SEEN AND HEARD ON A FRIDAY: RITUAL MASS, PROSCRIPTION, KRIGSGRAV

(written by Islander)

This has been a rare week in which our other writers seem to have collectively been diverted by other life events, leaving us since Monday with not a lot else besides the premiere features I’ve put together each day. To help fill the gaps, I’ve managed to scrawl one stand-alone album review and a couple of new-music roundups, this being the second one of the week.

It’s just as well, because I’m not confident I’ll be able to prepare the usual SEEN AND HEARD column on Saturday or the usual SHADES OF BLACK on Sunday. My spouse and I will be working both days to help put together an annual two-day picnic where we live, and some of that work begins today and tonight. In fact, today’s work is about to begin, so this Friday roundup is relatively brief and devoted to “hot off the presses” music from a trio of dependable labels.

 

RITUAL MASS (U.S.)

Today 20 Buck Spin announced the release of Cascading Misery, the debut album from Pittsburgh’s Ritual Mass, and made public the album’s first advance track, “Immeasurable Hell.” The band stated: “While the rest of Cascading Misery deals in spiritual bedlam, ‘Immeasurable Hell’ is a declaration of collapse, the sound of nature and humanity beginning to circle the drain.”

In line with that theme, this song is a nasty piece of work, a maniacal amalgam of deliriously contorted and grime-slathered riffage, furious drum clattering, high-boil bass-lines, and gargantuan roars delivered with crypt-dwelling reverberation which shift into crazed screams.

The band spice up the malignant madness with squeals of string torture, bursts of rapidly slithering fretwork and battering-ram percussion, a downshifted nightmare of instrumental wailing and brute-force stomping, and a berserk guitar solo to cap things off.

The album will be out on September 5th. The fascinating cover painting, logo, and layout were done by the band’s P. Trona, with additional artwork by Bo Orr and Erik Von Bartholomaus.

https://20buckspin.bandcamp.com/album/cascading-misery
https://ritualmass.bandcamp.com/
https://instagram.com/ritualmassdeath?igshid=1gq8qa5rngtmv

 

PROSCRIPTION (U.S./Finland)

Also today, Dark Descent announced the release of Desolate Divine, the second album from Finland-based Proscription, whose lineup now includes not only U.S.-born vocalist/guitarist Christbutcher (who now resides in Finland) but also members of Maveth and Lantern, among many others. Today also brought the reveal of the album’s lead single, “Gleam of the Morningstar“.

In line with the song’s name, the music’s blazing pulse is infernally glorious (and kind of twisted), but the riffing also viciously swarms. The drums feel like bursts of weaponry and the methodical thwack of an executioner’s axe. The two-toned vocals gruesomely bellow and scream as if strangling.

The spices here include savage stomps, fanatical proclamations, and racing tornados of musical fire, but the song’s blaring pulse is what really sets the hook.

Desolate Divine is set for release on August 29th. The fascinating cover art, which includes so much detail you can stare at it for a good long while to understand what you’re seeing, is the work of artist Sam Araya.

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/desolate-divine
https://www.facebook.com/ProscriptionHorde/

 

KRIGSGRAV (U.S.)

And here’s one more recently announced album whose first single came out today. The band is Krigsgrav (a past favorite around here), the album is Stormcaller, and the song is “Huntress of the Fire Moon” — which includes a guest vocal appearance by Jens Rydén of Thyrfing and formerly Naglfar.

This song combines firestorm riffing with a gale-blown sweep, utterly barbaric vocals, and hammer-strike drums, but the riffing also deliriously spins and miserably swirls and the drums rumble and tumble like boulders, or like war drums readying for attack.

The whole song has an ancient warlike mien, especially when the drums go nuts and the riffing finds a new blazing zenith of glorious violence. Yet it’s not all warlike — the guitars also ring like a manifestation of joyful magic, and seductively sway like a dance among spirits.

Like the first two albums in today’s collection, Stormcaller features really eye-catching cover art, and this time it’s the work of Adam Burke at Nightjar Illustration. Stormcaller will be released by Willowtip Records on September 19th.

https://krigsgrav.bandcamp.com/album/stormcaller
http://www.facebook.com/krigsgrav