It seems that Southern Lord is carrying on in their lean towards black metal (which I hope continues) with the release of Mord's "Christendom Perished". I don't know much about this Norwegian duo, but I think this is their first full-length, and they crank out the style of raging black metal that I enjoy, so I'm all for it. They add in a bit more of a buzzing bite to the guitar tone than a lot of the black metal I've encountered lately (though somehow making it sound tolerable), and I'd say they've got a slightly crisper sounding mix as well. From a writing standpoint these two tend to switch up the riffs a little more often than many bands of this nature, and it's been said there's a death metal influence going on here. I guess I could see that at times, but barely, and it'd be the type of death metal that's generally fast anyway, so there's plenty of overlap that shouldn't strip them of their relatively "true" nature, if you know what I mean. The tracks segue into one another with quick little ambient/industrial soundscapes, and on rare occasion some of those clattering textures will seep into the songs themselves – adding a hint more to the chaotic edge of the material, which is generally driven more by the frenzied vocal performance than the speedy riffing. The songs are titled simply "Opus I" through "Opus IX" (Which I'm guessing should actually be "Opus VIII" since there are only eight tracks!?) and no lyrics are included, but one must assume from the album title that the lyrics cover the black metal standards… they do, after all, make use of the obligatory pentagram and inverted cross in their logo, heh.

Mord "Opus VII"

You know the drill. If you like the tunes, buy the damn disc:

@ Relapse Records

I was pleased to receive another solid slab of black metal recently from God is Myth Records in the form of Nocturnal's "Unholycraft – Blood for Glory of Satan". This is another band that I'm not familiar with, and I believe this is their debut full-length as well? Whatever the case, this is straightforward raw black metal from Poland that, as the album title might suggest, carries with it some rather amusing song titles that certainly make it clear that the band is, like… evil, dude. They stick with the standards all around, right down to the black and white layout with loads of photos of the band members sneering constipatedly towards the sky through corpsepainted gazes (and yes, a pentagram and inverted crosses aplenty in the band logo). It's nothing fancy, so expect large doses of moderately fast riffing with occasionally dissonant pounding breaks and a tactfully warped sort of recording the gives the vocals a distant wail while the rhythm section thumps away and the guitars fill out the core with a sound that's rough without being overly thin or harsh. I know this genre has a massive air of cheesiness surrounding it, but what I can say, I really dig the vibe of the music when it's done right, and this release is the kind of thing that should appeal to fans of the style who prefer the no bullshit approach of the old days.

Nocturnal "Deep Within Enchanted Lands"

Agree? Then support the band and the label with a purchase:

@ God is Myth Records