Armnatt - “Immortal Nature” (Signal Rex, 2022)

Let me start off by saying how consistent Armnatt is, as a band, as a creative collective. This consistency is also an indicator of quality. The band’s type of Black Metal is what we consider to be a very enrooted style of Black Metal. There is no attempt of innovation or experimental tests; Armnatt is Black Metal to the core, and I love it, to be honest. How to explain their sound? Again: it is Black Metal, period. This is the band’s 4^th release after a Split with Tmarrdhe, in 2013. Since 2020 they have consistently release one Full-length per year, and it is mint. Velnius’ vocals are always abrasive and full of anger and this visceral rage! Love Murmuhr’s guitar work on “Imponent Ruins”, for example. It adds this almost groove, almost Punkish thing to it, giving it this “spit, kick, punch, stab” image. Savage. But are there any freshness on this release? 

As mentioned in the beginning, the band has not applied any special change to their sound; the band has just gone up a level on their performance. From groovier moments to slow and dense riffing, this trio from the South of Portugal did it again.  Tenebrous’ drumming is enormous. He hits those skins with artistry, and violence. Love it… check “Eternal Entity” for simples, yet very effective, drumming lessons. Then get butcher with “Black Flame” (which again carries this very melodic guitar riff). Always felt these lads were a bit forgotten when it comes to the Portuguese Black Metal scene. No, they do not stand out for their originality; they do not release new music every 6 months; no multiple projects for each of their members; just Black Metal. If you are into that true-to-the-core Black Metal, Armnatt is the place to go. Hoping for them to hit Invicta Reqviem Mass this December… need to buy these lads a cold beer.

Wampyric Rites - “The Wolves Howl at the Moon” (Signal Rex, 2022)

And he is back! I have been following these guys’ work for a while. They are, without a doubt, talented, and this most recent release proves it. They have come a long way from the initial Demos and their “rotten” sound… can I say that they have become more melodic? Maybe the production did improve, which helped emphasizes that facet of the band. This is the band’s 7^th release so far this year. Extremely productive, I see. Wampyric Rites comes from an ever-growing wave of Black Metal artists that are taking the genre beyond the “strict guidelines” of the forefathers. There is plenty, and plenty, of melody in their music, resembling the likes of Satanic Warmaster, for example, but also some American acts like Lamp of Murmur or Vampirska, who also use a lot of melodic lines to emphasize the more aggressive ones. It works as a comparison, right? Always loved his vocals, and this release is no exception. The band persists on using synths in their music, which only adds to assembling a very haunting and cold atmosphere. The riffs on “Rites Under the Moon” as very Norway, are very that particular sound, that specific riffing, and it never loses an ounce of heaviness. It endures as a strong Black Metal riff. All 4 songs - “Amidst…” is an interlude - are quite long, which could set the listener for a long and tedious listening session; but we could not have been more mistaken. 

The tracks are built in a way that the listener is grasped by the melodies, the rhythmic changes, and pushes on, effortless, until that one last note. One last example of how the band grows their sound but holds on to their identity: “The Wolves Howl at the Moon” initial moments take us almost on a journey through Ecuadorian’s ancestral percussion rhythms, and it does not feel out of place. All in all, this is not just one more release from Wampyric Rites, this is one more step in their creative growth. Waiting to hear what is next to come.