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
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
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
Supuration The Cube: Death Metal’s Most Unique Album
It is commonly assumed that the most unique album in death metal is Nespithe and while there is a very strong case for such a claim, Supuration’s The Cube has a stronger claim to such a title. Demilich have a large number of failed imitators while Supuration have none at all. The first listen to Demilich immediately shows the band’s intentions and dizzying whirlwinds of ideas in elaborate riff mazes. Supuration sounds like a rock hybrid that borders on modern metal but with much depth and just as unique but requiring many more listens to dig past the highly accessible aesthetics. Here are a few tools that Supuration used to create the most unique album in Death metal.
21 CommentsTags: death metal, supuration, the cube
Master Master and 1985 Unreleased Album Re-issued As 2CD
Hammerheart Records opened pre-orders for the first Master album with several versions of the same songs, making this both a collector’s item and an impossible listen for the casual fan.
13 CommentsTags: abomination, death metal, deathstrike, funeral bitch, hammerheart records, master, speckmann project