This November, True Vampyric Metal Punks Spiter will embark on a tour of the American East Coast. Joining them as support will be New Hampshire deathpunks Diabolus. Full list of confirmed dates as well as poster art are as follows:
11/1 Worcester, MA @ Ralph’s Diner 11/2 Jersey City, NJ @ Black Pearl 11/3 Richmond, VA @ Cobra Cabana 11/5 Atlanta, GA @ Boggs Social 11/6 Stuart, FL @ East Ocean Pub 11/7 Orlando, FL @ The Conduit 11/8 Pensacola, FL @ Subculture 11/9 New Orleans, LA 11/10 Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone 11/12 Louisville, KY @ Portal 11/13 Asheville, NC @ Eulogy 11/14 Raleigh, NC @ The Pour House 11/15 Brooklyn, NY @ Meadows 11/16 Philadelphia, PA at Fotoclub
It was but the summer of 2022 when Spiter burst from the fucking grave with their debut album for Hells Headbangers, Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood. Featuring members of labelmates Shitfucker and Devil Master, the power-trio made plain – and vulgar – their infernal & infectious True Vampyric Metal Punk: a raw-yet-anthemic blend of cult blackthrash, obscure hardcore punk, and even the wildest deathrock. The album sowed its seeds of sanguine depravity and Spiter took their madness on the road, cementing their cult status immediately.
Now, the deviants of Spiter return with a ripping new mini-album, Enter the Gates of Fucking Hell. This six-song / 26-minute recording sees the lineup scaled back to vocalist / guitarist / songwriter Richard Spider (Daemon Bitch of Shitfucker) and drummer Snake (Disjawn) – they continue to be a trio for live purposes – and remarkably shows even more fire and focus than that not-inconsiderable debut album. Somehow, those six(-six-six) songs sound shorter and more epic simultaneously, with Spider showing his songwriting chops between wild & winding mania and ghoulish catchiness. The production, in kind, is colder and harsher but clearer and heavier, assaulting the listener with arguably more undead energy than said debut. And then, over before it began, you’re again possessed to press “play” and enter those fucking gates over and over…again, until it fucking hurts.
Stream Spiter‘s Enter the Gates of Fucking HellHERE at Hells Headbangers‘ Bandcamp. Order info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Spiter’s Enter the Gates of Fucking Hell 1. Enter The Gates Of Fucking Hell 2. Drowning In Darkness 3. Tears Of Blood 4. The Creeping Serpent Psychosis 5. 666 On The Crucifix 6. Reflection Of The Vampire
On October 20th internationally, Antiq is proud to present Silhouette‘s highly anticipated debut album, Les Dires de l’Ame.
Born in 2019 in Montpellier, the French sextet of Silhouette were able to make a name for themselves with the debut EP Les Retranchements, released in 2022 by Antiq, and build up a strong live experience at several events in France. With their incisive, post-metal-tinged black metal and the strength of their two singers, Ondine and Yharnam, the band invites introspection and tackles the theme of dreams, nightmares, and lost ones.
Now, two years after that celebrated EP, Silhouette will release their debut album, Les Dires de l’Ame. Taking listeners on a long, dreamlike journey, the band’s first full-length spans extremes of sound – beauty to darkness, violence to repose – and shows Silhouette masterfully combining a black metal base with the skyscraping melodicism of shoegaze and the deft textural shifts of post-rock. Although comprising ten songs across 46 minutes, the album feels far more epic than that conventional construction may suggest; Silhouette‘s songwriting simply stuns with its acute balance of drama and flow, hypnotizing and dazzling at every turn. The same can be said for the layered dual vocals of Ondine and Yharnam, working a stronger spell that’s at times almost crushingly beautiful. But to call Les Dires de l’Ame a “black metal” record or especially a “post-metal” one misses the point: while the destination is no less important, that journey the band take you on is, in essence, the “destination.” Either way, Silhouette now come strongly recommended to fans of Alcest, Sylvaine, Cult of Luna, Amenra, and Darkher.
Antiq is a label dedicated to the fully coherent concept of making music through sound, image, video, and attitude. They have been putting their entire existence into it since 2009. Over the years, Antiq have been identified as producers of not only perfectly coherent lyrics and themes through music, but also conceptual art and, of course, the manufacturing of beautiful objects. The label tries as much as it can to work with French creators, and if possible, with the smallest and most serious structures.
In the meantime, see & hear a short film for the track “L’Éveil” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Silhouette’s Les Dires de l’Ame 1. L’Appel 2. Catalepsie 3. Dialecte Onirique 4. Silhouette 5. Adoubée des Étoiles 6. Les Dires de l’Âme 7. Une Lame Éprise 8. Litanie contre la Peur 9. Dysthymie 10. L’Éveil
Today, Hells Headbangers Records announces October 18th as the international release date for Destruktor‘s long-awaited third album, Indomitable, on CD and cassette tape formats. The vinyl LP version will follow later.
Since 1997, Destruktor have been proudly flying the flag for Australian extreme metal. While quite often do their recordings come within large gaps of time – their second album, Opprobrium, was released back in 2015 – these Aussie tyrants have been patiently honing a sound that seethes with the war-metalled fire their homeland’s world renowned for, yet over the years finessed with an acute attention to propulsive, immediately memorable songcraft. Black metal, death metal, thrash, “war metal,” whatever: Destruktor are their own paradigm by now, and it is eternal.
Such is the case with their long-awaited third album, Indomitable. All-too-perfectly titled, Indomitable sounds like it could’ve come at any point in Destruktor‘s quality-over-quantity career: eight stout tracks of scathing, surging, no-nonsense extreme metal. Indeed, founding vocalist / guitarist Glenn Destrukor and longtime drum-tornado Jared maintain the same, singed-black rage that have made their two full-lengths and two EPs such touchstones of Down Under extremism, but here they are joined by old friend / new addition Chris on bass, who exhibits the best low-end work on any Destruktor recording and fully complements their characteristic chaos vs. control dynamic. Lean and mean at 34 minutes just like its predecessor, Indomitable continues the band’s proverbial sharpening of blades; their fury still walks that fine line between chaos and control – neither too blackened, nor too deathly, nor “thrashing” in any cliche way – but the clear-yet-crushing production (at Melbourne’s renowned Toyland Studio) amplifies tenfold their scabrous assault, making it somehow grittier and more gleaming in equal measure. It’s impossible not to get inexorably swallowed by the album’s slipstream: Indomitable is death in sonic format, bereft of belief, joy, and light.
And yet, Destruktor can still surprise, for Indomitable features the band’s darkest and most personal lyrics to date, fully committed to the concept of death in many forms. And, if we are to read into the lyrics of climactic closer “The Path to Lucifer,” there’s an allusion to returning to dust, but rest easy: after delivering undoubtedly their best work after 30 years of existence – truly, an exception to rule of metal bands wimping out or worsening as the years slog on – Destruktor are in no danger of disbanding anytime soon.
Riff after riff, blast after blast, death after death, Indomitable is catchy-yet-unrelenting dark extreme metal for the dark and the darker. Destruktor are truly eternal.
In the the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Speaking With the Dead” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Destruktor’s Indomitable 1. Speaking With the Dead 2. Holy Orgy 3. Writhe In Pain 4. Indomitable 5. Better Off Aborted 6. Beyond The Bleakness 7. Reap What You Sow 8. The Path to Lucifer
On October 18th internationally, Into Endless Chaos Records is proud to present Deathrite‘s highly anticipated fifth album, Flames Licking Fever, on vinyl LP and cassette tape formats.
Deathrite, Leipzig’s lunatic death/rock punks, are back with a brand new full-length. Flames Licking Fever continues where their previous release, Delirium, ended. It’s a journey to the darkest and most vicious places of the mind and soul. Burning knives of black metal, death metal, and noise-punk that stabs you right in your ear canal. A fever dream that grabs you by the neck and sucks you right in, to question your whole existence. So drown yourself in this hallucinating trip, somewhere between ecstasy and psychosis, and get lost in a Flames Licking Fever!
First track to be revealed on September 5th. Preorder info can be found HERE. Bio follows after the jump. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Deathrite’s Flames Licking Fever 1. Crippled Ego 2. Restless Eyes 3. Flames Licking Fever 4. Misanthropic Rush 5. A Slave to a Poisoned Soul 6. Bottomless Graves 7. Deadbeat 8. The End is Tonight 9. Gallows Trail 10. All Consuming Fire
BIO
Over a decade ago, Deathrite started as a classic old-school death metal band. Three records later, they developed their very own sound, a unique blend of death metal, black metal, and punk metal. After their latest effort, Delirium, Deathrite will release their next full-length, Flames Licking Fever, in Fall 2024, and with it, they open a new chapter of a musical fever dream, an obscure trip to total insanity.
Being on the road, playing shows all over Europe and UK was, and still is, an integral part of Deathrite. Tours supporting bands like Napalm Death, Venom, and Mantar made them a hidden gem in the European death metal scene.
Today, rabid black/death maniacs Concrete Winds stream the entirety of their highly anticipated third album, self-titled Concrete Winds. Set for international release tomorrow via Sepulchral Voice Records, hear Concrete Winds‘ Concrete Winds in its entirety here:
To all death metal lunatics and black metal psychopaths left out there in this toothless and tamed scene, let us proclaim the word! Concrete Winds are back to push spikes, needles, and barbed wire into your flesh and ears.
Once again, the noise aggressors slit the veil from beyond and step into our world to pillage and hound to death all what was known, predictable, and comfortable in metal music. Their third album is self-titled for mandatory reasons and shows the band furthermore exploring the EXTREME in extreme metal. This truly is rabies set to music!
While their debut, 2019’s Primitive Force, was a beacon of strife in stretching and redefining the boundaries of unholy, grinding death metal, the successor, 2021’s Nerve Butcherer, pushed the limits even harder and set new standards in the world of audial bulldozing destruction and blitzin’ torment.
With Concrete Winds, the band now open wide again the portals to the abattoir and continue right where Nerve Butcherer had left the listener helplessly in a sonic wasteland of scorched earth, barren soil, and sheer darkness. They manifest their will to tear the listeners’ drumheads out and to creep deep into souls black. As expected, the album is rooted in outrageous speed, heaviest trembling rhythm passages, abysmal croaked curses, turbulent breaks, and repulsive shrieking leads which let you drown in a maelstrom of insanity. But this time, new layers are also added to the pandemonic universe, as weird staccato riffing sections bleed into witching industrial scenarios.
Concrete Winds have always gone further than any recent extreme metal outfit and leave out everything that’s established in music, cut off what became comfortable in metal, and blow away what still feels “appropriate” in extreme metal. It seems that this once-urgent attitude to explore limits finally has a new helmsman. Nevertheless, they stay ever loyal to the elder originators of bloody metal mayhem, but evolve those inspirations taken from masters like Morbid Angel, Necrovore, and Repulsion to a very unique and nearly “reference-less” hellwitchin’ sound.
No less than Lawrence Mackrory – with the help of Matti Mäkelä – recorded, mixed, and mastered this cacophonic eruption mostly at Rorysounds Studios in Uppsala, Sweden. All of it is bound together in nine signature two-word-titled songs that altogether does not exceed the 27-minute mark. Calculators may wrongly estimate it as “short,” but measured in CW units, it has the perfect length to die a thousand deaths.
Concrete Winds have never been for the faint-hearted. They always killed any scent of entertaining characters straight from the seed. It’s easy not to understand them; it’s easy not to comprehend them; it’s easy not to love them. But it should not be easy to confuse entertainment with art: true art must hurt.
However, this is Concrete fucking Winds‘ third album! And it will definitely not leave anyone untouched, no matter in which way – PERIOD.
Today, German black metallers adventurists Firtan reveal the new track “Contra Vermes.” The track is the third to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated fourth album, Ethos, set for international release on September 13th via AOP Records . Hear Firtan‘s “Contra Vermes” in its entirety here:
For nearly 15 years now, Firtan have been a relentless force in the German extreme metal scene, captivating audiences with their dynamic performances across Europe. Inspired by the raw energy of the ’90s black metal scene, their sound has evolved into a unique, more progressive entity, shedding eclectic influences for a multifaceted and innovative approach.
At the core of Firtan‘s music stands an increasingly aggressive and frenetic sound characterized by powerful guitars and intense, visceral vocals. The haunting presence of the acoustic and electric violin weaves through their compositions with melancholic, experimental, and evocative tones. The incorporation of other acoustic instruments, such as the dulcimer, as well as analogue synthesizers, adds layers of depth. This blend creates a unique tension and complexity, enhancing the band’s intricate riffing and unexpected musical shifts.
With three albums and two EPs to their name, Firtan‘s discography showcases a clear and audible progression. Now, they unveil their fourth album, Ethos, once again through AOP Records. A work that promises to be their deepest, rawest, and heaviest yet, Ethos delves into serious existential themes in an abstract manner, contrasting decline and opportunity within an ambivalent context. This juxtaposition is reflected in the music itself, confronting listeners with the harshness and sonic tension between harmony and dissonance, revealing the meaning and emptiness of existence.
Ethos follows Firtan‘s critically acclaimed Marter from 2022, and stands as a testament to the vibrant dynamics within the German black metal scene. The album will feature guest performances from J.J. (Harakiri for the Sky, Karg) and L.G. (Ellende). Expect to be immersed in a world where melody and chaos collide, where unapologetic riffing and haunting melodies guide you through the shadows of the human condition.
Also see & hear the previously revealed videos for “Komm herbei, schwarze Nacht” HERE and “Wermut hoch am Firmament” featuring guest vocals from Ellende‘s L.G. HERE, both also at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel.
Following the release of Ethos, Firtan will embark upon a tour with Bucovina, Sojourner, Finsterforst, and Countless Skies. Full list of dates as well as poster art follow after the jump. Cover artwork, courtesy of Nona Limmen, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Firtan’s Ethos 1. Hrenga (feat. guest vocals of J.J. [Harakiri For The Sky / Karg]) 2. Zores 3. Contra Vermes 4. Arkanum 5. Wermut hoch am Firmament (feat. guest vocals of L.G. [Ellende]) 6. Moloch 7. Ruakh 8. Komm herbei, schwarze Nacht 9. Wenn sich mir einst alle Ringe schließen
September 26 – München, Germany @ Backstage Halle* September 27 – Erfurt, Germany @ From Hell* September 28 – Fensch Viking Fest, France @ Complexe de Bétange* September 29 – Berlin, Germany @ Orwohaus Halle* September 30 – Hamburg, Germany @ Logo* October 1 – Oberhausen, Germany @ Resonanzwerk* October 2 – Arnhem, Netherlands @ Willemeen* October 3 – Manchester, UK @ Rebellion* October 4 – London, UK @ The Underworld* October 6 – Nantes, France @ Le Ferrailleur** October 8 – Lyon, France @ Rock’n’Eat** October 10 – Timisoara, Romania @ M2** October 11 – Vienna Metal Meeting Warmup, Austria @ Viper Room** October 12 – Praha, Czech Republic @ Storm Club** October 13 – Krakow, Poland @ Zascianek,**
Today, French black metallers Tour d’Ivoire premiere the new track “Forteresse de Marbre” . The track is the first to be fully revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, self-titled Tour d’Ivoire, set for international release on September 6th internationally via Antiq. Hear Tour d’Ivoire‘s “Forteresse de Marbre” in its entirety here:
Tour d’Ivoire is an atmospheric black metal project created by Hyver (Véhémence, Grylle, Hanternoz) and La Griesche (Grylle, Cercle du Chêne) in early 2023. The atmosphere of this first eponymous album is thick and mysterious as a twilight fog: extreme vocals emerging from hypnotical riffs, synthesizer melody, and spectral choirs. The French lyrics treat, with a fatalistic view, the contemplation of landscapes and architectures out of mystical dreams, as depicted by Sperber Illustrationen for the album’s cover art.
Antiq is a label dedicated to the fully coherent concept of making music through sound, image, video, and attitude. They have been putting their entire existence into it since 2009. Over the years, Antiq have been identified as producers of not only perfectly coherent lyrics and themes through music, but also conceptual art and, of course, the manufacturing of beautiful objects. The label tries as much as it can to work with French creators, and if possible, with the smallest and most serious structures.
Also hear the previously revealed excerpt of the near-nine-minute opening track “La Tour” HERE at Antiq‘s official YouTube channel. Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Tour d’Ivoire’s Tour d’Ivoire 1. La Tour [8:34] 2. Brouillard [9:09] 3. Forteresse de Marbre [7:54] 4. Givre [7:44]
Last week, VESTIGE released their third single, the first part to Automne. With the album’s release steadily approaching, the French modern metal collective unveil the haunting follow-up to this captivating track, a prelude to their highly-anticipated debut album, Janis. A profound auditory experience that intertwines raw emotion and transcendent hope.
Automne Pt. 2 bears the unique honor of featuring Neige, the ethereal voice of Alcest, whose contributions add an otherworldly layer to the track. The melding of Neige’s dreamlike vocal timbre with VESTIGE‘s visceral soundscape elevates the song to a plane where agony and ecstasy coexist, inviting listeners to lose themselves in its haunting beauty.
Tracklist1. Différent (2:47) 2. Deviens la Nuit (5:29) [WATCH] 3. Démence de l’Âme (6:25) 4. Océan (5:27) 5. Automne Part 1 (5:50) [WATCH] 6. Automne Part 2 feat Neige (Alcest) (4:54) [WATCH] 7. Appel de l’Âme (4:15) 8. Corrosion (5:16) [WATCH] 9. Stigmates du Temps (4:34) 10. Envol de l’Âme (5:40) 11. Avant la Fin(7:15) Total runtime:57:53
Théodore Rondeau, the creative initiator behind VESTIGE, embarked on a journey of forming the band during a turbulent phase in his life. Emerged as a creative vessel for a complicated emotional journey, the band transcends the boundaries of individual therapy into a collaborative force that hopefully resonates with the feelings that may be all too common for the human experience.
With a profound connection to their craft, VESTIGE pour their souls into their debut album, infusing it with a captivating blend of melancholy, desperation, and catharsis. The music serves not only as an expression of their turmoil, but as a conduit for listeners to navigate the complexities of their own emotions. Through this process, VESTIGE becomes a project with the potential to connect with people on a profound level, forging a collective experience through the universal language of music.
The formation of VESTIGE’s lineup reads like a musical destiny unfolding: Pierre-André Krauzer on the bass, Quentin Regnault on drums, and Théodore on vocals and guitar. They first crossed paths during their tenure in Naraka, a band that shared stages with icons like Cradle of Filth and Alcest. This initial connection laid the groundwork for the formation of the band. Not long after, the addition of Thomas Petit on the second guitar solidified the lineup, bringing a sense of completeness to the ensemble. The band’s sonic identity now established; VESTIGE was ready to share this experience with the world.
The signing with Season of Mist brings the band’s first milestone, allowing VESTIGE to share their journey in the form of their debut album, Janis. Poised for release in late 2024, the album is a culmination of their collective efforts and a statement of the band’s arrival in the heavy music scene. Weaving through atmospheric shoegaze textures, melodic landscapes and intense, tormented moments that reflects the emotional spectrum of the human experience, the band established a foothold into the genre of modern metal.
Beyond the studio, VESTIGE is gearing up for a series of live performance in 2024, setting the stage for an introspective musical experience that brings raw and authentic energy. A cathartic release that pulls in the listener into the emotional depths the band has to bring. Line-up Théodore Rondeau – Vocals, Guitar Pierre-André Krauzer – Bass Quentin Regnault – Drums Thomas Petit – Guitar
Recording Studio Théodore’s Home Studio, Quentin’s Home Studio (For Drums), Pierre-André Krauzer’s Home Studio (For Bass)
Production Credits Mixed by Geoffrey Bonnifet at his Home Studio Mastered by Acle Khaney at 4D Sounds, Oxfordshire, UK
THY CATAFALQUE Announce New Album XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek
The Best Dreams are Yet to Come for the Avant-Garde Visionary
“…yet another testament to the musical genius of Tamás Kátai” – No Clean Singing
amás Kátai has a vision that extends far beyond Hungary. While only intended as a studio project, over the past two decades, THY CATAFALQUE has grown into a lively collaboration that brings together other prominent musicians from inside and outside his country’s metal scene. With each album, he’s pushed the boundaries of extreme metal, bringing the world’s most vile art form into conversation with the avant-garde.
His upcoming twelfth album is Thy Catafalque’s most expansive release yet. XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek features many familiar faces from the project’s wide discography. Dreamy synths swirl amidst riffs that are both catchy and crushing. Traditional acoustic and classical instruments accompany production that’s slightly more modern. But A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek also ties back to Kátai’s past and the history of his home country.
“I felt it was time to move in a different direction, whatever that direction might be, but A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek still possesses the dreaminess that I’ve always associated with Thy Catafalque”, Kátai says. “There is a tinge of nostalgia, a tinge of sadness, a tinge of hope, a tinge of beauty and still a generous amount of metal”.
XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek comes out November 15, 2024 on Season of Mist.
Of course, Tamás Kátai hasn’t been dreaming about his new album for too long. In true prolific fashion, Thy Catafalque’s twelfth album arrives just 14 months after the last one. Just like Alföld, Kátai set out to make a straightforward metal album, but while there are still plenty of chest-pounding moments, A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek took him on a surreal journey.
“I imagine these songs as guides through a dark night of the soul”, Kátai says. In the video for the title track, he runs through the streets of his hometown in Makó. As the path winds through the placid countryside, he’s greeted by strange scenes from both the past and present: rusted-out rail cars, bare-knuckle brawling, mysterious packages being dumped in the woods, a red-headed woman singing stoically in a field. At one point, he’s stopped in his tracks by the sight of his doppelgänger digging his own grave.
“The video is pretty personal”, Kátai says. “It was shot at places from my past and almost all of the actors are my old friends.” Despite the homecoming, the inspiration behind “A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek” isn’t so warm and fuzzy. “The title track comes from a place of disappointment”, he continues. “In the afterglow of nostalgia, there’s also a chill of disappointment”.
Even though it’s the closing song, “A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek” doesn’t end on a down beat. In fact, it just might be the catchiest song on the album. The return of tender brooding vocalist Gábor Dudás gives more than enough reason to celebrate, but the galloping hi-hats, bright hand claps and tireless, fist-pumping guitar hooks will make this song an instant staple of Thy Catafalque’s growing live set.
“The production has been very similar since Geometria” says Kátai. “This time around, I was aiming for a change in the overall sound”.
The flair for the avant-garde that has come to define Thy Catafalque shines through the darkness on album number twelve. But in order to see the light at the end of the tunnel, for the first time, Kátai needed some guidance from an outside producer. Granted, Gábor Vári is no stranger to how his mind works. When he’s not holed away in the studio with other prominent Hungarian metal bands, Gábor could be seen hammering away at his guitar on stage with Thy Catafalque on the live album Mezolit. In their time-honed hands, even the dark waves of synth on “A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek” glow with the faint but familiar reassurance of the dawn.
“The title means ‘The Beautiful Dreams Are Yet to Come'”, Kátai explains. “So even amidst the despair and disappointment, there’s still hope for a future that might offer warmer days after the darkness has ceded”.
The video for “A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek” was created by No Total Films.
More praise for Thy Catafalque
“Few musicians have as long and varied a career as Tamás Kátai of Thy Catafalque” – Angry Metal Guy
“Thy Catafalque are a one of a kind experiment that have never played by traditional rules or boundaries” – New Noise
“A monstrously entertaining, tightly diverse band” – Everying Is Noise
Tracklist: 1. Piros Kocsi, Fekete Éj (4:12) 2. Mindenevö (6:35) 3. Vasgyár (6:18) 4. Világnak Világa (6:28) 5. Nyárfa, Nyírfa (2:53) 6. Lydiához (3:05) 7. Vakond (4:29) 8. Ködkiraly (7:58) 9. Aláhullás (3:48) 10. A gyönyörü álmok ezután jönnek (3:14) [WATCH] 11. Babylon (Bonus Track – Omega Cover) (3:42)* Total runtime: 49:02 *Digital Only
For two decades, Tamás Kátai was content on sticking to the studio. That changed in 2021, when he and a cast of heavy hitters performed at the Fekete Zaj Festival. This milestone was later committed to memory on Mezolit, but Thy Catafalque has continued to grow into a steady and spectacular live act.
Earlier this year, Thy Catafalque headlined their first tour of Europe. Now, to celebrate the project’s upcoming twelfth album, Kátai and his ever-growing list of collaborators will perform at four concerts across Europe. This includes two very special shows at one of Hungary’s most influential underground venues, where they’ll perform songs off XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek, along with all ten tracks on the recently reissued fifth album Rengeteg.
During these two special shows at Dürer Kert, Thy Catafalque will be joined by the noisy experimentalists in Shum, labelmate Saor and Kátai’s old band, Gire.
Thy Catafalque 2024 Concerts: September 1 – Campulung Muscel, Romania @ Posada Rock Festival [TICKETS] October 12 – Thessaloniki, Greece, @ Mammothfest [TICKETS] November 22 – Budapest, Hungary @ Dürer Kert w/ Saor [TICKETS] November 23 – Budapest, Hungary @ Dürer Kert w/ Gire, Shum [TICKETS]
New fans and long-time appreciators can now rediscover just how much Thy Catafalque has grown since their humble beginnings as a duo. This year, Season of Mist re-issued Thy Catafalque’s first seven albums.
Tamás Kátai has a vision that extends beyond borders and boundaries. Even during its infancy, Thy Catafalque had already outgrown the rather rigid guidelines of black metal. Though only intended for the studio, over the past 20 years, his recording project has evolved into a lively collaboration. With each album, Thy Catafalque has pushed the envelope of extreme metal a step further, bringing the world’s most vile art form into conversation with the avant-garde.Thy Catafalque’s twelfth album is even more expansive, but XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek ties both to its mastermind’s past and the history of his native Hungary. “For this album, I felt it was time to move in a different direction, whatever that direction might be”, Kátai says, “but XII still possesses the dreaminess that I’ve always associated with Thy Catafalque”.Of course, Kátai hasn’t been mulling over this album for too long. Keeping in line with his prolific pace, XII arrives just one year after his previous album. Named after the stretch of land where the producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was born in southeast Hungary, Alföld returned to the heaviness from which Thy Catafalque took root during the late ’90s. Once again, Kátai set out to make a straightforward metal record, but while there’s plenty of cause for chest-pounding, A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek ended up taking him on another surreal headtrip.”I think of this album as an introspective journey through the night”, Kátai says. Opener “Piros kocsi, fekete éj” (which in English means “Red Carriage, Black Night”) glides off through a warm mist of piping keys, led by twin engine guitars that crest with reverb. “Time clatters on the rails”. Attila Bakos sings in Hungarian. His voice beams over the airwaves with the same clean force as 15 years ago, when he helped lift Thy Catafalque out of the Hungarian underground on the recently reissued Róka hasa rádió.”Attila also sang on Rengeteg”, Kátai remembers about the first Thy Catafalque album that he wrote and recorded by himself. “‘Piros kocsi, fekete éj’ has the same sense for melody. It opens the album with a feeling of nostalgia”.Of course, many other familiar faces join Kátai on his journey. After all, Thy Catafalque started as a duo with János Juhász. A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek features the biggest guest list in the project’s long discography. More than 20 guest musicians appear on this album, including old friends from inside and outside the Hungarian metal scene. Martina Veronika Horváth — whose band The Answer Lies in the Black Void toured Europe with Thy Catafalque earlier in 2024 — duets with the tender brooding Gábor Dudás for a faithful rendition of “Lydiához”, a 1980 Sebő ensemble classic that sowed the seeds for Hungary’s roots revival.”That is a song that’s been with me and the rest of my generation ever since we were children”, Kátai says. Violins, cello, clarinet and other classical instruments add to the comforts of home. Before it drifts off high beyond the clouds, “Vakond” strings along like a whistling stroll across The Great Plains. “Alföld was very bleak”, he continues. “Adding classical and acoustic instruments helped add a spring of color and an air of adventure to these new songs”.Still, A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek can be a hard road — especially during its crushing middle section. Despite the gentle opening plucks, “Mindenevő” crashes down like a boulder, hurtling ahead at terrifying speed behind doomy operatic backing vocals, mechanized blast beats and the eerie fires of tremolo picking that forged Thy Catafalque’s debut Sublunary Tragedies. “This album still has plenty of metal”, Kátai assures.The heaviest moments are often grounded in Hungary’s history. While colored by nostalgia, XII is also shadowed by the ticking hands of time, a theme that ripples back to 2021’s Vadak. Blackened chugger “Vasgyár” shares a namesake with the rusted-out ironworks that once fueled the country’s economy. It’s not a political statement, but the song does reflect how the landscape has changed to the eye of the now 48-year-old Kátai.”Even the album’s visuals are from a bygone era”, he says. In the video for its title track, closing song and lead single, Kátai doesn’t just run through the streets of his hometown. Surreal scenes from the past and present linger along his winding path through the placid countryside. Watching his doppelgänger dig his own grave feels like a living nightmare. “‘This song comes from a place of desperation”, he says. “Within the afterglow of nostalgia, there’s also the chill of disappointment”.Ultimately, the progressive flair that has come to define Thy Catafalque shines through the darkness on album twelve. Only this time around, in order to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, Kátai needed some guidance. “I felt like the production had largely been the same since Geometria”, he admits. XII marks the first time in the project’s history that he worked with an outside producer. Granted, Gábor Vári is no stranger to how his mind works. When he’s not holed away in the studio with other prominent Hungarian metal bands, Gábor could be seen hammering away at his guitar on stage with Thy Catafalque on the live album Mezolit. “He was the perfect person to help give this album a somewhat different sound that is still familiar”.As a result, “A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek” stands out as one of Thy Catafalque’s biggest crowd pleasers, uplifted by hand claps and catchy, fist-pumping riffs. Even the dark waves of synth glow with the reassurance of the dawn. “At the end, there’s still hope for a future that might offer warmer days after the darkness has ceded”.Thy Catafalque’s twelfth album looks back longingly at the past, Tamás Kátai isn’t stopping to smell the roses. With A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek, he shows that the beautiful dreams are yet to come. Recording Lineup:Tamás Kátai – Guitar, Bass, Vocals, Keyboards, Programming Guest Musicians:Martina Veronika Horváth – Vocals on Track 1, 6 Ivett Dudás – Vocals on Track 8 Helga Kreiter – Vocals on Track 4, 10 Gábor Dudás – Vocals on Track 2, 5, 6, 10 Bálint Bokodi – Vocals on Track 2, 4, 9 Gábor Veres – Vocals on Track 3, 8 Attila Bakos – Vocals on Track 1 Zoltán Kónya – Vocals on Track 3 András Vörös – Vocals on Track 4 Breno Machado – Lead Guitar on Track 2 Zoltán Vigh – Lead Guitar on Track 3 Krisztián Varga – Lead Guitar on Track 4 Daniele Belli – Acoustic Guitar on Track 2 Miguel Velasquez Matija – Fretless Bass on Track 2, 6 Edu Giró – Oud, Bouzouki, Baglama on Track 2,7 Grigoris Mitropoulos – Bouzouki, Mpaglamas on Track 7 Sanja Smileska – Violin on Track 3 Jo Quail – Electric Cello on Track 8 Issar Shulman – Contrabass on Track 2 Cal Rustad – French Horn on Track 2, 8 Manuel Domenech – Cor Anglais on Track 8 Khachatrian Lernik – Clarinet on Track 2 Gergő Bille – Flugelhorn, Trumpet on Track 7 Joakim Toftgaard – Trombone, Trumpet on Track 7 Fabian Hernandez – Saxophone on Track 5 Viktória Varga – Narration on Track 3 Annamari Sánta – Narration on Track 7, 8 Recording: Recorded in various countries: Hungary, United Kingdom, Romania, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Greece, North Macedonia, Israel, U.S.A., Colombia, Brazil. Producer & Sound Engineer:Tamás Kátai, Gábor Vári Mixing & Mastering:Miracle Sound Szeged, Hungary. Mixed and mastered by Gábor Vári Artwork: Front cover by Dániel Szécsényi & Tamás KátaiIllustrations by Orsolya Pintér Follow Thy Catafalque: Website: https://thy-catafalque.hu Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thycatafalque Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thy_catafalque YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/kataitamas Bandcamp: https://thycatafalque.bandcamp.com/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4sgTqbA7htxYkRRJBPZIom Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/thy-catafalque/372164196
Available Formats: Digital Download CD Mediabook (First Pressing Only) 12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black 12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Transparent Yellow & Black Marbled 12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Turquoise & Black Marbled 12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – White w/ Gold Splatters
The dark cinematic metal band’s new single defies any and all conventions
“One of modern metal’s brightest hopes” – Metal Hammer
Though revered by critics and peers, OCEANS OF SLUMBER bow to no one. For more than a decade, the Houston band have spurred prevailing trends in both the metal scene and the American South. Instead of adhering to conventional wisdom or slapping a new coat of paint on the same old ideas, they’ve remade the Southern Gothic in their own progressive image, casting tales of hope and despair against an ever-shifting backdrop of melodic death, doom and black metal.
While they’ve always been stars in their own right, Oceans of Slumber’s upcoming sixth album expands the band’s wide-ranging vision to the dark, cinematic heights of a Hollywood blockbuster. Where Gods Fear to Speak is in conversation with The Handmaid’s Tale and Cormac McCarthy more than it is Opeth. Their new single “The Given Dream” gives hope to the future of metal by breaking the spell that’s lorded over us by the powers that be.
Where Gods Fear to Speak comes out September 13 on Season of Mist.
“The Given Dream” awakens with a familiar sense of dread. A dark, ominous synth blares over the speakers with the creeping suspense of an IMAX movie.
“We were watching a lot of dystopian sci-fi films and TV shows”, Dobber Beverly says about the inspiration behind Where Gods Fear to Speak. The underground will always recognize Dobber as the drummer for grindcore legends Insect Warfare, but he’s also a classically training pianist who composed every note on the album. “I had just bought a Le Gibet synthesizer” he continues. “Hearing the big stabbing synth lines that are in a lot of those soundtracks gave me the idea to open ‘The Given Dream’ as if an alarm was going off in the listener’s head”.
On the album’s first official single, Oceans of Slumber zoomed in on the doomed romance that’s at the center of Where Gods Fear to Speak. While it immediately follows “Poem of Ecstasy” on the track list, “The Given Dream” pans out to the big picture themes that were teased by its title track. “The cold and bitter taste / The wall in front of you / The stone with all your hopes”, belts the band’s leading lady Cammie Beverly, reaching down into the smoky pit of her soul.
“We’re pre-programmed with this dream of how our lives are supposed to turn out”, Dobber says. “The white picket fence. A career at the tech company down the road. Two and a half kids to go along with the ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ poster on your wall”.
“Buying into that idea will make you feel like you’re on the right track”, says Cammie. “When really, we’re just blinded. That dream doesn’t exist”.
The faraway glimmer of the song’s gorgeous piano melody is one of the most intoxicating lines on Where Gods Fear to Speak. “If you’re lucky enough to come from a higher standing, then maybe you do get to live out that fantasy”, Dobber says. He’s not blasting “The Given Dream” — at least, not on his kit. The song is afforded one of the sparest, most streamlined arrangements on the album. A thumping back beat sets a workmanlike pace, but the syncopated snare crumbles like hope through your fingers amidst a glitch of digital effects. “But if you’ve got to struggle, then it’s a lot harder just to survive”.
“You stare and you stare” Cammie belts, steeling herself between each word before she bangs her head back against the proverbial wall. She’s always possessed one of the strongest voices in metal, but on “The Given Dream”, it sounds like she’s fighting for air. “It’s still empty”.
In reality, Cammie did have to catch her breath in order to nail down “The Given Dream”. Oceans of Slumber recorded Where Gods Fear to Speak in Bogotá, Colombia, which is a cool 8,000 feet above sea level. “‘This is one of the most tiring songs to sing on the album”, she explains. “I’m belting from the beginning”. When the bottom finally does drop out and the song sinks into a bridge that’s as quiet and full of shadows as the ocean floor, it only seems like she’s taking a breather. “Going from a belt to soprano back to a belt is not a break” she says with a knowing smile. “Singing soprano takes more breath than singing mid-range or alto. You have to hold your vocal cords tight”.
Just like the myth of suburbia, the music industry doesn’t always live up to its own hype. Heck, even a genre that’s as hellbent on setting fire to the status quo as extreme metal is no angel when it comes to favoring style over substance. With six albums and a decade of touring under their belt, Oceans of Slumber have nothing left that they need to prove, but the band’s unwavering authenticity continues to set them apart. All ten songs on Where Gods Fear to Speak were tracked live with GRAMMY-nominated producer Joel Hamilton. Even the digital drum loops on “The Given Dream” were hammered out by hand.
“I played those loops myself in real time, all one take” Dobber says. “I actually like Portishead, Sneaker Pimps and all those other trip-hop bands from the ’90s. With this song, I wanted to remake that dub style with a big heavy part at the end”.
If their haunting reflection on “Wicked Game” is the chilling end credits to Where Gods Fear to Speak, then “The Given Dream” is one of its many climactic turning points. When the riffs finally come crashing down during the song’s grand finale, it’s with all the gloom and doom of a raging tempest. “I return to the dust I’ve known / The circle, the sky / The earth I’ve called home”, Cammie sings with all her might. With this much force, Oceans of Slumber sound like they’re ready to tear down the walls and show us into the light.
To celebrate the release of Where Gods Fear to Speak, Oceans of Slumber are saddling up with their fellow Houston heavies in Necrofier for a fiery performance at Metal Injection Festival.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Metal Injection’s 20th anniversary at this year’s festival”, says Cammie. “We’ll be sharing the stage with amazing bands like Jinjer, Converge, God Forbid, 3 Inches of Blood, Hanabie, Cave In, Rivers of Nihil and our good friends in Necrofier. We can’t wait to rock out with you and hit the streets of New York City”.
Metal Injection Festival Sunday, September 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Monarch & Meadows [TICKETS]
Tracklist 1. Where Gods Fear to Speak (6:25) [WATCH] 2. Run From the Light (5:15) 3. Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed (8:28) 4. Wish (3:53) 5. Poem of Ecstasy (6:33) [WATCH] 6. The Given Dream (3:36) [LISTEN] 7. I Will Break the Pride of Your Will (5:27) 8. Prayer (5:03) 9. The Impermanence of Fate (6:20) 10. Wicked Game (5:26) [LISTEN]
More praise for Oceans of Slumber
“A band that nails a unique balance and has the potential to do whatever they want” – Angry Metal Guy(4/5)
“Masterful compositions that reveal more secrets with each listen” – Metal Injection (9/10)
“Dark, turbulent, and above all, incredibly emotional” – New Noise(4/5)
“They are the new Southern gothic, and you need to pay attention” – Distorted Sound(9/10)
“This band is truly something special” – Ghost Cult(8/10)
More than a decade has passed since the release of Oceans of Slumber’s Aetherial debut album, and a lot has changed. After recruiting Cammie Gilbert (now Beverly) in 2014, the Houston, Texas crew’s trajectory took a natural, upward tilt, fueled by the hugely positive response received by second album, Winter (2016). Masters of dark-hearted brutality and gritty, melancholic song craft, Oceans of Slumber transcended the usual genre limitations, favoring a progressive and boundary-less approach. With each successive record, the combination of founder, drummer, pianist and chief songwriter Dobber Beverly’s brooding, dynamic onslaughts with Cammie’s charismatic presence and elegant, sonorous vocals garnered widespread acclaim and an international fan base. Monuments to a restless creative spirit, the band’s third and fourth albums, The Banished Heart (2018) and Oceans of Slumber (2020) raised the stakes ever higher.
Nobody said it was going to be easy, however. Buoyed by the praise of critics and the love of increasingly rabid admirers, Oceans of Slumber proved true to their progressive reputation when they released fifth full-length Starlight & Ash in 2022. Although still palpably drawn from the same well of dark and daring influences that had informed previous records, the new songs were pointedly bereft of the crushing metal tropes and elaborate song structures of old. Instead, Oceans of Slumber stripped things to an ornate and earthy take on gothically-inclined songwriting and melancholy modern prog. Starlight & Ash was praised in metal and prog media, but drew the ire of the band’s big label paymasters, who were rather unimaginatively hoping for more of the same. Reaching an impasse, band and label parted ways, leading to Oceans of Slumber’s newly-forged relationship with the notoriously open-minded Season of Mist. Now armed with a brand new studio album, Where Gods Fear To Speak, these intuitive radicals have gone where they will be understood.
“The thing is, we never said we’re never going to do something heavy again,” shrugs Cammie. “People panic when a band puts out an album that does something different. It was a weird time. It came during a time when our music was different from everything else, and I think the record was a bit lost on some people – people that mattered in our realm. The fans got it, and it was received really well, just not by the label!”
“Starlight should’ve been an easier way for us to branch out to a different audience,” adds Dobber. “But the label didn’t care and we didn’t try to capitalize on it. With Where Gods Fear To Speak, every time you make a new record, you think it’s the best, but there’s a couple of songs on this record that are definitely the best songs we’ve ever written, easily. There’s an energy to them that’s palpable. It sounds like an energetic, pissed-off band, with enigmatic storytelling and all those magical things.”
Recorded in Bogota, Colombia, in 2023, Where Gods Fear To Speak is a multi-faceted entry into Oceans of Slumber’s burgeoning legacy. Many of the melodic and textural elements that made Starlight & Ash such a revelation are still present, but scabrous brutality and complex, cultured arrangements are back with a vengeance. With Cammie’s astonishing vocal blend of vulnerability and abominable power, these songs are the best possible showcase for a band on an unerring mission to win the world over.
“I think Cammie is the best singer in America by far, but if she’s at such a top level and we still can’t break through, that just means that if we want to stay where we are, we’ve got to work harder!” Dobber admits, candidly. “We know how good we are, and how good the music is, but it doesn’t pay off for us all the time and the new record reflects that. It’s aggressive, it’s aggravated, but it tells a story. The closing song, “Impermanence Of Fate” – that’s the tag. It means that what you have it isn’t a fatal flaw or a mortal wound, and you can change things and work around these setbacks. So a lot of this record is fight songs.”
A colossus in both conception and execution, Where Gods Fear To Speak eschews the usual modern metal sounds in favor of an overwhelming, wall-of-sound production. As songs like the thunderous title track and the grim and sprawling “Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed” cast their meandering, malevolent spells, every instrument leaps out with laser-like clarity, and the vast, emotional heft underpinning Dobber and Cammie’s lyrics is brought rivetingly to the fore. Meanwhile, standout gems like “The Given Dream” and “Poem of Ecstasy” showcase Oceans of Slumber’s still-evolving core sound, with soaring melodies and jaw-dropping dynamics that casually blur the boundary between the accessible and the avant-garde, while basking in the brooding glow of Cammie’s unique voice. Produced in collaboration with esteemed studio guru Joel Hamilton at Audovision Studios in Bogota, it emerges as a self-evident labor of love for all of those involved.
“We did the most extensive pre-production demoing that we’ve ever done for this record. Everything was finished, the vocal lines were 98% done in advance,” Dobber notes. “Then we got into the studio and I threw curveballs at Cammie to piss her off and get her to land these certain vocal sections. There has to be some element of this that is created in the moment. It’s not magical otherwise. I did all the synthesizers and orchestrations at home, but then we recorded the rest of it at the studio in Colombia. Joel’s done a lot of work with big hitters, but also with Neurosis and bands like Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. So when I said we were going to make a heavy record, I wanted it to sound like all hell’s breaking loose. We wanted a very natural production and for everything to be as organic as it could be.”
From the doom-laden opening chords of “Where Gods Fear To Speak” – released as the album’s first preview single, and revealing Cammie’s feral death growls for the first time – to the dying, desolate embers of grand finale “Impermanence Of Fate”, the new Oceans of Slumber album is simply the most immersive and fascinating piece of work the band have made. As added intrigue, guest stars Mikael Stanne of Swedish melo-death legends Dark Tranquillity, and Moonspell’s iconic frontman Fernando Ribeiro lend their vocal talents to “Run From The Light” and “Prayer” respectively. Steeped in the oppressive atmospheres of doom, death and gothic metal, but rendered using a spinning kaleidoscope of progressive musical shades, Where The Gods Fear To Speak idly defies categorization, while strenuously redefining the artistic formula that Oceans of Slumber have spent so many years refining. Meanwhile, these songs paint such vivid pictures that it comes as little surprise that Where Gods Fear to Speak is a certified concept work, with a cinematic streak a mile wide.
“This album is a dystopian western or a post-apocalyptic survival movie, somewhere between The Handmaid’s Tale, The Dark Tower and Cormac McCarthy,” states Dobber. “The whole idea is that Where The Gods Fear To Speak is a movie, and we’ve written the soundtrack. If the world was taken over, like in movie The Book Of Eli, and Gary Oldman had found the Bible and the true power of it, and he was wielding the power of the lord over everybody, those people that were maybe just into their traditional spiritualism or people that were not religious at all, they would be the defectors, so the record is written from the viewpoint of the defectors. The ending credits are our version of “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak. We wanted to take it back to when the music in movies set the tone for everything.”
Wildly evocative and bulging under the weight of its countless razor-sharp melodies, Where Gods Fear To Speak proves that Oceans of Slumber will not let the occasional setback put them off their creative stride. Both the heaviest and the most sophisticated record they have made yet, it covers all bases to deliver an emotional, life-affirming musical journey like no other. Some people will love it. Others may not. But what is abundantly clear is that Oceans of Slumber remain a formidable force to be reckoned with, and When Gods Fear To Speak may be their masterpiece.
“We just hope to grow the band. We’ve had a problem with reaching the next level, but I’m hoping this record makes the difference, and people just give us a shot,” Dobber concludes. “The band is great and it’s tight, and Cammie is such a great performer. When people really get to see the real thing in front of them, which they don’t a lot of the time, it just works, intrinsically. There’s just a natural response to it. So if we can get in front of the audiences we should, then we’ll win them over and the band will grow. That’s all we want. It’s a mechanism for survival at this point.” Lineup Cammie Beverly – vocals Dobber Beverly- drums, piano Semir Ozerkan – bass Alex Davis – guitar Chris Kritikos – guitar, synth
Recording Audiovision Studios in Bogotá, Columbia Assistant engineering at Audiovision by Deyra Castillo and David Dueñas Piña
Production Produced and engineered by Joel Hamilton Mixed by Joel Hamilton at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York Additional engineering by Chris Kritikos Assistant engineering by Justin Termotto
