Trivium frontman Matt Heafy unleashes ‘Rashomon,’ the first fruits of his black metal project Ibaraki; as dramatic and thought-provoking as it is unrelentingly violent.
On ‘The Humming Mountain’ Gaahls WYRD can be seen as a prime example of how black metal as a genre has grown up and no longer needs to be raw or kvlt – it can also be nuanced, exploratory and wholly original.
The title track for Trivium’s tenth release ‘In The Court Of The Dragon’ is one of the finest songs the metal quartet has ever written – but can the rest of the album live up to it?
Telemark (Candlelight Records) is Ihsahn’s personal love letter to his roots, geographically and musically: five tracks that blend black metal, avant-garde experimentalism, Norwegian folk melodies, and surprising cover versions in a Valentines Day EP like no other.
Nergal’s blackened-blues project Me And That Man have teamed up with Emperor frontman Ihsahn on the release of new song “By The River”. Check it out here.
On Heir to Despair, Japan’s Sigh have, as usual, taken the road less travelled and released yet another fresh, genre-defying album of progressive, avant-garde black metal. This approach may not guarantee popularity, but they can definitely sleep the sleep of the artistically fulfilled.
A swarm of underground metal and rock bands invaded Leeds University Union once again this month for the fourteenth installment of the UK’s Damnation Festival. PureGrainAudio was there to experience the now-legendary energy and diversity for which the festival is known.
Ihsahn’s newest release, Ámr, continues his musical journey, delving into rock, electronica, new wave and synthpop influences, resulting in something far transcending mere guitar-driven metal. An engaging, provocative listening experience.
Norwegian metal royalty, Ihsahn and Polish black metal pilgrims, Batushka are the first acts announced for this year’s Damnation Festival.
From hardcore to grindcore to progressive metal, Ritual Festival returned to Leeds and gave extreme metal fans everything it promised it would. Check out our photos and review here…
Ritual Festival comes to Leeds on April 8th and, ahead of the all day extreme metal event, we spoke to the festival organisers about headliner Ihsahn, future plans and more…
2016 has brought plenty of new Metal music and of course, plenty of awesome album covers. And Justice For Art continues its exploration of some of the most interesting artworks adorning recordings released this year!