Despite what record labels and glossy magazines want us to think, metal has suffered from an incremental artistic recession for the last two decades, with the dearth of truly exceptional releases increasing in an almost linear fashion.
9 CommentsTags: anthology, britain, British Death Metal, compact disc, compilation, dark blasphemies records, death metal, malediction, pantalgia, review, UK
Hammerheart Records is repressing Nile’s In the Beginning demo collection on vinyl LP for every OCD collector who needs to own every single mediocre death metal band’s demo on vinyl.
11 CommentsTags: anthology, cash grab, death metal, demos, hammerheart, hammerheart records, news, nile, reissue, repress, vinyl
Iron Pegasus Records is releasing a demo compilation of Chilean speed metal band Ripper’s The Exit and Destroy the World demos.
1 CommentTags: anthology, chile, compact disc, demos, iron pegasus, iron pegasus records, news, ripper, Speed Metal, upcoming release
Floga Records are publishing an upcoming anthology of Sodom‘s demos on September 1st. Demonized compiles both the Witching Metal and Victims of Death demos onto one disc. It will be available on LP, cassette, CD jewel case, and CD digipak. Get the jewel case of course if you are a Sodom fanatic and In the Sign of Evil / Obsessed by Cruelty still was not filthy enough for you. Demonized may be pre-ordered here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncM2gRtGoBk
3 CommentsTags: anthology, compact disc, demos, digipak, floga records, German Speed Metal, germany, proto-underground, sodom, Speed Metal, vinyl
Black Sabbath are releasing an upcoming splatter vinyl box set of their entire original first run of albums with Ozzy Osbourne performing vocals. Sound quality does not seem to be the name of the game for The Ten Year War as everyone with any experience listening to LPs on a big boy turntable setup knows that splatter vinyl almost always sounds terrible. Rather The Ten Year War is a collectible for obsessive-compulsive Sabbath maniacs and hipsters who will play and probably ruin the not very high-fidelity splatter discs on some cheap turntable from Amazon or Target.
4 CommentsTags: anthology, black sabbath, cash grab, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, mqa, ozzy osbourne, scam, vinyl
Angel Witch has release the 1970s demos that they still hold the rights and tapes to for pay as you go digital download on Bandcamp. The renowned New Wave of British Heavy Metal band did this to benefit the survivors of the recent tenement apartment tower fire in London. All of these tracks were on the now out of print Sinister History CD along with contemporary live recordings. Death Metal Underground strongly advises all fans and downloaders to not pay anything or contribute anything to this funding attempt at social justice warring and undermining western nations.
19 CommentsTags: Angel Witch, anthology, bandcamp, cash grab, demo, demos, flac, Heavy Metal, idiocy, islam, NWOBHM, sjws, social justice warriors, united kingdom
Another previously unreviewed record judged some of The Best Underground Metal of 2016.
Mount Um + 1997 Demo is a digital anthology collecting what Steve Cefala judged to be Dawning‘s strongest material. Half the run-time (“Side A”) is one new, extended track entitled Mount Um in three parts: “Pilgrimage to Umunhum”, “The Albino Bridge Sacrement”, and a melodic bass outro. Mount Um sounds like Summoning worshiping Emperor‘s In the Nightside Eclipse in a lengthy composition reminiscent of Celtic Frost‘s album work. Ambient fantasy keyboards are perverted into pandemonium as if on an arduous journey of great hardship and loss culminating in a bittersweet victory over the uncaring, vicious forces of nature. Mount Um‘s composition is progressive and profound.
11 CommentsTags: anthology, Black Metal, dawning, demo, hate your guts records, mount um + 1997 demo, review, steve cefala
Article by Lance Viggiano.
Autechre‘s elseq 1-5 is a four hour anthology consisting of five individual EPs, each compiled together loosely upon conceptual coherence between the constituent tracks. elseq 1-5 is an exercise in release format rather than just content; the artists behind Autechre seek to utilize the immediacy of the digital age, releasing tracks “as they go” without traditional limitations imposed by the “album.” Granted of course this collection appeared as a hulking and impenetrable dump rather than a sequence. This point bears worth remembering as this overview proceeds as the temptation to view elseq 1-5 as a complete work, or works, is ingrained in popular habits.
24 CommentsTags: 2016, Ambient, anthology, Autechre, electronica, experimental, intelligent dance music, review
Necropole are a French group who play flowing melodic black metal in the style of Graveland and the Quebecois with riffing heavily influenced by Gorgoroth. Necropole is an anthology CD collecting both of Necropole’s earlier demos, Atavisme… and Ostara, that were released on cassette only but readily heard through streaming on Youtube. Hopefully Necropole’s debut album will not be titled Necropole too to avoid confusion.
9 CommentsTags: anthology, Black Metal, demos, france, necropole, northern heritage, review
A complete compilation of Cynic‘s demos, Uroboric Forms, is coming out next year from Century Media. Keep an eye out for it.
9 CommentsTags: anthology, century media, cynic, death metal, demos, jazz fusion, progressive metal, Speed Metal, upcoming release
