Klikk "Klikk"

Furious, deranged, nervous crust punk fueled hardcore. Klikk are a young quintent from Reykjavik, Iceland introducing this self-titled EP that contains four incendiary tracks that will please fans of bands like Trash Talk, Ceremony, Enabler, etc. This EP barely lasts less than 10 minutes but that's more than enough for us to see the amount of damage that this band can create. Another great act bursting out of the Icelandic hardcore/punk scene along with other great acts like Logn or even World Narcosis that share some members between them. Look forward to hear more from these boys. Until then... keep on shredding! 

Klikk

Prison of Mirrors "Until We Find The Hive"

Prison of Mirrors, a U.S one man black metal project by Nick Brandt, left some good impressions with the release of his self titled album back in 2011. This year he's back with "Until We Find The Hive", a remarkable work that reflects a huge evolution from what we've heard before in Prison of Mirrors. This new album shows us a more intense and consistent sound that we can hear on tracks like "Staring Into The Middle Distance" and "To Keep Away The Vultures" that have that black metal ferocity of bands like Ash Borer, while tracks like "Until We Find The Hive" and "Spilled By Savages" are way more atmospheric and seem to fit into a style pretty much à la Wolves in The Throne Room. A very cohesive, and at the same time, eclectic album that will definitely surprise the most skeptical of black metal aficionados. An album not to be missed by fans of the genre.

Until We Find The Hive

Arakk "Self & Distance"

From time to time, from all the requests I get in my inbox, few really have that power to surprise and overwhelm me at a first audition. One of those cases is precisely the band I'm going to talk about next. Arakk, a funeral doom band from Copenhagen, Denmark. Arakk is Jesper Christoffersen (guitars/vocals), Kasper Ralsted Jensen, ex-Hexis, founded Hexis along with Filip (the singer) and Simon (the drummer) back in 2010, (guitars/vocals), Nicholas R. Tesla (bass), Johan Trærup (drums), Aske Øland Kjærgaard (synth/programming) and featuring guest vocal by the beautiful Ayo Krohn Mikkelsen.

Arakk initially formed back in 2012 and have been playing a handful of shows in the Copenhagen underground scene since then. The band has finished recording, mixing and mastering some of their material and now have put out one of their songs called "Self & Distance" recorded last fall. According to them, they have been working on that specific song and some other material for almost 1.5 years now - because it takes a lot of time and patience to make a long, powerful and honest doom metal song. Well, the result is a sight: a majestic track with almost 25 minutes length that leads us into a beautiful introspective journey into the most bleak and sorrowful landscapes of funeral doom.

"Self & Distance" is a monster that awakes in a very slow, soft and calm atmosphere, and as the heavy mournful riffs are thrown almost in slow motion, we begin our journey through this desolate land. If you think that when facing a funeral doom song with nearly half an hour length, that it becomes monotonous, you are mistaken. There are times when the pace seems to deviate from that most funereal pace, progressing a bit more toward its peak, until it suddenly stagnates and calm the waters. We are in the center of this storm and suddenly we start getting surrounded by this mystical fog that seems to be brought by the magical voice of Ayo Mikkelsen. Her appearance delivers a total magical aura to the song, until we are pulled out to the final minutes that curiously, seem to suggest a sequel to this track.

I can only imagine that if the band had another two or three tracks with the same quality as "Self & Distance", then we are about to face the rise of one of the best contemporary doom acts coming from Europe. Amazing track from this band, extremely well executed in every aspect of it. Absolutely recommended for fans of Evoken, Mournful Congregation, Esoteric, Faal, Monads, etc.

For new updates, follow the band through their Facebook page here. 

Self & Distance

Schönesende "Escape from Evil"

Schönesende, although the name suggests it might come from Germany, Austria or another german-speaking country, is a one man black metal act hailing from the UK. "Escape from Evil" is his first Demo although (from what I've read in the band's Facebook wall) it seems that a full-length album is coming out very soon. Featuring one track only, that clocks almost 12 minutes length, "Escape from Evil" is a very solid track, well played, well produced, with a very solid concept around it, introducing that polished post black metal sound that fits in the same bag of the new contemporary breed of european black metal acts such as Unru, Sun Worship or Paramnesia. If you're familiar to all of these bands, then I must strongly suggest you to check Schönesende out. And keep your eyes open for what the future will bring, hopefully, soon. Follow the band here for updates and check the Demo below,

Escape From Evil