Oregon Black Metal - Tumblr Posts
-UADA- Portland, Oregon based black metal.
Photo by blogger. July 13, 2018.
-Panzergod- Portland, Oregon ripping traditional black metal.
New EP coming soon!
Blitzgeist
Ritual Magic
Portland Oregon based black metal, from Zane, the man behind the stellar Elegiac black metal project. Whereas Elegiac has a rawer, more traditionally agressive tone to it, Blitzgeist is a bit slower with the tempo. A grimier, almost more melodic sound pervades this project, and the vocal work reminds me of Inquisition. As the apt title suggests, there is a ritualistic aspect to the compositions and style.
Pick it up from the musician's personal label, Sacrificial Sounds.
Uada
Oregon black metallers played a fantastic live show yet again at Red River Family Fest III
Photo by blogger. Barracuda, Austin, TX. Red River Family Fest III, September 28, 2018.
Elegiac
Pagan Storm
The newest release from this Portland, Oregon based solo black metal project follows last year's superb release Black Clouds of War, and continues the merging of classic black metal and hints of folk and pagan metal elements. Raw and unapologetic, but still well-produced and fantastically mixed, this album never sacrifices melody or enjoyment while being a raging assault on the senses in the vein of Satanic Warmaster or Darkthrone.
While the title itself indicates the pagan black metal stylistic leanings, it is not overdone, and the album remains firmly rooted in the traditional black metal sound. Rather, the pagan stylings are used to grow the songs, turning typical roaring riffs into hypnotic passages that allow the pagan longings to flourish. This generates a mixture of somber, mournful, yet celebratory emotions, an apt devotional to old ways, expressed with beautiful melody and stout heart. The songs tend towards a longer run time, permitting the soundscape to expand organically and meld the various little parts into a mesmerizing whole. As with the rest of this project's discography, it is worth listening, keeping the ancient spirit of black metal alive and kicking.
CDs can be obtained from ATMF Recordings.
Released September 28, 2018
Airengrav
Storms of Agony
This release from one of Zane Young's (Elegiac, Gormanudr, Blitzgeist, Sacrificial Sounds Label, etc.) numerous black metal projects is one of the best black metal releases I've listened to this year. It's a concise, powerful, ferocious album that blends black metal with noticeable heavy metal melodies.
The vocals are superb agonized howls and vengeful roars, and accompany the pummel of the music perfectly. The opening vocal work on Anchor for My Burning Soul is exceptionally vicious, and one of many reasons it's my favorite track. The guitarwork is a great mix of rapid, headbanging tremolo riffs and pleasant Iron Maiden-esque passages, usually as openings and interludes. Songs such as Dualities of Dominance and Amphimixis tap this classic metal sound to create memorable melodies before throttling you. I also enjoyed the riffwork in Like Wind Against Flames, a mournful, desolate tone that reminds me of Elegiac's Pagan Storm album from last year. And Barbarian Hammer is a full tilt flaming roller coaster of a track.
The rythym is also fantastic, an all out battery attack that weaves around the riffs just right. The latter half of Anchor for My Burning Soul hits especially hard, a raging, riffing, pounding track that howls into the abyss. Again, probably my favorite, though that's a tough call when all of the tracks are this good.
Particularly enjoyable is the build from Faint Glowing Embers into the pure black metal majesty of Black Magic and Metaphysics. An apt title, because the track is classic second wave black metal through and through. Frankly, the entire album is raw, unapologetic black metal that deserves your full attention.
Tapes can be picked up from the Sacrificial Sounds Bandcamp page if still available, and is also always available digitally.
New Elegiac just dropped! He continues to be one of my favorite American Black Metal projects.
You can pick it up from the band, Sacrificial Sounds Records, or Red River Family Records.