Interview with Dream Troll – Melodic Metal from the UK

Its not often you get younger bands who’s skills are so good they can play like they are geezers from the 80’s glory days of metal (Sumerlands and Eternal Champion are two that spring to mind) I have to admit I first heard about these guys on the news as their good friend who did some backing vocals for them is a politician and his enemies falsely accused him and by default the band of being Nazis (due to runic s’s they had in their logic) but after seeking them out and listening to their tunes I became a fan – today I spoke with their guitarist Matt – read on!

* Congrats on the album its killer – how old are you guys? As you definitely are well versed in classic metal riffs and leads
Cheers! We’re all approaching our mid-30s. So when we were first getting into metal we were listening to 80s and early 90s rock/metal. Even the cartoons, kid’s TV shows and computer games around that time were unintentionally metal! So I think that subconsciously had a big influence on why we were drawn to awesome cheesy metal riffs and harmonised guitar solos.

* Can you give us a brief history of the band? There really isn’t that much online about you guys
We’ve all played together in previous band over the years; I used to play in a tech-metal band called Tangaroa with Si (drummer) between 1998 – 2008. I also played in a band called 222 with Si. There have been smaller, more unknown projects me Si and Paul(guitar) have been involved in.

After years of trying to push myself creatively, trying to push myself to write unusual, unconventional metal with crazy time signatures, discordant bizarre scales, I wanted to write music purely for fun. I wanted to have fun with all the metal clichés that created the foundation of my guitar playing. Pay homage to all the influences that shaped my guitar playing style at an early age.

It was late 2015, Paul and I started to get together every weekend, we’d drink his crazy homebrew and play guitar. We had no goals other than wanting to write music for fun! There were times when we were jamming ideas and we’d both have to stop in hysterics because one of us would throw in a ridiculously cheesy harmony or melody!

I’d take the ideas back home, start creating song structures, write accompanying synth parts and program drum ideas.

We inevitably got Si involved and he started learning the drum parts. Soon after we asked Rob if he wanted to take on vocal duties. We’d worked with Rob in a covers band/party band called Stephen Hawkwind.

* What bands got you into metal growing up?
Originally it was a lot of 80s and early 90s rock metal that you’d typically expect; Especially Iron Maiden and Guns n Roses for me… Metallica, Megadeth, Ozzy, Sabbath, Aerosmith, Whitesnake, Slayer, Queen, AC/DC, Dio, Kiss, Def Leppard, Dream Theater, Queensrÿche, Motorhead, Meatloaf, Pantera.

Then came the mid-90s – most metallers won’t admit their musical guilty pleasures from around that time haha!

In the late 90s and onwards our musical tastes drastically expanded, we started getting into a lot of extreme and experimental styles of metal.

* How many years have you being playing guitar and did you take lessons at all or all self taught?
I started playing guitar when I was about 12 years old, I had guitar lessons for the first year then I was self-taught. So I’ve been playing 22 years!! I think I should be a lot better considering I’ve been playing for 22 years (!!!) but I reached a stage about 10 years ago where I felt comfortable with my technical abilities and have enjoyed focusing on creativity and writing.

We wanted our artwork to tick a lot of the cheesy metal stereotype boxes

* How did you come up with the idea for the album cover art? Who painted it for you? What’s the feedback been like?
He-Man!!! Haha! That’s the majority of the feedback we’ve had!! We wanted our artwork to tick a lot of the cheesy metal stereotype boxes; swords, castles, buff metal warrior, dragons, skulls, lightning…

The He-Man similarities weren’t intentional, but it goes back to what I mentioned earlier how we’re obviously unconsciously influenced by 80s culture!

The artwork was done by a friend of ours, Andy Sykes, AKA Hexjibber. We wanted the artwork to reflect the music; to be on the blurred line of – is this serious or not?! A lot of people seem to ‘get it’ and have said they really like the artwork.

They had an agenda and they weren’t going to let facts get in the way of a good smear story, right?!

* So what was the story with that accusation that you guys were nazis? Storm in a teacup? Political assassination of your mate or what?
Yeah, a blatant smear campaign! The tabloid scum were happy to throw us under a bus to get to Richard Burgon!!

We’ve known Richard Burgon (politician/Shadow Justice Secretary/Labour MP for East Leeds) for a long time. He’s a huge metal fan and genuinely decent, honest guy. He used to put on an all-dayer in Leeds that Tangaroa used to play every year.

A few months back we went to see Gojira in Leeds. Rick was asking about Dream Troll and asked if he could do a guest spoken-word piece on the album. I immediately agreed, not only because I love his political speeches but also because of the absurdity of the Shadow Justice Secretary doing a guest piece on a metal album by a band called Dream Troll!!!

So before I explain the accusation I’ll give you some context.

Last year, we were posting song names on Facebook, replacing the word ‘roll’ with ‘troll’ …Silly wordplay:

God gave rock and troll to you… long live rock n’ troll… you can’t kill rock and troll… We sold our soul for rock and troll… We built this city on rock and troll… For whom the bell trolls… etc…

To continue the joke, I thought about photoshoping a parody album cover of one of the above titles. The simplicity of the Sabbath-We Sold Our Soul, cover made that one an obvious choice. I made the pastiche/parody album cover, uploaded it… That was it…

Fast-forward to April 2017. Rick uploaded a photo of himself announcing his spoken-word collaboration with us. The Tory-backed tabloids saw it and started digging… They found the Sabbath parody cover on our social media pages, from which they were able to fabricate a ludicrous scenario where we ‘delight in Nazi symbols’ and claim that we spell our name in German military font, complete with an umlaut over the letter ‘o’…!!!

Leading up to the release of the tabloid article on the night of the 15th April, we were informed of the accusations and the impending article. Rick and the Labour Party press office had already provided The S*n with an explanation and context of the image including photos of the original Sabbath cover. But they had an agenda and they weren’t going to let facts get in the way of a good smear story, right?!

* How would you compare the metal scene when you guys were growing up to today’s scene?
It would be unfair for me to compare today’s metal scene to the scene when I was growing up as I was way more involved in it back in the day! I’m a retired veteran now haha, soon to make a comeback and probably complaining about how it “wasn’t like this back in my day!!” – “these kids with their beatdowns and 9 string guitars!!”.

A lot of experimental extreme metal on Relapse Records pushing the creative boundaries

* If you had a say in the matter do you think you would rather have been in a teen back when you guys were growing up or a teen today? (me personally I am glad I was a teen back then and not now)
That’s a tricky one! When I was young I would do anything to get my hands on new music. Buying a new album was a real luxury back then! I would try and copy as much music from friends onto tapes or buy cheap records at car boot sales, stay up to watch Headbangers Ball or listen to the Radio One Rock show… I can’t imagine what it would have been like to have YouTube and Spotify back then! It would have been great…… or would it?! When music is so freely available it loses its value; it’s doesn’t feel as special anymore! Music is so disposable now.

Also, during the 90s, rock and metal music was changing A LOT! It was an exciting time for music, even up until the late 90s with a lot of experimental extreme metal on Relapse Records pushing the creative boundaries and some great new melodic metal bands like Children of Bodom.

So I’m glad I experienced evolution of rock and metal throughout the 90s, even if it did include the birth of nu-metal! I wouldn’t change it.

* Yorkshire has always had a great metal scene – how is the metal scene in Leeds these days?
It’s still going strong. We’ve definitely got our fair share of extreme metal bands and metal bands of a heavier nature here in Leeds, so I’m not sure how Dream Troll will fit in when we start gigging …But, I’ve got to confess – I’m almost 35 now! I’m not as involved in the Leeds music scene as I was 10-15 years ago!

A recent highlight in the Leeds metal scene was the return of Canvas after 17 years! Their album ‘Lost in Rock’ has to be one of my favourite albums of all time! A real hidden gem in the rock world. A very weird album – it’s definitely not for everyone! Si, Dream Troll drummer, was asked to join

Canvas and was set to be part of their reunion until he broke his arm in a motorbike accident at the end of last year.

There are still a lot of interesting bands coming out of the Black Metal scene

* What are your thoughts on more modern metal genres like Deathcore and Black Metal?
I’m not a big fan of Deathcore… I love Black Metal though! Emperor are one of my all-time favourite bands. There are still a lot of interesting bands coming out of the Black Metal scene; loads of great experimental Black Metal.

I’m a big fan of many other modern metal genres, bands like Meshuggah, Dillinger Escape Plan, all of Devin Townsend’s work, Ephel Duath, Textures, Car Bomb, Destrage, Soilwork, Behemoth, Mastodon, Bodom, Brutal Truth, Dimmu Borgir, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Gojira… I’m very open-minded to new styles of music.

It’s not self-indulgent unnecessary guitar wankery, it’s really well thought out melodies and chords

* Are you guys familiar with the new wave of American bands that love the NWOBHM scene?
Yeah, the NWOTHM bands are great. I’m a huge fan of Eternal Champion and especially Sumerlands!! The Sumerlands album just keeps getting better; really nice natural warm production, fantastic song structures, and the guitar work (!!!!) – it’s not self-indulgent unnecessary guitar wankery, it’s really well thought out melodies and chords all intertwined. Love it!

Other bands that spring to mind… I’m really enjoying Visigoth, it’s so metal!! Lunar Shadow – Far from Light, sounds like a demo, but it has loads of great harmonies and melodies… Witchtower, Striker, Skull Fist are a few others that I’m enjoying at the moment.

Although Dream Troll aren’t trying to replicate the authentic old sound like a lot of the NWOTHM bands, we seem to get associated with the whole niche subgenre because of our obvious appreciation of the old rock and metal clichés and themes.

* What more can we expect from Dream Troll in 2017?
Gigs!!! I can’t wait to play some gigs! After Si’s motorbike accident, a small line-up change and getting a bassist, we’re finally preparing to play some gigs. We’re also in the middle of recording 3 new songs. We’ll be releasing one of the songs on a split 7”.

* Any final words?
We’re really keen to keep things moving – we’ve written loads of new songs, slightly different sound to the songs on The Knight of Rebellion, but they still have the signature Dream Troll catchy melodies, maybe inspired even more by 80s culture! Our new singer is helping us to evolve our sound and bringing a lot more to the band. We’ll be playing gigs soon, so promoters/bands, get in touch…

UK’s Black Metal HORRIFIED reveal cover art and release date for forthcoming SHADOW KINGDOM album

Today, Shadow Kingdom Records announces September 29th as the international release date for the highly anticipated third album of the UK’s Horrified, Allure of the Fallen. A work of towering, melodic death metal majesty, Allure of the Fallen is the record by which Horrified continue their ascent and truly stake their claim as the genre’s elite – and render a new modern classic to the canon.

Hailing from Newcastle upon Tyne, Horrified was born in 2012 with humble beginnings. An acolyte worshiping the altar of old-school death metal, founder and creator Dan Alderson would later transform the project into a full band. Like so many of their predecessors, Horrified took a sidestep and evolved into melodic and grandiose territory, adding twin-guitar harmonies and increasing its scope into epic territory without sacrificing their original vision of savage OSDM. After releasing two full-length albums on various labels, assaulting UK underground audiences with tight, energetic live performances and taking their aural onslaught to European audiences, Horrified took steps up from the underground with wide, positive acclaim for the second full-length album Of Despair.

But now, with the impending release of third album Allure of the Fallen, Horrified has been reborn into something far more vast than ever originally imagined. Comprising six expansive tracks in an epic 46 minutes, Allure of the Fallen finds the band in an enviable state of maturity, exuding class and power in equal measure, their ever-winding but never-extraneous compositions truly taking the listener on a journey into what real – and really melodic – death metal can encompass. Thus, Horrified’s signing to Shadow Kingdom for the album’s release is a logical alliance to bolster the band’s ever-growing evolution and constant broadening of vision, scope, and horizons.

Patient but never slumbering, Horrified arises from the ashes of a barren landscape, shrouded in majesty, resurrected in ancient art. This is the Allure of the Fallen: pay witness to the dawn of majesty.

“This band just keeps getting better with each album. On Allure of the Fallen, they shed much of their ‘Sunlight’ influences sound- and music-wise, and incorporate a lot more black metal and doom. It’s melodic, heavy, and catchy as hell. It brings to mind fond memories when I first discovered bands like Unanimated, Sacramentum, etc, and that’s an awesome thing. This will definitely be a highlight for a lot of folks in 2017!” – Damain Herring (Horrendous)

First track and preorder info to be announced shortly. Cover art, by Adam Burke, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Horrified (UK)’s Allure of the Fallen
1. Allure of the Fallen
2. Light’s Dissolution
3. The Perceiver
4. Unanswered
5. Shorn
6. The Promise of Solace

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/horrifiedUK

Black Metal Duo ASAGRAUM set release date for debut album, reveal first track

Today, KVLT sets September 29th as the international release date for Asagraum’s highly anticipated debut album, Potestas Magicum Diaboli. A magickal work of nighsky majesty, simmering celestial aggression, and the most potent tenets of ’90s Scandinavian black metal, Potestas Magicum Diaboli breathes and billows a blast-from-the-past classicism that nevertheless manages to sound fresh among the modern BM landscape, outstripping the prevailing trends and the pretenders who enable them. Perhaps more importantly, it is the work of two women – a rarity in black metal, both past and especially present – who hereby render gender an irrelevant argument. Simply, Potestas Magicum Diaboli stands on its own, towering and terrifying.

A cross-continental entity, Asagraum was founded in the autumn of 2015 by vocalist/guitarist Obscura and drummer T. Kolsvart. The original intent was to play pure, Satanic black metal, in all its aspects, with the old-school feeling of the eternal ’90s greats but also with dark psychedelic influences. A three-track promo recording was released earlier this year, laying bare Asagraum’s aims and accordingly special sound. Wasting no time, Potestas Magicum Diaboli was then recorded, fleshing out further those aims into an eight-song, 44-minute work which maintains a fuller, more windswept totality. It heaves and weaves to both aggression and atmosphere, walking a delicate balance but always boldly. It is both unapologetically modern and authentically ’90s.

With anticipation high for the release of Potestas Magicum Diaboli, Asagraum will be touring Europe later this year, utilizing a bass-player – either Mortifero or Makashanah – for live performances. Onstage, the band is equally deadly, proving their left-hand-path black art knows no boundaries. Until then, let Potestas Magicum Diaboli revive the old cult of the witches, radiating forever the black flame of Lilith. “Black Sun Prayer,” the first track to be revealed from the album.

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Asagraum’s Potestas Magicum Diaboli
1. Transformation
2. Black Triangle Temple
3. Leviathan
4. Gospel of Ignition
5. Daar Waar Ik Sterf
6. Black Sun Prayer
7. Carried by Lucifer’s Wings
8. I Burn within the Devil

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/asagraum

Italy’s Barbarian to tour the USA for the first time

To coincide with a full tour of the United States this August, on July 21st internationally, Hells Headbangers will release a new 7″ EP from Italy’s Barbarian. Simply self-titled, this new two-song banger presents Barbarian at their roughest, rowdiest, and arguably heaviest yet. Riding high on the critical acclaim afforded their first album for Hells Headbangers (and third overall), Cult of the Empty Grave, Barbarian go from strength to strength, taking the blackened traditional metal of that album and here firing it full of a dangerous octane. Both tracks – “Simulacra of the Ageless Need” and the telltale “Stench of God” – are both brand-new and exclusive to this release, featuring the band’s new lineup, so get ready for summer slaughter with the Barbarian 7″!

A statement from the band reads: “Barbarian are ready to hit US soil for the first time and defile stages all over the country! Our axes are already honed and our bone knives sharpened, so if you want it ugly and obtuse, join us for the absolute Regressive Metal desecration!”

The updated list of full dates & venues for Barbarian’s summer American tour are as follows :

August 4 – Chicago, IL @ LiveWire Lounge
August 5 – Milwaukee, WI @ Frank’s Power Plant
August 6 – Minneapolis, MN @ Hexagon Bar
August 7 – Rapid City, SD @ West Dakota Improv
August 9 – Seattle, WA @ Highline Bar
August 10 – Portland, OR @ Twilight Cafe
August 11 – San Francisco, CA @ RS94109
August 12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Five Star Bar
August 13 – Las Vegas, NV
August 14 – Lost Lake, Denver, CO
August 15 – Kansas City, MO
August 16 – St. Louis, MO @ Fubar
August 17 – Cincinnati, OH @ Rake’s End
August 18 – New York, NY @ Metal Kingdom
August 19 – New Carrollton, MD @ El Gran Chaparral
August 20 – Worcester, MA
August 21 – Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
August 22 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Rock Room
August 23 – Nashville, TN – The East Room
August 24 – Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter
August 25 – Philadelphia, PA

Further updates to follow shortly. Currently, the track “Simulacra of the Ageless Need” is streaming at Hells Headbangers’ Bandcamp HERE, where the Barbarian 7″ EP can be preordered. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Barbarian (Italy)’s Barbarian EP
1. Simulacra of the Ageless Need
2. Stench of God

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/barbarianmetal

Interview with Sarcasm – Swedish Death Metal Legends

I am sure most of you guys know about classic Swedish Death metal bands like Dismember and Entombed, however, not everyone knows about Death metal Legends Sarcasm, who only managed to record one full length back in the glory days of Swedish Death metal (Burial Dimensions). Today I spoke with lead singer Heval on why it took so long for them to record their full length – the changes in the scene from then to now and much more – read on

* Congratulations on the release of your second album it was a long time coming – why the long delay from Burial Dimensions to Within the Sphere of Ethereal Minds?
Thanks! Well, the simple answer is that the band didn’t exist between 1994-2015, we reformed the band in 1997 just for one gig but we didn’t have any plans to write new material back then. Our old stuff was re-released several times and we got a bit bored by that and thought something new has to be released so we started writing new material again in 2015 which led to the album “Within the Sphere of Ethereal Minds” It won’t take 17 years to the next album I can assure you that lol

We recorded our debut album “Burial Dimensions” in 1994 but we broke up just after the recording

* Can you tell the readers a little bit about the history of the band for those who don’t know
A very long story short, The band was formed in 1990 by me and Fredrik Wallenberg, after a period of line-up problems etc we started to release some demotapes from 1992-1994. We recorded our debut album “Burial Dimensions” in 1994 but we broke up just after the recording and the album remained unreleased and unheard for 17 years. We’ve had our share of setbacks of course, members quitting and dying but still we managed to manifest an album which we are truly proud of.

* Like you guys I was there during the very beginning of the Death Metal scene (and the Black metal scene) Can you explain what those days were like? (Hunting through records store for hours on end to try and find new bands, pen friends around the world sending new music by cassettes, etc)
Well for me it was very easy to find new stuff back in the day, I was fortunate to have a record store in my home town, Uppsala, it was called Expert and every metal album could be found there in the 80s, all the the obscure stuff that was released back then. And most of them were on sale just weeks after they were released, and still they kept bringing in all those cool albums. I remember I bought LPs like the first Necrodeath, the No Mercy album, the Raging Death compilation and almost all the New Renaissance titles and tons of others for just 3-4 bucks each. I bought everything that looked extreme back then, and I didn’t even listened to the stuff before buying them and I thought everything was awesome. There was a record store in Stockholm as well, Heavy Sound, but they were a bit more expensive than Expert, but Heavy Sound had lots of demotapes, I bought lots of those there. And there were also some awesome post order places you could find great stuff. I started with serious tape trading during the demo days of our band, I got cool stuff from all over the place, and it was very easy to find like-minded people, but the process was slow, you could wait weeks for mails to arrive but it was magic in its own way, even though I prefer this “new” way of finding stuff with internet and all. So yeah we were pretty much obsessed with that whole death metal scene back then, I wasn’t into that second wave of black metal scene so much, but we were big fans of the 80s black metal though.

* Sweden has been a hot bed of amazing metal for many years now – why do you think a country that is smaller than New York City produces so many great bands?
We have lots of spare time here I guess. And when it’s so dark and cold here most of the time there’s not much to do than write songs and rehearse and consume lots of alcohol. There were tons of great swedish bands from the 80s to mid 90s, there are some good newer underground bands of course, even though it’s nothing compare to what once was. And unfortunately a lot of commercial and cheezy crap metal also.

Some of them evolved, they turned into death ‘n’ roll which I really disliked

* What would you say were the biggest differences between American and European Death metal bands back in the glory days?
The American bands were more technical, and many of them had their own unique sound in my opinion. I preferred those bands over European bands which I also liked but many of them, especially Swedish had the same sound and I was bored by that after a while. And when some of them evolved, they turned into death ‘n’ roll which I really disliked. And there were those few bands who really did their own thing, like Afflicted for instance who I truly liked, but none of those didn’t get the attention they deserved because they didn’t sound like all the others. Some of that early melodic death metal were genuinely good in my opinion, but that also turned into cheeze after a few years. But there were also some really good and exciting underground bands from Europe back in the day, especially from Finland. UK and Holland had some great stuff to.

I would have probably laughed at how amateurish we were and then left to see the first Black Sabbath show or something.

* If you had a time machine and could go back to 1990 again what do you think you would have done different with the band?
Actually I wouldn’t do anything different . I don’t believe in regrets and re-doing stuff. I would have probably laughed at how amateurish we were and then left to see the first Black Sabbath show or something.

* You’ve been making music a long time now – what are your thoughts and feelings on modern digital recording gear?
I love it, it’s so much easier to record an album today like so much other stuff. That’s what it is all about, it has to be easier with time. And a lot more fun.

* Are you surprised by the resurgence of vinyl and to a lesser degree the cassette format?
No, I knew those formats would wake up again. When everything is served and easy to find, people eventually get bored by that and want a physical product in their hands and shelves. That’s a major part of the hobby, especially for metal heads. But Compared to how much vinyl sold back in the glory days it’s nothing but still it’s good to see that more people are buying it. And especially tapes.

* How did the deal with Dark Descent come about?
They re-released our first album together with all our demotapes, and did a great job, so I asked Matt if Dark Descent would be interested in releasing the new album also, he said yes and the deal was made. They did a terrific job on these releases, and they also released my other band, Third Storm.

We are all players in this eternal cosmic saga which we direct and co-create

* Songs like “Silent Waves Summoned Your Inner Being” feel very metaphysical – what are your views on the Universe, creation and our evolutions as souls?
We are always on the right path in this universe, there is no way to lose, even if we sometimes let the physical part of us believe that. But well-being is the order of the universe and the most important law. And right after the departure from the physical we are more than we were before and universe is expanding because of all that is, and we are all players in this eternal cosmic saga which we direct and co-create. We will never get it done and we can never get it wrong. The whole album is metaphysical yes, and “Silent Waves Summoned Your Inner Being” especially is a message from your inner being, saying that, you choose, no matter what, and you will choose to come back and experience more of the contrasts and all the levels of variety, because more is the nature and core of the energy stream that is your inner being.

* What are your favorite metal bands to come out of the last say 10 years?
Wow, last ten years, , I try to check out as many metal bands I can and have found many great new ones past years, let’s see, I would say some of them are Sulphur Aeon, Exmortus, Tribulation, Dopelord, Phobocosm, Tau Cross, Khemmis, Hail Spirit Noir, Vektor, Ancient Empire, Atlantean Kodex, Crypt Sermon, Eruption, Satan’s Hallow, Eternal Champion and many more. Some of them are perhaps more than 10 years old, I don’t know, but they’re relatively new to me. And there are also some great traditional heavy metal bands that have risen these past years which I think is awesome.

* What can we expect from Sarcasm for the rest of 2017?
We will do some shows in Sweden the second half of the year, and a tape box-set will be released by Darkness Shall Rise in august, besides that we’re working on some new songs for the next album.

* Any final words?
Yeah man, thanks for this interview and see you soon, cheers!
thanks

Portuguese black metal cult ORDEM SATANICA stream Debut album SIGNAL REX

Today, Portuguese black metal cult Ordem Satânica stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Monte da Lua. Set for international release today via Signal Rex, hear Ordem Satânica’s Monte da Lua in its entirety here

Hailing from the rawest core of the thriving Portuguese black metal scene, Ordem Satânica are possessed by a hideous grimness that’s utterly hypnotizing. Despite not belonging to Portugal’s Black Circle (Mons Veneris, Vetala, Irae), Ordem Satânica’s sound is comparably chaotic and necrotic, bleary and blown-out. And yet, the trio possess a deceptive sense of melody, malformed and miasmic, dissonant and distressed, that favorably reminds of France’s immortal Black Legions from the dark days of the 1990s. For verily, this BLACK METAL from an ancient time – AGAINST the modern world, and against the modern “black metal” scene.

To date, Ordem Satânica have built a coveted canon of thoroughly underground works, each more challenging and cantankerous than the last. Just earlier this year, this enviable escalation of aesthetic antagonization reached its apotheosis with Signal Rex’s release of the In Aeterna Crudelitate cassette – like the old ways/days, limited to only 66 copies and selling out almost immediately. But alas, Ordem Satânica transcend all prior with Monte da Lua, the most mesmerizing distillation of their crude-yet-cultivated art. Stripped completely bare and blown out in an almost brittle manner, Monte da Lua is a windswept travail across desolation and disgust, ever inwards and maybe even backwards. Modernity doesn’t exist here; there is only the past, which passed before it began. Time stands still here, and the listener is powerless against Ordem Satânica’s evocations of a better/worse world.

When there are still revisionist reveries for the early ’90s boom of black metal, which inevitably died a slow death, there are bands in this millennium who harness that very real, very primordial power, and the raw Portuguese scene is currently at the forefront

Tracklisting for Ordem Satânica’s Monte da Lua
-LADO A-
1. Belial os Bosques e o Pentagrama
2. Monte da Lua
3. Lagoa da Serpente Eterna
4. Pelo Misticismo…

-LADO B-
5. Negras aparições
6. Tempestades Nocturnas e Invocações Satânicas sob os céus de Sintra
7. Solstício de Inverno
8. Entre Árvores Sombrias

www.signalrex.com
www.facebook.com/signalrex
www.signalrex.bandcamp.com

Canadian black metallers Kafirun premier new song from their Debut Album

Canadian black metallers Kafirun premier a new song “Eschaton” off their highly anticipated debut album, of the same name, Eschaton. Set for international release on June 26th via Seance Records.

A deeply occultic work, Eschaton explores the end of the manifested world – an apocalypse that brings the end of all life and begets the opening of a new beginning through death – and opens this portal through thoroughly dizzying, manically majestic black metal. Finding that elusive balance between the resolutely raw ‘n’ primitive and the dynamically complex, Kafirun create a constantly shapeshifting maelstrom of macrocosm-crushing chaos and (dis)order. Across seven tracks within a concise ‘n’ cutting 42 minutes, the quartet portray a bold vision, and one whose maturity belies the band’s brief existence so far.

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Kafirun sprung to deathly life in in 2014. The band’s first release was an EP titled Death Worship – a title which has served to guide Kafirun’s prevailing principles – and was released on cassette format that same year, garnering a strong and positive response across the worldwide metal underground. A year later, another EP followed, titled Glorification of Holy Death – again, another telltale title – which released by the band digitally and as a very limited CD. This release brought the band further in their sinister journey towards total cosmic death. Alas, just last year, both EPs were jointly reissued as The Worship and Glorification of Holy Death compilation, which was quickly followed by a split 7″ with Austria’s Transilvania.

Now, with that swift ‘n’ decisive experience behind them, Kafirun are set to unleash their first full-length work, Eschaton, under the auspices of Seance Records. Sonically painting the eternal void of death, Eschaton perversely brims with an illuminating light, devouring the cosmic light of life and everything within, scurrying through the sort of black metal whose radiance is so obsidian as to consume energy as austerely as it expends it; verily, it is death of the self and all reason. In this moment which is eternal yet transitory, a new and pure energy grows within the womb of chaos, and which ignites the source of a new aeon, a flame needless of air to exist. A new true god that breeds its new self, purified and sanctified in chaos without an end nor a beginning: here stands Kafirun.

Although the moniker Kafirun stems from Islam – meaning disbelievers or infidels and is mentioned over a hundred times in the religious text and verses – the band state that “in our lyrics, we do not have anything about Islam at all. Our concept is about death and nothingness. We try to not use generic occult notions. Surely, we are influenced by the old beliefs, the occult, myths, esoteric ideas, and the Luciferian path, but we try to create our own concepts. Death is the only true god, and it is the only god that reveals itself to living things. So we explore death, nothingness, and what lies beyond the boundaries of the flesh. Some things are incomprehensible to a man and can only be experienced through death. So Kafirun is against the monotheistic dogmas and submission to their teachings on a philosophical level. It is a flame, an idea for a total chaotic new beginning on the individual level.”

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Kafirun’s Eschaton
1. Lord of Blessed Murder
2. Eschaton
3. Omega Serpent
4. Divine Providence
5. Prophetic Death Trance
6. Ephemerality of the Flesh
7. Omnipresence

www.kafirun.ca
www.facebook.com/KafirunBand

Boston Death Metal Quintet Soul Remnants to Release ‘Ouroboros’ July 21

Boston Death Metal quintet SOUL REMNANTS will release its third album, Ouroboros, July 21 on eOne/LifeBlood. A concept album revolving around a futuristic, dystopic war amongst all mankind, Ouroboros is the SOUL REMNANTS’ most ambitious recording to date. While the new album is more dynamic than its predecessors, it still maintains the uniquely crushing style that SOUL REMNANTS has cultivated over its career.

New single “Echoes of Insanity”

Pre-orders: http://www.2lin.cc/ouroboros

So few emerging bands in this day in age can pride themselves on being a Death Metal band, committing to the title, uncaring of consequence and fostering the ability to stick to the slime that creeps down the walls of all hyperbolic underground musical trends. Hailing from the Boston-area and beyond, within the depths of New England, SOUL REMNANTS catalyze a major point that Death Metal is by far the most punishable to all.

Track Listing:

1. Mechanical Synapse Modulations
2. Regurgitated and Consumed
3. Depravity’s Lock
4. Walled City
5. Mental Tourniquet
6. Echoes of Insanity
7. Dissolving into Obscurity
8. Decomposition

KIMI KÄRKI sets release date for new SVART album

Today, Svart Records sets August 18th as the international release date for Kimi Kärki ‘s highly anticipated second album, Eye for an Eye.

Kimi Kärki is a Finnish cultural historian, guitar-player, and singer-songwriter. Known for his versatile guitar playing and somber compositions for Reverend Bizarre, Lord Vicar, Orne, E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr, and, most recently, Uhrijuhla, Kärki has developed his recognizable playing style within doom metal, progressive, folk, and electric ambient scenes. This variety of mostly underground styles reflects the open and intuitive approach to music, which is in the very heart of Kärki’s craft.

Eye for an Eye is Kärki’s second singer-songwriter album. It is a follow-up to The Bone of My Bones, a 2013 effort that was also released by Svart Records. When the first one was built on 12-string guitar foundation, this time, things are even more intimate, personal, and heartfelt; the songs are played with warm nylon string tones that come closer to the listener. But that heart is supported by a rich decoration of other sounds and harmonies.

The stories told on this record are romantic, in the old meaning of the world. They have their origins in both lived life and what could be called the Dreaming, but also resonate the culture that surrounds the dreamer. Both the pain and the joy are real. Give these songs some time and they might heal you a bit, just like they healed the songwriter himself. Please listen loud, and preferably when you can forget everything else for a while. Even the silences speak volumes here.

To maximize the listening pleasure, Kärki again decided to invite some friends to contribute additional guest vocals. Patrick Walker is best known as the emotional vocalist and songwriter of both Warning and 40 Watt Sun, and John Richardson — who just released his superb debut album on Svart Records — is an old-school musician and the Professor of Musicology at University of Turku. He was already heard on the first album, just like the two stunning female vocalists, Anna-Elena Pääkkölä and Pirita Känkänen, whose clear harmonies juxtapose Kärki’s somber delivery. The album was again engineered by Joona Lukala. The collaboration with this sharp-eared audio wizard helped Kärki to realize the ambitious aural stories as intended — enjoy Eye for an Eye.

First track premiere and video both to be revealed shortly. Cover and tracklisting

Tracklisting for Kimi Kärki’s Eye for an Eye
1. Entangled in Pleasure
2. Augurs of Winter
3. Lustful, Wrathful, Sullen
4. Beyond Distance
5. Good Things in Life
6. The Load We Carry
7. Spearhead
8. The River of Shadows
9. The Last Wave

Metal band Deathwhite sign with Seasons of Mist Records

Seasons of Mist Records have been on a roll lately and their new dark melodic metal signing Deathwhite just adds to their already amazing roster:

 Season of Mist are proud to announce the signing of DEATHWHITE. The enigmatic bringers of darkness will release their debut album, ‘For a Black Tomorrow’ via Season of Mist.

The band comments: “We are incredibly honoured to join the Season of Mist roster. DEATHWHITE started in 2012 as a basic studio project with the aim of playing dark metal in the vein of some of our most beloved bands. To have one of metal’s leading independent labels take an interest in us is far beyond our expectations. We now turn our attention to the proper release of our first full-length, ‘For a Black Tomorrow’, and look forward to among other things, our first live performances, and a strong as well as enduring partnership with Season of Mist.”

Formed in 2012, DEATHWHITE were created in part to follow on the path first explored by dark metal torchbearers such as ANATHEMA, KATATONIA, MY DYING BRIDE, and PARADISE LOST.

The band’s ‘Ethereal’ EP (2014) successfully established a template of melodic, clean vocals alongside melancholic, but heavy riffing. Their debut created an early buzz within the metal underground that grew significantly with the following ‘Solitary Martyr’ EP (2015), which was hailed by critics as “thick with emotion” and “wonderfully engrossing.”

Backed by such praise, DEATHWHITE spent 2016 writing and recording their first full-length under the supervision of producer and engineer Shane Mayer. ‘For a Black Tomorrow’ was originally scheduled for release in March of 2017, but after signing to Season of Mist the release has now been slated for early 2018.