Today, Mexican death metal cult Ravenous Death premiere the new track “Portals to Non-Existence”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Visions From the Netherworld, set for international release on January 24th, 2022 via Memento Mori. Hear Ravenous Death‘s “Portals to Non-Existence” in its entirety here:
Hailing from the vast death metal hotbed of Mexico, Ravenous Death feature current members of such other bands as Remains, Demonic Manifestation, and Death’s Forsaken. The band’s embryo was brought forth in 2016 during the recording of Remains’ third album in Mexico City, when vocalist/guitar player Miguel Angel and drummer Esteban Salcedo toyed with the idea of creating a death metal band influenced by Vomitory, Torture Division, and the likes. Later on, both musicians shared their vision with lead guitarist Enrique Fray, and the three of them agreed to push the idea forward and carry it out as a side-project due to the commitments they all had with their main bands. Soon after, Enrique and Miguel Angel began writing songs for the newborn abomination, and the three members decided to name the band after a Vomitory song titled “The Ravenous Dead.”
Fast forward to October 2016, and the recording of Ravenous Death‘s debut demo/EP, Ominous Deathcult, is finalized (although not released as a Bandcamp download until March 2017), including five songs chock full of rotting maliciousness that show great poise in combining blasting brutality, crushing heaviness, somber ambience, and fierce intensity, with the lyrical themes revolving around death, occultism, blasphemy, and other classic topics of the olden Metal of Death. On May 13th, 2017, the band make their first live performance in the city of Guadalajara. For this occasion, two new members were recruited – namely, bass player Alejandro Mendez and guitarist Diego Gomez – leaving Miguel Angel on vocal duties alone. After the excellent crowd response, both Alejandro and Diego join the band as official members.
Emboldened by this patient momentum, and featuring new vocalist Victor Mercado, Ravenous Death at last released their debut album, Chapters of an Evil Transition, in 2019 courtesy of Memento Mori. Aptly titled, Chapters of an Evil Transition indeed displayed the band’s transition into an evil death metal juggernaut. The album found great favor among the death metal faithful, for it absolutely bled the molten-yet-mildewed essence of ’90s Metal of Death.
Now Ravenous Death are back to fuck fashion and especially fickle tastes with the longer and stronger Visions From the Netherworld. Not for nothing is the album titled as such: Visions From the Netherworld is an epic 63 minutes, and conveys a moodiness perfectly suited to these slicing ‘n’ sluicing songs. The atmosphere is hideous, EVIL as ever but without any cloying “cavernous” touches; the production is professional and powerful, skillfully balancing gleam and grime; the leads are more prominent, and blackened to a crisp; and the songwriting itself twists and turns and twists some more, opening infinite labyrinths but always with a (crooked) direction in sight. Whereas the previous full-length displayed trace elements of Mexican forebears Shub Niggurath as well as Sadistic Intent, Seance, old Grave, ’90s Immolation, ’90s Vader, Finland’s Demigod, and of course Vomitory, here do Ravenous Death strike upon new-yet-old ground that can only be qualified as OMINOUS ROTTEN DEATH METAL. And as its epic length suggests, Visions From the Netherworld is indeed a concept album as always; the cover art, once again by the masterful Mörtuus, represents all the twisted visions that the band have about Hell, the underworld, and punishment, etc.
Enclosed in era-authentic mastering courtesy of Loïc Fontaine at Krucyator Studio, France, Ravenous Death have eclipsed their momentous debut with their Visions From the Netherworld!
Behold the first vision with the previously revealed “Gore Vault Dismemberment” HERE at Memento Mori‘s official YouTube channel. Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Ravenous Death’s Visions From the Netherworld 1. Intro – Trail of Horrors 2. Caverns of Freezing Torture 3. Plethora of Blood 4. Kingdom of Æternal Flames 5. Gore Vault Dismemberment 6. Hydra Dungeon 7. Path of the Spawn Dogs 8. Burnt Children of Moloch 9. Serpents of Wretchedness 10. Portals to Non-Existence 11. The Ascending Chasm
Today, Werewolf Records sets January 14th, 2022 as the international release date for the first (and final) album from Finland’s Grieve, Funeral, on CD and cassette tape formats.
It was but 2020 when Grieve emerged from the darkness with their self-titled debut EP. Although otherwise meant to exist strictly in that darkness, it was soon discerned that the band included veritable Finnish black metal royalty within its ranks. Nevertheless, the swiftly uncompromising nature of Grieve was felt: Northern Black Metal Exclusively From the 1990s. No more, no less, no progression, no fun.
The same banner is upheld on Funeral, Grieve‘s highly anticipated debut album. Aptly titled, Funeral is also the band’s final recording, and a more fitting epitaph one will not find. Recorded in Hell during the diabolical summer of 2021, Grieve‘s first full-length is a fiercely focused one, solely featuring funereal marches by V-Khaoz and last rites by Werwolf. Beyond cold, utterly grim, violent and restrained simultaneously, Funeral is a record out of time, one where the last couple decades of “black metal” never existed. In fact, it’s not inaccurate to say that Grieve‘s final strike could’ve been released by Malicious Records back in the mid ’90s, so authentic and impassioned is this vintage obsidian. Suitably for the occasion, mastering was done at Trollhouse Audio, giving Funeral that extra gleam of deathly pallor.
From here on, Grieve does not exist anymore. Gather for their Funeral, or just walk on by.
Last rites can be witness with the brand-new track “Possessed…” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Grieve (Finland)’s Funeral 1. Lethal Wind of Destruction 2. Winter of Torment 3. Possessed… 4. Nocturnal Cries 5. Requiem of Mankind 6. Helvetin Valtaistuin 7. Funeral Path
Today, Eternal Death sets February 4th, 2022 as the international release date for Interment Ashes‘ striking self-titled debut mini-album on cassette tape format.
Born from the long, cold New England winters, Interment Ashes was formed in 2020 by fellow members of Connecticut black metal band (and now labelmates) Ritual Clearing. Paying tribute to the rawness of second-wave bands such as Mayhem and Gehenna while incorporating melodic and blackened punk elements that harken to more modern bands such as Solar Temple or Wulkanaz, the duo’s self-titled debut mini-album evokes the cold and isolated conditions under which it was brought to fruition. Interment Ashes‘ pulse is strident and stirring, brimming with a never-overstated sense of emotion that elevates Interment Ashes beyond rote “black metal” tropes. Similarly, its idiosyncrasies don’t betray the core ethics at the heart of authentic, true black metal; if anything, these assertions of identity and relatively unique thinking underline the original current of unorthodoxy endemic to the earliest progenitors of that second wave. Either way, Interment Ashes‘ songwriting across these four dense ‘n’ desolate tracks evinces a thoughtful approach already advanced for such a new entity.
Boldly modern and unselfconsciously classic in equal measure, Interment Ashes‘ Interment Ashes is a glorious first birth upon a ruinous winter wasteland.
Take the first step into that wasteland with the brand-new track “Isolation’s Urge” here:
cover and tracklisting as follows:
Tracklisting for Interment Ashes’ Interment Ashes 1. Isolation’s Urge [7:50] 2. Cold Wind Altar [4:19] 3. I Am Not What I Appear [8:47] 4. Negligent Confinement [6:56]
Today, Serbian black metallers CMPT premiere the new track “Srce od trnja.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Krv i pepeo, set for international release on December 21st via Osmose Productions. Hear CMPT‘s “Srce od trnja” in its entirety here:
Down the southern part of the Danube basin, in a land historically known as the Balkans, for centuries, the local population has cultivated a specific relation towards certain periods of daytime. With the basis on which all tribal activities were organized, one such period was an exception to all others and concerned the movement at particular times of the night. The locals call this period “Gluvo doba” (English: “Deaf Age”), and in the old beliefs, it is also known as “Demon Hour.”
“Deaf Age” refers to the darkest moment in the night, the time when unclean spirits and the forces of the underworld take over the world while nature sinks into silence. It is commonly believed to start somewhere around midnight and last until the first morning sounds. At that time, the barrier to the beyond is the weakest, so witches and demons are easily connected through haunted practices.
Krv i pepeo (English: “Blood and ash”) directly refers to this ritualistic bond and, at the same time, incidentally represents two symbols that have historically marked the entire Balkan continuum. Uncovering the layers of the profane, Krv i pepeo is a conceptual record composed as a ritual piece of dark Balkan sorcery, and it is a spiritual offering to the ancient cult of the dead!
Hear the previously revealed “Seme Ponoći” exclusively HERE, courtesy of the Black Metal Promotion YouTube channel. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for CMPT’s Krv i pepeo 1. Seme ponoci 2. Krv i pepeo 3. Prokletije 4. Vrani pir 5. Srce od trnja 6. Memla 7. Mesecev zub 8. Na vecernjem lahoru
Today, Danish death metal titans Phrenelith stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, Chimaera. Set for international release on December 10th via Nuclear Winter Records on CD and cassette tape formats – the vinyl LP version will follow next year – hear Phrenelith‘s Chimaera in its entirety here:
Since their formation in the dying days of the year 2013, Phrenelith have established themselves as a menacing force on the contemporary death metal scene. Dwelling in the dark pits of Copenhagen, the band honed their deadly craft, releasing a wealth of well-received demos, splits, and EPs. These primitive outbursts led to the release of their debut album, Desolate Endscape, in 2017, which has earned them much renown and praise, further solidifying their place in underground death metal. Furthermore, that debut album took them to far-flung corners of the world, allowing them to tour extensively in Europe and North America, and make festival appearances at Maryland DeathFest and Asakusa DeathFest in Japan among others.
Several years having passed since the conception of their monumental debut album, Phrenelith have been slowly conjuring up new material, which has culminated in the creation and recording of a new full-length that will soon be unleashed upon the world. Titled Chimaera, Phrenelith’s second album comprises seven songs of bludgeoning death metal, with lyrics heavily inspired by the darker terms of Greek mythology and shows a horrid-yet-familiar visage. While delving into new and uncharted musical territory, incorporating new refining elements, Phrenelith’s attack is accompanied by the downtuned darkness and death-rattling emissions that the band is known for. Truly, it is not hyperbole to suggest that Chimaera eclipses the expansive horror of Desolate Endscape.
Fully befitting this accomplishment, Chimaera is completed with cover artwork by the late/great Timo Ketola, while mixing & mastering were handled by Greg Wilkinson, who’s worked with Autopsy, Vastum, Necrot, Ossuarium, Undergang, and Fetid among many others (recording took place in Denmark’s Studio Ballade). As another cursed year draws to a close, Phrenelith looms ominously over all!
Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Phrenelith’s Chimaera 1. Awakening Titans [7:07] 2. Chimaerian Offspring – Part I [4:22] 3. Phlegethon [4:09] 4. Gorgonhead [3:59] 5. Kykytos [2:31] 6. Χίμαιρα [1:27] 7. Chimaerian Offspring – Part II [7:46]
Los Angeles death metal titans ABYSMAL DAWN will be releasing their new EP ‘Nightmare Frontier’ on February 4, 2022 via Season of Mist! In conjunction with the release, the band is now sharing their brand new single, “A Nightmare Slain” along with a music video that was created by Guilherme Henriques! Listen and watch here:
ABYSMAL DAWN frontman/founding member Charles Elliott comments: “The music for this track was recorded for ‘Phylogenesis,’ but we left it off the record. We thought it was a great song but we felt it didn’t quite fit into the flow of that album. The music shows a bit more of a slightly progressive and melodic side of the band, which we may explore more in the future. The lyrics were written during the pandemic and are inspired by the lore of the video game ‘Bloodborne’. Now, we have a lot of songs filled with social commentary and introspective lyrics. When it came time to write the words for this one, I don’t think I could bring myself to focus any more on the misery or subjugation that we live in our day to day lives. Who needs another song of ‘COVID’ drivel or divisive politics at this point? Hopefully we can all agree on what I discovered while I was trapped at home for over a year; ‘Bloodborne’ is one of the greatest video games ever made. ‘Animal Crossing’ and ‘Mario Party’ fans should definitely check it out, along with the rest of the ‘soulsborne’ genre for a stress free good time… We hope you enjoy our song inspired by one of the most metal games ever made. Enjoy and see you on tour!” Pre-orders for ‘Nightmare Frontier’ will start soon. The single and EP can be pre-saved across all streaming services HERE.
The artwork for ‘Nightmare Frontier,’ which was created by Par Olofson, can be found below along with the tracklist.
Tracklist: 01. A Nightmare Slain (4:43) [WATCH] 02. Blacken The Sky (4:15) 03. Behind Space (3:37) 04. Bewitched (6:43) Total running time: 00:19:20
American death metal masters Abysmal Dawn are back! After a six-year gap, the Los Angeles-based outfit and Season of Mist hereby present Phylogenesis. Not that Abysmal Dawn have laid low since the release of 2014’s lauded Obsolescence full-length. Far from it. They toured North America four times and hit Europe and South America for the first time. Meanwhile, founding member Charles Elliott opened his studio, Tastemaker Audio, to accelerate Abysmal Dawn’s own recording needs, as well to act as a bridge to other bands in need of a knowledgeable and relatable audio technician. But the road to Phylogenesis wasn’t an easy one. Besides work-horsing it throughout the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Germany, the UK, Brazil, Chile, and beyond in support of Obsolescence, Elliott and crew managed through some of the lowest points in Abysmal Dawn’s career. Internal strife, administrative burdens, musical differences, and motivation all had their various ways with the Californians. Yet, from the darkest depths, they prevailed, heralding a new chapter in the group’s storied history. Indeed, Phylogenesis is Abysmal Dawn’s rebirth!
“There was a brief period after doing two months of touring back-to-back in the U.S. and Europe in 2015 that I almost felt like calling it quits,” Abysmal Dawn’s Charles Elliott says. “It was our first time in Europe and I just had a hard time enjoying it. The band had grown, and I was a bit tired of having to handle most of the managerial aspects of what we do. The joy had been ripped from things and people weren’t getting along, and some people acted like they didn’t want to be there. But we went our separate ways with some of the members and all of a sudden, the band was fun again. They went on to other things and we’re probably all happier in the end. Sometimes, I feel it’s a miracle this album or band even still exists. I’ve avoided swearing on our records in the past, but the album’s opening line is actually, ‘Fuck you all!’ Maybe it’s primitive by our past lyrical standards but it’s genuine and it’s the most heartfelt, ‘Fuck you, we’re still here’ I could put on a record. I’m glad we stuck it out because I think this is our proudest moment so far.”
To say Phylogenesis is an extension or continuation of Obsolescence isn’t exactly as straightforward as it should be. On one hand, all the Abysmal Dawn trademarks—technicality, brutality, and melody—remain ingrained in the songwriting fabric. On the other, the band’s fifth full-length is more cohesive, rhythmically sophisticated, and far more adventurous. Elliott calls it “a major evolution.” Certainly, the six years of constant refinement, edge smoothing, and transition adjustments have paid off. What started as jam sessions between Elliott, bassist Eliseo Garcia, and drummer James Coppolino in 2016 eventually turned into one-offs. That there was no time limit to put Phylogenesis together ended up both a blessing and a curse. Total creative freedom at very little expense is a dream scenario, something a band of Abysmal Dawn’s stature took advantage of for their magnum opus. But without a ticking clock and dollars burning, the pressure to focus was far less severe, resulting in delays and feature creep.
“It was basically James, Eliseo and me meeting up at my place, jamming on ideas, seeing what worked and tweaking them from there,” says Elliott. “With the exception of ‘Hedonistic,’ James wrote all his drum parts. Obsolescence was demoed with me programming all the drums since our drummer at the time had moved up north. It was what it was, but it was pretty frustrating at the time. Having someone to bounce ideas off of in real-time, helped in maintaining the joy and momentum of making this album. Once it was time to record bass and leads, Eliseo and Vito [Petroni; guitars] would trickle in when they had ideas. We had no real deadline and seemingly infinite time to do things. Admittedly, I think it was hard for me to focus on the lyrics, not only because of things in my personal life but because I was focused on getting the guys in to complete their parts so I could focus.”
Finish Phylogenesis they did, in fact. Under significant duress, Abysmal Dawn had overcome their roadblocks. The results of the group’s undulating professional and personal schedules aren’t to be trifled with, however. Opening track “Mundane Existence” is a firestorm of labyrinthine yet savage riffs, enraged vocals, and machine-gun drumming. It’s death metal personified, enlightened, and perfected. Elsewhere, tracks such as “The Path of the Totalitarian,” “A Speck in the Fabric of Eternity,” and “Soul-Sick Nation” (feat. Fredrik Folkare of Unleashed, Firespawn, et al.) pose real threats to the status quo. In all three, Elliott’s passion for and dominance of death metal’s tenets are tangible. But there’s more to Abysmal Dawn on Phylogenesis than customary ritual. From the ruthless groove of “Hedonistic” and the staccato stabs of “Coerced Evolution” to the late album gem “The Lament Configuration” and the blistering cover of Death classic “Flattening of Emotion,” the songs are designed to slay in ways we’re just beginning to understand.
“We’re a pretty brutal death metal band, but what I feel like sets us apart is that no matter what we do there’s always some underlying sense of melody and hooks,” Elliott says. “There are lots of bands that are ridiculously brutal. There are lots of bands that are over-the-top technically or are blatantly melodic. We combine all that but we try to write something that sticks with you over time; that you’ll keep coming back to, and that works well in the live environment. We love all types of music, whether it’s fusion or industrial music, and it shines through here and there. But in the end, though, we’re a pure death metal band at heart trying to retain that old-school feel with an updated take for a new generation.”
Conceptually, Phylogenesis deals with the breakdown of social constructs humans have built over time. The album title is defined by the evolution of (or diversification) a species. So, Phylogenesis is an ironic take on Elliott’s observations, particularly how social media has accelerated and exacerbated the de-evolution of humanity’s interactive abilities. The cover art, again by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, isn’t directly correlated to the lyrical narrative, but it does continue where Obsolescence left off. The Olofsson cover art has envisioned what it’s like on the inside of the Obsolescence tower, and that it’s humans that are being fed back to humans. The cover art continuity is akin to Richard Fleischer’s famed Soylent Green film but ripped through Elliott’s demented death metal lens.
“I think the lyrics deal a lot with things we encounter in our modern society and the effect it has on the individual,” says Elliott. “The dehumanization effect and divisiveness caused by bickering on social media (‘The Path of the Totalitarian’), the decay of legitimate journalism (‘True to the Blind’), struggling to find purpose in the pursuit of happiness (‘Hedonistic’), wishing something was greater than yourself (‘Mundane Existence’), the mental illness epidemic (‘Soul-Sick Nation’), embracing pain over numbness to feel alive (‘The Lament Configuration’), having our consciousnesses uploaded to a grid in order to make life sustainable on Earth (‘Coerced Evolution’), and the common theme throughout the band of wishing life on Earth would just start over (‘A Speck in the Fabric of Eternity’). I had started off wanting it to be a concept record but later scrapped that idea because I didn’t like how it was going. In the end though, it just naturally all tied together in some way. Even the Death cover seemed to fit lyrically in hindsight. ‘Coerced Evolution’ is really the only song that in the sci-fi vein this time around. As for Pär, yes, he did the cover art once again. We love working with him and we’ve been creating great covers with him since 2006.”
Abysmal Dawn recorded Phylogenesis over a multi-year timeframe. In fact, Coppolino’s drums were tracked as far back as 2017 with long-time collaborator John Haddad at Trench Studios. The rhythm guitars and vocals, as produced by Mike Bear and Elliott, were also done at Tastemaker Audio the same year. So, some of Phylogenesis goes back, but the parts are no less lethal. Slowly but surely, the group’s newest and greatest materialized, with Elliott finishing the lead guitars, bass, additional vocals, re-amping, and mixing sessions in 2019, again at Tastemaker Audio. Abysmal Dawn then packaged up their fifth for mastering ace Tony Lindgren (Rotting Christ) to handle at Fascination Street Studios in Sweden. Contemporary yet absolutely remorseless, Abysmal Dawn’s Phylogenesis is death metal for a new age.
“We took our time and went to few studios this time around, so it’s a bit of a laundry list,” Elliott says. “John Haddad engineered the drums at Trench Studios. John has been involved with all our records in some form since From Ashes. Mike Bear helped track and produce the vast majority of my vocals and rhythm guitars out of my studio. Mike produced both Leveling the Plane of Existence (2010) and Obsolescence. I tracked and produced all the leads, bass parts, and other odds and ends and mixed the album as well. Tony Lindgren at Fascination Street Studios mastered the record in the end.”
As for Abysmal Dawn’s next steps, the quartet await the release of Phylogenesis. With past support coming from the Village Voice, Decibel, PopMatters, and Pandora, as well as the group’s rabidly-devoted fanbase, the future of death metal is in good hands.
Lineup: Charles Elliott: guitars, vocals Eliseo Garcia: bass, additional vocals James Coppolino: drums Vito Petroni: guitars
Today, Chaos Records announces February 4th, 2022 as the international release date for the highly anticipated second album of Arizona’s Thorn, Yawning Depths, on CD format. The vinyl LP version will be released later in 2022. The cassette tape version will be released by Gurgling Gore.
Cavernous, brooding, and bleak, Thorn is a solo project of erstwhile Fluids vocalist Brennen Westermeyer. From the deserts of Phoenix, Thorn specializes in the foreboding and ominous. Weaving elements of death metal, doom, post, and grind, Thorn creates a soundscape for worshipping pagan gods and making offerings to entities unknown.
Since the band’s birth in 2020, Thorn has delivered an EP, a split with Canada’s Fumes, and then the Crawling Worship full-length in 2021. Vast and virulent, Crawling Worship set an impossibly high standard, but already is it eclipsed by the follow-up Yawning Depths. Just like its predecessor, Yawning Depths may maintain a succinct runtime at 25 minutes, but its its feel – its FILTH – is literally gargantuan, a titan of smothering sound and boundless death energy. Death metal and doom may indeed form the foundation to the strident Thorn aesthetic, but Westermeyer wields a surprising creativity within those self-imposed boundaries, evoking a paradoxically wide-open sense of space as well as a wounded melodicism.
Nevertheless, Thorn‘s aim is true: instill waves of ominous dread and bleak hopelessness to all who listen. Yawning Depths is thus aptly titled, for it punctuates that point with an infinitely reverberating vacuum-cum-void.
Cum into that void with the brand-new track “Cavernous Shrines” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Thorn (Arizona)’s Yawning Depths 1. Hellmouth 2. Yawning Depths 3. Cavernous Shrines 4. Noxious Existence 5. Judgement’s Throne 6. Lapis Lazuli 7. Unknown Body of Light 8. Graven Moonglow
Tortured blackened death metal machine WITHERED is now revealing a signature distortion pedal! Guitarist Mike Thompson has teamed up with Michael Klein Audio Design out of Kansas City, MO to build a signature distortion pedal named “Husk,” which is designed for all the tone stackers out there.
Thompson explains, “I’ve been crafting my tone for two decades now. Our knack for style hopping provides unique tonal challenges for me. I need crushing lows for the huge riffs and clarity during blasting grind and black metal passages. It gets really tricky and has been a battle. I’ve chipped away at getting the best of both for years and it resulted in an amalgam of unorthodox gear combinations. I’ve had a design in mind for years to combine everything into one cohesive pedal but never the time to realize it. Mentioning this Sammy Duet (Acid Bath, Goatwhore) resulting in an introduction to Michael Klein. It turns out Michael is quite familiar with Withered’s studio tones. We discussed the ideas and he was very confident in nailing down my ideas. He picked the name ‘Husk’ after a song on ‘Grief Relic,’ which was the first time my ‘realized tone’ was recorded in purity, without tricks. Husk is everything I’d hoped for and then some. I call it my ‘Swede-ish’ tone. You get a bit of that chainsaw mid scoop that’s usable across all heavy endeavors without being a 1 trick pony.”
Thompson also designed the cosmetics himself, combining a vintage military feel with an ethereal/mystic graphics to capture the “moods” of the pedal.
Husk Features:
Selectable “then” (NOS Japanese 1S1588) and “now” clipping diodes to choose between saturation used on older Withered albums and newer albums.
The bottom row of knobs are a circuit inspired by the classic MIJ DS-1 with high quality/low tolerance components – precision metal film resistors, WIMA caps, MLCC caps, and Nichicon Fine Gold capacitors supporting a Toshiba TA7136P Opamp.
The top row is Thompson’s collection of “do my bidding” controls: a clean blend to pepper in some clarity without losing gain, an output boost to keep the dirty tone louder than “pedal off” tone no matter how much you scoop the mids, and a no-fucks-given low pass filter to tame the nastiness however you like.
2 different colored “on” LED’s for a “military control panel” look and max visibility on stage.
ICYMI: Artist Paul Romano (MASTODON, HATE ETERNAL, etc.) gave an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the unique album art for ‘Verloren!’ Both Romano and WITHERED vocalist/guitarist Mike Thompson give in-depth interviews about the concept, working together, and more in this detailed article, which is accompanied by an exclusive video clip and photos! Check it out via Heaviest of Art at THIS LOCATION.
The artwork of WITHERED’s latest release ‘Verloren’ can be viewed together with the album details below. Download, buy, or stream the album HERE.
Tracklist 1. By Tooth In Tongue (8:22) 2. The Predation (6:55) 3. Dissolve (4:33) 4. Casting In Wait (5:29) 5. Passing Through… (2:37) 6. …The Long Hurt (3:55) 7. Verloren (4:29) 8. From Ashen Shores (8:21) Total: 44:41
From its inception, WITHERED has been an outlier, a perplexing charge of extremity which the metal scene has never been able to put its finger on.
“We want to compound new elements into every album,” posits guitarist/vocalist Mike Thompson, “and we’re definitely a band for metal nerds. Our audience seems to be the old-schoolers who are absorbed by this stuff every day and jaded folks of a certain age. Industry types and peers tend to get it, but that’s about it.”
Thompson’s self deprecating assessment of his creative output might be part gentlemanly humility talking or a harshly realistic take on WITHERED’s cult status, or somewhere in between, but with an impressive body of work fanned out over the course of 18 years and five albums which have weathered as many trends, the Atlanta quartet continues to confound and refuses to compromise. New album, Verloren is the band’s most daring and iconoclastic work yet, one that spits in the eye of complacency and exists as a contrarian masterstroke.
Originally formed by Thompson and ex-guitarist/vocalist Chris Freeman in 2003 following a spell in local grind institution Social Infestation (alongside Mastodon’s Troy Sanders), WITHERED’s initial goal was to re-write black, doom and death metal modes and mores. To that end, the band has achieved that goal as their sound and aesthetic refuses to clearly state which subgenre they call home. Over the course of its history, WITHERED has generated more questions than answers about who they are and what they do. They’ve toured with the varied likes of Mastodon, High on Fire, Dismember, Grave, Vital Remains, Possessed, Watain, Mayhem, 1349, Krallice, Skeletonwitch and Danzig. Their live show provides an air of never-know-what-you’re-gonna-get mystery. See them on one occasion and it’s a DIY kick in the gut with stripped down, rehearsal room bareness appropriately complementing the lunacy. The next time they get in the van they’ll do so accompanied by rigged up columns of light cloaking the stage in bloody reds and searing whites. And with Verloren, the band’s forthcoming fifth album, Thompson and his band mates – drummer Beau Brandon, bassist Rafay Nabeel and fellow guitarist/vocalist Dan Caycedo – continue to nudge both thematic and sonic goalposts by providing relatable food for thought while retaining the adversarial fire that has powered the engine since the start.
“There’s a philosophical introspective approach to the subject matter that informs our writing style. We’re trying to create an atmosphere that complements the themes and that’s something we’re trying to circle back around to on Verloren.”
WITHERED’s first album, 2005’s Memento Mori, generally speaking, tackled the subject of mortality and the grieving process that follows significant loss, trauma and tragedy. Album number two, 2008’s Folie Circulaire was, as Thompson describes, “more existentialist, nihilistic and Nietzsche-ian” while 2010’s Dualities was an exploration of Jungian psychology and the shadow self. As alluded to in the title, 2016’s Grief Relic started into the U-turn back towards the exploration of the role and impact of grief as the men of WITHERED themselves entered that stage of life in which older family members, friends and childhood heroes were passing away, expectedly and otherwise. Five years on, Verloren rounds out the turn with a sinister sound and an area of study more akin to a deep therapy/counseling session instead of the usual gore and lore that often emboldens extreme music.
“Rafay wanted to use the theme of ‘missing’,” explains Thompson, “which was broad and abstract, so I dialed it down to be more about this outlook I’ve developed over the years about how each of us have a ‘Love Well.’ Every bit of love you get from your parents, your upbringing and your learning how to receive and experience love in relationships and through experiences contributes to the well. Your traumas counterbalance that and take away from it, especially when foundational core elements take a hit, like the untimely loss of a parent. That’s one of life’s unique puzzle pieces and when that piece is removed it’s never going to be replaced.
“We’re equipped with a certain capacity – our wells are filled to a certain level – and when you start getting smacked with traumas, whatever you have in that well – your defense mechanisms – can get worn down pretty quickly, especially for someone who has never really known love because of a broken home, difficult relationships or whatever. Each one of us in WITHERED carry unique traumas that we’ve focused this new record on. For me, most of my significant losses are from older wounds that I’ve dealt with through WITHERED from the very beginning, but with this being the first album with Dan and Rafay, it’s like a new exercise for them to really focus on the things they’ve been carrying around.”
Verloren translates to “missing” from German and relates not just to the friends, family and pieces of the member’s lives and hearts that have, and will go, missing as the time ticks on unfettered, but also, in the face of the global pandemic, just how much the activity of being in a band has been missed by everyone who took the write/record/tour cycle for granted. Verloren demonstrates a topical uniqueness; one that discusses the stuff everyone from the steeliest of black metal cape wearers to the gore-obsessed death metal crushers and everyone playing in a band or not has had to – or will have to – confront at some point. By leveling the elitist playing field so often found in extreme metal underground attitudes, Verloren offers a more holistic experience, elevating WITHERED by being unafraid to discuss topics that fly in the face of what most would connect to the sounds they make.
“About two years before I started WITHERED,” Thompson recalls, “I went through a series of traumas where I was forced to take stock of and define my foundational ‘puzzle pieces’ that could be taken away and what the trauma and grief is going to look like when I lose close family and/or friends I truly care about. Ironically, one I didn’t face until recently was WITHERED. No one ever thought that not being able to play shows or tour because of a pandemic was even feasible. I processed the idea of losing WITHERED and playing music and touring and everything else around the time of Grief Relic when two guys quit the band and I lost a lot of steam and inspiration. Luckily, Beau was there to kick my ass and shake me out of it. When it comes to this album, there was an initial suffering of anxiety because of the uncertainty in the world and the fear of losing this album because we put a lot into it, are super proud of it and it is the best WITHERED album yet. It’s important for my inspiration and motivation to go forward. It takes so much effort for us to create a record, the thought of it for it to all be for naught or potentially be wasted just destroys me.
“Surprisingly, we haven’t had a lot of push back on these themes, though I would love to take on that conflict!” he laughs. “For most people, metal is purely aesthetic, a grandstanding ‘f-you!’ to society and an adolescent rebellion kind of thing. But at the same time, we do get positive feedback from the people who have looked a bit deeper and done some research. We just want to be honest. We used to make the joke when we go out on tour, especially in the early days when deathcore was all the rage and we’d be on these weird package bills, that ‘Hey, we’re WITHERED and we’re here to bum you out.’ We’re not a party band or a shock band so you don’t get the fun aspect from us when going to a show. I’ve always been frustrated that we’ve never been able to communicate our super-realism and the different perspectives of life. If I want to sing about how much gratitude I have for my mother in a roundabout way, then whatever, we’ll do it!”
As WITHERED enters its third decade, they’ve drawn a more insular and conclusive line in the sand. The band has forged further forward with the process of eschewing typicality, including not utilizing any of the usual producer suspects to help sculpt Verloren. Instead, they flew the flag of independence by again going down the route of self-production with Thompson himself taking the bull by its horns.
“We get a little bit more deliberate every time around and starting with Grief Relic we decided not to hire anyone to help produce and filter it through a particular lens. We started self-producing and I kind of took the reins on that last time and more so this time and also when it came to selecting who was going to engineer [Raheen Amlani at Orange Peel Recordings], then mix [Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studios] and master it [Jarrett Pritchard]. The trick is to find someone who loves Times of Grace as much as they love Clandestine and His Hero is Gone, Napalm Death and all the way out to later Enslaved and can balance all those things. If it’s truly honest and truly communicating the intention of a song, then it’ll be powerful, heavy and generate emotion.”
Verloren also revisits WITHERED’s traditional methodological step of sitting down and looking at the present state of metal before consciously lashing out against what’s taking up most of the broader public’s attention.
“We’re constantly looking for something new to do. We love genre bending and putting D-beats next to funereal riffs next to black metal blasts and heavy doom riffs and figuring out how to make it all work and make sense with whatever vibe we’re trying to nail down. For this one, I wanted to lean back into the funereal doom world. I got burnt out when doom – especially southern doom, being a southern band – was the word of the day around the time of our first two records. We basically ran in the other direction and got away from doing any full-on doom parts for a while. I wanted to come back around to that, so we went back to bigger stuff like My Dying Bride for the couple of eight minute epics on the album [album opener “By Tooth in Tongue” and closer “From Ashen Shores”]. Also, for the first time in my life and against my better judgment, I decided to write clean vocals and I’m singing on two songs. They’re kind of buried in the mix a little bit because I’m still self-conscious about them, but they were the only things that made sense for the parts we wrote. I tried to fight it, but nothing extreme was accomplishing the goal. On top of that, we go the other way where three of the songs have some super crusty and grind elements. Part of why I asked Dan to join the band was because I knew he would get the sludgy, crusty side of things and help me cultivate that better in WITHERED. On the album, ‘The Predation,’ ‘Dissolve’ and ‘Casting in Wait’ are his. Those would be the twists on this album because we’re always trying to write what we think is missing and what we want to hear in heavy music after sitting down and looking at the landscape of what’s out there.”
And despite being deliberate oppositional in the subject matter they choose to explore and express, how much of their hearts and souls they choose to strip bare for fickle crowds and grind against whatever current musical grain the rest are cruising along, the determination, seriousness and importance of WITHERED in each member’s lives hasn’t ebbed. In fact, it’s only been magnified with time and circumstance. Having been forced into a year off from normal band life has made it clear how vital WITHERED is for everything from creative expression, social networking, wanderlust, overall personal sanity and moving forward.
“Personally, I’m very, very fortunate with regards to my family and others being supportive and taking what I do seriously. Looking back, I could be really selfish and headstrong about music. My family got so used to it that they would volunteer to schedule dinners and family events around rehearsals and practice because they were able to glean how important this was to me and how seriously I took it. Even moving out into the real world with the professional realm of things and the jobs that we have had in order to keep this going, I’d say it’s taken more seriously now than ever. We’re constantly challenging ourselves to progress and carve our own path. WITHERED is a permanent part of my life, it’s what I expect to be there. I’ve built so much on it and I’ve somehow been able to weave it into my life to where it’s a defining part of me as well. This isn’t rock star fantasy camp, although the other weekend I was bored, missing travelling and sitting around so I took the band van out and just drove out for three hours, turned around and came home!”
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces February 4th, 2022 as the international release date for Deathless Void‘s striking self-titled debut EP on 12″ vinyl and cassette tape formats.
A brand-new formation hailing from the Netherlands, Deathless Void create a vacuum of violent, post-modern death energy. Their foundation is undoubtedly black metal, but their vision is not blinkered upon the past; if anything, the jet-stream of crushing chaos across their debut EP is futuristic, albeit a ruined vision of such. Mutating physicality into cold, cutting, gleaming-yet-bloodstained steel, Deathless Void verily approximates its namesake, literally attacking the listener across three cocaine rushes of sound. One could point to later Katharsis or Antaeus or especially turn-of-the-millennium Thorns as touchstones, but the dread and delirium Deathless Void are creating here are entirely their own. This is but the start…of the END.
Begin contemplating that END with the brand-new track “Crossing the Threshold” here:
Tracklisting for Deathless Void’s Deathless Void 1. Ignis Fatuus [3:55] 2. The Shattered Realms of Man Become the Abyss [3:14] 3. Crossing the Threshold [7:04]
Today, Edged Circle Productions announces January 28th, 2022 as the international release date for a brand-new EP from AngelBlast, Throne of Ashes, on 7″ vinyl format.
It was but late 2019 when AngelBlast made their swift-yet-devastating entrance into the world with the Rotting Paradise EP. Although “merely” three songs, Rotting Paradise impressed with its just-blackened-enough Metal of Death attack, recalling ’90s Morbid Angel, Dissection, Necrophobic, Malevolent Creation, and Unanimated, but already with an identity of their own. But calling AngelBlast a “new” band was something of a misnomer, as the duo included members from old-school Swedeath cult Excruciate as well as fellow labelmates Darkened.
Now expanded to a quartet, AngelBlast deliver another blistering EP with the two-song Throne of Ashes. While those aforementioned references remain, here do AngelBlast blacken that attack even more decisively, sounding more expansive and world-eating in the process. In fact, alongside labelmates In Aphelion – who themselves will also be delivering a first full-length soon enough – one could argue that the new breed of old-school blackened death is equally secured by AngelBlast. Eleven minutes in total but totally breathless and epic, Throne of Ashes absolutely COMMANDS repeat plays!
Graced again by amazing artwork from Juanjo Castellano Rosado (Unleashed, Revel in Flesh, Gates of Ishtar), Throne of Ashes sounds the trumpets of doom for AngelBlast‘s imminent debut album!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new title track “Throne of Ashes” here:
Cover art and tracklisting as follows :
Tracklisting for AngelBlast’s Throne of Ashes 1. Throne of Ashes 2. Tartarus
