Black Metal Dark Ambient Duo Reverorum ib Malacht set to release new album

Today, The Ajna Offensive sets August 18th as the international release date for Reverorum ib Malacht’s highly anticipated third album, Ter Agios Numini.

Reverorum ib Malacht’s newest offering, however, isn’t all that new, having been composed and compiled and reworked and redesigned over the past 10+ years, kept lingering in a haunted and purgatorial state until just a few months ago. Therefore, those who came to understand and marvel at the likes of Ur-kaos and De Mysteriis Dom Christi will find Ter Agios Numini to be equally as dense and vast and inspired. And yet, Ter Agios Numini reveals another complex dimension of the band, all the while being unapologetically Reverorum ib Malachtian: cryptically, murkily terrifying and simultaneously cathartic with moments of sublime remoteness.

In the meantime, hear one of Ter Agios Numimi’s most epic tracks – the nearly 22-minute “Long into the Time Beyond


Tracklisting for Reverorum ib Malacht’s Ter Agios Numini
1. Synestesi
2. Long into the Time Beyond
3. Reverorum ib Malachtum
4. Dwellings are His that Die

Old School Death Metal Destroyers NECROT Drop New Album

California-based classic death dealers NECROT unleash the fetid fruits of their Blood Offerings debut full-length. Released on June 9th, 2017 on CD, LP, and digitally via Tankcrimes and on cassette in partnership with Sentient Ruin Laboratories, the eight-tracks comprising Blood Offerings were captured by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer (Vastum, Graves At Sea), mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege (Nails, Gatecreeper), and will come sheathed in the unholy cover craftings of Marald Van Haasteren (Bolt Thrower, Baroness).

Forged in 2011, NECROT features current and past members of Acephalix, Vastum, Saviours, Watch Them Die, and Atrament. The band unleashed the audio bone-crush of their The Labyrinth full-length last year via Tankcrimes and Sentient Ruin. Spewing forth eight tracks amassed from three hard-to-find and long out-of-print demo tapes, the record reaped critical acclaim from fans and media alike compelled by the band’s unrepentant Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, and Sacrilege worship. Decibel Magazine hailed NECROT’s “classic, bursting-at-the-seams, crawling-from-the-grave-still-decaying sound”, while Invisible Oranges wrote “NECROT are as old-school death metal as old-school death metal gets. Their songs would have been welcome presences on early classics by Master, Bolt Thrower, and Autopsy and yet, NECROT has a punk rock soul that refuses to die”. Last Rites concurred noting that “Death by pitiless decimation is the principle mandate here.”

With Blood Offerings NECROT continue their quest for total aural warfare perhaps at an even more severe and damaging level than before, unleashing upon the listener a concrete-thick wall of total death metal chaos that strides forth with absurd belligerence and reckless aggression.

Formed by the initial duo of Luca Indrio on bass and vocals (Acephalix, Vastum, ex-Lawless), and by Chad Galey on drums (Ex-Vastum, ex-Bruxers, Atrament, Caffa, Rude, Mortuous), and subsequently rounded out by Sonny Reinhardt on guitar (Saviours, ex-Watch Them Die), Necrot are one of the most punishing, savage and treacherous death metal acts to ever tread californian soil. Formed in 2011 initially as a side-project of Acephalix, Necrot have since then built a devoted following in their native Bay Area and beyond, and have become known as a merciless and bloodthirsty death metal killing machine thanks to their bulldozing live sets and their savage and butchering recordings.

Since inception the band has only made their music available as very short and hard to find demo tapes that are now completely sold out, impossible to find and have become something of a cult object or collector’s item, elevating the band’s reputation to that of absolute cult and DYI monument in the Bay Area underground metal scene. Taking queues from legends like Asphyx, Bolt Thrower, Grave, Discharge, early Sepultura, early Morbid Angel, and Entombed, Necrot have thus far existed as a power trio with the build and attitude of a bloodthirsty tank.

Necrot’s music is a literal onslaught of buzz-sawing death metal riffs and bone crushing rhythms – an authentic sonic bludgeoning that can batter the listener’s flesh into complete submission within seconds, and which owes much of its crude heaviness and primitive ferocity to old-school death metal and thrash just as it does to (crust) punk.

Icelandic Metal band Sólstafir enter charts with new album ‘Berdreyminn’

SÓLSTAFIR have entered the album charts in several countries in the first week after ‘Berdreyminn’ was released worldwide on May 26th. It is actually hard to overstate the massive achievement of a band coming from a volcanic island close to the arctic circle in the North Atlantic midway between Europe and America that sings in Icelandic and that has evolved a highly original style of music very much their own. Excluding the multiple high scores in digital charts across all platforms worldwide and focusing on physical charts, these are the album’s current results (with expected top positions from their native Iceland and other countries still missing):

Finland #20 National album charts

France #121 National charts
France #2 Metal charts

Germany #30 National album charts

Sweden #8 Vinyl charts
Sweden #18 Hardrock charts

Switzerland #42 National charts

UK #39 – Top 100 independent album chart
UK #24 – Top 40 rock/metal album chart

The cover art by Adam Burke and track-list of ‘Berdreyminn’ can be viewed below.

Track-list
1. Silfur-Refur (6:54)
2. Ísafold (4:59)
3. Hula (7:07)
4. Nárós (7:23)
5. Hvít Sæng (7:22)
6. Dýrafjörður (7:32)
7. Ambátt (8:08)
8. Bláfjall (8:00)

On previous news, SÓLSTAFIR have released their first video for a track taken from ‘Berdreyminn’

Frontman Aðalbjörn Tryggvason commented on behalf of SÓLSTAFIR: “Videos have always been a medium that we are taking seriously. Therefore, we have worked with excellent visual artists like Bowen Staines and Vesa Ranta on previous clips. We are privileged to have been able to enlist the team of Nico Poalillo and Peter Beste to create the imagery for ‘Silfur-Refur’. They have directed and produced a video that beautifully illustrates our song – at least in our minds. We are giving Nico and Peter our heartfelt thanks for their amazing contribution to our musical vision. The video’s meaning is a puzzle, which we are leaving for you to solve as we don’t want to spoil your imagination spinning stories of its own. We sincerely hope that you enjoy ‘Silfur-Refur’ as much as we do.”

SÓLSTAFIR have previously announced their first European tour in support of their forthcoming full-length ‘Beyrdreyminn’ (out May 26th) in June.

The tour will kick off at the Download Festival in Paris on June 10th and afterwards the enigmatic Icelandic rockers will continue to perform in England, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and France before a final show at the Spanish edition of Download in Madrid on the 24th of June.

SÓLSTAFIR commented on the tour: “We are stoked to be back on the road and doing up ‘n close personal club shows between summer festivals. Some of the small venues are expected to sell out fast – so better get your ticket right away.”

SÓLSTAFIR tour
10 Jun 17 Paris (FR) Download Festival
11 Jun 17 Brighton (UK) The Haunt
12 Jun 17 Colchester (UK) Arts Centre
13 Jun 17 Leeds (UK) Brudenell Social Club
14 Jun 17 London (UK) Old Blue Last (SOLD OUT!)
15 Jun 17 Breda (NL) Mezz
16 Jun 17 Dessel (BE) Graspop Metal Meeting
17 Jun 17 Utrecht (NL) Tivoli de Helling
18 Jun 17 Hannover (DE) Musikzentrum
19 Jun 17 Dresden (DE) Beatpol
20 Jun 17 Karlsruhe (DE) Jubez
21 Jun 17 Colmar (FR) Fete de la Musique
22 Jun 17 Lyon (FR) CCO Villeurbanne
23 Jun 17 Toulouse (FR) Rex
24 Jun 17 Madrid (ES) Download Festival

SÓLSTAFIR festivals
08 Jul 17 Neskaupstaður (IS) Eistnaflug Festival
28 Jul 17 Balve (DE) Balver Höhle (Prophecy Fest)
29 Jul 17 Neuensee bei Lichtenfels (DE) Rock im Wald
11 Aug 17 Rasnov (RO) Rockstadt Extreme Fest (exact date tba)
18 Aug 17 Borre (NO) Midgardsblot Festival (exact date tba)

Music will always be inspired by the environment in which it is created. With its incredible array of highly diverse landscapes ranging from white glaciers via volcanic bizarreness, moss-green bubble-fields, deep fjords, and frost-cracked mountains to black beaches, Iceland has shaped a host of astonishingly original and fiercely individual bands such as SIGUR RÓS, BJÖRK, and SÓLSTAFIR.

SÓLSTAFIR embody the ever-turning wheel of seasons with their shifting light, darkness, and colours, extreme Northern climate, the stark contrasts, the closeness of beauty and deadly forces of nature, the impressive sceneries that have the bones of ancient gods enshrined in them like hardly any other band in every aspect of their existence.

SÓLSTAFIR are not like any other band. Their latest album, ‘Berdreyminn’ underscores this statement. As its title “a dreamer of forthcoming events” aptly describes, the four Icelanders have taken their already impressive evolution one step further. The band has continued to amalgamate haunting melodies, psychedelic phases, as well as strong undercurrents of classic rock and hard rock with echoes of their metal past. Yet SÓLSTAFIR’s focus is not on style but pure emotion. ‘Berdreyminn’ is eclectic by a conscious choice to make feelings audible and transform taste as well as texture to sound. Genre borders are not broken but simply ignored. Musical influences are gathered from a wide range of sources, re-arranged, and woven into new patterns. Melancholy, longing, anger, joy, pleasure, pain, and other emotions are fulling this album.

Despite leaning clearly towards an expression that can be described as rock today, SÓLSTAFIR have their roots in metal as their debut full-length ‘Í Blóði og Anda’ (2002), which translates as “In Blood and Spirit” still witnesses. Instead of today’s Icelandic gravel throated siren chants, frontman Aðalbjörn Tryggvason spat forth vitriolic crusty vocals and all strings were forged with black metal. Already their next albums ‘Masterpiece of Bitterness’ (2005) and ‘Köld’ (2009) marked stations of a continuous evolution. SÓLSTAFIR went further along their solitary path and obviously left any categorising box with the ground-breaking follow-ups ‘Svartir Sandar’ (2011) and ‘Ótta’ (2014), which received high critical acclaim and attracted new fans in equal measure, while managing the difficult feat of keeping most of their earlier following too.

SÓLSTAFIR have set sails to new horizons with ‘Berdreyminn’. Yet the Icelanders brought their home with them and the silhouette of their vessels remains easily recognisable. Welcome aboard on a new adventurous musical journey into uncharted territories.

Line-up
Aðalbjörn Tryggvason: guitar, vocals
Svavar Austmann: bass
Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson: guitar
Hallgrímur Jón Hallgrímsson: drums, backing vocals

Finnish Doom-Death-Drone-Sludge Trio MORBID EVILS set release date for new album

Today, Svart Records sets August 25th as the international release date for Morbid Evils’ highly anticipated second album, Deceases.

A counterpart of sorts to vocalist Keijo Niinimaa’s older group Rotten Sound, Morbid Evils have become known for exploring slower tempos and the lower end of the sonic spectrum, all topped with a fascination with the morbid realities of our hopeless existence. Having so far survived touring with Voivod and the impending global eco-catastrophe, Morbid Evils spent the best part of 2016 hidden in sweaty underground conditions perfecting their craft, working on the follow-up to their 2015 album In Hate With The Burning World. Comments Niinimaa, “When producing these tracks, I paid special attention on making things as heavy and suffocating as possible, to emphasize the deadly seriousness of the world this music is taking us to.”

Come 2017, the band emerges from the pit with a paean to death, split in six sections, each examining the subject from various positions. Titled Deceases, the album takes a bold leap from their sludge-death metalish origins and towards a more original, minimalist approach. The air hangs heavy as droning, buzzing walls of downtuned guitars grind against punishingly pummeling drums in slow motion and everything around us seems to be another step closer to death. While wallowing in the unpleasantries of life, Morbid Evils manage to churn out something wholly original in the congested sludge metal genre – if a grind/drone hybrid existed, it might sound like this. With their downtuned slo-mo aesthetics, nasty black metal-ish buzzsaw guitar harmonies, and a drone metal-like sense of space in music, Morbid Evils are on a path of their own.

Adorning the album cover is the painting “Tukala Pietari” by Jerker Ramberg. Sounds on the album were captured on tape and mixed by Keijo Niinimaa, with mastering duties handled by Pelle Henricsson of Tonteknik. The album will be released by Svart Records on CD, LP, and digital formats on August 25th, if the world doesn’t end sooner. Until that time inevitably comes, hear “Murder” – the first track to be revealed from Deceases – at Svart’s Soundcloud .

The aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Morbid Evils’ Deceases
1. Case I – Murder
2. Case II – Dead Weight
3. Case III – Evaporate
4. Case IV – Tumour
5. Case V – Death Breat
6. Case VI – Abacinated and Blind

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/morbidevils

UK Death Metal Titans QRIXKUOR stream new INVICTUS collection

To coincide with a full North American tour supporting comrades Blood Incantation starting today, London’s Qrixkuor shall be releasing Incantations From the Abyss via Invictus Productions on June 30th.

Qrixkuor was born of flame and baptised in blood in the year MMXI. Their first utterance was the 19-minute demo Consecration of the Temple, containing the track of the same name and “Morte Datores,” which was recorded in the West Midlands in mid-MMXIII and released unto the world at the debut live ritual, on April 26th MMXIV. The demo was continually self-repressed in small quantities until new music became the primary focus, eventually selling around 400 copies.

As work progressed for MMXVI’s debut MLP Three Devils Dance for Invictus Productions with The Fires of Samhain: Intium festival in Dublin on Halloween MMXV planned as the eventually overly optimistic release date, a rehearsal for the festival was recorded and released at the festival as the Rehearsal 09/15 demo, limited to 50 blood-stained copies, to showcase a rough version of a new track entitled “The Divine Architect,” a cover of Demoncy’s seminal “Winter Bliss,” and a re-interpretation of the title track from Consecration of the Temple by way of exhibiting the progression two years’ worth of rehearsals and shows since the original demo’s release.

Now, to further the momentum established by the critically acclaimed Three Devils Dance and more so as a timely release for Qrixkuor’s impending North American invasion, Invictus Productions collects both long-sold-out demos on one convenient compilation. Set for both CD and vinyl release, both formats have remastered by Vassafor’s VK and feature layout by SeventhBell. Full list of tour dates and venues are as follows:

June 7th – Victoria, British Columbia @ Logan’s Pub
June 9th – Vancouver, British Columbia (Covenant Fest III) @ Rickshaw Theater
June 11th – Seattle, Washington @ Highline (w/ headliners DEMONCY)
June 12th – Olympia, Washington @ Obsidan
June 13th – Portland, Oregon @ High Water Mark
June 14th – Oakland, California @ Golden Bull
June 15th – Los Angeles, California @ Union (w/ headliners SADISTIC INTENT)
June 17th – San Diego, California @ Til Two Club
June 18th – Las Vegas, Nevada @ The Garth
June 19th – Tempe, Arizona @ Yucca Tap Room
June 21st – Denver, Colorado @ Meadowlark Bar
June 22nd – Santa Fe, New Mexico @ Meow Wolf
June 23rd – El Paso, Texas @ The Rockhouse
June 24th – Dallas, Texas @ Reno’s Chop Shop
June 25th – New Orleans, Louisiana @ Siberia
June 27th – Austin, Texas @ The Lost Well
June 29th – Houston, TX (Destroying Texas Festival pre-fest) @ BFE Rock Club

French Death Metal Duo SKELETHAL premier new track

Today, death metal diehards Skelethal premiere the new track “Scaly Smelly Flesh”. The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Of the Depths…, set for international release on June 23rd via Hells Headbangers. Hear Skelethal’s “Scaly Smelly Flesh” in its entirety below.

Hailing from the now-fertile French death metal scene, Skelethal comprise two diehard death metal addicts, Gui Haunting and Jon Whiplash, who decided in early 2012 to form a band mainly influenced by the genre’s classics: Entombed, Carnage, Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Autopsy, and Death among others. With that foundation firmly in place, Skelethal unleashed the Morbid Ovation demo in 2012 and then two critically acclaimed EPs in 2014, Deathmanicvs Revelation and Interstellar Knowledge of the Purple Entity, which were later compiled onto CD in 2015 as Morbid Revelations.

Having played many gigs and spread their name in several countries, Skelethal are now about to reveal their first full-length, Of the Depths…, for new label home Hells Headbangers. The duo’s aim is plainly stated – absolute DEATH WORSHIP – and once again, they will wield the Metal of Death like a scythe, an axe, and blunt hammer simultaneously, all in obeisance to occult forces beyond the mien of man. Being diehard death metal addicts themselves, Hells Headbangers couldn’t be more pleased to have Skelethal among its roster, and are anxiously anticipating unleashing the band’s rumbling, roiling tank-tread of a sound.

Indeed, the immediately tangible heft and just utterly CRUSHING weight of Skelethal is felt upon the first few seconds into Of the Depths…. It is familiar, for sure, for the duo proudly wear the aforementioned influences, but just like their opening clutch of EPs, Skelethal manage to authentically extract the essence of said influences rather than ripping them off wholesale (or worse). In that sense, Of the Depths… verily becomes a proud ‘n’ potent entry into the classic death metal canon, being no more but certainly no less than actual DEATH fucking METAL done by two diehards who live (and die) for this form of filth. And yet, with nine tracks spanning a total of 40 minutes, Skelethal here display some subtle twists to their timeless sound, branching out but barely, never betraying themselves or their chosen metal; it simply becomes a longer, stronger display of all that made the band tick and kick before, a deeper and darker plunge into cosmic horrors and boundless morbidity. Will you join them and become Of the Depths…?

Cover art and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Skelethal’s Of the Depths…
1. Sons of Zann
2. Spectral Cemetery
3. Chaotic Deviance
4. Glimpse of the Great Purpose
5. Catharsis
6. Pantheon of the Abyss
7. Scaly Smelly Flesh
8. Outer Conviction
9. Morbid Ovation
10. Soon to be Dead (CD bonus)
11. Macabre Oblivion (CD bonus)

www.skelethal.com
www.facebook.com/skelethal

Canadian Doom Meisters Seer premier “They Used Dark Forces” from their new album

Today, Canadian earth-movers Seer premiere the new track “They Used Dark Forces” below. The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void, set for international release on July 7th via Art of Propaganda.

Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Seer was formed in the fall of 2014 as the days drew short and a chill set in the air. Very much a product of their environment, the band draws inspiration from the natural power of the Pacific Northwest and harnesses it into epic, expansive doom-sludge. Amid the region’s awe-inspiring mountains, serene temperate rainforests, and immense Pacific Ocean, Seer’s backyard is occupied by lakes, rivers, evergreens and abundant wildlife. Such a proximity and affinity to the local natural world has kindled a deep and ever-present connection to nature for Seer, resonating in an authentic and organic approach to their music. This combined with a true rock ‘n’ roll spirit and inclination toward fantasy, science fiction, and the occult make up the foundation on which Seer lays its colossal riffs and Cascadian atmospherics, all of which overflowed across the vast vistas of their debut album, Vol. 1 & 2 – released early last year by Art of Propaganda to widespread critical acclaim – and which overflow even further across the even vaster follow-up, Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void.

Whereas Vol. 1 & 2 patiently built its walls of tectonic, sludge-strewn doom, right from the very beginning, Seer explode into Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void with an immediacy that’s startling to behold. In fact, with its preponderance of harmonic, instantly hummable riffage and more pronounced usage of clean vocals, one could be mistaken that this is almost a different band. But alas, it’s somewhere between the proverbial red herring and deceptive calling card, as Seer here brim with an infectious confidence that allows them to incorporate – anywhere, anytime, at will – more diverse (and more accessible) elements into their still-moltenly-overflowing sound. There’s more peaks and more valleys – and tons more rolling hills, whereby the band can charge forward with straight-up stoner and even grunge tropes – across Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void, and the manner in which Seer sew them altogether suggests an entity at the height of its powers. No one-dimensional, endlessly tedious chugging here: the paths are long and winding across this album, and the listener never quite knows where they’ll go next. And yet, Seer still put emphasis on the thematic and conceptual, and after the addicting rabble-rousing of its first half, the latter half of Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void goes into more spacious ‘n’ desolate territory, with a grandiose, almost gothic Americana aesthetic completing the album’s arc. It’s a fitting, fearless end for a young band who are just now becoming cognizant of their poignant power: this is Canada’s Seer anno 2017.

The next manifestation of that power can be felt exclusively HERE, courtesy of NoCleanSinging.com. Feel that power in visual form with the video for “They Used Dark Forces,” which can be seen/heard exclusively HERE at Art of Propaganda’s official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Seer’s Vol. III & IV: Cult of the Void
1. Ancient Sands (Rot Preacher)
2. Acid Sweat
3. They Used Dark Forces
4. Burnt Offerings
5. I: Tribe of Shuggnyth
6. II: Spirit River
7. III: Passage of Tears
8. संसार

Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal trio Legacy of Emptiness to release their sophomore album “Over The Past”

After a hibernation of half decade, Norwegian Symphonic Black Metal trio Legacy of Emptiness is just a few days away from releasing their sophomore full length “Over The Past”. Black Lion Records is going to release the album in 6 Panel digipak on June 12, 2017

Quote from the band:

This band was originally started by Eddie and Kjell-Ivar as a tongue in cheek BM-project called Permafrost back in 1995. Both skills and ambitions were very limited at the time. Only a couple of demos for our own amusement were made.

A few years later Øyvind joined on keyboards and we realized that we actually had something to bring to the table. We recorded a couple of demos with this lineup and left the project to bleed out in the early 00’s.

In 2010, we came together and decided that the songs we left years ago were too good to be left behind so we decided to record them properly for,once again,our own amusement. One thing led to another and we found ourselves being more creative than ever before. The result was our self titled debut album containing 5 old tracks and one brand new. All splendidly mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö,one of our biggest inspirations back in the day when we first started out. The album was released in 2011.

“Over the Past”, as the title will hint we are now writing a new chapter. This album as been a journey to hell and back for us all. Accidents,cancer and other illnesses has been thrown our way from the day we started writing and recording this beast. Never have an album title been more fitting. Over the past!

There is no real lyrical concept on this album other than the usual suspects like darkness,hopelessness,void and the odd historical moments.

Musically it’s the opposite of what we did on our debut. This time all songs are brand new except for one that we brought along from the 90’s,heavily reworked.

Track – List:

1. Reminisce
2. Despair
3. Angelmaker
4. Into The Eternal Pits Of Nothingness
5. Drawn By Nightmares
6. There -was A Man
7. Four Hundred Years
8. Transition
9. Evening Star

Finnish Doom Lords Hallatar premier the official music video for “Mirrors”

Today, Hallatar release the first music video off the forthcoming album, No Stars Upon The Bridge, for the song “Mirrors.” As all the material on the album, the song is based on the lyrics and poems of Aleah Liane Starbridge. The video is co-directed by renowned Finnish artists Aapo Lahtela and Vesa Ranta. The album No Stars Upon The Bridge will be out on October 13th in various formats, with pre-orders via Svart Records already available HERE.

Although a brand-new name, Hallatar features among its ranks Swallow the Sun and Trees of Eternity guitarist Juha Raivio, Amorphis vocalist Tomi Joutsen, and former HIM drummer Gas Lipstick. In fact, one could see Hallatar as an extension of Trees of Eternity, whose massively acclaimed debut for Svart, Hour of the Nightingale, served as the swansong of vocalist Aleah Starbridge.

Juha Raivio explains the genesis of Hallatar: “After the death of my beloved and my life partner Aleah Starbridge on April 18th a year ago, I have been gathering writings, lyrics, and the poems of Aleah to keep them safe and close to my heart. About one month after the world came down on the blackest day of my life, I knew I needed to pick up the guitar and try to create something or I would be truly destroyed. And something did arrive out of the darkness, and I wrote the music for the Hallatar album in a week’s time. I don’t have much memory of this week, not a memory of a single day of writing the music. But all I remember when going into this abyss of the writing process was a promise to myself that whatever music would come out, I would not touch or change anything of it afterwards. What mattered was that the music would stay forever as an absolute truth of those moments as they came out. I asked my good friends – and amazing musicians – Tomi Joutsen and Gas Lipstick if they would want to record this music with me, and both of them said yes without even hearing a note of it. I am forever grateful to both of them for sharing this road with me; even the weight of the process has not been easy to carry, or will be.”

Adds Gas Lipstick, “I am grateful and very honored to be asked to join this band. Juha is a dear friend of mine since many years ago, and when he told me about his vision for Hallatar and asked me to join, I said yes instantly – I just had to be part of this amazing journey. I had never heard a single note of the music before I gave my ‘yes’ because I didn’t need to. Juha has been one of my favorite songwriters already for years, and I knew that Hallatar will be a very deep, personal, and one-of-a-kind story which I wanted to help him to bring alive.”

Continues Tomi Joutsen: “I have known Juha from the year 2007, when we worked together for the first time. A couple years ago, I had the privilege to meet Juha’s life partner, Aleah Starbridge, who was such a beautiful person, inside and outside, and had an angelic voice out of this world. Aleah lent her voice on the latest Amorphis album, and we called her ‘the whispering ghost.’ When I heard about Aleah’s passing last spring, it came as a total shock and heartbreaking news out of the blue. When Juha asked me if I would want to be part of this album and carry Aleah’s flame with him, I didn’t have to think twice. When everything has been taken, all that is left is the music. The sorrow strips us naked and leave us humble – this is how it sounds like.”

Concludes Raivio, “What we recorded was a raw moment in time honoring the memory, lyrics, and poems of Aleah Starbridge with all its pain, beauty and darkness. There are no stars left upon the bridge to light the way anymore, but the music will always be a dim light, even in the darkest of the night.”

Cover art and tracklisting for Hallatar’s No Stars Upon the Bridge to be revealed shortly.

HALLATAR is:
Tomi Joutsen – vocals
Gas Lipstick – drums
Juha Raivio – guitar, bass, keys

Chilean death metal legends UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN to release fourth album, Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X).

IRON BONEHEAD PRODUCTIONS is proud to present UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN’s highly anticipated fourth album, Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X). For nearly 20 years now, this Chilean cult has built a commanding canon of eldritch death metal DARKNESS. From their early demos to later splits and especially their preceding three full-lengths – not least of which, 2014’s critically acclaimed Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath – UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULT have explored the furthest reaches of primordial dread and ancient mysticism, all through pure ‘n’ authentic Metal of Death. But now, they’ve transcended all past accomplishments with the monolithic Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X).

Verily a summation of the UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEB aesthetic to date – songwriting that slithers through the slime with a preternatural grace, execution that’s barbaric and crusted in mud and blood, production that plumbs the foulest ends of the sonic spectrum – Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X) possesses an immediately engaging aura of demonology and witchcraft. In fact, such themes are central to Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X), as explored in the album’s 12-page booklet, with liner notes painstakingly crafted by the band. “This Chapter is inspired by women, the persecution against them by the Holy Office Sacred Congregation (The Inquisition), their essential role in the myth and legend, their place at the witches’ Sabbath, and the profound fear they spread – and still do – in mankind under the concept of Witch.” Further, as the band explains, “The ancient pagan cults awarded a leading role to the woman inside the spiritual. However, in medieval Europe, among other things, the exaggeration of the divinity and chastity of the feminine, the exaltation of virginity and motherhood as unique roles for women – the image of the Virgin Mary – create a shadow, a mirror image, an opposite principle. The repression of sexuality and denial of the Soror Mystica incubated a mysterious, dark, and evil female image.”

Across its taut, eight-song/39-minute duration, Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X) displays an UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN at their most frighteningly feral and also most devilishly nuanced. The songs’ successive slipstreaming surge creates a miasma of blunt-force trauma and hallucinogenic tension; any dynamic and detail the band wish to engage in is delivered with an almost unsettling, paradoxical grace. Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X) takes all the urgency ‘n’ ugliness of classic death metal and upends into the realm of high art. That assertion is further elucidated by the aforementioned booklet gracing the album, as well as its ominously striking cover. As if their bounty wasn’t already overflowing, UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN here deliver a work for the ages.