Today, monolithic black metal enigma Black Cilice premieres the new track “Triumph Over Eternity”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated sixth album, Esoteric Atavism, set for international release on July 1st via Iron Bonehead Productions. Hear Black Cilice‘s “Triumph Over Eternity” in its entirety here:
By now, Black Cilice require no introduction. Arguably THE most pivotal raw black metal entity of the last decade, this Portuguese enigma has come to both define and defy that idiom. Unmindful of the present, not looking to the future, and undoubtedly rooted in the past, Black Cilice simply IS, and its vast body of work speaks for itself: challenging, for sure, but transportative and transcendental beyond compare.
And so it goes with the band’s sixth full-length, Esoteric Atavism. Ever aptly titled, Esoteric Atavism‘s contents embody that title in a most provocative manner. While Black Cilice is esoteric in the extreme, more so is the entity atavistic, and indeed are those energies the cornerstone of this record. Characteristically coated in miles of miasmic rawness that’s an instrument unto itself, the lyrics of Esoteric Atavism delve into the OLD – old energies, old spiritually – and the music follows suit by reconstituting elements from elder Black Cilice recordings. Always in the red but now deeper into the black, that’s not to say Esoteric Atavism is a deliberate throwback or crass “return to the roots”; rather, the band’s birth pangs are given a deeper wisdom and wider-screened hysteria for the listener to drown himself in…or avoid, revoltingly stratifying as Black Cilice‘s black metal may be. More pointedly, riffs are more forthright, with experimentation subtler, and songs in kind shorter: the proverbial ouroboros, then, forever feeding on the past.
Time is irrelevant to Black Cilice. Past, present, future…all are absorbed into the band’s singular blackout/whiteout swell of sound, and only the NOW exists. Truly, this is Esoteric Atavism.
Begin engaging with that atavism with the previously revealed “Channelling Old Power” HERE at Iron Bonehead‘s Soundcloud. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Black Cilice’s Esoteric Atavism
1. Beyond the Veil [7:27] 2. Channelling Old Power [5:41] 3. Spiritual Poisoning [5:03] 4. Atavistic Reconnection [4:44] 5. Triumph over Eternity [7:24] 6. Towards Transcendence [5:26]
Today, Me Saco Un Ojo Records, in conspiracy with Desert Wasteland Productions, announces August 1st as the international release date for the highly anticipated debut album of Texas’ Fleshrot, Unburied Corpse. Me Saco Un Ojo will handle the album’s release in Europe while Desert Wastelands will handle the USA.
Since forming in 2019, Texas’ Fleshrot have accumulated a steady fanbase with their rancid blend of slowly chugging death metal. With a demo, split, and single under their belts, it is time for their debut album to finally crush the skulls of the collective underground. With an immediately gripping assault of hammering, chunky bass, putrescent guitars, and guttural vocals, the sludgy cacophony of rotten ichor is even more brutal than ever before on this record; it does not take much time to figure that out. From Neanderthaloid riffing and belching breaks, the lumbering juggernaut of heaviness has a groove that even the most primitive mind can bang their head to, scattering loose brain matter as the bludgeoning and lacerating sounds cut through living tissue effortlessly. With some bonus savagery borrowed from grindcore but played at hideously slow pace, this album cannot be accused of being anything other than some of the filthiest and heaviest death metal you will ever hear. Equally, there is nothing trendy or bandwagon-jumping in sight: Fleshrot have their own sound, and deliver it with a scathing performance that is convincing in its own right.
If progression and technical nuance is what you seek, steer clear, for this is a sub-30-minute slab of pure butchery that is not for the self-proclaimed audio genius (read: pretentious); this is violent, visceral, and somehow stinks of rotting meat. With a production that allows seeping guitar wounds in the thick, tarry bass lines while retaining the snappy drums and not allowing the bellowed vocals to overshadow anything, this is a dense and swampy cut of morbid death metal that will puke itself forth into your ears, defiling and degrading all it comes into contact with. If you can withstand the putrefied sonic fruits bared by Fleshrot, then commend your stomach and ears’ strength because most will falter before the mighty and malicious blows landed by Unburied Corpse in all of its lurking, squelching, and squalid splendor. (text by Jørgen Sven Kirby, Nattskog webzine)
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Intricate Dissection” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Fleshrot (Texas)’ Unburied Corpse 1. Wrapped In Entrails 2. Intricate Dissection 3. Draining The Liquified Remains 4. Unburied Corpse 5. Post Burial Extractions 6. In Filth and Pain 7. Haunted of Sick Depravities
Today, Me Saco Un Ojo Records and Memento Mori announce July 25th as the international release date for Sedimentum‘s highly anticipated debut album, Suppuration Morphogénésiaque. Me Saco Un Ojo will handle the vinyl and tape versions while Memento Mori will handle the CD version.
Do you believe that death metal should require some flimsy introduction to have atmosphere? Or soft, clean guitars? Please allow us to introduce you to Sedimentum, whose burgeoning cacophony of rotten, old-school putridity is packed with a charnel atmosphere while constantly firing on all cylinders. Their debut LP dives headlong into a chunky blend of overdriven bass, gut-splitting guitars, skull-pummeling drums, and absolutely gargantuan vocals. Befitted with a raw, uncompressed production that harkens back to when death metal terrified the masses with its violently unwelcoming sounds, this is not an album that faint-hearted trendies will like. This is pure unfiltered filth.
As the glorious Brad Moore cover artwork aesthetically displays, the grotesque and malignant horrors on this album are vibrant and unforgettable, something the music lives up to and surpasses expectations with. Following a couple of great demos and splits, the underground has recognized Sedimentum as the real deal, with a loyal legion of real death metal diehards already adoring the Quebecois mob of miscreants. Now the curtain has been pulled back for their first full-length, and all manner of unearthly beings spew forth.
If you have read these eldritch writings to this point, you are likely one of the few who appreciates death metal the way it is supposed to be: raw, unfiltered, and jagged. Sedimentum deliver on all promises of fetid extremity tenfold with cerebral riffs, warped atmospherics, and a contorted delivery that spatters any surroundings in decaying fluids from the deepest tombs. This growling, churning, puking opus of pus-ridden soundscapes is an old-school-sounding tome that redefines the word disgust with its mangled sonic apparitions and takes you into a state where you meditate upon the abhorrent.
Taking the gloom of some death-doom but keeping the overall mood much more feisty and aggressive, there is bark and bite on this record while never being superficial about the actual feel of the album. Everything seems too candid and urgent to be premeditated; with precision but also spontaneity, there is no holding back the beast that is Sedimentum now they have lurched and lumbered forth from whichever catacombs they dwelled within. You will be putrefied, and you will love it. (text by Jørgen Sven Kirby, Nattskog webzine)
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Funestes Manifestations” here:
Aforementioned cover art and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Sedimentum’s Suppuration Morphogénésiaque 1. Krypto Chronique II 2. Excrétions Basaltiques 3. Suppuration Morphogénésiaque 4. Funestes Manifestations 5. Nécromasse 6. Supplice 7. Un Grotesque Panorama
Enigmatic world music collective HEILUNG are proud to announce the details of their upcoming new full length ‘Drif’. The album is set for worldwide release on August 19, 2022 via Season of Mist. The cover artwork and track titles of ‘Drif’ can now be viewed below. The brand new single “Anoana”, which is accompanied by a magical new music video, will be released soon. For a glimpse of things to come, check out the “Anoana” teaser here:
HEILUNG comment in their own words: “Drif means “gathering”. 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. This album has very clearly dictated its own path. Our attempts to tame it was 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. All the songs on Drif have their own stories. They have each their place and sense of belonging, with inspiration not only from Northern Europe, but from the ancient great civilisations.”
HEILUNG previously announced new European Tourdates 2022 and 2023. A list of all confirmed shows can be found below
HEILUNG Summer Festivals 2022 02 Jun 22 Gdansk (PL) Mystic Festival 10 Jun 22 Nickelsdorf (AT) Novarock 17 Jun 22 Dessel (BE) Graspop Festival 23 Jun 22 Clisson (FR) Hellfest 26 Jun 22 Spálené Porici (CZ) Basinfirefest 02 Jul 22 Helsinki (FI) Tuska Festival 2022 (Exact date TBA) 19 Aug 22 Borre (NO) Midgardsblot 2022 (Exact date TBA)
HEILUNG European Tour 2022 26 Oct 22 Copenhagen (DK) Forum Black Box 28 Oct 22 Stockholm (SE) Annexet 30 Oct 22 Helsinki (FI) Black Box 04 Nov 22 Prague (CZ) Forum Karlin 06 Nov 22 Leipzig (DE) Haus Auensee 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) Hala Tivoli 07 Dec 22 Frankfurt (DE) Jahrhundert Halle 14 Dec 22 Stuttgart (DE) Liederhalle Hegelsaal 18 Dec 22 Munchen (DE) Zenith
HEILUNG Tour 2023 08 Jan 23 Rouen (FR) Le 106 10 Jan 23 Metz (FR) La Bam 12 Jan 23 Tilburg (NL) 013 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
HEILUNG means “healing” in the German language and this also describes the core of the band’s sound. The listener is supposed to be left at ease and in a relaxed state after a magical musical journey that is at times turbulent.
HEILUNG reach far back in time to the Northern European iron age and Viking period to create their sound experience. The band utilizes many means in their songs: from running water via human bones, reconstructed swords and shields up to ancient frame drums as well as bronze rings. It’s difficult to categorize a band that uses such a variety of influences, traditions, and instruments to create immersive soundscapes. Thus, the band has described their own music as ‘amplified history’ to befit their sounds.
When HEILUNG self-released ‘Ofnir’ in 2015, the Danish band could hardly have anticipated the breakthrough success of their debut album. Spectacular live shows, strong critical acclaim, and a massive underground buzz added to the constantly high demand for this full-length are the reason why their new label Season of Mist did not hesitate to re-issue ‘Ofnir’ in several collector’s edition formats. HEILUNG‘s live album, ‘LIFA’ (2017) was released in parallel.
The visionary three-piece continued gathering praise with their latest full-length ‘Futha’, released in 2019 which debuted at #3 on the Billboard Heatseeker charts and #4 on the Billboard World Music Charts in the United States, placing on a total of seven Billboard charts within the first week of its release. For the single “Norupo” a music video was filmed at the Neolithic standing stones at Les Menhirs de Monteneuf in France, which can be viewed HERE.
The band’s music has been widely used in pop culture and transcends the traditional genre boundaries in music. Not only did leading television broadcaster HBO use their music in the trailer for the hit series Game of Thrones, HEILUNG’s sounds can also be heard in series like Vikings and Ragnarök on Netflix.
Furthermore, the group has been collaborating with game studios for the soundtrack of several mainstream video games. In 2020, gaming company Ninja Theory and HEILUNG started to work on the soundtrack for their upcoming game, ‘Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II.’ The announcement trailer for the new game features HEILUNG‘s song ‘In Maidjan,’ which is taken from their debut album, ‘Ofnir’. Watch the trailer HERE.
Later, HEILUNG was invited to join in another video game collaboration with MY.GAMES and Booming Tech for the new season of the ‘Conqueror’s Blade’ video game, ‘VII: “Wolves of Ragnarok.” The trailer for the game, featuring the track “Galgaldr,” can be found HERE. HEILUNG will also see their name being eternalized in one of the new combat map locations, which is now officially called ‘Heilung Fjord,’ and serves as a place for healing.
While the world came to a stop during the pandemic, the three-piece retreated in the studio to write and record upcoming album ‘Drif’. In the band’s fashion, they sought for forgotten songs, made ruffling leaves into instruments and wrote lyrics spreading messages of love for each other and respect for nature. ‘Drif’ will be HEILUNG’s most immersive and successful work to date.
In their own words:
“Drif means “gathering”. 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. This album has very clearly dictated its own path. Our attempts to tame it was 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. All the songs on Drif have their own stories. They have each their place and sense of belonging, with inspiration not only from Northern Europe, but from the ancient great civilisations.”
Line-up: Kai Uwe Faust Christopher Juul Maria Franz
Recording studio: Lava Studios Copenhagen Producer / sound engineer: Christopher Juul Mix/Master: Lava Studios Copenhagen, Christopher Juul
Guest musicians: – Annicke Shireen, Emilie Lorentzen, Mira Ceti, on track: 1, 2, 3 and 8 – Jacob Hee Lund and Nicolas Schipper on track: 1, 2, 3 and 7 – Ruben Terlouw, Pan Bartkowiak, Marijn Sies, Gwydion Zomer, Isabella Streich, Martin Skou, Samiye van Rossum, Nadia Kalamieiets, Edward Boyter, Nina Cornelia Schilp, Mitchell Bosch, Gwydion Zomer and Katalin Papp on track: 2, 4 and 5 – Vilja Christine Agger, Ea Christine Agger and Michael Berberian on track: 3
Bass player Linus Klausenitzer of technical metal band OBSIDIOUS is now releasing a bass playthrough for the band’s latest single ‘Bound by Fire’. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming debut album ‘Iconic’, which will be released via Season of Mist on October 28, 2022. The video, in which Linus showcases seven different bass models, is now premiering here:
Linus comments on the video: “I didn’t want to make just another playthrough. I thought about what I can do and I came up with this idea of using all Ibanez basses of my bass collection to present the new Obsidious single “”Bound By Fire”.”
In April 2020 guitarist Rafael Trujillo, bassist Linus Klausenitzer and drummer Sebastian Lanser decided to move on from their former band OBSCURA to continue their musical path with the completely new band OBSIDIOUS. Free from former boundaries, OBSIDIOUS merge extreme metal with other genres of music into a unique style that people will somehow find familiar, but haven‘t heard yet. Together with their singer Javi Perera they set out to create a musical evolution: With a fresh name, reaching for new fan groups utilizing modern marketing ideas. OBSIDIOUS’ band members have many facets and influences to build upon, using virtuosity & technique to write great songs.
Rafael Trujillo, Linus Klausenitzer and Sebastian Lanser built a strong bond after years of worldwide touring and recording together with OBSCURA. With their last record “Diluvium”, that was primarily composed by the trio, the band celebrated their biggest success to date. Formerly unseen chart positions alongside massive praise by prominent media outlets & magazines document the success of this team. OBSIDIOUS aims to expand the existing fan base that they’ve gained: All (ex-)formations of the Obsidious members were defined through their musical characters.
The four band members that are based in Europe are known for their high musicianship and virtuosity. Their advanced technical level is an essential and unique part of their compositions. Guitarist Rafael Trujillo has a multicultural background and studied music in different countries all around the globe. Linus Klausenitzer is one of the busiest session bassists in the scene and renowned for his 7-string fretless bass sound. Strong drum independence skills and stylistic diversity make Sebastian Lanser one of the most influential drummers of the new generation. The web community shares the Ex-Obscura members’ excitement about singer Javi Perera being celebrated for his diverse and charismatic vocal skills.
OBSIDIOUS‘ music consists of modern riffs, strong decisive energetic melodies, virtuosity and epic unison lines. They love music that’s heavy, catchy, fast, and wild. The brand new album is currently being recorded and will be released via Season of Mist early 2022.
Lineup: Linus Klausenitzer – Bass Rafael Trujillo – Guitar Javi Perera – Vocals Sebastian Lanser – Drums
On June 1st internationally, Iron Bonehead Productions will release a brand-new mini-album from America’s Crucifier, Say Your Prayers, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats. And today, the Death Metal Promotion YouTube channel streams the mini-album in its entirety. Hear Crucifier‘s Say Your Prayers in its entirety here:
One of the longest-running entities in the American underground, Crucifier was formed in 1990 by vocalist/drummer Cazz Grant. While myriad lineups would come and go – and the band’s eventual debut album, Stronger Than Passing Time, wouldn’t be released until 2003 – Crucifier have kept consistent to their blasphemous, blackened death metal style steeped in the truly ancient and most underground ways.
Now, four years after their last recording (the full-length Thy Sulfur Throne on High), Crucifier return to ruin everyone’s day with a five-song/26-minute mini-album titled Say Your Prayers. Primal but not primitive, weird and wandering but fully locked-in and never forgetting the METAL aspect, the quartet create a ghastly, grimy experience here, with Grant’s vocals in particular stunning in their diabolic delirium. Furthering that delirium are the mind-mangled leads by Spencer “Madman” Murphy, also aided by Grant, altogether proving that Crucifier‘s eldritch sound is eternal.
Concluded by a Carnivore cover, Crucifier never stop the madness, so Say Your Prayers!
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Crucifier (USA)’s Say Your Prayers 1. My Soul to Take [6:20] 2. Foul Deeds Will Rise [5:44] 3. Into Ash [3:18] 4. Chime of the Goat’s Head Bell [3:59] 5. Jesus Hitler [Carnivore cover] [5:52]
Today, French black metallers Hats Barn reveal the new track “L’Enfant Doit Mourir.“ The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated sixth album, Y.a.HW.e.H, set for international release on June 24th via Osmose Productions on CD format; the vinyl LP version will follow later this year. Hear Hats Barn‘s “L’Enfant Doit Mourir” in its entirety here:
Hats Barn plays True Black Metal!!! Created by Psycho in the north of France in 2005, it became an entire entity dedicated to praising the greatness of the Devil!
Now composed of three official members – Psycho (vocals), Soggoth (guitar), and Kryos (drums), with Ruine (bass) for live session – the new album is about the origin of a superior nature that we call divine and the cradle of worship that we give him. The bloody hand of the Devil brings down 10 plagues to open the way to the abyss, inspired by such bands as Marduk and Watain, mainly, and the Black Legions, too!
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Hats Barn’s Y.a.HW.e.H
1. Opening – Ten Psalms Of Death And Khaos [2:37] 2. BAAL-ZEBUB [4:53] 3. Y.H.W.H [2:10] 4. In Nomine Leprosy [4:06] 5. Under The Pillars Of Daath [4:09] 6. Total Death Kult [5:47] 7. L’Enfant Doit Mourir [3:13] 8. Walpurgis Of Seth [3:12] 9. Absence Of Faith [4:36] 10. Que Le Sang Coule Dans Les Fleuves [4:16] 11. The Man Returns To Dust [6:44]
Today, rising German black metallers Lunar Chalice stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage. Set for international release on June 1st via Iron Bonehead Productions, hear Lunar Chalice‘s Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage in its entirety here:
Formed in 2019, Lunar Chalice comprise prolific veterans of the German metal underground. Under the alluring moniker Lunar Chalice, the band quickly set upon a slew of releases, first with the Walpurgis Dance demo in 2019 and the Night Poetry EP right after, exhibiting a subtly refreshing approach to classics-minded black metal. The next year came the even-stronger Medieval Cults of Heresy EP, thus setting the stage for the band’s debut full-length.
Taking a relatively longer time given their feverish creativity, Lunar Chalice now deliver the grand statement of their so-far-undiscovered powers, Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage. With one steel-toed boot planted under a funeral moon and the other in a world without end, Lunar Chalice give a masterclass in stripped-down songwriting rich in nuance and dynamics. Their black metal is like a boulder gathering momentum down a mountain and rumbling across valleys; the movement is inexorable, and portends doom, and simply cannot be stopped. Lunar Chalice, in effect, extend a spectrum of black metal sonics that’s feral and unhinged on one hand and mercilessly martial on the other; that their almost-overwhelmingly physical onslaught is deliberately (and eerily) clipped betrays both a depth of vision and a rare grace in a landscape usually laden with filth. Which isn’t to say that Transcendentia doesn’t sound “dirty” (it does), but rather that that’s not the overarching thematic – that there’s a sense of ceremony or even regality at play here. Credit due to the absolutely madman vocals of bassist E.I.-M., who more often than not channels a clean tenor that’s more disturbing than most “black metal” vocals.
Past, present, and future: Lunar Chalice‘s vision encompasses all on Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Lunar Chalice: Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage 1. The Accusation 2. Calix Cum Velum 3. Immortuae 4. Descending Shadows 5. The Saturn Rite 6. The Astral Stargate 7. Flagellationis Diaboli 8. Nocturnalia
On May 27th internationally, Iron Bonehead Productions will release two simultaneous debut albums of Trolldom, I Nattens Sken and Av Gudars Ätt, on CD and vinyl LP formats. Hear Trolldom‘s I Nattens Sken in its entirety here:
Trolldom is a name that goes back many years. While the band’s date of origin is unknown, the first demo, Av gudablod röd…, was released in 2016. That Trolldom played authentically vintage second-wave black metal should hardly be surprising considering it came under the banner of Ancient Records linchpin Swartadauþuz (Azelisassath, Bekëth Nexëhmü, Muvitium, Greve, Musmahhu, Digerdöden, Gnipahålan, Mystik, Summum, Daudadagr). Back then, his rabidly prolific nature was just starting to blossom, and Trolldom was yet another new-yet-old creation that contributed to his wider cosmology whilst standing on its own.
Alas, tireless as he was with his myriad bands, Swartadauþuz didn’t publicly revisit Trolldom…until now, with the simultaneous release of TWO albums. Of them, I Nattens Sken is the more overtly cosmic creation of his second-wave sensibilities. The album’s music was written between 2004 and 2008, with the recording taking place in 2018 and the mixing/mastering in 2021. While Trolldom‘s spectral ‘n’ stargazing style of black metal mysticism remains firm between the two full-lengths, I Nattens Sken retains a ceaselessly roiling drama steeped in classic definitions of symphonic black metal – meaning, when the idiom was at its peak, roughly around 1996 or ’97 – and the clarity conveyed within does nothing to damper Swartadauþuz ‘s pitch-black fire. Taken another way, I Nattens Sken‘s cover art perfectly illustrates its contents just as its counterpart’s does. If any doubt ever lingered about the power and poignancy of Swartadauþuz’s projects despite their prolific nature, Trolldom trounces all doubters with the twin-attack of I Nattens Sken and Av Gudars Ätt. Purer expressions of ’90s black metal classicism one will not find nowadays, and both effortlessly transport the listener to forgotten realms and glorious times.
Further transport thyself with the full stream of Av Gudars Ätt exclusively HERE, also courtesy of Black Metal Promotion. Aforementioned cover art and tracklistings are as follows:
Tracklisting for Trolldom’s I Nattens Sken 1. Under Vinternattens Dystra Fullmane [5:16] 2. Ondskans Svarta Broderskap [6:53] 3. Nattens Furste [4:29] 4. Inom Nattens Eviga Rit [7:07] 5. Nattmorkrets Svarta Skugga [6:41] 6. Vid Hans Tron Morkret Vilar [6:52] 7. Draparen av Livets Veke [5:32] 8. Till Ruinens Svarta Rike [8:05]
On July 22nd internationally, Eisenwald is proud to present the highly anticipated sixth album of Canada’s Panzerfaust, The Astral Drain, forming the third chapter of The Suns of Perdition tetralogy. The album is set to be released on digipack CD and vinyl LP formats.
Throughout the Suns of Perdition tetralogy, Panzerfaust have managed to expand upon their distinct sound and infuse it with a clear vision and intensity. In the third act of the tetralogy, the band take listeners on an incredibly immersive yet harrowing journey to an outer darkness, documenting mankind’s descent into collective madness and forcing listeners to face the mirror of a hideous reality, in all of its glorious terror, horror, and disgust.
The music contained on The Astral Drain is incredibly captivating and immediate, whilst retaining a strong sense of atmosphere. In particular, the intensity of the performances is truly something to behold. While many contemporaries may drift toward increased tempos in order to artificially create a sense of intensity, Panzerfaust have achieved songwriting brilliance in ensuring that every moment on The Astral Drain is filled with passion and purpose. This is all the more impressive as much of the material seems purposefully composed at a more mid-tempo, allowing for these songs to be embellished with stunning details in melody, primarily provided by guitars, vocal arrangements, effective ambient sections, as well as incredibly precise and deep percussion work. Specifically, the drums manage to provide a solid foundation to these monolithic tracks, while offering stunning compositional diversity and creativity. Furthermore, the band’s boldness in vocal performance and delivery enhances what would already be a captivating listening experience. As such, it is the fantastic compositional detail placed on each element throughout this record that elevates The Astral Drain to stand as Panzerfaust‘s most accomplished and ambitious work to this date, certainly warranting repeated listens.
The band’s ability as songwriters is on full display here, as each song refuses to fall back on genre conventions, instead of allowing the music to develop organically, with movements in each song seeming to convulse and develop into new sections that drive the music forward. This is an impressive compositional achievement, as the shifts in musical form occur naturally, belying the fact that great effort was placed in the fluidity of the music, something that is often ignored in more “progressive” extreme metal.
As pertains to production, the band has managed to infuse these songs with depth and a strong sense of atmospherics that never drains out the main instruments. Produced by Greg Dawson at BWC Studios in Kingston, Ontario, and mastered by Sergei Lazar at CDM Records, Moscow, the sound of The Astral Drain is stunningly organic, whilst retaining clarity in all instrumental elements: an impressive accomplishment when considering the audible layers on display throughout the album. The production is warm and entrancing, perfectly fitting the compositions of the record.
First track premiere and preorder info to be announced shortly. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Panzerfaust (Canada)’s The Suns of Perdition, Chapter III: The Astral Drain 1. Death-Drive Projections 2. B22: The Hive and the Hole 3. Bonfire of the Insanities 4. The Far Bank at the River Styx 5. Tabula Rasa
