Negative Plane‘s third album, The Pact, is finally upon us after more than a decade of a wait!
Containing seven songs expanding on the “Faustian Pact” theme, The Pact explores the relationship between the divine and the demonic as a way to obtaining a greater glory.
The Pact was sealed at New Jersey’s Moonlight Mile Recording between November 2020 and February 2021 and then mixed by producer Mike Moebius in May of the same year.
The album is available digitally worldwide now – fittingly, on Walpurgisnacht – and will be available on CD and vinyl from Invictus Productions and The Ajna Offensive once the pressing plant finally ships out copies to both labels and their distributors. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Negative Plane’s The Pact 1. A Work To Stand A Thousand Years 2. Poison And The Crucifix 3. Three Turns To The West 4. The Wailing of the Immured 5. Even The Devil Goes Into The Church 6. The Other Door 7. And So It Came To Pass
Today, Invictus Productions announces June 3rd as the international release date for Grave Infestation‘s highly anticipated debut album, Persecution of the Living, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in 2018, Grave Infestation wasted no time in making their presence in the underground felt far and wide. Recorded as a power-trio, the band’s debut demo, Infesticide, was originally self-released in late 2018 and then picked up for wider release by Invictus. On evidence of that opening 23-minute salvo, it’s not difficult to understand why: Grave Infestation wielded a gutsfucking sound that near-effortlessly synthesized every slice of darkness of death metal’s pivotal late ’80s era. Death metal diehards took notice, and then the second demo, Infestation of Rotting Death, consolidated that enviable standing, now revealing the band as a quartet.
Alas, as doom enveloped the earth, Grave Infestation was lurking in wait, brewing their full-length debut. And it arrives with the force of a nuclear payload in the form of Persecution of the Living. Reprising a couple re-recorded songs from the preceding demo, the presciently titled Persecution of the Living wastes no fucking time in getting in and absolutely flaying the listener alive. The foundation remains much the same – from the malignant tendrils Morbid Angel cast across the Tampa scene to the buzzsaw bulldoze of the contemporaneous Swedish scene, the ancient foundation of Necrovore, Repulsion, and Sadistic Intent to Carcass’ godly first two albums – but Grave Infestation exhibit a frightening clarity in their jackhammering attack. Some could call it a “clean(er)” iteration of their strident sound; others might view that cauldron with focus and finesse, as eerie melodies occasionally bubble up from the muck; but whatever tag you put on it, Persecution of the Living represents a professional-yet-powerful statement to the wider metal world. Darkness, death, DOOM: herald the grand arrival of Grave Infestation!
Witness that arrival with the brand-new track “Slaughter, Then Laughter” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Grave Infestation’s Persecution of the Living 1. Intro 2. The Conquest of Pestilence 3. Slaughter, then Laughter 4. Persecution of the Living 5. Can You See the Pale Horseman in the Distance 6. Plague of Crypts 7. Death of the Last Individual 8. Human Jigsaw Puzzle 9. Eternal Oblivion 10. Outro
Gather ’round and listen to the unveiling of the brand new song, ‘Sombre Ruins Nothing Remains’ from the New Jersey gentlemen of TOMBS! The single is the second release of TOMBS‘ upcoming ‘Ex Oblivion’ digital EP, for which the final single will be released in full on July 13 2022 via Season of Mist. ‘ The updated version, “Sombre Ruins Nothing Remains,” was remixed by Alap Momin a.k.a. Oktopus and can be heard here:
All songs will be available via Bandcamp, YouTube, and across all streaming services while a vinyl counterpart will be announced at a later date.
Guitarist/Vocalist Mike Hill comments: “For years I have admired the work of my good friend Alap Momin a.k.a. Oktopus so it was really cool to unleash him on a remix. He chose the song and I agreed; the fairly abstract nature of the original track was wide open territory for a really cool, sinister interpretation.”
Don’t forget to pre-saved their upcoming digital EP ‘Ex Oblivion’ across all digital platforms HERE and download via Bandcamp HERE
The cover artwork for ‘Ex Oblivion’ was created by Mike Goncalves and can be found below along with the tracklist.
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’.
“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.”
Recording Lineup: Mike Hill – guitar, vocals Justin Spaeth – Drums Drew Murphy – Bass, vocals
Guest Musicians: Dwid Hellion (INTEGRITY) – modified piano & noise on “Murder Legendre” Dan Higgins (HAMMERFIGHT, ENGINEHEAD)– lead guitar on “Killed by Death”
Album Credits: “Ex Oblivion” Recorded by Justin Spaeth at the Tombs Metal Compound, Keyport, NJ May, 2021 Mixed by Bobby Torres at Frightbox Studio, Clifton, NJ, June, 2021
“Killed by Death” + “Commit Suicide” Recorded and mixed by Justin Spaeth at the Tombs Metal Compound, Keyport, NJ June 2021
“Sombre Ruins Nothing Remains” Original stems recorded by Bobby Torres at Frightbox Studios, Clifton, NJ March – May 2020 RKGD audio remix recorded and mixed by Alap Momin at Uptown Mixers, Harlem, NY November, 2020
Today, Portuguese black metallers Candelabrum stream the entirety of their highly anticipated third album, Nocturnal Trance. Set for international release on April 29th via Hells Headbangers, hear Candelabrum‘s Nocturnal Trance in its entirety here:
Candelabrum hail from Portugal, renown in the past decade for its polarizing raw black metal scene. The nameless mainman behind the band has been involved within that scene for many years, and even before his native scene found worldwide recognition. And even within that scene/idiom, Candelabrum stands alone, enigmatic and electric: his works are slavishly reverential of ancient black metal whilst simultaneously unorthodox. The band’s two albums to date, 2016’s Necrotelepathy and 2018’s Portals, are equally astounding modern classics which emit a strangely shimmering quality amongst an explosion of emotive rawness. Both albums are immersive and mesmerizing experiences unto themselves.
Wisely prizing quality over quantity, Candelabrum only emerge from the shadows when a new experience is fully formed and ready to curse/haunt/liberate the listener: at long last, Nocturnal Trance. Truly titled, this third album is a strident synthesis of its monolithic predecessors as well as form meeting content. Conceptually, Nocturnal Trance deals with the same theme of Necrotelepathy and Portals: death and the passage to a different plane, beyond. On those previous Candelabrum records, the figure on the front cover is always “moving” – crossing the passage, as it were – but this time, the mainman chose to clearly portray the passage from absolute darkness to an ominous monochromaticism: both a blinding light and a complete lack of it, going beyond darkness and back around to an absence of literally everything.
Such transition poignantly plays out across the five component compositions comprising the 39-minute Nocturnal Trance. While no less raw than those predecessors – in fact, newcomers to Candelabrum will be stunned by such a soundfield – above and below those lysergic layers of the album betray a wealth of new(er) sensations, ones that encompass a respectably wider range of musical moments and emotions. Because indeed, Candelabrum is nothing if not emotive, which is all the more amazing given that the chosen canvas is resolutely RAW black metal. Likewise, that range also spans both ends of the spectrum, equally so from delirious dissonance to majestic melody, creating a contrast that paradoxically makes Candelabrum‘s monochromaticism somehow kaleidoscopic.
Darkly uplifting, beautifully violent, Nocturnal Trance is everything its title promises it to be. Death is represented as a release, the liberation of the spirit to an unbounded state, and indeed is that what the brave listener will experience here: a triumph over time, space, and matter. As ever, Candelabrum hold the keys to the Beyond.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follow:
Tracklisting for Candelabrum’s Nocturnal Trance 1. Crystalline Telasthesia [9:14] 2. Through the Mirror of Divination [8:24] 3. Poisonous Dark Apparitions [7:59] 4. Beyond (Back to the Origin) [5:41] 5. Into Death’s Trance [6:51]
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX are proud to unveil the new album details of their upcoming release ‘Banefyre’! The new full-length is set for worldwide release on September 09, 2022 via Season of Mist and new music will be released soon!
In further news, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX have simultaneously announced new European tour dates in support of the new album, together with label mates IMPURE WILHELMINA and MØL. A full list of confirmed shows can be found below.
The band comments: “So yeah, this announcement is a pretty special one. The album and the tour! They’re finally happening!
Banefyre, The Musical! CBP is still alive. Still predictably unpredictable, doing our own thing. Accept no imitation. If you find it necessary to indulge yourself with a full dose of “the Musical!”, you’ll find a fantastic dance of triumph and defeat amongst a starlit atmosphere of deviant Magik. A congregation of outland dwelling characters in tales of caution and of hope, a reflection of human nature, ‘This, a journey through OUR world which only we understand but strikes a chord of lightning blue recognition amongst the crowd.
As satisfying as the longest and most perfect shit. To coin a phrase..
The Scene. The Prophet. The Clown. The End. “
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX – BANEFYRE EUROPE MMXXII Special Guests: MØL, IMPURE WILHELMINA
25.08.22 Germany Hannover @ Faust 26.08.22 Germany Hamburg @ Bahnhof Pauli 27.08.22 Denmark Copenhagen @ Hotel Cecil 28.08.22 Germany Berlin @ SO36 29.08.22 Germany Leipzig @ Täubchenthal 30.08.22 Germany Munich @ Backstage 31.08.22 Hungary Budapest @ A38 01.09.22 Austria Vienna @ Chelsea 02.09.22 Italy Bologna @ Link 03.09.22 Switzerland Winterthur @ Gaswerk 04.09.22 France Paris @ Backstage 05.09.22 Germany Cologne @ Essigfabrik 06.09.22 Netherlands Zoetermeer @ Boerderij 07.09.22 UK London @ The Dome 08.09.22 UK Bristol @ The Fleece 09.09.22 UK Manchester @ Rebellion 10.09.22 UK Glasgow @ Classic Grand
The cover artwork of ‘Banefyre’ and further album details can be viewed below!
Track-list 1. Intro/Incantation For The Different (2:49) 2. Wyches And Basterdz (4:57) 3. Ghostland (5:43) 4. The Reckoning (6:49) 5. Bonefire (4:36) 6. Rose Of Jericho (13:47) 7. Blackout77 (7:37) 8. Down The Rabbit Hole (10:32) 9. Everything Is Beautiful But Us (4:36) 10. The Pilgrim (6:19) 11. I’m OK, Just Not Alright (10:05) 12. The Scene Is A False Prophet (15:13) 13. No Regrets (4:30)
The thread that binds CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s bold and towering discography — a dozen studio albums, a half-dozen mini-albums, a handful of compilations and swaths of bootlegs — could not be more apropos circa 2022. Since its 2004 creation by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Justin Greaves, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX has served as the voice for the voiceless, whether it be animals, the unequal and the different. Greaves and longstanding vocalist and lyricist Belinda Kordic have often proffered that these beings cannot fend for themselves. Henceforth, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s mission has been to shed light on the human condition and the inequalities that befall humankind and its creatures. Their battle marches on with their latest studio album, Banefyre.
Banefyre follows 2020’s Ellengæst — an effort that found CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX employ a series of notable guest vocalists alongside Kordic, prompting Metal Hammer to describe it as their “most cohesive and emotionally devastating record.” Kordic is now paired with Swedish vocalist Joel Segerstedt, who made his CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX debut last year via the “Painful Reminder/Dead is Dead” single. Piano, synth and trumpet player Helen Stanley and additional guitarist Andy Taylor complete the lineup. Greaves says Stanley and Taylor “fit so well creatively,” which has made CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX feel like a band when making plans and decisions.
Also central to this is Segerstedt. According to Kordic, the vocalist and lyricist lives a mere five minutes from her in Sweden and has quickly integrated himself into the band. “What I like about Joel is that he’s a good person,” she says. “There’s no fakeness with him; he has cajones. He’s not a bitch-talker, either. I can’t handle people who don’t have a backbone, but Joel is real and can speak his mind.”
“I like how Joel has come in and spoke for himself,” adds Greaves. “He’s in the band for the right reasons. I see him the same way as Belinda — she took an interest in the whole artistic thing behind CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX, like the vocals, lyrics, artwork and aesthetic. It’s the same with Joel. He has taken an interest in all of those things. In the past, we had people who didn’t contribute artistically and only cared about what they got out of the band. But Joel is really proactive and takes the initiative.”
Greaves assembled 13 songs (including “No Regrets,” a bonus track for his new project with Kordic, Johnny the Boy) imbued with the depth and introspection that will reinforce CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s standing as a band that defies genre. The album was tracked at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Lincolnshire, with vocals cut at Monolith Studio and Kapsylen Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. Kurt Ballou handled mixing in GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts — a pivotal move in determining the album’s overall sound.
“I love the album so much because it was a different approach with the production,” says Greaves. “For my part, it was a little bit of a reaction. I didn’t want to do the same warm, safe CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX album. I’m aware that when we did [2012’s] I, Vigilante, everyone wanted I, Vigilante again. As it so often happens with this band, people complain about the next one, then grow into it. Ellengæst is like I, Vigilante. It’s a shorter album. It hit the mark and was done really well, but everyone will expect another Ellengæst. I feared that, but I care enough not to make another Ellengæst. It’s the right thing to do. That’s why we got Kurt to mix it — we wanted that analog, raw power. Even though the album has mellow moments, those are edgy as well. We just didn’t want to do the same album twice. We’re never going to be a band that people can rely on.”
Greaves’ summation of his band notwithstanding, his distinctive guitar playing and enduring knack for immersive songwriting is the propellent behind the haunting, chant-laden “Ghostland,” pensive “The Reckoning” and forlorn “Everything is Beautiful but Us,” the band’s spot-on analysis of the retreat of humankind indoors during the pandemic that revealed nature’s priceless beauty. The album is also stocked with no less than four ten-minute-plus cuts (“Rose of Jericho,” “Down the Rabbit Hole,” “I’m Okay, Just Not Alright” and “The Scene is a False Prophet”) that are intermixed with drama and melancholy.
It all ties into Banefyre’s central theme of the persecution of people who are deemed “different” by society. The album title is a play on the song “Bonefire” that Kordic named and wrote lyrics for. In classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, Greaves turned it into the Olde English translation to represent the bonfires that engulfed witches and politicians through the 15th and 18th centuries, hence, the name Banefyre
The album begins with “Incantation for the Different,” which was written and orated by Chicago-based witch, artist, author and occultist Shane Bugbee, who, according to Greaves, “brought us some positive, dark energy.” Banefyre then delves into the Salem Witch Trials (“Wyches and Basterdz”), fox hunting in Great Britain (“The Reckoning”), politicians of an unscrupulous and dishonest kind (“Bonefire”) and the New York City Blackout of 1977 (“Blackout77”).
Greaves says Banefyre’s topics may have a decidedly negative and pessimistic tone, but a glimmer of hope and joy remains. “There’s always the random bits, but overall, Banefyre is about the people who have suffered because they are different. The album covers inequality and oppression, like ‘Incantation for the Different,’ which is about overcoming when you’re put down because you’re not like everyone else.”
In true CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, the Lucy Marshall-created Banefyre cover leaves plenty to the imagination, depicting four animals seated at a table — interacting and dressed like human beings. “It’s sort of like Planet of the Apes showing what animals could do to humans,” says Greaves. “The cover was specially commissioned and is unique to the album. It’s incorporating all the classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX elements with the love for animals and twisting the narrative around.”
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s reputation was built on the back of their studio albums and live shows. The pandemic prevented the band from supporting Ellengæst, but it did provide them additional time to bring in new members to their live configuration.
“We’ve done one show since 2019,” says Greaves. “We are going to do something in Europe this year. Hopefully, we can get back on track. We’re also going to do something in the States — that’s not just talk, we’re actually going to do it. It’s well overdue. The live band is fucking amazing. We have the five of us and now we have Jordi [Farré] on drums, Paco [Fleischfresser] on synth and a really good friend of mine, Matt Crawford on bass.
“We did the Leipzig show and even though the rehearsals were better than the show itself, that lineup, our live band, is so good. Because we haven’t been under pressure to put a live band together since 2019 and spent so long talking to people, we’ve got a better band from those results. Out of disaster, we’ve got quite a good, positive thing.”
Line-up Justin Greaves : Guitars, Drums, Bass, Samples, Saw Belinda Kordic : Vocals, Percussions Helen Stanley : Grand Piano, Synthesisers, Monochord, Trumpet Andy Taylor : Guitar, Baritone Guitar, 12 String Guitar Joel Segerstedt: Vocals, Guitar
Today, Polish black metallers Teufelsberg stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Ordre du Diable. Set for international release on April 30th via Signal Rex, hear Teufelsberg‘s Ordre du Diable in its entirety here:
Hailing from Poland and making their public debut with the demo Ancient Darkness Triumphant in 2020, Teufelsberg are a band out of time. The modern “black metal underground” is a vacant void to be shunned, spit upon; for the duo, the elder ways of black metal militancy reflected in the Polish underground during the glorious ’90s are to be proudly upheld. And upheld they did with a successive split with comrades Minnesjord last year, once again through the auspices of Signal Rex, in the process building their own dead Christ commune.
And now, Teufelsberg fortify it further with their full-length debut, Ordre du Diable. No great changes have been made, thankfully – cold and grim is their march, rendered in raw-yet-clear tones that remarkably retain an era-authentic vibe – but the now-trio’s songwriting has undoubtedly advanced, moving at many speeds and effortlessly evincing a focus that’s fiery and finessed in equal measure. Further, their integration of synths is subtle and tasteful, coloring Ordre du Diable in rich hues of velvety purple emanating from deepest black. More simply stated, Teufelsberg deliver a record that could’ve easily come out in 1995: that same mysticism is alive and well here, and DEAD.
Against the modern world, torches raised aloft, Teufelsberg are coming to a church near you with Ordre du Diable!
Preorder info can be found HERE at Signal Rex‘s Bandcamp. Cover artwork, courtesy of JRMR Artworks, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Teufelsberg’s Ordre du Diable 1. Devil’s Praetorians [6:25] 2. Malign Incantation [4:14] 3. Procession of Dying Cherubs [4:20] 4. In The Glare Of Funeral Moon [5:31] 5. Fiat Luceat Lux [6:31] 6. Teufelsberg [7:04]
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets June 24th as the international release date for Serpent Spawn‘s striking debut EP, Crypt of Torment, on CD, 12″ vinyl, and cassette tape formats.
Serpent Spawn is a brand-new formation of old-school German veterans: drummer Markus Winterstein (Malaphar), guitarist Rob Wenglorz (ex-Blood, ex-Dawn), and vocalist/guitarist/bassist Martin Witchskinner (Blood). Given such an ’90s-entrenched pedigree, it’s no surprise that the power-trio’s debut recording, the EP Crypt of Torment, is an authentic slice of ripping, straightforward DEATH METAL. Rich and robust is the recording, ably highlighting each member’s muscular chops, as they create a maelstrom of demonic fury that seemingly comes from every direction but retains a memorability redolent of the genre’s early days. Straightforward and no frills but never primitive nor undercooked, Crypt of Torment contains 15 quick-hitting minutes that are sure to entice diehards of early Deicide, Malevolent Creation, Incubus, and of course Germany’s Blood: this is Serpent Spawn!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Conquering the Trinity” here:
Purity ThroughFire is proud to present Kryptamok‘s highly anticipated second album, Kataklysmi, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. The CD version will be released on July 17th while the vinyl and tape versions will follow later this year.
Kryptamok burst forth from the void in 2018 with their first demo, Profaani. Although that was the entity’s first public recording, Kryptamok is the work of Hex Inferi, a veteran of the always fertile Finnish black metal underground, having played in Vordven in the late ’90s and early 2000s and more recently as bassist of the institutional Horna. Not surprisingly, Profaani burned with an icy fury that was 100% Finnish in constitution and execution.
In the cursed year of 2020, Kryptamok took bolder strides on their debut full-length, Verisaarna, released by Purity ThroughFire. Immediately and irrevocably, here did Hex Inferi unload an arsenal of quintessentially Finnish classicism: blazing passion pitted against cryogenic melody, filthy thrust imbued with nightsky atmosphere. Pure and total FINNISH BLACK METAL, basically – no more, but definitely no less! Truly, Kryptamok staked a claim for scene supremacy with Verisaarna.
In a unique twist, Kryptamok stir their bubbling black cauldron in a different direction with the second album Kataklysmi. While that idiomatic melodicism is still at the fore (and chills to the fucking bone), Kataklysmi takes on a more overtly epic and palatably bombastic tone, raging with hellfire but also revealing wandering-star atmospheres that harken to mid-’90s black metal traditionalism. No less grim than before, Hex Inferi’s visions here unshackle themselves from the usual Finnish tropes; the album, as a result, retains textures and an intensity that are simultaneously nostalgic and modern. Korpus Abortuum, responsible for the lyrics on the previous two recordings, was chosen to preach his own words while drummer Beleth raised his hammers to forge the backbone for the album. Indeed, Kataklysmi is a fitting title…
The third coming of KRYPTAMOK is the all-ending cataclysm. This havoc will reap the human weed from the face of the earth. The end-times are drawing near. The sons of Abraham shed each other’s blood on everlasting wars… Father sun is eclipsed by the eruption of Mother Gaia’s pulsating vulva. Diseases, plagues, and famine sweep through the crumbling realm of man. In the meantime, hear the brand-new title track “Kataklysmi” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Kryptamok’s Kataklysmi 1. Ambienssi apokalyptiselle näytelmälle 2. Hävityksen ensimmäinen askel 3. Kataklysmi 4. Eläköön sota ihmisten kesken 5. Saatanallinen hävitystaistelu 6. Helvetin esitaistelija 7. Laulakaa tulesta, laulakaa liekeistä 8. Outo kuningas 9. Lopunajan abominaatiot
Today, atmospheric black metallers Freja stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Tides. Set for international release on April 22nd via Babylon Doom Cult Records – which also coincides with the band’s scheduled performance at the esteemed Roadburn festival, set to take place April 21-24 – hear Freja’s Tides in its entirety here:
Freja are a duo hailing from the Netherlands, consisting of C. (Witte Wieven) and W. (Laster, Verval). The two found each other musically during the lead-up to Roadburn 2019 while working on the commissioned piece Maalstroom – a veritable “supergroup” of the ever-thriving Dutch black metal scene, including members from the esteemed likes of Fluisteraars, Turia, Terzij de Horde, Verwoed, and Grey Aura among others – and they decided to continue that creative energy with Freja.
Tides is Freja’s first public recording, and a more auspicious debut one will not find. The duo’s shared interest in atmospheric metal is immediately reflected in Freja’s towers of sound, built upon layers of dense-yet-spacious riffs, subtly shimmering melodies, and plausibly catchy compositions which include themes that evolve throughout each of the album’s six songs. Thundering, crushing, almost inescapably so? Yes, but also immensely ethereal and sometimes as smooth as gossamer, creating a paradoxically levitation aspect that effortlessly carries the listener through these Tides.
Part and parcel of Tides’ sonics are the album’s strident lyrical themes. Inspired by persistent energies from ancient myths – like the symbol of the goddess Freja – to cope with the complex emotions and struggles of modern life, the dance of this duo sparks the force of creation.
Furthering that duality is Freja’s instrumental makeup, with both C. and W. equally handling clean and harsh vocals, spanning the entire sonic spectrum with dazzling depth. Amazingly, the entire writing & recording process for Tides took only a year, with the recording & mix handled by the band themselves mastering done by Joris Bonis from Dodecahedron/Ulsect. Completing the album’s totality is the cover painting exclusively done by Johan Prenger of Reflections Records.
Calamitous and cleansing and cathartic above all, Tides takes conceptions of “atmosphere” and “black metal” itself in widescreen new directions. Freja defy conventional genre categories, and instead stoke the fire of potential in us all.
Preorder info for the CD version can be found HERE, while preorder info for the vinyl version can be found HERE. Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Freja’s Tides 1. Our Chosen Path [5:59] 2. Scattered Shields [7:10] 3. Dusk [7:51] 4. Cataclysm [5:15] 5. Of Those Stricken by Fate [3:42] 6. Cloaks of Valor [9:06]
To celebrate their official ESP artist endorsement, cathartic black metal outfit GAEREA are now releasing a brand new guitar playthrough for the track ‘Glare’. The song is taken from the Portuguese’s latest album ‘Limbo’, which was released in July 2020. The video can now be viewed here:
GAEREA comment: “We’re beyond amazed to fulfil what could be named as a dream come true by becoming Official ESP Guitars Artists from today forth. Since day one, every GAEREA Riff has been written, studio recorded and performed live on ESP Guitars and we thank this amazing family for welcoming us with the warmth of a thousand suns. With that said, Gaerea are proudly endorsed by Quantum Industries, Strap Portugal and ESP Guitars!“
GAEREA previously announced new European tourdates, together with label mater GAAHLS WYRD and SAOR. A full list of confirmed shows can be found below
GAEREA UK +Wode 21 Apr 22 London (UK) The Black Heart 22 Apr 22 Ipswich (UK) The Music Room 23 Apr 22 Bristol (UK) Exchange 24 Apr 22 Plymouth (UK) Underground 26 Apr 22 Manchester (UK) Star & Garter 27 Apr 22 Glasgow (UK) Audio 28 Apr 22 Birmingham (UK) Dead Wax Digbeth
GAEREA 2022 29 Apr 22 Antwerp (BE) Kavka 01 May 22 Reithalle (DE) Stummschen 02 May 22 Lyon (FR) Rock & Eat 10 Jun 22 Limerick (IE) Dolans Warehouse (+Winterfylleth) 11 Jun 22 Belfast (UK) Voodoo (+Winterfylleth) 24 Jun 22 Clisson (FR) Hellfest 2022 21 Sep 22 Riga (LV) NOASS 22 Sep 22 Tallin (EE) Sveta Baar 23 Sep 22 Helsinki (FI) On the Rocks 24 Sep 22 St. Petersburg (RU) MOD Club 25 Sep 22 Moscow (RU) DK Crystal
GAEREA +Gaahls Wyrd +Saor 30 Sep 22 Haarlem (NL) Patronaat 01 Oct 22 Arlon (BE) Léntrepot 02 Oct 22 Cologne (DE) Club Volta 03 Oct 22 Berlin (DE) Holle 44 05 Oct 22 Poznan (PL) U Bazyla 06 Oct 22 Krakow (PL) Hol 07 Oct 22 Prague (CZ) Futurum 08 Oct 22 Vienna (AT) Vienna Metal Meeting 09 Oct 22 Budapest (HU) Instant 11 Oct 22 Milan (IT) Slaughter Club 12 Oct 22 Martigny (CH) Les Caves Du Manoir 13 Oct 22 Lyon (FR) CCO Villeurbanne 14 Oct 22 Barcelona (ES) Boveda 15 Oct 22 Madrid (ES) Story Live 16 Oct 22 Toulouse (FR) Le Rex 17 Oct 22 Paris (FR) Petit Bain 19 Oct 22 London (UK) The Garage 20 Oct 22 Antwerp (BE) Zappa 22 Oct 22 Essen (DE) Turock
24 Oct 22 Munich (DE) Backstage Halle 25 Oct 22 Frankfurt (DE) Das Bett 26 Oct 22 Leipzig (DE) Hellraiser 27 Oct 22 Hamburg (DE) Logo 28 Oct 22 Copenhagen (DK) Vega 29 Oct 22 Gothenburg (SE) Pustervik 30 Oct 22 Stockholm (SE) Slaktkyrkan
The cover artwork for ‘Limbo,’ which is created by the talented Eliran Kantor, can be found below along with the track-list.
Something rises in the bleak and blackened skies of society as we know it. Vortex community GAEREA are about to bestow their Undying Sigil to the masses, with their brand-new full length ‘Limbo’!
GAEREA is a black metal quintet from Portugal. Emerging in the beginning of 2016, the band released their first (self-titled) EP on November 11, 2016 through Everlasting Spew Records. The EP received many praises from the worldwide press, and it was not long before the first full length “Unsettling Whispers” (2018) was presented.
With that, GAEREA had the pleasure to perform and tour festivals in Europe and China, including performances with Jupiterian in April 2019 and a headlining Chinese tour in May 2019. The band already performed at festivals like SWR Barroselas Metalfest (PT), De Mortem et Diabolum (DE), Throne Fest (BE), Frantic Fest (IT), Eresia Metal Fest (IT), Amplifest (PT) and many more. During the fall of 2019, the band did an extensive tour with label mates NUMENOREAN under the Doomstar Bookings wing throughout Europe
Are you finally ready for the tale of the Fallen Society and the journey to the vast Void, the only good in Life? Let us begin then. In the first hopeless circle, on too great and Undeniable Nothingness. WE ARE GAEREA.
Line-up: unknown
Studio/recording: Demigod Recordings (PT) Mix/Master: Miguel Tereso
