RIENAUS stream new KVLT album in advance of its release – features members of AZAZEL+++

Today, Finnish black metallers Rienaus stream the entirety of their highly anticipated third album, Luciferille. Set for international release on November 25th via KVLT. Hear Rienaus‘ Luciferille in its entirety here:

Formed in 2009 and led by the iron fist of erstwhile Azazel member Mavrofos, Rienaus have quietly built a sizable catalog of paradigmatic Finnish black metal. With two albums, three demos, an EP, a split album, and even a live record to their blasphemous name, Rienaus have dependably and doggedly pursued their vision with nary a misstep: so pure, so cold, traditional Finnish hunger – no more, but definitely less. An idiom doesn’t “need” anything when it is already in its perfect state.

And so it goes with Rienaus‘ third album, Luciferille. Immediately, those chill winds of melodic mysticism blow across this tight ‘n’ concise 35-minute record: freezing fire fueled by unfiltered emotion and inner darkness, performed with a conviction one can truly FEEL. As ever, Mavrofos finds that ever-elusive production style that’s both clear ‘n’ shimmering and just a bit roughed-up and raw, allowing the subtly spiraling guitar parts to take hold of the listener’s soul and whip him into a hypnosis of transcendental proportions. However, whereas the hallmarks of the classic Finnish black metal sound are present – both pulsing gallop and hateful headbang, shifting with ease and when the album’s seven central songs call for it – Rienaus manage to explore (subtly, effortlessly) a number of dynamics not often found alongside such tropes, like downtempo clang and almost-motorik grind. But, of course, Luciferille sounds and feels BLACK METAL above all.

To restate the obvious, Finnish black metal doesn’t need to “be” anything more than it already is, and Rienaus deeply understand this intrinsic truth. Discover that truth – again, or for the first time – with Luciferille.

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Rienaus’ Luciferille
1. Alkusoitto
2. Uhrattavaksi Siunattu
3. Luciferille
4. Saatanan Valtakunnassa
5. Äärellä viimeisen portin
6. Pedon Merkki
7. Kuilu
8. Äänet yössä

MORE INFO:
www.rienaus.bandcamp.com 

KARG reveal new video from upcoming AOP RECORDS album – features E-L-R

Today, black metal iconoclasts Karg reveal the new video “EBBE//FLUT.” The track is the third single from the band’s highly anticipated eighth album, Resignation, set for international release on November 25th via AOP Records. Featuring E-L-R,  see & hear Karg‘s “EBBE//FLUT here:

Says the band about the track, “‘Grab der Wellen’ (Grave of the Waves / Waves Grave) is the third track of Resignation. Lyrically, this song is about melancholy and that the people feeling that way will never be entirely free of agony and the wish to die. They court death by putting themselves in risky situations, live in the fast lane, or simply burn from both ends. They die way too soon, not literally by killing themselves, but by going one step too far. And in the end, nothing will be left of them, except their love and the memories shared while they were near us and close.”

Karg was founded back in the summer of 2006 as a one-man project. Between 2010 and 2014, Karg was fully formed as a band to play gigs, formally in Germany, Austria, and Central Europe. In the years through 2018, Karg was, like in its beginning, held as a one-man project and solely released albums. With the release of Karg‘s sixth studio album, Dornenvögel, the band celebrated its rebirth as a live unit with special dates in 2018 and 2019. They did their first real tour supporting their seventh album, Traktat, in February 2020. 

At the beginning of 2021, main songwriter J.J. took a long hiatus from the world and lived in a cabin in the woods, where he wrote the main part what should become Karg‘s eighth album, Resignation. A unique album to be sure, Resignation will see Karg will release a bonus 7″ containing two perhaps-surprising covers of Nothing and the Cranberries, translated into German. Equally unique, Resignation features a variety of different musicians such as both vocalists of E-L-R, Klara from Firtan on violin, P.G. from Groza, and Private Paul, a hip-hop artist from Hamburg. With all the help of these great musicians and a grandiose mastering from Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Oathbreaker, and many more), Resignation proves to be one of Karg‘s most experimental and diverse albums. 

The musical style of Karg is still a furious, hysteric mixture of atmospheric black metal and a huge load of post-punk, with significant influences also from grunge, shoegaze, and post-punk. In recent years, the influences from other genres outside of black metal evolved more and more, but they were there, in abridged form, since day one. Lyrically and texturally, Karg was always focused on the more melancholic side of life, such as broken relationships, lost love, estrangement, drug abuse, loss, or suicide thoughts and depression. In contrast to many other bands within the wider “atmospheric black metal” umbrella, Karg‘s lyrics are equally as important as the music. Taken together, Resignation will surely shock, surprise, and awe in equal measure – and Karg wouldn’t have it any other way!

Hear the previously revealed singles “Generation ohne Abschied” – featuring Private Paul – HERE at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel as well as “Grab der Wellen” – featuring P.G. from Groza and Klara from Firtan –  HERE, also at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Karg’s Resignation
1. Was bleibt (featuring Klara of FIRTAN)
2. EBBE//FLUT (featuring E-L-R)
3. Grab der Wellen (featuring P.G. of GROZA)
4. Generation ohne Abschied (featuring T.L. of Lûs and Private Paul)

Bonus songs on first-press CD & bonus 7″ 
5. Einen Traum weiter dort fangen wir das Licht (The Cranberries – Dreaming my Dreams)
6. Fieberherz (Nothing – Fever Queen)

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/kargband 

www.aoprecords.de

Quebec Black Metallers ORPHIQUE stream SEPULCHRAL debut

Today, uprising Québec black metallers Orphique stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Consécration Cadavérique. Set for international release on November 24th via Sepulchral Productions, hear Orphique‘s Consécration Cadavérique in its entirety here:

Orphique, a new player within Québec’s black metal scene, was summoned by David Potter as a means to put his vision into words and music. For his first album, Consécration Cadavérique, Potter has surrounded himself with musicians close to him to realize this vision, the result of which is high-caliber melodic black metal where faster, more traditional parts fuse with atmospheric and progressive passages, somewhat reminiscent of Gris and Sombres Forêts’ musical collaboration, Miserere Luminis. 

Sometimes frenetic, sometimes contemplative, always emotional, Orphique‘s Consécration Cadavérique is a superb new entry into the Québec black metal pantheon! Fittingly, the album will be released at this year’s Messe des Morts festival, curated as always Sepulchral Productions.

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Orphique’s Consécration Cadavérique
1. Onirique
2. Vampirique
3. Chromatique
4. Chimérique
5. Sporadique

www.sepulchralproductions.com

HIBERNUS MORTIS stream long-awaited BLOOD HARVEST comeback album – features GIGAN ex-member

Today, reanimated Florida death metallers Hibernus Mortis stream the entirety of their long-awaited comeback album, The Monoliths of Cursed Slumber. Set for international release on November 25th via Blood Harvest Records on CD and cassette tape formats – the vinyl version will follow next year – hear Hibernus Mortis‘ The Monoliths of Cursed Slumber in its entirety here:

Formed in 1996 in south Florida, Hibernus Mortis were something of a cult fixture in the American death metal underground during the late ’90s. A demo and a live album spread their name across that underground, and their debut album, The Existing Realms of Perpetual Sorrow, finally arrived in 2002. An unreleased demo was recorded a year later, but sadly, the name Hibernus Mortis drifted into dust as lineup shuffles squandered the band’s momentum.

But, of course, DEATH metal is eternal (life is not!), and now Hibernus Mortis return from their graven slumber with a perfectly titled second album: The Monoliths of Cursed Slumber. With a revitalized lineup which features ex-Gigan guitarist Randy Piro alongside OG members Cesar Placeres (vocals, drums), Ralf Varela (guitar) and Yasser Morales (bass), Hibernus Mortis here create a gutsfucking whirlwind of authentically ’90s-vintage death metal. From downtuned gallop to cyclonic breakdown, from surge to slam, eerie dissonance to gutter-steeped doom, all pure ‘n’ proper bases are covered – and then brutally beaten down with cold, cruel precision. It’d be simple to say that The Monoliths of Cursed Slumber sounds like not a year has passed since the band’s original but….well, that’s pretty much the truth, and Hibernus Mortis swarm and crush with an intensity that belies their age. 

To restate the obvious, death metal is ETERNAL, and so is Hibernus Mortis‘ muse. Awaken and enter The Monoliths of Cursed Slumber!

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Hibernus Mortis’ The Monoliths of Cursed Slumber
1. Funebre:The Eternal Sleep (Intro)
2. Endless Dawns Of Somnambulant Exorcisms
3. To Drink The Blood Of The Black Sleep
4. Ascending The Catacombs
5. Grotesque Perishment Into The Miasma Of Darkness Everlasting
6. Vomitus Imperium
7. Enshrined In Spiritual Atrophy
8. Invocations Of Never
9. Vestigial Currents That Transcend The Ether Of Tenebrous Unconsciousness
Embedded Deep Within The Smoldering Embers Of Sempiternal Dusk (Outro)

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/hibernusmortis

www.bloodharvest.se
www.bloodharvestrecords.bandcamp.com

VAMPYRIC TYRANT set release date for new PURITY THROUGH FIRE EP, reveal first track – features members of GRABUNHOLD

Today, Purity Through Fire announces December 21st as the international release date for a brand-new EP from Vampyric Tyrant, Zorn und Hass, on CD format. The 12″ vinyl version will follow next year.

Formed in 2020, Vampyric Tyrant are a Teutonic black metal duo forged in the fires of old. The band is helmed by ex-Grabunhold member Graf Nekromant, joined by drummer Akatash. As foretold by their moniker, Vampyric Tyrant indeed offer an iteration of vampiric black metal, but one locked in the dungeon of the ’90s, as well as equally pursuing the epic ruminations of the legendary Moonblood.

Now joined under the banner of Purity Through Fire and with the addition of bassist König Grausamkeit, Vampyric Tyrant enter their next epoch with a four-song/19-minute EP fittingly titled Zorn und Hass. Grim yet stately, raw yet refined, the ghoulishness they offer here is as ethereal as it is insistent. More than that, each of the four tracks offers its own labyrinth of nostalgia and despair, perhaps hitting its sorrowful peak with the crying-orc instrumental “Ein Traum.” Then, Zorn und Hass concludes in mesmerizingly hooligan fashion with the six-minute, organ-led “Totschlag.”

Together with this new release, Purity Through Fire will reissue the band’s debut EP, Das Schwert der Sterne, on CD and later vinyl as well as reissue their debut album, Schwarze Schwingen, on vinyl. Vampyric Tyrant on the march!

March forward with the aforementioned brand-new track “Totschlag” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Vampyric Tryant’s Zorn und Hass
1. Vereinsamung [4:50]
2. Zorn und Hass [5:42]
3. Ein Traum [2:23]
4. Totschlag [6:06]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/Vampyric-Tyrant-111493750775713

Finland’s GRIEVE reveal first track from WEREWOLF comeback album

Today, reanimated Finnish black metallers Grieve reveal the new track “Deep in Ice-Cold Mountains.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s surprise second album, Wolves of the Northern Moon, which will see international release early next year via Werewolf Records. Hear Grieve‘s “Deep in Ice-Cold Mountains” in its entirety here:

It was but 2020 when Grieve emerged from the darkness with their self-titled debut EP. Although otherwise meant to exist strictly in that darkness, it was soon discerned that the band included veritable Finnish black metal royalty within its ranks. Nevertheless, the swiftly uncompromising nature of Grieve was felt: Northern Black Metal Exclusively From the 1990s. No more, no less, no progression, no fun.

And then, at the dawn of 2020 came Grieve‘s first – and, at the time, final – album. Aptly titled Funeral, the record was a fiercely focused one, solely featuring funereal marches by V-Khaoz and last rites by Werwolf. Beyond cold, utterly grim, violent and restrained simultaneously, Funeral was a record out of time, one where the last couple decades of “black metal” never existed. And then Grieve ceased to exist.

But, obeying only nature and will, Grieve have arisen from their own self-imposed grave with the second full-length Wolves of the Northern Moon. “We said we’d end the project for good, but we lied,” state the band about that grave. “We exhumed it.” Indeed, the exhumation also includes a nastiness last found on such Nordic classics as Kronet til konge, Pentagram, Til evighet…, or even Black Thrash Attack. Essentially, then, Grieve‘s ethics have not changed (nor should they have to), but one can nonetheless find here a pronounced asskicking sensibility that adds further antagonization to trendy ears as well as a noble march to mystical victories. “Eternal Winter, Eternal War”: These Wolves of the Northern Moon are on the hunt – and you’re next!

Release date, cover, and tracklisting to be announced shortly. For more info, consult the link below.

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/thetruegrieve

www.facebook.com/werewolf.rex

DARKENED premiere new video – features members of GRAVE, MEMORIAM, A CANOROUS QUINTET, EXCRUCIATE++

Today, pan-international death metal elite Darkened premiere the new video “Swallowed by the World”. The track hails from the band’s critically acclaimed second album, The Black Winter, released this past May via Edged Circle Productions. See & hear the Stefan Jansson-directed video for Darkened‘s “Swallowed by the World” in its entirety here:

While Darkened made a none-more-auspicious start with the Into the Blackness EP during the summer of 2019, it was the band’s debut album, Kingdom of Decay, where they literally EXPLODED onto the scene. Proud and pure death metal, no more but definitely no less, it was not at all surprising that Darkened made an immediate impact given their lineup on that debut full-length: drummer Andy Whale (Memoriam, ex-Bolt Thrower), vocalist Gord Olson (Ye Goat-Herd Gods / Demisery), guitarists Linus Nirbrant (A Canorous Quintet / This Ending) and Hempa Brynolfsson (Excruciate / Ordo Infernus), and new bassist Tobias Cristiansson (Grave / ex-Dismember). Patient and punishing, they proved that true songwriting stuns and crushes when practiced by masters of the death metal craft.

Now, as presaged earlier this year by the quick-hitting Mourn the Dying Light EP, Darkened arrive with their massive second album, The Black Winter. Immediately, their trademark sound is in place – clear & crushing riffs, grooves like a tank, an overall world-eating sensibility – but delve deeper and one will find Darkened expanding their already-considerable powers. Most prominently, there’s a surprising amount of atmosphere being explored on The Black Winter, true to its namesake. The resultant spaciousness is somehow just as suffocating as the band’s now-characteristic density; whether it’s in the riffing itself or the very subtle touches of synth underneath, the album certainly bears a unique-yet-unified aspect. From there, melancholic twists and wistful melody are seamlessly integrated into the Darkened onslaught of sound, which alternately pushes the aggression to murderous levels and the doom to the darkest depths; put another way, everything here sounds HUGE. And credit for that must go to Linus Nirbrant, who handled The Black Winter‘s production, as well as mixing & mastering by the Dan Swanö at Unisound – truly, one will not find a clearer yet more crushing death metal record this year!

As these endtimes take on a muted resignation, it’s only bleakly fitting that Darkened provide the soundtrack with The Black Winter…

Cover artwork, courtesy of Juanjo Castellano Rosado (Unleashed, The Black Dalhia Murder, Gates of Ishtar), and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Darkened (International)’s The Black Winter
1. Premonitions
2. Blood
3. Flayed
4. Terminal Lucidity
5. Black Winter
6. Fearful Quandary
7. Swallowed by the World
8. Plague of Despair
9. Regret

DARKENED lineup 2022
Hempa Brynolfsson – guitar (Excruciate)
Linus Nirbrant – guitar (A Canorous Quintet)
Tobias Cristiansson – bass (Grave, ex-Dismember)
Gord Olson – vocals (Ye Goat Herd Gods)
Andy Whale – drums (Memoriam, ex-Bolt Thrower)

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/darkeneddeathmetal

www.edgedcircleproductions.com

THY DARKENED SHADE set release date for new W.T.C. album, reveal first track

Today, W.T.C. Productions announces January 10th, 2023 as the international release date for Thy Darkened Shade‘s highly anticipated third album, Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya.

A statement from the band reads: “Years in the making, Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya is for sure our most difficult-to-be-made album to date and will get unleashed soon on the filthy cosmic plane. Hymnic yet progressive, exploring the concept of Lucifer’s manifestations through religions once more, through real occult practice and experience. Coming from exactly the same source as Liber Lvcifer I but releasing a totally different expression of it. After adversity and hardships, we are definitely proud to share it with all of you who are willing to experience a spiritual black metal manifestation of the void. We stared inwards once more, ignoring any outside influences, caring only for reflection, burning totally out everyone involved in it, and getting closer and closer to the source of all.”


Creation is destruction
Above is below
Within is without

Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya
A Qliphotic Grimoire for the End of All Flesh
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Into Eerie Catacombs” here:

Cover artwork, courtesy of Vamperess Imperium, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Thy Darkened Shade’s Liber Lvcifer II: Mahapralaya
1. Luciftias [3:50]
2. Sacrosanct Pyre [7:11]
3. Into Eerie Catacombs    [7:32]
4. Sathanastasis [9:21]
5. Qelippot Epiphany [8:16]
6. Acausal Current of Thanatos [6:29]
7. Veneration for the Fireborn King [5:35]
8. Noxious Witchery of the Titans [7:05]
9. Typhonian Temple [6:16]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/people/thy-darkened-shade/100063789570420

www.w-t-c.org

STRIGOI & BLACK ANVIL Announce Gimme Radio Specials

This week, GIMME RADIO will not air one, but two Season of Mist specials! The first one will feature blackened death doom outfit STRIGOI on November 15, followed by New York City black metal collective BLACK ANVIL on November 16!

The two-hour radio specials, hosted by the bands themselves, will air at 21:00 CET on those dates. You can tune in via the Gimme Radio website (for free) HERE! Both bands will be available in the live chat during their specials. 

ABOUT STRIGOI From death comes rebirth, as is such with STRIGOI. Formed in the ashes of VALLENFYRE by guitarist/vocalist Gregor Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST) and bassist Chris Casket, the experimental death metal formation is now unleashing their sophomore effort, ‘Viscera.’ This devastating brand of death metal pulls sludge and crust elements while lyrically, the album explores themes of both real and conceptual horror, coalescing into what can only be described as the ultimate mixtape of misery.

ABOUT BLACK ANVIL
Nearly six years after As Was made its mark, Black Anvil is returning with its aptly titled fifth full-length, ‘Regenesis.’ With a new record label, a new album, and a newfound exploration of dark and black metal, ‘Regenesis’ represents a new dawn for the New York City collective.

Make no mistake, ‘Regenesis’ is not a departure from Black Anvil’s identity, but rather serves as the latest progression in the band’s ever-evolving sound. The unrelenting and polished aggression hangs in the balance above dark melodic passages, presenting a dynamic soundscape that serves as the band’s most devastating and existential offering to date. This isn’t just black metal, this is NYBM.

ABOUT GIMME METAL
GIMME METAL TV combines the power of MTV-like linear broadcasting with livestreaming, and offers music videos, short form artist-created content, long form music documentaries, movies, and so much more.

Founded by digital music veterans from Apple Music, Google Play, Beats Music, and Napster, parent company GIMME Radio builds highly engaged communities for the passionate fan on a genre-by-genre basis. The company launched its first community in June of 2017: the world’s first 24/7 metal-focused service. Fans tune in to hear world class DJs playing metal they can’t hear anywhere else – for free.

The GIMME METAL app and streaming radio service allows the fans and the DJs/artists to communicate directly with one another in a live feed, in real-time, while they listen. Its roster of 70-plus DJs includes Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Jessica Pimentel, star of Orange Is The New Black, Brian Posehn, and Randy Blythe of Lamb Of God, among many others.

ORPHIQUE reveal first track from SEPULCHRAL debut

Today, uprising Québec black metallers Orphique premiere the new track “Chromatique.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Consécration Cadavérique, set for international release on November 24th via Sepulchral Productions. Hear Orphique‘s “Chromatique” in its entirety here:

Orphique, a new player within Québec’s black metal scene, was summoned by David Potter as a means to put his vision into words and music. For his first album, Consécration Cadavérique, Potter has surrounded himself with musicians close to him to realize this vision, the result of which is high-caliber melodic black metal where faster, more traditional parts fuse with atmospheric and progressive passages, somewhat reminiscent of Gris and Sombres Forêts’ musical collaboration, Miserere Luminis. 

Sometimes frenetic, sometimes contemplative, always emotional, Orphique‘s Consécration Cadavérique is a superb new entry into the Québec black metal pantheon! Fittingly, the album will be released at this year’s Messe des Morts festival, curated as always Sepulchral Productions.

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Orphique’s Consécration Cadavérique
1. Onirique
2. Vampirique
3. Chromatique
4. Chimérique
5. Sporadique

www.sepulchralproductions.com