Wintermorph - melodic black metal in Russia

Very recently the Russian black metal duo Wintermorph contacted me on Facebook to let me know about their three-song recording called Flames. The total duration time is a bit over 17 minutes. Alex Evensen (from the instrumetal black metal project Frostnatt) takes care of the instrumentation and lyrics while the vocals are done by N. Yesterday and today I have been listening to the three songs. Die-hard fans of tremolo-focused melodic black metal may find the recording to be in their field of preferences. In my opinion, the guitar work, and in particular the melodic black metal melodies (tremolo picking), is a highlight. Of course, the rest of the music, whether it's the prototypical black metal shrieking or the keyboards, has to work for the songwriting to be pleasing. There are some sad or morose feels in the background that sometimes come forward a bit more, making the music seem a bit more moody while still maintaining the overall general style of melodic black metal.

The lyrics are in Russian and seem to concern nature, land and history in a general way. Looking at the lyrics with an online translator does not reveal lyrics about the typical U.S. or Western European clichés with Venom-descended lyrics. Read for yourself a sample from the songs. This is a translated version, of course, because I do not know Russian.

Under the glow of sunset, through the lines of branches -

The forest is shrouded in a veil, the wind beats from the steppes.

My long trail is tangled - the path is hidden among the shadows,

Only the darkness on the horizon becomes blacker.

Under the summer heat and smoke of fires,

Under the tears of autumn and bird's play,

Through the needles of cold and blizzards, rage -

The hordes have overtaken my native land.

I left my house in deep sadness,

In one of the harsh winters for the motherland.

The rabble and the mob shouted at my back:

"Themselves did not live and we will not give you!"

Through the impenetrable darkness of the dense forest,

Voices lead us along the animal path.

And there will be no place for nobility -

While above us the bottom of the spit.

Under the summer heat and smoke of fires,

Under the tears of autumn and bird's play,

Through the needles of cold and blizzards, rage -

The hordes have overtaken my native land.

I left my house in deep sadness,

In one of the harsh winters for the motherland.

The rabble and the mob shouted at my back:

"Themselves did not live and we will not give you!"

A long time ago - we were one,

But the road to the east separated us.

He made many of us different,

The light of the heart that shone for the ancestors has faded.

Flames by Wintermorph

https://www.instagram.com/wintermorphofficial/

Expiatoria - gothic doom from Italy

Expiatoria

Shadows

Diamonds Prod.

November 4th, 2022

The Italian doom band Expiatoria's first recording, according to Metal Archives, was done in 1987. I cannot seem to find that first self-titled demo on YouTube, but their second demo (1991) Tribute to Death is on YouTube. The demo sound quality is not a problem for me because the songs are good. It's heavy, classic-style doom heavy metal. It's not super slow, it's just that it is not full-on heavy metal speed. Candlemass fans would understand Expiatoria. Their 1992 demo is also on YouTube. It is called Symphonies of Decomposed Human Flesh. In this case, the demo's low quality of the recording is just too low to hear the music. It's not the kind of recording that does any favors to the band and I would think it's good to have it documented as evidence of the band's work in the past, but I would not recommend the demo to anyone, not because the songs are bad but rather because the sound quality is lower than bad.

If that had been the band's last recording, it would have been a sad statement, a sad way to end. In 1996 the band ended, according to Metal Archives, only to return with an EP in 2010 and another EP in 2018.

In 2022 their newest album is called Shadows. I am not knowledgeable enough to express an opinion on the personnel. There have been lots of people in and out of the band, given that this entity began and was active in the 1980s. The band has told me that the Malachina brothers (see below) are the two founders and have been in the band since 1987.

Metal Archives shows this line-up:

Giambattista Malachina (bass)

Massimo Malachina (guitars)

Flux (keyboards)

David Krieg (vocals) [Hexenfaust, Loculo, Progeria, Soul of Enoch, Tony Tears, Neith, ex-The Lifeless, ex-Hastur, ex-Malignance, ex-Ignis Fatuus, ex-Kathekon, ex-Lux Obscuritatis]

Edoardo Napoli (guitars [2018-present]) [Flegias, ex-Edoardo Napoli, ex-Honourblast, ex-Sick Therapy Armageddon, ex-Damnation Gallery, ex-Vereor Nox]

Enrico Meloni drums (2022-present) [Ikitan, The Healing Process, ex-Save Energy!].

What about the music on this album?! Well, I would say that it is gothic doom heavy metal or music based on heavy metal, a doom type of heavy metal, a doom and horror type. Maybe it's an Italian thing. Some of these older Italian bands have a thing for horror heavy metal, and that's here, in some ways in the creepy vibes looming around the doom. However, before people get the wrong idea, let's clarify what this is not. It is not traditional, steel-and-leather hymns heavy metal. It is not horror metal, not goblins, witches and movie samples horror heavy metal. It is not even doom in the sense that fans here in the United States imagine: it's not sludge, not Sabbath-worship, not stoner-doom.

This has too many other things going on to be "pure" doom or "pure" anything. Those "other things" are probably the gothic elements. The old-wizard vocals and the overall creepy vibes throughout the album. It is plenty of midtempo and slower moods, and it is plenty of sad, melancholic feels, too. Come for the doom, stay for the funeral feeling. It's doom with dimensions of strange and weird tales.

Shadows by ExpiatoriA

https://www.facebook.com/ExpiatoriA

Leather - We Are The Chosen (official video)

Below is a video from the latest Leather album called We Are the Chosen. This is the follow-up to the 2018 album called II. Leather Leone is known to fans of traditional heavy metal for her work with Chastain, for which she has sung from 1984 to 1992 and then again from 2013 to the present. At this same time the band Leather has been more active. The latest album was released on November 25th, 2022.

Leather - We Are The Chosen (official video)

https://www.facebook.com/LeatherLeone

Izthmi - prog extreme metal in Washington state, U.S.

Izthmi is a prog extreme metal group in the state of Washington, U.S. Post-metal, prog metal and atmospheric metal are all important elements in their sound, including some influences from black metal that can be heard throughout their songwriting. While featuring mostly shrieking-style vocals, the music lends itself to long passages of proggy vibes, including extended segments of instrumental music that allows lots of guitar playing to shine through. Here and there, they launch into blasting speeds, but that is not their main point of operation. In comparison, mellow or sad segments are a more crucial trait for them.

Below is their 2022 album. Previously they issued their debut album in 2020.

Leaving This World, Leaving It All Behind by Izthmi

https://www.facebook.com/Izthmi/

Overthrust / Chovu split album "African Warriors"

Check out this new split album by Chovu (Kenya) and Overthrust (Botswana). It was released on November 29th, 2022. While Overthrust is characterized by a death metal crunch and brutality in their sound, Chovu is a bit stranger and ghostly in their twisted interpretation of black metal-inspired sound. It's an interest contrast of two different styles brought together. Overthrust is a long-running act since 2008 and Chovu began in 2018.

OVERTHRUST (BOTSWANA) / CHOVU (KENYA) - AFRICAN WARRIORS SPLIT ALBUM

https://www.facebook.com/Chovuband

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100044718112440

Elisa C. Martin - No Fear (official music video)

The veteran singer of power metal Elisa C. Martín (Spain) recently published a new video called "No Fear" on YouTube. The track comes from the solo album Nothing Without Pain. She sings for the band Hamka. She is also known for her work with Dreamaker and Dark Moor, in addition to other bands and projects. The album Nothing Without Pain is out now and should be available on your favorite streaming services.

I missed the boat on this album and have not had a chance to listen to the entire recording until now. It came out on November 25th, 2022. I enjoy her strong singing voice and the melodic tones present on this new album. By the way, the new album is along the lines of contemporary melodic heavy metal, within the framework of adult contemporary heavy metal with more groove and midtempo/uptempo rocking energies.

⭐️ Elisa C. Martin - No Fear (official video clip)

https://www.facebook.com/elisacmartinsinger

Frostnatt (Russia) - instrumental melodic black metal

Frostnatt

Dette stedet kjenner bare kulden

November 25th, 2022

Alex Evenson recently contacted me to tell me about his instrumental melodic black metal project Frostnatt (Russia). Metal Archives shows 2019 as the starting year. According to the information on said site, there were two EPs in 2019, another two EPs in 2020, an album in 2021 and now in 2022 there is this newest EP of five songs in about 28 minutes. I have been listening to it as an entire recording, which is very pleasing to the ear, so much in fact that my child came into my office while this recording was playing and was quickly humming along to the guitar melodies. Of course, without the extreme metal shouting, the music takes on another life of its own. Certain listeners hear black metal, but it is just as likely that other people hear uptempo, melodic, pleasing guitar music. Whether a fast segment, a slower part or a sequence of blasting speed, the overall melodic feel of the songwriting takes over the listening experience and it is those melodies that catch the listener’s attention. Given that there are no vocals, the melodies have to be at the center and have to be good in order for this project to work. I have been pleasantly surprised at how well the songwriting and the melodies are communicated to the listener.

Dette Stedet Kjenner Bare Kulden by Frostnatt

https://www.facebook.com/frostnattofficial/

Die Entweihung - extreme metal in Israel

Die Entweihung is the solo project of Belarus native Denis Tereschenko who now resides in Israel. According to Metal Archives, the project began in 2007. The newest album is called Strict Regime Country, a commentary on the political situation in Belarus. Tereschenko is a hard-working musician devoted to the craft of do-it-yourself, mostly in the realm of melodic black/thrash/death in broad terms without necessarily staying squarely within the limits of a subgenre. Given the numerous albums and the experience gained, Tereschenko shows a certain confidence and skill in the way that the music allows room for melodies to roam free and for other smaller elements to make their presence felt, be it a bit of a prog vibe in some places or having some guests to add some other voices and a couple of guitar solos. For the sake of convenience, if I had to make a general statement on the overal sound, I would say that it is melodic, somewhat prog, midtempo black metal-influenced music.

It is the 11th album. That's not counting demos and EPs, of which there is a handful. As you can imagine, I am not familiar with all those previous recordings, of course. However, I have been listening to this latest album and that's the one I have been describing, which shows that it is not a beginner's recording but rather someone that has been at it for years.

Strict Regime Country by Die Entweihung

https://www.facebook.com/entweihung