Reveal - Nocturne of Eyes & Teeth

I avoid making this shithole a place for label press releases. There have been some notable exceptions in the past and this is another one. Reveal's Nocturne of Eyes & Teeth has been a vinyl only release, and a tough one to find, so far. Invictus Productions will be issuing one of the best records of the last couple of years on cd on the 31st of March.
Reveal's cavernous black heavy metal is to my ears europe's answer to Negative Plane.
On March 31 the deaf shall hear and the blind shall see.
http://invictusproductions.net/





Five spears on god's ribs...
Αίμα - Αίμα demo
Chaos Dei - Arising From Chaos
Mgla - With hearts toward none
Morgirion - Infinite Retribution Upon Paradise
Asphyx - Deathhammer

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Paper and tape

The Paper
It seems that Metalion's 'Slayer Mag Diaries' has prompted a lot of people to focus on underground printed publications again. Even if the book itself has nothing to do with certain people's decision to release a fanzine, it surely has to do with the fact that there is now at least a handfull of nostalgic assholes like myself with renewed interest in reading about music on a printed paper than the fucking computer screen.
Two zines were those that attracted me in the past couple of months. One is new, the other is old.
Chips and Beer magazine comes from the Left Hand Path team and is intended to be more of a magazine than a fanzine. In a relatively short period of time it has already its second issue out. So far I have only read the first one and it is hands down the best metal magazine you can find today, focusing on all things metal. From the lengthy Manilla Road extravaganza to the imaginative Eerie Von interview that is presented as a comic, from classic and contemporary great bands like Pentagram, Negative Plane and Vanhelgd to underground metal related artists like Putrid and B.A. Vierling, this extremely well written magazine is essential for everyone that is interested in the heavy metal subculture.
Isten fanzine has been going on and off since 1984. This double edition is the newest work of Miko Mattila and it is two 16 pages pamphlets that are being read in one breath. And the next day they challenge you to read them again. Featuring Superchrist, High Spirits, Dawnbringer, Primordial, Forced Kill, Negative Plane, Spiritus Mortis, Lord Vicar, Züül, and Quicksand Dream,a 'split 7'' interview' of Sólstafir and The Wounded Kings plus a couple of other short and clever features it is obviously a fanzine dedicated to the whole metal spectrum and as always highly recommended. 
Hopefully Chips and Beer and Isten could turn some people on well written printed journalism. It would be a pity if one more generation would musically grow up with the Terrorizers of this world.

The Tape 
There has been a bunch of very interesting death metal bands coming from germany those last couple of years. Deathronation, Obscure Infinity and Venenum has offered proper dark death metal that honours the genre's tradition. There is one specific band though whose aura has challenged me to focus much more and that would be Alchemyst. The average downloader will find absolutely nothing on the net. A couple of tracks on the band's pages but nothing to download. When the beggars are away the ones those who are truly willing to investigate further will be rewarded by Alchemyst's sulfurous occult death metal. I have recently heard their Blood and Ember tape which is basically a compilation of the demo of the same name plus four other tracks. The tape was out last year by Iron Bonehead and it is a fucking cassette that oozes darkness from the first second til the last. Heavy, dark and cavernous, oppressive as fuck this is one of the best death metal bands you will find around. Soon they will have their debut (titled Necromanteion) released and they seem ready to take the world by storm. The ones that will be not ready will be doomed. You have been warned.


Poison...
Alchemyst - Blood and Ember
Diocletian - Demo  2005
Pilgrim - Misery Wizard
Züül - Out of Time
Shub Niggurath - A Deadly Call from the Stars
Alchemyst - Blood and Ember

The hammer of the Master to smash your fucking face

http://www.mastershammer.com/

http://www.mastershammer.com/VKNM-audio.html

Fuck you all

The soundtrack to the ending of your worthless lives...

Aptorian Demon - Libertus

Anguish - Through The Archdemon's Head

Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones

Argus -  Boldly Stride the Doomed 

Bestia Arcana - To Anabainon Ek Tes Abyssu

Possession Ritual - Incense Of Opened Gates 

Aptorian Demon - Libertus

The general principle is not to write about a record before the dust is settled. There are times though that the first few spins of a record makes you feel sure about its value and the enthusiasm and nostalgic feeling they create makes you feel some kind of an urgent impulse to type some fucking words about it while in the heat of the first 48 hours (and after listening to the record a dozen times in a row).

The norwegian black metal scene has been relegated to the second or even third rate in terms of quality, in the late 90s and especially the previous decade. The 'true norwegian black metal' slogan has ended up as a joke, with all the leading bands of the second wave having abandoned the ship after 1995 or so. The result was that the norwegian bands ended up as mere followers and the poor relatives in a global scene that was slowly standing on its own feet again. A great change for a country that claimed black metal as its own but finally managed to limit it sound wise and sometimes has been a source of frustration for many people that where around from the beginning of this whole thing.

The only signs of life were coming from the local scene of nidaros (trondheim) that from the mid 00s was the obvious hope that all was not lost and there were still bands that were keeping the spirit alive. Bands like Mare, Black Majesty and later  Dødsengel (the only prolific band of the lot) have been sporadically poisoning the air with their own brand of occult black metal. Aptorian Demon had left their mark in the underground having recorded only a 7'' seven years ago. Libertus is the first full length and is the first record after many years that reminded me the days of 1990 or 1991. It is not so much the sound of it, that is rooted in the early days of black metal. They would not be the first to do that. It is mostly that the feeling they create is reminiscent of the sinister feeling of the first days. The sound is coming from the depths of moisty dungeons where the scent of incense is unbearable for the uninitiated. There is nothing new here for those that are obsessed with innovation over quality, talent and soul. There are bells, there are acoustic guitar intros and breaks into the songs (and no, they are no folk bullshit). There is the familiar guitar tone, that at least to these ears is more lava than ice.

Libertus is a ritual constructed around the thirteen minutes of the self titled track. A ritual that still haunts you for hours after being exposed to it. The bells and creeping atmosphere of  Var Aere Er Troskap echoes in your head, the chanting of Ignitus and  the acoustic Amir al-Mu`minin, resonates down to your very guts. All in all a sinister work that is better lived through vinyl and in total darkness. 

I haven't been that exited about a pure, 'traditional' black metal record in ages. 

This is true fucking black metal you bastards.

Die.

Kali Yuga-One year closer

The death of every year brings a flood of lists from every fucking side you turn your head to. As usual, these last days have been an apotheosis of the same, tiresome, over-hyped kinds of (real or not so real) underground metal.

The power of the internet grows stronger and with the vast majority of sites or blogs or whatever that are english speaking (thus globally more influential) being american, there is a kind of a new order established in the world of extreme metal. An order that blurs and dilutes ones perspective, according to the tastes of the average american scribe. An order that dictates that every second sludge or post whatever band is noteworthy or that the average black metal band coming from the states or from cascadia (what the fuck?) is the best thing that happened to the scene since Bathory. Fuck it. What follows is an attempt to re-view the most appealing releases of a year where more important things than music came to my life, still black and death metal is the second best thing for me cause evil has no boundaries. Krallice, Wolves in the Throne Room, Falls of something I don't remember, Liturgy and suchlike will not be mentioned. Disma will not be mentioned. Some bands you'll never find in the usual sources will be mentioned and maybe glorified.

There's no specific order in the list that follows. When you see music as an artform and a source of emotion it is unthinkable to see it as a contest at the same time.

Here's to the death of the world...

Negative Plane - Stained Glass Revelations

Nobody can make black metal sound so personal as Negative Plane. This is the darkest sermon one can hope for.

Aosoth - III
'...The songs smell of incense and sulphur, the sick guitar tone dominates the atmosphere and MkM is one of the few persons on the face of the earth that can walk in those fields without being accused of trespassing. Passion, class and personality...'

Manilla Road - Playground of the Damned  
The best heavy metal band of all times keeps its teeth sharp with one more great work. Vastly epic and boldly lo-fi because when you are talented you have guts. The new kids shall know that they have the best of the best to compete with.

Burzum - Fallen
I've never been particularly fond of Burzum's black metal, although I enjoyed the older classics. This one came as a surprise after the disapointing and boring Belus. Fallen is a different case. 'It is raw, with that cyclic riffing that creates clever melodies that capture you like a web and drag you to the (fairy)tales the guy has to say. You know it is no true nor realistic, it is even naive but you are lured.'

The Wounded Kings - In the Chapel of the Black Hand 
The Wounded Kings have to be the best doom metal band of our days. Doom metal as we knew it. No sludge, no stoner, no desert, no bullshit. Emotional, heavy, dark and occult they have been carving an uphill path since their first record. Quietly, without the usual fanfare. The omens show that their best is yet to come.

Circle of Ouroborus - Armon keitaalla 
The triple cassette box that came after Eleven Fingers passed under the radar of the hipster sites and magazines that glorified its predecessor in their hysterical quest to find the new Joy Division. Thankfully. Armon keitaalla shits on Eleven Fingers' head from a hill high. It sees CoO return to form and deliver one of their best works to date.

Whore - Whore Tape 
In only 13 minutes Whore deliver some of the heaviest and filthiest death metal from the swamp, where you would never dare come close to. They're from sweden but they don't sound like they're from sweden. They don't sound like they are from this world. These are three tracks from the bowels of fucking hell.

Sonne Adam - Transformation / Necros Christos - Doom of the Occult
For some reason those two records have settled in my conscience as sister releases.

There are of course obvious similarities to the slow and grinding death metal the bands perform but there is also a distinct display of personality by both which is something you would expect from Necros Christos, but for a young band like Sonne Adam it is admirable at least.

Cult of Erinyes - A Place to Call My Unknown
Terribly underrated and overlooked by the vast majority of press and fans, yet awesome black metal  by this new belgian band. I see the blueprint of Ondskapt's unsurpassable debut in many moments of A Place to Call My Unknown, but whatever their inspiration is, it is filtered in a way that delivers one the greatest surprises of the year. A great first effort. In fact, such a great record that makes me overlook the fact that their alter ego is a former metalcore band.

Nightbringer - Hierophany of the Open Grave
They continue creating their own legend by refining their craft with each release. More varied than ever, the atmosphere here is suffocating. Hierophany... is here to make sure that Nightbringer are one of the great bands of our times. Mandatory.

Vanhelgd - Church of Death 
Once more in this fucking list, death metal from sweden that isn't the typical death metal of the land. Slowly crawling, infecting like poison a great band that owes as much to bands like Asphyx as to some of their fellow swedes this is some of the most essential devastating metal of death.

Verge - Sex and Violence
Fuck. No one makes black metal like the finns do. Verge is one of the most fucked up bands coming from finland and after last year excellent split with Blood Red Fog, Sex and Violence comes to complete the fucking devastation. Their second full album is a vast improvement from the Hatemagic debut. Raw, filthy and ungly the way it is supposed to be. Those with eyes to see, have seen. The rest...stay in your comfortable ignorance.

Charnel Winds - Der Teufelsbund 
An obvious choice to make after Verge. I've been awestruck when I first heard the demo version of the record a couple of years back. This year the album came to justify my ranting after my exposure to the sickness that is Der Teufelsbund. As I said back then...

Η ΓΝΩΣΗ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΓΙΑ ΟΣΟΥΣ ΤΗΝ ΑΞΙΖΟΥΝ.

Execration - Odes of the Occult 
In a year that had some of the best forward thinking death metal of all times released, Execration were the ones that had the greatest impact for me. Surely bands like Mitochondrion and Ulcerate delivered excellent records but to my liking they were topped by Execration's second album. This is a record that is asphyxiating in it's heaviness and totally crushing in its darkness.

Hell - Human Remains
In times where traditional and occult heavy metal is reborn, one would expect that the best record of the kind would come from one of the hopeful and talented bands of the new breed, like In Solitude or Portrait. Yet, all these ambitious youngsters will have to wait in line because for the time being they have to watch the backs of a group of hardened but forgotten veterans that never enjoyed any real recognition. Hell made their full length debut almost thirty years after their inception and completely erased all competition. Hadn't I heard the 1982 self titled demo that includes almost all the songs of Human Remains, I would be reluctant to believe that these tracks were actually penned three decades ago. And honestly, if these songs sound as amazing as they do today, it's no strange that almost no one managed to understand their true quality back in the early 80's.

Antediluvian - Through the Cervix of Hawaah
After a series of demos and EPs that carved their name in the upper echelons of the underground, the storming debut comes to seal their position and force everybody to turn their eyes to their dark art. Heavy, bestial, ancient, muddy, cavernous and at the same time open minded and incredibly forward thinking. A spear in god's fuckin ribs.

Malepeste - Malepeste Demo 
The  best french sounding french black metal I have heard in a long time comes from a band I had never heard of, until I listened to their demo. This is a quite apocalyptic experience as Malepeste deliver mystical black metal that is as dissonant as it need to be and as traditional as I would like it to be. Great occult metal that managed to beat  Thantifaxath's great EP, at the last minute. (So much for art not being a contest).

Void Meditation Cult - Sulfurous Prayers 
Ultra heavy and dark black/death metal that, to those of us that lived the glory days of 1989 to 1992 with bands like Samael, Mortuary Drape and Necromantia at their blackest best, brings tears in the eyes. Sulfurus Prayers indeed.

Brulvahnatu - Menstrual Extraction Ceremony 
Another criminally overlooked release coming from a prolific artist that has recorded 10 full length demos and three albums in four years. Fucked up and heavy, in many ways unorthodox death/black metal that will engulf you from the first moment of exposure at it. Not a surprise that the man behind Brulvahnatu is also a member of Antediluvian, Begrime Exemious and A.M.S.G. Highly recommended.

Deceased - Surreal Overdose
We are living in times were parody bands are ridiculing what we once knew as thrash metal. And then Deceased are coming to take them all by storm and teach them a lesson the hard way.  For a band that is active since 1985 to come up with an aggressive attack like this, is a big deal.




AMSG

And the Devil Laughs With Us

One of the most hated (if not THE most hated) bands in the hardcore scene is back and all of us that couldn't care less about hardcore and its stupid subculture, can freely express our great joy.

I don't listen to hardcore because there's nothing for me to like in it. The exceptions for the last decade have been Integrity and Gehenna. And for the last couple of years Kickback. After the apocalypse that was their previous one, No Surrender the new record   Et Le Diable Rit Avec Nous is a massive load of oil that feeds the fire of hate, violence, brutality, rage and perversion that is Kickback. Haters will hate them and this will give the band life. After all FUCK FRIENDS, WE NEED ENEMIES.

Kickback have broke free from the trappings of hardcore here. The usual clowns that pollute every scene will argue about Kickback not being hardcore (anymore?) as if any living being above the level of an amoeba gives a fuck about it. This is a totally fucked up record with unusual structures, disharmonic and uncomfortable in its weirdness. Kickback are probably to hardcore what Diapsiquir is to black metal and new records by both in such a little time space might not be good for my sanity but who cares when great and true art is at hand? Et Le Diable Rit Avec Nous closes with two covers where the band shows how much they care about your worthless opinion. They will rap if they fucking feel they need to. The destroyers of all are back. Listen to this record and see if you can keep yourself from beating up the first asshole you'll meet out in the street.

BEWARE...

Lucifer Before The Day Doth Go/Black Heksen Rise

The original intention was to post some black metal. But this is not black metal, right? Of course it isn't. Liturgy is.

Fuck you...
Ketzer - Satan's Boundaries Unchained
Pale Creation - Twilight Haunt
Vent - Reliquiae Doloris
Antediluvian - Through the Cervix of Hawwah
Aarni - Bathos

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