Month: April 2023

COSMIC BURIAL set release date for new PURITY THROUGH FIRE album, reveal first track – features members of NACHTIG and VALOSTA VARJOON

Today, Purity Through Fire announces June 2nd as the international release date for Cosmic Burial‘s highly anticipated third album, Far Away From Home, on limited A5 digipack format.

Those who follow the dread deeds of Purity Through Fire should know by now that Cosmic Burial is the sole work of erstwhile Nachtig and Valosta Varjoon mainman V. V. And while those labelmates are undeniably black metal – related-yet-different sides, it must be said – over the course of Cosmic Burial‘s first two albums, 2020’s Impakt and 2021’s …to the Past, does V. V. strike upon far more distant realms of the imagination, only sparingly related to black metal. In his own words, Cosmic Burial is “ambient/atmospheric music for dreamers about space and time,” and thankfully is the course still the same for his third album, Far Away From Home.

As aptly titled as it comes, Far Away From Home is as lost-in-space as either of Cosmic Burial‘s two full-length predecessors and arguably even more gorgeously despairing. Here, V.V. continues the trend of making his massive compositions more compact. Impakt was literally massive in its 75-minute runtime while …to the Past was a comparatively brisk 45 minutes, and so it goes with the four-song/48-minute Far Away From Home. That its four component song titles are written in Morse code says everything about the album’s contents: these are plaintive distress signals from the outer reaches of the cosmos, rendered in shimmering & swirling tones of synth-led black metal. That that black metal plods forward at a largely mid-tempo gait creates a unique disconnect between energy and desolation – like being inexorably drawn to a yawning black hole, an ominous portal to those outer reaches. As always, V. V. foregoes vocals entirely, thus further severing ties to strict black metal by definition, but that simply allows that paradoxical gorgeousness to hit even deeper wells of despair. There’s just no return when you’re Far Away From Home.

Begin charting a course with the brand-new track “A .-. .-. .. …- .- .-..” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Cosmic Burial’s Far Away From Home
1. A .-. .-. .. …- .- .-.. [11:57]
2. B .. .-. – …. [11:12]
3. S — .-.. .. – ..- -.. . [12:02]
4. S – .- .-. … . . -.. [11:58]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/Cosmic-Burial-849464872064423

KVAD set release date for PURITY THROUGH FIRE debut, reveal first track – features members of SOLUS GRIEF, UNHOLY CRAFT, DARKEST BETHLEHEM+++

Today, Purity Through Fire announces June 2nd as the international release date for Kvad’s highly anticipated second album, So Old, on CD format. The vinyl version will follow later.

Hailing from Norway, Kvad indeed performs black metal exclusively in the ancient Nordic tradition. The band is yet another project of the ever-prolific Peregrinus, who numbers the likes of Unholy Craft, Solus Grief, Hjemsøkt, Darkest Bethlehem, and Praefuro among his current endeavors. Then a duo, in 2022, Kvad released the Invocations EP and Cold & Dark, As Life debut album in quick succession, and now Peregrinus continues to strike while the burning church is hot with their second album, So Old.

On one hand, So Old is aptly titled: the album begins with a desolate melancholy of what once was, and then the blizzard of distortion leads into a cryogenic grimness not unlike mid-’90s Gorgoroth, particularly the hackle-raising, Hat-esque screams of Peregrinus. And so Kvad follows this trajectory for a good deal of the album…but their songwriting unfolds, fever-dreaming into strange shapes not found among the ashes of those churches. While never dissonant per se, that blizzard of riffing soon compounds into a fury/flurry backed by Peregrinus’ brisk-yet-building drums; it’s a howling hysteria that’s not altogether untuneful, and its slipstreaming vortex suggests the superlative late ’90s psychedelia of Svest and Weakling. But, much as he does with his other projects, Peregrinus is not one to be (exclusively) pinned down to one specific style, and possesses the songwriting nous to turn these classics-minded creations into ones respectably modern. So Old, and yet so alive!

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

Cover artwork, courtesy of Greallach, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Kvad’s So Old
1. So Old
2. I Long For The Fires
3. This Was Death
4. Amidst Thunder and Demonic Ecstasy
5. The Forest Draped Black
6. In Servitude of a Dying Flame
7. Void Ritual
8. Ashes of a Life

MORE INFO:
www.kvad.bandcamp.com

MOON ORACLE stream new SIGNAL REX / BESTIAL BURST album

Today, Finnish black-doom deviants Moon Oracle stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, Ophidian Glare. Set for international release on April 11th via Signal Rex in conspiracy with Bestial Burst, hear Moon Oracle‘s Ophidian Glare in its entirety here:

It was but 2021 when Moon Oracle burst from the void, fully formed, with their Muse of the Nightside debut. Also jointly released by Signal Rex and Bestial Burst, Moon Oracle’s first public recording portrayed the power-trio as astute auctioneers of pure-yet-idiosyncratic metal, equally informed by archaic black metal and eldritch doom. With its bass-heavy crunge and wild tribal drumming, little else around quite sounded like Muse of the Nightside.

And so it goes with Ophidian Glare, Moon Oracle’s second full-length exploration of that battleground between the Id and the Ego. The album’s opening birth pangs suggest their barbaric primitivism will be exaggerated to obscene lengths, but patience rewards the intrepid – or ignorant, as it were – as Ophidian Glare soon blossoms into startling shapes at once vulgar and artful. The ever-present pulse of filth still guides Moon Oracle, but much of the preceding wildness has been reined in (or at least refined), resulting in an altogether more atmospheric sound that allows haunting spaciousness to enter and thereby make the barbarism hit that much harder. Perhaps the album’s unique charm can be summarized by the track title “Nethereal Axe.”

Still cold and alone in their uniqueness amongst an underground that rewards conservatism, Moon Oracle continue to pursue their equally ancient avant-garde muse with increasingly adventurous results. True deviants and outsiders, behold their Ophidian Glare!

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Moon Oracle’s Ophidian Glare
1. The Numinous Gate Opens [4:44]
2. A Vision in the Mansion [3:50]
3. Nethereal Axe [2:43]
4. Serpent’s Word [3:47]
5. Widdersyns – Against the Current [4:19]
6. Abysmal Crimson Desert [10:58]


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/MoonOracleFinland
www.moonoracle.bandcamp.com

www.signalrex.com
www.facebook.com/signalrex

Argentina’s INFERNAL CURSE set release date for new IRON BONEHEAD album, reveal first track

Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces June 23rd as the international release date for the long-awaited third album of Argentina’s Infernal Curse, Revelations Beyond Insanity, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Hailing from the oft-overlooked scene of Argentina, Infernal Curse are a study in patience and defiance. Forming in 2008, early on, the band’s sound was strictly within the blown-out blackthrash characteristic of South America’s most-underground metal, culminating in the clattering ‘n’ chaotic Awakening of the Damned debut LP in 2012. However, it was with the Iron Bonehead-released mini-album The End Upon Us in 2014 where Infernal Curse truly found their stride. Reigning in the chaos for a more pulsing form of barbarity, the power-trio were as violent and virulent as ever, but pushed the still-overwhelming physicality into the beyond. Amazingly, they then pushed beyond The Beyond with 2016’s Apocalipsis full-length, again released by Iron Bonehead. Bestial metal taken to its psychedelic extremes, Apocalipsis presented a paradox between profundity and crudity, forever elevating Infernal Curse above the mongrel hordes mindlessly battering away to the same well-worn, black/white/red-all-over Blasphemy tropes.

That album no doubt proved to be an apex for Infernal Curse, and thereafter did the band stick to EPs and splits – and even then, three years on from Apocalipsis. Now, at long last, Infernal Curse deliver their third album, Revelations Beyond Insanity. Once again, the Argentinians both embody and defy the bestial metal paradigm, and harken back to the earliest expulsions from mid ’80s South America. After its eerie church-organ intro, Revelations Beyond Insanity kicks in with one of the most SAVAGE guitar/bass tones in many years; swirling and deliriously effected, all strings chundering forth from their fingers congeal into a crumbling cathedral of nightmarish enormity. That drummer Bestial Offensor follows suit with a loose & lively tornado of DD Crazy-style controlled chaos should not be surprising: South American touchstones like Bloody Vengeance, Immortal Force, and especially INRI and Sexual Carnage are recast in a manner both world-eating and ceremonial. Yet, for Infernal Curse, even when plumbing the depths of primitivism, a haunting throughline elevates their approach above base barbaric physicality and into the realm of rigorous mind-expansion – that that Beyond explodes into a kaleidoscope of feral atavism at the heart of the psychedelic experience. Or, simply dispense with fancy words altogether and submit to the overwhelming onslaught of Revelations Beyond Insanity: Infernal Curse have returned to the full-length front to reclaim their throne.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new title track “Revelations Beyond Insanity” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Infernal Curse (Argentina)’s Revelations Beyond Insanity
1. Intro / Revelations Beyond Insanity [4:32]
2. Black Mass Sheperd [3:21]
3. Voidearth / Rites of Blood and Steel [7:00]
4. Church of Perversity [4:46]
5. Thy Eternal Tribulation [4:42]
6. Aeon of Extinction [4:46]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/infernalcurseofficial 

www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

CEMETERY URN reveal first track from new HELLS HEADBANGERS album

Today, death metal barbarians Cemetery Urn reveal the new track “Damnation is in the Blood.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated fifth album, Suffer the Fallen, which should see release this summer via Hells Headbangers on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. Hear Cemetery Urn‘s “Damnation is in the Blood” in its entirety here:

By now, Cemetery Urn require no introduction. Pillars of Australia’s now-legendary extreme metal scene, for nearly 20 years have these barbaric death metallers pursued their strict ‘n’ staunch vision of absolute ultraviolence – and ultraviolence with poise and daresay class. Though lineup shuffles have always been a part of the band’s picture, through it all, erstwhile Abominator founder Andrew Gillon (guitar, sometimes-bass) has steered their turbulent ship and rendered four equally punishing full-length tomes: each one immediately recognizably Cemetery Urn, but each one subtly expanding their sound with no compromise and no quarter. That seven years separated their second and third albums and five years have passed since their fourth matter not; dread deeds are always bubbling within Gillon’s cauldron, and he’s now assembled another deadly lineup, resulting in another deadly LP.

Titled Suffer the Fallen, Cemetery Urn now see the arrival of drum god Brandon Gawith (Eskhaton, Hobbs Angel of Death, Vahrzaw), bassist Joel Westbrook, and fellow Abominator founder Chris Volcano on vocals. Wasting no time, Suffer the Fallen kicks in and proceeds to scorch all and sundry. Once again, Cemetery Urn exude their trademark poise and, yes, CLASS; pulverizing and often operating at unsafe speeds, the quintet still put proper songwriting at the forefront, and color it with a payload of devilish details and deft shifts in tempo and texture. To the uninitiated, Suffer the Fallen will stun and likely sound overwhelming, but those who already drink deeply of the extreme arts will perhaps be surprised at how lithe Cemetery Urn‘s characteristic barbarism has become. Sharpening that attack to an enviable degree is the clear ‘n’ cutting production courtesy of Adam Calaitzis at Toyland Studio, resulting in a fortuitous first partnership. Same goes for the stark cover artwork courtesy of scene legend Mark Riddick – Suffer the Fallen indeed!

Given Cemetery Urn‘s deep roots in the Australian scene and their preceding history, both in Abominator and Gillon’s late-days work in the influential Bestial Warlust, it’s with no small amount of fanfare that original vocalist Damon Bloodstorm – of course, former frontman for both Bestial Warlust and Abominator – is resurrected from the grave on the vinyl-only bonus track “Mass Graves of Blood,” an unreleased track from 2007 which also features original bassist Squiz and thus marks the final time that the original Cemetery Urn lineup was together. Altogether, eight tracks in 35 minutes of pure Australian Barbaric Death Metal: Suffer the Fallen and none survive!

Release date, cover, and tracklisting for Suffer the Fallen to be revealed shortly. For more info, consult the links below.

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/cemeteryurn

www.hellsheadbangers.com

Lawless black metallers Thanatomass premiere the new track “Sorcery of Hades

Today, lawless black metallers Thanatomass premiere the new track “Sorcery of Hades”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Hades, set for international release on May 12th via Living Temple Records. Hear Thanatomass‘ “Sorcery of Hades” in its entirety here:

The origins of Thanatomass are shadowy, but their first public recording – 2018’s MMXV-MMXVI demo – reveals some hints as to that mystery. From there, the conflagration was lit; the power-trio continued to expound upon their lawless black metal ultraviolence, exploding with more eldritch energies and ever-more-ravenous devotion with each successive strike. The following year’s Darkest Conjurations EP saw Thanatomass link up with current conspirators Living Temple, becoming more barbaric and atmospheric simultaneously, which then reached a fever pitch with 2021’s Black Vitriol & Iron Fire EP. These two short-lengths evinced exceptionally more ideas and of course far more violence than records twice their length, and suitably etched the band’s name into the underground as one to watch…and be fearful of.

At long last, Thanatomass‘ first official full-length arises with Hades. Here, immediately, past and present are consumed by unquenchable fire, an absolute bloodlust that cannot be sated – a near-overwhelming display of ultraviolent physicality that takes on a supernatural aspect, so impossibly askew is their attack. With but a minute-long intro to set the stage and prepare the unsuspecting for the cosmic onslaught ahead, Hades kicks into contorting/spiraling form with the 10-minute epic “Templvm Carnalis / Vomit Ceremony,” which mainlines the OTT diabolism of Sarcofago’s INRI into the vortextural slipstream of classic Katharsis. But as the album plays on – and as the listener’s will is reflexively, irrevocably broken down, submission turning to hypnotism and eventually immolation – those sonic signposts are successively uprooted, and it’s brazenly displayed that Thanatomass are operating with a decidedly unique approach to songwriting. Still ultraviolent, sure, and arguably one of the most dangerous displays of such within nowadays’ underground, Hades presents clear & caustic ideas hammered to their logical conclusion only to birth yet more vulgar shapes that then contort and distort themselves into continually frightening contours…all with nary a pause for breath. But lest one think that Thanatomass are “chaotic” or “dissonant” or other such loaded descriptors, it must be stressed that their chops and execution are superlative: natural and “live,” as it should be, with no fake punch-ins and the like, honoring the ancient ways of heavy metal fire. And, just like their prior recordings but especially more so here, Thanatomass are undeniably a black METAL band, flying the flag of the first wave but prepared to burn any banners or standards as needed.

At seven songs across 44 minutes, with two songs topping eight minutes each and another two topping ten, Hades is a tower of ceremonial debauchery writ in shattered-glass sonics. That David Glomba provides stunning cover and interior artwork further underlines the magnitude of Thanatomass‘ debut album, and altogether stands as the momentous event it was destined to be. Submit to everlasting fire!

Begin submitting to the previously revealed track “Gravedance Sabbath” both HERE at Living Temple‘s official YouTube channel as well as HERE at Living Temple‘s Bandcamp, where the album can also be preordered. Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Thanatomass’ Hades

1. Katabasis (Intromass) [1:04]
2. Templvm Carnalis / Vomit Ceremony [10:01]
3. Gravedance Sabbath [2:18]
4. Living Tombs Of Tartaros [8:31]
5. Sorcery Of Hades [8:52]
6. The Bone Nimbus [1:19]
7. Retromass (Morbid Ordinance Of Doom) [11:27]

MORE INFO:
lvxmorgenstern.org

www.living-temple.org 
www.facebook.com/livingtemplerecords 

America’s SEVER stream IRON BONEHEAD debut album

Today, American black metal cult Sever stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, At Midnight, By Torch Light. Set for international release on April 14th via Iron Bonehead Productions, hear Sever‘s At Midnight, By Torch Light in its entirety here:

One of the most promising developments in American black metal in recent years, Sever combine bestial ferocity with spectral atmosphere and surprisingly deft dynamics. The work of one Ma-Kaxul, Sever made their public debut with the Sadistic Sorcery demo in 2022, courtesy of Iron Bonehead. That demo indeed pointed the way for Sever‘s sound: at once primal and magickal. And now Ma-Kaxul reveals the wider breadth of his vision…

Thus, less than a year after that debut demo, Sever unleashes their first full-length: At Midnight, By Torch Light. Simultaneously familiar and foreign, invoking cult names as varied as Nazxul, Kvist, Norway’s Odium, and Australia’s Darklord or even ’90s Demoncy and Abigor, the swells of violence across the album’s six-song/38-minute runtime are firmly situated between bubbling bestiality and cosmic chaos. Straightforward, to be sure, but never simplistic, Sever‘s onward-and-spaceward thrust overwhelms and then hypnotizes, invoking a(n ultraviolent) trance that soon unfolds its many layers of obsidian darkness. Of course, mention must be made of the synth work, skillfully integrated into the (gleamingly obsidian) whole and ably buttressing that swelling violence without softening it one bit. It’s all too easy to get lost in At Midnight, By Torch Light, but it’s a spectral cocoon well worth residing in.

As the sun sets in the west, prepare for lunar sacrifice and wield the hammer of vengeance like an abyssonaut with Sever‘s At Midnight, By Torch Light!

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Sever (USA)’s At Midnight, By Torch Light
1. Abyssonaut [5:29]
2. Lunar Sacrifice [6:28]
3. Sunset in the West [6:47]
4. Hammer of Vengeance [4:04]
5. At Midnight, By Torch Light [5:25]
6. Eastern Boar [9:19]

www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

Malaysia’s TOMB set release date for new IRON BONEHEAD mini-album, reveal first track

Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces June 23rd as the international release date for a brand-new mini-album from Malaysia’s Tomb, The Dark Subconscious, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats.

Formed in 2014, Kuala Lumpur’s Tomb hail from the small-yet-lethal Malaysian black/death underground that features such stalwarts as Mantak and Thorns of Hate. And just like those two contemporaries, Tomb exhibit a frightening feralness that can only come from South East Asia. And while many/most bands wimp out or slick up as they go along, the reverse is actually true for Tomb, as proven by their latest The Dark Subconscious mini-album. 

While their earlier EPs are hardly “refined,” the throbbing mysticism compared favorably to earliest Samael, Root, and Black Funeral. Here on The Dark Subconscious do Tomb go even more primitive – “bestial,” yes, but a form of bestiality birthed by the likes of Abhorer. Indeed, it’s no accident that Tomb‘s logo change is not unlike that of those cult Singaporeans: a swirling, sulfurous mass of gutter frequencies soon assault the listener on The Dark Subconscious, occasionally colored by no-less-primitive synths left over from their earlier days. In that regard, one could liken the 16-minute miasma to Beherit’s Drawing Down the Moon, the ’90s work of Greece’s Disharmony, or especially Mystifier’s paradigmatic duo of Wicca and Goetia…but there’s still that sense of strange, of scene-unbound lawlessness, across Tomb‘s latest short-length. Short but VERY sweet, long may they obey that lawlessness!

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Black Altar of Sathanas” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Tomb (Malaysia)’s The Dark Subconscious
1. Abomination Spells
2. Cursed Angel Of Doom
3. Black Conjuration Of Beleth
4. Occult Eternal Mysteries
5. Black Altar Of Sathanas
6. Nocturnal Rites Of Blasphemy

www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

MOURNFUL CONGREGRATION to release second part of two-EP series thru OSMOSE and 20 BUCK SPIN, reveal first track

Today, Osmose Productions and 20 Buck Spin announce May 26th as the international release date for Mournful Congregation‘s The Exuviae of Gods – Part II on CD, vinyl, and cassette tape formats. Osmose will handle the record’s release in Europe while 20 Buck Spin will handle its release for North and South America and Australia.

Mournful Congregation are back with a wall of sound of funeral doom, the band’s trademark since 1993. After rearing their doom-laden head from the primordial waters in 2022 with the release of The Exuviae of Gods – Part I, Mournful Congregation continue the parting of the waters with The Exuviae of Gods – Part II: two brand-new compositions, plus a brand-new re-recording of 1995’s “Heads Bowed,” featured on their second demo tape. Continuing the thematics presented on Part I, artwork is once again handled by Karmazid, bringing the monadic into the dyadic, thus perfecting the natural order of primordial principles…

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “The Forbidden Absym” here:

Preorder info for the Osmose version can be found HERE. Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Mournful Congregation’s The Exuviae of Gods – Part II

1. Heads Bowed [12:25]
2. The Forbidden Abysm [8:47]
3. The Paling Crest [18:39]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/mournfulcongregation

www.osmoseproductions.com

HATE MANIFESTO set release date for new HELTER SKELTER album, reveal first track – features members of CAEDES CRUENTA, MARDUK, EUCHARIST, WALPURGIA+++

Today, Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces May 26th as the international release date for Hate Manifesto‘s highly anticipated second album, ΑΠΟΣΤΑΤΗΣ, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

One of Greece’s best-kept secrets, Hate Manifesto formed in 2003 but, so far, have an extremely sparse discography. However, what they lack in quantity, they more than double-up on in quality. To Those Who Glorified Death, their debut album from 2017 – which Helter Skelter rereleased on a worldwide scale in early 2018 – displayed the shockingly extreme force with which Hate Manifesto could create their whirlwind of martial black/death. In 2019 came the aptly titled Herald of Triumph EP, which fully displayed the armament of their potential. Comprising four fierce ‘n’ fiery tracks in a swift ‘n’ decisive 17 minutes, Herald of Triumph was full-on shock & awe – CRUSH, KILL, DESTROY – with Hate Manifesto‘s chosen weapons being the iron-fisted surge of black metal and the muscular swarm of death metal, all rendered in rich, devastating tones. Of course, none of this should’ve come as a surprise given that the band is yet another work of the extremely prolific W.S.P., who also numbers such Helter Skelter cults as Caedes Cruenta, Black Blood Invocation, and Walpurgia among many others.

Now W.S.P. returns Hate Manifesto to the front with the full-length ΑΠΟΣΤΑΤΗΣ, and he’s joined by drum-god Simon “Bloodhammer” Schilling (Marduk, Eucharist). Picking up the pieces left behind by Herald of Triumph – or rather, the wreckage from the battlefield – ΑΠΟΣΤΑΤΗΣ (“Apostate” in English) is an immediately obliterating spin. Across eight songs in 38 minutes, the duo continue to create a martial sort of black/death that’s strict, cruel, and caustic. Is it “blackened death metal” or even “deathened black metal”? Appellations matter not when faced with this sort of iron-fisted attack, for its strength lies in the songwriting: W.S.P.’s riffs flow like acidic mercury, and Schilling’s drums race with deft dynamics. Indeed, for however harsh and austere Hate Manifesto‘s aesthetic is here, there’s a remarkably streamlined sensibility that lends infinite memorability to ΑΠΟΣΤΑΤΗΣ – and repeatability, as you’ll be compelled to press “play” and submit to their onslaught again and again. And when the rare burst of guitar solos come in? MADNESS!

Simultaneously classic and modern, Hate Manifesto continue their campaign of cruelty with ΑΠΟΣΤΑΤΗΣ!

Join that campaign with the brand-new track “Poison Infliction” here:

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Hate Manifesto’s ΑΠΟΣΤΑΤΗΣ
1. Inauguration of Triumphal Ascension
2. Extinction Ordained
3. Poison Infliction
4. Purging the Seeds of Pestilence
5. Sworn to Hatred
6. Decimation Order
7. Deconstructing the Assemblage of Deception
8. Chains of the Oppressor pt II

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/hatemanifestohorde
www.hatemanifesto.bandcamp.com

www.helterskelterproductions.se
www.facebook.com/helterskelterproductions