Circle of Ouroborus - Kiromantia (His Wounds)
Keeping up with Circle of Ouroborus could be a full-time job in itself, as the duo turn around new music at a rate that is enough to give one a moment of breathlessness. They have been quieter in recent years compared to the beginning of the band, yet they have maintained a high standard over almost twenty years. Kiromantia comes only shortly after 2020’s Viimeinen juoksu and continues to showcase the Finnish band’s unusual take on black metal. The album explores the shores of epic rock during the first moments of “Syyskoti” before it turns into doomier streams and Antti Klemi’s curious voice echoes into the darkness.
Here it melds into the post-punk textures of the song despite its wildly discordant tone and eerie cadence and gives Circle of Ouroborus its familiar off-kilter atmosphere. “Syyskoti” is a melancholy voyage across a fog-laden lake -- the vocal approach is bittersweet while the instrumentation behind it (courtesy of Atvar) drifts across post-rock cascades and darkwave drum patterns all which coalesces into a gloomy, autumnal aura perfect for the change of seasons into the cold winter. That post-punk aesthetic carries through into the title track as it burns with tempered rage that finally spills over into “Aaveet Saapuvat” and becomes apparent in Klemi’s voice as it writhes with aggression over the sorrowful guitar leads and pushed forward, present drums.
The sadness of the song pulses its way into “Leviaminen” as Klemi’s vocal approach takes a turn into the bizarre clean style that the band incorporate in order to move away from the harsher growls and into more emotionally affecting territory. It’s certainly a strange technique and an acquired taste, yet it adds another layer to Circle of Ouroborus that enables them to stand out from others in their singular sound. Kiromantia is an expressive album that takes unexpected deviations from its black metal core and is all the more entrancing because of it. Circle of Ouroborus are experimentalists and their latest album is a fascinating dive into the minds of two creators who push boundaries and tear down walls with their music.
Dream Unending – Tide Turns Eternal (20 Buck Spin)
Dream Unending’s heart lies in a love for the combination of death metal and doom that coloured the early years of Peaceville Records roster – think Anathema, Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride – and it’s this affection that brought Tomb Mold’s Derrick Vella and Innumerable Form’s Justin DeTore together to create the majestic tones of Tide Turns Eternal. Carried across the border of North America and Canada, Dream Unending have on their hands a beautiful tribute to a style of music that is rendered in hues of sadness and hopelessness, yet Tide Turns Eternal manages to enter a slightly more dreamlike world in its atmospheric turns.
Tide Turns Eternal is rich and present in its instrumentation (Vella plays all but drums on this album) which echoes out across the landscape in tangible waves and heavy emotion. Justin DeTore’s voice binds the dreamy textures of the guitars of “Adorned In Lies” to a physical world, the escape becoming just out of reach with each step and forming a gateway to the next realm in his deep, guttural roars. The combination of romantic essence and bellowing vocals are more than enough to push Dream Unending into a new dimension of pain — the album is concerned with the juxtaposition of beauty and pain and finding the way through the darkness into the light and during “In Cipher I Weep” those moments push against each other in towering gothic spires and glimpses of hope.
“Dream Unending” allows those otherworldly arrangements to bloom in the darkness as the song moves in heavier passages towards softer moments which add to the aura of hypnagogic illusion. Glistening guitar leads flow below a spoken word section that feels biblical in nature, if not directly but in tone and in performance. It’s a fantastical moment that allows for introspection and pause for breath during an album that is weighted towards revelation and seeking for answers. As Tide Turns Eternal progresses to its ultimate end, the title track ushers in a quiet dawn — guitars echo with sorrow and radiate their pain into the night before DeTore’s voice reaches into the deepest darkness to splinter the serenity into crystallised fragments of despair. Pain is something that we have all felt in our lives, whether it’s physical or emotional, we have all experienced it and allowed it to overwhelm and change us. Tide Turns Eternal shows us that from that pain, beauty can be found and this is exemplified in the gorgeous vocal of McKenna Rae that filters through the agony in the closing moments of the final song. It’s a short passage but one that is highly impactful in its message and as the incandescent, soaring guitars bring about the beginning of the end of the song, Dream Unending once again show that from great nightmares, and no matter how fleeting, some respite can be found.
Old Nick – Crisp Winter Dawn of My Night Moon (Grime Stone Records)
Listen. Old Nick have cornered the market in weirdo black metal, keep releasing albums of excellent quality, learn and grow with each one, keep it super strange every time and have a disgusting amount of fun while doing so. How can you not love them? The album artwork is completely ridiculous and smacks of late 90s IT class WordArt posters and it’s brilliant. Even better, Crisp Winter Dawn of My Night Moon is fucking sick — synths are stupidly catchy, the vocals are raspy, the melodies are going to get stuck in your head for literal days and the songs are totally fun. Old Nick know how to have a good time, write a rollicking tune and keep it tongue in cheek. Don’t mistake them for a joke band, though, because this new album? EP? is as wonderfully raw as their earlier music yet steps it up a notch with new techniques that the band have been learning along the way.
Songs are mixed with more precision and the elements are given space to stand out among others where necessary. Abysmal Specter’s vocals are still as rough and hoarse as ever yet the electronic components of the Old Nick sound are now beautifully clear while the drum work and guitars are given equal moments to shine. Everything here is classic Old Nick with the more polished side of the band of today. Still, the charming cover art lets you know that the band are far from changed from their characterful beginnings and Crisp Winter Dawn of My Night Moon is even more energising for it.
The title track opens the release and immediately sets the tone for what is to follow. The melodrama hits hard with a horror movie edge as a spoken word element introduces the record. Featuring deeper vocals from Next of Terrible, this is an interesting direction for Old Nick and one you would hope they embrace again in the future. The synthesised elements are a huge element for this band and one that they wield with great intuition on “Haunted Broom” and beyond – the keyboard sections never seem forced or out of place, they add dimension and nuance to the music and render Old Nick into a unique place in the underground of black metal. Ending on "Shepard of the Rats 2," a sequel to a fan favourite, Crisp Winter Dawn of My Night Moon cements Old Nick's place as one of the best bands in this niche genre. It is masses of fun and often leaves you with a sense of renewed vigour upon its ending, so much so that you’re more than likely to hit play once again.
Stormkeep – Tales of Othertime (Ván Records)
It seems unfair to call Stormkeep a side-project when the music is a fully rounded and realised as anything the members “main” bands have done. Coming from a background in black metal certainly helped Stormkeep break through the underground and cut through swathes of other releases when 2020s EP Galdrum pushed its way to the front of the pack. Blood Incantation, Wayfarer and Lykotonon are home to most members of Stormkeep, with members crossing into more than one of those on occasion, and so Tales of Othertime already had a headstart when it came to getting the music out there. Luckily, the album builds on Galdrum’s success and then some, as Stormkeep have refined their homage to second wave black metal and its masters – Emperor, Dissection and early Dimmu Borgir all come to mind when listening to the record and its synthesised layers and epic narrative.
The cover art speaks volumes as to the content and your imagination is able to run wild within the icy landscape that adorns the album. Track titles expand on the narrative as it moves through the story of a traveller, a mystic perhaps, who is on a journey towards the tower depicted across snowy plains and treacherous mountains. What they want to do there is a mystery that is teased out through lyrical cues and metaphorical beats which Stormkeep are adept at managing. “The Seer” is the start to this voyage and the song lays the foundation of who this character is, almost as though this is the beginning of a cinematic RPG where the protagonist is created while the story slowly falls into place. It’s majestic and windswept as the band conjure tangible images in your mind’s eye and the music spins out into the tundra beyond.
The vocals on Tales of Othertime generally stay within the rasped chords of Grandmaster Otheyn Vermithrax Poisontongue who adds weathered dimension to the songs and a rustic edge that echoes the worn pathways of the hero’s quest. On the wonderful “The Serpent’s Stone,” a clean vocal comes into play, which is performed by Visigoth/Gallowbraid’s Jake Rogers, and which creates a whole new level of mastery to the Stormkeep sound. The song is a rampant tale of ancient magic and Rogers’ voice is the perfect accompaniment to the hoarser sound that is usually heard across the album. It’s certainly a highlight and that relentless energy is carried through into the final track, “Eternal Majesty Manifest,” and its ambitious take on melodic black metal. Tales of Othertime is a strong candidate for best of the year based on this song alone and Stormkeep absolutely ones to watch in the future.
