BELPHEGOR vs. CRADLE OF FILTH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  22 Responses »
Sep 212012
 

Today I spent a little time with Belphegor and Cradle of Filth. Despite the title of this post, I don’t really consider them in competition with each other. They’re really in different leagues, and interleague play hasn’t started yet. I know they’re in different leagues because the uniforms are different. Belphegor are in the helmeted-and-gas-masked division and, as you can see below, Cradle of Filth are in the eyeliner-and-funny-hats division:

Cradle of Filth have a new album — The Manticore and Other Horrors — that will be released on October 29 (EU) via Peaceville Records and October 30 (NA) via Nuclear Blast USA. Today I listened to one of the tracks from the album. Belphegor have a new album due for release in March 2013, and today I watched a video of drum and bass tracks being laid down at Erik Rutan’s Mana Studios in Florida. Continue reading »

CAN MDF XI GET ANY MORE AWESOME?

 Metal News  5 Responses »
Sep 182012
 

I know, I’m a grown man and grown men don’t say “awesome”. But I can’t fuckin’ help it. Earlier this morning, the organizers of Maryland Deathfest XI officially announced the addition of 10 more bands to the line-up, including the headliner for Thursday’s event: BOLT THROWER. Here are the latest additions:

BOLT THROWER (UK)
SLEEP
CARPATHIAN FOREST (Norway)
REVENGE (Canada)
ABIGAIL (Japan)
CRUCIAMENTUM (UK)
ANHEDONIST
SPEEDWOLF
AMBASSADOR GUN
ASTHMA CASTLE

Seriously, this festival is reaching nose-bleed heights of ridiculousness. If you want to lose your breath momentarily, take a look at the now-updated line-up (recognizing that it’s still not complete and that the final announcement of bands won’t come until sometime between October 8-10): Continue reading »

GRAND SUPREME BLOOD COURT

 Metal News  2 Responses »
Sep 182012
 

Somehow I missed the news earlier this year about the formation of Grand Supreme Blood Court, though with a name like that I’m puzzled about how it could have eluded me. However, the unveiling yesterday of the cover art for their debut album, created by Axel Hermann (Asphyx, Grave, Unleashed, etc.), remedied the situation. It appears there will be blood and death, which is an appetizing prospect.

The prospect becomes even more mouth-watering when you understand who’s in this band. It’s the brainchild of former long-time Asphyx guitarist Eric Daniels. After being essentially out of metal for almost a decade, Daniels picked up his guitar again and started creating riffs. He shared them with select friends, and GSBC was eventually born. In addition to Daniels, it includes current Asphyx bass player Alwin Zuur (who plays guitars along with Daniels in GSBC), Bob Bagchus (Asphyx) on drums, Theo van Eekelen (Hail of Bullets) on bass, and the always stunning Martin van Drunen (Asphyx) handling the vocals and lyrics.

GSBC has finished recording a debut concept album — Bow Down Before the Blood Court — which was mixed by the awesome Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity, Bloodbath) and is scheduled for release by Century Media on November 12 in Europe and November 20 in the U.S.

With a five-man line-up, four of whose members consist of current or former members of Asphyx, the obvious question — which Eric Daniels will no doubt tire of answering until GSBC’s music is finally released — is what GSBC has to offer that’s different from the music of Asphyx? Continue reading »

EXTOL ARE RECORDING A NEW ALBUM AND SEEK FAN SUPPORT TO FUND A DOCUMENTARY

 Metal News  4 Responses »
Sep 182012
 

Between 1998 and 2005, Norway’s Extol recorded four albums and two EP’s, beginning with Burial and ending with The Blueprint Dives. As Andy Synn wrote for us in his third SYNN REPORT, which provided a detailed review of all six releases in January 2011, they had “a profound, and vastly underrated, influence on many of today’s bands” and “were in many ways the epitome of counter-culture in metal circles at one time.”

After years of silence, May 2012 brought the first of several cryptic videos at a site named www.extolfilm.com. No explanation for these videos accompanied them. When Andy reported about the first of the videos (here), he wrote: “What does it mean? A documentary about the band? A concert dvd? Or… dare I hope… a reformation? While the latter is unlikely, I can’t help but hope . . .”

Today there will be joy in the hearts of the Extol faithful, because we have received word from the band that after five years of silence and seven years following the release of their last album, Extol are returning to the studio to record their fifth album. Here is the band’s official statement:

“After the The Blueprint Dives in 2005 and the massive worldwide touring with bands such as MASTODON and OPETH, we dissapeared without any further explanation. Now, years later, we are back on track working on what is to be our fifth full-length. As expected from the musical legacy of Extol, no compromise is offered.”

Continue reading »

ABRAHAM

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  No Responses »
Sep 172012
 

Abraham are a band from Lausanne, Switzerland. Pelagic Records plans to release their second album, The Serpent, The Prophet, and The Whore, on September 28 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and on October 1 in the UK and the rest of Europe.

I found out about Abraham from record producer Sean Golyer (Oak Pantheon) over the weekend. He sent me a link to one song from the new album, and I found a music video for another one that the band debuted yesterday. Both songs really grabbed me. The music is difficult to pigeon-hole, genre-wise, but these two songs are intense, heavy, and very interesting — reminiscent of early Neurosis and Cult of Luna in their most pissed-off moments.

The long first segment of “Dawn” drones with a dark synth beat, acid vocals, and shrieks of guitar feedback, and then evolves as tumbling drums and a tremolo-guitar enter the fray. Heavy bass, post-metal guitar chiming, and a barrage of double-kicks and blast-beats kick the song into a building, high-intensity finish.

The new video is for a song named “Start With A Heartbeat”. Like “Dawn”, it isn’t built around a verse-chorus-verse structure, but instead sweeps the listener along in an increasingly turbulent flow. The pacing steadily increases in a really interesting way, with all the instrumentalists accelerating like a rushing river channeled through boulder-strewn rapids. A strobing effect in the video amplifies the sensation of something barreling forward, almost out of control. Continue reading »

TOURISM: NEW TOURS HEADLINED BY NACHTMYSTIUM, REVOCATION, AND DYING FETUS

 Metal News  7 Responses »
Sep 142012
 

One last post for this Friday, with a focus on recently announced U.S./Canada tours.

First, it was announced today that Nachtmystium will be headlining the Dawn Over the Ruins of America tour, which also includes Jarboe (featuring Baleyyg) and Canada’s Weapon. All of the dates have not yet been released, but the ones that have are after the jump. Also, although I know Jarboe used to be in Swans, that’s about the extent of my knowledge about her work, and I know zip about Baleyyg. So if anyone has any insights, leave a comment. Nachtmystium and Weapon, of course, are must-see bands for yours truly. (Thanks to Utmu and Vonlughlio for the tip about this one.)

Second, Boston’s mighty Revocation will be headlining a tour, and A Life Once Lost and KEN Mode will be along for that ride. I’ve almost lost count of how many times I’ve seen Revocation, because they tour like there’s no tomorrow, and every damned show has been killer. And if you saw tomorrow’s earlier post about ALOL, well, you know how I feel about them. KEN Mode is another band I am very interested in seeing. Those dates are also after the jump.

Third, Lambgoat is reporting that Dying Fetus will be touring late this year with Cattle Decapitation and Cerebral Bore in tow. There’s been no official announcement, but Lambgoat has ferreted out three venues where this line-up has been announced so far. I’ll just sum up my thoughts about this tour as follows: HELLS FUCKING YEAH! Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD: VALDUR, ENSHADOWED, CONVERGE (and BLADE RUNNER), AND THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Sep 132012
 

Yeah, I decided to go back to the “Seen and Heard” title for these morning round-ups. I know Phro will be disappointed that I didn’t go with his latest suggestion — “A Nice, Hot Cup of Morning Cum” — but I worried that not everyone would find that as appetizing as he does. Though maybe a dash of nutmeg on top would help. Regardless of the title, the idea is the same: things I saw and heard yesterday that I thought were worth passing on.

VALDUR

Valdur are a three-man band from Mammoth Lakes, California, who I first came across (and wrote about) more than two years ago following release of their excellent second album, Raven God Amongst Us. Yesterday I learned that Valdur have finished writing their new album and will begin recording it on November 12. I also learned that earlier this summer they self-released a limited two-song EP entitled The Hammer Pit, which consists of “rough version” of two new songs.

I was curious to hear The Hammer Pit, since I know that this past spring a new vocalist/guitarist (“Samuel”) joined the band, and his work is reflected on the new EP. I was able to find a Bandcamp page where Valdur are streaming one of the EP’s tracks — “Conjuring the Fire Plagues” — and it’s available for a “name your price” download. It’s a damned killer of a song. Continue reading »

DOOMED: HOODED MENACE AND BELL WITCH

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  13 Responses »
Sep 122012
 

I spent almost all last night writing an album review that isn’t even intended for publication on this site. More about that eventually. But the point for now is that I didn’t have time to finish other projects that were intended for appearance here this morning. Rest assured, they’ll be coming. But for now, I just want to quickly throw you two songs. Figuratively speaking, it’s like throwing you a couple of house-sized granite boulders. Catch!

The first is a lyric video for “Evoken Vulgarity”, which is a song from Effigies of Evil, which is a stupendous album from Finland’s Hooded Menace, which was officially released yesterday, which I’m still hell-bent on reviewing . . . some day. If you wanted to explain to someone how a song could be both horrifying and beautiful, this would be a good example to give them. Though beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

And in my eye, not only is the song beautiful, but so is the album cover. Click on the image above to see an even bigger, more awesome picture of the art.

The second song is “Bails (Of Flesh)”. It’s by a two-man Seattle band named Bell Witch, and it’s from their debut album Longing, which Profound Lore will be releasing on November 13. “Bails (Of Flesh)” is over 20 minutes long. Yesterday, Profound Lore began streaming the first 11+ minutes of the song. I don’t know about you, but if I’m ready to hear a song that’s 11 minutes long, and it’s as great as this one is, I’d be ready for all 20 minutes of it. So although I’m grateful to hear half of it, I’m also pissed I don’t get to hear the rest. Okay, “pissed” might be a little strong. More like hungry for more . . .

because the song is both horrifying and beautiful. Wait a minute, I said that already. So I’ll say this: it’s both soul-sucking and soulful. Also, devastating. And the Bell Witch album cover (by Bryan Proteau) is also cool. Continue reading »

NERGAL IS BURNING BIBLES AGAIN

 Metal News  14 Responses »
Sep 112012
 

Behemoth’s Nergal has completed work on an autobiography, with the title of Sacrum Profanum — a title that presumably refers to the dichotomy between the sacred and the profane, which is a central characteristic of most religions. The book will be released next month in Poland, and unfortunately there are no current plans for it to be translated into English.

The book will be promoted through a series of video trailers that will appear on Behemoth’s YouTube channel. According to Behemoth’s label, Metal Blade, “the trailers will feature Nergal reading portions of the book, as well as acting out portions of stories, which Nergal describes as ‘some funny, some sad, some evil…some related to the band, some not.'” The trailers will be in Polish with English subtitles.

The first trailer went up for streaming today. The thoughts expressed are serious, though the philosophy is certainly not new — but the trailer is also provocative. Yes indeed, I do believe that’s a Bible that Nergal burns in the trailer. After being prosecuted repeatedly in Poland for doing the same thing on stage many years ago, he seems to be courting more legal harassment — and clearly gives no fucks about that. The last line of the trailer makes that even more abundantly clear.

Reports about the book indicate that much of it is an extended and wide-ranging interview of Nergal, rather than him or some ghost-writer laying out a narrative. No doubt, he has led an unusual life, and I suspect this would be a fascinating read. Here’s hoping that an English translation will someday become available.

UPDATE: I found a page on the Behemoth web store (here) where the book (in Polish) can be pre-ordered. It includes this statement: Behemoth’s “THIS IS A POLISH VERSION OF THE BOOK! ENGLISH ONE – ESTIMATED DATE 2013”. That page contains additional info about the book, and after the jump I’ve included a bit more about it after converting the text into English through Google Translate

The trailer is after the jump, too. Continue reading »

THE MORNING MAILBAG: DORDEDUH, BISON BC, WINTERUS

 Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC  5 Responses »
Sep 112012
 

I got tired of calling these posts “Seen and Heard”. So, just for the sake of variety I’ve picked a different title for today. I’ll probably go back to “Seen and Heard” soon, because that’s what this is: Things I saw and heard while browsing the web today that I thought were worth sharing.

DORDEDUH

I first learned of this Romanian band in the spring of 2010 when working on a review of Vîrstele Pămîntului, the first album by the revamped Negură Bunget. They were revamped because two of the original members — Hupogrammos and Sol Faur — had left the band in 2009. Dordeduh became the new vehicle for their musical pursuits. Dordeduh released a debut 2-song EP, Valea Omului, in 2010, and have been working on an album since then.

Yesterday, thanks to NCS reader KevinP, I discovered the album’s name — Dar De Duh (“Gift of/from the Spirit”) — and learned just how close the album is to being released: September 28. On the Prophecy pre-order page, I saw that not only is the album going to be available as a CD, it’s also being released as a 2-CD set, a 2-CD + DVD “book”, and a double LP. The second CD consists of the two songs from Valea Omului plus a cover of “Ruun” by Enslaved. Pre-order details can be found here.

I also saw the killer cover art up above, which was created by Romanian artist Costin Chioreanu. AND, last but not least, I heard the album version of a song that originally appeared on the  Valea Omului EP — “Cumpăt”. Continue reading »

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