Today, Signal Rex announces August 26th as the international release date for Wampyric Rites‘ highly anticipated second album, The Wolves Howl to the Moon, on CD and cassette tape formats. The vinyl LP version will follow later this year.
Wampyric Rites hail from the ever-rising Ecuadorian black metal underground, and have had a major hand in shaping its prominence and notoriety across countless short-length releases since 2019. However, it was last year’s full-length The Eternal Melancholy of the Wampyre where Wampyric Rites displayed the full gait of their potential: classic (and unapologetic) vampiric black metal deeply rooted in the idiom’s earliest days whilst evincing a spectral aura all their own. The duo may belong to the Pure Raw Underground Black Metal Plague, which includes now-labelmates Winterstorm and Ründgard, but Wampyric Rites truly had found the cosmic keys to their creations and times.
Eclipsing that feat is their brand-new second album, The Wolves Howl to the Moon. Immediately, the record sounds like Wampyric Rites – shimmering surge, velvety synths, hysteric shrieks across a dungeon deep – but the attack soon takes on deft dynamics, skillfully balancing robust physicality (often, headbangingly straightforward) and stained-glass sensitivity. The latter element is perhaps the boldest move here, as a variety of synth sounds – medieval organ, stargazing swirl, or even just the faintest daubing upon ripped-raw guitar – often play a prominent role in each of the album’s five component songs. Yet, it’s never done in a gaudy or gimmicky manner; it’s but another layer to lose oneself in, as the songwriting itself allows the mind to wander and palpably experience the landscape as The Wolves Howl to the Moon. What’s more, Wampyric Rites incorporate shockingly beautiful acoustics, albeit sparingly, making their seemingly strictured canvas far vaster than otherwise suggested by vampiric BM standards.
All told, The Wolves Howl to the Moon sets new standards for (true) vampiric black metal. Wampyric Rites stoke the fires of the imagination, and seemingly are only getting started.
Get started with the brand-new track “The Ancient Tyrant Returns from the Deep Forgotten Crypts” here:
Cover artwork, courtesy of Ainul Iblis, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Wampyric Rites’ The Wolves Howl to the Moon 1. The Ancient Tyrant Returns from the Deep Forgotten Crypts [8:10] 2. Rites Under the Fullmoon [6:06] 3. Amidst the Fog of Eternity [2:47] 4. The Wolves Howl to the Moon [9:58] 5. Captive in a Desolate Castle [8:25]
Today, Chaos Records announces August 19th as the international release date for The Sombre‘s highly anticipated third album, Monuments of Grief, on CD format.
The Sombre is the work of Maurice de Jong, insanely prolific mainman of Gnaw Their Tongues, De Magia Veterum, Cloak of Altering, Hagetisse, Golden Ashes, and countless others. With The Sombre, however, de Jong returns to his roots. Having spent his formative musical years in doom and doom-death metal bands (1989-1996: Atrocious, Cauteror, and Soulwound), de Jong here reimagines the sound of his youth: doom-death metal inspired by the “Peaceville Three” and other early ’90s doom/death pioneers.
The Sombre‘s debut album, Into the Beckoning Wilderness, was released in June 2019 in a strictly limited edition of 50 CD-Rs, which sold out immediately, of course. Fans of both his work in The Sombre and elsewhere, Chaos Records released a worldwide CD edition of Into the Beckoning Wilderness in March 2021, and now continues to foster than megaton-heavy sadness with the band’s brand-new third album, Monuments of Grief.
Almost too perfectly titled, Monuments of Grief is perhaps the most poignant distillation yet of The Sombre‘s heartwrenching style of doom-death. De Jong doesn’t step too far away from the miserable majesty of those preceding two records, but there’s an ever-so-slight expansion of atmosphere across Monuments of Grief, as the man expertly swathes his towering creations with subtle synth and plaintive piano, all while always allowing the CRUSH of sadness to wash over the listener. But, like those two preceding tomes, Monuments of Grief once again features a deftly finessed sense of space; the subterranean roar of de Jong’s voice plumbs deeper depths, but somehow with more clarity here. Most of all, de Jong’s melodies are more pronounced and earworming, evincing something of an early Katatonia vibe. All told, it’s another triumph of tragedy for The Sombre.
And, just like Chaos Records‘ well-received release of Into the Beckoning Wilderness, whether one chooses to drown in their sorrows or be emboldened by them with a suiting soundtrack is up to each individual. The Sombre will take you there either way as you contemplate these Monuments of Grief…
Begin contemplating with the brand-new track “From the Depths of Misery” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for The Sombre’s Monuments of Grief
1. From The Depths Of Misery [6:27] 2. Alone in My Desolation [5:35] 3. The Mourning Gloom [6:38] 4. Monuments Of Grief [6:14] 5. When Death Comes I Will Be Beside You [6:39] 6. Paradise Regained [7:08]
Today, Inhuman Assault Productions announces September 3rd as the international release date for the highly anticipated debut album of Thailand’s Reincarnated, Of Boötes Void Death Spell, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in 2017, Reincarnated would make their public debut with the demo The Alpha Echo in 2020. Despite being a brand-new band, Reincarnated include a number of veterans of the Thai metal underground, with members currently playing in such cult bands as Savage Deity, Oldskull, Shambles, Nocturnal Damnation, Dark Mystery, and Lotus of Darkness among others. However, as Reincarnated, the goal was to play only the darkest and most doomed-out DEATH METAL: gutted, ghastly, and knuckle-dragging, with no room for innovation or progression.
Indeed, that sick music for sick people quickly reaches its apotheosis with Of Boötes Void Death Spell, Reincarnated‘s full-length debut. To enter into this five-song/31-minute furnace is to step into a soundworld of utter sliminess, humid frequencies unhealthily spawning malodorous tendrils of tension and terror. Or, one could simply stand back and be summarily CRUSHED by the ceaselessly rolling tank-tread of DOOM that Reincarnated so effortlessly dole out. Either way, it’s clear that Of Boötes Void Death Spell is a death metal maniac’s record, recorded by death metal maniacs; it doesn’t strive to be more than anything than that, nor should it have to. The songwriting is stout, and the production is absolute vintage: Reincarnated create the kind of sepulchral death metal that takes a studied hand and mind, and one that cannot be faked.
Diehards for Disma, Undergang, Funebrarum, Grave Miasma, and early Necros Christos are wholeheartedly encouraged to submit to Reincarnated‘s onslaught. There is no escape from Of Boötes Void Death Spell.
Try escaping with the brand-new track “Ophiucus Crypt” here:
Cover artwork, courtesy of Sickness 666, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Reincarnated (Thailand)’s Of Boötes Void Death Spell 1. Ophiuchus Crypt [7:28] 2. Quasar God Oration [7:04] 3. Proxima Hibernation [6:48] 4. Triumphant Dead Comet 4:55] 5. Tomb of Boötes Void [4:33]
New Jersey metal collective TOMBS have released the third track of their upcoming EP! The song “Commit Suicide” is taken from the ‘Ex Oblivion’ digital EP, set for worldwide release on July 13 via Season of Mist.
As a tribute to GG Allin Cover, the band picked one of the most influential songs GG Allin and turned it to a flawless TOMBS sound.
Make sure you check out the track 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. Don’t forget to pre-save the upcoming digital EP ‘Ex Oblivion’ across all digital platforms 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”
Today, Invictus Productions announces August 5th as the international release date for Coscradh‘s highly anticipated debut album, Nahanagan Stadial.
Since their formation in 2015, Coscradh have been one of Ireland’s best-kept secrets simply by virtue of never having released a full-length. Patiently and persistently – and through a few lineup changes, too – the band came to embody a unique grimy ‘n’ gutted sort of black/death METAL, as their debut demo in 2016 and successive EPs in 2017 and 2021 finessed new hideous shape out of that dread ore. Not withstanding that Coscradh also honored their Gallic roots with that ancient tongue and attendant thematics…
Alas, the time has arrived for Coscradh‘s full-length debut: Nahanagan Stadial. The album’s title is an Irish term for a rapid onset of a glacial period 10,000 years ago, rendering life extinct. A massive rise in oceans blocked out the sun, and coronal mass ejections and sunbursts hit the planet, overturning civilization, which brought a new ice age upon the island of Ireland. Perhaps fittingly, Coscradh sonically approximate such upheaval with a ceaselessly roiling attack that’s alternately their clearest and most overwhelming iteration of that by-now-trademark sound. From bestial explosions to quicksand whirlpools to old-fashioned asskicking thrust, the quartet give a masterclass here in timeless death energy, imbued with a wild-eyed sturm und drang that’s blanching to behold. And the fact that they don’t hide behind miles of murk only heightens the strength of their songwriting across this five-song/41-minute plunge into eldritch depths.
Four pits of brutal ritual death, by hanging, sword, burning and bludgeoning, spat forth in the ancient language of South Uist, Gàidhlig: Nahanagan Stadial is Coscradh‘s penultimate statement of savagery!
Face that savagery with the brand-new track “Cladh Hàlainn” here:
Cover artwork, courtesy of Khaos Diktator Design, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Coscradh’s Nahanagan Stadial 1. Nahanagan Stadial [9:44] 2. Feast of the Epiphany [5:17] 3. Plagues of Knowth [6:29] 4. Cladh Hàlainn [7:19] 5. Feallaire Dóite [11:52]
Today, Hammer of Hate announces August 19th as the international release date for White Rune‘s highly anticipated debut album, Dawn of the White Rune.
Although a brand-new entity, White Rune are a duo of Sielunvihollinen frontman Ruttokieli on vocals, guitar, bass, and keyboards and his drummer brother Soldau, also currently of Ehre. In 2021, they exploded into being with two shockingly accomplished demos, The Spell of Winter Holocaust and The Eternal Fires of Cleansing, showing a new face to Finnish black metal by, paradoxically, harkening back to old times.
And now that face is fully revealed with the full-length Dawn of the White Rune. Indeed consolidating White Rune‘s considerable strengths, the band’s aptly titled debut album bursts forth with an effervescence that’s undeniable – and undeniably unique, within the wider sphere of Finnish black metal. With vampiric organ to the fore but thankfully eluding the mawkish excess of “vampiric black metal,” White Rune proceed to wind and wend through an ever-surging storm of mysticism and malevolence. Their violence is real and the passion palpable, but there’s a deft touch to their dynamics here; nightsky splendor and astral awe are always present, no matter the tempo, and actual lead guitar plays an equally central role in conveying the emotions coursing through Dawn of the White Rune. And while comparisons to contemporaneous countrymen Faustian Pact, Vargrav, and Mooncitadel are certainly valid, more accurately could White Rune here harken back to the late ’90s works of Darkwoods My Betrothed, Thyrane, Alghazanth, Trollheims Grott, and even …And Oceans, thereby bringing the lineage full circle like the Ouroboros itself.
To celebrate this momentous occasion, Hammer of Hate will also release a compilation titled The Spell of Eternal Fire, bringing together both White Rune demos. In the meantime, open thine eyes and witness the Dawn of the White Rune!
Begin opening those eyes with the brand-new track “Crimson Lament” here:
. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for White Rune’s Dawn of the White Rune 1. Brought by the Touch of Death 2. The Iron Claws of Satan 3. White Rune Rising 4. Soulstorm 5. Death at Sundown 6. Echoes of Torment 7. Crimson Lament 8. The Ravenous Part 1 – Altar of Defeat 9. The Ravenous Part 2 – Torn Kingdom Come
Triumvir Foul releases their third laceration of lust-ridden emanation – Onslaught to Seraphim.
Co-manifested by Vrasubatlat and Invictus Productions, this final release of the cabal showcases Triumvir Foul‘s most violent offering to date. Tying in the theme of the three serpents of their first album, Onslaught of Seraphim tells the demise of the beasts in the waged war upon the heavens and the slaughtering of angels in their carnal demise.
Onslaught to Seraphim is to be released on cassette by Vrasubatlat and CD by Invictus Productions on July 29th, with a co-released vinyl version to come soon after.
My phallic carnage and creations Into angel’s death Skies morose with the perpetual drain They writhe in dread As I tear them from their wings They pathetically squirming The apocalyptic triumph over Jehovah And the onslaught of Seraphim
HAIL VRASUBATLAT In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Flesh Diocese” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Triumvir Foul’s Onslaught to Seraphim 1. Presage 2. Flesh Diocese 3. Domini Befallen (to Doom) 4. Bašmu Enthralled, Horned Creations 5. Serpents’ Gnash for War 6. Slither of Corruption (The Demise of the Three Serpents) 7. Infected Virtue 8. Onslaught to Seraphim
On June 17th, NoEvDia will release Verberis‘ highly anticipated second album, Adumbration of the Veiled Logos.
Adumbration of the Veiled Logos is but a 58-minute interpretation of the ungraspable numinous from five angles. It speaks of the shrouded paradox of divine desolation—twining ferocity, solemnity, and utter immensity through the coalescence of black and death metal.
Two years from intention to completion and recorded across two diametrically opposed continents, Verberis’ sophomore album is a work that has undergone yet further refinement from 2018’s Vorant Gnosis EP, and the band’s antipodean wellspring.
An evolution spurred by the clearing of vision and honing in upon the specific essences most relevant to it, Adumbration of the Veiled Logos is a monument whose aural intensity is matched both by the arresting artwork of Ars Alchymiae as well as the album’s metaphysical subject matter.
As with the preceding EP, the foundations of Adumbration of the Veiled Logos were received by DA (guitars) and then actualized through the indispensable expertise of JSM (percussion), NH (vocals), and MP (bass).
Full stream to be revealed the date of release. Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting is as follows:
Tracklisting for Verberis’ Adumbration of the Veiled Logos 1. Sepulchre of Shattered Saints [9:22] 2. Adamantine Amidst Transience [11:55] 3. Severed Paragon [9:39] 4. Ennoia [6:27] 5. I am the Father and the Tomb of the Heavens [20:31]
Today, True Vampyric Metal Punks Spiter reveal the new video “Tortured Soul.“ The track hails from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood, recently released by Hells Headbangers on CD and cassette tape formats; the vinyl LP version will follow later this year. See & hear Spiter‘s “Tortured Soul” video in its entirety here:
Featuring members of labelmates Shitfucker and Devil Master, Spiter made their recorded debut during the spring of 2021 with the Draconian Death Curse EP. Although it’d be semi-accurate to see the EP as a sonic union between Shitfucker and Devil Master, already Spiter exerted their own identity, ripping forth with a raw-yet-anthemic blend of cult blackthrash, obscure hardcore punk, and even the wildest deathrock. Immediately, the short-length garnered the band a great deal of attention.
The band picks up the tale: “Much like Dracula leaving Transylvania hell-bent on conquest, Richard Spider (Daemon Bitch of Shitfucker) moved to Philadelphia with the sole intent of forming Spiter. Alongside fellow magician Bat (Darkest Prince of Devil Master), and Philly punk drummer Snake (Disjawn), who was magically uncovered in a destined meeting, the lineup was complete. Following the path forged by the infernal and immortal Dragon, creating the True Vampyric Metal Punk in the name of our God and Father, Satan!”
Now armed with Hells Headbangers, Spiter’s first full-length fully displays the band’s considerable powers. More ripping, more anthemic, wilder and weirder and laded with a crisp-yet-crushing production, Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood will put the name Spiter on the tongues of all who worship the dark and depraved. The album features 10 songs in 36 minutes, swiftly and salaciously possessing the listener in a sanguine fury like few others. Each and every second literally explodes with electricity and excitement, Spiter frothing with blood – both others’ and their own – and seemingly drunk on their own undead energy. And each track is as immediately memorable as the last yet offering variety across that whirlwind landscape, commanding that listener to press “play” over and over…until it fucking hurts.
“Spiter has an unquenchable thirst for blood and glory,” sagely state the band – and on evidence of Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood, those black-leather wings will enwrap the world soon enough!
Also see & hear the previously revealed videos “Living Nightmare” HERE and “I am Dracula” HERE. Order info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Spiter’s Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood 1. Suicidal Blood Fucker 2. Phan 9. Spider Bitertoms 3. Tortured Soul 4. Transylvanian Night 5. Foreshadow 6. Living Nightmare 7. Full Satanic Power 8. Cursed Eternal 10. Debauchery
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX are proud to unveil the very first track, taken from the upcoming album ‘Banefyre’! The new full-length is set for worldwide release on September 09, 2022 via Season of Mist. The song “Blackout 77”, which is accompanied by a music video, is now streaming here:
Mastermind Justin Greaves comments on the track: “A story of when, just for a night, the underclass, the downtrodden, the subjugated and outcast, all exploded in a rage when the power in New York City went down. The tension of years of oppression and abuse was released. For one night the freaks made themselves known and fired arrows to the sky. Blackout 77 is one part of our Banefyre, The Musical journey. Fitting with the other tales and laments giving light to life’s outcasts, the freaks, the different.
Who’s laughing now?“
The album can be pre-saved on your favourite platform HERE.
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX previously 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.
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) [WATCH] 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
