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...In Stille, the fourth album by atmospheric black metal group Frigoris, is the long-awaited conclusion to the concept introduced in their third full length, Nur Ein Moment… (2016) The two opuses share a number of stylistic similarities; both are driven by soaring, melodic leads and roaring, tormented vocals over a backdrop of heavily saturated, melancholic chord riffing and mid-paced, thundering double bass and blast beats. However, ...In Stille builds on the foundation laid by Nur Ein Moment… beautifully – with aggression, emotion, and a sense of urgency that leaves the listener enraptured in a state of existential triumph. To say the songwriting is ‘formulaic’ may sound like a criticism, but in fact Frigoris has mastered their unique formula – alternating between reverberating cleans and pulsing distortion – to move their listeners through the crushing journey of the album’s protagonist as he faces his own mortality in ‘just one minute in silence’…

Comprising of two tracks nearing twenty minutes a piece, “Hierophant Violent” is a delicate and hypnotic sensory experience incorporating a myriad of styles and influences to craft a work of art which is cathartic and illuminating. Each track is a journey unfolding different aspects of the band’s sound, drawing inspiration from artists as diverse as Low, Leviathan, Skepticism and Dead Can Dance. As the band states: Forlesen's "Hierophant Violent" is an immersive, lush, psychedelic blend of dark ambient, epic doom, slowcore and shadowy black metal. It was conceived during a time of immense personal loss and emerged as something both beautiful and terrifying to us. We hope it will give the same feelings of shadow exploration to our Listeners. Featuring members of Lotus Thief, Botanist, and Kayo Dot among others, “Hierophant Violent” is a brilliant debut from a cadre of musicians already in top form who have lent their efforts to a new vision. Appropriately transfixing artwork by Benjamin A. Vierling (Aosoth, The Ajna Offensive, Joanna Newsom) will adorn this album, which will be presented as a 6 panel digipack. The album was engineered, mixed and mastered by Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker, Mamaleek) at the Atomic Garden with additional recording by Forlesen.

2020 marks the first release of Feral Light under the Hypnotic Dirge Records roster. The name is not new to the scene, being led by guitarist Andy Schoengrund (ex. Empires, ex. Wolvhammer), who formed Feral Light in 2015 with drummer Andrew Reesen, and shortly thereafter released a demo, an EP, and two full-lengths - 2017’s Void/Sanctity and 2019’s excellent Fear Rides a Shadow. Firmly anchored in Blackened Post-Metal, Life Vapor - their third album -, not only builds up on the foundations of its predecessor, but it also cranks it up on all fronts. It instantly pulls you in with its killer mix of melodic and dissonant riffing, combining and incorporating various styles including elements of post-metal, black n roll, doom, and second-wave black metal. This album is loaded with catchy riffs and memorable hooks exhibiting momentous black n roll sections that transform into triumphant post-metal, somber doom metal, and everywhere in between. Life Vapor is an album that manages to explore a wide berth of what the blackened sub-genres can manifest while remaining rooted by strong and purposeful songwriting and a balanced mix that highlights the instrumentation. Comes in 4-panel Digipak with 8-page booklet. Limited to 500 copies.

Ov Shadows is a Black Metal band from Gothenberg, Sweden. Rising from the ashes of "Waning", a band that all four members previously played in, Ov Shadows introduced their sound with the 2016 self-released EP "Monologues" before releasing its first full-length album "The Darkness Between Stars" in 2018. This summer, Ov Shadows returns with their second full-length and first release on Hypnotic Dirge Records. Entitled "I Djävulens Avbild" (In the Devil's Image), the new record presents Ov Shadows at an unprecedented ferocity and forward-momentum, and apparently very intent on proving that to their listeners immediately, as pummeling drums and a heavy galloping riff fill the speakers within seconds of the opening track "Den Eld Som Tär Och Förvrider." Throughout "I Djävulens Avbild, the pace hardly ever lets up, instead taking you on an all-out sensory assault. The combination of infectious riffs, recurring hooks, blastbeats, and tortured vocals create an enveloping claustrophobic and dark dissonance, as if a shroud has covered your face and defined forms have turned to shadows. Despite its unrelenting nature, the details really shine through on "I Djävulens Avbild" thanks to its clear production, precise musicianship, and deliberate flow. The few times where the record does slow down become quite memorable due to the contrast. The use of powerful percussion and austere bass create a trance-inducing atmosphere while discordant tremolo-picked melodies soar overhead creating a wonderful juxtaposition that crescendos into catharsis. "Ov shadows is about exploring and embracing the dark aspects that dwell within us all – your ‘shadows-self’ as Carl Jung expressed it. Our vision is to create an atmospheric Black Metal guided by chaos and darkness." 4-Panel Digipak with 8-Page Booklet

After a lengthy hiatus, Nordicwinter came back in a big way in 2020, releasing two new full-length albums "Requiem" and "Desolation" and they show no sign of slowing down as they hit us once again with a new full-length album, "Sorrow", released amidst the dead of winter. This prolificacy should in no way be a harbinger of doubt as the quality of "Sorrow" surpasses even the heights of the 2020 records and raises Nordicwinter to the upper tier of Canadian Depressive / Atmospheric Black Metal. As with its previous records, "Sorrow" examines the darker side of the human condition through somber and melancholic music. Sticking at a mostly mid-tempo pace, the tracks on "Sorrow" (with the exception of the outro) are all between 7-10 minutes in length, and flow with sense and purpose across the record. Utilizing a typical depressive black metal sound, the guitars have the perfect level of distortion to carry a bit of grit while still being clear and allowing the occasional string melody to hover above the mix like a blanket of stars. Meanwhile, the drums and bass provide the necessary backing throughout the record, staying simple but remaining audible and a fundamental part of the album's sound.

Liminal Shroud is a black metal band based in Victoria, BC. Formed in late 2017, the band takes inspiration from the surging oceans and mist-strewn coast as they explore themes of futility, passage, and individual and metaphysical transformation. With a three-piece format, Liminal Shroud’s sound is stripped-back yet immersive, with expansive guitars underpinned by a driving and dynamic rhythm section; kindling a form of black metal surging with atmosphere and anguish, melancholy and rage. As the skies turn grey and dense fogs hang above the shoreline, Liminal Shroud will expel a swirl of melancholia and torment over its moss-strewn forests and perilous waves.

Epitimia's new double-album "(Un)reality" is a culmination of over a year's hard work for the Saint-Petersburg based band which has been working on an expansive and ambitious follow-up to their last album "Faces of Insanity" released in the summer of 2012. "(Un)reality" includes lots of new innovations and interesting ideas on both the musical and conceptual sides and could easily be considered their most accomplished effort to date. Tortured black metal screams alongside a progressive and experimental cacophony of sounds combine to create a truly memorable and complex album taking various elements from many genres including post-rock, black metal, blackgaze, ambient, and jazz to create the sonic palette for this conceptual story. Female vocalist “M.” is also present on the album once again as well as very interesting session work from the saxophonist D’arcy Molan (from the debut Subterranean Disposition album) whose contributions appears throughout the album. Released in a deluxe 6 panel digipack with an additional 12 page booklet and augmented with artwork from Mayhem Design in Russia, this is certainly Epitimia’s magnum opus! “(Un)reality is like limbo, the world where the hero lingers. His day life here is infinite and artificial, but his dreams fill his mind with bright new images, odd flashbacks, and the reminiscence of his other lives. These visions are the keys to understanding what is happening to him, and may be the only chance to escape. “Delusion” contains the dark images of objective reality while “Illusions” is a moment in which all his dreams merge: hope, love and as the most important – the desire for truth, by which he will be free forever.”