Review by Vladimir on January 29, 2024.

For many years, Italy has continued to grow with many exceptional and excellent black metal bands, and it still continues to do so. Case and point of this review will be the band Infernal Angels, where I’ll be covering their sixth full-length album Shrine Of Black Fire , released on November 24th, 2023 via Immortal Frost Productions. Should you dare to approach the shrine of black fire, then be prepared as to what you’re about to witness.

The album begins with the dark ambient opening track 'Abyss Oath' with sounds of a female voice whispering, demonic gutturals and eerie winds howling through the hallway, setting the macabre atmosphere of the album straight away. From the second track 'In The Silence Ov Tehom', all hell breaks loose as black metal comes blasting with hateful misanthropic tremolo riffs, blast beat drumming and harsh guttural vocals, while also throwing an atmospheric mid-section with open string chords and drumming in a slower tempo before kicking in. The second track is a nice starting point that lets you get a nice look at what you’ll exactly be hearing from here on out as the album progresses from one track to another, while also experiencing the dynamic curve of each song as it takes you through all nine circles of hell to the shrine of black fire with every riff that follows. A nice breakaway that gives you a brief moment of taking your breath, or in this case 'Fire As Breath', is the fourth track with its clean guitar section that lasts for about 2 minutes before the demonic growl comes shouting at your face, followed by the macabre black metal serenade in the background. This track in particular stands out the most out of the rest, as it presents a nice example of a song having a proper introduction that slowly builds from the bottom up and leads to dissonance and darkness. The only exception on this album comes in the form of the instrumental fifth track 'A Gateway To Purification', which has a powerful chord progression that conveys such a macabre atmosphere, especially through dissonant chords, although it also manages to throw in some gothic choirs, chanting, shouting and gutturals in the background near the very end. As the album goes on, the journey to the void descends with each song, but once it reaches the final track, you can really feel the epic closure that gave the entire experience a grand payoff.

The songwriting is very complex, dynamic and progressive for a black metal album that also conveys a lot of intense misanthropy and brutality, all the way down to the vocals and instrumental work, while dealing with the themes of Luciferianism, Chaos and Gnosticism. From one song to another, it feels like a complete descent into hell, with there being very little signs of anything remotely human, and what really contributes a lot to it is the general stylistic consistency of this album. The album may feel formulaic to some people, especially since each song feels heavily related to each other, however I think that despite every song being similar in style, they all have a different structure and also a different way of communicating to the listener. What I truly adored about this album is the fact that it feels like an actual musical journey, where each song tells its own tale, which all nicely leads up to the grand finale. The album has a very top notch and high-quality production with a nice and polished sound which keeps the rawness to a bare minimum.

Personally, I’d say that this album was really worth a go from start to finish, and I had no doubt about it once I got halfway through. Infernal Angels made an excellent black metal album that really shines with all powers from hell, but what really highlights the album is how you experience this journey with each track. Should you come across this album, do not hesitate to press play and immerse yourself to experience its full glory.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 7, 2020.

The dudes of The Stone hail from Serbia. They have already proven their stamina and their musical skills, but fortunately, they do not see a reason to call it a day. Quite the opposite, these dark creatures are not lazy at all. Teatar Apsurda is their eighth full-length within a period of 15 years. Not to mention their EPs and splits. Thus, they are a reliable partner of their fans in terms of quantity. But what about the quality of their new effort?

First of all, Teatar Apsurda meets the essential conditions. This means that the pretty long tracks - average duration: seven minutes - are obviously written by experienced musicians who know their trade. The compositions shine with coherent designs and a natural flow. I cannot identify any kind of major flaw with regard to the song-writing and the same goes for the production which puts the steely guitars in the foreground. The Stone present a dense, massive and powerful mix. It lends the individual tracks a profound depth and avoids any form of dullness while spreading dark vibrations. Finally, the visual component also gives no reason to lament. The stylish artwork indicates the genre in a very good way. It is definitely better than Urn's ejaculation cover of "Soul Destroyers", but I admit that this does not mean much... I just wanted to illustrate the wide range of artworks and Teatar Apsurda does not need to fear any comparison.

Perhaps the energetic three-piece should have taken a closer look at the individuality of their tracks. The single pieces have a tendency towards uniformity. This does not mean that the songs bore the listener. The Stone play black metal and they respect the guidelines of the genre. It therefore comes as no surprise that they keep firing full blast. Nevertheless, after more than 30 minutes of unleashed belligerence, the spooky end of "Ja, car i bog" is a welcome change. Doubtlessly, the album could have a more dramatic and more dynamic appearance, but the group prefers to present relatively similar songs. This does not lead to a monotonous work, by far not! Yet this approach leaves room for optimization. In other words, the permanent intensity is at the expense of tension. On the other hand, this approach can be seen as a trademark of the headstrong band and who am I to blame the artists for this way of proceeding?

Let's pick out two tracks in order to describe the music more detailed. The opener needs no intro, The Stone attack right from the beginning. The velocity is high, the guitars create a wall of sound and some apocalyptic tones are also included. In spite of its opulent format, "Gavranova" is comparatively straight. The lead vocalist plays the demon successfully and rarely integrated back vocals add a solemn touch. Really catchy lines are missing, but black metal was not invented in order to pester the world with earworms. Misanthropy and negativity are more important factors and The Stone do not hesitate to offer them. The title track starts with siren-like guitars and tremendous riffing, the very fast drumming drives the track forward and horrific instrumental sections seem to reflect the aura of the dark Serbian woods at night. One thing is for sure, The Stone have integrity, dedication and authenticity in their portfolio and their grasp for hostile harmonies is well connected with their musical maturity. The enthusiastic guys of the Serbian black metal community can be proud of its flagship. Given this situation, the next 15 years (eight albums) can be tackled.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 7, 2020.

The dudes of The Stone hail from Serbia. They have already proven their stamina and their musical skills, but fortunately, they do not see a reason to call it a day. Quite the opposite, these dark creatures are not lazy at all. Teatar Apsurda is their eighth full-length within a period of 15 years. Not to mention their EPs and splits. Thus, they are a reliable partner of their fans in terms of quantity. But what about the quality of their new effort?

First of all, Teatar Apsurda meets the essential conditions. This means that the pretty long tracks - average duration: seven minutes - are obviously written by experienced musicians who know their trade. The compositions shine with coherent designs and a natural flow. I cannot identify any kind of major flaw with regard to the song-writing and the same goes for the production which puts the steely guitars in the foreground. The Stone present a dense, massive and powerful mix. It lends the individual tracks a profound depth and avoids any form of dullness while spreading dark vibrations. Finally, the visual component also gives no reason to lament. The stylish artwork indicates the genre in a very good way. It is definitely better than Urn's ejaculation cover of "Soul Destroyers", but I admit that this does not mean much... I just wanted to illustrate the wide range of artworks and Teatar Apsurda does not need to fear any comparison.

Perhaps the energetic three-piece should have taken a closer look at the individuality of their tracks. The single pieces have a tendency towards uniformity. This does not mean that the songs bore the listener. The Stone play black metal and they respect the guidelines of the genre. It therefore comes as no surprise that they keep firing full blast. Nevertheless, after more than 30 minutes of unleashed belligerence, the spooky end of "Ja, car i bog" is a welcome change. Doubtlessly, the album could have a more dramatic and more dynamic appearance, but the group prefers to present relatively similar songs. This does not lead to a monotonous work, by far not! Yet this approach leaves room for optimization. In other words, the permanent intensity is at the expense of tension. On the other hand, this approach can be seen as a trademark of the headstrong band and who am I to blame the artists for this way of proceeding?

Let's pick out two tracks in order to describe the music more detailed. The opener needs no intro, The Stone attack right from the beginning. The velocity is high, the guitars create a wall of sound and some apocalyptic tones are also included. In spite of its opulent format, "Gavranova" is comparatively straight. The lead vocalist plays the demon successfully and rarely integrated back vocals add a solemn touch. Really catchy lines are missing, but black metal was not invented in order to pester the world with earworms. Misanthropy and negativity are more important factors and The Stone do not hesitate to offer them. The title track starts with siren-like guitars and tremendous riffing, the very fast drumming drives the track forward and horrific instrumental sections seem to reflect the aura of the dark Serbian woods at night. One thing is for sure, The Stone have integrity, dedication and authenticity in their portfolio and their grasp for hostile harmonies is well connected with their musical maturity. The enthusiastic guys of the Serbian black metal community can be proud of its flagship. Given this situation, the next 15 years (eight albums) can be tackled.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Felix on January 7, 2020.

The dudes of The Stone hail from Serbia. They have already proven their stamina and their musical skills, but fortunately, they do not see a reason to call it a day. Quite the opposite, these dark creatures are not lazy at all. Teatar Apsurda is their eighth full-length within a period of 15 years. Not to mention their EPs and splits. Thus, they are a reliable partner of their fans in terms of quantity. But what about the quality of their new effort?

First of all, Teatar Apsurda meets the essential conditions. This means that the pretty long tracks - average duration: seven minutes - are obviously written by experienced musicians who know their trade. The compositions shine with coherent designs and a natural flow. I cannot identify any kind of major flaw with regard to the song-writing and the same goes for the production which puts the steely guitars in the foreground. The Stone present a dense, massive and powerful mix. It lends the individual tracks a profound depth and avoids any form of dullness while spreading dark vibrations. Finally, the visual component also gives no reason to lament. The stylish artwork indicates the genre in a very good way. It is definitely better than Urn's ejaculation cover of "Soul Destroyers", but I admit that this does not mean much... I just wanted to illustrate the wide range of artworks and Teatar Apsurda does not need to fear any comparison.

Perhaps the energetic three-piece should have taken a closer look at the individuality of their tracks. The single pieces have a tendency towards uniformity. This does not mean that the songs bore the listener. The Stone play black metal and they respect the guidelines of the genre. It therefore comes as no surprise that they keep firing full blast. Nevertheless, after more than 30 minutes of unleashed belligerence, the spooky end of "Ja, car i bog" is a welcome change. Doubtlessly, the album could have a more dramatic and more dynamic appearance, but the group prefers to present relatively similar songs. This does not lead to a monotonous work, by far not! Yet this approach leaves room for optimization. In other words, the permanent intensity is at the expense of tension. On the other hand, this approach can be seen as a trademark of the headstrong band and who am I to blame the artists for this way of proceeding?

Let's pick out two tracks in order to describe the music more detailed. The opener needs no intro, The Stone attack right from the beginning. The velocity is high, the guitars create a wall of sound and some apocalyptic tones are also included. In spite of its opulent format, "Gavranova" is comparatively straight. The lead vocalist plays the demon successfully and rarely integrated back vocals add a solemn touch. Really catchy lines are missing, but black metal was not invented in order to pester the world with earworms. Misanthropy and negativity are more important factors and The Stone do not hesitate to offer them. The title track starts with siren-like guitars and tremendous riffing, the very fast drumming drives the track forward and horrific instrumental sections seem to reflect the aura of the dark Serbian woods at night. One thing is for sure, The Stone have integrity, dedication and authenticity in their portfolio and their grasp for hostile harmonies is well connected with their musical maturity. The enthusiastic guys of the Serbian black metal community can be proud of its flagship. Given this situation, the next 15 years (eight albums) can be tackled.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10