Drowning the Light - The Land of the Dead Sun [MLP] (2011)

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A very bizarre release.  Azgorh teamed up with Shatraug, Molestor, and Stormheit during his tour thru Finland and this record was the product.  That in and of itself is very normal; just some bros makin' beats, but I am infinitely baffled as to why it has nationalist themes..  Australia and Finland, so oppressed, so stained with blood together by those big bully Christians.  But, yeah, this record rips.  Buzzsaw guitars, tortured shrieks, and one of the gnarliest bass tones I've ever heard, it sounds like a mechanical shark dropped 8 octaves through a pitch shift pedal.  And as odd as the nationalist themes on this record are, they do set the backbone for some pretty triumphant riffs.  Hail victory Finlandaustralia I guess.

(Oh, and my bad about that annoying ground buzz between tracks; I'll rip it again)

Drowning the Light - The Fading Rays of the Sun [MLP] (2009)

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I know, right? Another one of these. Fading Rays of the Sun was released immediately after Blood of the Ancients and it shows; this release echoes it's predecessor perfectly, which might be a problem if Blood of the Ancients was bland or mediocre, but lucky for ya'll it kills perfectly.  I don't mean that in like the "man, this Stormcrow record kills" way; fortunately for you this is the sound of death. Death, dying, and rotting.  Majestic keys might make the descent bittersweet while Azgorh's vocals and beautifully shrieky leads drag you down to the depths.  There really is no other atmosphere to compare this chapter of DTL's catalog to, all I know is that I can't wait for Land of the Dead Sun to arrive at my doorstep.

Drowning the Light - Of Celtic Blood and Satanic Pride [PicLP] (2007)

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Drowning the Light's masterpiece.  This album needs no introduction.

Ripped from the Picture Disc released by Zyklon B in 2010.

Drowning the Light - The Blood of the Ancients [LP] (2009)

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Since firmly establishing his place amongst the titans of the Black Metal scene with his 2007 releases "Through the Noose of Exist[e]nce" and "Of Celtic Blood and Satanic Pride", Drowning the Light mastermind Azgorh has been releasing cult albums with a vampiric fury.  The downside of Azgorh being so hyperactive in releasing material is that some complain his albums are stale, having maybe one or two unique songs and the rest filler.  However, The Blood of the Ancients does not suffer from lack of creativity.  I view it as a new wave of DTL; stepping away from his usual of heavy symbol crashes and Xasthur-ish leads, Azgorh has been branching out and experimenting with a much more epic sound.  Normally I hate that description in metal, but there is no other way to explain his new style of half-clean, half-growl melancholic vocals gutted between beautiful keyboard melodies.

Truly beautiful and overflowing with melancholy, "The Blood of the Ancients" brings a new element to the follow-the-leader nature of black metal.