Into the Coven

Into the Coven: Transilvania – “Of Sleep and Death” Review and Interview

Like their label-mates Malokarpatan, they remind of a time right before the explosion of Norwegian black metal acts, a moment in time where black metal was not clearly defined, and it was not clear how it should sound like. It is in an environment like this that the Hungarian Tormentor could release Anno Domini, a furious, scary album about, who would have guessed, Transylvania. The way Tormentor wrote riffs, bouncing, twisted but still melodic, is one important piece of the sound of Of Sleep and Death, especially on the title track of the album. However, the melodic elements are pushed much further than what Tormentor did, it is more rooted in what Dissection did.

Into the Coven

Into the Coven: Ysengrin – “Initiatio” Review with Insight from the Band

After over a decade of activity, Ysengrin, the project directed by Guido Saint Roch, released their final album: Initiato. The musical trajectory of the band was always very interesting and it is therefore fitting to end the life of this musical project by an even more curious final album. The main constant of Ysengrin’s career is the aim to create a music that sounds obscure, even a bit mystical, by the means of mid-tempo blend of black and death metal.

Into the Coven

Into the Coven: Transilvania – The Night of Nights Review

…A band quietly releases an album that sonically sits somewhere between the influences of Bathory, Nifelheim, Tormentor, Dissection, and Mercyful Fate, which successfully conjures the evil atmosphere of spending a night in an abandoned castle in Transylvania where shadows play mind games to trick you that you will never see the sunrise again while wolves are howling outside. And the album goes completely unnoticed, standing against all modern fads and trends, waiting to be discovered.

Into the Coven

Into the Coven: Ljosazabojstwa – “Głoryja Śmierci” Review and Interview

Something that people in underground metal circles love to do is to trace back the sound of a new band to find the origins of influences. What lies at the root is Black Sabbath if you go back enough but the trace lines at this point have branched out so wide that the full map of modern underground metal would be represented with no less than a forest. A particular branch that we are interested in here is the one that goes from ‘80s metal to Mortuary Drape, then to more extreme acts such as Cultes des Ghoules, Spite, or in today’s case, Ljosazabojstwa.