Think a malevolent creature named ZOM characterized by malice is rising from the deepest blackened cavity underneath coursing its way through adamantine objects in a swamp. Its coming. All the other varmints now bending on their knees praying that it never sees the day of light. They surely can't stop with their worthless prayers as it is blessed by the most darkened soul. What do they do now? Nothing. It's on its way devouring yet hungry. The unbearable caterwuling shattering the mother earth piece by piece. ZOM has arrived and within a blink of an eye, everything is destroyed.
Now ZOM discharges a playlist which wrecks everything in its wake. Listen below, hear what ZOM has to say about the tracks and catch the band today at Dublin Day Of Death with Necros Christos, Cruciamentum and more. For more information, visit here or here.
Vomitor - Midnight Madness...total fuking chaos!!
Syphilitic Vaginas - Black Sorcery
Wrathprayer - The Darkest Fyre...claustrophobic, raw and punishing!!
Sodom - After the Deluge...classic Metal of Death!!
Despise You - I End Me...unforgiving, spiteful hate!!
Repugnant - Premature Burial...Swedish masters!!
Anti-Cimex - Cries of Pain
Occultation - Somber Dawn...just released a new album, Three and Seven. Can't recommend this band enough. Twisted meandering riffs combined with haunting female vocals and a black mass atmosphere
Evil Spirit - L'Inferno (Sempiternal Punishment)...new band from Berlin. Think early Melvins meets Black Sabbath meets Autopsy with some of the most original vocals I have heard in a long, long time. Killer demo!!
The world which is becoming more pretentious day by day particularly in music where one pretends to like a band simply because other “trve kvlt” people liked it or vice versa without even giving it a proper spin, the consequences bound to end up disastrously if this trend continues in near future. The quality of music, if we focus particularly on black metal, can not be measured regarding whether the graph has gone up or down because practically it’s impossible to listen to all the black metal bands over the world and then compressing the whole for judging but theoretically may be. So from this ever expanding industry, Mgła, hailing from Poland, is one of those bands who write music that they hold closer to the heart and in doing so not straying away a bit.
Some weeks ago when I first came across the news that Inquisition signed a deal with Season Of Mist, I thought, "Ok, let's wait for the next full length and have some opinion then." But deep down inside I'm still worried about Inquisition because Inquisition is one of those bands which I respect not only because they genuinely act like what they try to represent but also the sheer musicianship that Dagon and Incubus put forward. After fifteen years from their inception into the industry, talking about talent is a worthless proposition; it's all about what they bring into the table now or what they have more to offer precisely. Many so called Black metal elitists or Inquisition elitists in particular may disagree with me about the fact that Inquisition's best album to date is Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult. And there are several reasons tied regarding this opinion. There is no doubt that Dagon is one helluva musician and Incubus drumming has given a new dimension to black metal sound but certain musicians born to provide extremely limited quality and at the same time enjoyable elements; after that they are done, get what I mean? Look no further than Ulver- Bergtatt, Kveldssanger and Nattens Madrigal- then they packed up and moved forward. It's not that Garm and co. suddenly became incapable of putting forward another album like aforementioned ones but certain aspects need to be understood. They had already given what they could regarding that scenario and bringing out another album like those would mean nothing musically. If you look closer to Inquisition's discography, rest aside the earlier thrash days, considering all the albums after Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult, each one basically revolves around this album- the riffs, the vocals and overall composition. I'm not saying that later albums are not enjoyable at all; definitely they are- Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm was among the best from last year. For those who undergo hard time digesting Inquisition's sound, frog- croaked vocals are for giving surreal and unearthly experience. If Dagon used the regular black/death vocals, it would take away the actual purpose that Inquisition originally intents which is to provide trance- like feeling. Listening to Inquistion is like a ritual taking place beside a calm sea under an obscured moon where women are sacrificed and blood's being sipped by devil hearted souls. I remember watching the movie Inquisicion (directed by Paul Naschy) to connect more with Into The Infernal Regions Of The Ancient Cult as the samples in the album were taken from the movie. The scenes were more than horrifying and the characters were sick in every way imaginable; no surprise that Dagon picked up the samples from this movie. As far as the name Inquisition is concerned, it may or may not be a direct influence from the movie. The production was raw for Ancient Cult which gradually became somewhat cleaner in the later albums. So you see too many factors circle around Ancient Cult for which I'm claiming it as the best Inquisition album and a cult classic too. All these being said, what I'm suggesting? Is it time for Inquisition to quit? Don't get me wrong here. No. As I already stated, I'm worried about Inquisition's progress more than anything. We all know how great of a musician Dagon is, how incredible the live ritual is but bringing out another Inquisition album is where the danger lies. It may be as good as Omnious Doctrines or even Ancient Cult but if it's equivalent or semi equivalent then what's the purpose of a new album; one can always listen to the previous ones. Can Dagon put out a greater effort? Time will answer surely.
So, what do you guys think? Which is the best Inquisition album? Are you concerned about the future of Inquisition? Would you like to see a new album?
The great "Vorfeed", along with "Blood Bringer" who helped with the setlist, has posted live recordings of Mitochondrion's set (FLAC form) from Rites Of Darkness III which took place last year in San Antonio, Texas. There were lots of management issues regarding the festival with the Promoter reportedly claiming his Paypal account got frozen with what like $50K in it and other communication problems which led to cancellations of many bands. Despite all those problems, most bands actually were able to pull it off with great performance and you bet Mitochondrion was one of them. As far as finding quality live Mitochondrion stuffs, chances are very slim, so surfacing of this out of the blue is something to be happy about.
Wormridden created by the members of Anatomia (Japanese death/doom band who are preparing a new album entitled Decaying In Obscurity soon to be released on Nuclear War Now! Productions; listen to Cadaveric Dissectionhere) and Undergang (Danish filthy death bringers who already set underground on fire by the release of Til Doden Os Skiller this year) are all set for a demo release on Extremely Rotten Records. The tape entitled Infesting The Grave has been sent for pressing and hopefully it will be released soon. So far the band has released a killer track Infested By Worms which you can listen below or from the bandcamp page. It's distorted, loathsome and raw as the band perfectly described : Slowly decomposing Death metal rising from the graves of Tokyo and Kill- Town.
The opening song Empireum off of Ufomammut's first part of the saga Oro entitled Oro: Opus Primum which originally surfaced at The Obelisk is pretty much what you expect from the band- unsettling, disrupting and sickening- all in a good sense. The video is about 14 minutes of unnerving imageries psychedelic to the core. The song Empireum indicates what's in store for the rest of the album as well as the follow up Oro: Opus Alter. Watching the whole video unfolding gives a different sort of experience along with the psyched out notes for which they are known.
Ufomammut's Oro: Opus Primum comes out April 13 on Neurot Recordings
Welcome to Freedigger Edition where we focus on a particular band which officially gives the entire album for free! But don't take things for granted, if you like an album, please buy it and support the artist.
So this Norwegian band Skull has been slowly gaining the attention of the vicious underground circle and there is no denying the fact that they deserve it. In the recently released self titled demo, Skull offers grinding death/crust with a fury of pummeling riffs good enough to get you headbanging for the whole length. Atleast I can't stop listening (+headbanging) to it. The amount of talent which these guys possess can't be described in words really. Other than Skull, they run several other projects- Katechon (blackened crust) is another one worth of mentioning here too. Coming back to Skull, the production on this demo is the best thing that Skull managed to pull off. It has that cutting edge factor which's very soothing to the ears and sharpening at the same time. I'm going to go ahead and claim that this demo is the early contender for being one of the best demos in this year; I'm pretty much sure you can't argue about it much after listening to it. Download the whole thing on Skull's bandcamp page for free or else you can also order the cassette form on Prostata Records.
Deathronation's Exorchrism, released in the year 2011, may or may not be a full length as it contains songs gathered from what Deathronation had written in the period from 2004 to 2010 and one song known to be composed for Embodied Grief (a band of guitarist and vocalist Stiff Old) back in 2001. Exorchrism follows 2006's demo "A Soil Forsaken..." and despite being promising there was room for improvement on the earlier demo. The band took some time to release their next offering and what a great punch they managed to throw forward! This is old school death metal done with a great intensity. Last year I wasn't aware of the fact that they released this one; just a week ago I got hold of Exorchrism and since then it has been on the heavy rotation playlist.
With the album progression you would notice that they are not breaking any sort of boundaries or something but surely they have found a sound which literally stimulates everything in its wake. The production is rugged up to the point perfectly giving an aura of filthiness. The riffs are like the buzzing sound of a chainsaw with the gain turned up; listen to the track One Once Forgotten. The vocals are drilled through enough magnitude with the pursuit of bass playing under the lines of variable drumming. Most of the songs are around 5 minute mark and the monster Scorn Dominion hits around 8 minute mark making the whole thing to clock over 28 minutes long. It's very clear that the band is heavily inspired by Death, old Florida scene, Immolation but throughout the entire length they managed to keep the tension with some sort of dignity by which you can't say that they are one of those copycats. All the signs on this effort, as a whole, positively indicates the band's potential to come up with further great materials when they get set for a proper album release as said earlier that Exorchrism contains collective songs.
I'm not entirely sure about the reasons for taking forever to release Exorchrism; maybe the members were busy with other projects but certainly we don't want to see another long gap. Although you can't argue much if they keep continuing the trend of coming up with greater songs. Deathronation needs more exposure atleast from the German underground base if not from all over the world and also I do feel like the band members need to make the band as their top priority now. Once in the limelight, Deathronation will be unstoppable.
Deathronation's Exorchrism came out last year on Dead Master's Beat/GodEater Records.
Do you remember Cauchemar? Yes, the Canadian heavy metal/doom band with French lyrics. They took the underground by surprise in the year 2010 with the mLP La Vierge Noire. Since then they didn't look back; the vocalist Annick Giroux and guitarist Francois Patry are on the road touring for almost over a year. Now with an upcoming album scheduled to be released in 2013 also on Nuclear War Now! Productions, Cauchemar has decided to hit Europe for a string of dates starting from April 20th. They will play songs off of La Vierge Noire and also new songs from the upcoming album. You can stream the entire mLP below and for "Rites Lunaires" European Tour dates, visit here.
Click here to order Cauchemar's album/merch via Nuclear War Now! Productions.
If you are familiar with Mutant Supremacy's debut LP Infinite Suffering then you already know what to expect- rotting death metal- the kind when maggots pierce your brain and eat your membranes. Mutant Supremacy's new offering Rotting Season EP is full of filth and vomituous elements. Don't drift by the fact that it contains only four songs because these four songs are enough to bring down the hammer and crush your skull. The band plays some serious old school death metal in the vein of early Morbid Angel or Bolt Thrower to some extent. The fact that Brooklyn swarms with metal bands, it's really tough to hold ground still but Mutant Supremacy have their own set of legacy and this new EP is just another step to claim that they belong here.
The blistering riffs and catchy grooves along with pulverizing drum beats are the highlights of this EP. The vocals are scorching and mixed low somewhat not taking away the brutal effect by any stretch of imagination. The jumbled solos help in keeping the tempos up and interesting. The flow to the whole EP is well balanced and the mid and fast paced passages interconnect each other very well. Instantly the good musicianship is recognizable. The album cover superbly depicts what's in store; just take a look and you can get the picture- that indicates what Rotting Season EP is all about.
The bad news is that Blast Beat Mailmurders have released only 300 hand numbered copies which may or may not be available by now. But don't worry, you can stream the whole thing over Cvlt Nation; I'm not sure whether you are going to be fully satisfied by streaming only. Look forward to the second pressing if you are out of luck. It's a definite must have for extreme metal fans and deserves to be in the top year end lists- I know it's a little bit too early to talk about those (or anyway I don't care much about the lists) but just emphasizing the fact that this record owns.
Impious Baptism came to my attention through Hells Headbangers email yesterday. Hells Headbangers became the official distributor of this two track EP which originally was released on Ordo MCM in Januray. I don't know much about Impious Baptism other than it's a one man black/death project, hailing from Australia with a demo and Path Of The Inverted Trinity EP under the belt.I'm quite impressed by this bestial V.A.N.V.D.A EP and now looking forward to hearing the older materials as well. You can order V.A.N.V.D.A 7" EP here.
JBI_XVI, the guy over b9 forum with awesome music taste posted some days ago that when he finally managed a safe deal for Sleep's Dopesmoker and while it was on its way, the news broke through that Southern Lord will be reissuing Dopesmoker. That pretty much sums up the whole re issues, re re issues for the album over the years. But the good news is Southern Lord will be releasing the "original" Dopesmoker this time as the band intended for release first time. Below is the official statement:
For the 2012 reissue, there are some very notable changes. The original studio tapes have been remastered presenting the album as the band had originally intended. The audio is clearer, louder, and at last brings a true representation of Sleep's hour-plus Weedian chronicle. Exclusive to this Southern Lord edition is brand new artwork by long time Sleep artist Arik Roper, to be unveiled in the coming weeks. Additionally, this reborn version of Dopesmoker boasts an unreleased live recording of one of the band's best all-time performances: "Holy Mountain" from San Francisco's I-Beam in 1994.
As stated before, Melvins have released a new EP The Bulls&The Bees through Scion A/V for free download. For the occassion, they released a video for the track The War On Wisdom which you can watch below. Melvins will be releasing another LP Freak Puke this year under the moniker Melvins Lite on June 5th via Ipicac. Check out for that.
Power Trip's self titled EP which contains two original songs and a Prong cover is out now on Lockin' Out Records. If you heard the Demo and Armageddon Tapes, you know what to expect- a hard pummeling drive. Power Trip throws crossover thrash with hardcore elements and packs a punch. The EP is offered as free download by the band on their facebook page.
Mutilation Rites are on a roll and it doesn't look like they are going to stop anytime soon. This time Mutilation Rites are going to unearth a full length LP entitled Empyrian which will come out May 22 on Prosthetic Records and Gilead Media. For the recently released EP I Am Legion, visit here.
Check out the cover arts for the upcoming Candlemass' Psalms For The Dead and Ahab's The Giant below with Noothgrush's full live performance (courtesy of Kill That Cat) on March 4th in Oakland.
Blood Red Water is a sludge metal band who released the EP Tales Of Addiction and Despair in the first week of January. Sooner the blogosphere grabbed this 5 track EP (available for free download) with open arms and the band received some positive reviews (see here or here). Upon my request, now the band has picked 10 songs off of 10 bands which inspired them in one way or other. And in the process, a playlist surfaced which you would want to jam in a saturday night with bong in hand!
Tales of Addiction and Despair EP collects 5 songs written in the first period of Blood Red Water. Our music started in the summer of 2010 in a practice room located in a disused industrial port area near Venice. It’s a really sludge and sick place and surely has influenced our sound.
Right from the start we’ve tried to create and innovate/solidify our own style but our notes are obviously influenced by the bands we appreciate. It’s a right thing if this is blended with BRW at 100%. We feel free to make the music we like, sometimes it’s more into doomy stuff, sometimes it’s more sludgy, it comes naturally and we never follow a set pattern. Tales of Addiction themes are about the sickness, the filthy and the revenge represented by a lighthouse in a stormy sea. This is what the music do for us: a lighthouse. Lyrics are pretty personal and we spoke about our lives, far away from fantasy themes.
So, here you can find 10 songs, 10 drops with no contraindication, 10 bands we love. Everyone of us has his own taste in music but this playlist is about Blood Red Water in its entirety. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Blood Red Water Playlist:
EyeHateGod - Blank
Best sludge band ever! It is enough just to say this. Take As Needed For Pain album shows EHG at their best. Monumental feedback intros, harsh voice and an incredible groovin’ sound with some slowing down riffs that tear you up. Without a shadow of a doubt they are still a great reference point for us. For the sick!
Electric Wizard - Satanic Rites of Dragula
Many doom bands were influenced by English bands and Electric Wizard with their lysergic sound leading to paroxysm (played with vintage audio equipment) is freakin out! Maybe Dopethrone is their best album but we’ve selected a song off Witchcult Today with an amazing beginning. Purest England Dope Doom.
St. Vitus - Dying Inside
A legendary band. A legendary song. Lyrics is soaked by dillusioment and hopeless feelings . If we ever made a cover version, it would be this song. (But we won’t do it!)
Queens of the Stone Age - Feel Good Hit Of The Summer
Blood Red Water has a nibble for good stoner music. This song is catchy with a controversial lyrics we totally love it. You can figure a car at full speed in the summer…
Melvins – The Talking Horse
What can we say about this band? Melvins are the versatile pioneers of slow tempos and they have an influence on our riff maker. It's no surprise that we’ve chosen this song cos our guitar player Volt is mad for the video!
Kyuss - Thong Song
It's pretty difficult to choose a song off a Kyuss album. An incredible band, 4 different minds, 4 timeless albums. This song blows us away nowadays too, so enjoy the sound of desert!
Nirvana – Big Long Now
We all love 90’s. Especially the music of that period. From Pantera to Mad Season, it has been an outstanding decade. This is a drunk lullaby with a dull shattered voice.
Joy Division - 24 Hours
A speechless beautiful fall into the abyss. Obscured. In their short life, Joy Divison have written a lot of good music. We don’t like happy music as you have gathered!
My Dying Bride - The Songless Bird
Again, our dark, slow gloomy side. Turn Loose The Swans is a melancholic masterpiece. Volt describes My Dying Bride as simple guitar riffs with impact, mellow obsessive rhythms with abrupt changes that chop you off. Figure a hunter during a shooting.
The Wounded Kings - The Cult of Souls
Thankfully the doom scene all over world is alive (and hostile), there are a lot of many many bands… The Wounded Kings are one of these. They are absolutely visionary and apocalyptic. It’s a sure sign that The Cult of Souls is a great doom song.
Ok I'm really not a fan of studio teaser, studio update, album preview or anything of this sort unless it is detailed and to the point. Surely one can argue that it's a good way of letting people know that something is coming up and after all it's a digital multimedia world. You got to ask: what's the real intent or purpose behind the whole idea? Anyways I try to avoid as many studio updates as I can but this Ufomammut's Oro recording sessions' video (may or may not be official release) is a killer. The video is bizarre, strange and unusual; just like what you would expect from Ufomammut. You can watch it above.
Ufomammut's Oro- Opus Primum is the first installment of the two series which will come out April 9th in UK, April 13th in Europe and April 17th in North America. The other album entitled Oro- Opus Alter will be released sometime in September. For the album cover art and more info, visit here.
Welcome to Freedigger Edition where we focus on a particular band which officially gives the entire album for free! But don't take things for granted, if you like an album, please buy it and support the artist (see here, here or here for previous editions).
I've been really lazy on this particular section lately but let's get things started. As many of you know that one man act Wilds Forlorn is not entirely new as Yeri Theuns started his somber journey around 2008 and since then he managed to put out two full lengths and two EPs to my knowledge. His earlier works consisted of piano but soon evolved into black metal along with orchestral /neoclassical arrangements. The lastest offering We, The Damned came out this year in early January as a free downloadable version and the album will be re released by Obscure Abhorrence Productions soon. We, The Damned perfectly follows the promising 2010's full length album The Great Loss and EP Bellum OmniumContra Omnes. It offers bleak and melancholic black metal with atmospheric arrangements of orchestral and piano works. Yeri Theuns vocal doesn't only deliver soul crushing black metal dissonance but also leaves marks on listener's mind. The extortionate guitar tones (note: check out the solo on Traces performed by a guest musician), melodic tremolo riffing are layered with blast beats on the drums which often changes into mid paced and slow paced passages. It's not your average black metal release; once absorbing it fully, you will feel the difference. Wilds Forlorn's bandcamp page is currently offering free downloads (note: lyrics are also included) but the page is limited to 200 downloads per month. Therefore a mediafire download is also offered on the bandcamp page. Also don't forgot to download earlier albums which are also available as free downloads.
Falling Down Webzine has arranged a compilation entitled Falling Down IIV after the success of Volume I and II which will contain exclusive and unreleased tracks from psychedelic, drone and post metal artists all around the globe. In addition to the Compilation Digipack 2xCDs, there will be very limited FD IIV Endless Edition which includes a CD, a DVD, visual cards enclosed in a metal box. FD IIV will come out in the month of April. For a full set of artists and pre order, visit here.
UK based doom bringers Conan's upcoming LP Monnos can be streamed over Metal Hammer (or use the soundcloud player below) which follows their promising 2010's Horseback Battle Hammer and the split with Slomatics. The ultra gnarly Monnos comprising of six tracks running over 39 minutes is their finest effort to date. Conan is finally getting some recognition that they fully deserve and to their credit, they have been asked by Sleep for opening in Norway. Get the full dates after the jump and for pre ordering vinyl, visit here.
I've been hit by a series of migraine attacks in the vein of over 100 deg.; three Tylenols with in the span of one hour but still no sign of improvement but how can I restrain myself from scavenging a little(!). Blastbeat Productions are arranging a Monomaniac Compilation Series of EPs which will contain a selection of International extreme acts with packaging done by Viral Graphics. For the occassion, they released a Diocletion track which will feature in Volume #1 that supposedly marks the band's first official new material since two years when the monster War Of All Against All hit with some force; Diocletion (or Witchrist) might be the second best thing that came out of New Zealand after Ulcerate. These series of 7'' EPs will contain approximately only one minute of contribution from all the artists. For the initial list of artists with likes of Necromantia, Conan, Mutant Supremacy, Ravencult along with those who will be mostly featured in Vol. #1 and Vol. #2, see here.
Listen to Diocletian's Traitor's Gallow here or here.
Diocletian has been recently confirmed for a live show on 25th May at Provitreff in Zurich with support from Nuclear Magick, Bolzer and Funeralopolis. For more info, contact congregrationsofruin (at) hotmail (dot) com.
Mike Scheidt of the doom trio YOB will release his acoustic solo album entitled Stay Awake this summer on Thrill Jockey. He may or may not perform a solo set before taking the stage for YOB's one off performance at The Bell House on May 23rd after which they hit Maryland Deathfest. YOB will also be featured in Scion A/V label showcase along with The Atlas Moth, Loss, Wolvhammer and Pallbearer on March 31st at The Glass House, CA.
The Atlas Moth, psychedelic sludge band from Chicago did the cover of Hooray For Earth's Black Trees which can be streamed at Pitchfork (also Kim Kelly reviewed the latest Revenge there, if you are interested in reading). The Atlas Moth's cover song will appear on the compilation of soundtracks with likes of Wolvhammer, Mathew Widener, The Austerity Program, members of Zombi for a novel by Decibel's managing editor Andrew Bonazelli named DTV. A reminder that a new black project under the moniker Chrome Waves has been formed by Stavros Giannopoulos (The Atlas Moth), Jeff Wilson (Wolvhammer, ex-Nachtmystium) and Bob Fouts (Gates Of Slumber, etc). Stream a recently released track below.
The mighty veterans Cannibal Corpse know the formula- stick to the basics- in and out, no doubt about that. Despite all the glorious reviews and praises (see here or here) for the upcoming album, Cannibal Corpse doesn't excite me anymore. They have been releasing quality materials for over twenty years now and the thing is that it has become too predictable and overly stretched out trek. Anyways, if you are interested, a new song Encased In Concrete which originally surfaced at Decibel is posted below. The new album entitled Torture will come out March 13 on Metal Blade Records.
Marduk, 1349, Withered and Weapon have teamed up for a black metal invasion throughout June. You would want to catch them for sure; I'm aiming for Toronto one on June 5th as I will be there for vacation at that time. Get the full dates here.
UK based atmospheric black metal act Desolate Winds have finally settled for a deal with Lone Vigil Recordings for the debut EP In Times Of Cold which is available for pre order now. Take a listen below along with some other releases from Christian Mistress, Jethro Tull/Ian Anderson (Thick As A Brick 2) and much more.
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Mike Scheidt solo in Chicago
Those of you who were extremely unlucky and didn't have a chance to grab Zom's second press, here's your chance now! The third press of Zom's self titled demo (with a new cover art, see above) is available on Invictus Productions. The buzz around the Irish blackened slashers were so much that within two days their initial copies were long gone. This might be your last chance, so quickly flood here and order it.
Zom will be supporting Sonne Adam and Venenum on March 8th in Berlin. For more information, visit here.
The surfacing of so called third wave of black metal is a debatable issue. Certainly we don't want to argue about it now and lose focus on the bigger picture here. The french scene with likes of Deathspell Omega (who recently ended a conceptual trilogy) and Blut Aus Nord (who are on the way of ending another trilogy) has certainly opened the door for new room of creativity and development over monotonous dreariness of black metal; many elitists may disagree here and that's completely understandable. Stretching the fact, these bands are still black metal at their core but they deal with the subject on metaphysical level rather than writing two riffs with straightforward Satanism. Improvisation takes a lot of hard work but understanding the truest meaning behind the work is more difficult. It can be frustrating too and needs a lot of brain activities in order to get even 50% of what an artist is trying to represent. So the instant impulse for most of us is to lend ears and enjoy what's going on or hate it completely. Nothing wrong with this either. The only reason I'm saying it in order to reflect the fact that not every album is for your listening pleasure, some require really deep penetration. Dodecahedron is one of those albums.
The concept of Dodecahedron may or may not be semi related to Deathspell Omega but the music alone coincides with one another closely but by no means replicating it fully. Dodecahedron is a twelve flat places of pentagonal structure which is a ratio that exists in nature and cosmos sorrounding us. Important to notice here that three vertex lines merge to form a perfect pentagram on each side which is also known to be associated with magical power. Theoretically, Dodecahedron is ever evolving and perfect solution composition wise for many factors. Bearing these concepts in mind, Dodecahedron might be the perfect name that's chosen for the complexion represented on the album. Take a closer look at the album cover art designed by vocalist M. Eikenaar- pentagonal structure encrypted with a mixture of black and white also emphasizing these aforementioned facts more. The deep level of vision with which Dodecahedron launched is the most striking part.
The shattering dissonance, alien guitar tunes with absonant riffing and avant garde elements are highlights throughout the album. With the usage of sound synthesis utilizing a different kind of technique, exceptional atmospheric layers had been built by M. Nienhuis along with J. Bonis (M. Nienhuis played guitar who is also the composer and co producer for Dodecahedron). The catastrophic album opener Allfather sets the tone straight making way for similarly chaotic but more complex I, Chronocrator as the name implicates so too; the structure of bass notes and dissonant layers implied on this track create shivers down the spine like hollow atmosphere. Vanitas is a mixture of slow and mid paced passages showing variations in vocal pitching layered with jazz infused progression. The eerie interlude Descending Jacob's Ladder will make you feel like you are steadily falling inside a black abyss where a blackened beast at the bottom is wating for devouring you. And that blackened beast is Hverfell (the name refers to the tephracrater that resulted from violent and explosive eruption). The mammoth View From Hverfell is divided into three parts alternating abrupt changes in the flow with tremolo and low end riffing while maintaining the discord atmosphere. The ultra complex chord progression is beyond my understanding to be able to write something especially on View From Hverfell III.
The album is organized in such a brilliant way that you can feel the synergy between music, art and concept. It shows the clarity of vision and the sense of purpose with which they want to come forward. Following the footsteps of their predecessors and infusing lots of innovative ideas, Dodecahedron has pushed the contemporary black metal boundary. They have unearthed such a record which is way ahead of its time; the mind can't consume it.
===================================== DODECAHEDRON - 'Dodecahedron' Debut Album by ddchdrn
Somebody said, "It's those beards!" Where from such spiritual healing power could have come otherwise? Yeah we are talking about Scott Kelly, the healer. Over twenty five years, he has been providing highest form of enlightenment- Neurosis, Shrinebuilder, solo projects, name anything he's involved with! Last year the mere news of Neurosis that they entered studio for recording new album gave me cold chills with anticipation; now Scott Kelly has announced details about his forthcoming solo album, following The Wake and Spirit Bound Flesh, entitled The Forgiven Ghost In Me which will be released in Autumn. This time the album will come under the name "Scott Kelly And The Road Home" instead of only "Scott Kelly" to emphasize the fact that it is being recorded with a four man team.
A collaboration album featuring Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till (also of Neurosis and involved in solo recording projects), along with Wino (The Obsessed, Saint Vitus) has been announced due for release in early Summer. The album is titled Songs Of Townes Van Zandt which is a tribute to country songwriter Townes Van Zandt.
Scott Kelly quoted:
Townes Van Zandts music has had a profound effect on me as a man and as a musician. I discovered his songs 13 years ago at the same time as I had already began following a new path for myself as musician, seeking to express myself through a more direct, stripped down acoustic approach. Townes Van Zandts music is not only brutally honest, he has an ability to paint a picture with his words that is so far beyond the reach and depth of anyone else I have heard to this day. I am honored to be a part of this record and get the opportunity to bring his music to people who are fans of what I have been doing, and I am humbled to be in the presence of my two brothers Steve Von Till and Wino.
Scott Kelly will embark on European Tour following his recently finished Australia/New Zealand Tour and ongoing American Winter Tour. Get the dates here.
You can catch Scott Kelly on Scion A/V where he's monthly host for KMBT radio station featuring Om, When, Bloodrock and much more this month.
Scott Kelly facebook page
Neurot Recordings official page
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Short snippet of a new song performed in Feb 29
Brooklyn's own Saló are hitting the streets hard. And what an occassion to do so! They have just released their debut EP Mangia Merda E Morte! which is a powerful combination of black metal with heavy distortion and doom. When asked about influences, Andrew Hurtado replied that there are tons of things from which Saló draw inspirations- starting from LLN, Deathspell Omega, Bathory to 80s anarcho- punk like Amebix, Axegrinder to funeral doom such as Worship, Mournful Congregation etc- and these are evident on the music they created bursting out with purpose and intent. The name Saló was motivated by Pasolini's masterpiece- Saló: 120 Days Of Sodom (adaption of Marquis De Sade's Novel). Their lyrical contents rely heavily on misanthropic and apocalyptic topics. Take a listen below and visit here for ordering (limited cassettes left from first edition of pressing).
Saló are currently on a string of live shows. In March 9th, they will open for Hate Eternal at St Vitus Bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (1120 Manhattan Ave.). If you are somewhere nearby, make sure you attend the show! Other show dates are:
March 18- St Vitus Bar with Recreant, Scowl and Brickeater. March 19- Lit. Lounge with Vattnet Viskar, B.C. and 1TBA
[ Saló are Andrew, Cedric, Eston, Ethan and Frankie]
In 2010, Odz Manouk announced its arrival on Crepusculo Negro/ Black Twilight Circle with the self titled demo tape unleashing some really fearsome black metal (with a great cover too, see above); now Final Agony Records will release the self titled LP version in April. Aside from the striking black metal, the tape had some dubbing issues although the quality of composition was pierceable. This is a good news that it will be available again with mastering and improved sound.
Wildernessking has been under immersion for quite some time now with their debut release The Writing Of Gods In The Sand which explores into atmospheric/progressive black metal region. Now for a vinyl format of the album, their label Antithetic Records started a fundraising campaign where the goal is set to $3500 within a deadline of March 16th. There are many different price points; you can find a suitable option and contribute. Also, the album is available for streaming over at the vinyl fundraiser page.
Similarly Skagos' second album entitled Anarchic needs your contribution for pressing following their master work Ast (which is available for free download/name your price). Side- A of Anarchic has been made available for streaming/ downloading on their bandcamp page which doesn't disappoint a bit; this great piece of work needs to be recognized. Chip in with $2.50(CAD) if you can and be a part of a worthwhile cause.
[Ahab in recording studio (click here for more photos)]
Ahab, the mighty german funeral doom metal band has announced some updates on the upcoming album. This highly anticipated album is titled The Giant which will be available in May. In addition, a studio teaser featuring Further South has been released.
Ahab will embark on an European Tour with Esoteric and Ophis starting from May 30th. Get the dates here.
Abyssal, hailing from UK, has unleashed the debut album Denouement which fits with the current form of black/death metal venturing more towards into technical side of things infused with sheer progression and dissonance. The overall atmosphere is dense and enriched in structure. Abyssal shows exactly how to execute and inject own mentation taking some of the ideas from the predecessors resulting in quite a unique product. The moment you turn on the album, it grabs you with unearthly force, hurling you into darkest breach. The songs are executed perfectly with thick production and the composition stands out on its own.
Behold the detuned and heavy gut crunching riffing along with discernible blackened and progressive passages with blasting chaos and versatile drumming which make the songs to take abrupt brute changes. The consistent guttural and sepulchral vocation with crushed out utters are exceptional throughout reminiscent of Demilich's Antii Boman. You can't help but take notice. This monster which spans over fifty minutes came out in early January and I had a good grasp of it in mid February. Since then Denouement did not fail to amaze me; it's a constant grower for sure. I got in touch with Abyssal and asked some questions regarding the band, album and it's future. Here is the extract.
Your debut album Denouement has created a lot of waves in the underground scene recently. Did you expect it?
Frankly, no. It is very encouraging that there is a bubbling appreciation for music which is quite unconventional and challenging.
As far as quoting genre wise, Abyssal has been tagged with blackened death metal mostly. Did you want it this way or is it something you don't care and just write the music?
Abyssal never started out to play to a specifically death metal or black metal template. The sound is largely a culmination of influences from these genres, as well as doom, ambient, sludge and post-rock to some degree. Black/death metal is however a fairly apt category to put the music in for convenience.
There are lots of bands under the same name Abyssal from different parts of the world. It's possible that people can get confused easily. Is it something you initially thought of when making a name for the band or did you guys just happen to stick with it once the things were working out well?
Abyssal was actually a fairly uncommon name in meta music when the band was first coming together. There seems to have been an explosion of “Abyssals” quite recently, including another from the same region of the UK. It presents no real problem, as we hope the music is recognisable enough to be considered our own regardless of other artists.
People are comparing Abyssal with Antediluvian and sometimes Portal. Did you hear about these bands? I think Abyssal is much more cleaner sounding production wise. What are your thoughts?
Both Antediluvian and Portal are strong influences to us; however we hope that the sound on Denouement is sufficiently unique as to avoid being labelled a clone band. The production of the CD came together as fairly middle of the road I find: far less “lo-fi” than many atmospheric bands, but also far dirtier and imperfect than the often overproduced sound of more modern death metal. We were quite happy with this.
There's somewhat good market or interest for blackened/ progressive death or extreme acts in USA. Since Abyssal surfaced from UK, I want to take this opportunity by asking you about the extreme scene in UK. If we look deeper, bands like Bolt Thrower, Benediction, Akercocke or particularly young ones such as Cruciamentum, Spearhead and now Abyssal did manage to come up. How hard is it exactly to work through the scene in UK?
The UK extreme scene is fairly strong, but very one-dimensional. There is essentially a monopoly on death metal by brutal and technical bands that are all playing variations on the same theme, with a handful of “old school” bands bringing up the rear. Black metal is slightly more daring, but still fairly static. The only other bands which spring to mind who play music which is unique and refreshing are Acatalepsy from Scotland and Sarpanitum from the Midlands.
How does the song writing process blend together?
All of the material and lyrics for Denouement were written by Axiom before being modified and refined by the band. The writing process for the upcoming release may be slightly different.
There are a lot of atmospheric interventions in Denouement adding depth in constructing distinct layers. Are these taken samples or created and written by the band itself?
The vast majority of atmospheric passages are “written” or at least organised by the band. There are obvious exceptions, such as Christopher Hitchens’ polemic between the first and second tracks.
What were your inspirations when you wrote Denouement?
Denouement grew out of a need to write music which was dark and foreboding in the spirit of old death metal, but also emotive and powerful with unique atmosphere. We find these are things that are sorely lacking in a great deal of modern extreme metal.
The logo of Abyssal is fuzzy yet crypted in a wonderful way that we get to see in rawer black metal bands mostly. Also the cover art for Denouement is well thought and observative. Any interpretations on these?
The artwork was selected specially from the portfolio of a Lithuanian artist called Kristina Gentvainyte. She is an incredible visual artist and photographer and we find her work to fit very nicely with our music. She has also provided the artwork for the upcoming CD, and even preliminary work for the one after that.
Can you give us more insights on the lyrical themes and concepts?
Abyssal’s lyrics dwell solely in reality as this is really the only honest way which we feel we can write. We find that lyrics about Lovecraft, occult Satanism or standard anti-Christianity almost always fail to deliver any degree of power or meaning to music (obviously with some exceptions). By the same token, a lot of reality driven bands tend to fall into the same old clichés of anti-war, political commentary etc. We attempt to encapsulate the chaos, uncertainty and tragedy associated with being a human being, but in an honest and poetic way. The truest darkness is that which is real, not imaginary.
What kind of label are we going to see Abyssal signing with in future? Are you going to disclose any information regarding this matter?
There are no hard plans to sign to a label in the near future. We have not yet begun to contact any labels with our release, however there is a preliminary “wish-list” for the ones which would be good to work with.
Are there any plans for overseas touring?
There are no current plans, but here's to the future. ===================================== Thanks to Abyssal for the time.
