STRIGOI release third new track of ‘Viscera’

Blackened Death Doom outfit STRIGOI are now proudly releasing their brand new single ‘An Ocean of Blood’, which is taken from the band’s upcoming album “Viscera”. The track can now be listened to here:

The album is set for worldwide release on September 30, 2022 via Season of Mist and can already be pre-saved HERE. Pre-orders are still live HERE.

STRIGOI comment: “We chose this track as the third single taken from our new album VISCERA due to it’s almost cinematic take on the internal and external conflict of existence. A transformational journey into the bloodshed and horror of the human condition.”

The cover artwork for ‘Viscera’, which has been created by Brian Sheehan of Legerdemain Art, can be found below along with the track-list and further album details.

Track-list
1. United in Viscera (6:44)
2. King of All Terror (2:38) [LISTEN]
3. An Ocean of Blood (4:13) [WATCH]
4. Napalm Frost (2:26)
5. Hollow (6:20) [WATCH]
6. A Begotten Son (3:51)
7. Bathed in a Black Sun (4:19)
8. Byzantine Tragedy (5:28)
9. Redeemer (2:38)
10. Iron Lung (7:55)
Total: 46:32

Unsettling: it’s a word which can be used to describe a good swathe of the music which has come from the mind of Greg Mackintosh over the years, but in the context of Strigoi, it feels particularly apt.

Formed immediately after previous side project Vallenfyre had run its course, Strigoi found Greg and Vallenfyre bassist Chris Casket reconfiguring the aesthetics of that band. Their 2019 debut, Abandon All Faith, was a notable transition, taking the crust punk, death metal and grind influences which had defined Vallenfyre and deriving from those an extreme music amalgam which was altogether more…well, unsettling.

But if Abandon All Faith was a record where the memory of Vallenfyre exerted an inevitable, but important, influence, then second album Viscera is where Strigoi define and express themselves on their own terms.

“It’s the second album and we’re pushing those limits,” says Chris Casket. “The longer songs are longer; the shorter songs are shorter. It’s fully realising the concept. When we did the first album, there were certain expectations as we were coming from Vallenfyre. I felt that it was a really good transition from one to the other. But I feel that with this record, it’s more of a fully fleshed out concept. It’s pushing the light and shade further out.”

“The first album was us giving it its own identity separate from Vallenfyre, even though it’s kind of an obvious continuation, in a way,” adds Greg. “But with Viscera, it’s a combination of pushing the envelope a little bit, making it a bit less raw. Because, we had done that to the Nth degree with Vallenfyre. I’d also say there’s a bit of sound design in there, too, to make it very creepy and, yes, unsettling, sound wise.”

With Covid thwarting Strigoi’s plans to do shows to promote Abandon All Faith, Greg and Chris used the down-time to work on what would eventually become Viscera.

“We have a strange way of working,” says Chris. “I will send words, prose, whatever it may be to Greg. He likes that process, because he reads what I’ve written and it inspires the music he comes up with. I’ve never worked that way before. But that and the added time we had, the space away from things, is what I think has made Viscera what it is.”

Greg adds, “If it’s a song where Chris’ lyrics sound angry, I’ll do a song that’s more, I guess, grounded in the essence of early grindcore. Something that expresses that mood. But if it’s something more sombre or unnerving, then I’ll start with a bit of sound design and work towards riffs. I’ve always thought of music in terms of visuals, and that might come from the lyrics. The last song on the album, ‘Iron Lung’, for example: I actually said to Chris that I had an idea for a song where it feels that you can’t breathe, that it feels like you’ve got a weight on your chest. And the result is probably the toughest going song on the record to get through. But I think it does get that across.”

Viscera, then, clearly defines the Strigoi sound and vision – as Chris says, it’s a “mix tape of misery” and points at ways in which the band may develop in the years ahead.

“I get bored easily,” Greg laughs. “I’ve got a very short attention span. I love doom metal, I love funeral doom, crust punk, grindcore…all these things. But usually after two songs of each I’m thinking, ‘Right, what’s next?’ And that’s my problem, but it does determine what this band and this music is like.”

“There’s not much light on this record at all. If there’s any, it’s there just to emphasise how dark the shade is, really. And what I loved about early death metal, which is when I got into it, is that everything had its own feel back then. That was at the back of my mind the whole time when making Viscera – that I wanted to give it its own feel. But the listeners are going to have to decide whether that was successful or not.”

www.facebook.com/strigoibandofficial
www.instagram.com/strigoi_official

Recording Studio: Oregon Studios
Producer/Sound engineer: Jamie Gomez and Strigoi
Mixing studio/engineer: Kurt Ballou – Godcity Studios 
Mastering studio/engineer: Brad Boatright – Audiosiege


Drudkh release new track ‘November’ and announce new album!

Ukrainian black metal stalwart DRUDKH is now revealing the brand new track ‘November’! The song is accompanied by a lyric video and can be viewed here:

‘November’ is the second track released from the newest album “All Belong to the Night” which will be see the light of day on November 11, 2022. The previous track ‘The Nocturnal One’ was released in February 2022 and can be found HERE.

The album can be pre-saved on all streaming services HERE. Pre-orders for “All Belong to the Night” are live HERE.

DRUDKH have furthermore revealed the cover artwork and album info which can be found below. 

Tracklisting:
1. The Nocturnal One/ Нічний (10.23) (WATCH)
2. Windmills/ Нічний (11.30)
3. November/ Листопад (8.25) (WATCH)
4. Till We Become the Haze/ Поки Зникнем у Млі (15.32)

The year is 2022. Pop culture has decayed to the point where social media platforms set the narrative and by the sheer force of ubiquity, rule the day. On a recent popular television show, heavy metal devotees were portrayed and once again, nothing has changed. Despite all of its nuance, ‘metalheads’ are still the quaint, anachronistic, congenial oafs they were thought to be in the 1980’s. Social media then faithfully broadcasts the fad of the moment to everyone. And while all of that may be harmless, one would have to search long and hard for a genre of music that more seriously reckons the larger questions of the human condition than metal and all that falls beneath its banner. Sometimes these themes are encountered in broad strokes, the threads of stories teased and tugged from the weave of history as a whole. A bit rarer, but no less engaging, come glimpses through the lenses of nations, into the cultural realities of struggles far beyond what memes or profile filters can evince.

Enter the work of Roman Saenko, the man behind the universe that is the band DRUDKH. As productive as they are secretive, this entity emerged from Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2002, coalescing from earlier forms such as Blood of Kingu, Hate Forest, and Astrofaes to blend the trappings of black metal into a Slavonic tapestry of sound unique to them. Twenty years hence, already with a library of acclaimed work to their name, DRUDKH is releasing their eleventh studio album entitled All Belong To The Night. They are doing this from a homeland flush with uncertainty, embroiled in a political tug-of-war with which it’s people are all too familiar.

For DRUDKH, immersion into regional struggle is nothing new. Saenko’s grasp on it forms the underpinnings of much of his work. And what’s more, he lives within its very crucible. There is no comfortable distance from which he can compose, and we can only guess what it is like to work from the inside of such a sphere of potential violence. The music of DRUDKH has always done the talking, so much so that Saenko’s established boundaries around his art have never been breached. Like Darkthrone and Falkenbach, there are no live shows. Unlike Mgla, Gaerea, and Uada, there are not even figures behind masks for our imaginations to hinge upon. 
    But there is a soul in the music of DRUDKH. A longing spirit, akin to the original blueprint of black metal to whom anonymity was so fundamental. Corpse-painted people shrouded in gloom, bearing mythic monikers instead of their given names, helped to establish that otherness that made black metal so appealing to the few who were willing to follow it. DRUDKH takes this several steps further, and the history from which they draw inspiration is far closer to our now than the medieval darkness of old.

Of course, simple enjoyment of DRUDKH’s music for its own sake is both permissible and possible, as a band who provides little insight beyond recorded output leaves non-Ukrainian fans little choice. Lyrics that are rarely printed or translated, song titles expressed in native tongue; beyond exceptions such as “Ukrainian Insurgent Army” (from 2005’s Blood In Our Wells) leave much to be guessed at for those who wish to go deeper. And unlike the aforementioned 80’s metal fan trope, those who seek this music will at the very least wonder about what is going on beneath the surface. Many more will delve these depths.

    Inevitably, many will cast judgment upon Saenko’s vision. Many have, and from the cushy viewpoint of fans in the West, it is amusing to watch the keyboard class pivot from casting aspersions on Saenko’s Ukrainian nationalism to celebrating it, especially when the latter impulse appears to have been beckoned by their big-tech overlords. This is not to say that there isn’t a ton of genuine sympathy for the plight of Ukrainians. There is, but the journey undertaken with this album is not married to ‘the current thing.’ As on past works, what Saenko appears to be saying on All Belong To The Night eclipses the flimsiness of trends.


For those willing to go deeper, Saenko once more brings to life the voices of Ukrainian past on “The Nocturnal One,” the new album’s opening epic and statement-maker. Based at least in part upon the work of Yakiv Savchenko, and his poem “The Victims Of The Nocturnal One,” this tempered piece hones in on feelings of despair and the encroaching darkness which beset Ukraine during his lifetime. Executed by the regime of Joseph Stalin in 1937, Savchenko’s poetry cannot help but resonate once again, coaxed into consciousness by the empire camped today upon Ukrainian soil. The names change, but the feeling of being beset does not. Featuring sedate midsections with proggy bass guitar, the listener is offered respite from the tortured screams and passion of ever-present vocalist Thurios. The song takes its time, unfurling in cold grandeur with plenty of sonic surprises layered into its breadth.  

The pursuit of understanding through myth is called into being on fifteen-minute endcap “Till We Become The Haze.” This is also based upon the work of Savchenko. Rolling along at midtempo, it too offers contemplative oases of inspirational tension-building. As most of the people who will consume this music do not sit poised at the edge of a war, it offers of course the cinematic atmosphere DRUDKH is so good at evoking. Fans of competing disciplines of extreme music will find much that is appealing here, as the melding of black metal, prog, and traditional heavy metal offers the connoisseur a little bit of everything.

    In the meat of the album, “Windmills” departs with the conventional. It begins with a melancholic chant, painting monochrome hellscapes of displaced village folk, wandering from danger into danger. But is there not perseverance layered into these notes and phrases? Can we not detect a throb of defiance in the lush guitar tones and Thurios’ caustic growls? The pounding drums, courtesy of Vlad, remind us that DRUDKH is at its heart from the realm of black metal, and this crescendo of pulse-raising speed comes laden with a melodic lead section that communicates beyond the limit of language something Saenko is offering to the world and his people – hope. 

    “November” is the third movement in the album, and DRUDKH marries their raging heart with sections of a doomy, yet whimsical nature, vaguely reminiscent of something My Dying Bride might do. As with the rest of the album, DRUDKH is melding a plethora of moods and textures into their sound. As is their nature, they defy categorization, making art that is as timeless as the strife and romanticism of the Ukrainian people. All Belong To The Night belongs to everyone who fights invading forces, be they tangible or otherwise, because somewhere in all of our histories our ancestors had to unite before struggle and woe, and it is this which shapes us as people. DRUDKH will therefore always resonate, long after the algorithms direct our collective attention elsewhere.                   
              
www.facebook.com/Drudkh.Official

Shop:https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/DrudkhABttN
Pre-save:https://orcd.co/drudkhabttn

Formats:
CD Digipak 
CD LTD Box
12” Gatefold vinyl (black)
12” Gatefold vinyl (Crystal Clear)
12” Gatefold vinyl (Blue)
12” Gatefold vinyl (White)
LTD Box Vinyl
Cassette

Finland’s BLACK BEAST set release date for new PRIMITIVE REACTION album, reveal first track

Today, Primitive Reaction announces November 25th as the international release date for the highly anticipated second album of Finland’s Black Beast, Arctic Darkness.

For many years, Black Beast were the great “what if?” of Finnish black metal. Formed in 2002, when Finnish black metal was just beginning to assert its dominance over the underground, Black Beast released a self-titled 7″ EP in 2005 and, a year later, a split album with comrades Bloodhammer, which was the first release by a then-young Primitive Reaction. Across both recordings, the then-duo exhibited a sound that slotted well alongside the prevailing Finnish paradigm, yet they refreshingly exuded a Motorheaded aspect (or at least one Venomous) that was asskicking to the extreme.

Strangely, the name Black Beast thereafter receded into the shadows, only to appear once again in 2019 with their long-awaited debut album, Nocturnal Bloodlust. Now a power-trio, Black Beast indeed picked up exactly where they left off…and then pumped that quintessential Finnish black metal full of black magick, witchcraft, and (of course) nocturnal bloodlust. The result was just as asskicking as before, charging hard and giving no quarter, but the trio also managed to lace that waste with a tasteful touch of atmosphere, underlining that they truly are a BLACK METAL band above all.

Presumably here to stay, Black Beast return to survey the carnage with second album Arctic Darkness. A simple-yet-elegant title, Arctic Darkness is the sound of Black Beast maximizing that atmosphere. The Motorcharge is most definitely still there, as is the almost-sexual surge suggestive of classic Impaled Nazarene – grandfathers of both Finnish black metal AND bringing back the Motorhead influence into black metal at large – but with a subtly subliminal glaze of synths and a wider variation of tempos and general songcraft, the now-quartet march into new realms across this Arctic Darkness (bassist Xilocybe joined the band prior to the album); just witness the utterly EPIC ten-minute closer, “Hymn of the Freezing Wind,” where clean ‘n’ chorused guitars play counterpoint to a sleazy four-on-the-floor beat…truly, this landscape is a much more brazen one.

No more “what if?” and just more of WHAT IS, Black Beast plant their feet firmly in the snow with Arctic Darkness.

Plant your own feet in that snow with the brand-new track “Black Magic and Witchcraft” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Black Beast (Finland)’s Arctic Darkness
1. Intro [1:50]
2. Black Magic and Witchcraft [4:27]
3. Fullmoon [4:46]
4. Sadistic Act in Demonic Lust    [4:17]
5. Four Days in Paradise of Fornication    [3:25]
6. Depths of Damnation [4:32]
7. Kuoleman Kylmästä Kosketuksesta [1:48]
8. Night of the Arctic Darkness    [3:21]
9. I am He [3:16]
10. Summon the Angels [5:17]
11. Hymn of the Freezing Wind [10:28]

MYSTERIA MYSTICA AETERNA set release date for new IRON BONEHEAD album, reveal first track – features members of LUNAR CHALICE+++

Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces October 28th as the international release date for Mysteria Mystica Aeterna‘s highly anticipated second album, The Temple of Eosphoros, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Formed in 2020 and emerging with their debut album a year later, Mysteria Mystica Aeterna is the work of supremely prolific duo Frater Noxathra (vocals, strings, keys) and Frater Odium Aeternum (drums), both of whom concurrently helm now-labelmates Lunar Chalice. As Mysteria Mystica Aeterna, they are aptly monikered, for their black metal is a very literally ancient and mystical one, harkening to the most cobwebbed dungeons of ’90s black metal, particularly in southern Europe.

Now, just a year after their Into the Kingdom of Shadows debut, Mysteria Mystica Aeterna return to the darkest past with The Temple of Eosphoros. Immediately, the mysticism is a spellbinding and sumptuous one, the warm winds of old Hellas and Italy and even fantastical France (Osculum Infame’s classic Dor-Nu-Fauglith is close kin) blowing through the listener’s soul with power and poignancy. The duo’s surge is a grim but fully physical one; much like their Greek aesthetic forebears, Mysteria Mystica Aeterna do not forsake bass nor thickness of riff. Likewise, the alternately haunting/ceremonial synths are applied with aplomb, but never threaten to overshadow the central surge. Most of all, The Temple of Eosphoros features engaging songwriting that’s simple yet sublime, and thankfully stretched toward more epic lengths for maximum immersion. Enter that temple and be forever enthralled…

Take the first step into that temple with the brand-new title track “The Temple of Eosphoros” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Mysteria Mystica Aeterna’s The Temple of Eosphoros
1. Temple Entrance [1:15]
2. The Holy Heaven Of Will [8:11]
3. Thou, Whose Mouth Is A Flame [6:19]
4. Thelema [2:06]
5. The Mysteries Of Death [7:35]
6. The Temple Of Eosphoros [10:01]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/spectralwhisper

NECROMUTILATOR set release date for new OSMOSE album

Today, Osmose Productions announces October 28th as the international release date for Necromutilator‘s highly anticipated third album, Oath of Abhorrence, on CD format. The vinyl LP version will follow later this year.

Necromutilator exhume their axes and hammers, striking the third full-length album, this time by the claws of the mighty Osmose Productions. Ripping riffs, bursting artillery, blood-spilling bass pulsation, and vomit from the infernal pit for eight hymns of black death and damnation, all forged in Satanic power and hammering darkness throughout endless morbidity.

First track premiere to be revealed shortly. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of the legendary Chris Moyen, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Necromutilator’s Oath of Abhorrence

1. Raise The Necroapocalypse
2. Cremation Sorcery
3. Great Lord Of Desecration
4. Altar Of The Final Sodomy
5. Temple Of Execrating Death
6. Baphomet’s War Fire
7. Enthroned Upon Megiddo
8. Malevolent Blood

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/necromutilator666

www.osmoseproductions.com

NOCTURNAL DEPARTURE reveal first track from new HELLS HEADBANGERS album

Today, Canadian black metal cult Nocturnal Departure reveal the new track “Ceremonial Storm.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated third album, Clandestine Theurgy, which will see release later this year via Hells Headbangers. Hear Nocturnal Departure‘s “Ceremonial Storm” in its entirety here:

Nocturnal Departure were birthed from yellow moonlit darkness between Beltane and Lughnasadh of 2017 into a campaign of rejection and disgust for Christendom and the hypocritical norms of society. Nocturnal Departure redirect the psychomachia of the human condition through ritual and occultism, focusing it outwards as the moon gathers and reflects light from the sun, with raw and illuminating indifference. After releasing their debut album, Cathartic Black Rituals, and follow-up Worm Moon Sessions on cult underground imprints Death Kvlt Productions and Les Fleurs du Mal, founding members Funeror (guitar/vocals), Kryptys (drums), and Illartha (bass) are joined by new guitarist Necrogeist in grim occlusion with Hells Headbangers. The band’s first crime for the label (and third) overall, Clandestine Theurgy, features this bolstered lineup and brings forth the band’s most focused statement to date.

Almost literally a band out of time, Nocturnal Departure harken to the grim days of the ’90s black metal underground, particularly its most devout sectors in the United States. While once the object of mockery from the ignorant despite featuring some of the most original and unorthodox outliers, it’s USBM that has the last laugh, as the idiom has developed over the decades and still rings true in the darkest of hearts. Nocturnal Departure encapsulate this mood and era in its most perfect, poignant form on Clandestine Theurgy. Featuring gloriously macabre cover art created by Abomination Hammer, indeed, its title is something of a rallying cry for such hearts – “those who know, know,” as the adage goes – and its raw, desperate violence evinces elements of Judas Iscariot, Masochist, Black Funeral, Summon, and Blood Storm but undeniably with a personality all its own. TRADITIONAL black metal, then, no more but definitely no less: Clandestine Theurgy is a throwback masterclass.

“We are gratuitous in this moment,” state the band, “sharing a glimpse into what we have all worked so passionately on as a group over the last couple of years. Our dormant slumber has ended, and we have returned with an igneous rage and inspiration! We are honored to be working with Hells Headbangers, and for all that this unholy pact yields for us together. Prepare for Clandestine Theurgy under demonic winter moons, 2022/2023.”

Release date, cover, and tracklisting for Clandestine Theurgy to be revealed shortly. For more info, consult the links below.

MORE INFO:
www.nocturnaldeparture.bandcamp.com

www.hellsheadbangers.com

BLACK ANVIL Reveal second track + video for ‘8bit Terror’!

New York City black metal collective BLACK ANVIL is now revealing the second track ‘8bit Terror! The song is accompanied by a music video, which was created by Emmy nominated visual artist Sean Pierce and features actress Lauren Bonner. The video can be viewed here:

‘8bit Terror’ is the second single to be released from their fifth full-length, ‘Regenesis,’ which is set to world wide release on November 4, 2022 via Season of Mist.

The album can be pre-saved on all streaming services HERE. Pre-orders for ‘Regenesis’ are live HERE BLACK ANVIL comments on the track:“We are empty shells at once thought separate. We are one with the earth. This is not the end. We seek the stars still.”

The first single “Castrum Doloris” can be heard at THIS LOCATION.

The artwork for ‘Regenesis,’ which was created by Metastazis, can be found below along with the tracklist.

Track-list:
1. The Gates Of Brass (1:18)
2. In Two (5:39)
3. The Bet (4:32)
4. 8-bit Terror (4:18) [WATCH]
5. 29 (4:07)
6. Silver & Steele (5:43)
7. Castrum Doloris (4:12) [WATCH]
8. Echoes & Tapestry (5:31)
9. VV (1:56)
10. NYC Nightmares (4:04)
11. Grant Us His Love (4:28)
12. Regenesis (4:26) 

New York City has always served as a cultural epicenter for musical innovation. Even more so than incubating genres in their infancy such as hardcore and even glam metal, for which bands like Twisted Sister and KISS long set the stage before the Sunset Strip took the reigns, the empire state has a storied and unique history of taking genres whose roots lie elsewhere and making them its own; whether it be Anthrax reinventing Bay Area thrash, Suffocation and Immolation planting their flag as death metal purveyors at a time when it was a primary export of Florida, or bands like Blondie and the Ramones rivaling the British punk scene, the city has always been at the forefront of musical excellence. And when it comes to New York’s answer to black metal, Black Anvil have not only been a driving force for USBM, but have taken the black metal genre as a whole and made it entirely their own. Now, with full-length number five, the band has once again leveled up their game, presenting a “regenesis” of black metal.

Here you have 12 tracks of unrelenting yet thought provoking evil, sure to have you take a second & thoroughly re-examined view of what you thought black metal was supposed to be. “This is a more stripped down and aggressive song writing approach. Having time to digest ‘As Was,’ to understand where we were then versus where we are now was key. We always focus inward with our writing, never wanting to repeat ourselves, while also not losing our identity in a stretch to sound different,” explains Black Anvil bassist/vocalist P.

Challenging the norm has always been a core part of Black Anvil’s DNA since their formation in 2007. Upon the release of their debut full-length, Time Insults the Mind, the band quickly garnered the attention of Relapse Records and were presented with a deal. When it came to album number two, the band diverged from the typical approach of their contemporaries and sought an unlikely counterpart to render their vision, tapping engineer “General” George Fullan (The Rolling Stones, Dream Theater) at Mark “The Animal” Mendoza’s (Twisted Sister) Diamond Drop Studio on Long Island, NY. Released in September 2010, sophomore offering Triumvirate received much critical acclaim, notably being revered as an “all-around monster metal album.”

Four years after its release, Triumvirate was followed by Hail Death, a 70-minute journey of intensity that further established Black Anvil as a modern black metal powerhouse. The album was met with praise by publications including Noisey, Pitchfork, Stereogum, Metal Injection, and many more. With the album’s success, the band’s profile rose as they were tapped to participate in numerous prominent tours with black metal legends such as Mayhem, Watain, Urfaust, Marduk as well as dates with Aura Noir, Nachtmystium, Immortal, Eyehategod, Cannibal Corpse, etc. Additionally, the band has appeared at various prestigious festivals including the Scion Rock Fest, Beyond The Gates in Bergen, Norway and the renowned Roadburn Festival in The Netherlands.

In 2017, Black Anvil dropped their fourth studio-album, As Was. Atmospheric and melodic without relenting on any of the ferocity that the collective has always been known for, As Was seamlessly weaves through eight monumental passages of extreme metal art, more diverse, complex, and thought-provoking than anything they’ve done before. The record proved itself to be a stellar representation of modern black metal and of Black Anvil’s continuous progression and songcraft.

Now, 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. “The concept is renewal, as well as the process/journey to get here outgrowing our past,” explains P. “Black Anvil has always been a departure from our past, a vehicle for us to grow as individuals, like a snake constantly shedding its skin. We don’t look  back, but never forget.” 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 record takes what As Was did best and does it even better. 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. As it’s evident that the band pulls inspiration from unlikely corners, they defy all genre standards and make one thing clear – this isn’t just black metal, this is NYBM

Line-up:
R: Drums
P: Bass/Vocals
J: Guitar

Links:
https://www.facebook.com/BlackAnvil/
https://www.instagram.com/blackanvil/
https://twitter.com/BlackAnvil
https://blackanvil.bandcamp.com/
https://blackanvilmerch.bigcartel.com/

Recording: Colin Marston at Menegroth, The Thousand Caves

Mixing + Mastering: by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studio

Guest vocals:
Danny “Ezec” Diablo on “NYC Nightmares”

Artwork: Metastazis, Paris

Shop:  https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/BlackAnvil
Pre-save: https://orcd.co/blackanvilregen

Czech Republic’s BRAN set release date for SIGNAL REX debut, reveal first track

Today, Signal Rex announces October 31st as the international release date for striking debut album of the Czech Republic’s Bran, Odcházení, on CD format. The vinyl LP version will follow later this year.

One of the most exceptionally accomplished new hordes Signal Rex has come across in recent memory, Bohemia’s Bran are a power-trio of ancient black metal might and majesty. To be sure, they exhibit the splendorous, spellbinding riff-sorcery so endemic to their country’s black metal idiom, but instead of hypnotizing monochromaticism, Bran‘s epic constructions are always unfolding, always blossoming with a strict sense of narrative flow, surprising and engaging at every turn. Indeed, their Odcházení debut is a march across rarefied lands, for not only does it retain palatably clear production, rendering their ruminations in their most powerful state, but there’s a pronounced grounding in actual METAL here – but thankfully, without any goofy party posturing or “metal brotherhood” bollocks. No, this is the sound of swords sharpened and chainmail donned, grim resolve as the battle approaches; Bran see the struggle ahead, and they’ve created the bloodily majestic / majestically bloody map for it. Taste their Czech steel with Odcházení!

The first taste of that steel can be found with the brand-new track “Tisíce hvězd” here:

Cover artwork, courtesy of Pavlína Kovaříková, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Bran (Czech)’s Odcházení
1. Skrytá místa [8:24]
2. Tisíce hvězd [8:25]
3. Smuteční průvod [7:53]
4. Odcházení [12:09]

www.signalrex.com
www.facebook.com/signalrex

Finnish black metallers Celestial Grave premiere new track

Today, Finnish black metallers Celestial Grave premiere the new track “Eucharist”. The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Vitriolic Atonement, set for international release on September 23rd – the autumn equinox – via The Sinister Flame. Hear Celestial Grave’s “Eucharist” in its entirety here:

Since their public unveiling in 2016 with the hideous & haunting Burial Ground Trance demo, Finland’s Celestial Grave have been steadily perfecting a craft that already arrived fully formed. While the band’s brand of black metal does bear some semblance to certain sectors of their native land’s long-running and -esteemed scene, Celestial Grave largely unshackle themselves from “Finnish black metal” and locate a muse that’s uniquely focused and fiercely personal. Such was the case with the epic four-song Secular Flesh debut album in 2019, and now, three years later, that case is even stronger with their second album, Vitriolic Atonement.

“Vitriolic Atonement is a sonic and visual exploration of the dreadful yet beautiful aspects of life and death,” they begin. “It was a comprehensive work for us, where not only the music and lyrics but also the artwork were really central from the start.”
 
Indeed, lose thyself in the hypnotic layers of that cover art and you’ll begin to understand the experience that awaits within Vitriolic Atonement. In a most disarming fashion, Celestial Grave here sound both bolder and more brittle – robust lead lines painting melancholy and might in equal measure, the execution seemingly more scattered and strident, the songwriting tending toward the anthemic yet upended by haunting twists of texture – whilst not losing that mesmerizing personality that made its predecessors so compelling. As such, Vitriolic Atonement is a full-album experience that’s paradoxically more approachable and more alien: allow that wounded melodicism into your soul, all enticingly come-hither, and then witness the swirlingly obsidian rot spread.
 
“Vitriolic Atonement goes through different sacraments and rites,” they conclude. “Inhale and take in the aspects of darkness, death, and the beyond that are in reach on this mortal plane. Give in, admire its beauty, and come to terms with it. Prepare for the inevitable, because the beyond will be something no mind nor soul can fully comprehend.”

Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Celestial Grave’s Vitriolic Atonement
1. Eucharist [5:57]
2. Cadaverous Solace [6:03]
3. Clemency [7:55]
4. The Abyss Exhales [3:34]
5. Exaltation [5:32]
6. Radiant Tides Below [5:03]


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/celestialgrave

www.thesinisterflame.com
www.facebook.com/thesinisterflame

CARNATION release live video for “Stench of Death”

The Belgian death metal stalwarts of CARNATION are now releasing a brand new live video for the song “Stench of Death”! The video was shot during their performance at the mighty Hellfest 2022 and can now be streamed here:

The track is taken from the band’s latest EP “Stench of Death”, which includes the ENTOMBED cover ‘Supposed to Rot’.

CARNATION created a fitting red vinyl to celebrate the birth of “Stench of Death”, which is still available HERE.

Frontman Simon Duson comments: “The madness of the summer festivals is now behind us… Suffice to say that we had an excellent time during the last couple of weeks at all the fantastic festivals we performed at! We’ve been blasting our newest track ‘Stench of Death’ at every show, and we’ve managed to capture a live video for this track from during our performance at Hellfest this summer. Here’s a nice throwback if you managed to catch us live, or something to look forward to if you missed your opportunity. Hails!“

CARNATION is currently working on their next album! For regular updates, keep an eye out on the band’s Facebook and Instagram page. 

CARNATION‘s latest album ‘Where Death Lies’ was released on September 18, 2020 and can be heard in full HERE! The cover artwork and further album details can be found below.

Track-list
1. Iron Discipline (3:52) (WATCH)
2. Sepulcher of Alteration (4:22) (WATCH)
3. Where Death Lies (3:26) (WATCH)
4. Spirit Excision (3:46)
5. Napalm Ascension (4:09)
6. Serpent’s Breath (4:47)
7. Malformed Regrowth (3:09)
8. Reincarnation (5:24)
9. In Chasms Abysmal (7:39)
Total playing time: 40:34

Embrace the new death metal overlords and their second full length ‘Where Death Lies’! CARNATION equals blistering and crushing death metal madness and, with this new chapter, return with relentless destruction and greater punishment than ever before.

Early 2013, guitar player Jonathan Verstrepen created the band to show his appreciation for the old school death metal legends from the ‘80s & early ‘90s. Vocalist Simon Duson, bass player Yarne Heylen, guitar player Bert Vervoort, and drummer Vincent Verstrepen were summoned to complete the band, and it didn’t take long until the chemistry between this quintet hit critical mass.

The Belgian’s first EP offering, entitled ‘Cemetery of the Insane’, was released upon the masses in 2015 . Tracks such as “Explosive Cadavers” or “The Rituals of Flesh” take you back in time to the better days of shredding riffs, neck-breaking drums, and skull-crushing guttural vocals.

The live rituals that followed were executed with stone cold merciless aggression. CARNATION delivered their bloodbath at select festivals across Europe during 2015 and 2016. Their next journey led them to distant Asia for their first tour across mainland Japan. This resulted in the infamous ‘Live at Asakusa Deathfest’ album, which saw the light in (2017).

These releases, combined with their reputation as a notoriously impressive live act, drew the attention of fans worldwide and provided CARNATION with the opportunity to perform at several European festivals and saw the band touring alongside PESTILENCE during their special Brazilian tour in April 2018. After signing with Season of Mist in 2018, CARNATION welcomed new and loyal audiences to death’s domain and invited them to witness them rise to their throne!

CARNATION rage on in 2019 with more spectacular live shows at 70.000 Tons of Metal, Alcatraz (BE) and Damnation Festival (UK), as part of their touring rampage throughout Japan and Europe (with PUNGENT STENCH and DESERTED FEAR), before entering the studio for the recordings of a brand new album. The mastering for the new offering was done by the mighty Jens Bogren (SEPULTURA, ENSLAVED, ARCH ENEMY) at the Fascination Street Studios in Örebro (SE).

With ‘Where Death Lies’ a new chapter of abhorrence now begins and opens up a hellish path to resurrection, reincarnation, and immortality. You wanted death? CARNATION is here with a superior appearance performing new rituals in service of ancient deities. All hail the new death metal overlords

www.carnationband.com
www.facebook.com/CarnationBE
www.instagram.com/carnationbandofficial
www.youtube.com/c/CarnationOfficialBE

Line-up:
Simon Duson – Vocals
Jonathan Verstrepen – Guitars
Bert Vervoort – Guitars
Yarne Heylen – Bass
Vincent Verstrepen – Drums

Cover art: Juan Jose Castellano Rosado

Discography
2015: Cemetery of the Insane (EP)
2017: Live at Asakusa Deathfest (Live EP)
2018: Chapel of Abhorrence (Full length)
2019: Necromancer (Single)
2020: Where Death Lies (Full length)
2021: The Galaxy Sessions (Live Album)
2022: Stench of Death (EP)

CARNATION live 2022
07/10/2022 – Vienna, Austria – Vienna Metal Meeting
25/11/2022 – Hirschaid, Germany – Braincrusher in Hell
10/12/2022 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Eindhoven Metal Meeting
18/03/2023 – Heidelberg, Germany – Heidelberg Deathfest