Style: progressive black metal, symphonic black metal (mixed vocals, mostly harsh)
Recommended for fans of: Ihsahn, Arcturus, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Dimmu Borgir, Septicflesh
Country: Georgia
Release date: 16 May 2025

The Progressive Subway isn’t just for local transit; our tracks are laid across the globe. You can hop aboard and ride to lands of Brazilian atmoblack, Norwegian prog rock, Canadian post-metal, Romanian blackgaze, Mexican tech death, or Greek gothic/industrial—and that’s just picking some reviews randomly from our site’s front page while I write this. In fact, as I look now, our ten most recent reviews cover bands from ten different countries. Progressive music is wonderfully global, and we’ve happily traveled to most corners of the world to cover it. 

But there’s still fresh ground to chart, and today the Subway has stopped somewhere new: Georgia. Not the U.S. state—we found ourselves there earlier this year, covering Tómarúm’s extraordinary release. Rather, we’re straddling Eastern Europe and West Asia in the country of Georgia, here to check out progressive black metal act Im Nebel. In their latest album, Hypocrisis, the band liberally blend symphonic elements into ten short, blackened tracks with plenty of progressive flair. It’s just the sort of thing the Subway was built to seek out. Let’s see whether the trip out east was worth the trek.

Despite its cold, dystopian cover art, Hypocrisis immediately strikes as theatrical. Its symphonic embellishments and dramatic clean vocals reflect a Baroque influence that brings a king’s halls to my mind, and across the album there’s a dark but quirky atmosphere—think Arcturus’s La Masquerade Infernale. Plainly put, the music is fun. This probably isn’t what Im Nebel were going for, seeing as the band describe Hypocrisis as “a bleak yet thought-provoking journey through the contradictions of modern existence … [that] explores the duality of human nature, inner darkness, deceptive truths, and the fragile boundary between the spiritual and the physical.” Somber stuff. Nevertheless, the twisted piano and staccato orchestral touches opening the album in “Prolog” set a stage that promises to be more playful than dire, and the rest of the album plays along. 

Standout track “Life” best shows off Im Nebel’s strengths: relatively straightforward but catchy riffs that leave plenty of room for symphonic elements to shine, a well-balanced use of harsh vocals and theatrical singing, and a compositional structure that’s not complicated but holds enough room for variety and surprises to keep things interesting. The track’s singable chorus is particularly infectious, with emphatic piano complemented by choppy guitar. In a similar vein, “Inside Out” also features simple but memorable interplay between the piano and guitars, as well as a melodic guitar solo that leads into a heavy outro with a mix of orchestral accents. Despite being the album’s longest cut, “Inside Out” falls just short of the five-minute mark. As with most of the tracks, it’s packed to the brim with ideas and would benefit from a slightly longer composition, giving the ideas space to repeat and evolve. But the short runtimes undeniably make the songs more accessible. And whether it’s the dark, music-box-like intro of “Corridors of Insanity,” the lovely acoustic guitars that fill “When Day Comes After Night,” or the riff salad that forms the center of “Smiling Faces,” Im Nebel keep Hypocrisis varied and entertaining. 

As enjoyable as the album is, however, its production isn’t convincing. The symphonic elements sound far from authentic or robust, and the core instruments all lack just a bit of punch. Unfortunately, this gives Hypocrisis an amateurish feel that undermines some truly interesting musical ideas. The band also seem to struggle with transitions. The introductory “Prolog” moves abruptly into “Where Horizon Starts” without any semblance of connection between the tracks. Similarly, “When Day Comes After Night” has an acoustic outro that clearly sets up the next song, but alas, the following track begins with a completely new idea, jolting the listener. Hypocrisis’s fumbled transitions aren’t just between songs, but also within them—”Corridors of Insanity,” as one example, builds enticingly through a prolonged intro, then right when it’s about to open up, a jarringly unfitting riff kills the momentum. All in all, Hypocrisis sounds more like a collection of ideas than a cohesive album. 

Yet, even with its flaws, Hypocrisis remains an engaging listen. Its quirky atmosphere, compositional diversity, and catchy, standout moments make it feel refreshingly distinct among progressive black metal releases—and on balance, these positives outweigh the album’s shortcomings in production and cohesion. Although Hypocrisis won’t have us staying in Georgia for too long, it was enough to make the Subway’s first trip out here worthwhile.

Recommended tracks: Life, Smiling Faces, Inside Out
You may also like: Lamentari, Belnejoum, Shade Empire
Final verdict: 6/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Metal-Archives

Label: Octopus Rising (an Argonauta Records trademark) – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Im Nebel is:
– Grigol Lobjanidze (guitars)
– Nick Rukhadze (drums)
– Alexandre Gurchumelia (bass, vocals)
– Michael Lenz (guitars, vocals)

The post Review: Im Nebel – Hypocrisis appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Symphonic black metal, symphonic death metal (harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Nile, Fleshgod Apocalypse, Ne Obliviscaris
Country: International
Release date: 04 April 2025

Life in the ancient Persian Empire, man. Your neighbors are sacrificing goats to false gods, raiding tribes from the northeast keep your nomadic family on the move, and you—mild-mannered prophet that you are—just want to talk about truth, light, and cosmic harmony before being martyred on your own altar of worship. Is that too much to ask? Flash forward a couple of millennia, and now you’re the star of a ferocious extreme metal epic where your name is invoked by blood-drenched antiheroes riding demons into war through a burning Persepolis. Apotheosis comes at you fast.

Dark Tales of Zarathustra isn’t your average Middle Eastern theology lesson, it’s more akin to a narrative, fantastical version of the Avesta—if it were written by fireball-hurling necromancers on a desert battlefield. Putting music to the thematic madness is Belnejoum, a far-flung diaspora of metal mystics, featuring members of acclaimed acts such as Nile, Fleshgod Apocalypse, and Annihilator, alongside underground talents from around the globe. So, it should be no surprise that their first creation sounds like some blend of those groups (mainly the first two): the orchestral and operatic flavors of Fleshgod accompany the blistering blast beats of Nile, to the tune of warhorns blowing gales that feed the flames of fiery, blackened death metal riffs throughout the heavier moments of Dark Tales. Armageddon, or more appropriately Frashokereti, has arrived.

Or so I thought. On first listen, I was worried that the smoke from all of that flame was going to suffocate Dark Tales—until about halfway through, when “Elegie” eschews the bombast of its preceding tracks and treats the listener to a mournful, melisma vocal performance. Supporting the sadness are a deep piano, violin, and an antique cello built by renowned luthier Francesco Rugeri in 1695—and played by guest musician Jeremy Garbarg. Truth be told, this was actually the second track to slow things down, but it’s where a pattern is established. We are given two more breathers after this: the somber piano interlude of “As She Drowns,” and the plaintive Spanish classical guitar passage of “The Flames, the Prophet, the Tears,” which transitions into “Zarathustras Last Requiem”—an aching orchestral outro that is played under a spoken word lamentation, closing the book on this Tale.

Placed with intention, these softer textures don’t just break up the ornate grandiosity of the heavier tracks—they sharpen it, allowing the latter to stand apart from one another rather than collapsing into a cookie-cutter cacophony of the death metal variety. The eerie choral refrains on “Prophet of Desolation” hit differently than the ones in “In Their Darkest Aquarium.” The triumphantly marching riffs of “Tower of Silence,” punctuated by smoldering sweeps and searing tremolo picking flourishes, carry an entirely different flavor from similarly described riffs in “Upon the Mortal Blight.” Dark Tales of Zarathustra is a testament to thoughtful and deliberate sequencing. Filling in the cracks left in the wake of the crushing, blazing riffs are lush orchestral passages, with an organ, a ney, and various synths making sporadic appearances throughout the runtime of the LP. The apocalyptic soundscape here is not a world I would want to live in—but it’s fascinating to behold.

Though I find Dark Tales to be largely without fault, it doesn’t quite push into the genre-defining echelon of greatness. At times—never across an entire song—the vocal work falls into a cartoonishly black metal affectation, with its heavily enunciated consonants such as in moments of “In Their Darkest Aquarium” and “Prophet of Desolation.” Other stylistic choices don’t entirely work for me, either, like in “The Day Zarathustra Turned Dark” where the primary vocals are in the harsh black metal style, but without heavy guitars and drums to prop them up—leaving only the orchestral elements to do so, which feels increasingly cringeworthy once you’re into the back half of the song. Additionally, to my ear, the majority of the melodies lean on the more Western-sounding Aeolian and Dorian modes and minor sounds. That isn’t a problem, necessarily, but a small oddity given the thematic content of the album that had me expecting a more Phrygian flavor.

Such small gripes are forgivable, though, because this tome of Dark Tales is greater than the sum of its parts—which are already quite substantial. Belnejoum have conjured an album that provides both depth and spectacle, retelling history and myth in fire and fury. Peering into the flames and divining what is to come for them, I eagerly await their future prophecies from on high.

Recommended tracks: “On Aeshmas Wings,” “Tower of Silence,” “Elegie”
You may also like: Enthean, Lamentari, Blood Valkyria
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives

Label: Antiq – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Belnejoum is:
George Kollias: Drums (Nile) – Greece
Francesco Ferrini: Orchestra Arrangement (Fleshgod Apocalypse) – Italy
Fabio Bartoletti: Guitars (Fleshgod Apocalypse) – Italy
Rich Gray: Bass Guitar (Annihilator) – United Kingdom
Ehab Sami: Guitars, Production Assistance – Egypt
Tamara Jokic: Melisma Vocals – Serbia
Mohamed Baligh “Aswad”: Band Composer, Founder, Vocals – United States/Egypt

With Guests:
Hany El-Badry: Ney
Mohamed Medhat: Violin
Christian Correra: Tenor
Jeremy Garbarg: Cello

The post Review: Belnejoum – Dark Tales of Zarathustra appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Painting by: Asthâghul; Visual design by: Francesco Gemelli

Style: Experimental black/death metal, folk (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: The Ruins of Beverast, Oranssi Pazuzu, Blut Aus Nord, Leviathan (the Wrest one)
Country: France
Release date: 20 September 2024

Asthâghul is one of metal’s most mystifying presences. Solo project Esoctrilihum is written entirely in a self-made up language and its lyrics (allegedly) speak of the occult. The person/entity/musical force with a shadowy lore is extremely prolific, too, releasing up to two albums a year chock full of dense arrangements across the experimental black/death metal spectrum. Four years ago, the hype for Eternity of Shaog also reached my corner of the internet, and I was enthralled by its suffocating, yet mystifying atmosphere and emotionally potent use of violin. I cannot say I’ve kept up with all their releases, but I was happy to tackle the newest release, Döth-Dernyàlh.

To get the biggest hurdle out of the way first, let’s talk about length. Asthâghul has seldom been one to keep their records short, and at a chunky eighty minutes, Döth-Dernyàlh is no exception. Compared to earlier releases, however, Döth-Dernyàlh is far less oppressive as melodic elements are pushed to the forefront of the mix and its extreme metal aspects largely reside in the background. Its cavernous, reverb-laden mix is light on the ear, as if you heard the band playing from a distant chamber instead of witnessing it from up close. For those reasons, Döth-Dernyàlh is not at all fatiguing to listen to despite its length—from a sonic perspective at least.

None of this means that Döth-Dernyàlh is in any way gentle. Asthâghul’s tortured screams echo through layers of reverb while spooky 90s black metal synths fill the air as faint tremolo riffs, pulsating blast beats, and double pedal work remind us that this is indeed a metal record. What makes Döth-Dernyàlh so captivating, though, is how Asthâghul develops the atmosphere around a consistent rhythmic motive, creating immersive sections in which a variety of instruments play around a pulsating rhythm that last for minutes before moving onto the next idea. Traditional songcraft is largely eschewed for stream of consciousness compositions that take the listener on a trip through the astral plane where emotions flow in and out of existence at seemingly random levels of intensity. 

The most interesting addition to Esoctrilihum’s sound this time around lies in the exploration of psychedelia and folk music. Acoustic guitar frequently takes the lead, providing melody and color to balance out the abrasive aspects in a manner ranging from straightforward campfire folk a la Falkenbach to Kaatayra-esque sections where acoustics dance over otherwise extreme metal instrumentation. A general pagan aesthetic is also achieved through a constant pulse of dreamy, somewhat ominous synths interwoven by melancholic melodies from the nyckelharpa, and frequent chants from Asthâghul. Even in the album’s most cavernous, abrasive moments, the resulting soundscape is enthrallingly magical. 

Normally, this is where I’d enter my criticism paragraph, but there’s nothing I can really point to that goes wrong on Döth-Dernyàlh. It’s the kind of record that you put on while working and then lose track of time as you enter a flow state until eventually it peters out of existence but it still lingers on in your mind for a few minutes after it’s done as you come to realize that you barely remember anything that happened except for the vague sensation that it was a pleasant experience. I guess if anything, I’m missing standout moments. The album isn’t completely formless—the tracks do all come with their own identity—but there is a homogeneity to the sound that prevents individual moments from shining through, and I’m lacking some of the emotional catharsis that Asthaghul did manage to achieve on earlier albums.

Overall though, I enjoyed Döth-Dernyalh. While it lacks stand-out moments, the atmosphere is thoroughly compelling, and the fact that its eighty minute runtime flew by like it did is a testament to that. Do not look here for a conventional experience; this is a journey through the dreams of a mad musical entity that is as fascinating as it is strange, and a fitting addition to Asthaghul’s mystifying catalog.

Recommended tracks: Atüs Liberüs, Murzaithas
You may also like: Kaatayra, Bekor Qilish, Vauruvã
Final verdict: 7/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Metal-Archives page

Label: I, Voidhanger – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Esoctrilihum is:
– Asthâghul (everything)

The post Review: Esoctrilihum – Döth-Dernyàlh appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Black Metal, Symphonic Metal (Harsh vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Emperor, Ihsahn (especially his new album), Fleshgod Apocalypse, Septicflesh, Limbonic Art
Country: Denmark
Release date: 24 May 2024

I’m a prog and prog death guy at heart. Black metal never really made an impression on me—most of what I’d heard was the raw, lo-fi stuff and I wasn’t a fan—but years ago I ended up cruising the progressive metal underground looking for hidden gems and came across what was, weirdly enough, the first black metal band I actually really liked. Lamentari’s enormous production value, their reverence for orchestra and choir, and their thunderous grandiosity were an instant hit with me, and I was ahead of the curve enough to be the one to introduce my symphonic black metal obsessed colleague, Andy, to them, too. 

After two astonishingly tight EPs and one epic standalone single, expectations were high for a debut album, and when it was finally announced, myself, Andy and Zach all lost our collective shit. If you liked the new Ihsahn self-titled earlier this year, which saw Emperor’s legendary frontman break out the orchestra, you’ll love Lamentari. They’ve been doing the symphonic black metal shtick since 2019 and have consistently recorded with real orchestras and choirs to take their sound to new levels of extravagance. 

Straddling traditional black metal standards like tremolo-picked riffs and blast beats, with the greater complexity of progressive death metal riffing and singer Daniel Lønberg’s vituperative, gnashing harshes, Lamentari’s style has an operatic intensity. Much of that is down to the symphonic accompaniment, orchestrated by keyboardist Max Uldahl; citing legendary composers Howard Shore and John Williams as their main orchestral influences, that sense of soundtrack bombast is a huge part of Lamentari’s ridiculous intensity: thunderous brass swells, choir straight out of a demon summoning scene in a splatterfest horror flick, and urgent strings consistently elevate the compositions. If Aquilus are black metal’s Debussy tenderly tinkling the ivories, then Lamentari are Holst evoking the bellicosity of Mars, Wagner portending the valkyries, Lydia Tár rugby tackling her replacement; theatrical, frenzied, and given over to wild excess. 

There are quieter moments, such as Jamie de la Sencerie’s understatedly glorious fretless bass solo over pensive choir on “Tragoedia In Domo Dei”, but a lot of the time Lamentari are so in your face it’s ridiculous. On “Appugno”, for example, strings swoop and brass pulsates as the tempo rapidly accelerates into an insane solo, which breaks off quickly to a lone tapping lick underneath which the orchestra and choir swell repeatedly heralding the solo’s return. Indeed, the frankly jaw-dropping lead guitar work of Emil Holst Partsch is a huge part of Lamentari’s ostenatiousness, sweeping and shredding his way through the whole album, whammying his way up to absurdly high notes that sound like they’re coming from a goddamn theremin, and yet always imbuing proceedings with a wonderful sense of melody, leading to moments as sublime as the mid-section of “Intra Muros Mentis” where intense sweeps and rhapsodic orchestral swells make for one of the most gleefully over-the-top moments on an album already rich in musical magniloquence. Michael Møller provides rhythm to Partsch’s lead, and works in perfect concert with drummer Thomas Mascagni, both weaving intense playing between a symphonic style with frequent caesuras and tonal transforms.

However, there are some mild fumbles to contend with. Now, don’t get me wrong, everything on this album rips, and there’s never a sour note. However, “Dolorum Memoria” attempts a more restrained mode, opening with gorgeous flamenco and whispered harshes that slowly intensify as the song builds post-metal style to a crescendous release. A meditation on grief, it’s the most ambitious stylistic swing on the album, but the whispered harshes don’t quite work—it’s only when the song finally ascends to its grandiose climax that the song comes together. However, I appreciate the ambition and I’d love to see more of that—what would Lamentari sound like with a guest opera singer ala Fleshgod Apocalypse? Harpsichords? Gregorian chants? Obscure instruments and world music influences? A full forty minute symphony? This combination of genres has limitless potential, and if any band could find the best ways to utilise them, it’s these guys.

After penultimate orchestral interlude “Spiritus Diurnus” you’re expecting a real blindside, but closer “Arcanum Ignis Animae”, though as great as any of its peers, feels like it could have comfortably sat anywhere on the album. At a fleeting thirty-eight minutes, Ex Umbra in Lucem is a rather short record. An epic finale like “Confutatis” and “Iconostasis” from their previous EPs—or even just rehoming the standalone single “Nihilitatis” as a closer, something I suggested to my fellow Subway reviewers who coined it Ex Umbra in Lucem (Chris’s Version); send my royalties in cash, please—would’ve rounded the album up to a solid fifty minutes in runtime and ended proceedings with an even bigger bang, and I can’t help but feel the album would be stronger for having been capped off in such an extravagant way. That said, these are the quibbles of a fan who’s been waiting four years for this debut full-length and allowed his imagination to get the better of him. Lamentari execute some incredible feats here, and if my expectations were set a little too high, it’s only because I know what fantastic musicians these guys are. 

Some of black metal’s leading luminaries have released fantastic material so far in 2024, but Lamentari may well have bested all of them. Uncompromising, dramatic, and virtuosic, Ex Umbra in Lucem is nearly everything I wanted from a Lamentari full length, a defiant statement from one of black metal’s most exciting new voices.

Recommended tracks: Tragoedia In Domo Dei, Intra Muros Mentis, Appugno
You may also like: Aquilus, Thy Shining Curse, Xanthochroid
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Lamentari is:
– Daniel Lønberg (vocals)
– Emil Holst Partsch (guitars)
– Michael Møller (guitars)
– Jamie de la Sencerie (bass)
– Max Uldahl (keys and orchestrations)
– Thomas Mascagni (drums)

The post Review: Lamentari – Ex Umbra in Lucem appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: Symphonic black metal, folk, classical (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Opeth, Ne Obliviscaris, Emperor, Agalloch, Chopin, Debussy
Country: Australia
Release date: 3 May 2024

Aquilus should be, by all accounts, a lightning in a bottle band. With a whole ten years between debut Griseus, which remains my favorite black metal album ever, and the first half of the massive Bellum, it almost seemed that Horace Rosenqvist had called it quits. To this day, Bellum I is an album I regret not reviewing for the Subway, so we’ll take this as a sort of retroactive review of both records.

So, let’s get that out of the way. Bellum I proved that Aquilus is one of the most unique musical projects out there. What seems like normal sympho-black on the surface gives way to some of the most beautiful classical piano pieces I’ve ever heard, and Rosenqvist’s ability to juggle between the two seamlessly is what makes them stand out among everyone else. But Bellum I is only half of the output that Rosenqvist spent ten years making. How does the album’s second half stack up?

It brings me every ounce of joy to say that Aquilus has not lost any of that quality between releases. Bellum II is mostly held up high by two massive, seventeen minute songs, and the album’s all the better for it. Before you get there, the opening duo ‘By Tallow Noth’ and ‘Into the Earth’ set the stage for a new era of the project, that sees Rosenqvist working with sessions drummers, violinists and opera singers. Thundering drums welcome you back to the more metal side, and the back-half includes that trademark, Chopin-esque piano.

Despite the inclusion of some new faces, Aquilus’s core sound remains intact and stronger than ever. Rosenqvist has always been a master of song movements, but there’s more cohesion than ever here. The transition from classical to blast beats at the start of SOTY contender ‘Night to Her Gloam’ made me sit the fuck down and appreciate all the hard work that’s gone into this album. The thundering, Ne Obliviscaris-like toms that bring ‘By Tallow North’ to a massive crescendo locked me in just like ‘Nihil’ off Griseus did. 

‘Nigh’ and ‘My Frost Laden Vale’ would collapse in the hands of a less skillful band. But Aquilus earn that insane runtime by filling every crevice of these two songs with the best ideas they could get. The Be’lakor reminiscent riff in ‘Nigh’, coupled with the screaming solo that follows would be enough to satisfy me, but that would leave out the absolutely breathtaking, jaunty folk section that follows, which builds and becomes one of the best riffs Rosenqvist has ever written.’Into the Earth’ begins with a frenetic, thrash-y jaunt that slowly moves into dark folk territory, and this is all in the first two minutes. 

The Opeth influence is still clear in Bellum, as there’s still plenty of Akerfeldtian octave chord shifting and sections in 6/8, but there is so much more to be found on both albums. Aquilus don’t forget to have a bit of aggression with their beauty, and the changes from pummeling to soothing have never been better. In fact, Aquilus remind me of why I love early Opeth so much and why I fell in love with prog to begin with: they write songs in movements, skillfully branching out through each section without feeling stuffed or endlessly noodly. Aquilus know when its time to slow a song down for a bit, just to make room for the next upcoming epic riff. 

If I were just talking about the two epics, I would just give this album a 10/10 and call it my AOTY. Unfortunately, it’s not just that. Upon first listen, I was a little disappointed that such a massive, epic album ends on what is essentially very pretty noise. However, upon listening to it as one massive, two-hour piece, I find that my initial pacing quibbles with Bellum II are solved. Bellum I seems like a classical album with metal bits, while Bellum II very much feels the opposite, and I think they compliment each other quite beautifully in that way. 

Aquilus’s talent seems to know no bounds. They stand high and proud among a genre laden with Emperor wannabes and guys who stick trem riffs over a synth and call it sympho-black. Horace Rosenqvist and company understand the very meaning of blending classical and metal, and this is why I cannot help but gush over how incredible Bellum as a whole has turned out. Now that Rosenqvist has a whole band at his disposal, let’s see how the next masterpiece is going to turn out. 

Recommended tracks: Nigh to Her Gloam, My Frost Laden Vale, but you owe it to yourself to listen to both albums back to back
You may also like: Dessiderium, In Vain, Lamentari
Final verdict: 8.5/10 (9/10 for Bellum as a whole)

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Northern Silence Productions – Bandcamp | Facebook

Aquilus is:
– Horace Rosenqvist (Everything)

The post Review: Aquilus- Bellum II appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: prog black metal, symphonic black metal, opera (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Imperial Triumphant, Fleshgod Apocalypse, 1914, Myrkur, Diablo Swing Orchestra
Country: New York, United States
Release date: 19 April 2024

Lots of music seeks to elicit pleasure and so do Folterkammer (“torture chamber” in German). Naturally, metal seeks to beat you down sonically, but Folterkammer are your mistress who employs a whip for this purpose (“Das Peitschengedicht”) while you forcefully lick her (…ass, as I believe “Leck Mich!” is a direct reference to the Mozart piece) and kiss her feet (“Leck Mich!” and “Küss mir die Füsse!”). Just look at that album cover: she’s not riding him like that for nothing [Editor’s note: how else do you think a human broom is powered?]. Weibermacht (“Female Power”), the sophomore album by these New York experimentalists, is a “celebratory hymn to the practices of BDSM, particularly, Femdom.” This one is for all you freaks out there who wanted more kinky metal after Obsidious’s masterpiece “Sense of Lust.” Pleasure through punishment.

Folterkammer play fairly standard black metal, but vocalist Andromeda Anarchia completes the band, a true opera singer in metal. Her perfectly controlled vocal agility spans the gamut from dizzyingly high notes which are far beyond the typical scope of metal to slides into snarls and wailing shrieks. Weibermacht’s highlight “Algolagnia” excels because of Anarchia’s vocals, demonstrating mind-fellating range: manic ramblings, horrifying shrieks, and soprano operatics. Centering Weibermacht around Anarchia’s vocals pays its dividends and she is clearly the lifeblood of Folterkammer.

Instrumentally, Weibermacht isn’t quite as gloriously impressive, playing mid-paced black metal that simply sets the stage for Anarchia to sing about her sexcapades. Mixed by Steve Blanco (Imperial Triumphant) and mastered by the master himself Colin Marston, you can safely bet that Weibermacht sounds amazing; all the performances shine, even the bass as rare as that is in black metal. Zachary Ezrin’s (Imperial Triumphant) twisted neoclassical riffs sound like a mix between Fleshgod Apocalypse and 1914 while bassist and main composer Darren Hanson provides a solid low-range counterpoint for the soprano. However, all across the album the band loses the neoclassical aspect of the riffs, turning them into slightly bland second-wave worship with a standout vocalist. Twice on Weibermacht—in opener “Anno Domina” and closer “Das Peitschengedicht”—Folterkammer experiment with excellently composed harpsichord, and I wish the band leaned further into this because those sections feel like a more complete integration of classical opera and metal. Weibermacht is tight, but with more experimentation it could be even stronger. 

Of course, the lyrics, sung entirely in German, are kinky as hell as previously alluded to (thanks Google Translate!), taking an angle of feminine empowerment through sexual domination of their masculine counterparts. Whips become calligraphy pens for writing poetry in blood (as stated by the band about lead single “Das Peitschengedicht,” feet are smelt, and asses are licked. This is a contentious angle for feminism—many contemporary scholars view sadomasochism as a tool weaponized by the patriarchy against women—but I feel Folterkammer effectively pull it off, thanks to Anarchia’s powerful vocals, no doubt. 

Weibermacht suffers in two fashions—and I don’t mean suffers from perverse sexual acts: nearly every track ends with Anarchia chanting the same phrase ad nauseam and the band rarely creeps past allegretto. The counts of the whips on “Anno Domina” are so absurd they crack me up, but the section is far too cheesy for a largely serious album, and the repetitive track endings are frustrating when the band have such dynamic song structures for the majority of each track; the problem is exacerbated by Anarchia’s chants being completely harsh for these endings when her clean vocals are what makes the project as unique as it is. Finally, some faster pacing would go a long way toward caulking up any cracks in Weibermacht [Editor’s note: this is not a sexy turn of phrase and clitorises shriveled up and died when you wrote this], but that’s personal preference.

Folterkammer’s debut was refreshing, and the band has drastically refined themselves since 2020—particularly Hanson’s compositional skills. Despite the minor shortcomings, Weibermacht is one of the most exciting projects in contemporary black metal, excelling in their creativity and Anarchia’s stellar vocal performance. In the best year for symphonic black metal ever with the likes of Ihsahn, Lamentari, and Aquilus, Folterkammer has little problem sticking with the big guns, and their trajectory is surely only upwards.

Recommended tracks: Anno Domina, Die Unterwerfung, Algolagnia, Das Peitschengedicht
You may also like: Véhémence, Passeisme, Obsequiae, La Suspendida, SkyThala, Thy Darkened Shade
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Century Media – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Folterkammer is:
Andromeda Anarchia – Vocals
Zachary Ezrin – Guitars
Brendan McGowan – Drums
Darren Hanson – Guitars
Laurent David – Bass

The post Review: Folterkammer – Weibermacht appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Genres: melodic black metal, symphonic black metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Emperor, Dissection
Country: Ohio, United States
Release date: 24 November, 2023

Andy is wrong about many things, but he is especially wrong about one thing in particular. Black metal is not at its peak when it’s dissonant, noisy, and invoking “the sublime” or whatever. Black metal is at its peak when it makes me feel like I’m a Black Rider, crossing from Minas Morgul into the Shire in search of the One Ring. Riffs that evoke the feeling of being a Witcher hunting for the next monster to slay. An atmosphere that transports me from my apartment couch to the Lands Between in the middle of Godfrey’s boss fight. Black metal has, and always will be, for the nerds.

This year’s Night Crowned had the title of best nerd black metal on lock, and while they still put up a valiant effort, there was a bigger fish on the horizon. Valdrin waited in their towering, evil lair, scheming and concocting their newest alchemized abomination to unleash upon the world. Hailing from only two hours away in the kingdom of Cincinnati, these dark lords of the riff and synth decided to make their mark on my AOTY list right when I was at my most vulnerable.

Valdrin play a very easily described style of black metal. If you’ve heard Stormkeep, then you can safely imagine how our black metal champions of the month sound. However, Valdrin’s sound lies much more on the less whimsical side of things. There are prevalent synths, plentiful riffs, and lyrics that all evoke the atmosphere of being the dark lord of this world, unleashing armies of eldritch abominations across the land.

Like the plodding steps of an Oliphaunt, ‘Neverafter’’s first riff crashes through the quiet, synth-y intro, setting the stage for our long journey ahead. The song moves with furious speed, accentuated by Carter Hicks’s rasps of necromancy and the afterlife. It’s at the song’s end where I began to realize why this activated my neurons so much. Valdrin are not afraid to have a little fun with their black metal. Is the short-spoken word section cheesy as hell? Yes, but it adds to the album’s hokey, in a good way, nature.

See, if less competent musicians were at the helm of this album, it would be a messy storm of cliches. However, this album moves quite fast for a 70+ minute affair. Valdrin keeps things interesting with an array of punishing, folk-y riffs, synth swirls and the rare appearance of some clean vocals. The cleans deserve some special praise, as they’re unexpectedly quite good and not just shoehorned in. Their infrequent appearance sprinkled throughout the album really elevates the songs they appear on as a great contrast against constant black metal rasps.

More special praise goes to the title track, which is the obvious standout of the whole album. The inclusion of choral elements and an absolutely beautiful, tasteful guitar solo overlaid makes it feel as though the epic journey Valdrin took us on is about to come to an end. Rounding off with ‘Two Carrion Talismans’, Valdrin gives one of the best band name-drops I’ve ever heard, as well as a previous album title-drop as the very last set of lyrics on the album.

I’ve sung this album’s praises, and it’s been in constant rotation since the first listen, but there is a glaring flaw. This album is long, way too long. There seems to be a running theme this year of incredible albums trapped inside very, very good ones that need some editing. However, I can’t tell you what I’d leave out. Sure, there could be a few minutes shaved off of some songs, but I can’t pinpoint what I’d shave off.

This makes Throne a confusing rating for me. I’d love to give it a much higher score on the basis of sheer enjoyment, and like many things I rate, the score has a chance to fluctuate. That being said, Valdrin has made a triumph. Length aside, there’s some real talent to behold in how Valdrin makes basic symphoblack interesting for 73 minutes straight. It’s a bit self-indulgent, sure, but makes up for it in spades in terms of execution. Well done, Valdrin, now come to Cleveland.

Recommended tracks: Neverafter, Seven Swords (In the Arsenal of Steel), Sojourner Wolf, The Heirophant, Holy Matricide, Throne of the Lunar Soul 
You may also like: Caladan Brood, Stormkeep
Final verdict: 8.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Blood Harvest – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Band in question is:
– Carter Hicks (vocals, guitars, keyboards)
– James Lewis (bass)
– Ryan Maurmeier (drums)
– Colten Deem (guitars)

The post Missed Album Review: Valdrin – Throne of the Lunar Soul appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive metal, symphonic black metal, melodic death/black metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Borknagar, Insomnium, Enslaved, Ne Obliviscaris, Opeth
Review by: Sam
Country: Israel
Release date: 8 December, 2023

Of all places to be on earth right now, Israel would not rank among the happiest, but art finds a way to shine a light through even the darkest of circumstances, and progressive black metallers Winterhorde are back with a mythology driven concept album, Neptunian, for us to escape into. I was a huge fan of Underwatermoon and Maestro for its epic, diverse approach to the genre which I liked to describe as “Borknagar but better.” When I saw they had a new one coming out, I instantly mailed the band and their label to ask for a promo. Had it not been for severe writer’s block, I would have published this on Monday, but alas, we’re here only on the day of release. Let’s get into it.

Neptunian is a cinematic album, which is delivered through holistic, symphonic arrangements and a certain dramatic quality that permeates throughout. You can feel the tension of the story ebb and flow through the music, that each note was placed with care and purpose as if I’m watching a movie. The story is artfully delivered with vivid imagery yet it’s easy to follow the events. In a genre which typically overshoots in one direction and forgets about the other, I believe that Winterhorde have found a balance and the quality that the rest of the progressive metal genre should strive for when writing a concept album. Reading the lyrics alongside the music elevated the experience a lot. 

But while concepts are good and all, let’s talk about the music. Winterhorde play an amorphous mixture of various melodic black/death metal styles, symphonic metal, and progressive metal, showing prominent shades of Emperor in the drumming and their black metal style, and shades of Insomnium’s melancholic atmosphere and occasionally their riffs. As a result, on previous albums I’d compare them to 2010s Borknagar as well for their use of epic clean vocal choruses, but there’s less of that here. The progressive aspect is used for extra color on the riffs, clean vocal passages, and loose song structures, but it’s not capital P prog that shoves its technicality to the forefront as primary appeal. Neptunian primarily is a cinematic extreme metal album that uses prog as a spice. It’s not that each aspect is overtly unique, but through the sum of its parts and the way they mix them Winterhorde find their own sound.

Another strong point about Neptunian is its cohesion on both a macro and micro level: it flows continuously like a story yet the chapters are clear cut and stand on their own. I often like to rag on any given band’s song direction, but Winterhorde are nearly flawless in that regard. They know how to effectively develop a theme and intertwine different ideas into a tight package and bring them to a satisfying conclusion, at least, technically. What I miss compared to Maestro are stand-out moments. While the thematic unity on Neptunian is amazing, there’s also a homogeneity to it that makes it hard to recall individual moments. I listened to the album twelve times, and not a whole lot has stuck with me. The opener stands out for its majestic scene-setting quality, the title track is great with its bright tone and how it releases the tension in the bridge, and “Alone in the Ocean” has a grandiose chorus, but for the rest it’s all rather homogeneous to my mind. There’s no clear stand-out track like “They Came With Eyes of Fire” or “Maestro” on this album.

To further dwell in nagging mode, the production has some severe issues. It’s too compressed, leaving not enough empty space to give the right emphasis at the right moment. The drums and orchestral aspects are punchy and properly majestic, but then the riffs and harsh vocals make it overbearing. What’s even worse though is the clean vocals which are drowned out in a sea of instrumental violence. When Kobi Farhi (Orphaned Land) and Davidavi Dolev (Subterranean Masquerade, OMB, among others) came in for their respective guest spots I can hardly hear them, which is a shame because I could tell they were there to give some color to the songs. I think Neptunian could have benefited from a more airy, spacious mix.

I don’t know what it is about this year but I keep running into albums that I wish I liked more than I did from bands that show the potential to make a masterpiece, but seem to be stuck at “great.” I had it with The Anchoret, Nospun, Fjoergyn, and now Winterhorde. I was stupidly excited when I got my hands on the promo for Neptunian, and while I’m largely satisfied, I’m also left with an annoying aftertaste that it could have been better. Nevertheless, Winterhorde are an extremely talented band, and so my critique is borne of the high expectations I had. The issues are fixable, and Neptunian remains a record I can wholeheartedly recommend to any of our readers with an affinity for mixed vocals prog.

Recommended tracks: Amphibia, Neptunian (As Trident Strikes the Ice), Alone in the Ocean
You may also like: Dordeduh, Fjoergyn, Lamentari, Wilderun, Xanthochroid
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Noble Demon – Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Website

Winterhorde is:
– Zed Destructive (vocals)
– Yoni “Oblivion” Oren (vocals)
– Omer “Noir” Naveh (electric/acoustic guitars)
– Moshe Benofel (electric/acoustic guitars)
– Oleg “Olgerd” Rubanov (keyboards)
– Sascha “Celestial” Latman (bass)
– Alex Zaitsev (drums)

With guests:
– Kobi Farhi (vocals on “Angels in Disguise”)
– Davidavi “Vidi” Dolev (vocals on “A Harvester of Stars”)

The post Review: Winterhorde – Neptunian appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: progressive metal, melodic black metal (mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Ne Obliviscaris, Dissection, Moonsorrow
Review by: Zach
Country: Belarus
Release date: 25 August, 2023

[EDITOR’S NOTE: now that it’s December and releases become less frequent, we’re going to start with covering cool things that slipped past us. As much as we want to be, we are not nearly omnipotent. This is the first review of many in an attempt to make up for that.]

The coveted seal of Hyperfixation Album is not to be taken lightly. This is something I love so much, I’m willing to not only order it on vinyl, but also play it through excessively. When a band’s album enters this exclusive club, they’re amongst the likes of Opeth, Disillusion, and newly coveted Afterbirth. With such great power, they now have a chokehold over me for well over a month, and if you’re Ne Obliviscaris, I’ve basically set aside my entire year for you. These albums need to appeal to all my musical sensibilities, and give me new ones I didn’t even know I had.

This year has been a good year for these kinds of albums, some coming from bands who I’ve heard before and others who are up and coming. Massen is one of the few prog bands I’d never heard of before joining the Subway, and I quickly took a liking to 2021’s Contraesthetic. But as time has gone on, I find it’s a record with a lot of good ideas, plenty of Zach-bait with the violin and folk-esque melodies, but medium-rare execution overall. Marred by brickwalled production, and just barely 35 minutes of runtime, I was ready to write off Massen as a band who wasted huge potential.

So much so that when Gentle Brutality came out, I said “oh, cool”, and didn’t take much notice until about a whole month later. In the time between these two albums, Massen went down from a four piece to just two (and now back to four): Alex, who handles all instruments and harsh vocals, and Kara, who handles violin. Now, usually this is a bad sign, but clearly these two have such writing prowess that they’ve made a Massive leap forward since 2021.

Gentle Brutality starts out with the best song Massen have ever written. ‘Energy System’ slaps really fucking hard, as the kids say.. The startling brutality of the opening screams, the mournful main riff that gives way to an explosive female vocal chorus. Not to mention the catchiest use of a song’s title I’ve seen all year—just look at the comments on the band’s Bandcamp page to see what I mean. In fact, my biggest flaw with Gentle Brutality is that it never quite recovers from how incredible this first song is. Every other song is great, while the opener is firmly excellent. 

Massen makes up for this by writing a bit more adventurously this time around. ‘Corps de ballet’ starts with a riff that sounds almost grindcore-adjacent before leading into a violin filled chorus. ‘Together Alone’ is their first attempt at writing the closest thing to a ballad with absolutely no harsh vocals. For the most part, this really works in their favor, as it keeps the album from sounding like Contraesthetic with better production. The melodic, blackened core is still very much there, but with a bit more focus on creating interplay between violin and guitars this time.

Kara’s violin is without a doubt the highlight of the entire album. I always thought it was a bit of a waste that she wasn’t more prevalent on Contraesthetic, so I’m glad to see that rectified. ‘Energy System’’s verse riff would not sound nearly as massive without it, and it serves most of the riffs so well. However, I would like to see the next album giving her more lead parts, especially seeing how well Ne Obliviscaris’s Tim Charles uses his violin to create vocal melodies and solo around punishing riffs. Letting her shine through  in leads, as she does on the closer,  would help their songwriting even further, but the other instrumentals are truly nothing to scoff at here either. 

People named Alex are clearly really good at making prog, as we’ve already seen in Dessiderium. I had no idea that Massen moved down to just a two piece after 2022, and that’s clearly indicative of Alex’s (not Haddad) talent. I’m unsure if the two other members who came back after 2022 had a hand in writing the album, but if they didn’t, hats off to Alex for his performances. Guest vocalist Nastya Kozel also deserves extra props for how she makes me wish I spoke Belarussian to sing along with her.

This album is pretty fantastic, and pushes Massen straight into the forefront of a band whose next release I’ll eagerly look out for. Sure, it never reaches the heights of ‘Energy System’, but it’s a consistently well-written and overall breezy album to listen to thanks to the runtime. Frankly, after the first song, it was an easy entry into the Hyperfixation Album  ranks. 

Recommended tracks: ENERGY SYSTEM, Disgusted, Together Alone, Our Melody is Not Dead
You may also like: Windfaerer, Winterhorde
Final verdict: 8/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives page

Label: Apostasy Records – Bandcamp | Facebook

Massen is:
– Alex (vocals, guitars, bass, drums)
– Kara (violin)

The post Missed Album Review: Massen – Gentle Brutality appeared first on The Progressive Subway.

Style: speed/power metal, symphonic black metal, some prog (mixed, female vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Emperor, 90s Hellenic black metal, early German power/speed metal, faster USPM acts like Riot, Agent Steele, etc.
Review by: Sam
Country: Florida, United States
Release date: 13 October, 2023

Out of all the metal subgenre combinations, black metal and power metal historically have had surprisingly little overlap. I’ve always found this strange as the genres share plenty of similarities to make the mashup work: fast tempos, a melodic inclination, and a shared fascination with fantasy works and epic scenery. Really all you’ve gotta do is pull out the tremolo every once in a while as you abuse the double kick, turn your YEEAAAHHHs into shrieks and you’re already halfway there. I’ve only ever encountered a handful of groups who’ve attempted this, and none of them feel like they managed to push the boundaries on what’s possible. Is Faethom up to the challenge?

Well, one thing’s for sure, and that’s that the guitarwork is absolutely killer. Nearly every song has multiple memorable riffs, ranging from nasty speed metal neck breakers, to groovy, heavy/power metal style power chord bashing, to spidery prog riffs, to thrashy tremolo, and more, and when it comes to solos there’s plenty of ripping bursts of shred. Our 80s metal inclined readers will find plenty to love in Chaosmorphogoria (say that three times fast I dare you). For nearly every misstep there is on this record, there is another amazing riff waiting around the corner to make up for it. The only track that didn’t land for me at all in this regard was “Goregantuan” with its plodding main riff and mediocre symphonic black metal strumming. For basically any other track though it’s riffs galore.

The core sound of this group sits somewhere in between 90s symphonic black metal, early German power/speed metal, and prog. What’s interesting is the use of 80s horror/sci-fi sounding synths which give the music a dorky charm. They work nicely in tandem with the riffs, trading the spotlight with the guitar using campy synth lines and filling out the atmosphere with spooky and/or epic horror patches otherwise. “Blackfire Star” and “Feral” are great examples of Mariela Muerte’s versatility on keys, showing both her talent for lead melodies and creating atmosphere. The real winner is the instrumental “Final Cosmic Warcry” which is a fantastic flurry of gripping horror synths and speedy guitarwork. And on a minor note, the interludes are tastefully done as well. The intro and outro are pure dungeon synth, and “Untraversable Force” is a lovely acoustic instrumental with medieval atmosphere akin to what you’d hear from Manilla Road.

There is one very big elephant in the room however, and that is Mariela Muerte’s clean singing. Her harshes sound great, but dear lord she sounds awful when she sings. Her tone lacks any form of beauty and her melodies are bland at best and utterly lifeless at worst, some of the most blatant offenders being the verses in “Ancient Powers That Be,” the chorus in “Goregantuan” (truly emphasizing the gore part of its title), and whoever thought it’d be a good idea to have her sing a ballad part in “Feral.” Faethom embraces the 80s in more ways than one, which unfortunately includes the trend of awful singing. I was tearing my ears out over the production too at first, but I’ve since warmed up to its deliberate old school style, though I warn you that it won’t be for everyone. Besides the bass, all instruments are clearly audible and have a comfy lo-fi charm. 

To get back to my question in the introduction, I don’t think Faethom quite reach the edges of what I imagine power/black metal could be, but I also don’t think they were aiming for that. Chaosmorphogoria is an album that aims to cram in as many killer riffs and solos as possible, and lighting them up with dorky synths and some prog elements. In that regard, they mostly succeeded, but please for the love of God do not let Mariela sing again I will SCREAM.

Recommended tracks: Blackfire Star, Feral, Final Cosmic Warcry
You may also like: Malokarpatan, Stormlord
Final verdict: 5.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Metal-Archives page

Label: Independent

Faethom is:
– Mariela Muerte (vocals, keyboards)
– David Diacrono (guitars)
– Bill Bryant (guitars)
– Evie Austin (bass)
– Brian Wilson (drums)

The post Review: Faethom – Chaosmorphogoria appeared first on The Progressive Subway.