Feb 102016
 

Infernal Curse-Apocalipsis

 

I discovered Argentina’s Infernal Curse when Iron Bonehead Productions released their EP The End Upon Us in 2014 (on Bandcamp here), which I gather represented an evolution in sound from their 2012 debut album Awakening of the Damned. Iron Bonehead is now poised to release the band’s second album, aptly entitled Apocalipsis, and it represents even further movement — not forward, or backward, but through some interdimensional membrane on a course that takes them (and us) into a realm where horrors reign supreme.

Litanies Unto Djinn” is the album’s second track, and we bring it to you today, as a ghastly offering to the dark things the lurk in your mind. With the rhythmic tick of a cymbal and slow, dismal, distorted chords, the band launch the song with a foreshadowing of the doom to come — and then the true carnage begins. Continue reading »

Apr 192014
 

This is a collection of recommended new music and videos, all of it except one discovered by your humble editor over the last 24 hours. What they have in common, apart from the fact that they’re really good: you will be bludgeoned, gutted, and left for worms.

BÖLZER

I had a passion for this Swiss band’s 2013 EP, Aura, that bordered on the unhealthy. I listened to it so much that I became convinced an alien entity had taken up residence in my skull (and lord knows there’s enough space in there for a roommate). I also included “Entranced By the Wolfshook” on my list of 2013’s Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs. I’ve been tremendously eager to hear what Bölzer would do next. Now I know.

Thanks to a tip from KevinP, I discovered this morning that the band had started streaming a new song named “Steppes” on SoundCloud. It is one of two tracks (totaling about 18 minutes) that will appear on a forthcoming EP named Soma. The artwork will again be prepared by Alexander L Brown, and it will be released by Invictus Productions. Continue reading »

Mar 182014
 

As explained in an earlier pissing-and-moaning post today, I was way out of touch yesterday and have been spending some time today catching up on what I missed. But of course I found a whole lot of new likable things that appeared today as well. To avoid falling too far behind, I’m gathering a few of today’s goodies in this post and will collect some of those catch-up items in a piece for tomorrow.

TEITANBLOOD

Teitanblood from Madrid, Spain, were one of my first introductions to the kind of apocalyptic music that some people call blackened death metal and others term war metal. I wrote about them here, not long after making the discovery, in a post that also included music from Blasphemophagher and Diocletian. At the time, I was hunting for the right phrase to describe the music — “Atmospheric death metal”? “Apocalyptic prog”? “Post-death metal?” I decided “war metal” was as good as any label.

Teitanblood’s second full-length, entitled Death, is now scheduled for release on May 13 — five years after Seven Chalices. It’s available on CD and double LP from The Ajna Offensive. It features suitably black cover art (and to see a much larger image, click the one above.)

I’m pleased to say that I have an advance copy of the music. I’m displeased to say that I haven’t yet listened to it. BUT, I have heard one song that has became available on YouTube — “Anteinfierno”. Continue reading »

Aug 212012
 

In browsing today’s happenings in the world of metal and pulling together items to share with you in this post, I noticed a coincidence: All of these items have something to do with red. I don’t know what that means. Probably nothing. I hope I’m not bleeding inside.

ITEM ONE: SATAN’S WRATH

I saw that Metal Blade had established a landing (or launching) page for a new album entitled Galloping Blasphemy by a two-man Greek “Satanic blackened thrash” band by the name of Satan’s Wrath. It’s due for release on September 25 in North America and a few days earlier in Europe. The album cover is above. It’s red.

I was intrigued by two things about this release. First, the band’s bio claims that they are “the only band in the world in communication with thy master through ceremonial black magic and necromantic rituals” and that “one member alone controls 13 satanic covens worldwide and organizes the most hideous sabbaths which our lord graces in the form of the black goat.” It also seems to dedicate the album to the glory of Belial, Lucifer, and Astaroth. I’m guessing you probably won’t find this CD at Walmart.

Second, I saw this quote from Brian Slagel, the founder and owner of Metal Blade: “When I first heard Satan’s Wrath it transported me back three decades to the early days of the label when I loved bands like Slayer . . . and Possessed . . . . What will always impress me about the heavy metal genre is its ability to borrow from the past and boldly wear it’s influences on its sleeve, while still sounding fresh and relevant to the time it was created. Satan’s Wrath are one of those bands . . . .”  Continue reading »