Crom  Dubh  are  a  band  from  the  United  Kingdom  that  plays  a  raw  and  melodic  from  of  black  metal  with  elements  of  folk  music  and  post  rock  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Heimweh"  which  was  released  by  Van  Records.

  A  very  distorted sounding  guitar  drone  starts  off  the  album  and  after  the  intro  the  music  starts  going  for  more  of  a  raw  style  of  black  metal  along  with  some  blast  beats  and  grim  yet  high  pitched  screams  and  you  can  also  hear  a  decent  amount  of  melody  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  music  also  uses  a   decent  mixture  of slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts.

  Some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  you  can  also  hear  some  post  and  cascadian  black  metal  influences  in  the  bands  musical  style  and  the  music  can  also  be  very  atmospheric  at  times  and  when  solos  and  leads  are  utilized  they  are  very  dark  and  melodic  sounding  and  their  is  also  a  brief  instrumental  that  also  adds  in  traces  of  folk  music  before  the  album  makes  its  return  to  a  heavier  direction  on  the  following  tracks.


   All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  a  couple  of  the  songs  also  brings  in  a  brief  use  of  deep  growls  and  on  one  of  the  later  tracks  clean  playing  is  brought  onto  the  recording  briefly  and  they  add  more  of  a  pagan  atmosphere  to  the  bands  musical  style  and  when  the  music  goes  back  to  being  heavier  you  can  hear  a  bit  of  mid  90's  viking  metal  in  the  bands  musical  style and  they  also  bring  in  another  atmospheric  instrumental  before  closing  the  album  with  a  heavier  track.

  Crom  Dubh  plays  a  style  of  black  metal  that  can  be  very  raw  and  melodic  at  times  but  also  adds  in  a  touch  of  folk  and  post  rock  to  create  a  sound  of  their  own,  the  production  sounds  very  raw  yet  heavy  at  the  same  time  while  the  lyrics  run  parallel  to  Hesiod's  five  ages of  man.

  In  my  opinion  Crom  Dubh  are  a  very  great  sounding  raw  and  melodic,  modern  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Cutting  Teeth  II"  "Kings  II'  "Heimweh"  and  "Sailing  To  Byzantium".  8  out  of  10.

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the band?

Bureviy is Ukrainian heathen black metal band from Lviv.

2.So far you have released a demo and a full length, how would you describe the musical sound that is presented on both of the recordings and also how do they differ from each other?

The demo and album sound differ dramatically. Demo is a first step in recording, I suppose. Alongside with the sound also stands stylistic manner, which is more determining IMHO. It’s been a while for Bureviy to decide on the music tone of our own. Turning on demo the one could hear extremely raw sound which varies from folk with authentic instruments to harsh and severe stream of metal. A full length shows more comprehension of what we mean to say by means of our creation.

3.The band has been around since 2007 but waited until 2013 to release any material, can you tell us a little bit more about the first 6 years?

None of the band members is a prof. musician, so, I can say that we’ve been gaining experience. We all approached musical instruments at the time we gathered in a band.

4.Your lyrics cover a good amount of pagan and heathen topics, can you tell us a little bit more about your interest in Paganism?

It would be aright to say - Paganism is our Weltanschauung, cosmovision. If one has any connection to art, one expresses his inner world through it.

5.What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name 'Bureviy'?

Bureviy is the Ukrainian word for storm, blast, blizzard. The idea of this particular name for our band appeared spontaneously while listening to some old-school raw black metal. This word came in one of songs, I guess, and the guys supported me, that this is a proper name for us.

6.What are some of the best shows that the band has played over the years and also how would you describe your stage performance?

We shared stage with famous Ukrainian black metal bands in different gigs, but I can’t say there were too many of them. It was a pleasure for us. I think, our performance can be described and evaluated only by public. J Personally I try to do my best to bring maximum expression. This is a part of black metal to me.

7.Do you have any touring or show plans for the future?

At the moment such plans do not seem to be on the front burner.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of pagan and black metal?

Time shall tell.

9.Are any of the band members also involved with any other bands or musical projects these days?      

Yes, Raven (guitarist) used to have somewhat a hardcore band, and Jotuhammer (drummer) participates in Kroda, 1914 and some other projects on session basis.

10.Where do you see the band heading into musically during the future?

Music is inspiration. You never know, hehe, but I guess it shall be black metal.

11.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?

Mainly each of us was influenced by Norwegian BM scene and the Ukrainian one represented by Khors, Drudkh, Ygg etc. Besides black metal we listen to folk music, ambient, DSBM, hardcore, post metal. The one should never be bound down in anything.

12.What are some of your non musical interests?

Music, being a main interest in life, is integrated in everything more or less. Sports, travelling are worth time as well.

13.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
Thank you for the interview. Best metal and good luck!

  Tharaphita  are  a  band  from  Estonia  that  plays  a  pagan  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2014  album  "Ulestous" which  was  released  by  Vaarang  Records.

   A  very  hard  and  heavy  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  some  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  a  few  seconds  later  and  the  guitar  riffing  brings  in  a  great  amount  of  80's  metal  influences  but  done  in  a  more  modern  style  and  the  music  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  melody  in  both  the  riffs  and  solos.

  Pagan  style  shouts  can  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  the  songs  also  stick  to  mostly  a  slow or  mid  paced  musical  direction  while  the  music  does  get  semi  fast  at  times  and  also  adds  in  a  small  amount  of  blast  beats  and  as  the  album  progresses  acoustic  guitars  can  be  heard  briefly  on  one  of  the  songs and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Tharaphita  plays  a  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  the  pagan  metal  direction  but  also  mixes  in  black  metal  vocals  and  also  stick  to  mostly  a  mid  paced  direction  throughout  the  recording,  the  production  sounds  very  powerful  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  their  native  tongue  and  cover  Ancestors  and  Paganism  themes.

  In  my  opinion  Tharaphita  are  a  very  great  sounding  pagan/black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "The  Dawn  Of  Armageddon"  "Knotting  The  Words"  and  "On  A  Road  Forged  Of  Steel".  8  out  of  10.

  

  Warnungstraum  are  a  band  from  Italy  that  plays  an  ambient  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "Mirror  Waters"  which  was  released  by  Nykta  Records.

  Clean  playing  and  synths  start  off  the  album  and  after  a  few  minutes  heavy  guitars  and  grim  black  metal  screams  start  to  mix  in  with the  ambient  elements  and  the  clean  parts  also  make  a  return  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording  and  all  of  the  musical  instruments  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them.

  All  4  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  a  couple  of  the  tracks  are  instrumental  and  display  more  of  a  dark  ambient  sound  as  well  as  being  in  the  middle  and  also  closing  the  album  and  the  heavier  tracks stick  to  a  slow  to  mid  paced  musical  direction  and  there  is  also  a  brief  use  of  deep  vocals  on  one  of  the  songs.

  Warnungstraum  creates  a  style  of  black  metal  that  is  very  atmospheric  and  epic  and  also  mix  it  in  with  a  good  dose  of  dark  ambient,  the production  sound s very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  spiritual  war.

  In  my  opinion  Wmangstraum  are  a  very  great  sounding  ambient  black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  album>  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Antarabhava"  and  "Narkissos".  8  out  of  10.    

  Fortid  are  a  band  from  Iceland  that  plays  a  viking  form  of  black  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  their  2015  album  "9"  which  will  be  released  on  March  27th  by  Schwarzdom  Productions.

  A  very  heavy  and  melodic  sound  starts  off  the  album  along  with  all  of  the  musical  instruments  having  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  and  the  solos  and  leads  also  use  a  great  amount  of  melody  throughout  the  recording  and  you  can  also  hear  some  clean  singing  vocals  being  added  into  certain  sections  of  the  recording.

  When  aggressive  vocals  are  added onto  the  recording  they  are  very  grim  sounding  high  pitched  black  metal  screams  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  and  when  clean  playing  is  utilized  it  gives  the  music  more  of  a  progressive  feeling  while  the  fast  parts  and  blast  beats  gives  the  album  more  of  a  raw  black  metal  feeling.

  Throughout  the  recording  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts  and  you  can  also  hear  elements  of  thrash  in  the  bands  musical  sound  at  times  and  as  the  album  progresses  some  of  the  songs  bring  in  synths  which  also  gives  the  recording  more  of  an  atmospheric  feeling  and  some  of  the  songs  also  add  in  an  influence  of Norwegian  black  metal.

  Fortid  plays  a  style  of  viking/black  metal  that can  be  very  raw  and  atmospheric  at  times  while  focusing  more  on  mid  paced  structures,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  lyrics  cover  Norse  mythology.

  In  my  opinion  Fortid  are  a  very  great  sounding  viking/black  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  band.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Hrafnar"  "Viska"  "Galdur"  and  "Hof".  8  out  of  10.