Bear hunt is a task for real men
Brave enough to challenge such a formidable beast
Several men are needed, one will never succeed
Telepathy is a gift from gods and mother nature
The forest is growing thicker, the leaves - heavier
Close your eyes and the branches come alive, the air grows darker
With the aid of foreign gods through ice on Vychegda a tear flows
The water element changes its bed, time for me to open my eyes.
A magic impulse midst traditional forms:
Fleece, shamans and the rhythm of creation
The source of thought can be determined
Only if depths of consciousness are fathomed
Repeat one phrase: scars heals
So hard to keep going through thorns and not looking back
Imagine this though: paints come alive
So dreadfully cold
Create, never hesitate
Yet the forest is growing thicker and the leaves - ever so heavy
Close your eyes and the branches come alive, the air grows darker
With the aid of foreign gods through ice on Vychegda a tear flows
The water element changes its bed, time for me to open my eyes.
A truly stellar death/doom album with heavy doses of black metal. Tracks like Isolation, Child of Light, and Broken Hymns deliver the sorrowful and icy tone of this album, elevated by the stirring cello compositions of Raphael Weinroth-Browne. The album delivers a deeply satisfying crescendo in Becoming Intangible before stirring the soul once again with Epilogue. Matt Richardson
Gaerea's first release of "Unsettling Whispers" was in 2018, and since, they dared define a "black metal" niche of their own, they dared to walk a new path and stir shit up a bit in the realm of BM, this album is a masterpiece and a milestone proving that it can be done, provided the band can pull it off, and they did, oh they did! Gloomy, dark, post-BM sludgy whatever, it's Gaerea, and this one belongs in my BC collection, the end. sachavonkarl74
The first 30 seconds of "Revenge by Fire" convinced me to get the whole album! It is a face-melting blend of speed and black metal, reminiscent of Hellripper! KVAEN is a Swedish solo project much like Hellripper but many known guest musicians helped J. Björnfot in his endeavor. Altogether it is really a solid debut album, I loved the melodies and the pace changes in the second half too, ending with a "calm" instrumental one. Well-done!! sachavonkarl74
Abigail Williams has had a weird career with hiatuses and lineup changes, but they have finally perfected their sound on Walk Beyond the Dark. This album has such a refreshing and natural feeling that makes it one of the top atmospheric black metal albums of recent years. Ryan