The case of Rob Darken is a symptomatic one. He is undeniably the most important (and enduring!) metal musician from Poland and Eastern Europe in history. And yet, when black metal or folk is concerned, even on his own soil he is overlooked in favor of others, like Behemoth or Percival Schuttenbach respectively, solely on basis of some external attributes of their music. It seems that for some time now Darken is trying to gain at least a bit of the recognition he deserves: the exposure in Nergal’s biography, playing live with both Graveland and Lord Wind, and now the changes in the very formula of Lord Wind on The Forest Is My Kingdom.
15 CommentsNocturnal Metal
Slayer showed us the prototypical underground metal band, fusing together melodic heavy metal (Iron Maiden, Mercyful Fate, Judas Priest) and high-speed hardcore to make a new voice for metal. It kept the metal spirit entirely, and turned up the volume on that, but also gave the music the voice of desperation amid dystopian decay where everything is broken and wrong that made hardcore so apocalyptic.
14 CommentsTags: ambient metal, nocturnal metal, slayer, south of heaven, subconscious
Visitation: Necrony Pathological Performances (1993)
One can find much to like on this later grindcore release, but it never quite gained traction in the canon. One wonders why, since it has Bolt Thrower and Carcass styled thunderous fairly technical grindcore, guttural vocals that sear ears and hope simultaneously, and carefully paced songs which accelerate for choruses.
1 CommentSepsis – To Make Rotten (1991)
To Make Rotten was initially released in 1991 by the band Sepsis and only seventy handmade copies existed at the time. La Caverna records have re-released this record twenty eight years of its initial release. While many expect another band that is rediscovered uniquely for existing at the right time and having a certain “spirit”. Sepsis put these claims to rest with a good demo that shows untapped potential.
2 CommentsTags: Grindcore, la caverna records, sepsis
Malevolent Creation The Ten Commandments Re-Issued
Peer into the intense fury of three decades ago when Malevolent Creation unleashed their powerful fusion of speed metal and percussive death metal, The Ten Commandments (1991). Full of nice meaty riffs cleated to pounding double-bass drumming, this album explored the side of death metal that stayed closer to conventional metal.
35 CommentsTags: death metal, hammerheart records, Malevolent Creation, Speed Metal
Vodka Vultures Frontman Holden Matthews Arrested For Burning Three Churches
During the 1990s, which was when we got the first inkling that the postwar liberal democratic order was going out the way of the Soviets, just more slowly, black metal bands made a name for themselves with an orgy of violence, with a dozen dead and almost a hundred churches burned across Europe.
26 CommentsTags: Black Metal, church burning, holden matthews, vodka vultures
Sacramentum Announce New Album Shadow Of Oblivion
Ripping melodic and atmospheric black metal band Sacramentum gained a cult following for their lush use of melody without missing the riff-focused methods and intense morbid darkness of traditional black metal.
44 CommentsTags: Black Metal, sacramentum
Det Svarte Alvor (1994)
From the ancient archives, an English translation of Det Svarte Alvor (1994), resurrected in the bowels of the Old Internet:
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Tags: Black Metal, det svarte alvor
Perdition Temple Releases “Desolation Usurper” From Upcoming Sacraments of Descension
Ripping extreme metal band Perdition Temple (ex-Angelcorpse, Immolation, and Ares Kingdom) has released its latest blast of high-speed terror with “Desolation Usurper” from the upcoming third album of the band, Sacraments of Descension, due out sometime this year.
14 CommentsTags: angelcorpse, ares kingdom, Black Metal, immolation, perdition temple, technical metal, War Metal
Napalm Death Announces Spring North American Tour
Grindcore pioneers Napalm Death, now playing a hybrid of death metal, grindcore, and indie rock as they have for the past two decades, launch their Spring North American Tour 2020 with tourmates Aborted (April 17-May 16), The Locust (April 9-April 15), Nastie Band (April 9-April 15), Tombs (April 24-May 16), and Wvrm (April 17-May 16) for select dates.
21 CommentsTags: emo, Grindcore, napalm death, sonic youth