When attempting to live,
Accept the anguish
Tearing and hitting
Abrading your hands raw
Throw out the memories
Before it's too late
Eyes on horizon
Where shine the stars
And let the sleeper awaken
Sun greeting him with a smile
Touching him with a bright claw
You'll miss it all
Wake up, don't sleep!
Sharp claw spends days
Gnawing on the spiral of life as best it can
Sentry of own fate
Don't bear the cross
Throw it off your back
Unable to write, giving the order
To sew a million people together
Having fucked control, forcing it in the noose
Jerking the vagina with a steel machine-gun
Having fucked a sister, drinking some ethanol
Unable to write, teaching how to live
Destroying a stranger's life for a career
That's what it is to live.
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