Today, French atmospheric black metallers Silhouette stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Les Retranchement. Set for international release on January 28th via Antiq, hear Silhouette‘s Les Retranchement in its entirety here:
Silhouette is a French black metal band based in Montpellier and created by Achlys in 2019. Initially conceived as a one-man band, the project then involved more musicians in order to develop a synergy between clean female vocals and traditional black and DSBM vocals.
Silhouette’s view reflects dreams and visions about distant people whose shapes and intentions will stay obscure forever. Through soul’s dooms and mist, Silhouette deals with topics such as lost ones, fantomatic shapes from which only fragments and souvenirs remain. The band proposes a journey between intense melodies, storms, and velvet lulls to depict the travel of the one who dares to explore the places and ghosts of their past.
Antiq is a label dedicated to the fully coherent concept of making music through sound, image, video, and attitude. They have been putting their entire existence into it since 2009. Over the years, Antiq have been identified as producers of not only perfectly coherent lyrics and themes through music, but also conceptual art and, of course, the manufacturing of beautiful objects. The label tries as much as it can to work with French creators, and if possible, with the smallest and most serious structures.
Cover artwork, courtesy of Lilas Dupont (Ondine), and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Silhouette’s Les Retranchement 1. Ascension 2. La Première Neige 3. Au Seuil de l’Oubli 4. Interlude 5. Les Retranchements 6. L’Etreinte de la Chute 7. Outro
In 2022, a year after the release of Kvitravn and as a prelude to the forthcoming and much anticipated live dates, Wardruna are presenting Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven. An immersive audio arrangement that underscores the experiential paradigm shift and masterful musicianship of their superlative and boundary-pushing virtual live experience First Flight of the White Raven of March 26th 2021. This new release captures their special set list consisting of songs from Kvitravn and a selection of favourites from the discography, and will be released on a 2LP, as well as 2CD that also features the original studio album track listing. To mark the event’s exceptional impact, it will also be available as a limited Boxset Edition including 2LP (black), 2CD, DVD with livestream performance and bonus documentary material and three videos (only available in the boxed set), flag of the CD album cover, certificate of authenticity for the box and an exclusive autographed card signed by Einar Selvik. Tracklisting and credits below
“Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven is an audio-visual ‘live-in-studio’ recording that was broadcasted online, as the release show of the Kvitravn album. It was recorded in a time when it was not allowed to perform in front of an audience, which made it very important for me that the recording itself truly captured the energy of a live performance. What you hear is what we performed in that moment in that room. No re-recordings or autotune was done in the afterwork. Just like for a regular concert, the set list was carefully put together with a selection of songs from all our albums, including a handful of songs from the new album, which we performed for the very first time. On the day of recording, we all stood together in the same room for the first time in over a year. Everyone came focused and well prepared and the energy felt like no time had passed. I hope you will agree!” – Einar Selvik
Wardruna are also sharing the track and virtual live performance video for “Solringen” about which Einar Selvik says; “Solringen is a song originally released on the album Runaljod – Yggdrasil (2013). Even though it quickly became a popular track amongst our listeners, it wasn’t until late 2019 we first got around to performing it live. When taking the song from the studio to the stage, I really felt it needed a slightly different approach, more specifically adapted for the concert format”
Selvik continues; “In earlier tradition the women of the household on a farm had the task of going out into the fields around midsummer and wake up the elves dwelling there with rhymes and songs to encourage them to ensure growth and good crops. These songs and traditions have now mostly passed into oblivion. The initial idea behind “Solringen” is that new songs might wake them once again.”
WATCH ‘SOLRINGEN – FIRST FLIGHT OF THE WHITE RAVEN LIVE VERSION’ BELOW
Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven – further format information:
-2CD & digital formats: Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven – including Kvitravn album plus the audio of Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven stream, mastered for CD and digital.
-2LP: Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven – including the audio of Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven stream, mastered for vinyl.
Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven audio track list (2022):
Synkverv (Turn-sight)
Kvitravn (White Raven)
Skugge (Shadow)
Grá (Grey)
Fylgjutal (Speech of the Fylgja)
Munin (Memory)
Kvit hjort (White Stag)
Viseveiding (Song-hunting)
Ni (Nine)
Vindavlarljod (Song of the wind-bred)
Andvevarljod (Song of the Spirit-weavers)
–
Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven track list for audio capture of the virtual live performance (2022):
Kvitravn
Skugge
Solringen
Bjarkan
Raido
Voluspá
Isa
UruR
Grá
Vindavlarljod
Rotlaust Tre Fell
Fehu
Helvegen
Wardruna’s UK tour commences in March. About the tour Einar comments “It has been more than two years since we last gave a performance in front of an audience. Needless to say, this long and unwanted hibernation has made us very excited to finally be able to realistically plan our return to the stage.”
Wardruna have carved a rich, polyphonic and dramatic musical landscape that honours the ancient past without gimmick, whilst simultaneously illuminating meaningful expressions of Norse tradition through intrinsically detailed contemporary composition.
While nothing is necessarily obvious with Wardruna, the years since 2009’s debut album Runaljod – gap var Ginnunga have seen increasing international success. Runaljod – Yggdrasil came in 2013 and was followed in 2016 by Runaljod – Ragnarok. The latter climbed to the top spot in America on Billboard’s World Music charts, and did so in Canada too. In 2018, the low key, live-in-the-studio Skald was released. For Wardruna’s fourth album, Einar had taken a similar approach to his solo shows with a stripped-back, intimate sound.
The combination of Einar’s deep knowledge – he has lectured in academic settings on the old Norse world and its music – and his hands-on approach attracted the attention of the creators of the History Channel’s TV series Vikings. From its second series, in 2014, Einar came on board as co-composer alongside the show’s main composer Trevor Morris and worked on the programme up to its fifth series, which aired in 2019. He even appeared on-screen in a couple of episodes.
Ever-busy, there was also 2016’s Skuggsjá – A Piece for Mind & Mirror where Einar and Ivar Bjørnson of Enslaved fashioned a chronicle of Norway for the anniversary of its constitution and, the next year, the intense Snake Pit Poetry release, credited as an Einar Selvik solo project.
Einar has contributed music for the official soundtrack of the game franchise Assassin’s Creed Valhalla® alongside the BAFTA Award-winning Danish composer Jesper Kyd (Assassin’s Creed, Ezio Trilogy) and American composer Sarah Schachner (Assassin’s Creed Origins), released worldwide on November 17, 2020 by Lakeshore Records in partnership with Ubisoft, followed by numerous collections of unreleased music and acoustic tracks from Einar Selvik in connection with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla® (also released by Lakeshore Records in partnership with Ubisoft) between November 2020 and December 2021.
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces March 25th as the international release date for Necromante‘s highly anticipated second album, XI, on CD and viny LP formats.
Formed in 2007, Necromante patiently stirred their cauldron of sound over the course of a couple demos, a mini-album, and a live album. Hailing from Brazil, within that cauldron, of course, can be found ancient ingredients like Sarcofago, Vulcano, Sextrash, Mystifier, and Impurity, but the power-trio finesse forth a sound that’s less focused on tempting the corners of chaos as it is conjuring an arcane, otherworldly aura – in that sense, not dissimilar to Impurity’s classic Into the Ritual Chamber. However, in 2017, Necromante released their debut album, The Magickal Presence of Occult Forces, through the auspices of Iron Bonehead and undeniably etched a unique name for themselves. Not for nothing was it titled The Magickal Presence of Occult Forces: raw and red-blooded yet utterly clear in its execution, the album swirled together martial blasts of bestial drums, sorcerous heavy metal leads, contrapuntal bass-work, and frequent interludes of eerie acoustics.
After nearly five years of eerie silence (a super-limited live tape was released after the debut album), Necromante return with their second full-length, XI. Immediately, it is felt: XI continues on from that celebrated first full-length AND spelunks in new dungeons altogether. For one, Necromante‘s instrumental prowess has tightened whilst remaining requisitely loose; this allows their ever-deepening grasp of dynamics to penetrate the soul as well as boil the tension to an intense degree during the album’s many hypnotic mid-tempo passages. To that, this subtly doomier aspect nods to ancient touchstones like classic Mortuary Drape, early Samael, and even touches of old deathrock; even with frequent yet well-timed bouts of violence, the aura of XI is funereal and more than a bit eerie. More than anything, Necromante have perfected their sound within clearly marked boundaries, but more importantly have brewed potions of strong songwriting that work magickally within those boundaries. In turn, the vision of XI appears boundless and brilliant – ancient, epic, and literally UNDERGROUND!
Erase the last 30 years of “underground” black metal and one might hypothetically find Necromante, working within a labyrinth of their own design, unmindful of the suffocating modernity around them. The arcane age bears the number XI!
The first number can be witnessed with the brand-new title track “XI (The Dark Night of the Soul)” here:
Tracklisting for Necromante’s XI 1. The Equinox of New Aeon 2. Lucifer Rising 3. Serpentine Fire 4. The Phoenix Glory 5. XI (The Dark Night of the Soul) 6. Pentacle of Fire 7. Necro Fire Angel 8. Sentence of the Dead 9. The Infernal Palace & the Red Death 10. The Venom Between Gods 11. Solve et Coagula-Astral Light to the Chaos
After nearly a decade of silence, French underground black metal band HELL MILITIA have now returned with a brand new album, titled ‘Hollow Void’. The first song of the new record is now streaming at the official Season of Mist Youtube Channel. Feast your ears upon“Dust of time” here:
The band’s new full-length will be released via Season of Mist Underground Activists on March 18. Pre-orders are available HERE. Pre-save the album HERE.
The band comments: “10 years have passed since the release of ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ and the more things change, the more things stay the same. “Dust of Time” is the first song to be presented and it is a diary of all events that took place in the years that have passed since. It is a summary of bitter days, unshakable religious faith, urban filth, decay, death worship and an extremely bitter aftertaste.”
The cover artwork was created by Manuel Tinnemans // Comaworx and can be found below, together with the tracklist.
Tracklist: 1. Lifeless Light (04:21) 2. Genesis Undone (04:22) 3. Dust of Time (05:47) 4. Within the Maze (04:09) 5. Hollow Void (04:57) 6. The Highest Fall (05:18) 7. Kingdoms Scorched (04:54) 8. Veneration (04:39) 9. Corruption Rejoice (05:50) Total: 0:44:17
Ten years have eclipsed since ‘Jacob’s Ladder’, HELL MILITIA’s last studio album. Black metal has wandered into unforeseen territory and simultaneously drifted back to its roots in that span, remaining entrenched as a polarizing but no less interesting force. Its increased visibility has become the carrot dangled in front of many bands seeking wider acceptance within the underground. But has also made it easier to identify the bands who, fundamentally, will forever uphold black metal’s venerable tenets of darkness and Satanism. Therefore, it is with little surprise that HELL MILITIA have risen to the occasion with their fourth long-player, ‘Hollow Void’.
HELL MILITIA’s absence can be explained through a mix of personal and intra-band turmoil. Line-up changes included members literally disappearing to the other side of the world. Vocalist RSDX went missing in action after his life took a dark turn. Side musical projects and new life endeavours eventually put the band on hold. But when HELL MILITIA (who are completed by guitarists Arkdaemon and Saroth, bassist S. and drummer Dave Terror) regrouped in 2018 for a few selected live shows, it helped lay the foundation for what would become ‘Hollow Void’.
As is now customary, the pandemic delayed the album’s recording. The band was rehearsing in Paris when global lockdowns began. And since some members of HELL MILITIA reside outside of France in Sweden and the Netherlands, it meant they had to wait out the first wave of the pandemic to start tracking later in 2020. HELL MILITIA eventually entered Studio Saint-Loup outside of Paris in the fall of 2020 to lay down drums. Additional instruments, vocals, and mix and mastering were conducted with producer/engineer BST at BST Studios through the summer and fall of 2021. According to RSDX, the tumult of recent years, the pandemic and real life’s comings-and-goings were perfect ammunition for ‘Hollow Void’’s creation.
“The whole recording process took longer than expected, but as life took its turn straight up until the vocal recordings, the timing was exactly what it needed to be,” he says “A lot of these experiences were included in the lyrics, giving an honest reflection of what was going on. Bitter days, unshakable religious faith, death, contempt for life, urban filth and an even more bitter aftertaste turned into the toxic cocktail we called ‘Hollow Void’. Still, the pent-up energy increased to a point it just had to explode. We put all that energy back into the album. Now that everything is recorded, we await the date we can unleash this on this world. We will keep the energy at this level until it’s time we can perform it.”
The resultant effort is perhaps HELL MILITIA’s most strident effort to date. The band’s orthodox, unrelenting approach is a broadside to the black metal scene at large. Dense chord swaths, a whirling barrage of blast-beats and RSDX’s nihilistic, scathing vocals coalesce into an album that exploits the true nature of black metal: Savage, unforgiving and grim.
“We wanted to make a much more aggressive approach this time,” confirms the vocalist. “A true-to-form, punch-in-the-face comeback album. We wanted to combine the dissonant riffs of ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ with the raw and filthy sound of our first album, ‘Canonisation of the Foul Spirit’ and include some new elements. I think we succeeded in this, as it is much more raw, aggressive, yet catchy and 100 percent recognizable as HELL MILITIA.”
The events of the last few years provided no shortage of lyrical topics for RSDX. The nihilistic, unforgiving concepts heard on the band’s previous full-lengths remain very much intact, albeit coming across far more prescient in a world on a fast-track toward its own demise. However, RSDX notes that his lyrics on ‘Hollow Void’ are a combination of him looking inward as well as outward toward a world that fills him with disgust
“The lyrics are the universe of HELL MILITIA, and at times, also a diary of all events of the last couple of years,” he says. “It is a summary of bitter days, fanatic unshakable religious faith, urban filth, decay, death worship and an extremely bitter aftertaste. It has traditional Satanism and a contempt for life at its very core.”
Indeed contempt, Satanism and a total disregard for human life have been the primary thread of HELL MILITIA’s musical output since they emerged on the scene in 2001 via the ‘SPK Kommando – We Hope You DIE’ split alongside fellow French black metal holdovers Antaeus, Eternal Majesty and Deviant. The band’s lauded and influential ‘Canonisation of the Foul Spirit’ would follow four years later, establishing HELL MILITIA as one of the leading purveyors of the 2000s French black metal wave. 2010’s ‘Last Station on the Road to Death’ and 2012’s ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ followed, bringing them even closer to black metal’s true, raw spirit. As evidenced by ‘Hollow Void’, the last ten years have done little to HELL MILITIA’s approach.
“We are still the old, bitter radical individuals whose masks are off,” closes RSDX. “What the scene does is of no concern or interest to us. We are in contact with bands and individuals we respect. The rest of the world can keep their watered down, non-ideological form of black metal. Black metal to us means the same as it did when the band was founded: A vessel of strong expression in music and ideology with unshakable faith at its very core. If a band doesn’t have that, it’s not black metal. I may approach life differently now that I’m in my 40s than when I was in my 20s, but the attitude and radical stand on what black metal should be has not changed.”
Today, Amor Fati Productions sets January 28th as the international release date for Det eviga leendet‘s highly anticipated second album, Reverence, on CD format. Digital and vinyl LP formats will be released by Mystískaos and Extraconscious Records, with distribution by Dissociative Visions.
Formed in 2015, Det eviga leendet is a gathering of individuals from scattered parts of Sweden and, more recently, the US. Although a discordant group of people, the foundation of the band stems from a collective will to explore concepts of expansive insular gloom. Aptly, the group has taken their name from Pär Lagerkvist’s 1920 writing about a large group of dead people who are stuck in the dark with nothing to do besides talk in order to pass eternity.
In 2022, from deep solitude, Det eviga leendet emerges again to conceive of a second record, Reverence, a work which acts more as an abject reflection of the time in which it was conceived than an embodiment of musical expression. Bleak and harsh, the approach further depicts total and infinite descent – one which we all experience, yet must endure alone.
In a time where all manner of charlatans gaze deeply into our eyes, haunting us, whittling away at our vertebrae to make us unfit to live, we look to the stars with a misty gaze, attempting to prophesy about how they are connected to us and our sick time. While we may grow to understand it better, knowing well the darkness that permeates only informs us of what lurks in the hearts of ourselves and others, it cannot cure it.
Since the release of Det eviga leendet’s debut LP, released in 2018 by Fallen Empire, Jacob Buczarski (Mare Cognitum) has joined the band and taken over the vocal duties on the sophomore album.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Retch” here:
Season of Mist is proud to announce the signing of cult black metal band DARKSPACE. The Swiss duo will re-release their entire back catalogue with reinterpretated artwork and a remaster for vinyl via the label later in 2022, while working on the outlines of ‘Dark Space III II’.
DARKSPACE was founded in 1999 in Bern (Switzerland). In two decades, five albums and EPs were released: Dark Space -I to Dark Space III I. The band rarely appeared live. In 2019, Zorgh quit while the band was awarded the Music Prize of the Canton of Bern for the creation of their soundscapes and their atmospheric performances. Since then, Wroth and Zhaaral have been working in pairs – in search of a third soul to complete the three again. Far on the horizon, outlines of Dark Space III II are emerging.
Today, Messor Grandis Productions announces March 25th as the international release date for Grand Harvest‘s highly anticipated debut album, Consummatum Est.
Consummatum Est contains nine tracks of versatile-yet-focused metal music. Moving freely between the borders of death metal, doom metal, and black metal, the band focuses on portaying atmospheric and ethereal sonic landscapes that, together with the lyrics, will summon emotions and profound thoughts to the mind of the listener. Pay extra attention to the esoteric aspects of the lyrics, which perfectly blend with the music and present the different vocal styles – and Luciferian/misanthropic mindset – of singer and lyricist Dr. Häll.
Once called “Sweden’s most underrated metal band” by the editor of Sweden Rock magazine, Grand Harvest show themselves worthy of further attention. The heavy riffs, the soaring melodies, and the sinister vocals on this debut album will convince you of that.
HISTORY Stemming from numerous previous bands and originating in Malmö, Sweden, early attempts in the form of various collaborations between F.S. (lead guitar), R.M. (drums), and Dr. Häll (vocals) were seeing the light of day, and the band eventually took permanent shape as Grand Harvest around 2016 following the addition of M.G. (guitars – R.I.P 1979-2018) and N.N. (bass guitar). In late 2018, A.L. stepped in to take over guitar duties after M.G.’s passing.
The band recorded a five-track EP in May 2018, although they decided to not release it and instead focus on further refining the material. Work on their debut album started in 2019, along with trying out the material in front of a live audience. This was notably picked up by Martin Carlsson, editor of Sweden Rock magazine (arguably, the biggest metal magazine in Sweden at the time), who mentioned them in a major Swedish podcast as “the most underrated Swedish metal band at the moment.”
Their debut album, Consummatum Est, is set to be released on March 25th. The album is mixed by Tore Stjerna at NBS/Necromorbus and promises to be one of the great metal releases of 2022. They are also heavily pursuing doing more live performances.
MUSICAL STYLE AND IDEOLOGYGrand Harvest aims to create dark and dismal doom-influenced death metal, with very clear ties to the past but with an additional heavy element and with darker subject matters. It is a true collective effort, with all band members contributing to the songwriting.
Dark and misanthropic death/doom metal with hints of black metal and with epic/atmospheric elements that together lift the music to a versatile and transcendental level, without losing focus. A steady mix of old-school primitivity, ethereal dreamscapes, and esoteric sermons.
The lyrics—stemming from the thoughts and revelations of singer and lyricist Dr. Häll—reflect a deep resentment of the misery and tyranny congenital to sentient Being in general, and humanity in particular. A Luciferian gnosis of Death, cast in the language of mystical eschatology, personal trials, and a peculiar brand of misanthropic empathy, led to a certain lyrical main theme: the blissful end of all things. The spirit and philosophy informing the lyrics permeate the very essence of the music and the perfect vessel to complete the entity that is Grand Harvest—a means to an end, the definitive end.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Fatehammer” here:
Cover artwork, courtesy of Misanthropic-Art, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Grand Harvest’s Consummatum Est 1. Sol Maledictor 2. The Harrow 3. No Paler a Horse 4. As the Vultures Descend 5. Crowns to Ashes – Thrones to Dust 6. My Desolate Sea 7. Fatehammer 8. In Memoriam – Magnus Invictus 9. Consummatum Est
Today, Finnish black metal elite Aegrus stream the entirety of their highly anticipated new EP, The Carnal Temples. Set for international release on January 28th via Osmose Productions, hear Aegrus‘ The Carnal Temples in its entirety here:
During the 16 years of their existence, Finland’s Aegrus have established their position as one of the high-quality names of black metal hailing from the land of a thousand lakes. The Carnal Temples EP contains four relentless tracks with killer riffs and stunning melodies while lyrics are dealing with pure Devil worship and occult topics. Clocking a total length of 26 minutes, this proficiently illustrated fierce attack is the one you don’t want to miss!
Preorder info can be found HERE at Osmose Productions‘ Bandcamp. Presave link can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Aegrus’ The Carnal Temples
1. The Carnal Temples [6:13] 2. In Death Rapture [6:32] 3. Moonlit Coffinspirit [6:04] 4. Flesh And Blood [6:57]
Norwegian metal legend ABBATH will release a brand new song and music video today. The track is taken from the band’s new opus ‘Dread Reaver’, which is set for release on March 25.
Check the premiere of “Dream Cull” here:
Pre-orders for ‘Dread Reaver’ are available in the Season of Mist shop HERE. Pre-save the album HERE.
ABBATH have also unveiled the album cover for ‘Dread Reaver’ which can be found below, together with the tracklist. The cover artwork was created by Bjørn Stian Bjoarvik and the photos were made by Francisco Munoz.
Tracklist: 1. Acid Haze (04:51) 2. Scarred Core (03:29) 3. Dream Cull (04:15) WATCH HERE 4. Myrmidon (04:33) 5. The Deep Unbound (04:05) 6. Septentrion (04:30) 7. Trapped Under Ice (03:59) 8. The Book of Breath (04:35) 9. Dread Reaver (04:43) 10. Make my day (04:16)
The ravens gaze ominously from above. The seas roar in anticipation. The mountains creak yet again. ABBATH’s remarkable new album, Dread Reaver, is upon us all. Two years in the making, ABBATH’s third full-length is the culmination of everything before it. A fusion of debut Abbath (2016) and follow-up Outstrider (2019), the aptly titled Dread Reaver extends its fantastical fangs outward and drives its cloven hooves onward. Indeed, there’s nothing like an ABBATH record. This is the darkest metal for epic journeys and ancient battles. Comprised of eight riveting tracks and a red-hot cover of METALLICA’s “Trapped Under Ice,” Dread Reaver shows ABBATH triumphing over all trials and tribulations, riding hard into merciless glory as the one and only “Lemmy of black metal.”
ABBATH was formed by Olve Eikemo (aka Abbath) in Bergen, Norway, in 2015. After splitting with vaunted extreme metallers IMMORTAL, the beguiling frontman and storied songwriter only had one path: ABBATH. Years before, he had proven that venturing out of the IMMORTAL constellation was not only plausible but doable with the I project, a short-lived, one-album (Between Two Worlds) band featuring notable musicians from IMMORTAL, ENSLAVED, and GORGOROTH. Indeed, once Eikemo was free of IMMORTAL’s ’s shackles, he was able to assemble a cadre of like-minded conspirators for his solo debut album, Abbath. So crucial was Abbath that the Norwegian Embassy in the UK ran a music/culture piece, while in Norway, the album was nominated for a Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy). Metal Hammer Germany even gonged Abbath with its Best Debut award. Follow-up album, Outstrider, was equally lauded. Billboard’s coverage sent shockwaves through the rock/metal scenes, while Kerrang! labelled it “dominating and creative,” awarding it 4Ks. Decibel also heaped praise on Outstrider, giving it the Best New Noise trophy. The new album Dread Reaver will yet again lionize ABBATH as leader of the frost-bitten pack.
Powered by Abbath’s creative musical imagination, Dread Reaver runs riotously out of the gate. The album’s edifice affords tracks like “Acid Haze,” “Scarred Core,” “The Deep Unbound,” and the album’s closing title track ample room to champion the extremes of black metal, heavy metal, and hard rock. While there are nods to NWOBHM greats, thrash metal’s luminaries, and black metal icons, Dread Reaver is unmistakably ABBATH. There is no other fingerprint. Paired with thought-provoking lyrics based on the historical figure of Othryades, ABBATH’s third album not only shouts exultant but reads like an ancient pyrrhic tale steeped in violence, sorrow, and grit. The idea of a Dread Reaver—a fearless duelist—can also be read as a metaphor for life’s actions and subsequent struggles. Be warned: Dread Reaver is ABBATH at his most menacing and accomplished.
Dread Reaver was produced by Endre Kirkesola, ABBATH, and Dag Erik Nygaard at Dub Studio in Kristiansand and Bergen Lydstudio, respectively. Kirkesola and Nygaard also engineered. Mixing was performed by ABBATH and Kirkesola, while the mastering was done by maestro Maor Appelbaum (FAITH NO MORE, ROB HALFORD) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in Los Angeles. The goal was to field a storming production that sat firmly at the crossroads of Abbath’s heroes KISS, MOTÖRHEAD, MANOWAR and BATHORY. From the anthemic thrust of opener “Acid Haze” and the epic pound of “Dream Cull” to the rampaging “The Book of Breath” and the wicked cover of METALLICA’s “Trapped Under Ice,” Dread Reaver sounds as massive as Norwegian mountain and as fiery as the depths of Hell. Truly, the recording line-up of Abbath (guitar, bass, vocals), Ukri Suvilehto (drums), Ole André Farstad (guitars), and Mia Wallace (bass) found their sonic muse. If “Ace of Spades” catapulted MOTÖRHEAD to fame and notoriety, then Dread Reaver will find ABBATH atop the metal’s gigantic heap, the spoils of icy blood, scorching sweat, and steely tears at his feet. As “Myrmidon” states, “Die with a smile, stare glassy-eyed up / At boiling skies! / Valkyries descend to gore-caked fen / Fallen warriors arise!” Lightning strikes thrice with ABBATH’s incredible Dread Reaver!
Recording line-up: Abbath – Guitar, bass & vocals Ukri Suvilehto – Drums Ole André Farstad – Lead & acoustic guitars Mia Wallace – Bass on Acid Haze, Scarred Core, The Deep Unbound & Dread Reaver
Recording studio: Recorded in Dub Studio / Additional recordings: Bergen Lydstudio
Producer / sound engineer: Endre Kirkesola / Dag Erik Nygaard Mixing studio and engineer: Abbath and Endre Kirkesola
Mastering studio / engineer: Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering – California – U.S.A
After the blackest night comes the most radiant dawn; the spark of life illuminates all that which was swallowed by shadows. “Fäghring” (Florescence) bears the gift of rebirth – both in nature and for Swedish folk metal band Bhleg. The fourth and closing part of the album tetralogy “Ár” is the most ambitious Bhleg recording to date. Its metal parts are saturated with both primal ferocity and majestic atmosphere. The ambient interludes from their early works are still here, but now conveyed mostly through analogue recordings. The sweeping, dreamy soundscapes are enhanced by a slew of unorthodox instruments, courtesy of S – who performs not only guitars and bass, but also lyre, hurdy-gurdy, mouth harp, keyboards, bullroarer, birch trumpet, as well as percussion such as frame drums, birch sticks, and stones. Besides the characteristic voice of Bhleg vocalist and lyricist L, “Fäghring” features various guest appearances with a range of singing styles rooted in Scandinavian folk-tradition such as Andreas Pettersson from Saiva, Êlea of Noêta, and Swedish author Lars Magnar Enoksen.
“Fäghring” will be released by Nordvis on April 1, 2022. Tracked and mixed using the band’s own recording setup, Studio Asu. Mastered by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studios. Both the CD and LP booklets have received a lot of attention, consisting entirely of custom photography as well as illustrations and calligraphy by T. Väänänen.
Bhleg, a Proto-Indo-European word for “to shine”, is an expression of life – its inherent essence and origin. It is also a musical manifestation of the long-running camaraderie between the involved musicians, S and L. The two met at age thirteen and soon found common ground in their mutual obsession for spirituality, nature worship, and folklore. That bond tightened further when the two realised they were born on the same day of the same year. Ever since, they’ve been virtually inseparable.
While recording their debut album, “Draumr Ást”, S and L had a shared experience of altered states of consciousness during which they envisioned “Ár”: an artistic interpretation of the four seasons. “Solarmegin” (2018) was a conceptual album about summer, explored from the perspective of Nordic animistic belief. “Äril” (2019) and its hymns to the fall depicts the natural decay brought about by autumnal darkness. “Ödhin” (2021) was composed in the dead of winter to accurately capture the icy stillness of lifeless surroundings. “Fäghring” brings this circle to a close, ending the tetralogy.
Bhelg commented:From death springs life – stronger, wiser, and alive. “Fäghring”, our homage to the glorious spring, signifies the part of the natural process where life is reborn. The album is dedicated to life and its triumphs over death; it is the fourth and last album in this cycle.
