Today, Mexican black/death cult Sacrocurse reveal the new track “Herethical Catharsis.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s forthcoming new EP, Supreme Terror, set for international release on January 20th, 2021 via Shadow Records (distributed & marketed by Regain Records). Hear Sacrocurse‘s “Herethical Catharsis” in its entirety here:
One of the underground’s best-kept secrets, Sacrocurse have been sticking to their nuclear-powered guns since 2012. The band, which has spanned continents in the past, is led by scene veteran ZK, who began his prolific career in Mexico’s Unholier in the early ’90s and has played in such south-of-the-border bands as Nodens and Morbosidad and has recently joined Russia’s Pseudogod as tour session bass-player. However, it is Sacrocurse where ZK has made his name in recent years, and the band have delivered two foul full-lengths of warring black/death that retain the rich lifeblood of quintessential South American madness.
Supreme Terror is a quick-hitting four-song/17-minute warhead of that madness, and it’s arguably this short-length format where Sacrocurse most excel. Armed with a production that’s cutting ‘n’ clear yet ripping with a razorbladed rawness all the same, Supreme Terror lives up to its title and then some, with one martial torrent after another tearing apart the helpless listener. But let it be known that Sacrocurse drink deeply the black blood of METAL, and never forget the importance of actual songwriting; while Supreme Terror is no doubt unhinged and urgent, chaos never overtakes proceedings, and ZK’s barbed-wire throat and guitar give the record a strident simplicity of design that one could actually qualify as “catchy.” Still, no safe spaces here – only ugliness, and unremittingly so!
As society sinks deeper into darkness, herald Supreme Terror with Sacrocurse!
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Sacrocurse’s Supreme Terror 1. Herethical Catharsis 2. Man Became Cursed 3. Temple is Open 4. From Genesis to Revelations
Canadian Black Metal Chaos machine REVENGE are now streaming their entire re-issued ‘Attack.Blood.Revenge‘ EP here:
‘Attack.Blood.Revenge‘ is an eight song collection of EP‘s and one-off tracks represents the band‘s earliest recordings and displays the focused and hostile, relentless and raw vision that eventually transformed into the twenty years reign of Black Metal Chaos. This edition contains the Attack.Blood.Revenge EP and four additional bonus tracks including the “Superion.Command.Destroy” EP, REVENGE’s track from the split 7” with ARKHON INFAUSTUS, and the band’s cover of VON’s “Lamb” that it recorded for inclusion on the 2009 NWN! Fest compilation.
The EP will be out this Friday, November 20. Pre-orders are still available HERE.
The cover artwork and track list of ‘Attack.Blood.Revenge’ can be found below.
. ‘Attack.Blood.Revenge‘ is an eight song collection of EP‘s and one-off tracks represents the band‘s earliest recordings and displays the focused and hostile, relentless and raw vision that eventually transformed into the twenty years reign of Black Metal Chaos. This edition contains the Attack.Blood.Revenge EP and four additional bonus tracks including the “Superion.Command.Destroy” EP, REVENGE’s track from the split 7” with ARKHON INFAUSTUS, and the band’s cover of VON’s “Lamb” that it recorded for inclusion on the 2009 NWN! Fest compilation.
The EP will be out this Friday, November 20. Pre-orders are still available HERE.
The cover artwork and track list of ‘Attack.Blood.Revenge’ can be found below.
Track List: 1. Yabbssor Born – Blood Of My Blood (05:07) 2. Vengeance Absolute (05:02) 3. War (BATHORY cover) (02:16) 4. Annihilate Or Serve (04:19) 5. Blood Division (05:08) 6. Superion Revenge (03:31) 7. Deathless Will (03:57) 8. Lamb (VON cover) (02:58) Total playing time: 0:32:18
REVENGE released their latest record in May 2020 via Season of Mist Underground Activists. Listen to the record HERE or order a copy in the Season of Mist shop.
A tour with special guests PROFANATICA, MISTHYRMING and ULTRA SILVAM is scheduled for April / May 2021.
REVENGE PROFANATICA, MISTHYRMING and ULTRA SILVAM 29 Apr 21 Krakow (PL) TBA 30 Apr 21 Budapest (HU) Dürer Kert 01 May 21 Zagreb (HR) Club Mochvara 02 May 21 Porto (PT) SWR Fest 03 May 21 München (DE) Backstage 04 May 21 Prague (CZ) Futurum 05 May 21 Hamburg (DE) Kulturpalast 06 May 21 Copenhagen (DK) Beta 07 May 21 Zwickau (DE) Club Seilerstraße 08 May 21 Berlin (DE) Orwo Haus 09 May 21 Drachten (NL) Iduna 10 May 21 Rotterdam (NL) Baroeg 11 May 21 London (UK) The Underworld 12 May 21 Antwerp (BE) Het Bos 13 May 21 Paris (FR) Backstage 14 May 21 Mannheim (DE) MS Connexion 15 May 21 Abtenau (AT) The Temple Neudegg Alm 16 May 21 Paderno (IT) Slaughter Club Amidst the nuclear fallout caused by the recent release of their album ‚‘Strike.Smother.Dehumanize‘, Canadian Black Metal Chaos machine REVENGE has announced a follow-up strike for 2020 in the form of a re-issue of their ‘Attack.Blood.Revenge‘ EP with bonus tracks. Originally released by Dark Horizon records as a four song EP and then again by Nuclear War Now! Productions with bonus tracks, the band has now partnered with Season of Mist Underground Activists to re-release this long sold out collection. This eight song collection of EP‘s and one-off tracks represents the band‘s earliest recordings and displays the focused and hostile, relentless and raw vision that eventually transformed into the twenty years reign of Black Metal Chaos. The viciousness of REVENGE’s unparalleled assault on this collection of songs remains after all these years and is easily one the most hostile displays of frenzied Chaotic Black Metal to ever come out of the bowels of the North American Black Metal underground. With the chimes of death ringing in their 20th year in 2020, alongside the prominence that REVENGE has earned releasing multiple albums and EP‘s over the past two decades, it seems fitting to now once again re-issue this debut that declared to the world the band‘s intentions of being a solitary black mist of death that smothers the trends tainting the black metal underground. This edition contains the Attack.Blood.Revenge EP and four additional bonus tracks including the “Superion.Command.Destroy” EP, REVENGE’s track from the split 7” with ARKHON INFAUSTUS, and the band’s cover of VON’s “Lamb” that it recorded for inclusion on the 2009 NWN! Fest compilation.
Today, Nuclear War Now! Productions sets December 6th as the international release date for a long-overdue reissue of Vulpecula‘s Fons Immortalis on vinyl LP format.
Chuck Keller’s name should be familiar to anyone involved in extreme metal. A true veteran, for more than 30 years, he has dedicated himself to the underground scene. His guitar playing and songwriting for Order From Chaos long ago established him as a pioneer, and since 1997, Keller has been at the helm of Midwest deathrash stalwart Ares Kingdom.
Less commonly spoken of, however, is Vulpecula, a project that occupies the liminal region between those two pillars of Keller’s career. Toward the end of Order From Chaos, Keller began exploring celestial themes with an eye toward fusing black metal with ambient, space-oriented sounds (see, for example, “Nucleosynthesis/De Stella Nova/An Ending in Fire”). After the dissolution of Order From Chaos, Keller reached out to drummer Chris Overton (Nepenthe/Legia) with an idea for a new project, and Vulpecula was born.
Drawing the band name from a well-known constellation (the “little fox” which holds a goose in its jaws), the duo focused on creating an atmosphere that conjured the endless desolation of space. In 1995, Vulpecula released the Phoenix of the Creation demo on the Eternal Darkness label from Arizona (which had previously put out recordings by both Order From Chaos and Nepenthe), and the label re-released it as a 7” soon thereafter.
Opening the three-song demo is the title track, an instrumental keyboard piece based on a piano composition Keller wrote several years earlier. On the tracks that followed, “The First Point of Aries” and “Seven Layers of Light,” Vulpecula played a completely unique style of black metal, perfectly evoking the ethereal transcendence of the astral domain. While there is no direct antecedent to the Vulpecula sound, the most prominent influences are demo-era Katatonia, Mortem (Norway), early Samael, and Bathory. (Anyone who is familiar with Keller and his work will know that all of his compositions bear, to some extent, the influence of his close friend Quorthon.)
In June of 1996, Vulpecula entered the studio to record the monumental Fons Immortalis MLP. Originally released as a 10” by Merciless Records, Fons Immortalis is the undeniable zenith of the band’s concise catalog. Like the demo, the 10” opens with an instrumental track, “Astride the Darklands,” written by Overton, followed two new tracks, “Fons Immortalis” and “Down Among Them.” The second side of the MLP featured a remixed and partially re-recorded version of the demo.
Few, if any bands, have proven capable of achieving such an evocative atmosphere as Vulpecula attained on the Fons Immortalis MLP. “It just sounded like darkness,” Keller explained. But this is not the sort of “darkness” associated with Satan or evil; rather, it is an opaque existential darkness derived from the limitless solitude and vast emptiness of the universe. “Darkness is a vehicle through which you come to know yourself,” Keller suggested before quickly qualifying his observation, “if you’re brave enough.”
In 1998, Vulpecula recorded five more songs intended for a full-length called Down Among Them, but feeling the experiment had reached its conclusion, Keller and Overton disbanded the next year, and the completed songs remained unreleased until 2006, when Invictus Productions released the In Dusk Apparition MCD. While working on new material, Keller wrote a song that piqued his interest did not feel quite right for Vulpecula. The song marked a change in direction for Keller, after which he began pursuing the style that would come to define Ares Kingdom, and the song later emerged as “Ashen Glory” on the band’s second album.
Relegated to obscurity for too long, Nuclear War Now! is honored to present this reissue of the Fons Immortalis and Phoenix of the Creation recordings, which have been unavailable for over 20 years. Additionally, in gathering the material for this release, Keller uncovered an unreleased alternate studio recording of “The First Point of Aries.”
In the meantime, stream the reissue of Fons Immortalis in its entirety here:
. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Vulpecula’s Fons Immortalis -Side A- 1. Astride the Darklands 2. Fons Immortalis 3. Down Among Them
-Side B- 1. Phoenix of the Creation 2. The First Point of Aries 3. Seven Layers of Light
Today, American black metal vanguard Uada reveal the new video “In the Absence of Matter.” The track hails from the band’s critically acclaimed third album, Djinn, recently released by Eisenwald. Created by Chariot of the Black Moth, see & hear Uada‘s “In the Absence of Matter” video in its entirety here:
[Photography by Adriana Michima/Michima Photography, taken in the Alvord Desert, Oregon]
Since their formation in 2014, Uada‘s rise has been meteoric. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, the band quietly released their debut album, Devoid of Light, in 2016 through Eisenwald, and word of mouth quickly built from there: here was BLACK METAL writ large, classic and uncompromising but brimming with power, soul, and artistry, and all without bluster and bathos. Uada‘s debut album surely expanded the lexicon of the melodic black metal idiom, and the underground took notice. Two years later came Cult of a Dying Sun, whereby the band further perfected their craft and compellingly took to the stage, their performances garnering as much acclaim as their recordings. During all this, more than the underground started to take notice; the name Uada was on the tongues of folks usually reticent to black metal.
Now, almost effortlessly, Uada fully perfect their craft and deliver their masterwork: Djinn. Simply titled but by no means simple in construction nor execution, Djinn builds upon the increasingly ambitious songwriting of its no-less-considerable predecessor, but pushes their dazzling artistry into nearly Technicolor landscapes of the Beyond. Upon the first opening notes, this boundless artistry is felt: big, rolling rhythms reminiscent of post-punk, tantalizingly setting the stage for the splendorous expanses to follow. There’s a certain magick at play here, no doubt bolstered by the band’s rhythm section of Josiah Babcock (who puts in his final performance here) and new bassist Nate Verschoor, erstwhile mainman of Veiled; this throttling-yet-deft foundation both leads and plays acute counterpoint to the spiraling, windswept riffing of founders Jake Superchi (also vocals) and James Sloan, their guitar work transcending the poignancy of prior works. And indeed, Djinn‘s generous six-song/hour-long runtime no doubt allows the listener the ultimate freedom to roam within Uada‘s ever-unique world, spanning both smothering speed and deliriously dream-like states, Very Metal urgency and textural exploration alike – put simply, the band at the height of their creative powers. Djiin is truly its own realm of experience.
“Djinn, first inhabitors of this world, the smokeless fire and those we call upon our enemies, has gifted us a 60-minute descent into the modern-day possessions of our existence and demise,” state the band, “a duality that can only be known as our third wish.”
Graced once again by breathtaking cover art courtesy of the legendary Kris Verwimp, and with imminent touring plans for 2021, Uada shall overtake the throne with Djinn.
Order/save link can be found HERE. Further ordering info can be found at Eisenwald‘s North American webstore HERE.
Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Uada’s Djinn 1. Djinn [7:50] 2. The Great Mirage [6:50] 3. No Place Here [13:40] 4. In the Absence of Matter [9:49] 5. Forestless [7:55] 6. Between Two Worlds [13:56]
release notes All music by UADA All lyrics, arrangements & compositions by Jake Superchi
Vocals, guitars, keyboards & additional percussion recorded by Jake Superchi at Obsidian Spells Drums recorded by Charlie Koryn at Toadhouse Recording, Portland, Oregon Produced, mixed & mastered by Jake Superchi
Album cover & moon emblem by Kris Verwimp Layout by Jake Superchi Photography by Adriana Michima/Michima Photography, taken in the Alvord Desert, Oregon
Today, KVLT releases Beherit‘s long-awaited sixth album, Bardo Exist, on CD, vinyl LP, cassette tape, and digital formats. The tape version will be strictly limited to 250 copies and will not contain a bonus track.
Beherit are one of the most legendary names in the history of black metal, and also one of the most infamous. Formed in 1989 and intermittently active for the majority of the ‘90s, their work during this period was extremely influential if not largely hated by normal “black metal” people. The sheer savagery shown on their early ‘90s demos laid the foundation for the bestial metal subgenre that would blossom in the new millennium, and the 1993 debut album Drawing Down the Moon fused unapologetic primitivism with eerie mystical atmospheres, thereby birthing a landmark record.
Beherit’s next two albums, H418ov21.c and Electric Doom Synthesis, saw now-lone mainman Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance stripping away conventional black metal altogether and pursuing a ritualistic ambient direction. Daring but divisive, following these two albums did he retire the Beherit name and seek alternate musical expressions under other monikers.
In the ensuing decade, Beherit’s influence would spread far and wide to a whole new generation of sonic deviants, all before Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance would return with the all-metal Engram in 2009. The two-song yet exceptionally epic & hypnotic Celebrate the Dead arrived in 2012, but then Beherit retreated back to the shadows…
…Only to emerge, with the surprise release of Bardo Exist on Friday, November 13th 2020. Indeed, this album is a “surprise” in many ways, as Beherit remain predictably unpredictable. When one’s definition of black metal prizes unorthodoxy, then it only makes perfect sense that Holocausto here reinvigorates his dark ambient approach of the past, yet recasts it in a brilliant new light. Exceptionally dark but with kaleidoscopic colors emanating from a wide spectrum of sound, Bardo Exist moves like a dream set to film. The tones are vibrant and ethereal and often menacing; rhythms pulse mechanically when need be, or disintegrate altogether; Holocausto’s vocals similarly come in when need be, but get mulched in a most nightmarish manner; and often does trumpet-like instrumentation linger like an ominous fog across the album’s compact 38-minute runtime. And, predictably unpredictable, the first pressing of both the CD and vinyl versions includes a 23-minute bonus track on a separate CD – of the album’s titular “Bardo Exist.” Hearing is believing, as this composition is utterly engrossing and far from the throwaways most “bonus tracks” are.
Singular and serpentine, Beherit begin a glorious new epoch with Bardo Exist…or end one. Only Nuclear Holocausto Vengeance knows what his future holds, but here is there truly darkness after the dawn.
Stream Beherit‘s Bardo Exist in its entirety HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Beherit’s Bardo Exist 1. Aivosota [0:47] 2. Shadow Prayer [6:24] 3. Coruscation [2:08] 4. Acid Death Vision [4:36] 5. Extreme Thirst and Insomnia [2:38] 6. Blindsight [2:40] 7. Silom Vortex [2:46] 8. Mens Rea [2:05] 9. Ghost Visitor [5:33] 10. Peilien Vanki [3:19] 11. Sorrowers [4:05]
For decades, fans have been asking for a vinyl release of the iconic and beloved WINDIR albums. On March 5, 2021, that dream will become a reality. The black metal classics ‘Soknardalr’, ‘Arntor’, ‘1184’ and ‘Likferd’, will be available in a special, limited edition wooden box released via Season of Mist. ‘The Sognametal Legacy’ box set is strictly limited to 1184 copies worldwide.
Pre-orders have started immediately and are available in the Season of Mist shop HERE.
WINDIR was founded by Terje “Valfar” Bakken in 1994 and released four albums in the period of 1997 – 2003. The Norwegian band gained a massive following with their unique blend of black and heavy metal with elements of old Norwegian folk music. The identity of the group was strongly connected to their home region Sogn, which was demonstrated in the lyrics and in the concepts of the records. Eventually, they invented and adopted the term ‘Sognametal’ for their style.
The band ended abruptly when Terje “Valfar” Bakken died in 2004. The remaining musicians decided to disband WINDIR and formed VREID to march forward, bearing the torch of the Sognametal legacy.
Jarle Hváll Kvåle, bass guitarist and songwriter of VREID and WINDIR, comments on the release: “I am so happy that we are finally able to do this. There has been such a huge demand to release these albums on vinyl and I really have been looking forward to this day. These records are important cornerstones in our lives and represent a time that was very special to us. It is great to have a strong partner on board, and I am very proud that we can do this together with Season of Mist.
Next year marks the 20th anniversary of ‘1184’, and we think this is a great occasion to celebrate this unique album, the most important one in the WINDIR history. With this record, WINDIR became a full band for the first time and it was the first time that me and Terje wrote an album together. It was a time filled with youthful will, aggression, pride, curiosity and of course beautiful naivety.
So, to celebrate this record and the period it represents, we’ll have the entire WINDIR legacy available on vinyl. I can’t wait to get my hands on the physical copies and see no better way to celebrate the legacy and brotherhood of our fallen comrade Terje.”
Check the teaser for Sognametal legacy here :
Norwegian black ‘n roll formation VREID have furthermore announced that they will headline the Karmøygeddon festival, with an exclusive ‘1184’ show. “‘1184’ is a very important album for us as a band and not least for me personally”, states songwriter and bassist Jarle Kvåle. This was the first album Terje and I wrote together. It was the first time that WINDIR became a complete band even though we had played concerts together since 1995 and had been making music together since 1993. It seems inconceivable that it has been 20 years but all the more enjoyable to see how much this record still means to people. We are really looking forward to gather the full band and perform the entire 1184 album at the Karmøygeddon Festival”.
Karmøygeddon will take place on May 6 – 8, 2021, in Kopervik, Norway. Find more information HERE.
The Dutch masters of horror CARACH ANGREN are proud to present a brand new music video for the title track of their latest releae ‘Franckensteina Strataemontanus’. You can now watch the ‘silent’ horror video here:
Ardek & Seregor comment on the video: “We hereby proudly present you the visual Horror that is “”Franckensteina Strataemontanus””! Over the last few months, we worked with director Zoran Bihac and producer Julia Patey and their extraordinary team on galvanism and alchemy.
Now… wine will come from water and gold from stone, Concocting potions from flesh and bone The perfume of death is our sweetest cologne…
Our endless gratitude goes out to everyone who has worked extremely hard to make this video possible, and an extra shout-out to Bonny Zahara for coming back to life!”
CARACH ANGREN‘s latest album ‘Franckensteina Strataemontanus’ can be listened to in full HERE. The cover artwork, which is created by Stefan Heilemann, and track-list of can be be viewed below.
Track list: 1. Here in German Woodland (01:35) 2. Scourged Ghoul Undead (05:38) 3. Franckensteina Strataemontanus (03:03) 4. The Necromancer (04:08) 5. Sewn for Solitude (03:52) 6. Operation Compass (06:00) (WATCH) 7. Monster (03:33) (WATCH) 8. Der Vampir von Nürnberg (06:00) (WATCH) 9. Skull with a Forked Tongue (05:56) 10. Like a Conscious Parasite I Roam (08:16)
Bonus 11. Frederick’s Experiments (02:40) Total playing time: 50:41
The Dutch masters of horror are back with their most flamboyant album so far. On ‘Franckensteina Strataemontanus’, CARACH ANGREN resurrect the gruesome story of troubled soul ‘Conrad Dippel’; the inspiration of Mary Shelly’s novel ‘Frankenstein’.
CARACH ANGREN have extended all the sonic colours on their established palette to dazzling effect. Their trademark whipping guitars are weaving harsh melodies and sinister soundscapes, which are beautifully contrasted by opulent keyboards and majestic orchestrations. That Till Lindemann (RAMMSTEIN) and Peter Tägtgren (PAIN) have called upon the composition talent of Clemens “Ardek” Wijers is a telling sign of his outstanding mastery of the craft. Another signatory counterpoint is provided by Seregor’s fierce rasping and shrieking vocals. Adding to the impact, Namtar has become a relentless driving force with his hart hitting yet intricate drumming. Each track on this album is a highlight on its own, while combined ‘Franckensteina Strataemontanus ‘ simply shines.
CARACH ANGREN set out to tell ghost-stories with a set of paranormal cases recorded on the demo ‘The Chase Vault Tragedy’ (2004). This was soon followed by the official release of the ‘Ethereal Veiled Existence’ EP (2005) as a prelude to the haunting ‘Lammendam’ (2008). The Dutch had a clear vision of combining a dark baroque style of metal with horror based lyrical concepts. Their sophomore full-length ‘Death Came through a Phantom Ship’ (2010) witnessed the band setting sail to bring their eccentric and capturing live performances to audiences and festivals all over Europe. In the wake of third album ‘Where the Corpses Sink Forever’ (2012), the haunting had reached the Americas and started to spread rapidly. This record added a serious side to the lyrics of CARACH ANGREN. While firmly remaining in the horror genre, their tales revolve around the evils of war. This mature streak was taken a step further with the fourth full-length ‘This Is No Fairytale’, which is on the surface a darker variation of the “Hansel and Gretel” story from the Brothers Grimm collection, but also deals with the too real topic of child abuse in a dysfunctional family. With ‘Dance And Laugh Amongst The Rotten’ (2017), the band returned to pure story telling with episodes that are centred on a girl playing a little too long with her Ouija board.
Now, CARACH ANGREN return with the monster ‘Franckensteina Strataemontanus’, where the Dutch have pushed their unashamedly theatrical style to a new intense height. You do not believe us yet? Press play and have your soul transferred with this new elixir of life!
Today, Finnish black metal legends Horna premiere the new track “Haudattujen Tähtien Yönä” check it out here:
The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated tenth album, Kuoleman Kirjo, set for international release on December 8th via W.T.C. Productions.
By now, Horna should need no introduction. For over 25 years now, the Finnish black metal institution – founded by uber-prolific guitarist/songwriter Shatraug (Sargeist, Behexen, et al) – have built a vast, virulent body of work beyond compare. In fact, when one mentions “Finnish black metal” nowadays, the name Horna is immediately invoked…and for good reason. Simply put, their vision of unapologetic BLACK METAL is proud and pure, and played with an intensity and finesse that’s familiar yet unique.
While it’s been five long years between full-lengths, Horna have kept busy on the live front and, of course, hailing the ancient ways through splits, EPs, and even a live album and a Japanese-exclusive recording. In that interim, too, the lineup has shifted once again, with Shatraug and equally long-standing vocalist Spellgoth and guitarist Infection remaining, and the arrival of drummer LRH and bassist VnoM making their first recorded Horna album appearance with Kuoleman Kirjo. As can be expected, this lineup shift has reinvigorated the band, but also underlines how enduring and singular the Horna sound is. The preceding Hengen Tulet, released in 2015 via W.T.C., retained a foully headbanging aesthetic – well, as much as Horna can be conventionally “headbanging” anyway – with a nightsky melodicism coursing through those chilling veins. No less chilling, if not more so, Kuoleman Kirjo takes on an altogether-moodier aspect, with tempos remaining nearly as fast but the riffing of Shatraug and Infection showing a more contemplative side – somber at times, folky at others, but righteously classic in a most ’90s manner. In fact, one could compare Kuoleman Kirjo to early Horna touchstones as Kohti yhdeksän nousua and especially Haudankylmyyden mailla, but in a more streamlined form – and one more asskicking, as per this lineup’s utterly tyrannical stature onstage.
The past is alive because the present is dead; there is no future. Horna thus continue to stand immortal, and Kuoleman Kirjo is the only firmament on the foreseeable horizon.
Begin peering into that horizon with the previously revealed “Saatanan Viha” HERE at W.T.C. Productions‘ official YouTube channel.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Horna’s Kuoleman Kirjo 1. Saatanan Viha 2. Elegia 3. Uneton 4. Sydänkuoro 5. Elävänä, Kuolleena 6. Kärsimysten Katedraali 7. Haudattujen Tähtien Yönä 8. Rakas Kuu 9. Unohtumaton 10. Mustat Vuodet 11. Pyhä Kuolema 12. Veriuhri 13. Ota Minut Vastaan
Season of Mist are pleased to announce the signing of Russian Karelian Neofolk outfit THEODOR BASTARD. The band will release their brand new album via the label.
THEODORE BASTARD comment on the signing: “We are very happy to share this great news with you – Theodor Bastard band has become a part of the world of Season of Mist. It is a very big event for us. Living in the deep of the wild Karelian forests on the edge of the Ecumene, we can now reach the audience all over the world and tell the myths and legends of our North through our music. We thank the whole team of Season of Mist so much. We were an indie band for over 20 years and all our lives we learned and did everything ourselves. From recording albums to selling them. From manufacturing merch to organizing tours. We have a lot of experience in this, but Season of Mist is the first label really attracted us with its concept and its approach. And we entrust them our music and our future. We know that together we can achieve more.“
In further news, Season of Mist are proud to simultaneously announce the release of the re-issues of ‘Vetvi’ (2015) and the recently released masterpiece ‘Volch’ya Yagoda’ (2020). Listen to the entire THEODOR BASTARD catalogue HERE.
More info and Hi-rez pictures of the band can be found HERE Check out some of the artisic videos THEODOR BASTARD deliver HERE
THEODOR BASTARD‘s music is set out to take listeners to unexplored and other worlds. From the cold and twilight realms of the marshy swamps of taiga and mossy tundra, to unexplored places where the earthly plane and the spiritual world are separated only by a thin ghostly veil. For over twenty years THEODOR BASTARD have been known for their amazingly serious attitude to the world beyond that very frontier.
THEODOR BASTARD is one of Russia’s most unusual bands representing the electronic Karelian neofolk genre. Also elements of dark wave and trip hop are present in the band’s music. The message doesn’t carry out everyday problems and is mainly focused on mythology and shamanism. The hallmarks of the band are the unique and bewitching lead vocals of multi-talent Yana Veva and the impeccable sound producing skills of Fedor Svolotch, founder of the band who created the band 20 years ago.
From album to album, THEODOR BASTARD carefully and masterly combine many different exotic and traditional instruments. The special northern atmosphere of their albums is created with Nordic nyckelharpa and jouhikko, primeval flutes created from tree roots and shamanic percussion.
“We live in the north of Russia in Karelia, which has a difficult fate” states band leader Fedor Svolotch. He continues: “This is a harsh northern region with unpredictable nature, with spruce and pine forests. Bears are found here. Moose and hare come straight to my house. In Karelia there are beautiful cliffs and clear lakes with fresh water. These are our personal places of power, the places where stones and winds are talking to us. Singing for us a songs of the northern harsh nature”.
THEODOR BASTARD consists of 6 musicians, turning their performances into a dark magic act that sends the audience back to Northern musical traditions, to the Karelian and the Russian folk. The musicians use a lot of electronic devices and ethnic instruments, but also use their own hand-made instruments from stones, human bone and the roots of Karelian birch.
TOMBS drummer Justin Spaeth has unveiled a brand new drum play-through for the song “Bone Furnace,” which is taken from the band’s upcoming full-length, ‘Under Sullen Skies.’ Watch the clip here:
In addition, TOMBS previously premiered the official music video for their new song, “The Hunger,” which pays homage to cinema’s most infamous vampires! The song and video, which was created by Jaclyn Sheer, can be found at THIS LOCATION.
Pre-orders for ‘Under Sullen Skies,’ which is due on November 20, are available in the Season of Mist shop HERE.
The cover artwork for ‘Under Sullen Skies’ was created by Valnoir and can be found below, together with the tracklist.
Tracklist: 1. Bone Furnace (04:49) 2. Void Constellation (04:55) 3. Barren (05:31) 4. The Hunger (04:30) 5. Secrets Of The Black Sun (07:08) 6. Descensum (04:32) 7. We Move Like Phantoms (01:45) 8. Mordum (04:21) 9. Lex Talionis (04:29) 10. Angel Of Darkness (06:53) 11. Sombre Ruin (04:13) 12. Plague Years (06:59) Total: 1:00:05
There’s a line from Mike Hill’s audiobook/tour diary of ANODYNE’s 2004 European tour in which the gravel-throated frontman affirms, “I will always outwork you.” In that case, Hill was referring to an incident in Germany early on during a six-week long overseas jaunt with his previous band. In actuality, however, he could have been talking about any instance between when he first picked up a guitar as a teen and the present. Whether it’s his history dating back to previous bands OTIS, ANODYNE, KING GENERATOR or VERSOMA, his ongoing solo work in VASILEK, the more recent SCORPION THRONE project or his thirteen year reign as the driving force and nerve center of post-black metal institution TOMBS, hard work is second nature and nothing will keep the guitarist/vocalist from creative endeavor and expression. And it’s not just music in which his propulsive work ethic has gleaned results: Hill also is the CEO and roast master at Savage Gold Coffee (a labelling nod to TOMBS’ 2014 album of the same name), the host/producer/creator of the Everything Went Black podcast, host and producer of Gimme Radio’s Metal Matters flagship podcast, the creator and co-host of horror podcast Necromaniacs as well as a stalwart in the print and online journalism world covering music and MMA fighting. His is, has been and always will be a life steeped in dedication and with unassailable drive in the cross hairs. And despite the world being put on pause, Hill refuses to curtail his innate determination and ongoing tenacity with the result being TOMBS emerging with the next chapter in its impressive catalog and growing legacy: the band’s fifth full-length, ‘Under Sullen Skies’.
“The week VERSOMA broke up in 2007, I started TOMBS,” he says, recalling how, characteristically, the band started before any dust was permitted to settle. “The initial rehearsals ended up being the bulk of material that showed up on the first [self-titled] EP. The intent from the beginning was to get back to playing music I wanted to hear and to not be so concerned with genre or satisfying anyone else’s desires. It was to do music on a personal level and be a reflection of the darkness I’ve felt throughout my life.”
Formed in the gritty corners of pre-gentrified Brooklyn, NY, TOMBS’ early mandate was steeped in the harshness and atonality of black metal but dosed with trace amounts of the varied influences and inspirations ingrained in Hill’s musical muscle memory by previous bands. “The canon of music TOMBS has created has spanned several different genres, but I’ve always had it my intent for there to always be a certain amount of violence and hardness lurking the background.”
Those early years delivered splits and singles, the highly revered ‘Winter Hours’ debut in 2009 and Decibel’s 2011 Album of the Year, ‘Path of Totality’. Never one to sit still, ‘Path of Totality’ was followed by appreciable and impressive amounts of touring in accordance with the lauding afforded by critics and fans and the braying of foes, which only served as fuel for Hill’s perseverance. Savage Gold came three years later after which a restless Hill began nudging TOMBS’ black metal base into territories populated by gothic and death rock artists like FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM and SISTERS OF MERCY as well as avant-garde purveyors Caspar Brotzmann and Live Skull while never forgetting – or being able to – scrape the grime of NYC from under his fingernails. The addition of a second guitar and live keyboards/samples brought a fuller sound and allowed noise sequences and soundscapes to be brought to the live show. It was around the time of 2016 ‘All Empires Fall’ EP that TOMBS punctuated its iconoclastic spirit and thought process. Despite then-being part of the Relapse Records family, the band struck out with the intent of self-releasing the EP in order to retain as much independence as contractual obligations would allow – retaining the digital and publishing rights while eventually licensing the record back to Relapse. A one album stint in 2017 under the Metal Blade banner birthed ‘The Grand Annihilation’ into the world where TOMBS took broader and more daring steps into buffering black metal with morose melody, sullen death rock and classic METALLICA chugging. Following a parting from Metal Blade, the band – now completed by drummer Justin Spaeth, guitarist Matt Medeiros and bassist Drew Murphy, who are also 3/4ths of New Jersey death metal crew KALOPSIA – quickly found a home on Season of Mist and issued the ‘Monarchy of Shadows’ EP literally a week before the world went into Coronavirus lockdown.
“The original strategy assumed we would be on the road for most of 2020,” says Hill with a lamenting laugh. “We had a sick tour with Napalm Death planned right after the EP’s release. We were going to record the new full-length before the tour and have it come out in the fall. There was all kinds of tour talk and plans and 2020 would have been a tour-de-force of TOMBS activity in the United States and Europe. Obviously, none of that is happening, but we’re still going ahead with the record.”
Of course they are. Throw a hurdle in front of Mike Hill and he’ll never shy at rolling up his sleeves and taking on the challenge. Even with the world in shutdown mode, Hill is still brimming with enthusiasm about the input and work ethic of the current TOMBS lineup and how Spaeth, Mederios and Murphy stepped up to the plate in the creation of ‘Under Sullen Skies’.
“The week VERSOMA broke up in 2007, I started TOMBS,” he says, recalling how, characteristically, the band started before any dust was permitted to settle. “The initial rehearsals ended up being the bulk of material that showed up on the first [self-titled] EP. The intent from the beginning was to get back to playing music I wanted to hear and to not be so concerned with genre or satisfying anyone else’s desires. It was to do music on a personal level and be a reflection of the darkness I’ve felt throughout my life.”
Formed in the gritty corners of pre-gentrified Brooklyn, NY, TOMBS’ early mandate was steeped in the harshness and atonality of black metal but dosed with trace amounts of the varied influences and inspirations ingrained in Hill’s musical muscle memory by previous bands. “The canon of music TOMBS has created has spanned several different genres, but I’ve always had it my intent for there to always be a certain amount of violence and hardness lurking the background.”
Those early years delivered splits and singles, the highly revered ‘Winter Hours’ debut in 2009 and Decibel’s 2011 Album of the Year, ‘Path of Totality’. Never one to sit still, ‘Path of Totality’ was followed by appreciable and impressive amounts of touring in accordance with the lauding afforded by critics and fans and the braying of foes, which only served as fuel for Hill’s perseverance. Savage Gold came three years later after which a restless Hill began nudging TOMBS’ black metal base into territories populated by gothic and death rock artists like FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM and SISTERS OF MERCY as well as avant-garde purveyors Caspar Brotzmann and Live Skull while never forgetting – or being able to – scrape the grime of NYC from under his fingernails. The addition of a second guitar and live keyboards/samples brought a fuller sound and allowed noise sequences and soundscapes to be brought to the live show. It was around the time of 2016 ‘All Empires Fall’ EP that TOMBS punctuated its iconoclastic spirit and thought process. Despite then-being part of the Relapse Records family, the band struck out with the intent of self-releasing the EP in order to retain as much independence as contractual obligations would allow – retaining the digital and publishing rights while eventually licensing the record back to Relapse. A one album stint in 2017 under the Metal Blade banner birthed ‘The Grand Annihilation’ into the world where TOMBS took broader and more daring steps into buffering black metal with morose melody, sullen death rock and classic METALLICA chugging. Following a parting from Metal Blade, the band – now completed by drummer Justin Spaeth, guitarist Matt Medeiros and bassist Drew Murphy, who are also 3/4ths of New Jersey death metal crew KALOPSIA – quickly found a home on Season of Mist and issued the ‘Monarchy of Shadows’ EP literally a week before the world went into Coronavirus lockdown.
“The original strategy assumed we would be on the road for most of 2020,” says Hill with a lamenting laugh. “We had a sick tour with Napalm Death planned right after the EP’s release. We were going to record the new full-length before the tour and have it come out in the fall. There was all kinds of tour talk and plans and 2020 would have been a tour-de-force of TOMBS activity in the United States and Europe. Obviously, none of that is happening, but we’re still going ahead with the record.”
Of course they are. Throw a hurdle in front of Mike Hill and he’ll never shy at rolling up his sleeves and taking on the challenge. Even with the world in shutdown mode, Hill is still brimming with enthusiasm about the input and work ethic of the current TOMBS lineup and how Spaeth, Mederios and Murphy stepped up to the plate in the creation of ‘Under Sullen Skies’.
“Everyone contributes on this record and the door has always been open for others to do so. There has always been this misconception that I’m some sort of tyrant always telling people what to do and play. The fact of the matter is that most of the time I outwork people; that’s just the way I am. No one is ever going to outwork me on any level in any area of my life and I was always coming up with material. Now, I have these maniacs in the band who are equally motivated and there’s a whole new life injected into TOMBS. That’s awesome and I love it. These days we’ll try anything and we actually write stuff and throw it out because it’s not perfect. It’s more like a writing committee, which I really appreciate. It’s not just me writing everything. It’s a big difference from ‘The Grand Annihilation’ which was basically a solo record.”
‘Under Sullen Skies’ is this lineup’s second kick at twisting black metal’s DNA around dank emotional corners, psychological turmoil and the urban underbelly all of which is unavoidably coloured and touched by the present-day status of life on this here Earth.
“The album’s title came during all this and the sort of post-apocalyptic world we’re living in,” Hill explains. “It encapsulates an overall feeling of gloom and depression which is pretty much how we’ve been living for most of this year. The title was the last piece to fall into place. I remember standing on the roof of the building I was living in at the time on a grey day and it was raining – actually, it wasn’t even raining; it was a half-assed attempt at rain! – and depressing and I just thought, ‘What a sullen sky’ and it just stuck with me.”
The album starts with “Bone Collector,” a furious blast of melodic black metal that shifts gears towards an anthemic fist-pumping slog through the goth rock-thrash metal VENN DIAGRAM. “Void Constellation” takes as many cues from Peaceville Three gloom and doom as it does the death metal stomp of OBITUARY and INCANTATION. “Descensum” mines the various well-worn parts of Ride the Lightning for influence before blasting the doors open with some startlingly spacious chromatic single-note atonality. As the album progresses, further textures and moods are employed via acoustic instrumentation and keyboards as well as sampled soundscapes all butting heads with furious second wave black metal and sly to nods to death rock heroes SISTERS OF MERCY and FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM, all of the band’s motivations and interests being dropped into the chameleonic pair of tracks closing the album, “Sombre Ruin” and the appropriately titled “Plague Years.”
“‘Barren’ stands out as the song that’s most collaborative,” notes Hill. “Justin wrote the bulk of the riffs on that one, that sort of NWOBHM/SCORPIONS ending part is something I came up with, Matt added a bunch of guitar harmonies over it and Drew’s bass is laid thick underneath. That one is one of the biggest group efforts and one of the strongest songs on the record.
“I explore a lot of the archetypes that are used in folklore on this record, like werewolves and vampires which I’ve always been interested in, and on a song like ‘Secrets of the Black Sun’ I talk about the finite nature of our time on this planet, that nothing is really permanent and being aware of that whether as an individual or as a civilization, which I guess fits in with the pandemic and the changes that are going on. There are all kinds of other people, civilizations and creatures that have come and gone long before us and if you think about it over a long enough time span, everyone’s life expectancy goes down to zero.”
The new album not only sees Hill expanding his creative and collaborative comfort zone by wholly embracing the offerings of his band mates, but he’s also let down the drawbridge to allow folks from beyond the immediate TOMBS family to include what he describes as “mad guest spots.”
“There’s Cat Cabral, who does the spoken word piece on ‘Angel of Darkness.’ She’s not a musician per se; she’s more from the occult and witchcraft world. I’ve been friends with her for a really long time and she’s a great resource for esoteric knowledge. She’s also an actress who has done plays and commercials and been in films, so I figured she’d be the perfect person to deliver dialogue in an emotionally deep way, and be good at taking direction. Ray Suhy from SIX FEET UNDER rips the guitar solo in ‘Barren’ and that solo is its own masterpiece, in my opinion. BLACK CROWN INITIATE and former TOMBS live guitarist Andy Thomas contributed a guitar solo in ‘Void Constellation.’ Todd Stern from PSYCROPTIC plays the solo in ‘Mortem.’ Sera Timms from IDES OF GEMINI and BLACK MATH HORSEMAN does guest vocals on ‘Secrets of the Black Sun.’ We’ve got INTEGRITY’s Dwid Hellion singing the chorus on ‘The Hunger’ and BLACK ANVIL’s Paul Delaney also doing a couple of verses on ‘Angel of Darkness.’ So, yeah, there are a bunch of people on there and it’s like a community effort which I enjoy. I like involving people I respect and having them be a part of the whole thing.”
After spending his entire adult life navigating the pitfalls and pratfalls of the industry for expressive and creative opportunity, Hill has amassed an impressive legacy, one that ‘Under Sullen Skies’ contributes to admirably and irreverently. Like most, the extreme music underground lifer and veteran is probably justified in approaching the future with very muted optimism, but while the world works at screwing its head back on straight, Hill is going to do what he wants to do as well as he possibly can. Uncertainty may reign at the moment, but Hill and TOMBS are still going to do their thing and will be content to please themselves in the process. If anyone else happens to be along for the ride, then welcome aboard.
“’Under Sullen Skies’ is a dark and introspective album,” he asserts. “It’s not a happy record that anyone is going to use to get pumped up on a Friday night. We wanted to pull out the stops, go full-on and make a nice body of work. I could care less if anyone likes the band or not because I’ve been through so many ups and downs with this thing that I don’t give a fuck if people enjoy the music. I know I like it, I know the guys in the band like it and we’re just rocking and rolling. This record and the EP came out about as close as I could imagine to what I have in my brain about how this band should sound. The whole trajectory of the band has had each record never quite hitting, but ‘Monarchy of Shadows’ and ‘Under Sullen Skies’ have both really come out how I envisioned the songs to be.”
Line-up: Mike Hill – guitars, vocals, electronics, synth Matt Medeiros – guitars Drew Murphy – bass, vocals Justin Spaeth – drums, guitars, electronics, synth
Guest Musicians: Cat Cabral – Spoken Word Dialog on “Angel of Darkness” Paul Delaney (BLACK ANVIL) – additional vocals on “Angel of Darkness” Dwid Hellion (INTEGRITY) – additional vocals on “The Hunger” Todd Stern (PSYCROPTIC) – guitar solo on “Mordum” Ray Suhy (SIX FEET UNDER) – guitar solo on “Barren” Andy Thomas (BLACK CROWN INITIATE) – guitar solo on “Void Constellation” Sera Timms (IDES OF GEMINI, BLACK MATH HORSEMAN) – additional vocals on “Secrets of the Black Sun”
Recording and Mixing: Fright Box Studios, Clifton, NJ, USA
