Review by Vladimir on July 17, 2024.

Discovering great obscure bands can be very difficult nowadays, but if you know where to look, then it really is a rewarding experience once you find them. Such is the case with the melodic gothic/death metal one-man band Autumns Eyes, founded by Daniel Mitchell, whom I discovered through the amazing Scars and Guitars podcast show that I frequently watch. During this episode, he mentioned that a new album will be out in the near future, which was previously teased with singles 'Follow The Embers' and 'Faith In Cycles', but come June 20th 2024, the ninth full-length album Grimoire Of Oak & Shadow was finally released independently on digital streaming platforms. If you are curious to see what story this album has to tell, then be prepared for the journey you're about to embark on.

Autumns Eyes provides very heavy sombre serenades from the very get-go, drenched in sorrow and melancholy, yet also shrouded in mystery, with a very autumn-like atmosphere that plays with your imagination, as if leaves are already going dry and falling down in September. All of this is nicely presented through melodic gothic metal that oozes with simplistic but catchy riffs, powerful guitar melodies, magical keyboards, Peter Steele styled deep vocals and occasional shouting vocals. It's got a very strong sense of stylistic consistency that carries over from start to finish, maintaining an even level of tragedy and heaviness that flows through each song, with some exceptional moments that really succeed at playing with your emotions. Take for example the track 'Late To Live, Early To Die', which displays such intensity and pain through the music that in its essence carries the personal struggles surrounding the loss of a loved one, with such incredible capability of reflecting on the last moments before death. When I got as far as here, I was very close to shed a tear, because such expressions of heavy emotions and melodies can definitely make you cry, especially if you can relate to the nature and the background of the song. I think that this song definitely has a story to tell, but I believe that one should not overlook how Daniel Mitchell managed to carry out what he was holding inside and then transfer that in a musical form in such a genius way. The further the album progresses, it's impossible to not become immersed into its atmosphere and become one with the journey through the deep forest, because once you get halfway through, you are guaranteed to become completely possessed by the spell that hides behind Autumns Eyes. The more you wander, the more you are filled with anticipation of what will happen next, while being completely oblivious to what is going on around you or where this journey may lead you. With an execution such as this, it is pretty much like a fast forward to September, as the album practically goes further in time with summer dying fast. Amongst all of this you will hear various elements coming from bands such as Type O Negative, Moonspell, Dark Tranquility, My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, with a bit of Children Of Bodom on a couple of tracks that go in a melodic death metal direction like 'Prophet Fearing' and 'Violation Of Light'. Considering how this journey was met with a lot of inner struggles and challenges, you would expect a grand climax in the form of an epic finale that concludes this transcendental experience, and it rightfully does with 'Sorrow & Sunlight', the final and longest track on the album that feels like a moment where protagonist looks back on the events that unfolded along the way, while hearing the voices of those lost but not forgotten. The conclusion is met with a strong sense of reflection and remembrance, which is like a scene in a movie where you see glimpses of the things that the protagonist has been through while moving on with his life.

With all that said, I think it speaks for itself that this album has quite the dynamic songwriting with a variety of musical ideas with different styles and frequent tempo changes, which was well executed in a way that it constantly keeps things interesting and never tiresome or overencumbered. What this album did pretty well aside from the songwriting is that it provides a strong storytelling quality to it, which is basically like reading through an author's private dairy/journal where he expresses the turmoil and difficulties he's going through, or a grimoire that essentially summons spirits of the forest that watch over you with every footstep. It's always rewarding when you come across a magical album such as this that essentially gives you the perspective of the protagonist, experiencing everything from a first person point of view, but I think that is actually a matter of relating to the main character and his personal background, which I believe we can all share through the same eyes. I don't really recall an album with such capability and quality that affects you in such a way, if you ask me I think it's just a matter of human nature, the ability to connect with the band through their music, and I can easily tell that it proved itself to be more than effective. While listening to this album, I kept asking myself why am I feeling such a big personal attachment to it, and I didn't know if it had something to do with its melancholic gothic atmosphere, the overall musical output, the lyrical themes, or all of the above. It is a matter of one's interpretation, and naturally everybody is going to have a different answer to that question, but I think we can all agree that there is a bit of everything that binds us together with the spirit of Autumns Eyes, so there really is no right or wrong conclusion. Grimoire Of Oak & Shadow has a very top-notch and clean production with a nice organic sound that perfectly balances every bit of instrumentation, as well as the vocal work.

What can I say, Grimoire Of Oak & Shadow turned out to be such a pleasant and magical experience worth the while, and I can definitely say that it was incredibly life-changing. Call me crazy, but when the album came to a conclusion, I felt somewhat sad because it was really like seeing that final scene in Return of the King when our main heroes sailed to the Grey Havens, a beautiful story that came to an end. Like I said before, this is a journey that takes you to a different place by constantly playing with your imagination, always creating powerful images and building up the story the further it progresses. If you really fancy some melodic gothic metal, you should not miss out on this album, because you will find something alien and otherworldly in its nature.

Rating: 8.9 out of 10

Review by Fernando on May 3, 2022.

While Portugal is a country not many people associate with black metal at first glance, it is a very prominent wellspring of black metal and Corpus Christii are one of the longest standing names of the Portuguese black metal scene. In 2022 they will unleash their ninth full length named The Bitter End Of Old, through Immortal Frost Productions.

Corpus Christii is, as mentioned, one of the long-standing black metal bands from Portugal, starting in 1998 and having a very prolific and active career. In the present they have their own style locked, which is on the melodic and orthodox brand of black metal people often associate with Sweden and modern German black metal bands. On this new record, Corpus Christii does mark some of the checkboxes, a high quality production, dynamic song structures that balance speed, groove and atmosphere, very melodic and somewhat progressive riffs and hooks, and vocals that are appropriately ghoulish with occasional bellowing. On those qualities alone, Corpus Christii do have a lot of strengths, albeit with not much innovation, since, as I’ve mentioned, this brand of black metal is the norm for many other bands and scenes, but that’s not to say Corpus Christii are devoid of an identity, as this album is a continuation of their ongoing journey, as this is the style they honed in long before scenes and bands started leaning into this particular style.

The biggest strength Corpus Christii has is of course the skills of the band’s founder Nocturnus Horrendus alongside member J. Goat. The duo since 2015 have been carefully refining their chemistry and on this album, I’d say they’ve achieved unity, in fact, one wouldn’t be able to tell the album was made by only two people, even with the excellent production. Nocturnus Horrendus and J. Goat have a unique skill of managing to make their music sound and feel somber but also vast and engrossing while at the same time, keeping you engaged from beginning to end, and also do it in a very tight package. At under 40 minutes the record is very well paced and engaging and it never feels stretched. While I can criticize how this style of black metal has been already proliferated by many bands in the past decade or so, not many of those artists have the skill Corpus Christii do, that is to be engaging and substantial without overstaying their welcome, so all in all the band continue to prove their long standing bearing as a major force of Portuguese black metal.

Overall, Corpus Christii continue to deliver their brand of wicked and epic black metal, and remain stalwart in their dedication to black metal and the darker side of mankind. It may be a tried and true path, but it's still a worthy path to embark.

Best tracks: 'The Predominance', 'Fragmented Chaos Disharmony', 'For I Am All', 'Heinous'

Rating: 7.9 out of 10