Ascend to the Depths with Merrimack’s ‘Of Grace and Gravity’

In the vanguard of the black metal sphere, MERRIMACK returns with their most ambitious and riveting album to date, Of Grace and Gravity. This latest tome from the Parisian conjurors of darkness is a relentless dive into the esoteric, where the lines between sacrilege and sanctity blur in a maelstrom of fervent guitars, thunderous drums, and howling vitriol.

Of Grace and Gravity is a testament to MERRIMACK‘s quarter-century dedication to the black metal art form. With its foundation deeply rooted in the unyielding soil of black metal tradition, the album dares to gaze into the abyss, offering a gripping narrative spun from the threads of heresy and rebellion.

Of Grace and Gravity is out March 8 on Season of Mist.

Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/MerrimackGraceGravity

“Behold! Sulphurean Synods not merely plays; it enchants, drawling listeners into a realm where celestial despair and infernal defiance converge.” From the first piercing note, it’s apparent this is no ordinary song. The lyrics, a tapestry of desolation and defiance, echo the overarching theme of a cosmos teetering on the edge of oblivion and rebirth. Musically, the track stands out with its intricate guitar work and atmospheric elements, creating a hauntingly beautiful soundscape. It’s a song that evokes a profound sense of longing, a clarion call to those who find beauty in darkness, resonating deeply with listeners who traverse the shadows.

Track-list
1. Sulphurean Synods (6:42) [WATCH]
2. Sublunar Despondency (7:07)
3. Dead and Distant Clamors (5:35) [LISTEN]
4. Wounds that Heal (6:44)
5. Starving Crowns (8:05)
6. Under the Aimless Spheres (7:01) [LISTEN]
7. Embalmer’s Wine (6:59)
Total runtime: 48:13

MERRIMACK are back with their new album ‘Of Grace and Gravity’. Their third release for Season of Mist arrives after the re-print of their long sold-out debut ‘Ashes of Purification’which followed the sizeable impact that their last album, ‘Omegaphilia’, had on the Black Metal Scene.

MERRIMACK can be categorised as extreme traditionalists that are driven by a burning desire to hone their skills and striving to bring their art to perfection. The band was founded by guitarist Perversifier a.k.a. Amfortas in 1994 with a clear vision to keep the black metal flame burning as an act of aesthetic terrorism – as adamantly based in the underground as opposed to any attempts to co-opt, commercialise or turn the style into a self-parody. Introduced by a number of demo recordings (‘Prologue’ – 1995, ‘Act 1’ – 1995, ‘Horns Defeat Thorns’ – 2001) and split releases (with Hirilorn in 1998 and Sargeist in 2002), the French gained respect in the scene by remaining true to their words.

Although MERRIMACK decided to reach out to a larger audience with the release of their first full-length ‘Ashes of Purification’, the Parisians did not sever their roots with the underground at any time. With the following albums, ‘Of Entropy and Life Denial’ (2006) and ‘Grey Rigorism’ (2009), MERRIMACK closed ranks with the most influential, active, and authentic acts of the French black metal scene. Their classic combination of harsh sound with epic structures appealed to critics and fans alike and put the band on their celebrated first US tour with MARDUK and NACHTMYSTIUM in 2009.

After recording ‘The Acausal Mass’ (2012) in the legendary Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, DESTRÖYER 666) again, MERRIMACK embarked on a European tour with Norwegian icons MAYHEM and accepted invitations to prestigious festivals such as Hellfest in their native France, Germany’s Party-San Open Air and Summer Breeze as well as Montreal’s Messe des Morts in Canada. With their previous album, ‘Omegaphilia’, MERRIMACK were breathing fresh life into an exhausted genre. While ignoring epithets such as progressive, post-, and avant-garde, the French focused on razor-sharp songwriting, captivating melodies, and close to perfect arrangements.

The ensemble now presents their latest album ‘Of Grace and Gravity’, an aural journey where grotesque assemblies of roosters and goats languish at the foot of heavens. Wallowing guitars and hypnotized passages of blasting drums collide with gravity-bound atoms in oblivious occlusion. MERRIMACK, in their enigmatic mastery, expose the futility of belief in occult ministries and slashes at the mask of the sky. The listener, questioned in their faith of the shadows and occult idols. Dare believe in the sulfurous whispers echoing through this blackened masterpiece.

Line-up
Perversifier – Guitars
A.K. – Guitars
Blastum – Drums
Vestal – Vocals
Daethorn – Bass

Pre-order: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/MerrimackGraceGravity

Links:
Bandcamp: https://merrimack.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/merrimackofficial
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/merrimack666/
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/artist/99176
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3XWKabUW6Y9pm9vyNGlrhV
Tidal: https://tidal.com/browse/artist/3642745
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/merrimack/41660594
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/music/player/artists/B000QKG2N8

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Transparent Clear
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – White
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Transparent w/ Black Splatters

Doomed death metallers Wrektomb premiere new track

Today, doomed death metallers Wrektomb premiere the new track “Unexpected Encounters With Nature”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Bovine Mockeries of Human Posturing, set for international release on April 5th via Personal Records. Hear Wrektomb‘s “Unexpected Encounters With Nature” in its entirety  here:

The sarcophagus has cracked, releasing the sulfuric putrefaction of Wrektomb‘s first full-length recording after one EP, Bovine Mockeries of Human Posturing. Nick Krostoff and his faithful companion Vera Kätzin bring warnings from the next realm that oblivious and prideful humans must not overestimate their place in the cosmic hierarchy while Dieter Itis sets the cadence as this dire procession marches back into the earth from which it came.  

With Krostoff as crypt-keeper, each song tells a gory and depraved tale: human deviants engaged in self-mutilation to feel something other than apathy and disdain. With crushing force, the Red Heifer, the Divine bovine, tramples temples and pulverizes the pride of arrogant, unsuspecting victims for their misplaced worship. Time travel through the multiverse is exploited by an impulse to sire linage across time and space. Modernity’s zeitgeist ruled by indoctrination with vapid values of the psychopath’s all-consuming black hole of derangement – unable to satiate the hunger for carnage and the carnal – culminating in a reflection on defeat, finding the meaning of life in the decomposition of the flesh: the height of human achievement in transforming into feed for the corvids and carrion-eaters of the sky. 

At times an ornate marble mausoleum, at times a spartan gravel grave mound, meditate on the melodies of doom before they are once again lost to the underworld.

Hear the previously revealed “Gored Into Reality” HERE at Personal Records‘ Bandcamp. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of Misanthropic-Art, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Wrektomb’s Bovine Mockeries of Human Posturing

1. Gored Into Reality [7:29]
2. Unexpected Encounters with Nature [9:10]
3. Quantumcreep [9:01]
4. Society Supported Psychopaths [6:15]
5. This Decay of Me [10:35]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/wrektomb 
wrektomb.bandcamp.com

www.personal-records.com
personal-records.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/personalrecords666
Instagram.com/personalrecords666

MONS VENERIS set release date for new SIGNAL REX album, reveal first track

Today, Signal Rex announces May 1st as the international release date for Mons Veneris highly anticipated sixth album, Ascent Into Draconian Abyss, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

For those who know and truly understand actual underground black metal, Mons Veneris require no introduction. For over 20 years now, this shadowy and insanely prolific Portuguese cabal have pursued a uniquely vile vision with an unquenchable thirst. From hammering primitivism to medieval melancholy, volcanic drone to chaotic oblivion, nods to the French Black Legions to frequencies far outside of metal, there’s never any guarantee of how Mons Veneris‘ vision will manifest itself – only that they’ll explore a darkness few have the constitution to tread.

Witness their Ascent Into Draconian Abyss, which was teasingly released in an extremely limited tape version for those who had the good fortune of attending the most recent Signal Rex-curated Invicta Requiem Mass festival and witnessing their crimes in the flesh. As the duo forecasted with the recent maxi-single Excesses of Perpetual Gloom, their muse only becomes thirstier and more miserable. Mons Veneris are always surprising, yet always uncompromising and always themselves, as testified by Ascent Into Draconian Abyss: the opening 20-minute title track is a harrowing descent into lunacy, and the ghoulishness only intensifies on the album’s successive three tracks. More monkish vokills come forth, haunting like nothing else as their buzzing belligerence winds through craggy corridors of mondo-primitivism, all before the hall-of-mirrors madness of closer “Chant to the Unknown.” Mons Veneris will fuck you on your Ascent Into Draconian Abyss!

Get fucked by the brand-new track “…of Perversion and Evil”

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Mons Veneris’ Ascent Into Draconian Abyss
1. Ascent into Draconian Abyss [21:50]
2. Whisperers of the Plague [7:23]
3. … of Perversion and Evil [9:05]
4. Chant to the Unknown [5:15]

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

www.signalrex.bandcamp.com

DAUÞUZ set release date for new AMOR FATI album, reveal first track

Today, Amor Fati Productions announces April 30th as the international release date for Dauþuz‘s highly anticipated fifth album, Uranium, on CD and vinyl LP formats. The band will be self-releasing the cassette tape version on the same date.

Since their bolt-from-the-blue debut In finstrer Teufe in 2016, Germany’s Dauþuz have created a rich and vibrant catalog. Their black metal is proud and purist but by no means blinkered; the ancient ways are revered, for sure, but new vistas of the imagination open up when Dauþuz commit their stories to tape. And those stories largely focus on mining, both across their native land and the whole of Europe, further enriching their olde-worlde appeal.

Now, two years after the special Vom schwarzen Schmied: Bergkgesænge – a clean-vocalled version of their widely celebrated fourth album, 2021’s Vom schwarzen Schmied – along comes new curses from the Dauþuz mine in Uranium. Tellingly titled, Uranium deals with a relatively young and destructive area of mining: the former uranium mining in East German areas. From the dangerous mining under the pressure of the Soviets to the radiant, deadly harvest of what was created, the titular Uranium spreads wide a dread landscape full of despair both sonic and spiritual. Despite the seeming “newness” of subject matter, Dauþuz sound as olde-worlde as ever with their characteristic Mining Black Metal, indeed mining amongst deeper and more ancient caverns of sound and texture; uncompromising and epic and especially melodic, here do the duo exude a desperation (or at least passion) that harkens back to their very earliest roots, with the oft-piercing vocals in particular raising the hackles and firmly driving the point home that Uranium is deadly, deadly business.

Rarely does an aesthetic stay so firmly etched yet yield consistently compelling sagas as it does with Dauþuz. Radiate to the eerie glow of Uranium!

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Wüst die Heimat” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Dauþuz’ Uranium

1. Pechblende (Gedeih und Verderben) [9:54]
2. Radonquell 1666 [8:49]
3. Wüst die Heimat [5:41]
4. Ein Werkzeug des Todes [10:00]
5. Wismut »Justiz« [5:16]
6. Uranfeuer 55 [9:52]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/DauthuzBM

www.amor-fati-productions.de 
www.amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/amorfatiprod

Ancient metallers Armagh premiere the new track “Rapid Stride” 

Today, ancient metallers Armagh premiere the new track “Rapid Str!de”. The track is the third to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated third album, Exclamation Po!nt, set for international release on March 15th via Dying Victims Productions. Hear Armagh‘s “Rapid Str!de” in its entirety here:

Formed in 2012, Armagh are a heavy metal force based in Satanic City Warsaw and Necropolis Navis. Mixing classic heavy metal from the ’70s and ’80s with proto-black metal, Armagh are the creators of First Wave Only movement, which unites several Polish bands delivering old-school metal – among them, labelmates Gallower and Sexmag but also Torpor, Wielki Mrok, and R.I.P. – with primal severity in their sound and message.

Truly, Armagh are a maniac maniac’s band, idiosyncratic mainlining such noble influences as Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Motörhead, KISS, Manilla Road, early Slayer and Megadeth, W.A.S.P, Bathory, Dissection, Running Wild, KAT, and the NWOBHM in general into something authentically rustic and effortlessly unique. But it was their second album, Serpent Storm – originally self-released in 2022, but then released on vinyl the next year by Dying Victims – where they had their breakout moment. A true record collector’s record, Serpent Storm displayed its power and personality at every turn, coming from an alien place – one where Battle CryAnother Perfect DayHaunting the ChapelChinatownUnder the Sign of the Black Mark, and Born Again all simultaneously play in perfect, hellish harmony – but evincing a wild and weird but never belabored alchemy that was simply peerless.

Now, two years later, Armagh stir up their cauldron once again with their third album, Exclamation Po!nt. This record features a wholly reconstructed lineup, with founding frontman/guitarist Galin Soulreaper now joined by fellow guitarist Vikk Vandall, bassist Tom CultCommander, and drummer Al Atom Smasher. As such, it’s a far more collaborative effort than the largely Soulripper-written Serpent Storm, with each new member adding their own fiery flair to an altogether less-immediate but much-more-mysterious album: Tom CultCommander’s spacey & hypnotic bass work (a Hawkwind influence is detectable across the record, as is a faint whiff of Rush), Vandall’s impulsive & spring-loaded leads, and the jazzy, Bill Ward-esque drumming of Atom Smasher. Less is indeed MORE here!

Just as wild and weird as its mighty predecessor but perhaps eating subtler, sweeter fruits, the deliberately demonstrative Exclamation Po!nt dives deeply into moodier and mustier waters, sounding impossibly older than even Serpent Storm. It’s all unmistakably Armagh, but if LP#3 proves anything (and loudly), it’s that these Polish maniacs are operating at the height of their powers – and, again, as a full band this time. No dynamic is too severe, no construct too off-kilter, no speed shunned: with greater emphasis on harmony vocals and Soulreaper’s lonely-warlock tones guiding the listener into a misty, mystical wonder-world, Exclamation Po!nt weaves a plaintive-yet-powerful spell that traverses the whole spectrum of human experience. And perhaps it’s there that Armagh in general and Exclamation Po!nt in particular excels – that it’s undeniably human in construction and execution, but its journey (and destination) is otherworldly to the splendorous extreme. Or, cutting out the fancy words, what we have here is heartfelt, handmade heavy metal: no modern, no trends, no way!

No longer the “sleeper hit of the year,” Armagh are prepared to punctuate “best of 2024” conversations already with Exclamation Po!nt!

Also hear the previously revealed “The Portal” exclusively HERE, courtesy the NWOTHM YouTube channel, as well as the previously revealed “Masters of Time” exclusively HERE, courtesy of Deaf Forever magazine. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Armagh’s Exclamation Po!nt
1. Rough Edges
2. Masters of Time
3. Aftermath
4. Between the Sides
5. The Portal
6. Rapid Str!de
7. This !s New A
8. Enough for Now

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/armagh.band

www.dying-victims.de 
www.facebook.com/dyingvictimsproductions 

OSSILEGIUM set release date for PERSONAL RECORDS debut, reveal first track – features members of KOMMANDANT, WITHERING SOUL+++

On May 3rd internationally, Personal Records is proud to present Ossilegium‘s highly anticipated debut album, The Gods Below, on CD format.

Forever Lost to the Boundless Force of Death.
Crossing all Forbidden Realms.
Ride the Darkness to Reach the Eternal Ends.

In the days of antiquity, after the embers of a funeral pyre had died, the bones of the deceased would be gathered together in a funerary box and given a place of reverence to withstand the ravages of time. Ossilegium stand upon these burnt offerings of the past while forging onward into new realms of darkness, where even light fears the eventual entropy of universal death.

One of the best-kept secrets of the Chicago metal scene, Ossilegium is the creation of Exhul (Empyreus, Kommandant, Withering Soul) and Valr (Amongst the Fallen, Blackened Temple, Kommandant). Together, the duo build upon extensive influences from the worlds of heavy & extreme metal along with influences from literature, sci-fi, and fantasy gaming. 

Initially formed as Empyreus from 2009-2019, Ossilegium debuted in 2020 after extensive lineup changes. Largely inspired by the ’90s black metal scenes of Sweden and Norway, Ossilegium bring forth their own style of Blackened Metal of Death with their long-awaited debut album, The Gods Below. Indeed, the record is aptly titled, for the alternately ice-cold / burning-hot majesty the duo unleash here reinvigorates noble old tropes – namely, the days when melody was married to death metal crunch and when leathery black wings enclosed it, flying far and free across a landscape of blue-purple emotion. To say that The Gods Below could’ve been released on No Fashion, Black Sun, or Wrong Again Records back in the day is not to suggest there’s “retro” pastiche at play; rather, Ossilegium truly LIVE this style of metal and prove it with incredibly dynamic songwriting and impassioned performance. Hearing is believing, and buttressed by haunting acoustic passages, the duo’s debut album becomes an all-immersive experience no matter the decade.

On evidence of The Gods BelowOssilegiumdeserve to be included in the conversation of classic works by Necrophobic, Sacramentum, Unanimated, Gates of Ishtar, and Sweden’s Dawn and Naglfar. The past is alive, and it’s only just begun!

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

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

Tracklisting for Ossilegium’s The Gods Below

1. Nightborn
2. Serpentine Shadows
3. The Winds of Astaroth
4. Beyond the Clandestine
5. The Heart of Darkness
6. To Reach The Eternal Ends
7. Constellationrise
8. The Gods Below
9. Planar Nexus

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/ossilegium.666 

www.personal-records.com
personal-records.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/personalrecords666
Instagram.com/personalrecords666

France’s PROFANATION set release date for IRON BONEHEAD debut EP, reveal first track – features members of DESTROYER 666, VENEFIXION, SEPULCRE+++

Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces May 3rd as the international release date for the striking debut EP from France’s ProfanationSkull Crushing Violence, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats.

Hailing from France’s ever-thriving death metal scene, Profanation are a new band of old souls. Many will recognize lead guitarist Kev Desecrator from Deströyer 666, but he also maintains labelmates Venefixion – with whom vocalist Profane Alex has recently been added as a live member – as well as Sépulcre and Scumslaught, and fellow guitarist A.M. also plays in Regarde les Hommes Tomber. Along with drummer Sinistre, the quartet create vile, ultraviolent DEATH METAL in a most ancient manner.

Of course, their debut recording says it all on the tin: Skull Crushing Violence, which is exactly what you get for 20 terrorizing minutes. Like the unholy offspring of Hadez and Necrovore with more than a hint of the eldritch grind of Terrorizer and England’s Doom, Profanation whip forth a fury like few others. Everything here on Skull Crushing Violence goes into the red – as it SHOULD, to honor the promise of its title – and the intensity suitably takes on an otherworldly aspect as it flits between abyss-ward blast and grave-shoveling D-beat. Meanwhile, utterly OTT solos shoot across the record like missiles flying across a war-torn landscape. 

Want 666% ARRRGGGHHH?!? ​Profanation give it to you with Skull Crushing Violence!

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

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Profanation (France)’s Skull Crushing Violence
1. Profanation
2. Global Terror
3. Modern Sickness
4. Graveyard Stomp
5. No Surrender
6. Skull Crushing Violence

MORE INFO:
profanationband.bandcamp.com 

www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

BRAKEL set release date for SIGNAL REX debut, reveal first track

Today, Signal Rex announces May 1st as the international release date for Brakel‘s highly anticipated debut album, Wranger Wanen, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

The first full-length recording of Belgium’s BrakelWranger Wanen comprises nine songs across a time-evaporating / stretching 27 minutes. Signposts among raw black metal’s elite exist here – be it Black Cilice, Candelabrum, Múspellzheimr, or those orbiting the Signal Rex-endorsed Clandestine Circle of Aldebaran – but beneath the alternately shocking / shimmering soundfield bubble torched debris of power electronics. Hateful and ghoulish in equal measure but utterly alien in effect, the ghostly surge of in-the-red decibels across Wranger Wanen get wrangled into obscene shapes; with all those indeterminate pulses underneath, sometimes Brakel‘s sound approaches the mechanistic…if the Industrial Revolution was visualized in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, such is the expressionist horror on display.

No identities, no fun, no past, no future: Brakel assault the unsuspecting with Wranger Wanen.

Get unsuspectingly assaulted by the brand-new track “Tegen Geweten” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Brakel’s Wranger Wanen
1. Overdal
2. Kwadeplas
3. Grauwkraal
4. Tegen Geweten
5. Dwaalrag
6. Oude Maart
7. Blâan
8. Zonderling En Drang
9. Nevel Neer

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

www.signalrex.bandcamp.com

DUINDWALER premiere new track – features HELLEVAERDER member


Today, Dutch black metallers Duindwaler premiere the new track “Alle rust verdwenen”. The track is the third to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, In het Heemskerks duin, set for international release on March 21st:  Void Wanderer Productions and War Productions will handle the digipack CD and digital versions while Zwaertgevegt will handle the cassette tape version. Hear Duindwaler‘s “Alle rust verdwenen”  in its entirety here:

Embark on a harrowing journey into the abyss with In het Heemskerks duin, the full-length debut offering from Dutch black metal entity Duindwaler. An enigmatic force in the realm of black metal, this album transcends the boundaries of sonic extremity, casting a shroud of darkness that engulfs the listener in an otherworldly experience. Draped in the haunting atmosphere characteristic of black metal, In het Heemskerks duin is a sonic tapestry that weaves together blistering tremolo-picked guitars, playful basslines, thunderous blastbeats, and anguished vocals. The relentless assault of sound is punctuated by its overall harshness and the lack of intros.

The album’s production is a sonic descent into the abyss, with a raw and unpolished sound that captures the primal energy of the music. The guitar tones cut through the mix like icy winds, while the drums reverberate like thunder, creating an immersive auditory experience that transports the listener to desolate, otherworldly landscapes.

In het Heemskerks duin stands as a testament to Duindwaler‘s unwavering commitment to the black metal aesthetic, pushing the boundaries of the genre while remaining true to its roots. With each track, the wanderer invites the audience to confront the shadows within and embrace the cathartic release that can only be found within the dark, tumultuous realms of black metal. Brace yourself for a journey into the heart of obscurity, where the dunes of Heemskerk awaits to envelop you in its chilling embrace.

Also hear the previously revealed “Vaderlands vuur” exclusively HERE, courtesy of the This Is Black Metal YouTube channel, as well as the previously revealed title track “In het Heemskerks duin” exclusively HERE, courtesy of ZwareMetalen.com. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of A.A.W.R., and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Duindwaler’s In het Heemskerks duin
1. Vaderlands vuur [7:52]
2. Razende wind [4:37]
3. In het Heemskerks duin [6:45]
4. Het duister bestormd [5:18]
5. Alle rust verdwenen [5:31]
6. Schim in de duinen [6:06]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/duindwaler 
www.duindwaler.bandcamp.com 

www.voidwanderer.com
www.facebook.com/voidwandererprod 
www.voidwandererproductions.bandcamp.com 

ANTAGONYZE set release date for CHAOS RECORDS debut, reveal first track

Today, Chaos Records announces April 19th as the international release date for Antagonyze‘s highly anticipated debut album, Interpretations of the Unknown Wilderness, on CD and cassette tape formats.

Formed in 2019 and hailing from the always-thriving Chilean underground, Antagonyze are a death metal band founded by guitarists Ignacio Riveros and Francisco Álvarez and bassist Mateo Gutiérrez. Soon enough, they began their first compositions and later recruited drummer Moisés Aguayo and the ex-vocalist to complete the formation. By the end of that first year, Antagonyze achieved some support in the local underground metal scene with some live shows. Not long after, the band recording their first work, Echoes From Soul, a demo cassette that was originally released in May 2020. This was an independent release and was thus limited to 33 copies. After that, the label Infernal South Productions offered to release the demo in a pro cassette version, which came July 2020, limited to 140 copies. 

Due to the pandemic, Antagonyze were forced to stop their activities, but during this period, the band continued working on new compositions from home. By late 2020, the ex-vocalist left the band, and in 2021, the drummer Moisés Aguayo had time-commitment troubles due to his job. In this moment, the band recruited Alvaro Mora as new vocalist and Nicolás Cavada as drummer, both from the city Los Ángeles, which is near to their home of Nacimiento. This lineup boost proved to be a boon, as Antagonyze began changing lyrics and adding new drum rhythms and nuances to preexisting songs. With this new formation, the band began to play more shows and gain more followers, sharing the stage with the likes of fellow Chilean bands Serpent Throne, Apostasy, Repugnatory, Soul Rot, Strigoi, Radamanthys, and Peru’s Morbo Satan among others.

By the end of 2022, Antagonyze decided to re-record the best songs of Echoes From Soul and add new songs to create a new full-length work titled Interpretations of the Unknown Wilderness. Thick and throttling, Interpretations of the Unknown Wilderness more than lives up to its title, unleashing a torrent of twisted & twisting death metal of a most ’90s vintage. Frequently dipping into doomier corridors, Antagonyze always whip forth forward momentum, varying their attack with violence and class, particularly in their lead work, which remains richly melodic in its bottomless darkness. The production, too – recorded by Felipe Cadenas at Estudio Chains, with mixing & mastering by Ignacio Riveros – makes these ten Interpretations hit that much harder and with devastating dynamics.

For those who wisely prize the ’90s works of Immolation, The Chasm, Shub Niggurath, and Mexico’s Cenotaph, go further south of Heaven with Antagonyze‘s Interpretations of the Unknown Wilderness!

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Paradoxical Panic Essence” here:

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

Tracklisting for Antagonyze’s Interpretations of the Unknown Wilderness

1. Forest Whisper
2. Interior Entity
3. Inside Journey
4. Deadly Sorrow
5. Unknown Wilderness
6. Paradoxical Panic Essence
7. Echoes From Soul
8. Hidden Wisdom
9. Shiny Dark Star
10. Segregado

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/antagonyzedeathmetal 

www.chaos-records.com
www.facebook.com/chaosrecords
www.chaos-records.bandcamp.com