Today, German black metallers Chaos Invocation reveal the new video “This World Wants Us Dead.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated fifth album, Wherever We Roam…, set for international release on November 8th via AOP Records. See & hear Chaos Invocation‘s brand-new video “This World Wants Us Dead” here:
The journey of Chaos Invocation started in the fourth year of this millennium. Ever since the beginning, it has been the intention to manifest the members’ beliefs and experiences in Satanic music. As a trident lineup, Chaos Invocation released three full-length records: In Bloodline With The Snake (2009), Black Mirror Hours (2013), and Reaping Season, Bloodshed Beyond (2018). Shortly before the release of the latter, Omega (drums) and Tumulash (bass guitar) joined the founding members A. (guitars) and M. (vocals) and enriched the band with another spearhead. As a four-piece, Chaos Invocation recorded Devil, Stone & Man (2022): a wild, fierce, and challenging ride into the more sepulchral and dangerous realms of the black metal genre and a sonic monument of Satanic worship and sheer metallic fury. Devil, Stone & Man also marked the first collaboration with V. Santura at Woodshed Studio, with whom they also recorded their latest output.
Titled Wherever We Roam…, Chaos Invocation‘s fifth full-length looks to the past to see the trails to blaze ahead. Where Devil, Stone & Man maintained an incredibly direct aspect – arguably, the German’s most straightforwardly aggressive material to date, all grime and gnarl suiting the dark times in which it was birthed – Wherever We Roam… sees Chaos Invocation bringing back their burning-black melodicism, which heightens the authentically second-wave vibes intrinsic to their enduring aesthetic. Still serpentine and sinuous, their songwriting has continued to focus on expressions of a direct nature rather than busy themselves with overbearing complexity. Put another way, the quintet have focused on the more dynamic currents of Reaping Season, Bloodshed Beyond and simply sharpened them to a judicious degree, all given nightsky flight through the crisp & clean production – wholly organic, wholly powerful – as well as the oft-soaring leads.
As such, Wherever We Roam… feels anthemic, boundless, and wholly tailor-made for the stage, where Chaos Invocation have considerable experience; since their first live appearance in 2009, they’ve embarked upon several European tours as well as playing several smaller tours and festivals all over the European continent. “Our journey is far from being over,” state the band, and “we cannot wait to raise our banners at places we have yet not visited.” If there’s a record to slay that way forward, then surely it’s Wherever We Roam…
Hear the previously revealed “Ideal Sodom” HERE, also at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel. Cover artwork, courtesy of Khaos Diktator, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Chaos Invocation’s Wherever We Roam… 1. Wherever We Roam 2. Ideal Sodom 3. Golden Gates And Terrene Light 4. Bridges Aflame 5. No Throne Withstands 6. This World Wants Us Dead 7. Only In Darkness 8. Engravings Of The Quivering Pedestal
Lineup A. – lead guitar, vocals* M. – vocals LS – rhythm guitars RK – bass guitar Omega – drums
*lead vocals on “Ideal Sodom” and “Bridges Aflame,” all clean vocals
Today, Austrian black metallers Anomalie reveal the new video “Awakening.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated fifth album, Riverchild, set for international release on November 1st via AOP Records. See & hear Anomalie‘s “Awakening” video in its entirety here:
Authenticity. Creativity. Passion. Since 2011, the fundament of Anomalie lies within the boundless will to surpass the past by constantly evolving those intense soundscapes that became the trademark of this Austrian collective led by multi-instrumentalist Marrok, also known for his live duties for Harakiri for the Sky.
To simply characterize Anomalie as “atmospheric black metal” greatly misses the point. Granted, black metal will always serve as firm foundation for the band’s sound, but as brazenly broadcast by the title of 2021’s full-length Transformation, Anomalie are always evolving, always moving – in all senses of the word – and every record is as surprising in its approach as it is dependable in Marrok’s delivery. Dynamic and devastating, heavy in both physical and emotional heft, atmosphere painted in myriad colors (but, naturally, with plenty of black) – Anomalie are as much of a flagship band for AOP Records as Marrok’s live employers.
So comes Anomalie‘s fifth full-length, bearing the mysterious title of Riverchild. Born and raised along the rural shores of the Danube River, the element of water has always had a shaping impact on Marrok’s perception of nature and life in general. Throughout Riverchild, he drew a musical portrait of an entity still present around this immense stream which had always nurtured and taken lives equally, a force able of spending hope and wisdom but also possessing the strength and wrath to destroy and destruct.
Comparable to the multiple faces of a colossal river like the Danube, Anomalie‘s musical direction on Riverchild provides a diverse range of facets, taking the listener on a journey full of profound and honest emotions expressed through aggressive outbursts of pure black metal dissonance as well as fragile moments of introspective calmness. Anomalie once again asks for focus and patience, but offers a wider range of rewarding layers than ever before!
Hear the previously revealed “Perpetual Twilight” HERE, also at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel. Cover artwork, courtesy of Misanthropic Art Illustrations, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Anomalie’s Riverchild 1. Mother Of Stars 2. An Unvorgiving Tide 3. Perpetual Twilight 4. Heart To Beat 5. Awakening 6. Riverchild 7. Among Shadows 8. A Cosmic Truth 9. Thoughts
On October 4th internationally, Amor Fati Productions will release Nubivagant‘s highly anticipated third album, The Blame Dagger, on CD and vinyl LP formats. And today, they stream the album in its entirety. Hear Nubivagant‘s The Blame Dagger in its entirety here:
Black metal both traditional and transcendental – such is the mark of Nubivagant. Omega, the multi-instrumentalist behind the band, possesses the collective experience of over three decades in the black metal scene; he concurrently helms the well-respected Darvaza and plays drums Frostmoon Eclipse and Chaos Invocation, among many others in the past. However, with Nubivagant does he walk a unique path that takes a cleaner-toned timbre both in strings and voice, resulting in two equally awe-inspiring albums, 2020’s Roaring Eye and 2022’s The Wheel and the Universe. Once again under the auspices of Amor Fati, Omega delivers a new treatise on hypnotic sonic levitation: Nubivagant‘s The Blame Dagger.
The band’s first two records exhibited textures that could be qualified as calming, if not without a certain sturm und drang one finds when contemplating the ocean. Here on The Blame Dagger, Nubivagant bares open his soul once again, but in a manner much darker, both on the surface and well below it, and altogether in rougher fashion. One could call the songwriting “minimal is maximal” or simply primitive, but the sum effect is psychedelic to the extreme: one (BIG) idea is employed and then pushed further and further with subtle twists of nuance, the repetition resulting in mesmerizing movement that somehow evaporates time. Compared to its two predecessors, the tones utilized here seethe with tension and unease, if not somehow strangely soothing due to that ever-enveloping schematic; dirt and grit still coat everything, more so than ever. Likewise is Omega’s voice smoother yet darker, sounding less like a lost deathrock spectre of the first two LPs and more like an immortal prophet of doom perched upon a cliff overlooking said sea. Some might even qualify that as “doom” in terms of the metal subgenre, and they would not be totally incorrect; still, Omega’s wordplay and tastefully curious note choices put Nubivagant further into their own unique category. But with that (MESMERIZING) movement manifesting itself in an almost-relaxed way – again, almost doom in the very liberal sense – the ripples of emotion coursing through The Blame Dagger suggest resignation, a soul in sore need of rest, anxiously mindful of a dawn too dark to contemplate.
“Outsider black metal,” then, but without being mawkish or cloying: Nubivagant have completed a near-perfect trifecta of personal, poignant art no matter the nomenclature. To commemorate the release of The Blame Dagger, the band will embark upon a European tour with labelmates Häxenzijrkell (dates after the jump).
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Nubivigant’s The Blame Dagger
1. Darkness Upon The Face Of The Deep [6:40] 2. Endless Mourning [6:17] 3. A Perfect Throne [5:38] 4. Who Made The World [7:28] 5. The Voice Of A Black Candle [4:32] 6. The Judgement [7:21]
Today, Polish black metallers Mardom stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Dead Soul Age. Set for international release on October 4th via Personal Records, hear Mardom‘s Dead Soul Age in its entirety here:
Formed in 2019, Mardom are a new force in the always fertile Polish black metal scene. Despite their geography, the duo aren’t strictly “Polish black metal” by definition; a strong foundation in ’90s Scandinavian black metal underscores the grim & melancholic elements of their local tradition. Mardom are one of those rare new bands who bring the black metal atmosphere of the old days to life in such an authentic and natural way.
Mardom was initially planned as a project of guitarist Morgomir, but eventually became a band with vocalist Kres and others joining. Since then, the band have released two EPs, 2020’s The Path of No Return and 2022’s Longing for a New Dawn. Those two titles should doubtlessly state what sort of atmosphere Mardom are brewing.
Now, that cauldron boils over with their debut album, Dead Soul Age. Here, Mardom aesthetically bridge those two short-lengths, combing dynamic sound and aggression with more melancholic and nostalgic themes, and even a touch or two of (blackened) doom. On first blush, Dead Soul Age bears some passing semblance to the ever-thorny “depressive black metal” subgenre; listen further, and that semblance is superficial, for there’s far more energy and enveloping songwriting at work here. While the former pushes the latter forward with an almost understated grace, that songwriting soon shows its full depth: both simplicity and complexity weave into and out of each other, much in the way that the early Scandinavian trailblazers did, but arguably wrapped in a sympathetic production neither too polished nor too raw. Dead Soul Age thus becomes a dream-like journey through themes of emptiness and sorrow, as well as both hatred and love.
True Polish black metal, especially of the underground variety, is nothing if not authentic: you hear it, and you KNOW it. Rarer still is depressive black done right, such as the cult likes of Wigrid, Krohm, and Raate. You can now add the humble name of Mardom to those rarefied ranks with the beginning of their Dead Soul Age.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Mardom’s Dead Soul Age
1. If Hate Now Reigned [6:13] 2. Spojrzenie [7:40] 3. Inverted Sun Darkness [6:31] 4. Buried in the Dust of Stars [7:02] 5. Unseen Dreams [6:58] 6. Dead Soul Age [5:55]
The masters of aural hellfire, 1349, are set to carve their infamous runes deeper into the chronicles of black metal history with their forthcoming release, The Wolf and The King. This eighth sonic obliteration unfurls eight brutal tracks that are a testament to their unrelenting ferocity and mastery over chaos and carnage.
This latest offering, a tempestuous journey through blistering aggression and ambient malevolence, epitomizes 1349‘s relentless pursuit of the darker arts. Recorded between the arcane sanctuaries of Amper Tone in Oslo and New Constellation R.M.P. in Orlando, Florida, and forged by the anvil of Ravn and Jarrett Pritchard, The Wolf and The King blends primordial energy with modern chaos.
From the opening onslaught of The God Devourer to the ominous gravitas in Shadow Point, this album is a portal into realms where shadows devour the weak, and transformation reigns supreme. Tracks like Ash of Ages, melding thrash with extreme black metal, and Inferior Pathways, delivering classic headbanging riffs, create an iron spine that will have the masses headbanging into oblivion.
Lyrically, The Wolf and The King traverses the perilous expanses of the Abyss, entwining themes of alchemical riddles, astral projections, and ancient epignosis. It charts a harrowing course of transformation through destruction, liberation, and mind expansion. This is not mere music; it’s a ritual, a testament to the relentless evolution at the heart of black metal. The Wolf and The King is out this Friday, October 4th, on Season of Mist.
Tracklist 1. The God Devourer (5:10) [WATCH] 2. Ash of Ages (5:27) [LISTEN] 3. Shadow Point (3:40) [WATCH] 4. Inferior Pathways (4:28) [LISTEN] 5. Inner Portal (5:08) 6. The Vessel and The Storm (5:15) 7. Obscura (3:44) 8. Fatalist (5:51) Total runtime: 39:01
1349 is not like other bands. It’s not a group of friends who decided to make music together. 1349 is a band formed with a unified vision and specific purpose: To maintain the legacy of black metal.
“I didn’t like the direction that black metal took in the mid part of the ’90s,” 1349 vocalist and mastermind Ravn recalls. “It started losing everything that I liked about black metal—the grimness, the eeriness, the primal emotions that captivated me and brought me into that sphere. You had all these synthesizer-based bands dressing up in pirate shirts and looking like goths. It ruined something that I truly hold close to my heart.”
In 1997, Ravn formed 1349 and recruited bassist Seidemann and, now former, guitarist Tjalve to help him pursue the vision of recapturing the original spirit of black metal. The longstanding lineup of Ravn, Seidemann, guitarist Archaon, and drummer Frost (also of Satyricon) has been in place since 2001. “I found people that felt the same way as me,” Ravn says of his bandmates. “We wanted to bring back the trademark of Norwegian black metal, as it was presented in the early 90s. Every time we release an album, that’s the inspiration and the backdrop.”
The Wolf and the King is the latest sortie in that crusade.1349’s eighth album sees the Oslo-based band harnessing the primordial energy of black metal’s decade-defining second wave and channeling it through ancient mysteries and the relentless global chaos of the 2020s.
The album title comes from a classic alchemical allegory: A wolf devours a king. Then the wolf is devoured by flames, and a new king rises from the ashes. “When I first heard about alchemy when I was young, it was people turning metal into gold,” Ravn says. “Further down the road, through various literatures and magical practices, I realized that what you’re turning into gold is metaphorical. It’s about personal development, basically. You want to be the best you can be, and that’s what we try to do as well. We try to top ourselves, to kill our egos in order to grow as persons. If you don’t do that, you will die. You will not rise from the ashes.”
Lead single “Ash of Ages” combines thrash with extreme metal flourishes and a proper doomsday theme. “The song is based on a story I read about a layer of ash that covered the Earth 12,000 years ago,” Ravn explains. “This layer of ash comes from a meteorite that struck the Earth during the Ice Age. It melted a lot of the ice, which is where the Great Flood came from. The Great Flood is in the Bible, but it was written about in every ancient culture. The theory is that it washed away a lot of other ancient cultures that held a higher intelligence level than those that were found after the flood. So, it possibly set human civilization back many thousands of years.”
Released as a one-sided maxi-12” with a flipside etching by Jordan Barlow—who did all the artwork for The Wolf and the King (as well as the band’s 2019 album, The Infernal Pathway)—“Ash of Ages” is also a warning to check your ego. “To think that you’re important, that you’re anything but an ant down there, is futile,” Ravn points out. “In the end, everything will be washed away, and nothing will be left.”
“Shadow Point” comes complete with a video and revisits the sonic domain of The Infernal Pathway with a classic headbanger groove. “This one references the Star of Algol, or ‘the Demon Star,’” Ravn offers. “It’s actually two stars that revolve around each other, and the small one is devouring the big one. Human beings have seen this star from early ages, and it has had many names over the years. It’s a known part of the magical world, so I wanted to include it in a song.”
Shot through with menace and a snaky groove, album opener “The God Devourer” will also have a video. “The lyrics are based on the alchemical principle of devouring all that you feel is in your way of becoming a better human,” Ravn says. “It sets the ominous tone for the whole album.”
Recorded at Amper Tone in Oslo, Norway, and New Constellation R.M.P. in Orlando, Florida, The Wolf and the King was produced and mixed by Ravn and Jarrett Pritchard (Eulogy, Pulchra Morte), the band’s long-standing sonic wizard who also worked on their previous two albums. The lyrics were written by the band’s longtime wordsmith, Svartalv, who has been working with 1349 for twenty years.
Jordan Barlow’s elaborate artwork for The Wolf and the King reflects the album’s chronological position in 1349’s discography. “This is our eighth album, and the artwork and lyrics are filled with references to this number of infinity,” Ravn explains. “You can basically go on a quest finding references to the number in the artwork.”
All told, The Wolf and the King is the exalted output of the joint force that is 1349. “We all work together to make the best black metal possible every time we release an album,” Ravn says. “This is our common goal. We’re a band on a mission.” Line-up Archaon – Guitars Frost – Drums Ravn – Vocals Seidemann – Bass
Recording Studio Amper Tone (Oslo, Norway) & NEW CONSTELLATION R.M.P. (Orlando, USA)
Production Credits Produced by Jarrett Prichard & Ravn Mixed by Jaerrett Prichard & Ravn at NEW CONSTELLATION R.M.P. Mastered by Jaerrett Prichard at NEW CONSTELLATION R.M.P.
Today, Swedish black metallers Seid premiere the new track “The End of Days” . The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated fifth album, Hymns to the Norse, set for an international release on October 18th via De Tenebrarum Principio, a division of ATMF. Hear Seid‘s “The End of Days” in its entirety here:
Hymns to the Norse – the new album from Seid, active since 2009 and purveyors of proud pagan black metal in the ancient tradition – takes great inspiration from the old folk music of the Scandinavian region. In many ways, this album is more of a concept album than 2022’s preceding Svart Sól was. The sejd drum intro “Hymn To Ivar” opens it up in an even-more-traditional fashion, but then you get brass sections and the sound develops more and more throughout the album towards something more recognizably black metal. “Hymn to the North” closes the album, referring to the fact that all the songs you just heard were hymns: previously untold but, in our common ancestry, deeply buried.
With Seid‘s raw, lo-fi sound, eerie vocals, sejd drum, Hammond organs, and haunting atmospheres, this album pushes the boundaries of black metal while exploring the Norse roots. Hymns to the Norse takes you to the past…and brings the past into you.
Hear the previously revealed “My Kingdom Rise” HERE at ATMF‘s Bandcamp.
North American preorder info can be found HERE; European preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of Frank Dicksee (1873), and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Seid (Sweden)’s Hymns to the Norse 1. Hymn To Ivar 2. The End Of Days 3. My Kingdom Rise 4. White Beast From Hel 5. Nordmænnens Raseri 6. Light Up The Sky 7. Allfadir 8. Hymns To The North
Today, Belgian speed metallers Bütcher reveal the new track “Blessed by the Blade.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated third album, On Fowl of Tyrant Wing, set for international release on October 25th via Osmose Productions. Hear Bütcher‘s “Blessed by the Blade” in its entirety here:
Bütcher have exploded onto the scene and have been making a name for themselves internationally. Their music caters to the blackened souls who love old-school speed, thrash, heavy, and black metals. Cuts such as “Iron Bitch,” “45 RPM Metal,” and “666 Goats Carry My Chariot” are now part of the canon of the old-school metal community.
After an avalanche of successful shows and festivals throughout Europe, Bütcher are proud to present their third album, On Fowl of Tyrant Wing. After the rabid debut Bestial Fükkin’ Warmachine (Babylon Doom Cult Records, 2017) and the heralded sophomore album 666 Goats Carry My Chariot (Osmose Productions, 2020), they delve deep into their specific mixture of the golden ’80s and extreme ’90s.
Bütcher have always mixed ancient speed and thrash metal with NWOBHM, classic hard rock and black metal. On side A of the new album, they continue their very own legacy. On side B, they double down on that premise. It’s a concept side with an overarching unique story (written by R Hellshrieker) and a fully composed tour de force (by KK Ripper) where tempo changes, interwoven melodies, sitars, organs, and various percussion instruments create an unexpected musical journey.
Heavy, death, and black metals counter the speed metal, and nobody will see it coming. Both progressive and very traditional, this album is sure to opiate fans and critics alike.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of the legendary Kris Verwimp, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Bütcher’s On Fowl of Tyrant Wing 1. A Divine Wind 2. Speed Metal Samurai 3. Blessed By The Blade 4. Koraktor’s Iron Rule 5. Keep The Steele (Flamin’ Hot) 6. A Sacrifice To Satan’s Spawn 7. A Gypsy’s Tale (Of Sex and Seance) 8. An Ending In Fyre
Even during its initial gestation period, THY CATAFALQUE had already expanded beyond the perceived limits of extreme metal. With each album, Tamás Kátai and his band of collaborators have taken another step beyond the genre’s boundaries, bringing the world’s most vile art form into conversation with the avant-garde.
There’s still a light at the end of Thy Catafalque’s upcoming twelfth album. But as Kátai winds through its introspective journey into the night, XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek revisits the all-consuming heaviness that courses back through the project’s 20-year history. While garnished with plenty of classical flourishes, its meaty new single “Mindenevő” growls like the belly of a metallic beast.
Feast your eyes on the video for Mindenevő:
XII: A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek comes out November 15, 2024 on Season of Mist.
A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek is still guided by the dreaminess that fans in and outside of Hungary have come to admire about Thy Catafalque. After all, in English, the album’s title translates to ‘The Beautiful Dreams Are Yet to Come’. “I imagined these songs as a journey into the night”, Kátai says. Finding his way along this path required him to head in a different direction – at least, as far as the production goes. The dark waves of synth that streak through the album’s title track and lead single glow with the faint but familiar reassurance of the dawn.
Still, journeying through A gyönyörű álmok ezután jönnek can be a rocky road. While the latest single opens with a plucking oud, “Mindenevő” is a full bore feast for bloodthirsty metalheads. The insatiable blast beats and tongue-flicking tremolo picking are cooked over the same blackened fires as Thy Catafalque’s 1999 debut. “Our last album, Alföld, was very bleak”, Kátai explains. “Adding classical and acoustic instruments helped add a sprig of color to these new songs, but XII still has plenty of metal”.
Even the progressive flourishes feed the song’s sickening theme. A fretless bass waltzes into the room just as the video’s dinner party succumbs to their insatiable appetite for destruction. “Blood and fat shall course through every vein“, chants a doomy operatic chorus. “We devour everything around us”, Kátai says when asked about the philosophical musings that greased the wheels of “Mindenevő” (which means “Omnivore”). “It’s absurd. The way we consume everything in our path only leads us closer to our demise”.
In the end, the engorged death metal riffs finally eat their fill. Yet as the beastly “Mindenevő” lays to rest amidst a thick delirium of clarinet and French horn, the feeling that’s left churning in the pit of your stomach is pure, unfiltered dread.
“Human beings do have an animal side”, Kátai says. “Even though some of us strive for purity, in the end, we have to recognize and accept the morbidity of nature”.
The video for “Mindenevő” was created by G13 Film.
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
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 sold-out 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: October 12 – Thessaloniki, Greece, @ Mammothfest [TICKETS] November 22 – Budapest, Hungary @ Dürer Kert w/ Saor [SOLD OUT] November 23 – Budapest, Hungary @ Dürer Kert w/ Gire, Shum [SOLD OUT]
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 and Tamás Kátai Illustrations by Orsolya Pintér.
In this era of relentless superficiality, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX stand as a beacon for those broken by an indifferent world. This latest masterpiece, Self Control, extracts the haunting essence of Branigan’s classic and weaves it into a poignant tapestry of raw emotion and relentless defiance. With the ever-captivating Belinda Kordic giving voice to our shared darkness, Justin Greaves and his band of rebels breathe new life into a song that resonates with the tortured soul of the modern age.
Listen to Self Control here:
Their upcoming double album, The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature and Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2), commemorates two decades of relentless introspection and unyielding rebellion.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature An album which exhumes and resurrects their buried treasures, reworking and re-recording iconic tracks that have weathered the storms of time. These anthems – imbued with the rawness of old friends and new allies – surge with renewed vigor, challenging the very essence of complacency. Anthem such as We Forgotten Who We Are or the lead single Goodnight, Europe, completely re-imagined.
Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) An albums which serves as a dark homage to the musical titans who ignited their spirit, with visceral covers that explode into life. With tracks like the searing rendition of New Model Army’s Vengeance and the haunting introspection of Laura Branigan’s Self Control, this album is a collection of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX‘s masterful rendition of classic songs which have inspired them over the years.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature + Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) is out November 29 on Season of Mist.
Tracklist: 1. We Forgotten Who We Are (11:17) 2. You Put The Devil In Me (6:18) 3. 444 (7:23) 4. Goodnight, Europe (Pt2) (8:37) [WATCH] 5. (-) (4:39) 6. Song For The Unloved (14:22) 7. Whissendine (6:58) 8. Blizzard Of Horned Cats (4:43) Total runtime: 1:04:21
Tracklist: 1. Vengeance (4:16) 2. Self Control (5:23) [LISTEN] 3. Blueprint (4:03) 4. And That’s Sad (6:52) 5. Hammer Song (4:52) 6. When A Blind Man Cries (3:22) 7. My Pal (3:51) 8. Goin’ Against Your Mind (8:53) Total runtime: 41:36
The thread that binds CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s bold and towering discography — a dozen studio albums, a half-dozen mini-albums, a handful of compilations and swaths of bootlegs — could not be more apropos circa 2022. Since its 2004 creation by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Justin Greaves, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX has served as the voice for the voiceless, whether it be animals, the unequal and the different. Greaves and longstanding vocalist and lyricist Belinda Kordic have often proffered that these beings cannot fend for themselves. Henceforth, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s mission has been to shed light on the human condition and the inequalities that befall humankind and its creatures. Their battle marches on with their latest studio album, Banefyre.
Banefyre follows 2020’s Ellengæst — an effort that found CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX employ a series of notable guest vocalists alongside Kordic, prompting Metal Hammer to describe it as their “most cohesive and emotionally devastating record.” Kordic is now paired with Swedish vocalist Joel Segerstedt, who made his CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX debut last year via the “Painful Reminder/Dead is Dead” single. Piano, synth and trumpet player Helen Stanley and additional guitarist Andy Taylor complete the lineup. Greaves says Stanley and Taylor “fit so well creatively,” which has made CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX feel like a band when making plans and decisions.
Also central to this is Segerstedt. According to Kordic, the vocalist and lyricist lives a mere five minutes from her in Sweden and has quickly integrated himself into the band. “What I like about Joel is that he’s a good person,” she says. “There’s no fakeness with him; he has cajones. He’s not a bitch-talker, either. I can’t handle people who don’t have a backbone, but Joel is real and can speak his mind.”
“I like how Joel has come in and spoke for himself,” adds Greaves. “He’s in the band for the right reasons. I see him the same way as Belinda — she took an interest in the whole artistic thing behind CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX, like the vocals, lyrics, artwork and aesthetic. It’s the same with Joel. He has taken an interest in all of those things. In the past, we had people who didn’t contribute artistically and only cared about what they got out of the band. But Joel is really proactive and takes the initiative.”
Greaves assembled 13 songs (including “No Regrets,” a bonus track for his new project with Kordic, Johnny the Boy) imbued with the depth and introspection that will reinforce CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s standing as a band that defies genre. The album was tracked at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Lincolnshire, with vocals cut at Monolith Studio and Kapsylen Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. Kurt Ballou handled mixing in GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts — a pivotal move in determining the album’s overall sound.
“I love the album so much because it was a different approach with the production,” says Greaves. “For my part, it was a little bit of a reaction. I didn’t want to do the same warm, safe CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX album. I’m aware that when we did [2012’s] I, Vigilante, everyone wanted I, Vigilante again. As it so often happens with this band, people complain about the next one, then grow into it. Ellengæst is like I, Vigilante. It’s a shorter album. It hit the mark and was done really well, but everyone will expect another Ellengæst. I feared that, but I care enough not to make another Ellengæst. It’s the right thing to do. That’s why we got Kurt to mix it — we wanted that analog, raw power. Even though the album has mellow moments, those are edgy as well. We just didn’t want to do the same album twice. We’re never going to be a band that people can rely on.”
Greaves’ summation of his band notwithstanding, his distinctive guitar playing and enduring knack for immersive songwriting is the propellent behind the haunting, chant-laden “Ghostland,” pensive “The Reckoning” and forlorn “Everything is Beautiful but Us,” the band’s spot-on analysis of the retreat of humankind indoors during the pandemic that revealed nature’s priceless beauty. The album is also stocked with no less than four ten-minute-plus cuts (“Rose of Jericho,” “Down the Rabbit Hole,” “I’m Okay, Just Not Alright” and “The Scene is a False Prophet”) that are intermixed with drama and melancholy.
It all ties into Banefyre’s central theme of the persecution of people who are deemed “different” by society. The album title is a play on the song “Bonefire” that Kordic named and wrote lyrics for. In classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, Greaves turned it into the Olde English translation to represent the bonfires that engulfed witches and politicians through the 15th and 18th centuries, hence, the name Banefyre.
The album begins with “Incantation for the Different,” which was written and orated by Chicago-based witch, artist, author and occultist Shane Bugbee, who, according to Greaves, “brought us some positive, dark energy.” Banefyre then delves into the Salem Witch Trials (“Wyches and Basterdz”), fox hunting in Great Britain (“The Reckoning”), politicians of an unscrupulous and dishonest kind (“Bonefire”) and the New York City Blackout of 1977 (“Blackout77”).
Greaves says Banefyre’s topics may have a decidedly negative and pessimistic tone, but a glimmer of hope and joy remains. “There’s always the random bits, but overall, Banefyre is about the people who have suffered because they are different. The album covers inequality and oppression, like ‘Incantation for the Different,’ which is about overcoming when you’re put down because you’re not like everyone else.”
In true CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, the Lucy Marshall-created Banefyre cover leaves plenty to the imagination, depicting four animals seated at a table — interacting and dressed like human beings. “It’s sort of like Planet of the Apes showing what animals could do to humans,” says Greaves. “The cover was specially commissioned and is unique to the album. It’s incorporating all the classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX elements with the love for animals and twisting the narrative around.”
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s reputation was built on the back of their studio albums and live shows. The pandemic prevented the band from supporting Ellengæst, but it did provide them additional time to bring in new members to their live configuration.
“We’ve done one show since 2019,” says Greaves. “We are going to do something in Europe this year. Hopefully, we can get back on track. We’re also going to do something in the States — that’s not just talk, we’re actually going to do it. It’s well overdue. The live band is fucking amazing. We have the five of us and now we have Jordi [Farré] on drums, Paco [Fleischfresser] on synth and a really good friend of mine, Matt Crawford on bass.
“We did the Leipzig show and even though the rehearsals were better than the show itself, that lineup, our live band, is so good. Because we haven’t been under pressure to put a live band together since 2019 and spent so long talking to people, we’ve got a better band from those results. Out of disaster, we’ve got quite a good, positive thing.”
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature & Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are a double album celebrating the 20 year existence of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX.
Original Credits: All tracks on Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are covers of various artists.
Vengeance Originally recorded by New Model Army, Written by: Sullivan/Morrow
Self Control Originally recorded by Laura Branigan, Written by: Giancarlo Bigazzi, Raffaele Riefoli, Steve Piccolo
Blueprint Originally recorded by Fugazi, Written by: Canty, Lilly, MacKaye, Picciotto
And That’s Sad Originally recorded by NoMeansNo, Written by: NoMeansNo
Hammer Song Originally recorded by Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Written by Alex Harvey
When A Blind Man Cries Originally recorded by Deep Purple, Written by: Gillan, Glover, Blackmore, Lord, Paice
My Pal Originally recorded by God, Written by: God, Joel Silbersher)
Goin’ Against Your Mind Originally recorded by Built To Spill, Written by: Doug Martsch, Jim Roth, Brett Nelson, Scott Plouf
Self Control Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Baritone Guitar Helen Stanley – Synth Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Blueprint Ryan Patterson – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Helen Stanley – Piano Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
And That’s Sad Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Vocals Wesley Wasley – Bass, Vocals
Hammer Song Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitar, Acoustic guitar Helen Stanley – Synth, Hammond Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
When A Blind Man Cries Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves, Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitars Helen Stanley – Piano Kostas Panagiotou – Hammond Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
My Pal Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Backing Vocals Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Goin’ Against Your Mind Justin Storms – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitar Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Recorded in 2023 at: Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire Engineered by Pieter Rietkerk
Additional Vocal Sessions at: Kapsylen Studio, Stockholm Engineered by Jörgen Jugglo Wall. House Of Foto, Louisville, KY Engineered by Ryan Patterson
Additional Production Credits: Mixed by Pieter Rietkerk Mastered by Magnus Lindberg Produced by Justin Greaves
From the feral fjords of neo-Norse mythology, EIHWAR barrels onto the scene like a berserker storming a tranquil village. They didn’t choose the warrior’s path; it tore through their souls and left behind a sonic battleground that marries ancient gods with unapologetic modern chaos. This is Viking War Trance—a titanic clash of techno fury and primal beats, designed to send your senses careening into the stratosphere.
Picture this: Vikings discovering synthesizers and headbanging to a techno beat, where trance-emboldened voices resurrect Odin, and shamanic drums roll like a tempest in Asgard. With tracks like Völva’s Chant, Viking War Trance, and Mjölnir, this album doesn’t just break the mold—it obliterates it with the ferocity of Thor’s hammer. Imagine a mosh pit filled with Viking warriors high on the Northern Lights’ magic, channeling Fenrir’s rage and Baldr’s sorrow in an electrifying, sweat-drenched, neo-pagan dance!
Recorded and produced entirely by Eihwar, with mastering conjured at Tower Studio, Montpellier, every beat and grunt encapsulates the raw animal spirit and modern madness of this genre-redefining spectacle.
Tracklist 1. Viking War Trance (4:30) [WATCH] 2. Ragnarök (Viking War Trance Reforged) (7:10) 3. Völva’s Chant (4:05) [WATCH] 4. Geri And Freki (4:21) 5. Baldr (4:08) 6. Fenrir (Viking War Trance Reforged) (5:13) 7. Berserkr (Viking War Trance Reforged) (4:04) [WATCH] 8. Mjölnir (5:25) 9. Sir Mannelig (1:54) Total runtime: 40:54
Many bands have explored the Pagan & Norse worlds over the last 15 years seeking atmospheric, acoustic and ritual sounds with great seriousness. This is not the path EIHWAR chose.
Although the musicians of Eihwar are virtuosos in their acoustic traditional instruments, their goal is to bring some fun… and as much chaos as possible during their concerts, provoking the craziest trance on dancefloors. They bring a festive and furious neo-viking music whose primal force is based on technoid machines, mixed with trance vocals, shamanic drums and traditional Nordic sounds. Electronics are a ‘new steel’ for those modern warriors, cold and powerful. As the web already says, the duo is a kind of new ‘Viking Carpenter Brut’.
Thus, Eihwar named the single, the album but also their style of music ‘Viking War Trance’.
“We are heavy drops of rain announcing lightning. We call for war: A war waged against our judgments, Our inner demons, our limits, Our stiffness of body and mind. We don’t want our best enemies to spare us Nor to be spared by those we love. We invoke a war for our thoughts, A flamboyant chaos of fire & ice, Cradle of creation.”
Since its appearance on YouTube in February 2023, Eihwar has shook the Internet and concert venues. The band experienced rapid expansion on YouTube and was quickly booked by major European festivals such as Hellfest, Leyendas del Rock, Wave Gotik Treffen & more to be announced!
Line-up Asrunn: Vocals, Traditional Percussions Mark – Vocals, Machines
Recording credits are being kept anonymous intentionally
