Dutch brutal death metal outfit SEVERE TORTURE have amicably parted ways with Seth van de Loo recently. This split marked the end of the outstanding drummer’s career with the band that has been spanning twenty years. SEVERE TORTURE have posted an update on their Facebook account about this decision and their future as a band.
“2017 has passed. That year marked the 20th anniversary of SEVERE TORTURE. It was no time for celebration, but a year of reflection and intense soul searching. This ultimately led to Seth’s decision to part ways with us. As one of the band’s founding members, Seth will always be part of the family and we genuinely thank him for 20 years of dedication, inspiration, and creativity! SEVERE TORTURE are about one thing: death metal! That being said, the band will continue to go on and we are now looking for a new drummer to join us to record and tour.”
SEVERE TORTURE are currently still looking for a new drummer to join their band as a permanent member. Singer Dennis Schreurs comments: “We have already received a lot of reactions and we’ll check out each and every drummer that responded or whose name popped up. We don’t have a deadline so far and therefore interested drummers can still contact us.”
Today, death metal supergroup The Grotesquery reveal the first single, cover, and tracklisting for their highly anticipated fourth album, The Lupine Anathema, to be released this spring via Xtreem Music.
Led by Swedish mastermind Rogga Johansson (Paganizer, Putrevore, Ribspreader etc) and mythic Florida vocalist Kam Lee (ex-Massacre), The Grotesquery were formed back in 2009 and have been spreading their awesome death metal with their first three albums, all released through Cyclone Empire, and gaining a loyal fanbase around the world.
After completing a trilogy, the band is now starting a side chapter with The Lupine Anathema, still in the clutches of the Lovecraftian horrors of old. Expect nothing else than a continuation of the sound they have forged so far: heaviness, melodies, groove, and the legendary and classic vocals of Mr. Kam Lee!
Hear for yourself with the new track “By Feral Ways” HERE
Release date for The Lupine Anathema shall be April 6th through Xtreem Music for the CD format. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for The Grotesquery’s The Lupine Anathema
1. Under the Curse of the Full Moon
2. By Feral Ways
3. Wrath of the Garvulves (By the Eyes of Moonlight)
4. Advent of the Werewolves
5. The Faceless God
6. As Death Dies
7. The Beast of the Bayou (Night of the Rougarou)
8. Dark Cry of the Wolf
9. Ithaqua the Wind Walker
10. Bloodcurdling Tales
Today we got to speak to the guys in Austrian Post Black Metal band Harakiri for the Sky. Check it out
* You have been with Art of Propaganda records for a while now – how did your deal with them come about?
J.J.: This all came about when we finished the recording of our first album. I went through my vinyls and wrote a list with labels releasing Depressive Black Metal and that stuff. AOP released Apati and Self-Inflicted Violence at this time. So I sent a Demo Cd there and Sven made us a good offer. With the years we became good friends. And that’s why we stayed with him. We had many offers for the 4th album from bigger labels like Napalm, Season Of Mist and that kind, but staying with Sven felt better to us.
When it comes to making music the Austrian “scene” is overshadowed by German bands
* You are from Vienna right? How’s the metal scene there? I would imagine that it gets over shadowed by the Germany scene or does it have enough of its own identity?
J.J.: I live there yeah. M.S. too. In Vienna we don’t have something like a specific scene. It’s very mixed with people from other genres such as Hardcore, Stoner Rock and so on. And yeah, when it comes to making music the Austrian “scene” is overshadowed by German bands and labels. We don’t have many bands that make it out of the country. Austria is still a farmer country. Such as Kansas in the USA haha.
* Correct me if I am wrong but Heroin Waltz is about those small minded people who never left their towns and never broaden their horizons by traveling? Is this right?
J.J.: Not especially, but it’s a part of it. The song is about an everlasting search for a place called home and this warm feeling we are all searching for. Everybody that tried drugs like Heroin knows what I am talking about. I don’t know if were are able to reach this feeling of completeness and happiness in real life and without these substances. I don’t know if we will ever feel home.
They are like big unbelievable thick walls that safe me from the rest of the world
* If so I presume you grew up in a small town and not some where like Vienna (which is very cosmopolitan) is this correct? If so how was growing up like that?
J.J.: I grew up in a small town in the middle of the alps, 400 kilometers west of Vienna. Growing up there was great and one day I’ll find my way back there. I miss the mountains every day. Many people say they feel caged there, for me it’s the other way round. They are like big unbelievable thick walls that safe me from the rest of the world. My relationship with Vienna is like a Love Hate Love. I have many friends there and it’s the only place in Austria where you can find open minded people, but it will never feel like home there.
We bought some really strong MDMA there and were fucked up like hell
* As a touring act you have done some pretty decent tours so far? What’s been your best experience on tour so far? Your favorite city / country to play and why?
J.J.: That’s difficult to say. I really like Great Britain. We played in Scotland once. That was great. We bought some really strong MDMA there and were fucked up like hell. Last year we played in a Theater outside of Paris, that was also very cool. And for sure Sweden is nice to play too.
* How did you come up with the name Harakiri For The Sky? Many primitive cultures believe the end of the world would come when the “sky was falling” is this a play on words for the end of times?
J.J.: The name was my idea. To me this name should describe a special feeling I get while listening to music. It’s like running straight up to a cliff and just jump into the sky. Like in the music video of Sigur Ros’ Glósóli. But it’s also leant on a song by the Norwegian band Snöras.
* How do you guys write your songs? Does it start with MS coming up with a riff or guitar part and JJ writing his lyrics /vocal lines around that? or possibly the other way around?
J.J.: No, it’s just possible with writing the music first. M.S. shows me the preproductions of our songs and then I write the lyrics.
* This is your 4th album correct? How do you guys feel the band has progressed in the last 6 years?
J.J.: With “Arson” we kind of matured. The music is more conceived and thought-out. Lyrically as musically. In comparison to our first three records “Arson” is for sure the most eclectic one with very different musical influences. Also concerning to the production we made a big step. Now we sound like we always wanted to and made the best album we were able to at this point of life.
Never lose touch to your childhood friends
* What advice would you go back and give yourselves if you could send a message to yourselves in 2012?
J.J.: I think we made everything right when it comes to the band. In my private life I’d make many things different these days. Never lose touch to your childhood friends. You never know if it’s the last time you can share a drink with them. In worst case you will never see them again.
* How did you guys get into Black metal – what were your gateway bands?
J.J.: I started listening to Slayer, Death and Sepultura when I was like 12. Before I really was into Misfits and that stuff. I know that I bought Nocte Obductas “Galgendämmerung” because I really liked its cover. This was probably my first Black Metal record. This brought me into all these Austrian cult bands like Abigor, Summoning and old Dornenreich. At the same time I started to love Burzum. Latest at this point I was addicted to this music. This love didn’t change until today. It just got stronger.
To me “.neon” of Lantlos is still the most important album in my life
* When did you see/feel/realize that the limits of what was called “Black Metal” were expanding past the lo fi style of Darkthrone style bands? (For me it was Ulver)
J.J.: Ulvers first album was already to good produced to be Lo-Fi. I don’t really know. When it comes to modern Black Metal I’d say Alcest and Lantlos were very important. Black Metal began to become boring in 2005/06 but then these two bands came up mixing Black Metal with Post Rock and saved it. To me “.neon” of Lantlos is still the most important album in my life and maybe also the point where Black Metal changed its direction.
* Have you played the USA yet? If so how was it? If you have not yet – are their anything you are looking forward to doing? (some musicians want to see the Dakota building where John Lennon was shot, or the grand canyon, Mount Rushmore, The Sunset Strip etc) How about you guys?
J.J.: No we have not. But I will fly there in 2,5 months. I go to Dever and make a 4000 kilometer long trip from there to Cheyenne, Idaho Falls, the Rocky Mountains, some Nationalparks, Helena, Missoula, Piere/South Dakota and back to Denver. And yeah I will see Mount Rushmore too. I’m very excited about that.
* Do you have any dream countries you would love to tour but have not done so yet?
J.J.: Australia and New Zealand. Maybe Ireland too.
* I know you have a big European tour going on right now but what more can we expect from the band in 2018?
J.J.: We play many shows this year. More than we ever played before. We are playing Japan and China. In Autumn. And right now we are touring Sweden and waiting for the album to finally be released.
* Any final words?
J.J.: We hope to come to New York one day. With many luck we can go there in 2019. But who knows. Its not easy for an European band to tour the US these days. Thanks for the interview.
Iron Bonehead Productions sets May 4th as the international release date for Adversvm’s striking debut album, Aion Sitra Ahra, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Adversvm are a German funeral doom founded in 2015 by S.B. (vocals, guitars, bass). Several session members joined the band on drums, keyboards, and programmings. They entered the CKB Studio Essen to record the first album in November 2016. After a few recording sessions in the following months, at last, an album was finished: Aion Sitra Ahra, Adversvm’s first public recording.
“Massive” is but one way to describe Aion Sitra Ahra – the other, “ghostly.” For however requisitely crushing Adversvm’s funeral doom is, there’s equally a sense of ethereal drifting, that shadows forever lurk between the tectonic shifts known as riffs. And it’s generally more blackened than most extreme doom, for the original idea behind Adversvm was to create art more sinister than black metal and death metal, and to manifest this sound with apocalyptic verses.
Indeed, MORBID DARKNESS is what you’ll find with Aion Sitra Ahra: no repose, no remorse, no mercy. Simply, it sucks the life out of you…as Adversvm want it to be. But this is just the beginning, as the band already have a second album in progress, which should see the unlight later this year via Iron Bonehead. Hail emptiness and inertia.
Feel the first fatal weight of that emptiness and inertia HERE with the opening track “Anti-Stellar Gnosis To The Acausal Nexus.”
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Adversvm’s Aion Sitra Ahra
1. Anti-Stellar Gnosis To The Acausal Nexus
2. PS. XIII Maledictvm
3. Disequilibrium Evokes The Fifth Coronation
4. Aion Sitra Ahra
5. Est In Fatis
6. Current 218
Helldprod Records sets April 20th as the international release date for Scarificare’s highly anticipated third album, Tilasm, on digipack CD format.
A work of both crushing heaviness and mystical atmosphere, Tilasm is the album where Scarificare truly come into their own. Theirs is a sound that skillfully ranges black metal, death metal, and doom alike, never settling for easy categorization nor schizophrenically losing focus. Across seven songs in 45 minutes, the listener is taken on a cosmic ride like no other, each movement as memorable as the last. They say the third time’s a charm, and indeed it is for Scarificare with Tilasm.
Scarificare are a Portuguese extreme metal band formed by Crusher (bass/vocals), Sothis (drums), and Quetzalcoatl (guitars) in Oporto in late 2006. The main purpose was – and still is – to make extreme metal music inspired by all cosmic forces, the wisdom of ancient pagan religions, and consequently in ourselves.
In 2007, Inverno joined the band on bass guitar, leaving Crusher totally dedicated to the voice. The band recorded the demo tape Sulphurous Wrath, to be released by Portuguese label Skull Productions. In the beginning of 2008, Sothis leaves the band, giving place to a new drummer named Njord.
In 2009, the band started recording their first album, Perpectual Decline. The album was self-financed and was released on October 9th, 2010. After some live concerts in Portugal and Spain for the debut album’s promotion, the band participated in the Portuguese black metal compilation Lusitania Dark Horde II with one original track called “Burning Abyss.” In the subsequent months, the band started composing the second album, and during the course of that, Crusher leaves. Since then, Quetzalcoatl has assumed vocals in the band.
That second album, Postulado, was recorded between late 2012 and April 2013, and officially released on October 12th, 2013 by the Portuguese label Helldprod. The bass lines recorded by Inverno closed his participation in the band. Promotional live concerts during the following months were given by some guests on bass guitar. In late 2014, Njord also leaves the band.
During 2015 and 2016, Quetzalcoatl was already composing new music and searching for new band members to keep Scarificare going. In late 2016, Eligos joins the band on bass guitar. At the beginning of 2017, Luis Leal joins the band on drums. During the summer of that same year, the band starts recording their third album, Tilasm, at Hannuman Studios with producer Bruno Silva. The recording process ended in December 2017, and the official release date has been set for April 20th, again through Helldprod Records.
In the meantime, hear the new track “Crystal Skull” HERE
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Scarificare’s Tilasm
1. Crystal Skull
2. Wandering Soul
3. Occult Radiance
4. The Quest…for a Lost Idol
5. Regression
6. Consecration of the Talisman
7. Rise
OODED MENACE are now premiering their complete forthcoming new album, ‘Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed’, which will hit the shops on January 26th, 2018.
HOODED MENACE mastermind Lasse Pyykkö comments: “We are seriously stoked about ‘Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed’ being officially out on the 26th January. We hope that you’ll enjoy the full-album streaming right now!
2017 marked the 10 year anniversary of our band and now in 2018, we embrace the new decade(nce) for HOODED MENACE with an album that is perhaps our strongest to date. And that is a pretty damn good feeling.”
HOODED MENACE are available for interviews by mail or Skype.
The artwork of ‘Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed’, which has been created by Adam Burke (SÓLSTAFIR, PORTRAIT) can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. Sempiternal Grotesqueries (10:38)
2. In Eerie Deliverance (7:05)
3. Cathedral of Labyrinthine Darkness (7:23)
4. Cascade of Ashes (6:43)
5. Charnel Reflections (7:48)
6. Black Moss (2:21)
Total playing time: 41:58
Doom has always been a style for a rather select but also very dedicated audience. Among the aficionados, HOODED MENACE have quickly become a household name for authenticity and excellence.
With their upcoming fifth album, ‘Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed’, the Finns continue to impress with immaculate songwriting skills and the perfect balance between harsh death metal fuelled outbursts and exquisite melodic melancholy.
HOODED MENACE were formed in Joensuu, Finland in 2007 by guitarist Lasse Pyykkö, who had also performed in the Finnish cult death metal band PHLEGETHON. The band has always avowed to the strong influence by early CANDLEMASS and CATHEDRAL as well as PARADISE LOST, AUTOPSY, ASPHYX, and WINTER. Their lyrics are often inspired by the classic 1970’s Spanish horror movie series ‘The Blind Dead’.
HOODED MENACE recorded a 2-track demo, ‘The Eyeless Horde’ in 2007, which was released on 7″ the following year. Their debut album ‘Fulfill the Curse’ was released in 2008 and the highly acclaimed sophomore full-length ‘Never Cross the Dead’ came out in 2010. HOODED MENACE remained in a highly creative mode and delivered ‘Effigies of Evil’ in 2012 and their latest milestone, ‘Darkness Drips Forth’ in 2015. With a penchant for classic vinyl, the Finns also released several split singles and EPs for example with ASPHYX and COFFINS.
HOODED MENACE toured in Europe and North America, and performed at many major metal festivals such as Hellfest, Roadburn, Maryland Deathfest, Tuska, and Party San Open Air among others.
Now the time has once again come, when HOODED MENACE unleash skeletal horror and sombre despair onto their craving audience. The dead shall ride on ‘Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed’ and the living shall rejoice!
Hells Headbangers announces the signing of Canada’s Goathammer. The first fruit of this union shall be the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Ceremony of Morbid Destruction, which will be released later this spring/summer on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in 2013 and promptly getting to work on a split tape and two successive demos, Goathammer have been a study of staunch underground ethics from the very beginning. Theirs is a sound that’s steeped in decades of arcane black/death wisdom, canvassing an array of eras and international flavors whilst being finessed into foul, filthy form by true fanatics. As such, Ceremony of Morbid Destruction is the grand, garish culmination of Goathammer’s noble work thus far. Here, the quartet prove they’re more than just an identikit “goat”/bestial band; there’s a sulfurous aura and true dungeon-bound darkness that bespeak the ancient ways of the 1990s, but completely unselfconsciously so. Sure, the swarming violence of Blasphemy is certainly detectable, but more so is the hammering disgust of legendary labelmates Profanatica; likewise, the crude magick of classic Ungod coexists alongside the frantic misery of old Mütiilation. Which is all to say that, despite the signposts being clear, Goathammer possess the unique elan to conjure a sensation that evokes both nostalgia and newness, and above all, put forth an identity that’s theirs alone and offering boundless exploration of those depths for the future.
A statement from the band reads: “We are honored to be working with a label that we truly respect like Hells Headbangers. We support their mission to spread evil metal all over this rotten planet, and we are grateful to join their roster and do just that. EVIL FUCKING METAL PREVAILS!!!”
Release date, cover art, tracklisting, and preorder info to be announced shortly.
Edged Circle Productions is proud to present the signing of female black metallers Asagraum. The band are currently working on their second album, and just recently did Edged Circle make their critically acclaimed debut album, Potestas Magicum Diaboli, available on all digital platforms. Additionally, Asagraum will be touring the globe the next four months, including such venerable festivals as Oration, Stockholm Slaughter, Incineration Fest, and Steelfest Open Air (dates after the jump).
A cross-continental entity, Asagraum was founded in the autumn of 2015 by vocalist/guitarist Obscura, who was joined by drummer T. Kolsvart, to create pure Satanic black metal with the old-school feeling of the eternal ’90s greats and with dark psychedelic influences. A three-track promo recording was released in early 2017, laying bare Asagraum’s aims and sound. Wasting no time, debut album Potestas Magicum Diaboli was recorded, mixed at the esteemed Necromorbus Studio, and released by KVLT Records in September 2017. At the end of 2017, T. Kolsvart was replaced and drummer A. took part in the coven. Many live performances have been scheduled, and Asagraum’s black flame burns and will spread more over Europe, Canada, and Latin America, joined by live bassist Mortifero or Makhashanah and live guitarist V-Kaos.
Says Edged Circle boss Stian Smørholm, “We are very proud to finally have Asagraum among our artists and look forward to their next releases on Edged Circle Productions. The band will spend a lot of time around the world doing concerts & tours to further promote themselves and, at the same time, keep high focus on writing material for the second album. These are just the first steps…”
A special video for their upcoming live performances can be viewed HERE.
Confirmed tour dates are as follows:
16. Feb – Howls of Winter V, Tallinn, EST
7. – 10. March – Oration MMXVIII, Reykjavik, ISL
16. March – TBA
17. March – TBA
20. March – Bogotá, COL
23. March – Medellín, COL
25. March – Cali, COL
27. – 28. April – Stockholm Slaughter, SWE
12. – 13. April – Incineration Fest, London, UK
18. May – Steelfest Open Air, Hyvinkää, FIN
ROTTING CHRIST are announcing the release of ‘Their Greatest Spells’. This double-CD compilation features a best of selection approved by frontman Sakis Tolis as well as the new track “I Will Not Serve” and will hit the stores on March 23rd.
Artwork, track-list, and album details of ‘Their Greatest Spells’ can be viewed below.
Track-list
CD 1
1. The Sign of Prime Creation (3:21)
2. Athanati Este (5:39)
3. Non Serviam (5:11)
4. King of a Stellar War (6:14)
5. Nemecic (4:15)
6. Grandis Spiritus Diavolos (5:51)
7. Art of Sin (5:17)
8. Dying (4:49)
9. Archon (4:09)
10. Serve In Heaven (3:52)
11. Astral Embodiment (5:29)
12. After Dark I Feel (4:32)
13. Sorrowfull Farewell (4:51)
14. In Yumen-Xibalba (6:24)
15. Elthe Kyrie (4:49)
16. Cold Colours (3:36)
Total: 1:18:19
CD 2
1. The Sign of Evil Existence (1:59)
2. Fgmenth Thy Gift (4:28)
3. Ze Nigmar (4:42)
4. Phobo’s Synagogue (4:30)
5. Demonon Vrosis (4:54)
6. …Pir Threontai (4:47)
7. Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy (4:53)
8. Among Two Storms (4:09)
9. Semigod (4:39)
10. Welcome to Hel (4:26)
11. A Dynasty from the Ice (4:28)
12. Shadows Follow (4:33)
13. Forest of N’gai (5:49)
14. Feast of the Grand Whore (3:16)
15. Exiled Archangels (5:06)
16. Saturn Unlock Avey’s Son (6:21)
17. I Will Not Serve (3:55
Total: 1:16:55
ROTTING CHRIST have reached another peak in their long career that now spans over more than three decades. The Greeks have literally stood the test of time. With a steady core line-up and their well-honed live delivery, ROTTING CHRIST are filling concert halls and reap enthusiastic crowd reactions wherever they go. This demonstration of love from their followers is not just driven by nostalgia as the band has managed to evolve and grow, while staying relevant beyond the classics with their highly acclaimed latest albums such as ‘Aealo’ (2010), ‘Κατά τον δαίμονα εαυτού’ (2013), and ‘Rituals’ (2016).
With more than 30 years, 12 studio albums, a dozen EPs, singles and split releases, as well as more than 1.250 shows under their belt, it is about high time to take a retrospective look at this band’s fascinating musical development by picking a select choice of key tracks covering the many facets of ROTTING CHRIST that have sparkled over the years. With such a massive catalogue such an undertaking will always lead to controversy about certain additions as well as omissions from the final list, but the involvement of frontman Sakis Tolis in this extremely difficult task ensures that the result is at least relevant.
ROTTING CHRIST were founded by Sakis Tolis and his brother Themis in the year 1987. Starting out on a basis of death and grind, the Greeks had already embarked on a darker musical journey by the time their debut full-length ‘Thy Mighty Contract’ (1993) was revealed. On the following seven albums covering a ten-year period from ‘Non Serviam’ (1994) to ‘Sanctus Diavolos’ (2004), ROTTING CHRIST steadily defined their own distinct style by experimenting with elements from death, heavy, and gothic metal without betraying their black roots. At the same time, the band went from underground heroes to headliner status. With the highly acclaimed ninth album, ‘Theogonia’ (2007), the Greek stalwarts added an unmistakable native element to their sound, which has remained with them as a signature trademark ever since. Exploring the mythical legacy of cultures around the globe let to ROTTING CHRIST’s massively successful latest release, ‘Rituals’. With ‘Their Greatest Spells’, the Greek metal icons musically revisit their exciting legacy and even contribute a brand new track entitled “I Will Not Serve” to connect their past with the present.
ROTTING CHRIST & CARACH ANGREN
+ SVART CROWN
26 Jan 18 Essen (DE) Turock
27 Jan 18 Utrecht (NL) De Helling
28 Jan 18 Hamburg (DE) Kultur Palast
29 Jan 18 København (DK) Pumpehuset
30 Jan 18 Berlin (DE) Musik & Frieden
31 Jan 18 Katowice (PL) Mega Club
01 Feb 18 Praha (CZ) Futurum
02 Feb 18 Glauchau (DE) Alte Spinnerei
03 Feb 18 Mannheim (DE) Connection Complex
04 Feb 18 Paris (FR) Petit Bain (SOLD OUT!)
05 Feb 18 Nantes (FR) Ferrailleur
06 Feb 18 Lyon (FR) CCO
07 Feb 18 Barcelona (ES) Razzmatazz
08 Feb 18 Oviedo (ES) Sir Laurens
09 Feb 18 Porto (PT) Hard Club (tba)
10 Feb 18 Lisboa (PT) RCA Club (tba)
11 Feb 18 Madrid (ES) Caracol
12 Feb 18 Marseille (FR) Jas Rod
13 Feb 18 Brescia (IT) Circolo Colony
14 Feb 18 München (DE) Backstage
15 Feb 18 Wien (AT) Szene
16 Feb 18 Wil (CH) Gare de Lion
17 Feb 18 Arnhem (NL) Willemeen
18 Feb 18 Vosselaar (BE) Biebob
death metal classicists Ectoplasma stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, Cavern of Foul Unbeing. Set for international release today via Memento Mori, hear Ectoplasma’s Cavern of Foul Unbeings in its entirety exclusively HERE.
Hailing from Greece, the band was initiated by Giannis Grim (Carnal Dread, Humanity Zero, Death Trap, Vultur) and George Wolf (Forced In, Dismal Chant, Vultur) when Carnal Dread and Forced In shared the bill at a local show back in the grip of winter of 2012. Both musicians being real zealots of what death metal was known for back in the late 80’s and the early 90’s – in other words, no tech wankery and no crystal-clear production – they rapidly entered the studio just to start jamming, and ultimately gave birth to Ectoplasma.
Shortly after, the Everlasting Deathreign demo was discharged upon mankind, granting the band some following among diehard fans of unpolished death metal. On subsequent releases (the Spitting Coffins debut album and the split tape with Hatevomit), the band kept on perfecting their craft and obtaining more adherents of their underground creed, reaching a more mature sound by the time the Skeletal Lifeforms EP was released in late 2016 (tape format) / early 2017 (CD format), in which Ectoplasma shamelessly manifested their devotion to muddy, organic, disgusting, bone-breaking, and rotten-to-the-core DEATH METAL influenced by the early offerings of bands such as Autopsy, Baphomet, Asphyx, Morta Skuld, Grave, Demigod, Gutted, Death, and Judecca, only with their own personal twist.
With the recent addition of Dion K. Alastor (Vultur) on guitars and Giannis Botsis (Embrace of Thorns, Thou Art Lord) on drums, Ectoplasma are ready to continue their foul crusade against inane, overproduced “death metal” and take it to the next level of grime and decrepitude. And indeed, they accomplish that – and much more – with their absolutely gutsfucking second album, Cavern of Foul Unbeings. So accurately titled, it’s almost ridiculous, Cavern of Foul Unbeings is a sickening plunge into ancient death metal’s darkest and most disgusting depths. Here, Ectoplasma take all the mangled ‘n’ mangling elements of their most recent work and simply perfect them in a most punishing ‘n’ pustulent way. If one were to close his eyes, Cavern of Foul Unbeings could easily be mistaken for a stalwart album release in that grand year of 1992 – but open your eyes and the nightmare continues, decades later and disregarding all shameful and softening trends under the banner of death ever since. But, beyond the band’s slavish devotion to the almighty Metal of Death, what really puts Cavern of Foul Unbeings over is the strength of its songwriting; each song is as solid and seamless as the one prior, and each one offers its own personality and surprises. That they conclude the album with a cover of the legendary Unleashed’s “The Immortals” speaks to Ectoplasma’s grounding and undying belief in actual SONGwriting.
Featuring era-accurate cover artwork courtesy of Raul Fuentes and clear ‘n’ crushing mastering by The Crypt’s Ted Tringo, Cavern of Foul Unbeings proves that the past is truly alive – and deader than ever! Hear all of it for yourself exclusively HERE
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Ectoplasma’s Cavern of Foul Unbeings
1. Amorphous Atrocity (Intro)
2. Entranced in Blood
3. Mortified and Despised
4. Seized in Cimmerian Darkness
5. Cavern of Foul Unbeings
6. Primeval Haunting
7. Reanimated in Trioxin
8. The Unspeakable One
9. GhoulSpawn
10. Disembodied Voice
11. The Immortals (Unleashed cover)
