Tag: death metal

SANCTUARY – announce “Inception” album details and launch trailer

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News
Century Media Records and legendary US metal act SANCTUARY have set February 24th, 2017 as the release date of Inception, the official prequel to 1988’s classic debut “Refuge Denied”.
unnamedInception contains presumed lost 1986 studio recordings, which guitarist Lenny Rutledge discovered recently and which were magically restored, remixed and remastered by Zeuss (Queensrÿche, Hatebreed). You can watch the first video trailer here.
Guitarist Lenny Rutledge comments: “I found the masters in my barn. The second floor of the barn is on top of our current recording studio and is very rough and open to the elements. The ground level is where we recorded the bulk of ‘The Year The Sun Died’. We found the masters in an unknown box in the barn, full of water and just wasting away.“
Zeuss explains further how the Inception album was realized: “I got a call one day and Lenny said that he had discovered these tapes and had them transferred to digital. I was in the area and stopped over to check it out. The recordings were still in decent shape. We agreed that we wanted it to sound as good as possible without taking away from the original vibe and vision of what the band had back then. After a year of mixing on and off we were able to resurrect these original demos. I hope everyone enjoys these recordings as much as I did working on them especially being a huge fan myself.“
Recorded in March of 1986 (“Soldiers Of Steel”, “Battle Angels”) at Triad Studios in Redmond, Washington and Studio One in White Center between April and July 1986, Inception offers such previously unreleased highlights as “Dream of The Incubus” and “I Am Insane” as well as several classic Refuge Denied songs that are burning with fervour and intensity.
Apart from being expanded by art courtesy of Ed Repka, Inception is filled to the brim with tons of rare photos, flyers, early art designs, sketches plus detailed liner notes allowing you to delve deep into SANCTUARY’s history.
Inception will be released as Gatefold LP on 180 gram black and limited colored vinyl, includes an extensive LP-size booklet, poster, and the album on CD as additional extra. Apart from that it will be available as Special Edition CD Digipak and digital album.
Lenny concludes: “For me personally, I just wanted fans to be able to hear proper versions of the demos. They had a certain energy that was captured during the early days, maybe even more so than “Refuge Denied”. It’s no secret that you can find these on the internet but the quality is horrible. I think most people are under the impression that these are remastered or re-recorded versions of Refuge…”, but this is all a prequel!“
With several European festivals already booked for next year, a new album in the works, Inception being released, 2017 shall be the year when past and future of SANCTUARY unite. Look forward to the next assault of the soldiers of steel!
TRACKLISTING
1. Dream Of The Incubus
2. Die For My Sins
3. Soldiers Of Steel
4. Death Rider / Third War
5. White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane cover)
6. Ascension To Destiny
7. Battle Angels
8. I Am Insane
9. Veil Of Disguise
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Review: Opeth and The Sword at Stage AE Pittsburgh

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Concert Review, Pictorial, Pittsburgh Event

While much of the music consumers out there are eating up corporate crap, there are still some true artists out there, in every genre, that are truly unique and influential.  The “metal” world has the almighty Opeth that has been blowing minds with their musical prowess since 1990 with their one consistent member: guitarist, and songwriter Mikael Åkerfeldt.  There is no true way to categorize Opeth as within one song your ears can be swayed to death metal, folk, jazz,blues, classical, and a myriad of other sub-genres.

It had been almost five years since Opeth came back to Pittsburgh (the last time at Stage AE as well) and they came with new material from Sorceress, their new album out today(Purchase, download and stream Sorceress now at www.opeth.com/stores), as well as pulling out some really old classic stuff {see set list below}.  The band is perfect live as they are tighter than a nun and harrowingly intense.  Akerfeldt is amazing to watch and listen to, his voice with great range- from guttural depth to high pitch- as well as his precise guitar mastery.  Of course, Fredrik Åkesson is no slouch and can shred, lay back, or thrash at the drop of a hat.  Sometimes one can forget what a layer that keyboards can make and truly Opeth would not sound right live without Joakim Svalberg.  Bass player Martín Méndez displayed frightening skill on his 5 string bass and was completely in tune with percussionist Martin “Axe” Axenrot who does not get enough credit for his prowess.

As Rollingstone.com pointed out, “Sorceress is an expression of how much Opeth can accomplish without the strictures of extreme metal”.  Rolling Stone needs to realize that it is not this 12th record that marks a recreation of the band, but that Opeth has been doing it all along.

Speaking of reinvention, The Sword was an excellent band to pair up with Opeth as openers.  While their style is much different than Opeth, they themselves have a way of sweeping through genres in their history.  Rising out of Austin in 2003, the band started out as a “doom” oriented stoner metal band.  What they have evolved into, especially after the last two records, is something that cannot be categorized.  Like their tour mates, they have great range, from doom metal to hard rock to influences of classic country.  Their latest, High Country and it’s just released acoustic Low Country, is a testament to how much they have evolved.

The band came out blazing and ripping with “Cloak of Feathers” from Apocryphon and then right into “Dream Thieves” from High Country.  The audience reacted to every song and was enthralled by the performance of  John D. Cronise who is the songwriting mastermind behind the majority of the band’s material.  Guitarist Kyle Shutt showed serious chops and soul, and  Bryan Richie and drummer Santiago “Jimmy” Vela III were equally amazing.  The Sword is an excellent recording band, but they truly need to be witnessed live to fully appreciate how good they really are.

All photos 2016 AWeldingphoto

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Serpentine Dominion’s Adam Dutkiewicz launches guitar play-through for new track, “On the Brink of Devastation”

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Streaming, Video, vinyl
Serpentine Dominion‘s Adam Dutkiewicz launches guitar play-through for new track, “On the Brink of Devastation”

Imagine Killswitch Engage at their heaviest, with the immediately recognizable guitar playing of Adam Dutkiewicz, the precision drumming of former The Black Dahlia Murder member Shannon Lucas, and the legendary death metal growl of Cannibal Corpse‘s George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher – the result is Serpentine Dominion. After 7 years in the making, this highly anticipated project will finally be releasing their self-titled debut on October 28th via Metal Blade Records. For a preview of the album, fans can check out a guitar play-through by Adam Dutkiewicz for the new track, “On the Brink of Devastation”, now: youtube.com | vimeo.com

The first single, “The Vengeance in Me”, can be heard at: metalblade.com/serpentinedominion – where Serpentine Dominion can also be pre-ordered in the following formats:

–CD
–180g black vinyl
–olive-green marbled vinyl (limited to 300 copies!)
–dark red marbled vinyl (limited to 200 copies!)
–dark khaki marble vinyl (USA – limited to 250 copies!)
–red/black marble vinyl (USA – limited to 250 copies!)
*an exclusive t-shirt bundle, plus digital options are also available!

The origins of Serpentine Dominioncan be traced back to 2009’s Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, which boasted a line-up that includedKillswitch Engage, Cannibal Corpse, and The Black Dahlia Murder. During that fateful summer, Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz made a proposition to Cannibal Corpse vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher: “George, I want to write you a record.” On the Mayhem Fest tour, Shannon Lucas, who performed with The Black Dahlia Murder through 2012, was tapped to record drums on the album. Between 2009 and 2016,Cannibal Corpse and Killswitch Engage released three albums each, so scheduling time to work on Serpentine Dominion was no easy feat – but when their rigorous schedules allowed, Serpentine Dominion began to come together, with Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach penning the lyrics, which touch on corruption within the government, religion, big business, and other timely issues. Ultimately, though, this debut is a pure passion project; it was written and recorded simply for why musicians get into music in the first place: fun.

Serpentine Dominion track-listing
1. Intro
2. The Vengeance in Me
3. Vanquished Unto Thee
4. Divide, Conquer, Burn, and Destroy
5. Sovereign Hate
6. On the Brink of Devastation
7. Jagged Cross Legions
8. Prelude
9. This Endless War

Serpentine Dominion line-up:
Adam Dutkiewicz – guitars
George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher – vocals
Shannon Lucas – drums

Serpentine Dominion online:
https://www.facebook.com/serpentinedominion
https://www.instagram.com/serpentinedominion
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NEAR DEATH CONDITION: Extreme Death Metal Legion Premieres New Hymn Via HeavyBlogIsHeavy

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Streaming

Swiss extreme death metal legion, NEAR DEATH CONDITION, is pleased to wage war on the ears of the willing with an exclusive premiere of “Between The Dying And The Dead.” Their newest ode of repugnance features on the band’s forthcoming long player, Evolving Towards Extinction, set to bloody the lands next month via Unique Leader Records. Mixed at renowned Hertz Studios (Vader, Hate, Dead Infection, Vesania etc.) in Poland and mastered at Iguana Studios in Germany, Evolving Towards Extinction boasts eleven molten tracks of suffocating drum gymnastics, twisted riff sequences and enough vocal acrimony to level a nation. Dark, punishing and wholly unsettling, Evolving Towards Extinction is epic in scope andembraces controlled chaos with curious precision.   Describes HeavyBlogIsHeavy of “Between The Dying And The Dead,” “Gratuitously filled to the brim with churning riffs, relentless blastbeats and that sort of dusty and cobwebbed sound and atmosphere that you get from listening to the classic material of bands like Anata, Suffocation and Spawn Of Possession, this three-minute barrage of sound crushes with the best of them.”

Pop some blood vessels with the unforgiving punishment of “Between The Dying And The Dead” at THIS LOCATION.

  NEAR DEATH CONDITION‘s Evolving Towards Extinction will be unleashed via Unique Leader Records on March 18, 2014 with preorder opportunities and further info to be announced in the coming weeks. A journey into the kingdom of sickness awaits!

http://www.facebook.com/officialneardeathcondition http://www.uniqueleader.com http://www.facebook.com/UniqueLeaderRecords

Pittsburgh Music Mag Speaks with Amon Amarth’s Ted Lundström

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Interview, Video

With an amazing lineup of Amon Amarth, Enslaved, and Skeletonwitch it was an amazingly cold February night that quickly heated up in Millvale at Mr. Small’s.  A completely sold out night had people offering upwards of $300 a ticket to get a glimpse of pure metal being handed down in one of the most brutal lineups Pittsburgh has seen.  So brutal, this photographer’s camera did not survive the vent!  Well, at least we got an interview in with Amon Amarth’s Ted  Lundström (bass) beforehand.  Listen in as we hang with the laid back Ted and learn a lot about what is going on with the ruling Vikings of metal…

PYRRHON: Progressive Death Metal Collective To Unleash Relapse Debut/ 3/20 @PGH’s Smiling Moose

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Pittsburgh Event, Streaming, Tour
New York City progressive death metal collective and recent Relapse signees, PYRRHON (pronounced peer-on), emerge from the urban decay with a nightmarish offering of physically and psychologically mauling extreme metal. Titled The Mother Of Virtues, the band’s sophomore full-length is a mind-bending fusion of clanging death metal, surreal psychedelia, dark jazz rhythms and delirious storytelling. Recorded with Ryan Jones (Today Is The Day, Mutilation Rites) and mastered by Colin Marston (Gorguts, Krallice), the nine tracks comprising The Mother Of Virtues takes its listener on a harrowing journey into the darkest corners of musical severity. Recommended for demented souls who worship at the altars of Gorguts, Ulcerate, Cryptopsy, Portal, Deathspell Omega, Today Is The Day and the like.

 

Elaborates vocalist Doug Moore: “We focused on capturing an organic, spontaneous sound on this album. Consequently, we tracked most of the album live; most of its quieter moments and solo breaks are partially or entirely improvised. We like to let the chips fall where they may.”

Sear your ears with teaser track “Balkanized,” currently streaming via Soundcloud HERE or YouTube HERE.

 

The Mother Of Virtues Track Listing:

1. The Oracle of Nassau

2. White Flag

3. Sleeper Agent

4. Balkanized

5. Eternity in a Breath

6. Implant Fever

7. Invisible Injury

8. The Parasite in Winter

9. The Mother of Virtues

 

In related news, PYRRHON will bring their odes of crudeness to the streets next month on a near-two-week run of live assaults. Slated to embark on March 7th in Richmond, Virginia, the journey includes a pair of appearances at this year’s edition of SXSW in Austin and will come to a close in Brooklyn, New York on March 28th. The band will be joined by hometown avant brutalizers, Psalm Zero.

 

PYRRHON Live Assaults 2014:

3/07/2014 Strange Matter – Richmond, VA

3/08/2014 The Spring Water – Nashville, TN

3/09/2014 TBA – New Orleans, LA

3/11/2014 SXSW – Austin, TX

3/12/2014 SXSW – Austin, TX

3/14/2014 TBA

3/15/2014 Skihouse – Carbondale, IL

3/16/2014 Fubar – St. Louis, MO

3/18/2014 Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL

3/19/2014 Berkley Front – Berkley, MI

3/20/2014 Smiling Moose – Pittsburgh, PA

3/28/2014 Trans Pecos – Brooklyn, NY

 

The follow up to 2011’s critically-adored An Excellent Servant But A Terrible Master, The Mother Of Virtues will be unleashed on CD, LP and digitally in North America via Relapse Records on April 1st,Germany/Finland/Benelux on March 28th and UK/World on March 31st.

 

Preorder your copy at THIS LOCATION.

 

PYRRHON Personnel: 
Dylan DiLella – Guitar
Erik Malave – Bass
Alex Cohen – Drums

Doug Moore – Vocals

“Put PYRRHON on your radar because they could be one of the bands leading the death metal pack in the very near future.” — Heavy Blog Is Heavy
“… the music is both mental and physical in a way only death metal can deliver. Like later Gorguts, Morbid Angel and the early Willowtip catalogue.” — Invisible Oranges
“Technical death metal with atmospheric guitar work, crazy riffs and time changes, and top-shelf musicianship…” — Metal Underground

“…progressive death metal that mixes shiny technical skills with dank atmospherics.” — Pitchfork

https://www.facebook.com/pyrrhonband

WARFATHER: Entire Debut Album From Ex-Morbid Angel Frontman Now Playing At Revolver

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Merchandise Deal

The debut release from ex-Morbid Angel bassist/vocalist Steve Tucker’s endtime death metal outfit,WARFATHER, is upon the masses, as Greyhaze Records released the mighty Orchestrating The Apocalypseon January 21st in North America, and its February 24th European release is closing in.

 

Acclaim from around the globe on the devastating yet atmospheric Orchestrating The Apocalypse is raining in, the album winning over diehard critics from the old-school and with current writers, and fans of all eras of Morbid Angel. Trading in his bass to handle all guitar and vocal duties with WARFATHER, Tucker recruited a crew of internationally-based executioners to complete the lineup, the collective meeting at Cincinnati-based TME Studios to record their brutal, apocalyptic vision with Tucker handling recording duties. Finalized at Maor Appelbaum Mastering, Orchestrating The Apocalypse hellishly dispatches a dozen tracks which expand upon the three Tucker-fronted Morbid Angel albums —Formulas Fatal To The Flesh, Gateways To Annihilation and Heretic — delivering an intense, debilitating performance while infusing unique even bizarre atmospheric elements, elevating the album to a cutting-edge status.

 

With the album now infiltrating the airwaves, Revolver Magazine is broadcasting the Orchestrating The Apocalypse message in its decimating entirety AT THIS LOCATION.

 

North American fans can purchase the CD version of Orchestrating The Apocalypse — a six-panel digipak with a twelve-page booklet — now direct from Greyhaze HERE and Earsplit Distro HERE.

 

“Surely helping to craft three pre-Illud Morbid Angel records, performing with anthropological legends Nile and recently fronting Nader Sadek’s all-star eco-death art project must earn him status as a scene fixture. But the 42-year-old vocalist/guitarist’s excitement for Warfather’s debut feels as green and contagious as that of any shredder half his age.” – Decibel

 

“Orchestrating the Apocalypse sounds straight out of ’99 – after engineers got comfortable with triggering drums, but before they got uppity about artificially fixing performances.” – Invisible Oranges

 

“…a strong militant vibe is felt throughout the record. Additionally, its broad scope and dense sound recalls an act like Nile or Origin. Most enjoyable must be the guitar performances, as Tucker and Armatura don’t simply play fast, but engage in a wide manner of the off-beat and the intense. A strong, often devastating death metal record. 4/5” – About.com

 

“The record gives Morbid Angel fans what they’ve known Steve Tucker for, but also infuses additional elements that might take some by surprise.” – Metal Assault

 

“…it is clear that the shadow cast by Formulas Fatal To The Flesh has not yet been outrun. Quite simply this is atonal and brutal death metal.” – The Sludgelord

 

“Warfather’s debut stands as a promising startup and shows Steve Tucker still firing on all cylinders, worthy of his status in the death metal realm. More atmospheric thanone would expect, while still heavy enough to scorch the earth… 8/10” – Dead Rhetoric

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/WarFather/240931366011521

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Steven-Tucker/153640528038846

http://www.greyhazerecords.com

http://www.facebook.com/greyhazerecords

HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH Reveal New Lyric Video for “Human Swarm”

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Video

Sweden’s HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH released their self-titled full-length album in late September via Rogue Records America. Today, the band is kicking of 2014 with a bang by teaming up with Revolver Magazine reveal their brand new lyric video for the track ‘Human Swarm’. Watch the lyric video here via Revolver Magazine.

 

HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH’s self-titled album marks the first release from the band is available in CD (Limited Edition DIGIPAK) format and Digital Download format (digital format comes with the entire album in instrumental version, as well). This new album includes the band’s wildly-popular single, ‘Animal’. View an album teaser here:http://youtu.be/ciphcwl4Pn8

 

The new album was rated #4 out of Got-Djent.com’s Top 20 of 2013. Buy your copy now athttp://roguerecordsamerica.bandcamp.com/album/humanitys-last-breath.

 

Bludgeoning your speakers with 13 tracks that grind any brains you have left into a pulp,HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH once again sets the bar in the death metal genre with this self-titled offering, showing the progression of not only the band but the limits of what one can do with metal itself. Chugging riffs, thunderous drums, pounding bass and banshee like vocals take the listener through a more groove-oriented sound than the band’s last release.

 

HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH was formed in 2009 by drummer Buster Odeholm and guitarist Kristoffer Nilsson. They have released two previous EP’s, Reanimated by Hate(2009) and Structures Collapse (2011).

 

HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH is:

Marcus Hultqvist – Vocals

Kristoffer Nilsson – Guitar

Stefan Bengtsson – Bass Guitar

Buster Odeholm – Drums

 

For more information on HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH, please visit these websites:

 

www.humanityslastbreath.com

www.facebook.com/humanityslastbreath

New Dutch death metal band Bloodgod releases debut EP ‘Pseudologia Phantastica’

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Streaming, Video

Bloodgod debuts with EP ‘Pseudologia Phantastica’

First studio release from new Dutch death metal band

 

Bloodgod is a new death metal band from Utrecht, the Netherlands, featuring (ex-)members of Hymir, Cenotaph / Player (Slayer tribute band) and Nuestros Derechos / Agents of Entropy.

 

They are releasing their debut EP ‘Pseudologia Phantastica’ this month.

 

The EP was recorded and mixed by Quintijn Verhoef at Studio Independent Recordings (Incarnate, Led Astray, T.C.F., Terzij De Horde, Divine Sins, The Fifth Alliance, etc).

It contains three death metal infused songs on which Bloodgod let their imagination run free, hence the title ‘Pseudologia Phantastica’.

Bloodgod_Pseudologia-Phantastica_front-cover-artwork

 

‘Pseudologia Phantastica’ is available as online stream and/or download athttp://bloodgod.bandcamp.com, https://soundcloud.com/bloodgod,http://www.last.fm/music/Bloodgod and http://grooveshark.com/#!/bloodgod among others.

 

The video clip for opening track Heist is on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mZQHjb-kCg

https://www.facebook.com/bloodgod.metal – facebook

•             http://www.youtube.com/bloodgodmetal – youtube

•             https://twitter.com/bloodgod_metal – twitter

SOREPTION: Swedish Death Metal Horde To Unleash Engineering The Void; Release Date + Track Listing Revealed

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News

Sundsvall, Sweden-based technical death metal horde, SOREPTION, is pleased to announce February 18, 2014 as the official worldwide release date of their forthcoming new full-length,Engineering The Void.

 

Featuring eight tracks of audio wreckage, Engineering The Void was recorded by brothers Tommy and Chris Rehn from symphonic black metal collective Angtoria at Ninetone Studios and delivers a spine-shattering ambush of surgically precise riff sequences, manic time shifts, rhythmic grooves and menacing vocals surges. Said MetalSucks of the Engineering The Void trailer video alone: “The newSOREPTION album is going to rip faces. I mean hot damn! Those riffs! The Swedes in SOREPTIONare up there with Obscura, Gorod and Psycroptic at the upper echelon of the crowded tech-death pack, no doubt. Can’t wait to headbang furiously to this one the minute it comes out!”

 

Engineering The Void Track Listing:
1. Reveal The Unseen
2. The Nature Of Blight
3. Breaking The Great Narcissist
4. A Speech To Survival
5. Utopia
6. Monumental Burden
7. I Am You

8. Engineering The Void

 

Engineering The Void serves as the follow-up to SOREPTION‘s debut full-length, Deterioration Of Minds, an underground gem which was fittingly applauded by Underrated Reviews for its “superior sense of rhythm and razor-sharp precision that will appeal to fans of bands such as Cannibal Corpse, Suffocation, Dying Fetus and The Faceless.” Added Global Domination, “The tech-death phenomenon leaves no room for error or soul. It’s all about technical riffs and arrangements, not to mention the quantized-to-hell drums and cleaned up stops and gos. But if you are into this genre, it’s hardly because you want to hear soulful playing or actual human groove; no – you expect precision and impressive musicianship. And that is exactly what you get with SOREPTION.”

 

SOREPTION will unleash Engineering The Void to the masses this February followed by a reissue ofDeterioration Of Minds, both via Unique Leader Records. Preorder links and video clips to be unveiled in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

 

“If there was one band…which had to be picked as the representative for what tech death is turning into, this would be it…” – Ultimate Guitar

 

“…this album kicked my balls hard on the first listen, completely tore them off during the second, made clam chowder soup with them on its third play-through, and threw said scolding chowder in my face during the fourth. Suffice to say, this album was quite the tasty shock.” – Metal Observer

http://www.facebook.com/uniqueleaderrecords

Hate Eternal Bassist Reveals Another New Tune From Forthcoming Christmas Album

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Streaming

Hate Eternal bass sorcerer J.J. Hrubovcak recently unveiled the details of his Death Metal Christmas – Hellish Renditions Of Christmas Classics creation. Composed and produced by J.J. with vocals and artwork, by brother/Monstrosity throat Mike Hrubovcak, Death Metal Christmas – Hellish Renditions Of Christmas Classics was engineered by Hate Eternal mastermind Erik Rutan and J.J., mixed and mastered by Brian Elliott all at Mana Recording Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida and boasts five diseased recreations of some of the season’s darkest hymns.

 

Far from another hokey holiday metal record, Christmas – Hellish Renditions Of Christmas Classics is an epic death metal composition first and a seasonal album second featuring updated arrangements, new themed lyrics and enough brutality to crush your joyousness for years to come. Since many of these original hymns were dark in nature, they were obvious concept choices. The lyrics have been altered to portray a possible future outcome to mankind’s current path and focus on Azrael, the angel of death in some Islam, Sikhism and Hebrew lore. The story follows a child (Azrael) born to a wealthy family heavily involved in politics throughout the generations. The child is not named Azrael but is infused with its spirit and is predestined by Abaddon (the Destroyer) to cleanse the earth of man.

 

Today Revolver brings you second track “Earthen Kings (We Three Kings).” Elaborates Hrubovcak, “At this point in the story, the kings of the world have already created regional unions to help them maintain a tighter grip over citizens and global policy. This was done at the behest of Azrael, under the guise of solving other smoke screen surface issues and has already caused suffering as a by-product of new policies. Little do they know, the greatest suffering is to come. The kings of the world are bringing alms to the new king (Azrael) and continually granting him more influence over policy until he is officially crowned (in public or behind the scenes) and turns on these kings.”

 

Get merry with “Earthen Kings (We Three Kings),” currently streaming courtesy of Revolver Magazine at THIS LOCATION.

 

Additionally, you can still check out opening number, “Unrest For Melancholy Men (God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen)” HERE. The intro to the diseased holiday tale centers itself on Azrael’s birth and foreshadows what’s to come.

 

J.J. Hrubovcak is the current bass player for Hate Eternal and can be heard on Phoenix Amongst the Ashes released on Metal Blade Records. Hrubovcak has performed in numerous capacities over the years on lead and rhythm guitars, bass and drums. Prior to joining Hate Eternal in 2008, Hrubovcak  played lead and rhythm guitars in Divine Rapture and Vile, drums in Mourning, wrote the Metal Rules Radio theme song, played in black metal band ICE (Imperial Crystalline Entombment), and has performed with a host of other notable bands over the last two decades.

 

Mike Hrubovcak is current vocalist for Monstrosity and Vile and founder of avant-garde death metal act Azure Emote. He’s performed vocals and written lyrics in Abraxas and Divine Rapture and other acts over the years and is a renowned artist designing CD layouts, T-shirts, ads, etc for bands throughout the metal community including Pathology, Rumpelstiltskin Grinder and Grave. His work has been featured in galleries, published in hard cover art books and used in feature film Dream House.

 

Death Metal Christmas – Hellish Renditions Of Christmas Classics will be available for purchase on November 29, 2013, Black Friday. For further info, point your browser to THIS LOCATION.

http://www.deathmetalchristmas.com
http://www.liquidenergy.net
http://www.visualdarkness.com 

VALLENFYRE to begin recording new album

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Video

In 2011, Gregor Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST) announced that he would go back to his death metal roots with his new band, VALLENFYRE. The level of expectation was set high with a line-up consisting of Hamish Glencross (guitar; MY DYING BRIDE), Scoot (bass; DOOM, EXTINCTION OF MANKIND), Adrian Erlandsson (drums; AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST, THE HAUNTED) local friend Mully (second guitar) – and of course, Gregor on vocals (for the first time in his career!). Their debut, A Fragile King, was a reference to Gregor’s father’s (lost) battle with cancer; the harrowing, crusty death-doom found on the album was hailed as “a beast of a record” (Terrorizer UK) and “a sonic force that bites deep and hard” (Decibel). Simply put, A Fragile King is “old school to the bone” (Rock Hard Germany).

Two years and some exclusive live shows later, VALLENFYRE is pleased to announce that they will begin recording the follow-up to A Fragile King in January 2014 at GodCity Studio in Salem, MA. Produced by Kurt Ballou (CONVERGE, BLACK BREATH, NAILS), this currently untitled opus will see the crusty death-doom merchants take their sound to new extremes.

Gregor Mackintosh comments: “We were very pleased with our debut album as a dirty mix of all our earliest death, doom and crust influences. On the follow-up, we want to take this much further and develop our own niche. It will be a stench-ridden, grim, face-melter that will separate the men from the boys.”

VALLENFYRE’s second album is scheduled for a worldwide release in April 2014 via Century Media Records. In case you missed A Fragile King, be sure to check out the music video for “Cathedrals Of Dread”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibetDfGWOFo

Stay tuned for more news coming soon!

VALLENFYRE line-up:

Gregor Mackintosh (PARADISE LOST) – Vocals and Lead Guitars
Hamish Glencross (MY DYING BRIDE) – Rhythm and Lead Guitars
Mully – Rhythm Guitars
Scoot (DOOM, EXTINCTION OF MANKIND) – Bass
Adrian Erlandsson (AT THE GATES, PARADISE LOST, THE HAUNTED) – Drums

VALLENFYRE online:
http://www.facebook.com/Vallenfyre

A Klok Opera: Dethklok’s Fourth Album Is Less Metal, More Humor

by Alex Carlson, posted in Music review

When Adult Swim debuted the brand new cartoon series from Home Movies creator Brendon Small, Metalocalypse, the world was introduced to five metal maestros who aimed to deliver their own brand of fist-to-face, shout-to-hell death metal to the masses. Skwisgaar Skwigelf, Toki Wartooth, William Murderface, Pickles and Nathan Explosion were Dethklok, a band whose massive metal influence simply couldn’t be bound by a television screen. Pioneered in the studio and on stage by creator Brendon Small, Dethklok released three death metal albums, each with brutal metal fundamentals and a satirical outlook on genre itself (when one of your albums has a song called “I Ejaculate Fire”, your tongue is firmly rested in your cheek). After the three Dethalbums, Small and crew released the soundtrack to the Metalocalypse special, The Doomstar Requiem. Though it acts as more of a TV companion album than a standalone death metal juggernaut, The Doomstar Requiem does the band’s journey to reunite justice and offers a remarkable amount of creativity behind the quintet’s purely metal story.

As the soundtrack to the Metalocalypse special The Doomstar Requiem – A Klok Opera, The Doomstar Requiem acts in a different fashion than the three previous Dethklok albums, The Dethalbums I, II and III. While The Dethalbums were pure death metal records featuring Dethklok at their most natural and brutal, The Doomstar Requiem varies up the songs considerably, acting more like a Broadway soundtrack than the playlist to the rise of the Old Gods. While there are examples of death metal virtuosity on The Doomstar Requiem, it acts very leniently in that image. “I Believe” is an uplifting synth-driven song chock full of vocal melodies, while “How Can I Be a Hero?” contains multiple vocals from the band members (Brendon Small, Mike Keneally). “Abigail’s Lullaby” contains violent and frightening lyrics juxtaposed with an acoustic guitar and vocalist Raya Yarbrough singing high soprano notes. The consistently operatic songs tend to lend more instrumental influence from symphonic metal like Within Temptation than the death metal of Cannibal Corpse. “Givin’ Back to You” is a real oddity, capturing a synth-beat sound that sounds like it’s ripped straight from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” The final track, the 24-minute long “Doomstar Orchestra”, plays the closer role with a massive orchestral score that captures that epic vibe that any metal odyssey can relate to. It’s a real cornucopia of sounds that Dethklok display on The Doomstar Requiem; it’s chock full of variety that, while not in tune with what you’d expect from the band, still manages to satisfy in a perverse and nonsensical kind of way.

That’s not to say there isn’t some brutality on The Doomstar Requiem. “The Duel” is a purely metal composition with the same amount of light-speed solos and double bass-pedal smashing as you’d expect from any of the Dethalbums. The same can be said with the single “Blazing Star,” and follower “Morte Lumina” a pair of mighty metal climaxes that bring Dethklok to its most apocalyptic of roots. The metal instrumentation throughout the album are usually set in the background, which is sure to bother long-time Dethklok fans, but when it shows up, it’s still incredible well-done. Songs like “The Answer Is in Your Past” might have some goofy vocals, but they’re still undeniably heavy. But is it heavy enough? If you got hooked on Dethklok from the Dethalbums, The Doomstar Requiem is sure to leave you disappointed. It doesn’t intend to be digested as a death metal album, nor should it really be judged as one. It’s a companion, a way to experience the story of The Doomstar Requiem instead of simply playing in its background.

Very much like past Dethklok albums, though, humor is big part of The Doomstar Requiem. Metalocalypse creator (and Dethklok mastermind) Brendon Small has constantly brought a sense of hyperbole and satire to the stereotypically brutal world of metal. The guttural voice of Small’s Nathan Explosion is both clever and brilliantly performed, with Explosion’s metal growls being the character’s default vocal style. Small and the rest of the longtime cast (like Mike Keneally, Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell) perform throughout the album just as well as on the TV show, with additional musicians like Jack Black and George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher bringing in even more variety. It’s a real circus of characters that drive Dethklok’s fourth album, a humorously ambitious record that seems more in tune with the show’s role as a comedic animated series than a harbinger of the future of heavy metal.

It really can’t be overstated how different The Doomstar Requiem is from its predecessors. Despite its small traces of metal intensity, it very rarely fits the same mold as any of the Dethalbums. Acting as a companion to the hilariously metal TV special, The Doomstar Requiem spends more time telling a story and showing memorable characters than brewing the circle pits. In that regard, it performs its job remarkably well. You really do get to know the characters more and it’s a great way to get yourself hyped for seeing the special on TV. But the goofiness probably won’t be enough for those who fell in love with Dethklok long ago. The Dethalbums were remarkable because they were fantastic death metal records in their own rights, so seeing this shift from seriously composed metal with un-seriously written lyrics to a character-driven humor narrative opera isn’t going to be met with unanimous praise. If you’re looking for the The Dethalbum IV, you won’t find it here. If you’re after a less serious and more experimental interpretation of Dethklok, then The Doomstar Requiem will leave a lasting impression. It’s a companion piece unlike any other and, if you’re willing to leave some comfort zones, you’ll fall in love with Dethklok all over again.

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Arceye Premiere New Video ‘Brother Disarmed’ With Terrorizer

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Video

Following the release of their second album ‘At First Light’ earlier this month, UK death thrashers Arceye have today unleashed the official music video for ‘Brother Disarmed’ via Terrorizer Magazine, a track taken from the album. The video also features a guest appearance from Chris Clark of Xerath.

Watch ‘Brother Disarmed’ here – http://Terrorize.it/2d

’Brother Disarmed’ deals with “the old Betrayal/Revenge scenario” comments vocalist Al Llewellyn, “I try and write lyrics to our songs based on certain themes which I can relate to, or things I’ve had to deal with in the past. There is a deeper undercurrent to the song, but in a nutshell, that’s what I’ve written about on this song.”

Commenting further Al continues, “We selected ‘Brother Disarmed’ for one reason; it’s not your typical single (as it’s over the 5min mark), but the feedback we have had from our friends/fans/press on the song has been awesome, many quoting it as their favorite, or ‘that song is badass’! Although it’s not the ‘single’ of the album we feel it’s a good representation of what we do and it’s a perfect song for the people who have not heard the album yet to get a good idea of what Arceye is all about!”

Talking more on the actual filming and concept Al states, “We had a lot of fun filming this one, I had the idea in mind of how to visually represent what the song was about by using a betrayal/double-cross situation. We tried to give it a Reservoir Dogs feel, as we are all huge film fans and feel badass wearing suits and sunglasses! Although we take our music very seriously, the video is to be taken with a pinch of salt as you will see in the ending!! Enjoy!!”

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Seeker Will Not Remain “Unloved” For Long (an interview with Bryce Lucien)

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Interview

The end of muted metal has arrived in the form of one of Victory’s latest signings, Texas death metal band, SEEKER. Forming from the remnants of various metal bands in the area,SEEKER officially began in the fall of 2011, destroying local venues with their impossibly quick solos and bone-crushing drums. Garnering a loyal following of avid metalheads along the way, SEEKER has been on the road ever since, silencing naysayers with one swift sweeping of chords. Providing an in-your-face delivery to fans each performance, SEEKER is the auditory Malitov Cocktail for today’s metal scene. Having caught the attention of prominent metal publications Alternative Press, Lambgoat, Metal Insider and more, SEEKER’s path is on an upward trajectory, set to surpass their competition with ease. Wrapping up the production of their upcoming label-debut album which is set for release in October, the guys of SEEKER refuse to rest.

Pittsburgh Music Magazine caught up with vocalist Bryce Lucien to talk to him about the true essence of Seeker and what they have going on…

You guys operate under the mantra, “Art, community, and aggressive non-conformity above all else”.  Can you speak more to why that is so important to the band and how you live that by example?

It’s really just a statement of priorities. We created this band with nothing but absolute freedom of expression in mind. We have all been playing music for a long time, and we hit a point where we realized that art isn’t worth creating unless it’s coming from a deeply personal and honest place. We push ourselves to create music with that in mind, and not trends, or whether our band will sell. We still have a long way to go, but I feel like we’re getting there. As far as community goes, we feel extremely fortunate to have met so many like-minded artists, musicians, promoters, etc and we value these friendships as much as we do the band. We’ve never really been a part of any sort of “scene”, so we had to create our own. Supporting our friends and being an active part of our music community is huge for us.

Can you give us some details about your label debut and what distinguishes your sound from other releases?

We have a new album called Unloved coming out October, 29th on Victory Records. I’m very excited about this release. We really pushed ourselves to experiment and do exactly what we wanted to do with this release. We weren’t actively trying to sound like anyone else or appeal to a certain group of people. That’s really nothing new at all. Pretty much all of our favorite bands operate like that, but it’s something that I think is kind of lost on a lot of bands our age.

Some of your lyrics are pretty intense and seem deeply personal.  Where do you draw inspiration from and what is the writing process typically like?

Our lyrics are ridiculously personal. I’m really bad at removing myself from what I’m talking about in my lyrics, so things tend to get pretty dark during the writing process. The heaviest period of writing was between March and early July of this year and I was pretty miserable to be around the entire time. I don’t feel like you can honestly write music like we do without going to a place full of intense emotional extremes. Inspiration lyrically just comes from life. It would be fairly easy for anyone who knows me to figure out what I’m talking about in our songs.

Your band seems to demand to have freedom in their creation.  How did you arrive at the decision to sign with Victory?

We do demand total freedom, and the thing that we love the most about Victory is that they’re open to that. They’re just as excited to go on this journey and see where things go as we are. They give us freedom to be exactly the band that we want to be. They’re extremely forward thinking and still incredibly passionate about releasing music, and that’s why we decided to go with them.

Honestly, when we would talk about labels that we might like to work with Victory never even came up. We never thought of them as an option, because while we were growing up they were always the label with the gigantic bands so for them to not only want us, but also give us the incredible amount of freedom that they have is huge. We’re extremely happy and extremely grateful. 

You had a tour this fall with KING CONQUER, BETRAYAL, AEGAEON.  What are some dream bands you would love to tour with?

We actually just got off the King Conquer, Betrayal, Aegaeon tour and it was amazing. I would love a chance to tour with Chelsea Wolfe, Watain, True Widow, Nails, Deafheaven, King Dude, Retox, Converge, Dillinger Escape Plan, Sunn O))), Rotten Sound, This Will Destroy You… There’s way too many to list. I would literally eat a car to tour with Chelsea Wolfe.

Can you give us some scoop as to what you have coming up this winter?

We leave for a tour with The Last Ten Seconds Of Life, Deserters, and Kublai Khan in a few days. After that we’re home for a couple weeks and then we’ll be right back out on a tour that we’re going to be announcing soon. Look for us on the road all winter. We’re way more comfortable in a live setting so we try to stay on the road constantly.

With Seeker’s work ethic and profound ethos it is no doubt that you will be hearing much more from these guys…just remember where you heard it first.

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Casting a Scornful Eye: Primitive Man’s One-Note Debut

by Alex Carlson, posted in Music review

Filthy. Malignant. Frightening. These words can and have been used to describe Scorn, the debut album of Denver’s Primitive Man, the death/doom metal double team. Those three words are potent adjectives to describe the band’s undeniably angry and depressing musical force. The filthy grinding guitars, the rough, guttural vocals, the frightening bass tones: those adjectives are not at all inappropriate for Scorn. But with that fitting mood, Scorn builds up a number of mixed messages, ones that make the album much less than what it could’ve been. Primitive Man have made an album that is depressing on every possible level, not only in the purposely weighted tones and blackened vocals, but in the fact that this 44-minute death/doom hybrid is one of the most unappealing slogs through metal seen this year.

Scorn opens up with its title track, a 12-minute long grind through some of the heaviest and darkest musicianship this side of Black Sabbath. It’s so weighted and packed with low-tuned riffs that the album doesn’t bring up any kind of consciousness on energy. The members of Primitive Man have prided themselves on a sense of sheer pessimism and depressing tones and in that regard, Scorn does its job incredibly well. This album is devoid of anything resembling positive thinking. It’s the theme of doom and death metal to offer a rebellious and distorted view on music, but Scorn takes that theme and sucks the soul right out of it.

Scorn is an album drenched in monotonous darkness. Doom metal is a genre that possesses those heavy tones, but it also offers melody. It’s unquestionably dark, but that melody is what keeps any great doom metal album from becoming a flat and boring one. On the other hand, death metal is intense and furious, complimented by percussive death growls and aggressive rhythm sections. In Scorn, Primitive Man mixes the two together. It most certainly is heavy and dark, but in combining death growls with doom metal, the album becomes flat and boring. Songs blend together with their stomping tempos; even before the first track is over you’ll begin to get bored.

The album does pick up a little in the song “I Can’t Forget”, an ominous instrumental with clashing drums and ambient soundscapes and in “Black Smoke”, a slightly experimental soundscape track with chanting in the background. “Stretched Thin” is a faster, thrashier song, one that picks up the pace late in the album after over 30 minutes of terribly boring death metal doom. “Stretched Thin” is better, a refreshing glass of water after the potent cocktail of doom/death metal, but once the song’s over, the band regresses right back to painfully repetitive growls and stomping drum smashes.

Primitive Man’s mix of death metal intensity and doom metal heaviness isn’t necessarily an unsteady one. The genres combine seamlessly and the entire album takes some of the better parts from each. However, the album is about as varied and interesting as a brick wall. No song stands out and the entire album drags on considerably because of it. It’s a 40-minute grind of a record that tries to be ambitious, but ends up being an uninteresting slog with no left-turns or shocking melodies to speak of. Even if you’ve gotten involved in either the death metal or doom metal scenes, Scorn cannot be recommended. Primitive Man’s attempt for uniqueness and creativity is admirable, but the end result is a wasteland of bleak and empty metal songs that don’t possess any kind of spark of personality. Stay away from Scorn.

New Deals Death Album ‘Point Zero Solution’ via Spinefarm Records September 2013

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News
The story of melodic death metallers Deals Death began in a music college called Boomtown, where guitarist Erik Jacobson met a couple of other students. With some further twists to the story, with which we need not bother, the band released their self-financed debut ‘Internal Demons’ in 2009 to raving reviews.

In 2009 Deals Death recruited new members in Gothenburg and made the city their base. The second album, ‘Elite’, was recorded in May 2010 in Gothenburg and mixed by Jonas Kjellgren (Scar Symmetry). ‘Elite’ was released in March 2012 via Finland’s metal powerhouse Spinefarm Records became their label debut. A promo video was shot for the song ‘Fortified’ and released in April 2011. The clip made waves on the metal scene (surpassing already half a million views) and then, a fortuitous bounce launched Deals Death to a larger than just metal audience, when vocalist Olle Ekman’s ‘Death Metal Vocal Exercises’ video became a surprise YouTube hit.

Now, after five years of hard work and dedication, Deals Death has earned their name in the world of metal with tours in Sweden, Finland, Japan and the UK and having shared stages with bands such as Scar Symmetry, Hypocrisy, Dark Tranquility and making appearances at numerous festivals such as House Of Metal, Rockstad Falun & Sweden Rock; Deals Death have just started to reveal the tip of the iceberg to their potential.
The new album, ‘Point Zero Solution’, was forged in the deep woods of Grangärde, Sweden and here is band`s statement of the record:

Deals Death brings the good news!
The world isn’t going to end; it’s only becoming a horrific and gruesome place to inhabit.
On September 13th Deals Death will give you the details of this event as we release our third album via Universal/Spinefarm.
Follow this step-by-step description of the process, which breaks down the systems of nature and society.
This album contains 11 songs packed with a lyrical edge, delivered with all our blood, sweat and toil!

Pre-Order ‘Point Zero Solution’ Now!
Having introduced themselves to a wider audience with last year’s ‘Elite’, the new album ‘Point Zero Solution’ shows Deals Death’s staying power and musical evolution with lush arrangements, deadlier output through and through and melodic hooks catchier than ever before.

“A band that stands tall above others in the melodic death metal genre” 
– Close Up Magazine, Sweden –

‘Point Zero Solution’ Tracklist: 
01. Point Zero Solution
02. Facing The Echoes
03. Escalation
04. Flatline
05. Passion For Infinity
06. The Separation
07. Paramount Authority
08. Beyond Reason
09. Dark Dream Dawn
10. Back To Consciousness
11. Author Of Arts

www.facebook.com/dealsdeath
www.myspace.com/dealsdeath
www.rockyou.se/en/deals-death

OBITUARY: Death Metal Icons Announce Virtual Tour + Live Chat With Fans

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News

Now celebrating the 25th anniversary of their landmark Slowly We Rot full-length, Tampa death metal icons, OBITUARY, have been perpetually busy finding new methods way to bring fans closer to their audio carnage through worldwide concert streams and all-access backstage giveaways.

 

Most recently, the band offered up a Pay Per View, professionally shot live stream of their homecoming performance at The Orpheum which featured a pummeling all classics setlist from their first three platters of brutality: 1989’s Slowly We Rot 1990’s Cause of Deathand 1992’s The End Complete.

 

This week the band continues to spread their timeless audio devastation with an On Demand, regionally based, virtual tour and live chat with fans. The PPV live stream from the aforementioned Florida show will be presented in full HD quality from multiple camera angles to specific regions and OBITUARY will be in live chat mode for the duration of each show! The show will remain On Demand to fans who initially purchase the stream to watch as many times as they wish.

 

Said the band in a collective statement: “We couldn’t be more excited about watching this stream with our fans! We have performed this classic set list on every corner of the planet, so for us to have the chance to watch it live and chat about it with the fans we’ve been playing for all these years is amazing. We are celebrating 25 years since the release of Slowly We Rot and we want you to party with us!

 

See regions, dates, times (specific to that territory) and links below.

Germany: July 11th at 7pm — http://bit.ly/ObitGer

Bangkok: July 12th at 9pm — http://bit.ly/ObitBan

Sydney: July 18th at 9pm — http://bit.ly/ObitSyd

Phoenix: July 19th at 8pm — http://bit.ly/ObitPho

 

http://www.obituarynation.com

http://www.facebook.com/ObituaryBand

http://www.twitter.com/obituarytheband

On a Technicality – Dichotomy Favor Heaviness Over Intricacy

by Alex Carlson, posted in Music review

Dichotomy is a band with a penchant for heaviness. Death metal is their game and they’ve been brewing up a fanbase in their home country of Ireland since 2010. They can dole out the darkness and build up the circle pits; that is clear as day. But the band members prove to be unsatisfied with fury alone. Very much like Opeth and Between the Buried and Me, Dichotomy are fans of the virtuosity of their influences, which they aim to show in their debut album. Dichotomy prove their reverence for death metal’s anger with an unchained brutality and some of the heaviest songs in the genre, but their debut album Paradigms doesn’t make much of a case for their reverence of the more technical side of death metal.

Despite the growls, grinds and drum fills, Dichotomy show that there are some surprisingly textured death metal tracks on Paradigms. “Polarity” is a culmination of technicality. Time signatures shift in abrupt, but ultimately appropriate ways, there are plenty of opportunities to demonstrate extensive musicianship from guitarists Andrew Kealy and Rats, and the song even has a few solid hooks throughout. “Covenant of the Forsworn” unearths a mightily epic vibe, one that escalates and expands to new heights about halfway through the track. One of the best tracks on Paradigms, the instrumental “Alea Iacta Est,” despite not getting going until nearly two minutes in, is a breath of fresh air. It’s a song that changes the band’s musical pace significantly. It’s a dramatic work that calms the ferocity just enough to sound epic, climactic and enjoyable without unclenching its fists.

Dichotomy is a band claiming to embrace the technical side of death metal as well, announcing Gojira and Opeth as influences. The problem is that the band doesn’t make that technicality a lasting feature. Where Opeth and Between the Buried and Me have expanded their brutality with some incredibly intricate and dynamic arrangements, Dichotomy’s brief moments of technical prowess are severely overshadowed by the same death metal tropes that the genre has been cursed with since its inception. Melody is unquestionably secondary for any death metal band, but rhythm and force are usually the elements to pick up the slack. Dichotomy deliver the heaviness, no questions asked; that is clearly their forte. But most of the album (the first half specifically) doesn’t live up to that promise. Songs like “The Sentient Oppressed” and “All-Seeing Eye” are very flat compositions and don’t emit a promising first impression. “No Catharsis” is underwhelming on every front, while the closer, “Of Strife, Of Discord” is a disappointment. Right when the band starts to move into the melodically technical world of metal, the album ends. It’s crushing to hear such progression and excitement in the second half, but hearing that final fade-out is a slap in the face to the listener.

The album is a short one: seven main tracks and one intro track, all with no song breaking past six minutes in length. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, considering that the death metal grinds can grow tiresome after a while, but with many of the songs being rather underwhelming, the band could’ve offered a couple more compositions before the conclusion.

If you’re looking for the next technical marvel in the world of death metal, Dichotomy really aren’t it. They don’t pack in the ambitious and experimental nature of their peers, instead focusing on heaviness over virtuosity. For a band claiming to offer groove to death metal and flow to brutality, Dichotomy don’t deliver on their promise. Paradigms is an album that seems more content to stick with the guttural growls and double-bass-pedal fury of the death metal scene than the ambition that Gojira and Opeth have brewed. There are brief tastes of that technical death metal world on Paradigms, but Dichotomy are far too reluctant to sink their teeth into it all the way.

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Deals Death Introduce New Bass Player

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News, Video

Swedish melo-death stalwarts Deals Death have announced a new bassist following departure of Fredrik Ljung earlier this year.

Guitarist Erik Jacobson introduces, “When we decided to go separate ways with Fredrik Ljung some time ago, we immediately set our focus on finding a replacement. And not just a new bass player but a new member who would fit the shoes of representing Deals Death on all levels. Power, strength and skill. Along with a mighty ambition to take it to the next level and a mind set to fit our own. We could only think of one person.

We give you KAMMO OLAYVAR!

Be prepared to witness some heavy bass lines and a powerful performance from this guy. Born and raised in Sweden and blessed with Hawaiian blood Kammo takes on the role as Deals Deaths bass player.”

Introducing himself to Deals Death fans Kammo comments, “I’m really excited to take on the role as the bass player of Deals Death. I feel honoured to be playing with such great musicians and can’t wait to deliver some bass tones to these killer riffs. See you all on the road this fall! Kick ass / Kammo.O”

Watch ‘Fortified’ from the latest Deals Death album ‘Elite.’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfJwXiElJKw

Earlier this year the band confirmed completion of a third album and follow up to ‘Elite’ which was released last year via Spinefarm/Universal and hinting that “the fall of 2013 will be interesting… very interesting.” Details for the third album other than that it will be released again via Spinefarm/Universal have yet to be revealed. Watch this space.

www.facebook.com/dealsdeath

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COFFINS: Full Album Streaming At Terrorizer

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Streaming

The Fleshland — the monstrous fourth LP from Tokyo’s death/doom merchants COFFINS — is now streaming in its entirety to spread the filth on its’ pending street date, now just a week away. As one of the most anticipated releases of the genre, the plodding massacre of the album has been oozing praise from international media outlets, the band’s tried and true delivery at its most solid and pulverizing yet.

 

Take a gory journey through The Fleshland via Terrorizer RIGHT HERE.

 

COFFINS continue to steadily tour throughout Japan and will take off all over Europe during the Summer months with festival appearances including Brutal Assault, Party San Metal Open Air, Leperfest and more confirmed. New tours will be confirmed and announced in the coming days and throughout 2013 supporting The Fleshland.

 

The Fleshland is the first proper studio album from COFFINS since their commended Buried Death album, released by 20 Buck Spin in 2008, and first official album for Relapse Records. Recorded at Tokyo’s Noise Room Studio with engineer Shigenori Kobayashi, and produced by Bungo Uchino and the rest of COFFINS, The Fleshland shows the revamped and expanded band lineup smashing down everything in their path, having uppedfrom a trio to a quartet with a new drummer and full-time vocalist since Buried Death. Nine grisly numbers thunder with the unbeatable mid-paced COFFINS stomp, laying down over forty-five minutes of bruising low-end sludge-infiltrated, plodding doom with possibly the best production values in the band’s meaty catalog of carnage. Relapse will release The Fleshland via CD, download and mammoth 2xLP, including a deluxe black and white artwork edition available only via Relapse mailorder. Preorder packages are available HERE.

 

COFFINS Tour Dates:

7/28/2013 Earthdom – Tokyo, Japan

8/07/2013 Cassiopeia – Berlin, Germany

8/08/2013 Brutal Assault Festival – Josefov, CZ

8/09/2013 Party San Metal Open Air – Schlotheim, Germany

8/10/2013 Ieperfest – Ieper, Belgium

8/11/2013 Bleh Fest @ The Unicorn Camden – London, UK

8/12/2013 La Miroiterie – Paris, France

8/14/2013 Winston – Amsterdam, Netherlands

8/15/2013 Kødboderne 18 – Copenhagen, Denmark

8/16/2013 Pussy A Go Go – Stockholm, Sweden

8/23/2013 Akihabara Ongakukan – Tokyo, Japan

11/01/2013 Kurawood/Asakusa – Tokyo, Japan

11/02/2013 Earthdom – Tokyo, Japan

11/03/2013 Huck Finn/Imaike – Nagoya, Japan

11/04/2013 Conpass/Unagidani – Osaka, Japan

 

“The nine tracks on The Fleshland have a knack of crawling their collective carcass toward listeners to smear faces with their pus, making the whole thing quite fascinating…” – Terrorizer

 

“Tokyo’s Coffins have been at it steadily for nearly two decades, never bringing the tempos above a deathly lurch and unironically keeping it sick/staying brutal.” – Decibel

 

“…Japanese death metal yakuza Coffins have carved out a long and fruitful career by out-Autopsying Autopsy.” – Pitchfork

 

“They’re meat and potatoes death/doom, except probably without the potatoes. That being said, their absolutely-no-frills approach is essential to what’s best about them: most Coffins songs are among the finest death/doom you’ll ever hear with nary more than the basics of the genre necessary.” – MetalSucks

 

“…The Fleshland will wash over you like the black plague… Coffins strength lies in their ability to meld death and doom metal into one ugly sonofabitch…” – Dead Rhetoric

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http://www.coffins.jp

https://www.facebook.com/intothecoffin

http://www.youtube.com/CoffinsJP

https://www.twitter.com/CoffinsJP

http://www.relapse.com

http://relapserecords.bandcamp.com

http://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords

Tech Death Outfit Dichotomy Set To Release ‘Paradigms’ this August

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News

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Irish tech death outfit Dichotomy will release ‘Paradigms’ the band’s debut album this August 14th. The album will be available physically as well as for digital download.

The five piece melodic tech-death metal band hailing from Dublin, Ireland draw influences from bands such as Death, Necrophagist, Gojira and Opeth and was formed in 2010 by guitarists Andy Kealy & Rats with a mind to combine the technicality of death metal with the groove and musicality of other genres. After establishing a lineup in 2010 the band began writing material under the name Dichotomy to suitably describe the contrasting styles used in the music. Summer 2012 bore the fruits of their hard labour as the band took up residence at the world renowned Westland Studios in Dublin to record ‘Paradigms’ with producer Alwyn Walker.
“Paradigms is about a multiple of things.” comments lead guitarist Steven ‘Rats’ Rahaman. “The 5 of us wanted to get together and write music that we would be happy to listen to ourselves. we all individually have a varied taste in music and style so the music we created had allot of contrast so the name Dichotomy was chosen. The lyrics themselves in Paradigms create a collection of dichotomies. So in a nutshell you could say that ‘Paradigms’ is about the band name which is about the music.”

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Tracklisting for ‘Paradigms’ is as follows: –
01. Empyrean
02. The Sentient Oppressed
03. All – Seeing Eye
04. Polarity
05. No Catharsis
06. Covenant Of The Forsworn
07. Alea Iacta Est
08. …Of Strife Of Discord

Keep up to date with the band on Facebook & Twitter

www.facebook.com/dichotomyireland

COFFINS: Sailing The Seas Of Disease With “The Unhallowed Tide” At MetalSucks

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Streaming

As The Fleshland, the fourth LP from Tokyo’s torture squad COFFINS, grows ever closer to reaching the human populations — set to waste North America on July 9th via Relapse — a tsunami of gore today surges ashore with another new single from the album.

 

Navigate the raging redcaps of “The Unhallowed Tide,” the churning next-to-last track on the nine-song carrion crusade that is The Fleshland, over at camp MetalSucksRIGHT HERE.

 

COFFINS also previously released “Rotten Disciples” at Pitchfork, which is still playing AT THIS LOCATION, and the animated lyric video for “The Vacant Pale Vessel,” bringing the gorestrewn Chris Moyen cover illustration (Morbosidad, Black Witchery, Incantation, Blasphemy) to life, is viewable HERE.

 

One of the most anticipated death/doom albums of 2013, The Fleshland is the first proper studio album from COFFINS since their commended Buried Death album, released by 20 Buck Spin in 2008, and first official album for Relapse Records. Recorded at Tokyo’s Noise Room Studio with engineer Shigenori Kobayashi, and produced by Bungo Uchino and the rest of COFFINS, The Fleshland shows the revamped and expanded band lineup smashing down everything in their path, having upped the lineup from a trio to a quartet with a new drummer and full-time vocalist since Buried Death. Nine grisly numbers thunder with the unbeatable mid-paced COFFINS stomp, laying down over forty-five minutes of bruising low-end sludge-infiltrated, plodding doom with possibly the best production values in the band’s meaty catalog of carnage. Relapse will release The Fleshland via CD, download and mammoth 2xLP, including a deluxe black and white artwork edition available only via Relapse mailorder. Preorder package are available HERE.

 

COFFINS will continue across Japan and much of Europe on tour for the coming months including major festivals including Brutal Assault, Party San Metal Open Air, Leperfest and more, with additional excursions being devised. Stay tuned for more info on the The Fleshlandas well as 2013 live actions for COFFINS to be announced soon.

 

COFFINS Tour Dates:

7/28/2013 Earthdom – Tokyo, Japan

8/07/2013 Cassiopeia – Berlin, Germany

8/08/2013 Brutal Assault Festival – Josefov, CZ

8/09/2013 Party San Metal Open Air – Schlotheim, Germany

8/10/2013 Leperfest – Leper, Belgium

8/11/2013 Bleh Fest @ The Unicorn Camden – London, UK

8/12/2013 La Miroiterie – Paris, France

8/14/2013 Winston – Amsterdam, Netherlands

8/15/2013 Kødboderne 18 – Copenhagen, Denmark

8/16/2013 Pussy A Go Go – Stockholm, Sweden

8/23/2013 Akihabara Ongakukan – Tokyo, Japan

11/01/2013 Kurawood/Asakusa – Tokyo, Japan

11/02/2013 Earthdom – Tokyo, Japan

11/03/2013 Huck Finn/Imaike – Nagoya, Japan

11/04/2013 Conpass/Unagidani – Osaka, Japan

http://www.coffins.jp

https://www.facebook.com/intothecoffin

http://www.youtube.com/CoffinsJP

https://www.twitter.com/CoffinsJP

http://www.relapse.com

http://relapserecords.bandcamp.com

http://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords

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HATE HANDLES: studio videos released

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Video
Death/thrash metallers HATE HANDLES released videos of their guitars and vocals recordings for “Die In Hands of Believers”, the band’s debut album, which is being recorded in Estúdio Nitro, with production by the band itself and Roger Fingle (Blood Tears, Seduced by Suicide). Check out some of the videos below:
About the recordings the guitarist Maicon Dorigatti comments: “When we started the recording process we were still finishing some of the songs, mainly the last three that we recorded. That definitely slowed down the release but it gave us more time to work on each idea and now we can say we reached our goal. All 9 songs clearly are part of the same work, with all the rhythmic and melodic elements of our music, but with an unique approach in each of them. The recording process is going great and right now we have 90% of the album recorded, with just a few vocals and solos left.”
Other video recordings from studio are being posted in the band’s YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/hatehandlesthrash
Related links:
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DYING FETUS Announce North American Headline Tour – Re-Sign to Relapse Records

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Tour

Death Metal powerhouse DYING FETUS have announced a North American headline tour for this fall.  The tour, which promises to be THE MOST brutal tour of the year, is presented by Metal Sucks and Converse and kicks off October 5th in Wilmington, NC and runs through November 2nd in Springfield, VA.  The tour features support from label mates Exhumed and Devourment, as well as Waking the Cadaver (10/4-10/19), Abiotic and Rivers of Nihil (10/26-11/2). Special VIP packages that include a general admission ticket, an exclusive DYING FETUS herbal grinder, a meet and greet with the band, limited edition 20 Year Anniversary Poster, and VIP Souvenir Laminate will be available for purchase HERE.  General admission tickets go on sale this Friday.

 

It has also been confirmed that DYING FETUS have re-signed with their long time record label Relapse Records.  The band commented on the signing:

 

“We have an addiction and have relapsed with Relapse Records. Relapse Records will remain your one stop shop for all things DYING FETUS. Re-signing with Relapse Records seemed like the right thing to do for the band as both DYING FETUS and Relapse Records have grown over the years. So our fans can look forward to more brutality from both parties”

 

The band will return to Europe this summer.  Their tour begins July 24th in Slovenia and runs through August 18th in France.  The tour includes appearances at numerous festivals including Brutal Assault, Party San, Bloodstock, Summer Breeze and many more. A complete list of dates can be found below.

 

Recently the band confirmed a string of Canadian tour dates for later summer.  This run also includes select dates in the US. The tour is set to kick off August 23rd in Clifton Park, NY and will run through September 3rd in Providence, RI.

 

DYING FETUS released their latest album Reign Supreme in 2012 on Relapse Records.  The album is streaming in its entirety on their Bandcamp Page.

 

A video for the song “Second Skin” is available for viewing HERE.

Reign Supreme is available for purchase from the Relapse store HERE and digitally on iTunes.

For updates on DYING FETUS visit their Facebook page.

DYING FETUS European Tour

7/24: Slovenia Tolmin @ Metaldays Fest

7/25: Italy Point @ Neumarkt

7/27: Holland Steenwijk @ Stonehenge Fest

7/30: Russia Moscow @ Plan B

8/1: Ukraine Evpatoriya @ Metal Heads Mission Fest

8/3: France Albi Carmaux @ Xtreme Fest

8/5: Germany München @ Free & Easy Fest

8/6: Austria Dornbirn @ Schlachthof

8/7: Austria Wien @ Viper Room

8/8: Czech Rep Jaromer @ Brutal Assault Fest

8/9: Germany Schlotheim @ Party San Fest

8/10: Switzerland Hüttikon @ Meh Suff! Metal-Fest

8/11: UK Catton Hall @ Bloodstock Fest

8/12: UK London @ Barfly

8/13: France Paris @ Nouveau Casino

8/14: Germany Trier @ Exhaus

8/15: Germany Dinkelsbühl @ Summer Breeze Fest

8/16: Germany Oberhausen @ Helvete

8/17: Belgium Méan @ Metal Méan Fest

8/18: France Saint Nolff @ Motocultor Fest

 

DYING FETUS North American Dates:

8/23: Clifton Park, NY @ Trick Shot

8/24: Hamilton, ON @ @ Club Absinthe

8/25: Montreal, QC @ Les Foufounes Electriques

8/26: Rimouski, QC @ Le Cactus

8/27: Quebec City, QC @ Imperial

8/29: Sherbrooke, QC @ Le Magog

8/30: Jonquiere, QC @ Place Nikitoutagan

9/2: Ottawa, ON @ Maverick’s

9/3: Providence, RI @ King of Clubs

 

DYING FETUS North American Headline Tour:

10/5: Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox

10/6: Orlando, FL @ Back Booth

10/7: Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum   

10/9: Houston, TX @ Fitzgerald’s

10/10: Austin, TX @ Red 7

10/11: Dallas, TX @ Trees

10/12: Oklahoma City, OK @ Chameleon Room

10/13: Santa Fe, NM @ Warehouse 21

10/14: Tempe, AZ @ Rocky Point

10/15: Santa Ana, CA @ Observatory

10/16: W. Hollywood, CA @ The Whisky

10/17: San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge

10/18: Portland, OR @ Branx

10/19: Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven

10/20: Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater   

10/22: Calgary, AB @ Republik

10/23: Edmonton, AB @ Pawn Shop

10/24: Regina, SK @ Riddell Centre

10/25: Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theater

10/27: Chicago, IL @ Reggie’s   

10/29: Cleveland, OH @ Peabodys

10/30: Poughkeepsie, NY @ Chance Theater

10/31: Worcester, MA @ Palladium

11/1: New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater

11/2: Springfield, VA @ Empire

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Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus releases free EP for download on Gun Shy Assassin

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Free Music

 

Wanna download a free EP from ambient black metal outfit Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus?  Then head to the end of this post where you’ll find the band’s first two songs since the release of the band’s debut album Synkkä Tuuli on Horror Pain Gore Death Productions…Nihilistinen Barbaarisuus has begun recording it’s next full length album, based on the Finnish national epic ‘The Kalevala,’ with a target release date of winter 2013…The digital EP is entitled Väinämöinen and you’ll only find it here…

http://gunshyassassin.com/news/exclusive-nihilistinen-barbaarisuus-stream-and-download-vainamoinen/

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BE’LAKOR: Third Album From Melodic Death Act Streaming At This Is Not A Scene

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Streaming

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Following its celebrated European release in late 2012 via Kolony Records, this week the third full-length from Australian melodic death metal actBE’LAKOR sees official stateside liberation through Kolony’s new North American distribution via eOne Entertainment.

Of Breath And Bone takes the talents of young but motivated and exceptionally talented Melbourne, Victoria-based quintet BE’LAKOR to entirely new levels since previous releases. Following the band’s self-released 2007 debut The Frail Tide, Italian label Kolony Records brought the crew into the label’s family for the release of their follow-up, in the form of 2009’s Stone’s Reach album. Stone’s Reach led the band to perform at massive international festivals including Summer Breeze, in addition to European tours and solo international appearances across the continent. Having refined their talents even further, the band’s superb third album Of Breath And Bone further exemplifies BE’LAKOR’s superior metal prowess. Boasting nearly an hour of prime, harmonious death metal, Of Breath And Bone proves why the band is considered the leading melodic death metal band in all of Australia, mixed and mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street studios (Opeth, Paradise Lost, Amon Amarth).

To celebrate its stateside release, today This Is Not A Scene is hosting a stream of the massive Of Breath And Bone in its entirety. LISTEN HERE.

http://www.belakorband.com

http://www.facebook.com/belakorband

http://www.twitter.com/belakorband

http://www.kolonyrecords.com

https://www.facebook.com/kolonyrecords

https://twitter.com/kolonyrecords

XUL Add Dates To Cross Canada ‘Maliganant Tour’; FREE Album DOWNLOAD of ‘Malignance

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Free Music, Tour

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Growing their fan base with the offering of their debut album ‘Malignance’ for FREE DOWNLOAD via their bandcamp here, Vernon, BC blackened death metal band XUL are proud to announce additional tour dates for their first cross Canada ‘Maliganant Tour‘ that will see the band deliver a brutal assault that fans of Behemoth, Dissection and Immortal will sure not want to miss.

2013 Maliganant Tour – Canadian Dates

May 30, 2013 – Vancouver, BC – Funky Winkerbeans w/ Terrifier, Harvest The Infection, Excrutiating Pain – Show Details
June 3, 2013 – Calgary, AB – Dickens Pub w/ VAALT, NETHERIEL, DESOLACE, DEATH ASSEMBLY
June 4, 2013 – Medicine Hat, BC – Liquid Nightclub – w/ Endast, Autaric, Desecrate Scripture, Out of The Ruins – Show Details
June 5, 2013 – Regina, SK – The Club w/ Autaric, Desecrate Scripture – Show Details
June 6, 2013 – Winnipeg, MB – The Zoo w/ Skeletonwitch, Anciients, Endless Chaos – Show Details
June 12, 2013 – Toronto, ON – Bovine Sex club
June 13, 2013 – Montreal, QC – Katakombes
June 14, 2013 – Oshawa, ON – The Diezel Room – w/ Pagan Ritual, Livid & The Blood Thirsty, Primalfrost
June 15, 2013 – North Bay, ON – Granite Club
June 21, 2013 – Winnipeg, MB – The Windsor Hotel – w/ Noire, Wilt
June 22, 2013 – Saskatoon, SK – The Fez
June 23, 2013 – Edmonton, AB – DV8 w/ Körperlose Stimme, Runeblade – Show Details
June 24, 2013 – Prince George, BC – The Artspace
July 19-20, 2013 – Armstrong, BC – Armstrong Metal Fest – Show Details

For more info on XUL, please visit these links:

www.xulofficial.ca

http://www.facebook.com/Xulband

http://www.twitter.com/xulofficial

http://xulmetal.bandcamp.com/

About: 

A five piece group based out of Vernon, British Columbia, Canada, following in the footsteps of bands such as: Behemoth, Dissection, and Immortal, XUL have left the beaten path and set out to forge their own brand of Blackened Death Metal.

An energetic and interactive live performance – with crushing rhythms seamlessly coalescing into atmospheric passages, accompanied by punishing percussion waves and subtle vocal harmonies – expands upon the previously established essence of the sub-genre. With songs reminiscent of war-torn landscapes, destructive human nature and evil intent, XUL has captivated audiences and garnered positive reviews, and on June 16, 2012, released their first full length album, entitled “Malignance”.

Driven by determination and a diverse accumulation of musical comprehension, XUL has toured Western Canada, as well as proven themselves worthy to share the stage with bands such as: Obscura, Exhumed, Vreid, Kampfar, Woods of Ypres, Macabre, Withered, Cephalic Carnage, Archspire and 3 Inches of Blood. With a spring 2013 tour looming, XUL is determined to build on an impressive local following by infecting Western Canada with hopes of Canada in its entirety in the near future. XUL’s focus for winter 2012 is to meticulously craft new material for another release in 2013.

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XUL – MALIGNANCE – 2012

GENRE: Blackened Death Metal

RELEASE DATE: JUNE 16, 2012

LABEL: SELF-RELEASE

XULOfficial.ca | Facebook | Twittter | Youtube | Reverbnation | Soundcloud | CBC 3

Buy Links: Bandcamp | Merch.XULOfficial.ca

RIYL = Behemoth, Dissection, Immortal

#10 of Top 20 Best Albums of 2012 for MetalMadeInCanda.ca

“Xul continue to offer a barrage after barrage of obliterating death metal…when the sheer fire power and dexterous performances that Xul serve up are so satisfying. Particularly when you consider that is the band’s debut album. Malignance is undeniably impressive.” – Powerplay Mag UK 

“Malignance, the first record from unsigned Canadian blackened death act Xul, is one of the most impressive debut’s I’ve heard in a very long time. Rarely are the similar artists mentioned in press kits an entirely accurate estimation of the soundscapes to be found within an album proper, but I find the examples of Behemoth and Dissection are quite fitting in this case, as the band excels at weaving the brutality of the former with the epic melodious propensity of the latter, not to mention the grandiosity inherent to both, into a rich and exciting tapestry of extremity.” – Metal-Archives.com

“will appeal to fans of black/death metal.  Hard-hitting and brutal, Malignance is intense and that intensity does not let up until the very last song.” – TheFrontRowReport.com

“Xul operate within the genre of blackened death metal, taking cues from blackened death metal giants like Behemoth, black metal legends like Immortal and Mayhem, as well as death metal demigods like Morbid Angel. They have taken all of these inspirations and combined them into their own artistically highly successful brand of blackened death metal, which features the brutality of death metal and the darkness and evil of black metal. Thus, you get and album the treats you to both the machine-gun bassdrums, guttural vocals, and technically proficient playing associated with death metal and the tense harmonies, tremolo picking, and blazing blastbeats associated with black metal…..Xul’s “Malignance” is a huge artistic success and captures what I consider to be the best from both death metal and black metal.” – Metal Music Archives

“XUL’s “Malignance” is a raging, rolling machine of Black-tinged Death Metal 8/10” – Metal-Observer

“the band manages to make a sound that encompasses the Death Metal ‘old school’ with the current time style that combines technical, brutality and a very dark mood, as do Belphegor, Behemoth and Azarath. 8/10” – Whiplash (Brazil)

“Malignance features a stunning display of musicianship with its ultra-slick leads, hyperspeed percussion and incredible bass tone. Meyers’s fetid vocals salivating on the album’s rotting body ties the whole gruesome scene together. Xul wreak “Vengeance” on the ears of death metal fans, forcing their way in the cortex to fester and boil. This is one Malignance you’ll be dying to have.” – Kingdom of Noise

“I love death metal that takes no prisoners.” – Battl Helm

“This blackened death quintet from Vernon, British Columbia does not dissapoint with thier first release, Malignance. The first track sets the pace for the whole album; hard hitting, ear splitting, skull crushing brutality. Battlestorm, indeed! Strong black influences shine through, especially in tracks like Porta Nocis, and Vengeance, while the instrumental Winter’s Reign leaves you spellbound. I have to admit to being really impressed with the amount of work these northern bastards have put into this, and I highly recommend it.” – Canadian Black Metal

“a  very  great  sounding  heavy  and  brutal  blackened  death  metal  band  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  “Battlestorm”  “Winter’s  Reign”  and  “Tomb  Of  The  Tyrants”.  RECOMMENDED  BUY” – BringerofDeathZine

“The perfect combination of black and death metal, even with a particularly thrashy sounding guitar line in places on ‘Mastication of Putrescent Empyrean Remains’ really comes together on this album” – BigMetalBastard

XUL - MALIGNANCE - ALBUM COVER
1. Battlestorm 04:27
2. Mastication of Putrescent Empyrean Remains 05:14
3. Porta Noctis 05:08
4. Vengeance 03:28
5. Winter’s Reign 04:26
6. Hordes of Black 05:29
7. Incinerate the Earth 04:17
8. Tomb of Tyrants 05:54

DARK TRANQUILLITY announces Decibel Magazine flexi disc for b-side “Sorrow’s Architect”

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Streaming

Melodic death metal pioneers DARK TRANQUILLITY have teamed up with Decibel Magazine to give fans a silver-on-green flexi disc for the exclusive b-side “Sorrow’s Architect”! This track will only be available in Decibel‘s August issue (out in July), and it comes from the recording sessions of Construct, the band’s critically acclaimed 10th studio album. To get your copy of this DARK TRANQUILLITY flexi disc, you mustsubscribe to Decibel Magazine by 6AM PST//9AM EST on Tuesday, June 4th (issues on newsstands, etc. will not have the flexi; this is an exclusive for subscribers only).

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To subscribe to Decibel Magazine, please click here.

For a preview of DARK TRANQUILLITY’s new album, Construct, be sure to check out the following previously released album tracks:

“For Broken Words“

“The Science Of Noise“

“Uniformity“

“Endtime Hearts“

Decades after their inception, Gothenburg’s DARK TRANQUILLITY remains at the forefront of the scene that they helped to define as one of the longest-standing melodic death metal bands. Their 10th studio album, Construct, continues in the tradition of their past records by not straying from the band’s roots, while also putting a fresh spin on their trademark sound. After over 20 years together, DARK TRANQUILLITY yet again proves that they are more vital than ever.

Read on for a few international reviews of the critically acclaimed Construct:

“…an album of style, substance and accomplishment.” — DECIBEL MAGAZINE (USA), 9/10

“…DT continue to expertly hit that sweet spot between encephalectomic brutality and orgasm-inducing catchiness.” — METAL SUCKS.net (USA)

 

“DARK TRANQUILLITY have long been stalwarts of the Gothenburg death metal scene, and on ‘Construct’, their tenth album, they’re exploring a more varied approach than before.” — TERRORIZER (UK)

“‘Construct’ doesn’t change the musician’s formula for success and shows what adapted songwriting can affect: Hits Hits Hits…” — METAL HAMMER (GER), “Album Of The Month,” #1 Metal Hammer Soundcheck

“‘Construct’ is more refreshing than anything else that the scene has produced over last few years and highlights one more time the exceptional position of the band! Chapeau!”— ORKUS (GER)

“‘Construct’ is an album of maturity. Wisdom and serenity are acquired with power and concision. DT has never justified their name that strongly! Awesome!”  — ROCK HARD (FRANCE), “Album Of The Month”

 

“Probably the purest DARK TRANQUILLITY album to date.” — UP MAGAZINE(NETHERLANDS), 85/100

To purchase Construct, please head over to iTunes for a digital copy or CM Distro for a variety of physical formats.

 

DARK TRANQUILLITY live:

6.1.2013–Germany, Geiselwind–Beastival Festival

6.7.2013–United Arab Emirates, Dubai–Rock Fest

6.28.2013–Czech Republic, Spalene Porici–Basinfire Festival

7.6.2013–India, Bangalore–Bangalore Open Air

7.11.2013–Germany, Neukirchen Vluyn–Dong Open Air

7.12.2013–Germany, Ballenstedt–RockHarz Festival

7.13.2013–Poland, Wegorzewo–Seven Festival

7.27.2013–Sweden, Rejmyre–Skogsröjet

8.13.2013–Sweden, Östersjön–Close-up båten

8.23.2013–Germany, Wörrstedt–Neuborn Open Air

1.27.2014–USA, Miami–70000 Tons Of Metal

DARK TRANQUILLITY online:

http://www.darktranquillity.com

http://www.facebook.com/dtofficial

http://www.myspace.com/dtofficial

http://twitter.com/dtofficial

Behemoth Announces Title of Forthcoming Full-Length Album: “The Satanist”

by Alan D. Welding, posted in Announcement/News

behemoth-2013

Behemoth Announces Title of Forthcoming Full-Length Album: “The Satanist”

Pick up the June/July issue of Revolver Magazine featuring Metallica on the cover to read an in-depth studio report from Nergal

BEHEMOTH, who have been holed up in Hertz Studios working on their tenth full-length album, are pleased to announce the title of their forthcoming full-length album—THE SATANIST. The album will come out in the fall of 2013—stay tuned for more studio updates, music, preorder info and more at metalblade.com/behemoth.

“It took us over two decades to come up with a title that…says it all. While our new songs artistically take surprisingly adventurous directions, our message stands steadfast—Proud and Radical. THE SATANIST stands for undying yearning for liberation and love for freedom in all aspects of life. Considering all our life experiences that often took dramatic curves I couldn’t think of more appropriate and fitting statement of who and where we are now” comments BEHEMOTH front man Nergal.

As the band continues to record, they have been posting images and lyrics for portions of new songs. Fans can also read an in-depth interview with Nergal in the June/July issue of Revolver that features Metallica on the cover. Grab your copy here.

More updates will be posted as they are made available. Fans can stay up to date with the absolute latest at facebook.com/behemoth and twitter.com/behemothband.

http://www.behemoth.pl
http://www.facebook.com/behemoth
http://www.metalblade.com/behemoth