Today, Wolfspell Records sets December 21st as the international release date for Croc Noir’s highly striking debut album, Mort.
Hailing from France, Croc Noir formed in 2016 but quickly set to work on their first recordings. An EP followed that year, with another a year later. In 2018 came a new demo and also a split with French comrades Au-Delà. With such feverish devotion and inspiration, it’s no surprise that the band’s debut album, Mort, is as highly developed as it is. Strictly and staunchly black metal, Croc Noir reverently revel in their homeland’s rich history in the blackest arts. Raw yet no less robust, there’s a melancholy coursing through Mort that’s uniquely underpinned by an understated triumph. As such, this intoxicating swirl of grim delirium nods to distinguished French forebears like Sacrificia Mortuorum, Sombre Chemin, and later Winter Funeral but with a nostalgic touch poignantly conjured through their occasional usage of accordion.
Croc Noir’s Mort will be released on digipack CD. In the meantime, hear the new tracks “Tapis Dans L’ombre” and “Égérie Funeste” HERE
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Croc Noir’s Mort
1. Dans L’abime
2. Au Seuil Du Trépas
3. Tapis Dans L’ombre
4. Égérie Funeste
5. Des Feuilles Mortes
6. Transi D’effroi
7. Seul Et Ivre
Today, UK death metal militants Spearhead stream the entirety of their long-awaited fourth album, Pacifism is Cowardice. Set for international release on November 23rd via Invictus Productions, hear Spearhead’s Pacifism is Cowardice in its entirety HERE.
A highly respected stalwart of militant death metal since 2005, Spearhead triumphantly return after seven turbulent years to unleash another installment of elite war-worshiping blackened death metal violence and scorn. Building on the body of work presented in the preceding three albums, Spearhead have honed their sound and crafted their sharpest and most ferocious album to date, surpassing all in intensity and dynamics. This is vicious and pure Metal of Death, forged in the fires of old in the vein of classic Morbid Angel, Angelcorpse, and Vader.
As we surpass, so we ascend. Unchallengeable, Unconquerable, Undeniable… Pacifismi est Ignavia!
Take the full, final step onto the battlefield
Cover art, courtesy of Jose Gabriel Alegría Sabogal, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Spearhead (UK)’s Pacifism is Cowardice
1. Duellorum
2. Of Sun and Steel
3. Ajativada
4. Wolves of the Krypteia, We
5. Violence Revolt Ruination
6. Hyperanthropos
7. Degeneration Genocide
8. The Elysian Ideal
9. A Monarch to Rats
10. Khan
11. Aion (Two Keys and a Lion’s Face)
12. Aftermath
Ever since Ulver released their 2nd album Kveldssanger (Twilight Songs) in 1996 the rule book on what is and is not Black Metal has been thrown out the window. While many of us enjoy raw, brutal black metal 90% of the time, some of us like to chill out every now and then and special acts like Echtra, serve that purpose perfectly.
Echtra (also the guitarist in ritualistic acoustic folk band Fearthainne ) builds slow eirrey
soundscapes perfect for kicking back and decompressing in your cabin deep in the woods, in fact I am pretty sure that Echtra is from the Pacific North West. You definitely get the feeling listening to these 2, 20+ minute atmospheric musical pieces that you are traipsing through a deep green forest somewhere in the PNW.
I think its actually pretty hard to be able to play minimalist ethereal pieces like these and make sure that they are not boring to the listener. On both of these two pieces Echtra manages to maintain the listeners attention but slowly building and developing on musical themes
One of the elements that creates good black metal whether raw and aggressive or reflective like Echtra is the atmosphere or feeling that the music gives the listener and unless this is your first rodeo and your musical tastes have not developed past Darkthrone’s Transylvanian Hunger” then you could do yourself no wrong but sitting back for an hour and giving this album your full concentration.
I like this album, I like it a lot – check it out it comes out on Temple of Torturous this Friday (November 23rd) The physical release includes a 12″ LP with specific analogue mastering, plus a DVD disc containing the original live performance with digitally mastered audio track.
Today, Saturnal Records sets December 7th as the international release date for Kult of Kaos Serpent: a special three-way split of Satanic black metal from Djvelkult, Kyy, and Nihil Kaos.
Although a traditional split in the sense of offering new songs from two (or more) bands, Kult of Kaos Serpent is more so a unified spiritual weapon – of antinomian black metal might hailing from Norway, Finland, and Turkey. Each band’s respective offering stands tall on its own, yet forms an overarching symbiosis with their partners here. Not for nothing is it titled Kult of Kaos Serpent…
Norway’s Djvelkult are up first, and offer three new & exclusive tracks. Continuing the cryogenic momentum spurred by their critically acclaimed Saturnal debut, Når Avgrunnen Åpnes, earlier this year, Djvelkult deliver pure, undiluted Norwegian black metal majesty that’s as modern as it is classic. Next up are Finland’s Kyy, who break their two-year silence since their critically acclaimed debut album, Beyond Flesh – Beyond Matter – Beyond Death. Those two years have not been spent idly, as Kyy’s contribution here proves to be their most potent yet – and most vicious, it must be said. Rounding out the split are two tracks from Turkey’s Nihil Kaos. Restless and roiling, there’s a battering melodicism at work here, not to mention a professionalism that’s on par with their split-mates. And with the band’s chaos-gnostic lyrical themes coming to the fore, thus does Kult of Kaos Serpent seal the circle.
In the meantime, see & hear a special trailer for Kult of Kaos Serpent HERE
Preorder info can be found HERE.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Kult of Kaos Serpent
1. Djevelkult – Skapt Av Helvetesild
2. Djevelkult – Life Devoid
3. Djevelkult – Den Svarte Død
4. Kyy – Ingress: Womb of Lilith
5. Kyy – Congress: Unearthly Realms
6. Kyy – Progress: Leaping Beyond God
7. Nihil Kaos – Artifex Erroris
8. Nihil Kaos – Claws of the Tempter
Today, Hells Headbangers sets December 28th as the international release date for Nekrofilth’s long-awaited second album, Worm Ritual, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Although it’s been a seemingly long five years since Nekrofilth’s debut album, 2013’s critically acclaimed Devil’s Breath, that’s not to say the band have been sitting idly by. During that time, founding vocalist/guitarist Zack Ripper relocated from Cleveland, Ohio to Denver, Colorado and has been releasing a steady stream of split releases with the likes of Cianide, Gravehill, Butcher ABC, Weapönizer, and Necrocanibalistic Vomitorium. With a new lineup solidified, in 2017 did Nekrofilth tease their anxious fanbase with three separate Bandcamp-only tracks forecasting Worm Ritual. Indeed, something was brewing…
And what was brewing is a leaner and most definitely meaner Nekrofilth. Here on Worm Ritual, the power-trio largely leave behind the juvenalia of their early work for real-world evil, upping the nastiness of their patented punk metal and reinventing it in a most respectable way. Naturally, Nekrofilth’s foundational influences of Slaughter (Canada), NME, and Repulsion remain, but with a more overtly muscular aspect – and, most definitely, a more overtly METAL one – Worm Ritual bristles with a punch-in-the-face intensity backed up by enviously compact songwriting, nodding often to the likes of Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Possessed, and even a bit of Autopsy. One after another, the 15 songs comprising the half-hour Worm Ritual state their case swiftly and simply, each one a mini-anthem in itself: rarely has “saying more with less” been this vicious and violent. Fitting for these stronger songs, the album is wrapped in a righteously ’80s-style production, warm yet over-the-top, with prominent reverb and delay underlining where Nekrofilth’s allegiances lay. The secret? Analog tape, just like their forebears used to do. And Venom, one of those forebears, receive a rough ‘n’ rowdy cover of “Poison” here.
Above all, Nekrofilth prove that “growth” doesn’t have to equate to selling/wimping out; if anything, they’re more extreme than ever. Perhaps not coincidentally, the album arrives upon the 10th anniversary of Nekrofilth’s formation. All those ready to likewise push their own limits are hereby encouraged to engage in the Worm Ritual!
Begin pushing your limits with the new track “Ready to Defile” HERE
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Nekrofilth’s Worm Ritual
1. Ready to Defile
2. Dead Brain
3. Rot With the Dead
4. Vomit Dog
5. Repulsed at Birth
6. Night of the Leech
7. Cruel Addiction
8. Feast of the Rats
9. Gutter Oil
10. Severed Eyes
11. They Took My Skin
12. Unbirthed
13. Worm Ritual
14. Poison [Venom cover]
15. Horror of the Crypt
ROTTING CHRIST are now unveiling the cover artwork and track list for their upcoming album ‘The Heretics’ which will be released on February 15th, 2019 via Season of Mist. The artwork, which is created by Greek artist Maximos Manolis, and the track list can be viewed below.
ROTTING CHRIST are currently touring Europe in support of the mighty WATAIN. All remaining dates can be found below.
Track-list:
1. In The Name of God (04:14)
2. Vetry Zlye (Ветры злые) (03:13)
3. Heaven and Hell and Fire (04:52)
4. Hallowed Be Thy Name (05:06)
5. Dies Irae (03:46)
6. I Believe (ΠΙΣΤΕΥΩ) (03:42)
7. Fire God And Fear (04:50)
8. The Voice of the Universe (05:23)
9. The New Messiah (03:07)
10. The Raven (05:23)
Total: 43:36
ROTTING CHRIST
+WATAIN +PROFANATICA
16 Nov 18 Limoges (FR) Centre Culturel John Lennon
17 Nov 18 Paris (FR) La Trabendo
18 Nov 18 Bucharest (RO) Metal Gates
20 Nov 18 Saarbrücken (DE) Garage
21 Nov 18 Mannheim (DE) MS Connexion Complex
22 Nov 18 Berlin (DE) Astra Kulturhaus
23 Nov 18 Antwerpen (BE) TRIX
24 Nov 18 Bochum (DE) Matrix
25 Nov 18 Nijmegen (NL) Doornroosje
ROTTING CHRIST festivals 2019
27 Apr 19 Stockholm (SE) Stockholm Slaughter 2019
11 May 19 Vienna (AT) Vienna Metal Meeting 2019
08 Aug 19 Caton Hall (UK) Bloodstock Open Air 2019
ROTTING CHRIST have reached another peak in their long career that now spans over more than three decades. The Greeks have literally stood the test of time. With a steady core line-up and their well-honed live delivery, ROTTING CHRIST are filling concert halls and reap enthusiastic crowd reactions wherever they go. This demonstration of love from their followers is not just driven by nostalgia as the band has managed to evolve and grow, while staying relevant beyond the classics with their highly acclaimed latest albums such as ‘Aealo’ (2010), ‘Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού’ (2013), and ‘Rituals’ (2016).
With the new offering ‘The Heretics’, ROTTING CHRIST are opening a brand new chapter. With confidence and skills derived from experience, each song represents its own sonic universe. Guitarist and vocalist Sakis Tolis in collaboration with his brother Themis on drums achieve a perfect balance of amalgamating their classic and unique style of riffing and rhythm with exciting new elements sprinkled in to keep their material exciting and fresh. The experience is enhanced by Jens Bogren’s equally clear and transparent yet also massive as well as sombre mix and mastering at his widely renowned Fascination Street Studios (AMORPHIS, BORKNAGAR, MOONSPELL, DEVIN TOWNSEND, and many more).
ROTTING CHRIST were founded by Sakis Tolis and his brother Themis in the year 1987. Starting out on a basis of death and grind, the Greeks had already embarked on a darker musical journey by the time their debut full-length ‘Thy Mighty Contract’ (1993) was revealed. On the following seven albums covering a ten-year period from ‘Non Serviam’ (1994) to ‘Sanctus Diavolos’ (2004), ROTTING CHRIST steadily defined their own distinct style by experimenting with elements from death, heavy, and gothic metal without betraying their black roots. At the same time, the band went from underground heroes to headliner status. With the highly acclaimed ninth album, ‘Theogonia’ (2007), the Greek stalwarts added an unmistakable native element to their sound, which has remained with them as a signature trademark ever since. Exploring the mythical legacy of cultures around the globe let to ROTTING CHRIST’s massively successful latest release, ‘Rituals’ (2016). With more than 30 years, 13 studio albums, a dozen EPs, singles and split releases, as well as more than 1.250 shows under their belt, 2018 marked the year of ‘Their Greatest Spells’ (2018), where they musically revisited their exciting legacy to connect their past with the present.
Now ‘The Heretics’ marks another step in the evolution of the Greek masters. Buckle up for a fascinating musical ride through the woes of religious wars, Zoroastrianism and the eternal war between good and evil. Metal at its best!
Line-up
Sakis Tolis: vocals, guitar, keys
Themis Tolis: drums
George Emmanouil: lead guitar
Van Ace: bass
Today, Wolfspell Records sets December 21st as the international release date for Nachteule’s striking second album, Bergdorf.
Hailing from Montreal, Quebec, the one-man Nachteule indeed reverberates with the same freezing passion so endemic of French-Canadian black metal, which has captured the public’s imagination this past decade. The work of one Noctis – who also counts Alkymist, Calvaire, and Maeskyyrn among his prolific projects – less than a year after forming, Nachteule already delivered a massive debut album last year titled Vaste inconnu, and now arrives the punchier and more compact Bergdorf. While exhibiting a similarly splendorous aspect in his melodicism as his French-Canadian BM contemporaries, Noctis here dives deeply into a sort of “grim gorgeousness,” like ancient Polish black metal given flight by shoegazing swirl. Rest under no delusion, however, that this isn’t anything but the purest black metal: Bergdorf is a cold, old world unto itself, much like its cover art.
Nachteule’s Bergdorf will be released on digipack CD with booklet. In the meantime, the album is streaming in its entirety HERE
. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Nachteule’s Bergdorf
1. L’Aube
2. Autour Du Foyer Rouge
3. A Grand Pas
4. Les Yeux De La Foret
5. Bergdorf
Thrash metal outfit INSANITY ALERT are premiering the first track and video from their new album ‘666-pack’. The third full length is set for worldwide release on January 25, 2019. The hilarious video for the song ”All Mosh / No Brain” can be viewed here
About the video and the song, the band says the following: “‘All Mosh / No Brain’ is a protest as much as a ventilation of frustration. Everyday life and everyday assholes will bring a person to its limits. Take a break and mosh shit up!”
INSANITY ALERT have also updated their list of live dates in 2018 and 2019. Find all confirmed shows below.
07 Dec 18 Wattens (AT) Werkstätte
08 Dec 18 Salzburg (AT) Rockhouse Bar
26 Dec 18 Munich (DE) Metallic X-mas
31 Jan 19 Stuttgart (DE) Juha West
02 Feb 19 Innsbruck (AT) Treibhaus
22 Feb 19 Nürnberg (DE) Kunstverein
23 Feb 19 Lindau (DE) Club Vaudeville
14 Mar 19 Rennes (FR) Mondo Bizarro
15 Mar 19 Liévin (FR) Liévin Metal Fest
16 Mar 19 Dommarien (FR) La Niche
12 Apr 19 Oberursel (DE) Taunus Metal Fest
02 May 19 Lyon (FR) Rock ‘n Eat
03 May 19 Montaigu (FR) Les Rhinos Féroces Festival
04 May 19 Toulouse (FR) Usine à Musique
05 May 19 Montpellier (FR) Secret Place
11 May 19 Vienna (AT) Vienna Metal Meeting
20 Jun 19 Uttenhofen (DE) Aargh Festival (Exact date tba)
03 Jul 19 Trutnov (CZ) Obscene Extreme (Exact date tba)
19 Jul 19 Ahlimbsmühle (DE) Headache Inside Festival (Exact date tba)
The band has furthermore revealed the album artwork and the tracklisting, which can be found below. The cover has been created by Mark Riddick.
Tracklist:
1. Thirstkiller (01:13)
2. The Body Of The Christ Is The Parasite (01:44)
3. All Mosh / No Brain (01:33)
4. Cobra Commander (02:39)
5. Saturday Grind Fever (01:01)
6. Echoes Of Death (02:04)
7. Windmilli Vanilli (01:00)
8. Stop….Slammertime! (00:08)
9. Why So Beerious? (01:49)
10. Mosh Mosh Mosh (00:47)
11. One-Eye Is King (In The Land Of The Blind) (02:37)
12. Welcome To Hell (01:47)
13. Two Joints (01:14)
14. Chronic State Of Hate (02:13)
15. I Come / I Fuck Shit Up / I Leave (01:26)
16. A Skullcrushin’ Good Time (02:17)
17. The Ballad Of Slayer (00:06)
18. Demons Get Out! (02:18)
19. 8 Bit Brutality (00:07)
20. Death By Wrecking Ball (01:11)
21. Dark Energon (03:10)
Total Duration: 32:24
Thrash outfit INSANITY ALERT are the kind of people who know what to bring to a party: a big dose of humour with a dash of darkness, party tunes, and a six pack. It’s these ingredients that make up the basis of the band’s third full length record, ‘666-pack’.
The world of INSANITY ALERT is a dark yet happy place. Fast, aggressive music, crazy lyrics about alcohol, rage, weed, ignorance and hate, all drenched in an 80’s hot sauce but played with a 2019 attitude. The band emerged from the Austrian city of Innsbruck in 2011, with only one intent: deliver crushing, crossover party thrash.
A tongue-in-cheek concept backed up by strong musical prowess worked out extremely well as ‘First Diagnosis’ proved in 2012. This demo was welcomed with open arms and the first impression of the public quickly confirmed by ‘Second Opinion’, which came out the year after. In 2014, debut album, ‘Insanity Alert’ delighted critics and fans alike and was reissued four years later by Season of Mist. The wild Tyrolians, always eager to please, next served a juicy ‘Moshburger’ (2016).
With ‘666-pack’ the band proves once more to be an unstoppable force. Whether it is dropping a to-the-point, crossover track such as “The Body Of The Christ is The Parasite” or INSANITY ALERT-esque interpretations of classics like “Saturday Grind Fever”, the groove will have you headbanging in no time with a smirk on your face. Having confirmed their first festivals for 2019 and riding the wave of the thrash metal revival, INSANITY ALERT can’t wait to return to the stage and share (a) 666-pack with you!
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets January 25th, 2019 as the international release date for Ulvdalir’s long-awaited fourth album, …of Death Eternal, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
One of black metal’s best-kept secrets, Ulvdalir belong to the inner circle of Russia’s True Ingrian Black Metal Death, alongside Iron Bonehead labelmates Khashm, with whom they share two members. As such, the sound they’ve patiently crafted since 2001 – and which made its full-length debut in 2008 with TWO albums, Flame Once Lost and Soul Void, both equally aptly titled – likewise bears a tangibly gnarly physicality contrasted by an almost-levitational aspect: truly, an alchemical melding of aggression and atmosphere. And although they’ve kept their profile reasonably visible in the intervening years with myriad split recordings and a compilation unearthing a couple lost EPs, …Of Death Eternal is the first Ulvdalir full-length recording in nearly eight years.
Truly worth the wait, …Of Death Eternal displays the full bloom of Ulvdalir’s rotten, bountiful harvest. Swarming with dire intent and unnervingly precise malice, the quartet’s attack here pushes and pulls, coils and crushes, but always carries an ever-forward momentum. Equally slipstreaming and trance-inducing, their gnarled ‘n’ gnarling style of black metal emits space and shade at every crooked turn, finally enveloping the listener whole within their black hole. And each of the album’s six central songs patiently unfolds their respective black holes across lengthier track times, yet ones never too exhaustingly long; again, malicious precision is the order of the day on …Of Death Eternal. In that regard, and alongside the finessed physicality here, one could slot Ulvdalir alongside the more orthodox black metal movements still coursing through Sweden and Greece, but with a sterner sensibility that’s distinctly Russian.
True Ingrian Black Metal Death reveals its next death-card, and it bears the aspect of Ulvdalir’s …Of Death Eternal. Be dealt the first card with the new track “Swords of Belial” HERE
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Ulvdalir’s …Of Death Eternal
1. Intro
2. Awakening
3. Black Flame of Will
4. Swords of Belial
5. Birth of the Beast
6. Music of Cold Spheres
7. Eternal Angel of Death Eternal
8. Outro
In their endless quest to push and support current underground acts that perpetuate the odor of vintage death metal, on January 21st, 2019, Memento Mori is proud to present Ravenous Death’s striking debut album, Chapters of an Evil Transition.
Hailing from the vast death metal hotbed of Mexico, Ravenous Death feature current members of such other bands as Remains, Demonic Manifestation, and Death’s Forsaken. The band’s embryo was brought forth in 2016 during the recording of Remains’ third album in Mexico City, when vocalist/guitar player Miguel Angel and drummer Esteban Salcedo toyed with the idea of creating a death metal band influenced by Vomitory, Torture Division, and the likes. Later on, both musicians shared their vision with lead guitarist Enrique Fray, and the three of them agreed to push the idea forward and carry it out as a side-project due to the commitments they all had with their main bands. Soon after, Enrique and Miguel Angel began writing songs for the newborn abomination, and the three members decided to name the band after a Vomitory song titled “The Ravenous Dead.”
Fast forward to October 2016: the recording of Ravenous Death’s debut demo/EP, Ominous Deathcult, is finalized (although not released as a Bandcamp download until March 2017), including five songs chock full of rotting maliciousness that show great poise in combining blasting brutality, crushing heaviness, somber ambience, and fierce intensity, with the lyrical themes revolving about death, occultism, blasphemy, and other classic topics of the olden Metal of Death. On May 13th, 2017, the band make their first live performance in the city of Guadalajara. For this occasion two new members were recruited – namely, bass player Alejandro Mendez and guitarist Diego Gomez – leaving Miguel Angel on vocal duties alone. After the excellent crowd response, both Alejandro and Diego join the band as official members.
Emboldened by this patient momentum, at last arrives Ravenous Death’s full-length debut, aptly titled Chapters of an Evil Transition. Indeed displaying the band’s transition into an evil death metal juggernaut, the album absolutely bleeds the molten-yet-mildewed essence of ’90s Metal of Death. Fucking fashion and trends and especially fickle tastes, Chapters of an Evil Transition is a gutsfucking time-warp to the days when death metal was supposedly “dead,” lost in favor of black metal or power metal or (worse) ill-fated sellout fantasies. In this landscape did many a raw ‘n’ righteous mini-classic get birthed, and suitably do Ravenous Death continue the proud legacy of Vomitory and Mexican forebears Shub Niggurath, but also especially Sadistic Intent, Seance, old Grave, ’90s Immolation, ’90s Vader, and Finland’s Demigod. No more but definitely no less, this is DEATH METAL by and for death metal MANIACS: no bullshit, and no sellout!
Completed by stark artwork courtesy of Mörtuus and mastering by the esteemed Javier Felez at Moontower Studios, allow Ravenous Death to read you Chapters of an Evil Transition! Begin reading with the new track “Harvesting Hate” HERE
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Ravenous Death’s Chapters of an Evil Transition
1. Prelude to Evilness
2. Doomed to Exist
3. Harvesting Hate
4. Evil Dementia (The Voices of the Nobodies)
5. Awakening of the Damned
6. Cursed Origin
7. Initiation Ritual
8. The Sinister Being
9. Massacre Cult
10. Soul Consumed by the Occult
