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The best new metal albums you can buy this week
