Today, Austrian black metallers Anomalie stream the entirety of their highly anticipated fifth album, Riverchild. Set for international release on November 1st via AOP Records, hear Anomalie‘s Riverchild in its entirety here:
Authenticity. Creativity. Passion. Since 2011, the fundament of Anomalie lies within the boundless will to surpass the past by constantly evolving those intense soundscapes that became the trademark of this Austrian collective led by multi-instrumentalist Marrok, also known for his live duties for Harakiri for the Sky.
To simply characterize Anomalie as “atmospheric black metal” greatly misses the point. Granted, black metal will always serve as firm foundation for the band’s sound, but as brazenly broadcast by the title of 2021’s full-length Transformation, Anomalie are always evolving, always moving – in all senses of the word – and every record is as surprising in its approach as it is dependable in Marrok’s delivery. Dynamic and devastating, heavy in both physical and emotional heft, atmosphere painted in myriad colors (but, naturally, with plenty of black) – Anomalie are as much of a flagship band for AOP Records as Marrok’s live employers.
So comes Anomalie‘s fifth full-length, bearing the mysterious title of Riverchild. Born and raised along the rural shores of the Danube River, the element of water has always had a shaping impact on Marrok’s perception of nature and life in general. Throughout Riverchild, he drew a musical portrait of an entity still present around this immense stream which had always nurtured and taken lives equally, a force able of spending hope and wisdom but also possessing the strength and wrath to destroy and destruct.
Comparable to the multiple faces of a colossal river like the Danube, Anomalie‘s musical direction on Riverchild provides a diverse range of facets, taking the listener on a journey full of profound and honest emotions expressed through aggressive outbursts of pure black metal dissonance as well as fragile moments of introspective calmness. Anomalie once again asks for focus and patience, but offers a wider range of rewarding layers than ever before!
Cover artwork, courtesy of Misanthropic Art Illustrations, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Anomalie’s Riverchild 1. Mother Of Stars 2. An Unvorgiving Tide 3. Perpetual Twilight 4. Heart To Beat 5. Awakening 6. Riverchild 7. Among Shadows 8. A Cosmic Truth 9. Thoughts
Step into the shadows and embrace the light with CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX, as they unveil their latest single, 444. A phoenix rises anew from the embers of past creation, reaching deep into the human condition with an updated message – fresh but faithful to its original form.
Since its inception in 2004 by the visionary Justin Greaves, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX has been a lighthouse for those adrift in the stormy seas of silence. With their upcoming double album The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature alongside Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2), the band marks a pilgrimage spanning nearly two decades of defiant artistry and soul-searching sounds.
444 emerges as an emblematic dirge from their prolific catalog, re-imagined and reborn. With lyrics renewed for the spirit of today, and music echoing the haunting melodies of its live renditions, this single resonates with the raw and refined essence that characterizes CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX‘s journey.
Listen to 444 here:
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature An album which exhumes and resurrects their buried treasures, reworking and re-recording iconic tracks that have weathered the storms of time. These anthems – imbued with the rawness of old friends and new allies – surge with renewed vigor, challenging the very essence of complacency. Anthem such as We Forgotten Who We Are or the lead single Goodnight, Europe, completely re-imagined.
Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) An albums which serves as a dark homage to the musical titans who ignited their spirit, with visceral covers that explode into life. With tracks like the searing rendition of New Model Army’s Vengeance and the haunting introspection of Laura Branigan’s Self Control, this album is a collection of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX‘s masterful rendition of classic songs which have inspired them over the years.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature + Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) is out November 29 on Season of Mist.
Tracklist: 1. We Forgotten Who We Are (11:17) 2. You Put The Devil In Me (6:18) 3. 444 (7:23) [LISTEN] 4. Goodnight, Europe (Pt2) (8:37) [WATCH] 5. (-) (4:39) 6. Song For The Unloved (14:22) 7. Whissendine (6:58) 8. Blizzard Of Horned Cats (4:43) Total runtime: 1:04:21
Tracklist: 1. Vengeance (4:16) 2. Self Control (5:23) [LISTEN] 3. Blueprint (4:03) 4. And That’s Sad (6:52) 5. Hammer Song (4:52) 6. When A Blind Man Cries (3:22) 7. My Pal (3:51) 8. Goin’ Against Your Mind (8:53) Total runtime: 41:36
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.”
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature & Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are a double album celebrating the 20 year existence of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX.
Original Credits: All tracks on Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are covers of various artists.
Vengeance Originally recorded by New Model Army, Written by: Sullivan/Morrow
Self Control Originally recorded by Laura Branigan, Written by: Giancarlo Bigazzi, Raffaele Riefoli, Steve Piccolo
Blueprint Originally recorded by Fugazi, Written by: Canty, Lilly, MacKaye, Picciotto
And That’s Sad Originally recorded by NoMeansNo, Written by: NoMeansNo
Hammer Song Originally recorded by Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Written by Alex Harvey
When A Blind Man Cries Originally recorded by Deep Purple, Written by: Gillan, Glover, Blackmore, Lord, Paice
My Pal Originally recorded by God, Written by: God, Joel Silbersher)
Goin’ Against Your Mind Originally recorded by Built To Spill, Written by: Doug Martsch, Jim Roth, Brett Nelson, Scott Plouf
Self Control Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Baritone Guitar Helen Stanley – Synth Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Blueprint Ryan Patterson – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Helen Stanley – Piano Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
And That’s Sad Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Vocals Wesley Wasley – Bass, Vocals
Hammer Song Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitar, Acoustic guitar Helen Stanley – Synth, Hammond Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
When A Blind Man Cries Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves, Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitars Helen Stanley – Piano Kostas Panagiotou – Hammond Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
My Pal Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Backing Vocals Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Goin’ Against Your Mind Justin Storms – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitar Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Recorded in 2023 at: Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire Engineered by Pieter Rietkerk
Additional Vocal Sessions at: Kapsylen Studio, Stockholm Engineered by Jörgen Jugglo Wall. House Of Foto, Louisville, KY Engineered by Ryan Patterson
Additional Production Credits: Mixed by Pieter Rietkerk Mastered by Magnus Lindberg Produced by Justin Greaves
Today, Australian black-doom deviants Tyrannic premiere the new track “Tyrannic Desolation”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated third album, Tyrannic Desolation, set for international release on November 22nd via Iron Bonehead Productions. Hear Tyrannic‘s title track “Tyrannic Desolation” in its entirety here:
Since their formation in 2010, Australia’s Tyrannic have been a steady study in sonic defiance. The band’s earliest demo and split recordings were largely the work of one Tyrannic Deluge, but by the time of their debut album, 2018’s Ethereal Sepulchre,Tyrannic expanded their lineup and also expounded upon the primitivist origins of their sound. Aptly titled, Ethereal Sepulchre was a foggy ‘n’ frightening statement of eerie blackened doom – or perhaps DOOMED BLACK? Either way, the trio tread upon the slimy foundation laid out by their forebears but also evinced a red-eyed personality all their own. That identity has fully come to fruition with Tyrannic‘s second album, Mortuus Decadence, released in 2021 by Iron Bonehead. Somehow more immediate and distant simultaneously, the Aussies’ second full-length flayed sanity with its ever-tumultuous and -twisting songwriting, instilling utter unease in even the hardiest listener.
Now back to a power-trio, Tyrannic continue the chaos-harnessed trajectory of its predecessor with their third album, Tyrannic Desolation. Aptly titled, there are indeed many moments of desolation across the eight-song / 48-minute record; while one could liken them to “doom” in its most skeletal sense, those moments stomp down and ring out with seemingly random rancor, as if the players had pushed their primitive pulse to its limit and then tumble to a rumbling plod. But, such usage simply underlines the very madness running rampant across Tyrannic Desolation. Taking treacherous turns as often as they left a bestial burst run uncomfortably long, Tyrannic take demonic pleasure in the seemingly scattershot songwriting they employ. And just like Mortuus Decadence, A LOT happens across Tyrannic Desolation – and those endlessly rolling / roiling screeds of physicality continue to mutate in a manner most bizarre. If anything, Tyrannic Desolation by comparison imparts a greater sense of space and then hammers away any last vestige of “hook” or riff or whatever…and somehow, it eerily beckons further investigation, especially when faced with the vampiric-castle soloing found on “Dance On Graves Chained to the Labyrinth.” Again, MADNESS.
With their third full-length, Tyrannic prove that these idiosyncrasies are no mere fluke, and the wild & weird terrain trod by the likes of old Samael, early Celtic Frost / Hellhammer, Hungary’s Tormentor, Beherit, Brazilian iconoclasts like Impurity and Sextrash, or even very earliest Mayhem is very much also theirs. More cracked, more broken, more thirsty & miserable: this is Tyrannic Desolation!
Also hear the previously revealed “Prophetic Eyes of Glass” HERE at Iron Bonehead‘s Soundcloud. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Tyrannic’s Tyrannic Desolation 1. Prophetic Eyes of Glass 2. Tyrannic Desolation 3. Only Death Can Speak My Name 4. Impaled Before Your Mirror of Fate 5. Stillbirth In Still Life 6. Dance On Graves Chained To the Labyrinth 7. Incubus Incarnate 8. Morbid Sanctum
Today, New York death metallers Festergore premiere the new track “Glass Casket”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Constellation of Endless Blight, set for international release November 29th via Personal Records on CD format; Iron Fortress Records will be handling the cassette tape version. Hear Festergore‘s “Glass Casket” in its entirety here:
Festergore is a death metal act formed in 2021, coming from the slums of Staten Island, New York. While maintaining their own unique “Deadass Death Metal” sound, Festergore‘s influences stem from such legendary bands as Autopsy, Demolition Hammer, and Morbid Angel. In suspense, after a trio of short-length releases, Festergore have returned to the Kozmos with a full-length, Constellation of Endless Blight.
As forecast by its classic-style cover art, Festergore‘s debut album positively screams – authentically – the early ’90s. Indeed, every element of Constellation of Endless Blight – not just artwork, but also production, execution, and especially songwriting – combine into a masterclass of American death metal that variously nods to the aforementioned Morbid Angel but also contemporaneous Immolation, Malevolent Creation, Suffocation, Monstrosity, and Deicide. Sharp and surging, Festergore‘s nine songs here walk a taut line between labyrinthine and linear, with a dark ‘n’ doom-soaked atmosphere adding a pallor of gloom to their tendrilous death metal. What’s more, the feeling of filth coats every crevasse of the album, even with the production being so era-authentic polished. From slipstreaming speed to brutal beatdown, Festergore cover every classic base, inducing blight and decay every step of the way. The Kozmos will be crushed by this Constellation of Endless Blight!
Also hear the previously revealed “Cryogenic Decay” HERE at Personal Records‘ Bandcamp. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Festergore’s Constellation of Endless Blight
1. Ironborn 2. Glass Casket (feat. Anthony Bramante) 3. SMA 4. The View From Halfway Down 5. Synchronizing the Kozmos part I 6. Surrender to Madness 7. Cryogenic Decay 8. Synchronizing the Kozmos part II 9. What Once Was Proud
Today, French death metal institution Mercyless stream the entirety of their highly anticipated eighth album, Those Who Reign Below. Set for international release on October 25th via Osmose Productions, hear Mercyless‘ Those Who Reign Below in its entirety here:
Those Who Reign Below is the eighth studio album of Mercyless in the purest tradition of old-school death metal, a work of musical impiety, a death metal as hateful as much as aggressive, switching imposing mid-tempos and demonic accelerations, sulphureous melodies and vocals straight from the Devil’s forge. An aura of evil surrounds each track, in a veritable debauchery of hate that gives the impression of having witnessed the manifestation of the Devil.
This album represents the extreme and uncompromising side of Mercyless, which has grown steadily over the years, in a blasphemous symphony inherited from the ’90s death metal scene.
The cover was designed by Mexican artist Nestor Avalos, whose talent represents all the darkness emanating from this album. The production was entrusted to Raph Henry of Heldscalla Studio, who sculpted a sound highly representative of the violence and anger of this extreme and irreligious music.
It’s a tribute to the underground, to the man who blends in with the crowd and takes on a presence so frightening that he’s so clearly recognizable… the Devil… on his throne, majestic and merciless!
Preorder info can be found HERE. Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Mercyless (France)’s Those Who Reign Below 1. Extreme Unction [5:24] 2. I Am Hell [4:03] 3. Evil Shall Come Upon You [3:59] 4. Phantoms Of Caïn [3:47] 5. Thy Resplendent Inferno [4:12] 6. Crown Of Blasphemy [4:55] 7. Prelude To Eternal Darkness [4:38] 8. Chaos Requiem [4:14] 9. Absurd Theatre [2:09] 10. Sanctus Deus Mortis [4:29] 11. Zechariah 3:1 [1:02]
Awaken, dear connoisseurs of cosmic horrors and celestial melodies. The grand architects of blackened mythos, THE GREAT OLD ONES, beckon you once more into the arcane and the infinite with their latest single, Me, The Dreamer. This hauntingly poetic prelude is the first offering from their impending album, Kadath.
Birthed from the shadowy mists of Bordeaux, France, THE GREAT OLD ONES masterfully weave the chilling narratives of H.P. Lovecraft into soundscapes of black metal brilliance. Their new album, Kadath, is a descent into the Dream Cycle of Lovecraftian lore, an odyssey through the realms that teeter between fantastical wonder and cosmic dread.
In Me, The Dreamer, we follow Randolph Carter on his quest to traverse the treacherous Dreamlands. The song, an intricate two-part masterpiece, unveils Carter’s yearning for the resplendent city prophesied in his dreams. But, as the divine gods of old would have it, his journey is barred by unspeakable perils and the promise of terrestrial and extraterrestrial fates intertwined. As Carter ventures into the eldritch territories, he inches closer to the edge of sanity, potentially meeting his doom on the shadowed side of the moon.
With Kadath, THE GREAT OLD ONES continue their commitment to evoking the unknown, the unseen, and the unconquerable in a symphony that dances on the brink of madness and serenity.
Watch the video for Me, the Dreamer here:
Kadathis out January 24th, 2025 on Season of Mist.
Tracklist:1. Me, the Dreamer (10:55) [WATCH] 2. Those from Ulthar (9:10) 3. In the Mouth of Madness (7:11) 4. Under the Sign of Koth (8:46) 5. The Gathering (Interlude) (1:19) 6. Leng (Instrumental) (15:00) 7. Astral Void (End of the Dream) (8:54) 8. Second Rendez-Vous (Bonus Track, Jean-Michael Jarre Cover) (11:32) Total runtime: 1:12:49
A name is whispered which chills the spine and quickens the pulse – THE GREAT OLD ONES. Like phantoms emerging from the fog, they have haunted the world of Lovecraftian Black Metal with their sonorous, foreboding melodies and eldritch tales. Descending once more into the abyss of H.P. Lovecraft’s enigmatic universe, they have unearthed their latest opus, Kadath – an album that promises to be a journey of both magnificent dreams and unspeakable horrors.
THE GREAT OLD ONES emerged in 2009 from the old parts of the ancient Aquitanian harbour city of Bordeaux, France, a city famed for its secrets and deep red wine. After releasing their first album, Al Azif, the reactions of critics and fans were unanimously positive.
The band followed up with their second full-length, Tekeli-li, which garnered even higher praise. As a result, THE GREAT OLD ONES played a show at the acclaimed Roadburn festival, opened for BEHEMOTH in their homeland, played at Hellfest, and supported label mates SHINING and DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT.
The third full length, EOD – A Tale of Dark Legacy, (2017) marked another big step in the band’s fast rising career. The five-piece took the road with the legendary GAAHLS WYRD and embarked on a successful European co-headline tour with AUÐN from Iceland. THE GREAT OLD ONES also appeared on the billing of respected festivals, such as Brutal Assault and Eindhoven Metal Meeting, in front of a gigantic crowd of cultists.
THE GREAT OLD ONES have been crafting sonic landscapes that echo with the cries of ancient, cosmic deities and the whispers of forgotten realms. Their discography masterfully showcasing the sheer power of atmosphere and narrative, and has guided listeners through the darkest corners of Lovecraft’s mythos, earning them a devoted following among both metal aficionados and acolytes of the macabre. With their unique blend of harrowing intensity and sombre beauty, they have captured the essence of the otherworldly, marrying it with the raw, blackened heart of metal.
Kadath marks a bold departure from the oceanic depths of the Cthulhu mythos, venturing instead into the Dreamlands. It is here that we follow the protagonist, Randolph Carter, as he seeks the fabled city that haunts his visions. The album resonates with his longing and determination, embodying the treacherous path he treads amidst the capricious gods and monstrous entities that dwell within this twilight realm. Through seven tracks, THE GREAT OLD ONES tortuously narrate Carter’s odyssey, transcending the boundaries of music to evoke a world where fantasy intertwines with terror.
Recorded under the vigilant eye of Francis Caste at Studio Sainte-Marthe, Paris, Kadath‘s production is nothing short of sorcerous. Each note and whispers are imbued with the power to transport the listener, offering an escape into an epic, immersive universe. Benjamin Guerry’s haunting vocals and guitars, alongside the mesmerizing contributions of Aurélien Edouard and Alexandre Rouleau on guitars, the deep resonance of Gregory Vouillat’s bass, and the relentless assault of Julian Deana’s drums, forge an album of unmatched emotional depth and technical prowess.
Thus, behold the latest chapter in their eldritch saga, Kadath – their unyielding quest to explore the outer margins of reality and imagination. An invitation to journey beyond the familiar, into a world of cosmic dread and awe-inspiring beauty, where the ancient gods still roam and dreams bleed into reality. Line-up: Benjamin Guerry – Guitars, Vocals Aurélien Edouard – Guitars Hugo Bernart – Guitars Gregory Vouillat – Bass Julian Deana – Drums
Recording Studio: Recorded at Studio Sainte-Marthe, Paris, France
Production Credits: Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Francis Caste at Studio Sainte-Marthe, Paris, France
Biography: The Great Old Ones, with additions by Sébastien Gamez
Today, Mexican black/death expats Nigrum premiere the new track “Ineffable Empire”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Blood Worship Extremism, set for international release on November 22nd via Iron Bonehead Productions. Hear Nigrum‘s “Ineffable Empire” in its entirety here:
In 2015, Nigrum was born from fire, from snake-infested tunnels and ravenous worship of death – there, where ancient stones are inspirited by bone-breaking and incessant ecstatic dances. From the mists of the central Mexican highlands and the pyramid temples of Quetzalcoatl that lie there came a turbid and sinuous path that took shape in the form of black metal.
After the first years of this journey, marked by hard strife constant changes, the cutting obsidian breeze of the Serpent brought Nigrum to Scandinavian shores. After laying the past to rest, Nigrum established themselves in the south of Sweden. They began with the recording of a three-track demo named Cremer Igne in 2020, which was released later that year. As that year was turning to an end, the band had its first live appearances in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany in its shifted shape after years of silence. The spiritual and creative processes that guided Nigrum culminated in, and were crowned by, the recording of their debut album. Titled Elevenfold Tail, this momentous birth truly announced the band’s arrival.
Still, deeper and darker energies lurked within, and so it comes to pass that Nigrum now unveil Blood Worship Extremism. Aptly titled, Blood Worship Extremism takes nearly every element of its full-length predecessor and intensifies ’em to an uncomfortable degree. Nigrum‘s attack is still clear and cutting in its cunning, but those hideous energies that always threaten to bubble over into hysteria are given free(r) reign across LP#2. On the surface, Blood Worship Extremism almost seems regressive by comparison. For one, the recording is rougher and rawer, exuding an authentically vintage sound circa 1998 demo tapes; lurk longer, and one will find that this soundfield ably benefits the band’s skills, as each instrument (the bass GUITAR, in particular) dazzles with devilish flourish. The songwriting, in kind, goes directly for the throat – immediately, unflinchingly – and at times overwhelms with its lack of decorum; lurk longer still, and that one will witness wholly organic atmospheric touches that waft upwards / downwards from Nigrum‘s cauldron without sacrificing any of that searing intensity. Even with all that intensity, cobwebbed melody continues to play a crucial part on their compass, which points to both North and South: no trendiness in either direction.
Elevenfold Tail may’ve surprised with its strike of the ritual dagger, but now Nigrum arrive unadorned and equally unannounced, that dagger already placed decisively in your hand. Here, Blood Worship Extremism begins…
Also hear the previously revealed “Splendor of the Old World” HERE at Iron Bonehead‘s Soundcloud. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Nigrum’s Blood Worship Extremism 1. Blood Worship Extremism 2. Ineffable Empire 3. Visions in the Dark 4. Where Mountains Collide 5. Telestic Gateways 6. Beneath Turquoise Waters 7. Splendor of the Old World 8. Murderer Dweller
Today, UK black metallers The Holy Flesh stream the entirety of their highly anticipated third album, Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer. Set for international release on October 25th via Caligari Records on cassette tape format, hear The Holy Flesh‘s Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer in its entirety here:
Formed in 2019 and making their public debut with the Caligari-released Emissary and Vessel, The Holy Flesh are arguably among the most unsung modern black metal bands around. Too technically developed and decently recorded for the raw & primitive crowd and too weird, indefinable, and underground for the more-normcore sector, mainman Entity nevertheless has built a tidy canon for himself with The Holy Flesh.
After last year’s digital-only Herald and Adversary, The Holy Flesh collaborate with Caligari again, this time for the band’s third full-length. Titled Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer, LP#3 sees Entity hitting the height of his powers. Still atmospheric and more than a bit cosmic, The Holy Flesh as heard here creates a spellbinding display of restlessly moving but impossibly fluid songwriting. The band’s black metal still maintains a stark and stripped-down approach, but Entity goes all out with a masterful layering of riffs and leads – one distorted and clanging, the other clean and soulful, or some combination thereof (the possibilities seem endless, and so is the reverberating sound) – that entwine around each other and then coil and recoil every which way, altogether mesmerizing and more than a bit melodic. In fact, the bulk of Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer moves at an almost-sashaying downtempo, alluring the listener with a come-hither conveyance and then hiccupping that approach to leave that listener always guessing what comes next. But, let it be known that The Holy Flesh deeply penetrate with their poignant (if not off-kilter) melodicism, underlining the fact that the emotional output trumps instrumental wizardry.
For those who raise a banner for Ved Buens Ende, ’90s Fleurety, and later Deathspell Omega and Drudkh, introduce yourself to The Holy Flesh with Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer!
Preorder info can be found HERE at Caligari‘s Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for The Holy Flesh’s Advocate, Martyr and Redeemer 1. Advocate I [5:31] 2. Advocate II [11:21] 3. Martyr I [7:30] 4. Martyr II [8:14] 5. Redeemer I [7:44] 6. Redeemer II [9:53]
Today, American black/death metallers Blasphemousstream the entirety of their highly anticipated fourth album, To Lay Siege and Conquer. Set for international release on October 25th via Adirondack Black Mass, hear Blasphemous‘s To Lay Siege and Conquer in its entirety here:
Philadelphia’s Blasphemous formed in 2003 with one intention: to write and record blackened death metal. A lot has changed in the past 21 years, but one thing has remained: the band’s sense of passion and willingness to persevere despite lineup changes, a hiatus, and the shifting of the music industry. Returning later this year with To Lay Siege and Conquer, their first LP since 2018, Blasphemous are a reminder that death and darkness will always prevail.
Led by founding member Ron “RK” Kaiser and steeped in influence from Morbid Angel, Deicide, Watain, Angelcorpse, and Immortal, Blasphemous have always been uncompromising in their approach to writing and recording. The band’s first incarnation released their first demo, Storm of Chaos, in 2005. Quickly establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with live and in the studio, BLASPHEMOUS released their first album, Incineration of the Cult, in 2008. They quickly followed it up with a second album, Bearer of the Darkest Plagues, but lineup instability brought things to a close in 2013…for a time. Feeling that there was more to be said, RK reformed Blasphemous in 2016, assembling a new lineup that included Engulf guitarist Hal Microutsicos, lead guitarist Steve Shreve, bassist Josh Guinter, and drummer Mark Vizza. Signing to Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, that lineup released the third Blasphemous album, Emerging Through Fire. It revealed a band more energized, more creative, and more ready for domination than ever before, leading to a number of short tours and one-off live performances.
Guinter departed the band and was replaced by bassist Dan Lee in 2020, during a time when live performances ceased. Forging ahead, Blasphemous wrote and recorded the Eternal Misanthropy EP, which saw release in 2022, supported by physical releases from Unchained Tapes and Born for Burning. With a solid foundation finally established, Blasphemous are once again prepared to make their mark on the underground when To Lay Siege and Conquer is released October 25th on Adirondack Black Mass.
Preorder can be found both HERE at Blasphemous‘ Bandcamp as well as HERE at Adirondack Black Mass‘ Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Blasphemous (USA)’s To Lay Siege and Conquer 1. To Lay Siege and Conquer [5:16] 2. Son of the Forsaken [4:22] 3. Martyr Complex [3:50] 4. Spiritual Enslavement [3:20] 5. Dead and Still [4:20] 6. Curse of the Witchchrist [4:25] 7. Neverborn [4:11]
DEFEATED SANITY Up the Punishment with Accelerating the Rot
Hear the new album from the legendary death metal band two weeks early by joining their Bandcamp Listening Party
“Defeated Sanity have captured the throne of brutal death metal…” – Angry Metal Guy
Ever since their maniacal mastermind picked up his first pair of sticks at the tender age of six, DEFEATED SANITY have found newly inventive ways to spin death metal on its deformed head. This band of technical headbangers have broken onto the Billboard charts with jazz-infused chaos and even recorded a proggy split with…themselves?
But on their upcoming seventh album, DEFEATED SANITY are returning to the brutal slamming that cemented their legacy. The latest single off Chronicles of Lunacy is still plenty twisted, but Accelerating the Rot now stands as one of the fastest songs in the band’s history.
Chronicles of Lunacycomes out November 22 on Season of Mist.
Over the past 30-odd years, many esteemed vocalists have cycled in and out of Defeated Sanity. However, after a satisfyingly gruesome performance on their last album, Josh Welshman is back for Chronicles of Lunacy. His foul emanations bring a refreshing air of continuity. “Each song on the album delves into a different form of mental corruption”, Welshman says.
The album’s lead single stunk of religious fanaticism, but “Accelerating the Rot” races like the mind of a vigilante whose idea of justice is more than a little warped. “One by one, I decimate the miasmic masses“, Welshman roars above a bass line that scrambles all over the fretboard like a blood-hungry tick.
When it comes to death metal, Defeated Sanity understand that there’s more than one way to deliver a beating. After all, the band’s mastermind is one of the world’s sickest drummers. Since his father’s passing in 2010, Lille Gruber has composed the bulk of their imposing discography.
“We love experimenting”, he explains. Even though “Accelerating the Rot” is just a few scraggly chin beard hairs over three minutes long, Gruber never stops switching between different blistering tempos. And yet – whether he’s blasting, pinging or flaying his snare, the song never loses its oddball bounce.
“Lille’s drumming is just ridiculous”, says bassist Jacob Schmidt. “He’s still the face of the franchise, so we’re never going to abandon those head-scratching moments that have always set Defeated Sanity apart”.
The band’s previous single crept and crawled into the album’s most slam-heavy breakdown. Thanks to its lurching groove, the breakdown on the latest single from Chronicles of Lunacy will still scrunch plenty of noses, but “Accelerating the Rot” punches the gas and heads straight for the loony bin. Their maniacal timekeeper is still working the controls, but the blinding pace is set by new guitarist Vaughn Stoffey, who chews through chunky shredding and squeals of dissonance with fresh fingers.
“Accelerating the Rot is one of the fastest songs in Defeated Sanity’s history”, Stoffey says. “It gets back to the sheer brutality that fans love about Psalms of the Moribund and Chapters of Repugnance“.
The video for “Accelerating the Rot” was created by Obscenery Films.
More praise for Defeated Sanity:
“One of the most extreme things I’ve ever heard” – Decibel
“A jazz ensemble hiding in plain sight as a brutal tech-death band” – No Clean Singing
“While the rest of us smooth-brained mortals are content with playing checkers or Connect Four, these guys are playing six simultaneous games of 3D chess with their swollen, pulsating minds” – Metal Sucks
“Should be up for some sort of award for being one of this offshoot’s most steadily morphing bands” – Last Rites
“Defeated Sanity’s brutality comes almost entirely from their demandingly intricate songwriting” – Toilet Over Hell
“Defeated Sanity has crafted a sound that is wholly their own” – Heaviest of Art
The underground lost their collective mind when DEFEATED SANITY announced Chronicles of Lunacy. Metalheads couldn’t wait to bang heads over the first pressing of their new album. Several of the color variants are already sold out, but anyone who missed out isn’t condemned to suffer in silence.
The second pressing of Chronicles of Lunacy is now available for pre-order. This pressing includes a translucent lime color variant that’s exclusive to the Season of Mist webstore. Don’t wait! This variant is limited to 150 copies.
Can’t wait for your pre-order? RSVP for Defeated Sanity’s upcoming Bandcamp Listening Party. Chat with the band and listen to all of Chronicles of Lunacy two weeks before the album comes out.
To celebrate Chronicles of Lunacy, DEFEATED SANITY are embarking on their first headlining tour of Europe since 2018. They’ll be performing songs off their brutal new album alongside Wisconsin’s Putrid Pile and To Violently Vomit, a tribute to Disgorge that features current and former members of the legendary brutal death metal band.
Iniquitous Savagery, Strangle Wire, Asylum and Embryonic Devourment round out the two legs of this stacked bill.
Defeated Sanity Chronicles of Lunacy 2025 European Tour 23 January – Wolfburg, DE @ Jugendhaus OST* 24 January – Hamburg, DE @ Bambi Galore* 25 January – Copenhagen, DK @ Temple of Doom* 26 January – Dyestad, SE @ Dyestads Bygata* 27 January – Stockholm, SE @ Kollektivet Livet* 28 January – Aalborg, DK @ Studenterhuset* 29 January – Tilburg, NL @ Hall of Fame* 30 January – Lille, FR @ The Black Lab* 31 January – Paris, FR @ Glazart* 1 February – Basel, CH @ Kaschemme Basel* 2 February – Milan, IT @ Slaughter Club* 3 February- Graz, AT @ Explosiv* 4 February – Vienna, AT @ Escape^ 5 February – Zagreb, HR @ Klub Močvara^ 6 February – Budapest, HU @ Dürer Kert^ 7 February – Belgrade, RS @ Dorcol Platz^ 8 February – Sofia, BG @ Oldskulls Club^ 9 February – Varna,BG @ Club Smile^ 10 February – Bucharest, RO @ Quantic^ 11 February – Cluj-Napoca, RO @ Flying Circus^ 12 February – Košice, SK @ Collosseum Club^ 13 February – Prague, CZ @ Modrá Vopice^ 14 February – Bielsko-Biala, PL @ Rudeboy Club^ 15 February – Berlin, DE @ Orwohaus^ * with Iniquitous Savagery, Strangle Wire ^ with Asylum, Embryonic Devourment
Tracklist: 1. Amputationsdrang (2:30) 2. The Odour Of Sanctity (3:36) [WATCH] 3. Accelerating The Rot (3:22) [WATCH] 4. Temporal Disintegration (5:52) [WATCH] 5. Extrinsically Enraged (4:09) 6. A Patriarchy Perverse (4:16) 7. Condemned to Vascular Famine (6:00) 8. Heredity Violated (3:48) Total runtime: 33:35
DEFEATED SANITY is unequivocally one of the most unique, boundary-pushing and crucial bands in the history of extreme death metal. Their music is as technically coherent as it is mind-bending and memorable. Endlessly replay-able and full of discovery, their maze of riffs and musical passages is inspired by infamous classic bands in the extreme metal genre, while also heavily steeped in jazz and progressive classical elements.
The band consists of four members. They’re led by drummer Lille Gruber, who’s the son of deceased co-founding member Wolfgang Teske. Gruber is joined by bandmates Jacob Schmidt (bass), Josh Welshman (vocals) and Vaughn Stoffey (guitar).
As well as being the drummer of Defeated Sanity, Gruber is the multi- instrumental, songwriting mastermind behind the band’s deep and compelling catalogue of songs and compositions. He possesses a bag of tricks seen nowhere else in the genre, and a musical prowess which is on full display throughout their new album Chronicles of Lunacy.
“We love experimenting”, explains drummer and founding member Lille Gruber. “But we realized that some of our oldest fans might have gotten lost after our last couple of albums. With the new one, we wanted to focus more on neck-snapping brutality”.
Chronicles of Lunacy punches you right in the face. Press play and “Amputationsdrang” already has you pinned to the mat beneath its non-stop blasts. Get comfortable, too, because Defeated Sanity don’t let the album up for air until the very end of Track 4. But turns out, acting like knuckle-dragging cavemen isn’t so easy for a band that has a Mensa-level maestro like Gruber at the controls.
At the tender age of six, Lille Gruber picked up heavy guitar and drums. Inspired by killer American BDM bands like Disgorge, Monstrosity and Brodequin, the German wunderkind recorded the band’s first demo alongside his father, Wolfgang Teske. Since Wolfgang’s passing in 2010, Gruber has taken on the bulk of the composing for Defeated Sanity. Whether he’s hammering his snare, pinging between cymbals or riding a colossal groove, The Chronicles of Lunacy flows like a never-ending stream of filth.
“Lille’s drumming is just ridiculous”, Jacob Schmidt says. Schmidt – who toured with Obscura behind Cosmogenesis – joined as the other half of Defeated Sanity’s chaotic rhythm section for the band’s beloved second album. His nimble, belching bass give the new album’s lead single “The Odour of Sanctity” a dizzying bounce. “He’s the face of the franchise, so we’re never going to abandon those head-scratching moments that set Defeated Sanity apart”.
Indeed, Chronicles of Lunacy isn’t Defeated Sanity for dummies. Heck, the lyrics are wrapped up in the twisted ways that delusions can rot the human psyche. This heady concept was made flesh by none other than Jon Zig. Drawn in painstaking detail by his wicked right hand, the album’s cover shows that the birth of some ideas look an awful lot like a gory and sex-crazed nativity scene.
“Each song on Chronicles deals with a different form of mental corruption”, Josh Welshman says”. “Odor” stinks of religious fanaticism. “A Patriarchy Perverse” cracks open the mind of co-ed killer Ed Kemper, while “Extrinsically Enraged” practically foams at the mouth with squealing hammer-ons. “That one’s more literal”, says Welshman with a hearty laugh. “It’s about contracting rabies”. If it weren’t for Disposal of the Dead / Dharmata, then Defeated Sanity would’ve chewed through as many vocalists as they have albums, but after a brutal showing on their last one, Welshman is back with more guttural vengeance. His growls ooze from the pit of his gut on “Temporal Disintegration”, stomped out like the innards of a cockroach by the gravity-defying slams.
While it still hits from every odd angle, Chronicles of Lunacy does draw a jagged red line back to Defeated Sanity’s brutal origins. After all, the band now share a label with their namesake. In true, DS fashion, the first song written for this album was “Heredity Violated”, a headbanging grand finale that never stops chugging. “This album isn’t as tough on the brain as the last two”, says new guitarist Vaughn Stoffey, whose chunky riffs whip “Accelerating the Rot” into the fastest song in the band’s canon. “It’s rawer and more straightforward, which gets back to what fans love about Psalms of the Moribund“.
To dig up the sheer brutality that long-time fans have come to crave, Defeated Sanity returned to Thousand Cave Studios. New York City’s most vile underground hotspot also served as the excavation site for the Billboard-charting The Sanguinary Impetus, which shoveled a fresh layer of dirt over the “polished” production of Passages into Deformity. But the band encouraged producer Colin Marston to get down and dirty with Chronicles of Lunacy. “We still wanted some of the high fidelity that you hear on modern death metal records”, Schmidt says, “but this album has the same crushing low-end as Psalms or Chapters of Repugnance“.
The band execute this two-headed approach to monstrous effect on “Condemned to Vascular Famine”. At just under six minutes, the song delivers the longest ass beating on Chronicles of Lunacy. At times, all four members sound like they’re climbing up the walls in separate asylums, but after slipping in a brief nod to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the band come slamming down into the album’s ugliest breakdown.
“That’s one of our favorites”, the band says. “It lands at a crossroad of the DS sound that we ended up with on Chronicles of Lunacy. Even though it gets pretty fucking weird at times, there’s still an emphasis on heavy, straight-up slamming”.
None of their albums are ever going to follow a straight line, but on Chronicles of Lunacy, Defeated Sanity return to sheer brutality.
Lineup: Josh Welshman – Vocals Vaughn Stoffey – Guitars Jacob Schmidt – Bass Lille Gruber – Drums
Guest Musicians: Danny Nelson & Paolo Paguntalan provide backup vocals on Amputationsdrang and Accelerating the Rot
Recording Studio: Thousand Caves Studio in January 2024.
Production: Recorded, mixed and mastered by Colin Marston. Produced by Colin Marston and Defeated Sanity.
Cover Art: Artwork by Jon Zig Title lettering by Liz Schmidt Layout by Alex Eckman-Lawn
