UK post-black veterans FEN are proud to present their tenth release Stone and Sea

Taken from three tracks included in the band’s 2016 split with international post-black contemporaries Sleepwalker, Stone & Sea is a tribute to the crumbling coastlines of Eastern England and the spirits that lie restless beneath the waters. Recorded, produced and re-mastered specifically for vinyl by Greg Chandler (Esoteric, Lychgate, Grave Miasma, Fluisteraars), these tracks take the best aspects of post-rock and black metal and intertwine key elements of traditional folk to create a masterpiece laced with a definite touch of the “epic.”

For over a decade, FEN have steadily developed into one of the most intriguing bands within the UK black metal scene. Often bracketed within the post-black and “shoegaze” movements, the London trio’s sound is actually more unique to themselves – a startling paradox of searing and aggressive paradox within a progressively daring and ambient beauty.

Starting out with a pastoral form of atmospheric black metal on 2009’s acclaimed debut The Malediction Fields, the trio’s sound has expanded and diversified considerably across five full-length albums to embrace a number of different elements all honed and synthesized into a distinctive, yet captivating, soundscape.

In late 2015, the band recorded a three-track EP, entitled Stone and Sea, a deliberate hearken back to their older, more explosive, sound whilst retaining the maturity the English trio had developed across the years. The intention was to record something ‘for themselves,’ to escape from the album cycle for a time and work on a self-contained piece.

Eisenwald now proudly presents this unique recording as a limited-edition 180-gram vinyl MLP, which includes new album art illustrated by Alasdair Dunn of Immortalpict Illustration. Fans of the band’s earlier works, such as Ancient Sorrow, will find much to appreciate here while those who admire the trio’s more recent releases will enjoy a more immediate interpretation of the FEN sound.

FEN at the time of recording:

The Watcher – guitars, vocals
Grungyn – bass, bodhran, vocals
Derwydd – drums, frame drum, shaker

FEN currently is:

The Watcher – guitars, vocals
Grungyn – bass, vocals
Havenless – drums, percussion

https://www.facebook.com/fenofficial/
https://fenuk.bandcamp.com
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Fen/92603
https://store.eisenton.de/fen-a-720

BLACK/TECH/DEATH GROUP HISS FROM THE MOAT UNVEILS VIDEO FOR NEW SONG “GOD NEPHASTO”

January 11, 2019 – Los Angeles, CA – As anticipation builds toward the Feb. 22 release of “The Harrier,” the sophomore album by HISS FROM THE MOAT (the transcontinental black/death metal band founded by former Vital Remains and Hour of Penance drummer James Payne), the group has unveiled a play-through video of a new song, “God Nephasto.”

Website Gear Gods described the blistering song as “blackened tech-death,” writing that “the precise technical execution and raw blackened aesthetic, two seemingly opposing approaches, are combining in a marvelous way.” The site went on to praise Payne’s performance, calling him “one of the only drummers with the god-like capability of playing with extreme technical precision while endowing deliberate feel.” Says Payne, “The song is one of the most intense of the album as far as rhythm and atmosphere. It has several parts of blast beats and breakdowns that, combined with the dark atmosphere of the notes, keep the song pretty nervous. This is to support the lyrics that have been taken from parts of the Enuma Elish and the Old Testament that talk about when the gods mentioned in these scripts ordered sacrifices in their honor.” “God Nephasto” is now available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and other digital platforms. It is also being offered along with the title track – the music video for which can be seen at this location – as an “instant grat” download in conjunction with all digital pre-orders. “The Harrier” will be released on Feb. 22 on CD, digital and limited-edition moat-black vinyl.

Pre-orders are available now via Bandcamp (https://hissfromthemoat.bandcamp.com) and the M-Theory Audio webshop (www.m-theoryaudio.com/store). The album – which features cover artwork by Stefano Bonora – was recorded, mixed and mastered at Milan’s SPVN Studio with Stefano Orkid Santi, who produced the latest Cripple Bastards album and previously worked as live engineer for bands such as Origin, Suffocation and Cattle Decapitation. 

The U.S.-based Payne formed HISS FROM THE MOAT with two Italian friends – bassist/vocalist Carlo Cremascoli and guitarist Giacomo Poli – when he was just 18 years old. In 2009, the group self-released their debut EP, “The Carved Flesh Message,” which they supported by performing alongside the likes of Psycroptic, Skeletonwitch and The Black Dahlia Murder. Four years later, HISS FROM THE MOAT released their debut full-length, “Misanthropy,” via Lacerated Enemy/Nuclear Blast. The band’s intense use of both extremes of death and black metal produced an album that stood alongside those of acts such as Behemoth, Belphegor and Rotting Christ. Following the release of “Misanthropy,” HISS FROM THE MOAT embarked on an extensive tour across Russia, Europe and Asia, delivering aggressive and visually engaging performances backed by the blackened intensity of the band’s new material. During this period, Payne left the legendary death metal act Vital Remains – a group he joined following a two-year stint with Italian death metal powerhouse Hour of Penance – to focus full-time on HISS FROM THE MOAT, and the band extended from a three-piece to a quartet with the addition of Max Cirelli (guitar/vocals). Over the past two years, the band has toured extensively worldwide while working between the U.S. and Italy to write “The Harrier.”

Now, HISS FROM THE MOAT aim to unleash another sonic onslaught that captures the band’s range of death and black metal inspiration while creating a unique and intense presence in the world of extreme music. 

HISS FROM THE MOAT are:

Max Cirelli – Guitar/Vocals

James Payne – Drums

Carlo Cremascoli – Bass/Vocals

Jack Poli – Guitar

 www.facebook.com/hissfromthemoat

www.twitter.com/hissfromthemoat

www.instagram.com/hissfromthemoat

www.m-theoryaudio.com

Misery Index release second new track of upcoming album ‘Rituals of Power’

Death Metal extremists MISERY INDEX are now premiering the second track taken from their upcoming album ‘Rituals of Power’. The new offering is slated for release on March 08th, 2019 via Season of Mist. The title track is now streaming in the form of a lyric video

MISERY INDEX comment on the track: “‘Rituals of Power’ represents the album’s title track and most musically dynamic offering. We wanted to create something that captured the tension of this modern era; something that conjures visions of civilizational collapse and lost ideals gone astray and embeds them in riffs as monolithic as they are haunting. It is an anthem of hope as much as it is a cautionary tale about the use and abuse of power; an end-times farewell letter from the front lines of history. Turn it up and enjoy the ride
The artwork, which is created by Raphael Gabrio, and track details of ‘Rituals of Power’ can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. Universal Untruths (2:35)
2. Decline and Fall (4:36)
3. The Choir Invisible (4:26)
4. New Salem (3:24)
5. Hammering the Nails (3:46)
6. Rituals of Power (5:20)
7. They Always Come Back (5:08)
8. I Disavow (4:21)
9. Naysayer (2:26)
  The band comment on the album: “‘Rituals of Power’ is a disavowal and warning against the consequences of our so-called ‘post-truth’ age. Each of the 9 songs revolves loosely around this theme, yet each track also stands very much on its own. As an album however, they are all brought to life as one ‘reanimated’ monster; it’s roughly 35 minutes of unhinged, yet cohesive, riff-driven aural ballistics. We were pissed off and on fire during both the writing and recording, and we think it shows in spades. We set out to write the best album we could, based on what we would want to hear first as fans of this music, and we could not be happier.”
On further news, MISERY INDEX have announced new European dates together with WORMROT and TRUTH CORRODED in the spring of 2019. The ‘Rituals of Power: Phase 1’ tour sees the band traveling through eight countries with a final curtain at the Turock in Essen (DE). A full list of confirmed shows can be found below. MISERY INDEX
+WORMROT + THE LION’S DAUGHTER + TRUTH CORRODED
23 Mar 19 Heidelberg (DE) Heidelberg Deathfest
24 Mar 19 Nürnberg (DE) Z-Bau
25 Mar 19 Wien (AT) Escape Metalcorner
26 Mar 19 Brno (CZ) Melodka
27 Mar 19 Dresden (DE) Chemiefabrik
28 Mar 19 Kassel (DE) Goldgrube
29 Mar 19 Berlin (DE) Cassiopeia
30 Mar 19 Eindhoven (NL) Grindhoven
31 Mar 19 München (DE) Backstage
01 Apr 19 Zürich (CH) Werk21
02 Apr 19 Segrate MI (IT) Circolo Magnolia
03 Apr 19 Genf (CH) Usine
04 Apr 19 Paris (FR) Glazart
05 Apr 19 Sint Niklaas (BE) De Casino
06 Apr 19 Essen (DE) Turock
MISERY INDEX return furiously with their brand new album, ‘Rituals of Power’! With their sixth full-length, the American icons of hard hitting brutality display the strength of maturity grown out of the experience gained as a relentless touring machine. The general trend of their continuous evolution to incorporate less core elements and move towards classic death metal finds a new high water mark.

When their debut EP ‘Overthrow’ was recorded in 2001 by vocalist and bassist Jason Netherton (ex-DYING FETUS) together with (then) guitarist and vocalist Mike Harrison and drummer Kevin Talley (ex-DYING FETUS), MISERY INDEX immediately charted a course to explore and push the limits of Death Metal and Grindcore, drawing influence from bands like MORBID ANGEL, NAPALM DEATH, TERRORIZER, BOLT THROWER and ENTOMBED. The erstwhile project shifted to a full time band when guitarist Sparky Voyles (ex-DYING FETUS) joined.

In 2003, MISERY INDEX unleashed their first full-length ‘Retaliate’, to exceptional reviews and followed by numerous support tours and festivals in Europe and North America. After several line-up changes, second album ‘Discordia’ was released in 2006 with even more touring in its wake. Their third full-length, ‘Traitors’ (2008) reaped raving reactions from both critics and fans and saw the band on the road again until 2009. Then MISERY INDEX dropped ‘Heirs to Thievery’ (2010) like a bomb on the Death Metal masses, shattering all expectations. The album was both a commercial and critical success, elevating the band to headlining slots. During that year, long time guitarist Sparky Voyles was replaced by Darin Morris.

A string of shows and festivals around the globe followed and on the Munich date of ‘Full of Hate Tour’ alongside CANNIBAL CORPSE, BEHEMOTH and LEGION OF THE DAMNED, the band recorded their first live album. Released early 2013, ‘Live in Munich’ perfectly epitomized the rawness and ferocity that MISERY INDEX elevated onto a new level with their fifth full length “The Killing Gods” in 2014. 

Now with “Rituals of Power”, revolving around the concept of “truth”, MISERY INDEX are back with nine crushing tracks which tackle how ‘truth’ has been constructed and molded throughout history as a means to uphold power, regimes and ideologies. Brace, hold tight and run for cover, the wrath of MISERY INDEX is upon us and they are more furious than they’ve ever been. 
Album line-up:
Jason Netherton: bass, vocals
Adam Jarvis: drums
Mark Kloeppel: guitar, vocals
Darin Morris: lead guitar

www.facebook.com/MiseryIndex

VALKYRJA to tour with Marduk again in April for “Viktoria Europa Part 3”

Riding high on the critical acclaim afforded their highly anticipated fourth album, Throne Ablaze – released on November 26th, 2018 via W.T.C. Productions – today, Swedish black metal elite Valkyrja announce that they’ll be touring as direct support to the legendary Marduk as part of the “Viktoria Europa Part 3” tour. Following the release of Throne Ablaze last year, Valkyrja took to the road with Marduk across Europe as part of the “Viktoria Europa Part 2” tour along with the equally legendary Archgoat. A rousing success overall, these new tour dates will continue both bands’ dominance of the nowadays black metal scene, and further the spell that Swedish black metal has had over the underground. Full list of dates as well as poster are as follows:
  April 13 POL Zabrze @ Wiatrak
April 14 CZE Ostrava @ Barrack
April 16 CZE Brno @ Melodka
April 17 AUT Wien @ Viper Room
April 18 SVK Bratislava @ Randal
April 19 ROU Cluj Napoca @ /Form Space
April 20 ROU Bucarest @ Quantic
April 21 BUL Sofia @ Mixtape 5
April 23 MKD Skopje @ MKC
April 24 SRB Beograd @ Dom Omladine
April 25 CRO Zagreb @ Vintage Industrial Bar
April 26 ITA Milan @ Legend
April 27 SUI Luzern @ Konzerthaus Schuur
April 28 FRA Lyon @ CCO Villeurbanne
April 30 FRA Toulouse @ Metronum
May 01 ESP Barcelona @ Boveda
May 02 ESP Madrid @ Caracol
May 03 POR Lisbon @ RCA Club
May 04 POR Porto @ Hard Club
May 05 ESP Pamplona @ Totem
May 07 FRA Colmar @ Le Grillen
May 08 NED Helmond @ Cacao Fabriek
May 09 GER Munster @ Sputnikhalle
May 10 FRA Nilvange @ Le Gueulard Plus
May 11 NED Hoogeven @ Graveland Festival
Valkyrja was founded in 2004 with the earnest intention of channeling violence, deprivation, and loathing through means of extraordinarily potent audio emissions. Their ideals were permeated by passionate and boundless perversion – a sickly urge festering ever so vibrantly in the essence of its members, a will to cast off the manacles of societal enslavement and leave a dying world behind. While the brotherhood took shape, opposition and defiance surfaced from the deepest recesses of the mind: a fierce hostility towards the laws and morals of their surroundings, notions which felt entirely alien to the band’s core.
 
As part of Valkyrja‘s philosophy of ridding themselves from limitations, no specific genre was ever chosen since it would only serve to establish a framework of useless expectation. The artistic output created under the flag of Valkyrja defies all earthly shackles, including those of commercial categorization. With ideology as lodestar, venturing into darkness without a backwards glance, they took their first fledgling steps on a road staked out by the night itself.
 
Valkyrja‘s debut album, The Invocation of Demise, was recorded in Necromorbus Studio during March 2007 and then released in physical form by Northern Silence Productions six months later. Valkyrja quickly gained their reputation as a ferocious live act: a display of carnal lust leaving each stage with the foul scent of death. Drawn to the stench of putrid bereavement, Metal Blade Records contracted the band in 2009. The Invocation of Demise was treated to a re-release by their new ally, thus spreading the curse even further. The same year also saw a return to Necromorbus Studio for the recording of their second album, the most aptly named Contamination. The new tracks would prove to be a crucial part of the band’s live setlist as they, the following autumn, embarked on their first European campaign.
 
Forged and conceived to reflect blood and fire,  the third Valkyrja album, The Antagonist’s Fire, set the world aflame on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 2013. The opus also marked the beginning of Valkyrja‘s long-running collaboration with elite underground label World Terror Committee. During the past decade, facilitated by Massive Music and accompanied by titans of extreme metal, over 100 different European cities has been forced to swallow the bitter wine of sonic violence. Furthermore, 2016 and 2017 saw two extensive North American tours with Valkyrja as co-headliner, during which 22 different states were soaked in rotten blood.
 
Five years removed from the third opus, Valkyrja return under a new guise. The past few years have seen the band subjected to several crucial lineup changes, igniting a period of utter despair that would sow the seeds for what has now come to pass: Throne Ablaze was unleashed upon the world on November 26th, 2018. The album reflects the passion and dedication of everyone involved, those who face every storm – past and future – with weapon in hand. It will forever stand as a monument of continuous struggles – so right there, in the core of this strife to conquer every obstacle, kneel and obey the fires of the blazing throne! Cover art, courtesy of Nestor Avalos, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Valkyrja’s Throne Ablaze
1. In Ruins I Set My Throne
2. Crowned Serpent
3. Opposer of Light
4. Tombs Into Flesh
5. Halo of Lies
6. Transcendental Death
7. Paradise Lost
8. Throne Ablaze
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/valkyrjaswe

Mexican death metal cult Ravenous Death premiere the new track “The Sinister Being”

Today, Mexican death metal cult Ravenous Death premiere the new track The Sinister Being” . The track hails from the band’s striking debut album, Chapters of an Evil Transition, set for international release on January 21st via Memento Mori. Hear Ravenous Death‘s “The Sinister Being” in its entirety here:



Hailing from the vast death metal hotbed of Mexico, Ravenous Death feature current members of such other bands as Remains, Demonic Manifestation, and Death’s Forsaken. The band’s embryo was brought forth in 2016 during the recording of Remains’ third album in Mexico City, when vocalist/guitar player Miguel Angel and drummer Esteban Salcedo toyed with the idea of creating a death metal band influenced by Vomitory, Torture Division, and the likes. Later on, both musicians shared their vision with lead guitarist Enrique Fray, and the three of them agreed to push the idea forward and carry it out as a side-project due to the commitments they all had with their main bands. Soon after, Enrique and Miguel Angel began writing songs for the newborn abomination, and the three members decided to name the band after a Vomitory song titled “The Ravenous Dead.”

Fast forward to October 2016: the recording of Ravenous Death‘s debut demo/EP, Ominous Deathcult, is finalized (although not released as a Bandcamp download until March 2017), including five songs chock full of rotting maliciousness that show great poise in combining blasting brutality, crushing heaviness, somber ambience, and fierce intensity, with the lyrical themes revolving about death, occultism, blasphemy, and other classic topics of the olden Metal of Death. On May 13th, 2017, the band make their first live performance in the city of Guadalajara. For this occasion two new members were recruited – namely, bass player Alejandro Mendez and guitarist Diego Gomez – leaving Miguel Angel on vocal duties alone. After the excellent crowd response, both Alejandro and Diego join the band as official members.

Emboldened by this patient momentum, at last arrives Ravenous Death‘s full-length debut, aptly titled Chapters of an Evil Transition. Indeed displaying the band’s transition into an evil death metal juggernaut, the album absolutely bleeds the molten-yet-mildewed essence of ’90s Metal of Death. Fucking fashion and trends and especially fickle tastes, Chapters of an Evil Transition is a guts fucking time-warp to the days when death metal was supposedly “dead,” lost in favor of black metal or power metal or (worse) ill-fated sellout fantasies. In this landscape did many a raw ‘n’ righteous mini-classic get birthed, and suitably do Ravenous Death continue the proud legacy of Vomitory and Mexican forebears Shub Niggurath, but also especially Sadistic Intent, Seance, old Grave, ’90s Immolation, ’90s Vader, and Finland’s Demigod. No more but definitely no less, this is DEATH METAL by and for death metal MANIACS: no bullshit, and no sellout!

Completed by stark artwork courtesy of Mörtuus and mastering by the esteemed Javier Felez at Moontower Studios, allow Ravenous Death to read you Chapters of an Evil Transition! Continue reading with the new track “The Sinister Being” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Ravenous Death’s Chapters of an Evil Transition
1. Prelude to Evilness
2. Doomed to Exist
3. Harvesting Hate
4. Evil Dementia (The Voices of the Nobodies)
5. Awakening of the Damned
6. Cursed Origin
7. Initiation Ritual
8. The Sinister Being
9. Massacre Cult
10. Soul Consumed by the Occult


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/RavenousDeathOfficial
www.ravenousdeath.bandcamp.com

Windswept premiere second new track “Gustav Meyrink’s Prague”

WINDSWEPT, the Ukrainian black metal formation founded by DRUDKH mastermind Roman Sayenko, are premiering the second track from their upcoming album ‘The Onlooker’. The song “Gustav Meyrink’s Prague” is streaming here:
The artwork and tracklist of ‘The Onlooker’ have previously been revealed and can be viewed below.
Track-list
1. I’m Oldness and Oblivion (Intro)
2. Stargazer
3. A Gift to Feel Nostalgia
4. Disgusting Breed of Hagglers 
5. Gustav Meyrink’s Prague 
6. Insomnia of the Old Men     
7. Times of No Dreams & No Poets 
8. Bookworm, Loser, Pauper     
Conceived by DRUDKH mastermind Roman Sayenko in cooperation with two fellow band members, black metal force WINDSWEPT have returned with their second full length. ‘The Onlooker’ is to be released via Season of Mist Underground Activists on February 8, 2019.

Sayenko’s latest brainchild, WINDSWEPT, came into being in 2017. As this project stays within the classic expression of Ukrainian black metal, the band shares some similarities with legendary DRUDKH. However, the main goal for the three musicians is to express their creative ideas by improvising and capturing these sounds with the raw and authentic feeling of a live performance.
 
WINDSWEPT released their full length debut ‘The Great Cold Steppe‘, last year (March 2017). A musical piece that was inspired by the cold and harsh realities of the hostile and fierce Eastern steppes. Reflecting upon notions of traditions and the past, the musicians released the EP ‘Visionaire’ on Van Records, early in 2018.
 
Built on the same foundations, the new record ‘The Onlooker’ once more employs a raw, fierce black metal sound reminiscent of earlier days, harvested from spending only a few of days in the studio. ‘The Onlooker’ is bound to appeal to those who’ve enjoyed other works of these veterans of Ukrainian (black) metal scene. 

Line-up
V. – drums
K. – bass
R. – guitars, vocals

Sentient Ruin announce vinyl release of Consumed by Oblivion the debut MLP by Death/Doom four piece Void Rot.

Hailing from Minneapolis MN, Void Rot are devoted to constructing massive and soul-consuming dirges of monstrous death-doom that is influenced by the glorious progenitors of majestic, atmospheric, and slow moving death metal like Winter, Rippikoulu, Disembowelment, early Paradise Lost, Incantation, etc.

With their debut MLP Consumed by Oblivion Void Rot unravel 15+ minis of earth-shaking and telluric death-doom that erupts from the depths of hades and pulverizes into the cosmos, weaving ancestral death metal and atmospheric doom into a dismal and soul-crushing deluge of riffs to construct a sonic colossus of unseen enormity, which will be sure to please all fans of bands like Spectral Voice, Anhedonist, Inverloch, Indesinence, Krypts.

Within their imposing compositions Void Rot weave light and darkness seamlessly and with unseen mastery, evoking atmospheres of unparalleled vastness that alternate majestically between sidereal and contemplative psychedelia, and visceral and bludgeoning heaviness. Consumed by Oblivion is an iconic and proud example of true american death-doom as seen at its finest hour as it masterfully distills the void of space and the loneliness of the cosmos and bends them to impact the crushing misery of our earthly reality. The end result is a seismic monolith of spine-breaking riffs and warped atmospheres that while glorifying death-doom’s most distinctive traits also elevates the genre to an entire new level.

Officially released on January 9 2019, the LP will come as an etched, single sided black record housed in a custom black heavy cardstock cover + insert silkscreened with Pantone metallic bronze ink, and can now be pre-ordered at our store or Bandcamp. An EU version will be released with copper metallic ink through Italy’s Everlasting Spew Records.

Consumed by Oblivion has been acclaimed by critics with many outlets like CVLT Nation, Last Rites, No Clean Singing, Toilet ov Hell, Nine Hertz and many more hailing it as one of the best death doom moments of 2018, and CVLT Nation listing it ints top 10 best death doom records of 2018.

More info here

France’s Cénotaphe stream new track

Over the last several years, France’s Cénotaphe have unassumingly become one of the most promising new voices in black metal. Operating as a duo—each member with a long and distinguished résumé trailing behind him—multi-instrumentalist Fog performs all of the music, while Khaosgott handles the vocals. The band’s auspicious prior releases (a demo from 2015 and the 2018 Horizons MLP, both on the Finnish label Kuunpalvelus) established a foundation for the band to build upon, and the result is the magnificent Empyrée MLP. In both content and spirit, Cénotaphe draws inspiration from a constellation of 19th century French literary and artistic figures, such as Aloysius Bertrand, Théophile Gautier, Charles Beaudelaire, and the painter Odilon Redon. It is, however, the poet Stéphane Mallarmé who casts the longest shadow over the band. Mallarmé’s work is dense with inscrutable and tangled syntax, every poem an arcane cipher; however, despite his modern and unconventional style, Mallarmé tended to rely on stalwart and traditional poetic forms, like the sonnet. Within the framework of these rigid poetic structures, Mallarmé’s language was itself unconstrained, abstract, exquisitely lawless, but also excruciatingly methodical and intentional. 

There is a similar sensibility to Cénotaphe’s work. Regarded from a distance, one might not notice the idiosyncratic details that permeate it because the band remains so true to the form and spirit of black metal. But ensconced within the traditional structure of Cénotaphe’s songs are fractured melodies, disharmonies, sowing atonal discord under the surface of the song, like a violent undertow beneath a seemingly serene sea. The songs on this MLP all have an epic quality to them, and yet, none clocks in at more than seven minutes. The grandiosity of the tracks derives from their strength of composition, not overindulgence. The riffs are expansive, stretching out across the roiling pulse of the drums. The vocals, delivered entirely in French, hang in suspended animation, puncturing the surface of the song at precise points. Occasionally, the band modifies its approach, fleshing out the sound with keyboard flourishes or other instrumentation, but noticeably eschewing the use of guitar solos, despite being clearly in possession of the necessary skill. 

Nothing feels unintentional about Empyrée; it is a highly sculpted aesthetic creation. The album closes with a curious climax, a track that perhaps offers additional clues about the band’s musical interests: a near-instrumental cover of “End of the World” by the 1960s Greek prog pioneers Aphrodite’s Child, known for being Vangelis’ first band. Beginning slow, much the same as the original, the song evolves and accelerates, deftly bringing the album to a frantic crescendo, punctuated with piano notes and wordless vocals. Tying the album together is the cover art, a piece from 1893 entitled “In the Dust Cloud” by the Polish symbolist painter Jacek Malczewski.
MORE INFO:
www.nwnprod.com
www.facebook.com/pages/Nuclear-War-Now-Productions/114864651994141   

Black Metal Legends ENTHRONED sign to Season of Mist

Season of Mist are proud to announce the first signing of the new year; ENTHRONED! The legendary Belgian black metal formation will release their new album later this year.

The band comments: “ENTHRONED hordes worldwide, the time has come to break the silence. So it is with great pleasure that we can finally announce the new label with whom The Blackened Horde of ENTHRONED will work as from now on. We will be working with the Season of Mist clan for our next releases and further cooperations. We are looking forward to this new partnership, to work with a label that will be able to give us the support, freedom and the right tools to bring our dark art in it’s right place.
ENTHRONED – Confirmed live shows 2019
16 Feb 19 Arnhem (NL) Doc’s Blackfest, Willemeen
02 Jun 19 Kharkiv (UA) Art Plant Mechanica
20 Jul 19 Volyne (CZ) ETEF
ENTHRONED, a name Black Metal fans are no strangers to. Over the course of the last 25 years, they have pushed the boundaries of black metal and the deepness of the Left Hand Path philosophy further within. The quintet has channeled that dedication into their newest record; a dark and crushing black metal album where cold riffing, blood chilling atmospheres and ritualistic drumming are keys to forging their most mature and accomplished opus to date.

The band, who crawled out of the black lands of Belgium in 1993, inked their first contract less than a year after its formation, and recorded their revered debut album ‘Prophecies of Pagan Fire’, an album which became an all-time classic within the genre.

By then known as The Blackened Horde to fans and the scene at large, ENTHRONED recruited guitarist Nornagest and within 2 years entered Hautregard Studios to give birth to their second album. After the recording, tragedy struck and founding member and drummer Cernunnos (1997) took his own life.

The band went on to record the album using Cernunnos’s drum tracks from rehearsal recordings which were recorded by long time friend Da Cardoen, from the Belgian band ASPHYXIA. ‘Towards the Skullthrone of Satan’ was thus born.

ENTHRONED went on touring the world and releasing albums such as ‘Regie Sathanas’, ‘The Apocalypse Manifesto’ and ‘Armoured Bestial Hell’, the first album to feature core member Neraath on guitars. Then followed ‘Carnage in Worlds Beyond’, a brutal piece of black metal recorded by Harris Johns.

Ten years after their very first release, ENTHRONED recorded ‘XES Haereticum’, their last studio album with original vocalist and founding member Sabathan. The band then recruited Phorgath from the Belgian veterans EMPTINESS on bass and backing vocals, with Nornagest assuming the main vocal duties.

ENTHRONED recorded their seventh album ‘Tetra Karcist’ (first with this line-up) in 2007, which was hailed at the time as one of the best releases of the band. ‘Tetra Karcist’ also was the first opus out of a conceptual quadrilogy including ‘Pentagrammaton’, ‘Obsidium’ and last but not least ‘Sovereigns’.

The 2014 record ‘Sovereigns’ saw the debut of Menthor on drums, as well as extensive touring over the next four years. In 2016, Phorgath and guitarist ZarZax departed the band on amicable terms, and were replaced by Norgaath and Shagal (from cult Argentinian act VIBRION) respectively.

The band have started to work on their 11th and most anticipated album so far, which will be released in 2019 by Season of Mist.
 Line-up:
Nornagest: Vocals
Neraath: Guitars, noise and effects
Shāgāl: Guitars
Norgaath: Bass
Menthor: Drums

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/Frater.Silurian
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https://enthroned.bandcamp.com/

KATECHON: Norwegian black/death quartet announces the details of the third album 

KATECHON has already found a notable place in the underground upon churning out two albums. Trondheim, Norway based black/death metallers are now ready to take the wraps of their forthcoming third opus, Sanger Fra Auschwitz. The album is anti-totalitarian in form and a view into the events of the second world war and how it affected the people on both sides. 

This third album also marks a new era for the band as they are now signed to Finnish label SATURNAL RECORDS. This album is slated for worldwide release on CD and digitally on March 01, 2019. 

KATECHON started up in 2011 in Trondheim, Norway, with 5 members from different local metal and punk bands who were fed up by doing music by the numbers. They recorded an eponymous demo in 2012 which gained a strong amount of positive feedback from the underground and this demo paved their way to get signed to Nuclear War Now! Productions. During their tenure in Nuclear War Now!, KATECHON spawned two acclaimed albums — the debut “Man God Giant” in 2013 and  the sophomore album “Coronation” in 2015.

After the second album, the band decided to go on without their guitarist PGS and the drummer MD for personal reasons. Shortly thereafter Kråbøl (from Thorns and Sarke) took over on drums and CB became the sole guitar architect of the band. With this line-up they spent almost one and a half year in the studio recording the third opus “Sanger Fra Auschwitz”. During the studio sessions, Nuclear War Now! and KATECHON decided to part ways, and soon they found a new label, SATURNAL RECORDS, with whom they feel they can pursue their musical goals even further.

With the album “Sanger Fra Auschwitz”, KATECHON takes a deep dive into the darkest places of the collective human psyche. Here Auschwitz is not just the physical, but also the meta-physical manifestation of evil on earth. The record is a view into the events of the second world war and how it affected the people on both sides. It is anti-totalitarian in form, drawing textually from Paul Celan, T.S. Eliot and beat poetry. The music is cold and bleak, which is ironic considering they spent over one year recording it, utilizing a lot of guitar effects, synthesizers and mellotrons to achieve the full and rich sound it conjures. With this album KATECHON kills off the esoteric child diseases they had in their early years and head straightforward into the entropy of collective madness. The band has also weakened the magnitude of death metal attachment in this record and brought forth a more harrowing black metal commanded approach. “Sanger Fra Auschwitz” is 37 minutes of pure darkness!

Recorded: NORDSTERN studios in 2017-2018 
Music and Lyrics: KATECHON
Mastered, Mixed and Engineered: Christian Broholt
Cover Artwork: Martin SchreinerTRACK-LIST: 
1. Fotspor
2. Eloi
3. Renselsen
4. Ankomst
5. Mørkets Hjerte
6. Tre Hoder
7. Davids Skjold
8. Unheimlich
 MORE INFO:
https://www.facebook.com/Katechonband
https://katechon.bandcamp.com 
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CGYWVrKWCgmrpTaJ2vQ3f
www.saturnalrecords.com
www.facebook.com/saturnalrecords