Today, Osmose Productions announces October 25th as the international release date for the highly anticipated eight album of France’s Mercyless, Those Who Reign Below, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
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!
First track premiere to be revealed on September 24th. 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 CaĂŻn [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]
Last week, VESTIGE released their third single, the first part to Automne. With the album’s release steadily approaching, the French modern metal collective unveil the haunting follow-up to this captivating track, a prelude to their highly-anticipated debut album, Janis. A profound auditory experience that intertwines raw emotion and transcendent hope.
Automne Pt. 2 bears the unique honor of featuring Neige, the ethereal voice of Alcest, whose contributions add an otherworldly layer to the track. The melding of Neige’s dreamlike vocal timbre with VESTIGE‘s visceral soundscape elevates the song to a plane where agony and ecstasy coexist, inviting listeners to lose themselves in its haunting beauty.
With a profound connection to their craft, VESTIGE pour their souls into their debut album, infusing it with a captivating blend of melancholy, desperation, and catharsis. The music serves not only as an expression of their turmoil, but as a conduit for listeners to navigate the complexities of their own emotions. Through this process, VESTIGE becomes a project with the potential to connect with people on a profound level, forging a collective experience through the universal language of music.
The signing with Season of Mist brings the bandâs first milestone, allowing VESTIGE to share their journey in the form of their debut album, Janis. Poised for release in late 2024, the album is a culmination of their collective efforts and a statement of the bandâs arrival in the heavy music scene. Weaving through atmospheric shoegaze textures, melodic landscapes and intense, tormented moments that reflects the emotional spectrum of the human experience, the band established a foothold into the genre of modern metal.
On October 21st internationally, Memento Mori in conspiracy with Fucking Kill Records will release Reckless Manslaughter‘s highly anticipated album, Sinking Into Filth, on CD and vinyl LP formats, respectively.
Summoned in North Rhine-Westphalia in November 2008, the walking corpse known as Reckless Manslaughter is living proof that death has many faces, covering all tempo variations and unaware of trends or conventions, all the while maintaining a core personality of their very own. To descend into the nether regions where these death metal acolytes dwell is to be left to fester in a desolate and fathomless realm whose landscape is filled to the brim with violent blasts, crushing mid-tempo sections, gloomy doom-ish parts, and atrocious growls, rounded off with a sprinkling of eerie Finnish melodies.
Reckless Manslaughter are nothing if not dependable, and across their three full-lengths to date – 2011’s Storm of Vengeance, 2013’s Blast Into Oblivion, and 2019’s Caverns of Perdition – the Germans have proudly upheld the banner of pure & total DEATH METAL. And thankfully, they show no signs of letting down that banner with their fourth full-length, Sinking Into Filth. Like its album predecessors, Sinking Into Filth is all too accurately titled, with wave after wave of world-eating riff & vocal swallowing the listener whole. Reckless Manslaughter here exude a uniquely “gloomy bounce” in their stridently surging songcraft; the energy is felt in full – usually, in the listener’s chest cavity – but a paradoxically sorrowful sensation is intertwined into these judiciously compact compositions. What results is something both hypnotizing and HEAVY, in all senses of the world…or, simply, this filth is fucking HUGE. The climax comes with the closing ten-minute epic “Risen From the Mass Grave,” which literally sounds like its title. Need more hints? Just check out the cover art, courtesy of Lucas Korte.
Maniacs of Bolt Thrower, Finland’s Demigod, Benediction, Asphyx, and Sinister should already be familiar with Reckless Manslaughter. Those who aren’t are encouraged to begin Sinking Into Filth: expect nothing but utter annihilation and uncompromising, underground-worshipping Metal of Death!
Begin worshipping with the brand-new track “Retreat Into Nothingness” here:
Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Reckless Manslaughter’s Sinking Into Filth 1. Caverns of Perdition 2. Befouled Commandments 3. Awaiting My Demise 4. Retreat into Nothingness 5. Aktion 1005 6. Ruf der Leere 7. The Sacred Lie [Diabolical Imperium cover] 8. Risen from the Mass Grave
THY CATAFALQUE Announce New Album XII: A gyönyörƱ ålmok ezutån jönnek
The Best Dreams are Yet to Come for the Avant-Garde Visionary
“…yet another testament to the musical genius of TamĂĄs KĂĄtai” – No Clean Singing
amĂĄs KĂĄtai has a vision that extends far beyond Hungary. While only intended as a studio project, over the past two decades, THY CATAFALQUE has grown into a lively collaboration that brings together other prominent musicians from inside and outside his country’s metal scene. With each album, he’s pushed the boundaries of extreme metal, bringing the world’s most vile art form into conversation with the avant-garde.
His upcoming twelfth album is Thy Catafalque’s most expansive release yet. XII: A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek features many familiar faces from the project’s wide discography. Dreamy synths swirl amidst riffs that are both catchy and crushing. Traditional acoustic and classical instruments accompany production that’s slightly more modern. But A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek also ties back to KĂĄtai’s past and the history of his home country.
“I felt it was time to move in a different direction, whatever that direction might be, but A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek still possesses the dreaminess that I’ve always associated with Thy Catafalque”, KĂĄtai says. “There is a tinge of nostalgia, a tinge of sadness, a tinge of hope, a tinge of beauty and still a generous amount of metal”.
XII: A gyönyörƱ ålmok ezutån jönnek comes out November 15, 2024 on Season of Mist.
Of course, TamĂĄs KĂĄtai hasn’t been dreaming about his new album for too long. In true prolific fashion, Thy Catafalque’s twelfth album arrives just 14 months after the last one. Just like Alföld, KĂĄtai set out to make a straightforward metal album, but while there are still plenty of chest-pounding moments, A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek took him on a surreal journey.
“I imagine these songs as guides through a dark night of the soul”, KĂĄtai says. In the video for the title track, he runs through the streets of his hometown in MakĂł. As the path winds through the placid countryside, he’s greeted by strange scenes from both the past and present: rusted-out rail cars, bare-knuckle brawling, mysterious packages being dumped in the woods, a red-headed woman singing stoically in a field. At one point, he’s stopped in his tracks by the sight of his doppelgĂ€nger digging his own grave.
“The video is pretty personal”, KĂĄtai says. “It was shot at places from my past and almost all of the actors are my old friends.” Despite the homecoming, the inspiration behind “A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek” isn’t so warm and fuzzy. “The title track comes from a place of disappointment”, he continues. “In the afterglow of nostalgia, there’s also a chill of disappointment”.
Even though it’s the closing song, “A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek” doesn’t end on a down beat. In fact, it just might be the catchiest song on the album. The return of tender brooding vocalist GĂĄbor DudĂĄs gives more than enough reason to celebrate, but the galloping hi-hats, bright hand claps and tireless, fist-pumping guitar hooks will make this song an instant staple of Thy Catafalque’s growing live set.
“The production has been very similar since Geometria” says KĂĄtai. “This time around, I was aiming for a change in the overall sound”.
The flair for the avant-garde that has come to define Thy Catafalque shines through the darkness on album number twelve. But in order to see the light at the end of the tunnel, for the first time, KĂĄtai needed some guidance from an outside producer. Granted, GĂĄbor VĂĄri is no stranger to how his mind works. When he’s not holed away in the studio with other prominent Hungarian metal bands, GĂĄbor could be seen hammering away at his guitar on stage with Thy Catafalque on the live album Mezolit. In their time-honed hands, even the dark waves of synth on “A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek” glow with the faint but familiar reassurance of the dawn.
“The title means ‘The Beautiful Dreams Are Yet to Come'”, KĂĄtai explains. “So even amidst the despair and disappointment, there’s still hope for a future that might offer warmer days after the darkness has ceded”.
The video for “A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek” was created by No Total Films.
More praise for Thy Catafalque
“Few musicians have as long and varied a career as TamĂĄs KĂĄtai of Thy Catafalque” – Angry Metal Guy
“Thy Catafalque are a one of a kind experiment that have never played by traditional rules or boundaries” – New Noise
“A monstrously entertaining, tightly diverse band” – Everying Is Noise
For two decades, TamĂĄs KĂĄtai was content on sticking to the studio. That changed in 2021, when he and a cast of heavy hitters performed at the Fekete Zaj Festival. This milestone was later committed to memory on Mezolit, but Thy Catafalque has continued to grow into a steady and spectacular live act.
Earlier this year, Thy Catafalque headlined their first tour of Europe. Now, to celebrate the project’s upcoming twelfth album, KĂĄtai and his ever-growing list of collaborators will perform at four concerts across Europe. This includes two very special shows at one of Hungary’s most influential underground venues, where they’ll perform songs off XII: A gyönyörƱ ĂĄlmok ezutĂĄn jönnek, along with all ten tracks on the recently reissued fifth album Rengeteg.
During these two special shows at DĂŒrer Kert, Thy Catafalque will be joined by the noisy experimentalists in Shum, labelmate Saor and KĂĄtai’s old band, Gire.
Thy Catafalque 2024 Concerts: September 1 – Campulung Muscel, Romania @ Posada Rock Festival [TICKETS] October 12 – Thessaloniki, Greece, @ Mammothfest [TICKETS] November 22 – Budapest, Hungary @ DĂŒrer Kert w/ Saor [TICKETS] November 23 – Budapest, Hungary @ DĂŒrer Kert w/ Gire, Shum [TICKETS]
New fans and long-time appreciators can now rediscover just how much Thy Catafalque has grown since their humble beginnings as a duo. This year, Season of Mist re-issued Thy Catafalque’s first seven albums.
The dark cinematic metal band’s new single defies any and all conventions
“One of modern metal’s brightest hopes” – Metal Hammer
Though revered by critics and peers, OCEANS OF SLUMBER bow to no one. For more than a decade, the Houston band have spurred prevailing trends in both the metal scene and the American South. Instead of adhering to conventional wisdom or slapping a new coat of paint on the same old ideas, they’ve remade the Southern Gothic in their own progressive image, casting tales of hope and despair against an ever-shifting backdrop of melodic death, doom and black metal.
While they’ve always been stars in their own right, Oceans of Slumber’s upcoming sixth album expands the band’s wide-ranging vision to the dark, cinematic heights of a Hollywood blockbuster. Where Gods Fear to Speak is in conversation with The Handmaid’s Tale and Cormac McCarthy more than it is Opeth. Their new single “The Given Dream” gives hope to the future of metal by breaking the spell that’s lorded over us by the powers that be.
Where Gods Fear to Speak comes out September 13 on Season of Mist.
“The Given Dream” awakens with a familiar sense of dread. A dark, ominous synth blares over the speakers with the creeping suspense of an IMAX movie.
“We were watching a lot of dystopian sci-fi films and TV shows”, Dobber Beverly says about the inspiration behind Where Gods Fear to Speak. The underground will always recognize Dobber as the drummer for grindcore legends Insect Warfare, but he’s also a classically training pianist who composed every note on the album. “I had just bought a Le Gibet synthesizer” he continues. “Hearing the big stabbing synth lines that are in a lot of those soundtracks gave me the idea to open ‘The Given Dream’ as if an alarm was going off in the listener’s head”.
On the album’s first official single, Oceans of Slumber zoomed in on the doomed romance that’s at the center of Where Gods Fear to Speak. While it immediately follows “Poem of Ecstasy” on the track list, “The Given Dream” pans out to the big picture themes that were teased by its title track. “The cold and bitter taste / The wall in front of you / The stone with all your hopes”, belts the band’s leading lady Cammie Beverly, reaching down into the smoky pit of her soul.
“We’re pre-programmed with this dream of how our lives are supposed to turn out”, Dobber says. “The white picket fence. A career at the tech company down the road. Two and a half kids to go along with the ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ poster on your wall”.
“Buying into that idea will make you feel like you’re on the right track”, says Cammie. “When really, we’re just blinded. That dream doesn’t exist”.
The faraway glimmer of the song’s gorgeous piano melody is one of the most intoxicating lines on Where Gods Fear to Speak. “If you’re lucky enough to come from a higher standing, then maybe you do get to live out that fantasy”, Dobber says. He’s not blasting “The Given Dream” — at least, not on his kit. The song is afforded one of the sparest, most streamlined arrangements on the album. A thumping back beat sets a workmanlike pace, but the syncopated snare crumbles like hope through your fingers amidst a glitch of digital effects. “But if you’ve got to struggle, then it’s a lot harder just to survive”.
“You stare and you stare” Cammie belts, steeling herself between each word before she bangs her head back against the proverbial wall. She’s always possessed one of the strongest voices in metal, but on “The Given Dream”, it sounds like she’s fighting for air. “It’s still empty”.
In reality, Cammie did have to catch her breath in order to nail down “The Given Dream”. Oceans of Slumber recorded Where Gods Fear to Speak in BogotĂĄ, Colombia, which is a cool 8,000 feet above sea level. “‘This is one of the most tiring songs to sing on the album”, she explains. “I’m belting from the beginning”. When the bottom finally does drop out and the song sinks into a bridge that’s as quiet and full of shadows as the ocean floor, it only seems like she’s taking a breather. “Going from a belt to soprano back to a belt is not a break” she says with a knowing smile. “Singing soprano takes more breath than singing mid-range or alto. You have to hold your vocal cords tight”.
Just like the myth of suburbia, the music industry doesn’t always live up to its own hype. Heck, even a genre that’s as hellbent on setting fire to the status quo as extreme metal is no angel when it comes to favoring style over substance. With six albums and a decade of touring under their belt, Oceans of Slumber have nothing left that they need to prove, but the band’s unwavering authenticity continues to set them apart. All ten songs on Where Gods Fear to Speak were tracked live with GRAMMY-nominated producer Joel Hamilton. Even the digital drum loops on “The Given Dream” were hammered out by hand.
“I played those loops myself in real time, all one take” Dobber says. “I actually like Portishead, Sneaker Pimps and all those other trip-hop bands from the ’90s. With this song, I wanted to remake that dub style with a big heavy part at the end”.
If their haunting reflection on “Wicked Game” is the chilling end credits to Where Gods Fear to Speak, then “The Given Dream” is one of its many climactic turning points. When the riffs finally come crashing down during the song’s grand finale, it’s with all the gloom and doom of a raging tempest. “I return to the dust I’ve known / The circle, the sky / The earth I’ve called home”, Cammie sings with all her might. With this much force, Oceans of Slumber sound like they’re ready to tear down the walls and show us into the light.
To celebrate the release of Where Gods Fear to Speak, Oceans of Slumber are saddling up with their fellow Houston heavies in Necrofier for a fiery performance at Metal Injection Festival.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Metal Injection’s 20th anniversary at this year’s festival”, says Cammie. “We’ll be sharing the stage with amazing bands like Jinjer, Converge, God Forbid, 3 Inches of Blood, Hanabie, Cave In, Rivers of Nihil and our good friends in Necrofier. We can’t wait to rock out with you and hit the streets of New York City”.
Metal Injection Festival Sunday, September 22 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Monarch & Meadows [TICKETS]
Tracklist 1. Where Gods Fear to Speak (6:25)Â [WATCH] 2. Run From the Light (5:15) 3. Don’t Come Back From Hell Empty Handed (8:28) 4. Wish (3:53) 5. Poem of Ecstasy (6:33)Â [WATCH] 6. The Given Dream (3:36)Â [LISTEN] 7. I Will Break the Pride of Your Will (5:27) 8. Prayer (5:03) 9. The Impermanence of Fate (6:20) 10. Wicked Game (5:26)Â [LISTEN]
More praise for Oceans of Slumber
“A band that nails a unique balance and has the potential to do whatever they want” – Angry Metal Guy(4/5)
“Masterful compositions that reveal more secrets with each listen” – Metal Injection (9/10)
“Dark, turbulent, and above all, incredibly emotional” – New Noise(4/5)
“They are the new Southern gothic, and you need to pay attention” – Distorted Sound(9/10)
“This band is truly something special” – Ghost Cult(8/10)
More than a decade has passed since the release of Oceans of Slumberâs Aetherial debut album, and a lot has changed. After recruiting Cammie Gilbert (now Beverly) in 2014, the Houston, Texas crewâs trajectory took a natural, upward tilt, fueled by the hugely positive response received by second album, Winter (2016). Masters of dark-hearted brutality and gritty, melancholic song craft, Oceans of Slumber transcended the usual genre limitations, favoring a progressive and boundary-less approach. With each successive record, the combination of founder, drummer, pianist and chief songwriter Dobber Beverlyâs brooding, dynamic onslaughts with Cammieâs charismatic presence and elegant, sonorous vocals garnered widespread acclaim and an international fan base. Monuments to a restless creative spirit, the bandâs third and fourth albums, The Banished Heart (2018) and Oceans of Slumber (2020) raised the stakes ever higher.
Nobody said it was going to be easy, however. Buoyed by the praise of critics and the love of increasingly rabid admirers, Oceans of Slumber proved true to their progressive reputation when they released fifth full-length Starlight & Ash in 2022. Although still palpably drawn from the same well of dark and daring influences that had informed previous records, the new songs were pointedly bereft of the crushing metal tropes and elaborate song structures of old. Instead, Oceans of Slumber stripped things to an ornate and earthy take on gothically-inclined songwriting and melancholy modern prog. Starlight & Ash was praised in metal and prog media, but drew the ire of the bandâs big label paymasters, who were rather unimaginatively hoping for more of the same. Reaching an impasse, band and label parted ways, leading to Oceans of Slumberâs newly-forged relationship with the notoriously open-minded Season of Mist. Now armed with a brand new studio album, Where Gods Fear To Speak, these intuitive radicals have gone where they will be understood.
âThe thing is, we never said weâre never going to do something heavy again,â shrugs Cammie. âPeople panic when a band puts out an album that does something different. It was a weird time. It came during a time when our music was different from everything else, and I think the record was a bit lost on some people – people that mattered in our realm. The fans got it, and it was received really well, just not by the label!â
âStarlight shouldâve been an easier way for us to branch out to a different audience,â adds Dobber. âBut the label didnât care and we didnât try to capitalize on it. With Where Gods Fear To Speak, every time you make a new record, you think itâs the best, but thereâs a couple of songs on this record that are definitely the best songs weâve ever written, easily. Thereâs an energy to them thatâs palpable. It sounds like an energetic, pissed-off band, with enigmatic storytelling and all those magical things.â
Recorded in Bogota, Colombia, in 2023, Where Gods Fear To Speak is a multi-faceted entry into Oceans of Slumberâs burgeoning legacy. Many of the melodic and textural elements that made Starlight & Ash such a revelation are still present, but scabrous brutality and complex, cultured arrangements are back with a vengeance. With Cammieâs astonishing vocal blend of vulnerability and abominable power, these songs are the best possible showcase for a band on an unerring mission to win the world over.
âI think Cammie is the best singer in America by far, but if sheâs at such a top level and we still canât break through, that just means that if we want to stay where we are, weâve got to work harder!â Dobber admits, candidly. âWe know how good we are, and how good the music is, but it doesnât pay off for us all the time and the new record reflects that. Itâs aggressive, itâs aggravated, but it tells a story. The closing song, “Impermanence Of Fate” – thatâs the tag. It means that what you have it isnât a fatal flaw or a mortal wound, and you can change things and work around these setbacks. So a lot of this record is fight songs.â
A colossus in both conception and execution, Where Gods Fear To Speak eschews the usual modern metal sounds in favor of an overwhelming, wall-of-sound production. As songs like the thunderous title track and the grim and sprawling “Donât Come Back From Hell Empty Handed” cast their meandering, malevolent spells, every instrument leaps out with laser-like clarity, and the vast, emotional heft underpinning Dobber and Cammieâs lyrics is brought rivetingly to the fore. Meanwhile, standout gems like “The Given Dream” and “Poem of Ecstasy” showcase Oceans of Slumberâs still-evolving core sound, with soaring melodies and jaw-dropping dynamics that casually blur the boundary between the accessible and the avant-garde, while basking in the brooding glow of Cammieâs unique voice. Produced in collaboration with esteemed studio guru Joel Hamilton at Audovision Studios in Bogota, it emerges as a self-evident labor of love for all of those involved.
âWe did the most extensive pre-production demoing that weâve ever done for this record. Everything was finished, the vocal lines were 98% done in advance,â Dobber notes. âThen we got into the studio and I threw curveballs at Cammie to piss her off and get her to land these certain vocal sections. There has to be some element of this that is created in the moment. Itâs not magical otherwise. I did all the synthesizers and orchestrations at home, but then we recorded the rest of it at the studio in Colombia. Joelâs done a lot of work with big hitters, but also with Neurosis and bands like Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. So when I said we were going to make a heavy record, I wanted it to sound like all hellâs breaking loose. We wanted a very natural production and for everything to be as organic as it could be.â
From the doom-laden opening chords of “Where Gods Fear To Speak” â released as the albumâs first preview single, and revealing Cammieâs feral death growls for the first time â to the dying, desolate embers of grand finale “Impermanence Of Fate”, the new Oceans of Slumber album is simply the most immersive and fascinating piece of work the band have made. As added intrigue, guest stars Mikael Stanne of Swedish melo-death legends Dark Tranquillity, and Moonspellâs iconic frontman Fernando Ribeiro lend their vocal talents to “Run From The Light” and “Prayer” respectively. Steeped in the oppressive atmospheres of doom, death and gothic metal, but rendered using a spinning kaleidoscope of progressive musical shades, Where The Gods Fear To Speak idly defies categorization, while strenuously redefining the artistic formula that Oceans of Slumber have spent so many years refining. Meanwhile, these songs paint such vivid pictures that it comes as little surprise that Where Gods Fear to Speak is a certified concept work, with a cinematic streak a mile wide.
âThis album is a dystopian western or a post-apocalyptic survival movie, somewhere between The Handmaidâs Tale, The Dark Tower and Cormac McCarthy,â states Dobber. âThe whole idea is that Where The Gods Fear To Speak is a movie, and weâve written the soundtrack. If the world was taken over, like in movie The Book Of Eli, and Gary Oldman had found the Bible and the true power of it, and he was wielding the power of the lord over everybody, those people that were maybe just into their traditional spiritualism or people that were not religious at all, they would be the defectors, so the record is written from the viewpoint of the defectors. The ending credits are our version of “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak. We wanted to take it back to when the music in movies set the tone for everything.â
Wildly evocative and bulging under the weight of its countless razor-sharp melodies, Where Gods Fear To Speak proves that Oceans of Slumber will not let the occasional setback put them off their creative stride. Both the heaviest and the most sophisticated record they have made yet, it covers all bases to deliver an emotional, life-affirming musical journey like no other. Some people will love it. Others may not. But what is abundantly clear is that Oceans of Slumber remain a formidable force to be reckoned with, and When Gods Fear To Speak may be their masterpiece.
âWe just hope to grow the band. Weâve had a problem with reaching the next level, but Iâm hoping this record makes the difference, and people just give us a shot,â Dobber concludes. âThe band is great and itâs tight, and Cammie is such a great performer. When people really get to see the real thing in front of them, which they donât a lot of the time, it just works, intrinsically. Thereâs just a natural response to it. So if we can get in front of the audiences we should, then weâll win them over and the band will grow. Thatâs all we want. It’s a mechanism for survival at this point.â Lineup Cammie Beverly – vocals Dobber Beverly- drums, piano Semir Ozerkan – bass Alex Davis – guitar Chris Kritikos – guitar, synth
Recording Audiovision Studios in Bogotå, Columbia Assistant engineering at Audiovision by Deyra Castillo and David Dueñas Piña
Production Produced and engineered by Joel Hamilton Mixed by Joel Hamilton at Studio G in Brooklyn, New York Additional engineering by Chris Kritikos Assistant engineering by Justin Termotto
On September 6th internationally, the alliance of NoEvDia and The Ajna Offensive is proud to present Aluk Todolo‘s highly anticipated fifth album, LUX.
Aluk Todolo returned to the studio during July 2023 to record their fifth album, entitled LUX, coming out eight years after their last opus, VOIX.
The LUX configuration has been received, decomposed, recomposed, sequenced, reversed, and is eventually revealed through six tracks of mesmerizing occult rock music.
Prismatic drum patterns entwined to gyrating bass lines and kaleidoscopic guitar ostinatos embodies in matter the numinous shimmers of light in extension.
An equation of Sacred Geometry solved and dissolved in mystery by illumination.
The tapes have been magnetized at Kerwax Analog Recording Studios in the western reaches of France.
LUX was recorded, mixed & mastered, and cut & pressed using analog technology exclusively.
In the meantime, see a full-length multi-cam recording here:
 Aluk Todolo‘s performance at last year’s Rock in Bourlon fest, where LUX material was unveiled for the first time. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
On September 13th internationally, EAL Productions is proud to present Aethyrick‘s highly anticipated fifth album, Death is Absent.
Aethyrick‘s longstanding partnership with The Sinister Flame ended when the label closed its doors for good. However, the flow of inspiration could not be halted, and the fervent work on the new album continued in the shadows. By the summer of 2024, the process was complete, and the duo found a new home abroad under the banner of EAL Productions.
Musically, Death is Absent builds on Aethyrick‘s signature style, pushing it further while occasionally increasing the tempo. Rooted in the melodic and atmospheric side of mid ’90s black metal, their music evokes a time when the genre first captured their imaginations. They craft a soundscape that is both familiar and fresh, embodying the mysteries of the existential nightside.
Revelations within both the sacred circle and the dreamlike realms have infused this offering with deep emotion, draped in the regal mantle of Finnish black metal. The lyrics acknowledge and honor the Reaper’s role as the extinguisher of mortal life, yet deny his authority over the flames of eternal faith.
Paths come to an end. Voices fall silent. Hearts cease to beat. But the song of Spirit continues, and thus, death is truly absent.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Beyond All Death” here:
Cover and tracklisting is as follows:
Tracklisting for Aethyrick’s Death is Absent 1. The Fire that Sires the Sun [8:07] 2. Empyrean Silver [6:59] 3. Beyond All Death [5:27] 4. Midwinter Masks [5:59] 5. The Hands of Fate [8:15] 6. Only Junipers Grow on My Grave [7:59]
Drape yourself in the fury that only the gods of chaos could inspire because EIHWAR is about to blow your mind with their explosive re-imagined fan-favorite track, Berserkr (Viking War Trance Reforged). Straight out of Valhalla, this track is a relentless juggernaut that’s gonna have your blood pumping hotter than Thorâs hammer on a bad day.
Mark and Asrunn harnessed the unholy matrimony of ancient gods and techno rage to birth EIHWAR‘s debut album, Viking War Trance. If you’ve ever wondered what itâd feel like to be in a berserker rave under the Northern Lights, high-fiving Fenrir himself, this beast of a track gives you that raucous thrill without an ounce of mercy.
Grab your battle axes and brace yourselves because with this single comes an anarchic, electrifying live video. Mark and Asrunn, stripped raw and soaked in sweat, will take you on a journey straight from the heart of their primal rave temple. This band is truly something to be experience with a pint of the finest mead, chanting your heart out.
Watch the live video for Berserk(Viking War Trance Reforged) here:
Viking War Trance is out September 20 on Season of Mist.
Tracklist 1. Viking War Trance (4:30) [WATCH] 2. Ragnarök (Viking War Trance Reforged) (7:10) 3. Völva’s Chant (4:05) [WATCH] 4. Geri And Freki (4:21) 5. Baldr (4:08) 6. Fenrir (Viking War Trance Reforged) (5:13) 7. Berserkr (Viking War Trance Reforged) (4:04) [WATCH] 8. Mjölnir (5:25) 9. Sir Mannelig (1:54) Total runtime: 40:54
Many bands have explored the Pagan & Norse worlds over the last 15 years seeking atmospheric, acoustic and ritual sounds with great seriousness. This is not the path EIHWAR chose.
Although the musicians of Eihwar are virtuosos in their acoustic traditional instruments, their goal is to bring some fun⊠and as much chaos as possible during their concerts, provoking the craziest trance on dancefloors. They bring a festive and furious neo-viking music whose primal force is based on technoid machines, mixed with trance vocals, shamanic drums and traditional Nordic sounds. Electronics are a ânew steelâ for those modern warriors, cold and powerful. As the web already says, the duo is a kind of new âViking Carpenter Brutâ.
Thus, Eihwar named the single, the album but also their style of music âViking War Tranceâ.
âWe are heavy drops of rain announcing lightning. We call for war: A war waged against our judgments, Our inner demons, our limits, Our stiffness of body and mind. We donât want our best enemies to spare us Nor to be spared by those we love. We invoke a war for our thoughts, A flamboyant chaos of fire & ice, Cradle of creation.â
Since its appearance on YouTube in February 2023, Eihwar has shook the Internet and concert venues. The band experienced rapid expansion on YouTube and was quickly booked by major European festivals such as Hellfest, Leyendas del Rock, Wave Gotik Treffen & more to be announced!
Line-up Asrunn: Vocals, Traditional Percussions Mark – Vocals, Machines
Recording credits are being kept anonymous intentionally
On September 27th in Europe (October 4th for North America / rest of the world), code666 is proud to present Invernoir‘s highly anticipated second album, Aimin’ For Oblivion.
Formed in 2016 by members of Rome’s flourishing local scene, Invernoir have shown a special talent right from the beginning with their striking debut EP, 2018’s Mourn, combining the cherished atmospheres of ’90s British doom with the more recent Scandinavian scene, managing the difficult feat of not sounding derivative at all. With their debut album in 2020, The Void and the Unbearable Loss, Invernoir received enthusiastic reviews from all over the world, building a loyal fanbase eagerly awaiting their new album, titled Aimin’ for Oblivion, for cult label code666.
Invernoir literally bring back to life the best ’90s gothic doom with this stellar new album. Aimin’ for Oblivion comprises seven tracks that will make dark metal hearts bleed with that irresistible balance between light and shadows. Invernoir‘s Aimin’ for Oblivion is unmissable for fans of old-school Anathema, Katatonia, and My Dying Bride.
First track to be revealed on August 30th. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Invernoir’s Aimin’ for Oblivion 1. Shadow Slave [6:20] 2. Doomed [5:29] 3. Desperate Days [4:50] 4. Forgotten in Time [6:02] 5. Broken [5:16] 6. Few Minutes [7:12] 7. Unworthy [6:06] 8. Useless [6:31]
Today, Amor Fati Productions announces October 4th as the international release date for HĂ€xenzijrkell‘s highly anticipated third album, Portal, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Ever since the release of their first demo tape back in 2016, HĂ€xenzijrkell marched on their very own path towards the bottomless pit of darkness. However, it was the band’s two albums for Amor Fati – 2020’s Die Nachtseite and 2022’s Urgrund – where that bottomless pit dropped out completely. What opened up was a maw both majestic and horrific, ritualistic and ceremonial but by no means sound without purpose and intent. That each of those two albums were divided into three epic tracks was perhaps not coincidence; that one album was suffocating and the other more spacious was definitely not coincidence. From resolutely raw black metal in the beginning to something idiosyncratic and strangely spectral despite the obvious heft, HĂ€xenzijrkell were skillfully creating their own soundworld with few present analogues.
And so it goes with the aptly titled Portal, where HĂ€xenzijrkell bring past, present, and future into startling (dis)harmony. The album begins attackingly enough, a metronomic pendulum pulsing beyond control, riffs slicing and spiraling in an infinite vortex. But now expanded to five tracks across 44 minutes, HĂ€xenzijrkell‘s third album reveals yet more depth – in all senses of the word – and becomes the fullest manifestation of their still-expanding lexicon. The watchword here is patience, as these five non-less-epic tracks are never in any hurry to reveal their true selves; tension and terror build s-l-o-w-l-y, even if the overall tempo is decidedly more energetic than past works, or at least more measured and insistent. Here expanded to a trio, HĂ€xenzijrkell have also found a symbiosis between atmosphere and songcraft; even when riff and rhythm drop away and there’s (tense / terrifying) quietude lingering like a spectre, the usage feels dramatic and effortlessly transitional, marking a moment that’s integral to the flow of each mesmerizing movement. That that expanded lineup expertly uses both molten heaviness and shimmering ambience equally well should speak volumes about the band’s growth on Portal. All this culminates in the grandiose and hauntingly gorgeous closer, “Aeon,” which sounds like a lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse – simultaneously.
The keys are thus laid at the listener’s feet…do what thou wilt. To commemorate the release of Portal, HĂ€xenzijrkell will embark upon a European tour with labelmates Nubivagant (dates after the jump).
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Atziluth” here:
