This is the fourth and final part of a multi-part post about up-and-coming Norwegian bands. The first part is HERE, the second part is HERE, and Part 3 is HERE.  And below is an abbreviated version of the full explanation, which appears long-form in Part 1. But first, since I’m on the subject of Norwegian metal, here’s a bit of breaking news:

The Spellemann Awards are the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammy’s here in the U.S. The first Spellemannprisen were awarded in 1973 for albums released in 1972, so if my math is correct, we’re approaching the 40th annual awards show, and today the Spellemann nominees were announced. In the category of Best Metal Album, the following bands and albums were nominated (and we’ve featured four of the five nominees here at NCS):

	INSENSE	BURN IN BEAUTIFUL FIRE
	SHINING	LIVE BLACKJAZZ
	TAAKE	NOREGS VAAPEN
	VREID	V
	ÅRABROT	SOLAR ANUS

And now, onward to the explanation about the rest of this post: “Pyro” is the name of a radio program on one of the radio channels (P3) operated by NRK, the state-owned Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. The NRK P3 radio channel is mainly aimed at younger listeners, and Pyro is the program that focuses mainly on metal and hard rock.

At the end of November, the Pyro web site rolled out its 2011 list of the most promising metal bands in Norway. What I’m doing in this series is just repeating what I found on the Pyro web site, doing my best (with the lame assistance of Google Translate) to give Pyro’s descriptions of each band they picked as the best new metal bands in Norway, plus the same music from each band that they gave as an example (most of the songs can be found on Amazon mp3 or downloaded from the Urørt site via the links provided in the music descriptions below). Since the verbiage isn’t a professional translation, any fuck-ups are mine, not Pyro’s. My own words are included in brackets.

So here we go with Part 4. In this final part of the series, we’re including Jagged Vision, Deathbed Reunion, and Shadowmind. Below the images in the rest of this post, I’ve turned each of the band’s names into links that will take you to social media sites for each of them, in case you want to explore further.

JAGGED VISION

Out of nowhere (or really Hommesåk / Stavanger), Jagged Vision suddenly appeared with their debut EP. Brought up on Kvelertak and Purified In Blood, inspired by stoner-rock and 90′s hardcore, and with a youthful ferocity that we love. Check out the EP called Jagged Vision, visit the band via their Urørt page, and give the song “Thrasher” a listen below.

DEATHBED REUNION

Fresh hardcore from Sandnes / Stavanger with Norwegian melodic elements that many people can be happy with in this very promising band. Not too tight, not too soft. Perfect for an island festival. Perfect for you. Check out Deathbed Reunion via their Urørt pages, and see and hear their talent in “Part IV: The Serious Party” below. Video and stuff.

SHADOWMIND

Deathbed Reunion is not the only new band on this list with video. Shadowmind has one too, and they’re just as promising. Shadowmind plays metal, heavy and beautiful metal. Shadow Mind is working right now on their first album, and the songs we’ve heard provide so much promise that it makes us tingle. You can check out more music from Shadowmind ( on Bandcamp), and you can see the nice video they have made for the song “Rebirth” below.

(This is the fourth in Andy Synn’s week-long series of posts looking back at albums released this year. Andy previously provided his lists of the year’s Great albums, the Good ones, and the most Disappointing ones, and tomorrow we’ll have his Personal Top 10. Today, we have his list of “The Critical Top 10″. For more explanation of what all this means, plus Andy’s picks for the year’s best EPs, visit this location.)

So here’s the penultimate list of the week, the first of two ranked top-tens. This list will include the albums that I think are the very best of the best, the ones that best combine creativity, artistic ambition, song-writing, and performance. Regardless of my personal feelings and preferences, these are the albums that I think are critically superior to others. Though the ranking of them was difficult (as it always is when trying to compare artists and albums across metallic sub-genres), I’ve tried my best to give a sense about the critical and objective factors that led to each record earning its respective position on this list.

Although the potential candidates for the list were unavoidably influenced by my own listening tastes — I do, after all, only really tend to select the albums that I feel best qualified and most inspired to review – I have done my best to keep personal preference as far away from these judgements as possible, something that I hope will become clear when you see tomorrow how different the list of my top ten “favourite” albums of the year is from today’s list.

So here are the ten releases I think best represent the year critically. The ten that, ultimately, would be my choices to represent the year in metal music for posterity. Some of them have appeared quite commonly on other lists, albeit perhaps weighted differently, while others have largely been ignored by other sources thus far. Enjoy . . .

10) ALTAR OF PLAGUES – MAMMAL

Relentlessly emotive and endlessly rewarding, this album is truly a draining listen, one which requires a considerable amount of respite for listeners to truly absorb and process the wealth of sounds and moods they have just experienced. Putting the listener through the emotional wringer, this record deals with emblematic themes of emotional despair and furious, almost unhinged, rage. The fraught delivery and tense atmosphere keep the listeners perched on a knife’s edge of anticipation, their frayed nerves as vulnerable to the seductive calms of the record’s soothing post-metal ambience as they are to the raging tempests of its blackened frenzies. For the sheer depth and intensity of the emotional connection it makes, this record deserves to edge its way into the top 10 releases of the year.

09) NOVEMBERS DOOM – APHOTIC

A near flawless melding of progressive, melodic nuance and wounded, death metal ferocity, Aphotic is a varied and constantly challenging record that ebbs and flows with liquid grace between moments of towering riffage and sections of sweet, soothing ambience. A band that could just as easily ply their trade playing with Anathema as they could with Vader is clearly doing something right, their multi-faceted cross-over sound managing to balance these opposing dichotomies in a way that so few are able to do, producing one of the year’s finest progressive records in the process, and an album that simply begs to be replayed the moment it has finished.

08) SKELETONWITCH – FOREVER ABOMINATION

As flawless a thrash record as we have seen this year, as vehement a black metal album as any released by the traditional set, “Forever Abomination” sees the murderous machine of Skeletonwitch firing on all cylinders. While the core of the beast remains unchanged — a thrash-powered engine, coursing with blackened blood, fueling a deadly array of scorching riffs, blistering tremolo parts, weaving lead guitars, and raw, death-rattle vocals — the slight tweaks to the chassis — the more streamlined design, the minor accentuations of style and flair, the high octane turbo-boost of the drumming – have produced a game-changing creation of abominable power.

07) KRODA – SCHWARZPFAD

A dazzling performance, rich in light and shade, brawn and beauty, this elegant, almost indulgent, record takes the listener on an epic journey that never once becomes wearisome or predictable, despite its lengthy run-time. While this is an achievement in itself, it is the flawless integration of folkish melodic themes within black metal’s integral darkness and melancholy that earns this record its place in the year’s top 10 albums. Fearlessly incorporating long sections of purely folk-led instrumentation, unafraid of alienating even the more open-minded of its listeners, the album still retains a dark, almost predatory, aura throughout, rooted in the deep loam of black metal’s earthen past.

06) OMNIUM GATHERUM – NEW WORLD SHADOWS

The album that pushes Omnium Gatherum directly up into the company of Melodic Death Metal’s A-List, New World Shadows incorporates a wide variety of influences into its bubbling cauldron of sonic stew, the Finns carefully tasting and testing their recipe, adding a dash of Edge Of Sanity’s progressiveness here, a touch of Dark Tranquillity’s rage and melancholy there, garnished with spices of electronics and keyboard flavours and coated in lashings of prime riffage drawn from across the metal spectrum to produce an album that incorporates a wide spectrum of flavours and a wide palette of inspirations. Ultimately their creation, cooked and season to perfection, New World Shadows manages to utterly transcend its influences, emerging as a signature dish that tastes of Omnum Gatherum at their finest.

05) DECAPITATED – CARNIVAL IS FOREVER

Regardless of the conditions and events preceding its inception, this album stands as one of the finest and most intriguing experiences I have had with modern death metal in a long time. Vogg is a master riff-smith, forging an array of death metal weaponry whose angular, unorthodox, construction would be unwieldy in the wrong hands. Yet in the hands of a master – around whom are arranged the new blood who have won the right to call themselves Decapitated -  each iron-clad riff and molten guitar lead is as utterly lethal as anything the band have ever produced in any of their incarnations. Smelting down the old elements of the group and re-forging them into a new form has enabled these unstoppable warriors to hammer out any dents or flaws in their armour entirely, to present a newly polished and impenetrable façade.

04) GHOST BRIGADE – UNTIL FEAR NO LONGER DEFINES US

In almost every way, this record is a positive reflection of its predecessor, the similarly awesome Isolation Songs. Yet between the mirror and the image, something has changed. Not for the worse, mind you, but in a subtle manner that slightly shifts the angle of this new image, so that each subsequent observation, every brittle shard of sound, portrays a slightly different aspect of Ghost Brigade’s now well-established musical identity. Delivered with unwavering confidence and conviction, and perhaps even more sharply focussed than its predecessor, each song here balances out the others, making the album one of the most singularly complete and vital entities I have heard this year, every element acting in perfect synchronicity with the others.

03) MOONSORROW – VARJOINA KULJEMME KUOLLEIDEN MAASSA

Of all the albums on this list, this is the one that tells the greatest story. Not only that, it is also the one which most wilfully disregards the prescribed structure of the traditional album, choosing instead to tell its tale of loss and sorrow through a series of lengthy musical chapters and short, atmospheric interludes. Captivating and evocative enough on their own, when taken as part of the greater whole their combination produces a hypnotic flow of devastating anguish and uplifting, melancholic nuance that ebbs and flows with meditative grace and crushing power. A truly epic and genre-defining experience, this is a record that refuses to compromise or conform, twisting the traditional methods of story-telling and musical expression to suit its own needs and desires.

02) VREID – V

Audaciously ambitious, this album takes two particularly volatile compounds – the thrashy energy and classical aspirations of early Metallica and the primal ferocity of black metal’s fire-and-brimstone attack – and attempts to meld them as one to create a new element of nearly unlimited potential. One thing that makes this such a worthwhile experiment, and such a rewarding result, is that these elements are extremely difficult to handle effectively on their own, let alone when combined; one slight miscalculation in the ratios and formulae and it could all so easily have ended in disaster. As it is, we have a real contender here that takes the legacy of albums such as Master Of Puppets and The Somberlain as a starting point to produce something wholly unique and brilliant.

01) LEPROUS – BILATERAL

There really could be only one winner though. If we’re talking sheer creativity, ambition, and utter brass balls, then Bilateral wins hands down. Aiding and abetting this almost criminally good endeavour are the exceptional performances delivered by each and every member of the band, with particular praise going to the constantly shifting and varied vocals, which deliver a wide range of emotions and characters, and the agile, mesmerising drumming, which conjures up a whirling, polyrhythmic percussive storm with obnoxious ease. Throwing out the rule-book in a fit of pique, these Norwegian madmen choose to completely disregard the common conventions of song-writing and structure to produce a cavalcade of infectious hooks and shimmering, ethereal compositions that entirely justify their distinctive and inimitable form of self-indulgence and self-expression.

(Andy Synn wrote the following opinion piece.  If we don’t get some comments on this one, I’ll be quite surprised. Andy’s got some questions at the end, and we’d love to hear your answers.)

Here’s a question that’s been on my mind for a while now; what do we do when our heroes let us down? What happens when the bands we love go off the boil, make weird creative decisions, or just simply move away from playing the music for which we fell in love with them?

Music is an intensely emotional topic, and one which promotes a peculiar kind of loyalty to develop in those of us who love it deeply. As metal fans in particular, we seem to embody the very extremes of this trait; treat us well and we will die for you, cross us and our wrath and enmity shall be eternal. Indeed, once a certain line is crossed it’s very common to see a band written off as “dead” by any number of their former fans.

Most recently, however, I’ve been trying to take positive steps when confronted with this situation. Rather than entering into either a) a defensive flame war on behalf of our fallen heroes, or b) seizing on the opportunity in order to heap my own well-earned scorn on the victims of this public derision, I have instead been taking the fall of our chosen heroes to promote potential successors who are ready and waiting to step up and take on the mantle.

This does, however, raise one further issue: to what extent we, as metal fans, are willing to accept our heroes being replaced and (if that is the case) do we actually always have one eye out for the Next Big Thing – not the one who’ll necessarily sell the records and get the airplay, but the one who will step into the well-worn shoes of our heroes once they have gone to the sacred feasting halls of Valhalla?

Now 3 particular albums/events inspired these thoughts recently…

1)  Morbid Angel – Ilud Divinum Insanus

The recent shitstorm engendered by the new Morbid Angel record has provided me with ample opportunity to promote several worthy successors to their crown. Interestingly, though, the fall from grace of the mighty Morbid Angel was worsened by their constant attempts to justify their unimpressive return with claims of sonic “experimentalism”, as if adding pseudo-industrial/techno elements was some awe-inspiring revelation handed down from on high, rather than the cack-handed and awkward juxtaposition of styles that it ended up being. What’s most mind-boggling, however, is that the current line-up of MA features one Thor Anders Myhren, also known as Destructhor, from Mykrskog, who have been mixing steamrollering industrial beats with paint-stripping death metal since long before the morbid king’s return to the scene.

Be that as it may, whenever I come across a lost and disillusioned soul whose life has been turned upside down by this seeming betrayal, there is one album that immediately springs to mind — the electrifying, eclectic, and downright esoteric bludgeoning of Triumvirate by The Monolith Deathcult. Unlike Morbid Angel’s most recent offering, this actually fuses a brilliant variety of techno-industrial elements and symphonic excess onto a chassis of pulverising death metal utterly seamlessly, making a whole that is far, far greater than the sum of its parts.

Compare:

2) Opeth – Heritage

Now Heritage is far from being a bad album, but to my mind it is a remarkably uninteresting one. Before you say it, that’s not due to the lack of death vocals or anything of that sort, as the record has several strong moments which demonstrate unequivocally that Opeth can capture that energy and life without recourse to the use of more stereotypically “extreme” elements. For me, and indeed this seems to be the common consensus amongst many listeners, the issue is that the album just doesn’t go anywhere, seemingly content in being a tribute to its influences without doing anything new with them.

“Prog” as a sub-genre (and progressive music of a certain, general type) has one particular strength, and that is its willingness and ability to indulge in musical expansion and experimentation with a fearless and unbounded spirit. However, this strength can also easily become its greatest weakness, as the gutters are filled with those who became so intoxicated with their own inveterate freedom of expression that they lost themselves in an aimless and directionless haze of self-indulgence.

To my mind, this is precisely the malaise that afflicts the latest Opeth record. In becoming disillusioned with the more metallic elements of their music, the group chose to dive helter-skelter into a more classically seventies sound, embracing it wholeheartedly but allowing themselves to be overwhelmed by this ability to indulge their every whim and impulse. Instead of taking the palette of colours and influences they have been given and painting a new picture, something evocative and filled with life, they seem instead to have taken an almost childlike delight in simply mixing colours together, which unfortunately almost always produces something rather faceless and… brown.

Now Novembers Doom may be less overtly progressive than their Swedish peers (although that perhaps is only by comparison), but their latest record Aphotic is a masterpiece of vibrant colours and deep shadows, evocative light and shade melded in equal measure through a fusion of progressive dynamics, soothing acoustic ambience, and raging death metal fury. As an Opeth successor, it’s a record with big shoes to fill, but the band have big feet with which to do it. If you do miss that doom-laden fire that Opeth have abandoned, then this should definitely fill the hole in your life.

Compare:

3) Metallica – St. Anger/Death Magnetic/Lulu

Here’s the big one. A band who have fundamentally lost the plot and become at best a nostalgia act, and at worse a fundamental embarrassment. Despite some good moments here and there on both St. Anger and Death Magnetic, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Metallica have lost the sense of identity and energetic drive which they once had in their youth and, in doing so, have tried to regain it or replace it with often terrifically bad results. Their attempts to remain relevant have been half-baked at best, and their efforts at pushing the envelope of their sound, attempting to perhaps reignite that fire through an exploration of other realms, have suffered from a realisation that, as a band, they “could” do something, with little to no consideration of whether they “should” do something.

Most frequently I have been responding to the pained outcries of my metal brethren by recommending that they check out V by Norwegian titans Vreid. Now unlike the previous two situations, this one has been a much harder sell, as it requires the recipient to be at least slightly open to the multi-variate potentials of black metal as a source of creativity and art. Considering Metallica’s ubiquitous and mainstream status these days, that’s often a risky proposition, as you can often never tell what sort of Metallica fan you’ll be dealing with. But for those of a more musical and metallic frame of mind, V melds the best of Metallica’s early years, the speed and energy of Ride The Lightning with the progressive and complex compositional skills of Master Of Puppets, with the ethereal melodies of Norwegian folk influences and the primal ferocity of predatory black metal. If you can handle the harsher vocal style, then just compare their blackened take on ravenous thrash metal dynamics with any of Metallica’s own attempts to recapture their lost youth….

Compare:

So tell me, who have I missed? Who are the declining divas, aging disgracefully, and who are the unappreciated side-kicks just waiting for their chance to step into the spotlight?

OK, time to court some (albeit minor) controversy. To compare and contrast with the “Wintermoon Wednesday” piece on post-millennial black metal by Tr00 Nate (unseen at the time of this writing) over at TheNumberOfTheBlog, I’ve decided to list my own picks for the prize.

I’ve left out the obvious choices, so no Satyricon or 1349 – even though the former have transformed themselves post-2000 very successfully, courting both success and controversy in equal measure, while the latter have pushed their hyper-blast style beyond the breaking point, only to discover a new lease on life through their exploration of gnarled, twisted atmospherics.

No Rotting Christ? Or Samael? Nope. I love both of them, but they both had long pre-millennial careers and spent much of the post-2000 stage of their careers exploring less focussed, less black metal sounds — although both have recently released masterful examples of their own focussed and distinctive brands of black metal.

I have left out records which are perhaps less “purely” black metal — records for which a strong case can be put forward that they belong more as “blackened” examples of another genre — so there’s no place for Altar Of Plagues or Withered, both great bands in their own right. No Akercocke either, the sheer weight of their crushing death metal heft disqualifying them for this list.

I have also by choice left out artists/albums I have covered recently. Therefore, no Iskald (though The Sun I Carried Alone IS one of the best black metal albums of the last ten years), or Elite (see HERE for my thoughts) or The Axis Of Perdition (HERE), even though I’d argue that each of them has at least one example under their belt of near perfect post-millennial black metal.

So who have I chosen? Well look upon my choices dear reader, and despair…

5 Records That Epitomise The Potential And Quality Of Post-Millennial Black Metal

Dark Fortress – Ylem

A record I truly consider a masterpiece, almost capable of being all things to all people, delivering an epic display of controlled chaos (“Ylem”), brooding intensity (“Evenfall”), sinuous structures (“Redivider”), malevolent melodies (“As The World Keels Over”) and gargantuan grooves (“Hirudineans”) with focussed precision and, at times, almost sexually charged potency (“Silence”).

Though every member performs at the top of his game, band mainman V. Santura (also in Triptykon) is in particular both a stunningly talented composer and technically gifted guitarist, while much-in-demand drummer Seraph (also of Thulcandra, et al) proves his incalculable might again and again with a performance that is both punishing and intelligently nuanced.

The record is also a compelling piece of progressive art, something which is exposed when examining the dichotomy between the truly monolithic, devastating “Osiris” and the melodic, desolate “Wraith”, songs which express the extremes of the band’s sound without ever straying from their core identity.

Sample song: “Osiris”

Secrets Of The Moon – Privilegivm

Crushingly heavy, equally influenced by the proto-black metal stomp of Celtic Frost/Triptykon and the swaggering Satanic grooves of Satyricon, whilst also building on the pseudo-industrial death metal bludgeon of Zyklon, this is a record with a stunning amount of style and nuance.

It thrashes like a wounded animal, hammering away with ominous slabs of claustrophobic riffage and warped drumming, the extensive and progressively structured material crawling and staggering under the weight of its own agonising death throes, constantly on the edge of collapsing into the abyss.

Blacker than black, the group weave strands of eerie, unsettling melody into the grander tapestry of thick, machine-like riffage and clanging, dissonant dis-chords, atop which the orthodox occult pronunciations of vocalist sG dictate an almost reverential atmosphere to the proceedings as a whole.

Sample song: “Black Halo”

Setherial – Ekpyrosis

Often written off as a sub-Dark Funeral blast-friendly black metal act, the last two albums (Death Triumphant and Ekpyrosis) by this Swedish wrecking machine have seen them step out of the shadows of their forebears and carve an individual path for themselves. Though I personally prefer the previous album, there’s no doubt in my mind that Ekpyrosis represents a new pinnacle for frenzied, blasting Swedish black metal, incorporating shocking technicality to help conjure an utterly unforgiving and inhuman sense of discorporation.

Lyrically, the group have melded post-Satanic, anti-cosmic philosophies with clinically scientific meditations on the overwhelming celestial horror and beauty of existence, giving the record a more vibrant and wholly individual vibe that melds the raging inferno of their black metal assault with the icy clarity that comes from contemplating the bleak insignificance of human existence.

Sample Song: “The Devouring Eye”

Anaal Nathrakh – In The Constellation Of The Black Widow

Managing to meld several genres into their black metal stew, without losing that stupefyingly dark aesthetic, these British-grown tyrants of misrule are utterly unparalleled in their ability to harness flesh-flaying vituperative fury and unchallenged in the realms of speed and aggression by all but a few of extreme metal’s most powerful proponents.

The combination of the obliterating ferocity of Mick Kenney’s symbiotic guitar and drum assault with the sheer range and grandeur of Dave Hunt’s nihilistic vocal exhortations make Anaal Nathrakh, to my mind, perhaps the only legitimate heirs to the throne of the now-departed Emperor, with a sound that is epic and expressive in scope and vision (“Oil Upon The Sores Of Lepers”), yet never less than utterly enthralling and unflinchingly brutal (“Blood Eagles Carved On The Backs Of Innocents”).

Though my personal preference is for Hell Is Empty…, I would be forced to say that In The Constellation… is arguably the superior record, both men pushing their skills and psyches to the breaking point to deliver an album that revels in its own excess and intrinsic, almost arrogant, superiority.

Sample Song: “The Lucifer Effect”

Vreid – V

If Metallica had grown up in Norway, then their career might well have echoed the enviable quality and progress of Norway’s finest black metal resistance force, Vreid. With this, their fifth album (aptly named V), the group have produced a dynamic album that filters the thrashy energy and classical aspirations of Ride The Lightning through a blackened prism of primal aggression and haunting, folk-infused atmospherics.

The songs vary in length and complexity, some attacking with pure, animalistic fury (“Welcome To The Asylum”), others delivering restrained yet powerful arrangements of harsh riffage and moody passages of folk-led, ritualistic melody (“The Sound Of The River”). Though “The Other & The Look” may be the album’s crowning, progressive song, 10:30 of arrogant, martial riffage, scything tremolo sections and captivating diversions of calm, meditative clean guitar and vocals, each and every song on the record packs in multiple layers and levels of expression without ever feeling cluttered or bloated. It’s an effortlessly tight and utterly compelling spectacle.

Sample Song: “The Sound Of The River”

Honourable (and shorter) mentions:

Naglfar, Deathspell Omega, Kampfar, Keep Of Kalessin, Melechesh, Ludicra, Ikuinen Kaamos, Khold…

5 Albums To Watch For In The Future

Martriden – untitled

Hailing from the icy plains of Montana, this four-piece delivered an album’s worth of unfettered experimentation and existential angst only last year with Encounter The Monolith (reviewed by Islander here), a complex and layered display of articulate anger and impressive instrumental skills, wrapped up in a progressive and spacey structure. Being hand-picked to support Emperor on their reunion tour several years back should tell you just how much potential remains untapped in this band’s sound. Thankfully, the band have apparently begun the writing and recording process for their next record, which will doubtless continue to push and expand the boundaries of their esoteric black metal sound.

Abigail Williams – untitled

Controversial choice? Not really. The band have shown both ambition and fortitude in continuing down their own path through the years, two of black metal’s defining traits. Their perseverance has paid off with the band growing and expanding their sound as well as gaining the opportunity to demonstrate their impressive musical talents on a series of tours with such metal luminaries as Vader and Rotting Christ. Currently recording their third album, the band have a variety of tour dates coming up with Landmine Marathon, Misery Index and the legendary Mayhem. They may never get the respect they deserve, but I doubt this will stop them producing some top notch, technically adept black metal in the future.

Negură Bunget– The Transylvanian Trilogy

Not to argue with Tr00 Nate (oh, go on then, I will), but to my mind and ears it’s Negură Bunget who were/are the finest proponents of folk-black-metal. In fact, it seems to me that their many endeavours into murky folk realms and progressive instrumental excursions have made their particular brand of Romanian black metal a legitimate style of folk music in and of itself. Therefore, the announcement of The Transylvanian Trilogy should whet the appetites of anyone who relishes the creation of art for art’s sake, the band endeavouring to craft a trilogy of releases combining both audio and visual elements into a greater, unified whole. The first part of this trilogy, Tău, is set for release in 2012 and “will unveil the natural landscapes, by exploring 9 unique natural places, with their mystique, atmosphere, legends and meanings”.

Goatwhore – untitled

Sludgy, nasty and alchemically fuelled, The Goat (as they shall now forevermore be referred to) have managed to craft such a distinctive sound for themselves, that is clearly black metal, but a form that has grown from a totally different environment to that of many of their peers. The group’s swampy roots ensure that the flower of their black metal is of a different hue than that of any other, yet still recognisably the same species overall. Their thick and heavy sound will surely only get nastier in the future, the band planning to enter the studio in late July to vomit up another gut-wrenching expulsion of narcotic, Satanic filth.

Pantheon I – untitled

The continued presence of Live Julianne Kostøl’s cello will doubtless keep the haunting, classical atmospheres alive on the next Pantheon I record, but most important of all, the addition of Aethyris McKay (ex-Absu) on guitar will bring a totally new dynamic to the group, both through his guitar playing and through the promised use of McKay’s clean vocals. Perhaps just as important, this addition also frees up Kvebek to focus purely on being a solo vocalist, which promises an even more venomous vocal performance from this alcohol-fuelled madman. This will be an emotionally cathartic, violent affair, I predict.

(Our UK-based writer Andy Synn is back with his third concert review of the week. This is what we call good living — Andy caught three stellar concerts in four days over the long weekend that just passed. We don’t think he wrote these reviews just to make us jealous, but they’ve had that effect anyway. We forgive him because he writes so well that reading is almost like being there.)

Starting an unbelievably short time after doors opened, Krakow had the unenviable task of warming up an underground black metal show on a rainy Monday night in Nottingham. Thankfully, their grooving take on warp-riding post-black metal was a perfect appetiser, their music providing a surprisingly warm and welcoming way to start off the evening’s entertainment.

Similarities could be drawn with Icelandic progsters Solstafir who ply a similarly post-black metal route through the murky waters of genredom. However, where Solstafir evolved into a post-black mutation from their original Viking-era incarnation – whilst maintaining a cold sense of post-millenial dissociation – Krakow began their lives as the direct offspring of post-black metal parents – they were born this way. These mutant spawn of post-black metal Norway have more in common with the rolling, abstract sounds of Isis and Cult Of Luna than they do with Mayhem or Emperor.

Embracing a free-wheeling, psychedelic rock spirit to offset the bleaker tendencies of their musical DNA, the band had a loose, fiery sound and swagger, mixing aggressive metallic tendencies with a stockier, more muscular riff-based sound and a bedrock of grooving, hammering beats. Bassist/vocalist Frode Kilvik possessed a powerful, primal roar equally as capable of expressing animalistic lust as extolling the twin themes of human misanthropy and apocalyptic decline, tempered with a positive, almost antagonistic fatalism. If doomsday is coming, they’re not going out without a party. (more after the jump . . .)

Kampfar provided the night’s major surprise, with a stunning, stellar set of what they arrogantly (although many would argue not incorrectly) termed “the sound of real Norwegian black metal”. Throughout their set, an atmosphere of subdued malevolence abounded, the overtures of dark, morose folkish elements doing little to ease this sense of ill-will. Yet this negative energy was clearly not directed at the crowd, whose presence and acclaim was received with effusive thanks by the band themselves, but rather a symptom of the group channelling a more primal source of primitive, inescapable menace through their music.

Joining his band-mates on stage after a tense, smouldering intro, rapier thin frontman Dolk delivered a frothing, rabid vocal performance, his bullet belted and spiked gauntleted appearance sitting somewhat oddly against the stripped down and streamlined look favoured by his musical brothers. His harsh, ragged vocalisations were ably supported by drummer Ask who provided his own bestial snarls as well as a dizzying array of drum fills and mind-melting blasts.

The scything guitar tone of Ole Hartvigsen was matched perfectly by the pulsating, thrumming bass of Jon Bakker, whose contributions to the set cannot be overlooked, giving it a deep, growling engine of power and high octane fury. The scintillating throb of his bass playing dominated stand-out track “Huldreland”, adding a sense of crawling, creeping dread to the proceedings. Live-member Hartvigsen must also be remarked upon for playing with finger-bleeding, fret-blazing intensity throughout, equally as comfortable with delivering hefty blackened riffs as with the glistening, folkish guitars that permeated songs like “Hymne”.

Set-closer “Ravenheart” garnered a frenzied reaction from the group’s loyal followers in the front rows, reaching out in feverish devotion to touch the messianic figure of Dolk for one last time. Yet the night was not quite finished, drummer Ask taking the mic one last time following the song’s conclusion to incite the crowd to summon his band-mates back to the stage for one last impromptu musical assault!

The evening’s stars were clearly Vreid, gaining the largest (and loudest) crowd response from the assembled throng. Frontman Sture Dingsøyr delivered his staunchly anti-fascist proclamations with passion and conviction, his presence manifesting itself in a potent fascination from the hypnotised onlookers. Tightly gripping his 6-stringed weapon, he remained primarily tied to his mic-stand yet was able to project an aura of unshakeable pride and an unassailable confidence without the need to resort to penny-ante theatrics.

The more extroverted antics of bassist Jarle Kvåle gave the set a more human, natural feel, bonding both the band and crowd together through a shared camaraderie totally in keeping with the band’s musical and lyrical themes of brotherhood and resistance. Punchy and belligerent, his growling bass tone added a forceful and vital dynamic to the band’s powerful live sound, while new guitarist Stian Bakketeig (also ex-Windir) proved himself a vital component in the pitch-black war machine, effortlessly locking in with the speedy tremolo melodies and crunchy thrash riffs of songs like “Blücher” and “Wrath Of Mine”.

The band’s performance was reminiscent of how I imagine prime-era Metallica must have been back in their club days, 4 focussed individuals tearing at their instruments with precise, rhythmic fury, constructing a devastating riff machine through their combined efforts. The entire set was characterised by virtuoso lead guitars and wandering, organic bass-lines, interlocking perfectly with the rock-solid backbone provided by Jørn Holen‘s metrononomic drumming and Sture’s impeccably tight, Hetfield-esque rhythm guitar.

A pugnacious rendition of “Speak Goddammit” showcased the band firing on all cylinders, artillery strength drumming and machine gun guitar riffs guided to their target by a lithe, predatory bass-line and a commanding, assured vocal performance. The song’s moments of clean-picked guitar melody and smooth, emotional lead work provided a chance for calm reflection and meditation between the tumultuous drums and whirlwind riffs, while the controlled aggression of follow-up “Svart” mixed soaring, bleak guitar melodies with a scathing, off-kilter pattern of blackened might.

The violent and breathtaking delivery of final song “Pitch Black” united band and audience into a singular attacking force of vehement, air-punching lunacy. The subdued melody of the song saw the band painting with light and shade as well as metallic power, while its martial drum beats and bleak, melancholic guitars conjured an oppressive, evocative atmosphere. The stomping drums, agile bass-playing and sneering guitar leads of the song’s closing measures had every available fist raised in triumphant celebration, the band leaving the crowd sated yet still begging for more.

Due to a technical glitch, the house lights came up for a full minute following Vreid’s exit, leading many of the crowd to mistakenly begin leaving prior to Secrets Of The Moon making their much anticipated appearance. Thankfully, the majority of the audience returned in time to witness the band dominate their remaining stage time with a single-minded, misanthropic focus.

The band’s diabolical mysticism perfectly complemented the modern-primitive aesthetic of Kampfar and the militaristic vibe of Vreid, showcasing a different side to the multi-faceted jewel of black metal. Conducting a black mass of dismal, doom-soaked riffs and vocal blasphemies, the band delved deep into their back catalogue to produce tormented renditions of their most vicious, blood-soaked hymns.

Cloaked in darkness, broken only by stark flashes of crimson light, Shammash dedicated “Nemesis” to “all the servants of the snake” before leading his fellow doomsday disciples headlong into the song’s spiralling vortex of barbed-wire guitars and scorching drums. Doom-laden, rusted bass-lines lent the song a despairing aura of rot and decay, only further supported by the hopeless, forlorn guitar leads which pierced the gloomy ambience with coldly calculated precision.

While the cascade of cataclysmic chords that made up “I, Maldoror” embodied an eldritch insanity, the buzzing, almost industrial guitars of “Sulphur” demonstrated a different side to the band’s ritualistic incantations, a more modern and dehumanised take on the black metal template that SotM seem intent on redefining. The song’s drawn-out introduction of pounding, tribal drums and eerie guitar leads built the pressure to unbearable levels before the massacre began in earnest.

The crippling horror manifested by the crushing rendition of “Lucifer Speaks” whipped the remaining crowd into a fevered delirium, the triple-throated vocal attack of the track’s primary refrain resulting in a hysterical response from those fanatical adherents who hung on every snarled lyric and twisted, magnificent guitar riff. With the set’s bombastic, booming climax, the group left the stage in a banshee wail of distorted feedback, Shammash saluting the salivating crowd one last time, swiftly sketching an inverted cross in the air with his free hand, a final parting acknowledgement to their small, yet dedicated fan-base.

I go through stretches when I fall behind in reading other metal blogs because I get too distracted by other things, like this blog — which I know all of you read every day, without fail, even if it means skipping a meal or a shower or letting your cat/dog fend for itself. Yeah, right. But I do always read Steff Metal‘s regular feature called Linking Horn because there’s always something interesting in there that I’d otherwise miss.

Her current Linking Horn feature linked to a Metal Insider piece I hadn’t seen which summarized a recent Nielsen Music and Midem report about music consumption habits. Some of what’s in that report wasn’t surprising — like the data showing that almost 50% of online users obtain their music from the internet without paying; the report found that neither digitally downloading a full album nor a single track reached 20%. What a shock.

But one item did surprise me: The survey showed that 58% of online users consume music by watching music videos through the computer and 20% watch music videos on their mobile phones. Granted, the survey wasn’t limited to any particular musical genre, and the numbers could be entirely different if you were to conduct a survey limited to metalheads. I know I don’t watch metal music videos that often because, mainly, they suck.

Usually, the videos are so bad that they detract from good songs and do nothing to make mediocre songs better. Instead, they seem to function more as bait than actual entertainment — a way of luring you into listening to a song or  a band for the first time out of curiosity (because it’s faster than downloading), though sometimes I’ll watch one for a song I already know just to see what the band looks like. But I don’t claim to be like most people, and the study seems to verify that most people like to consume music (and probably print) when they can see pictures at the same time — which is why moving pictures make such attractive bait.

All of which is a windy lead-in to the real point of this post. Over the last couple of days I took the bait and watched some new just-released music videos, and for different reasons, I thought they were worth sharing.  They feature music from Vreid (Norway), Stigma (Italy), Semargl (Ukraine), and members of Dreaming Dead (U.S.).   (after the jump . . .)

VREID

The first video is for a song called “The Sound Of The River”, which will be included on a forthcoming album from Vreid. This will be the band’s fifth album, but this video was the first Vreid track I’d ever heard. I thought the song was quite cool — a blend of melodic black metal and prog-metal, with a haunting melody, very interesting drum rhythms, and a segment of clean singing that I thought enhanced the song (and you know how rarely we have that feeling about clean singing around here).

As for the video, I thought it was above-average, mainly for the fog-shrouded waterscapes (I could have used more of those scenes and fewer of the half-naked wretch in chains). Anyway, as bait, this video succeeded, because now I want to hear the rest of that new album when it comes.

Vreid’s new album, entitled “V”, is scheduled for release on February 7 via Norway’s Indie Recordings, and it’s available for pre-order now on Amazon (and elsewhere).

STIGMA

The next video was released yesterday by Italy’s Stigma for a song called “The Undertaker”, which is the title track from an EP released in digital-only format earlier this month. The same song also appeared on the band’s second full-length release, Concerto For the Undead, which appeared last April. I didn’t hear that album, but a couple years ago my NCS collaborator IntoTheDarkness gave me a CD he’d made that included a song from Stigma’s 2008 debut, When Midnight Strikes!, and I remember liking it. So, I decided to watch this video.

The song is a catchy piece of metalcore, thankfully without any clean singing. It includes some more-subtle-than-usual breakdowns and an infectious instrumental passage near the end, and although I can’t say the song breaks any new ground, it successfully tempted me to pick up the EP for later listening. As for the video, I’m afraid it’s nothing special, but at least it wasn’t an annoying distraction from the music — which is my default expectation about metal vidz.

The EP includes three new songs, in addition to “The Undertaker”. It was mixed/mastered by Bleeding Through vocalist Brandan Schieppati and Anaal Nathrakh‘s Mick Kenney, and it’s now available on iTunes and Amazon MP3.

SEMARGL

Okay, regular readers know that those genre-benders in Ukraine’s Semargl are one of my guilty pleasures. At least one of you has asked that I stop foisting them on you. Well, no such luck.

I first got hooked on a song called “Credo Revolution” from the band’s 2010 album, Ordo Bellictum Satanas, and featured the video for the song in an NCS post last year. It’s pop music with black-metal trappings, corpse-paint with plenty of tits and ass, tremolo picking and electro dance beats. Then, a bit later in the year, I offered a live performance video of the band playing another song from that album, called “Credo Possess”. Yes, all the songs on the album begin with the word Credo.

So, yesterday Semargl released yet another video, this one for the song “Credo Flaming Rain”, and of course I had to watch it. I already knew the song, but I was hoping for some shots of Nera, who’s the front-woman for a band called Darzamat and supplied guest vocals on this track. The song itself is another slice of rock (this one, at a softer pace) with black-metal trappings, and it includes Jonny Maudling (Bal-Sagoth, My Dying Bride) on piano. Once again, it’s not the kind of music we usually listen to or write about here, but like everything else Semargl does, it’s catchy, and I think Nera has a nice voice. So shoot me in the head, I’m weak.

The video, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. It got a bit monotonous, I had trouble linking the visual symbology to the song’s lyrical subject matter, and the chick in the black gown and mask isn’t even Nera. But I’m showing you the video anyway because . . . well . . . it’s Semargl.

In addition to Nera and Maudling, the album features guest appearances by Iscariah (ex-Immortal), Novy (ex-Behemoth), Vrangsinn (Carpathian Forest, Nattefrost), and Ashmedi (Melechesh) as producer.

STEPHANIE PICKARD AND ELIZABETH SCHALL (DREAMING DEAD)

Last but not least, here’s a video of guitarists Stephanie Pickard and Elizabeth Schall performing a dual-guitar instrumental at the Fernandes booth at this past weekend’s NAMM international music industry trade show in Anaheim, California. I’m a Dreaming Dead fan, I’m an admirer of Schall’s singing and playing, and I watched this because I was curious to see what Stephanie Pickard was all about. Dreaming Dead announced earlier this month that she had joined the band as a second guitarist, which makes DD one of the few metal bands to feature two female shredders. The shredding in this video starts just before the 2:00 mark.

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Hope you got something out of one or more of these videos. As always, enjoy the rest of your fucking day.

November is now in our rear-view mirror. December lies ahead of us: A perfectly good stretch of road marred by the speed bumps of the cataclysm that is Christmas. And on the other side of those speed bumps is the end of the year – the roadkill that is New Year’s Eve. And you know what the run-up to year-end brings — year-end lists. It’s already started, but the coming weeks will bring us a slew of Best of 2010 album lists. We’ll probably do our own Best of 2010 list — not the best albums of the year, but, as we did last year, the most infectious extreme metal songs of the year.

But we’re not quite ready to launch that list. Instead, we’re looking off into the future, not backward at the music that’s rattled our skulls over the past year. Yes, it’s time for another monthly installment of METAL IN THE FORGE, in which we cobble together a list of forthcoming new albums, cribbing like rag-gatherers and lint-pickers from PR releases and metal news sites like Blabbermouth in order to construct a line-up of new music that we’re interested in hearing.

All of our previous monthly updates can be found via the “Forthcoming Albums” category link on the right side of our pages, and because we’re not keeping a cumulative list, you might want to check the last couple months of these posts if you want to get a full picture of what’s coming. The list that follows, in alphabetical order, are albums we didn’t know about at the time of our last installment, or updated info about albums we’d previously heard were on the way. After the jump, of course . . .

ADVENT OF BEDLAM: “Costa Rica-based metallers ADVENT OF BEDLAM (formerly DECEMBER’S COLD WINTER) have inked a deal with the Dutch record label Miceli Records. A ‘new version’ of the band’s latest album, Behold The Chaos, will be made available via Miceli in the near future. The CD was recorded at Cavan Studio with producer Gutierrez while the artwork was created by Alex Hoffman of Cypher Visual (BEHEMOTH, PSYCROPTIC, SUFFOCATION, ARSIS, BENEATH THE MASSACRE).”

ALIASES: “ALIASES, the new U.K.-based metal band featuring ex-SIKTH guitarist Pin, guitarist Leah Woodward, drummer Darren Pugh, bassist Joe Heaton and vocalist Jay Berast, has inked a deal with Basick Records. Formed in April 2010, ALIASES set to work on its debut six-track EP and in July put out the rough demo track “We Should Never Have Met”, which was received with an overwhelmingly positive response online. . . . ALIASES‘ as-yet-untitled debut six-track EP will be released on Basick Records in 2011.”

AMON: “Former DEICIDE members Eric Hoffmann (guitar) and Brian Hoffman (guitar) have resurrected their pre-DEICIDE band AMON with Jesse “Jecheal” Jolly (PROMETHEAN HORDE, DIABOLIC, SUCCESS WILL WRITE APOCALYPSE ACROSS THE SKY, AFTER DEATH) on vocals/bass and and Mike Petrak (LEPROSY, SUCCESS WILL WRITE APOCALYPSE ACROSS THE SKY) on drums. The Florida-based quartet will enter RedRoom Recorders in Tampa on December 10 with producer Mark Prator to begin recording its new album, entitled Liar In Wait. The CD will consist of nine songs and will be made available in early 2011 via AMON‘s own record label.”

AMON AMARTH: “Kings of Swedish death metal AMON AMARTH have just announced the title of the their forthcoming album as Surtur Rising. Due out in the spring of 2011, Surtur Rising marks the group’s eighth full-length studio release and undoubtedly one of 2011’s most anticipated albums by fans and critics alike. Surtur Rising is the follow-up to the highly acclaimed 2008 release, Twilight Of The Thunder God, which landed the #7 spot in Revolver Magazine’s Top 20 Albums of 2008.”

ASPHYX: “Reformed Dutch death metal outfit ASPHYX recently entered Sonic Assault studio to record two new songs — a cover version of the MAJESTYclassic “Bestial Vomit” and the new song “We Doom You To Death”. The MAJESTY cover will appear on the upcoming split seven-inch with Dutch death/thrash band THANATOS and will feature lyrics in Dutch dialect while “We Doom You To Death” will be included on a split seven-inch single with Finnish doom/deathsters HOODED MENACE.”

CROWBAR: “Sever The Wicked Hand, the new album from CROWBAR, will be released in Europe on February 14, 2011 via Century Media Records. The CD will be made available in the U.S. on February 8, 2011 through E1 Music. A pre-order is now available on iTunes along with audio samples.”

THE DAMNED THINGS: “THE DAMNED THINGS — the new band featuring members of FALL OUT BOY (Joe Trohman, Andy Hurley), ANTHRAX (Scott Ian, Rob Caggiano) and EVERY TIME I DIE (Keith Buckley, Josh Newton) — will release its debut album, Ironiclast, in North America on December 14 (one day earlier internationally) via Island/Def Jam.”

DIABOLICAL: “Swedish death metal masters DIABOLICAL have signed with Abyss Records for the worldwide release of their upcoming full-length album, Ars Vitae. Due out in February 2011, the CD consists of 17 tracks of both new studio recordings produced earlier this year at Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, UNANIMATED, DESTRÖYER 666) in Alvik, Sweden and previously unreleased recordings.”

THE FAMINE: “THE FAMINE recently finished recording their new release titled THE ARCHITECTS OF GUILT, with  D. Braxton Henry (Ex- Devourment) and mixed by Jason Suecof (The Black Dahlia Murder, Trivium). The Architects of Guilt is set for a Fall 2010 release through SolidState Records.”

FUCK THE FACTS: “Fuck The Facts have been working on their new full-length and follow-up to their Disgorge, Mexico album and self-released Unnamed EP. The album, titled Die Miserable, is expected to be 9 tracks and roughly 40 minutes in length. Fuck The Facts self-recorded the album that is currently being mixed by Craig Boychuk. Die Miserable will see a spring 2011 release date with additional album details and in-studio footage to be posted soon.”

FULL BLOWN CHAOS: “The new song ‘The Walking Dead’ from the upcoming self-titled release by Full Blown Chaos is now available for streaming at www.myspace.com/fullblownchaos. The album is due out on Ironclad Recordings/Metal Blade Records on February 1, 2011 in North America. The 13 track hard-hitting assault, Full Blown Chaos, will also see releases in Europe on Plastic Head and in Japan on Howling Bull.”

IN FLAMES: “Swedish metallers IN FLAMES have entered their own IF studios in Gothenburg, Sweden with engineer Roberto Laghi (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, LOK, SONIC SYNDICATE) to begin recording their new album for a tentative May/June 2011 release.”

THE INIQUITY DESCENT: “THE INIQUITY DESCENT, the new extreme-metal project featuring vocalist Mathias “Vreth” Lillmåns of Finnish folk metallers FINNTROLL, will release its debut EP, Trust The Serpent, on November 29. The CD was mastered at Nordic Audio Labs by Sami “Hannu” Koivisto and contains four songs (out of 11 that were recently tracked).”

KORPIKLAANI: “Finnish folk metallers KORPIKLAANI will release their new album, Ukon Wacka, in Europe on February 4, 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. According to the band, ‘Ukon Wacka’, or ‘Ukon Vakat’, is a pagan sacrificial feast from ancient times, on which a special made beer richly flowed. As can be expected from the title, this album has an ancient and very folky feel and is totally in Finnish.’”

KRIEG: “KRIEG has partnered with Inferna Profundus Records to reissue Patrick Bateman, the band’s definitive black/noise statement from 2003. Based on Bret Easton Ellis‘ nihilistic novel “American Psycho”, Patrick Bateman is close to fifteen minutes of the harshest and most feral material KRIEG ever set to tape. . . . A December 2010 release is expected.”

LIVING SACRIFICE: “Veteran Christian metal act LIVING SACRIFICE has set a November 30 release date for a special iTunes-exclusive deluxe edition of the band’s latest full-length album, The Infinite Order (Solid State Records). The newly expanded version of the CD will contain a 30-minute, eight-song DVD-quality video and three bonus tracks, including the unreleased song“Glasshouses”.”

MACABRE: “Celebrarating their 25th Anniversary of all original members, Chicago’s murder metal pioneers Macabre unleash their brand new studio album entitled Grim Scary Tales in Europe on January 31st, 2011 by Hammerheart Records and in North America on February 8th, 2011 by Willowtip Records. The album explores the history of murder from the earliest times and proceeds forward through the ages.”

MARDUK: “Swedish black metallers MARDUK will celebrate their 20th anniversary by releasing a strictly limited-edition, ‘marvellous box set’ in early 2011. According to the band, ‘This fabulous release will be a monument of the first two decades of MARDUK.’”

OBSCURA: “Obscura has recently completed work on their brand new album Omnivium and has revealed its tracklisting as: “Septuagint”, “Vortex Omnivium”, “Ocean Gateways”, “Euclidean Elements”, “Prismal Dawn”, “Celestial Spheres”, “Velocity”, “A Transcendental Serenade”, and “Aevum”. Omnivium was recorded at Woodshed Studio in southern Germany with engineer V. Santura (Triptykon, Dark Fortress) and is expected to see a March 2011 release date. Additional album details will be announced shortly.”

ONSLAUGHT: “U.K. thrash metal veterans ONSLAUGHT will release a double single, ‘The Sound of Violence’ / ‘Bomber’, on December 17 through AFM Records. The single will include one track from the band’s forthcoming fifth album, Sounds Of Violence, backed with a cover version of the MOTÖRHEAD classic ‘Bomber’.”

ORDOG: “Finnish doom metal band ORDOG will release its third album, Remorse, on January 12, 2011 via Violent Journey Records. The seven-song CD contains over 70 minutes of music.”

THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX: “THE PROJECT HATE MCMXCIX — the Swedish band featuring Jörgen Sandström (vocals; VICIOUS ART, KRUX, ex-ENTOMBED, GRAVE), Lord K. Philipson (guitar; TORTURE DIVISION, ex-GOD AMONG INSECTS, HOUSE OF USHER, LEUKEMIA), Anders Bertilsson (guitar; COLDWORKER), Tobben Gustafsson (drums; TORTURE DIVISION, VOMITORY) and Portuguese vocalist Ms. Roque (a.k.a. Ruby Roque of WITCHBREED) — has completed work on its seventh album for an early 2011 release via Season of Mist. The CD was mixed and mastered by Swedish producer and multi-intrumentalist Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH, NIGHTINGALE) and will contain six songs with a running time of over 60 minutes.”

RINGS OF SATURN: “Northern California extremists RINGS OF SATURN have inked a deal with Unique Leader Records. The band’s debut album, Embryonic Anomaly, which was originally made available by the band earlier this year, will be re-released on March 1, 2011. The CD was produced, engineered, mixed and mastered by Bob Swanson at Mayhemenness Studios in Sacramento, California and features artwork by Tony Koehl.”

SEPTICFLESH: “Greek extreme metallers SEPTICFLESH have finished recording the follow-up to 2008′s Communion for an early 2011 release. After a long period of intense work in Athens, Prague and Sweden, the evolution of the band’s symphonic death sound has been achieved with the help of the Filmharmonic Orchestra of Prague and well-known producer and PAIN/HYPOCRISY mainman Peter Tägtgren (AMON AMARTH, MARDUK, THERION, CHILDREN OF BODOM, CELTIC FROST, IMMORTAL). 130 musicians were involved in the recording process. Besides the traditional classic orchestra instruments, this time SEPTICFLESH incorporated harpsichord, some bizarre ethnic instruments and a boy soprano to their sound, pursuing a more “horror soundtrack” approach. The release of the forthcoming 10-song album is expected for the first quarter of 2011. In the meantime, a brand new song will be available worldwide as an exclusive digital download single from December 17.”

SEPULTURA: “Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA have tapped Roy Z. (JUDAS PRIEST, HALFORD, BRUCE DICKINSON, HELLOWEEN) to produce their new album, tentatively due in early 2011 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD will once again be recorded at Trama Studios in São Paulo, Brazil.”

SICKENING: “Italian brutal death metallers SICKENING are currently mixing their second full-length album, Against The Wall Of Pretence, at 16th Cellar Studio in Rome with Stefano Morabito. The CD was recorded in August 2010 at Studio Emme in Florence and is tentatively due in early 2011 via an as-yet-undetermined record label.”

SUIDAKRA: “German melodic folk/death metallers SUIDAKRA will enter Gernhart Studio in Siegburg, Germany on November 30 with producer Martin Buchwalter to begin recording their tenth album, Book Of Dowth, for an early 2011 release. Famous Belgian graphic artist Kris Verwimp will once again be in charge of the cover artwork and lyrical concept.”

THOMAS GILES: “Tommy Rogers, lead vocalist, keyboardist and founding member of the award-winning North Carolina progressive rock band BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, will release his debut solo album, Pulse, on February 1, 2011 via Metal Blade Records. The versatile front man and multi-instrumentalist, who not only self-produced the record, but also arranged, composed and played all instruments on the recording, will use the pseudonym THOMAS GILES (his given middle name) as his moniker for the project.”

TRIVIUM: “Florida metallers TRIVIUM will enter Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida on January 2 with the production/mixing team of Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY) and Martin “Ginge” Ford to begin recording their new album for an early 2011 release via Roadrunner Records.”

ULCERATE: “Ulcerate will release their third full-length album The Destroyers of All on January 25 2011 through Willowtip Records. Ambitious, oppressive and expansive, with a strict adherence to the tradition of total bleakness the band is becoming known for, The Destroyers of All presents the most atmospheric and challenging listen from the band to date.”

UNEARTH: “Massachusetts metallers UNEARTH have tapped KILLSWITCH ENGAGE guitarist and renowned producer Adam Dutkiewicz to helm their next studio album, tentatively due in early 2011 via Metal Blade Records. The pre-production phase of the process officially started last week.”

VARG: “German Viking horde VARG will release its third album, Wolfskult, on February 25, 2011 via NoiseArt Records. The CD was recorded at Andy Classen‘s (LEGION OF THE DAMNED, DEW-SCENTED, NEAERA, ASPHYX) Stage One Studios in Kassel, Germany.”

VREID: “Norwegian band VREID will release its fifth album, simply entitled “V”, on February 7, 2011 via Indie Recordings.”

I knew this would happen.  On New Year’s Day, we put up a long list of extreme metal bands who reportedly will be releasing new albums in 2009, and then carved from that list the 21 bands we especially want to hear in the New Year.  We tried to be complete in compiling the master list, but of course we’re already hearing about bands we left off.

So far, three overlooked bands, in particular, deserve mention: Kivimetsän Druidi, Portland’s own Agalloch, and Mors Principium Est. These bands may not be as widely known as others that made “forthcoming” lists in various trade publications, but we’re psyched to hear that new releases are in the works.

KIVIMETSÄN DRUIDI

Kivimetsän Druidi (pictured above) is a Finnish symphonic folk metal band whose name appears to mean “druid of the stone forest.”  The band released their Century Media debut CD “Shadowheart” in late 2008 and followed that with a cool video, shot in Finnish Lappland, for a song sung in Finnish called “Jäässä Varttunut.”  It appears the song title, loosely translated, means “Grown Up Within Ice,” as in, “The white steel that has been grown on ice will clot the blood with its strike.”

I saw the video, was impressed, tracked down the CD, and remained impressed. It’s a fast-paced, dramatic combination of symphonic death metal, celtic folk stylings, savage gutteral vocals from Joni Koskinen, and soaring sopranos from crystal-voiced Leeni-Maria Hovila. Heavier than you might expect, with memorable melodies and plenty of hard-driving riffs.  (more after the jump, including that video. . .)

Late last year the band toured the U.S. with Eluveitie, Belphegor, Alestorm and Vreid as part of “Heathenfest America,” and according to a blog post on New Year’s Day, they’ve finished recording their second album and are now mixing it in anticipation of a 2010 release.

We haven’t written much about pagan/folk metal on this site since we launched a couple months ago, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like it.  We do!  Even when it includes a heavy dose of clean singing along with the growling, as Kivimetsän Druidi does.  We’ll be looking forward to their second full-length in the new year.

Now here’s the video, and after that, more words about the other two bands we overlooked:

Kivimetsän Druidi – Jäässä Varttunut official music video

Kivimetsän Druidi (in the studio) | MySpace Music Videos

AGALLOCH

This Portland band has been around since 1995 and has produced an assortment of EPs and three full-lengths, the last of which was Ashes Against the Grain in 2006.  The band accurately describes its music as follows:

Despite their style being firmly grounded in the dark metal genre, Agalloch has always been a band who prefers experimentation over settling on a niche. The result has been three full-lengths and a handful of EPs that have bridged the gap between gothic doom, black metal, neo-folk, post rock, and industrial/ambient soundscapes. The band has earned a rabid cult following over the years due in part to their artistic & independent attitude, elusive aura, and scarce but volatile live performances.

In an interview, the band’s principal song-writer John Haughm described the concept behind Ashes as “a surreal tale that begins with mankind cutting off an arm and both legs and creating a flood of blood that covers the earth, changes natures patterns, and destroys humanity at the end so that everything can be reborn anew.”  Agalloch’s music is often considered a meditation on the power and purity of nature, but according to Haughm, “I was more fed up with humanity than I was enamoured by nature when I wrote this album.”

So what can we expect from the band’s long-awaited follow-up to Ashes? According to an interview Haughm gave to German TV last May, “expect the unexpected.” Haughm says that the next release will be “completely different” from its predecessors — “a bit darker,” closer to black metal, but with the same kind of dynamics that Agalloch is known for.  As for when we can expect the new album, Haughm said that he hoped it would be out by May 2010.

Agalloch produces passionate, highly original music, and we’re really looking forward to their new burst of creativity.  In the meantime, check out this sample of brilliance from Ashes Against the Grain:

Agalloch: Not Unlike the Waves

MORS PRINCIPIUM EST

Mors Principium Est is another Finnish band, whose name roughly translates to “death is the beginning,” and my Co-Author Alexis brought them to my attention about this time last year.  MPE has three full-lengths to its credit, the last of which was 2007′s Liberation=Termination.  The style is recognizably Gothenburg melodic death metal, and comparisons to bands such as Dark Tranquillity are inevitable.  But MPE is a collective of unusually talented musicians who play with power and precision and deserve to stand in their own spotlight.  Their discography has no weak spots.  Every album has been a head-turner, including Liberation=Termination, which included more pronounced experimentation with synthesizer-driven electronic beats and melody.

What will come next is a more than typical mystery, because since the recording of Liberation, Jori Haukio, the band’s main song writer and guitarist, decided to part company with MPE. Regardless, this is a band that has never disappointed in the past and we’re confident that whatever comes will be worth the wait.  To see what we mean, check out this cut from Liberation=Termination:

Mors Principium Est: Finality