hitsfrondabong

Robert Pattinson Featuring Kristen Steward

2011-12-06T14:28:00.000-08:00

Robert Pattinson - Kristen Steward

Snakebite piercing

2011-11-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

The Brazilian Music And Band

2011-11-12T18:20:00.000-08:00

Colorful costumes and energetic dance forms give an idea about the importance of music to the people of Brazil band. When it comes to music, this is the place to be! The musical culture has spread throughout this area so that the music is the only language that unites souls, not only in Brazil but all over the world. There are several types of Brazilian music forms witnessed in recent years. These genres have many followers and fans continue to inspire people everywhere. Here is a summary of the different types of Brazilian music.
Brazil and the Samba connection is something that music lovers and dance are aware. The origins of this musical genre dates back to the dances of African Americans. Originally a dance partner, samba is a dance that has to do music in a piece of music. Samba made his first appearance in the 20th century, where he was recognized as a particular type of music style. This song and the dance style is very popular in the carnivals of Brazil. This style of music is played with a drum called surdo. The hand drum is another tool used in many other types of Brazilian music. This lively and energetic style of music has spread to other areas of the world little by little! Samba's popularity can be seen even today, especially in Rio de Janeiro.

Over time, other Samba was developed in Rio de Janeiro. This genre is known as the Pagoda. Developed in the 1980s, new musical instruments were presented to the creation of these issues. Many musical groups adapted this style, but was also criticized for having more traditional rhythms. The banjo and the sound of Mao were used to create rhythmic beats.

Lundu was a style of music and dance that first introduced by slaves. This style was an African-American base, and is sometimes considered indecent. In a dance group, gradually emerged as a solo dance. After the 18th century, this type of music and dance mixed with other styles. Even today, this form is very common in many areas.

Basically, the styles of music that includes the use of instruments like the tambourine, accordion, tambourine and acoustic guitar. These were used in creating some of the earliest styles of music in Brazil. The natives of tropical forests have their own ways of creating tunes for entertainment. With the help of flutes and whistles, drums and horns, the Indians created the music now known as Brazilian popular music.

Musicians and composers brought more attention to the style of the 19th century with the Choro. It was popularized among the people through radio. This marked him as one of the first and most important music is in Brazil. However, another type of music performed with the help of zabumba called Baião. Baia was the basis for many songs. A more popular among the rural class, songs, basically describes the struggles and challenges people face. Today, this form is known as the lining.

The popularity of country music shows in Brazil. The virgin forest is a form that is based on gender, with external influences.

Over the years, throughout the history of music in Brazil, the popularity of different genres has led to the development of many styles. The popular forms is known as Brazilian popular music. Also known as MPB, this style appealed more to young people in general. In 1970, Brazilian music was also witnessed the emergence of rock. The 1980s witnessed a strong position to win soon, punk rock and heavy metal is also accepted. Bossa Nova is a style that appealed to many and is based on Samba. Today, all these forms are very common in Brazil.

Office Fashion Tips

2011-10-30T10:56:00.000-07:00

There are some basic guidelines office fashion tips would otherwise have to meet to be presentable at work, because the way they dress affects the way others in the place you visit. There is nothing personal about it, is a simple matter.

* Avoid necklines as far as possible, since it can be a distraction and is certainly an inappropriate way to dress up in a business environment. It is not only cleavage, but the clothes that show too much skin (more than necessary), which are generally unacceptable in the workplace.
* Never use strong colors. While you choose a dress or blouse, in the case of women, always go in soft colors and soft, you want people in the office to concentrate on their professionalism and not to mention their clothes. As your clothes can make the difference between sleaze and soft.
* Men do not have a range of accessories to choose from, however, none of the limited options they have to be smart and be well coordinated with the clothes. No simple and subtle form. The belt should be closely coordinated with the shoes. Shoes without a second thought has to be conservative, clean and polished. Of course, if your work environment is a bit more relaxed, slippers or shoes without laces are acceptable, however, the use of flip-flops of work shows a very casual attitude, which is greatly appreciated.
* Despite the many choices women have in terms of selection of accessories, it is important to keep the shine at bay. The point is that simple. The accessories should be used to improve their personality and not diminish its credibility. Keep your makeup simple, avoid if possible. If you can not live without her makeup and nude tones chooses to maintain a minimum level.
* Ladies, an office is not the place to show the different types of shoes you own, wear something that matches your equipment and improve your personality. Avoid high heels if you do not get along. It is important to be comfortable in what you are using, and increase your confidence and productivity in the office.

Kids Coloring Pages "Children of the World"

2011-01-15T00:05:00.000-08:00

Kids Coloring Pages "Children of the World"

Bathory – Hammerheart

2010-12-18T19:56:00.000-08:00

In Arabian, Myrath means legacy but I can tell you that until today, it will also means ”oriental killers of progressive metal”. Myrath comes from Tunisia and they will probably be the first band from Maghreb which will have a famous international career. Leaded by Malek BenArbia a young talented guitarist who has finished his formation at the famous ”MAI School” of Nancy (France), the band is for me the surprise of the year 2007. Between Symphony X, Adagio and Dream Theater, their first real official album ”Hope” is an amazing release of Progressive Metal. If you pretend to like such kind of music, then you’ll not have the right to miss this album. Myrath’s own style found throughout making this a great release for the Power/Prog Metal genre. ”Hope” starts out with a beautiful intro that really shows the bands love for Western influences (the band hails from Tunisia, Africa) before kicking right in with the crushing riffage of the 2nd song ”Confession”! After that the CD does not stop for the remaining 6 songs that follow! Found throughout the disc are monstrous riffs, soaring melodies, Asian influences, and brilliant backing vocals. This is all topped off with Kevin Codfert (Adagio keyboardist) handling the production, and sound engineer duties. The production on ”Hope” is absolutely crystal clear, ballsy, crisp, and punchy! Intelligent, well written and with a ton of great riffs and melodies, ”Hope” is a damn impressive beginning. I’m sure that the band will quickly become famous and will be signed by a major as soon as possible because definitely this album is one of the best releases of Progressive Metal that I had the chance to listen to lately. Now, all the Metalheads from the north of Africa will be able to show to the world that they know what great Metal is. Thumb up to Myrath for this exceptional release this band will become really big and famous you’ll see, I will not be wrong! The grandeur of this release is that the consistency of quality remains very high over all its eight tracks, the majority of which seem to be the embodiments of a trinity of originality, complexity and magic. I believe most, if not all, of those into heavy Progressive, fans of Dream Theater included, will be in the seventh heaven when navigating through the pitfalls and undercurrents that highlight this wonderful recording.

Mitochondrion - gyibaaw

2010-12-13T05:48:00.000-08:00

the o.d. adrenalin of hi-jinks wacky

2010-12-13T05:10:00.000-08:00

Slipknot

2010-12-13T03:57:00.000-08:00

As blood run black

2010-12-13T03:31:00.000-08:00

As blood run black pict

2010-12-13T03:29:00.000-08:00

Destroyer 666 - Vital Remains

2010-12-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

well well fucking well...its been quite the ride.
Theres far too many people to thank individually, but or gratitude goes out to all the promoters who have looked after us so well thus far..
The crowds have been fucking amazing,and never cease to amaze us every time we come back to the states.At the risk of sounding sentimental, I speak for the whole band when i say its truly been a honour and a pleasure.
NYC ranks as one of the biggest surprises for us. Monday night, midnight start time, and no one at all seemed to have left.
But nothing could prepare for us the treatment we recieved by an fella called John who booked our show in Providence. We said it many times John, but again, in the cold light of sobriety, thanks mate. Truly beyond the call of duty.
A hail to Vital Remains too, for supplying the best backline of the whole tour.
To all the fans who have come and supported the band, we salute you all. The response has been beyone words, and stands as testimony to the undergrounds strentgh. If we've come across as tired and irritable and less than sociable, its because we were tired and irritable.

Nargaroth is a German black metal band

2010-11-28T07:27:00.000-08:00

Nargaroth is a German black metal band created by René “Ash” Wagner (formerly “Kanwulf”) in Germany, 1996.

According to Ash, Nargaroth was formed in 1989, but due to contradictory statements of Ash, this date is disputed, as well as the release of the seven track instrumental demo Orke in 1991. It is supposed that this demo was actually released in 1999. The demo Herbstleyd, which Ash claims to be released in 1993, was probably not released before this date.
Nargaroth’s first album Herbstleyd was released by No Colours Records in 1999, followed in 2000 by Amarok, which is not an album but a re-release of old recordings, as well as the controversial demo Fuck Off Nowadays Black Metal, (released as a demo resulting to disputes over production values). This demo is said to be limited to 333 tapes and 100 LPs, but more units were probably released.

In 2001, No Colours Records released Black Metal ist Krieg, considered Ash’s dedication to black metal. It was followed in 2002 by Rasluka Part II. The third album Geliebte des Regens was released in 2003. 2004 saw release of live album Crushing Some Belgian Scum, Rasluka Part I, and Prosatanica Shooting Angels. The next album Semper Fidelis was released by No Colours Records in 2007. The sixth album was released in 2009 named Jahreszeiten by No Colours Records limited to 1000 copies.

The Furor are a black/death metal trio hailing from Perth, Australia

2010-11-28T07:17:00.000-08:00

The Furor are a black/death metal trio hailing from Perth, Australia. They have released two full-length albums and an EP. The band was formed in 2002.

Music And Dance Of Norway

2010-11-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

Although there is scant written record of what kind of music was played in Norway but there is a vast audio record which provides some insight to this. Minor or Modal scales with a sober and haunting sound form the music of Norway. There is very little written record to give the background of the origin and existence of music but it is learned that religious and traditional music prevailed. Like many other countries, Norway too experienced a revival in the 20th century. Ballads and short songs are the common types of traditional or folk songs.

Other popular kind of folk music is hymns, work songs, trialling vocals skillingsviser. Like the nearby countries of Sweden and Denmark, Norway too has a Nordic dance music tradition. The most distinctive instrument in Norwegian folk music is hardingfele. Bygdedans including halling, pols, springleik, rull, gangar and springar are the traditional dances of Norway. They were performed on important events such as weddings, funerals etc and were called the Courting Dances. Few dances were also brought from Europe like the fandango, reinlender, waltz polka and mazurka. Norwegian harp, bukkehorn, harpeleik, lur are a few other traditional instruments.

A movement throughout Europe, National Romanticism, affected classical musicians as well as the classical musicology. Bull was the first to present folk tunes to the public in urban areas. The urban audiences were slow in responding and understanding the traditional music. With the booming economy after the French Revolution, many foreign musicians settled in Norway and hence, contributed a lot to Norwegian music. Many female musicians were widely accepted and were paid well. Music post World War II addressed social and political concerns.

Many technological developments with a variety of electronic effects and peculiar instruments took place post World War II. By the end of the 20th century, Norwegian classical music had become very diverse, incorporating elements from throughout the country's documented musical history, as well as modern jazz, pop and rock.

Norway has originated its own music too it has expressed its breakthrough in jazz, blackmetal, electronica and pop artists. Knut Reiersrud is one of Norway's top blues guitarist. Titanic, the film, brought worldwide popularity to Sissel Kyrkjebo, a Norwegian singer, also known as Sissel. She had recorded a soundtrack for the film. The Norwegian rock scene comprises bands such as Turbonegro, Bigbang, Madrugada, Kaizers, Orchestra and Gate. Along with Sweden and Finland, Norway too has been a major player in the extreme metal scene and few bands which performed in genre and attained popularity are Dimmu Borgir, Burzum, Immortal, Emperor, Enslaved, Mayhem Gorgoroth, and Darkthrone.

Heathen Folk Revival point 10 of the 24 points Odinism Wotanism Asatru

2010-11-26T01:23:00.000-08:00

GRAVELAND - WHITE BEASTS OF WOTAN

2010-11-26T01:20:00.000-08:00

GRAVELAND - WHITE BEASTS OF WOTAN

Black Metal Beliefs

2010-11-26T01:17:00.000-08:00

Normally approach in waves, with roots in old school thrash metal, black metal is a little know, often misinterpreted sub-genre. Metal has been an exit to disillusioned kids looking for a way out of internal struggles with personal, religious or cultures differences.. This little subset of dedicated fans have committed a great deal of crimes and felonies, such as church burnings (50 or more churches) and murders.

Black Metal Beliefs

Mayhem and Varg Vikernes is the most favorite metal band to date. In the year of 1993 Oystein Aarseth, owner of record label Deathlike Silence, was killed by Vikernes. Vikernes was found guilty of murder later that year. This impact, the anti-religious position of Vikernes was a expression of the views of the metal genre as a whole. With any culture, you will find the disputes, opinions and beliefs.

Impacts on Black Metal

Pioneered bands like Bathory and Cruachan took their music to a Viking lore and mythology style and made an impact on the metal music genre. These metal bands that are know as "folk" and "viking" often use instruments that are away from the norms and opt to compliment the common electric instruments, like guitars, drums and bass. This music includes bands with an ambient, symphonic and doom metal sound have been experimented. Old 80's punk movement (know as crust) to Gothic or even industrial influences have some further sounds that some black metal bands have pushed the envelope with.

The Black Metal Impression

Romanticized or demonized has had a living impression on the metal genre and will proceed to so long as there are fans disenfranchised with the world they see around them, requiring an exit for their creativity and individualism. With metal bands such as Venom and Celtic Front to the present and future. Black metal will become stronger, more shocking and will continue to be experimental.

Venom Legend Of Black Metal

2010-11-26T01:07:00.000-08:00

The black metal genre of music was brought into being by the band named Venom who had named one of its songs 'Black Metal'. From then on black metal music has become popular, especially amidst the youth of today. In this context, it is important to remember that to become a professional black metal guitarist, you must master the black metal scales. This is a must with regard to technique and style. Some of the most common scales have been mentioned below:

The natural minor scale is used quite commonly while playing heavy metal. It is not an exotic scale, but can produce several exquisite and unique music combinations. However, this scale lacks tension. It is also categorized under the major scale as the 6th mode. While playing this scale try being innovative and creative in your riffs, picking techniques and hooks; and you will be able to create some of the most unique playing styles.

Next is the harmonic minor scale. It is almost similar to the natural minor scale but comprises of a 7th sharp / major. Thus, the corresponding chord related to this scale is sharp 7 minor. Metal guitarists usually make use of power chords to enhance their performance; and using this scale along with power chords will help you display a really good and extraordinary performance. This combination will produce some enigmatic music for your audience.

Another important scale is known as Phrygian scale that is most commonly used by metal guitarists. The second tone of this scale is flat and it also falls under the major scale category in the 3rd mode. This produces a unique sound that is dark and somber. To add some flavor you may combine Phrygian power chords along with the Phrygian scale and display some of the most exotic metal combinations and music.

The Lydian scale is a major scale. It has a sharpened 4th note and produces qualitative sound and sequence. The scale is most suited for metal that is played at slow pace and rhythm. The scale goes well with its related power chords.

IMAX Black Metal Hurricane

2010-11-26T01:05:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you had a candle-lit dinner at home? What do you think created that dreamy ambience? The mellow glow of the candle light of course! A finely set table without proper lighting is definitely a turn-off. So, recreate the magic of romance at home with the ultra-stylish IMAX Black Metal Hurricane candle holder.

Hurricane candle holders offer simple lighting solutions to your home in a stylish yet inexpensive way. The sophisticated design of the IMAX Hurricane makes it a stunning standalone showpiece that adds a touch of elegance to your home. You can even decorate hurricane candle holders with ferns and flowers or simply tie a satin ribbon around to make them all the more attractive.

What is interesting about the transition metal hurricane holder is that it can give a silky natural light that is hard to recreate with artificial lighting. Unlike other traditional hurricane holders, the IMAX Black Metal Hurricane uses candle for lighting and not oil. This makes it easy to use and clean. You can even add aromatic candles to the transition metal hurricane holder to fill your home with a sweet scent. The stand made of black metal adds grandeur to this holder and the traditionally shaped hurricane glass adds an old world charm to your home. You can use hurricane candle holders as centerpieces for your dinner table or even for weddings as they blend well with any kind of décor.

The exquisite IMAX Black Metal Hurricane candle holder that is perfect to create a romantic atmosphere at home.

Black Metal Guitars

2010-11-26T00:59:00.000-08:00

Music is the best form of expression - of feelings as well as attitudes. Different types of music provide different expressions, so you can choose what suits you the most. Hard rock or heavy metal music takes the form of expression to various extremes. Black metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal class indulging in an extreme form of creativity and individualism, pioneered by thrash metal bands. If you think you belong to this sub-culture and want to explore further, let nothing stop you from going for black metal guitar lessons - you have a wide range of choices in the pre-recorded CD or DVD courses.

While you explore how and from where to take lessons, it will be helpful to start listening to albums of popular black metal bands and reading about evolution of the black metal subclass. This will prepare a useful ground for your future lessons. You may start either with the "first wave" bands of 1980s such as Bathory, Venom, and Hellhammer; or the "second wave" bands of early nineties: Burzum, Mayhem, Immortal and Emperor. It will be better to also listen to some thrash metal bands to understand how the black metal sub-genre evolved.

Tremolo picking is an essential skill in the genre of heavy metal music, including black metal. While you can read instructions on tremolo picking at several places, the best way to learn is through professionally designed lessons offered on CDs and DVDs.

Apart from good guitar technical skills, the key to playing good heavy metal music is in the control of the guitar instrument and guitar effects. In order to get a good solid tone from your guitar amplifier, the combination of guitar and special distortion pedals is required and tweaked to perfection.

Internet is a convenient source to explore heavy metal music and the bands. You should certainly go through the background information of the metal guitar music; it will help you understand the fine differences between the dark metal and other subclasses. But when it comes to learning, the best metal guitar lessons are confined to CDs and DVDs; be convinced of that.

Dark metal music, in particular, symbolizes freedom and demands an open and free mind - given to both experimentation and exploration. To learn black metal, you need an attitude more than anything else. Mastering this extreme form of self expression will likely open up new faculties of your mind which had remained untouched so far.

Abigor: Supreme Immortal Art

2010-11-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

Abigor: Satanized: A Journey Through Cosmic Infinity

2010-11-20T11:15:00.000-08:00

Abigor: Orkblut: The Retaliation

2010-11-20T11:14:00.000-08:00

Abigor: Channelling The Quintessence Of Satan

2010-11-19T11:31:00.000-08:00

Abigor: Channelling The Quintessence Of Satan

Abigor: Apokalypse

2010-11-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

A Canorous Quintet: Silence Of The World Beyond

2010-11-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

A Call To Irons: A Tribute To Iron Maiden

2010-11-19T09:25:00.000-08:00

Barn Owl - Ancestral Star

2010-11-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Beneath the unforgivable scab on the landscape that is Elephant & Castle shopping centre in London lies a small, delightful dive of a venue called the Corsica. Its entrance suggests a warehouse or garage more than a location to go and watch bands perform. But nevertheless, about an hour from my arrival there, Barn Owl makes their London debut; slicing through the darkened stage area with an unstoppable, psychedelic soundwave of a folk, drone and doom composite.

It’s unfortunate then that the San Franciscan duo are relegated to almost footnote status on a bill that attempts to bring the adventurous spirit of Birmingham’s Supersonic festival to this grimy corner of the capital. Playing in support of established acid rockers Voice of the Seven Thunders and the ‘all-star’ cast of Master Musicians of Bukkake, naturally few were out that evening with the sole intent of experiencing Barn Owl.

But this month, all eyes and ears should be focussed on Barn Owl with the November 2nd release of their third LP and Thrill Jockey debut, Ancestral Star. And if the wide-eyed silence of the awe-struck crowd that followed Barn Owl’s Corsica set is anything to go by, Jon Porras and Evan Caminiti should soon be preaching to more converts than ever.

What immediately sets Ancestral Star apart from Barn Owl’s earlier output is the mammoth, thick sound that pours forth. Gone are the sparse drones and brittle, lo-fi folk that ornamented Bridge to the Clouds and From Our Mouths A Perpetual Light. This time round, Barn Owl is heavier and denser than ever before with ‘Sundown’ and the title track seemingly taking cues from SunnO))) and more restrained pieces like ‘Night’s Shroud’ nodding towards the Wild West desert rock of Earth’s latest incarnation. But as the band explains, this is less to do with venerating the drone elders than it is with a personal progression, not to mention the first opportunity Barn Owl has had to actually take their time in the studio.

“I would say, initially when we first started and especially when we recorded From Our Mouths…, Earth was a big influence. But we tried to incorporate a much wider range of influences for Ancestral Star. We listened to a lot of Alice Coltrane and other jazz albums… Bill Frisell was also a huge influence on us,” said Jon.

“Yeah, I mean it’s a good reference point for the kind of ‘desert sound’,” Evan added. “But I think we’re more inspired by things like The Dead Man soundtrack and Cormac McCarthy novels. Of course, Earth’s great but not so much a conscious influence these days. Popol Vuh is a really big influence for a lot of this stuff, and Loren Connors and Sandy Bull are two guitarists that we reference a lot in our playing I’d say.

“Ancestral Star is a kind of natural progression from what we felt at the time. With The Conjurer we tried to make everything have a lot space really, the sparseness was just what we were feeling at the time.”

Jon believes that Barn Owl owes the sonic leap the forward to the time spent in the studio last year with producer The Norman Conquest. “I think in terms of the heaviness, the sound quality is a lot better. The engineer we worked with, Norman Conquest (we call him Norman, he’s a friend of ours), I mean he’s a recording genius. We’d show up at the recording studio and he’d have dozens of mics set up all over the studio, pointing at random corners of the room where he was hearing resonant frequencies. So we left it all up to him. He also built these microphones out of old speakers. He put two or three of them right by our amps; that picked up a lot of low end.”

Working with what Evan refers to as “a mad scientist of sound” definitely has its perks. The results shine through at every level of the record, dousing the listener with dominating rays of psychedelia. “Everything was based around recording some live tracks to 2” tape, and kind of saturating it,” said Evan, giving some insight into how the sound was captured. “We had to hit the tape pretty hard to get that sizzling thick sound.”

Indeed, the hefty production sucks you in with the force of a black hole but there is also a peculiar, almost spiritual essence to Ancestral Star that is homely and alien all at once, a device that will keep the LP glued to the record player for months to come. The ritualistic feel that emanates from tracks like ‘Flatlands’ and ‘Incantation’ almost seem like memories of bygone eras. So being the huge metalhead retard that I am, I couldn’t resist asking the guys if there was any kind of theme to the record. I am a whore for pretentious concept albums… and pretentious things in general.

Jon swiftly put my naïve thoughts to bed: “If there is a premise, and I guess this applies to our sound in general, it’s combining a wide range of influences that speak to us that we try to combine to make our own sound,” he said. “But as far as a specific premise for the album, there’s no over-arching concept or anything like that.”

But my own interpretations weren’t far off the mark it seems, as I coaxed what I could out of Evan to elaborate on the meaning of the album’s title. “It refers to this idea of ‘ancestral memory’ which was explained to me some years ago by my then music teacher, a free jazz sax player,” he explained. “He referenced flamenco music and said that the musicians believed they were channelling the spirits of their ancestors when they played. So it’s the idea of connecting with this other energy through music. Being absorbed in it and having a deep connection that goes beyond the material world.”

Barn Owl’s dream-like drone is the perfect vehicle for this elusive ‘energy’ that Evan speaks of. It courses through the duration of Ancestral Star with the mysticism of a Hindu raga and it’s utterly enthralling. What is it about drone that conjures these intangible thoughts though?

“I don’t know,” said Evan. He hesitated. Then proceeded to reel off everything I’ve always felt about the style but have never been able to put into words. “For me it’s like… when I put on good drone music it immediately eases my mind in a lot of ways. There’s something comforting about the meditative value of it, being able to really focus and tune out all the noise of the world and centre yourself.”

Jon added: “Also, I feel that there’s something really profound about seeing detail in something that on the surface is stagnant. To me that’s mysterious and exciting.” They both hit the nail on the head, just as their work in Barn Owl does.

Ancestral Star is gorgeous. Buy it now. Read the full interview here and check out the video for closing track, 'Light From The Mesa'.

Palace of Worms - Lifting the Veil

2010-11-02T17:49:00.000-07:00

Lifting the Veil is an execution in raw, piously orthodox black metal. An undeniable air of elite swagger backed up by riffs and oscillations that sound as vital and cacophonous as Norway circa 1991. The atmosphere lurches simultaneously into territories of vice, degradation and pure driving power. Like the angular riff work of Wrest set to a boundlessly more insidious upbringing. There is an admirable sense of direction tugging at the dissonant atonality of this recording: an awkward incongruity that would probably fail in the hands of so many other musicians.

Palace of Worms comes highly recommended to anyone who has at some point found refuge in the recordings of other San Franciscan black metal monuments (Leviathan, Draugar, Necrite, etc). Lifting The Veil steps up the ante, assembling an audial horror surpassing last years The Forgotten. Coupling abject disgust for humankind with an aura that seeks to glorify the insignificance and vacuous nature of existence, Palace of Worms can clearly deliver. Balan does well to balance his angular, pissed-off approach to melody with the more atmospheric passages that expand from the dark recesses of sound. As if his campaign of hate and extermination finds absolution in the very insignificance the every-day-man peddles. A kind of inverted Schopenhauer.

Lifting the Veil is packed with the twists, turns and ideas a premature Wrest couldn’t quite pull off. This is about as engaging as modern day orthodoxy gets: undaunted by experiments in sound, moments of crystalline composure that take numerous listens to fully appreciate and absolute driving, eye-rolling sections of undiluted black metal swagger that leave you empowered but bitterly engaged. Post rock, psych and almost DSO like injections of fervour meld seamlessly to create a truly inspired opus. Just give the attached track a listen.

The Flenser (buy) / Palace of Worms (listen)

Blood Revolt - Indoctrine

2010-10-31T16:29:00.000-07:00

I am god's executioner... Does it matter which?

Metal’s long running obsession with thinly veiled hate and largely intangible, abstract ideas may explain a few things. It certainly accounts for the preference outsiders and introverts attach to the genre. The lack of consideration the genre gets in the mainstream artistic world seems heavily reliant on this incongruity too. A consistent disregard for relevancy that has built up over the years, focusing on hate for hate’s sake and scare tactics that are now more welcoming to the majority of fans than genuinely unnerving (the usual shitstorm that accompanies a band pushing new territory; fans annoyed that the band have left trodden, comfortable ground to pursue divergent avenues of expression – nowhere more apparent than in the black metal underground).

Sad then (but not unwelcomed) that it took an album like Indoctrine to pierce the veil and bridge the horror with a new sense of relevancy. Blood Revolt revolutionise these conceptual gaps, opening a new path of metal so unnerving and relevant in scope that it annihilates all the short fallings of the modern day metal community. The chosen lyrical content reflects issues that plague the everyday man; this relevancy a far cry from the corpse-painted, skulking men wading through forests brandishing bullet belts and war axes. An irrational belief in God that leads individuals to act on behalf of God’s will. Religious crusaders; noble acts of terrorism that secure places in heaven and moral disasters on earth. The religious hustler who has turned against society: Christianity, Islam, all other walks of faith – this is relevant in any and all cultural, social, political and religious circles. Blood Revolt command this blind faith with unfettering brutality. Simultaneously reaching the outsider metal fan, clutching at the long heralded religious mockery and the relevancy of terrorism in an increasingly multicultural society. Indoctrine is fixed in the first perspective of the liberated, religious devout. The result is remarkable: a genuinely intimidating album, even before discussing the music.

The music Blood Revolt summon, commanded by the voice of Primordial’s A.A. Nemtheanga, in addition to juggernaut drums and doomaxe rituals of war metal veterans James Read and C. Ross respectively, never quite settles down enough to pigeonhole into one or two succinct sub-genres. Take the powercrafted riffs of Weapon and Rites of Thy Degringolade, the inhuman drum mechanics of Revenge set to a clearer, more developed production and one of the most talented, varied vocal performances in metal – and we might be getting somewhere. The fact is, Blood Revolt have shifted the extreme metal paradigm with this recording. Buy their music, go to their shows, support them. Their significant nature extending beyond this stale corner of music, to new realms of cultural and societal implication.

A.A. Nemtheanga delivers his religious sermon; clean vocals that stretch the lungs and deliver conviction with unbelievable power. At other times, his largely restrained talk serves to add a touch of the inhumane, cold, calculated nature of his acts. Take the vocals on ‘Bite The Hand, Purge The Flesh’, where his snarled, cacophonous lines of hate practically set the entire tone. C. Ross has done an excellent job upping the ante on guitar duties. Visible in every song, carefully crafted riffs and melody that lift the album above and beyond the call of war metal. Every goddamn track is brilliant. I would not be surprised if I take up the guitar again because of this album. On first listen the drums seem quite one dimensional, focusing on blasting sessions but subsequent listens reveal variations in tempo and unexpected jumps in play. This style of song writing is nowhere near as chaotic as Revenge or Axis of Advance. It is simpler, revolving on actual rhythms and structures – and this is why the music is so effective. Each instrument bounces off the other, nothing can be deemed superfluous. Everything exercises a meaning and serves to further the musical experience.

Extreme metal is hardly renowned for the quality of lyricism, with most projects exercising either stale, unformatted death, goat, forest clone lyrics, or an incredibly poor handle on their chosen language. It is the incredibly diverse vocal performance of Averill that leaves me obsessing over some of the best lyrics to grace extreme metal in a number of years – ones that I actually care to read. A hard hitting performance that asks nothing of the listener other than to be a witness. Indoctrine is punishing. Marching, martial metal with an undeniable war/black metal touch - a holy original album musically and conceptually. There is something charged and fanatical about the flow of the music, like the strongest mix of utter hatred and self-imposed pomp. A welcome injection of new ideas that leaves most other albums in the dust; so well composed and thoroughly hard-hitting throughout the 42 minutes of the albums scope that the extreme metal soundscape will never look quite the same, ever again. A reinvigoration! Simply put, if you cannot grasp this, well, we ought to begin this religious culling with you.

Blood Revolt (listen) / Profound Lore (buy)

'Where does Black Metal lie in relation to this bending of the consciousness toward return?'

2010-10-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

We received this email from the mysterious Oonagh in regards to the Winterfylleth interview that was published a couple of months ago. It's an interesting look at one of the frequent woes and more irritating sides of black metal. Things that distract from the music more than is acceptable. I'd like to take this opportunity to state that LURKER does not necessarily agree with the opinions that the band stated but, being British ourselves (and enthusiasts of history), to an extent we can understand where they're coming from. For my part, I don't think black metal has anything to do with nationalism, pride or cultural identity at all. Rather quite the opposite, and it is a way of looking at the world that I have zero interest in. But it is down to individuals to give their music whatever leaning they so wish, and if I enjoy how it sounds, I will listen to it. I won't go into a response much further than that. To listen to black metal is also to be aware of how fickle and naive the community can be, and picking out flaws in a music and ideology that is some times flawed by definition will often have an amusing outcome. But Winterfylleth's dedication to preserving Britain's historical identity is certainly admirable.

What do other lurkers think? Here is the email as it was sent to us:

"So, where does Black Metal lie in relation to this bending of the consciousness toward return? I ask as a novice.

After reading your highly articulate and interesting article something struck me as somewhat amusing upon the first seconds of listening to Winterfylleth for the first time. It has nothing to do with the music itself, which is epic, nor the intelligence of the article, the clear logic of which helped me understand something of Black Metal more profoundly than I think ever before. It was perhaps the true clarity of your voices which struck this funny bone upon the musics raucous outbreak. Such powerful sentiments of a return to a British identity, such reverence for a deserved mythology and such a disdain for the ‘tyrannical EU’, which destroys a ‘sense of unique national identity’ enslaving people under a global regime. These notions swimming round my mind contrasted with the musical onslaught which struck as a notably un-British experience. In the sense that if you hear a tabla drum or sitar you know it’s Indian, a fiddle and bodhoran drum you’d know you’re witnessing Irish roots, bagpipes etc. It could seem a funny choice to express a reverence for British heritage through a medium that is not recognizably British. In fact a medium that is more recognizably European, or Nordic. Considering the distaste for a unifying international banner destroying individual identity the choice to use a decidedly international genre might seem counter intuitive perhaps. No? I cannot stress enough that I do not pose this as an attack, merely as a musing spawned by a mysterious giggle.

The point itself serves to highlight one glaring statement by Winterfylleth that Britons have lost their identity. The obvious lack of an internationally recognised musical tradition to return to, that is not an imposed Christian hymn, is highlighted further by this observation. So, I suppose the question is how do we search out a gentle and loving nationalism from the global chaos of modern culture? Indeed how can we salvage a vestige of a human identity which encourages a reverence toward the heritage of the land? Toward a stark respect for history and where we come from? Do we reject other forms of national identity in this act? Is punk, baked beans and multiculturalism not as much a fact of Brit identity as warlords and medieval bards?

Allow me one more indulgence to ask and what of a woman's outrage? The story of Bodecia (Boudica), as you mentioned, being emblematic of us all; daughters raped, men dead, honour and respect denied, right over body and land rejected, left with nothing but rage and violence, only power left that to take her own life. Submit, or rage and die? As it is said in legend her battle cry to her troops was to die in the quest for vengeance rather than submit to their oppressors, "This is my resolve, as a woman - follow me or submit to the Roman yoke." How should this identity be respected, revived and honoured?

How do we rekindle an identity so skewed, that of being British, woman, man, human? Crowing its pride? Screaming and lamenting its loss? Keeping the stories alive? Why not. I’m loving it (Mmmm-so to speak). But, among laptops, Nutella, Hollywood and the papal visit, the gulf between that which is celebrated and that which is lived remains. And how is it that transnational sounds of distortion bring us closer to that identity - is it another formula of distraction?

I have only recently been really getting into Black Metal, so excuse the rantings of a novice. Sometimes the observations of an outsider have a fresh and curious clarity dusted in amongst their ignorance, something interesting to an insider. And sometimes the observations of an outsider are just a bit misguided and far from the point. Who knows which these mental wanderings are. I write because I enjoy thinking aloud, I hope you don’t mind me taking up your time. Your article and music have spawned a torrent of musings and conversation, the fruits of which I offer you with thanks for the inspiration.

- Oonagh"

An interview with Toby Driver

2010-10-28T06:12:00.000-07:00

Though there are many differences in musical taste between the founders of this site, if a constant exists it is our mutual and limitless appreciation of the works of multi-instrumentalist and composer Toby Driver. His music as it appears in Maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot was something we all caught on to during our studies at university, and have been unable to let go of since. That said, it is a very special honour for LURKER to be able to present this interview to you, which we hope will serve as a fine introduction to Toby's work for newcomers as much as it will be of great interest for long-time followers.

Where did you want to take your music following the dissolution of maudlin of the Well? In other words, how did Kayo Dot’s aims differ?

There wasn't really an intended difference in terms of ethos.. just in process. I basically became hyper-aware of unnecessary or lazy repetition in rock/metal, and thought it'd be worthwhile to try to create something that was more like through-composed rock/metal. That was the basic difference at that turning point... a lack of riffs and a focus on gradually developing ideas. Starting from that very simple idea led to a great deal of inspiration.

Can you shed some light on your composing methods? I recall watching some Kayo Dot live performances where each member was reading notation. Are all Kayo Dot pieces notated before they take form?

Hasn't always been that way, but I notate stuff more frequently these days for efficiency and to minimize the need for rehearsal time. Since the music is pretty abstract, though, a lot of it isn't really communicable on paper, so I use the manuscript as a starting point and we work it out as a band off of that. Since the music is also generally non-repetitive and the songs are long, the musicians tend to need the sheet music for performances simply because there's just too much to remember. You may notice though, that I rarely use the sheet music onstage for myself... having written it, I pretty much already have it memorized before we even start rehearsing it. However, i would like to point out that that has nothing to do with composing in regards to this band. The sheet music is only used as a way of communicating parts that have already been composed (in my mind or what-have-you). For my compositional methods, it's basically a combination of trancing out with an instrument, obsessive memorization of these trance sessions, and painstaking editing of the ideas. I tend to work really visually as far as that goes, too... I see musical ideas as forms and relationships as can be rendered by dimensional graphs or drawings, or lines of prose. I would suggest to you guys to also check out the chapter I wrote about this in the book, ARCANA IV: MUSICIANS ON MUSIC.

How does a Kayo Dot song come into being?

Let's say that I use a similar trancelike process for everything I write, however, a Kayo Dot composition differs from my other band, Tartar Lamb, for example because the music of Tartar Lamb has been defined as a particular theoretical process... Kayo Dot has not, really. Usually when music starts out, I'm just writing out of inspiration, and am not thinking of it as a Kayo Dot piece; it's just that Kayo Dot is where my main energies go as far as production and logistics, so when a piece is taking shape and it looks like the production process is going to be really involved and decently large-scale, then it seems to me like it should be a Kayo Dot endeavor.

How will Stained Glass differ from previous Kayo Dot releases?

Stained Glass is another example of a piece I wrote that didn't have a home or identity (I mean, I didn't write it specifically as a Kayo Dot song). Much like "Coyote," initially, it was intended for a smaller ensemble, and as time passed and I had an opportunity to work on the piece on a grander scale, it was adapted for Kayo Dot. Already, then, it differs in terms of initial planning. The main instrumental trio of "Stained Glass" features vibraphone, an instrument that isn't even really available to Kayo Dot as a performing ensemble, so I already knew that if we were going to go ahead and have this be a Kayo Dot piece, it would only really be able to be performed live locally, where we had access to a vibraphonist and his instrument. Therefore, presuming that "Stained Glass" would exist primarily as a studio composition, we took unrealistic liberties in overdubbing, ha ha! Musically, it's really pretty and discomforting; some may call it ambient, although there is mostly a very apparent pulse... let's see.. we have a guest guitar solo on it from Trey Spruance, so that's new. And, we recorded some of "Stained Glass" at Zing, where we did the MOTW albums, L..L..Library Loft, Choirs of the Eye, and Dowsing Anemone, but I also recorded most of it myself at home, because there was virtually no budget from the label for this recording. In that sense, it may have a little bit of an intimate bedroom recording vibe, I don't know. In preparing for that, though, I was listening to some contemporary four-track geniuses - Burzum, Islaja, Metallic Falcons. Let me add that also, the drums on "Stained Glass" are barely there.. virtually no cymbals were used, the drums' job is not to keep the rhythm.. all of that is because we were restricted to home recording by the lack of funding.

From Blue Lambency Downward onward, Kayo Dot made a stylistic leap from the dense heaviness of Dowsing… and Choirs… Why did you choose this point to depart from your metal background?

I think it's not accurate to present that as a "choice;" I know that there must be some bands or musicians who think that metal is some kind of musical adolescence and they want to move away from it to prove their maturity... but that's not how it is with me, at all. Basically, I'm just interested in exploring different instrumentations. At the time of BLD, I was interested in using a lot of woodwinds, which i thought expressed the lonely emotions of those songs better than layers of guitars could. And, most of the time when saxes are mixed with metal, it sounds LAME! Anyhow, in subsequent compositions, you know, some of the things that interest me most about music are the adventure, exploration, and discovery. When I write new music, I'm wholeheartedly embracing those notions. I just don't see how pointlessly attaching oneself to an identity (you say metal, in this case) is a good thing at all. I'm just interested in music.

What’s your opinion on the state of modern metal?

I haven't been paying attention to it, for the most part, so I can't say I really have an opinion about it.

What are your favourite bands? Are their any musicians in particular that have shaped the way you compose?

This always changes! I'm not sure this question is really answerable. I don't think of things in terms of "favorites" any more. And everything I hear shapes the way I compose, even stuff I don't like.

How would you pinpoint the musical differences between your projects?

Maybe Maudlin of the Well was a specific group of people. Kayo Dot seems a little more open to going in any direction. Kayo Dot's writing is more advanced than MOTW's, but both share aesthetic points (and discrepancies, too!) Tartar Lamb's music is based on a specific theoretical concept.

Maudlin of the Well had an incredible roster of musicians on board. How did the band get together?

MOTW started just as a four-track recording project between Jason Byron and myself. Each of us had been making songs on our own, but we put this MOTW thing together because we really liked TIAMAT a lot, and wanted to create some music that was kind of like theirs. I remember discussing it with Byron... I said something along the lines of "why should we just sit around and wait for TIAMAT to put out another album? Let's just make one and listen to it!" heheheh.... and the rest is history, I guess. So, we created a couple tunes on the four-track, getting Greg Massi involved to do some solos, and then when I went away to college, I started using the college's studio to work on new songs. Since Byron and Greg were both out of state, I got my musician friends at school to play on the recordings and help me develop the songs. Eventually a performing band came out of it.

Was composing with Maudlin of the Well more a collaborative effort than it is with Kayo Dot now, or did you still have ultimate control over what went in?

Yeah, it was certainly more collaborative. We basically assumed that lyrics were Byron's job, leads were Greg's job, riffs, chord progressions, song skeletons and structure, etc etc were my job, and Terran wrote all his keyboard parts and a lot of the woodwind stuff... those delegations carried over into Kayo Dot as well, and we still kind of work that way (Terran still writes a lot of keyboard parts, and "Stained Glass" was even more collaborative in that Dan wrote his sax parts, Bodie wrote his drum parts - kind of a first for us), but I guess I would be considered the "producer" or the "artistic director" as well as the primary composer.

Maudlin of the Well’s Part The Second was entirely funded by fan donations. Since then you’ve also started a Kickstarter project for Tartar Lamb II. Where did the idea for this come from? Was it difficult to obtain label backing for your releases?

We decided to do Tartar Lamb II this way because, yes, getting label funding is getting more and more difficult; in general, people aren't buying our CDs, so labels can't justify funding recordings (see above how I talked about how "Stained Glass" needed to be recorded mostly at home). Home recording is really fun and personal of course, but studio recording just sounds better, goddammit. Especially when you're working with acoustic instruments, such as horns (which are featured in TL2 entirely). And since I know how difficult it is to get funding for Kayo Dot, which is essentially a rock band of sorts, and is definitely more accessible than Tartar Lamb, we figured that approaching labels for Tartar Lamb funding would be a futile waste of time and energy.

Could fan donations be a glimpse into the future of the independent music industry? Bands like Extra Life have since done Kickstarter projects as well.

Absolutely, I think it's fantastic. It'd be wonderful to remove any need whatsoever for middle men.

Part the Second has a very mellow sound compared with the earlier MOTW releases and from anything you've done with Kayo Dot. What brought about this change in direction?

It was not a change in direction. The songs on PTS are old songs, from the exact same era as all the other MOTW stuff that's out there. They were never recorded for the albums, however, because of the required instrumentation, or the very fact that the sound was more mellow. In making the original MOTW albums, we very much wanted to identify ourselves as some kind of a metal band, so we avoiding putting too much of the mellow stuff on those records at that time.

Why do you choose to make music? What makes it more involved than other forms of art? What do you see as the purpose of music?

I would not say that it's more involved than other forms of art. I make music only because I'm somehow called to do it. I can't help doing it. I want to quit all the time and do other things like become a SCUBA diver and take photos of dolphins and giant grouper, but the only way to stop the "voices" in my head (they're not really voices, OK)... the melodies and the songs that are constantly playing on repeat in my head... the only way to stop them is to turn them into a material form (a recording). Every time I make a record, then, I think I'm free of that shit, but then new songs will start playing up there and the cycle begins again. Very very annoying.

Is there any possibility of another Toby Driver solo record?

Only if Tzadik is going to release something. In The L..L..Library Loft is only called a Toby Driver solo record because that's kind of the Tzadik Composer Series' policy (see how Mick Barr's Octis album on Tzadik is called a Mick Barr record and not an Octis record, etc etc.. there are many other examples like that on Tzadik). I think it was a fluke that the first Kayo Dot album was able to be released as Kayo Dot and not as Toby Driver. Anyway, In The L..L..Library Loft features all the members of Kayo Dot of that era... there's no reason why that *couldn't* be called a Kayo Dot album, other than the fact that the instrumentation precludes us from ever playing any of those songs live (and I suppose there was no collaborative element whatsoever). Stuff I've worked on since 2005, outside of typical Kayo Dot, has been called Tartar Lamb.. but TL is basically Toby Driver solo composition in the same regard as Library Loft.

We were fortunate enough to come across a youtube video of yourself performing 'The Second Sight' with lyrics by Jason Byron. If your ‘casual’ song writing is of this standard, does this mean there’s loads of unheard Toby Driver material?

Yeah, there's lots of stuff like that!

Maudlin of the Well flirted with astral projection and other new age concepts. It is also said that maudlin of the Well material was partially composed through lucid dreaming. Can you elaborate on this, and does it have any relevance to the music you are now creating? Jason Byron’s lyrics for Kayo Dot still seem to make reference to these concepts.

Yes, again I would like to recommend to your readers to check out ARCANA IV; I contributed a nine-page essay to it which thoroughly answers this question. I have to tell you that Byron's lyrics, since MOTW, have not made reference to this subject matter at all. The astral projection/lucid dreaming theme was very much part of the MOTW aesthetic, but I like to believe that Kayo Dot has gone beyond those things into subtler territory. However, dreaming is still a large part of my creative process... often, I hear musical ideas in dreams these days which I'm able to use in waking life. In fact, and this'll probably get published after the fact, but this Friday (October 29) I'll be performing a brand new tune whose music was initially dreamt (The song is called "Lethe," with lyrics by Tim Byrnes.)

Moments like on Dowsing’s opener, Gemini Becoming the Tripod, appear rather ritualistic. At points your vocals appear to be deeper in the thrall of the music than a casual listen might suggest. Is there a spiritual dimension to Kayo Dot at all?

Not like how you seem to be suggesting... Spirituality is tough to define; As I mentioned above, I definitely feel "called" or otherwise compelled to make music, and songs often seem to write themselves. When I write, I often retreat into my subconscious. I get into a shallow trance. I feel physical ecstasy when writing or performing. Sometimes, I can't sing because I get so choked up by emotion. Are these aspects of spirituality? I have no idea. Maybe someone that is spiritual is reaching or searching for something specific, in which case I definitely am not, at this point in my life. Maybe that's one of the big differences between Kayo Dot and MOTW, too. MOTW had a specific spiritual sort of goal. Right now, though, I'm just along for the ride and am enjoying where it's taking me. I have to mention, though, that Byron, where his lyrics are involved, is a different story. He spends basically 100% of his time on this aspect of himself, and surely his lyrics reflect that, and affect the output of Kayo Dot. I may be a neutral bridge, in this case.

Former lyricist Jason Byron is making a return on Stained Glass. Why did he not contribute to Blue Lambency Downward and Coyote? We heard he's a 'hermit' now...?

He didn't contribute to BLD because I didn't ask him; that was a record I was working on by myself and in an intensely personal way. Coyote's lyrics were written by Yuko Sueta because Coyote started off as a collab between her and myself, and not as a Kayo Dot project. Byron's not a hermit, he's just got his own personal life. He lives a few states away from me, so we rarely see each other.

Will Choirs of the Eye ever be released on vinyl?

I don't think so. Tzadik doesn't do vinyl and they don't license. Well, they're just putting out their first vinyl release (Zorn's DREAMERS) right now... so hey, if that one sells, then maybe there's hope for a "Choirs..." phonograph record.

The meanings behind each Kayo Dot album title are fairly opaque. What do they represent for you?

Choirs of the Eye - the beginnings of tears. Dowsing Anemone With Copper Tongue - purely visual.. just try to visualize what that would look like, and there you have it. Blue Lambency Downward - again mostly visual, but I tried to elaborate with the comic-poster set I created and offered for sale via Hydra Head back in 2009 (and which no one bought or paid attention to, ha ha *cry*). Check it out on my website though, kayodot.net/toby under "artwork". Coyote - god of Chaos and Change. "The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses, and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk." Stained Glass - it's about stained glass, musically and lyrically.

How has the overall fan response towards your music changed over the years?

It seems like people catch up with the albums a few years after their release, in every case. Not too much attention at first, and lots of disdain. About 6 years afterwards, respect and a longing for the "old days". Actually this is frustrating for the fans as well, because they want to hear these old songs on tour, and they don't understand that we've already played all those songs on tour hundreds of times; these fans just didn't come to the shows! It's even logistically near-impossible to play some of the old stuff these days since our instrumentation changes so frequently. Fortunately, I've started to notice a faction of fans who are adventurous listeners and have grown to trust my instinct, for the most part, so they're able to approach my current ideas with open-mindedness. I very much appreciate that.

Well, you have a few fans for life here.

Pagan Hellfire - Spirit of Blood and Struggle 7"

2010-10-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Here's one that slipped under the radar. Canada's Pagan Hellfire return with a new 7", packed with cold Black Metal fresh from the battlefield (out now on German label Genocide Aesthetics). The driving rhythms and carefully-layered guitar lines of 2008's Solidarity are as strong as ever, and will whet any fan's appetite for another full-length.

'Spoken at the Altars Distant' is a solid enough song, with riffs that recall the better bits of latter-day Graveland (Fire Chariot of Destruction) and middle-period Darkthrone. It's nothing, however, in comparison with the real stormer that follows. 'Anthem of War, Forever to be Sung' starts off in a similar vein, but is packed with memorable riffs. After a long stretch of blast beats and constant key changes, the song really comes into its own at around the three-and-a-half minute mark. We're treated to a sequence of stunning riffs, killer shifts of rhythm, and some incisive melodic lead-work to round off. Like any 7", it's a short journey, but one you'll remember for days to come, the grim refrain etched into your mind, War is forever, and forever is war.

Enslaved's Mardraum: ten years on

2010-10-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Enslaved's latest opus, I've discovered that there's at least some extreme metal that my girlfriend is happy to listen to in the car. Alongside Vertebrae, Axioma... has been in heavy circulation, and has turned car journeys into a chance to kick back with some huge tunes. Spurred on to seek out more car-friendly metal¸ I've been working through the band's discography - most of which I haven't listened to for years - and what a treat it's been. One record has stood out more than all the others: 2000's Mardraum - Beyond the Within (Osmose Productions). I rarely hear it ranked among the band's best releases, but in a nearly faultless back-catalogue, Mardraum floored me in a way that no other Enslaved album has managed to.

With Mardraum, Enslaved took their first steps towards the blackened progressive metal of their current incarnation, and right from the album's opening notes there's a strong Floyd influence on show. But the band that wrote this album is a far cry from the Enslaved of today. The uncompromising energy and aggression of Blodhemn still runs strong through the arteries of Mardraum: the break-neck riffery on 'Daudningekvida' and 'Krigaren eg Ikkje Kjende' reminds us that even with 5 full-lengths under their belt, Enslaved were still a very young band in 2000 (Ivar B. must have been about 22). There's a rawness to the production, too, that lends an extra ounce of ferocity and silences anyone who might equate a prog influence with going soft. This is definitely not an album for the car.

The best thing about Mardraum is its huge sense of adventure. No compromise is made for the 'sensibilities' of traditional rock or metal songwriting. Take opener 'Større enn Tid - Tyngre enn Natt', a sprawling epic that slides seamlessly through a long chain of movements in a wide variety of styles and tempos, while staying compelling from the beginning right to its majestic conclusion. Other tracks (e.g. 'Ormgard', 'Æges Draum') see Enslaved toying with a heavily Death Metal-influenced sound, which (kind of surprisingly) works fantastically within their progressive/Black Metal framework.

After this brave and diverse album, there really was no telling which direction Enslaved would head off in next. While I love the sonic territory they ended up exploring on their post-Y2K albums, the reckless unpredictability of Mardraum will always be closer to my heart.

Paradigms Recordings: Mourner & Murmuüre

2010-10-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

After wowing us with the brilliant atmospheric doom of the Sol/Blodtru collaborative release earlier this year, London's Paradigms Recordings continue to plough through the best of the underground. Since its founding in 2006 to release a specially packaged Amber Asylum CD, it has been their ethic to discover and release only the most eclectic, original and compelling music around. With their two most recent releases, it is fair to say that they are doing a fine job. Although leagues apart, both the creeping doom of Mourner and the dizzying psychedelic black pop of Murmuüre should appease fans of the left-field equally. As with all Paradigms releases, these CDs are strictly limited to 500 copies so check them out.

Mourner – Mourner

Since the demise of Khanate there’s been a misanthropic doom-shaped void in the underground landscape sorely missed by many. Countless bands have stepped up to try and fill that hole, but often fall into the habit of emulating what once was (see Trees). Not so with Nashville, Tennessee’s Mourner however, whose towering monuments to darkness plumb new depths of depravity within extreme doom metal.

Mourner’s self-titled full-length debut is essentially a remastering of their earlier EP Still, with the added bonus of brand new track ‘The Death Posture’ to usher the listener into Mourner’s uniquely depressive atmosphere. With an intro that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Deathspell record (albeit intensely slowed down), there is a definitive ‘blackened’ edge to Mourner that readers will no doubt enjoy. Dissonance crackles to the fore, only to trade places with appropriately mournful, snail-paced melodies. Mourner definitely carries gargantuan riffs but there is absolutely no light here; the album is a torturous and suffocating experience that should be approached with caution.

Thundering drums and intricate bass lines lurk beneath thick, soupy guitars ranging from low-end power chords to clarion leads. But while the music is perfect funereal doom in itself, it is the vocal performance that takes centre stage. Undoubtedly a highlight of the aforementioned Khanate for their sheer despondent hatred and self-loathing, whichever sick fuck in Mourner handles these duties is really pushing the envelope. Whether it is the rasping whispers that echo between droning feedback or the black metal-esque shrieks that punctuate the bleak terrain, they are utterly terrifying to behold every time. At their most bizarre, it’s a piercing banshee’s wail. At their most disturbing, an unsettling childlike murmur.

Mourner is a strong debut from a band that has much more morbidity to inflict in the future. Unfortunately opener ‘The Death Posture’, being newer material, is a more confident and varied effort than the Still tracks. But apparent nods to Disembowelment and funeral doom as a whole promise of more great things to come. Obligatory listening for funeral/drone/doom fiends.

Murmuüre – Murmuüre

France has always provided a stronghold of acts intent on doing something different within black metal frameworks and Murmuüre is no different from its countrymen. In actual fact, Murmuüre’s music blasts down the limited perception of black metal while smearing it with influences from far and wide. The self-titled debut is a vivid, hallucinatory blitz through some of the most immediate and exciting experimental music I’ve heard in a while.

‘Primo Vere’ is a fantastic opener greeting the listener with what sounds like a tribal flute shining through a technicolour wash of ambience. The docile introduction is then swept away by searing guitar tone and chaotic, industrial jackhammer drums. It’s just as baffling as it is charming and insanely listenable. An enchanting atmosphere permeates the whole record onward. The swirling repetition of scales on ‘Reincarnate’ invites comparisons to the gothic cabaret of prog. rock band Miasma and the Carousel of Headless Horses, and will be echoing through your skull for days to come.

Murmuüre is a heavily electronic project that allows for intensely complicated and addictive music. The detail of the drum patterns and layers of processed sound is a psychedelic over-stimulation of the greatest kind. ‘Amethyst’ reminds of the Darkthrone-hailing electronica of Greece’s Fullmoon Bongzai while ‘L'Adien Au Soleil’ sounds like Blut Aus Nord dropping acid and twiddling synths with that strange but incredible Yoga band.

Flying through synth ambience, caustic black metal and weird electronica at this rate is bewildering but hugely rewarding and closer ‘Disincarnate’ helps wind down the trip with cold, mechanical space rock sending signals crawling through the cosmos. It's an awesome, disorientating ride that begs to be ten minutes longer!

Listen // Purchase

Diocletian - War Of All Against All

2010-10-21T15:16:00.000-07:00

Diocletian was an emperor responsible for the most harrowing period of persecution of Christians in the Roman empire. A pillar of society then. Diocletian is a band responsible for the most forward thinking take on war metal to date. War Of All Against All takes the supremely constructed war metal epitaph of last years Doom Cult and injects a new found sense of barbarism and chaos to proceedings. Diocletian have always cut against the war metal grain with their uniquely tailored approach to the genre; gone are the bombastic basslines and heavily distorted, jumbled song arrangements, replaced instead with tempo variations and atmospheric nuance. This is a construction.

Album opener Black Dominion wastes no time in setting tempo or direction. No sooner does the sample preclude before launching into a heavily muted riff that could easily find a home on any Portal recording. The audibility of each instrument greatly adds to the effect of the music. War metal musicians take note: I do not care how much you think uneven mixing adds to an albums atmospheric experience, it masquerades an inability to compose atmosphere in the face of bands like Diocletian, whose adept production usurps even the throne of Revenge. I want to hear what the guitar is doing. Got that? (Do not get me wrong, I have always enjoyed the bombastic necrohell of Revenge and the driving epiphanies Sacramentary Abolishment are able to conjur, but Diocletian draw new blood).

As the barage continues across the scope of the album and the drums employ a host of rhythms, from the staple black metal binary blast of bass and snare to the restrained lashings of doom, a whole host of atmospheres take shape. Might Is Right slows down proceedings, employing what I consider one of the riffs of the year (see 1:10 in to the track). Desolate Earth is the shortest and fastest track on War Of All Against All and succeeds in raping, pillaging and annihilating with its stereotypically chaotic blackened war metal. Album closer Fortress Of The Unconquerable is over sixteen minutes in length. Breaking the track down, we find ourselves lurching through seven minutes of haunting, hypnotic metal. There are no driving sections of metal here. No throat burdened vocals. No promise of cliche at all. Instead, the track morphs in to a martial rhythm, underpinned by distorted spoken word before falling through ambience. It is claustrophobic and highly engaging.

The guitar tone throughout the album permeates my hazy memory with odd sections that sound identical to a lot of Seepia-era Portal. The richness of atonal harmonies against the ridiculous drum work of C. Sinclair perhaps? Maybe. Chances are this has more to do with the overall quality of musicianship on offer. Innumerable sparks of audial likeness can be found beneath the maelstrom of the first listen. Diocletian write riffs that haunt you for days (see 1:20 in Death Tyrant). The album never lurches in to the unremarkable ether of experimentation and instead adapts and transforms themes around aggression. A very large amount of variation that builds on where Doom Cult left off to [hopefully] inspire and infuse the next generation of war [metal] veterans to create something capable of topping this ritual. Any self respecting metal fan should be aware of Diocletian. The album is available now from Invictus Productions, along with the superbly crafted Doom Cult LP.

Purchase / Diocletian

Eddie Entropy

2010-10-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

Despite a dubious name choice for the project, this music video by Eddie Entropy immediately set any concerns aside. 'Blot Out the Sun With Sex' is the title track for a forthcoming album to be released through the net label Dark Winter Records tomorrow (October 21st) for free. If you thought Cold Cave's erotic and apocalyptic visions of the future were grim, Eddie Entropy would like a word with you. Stripping away all the synth-pop connotations of that project and replacing them with a cold industrial drone, Eddie's intensely personal spoken word nerd-rants are bound to strike a chord with the marginalized, depressed and failures of the world, as well as anyone who has ever questioned their existence. More music can be found at his soundcloud and the EP No Tomorrow can be grabbed here.

Vit - -

2010-10-20T09:34:00.000-07:00

So another handful of Midwestern cultist nutjobs have convened on the vast Ohio cornfields in the hopes of hastening the return of the Old Ones. This is Vit's mission and with their self-recorded debut "-", the music is of such a bizarre occult calibre that LURKER sincerely hopes they are successful. Whether you've read Lovecraft's work or not, even the most casual metal fan will have some grasp on the extent to which he has influenced the path of our beloved rituals. His name is usually dropped by only the heaviest and strangest bands: Moss, Electric Wizard, Innsmouth, Nile and Morbid Angel to name but a few.

However opening track 'The Ardour of Saints' may present a smokescreen of sorts for listeners who are well versed in Lovecraftian literature. Light years from the brooding gothic verse that Lovecraft channelled almost a century ago, instead Vit open with the most melodic, upbeat material of the whole album. Jangly, major key guitars enter the fray then slide into what can only be described as downtuned Le Secret era Alcest worship. But before you stop reading there, - has so much more to offer.

The onslaught of celebratory black metal is cut short as it warps into a sludgey, discordant soup. This stylistic U-turn is where the album starts for real. 'Swansylvania' erupts into incredible, lumbering blackened doom like Darkthrone colliding head first with the pace of Forgotten Tomb. Abysmal guitars ring out droning riffs shrouded with a startling melodic ability beneath powerfully enunciated growls of Lovecraftian allegory.

Two tracks deep into the mire of black metal experimentation that Vit wields so effectively and the listener's expectations are challenged once again. As the album's centrepiece, 'Ascension Ritual' starts with a fleet of acoustic instruments. Among the guitars banjos are nestled, giving the piece a distinct folk and bluegrass feel that echoes the musical culture of their homeland. Then rumbling double pedals set in as Vit continues to display the ease with which they traverse genres and defy all expectations, ranging from depressive dirge to thoroughly head-banging fistfuls of old school heavy metal.

Within the mish-mash of genre splicing and general experimentation, thankfully Vit never forget that they can bring the metal full force as 'Puritan Ossuary' showcases so well, with one of my favourite black metal riffs of the year forming the backbone of this song. A genuinely fantastic work of progressive black metal from American shores, do not miss out on this. - can be streamed from the band's bandcamp page and downloaded for free. If you fancy shelling out, get it in FLAC or place an order for the hand-crafted boxset version!

Danishmendt - Un Passé Aride Review

2010-10-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

"..the way reality is denied every day."

Danishmendt’s Un Passé Aride is a nebulous journey through an abridged collection of genres; the post-metal sludge of Neurosis, atonal guitars of Blut Aus Nord and underlying ambience of projects like Sleep Research Facility all play their roles in a sound Danishmendt have commendably made their own. Prophetic visions of societal collapse dragged through the conscious experience of a world destroyed; a bleak monument to the remnants of man.

Un Passé Aride is downright tense. A delayed sense of urgency that evolves throughout the album is achieved by hard-hitting, mid paced drums. This hypnotised approach to the drums and a possessed air to the tormented, aggravated vocals give the music a ritualistic, derelict feel. The guitars and bass are largely atonal and oscillate between driving the music forward and provoking a tense sense of discomfort. Citing influences as wide as French noisecore from the 90’s to The Cure and Sol Invictus, as well as the hauntingly vacant photography of Yves Marocchi.

The packaged product is exemplary. Cold Void Emanations and Odio Sonoro have excelled and the photography of industrial collapse fits the tone of the album perfectly. Drawing influence and fuel from every possible canon of work, Danishmendt elucidate the chosen design: “When we were half-way composing the album, we discovered Yves Marocchi's work through a documentary about East Saint-Louis, a derelicted city next to Saint-Louis, Missouri. This town used to be the indutrial center of the city gathering most of the plants in the region. After all of them closed down, it decayed to finally be one of the poorest cities in The United States. Abandoned industrial sites are quite all over the place and social and racial segregation can be witnessed everywhere. As in many countries, major industrial sites shut down in the past 30 years in France and deindusrialization is only getting faster these days. East Saint-Louis is a good image of what could become France and lots of Western Europe countries in the years to come. Picturing the future in such a context was the starting point of the lyrics.” The album cover is a winemaking warehouse near Rouen, France (Yves got arrested shortly after photographing the monolith – decaying structures are apparently forbidden access in France too) and the fold out booklet houses images from other disused factories, jails, hospitals.

Conceptually, Un Passé Aride revolves around societal evolution and inevitable devolution: “The way globalization and the shift to a tertiary society is being promoted and written onto the urban landscape is simply frightening. Any sign of collective organization, whether it be to produce goods or to struggle for social progress is now being erased from Europe's biggest cities to allow global franchises to open new shops. It feels as we were all, European citizens, travelling through giant attraction parks as Philippe Murray wrote. No social history, no sign of tensions to be seen. Political speeches are only based on oxymoron’s such as ‘sustainable development’ or ’negative economic growth’ to hide the reality while thousands of people are now being cast aside every year to settle down in poor, decaying areas.” We will all, in this developed world, eventually experience and suffer the tumult of ideological, economical and cultural ruin. This is the lyrical content of Un Passé Aride, traversing topics of unconscious nihilism, hope, despair, anger and of course, apocalypse (not so great if you cannot speak French I am afraid).

The feel and coercion of the ideology fall hand in hand with the progression of the album. You are pushed and pulled over track distance, sludge meets mesmerizing black metal arrangements - Danishmendt’s sound treads the post-metal waters of sludge and blackened doom; the Blut Aus Nord of the Neurosis world. That is not even to undermine the bands music, which takes influence from two stellar acts and sets a tone against finely crafted portions of despotism. You’d be hard pressed to find a release so mesmerizingly cathartic.

Purchase / Stream

Castevet interview

2010-10-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

I picked up Castevet's Mounds of Ash on a whim from the fantastic Rapture Records in Witney, amazed to discover that a little record shop in small-town England had a section devoted entirely to Profound Lore. Since that chance discovery, I've come back to Mounds of Ash more than any other album released this year. It's a complex and compelling piece of metal artistry that reveals new sides to itself with every listen, and threw up plenty of questions in my mind about the ideas that went into it. Last month I got in touch with the band. Drummer Ian Jacyszyn and guitarist/vocalist Andrew Hock kindly made time to answer a few of these questions.

Reviews of Mounds of Ash usually struggle to describe and categorize your sound. How would you introduce the record to an unfamiliar listener?

Andrew: I think the general umbrella of progressive black metal is rather applicable to what we do. It is a loose term, but we didn't set out to create music that is easily categorized.

The record comes across as so much more than just a collection of songs: the way certain patterns in the opening track turn up again in the closer, for instance, gives the record a real unity. Was this all carefully planned, or did it develop organically? Was there an overarching musical goal for the album? 

Ian: Andrew and I are definitely “planners” when it comes to song writing; very few of our ideas are left unquestioned. We rely heavily on the use of specific themes and motifs, whether harmonic or rhythmic. We obviously cannot control the outcome of everything we write. However, having this ideological writing process helps give our songs a sense of purpose. You might be the first person to actually notice and comment on the similarities between “Red Star Sans Chastity” & “Harvester”. “Harvester” was written shortly after we decided that “Red Star…” would be the opener for the album. We knew that we wanted the record to come “full circle” during the closer, so we wrote “Harvester” to essentially be “Red Star...” part 2. “Harvester” naturally took on a life of it’s own, but there are specific harmonic and rhythmic ideas that are borrowed from ‘Red Star Sans Chastity’. There is also a lengthy crescendo in both songs. I think that this kind of continuity is important. All of the songs on Mounds of Ash share at least one or two ideas. Some of the ideas are more subtly connected than others, but they are certainly not hidden.

Mounds of Ash includes some intriguingly titled songs (‘Harvester’, ‘Red Star Sans Chastity’), but no lyrics are printed on the sleeve. Would you be willing to divulge any information about the lyrics to any specific songs?

Andrew: The songs in question are actually linked as much lyrically as they are musically. 'Red Star Sans Chastity' deals with the desire to exit one's body and exist on a completely abstract plane of existence, albeit an inevitably nonexistent one. The words link these feelings to very specific images I have come to associate with that desire through various personal experiences. There is a sense of anger towards existence and a hope that escape is not only possible, but also within my grasp in those words. 'Harvester', however is a succumbing to weakness, to life, and an acceptance of rather unfortunate basic realities. The main lyric to that song is "Harvester of dead trees," a metaphor for a struggle that leads nowhere.

You have said that your lyrics deal with escapism. It seems that you use Castevet as a means of escape in other ways as well: Ian has said that he deliberately avoids the conventions of brutal death metal drumming, and Andrew that he tries to get away from the traditional approach of a guitarist. What importance do escape and escapism hold you as individuals? 

Andrew: Escaping the confines of existence has been an unreachable goal humanity has struggled with since the early beginnings of our species. Whether this has been through religion, art, drugs, or death; people have been in a constant search to attain the unattainable. Much of this drive for earthly escape has resulted in some fantastic art and many monumental philosophical and metaphysical conclusions. However in the end, we are left only with our bodies and our minds, the acceptance that all of our creations are from them, and the knowledge that they will no longer exist in the future. This dialectic cycle inherent to such important aspects of human invention has always fascinated me and been a source of inspiration and frustration.

Other than providing your name, what significance does the Polanski film Rosemary’s Baby have for Castevet?  

Ian: Well, I am a definitely a huge horror nerd, but the Rosemary’s Baby reference isn’t pure homage. We chose the name simply because we feel an aesthetic kinship to what the Castevets represent in the scheme of the film. The true intentions of the Castevets are not within plain view, and we feel the same can be said about our approach to songwriting. Our inspiration for writing songs typically cannot be heard as the primary voice; it’s the intricacies and details that are most important.

Not fitting easily into any one genre, you get booked to play alongside bands with a background in hardcore (East of the Wall, KEN Mode), as well bands closer to Black Metal (Altar of Plagues, Krallice, Velnias). What kind of show do you enjoy playing more? Do you get very different audience reactions? 

Ian (continuing his previous answer): The band doesn’t really rely on any type of sensationalism. The listener needs to become more involved, and this type of involvement isn’t really unique to any one audience over another. We don’t really get different reactions from the two types of shows you’ve mentioned, and I actually believe that the audiences of the mentioned bands crossover a great deal. We’ve been fortunate enough to share the stage with bands that we admire at almost every show we’ve played thus far, so every live show has been a great experience.

 Mounds of Ash is a very harmonically dense record. How does this translate in a live setting when there’s just the three of you? 

Andrew: There are actually very few multi-guitar harmonies. While there is a lot of textural guitar layering on the record, almost all of the riffs and harmonies are coming from guitar chords, which are played with just one guitar. So, this has never been an issue for us.

 Your debut EP Stones/Salts is soon due for a cassette rerelease through Destructive Industries, a label better known for noise and power electronics. How did that come about? And what made you choose that format?

Ian: I met Thomas (who runs DI) through Jim, who used to run Paragon Records. He’s a truly genuine guy, and when he expressed his interest in the band it seemed like a natural idea to work together at some point. We’ve had many requests for copies of the Stones/Salts EP since our album came out. Since we have no plans to reissue the vinyl version of Stones/Salts, we felt that the cassette format would be a perfect solution for both the seekers of the release and newcomers to Castevet alike. I should state though, that this release isn’t just a rehash of the previously released vinyl version. The audio was remastered for the new format, and will feature newly designed, hand-assembled packaging in resealable poly bags.

You have said that your sound has its foundation in Black Metal: what artists do you respect most in that genre? 

Both: Master's Hammer, any Czral related project, Kvist, Old Wainds, Tenebrae In Perpetuum, Vlad Tepes, Ulver (particularly Bergtatt), Deathspell Omega, Beherit, Lugubrum, Von, Pest (Germany), Burzum, and many others throughout the years.

None of the members’ previous projects has any obvious connection with Black Metal. When did you start exploring the genre, and how did you get into it? 

Andrew: Black Metal was actually the first form of extreme music I began listening to and have been an avid listener for half my life now. I got into it through hearing Emperor's Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk. To say it was an eye-opening experience would be a massive understatement. My understanding of how music could potentially function and the atmosphere it could invoke were turned upside down. The right opportunity to have a project connected to the black metal genre had not arisen until I met Ian and we began working together.

Nothing about Castevet’s sound is typical of Black Metal, though, and you rely very little on the conventional stylings of the genre. What guitarists and drummers would you cite as particularly inspirational?

Ian: For metal: Brandon Thomas.

Andrew: There have not been a ton of metal guitarists to really inspire the way I play. Piggy of Voivod, Carl-Michael Eide of Virus and Ved Buenes Ende, Steve Hurdle and Luc Lemay of Gorguts, the riffing on Kvist’s Fur Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike, the riffing on Bergtatt, and Antti Boman of Demilich. However, I’d say my number one influence as a guitarist is the free-improvisation legend, Derek Bailey. My entire approach to guitar changed upon being exposed to his music.

  What five records have you most enjoyed recently?

Ian: Immolation: Unholy Cult, Jana Winderen: Energy Field, Cocorosie: Grey Oceans, Possession: The Thin, White Arms…, Slade: Slayed?

Andrew: Root: Kargeras, The Devil's Blood: Come Reap, Morton Feldman: Cello and Orchestra, Talk Talk: Laughing Stock, Beherit: Drawing Down The Moon

What’s next on the agenda for Castevet?

Andrew: We are in the process of writing for our next LP and working on touring the West Coast in spring. Keep an eye out for some east coast shows we are in the process of solidifying as well.

Castevet myspace / Castevet bigcartel

Horse Latitudes - Gathering

2010-10-12T12:05:00.000-07:00

The thundering organic bottom end of Horse Latitudes occult approach to metal puts a welcome spin on the orthodox proto-doom of yesteryear, reinvigorating the stoner sludge swamp with new atmospheres and textures. The occult fascinations, obombrous reverb and hypnotic swelling of instruments created by their two bass, vocalist on drums approach to song writing is sure to have something to do with the melancholy doom available here. Vocals summoned straight from the doom-archives, heavy nods to the baritone guitar tone of Ride For Revenge and occult preoccupations of Urfaust; Horse Latitudes are set to unleash their astral revelations through Aurora Borealis at the end of this month. Gathering will see the light of day, a monument of enlightenment too great for the eye's of man.

Highly Recommended. Listen to some tracks from the forthcoming release here. Expect both CD and LP through Aurora Borealis and a full review from us here at LURKER.

Ensorcelor - By Mycomancy Insumed

2010-10-12T05:13:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that a new Ensorcelor track, 'By Mycomancy Insumed', is streaming at the band's myspace. People who thought their debut demo Urarctica Begins was pretty good, you're going to be collecting your jaws off the ground in about 14.28 minutes time. 'By Mycomancy Insumed' represents such a stellar leap forwards for Ensorcelor, the mind boggles at where this Quebec quintet will take their music with the next release. Bigger, grander and utterly doomed.

Winter is upon thee...

2010-10-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

Nearly time to listen to this guy.

Whirl - Distressor

2010-10-11T08:30:00.000-07:00

After passing comments by Neige of a slight 'shoegaze' influence in the music he wrote as Alcest and the subsequent success of this project, there's been considerable backlash against the term within the black metal fanbase. Even the new Drudkh record has been labelled as such, revealing that many metal fans don't have a grasp on what shoegaze actually is. It's become nothing but an ignorant, derogatory term aimed at black metal bands who have done much for innovation within the genre.

Thankfully, California's Whirl appeared in May of this year with their brand of retro, picture-perfect shoegaze. Perhaps they can do some schooling through their connection to the shoegaze/black metal flirtations of Deafheaven, a band that guitarist Nick also plays in. But he assures us Whirl is "his baby" and the project has proved to be an entirely different animal.

Distressor is immediately successful in paying homage to shoegaze circa My Bloody Valentine. Funnily enough, the genre is again comparable to black metal in that fans believe its glory days were in the early 90s, with many new bands yearning towards that unobtainable sound caught on by very few acts. The only difference is that many modern shoegaze bands are terrible. The brilliance of Whirl then lies in how they transmit their awesome and accurately archetypal shoegaze. With a name that echoes the aesthetics of Ride and Lush as much as the 'whirl' of colours within their own music and references to the dream-like atmosphere of Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, Whirl have nailed a mystique on the band that makes the music even more enjoyable.

The transition from 'Preface' into the rest of the EP is a belter. Sleepy guitar chords glittering with distortion, noise and a host of trance-inducing effects wash over a sample from the film. Then from the first snare strike of the following song 'Leave', you are propelled into literally perfect shoegaze for the duration of the record. Whirl conjure that emotional frailty between euphoria and nostalgic melancholy with ease. Melodies are catchy and major key but also manage to capture something desperately sad. Beautiful male/female vocals drift in and out of layers of scintillating high frequency guitar noise, buried in the mix to the point that lyrics are vague: all great hallmarks of the shoegaze breed.

This is an incredibly addictive record. For someone who currently refuses to listen to any shoegaze outside of My Bloody Valentine, I have spun Distressor to exhaustion this week. It's poppy, straightforward and moving, the perfect remedy for tired and beaten ears. Whirl are to embark on a mini-tour through CA towards the end of October. A 7" split with American Gods will be released in the next couple of months on Withdrawal Records as well as plans to put Distressor on 12" EP. For now though Distressor can be streamed and downloaded for a donation at the Whirl bandcamp.

WHIRL // GET NOW

Slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us...

2010-10-10T11:08:00.000-07:00

Nick discovered this ages ago and should be writing this, but getting that guy to post is like pulling teeth so I'm poaching it. Below is a really neat dubstep mix based on Jeff Wayne's musical retelling of War of the Worlds. WOAH HOLY SHIT DUBSTEP ON YOUR LURKER? I know, right? But if you dig the wub and don't mind being berated by your elite metal friends, this is genuinely entertaining and one of the finest examples of a generally hit-or-miss genre. Our friends at Synchronium featured it in their 'Music On Drugs' column. As Nick put it so well -

"It's an intelligent mix combined with classic sci-fi, anyone who dissaproves can go die."

HAIL SATAN.

War of the Worlds by erwtenpeller

Oh, and just make sure you stop before the Pendulum bit, the closing moments let it down. Never thought they'd get a mention here...

Children - Power Spirit

2010-10-06T13:32:00.000-07:00

Children: Gnarly prog/thrash

Secrets of the Tune: Urfaust vs. Giya Kancheli

2010-10-05T05:11:00.000-07:00

Following on from Rob's article last month about the subliminal workings of Grand Belial's Key, here's another slightly hidden nuance about another of LURKER's favourite bands.

The haunting modern classical soundscapes that usher in Urfaust's brilliant album Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist may have left many a metal fan scratching their heads. While fantastic additions to a masterpiece of modern black metal, I recently discovered that opening track 'Dunkel, still von Ewigkeit' and the intermission 'Trauerhöhle' cannot be officially attributed to Urfaust. For a long time I had wondered about the origins of the tracks; whether Urfaust had commissioned some musicians to perform the pieces or if they had used some sort of music production software and programmed in the very organic strings themselves.

Responses to my queries from the fanbase were as garbled and confused as I was. No one seemed to know their actual origins and I was happy to resign myself to believing it was one of the above, the air of mystery that surrounds Urfaust's motives remained thankfully intact.

But while on a fateful mission around the (very limiting) record shops of Brighton town this summer with Dylan Trigg, everything suddenly fell together. After recommending each other numerous acts, I mentioned that he should definitely give Urfaust a listen. Dylan also mentioned that he was on the lookout to purchase works by the Georgian composer Giya Kancheli. Later on, after hearing Verräterischer, Nichtswürdiger Geist as his first foray into the world of Urfaust, Dylan contacted me to say that, by bizarre coincidence, 'Dunkel, still von Ewigkeit' appeared to extensively sample Kancheli's 'Simi' from the work Magnum Ignotum.

I got hold of Kancheli's material to find that Dylan was right, it's a essentially an abridged and aggressive take on 'Simi', lifted straight from the composition and chopped and changed a bit. Not that the plagiarism bothers me: Kancheli's work is tense, fragile and darkly beautiful and works wonderfully within the context of Urfaust as much as his own compositions. Were any lurkers aware of this, or am I just an uncultured metal pleb? The open-mindedness and knowledge of the metal underground continues to astound me.

Dylan wrote an in-depth article on Giya Kancheli and the Aesthetics of Nostalgia and also dedicated his phenomenological book, The Aesthetics of Decay, to the composer.

Dopefight - Buds

2010-10-04T03:07:00.000-07:00

Having already done everything I can to thrust Brighton's Dopefight on to the metal-devouring public, it makes sense to give their new record a good rinse and review. It's proven difficult though. Every time I spin Dopefight's full-length debut Buds I am totally absorbed. And when an album's as direct, charming and thrilling as this one you want to listen to it, not fucking write about it. Since its release on August 2nd, every webzine and his dog has been rightly raining accolades on Dopefight. Being the first person outside the band to hear the album (so Ant [drummer] tells me) I have almost listened to it too much.

From the opening bleeting nod to the Almighty Horned One to the last folkish strums, Buds entertains and satisfies the metalhead's constant yearning for great riffs. Twisting and turning through almost every form of sludge, doom and stoner metal that comes to mind, Dopefight at no point sound like a tribute to the obvious American acts that hold the monopoly on this arguably done-to-death genre. What makes Dopefight stand out is their unique and effective take on song writing.

Their credo seems to be focussed on getting incredibly catchy riffs into the song as soon as possible and then... maybe adding some vocals on at the end if they see fit. Take second track, 'Leviathan's Burp' for instance. Kicking off with a riff that can only be described as "towering", the song weaves its way through several gripping variations on itself and an awesome double guitar lead then dives into a chunky, stomping section: the only natural place in the track that could carry vocals. This 'verse' only lasts about 30 seconds then it is straight back to the How to Write a Fucking Awesome Riff 101.

While critics may stand up and argue that this is a product of bad songwriting, I would have to disagree. Dopefight is without doubt a mostly instrumental band whose potency lies in their uncanny ability to write some of the greatest sludge riffs I have ever heard. Guitarist/vocalist Owen Karti has a knack for melody and excellent composure that rings true through most songs on the album. The formula works so well you will find yourself consistently reaching over to the volume dial, pumping it up for specific sections then letting your head-banging fly off the handle.

In contrast to the typical reigning sludge doom bands whose songs usually range anywhere between 8 and 15 minutes in length, Dopefight don't fuck about. No single song exceeds 7 minutes, with a majority of the tracks being under 5. It's another concealed weapon up Dopefight's sleeve, the sheer quality of sludge on display is only emphasised by the short and sweet tracks that will have you pining for more as soon as each song is over. Buds stands up to so many repeated plays it's unreal.

There are two dark horses on the album in particular and they come one after the other, demonstrating a microcosm of the variety that Dopefight draws upon across Buds. 'Brighton Town is a Fuckin Whore' (believe me, it is. I've lived there) is the shortest track on the album and betrays Dopefight's origins as a punk band. Handing out heavy slabs of blasting sludgecore, Owen's vocals spew vitriol upon the band's home town.

Following that is 'La Mano Del Demons', the slowest, heaviest thing Dopefight have done to date. I recall being told that this was the band's least favourite song to record, a revelation I find odd as it is definitely my top track. A droning menace of power chords form the introduction which gradually evolves into one of the most evil and sinister traditional doom metal riffs ever written [I'm prepared to stand corrected if anyone can find a more evil doom riff]. It's so good I can guarantee that if Electric Wizard-shaped doom is your thing, you will repeat this song. The creeping doom is then brushed away by the bludgeoning sludgecore that Dopefight are so proficient in. But they know a good riff when they write one, and it returns a couple minutes later, triumphantly bursting with distortion and fuzz.

Buds is a damn fine work of sludge doom that stands up to the classic Weedeaters, Bongzillas, Buzzov*ens and Electric Wizards of the world. Drums are tight and punchy, bass is sturdy and rumbling, guitars are clear and melodic yet pack a punch with a massive wall-of-sound production. There are no lyrics in the sleeve, just weed, but you can be assured that Owen is pissed off and taking it out on you. Britain is taking over, go get it now because it will put a smile on your face. LURKER guarantee.

DOPEFIGHT // BIGCARTEL // INTERVIEW

Worn heels and the hands we hold

2010-10-03T04:13:00.000-07:00

The phenomenal Envy have released a video online for their song 'Worn Heels and the Hands We Hold'. I love it.

Recitation (Sonzai/Temporary Residence/Rock Action) is out a week tomorrow. This may turn out to be one of the best records this year, and that's saying something. Listen to two other new songs from the record here and here.

A Grand Declaration of War, 10 years on

2010-10-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

Mayhem's much-reviled Grand Declaration of War turned 10 this summer. I was never quite sure what to make of this album, but its tenth birthday is a good reason to give it another chance. Some of the musicianship is jaw-dropping ('A Time to Die' being a standout), and at points the icy, post-apocalyptic atmosphere is right on the money. Not that it's hard to find faults: the spoken-word histrionics are at best an acquired taste, and the constant stop-start approach never allows the record to gain any lasting momentum. But in its finer moments, Grand Declaration of War is an adventurous and thought-provoking step in the dark.

The decade since its release has seen a massive explosion of bands mixing progressive elements into their Black Metal, dabbling with electronics, and pushing the limits of technicality. None of this stuff shocks fans any more - along with shoegaze, drone and post rock, it has become part of the wallpaper of modern BM.

If this record came out today, would it be loved, hated or just ignored?

Black tides of the Uroborus

2010-10-01T14:48:00.000-07:00

Please welcome Black Uroborus (Stephen Wilson) to these hallowed pages.

Stephen designed our logo and treated us to a great interview a while back. This is an attempt to continue collaborating so expect the occasional update on his work and various projects. We have some cool shit in the works so watch this space.

BLACK UROBORUS

Horn - Distanz

2010-10-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

For the last six or seven years, Germany's Horn have been churning out a steady supply of great records, the latest of which is Distanz (2010, Black Blood Records). In a year that has already produced a glut of decent Black Metal, an album like this will probably go largely unnoticed, with higher-profile releases stealing the show. Take this review as a little attempt to change that.

Put on any other Horn record, and within seconds you're transported to the majestic landscapes of the German countryside. Sole member Nerrath has the uncanny ability to conjure up with his music precisely the kind of images that adorn his covers, from the bright springtime view of Der Forst im Frühjahr (2004) to the darker hillsides of Naturkraft (2008). Distanz opens up a whole new approach for Horn with its dark, monochrome view over a harbour, the band's first album cover to feature a human element. But as always, the image is the perfect match for the music. With Distanz, Nerrath continues to explore the darker sound-world that he began building on Naturkraft. For the first time, too, the themes of nature and landscapes move into the background, and Nerrath tries his hand at more human topics, like the place of cultural heritage in society ('Borders, Lands and Shores') and the lasting shadows of World War II ('Die verlorene Rotte').

Despite the change of emphasis, Distanz is very obviously a Horn album. The trademark guitar tone - one of the best in modern Black Metal - is as rich as ever, echoing through the tracks like rain upon a mountain ravine. Riffs are built around huge, majestic melodies that soar above the drums and vocals and carve themselves into your consciousness. There's also a new (and downright dirty) thrash influence behind much of the faster riffing, showing that Nerrath is unafraid to expand upon the tried and tested formula.

Fans of Horn's older work could be disappointed to learn that the stirring, almost folkish choruses of the 'Alpenland'-days are now a thing of the past. There are still plenty of vocal melodies, but in a much grimmer, grittier style, sounding much closer to the usual screams than the clean singing of old. It's the harsh vocals, though, that steal the show here, covering a whole range of tones and moods, and with just the right amount of murky delay. Hardly any compression is used, too, giving the vocals a dynamic expressiveness that's rare in today's extreme metal.

What makes Distanz such an improvement upon Naturkraft is in the variation of paces and textures within each song. Tracks are generally quite long, and the variety keeps thing compelling, making each song feel like a journey. Take the standout-track 'Die Heimat, die keiner kannte', which progresses gradually from furious blasting to an expansive, almost depressive conclusion that recalls Deathgate Arkanum at their slowest.

Distanz is a masterfully wrought slab of Black Metal from one of the most bafflingly underrated artists in the German scene. Make some time for Horn in your busy listening schedule, and don't let this fine piece of work be forgotten.

Deafheaven - DFHVN

2010-09-30T15:20:00.000-07:00

Like the first piercing shard of light through the black, tumultuous clouds of argument that have erupted in recent months over the ‘infestation’ of the black metal scene by shoegaze and post-rock arrangements, Deafheaven arrive. Coupling graceful, soaring melodies with striding, empowering sections of metal – this self titled EP takes the wandering intrigue of bands like Wolves in the Throne Room and marries them to the style Neige has come to categorise (and then consistently rape) in recent years.

DFHVN emits certain Krallice and Liturgy like vibes during the animated sections of riffology before coalescing and diving freefall into a discharge of overburdened euphoria. Mild associations with depressive black metal can also be made: the meandering, arpeggio distortion played at mid pace, the howling, abyssal vocals. This switch between sections of driving metal and melancholic uncertainty recurs throughout the EP. Final track Exit: Denied summons an impressive funeral doom felt ending. Church bells hover over brutally slow riff progressions before guitars low in the mix introduce melody and a sense of direction.

DFHVN is epic. The music is engaging, ardent, hypnotic, despondent and exhilarated. The musicianship is tight, thought provoking and presents one of the best progressions into this territory of sound I have heard. Give Daedalus a listen and try not to get sucked in – watch the track evolve from jubilation to complete melancholy in a matter of minutes. DFHVN liberates. It couples the sublime with the introspective. An undiluted recording of our reaction to the awe-inspiring, euphoric revelations of life.

You can hear and download the release for nothing over at the Bandcamp page, although I heartily recommend you donate some of your cash to their worthwhile cause. A cassette version of the DFHVN demo will be made available shortly as well as an EP at the backend of January. The band will be recording a full length in December which will make its way onto vinyl in the early months of 2011. All go in the deafheaven camp – give their EP a listen and help this fledgling project out a bit.

Carl Sagan - Cosmos: A Personal Voyage

2010-09-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

"The size and age of the Cosmos are beyond ordinary human understanding. Lost somewhere between immensity and eternity is our tiny planetary home. In a cosmic perspective, most human concerns seem insignificant, even petty. And yet our species is young and curious and brave and shows much promise. In the last few millennia we have made the most astonishing and unexpected discoveries about the Cosmos and our place within it, explorations that are exhilarating to consider. They remind us that humans have evolved to wonder, that understanding is a joy, that knowledge is prerequisite to survival. I believe our future depends powerfully on how well we understand this Cosmos in which we float like a mote of dust in the morning sky."

Carl Sagan will redeem mankind yet. Watch here.

Vehementer Nos - Vehementer Nos

2010-09-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

This is how to approach progressive black metal. Organic instrumentation, intelligently and reverently composed sections of metal juxtaposed and at times intersected by key moments of classical euphoria. Think of the blind wanderlust of the majority of black metal bands, remove any insignificant sections or ‘filler’, include the ‘french black metal’ tag and you are only just beginning to comprehend the release presented before you.

Released in 2007 on Osmose Productions (still waiting on the day that this sees a vinyl release), this release tracks six years of composition by Vehementer Nos. Unsurprisingly, this is their only release to date then.

Very hard to pinpoint a key sound on this release. Key staples of any black metal band – guitar, drum, bass and vocals are the motivating force. Violins and extra instrumentation are kept to highlight key pivotal aspects of the music, never venturing into the backdrop of over burdening synth ambience or badly integrated harmony. The violins practically flow with the music when summoned, they highlight and further the drive, refrain or release – whenever they are needed. This is what makes this project from France so incredible. They know how to write impassioned, vitriolic black metal at the best of times - usurping the customary black metal paradigm by subtly including different instruments and paying attention to the structure of their tracks.

Overall, comparions to A Forest Of Stars and Altar Of Plagues are appropriate but not full descriptions of the music. Predominantly distorted tremolo guitar work under hefty, double bass gauntlet drums – the mass of the melody and direction of the album are undertaken almost wholly by the guitar which do a great job at guiding the songs to places outside your usual sphere of expectation. As a simple black metal album, the changes in direction, speed and arrangement are enough to warrant a post. Take ‘Absurde’. The track sways to and fro in a sea of dissonant chord arrangements, almost tortured vocals and equally undecisive tempos. The melodies swim through distortion to acoustic sections, before the inclusion of a flute brings the whole track spiralling together. At 7.15 the previously dissonant and largely wading track takes direction at a crescendo point, unleashed and given depth by the inclusion of the flute. Seuls contains an equally awe-inspiring number of dynamics, changes and refrains that leave you nothing short of inspired.

Each track differs largely from the previous and whilst the melody of the strings pays blatant homage to a classical upbringing, the openly blasting sections of metal that counterpoint the more sublime passages are equally as brilliant and characterised. Album closer, Dans Le Flôt, is perhaps the highlight of the entire album. A melancholy piano opens proceedings, is greeted by a lone violin before swelling to include the entire mass of instrumentation. The riff is truly inspired, drums ache and groan through a pattern I rarely observe in metal and the vocals retain the stereotypical French accent that suits the despair and transcendent value of the track completely. Strings and guitar weep and direct the wall of melody before the inevitable collapse as the album retires.

Perfect progressive avant-garde black metal that goes so far beyond anything I can think to put into words. Order here, and give it a listen/drop them a few emails over at their Myspace to convince them to make more music like this.

Life In The Dark: The Sunya Is Rising

2010-09-22T16:15:00.000-07:00

Sunyata Recordings are completely annihilating all label competition at the moment. I have no idea where they find the artists; I just hope they keep plumbing the abyssal underground for these gems. Pre-orders have just been put up for the ultra limited Life In The Dark EP; The Sunya Is Rising. Limited to 25 copies, a purple CDR enshrined in black card, all sealed and stamped in an envelope. A truly picturesque aesthetic for an honest, poignant release.

Piano and voice ebb and flow as a candid sense of melancholy and appropriation swamp the listener. You are greeted by sultry notes that glisten to the spoken word of Anne Sexton's 'The Fury Of Sunrises'. Within minutes the track has evolved and hazily breaks into the recognizable Nadja-fed drone. Piano strokes haunt and recur throughout the piece lending an overall feel that leaves me somewhat reminiscent of early Nortt material. There are even harsher moments tamed by underlying ambient fuzz that bring Heartache era Jesu to mind. The release integrates all the familiar aspects of shoegaze, drone, industrial and even funeral doom to create a pivotally compelling piece of music.

The composition is heavily drone oriented with a brilliantly calculated ear for refrain and release that has largely dissipated from Nadja releases as their back catalogue became ever more convoluted and uninteresting. 35 minutes of unabashed hazed up synthdrone teeming with melancholy and splendour. Drums hiss and crackle behind a field of reverb, samples pulse from the wreckage and shine side by side with piano as the only sensibly clear sounds. Vocals wail under the current of the track - left deep at the bottom of the mix. I implore you to check out an excerpt from The Sunya Is Rising on the Sunyata Recordings Sampler (here), and immediately pre-order before this ultra limited release ends up in the dark too.

Fellow LURKER Richard described this to me as ‘epic’, and few words really hold as true. For a two track, 35 minute drone metal EP to hold sway over you for the duration and not fall into the catacombs of blatant Nadja worship, there is a telling sense of artistic integrity that is not being celebrated enough. Pre-order or miss out.

Ensorcelor: Urarctica Begins

2010-09-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

Urarctica Begins, debut EP from the ambitious convoy of Ensorcelor, is a 36 minute voyage through some of the most expansive, introspective sludge ever to grace Canadian shores. Awash in an array of influence and distorted feedback, grating tensions and euphoric releases, rasped vocals that sing of the end over crushing guitar melodies. Haunting, mesmerising and full of the conviction and tension a hardcore upbringing imbues – this Quebecois five piece have forged a monument of timeless winter, expansive soundscapes and lovecraftian storytelling.

The brutal fucking winter. It has a serious effect on who you are - I believe that.

The material on Urarctica Begins deals primarily with the remote extremity of the arctic, untouched and isolated from man’s sphere of influence for time immemorial. Fitting, considering the winterlike taint to the clear guitar passages, the haunting corridoors of feedback that cave and coalesce between episodes of instrumentation lend a blizzard like cold to proceedings. Tracing an understanding of the chosen theme, represented clearly enough through the music if not by the lyrics (available here), was further elaborated on by Jonah, vocalist for the five piece:

‘Urarctica Begins is sort of a superficial reference to a William Gibson novel. There is a chapter called ‘Antarctica Starts Here’ and that phrase was bouncing around my head for a while until it started picking up a lot of psychic and conceptual detritus. I have always been really interested in the arctic and Antarctic. There is something profoundly fascinating about the extremity, the remoteness and isolation, the distension of our regular time scale - the idea that there is snow out there which has been piling up for millenni. There is a mystery and a drama to it that has been exploited by the artistic imagination in so many ways, Lovecraft and Shelley being two outstanding examples, both of whose work has had a major influence on me lyrically and personally. Getting back to the point, Urarctica sort of plays on the philosophical idea of ur- which is the pure formal expression of a thing. For example the ur-cat would be the pure idea of a form of a cat, of which all living, real cats in the world are only specific material approximations. Urarctica is a sort of original ice, from which all ice, all coldness is derived. Furthermore, “Ur” is a name which has been applied to what is postulated to be one of the first supercontinents on the face of the earth, over 3 billion years ago - from which our current continents are formed. In this way the Urarctic is this icy realm which precedes our arctic and Antarctic. For Ensorcelor, Urarctica is not so much a place as it is a force – the return of an original coldness that obliterates. It is an indomitable coldness because it comes from within. It is not a physical cold, it is a metaphysical cold. You know, like the summertime blues.’

As coagulated as the philosophical soup behind Urarctica Begins is, the EP lives up to the idea. We have a vocalist who takes time over his lyrical murmurings and a band that produce flowing, unconventional sludge to the coldest peaks of expectation. Closing track, ‘This Even Doom’, was made available on the Sunyata Recordings Sampler (available here), and tracks the band at their most expansive and inventive. A clean guitar melody paves way for a torrential passage of sound that builds and expands on the initial idea until the crescendo of the wave. Jonah explains: ‘I like the way slow, drawn out music tends to be an immersive experience - you can't really dance or thrash to it, you just have to sort of stand there and soak. I think that this music it lends itself really well to creating expansive soundscapes, and also to playing with different narratives, lyrically. You really get a chance, in a 10 minute song, to develop themes over time that in a 3-5 minute song would be so compressed that they would be pointless to try to explore’.

The striking direction and momentum behind the music is one of the debut EP’s strengths. Never dull, unclear or disordered – the music treads a variety of ground. From the piano and airy vocal duet midway through ‘This Even Doom’ to the thick turbulent sludge in play throughout the EP’s shortest track; ‘Sleep Forever In The Brine’. The band’s obsession with creating music epic in scope while never detracting from the tracks impact is clear: ‘I think we are more compelled by ideas and atmospheres – we are always saying "Oh, this needs to be more crushing. Or that has to be more plodding, or epic, or bleak or whatever.” It is often couched in language of weight and space and topography in a way. It can easily sound cliché, but I think we are very influenced by the evocative landscapes of fantasy and sci fi novels, be it Frankenstein, or Ballard, or Tolkien, or His Dark Materials.’ Soak it up I say. Urarctica Begins is epic. It is interesting. It teeters on the edge of pretentiousness without ever falling into the brink of vain, uninformed musical misadventure.

Urarctica Begins has already garnered a lot of attention from a number of labels. Available in America on cassette from Gay Scientist Recordings, in Canada on cassette and CDR format from Media Tree (The guitarist's own label, soon to put out the undeniably strong effort by his other band - Æsahættr) and soon to be made available in the UK by Sunyata Recordings - there is little reason for letting this slip past you. If you do happen to live in the arctic, and somehow have made it onto the world wide web, the release is also available as a digital download from Alien8 for a very reasonable price.

If you have already imbibed the whole of the release and are eager to hear more, then we have some good news. Ensorcelor 'are actually in the process of wrapping up the mixing of a new record, which is somewhat embarrassingly destined to be a double lp - because of the 4 songs, only one of them is under 20 minutes long. It takes some of the ideas we were playing with on the demo and develops them more fully. Also develops them more slowly. It's pretty ridiculous.' Long may the sludge prosper!

Yersinia Pestis - A new music and arts forum

2010-09-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

Forums are great things. They can be incredibly informative if all the users are tuned into your interests and the community is active and friendly. There is a downside though. Forever Doomed, for example, is immensely popular and the amount of users that flood through its seemingly infinite threads is colossal. As a result, any decent discussion becomes tiresome and difficult to follow, relegating the forum's most practical use as little more than a fairly decent release/label/gigs news stream with a bit of trade. But from too much of a good thing to just plain... awful, you have forums like that of Full Moon Productions. While it has its uses, the discussion that goes on there is normally brain-numbingly idiotic with essentially 90% of the posters posturing and flexing their 'black metal warrior' muscles to the best of their ability. And trolls. Trolls everywhere. So if you're finding yourself sinking into the mire of posts on Forever Doomed and, like me, cannot spend more than two minutes on the FMP forum without feeling just a bit stupider, we have good news!

Josh Mcalear, tatoo artist, freelance metal illustrator and the man behind the Yersinia Pestis distro has founded a brand new forum under the same name. The aim seems to be focussed on intelligent discussion regarding the kinds of music we all know, love and obsess over, visual art and horror movies too! If this sounds like your bag, then I thoroughly recommend that you sign up and start throwing around some ideas. With a forum in its infantile stage like this, it is difficult to say whether it will grow into a success. But regardless, if it catches on, registering will cement you as a core member of the community and who can say no to that? I'm signing up right now, see you in there.

On a related note, an interview with Josh is in the works. He's done artwork for Incantation and Nuclear War Now Productions among others. And that's enough of a resumé for us!

Urfaust - Praise Intoxication samples

2010-09-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

Stop the fucking press - Urfaust have uploaded a brief sample of material from the upcoming album Praise Intoxication & Hail Possession to their myspace. From the sound of it, the sample appears to be snippets from two distinct songs but of course that is mere conjecture. The first half is Urfaust at their fastest. The second half shows their more familiar mid-paced (drunken?) swagger. Either way, very excited and you should be too.

Listen.

Australian and Anti-Christ: Australian Death Metal

2010-09-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

This is by no means an uncovering of death metal obscurity but rather a celebration of a scene that has endlessly improved. Do you know of any other exceptional Australian death metal bands that should be represented here? Help us help you by commenting.

Throughout the late 80s and into the 90s, Europe and America held the monopoly on the fledgling death metal style. In those days, suggestions that Australia might one day rise as an antipodean bastion of forward-thinking and terrifying variations on metal’s most aggressive form may have been sneered at. But here we are pushing ever deeper into the abyssal 21st century with extreme music increasingly poised to surprise, revolutionise and lay waste to what has come before. Over the last 20 years, Australia’s steady output in this field has been nothing short of a triumph, with now – TODAY – falling under the reign of these new lords of terror. A highly innovative and incestuous scene, here’s a look at some of the heavy-hitters and emerging talent.

Order of Orias

Can you spell ‘criminally underrated’? It starts with Order of Orias. Awakened in 2007, this quintet came to our attention last year with the unleashing of their debut EP, Offering. A ferocious merging of black metal aesthetics with death metal muscle, discordant riff slinging and a life-affirming, elitist ideology, this is one Australian band that simply demands your attention. Order of Orias tightened their vice grip on 2009 with a swift follow-up in the form of the Birth EP, a honing and progression on what the band deems their infancy. This was available for free download from their myspace until recently and is now seeing a proper release through Germany’s Obscure Abhorence Productions around December/January. We interviewed them back in May so head here to get a sense of what they're about.

Offering seemingly appeared out of the ether, displaying a band with an aura of maturity rarely assigned to a debut recording. Throat shredding vocals ride atop a multitude of dynamic and varied riffs, discordant and chaotic yet impressively reigned in by very accomplished musicians. Far too chunky and riff-orientated to fall into solely black metal waters, but open minded enough to avoid the sometimes limiting perception of death metal. Birth continued the adept straddling of this murky middle ground, thick with blast beats and melodic chord structures but juxtaposed with powerful low end tremolo riffing and rhythmic palm muted sections that enforce mandatory head thrashing. We are eager to hear what Orias's legions produce with the advent of a debut album. Great band, get into it!

Highlights:
Offering: 'Flesh Conspiracy'
Birth: 'Apotheosis'

Deströyer 666

From newcomers to an old staple of the scene, there's no doubt Deströyer 666 have played their part in putting Australia on the death metal map. Although now based in the Netherlands, Deströyer 666 is an Australian band through and through with origins in the seminal black metal blast of Bestial Warlust. Formed in '94 as a solo outlet for the warlord K.K. Warslut, Deströyer 666 immediately took on a more audible assault than the band's predecessor with the '97 debut, Unchain the Wolves.

Not strictly a straight cut death metal project but a potent mix of all the best aspects of thrash, black and death metal. My favourite release is Phoenix Rising which sets the scene perfectly with a sample from the folk musician and cult leader, Mel Lyman: "I am going to burn down the world. I am going to tear down everything that cannot stand alone. I am going to turn ideals to shit. I am going to shove hope up your ass. I am going to reduce everything that stands to rubble. And then I am going to burn the rubble. And then I am going to scatter the ashes. And then maybe someone will be able to see something as it really is."

On a background of pitch black, sweeping synths, if the opener 'Rise of the Predator' doesn't sufficiently shit you up then perhaps the gripping series of thrashing arpeggios will, with lyrics celebrating the perpetual predatory and destructive nature of man. A classic from start to finish, if you aren't familiar with this and the rest of Deströyer 666's strong back catalogue I suggest you mend your ways and start here. September 24th sees the release of To The Devil His Due, a compilation of rare and OOP seven inches on a 12" LP through Kneel Before The Master's Throne Records.

Highlights:
Unchain The Wolves: 'Australian and Anti-Christ'
Phoenix Rising: 'Rise of the Predator', 'I Am The Wargod (Ode To The Battle Slain)'

Stargazer

Our excitement that new Stargazer material was on the horizon this year was evident in that it overflowed into multiple posts. But that excitement was well founded as any who have heard their debut The Scream That Tore The Sky will attest. A mammoth 13 track journey into the some of the most progressive death metal this side of Opeth, the album is an effective melting pot of extreme metal ideas executed with a supreme technical ability and compositional confidence. Equal measures of epic melodies and unstoppable thrash-based attacks line The Scream That Tore The Sky, an album so detailed and multi-faceted that new details emerge with every listen. I haven't had the chance to explore the new album A Great Work Of Ages yet but am frothing at the mouth to get my hands on it. It was released on September 7th through Profound Lore. Stargazer also marks the beginning of that 'incestuous' aspect to the Australian death metal scene, with its inspired members filling the ranks of a number of other landmark bands.

Highlights:
Everything? I'll get on that new record now...

Cauldron Black Ram

Ever wondered what old school pirate death metal would sound like? Wonder no more: Adelaide's Cauldron Black Ram has had this thematic enclave covered since '96. If you were hoping for a death metal Alestorm though, you may be disappointed. But thank fuck that's not the case. Sharing members with the aforementioned Stargazer and other Australian luminaries, Portal and Misery's Omen, Cauldron Black Ram have placed this peculiar concept somewhere between the sludgey death of Teitanblood and the razor-sharp riffage of Grand Belial's Key. Again, THANK FUCK.

Cauldron Black Ram provide some much needed light relief from the lofty concepts and super cereal approach of its related projects, remaining marvellously tongue-in-cheek and true to their bizarre theme even in interviews. The 2004 full-length debut, Skullduggery was reportedly recorded in a cave with this year's follow-up, Slubberdegullion, recorded in a "back-alley brothel". Gimmicks aside, both albums are very noteworthy additions to current influx of anti-technical, filthy death metal. Awesome.

Highlights:
Skullduggery: 'Imp'
Slubberdegullion: 'Satanic Whores in Bestial Brothels', 'Blunderbuss'

Portal

No discourse on Australian death metal would be any where near complete without a mention of Portal: These current darlings of the scene are perhaps somewhat responsible for the recent antipodean renaissance. Their utterly bewildering and nauseating take on death metal noise harks back to the atmosphere that was attempted by the earliest death metal stalwarts (see: Necrovore) but strips away any attempts at characteristic riffs, favouring an abstract collage of pure undistilled aural terror. And that is why everyone loves them, not to mention a consistent veneration of the Lovecraft mythos and guitars that sound like a sodomized Chewbacca.

Highlights:
PH'NGLUI MGLW'NAFH CTHULHU R'LYEH WGAH'NAGL FHTAGN
Oh... and Outre's 'Omnipotent Crawling Chaos'

Impetuous Ritual

Holy shit. Impetuous Ritual are devastating. This probably has something to do with the fact that they share bassist and drummer with Portal but it is in the lumbering guitars that Impetuous Ritual draws its power. Each listen to their debut and only recorded output, Relentless Execution of Ceremonial Excrescence is a draining, exhaustive experience. The textures on this album lend equally from Incantation, Disembowelment and Portal, bordering on the exhilarating abandon of the latter's foul death metal interpretations but it is the additional influences that make this release something truly special. For level 80 death metal fans only!

Highlights:
Relentless Execution of Ceremonial Excrescence should be listened to in its entirety.

Disembowelment

Casting back through time a bit but also saving the best for last. Almost worth a post in their own right, Disembowelment came, slayed and conquered, then departed the death metal underground almost as soon as they had arrived. Disembowelment released a couple of early demos, an EP, then the tumultuous 1993 full-length Transcendence into the Peripheral. This is a landmark album for so many reasons but mainly because it single-handedly fashioned the splicing of death metal with the dirge pace of doom, eventually bearing the rotten fruit of funeral doom.

Long have New Jersey's Evoken reigned in the absence of the death/doom forerunners and while they are more than worthy of this inheritance, they have tampered with the blueprint set down by Disembowelment very little. Transcendence into the Peripheral remains a masterpiece of depressive death metal: wafer thin guitars grunt out intense tremolo'd passages to grindcore-pace drums only to descend the depths of isolation and despondency at the drop of a hat. The despairing atmosphere was largely achieved by the incredibly cavernous production. Drum strikes echo and bounce around a simulated abyss, a habitat perfectly suited for the emotions the band intended to invoke. The inclusion of a crisp, clean guitar sound only augmented the dreariness of the album and is a treat every time it appears. This album destroys me with every listen, and if you haven't heard it yet you should let it destroy you too.

Highlights:
Transcendence into the Peripheral: 'The Tree of Life And Death', 'Your Prophetic Throne Of Ivory', 'A Burial At Ornans' but the entire work is essential and should be listened to from start to finish.

Krieg Interview: Eternal Warfare of the Conscious Mind

2010-09-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

Krieg return to glorious form this winter with 'The Isolationist'; a rendition in outsider philosophy, misanthropy and the lackluster compulsion of modern man. Representing the first full length since Krieg’s reformation, ‘The Isolationist’ treads a familiar warpath; ugly, unrelenting and impenetrable arrangements, turbulent vocal actuations and cacophonous ambiguities. Much less about comprehension as experiencing the abject disgust and hate in pure, undiluted form. With contributions from Wrest (Leviathan), Chris Grigg (Woe) and Joseph Van Fossen (Noctuary), Krieg’s bolstered ranks have fashioned a sound at times violent, brooding and unnerving.

Imperial has been a forerunner in the American Black Metal scene for nigh on fifteen years, with his contributions and audial manifestations never far behind his troubled psyche.

Eternal warfare of the conscious mind. LURKER interviews Lord Imperial.

What is the story behind 'The Isolationist'?

As a theme it’s sort of a semi cohesive look at the various degrees of degenerate thought and experiences that my life has taken me through since childhood. Similar to the personal nature of “The Black House” and it’s theme of vivid nightmares; “The Isolationist” is based on what has caused those nightmares in the first place. I’ve had a pretty odd life in that I’ve had a lot of occurrences, self afflicted or outer antagonist’s puppeteering, that I find to be more interesting and, I suppose, therapeutic, to write about vs. the usual black metal topics. That isn’t to say these topics are beneath me or that I don’t appreciate them, they’re just not what Krieg’s last ten or so years have been about. I have other projects for that.

‘The Isolationist’ has a distinct feel. Keeping the unrivalled chaos behind releases like ‘The Black House’ but incorporating a far greater emphasis on melody and structure. Does this represent a move away from the great influence bands like Profanatica and Beherit had on the project pre-hiatus? What inspiration, be it artistic, philosophical, sociological informed 'The Isolationist'?

Not really. Profanatica and Beherit were both pretty big influences in terms of black metal for this record, maybe more so than in a long time. I think it’s just the natural pace of things; it’s certainly less melodic than “Blue Miasma” was, but I don’t know if this is something that will continue. I’ve spent a lot of time able to think, read, listen to new sounds, and just get myself together as I’ve gotten older so I’m sure that all somehow comes into play in terms of inspiration. There are a few obvious ones, like the fiction of Bataille (not the philosophical works or non fiction) which Wrest put me onto a few years back, as well as Bukowski in terms of the scorn for the world in an American-without-a-country sort of voice. Lovecraft’s way of describing things as well, not really the mythos at all, but the actual way he uses words to illuminate his creations has had some impact.

How have the contributions of Chris Grigg (drums) and Wrest (Bass) influenced the outcome of the album? Did the writing process differ from previous efforts?

Every person involved with a Krieg record is given free reign within the guidelines for the album. I enjoy seeing how people will interpret my ideas and bring their own identity into play. I always have final say in what is kept and what is discarded, of course, but I try not to be a bastard about it.

The writing process had some similarities to the last two records, mostly because the writing was completed in the studio. In the past I’ve had to worry about what could be considered limitations with the studios I worked in. This time, however, was completely different because Volume Studios is sort of like a playground for noisemakers. So ideas that could not be executed on previous records were no issue this time around. The only problem could be compared to a painting: it’s difficult to know when it’s finished and when to put the brushes down.

You have a well documented history of anxiety problems, depression and self-loathing – eventually culminating in the dissipation of Krieg. Why the revival? Is there a semblance of catharsis in Krieg that other projects just could not fulfill?

It helps counteract what has been diagnosed as bi polar disorder. While I get satisfaction from everything I am involved in, Krieg is the one ship which is mine to steer. It’s my first born. It’s the only real way for me to exorcise personal demons, the little cracks in the fault lines that need a release or the land implodes. It’s the one mistake I can attempt to atone for.

Are there any European shows in the pipeline?

Sometime in 2011 but nothing at the moment is definite. It’s been five years so it would be good to get back.

The recurrent use of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho that litters Krieg's back catalogue has roots in an abject disgust for modern, materialistic man. Are there any redeeming characteristics of civilization? Or is the whole venture inherently self destructive?

Most of the things that could redeem the failing experiment of humanity are rejected due to financial, religious, or social considerations. And the material drive is only getting worse and worse, fueled by technological shit no one needs instead of using the same science to try to fix how badly we’ve fucked up the planet. There are certainly redeeming qualities in humanity but good luck finding them nine out of ten times. It will be even more of a difficult task with the spread of American pop culture and the violent resistance that religions offer. It will be interesting to see what of the world is left in twenty years.

What single Krieg release best encapsulates the ideology of the project and why?

Difficult question. I don’t think any specific release could best sum it up, I would offer more a collection of songs from each era as a single listening experience to show the evolution and constants which have carried themselves over fifteen years. Maybe “The Black House” simply because besides “The Isolationist” it’s representative of unwelcomed change. People expected “Destruction Ritual” pt II and were mostly upset. I’m sure there are people that expect “Black House” or “Blue Miasma” sequels out of this new record, they will also be disappointed.

What is your opinion on today’s black metal scene? What music are you particularly enjoying at the moment?

I don’t pay a lot of attention to it. I don’t read message boards so I guess I’m missing whatever drama there is these days. I only pay attention to bands that I like or check out things that are either handed to be at shows or recommended by people whose opinions I trust. In terms of the American scene: lots of white belts and flannel shirts. Lots of outsiders with no real grasp on the heritage associated with underground black metal.
Music I’m listening to these days, really this week since it changes often, would be the new records by Profanatica, Satanic Warmaster, Woe, Maniac Butcher, Murmur and others I’m probably forgetting. I listen to a lot of old records, or things outside of black metal like Public Image ltd, shoegaze, New York Dolls etc. Various music for various moods.

Your thoughts on the following quotes:

“...aesthetic pleasure consists, to a large extent, in the fact that, when we enter the state of pure aesthetic contemplation, we are raised for the moment above all willing, above all desires and cares; we are, so to speak, rid of ourselves.”

It sounds like the moment during or immediately after orgasm to me. Or when a drug kicks in. Oblivion. Something that is sought constantly and only truly occurs momentarily and less powerfully the older and more jaded we become. The little death we seek that we know sooner or later we’ll awake from.

“The deepest problems of modern life derive from the claim of the individual to preserve the autonomy and individuality of his existence in the face of overwhelming social forces, of historical heritage, of external culture, and of the technique of life.”

No one wants to be forgotten or die alone. Everyone wants their lives to matter. As the world fills up faster, like all landfills, and technology brings us “closer” this is more of a difficult thing to achieve since the nature of relationships are in question. Sisyphus rolling the boulder forever upwards. Ouroboros.

“Only the descent into the hell of self-knowledge can pave the way to godliness.”

Utter bullshit. Ask most people who have gone through hell if they would rather have the insight they have because of their experience or if they’d want to start again and never go through it. Most people would rather go through their lives ignorant to this knowledge than to carry the burden that this descent will heap upon you for the rest of your life. It could also be reworded to sound like ex junkies who found Christ. Excuses people make to trick themselves into comfort.

Candlelight will release 'The Isolationist' October 26th on North American shores. Stream 'All Paths To God' here. Contact Krieg.

Pallid - An Embodiment / Cadence II: Winter Solstice

2010-09-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Here at LURKER we're no strangers to decent ambient music. In the past we've been lucky enough to be introduced to the darkened, brooding calm of Sequences and the shambling free-folk of a death cinematic, two projects that have been creating beautiful and meticulous soundscapes for some time but remain regretfully unnoticed by the wider world. So here's another underground ambient project that has totally undeservedly been gathering dust in our inbox and only recently has been allowed to seep into my consciousness.

When Marlyland-based Pallid's sole-member Andrew Mayton gave me a polite reminder that he had sent us some music, he put succinctly: "This is for you if you are having trouble sleeping." He was spot on. Anyone that knows me would be aware that I'm a heavily nocturnal creature. At night is when I get most of my work done and, more importantly, most of my music listening done. Of course, this can be accurately translated as insomnia. And Pallid's gentle lullaby atmospheres certainly weave an aura of relaxation that could usher even the most wretched insomniac off to the land of nod. But that isn't to say that Pallid is boring by any means. A seemingly infinite level of intricacies are present for the astute music fan to wrap their head around, all brilliantly shrouded by an overall disguise of stark minimalism.

An Embodiment (2010)

On initiating the demo An Embodiment, the opening track 'Look To Yourself' introduces layers of subtly wavering frequencies embraced by a hushed white noise. The shimmering collage of sound is beautiful enough in itself, yet it is over the course of the piece's 15+ minutes that it sluggishly begins to represent a melody of sorts. Two or three recurrent notes seep into the droning soup every now and again, which somehow cause a slight shiver to shoot up and down my spine. It's comparable to the earlier ambient work that Velvet Cacoon knitted between their black metal experiments, like 'Bete Noir' and 'Northsuite', but in this case Pallid's sound-generated murals are far more detailed and a lot less menacing. The repetitive nature of a piece like 'Look To Yourself' also induces a favourable Basinskian feeling to the mix, with the whole product warping and transforming over the course of its running time.

The rest of the demo is generally a development on this minimalist theme; extended track lengths but with a blissfully absorbing atmosphere. Pallid experiments with the sonic possibilities of densely layered guitars, drones and loops with ability and aplomb. The sleepy-eyed sombreness on display in Pallid's compositions works as a vivid tribute to that hissing, drone-based heaven that Liz Harris of Grouper has at the core of her sound. In fact, Pallid could be seen as a Grouper with all the pop structures and melodies stripped away, baring a hazey and mystifying ambient underbelly. An Embodiment culminates in the beautiful haunting dirge of 'Of the Clouds that Hide the Moon', a piano-based piece considerably more accessible than its counterparts and a great ending to a very promising demo.

Cadence II: Winter Solstice (2009)

The laconic melodies that fuel the ending to An Embodiment are examined more completely in the earlier demo, Cadence II: Winter Solstice. Those dissatisfied with the lack of notes in An Embodiment may come around with this demo which is more rooted in minimal post-rock. Song structures other than an evolving ambient rumble exist here, with opener 'We Told Our Tales Around a Fire' taking a lightly distorted guitar thoroughly doused in delay and reverb, the godsend effects for any ambient musician. Simple, sleepy strums form the basis for harmonies to work their way into the piece, sounding somewhere between a heavily compressed brass or woodwind instrument. If marathon face-tingling fuzzdrones are too much for the lurker with ADHD, then Cadence II may have hit a winner with none of the three compositions exceeding the ten minute mark. That said, both releases are genuinely great stuff. Fans of Windy & Carl, William Basinski and Stars Of The Lid will be in their element here. Both demos are available for free download below but more compositions can be found on the Pallid soundcloud. Photos.

Download: An Embodiment / Cadence II: Winter Solstice

Secrets of the Tune: Grand Belial's Key and Das Deutschlandlied

2010-09-11T02:02:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series of posts on things I've found buried in the music, lyrics and artwork of metal records. Maybe people have picked up on this stuff before - if you have, tell us about it. The idea is to provoke discussion and maybe discover more of these hidden details.

Listening to Kosherat the other day, my ear picked out a familiar tune, which on previous listens had gone right over my head. Woven into a riff in 'The Bearded Hustlers' is the opening phrase of the German national anthem, Das Deutschlandlied. Have a listen and see for yourself:

Grand Belial's Key vs. Haydn's Deutschandlied

Why, you might ask, would an American band want to bring in a theme from the German national anthem? The answer's in the song's history. Nowadays only the third verse of the Deutschlandlied is sung, but during the Nazi era it opened with the infamous words, Deutschland, Deutschland über alles ("Germany, Germany above all"). Thanks, perhaps, to its use in war films, people outside Germany are more familiar with the earlier version of the anthem than with its modern replacement. The association with the Nazi era, then, is kind of understandable. You only have to type the opening lines into Youtube or listen to Wolfnacht to see that the NSBM kids are all over it like a rash.

Grand Belial's Key have always been careful not to endorse Nazism too explicitly in the public eye, or in their lyrics. And they've not done too bad a job: concentrating (as they usually do) on lyrics alone, the Metal Archives simply list them as 'Black Metal' rather than 'NS Black Metal'. Despite this relative coyness, though, it seems that GBK still like to throw in the 8dd b8ne for the true bel14ver.

Has anyone noticed anything similar elsewhere in their music? Or in metal in general?

Woe Interview with Chris Grigg: A Treatise On Control

2010-09-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

'Quietly, Undramatically' presents a milestone in the history of Woe - purging the music of any outsider influence, revelling in the existential quandary of oblivious being and recruiting full time touring members from the likes of Absu, Woods of Ypres and Rumpelstiltskin Grinder. A marked improvement on 'A Spell For The Death Of Man', the music remains largely pessimistic and bleak in its outlook save a few elevated sections of transcendent bliss and clarity. Empowering, uplifting and completely unique; 'Quiety, Undramatically' paints a fuller picture than we have come to expect from black metal. This is a band developing their own sound and feel beyond the stale tethers of the USBM hallmark. Woe sets a standard that has raised the bar - enraged by social anxiety and existential depression, the cathartic nature of 'Quietly, Undramatically' has enough variation and composure to make your album of the year list. Chriss Grigg took some time to answer a few questions for LURKER.

Why 'Quietly, Undramatically'?

There are a few different reasons. Much like a lot of the ideas on this album, it has meaning on many levels so it's really up to the listener to decide what fits their interpretation best. For me, though, it's a statement about disappearing in a massive universe that doesn't really care about us. The album is very much about obsessing over the addictions or problems or characteristics from which we can't seem to escape but the title track is a reminder that the universe really doesn't care, nothing really matters. It's a very bleak, sobering moment that helps me keep things in perspective. I also appreciate the contrast between the title and the content, which is anything but quiet or undramatic.

Woe began as a solo act - what brought about the gradual progression to fully fledged band?

Time and necessity. We started playing live with the others relegated the title of "live members" but with all the time and effort they put in, it didn't seem fair to make them second-class citizens. Even more than that, they're simply better at what they do than me! Evan's a far better drummer, Shane is a phenomenal bassist, and my strength (if I have one) is composing, not playing guitar. It made sense to have everyone involved to represent the band as it is if you see us live.

'Quietly, Undramatically' sees Woe treading new territory, incorporating refreshing dynamics above and beyond an ear for a good riff and a pocket full of misanthropic despair. Recently more bands are pushing the contextual boundaries of Black Metal - musically, thematically. How much discussion and rehearsal took place before you were fully satisfied? Discuss the writing/recording process, especially now you have morphed into a full band.

Well, even though we operate as a full band, I'm still making conceptual decisions like some short dictator, so I can't say much discussion went into it, though everyone is fully supportive of my decisions... as far as I know. My intention while writing the new album was to focus on dynamics because I wanted an album that represents life, or at least my life as it is right now, a bit more accurately. "A Spell..." was accurate for the time when I wrote it but, well... I've grown up a bit, I've chilled out a lot, and I wanted something that was a bit heavier, a bit more serious.

The writing process didn't change all that much. I wrote all of the songs, demoed them at home (though this time I used a drum machine instead of recording them myself to speed things up), and then sent them to the guys. Evan learned everything beforehand and went into the studio with me to record. Shane and I worked on the bass together. Matt Moore came in at the end and recorded the leads you hear in the title track and the outro to "Full Circle," which we wrote together. It was then mixed at my home studio.

The big change to the writing process was my decision to avoid the Scandinavian BM worship. I wanted something that stood on its own a bit more so I focused on what I saw as my own style, the dramatic, ultra-melodic riffing of songs like "Longing is All That Will Remain" and "I See No Civilization" and pushed it further. That was very much a conscious effort and I'm happy to see reviews picking up on it... Shows I can do something right! Haha.

Why does Woe create music? What fuels your inspiration beyond the transience of the human condition?

I can't help myself, it's just in my blood. You know, after the last album, I tried to write other music and just couldn't do it. Even now, I'm trying to write other music but I find myself working on new Woe songs. A big part of the album is about trying to come to terms with who you are. I think that the negativity that fuels Woe is very much a part of me, as much as I try to fight it. The music is good therapy.

What lyrical themes does the new album deal with - does the change in music echo a change from the largely self-reflective, pessimistic verse on 'A Spell for The Death of Man'?

It's a different perspective on it. The first album is a lot angrier about life and the world. It deals mostly with the response to human interaction and how we abuse each other almost compulsively. The new album is a more sullen adult who is actually trying to come to terms with the world as it is but also their own shortcomings. It's a much more personal album. I find it more pessimistic because of how serious it is but I try to leave lyrical interpretation open to the listener. There's a lot of language that references addiction in a really general way, but this doesn't necessarily mean a chemical addiction... It's anything that the individual can't change. In my case, it's about depression, which is something I've been fighting since I was young, but the listener can decide what, if anything, it means to them.

Aside from the long list of duties performing in other bands - what musical projects do you have particular respect for at the moment?

I'm so wrapped up in my own crap that I don't check out new bands all that much unless they're somewhat local. The Philadelphia scene has some fantastic stuff going on, particularly Infernal Stronghold, Sadgiqacea, Deathbeds, Nothing is Over, Nightfall, Bubonic Bear... I could go on and on. Non-local, I really love NYC's Castevet, Klimt 1918, Wodensthrone, and Ludicra.

There's an undeniable punk/hardcore edge to Woe that has made a return on the new album. Do Woe's origins lie in the punk scene? What bands did you play in before?

I'm glad you hear that! I found it funny that so many reviews of the first album referenced a punk feel since I worked so hard to avoid it! This time, I kind of said "fuck it" and took away my no-punk restriction, placing the d-beat on the table for a very slight palette-expansion. I've been playing metal-influenced hardcore/punk (not metalcore, mind you... and maybe it would be hardcore/punk-influenced metal) for almost my whole life and I identify much more with the punk rock attitude and delivery than metal pretension and pseudo-sophistication. At the same time, metal has crept into literally everything I've ever done because I've always listened to it more than anything else, so before anyone starts saying that I'm some hardcore kid playing black metal, keep in mind that I'm more of a metal guy who was playing hardcore. Haha. To me, the new modern American scene is very closely tied to the punk and hardcore scenes and I think that it's this "fuck you, I'll do what I want" attitude that has allowed so many unique black metal bands to pop up during these past few years.

You've been doing a lot for the Philadelphia metal scene lately, promoting and putting on a lot of shows. Was there ever much of a 'scene' to speak of there or is it a more recent development? Are there any up and coming Philadelphia/PA bands that LURKERs should be aware of?

Well, I do what I can to help out! I need to be careful of how I answer this because I don't want to say anything that is wrong or unfair. From my perspective, there have always been a good number of metal bands in Philadelphia but with the exception of those who had ties to the DIY punk/hardcore scene, it was difficult for them to get much done. So... there have always been bands, there have always been people interested in underground metal, it was just a matter of finding a way to help get the show information to interested parties. My site, phillymetal.com, does that in a very simple way. If we go by the number of shows posted on the site, we can say that the scene is stronger than it was a year ago, but this could also have to do with the fact that more people are using the site now than they were a year ago. There could have been shows going on that we didn't know about because word of the site hadn't reached them yet. So it's tough to say.

As for bands, I don't know if there are many that you guys would be too into. There's a great black metal band called Labyrinthine that puts out stuff here and there. There's Infernal Stronghold, who absolutely rule. My favorite is this new band called SADGIQACEA, who are a kind of doomy proggy... thing -- really great sound, talented songwriters. There are more bands, a hell of a lot of them. Your best bet is to actually check out the site's shows area and look at some of the bands playing. Any smart person listing a show includes a good description and link.

You've had a long working relationship with designer and illustrator Justin Miller, who did a great job on both the debut CD and LP and returns to handle the artwork on 'Quietly, Undramatically'. How do you go about designing the sleeves? Is it a collaborative effort, or is it mostly left to Justin?

I've known Justin for years. We went to high school together, played in a band (thrashy hardcore band Near Dark) for years, and he's always done art stuff for me. When it comes to Woe, I trust him completely. He gets the demos, he gets the lyrics, then he starts getting mixes just like everyone else in the band and he's free to start developing his own art concept. He keeps me updated and asks my opinion about things, I get to make suggestions and requests, but I trust his decisions 100% and he has full creative control over the artwork. He has never let me down.

'Quietly, Undramatically' is clearly a personal and intimate work. You seem unwilling to divulge your own thoughts and feelings behind it in much detail, favouring the listener's interpretations. Is this a stance against a majority of 'conceptual' black metal bands that seem to spoon-feed their fanbase lofty and occult nonsense?

That's a really great question, one that's a bit tough to answer. I... am fearful of giving away too much because there's a very fine line between "emotional" and "emo." I'm inspired by real events and real reactions to real situations but I'm very careful to not write "a song about a girl" or "a song about someone who pissed me off." I'd much rather write something that is personal but will have meaning once I'm not upset about this or that situation. It has meaning to me but as I grow, I can still appreciate it on a different level, still perform it with sincerity. I also think that it makes it a more engrossing experience for the listener since they can apply it however they choose to their own world.

The album, for me, is very much about coming to terms with the reality of my very real, very serious depression. Or not. It's also about growing up and assuming responsibility. Or maybe it's about drug addiction. The last song is a very clear "fuck you" to the phony element of the black metal scene, right? "The stupid, the boring, the fair-weather friends. Pretentious, obnoxious, they strive to pretend. With costumes and gimmicks, they angle to shock. Like children, they cherish the lies that they bought." Or maybe it's more about taking pride in what you do and not shrinking from who you are in a world of fakes. "When the sun reappears to stand against the dark, we will rise and know that hatred is our heart." The open-ended aspect of it is very deliberate but so is the clear, easy-to-interpret language. Everyone can decide. If someone wants my personal opinion, they're welcome to write me!

Or, conversely - any literature, philosophy, popular world belief that fuels your inspiration? [you seem like someone completely at the mercy of the universe - which is a belief I can strongly relate too. Does existentialism/cosmology (thinking in particular about Lawrence Krauss' talk on a Universe from Nothing as well as Stephen Hawkins' recent comment from his upcoming book that God does not fit into our current picture of the universe) or the pursuit of truth in general play a strong part?]

I'm going through a period of deep philosophical exploration, really trying to make sense of the individual's place in things and the meaning of it all. Heavy stuff. Unfortunately, I feel like I'm losing because all signs keep pointing to, "nothing matters." I feel like if I keep examining it, I'll come to another conclusion. The Lawrence Krauss talk is new to me but I'll check it out. Hawkins's comments were timed either very well or very poorly because he's talking about exactly what's on my mind... and it's not helping. Haha. My girlfriend and I recently took a road-trip to the Creation Museum in Kentucky -- a total shit-show, very terrifying and a real eye-opener about the state of our country -- but being surrounded by so many people who were so sure of where they came from and where they're going really had an effect on me. I'm rambling here but... I need to figure it out and I will.

I very much like Existentialism and the parts of Satanism that are unconcerned with everyone but the individual. I identify with philosophies that deny the existence of Judeo-Christian God and encourage the individual to find their strengths and focus on them so they can build a life that they find fulfilling. At the same time, I don't like aligning myself with any one group, I like to pick and choose elements of philosophies that fit me. Woe is very much an offshoot of this intense individualism. It encourages deep introspection, serious analysis of one's shortcomings, and wants the individual to think for himself, by himself. You have me rambling now.

And one personal question: Where can I get the 2007 demo from?

It's not very good, man. I'll upload it and send it to you soon.

Woe Myspace / Woe Official

Unholy Magic Attack

2010-09-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

My face when all the Lurkers came to stay. Party on.

Slayer Issue 20

2010-09-06T07:12:00.000-07:00

After getting more than a little excited regarding the compilation of the infamous Slayer fanzine's best bits, I thought I should mention that the publication is breaking six years of silence for one last death throe exhalation. Unsatisfied with the results of #19 as the last issue, Metalion has been back in the commander's chair to make this final effort worthy of Slayer's immense history. And he's not fucking about. #20 includes interviews and articles with a massive roster of important bands such as Deströyer 666, Watain, Kreator, Master's Hammer, Sunn O))), Jarboe, Funeral Mist, and an extensive feature and tribute to Bathory to name but a few. The issue also includes Ancient Morbidity, a mini LP by the Swedish death/thrash/black metal legends and Per Yngve “Dead” Ohlin's first metal vehicle, Morbid.

Metalion on #20: "Comparing it to other issues I never cared about, I just make what I make at my best way possible. Sometimes it is good and sometimes it is shit, but you can never know that when you are creating it. Still, if you thought SLAYER was shit in the past this will not change your mind, it is SLAYER with all the errors, shitty journalism etc. Even if it has been over six years since the last issue I don’t think anything could change that. And don’t expect any new issues anytime soon - I feel like its all over, truly an ending in flames. Finishing some of the pieces have taken an outstanding amount of time and to get into that process again is very unlikely."

Slayer #20 is limited to 2000 copies, so plenty to go around. Expect this to crop up in the Nuclear War Now store soon.

Locrian explore 'The Crystal World' on new album

2010-09-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

November 27th will see the return of Chicago's Locrian with the third album, The Crystal World. To be released through Utech Records, this new work sees Locrian treading an interesting conceptual path as an aural exploration of the themes set down in J.G. Ballard's 1966 science fiction novel of the same name. The story follows a doctor's journey deep into the African jungle to a leprosy treatment facility. On his travels he discovers that a bizarre, apocalyptic occurrence has crystallised a portion of the forest, engulfing everything it encroaches upon. I haven't read it, but if there was ever a reason to pick up a copy then surely Locrian's new album is it. Joining the core membership of Terence Hannum and André Foisy is Steven Hess of On, Pan American and Ural Umbo fame taking on percussion and electronics duty. From the horse's mouth:

"Hess’ contribution pushes Locrian deeper into the abyss of despair rendering a sound that is darker, bleaker, and engulfing than any of the group’s previous releases. Locrian continue the conceptual trajectory of blackened drone that the group initially embarked on during their first studio album 'Drenched Lands' (2009). Masters of layering, 'The Crystal World' finds the group manipulating tones and textures that transport the listener to an apocalyptic wasteland. At times, the layers are serene and somber, at other times they are chaotic.

Of Locrian’s three studio albums, 'The Crystal World' is the essential release, finding the band creating a sound all of their own. A sound that evades simplistic analogies to black metal, power-electronics, noise, or other categories. This is the album that will stun fans of the bands previous works with how far the group has come from their early releases. Vinyl edition out on Utech Records in 2011."

Artwork is being handled by the lord of visual hell, Justin Bartlett, and Locrian are to debut the new material at the Hopscotch Music Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina on Thursday, September 9th.

The Prehistoric Origins of Drone

2010-09-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

Primitive Sun(n) amplifiers?

Metal and Stonehenge go back a long way. The great stone circle has captured the imagination of metal bands since the genre's beginnings, and a fascination for lost civilizations carries on today, blissfully untroubled by parody. However, some recent trends in archaeology hint that the affinity between metal and the prehistoric could go deeper than we think.

According to NewScientist, a new school of archaeologists believes that some of the earliest human constructions, including Stonehenge, were specifically designed to create powerful acoustic effects. Experiments carried out at Stonehenge and at the full-scale reconstruction ('clonehenge') in Washington have shown that the sites can produce some very strange and very impressive noises.

The most interesting experiment involves a drum machine placed at the edge of the outer circle of stones (video below: watch with headphones). As long as you stand right by the speaker, you can hear that it's playing a bass drum loop at about 120bpm. But as soon as you move away, the reverberations from the other stones begin to drown out the drum until all you can hear is a rich drone.

Stonehenge, in other words, would be a terrible place to address an assembly or preach to a congregation: a voice can be heard loudly, but like the drum, the percussive consonant-sounds would blend into an indistinguishable soup of echoes. On the other hand, a large number of these monuments resonate most effectively at frequencies within the adult male vocal range. This has led some to suggest that the sites served to enhance the sound of human chanting, either for ritual or musical purpose, or perhaps both. Melodies or words might be lost to the reverberations, but the resulting drone would have given even Sunn O))) a run for their money.*

Of course, 'acoustic archaeology' involves a good deal of speculation. With no written documents surviving from the age of Stonehenge, there's no firm evidence that these effects were deliberate. But as archaeologist Paul Deveraux points out, in the 3rd millennium BC the average person's hearing would be far better tuned to fine detail than someone's today: you'd rely on it much more for hunting, awareness of danger, and so on. So why couldn't a musical tradition develop that concentrated more on the finer aspects of sound, such as texture and harmonics, than on more blatant features like melody?

These finer aspects lie at the heart of several of metal's subgenres. Drone doom is the most obvious example, but not the only one. The very same features of texture, harmonics and tactful reverberation come together to make up the 'atmosphere' that is so important to Black Metal. Every strike of the pick in a tremolo riff brings with it a new harmonic; the faster and more repetitive the blastbeat, the more it becomes a rich wash of texture. Get these things right and the most compositionally minimal slab of BM becomes a masterpiece of atmosphere.

Metal's reliance on the finer details of sound could provide a direct link to the lost music of the distant past. Perhaps, then, its fascination with forgotten civilizations is more natural than any of us ever realised.

* See also this article, which claims that Stonehenge has the unique effect of cutting the treble and deepening the tone.

Deathspell Omega - Paracletus

2010-09-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Deathspell Omega have signed to Season of Mist to unleash their latest metaphysical horror November 9th, this year! Moving to a larger label for North American territory, away from the long relationship with the AJNA Offensive - this will inevitably have the implication of larger audiences, and (hopefully not) label coercion - I can only hope the elite stick to their uncompromising guns and deliver something that topples the supreme Chaining the Katechon. All eyes are on the Season of Mist front - keep lurking for more news as and when it arrives.

"Season of Mist is proud to welcome kult French black metallers DEATHSPELL OMEGA to the North American roster! On next November 9, the mysterious, meta-physical, black metal omega lords will unleash their fifth album, "Paracletus".
Initially emitting raw, traditional black metal, this enigmatic entity experimented and evolved into a more technical, eviscerating evil. Outside of the music, very little is known about its member's beliefs and ideology. What is certain however is the return of the most revered kult band in the world!
More details on the album soon ..."

Canadian Black Metal: Obscurity Breeds Creativity

2010-09-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

Canada has birthed some of the most inspired metal in recent years. From the war metal mode of Blasphemy, Sacramentary Abolishment, Axis of Advance and Revenge to the atmospheric melody bands like Gris, Csejthe, Miserere Luminis convey on demand. Between the noise fused racket of Menace Ruine, the blissed out drone of Nadja and the thrash onslaught of Weapon exists a melting pot of ideas, philosophies and interpretations. This report is not representative of the Canadian scene as a whole since I have removed the majority of well known bands in favour of lesser known oddities. If any of your favourite secretive kvlts have not been covered, tell us about them!

Monarque

Quebec based one man project Monarque mixes a highly orthodox take on black metal with the melodic underpinnings that his fellow countrymen have become so renowned for. Obviously a talented musician juggling all instrument duties to a high level of competence, Monarque combines a great sense of winter awe with violent, powerful guitar work. 2007 debut album Fier Heretique (roughly translated as Proud Heretic) is by all accounts your standard black metal record: staple distorted arpeggios, samples, acoustic wanderings and binary sections. The power of the riff work, delicate understanding of song structure and careful balance of repetition all work to staggering effect.

Monarque comes into his own with 2009’s Ad Nauseam release, which built on the orthodoxy of the debut with added depth and tone to production. A great sense of driving black metal with Gorgoroth styled guitars, stock drum work alternating blasting sections with head nodding binary perfection. More atmospheric than its predecessor - the tasteful inclusion of synths is made most prominent on 'La Vallee Des Larmes' where the well applied layer compliments the atmosphere without completely overpowering the music.

Eschewing any sense of originality can be a massive mistake on the half of any band. Very few projects can successfully pull off this feel of orthodoxy without it feeling completely redundant or mundane. With a slight tint of melody that would not go amiss on a Sombres Forêts record, Monarque remain one of the more obscure Canadian acts that deserve your attention.

Highlights:
Ad Nauseam (album),
Ad Nauseam (demo).

Forteresse

One of the strongest of the Canadian hordes in my opinion, Forteresse formed in 2006 with a penchant for Quebecois history and tradition. A far cry from the stale ambient black metal that a lot of fellow countrymen hold higher than any belief in innovation, Forteresse combine am ambient framework with raw, lo-fi qualities. Long repetitive drum commands the basis to their sound. Raw, simplistically melodic riffs leave haunting memories and stack up end to end to create a beautiful atmosphere when accompanied with the folk inspired accordion and violin song introductions on display. The feel is typical of the winterlogged, snowfall like mystery encompassing so many Canadian acts (I’m thinking the more popular outfit Gris) with a more aggressive undertone.

Metal Noir Quebecois is 50 minutes celebrating the concept of Quebec nationalism. Tracks are long in length and feature a unique wall of sound take on Transylvanian Hunger inspired guitar work. I particularly enjoy the Quebecois folk that introduces tracks like La Flamme Et Le Lys incredibly abruptly. Hard to describe such a unique take on black metal – encompassing all the beauty of a ravaged winter storm.

EP Traditionalisme is my favourite Forteresse release. Just over 11 minutes of hypnotic, lo-fi ambient black metal. The feel of the EP is so far removed from the usual ill-fated depression or anger that seethes through most black metal recordings, instead favouring a lingering oppressive sadness. The effect is achieved through a mix of slowly changing repetitive drum rounds, rasped vocals and chainsaw like guitar melodies.

Highlights:
Traditionalisme EP,
Split w/ Brume d’Autumne.

Godless North

More absolutely essential orthodox black metal from Canada. Forget any premonitions about snow, melody, atmosphere or beauty. Godless North is complete Darkthrone worship. I could rant on about the inherent staleness of bands that stick to this formula or how there are so many other interesting bands delving into the more interesting territories of war, atmospheric, ambient metal, noise or drone – but an unwavering fist in the face of compromise is the only thing you’ll find from this band.

Formed in 1996, Summon The Age Of Supremacy reared its

black and white photocopied cover onto the scene in 2001. Recently I acquired the vinyl version put out through Sombre Records (who put out extra kvlt releases by Moonblood, Judas Iscariot, Katharsis, Deathspell Omega and Nortt to name but a few) limited to 350 copies. Nothing but insipid hate inspired Transylvanian Hunger destruction. There are next to no tempo changes over the course of the tracks, riffs remain a-melodic, bitterly cold and razor sharp. The album summons a great atmosphere echoing nothing but black metal sentiment. Focusing on anti-humanist themes and highly reminiscent of the days when you first heard black metal. Cold and minimal, the lack of technicality only adds to the charm. It is like discovering Under A Funeral Moon all over again.

Highlights:

Summoning The Age Of Supremacy

Skagos

Like a slightly more melodic Wolves In The Throne Room, Cascadian black metallers Skagos captured everyone’s imagination last year with the colossal Ast. Hugely sublime riffs travel monumental distances as very simplistic chord progressions are built upon over extended periods of time. Echoing a sentiment of complete respect for nature, they use only natural instruments, omitting any inclusion of synth. What results is truly remarkable, a brilliant collusion of epic sublime black metal.

Skagos quite literally take you on a journey – the wanderer in the sea of fog. A glorious celebration of life that remains potently appropriate to the core black metal ideology: sorrow and anger that comes from a loss of admiration for nature and tradition. We live in a nightmare where we our great cities and civilisations are nothing more than grey mould slowly killing our planet. We have clearly forgotten how awe-inspiring nature can be. Skagos play sublime black metal that echoes a realism you’d be hard pressed to find in many other acts. Compulsory.

Highlights:
Ast,
Split w/ Panopticon (upcoming).

Antediluvian

Rare that a band actually gets a tick in the box of ‘Genuinely Unnerving’ from me, Antediluvian are complete terror. Honest, morbid and completely filthy death infested metal. The music has a definite nod to death metal, maintains a lo-fi, dungeon type atmosphere throughout with the vocals taking clear inspiration from the likes of Incantation. With three demo releases and a split with Nuclearhammer and Light Am I behind them, Under Wing Of Asael is the bands latest 26 minute demo release and definitely presents their strongest work to date.

Track titles like ‘Indomitable Time Eater’ deliver exactly what they promise. The chaotic and often hypnotic approach to song construction ummons the almighty feel of Portal as well as LURKER favourites Cruciamentum whilst maintaining a terrifying bottom-feeder production designed to scare.

Highlights:
Under Wing Of Asael,
Anything you can get your hands on!

Lust

The sole project of one Sabazios Diabolus, one time bassist for thrash/death outfit Weapon, whose noisey and at times almost Portalesque take on war metal reveals a talented, if not completely fucked up, personality behind the music.

2009’s Genesis of a Satanic Race represents the culmination of the project before indefinite hiatus. Hysterical, unremitting metal: song structures vary greatly track by track as the drummer invariably falls into incoherent war metal babble before drawing everything back into some spiralling, awesome creeping chaos. The vocals are agonized wails, high pitched and completely insane.

Lust takes the insanity of Blasphemy and Revenge to fantastic levels of innovative and inspired frenzy – like Bethlehem re-recording Seven Chalices – phenomenal. Mr. Dekker of the fantastic blog Cosmic Hearse once had this to say about the album: ‘I imagine this what Blasphemy might have sounded like if they had ingested a goat's skull full of PCP before recording ‘Fallen Angel Of Doom’. Mandatory!’

Highlights:
Genesis of a Satanic Race

Two new LP releases from Vendetta Records

2010-09-03T03:04:00.000-07:00

German hardcore label Vendetta Records have two releases out this month that should turn some heads. This stuff may be slightly outside the usual Lurker comfort zone, but both bands are awesome and deserve to be heard. Any Lurkers with a soft spot for crust or heavy hardcore, get stuck in.

First up, Münster's Alpinist are set to deliver another ferocious dose of dark and raging crust with Lichtlærm. Its predecessor Minus.Mensch was one of my top albums of last year, so I'm looking forward to this one a lot. Fans of the Ekkaia school of modern crust will love this band.

This is a split release with Phobiact Records, who are distributing it along with Bis Auf's Messer.

Preorders get clear vinyl and a black on black cover, limited to 200 out of 1000 copies.

Milwaukee's Protestant play very heavy hardcore that reminds me of Ghostlimb and Catharsis. These guys have been churning out quality releases since 2005, but haven't yet garnered much attention outside of the US. Let's hope their Euro tour this autumn will change that (no UK shows, sadly).

This is a split release with America's Halo of Flies Records. Fans in Europe can get their copy from Bis Auf's Messer. Early birds get red vinyl.

Both records are available for preorder right away, and should be ready to ship mid-September.

New Kylesa song: Tired Climb

2010-09-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

Fresh off the back of a European tour with Converge, Savannah sludge merchants Kylesa have already been showcasing their new material from Spiral Shadow on the live circuit. As of today, you can hear the new song 'Tired Climb' streaming on the band's myspace chock full of monolithic riff work, so catch it while it's hot. Word on the street is that Kylesa are currently filming a video for 'Tired Climb' and return to the road on September 11th, so have fun Ameribros. September 29th to November 7th are with High On Fire and Torche. Above is the artwork from intricate metal illustrator, Santos.

September 11 Raleigh, NC Hopscotch Festival

22 New Orleans, LA The Big Top Three Ring Circus (w/Torche only)

24 Oklahoma City, OK The Conservatory (Kylesa headline show)

29 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall

30 Pomona, CA The Glass House

October 1 Flagstaff, AZ Orpheum Theater

2 Albuquerque, NM Launchpad

3 Denver, CO Bluebird Theater

5 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater

6 Milwaukee, WI Turner Hall Ballroom

8 Rock Island, IL Rock Island Brewing Co.

9 Urbana, IL Canopy Club

10 Chicago, IL Riot Fest @ Metro

11 Bloomington, IN The Bluebird

13 Newport, KY Southgate House

14 Detroit, MI Majestic Theatre

15 Cleveland, OH The Grog Shop

16 Rochester, NY Water Street Music Hall

17 Northampton, MA Pearl Street

19 Halifax, NS The Paragon Theatre

21 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall

22 Providence, RI Club Hell

24 New York, NY Webster Hall

26 Philadelphia, PA Starlight Ballroom

27 Carrboro, NC Cat's Cradle

29 Gainesville, FL The Fest 9

November 7 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest

White Medal - Agbrigg Beast

2010-08-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

I know this has been out for a few months now, but it's such a stunning piece of work that it still deserves to be talked about. Agbrigg Beast is easily the best demo I've come across this year, and despite its relatively short running-time of 20 minutes, has hours of listening value.

The release marks a huge change in tack for White Medal, who previously had peddled an intense and fuzzed-out brand of raw BM. The old wall-of-sound approach seemed a natural alterego for George Proctor's power electronics project, Mutant Ape; but on Abrigg Beast, all this has gone out the window. The distorted, Wrest-meets-Culto vocals and the grainy production still gives away the project's Black Metal foundation, but pretty much everything else about the demo defies comparison within the genre. There are no blastbeats on show here: instead, songs are propelled by driving punk beats that lurch at the drop of a hat into crawling mid-paced rhythms. The guitars share the punkish flavour, and, though only ever partly distorted, have a real force to them. The chord progressions aren't your usual BM fare, and there's even the odd foray into a major key (on 'The Last Days'). All of these aspects come together to give the demo a sound that is very much its own.

What makes Agbrigg Beast so good, though, is the sheer strength in the songwriting. Every one of those riffs was firmly etched on my mind after one listen. Songs never outstay their welcome, either, and will often catch you by surprise with a well-placed change of pace. The whole product is a brilliant exercise in minimalism, right the way down to the awesome black-and-white inlay (is that a St George's flag behind the Rose of York, or inverted cross? Or is it both?) And with relatively few ingredients, White Medal can conjure up a whole gamut of moods, from the triumphalism of 'Glory Return' to the contemplative 'Lost (Cahrr)'.

And then there's the lyrics. The tape annoyingly only includes the words to the song 'Agbrigg', but it gives you an idea of what WM's going for. As far as I can tell, it's a cautionary tale about a murderous wolf that lurks around the village of Agbrigg. And it gets better: the lyrics are all written in the Yorkshire dialect (see below), which adds the perfect touch to this masterpiece.

It seems that Seedstock Records have now released this on vinyl, along with two extra tracks. So get it, if you can cough up the dough. Otherwise, do what I did and get the original Legion Blotan tape from George Proctor's own label, Turgid Animal for only £4. Best enjoyed over a long walk on't borough.

Tha's heard't howl ut wolf
Down't Agbrigg way
Tha knows t'beast in't wood theer
An up on't moor, she roams theer an all
Shut thus flep an she'll not hear thee
Step'd on't branch, th wolf step'd o'er mardy
Tha's stark legs move ar'a pace
But tha's too lame t'beat her

Alone an thee hear't wolf cry;
Agbrigg!

Threap an she'll bite thee no mistake
Thoil thus burden an break fert wood
Through unkerd wood an moor-fog
Laiking bairn in't wood an thus blood curdles
She's on't way tha shout but he's gut torn
Yer off before his heart stops, beast in'tow
Dassent breathe in nor out and hide by't rock
Then that old howl and tha drops down dead

Alone again, tha'll hear't wolf cry,
Agbrigg!

maudlin of the Well's 'Part the Second' gets vinyl release

2010-08-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

This news is huge.

Ever since maudlin of the Well disbanded in 2001, it felt like there a huge hole was left in the progressive metal scene. Despite the wealth of bands out there producing intriguing work as well as the metamorphosis of the remnants of maudlin of the Well into the sublime Kayo Dot, nothing since has seemed to match the compositional scale and imaginative drive that characterised their early records.

So naturally last year, when this horde of Lurkers learned that they had regrouped to record a new album, self-financed and released for free, the joy was something like that of welcoming back a long lost brother. In the time apart changes had occurred, the sound had mellowed slightly, members had left and rearranged, but the resulting record, full of blossoming hypnotic intricacies, was still very much in the same vein as their earlier work, and completely took over our summer, and, indeed, the rest of the year.

We even, in the fledgling, grasping days of the birth of this blog, made it our record of the year.

Now, just over a year after it's initial release, a free gift to the faithful, a full vinyl release is finally planned. Announced today on the Kayo Dot website, Part the Second is to be released on Antithetic Records this autumn, a double LP on coloured vinyl. Preorders aren't up but all the info regarding the release is up at the Antithetic Records webstore.

We're thrilled to bits.

When this arrives I'm sure we will review it again, but for the meantime my wholly inadequate initial review can still be found here, and the whole album can be streamed or downloaded for free from the maudlin of the Well website.

* UPDATE *

Pre-order is now live at the Antithetic Records webstore.

Deleterious - Highly Recommended EP

2010-08-28T15:06:00.000-07:00

Deleterious are a four piece outfit from Holland. The band were bought to my attention by Mr. Japenga, who handles drum duties for both Deleterious and Terzij de Horde, at the latter bands recent UK show. The band have made the latest EP, 'Highly Recommended', available to download on their website. If you like the sound of what lies before you, give it a listen. If you like what you hear, get in contact and purchase a CD!

‘Highly Recommended’ is perplexing, confrontational and outright odd from the get go. Opaque, inconceivable time signatures pave way for a myriad of influence that proliferates throughout the EP. Old school thrash, extreme metal, jazz, avant-garde and experimental underpinnings dance and dissipate under the fray of drum work. Cohesive snippets of sound recoil and interject riffs mid play allowing the outfit to cover a scarily large catalogue of sound in relatively little time. We are talking old school thrash freefalling into atonal avant-garde beats as bass and lead guitar form their own unique personality within a matter of minutes. The first track alone exhausts my vocabulary. I haven’t even had the chance to mention the cascading speed of black metal flare-ups that cement the vista of styles and ideas this band can conjure and conquer in smaller time frames than bands can build complete albums from.

Piecing this EP together is nigh on impossible. The interactivity between all elements of instrumentation is beyond words. Steven van Lint’s bass work amalgamates the distant worlds of guitar orientation and time signature abduction with unnerving beauty. You are jumbled and shuffled between maddening riff counts. Constantly left in the trodden territory of the previous second, insanity the only real outcome your detailed attention will ever unveil. You are left completely at the mercy of the juggernaut before you. The unity of a band whose vision and direction never once falters or stumbles on the monumental task they have set themselves. One of the most attention grabbing pieces of metal I have heard this year.

The most perplexing aspect of the EP is the organic feel to the sound. The bizarre arrangements of influence and song structure that Deleterious have amassed over the short 21 minutes of this EP should, almost by necessity, dictate complete unrest and unruly discord. Simply labelling this avant-garde and being done with the migraine inducing process of description and translation from sound into word would not do the music justice. Not one element feels uneasy throughout the demanding listen. You will be taken by surprise and will more likely than not come out the other end unsure what has just erupted before you. It hardly helps then, when during the final track, clarinets and a bumbling, walking bass reveal the jazz underpinnings that have thrived on a cask metal framework all along.

Highly recommended to all LURKERs.

Download / Deleterious

Vestal Claret - Loved Lost Ones EP available for download

2010-08-27T04:25:00.000-07:00

The tape only label Novisible Scars has been granted permission to make Vestal Claret's sold out final EP available for free download as a final farewell from the band after they called it quits last year. Vestal Claret performed exceptional Satanic doom/heavy metal of a high calibre and to be quite honest, it's sad to hear a project like this come to an end. As well as the four track 25 minute EP, three covers from bands as disparate and obscure as Lubricated Goat, Thelema and Skin Yard are thrown in too. Great music, very entertaining: don't have to tell you much about it because you can download it here!

The original cassette was released in October 2009, limited to 100 copies.

New Woe track online

2010-08-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post: go here to listen to a new song from the forthcoming Woe record, Quietly Undramatically (see post here). 2008's A Spell for the Death of Man set the bar pretty high, but if this track's anything to go by, things looks very very rosy.

Winterfylleth: Defenders Of The Realm

2010-08-24T12:59:00.000-07:00

It was never easy being English. A once great and proud nation ruled these lands, a melting pot of European tribes all vying for the fertile and beautiful terrain. Blood was spilt many times in our past: indigenous Britons were constantly under threat from the Roman, Norse, Saxon and Norman hordes but always stood firm in defence of these invasions. Take the Catuvellauni chieftain Caratacus who, legend tells, made his stand against the Roman scourge at Malvern (my home town).

“Caratacus resorted to the ultimate hazard, adopting a place for battle so that entry, exit, everything would be unfavourable to us and for the better to his own men, with steep mountains all around, and, wherever a gentle access was possible, he strewed rocks in front in the manner of a rampart. And in front too there flowed a stream with an unsure ford, and companies of armed men had taken up position along the defences.” – Tacitus, The Annals.

He ended up being honoured by Rome for his nobility and prowess in warfare. But what of the warlord Boudica, chieftain of the Iceni, who led her tribe in revolt of the iron fist of the imperator, laying waste to Colchester? And who would forget King Harold’s slaughter of the Vikings at the Battle of Stamford Bridge?

It would seem the answer is ‘everyone’. And being English doesn’t get any easier these days either, with a culture that is devoid of character where any hint of pride in one’s origins is slated as a menace. Thankfully, Manchester’s Winterfylleth were born out of this dissent and now tower head and shoulders above the rest of the British black metal scene to show us that we do have something to be proud of: The ghosts of our heritage. With 2010’s The Mercian Sphere, Winterfylleth introduce the next instalment of their valiant campaign to raise awareness of what once was…

The problem with the English national conscience is accurately pinpointed by drummer Simon Lucas with a quote from the great orator and musician, Morrissey: "Other countries have held on to their basic identity yet it seems to me that England was thrown away."

He explains: “Paraphrasing him, what he said is that you can go to any nation in Europe and you know exactly where you are because of their unique sense of national identity. If you go to Scotland you know you’re in Scotland, Sweden you know you’re in Sweden, and France you know you’re in France, Switzerland, Russia, Spain and so on. But if you walk down an English street, you could be anywhere, and he was held to ransom over that statement. That’s not racism, that’s just a contemporary observation of the society we live in. And something of a social stigma we as a band seek to change.”

Winterfylleth cemented their presence in the British black metal scene by being unashamedly ‘Anglo-Saxon’ in their approach, as a direct attack on what the band sees as a dwindling interest in England’s national identity. When asked about how the band fell into this thematic stronghold, Simon reveals that it was not a calculated choice but simply a result of a love for one’s homeland:

“It really wasn’t a conscious decision to specifically set up a black metal band that looked at Anglo-Saxon, English and British history. It was just a natural thing that occurred. Chris and I started writing songs that echoed the landscapes and the historical stories that we love and that are deeply set within our hearts. We felt and indeed still feel that it is a subject area that should be close to the hearts of all English/British people and is also one that seems to have had much attention diverted from it. This is mainly done, we feel, to suppress the English people from solidifying a sense of national identity. An approach that the government has taken in the past I personally find utterly disgusting. So as a group of socially and culturally aware people, this is something we seek to re-kindle…. a sense of proud ancestral heritage in our land, our people, our folklore, our stories and our natural landscape. These are important things for a nation. As Winston Churchill once so very wisely stated, “A nation that forgets its past, can have no future.” We want to make sure our nation can have a future.”

Winterfylleth’s melodic folk-esque stylings established an aggressive stomping ground for the band's message to roam free with 2008’s debut The Ghost of Our Heritage. Returning to the fore this year with the impeccable The Mercian Sphere, this time the title directly references a period of English history that is essential for grasping the underlying themes of the record.

“The Mercian Sphere was the reign of King Aethelstan in the 9th century and roughly translates, etymologically speaking, into the protected limits of his kingdom,” explains Chris Naughton, guitarist and vocalist.

“The use of Mercia or Mercian in this context is actually different to that of say modern Leicester and “The Lady of Mercia” etc, as it is not a regional identifier. The root derivation of the term in the context of our album actually represents more of a borderland or protective/encapsulating region around the king’s territories.

“Its use on our new release is linked to that fact that, firstly, the subject matter (in terms of the poetry from the Codex Exoniensis) we are referencing was written during Aethelstan’s reign and identifies with the same time period, and the fact that, secondly, it is our desire to inform about and ‘protect’ the history, heritage, culture and folklore of our islands now, as his kingdom was once protected before. So it felt like it fitted the context of the album well.”

It’s refreshing to see a band in this day and age that is so well versed in what is almost the prehistory of England. Much of the material that Winterfylleth delve into would have been completely lost were it not for the knowledge of monastic scribes and a thriving word-of-mouth folklore that existed not only in Britain, but across Europe as well. Black metal has suffered right from the start with ill-conceived and immature flirtations with Satanism and paganism, but Winterfylleth base their message not only on legends, but also true and inspiring events. Though ultimately lost on a majority of the modern populace, Simon reels off some other landmarks of England’s dark medieval times that have made an impact on Winterfylleth’s music and outlook:

“The Battle of Maldon in 991AD which saw the Saxon leader the Earl Brithnoth lead a small group of fellow Englishman against a massive Viking incursion has already been explored on our previous album. They eventually lost the battle, but it was their spirit, a small band of brothers that stood firm and fought to the last to defend their nation, their homes and their families, and everything that they stand for: It is that spirit that gives us strength. A poem that was written at the time about the battle is what inspired the lyrics to the track on the first album The Ghost of Heritage, documenting the brave efforts of Earl Brithnoth and his proud men. Tolkien was also inspired by this particular historical event.

“Another one is the myth of a great wizard who resides in a forest near to where we live in the North-West, who guards a vast mine and cave system that is the eternal sleeping place of a vast army of Arthurian Knights who will one day ride out to defend our nation against foreign incursion has also inspired the story of The Ghost of Heritage. These caves can be found in North Cheshire.”

Chris adds that he hopes a brief glance over the album’s lyrics won’t mark the end of a listener’s interest in England’s vivid history: “There are many great stories like these on our albums which reference some truly inspiring material that we would like people to go and look in to. I would suggest that anyone with a copy of either of our albums has a look into the song titles or lyrical content and goes to find these stories for themselves. No doubt these links will lead people to find other stories or interesting bits of history that will hopefully inspire them to become more passionate about it.”

The Mercian Sphere has literally flown off the shelves since its release on July 19th, so much so that Candlelight Records were forced to organise an emergency repress to deal with the demand. When asked about the success of the new record, Chris puts it down to the sheer amount of time and effort that was poured into the album, a feat made possible by the support from the heavy-weight label.

“We spent a lot more time in pre-production for this album, spending months pouring over the songs and the structures until we got to the point where we could go into the studio to record. Having progressed to working with Candlelight we have had the backing and support to be able to spend more time in the making of the album, which I think shows through in the finished product and has allowed us to make a record we are all truly happy with. Working with Chris Fielding at Foel Studios has also helped us immensely. It's refreshing to work with someone who instinctively knows what you are trying to achieve and who has such a great track record, having produced some classic albums by bands like Primordial (who are a big influence of ours), Napalm Death and Electric Wizard. I feel that The Mercian Sphere represents Winterfylleth at our most virulent and best. We truly tried to focus on the essence of what was great about our first album and distilled that into this record.

“On how the album sold I think, without wishing to delve into cliché here, that when you make an album, you never consider the response you will get from other people initially as you are so involved in the nuts and bolts of actually creating it. To have had the response to the record that we’ve received is totally humbling and speaks volumes to us about the numbers of people who care about the things that we are talking about in our lyrics and who want to support us because they believe in what we do.

“I’m glad that people have managed to see behind the controversy and nonsense to the point of what we are about and while we did not expect the response that we have had to this record, we are truly inspired by the response we have had as it has allowed us to take things to another level and reach out further than we ever thought we could.”

Of course, “controversy and nonsense” is bound to follow a band who celebrates the virtues of national heritage, a theme that is all too often caught up in the misguided pagan interpretations of the NSBM school and massive misinterpretations from music fans themselves. Simon is however quick to draw the lines between nationalism and fascism:

“We would certainly not consider ourselves misunderstood if people perceive us to be nationalists. We are very proud and outspoken nationalists. But the widespread understanding of ‘nationalism’ seems to be that which the extreme left have been pushing through the left-centric media over the past 40 years to mean something essentially misrepresentative of what ‘nationalism’ truly is. Nationalism in its truest sense should not be confused with racism or fascism ever.

“Both The Nazi party and the Communist party were fascist ideologies however neither were nationalist ideologies at all. The Germans sought to envelop the whole of Europe under their banner, they were essentially the first attempt at some kind of tyrannical EU, and none of us as romantic nationalists would ever want that. It destroys any sense of unique national identity and only serves to further enslave mass populations of people under a single, global regime. The Communist party of the Soviet Union, also did exactly the same thing, they were also a fascist ideology but more historically recognized as being opposed to ‘nationalism’.

“Nationalism is the devotion to the interests or culture of one’s nation, the honouring of its unique sense of cultural and ancestral identity. It does not EVER mean to hate another race of people or their culture. That IS racism. What is wrong with feeling a strong love and a bond for the land and the culture of the nation you are born of? Why is it all of a sudden now that we are made to feel bad for wanting to defend our history? The land that our ancestors have farmed, lived on and defended, our unique architecture and natural landscape, our unique set of cultural customs and folklore, and our unique history and ancestral heritage. None of these things involve hating other races or nations, just the love and care of our own. If we are not to take care of our own, surely we are forsaking our very existence?!”

And with a scintillating response like that, surely no more needs to be said. Winterfylleth are now looking to tour the UK and Europe in support of The Mercian Sphere, “hopefully bringing along our friends and labelmates Wodensthrone and Altar of Plagues with us for support,” says Chris. “Following that we have already begun working on the third Winterfylleth album and are in the process of creating new material as well as researching new elements of history and folklore to coincide with the themes of the third album.”

New music from The Secret (at last)

2010-08-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

For days now, Italy's The Secret have been promising to post a song from their forthcoming album, Solve et Coagula. Now it's finally here. Head over to Brooklyn Vegan to give it a listen and to read a decent interview.

2008's Disintoxication (Goodfellow Records) was an absolute stormer of an album, and I still come back to it again and again when I need a fix of dark, intricate and mind-bending hardcore. On the new album, the band set out to "write fast, dark, straightforward heavy songs", and the new track 'Double Slaughter' lives up to expectations. After their debut Luce, an insidious Black Metal influence began to creep into their music; this is now more prominent than ever, with some ferocious blastbeats thrown into the mix.

Solve et Coagula (sweet title) is out on 28 September from Southern Lord. And to keep you keen in the meantime, here's the video for the non-album track 'Where it Ends', released online last year:

Stroszek - Life Failures Made Music

2010-08-23T11:35:00.000-07:00

Italy's Stroszek is the latest output from Claudio Alcara, guitarist of the black metal band Frostmoon Eclipse. If you got your hands on a copy of the Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer compilation that excited us back in June, you may well be familiar with the material as Alcara contributed the track 'Land des Schweigens und Dunkelheit' which appears as 'Land of Silence and Darkness' on Life Failures Made Music.

Life Failures Made Music is the second full-length release under the Stroszek monicker and, falling well in line with the album's title, represents a slow journey into the depths of melancholy and rigorous introspection. Whereas Frostmoon Eclipse dealt with 'death and the negative aspects of life' directly with a fearless, utterly uncompromising fury, Stroszek is depressingly resigned to the human condition and the personal failures that haunt every one of us. This is best translated by the fantastic vocal performance that laces these beautiful songs from the first track to last. Wavering uneasily between a whisper, sigh and spoken word, Alcara seems to lack the vital energy to go on, as if breaking down in a complete acceptance and realisation of whatever trauma has surfaced in this work. Carrying a melody is not the function of these poignant vocalisations, instead they ooze despair through each gently plucked string and chord, narrating and giving form to the maudlin darkness.

These weakened utterances are supported and dragged from the brink by a flotilla of mournful acoustic guitars rooted in folk, rock, flamenco and classical styles. A majority of the performances are suitably sober, quiet and introspective but Alcara should be credited for building significant climaxes where it becomes imperative that a switch to soaring, distorted choruses should be made. Although Life Failures Made Music is thoroughly saturated with gloomy minor keys, that isn’t to say that the album is an entirely forlorn endeavour. Moments of hope and clarity still manage to shine through the murk, particularly on the gorgeous acoustic guitar and vocal pairing of ‘I’ll Keep Everything’, the souped up ‘A Life Failure’ and the inescapable charm of the aforementioned ‘Land of Silence and Darkness.

With Stroszek, Alcara has successfully distanced himself from his history as an innovative black metal musician but to say comparative lines can’t be drawn between the projects would be a mistake. Anyone familiar with Frostmoon Eclipse’s scathing assaults would remember the incredible juxtaposition of glorious black metal with acoustic accompaniments and interludes. While Frostmoon Eclipse proved Alcara as a first class guitarist, Stroszek has cemented him as a first class songwriter as well. Life Failures Made Music is a despondent yet beautiful work of art, and a more than suitable soundtrack to the failures of Warner Herzog’s drunken miscreant with whom Stroszek shares a name.

Available through God Is Myth Records.

Danishmendt - Un Passé Aride

2010-08-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Danishmendt play some interesting dark ambient instilled blackened doom metal. The music takes a form similar to Cult of Luna loosely interpreting the ideology of Blut Aus Nord with a luring interest in the cold atmospheric effects that droneesque field recordings so often induce. If your taken in by the cover image, enjoy doomy, riff oriented metal and the occasional foray into ambient/drone territory - this is the release you have been waiting for. The overall effect is sinister, suffocating and beautifully cold. I encourage everyone to head over to the Myspace where the new album ‘Un Passé Aride’ is available to stream in its entirety.

Cold Void Emanations & Odio Sonoro are handling the CD release which will take a 10 page digipack fold out form. The artwork gives a great idea what to expect and is modelled on the fantastic Yves Marocchi’s work. Unforgiving, atonal soundscapes that pave their way like hammers through the interjections of dark ambient and possessed vocal arrangements. Perfect music for the accompanying journey through abandoned, decaying frameworks of architectural lapse and the pervasive intangibility of forgotten structures. Heavily hypnotised, robotic riffing that sets pace below gnarled vocals from a rust ridden throat that are heavily reminiscent of Cult of Luna.

Stream now: Myspace / Homepage

Owl: Zeitgeister's mystery band

2010-08-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

On the topic of German Black Metal, the new sampler from Zeitgeister Records has had me hooked for the last few days. The label is home to some of the most adventurous metal acts of the moment (Klabautamann, Valborg, Woburn House, etc.), and looks set to unleash some real beasts in the near future. The track that really blew me away is by Owl, a band I can find no information about whatsoever. It's dissonant, blackened death metal with haunting vocals and some tastefully-deployed atmospherics (an actual owl, no less). Does anybody know anything about these guys?

Listen to their song 'Loom' below, along with the rest of this excellent compilation.

All Paths to God - New Krieg track streaming

2010-08-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

'All Paths to God', a brand new track from Krieg's forthcoming album The Isolationist, is streaming on Stereogum's metal column, Haunting the Chapel. From what I can hear, this is Imperial treading new ground to explosive, unpredictable results. He states: “[The Isolationist] is my ugliest and most personal child, going deep into the darkest places in my own history on earth. I’m a fucked up wreck, and this record shows that.”

Tracklisting:

1. No Future

2. Photographs From An Asylum

3. All Paths to God

4. Ambergeist

5. Depakote

6. Religion III

7. Blue Of Noon

8. Decaying Inhalations

9. An The Stars Fell On

10. Remission

11. Dead Windows

The Isolationist is out on October 26th through Candlelight.

Listen here.