In their endless quest to push and support current underground acts that perpetuate the odor of vintage death metal, Memento Mori are extremely thrilled to announce a new signing: Reckless Manslaughter, from Germany.
Summoned in North Rhine-Westphalia in November 2008, the walking corpse known as Reckless Manslaughter is living proof that death has many faces, covering all tempo variations and unaware of trends or conventions, all the while maintaining a core personality of their very own. To descend into the nether regions where these death metal acolytes dwell is to be left to fester in a desolate and fathomless realm whose landscape is filled to the brim with violent blasts, crushing mid-tempo sections, gloomy doom-ish parts, and atrocious growls, rounded off with a sprinkling of eerie Finnish melodies. Expect nothing but uncompromising Metal of Death, total-underground worshipping, and utter annihilation.
Reckless Manslaughter are recommended for fans of Bolt Thrower, Morbid Angel, Demigod, Sinister, Immolation, Monstrosity, Benediction, Brutality, Asphyx, Cannibal Corpse, and Suffocation.
Reckless Manslaughter‘s fourth full-length is due out on October 21st. Memento Mori will release the CD version, and Fucking Kill Records will take care of the vinyl LP version. For more info, consult the links below.
In their endless quest to push and support current underground acts that perpetuate the odor of vintage death metal, on April 22nd internationally, Memento Mori is proud to present the highly anticipated third album of Spain’s Devotion, Astral Catacombs, on CD format.
Spain’s Devotion are an exemplary study in patience and persistence. Formed in 2012 near Valencia, the band have gone through myriad lineups, but have parceled out their recordings when the time was right, for maximum impact and immersion. Their debut album, Necrophiliac Cuts, came in 2015, but its year of release might as well have been 1993; Devotion are nothing if not devoted to the timeless archetype provided by death metal during its early ’90s heyday. But while many years would pass until its follow-up arrived, in 2021, The Harrowing was indeed aptly titled: split between “chants” and “dirges,” the Spaniards put on a masterclass in putrid, mid-tempo CRUSH with memorability for miles. Consistent yet different enough, Devotion between the two albums might’ve had power-trio and quintet lineups, respectively, but the path was nevertheless deliberate and (d)evolved.
Arriving quite “quickly” for their standards, the revamped-yet-again Devotion arrive all guns blazing with LP#3, Astral Catacombs. Another perfectly titled recording, Astral Catacombs is rich in atmosphere and crunch alike, taking their all-caps DEATH METAL one ladder-rung up and down that evolutionary scale. Their characteristic tank-rolling sound heads toward some truly vile paths here, almost bestial in its slaughtering impulses, moving ominously and measuredly despite the near-primal ferocity; on the same hand, a pronounced emphasis on their classy side arises, namely in the well-timed and -composed soloing, but also particularly in their songwriting movement. It’s a unique balance/tradeoff that slowly-yet-surely shows stunning growth on Devotion‘s part, lending Astral Catacombs immediate replayability to catch every (crooked) nuance and (skewed) dynamic. Put another way, we can look to the band’s primary influences of Bolt Thrower, Grave, or Morgoth for precedents: Bolt Thrower’s transition from The IVth Crusade to …For Victory, for example, or Grave’s from You’ll Never See… to Soulless, or especially Morgoth’s from Cursed to Odium. If none of that sounds palatable or enticing, then Astral Catacombs is NOT for you!
Graced with suitably ethereal cover art courtesy of Naroa Etxebarria, Astral Catacombs crowns Devotion‘s trifecta of streamlined brilliance!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “To Dementia” here:
Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Devotion (Spain)’s Astral Catacombs
1. The Passing 2. Horror Beyond the Stars 3. In Ungraven Tombs 4. Execration 5. The Wake 6. The Cosmic Pilgrims 7. To Dementia 8. The Seething Universe 9. Astral Catacombs 10. The Evanescence
Seattle (WA) – Melodic Death Metal quartet VERITERAS will release sophomore full-length album, The Dark Horizon, on April 11. A lyric video for the album’s first single, “Abyss,” will be released on March 14.
“The Dark Horizon really leans in on our old school melodic death metal roots, and as a result has a more blackened melodic death metal sound compared to our previous release, Shadow of Death. There’s more tremelo picking, more blast beats, but still holding on to a very melodic core. We’re very happy with how the album ended up, and we grew a ton through the process. The songwriting is more mature, the lyrics are stronger because Sean wrote most of them instead of me, the musicianship is better, and the mix is fantastic. We’re all super excited to be sharing this album with the world, and hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it!”
– Santtu Winter (Veriteras)
In support of the album VERITERAS will be hitting the road with Finland’s Event Relentless for the nine-city PNW U.S. Tour!” Dates are as follows:
Music written and arranged by Santtu Winter and Veriteras.
Songs “Retrograde” and “Blinding” written and arranged by Sean Osterberg and Santtu Winter.
Lyrics by Sean Osterberg and Santtu Winter. Bass written and recorded by Matthew Kirkwold at Meow Sounds.
Solos written and recorded by Major Bruno (first solo on “Sanctuary”), Eligio Tapia (second solo on “Sanctuary”), and Adonis Reed-Boulos (“Blinding”).
Vocals on “Light in the Darkness” by Maria Mannisto. Tambourine performed by Jeff Smith (bassist emeritus and first-chair tambourinist).
Recorded by Don Gunn at The Office Studio in Seattle in July 2023.
Mixed and Mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound Studio in Germany between August and November 2023.
Album artwork by Sean Osterberg
Veriteras is an old-school melodic death metal band based in Seattle, Washington (U.S.). Formed in 2018, they are inspired by the Scandinavian melodic death scene (early-era In Flames, Dark Tranquillity, Kalmah, etc.), and strive to write heavy songs with powerful and memorable melodies. After releasing two EPs in 2020 (Banished) and 2021 (Citadel), they debuted their first LP Shadow of Deathin 2022, and toured Finland in support of the album. Now they are proud to present their follow-up LP, The Dark Horizon, in April 2024.
On April 5th internationally, Personal Records is proud to present The Rottening‘s highly anticipated debut EP, Seeds of Death, on CD format.
The Rottening are a Swedish death metal band that started in 2021 when members from the band Intestinal wanted to shred with each other again. They were joined by the frontman of the black metal band Fornhem, and the band took shape. In fact, The Rottening are named after Intestinal’s second (and final) album! After the well-received Ode to Rot demo, the band got together to record their debut EP, Seeds of Death, and the result could not be more pummeling.
No more but definitely no less, the concept behind Seeds of Death is pure Swedish HM-2 death metal, and who better to do so than an actual group of Swedes! Taking primary influence from the almighty Dismember, The Rottening crush and gallop forth like an everflowing stream, wholly indecent and obscene in their massive killing capacity. You may’ve heard Seeds of Death before, but only in pieces. This DEATH METAL after all, and undeniably Swedish, but The Rottening make it re-reborn in blasphemy in a mere 21 minutes: an override of the overture worth overriding again, and again, and again!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Starless Void” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces April 12th as the international release date for Heresiarch‘s highly anticipated second album, Edifice, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
For over 15 years now, New Zealand’s Heresiarch have patiently crafted a body of work that has come to transcend their early influences. Though lineups have shifted during that time, led by founding vocalist N.H. and enhanced by guitarist C.S. in 2013, Heresiarch have wisely taken their time with recordings and prized quality over quantity. The band’s debut album, Death Ordinance, arrived in 2017 after a trio of savage short-lengths. A new rhythm section took root following that album’s release, and a couple splits in the ensuing years honed their doomed ‘n’ barbaric sound into something more molten and ominous.
And now arrives that megaton payload of devastation, Heresiarch‘s second album, elegantly titled Edifice. If there were any doubts that the band were but yet another toneless ‘n’ tired “war metal” troupe, the New Zealanders trounce any and all trepidation with exceptionally seismic songwriting. Here on Edifice, the parameters of Heresiarch‘s sound – death metal muscle, black metal atmosphere, grindcore aggression – are all in devastating harmony, creating a hydra-headed beast that betrays a wealth of true-yet-twisted ideas. More than just safely evading easy categorization (which is often mere doublespeak for “pleasing all constituents”), the quartet lay bare a landscape of texture titanic in its heft and foreboding in its effect, seamlessly winding through minefields both sonic and psychic and eventually culminating in a grandiose two-part finale in the equally compellingly titled “Hubris and Decline” and “Militate Pyrric Collapse.” For sure, Heresiarch sound as martial as ever, but the lava now flows in palatably unique ways, all without compromising their core aesthetic. Indeed, one could say they’ve finally found order through chaos.
The possibilities of life’s destruction are endless for those who wander before Heresiarch‘s Edifice.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Gloryless Execution” here:
Tracklisting for Heresiarch’s Edifice 1. Forged Doctrine 2. Manifest Odium 3. Noose Above the Abyss 4. Gloryless Execution 5. Tides of Regression 6. A World Lit Only By Fire 7. Swarming Blight 8. Mystic and Chaos 9. Hubris and Decline 10. Militate Pyrrhic Collapse
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces April 12th as the international release date for the highly anticipated third album of America’s Crucifier, Led Astray, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
One of the longest-running entities in the American underground, Crucifier was formed in 1990 by vocalist/drummer Cazz Grant. While myriad lineups would come and go – and the band’s eventual debut album, Stronger Than Passing Time, wouldn’t be released until 2003 – Crucifier have kept consistent to their blasphemous, blackened death metal style steeped in the truly ancient and most underground ways.
Now, two years after their weird & wild Say Your Prayers mini-album, Crucifier align with Iron Bonehead once again for the release of their third full-length, Led Astray. Taking the wandering yet fully locked-in songwriting of that mini to its ultimate conclusion, Led Astray is a masterclass in memorable, METAL riffing and twisted rhythmic thrust. As is their signature, Crucifier sound positively primal here but never primitive; while these nine screeds of blasphemy might confuse or insult normcore listeners, there’s an extremely considered & calculated delirium behind their blackened devilry. As such, the “tight looseness” that’s characterized Crucifier‘s work to date gets sharpened to an enviable degree as these nine labyrinths surge and storm with a paradoxical / perverse sense of class. Credit the latter largely to the jaw-dropping dual lead-work across Led Astray: an element that’s been bubbling in the Crucifier cauldron for years, but which really reaches a superlative level here. Of course, Grant’s vocals are as diabolic as ever, seemingly coming from every direction and hackle-raising in their articulation.
Crucifier hereby have delivered a modern classic of blackened death metal in Led Astray!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Smite…”
Tracklisting for Crucifier (USA)’s Led Astray 1. Smite… 2. Feed the Furnace 3. In Hircine Splendor 4. Biers of Catholic Bones 5. With Cornu and Peccant Breath 6. Trafficking with the Devil 7. Serenaded by the Angels’ Shrills 8. Harbingers of Apollyon 9. An Endeavour of Rats
On February 2nd internationally, Iron Bonehead Productions will release a brand-new mini-album from House of Atreus, Orations, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats. And today, they stream the mini-album in its entirety. Hear House of Atreus‘ Orations in its entirety here:
Since their emergence in 2011, House of Atreus have become one of the most singular hordes to hail from North American soil during that time. Across a demo, an EP, and two successive full-lengths, the Minnesota natives have patiently and painstakingly crafted death metal of a most epic order. A veritable riff-machine, House of Atreus are powered by the Greek tragedies and have that very same tragedy (as well as triumph) coursing through their rough ‘n’ rugged veins. Theirs is a sound unapologetically influenced by the ancient Hellenic legends Varathron and Rotting Christ as well as other singular riff-machines like Grand Belial’s Key and Arghoslent, and the earliest and most blackened works of Running Wild. However, House of Atreus handily transcend these influences, as evidenced by their critically acclaimed second album, From the Madness of Ixion, released in 2018 by Iron Bonehead. Truly, the quartet managed to add to this glorious lineage rather than merely bottom-feed off it.
While the years since have been quiet for the band, metal art such as theirs does not come overnight, nor are they tethered to tired yearly record/tour/repeat hucksterism. Thus do House of Atreus finally emerge with a swift-yet-satisfying mini-album elegantly titled Orations. Something of a strategic detour, the 33-minute Orations comprises five brand-new tracks – each one as regally galloping as the last, concise and expansive in equal measure – and a closing cover of heroes Running Wild and their late ’80s gem “Riding the Storm.” The “detour” aspect of the record largely pertains to the further finessing of their trademark songcraft: ever more patient, riffs flowing like molten gold, but a slicker and more seamless aspect emerges that pays off a hundredfold. The latent grit ‘n’ grime still exists, but rather than being an exception to wider “death metal,” here do House of Atreus assert themselves simply as a masterful HEAVY METAL band – but one that just so happens to have more than a bit of death metalled muscle. Founding bassist Anxietous Nero’s remarkably articulated vocals are again at the fore, but possess more clarity and charisma than ever. Not surprisingly, in just over a half-hour, House of Atreus prove with Orations that they have more (worthy) ideas than most bands can muster across a couple albums or more.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for House of Atreus’ Orations 1. Orations / Reascension of Mastery 2. Thy Wounded Sovereignty 3. Under an Accursed Dynasty 4. Morphos of Degeneration 5. Cathedral of Ancestry 6. Riding the Storm [Running Wild cover]
VLTIMAS are legends of the underworld. Any good Satanist knows to bow down and worship at the horned feet of David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel), Rune Eriksen (ex-Mayhem) and Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy). Their debut was greeted with a rapturous procession of devil horns. But with their new album, these gods of dark, extreme metal have ascended to truly epic heights.
Today, VLTIMAS are releasing the album’s hellacious second single, exclusively premiered by Metal Obs France.
You can watch the visualizer, made by Aimed & Framed right now:
Some metal songs prefer to slowly unfold before blowing out your ear drums. But rest assured, “Scorcher” is not a slow burn. Sure, the guitars lure you in with a smoky seance. Once Rune tightens those chords into icy black tremolo picking though, VLTIMAS take off like a bat out of hell. The amps crank up; Flo fires off blast beats that are hot enough to singe an angel’s wings, while David Vincent unleashes a miles-long battle cry.
“Satan laughs as worlds collide”.
His growl is so massive, so heartless, you’d better believe that he’s talking about himself.
“‘Scorcher’ brings to life a fantastic story of the great purge that’s coming our way”, says Vincent. “Humanity has been sleepwalking toward this reckoning for centuries. There will be no refuge, nor mercy granted”.
VLTIMAS have been making grand declarations of war for more than 30 years, but the lead single off EPIC isn’t just another offering at the altar of madness.
“I spread my misery, biblically evolved”, David Vincent sings on “Miserere” in a baritone that’s so monstrous it could summon an army of the dead.
The drums speed ahead mercilessly, mowing down all onlookers under a barrage of surgical blast beats, as riffs hail from all directions with enough firepower to shatter bulletproof glass.
Tracklist 1. Volens Discordant (1:02) 2. EPIC (4:35) 3. Miserere (3:51) [WATCH] 4. Exercitus Irae (4:01) 5. Mephisto Manifesto (05:05) 6. Scorcher (03:21) [WATCH] 7. Invictus (5:30) 8. Nature’s Fangs (3:52) 9. Spoils of War (5:54) Total runtime: 37:16
Extreme metal powerhouse VLTIMAS (pronounced ‘uhl-tuh-mas’) assault metaldom once more with their highly-anticipated sophomore album, EPIC, through Season of Mist. Featuring Norwegian guitarist Rune “Blasphemer” Eriksen (ex-Mayhem, RUÏM), American vocalist David Vincent (ex-Morbid Angel), and Canadian drummer Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), the multinational quintet, rounded out by Dutch bassist Ype TVS (ex-Dodecahedron) and Portuguese guitarist João Duarte (Corpus Christii), continue to venture down their path. Moored by strength and integrity, VLTIMAS fortified their signature with wicked invention, as applauded by Decibel Magazine, BangerTV, Louder, and many others, on their debut, Something Wicked Marches In (2019). Singles “Miserere,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus” showcase a band of musicians at the top of their game, united in their pursuit of oneness.
“We wrote every bit of EPIC together at my ranch in Dime Box, Texas,” offers Vincent. “The writing sessions were as organic as they could be. There were times when, at the end of the night, Rune would take his guitar and play something ridiculous. Flo would play something even more ridiculous on top of it. I’d say to the guys, ‘I need to capture this.’ So, the magic [of VLTIMAS] is being in the same room together, discussing, playing, and recording music and everything else we’re doing together. We have unbelievable camaraderie.”
While the members of VLTIMAS are not atavists, their preferred creative methods are time-tested and battle-hardened. Technology has its place, but the group thrive when they’re together, not separated by the world. Eriksen, renowned as a riff innovator, is more effective when he’s got a highly capable sideman like Vincent or Mounier, whose drumming in Cryptopsy and his celebrated instructional Extreme Metal Drumming 101 DVD has proven to be a no-limits player, by his side. Whether it’s the moody, angular attack of “Miserere,” the wicked groove of “Mephisto Manifesto,” or the dark fury of “Nature’s Fangs,” the chemistry and enterprise of VLTIMAS is undeniable.
“The main goal [of VLTIMAS] is to be real,” Eriksen reveals. “To channel the very moment, to let true inspiration out. I don’t believe I ever set myself a goal on what an album should or needs to sound like before I or we write it because that means I have to compromise during the process. For EPIC, we focused on more direct songs, trimming the fat, as opposed to Something Wicked Marches In, which had a progressive and ‘playful’ flair.”
VLTIMAS was a profane concept—a constellation of riffs against a modest frame—when formed by Eriksen in 2015. After departing Mayhem in 2008 and putting his gothic doom outfit Ava Inferi to rest in 2013, the Norwegian’s fingers still itched with infernal fury. VLTIMAS was his vent, and when Mounier and Vincent joined, he finally had the cadre of professionals to make it a reality. Together, they devised complementary schemes and themes rooted in rightness. In a world gone mad, VLTIMAS had a vision. On Something Wicked Marches In, they commanded attention with metaphors about the apocalypse, the ancient goddess Lilith, and truth. Lyrically, EPIC spears into the very nucleus of strength through Vincent’s brio of double entendre and clever wordsmithing. The songs are designed to be heard, read, and interpreted—there are no shortcuts.
“Everything we’re doing and messaging is about strength and honor,” says Vincent. “These are the fundamentals that I incorporate into my life, which I believe in. I want to share with others, hoping they’ll incorporate strength and honor into their lives. I wouldn’t say I like spelling lyrics out. I use a lot of double meanings on purpose because I want to inspire the listener to think. I’m not a short attention span guy, and I don’t appreciate it. EPIC is holistic and meant to be experienced that way.”
EPIC was recorded by producer Jaime Gomez Arellano (Paradise Lost, Grave Miasma) with engineer Jonathan Mazzeo (First Fragment, Sickening) at Arda Recorders in Porto, Portugal. VLTIMAS tracked the album throughout May 2023. Arellano also handled the mix and master. Like everything the band does, the main goal was to be honest. The maxim of no sample replacement or re-amping—EPIC was captured on outboard gear—was adhered to and enjoyed by the team. The result is a sonic expression that sounds like nothing else. From the crushing title track to the epic musicality of closer “Spoils of War,” EPIC is an absolute beast.
“Stress, long walks, too much alcohol, yet very focused once in the recording mode,” Eriksen says of the sessions. “We booked a month, but somehow, that flew by instantly. We worked up until the very end. I even added a few solos at my local Soundscape Studio in Almada, Portugal. Art unfolds, and once you think you are done, there’s always another idea popping up.”
VLTIMAS brought Italian artist Daniele Valeriani (Mayhem, Unanimated) to visualize EPIC. The aesthetic, as illuminated by music and message, was iconic boldness. The three-eagle head crest with three different crowns, accompanied by transfigured symbols of the Passion and the “impossible triangle,” projects effortlessly. In EPIC, the group will dominate. There’s no escape from “Miserere,” “Mephisto Manifesto,” “Scorcher,” and “Invictus.” Together, they thrust, by resolve and inventiveness, VLTIMAS into the uppermost echelons of extreme metal.
“[EPIC is] old meets contemporary, a symbiosis of all the great things we love about extreme metal,” offers Eriksen. “All combined into one album.”
“I want to be as emotional and honest [with VLTIMAS],” Vincent adds. “I want to tell stories; I want to have the themes that appeal to me; I want to have some messaging that someone can take away, in this case, strength. EPIC is strength.”
Lineup David Vincent – Vocals Rune Blasphemer Eriksen – Guitars Flo Mounier – Drums Ype TVS – Bass João Duarte – Guitars
Recording studio ARDA Recorders
Producer Jamie Gomez Arellano
Sound engineer Jonathan Mazzeo
Mixing and mastering engineer Jaime Gomez Arellano
Mixing and mastering studio Arda Recorders, Orgone Studio
Brodequin come with a long and sordid history. Jamie and Mike Bailey have been banging people’s heads together since 1998. Their first album catapulted the brothers far beyond their kingdom of Knoxville, Tennessee. But after seizing the throne as one of the most brutal rulers in all of metal, the band disappeared into the shadows.
Today, after 20 years, Brodequin are returning with Harbinger of Woe. The band’s fourth album lives up to their namesake. It’s dark and torturous, but also technically exquisite. Heck, some might even call it a work of art.
Watch the medieval video for “Of Pillars and Trees”, which was created by Matti Way of From the North Films here:
“Of Pillars and Trees” is classic Brodequin. Mike’s riffs churn like severed limbs through a meat grinder. New drummer Brennan Shackelford pings his cymbals with all the murderous intent of a spiked mace. Heck, the death growls are nasty enough to make you think that Jamie is sucking the blood of his enemies through a straw.
As with every Brodequin song, “Of Pillars and Trees” is rooted in real events. “This song finds its inspiration in the historical practices that involved the utilization of trees for the purpose of torture and execution”,” Jamie explains. “Among the myriad methods employed, a prominent example was the affixing of an individual to a pillar, or, more commonly, a tree trunk through the use of long iron nails”.
But “Of Pillars and Trees” also branches out into new territory for the band. “The creation process for ‘Pillars’ started out much like any other Brodequin track”, Mike says. “It wasn’t until the mid-section came together that it began to diverge. I wanted to slow things down a bit but add some depth with multiple guitar tracks instead of just droning a single riff. As the layers were being written, I kept hearing a synth pattern in my head. But instead of using an actual synth, I recreated what I was hearing on my guitar, using plenty of reverb and delay to get the tone as close to what I was imagining as possible”.
Tracklist 1. Diabolical Edict (3:29) 2. Fall Of The Leaf (2:33) 3. Theresiana (3:03) 4. Of Pillars and Trees (4:03) [WATCH] 5. Tenaillement (2:53) 6. Maleficium (3:09) 7. VII Nails (2:17) 8. Vredens Dag (3:20) 9. Suffocation in Ash (3:05) 10. Harbinger of Woe (4:04)
After signing with Season of Mist in 2022, Brodequin re-issued their entire discography on LP and CD.
“Relentless, barbaric intensity” – John Gallagher (Dying Fetus), who named Instruments of Torture one of the most brutal albums ever.
“Kicks in like a sledgehammer” – Metal Rage raved over Methods of Execution
“A merciless massacre” – Power Metal praised Festival of Death.
The Middle Ages might’ve brought the world out of The Dark Ages. But for every compass or printing press, those enlightened thinkers were also responsible for inventing the most torturous devices in human history. None were more brutal than the brodequin. Not only did the French use this instrument to cripple their victims, but to squeeze their legs to the point where bone marrow would spill out of their wounds.
You could say the same about Brodequin. The band come with their own long and sordid history. Brothers Jamie and Mike Bailey have been playing brutal death metal since 1998. Putting his history degree to good use, Jamie’s lyrics are inspired by real historical events, staying true to death metal’s core thematic pillars of dismemberment, torture, abuse and murder. But their artwork broke from genre’s generic splatter illustrations by digging into intricate period woodcuts and beautifully grotesque oil paintings.
“There simply was no point in history that was more brutal than the medieval period,” says Jamie. “At the same time that such barbarity was deployed, there was also an explosion in fine art, architecture and music. It all comes to feed our identity as a band”.
Brodequin’s first album catapulted them far beyond their kingdom of Knoxville. “This band has stuck out in the underground with relentless, barbaric intensity”, says Dying Fetus’ vocalist and guitarist John Gallagher, who named Instruments of Torture one of the most brutal death metal albums ever. Festival of Death put another flesh-tearing arrow in their quiver (“Some of the fastest, most brutalizing death metal ever recorded” – Sputnik Music). But after sieging festival stages across Europe with Methods of Execution, the band had to be put on ice.
“We had a series of deaths in our family”, Jamie explains. “Mike and I knew we had to step away until we had the time and were at a place mentally to give Brodequin the attention it deserved.”
Now, after 20 years of peaceful silence, Brodequin have returned with fresh instruments of torture. The Brothers Bailey are back with a new drummer, a new label and their long-awaited fourth album.
“Brodequin had been away for so long that I was stunned by the level of interest from fans and record labels”, Jamie says. “Before playing Hellfest, the band was approached backstage by a metalhead rocking a Brodequin t-shirt who happened to work for Season of Mist. Soon enough, they were hitting it off with Michael Berberian. The rest, as they say, is history.
“We all hung out for hours”, recalls Jamie. “The extraordinary level of enthusiasm shown toward our music made Season of Mist the obvious choice”.
As has been the case with this band for their entire career, Harbinger of Woe lives up to its name. Lead single “Of Pillars and Trees” is classic Brodequin. Mike’s distorted guitar chords churn like limbs through a meat grinder. The way Brennan Shackelford pings, blasts and flays his snare through “Suffocation in Ash” with the all encompassing speed of a sandstorm. Jamie’s growls are so phlegmy, so rotted, that to drag them out from whatever dark bowel movement spawned them would make an executioner sick to their stomach. And yet — somewhere deep inside all that carnage hides a terrifying beauty. The title track leaves you deaf, dumb and blind, begging on your knees in the face of a punishing, almighty riff.
“This album is a journey into this lost period of history where brutality and beauty coexist. Beauty, in the arts the were created, but also the beautiful brutality that was needed to engineer deadly devices like the brodequin”.
With Harbinger of Woe, Brodequin reclaim their throne as the most brutal band in all of death metal.
Line up: Jamie Bailey: Bass/Vocals Mike Bailey: Guitar Brennan Shackelford: Drums
Recording Drums recorded at Brennan’s Drum Room in Dallas, Texas.
Guitar, bass and vocals recorded at Navarre 24 in Harriman, Tennessee
Producer and sound engineer Mike Bailey
Mastering studio and engineer Brad Boatwright
Mixing studio and engineer Josh Welshman
Artwork Original artwork done by Jose de Brito. Additional elements by Jamie Bailey.
In April, underground legends Deceased will embark upon an eight-date tour supporting Vio-lence, who’ll be playing their classic Eternal Nightmare debut in its entirety. Says founding frontman King Fowley, “Looking forward to a week-long touring jaunt in April. Getting out for a handful of shows before we go in to record the new record Children of the Morgue, a one-hour journey into the world of the dying! These shows looking like our only ones till summer, so if you wanna come out and rock, by all means do so.” Full list of tour dates as well as poster art are as follows:
April 5 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East April 6 – Brooklyn, NY @ Monarch April 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts April 8 – Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar April 10 – Cleveland, OH @ The Winchester April 11 – Cincinatti, OH @ Legends April 12 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary April 13 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies
During the tour, Deceased will have for sale the new Hells Headbangers CD editions of 2000’s Supernatural Addiction (yellow disc) and 2018’s Ghostly White (blue disc). Additionally, Hells Headbangers‘ vinyl reissue of 1995’s The Blueprints of Madness is slated for September.
Elaborating on their upcoming Children of the Morgue, which should see release sometime this summer through Hells Headbangers, King Fowley says that Deceased‘s eighth album will be “a continuous, no-break-between-songs, one-hour concept album on dying and all that it entails. The darkest record we’ve written to date – 100% Deceased, and proud as fuck of what we have come up with this time around!
Release date, cover art, and tracklisting for Children of the Morgue to be revealed shortly. For more info, consult the links below.
