Bandcamp Picks - Celephaïs, Myrkur, Wolves in the Throne Room, An Autumn for Crippled Children

Five years since their ambitious 25 minute meisterwork Tir N'a n'Og (still phenomenal and still available for free), DoC faves Celephaïs are back with another bout of bleak folky instrumentals. Each track on Monad is a journey of tension and release - prosaic and contemplative one minute, bloodthirsty and unrestrained the next. As far as nature-themed black metal goes, you'll have a hard time finding anything that tops this. The album is available as a "name your price" download.



All the haters in the world haven't slowed down Myrkur. With her second album Mareridt, the erstwhile Amelie Bruun shows the songwriting prowess only hinted at on her unexpectedly divisive debut, letting her ethereal vocals traverse over black metal, gothy doom and neo-folk, along the way teaming up with fellow purveyor of Pitchfork-friendly darkness Chelsea Wolfe. Bruun probably won't end up being the cross-over star that Relapse is hoping for, but she brings a refreshing outsider's perspective to the heaviest of metals (not to mention some catchy tunes). No doubt everyone with a Von patch will hate it. [$10]



Wolves in the Throne Room have returned - for real, this time, and not as a synth rock band. Thrice Woven picks up where Celestial Lineage left off, augmenting the band's already epic forest metal with choral singing and acoustic passages without getting too twee about it. Not sure the bone dry recording (done by the band themselves) gives the songs the richness they require; certainly such passionate odes to nature and paganism deserve a fuller sound? Regardless, if anyone has forgotten why WITTR was such a monumental force in USBM, this should serve as a cogent reminder. [$9]



It may be heresy to describe any black metal as "pretty", but An Autumn For Crippled Children certainly make a case for it. Recorded in 2015, the three songs on morfine meld fuzzed out guitars, shuffling drums and sombre synth melodies for a sound as deeply rooted in Joy Division as it is in Burzum. An opiate haze in the northern sky. [€3]

Bandcamp Picks - Fuck The Facts, Alda, Anopheli, Myrkur

DoC faves Fuck the Facts return with their best album yet. Desire Will Rot sees the always eclectic québécois quintet diversifying their sound further with some OTT metal moments on top of their usual mix of grind, death, doom, and hardcore. A band that breaks the mould and then stomps it into dangerous little shards. Magnifique. [$4 CAD]


Alda, one of my first ever Bandcamp Picks, finally deliver their long awaited (by me at least) third album. Passage continues where its predecessor left off, combining atmospheric black metal and folk, with more confidence and stronger performances (particularly with the vocals). An album for long walks in the woods; it may not deflect any Agalloch comparisons, but it shows the band is coming into their own. [€6.90 ]


It's amazing what a difference one instrument can make; Oakland CA's Anopheli might be just another band following in Tragedy's footsteps if it wasn't for the addition of a cellist. The Ache of Want puts her front and centre and lets her drive the music, the end result being even more apocalyptic than this kind of dark crust usually is. One of the best, most compelling hardcore albums I've heard this year, and it's available as a "name your price" download.


Well, the cat's out of the bag on Myrkur's Amalie Bruun; her dance pop and shoegaze background is now common knowledge. Honestly, Myrkur's full length M would benefit greatly from embracing that background a little more. The straight ahead black metal moments are a little generic, and songs that lean too heavily on her (admittedly pretty good) clean vocals dredge up comparisons to the Ghosts of Goff Metal Past (anyone who got a Century Media Identity comp back in the day will know what I'm talking about). But the album's sublime opener (not to mention their contribution to this year's Adult Swim singles collection) suggest that Relapse's faith in the project isn't misplaced, just a little premature. [$10.99 ]