mourner
Black thrash to my liking. The songs are varied and the vocals are ace. Add a perfect production and the history of the band and you know you get your moneys worth here. This is METAL 🤘
THE AJNA OFFENSIVE in conspiracy with INVICTUS PRODUCTIONS are proud to present the LONG-awaited fifth album of Sweden's UNPURE, Prophecies Ablaze.
Sweden's UNPURE are the very definition of a CULT band. Formed in that fateful year of 1991, the band spread their black-leather wings across three demos before the momentous release of their self-titled debut album in 1995. A quiet classic that built in stature over the years to come, UNPURE followed up the elevated primitivism of Unpure with three more albums over the next decade - a patience pace, yes, and a further refinement of their jet-black metal into something thrashier or at least more speed metalled but something truly UNPURE. No "party blackthrash" here: always, the iron fist of vocalist/bassist Kolgrim guided their muse into occult waters, tastefully and trend-free. However, those waters largely stayed dormant aside from infrequent gigs, following the release of 2004's World Collapse, with only a couple new songs arriving on a retrospective compilation...but the legend of UNPURE continue to grow with each successive generation.
Now, UNPURE are prepared to scale the throne that's rightfully theirs with their long-awaited comeback album, Prophecies Ablaze. Although both men have been in the lineup since 2011, UNPURE's fifth album marks the recorded arrival of two new guitarists, Watain's Pelle Forsberg and Degial's Hampus Eriksson, as well as erstwhile Degial drummer Emil Svensson (who joined the band in 2019), and their fire is immediately felt: Prophecies Ablaze is indeed aptly titled, for the intensity is sharp and seething and very much burning. A black/death conflagration as it were, UNPURE's attack is upratcheted to an enviable degree, very much sounding like the same band that stoked legions for the past three decades but one that more so sounds impossibly incensed and almost youthful. Credit that to a seamless melding of songwriting and execution, where the former races with both grandeur and grime while the latter exudes lawless abandon and stoic clarity alike, altogether displaying a muscular brand of black METAL that's as timeless as ever. And mention must be made of the production across Prophecies Ablaze: "razor-sharp" might be a meaningless cliche by now, but this recording's razors are deadly precise and absolutely bloody!
No other words needed: UNPURE have returned, and Prophecies Ablaze is every inch the record they needed to return with. With eyes to the sky and hearts inflamed, prepare for the benediction of classic Swedish darkness!
Releases March 31, 2023 although the CD might experience a short delay. Shirts are available via the :AJNA: and Invictus websites exclusively.
supported by 10 fans who also own “Prophecies Ablaze”
What an impressive piece of black metal. This one-man hurricane is pure art. Sgah‘gahsowáh creates an haunting atmosphere. He puts so much soul in his music. Sælzer Bub
supported by 9 fans who also own “Prophecies Ablaze”
Full on assault on the subject. I love everything about this album. The use of the Russian propaganda message of the Eastern front in Stalingrad, Massengrab, together with the sound of roaring Stuka's and thunderous bombs portrays the chaos of warfare better than any other black metal band I have heard so far.
Very much a recommended album. Argeodeema
Streamlining their post-metal sprawl through a sharper melodic focus, the Scottish juggernauts' third LP is labyrinthine yet approachable. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 25, 2024
supported by 9 fans who also own “Prophecies Ablaze”
Blackbraid quickly followed up their 2022 debut in 2023 with more native folk infused furious black metal. This is by no means a sophomore slump as it is equally excellent, methodical, melodical, and approachable as the first record. 9/10 RJ