Korova - "A Kiss in the Charnel Fields" [1994]

Artist: Korova

Title: A Kiss in the Charnel Fields

Genre: Avant-garde Black Metal

Country: Austria
Year: 1994

Track List:

1. Intro: Der Weltenbrand / Das Kreuz und der Metzenapfel
2. After the Fruits of Ephemeral Pulchritude
3. Lachrydeus Mittelgard (Slâhan fôntagr inn awêþi)
4. Entlebt in tristem Morgenblut
5. Intro: Im Teich erlischt ein Bächlein
6. Awakening from Perpetual Contemplation (Yellow Mahogany Tomb I)
7. Latin Dreams in Turpentine
8. Nordsciltim - In the Filth Where All Cull Perambulates Pain
9. Sálømeh, des Teufels Braut
10. A Kiss in the Charnel Fields

My first thought as a Russian speaker about this band was: "Wait, what sort of a name for a black metal band is Korova?" Then I realized that the name was taken from "A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess, but a name that literally means "cow" is still ridiculous for a black metal band (even if it's a very avant-garde one). Later they changed their name to Korovakill (which is even more ridiculous), and then to Chryst (after the band's founder Christof Niederwieser, which was the only remaining original member at that point).

Just as expected from the unusual band name and the fact that all three members of Korova were also involved in Angizia, the music on this album is quite complex and avant-garde, especially by the measures of early 90s black metal scene. Some people compare it to their Norwegian contemporaries Arcturus and Covenant, some - to the later Scandinavian avant-garde metal acts such as Theory in Practice and Ram-Zet, but the easiest description of this album would be just "the black metal version of Angizia". Anyway, the metal scene in Austria wasn't ready for this kind of stuff at the time, and Korova's subsequent album "Echowelt" was rejected by all labels and never released.

L'Âme Immortelle ‎- "Gezeiten" [2004]

Artist: L'Âme Immortelle

Title: Gezeiten

Genre: Darkwave, Neue Deutsche Härte

Country: Austria
Year: 2004

Track List:

1. Es Zieht Dich Davon
2. 5 Jahre
3. Fear
4. Stumme Schreie
5. Fallen Angel
6. Gezeiten
7. Rain
8. Masquerade
9. Kingdom
10. Calling
11. Ohne Dich
12. Believe In Me
13. Without You

While Lacrimosa was the most influental gothic band during the 90s and the 1st half of 2000s at least, I started listening to this kind of music a bit later (in the late 2000s), and it were L'Âme Immortelle who have introduced me to that scene. Actually, we had a lot of very pleasant people in the LAI fan community back then (something that can't be said about the fans of many other metal and gothic rock bands, unfortunately) - but I've lost contact with almost all of them by now ;_;

"Gezeiten" is LAI's first album released on a relatively major label (Supersonic/BMG Germany), and its sound is much heavier compared to their early darkwave releases, being strongly influenced by NDH/industrial metal. Arguably it's their best release along with their first two darkwave/electro-industrial full-lengths.On the other hand, I found their later albums quite boring (same for the solo projects of both Thomas Rainer and Sonja Kraushofer).

Allerseelen - "Terra Incognita" [2015]

Artist: Allerseelen

Title: Terra Incognita

Genre: Neofolk, "Industrial Folklore"

Country: Austria

Release date: 2015

Track List: 

1. Steingeburt (2015)
2. Fliegerlied
3. Böses Blut
4. Ikarus
5. Flamme (2015)
6. Totenschiff
7. Thule (2015)
8. From The Emptiness
9. Grünes Licht
10. Neunmondmesser
11. Sturmlied (2015)
12. Wir Sind Schwäne (2015)
13. Panzergarten (2015)
14. Was Wissen Wir Vom Licht
15. Schwarzes Vinyl

As you probably know, I rarely go to concerts, and there aren't many ones worth going to where I live. The one and only neofolk concert I've been to was the performance of Allerseelen, Otzepenevshiye and Sal Solaris, which took place in one of local theaters in 2007. Unsurprisingly, the attendance wasn't huge, but Allerseelen's performance was great, even if wasn't too familiar with his studio works at the time (the only his song I've heard before that concert was "Sturmlied 2.0" on some neofolk compilation).

Now, after I've listened to the whole Allerseelen discography, I can saafely say that this relatively new album is one of the best. I'm not too much into the occult/esoteric aspect of Allerseelen's works, but I love the music (which goes far beyond withing the borders of neofolk and even incorporates some elements of jazz and flamenco). While I can't find this particular album on Bandcamp, it can be found on dark-world.ru. There's also a very good detailed review of "Terra Incognita" on Heathen Harvest.

Tristwood - "Delphic Doctrine" [2006]

Artist: Tristwood

Title: The Delphic Doctrine

Genre: Industrial Death/Black Metal

Country: Austria
Year: 2006

Track List:

1. Indoctrination (Intro)
2. The Delphic Doctrine
3. Chronos
4. The Call Ov Seth - Invocation Of The God Of Blood And War
5. Anbeheh
6. Pandaemonic Paradoxon
7. Nemesis - The Cyberstorm
8. Through The Nineth Hall Of Utuk'Ku
9. Daedae Taengri
10. Exdoctrination - The Blackest Void (Outro)

"Tristwood have been wise enough not to just throw beats and samples here and there, but rather to employ certain industrial / techno intensity added to the ferocity and speed of their death / black metal hybrid". Couldn't said it better. For the most part, "Delphic Doctrine" is just death metal, but I'd tag it as "industrial metal" without a shadow of doubt. Out of all 3 albums from this Austrian band, this is my favourite one, although it may seem to be a bit repetitive at times.

Download

Kitty In A Casket - "Horror Express" [2009]

Artist: Kitty In A Casket

Title: Horror Express
Genre: Psychobilly/Horror Punk
Country: Austria
Release date: 2009

Track List:

1. Intro
2. Horror Express
3. Bride Of The Monster
4. Moonlight Massacre
5. Since You Are Dead
6. Space Invaders
7. My Cannibal Paradise
8. Under Your Bed
9. Blood Lovesong
10. Under Ghost Town's Moon
11. Nekrophilian Love
12. Sweet Nightmares
13. Slave Of Church

If you liked the new album by The Silver Shine and want to hear more music of such kind, then you'll probably like Kitty In A Casket. Though they're not from Hungary (but very close to it geographically), they're very similar to The Silver Shine both musically and lyrically. And yes, I'm sure all fans of good female vocals in rock music will enjoy this album too.

Download