I am being flooded by Black Metal releases these days, by quite new bands, and from all over the world. And to be honest I am actually quite surprised with the high quality of most of the music. Of course it doesn’t give me the same thrills as the music did back in the days, when it all started to emerge and the second wave of Black Metal wrecked havoc throughout the North and beyond, though I am actually finding joy in listening to some of the newcomers. Right now me and my neighbors are listening to HELLEBORUS, an American band delivering grim Black Metal with an touch of old inspirations, with a twist of the modern world as well. A spiced up modern version of EMPEROR, though without the same amount of quality in the output – and it comes much wider around than, what the Norwegians delivered back in the dark past. Though they try to summon the same atmosphere, using the same means often. Great cold guitar riffing, subtle keys, blazingly fast drumming, leaving you with a feeling, like standing outside in a violently storming and cold winternight. A good album for fans of symphonic Black Metal, a lesson in how it was done and how it can be done, as I am an old grumpy man after all, I liked it better back in the days, though this isn’t a bad effort at all. We get some good songwriting, some good music and even better atmospheres to indulge in, and I do also like the vocals quite a lot. Much more info can be found here: http://helleborusblack.bandcamp.com, www.satanath.com