Month: April 2020

BLACK ALTAR and KIRKEBRANN to release split album via ODIUM, reveal first video and preorder

Today, Odium Records announces June 30th as the international release date for Deus Inversus, a special split album between Black Altar and Kirkebrann. The album will be released on digipack CD and vinyl LP formats.

Featuring two veterans of the black metal underground, Deus Inversus will include seven total compositions, all new and exclusive to this release. For Black Altar‘s half, such esteemed musicians as Lars Broddesson (Funeral Mist, ex-Marduk), Mauser (ex-Vader), and Alexandros (Macabre Omen) took part in the recording session – led, of course, by Black Altar founder Shadow.
Kirkebrann
Kirkebrann
Mauser was also responsible for Black Altar‘s production, while Kirkebrann‘s production was handled by Morfeus (ex-Limbonic Art). See & hear a prelude to Black Altar‘s track “Deus Inversus,” with drums by Lars Broddesson here:
Preorder info for the digipack CD and two vinyl versions (black limited to 250 copies / diehard marble, with patch & sticker, limited to 50 copies) can be found HERE.
Cover art, by Nestor Avalos, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Black Altar & Kirkebrann’s Deus Inversus –
Black Altar- 1. Deus Inversus
2. Ancient Warlust
3. Outro

  -Kirkebrann-
4. BegrensaBevissthet
5. Faux Pas
6. Et Nederlag
7. UfødteKlarhet

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/blackaltar
www.facebook.com/kirkebrann
www.odiumrex.com
www.facebook.com/odiumrex

EXPUNGED reveal new video – includes members of ICE WAR+++

Today, Canadian death metal juggernaut Expunged reveal the brand-new video “Dark Age Crusade.” The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated debut mini-album, Expunged, set for international release on April 24th via Hells Headbangers.
See & hear Expunged‘s “Dark Age Crusade” video in its entirety here:
Expunged is the brainchild of death metal master W.D., who’s previously handled the axe in Dead Soul Alliance and Evolution Fail stretching as far back as the mid ’90s. W.D. is the songwriter and K.F. drums (from old-school death metallers Töteblut), while J.S. (AKA Jo “Steel” Capitalicide from Ice War) is on vocal and lyrical duties as well as handling the bass, with the latter showing how versatile his singing abilities can somehow be. Formed in the spring of 2019, this Canadian power-trio is ready to take on the world with their own brand of downtuned HM-2-style death metal.

Exquisitely filthy, utterly crushing, and immediately memorable, Expunged‘s opening strike is death metal classicism of a rich yet never regressionist vintage. Mastering was handled by death/grindcore guru Topin Das (of Fuck The Facts fame) at his seminal Apartment Two Studio. Swift and satisfying, Expunged is a five-song/23-minute plunge into the depths of darkness and doom – expect to hear the name of Expunged resonate in the underground soon enough!

Hear the previously revealed “Disposed in Chaos and War” HERE at Hells Headbangers‘ Bandcamp, where the record can also be preordered.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Expunged’s Expunged
1. Disposed in Chaos and War
2. Melting Flesh
3. Putrefying Mind
4. Dark Age Crusade
5. Your Demise
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/expungedinfilth
www.expunged.bandcamp.com
www.hellsheadbangers.com
www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers 

AKOLYTH set release date for AMOR FATI debut

Today, Amor Fati Productions sets May 29th as the international release date for Akolyth‘s striking debut album, Akolyth, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Fierce, sombre, ritualistic: Akolyth‘s self-titled debut full-length is nothing less than a taped pledge to the entity which dwells beyond. Drawing inspiration from the aggressiveness and coldness of early ’90s black metal, Akolyth combines pounding drumming with harsh guitars and a hopeless-yet-ritualistic atmosphere. The twisted, invoking vocals chant of forbidden rites, devotion, and self-sacrifice to open pathways to the Beyond and truly become one with the Nightside.

Recorded, mixed, and mastered at Opus Magnum Studios in Brussels, Akolyth‘s production is forceful and vibrant, but still raw and untamed – a call into a hidden realm between the realities.

Open your pathway with the opening track “A Work Of Ages”
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Akolyth’s Akolyth
1. A Work Of Ages [9:01] 2. The Night, The Fog [9:09]
3. What Dwells Between Fractured Worlds [9:19]
4. To Become His Doorway [9:18]
www.amor-fati-productions.de 
www.amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/amorfatiprod

BLAZE OF SORROW reveal new video from forthcoming EISENWALD album

Today, Italian black metal vanguard Blaze of Sorrow reveal the new video “Sonno d’eterno.” The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated sixth album, Absentia, set for North American release on April 24th via Eisenwald. See & hear Blaze of Sorrow‘s new video for “Sonno d’eterno” here:
Since 2007, Blaze of Sorrow have been a veritable institution of Italian black metal, a scene and style too long overlooked. Blaze of Sorrow both embody and defy the Italian idiom: medieval in its melancholy, nearly “romantic” in the literary sense of the word, but always revealing (and expanding upon) new shapes that keep their aesthetic surprising and ever singular. And that canon keeps growing through the years, with each new release a poignant piece in Blaze of Sorrow‘s breathtaking mosaic.

Although initially begun as a solo endeavor of multi-instrumentalist Peter, with a number of drummers coming and going over the years, it could be argued that Blaze of Sorrow hit their first peak of creativity with 2012’s Echi. This third album revealed a more autumnal sound – the sonic approximation of flickering fires and the wind wisping through fallen leaves, the chill that creeps into the air prior to wintertime hibernation – harkening to overseas progenitors Agalloch, but adding to that hallowed headspace rather than merely aping it. With that album, drummer N. became a constant and the Blaze of Sorrow lineup was mostly solid for the next number of years, culminating in 2017’s masterful Astri for Eisenwald.

Now, with new guitarist A.S. and bassist V. joining the fold, Blaze of Sorrow are set to release their most fully realized work to date: Absentia. Comprising seven songs in a taut ‘n’ tight 44 minutes, Absentia bursts into being with a brilliance that’s blanching to behold. Undeniably emotional as ever, it’s immediately apparent, however, that Blaze of Sorrow are operating on a different wavelength on Absentia. Their windswept, cascading black metal is undoubtedly melancholic at heart – their moniker was well chosen, after all – but the range of textures and sensations across this sixth album encompass a far broader spectrum than most usually associated with “black metal.” Laced within the deepest heart of Absentia is an aching nostalgia, a bittersweet wistfulness, and even rays of hope: doomed they may be, but delivered with an indeed-blazing passion that puts Blaze of Sorrow into a rarefied field. Which is to say nothing of the utterly cathartic lead work here, buttressed by frequent detours into plaintive acoustic territory; shredded and shredding, these leads are immediately memorable and long-lasting, well after the final notes of Absentia have rung out across the soul…

Put more directly, Blaze of Sorrow aptly describe their inspirations as thus: “Day, Night, Darkness, Light. With music, we try to reach the highest peak of our feelings playing what we we’re supposed to play. Our notes are captured from sadness, nature’s beauty, water, fire, earth and wind. Let the shades embrace you thoughts, let the abyss caress your soul. We’re what we are: a fire’s breath in the infinity of the Sun.” Behold the full glory of Blaze of Sorrow and submerge thyself into total Absentia!

Begin submerging thyself with the previously revealed “Notturna” HERE at Eisenwald‘s official YouTube channel.
Ordering info can be found at Eisenwald‘s North American webstore HERE.
Cover artwork, courtesy of Erbograph, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Blaze of Sorrow’s Absentia
1. Settimo requiem
2. Furia
3. Sonno d’eterno
4. Notturna
5. Hybris
6. Cupio dissolvi
7. Morte di un immortale
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/blazeofsorrow
www.eisenton.de
www.facebook.com/eisenwaldofficial www.youtube.com/eisenwaldofficial www.twitter.com/EisenwaldHammer www.soundcloud.com/eisenwald
www.instagram.com/eisenwald.official
www.open.spotify.com/user/eisenwald_official

Midwest death metal royalty Kurnugia premiere new track

Today, Midwest death metal royalty Kurnugia premiere the new track “Pervert the Pious”. The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Forlorn and Forsaken, set for international release on April 27th via Memento Mori. Hear Kurnugia‘s “Pervert the Pious” in its entirety here:
Hailing from the rustbelt metal hotbed of Cleveland, Ohio, Kurnugia was founded by ex-members of Decrepit, Nunslaughter, Embalmer, December Wolves, and Delusion. Not surprisingly, this assembly of seasoned underground veterans is heavily influenced by the classic death metal of the early ’90s, and that’s exactly what Kurnugia aim for: to go back right to the roots of the genre and pay homage to the deeds of old, unaware of gimmicks, trends, and mindless experimentation – no more, and definitely no less!

Kurnugia delivered their debut EP, Tribulations of the Abyss, in 2013 and then followed it with another EP, Condemned to Obscurity, in 2016. All too teasing have been these short-length assaults, but at last arrives Kurnugia‘s debut album. Aptly titled, Forlorn and Forsaken is ancient aural debauchery, delivered with evil intent, rotting and heinous. Fittingly, this full-length encapsulates everything Kurnugia have stood for to date – crushing riffery, divebombing solos, tight tank-treads of rhythm, all delivered with swift simplicity of design – but upratcheting the production to a clear ‘n’ cutting devastation. Well-produced but not too “well-produced,” Forlorn and Forsaken still seeps with a primordial heaviness rooted in classic death metal songcraft, nodding to (but not ripping off) the seminal works of Immolation, Grave, Incantation, Autopsy, Entombed, Cianide, Morbid Angel, Dismember, Death, Unleashed, Deicide, and Benediction. And of course, this classicism is reflected in Mark Cooper’s attention-grabbing cover art.

You can’t teach old dogs new tricks, the cliche goes, but you CAN let those dogs do what they do best: proudly stick to the early ’90s traditions of death metal. That’s been Memento Mori‘s MO since day one, and they hereby welcome you into Kurnugia‘s netherworld with Forlorn and Forsaken!

The steps into that netherworld can be taken with the previously revealed “Eroded Faith” exclusively HERE, courtesy of IndyMetalVault.com, and the previously revealed “To the Cursed Depths” HERE at Memento Mori‘s official YouTube channel.

Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Kurnugia (U.S.)’s Forlorn and Forsaken 1. Intro
2. To the Cursed Depths
3. Crown of Suffer
4. Shroud of Damnation
5. Pervert the Pious
6. Eroded Faith
7. Thy Sanguine Altar
8. All Consuming Grief
9. Decaying Serenades
10. When the Moment of Death Arrives
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/Kurnugia
www.reverbnation.com/kurnugia
www.memento-mori.es
www.facebook.com/memento.mori.label

Finnish Black Metallers BYTHOS premiere new track

From Finland comes a brand-new alliance who creates their musical black art under the name of Bythos! Bythos has made a pact with the infamous Terratur Possessions and will bring forth their debut album bearing the title The Womb of Zero, to be released April 24th internationally. And today, the band premiere the new track “Omega Dragon“ here:
Musically, Bythos combines cold melodies and versatile riffs, creating rich and numinous landscapes which encounters powerful and vicious liturgies. The music supports the lyrical theme of the songs well, and the moods range from oppressive despair to ecstatic praise of the dark gods. The theme of the album is an interdimensional view of the underworld and its deities, emphasizing strongly on the spiritual evolution to liberate the imprisoned powers, and make one with the outer darkness.

The resetting of the divine plans through destruction and rise above limitations of life. Beauty in destruction, destruction in beauty. A sonic interpretation of what once was and our constant path of devolution towards the Luciferian dawn.

.Also hear the previously revealed “When Gold Turns Into Lead” HERE at Terratur‘s Soundcloud.
Preorder info can be found HERE.
Cover art, courtesy of Kristiina Lehto, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Bythos’ The Womb of Zero
1. Black Labyrinth
2. When Gold Turns into Lead
3. Sorath the Opposer
4. Omega Dragon
5. Call of the Burning Blood
6. Hymn to Lucifer
7. Legacy of Naahmah
8. Destroyer of Illusions
9. Luciferian Dawn
BYTHOS lineup
M.S. – vocals (Behexen/ex-Sargeist)
M.L. – guitars/bass (Behexen, Ajattara, Horna)
L.R. – drums (Horna)
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/bythosofficial
www.terraturpossessions.com 
www.facebook.com/TerraturPossessions

Canadian metal cult Witches Hammer premiere new track

Today, reanimated Canadian metal cult Witches Hammer premiere the new track “Across Azeroth”. The track hails from the band’s long-awaited comeback album, Damnation Is My Throne, set for international release on April 25th via Nuclear War Now! Productions. Hear Witches Hammer‘s “Across Azeroth” in its entirety here:
Although they only released a few demos and a 12” EP during the band’s original active period (1984-1990), Witches Hammer occupies a prominent place among the pantheon of Canadian speed metal masters. The original lineup featured guitarist Marco Banco, who was just 15 years old when the band recorded its first demo; vocalist Rayy Crude; bassist Steve “Naïve” Withrow; and on drums, Rayy’s brother, the late John Prizmic. Witches Hammer’s name may not have been widely known during the band’s existence, but they were a crucial piece of the Vancouver extreme metal scene, most notably through their influence on the members of Blasphemy. (Banco would, of course, later play guitar for Blasphemy on the legendary Fallen Angel of Doom album.)

In the early 2000s, Nuclear War Now! worked with Banco to re-release Witches Hammer’s demos and self-titled EP, as well as the previously unreleased MLP the band recorded in 1988. Indeed, NWN!’s relationship with Witches Hammer is one of the longest-running associations the label has established through the years. In 2018, Banco and Crude decided it was time to revive the band and assembled a new lineup capable of delivering the blistering, sinister speed metal for which Witches Hammer is known. Their appearance that same year at the first installment of the Never Surrender fest in Berlin exceeded all expectations, proving that their reemergence was consistent with the band’s legacy without being a sterile imitation of their prior catalog.

The response to the recent Witches Hammer live performances has been uniformly positive, further reinforcing Banco’s and Crude’s resolve to press forward. The result of this effort is the astonishing Damnation Is My Salvation album. The current band’s sound is a perfect extrapolation of the earlier recordings. Witches Hammer delivers the same primitive, evil thrash but slightly blackened and more technical, tastefully reflecting the unavoidable influence of the musical developments during the intervening years, achieving a sound reminiscent of bands like Ares Kingdom and Destroyer 666.

Three songs on “Damnation Is My Salvation” are re-recorded versions of classic tracks from earlier releases; “Frozen God,” “Deadly Mantis,” and the eponymous, “Witches Hammer” all originally appeared on the band’s demos, but are now revived and repurposed for this new lineup. The other tracks, all newly written and recorded, are masterful. Directed by Banco’s virtuosic guitar work, Witches Hammer deliver a searing frenzy of wretched riffs, frenetic bass, and relentless percussion, perfectly complemented by the barbed rasps of Crude’s menacing vocals.

Few bands, if any, have reformed after decades of inactivity to produce such a powerful addition to an already tremendous catalog. With this album, Witches Hammer both reinforces and builds upon its significant legacy.

Hear the previously revealed “Solar Winds” HERE at Nuclear War Now!‘s Bandcamp.

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Witches Hammer’s Damnation Is My Salvation 1. Across Azeroth 2. Solar Winds
3. Damnation Is My Salvation
4. Within the Halls
5. Frozen God
6. Witches Hammer
7. Deadly Mantis
8. Nine Pillars

 MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/witcheshammerndhc
www.nwnprod.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Nuclear-War-Now-Productions/114864651994141

BLACK FUNERAL set release date for new IRON BONEHEAD album, reveal first track

Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets July 3rd as the international release date for Black Funeral‘s highly anticipated tenth album, Scourge of Lamashtu, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

By now, Black Funeral require no introduction. One of the very first American black metal bands, Black Funeral have been long led by the magickal hand of Michael Ford AKA Akhtya Nachttoter, who has concurrently garnered international respect as a leading author on Luciferianism and occultism. Although many lineups have come and gone since the band’s pioneering days of the mid ’90s, Black Funeral found its strongest formation yet with Ankou and the Death Fire – released in 2016 by longtime fans Iron Bonehead – which includes Drowning the Light mastermind Azgorh Drakenhof handling guitar, bass, and keyboards. Two years later followed the mini-album The Dust and the Darkness, also courtesy of Iron Bonehead, showing that this partnership truly brimmed with the fires of creation…and destruction.

Now arrives Scourge of Lamashtu, a Black Magickial sonic invocation of the Seven Udug-hul, Vampyric Deities and Lil-demons of ancient Babylonia. May our kišpe (witchcraft) call forth acasual and abyss-dreaming powers and the pandemonium of Lamashtu, Pazuzu, Nergal, lilû, lilitu, kiskilili and vampyric demonic dead, the emmu. Black Funeral aligns in a underworldly wave of cacophonic disharmony uniting cold black metal with dark ambient soundscapes composed from sounds of desert winds, sands, wilderness, mountains, storms, owls, wolves, and ravens to authentically represent the demons, deities, and ghostly dead within this album.

Black Funeral opens ancient, sand-worn tombs and reconstructs the rituals of kaššaputu (sorcery, black magic), demonology, and vampyrism of the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and the Ur III (Sumerian) periods of Mesopotamia. The entirety of this recording is centered around malefic demons, rebel-deities, and the vampyric ghosts which still haunt this world. Incantations and spells translated from 8th Century B.C.E. Akkadian compose the core of lyrics. The Seven Udug-hul (utukku) Demons and rebel gods are structured in incantations of seven names, interconnected with Lamashtu, Lilith, and the malicious types of Udug-hul (translating “evil,” “hul” is also formerly spelled as “xul”) demons whose number is legion and drinks the blood (and souls) of human prey.

Boundless, eternal, defiant as ever: Black Funeral call forth the Scourge of Lamashtu!

Hear the first summoning with the brand-new track “Kassaptu Lemuttu”
Cover art, courtesy of Scourge Art, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Black Funeral’s Scourge of Lamashtu
1. Kassaptu Lemuttu
2. The Vampyric Rabisu at the Threshold
3. Nergal (Lord who Prowls by Night)
4. Seven Udug-Hul
5. Scourge of Lamashtu (She who Strangles the Lamb)
6. Gidim Hul (Bloodthirst of the Demonic Dead)
7. Pazuzu King of the Lilu-Demons
BLACK FUNERAL lineup 2020
Akhtya Nachttoter – Howling, Incantations, Black Ambient Soundscapes
Azgorh Drakenhof – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards
An Unnamed Spirit – Drums

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/akhtya
www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

HEGEMONY set release date for HELLS HEADBANGERS debut

Today, Hells Headbangers sets April 24th as the international release date for the striking debut album of America’s Hegemony, Enthroned by Persecution, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Hailing from Alabama, the four members of Hegemony – drummer Ruination Wielder, bassist Primordial Dominator, guitarist Barbaric Progenitor, and vocalist Fanatical Deathtitan – formed in 2015 and released their first demo a year later. Although a then-brand-new entity, the members of Hegemony possess a wealth of experience in other southern US bands, and that experience for sure showed on Demo MMXVI: a foul explosion of filth, bestial metal savagery executed with exacting cruelty. Not surprising that its three component songs are titled “No Throne Left to Topple,” “Driven by Hedonistic Vice,” and “Fist of Heretical Triumph.”

With those latter two songs reprised for their debut album, Enthroned by Persecution, Hegemony nevertheless strike upon newer, uglier territory here. Still unrepentantly and punishingly physical, here Hegemony move away from the more familiar bestial metal tropes as proffered by such bands as Bestial Raids and earlier Demonomancy and instead drive deeply into the idiom’s most viscous underbelly, bringing to the fore their latent death metal muscle and dragging everything down into caverns most doomed, dire, and disgusting. Arguably more world-eating than before, Hegemony’s ripped ‘n’ roiling attack is now more reminiscent of such overlooked bestial touchstones as Finland’s Belial and Mythos, Incantation’s earliest work, and especially ’90s Demoncy. As such, alongside labelmates Abysmal Lord‘s recent Exaltation of the Infernal Cabal, with Enthroned by Persecution are Hegemony standing at the forefront of the American South’s rising bestial metal vanguard.

South of Heaven, below Hell, become Enthroned by Persecution with Hegemony! In the meantime, hear the previously revealed “Rise in Turmoil” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Hegemony (USA)’s Enthroned by Persecution
1. Exalted March to Decimation
2. Rise in Turmoil
3. Halter of Bloodlines
4. Driven By Hedonistic Vice
5. Strength and Impurity
6. Fist of Heretical Triumph
7. Desecration Paradigm
8. Ruination Sacrifice
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/hegemonicdeath
www.hellsheadbangers.com
www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers 

Australian black metal mavericks Order of Orias premiere new track

Today, Australian black metal mavericks Order of Orias premiere the new track “Raging Idols” . The track hails from the band’s long-awaited second album, Ablaze, set for international release on April 30th via W.T.C. Productions. Hear Order of Orias‘ “Raging Idols” in its entirety here:
It’s been nine long years since Order of Orias released their bold debut album, Inverse, for W.T.C. Since then, in 2015, only a split EP with Aosoth arrived: but while being “merely” one track, Order of Orias‘ contribution was a staggering 13-minute epic, suggesting further glories to come. But then, only silence followed. The band’s flame of creation had not been extinguished; it was merely simmering in the shadows…

At long last, Order of Orias step forth from those shadows with a stark ‘n’ strident second album, fittingly bearing the title Ablaze. Indeed, the Order here blaze with a fury, locking into a moody ‘n’ martial style of black metal which seamlessly moves from teeth-gnashingly tense violence to smoke-swirlingly hypnotic downtempo passages. Within, big open chords reverberate with haunting magnitude while gravel-throated vocalist A.S explores sepulchral depths of the spirit. Co-conspirator D.A’s riffing in particular explores bolder expanses of the aggression vs. atmosphere divide, working within that spectrum a sulfurous magick. As such, Ablaze is an album equally suited to stage and solitude, of external displays of hatred and internal ones of same.

While orthodox black metal has largely been a sleeping beast lo these many years, it sometimes falls to yesteryear’s mavericks to awaken and shake the firmaments – and that’s exactly what Order of Orias do with Ablaze. And with Nocturnal Graves’ Jarro Raphael on session drums and mastering by Order of Apollyon’s BST, they’re certainly in good company. The flame still burns!

Cover art, courtesy of Fenomeno Design, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Order of Orias’ Ablaze
1. Blood To Dust
2. Gleaming Night
3. Raging Idols
4. Snares & Thorns
5. Crowned In Brass
6. Dawning Light
MORE INFO: www.facebook.com/orderoforias
www.w-t-c.org www.facebook.com/

W.T.C.Productions