Metal Bandcamp

Written by by Andy Osborn.

Artwork by Pierre Perichaud

Wildernessking are a band I was drawn to for their geography as much as their music. Both of my parents are from South Africa, where the most of my extended family still lives. So when I first heard that a post-black metal band from the country of my roots was starting a crowdsourcing effort to put out a debut LP, I had my credit card out before even hearing a single note. Fortunately, the music would have drawn my attention no matter where the band calls home, because within seconds of the opener to The Writing of Gods in the Sand, I knew the band were doing something special. And their quick follow-up EP solidified their place as a hard working, talented band that surprises at every turn.

Now, after almost two years of silence the Cape Town quartet is back with yet another three track offering to keep us satisfied. As much as a full-length would have been appreciated, the sheer dynamism and power of The Devil Within more than make up for its length. It shows us a group that has clearly been working on all aspects of their sound as a newfound sense of maturity and self permeate every second of the eighteen minute effort.

“Luker” and “Flesh” share a similar sense of intensity and urgency, with the latter’s vicious tempo change and unrelenting percussive attack making it one of the band’s most impressive tracks to date. They also introduce you to the new production choice the band favors on the EP. By making the vocals take a slight step back, they help to put the focus more on the swirling hurricanes created by the guitars, adding a demonic yet ethereal sheen over everything. “The Devil Within” is more akin to the atmospheric fare the band has experimented with, and as a ten minute cap to the release it works wonderfully. Exploding at the halfway point before pulling hard on the reins and drawing everything to a melancholic close, it shows the young band’s deliberation and confidence with their music.

Innumerable ideas and and relentless creative energy continue to burst forth from Wildernessking. What they create is just begging to be explored further, and no doubt will as the group continue to hone their skills as an incredibly dynamic unit. We’re witnessing a unique, extreme metal band flourish in a land where few have done before, and it’s an amazing thing to behold.

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Written by Justin C.

On occasion, I review music that isn't metal, but is what I'll call metal-adjacent, like a ukulele album from Dysrhythmia/Gorguts guitarist Kevin Hufnagel. In that vein, enter Nebelung, a German dark folk/acoustic trio whose new album, Palingenesis, is being put out by Temple of Torturous, the label home to black metal wonderfulness like Fyrnask and Melencolia Estatica.

Nebelung features steel string and classical guitars, cello, accordion, and a handful of other instruments. Keen listeners will even hear a hammered dulcimer in the track "Wandlung," which readers of this blog might be familiar with as the unusual instrument of choice for one-man black metal band Botanist. Vocals appear infrequently, and when they do, they're barely above a whisper. The music is subtle and enveloping. It's impressionistic, offering suggestions rather than definitive statements. It's like taking an autumnal walk through the woods with ghosts as accompaniment. This isn't music that will make you sit up and yell, "DAT RIFF!" It's more like, "DAT TRANSCENDENTAL JOURNEY OF THE MIND AND SPIRIT!" Above all, it's just plain lovely.

I almost hesitate to describe them as "folk" at all, since that term often suggests a more traditional kind of music, maybe even backward-looking, if we're being unkind. Not that there's anything wrong with traditional folk, bluegrass, or the standard repertoire of classical guitar. They're all fantastic swaths of music, but as a classical guitarist, I can tell you that I've played on programs where I'm the only person performing music written in the last 50 years. There's no real reason for acoustic instruments to be relegated only to nostalgia acts, and Nebelung hits that sweet spot for me with modern, almost timeless music made on acoustic instruments. At times, their compositions sound like understated versions of what acoutic-guitar virtuoso Michael Hedges played. Like Hedges, Nebelung play music with tools that some people might think of as old-fashioned, but the results stand out in an unexpected and captivating way.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Note: If you want to support the band directly, Palingenesis is also available on Nebelung's Bandcamp page, albeit at a higher price.

Written by Ulla Roschat.

When I listen to an album for the first time I do it with headphones, if possible. So I did with Drug Honkey’s album “Ghost in the Fire”. This was basically my first encounter with this band’s music. It was twice, during this first listen, that I pulled the headphones from my ears to check if the sensations happening in my head would go away when I do and I even considered shortly to stop listening at all, but I continued (maybe addiction had already set in?).

With “sensations in my head” I don’t mean pictures and thoughts in my brain, but rather in my head as a physical place, so that a strange desire appeared to open my own skull to see if there are “things” in it that had no business there ,things that were able to unleash my carefully dungeoned demons.

Drug Honkey are a four piece Chicago IL. based band that formed in 1999 and Ghost in the Fire (May 2012) is their fifth album. In terms of genre categorization the music is something like experimental, psychedelic, electronic, industrial, Sludge Doom, but actually it is a sonic mindfuck, psychosis turned into sound, endless torture and pain condensed into a lysergic addictive drug named Ghost in the Fire.

The basic structure of the songs is kind of minimalistic. There’s rarely something you could call melody or a dramatic build up. The songs are somehow crawling, creeping and wavering along, carried by riffs that are stretched and slow and barely recognizable, fuzzy heavy bass lines and an incredibly slow plodding drumming. An almost permanent, slightly varying droning background sound induces an uneasy feel that accumulates into a kind of sickness not unlike a naupathia from the soft but permanent sway on a long time boat trip.

The multiple layers of electronic effects, distorted sounds, industrial noise create an incredible dense atmosphere, a lysergic hallucinatory disturbing soundscape immersing everything in a boiling thick viscous filth, painfully slow, heavy and dissonant.

The most effective element enhancing the eerie psychotic atmosphere are the vocals. These vocals that appear in nearly every possible form utterable by a human being and often additionally electronically modulated sound strangely humanly unhuman and really freak me out, scare the shit out of me and speak to my unleashed demons.

All of this is put together so carefully and cleverly like a well directed horror movie.

The first extreme listening effects that caused me to pull off the headphones lessen of course later, which is a good thing... for one thing I have to cope with my demons and get them back in the dungeon, and for another thing I can enjoy this masterpiece of diabolical psychedelic heaviness much better when I’m not scared to death.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Notes: Originally posted on the Temple of Perdition blog. If you want to support the band directly, Ghost in the Fire is also available on Drug Honkey's Bandcamp page, albeit at a higher price.

Written by Matt Hinch.

Grind is spelled G-R-I-D-L-I-N-K.

2009 was a very troubled year for me. The Dark Days as I call them. Late that year I took an anger management class. Not because of a court order or anything, or violent outbursts so much. No, I took it because I could feel it inside me. I wanted to stop it. The class itself was a bunch of hooey but one "assignment" was cool. Bring in a song that describes how you feel about yourself. I took in a track from Gridlink's Amber Gray. I still don't know what the lyrics were, but how Gridlink "feel" was how I felt. An intense ball of negative energy; frantic and unstable, teetering on the brink of annihilation through either collapse or explosion. While Buddhist practices calmed this savage beast, Gridlink raged on with Orphan and now sadly, the monster that is Jon Chang and company is being put to rest as well. But not without one final detonation of devastation in Longhena.

For the band's swansong they take their sweet time. Relatively speaking. On previous records the longest tracks were 1:20 and 1:27 respectively. On Longhena there are SIX (of 14) tracks eclipsing the 1:27 mark, three of which are over two minutes and the final track clocks in at a Tolkien-esque 3:11. It appears Gridlink are leaving nothing behind but shattered eardrums.

Chang (vocals) and his Hayaino Daisuke cohorts Takafumi Matsubara (guitars) and Teddy Patterson III (bass) along with drummer Bryan Fajardo end Gridlink's legacy in typical fashion. (It does not appear guitarist Steve Procopio appears on this release.) They smash through barriers with boundless energy and a complete disregard for the rules of physics. Lightspeed is for sissies. As Chang does his level best to give Melissa Cross nightmares, the rest of the band does the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

Their balls-out intensity is on display right from the get-go on "Constant Autumn" with the requisite subtleties that make Gridlink so good. The end of the track features some strings that foreshadow the third track "Thirst Watcher". Are you sitting down? It's an instrumental. Nothing but violins (Joey Molinaro) and gentle strummed and finger-picked guitar that wouldn't sound out of place on a Monster Magnet album. Strange. Good, but strange.

Much of the rest of Longhena consists of the sort of blitzkrieg intensity we've come to know and love. The frenzied, face-smashing riffs in "Taibas", the tremulous melodies of "The Dodonpachi", the jangliness, discordance and mournfulness of "Island Sun", the dirty-as-fuck nimbleness of "Black Prairie", the list goes on of flat-out grind awesomeness. The way Gridlink are able to craft powerfully violent songs and still remain infectiously catchy is a skill few are able to master.

On "The Last Raven" we hear Chang step out of character and growl like a demon. Paul Pavlovich of Assuck also lends his beastly roar on "Chalk Maple". These forays into the lower registers serve an effective counter to Chang's piercing screech. When it comes right down to it, a break from Chang's usual voice isn't something the listener yearns for but it's pretty cool to hear anyway.

Whether Gridlink are dragging your bloody body behind a car at 100mph, getting all mind-fuck skronky, or working their way up the frets as a device for climax they do it all with such force and intensity. Some or all of them are going completely off the rails at all times but with total control. Matsubara and Patterson's speed and dexterity, Fajardo's inhumanity and Chang's pure, primal, cathartic release are knotted so tightly and so perfectly that Gridlink's demise is a tragic loss for grindkind.

Now, earlier I referenced a negative ball of energy. That is not to say Gridlink are a negative entity. Far from it. Personally, and I'm probably not alone, I see Gridlink as an entirely positive band. The way the band fires up the adrenaline and provides an outlet for the release of pent up aggression through screaming or moshing or whatever (like the incessant kitchen counter drumming of the past few days) is a wholly positive experience. Listening to Longhena and all of Gridlink's catalog is a way to let go. Let it out in a good way. It's freedom.

As Chang's final Gridlinkian scream dies away at the end of "Look to Winward", all that's left to say is "Glorious. Just fucking glorious."

Thank you, Gridlink.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Written by Kevin Page.

Artwork by IsisDesignStudio

If you are from Long Island, NY, you probably have a smile on your face right now. Alas, we are not talking about people who live out east, but instead a band from Austria. Mastic Scum have been around since 1992 and CTRL (their 5th full length album released in December 2013 via Massacre Records) is my initial introduction to them (better late than never, right?).

Musically this sits somewhere between Fear Factory's Soul of a New Machine and Demanufacture, with a dash of grindyness and some Ministry overtones. The album is chock full of machine gun riffs with a guitar tone that is far less sterile than you would expect from this type of music. Make no mistake, it still has that cold dystopian vibe, yet enough warmth underneath to help convey its heaviness. Vocally its the full on death metal tilt (none of that clean singing rubbish). I knew I had heard this voice (grunt, growl, choose your own adjective) before and upon further inspection, its none other than Maggo Wenzel of Tristwood fame (shame on you for not knowing who that is, which will be like 99.986% of you).

Standout tracks include "Rebornation" & "The Vortex Within" (which will make you want to scream "I GOT NO MORE GODDAMN REGRETS/RESPECT" during its final 30 seconds).

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Written by Justin C.

Artwork by Lukas Krieg

Hazzard's Cure self-describes their music as "epic blackened stoner thrash." I'm usually dubious of these kinds of label mash-ups, but if Ulla's recent review of buioingola has taught me anything, it's that sometimes these multiple-genre descriptions can make a surprising amount of sense.

The breadth of Hazaard's Cure's influence is a bit easier to discern on their self-titled full length, but their EP The Ugly nicely shows off the mix, too. The first two tracks on the EP are firmly rooted in stoner metal. The vocals are delivered in a raspy holler reminiscent of High on Fire and Baroness. The bass playing is a highlight, prominent in the mix and straddling the line between melody and rhythm. The drums easily shift between quiet shuffle and blasting, and the guitar pulls a similar trick, from tremolo riffs, to quiet atmosphere, to even a little Santana-style soloing in near the end of the title track. It's a classic rock foundation that doesn't sound dated, but one that's been angered up to a much heavier level.

Photo by Taylor Keahey.

If there's any question about the "blackened" part of the description, it's nicely resolved by the third track, "The Body Amorphous," which features lead vocals from Laurie Sue Shanaman of the late, great Ludicra. With her unmistakable ferocity over blackened, winding guitar lines, you suddenly get an idea of what would have happened if Jefferson Airplane, instead of morphing into the poppy Jefferson Starship, had instead invented black metal and became Jefferson Plague. That probably sounds like I'm making fun, but nothing could be further from the truth. Jefferson Plague is something I didn't know I needed in my life until I heard this track. I would have loved more of this, but as it is, this EP is a great introduction to the band for anyone who likes their stoner metal with a hefty dose of rage.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

After a quick perusal of Wraith Productions newly opened Bandcamp page, I expected to write about Ptahil's hook laden take on rip and roll black metal on For His Satanic Majesty's Glory (which I remembered from Islander's enthusiastic review over at No Clean Singing). But to my surprise I discovered I needed some depressive, and very atmospheric French black metal in my life; hence Wolfshade - When Above...

The songs on When Above... take their cue from the ebb and flow of post-rock. Atmospheric passages lulls you with their almost ambient grooves, and is then punctuated by the genuinely tortured screams of Kadhaas. Stately riffs carries his desperate vocals (check out "Bene Elohim" at around 1:43 for a great example); the combination creates a beautiful tension, accentuated by the discrete orchestration and the heavy use of jarring cymbals in the programmed drums.

And yeah, those drums. Typically programmed drums are made to sound as real as possible. Here Wolfshade made no attempt to hide the fact, plus the production puts them pretty much in your face. The programming is intricate though, and the "programmed" sound (sometimes deliberately clunky like in "Le Réfugié des Passions") creates even more of that beautiful tension. Toss in stellar guitar work, with a few great leads, and a production that is both raw (the vocals and the drums) and warm (the rest of the music) and When Above... ends up a clear winner. As I said, I needed this is my life; check out if you do too.

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Written by by Andy Osborn.

I’m always a bit wary when diving into a long-form black metal release. They can be notoriously tricky to understand, if there’s anything worth understanding at all. Too repetitive, the band can fall deep into the atmospheric camp that worships minimalism, time-constraints and intrigue be damned. Too upbeat, both the musicians and the listener get worn out by the seven-minute mark. On Dromers though, this new Dutch trio finds that perfect balance which reveals a neatly set structure hidden behind the long, vocal-less breaks. Drifting back and forth between a few simple, yet powerfully crafted ideas, Fluisteraars execute them flawlessly with the kind of precision not usually achieved on a debut.

Kicking off a 16-minute song with a straightforward, punky riff didn’t do anything to quell my initial fears, and I sat with bated breath, knowing the next couple minutes could make or break the album. As the song quickly transitions into a slower melodic dirge and I struggled to contain my excitement, I knew Fluisteraars were doing something special. Their songs hit you with an immediacy and sense of knowing that demands attention and evokes curiosity. You never quite know what’s about to happen, and it’s this exact sense of surprise and wonder that makes Dromers something special. This isn’t Burzum worship, marketed with a promise of atmosphere hidden beneath a lo-fi mess. Nor does it have post-rock leanings that uses instrumental jam-sessions in lieu of effective songwriting. Fluisteraars have a bigger, more meaningful picture in mind, and they’re painting a hauntingly beautiful one.

The few but effective transitions and ever-evolving ideas help Fluisteraars dance a fine line between multiple subgenres within the black arts with impressive results. A far cry from bleak, cold Nordicisms, the music takes a softer, more somber approach despite the direct heavy hitting of the opening. All of Dromers continues in this fashion, bringing an almost hopeful air to the record despite the fact that it that it remains at its core a grim, intense affair. “Kuddedier” especially reminds of early Drudkh, but with even more passion that’s coaxed forth by the utterly astonishing production. I’m a sucker for a beefed-up rhythm section in this type of music, and the full-length rewards with a low end that not only gives the album more weight, but gives that added nuance of getting lost in an instrument other than your standard six-string. Tracks as a whole are largely pointless though, as the album is so well-balanced and interconnected that an uninterrupted listen results in a singular, masterful piece of art.

Truly the first big surprise of the year, I’ve already found myself returning to Dromers more times than I can count. It’s at once uplifting and relaxed, familiar yet deeply strange. Impossibly rewarding, it’s a showcase of musicians who have that rare power to grasp the listener and make them remember what they love about music in the first place.

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Written by Ulla Roschat.

Cover art by Matt Loomis

This is a pretty cool mix of Sludge, HC, Post Metal and Doom sounds that this five piece band from Chico/CA/USA present here with their full length self-titled debut album (July 2012).

There is an underlying sludge and post metal vibe throughout the entire album, but it easily draws in a lot of different stylistic ingredients in a way that all of them get their chance to take the lead and step back again.

So while in one song crushing sludge riffs dominate, the next one may sound more like a speedy HC song and yet another one offers down tempo doom riffs and then all changes into an ambient post metal atmosphere. The last song even is a piano melody totally different from all the others, but still with an ambient atmosphere.

These shifts of focus on the different elements, the many changes in tempo, dynamic and atmospheres create a great variety that surprises ever again. At times it is only a pinch of whatever ingredient that pushes the whole thing into another tone of atmosphere.

The melodies are simply captivating. They are breathtakingly beautiful and emotive without ever being pathetic or overdone, instead they leave room enough for all the other elements to blend in and everything goes together surprisingly well. The vocals are perfectly complementing the melodies as well as the sludge or doom riffs.

Here, great musicianship and creativity meet to bring us an album of an individual style, nine songs, tightly written and straight forward going, with a total running time of 30 short minutes and pure listening joy. Highly recommended.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Originally posted on the defunct Temple of Perdition blog.

Written by Matt Hinch.

Artwork by Orion Landau

It took far too long for Lord Dying's Summon the Faithless to make its way across my ears. There's no excuse other than time. But better late than never and playing catchup is a way of life. It just sucks that I could have been rockin' something this rad months ago.

The Portland group's debut full-length may not win any awards for innovation but it's one helluva fun record. Sludge is one of those genres where following convention with competency will usually do the trick for fans of the style. Summon the Faithless is a sludge record plain and simple but it's a really good one.

Photo by Pedro Roque.

Riffs, riffs and more riffs bowl their way through the album's 40 minutes, but not at the expense of dynamics and flow. Lord Dying lay on the speed when they want but can also slow to a crawl. The easiest comparisons (and obvious ones) would be to High on Fire and Kylesa. Power and grace. Savagery and melody. Just blending those two heavyweights would be good enough. But I for one can sense a little more darkness. Think of bands like Birds of Prey and -(16)- and you get the idea.

Photo by Pedro Roque.

Summon the Faithless is catchy as all get out and is loaded with the kind of energy that boils the blood and leads to destruction of property. Or bodily harm. When Lord Dying bring the hammer down it hits with all the force of Bigfoot clubbing you over the head then dragging your limp body through the woods for a while at full sprint.

So basically, if you're a sludge fan who likes huge riffs, ripping solos, straight shooting, raw, whiskey-soaked vocals and physically intense albums with songwriting that holds on and never lets go, then bow to Lord Dying and Summon the Faithless. But not really. No one is expecting you to bow. Just chug a few beers and bang your head!

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Written by Aaron Sullivan.

Pennsylvania’s Vindensång return after 6 years with their second album Alpha. Their brand of Ambient is combined with Folk and a light dusting of Black Metal to create a unique sound, that on their latest album finds the band expanding upon.

The opening sounds of "The Eternal Return" pick up where the band left off on Terminus: Rebirth in Eight Parts... - but just a ways into the song and in come the drums along with a great vocal thing they do through most of the album. A whispered rasp vocal is layered underneath a throaty harsh style vocal. But neither so harsh as to obscure the words they are singing. Where as Terminus was a concept album, where songs blended into the next with no pause in between, Alpha has a central theme, but the songs stand alone. They are also more song like (if that makes sense); they seem to have a beginning, middle, and end. The drums are very prominent in the mix, something I love. They have this tribal feel to them. With the first few listens I felt as though their was something familiar about the album, aside from the Vindensång sound. Then it hit me. At times I am reminded of another Ambient masterpiece, Ulver’s Shadow of the Sun. In no way is this a rip off. It’s the mood that is the same, not the album. The way they can be so sparse and so atmospheric, yet touch you at your core. Albums you can get lost in and with each listen pick up something you may not have heard before.

As big fan of this band their return was one that excited me. But like with every band that has a new album you wonder will they still excite me the same way. Well Vindensång have done just that with Alpha. Six years is a long time to wait, but it was well worth it. While it may be early, I have little doubt this album will be on my year end list for 2014.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Written by Justin C.

Artwork by Kikyz1313

I faced a challenge when writing about Immortal Bird: My esteemed colleague, Andy Osborn, said the songs on their EP Akrasia reminded him of "a death metal Ludicra." That's high praise in his book and mine, and it's also one of the most succinct ways of describing Akrasia. But just in case you weren't convinced to check it out after seeing it on both Andy's year-end list as well as mine, I'll throw some more words at you to try to sway you.

Rae Amitay has shown her drum prowess in lots of bands--including Woods of Ypres, Thrawsunblat, and Mares of Thrace--but she also provides the vocals for Immortal Bird. They're a vicious rasp, and one might be forgiven for thinking the lyrics "I'll chew on glass / I can't swallow my pride" from "Ashen Scabland" might be literal, not figurative. There are a lot of choice sensory moments in the lyrics, too, including a nest that "reeks of disease / soaked with mites and fleas" and the observation that it's "hard not to scream / when steel wool is your blindfold."“Akrasia” means acting against one’s better judgment, and lines like “I’ll be your great regret / the one that makes you pray for death” brings the point home. My own regret is that I didn’t get this review done before Valentine’s Day, because this EP is clearly for lovers.

The guitar and bass--by Evan Berry and John Picillo, respectively--do more than just keep up with Amitay’s vocals. There's a great variety of riffs here, from the swarm of angry insects on "Spitting Teeth" to the pairing of black metal dissonance and Pantera-esque grooves in "The Pseudoscientist." There are even moments of respite, like when the guitar switches to quiet, muted arpeggios in "Ashen Scabland" while Amitay asks, "Where do you think you'll go when you die?" Well, maybe "respite" isn't the right word...

None of the tracks are particularly long, and there's only four of them, but Akrasia has a full-album feel. The fact that they can pull elements of death and black metal together and juggle them while still maintaining a clear band identity makes me hope for a full-length, and soon.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Written by Craig Hayes.

Artwork by David Herrerias

Stygian Swedish band Irkallian Oracle formed in 2012, and while they hail from Gothenburg, you won’t find a hint of that city’s famed melodic death metal on the band’s debut, Grave Ekstasis. Instead, what you will encounter is underworld Babylonian mysticism, hermetic existentialism, and apocalyptic occultism; all boiling in a cauldron of arcane black and death metal. Originally released on cassette by underground label Bolvärk in 2013, Grave Ekstasis quickly sold out on that format, and it’s now in the hands of Nuclear War Now!—with the vinyl and CD reissue of Grave Ekstasis no doubt set to bring Irkallian Oracle further into the light.

That, in of itself, presents an interesting dichotomy; because Irkallian Oracle’s “ultra-void vibrations” are wholly suited to the vaults of the rare and obscure. The band’s prophecies may well unearth, or more accurately, disgorge, forbidden knowledge with a primordial and esoteric accent, but Irkallian Oracle’s revelations are more fitting for a close-knit and select cabal of listeners.

That’s not to do the band’s heavily ritualistic sound an injustice, or suggest Irkallian Oracle should limit its audience per se, but Grave Ekstasis is simply cult metal, for the discerning listener. Of course, we don’t live in an age where underground bands remain hidden anymore; anyone with access to the internet can attest to that. So, in order for bands to retain a sense of mystery, or exhibit powerful philosophic or aesthetic expressions of enigmatic and dark metaphysical thought, they need to communicate an all-encompassing vision. One that negates that the idea that spirituality is irrelevant or even absurd in this day and age, while also questioning whether this epoch, spilling over with all its scientific confidence, is really providing all the answers.

Some bands scoff at scepticism while bringing to mind the questions science can’t answer extremely well—see Antediluvian, Grave Miasma, Dead Congregation, Cruciamentum, Teitanblood, Necros Christos, and Vassafor, for a start. Like those band’s, Irkallian Oracle uses black and death metal to weave a sense of conceptual cohesiveness throughout it’s work, with Grave Ekstasis’ magik motifs and thoroughly murky musicality combining to not only speak of matters unearthly right now, but also to ask what comes when our existence in this realm ends.

Are we headed for a dimension where post-existence becomes pre-transcendence, or are we facing a void full of the horror of nothingness? Are we destined for a sphere where the sky bleeds red from the arteries of gods, or is death followed by a spectral existence, where notions of logic, ego, awareness, perception, or reality are rendered meaningless? Who’s to know, until we all get there, but those are the kinds of pathways of inquiry that Irkallian Oracle explores and evokes for 45 fantastically forbidding and phantasmal minutes on Grave Ekstasis.

Irkallian Oracle is here to shatter the illusion of selfhood on lengthy tracks like “Ekstasis” and “Dispersion”, while the 10-minute-plus chronicles, “Iconoclasm”, and “Absenta Animi”, tear the gates to the abyss wide open. Irkallian Oracle’s sound is dense, down-tuned, icy, churning, and is steeped in the swirling waters of thick and asphyxiating doom. Vocals are buried on Grave Ekstasis, with throat-slit growls untangling themselves to fight to the surface, while drums batter away in caverns as glimmers of experimentalism arise--the kind featured in the works of Abyssal or Mitochondrian, or in the oppressive, choking timbre of Portal.

In truth, Irkallian Oracle isn’t providing anything musically innovative as such, but that’s not to say the band isn’t wielding its abrasive arsenal superbly. Grave Ekstasis's claustrophobic crawls come with repetitive, clawing refrains that strip away the bounds of now, encouraging a state of being that mines the possibilities of otherness. Any question that Irkallian Oracle aren't fully aware of their chosen realm of exploration is rendered mute, because Grave Ekstasis avoids any of the superficial otherworldliness of trend-hopping occult death metal, and sounds exactly like a band committed to digging deep into the grottos of the underworld should.

Irkallian Oracle describes it’s ethos/objectives/text in many cryptic ways, but perhaps what suits Grave Ekstasis best is, “a prophecy of black stars revealed as an oracle..." Certainly, Grave Ekstasisfeels like esoteric wisdom is being divulged, but it’s also a murky, squalid, and sepulchral album, so it's not granting you any immediate answers to anything. Like the best black and death metal communiqués set on unveiling sinister gospel, Grave Ekstasis's sonic reverberations serve as a catalyst; something to pierce the veil, and offer a glimpse of the beyond, through a crack in the wall of reality.

I guess, in the end, it’s up to you to push on through; question is, how much do you really want to know?

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Written by Ulla Roschat.

Upyr are a five piece band from Sofia/Bulgaria. They formed in 2012 and released their demo album Altars/Tunnels one year later in 2013.

What they present on their demo is basically blackened Doom, and Upyr pretty much stick to these basics to create four tracks of monolithic heaviness with an atmosphere of utter darkness, the fundamental simplicity of doom that makes the unearthly and uncanny sound earthy and natural.

The four tracks though, each about 10 minutes long, are unique and diverse, despite all simplicity. The opening track, being the most “traditionally” structured song, sets the mood of a dark, black and slightly cultish/gothic Doom soundscape. The next one drags you deeper down into this mood getting even gloomier and slower. The third track I wouldn't even call a regular song, it’s more or less a hypnotic recitation of Aleister Crowley’s poem Hymn To Pan accompanied by a repetitive melody provided by the guitars only, and the last one is bracingly chaotic and cacophonic. All songs are carefully constructed, with slow build ups that keep the tension to the point, with tempo shifts going easy and seamless from funeral pace to mid tempo.

A really outstanding and defining element in Upyr music are the vocals. The vocalist’s sonorous hypnotic and charismatic voice (once again I’m falling in love with vocals), is used as clean vocals, spoken or whispered words, dark growls or black metal screams, add a great deal of texture and facets of mood to the songs.

Altars/Tunnels is an album with a rich doom atmosphere that simply sucks you in right from the beginning and keeps you there, mesmerized, until the last sound dies away.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Written by Ulla Roschat.

Album art Timur Khabirov

Electricjezus are a two piece band from Moscow/Russia. Грязь Поколений is their debut album, released in Feb. 2013. The music has strong roots in crusty HC Punk, Sludge and Doom, but its branches breathe in like everything and so the fruits and blossoms are quite full flavored. There’s a lot of Stoner, Black, Post Metal as well. It’s a blend of many different styles, but each song is focused differently and all have their own character.

What I hear in all of the seven songs is a lot of “we don’t give a fuck what you think. We play what we want and do it the way we want. If you happen to like it, well that’s great.” Oh and I happen to like it a lot! What I also hear in all of them is a direct and raw sound that is due to their unconventional recording method …“It (the album) was recorded entirely on analog equipment and it fully live record, we recorded the album close to reality and it sounds exactly as we sound on live performances. During recording, we used analog equipment from different years and from different countries, old Soviet synthesizers, old piano, use ride cymbals or broken crash with piece of metal for hi hats, use old microphones.”

There’s a kind of charming “you get what you hear” attitude to it that serves the music well. It’s bracingly unpolished and abrasive, and it flings the angry sludge riffs and hardcore punches directly into your face. The horror movie samples enhance the mood of the songs and give them some cranky creepiness (and twisted sense of humor? maybe that’s just me). And then I also hear a vigorous pleasure of playing that brings a vigorous pleasure of listening. Highly recommended!

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Originally posted on the defunct Temple of Perdition blog.

Written by Dave Schalek.

Very little is known about Pennsylvania’s Dumal, a black metal outfit playing semi-melodic, war themed black metal with a crunchy guitar tone and rasped vocals. The drums sound a bit weak, but the catchy, riffy guitar playing more than makes up for the relative lack of depth. This four song demo was originally released on cassette, although calling a release limited to 10 copies hardly constitutes a “release”. Well, that’s what Bandcamp (and this site, for that matter) is for. Recommended.

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Cold, barren, and grim, Italy’s Orhorho play stripped down, rather thin black metal with a rotten atmosphere, deep vocals, and a fuzzy background anchored by an audible bass. This three song demo of untitled tracks is thematically based around an ancient African occult princess is the debut from Orhorho, a duo with connections to Gottesmorder. Orhorho vary their delivery with tempo changes, moments of hypnotic drone, and surprisingly dynamic songwriting. A few tribal elements creep into the third song, a standout track, and Orhorho are worthy of investigation.

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New Zealand has a way of churning out rancid blackened death metal with bands such as Diocletian, Witchrist, and Heresiarch leading the way. Add Trepanation to that list with Hideous Black Abyss, their debut demo. Consisting of very powerful blackened death metal with muted, high pitched rasps, Hideous Black Abyss nicely straddles the line between black metal, death metal, and even grindcore and crust with a very fast approach and short songs. A swirl of riffs and blastbeats are backed up by a very powerful, bottom heavy production that gives the whole affair a thick layer of miasma.

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Cover art by Jose Gabriel Angeles

Oakland’s Caffa are treading the ground laid down by Hellhammer and early Sodom, a standard that’s now held high by bands such as Coffins, Teitanblood, and countless others. Caffa combine the deep heaviness of their influences with some dynamic songwriting and a few tempo changes, enough to distinguish themselves from countless other bands. Released by Transylvanian Tapes, Day of Disease is deeply heavy and is sure to satisfy fans of the early, primitive days of death metal.

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Day Of Disease from Caffa immediately led me to browse a few other releases from Transylvanian Tapes, and this demo from Fiend immediately stood out. An all out blast of thick, heavy grindcore with guttural vocals, this seven song demo clocks in at about seven minutes and demands multiple hits of the repeat button. Nihilistic and caustic, Fiend, from Fresno, California, should be the next big thing if there’s any justice in the world. Wow.

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Written by Steven Leslie

Artwork by Mark Riddick

Greek misanthropes Burial hordes return with eight new hymns of demonic devastation over 40 minutes. It’s been six years since the bands last full length, and there have been some changes in the bands core sound. While it still remains clearly rooted in the black metal realm, Incendium incorporates many more death metal elements than on previous works. This is most noticeable in the vocals of Cthonos. Bearing little resemblance to the more traditional second wave screeching commonly associated with black metal, Cthonos instead opts for a relentless roar. Sometimes coming off as a slightly less processed Demigod era Nergal at certain points. Don’t get me wrong, Burial Hordes always had a bit of deathly influence in their vocal attack, but this album moves them further into the death metal territory, with only the occasional more feral black metal sound being used to highlight specific sections. The vocals are also very prominent in the mix, which increases the barbaric brutality of their assault.

The production and mixing are another significant change in the bands overall sound. While previous albums had a much more primitive sounding production, which fit those albums really well, then new one is much cleaner. Unlike many modern bands however, Burial Hordes has managed to keep a dark and deranged feeling in the music. While the production is improved, it has not sucked the life out of the bands music. Instead it highlights the bands new more death-orientated approach, and the fact that they have improved technically as both musicians and songwriters. There are some searing riffs and even brilliant subtle bass runs incorporated in songs like "Scorned (Aokigahara)", which nods to the dissonant melodies of the current French black metal scene. It’s a quality blend of Greek mysticism, Polish barbaric blackened death metal, and French dissonance.

I must admit that as a long time Burial Hordes fan, the first listen threw me for a bit of loop. While I hadn't listened to earlier records in quite a while, I really was expecting a much more traditionally second wave influenced black metal record. Listening back to the older records, I realized that these deathly elements were always present, just not pulled to the front as they are this time around. Subsequent listens have led to me to appreciate the new approach the band takes. This is overall, one hell of a demonic slab of blackened death metal. Burial Hordes does a great job of keeping this album from becoming a one-dimensional sonic bludgeoning. While the album starts out with a couple of blistering, relentless slabs of bone crushing black death, later songs play with pacing and an increased use of melody and atmosphere. There are enough quality riffs and nuanced songwriting to be able to differentiate different tracks, while keeping the overall vibe and mood consistent. Overall, this is worth a listen for anyone who has been a fan of Burial Hordes in the past or anyone who appreciates a masterful blending of black metal and death metal.

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Written by Justin C.

North's last full-length, The Great Silence, was a sprawling epic of atmospheric sludge, and an album that both I and Aaron Sullivan enjoyed quite a bit. (He saw fit to put it on his 2012 best-of-year list.)

Their new EP, Metanoia, finds the band in similar sonic territory, but with a more stripped-down feel. This probably isn't surprising, because this EP credits only three of the original members from The Great Silence. The press notes mention a lot of internal struggle in the band, struggle which apparently almost ended the group completely. That would have been a shame, because Metanoia is a powerful emotional statement. The word "metanoia" means a spiritual conversion, usually through repentance, and there's definitely a sense of bittersweet triumph in the music.

As I mentioned, the band may be stripped down in membership, but that's not to say their compositions are any less epic. You'll still find plenty of jangly, chiming atmosphere mixed with 10-ton riffs and gravelly bellows, but there's also an immediacy to this EP that's very compelling to me. All of the tracks are excellent, but "Nefelibata" is a stand out for me. The word "nefelibata" is Portuguese, and it appears to roughly translate to someone who lives in their own imagination, but perhaps better described as someone who treads the space between idealistic dreamer and iconoclast. There's a duality to the song itself, a mix of quiet synths and swelling, aching vocals, which are somehow delicate and melodic in spite of being close to growls. The guitars build, grind, stomp, and echo, sometimes in the course of just a minute or two, and the rhythm section carries everything deftly along. I had a visceral emotional reaction to this song the first time I heard it, before I'd looked up what the song title meant or read anything about what the band may have gone through to achieve it. It's possible I'm just projecting my own desires to survive and triumph through rough times in my own life, but I think it's just as likely North has achieved something truly touching.

I could talk on about the other three tracks at length, but now's as good a time as any to tell you to just go listen for yourself. The band describes this as "the transition EP," but taken the wrong way, that might do the music a great disservice. North may be on their way to new territory, but the journey of this EP is well worth lingering on.

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Written by Matt Hinch.

Artwork by Noel Mueller

In January I reviewed a little EP by Myopic. That release was put out by Grimoire Records. It's a nifty little operation they've got going over there. Everything is handled in house. Production, mix, master, even art and promotion. This month's Grimoire release features West Virginian black metallists Torrid Husk vomiting forth a three-song EP Caesious.

Reportedly recorded in a cabin in the woods, the three tracks on hand certainly give off that vibe of natural isolation with feral, primitive exaltation to elder gods. "Cut with Rain" is all searing black metal. Torrid Husk really lay it all out in terms of unabated speed. The riffs are more or less typical black metal swept through the forest, up and down hills and valleys on malevolent winds. The percussion (Tony Cordone) is absolutely relentless pushing the tremolos above the tree line. Guitarist/vocalist Tyler Collins' rasp fulfills the requisite evil quotient to inspire the clenching of invisible oranges. On this track, was well as the other two, when Torrid Husk slow things down the entire aura draws inward and impresses firmly upon the heart.

"Thunder like Scorn" continues the obsidian barrage but is punctuated with brief crunchy hammerblows. It's visceral on all accounts. Dancing riffs accelerate to supersonic speeds before giving way to a melancholic and quiet midsection. The track's later half sees soaring riffs float above the thunderous percussion and progressive bass (Jonathan Blanton) with a measured sense of melody.

Tremolos weaves amongst the onslaught on "Paranoia". A blistering black metal cacophony crashes down into a melancholic valley, returning with a slow and torturous tugging. A portentous vocal misanthropy carries across the bleak landscape. Torrid Husk close out the EP by raging through the night standing tall against the eldritch terrors glimpsed in the moonlight.

Caesious is eighteen minutes of blistering black metal hatred. An aura of ancient reverence clings to its essence like the fetid stench of nameless beasts lurking in the darkest of shadows. Torrid Husk's reckless abandon and infecting atmosphere reek of passion and belief.

The full moon beckons. Let Caesious be your soundtrack to its light.

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Written by Justin C.

I've probably seen Coffinworm most often described as blackened doom. It's probably as good as any, although it's still pretty reductive. Hearing the blasting, grind-like energy that opens their new album, IV.I.VIII, might make you wonder if you're listening to the same album everybody else described. Blackened-doom-grind-death-sludge might be more apt, if somewhat unwieldy, but it captures the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink formula that Coffinworm makes work for them.

Opening track "Sympathectomy" (one of many dark, tongue-in-cheek song titles) settles down from its explosive beginning into doomier territory, but the band has a virtuosic way with tempo. It slows, speeds up, slows down again, pushing and pulling under guitar and bass riffs so thick and meaty that you'll want to bite into them. Vocals come in the forms of black metal shrieks and low, death growls, all distorted beyond reason. The drums range between unhinged blast beats and caveman bashing.

Almost every song is a mini-album in and of itself. The riffs start up, disappear for a while, and come back in mutated forms. Restating a theme and variations is a classic compositional technique, but Coffinworm pushes that idea to its outer limits. The songs on IV.I.VIII shouldn't work--there are too many tempos, too many changes, but somehow they hang together on even the thinnest of threads. It's difficult to put into words, but as disparate as the parts of each song are, they all make sense together.

Is it weird to say I'm charmed by an album that's so vicious and unrelenting? Because that's the best way I can think to describe it. On every listen I pick up something new: Is that an acoustic guitar adding extra texture in "Instant Death Syndrome"? And how about the brief guitar squeals in the same song that act as a command to DESTROY, setting off vicious drum blasts underneath creeping guitar lines? And that slap bass in "Lust vs. Vengeance"! Why does it work so well?

After hearing early samples of the album, I expected a sanity-challenging experience like I had with Indian's new album. In theory, Coffinworm's album should be no less difficult and demanding, but somehow they've made an album just as punishing, but strangely compelling at the same time.

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Wildernessking - The Devil Within

Nebelung - Palingenesis

Drug Honkey - Ghost in the Fire

Gridlink - Longhena

Mastic Scum - C T R L

Hazzard's Cure - The Ugly

Wolfshade - When Above...

Fluisteraars - Dromers

Cold Blue Mountain - Cold Blue Mountain

Lord Dying - Summon the Faithless

Vindensång - Alpha

Immortal Bird - Akrasia

Irkallian Oracle - Grave Ekstasis

Upyr - Altars/Tunnels

Electricjezus - Грязь Поколений (Mud of Generations)

Dave's Demo Roundup Vol I.

Burial Hordes - Incendium

North - Metanoia

Torrid Husk - Caesious

Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII