Sep 262016
 

eufori-humorsvangningar

 

The name of Eufori’s new album — Humörsvängningar — is a mouthful of a tongue-twister for those of us who don’t speak Swedish or any other Scandinavian language. To understand how it is pronounced, you can hear the word spoken at this page. And if you were to google the word in an effort to understand its meaning in English, you would find definitions that refer to rapid or inexplicable “mood swings”, sometimes in the context of mental instability brought on by stress, drugs, problems sleeping, or disorders of various kinds.

Of course, you need not understand the album’s title in order to follow the sense of the music, but understanding it may lead to a deeper appreciation of what you will hear — and hear it you can, at the end of this post.

By the way, if you’re in a googling mood, you can also look up the word “eufori”, and will likely find that its English equivalent is “euphoria” — a strong feeling of happiness or intoxication. But don’t forget the name of the album…. Continue reading »

Sep 262016
 

sepulchral-curse-at-the-onset-of-extinction

In the spring of this year we premiered the latest album by the Finnish band Solothus (No King Reigns Eternal), along with a review that praised the album as “an artful combination of staggering heaviness, neck-snapping aggression, and cold, alabaster beauty,” one that “generates an atmosphere of emotional collapse and physical decay, but… gets the blood pumping, too.” Little did we know then that Solothus vocalist Kari Kankaanpää was also in the ranks of Sepulchral Curse, whose debut EP A Birth In Death appeared two years ago. And now we also know that Sepulchral Curse have recorded a new EP that will be released in December, the name of which is At the Onset of Extinction.

The first track on the new EP is “Envisioned In Scars“, and we have the premiere of that song for you today. It’s as powerfully appealing as the latest Solothus album, though it diverges significantly — and dynamically — in its musical strategies, culminating in a very interesting display of black/death metal. Continue reading »

Sep 252016
 

woes-video-clip-1

 

We post lots of premieres for music we like (and only for music we like). The opportunities don’t all come to us through labels and PR representatives. Some of them are requested by bands who are doing their best to spread the word on a DIY basis. That’s how this one came about.

The band is WOES, from Copenhagen, Denmark, and the video is for a new single named “Lost & Alone“. Before watching this video for the first time, I didn’t know what to expect. It left me gasping. Continue reading »

Sep 232016
 

re-armed-the-era-of-precarity

 

Now more than a decade into their career, the band Re-Armed from Kerava, Finland, are on the verge of releasing their third album, The Era of Precarity. A concept work that imagines a world in which the worst elements and tendencies in modern society become ascendent, the album will be released on September 30 via Finland’s Saarni Records. Today we give you the chance to hear all of it.

You may think you’ve been launched into space, with glowing nebulas to light your way, as you listen to the album’s opening track, but the second one quickly yanks you back to earth and sends you rocketing forward with a blaze of flame trailing behind. And from there, it’s a jolting rush of thrashing death metal that keeps the adrenaline levels in the red zone… but there are also gliding chorus melodies capable of keeping your head immersed in visions far overhead as the wind tears at your face. Continue reading »

Sep 232016
 

doomed-anna

 

The new album Anna by the German project Doomed is astonishing — astonishing in its conception, astonishing in its execution. Immensely evocative, as intricate and meticulously crafted as a Byzantine mosaic, and as staggeringly heavy as a cascade of bunker-busting bombs, in all ways I can think of it’s one of the most powerful albums I’ve heard this year.

Now, how do I back up those over-the-top accolades? I will try, but fortunately I don’t have to rely entirely on my own strained efforts, because at the end of this post a full stream of the album awaits you. Be good to yourself, and seize the chance to hear it in advance of its September 26 release by Solitude Productions. Continue reading »

Sep 222016
 

setentia-darkness-transcend

 

Last May the title track to the debut album by New Zealand’s Setentia, Darkness Transcend, hit me between the eyes in a fracturing blow and then thoroughly scrambled the meager gray matter behind them. Many more wonders were waiting to be discovered in this striking debut, and now the album will get the widespread physical release it deserves. On November 11, 2016, the esteemed Finnish label Blood Music will issue the album in a six-panel fold-out digipack CD edition, and to help pave the way for that event we’re bringing you a stream of the album’s fourth track, “Seeds of Death (Departure)“.

There are six people in Setentia’s line-up. Three of them are guitarists. This is not overkill. Instead, this small army of a band have strategically deployed their abundant talents to very good effect, creating a dense and brain-twisting musical experience that’s distinctive, as well as dark and destructive. The music brings to mind an imagined collaboration between Gorguts and Ulcerate. Continue reading »

Sep 222016
 

mithras-on-strange-loops

 

The new single by Mithras that we’re helping premiere today, “Odyssey’s End“, is like no other song I’ve heard this year. Given the many hundreds I’ve heard so far across a broad range of metal genres, that’s saying something. And so although I’m going to share a lot of information about the new Mithras album in this post, I have to start by expressing more elaborately my enthusiasm for this track.

Of course, I wouldn’t blame you for jumping straight to the music at any point, but you shouldn’t be reading (or do anything else) while you experience the music. Give it your full attention, and then prepare to loop right back to the beginning of it when you finish. This track requires way more than a single listen to take in all that it has to offer. Continue reading »

Sep 212016
 

crucified-mortals-psalms-cover

 

Cleveland’s Crucified Mortals have been reaping souls in the underground for 15 years, with a long string of short releases eventually leading to their self-titled debut album in 2011. More hellish splits and a single followed that full-length, and now the band’s second album is ready for discharge. Fittingly entitled Psalms of the Dead Choir, it will be released by Hells Headbangers on October 28, and today we have for you the premiere of a song called “Traitor“.

One song from the album (“Behind the Lurid Mask”) has been previously released, and we were given our choice about what to divulge next. That was not an easy decision, because for an album steadfastly devoted to death/thrash each song incorporates different ideas and sounds, and that makes the entire album-run a trip that doesn’t wear out its welcome. You’ll find impressive technical intricacy in this album, and rhythmic and chord progressions that often don’t follow a predictable path — even though the ultimate destination is still a flaming hell on earth. “Traitor“, however, got stuck in my head for several reasons. Continue reading »

Sep 202016
 

Cruz - Culto Abismal

 

For a long stretch of years, Spain has been a breeding ground for excellent metal bands across a wide range of extreme metal genres, and now one more must be added to that long list — a band from Barcelona named Cruz. Their first full-length bears the title Culto Abismal and it will be released on October 7 through the collaboration of four labels, including a tape and vinyl release in North America by Oakland’s Sentient Ruin. Today we join that conspiracy to bring you a first listen to the album’s powerhouse title track.

You could probably guess that Cruz are on the right track just by looking at the nightmarish cover art beautifully executed by César Valladares, and that would be a correct guess. “Culto Abismal” is equally well conceived and equally well-executed to deliver a hellish and highly electrifying rampage of old school death metal with a strong crust punk flavor. Continue reading »

Sep 192016
 

rudra-enemy-of-duality

 

We have been writing about Singapore’s Rudra since 2011 at this site, but although that’s a fair number of years, it’s far exceeded by the longevity of the band itself. Rudra was formed in 1992, pioneering in a genre they term “Vedic metal”, which is a form of blackened death metal in which Rudra (who are themselves of Indian lineage) have often incorporated elements of music rooted in Hindu traditions (including the use of Indian classical instruments), with lyrics often drawn from Vedic Sanskrit literature and philosophy.

In a career that has spanned nearly a quarter-century, the band have released seven albums, and the eighth one — Enemy of Duality — will be coming out this December. Today we are privileged to bring you the album’s opening track, “Abating the Firebrand“. Continue reading »