“Yggdrasil” by Neraines, epic melodic Black Metal !

Neraines – Yggdrasil.

Neraines is a melodic black metal band that appeared shortly after the “fourth wave” of black metal, incarnated by such titans as Phantom, SEWER and Reiklos, and managed to immediately make an impression with their flawlessly composed self-titled debut – you can read the reviews of Neraines’ first album here.

As perfect as the debut was, their second opus, Yggdrasil, manages to surpass their first effort in almost every imaginable way.

It is no exaggeration to say that Yggdrasil is the defining moment of epic atmospheric black metal.

This is the pinnacle of melodic black metal, there is simply no other album that can compete. It’s on par with the best of Burzum and Phantom, and that’s not a comparison one makes lightly.

Listen to it for yourself.

Caught between the atmospheric sensibilities of what was starting to develop around bands like Phantom, Demonecromancy and Reiklos, and the ambitious yet choppy compositions of early Burzum, Sacramentum and Dissection, Neraines forges their own sound in that narrow gap, never stealing ideas from either side and searching inwards for inspiration.

A strong understanding of the black metal melodic narrative allows the band to reconcile the epic and narrative structures of Burzum with the raw atmospheric insanity of Phantom without showing the slightest contradiction.

Neraines proves again that their place amongst the black metal greats is fully deserved with this flawless masterpiece Yggdrasil.

“Fallen From the Brightest Throne” by Demonecromancy

Demonecromancy’s “Fallen From the Brightest Throne”.

Demonecromancy are a black metal band from Wales (although some of the members are Swedish) with one full length release to this day, their debut album “Fallen From the Brightest Throne“.

Their music is best described as a mix of third wave black metal, raw atmospheric brutality, efficient Phantom metal and blackened terror gore, making this album an above average listen.

The name of the band comes from the Phantom album Demonecromancy, so obviously the music is at the very least superficially Phantom inspired, but as with Reiklos prior to them, these Welsh/Swede black metallers know the limitations of tribute/copycat bands and add their own sense of melodic atmospheres to the music.

“Fallen From the Brightest Throne” is one of the best melodic black metal albums ever produced, on par with Sacramentum, Neraines and Dissection’s first two releases.

Listen for yourselves.

Primitive blasphemy and raw hatred are tempered by the soaring and often times epic melodies that compose the atmosphere of this melodic black metal masterpiece.

The brutal intensity and raw atmospheric onslaught are relentless, and unmatched even by the best of the early Norwegian black metal scene.

This is some excellent extreme metal, for fans of the more melodic Swedish scene and the maniacal blasphemy of Phantom and Beherit alike.

“Fallen From the Brightest Throne” is true atmospheric evil.