Review by Felix on September 10, 2019.

Whenever it comes to Graveland, I am in a miserable situation. To me, all their albums sound more or less the same. Okay, this does not include their early works. The uniform stream of mid-paced anthems began with Creed of Iron after the transitional Immortal Pride album. When I think about all these releases, maybe with the exception of Fire Chariot of Destruction, they coalesce with each other, generating endlessly plodding rhythms which are accompanied by more or less effective guitars. Not to forget the wolfish vocals of Rob. Even the productions do not deliver specific features. This mix is not bad, don't get me wrong. However, the question remains why Darken loves stagnation. Dawn of Iron Blades, the album which is in the focus here, starts with a painfully generic opener. Its pretty tired guitars fail to set milestones and so the song just passes by. Of course, monotony is part of Graveland's business model, but exactly this circumstance makes it all the more important that the guitar lines boast with charisma. Thank Wotan, the next songs show a better appearance.

Both "Semper Fidelis" and "Immortal Bloodline" rely on a more combative approach. The latter gives the well-known female background choirs - or billowing keyboard lines - a pretty salient role. Darken wallows in his kind of Wagnerism, but I don't think that Richie's descendants appreciate Graveland's simply designed music very much. And to be honest, even without the genetic material of such a musical genius, I must admit that Darken's way of proceeding suffers from predictability, not only in view of the mostly missing breaks. No doubt, he reaches his top form whenever he is able to create a menacing atmosphere, for example during the verses of "Crown Heroic My Departure". But at the end of the day, Darken is not able to add a surprising element every now and then and this is slightly sad. I don't speak of a dubious form of evolution and I like his stubbornness, but to enrich a stable approach with one or two previously unknown aspects on a new longplayer is not necessarily a bad idea, to express it mildly.

The album in its entirety is solid, no doubt about it. The production has a natural touch and shines with a good balance. A few number of apocalyptic wolf screams disturbs the silence of the long and slow music river which flows through my living room, but most of the time the songs do not present any unexpected details, if I neglect that a guy called Garhard III has written the lyrics for exactly three tracks. This number is only logical in view of the name his mother gave him... However, this fun fact has no further implications. Thus, the only surprising detail is that an unknown bungler did not print the name of the second song correctly. "Semper Fidelix" is naturally nonsense, "Semper Felix" is the right title and, needless to say, this track constitutes the climax of the album. Thanks to Darken for this small gift and don't worry, my Polish friend. I will stay true, even though I realize your compositional limitation. Nevertheless, almost each and every Graveland album offers good entertainment and the here sharpened iron blades do not mark an exception.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10

Review by Fernando on September 27, 2019.

The biggest surprise in black metal right now is the all-women Dutch band Asagraum, and after an impressive debut where the band displayed their potential they’re back with Dawn of Infinite Fire and have proven to be a powerhouse in modern black metal.

The band’s style of black metal can be summed up to a combination of “TRVE KVLT” black metal with modern elements like a polished production and a focus on complex instrumentation. And on this new album the band displays that but with much more aggression and reverence to their Norwegian influences. Intensity is the name of the game and like all good black metal the speed and aggression are what makes this album. The band never loosens on the intensity for a second, and even when the songs go into dark melodic passages where the aggression shifts into melodious dirges it never stops being fast and punishing.

All of this is accomplished through the excellent musical chops of founder and main composer Obscura and drummer Amber de Buijzer. They display much more chemistry together than Obscura did with former drummer Trish Kolsvart. This is aided by the fact that both women worked on this album together as opposed to doing their parts separately and the difference shows. The music has a stronger sense of unity and precision, each and every song perfectly complements the other and keep in mind that this album’s predecessor was not a bad album at all, but at the same time, this new album is a marked improvement in almost every way and a step towards the right direction for Asagraum’s future.

There’s very little to complain about this album beyond the obvious fact that if you’re not into black metal then this album is not for you. As it is admittedly very indicative of the genre and even with the band’s much cleaner production it’s still not an album for the uninitiated but that is more a disclaimer than an actual flaw. Asagraum have fleshed out and perfected the sound of Potestas Magicum Diaboli and crafted an excellent album that every fan of black metal should hear, as this is one of the most promising bands right now.

Best tracks: 'Guahaihoque', 'Abomination’s Altar', 'Dawn of Infinite Fire', 'Beyond the Black Vortex'

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Fernando on September 27, 2019.

The biggest surprise in black metal right now is the all-women Dutch band Asagraum, and after an impressive debut where the band displayed their potential they’re back with Dawn of Infinite Fire and have proven to be a powerhouse in modern black metal.

The band’s style of black metal can be summed up to a combination of “TRVE KVLT” black metal with modern elements like a polished production and a focus on complex instrumentation. And on this new album the band displays that but with much more aggression and reverence to their Norwegian influences. Intensity is the name of the game and like all good black metal the speed and aggression are what makes this album. The band never loosens on the intensity for a second, and even when the songs go into dark melodic passages where the aggression shifts into melodious dirges it never stops being fast and punishing.

All of this is accomplished through the excellent musical chops of founder and main composer Obscura and drummer Amber de Buijzer. They display much more chemistry together than Obscura did with former drummer Trish Kolsvart. This is aided by the fact that both women worked on this album together as opposed to doing their parts separately and the difference shows. The music has a stronger sense of unity and precision, each and every song perfectly complements the other and keep in mind that this album’s predecessor was not a bad album at all, but at the same time, this new album is a marked improvement in almost every way and a step towards the right direction for Asagraum’s future.

There’s very little to complain about this album beyond the obvious fact that if you’re not into black metal then this album is not for you. As it is admittedly very indicative of the genre and even with the band’s much cleaner production it’s still not an album for the uninitiated but that is more a disclaimer than an actual flaw. Asagraum have fleshed out and perfected the sound of Potestas Magicum Diaboli and crafted an excellent album that every fan of black metal should hear, as this is one of the most promising bands right now.

Best tracks: 'Guahaihoque', 'Abomination’s Altar', 'Dawn of Infinite Fire', 'Beyond the Black Vortex'

Rating: 8.9 out of 10