I’ve been catching up on metal news today and came across news of three upcoming U.S. tours that are . . . newsworthy, to say the least.

I’m guessing this first one will be old news to many of you, since it surfaced on Friday, but it has sure produced some tumescence in your humble editor’s loins today. Behemoth, Watain, The Devil’s Blood, and In Solitude will be hitting the road for The Decibel Magazine Tour, a 26-date trail of wreckage across the U.S. starting in April. It will be the first Behemoth tour for Nergal since being diagnosed with and beating leukemia. That’s a cool tour flyer by Justin Bartlett up there, too.

More details, including tour dates, venues and ticket info, will be announced at www.decibelmagazinetour.com on January 24th.

But that’s just for starters. Mastodon’s Troy Sanders recently confirmed that his band plus Opeth and Ghost will be embarking on a North American tour of their own. During a recent interview at a Belgian radio station, Sanders stated: “We go to Australia to take part in the Soundwave Festival, which is going to be lovely, take a short break. Do a North American tour with Opeth and Ghost. And then take another break and come back over here for the European festival season.”

I have a feeling a few people will buy tickets for that tour. No further details are available at this time. (found this news via Loudwire)

And that’s not all. Would you believe a 30-date tour of the U.S. this summer by Agalloch?!?

Here’s a post that appeared today on Agalloch’s Facebook page: “US TOUR NEWS: Agalloch are currently organizing a 30 date tour of the US for Summer ’12. Updates will be posted here.”

This is seriously large news, (a) because it’s Agalloch, and (b) because Agalloch has never done a U.S. tour of this magnitude before. It’s usually a few dates here, a few dates there, on one coast or the other.

I’m extremely curious about who Agalloch will bring with them. They have very eclectic tastes in the kinds of bands with whom they choose to share the stage, and if they’re organizing this trek themselves, they’ll have free rein to pick their tour-mates, as well as local bands. Stay tuned . . .

So, which of these tours makes you moistest in the nether regions? And do you know of any other recent tour announcements I’ve missed?

(Andy Synn provides an unexpected SYNN REPORT, seizing upon the imminent calendar change to discuss the re-recording of 12 songs by 12 tremendous bands — and of course we’re including the music, which means 24 tracks. Fuck, this would be a mixtape that KILLS.)

So here it is, a surprise Synn Report to finish off the year. Arbitrary though the distinction may well be, the end of the year provides a perfect excuse to attend to a similar theme, the transition from the old to the new – re-workings and re-recordings.

Are they better? That’s an argument for the ages? Are they necessary? Hell, that’s probably an even worse argument to start up…

Primarily, re-recordings serve a twofold purpose – 1. to reinvigorate songs that might otherwise not be getting the set-time they deserve, and 2. – to royally piss off a band’s fan-base. Although there’s a chance that the second isn’t entirely intentional. Still, the re-recorded album courts controversy like almost no other, whether it’s a varied collection of songs that are chosen to receive the treatment, or a full re-recording of an entire album.

The full re-recording of an entire album is clearly the most contentious option, while single track re-recordings are often a much more successful and welcome proposition, most often appearing as b-sides and bonus tracks for the avid collector. The full-album re-recording, however, remains exceptionally and unequivocally divisive, alienating as many old fans as it attracts new ones.

So here’s a list of some of those renewed tracks that I think definitely have something to offer the listener, both old and new. I’m sure I’ll have to turn in my kvlt card after this, for promoting something so new and shiny, but ah well…

Amorphis – “Black Winter Day”

A classic of… well, classic proportions, the original “Black Winter Day” remains a staple of Amorphis’ set-list and as such doesn’t need renewing for quite the same reasons as several other songs on this list. It is a pleasure, though, to hear the absolutely massive vocals of Tomi Joutsen completely own this revitalised version of the track, along with a gorgeous and much improved piano intro and a powerful, driving guitar tone that give the track new life.

“Black Winter Day”: Tales From the Thousand Lakes (1994)

“Black Winter Day”: Magic & Mayhem – Tales From the Early Years (2010)

Behemoth – “Transylvanian Forest”

The re-recording of this track can be found on the Demonica release (which I believe was only recently made available over in the USA) and is one I’d highly recommend checking out, the juxtaposition of the scratchier black metal aesthetic of this early song with the more refined and colossal death metal sound the band have developed really showing the links and surprising consistency between the band’s many releases.

“Transylvanian Forest”: And the Forests Dream Eternally (1994)

“Transylvanian Forest”: Demonica (2006)

Chthonic – “Guard The Isle Eternally”

The Pandemonium anniversary release from Chthonic saw them attempt to update songs from 9th Empyrean and Relentless Recurrence to match the improved sound and identity they had settled on with the recent release of their magnum opus Seediq Bale. “Guard The Isle Eternally” perhaps benefits the most from this re-working and re-recording, as the songs from Relentless Recurrence arguably remain consistently powerful and effective in their original form, the re-recorded versions serving more as an alternative take on the material rather than a necessary updating of their sound.

“Guard the Isle Eternally”: 9th Emyprean (2000)

“Guard the Isle Eternally”: Pandemonium (2008)

The Crown – “Under The Whip”

A difficult choice, as both the Tomas Lindberg (Crowned In Terror) and Johan Lindstrand (Crowned Unholy) versions of the album are brilliant. The presence of each vocalist does give each version of the album a very different feel, although the re-recording benefits from a much thicker production job and feels (to me at least) like a more fully realised version of the album as it was (perhaps) originally intended.

Still, actually picking a song that I felt was “better” than the original was hard, due to the distinct flavour each version has. But “Under The Whip” has a more aggressive, belligerent swagger that suits Johan’s delivery style more; think of it as the difference between being beaten to death (Lindstrand) and knifed in an alley (Lindberg).

“Under the Whip”: Crowned In Terror (2002)

“Under the Whip”: Crowned Unholy (2004)

Dimmu Borgir – “Broderskapets Ring”

I still don’t get the hate directed at this album – it doesn’t make the original redundant, yet it offers something very new and extremely compelling. In fact, it should be applauded for bringing the older, dare I say it more primitive (in sound perhaps, if not in artistry), material in line with their more recent work, allowing for the melancholy and misanthropy of the album to engage in a fair fight for its rightful place in the band’s set-list. I honestly wish they’d include more of this material live.

“Broderskapets Ring”: Stormblåst (1996)

“Broderskapets Ring”: Stormblåst MMV (2005)

Gorgoroth – “Revelation Of Doom”

Definitely a shocker, the re-recording of Under the SIgn of Hell has of course provoked massive outcry from the black metal community, varying from simple accusations of Infernus selling out the fans from the comfort of his huge gold-plated mansion, to declamations that drummer Tomas Asklund is the Yoko Ono of black metal, perverting the Gorgoroth sound with his Machiavellian influence. But seriously, fuck that, when “Revelation Of Doom” kicks in with its huge, booming sound, it is absolutely DEVASTATING.

“Revelation Of Doom”: Under the Sign of Hell (1997)

“Revelation Of Doom”: Under the Sign of Hell 2011 (2011)

Hypocrisy – “Uncontrolled”

A surprisingly un-controversial choice for a full-on re-recording, Catch 22 (redux) benefits from a more powerful production job, Peter Tagtren’s now flawless grasp of 7-string dynamics (developed after several albums’ worth of experience), Horgh’s more violent and impressive drumming, and of course the re-instatement of Tagtren’s signature growl. An honourable mention must also go to the brutal re-recording of “Left To Rot” that cropped up on the Chaos And Confusion release several years earlier.

“Uncontrolled”: Catch-22 (2002)

“Uncontrolled”: Catch-22 V2 (2008)

In Flames – “Behind Space ‘99″/”Clad In Shadows ’99″

Two tracks that I’d argue are superior in their re-recorded form.  The tempo remains fast for both, but the improved bridge section on “Behind Space ‘99” and the thrillingly heavy closing bars of “Clad In Shadows ‘99” see the band taking both songs a step up from their original incarnations. In fact both these songs are amongst my favourite In Flames tracks of all time, elitism be damned!

“Behind Space”: Lunar Strain (1993)

“Behind Space ’99″: Colony (1999)

“Clad In Shadows”: Lunar Strain (1993)

“Clad In Shadows ’99″: Whoracle (1997) (bonus track)

Old Man’s Child – “Born Of The Flickering”

Re-recording the title track of your debut album might seem like a questionable move, but Galder retains sole control over the entity that is Old Man’s Child, and can clearly do whatever the hell he likes with it. On hearing the track, though, it’s a welcome update of the original, with a heavier death metal angle on the vocals, a crushing guitar tone, and a blazing drumming performance from the hands and feet of session drummer Reno Killerich.

“Born of the Flickering”: Born of the Flickering (1995)

“Born of the Flickering”: Slaves Of the World (2009) (bonus track)

Soilwork – “Sadistic Lullaby”

Coming off the back of the out-and-out return to form that was The Panic Broadcast, this re-recording just makes so much sense, paying tribute to the song that (essentially) started it all whilst also giving it a thoroughly modern update in the best possible way. It’s still as ragingly fast and rip-roaringly intense as ever, but the superior guitar tone, rampant vocal performance, and stunning drums (courtesy of the apparently infallible Dirk Verbeuren) just add up to a better version of the song. A definite success.

“Sadistic Lullaby”: Steelbath Suicide (1998)

“Sadistic Lullaby”: The Panic Broadcast (2010) (bonus track)

Suffocation – “Marital Decimation”

Suffocation made a welcome return to this death metal classic on their recent album Blood Oath, changing little but giving it the annihilating production and cannibalistic performance it always deserved. It also provides great context for the album as a whole, proving that these veteran bruisers are still producing material on a par with their classic records.

“Marital Decimation”: Breeding the Spawn (1993)

“Marital Decimation”: Blood Oath (2009)

Vader – “Black To The Blind”

The formula for a Vader song is so perfect that the awesome re-recordings on the anniversary package XXV were never at risk of tarnishing their legacy. Unlike the common malady that often afflicts re-recordings, many of the songs on this release are definitely faster than their originals, Daray’s uber-drumming giving each track a spinal cord of molten metal power. The utterly dominating guitar tone and Piotr’s ever more vicious vocals contribute to the sound of a band throwing down a gauntlet that says “this is how good we are now, this is how good we’ve ALWAYS been”.

“Black To the Blind”: Black To the Blind (1997)

“Black To the Blind”: XXV (2008)

Behemoth’s video for the song “Lucifer” from the Evangelion album debuted yesterday, in both censored and uncensored versions, and it’s a beautifully made, visually striking piece of work. The song itself is dramatic, potent, massive, and the imagery of the video suits the music.

As far as I can tell, the lyrics to “Lucifer” are the lines from a poem by Tadeusz Micinski. The poem is in Polish, but I found a literary (ie, not entirely literal) translation – which tells me that the imagery in the video has very little to do with the lyrics. And the imagery itself, though highly symbolic, is open to interpretation.

It seems to depict a hospitalized girl in the last minutes of a fatal illness or injury, with a priest in the room calling for divine intercession and a red-eyed black unicorn (perhaps symbolizing death) making his steady approach. And from there, I lose the thread of the visuals. They’re arresting to see, but what they are intended to mean I’m unsure, though I’m still thinking about it. I suppose the fact that I’m still thinking about it is a sign that it’s waaaay above average, as metal videos go.

After the jump is the uncensored version of the video (female nudity, of course) plus the translation of the lyrics to “Lucifer”. If you’ve got ideas about what the video means, or at least how you choose to interpret it, please leave us a Comment.

“LUCIFER”: LYRICS

I – among the gales, the dark flame of God’s might,
Like the hollow bell of the north, wailing, I fly afar
In the darkness of mountains the red dawn I light
With spark of my suffering and my inertial star.

I – comets’ king – yet swirls my soul’s fume
As desert’s dusts into a pyramid surreal.
I – storms’ thunder – yet quieter than a tomb,
My pits’ deathly morbidity I conceal.

I – spectrum’s abyss – yet I’d weep over my pains
As the cold winds over withered reeds torn.
I – volcanic gleam – yet on muddy plains
I go, like a funeral, with dullness and mourn.

Seas play the harps, Heaven’s blazes soaring
And sun, my enemy – sun! rises, in God’s adoring

Behemoth “Lucifer” (OFFICIAL VIDEO | Uncensored) from Metal Blade Records on Vimeo.

Here at NCS, we avoid the daily news like the plague (unless it involves metal), because it offers constant reminders that human beings are fucking nuts, and not in a good way. For every small step of advancement toward civilization, there seem to be about 10 steps in regression as the self-centered and the arrogant persist in reenacting acts of gob-smacking idiocy that have been a feature of the human landscape for millenia and inflicting their prejudices on people who don’t think or act as they do.

But there are just enough, just barely enough, episodes of rationality to keep hope alive that a day will come when most people will act like the higher-order creatures they are supposed to be, instead of just bigger-brained versions of water buffalo and warthogs.

This week we had news about the lifting of legal clouds in two criminal cases that most metalheads have come to know quite well — the murder case against the West Memphis 3 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and the prosecution of Adam Darski (a/k/a Nergal) of Behemoth for giving offense to religion in Poland.

According to this story, a Polish judge found Nergal innocent of offending religious feeling when he ripped up a Bible during a 2007 Behemoth concert, called the Bible “a deceitful book”, and branded the church a “criminal sect.” The judge held that Nergal’s actions were “a form of artistic expression consistent with the style of his band.” Duh. He added that the court had no intention of limiting freedom of expression or the right to criticize religion. That’s an encouraging pronouncement.

Nergal can now go about the business of continuing to recover from leukemia and practicing for Behemoth’s next live performances this fall. No doubt, his detractors in Poland are seething over this turn of events, still stubbornly refusing to understand that trying to jail people who speak ill of churches, no matter how “offensively,” or who tear up “holy books,” won’t silence criticism of churches or religion. If people aren’t secure enough in their own faith to ignore what people like Nergal do in performances for their own fans, then enforcing laws against religious offense won’t save them. (more after the jump . . .)

The case of the West Memphis 3 is more complicated and more serious, since it involves not charges of saying something offensive, but charges of murder. On May 5, 1993, three 8-year-old Cub Scouts were killed in particularly gruesome ways. They were dumped in a ditch, nude and hogtied. Two of them drowned in about 2 feet of water. The third bled to death, and his genitals were mutilated and partially removed.

Arkansas prosecutors claimed the killings were the result of some kind of “Satanic” ritual, and suspicion fell on three teenagers — Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jessie Misskelly — in part because they wore dark clothing, including heavy metal band shirts. In 1994, all three were convicted. Echols was sentenced to death and the other two to life in prison.

All three have spent the last 18 years in jail or in prison, despite an abysmally flawed police investigation, serious conflicts and deficiencies in the State’s proof, and evidence of blatant juror misconduct during the trial. Recent DNA established no link between those three and the crime scene, but did show the presence of other persons who have never been identified.

Last fall, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered a new hearing for the West Memphis 3, ordering the trial court to consider the allegations of juror misconduct and the new DNA evidence. In June, prosecutors in effect conceded that juror misconduct had occurred, and they apparently didn’t like their odds of success in fighting the DNA evidence, and so, according to this story, they offered Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelly a deal: Enter a so-called “Alford plea”, in which a defendant is allowed to maintain his innocence but admit that the State has enough evidence to obtain a conviction, receive credit for time served, and be released immediately.

Yesterday, facing the prospect of possibly more years in prison while the legal process continues to roll glacially forward with the new hearing and likely a new trial, the West Memphis 3 took the deal, and obtained their freedom. Prosecutors continued to insist that the three are guilty, and there’s no indication that the State will make any effort to search for others who may have committed the murders.

What happened to Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelly has come to symbolize the persecution and intolerance to which many metalheads have felt subjected in their communities. I tend to think it’s more symbolic of an even more pervasive problem — prosecutors hell-bent on obtaining and preserving convictions despite serious flaws in the proof of guilt, instead of seeing that justice is done.

Regardless, these three did not deserve to spend the last 18 years of their lives behind bars. As it so often does, the justice system failed them for almost two decades, as it continues to fail those three dead children.

Like all good Behemoth slaves, I followed frontman Nergal’s battle with leukemia with a shifting feeling of dismay, dread, sorrow, hope, and eventually a sympathetic feeling of victory. Today I saw news of yet another milestone in Nergal and Behemoth’s comeback that I thought was worth sharing: For the first time in over a year, Behemoth is back in their rehearsal space rehearsing both old and new songs, and we’ve got pictures to prove it. Nergal issued this statement:

“Sooo, first rehearsals after the transplant are under our belts! I didn’t want to get overexcited at first, just wanted to see how things would go, but I have to tell you…the second rehearsal we fuckin’ nailed “Ov Fire And The Void”, “Lucifer”, “Conquer All” or “Antichristian Phenomenon” flawlessly! One of us even asked: ‘Did we really take a year off from each other?’ Ha ha… it was good times in great company! But the biggest surprise were the songs we NEVER played live ever and planning to do on the upcoming “Phoenix Rising Tour”. I won’t reveal any names yet, let it be a mystery til we hit the stage, all right?”

“In other news, I started jamming out some NEW shit too…too early to give any further comments but it sounds VERY disturbing and eerie. Can’t fuckin wait to unleash those ideas to my friends…”

I don’t know about you, but this gave my day a boost. In these photos, Nergal looks like he’s been through a fucking meat-grinder, physically, but he’s on two feet with axe in hand. Hails and horns, man. More photos after the jump.

Give up? The answer is: They’re all bands who are signed to Metal Blade, they all have new releases on the horizon, and they all have new songs that Metal Blade has packaged together in a digital stream emanating from SoundCloud.

Here’s the line-up of music:

Black Dahlia Murder: “Moonlight Equilibirum” (album: Ritual)
Job For A Cowboy: “Misery Reformatory” (album: Gloom)
Behemoth: “Slaves Shall Serve” (album: Abyssus Abyssum Invocat)
Barn Burner: “Keg Stand and Deliver” (album: Bangers II: Scum of the Earth)
Sister: “Hated” (album: Hated)
Faloner: “Svarta Ankan” (album: Armod)
Gentlemans Pistols: “I Wouldn’t Let You” (album: At Her Majesty’s Pleasure)

All of these albums are scheduled for release on June 7, except the first and last ones, which will be released June 21.

There is good news and bad news here. The good news is that we can listen to these 7 songs right here, right now. The bad news is that these are the only songs from the albums that we’ll be able to hear, because the Rapture is coming on May 21.  (more after the jump . . . including breaking news about the end of the world)

Yes, it’s true. No less an authority than Harold Camping, founder of Family Radio Inc., has calculated that Jesus will return on May 21, and that will be all she wrote in terms of earthly existence. As reported in the Nashville Tennessean newspaper:

According to Camping’s prediction, the Rapture will happen exactly 7,000 years from the date that God first warned people about the flood. He said the flood happened in 4990 B.C., on what would have been May 21 in the modern calendar. God gave Noah one week of warning.

Since one day equals 1,000 years for God, that means there was a 7,000-year interval between the flood and rapture.

And just to make sure people don’t squander the last 10 days of existence on Earth, Family Radio has been putting up billboards all over Nashville — 40 of them at last count — reminding people to “Save the Date!”

I’ll tell you what, May 21 is sure as fuck circled in red on my calendar! With only 10 days left, I’m putting my moral qualms aside and torrenting every unreleased album I can find, because I have a sneaking suspicion there won’t be a place in Heaven for Metal Blade. Metal Blade and all those bands will most likely be in . . . well . . . you know . . . that other place.

Actually, having now visited Family Radio’s web site, it appears I was a bit hasty about the destruction of the world.  Mr. Camping says that although the Rapture will happen on May 21, the world won’t be destroyed until October 21. So, I guess Metal Blade won’t have to move up the release date for these albums after all. Those of us left behind after May 21 can still crank the metal, at least for five more months. At least when we’re not eating each other and trying to appease The Beast.

Yeah, life on post-Rapture Earth during the ensuing apocalypse is bound to be a clusterfuck of cosmic proportions. So, I’ve got this suggestion for those who believe they will be taken up into the air to meet Jesus on May 21: In the 10 days you’ve got left, please donate all your worldly possessions to your favorite unclean metalheads so we can do our best to survive before everything goes to oblivion. Please contact me for details.

Now, back to the music. I’m a fan of the first four bands on this Metal Blade stream, but had never heard the music of the last three. Sister is a Swedish outfit billed as a “sleaze/punk” band. They look the part, I guess. At least the sleaze part.

I will say that the song featured on this Metal Blade stream is pretty damned catchy.

Falconer is also from Sweden and they’re a power-metal band who’ve been around since 1999. Having now listened to this song, it becomes clear why I hadn’t heard their music before. It’s power metal. The instrumental parts (including a very Queen-like solo) are bearable, but the singing (which includes a clean male/female duet) — not my thing. Maybe it will be yours.

And finally, there’s Gentlemans Pistols. This is an English band. It’s a rock band. There’s a bit of  punk influence in the song on this compilation; it sorta reminded me of The Offspring. But again, the music ain’t really my thing these days.

By the way, that Behemoth release is a 2-CD set featuring two previous Behemoth EPs, both of which are currently “out-of-print”, and it includes all new expanded artwork as well as bonus tracks on each disc. The two EPs featured are Conjuration and Slaves Shall Serve. Here’s the cover art:

Okay, enough introductory verbiage. Here’s the SoundCloud player with these 7 tracks. Enjoy them while you can.

What the hell is that big yellow thing up in the sky? It looks vaguely familiar, but it’s appeared so rarely here in The Emerald City over the last six months that we’re having trouble placing the name. Well, maybe the name will come to us. The great wheel of the seasons surely must continue to turn someplace, but in Seattle it seems to have been stuck on Winter since, like, forever. In some parts of the world, April showers bring May flowers, but here, April showers will probably bring . . . May showers.

Okay, enough whining. At least we don’t get tornados dropping from the sky like atom bombs and wiping whole towns off the map. And even though the weather hasn’t been our friend, we have metal to make up for the cold shoulder — and there’s a bunch of new metal headed our way.

What we do with these installments of METAL IN THE FORGE is collect news blurbs and press releases we’ve seen over the last month about forthcoming new albums from bands we know and like (including updates about releases we’ve included in previous installments of this series), or from bands that look interesting, even though we don’t know them yet. And in this post, we cut and paste the announcements and compile them in alphabetical order.

This isn’t a cumulative list, so be sure to check the Category link called “Forthcoming Albums” on the right side of this page to see forecasted releases we reported in previous installments. This month’s list begins right after the jump. Look for your favorite bands, or get intrigued about some new ones.

AMORPHIS: “‘You I Need‘, the new single from Finnish metallers AMORPHIS, is available for streaming at this location. The song, which will be released digitally in Finland on April 20 and in other countries on April 22, comes off the band’s new album, The Beginning Of Times, due on May 27 via Nuclear Blast Records.”

AUGUST BURNS RED: “Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based Christian metalcore quintet AUGUST BURNS RED has set Leveler as the title of its fourth album, due on June 21 via the band’s longtime label Solid State Records. For Leveler, AUGUST BURNS RED re-teamed with super producer Jason Suecof, the man behind the board on the band’s previous CD, 2009′s Constellations. The result is an album that pushes the band’s sonic boundaries in every direction, and yet is unquestionably heavier than its predecessor.”

BEHEMOTH: “The masters of Polish blackened death metal BEHEMOTH have set Abyssus Abyssum Invocat as the title to the band’s expanded repackaging of their early 2000′s EPs “Conjuration” and “Slaves Shall Serve”. Set for release in the U.S. on June 7 via Metal Blade Records,Abyssus Abyssum Invocat features both EPs remastered and includes bonus tracks, new artwork, and new liner notes from BEHEMOTH frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski.”

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER: “Michigan’s unstoppable sons of molten melodic death metal THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER will release their new album, Ritual, in Europe on June 17 and in North America on June 21 via Metal Blade Records. The effort will also be available as a box set, limited to 2,000 units including special, exclusive digibook, witch board, magic wand, sage, incense sticks and coffin nails. The CD was once again be produced by Mark Lewis (TRIVIUM, BURY YOUR DEAD, DEICIDE), who also worked on 2009′s Deflorate.

BLOOD MORTIZED: “BLOOD MORTIZED — the Swedish death metal band featuring former AMON AMARTH guitarist Anders “Hansson” Biazzi (who played on AMON AMARTH’s first two albums, 1996′s “Sorrow Throughout The Nine Worlds” and 1998′s “Once Sent From The Golden Hall”) and CRYPT OF KERBEROS drummer Mattias Borgh — has inked a deal with Chaos Records for the release of the group’s Bestial EP. The effort was recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by drummer Mattias Borgh at Underworld Recording in Sweden. The four-song EP features artwork by Thomas Kynst and Daniel Devilish and is slated for a June/July 2011 release on both CD and vinyl format.”

BOOK OF BLACK EARTH: “Seattle, WA blackened death metal outfit Book Of Black Earth, will release their new album, The Cold Testament, on May 24th via Prosthetic Records. The album was tracked with Chris Common (Pelican, The Sword) at the Red Room Studio in Seattle and mixed and mastered by Dan Swano (Bloodbath, Nasum, Opeth) at Unisound in Sweden.”

BRUTAL TRUTH: “BRUTAL TRUTH (Kevin Sharp: vocals, Dan Lilker: bass, Richard Hoak: drums, Erik Burke: guitar) has completed work on their brand new full-length album titled End Time. BRUTAL TRUTH recorded End Time with Doug White at Watchmen Studios in Lockport, NY. The self-produced album was mixed by Jason P.C. at Goatsound Studios and is currently being mastered by Scott Hull at Visceral Sound. . . . End Time is expected to see a late summer 2011 release date with additional album information will be made available shortly.”

CHROME DIVISION: “CHROME DIVISION, the Norwegian five-piece featuring DIMMU BORGIR frontman Shagrath (a.k.a. Stian Thoresen) on guitar, will release its third album, 3rd Round Knockout, in Europe on May 6 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was recorded at Marius Strand Studio in Oslo.”

DAWN OF DISEASE: “German death metallers DAWN OF DISEASE will release their debut album, Legends Of Brutality, on April 29 via Noise Art Records. The CD was recorded at Soundlodge Studio (GOD DETHRONED, DEW-SCENTED, SINISTER) with producer Jörg Uken.”

DEGRADEAD: “Stockholm, Sweden-based melodic death metallers DEGRADEAD will release their third album, A World Destroyer, in North America on June 28 via Metalville Records. The CD was recorded at Peter Tägtgren‘s (HYPOCRISY, PAIN) Abyss studios in Pärlby, outside Ludvika, Sweden, with producer Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY, CENTINEX, WORLD BELOW).”

DERANGED: “‘Depraved And Zombified‘, a brand new song from Swedish death metal masters DERANGED, is available for streaming in a YouTube clip . . . The song comes off the band’s eighth full-length album, Cut, Carve, Rip, Serve, which is scheduled for release in May via Sevared Records. The CD was recorded at Berno Studio in Malmö, Sweden.”

DESCENDING: “After a long period of intensive work in Greece and Sweden along with producer Fredrik Nordström (IN FLAMES, DIMMU BORGIR, ARCH ENEMY) at Fredman studios, Athens, Greece-based death/thrash metal band DESCENDING has completed work the follow-up to its debut album, Enter Annihilation, which was released in European and Japanese markets in 2008-2009. The as-yet-untitled new CD will be made available on September 23 via Massacre Records. A brand new digital single will be posted online on June 1.”

THE DEVASTATED: “THE DEVASTATED, the Southern California-based band featuring former members of IMPENDING DOOM and OBLIGE, has inked a deal with Century Media Records. The band is currently in the studio with young producer Chris Eck recording its debut album for a summer release. The CD will be mixed later this month with Daniel Castleman at Lambesis Studios in San Diego, California.”

EARTH CRISIS: “Reunited hardcore legends EARTH CRISIS have set Neutralize The Threat as the title of their seventh album, due on July 12 via Century Media Records. The CD was produced by Chris “Zeuss” Harris (SHADOWS FALL, HATEBREED). ”

EXELOUME: “Norwegian death/thrashers EXELOUME have inked a deal with the Swedish label ViciSolum Productions as their first non-Swedish band. The group’s debut album, Fairytale Of Perversion, will be released on Friday, May 13. Produced by Rune Stavnesli (KEEP OF KALESSIN,BLOODTHORN) and mixed/mastered by Dan Swanö, the CD does features guest appearances from Andy La Rocque (KING DIAMOND) and Dan Swanö (ex-EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH, NIGHTINGALE). The artwork was created by Ed Repka (DEATH, ATHEIST, MEGADETH).”

ELITIST: “Portland, Oregon-based grind/death metal act ELITIST will release its debut album, Fear In A Handful Of Dust, on June 21 (one day earlier internationally) via Season Of Mist’s Underground Activists division. The CD is described in a press release as a ‘wild piece of old-school death metal mixed with sludgecore influences.’”

FALCONER: “Swedish metallers FALCONER will release their seventh album, Armod, in Europe on June 3 via Metal Blade Records. The CD features 11 songs completely sung in Swedish and four bonus tracks that are said to be English versions of the bandmembers’ favorite new songs. Armod was once again recorded at KING DIAMOND guitarist Andy La Rocque‘s Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden.”

FATHER BEFOULED: “American death metal act FATHER BEFOULED has inked a deal with Dark Descent Records for the release of the group’s third album, Revulsion Of Seraphic Grace, on CD and LP formats. The effort will be recorded in August 2011 and is tentatively due before the end of the year. A new split seven-inch single with Chile’s DEMONIC RAGE will be made available in May, featuring the FATHER BEFOULED song“Abolition of the Seraphic Vestige”.”

GALLHAMMER: “GALLHAMMER — the Japanese extreme metal group that draws on black metal, doom metal, and crust punk — will release its third studio album, The End, on May 31 via Peaceville Records. A mini-site for the CD containing an album teaser, desktop background, free song download, and more can be accessed at this location.”

GHOST BRIGADE: “Finnish metallers GHOST BRIGADE have completed work on their third album, Until Fear No Longer Defines Us, for a late summer release via Season Of Mist.”

GOATWHORE: “New Orleans extreme metallers GOATWHORE will enter the studio in late July to begin recording their new album for a late 2011 release.”

HATE ETERNAL: “The first in a six-part series of clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of Phoenix Amongst The Ashes, the new album from Florida-based extreme metal veterans HATE ETERNAL, can be viewed below. Due on May 10 via Metal Blade Records, the CD was recorded at HATE ETERNAL mainman Erik Rutan’s Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (SEPULTURA, SUFFOCATION, UNEARTH) in New Windsor, New York.”

KRISIUN: “KRISIUN will enter Stage One Studios in Bühne, Germany in May to begin recording its eighth full-length album for a fall release via Century Media Records. The CD will once again be produced by Andy Classen, who previously worked with the band on the Conquerors Of Armageddon (1999), AssasiNation (2005) and Southern Storm (2008) releases.”

MACHINE HEAD: “San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD will enter GREEN DAY‘s Jingletown Studios in Oakland, California this Saturday, April 16 to begin recording their as-yet-untitled seventh album for a late summer release via Roadrunner Records.”

MALIGNO: “Mexican doom rockers MALIGNO will release their third album, The Funeral Domine, in May. The CD was recorded by MALIGNO at La Nave studios in Monterrey, Mexico and was mixed at 7hertz Studios in Los Angeles, California with American producer/engineer Billy Anderson (MELVINS, NEUROSIS, CATHEDRAL, SLEEP). The effort was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music (CONVERGE,HATEBREED, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN) in New Windsor, New York. The Funeral Domine features collaborations with the acclaimed Mexican guitar duo RODRIGO Y GABRIELA and TESTAMENT guitar legend Alex Skolnick.”

CHRISTIAN MUENZNER: “Guitarist Christian Muenzner (OBSCURA) has revealed the cover artwork and track listing for his upcoming, all-instrumental solo album, Timewarp. The CD features Hannes Grossmann (OBSCURA, BLOTTED SCIENCE) on drums and Daniel Galmarini (MERCURYFALLING) on keyboards, with bass duties split between Steve DiGiorgio (DEATH, SADUS, ex-TESTAMENT, ex-ICED EARTH) and Jacob Schmidt (DEFEATED SANITY). Due by the end of April, it features guest appearances by Shrapnel recording artists Derek Taylor, Per Nilsson (SCAR SYMMETRY, KAIPA), Ryan Knight (THE BLACK DAHLIAMURDER, ex-ARSIS), Bob Katsionis (FIREWIND) and Alex Guth (STORMWARRIOR).”

HIDEOUS DIVINITY: “Italian death metallers HIDEUOS DIVINITY have inked a multi-album deal with Unique Leader Records. The band’s debut album, Obeisance Rising, will be released in June. The CD was recorded at the renowned 16th Cellar Studios by mastermind Stefano “Saul” Morabito, the man who has turned the knobs on Italy’s most acclaimed extreme productions. The lyrical concept is based on John Carpenter‘s immortal masterstroke “They Live”.

INFESTUS: “German black metal heathens INFESTUS will release their new album,“E x | I s t”, on May 19 in North America (one day earlier internationally) via Debemur Morti Productions.”

MY DYING BRIDE: “2010 marked the 20th anniversary of U.K. doom metal legends MY DYING BRIDE. To commemorate two decades of doom and gloom from the elite British act, the band embarked upon a special project to re-work familiar melodies and themes from its extensive catalogue into long, flowing symphonic compositions, incorporating new vocals and passages from vocalist, Aaron Stainthorpe. These arrangements have been brought to life in co-operation with keyboard maestro Johnny Maudling (of BAL-SAGOTH fame), as well as a clutch of talented classical musicians, and shared vocals courtesy of professional opera singer Lucie Roche. The collection — titled “Evinta” — will be released on May 31 via Peaceville Records as a two-disc set and deluxe three-disc edition with 64-page book inspired by MY DYING BRIDE’s illustrious recordings of the past two decades.”

NECROPHAGIA: “Legendary gore metal pioneers NECROPHAGIA will release their new album, Deathtrip 69, on May 17 (one day earlier internationally) via Season Of Mist. The band’s fifth official full-length CD, which features guest appearances by Maniac (SKITLIV, ex-MAYHEM) and Casey Chaos (AMEN), was recorded at Last House On The Left Studios in Ohiowith vocalist Killjoy and guitarist Boris Randall handling production duties. The cover concept and title track are based on the “Manson family” ordeal of the late 1960s.”

NOCTEM: “Spanish black/death metallers NOCTEM will release their sophomore album, Oblivion, on June 13 via Rising Records. A “signed limited tour edition” of the CD will be made available in Spain on May 24.”

ORIGIN: “American technical death metal innovators ORIGIN will release their new album, Entity, on June 7 in North America and June 10 in Europe via Nuclear Blast Records.”

POISONBLACK: “POISONBLACK — the Finnish band featuring former SENTENCED frontman Ville Laihiala — will release its fifth album, now titled Drive (working title was “Lead & Roll Vol. 5″), in Scandinavia on April 27 via Hype Records. The CD was recorded at Antfarm Studio in Århus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, MOONSPELL, DARK TRANQUILLITY, GOREFEST).”

QUEENSRŸCHE: “Seattle progressive rockers QUEENSRŸCHE will release their twelfth studio album, Dedicated To Chaos, on June 28 in North America via Loud & Proud Records, a Roadrunner Records imprint focusing on established artists. The band is currently planning a tour in support of the new opus, which was recorded in the group’s hometown and produced by Kelly Gray.”

REVOCATION: “REVOCATION has recently completed work on their brand new album titled Chaos of Forms. The band recorded Chaos of Forms at Damage Studios in Southbridge, Massachusetts with engineer Pete Rutcho. The follow-up to the band’s break-through Relapse debut Existence Is Futile will feature 12 new tracks totaling a little over 45 minutes in length. An August 2011 release date is expected with additional album information to be posted soon.”

SCAR SYMMETRY: “The Unseen Empire, the new album from Swedish progressive melodic death metallers SCAR SYMMETRY, will be released on April 15 in Europe and May 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records.”

SUICIDE SILENCE: “California deathcore masters SUICIDE SILENCE have set The Black Crown as the title of their new album, tentatively due in July via Century Media Records. The CD was recorded with heavyweight producer Steve Evetts (THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, EVERY TIME I DIE, HATEBREED) and will feature the following songtitles, among others: “Human Violence”, “Cancerous Skies” and “Fuck Everything”.

SUPREME PAIN: “Dutch brutal death metallers SUPREME PAIN, who feature in their ranks members of SINISTER, CONSOLATION, PUTREFIED and FONDLECORPSE, have inked a deal with Massacre Records. The band’s third album, Divine Incarnation was recorded at Soundlodge Studiosin Leer, Germany with producer Jörg Uken and is scheduled for release on May 27. According to the group, the album will contain “nine blasting death metal tracks with an evil and twisted atmosphere.”"

SYBREED: “Swiss metallers SYBREED have recorded a new song called “Challenger”, which will be released for download on April 23 exclusively on iTunes. The track will be enhanced with three “ass-kicking” remixes from BAK XIII, Voicians and Drop. The Challenger EP is a standalone release, meant to serve as a sneak preview of the “catchy” kind of material SYBREED is working on for its next CD, tentatively due in the spring of 2012. ”

TRAPPED UNDER ICE: “Baltimore, MD hardcore band Trapped Under Ice will enter the studio in June to begin recording a new full-length titled Big Kiss Goodnight. The effort will be produced by Chad Gilbert (of New Found Glory) and engineered by Paul Miner (Death By Stereo, Terror). A late-fall release via Reaper Records is planned.”

UNEARTH: “US metallers Unearth have revealed their upcoming new album will be titled Darkness In The Light. Darkness In The Light is due for a Summer-2011 release via Metal Blade Records. The album was recorded at Zing Studios in Massachusetts, US with producer Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage guitarist).”

VADER: “Polish extreme metal veterans VADER entered Hertz Studio in Bialystok, Poland last month to begin recording their new album,Welcome To The Morbid Reich. The band is laying down a total of 12 songs for the CD, which will be mixed and mastered in May for a tentative late 2011 release.”

VOIVOD: “Canadian metal innovators VOIVOD will release a new live album, Warriors Of Ice, in the U.S. on June 21 via Sonic Unyon Metal. The CD, which can already be purchased digitally, will be made available in Canada on June 17 through Indica Records.”

YGGDRASIL: “Swedish folk metal masters YGGDRASIL will release their new album,Irrbloss (English translation: “Will-o-wisps”) on April 25 via Grand Master Music. The long-awaited follow up to 2008′s Vedergällning was recorded, mixed and mastered at Grand Master Audio in Sweden.”

In sporadically sampled reviews of previous releases by Poland’s Nomad, the phrase “brutal death metal” appeared often (along with words like “evil”, “blackened”, and “satanic”). Four years have passed since the band’s last release (The Independence of Observation Choice). In that time, perhaps their musical interests have evolved, because that “brutal death” label doesn’t fit Nomad’s forthcoming album, Transmigration of Consciousness.

What label does fit? Must we afix a label? No, we don’t. Gazing at the stupendous album cover by Michael “Xaay” Loranc, we can instead think of the music that paces the stroke of oarsmen on a giant longship plowing the waves of interstellar gas, emerging from a galactic vortex to carry cities and citadels into an ominous void where no humans have gone before.

Or, to be more prosaic, we could tell you that Transmigration of Consciousness is a kind of death-metal rave, a seamless flow of syncopated rhythms and synth-driven interludes that effectively combines elements of melodic black metal, industrial metal, and tyrannical death.

Or we could just tell you that we’ve near-destroyed our neck muscles repeatedly snapping our rattled heads to this album.  (more after the jump . . .)

First, a word about the sonic design of the album: There are eight songs but 17 tracks, because each song is preceded by a short intro piece that then bleeds into the song that follows, and an album-closing outro that ends with the metallic clang of a massive gate dropping shut.

The intros range from synth instrumentals, to busy signals with faint voices speaking in the background, to orchestral interludes, to hypnotic ambient noise, to martial drums and the swell of horns, to carnival-style organs accompanied by cackling laughter and lung-spewing coughs, and more. And each intro fits the song that comes next, in often unexpected ways. Often, the songs themselves bleed right into the next intro. What we said: This album is like one long rave, with few pauses from start to finish.

The signal features of the songs themselves: Urgent, pulsating, rapid-fire riffs that recall the rhythms of industrial metal — repeating, body-commanding, galvanizing at their core; inventive drumwork that vividly accents and adds nuances to the songs well beyond the marking of time; and deep, roaring vocals that herald a kind of demonic majesty.

The music is designed to make you move, and most of it moves at a fast to mid-paced clip. “Abyss of Meditation” is an exception. It’s the slowest pacing on the album, anchored by a repeating rhythm riff, with the variation provided by occasional keyboards and squalling guitar solos. The vocals rise in strident proclamation as the music builds. It’s evil, but mesmerizing.

There’s more vocal variation in “Raised Irony”, blending higher-register black-metal ice with the titanic roaring, and a third layering of clean vocals. And if you feel like stomping on creatures that annoy you, wait for the monstrous lurch of the closing track, “Four Percent of Hate”.

The crank of a thousand oarlocks in motion, the pulsing blood of men at work, the blaze of starscapes in the void, the nagging fear that something waits in the void that you would rather not see. Or we could just say this is more death-metal fun than the law allows. Oh yes, fuck the law.

If the name Nomad sounds familiar, it could be because we included them in a recent MISCELLANY post, where we featured the only song we’d then heard — “Identity With Personification”. It’s still our personal favorite, but we’ll share another taste from the album. This is “Flames of Tomorrow”:

Transmigration of Consciousness will see its worldwide release by Witching Hour productions on March 21.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the debut of a new column which Islander has kindly allowed me to write and display here at NoCleanSinging.

Each week (ok, whenever I get round to it, they may not be weekly – or they may be more frequent, we’ll see) I’m going to be providing an introduction, a retrospective, or simply a re-consideration of  a band which I feel merits the treatment. Certain bands will be more well known than others, and primarily these bands will be part of THE SYNN REPORT simply because I feel that with all the bullshit media hype in the world, the band in question has been perhaps judged unfairly due to the influence of matters non-musical. Certain bands, however, you may not have heard of before at all, as although I do not consider myself a paragon of underground taste, there is only so much time each of us can devote to finding new music and really exploring it. Hopefully this column will help a little!

Each column will deal with a single musical entity, considering their works and progression in turn. Certain columns will be dedicated perhaps simply to eras in a band’s career and progression, considering and evaluating changes in style and direction with the benefit of hindsight and (hopefully) critical objectivity. Although that probably won’t last very long!

Anyway, for my first column I would like to introduce you to the Greek band ASTARTE.  (more after the jump, including sample songs from the band’s discography . . .)

With a consistently changing line-up, the primarily female band Astarte began life as a purely Black Metal band, albeit one with an ear for a distinctive and dark melody.

Over the years they have metamorphosed into a more Black/Death hybrid of a band, shedding and recruiting numerous different members along the way, but each time progressing and improving upon their own sound. They have in the past ten years gained a cult following of their own, whilst also gaining the patronage and friendship of some of the larger leading lights of the international Black and Death metal scenes. Guest slots from members of Rotting Christ, Dimmu Borgir, God Dethroned, Arch Enemy and Mayhem have all served to cement them as a band to be taken seriously on the world stage, although their overall lack of exposure (coupled with their inconsistent line-up issues) has yet to provide them with that all-important break-out opportunity.

What follows is a critical dissection, largely positive, of each of their 5 albums in turn, with a sample song provided for your listening pleasure. If you like the band, spread the word about them!

Doomed Dark Years - 1998

Like many of their brothers and sisters around the world, the debut album from Astarte was very much in thrall to the methodology and constraints imposed by the burgeoning black metal scene. Keyboard effects are a large part of the sound on this album, in a similar manner to those employed on Emperor’s early works. The songs are primarily long 5min+ numbers, whilst the vocals are a mid-range shriek that can occasionally be a little indecipherable, but which suits the music extremely well.

The riffs are primarily mid-to-fast paced tremolo and chord progressions, accented by keyboard parts and supported by competent, if not groundbreaking drumming. The bass is nicely placed in the mix, audible (in contrast to much prototypical black metal) but not overwhelming, helping to cement the sound whilst also occasionally breaking away to add some melodic fluidity to the songs.

The album should definitely manage to retain your interest and attention, particularly with the considered use of keyboard parts, occasional changes into clean guitars and generally interesting song structure. A good debut, with the promise of better things to come.

Sample song – Doomed Dark Years

Rise From Within - 2000

By second album Rise From Within, the corpse-paint was pretty much gone and the sound had been tightened up noticeably. The production is thicker, though still within the realms of traditional black metal, and the overall tempo has increased to a more blast-ready pace. The keyboard effects are far more tasteful and noticeably darker this time around, and the vocals (shared between founding members Kinthia and Tristessa), although still primarily mid-ranged, are far clearer whilst still retaining a vicious edge to them.

The drumming has noticeably improved, becoming far more varied and initiating some more clever and interesting patterns with both the hands and feet. The tightness of the blasting and kick-pedalling is also extremely pleasing. That’s not to say that the band has simply dropped into the cliché of full-speed all the time; there’s a pleasing level of “groove” to a lot of the riffing that contrasts nicely with the faster moments. The material on offer definitely comes across as more varied than that on offer on their debut and is all the better for it, the guitars branching out slightly and creating more memorable parts for themselves, whilst even the bass gets a look in – something which I find always makes a black metal band all the stronger.

Altogether however the particular strength of this record, which suggests the band deserve to stand-out from the black metal pack, is the sense of increased confidence in both the band’s musical abilities and their song-writing compositions.

Sample song – Rise From Within I (Mystical Provocation)

Quod Superius Sicut Inferius – 2002

Immediately apparent is the improved production, recalling the ever improving sound of their countrymen in Rotting Christ. The improved sound is initially most apparent in the drum and keyboard production, both sounding far bigger and packing more punch and atmosphere respectively. The increased use of well-written piano parts, as well as backing choirs and vocal effects, also demonstrates the band at least attempting to broaden their sound somewhat.

It’s clear that when the band push themselves the pace is definitely faster than before, whilst the slower and more mid-paced parts are performed with more confidence and a greater sense of their importance and depth. The band has definitely found a more epic tone both in structure and performance (see “Oblivious Darkness” for a great example).

There has also been a clear improvement in the clarity of the vocal performance, even allowing for some semi-gothic clean vocal overtures which serve to enhance the variety of sounds on offer. Also for the first time (but not the last) the band incorporate guest vocals, with Spiros Antoniou of Septic Flesh adding some varied tonality to the death vocals of “Astarte”.

The guitar tone has been further refined from both their previous releases, chunkier and broader in scope, the riffs cut through with more power, whilst the leads are now a much more integral part of the overall sound without ever being particularly flashy or overbearing – instrumental track “Sickness” is a great example of the band’s increased rhythmic prowess and grasp of velocity. The clean guitar parts are a pleasant improvement as well, really off-setting the darker and more metal parts of certain songs and supplying some welcome light and shade.

A very good album which owes a massive debt to Rotting Christ, but also increasingly demonstrates the band stamping their own distinctive identity onto their material.

Sample song – Inflamed Paradox

Sirens - 2004

With Sirens, Astarte really nailed their own specific sound and direction. The darkness is still present, but the overall sense of majesty and aggression have improved tenfold. The drumming is now a propulsive force behind the stately riffing, whilst the keyboard use has been scaled back slightly and added to the mix in a far more organic fashion. This allows for increased focus on the interplay between guitars and bass, as well as allowing the band to grow into a heavier dimension. The bass tones in particular are far smoother and warmer than ever before, really filling out the sound without ever lessening the overall attack of the instruments.

Reflecting this shift towards a slightly more death-metal approach, Tristessa’s vocals have moved towards a slightly lower range overall, whilst still maintaining a recognisably black metal rasp – all the more impressive when one considers that Tristessa is now the sole vocalist, her partner in crime Kinthia having departed before the recording of the album.

The lead parts add a range of melodies over the blasting and pounding the drums provide, adding to, but never taking away from, the blackened nature of the overall sound, whilst the increased use of death-metal elements (see “Deviate” for a prime example) is a natural progression for the band, and never comes across as forced or unnecessary.

Guest vocals from both Sakis Tolis (Rotting Christ) and Shagrath (Dimmu Borgir), on “Oceanus Procellarum (Liquid Tomb)” and “The Ring (Of Sorrow)” respectively,  are a nice touch as well, showing the band paying tribute to their peers. The presence of Nicolas Sic Maiis providing guest vocals on the song “Bitterness Of Mortality (Mecoman)” also demonstrates the band paying due reverence to their own roots pre-Astarte as the band LLoth.

The album is a milestone in the band’s career, demonstrating their now unshakeable conviction and dedication to their own particular brand of metal, with its roots in Black Metal but incorporating a greater sense of depth and stylistic breadth, along with a greater knowledge of emotional content.

Sample song – Dark Infected Circles (Outbreak)

Demonized – 2007

Their fifth album (and most recent) showcases the band’s move further towards the Death Metal sound (see the title track for evidence), albeit still retaining the all important melody and structure of their Black Metal roots (“God I Hate Them All” being a powerful argument for this approach).

Tristessa’s vocals vary in tone from the traditional rasp to the lower register growl she showcased first on Sirens, whilst the guitar tone is far thicker and crunchier, and the riffs as a whole are far more aggressive. The retention of their Black Metal roots is still evident in their dark tremolo melodies and the subtle use of keyboard augmentation whilst the bass remains an important and well-used element in their sonic stew.

Nicolas Sic Maiis returns to provide guest vocals on the track “God Among Men”, however the real treats are the contributions from some of Black and Death Metal’s most prominent figures; guest vocal spots from Attilla Csihar (Mayhem), Henry Sattler (God Dethroned) and Angela Gossow (Arch Enemy) really show the kind of support the band has built up over the years, and each one adds his or her own particular x-factor to the proceedings, be it the undead croak provided by Attilla Csihar on “Lycon”, the hate-filled bark of Henri Sattler on “Queen Of The Damned”, or the blast-furnace vocalisations of Angela Gossow which balance out the prominent lead guitar work on “Black At Heart”.

The lead work on the album has also taken a definite step up; more solos and more complex lead patterns and harmonies have worked their way in naturally as the band have delved deeper into heavier waters, maintaining their connection to the past whilst also allowing them to vary their approach somewhat, as on the strange and piano-led opening to “Heart Of Flames (Burn)” and “Everlast” (with one of the more distinct solos on the album near the end), or even the surprising cover of Accept’s “Princess Of The Dawn”.

Best of all even at their slower tempos the band no longer feels at all mid-paced; the approach is now more akin to a prowling beast, waiting to unleash its full fury – the sense of threat implicit is quite palpable. The best album they’ve produced thus far and hopefully a taster of better things to come!

Sample song – Lost

Recommended For Fans Of: Behemoth, God Dethroned, Rotting Christ

The last couple of days my day job has had my head in a fucking vise. I’ve barely had time to create posts for this site, but haven’t had much time to browse other metal sites I usually frequent in order to keep up with what’s happening in the metal cosmos. I did a little catching up last night, and found two stupendous videos that have just been released over the last 48 hours.

Because I’m a little slow to find them, you may have seen the videos already, but I’ve got to put them up anyway because they’re both so cool — in very different ways. Both of them made me exclaim “Holy Fuck!” (hence, the really imaginative title of this post).

The first one is a video of “Alas, Lord Is Upon Me” from Behemoth’s most recent album, Evangelion. I saw a censored version of this video on a couple of other metal sites, but this morning I found an uncensored version that’s now out. The only difference from the censored version is that there are a couple of flashes of nudity (as a priest in his vestments has sex with a naked woman in a church). The images in this slick video (even when they don’t involve nudity) are striking.

The second video is a live pro-shot performance by the reconstituted Polish death-metal band Decapitated. I got excited about this one mainly because Decapitated’s heavy-grooved, technical music is just so damned awesome, and this performance appears to be the first since the awful 2007 van accident that killed the band’s drummer and left its vocalist in a coma.

In fact, the only original member of the band still left is guitarist Wacław “Vogg” Kiełtyka. But based on the evidence of this video, Decapitated can still kick your ass into the stratosphere.  (both videos are after the jump . . .)

BEHEMOTH

Here’s the uncensored video of “Alas, Lord Is Upon Me”. Behemoth has dribbled out a series of “the making of” videos for this thing, none of which have I seen. Maybe they disclose the symbolic meaning of the images and the story, as intended by Nergal (Behemoth’s ailing frontman) and the director. But nothing compels a viewer to interpret a movie or video in the same way as the creator. We can interpret it as we see it.

In the video, Nergal portrays what appears to be some kind of aboriginal chieftain (or a fallen angel?), being led in chains by other enslaved aboriginals to a church. They’re being whipped and bloodied by masked thugs under the direction of clerics. At the church, Nergal is unchained and walks into the church where he confronts a regal-looking woman. And then he explodes in rage, and all hell breaks loose.

I’m not giving much away by providing that summary, because the video is filled with all sorts of other images, as well as some opening and concluding frames, that are open to interpretation (the meaning of which I haven’t quite figured out).  Worth watching.  Music’s cool, too, of course.

UPDATE:  Behemoth sent out a bulletin today (Aug 17) that YouTube had forced the removal of the uncensored version of this video, which of course caused our embed code to fail.  So, we’ve been forced to substitute the censored version for the uncensored, for those of you who happen to visit this post hereafter.)

What did you think of that? If you’ve got any interpretive ideas, feel free to leave ‘em in the comments. Or, if you think the thing just flat-out sucks, well, feel free to say that, too.

DECAPITATED

Now, here’s the video of Decapitated performing “Spheres of Madness”. I think this was their performance in London on February 8, 2010, where “Spheres” was the last song in the set. Decapitated is currently part of the SUMMER SLAUGHTER tour — which is only one week away from its stop in Seattle, and holy fuck, are we stoked for that!