Many of the pariahs seen infesting contemporary American black metal – communism, narcissism, an illusion of extremism – can be traced back to one man: Euroynmous of Mayhem.
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Tags: antifa, antifascist, antifascists, Black Metal, communism, communists, euroynmous, helvete, hipster, hipster bullshit, hipsters, mayhem, metal history, norway
Martyrdoom Productions, run by Dead Congregation frontman A.V., reissued Infester‘s long out of print classic To the Depths, In Degradation on CD and vinyl LP earlier this year. I purchased a copy of the CD version myself to review for our readers benefit. The record was never originally released on vinyl and being over fifty minutes long, the LP reissue will have compromised sound quality due to narrower groove spacing and all the limitations of the vinyl format such as the compression of the cutting lathe, high and low pass filtering, and mono bass.
17 CommentsTags: Black Metal, censorship, compact disc, dan lowndes, death metal, Infester, Martyrdoom Productions, political correctness, reissue, remaster, review, to the depths in degradation
Op de beenderen van onze voorvaderen is yet another another Dutch black metal record heavily influenced by Gorgoroth and Zyklon-B like Tarnkappe. Elfsgedroch however structures riffs as hyper-extended, arpeggiated tremolo-picked chords in incredibly long to the point of droning phrases in the manner of French Canadian band Sorcier des Glaces, who are indeed the band’s primary influence. Clever but occasionally too sappy harmonies similar to Master’s Hammer‘s Bartok and folk influenced heavy metal ones on Ritual but way more annoying pervade the record.
18 CommentsTags: 2016, Black Metal, Dutch black metal, elfsgedroch, review, the netherlands
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
Profanatica and Cianide are playing the 2017 iteration of the Destroying Texas festival along with a bunch of shitty scenester bands like Black Witchery. Check them out if you live nearby; Profanatica are still great live despite the last album, The Curling Flame of Blasphemy, being a turd. Tickets are available from EventBrite.
17 CommentsTags: Black Metal, black witchery, cianide, death metal, destroying texas fest, festivals, houston, houston texas, profanatica, texas
Sepultura‘s Morbid Visions is my favorite thirty year old album. Released in Brazil on November 10th, 1986, Morbid Visions saw Sepultura slither past the primitive Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, and Sodom worship of their initial Bestial Devastation extended play (included as a bonus on almost all CD versions of Morbid Visions) and into ultraviolent, progressive but still primitive, death and black metal.
15 CommentsTags: 1986, anniversary, Black Metal, Brazil, death metal, igor cavalera, jairo tormentor, max cavalera, morbid visions, progressive, progressive metal, sepultura
War metal band Heresiarch are playing a show in Wellington, New Zealand on July 1st to celebrate the release of their debut album, Death Ordinance.
25 CommentsTags: Black Metal, dark descent, dark descent records, death metal, heresiarch, new zealand, upcoming shows, War Metal
A very limited amount of embroidered Kaeck logo patches have been made according to a post on Kaeck’s Facebook page. If you are the type who walks around covered in patches, join the Stormkult.
3 CommentsTags: Black Metal, Dutch black metal, kaeck, merch, merchandise, the netherlands
Infamous have delivered us yet another split with a weaker but by no means incompetent band. Winter Darkness provide the almost filler this time on Symbols of Scarlet Revenge, playing somewhat generic, riff salad black metal that doesn’t really go anywhere special on this split has promise if they could unite the various parts together in order to express something greater than merely “We actually play black metal, we wrote riffs, they’re not random, and our music is not that so bad that it will make the Death Metal Underground editor press a power drill into his skull.”1 In their defense, Winter Blackness use RAC-like drumming, and songs that conserve sneering tension that sometimes resolves on “Demons of Winter Blackness” and leaves you wishing the band would explode on “Frozen Nocturnal Blood”. A slow burning match that burns out into darkness rather than lighting a fire is not the best way to conclude a record. At least Winter Darkness are way more aggressive than Gratzug’s half of the Infamous / Gratzug split.
6 CommentsTags: Black Metal, compact cassette, eremita produzioni, infamous, Italy, necropole, nsbm, rac/oi, review, split, symbols of scarlet revenge, winter blackness
Aäkon Këtrëëh was an eponymous dark ambient/black metal-project created by Lord Aäkon Këëtrëh, a central figure within the French black metal collective commonly referred to as Les Legions Noires. (more…)
26 CommentsTags: aäkon këëtrëh, Black Metal, dark ambient, dungeon synth, Les Légions Noires, review
