Reviews: Konvent, Purest Form, Dantalion, Sigilo (Matt Bladen, Spike, Mateusz Stefanow & Yasmin Mason)

Konvent - Firesky (Napalm Records) [Matt Bladen]

Back with their third album, Danish band Konvent have only written five new tracks on Firesky but they are the weightiest, heaviest and longest tracks in their career so far.

The foursome of Rikke Emilie List (vocals), Amira Liv Hernan (guitar/vocals), Julie Simonsen (drums) and Heidi Withington Brink (bass) have crafted this album from the ground up, embellishing their death/doom beginnings with darker and more majestic arrangements that shift what Konvent are about, into a more experimental place.

The five tracks here linger in cinematic instrumental realms, with each movement around 10 minutes, these four women have the ability to take risks here, from Exorcise to Postludium it's all about building something, the expanded run times letting the guitar/bass/drums showcase a much more dynamic range than on their last two albums.

With Firesky they adopt a position that allows black metal to inflitrate their sound, using tension and release that results in cascading heavy riffs and the intense vocals, the lumbering doom and atmospheric post realms, cut through with death metal brutality and black metal fury.

Firesky is Konvent altering their attention to something different but still well within the musical history as a band. Poignant, vivid and complex, this third album builds on the legacy of Konvent. 8/10

Purest Form – Resistance (Dais Records) [Spike]

There are bands that use industrial textures as a subtle studio seasoning, a bit of cold distortion here, an ominous synth pad there. And then there are acts that treat drum machines, serrated riffs, and 90s rave culture like pure incendiary fuel. 

Emerging out of Los Angeles with backgrounds firmly rooted in aggressive hardcore outfits, the trio of vocalist Story Beeson, guitarist/programmer Madi Woodward, and bassist Riley Oikawa-Dahlson operate under the banner of Purest Form. 

On their second EP and debut for Dais Records, Resistance, they deliver a six-track, fifteen-minute anarchist assault designed to shake concrete foundations.

I'll be the first to admit that anything heavily "dance-forward" sits well outside my usual listening comfort zone. If you usually take your heavy music strictly through the medium of human drummers beating acoustic kits to splinters.

A record built around fractured breakbeats, drum-and-bass tempos, and techno-infused electronic loops requires a sharp mental pivot. But here is the crux of it: heavy music only survives and evolves when artists possess the courage to push against comfortable boundaries to carve out their own territory. 

Purest Form are doing exactly that, and that fearless spirit deserves genuine credit.

The EP kicks the door in with Animal and right away the stylistic collisions hit with physical force. Described by the band as "White Zombie meets Underworld," it rides a relentless, danceable pulse underneath crushing, chugged guitar riffs. 

Beeson’s vocal delivery is immediate and feral, shouting and spitting lines to the brink of vocal-cord shredding. The momentum charges straight into Break, which marries rapid-fire snare rolls with ascending guitars and raw, unhinged aggression, detailing a friendship pushed to extreme, destructive limits.

Clocking in at barely over a minute, Beyond Terror serves as the project's most visceral, direct political statement. Fronted by a guttural vocal scream, it trades in distorted kicks and accelerating industrial stutters that feel like early Nine Inch Nails at their most caustic and confrontational. 

The energy shifts again on More, where talk-rapped verses give way to eerie screeching textures and frantic breakbeats.

The record hits its rhythmic manifesto on Bass Resistance, unleashing an abrasive siren-call bassline that pairs a drum-and-bass shove with metallic urgency, demanding raw volume and refusal to stand idly by. 

To round out the set, they turn to a track that has long been a live staple: an aggressive cover of The Prodigy's Breathe. Running that iconic 90s big beat anthem through heavy guitar distortion and Beeson's abrasive vocal shred honours the original's reckless rave energy while giving it a raw, metallic spine.

Resistance won't be for everyone, particularly those who prefer their heavy music kept safely within traditional metal boxes. But Purest Form aren't making polite background music; they've captured modern-day angst, trauma, and defiance through a turbulent collision of hardcore grit and industrial dance music. 

An intriguing, boundary-pushing release from a young band charging ahead on their own terms. 8/10

Dantalion - Dantalion (Base Record Production) [Mateusz Stefanow]

The self-titled, 10th album by Galician black metal heavyweights Dantalion abandons their former blackened death approach in favour of melodic/atmospheric black metal nihilism.

The album opens with Born Of My Own Damnation, which is a solid start to set the scene for what is to come, with dark, melodic guitarwork, growled vocals and heavier riffs that complement the darkness of the lyrics, focussing on the inherent darkness and decline of the human race.

Ascend Through Ruin showcases Naemoth’s brilliant drumming techniques further, framing the vocals and Netzja’s melodic tremolos on the guitar. It feels as though Netzja is using his guitar as a paintbrush, with each stroke he layers this heavy atmosphere through the melodic technicality of his playing.

Coming in with soaring riffing and deep growls, Whispers From the Inner Abyss embodies that phenomenal album art, in how it makes you feel abandoned by all light and goodness, afloat in that titular abyss.

The Temple Of Internal Ruin feels melancholic, which I think Diego is trying to exacerbate via his clean vocals in sections here, but unfortunately for me, those clean vocals feel out of place and fall a little flat in regard to the rest of the album.

Overall, this is an exquisite performance of atmospheric/melodic black metal, oozing character, grim desperation, melancholy and nihilistic vitriol throughout it’s seven tracks. 

The return of Diego on vocals was an excellent choice, as he ties everything together with his various vocal techniques, even if not all of them land ideally for me, but hopefully others will find value in that. 8/10

Sigilo - Gloria Ad Inferi (Alma Mater Records) [Yasmin Mason]

First there was Mournkind. And out of the ashes of Mournkind, Sigilo was born, the latest solo project of Duarte "Selvmord" Pombo. Almost a decade in the making, Gloria Ad Inferi - Glory to Hell - is the debut album from Selvmord's latest incarnation.

A tolling bell heralds the start of track 1, Black Spell Of Death Chaos And Destruction. If we were rating song titles, this would be a 10/10 for sure. I have high hopes that the song lives up to it's title. 

There's a surprisingly catchy intro - which repeats throughout the track - before the full force of the song hits. At nearly eight minutes long it's a behemoth of a track, but it's put together well, with slower tempo sections giving a small respite before the ferocity kicks in again.

Preliminary Invocation and Sombre Prayer For The Ostracized continue in a similar style to track 1, full on ferocious segments interspersed with slower tempo riffs which help to maintain interest throughout. I particularly like the spoken vocals on Preliminary Invocation.

Universal Gathering Chantic, is a little bit more melodic, a little bit slower than the first three tracks. The squeal of the guitars and the more prominent keys, which eventually descend into a dark, distorted carnivalesque effect, give this track an atmosphere all of it's own.

The next few tracks are shorter, faster and more furious but there's plenty to enjoy here, from the repetitive, almost trance inducing riff which plays throughout The Lurking Evil and the opening bars of Everything Satan, to the vocals of As Cosmic Forces Rise, which sound familiar, but I can't quite put my finger on who they remind me of.

Instrumental title track Gloria Ad Inferi again brings a shift in atmosphere with more melodic riffs and keys playing a larger part. With a more uplifting feel, this track again feels reminiscent of something else, but I can't quite figure out what.

Throughout the album, my attention is drawn to the guitars and vocals, with the drums and occasional keys very much playing a supporting role. There are plenty of catchy riffs throughout. I find myself enjoying Selvmord's vocals throughout the album but especially so on Engodo. Hearing Selvmord perform vocals in Portuguese elevates them to another level.

The final two tracks, Cavernous Black Spell Of Death Chaos And Destruction and Cavernous Universal Chantic are repeats of earlier songs with a grainier production and with the keys much more prominent in the mix. 

Do I like these versions? Yes. They sound more raw, more demo like. I like that. However others who prefer a more polished production may be less enthused by the addition of these two tracks.

Overall an enjoyable and strong offering and well worth a spin! 8/10