122nd part of the short reviews.
NIGHT AND FOG / VRIL-YA NATIONS – Night and Fog / Vril-Ya Nations
Year: 2024
Label: Darker Than Black Records
Rating: 6 / 10
The young USA-based NIGHT AND FOG project is a representative of the completely straightforward, direct NS Metal with all its typical attributes. It gives both rough, raw metal with a catastrophically fucked-up sound, and atmospheric acoustics, more than clearly inspired by BRANIKALD (see the track "Our Path to Greatness"; it also has a brass part, which was unexpected). Anyone who has studied the releases affiliated with The Pagan Front – including, sorry about the tautology, “The Night and the Fog” compilations - will immediately understand everything. And this person will guess that NIGHT AND FOG also shares all the negative features of those older NS bands. Just like back then, the idea here stands above the music.
VRIL-ya NATIONS looks a bit more interesting. Unfortunately, my promo had only two tracks out of the three that are on the disc. One of them offers a cold cosmic-astral ambient, slightly spoiled by digital noises, and on the second you can hear quite musical metal, which fully corresponds to its theme (homo galactica, Atlantis and other similar stuff).
Both projects belong to the same guy with the pseudonym Count of Wewelsburg. The sum of the two sides makes for a decent split for its niche, but I don't recommend it to listeners who are not familiar with The Pagan Front and all its musical affairs.
DEATHHAMMER – Crimson Dawn
Year: 2025
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Rating: 9 / 10
Well, I've run out of words to describe the best Thrash Metal band in the world. If my previous reviews didn't convince you to listen to DEATHHAMMER, then fuck off! It's fast, it's crazy, it's Thrash as it should be. AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!!!
MEDIEVAL DEMON – All Powers of Darkness
Year: 2025
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Rating: 8,1 / 10
MEDIEVAL DEMON has already released their fourth album after their return. What's even more exciting is that they continue to explore different facets of their sound. If the previous two albums were an elite kind of development of the traditional Greek sound with a strong Heavy Metal influence, then "All Powers of Darkness" offers a very dark and epic sound, in which there is not too much Greek. Partly because of the most powerful cover from Mark Riddick, this album evokes strong associations with the Conan Saga and its dark magical affairs. There really is something mysterious and terrifying about it, especially in the first half.
CANCER VOID – First Metastasis
Year: 2025
Label: Me Saco un Ojo Records
Rating: 7,2 / 10
The debut EP of the Czech band. Retro Death Metal with all the attributes. I've already gotten tired of this style, but the Czechs have tried to add a little originality if not to the music itself, then at least to its sound, and this already makes their release better than the endless stream of identical albums that make up 90% of the modern wave of old-school Death Metal. You can and even should listen to it. Czechs today make Death Metal better than Americans, for example.
IDOLOS – 132019
Year: 2025
Label: Adipocere Records
Rating: 7,7 / 10
A new signal has been received from the Venusians IDOLOS, who are already well known to attentive readers of Bagnik Zine. This time, the transmission from representatives of the otherworldly race was very long, and the French Adipocere Records, which, believe it or not, still exists, even released it on disc as a full-length album. Over the years of communication with humanity, the Venusians have picked up a bit of human silliness, because “132019” allows itself almost rock'n'roll frivolities. But as long as they remain in the decoration of charmingly beautiful atmospheric phenomena disguised as guitar sequences, such cultural appropriation can be forgiven. The Venusians themselves call "132019" a new step in human evolution. I wouldn't go that far, but when it comes to communication technology, IDOLOS has really made a lot of progress, as their music sounds much clearer than in previous times. If almost all the sections with blast-beat percussion and aggression efforts were thrown out of it, it would be great. Either way, I highly recommend IDOLOS to those who haven't heard them yet. It's not every day that you get the opportunity to meet a band that not only sounds original, but also comes from Venus.
