Utopia Platafórmica

Archgoat – “All Christianity Ends” (Debemur Morti Productions, 2022) Within the universe of Heavy Metal, a faction of its followers is in favor of evolution, of experimentation, of risking it for the sake of Art; another faction is a bit more… traditional (I dare say, in some case, fundamentalist…) regarding the way Artists approach Music and its boundaries. I am a bit of both. My reference for Black Metal is Darkthrone’s unholy trinity. Never have I ignored what came before, nor will I ever ignore whatever comes after those magnificent pieces of Dark Arts! However, one thing is certain: those 3 records are, undeniably, a blueprint of what Black Metal should sound (to my ears, at least). But does that mean that I want my mates, Fenriz and Nocturno, to keep on riffing like they did back in the day? No way. I did love the more Punkish records; I truly enjoy the slightly Doom / Heavy Metal approach they took with their more recent ones. They keep their Black Metal basis and work on from...

VRK – “Palimpsesto Retrospectivo da Memória” (Nigra Mors) One of the good things in life, is that we have the ability to connect to places like we connect to people. Having an enormous connection to the (real) North, made it easy for me to connect to neighbor Galicia. Beyond the geographic reality, the social parallelisms are ever present. The mountains, the old believes, the way we look at our own, and how we stand our ground when it comes to defending the land (not in a belligerent way, for course), helps to create these bridges. Music wise, and specifically in Extreme Metal, I have been following Xerión for a few years now. Always loved the way Nocturno incorporated his ancient Folk background in Black Metal, setting it apart from most of the Folk Black Metal acts. There is this… sweetness to his music, to his way of creating music.   A while ago I was gifted a few releases from Nigra Mors, by the man himself. It took me a while to have the time to really listen to it, but I...

Exposure Kickin' it Hard as F@ck! Germany. Mannheim. Harsh, aggressive, and visceral Music. Hardcore. Exposure has been around for a few years now. According to them, their aim was to pay tribute to Integrity, a band that lives within the same scope of violence Exposure took for themselves. "Atonement", released in 2020 is their latest release, and we took a ride to the band's world to understand it a bit more. Thank you, first, of accepting my request for an interview. Hope all is well, especially now that the whole pandemic situation has mellowed down. I messaged you while you were on tour (or on your way to a concert) if I remember correctly. And before we start, allow me to ask how it was to return to the stage, with people jumping, that awful smell of sweet, the screaming… rocking it out, simply put. Was this your first after the massive shutdown due to Covid? Hey man, thanks for reaching out. Yeah, I was on my way to play Paris with Spark and it was wi...

SPIRITUAL DISEASE Sempre considerei o Black Metal como o sub-género do Heavy Metal em que o nível de criatividade apresenta níveis mais elevados. Estarei a ser demasiado tendencioso? Sim, provavelmente, mas vejamos o seguinte: será o Black Metal o sub-género que apresenta o maior número de ramificações da sua forma original? Quiçá. Isso não faz deste o maior e melhor (ainda que seja), mas mostra o quão o mesmo se conseguiu transformar e renovar, desde os seus primórdios. Mas entretanto, há uma série larga de anos que começámos a ver algo interessante. A cena norueguesa (e escandinava em geral, de certa forma) começou a polir o som, a “abrandar” o som, a afastar-se do som com que deu início ao Black Metal (falamos da 2.ª vaga), optando por dar um novo rumo à criação, de certa forma. Os Watain e os Dimmu Borgir, para referir dois dos maiores nomes do Black Metal, foram ostracizados por operarem as mudanças que operaram na sua música, e todos sabemos que o fã de Black Metal não admite...

Black Metal Reviews - Part. II (all reviews were originally written for  Black Metal Daily) Nidernes – “Beyond the Gleam of Nightsky” (Black Gangrene Productions, 2022) Well… is there a real need to describe the Portuguese Black Metal, today? I dare say this is one of the hotbeds for Black Metal in the 21 st century. No, it is in fact one of the hotbeds for Black Metal in the 21 st century, and it embraces me with that overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. We are not just European Football champions; we are also one of the go-to countries in contemporary Black Metal (and I am not even a big fan of Football). This just to show how far we, a small country, with an amazing History, great beaches, and superb food, have reached the top of “Mountain Black Metal”. How did we do it? Well, Nidernes will be on that lot in a few years, I reckon. How? By producing devastating Black Metal like the one we got in their – or his – new release: “Beyond the Gleam of Nightsky”. “Darkness Ceno...