Foghazer - He Left The Temple (2026)

Take the artist's image, song titles, label and even the name, Foghazer, and try not to be surprised when you hear the music behind it, I dare you. The black-metal-facade meeting the trip-hop core sound of the Berlin-based artist is really just something else. And yes, the trippy beats and scratches are followed by metal guitar backgrounds, but the effect is still peculiar. In the best possible way.

This also means that Foghazer's debut album is one of very few trip-hop-adjacent releases that don't bore me. Unfortunately, I struggle to enjoy the genre I once thought might become my favourite. Something clicked in my mind in the wrong way. But it seems that what I need it a dose of originality. And yes, I recognize that this is probably a very amateur project, the quality of the guitar parts is not great, but I value the complexity and diversity of compositions a lot, enough to give the project an OK with a note "keep an eye on". 

According to Foghazer, the album is filled with the so-called "sound of low visibility", "slow beats, distorted memory and fog as both space and emotion" in his words mesmerize the audience with ease while the addition of surprising but so well-fitted elements (like the fantastic, Igorrr-like opera vocals in He) add up to the originality of this music even more.

He Left The Temple costs what you want to pay.

Check: He

Country: Germany

Genre: death trip-hop

Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

:bandcamp:

:instagram:

Ov Shadows - I djävulens avbild (2020) PL

Ov Shadows to szwedzki zespół stworzony z członków Waning, którzy przybrali inną tozszamosć. Już pod nowym szyldem wydali dwie płyty, a najnowszą zatytułowaną I djävulens avbild całkiem niedawno we współpracy z labelem Hypnotic Dirge Records.

Z jednej strony mamy do czynienia z dość typowym mrocznym metalem. Tytuł albumy oznacza nie mniej nie więcej jak "na obraz diabła", do tego dochodzi klimatyczny cover art i panoszące się growle. Z drugiej strony muzyka na albumie jest na tyle post-metalowa, że niezwykle mnie zainteresowała - kompozycje mają w sobie tonę atmosfery - mrocznej i przerażającej a także nadzwyczaj gęstej. A do tego giną w nawale gitarowej zamieci, ale nie w punktowy, agresywny metalowy sposób, a raczej pod postacią ściany gitar sunącej przed siebie powoli i nieprzerwanie.

Artyści dodają, że "(ich) wizja to stworzenie atmosferycznego Black Metalu rządzonego przez chaos i mrok" i to im się udaje, zwłaszcza, że muzyka na krążku wciąga jak mało który metal.

I djävulens avbild kosztuje tyle, ile chcesz zapłacić.

Sprawdź: I djävulens avbild

Kraj: Szwecja

Szufladka: post-black metal
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:youtube:

:spotify:

Ov Shadows - I djävulens avbild (2020) EN

Ov Shadows is a Swedish band created from the members of Waning, who employed a different moniker. And under the new name, they already released two albums, the newer of which is entitled I djävulens avbild and was shown quite recently via the Hypnotic Dirge Records label.

On one hand, we deal here with somewhat typical dark metal. The title translates to "in the devil's image" and there's also an atmospheric cover art and growls that rule the sound. On the other, the music here is so post-metal-like that drawn my attention - the compositions present tons of climate, a dark and terrifying one but also very dense. And they lose themselves in the storm of guitars but not in the metal's aggressive way but more like under the wall of guitar sounds that goes further and further in the slowish but inevitable way.

The artists add that "(their) vision is to create an atmospheric Black Metal guided by chaos and darkness" and that's a success, especially that the album's music engages the audience like not so many other metal acts.

I djävulens avbild costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: I djävulens avbild

Country: Sweden

Genre: post-black metal
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

:bandcamp:

:facebook:

:youtube:

:spotify: