Aosoth - "Ashes Of Angels" CD

French satanic/black metallists Aosoth's second full-lengther is a bold and even atmospheric triumph for the genre, combining an unusually progressive sense of atmosphere to accent the unholy attacks within. The title track is a sturdy and unforgiving storm of epic wall-of-sound guitars that seem to carry the track's more stereotypical blastbeats and hellish vocal torrents. It's a blistering assault, and the wonderfully chaotic, churning guitars even remind me a bit of Killing Joke, which is an endorsement from me. "Path Of Twisted Light" combines the ferocity and sorrow endemic of most (good) black metal with varied tempos and funereal breakdowns. I like that the group balances their dissonant and violent tendencies with a deep sense of melancholy and mood. Perhaps the album peters out more towards the end, but the ominous closer, "Inner War", makes up for it. This one begins as a tormented ambient nightmare that brims with malevolent spirits before exploding into a morass of tight death metal riffs and screams. "Ashes Of Angels" is an unusually good release by a group that dares to stretch the black metal boundaries yet remains reasonably faithful to its original spirit. (Agonia Records)

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Temple Of Baal - "Lightslaying Rituals" CD

This French act considers themselves "black metal", but their third album shows echoes of speed, death, and thrash metal (and some other fringe elements) in their considerable arsenal. Indeed, "Triumph Of Heretic Fire" is a solid collision of these sounds, and, for once, the vocals are (sometimes) intelligible! It's lightning-fast, with superior drumming, crisp dual guitars with both high and low end, and a deep production by Andrew Guillotin. I like the band's diversity and adeptness at different tempos and styles. "Black Sun Of The Damned" slows things down to a crunchy classic grind sound in spots, while "Angstgeist" is a cruise missile of death metal. And this is just the first 4 tracks! Further on, the disc kicks out all kinds of blasting metal bruisers, culminating in the progressive "Blessings Of Blackfire", that brings a classic and doomy melodic angle to nuzzle itself near the blastbeats. A fine release, with something to please nearly any metal-oriented listener. (Agonia Records)

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