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Blasting and chaotic are the first adjectives that come to my mind when I hear a band is from Australia, but Runespell plays much more a melodic and atmospheric black metal on their third album, Voice of Opprobium. It contains a mix of straightforward black metal with standard rasps, tremolos and rapid-fire blast beats but those are interspersed with slower, introspective pieces characterized by haunting, dark melodies and instrumentation that sounds like it could be from a different time (the strings on "Wraithwoods" sounds like some type of dulcimer). It's all done well, and I would say Runespell is achieving the sound they set out to create, I'm just not sure it is as gripping as it could be. I don't mind when a black metal album eases up on the aural assault every now and then and I certainly appreciate atmosphere, but Voice of Opprobium doesn't grab me. It could be the black metal stuff is on the generic side or the alternation between extreme and melodic pieces doesn't have the right flow. I don't dislike Voice of Opprobium and it is well played, so I would recommend checking it out for yourself to see if Runespell's brand of black metal appeals to you.