Month: April 2019

Abbath unleash brand new track ‘Harvest Pyre’!

Norwegian black metal titans ABBATH are nowreleasing the first brand new track, taken from their upcoming full length ‘Outstrider’. The album is set for worldwide release on July 5, 2019. The first offering “Harvest Pyre” is now streaming in the form of a music video
ABBATH tourdates
27 Jul 19 Steenwijk (NL) Stonehenge Festival 2019
24 Aug 19 Bergen (NO)  Beyond the Gates Festival
The coverartwork, which created by Kim Holm and Olav Iversen, and the track-list for ‘Outstrider’ can be found below.
Track listing:
1. Calm in Ire (Of Hurricane) (04:32)
2. Bridge of Spasms (03:49)
3. The Artifex (04:09)
4. Harvest Pyre (04:12)
5. Land of Khem (04:08)
6. Outstrider (05:39)
7. Scythewinder (04:17)
8. Hecate (04:25)
9. Pace till Death (BATHORY cover) (03:41)
Total: 38:52
When Abbath announced that he had left IMMORTAL, it sent massive shockwaves through the metal scene. The iconic frontman had long become the “face” of the Norwegian black scene, his image synonymous with the genre. Upon releasing his debut album with his eponymous new band, ABBATH, in 2016, trve fans were satiated with a dose of icy, blackened fury.
 
Now, the Norwegian giant returns for round two, armed with a refined lineup and ready to strike with a sophomore effort that is sure to once again exceed the expectations of Abbath’s loyal fanbase. ‘Outstrider’ sees a maturation in sound, delivering a tighter, well-rounded offering from the band as they come into their own identity.
 
While there are moments that certainly channel the frosty hallmarks of IMMORTAL, there is no danger of ABBATH repeating that formula. ABBATH draws from NWOBM and melodic influences, adding a fresh new flavor to the sound that the band’s founder came to define.
 
‘Oustrider’ consists of eight, crushing original songs and concludes with a fiery BATHORY cover. The album promises a full-on aural assault from start to finish with frigid riffage and a robust pocket that are layered with vocals from one of the most identifiable voices in black metal. If you thought ABBATH came in hot with their last record, just wait until you hear this!

Line-up 
Abbath – Vocals & guitars
Ole Andre Farstad -Guitars
Ukri Suviletho – Drums
Mia Wallace – Bass
 
Links
www.facebook.com/abbathband
www.abbath.net
www.instagram.com/abbath_official

Italian black metallers Totalitarian stream new BARREN VOID EP

Today, history-driven Italian black metallers Totalitarian stream the entirety of their highly anticipated new EP, Bloodlands, here:
Set for international release on April 12th via Barren Void Records, with official distribution by Lavadome Productions, hear Totalitarian‘s Bloodlands in its entirety here:
Following their 2017 debut De Arte Tragoediae Divinae, Totalitarian return with a malicious new record titled Bloodlands, which embarks on a soul-corrupting journey through unprecedented violence and the most hideous deeds the so-called humankind has ever been able to commit itself to.

Overall, Bloodlands represents a relentless black metal tour de force, especially when compared to the debut album. As cliché as it may sound, the evil is one, but its faces are many – that’s the truth. Bear in mind: the bleakness and the ever-present nihilism will always be maintained in anything Totalitarian will ever create.

Ordering info can be found HERE. Graphics and design by Abomination Imagery – cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Totalitarian (Italy)’s Bloodlands
1. 1933
2. On The Wings Of The Great Terror
3. Defeated, Destroyed And Divided
4. Liberators
5. Of Bullets And Gas
6. Deathcult Eternal
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/totalitarian.aeon
www.totalitarian666.bandcamp.com

VALKYRJA to tour with Marduk for “Viktoria Europa Part 3” starts this week

Riding high on the critical acclaim afforded their highly anticipated fourth album, Throne Ablaze – released on November 26th, 2018 via W.T.C. Productions – starting this week, Swedish black metal elite Valkyrja will be touring as direct support to the legendary Marduk as part of the “Viktoria Europa Part 3” tour. Following the release of Throne Ablaze last year, Valkyrja took to the road with Marduk across Europe as part of the “Viktoria Europa Part 2” tour along with the equally legendary Archgoat. A rousing success overall, these new tour dates will continue both bands’ dominance of the nowadays black metal scene, and further the spell that Swedish black metal has had over the underground. Full list of dates as well as poster are as follows:
  April 13 POL Zabrze @ Wiatrak
April 14 CZE Ostrava @ Barrack
April 16 CZE Brno @ Melodka
April 17 AUT Wien @ Viper Room
April 18 SVK Bratislava @ Randal
April 19 ROU Cluj Napoca @ /Form Space
April 20 ROU Bucarest @ Quantic
April 21 BUL Sofia @ Mixtape 5
April 23 MKD Skopje @ MKC
April 24 SRB Beograd @ Dom Omladine
April 25 CRO Zagreb @ Vintage Industrial Bar
April 26 ITA Milan @ Legend
April 27 SUI Luzern @ Konzerthaus Schuur
April 28 FRA Lyon @ CCO Villeurbanne
April 30 FRA Toulouse @ Metronum
May 01 ESP Barcelona @ Boveda
May 02 ESP Madrid @ Caracol
May 03 POR Lisbon @ RCA Club
May 04 POR Porto @ Hard Club
May 05 ESP Pamplona @ Totem
May 07 FRA Colmar @ Le Grillen
May 08 NED Helmond @ Cacao Fabriek
May 09 GER Munster @ Sputnikhalle
May 10 FRA Nilvange @ Le Gueulard Plus
May 11 NED Hoogeven @ Graveland Festival
Valkyrja was founded in 2004 with the earnest intention of channeling violence, deprivation, and loathing through means of extraordinarily potent audio emissions. Their ideals were permeated by passionate and boundless perversion – a sickly urge festering ever so vibrantly in the essence of its members, a will to cast off the manacles of societal enslavement and leave a dying world behind. While the brotherhood took shape, opposition and defiance surfaced from the deepest recesses of the mind: a fierce hostility towards the laws and morals of their surroundings, notions which felt entirely alien to the band’s core.
 
As part of Valkyrja‘s philosophy of ridding themselves from limitations, no specific genre was ever chosen since it would only serve to establish a framework of useless expectation. The artistic output created under the flag of Valkyrja defies all earthly shackles, including those of commercial categorization. With ideology as lodestar, venturing into darkness without a backwards glance, they took their first fledgling steps on a road staked out by the night itself.
 
Valkyrja‘s debut album, The Invocation of Demise, was recorded in Necromorbus Studio during March 2007 and then released in physical form by Northern Silence Productions six months later. Valkyrja quickly gained their reputation as a ferocious live act: a display of carnal lust leaving each stage with the foul scent of death. Drawn to the stench of putrid bereavement, Metal Blade Records contracted the band in 2009. The Invocation of Demise was treated to a re-release by their new ally, thus spreading the curse even further. The same year also saw a return to Necromorbus Studio for the recording of their second album, the most aptly named Contamination. The new tracks would prove to be a crucial part of the band’s live setlist as they, the following autumn, embarked on their first European campaign.
 
Forged and conceived to reflect blood and fire,  the third Valkyrja album, The Antagonist’s Fire, set the world aflame on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 2013. The opus also marked the beginning of Valkyrja‘s long-running collaboration with elite underground label World Terror Committee. During the past decade, facilitated by Massive Music and accompanied by titans of extreme metal, over 100 different European cities has been forced to swallow the bitter wine of sonic violence. Furthermore, 2016 and 2017 saw two extensive North American tours with Valkyrja as co-headliner, during which 22 different states were soaked in rotten blood.
 
Five years removed from the third opus, Valkyrja return under a new guise. The past few years have seen the band subjected to several crucial lineup changes, igniting a period of utter despair that would sow the seeds for what has now come to pass: Throne Ablaze was unleashed upon the world on November 26th, 2018. The album reflects the passion and dedication of everyone involved, those who face every storm – past and future – with weapon in hand. It will forever stand as a monument of continuous struggles – so right there, in the core of this strife to conquer every obstacle, kneel and obey the fires of the blazing throne! Cover art, courtesy of Nestor Avalos, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Valkyrja’s Throne Ablaze
1. In Ruins I Set My Throne
2. Crowned Serpent
3. Opposer of Light
4. Tombs Into Flesh
5. Halo of Lies
6. Transcendental Death
7. Paradise Lost
8. Throne Ablaze

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/valkyrjaswe
www.w-t-c.org
www.facebook.com/W.T.C.Productions

Slovakian black metal vanguard Malokarpatan stream their new EP

Today, Slovakian black metal vanguad Malokarpatan stream the entirety of their a special new EP Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada. Set for international release on April 8th via Sun & Moon Records on 7″ vinyl format, hear Malokarpatan’s Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada in its entirety HERE:

Simply put, Malokarpatan are Slovakian black metal both at its finest and most adventurous. Since the band’s humble beginnings in 2014, the band have swiftly and almost effortlessly built a challenging body of work with two now-cult, critically acclaimed albums. A grassroots movement if there ever was one, nearly everyone agrees: there’s simply no other nowadays black metal band who are so vividly able to straddle staunch traditionalism and boundless adventurousness quite like Malokarpatan.

Ever restless, the maverick quintet return with a special two-song EP, Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada. Originally self-released on digital format, Sun & Moon steps forward to unleash these two brand-new songs on physical format, as they so deserve, which are strictly exclusive to this release and will not appear on a future album. The material here deals with a mythological theme of Kovovlad – master of the underworld and its treasures, who abducts a maiden from the world above to become his bride. This is reflected directly in the music, with the first ambient part painting a psychedelic picture of strange underground halls and the second metal part expressing the darkness of the maiden’s fate, left forever to dwell in this world of night.

While Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada comprises two songs, let it be emphasized that this is not just a mere “single” but rather a thematically unified work that should be considered an EP. But, whether long-format or short, Malokarpatan refuse to be shackled in the creativity, and Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada is yet another sterling ‘n’ stirring chapter in their increasingly bold story.

In the leadup to its 7″ vinyl release next Monday, hear Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada in its entirety exclusively HERE:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Malokarpatan’s Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada
1. Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada I
2. Cesta podzemnými sálami Kovovlada II


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/malokarpatan
www.sunandmoonrecords.com
www.facebook.com/sunandmoonrecordstransylvania 

India’s KAPALA set release date for new DUNKELHEIT EP, reveal first tracks

Today, Dunkelheit Produktionen sets June 25th, as the international release date for  the highly anticipated second EP from Indian warfare noise terrorists Kapala, Termination Apex, on CD, 12″ vinyl, and cassette tape formats.

Formed in the depths of Kolkata, Kapala have had one – and only one – objective since its formation: to play the most intense and bestial musick and annihilate the cesspool. Inspired by such legends such as Goatpenis, Revenge, Black Witchery, Blasphemy, Conqueror, and many other violent entities, Kapala seek to wage total sonic warfare with a strong obsession for the concept of “Survival of the Fittest.” And indeed, they accomplished that in a swift ‘n’ decisive 20 minutes comprising their first public recording, Infest Cesspool, which was released in 2017 by Dunkelheit to worldwide shock & awe.

Now, with the aptly titled Termination Apex, Kapala eclipse that feat with an even-more-savage and challenging onslaught that spans a densely uncompromising 26 minutes. Like its equally swift predecessor, Termination Apex displays the power-trio of Kapala more as a three-man war machine: indeed, their aim is to crush, kill, and destroy all in their path with overwhelming violence and totally OTT intensity. Their arsenal of shredded decibels is even more bountiful here, as each riff and drum hit becomes its own weapon, stockpiled with nuclear power before unleashing wave after wave after unmitigatedly annihilating wave.

If anything, the most striking difference between Infest Cesspool  and Termination Apex is that Kapala here take a decisive detour from their influences and blast deeply into (and below) the most fetid depths of old-school grindcore, noisecore, and even gabber-leaning goregrind. Each instrument is seemingly mangled beyond recognition, stripped of humanity and anything resembling “normality” – stripped so far beyond the barest essentials, rawness pushed well past the red – that a perversely avant-garde element arises. However, linger under no assumption that such is softening Kapala characteristically savage identity: this is still its own blown-out, charred-beyond-redemption landscape, unforgiving and unrelenting and unforgettably so, arguably more than ever.

If Kapala left nothing but scorched earth and eviscerated eardrums after the Infest Cesspool was wiped clean, then surely their Termination Apex scatters the ashes across the anticosmos – and far beyond! Scatter your own ashes with the opening two tracks, “The Beating Heart of War (Intro)” and “Martial Dominance,” here:
Cover art, by Qayin Mandala Graphex, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Kapala (India)’s Termination Apex
    1. The Beating Heart of War (Intro)
2. Martial Dominance
3. Moral Attrition
4. Paths of Ash
5. Vomit The Phosphorus
6. Unto Ash (Outro)

V.I. – Radioactive Vomits and 4-String Reinforcements
A.T. – Axe Of Atomic ThermoTermination
S – Doomsday Artillery Barrage

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/kapala666
www.dunkelheit.cc
www.facebook.com/dunkelheitprod

FUNERAL STORM set release date, reveal cover art for HELLS HEADBANGERS debut – features Varathron member

Today, Hells Headbangers sets May 31st as the international release date for Funeral Storm‘s highly anticipated debut album, Arcane Mysteries, on CD format; the vinyl LP version will follow later this year. Featuring members from Hellenic scene legends Varathron, Funeral Storm deliver truly ancient – and truly authentic – Greek black metal in the most classic early ’90s style, full of mysticism and might. 

Funeral Storm was formed in 2001 by Wampyrion Markhor Necrowolf under the name Raven Throne as a one-man-project. The name was later changed for legal reasons, and after several changes, the moniker Funeral Storm was chosen. Lyrical themes were set early on, and are heavily inspired by occultism, legends, myths, evil, mysteries, horror, and the Cthulhu mythos.

After several lineup changes and one live show, Wampyrion decided to stop any activities concerning the band until 2012, where he released a digital split with Mortuus Sum and a six-way split on tape format with Human Serpent, Thaer Os Valael, Opus Magorum, Silent Dominion, and Varg Order a year later under his label Abyssic Black Cult Records.

Funeral Storm were active again with the addition of members of Serpent Path. In 2016, Mercyful Hell Productions released a compilation with songs that cover most of the years of Funeral Storm that were never actually released. In the meantime, Wampyrion decided to change the sound of the band, now fully inspired by ’90s Greek black metal.

Nick Christogiannis of Deviser and Necroabyssious of Varathron/Katavasia/Zaratus then joined as fulltime members. With this lineup, Funeral Storm released a split in early 2017 with Celestial Rite entitled Funeral Rite with Eskarth of Agatus performing acoustic guitars and a solo on the song “Martyr Of The Lake.” Reaping international acclaim, Funeral Rite was released on 12″ vinyl and CD formats by Iron Bonehead, while Mercyful Hell released the tape format.

Since signing with Hells Headbangers, Funeral Storm added Arcania (Aherusia) on guitars while Christogiannis departed, and the band promptly set to work on their first full-length record. Ever aptly titled Arcane Mysteries, the album proudly and poignantly delivers 43 minutes of atmospheric tartaric black metal in the vein of the old Hellenic scene, inspired by sorcery, magic, and myths. Indeed, Funeral Storm are ancient souls, eschewing the nowadays trends of dissonant non-songwriting and cavernous obfuscation in favor of traditionally epic and dynamic songcraft, reverent to the old Hellenic gods whilst forging terrain all their own, all wrapped in a robust production that powerfully captures the trio’s overt physicality – and indeed, THAT classic pulse. Arcane Mysteries is truly a record that brims with a timeless atmosphere – truly, one of arcane mysteries – and safely avoids lazy “throwback status” due to the inclusion of scene veteran Necroabyssious on vocals and the era-authentic, ever-mystical synths, handled by both Wampyrion and Arcania. In short, it’s an album more than worthy of the legendary early ’90s wave of Greek black metal.

To further underline those classic ties, Arcane Mysteries features two special guests: Eskarth of fellow Hells Headbangers labelmates Agatus performed the solo and acoustic guitars on “Martyr of the Lake,” and The Magus of Necromantia / Prinicipality Of Hell composed, recorded, mixed, and mastered “Wandering Through The Abyss.” Completed by awe-inspiring cover artwork courtesy of Markus Vesper (Denial of God, Manilla Road, Attic), Funeral Storm triumphantly prove that the past is alive…in fact, more than ever!

In the meantime, hear the previously revealed track “Origins of Utter Darkness” here:
Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Funeral Storm’s Arcane Mysteries
1. Invocation Of The Great Red Dragon
2. Ego Sum Filius Draconis
3. The Martyr of the Lake
4. Wandering Through the Abyss
5. Necromancer
6. Necromancer Part 2
7. Funeral Storm
8. Origins Of Utter Darkness
9. From The Great Deep Of The Primordial Waters of Creation
10. Flowers Of My Youth

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/funeralstorm666
www.hellsheadbangers.com
www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers

Heilung release first track and album details of ‘Futha’

HEILUNG are now streaming the very first track taken from their upcoming album ‘Futha’, which will be released on June 28, 2019.
The band comments: “‘Norupo’ is based on the poem known as ‘the Norwegian rune poem’. The poem was preserved in a 17th-century copy of a now lost 13th-century manuscript. The Norwegian rune poem gives a complete description of all sixteen runes of the younger Futhark, also commonly known as the ‘Viking runes’. These runes are also the foundation for the artwork of ‘Futha’.”
On the meaning of the album title, HEILUNG comment: “The majority of full rune set inscriptions start with ‘Futha’, and is known to us as the first four letters in all runic alphabets. It is considered that our forefathers saw magic potential in engraving the full rune line, but there is also great significance in the beginnings. Science has no key for the meaning of only engraving the first couple of letters yet, but there is, of course, a surplus of theories. One of the theories we found inspiration in, is that ‘Futha’ holds the meaning of fertility and female gender. As ‘Ofnir’ focused on war and masculine notions, the great healing power of female wild strength is evoked in Futha. Those who have been present at a birth or have seen lionesses hunting know the spirit, and we welcome and embrace it in the sounds that were born during the creation of ‘Futha’.”

HEILUNG have previously announced a European tour in October and November this year. The tour will kick off on October 22nd in Warsaw (PL) and will end about a month later in Paris (FR). Find the full list of tour dates below.
HEILUNG
European tour
22 Oct 19 Palladium (PL) Warschau
24 Oct 19 Berlin (DE) Admiralspalast
26 Oct 19 Essen (DE) Colosseum Theater
28 Oct 19 Munich (DE) Circus Krone
30 Oct 19 Prague (CZ) Hybernia
01 Nov 19 Halle (DE) Händelhalle
03 Nov 19 Vienna (AT) Der Globe
05 Nov 19 Zurich (CH) Volkshaus
07 Nov 19 Kiel (DE) Kieler Schloss
10 Nov 19 London (UK) Roundhouse
17 Nov 19 Brussels (BE) AB
20 Nov 19 Paris (FR) Elysée Montmartre

HEILUNG performances 2019
11 Apr 19 Tilburg (NL) Roadburn Festival
17 Apr 19 St. Petersburg (RU) Aurora
19 Apr 19 Moscow (RU) Arbat Hall
20 Jun 19 Copenhagen (DK) Copenhell Festival 2019 (Exact date TBA)
29 Jun 19 Helsinki (FI) Tuska 2019 (Exact date TBA)
09 Aug 19 Jaromer (CZ) Brutal Assault Festival 2019
18 Aug 19 Borre (NO) Midgardsblot 2019 (Exact date TBA)
07 Sep 19 Selb (DE) Mediaval Festival 2019 (Exact date TBA)
19 Oct 19 Hameln (DE) Autumn Moon Festival 2019 (Exact date TBA)
 
The cover artwork and album details of ‘Futha’ can be viewed below.

Track-list
Galgaldr (10:22)
Norupo (4:18)
Othan  (10:19)
Traust (9:49)
Vapnatak (4:03)
Svanrand (3:36)
Elivagar (8:45)
Elddansurin (8:05)
Hamrer Hippyer (14:17)
Total playing time: 1:13:34
“Ofnir” was a very masculine album. To create it, HEILUNG took a big part of the lyrics from preserved rune inscriptions on weapons and armour. “Futha” is the counterpart, the balance point, the feminine side. Here, the lyrics originate from old Icelandic poetry, in which the holy women chant magic spells and offer their blessings. Hence, female voices are more prominent on “Futha”.

HEILUNG means “healing” in the German language and this also describes the core of the band’s sound. The listener is supposed to be left at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent.

HEILUNG reach far back in time to the Northern European iron age and Viking period to create their sound experience. The band utilises many means in their songs: from running water via human bones, reconstructed swords and shields up to ancient frame drums as well as bronze rings.

When HEILUNG self-released ‘Ofnir’ in 2015, the Danish band could hardly have anticipated the breakthrough success of their debut album. Spectacular live shows, strong critical acclaim, and a massive underground buzz added to the constantly high demand for this full-length are the reason why their new label Season of Mist did not hesitate to re-issue ‘Ofnir’ in several collector’s edition formats. HEILUNG‘s live album, ‘LIFA’ (2017) was released in parallel.

The word “Futha” is taken from an artefact, that is still controversially discussed. Big names in runology like Düwel and Heizmann can agree neither on the deciphering nor the meaning of the description.…The word is engraved in a gold bracteate from Skåne (SE), which was produced around 500-530 AD. It was discovered in 1831 and these medals or coins were divided into different categories by the Swedish archaeologist Oscar Montelius. The bracteate in question is a so-called C-bracteate named Schonen II-C (Schonen is the German Name of Skåne) with a horse and a face. The rune inscription is between the hind-legs of the horse. Interesting to mention here is the fact that the majority of full rune set inscriptions start with “futh“, which also is the first three letters in all runic alphabets. It is considered that our forefathers saw magic potential in engraving the full rune line, but there is also great significance in the beginnings. Science has no key for the meaning of only engraving the first couple of letters yet, but there is a surplus of theories. This brings us to a runic staff found in Bergen, which was given the rather unpoetic archaeological classification B011. It carries the inscription: “felleg er fuþ sin bylli Fuþorglbasm”, which means: “Lovely is the cunt, may the cock fill it up”. Also interesting is that the Högstena amulet, which we use in the song “Galgaldr”, has an alternative deciphering of the word “futh“, which in this context means “cunt”. All this leaves us with two hints: magic potential and the female genitalia. The great healing power of the female wild strength is evoked in “Futha”. Those who have been present at a birth or seen a lioness hunting, know the spirit. The spirit of the “wilde Weiber” (German), the wild wise women. “Futha” endeavours to connect to a time before the female was degraded to a birth-machine and carrier of eternal inherited guilt. 

“Futha” was three years in the making and was finished for production and print at midwinter, the very darkest day of the solar year, the 21st in the 12th month at 21:00.

Any attempt to link the band with or bring their music into a modern political or religious context is pointless, since HEILUNG try to connect their listeners with a time before the coming of Christianity and modern political ideologies. 

Line-up
Kai Uwe Faust 
Christopher Juul
Maria Franz

www.facebook.com/amplifiedhistory

Shop: http://smarturl.it/HeilungFutha

BLACK CRUCIFIXION to release worldwide edition of fourth album thru SEANCE

Today, Seance Records sets June 3rd as the international release date for the definitive, worldwide edition of Black Crucifixion’s fourth album, Lightless Violent Chaos.

Forming in the dark days of 1991, Black Crucifixion have long been a revered name in the Finnish black metal scene. From their beginnings through today, the band’s work has been a pillar of challenging magnificence: always with an immediately identifiable sound, but always evolving and surprising, taking the true heart of black metal – boundless freedom, unfettered unorthodoxy – and casting dazzling new shapes with it whilst honoring its original essence. And amidst an already sterling, supremely cult catalog do Black Crucifixion reach its apotheosis with Lightless Violent Chaos.

A true “dark horse” if there ever was one, Lightless Violent Chaos had its preliminary release as a limited edition in the band’s homeland in 2018, and the abum has not been available outside Finland. Longtime fans Séance Records – who worked with the band for the international edition of their third album, 2015’s Coronation of King Darkness – are now proud to give Black Crucifixion‘s Lightless Violent Chaos the worldwide OFFICIAL release outside the Nordics.

“Nowadays music sounds like it was written and produced in McDonald’s – by the people who work there. We instead wanted to create an album that evokes the horror of being less than a whisper in the time-defying roar of the cosmos.” So says the band of Lightless Violent Chaos. Ever aptly titled, Black Crucifixion‘s fourth album creates a sonic and lyrical journey that should be experienced by the most adherent supporters of cult black metal as well as fans of progressive rock and ambient atmospheres. And as was the case with the critically acclaimed Coronation of King Darkness, the Finnish prog rock legend Rekku Rechardt again features as lead and rhythm guitarist on Lightless Violent Chaos.

Since their 1991-recorded debut EP, The Fallen One Of Flames,Black Crucifixion have been delivering their unique brand of black metal in a manner that cannot be mistaken for anyone else. Although never as heralded as their contemporaneous countrymen like Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, and Archgoat, there’s a reason why more well-known bands like Primordial dedicate songs to Black Crucifixion.

Always the mavericks, Black Crucifixion‘s Lightless Violent Chaos was designed to be listened as one piece. As a result, its length coincidentally matches Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon – “a fact that we realized just when finishing the mixing,” says longtime bassist E. Henrik. The band’s songwriting has been admired by many, but it has even improved on Lightless Violent Chaos. And yet, the album and its production are loyal to their original roots, as even the Stratocaster from The Fallen One of Flames sessions was employed in the recording. It can be said that everything that was good in recording technology in the early ’90s is present on this magnum opus of Black Crucifixion. Indeed, such is the most endearing aspect of this long-cult band: the skillful balance of tradition and transcendence, purity and progressiveness, darkness and its underside. Finally shall Lightless Violent Chaos see the esteemed treatment it so rightfully deserves!

In the meantime, see & hear the official video for “Black Hole Metal” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Black Crucifixion’s Lightless Violent Chaos
1. Five-Pointed Eye
2. Black Hole Metal
3. Free Of Light
4. Deathless Be Me
5. Of The Godless and Brave
6. Discipline
7. Intuition
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/blackcrucifixion

Avant-garde black/death extremists Deiphago premiere new track

Today, avant-garde black/death extremists Deiphago premiere the new track “I, The Devil” . The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated fifth album of the same name, I, The Devil, set for international release on April 30th – Walpurgisnacht – via Hells Headbangers. The album precludes a full European tour to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary (dates after the jump). Hear Deiphago‘s “I, The Devil” in its entirety exclusively here:
Deiphago are arguably the most violent band on the planet, as well as one of the most envelope-pushing. Over the course of four albums – 2006’s Satanik Eon, 2009’s Filipino Antichrist, 2012’s Satan Alpha Omega, and 2015’s Into the Eye of Satan, the latter three all released by Hells Headbangers – and with a history spanning 30 years, this power-trio have challenged the norms of black metal, death metal, even extreme metal in general, resulting in a catalog that’s unchallenged and untouchable. Quite simply, Deiphago are without peer, and I, The Devil underlines this fact with no uncertainty.

Always pushing themselves, Deiphago teamed up with producer Kurt Ballou (Converge) to record I, The Devil, with mastering handled by Brad Boatright (Audiosiege), and the legendary Joe Petago returns to do the album’s cover art. Featuring eight songs in 40 minutes, I, The Devil sees Deiphago taking their ever-singular “Experimental Hyper-speed Satanic Bestial Metal” down avenues both more violent and more angular. No other nowadays metal band sounds this extreme – extreme violence, extreme progressiveness, extreme EXTREMITY – and I, The Devil shall prove, once again, that Deiphago are truly in a league all their own. If the Colin Marston-produced predecessor Into the Eye of Satan displayed a band aiming for the most atonal and challenging ends of the black/death spectrum, then I, The Devil will prove that Deiphago have crossed their Rubicon – and they’ve left everyone behind, cowering in their conservatism.

Says founding vocalist/bassist V.666, “This album is a celebration of our 30 years of existence, a cultivation of all our experiences since the band started in 1989. We have worked hard on this album, and it is the best music we have ever released, filled with dark moods and reeking of destruction. We present to you the essence of pure black metal as it was meant to be like in the early ’90s, when bands didn’t sound the same. This is our magnum opus that will be revered right next to the groundbreaking black metal albums of the early ’90s.”

Continuing, V.666 promises, “This will surpass everything not just in the bestial black/death genre, but the whole black metal scene as a whole. This album stands on its own as diverse and unconventional, filled with monstrous dissonances and intolerable cacophony. It is perfecting the uncontrolled chaos. Kurt Ballou has done a great job as producer, engineer, and mixer, capturing our evil intensity. Normal people will not understand the music, as we have put such a high standard over all the typical trends of today. Beware the release of I, The Devil.”

No empty words here: I, The Devil is twisted, violent genius and avant-garde obliteration simultaneously. It is NOT for normcore metalheads, weekend warriors, or “diehards only” posers; it reverberates with the righteously unorthodox, those who dare to seek beyond the borders of the “sheep in wolf’s clothing” conservatism endemic to underground metal, or simply metal in general. There Deiphago stand, crushing those very borders, and any who would stand in their way. Behold I, The Devil and await the sweet kiss of utter annihilation.

Hear the previously revealed “11:4:6” here:
Aforementioned cover art, by Joe Petagno (Motorhead), and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Deiphago’s I, The Devil
1. Intro: Decimation
2. Quantum Death
3. Neuro-Satanic Circuit
4. 11:4:6
5. Deus Alienus
6. Chaos Protocols
7. Anti-Cosmic Trigger
8. I, The Devil


30th Anniversary European Tour
17/05/2019    STEELFEST, Finland    
20/05/2019    Gineve, Switzerland
21/05/2019    Paris, France
24/05/2019    Mlada Boleslav
25/05/2019    Gliwice, Poland    
29/05/2019    Berlin, Germany
30/05/2019    Hamburg, Germany
31/05/2019    Oberhausen, Germany
01/06/2019    Deinze, Belgium
05/06/2019    Lyon, France
06/06/2019    Firenze, Italy
07/06/2019    Parma, Italy
08/06/2019    THRONE FEST, Belgium

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/deiphago
www.hellsheadbangers.com
www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers