SEEN AND HEARD: REJOICE! THE LIGHT HAS COME, MICO, VOID PRAYER, KALL, INTEGRAL RIGOR

 Album Reviews, Metal News, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHORT BUT SWEET  No Responses »
Apr 162020
 

 

I hope all of you are well and staying safe and neither lapsing into stupor nor pulling our your hair due to quarantine-itis. I have chosen a few things to occupy your mind today, since you probably have more unoccupied mind than usual these days. To fill the vacancy I’ve selected a new EP, an assortment of recent advance tracks from forthcoming releases, and a new single. As is often the case, I owe thanks to a couple of trusted advisors for many of these choices.

REJOICE! THE LIGHT HAS COME

This is the (untitled) EP mentioned above. It was released on April 12th by a West Virginia-based band whose recording line-up for the EP also included a couple of well-known session performers (at least I assume they aren’t permanent members) — Colin Marston on bass (he also mixed and mastered the record) and drummer Kevin Paradis — in addition to guitarists Eric Gill and Dan Long and vocalist Paul Ozz, all of whom are also members of Aghasura. Continue reading »

AN NCS SPLIT PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): NEFARIOUS SPIRIT AND VOID PRAYER

 Premieres  1 Response »
Dec 162019
 

 

Sometimes split releases consist of songs re-purposed from other releases, or by bands whose music doesn’t seem to complement each other very well, even if they’re good enough standing alone. But neither of those deficiencies is in evidence on the new black metal split by Nefarious Spirit and Void Prayer that we’re premiering today in its entirety. All six songs on this split (three from each band) are exclusive to this record, and although one band is a newcomer and the other a more well-established force, their music fits together hand-in-glove, sharing a similar sorcerous spirit and a common fiery intensity. The result is an album-length union that makes a striking and memorable impact.

The split will be released by Goatowarex on the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (December 21st), a momentous occasion going back to ancient times, and a fitting occasion for the advent of this album. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: VOID PRAYER, VERHEERER, DISHARMONY, BLOT & BOD, DIE KUNST DER FINSTERNIS, LESATH

 SHADES OF BLACK  3 Responses »
Sep 302019
 

 

I can’t think of anything very coherent to say by way of introduction this week, perhaps because the music below has rendered me incoherent. [Correction: more incoherent.] So let’s just go right in:

VOID PRAYER

Void Prayer (previously known as Cave Ritual) are from Bosnia and Herzegovina, and its members are part of the Black Plague Circle, which also includes Nigrum Ignis Circuli, Deathcircle, Niteris, and Obskuritatem. Their previous releases under the Void Prayer name include a 2014 self-titled demo and a 2017 debut album, Stillbirth From the Psychotic Void, neither of which I’ve heard, but about which I’ve heard good things.

The Signal Rex label will be releasing a new Void Prayer three-track promo tape called L’appel du vide (“the call of the void”), and the first song in this collection is its title track. Continue reading »