Two US one-man bands, two different approaches… and yet an incredibly cohesive example of underground metal fueled by darkness and madness. Ohio’s THE WAKEDEAD GATHERING have proved to be one of today’s most interesting death metal bands. Perfected through 3 full-length albums ranging from cosmic horror to tales of witchery, their style syringes heavy doses of black metal into the old Immolation/Incantation death metal formulas. THE WAKEDEAD GATHERING’s new track, “The Blind Abyss”, makes no exception, and it’s probably the band’s most epic composition to date thanks to a morphing structure open to all kind of dark and gloom sonic surprises. Dedicated to H.P. Lovecraft, it evokes none other than the unholy Azathoth, the blind fool god that sits in the middle of the eternal nothingness, whistling its horrific tune of cosmic death. The other side of split sees the return of the Indiana based ECFERUS, here offering 3 brand new songs. Compared to their latest full-length release – “Pangaea”, 2016 – characterized by long tracks and a progressive black metal approach, ECFERUS’ new material is concise, definitely more violent and brutal, and perfectly tuned with a concept dealing with madness and apocalyptic omens. It’s as if the Lovecraftian deity invoked by THE WAKEDEAD GATHERING has finally brought its music to Earth, corrupting minds and inspiring cruelty, murders and moral decadence. ECFERUS’ songwriting is nervous and epic at the same time. The songs twist and turn, shaken by cataclysmic guitar solos, each riff more venomous and evil than the previous one. It’s an escalation of violence that culminates with the last track, “Cerebral Inferno”, an unrelenting black metal number... read more
Certainly among the craziest and most extreme bands of today, HOWLS OF EBB and KHTHONIIK CERVIIKS meet each other within the grooves of an explosive split album that glorifies the dark and twisted side of death and black metal. HOWLS OF EBB play their limbonic metal under the insignia of madness and rage. Their sanguinary riffs clench our reality with sharp claws and squeeze it to death. Under the title of “With Gangrene Edges”, HOWLS OF EBB’s 3 tracks conjure up bizarre demons from poisonous and metamorphic dimensions too abstruse and disgusting to be grasped in full by our small minds. On their side, KHTHONIIK CERVIIKS dive into what they call the “Voiidwarp”, a psychic death metal vortex assaulting the senses, annihilating reason and obliterating existence. In 5 stages, the band reaches a climax of psychotic ferocity many and many times, transfiguring every melody into a dreadful cacophony. And when the prophetic third eye opens, they are ready to mercilessly stab it. Despite the differences in sound and style, KHTHONIIK CERVIIKS and HOWLS OF EBB have in common a creative approach that bestows uniqueness and originality to their songwriting. They are never too pretentious and never betray their ancient metal roots. On the contrary, they exalt and glorify the most primeval, instinctual and scariest elements of metal through their unbridled visionary talent, making metal wild and dangerous once again. Howls of Ebb cover art by Timo Ketola Khthoniik Cerviiks cover art by Khraâl... read more
Undoubtedly one of the finest Finnish black metal bands, VERGE feature musicians that play or have played with other esteemed underground acts like Charnel Winds and Saturnian Mist, among the others. Thanks to their previous works – two fascinating full-length albums and a few splits – VERGE have proved to speak a unique black metal language that bends the misanthropic roots of the genre to their will and to their progressive music vision, uncompromising and highly original like most part of Finnish metal. VERGE’s third and most mature release is titled “The Process of Self-Becoming” and is a concept album “loosely based on philosopher Sören Kierkegaard´s theory of existence stages”, as the band explains. “Each song has been written from a particular subjective existential stance and the crisis it inevitably faces.” Divided into three chapters – Aesthetic, Moral and Religious – and graced with precious lyrical contributions from Shoo (Charnel Winds) and Johannes Nefastos, “The Process Of Self-Becoming” is an extremely ferocious work, yet a deeply meditative one, and it perfectly captures the wavering, tortured nature of its philosophic contents and existential dilemmas. The violent assaults of “The Decision Beyond Calculation” and “The Pride In Despair” dissolve into some of the most intense rock-oriented guitar solos ever heard within the context of a black metal record, thus emphasizing the continuous struggle between reason and doubt, while the tremendous final bacchanals of “The Bedrock Gives Way” and “Grounding in the Unground” seal the album with majestic crescendos and dramatic words: “Not God, but Me in God / Taking the serpents from His mother’s hands / You are the final stream... read more
Featuring members from various cult acts from the metal underground, namely CRUCIAMENTUM, GRAVEYARD and SUSPIRAL, Spain’s SHEIDIM are back with a new EP, “Infamata”, a worthy successor to their 2016’s full-length debut on Dark Descent Records, ”Shrines Of The Void”. In a little more than 27 minutes, SHEIDIM sink their sharp teeth into the black metal matter, exalting its implicit violence as well as its dark and majestic aura, not dissimilarly from what Watain or Dissection have done in the past. They masterfully shift from destructive accelerations to lugubrious slowdowns within the same song, combining black metal with a death metal frenzy in a lethal yet elegant formula that gives evidence of their untamable nature and grants to their music an unbearable tension. Recorded at Moontower Studio and then mastered by Dan Lowndes at the infamous Resonance Sound Studio, “Infamata” isn’t just a confirmation of SHEIDIM’s talent, it also conquers new grounds by substantially expanding and enriching their sound and songwriting. It especially happens within the closing number, “Sister Of Sleep”, a torrid track that erects a black metal cathedral, soon demolished under unmerciful riffs and portentous grooves. And while guest vocalist NSK (Teitanblood) offers his vocal cords as a sacrifice on the altar of black/death metal, a gut-wrenching and hypnotic guitar solo leads the song towards its ultimate, desolate end. SHEIDIM is: A.K. – Vocals C.S. – Guitars P.K. – Guitars A.T. – Bass J.F. – Drums All music by C.S. Lyrics by C.S. & A.T. Guest lyrics on Underneath by M. Reaper Guest vocals on Sister of Sleep by NSK Recorded and mixed by J.Félez at Moontower... read more
“Mystic Echo From A Funeral Dimension”, the promising debut of ESOCTRILIHUM, will see the light on July 28. CD limited to 300 copies. ESOCTRILIHUM is an enigmatic band from France devoted to a majestic kind of black metal made of aggressive riffs and transcending melodies. Nothing is known about Asthâghul, ESOCTRILIHUM’s sole member. Although clearly in debt with the black metal masters of the 90s, he’s been able to carve out his own style, treading a line between unadulterated rage and ecstatic contemplation; between primitive instinct and exquisite technique. The result is “Mystic Echo From A Funeral Dimension”, an esoteric voyage towards nocturnal and silent landscapes illuminated by the cold moonlight. Each song is a mystic key that opens the gates to otherworldly dimensions of darkness, inhabited by elemental spirits and cruel ancient gods. ESOCTRILIHUM explores the obscure lands existing between dream and death to unveil the unfathomable secrets that tie Nature and Man together. Thanks to a thunderous sound drenched in echo and reverb, the transcendental aura of ESOCTRILIHUM’s black metal sink the listener into a comatose state, close to fainting, where reality succumbs to powerful visions of cosmic beauty and unknown horrors. Wrapped in a fascinating painting by Luciana Nedelea, “Mystic Echo From A Funeral Dimension” is a triumphant celebration of the night with its supernatural mysteries, and ESOCTRILIHUM a spiritual guide that leads us through them. Asthâghul – all instruments and vocals Written, performed and recorded in 2016 Cover painting and logo by Luciana Nedelea Art direction and layout by Francesco... read more
We’re happy to announce that TCHORNOBOG’s eponymous debut album will be released on July 28th as a deluze and limited 8-panel digipack with 2 booklets! The fearsome beast indwelling sole member Markov Soroka (Aureole, Slow), TCHORNOBOG bursts into the metal underground with a crushing and sensory-overloading eponymous album. Seven years in the making, “Tchornobog” can be described as a vessel to elaborate the various metaphors of religion, psychological disorder, and auditory hallucinations of the human animal. “The purpose of the project is to assume the body as an empathetic creature to understand both the Self and the attempts to find meaning in the world,” Soroka explains. “TCHORNOBOG is not a worship of the namesake Slavic ‘Black God,’ but rather a sarcastic evaluation as well as a testament to those with severe illness, and a nod to those of a religious related coping mechanism for the fear of death.” In the span of four long and articulated tracks, TCHORNOBOG devours the whole spectrum of extreme music – from black metal to death metal, to funeral doom; then, it vomits everything out in the form of a dense, corrosive and lysergic substance to feed our minds with. Such a digestive process mimics the endless cycle of creation and destruction, and brings with itself a spiritual illumination. TCHORNOBOG’s psychedelic approach and mind-expanding sound contemplate the use of saxophone, trumpet, bells, grand piano and cello to accompany the devastating drumming of Magnús Skúlason from Svartidauði, while Greg Chandler of Esoteric adds his deep growls to a couple of tracks. However, what hits the most is Markov Soroka’s visionary grandeur, the exorcism performed... read more
