Today, Hells Headbangers announces August 12th as the international release date for the highly anticipated fifth album of Italy’s Barbarian, Viperface, on CD and cassette tape formats. The vinyl LP version will follow later this year.
Since signing with Hells Headbangers in 2016, Barbarian have truly hit their stride. First came their third album, Cult of the Empty Grave, which found the power-trio in fiery form – or, “Absolute Metal,” as they called it – taking all the rudiments of their first two albums and exploding the band out of the underground. Then, a year later, came a self-titled 7″, which offered an even rowdier take on their now-trademark blackened traditional metal. It also saw them touring the United States for the first time, spreading their dark gospel to untouched heathen shores. Then, in 2019 came their masterful fourth album, To No God Shall I Kneel, hitting a highwater mark with their “Obtuse Metal.”
So, what’s next for Barbarian? The “Regressive Metal” of fifth album Viperface! “Our approach to metal is regressive,” the band declare. “By means of metal retrogardism, we interrogate the present – do we really need so many sheep and shepherds today? Heavy metal is the whip, and you bleed!” Indeed you shall bleed across the taut ‘n’ tight 37-minute Viperface, thrilling to the high-octane Motorcharge of its seven component tracks. While “sticking to their guns” or even “more of the same” are backhanded compliments (at best) to other bands, Barbarian aren’t “other bands,” and there’s no reason to fix or falter from such a noble foundation as theirs. For the earliest works of Omen, Celtic Frost, Manowar, and Running Wild are revered and recast yet again, the riddle of steel still pondered and pursued, as Viperface evinces that same uniquely Barbarian balance between the ancient and the fresh. Some of it may be darker or drunker or more uplifting or perfect for lifting weights or whatever – but this is 666% Barbarian at the height of their powers, not yet ready to descend from that mount.
Absolute Metal! Obtuse Metal! And now REGRESSIVE METAL! Step back or step aside with Barbarian‘s Viperface!
In the meantime, hear the previously revealed track”Fourteen Daggers” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Barbarian (Itay)’s Viperface 1. Viperface [5:51] 2. Chant of the Inflicter [5:31] 3. Whisper My Name [5:22] 4. Charity Defiler [3:29] 5. A Feast for the Beast [5:14] 6. Fourteen Daggers [5:31] 7. Regressive Metal [3:37]
Today, Armageddon Label and Agipunk Records announce August 12th as the international release date for a brand-new EP from Wolfbrigade, Anti-Tank Dogs, on 7″ vinyl format. This record will be released in North America by Armageddon Label and in Europe by Agipunk.
Since their formation in 1995, then under the moniker Wolfpack, Wolfbrigade have become one of the most enduring – and influential – forces in the worldwide hardcore-punk scene. Particularly at the turn of the millennium, when the revamped moniker was invoked, Wolfbrigade have etched a unique sound that draws in the locomotive surge of D-beat with the crushing intensity of death metal; some would call it “crust,” but the band evade easy categorization with every record they release. And seven albums in and more than two decades touring worldwide under the Wolfbrigade banner, the “Lycanthro Punks” show no signs of slowing down.
If anything, Wolfbrigade have aged gracefully – if such a thing is allowed in punk and metal – almost like a fine wine. Case in point: the crushing new three-track EP Anti-Tank Dogs. This 12-minute stormer is a welcome reminder of how these Swedes have consistently remained a cut above the countless legions playing under the wider crust/metalpunk umbrella. Heavy as hell, a metal-tinged Discharge-meets-Motorhead on a hellbound train pounding out three tracks of their downtuned D-beat devastation, Wolfbrigade show a new aspect with the epic, Orgasmatronic B-side “Necronomion” – gloomy, haunting, an evocative atmosphere for post-apocalyptic times. Everything is brought into crushing clarity by the mastering courtesy of Magnus Lindberg (Converge, Cult of Luna, Tribulation, Hellacopters).
“On Anti-Tank Dogs, we stare down into the abyss of conformity,” state the band. “It’s our journey to the twilight world, the underground, a place that has no map or directions. Just follow no rules, abide by no laws, obliterate all obstacles, dismiss fear, and tell everyone to fuck off. Born to breed!”
In the meantime, hear the brand-new title track “Anti-Tank Dogs” here:
Preorder info for the North American version can be found HERE, and preorder info for the European version can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Today, Purity ThroughFire announces September 15th as the international release date for Wyrms‘ highly anticipated fourth album, Sarkhral Lumænor – La lueur contre les fléaux, on CD format.
One of the most tyrannical and melodic black metal bands from France returns with their latest opus to bring light and burn the parasites and blights of the fallen western kingdom. Indeed, while hailing from the always-exciting French black metal scene, Wyrms have often been overlooked despite plugging away on an invigorating discography. Theirs is a wild ‘n’ winding sort of black metal shot through melancholy and malice, romanticism and ruination, rats clawing their way upward from the gutters of medieval Europe. Their previous three full-lengths have nonetheless endeared Wyrms to a diehard fanbase.
However, based on the power and poignancy of the band’s brand-new Sarkhral Lumænor – La lueur contre les fléaux, the name Wyrms should surely be on the tongues of far more black metallers soon enough. Led, as ever, by the iron fist of founder Tedd, Wyrms‘ multihued attack explodes right from the beginning, whipping forth an insanely melodic dervish that’s impossible to deny. Truly, the roots stretching back to the late ’90s school of melodic black metal are here in full force, but the uniquely maudlin touch of the Francophile medieval scene is equally present, skillfully bridging past, present, and future. And with the shortest songs being six-and-a-half minutes and the longest nearly topping 10, it goes without saying that Sarkhral Lumænor – La lueur contre les fléaux personifies the word EPIC.
Maniacs for Sühnopfer, Véhémence, Darkenhöld, Ungfell, and especially stylistic lynchpins Sacramentum, you’ve met your medieval match with Wyrms‘ Sarkhral Lumænor – La lueur contre les fléaux!
Get medieval with the brand-new track “L’envoyé des flammes” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Wyrms’ Sarkhral Lumænor – La lueur contre les fléaux 1. La messe de l’épée [6:32] 2. Fort blanc et bêtes noires [6:23] 3. Entre gueux et rats [6:27] 4. Trouble mort [6:26] 5. L’envoyé des flammes [7:11] 6. Dans l’hiver et dans la nuit [9:57]
HIEROPHANT are proud to unveil the second new track, taken from the upcoming album ‘Death Siege’! The new full-length is set for worldwide release on August 26, 2022 via Season of Mist. ‘Crypt of Existence’, which is accompanied by a lyric video, is now streaming here:
HIEROPHANT comment on the track: “Into the crypt of existence let thy light become darkness, as life will become death. Forever.“
Pre-orders are still available from the Season of Mist shop HERE. The album can be pre-saved on your favourite platform HERE.
The cover artwork of ‘Death Siege’ and further album details can be viewed below.
Track-list 1. Mortem Aeternam (1:20) 2. Seeds of Vengeance (4:26) 3. Devil Incarnate (4:23) 4. Bloodbath Compendium (4:04) 5. Crypt of Existence (4:08) [WATCH] 6. Interlude (1:09) 7. In Chaos, In Death (3:54) 8. Abysmal Annihilation (4:21) 9. Death Siege (5:43) [WATCH] 10. Nemesis of Thy Mortals (6:29) Total: 39:57
“Controlled chaos?” Lorenzo pauses for a song before finally looking right through you with his piercing eyes and slowly answering: “yes, I like the sound of that, it sums up pretty much what they stand for. Chaos with a sense if you will.”
The guitarist and vocalist of the Ravena-based band HIEROPHANT isn’t one to bury you under bigmouth statements and empty words. But when he says he thinks Death Siege is “the best thing we ever did and the one album when HIEROPHANT really comes on its own”, you know he means it.
Since their previous album, and first for SEASON OF MIST, Mass Grave in 2016 – originally described as a “vicious” mix of black sludge and death metal – many things have happened. It started with the release two years later of a two-track EP called Spawned Abortions “a good indication of where we were going but still not quite there”.
The band’s fourth full-length Death Siege was written during the first months of the pandemic, from March 2020 until May 2021, a dark period described by Lorenzo as a “long fucking long process but it was worth it. Until then, we were maybe missing a bit proper song structures and arrangements. In retrospect, Mass Grave is more grind-ish whereas the new is far more metal and riff-oriented. The songs are longer and have more things happening in them, the album is overall far more ambitious and more, well, musical
He concedes that HIEROPHANT started out more or less as “some kind of hardcore band, but with metal influences”, especially since Lorenzo has been also playing bass for THE SECRET since 2011, even if they haven’t been “very active” for a couple of years. “With HIEROPHANT, we actually signed our first contract originally with a hardcore/punk focused label called BRIDGE NINE. Originally, we had another line-up with a fulltime singer and we sounded like a very pissed off D-beat/crust band. But already in the back of my head, I had other plans. And when our frontman left in 2015, I took over the microphone as well and that’s when we started to evolve. To me, Mass Grave was a transitional record, it caught us midway if you will. But now with Death Siege we’ve finally reached our destination. And while we made a name of ourselves in the scene, I believe it’s truly the album that will take us a step further.”
Death Siege is full of war metaphors, lyrics about complete annihilation (‘Seeds Of Vengeance’, ‘Devils Incarnate’, Bloodbath Compendium’ etc.) and “fire, hatred and endless void. The sub-title for it could have been ‘impending doom’, it’s like you know something awful it’s going to happen and sweep the plate clean but no matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to stop it. That’s how I want the listeners to feel when they listen to this record.” He pauses before adding with his iron will look, “one could say that the album general state-of-mind is ‘no mercy, kill everybody’. Yep, that sums it up about right.” Are you ready?
Recording Line-up: Lorenzo Gulminelli: Rythm guitars, vocals Fabio Carretti: Lead guitars Gianmaria Mustillo: Bass Alessandro Vagnoni: Drums
Line-up: Lorenzo Gulminelli: Rythm guitars, vocals Fabio Carretti: Lead guitars Gianmaria Mustillo: Bass Ben Tellarini: Drums
Today, Purity ThroughFire announces September 15th as the international release date for Gnipahålan‘s highly anticipated third album, I Nordisk Vredelusta, on CD format. The vinyl version will be released in 2023. The band’s second album, Folkstorm, will be released later this year by Purity ThroughFire.
Gnipahålan is one of the main projects of Swartadauþuz – lynchpin of Ancient Records and also in such esteemed cults as Greve, Bekëth Nexëhmü, Trolldom, Musmahhu, Azelisassath, Digerdöden, Mystik, Summum, and Daudadagr among many others – handling all voices, strings, and synths and various session drummers. As Gnipahålan, modernity is choked dead in favor of staunch ‘n’ strict mid-’90s classicism, specifically the retroactively-applied “second wave” of black metal across Scandinavia. With half a dozen demos, a couple splits, an EP, and a debut album from 2016, Swartadauþuz and cohorts have pursued a breathtaking vision of boundless traditionalism draped in hues of purple (and purple-blue).
For those hearts and minds might be closed to such references, Gnipahålan‘s I Nordisk Vredelusta might do little to change such a position – or the hour-long record just might irrevocably rearrange one’s spiritual coordinates. Glacial, titanic, fatally freezing, but ominously emitting a beauty that simply must be marveled at, I Nordisk Vredelusta breathes new, vital life into specific idioms steeped in the darkest past. The original wave of symphonic black metal, “cosmic” black metal, nightsky mysticism: whatever appellation one applies, the result is stunning – and stunningly refreshing, despite being reverential of that past which so formed the foundation of Swartadauþuz. Spidery melodies, generous swathes of spectral synths, continuously cascading rhythms, a palpitating divide between racing rushes of speed and stuck-in-the-tundra crawl, that PERFECT style of production…everything here is accounted for, and done with a profound passion and enviable nous in the songwriting itself. It’s not remiss to say that this record could’ve come out nearly 30 years ago, but it’s somehow ahead of the pack all the same.
Those who hail the early works of Limbonic Art, Obtained Enslavement, Abigor, or Norway’s Troll and Odium – or simply, when Emperor were nigh untouchable – then you are hereby commanded to enwrap thyself in the leathery wings of Gnipahålan‘s I Nordisk Vredelusta.
Begin enwrapping thyself with the brand-new track “I Nordisk Vredeslusta” here:
Cover art and tracklisting as follows:
Tracklisting for Gnipahålan’s I Nordisk Vredelusta 1. Forna Minnen 2. I Stormens Led 3. Odestimmans Kampfyllda Har 4. Fortrollad till Efvighet 5. I Blodets Svarta Dunkel del I 6. Inom Tusenarig Visdom 7. I Nordisk Vredeslusta 8. Nordens Majestat 9. I Blodets Svarta Dunkel del II 10. Bort i Efvigheten
Enigmatic world music collective HEILUNG are now announcing new updates for their European tour in 2022 and 2023. Besides more added shows in Krakow (PL), Milan (IT) and Vienna (AT), the band is now also unveiling the tour support for this trek! Eivør and Lili Refrain will join HEILUNG on the road to make each night even more magical. A list of all confirmed shows can be found below.
HEILUNG comment on the tour: “It has been wonderful to feel the ground shake under our feet again on the various festival stages around Europe this summer and experiencing the joy of all of you being able to reunite, sing and dance in large gatherings again. It has been like a colorful sunrise after a long night. We are now ready for our next step on our continent: The Europe Tour. We would like to give thanks to everyone working hard behind the curtains for the past two/three years to make this happen. It has not been easy sorting out as the world has changed. On this tour we are bringing you our newest studio album “Drif”. “Drif” means “gathering”, just like we will gather again to heal, bond, and create, and be greater together. We are deeply honoured to reveal that the amazing artists Eivør and Lili Refrain will be joining us on this tour, we look forward spending time with you on the road. This will truly be a once in a lifetime experience. See you all out there. Love Heilung“
HEILUNG previously revealed the very first track ‘Anoana‘, which is taken from the band’s upcoming new album “Drif”. The new offering is set for worldwide release on August 19, 2022 via Season of Mist.
The album can be pre-ordered HERE and pre-saved HERE
HEILUNG release show 19 Aug 22 Borre (NO) Midgardsblot 2022
HEILUNG US tour 2022 26 Aug 22 Atlanta, GA (US) Cobb Energy Center 28 Aug 22 Asheville, NC (US) Thomas Wolfe Auditorium 30 Aug 22 Pittsburgh, PA (US) Stage AE 01 Sep 22 Toronto, ON (CA) Meridian Hall 03 Sep 22 Montréal, QC (CA) MTELUS 06 Sep 22 New York, NY (US) Hammerstein Ballroom 08 Sep 22 Worcester, MA (US) The Palladium 10 Sep 22 Detroit, MI (US) Masonic Temple Theatre 13 Sep 22 Chicago, IL (US) Radius 15 Sep 22 St. Paul, MN (US) Myth Live 20 Sep 22 Seattle, OR (US) The Paramount Theatre 22 Sep 22 Portland, OR (US) Keller Auditorium 24 Sep 22 San Francisco, CA (US) The Warfield 27 Sep 22 Los Angeles, CA (US) Greek Theatre 29 Sep 22 Phoenix, AZ (US) Orpheum Theatre 01 Oct 22 Dallas, TX (US) The Factory in Deep Ellum
HEILUNG EU tour + Eivør + Lili Refrain 26 Oct 22 Copenhagen (DK) Forum Black Box 28 Oct 22 Stockholm (SE) Annexet 30 Oct 22 Helsinki (FI) Black Box 02 Nov 22 Krakow (PL) ICE* 04 Nov 22 Prague (CZ) Forum Karlin* 06 Nov 22 Halle (DE) Handel Halle* 08 Nov 22 Zurich (CH) Halle 662* 11 Nov 22 Brussels (BE) Cirque Royal* 13 Nov 22 Berlin (DE) Tempodrom 16 Nov 22 Bochum (DE) Ruhrcongress 18 Nov 22 Paris (FR) L’Olympia 02 Dec 22 Budapest (HU) Barba Negra 05 Dec 22 Ljubljana (SI) L56 07 Dec 22 Frankfurt (DE) Jahrhundert Halle 09 Dec 22 Milan (IT) Alcatraz 14 Dec 22 Stuttgart (DE) Liederhalle Hegelsaal 16 Dec 22 Vienna (AT) Gasometer 18 Dec 22 Munchen (DE) Zenith 08 Jan 23 Rouen (FR) Le 106* 10 Jan 23 Metz (FR) La Bam* 12 Jan 23 Tilburg (NL) 013 [SOLD OUT]
14 Jan 23 London (UK) O2 Academy Brixton 17 Jan 23 Manchester (UK) Bridgewater Hall 19 Jan 23 Dublin (IE) National Stadium 22 Jan 23 Glasgow (UK) Barrowland
The cover artwork and track titles of ‘Drif’ can be viewed below.
Since its inception in 2015, the enigmatic ritual collective HEILUNG has been paving melodic paths to the past with their unique and mystifying sound. Evading all conventional genre tags and the confines of any specific labels, the group aptly self-describes their sound as “amplified history,” emphasizing their ability to connect modern society with the rudiments of humanity’s beginnings through music. HEILUNG once again journeys back in time with its new chapter, ‘Drif;’ however, unlike previous offerings that centered around prehistoric northern Europe, album number three will explore other great rudimentary civilizations outside of Europe.
“All the songs on ‘Drif’ have their own stories,” adds HEILUNG throat singer and one of the band’s three composers, Kai Uwe Faust. Each has its place and sense of belonging, with inspiration not only from Northern Europe, but from the ancient great civilizations,” explains the band. “We took the ancient surrounding advanced civilizations in account, because our ancestral Nordic civilizations did not just pop up, exist and disappear in isolation. Already in the Bronze Age, we found silk on German land that was imported already from the far, far East 3000 years ago. From the Viking age, we found beads that were brought there from present-day Syria high up in the Northern mountains.
“Centrally important concepts, still in extensive use today, like the number Zero and all the mathematical universes deriving from it, the use of iron and the general concept of settling all originate from traditional high civilizations outside the north and still fundamentally changing our ancestor’s world.
“With singing these primordial songs we want to give tribute to these cultures, reconnect to the beginnings and remember that we all, from East to West, from past to present, are connected through the exchange of ideas and inspiring each other.”
Meaning “gathering,” ‘Drif’ serves as more than merely a gateway that bridges history with modern day society, but is also a statement of the strength in unity and togetherness, which will come as no surprise to those who have experienced HEILUNG’s live ritual, in which every ceremony starts with a reminder that “we are all brothers.” “‘Drif’ means ‘gathering,’’ explains HEILUNG. “A throng of people, a horde, a crowd, a pack. In symbiosis with the album title, ‘Drif’ consists of a flock, a collection, a gathering, a collage of songs, that much like little flames were seeking towards each other, to join, to bond, to create, and be greater together.”
While HEILUNG features authentic and archaic instrumentation that ranges from rattles and ritual bells to human bones and throat singing, their captivating brand of music is far from primitive. Producer and founding member Christopher Juul implements subtle electronic elements that elevates the musical atmosphere and provides a more in-depth and layered soundscape.
“This album has very clearly dictated its own path. Our attempts to tame it were repeatedly fruitless, and once we came to this realization, the creative flow surged forward with immense force. So much so that sometimes it felt like the songs wrote themselves,” the band adds.
HEILUNG’s success has been unprecedented, achieving milestones in its few short years of existence that many do not see in a lifetime. The collective already had rapidly been growing a buzz upon the self-release of their first full-length, ‘Ofnir,’ in 2015, but their dizzying upward trajectory really took off from the moment they set foot on the stage at Castlefest in 2017 for the now-legendary debut of their live ritual. Luckily for those who were not fortunate enough to bare witness to this magical event, the full ceremony was captured on film, having since been viewed by tens of millions of fans across the globe.
As HEILUNG trekked across Europe and brought their mystifying experience to new audiences, talk of this new band and their stunning ceremony made way to Season of Mist label owner Michael Berberian, who quickly offered the band a record contract after seeing their undeniable musical impact for himself.
By 2019, HEILUNG launched their second full-length record, ‘Futha,’ which contrasted the masculine and battle-heavy themes of their debut with a feminine counterpart that celebrated fertility and female energy. Upon the first week of the record’s release, it graced the Billboard charts with coveted numbers, debuting at #3 on the Heatseekers Charts and #4 on the Billboard World Music Chart, placing on a total of seven Billboard charts while meeting critical-acclaim from the press on a global scale.
Having already made its way around Europe, HEILUNG announced its first ever North American tour for the start of 2020, which sold out entirely within 72 hours of ticket on-sale. The band later returned to the United States and performed their live ritual for a sold out audience of 10,000 people at the historic Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, CO (USA), further solidifying their early legacy status.
By this time, the band’s music started to appear in places outside the confines of music venues, videos, and vinyl. From hit television series like ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Vikings’ to video game giants like ‘Conqueror’s Blade VII: “Wolves of Ragnarök’ and ‘Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II’ to the blockbuster Robert Eggers film ‘The Northman,’ HEILUNG’s music has risen far above the underground and has transcended into a greater world. Even a global pandemic couldn’t slow down HEILUNG’s success; it only strengthened them and gave them the gift of time to complete work on album number three, ‘Drif.’
According to Greek philosopher Pythagoras, three is a divine number, signifying harmony, wisdom, and understanding. He also believed it to be the number of time – past, present, future; birth, life, death; beginning, middle, end. Purposefully or not, ‘Drif’ embodies this philosophy, putting forth a divine work of art that ties together the beginning of civilization with the modern world today. Make no mistake, HEILUNG still does not represent any modern political or religious ideology, but rather delivers a humbling reminder of where we came from. “Remember, we are all brothers. All people, beasts, tree and stone and wind, we all descend from the one great being that was always there, before people lived and named it, before the first seed sprouted.”
Line-up: Kai Uwe Faust Christopher Juul Maria Franz
Today, W.T.C. Productions announces August 30th as the international release date for a brand-new mini-album from Adaestuo, Purge of the Night Cloak.
Appearing like a bolt from the blue in 2016 via W.T.C., Adaestuo‘s debut EP, Tacent Semitae, was a startling and profound introduction to this otherwise-unknown band. Adaestuo was formed as a covenant between three wandering souls at the unhallowed crossroads where the darkest elements of ambient, black metal, and spiritual praxis conjoin. Being a series of audial sigils cast by VJS and P.E.Packain and led in evocation by Hekte Zaren, with Tacent Semitae did Adaestuo transcend the modern homogeny found among the lower caste of musical initiates. Amazingly, the pan-continental trio eclipsed that feat with a towering full-length monument titled Krew Za Krew. Released by W.T.C. in 2018, Krew Za Krew reaped widespread acclaim and positioned themselves as purveyors of a very special kind of black metal by going BLACKER.
In the cursed year of 2020 came another full-length monument from Adaestuo bearing the title Manalan virrat, and now they return to the auspices of W.T.C. with a swift-yet-satisfying mini-album presciently titled Purge of the Night Cloak. Indeed, that title forms a sensational foundation for the seared sort of frequencies Adaestuo are exploring here: a casting-off of the old, a revilement of the new, vulgar shapes made beautiful and vice versa. Woven together like one continuous fever dream, the four tracks comprising this 23-minute mini-album assault the listener with a near-overload of information, only to strip it bare, hauntingly and uncomfortably so, building it back up into a hydra-headed abomination from both above and below. Put into more concrete terms, here Adaestuo fuse classics-minded mystical black metal with dark soundtrack scores, shimmering obsidian racing through the night sky before a (dark) meeting with literally-otherworldly walls of choral atmosphere. It’s something of a “blink and you’ll miss it” experience, or one too frightening(ly expansive) to open one’s eyes to…
More massive than most bands’ regular “albums,” Adaestuo make most black metal look conservative and small with their Purge of the Night Cloak.
Hear for yourself with the brand-new track “Act III” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Adaestuo’s Purge of the Night Cloak 1. Act I [6:29] 2. Act II [3:57] 3. The Hydra [6:20] 4. Act III [6:15]
Today, Spread Evil Productions announces August 12th as the international release date for Mimorium‘s highly anticipated third album, The Route of Haeresis, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Since their formation in 2016, Mimorium have staunchly stuck to their guns as purveyors of classic cryogenic black metal forever frozen in the glorious ’90s. Although they hail from Finland, Mimorium‘s sound more properly could be categorized as Scandinavian black metal, as they are rooted deeply in the ’90s Swedish and also Norwegian black metal scenes. One can one hear echoes of old Dissection, Mörk Gryning, and Dark Funeral in Mimorium‘s fast-paced and melodic black metal as a successful tribute brought to the new millennium, still sounding very much their own and something different simultaneously.
In 2020, the Spread Evil-released Blood of Qayin rightfully brought Mimorium to many new ears, proving that the past is alive but arguably fresher than ever. Not ones to rest on their all-too-considerable laurels, the quintet return with a record perhaps more melodic, dramatic, AND aggressive than ever: The Route of Haeresis. Suitably built upon a theme of old-school witchcraft and esoteric teachings, The Route of Haeresis sees Mimorium firing on all cylinders, their (literal) execution just as sharp as ever but rendered in rippingly clear-yet-analog tones. That more organic production takes nothing away from the band’s inherent ultraviolence – indeed, their OTT speed is challenged by few – but the melodies here breathe fire instead of frost, and the well-timed dips into down-tempo convey a grandeur only previously hinted at.
For those into the scrappier, culter names of ’90s melodic black metal – Cirith Gorgor, Thy Primordial, Raise Hell, or even the too-often-overlooked Setherial – over the more obvious ones, you shall meet your unholy saviors with Mimorium as they travel The Route of Haeresis!
First video to be revealed shortly. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Mimorium’s The Route of Haeresis 1. Invocation of the Nameless One 2. Mirror Dimension 3. Liberate the Transcendent Essence 4. Succumb to Nightmares 5. Hand of the Heretic 6. Her Place in Shade 7. The Route of Haeresis 8. Circle of Serpents
Today, Signal Rex announces August 26th as the international release date for Armnatt‘s highly anticipated fourth album, Immortal Nature, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. The vinyl LP version will follow later this year.
Formed in days and times too clandestine to recall, Armnatt quickly became a touchstone for Portugal’s still-ascendant/descendent raw black metal scene. With their first split coming courtesy of the well-respected Black Gangrene in 2013 and then their debut album, Darkness Times, arriving a year later courtesy of the equally respected Altare, Armnatt‘s cachet was confirmed. And for good reason: the misty-yet-hateful surge the trio conjure speaks of a deeply held (and authentically created) understanding of black metal’s epochal second wave.
In 2020, Armnatt made a blood pact with Signal Rex, which resulted in their second album, Dense Fog, and a long-overdue reissue of Darkness Times. Considering Signal Rex‘s position as Portugal’s premier dispensary of dark & lawless goods, the alignment was fortuitous, to say the very least, and in June 2021 resulted yet another full-length assault on the meek and modest: Eternal Flame.
Dependable, intractable, a year later arrives Armnatt‘s fourth album, Immortal Nature. With yet another simple-yet-elegant title serving as a rallying cry, Immortal Nature bursts and bubbles with that ever-studious primitivism that only Armnatt can deliver. If Eternal Flame saw Armnatt sticking to their guns – no progression, no development, no compromise, no way – then surely, Immortal Nature will disappoint you or even offend. It’s another (HYPNOTIC) spell of destruction, but one that subtly reveals new twists; whether it’s a strangely hummable segment otherwise at odds with “black metal” or more (very relatively) variety of tempos employed or even a scuzzier, more muscular guitar tone, it all still sounds like Armnatt. Which means that Immortal Nature‘s familiarity is almost deceptive, as if in fact a lost relic unearthed from a Bergen bunker decades later: to overstate the obvious, this literally searing simplicity of design can be replicated endlessly, but never faked.
And to add further overstatement, black metal never needed to develop because it was perfect early on. Dependably, intractably, Armnatt again resist change and the ever-shifting sands of “good taste,” and paint their own Dorian Gray with Immortal Nature.
Witness the first brush strokes with the brand-new track “Black Flame” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Armnatt’s Immortal Nature 1. All Is Silent 2. Immortal Nature 3. Imponent Ruins 4. Eternal Entity 5. Black Flame 6. Images Of The Past 7. Wilderness Domain 8. Shadow Dust 9. Infinite Darkness 10. Nature Take Its Course
Today, Italian black metallers Orgrel stream the entirety of their brand-new mini-album, The Oath of the Black Wolf. Set for international release on July 1st via Iron Bonehead Productions, hear Orgrel‘s The Oath of the Black Wolf in its entirety here:
During the autumn of 2021, Orgrel proved that the past was still alive with their debut album, Red Dragon’s Invocation, for Iron Bonehead. A band literally out of time, the Italian power-trio hailed the ancient days of black metal – the days too often forgotten, in the late ’90s, when labels like Solistitium, Sombre, and Drakkar began releasing obsidian gems during the genre’s post-sensationalism fallout. Rich with righteous fury and triumph alike, Red Dragon’s Invocation synthesized mystical splendor and dizzying delirium into a full-length treatise on those too-often-forgotten days, engrossing the listener to the very last: indeed, the album was summarily titled.
Building upon that grand fortress is a four-song/22-minute mini-album likewise truly titled: The Oath of the Black Wolf. Here, Orgrel have gone a-hunting, their ’90s black metal classicism stalking and striking with a hunger only hinted at previously. Still, fueled by this fire they may be, the Italians across this mini manage to maximize their epic side, with the predecessor’s flat-yet-full soundfield now becoming slightly more chromatic in the process. Lead lines portend dark truths, ever building in tension and then grandeur, but the record’s swift-yet-satisfying runtime reveals the darkest, most intrinsic truth: black metal doesn’t need to “become” anything when it already IS. Hail The Oath of the Black Wolf!
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Orgrel’s The Oath of the Black Wolf 1. Hunt 2. Curse 3. Fury 4. Judgment
