100th - can't believe it! - part of the short reviews.
FROM THE DEPTHS – From the Depths
Year: 1996
Label: Dismal Records (original) / Hells Headbangers Records (re-release)
Rating: 6 / 10
When the whole world laughed at American Black Metal in the 90s, of course, it wasn't HAVOHEJ or ABSU that was meant, but such bands. Even in the first half of the 2000s, when you heard “Black Metal from the USA”, you could, without listening, say for fact that it was Death Metal with a thin sound, cheap but infinitely pretentious keyboards, and horribly lame vocals. FROM THE DEPTHS is exactly all this. It cannot be said that the album (actually a collection of two demo recordings) is completely hopeless; here, in particular, there are beautiful riffs, not the usual tremolo wankery, and at the best moments the music resembles VITAL REMAINS. However, it is difficult to perceive all this as anything more than an artifact from the past. The meaning of the reissue of the album on Hells Headbangers is quite easy to understand: Jim Sadist (NUNSLAUGHTER), who was a close friend of the label's owners and died prematurely just then, sings on these recordings. With the help of the reissue of "From the Depths", money was raised for worthy funerals for him.
WINDARK – Lore
Year: 2018
Label: self-release
Rating: 7,7 / 10
A US project WINDARK, which began its creative path with the development of WALKNUT ideas, moved a little closer to its cultural heritage on the second album, since it strongly resembles WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM of the great "Black Cascade" period (this is a compliment, despite WITTR's soy nature). At the same time, there is something estrangingly European about the album, characteristic of bands affiliated with The Pagan Front. I repeat what I said in the review for the debut: even if the music here is not perfect at all, for an amateur piece that is distributed for free on Bandcamp, it is simply gold. Give it a listen.
KVAD – So Old
Year: 2023
Label: Purity Through Fire
Rating: 4 / 10
A new stenciled Norwegian Black Metal with a million, billion times recycled riffs and a shitty sound with a "bathroom" effect; probably, the authors imagine that this is an equivalent alternative to the old analog raw sound. However, this album's worth was was already clear from the idiotic title. Norway, how maybe it's time to stop?
OBSCENE – …from Dead Horizon to Dead Horizon
Year: 2022
Label: Blood Harvest
Rating: 7 / 10
The Americans OBSCENE are not much different from other modern Death Metal bands in terms of sound, but their album is able to offer some interesting decisions. Firstly, these guys are very energetic and vicious, in the best traditions not even of the USA, but of the Netherlands. Secondly, there is an unexpectedly high vocal, hich sounds almost feminine– or, alternatively, in the style of NECROWRETCH. All this gives the album a good flavor and does not let you get bored, which is already a lot nowadays.
ANHAGUAMA – Formula of Zos Vel Thanatos
Year: 2022
Label: self-release
Rating: 6 / 10
This Brazilian occult band quite interestingly mixes ancient noisy Latin American barbarism with - unexpectedly - elements of Greek Black Metal and even some heavy metal. Unfortunately, their cause is greatly spoiled by the miserable mix which makes all parts sound as they were smeared with cold grease. If it weren't for this problem, the release would have much more potential, because the music here is really unusual.
English (UK) 
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