Month: July 2020

NOVAE MILITIAE set release date for new GOATHORNED album

Today, Goathorned Productions announces September 15th as the international release date for Novae Militiae‘s highly anticipated second album, Topheth.

Novae Militiae was founded in 2009. In a wish to remain anonymous and develop a mysterious aura in line with its vision of black metal, the band has never revealed who the members involved in this project were.

The first demo EP, Affliction of the Divine, was released on the label Nihilward at the end of 2011. This one, limited to 500 copies, is now sold-out. A tape reissue was published in 2015 by the label From the Dark Past, limited to 99 copies. This first recording aroused a certain interest in the orthodox black metal scene despite low promotion.

The first Novae Militiae album, Gash’khalah – the destroyer in the Tree of Death – was released in 2017 by Goathorned Productions and consisted of eight tracks across a total duration of 55 minutes. It was published as a digipack CD limited to 300 copies. More accomplished than the previous EP, Gash’khalah established Novae Militiae as an essential band to the initiated. Here, the band took on a more brutal orientation, while atmospheres became more developed and transcendental. In 2018, the labels Sentient Ruin Laboratories and Argento Records joined forces to release the vinyl version of Gash’khalah in a double-LP version limited to 300 copies that came in a heavy gatefold jacket and an etched side D.

Now, at long last, Novae Militiae revealed their second full-length work, Topheth, once again through the auspices of Goathorned Productions. Suitably titled, Topheth means “the place to burn” in Hebrew, but is also the place of human sacrifice to the god Moloch in the Bible. Indeed burning, both physically and especially spiritually, this second Novae Militiae album consists of six stout tracks: four of black metal – orthodox in composition, religious in their fervor, blindingly brilliant each one – and two of ritual/dark ambient, altogether making for an immersive 54-minute experience. On this occasion, two tracks from the early Affliction of the Divine EP were re-recorded, as the production was not completely satisfactory at that time, but they duly contribute to a unified whole, which underlines how powerful Novae Militiae‘s vision was from the very beginning. For the rest of Topheth, the band studiously worked on darker and more complex atmospheres in connection with their investment in the Left Hand Path. The result? Arguably, the strongest statement made in orthodox/religious black metal in over a decade, both revitalizing the form and reshaping it to Novae Militiae‘s design.

The release of Topheth is planned for September 15th, 2020 on Goathorned Productions in a digipack CD version limited to 300 copies. A vinyl version will also be released later on by Sentient Ruin Laboratories.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Elevated to Him” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Novae Militiae’s Topheth
1. Towards the Sitra Achra [8:08]
2. Advent of the Prophet [7:23]
3. Faithfully Reduced to Ashes [5:30]
4. The Call of Aeshma [4:42]
5. Elevated to Him [9:05]
6. Affliction of the Divine [7:23]
7. The Tables of Revelations [5:53]
8. A.R.F.A. [5:34]


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/novae.miltiae
MORE INFO:
www.goathorned.com
www.facebook.com/goathorned
www.goathornedprods.bandcamp.com

UNHOLY VAMPYRIC SLAUGHTER SECT set release date for new CROWN AND THRONE album

Today, Crown and Throne Ltd. announces August 21st as the international release date for Unholy Vampyric Slaughter Sect‘s highly anticipated third album, The World Trapped in Vampyric Sway (Darker and Darker), on cassette tape and digital formats. The vinyl LP version shall be released on September 4th.

“Ave vampyras. All must die. Praise Hell in terror’s name. A congregation of nothing awaits those who seek the deceiver. Be not the wolf nor the sheep, but the ceremonial blade that slew them both. Innocence does not exist in enemies or uselessness born of nothing before my eyes veins excised blood into cum viewed and died pummeled flesh.”

The follow-up to 2018’s Power of Ordained Light, the newest offering from Unholy Vampyric Slaughter Sect, The World Trapped in Vampyric Sway (Darker and Darker), continues their parade of support to the vampyric legions that have yielded terrifying and beautiful fruits. A trumpet of these ends times we live in, for those with Satanic devotion to the destruction of all human life: We press on to usher in the end. Ave vampyras – all must die!

First track premiere to be revealed shortly. 
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Unholy Vampyric Slaughter Sect’s
The World Trapped in Vampyric Sway (Darker and Darker)
1. To Love
2. Pummeled Flesh in the Mouth of the Virgin
3. Forced Genuflection on Adored Gored Knees
4. Lunar Intrusion of the Crown Shaktra (Castration of the Inferior Aura)
5. And I Shall Come to Thee as an Iron Wolf
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/unholyvampyricslaughtersect
www.facebook.com/crownandthroneltd
crownandthroneltd.bandcamp.com

Iceland’s ILLKYNJA set release date for GOATHORNED debut album

Today, Goathorned Productions announces September 15th as the international release date for Illkynja’s striking debut album, Sæti Sálarinnar.

A mysterious one-man entity hailing from the ever-vital Icelandic black metal scene, Illkynja burst forth from the void fully formed, with a full-length recording evincing a maturity far beyond the band’s young years. Titled Sæti Sálarinnar, this debut LP was first released digitally, but so brilliant was its muse that Goathorned simply had to release it in physical CD format.

Infinitely grimy and utterly gutted, to experience Illkynja‘s Sæti Sálarinnar is like entering a smokestack – in outer space. Fathomlessly dense ‘n’ dark riffs constantly collide against the listener, crushing and crumbling any last semblance of sanity, while a dizzying, delirium-inducing sort of melodicism skews that “sanity” yet further. Meanwhile, a commanding throat from the bottommost depths harangues that listener, howling forth horrors of an otherworldly nature…and the attack keeps pounding, pounding, POUNDING. And yet, within that seemingly savage expanse exists an alternately alien/alluring amount of nuance, which reveals itself the further one plunges into Sæti Sálarinnar. The traces of melody become more distinct (however unsettling), the songwriting righting into more linear shapes (implosion imminent), the surge palpable but able to be grasped, only for the slipstreaming to begin in earnest: Illkynja delight in jettisoning you into the void from which they came. Resistance is futile, indeed.

No one can hear you scream in space. The same can be said for Illkynja‘s Sæti Sálarinnar, a hundredfold.

In the meantime, stream Sæti Sálarinnarin its entirety here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Illkynja’s Sæti Sálarinnar
1. Ég er ljósið, eldurinn og upphafið
2. Holdið
3. Allt er glatað
4. Dauðaþögn
5. Sjálfseyðing
6. Sæti Sálarinnar
7. Guðhaus
8. Pest
9. Dýrð í harmleik
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/illkynja
MORE INFO:
www.goathorned.com
www.facebook.com/goathorned
www.goathornedprods.bandcamp.com

VERMISST to release expanded edition of latest EP thru SIGNAL REX

Today, Signal Rex announces September 4th as the international release date for Vermisst‘s Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności EP on 12″ vinyl format.

Released at the dawn of 2020 on CD format, Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności was Vermisst‘s first, fuller-length strike since their formation in 2018. Despite being a relatively new entity, the band’s sound is undoubtedly OLD, hailing the old gods of their Polish homeland’s rich black metal heritage. Cryogenically cold, unremittingly grim, shrouded in a mysticism rich in ancient splendor, Vermisst are thoroughly mid ’90s Polish black metal for a modern world too long neglectful of the Old Ways. Pure and proud, Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności is poignant proof that classicism endures no matter the decade, and that ever-so-subtle twists on tradition can result in resoundingly “new” manifestations worthy of that noble lineage.

Now, courtesy of fans-from-the-beginning Signal Rex, Vermisst‘s Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności is being released on vinyl format for the first time ever, with three exclusive (and righteously raw) tracks expanding the release to 40 minutes in length. The Celtic winter is coming…again! 

Begin preparing for that winter with the track “Czas Chtonicznej Zemsty” here:

Cover art and tracklisting as follows

Tracklisting for Vermisst’s Zmierzch Stalowej Ciemności
1. Mørkelokk
2. Czas Chtonicznej Zemsty
3. Zamarznięte Płomienie Mizantropii
4. W Pozagrobowej Przestrzeni
5. Det Skjulte
6. Frozen Flames of Misanthropy
7. Za Ducha Głębiny Zasłona
8. Zimowa Aura Krwawych Cieni

tracks 1-5 = original EP
tracks 6-8 = exclusive to this LP
www.signalrex.com
www.facebook.com/signalrex www.signalrex.bandcamp.com

LIFVSLEDA set release date for SHADOW debut album, reveal first tracks

Lo and behold, Det Besegrade Lifvet – the debut full-length by Lifvsleda, and follow-up to the highly acclaimed Manifest MMXIX EP that hit the underground last year with its furious and rotten old-school black metal – is set to be released on the 11th of September by Shadow Records (distributed & marketed by Regain Records).

Keeping consistent with the strident foundation laid forth by their debut EP, Lifvsleda‘s Det Besegrade Lifvet features nine tracks of wild, raw, and absolutely brilliant black metal in the vein of the early Nordic scene. Once again partly recorded out in the woods, in uttermost isolation, during the ongoing plague, you can truly feel the atmosphere of this album, and the stench of something old and rotten that has been dug up and resurrected. And despite it being the band’s debut album, Det Besegrade Lifvet evinces an ancient wisdom, an archaic splendor wrought from turbulence and times of conflict – days when black metal didn’t mean just posting photos of one’s shiny, new record collection on social media. No, the members behind Lifvsleda have been involved in the real black metal scene, in one way or another and in various constellations, since its glorious beginning. Who they specifically are matters not; all that does and all that is real is the ripped ‘n’ ripping righteousness of Det Besegrade Lifvet.

The album shall be released by Shadow Records under exclusive license from the Lifvsleda horde on noble gatefold vinyl and compact disc, as well as a strictly limited cassette, all packed and presented in a way to glorify the art in its most supreme way. It will also be streaming on your favorite digital platform, distributed and marketed by Regain Records.

Let it be spread as a pestilence over the barren earth, and remember: don’t blame the rats for spreading the Black Death!

The first breath of pestilence can be felt with the brand-new tracks “Intet” here:
“Det Besegrade Lifvet”
Preorder info to be announced shortly. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Lifvsleda’s Det Besegrade Lifvet
1. I Fjärran Jord Begrafvd
2. Det Besegrade Lifvet
3. Intet
4. Afvgrundsande
5. Bortgång
6. Fjättrad
7. Nedstigning
8. Vederkvickelse
9. Landet Bortom Skogen
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/lifvsleda
www.shadowrecords.se
www.regainrecords.se
www.facebook.com/shadowrecords.se
www.facebook.com/regainrecords.se

HAD set release date for ME SACO UN OJO debut mini-album – features members of Denmark’s SULPHUROUS and DEIQUISITOR

Today, Me Saco Un Ojo Ojo Records sets September 1st as the international release date for HAD‘s striking debut mini-album on 12″ vinyl format. Dark Descent Records will be handling the CD version, while Extremely Rotten Productions will handle the tape version.

HAD are a mysterious new entity hailing from Copenhagen, with members coming from such bands as Sulphurous and Deiquisitor. Their moniker translates to “Hate” in English, and like much of Denmark’s thriving death metal scene nowadays, HAD possess a potency that’s startling to behold.

Fitting for their mysterious means, HAD‘s debut recording bears no title. Nevertheless, across four songs in 20 minutes, this Danish entity DESTROY with utter savagery and mind-mangling angularity. Diving into this MLP’s depths is like spelunking within Lovecraftian catacombs; nameless horrors drift dreadfully into view, only to be devoured by or shapeshift into other horrors, and each level feels deeper yet more groundless, the sum effect hallucinatory and haunting. HAD‘s riffing isn’t so much normal death metal “riffing” as it blunt-force trauma turned into squiggly, squelching slime – and yet, the band retain a strangely linear flow despite the obscene angles their songwriting takes. Above and below it reside nearly atmospheric leads that instill further memorability before drifting away like vapor trails of delirium. And vocals are beyond sepulchral, literally devouring the listener…if the music itself hadn’t already done so.

First track and preorder info to be announced shortly.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for HAD’s MLP
1. Et Dyrisk ondt ønske mod alt og alle [4:08]
2. Ler i dødelig smerte [5:25]
3. Slidt livet ud gennem legemlige smerte [4:26]
4. Skingrer de døendes pinefulde skrig [5:46]
www.mesacounojo.com
www.mesacounojo.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/mesacounojo

MORTA set release date for SIGNAL REX debut

Today, Signal Rex announces August 28th as the international release date for Morta‘s striking debut album, Fúnebre, on digipack CD and cassette tape formats.

Originally released on vinyl in a limited edition of 100 copies, Morta‘s Fúnebre was simply too good ‘n’ grimy to let languish in obscurity. Signal Rex steps forward to unleash this torrent of banging ‘n’ clanging anguish upon the worldwide underground, and for good reason.

A power-trio comprising active members of the Spanish metal scene, Morta are first and foremost a BLACK METAL band, by definition and deed. Unremittingly ugly yet evincing an emotionalism that burrows ever deeper into the filth of the subconscious, Fúnebre expounds upon the rudiments of the band’s first demo in 2017 with acidic aplomb. Remorselessly raw is their attack, and yet it’s undeniably physical and PURE – literally, the sound of three persons playing together in the same room (dungeon?), which is all too much a rarity in nowadays “black metal.” As such, they deftly shift from spiralingly violent hypnosis to scabrously headbanging segments, their riffing duly drawing the listener in with an eerily hummable quality. It would not be uncharitable to liken the latter to a romanticism unique to Morta‘s Spanish heritage.

The crypts open again, and the torch has been relit: will you enter Morta‘s Fúnebre?

Take the first step with the track “Sin Voz ni Rostro” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Morta’s Fúnebre
1. Cadáver Perenne
2. Introit Sabbat
3. Sacrificio
4. Sin Voz ni Rostro
5. Infierno Fúnebre
6. Oraculum Ab Necromantiæ
7. Fuego y Hueso
8. Gloria Profunda
www.signalrex.com
www.facebook.com/signalrex www.signalrex.bandcamp.com  

Vreid release live video for “Milorg”

Norwegian Black & Roll veterans VREID are now premiering a live video for the song “Milorg”, which was recorded during the band’s unique livestream event, ‘In the Mountains of Sognametal’ in June.
In other news, the band has finished writing their 9th full-length album. The recordings will start in autumn, with the aim to release the new record in the first half of 2021 via Season of Mist.

VREID will also be on the frontline for reopening the concert scene in Norway. On August 15th, the Norwegian black ‘n rollers will perform a special show at the legendary Rockefeller venue in Oslo.  This will be the first metal show in the venue since the Covid-19 closure. On this night, VREID will also launch their first official beer crafted by the band’s guitarist Stian “Strom” Bakketeig and Balder Brewery. The show sold out immediately, and an extra show has been added.

Founder and bass player Jarle ‘Hváll’ Kvåle comments: “These are strange and weird times for everyone. For VREID, we have done as we always do, march onwards. I have been working hard on new material for the last months. I started working on new stuff in the last years, but in these past months things have fallen into place and we will go into the studio soon. I have such a great feeling about the new material, expect an early 2021 release and expect a dark and raw brew.

Talking about brew, in August we launch our own VREID Beer. It’s a cooperation with our local Balder Brewery and it’s crafted by our own beer wizard Stian. We’re launching the beer when we perform two shows at Rockefeller in Oslo, on August 15th. This will be the first metal show they do as part of their reopening and we can’t wait to get back out on that stage.

This week things are happening too, as we release a video from the streaming session we did at my mountain farm. The response was completely overwhelming, so we decided to release a video for the track “Milorg”. During autumn and winter we will have plenty of new an old:-) news for you all. Fingers crossed that we can return to touring in 2021. Stay strong, act reasonable and enjoy metal.”
VREID released their latest full length ‘Lifehunger’ in September 2018. Listen to the full album HERE. The artwork can be viewed below, together with the album details.
Track-list
1. Flowers & Blood (1:50)
2. One Hundred Years (5:39)
3. Lifehunger (5:36)
4. The Dead White (4:59)
5. Hello Darkness (4:39)
6. Black Rites in the Black Nights (6:26)
7. Sokrates Must Die (3:29)
8. Heimatt (6:01)
Total playing time: 38:39
VREID were formed in 2004. The Norwegian metal brigade rose from the ashes of WINDIR after the tragic perishing of the “Sognametal” legends with the declared mission of exploring new musical paths.
 
The Norsemen proved true to their words and have so far delivered 7 albums and one DVD, which each received high praise from critics and fans alike. VREID chose a course of constant evolution that is marked by thematically denoted phases regarding their often historically inspired lyrics.
 
This became particularly clear with albums ‘I Krig’ (2007) and ‘Milorg’ (2009), which both revolved around concepts dealing with resistance and liberation of Norway during World War II. With their following three records, VREID returned to their Norse roots, especially on latest full-length, ‘Sólverv’ which received high critical acclaim in 2015.
 
VREID have hammered out their success partly by being a heavily touring band. The four-piece performed more than 500 shows in 25 countries so far. Their everlasting march to conquer new territories has led the Norwegians to headline tours in Europe, North America, Japan, and India.
 
VREID‘s style is often referred to as black ‘n roll and Metal Hammer UK described their music as “a unique time travel in metal” as elements of 70’s rock, 80’s classic metal, and Norwegian black metal are all clearly audible.
 
Now with eighth album ‘Lifehunger’, black ‘n roll is back! With eight brand new tracks, VREID are ready for the next chapter.

 
www.facebook.com/vreidofficial
 
Line-up
Sture: Vocals & guitars
Strom: Guitars
Steingrim: Drums
Hváll- Bass and keys
 
Guest Musician
Aðalbjörn ‘Addi’ Tryggvason (SÓLSTAFIR): vocals on “Hello Darkness”
 
Recording: Nabolaget studio
Producer: Jarle Hváll Kvåle / Anders Nordengen
Mix: Anders Nordengen, Nabolaget studio
Mastering: Ruben Willem
 
Cover art: Remi Juliebø of Deformat

INFESTICIDE set release date for new BLOOD HARVEST album, reveal first tracks

Today, Blood Harvest Records sets September 25th as the international release date for Infesticide‘s highly anticipated second album, Envenoming Wounds, on CD and cassette tape formats. The vinyl LP version shall follow on October 16th.

Bursting from the void in 2012 as Inherited, the band-to-become Infesticide released a couple demos under the moniker before making the official change halfway through 2013. And indeed, this moniker change signaled something of a sound change, or at least shift, as the power-trio stepped away from thrash and plunged headlong into pure and total DEATH METAL, particularly from their native Mexico. A demo and EP were released under the Infesticide banner in 2014, to be followed by the band’s debut album, Death’s Formulas Fatal, in 2016. That debut full-length found favor among diehards for its utterly harsh ‘n’ vile sound.

Keeping the same iron-fisted formula but finessing it further, Infesticide now unleash their gnarliest strike yet with Envenoming Wounds. Everything here is magnified to OTT levels – berzerker performance, clear-yet-crushing production, songwriting that’s scurrying yet seamless, everything simply set to SAVAGE – and proudly upholds the banner of classic demonic death metal as ushered in by early Morbid Angel and then carried forward by Krisiun, Angelcorpse, and God Dethroned. But, of course, there’s that unmistakable sulfurous magick that Mexico’s so renown for within underground circles, and Infesticide‘s hellish ‘n’ humid attack leaves no question about their origins. Comparisons to labelmates In Obscurity Revealed are perhaps unavoidable, as vocalist/guitarist Isaías SpeedBlosky and bassist Fabrizio pull double-duty in both bands, but drummer Indra’s many-tentacled kit-destruction as well as the more labyrinthine song constructions squarely put Envenoming Wounds in its own category. Which is to say nothing of the two instrumentals, “Acid Lava” and “Ageless Storms,” both of which are aptly-fucking-titled…

Mexican death metal bears a proud lineage, and Infesticide blaze a path of the old into a fiery future with Envenoming Wounds!

Begin blazing with the brand-new tracks “Envenoming Wounds” and “Magma Blood” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Infesticide’s Envenoming Wounds 1. Envenoming Wounds
2. The Phosphovore
3. Magma Blood
4. Perpetuating Madness
5. Acid Lava (Instrumetal)
6. Stalwart, Poisonous and Burned
7. Fathomless Steel
8. Utter Darkness
9. Ageless Storms (Instrumental
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/infesticide.death
www.bloodharvest.se
www.bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com
www.twitter.com/BloodHarvestRec
www.facebook.com/pages/Blood-Harvest-Records/300012152033

Los Angeles’ TRANSCENDENCE set release date for BLOOD HARVEST debut album, reveal first track

Today, Blood Harvest Records sets September 25th as the international release date for the highly anticipated debut album of Los Angeles’ Transcendence, Towards Obscurities Beyond, on CD and cassette tape formats. The vinyl LP version shall follow on October 16th.

Formed in 2013, Transcendence have been a study in patience and perseverance. The band digitally released their first EP, Morbid Reality, in 2014 and was followed by the Altar of Disease demo later that year. Back then, Transcendence maintained a more deathrashing sound, but after some lineup shuffling, they re-emerged in 2017 with the EP Hour of the Summoning, which Blood Harvest released on cassette in early 2018. Here, the intensity was upratcheted further, thanks in part to a brand-new rhythm section and Michael Alvarez taking over the second guitar spot. With this edition, Blood Harvest signed Transcendence for the release of their imminent debut album.

At long last, it arrives in the form of Towards Obscurities Beyond. As the band promised upon signing with Blood Harvest, here do the quintet take the style of Hour of the Summoning and add a distinctly more melodic touch ala Dissection and early Necrophobic. While no doubt nodding to the ’90s, the Transcendence unfurled here retain a timeless quality, a cutting-yet-classy sound that’s DEATH METAL through and through but effortlessly guides the listener across vast, windswept vistas of the imagination – dark, fantastical vistas, to be sure. A cursory glance of the grim-yet-graceful Adam Burke cover art certainly gives some clues, but delve deeper into Towards Obscurities Beyond and be met with majesty that’s purple ‘n’ blue in spirit but red, white, and blue in execution: neither too raw nor too clean, neither categorically nasty nor nice, Transcendence simply have found a nigh-perfect balance of songwriting imagination, finessed chops, and just-dynamic-enough production that all combine into something equally fresh and classic.

Mark our words: nowhere this year will you find a melodic death metal record more pure yet powerful than Towards Obscurities Beyond. Transcendence are a diamond in the rough, and their gleam is glorious to behold!

Behold the first gleam with the brand-new track “Infernal Resurrection”  here:
Aforementioned cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Transcendence (LA)’s Towards Obscurities Beyond 1. Infernal Resurrection
2. Majesty Of Chaos
3. Towards Obscurities Beyond
4. As The Maggots Feast
5. Drowned Screams Of The Departed Souls
6. And Darkness Shall Be
7. Ravens Of The Burial
8. In Silent Procession
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/transcendencedeathmetalofficial
www.bloodharvest.se
www.bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com
www.twitter.com/BloodHarvestRec
www.facebook.com/pages/Blood-Harvest-Records/300012152033