Month: April 2021

Swedish thrash cult Insane premiere new track

Today, Swedish thrash cult Insane premiere the new track “At Dawn They Die”. The track is the third to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Victims, set for international release on April 30th via Dying Victims Productions. Hear Insane‘s “At Dawn They Die” in its entirety here:

For over a decade now, Sweden’s Insane have inconspicuously built a catalog of dark ‘n’ dirty thrash metal worth reckoning. That they’ve gone largely unnoticed by all but diehard thrashers is a crime, and attributable more to the sheer abundance of metallic options still coming out of their homeland rather than any lack of quality. In fact, across Insane’s two EPs, three demos, one split, one compilation, and especially 2017’s Evil debut album, one will be hard pressed to find a more strident iteration of ripping ancient thrash.

And Insane continue sticking to their (strident, ripping) guns with their second full-length, Victims. Lyrically focused on the dark world of Swedish murderers, Victims indeed evokes a darker aspect than the already-dark Evil predecessor; the harmonic dual-guitar action sends well-timed shivers down the listener’s spine. But just like that preceding LP, here do Insane show their mastery of epic songcraft, as the majority of the tracks again top five minutes whilst exhibiting that exhilarating rush so crucial to thrash, winding along wildly and ever so slightly touching upon more “tech” textures. If anything, the band engage and challenge in equal measure here, feeding manna to musos and rivetheads alike. Likewise, their iteration of thrash is a multilingual one, varyingly nodding to classic Canadian and German tropes and especially those that have been budding in the wider Scandinavian region more recently and also more “back in the day.”

A unique aspect to Insane that the quartet continue on Victims is the full-bodied, almost rock ‘n’ roll-ish production: warmly analog but not faked, gritty and dirty but never belabored, and thankfully, nothing ear-piercingly overdriven like so much pizza thrash. Essentially, Victims is for those who like their thrash dank and pure and, above all, well-crafted.

If thrash as a whole has its waves of popularity/oversaturation, depending on the year, Insane remain resolute as perpendicular maverick ready to challenge the passé and played-out. If you’re ready for their bandwagon to start rolling, become one of their Victims NOW!

Jump on that bandwagon with the previously revealed  “The Sword” exclusively HERE, courtesy of Zero Tolerance magazine, and the previously revealed “Sinister Night” exclusively HERE, courtesy of Deaf Forever magazine. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Insane (Sweden)’s Victims
1. Maximum Force
2. The Sword
3. Cruel Command
4. The Theme (Victims)
5. Sinister Night
6. At Dawn They Die
7. Sanitarium
8. Skullcrusher
9. Oblivious Void
10. Tormented Breath


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/insanesweden

www.dying-victims.de 

T.O.M.E. set release date for SPREAD EVIL debut, reveal first track

Today, Spread Evil Productions announces June 4th as the international release date for T.O.M.E.‘s highly anticipated debut album, I-III.

A mysterious entity whose membership is rumored to include veterans of the Finnish metal underground, T.O.M.E. are as beguiling as their likewise-mysterious acronymed moniker. Their chosen idiom is indeed black metal, but the iteration of such across the three-song/36-minute I-III is as twisted and treacherous as it comes. Heaving, hulking, and haunting, T.O.M.E.-the-band defy conventional definitions of “black metal.”

While largely lumbering in its downtempo stomp, the crunchy canvas of I-III eventually reveals subtle-yet-nevertheless dramatic surges of energy and surprisingly catchy hooks that otherwise evade rote “catchiness.” No, the dense and decidedly tense album builds and builds and builds, that tension simmering and eventually brought to a boil; there are no crowd-pleasing moments here even if the bulk of the band’s attack is exceptionally headbanging at times. The cool ‘n’ coasting ease with which T.O.M.E. construct these hypnotizing screeds similarly nods to DSBM tropes, but malforms them in a manner that brings it all back to Burzum’s most pioneering works. Elsewhere, shades of everything from prime Barathrum to Triptykon at their blackest to even Bolt Thrower-gone-BM slither through the soundfield.

And this is but the start: with the seemingly inscrutable title of I-III, the band have revealed that this first album is the first in a continuance of albums featuring three songs, with IV-VI to follow, then VII-IX etc. You’ve been warned.

T.O.M.E. could be a t-o-m-b, for all we know. Enter their crypt and discover for yourself.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “I” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for T.O.M.E.’s I-III

1. I [14:12]
2. II [10:55]
3. III [10:11]

MORE INFO:
www.spreadevil.net 
www.facebook.com/spreadevilproductions


CARNATION announce virtual performance at Galaxy Studio

The Belgian death metal stalwarts of CARNATION have teamed up with Galaxy Studio for the recording of a special virtual performance which will take place on April 18th @20:00 CEST. The whole band will be available in the live chat during the stream, which will be made available via YouTube and Facebook. The event is completely free for all to watch via the event link HERE.

CARNATION comments on the stream: “The Galaxy Sessions await! On Sunday, April 18th at 8:00 PM CEST, we will be hosting a streaming event of a very special Carnation performance. Our second album ‘Where Death Lies’, has been out for a while now… And we have been itching to perform the tracks from this album for you all. Instead of waiting any longer, we have decided to take action! Join us in the mighty Galaxy Studio, where we perform the majority of our new album live for the first time in a very special setting. The whole band will be present in the chat during the stream for a meet and greet to answer all your questions and hang out like the good old days (more or less…). Cheers, see you then!”

CARNATION will be playing in support of their latest album ‘Where Death Lies’, which was released on September 18, 2020. The album can be heard in full HERE!

Track-list
1. Iron Discipline (3:52) (WATCH)
2. Sepulcher of Alteration (4:22) (WATCH)
3. Where Death Lies (3:26) (WATCH)
4. Spirit Excision (3:46)
5. Napalm Ascension (4:09)
6. Serpent’s Breath (4:47)
7. Malformed Regrowth (3:09)
8. Reincarnation (5:24)
9. In Chasms Abysmal (7:39)
Total playing time: 40:34

www.carnationband.com
www.facebook.com/CarnationBE
www.instagram.com/carnationbandofficial
www.youtube.com/c/CarnationOfficialBE

Line-up:
Simon Duson – Vocals
Jonathan Verstrepen – Guitars
Bert Vervoort – Guitars
Yarne Heylen – Bass
Vincent Verstrepen – Drums

Cover art: Juan Jose Castellano Rosado

Discography
2015: Semetery of the Insane (EP)
2017: Live at Asakusa Deathfest (Live album)
2018: Chapel of Abhorrence (Full length)
2020: Where Death Lies (Full length)

VRITRAHN-WERWOLF set release date for long-awaited WEREWOLF debut album, reveal first tracks – features members of WHITE DEATH+++

Vritrahn-Werwolf formed in 2014 as a conspiracy between infamous antagonist Werwolf and erstwhile White Death frontman Vritrahn – hence, their moniker. Two vile demos followed in quick succession over 2014 and 2015, followed by a thematic 12″ EP in 2017. Across these cruelly short recordings, Vritrahn-Werwolf spanned a surprising variety of black metalled songcrafts, from the regal ‘n’ vampiric to the primitive ‘n’ punkish and plenty of points in between, but the ultimate aim always remained: unapologetic blasphemy, a resolute lawlessness, and utter desecration and DEDICATION.

Now, Vritrahn-Werwolf rise from their slumber beneath a cursed, rat-infected ship and reveal their highly anticipated first full-length, fittingly self-titled. No more but certainly no less, Vritrahn-Werwolf is a swift and exciting summation of those years spent dwelling with the underground, encompassing those aforementioned songcrafts and spanning yet more, including darkly triumphant deathrock, Satanic ritual ambient, and even classic symphonic black metal. Furthermore, the fire that was stoked across those short-lengths has billowed into an inferno here, as the duo’s execution has been sharpened to an enviable degree, and the production in kind: while by no means “polished” in the conventional sense, Vritrahn-Werwolf exudes a startling clarity within its antagonistic rawness, allowing each of these nine unique tracks to bleed their own black blood. Above all, Vritrahn-Werwolf embody all-caps BLACK METAL the way it was originally created in ancient times, when The Message aligned equally with The Medium, and unorthodoxy was not only celebrated, but almost mandatory if one was to pursue the Black Arts. Or, simply witness the slow-burn march/mantra of “Blasphemous Metal” and begin to understand (or not): FUCK YOU!!!

Vritrahn-Werwolf is probably not for you. For those who breathe the breath of night, raise the banner of Vritrahn-Werwolf high!

Raise the first two banners with the brand-new track “End of the Ages” and “Death Torments” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Vritrahn-Werwolf’s Vritrahn-Werwolf
1. End of the Ages
2. Silver Aurora
3. Lord of All Evil
4. …To Perish in the Silence
5. Death Torments
6. Blasphemous Metal
7. Sacrament
8. Crucifucked (S.S.)
9. Starlight Throne of the Eclipse

+ WEREWOLF RECORDS temple +
www.facebook.com/werewolf.rex
www.werewolfrex.bandcamp.com

CADAVERIC INCUBATOR set release date for new HELLS HEADBANGERS album, reveal new track

Today, Hells Headbangers announces May 14th as the international release date for Cadaveric Incubator‘s highly anticipated second album, Nightmare Necropolis, on CD and cassette tape formats; the vinyl LP version will follow later this year. In lieu of this announcement, Cadaveric Incubator reveal the new track “Sickly Obsessed,” which can be heard here:

Comprising veterans of the Finnish underground, Cadaveric Incubator‘s history stretches back to 2004. While the band would deliver a demo and three-way split CD the next year, they broke up in 2007, only to re-form in 2014 with a renewed lineup and a renewed purpose: bury the listener under miles of garbage and grime, sewage and sickness. And they did exactly that in 2017 with their widely celebrated debut album for Hells Headbangers, Sermons of the Devouring Dead. Comprising a dozen tracks of utterly ugly, morally bereft DEATH METAL of a most classic vintage, this was death metal for death metal maniacs, by death metal maniacs.

Now, following a couple split 7″s in 2018, Cadaveric Incubator return to uphold that very same banner, uglier and more morally bereft than ever: Nightmare Necropolis, the band’s second full-length. Thankfully, little has changed in their worldview the past four years since the release of that debut album, and Cadaveric Incubator are all the better for it. The disgusting, old-school influences remain – early Carcass, Repulsion, early Xysma, Mortician, Blood, and early Disgorge Mexico, among others – but an emphasis has ever so subtly been placed on catchier songwriting here. With the pummeling (and well-timed) D-beats being more pronounced in that songwriting, there’s a none-too-inconspicuous Autopsy element across Nightmare Necropolis…and lo and behold, the band got THE Eric Cutler of Autopsy to contribute a solo on “Frenzied Hatred”! Likewise, with an album title like Nightmare Necropolis, there’s a decidedly darker aspect to Cadaveric Incubator this time around, making their raw, filthy brutality hit that much harder.

You want total death? Then TOTAL DEATH is what you get! Enter Cadaveric Incubator‘s Nightmare Necropolis…if you dare!

Hear the previously revealed “Necropolis” HERE at Hells Headbangers‘ official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Cadaveric Incubator’s Nightmare Necropolis
1. World Necrosis
2. Blood Lust
3. Necropolis
4. Sarcophagidae
5. Sickly Obsessed
6. Through the Flesh
7. Frenzied Hatred
8. Coffin Defiler


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/Cadaveric-Incubator-1537299173162374

www.hellsheadbangers.com

ÅSKOG: Swedish black metal act drops video for new track “Tid”; debut album arrives next month

Swedish black metal unit Åskog has teamed up with Black Metal Promotion to unveil the animated lyric video for the new single, “Tid.” Their debut full-length, Varþnaþer, will be out on 12th May 2021 via Grind to Death Records (CD) and Leviaphonic Records (digital). A vinyl and cassette release by Corrupted Flesh Records should land on 25th June.

Åskog comments on the track: “The song ‘Tid’ (Time) creates a grandiose atmosphere with its driving rhythm and soaring background vocals, also embracing a more traditional verse/chorus structure. The lyrics are more abstract, dealing with the theme of being lost.”

The first single, “Vinter,” came out last month; hear it AT THIS LOCATION.

Åskog took form during the early summer of 2020 by Adam and Lars after disbanding their previous band, Murdryck.

A demo, titled Varg, was released in October 2020 — quickly selling out its initial limited edition cassette run. The band’s blend of heavy, doom, and death metal under a black metal layer soon attracted listeners, metal media outlets, and even record labels. Amidst interest from several other record labels, the Vänersborg duo sealed the deal with Sweden’s Grind to Death Records for a CD release and Germany’s Corrupted Flesh Records for vinyl and cassettes. This spurred the drive to complete the album, Varþnaþer, by the end of December 2020, with the band keen to ride the sudden wave of interest with the strongest material they have ever written. However, the demo still garners interest and has since been reissued on CD and will be reissued again on cassette later in the year.

The songwriting on the debut album, Varþnaþer, furthers the musical ideas presented on the demo, adding the group’s own fingerprint and identity on the black metal-influenced sound. The 8 songs were carefully crafted to affect the listener’s mood — taking them through a journey from the blistering fast down to a slower, doomy pace, with the more mid-tempo sections allowing room to explore Lars’ vocal styles. The variation in the music is aided by the band’s disciplined uniformity in style, which allows the different elements to blend in seamlessly. The lyrics generally deal with the dichotomy between good and evil in the context of the natural environment. While almost all the lyrics deal with death in some way, Åskog delivers these themes in a more unusual manner, going beyond the notions of good/evil and focusing on human interpretation.

CREDITS:

– Band Lineup –
Lars – Vocals, Bass
Adam – Guitars

– Others –
Drums (Session) by Rod B.
Mixed and Mastered by Adam Chapman at Black Dawn Studios.
Recorded and Produced by Adam Chapman and Lars Hansson.
Cover artwork by Alex/Mayhem Project Design.

(c)2021 Leviaphonic Records.

PRE-ORDER:
https://askog.bandcamp.com (Digital + CD)
https://grindtodeathrecords.bigcartel.com/product/askog-varthnather (CD)

MORE INFO:

– Åskog –
https://www.facebook.com/askog666
https://www.instagram.com/askog666
https://askog.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Y5gITdct42K08GKYMmOGv

– Grind to Death Records –
https://www.facebook.com/GrindtoDeathRecords
https://twitter.com/GrindtoDeath
https://www.instagram.com/grindtodeath
https://grindtodeathrecords.bigcartel.com

– Corrupted Flesh Records –
https://www.facebook.com/Corrupted-Flesh-Record-Label-Artist-Store-103414908241694
https://www.instagram.com/corruptedflesh666
https://corruptedflesh.bigcartel.com

PASSÉISME set release date for ANTIQ debut, reveal trailer

On June 11th internationally, Antiq is proud to present Passéisme‘s highly anticipated debut album, Eminence, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

On destabilized grounds, among feverish scraps – disgust, excite, yawning, labyrinthine streams of laughing razor of words and sounds, rejoice to death… Passéisme emerged in the deep underground of Nizhny Novgorod, Russia in 2019, creating a boiling mass of decadence, triumphant spirit, waves of nostalgia, and purgatory of the past.

After the release of the Austerity Parade demo in the spring of 2019, Passéisme returns with Eminence, a debut full-length offering to the sacrificial fire. It refreshes the melodic side of black metal and fills it with thirst and rage, punkish unruliness and bitter laughter. Loaded with bottomless verses of poètes maudits, melodies, and vibes in the vein of KPN and Sühnopfer, Eminence is a black vitality that shines among hackneyed theatrics.

In the meantime, see & hear a special teaser for the album here:

Cover artwork, courtesy of Hyver Mor, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Passéisme’s Eminence
1. Chant for Tribulation [6:17]
2. Chant for Harvest [4:33]
3. Chant for Austerity [3:59]
4. Chant for Insolence [5:16]
5. Chant for Parade [4:14]
6. Chant for Splendour [1:14]
7. Chant for Enlightenment [10:21]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/passeismeBM

www.antiqrecords.com
www.facebook.com/antiq.label 

QWÄLEN: Finnish black metal punks premiere “Pimeä tila” video, debut album “Unohdan sinut” out now

Today, Finnish black metal punks QWÄLEN premiere their new video “Pimeä tila“.

The song is featured on their debut album “Unohdan sinut”, out now via Time To Kill Records.

In case you missed it, Invisible Oranges hosted the official premiere of the album’s second single. Watch the disturbing video of “Polku” at THIS LOCATION!

The band states: “We guess Darkthrone, Nifelheim, Bathory, Terveet Kädet are the acts that we are influenced by. Some things you can hear in the sound, some not. The band’s sound sort of just comes out as it is, even though we try to write songs with whatever focus there is”.

Tracklist:

01 – Pimeä tila
02 – Viekää minut pois
03 – Polku
04 – Hän ei tule koskaan
05 – Rituaali
06 – Unohdan sinut
07 – Temppeli

Pre-order: Bandcamp: https://qwaelen.bandcamp.com/
Bigcartel: https://timetokillrecords.bigcartel.com/category/qwalen

Biography:

Hailing from Oulu/Helsinki, QWÄLEN found its current form in 2017 after a bunch of different lineups. The band members share a passion for playing music in its various raw manifestations and their band backgrounds include Kürøishi, Nistikko, Dumathoin and Akma among many others. The members have been actively involved with the underground punk scene and this longtime involvement in the punk scene can also be heard in the music, with Young and in the Way and Dödsrit influences seeping into their interpretation of black metal. Lyrical content concentrates mostly on self-portrayal rather than the stereotypical anti-religious themes

Discography:

Demo (2018)
“Unohdan sinut” (2021)

Members:

Eetu – Vocals
Antti – Guitar
Henri – Drums
Ville – Bass
Samuli – Guitar

QWÄLEN

https://www.instagram.com/qwaelen/

https://www.facebook.com/qwalen

Time To Kill Records

https://www.instagram.com/timetokillrecords/

https://www.facebook.com/timetokillrecords/

https://www.timetokill-records.com/