It's difficult to say whether this band actually existed or whether it's a hoax. A few years ago, there were rumours about a brutal death metal band from North Korea that obviously turned out to be a joke. Baron Ungern's story features a few odd similarities. This here is an extended play released in 2016 that supposedly features two grim and frostbitten black metal tracks recorded back in 1999. The group claims to be Mongolia's first black metal band but even twenty years later, a metal scene is practically nonexistent in that country. The band was apparently a trio but no names of the members were ever revealed and no band photos seem to exist either. The group apparently comes from a Mongolian town named Kharkhorin in the middle of the steppes with a population just under ten thousand people. One has to wonder how black metal found its way to such a remote place about two decades ago.

The mysterious vibe around the band is accentuated by a cover artwork based around Mongolian symbols and a reference to Baron Roman Fyodorovich Ungern-Sternberg, an arch-conservative monarchist from the Austro-Hungarian Empire who invaded and occupied Mongolia for about five months back in 1921 and intended to fight Bolsheviks before being captured, tried and executed. Giving this release the title Grandkhaan in relation to that tyrant might be bitter sarcasm.

The music on this output is raw black metal with the most terrible production I have ever heard in my life which could be meant as a compliment since it only adds to the icy atmosphere of the source material. Everything sounds blurry and muddy as if recorded through wet cardboard in a crumbled basement. One can barely distinguish surprisingly variable drum play, sinister guitar riffs and angry vocals that could sing about anything or nothing at all in any possible language since it's impossible to make sense of it.

Despite the charismatically raw production, the songwriting seems to be quite solid. Pitiless, frosty and fast parts meet slow, meanacing and atmospheric passages which are connected quite coherently. Despite impressive running times, the two tracks never really get boring and sound like endless maelstroms of darkness. The tracks could have more differentiated overtures and codas but everything else sounds quite structured.

Барон Унгерн's Grandkhaan offers grim and frostbitten black metal that oozes with atmosphere and convinces with surprisingly diversified songwriting. The mysterious story behind the band is certainly intriguing but the final result should please genre fans anyway, no matter if the band actually consisted of three Mongolians from an isolated farm town in the nineties or of three drunk teenagers from Minnesota that only got together two and a half years ago. Fans of raw black metal should certainly check this out.

Final rating: 70%

Ice War is a one-man heavy metal project from Ottawa that has just released its sophomore output Manifest Destiny. The man behind the project is influenced by heavy, power and speed metal of the eighties somwhere between Iron Maiden, Manowar and Exciter. The release has a simplistic charm and raw production. The guitar work is performed skillfully and the melodic vocals work well in that context. The cool cover artwork blends in perfectly.

However, the record suffers from a lack of variety. The guitar work is skillful but never spectacular enough to stand out. The rhythm section is serviceable to the songs but fails to add an own note. The vocals always sound the same and are lacking passion. This contrasts the lyrics in a way that is unintentionally humorous. The singer claims things like "I would die for you" as if he said "Let's eat a sandwich" or sings "It's death and glory now" as if he mentioned "It's raining outside".

The song material isn't bad at all. If this were actually a band and not a one-man project, the final result could sound much more diversified, dynamic and organic. Ice War could easily open for bands like Annihilator and warm up the audience since this type of traditional metal is best enjoyed in concert.

Ice War has the potential to become more than a sidenore if band leader Jo Capitalicide decided to build an actual band around it. As it is now, Ice War is only interesting for avid traditional metal enthusiasts and passionate metal fans supporting local groups and projects in and around Ottawa.

Final Rating: 50%

Mors fortior quam vita est, amor fortior quam mors est.

Released under the credo Death is stronger than life but love is stronger than death on the longest night of the year, Swallow the Sun's Lumina Aurea is probably the most bleak, experimental and mysterious track the band has ever released. Inspired by the tragic death of South African singer Aleah Liane Stanbridge and the months of suffering that followed, guitarist and band leader Juha Raivio has apparently struggled overcoming this tragic event until today. Trees of Eternity's sorrowful debut was released as her swansong a few months after her death. Juha Raivio's new atmospheric doom metal band Hallatar was also partially inspired by the sinister events. Juha Raivio might also be working on what was supposed to become Aleah Liane Stanbridge's solo album. The tragic circumstances have now also had an impact on Swallow the Sun. It might help overcome such a tragic event with the magic of musical projects and the final results are certainly very profound. However, one can't help but feel sorry and even sad for the Finnish musician.

When bands release a single a few months before the next studio album, the release usually has the purpose to represent and promote the full length effort. That certainly isn't the case here. This single isn't even included on the upcoming album. The song sounds very different from anything the band has ever recorded. Upcoming record When a Shadow Is Forced into the Light is supposed to promote a positive message while Lumina Aurea explores the darkest depths of the human soul. Here is hope that Juha Raivio can finally close this bleak chapter and find peace of mind with the release of the new studio record in about one month.

The epic title song is essentially a plodding ambient track with minimalist instrumental work, modestly employed horn and percussion sounds by Einar Selvik and Latin poetry recitation by The Foreshadowing's singer Marco Benevento. The track is supported by a stunning music video shot in and around Lapland that deals with topics such as death, loneliness and pain in visually impressive images. The song doesn't have anything to do with Swallow the Sun's funeral doom metal style except for its gripping atmosphere.

Reactions to this release have been quite controversial. Some people understand the circumstances regarding the release, respect the band leader's necessity to free his soul from his inner demons and hail the song's profound atmosphere. Others claim the track doesn't vary enough, overstays its welcome and shouldn't have been released as a Swallow the Sun track.

The song is probably best enjoyed in small doses. It's an atmospheric, meaningful and surprising piece of music and soul striptease that is worth your attention, money and respect. However, it's obviously tough to digest and shouldn't be listened to by anyone who is feeling uneasy, depressive or suicidal.

It's incredibly tough to even rate this song. If you have any form of empathy, your evaluation should be positive. Giving a song with so much negative energy a perfect rating would however also feel inappropriate. Ultimately, Swallow the Sun's Lumina Aurea is great for what it is but should be listened to with care.

Cain's Dinasty's Eva is an equally confusing and intriguing release. The Spanish quintet plays power metal with a tight contemporary production that is at times rather heavy but also explores epic song structures and symphonic soundscapes. 

However, the band uses numerous elements from other genres such as gripping death metal vocals and even atmospheric black metal shrieks in multiple songs. Five guest vocalists participate on this output. As everyone knows, too many cooks spoil the broth.

On this record, you have to expect the unexpected as you never really know what comes around the corner with the next song, the next solo, the next genre shift. This is certainly entertaining as there aren't too many bands out there that are this open-minded. On the other side, this amorphous approach also seems pointless at times. 

One wonders what this band actually wants to be. Is it a power metal band? Is it a symphonic metal band? Is it a melodic extreme metal band? It's maybe a little bit of all these genres. The lyrics about vampirism written in poor English are also quite particular and remind of gothic metal bands or Japanese rock bands that seem to love such topics.

Who could be the target audience for such a release? There are three possibilities. First of all, this album is for all those who are claiming that metal music isn't surprising anymore and want to have their mind blown. Secondly, this record could apply to those who love any type of metal genre and want to listen to a melting pot of almost all possible styles in a short period of time. Thirdly, this release could be used instead of a streaming playlist at a metal party to satisfy the guests' different tastes. If you want to discover metal's diverse genres in less than an hour, you might also give this a shot. If you suffer from schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder, this album might increase your mental issues.

In the end, Cain's Dinasty's Eva is a curious footnote in the metal genre and probably one of the most unusual releases of the year. It's worth being checked out but its volatile nature only makes it a funny anecdote rather than an album that is actually convincing. The term all over the place has rarely been more appropriate than in this case.

Final rating: 60%

Mortal Engines is yet another dystopian science-fiction franchise consisting of four novels and this is the first movie of said franchise. This first entry in the franchise tells the story of an apprentice historian called Tom Natsworthy who lives in the mobile city of London and gets involved in a conflict opposing a mysterious fugitive assassin named Hester Shaw and the Head of the Guild of Historians called Thaddeus Valentine.

The movie convinces with gorgeous high-quality visual effects that find the right balance between a realistic touch and splendid imagination. The idea behind moving cities that are destroying smaller towns to take their resources is quite creative. The different vehicles and planes are as imaginative as the strange creatures and machines in this world. Still, the film is profoundly human at heart and deals with topics such as family, freedom and loyalty. The film has solid pace and never gets boring as especially the vivid introduction makes it easy to empathise with the futuristic world and its characters. The story is somewhat predictable but still nicely executed thanks to likable characters like the naive historian, the resilient fugitive and the megalomaniac antagonist. The action sequences aren't too exaggerated but rather executed with care, drive and precision. Another advantage is that the movie has a proper conclusion despite being part of a franchise and you could stop following this franchise without any questions left unanswered after having watched this single film.

Mortal Engines is a movie that should appeal to young teenagers and adults. Despite its dystopian setting, the movie isn't as brutal as The Hunger Games franchise, the romantic love story isn't as exaggerated as in Divergent and the language is more elegant than in The Maze Runner franchise for example. This movie could be described as a dystopian fairytale. Those who are looking for more sinister entertainment should watch Battle Royale and similar franchises instead. Mortal Engines is a film that is worth being watched at your local movie theater because of its astonishing visual and sound effects. It's a movie that could literally be interesting for the whole family except for very young children. Mortal Engines offers a nice occasion to escape a cold winter day and spend some quality at the cinema again.