Month: May 2019

Italian obtuse metallers Barbarian premiere new track

Today, Italian obtuse metallers Barbarian premiere the new track “Hope Annihilator”. The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated fourth album, To No God Shall I Kneel, set for international release on June 7th via Hells Headbangers.

Hear Barbarian‘s “Hope Annihilator” in its entirety here:
Since signing with Hells Headbangers in 2016, Barbarian have truly hit their stride. First came their third album, Cult of the Empty Grave, which found the power-trio in fiery form, taking all the rudiments of their first two albums and exploding the band out of the underground. Then, a year later, came a self-titled 7″, which offered an even rowdier take on their now-trademark blackened traditional metal. It also saw them touring the United States for the first time, spreading their dark gospel to untouched heathen shores.

Now arrives the ever-aptly-titled To No God Shall I Kneel, arguably the grandest distillation of the Barbarian aesthetic yet. Still deadly committed to the eternal riddle of steel, Barbarian‘s sound continues to find a unique balance between the ancient and the fresh, but without once ever stinking of falseness or modernity. Timeless to the very end, To No God Shall I Kneel takes that characteristically sweat-drenched symbiosis of early Running Wild and ’80s Manowar, grinds it through the gravel of classic Celtic Frost, and finishes it off the panache of likewise-classic Venom. If the critically acclaimed Cult of the Empty Grave eclipsed such a hypothesis, then To No God Shall I Kneel goes further into the realms of ballsy boisterousness, unapologetically OTT and Alpha at every turn, and simply takes no prisoners nor offers any safe spaces. Cult of the Empty Grave spelled it out with the track “Absolute Metal”; here, Barbarian tell you in no uncertain terms that you’re now dealing with “Obtuse Metal.” Wanna pose? Leave the hall!

With cover art courtesy of Acid Witch‘s Shagrat, Barbarian continue to hail & kill, because To No God Shall I Kneel! Bow before their hailing & killing majesty with the new track “Hope Annihilator” here:

Cover art and tracklisting :

Tracklisting for Barbarian (Italy)’s To No God Shall I Kneel
1. Obtuse Metal
2. Birth and Death of Rish’ah
3. Hope Annihilator
4. Sheep Shall Obey
5. The Beast is Unleashed
6. The Old Worship of Pain
7. To No God Shall I Kneel
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/barbarianmetal

Italy’s TEMPTRESS set release date for DYING VICTIMS debut EP, reveal first track

Today, Dying Victims Productions announces July 8th as the international release date for the recorded debut of Italy’s Temptress, The Orb, on 7′ vinyl format.

Although a brand-new entity, Temptress are a veritable blast from the past. Moodily melodic and draped in the cloak of night, Temptress create effortlessly cruising mid-tempo heavy metal of a most early ’80s vintage. Even down to their production style, the power-trio have this style down COLD, and it emits a nostalgic fire that’s somehow fresh across these two equally strong tracks. A new twist on the old NWOBHM comes courtesy of Italy – gaze deeply into Temptress‘ The Orb!

The first gaze can be found with The Orb‘s title track here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Temptress (Italy)’s The Orb
1. The Orb
2. Woman
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/temptresshm

THE NIGHT ETERNAL set release date for DYING VICTIMS debut EP, reveal first track

Today, Dying Victims Productions announces July 8th as the international release date for The Night Eternal‘s striking debut EP, The Night Eternal, on 12″ vinyl and cassette tape formats.

Although The Night Eternal‘s first public recording, already, these Germans are evincing the mastery of veterans. Across their three original compositions and a reverentially poignant cover of Judas Priest’s “(Take These) Chains,” the quintet concoct a supremely powerful and stirringly moody sort of heavy metal, both traditionally pure-steel in their dynamics yet also brimming with epicness and a sort of forlorn heroism. In fact, early ’80s Judas Priest is an apt reference for The Night Eternal‘s night-prowling style, all gleaming chrome and classy, but bespeaking an ever-present darkness beneath that alluring exterior. Of course, hooks are massive as are the commanding vocals of frontman Ricardo, but it’s the chemistry among all five members of The Night Eternal that puts this beyond most other debut recordings: truly, their fire and fluidity are magick to behold!

Behold the first magick with the new track “Eternal Night”
Appropriately moody cover art courtesy of Brouemaster Visual Decay as well as tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for The Night Eternal’s The Night Eternal
1. Eternal Night
2. Mark Of Kain
3. Vindicta
4. (Take These) Chains [Judas Priest cover]
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/thenighteternal

ASAGRAUM set release date for new EDGED CIRCLE album – reveal cover, tracklisting

Today, Edged Circle Productions sets September 13th as the international release date for Asagraum‘s highly anticipated second album, Dawn of Infinite Fire, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

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. Upon its release, the album reaped widespread acclaim across the world, garnering attention largely because it was the work of two women – a rarity in black metal, both past and especially present – who quickly rendered gender an irrelevant argument, so strong was the towering power of Potestas Magicum Diaboli.

At the end of 2017, T. Kolsvart was replaced and drummer A. took part in the coven. Many live performances commenced with this new lineup, and Asagraum‘s black flame burned brighter than ever, as they spread that flame across Europe, Canada, and Latin America, aided in these live performances by Mortifero or Makhashanah and additional guitarist V-Kaos. Soon enough, the band garnered a recording contract with instant fans Edged Circle Productions – whose owner, Iscariah, played in Immortal during the late ’90s and early 2000s – and anticipation has reached a fever pitch for their imminent sophomore album.

Alas, it has arrived under the ominous (and prescient) title Dawn of Infinite Fire. Quite accurately, Dawn of Infinite Fire sees Asagraum burning with equally intensity in songwriting, execution, and atmosphere, staying true to their original aims whilst pushing their classicist sound further into the present. Granted, that blast-from-the-past classicism is inescapable – this is pure, traditional BLACK METAL above all – but not once across Dawn of Infinite Fire does that hinder their timeless expression. If anything, this is the sound of Asagraum at their most anthemic and triumphant, marching forward with obsidian austerity, reflecting their prolific presence on the live front: tangibly physical black metal, played with passion and authenticity and not augmented by cheap studio trickery. Brazen that expression might be – not to overstate the fact, but most nowadays black metal hides in the shadows – but Asagraum continue to sound fresh among that modern BM landscape, outstripping the prevailing trends and the pretenders who enable them.

If Potestas Magicum Diaboli walked a delicate-but-bold balance between aggression and atmosphere, both unapologetically modern and authentically ’90s in its sterling black metal, then Dawn of Infinite Fire is the sound of Asagraum perfecting that balance, spellbinding the listener across a deceptively vast nine-song/47-minute journey. With mixing & mastering once again courtesy of Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studio and literally incendiary cover artwork courtesy of Bahrull Marta, the time is nigh for Asagraum‘s Dawn of Infinite Fire!

First track premiere to be revealed shortly. Upcoming live dates after the jump. Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
1. They Crawl from the Broken Circle
2. The Lightless Inferno
3. Abomination’s Altar
4. Guahaihoque
5. Dawn of Infinite Fire
6. Dochters van de Zwarte Vlam
7. Beyond the Black Vortex
8. Hate of Satan’s Hammer
9 .Waar ik ben komt de dood
 
Upcoming ASAGRAUM live dates
26.07 Boarstream Open Air, Germany
15.08 Barther Metal Open Air, Germany
04.10 Hard Rock Fest, Netherlands
02.11 Cult of Barthenope Black Metal Fest, Italy
13.12 Eindhoven Metal Meeting, Netherlands
MORE INFO: www.facebook.com/asgraum

ENTHRONED release third track “Vapula Omega” from upcoming new album

ENTHRONED release third track “Vapula Omega” from upcoming new album

Cult black metal band ENTHRONED have released the third and final track from their upcoming record ‘Cold Black Suns’. The song “Vapula Omega” is streaming here:

ENTHRONED release third track “Vapula Omega” from upcoming new album

The band comments: “Stone by stone we reveal the temple that is “Cold Black Suns”. “Vapula Omega”, the third facet of the prism, is the scrying mirror that shows the face one does not want to see within our modern culture, where labour and careers are being worshipped as the icons of old. With this one, we want to show that Satanism and demonology also have their place in our contemporary culture.”
ENTHRONED will celebrate the release of ‘Cold Black Suns’ on Thronefest in Belgium in June. Find all confirmed tour dates below.
ENTHRONED
02 Jun 19 Kharkiv (UA) Art Plant Mechanica
08 Jun 19 Kuurne (BE) Throne Fest 2019 (Exact date tba)
20 Jul 19 Volyne (CZ) ETEF
The cover artwork and tracklist of ‘Cold Black Suns’ have been revealed, both can be found below. The album cover was created by Neraath.
Tracklist:
01. Ophiusa (03:42)
02. Hosanna Satana (02:16)
03. Oneiros (06:26)
04. Vapula Omega (04:55)
05. Silent Redemption (06:07)
06. Aghoria (04:14)
07. Beyond Humane Greed (05:01)
08. Smoking Mirror (07:07)
09. Son of Man (09:08)
ENTHRONED is surely a name black metal fans are no strangers to. Over the course of the last 25 years, they have pushed the boundaries of black metal and the deepness of the Left Hand Path philosophy further within. The quintet has channelled that dedication into their newest record. ‘Cold Black Suns’ is a dark and crushing black metal album where cold riffing, blood chilling atmospheres, and ritualistic drumming are keys to forging their most mature and accomplished opus to date.
 
The band, who crawled out of the black lands of Belgium in 1993, inked their first contract less than a year after its formation, and recorded debut album ‘Prophecies of Pagan Fire,’ which is now considered an all-time classic in the genre.
 
By then known as The Blackened Horde to fans and the scene at large, ENTHRONED recruited guitarist Nornagest and within 2 years entered Hautregard Studios to give birth to their second album. After the recording, tragedy struck and founding member and drummer Cernunnos (1997) took his own life.
 
The band went on to record the album using Cernunnos’s drum tracks from rehearsal recordings which were recorded by long time friend Da Cardoen, from the Belgian band ASPHYXIA. ‘Towards the Skullthrone of Satan’ was thus born. Since then, ENTHRONED went on to tour the world and have released a total of 10 full-lengths, one live album, and a hearty handful of splits and EPs.

Now, as the band celebrates 26 years as one of black metal’s premier outfits, they are ready to unleash number 11 onto the masses. ‘Cold Black Suns’ is an icy, brutal offering from the band that will see a worldwide release on June 7, 2019 via Season of Mist, making it their debut to the label. This is the band’s first album in five years, following up 2014’s critically acclaimed ‘Sovereigns.’
 
‘Cold Black Suns’ is one of 2019’s most anticipated releases and is certain to hold up to the hype that surrounds it, delivering an evolved and crushing offering from Belgium’s own black metal legends.
 Line-up:
Nornagest: Vocals
Neraath: Guitars, noise and effects
Shāgāl: Guitars
Norgaath: Bass
Menthor: Drums

Cover artwork: Neraath
 
Recording studio: Pike Studio, Amarante/Portugal
 
Producer / sound engineer: Carlos Ribeiro
 
Mixing studio and engineer: Blackout Studio, Brussels/Belgium. Mixed by Jeremie Bezier
 
Mastering studio and engineer: Orgone Studio, Bedfordshire, UK. Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Frater.Silurian
https://www.instagram.com/enthronedofficial
https://enthroned.bandcamp.com/

Reanimated blackthrash cult Evil Angel premiere the new track “Sacrificial Slaughter”

EVIL ANGEL premiere new track at NoCleanSinging.com

Today, reanimated blackthrash cult Evil Angel premiere the new track “Sacrificial Slaughter” The track hails from the band’s long-awaited second album, Unholy Evil Metal, set for international release on May 31st via Hells Headbangers.

Hear Evil Angel‘s “Sacrificial Slaughter” in its entirety here.
Formed during the dark days of 1998 in Lahti, Finland, Evil Angel finally burst upon the international metal underground in 2002 with the Dark Forces of Hell demo. For the next number of years, the band would continue to perfect its outbreak-of-evil style of blackthrashing metal across more demos, splits, and the aptly titled Metal Onslaught EP. That last-named record was crucial in pointing the direction forward for Evil Angel: each new recording brought them down into deeper depths of primitivism whilst underlining their connection to the unyielding strength of true METAL.

The culmination of this devolution/refinement came in the form of Evil Angel‘s even-more-aptly titled debut album, Unholy Fight for Metal. Here, the quintet stoked the ancient hellfires of early South American darkness, recalling the bestial rush/crush of early Sarcofago, Vulcano, and Sepultura while simultaneously upping the pure metal catchiness of their attack. The album became something of a mini-classic in the underground upon its release in 2007. The band followed it up a year later with a split 7″ with Spawn of Satan via Hells Headbangers and then quietly went on hiatus.

At long last, however, Evil Angel return with nearly the same lineup, ready to reclaim their throne and continue that unholy fight with their long-awaited second album, Unholy Evil Metal. Once again aptly titled, Unholy Evil Metal lays it all on the line about what Evil Angel are all about: UNHOLY EVIL METAL! Picking up exactly where they left off with Unholy Fight for Metal, the all-new Unholy Evil Metal dials back the bestiality a bit but roughens up true, old heavy metal with unapologetic ugliness – and of course, evil. In fact, just a cursory reading of some of the album’s song titles – “Bestial Necromancer,” “Nuclear Hammer,” “Sacrificial Slaughter,” and “Christ Decays” among them – spells in no uncertain terms how unholy (and EVIL) Evil Angel‘s metal is.

Some bands break up or go on hiatus, only to return as hollowed shells of what they once were. In the case of Evil Angel, being buried by time and dust only made them more resolute: Unholy Evil Metal lives again, more virile and vicious than ever! Feel the next thrust of that virile viciousness with the new track “Sacrificial Slaughter” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Evil Angel’s Unholy Evil Metal
1. Necro Black Mass
2. Christ Decays
3. UGH!
4. Nuclear Hammer
5. Legions of Armageddon
6. Sacrificial Slaughter
7. Bestial Necromancer
8. Crawling From The Grave
9. Ritual Sacrifice
EVIL ANGEL lineup 2019
TooLoud – drums
Dr. Evil – guitar
Von Bastard – guitar
Orgasmatron – vocals
Revenant – bass
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/evilangel.band  

Sólstafir release stunning video for “Bláfjall”

SÓLSTAFIR are now premiering a stunning new video for the track “Bláfjall”, taken from their latest released full-length ‘Berdreyminn’. The video is now streaming here:
SÓLSTAFIR comment: “Here it is, our 3rd video by the almighty Bowen Staines. After we did our last video with Bowen, “Lágnætti” we talked about for years to make another video together. As usual, adventures are like magnets when we join up forces, and this one was no different. We are super proud of the result, and yet again, Bowen shows that he is the master of this game. Enjoy Bláfjall.”
Director Bowen Staines ads to the story: “‘Bláfjall’ was produced and filmed in Iceland from August – October 2018, and edited until April 2019 at the Don’t Panic Films studio in Massachusetts. While originally shot in 4K, the finished product was then scanned in its entirety onto 35mm film. ‘Bláfjall’ tells the story of a mind overtaken with grief, and the mental gymnastics often employed to circumvent grief in order to avoid confronting it. 

Everyone has their secret sorrows which the world knows not; wounds that never show on the body. In ’Bláfjall’, these wounds take the form of memories relived in the present, yet altered by the knowledge of what will come in the future. If grief were sentient, it would attack these memories with the voracity of a virus slowly destroying a computer hard drive, or an illness ravaging a body. 

Pre-production for ‘Bláfjall’ started almost two years ago, and the first day of principal photography began in Hvalfjörður, Southwest Iceland. Predictably, it was so windy (a 115kg dolly track blew over), that I had to rewrite that day’s five-page shotlist in the trunk of Addis’s Jeep.

The rest of the video came together wonderfully, thanks to our cast of Flosi Þorgeirsson (HAM, Glerakur), Bella Morgan, Palli Banine, and Minerva Geirdal. The only other notable thing that happened during this production were the days leading up to crashing that infamous Mercedes. 

The car was an automatic, and the transmission slipped like butter. The momentum from the slightest forward acceleration, say, at a stoplight, would send the gearshift flying back into first gear, and the engine redlining; there is no sound quite like doing 40 on the highway in first gear. I was heading to pick up Flosi in Reykjavík, when suddenly I was doing 60kph in reverse while still going forwards, with the whole car transforming into an industrial noise album. 

The day we filmed the crash, we’d spent hours lining the car up, bracing the steering wheel properly, and closing the roads. It looked like it was dead-on, and then it wasn’t. It missed the other car by centimeters, veered off the road, hit an embankment on the side of a someone’s driveway, cleared the entire driveway, went through a fence, and crashed into a rock in front of a horse stable. The next try was dead-on. 

A heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to everyone who was involved with the making of Sólstafir’s ‘Bláfjall’. To the guys in the band: thank you for trusting me so unconditionally, and allowing me to tell this story with your music. As always, it is a true pleasure to create with you.

We hope that you enjoy watching this as much as we enjoyed making it. 
Takk fyrir okkur.”

Video credits
Don’t Panic Iceland: Bowen Staines SOLSTAFIR
20 Jul 19 Laukaa (FI) John Smith
10 Aug 19 Schlotheim (DE) Party.San 2019
Track-list 1. Silfur-Refur (6:54)
2. Ísafold (4:59)
3. Hula (7:07)
4. Nárós (7:23)
5. Hvít Sæng (7:22)
6. Dýrafjörður (7:32)
7. Ambátt (8:08)
8. Bláfjall (8:00)
Music will always be inspired by the environment in which it is created. With its incredible array of highly diverse landscapes ranging from white glaciers via volcanic bizarreness, moss-green bubble-fields, deep fjords, and frost-cracked mountains to black beaches, Iceland has shaped a host of astonishingly original and fiercely individual bands such as SIGUR RÓS, BJÖRK, and SÓLSTAFIR.
 
SÓLSTAFIR embody the ever-turning wheel of seasons with their shifting light, darkness, and colours, extreme Northern climate, the stark contrasts, the closeness of beauty and deadly forces of nature, the impressive sceneries that have the bones of ancient gods enshrined in them like hardly any other band in every aspect of their existence.
 
SÓLSTAFIR are not like any other band. Their latest album, ‘Berdreyminn’ underscores this statement. As its title “a dreamer of forthcoming events” aptly describes, the four Icelanders have taken their already impressive evolution one step further. The band has continued to amalgamate haunting melodies, psychedelic phases, as well as strong undercurrents of classic rock and hard rock with echoes of their metal past. Yet SÓLSTAFIR‘s focus is not on style but pure emotion. ‘Berdreyminn’ is eclectic by a conscious choice to make feelings audible and transform taste as well as texture to sound. Genre borders are not broken but simply ignored. Musical influences are gathered from a wide range of sources, re-arranged, and woven into new patterns.  Melancholy, longing, anger, joy, pleasure, pain, and other emotions are fulling this album. 
 
Despite leaning clearly towards an expression that can be described as rock today, SÓLSTAFIR have their roots in metal as their debut full-length ‘Í Blóði og Anda’ (2002), which translates as “In Blood and Spirit” still witnesses. Instead of today’s Icelandic gravel throated siren chants, frontman Aðalbjörn Tryggvason spat forth vitriolic crusty vocals and all strings were forged with black metal. Already their next albums ‘Masterpiece of Bitterness’ (2005) and ‘Köld’ (2009) marked stations of a continuous evolution. SÓLSTAFIR went further along their solitary path and obviously left any categorising box with the ground-breaking follow-ups ‘Svartir Sandar’ (2011) and ‘Ótta’ (2014), which received high critical acclaim and attracted new fans in equal measure, while managing the difficult feat of keeping most of their earlier following too.
 
SÓLSTAFIR have set sails to new horizons with ‘Berdreyminn’. Yet the Icelanders brought their home with them and the silhouette of their vessels remains easily recognisable. Welcome aboard on a new adventurous musical journey into uncharted territories. 
Line-up
Aðalbjörn Tryggvason: guitar, vocals
Svavar Austmann: bass
Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson: guitar
Hallgrímur Jón Hallgrímsson: drums, backing vocals
 
Guest musicians
Brass, strings, and piano across the tracks
 
Recording: Sundlaugin Studio (IS), Birgir Jón Birgisson & Jaime Gomez Arellano
 
Mixing: Orgone Studio (UK), Jaime Gomez Arellano
 
Mastering: Sterling Mastering (US), Ted Jensen
 
Cover art: Adam Burke
 
www.solstafir.net
www.facebook.com/solstafirice

Shining embark on European tour!

SHINING are heading out for their first European tour in three years in honor of their 10th album ‘X – Varg Utan Flock’, which was released via Season of Mist last year. The ‘Return of the Enemy’ kicks off at the Helvete in Oberhausen (DE) on May 15, and sees the band traveling throughout 9 more countries before a final curtain at the Throne fest in Kuurne (BE) on June 9.

To make things even more intriguing, SHINING are preparing a longer set than usual and promise an event full of uncompromising darkness and perversion.  Join them in a celebration of the downfall of man! A list of all confirmed dates can be found below.
SHINING European tour
+SRD
15 May 19 Oberhausen (DE) Helvete (tickets)
16 May 19 Paris (FR) Nouveau Casino (tickets)
17 May 19 Nantes (FR) Le Ferrailleur (tickets)
19 May 19 Grenoble (FR) L’Ampérage (tickets)
20 May 19 Toulouse (FR) Connexion Live (tickets)
21 May 19 Madrid (ES) Caracol (tickets)
22 May 19 Barcelona (ES) Boveda (tickets)
23 May 19 Marseille (FR) Jas Rod (tickets)
24 May 19 Verona (IT) Pika Future Club (tickets)
25 May 19 Bologna (IT) Alchemica Music Club (tickets)
26 May 19 Munich (DE) Backstage (tickets)
27 May 19 Kranj (SL) Trainstation Subart (tickets)
28 May 19 Vienna (AT) Viper Room (tickets)
29 May 19 Budapest (HU) Blue Hell (tickets)
30 May 19 Krakow (PL) Zet Pe Te Club (tickets)
31 May 19 Poznan (PL) U Bazyla (tickets)
01 Jun 19 Leipzig (DE) Hellraiser Club (tickets)
02 Jun 19 Erfurt (DE) Club From Hell (tickets)
04 Jun 19 Mannheim (DE) MS Connexion Complex (tickets)
05 Jun 19 Copenhagen (DK) Hotel Cecil (tickets)
06 Jun 19 Hamburg (DE) Kronensaal (tickets)
07 Jun 19 Groningen (NL) Vera (tickets)
08 Jun 19 Utrecht (NL) Helling (tickets)
09 Jun 19 Kuurne (BE) Thronefest 2019 (tickets)

SHINING will be touring in support of their 2018 release ‘X – Varg Utan Flock’, which can be listened to in full here.

The artwork has been created by Kevin Rolly and is shown together with the album details below.
Track-list
1. Svart Ostoppbar Eld (7:11)
2. Gyllene Portarnas Bro (6:39)
3. Jag Är Din Fiende (7:05)
4. Han Som Lurar Inom (8:03)
5. Tolvtusenfyrtioett (2:53)
6. Mot Aokigahara (9:33) 
Total playing time: 41:24
Niklas Kvarforth is not the first artist struggling with mental illness and related issues. The erratic Swede is also not the first musician whose inner demons are part of the creative genius. Yet in the world of metal, his band SHINING remains as a unique and outstanding act in terms of talent and musical excellence.

Never shy about his personal afflictions, Niklas Kvarforth is once again baring his tortured soul with ‘X – Varg Utan Flock’. His anger, his confusion, his pain, and his torment are all becoming tangible on the tenth album in the band’s long history. For a point of reference, the legendary ‘V – Halmstad’ release probably offers the most appropriate comparison. Yet all the influences SHINING fused into their previous masterpiece, ‘IX – Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends’ (2015) are also still present. Eclectic influences from progressive rock, jazz, classical music, and even faint traces of pop have left their mark. 

In addition to the broad musical spectrum on display, Niklas Kvarforth’s deeply emotional laments emerging from the dark depths of his twisted mind go beyond the usual scale of metal bands in their great vocal scope and variety. 

Founded in 1996 by Kvarforth, SHINING self-released ‘Submit to Self-Destruction’ in 1998 and spawned the term “suicidal black metal” with this debut 7″. A couple years after first full-length, ‘I – Within Deep Dark Chambers’ (2000) and sophomore album, ‘II – Livets Ändhållplats’ (2001) had cut deep marks into the underground scene, Niklas replaced his whole crew, which started a continuous cycle of line-up changes. With MAYHEM drummer Hellhammer on board, ‘III – Angst’ (2003) and ‘IV – The Eerie Cold’ (2005) began to gather major press attention. At the same time, SHINING focused on bringing their vision and often controversially received live performances to Europe. Yet Kvarforth’s mental health led to cancellations, physical and psychological fights within the band, and finally a break-up. Not content to let things rest after his breakdown, the restless singer returned with new members and the acclaimed masterpiece, ‘V – Halmstad’ in 2007. By then SHINING had reached headliner status and toured with other great acts such as SATYRICON and MAYHEM. Several line-up changes later, the Swede recorded two albums in one session: ‘VI – Klagopsalmer’ was released in 2009, to be followed by ‘VII – Född Förlorare’ two years later. The band also received their first gold disc for the single ‘Förtvivlan, Min Arvedel’ in Sweden. After rotating more musicians in and out, SHINING returned with ‘Redefining Darkness’ (2012) and a less aggressive, yet more sinister sound. Before signing to Season of Mist, the band released the project ‘8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd’, which featured six of Kvarforth’s favourite vocalists. In August 2014, SHINING entered Andy LaRocque’s Sonic Train Studios to record their ninth album, ‘IX – Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends’ as the sum of Niklas Kvarforth’s musical evolution and experience. More line-up changes and breakdowns followed.

Yet Niklas Kvarforth clawed his way up from the depths once more and returned to Andy LaRocque and Sonic Train Studios to record another album. The result, ‘X – Varg Utan Flock’ is a musical masterpiece far beyond simple genre limitations and a shining tribute to the achievement that a troubled mind is capable of when driven by a passionate will to excel and overcome. Listen with respect.

www.shiningasylum.com
www.facebook.com/shiningofficial

Recording line-up
Niklas Kvarforth: vocals 
Marcus Hammarström: bass 
Peter Huss: guitar
Euge Valovirta: guitar 
Jarle Byberg: drums 

Current line-up
Niklas Kvarforth: vocals 
Peter Huss: guitar
Marcus Hammarström: bass
Frank Schilperoort: drums

This Gift Is A Curse release third new track of forthcoming album

THIS GIFT IS A CURSE are now releasing the third new track, taken from the band’s upcoming album ‘A Throne of Ash’, to be released via Season of Mist on June 14. The dark track “Monuments for Dead Gods” can now be viewed here:
The band comments on the track: 

“‘Monuments for Dead Gods’ is a dark sludge metal epos that pays homage to the inner destructive forces that seem to inhabit all humankind. A never-ending turmoil that both drives man and in the end, lead him to his inevitable doom. Both on a personal level and as a collective, the lyrics tell about a protagonist who finds himself falling in a complete darkness, not really knowing how or why he ended up there. He then performs a ritual to get free from this captive state, uttering ancient words into the abyss as well as carving old forbidden symbols into the framework of reality. Doing so manages to awake a dead star, creating a black hole and setting in motion the destruction of the world.

“‘Life,’ he learns, was just a great mirage set inside a cold and crumbling inner universe. The ‘dead gods’ in this story are the former truths that ruled his life. Among the shattered ruins of his own mind and as everything he knows is breaking apart by the seams, he can finally see it clearly; there is no big truths nor lies, there is no end nor beginning – only a great void as we go into oblivion. The song and its underlying storyline is beautifully interpreted with great passion and perceptiveness by visual artist / video maker Chariot of Black Moth.”
The artwork and track-list for ‘A Throne of Ash’ can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. Hæma (2:38)
2. Blood Is My Harvest (4:54)
3. Thresholds (3:51)
4. Gate Dweller (4:42)
5. Monuments for Dead Gods (6:41)
6. Wolvking (4:52)
7. I am Katharsis (3:11)
8. In Your Black Halo (Mass 317) (5:49)
9. Wormwood Star (7:55)
Total: 48:07
The experience that is ‘A Throne of Ash’ consists of poisoned blood, dying flesh and the dark ash from the charred body of man – both on a physical and astral plane with the underlying notion that nothing that transpires in what we call ‘reality’ has a greater meaning.  

THIS GIFT IS A CURSE vomit forth a steady stream of pitch-black venomous hate. The Swedes passionately demonstrate that black metal remains fertile ground for new sounds. Combining elements of hardcore and sludge with influences from occult black metal as well as drone, ‘A Throne of Ash’ sets a new benchmark for vitriolic viciousness and massive sonic onslaught. The third full-length of the band from Stockholm has turned out to be a vision of darkness that seeks its equal. 

THIS GIFT IS A CURSE were founded in Stockholm by a fateful chance meeting of vocalist Jonas A. Holmberg and drummer Johan Nordlund in late summer 2008. The duo soon recruited guitarist Patrik Andersson and Lars Gunnarsson on bass. In March 2010 the Swedish four-piece entered the legendary Sunlight Studios (ENTOMBED, KATATONIA, TIAMAT, DISMEMBER and many more) and recorded their self-titled debut EP with the aid of producer Tomas Skogsberg. ‘This Gift Is A Curse’ (2010) was well received in the underground and led to the band being invited to perform many shows in their homeland and Europe.

During the second half of 2011, THIS GIFT IS A CURSE recorded their first full-length ‘I, Gvilt Bearer’ at a secret location north of Stockholm. Their producer Magbjork (MELEEH, CHILDREN OF FALL) moved his studio to this specific location to allow the band to unlimited record possibilities. Released in 2012, the album caused a buzz that reached beyond the underground and quickly sold out its first pressings. More touring followed during the next two years.

In 2014, THIS GIFT IS A CURSE teamed up with Magbjork once again to record ‘All Hail The Swinelord’ in an abandoned house close to Stockholm.   After the release in 2015, a few Scandinavian and European tours followed before the band decided it was time to go back into the void to write new music. This process started with the recruitment of a second guitarist in order to push the sonic experience even further. David Deravian, hailing from steel town Eskilstuna, joined the cursed ranks of THIS GIFT IS A CURSE in 2016, adding fresh creative blood and new musical input to the sonic pot. As the new material took form, the band not only booked studio time with the great W. Blackmon of the Overlook Studios in Gävle (SE), but also kept their roots by recoding parts of the album at Norra Begravningsplatsen in Stockholm.

Including producer MAGBJORK to the whole process once again to get the right ‘grit and grievance’ into the sound. Afterwards, mastering was done by none other than Magnus Lindberg (CULT OF LUNA, TRIBULATION, ALCEST etc).  This new monstrous black beast is a dark journey written in a barrage of heavy and intense riffing, ferocious blast beats, nightmarish soundscapes, ritualistic howls and occult themed vocals. Brace for impact!

Line-up 
P. Andersson: guitar, vocals
D. Deravian: guitar, vocals
L. Gunnarsson: bass, vocals
J. A. Holmberg: vocals
J. Nordlund: drums

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DEATHWHITE enter studio to record sophomore album ‘Grave Image’!

Enigmatic dark metal outfit DEATHWHITE have entered the studio to record their sophomore full-length, ‘Grave Image’. The music is being recorded at Cerebral Audio Productions with producer/engineer Shane Mayer, who also recorded the band’s debut ‘For A Black Tomorrow’ while the vocals are being tracked at Erik Rutan’s Mana Studios with Art Paiz serving as engineer. When all is said and done, ‘Grave Image’ will be mastered by Dan Swano,

Regarding the upcoming album, the band comments:

“We have spent the better part of the last six months fine-tuning and agonizing – for lack of a better term — over the ten new compositions that will comprise ‘Grave Image.’ We have been operating with the benefit of hindsight and perhaps, best of all, more familiarity with one other, which has led to songs that are heavier and superior to our previous efforts. While this may sound like typical pre-album release fodder, we believe it to be true considering the amount of time and effort we have poured into making ‘Grave Image’ a reality. We are also operating with an expanded lineup — a second guitar player has joined the fold, thus adding a new dimension to the guitar department and subsequently enhancing the DEATHWHITE sound.

We are grateful to once again be working alongside Shane Mayer for the album’s tracking — his attention to detail and meticulous nature is second-to-none. Due to new geographical realities, we will track vocals at Erik Rutan’s immaculate Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida, with engineer Art Paiz overseeing the sessions. Once recording and mixing are complete, the album will be sent across the pond to the legendary Dan Swano for mastering, a gentleman we hold in infinite regard for past musical works and production acumen.

Additionally, we are in discussions for future live shows, something we’d like to do more of during the lead-up to ‘Grave Image’s’ eventual release. In the meantime, we will be working towards the album’s completion as well as finalizing its cover art, of which will be revealed at a later date.”
DEATHWHITE released their debut album ‘For A Black Tomorrow’ via Season of Mist in 2018 which can be listened to in full here! 

The artwork and details of the album can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. The Grace of the Dark (4:06)
2. Contrition (4:11)
3. Poisoned (4:56)
4. Just Remember (4:44)
5. Eden (4:13)
6. Dreaming the Inverse (5:01)
7. Death and the Master (6:25)
8. Prison of Thought (5:25)
9. For a Black Tomorrow (4:13) 
Total playing time: 43:26
American metal is often associated with its rather brutal side in Europe and often taken to involve the terms “death” and “core” by default. With their first album ‘For A Black Tomorrow’, DEATHWHITE masterly demonstrate that hard sounds from overseas can also be dark, emotional, and subtle. Although the Americans come with an already well matured style very much their own, some rough comparisons are offering a sketchy idea on which paths DEATHWHITE tread.
 
To say that they combine the melancholic depth of GHOST BRIGADE with a sense of drama that would fit MOONSPELL and a pinch of AMORPHIS for added taste is of course not fully correct, but might give suitable hints.

Formed in 2012, DEATHWHITE were created in part to follow on the path first explored by dark metal torchbearers such as ANATHEMA, KATATONIA, MY DYING BRIDE, and PARADISE LOST.

In 2014, the ‘Ethereal’ EP successfully established a template of melodic, clean vocals alongside melancholic, but heavy riffing. This debut created an early buzz within the metal underground that grew significantly with the following ‘Solitary Martyr’ EP (2015), which was hailed by critics as “thick with emotion” and “wonderfully engrossing”.

Backed by such praise, DEATHWHITE spent 2016 writing and recording their first full-length under the supervision of producer and engineer Shane Mayer. Listen and let ‘For A Black Tomorrow’ seduce you to delve deep into its enthralling darkness!

www.deathwhite.com
www.facebook.com/deathwhiteofficial


Line-up: The band does not provide line-up information.

Guest musicians
Joe Bonaddio: guitar solo on “Death and the Master”
Shane Mayer: guitar solo on “For a Black Tomorrow”