Swedish black metal force WAN came on the scene as a triad of aggression in 2009 to glorify Satan, chaos and the mighty northern darkness. Their debut, Wolves of the North, promptly saw its release in 2010. In 2013, the stalwart offered their second attack, Enjoy the Filth, fetching a more no holds barred and uglier song-writing approach. Two years later, Wan appeared in a split release called “Necroholic” alongside their countrymen Styggelse and Icelandic mystics Curse.
WAN encountered lineup changes in the next two years, but that could not disintegrate the tenebrous mightiness of the Swede horde. WAN unleashed the third album, Wan Way to Hell, via Carnal Records at the dawn of 2017. This album marks a new era for WAN and it confirmed the sustainability of their raw-energy, which is ever flowing and ever dark.
WAN are currently stronger than ever as a four-headed beast and they are ready to channel violence through the forthcoming mini CD “Gammal är äldst” (English: Old is the Oldest). Anyone au fait with the ‘80s and early ‘90s Scandinavian black metal knows what the five tracks of this EP convey. Indeed, they conjure nothing but relentless slabs of caustic riffs, maliciously intended raucous snarls and holocaustic drum-assaults. “Gammal är äldst” comes on CD format this December 21 via CARNAL RECORDS.
To celebrate their glorious 10 years as a band, WAN will be embarking upon a European tour in May 2019 together with Nekrokraft and The Generations Army.
Treat your ears with the intensity of filthy ancient black metal.
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets February 1st, 2019 as the international release date for the striking debut album of Portugal’s Graves, Liturgia da Blasfemia, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Hailing from the current black metal hotbed of Portugal, Graves are a relatively new entity featuring members of Flagellum Dei and Summon. The band made their public debut during the summer of 2018 with Unholy Desecration demo. Containing the same foul ‘n’ filthy rudiments as that demo, Liturgia da Blasfemia will be Graves’ crude ‘n’ rude introduction to the world stage.
Put simply, Graves’ sound is grim and miserable black metal brewed in the darkest dungeons of the underground, reverent of the ancient ways but by no means tethered to the past. References to be made include the French Black Legions and of course the Portuguese Black Circle, but also raw Finnish black metal from the past couple decades, such is Graves’ emphasis on hypnotic, lashing melody. And compared to the demo’s more antisocial sound, here on Liturgia da Blasfemia do the power-trio reveal a considerably more feral physicality, no less ribald in its trance-inducing recesses but perhaps more apt to rise up from those depths and lash the listener with utmost cruelty. Similarly, the band utilizing their native tongue almost exclusively here lends an eerier, more otherworldly aspect.
Kneel and prostrate thyself before Graves’ Liturgia da Blasfemia. The first genuflection can be found with the new track “Sangrando em Golgota” HERE
. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Graves (Portugal)’s Liturgia da Blasfemia
1. Do demiurge..Ultraje de viver
2. I am Fire I am Death
3. Sangrando em Golgota
4. Sangrando em Golgota… parte 2
5. Impregnado p` la Foice
6. Do teu Ventre a Maldade saiu
7. Minha Alma imolei em Golgota
8. Graves Hold Your Name
9. Via Dolorosa até Golgota
Automb unleashes another music video, this time for the track ‘Mourned’, professionally recorded and edited by Shane Mayer of Cerebral Audio Production.
BIO
Automb is a female-fronted black metal band that blends death metal elements seamlessly with classic black metal and atmospheric tones.
‘Esoterica’ is out now via Satanath Records (Russia), Final Gate Records (Germany) and Bruder Des Lichts (US). ‘Esoterica’ features Serge Streltsov of NECROPHAGIA, and session work from Scott Fuller of MORBID ANGEL as well as vocalist/bassist/keyboardist Danielle Evans.
It features bone-crushing blast beats, soul wrenching growls, punishing rhythms, and epic atmospheric leads. For fans of… BEHEMOTH, WATAIN, EMPEROR, DRUDKH, VADER, MORBID ANGEL, AND MAYHEM.
Today, Swedish black metal elite Valkyrja stream the entirety of their highly anticipated fourth album, Throne Ablaze. A work forged in the fires of the ancients with deadly intent to raze the present, Throne Ablaze precludes a full European tour of Valkyrja supporting the equally legendary Marduk and Archgoat, which starts later this week (dates below). Set for international release today via W.T.C. Productions, hear Valkyrja’s Throne Ablaze in its entirety exclusively HERE.
Valkyrja was founded in 2004 with the earnest intention of channeling violence, deprivation, and loathing through means of extraordinarily potent audio emissions. Their ideals were permeated by passionate and boundless perversion – a sickly urge festering ever so vibrantly in the essence of its members, a will to cast off the manacles of societal enslavement and leave a dying world behind. While the brotherhood took shape, opposition and defiance surfaced from the deepest recesses of the mind: a fierce hostility towards the laws and morals of their surroundings, notions which felt entirely alien to the band’s core.
As part of Valkyrja’s philosophy of ridding themselves from limitations, no specific genre was ever chosen since it would only serve to establish a framework of useless expectation. The artistic output created under the flag of Valkyrja defies all earthly shackles, including those of commercial categorization. With ideology as lodestar, venturing into darkness without a backwards glance, they took their first fledgling steps on a road staked out by the night itself.
Valkyrja’s debut album, The Invocation of Demise, was recorded in Necromorbus Studio during March 2007 and then released in physical form by Northern Silence Productions six months later. Valkyrja quickly gained their reputation as a ferocious live act: a display of carnal lust leaving each stage with the foul scent of death. Drawn to the stench of putrid bereavement, Metal Blade Records contracted the band in 2009. The Invocation of Demise was treated to a re-release by their new ally, thus spreading the curse even further. The same year also saw a return to Necromorbus Studio for the recording of their second album, the most aptly named Contamination. The new tracks would prove to be a crucial part of the band’s live setlist as they, the following autumn, embarked on their first European campaign.
Forged and conceived to reflect blood and fire, the third Valkyrja album, The Antagonist’s Fire, set the world aflame on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 2013. The opus also marked the beginning of Valkyrja’s long-running collaboration with elite underground label World Terror Committee. During the past decade, facilitated by Massive Music and accompanied by titans of extreme metal, over 100 different European cities has been forced to swallow the bitter wine of sonic violence. Furthermore, 2016 and 2017 saw two extensive North American tours with Valkyrja as co-headliner, during which 22 different states were soaked in rotten blood.
Five years removed from the third opus, Valkyrja return under a new guise. The past few years have seen the band subjected to several crucial lineup changes, igniting a period of utter despair that would sow the seeds for what has now come to pass: Throne Ablaze is set for worldwide release on November 26, 2018. The album reflects the passion and dedication of everyone involved, those who face every storm – past and future – with weapon in hand. It will forever stand as a monument of continuous struggles – so right there, in the core of this strife to conquer every obstacle, kneel and obey the fires of the blazing throne!
Full obeisance can be found exclusively HERE.
Cover art, courtesy of Nestor Avalos, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Valkyrja’s Throne Ablaze
1. In Ruins I Set My Throne
2. Crowned Serpent
3. Opposer of Light
4. Tombs Into Flesh
5. Halo of Lies
6. Transcendental Death
7. Paradise Lost
8. Throne Ablaze
VIKTORIA EUROPA Part 2
Marduk + Archgoat + Valkyrja + support
Nov 30, 2018 (SVN) Ljubljana @ Winter Days Of Metal
Dec 01, 2018 (ITA) Brescia @ Black Winter Festival
Dec 02, 2018 (SUI) Aarburg @ Musigburg
Dec 04, 2018 (FRA) Paris @ Le Machine
Dec 05, 2018 (BEL) Bruges @ Het Entrepot
Dec 06, 2018 (NED) Hengelo @ Metropool
Dec 07, 2018 (GER) Leipzig @ Felsenkeller
Dec 08, 2018 (CZE) Plzen @ Bozkov
Dec 09, 2018 (GER) Ludwigsburg @ Rockfabrik
Dec 11, 2018 (GBR) London @ The Underworld
Dec 12, 2018 (GER) Trier @ Mergener Hof
Dec 13, 2018 (GER) Essen @ Turock
Dec 14, 2018 (BEL) Arlon @ L’Entrepot
Dec 15, 2018 (NED) Eindhoven @ Eindhoven Metal Meeting
Dec 16, 2018 (GER) Bad Oeynhausen @ Druckerei
Today, Portuguese black metal cult Degredo stream the entirety of their striking debut album, A Noite dos Tempos. Set for international release on November 30th via Harvest of Death, a division of Signal Rex, hear Degredo’s A Noite dos Tempos in its entirety exclusively HERE.
A mysterious entity hailing from Portugal’s elite Aldebaran Circle – which includes Ordem Satânica, Trono Além Morte, Occelenbriig, and Voëmmr – Degredo have been lurking in the most distant shadows since 2010. Their first demo cam in 2012, but the period of 2016-2017 produced the most activity, resulting in extremely limited tapes for Harvest of Death and the esteemed Black Gangrene. As delirious and dread-inducing as those recordings are, nothing can quite prepare the listener for Degredo’s A Noite dos Tempos.
A truly staggering work, A Noite dos Tempos is an actual double-album, comprising two two-track albums for a combined hour and 15 minutes of supernatural audial terror. Black metal no doubt forms the basis of Degredo’s creation, but the band dislocate and desiccate it to such an extent that only a ghostly aspect remains. Truly, the alternately shuddering/shimmering textures Degredo employ owe more to ritualistic drone and its satellite subgenres, and yet the unhinged hysteria that results from their stretched-beyond-comprehension tension drive deeply into black metal’s most subterranean and latent mysteries.
Suitably, for all this sonic unorthodoxy do Degredo utilize unorthodox means, mostly using acoustic and rural artifacts for precision and sound ambience. Likewise, their lyrics are based on rural and ancestral essays, tales from the Serra Da Estrela Mountain and its surrounding areas, extracted from old sayings of their grandfathers and grand grandfathers… In a word, then: utterly ancient.
When black metal has largely become a caricature of itself or at least rote play-acting that’s lost any sense of dangerousness or mysticism, here plants Degredo’s A Noite dos Tempos deep into the earth. Long may its rotten roots extend…
Feel the full extension of those roots HERE.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Degredo’s A Noite dos Tempos
1. Parte Um [18:46]
2. Parte Dois [18:20]
3. Parte Três [17:26]
4. Parte Quatro [19:50]
TRACK BREAKDOWN
Part 1 and 2 = VOLUME 1
Part 3 and 4 = VOLUME 2
Today, Wolfspell Records sets December 21st as the international release date for Odious Devotion’s striking debut album, simply self-titled Odious Devotion.
No info exists about Odious Devotion – no origin, no lineup – other than that the band is from Finland. The only other thing to reveal is that Odious Devotion is the entity’s first public recording. As such, it’s a shockingly accomplished and fully formed display of martial black metal. Each song largely ends the way it begins, pulsing with a cryogenic militancy that would sound positively dead were it not for the blasting up-tempos. And yet, a subtly sinuous style of melodicism emerges, further entrancing the listener with surprisingly developed (yet never over-saccharine) hooks. It’s an antisocial void, to be sure, but one that teasingly entices entry into true Odious Devotion. Or, put another way, song titles such as “Obscure Dreamworlds” and “Morphosis” say equally as much as “Pure” and “Repugnant” – and an ambient interlude titled “Stagnant” perhaps suggests a twisted wit…
Odious Devotion’s Odious Devotion will be released on digipack CD.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Odious Devotion’s Odious Devotion
1. Intro
2. Morphosis
3. Pure
4. Obscure Dreamworlds
5. Stagnant
6. Repugnant
7. Vitsaus
8. Outro
VIRVUM have announced an extensive European tour together with BLOODSHOT DAWN in support of their latest release “Illuminance” which was re-released by Season of Mist in 2017.
The Swiss tech death shooting stars comment: “We are excited to embark on the “Interdimensional Spacegoats Across Europe Tour” with our friends in BLOODSHOT DAWN. This run is a very special one, as it marks our very first headlining tour since the release of our debut record “Illuminance” in 2016. We can’t wait to perform for all our European supporters again, while we all just confusedly float through space and reach infinite enlightenment in the presence of the ultimate generous goat god. Please grab your tickets before they are all gone!”
See below for a list of all currently confirmed shows.
VIRVUM
+BLOODSHOT DAWN
VIRVUM
03 Mar 19 Brighton (UK) The Green Door Store *
04 Mar 19 Newscastle (UK) Trillians
05 Mar 19 Edinburgh (IE) Bannermanns
06 Mar 19 Leicester (UK) Dryden Street
07 Mar 19 Hitchin (UK) Club 85
08 Mar 19 London (UK) Black Heart
09 Mar 19 Paris (FR) Gibus
10 Mar 19 Haarlem (NL) Patronaat
12 Mar 19 Copenhagen (DK) Beta
13 Mar 19 Hamburg (DE) Bambi Galore
14 Mar 19 Hradec Kralove (CZ) CC Lucie
15 Mar 19 Prague (CZ) Modra Vopice
16 Mar 19 Graz (AT) Club Q
17 Mar 19 Perugia (IT) Rework Club
18 Mar 19 Baden (CH) Werkk
*No Bloodshot Dawn
On previous news, VIRVUM have released a bass play-through video featuring the track, “Tentacles of the Sun”. View the video at the link below.
VIRVUM will be touring in support of their latest release ‘Illuminance’. Artwork, track-list and further info can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. The Cypher Supreme (2:36)
2. Earthwork (4:31)
3. Illuminance (9:00)
4. Ad Rigorem (4:32)
5. Tentacles Of The Sun (4:55)
6. Elemental Shift (2:41)
7. I: A New Journey Awaits (1:43)
8. II: A Final Warming Shine: Ascension And Trespassing (10:28)
Total playing time: 40:26
When a relatively unknown Swiss band released their debut album ‘Illuminance’ in 2016, only insiders suspected the massive impact it would stir. Yet it was on the strength of this release that VIRVUM were offered to sign on Season of Mist. Now their new home is reissuing ‘Illuminance’, which is to be available on vinyl for the first time.
VIRVUM were founded by childhood friends in 2007 and since then the aspiring and hard-working musicians continuously fine-tuned and honed the tracks of their first full-length to match their burgeoning skills.
VIRVUM first got noticed when guitarist and main songwriter Nic Gruhn happily took the offer to join a European tour with California’s progressive death metal pioneers FALLUJAH while also opening for such renowned bands as SUFFOCATION and CEPHALIC CARNAGE in 2013. On the return of their guitarist, VIRVUM immediately set out to perform as many shows as possible in order to establish the band in Europe.
In 2015, a first single entitled ‘Internal Howl’ attracted immediate attention and, that same year, VIRVUM were picked to internationally support big names such as DYING FETUS, FLESHGOD APOCALPYSE, and DEFEATED SANITY among others.
In advance of their self-released debut full-length, VIRVUM received a massive response for the song premieres of “Ad Rigorem” and title track in 2016, while the album was highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike.
With their professional attitude, the exceptional technical prowess of each individual musician, and last but never least the outstanding collective songwriting skills, the Swiss are now ready for the next step. While VIRVUM create a new monstrous record in studio, their amazing debut ‘Illuminance’ is made available again.
Freshly out, and already in the Australian iTunes Rock chart, the new IN THE WOODS… album is streaming in its entirety below :
“Majestic and sophisticated… Immersive and mesmerising.” – Ghost Cult Magazine
“Clearly inspired… ‘Cease The Day’ is crammed with great riffs both doomy and aggressive, great vocals both crooned and screamed, and a fresh interpretation of past In The Woods… sounds.” – Your Last Rites
“A fine addition to a very solid discography, that plenty of long term fans and newcomers alike will find enjoyment out of.” – Noizze UK
“Each song on Cease the Day can be mentioned as a highlight… In The Woods… succeeds where other bands fail by really ensuring that every avenue taken, every branch followed all lead to the same place.” – Nine Circles
“Cease The Day is the expression of a band finding the magic of their past and conjuring a future out of what made them one of the most unique listens in the world. A bit more direct and punchy than its predecessor, Cryptic Rock gives Cease The Day 5 out of 5 stars.” – Cryptic Rock
“Cease The Day” continues to prove IN THE WOODS… as masters of whatever craft they choose to pursue with 8 genre-destroying masterpieces:
01. Empty streets
02. Substance vortex
03. Respect my solitude
04. Cloud seeder
05. Still yearning
06. Strike up with the dawn
07. Transcending yesterdays
08. Cease the day
Recorded partly in Brighton, England and partly in Kristiansand, Norway the international flavour was added to by the mix being undertaken in France by Frederic Gervais (Studio Henosis). Now armed with an album truly representative of the band both past & present, the band look to a brighter future with the spiritual cleansing that is “Cease The Day”.
Artwork and layout courtesy of Dr.Winter / Teratogen.
Conquerors of countless styles and sounds, IN THE WOODS… began in Norway in 1991 from the dissolution of Green Carnation. Their debut “Heart of the Ages” stands as a black metal classic to this day and brought a new style of atmosphere to the genre that hadn’t been heard before. Not to be pigeonholed, their follow ups “Omnio” and “Strange In Stereo” saw the band take their style in completely different directions, exploring realms of progressive rock, doom, and avant-garde stylings.
Dissolving in 2000, IN THE WOODS… lay dormant for fourteen years, before re-emerging in 2014 under the wing of Debemur Morti Productions. This partnership saw the release of “Pure” soon after. “Pure” continues the IN THE WOODS… tradition of defying expectation. Sorrow laden doom passages and psychedelic keys herald blistering melo-death riffing and everything in between, all accompanied by the powerful voice of the newest member of the band, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist James “Mr Fog” Fogarty. If “Pure” was any indication, IN THE WOODS… will be dropping jaws for years to come.
ROTTEN SOUND have announced new European tour dates for February and March 2019. The band will first support NAPALM DEATH on the Finnish shows, starting on the 20th of February in Helsinki. ROTTEN SOUND will continue to wreck havoc with a freshly announced tour through 10 more European countries with the support of IMPLORE.
ROTTEN SOUND
+ IMPLORE
25 Mar 19 Bratislava (SK) Fuga
26 Mar 19 Zagreb (HR) Mocvara
27 Mar 19 Linz (AT) Kapu
28 Mar 19 Stuttgart (DE) Juha West
29 Mar 19 Lenzburg (CH) Met-Bar
30 Mar 19 Martigny (CH) Sunset Club
31 Mar 19 Milano (IT) Grinder Fest
01 Apr 19 Colmar (FR) Le Grillen
02 Apr 19 Liege (BE) La Zone
03 Apr 19 Bruxelles (BE) Magasin 4
04 Apr 19 Arnhem (NL) Willemeen
05 Apr 19 Hamburg (DE) Bambi Galore
06 Apr 19 Aarhus (DK) Royal metal fest
ROTTEN SOUND will be touring in support of their latest EP ‘Suffer to Abuse’. The artwork, which has been created by Thomas Boutet at Mush Design, can be viewed together with the album details below.
Track-list
1. Privileged (1:25)
2. The Misfit (1:53)
3. Stressed Mess (2:05)
4. Harvester of Boredom (2:01)
5. One Hit Wonder (1:19)
6. Nutrition (2:23)
7. Slaves of Lust (0:51)
Total playing time: 9:52
ROTTEN SOUND have firmly established themselves as one of the leading acts of the grindcore scene. Expertly wielding the fierce brutality and massive aggression of their genre, the Finns add intelligent songwriting, effective arrangements, and musical proficiency as well as subtle death metal elements to their sound.
Their forthcoming new EP ‘Suffer to Abuse’, which is not to be confused with their latest full-length album, ‘Abuse to Suffer’ (2016), embodies those aforementioned virtues to the point. The EP delivers seven short sharp chops that hit home perfectly.
ROTTEN SOUND was conceived in the city of Vaasa, Finland by guitarist Mika Aalto in 1993, who was soon joined by vocalist and word-smith Keijo Niinimaa. The duo still remains in place, while the original members in all other positions have been replaced several times until today.
The Finns can field an impressive catalogue of seven highly acclaimed studio albums, now eight EPs, three split singles, a single, and a live DVD. Furthermore, ROTTEN SOUND have already conquered the stages of all major metal and hardcore oriented festivals and also toured in regular intervals alongside such renowned acts as MALEVOLENT CREATION, PHOBIA, DISFEAR CARCASS, MUNICIPAL WASTE, EXHUMED, NAPALM DEATH, and PIG DESTROYER – among many others.
With ‘Suffer to Abuse’, ROTTEN SOUND are gearing up their musical juggernaut just in time before crushing stages all over Asia and Europe this spring. Hold on tight and enjoy the bliss of this heavily whirling grind-tornado!
It’s been seven years since Comatose Vigil released their last album, Fuimus, non Sumus…, and the Russian funeral doom act has been in slumber since 2016. A.K. iEzor has reawaken the band under the name Comatose Vigil A.K. with the help of David Unsaved of Ennui and John Devos of Mesmur. This December 14 will see the release of the awaited third full length “Evangelium Nihil” on digipak CD and digitally via Non Serviam Records.
“Slow, heavy, and almost unbearably fucking sad, it’s easily the most all-encompassingly hopeless album I’ve heard in a very long time.” – Clayton T. Michaels, Indy Metal Vault
Formed in 2011 in Moscow by A.K. iEzor (vocals, drums), Vig’ill (guitars) and Zigr (keyboards), COMATOSE VIGIL originally started their voyage under the name “Subhuman Abstract”. After spending the next two years in the throes of creation and experiments, they found their dole in the realm of funeral doom metal. Soon, the name was changed to Comatose Vigil and that eclipsed the further headway on artistic potency.
In between 2005 and 2006, a series of important incidents took place — the debut album “Not a Gleam of Hope”, the EP “Narcosis”, and the first live show. A streak of bad luck had soon begun when the new members joined the collective and the occurrence of countless line-up changes caused inner issues and almost stopped the progress of composition. The only way to save the situation was to get back to original line-up, and then Comatose Vigil finally started recording their second LP. 2011 was marked by the release of a new album, titled “Fuimus, non Sumus…”. Unfortunately, it could not keep the band from breaking up. Comatose Vigil disbanded in 2013 for the first time because of internal discord. An attempt of reanimating the band was also a losing battle. Resurrected Comatose Vigil played two local live gigs in 2015 and then broke up again for the same reasons.
A.K. iEzor was trying hard to find a solution which could give this band a new birth. And he made his own luck. Comatose Vigil raised from the dead as Comatose Vigil A.K. It was possible due to involvement of David Unsaved of Ennui and his passion for the previous albums. Now he is in charge of composing all the materials. Subscript “A.K.” appeared because of some issues with one of ex-members, who spoke against using this title by anyone. The new line-up was also enhanced by John Devos of Mesmur in the capacity of a drummer.
The new album was recorded in winter-spring of 2018 and called “Evangelium Nihil”. Retaining the recognizable hallmark, the band made the album in accordance with the previous works. The sound has become heavier and slower, and it portends the pressure of conjuring ominous bleakness. The ponderous slow-tempo riffs, backed by deep growls and spectral synths, descent into the abyssal depths of a frozen world where one won’t find a gleam of hope. Cover artwork created by high skilled W. Smerdulak.
“Evangelium Nihil” will see its worldwide release this December 14 via NON SERVIAM RECORDS digitally and on CD (digipak).
TRACKLISTING:
1. Evangelium Nihil
2. Comatose Vigil
3. Deus Sterilis
4. The Day Heaven Fell
