Feb 032016
 

Sacrilegium-Anima Lucifera

 

Twenty years is a long time between albums. In such a span of time, musicians grow and mature as people, and inevitably the lives they’ve lived and the changes in their thinking will work their way into their music. That doesn’t mean the history no longer matters — for some bands it’s still a living, breathing part of who they are now, as people and musicians.

Twenty years ago the Polish black metal band Sacrilegium released their debut album Wicher, and on March 18 of this year, Pagan Records will release their second full-length, Anima Lucifera — a title that refers to a line from a poem by Leopold Staff (excerpts of which have also been used in the new Sacrilegium tracks). Leaving aside a single from the album that appeared last year (“Angelus“), it’s the first new music from the band since about 1999.

What we have for you today is a sign of where Sacrilegium stand today, a reflection of their past and their present, as we premiere a song from the album called “Venomous Spell of Fate“. Continue reading »

Nov 172015
 

Devourer logo

 

Earlier today we brought you a round-up of songs from Comrade Aleks. The epicenter of all his chosen music was Italy, and so I thought I would expand our geographic horizons with the following collection of recommended new tracks that I sifted from the usual flood of sounds over the last 24 hours. The bands featured below come from Sweden, Poland, Seattle, Denmark, and Pakistan.

DEVOURER

Devourer are a two-man Swedish band founded in 2002 by John “Steinfaust” Falk (who plays all instruments and has also been the drummer for Sorcery) and he was joined in 2007 by lead vocalist Fredrik “Crocell” Håf. After recording two demos (Malignant and Thy Devourer), the band released their first album in January 2013 under the title All Hope Abandon. I discovered the band through their 2013 single, Filth; the title track was released in video form and reviewed here. Yesterday, Devourer released another single — and it’s also excellent. Continue reading »