I like the beats and I like the yelling, 28th September 26

Hail Conjurer: Abyss & EkstasisOut 23rd September on Into Endless Chaos Records / Crypt of the Wizard Over several albums, Finland’s Hail Conjurer have been offering curiously deconstructive takes on black metal, pivoting on doom metal pacing, depressive moods, and dominant yet oddly fragile synth tones offering an eerily mournful counterpoint to the distorted backdrop. In this context, ‘Abyss & Ekstasis’ could be read as a change in direction. One that dispenses with these experimental elements in favour of what can only be described as the best album that post 2006 Darkthrone never made. It may be heavy handed to describe this latest offering as a total volt-face for this artist. The second half does decay back into experimental black doom and noise. But throughout, Hail Conjurer appear much more focused on fleshing out riffs and melodies in a pivot to relatively accessible black metal whilst retaining an underlying menace of entropic experimentation. Following the rather Skepticism…