ANCIENT RECORDS founder reveals GREVE – debut EP set for PURITY THROUGH FIRE, first track revealed

Today, Purity Through Fire sets August 19th as the international release date for the striking debut EP of Greve, Nidingsdåd utav det Uråldriga, on 7″ vinyl format.

Greve is classic, second-wave Swedish black metal – which should come as no surprise considering it comes under the banner of Ancient Records linchpin Swartadauþuz (Azelisassath, Bekëth Nexëhmü, Digerdöden, Gnipahålan, Musmahhu, Mystik, Summum, Trolldom, Daudadagr). Much like most/all of Swartadauþuz’s projects are blessed with an intrinsically ancient sound, authentic and austere as the age-old classics from which his imagination sprung, so too does Greve with a breathtakingly spectral ‘n’ stargazing style of black metal mysticism. Dense yet spacious, racing yet floating, dreams both darkest and most majestic, Nidingsdåd utav det Uråldriga brings 1996 to the present like so few records can…and it’s but a mere two songs, with a full-length Greve monument being prepared imminently. The past is more alive than ever!

Hear for yourself with the “I Svarta Solens Magi” here:

Cover and Tracklisting:

Tracklisting for Greve’s Nidingsdåd utav det Uråldriga
1. Domedagens Renaste Profet
2. I Svarta Solens Magi
MORE INFO:
www.ancientrecords.se

MAVORIM set release date for new PURITY THROUGH FIRE mini-album, reveal first track

Today, Purity Through Fire sets August 19th as the international release date for a special mini-album from Mavorim, titled Aasfresser, on A5 digipak, regular CD, and LP formats.

For the last five years, the defiant warlord otherwise known as P. has put forth a stark, austere style of black metal under the Mavorim banner. With a couple demos, splits, and then last year’s Silent Leges Inter Arma debut album through Purity Through Fire, Mavorim has swiftly come to define the new breed of German black metal that hearkens back to the old guard: Teutonic to the bone, harsh and harrowing yet heralding triumph.

Continuing that momentum, with Aasfresser, Mavorim presents a special record that’s something of a double-EP: six brand-new songs comprising its own mini-album, and then four unreleased demo songs that are no less mighty. Epic to the very end, P. here casts Mavorim in a blazing obsidian light, drawing together orcish violence and coldly stirring melodies, often breathtakingly touched with spectral synth. It’s immediately memorable and exceptionally “catchy,” even if it (thankfully) doesn’t employ rote rock-music structures – or rather, the breath of night is blown across mini-suites that are storytelling in black metalled form. And at 55 minutes across 10 songs, Aasfresser is a richly satisfied work that be experienced in whole or split into two equally compelling halves.

While the next full-length propaganda is prepared, witness the iron-willed ascent of Mavorim with Aasfresser!

The first iron fist can be felt with the new track “Missraten und verkommen”
Tracklisting for Mavorim’s Aasfresser
1. Victoria
2. Aasfresser
3. Geeint im Kampf
4. Missraten und verkommen
5. Ein hasserfüllter Geist
6. Lux Aeterna
7. Im Angesicht der Endlichkeit
8. Hort der Seligkeit
9. Verhallt in Dunkelheit
10. Quälen zerreißen vernichten
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/mavorim

Elevated black/death/doom primitivists Arkhaaik stream their Iron Bonehead debut

Today, elevated black/death/doom primitivists Arkhaaik stream the entirety of their striking debut album, *dʰg̑ʰm̥tós. Set for international release on July 5th via Iron Bonehead Productions, hear Arkhaaik‘s *dʰg̑ʰm̥tós in its entirety here:
Arkhaaik is the excavation of rites long forgotten, of primitive worship and ancient deities that ruled long before man dominated and soiled the earth. These sounds explore Europe’s bronze age and encompass the very essence of said rites that were extinct long ago, told in the Indo-European tongue that was used at the time and is now long lost to the ages, its utterance strange to the modern ear.

Encompassing three expansive tracks in 33 minutes, Arkhaaik‘s first sonic manifestation suitably takes a guttural (and GUTTING) form, drawing together sepulchral death metal, blackened bestiality, and lava-like doom into a sulfuric, senses-flaying mass. Its cavernous, ceaselessly roiling slipstream of carnal hysteria and barbarism punishes physically and penetrates psychically; it is of this earth, and beyond it. Then again, this skillful balance/bending of the primeval and supernatural is perhaps not surprising given that the band hails from Switzerland’s Helvetic Underground Committee, which includes fellow Iron Bonehead legions Dakhma and Death. Void. Terror. among others.

Now, witness the unearthed ancients, beholden to the almighty sky father, ruler of the daylit skies! Behold the mighty bull! In his veins, the blood of the ancients pounds with fervor, and reciprocating this fervor, Arkhaaik bathe in his gore. Through the spilling of his blood, they attain ancient divinity. Do you have the iron-clad constitution to partake in the sacred rites of *dʰg̑ʰm̥tós?
Tracklisting for Arkhaaik’s *dʰg̑ʰm̥tós
1. u̯iHrós i̯émos-kʷe [16:00]
2. *dʰg̑ʰm̥tós [6:34]
3. u̯rsn̥gwhé̄n [10:07]
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/helveticundergroundcommittee

Foscor premiere first track of new album ‘Els Sepulcres Blancs’

Catalan atmospheric metal band FOSCOR are now releasing the first brand new track and album details of their upcoming album ‘Els Sepulcres Blancs’, which will be released worldwide on September 06, 2019. 

Listen to the brand new track ‘Cel Rogent’ here:
FOSCOR comment on the track: “Working once again alongside Season Of Mist is a thrilling pleasure… but being able to share the emotions hidden in this new album with you all, the greatest of privileges.”Els Sepulcres Blancs” sets the second step in our very own conceptual trilogy started in 2017 with “Les Irreals Visions”. Transforming all life moments in eternal is our goal, and reaching reconciliation between the far beyond and the here, the path. At this stage, visual things must acquire a new meaning, and it is with the act of dreaming how we set a platform to conceive a better world.The title translates as “The White Tombs”, a metaphor for a poetical bed where humans chained to reality may die and born free to imagine a better world. The door to the most individual state of mind, the world of dreams and expectations, and a shelter for the livings where dreaming for the change. We are dealing with that topic from both real and oneiric point of view… as the Modernisme / Art Nouveau movement used to do one century ago.The first song premiered “Cel Rogent” describes perfectly both extremes we are dealing with, in a hard to describe whirl of untouchable emotions. The red sky that this song opens invites us to enter to our most intimate parcel at night or in the daily new dawn of hopes.We really wish you enjoy and join once again our tragic darkness.”
FOSCOR have furthermore revealed the artwork and track-list of ‘Els Sepulcres Blancs’, which can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. Laments (05:15)
2. Els Colors del Silenci (04:57)
3. Malson (04:52)
4. Secrets (05:33)
5. Cel Rogent (04:47)
6. Cançó de Mort (05:39)
7. L’Esglai (06:58)
Total playing time: 38:03
The Catalans return with the second chapter of the trilogy initiated with “Les Irreals Visions” in 2017, yet strongly connected to the fin de siècle cultural movement of Modernisme – a parallel development to Art Nouveau and Jugendstil among others. Visual things must acquire a new secret appearance, and with ‘Els Sepulcres Blancs’ FOSCOR treats poetically how facing a change of a sick world and society through the land of dreams.

The title translates as “The White Tombs”, a metaphor for that world of dreams and expectations where humans chained to reality may die and born free to imagine a better one.

FOSCOR hail from Catalonia, and take inspiration from the morbid, decadent, and sick reflections on a rapidly changing society, as the artistic landscape at the end of the nineteenth century shaped.

The name FOSCOR translates as “darkness” in their native Catalan tongue, which the band from Barcelona uses for their lyrics as a distinctive element and strong connection with their cultural reality.

The Catalans’ first two albums, ‘Entrance to the Shadows’ Village’ (2004), ‘The Smile of the Sad Ones’ (2007) wrapped a shroud of classic second wave black metal around a melancholic yet vital core. ‘Groans to the Guilty’ (2009) witnessed FOSCOR setting out towards more progressive and avant-garde course, but it was next full-length ‘Those Horrors Wither’ (2014) which marked a clear departure from the black metal. Darkness found an equally strong expression through the use of very personal clean vocals, tempo reduction and atmosphere.

In 2017, FOSCOR took another step in their constantly changing and shifting evolution. The brand new release ‘Les Irreals Visions’ (2017) was easily drawing its eager audience in, only to lure the unwary listener into a dark labyrinth of unexpected complexity filled with beauty and sorrow. In 2018, FOSCOR explored these lines between reality, poetry and the beyond even further with a special digital release transforming their own music into a so intimate experience; ‘Les Irreals Versions’ (2018).

Now, 2019 promises to be as tragic as their music claims with the so sensitive release of ‘Els Sepulcres Blancs’, its characteristic melancholic sonic aura and catchy riffing intensity. Their most personal and delicate sound achievement to date.

www.foscor.com
www.facebook.com/foscor.official
www.instagram.com/foscor_official

Line-up
Fiar: lyrics, vocals
Falke: guitars, effects
Albert M.: guitars, bass, piano
Jordi F.: drums
Esteban P.: keys

Recording: Moontower Studios / Javi Félez, Barcelona (ES)
Mixing: Moontower Studios / Javi Félez, Barcelona (ES)
Mastering: Orgone Studios / Jaime G. Arellano, Woburn (UK)

Guest Musicians:
sG (SECRETS OF THE MOON, CRONE): guest vocals on “Cançó de Mort”

Photography & cover artist: Deborah Sheedy (Ireland 2019 )
Layout design: Maria Picassó / Ideophony (IHSAHN, OBSIDIAN KINGDOM)

ABBATH stream brand new album ‘Outstrider’ in full!

Norwegian black metal titans ABBATH are now streaming their entire new album ‘Outstrider’ in full! The album is set for worldwide release this Friday, July 5th.
ABBATH comment on the album: “Abbath, honed sharp by trial and terror, proudly present ‘Outstrider’ – our latest catharsis wrung from the guts of darkness. Forged in fiery furnace of adversity, hammered on an anvil of rage, this album is conjured from conflagration coughed from rift of Chaos, rising like a Phoenix from the Pit, to infect our Spitegeist with shamaniacal reflections sheathed in metal compositions, hooked and riffed by razor wire licks impaling bass-lines pulsed on drumbeats dredged from thunderous abyss, by a hive-mind wed to one whole emission: To boldly go where no band has gone before and one step further!”
ABBATH festivals
27 Jul 19 Steenwijk (NL) Stonehenge Festival 201924 Aug 19 Bergen (NO)  Beyond the Gates Festival 2019

ABBATH
+VLTIMAS +1349
23 Jan 20 Weimar (DE) Uhrenwerk (tickets)
24 Jan 20 Bochum (DE) Matrix (tickets)
25 Jan 20 Nijmegen (NL) Doornroosje (tickets)
26 Jan 20 Antwerpen (BE) Trix (tickets)
27 Jan 20 London (UK) Islington Assembly Hall (tickets)
28 Jan 20 Paris (FR) La Machine Du Moulin Rouge (tickets)
29 Jan 20 Nantes (FR) Stereolux
30 Jan 20 Toulouse (FR) Metronum (tickets)
31 Jan 20 Barcelona (ES) Salamandra (tickets)
01 Feb 20 Madrid (ES) But (tickets)
02 Feb 20 Lyon (FR) Nikasi Kao (tickets)
04 Feb 20 Mannheim (DE) MS Connexion Complex (tickets)
05 Feb 20 München (DE) Backstage (tickets)
06 Feb 20 Luzern (CH) Schüür (tickets)
07 Feb 20 Parma (IT) Campus Music Industry (tickets)
08 Feb 20 Brno (CZ) Fleda (tickets)
09 Feb 20 Warschau (PL) Progresja (tickets)
11 Feb 20 Berlin (DE) Festsaal Kreuzberg (tickets)
12 Feb 20 Hamburg (DE) Kulturpalast (tickets)
13 Feb 20 Copenhagen (DK) Amager Bio (tickets)
14 Feb 20 Gothenburg (SE) Tradgarn (tickets)
15 Feb 20 Stockholm (SE) Fryhuset Klubben (tickets)
The coverartwork, which is created by Kim Holm and Olav Iversen, and the track-list for ‘Outstrider’ can be found below.
Track listing:
1. Calm in Ire (Of Hurricane) (04:32)
2. Bridge of Spasms (03:49)
3. The Artifex (04:09)
4. Harvest Pyre (04:12)
5. Land of Khem (04:08)
6. Outstrider (05:39)
7. Scythewinder (04:17)
8. Hecate (04:25)
9. Pace till Death (BATHORY cover) (03:41)
Total: 38:52
When Abbath announced that he had left IMMORTAL, it sent massive shockwaves through the metal scene. The iconic frontman had long become the “face” of the Norwegian black scene, his image synonymous with the genre. Upon releasing his debut album with his eponymous new band, ABBATH, in 2016, trve fans were satiated with a dose of icy, blackened fury.
 
Now, the Norwegian giant returns for round two, armed with a refined lineup and ready to strike with a sophomore effort that is sure to once again exceed the expectations of Abbath’s loyal fanbase. ‘Outstrider’ sees a maturation in sound, delivering a tighter, well-rounded offering from the band as they come into their own identity.
 
While there are moments that certainly channel the frosty hallmarks of IMMORTAL, there is no danger of ABBATH repeating that formula. ABBATH draws from NWOBM and melodic influences, adding a fresh new flavor to the sound that the band’s founder came to define.
 
‘Oustrider’ consists of eight, crushing original songs and concludes with a fiery BATHORY cover. The album promises a full-on aural assault from start to finish with frigid riffage and a robust pocket that are layered with vocals from one of the most identifiable voices in black metal. If you thought ABBATH came in hot with their last record, just wait until you hear this!

Line-up 
Abbath – Vocals & guitars
Ole Andre Farstad -Guitars
Ukri Suviletho – Drums
Mia Wallace – Bass
Links:
www.facebook.com/abbathband
www.abbath.net
www.instagram.com/abbath_official

EARTH ROT sign to Season of Mist

Season of Mist are pleased to announce the signing of Australian blackened death metal outfit EARTH ROT. The band will release their brand new album via Season of Mist later this year.

Regarding the signing, the band comments: “We’re extremely excited to announce we have signed with Season of Mist Records worldwide! To partner with a label we have followed directly for many years and have brought many of our favourite records past and present is truly humbling and we’re stoked to join and continue the rich history that Season of Mist has with Australian metal acts. We look forward to working together to bring you our best and most creative works.”

As an introduction, you can listen to the band’s previous album ‘Renascentia’ (2017)
It’s not all prog that comes from the land down under! EARTH ROT; Australia’s blackened death metal machine, with an old-school undercurrent and a sense of grim relentless groove. It is hateful, harmful, sinister and melancholy noise shaped by the world around you. 

Since the inception in 2014, EARTH ROT have pulled no punches, recording, releasing and touring heavily across Australia, Asia and Europe with no intent of settling for anything less. Their debut album ‘Follow The Black Smoke’ was released in the same year, quickly followed by the ‘Chthonian Virtues’ EP (2016) and the second full length ‘Renascentia’ in 2017.

Cultivating their sound in direct support of legends in the realms of black metal and death metal, around the world. The band embarked on heavy tours together with acts like FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE, PSYCROPTIC, VADER and MARDUK.

The past five years has seen EARTH ROT quickly develop into a complex beast, dwelling in the deepest of pits. And this beast is ready to be released upon the masses… 


 Line-up:
Jared Bridgeman – vocals, bass
Tom Waterhouse – guitar, backing vocals
Colin Dickie – guitar
Daniel Maloney – drums

Links:
www.earthrot.com.au
www.earthrotaus.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/earthrotband
www.instagram.com/earthrot

Heilung stream forthcoming album ‘Futha’ in full!

HEILUNG are now premiering their upcoming album in full!
HEILUNG comment: “‘felleg er fuþ sin bylli Fuþorglbasm’ 
Ofnir was a masculine album about combat, anger and rage, Futha is the counterpart, the balance point, the feminine side. The great healing power of sexual magic and female wild strength is evoked in Futha. Those who have been present at a birth or have seen lionesses hunting, know the spirit. Futha endeavors to connect to a time before the female was degraded to a birth-machine and carrier of eternal inherited guilt. Heilung has no political agenda whatsoever. Heilung also has no desire to contribute to gender mainstreaming or gender discussion with Futha. People are not equal, but of equal value, no matter where, as what, or as who they are born.”
On the meaning of the album title, HEILUNG comment: “The majority of full rune set inscriptions start with ‘Futha’, and is known to us as the first four letters in all runic alphabets. It is considered that our forefathers saw magic potential in engraving the full rune line, but there is also great significance in the beginnings. Science has no key for the meaning of only engraving the first couple of letters yet, but there is, of course, a surplus of theories. One of the theories we found inspiration in, is that ‘Futha’ holds the meaning of fertility and female gender. As ‘Ofnir’ focused on war and masculine notions, the great healing power of female wild strength is evoked in Futha. Those who have been present at a birth or have seen lionesses hunting know the spirit, and we welcome and embrace it in the sounds that were born during the creation of ‘Futha’.”

HEILUNG have previously announced a European tour in October and November this year. The tour will kick off on October 22nd in Warsaw (PL) and will end about a month later in Paris (FR). Find the full list of tour dates below.
HEILUNG festivals
29 Jun 19 Helsinki (FI) Tuska 2019
09 Aug 19 Jaromer (CZ) Brutal Assault
17 Aug 19 Borre (NO) Midgardsblot 2019
07 Sep 19 Selb (DE) Mediaval Festival 2019 
19 Oct 19 Hameln (DE) Autumn Moon Festival 2019 (Exact date TBA)
18 Feb 20 York (UK) Descended from Odin Festival (Exact date TBA)

HEILUNG European tour
22 Oct 19 Palladium (PL) Warschau (tickets)
24 Oct 19 Berlin (DE) Admiralspalast (tickets)
26 Oct 19 Essen (DE) Colosseum Theater (tickets)
28 Oct 19 Munich (DE) Circus Krone (tickets)
30 Oct 19 Prague (CZ) Hybernia (tickets)
01 Nov 19 Halle (DE) Händelhalle (tickets)
03 Nov 19 Vienna (AT) Der Globe (tickets)
05 Nov 19 Zurich (CH) Volkshaus (tickets)
07 Nov 19 Kiel (DE) Kieler Schloss (tickets)
10 Nov 19 London (UK) Roundhouse (tickets)
14 Nov 19 Utrecht (NL) Tivoli Vredenburg (tickets)
17 Nov 19 Brussels (BE) AB (tickets)
20 Nov 19 Paris (FR) Elysée Montmartre (tickets)
06 Dec 19 Lviv (UA) Lviv State Circus (tickets)
08 Dec 19 Kyiv (UA) Center of Culture and Arts NAU (tickets)
The cover artwork and album details of ‘Futha’ can be viewed below
Track-list
Galgaldr (10:22)
Norupo (4:18)
Othan  (10:19)
Traust (9:49)
Vapnatak (4:03)
Svanrand (3:36)
Elivagar (8:45)
Elddansurin (8:05)
Hamrer Hippyer (14:17)
Total playing time: 1:13:34
“Ofnir” was a very masculine album. To create it, HEILUNG took a big part of the lyrics from preserved rune inscriptions on weapons and armour. “Futha” is the counterpart, the balance point, the feminine side. Here, the lyrics originate from old Icelandic poetry, in which the holy women chant magic spells and offer their blessings. Hence, female voices are more prominent on “Futha”.

HEILUNG means “healing” in the German language and this also describes the core of the band’s sound. The listener is supposed to be left at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent.

HEILUNG reach far back in time to the Northern European iron age and Viking period to create their sound experience. The band utilises many means in their songs: from running water via human bones, reconstructed swords and shields up to ancient frame drums as well as bronze rings.

When HEILUNG self-released ‘Ofnir’ in 2015, the Danish band could hardly have anticipated the breakthrough success of their debut album. Spectacular live shows, strong critical acclaim, and a massive underground buzz added to the constantly high demand for this full-length are the reason why their new label Season of Mist did not hesitate to re-issue ‘Ofnir’ in several collector’s edition formats. HEILUNG‘s live album, ‘LIFA’ (2017) was released in parallel.

The word “Futha” is taken from an artefact, that is still controversially discussed. Big names in runology like Düwel and Heizmann can agree neither on the deciphering nor the meaning of the description.…The word is engraved in a gold bracteate from Skåne (SE), which was produced around 500-530 AD. It was discovered in 1831 and these medals or coins were divided into different categories by the Swedish archaeologist Oscar Montelius. The bracteate in question is a so-called C-bracteate named Schonen II-C (Schonen is the German Name of Skåne) with a horse and a face. The rune inscription is between the hind-legs of the horse. Interesting to mention here is the fact that the majority of full rune set inscriptions start with “futh“, which also is the first three letters in all runic alphabets. It is considered that our forefathers saw magic potential in engraving the full rune line, but there is also great significance in the beginnings. Science has no key for the meaning of only engraving the first couple of letters yet, but there is a surplus of theories. This brings us to a runic staff found in Bergen, which was given the rather unpoetic archaeological classification B011. It carries the inscription: “felleg er fuþ sin bylli Fuþorglbasm”, which means: “Lovely is the cunt, may the cock fill it up”. Also interesting is that the Högstena amulet, which we use in the song “Galgaldr”, has an alternative deciphering of the word “futh“, which in this context means “cunt”. All this leaves us with two hints: magic potential and the female genitalia. The great healing power of the female wild strength is evoked in “Futha”. Those who have been present at a birth or seen a lioness hunting, know the spirit. The spirit of the “wilde Weiber” (German), the wild wise women. “Futha” endeavours to connect to a time before the female was degraded to a birth-machine and carrier of eternal inherited guilt. 

“Futha” was three years in the making and was finished for production and print at midwinter, the very darkest day of the solar year, the 21st in the 12th month at 21:00.

Any attempt to link the band with or bring their music into a modern political or religious context is pointless, since HEILUNG try to connect their listeners with a time before the coming of Christianity and modern political ideologies. 

Line-up
Kai Uwe Faust 
Christopher Juul
Maria Franz

www.facebook.com/amplifiedhistory

RUNESPELL set release date for new IRON BONEHEAD album, reveal first track

Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets September 6th as the international release date for Runespell‘s highly anticipated third album, Voice of Opprobrium, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Since this Australian entity’s public unveiling in 2017 with the Aeons of Ancient Blood demo (released by Iron Bonehead), Runespell has sharpened its sword and quickly, with two albums – 2017’s Unhallowed Blood Oath and last year’s Order of Vengeance – arriving less than a year apart. Now arrives the new full-length Voice of Opprobrium a year after the last, and the iron’s hotter than even. Here, Runespell consolidates its all-too-considerable strengths, suitably balancing the grandiose melancholy vs. bloodlust axis of Unhallowed Blood Oath and the urgency and unquenchable desperation of Order of Vengeance. Similarly, mainman Nightwolf maximizes the melancholy of his now-characteristic acoustic interludes, instilling Voice of Opprobrium with a somberness that chills to the fucking bone.

And once again, underpinning everything is an authentic and austere steeping in early ’90s black metal classicism. Be it from Scandinavia or France or particularly Poland, such source material has been so widely replicated year after year, and yet Runespell elusively continues to be able to both handily challenge those classics AND resound like an era-relevant relic. It’s not surprising, considering Nightwolf is one of the busiest men in the shit-hot Australian black metal scene, maintaining as he does the equally prolific Eternum and Blood Stronghold. While still bearing aesthetic similarities to those two bands – this is the purest, most mystical black metal after all – with Order of Opprobrium, Runespell further solidifies its majestic rumination on the mysteries of war and bloodshed, vengeance and valor, memory and destiny. Dedication and sacrifice – spiritually, above all, as well as physically – are once again the watchwords, and they’ve resulted in black metal wielded as weapon, totem, and portal simultaneously.

Mesmerizing, majestic, iron-girded and iron-willed Runespell‘s Voice of Opprobrium is the torch to burn modernity down to the ground. Begin burning with the new title track “Voice of Opprobrium” here:

Cover art and tracklisting as follows:

Tracklisting for Runespell’s Voice of Opprobrium
1. Firmament in Blood
2. Voice of Opprobrium 
3. Wraithwoods
4. All Thrones Perish II
5. Wings of Fate
6. Ascendant
www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions

Instrumental progressive metal band ESSENCE OF DATUM premier new video

Instrumental progressive metal band ESSENCE OF DATUM premiere the music video for the song “Pendulum”. The track has been taken from the band’s upcoming record “Spellcrying Machine”, to be released via Season of Mist on August 30th.

Check out the video here:
ESSENCE OF DATUM comment: “One of the favorite buildings in our hometown is Minsk city crematorium! The comprehension of the fact that there’s a very high probability that our physical presence in this world will end up there and the bodies will be committed to flames, puts a veil of peculiar magic on this place. Walking in the halls of crematorium you cannot but notice giant pendulums that stand still symbolizing frozen time. It is the pendulum that gives more emphasis to the present before the inevitable end to come thus leaving us greedily gasping for the moments remaining. The pendulum in ‘Spellcrying Machine’ holds a special place and we’d like to set off a story with this composition. Until then, let the Pendulum swing!”
ESSENCE OF DATUM have furthermore revealed the cover artwork and tracklist of ‘Spellcrying Machine’. Both can be found below
Tracklist:
1. Synthetic Soul Extractor (06:05)
2. Shikari Algorithm (05:00)
3. Pendulum (05:56)
4. Vitality (04:00)
5. Spellcryer (06:32)
6. Binar (4:28)
7. Cavum Atrum (08:12)
One does not always need words to convey a story. If there’s anything that instrumental progressive metal duo ESSENCE OF DATUM proves, it’s that the power of music can do just that. ‘Spellcrying Machine’, the band’s third full-length, is set for an August release on Season of Mist and is bound to open up their creation to a wider audience.

ESSENCE OF DATUM was formed by guitarist Dmitry Ramanouski in 2011 in Minsk, Belarus. After recording the first demos, the musician was joined by drummer Pavel Vilchytski who quickly became an irreplaceable part of the band as the man behind the machine-gun rhythm section.
 
From the very beginning, the project was meant to be purely instrumental, thus not giving the listener verbal or lexical means to comprehend or interpret the conceptual universe of the music. Providing fans with mere hints hidden in the artwork and track titles, the musicians challenge the listener to use their own imagination to explore the universe that ESSENCE OF DATUM created.  Each album is part of a larger, fictional universe and ultimately, everything is bound together in one single story.
 
In 2013, the journey set off with the release of debut album ‘Event Horizon.’  the duo paint there a picture of a surrealistic world by means of soaring guitar melodies and groovy rhythms with an unbelievable technical precision. The second full-length ‘Nevermore’ (2017) opened a new chapter in which the ESSENCE OF DATUM universe was tainted by war, struggle, and fear, transformed by the band into powerful songs with melodic grace.
 
Set against the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world, the band’s third record, ‘Spellcrying Machine’, synthesizes the best of extreme, modern metal into an elegant and articulate whole. ESSENCE OF DATUM invites you to explore their universe. 


Line-up:
Dmitry Ramanouski (guitars)
Pavel Vilchytski (drums)
 
Recording line-up:
Dmitry Ramanouski (guitars)
Pavel Vilchytski (drums)
Peter Marakov (bass)

Cover artwork: Uladzimir Gross
 
Recording studio: FORZ studio
 
Producer / sound engineer: Dmitry Ramanouski
 
Mixing studio and engineer: Dmitry Haladko
 
Mastering studio and engineer: Dmitry Haladko

Links:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EssenceOfDatum 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/essenceofdatum/ 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EssenceOfDatum 
VK: https://vk.com/essenceofdatum 
Bandcamp: https://essenceofdatum.bandcamp.com/ 

BLACK CILICE set release date for new IRON BONEHEAD album, reveal first track

Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets September 6th as the international release date for Black Cilice‘s highly anticipated fifth album, Transfixion of Spirits, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

By now, Black Cilice should need no introduction. For at least a decade (or perhaps longer), this ever-shadowy Portuguese enigma has built a monolithic body of work that has come to define and also defy the modern raw black metal idiom. And while he’s gained a surprising amount of traction with a wide variety of listeners thanks to his most recent two albums with Iron Bonehead, 2015’s Mysteries and 2017’s Banished From Time, Black Cilice‘s vision has remained forever resolute.

In 2019, that vision – idiosyncratic, insatiable, intractable – is more resolute than ever. Witness the aptly titled Transfixion of Spirits. Once again, Black Cilice wields sound as its own weapon, but in a daresay elegant manner seemingly at odds with the stratifying frequencies that bombard and blanket the listener. Indeed, this is in-the-red rawness to a superlative degree, surging second-wave black metal to the bone, but underneath those layers of filth ‘n’ fatalism lies a melancholic majesty that’s truly a splendor to behold. And whereas the preceding Banished From Time(intentionally) broke from the mold and portrayed a thicker, more strident violence, here on Transfixion of Spirits does Black Cilice fittingly find a more spectral expression: no less hysteric or harrowing, its melodic misery springs forth like a geyser of grey, oppressive in its omnipresence and older than many generations of black metal itself.

Above all, Black Cilice proves once again that “purism” need not be shorthand for a dearth of ideas: he twists the anachronisms of classic black metal into ageless, endlessly spellbinding forms, each undulating wave lapping back against the other to utterly hypnotizing effect. Entrance thyself to this Transifixion of Spirits.

Begin entrancing thyself with the new track “Outerbody Incarnation” here:

Cover and tracklisting follows:

Tracklisting for Black Cilice’s Transfixion of Spirits
1. Darkness and Fog
2. Maze of Spirits
3. Outerbody Incarnation
4. Revelations
www.facebook.com/IronBoneheadProductions