My body... it's ready.

I wonder if the last song is actually trance instead of black metal

This is gonna be fuckin great, TRoB always delivers.

Extremely interested to see what Von Meilenwald is bringing this time around considering some of the psychedelic dabblings that were hinted at on that EP from last year, which was stated as being like a prelude to this, so...

I'm drooling over the idea of a psychedelic version of TRoB. Can't wait.

Written by Karlabos on 25.03.2017 at 23:58

I wonder if the last song is actually trance instead of black metal

It is, according to the title.

By the way, the album artwork here, the style looks awfully similar to that employed on the previous Blood Vaults. Wouldn't be surprised if they're both by the same person

What's the source? I can't find it anywhere...

Written by Paz on 26.03.2017 at 19:32

What's the source? I can't find it anywhere...

This is the only place I can find the album aside from MS and MA.

Terrible cover art...

Written by Alex F on 26.03.2017 at 22:56

This is the only place I can find the album aside from MS and MA.

Yeah it's not even up on the Van Records site yet, which is odd as they're usually the first to report new news on bands on the label. The artwork, tracklist, and release date are all there though, so I'd be surprised if it isn't legit

Written by Auntie Sahar on 27.03.2017 at 17:39

Yeah it's not even up on the Van Records site yet, which is odd as they're usually the first to report new news on bands on the label. The artwork, tracklist, and release date are all there though, so I'd be surprised if it isn't legit

That site even has a 2xLP version available for pre-order(?) it seems, so it certainly looks legit. Maybe it was simply accidentally made available on that site too early.

This is definitely not a legit source for me.

Written by Paz on 27.03.2017 at 18:13

This is definitely not a legit source for me.

Updated release list from Van Records shows Exuvia under "Upcoming Assaults". Just ctrl+f for "exuvia" and you'll see it. Still, the actual details for the album don't seem to exist from any official sources.

Written by InnerSelf on 26.03.2017 at 15:03

I'm drooling over the idea of a psychedelic version of TRoB. Can't wait.

in 2016 TROB released a single which included a Pink Floyd Cover. A song from Syd Barret's era. "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" plus Takitum Tootem. Have you listened to it?

Written by blackmamba on 29.03.2017 at 05:19

in 2016 TROB released a single which included a Pink Floyd Cover. A song from Syd Barret's era. "Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun" plus Takitum Tootem. Have you listened to it?

Yeah! That's why I'm really excited for this.
As much as I love the really dark almost Shamanic nature of the earlier albums, I would love for Meilenwald to rey something new.

He is getting better at choosing artworks for his LPs it seems. Also excited to see the psychedelic elements of the EP developed further on this.

The whole album is great, pity it's always so short.

Lots of humour and playfulness in this darkness.

This is definitely interesting. Basically the music here is a lot more minimalist and repetitive, following in the line of Blood Vaults. However it also has a greater BM presence than Blood Vaults, so more variations in mood and tempo. I wouldn't say it's ROB on acid, but Von Meilenwald is definitely playing around with a dark, ethereal sense of melody here probably more than he ever has before. Strong clean vocals presence too, and thankfully they're not drenched in that annoying, echoey reverb that he did on Blood Vaults. Not quite the resplendent, operatic approach I loved so much on Foulest either, but they're still very rich and impactful. Quite extensively used too, on some tracks they even seem to overshadow Von Meilenwald's snarls.

Definitely better than Blood Vaults in my book. As of now I'd say Foulest is a 10, the debut and Rain Upon The Impure are 9s, Blood Vaults was somewhere between 7.5 and an 8, and this is like an 8 - 8.5

Written by Joe77 on 16.04.2017 at 14:12

The whole album is great, pity it's always so short.

Not sure I'd call a ~70 minute album short

Definitely better than Blood Vaults but nowhere near as good as Rain Upon The Impure, my favorite album of all-time

Good album but highly overrated. It creates a nice doom atmosphere, but that's all.

Written by Nick Carter on 08.05.2017 at 22:00

Good album but highly overrated. It creates a nice doom atmosphere, but that's all.

I don't understand how anyone could label this band as overrated. I wouldn't call it underrated either, rather pretty fairly rated honestly. This is not a band selling a ton of albums, appearing virtually everywhere in metal media, selling out shows, etc. It's just a nice little blackened doom one manner from Germany that's released some albums that've been pretty well received in underground metal circles. That's pretty much it

Written by Paz on 05.05.2017 at 19:26

Rain Upon The Impure

Good pick for a favorite, it'll probably remain as Foulest for me though. Right now if I had to rank I think I'd go

1. Foulest
2. Unlock The Shrine
3. Rain Upon The Impure
4. Exuvia
5. Blood Vaults

This isn't to say those lower on that list are bad releases though. Even a "weaker" release from ROB is still probably better than the large majority of other extreme doom material out there

Written by Auntie Sahar on 09.05.2017 at 14:46

I don't understand how anyone could label this band as overrated. I wouldn't call it underrated either, rather pretty fairly rated honestly. This is not a band selling a ton of albums, appearing virtually everywhere in metal media, selling out shows, etc. It's just a nice little blackened doom one manner from Germany that's released some albums that've been pretty well received in underground metal circles. That's pretty much it

If you put it that way, I totally agree. It is a good band with a really solid album. I just believe is overrated in and only inside metalstorm. When i see it with that rating i thought it would blow my ears. But I agree it is good for sure.

Blood Vaults lacked that something this album clearly has. Great.

Written by God Alone on 10.05.2017 at 12:14

Blood Vaults lacked that something this album clearly has. Great.

Completely agreed. I think it's that tempo variation. Like Blood Vaults, this album is also more doom than it is BM, and gets very repetitive and meditative at points. But unlike Blood Vaults, it has a greater BM present to keep the mood variating and a much better sense of atmosphere to keep transitions from heavy to mysterious and relaxing going. Better album for sure

Written by Auntie Sahar on 10.05.2017 at 14:53

Written by God Alone on 10.05.2017 at 12:14

Blood Vaults lacked that something this album clearly has. Great.

Completely agreed. I think it's that tempo variation. Like Blood Vaults, this album is also more doom than it is BM, and gets very repetitive and meditative at points. But unlike Blood Vaults, it has a greater BM present to keep the mood variating and a much better sense of atmosphere to keep transitions from heavy to mysterious and relaxing going. Better album for sure

I see you replaced your original Blood Vaults review by a new one (with a score which is a lot lower than the one on the first review) about five days ago... Let me guess... it had to do with this review. You revisionist, you.

I know you changed your mind about the album over the past couple of years. So, why not add that new one and leave the original one (the one with the 9.5 rating) there as well. Then people can see why you changed your mind.

Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 10.05.2017 at 16:15

I see you replaced your original Blood Vaults review by a new one (with a score which is a lot lower than the one on the first review) about five days ago... Let me guess... it had to do with this review. You revisionist, you.

I know you changed your mind about the album over the past couple of years. So, why not add that new one and leave the original one (the one with the 9.5 rating) there as well. Then people can see why you cahnged your mind.

That's the first time I have ever done something like that, just because of how unfounded I realized that score was after multiple re-listens over the past 4 years. I already deleted the original, but re-uploading it with that score for comparison wouldn't necessarily be bad a bad idea, you have a point there. I'd have to find the original document first, but I'm sure it's on my PC somewhere