On December 1st internationally, Dominance of Darkness Records is proud to present the highly anticipated second album of Germany’s Dethroned, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Dethroned are one of the most cult entities in the rich (yet often overlooked) history of German black metal. The band’s roots stretch back to 1991, with the band Mysticism, who released but one demo. From Mysticism’s ashes came Dethroned in 1993, founded by the trio of Barkayal, BSoD, and Morgoth. Over the course of the next three years, the band would release a half-dozen demos, faithfully exuding the spirit of the mid ’90s black metal scene. In 1998, Dethroned would release a live tape, Christentod, which would include a couple bonus tracks that were from an aborted 7″ EP. They would retreat to the shadows for a full decade before emerging with Promo 2008, soon followed bythe Dominance of Darkness-released In the Sign of the Pentagram, a retrospective compilation covering their ’90s works. Another hiatus ensued until 2016, which saw Dethroned release a split album joined by fellow German hordes Sacrilegious Rite and Goatblood. At long last, in 2017 did they release their first full-length, Bluotrunst, thankfully sounding very much like the ’90s never ended.
And so it goes (and, as expected, after some years of silence) with Dethroned‘s second album, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness. Something of a 30th anniversary release for the Germans, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness is truly titled: 47 minutes of trend-free olde-worlde black metal, serving as a portal to mysteries and mysticism beyond the mien of mortals. Like the mythical era from which they sprang, Dethroned here maintain a curious contrast between stark monochromatism and borderless songwriting – a throwback to the days when you immediately knew you were experiencing BLACK METAL, but each band offered unique twists in its make-no-mistake presentation. As such, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness is a deceptively dynamic listen. Aggression is certainly accounted for, but so is melancholia, and often within the same song; songwriting largely sticks to mid-tempos at once triumphant and sashaying, martial and reposed. Guitars are sharp and cold, of course, but actual bass guitar pushes those dynamics forward; foggy synths linger where they may, intermittent but always with powerful purpose. The production is superlative in its balance between effervescent rawness and crystalline clarity, altogether highlighting the very real (and very impassioned) playing across the album. Concluding in a manner most fitting is a cover of the scene-legendary Grausamkeit, honoring both tradition as well as BSoD and Barkayal’s years in Dethroned.
Keeping matters DIY, guitarist John Never handled all artwork (exterior and interior) for A Bridge to Eternal Darkness. To celebrate this anniversary, Dominance of Darkness will concurrently reissue Bluotrunst as a six-panel digipack CD with alternate cover art. Hate, riot & blasphemy since 1993: Dethroned strike a blow against modernity!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Come to Me” here:
Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Dethroned (Germany)’s A Bridge to Eternal Darkness
1. Come to Me 2. Vinum Creaturae 3. Disciple of the Elders 4. Colour Out of Space 5. Void 6. Ewig Fäulnis 7. Ruf der Tiefe 8. Descent 9. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness 10. Im Zeichen Des Bösen (Grausamkeit cover)
Today, Luciferian black metallers Nahasheol premiere the new track “Bringer of Divine Ecstasy”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Serpens Abyssi, set for international release on November 3rd via Wolves of Hades and Argento Records. Hear Nahasheol‘s “Bringer of Divine Ecstasy” in its entirety here:
From the haunted shores of purgatory, a spectral entity cryptically summoned as Nahasheol rose from a cauldron of ominous shade carrying a will of draconian fire. With an inception dating back to last year, the enigma twisted waves under the sign of Kaaosoth, a three-song tome bursting with sinister ecstasy and sheer darkness. Now, a new vortex has been carved, a pathway into the realms of timeless chaos is unchained. Enter Serpens Abyssi! From the first moments of the belligerent opening “Arcanum Mortuus,” Nahasheol set the pathway to its journey, crafted from the nether regions with a blazing ardor of black metal devilry. Whether through fast impending rages of visceral wrath or alluring melodic strokes, a scorching ordeal of unholy riffing engraves a spiritual trail to the Luciferian mysteries with a poisonous drive, destructive electrical compulsions which permeate the whole record, ever hardening and potent, as varied as reeking with the essence of black metal tradition.
Organic and dynamic, the utterly brilliant sonic alchemy, courtesy of Daniel Souza and Tore Stjerna, focuses on atmosphere, energy, and metallic venom in equal measures. An overall compelling sound showcases a charismatic rhythmic section forged by pulsating impulses of percussive excellence, backing magnetic six-string gifts to the unlimited underworld while an enigmatic voice hails the chthonic revelations, narrating the aetheric void with fearless momentum. Such words of sacred meaning encounter a striking parallel on the magnanimous visual traits, meticulously crafted graphics, channeling the Promethean Fire, reflections of the magickal meaning and spiritual cadence behind Nahasheol’s expression.
Released by Wolves of Hades & Argento, Serpens Abyssi takes the listener on a treacherous and unforgiving journey into the sacred Luciferian trails, a ceremonial cast of abyssal emanations, pledged to be carved in black blood in the very heart of its enthralled disciple.
Hear the previously revealed “Arcanum Mortuus” HERE at Wolves of Hades‘Bandcamp. Cover artwork, courtesy of Cayo Farias, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Nahasheol’s Serpens Abyssi
1. Arcanum Mortuus 2. The Aetheric Void 3. The Awakening 4. Bring Of Divine Ecstasy 5. Mambah Maa 6. Devan Thanatha
On December 1st internationally, Dominance of Darkness Records is proud to present Aphelium Aeternum‘s long-awaited debut album, Dark Interstellar Mysteries, on vinyl LP format.
Hailing from Bavaria, Aphelium Aeternum is a recreation of an old abandoned project called Aphelium Eternal, founded in 1995 by T. Voidgänger (back then called Azazel) before he joined the band Sorcerer. Other members were Bael and Nachtmahr, both members of Sorcerer. After only six months, the band was laid to rest. In 2019, T. Voidgänger finally went back to reanimate the band, as the name fit the songs that were composed in a more symphonic black metal style, changing the second part of the name from Eternal to Aeternum. New members were found in Dragg (Auro, Drudensang), Peryton (Pestnebel, Nigrum Tenebris), Krampn (Drudensang), and M. P.
With that lineup in place, it took Aphelium Aeternum over three years to finish the recordings of their first album. A demo was made with rough mixes, but was also delayed. Meanwhile, Krampn left the band to focus on other projects. But the journey of Aphelium Aeternum has just begun: at long last, their full-length debut arrives in Dark Interstellar Mysteries. Almost too perfectly titled, Dark Interstellar Mysteries creates a cosmic canvas like few others these days. Modernity is ditched for the cryogenic, vast void of outer space, where dramatic and densely layer symphonic black metal weaves a sumptuous, splendorous spell that’s immersive to the extreme. Aphelium Aeternum spare no extravagance nor detail here; kaleidoscopic and 3D, this album is far, FAR removed from shitty fake-raw “black metal” clogging up Bandcamp nowadays. Indeed, the band are old spirits, and display as much across Dark Interstellar Mysteries, invoking the likes of Emperor, Limbonic Art, Obtained Enslavement, and Norway’s Troll, Covenant, and Odium – times when black metal was exclusively veiled in mystery.
Released on CD in September, now Dark Interstellar Mysteries fittingly receives a vinyl treatment. The stargate opens and there stand Aphelium Aeternum, surveying their kingdom cold!
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Aphelium Aeternum’s Dark Interstellar Mysteries 1. The Stargate Opens 2. Dark Interstellar Mysteries 3. Spiritual Journey to the Arcane Cosmos 4. Voidgänger 5. Event Horizon 6. Where Creation Ends 7. Into the Timeless Abyss 8. Nocturnal Dimensions Unfold 9. Dead Eyes Stare into the Nightsky 10. Outro
Today, Teutonic black metallers Hagatiz stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Cursed to the Night. Set for international release on October 11th via Amor Fati Productions, hear Hagatiz’s Cursed to the Night in its entirety here:
Hailing from Germany, Hagatiz are a new formation of old souls: Dauþuz‘s Semgoroth, Häxenzijrkell‘s MK, and the ever-profilic Odium Aeternum (Abythic, Haimad, Lunar Chalice, Mysteria Mystica Aeterna et. al.). Together, these scene veterans reveal Cursed to the Night, Hagatiz‘s first public recording.
Fully formed, as to be expected from such a stellar lineup, Hagatiz‘s debut album comprises pure, uncompromising BLACK METAL steeped in the ancients: no more, but definitely no less. The point is not to “be” anything other than authentically old-school black metal in the best ’90s tradition, from Scandinavia and across to Germania and even on to the Eastern Bloc. Raw without being ineffectual, dark and haunting yet brimming with just enough melody, Cursed to the Night is a work of total passion and spirit; that Hagatiz make it seem so effortless is perhaps unsurprising, but it’s remarkable nevertheless. There is no “thinking” involved in this experience, only feeling – and such was the way it was as the ’90s drew to a close and pure hearts heeded the call to head deeper underground. It’s not inaccurate to say that Hagatiz could’ve been released on such era-embodying vanguards as Sombre, Drakkar, or Solistitium, so authentic is this essence and atmosphere…but again, only FEELING Cursed to the Night is real.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Hagatiz’s Cursed to the Night 1. The Gathering 2. Demimonde 3. Echoes from the Afterlife 4. Everlast in darkest Night 5. Scourge beneath the Skin 6. Drown in Darkness 7. Necrovoid
Strigoi were already plenty unsettling on their debut album. But the UK death-doom band’s follow-up pushed their grinding asphyxiations to such vile extremes, that it produced an abundance of putridity.
‘Bathed In A Black Sun’ includes four unreleased or exclusive songs from ‘Viscera’. Get re-acquainted with the pure, unadultered filth of the title track, which is slimed with sludge riffs and a crusty drum groove.
Watch the horrifying new video for “Bathed In A Black Sun” here:
The ‘Bathed In A Black Sun’ EP comes out 3 November.
“We are pleased to finally do this, as ultimately ‘Bathed In A Black Sun’ as a track is lamentably all the more relevant today than it was when it was written”, says bassist Chris Casket. “We also wanted to release this EP as a companion to the album ‘VISCERA’, so finally all the tracks recorded during that studio session are available for all to ‘enjoy’ the extra cuts of raging spite and cold despair.”
Greg Mackintosh already had one side project from his main gig as the guitarist for Paradise Lost. But when Vallenfyre ran its course, he started Strigoi with bassist Chris Casket in hopes of dragging death and doom metal even further afield.
‘Bathed In A Black Sun’ proves that Strigoi can mold nasty blackened death doom from anything – even their own remains
Track-list 1. Bathed in A Black Sun (4:19) [WATCH VIDEO] 2. The Grotesque (2:56) 3. Beautiful Stigmata(00:41) 4. A Spear of Perfect Grief (04:14) 5. The Construct of Misery (01:33) Total runtime: 12:63
When Paradise Lost guitarist Greg Mackintosh put to rest his Vallenfyre side project in 2018, he closed a difficult, but ultimately cathartic period in his life. Created as a tribute to his father John, who passed away in 2009, Vallenfyre originally served as a sounding board for Greg’s grief, but then delved into his nihilistic take on the world. Vallenfyre’s brief existence was intentional — the band always knew they could go no further than the three studio albums that bore their name.
A mere few days after Vallenfyre played its last live show in September 2018, Mackintosh announced the formation of a brand-new band with Vallenfyre bassist Chris Casket (Ex. Extreme Noise Terror), Strigoi. The English twosome released their debut album Abandon All Faith on 22nd November 2019 which was met by widespread critical acclaim and support. From this success, the band began preproduction to take the project live, recruiting to the line-up drummer Guido Zima (Ex Implore / The Secret) and live guitarist Sam Kelly-Wallace (Ex Vallenfyre) to begin spreading their foreboding gospel throughout the European festival circuit.
Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic that hit Spring 2020 Strigoi were unable to perform live as planned, and realising this situation was going to be a long-term constraint Greg and Chris decided to begin writing for a second album. This 18-month process culminated in Strigoi signing to Season Of Mist records, then heading to Orgone Studios UK to track 14 brand new songs under the watchful eye of award winning producer Jamie Gomez Arellano.
The bands line up, now set with the addition of guitarist Ben Ash (Satyricon / Ex. Carcass) completed the recording of the album ‘Viscera’ in October 2021, subsequently mixed by Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studios and mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege Studios. ‘Viscera’ represents the further evolution of Strigoi as a band, a concept fully realised as a statement of terror, malaise, and ultimately a record representing what Greg and Chris wanted to achieve from the band’s inception.
Their new ‘Bathed in Black Sun’ EP includes five unreleased songs from the recording sessions for ‘Viscera’. The title track is pure, unadulterated filth, slimed with sludge riffs and a crusty drum groove.
Recording Studio: Oregon Studios Producer/Sound engineer: Jamie Gomez and Strigoi Additional recording and production: Gregor Mackintosh at Black Planet Studios Mixing studio/engineer: Kurt Ballou – Godcity Studios Mastering studio/engineer: Brad Boatright – Audiosiege
Recording line-up: Greg Mackintosh: Vocals and Guitar Chris Casket: Bass Guido Zima: Drums Ben Ash: Guitar
Today, Shadow Records (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces December 15th as the international release date for the highly anticipated second album of Sweden’s Hinsides, Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Released during the summer of 2021, Hinsides‘ Under Betlehems brinnande stjärna debut LP was a firestorm of freezing filth. Undeniably necrotic as per the earliest birth-pangs of Scandinavian black metal, peer within that piercing sound and you will have found a wealth of fascinating and fearless twists to ancient black metal tropes. Here, Hinsides revealed themselves to be more melodic and magisterial than they hinted at on their earlier split with comrades Monstraat, but nevertheless kept the attack fucking FERAL and utterly unreal in sum effect. Perhaps all this was unsurprising given that the band is the sole work of M.A. from the esteemed Ultra Silvam…but either way, a new (and harrowing) horde worth reckoning had arrived with acidic aplomb.
Now Hinsides return with an even-stronger (and -stranger) work in Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang. The band’s second full-length titularly translates to “From beyond the ancient chime of the devil bell is heard,” and a more apt approximation of Hinsides‘ ever-expanding sound cannot be found. Joined by Ultra Silvam drummer L.A., M.A. brings back the church bells of the preceding album and goes gonzo with them; at nearly every (crooked) turn, there tolls a bell of doom, summoning dread powers from that Beyond. More concretely, those sinuous peals of eeriness provide complementary / contrapuntal color to Hinsides‘ most rippling ‘n’ roiling black metal yet. But heed the METAL aspect of “black metal” here: the duo devilishly construct dark headbangers that soon whip forth into a state of possession, with starkly melodic leads flying fast and free, altogether creating a (dark, devilish) narrative flow that’s exceptionally unique for something so necro. Underlining that Devil’s Heavy Metal aspect of Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang is the guest appearance of Jonas Hansson from olde-worlde hard rockers Silver Mountain, dropping a solo into “I nekromisantropisk harmoni.” Bringing that aspect to a boil is the cover of the Plasmastics’ “The Damned,” which Hinsides malevolently make their own (and which can only be found on physical copies of the album).
The bells of doom toll even louder with the splendor of archaic witchcraft and devil worship: Hinsides‘ Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang concludes the year with frightening finality!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new tracks “Djävulshymn” and “I nekromisantropisk harmoni” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Hinsides (Sweden)’s Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang 1. Hinsides hörs djävulsklockans urklang 2. För dödens storhet 3. Djävulshymn 4. I nekromisantropisk harmoni 5. 666 stötar mot himmelens port 6. En stympad människa 7. The Damned (Plasmatics cover) !!ONLY ON PHYSICAL COPIES!!
Today, bestial black metal hordes Goatkraft premiere the new track “Bestial Black Metal Hordes”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Prophet of Eternal Damnation, set for international release on November 3rd via Iron Bonehead Productions. Hear Goatkraft‘s “Bestial Black Metal Hordes” in its entirety here:
It’s been four years since Goatkraft‘s celebrated debut album for Iron Bonehead, Sulphurous Northern Bestiality, and nothing has changed for the Norwegian power-trio: their monochromatic muse is as locked-in and lascivious as ever. Just one look at the cover of their second album, Prophet of Eternal Damnation, and you should know EXACTLY what you’re getting into. If you are a false, do not entry.
Still, Goatkraft are superlative for the bestial metal style, and prove it across the 30 thundering minutes of Prophet of Eternal Damnation. While the Ross Bay Cult doubtlessly provided the foundation for the bestial arts, it was the likes of progeny Black Witchery and Proclamation who made those arts more murderous and uncompromising. Likewise uncompromising, Goatkraft carry that sulfurous torch with their second full-length, delivering detonating screeds of grinding, expulsive black filth. If anything, their attack is even more unhinged than ever – bringing out the grindcore roots of the form, as it were – and solos and FX explode from nearly every direction, whipping forth a fury both punishing and possessing. The full-figure production only makes the experience that much more overwhelming.
No progression, no compromise, no hope: Goatkraft herald the Prophet of Eternal Damnation.
Also hear the previously revealed “Herald of Death” HERE at Iron Bonehead‘s Soundcloud. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Goatkraft’s Prophet of Eternal Damnation 1. Portal To Annihilation 2. Herald of Death 3. Bestial Black Metal Hordes 4. Filth Eradication 6. Prophet of Eternal Damnation 7. Death Psalm 8. Barbaric Hatred And Doom 9. Primal Instincts 10. Thermonuclear Genocide
Today, Swedish black/death metallers Third Storm stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, The Locust Mantra. Set for international release on October 6th via Chaos Records, hear Third Storm‘s The Locust Mantra in its entirety here:
Third Storm was formed in 1986 in Uppsala, Sweden by four people who shared the same passion for the underground extreme music and at that time was very much influenced by acts like Bathory, Venom, Hellhammer etc. The music scene in Sweden back then was very glam oriented – more so than most European countries – and extreme metal bands were seen as talentless bums. The band didn’t care and tried their best to be the most extreme; the members were just kids in the 14-16 age range when they started, and how well you played didn’t matter as long you could make noise with your instrument.
Third Storm performed about a dozen shows at that time. The overall crazy performance and the Satanic image were very over the top and therefore not taken seriously, so the band was laughed at for two years until they finally split up in 1988. But the past decade or so, people have seriously taken interest in the past and found about this obscure, strange band who is more known for their name than their music.
The stuff Third Storm recorded in the ’80s is rare as hell: a couple of recordings were made just for the band themselves, and very few copies were spread back in the old days of tape-trading. The music back then was very primitive and raw, like other black metal bands at that time; the music was also thrash-influenced, but with a very noisy touch. The band used blastbeats in ’86, and not many could grasp that kind of noise back then. The vocals were insane screams, and lyrics were written in a way the South American bands did back in the ’80s. They didn’t even take any band photos and didn’t think or care in the terms of promotion, photos, flyers, studios, etc – they just wanted to bang their heads and make noise. In 2015, Dark Descent Records released Third Storm‘s “comeback” record, the two-song Tarîtîya Me EP.
The spirit of Third Storm today is the same as in 1986, but the musical direction is breaking new ground and new sinister elements are added. The band released their first full-length, The Grand Manifestation, in 2018. That album is also their first of a trilogy the band is working on.
In 2022, Third Storm finally entered the studio to record their second full-length, The Locust Mantra, now aligned with Chaos Records. Continuing the momentum set forth on The Grand Manifestation, Third Storm‘s second album is a tour de force of quintessentially Swedish blackened death metal: classic yet current, “retro” 1990s but plausibly modern. Totaling 41 minutes, the nine songs comprising The Locust Mantra are more dynamic and epic than before, but there’s still an intensity and heaviness that harkens to those primordial days of ’80s proto-black, particularly from South America. Slashing and searing but gleaming with a classiness and clarity, the production across the album highlights the outstanding technical skills of Third Storm‘s bolstered new lineup. The new rhythm section of bassist Daniel Håkansson and drummer Jesper Ojala make their presence felt with power and passion, while the core members of vocalist Heval Bozarslan and guitarists Hasse Hansson and David Eriksson sound fired up and feed off that new black blood in the band.
Timeless and untrendy, Third Storm prove with The Locust Mantra that Swedish blackened death metal is far from fading away.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of Raul Gonzales, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Third Storm’s The Locust Mantra 1. The Clandestine Gospel 2. Mater Pest 3. Demigod Doctrine 4. World Infernal 5. When Noble Hearts Failed 6. Inescapable Echoes of War 7. Alter Omega 8. In the Garden of Crystallized Souls 9. Dawn of the Fearmongers
Today, Polish black metallers Teufelsberg premiere the new track “Gospel of Diabolical Freedom”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Pakt mit dem Teufel, set for international release on October 31st via Signal Rex. Hear Teufelsberg‘s “Gospel of Diabolical Freedom” in its entirety here:
Since their ascent from time’s abyss in with the public debut with the 2020 demo Ancient Darkness Triumphant, Poland’s Teufelsberg have stood against the modern world – and namely, the modern “black metal underground.” Using their noble Polish roots as an unshakable aesthetic foundation, the horde lit fires for the olden days with each successive recording, culminating in both a covenant with Signal Rex and their debut album, Ordre du Diable, during the early half of 2022.
Keeping those fires blazing brightly and blacker than ever, Teufelsberg return their second full-length strike, Pakt mit dem Teufel. As cold and grim as ever, the band here spelunk among corridors rich in the treasures of pre-internet black metal, integrating not only their ancient Polish idiom but also contemporaneous Nordic and Hellenic ones. In a sense, there’s a sense of deja vu…initially, as the deeper one dives among Teufelsberg‘s treasures, the more those jewels shimmer in a manner uniquely the band’s own. As ever, the horde’s raw-yet-clear tones and attendant execution are superlative for their defiance against prevailing trends, and the full might of their mysticism is surely felt every second of this six-song/38-minute album.
“Pakt mit dem Teufel was signed in blood somewhere in Poland during the full moon in 2022,” the band declare. “Teufelsberg continues to follow the path of Unholy Black Metal. The funeral bell carries its song bathed in moonlight. It calls impure souls to the top of the Devil’s Mountain, calls to make a pact and worship HIM.”
Also hear the previously revealed “Der Ruf Des Mephistopheles”both HERE at Signal Rex‘s official YouTube channel as well as HERE at Signal Rex‘s Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Teufelsberg’s Pakt mit dem Teufel 1. Hunger etter synd 2. Der ruf des Mephistopheles 3. Gospel of Diabolical Freedom 4. La Beauté du Diable 5. Noc Walpurgii, Lucyfera Dar! 6. Wpiekłowstąpienie (in Herrlichkeit inmitten der Flammen)
Would you submit yourself to human torture to go beyond your limits to expressing art? Voluntary suffering for the greater goal in pursuit of artistic excellence is what one of the members of cathartic black metal band GAEREA (PT) went through for the visualisation of ‘Dormant’.
The video (recorded by the great Claudio Marino, distinguished for working with giants like BEHEMOTH, WATAIN, SHINING) simply can’t be classified as a music video to give visualisation to the song. It’s an 8 minute excruciating compilation of being waterboarded, trapped in a cycle of unending pain, with each passing moment feeling like an eternity, time becomes the cruellest enemy.
‘Dormant’ is a ghost track, a song only available on the (sold out) Media book from their recently released album “Mirage”. Out of billions of people, a mere group of just 1349 holds ownership of this exceptional track.
But no more.
To mark the start of their US tour with WOLFS IN THE THRONEROOM and BLACK BRAID in October 2023, the band is releasing ‘Dormant’ for all fans to let their minds wander freely and share their suffering.
GAEREA comments: “Complementing the song’s aural journey, the video art installation accompanying “Dormant” delves into the anguish and struggle for survival. The visuals depict the main character, trapped and enclosed in a tormenting world, as water relentlessly pours over his body, simulating drowning and suffocation. This immersive and visceral experience offers a harrowing glimpse into the protagonist’s fight for life, evoking a range of emotions and challenging viewers to confront their own mortality.”
Video directed by Claudio Marino
The track ‘Dormant’ is a bonus track taken from the previously released album “Mirage”. Details of the album and tracklisting can be found below.
Behind black shrouds of obscurity and desolation, the men of GAEREA deliver their odes in cascading maelstroms of aggression and beauty. Emerging from the age of pandemic to whatever awaits humanity next, the Portuguese horde remains on the frontlines of the next generation of extreme metal. With an EP and two albums to their name, GAEREA has rapidly distinguished themselves from the thousands of bands toiling away in the underground. Brewing their cauldron of sound from a recipe of pounding black-metal blast mixed with a touch of harrowed, reflective longing, many devotees of the darkened arts have flocked to their banner. With the emergence of third full-length album Mirage, those numbers are sure to grow.
Underground metal itself is a strange and cyclical beast. Trends come and trends go. But at no point in the genre’s history have we borne witness to what happened to the world in 2020. GAEREA met this challenge by releasing their second album, the aptly titled Limbo, to excellent world reception. In the meantime, they found the total suspension of interactive life as it was previously known to be the perfect breeding ground for further creation and making. As the troupe’s main songwriter elaborates, “I lost two precious years of my life, years that I would rather have spent touring and growing as an artist. But they were crucial for us, these years, because not too many bands stayed relevant and productive. The pandemic gave us the time to make the best release we could. All the promo-shoots, interviews, videos, we all had time to prepare for everything. Mirage was the product of a sudden inspiration. The basic parts were written over about two weeks.”
Such a stunning admission goes to show that art is fickle, and the artist is merely a vessel through which the sweet sorcery we call music may flow. It can mute itself to frustrating silence – or it can explode into being regardless of all consideration. For this band on the rise, it is most certainly the latter. Sizzling with ambition from day one, GAEREA may present one unique face to their audience, masked and enshrouded, but the truth is they have not remained changeless. “We are not the same band who recorded Limbo,” he insists. “We are more eager to take on the world. If the pandemic taught us anything it is that nothing is certain.”
This lack of certainty plays heavily into newest creation Mirage. As its name suggests, the inability to trust what our senses are telling us could be construed as one of the album’s central themes. Rather than constrict their art to mythological references or anti-religious tropes, GAEREA instead plumb the depths of the human experiences of isolation and suffering. “The concept, the subject, of each song is everyone, you, me . . . if people were alone together in Limbo, in Mirage they are truly alone. Nobody is truly real until they are alone.”
If existential dread could be turned into sound, GAEREA have carved their own philosophical path through its stygian tunnels. It isn’t Satan, demons, death, or even suicide that is waiting for us there. “What if people finally reached their goal,” he posits, “to end their suffering, and instead of dying they find themselves in a new reality, lost in a big city they were once a part of – they don’t know if anyone else is still alive. They are alone inside their own world.” This theme of being alone in a world full of familiar scenes, unable to end things and unable to reach anyone else, might well terrify the listener more effectively than any glimpse into the imagined hellscapes of our nightmares. Being isolated in your own world is the real nightmare, and GAEREA strum the chords of this horror with nuance and a miserable grace.
Boasting a superior production that threads the needle between clarity and causticness, GAEREA unwaveringly admit their loyalty to countryman and producer Miguel Tereso of Demigod Recordings. “Miguel is fantastic,” enthuses the band’s primary composer. “He comes from a brutal death metal background. I thought if this guy can pull off a punchy, modern, but still authentic production with a slam / death metal band, I wonder what he can do with a band like GAEREA. He has a vision for a sound, and that is what I really like. He is not a black metal fan, but it’s this very external set of ears and eyes from a guy who really knows his craft, and he brings all of that to our sound.” The fruits of this union are quite evident, as the turbulent moods of the title track are so wonderfully tossed between tension-building moments, and the explosive payoffs which set GAEREA apart from so many who try but come up short.
Tormented leads and building riffs sit atop some seriously explosive drumming, waxing and waning, on “Arson,” a tempest of moods and one of the album’s centrepieces. Emotion, at times sounding triumphant in brilliantly wrought guitar leads, is skewered by vocals that bustle with shattering despair. The dichotomy is magnificent to behold. GAEREA’s composer makes no mistake. “I want to hear the throat on the album, and if we are a vocals-driven band, I don’t want to over-process them during the recording. Striking that balance is one of the beauties for me in this record.”
In a world that increasingly elevates the shallow and the narcissistic, GAEREA pursues an artistic struggle of inward isolation, honest self-examination, and a dogged refusal to bow to the void that awaits. Thus, the persistence of their shadowed visages, draped in the masks which codify their anonymity while also creating a reliable extreme metal brand that fans can appreciate, especially in the live setting. “GAEREA are truly ourselves when we put these masks on, and we transcend into something different, and primitive,” he asserts. “It still makes total sense, and this band would not be a band anymore if we ever dropped the masks.”
As GAEREA prepares the release of Mirage, the world has resumed functioning, and as it lurches onward into its bleak future, one could stipulate that the pressure may be on to continue its rise amid the clamor of this renewal of activity. Does this challenge intimidate GAEREA? “We want to do better, but I don’t feel any pressure because we are in very good hands with the people we work with. We are building a strong team that really cares for us, stage-wise, promotional-wise, website and sales-wise. We are building a very structured confident teams that aims for the same goals we do. What I truly care about is continuing our ever-growing concept of the band GAEREA, and not becoming sterile, and I would not want people to be unaffected by our music. In the end we’re trying to express something within ourselves, and I don’t want it to be too complicated.”
The beauty of GAEREA lies in the directness and simplicity found within their florid tapestry of extremity and aggression. Whether it is in the less-polished aural dynamite of their self-titled EP, or in the lustrous textures of Mirage, GAEREA is building a mighty edifice of underground metal. With talons dipped in the inky blood of black metal and scraped across the flesh of human suffering, GAEREA is leading a charge into the future of darkness, and all those who find beauty and power in the dark side of existence would do well to take heed.
WE ARE GAEREA.
Recording Studio: Demigod Recordings Producer/Sound engineer: Miguel Tereso Mix/Master: Miguel Tereso (Demigod Recordings)
