Review by Carcassbomb on October 29, 2021.

I’ve covered a lot of stoner doom on the site, but the genre manages to keep throwing new approaches at me, or new trends in artwork or production. There’s always a fresh take around the corner if you know where to look. Ocultum has a lofi approach to their music that I find really intriguing, with vocals more suited to raw black metal than doom metal. It’s oddly endearing and prevents it from going the same stale route as many other bands currently are, with the wide Mastodon/Gojira vocal styling. There’s something different here, it’s dark and it's anti-marketing in its presence.

Residue is kind of like a gritty metal reboot of the muck monster scenes in Fern Gully, aggressively cheerfully reaching out in all directions. Most of the time there’s a consistent groove but I find indulgence in the moments where they let the groove fall apart into something more chaotic and shambling, revealing the drums slower like the bones on a rotting animated corpse. Sometimes it’s a bassline announcing the beginning of some assault where the groove still is not lost. This could have been serviceable as an instrumental record but the fact they opted for strongly present vocals and also did something different with them, is what really elevates Residue from the slew of similar releases.

The psychedelic elements could have been implemented better in my opinion, some of the choices for periphery sounds or guitar tones are annoying or boring. It’s the only misstep of the release, albeit a major one. I found the darkness more entrancing than the psychedelic aspect, the sludge was on point. The grimier it got the closer I listened.

Overall, I’d recommend giving this one a go just because of how unusual it is. It might not be accessible to many but there will be die hard doom heads who will fall in love with this or find something refreshing here.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Originally written for www.noobheavy.com

Review by Lumina on January 11, 2026.

Luminesce is yet another prog/tech-death project by Alice Simard (of Vitrified Entity, Coffret De Bijoux, and many, many more), or at least that is what it seems to be on first glance. In my opinion, it is a lot more than that and possibly my favorite tech-death album ever. I say that about pretty much any tech death release I love, but this one is a good contender for actually being my favorite. While I have always liked this album ever since first listening to it, it took me a while to really get it, so to speak. Since, especially recently, I've been listening to it a lot, I want to talk about this project a little before the eventual second full-length later this year comes out, which is also my most anticipated release at the moment aside from Alice's other tech death project called Vitrified Entity. That one will also get a review soon, as that one is also one of my favorite projects ever. But let us get back to Luminesce now.

Obviously, Luminesce is mostly a prog/tech death project, though I feel that description doesn't really do it justice all that much considering how much stuff is in here. There's the aforementioned prog and tech aspects, but also melodic death and some core aspects (i.e, breakdowns and core reminiscent riffs here and there). That aside, as should be obvious by now, I really love this album. Since that is not without reason, let me go over each aspect of "Mirrored". Starting with the vocals, which at first were the aspect I did not think too much about back when I first heard "Mirrored". A grave mistake that was, though, because after some time, this album really just proves how much of a diverse vocalist Alice Simard is. Often, I think of how much this release reminds me of other melodic death metal releases, and I think the vocal style is a good part of why that is. Alice does said vocal style in other things as well, but it especially shines in this album, in my opinion. It contrasts everything beautifully in ways that I shall get into a little later.

But what exactly makes an album good vocals aside? If you ask me, it would be melodic/technical riffs, tremolo runs reminiscent of old In Flames, and some core aspect. Oh, and at least one instrumental-only track since that is still my favorite kind of music. Since my recent-ish venture into more hardcore, metalcore, and grindcore, I have grown to like core aspects being found in usually not very core-esque musicians' works quite a lot. This is no exception, as you can tell. And everything I have mentioned just so happens to be present in this album, and more. Riffs are plenty to be found here, but the genius of them is not something that came to me immediately. I am a big fan of melodic riffs (especially le 578 minor scale riff, I eat that stuff up immediately on anything it's used on), so this album being very melodic was quite nice. Use of piano layers in tracks like 'Pellucid Flora' or 'Bestow Me Meaning, Matriarch' is also something I am a big fan of, and is something Alice seems to like doing. It makes everything that much prettier, which this album especially is. Bass, too, is not an afterthought here, unlike how most of metal seems to like leaving it as, but that is to be expected given Alice Simard's other works.

One last thing to mention is the production and mixing. Alice's works tend to have silent mixes, but this one is very silent. So much so that at first, I found it to be a negative thing. Though after some time, I grew to like that. And I mean really like it. I have mentioned before how this album is very pretty, so to speak, but I think the gentle nature of everything contributes the most to that. Nothing here is aggressive like you would perhaps think it to be, given that it's a death metal album. And I really wish more bands would do this kind of stuff since it makes the end product all the more creative, beautiful, and emotional. Speaking of creative, beautiful, and emotional, the lyrics are. They are some of my favorites in all of Alice Simard's works and add much charm to everything. The cover art also reflects the music very well, and it's very well drawn in general, so that's a neat bonus.

This one's a bit unusual compared to my other reviews, but it is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I thought throwing the usual rules I set myself while writing these out the window for once wouldn't hurt. Either way, phenomenal work by a phenomenal musician that's definitely worth checking out!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Lumina on January 11, 2026.

Luminesce is yet another prog/tech-death project by Alice Simard (of Vitrified Entity, Coffret De Bijoux, and many, many more), or at least that is what it seems to be on first glance. In my opinion, it is a lot more than that and possibly my favorite tech-death album ever. I say that about pretty much any tech death release I love, but this one is a good contender for actually being my favorite. While I have always liked this album ever since first listening to it, it took me a while to really get it, so to speak. Since, especially recently, I've been listening to it a lot, I want to talk about this project a little before the eventual second full-length later this year comes out, which is also my most anticipated release at the moment aside from Alice's other tech death project called Vitrified Entity. That one will also get a review soon, as that one is also one of my favorite projects ever. But let us get back to Luminesce now.

Obviously, Luminesce is mostly a prog/tech death project, though I feel that description doesn't really do it justice all that much considering how much stuff is in here. There's the aforementioned prog and tech aspects, but also melodic death and some core aspects (i.e, breakdowns and core reminiscent riffs here and there). That aside, as should be obvious by now, I really love this album. Since that is not without reason, let me go over each aspect of "Mirrored". Starting with the vocals, which at first were the aspect I did not think too much about back when I first heard "Mirrored". A grave mistake that was, though, because after some time, this album really just proves how much of a diverse vocalist Alice Simard is. Often, I think of how much this release reminds me of other melodic death metal releases, and I think the vocal style is a good part of why that is. Alice does said vocal style in other things as well, but it especially shines in this album, in my opinion. It contrasts everything beautifully in ways that I shall get into a little later.

But what exactly makes an album good vocals aside? If you ask me, it would be melodic/technical riffs, tremolo runs reminiscent of old In Flames, and some core aspect. Oh, and at least one instrumental-only track since that is still my favorite kind of music. Since my recent-ish venture into more hardcore, metalcore, and grindcore, I have grown to like core aspects being found in usually not very core-esque musicians' works quite a lot. This is no exception, as you can tell. And everything I have mentioned just so happens to be present in this album, and more. Riffs are plenty to be found here, but the genius of them is not something that came to me immediately. I am a big fan of melodic riffs (especially le 578 minor scale riff, I eat that stuff up immediately on anything it's used on), so this album being very melodic was quite nice. Use of piano layers in tracks like 'Pellucid Flora' or 'Bestow Me Meaning, Matriarch' is also something I am a big fan of, and is something Alice seems to like doing. It makes everything that much prettier, which this album especially is. Bass, too, is not an afterthought here, unlike how most of metal seems to like leaving it as, but that is to be expected given Alice Simard's other works.

One last thing to mention is the production and mixing. Alice's works tend to have silent mixes, but this one is very silent. So much so that at first, I found it to be a negative thing. Though after some time, I grew to like that. And I mean really like it. I have mentioned before how this album is very pretty, so to speak, but I think the gentle nature of everything contributes the most to that. Nothing here is aggressive like you would perhaps think it to be, given that it's a death metal album. And I really wish more bands would do this kind of stuff since it makes the end product all the more creative, beautiful, and emotional. Speaking of creative, beautiful, and emotional, the lyrics are. They are some of my favorites in all of Alice Simard's works and add much charm to everything. The cover art also reflects the music very well, and it's very well drawn in general, so that's a neat bonus.

This one's a bit unusual compared to my other reviews, but it is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I thought throwing the usual rules I set myself while writing these out the window for once wouldn't hurt. Either way, phenomenal work by a phenomenal musician that's definitely worth checking out!

Rating: 10 out of 10

Review by Fernando on November 16, 2023.

Those in the know need no introduction to Italian occult metal titans Mortuary Drape, but for those not in the know, they’re cult legends within extreme metal and are often seen as a missing link between the first and second wave of black metal. Regardless, these guys are legends, and despite some considerable time gaps between albums in the span of two decades, the band have finally released their long awaited sixth studio album Black Mirror through the extreme metal powerhouse that is Peaceville Records.

The main thing to expect from Mortuary Drape is a vintage style of black/death metal that’s very steeply rooted in classic 80’s metal akin to Mercyful Fate, and early death metal, but what makes Mortuary Drape unique is their distinct Italian musicality. Their music is of course very brutal and raw, but they have a sense of psychedelic melody and some subtle progressive leanings that evoke the music of the prog band and horror composers Goblin, and more importantly a very distinct funeral like atmosphere that’s the result of all those other elements, though Mortuary Drape don’t make frequent or extensive use of synths and keyboards beyond their 2000’s output.

All that to say that they have a sound that’s pretty much unique to them, and have gone on to inspire countless of bands that want to break away from the second wave Scandinavian black metal mold, and even after almost three decades and with frontman and founder Wildness Perversion being the only remaining original member with a long list of collaborators that have come and gone, is this new album more of the same quality Italian occult black metal, or has the band done something else?

The best thing about Mortuary Drape’s distinct sound and aesthetic is how you can easily identify it once you get into them and as such aside from hearing the improvement in production quality and the music becoming more dynamic, and for Black Mirror while the band still do what they do best, funereal black/death metal, this is also their most straightforward and refined, and their most progressive record yet, in terms of production this album is crisp and impactful, the bass and drums in particular are a major highlight, as long time member S.C. gets to shine with his meaty and complex bass lines that add to the band’s proggy and psychedelic leanings, while drummer M.T. also adds to the musical complexity, and does a damn good job at adding a dynamic rhythm to the music and without over relying on blast beats, and considering he played with prog metal band Aleph, to say he is skilled and talented would be to grossly undersell how good he is on the album.

The guitar work of D.C. and S.R. is also a major highlight, while the bass and drums do the more muscular complexity on the music, the guitars don’t slouch at all, as D.C. and S.R. get to shine with their riffs and especially their soloing, anyone who enjoys good riffs must listen to this album because D.C. and S.R. Not only satisfied, they excelled, and this is without a doubt their best guitar work in the band since they joined in 2010. And last but not least, that leaves the band’s mastermind Wildness Perversion, the man of course has unmistakable vocals, his guttural growling is as good as it ever was, and remains consistent after so long, the biggest praise I can give him is not just how he has manage to keep his vocals as intense and feral as they are, but they successfully fit with the band’s new found refinement, and he even gets to branch with some demonic chanting sprinkled throughout the album.

To conclude the best aspect of the album as a whole and what’s the biggest display of the band’s development is their more doomy and psychedelic flourishes, which is particularly strong in the second half of the album, be they bridge sections with the aforementioned demonic chanting of Wildness Perversion as heard on ‘Rattle Breath’ and ‘Nocturnal Coven’ which is also the band at their most melodic and proggy, or the dark psychedelic intros of ‘Mistress Of Sorcerer’ and ‘Fading Flowers Spell’, and best showcased in the haunting closing title track, the band truly display a knack to make dark, entrancing metal without sounding cheesy or disjointed.

Overall, Mortuary Drape continue to be an exemplary band in terms of both their legacy and their willingness to continue expanding and tinkering with their unique sound and style, which is commendable in it of itself considering that if Mortuary Drape wanted, they could stop recording music altogether since their standing is pretty much secured, but because they continue writing and recording, and taking their time doing so yields some excellent music worth listening.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Vladimir on November 14, 2023.

Last year, we were graced with the amazing EP Wisdom - Vibration – Repent by the Italian black/death metal veterans Mortuary Drape, and now fast forward to present day, lo and behold, a new album is on the horizon. On the 28th of October, three days before Hallow’s Eve, their sixth full-length album Black Mirror was unleashed into this world by Peaceville Records, to once again remind us that All The Witches Dance. Have the witches danced once again until the eve of Samhain? Let’s find out… 

As we start things off with the first track 'Restless Death', you hear the creeping death slowly coming towards you with the macabre piano intro and whispering vocals that will cause shivers down your spine, until the scythe strikes with thrashing guitar riffs, d-beat drums and ghoulish vocals. This is the grand moment where the notorious evil of Mortuary Drape’s music conquers all as the cold wind blows out the candles and everything goes dark. Something that has always been the strong suite in Mortuary Drape’s songwriting is their ability to convey such black magic atmosphere unlike any other black or death metal band out there, be it due to the necromantic nature of their heavy riffs, the eeriness of the open string chords, or the vocals by Wildness Perversion which still sound as wicked as ever before. Something that really struck a chord with me on their previous EP was the brilliant cover of 'Nightmare Be Thy Name' by Mercyful Fate, and even this time you can still hear the traces of Mercyful Fate influences throughout each track in all its occult heavy metal glory aside from the black metal as the central point. Something that many people will notice about Mortuary Drape, even on Black Mirror, is that the band still remains very much musically distanced from the majority of black metal bands that incorporate the established second wave and even third wave style, which is in my opinion what always made their music great even to this day. Black Mirror certainly keeps that tradition going, even the general songwriting still manages to feel quite rich and complex despite its overall simplicity, rather than taking the “keep it simple and stupid” approach which would lead to the point where you might as well skip on the entire album because it’s so predictable or one-dimensional. If one could picture what the album feels like, it would be best described with the promo video for the sixth track 'Rattle Breath' which contains footage from the 1992 silent horror movie Häxan, where the double-bass drumming and blackened riffing goes hand in hand with the themes of occultism, devilry and black magic practice. The great thing about this album aside from the death and darkness in the music is the stylistic consistency from one track to another, where no track feels unwelcome or like a drastic departure from the rest, thus keeping the general feeling of Black Mirror on the same level from beginning all the way to its end. The highlight of Black Mirror’s stylistic consistency is the fact that it doesn't feel lackluster at any given moment, as each song goes the ball does not drop and the individual strength of each song shines. Production-wise, the album sounds very heavy and well produced for a black metal release, where the instruments such as guitars and drums sound banging all the way through, but the louder bass guitar certainly does wonders to give the album an additional dose of aggression. 

Mortuary Drape has never failed me with any of their releases, and they certainly did not fail me with their new album Black Mirror. This album was definitely worth checking out and it is an absolute blast with immense vibes of nocturnal and necromantic horror that has been creeping in their music for a long time. Mortuary Drape has left their mark in the Italian metal scene and the global black metal scene in general, and Black Mirror serves a great example that they are indeed worthy of their status. 

Rating: 9 out of 10

Review by Lumina on January 11, 2026.

Luminesce is yet another prog/tech-death project by Alice Simard (of Vitrified Entity, Coffret De Bijoux, and many, many more), or at least that is what it seems to be on first glance. In my opinion, it is a lot more than that and possibly my favorite tech-death album ever. I say that about pretty much any tech death release I love, but this one is a good contender for actually being my favorite. While I have always liked this album ever since first listening to it, it took me a while to really get it, so to speak. Since, especially recently, I've been listening to it a lot, I want to talk about this project a little before the eventual second full-length later this year comes out, which is also my most anticipated release at the moment aside from Alice's other tech death project called Vitrified Entity. That one will also get a review soon, as that one is also one of my favorite projects ever. But let us get back to Luminesce now.

Obviously, Luminesce is mostly a prog/tech death project, though I feel that description doesn't really do it justice all that much considering how much stuff is in here. There's the aforementioned prog and tech aspects, but also melodic death and some core aspects (i.e, breakdowns and core reminiscent riffs here and there). That aside, as should be obvious by now, I really love this album. Since that is not without reason, let me go over each aspect of "Mirrored". Starting with the vocals, which at first were the aspect I did not think too much about back when I first heard "Mirrored". A grave mistake that was, though, because after some time, this album really just proves how much of a diverse vocalist Alice Simard is. Often, I think of how much this release reminds me of other melodic death metal releases, and I think the vocal style is a good part of why that is. Alice does said vocal style in other things as well, but it especially shines in this album, in my opinion. It contrasts everything beautifully in ways that I shall get into a little later.

But what exactly makes an album good vocals aside? If you ask me, it would be melodic/technical riffs, tremolo runs reminiscent of old In Flames, and some core aspect. Oh, and at least one instrumental-only track since that is still my favorite kind of music. Since my recent-ish venture into more hardcore, metalcore, and grindcore, I have grown to like core aspects being found in usually not very core-esque musicians' works quite a lot. This is no exception, as you can tell. And everything I have mentioned just so happens to be present in this album, and more. Riffs are plenty to be found here, but the genius of them is not something that came to me immediately. I am a big fan of melodic riffs (especially le 578 minor scale riff, I eat that stuff up immediately on anything it's used on), so this album being very melodic was quite nice. Use of piano layers in tracks like 'Pellucid Flora' or 'Bestow Me Meaning, Matriarch' is also something I am a big fan of, and is something Alice seems to like doing. It makes everything that much prettier, which this album especially is. Bass, too, is not an afterthought here, unlike how most of metal seems to like leaving it as, but that is to be expected given Alice Simard's other works.

One last thing to mention is the production and mixing. Alice's works tend to have silent mixes, but this one is very silent. So much so that at first, I found it to be a negative thing. Though after some time, I grew to like that. And I mean really like it. I have mentioned before how this album is very pretty, so to speak, but I think the gentle nature of everything contributes the most to that. Nothing here is aggressive like you would perhaps think it to be, given that it's a death metal album. And I really wish more bands would do this kind of stuff since it makes the end product all the more creative, beautiful, and emotional. Speaking of creative, beautiful, and emotional, the lyrics are. They are some of my favorites in all of Alice Simard's works and add much charm to everything. The cover art also reflects the music very well, and it's very well drawn in general, so that's a neat bonus.

This one's a bit unusual compared to my other reviews, but it is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I thought throwing the usual rules I set myself while writing these out the window for once wouldn't hurt. Either way, phenomenal work by a phenomenal musician that's definitely worth checking out!

Rating: 10 out of 10