Utopia Platafórmica

  Enochian “Night Monumental Evil” (Leviathan Records, 1996) A Lost Chapter of Scandinavian Black Metal In the vast and shadowy archives of 1990s Black Metal, some albums fall through the cracks; not because they lack quality, but because they arrived at the wrong time, and with too little noise. “Night Monumental Evil”, the lone full-length release from Swedish band Enochian, is one such hidden relic. Released in 1997, it remains a fascinating example of melodic Scandinavian Black Metal that never received the recognition it deserved. Right from the opening track, “Wrath from Above,” Enochian sets a bleak, uncompromising tone. The riffs are sharp and emotionally charged, weaving melody and dissonance into an icy tapestry. There's a certain kinship here with bands like Dissection and Sacramentum, though Enochian never strays into imitation. Instead, they carve out a grim and mournful identity of their own. What makes “Night Monumental Evil” so compelling is its sense of restrai...

  Godiva “Hubris” In an era where extremity is often mistaken for profundity, Godiva’s “Hubris” stands apart — not merely as a powerful metal record, but as an emotionally articulate meditation on pride, collapse, and the architecture of human failure. This is an album carved from stone, scorched by divine fire, and buried beneath the weight of introspection. Drawing on doom’s sorrowful pacing, the frostbitten melancholy of melodic Black Metal, and the sharpened edges of melodic death, “Hubris” is both an act of artistic defiance and a cautionary tale rendered in devastating sonic clarity. The title is no accident. “ Hubris ”, that ancient Greek warning against mortal arrogance, is more than a concept here, it is a gravitational force pulling the entire album downward into its own tragic destiny. Godiva do not shout this warning from the mountaintop; they whisper it from the abyss, drenched in reverb, deliberate in tempo, and unrelenting in tone. The result is a sound that fe...

  I. THE SOUND OF A COLLAPSING CERTAINTY In the early 1990s, American youth stood on the cusp of a cultural fracture. The exuberance of the 1980s had curdled into apathy, addiction, and anxiety. The Cold War was over, but peace brought no clear moral center, only the creeping realization that capitalism, suburbia, and the nuclear family were not the universal solutions they'd been sold to be. Into this vacuum came a rumble from the Pacific Northwest: the distorted catharsis of Grunge. And among its most complicated, conflicted, and commanding voices was Pearl Jam. While “Ten” (1991) introduced the world to a band steeped in anguish, “Vs.” (1993) revealed one struggling against commodification, uncomfortable with adulation, and determined to interrogate the very systems that uplifted them. In contrast to the ironic detachment of much alternative rock, Pearl Jam trafficked in naked sincerity. This essay explores how Ten and Vs. not only defined the early trajectory of Pearl Jam b...

The Violence of Vulnerability High Vis and the Beauty of British Hardcore In the long and tangled history of British guitar music, there are bands who arrive like a scream, and others like a sigh. But occasionally, one emerges like a bruise, tender, aching, and impossible to ignore. High Vis belong firmly to that third category. Neither revivalists nor provocateurs, they are a band whose power lies not in volume or novelty, but in emotional precision. In a time where genre boundaries are soft and identity is contested ground, High Vis offer something startlingly direct: music that is wounded and defiant, anxious yet dignified. Their rise within, and arguably beyond, the UK Hardcore scene, signals not only a shift in sound, but a shift in sensibility. They make music for those who’ve had enough of pretending everything’s fine. In the sprawling, rain-slicked backstreets of post-industrial Liverpool, a city where the romance of decay and the sting of austerity have long danced togethe...

  Necator &   Diabolical Fullmoon “Through the Cold Caves and Forests of Death” (Eastside & Total War, 2024) Poland is a place of Black Metal geniality, and Black Metal controversy, and in equal measures. The 90ies catapulted the scene to higher levels of recognition, due to its quality and its controversial moments. Well, what can we say about that? Should we dwell deep into the matter, or should we praise the artistic reality for what it is, Art? I believe these specific cases might raise some serious personal questions, and I agree that that is possible of occurring, but Polish Black Metal… Diabolical Fullmoon is the perfect example of the Black Metal I love. They have all the traits and details that make their sound a perfect homage to the golden days of the genre, and of that specific scene: the Pagan melodies and the harsh melodic Black Metal sound, Diabolical Fullmoon has them all, the atmospheres, warm and majestic. With a perfect discography, the Poles have ...

  Cold Northern Breeze Records 2024 releases Norway has been, for decades, home for some of the best Black Metal to ever grace the Earth. Some might dare say that it is overrated, and that today it is nowhere near what it was in the late 80ies to early 90ies, and I must agree, to a certain extent. “Guidelines” were defined, sketches were drawn, the genre had a specific structure that had to be follow, until it was not. Norwegian Black Metal is a fantastic beast, a special entity, and if one takes the time to walk that path, surprises will arise. But today is not about the Past, but the Present. Cold Northern Breeze Records (CNB), a German label specialized in Black Metal, mostly Norwegian bands, has released a few records this year that deserve your attention, and I will guide you through all the releases. We kick off with Draugenatt ’s “Ljósálfar” , a Black Metal record that lives in melancholic lands fed by elements of Folk and Melodic Black Metal. The duo’s first record came ...