Monday, June 30, 2014

PYRRHON The Mother Of Virtues

PRESS RELEASE
New York City progressive death metal collective and recent Relapse signees, PYRRHON (pronounced peer-on), emerge from the urban decay with a new full-length. A nightmarishly exploratory manifestation of physically and psychologically ravaging extreme metal, The Mother Of Virtues delvers a brain-twisting synthesis of clanging death metal, subtle otherworldly psychedelia, dark jazz rhythms and demented storytelling. Recorded by Ryan Jones (Today Is The Day, Mutilation Rites) and mastered by Colin Marston (Gorguts, Krallice), the nine tracks occupying The Mother Of Virtues takes its listeners on a traumatic audio voyage into the darkest portals of musical severity. Recommended for perverse souls with a penchant for the sonic acuteness of acts like Brutal Truth, Gorguts, Ulcerate, Artificial Brain, Portal, Deathspell Omega and Today Is The Day.
Elaborates vocalist Doug Moore: “We focused on capturing an organic, spontaneous sound on this album. Consequently, we tracked most of the album live; most of its quieter moments and solo breaks are partially or entirely improvised. We like to let the chips fall where they may.”
www.pyrrhonband.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/pyrrhonband

"Portugal's foremost brutal death metal band Annihilation"

PRESS RELEASE
Portugal's foremost brutal death metal band Annihilation, are excited to announce that Sept 16th 2014 will be the release date for their forthcoming EP The Undivided. Consisting of 4 songs, the EP is a precursor to the band's upcoming full length The Undivided Wholeness of All Things.
The band recently released the first single from the album The Great Cycle to great acclaim. You can purchase and stream the single direct from the band here:
www.annihilationband.bandcamp.com

message from Oberion for you

We are a Swedish black/death metal band called Oberion.
Most recently we released our debut album called "Return", which we have both recorded and produced by ourselves.
www.oberion.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/oberionofficial

thrashers Game Over have a new album

GAME OVER
Burst Into The Quiet
Scarlet Records
23 June 2014
PRESS RELEASE
Game over have signed a deal with Scarlet Records for the release of their new album ‘Burst Into The Quiet’, following the critically acclaimed debut ‘For Humanity’. Inspired by the classic Bay Area thrash metal scene, Game Over mix those influences with modern sounds and a very distinctive personality, which the new album displays in full force. These 9 brand-new tracks are made of sharp riffs, groovy rhytms and super-fast guitar solos, with lyrics ranging from the horror imaginary of the Eighties b-movies to social commentary and introspective thoughts. ‘Burst Into The Quiet’ has been produced, mixed and mastered by Simone Mularoni (DGM) at Domination Studios and features a beautiful cover by Mario Lopez.
www.facebook.com/GameOverThrashMetal

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Incantation: Dirges of Elysium (Listenable Records)

Incantation: Dirges of Elysium (Listenable Records)
In the course of time Incantation has inched from blasphemous blazing death metal with doom elements towards setting the doom sludge as the centerpiece of the music, while remaining mindful of the death metal heritage. Instead of abrupt style changes that shock the faithful listener with each album, Incantation has been careful to walk its listeners through, step by step, one album at a time, patiently shifting the gears, so that in 2014 the doom sludge components are much more pronounced, all the while announcing where the horizon is, for a dirge signifies a somber, slow composition. It’s not just that the last song, “Elysium,” runs longer than 16 minutes of monolithic funeral death doom; it’s a generalized aesthetics at work in the structures of the band’s newest work.
It that sense, Incantation has been most intelligent in the marketing of its music. Priority number one: keep your customers happy. In this genre, you will never have the mass-appeal popularity that turns musicians into intolerably obnoxious capitalists that buy castles and entire island countries. Death metal is a tough workhorse genre, particularly rough on the stubborn musicians that tour year after year to reach the audience. If you are Incantation, you are armed with the knowledge that you have a solid, supportive base within your niche. Why would you go and destroy it all by repeating the mistakes that so many bands make by “jazzing it up” or going industrial techno dubstep, rapping, glam, hardcore or whatnot, depending on the year and context in question. No, stick to what you do best; dance with the one that brought you. Incantation learned this lesson many, many years ago, after watching countless bands burn their bridges. Actually, I believe that the best is yet to come for Incantation as a band: more success at all levels is going to happen for them.
On this occasion, doom characterizes the album, while the speed factor fulfills a complementary function. After the melodic introduction, the first two songs are on the uptempo range, for sure, but after that, the doom manifests itself, and once in the grip of doom, there’s no escape, only brief upsurges of speed that soon return to the base of doom and sludge. Sometimes the speed functions as an announcement that the doom is once again around the corner. No matter, regardless of whether it’s fast or slow, Incantation in 2014 illustrates skill and experience in songwriting and utilization of melody, catapulting the sound into relatively ear-friendly vibes, and a more direct way to connect with both death metal and doom listeners, and certainly the new listeners in 2014.
Therefore, those that have supported Incantation and John McEntee’s vision for the music will find that everything in substance is as it has been heretofore, with songwriting by an Incantation that has become more comfortable in its own capacity for equilibrium in the songwriting, for doing more things, more bravely, knowing that all those things are Incantation. Doomsters/sludgers that have not given Incantation a chance because of the reputation of “pure” blasphemous blasting death metal would discover quite the surprise here. I find that the doom sludge side of Incantation has become more intelligible, due to more elaboration in its approach: melody within the Incantation sound structures have been incorporated rather effectively; and for that, more power to them. www.facebook.com/IncantationOfficial
www.incantation.com
INCANTATION - Carrion Prophecy (2014) Listenable Records

Immortal Bird

the abrasive sounds of Immortal Bird; hear the recording "Akrasia"
http://immortalbird.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/immortalbirdband

technical death metal in Midland, Texas: Decrepit Birth, Origin, others...

technical death metal in Midland, Texas Metal Bulletin Zine @MetalBulletinZn · 36m “@decrepitbirth: 7.24.2014 Midland, TX with Origin Embrace the Machine Nightmare Canvas.... http://fb.me/327p5PLku

Win FREE tickets for DongOpenAir

Metal Bulletin Zine @MetalBulletinZn · 2h “@SatanMusic_com: Win FREE tickets for DongOpenAir: www.facebook.com/DongOpenAir | @DOAconcerts @annihilatorband @GRAVEDIGGERclan @SatanMusic_com”

free album by death metal Eternal Rest (Australia)

death metal Eternal Rest (Australia) wants you hear the music
in fact, it's a free album; this is no garage demo, either; hear for yourself
http://eternalrest.bandcamp.com

Loudblast

death metal LOUDBLAST
Releases "Burial Ground"
Streams New Track http://conta.cc/1wu89w2

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

history of metal music: Metal Evolution: New Wave of British Heavy Metal

This is not a new documentary, of course, but one that many people have already seen. Maybe you already have, too.
On the other hand, if you are interested in the history of metal, of metal as we know it, conscious of itself as such, it is the New Wave of British Heavy Metal that consolidates the music.

HOD: San Antonio Blackened Death Tyrants To Drop Book Of The Worm Upon The Weak

PRESS RELEASE HOD: San Antonio Blackened Death Tyrants To Drop Book Of The Worm Upon The Weak
San Antonio's favorite blackened death tyrants, HOD, will drop their long-awaited new full-length upon the weak later this Summer. Titled Book Of The Worm, the follow-up to last year's The Uncreated Demo teaser, which Decibel likened to a "snake eating itself and a bigger snake eating the smaller snake, a kind of infinite and horrifically malign Ouroboros," was produced by Dennis Munoz, features the recording lineup of guitarist Necron, vocalist Vladibeer Reebs, bassist T.A. and former drummer Dennis Sanders and boasts eight blasting psalms of deviance, decadence and overall suffering with artwork by the masterful Jon Zig (Averse Sefira, Deeds Of Flesh, Pyrexia).
Comments the band from their den of iniquity, "Finally, Book Of The Worm is finished! Through Hell and back we went to get this completed. Comrades fell. Labels failed. Studios changed. But we soldiered forth with iron determination and it is done. Blood, sweat and sacrifice are the ingredients. Fueled by hate and blasphemy. Prepare for the storm!"
Book Of The Worm Track Listing:
1. When The Ghouls Feed
2. Den Of Wolves
3. I Am Destroyer
4. Through The Gates (They Come For Me)
5. Death Whores
6. Under Tyranny's Hammer
7. Where Are The Demons
8. Beneath The Mountains Of The Scorpion
Through a steady diet of live incursions and a staunch DIY ethic, HOD has become an underground institution of sorts reaping the acclaim of fans and critics globally for the fuck-all brand of sonic debauchery. Last Rites commends HOD's ultimately "lethal attack," and "full-on badassery," further championing their "commanding, ugly fucking blackened death slabs punctuated with micro-rending buzzsaw leads," while No Clean Singing applauds their "thrashing charge of hybridized black and death metal that's as dynamic and technically impressive as it is primally appealing." Elsewhere, Sea Of Tranquility agrees, "the band pummels the listener with straight ahead death metal insanity," while Dead Rhetoric laud's their terminally apocalyptic brand of "prime American death metal, with the right amount of space between tech-y and brutal."
Book Of The Worm will be unleashed on September 9th, 2014 via Arctic Music.
HOD 2014 Personnel:
Vladibeer Reebs - Vocals
Carl "Lord Necron" Snyder - Guitar
Trans Am - Bass
Del "The Entity" - Drums
Danny "Blackwolf" Luebben - Guitar
www.facebook.com/pages/Hod/118127951554999?ref=ts&fref=ts

THE DRIP: Washington Grind Squad Confirms Summer Excursion Through Denver Black Sky

THE DRIP Summer Tour Excursion:
7/19/2014 The Big Dipper - Spokane, WA
7/30/2014 The Shredder - Boise, ID w/ Hummingbird of Death
7/31/2014 Radio Rondevoo - Twin Falls, ID
8/02/2014 The Shred Shed - Salt Lake City, UT w/ Early Graves, Theories
8/03/2014 Denver Black Sky Fest - Denver, CO
8/04/2014 Muse Music - Provo, UT w/ Wearing Thin
8/05/2014 Fort Ryland - Reno, NV w/ Countress
8/06/2014 The Colony - Sacramento, CA w/ Xtomhanx
8/07/2014 The Britisher - Lancaster, CA w/ Brucexcampbell, Machetaso Profano
8/08/2014 Black Flame Collective - San Bernadino, CA w/ BrucexCampbell, Fissure
8/09/2014 Eli's Mile High Club - Oakland, CA w/ Theories
8/10/2014 TBA - Chico, CA w/ Theories
8/11/2014 3rd Street Pub - Bend, OR
8/12/2014 Laughing Horse Book and Film Collective - Portland, OR
www.facebook.com/thedripgrind

new lyric video by technical death metal ORIGIN - The Absurdity of What I Am (OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO)

From the sounds of it, the ORIGIN machine keeps rolling just fine with the new album. Sounds as intense as everyone expects.

new video: traditional heavy metal: HIBRIA (Brazil) - Shall I Keep On Burning? (4K UHD)

HIBRIA has a reputation for playing fast heavy metal, but on this video they show a different aspect of Hibria's metal. The band has so much talent, they have no problems doing different things, obviously. Hear the new song.

video: traditional heavy metal IRON SAVIOR - Burning Heart (2014) // AFM Records

Some people have been badmouthing Iron Savior, and Iron Savior has taken note of it. The band's response is to keep playing traditional heavy metal, regardless of whatever the "experts" say. Heavy metal is not cool. Heavy metal is not hip. Iron Savior is old. Iron Savior keeps making the same album over and over again.
Blah, blah, blah. If you support traditional heavy metal you know that all that negativity means nothing. Hear for yourself.
This one is for you.

Oceans of Slumber

Oceans of Slumber: For the new recruits out there. Here's "Remedy". Help us out and SHARE it for us!! http://fb.me/2DTcyp2wf

GRST: "left-wing black metal" from Eugene, Oregon

GRST: "left-wing black metal" from Eugene, Oregon. name-your-price EP!! You have no excuses now. http://grst.bandcamp.com/album/fire-therein

the 2nd video off new Divine Chaos album

Divine Chaos Band: Please SHARE the 2nd video off new Divine Chaos album the track 'Shadow Of God' and bang your... http://fb.me/6DTl5qVbI

the first promo video off the new Divine Chaos album

Evil EyE Records Please share the first promo video off the new Divine Chaos album for the track 'Death Toll Rising' and bang your... http://fb.me/2mqJuIKtl

old death metal Hail of Bullets at Hellfest:

old death metal Hail of Bullets at Hellfest: "@HailOfBulletsDM: http://youtu.be/3ccJIJ5V8CY http://fb.me/3EcZLxmsO ”

death metal Deus Otiosus full album stream

death metal Deus Otiosus full album stream: "@metalundergroun: Deus Otiosus Streaming Entire "Rise" Album http://goo.gl/fb/tuSxW

thrashers Death Angel live at Hellfest.

thrashers Death Angel live at Hellfest. "@deathangel: Hellfest (France) last night show http://fb.me/6KuLu9enh

BONDED BY BLOOD Official Music Video: 'Prototype: Death Machine'

BONDED BY BLOOD Official Music Video: 'Prototype: Death Machine' (2010) http://bit.ly/bMgG40

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Metal Shop is on right now

FYI: the radio show Metal Shop (out of Seattle) is underway right now, 11:00 pm Pacific Time. Click on "listen live" www.kisw.com

Friday, June 20, 2014

Just found out: metal show on the radio "Excuse All the Blood" and it is on RIGHT NOW

Just found out: metal show on the radio "Excuse All the Blood" and it is on RIGHT NOW www.kaosradio.org/listen/ Every Friday at this time. 11 pm to 1 am (Washington state time: Pacific Time). I'm listening right now checking it out. FYI.

Greyhaze Records presents a lesson on Brazilian metal

Greyhaze Records presents a brief history lesson on the legendary 80s Brazilian metal. An informative read! www.invisibleoranges.com/2014/06/interview-j-neto-greyhaze-records

Thursday, June 19, 2014

a message for metal bands who want their music on the radio: Sweet Nightmares radio show

Sweet Nightmares metal radio show says on Twitter:
KPFT METAL RADIO @nightmareskpft
BANDS FOLLOW US WE PLAY METAL
713-526-5738
Thurs: 11PM -2AM (Texas time: U.S. Central Time) on 90.1 FM
KPFT send demos to:
Sweet Nightmares
c/o Bill Bates
419 Lovett Blvd. Houston, TX 77006
Houston, TX · www.kpft.org
the DJ Bill Bates says that death, thrash and black metal bands albums and demos are welcome. Heavy and power metal are welcome, too, as prog and doom and whatnot.
But please: if you have a techno pop dance ("dark" or "extreme" or whatever) or music that is not metal, don't torture him with that stuff. No offense, of course, but Sweet Nightmares, says Bill Bates, is about underground metal music.

death metal ENDING QUEST: The Summoning (FDA Rekotz 20 June 2014)

PRESS RELEASE:
FDA Rekotz is proud to announce the June 20 release of The Summoning from old school Swedish Death Metallers ENDING QUEST. It is indeed time for some classic sounding “Stockholm Sunlight” Death Metal direct from the depths of Stockholm! The Summoning is the debut album of this three-piece slaughter brigade, which also boasts members of DESOLATOR. On offer are 11 tracks that any fan of GRAVE, GOREMENT or ENTOMBED will worship! The lyrics span suffering, pain and the dark side of this rotten life, while the cover artwork was done by ArtWars Medendesign (Master, Lifeless, December Flower etc.).
ENDING QUEST is not just another swe-death copycat, ENDING QUEST is raw, brutal and original!
Track listing:
01 – Black Death
02 – Sumerian Invocation
03 - Eradicate
04 – Evocation of Carnal Flesh
05 - Voices
06 – A Host Of Flesh
07 – Grotesque Abolishment
08 – Destruction of the Firmament
09 – Exalted and Fireborn
10 – The Summoning
11 – The Lament Configuration
Discography:
2010 – Led To The Slaughter (demo)
2011 – Vlad Tepes (demo)
2014 – The Summoning (album)
www.facebook.com/endingquestofficial

"Brutal Death Metal band from Palangkaraya (Indonesia)": INFEKSI

"Infected Carcass" EP 2014.
1. Festering Flesh
2. Infected Carcass
3. Severe Deception
4. Lust for Killing
5. Everlasting Torment
6. Intestinal Excrement
7. Lust for Killing (Demo 2013)
8. Necro Tortured (Demo 2012)
www.reverbnation.com/infeksipalangkaraya
www.facebook.com/infeksibdm

classical/opera/rock: TARJA TURUNEN & MIKE TERRANA: Beauty & The Beat (2-CD) (Armoury Records)

PRESS RELEASE:
TARJA TURUNEN’s and MIKE TERRANA’s Beauty & The Beat transcends any ordinary concert. It’s an awe-inspiring performance of a wide range of classical compositions and traditional rock songs sewn together by an orchestra and choir. Originally intended as a novel, one-time event in 2011, the show garnered critical adoration from fans and media alike. In the Spring of 2013, former Nightwish songstress, TURUNEN, and drummer TERRANA, brought these eclectic sounds to the stage again, touring throughout the world, from Poland to Russia to Mexico, all captured on the 2XCD set, Beauty & The Beat.
The compositions comprising Beauty & The Beat include classic pieces by Bach, Strauss, Mozart and Rossini, without neglecting pure rock numbers from Led Zeppelin, Queen and TARJA’s own work. It’s all combined with an orchestra and choir with more than one-hundred musicians on stage, an enormous sound, spirited drum work and TARJA’s angelic voice. TURUNEN and TERRANA complement each other musically. Whereas TERRANA bangs his drums with rock attitude, TURUNEN shines with her crystal clear voice and majestic stage presence all lulled with the warm, full sound of an orchestra.
TURUNEN elaborates: “The idea of having a symphonic orchestra, choir and Mr. TERRANA on drums was originally mine. Mike has done a recording with drums over classical pieces that I think is great. I immediately imagined it performed live on a stage with a real orchestra as a part of a bigger concept. I believe this kind of combination of instruments, particularly playing mainly classical music, is very unique. I have been making collaborations with orchestras before and I could foresee a great outcome. Our main goal with these kind of concerts is that the younger audience experiences the beauty and power of a symphonic orchestra and choir. Hopefully it will serve as an introduction to classical music for some of our fans.”
TERRANA jokingly adds: “It’s obvious that I provide the beat and Tarja provides the beauty.”
Beauty & The Beat Track Listing:
CD 1
1. Mike – Concert For Violin & Oboe (Bach)
2. Tarja – Blute Nur (Bach)
3. Tarja – Zueignung – Op. 10, No. 1 (Strauss)
4. Mike – Barber of Seville (Rossini)
5. Mike – New World Symphony (Dvorák)
6. Tarja – Song To The Moon (Dvorák)
7. Tarja – Vilja Lied (Lehár)
8. Tarja – O mio babbino caro (Puccini)
9. Mike – Can-can (Offenbach)
10. Tarja – I Feel Pretty (Leonard Bernstein)
11. Mike – William Tell Overture (Rossini)
12. Tarja – Mein Herr Marquis (Strauss)
13. Mike – Eine kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart)
CD 2
1. Tarja – You Take My Breath Away (Queen)
2. Tarja & Mike – The Reign (Tarja)
3. Tarja & Mike – Witch-hunt (Tarja) 4. Tarja & Mike – Led Zeppelin Medley
5. Tarja & Mike – Swanheart (Nightwish)
6. Mike & Tarja – Fly Me To The Moon (Frank Sinatra)
7. Tarja & Mike – Into The Sun (Tarja)
8. Tarja & Mike – I Walk Alone (Tarja)
www.tarja-beautyandthebeat.com www.tarjaturunen.com www.facebook.com/tarjaofficial www.eaglerockent.com

in case you missed it: EXHUMED/IRON REAGAN Split 12-Inch (Tankcrimes)

PRESS RELEASE:
The musical miscreants at Tankcrimes are pleased to announce the release of a split 12” between California’s favorite gore-peddling death metal troupe EXHUMED and Virginia thrashbangers, IRON REAGAN, who feature within their crossover ranks Tony Foresta (Municipal Waste), LandPhil Hall (Municipal Waste/Cannabis Corpse), Ryan Parrish (ex- Darkest Hour), Mark Bronzino (Mammoth Grinder/ANS) and Rob Skotis (Hellbear). www.facebook.com/ExhumedOfficial
www.facebook.com/pages/IRON-REAGAN/235448059864772
www.tankcrimes.com

NEWS: in case you missed it recently: EYEHATEGOD: Eyehategod (Housecore)

PRESS RELEASE
Following countless years of personal hardships, studio disasters and times of music industry indecision, New Orleans’ own EYEHATEGOD, with much relief and excitement, are proud to announce the release of their brand new full-length! Assembled and financed entirely by the band along with US label partners, Housecore Records, the self-titled, eleven-track long player will be released on May 27th by Housecore Records in North America, May 26th by Century Media in Europe, Australia and New Zealand and May 21st by Daymare in Japan.
Already dubbed, “the record that EHG fans have been waiting for; a stomping and venomous set of eleven tracks that reignite the band’s amazing propensity for down-trodden, electric blues and with their late drummer LaCaze behind the kit,” by Vice Magazine mega music portal, Noisey, Eyehategod features vocals recorded and produced by Housecore president Philip H. Anselmo at his own Nodferatu’s Lair and serves as the band’s first proper release in over a decade. The domestic version will come in a CD digipack, while the LP will be housed in a gatefold jacket. The first pressing will be limited to 1600 copies and made available in the following color variations: black (600 copies), purple (300 copies), clear (400 copies), purple and grey (300 copies).
Comments vocalist Mike IX Williams, “I have to say I don’t believe we’ve lost nary a step in the creation of this album and we think these newer songs are a killer combination of classic EYEHATEGOD mixed along with our best production, mixing, engineering and songwriting in thirteen years. The main and total tragic break in the chain, was obviously last year’s death of our great friend and drummer Joey LaCaze. However, his original drum tracks made it onto the final master recordings and we’re fucking psyched about that… As for working with Housecore, it was a no-brainer. We’ve always been a family, and will always remain a family.”
Adds Housecore founder Philip H. Anselmo, “Being a part of the new EHG record is a dream come true. I’ve known, supported and loved the guys for almost as long as I’ve been playing music myself, and it is our pleasure here at The Housecore Records Compound to have ‘em aboard. And I gotta mention, having heard the new record, this is the EYEHATEGOD record every true fan has been waiting for…. Hail!”
As a band that helped create a genre as well as equate a city with a sound, EYEHATEGOD has always remained humble anytime words like “legend” were thrown around to describe them. The thing with legends is that they grow stronger in time and over the years, word of mouth has been kind to the band. EYEHATEGOD is bigger now than they ever have been in their twenty-five plus years as a band. Pretty impressive seeing as they haven’t released a full-length album in almost fifteen years. Most people who know the band have a story to tell or they heard a story about the guys. Whether it was them playing nothing but feedback to a bewildered White Zombie crowd during their opening stint for the arena metal band in the mid-nineties, being banned from a certain venue for attacking a promoter with a barstool or cleaning out entire small towns of their drug supply, these stories spread throughout the metal community over the years, usually through a game of one-up-manship, establishing them as one of the most notorious bands around.
Certainly not the first band to be surrounded by myth and lore, EYEHATEGOD’s staying and growing power ultimately comes from the music. No one riffs like Jimmy Bower and Brian Patton. Drummer Joey LaCaze grooved and held it together with numerous bass players throughout the years, doing so impeccably with Gary Mader over the past decade. Singer Mike IX Williams has always been able to encapsulate the ruins of life through his lyrics and vocal delivery. All combined, the music is the most genuine, distressing cacophony of sound around.
“Black Sabbath mixed with Black Flag with a little bit of Skynyrd and the element of blues thrown in there,” Bower once said of the band’s sound. In 2014 that style might sound somewhat commonplace. In 1988 it most definitely was not. The band’s second album, 1993’s Take As Needed For Pain is the pinnacle album that other bands of this genre to this day try to reach. Today, EYEHATEGOD sounds as fresh and innovative as ever. When the band released its first new track in over a decade, “New Orleans Is The New Vietnam,” it was clear that nothing about the band had changed. They were touring more than ever and used that time and energy to work on an album’s worth of songs. At the end of 2012 they were ready.
The recording process for Eyehategod started with producer Billy Anderson back in the fold (he recorded 1996’s Dopesick). The session saw both producer and band not quite on the same page and at the end, the album was unfinished. A few months later, the band reconvened at longtime friend Phil Anselmo’s home studio with producer Stephen Berrigan (Down). Both Anselmo and Berrigan helped draw out the missing pieces to one of underground metal’s most anticipated albums in years.
An unexpected tragedy occurred shortly upon returning home from a recent five-week European tour in the Fall of 2013: Joey LaCaze passed away due to respiratory failure. An outpouring of condolences and tributes spread online. Enough can’t be said of the loss felt by the band, family and friends. Fortunately, LaCaze’s drum tracks were captured by Anderson and appear on the album, creating the definitive tribute for the member of the band who encapsulated best just what EYEHATEGOD was all about; seriously not taking yourself too seriously. New Orleans native, Aaron Hill (Mountain Of Wizard, Missing Monuments), took over for Joseph LaCaze without missing a beat, both figuratively and literally.
www.eyehategod.ee
www.facebook.com/OfficialEyeHateGod
www.thehousecorerecords.com

bands from Portland, Oregon have lost their minds and are trying to drag everybody else down the spiraling contorted pits of "what-just-happenedness-?" brain freeze: bass and drum duo: TOWERS: II (Eolian Empire)

WARNING: Expect the bass-and-drum weirded-out sludge-ish stoner-ish vibes.
Below is press release.
The second LP from Portland’s apocalyptic bass-and-drums duo TOWERS, aptly titled II, will be released ... as part of Eolian Empire’s continuing mission to foist the great unwashed Portland heavy underground on a now suspecting public.
TOWERS formed in 2010 after the demise of psych-garage act The Troglodytes, and by melding elements of doom, no wave, new wave, industrial, noise rock, and soundscapes into rough-hewn monolithic monstrosities simultaneously disturbing and tantalizing, thetwosome has dragged and scraped chunks and shards from all the darkest sonic territories to assemble a heavy monster in its own image. Both primitive and futurist, TOWERS transcends musical movements, molding Promethean monoliths out of doom, sludge, no wave, new wave, industrial, and psychedelia.
Recorded in full analog, at the same studio as the Shins and Decemberists, no less, TOWERS’ second LP IIis a Cremaster cycle of droney dirges, rapid-fire blasts, Lynchian soundscapes, and deviant hooks set off by barked orders, snarled decrees and haunting laments. The album starts off with a furnace growl, an ancient machine coming to life as each crooked limb cracks and stirs before being suddenly thrown into gear with a grinding off-kilter bass loop. Over thirty-six minutes II purposefully shifts through a procession of primal mutant grooves, oscillating hooks, sludgy crawls, cavernous experimental explorations, and haunting, swinging marches marked by the barked Teutonic invocations—Hell is coming! —and ghostly incantations of the wounded and beaten. IIis a huge, enveloping beast of a record that captures the unique crushing intensity of their live sets.
www.eolianempire.com
www.facebook.com/eolianempire

instrumental minddoogery jamming: EL DRUGSTORE: Plague Ship (Nefarious Industries)

WARNING: If you hate anything that is instrumental experimental, then ignore this album. This music is part space-ish, part jazz-ish, hardcore-ish, part post rock-ish and all that sort of sounds. If you are a grouch, a malcontent-type person, then this is NOT for you. On the other hand, if you listen to "all sorts of weird stuff," then you might be interested in this music.
Below is, in part, what the official press release said about the music.
Following a colossal three year-long writing and pre-production process, New Jersey’s instrumental freak attack trio, EL DRUGSTORE, has put the final touches on their virgin romp on full-length turf.
Devised by the corrupted intellect of guitarist Kevin Conway (ex-East of the Wall), drummer Seth Rheam (East of the Wall) and bassist Rolando Alvarado, Keyport, New Jersey-based EL DRUGSTORE has been discharging their mangled, aggro-technical metallic racket since 2008.
With over forty-five minutes of belligerent, bastardized, brainiac bombast, EL DRUGSTORE is at full-mast on their debut full-length, Plague Ship, the swagger of their jacked-up anti-capella songcraft unloading a dizzying array of awesomely head-scratching jam-outs. Amplification runs rampant, propelling the massive array of effect/pedal-laden spazz-riffery through the pummeling percussive whiplash without a whiff of spitty breath to be found. Plague Ship was tracked at parts unknown by the band and their cohort Chris Alfano (East of the Wall, Argonauts), and mixed and mastered by Kevin Antreassian at Backroom Studios.
www.facebook.com/eldrugstore
www.facebook.com/NefariousIndustries
www.nefariousindustries.com

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

they thought it was a goner, but the black metal came back the very next day: BEHEXEN (Finland)

from BEHEXEN:
"20 YEARS OF WORSHIP
Once again the year has changed, which means that exactly 20 years ago Behexen took physical form and first rehearsals were done with Torog, Horns and Reaper in the Diabolical year of 1994. The world has changed but the black sulphurous fire that burns in our hearts is stronger and hungrier than ever and because of this, in this year 2014 it is time to feed that furnace of Moloch more and more earnestly than ever before. The greatest sacrifice that we can give in this anniversary by being the instrument of our Lord, is the new album! The process is underway, and the formula starts to be visible but not ready. We will continue to work with it and hope that it will be completed in late 2014. Before that, during this year, we will be offering various items which bear our name, Behexen. We are going to do live-conjurations as well in and outside of Europe."
DISCOGRAPHY:
Eternal Realm Demo 1997 
Blessed Be the Darkness Demo 1998
Rituale Satanum Full-length 2000
By the Blessing of Satan Full-length 2004
Horna / Behexen Split 2004 3 (93%)
From the Devil's Chalice EP 2008
My Soul for His Glory Full-length 2008
Behexen / Satanic Warmaster Split 2008
Nightside Emanations Full-length 2012
Behexen - By the Blessing of Satan (Full Album)
www.behexenofficial.com

MOURNFUL CONGREGATION: Concrescence Of The Sophia (20 Buck Spin Release: 24 June 2014)

MOURNFUL CONGREGATION
Concrescence Of The Sophia
20 Buck Spin
Release: 24 June 2014
PRESS RELEASE
Yet another shining jeweled crown to add to the growing reliquary of MOURNFUL CONGREGATION, 20 Buck Spin proudly presents Concrescence Of The Sophia to the North American cemetery.
The ever-bereaved members of Australia’s MOURNFUL CONGREGATION hath seen fit to wake once more and bequeath to thee, feeble mortal, two new effigies of chiseled white marble doom upon which, souls torn asunder, the passed are reverently consecrated. Herein find MOURNFUL CONGREGATION continuing to advance their unrivaled painstaking style of extreme doom, from soaring majestic beauty straight down into the lowliest somber depths of hell.
Intended to an extent as an “in-between” release while the funeral directors sculpt their next full-length eulogy, the release begins with its title track, the 20+ minute “Concrescence Of The Sophia” where “the weight of all waters, and the mass of all stars” exacts a heavy toll in the timeless pursuit of mystical knowledge. The monumental main riff onerously giving foundation to Damon Good’s ardently howling leads and sepulchral lament. Acoustic interludes offering only temporary respite to doom’s forgone conclusion. On the B-side, “Silence Of The Passed,” at a mere 9 minutes in length nonetheless foretells how vast is the agency of doom.
20 Buck Spin will handle the North American purveyance of Concrescence Of The Sophiaon June 24th-- set for digital, MCD and MLP pressings -- with Osmose mongering the wares to international lands.
Following several incredible West Coast North American tours on their 2011-released The Book Of Kingsopus, of which Decibel Magazine stated, "In time for 2012, the soundtrack to the apocalypse has been released," MOURNFUL CONGREGATION will return stateside just after the release of Concrescence Of The Sophia, to make their long-anticipated East Coast debut live appearance at NYC’s five-day underground extreme music fest, Martyrdoom. Now confirmed to headline TWO nights of the festival, MOURNFUL CONGREGATION will perform on Friday, June 27th alongside Imprecation, Begrime Exemious, Geryon and more, and then again on Tuesday, July 1st, joined by 20 Buck Spin labelmates, Lycus, as well as Lord Mantis, Vilkacis and Evoken. An additional show in Baltimore has been planned between the dual Martyrdoom performances.
www.mournfulcongregation.com www.facebook.com/MournfulCongregation

Loudblast: Burial Ground (Listenable Records Release: 10 June 2014)

Loudblast
Burial Ground
Listenable Records
Release: 10 June 2014
PRESS RELEASE:
Let us not beat around the bush shall we? LOUDBLAST are legends in the French and worldwide underground scene; end of story. Not only because they started off as far back as 1985, when the words ‘death metal’ were barely invented… Or because of their Scott Burns-produced masterpieces ‘Disincarnate’ (1991) or ‘Sublime Dementia’ (1993) or European tours with DEATH or CORONER. No, if this lot led by founding member and guitarist/vocalist Stéphane Buriez are so revered in their home-country, it’s first and foremost because of their unrivalled career that saw them taking many surprising and risky left-turns without ever looking back.
Three years ago, ‘Frozen Moments Between Life and Death’ proved to be their boldest move as refuelled by the arrival of youngsters Alex Lenormand (bass, ex-LOCUS, CODE, SIC) and Drakhian (lead guitar, GRIFFAR, ex-TAAKE, BLACK DEMENTIA), Buriez and his longtime drummer Hervé Coquerel did throw all the rules out of the windows without turning their backs on their roots. The result of eighteen months of hard work, ‘Burial Ground’ goes even further. A solid mix of classic and modern influences, it dares transgressing their traditional thrash/death style of yore to achieve a much more malign yet as catchy sound.
‘Burial Ground’ is also their first record released through the LISTENABLE imprint. A new partnership that will enable them to tour Europe (and beyond!) and conquer a brand new audience, as soon as they’ve wrapped their upcoming extensive headlining French tour . So forget everything you think you knew about LOUDBLAST and get ready to enter this ‘Burial Ground’! www.loudblast.org www.facebook.com/Loudblast.official

Axegressor: Last (Listenable Records Release: 24 June 2014)

Axegressor
Last
Listenable Records
Release: 24 June 2014
PRESS RELEASE:
AXEGRESSOR was formed in 2006 in Finland and have always been heavily influenced by early thrash metal aesthetics and classics like 'Bonded by Blood', 'Endless pain', 'Kill em all', 'Infernal Overkill' . All band members have been listening to such authentic thrash metal since their early teens (remember the times before internet or even cell phones?) and gained a lot of experience in other metal bands for 10-15 years.
AXEGRESSOR grew in popularity opening a variety of foreign bands in Finland such as Dark Tranquillity, Legion of the Damned, Onslaught, Soilwork, Municipal Waste among others. The band was even chosen among 140 demo bands to play at the prestigious Inferno festival in Oslo. Rampaging festivals like Nummirock, Hammer Open air, Tuska Open Air, Finnish metal expo among many others, by all accounts, the band has become a furious proposition delivering crushing, slashing tracks of thrash metal intensity.
Admirable in their straight forward approach, AXEGRESSOR 's incisive guitars and scorching rhythms bring such conviction that you can't help but break your neck headbanging when listening to their incendiary new album' 'Last'. You've been warned !
www.facebook.com/axegressor

Incantation Dirges of Elysium (Listenble Records Release: 24 June 2014)

PRESS RELEASE:
Spawned in 1989, the last quarter century has seen Incantation through many triumphs and contributions to the death metal world. The band’s collection of demos, 7" EPs, compilations and nine full-length albums all stand as a testament to true underground death metal. Incantation’s cult-like status has seen them featured in numerous, as well as a movie and TV commercial. The early albums have been revered as classics, gaining "Hall of Fame" status by the press and other supporters.
Later works have time and time again been the inspiration for aspiring musicians and have drummed up fanatical support from their loyal followers, as well as the metal press. Their influence has touched many, and their dedication to consistently creating pure, blasphemous death metal stands to this day.
Live assaults have reached both new and old heathens who have supported them their whole career. INCANTATION has decimated stages at festivals, clubs and bars spanning the US, Europe, Canada, Australia, South America, Japan and has appeared alongside many of the scene's innovators. Having played with great musicians over the decades has shaped the live performances and recording of the band’s unique and immediately identifiable brand of Total Death.
INCANTATION approaches the world, yet again, with the same ferocity as it had in the beginning. A testimony to endurance and dedication, INCATATION brings forth Dirges of Elysium. Rally to unholy death metal, or perish by it!
www.incantation.com www.facebook.com/IncantationOfficial www.listenable.net

ENTRAILS: Swedish Death Metal Perpetrators Unearth "Voices" Via Decibel Magazine

ENTRAILS: Swedish Death Metal Perpetrators Unearth "Voices" Via Decibel Magazine
PRESS RELEASE
Resurrected From The Grave - Demo Collection To See Release Next Month
Swedish death metal perpetrators, ENTRAILS, today unearth the infernal rumblings of "Voices," via the crypt keepers at Decibel Magazine. The grim "new" ode comes by way of Resurrected From The Grave - Demo Collection, an eighteen-track monster compilation featuring the band's Reborn and Human Decay demos.
ENRAILS was initially forged in 1990 by founding guitarist, Jimmy Lundqvist, before disbanding due to his dissatisfaction with their initial demo recordings. Lundqvist continued to write however and saved everything to tape. Fifteen years passed before he decided to record these ancient relics with modern tools, computers, and some help from his accomplice, vocalist Jocke Svensson. The first demo, Reborn, was tracked in early 2009 and the follow-up, Human Decay, shortly thereafter. The demos were initially self-released on homemade CDRs and limited to just fifty copies each though it had already been decided that they would need to be repressed at some point in the future for proper audio consumption. That time is now.
Comments Lundqvist of the track, "'Voices' was made in the mid-'90s for the first time and was one of those songs that underwent a bit of a makeover for the Reborn demo. The result is a fist right to your face!"
Featuring members of Birdflesh and General Surgery, ENTRAILS tip their scythes to the teachings of Dismember, Grave, Entombed and Tomas Skogsberg's Sunlight Studio alumni, wielding their maniacal buzzsaw riffs, venomous vocal onslaughts and sordid tales of suffering, doom and the undead with the grandiose poise and divine brutality of their forefathers. ENTRAILS' most recent full-length, Raging Death, was released via Metal Blade in May of last year and earned the adulation of media both stateside and abroad. Metal Hammer noted that Raging Death "should satisfy those who are hungry for something oldschool," New Noise Magazine christened it, "an absolutely perfect slab of catchy, violent Swedish death metal," Stereogum gushed, "Now on their third album, ENTRAILS are still putting young knockoff artists to shame. Perfect for blasting, banging, and bashing," while Fearnet noted, "ENTRAILS manage to call upon the same raw energy that their founder first summoned in the early '90s, and the hookier riffs, haunting solos and occasionally cinematic sound design don't steal that vintage thunder at all; if anything, those elements help keep the material fresh, and the eerie leads, keyboard passages and hot-and-cold dynamics give it an extra infusion of horror." Added Sputnik Music in a 4/5 rating, "ENTRAILS release an extremely-solid death metal album that promises to fuck your sister and worship Satan, even if you don't have a sister. Or a Satan."
Resurrected From The Grave - Demo Collection will be available on CD and digitally in North America on July 22nd, 2014. Head to metalblade.com/entrails to stream the first single "Blood Red." www.decibelmagazine.com/featured/streaming-entrails-voices/ www.facebook.com/Entrails666 www.metalblade.com/entrails

long-forgotten and ignored 80s speed/thrash from the depths of oblivion, obscurity and silence in nowhereville Oklahoma: POWERLORD: The Awakening (Shadow Kingdom Records Release: 19 August 2014)

PRESS RELEASE:
Shadow Kingdom Records have uncovered another gem from the U.S. 80’s metal era. This time it’s a remastered reissue of The Awakening from U.S. Speed/Thrash Metal group POWERLORD, which will be released on August 19.
POWERLORD was one of those bands that popped up out of nowhere and completely fell off into obscurity. Out of all of the rare 80s US Metal diamonds, POWERLORD is arguably the very best at what they do. Their sound falls somewhere between SAVAGE GRACE and SLAYER and features professionally delivered, well written songs of the Speed/Thrash Metal variety. The Shadow Kingdom folks re-mastered the tracks directly from the original master tapes, but since a lot of the band’s memories were lost when High Vaultage Records (an obscure German label) tried to re-issue the album, there is not much in the way of bonus, band photos, or memorabilia that could be included. Intact however is the most important thing: the music! And it sounds amazing! The Awakening represents what 80’s Metal was all about. The potential to be a much bigger band was there. Alas, it wasn’t to be and POWERLORD was lost in the wave of thrash that spawned the likes of METALLICA. One spin of The Awakening and you too will ponder what could have been.
www.facebook.com/ShadowKingdomRecords
www.store.shadowkingdomrecords.com
POWERLORD - The Awakening (Full Album)

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

NEWS: Fiends at Feast / Tragic Death Purgatory Rites HPGD Productions Release: 17 June 2014

NEWS: PRESS RELEASE
Fiends at Feast / Tragic Death
Purgatory Rites
HPGD Productions
Release: 17 June 2014
Purgatory Rites, the new split release from FIENDS AT FEAST and TRAGIC DEATH is out now on HPGD Productions and is streaming in full at this location:
www.hpgd.bandcamp.com/album/purgatory-rites-split-cd
When Worlds Collide: FIENDS AT FEAST and TRAGIC DEATH join metal forces for this devastating split album! Both bands bring to the chopping block their own unique take on the fusion of Black and Death Metal, with each of their styles complementing each other, creating an aural experience of occult blasphemy and frigid darkness. FIENDS AT FEAST return to Horror Pain Gore Death with a sound of vicious hellfire and unrelenting aggression, featuring vocals that conjure up apocalyptic prophecies and sacrilegious zeal. TRAGIC DEATH from Madison, WI and harness the desolate cold of the frozen north to create songs that are hauntingly melodic, bringing to mind perilous journeys with awe-inspiring landscapes of nature and thought.
FIENDS AT FEAST strive to create music that builds upon a foundation of Old School Death and Black Metal influences, while also infusing contemporary ideas and originality. Imaginative, dark, evil, passionate musicianship with distinctive satanic lyrics and imagery. For fans of DISSECTION, EMPEROR, GORGOROTH, IMMOLATION, IMMORTAL, MARDUK, MORBID ANGEL and WATAIN. TRAGIC DEATH are a power trio that play 'Apocalyptic Metal' style; an amalgam of Black Metal, Thrash, and Death Metal. The result is a furious, unrelenting sound that not only crushes with its brutality, but also hypnotizes with a transcendental atmosphere. The vocals are introspective without compromising any aggression or venomous dictation that is characteristic of Black Metal. For fans of ROTTING CHRIST, DISSECTION, IMMORTAL, ENSLAVED and DEATHSPELL OMEGA.
Track List:
Fiends At Feast
1. Four Winds Of Destruction
2. Through Immortal Gates
3. Spectral Passageway
4. Into The Darkness
Tragic Death
5. Suffer The Salvation
6. Withering Youth
7. The Dissolution Of The Clay Children
www.facebook.com/FiendsAtFeast www.facebook.com/218tragicdeath

Shards Of Humanity: Fractured Frequencies (Unspeakable Axe Records Release: 16 September 2014)

-- Below is the official propaganda statement from the dissemination bureau for anticipation fomentation.
--
Both their band name and album title bring to mind shattered glass and razor-sharp edges. That is perfect imagery for the Memphis-based Shards Of Humanity. They play raw-yet-technically-adept death/thrash, influenced by mid-period Death, Sadus, Massacra, Pestilence and other scorching bands with a foot in two related spheres of metal. Yet their sound is unmistakably their own as well, not overly beholden to any one influence or era. Having started as just a two piece, with a drummer and guitarist-slash-vocalist, they were blazing their own trail from the very outset. Now, even with a third member added to beef up their guitar assault, Shards Of Humanity is still more likely to slash through the crowd than to submerge into it.
Shards Of Humanity self-released an EP in 2012. Now they will follow that up with their debut album, "Fractured Frequencies," consisting of seven songs of exhilarating, annihilating, philosophically-bent thrash and death metal. Unspeakable Axe Records is proud to deliver this gem from the underground. It will be in stores everywhere on September 16, 2014.
www.unspeakableaxerecords.com
www.facebook.com/unspeakableaxerecords
www.facebook.com/shardsofhumanity
Shards of Humanity "Internal Rot" (Unspeakable Axe Records)

thrashers Algebra: Feed the Ego (Unspeakable Axe Records Release: 16 September 2014)

Below is the official propaganda statement from the dissemination bureau for anticipation fomentation.
--
Algebra is superficially an unusual moniker for a thrash band, calling to mind mathematical precision and maybe pencil-snapping frustration rather than the blitzkrieg attack of Slayer, et al. But as one absorbs Swiss thrash machine Algebra's music, the name makes increasingly more sense. Both the math and the anger are here - the former in the unreasonably tight playing, complex riffs and spiraling lead work; and the latter in the lyrics, which tackle all manner of modern-day frustrations.
Take for example the opening track "Survival Nowadays" (which you can already listen to here:
Algebra "Survival Nowadays" (Unspeakable Axe Records)
Over a pummeling riff assault reminiscent of Sepultura, Testament, Coroner and more, the gruff vocalist barks about what life in 2014 has done to humankind. And it's not a pretty picture. We are soft, we are lazy, we are complacent. The song is criticism honed to a knife's edge. It would be hard to swallow if it didn't sound so damn good.
Algebra's debut album was self-released in 2012, reissued by Stormspell Records afterward. Now they will follow that up with their sophomore effort. "Feed The Ego" satiates thrash-hungry listeners with nine aggressively complicated calculations, all mixed and mastered by Andy Classen. Unspeakable Axe Records will release this album on September 16, 2014.
Band bio:
In 2008, four musicians from Lausanne (Switzerland) coming from different backgrounds, coalesced into a stable and productive Thrash Metal band. Subsequently, a period of composition and practicing ensued, during which several cover songs were played to sharpen the skills of each.
At this moment, the band’s style started directing itself towards fast Thrash Metal from the 80’s such as Slayer and Sepultura, nevertheless including technical and melodical elements of modern Thrash/Death Metal similar to bands such as Forbidden, Gojira, Testament or Pantera. The first demo was recorded in Autumn 2008, allowing the band to play some gigs and make its name known on the local scene.
The band recorded its first EP in summer 2009, followed by a debut album "Polymorph" in 2012 which was initially self-released and then reissued by Stormspell Records. In 2014, the band signed with Unspeakable Axe Records for the release of "Feed the Ego."
www.unspeakableaxerecords.com
www.facebook.com/unspeakableaxerecords
www.facebook.com/Algebrathrash

Monday, June 16, 2014

black metallers VINTERBRIS release sophomore album

today black metallers VINTERBRIS release sophomore album "Solace." Hear it at Nordavind Records: www.nordavindrecords.bandcamp.com

NEWS announcement from death metal Omnihility

NEWS announcement from Omnihility.
--
OMNIHILITY: Oregonian Technical Death Metal Squadron To Release Deathscapes Of The Subconscious This July Via Unique Leader; New Track Posted
Oregonian technical death metal squadron, OMNIHILITY, will release their sophomore full-length via extreme metal powerhouse Unique Leader Records this Summer.
Titled Deathscapes Of The Subconscious, the follow-up to their blistering Biogenesis debut, which Technicaldeathmetal.com dubbed, "top-notch techdeath,"and No Clean Singing christened, "a bruising, decimating, jolting, incinerating assault of brutal, dragstrip death metal," was tracked by famed producer Zack Ohren (Animosity, Suffocation, All Shall Perish) at Castle Ultimate and flaunts nine tracks of meticulously arranged, surgically precise, extreme metal mastery fit for devout fans of Origin, Hate Eternal and Decrepit Birth. The brain-fraying slab of audio chaos includes the menacing visual design of Mark Cooper.
Check out mauling opening number "Molecular Resurrection," at
http://www.earsplitcompound.com/site/2014/06/13/omnihility-oregonian-technical-death-metal-squadron-to-release-deathscapes-of-the-subconscious-this-july-via-unique-leader-new-track-posted/
Deathscapes Of The Subconscious Track Listing:
1: Molecular Resurrection
2: Contemplating The Ineffable
3: Lost Sands Of Antiquity
4: Ancient Ruins Forlorn, Part 1
5: Deathscapes Of The Subconscious
6: Disseminate
7: The Unnamable
8: Divine Evisceration
9: Ancient Ruins Forlorn, Part 2
Hailing from the Willamette "Valley Of Death," amongst the woods of Eugene, Oregon, OMNIHILITY -- named for the absolute belief in nothingness -- manifests intense, brutal and technical death metal; a nod to the old-school past combined with the immense speed and accuracy of death metal present, all while subconsciously channeling energy from arcane sources to destroy the minds of the multitude. Deathscapes Of The Subconscious lacks none of these attributes and brings the band to an entirely new level of prominence.
www.facebook.com/omnihility

Schammasch (Switzerland): Contradiction (Prosthetic Records)

Schammasch (Switzerland): Contradiction (Prosthetic Records)
A high-density monolith by an ambitious cast—sums up the album “Contradiction” by Schammasch, a group characterized by a grand-narrative approach to aesthetics. The vision found on the recording returns time and again to the execution: maximize the band’s strengths. The question then becomes: what are the band’s strongest points? Clearly, Schammasch rejects the hobby mentality of a group getting together, having some drinks, and jamming out some tunes just for fun and giggles, to have something to do when they are bored.
No. Epic greatness is their objective. If forced to reduce to a sentence: Schammasch is midtempo, chugging, “cold,” post-black metal with slow passages and some bursts of speed here and there. I have listened to the album many times and it is a time-consuming two-part project. Part 1 is five songs, for a total time of 38 minutes; part 2 is four songs, for a total time of 46 minutes. Undoubtedly, they want to create music that stands above normal, by-the-numbers metal.
Therefore, look into this album if chugging, cold, semi-industrial-like, groove-oriented “black metal” appeals to you, or if you tend to investigate bands that make long albums that require attentive listeners.
www.schammasch.bandcamp.com www.schammasch.com
www.facebook.com/SCHAMMASCH
Schammasch - Serpent Silence
Schammasch - Until Our Poison Devours Us (HD)

Sunday, June 15, 2014

DEATH IN DEFIANCE

death metal from Spokane, Washington state: DEATH IN DEFIANCE. Just found out right now. Listening right now, too. www.reverbnation.com/deathindefiance

Saturday, June 14, 2014

metallerians archzealotries INDONESIA, part 3: the metal of GODZICK

The growling metal of GODZICK has a new album for this year. They have two songs (from the album) that you can hear at the link below.
The title of the album is "Resurrection" and it has the following songs. "Seven Deadly Sins" and "Hoppers" are available for streaming.
1. Huitzilopochtli Wept
2. Seven Deadly Sins
3. Oblivion
4. Landmine
5. Resurrection
6. Hoppers
7. Fog of War
8. In the Laps of the Gods
9. Takdir Gelap
www.reverbnation.com/Godzick_ThrashGrind
www.facebook.com/pages/Godzick/126546000862626
These zombies are the ones that like the music of Godzick.

metallerians archzealotries INDONESIA, part 1: black metal NOSFERATU

The black metal devoted with an interest in the genre in the world over, for you here is Nosferatu.
discography:
Empire of Vampire Full-length 2008
Indonesian Swedish Brotherhood Split 2010
Unlight Single 2013
www.reverbnation.com/nosferatuindonesia
www.facebook.com/Nosferatu.Indonesia.Official

NEWS about old-style doomsters CARDINALS FOLLY

Below is the press release about the upcoming album by old-minded CARDINALS FOLLY
Shadow Kingdom Records will release Our Cult Continues!, the sophomore album from Doom Merchants CARDINALS FOLLY on August 19. Even more memorable than the well-received debut Such Power is Dangerous!, the new one is a step up in every way, not the least of which occurs in the songwriting department.You may even detect bits of the sound of albums like WARNING’s Watching from a Distance and 40 WATT SUN’s The Inside Room creeping in from time to time. If you’re into collecting underground Doom Metal, check this band out. Fans of CATHEDRAL, REVEREND BIZARRE, and WITCHFINDER GENERAL must absolutely hear this album.
Stream the title track and “Fallout Ritualist” here: www.shadowkingdomrecords.bandcamp.com/album/our-cult-continues
Track Listing
1. Chant of Shadows
2. Morbid Glory
3. The Black Baroness
4. Our Cult Continues!
5. Sighisoaran
6. Walvater Unveiled
7. The Lover’s Crypt
8. Fallout Ritualist
www.facebook.com/cardinalsfolly

NEWS about "atmospheric death metal" SEPTICFLESH

Below is the press release about the upcoming album by veteran metallers SEPTICFLESH.
Greek symphonic death metal quartet SEPTICFLESH -- whose eight albums and performances on tour alongside the likes of Cradle of Filth, Amon Amarth, Gorgoroth, Satyricon, Children of Bodom and more have earned the group international acclaim -- have signed a new North American deal with Prosthetic for album #9.
SEPTICFLESH brings a unique sound to the table, a combination of orchestral and classical influences mixed in with death metal riffs and brutal vocals. The end result is a hauntingly captivating aural experience that has revolutionized the term “Dreamy Death Metal”.Formed in 1990 by current members Sotiris Anunnaki V. (guitar, clean vocals), Seth Siro Anton (bass, vocals), and Christos Antoniou (guitars, orchestra) they released their first EP, “Temples of the Lost Race” ---which was rerecorded and released as part of their fourth album “A Falling Temple”—and were quickly picked up by Holy Records. They released their first full length album “Mystic Places o f Dawn” which caught the attention of Nuclear Blast, who featured the track “Return To Carthage” --from their sophomore album, “Esoptron”-- on the label’s ‘Death is Only The Beginning III” compilation.
Furthering their talents and focusing in on their neoclassical influences, female soprano vocalist, Natalie Rassoulis, was then added to the lineup for their next two releases, “Ophidian Wheel” and “A Fallen Temple”. Catching the attention of legendary producer Fredrik Nordstrom (Opeth, At the Gates), they headed to Swedish Studio Fredman to create their fifth release, “Revolution DNA”. This release gained the band much popularity, attracting fans with its haunting imagery, intense guitar melodies, and theatrical vocals.
The band parted ways with Holy Records and signed to Hammerheart (now known as Karmageddon Media) for their release of “Sumerian Daemons” in 2003. At this point the band decided to split up and work on different and pre-existing projects. Christos focused his work on Chaostar, while Sortiris started a solo project under the name of Aenaos. Although after four years, the band reunited for the 2007 Metal Healing Festival in Greece, with Fotis Bernardo (ex- Nightrage) completing the line-up on drums. The band soon signed a new deal with French label Season of Mist and released their seventh album “Communion” in March of 2008. The album was arranged by gothic maestro Christos Antoniou, and featured a full person orchestra and choir.
Their latest critically acclaimed album “The Great Mass” produced by Peter Tägtgren ( Hypocrisy,PAIN) was released in April 2011 and once again featured a full orchestra. Not only did the album captivate audiences with its eerily haunting orchestral tones and brutal vocals, but succeeded at making several “Album of the Year” lists from many notable publications worldwide.
www.septicflesh.com
www.facebook.com/septicfleshband

NEWS about traditional heavy metal STEEL PROPHET

Cruz del Sur Music has this announcement:
Cruz del Sur Music is proud to announce the July 8 release of Omniscient, the first new studio albums in 10 years from originators of the U.S. Progressive Power Metal Movement STEEL PROPHET. The band returns with their classic sound led by Steve Kachinsky Blakmoor (guitarist and founding member) and by veteran metal singer Rick Mythiasin. The recording lineup is completed by Vince Dennis (bass), Chris Schleyer (guitar), and Jimmy Schultz (drums); after the recording original drummer John Tarascio, and guitarist John Paget returned to the band together.
Omniscientis composed of 12 songs based on an original story written by Kachinsky. The idea of telling a story throughout a whole album is similar to STEEL PROPHET’s 1999 classic Dark Hallucinations, which featured the “Fahrenheit 451” story by Ray Bradbury. Famous German Artist Timo Würz was hired to create the amazing cover artwork, and 12 original booklet illustrations to go with the lyrics and story itself. The album also contains a thirteenth song, a cover of QUEEN’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which was successfully presented by the band at the 2013 edition of the Keep It True Festival in Germany; a video clip of the event will see the light shortly before the release of Omniscient. The album will be released in limited edition 36-page digibook, regular compact disc, limited gate-fold double LP and digital download.
Track List:
Chariots of the Gods
The Tree of Knowledge
When I Remake the World (A Key Flaw)
911
Trickery of the Scourge
Through Time and Space
Aliens, Spaceships and Richard M. Nixon
Oleander Deux
666 is Everywhere (The Heavy Metal Blues)
Bohemian Rhapsody
Call of Katahdin
Funeral for Art
1984 (George Orwell is Rolling in His Grave)
Transformation Staircase
www.facebook.com/SteelProphet

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

the blasting death metal of INSAIN (France)

Insain: Enlightening the Unknown (Kaotoxin Records)
It’s not entirely clear whether the band is now broken up or not, but if so, as a parting statement, they leave behind this 2013-recorded EP. Hyperfrenzied blasting in the crazed-cyborg way, Insain functions as a death metal bulldozer of “brutality” and “blasting” in the way that Origin is a death metal wrecking ball of intensity. Insain might as well be a “baby Origin,” but that’s not a bad thing. Insain overwhelms the ears with nonstop low guttural growling, some shouting, blasting and a tornado of heavy riffing to make you dizzy. Did they break up just when things were getting good?!
www.facebook.com/insaindeath
Insain - Enlightening The Unknown (EP) (2014)

Monday, June 9, 2014

the pagan folk metal of Bifröst: Tor in eine neue Welt (Einheit Produktionen)

Bifröst: Tor in eine neue Welt (Einheit Produktionen)
This “pagan folk” metal works well as Oktoberfest music, in October or whenever. These Austrian beer-drinking machines play the tunes good and loud, through melodic, catchy pirate festivities. According to Bifröst, every day is Oktoberfest, so reach for your favorite O’Douls or Warsteiner Fresh or Clausthaler Premium and party it up correct. Bifröst is upbeat rocking fun party folk metal with shrieked vocals and it's one of most drinking-and-dancing albums that you will hear all year from a metal band. Whether it’s the Texas two-step or the polka or just get down with your folk self in Lederhosen.
If you are a grouch, then stay miles away. All the merriment will infuriate you. You can't hang with this folk metal fun, which runs for a total time of 1 hour and 10 minutes, more or less. The shrieking/growling is in German, and it’s awesome to learn some fancy lines in German, such as, “Friend, will you do the folk metal Texas two-step with me?” Or, “Bartender, I will have a rum and coke, hold the rum.” Bifröst has lots of melodies, fast drumming, shrieking/growling vocals, catchy tunes, fun vibes and sing-along bar tunes. Look into it if you want some fun, “fast and grim” melodies.
www.facebook.com/bifroestaustria
Bifröst - ...um frei zu sein
Bifröst - RundeUmRunde

keeping Portland weird: NUX VOMICA

Nux Vomica: Nux Vomica (Relapse Records)
I kept hearing that Nux Vomica is hardcore or post-hardcore (whatever that means), or that they are something like experimental sludge, or that they sound like Neurosis or Today Is the Day and other such bands. For a simpleton like me, all of the above descriptions basically tell me, “That’s what the hipster tree-hugging ‘post-rock’ people are into.”; and I am not skilled to talk about such superduper latest hip music of the flannel-wearing smarrt kollege rich kids with dreadlocks, tattoos and those rainbow-colored beanies. (If you don’t wear Immolation, Marduk and Saxon shirts, and pentagrams, spikes, inverted crosses and bullletbelts, how am I supposed to figure out who are you, kids?)
I guess all the ‘post’ talk is kind of correct about Nux Vomica, but I don’t know. Instead, I’ll tell you what I hear. This album is three songs: two last about 12 minutes, give or take a minute, and another is some 20 minutes. It takes a while to make sense because the moods and moments are many: rage; tree-hugging melancholy; doom; shoegaze; headbanging; angry-yet-melodic moods that you have to hear to feel; quiet moments of bass; bass rumblings; minimalistic landscapes, to name some ideas that come to mind. When I was first listening to this album, I found myself double checking that it was the same band and that it wasn’t that somehow I had been listening to this band and moved on to a different band and forgot to check. So, yes, it is pretty eclectic, with the bass-rumbly melodic, crusty doom framework, more melodic than you would expect.
No strictly set style per se: it’s all in here: gremlin-like shrieking that is just as much crust punk screaming; double-bass drumming speed, thrashing speeds, vibes that could be called avantgarde incursions or could be experimental crust projections of doom or post-punk ruminations, if you will. I would assume that this band could not care less, just could not even give a shrug of the shoulders if you call the music this or that genre. They might just say, “Ok, whatever you say. If you like it, great!” (Or, they might just give you a smirk, depending on whether they are nice, or super arrogant elitist wealthy artists too busy to talk with the little people.)
More and more, bands based in Portland, Oregon seem to be getting their names out there. I have enjoyed the sounds of funeral doomsters Ephemeros and the grind of Honduran, for instance. I wonder which of the crop of bands from Portland will start to experience national and international success. It could be that some Europeans will go absolutely bonkers when they hear Nux Vomica. I would think that Nux Vomica should be in the mix of the “Portland scene” or “Portland sound” or “Portland” this or that, that soon might take over.
One more thing: the band will not like what I am about to do, but I’ll do it just the same. Perception is personal. The album’s track list could be divided up differently just as easily. For example, the almost-20-minute song “Choked at the Roots” could be:
00:00-03:23 (mellow spacy, bassy part);
03:24-10:42 (faster, uptempo);
10:43-14:38 (ambient-ish, space rock-ish);
14:39-19:48 (melodic, crust)
See what I did there? I just mutilated the band’s epic song. Shhhhhh! Don’t tell them that I did this. Hate mail might be on the way. Anyway, give this album a chance. I did it and found out that Nux Vomica rocks. Something is going on in Portland. Keep Portland weird. PS: FYI from the interweb: nux vomica is a plant and is an important source of extremely poisonous strychnine used to kill certain animals, like rodents. (Did they just now insult their listeners by calling them rats? Is that what happened just now, right now?)
www.facebook.com/nuxvomicaband
NUX VOMICA - "Reeling" Official Track