Heavily inspired by sci-fi and Tabletop RPGs, DESERTS OF MARS deliver a dynamic sonic mixture of stoner rock, grunge, metal, and doom/industrial. The new single “Crimson Mountain” is out now, and lands ahead of the forthcoming album Dead Planet Exodus to be released later this year.
The band comments on “Crimson Mountain”:
“An anthem and rallying cry for the Crashtronauts and the band as our heroes hop into a battle vehicle and head to take the rocket base atop the Crimson Mountain (you can see the rocket taking off on the album cover). I channeled all the anime/action visuals in my head for this one, as I wanted to evoke the feeling of a band going for broke with weapons shaped like instruments, slaying their enemies, and reaching their ultimate goal.
Thinly veiled, but the last lyric: ‘This flight, our final fight To seize our place Among the stars’ is how I feel this album and its strange winding production has been for the band. This is our final make or break during this time period, and a call to action that we have to make things happen.”
Stream “Crimson Mountain” here:
AboutDESERTS OF MARS: Austin, Texas, based DESERTS OF MARS was formed in 2006 by band leader and founder Tony Salvaggio. Salvaggio explains the ideology behind the band: “I came up with the name Deserts of Mars because I wanted to evoke the Desert Rock vibe. However, it also has a sci-fi slant; it can mean the God of War, so it has ties to mythology. I love letting the listener/viewer decide what it means to them.”
Salvaggio continues, “[DESERTS OF MARS runs off of] a steady diet of sci-fi movies, novels, manga, animation, RPGS, and metal fuels me and bleeds into the rest of the band. I’ve been a nerd first and a metalhead for a very long time, and I’ve never grown out of that quest for the next fun thing to watch/read/listen to half a century into life. I feel like if I lose that sense of wonder, it’s over. Always be learning/listening/creating.”
DESERTS OF MARS Is: Tony Salvaggio – Bass, Vocals Morgan Faber – Drums Kotah Mack – Guitar (2024)
Dead Planet Exodus Guests: Bradley Barnes – Guitar ((OG riffs on “Crashdown”, “Temple of the Rain”) Jeff Henson – Rhythm and Lead Guitar Wizardry Jeff Klein – Interstellar Rhythm and Lead Guitar
Track Listing: 1. Crashdown 2. Temple of the Rain 3. Shilluminati 4. Dead Planet 5. Darkness 6. Midnight Comes 7. Never 8. Temporal Vampires 9. Crimson Mountain 10. The Fallen
Today, black/doom enigmas Stuporous stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Asylum’s Lament. Set for international release on January 25th via Void Wanderer Productions, in conspiracy with War Productions, hear Stuporous‘ Asylum’s Lament in its entirety here:
Stuporous is a Dutch/Belgian black-doom band with members from the infamous Zwotte Kring collective. With a history in black metal going back to the ’90’s, and a deep interest in doom metal, the idea for Stuporous was born.
Stuporous is the brainchild of Floris Velthuis, who had previously flirted with blackened doom with his non-orthodox black metal band Meslamtaea. Trumpeter Izzy Op de Beeck, who’s also part of Meslamtaea, plays in various jazz-noir projects. Doom, therefore, is familiar territory to him, and he adds a special dark jazz vibe to the music. With singer Devi, who works in psychiatry, the formation is complete.
Stuporous‘ lyrics are about mental disorders and depression, based on true events in the psychiatric facility. Devi’s vocals, at times schizophrenic, are making the listener identify with the suffering persons that the music is about. Traditional grunts and screams are interspersed with clean vocals.
The band’s first public recording, Asylum’s Lament sounds heavy, nostalgic, and melancholic – dreamlike, but not a pleasant dream, as the listener is drowning into a mental nightmare maelstrom…
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of Gordiart, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Stuporous’ Asylum’s Lament 1. Parasidious Preludium [2:22] 2. Throne of Madness [5:40] 3. Desperation [6:16] 4. Decorating the Willow Tree [7:13] 5. Never Let Me Go [8:26] 6. Distorted Echoes [6:34] 7. The Voice That Made Me Do It [10:33]
Lineup Floris Velthuis – guitar, bass, drums, synths (Meslamtaea, Schavot, The Color of Rain, Asgrauw) Devi Hisgen – vocals (Teitan, The Color of Rain, Cthuluminati) Izzy Op de Beeck – horn (Meslamtaea, Waveshard, Detour Doom Ensemble, Avatar BE)
Track taken from Carrion’s album “Morbid Nailgun Necropsy”, out via Wormholedeath Records.
Carrion is a Death Metal band founded by Mathieu Vander Vennet, Sven Van Severen, and Jan Van den Berghe in Hansbeke (Belgium) in 2008. Carrion lineup: Sven Van Severen (vocals) Mathieu Vander Vennet (guitar) Jan Van den Berghe (bass) Nico Veroeven (drums) Frederic De Schepper (guitar)
Track taken from the band’s album Afterlife, out via WormholedeathStream “Afterlife”: orcd.co/afterlifealbum
The concept album Afterlife depicts an interdimensional being that stalks life in our universe because it represents a threat to existence itself. And the human species, or at least what it has become after the events described in the previous creations of Angel Rising, is now its target. The cover shows the hero, Asai, struggling with a horde of undead, and unaware of the even greater danger that awaits him. Angel Rising is a one-man Death Metal project started in Marseille in 2020. Its main influences come from the old-school thrash/death scene (Sepultura, Metallica, Death). Still, it also gives pride of place to modern and progressive elements combined with a very technical and virtuoso approach.
STRATUZ emerged onto the metal scene in 1984 and quickly solidified their position as Venezuela’s most revered metal band. Their debut album, “In Nomine…” released in 1995, catapulted them to recognition and acclaim. Following a triumphant European tour in 1999, they signed with LSP-Company and released “Spirit Seduction,” which marked a new chapter in their musical journey. After a hiatus, the band reunited in 2019, pouring their passion into the creation of “Osculum Pacis,” which was unleashed upon the world in 2022. The album garnered international praise, securing the top spot on the Jacquin Ravens Top 50 Metal chart and earning accolades as the best work of 2022 by esteemed journalist Roberto Palmitesta and Metal Pedia.
Today, Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces December 15th as the international release date for Warcoe’s highly anticipated second album, A Place for Demons, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Warcoe are a power-trio hailing from Italy, that land rich in doomed materials. Naturally, Warcoe honor their national identity with a ’70s-entrenched vision of pure DOOM METAL as first laid out by Ozzy-era Black Sabbath. In fact, in vocalist/guitarist Stefano Fiorelli, you will not find a more uncanny Ozzy doppelganger.
Warcoe began their journey in 2021, first with a couple digital singles and then an EP, all of which coalesced into their debut album, The Giant’s Dream. Likewise released digitally, The Giant’s Dream was also self-released on CDR and tape in true DIY fashion. So smitten with these authentically vintage vibes, Helter Skelter released The Giant’s Dream on CD and vinyl right before the summer, with hopes of spreading the Warcoe name far and wide.
Wasting no time – and, indeed, sure to spread that name further and wider – Warcoe return with their second full-length, A Place for Demons. Aptly titled, A Place for Demons is prime olde-world DOOM, steeped in Sabbathian tones and proto-metal vibes. However, Warcoe possess an enviable amount of charisma, and their songwriting soon becomes a thick ‘n’ heady potion of hard-rocking heaviness, warm in tone but definitely supernatural in aura. Much like they did on its full-length predecessor, the power-trio manage to massage new sensations from that eternal archetype whilst staying reverent; if anything, there’s a pronounced swagger to A Place for Demons that suggests star-power in the making. But beware: the closing nine-minute epic “Buio” is one of the most stultifying boulders of sound you’ll hear this year, sealing your grave with cold, cruel certainty.
So, take Warcoe’s hand and enter A Place for Demons: your “new” old-doom trip continues here!
Start that trip with the brand-new tracks “Pyramid of Despair,” “Boys Become Kings,” and the title track “A Place for Demons” here:
Cover artwork, courtesy of Shane Horror, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Warcoe’s A Place for Demons
1. A Place for Demons 2. Pyramid of Despair 3. Rune Dweller 4. Leaves 5. Ishkur 6. Boys Become Kings 7. Wounds Too Deep to Heal 8. Buio
Today, Purity ThroughFire announces September 22nd as the international release date for a special album from Bergrizen, Orathania, on digipack CD format.
For 15 years now, Bergrizen have been standard-bearers for the new wave of Ukrainian black metal which honors the old. The work of one Myrd’raal, Bergrizen have released five studio albums and even a live album, nearly all of which have been released in some manner by Purity ThroughFire.
Now, some six years since that last studio album, Bergrizen prepare a unique full-length as a precursor to their next album. Titled Orathania, the record marks a new approach to creation for the band. Otherworldly to the max, Bergrizen‘s approach here is largely based on alternately stirring/soothing ambient with a touch of dark folk and fierce-yet-fleeting moments of black metal. Almost entirely instrumental with some blackened ululations, Orathania inhabits its own world and wholly transports the listener into this magical realm; it will take you on a journey through picturesque landscapes and ancient spirits, as every song represents the ethnocultural regions of Ukraine – the album title itself, actually, means the poetic name of Ukraine. The music was composed by the band’s drummer, except for some of the tracks that were taken from the archive of traditional Ukrainian music; Myrd’raal together with the guest musicians Olgerd (Kroda) and Ogrim (ex-Bergrizen guitarist, Wolftomb) also contributed to the album’s creation.
While we wait for the next regular Bergrizen album to be released by Purity ThroughFire, it should be noted that Orathania is more than just a stopgap recording: it is dedicated to their motherland Ukraine and the whole Ukrainian nation, which is unprecedently fighting for freedom.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Tavria Grace + River Ros’ Rocks” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Bergrizen’s Orathania 1. To the Coasts of Bessarabia 2. River Ros Rocks 3.1. Bukovina Landscapes 3.2. Carpathian Shield of Galicia 3.3. On the Way to Khust 4. Tavria Grace 5. Siveria Magic 6. The Winds of the Mines 7. Khortytsia the Heart of Power 8. Spring in Podil 9. Sloboda Ukraine in Winter 10.Polissya Forests and Volhynia Swamps
After releasing their beautiful snowy video for Disintegrate I, Portuguese death/doom duo OAK, (with members of GAEREA) are proud to present their fiery second single ‘Disintegrate II’ of their second full-length “Disintegrate”. The album will set foot on this trembling world on the 10th of February 2023.
‘Disintegrate II’ is an extraction taken from the full album which consists of one song.
As the album represents one of the many elements of this earth, the band handpicked the next element in line for their video: Fire! The official music video can be enjoyed here:
OAK comments: “A circle of fire surrounds a pillar of blood that dissipates into the air. The red ashes float lightly and scatter the soul across the flames. This excerpt “Disintegrate II” explores the darkest emotions in a violent, earth-shattering approach.”
OAK previously revealed the title, coverartwork and tracklist of “Disintegrate”. All the details can be found below.
‘Disintegrate’ speaks about the ascension to another mental and physical state. After a lifetime of carrying the weight of the world upon its shoulders, this creature is ready to transcend into another state in space and time even if that means to disappear, to be disintegrated.
In the darkness of the earth, all the way up through the barren valleys of the Portuguese Mountains, a deep grunt slowly emerged. A rumble, the shaking of the ground, the approach of something dark, something new. OAK surfaces, grew, and unveiled its unearthed deep seeded roots. With the birth of their first full-length album “Lone” the band began to take shape and set the base to their existence, like roots breaking concrete. Ready to unleash their giant full-length album “Disintegrate”, this giant will never fall.
In this current landscape of deathdoom bands, OAK has crowned itself king with their signature sound of dragging earthy growls, deepening despair and atmospheric riffs. During the writing process of the ‘Unsettling Whispers’ album of GAEREA, the drummer and guitarist found each other in writing more agony-filled riffs, dragging drums and deepen growls. The power of the duo was gargantuan from the start and never stopped since.
Once or twice a week OAK created the mood for some intimate and immersive sessions with almost no light and without premade riffs or compositions. Hours on end, the band explored and grew. The result was a very slow, drawn-out sound, with guitar lines that breathe and allow air between notes and chords, while the drums oscillate between minimalist beats, bursts of blast beat and double pedal. The voice comes from the depths and puts a huge emotional charge on the instrumental, narrating the feelings of a tired colossus that carries the weight of the world’s existence. It grows organically, almost intuitively.
OAK is a band that allows them to explore a wider range of ideas without losing its identity. “We can have clean guitars, clean vocals, distortion, deep grunts, whispers, slow beats, blast beats, ghost notes and all this glues together nicely. We always wanted it to be a duo because of how fluid our jams have always been and this freedom we get when writing for OAK is really one thing that drives us.”
The story to “Disintegrate” is as aptly as it’s music. The burden and liberation of the Giant, through music and lyrics. “Suddenly, a giant could be heard walking slowly with the weight of the world on his back.” This new narrative is about the liberation of the giant, which after the end of its cycle, will melt under the sun, while its soul leaves its body and floats, glimpsing the present and remembering the past in a few moments. Carrying the weight of the world, is the perfect representation of OAK’s music; hurtful, meaningful, helplessness and unearthing. It’s not surprising the album was recorded as one long story that needed to be told without a single interruption.
OAK is a mysterious tree which keeps on growing, clawing their roots into the scorched earth while unleashing their giant “Disintegrate” on this earth via record label Season of Mist.
“We continue our jam sessions and writing more and more. We will grow further with each release in the attempt of making our sound almost visible/cinematic.” We need to tell the story of this giant’s burden and liberation through our music and lyrics. We feel like there are much more to be told.“
Whether it is in the hurtful and pure dynamic of their album or the mesmerizing story, the giant of OAK has set foot on this earth and is here to stay.Lineup: Guilherme Henriques – Vocals/Guitars Pedro Soares – Drums
Recording line-up Guilherme Henriques – Vocals/Guitars Pedro Soares – Drums Lucas Ferrand – Bass
Recording studio: Stone Sound Studio Producer/Mixing engineer: Ricardo Oliveira Mastering studio and engineer: Stone Sound Stydio by Ricardo Oliveira
Today, Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces a partnership with cult kings Beastmaker for an extensive reissue campaign of the band’s many (and crucial) EP releases. In lieu of this announcement, Beastmaker also confirm that they have returned from their self-imposed hiatus and will be recording new music and playing shows again – as always, on their own terms.
Formed in 2014, Beastmaker began with a flurry of activity and only intensified that activity over the next five years. Following two demos and an EP, the power-trio then released two albums – Lusus Naturae (2016) and Inside the Skull (2017) – through Lee Dorrian’s esteemed Rise Above Records. Naturally, that pairing proved fruitful, for Beastmaker were indeed cut from a doomed cloth, but Beastmaker founder Trevor Church (who’d soon form the equally prolific Haunt) showed he had so much more to his vision than sticking within scene boundaries. Thereafter, between 2017 and 2019, the band released a staggering 11 EPs before breaking up, with another EP – Body and Soul – released posthumously in 2020.
Now, longtime fans Helter Skelter Productions step forward to reissue this goldmine of Beastmaker godliness on all formats. The reissue campaign will include Body and Soul joined with the bonus material on the Who Is This? compilation, thereby making it a full-length, and which will be released on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. Then, EP. 1 and EP. 2 will be joined together on CD and tape formats, followed by the pairings of EP. 3 and EP. 4, EP. 5 and EP. 6, EP. 7 and EP. 8, and finally EP. 9 and EP. 10: thus, full-length releases for all, and each on vinyl and tape formats. All ten of these EPs will also be available on a special 5CD boxset. This reissue campaign is tentatively slated to start in April and then conclude by November; release dates and preorder info to be revealed in time.
A statement from Church reads as follows: “I’m very excited to announce that the EP collection from Beastmaker will see a new pressing from Helter Skelter / Regain Records. This collection of work shows the artistic vision of horror I had writing in my home studio during 2015-2018. I was watching so many old horror movies during these times to inspire the song craftsmanship. Mario Bava always a huge inspiration in my music. The imagery of poster lobby cards also played a part of the writing process during these times. I’ve booked a festival for 2024, and Beastmaker will rise from the coffin once again. Thanks to all the fans that have supported us during our hiatus. We are not gone! Rather, we have descended further underground waiting for the right time.”
On March 3rd, 2023 internationally, Personal Records is proud to present Ocean of Grief‘s highly anticipated second album, Pale Existence, on CD format.
Hailing from Greece, Ocean of Grief‘s melodic doom-death dates back to 2016 when their first musical endeavor, the Fortress of My Dark Self EP, saw the light of day. This EP carried a deep influence from the sound of bands like Slumber, Enshine, Draconian, On Thorns I Lay, and Saturnus. The gloomy but melancholic feeling of the EP was followed by the self-released single “After a Long Time” and, eventually, the band’s first full-length album, Nightfall’s Lament, which took a deeper dive into darkness and despair.
Now in 2023, Pale Existence comes to life, and this time, Ocean of Grief‘s approach of the music is even darker and more melodic, moving with both heaviness and grace, immensity and sensitivity. Indeed, the Greeks exhibit a mastery of songwriting here, working with the requisite light/shade so endemic to melodic doom-death, but with a fluidity that’s simply awe-inspiring: hooks, soundscapes, and ambiances take the listener from dark to light in no time. Further fleshing out the awe-inspiring landscape of Pale Existence is the album’s production, which is nothing short of superb and allows each detail to ring true but without sacrificing the raw emotion at the core of Ocean of Grief‘s colossal sound. In a word, this is spiritual.
Melodic doom-death doesn’t need to be more what it already is when it’s this powerful and poignant. Without hyperbole, in Pale Existence have Ocean of Grief delivered one of the subgenre’s best records of the year. Get ready to be imprisoned by two worlds!
In the meantime, see & hear the brand-new video for “Dale of Haunted Shades” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Ocean of Grief’s Pale Existence 1. Poetry For The Dead 2. Dale Of Haunted Shades 3. Unspoken Actions 4. Imprisoned Between Worlds 5. Cryptic Constellations 6. Pale Wisdom 7. Undeserving
Today, Shadow Kingdom Records announces January 27th, 2023 as the international release date for Iron Void‘s highly anticipated fourth album, IV, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. “Slow and steady wins the race,” and so it is the same in the doom scene. Iron Void was originally formed by Jonathan “Sealey” and Andy Whittaker (Solstice, The Lamp of Thoth) in 1998 in order to create an old-school doom metal band, worshiping at the altar of doom legends such as Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, etc. The band re-formed in 2008, and proceeded to release a live album, an EP, and a digital single, each exactly two years apart, before delivering their self-titled debut album in 2014. The Doomsday follow-up came a year later, with 2018’s critically acclaimed Excalibur arriving via new label home Shadow Kingdom.
Consolidating Iron Void‘s position as proud ‘n’ pure purveyors of dependable doom metal is the aptly titled fourth album, IV. This new record sees the arrival of “new” drummer Scott Naylor, who’s actually been with the band since 2018, and who’s renown for his work in Reign of Erebus, Heathen Deity, and Atra Mors among others. Together, this new-look power-trio look back to the old, to Iron Void‘s roots, and create a stripped-down DOOM METAL album. Whereas Excalibur had a concept encompassing the historical past and legend, IV by contrast takes a long, hard look at everyday matters: real-world themes that are darker and more tangible, particularly in these days of Covid-19 and political unrest across all nations. Musically, Iron Void match form to content with direct, hard-hitting doom steeped in the old school, but they’re equally adept at varying their dynamics whilst retaining their core sound. Like many bands during these dark days, Iron Void had to write the whole album remotely during lockdown using file-sharing software, something Sealey says was admittedly “probably the hardest record to write” since they’d never previously done such before. However, the recorded results of IV burst with energy and personality, proving that these old dogs are anything but tired!
No other words needed: Iron Void are doom metal maniacs, for doom metal maniacs. IV is your unlucky number!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Grave Dance”
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Iron Void’s IV 1. Call Of The Void 2. Grave Dance 3. Living On The Earth 4. Pandora’s Box 5. Blind Dead 6. She 7. Lords Of The Wasteland 8. Slave One 9. Last Rites
Today, Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces November 18th as the international release date for Amon Acid’s highly anticipated second album, Cosmogony, on CD and cassette tape formats. The double-LP vinyl version will be released on February 18th, 2023.
Hailing from Leeds, UK, Amon Acid formed in 2018 to make psychedelic doom metal. It started as a bit of fun between two people, jamming at home, but after self-releasing their first EP, which received a positive response, it became a serious mission. Indeed, the core duo of Sarantis (originally from Athens) and Briony (from UK) are serious, and all it took was one listen to their debut album, Paradigm Shift – released in February 2021 by Helter Skelter to widespread acclaim – to convert unbelievers into fanatics, so hypnotically addicting was their sonic drug.
Now, arriving nearly two years later is a longer and even stronger full-length: Cosmogony. Indeed, the Devil’s in the details here, as the title surely signals Amon Acid’s headspace across this stultifying 64-minute trip. While trace elements of their sturdy stoner doom remain, the now-power-trio expand their sound into far more cosmic realms, building up a psychedelic experience much closer to classic Hawkwind than, say, Electric Wizard. Truly, to get lost in Cosmogony is an easy feat, as each of these nine world-expanding/eating tracks wraps their purple-velvet wings around you and refuses to let go until the blacklight of your darkest soul turns on and burns out all the stars in your nearest vicinity. Or, perhaps a cursory read of some of the album’s song titles should show exactly what Amon Acid are about now and where they’re going: “Demolition Wave,” “Ethereal Mother,” “Demon Rider,” the very-telltale “Parallel Realm,” and especially the closing 11-minute epic “The Purifier.”
Massive, mesmerizing, and simply magnificent, Cosmogony handily eclipses the already-considerable heights of Paradigm Shift. But that paradigm has shifted yet more, and Amon Acid have now established themselves as space-rock titans with this ominous tome!
Hear for yourself with the brand-new tracks “Parallel Realm,” “Hyperion,” “Demolition Wave,” and “Demon Rider” HERE at Regain Records‘ Bandcamp, where the album can also be preordered. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Amon Acid’s Cosmogony
1. Satanic Majesty 2. Black Abyss 3. We Drink your Blood 4. Witches Brew 5. Season of the Damned 6. Apparitions 7. Curse of the Undead 8. Dead Dawn 9. Temple of the Drugged Sorceries
