Today, Hells Headbangers announces March 10th as the international release date for a brand-new EP from Genocidal Rites, Exsanguination of the Gods, on cassette tape format.
A new band helmed by old souls, Ohio’s Genocidal Rites have been waging war on the American Midwest the past couple years via a couple EPs and especially their mesmerizing live shows. Fittingly, Hells Headbangers makes a blood pact with the band on their home soil, with the first fruit being the new EP Exsanguination of the Gods.
No more but certainly no less, Exsanguination of the Gods is as concise of an introduction to Genocidal Rites as any. The feral frequencies across this three-song/nine-minute assault are indeed black, white, and red all over: the Ross Bay gods of war loom large here, as do paradigmatic Black Witchery and especially Proclamation. No progression and no compromise, Genocidal Rites proceed to lay waste with a blown-out, blackgrinding iteration of bestial metal that suggests plenty of perversion still to come. And Exsanguination of the Gods is but a foretaste of the band’s forthcoming debut album for Hells Headbangers…
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Of Genesis, Of Genocide” here:
Preorder info for Exsanguination of the Gods can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Genocidal Rites’ Exsanguination of the Gods 1. Of Genesis, Of Genocide 2. Abrahamic Annihilation in Complete Totality 3. Blackened Grasp of Humanity’s End
Today, Werewolf Records announces March 31st as the international release date for the surprise second album of Finland’sGrieve , Wolves of the Northern Moon, on CD format. The vinyl LP version will follow later this year.
It was but 2020 when Grieve emerged from the darkness with their self-titled debut EP. Although otherwise meant to exist strictly in that darkness, it was soon discerned that the band included veritable Finnish black metal royalty within its ranks. Nevertheless, the swiftly uncompromising nature of Grieve was felt: Northern Black Metal Exclusively From the 1990s. No more, no less, no progression, no fun.
And then, at the dawn of 2020 came Grieve‘s first – and, at the time, final – album. Aptly titled Funeral, the record was a fiercely focused one, solely featuring funereal marches by V-Khaoz and last rites by Werwolf. Beyond cold, utterly grim, violent and restrained simultaneously, Funeral was a record out of time, one where the last couple decades of “black metal” never existed. And then Grieve ceased to exist.
But, obeying only nature and will, Grieve have arisen from their own self-imposed grave with the second full-length Wolves of the Northern Moon. “We said we’d end the project for good, but we lied,” state the band about that grave. “We exhumed it.” Indeed, the exhumation also includes a nastiness last found on such Nordic classics as Kronet til konge, Pentagram, Til evighet…, or even Black Thrash Attack. Essentially, then, Grieve‘s ethics have not changed (nor should they have to), but one can nonetheless find here a pronounced asskicking sensibility that adds further antagonization to trendy ears as well as a noble march to mystical victories. “Eternal Winter, Eternal War”: These Wolves of the Northern Moon are on the hunt – and you’re next!
In the meantime, hear the previously revealed track “Deep in the Ice-Cold Mountains” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Grieve (Finland)’s Wolves of the Northern Moon 1. Wolves of the Wintermoon 2. Ancient Enemy of Life 3. Twilight Woods 4. Damnation Nocturne 5. Glacier 6. Deep in the Ice-Cold Mountains 7. Eternal Winter, Eternal War 8. The Dark Storm of Death
Today, True Vampyric Metal Punks Spiter reveal the new video “Foreshadow.” The track hails from the band’s acclaimed debut album, Bathe the Babe in Bats’ Blood, released last year by Hells Headbangers. See & hear Spiter‘s “Foreshadow” 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 for “Tortured Soul” HERE, “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
On April 24th internationally, Memento Mori in conspiracy with Rotted Life will release Pustilence‘s highly anticipated debut album, Beliefs of Dead Stargazers and Soothsayers, on CD and cassette tape/digital formats, respectively. Rotted Life will also release the vinyl version later in the year.
Hailing from Brisbane, Australia’s Pustilence formed in late 2018 and soon became a three-headed vermin that proudly brought forward mind-warping death metal madness of a most mid-’90s vintage. The band’s first public recording, 2020’s The Birth of the Beginning Before the Inception of the End, was a short & sweet 15-minute vortex of melted leads, impossible tempo changes, and truly putrid vocals. The EP suitably received various pressings by various labels, and showed Pustilence as worthy successors to the cult likes of Oppressor, Morta Skuld, Gutted, and Psychic Pawn.
Still, the best was yet to come, and now it arrives with their long-awaited full-length: Beliefs of Dead Stargazers and Soothsayers. With their lineup now expanded to a quartet, Pustilence proceed to obliterate past, present, and future. While bearing the same sturdy template as the preceding EP, Pustilence‘s debut album explodes and expands in every direction: leads are even more melted and madness-inducing, the tempo changes are crazier and more slamming, the vocals gurgle with supernatural clarity, and their songwriting on the whole bristles with an excitement and electricity that’s rare these days. Granted, it’s staunchly and unapologetically DEATH METAL – and those very same cult names are still invoked – but Pustilence put just the right amount of uniqueness to their dread creations that makes the whole 11-song/46-minute work plausible and reverential. Further, the band more fully flesh out their fantastical and obscured lyrical themes, bringing form and content together with alchemical ease. Which is to say nothing of the absolutely amazing production here: CRUSHING yet clear, each instrument rendered in 3D tones but never sacrificing the inherent rawness of true human performance. No typewriter or popcorn bullshit here – just classic, effortlessly old-school death metal that adds to the glorious tradition rather than lazily picks at its bones.
From caveman breakdowns to rude angularity, haunting half-melodies to blunt force trauma, Pustilence prepare to take the death metal underground by literal storm with Beliefs of Dead Stargazers and Soothsayers.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Outwith the Plains of Ultimatum” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Pustilence’s Beliefs of Dead Stargazers and Soothsayers CAPITULUM CUPIDITAS I. Aspirants of Intemperance II. Profound Assiduity III. Concupiscence
CAPITULUM COGNITIO IV. Iliad to the Contorted Apprehension V. Outwith the Plains of Ultimatum VI. Procured Propensities VII. Pishogue Thaumaturge
CAPITULUM VICTORUM VIII. An Ode to the Eyes That Are Yellow IX. Demiurge Divertissement X. Extirpated Conquest XI. Testament of Disarray
On March 31st internationally, Invictus Productions in conspiracy with The Ajna Offensive are proud to present the LONG-awaited fifth album of Sweden’s Unpure, Prophecies Ablaze.
Sweden’s Unpure are the very definition of a CULT band. Formed in that fateful year of 1991, the band spread their black-leather wings across three demos before the momentous release of their self-titled debut album in 1995. A quiet classic that built in stature over the years to come, Unpure followed up the elevated primitivism of Unpure with three more albums over the next decade – a patience pace, yes, and a further refinement of their jet-black metal into something thrashier or at least more speed metalled but something truly Unpure. No “party blackthrash” here: always, the iron fist of vocalist/bassist Kolgrim guided their muse into occult waters, tastefully and trend-free. However, those waters largely stayed dormant aside from infrequent gigs, following the release of 2004’s World Collapse, with only a couple new songs arriving on a retrospective compilation…but the legend of Unpure continue to grow with each successive generation.
Now, Unpure are prepared to scale the throne that’s rightfully theirs with their long-awaited comeback album, Prophecies Ablaze. Although both men have been in the lineup since 2011, Unpure‘s fifth album marks the recorded arrival of two new guitarists, Watain’s Pelle Forsberg and Degial’s Hampus Eriksson, as well as erstwhile Degial drummer Emil Svensson (who joined the band in 2019), and their fire is immediately felt: Prophecies Ablaze is indeed aptly titled, for the intensity is sharp and seething and very much burning. A black/death conflagration as it were, Unpure‘s attack is upratcheted to an enviable degree, very much sounding like the same band that stoked legions for the past three decades but one that more so sounds impossibly incensed and almost youthful. Credit that to a seamless melding of songwriting and execution, where the former races with both grandeur and grime while the latter exudes lawless abandon and stoic clarity alike, altogether displaying a muscular brand of black METAL that’s as timeless as ever. And mention must be made of the production across Prophecies Ablaze: “razor-sharp” might be a meaningless cliche by now, but this recording’s razors are deadly precise and absolutely bloody!
No other words needed: Unpure have returned, and Prophecies Ablaze is every inch the record they needed to return with. With eyes to the sky and hearts inflamed, prepare for the benediction of classic Swedish darkness!
Begin preparations with the brand-new track “Northern Sea Madness” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Unpure (Sweden)’s Prophecies Ablaze 1. Megalithic Gateways 2. Northern Sea Madness 3. Small Crooked Bones 4. The Witch Of Upsala 5. Beyond the Nightmares 6. His Wrath and the Red Soil 7. Prophecies Ablaze 8. Endtime Dictator
Today, heavy metal outsiders Old Spirit stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, Burning in Heaven. Set for international release on February 24th via Bright as Night Records, hear Old Spirit’s Burning in Heaven in its entirety exclusively here:
Unveiled at the dawn of 2022 with a self-titled album, Old Spirit was a new creation of Jason Hartman, renown for Svart recording artists Vanishing Kids as well as being a frequent collaborator with Jex Thoth. By and large a solo effort, Old Spirit indeed lived up to its moniker with a wild ‘n’ weird amalgamation of elder heavy metal and hard rock tropes, all done with Hartman’s characteristically lysergic sensibilities.
Feverish in his creativity – and lest we forget the concurrently revealed Night Eyez, who made its recorded debut a month later with an also-self-titled debut for Bright as Night – Old Spirit returns with another new full-length, evocatively titled Burning in Heaven. With a title such as that, it’s no surprise that Hartman turns a darker page here – and then proceeds to singe the edges of that page with delirious, devilish delight. Immediately, the record sounds like Old Spirit – classic heavy metal torched with the fractal gaze of psychedelia, with RIFFS fully front and center – but dive deeper into Burning in Heaven and the landscape becomes weirder and heavier. Warped chunks of thrash and doom get thrown into Hartman’s cauldron, and then are stirred with electronic seasoning just as the edges of perception; early death metal even makes an appearance here, likewise warped to fuck. Lyrically, the concepts across the album range from pro-spirituality / anti-religion to climate issues and urgencies to take care of our planet as well as ourselves. Suitably, Hartman’s vocals take on a sometimes-sinister gravitas, while elsewhere, he’s his characteristically crooked self that somehow sounds like an ancient wizard and rock god simultaneously.
Slow burn or scorched earth? Burning in Heaven offers many questions, and the riddle continues with a musical amalgam that includes Celtic Frost, Mercyful Fate, and Arthur Brown – Obituary, Trouble, and Hawkwind. How will you answer the Old Spirit?
Preorder info can be found HERE at Old Spirit‘s Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Old Spirit’s Burning in Heaven 1. Burning In Heaven 2. Dim Aura 3. Ash 4. Fallacy 5. When The Spirit Slips Away 6. Angel Blood 7. Bleak Chapel 8. In Dismay
On April 21st internationally, III Damnation Productions is proud to present Heretic Cult Redeemer‘s highly anticipated third album, Flagellum Universalis, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
Formed in 2009, Heretic Cult Redeemer was created in Athens by Funus (ex-Acrimonious), D, and T. A few months later, V (ex-Embrace of Thorns, ex-Acrimonious) joined the band with the aim to record their debut album, the self-titled Heretic Cult Redeemer, which was released in 2013. V left the band, and C. Docre (Acrimonious) and N3, completing the lineup Heretic Cult Redeemer‘s eventual second album, Kelevsma, released in 2018.
Never ones to rush nor adopt half-measures, Heretic Cult Redeemer have completed their third album, Flagellum Universalis, which features the lineup of vocalist/bassist Funus, guitarist/bassist Tempest, guitarist N3, and drummer C. Docre. Undoubtedly the band’s best lineup yet, suitably do they deliver their strongest recorded statement yet in Flagellum Univerisalis. Nearing a full hour in length, the album is literally MASSIVE as well as ceremonial, invoking a new era for Heretic Cult Redeemer as well as reinvigoration of orthodox/religious-style black metal. Never forgetting their more death metalled roots, the band’s gnawing & gnarly epics feature as much brawn as brain as they spiral outward from an ominous core.
With form meeting content, the lyrics to the nine-song Flagellum Universalis are indeed heady. The concept of record plunges into the paths of the primeval human urge of opposition to law and structure; it is a profound spiritual and philosophical journey towards Eosphoric self-knowledge. Heretic Cult Redeemer consider themselves as the means, harbingers, and vessels of Luciferian and Promethean teachings, as expressed through the frenzy, of the touch of Echidna.
To date, Heretic Cult Redeemer‘s catalog has been of sterling quality if not unheralded. However, the Greeks’ boldest steps – their first foray into the halls of greatness – now come with Flagellum Universalis. Behold, and redeem thyself!
Begin redemption with the brand-new track “Intoxication Divine” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Heretic Cult Redeemer’s Flagellum Universalis 1. Lunar Reign – Lunar Apogee 2. Intoxication Divine 3. Ascending Perfection 4. Lapsit Exillis 5. The Woven Chords of Ecstasy 6. Grave Sophia – Breath of the Night 7. Eye of the Saturnian Dawn 8. Primeval Cognition I 9. Primeval Cognition II
Setting the stage for the end of days, Untouchable Faith Decay is a concept piece that takes place in a pre-post-apocalyptic setting, where implant tech went overboard hundreds of years prior and fused with our DNA causing ghastly “upgrades” to the human experience. If you have less than 8 eyes, you are considered unclean, untouchable.
“Stop trying so hard, let reality wash over you like a fresh acid shower,” project architect Andrew Stromstad (BOX) muses as the analog for the decay of existence takes shape. This project is a single take, wherein Andrew is “letting the entirety of what I am capable of doing fall out in an instant without any retakes.”
Untouchable Faith Decay is musically and thematically a journey through decay and depravity, one of perpetual solitude and aching hopelessness, driven straight into the heart of who we are. This is cheerless music for sunless days.
Today, Babylon Doom Cult Records announces April 14th as the international release date for Witte Wieven‘s highly anticipated debut album, Dwaallicht, on vinyl LP format.
Dense atmospheres luring the ones that hear. Finding your way in intensity, sometimes threatening and lost. The path seems clear, but stick to it too long and the path is what makes you lost. Witte Wieven weave such sonic spells with alchemical ease.
Since their formation in 2014, Witte Wieven have been patiently perfecting their sound, first with the Silhouettes of an Imprisoned Mind EP in 2016 and then their split with Reiziger, Vlucht, in 2018. A blend of dissonance, dreamy landscapes, and alternately grooving/gnarly riffs, the duo of C. (guitar, vocals) and S. (drums) try to find their way through the echoes of creating. But the recorded experience is not only side to Witte Wieven: the band made their live debut at Roadburn 2019, accompanied by W. Damiaen (Laster) on guitar and Dave (Gott, Ggu:ll) on bass guitar. By and large, that esteemed performance introduced this apparition to the wider world, but now it’s set to fly farther and freer…
At last: Witte Wieven‘s debut album, Dwaallicht. Both a summation and extension of their prior short-lengths, the six-song/42-minute Dwaallicht lays bare a stark-yet-sumptuous canvas of shimmering black metal and delirious doom, threaded together with the subtly unfolding dynamics of the best post-rock. It’s at once an incredibly physical experience and one that’s ghostly and atmospheric, its ripples of shadowy sound revealing everything and nothing simultaneously; one must possess the fortitude to peer deeply into their abyss to see the full fathom of emotions and sensations lurking down there. One minute compared to the other might suggest combative contrasts, but each minute is as crucial as the last as well as the next: with songs at their briefest being five minutes and stretching all the way to ten, the journey itself is arguably more important then the destination. Put another way, Witte Wieven are like the beings that lurk in the mist – a pretty sight, but with a tempting, dangerous darkness. And Dwaallicht‘s landscape seemingly stretches infinitely…
Begin viewing that landscape with the brand-new track “Drogbeeld” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Witte Wieven’s Dwaallicht 1. Ontsponnen uit de diepte [7:34] 2. Koorddanser [5:38] 3. Drogbeeld [8:42] 4. Het mistige zicht [5:08] 5. Kringen 5:09] 6. Met beide benen in het niets (Live) [9:10]
Death metal crushers DEFILED are now announcing the release of their new full length “The Highest Level”! The album will drop worldwide on the 28th of April, 2023 via Season of Mist.The band proudly share the cover artwork, title track and track list down below.
In celebration of this news, DEFILED is treating us with the release of their track ‘Off-Limits’, together with a fitting music video, which can be viewed here:
The band comments: “Hello everyone, what’s up! This is Yusuke from Defiled. We’re very happy to unveil an announcement of our upcoming album “The Highest Level”. First of all, please take a look at our PV “”Off-Limits”” It’s the first track of the album and it’s a very straightforward tune for headbanging. If you like it, stay tuned for our new album. We think it won’t disappoint you. Thank you very much.”
Track-list: 1. Off-limits (02:35) WATCH HERE 2. Stealth (03:11) 3. The Highest Level (03:17) 4. Entrapped (03:16) 5. The Status Quo (02:32) 6. Warmonger (02:37) 7. Demonization (03:29) 8. Inquisition (03:39) 9. Madness Accelerated (02:11) 10. Delusion (02:54) 11. Only the Strongest Survive (02:54) 12. Red World (04:06) 13. The Last Straw (03:25) 14. Requiem (02:43) 15. The Speech (00:36) Total (43:17)
When it comes to straight-forward, bone-crushing death metal, Tokyo’s DEFILED delivers! ‘The Highest Level’ stays true to the traditional death metal formula, while the band’s gritty songwriting approach lends to its authenticity. DEFILED attempts to make no frills with this new full-length, instead speaking directly to the sensibility of old school death metal fanatics who are simply looking for some face-melting violence!
The early 90s was a crucial and formative time for death metal, a genre that started to predominantly emerge in the west with bands like Decide, Cannibal Corpse, Autopsy, Obituary, and Morbid Angel having a stronghold on America while Entombed, Cadaver, Carcass, and many others started to make waves in Europe and the U.K. But across the vast Pacific Ocean, DEFILED was taking a cue from its peers and became one of Asia’s leading purveyors during the genre’s early inception.
Upon releasing a series of demos and EPs during the mid-90s, the Japanese powerhouse finally released its first full-length, ‘Erupted Wrath,’ via Nightfall Records. Upon its release, the band broke out of Asia and started to make its debut in America across the extreme metal fest circuit – performing twice at Milwaukee Metal Fest as well as appearing at November to Dismember in Texas.
The band kept busy during the turn of the century while continuing to build their profile and dominate metal audiences around the globe and by 2003, they formed a union with Season of Mist, where the band has become one of the label’s most consistent death metal mainstays. Since then, the band has released six full-length albums, the majority of which are under the Season of Mist banner.
As the band celebrates thirty years since its legacy was formed, they are ready to unleash another pummelling offering onto the masses. ‘The Highest Level’ still carries the same time-tested formula that Defiled established three decades ago, remaining true to their identity, and still carrying the torch as one of the genre’s founding fathers.
