Vomitor – The Escalation (2012)

vomitor the escalation

Article by Lance Viggiano.

The Escalation perfects the misunderstood Australian art of Cimmerian metal – a deliberately low-brow affair which has little tangible relationship to the Common Practice Period and therefore easily panned. Vomitor deliberately flaunt rock’s loud and emotive ethos through boorish motifs qualified further by a thin and mid-centric texture executed in characteristically poor-taste. Constructed primarily out of recombination of past forms, The Escalation is a deliberately retro affair which succeeds by forming a singular and immediately identifiable voice. Historical precedence for this identity is found in the work of Spear of Longinus – specifically the first demo contained within Black Sun Society. Vomitor do not present a way forward for metal; instead the entity finely maps a territory which was discovered but left largely unexplored by ancestors who clung to the safety and security of the coastlines looking into an inhospitable thicket which obscures a familiar but nonetheless unique landscape.

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Upcoming Törr Reissues

torr logo

Törr’s first two albums, Armageddon and Institut klinické smrti, and are being reissued on CD for the first time since their original release by Dark Symphonies / The Crypt. Czech black metal completionists should keep an eye out later this year. In the meantime, check out Death Metal Underground’s recent Master’s Hammer and Root reviews.

TÖRR (CZ) Armageddon + Institut Klinické Smrti official CDs / LPs coming from DARK SYMPHONIES / THE CRYPT

We are proud to announce our cooperation with cult Czech Black/Death/Thrash metal band TÖRR to reissue their classic debut album “Armageddon” featuring the bonus tracks from the “Vlalka S Nebem” single, as well as their sophomore album “Institut Klinické Smrti”. Extremely hard to find nowadays, we are pleased to make these long lost gems available again! Both releases will be mastered from the original analog sources for the best possible sound.

Both CDs will be designed after the original 1990 and 1991 CDs respectively, taking elements from the original layout with attention to detail, even down to the logo and typeface for a touch of nostalgia. Also featured are unpublished band photos, lyrics and new liner notes by original vocalist / bassist Vlasta Henych.

CD Limited to 1000 copies worldwide! Stay away from BOOTLEGS! Support the band and official releases!!

Also we will be pressing both releases on vinyl in both black and color vinyl options, limited to 500 copies each and housed in 350 gram gatefold jackets.

Coming later this year

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Kataxu – Roots Thunder (2000)

kataxu - roots thunder

Article by Anton Rudrick.

Consciously transcendental, voluntarily anachronistic, causing despondent exasperation among the pretentious and the untermensch. Kataxu blends the phantasmagorical reveries of dungeon synth with brief, unidentifiable nods to the nordic triune of atmospheric evil black metal. Kataxu Roots Thunder escapes morphing into ‘flowing black metal‘, layers majestically, layers in hiding, layers hiding, forms and shapes…

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Profanatica’s The Curling Flame of Blasphemy CD Released

profanatica the curling flame of blasphemy cd

The CD version of Profanatica‘s minimalist The Curling Flame of Blasphemy is out now on Hells Headbangers. The LPs and digital downloads will be released in late July.

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The Mythic and the Mystic

witches animal heads

Article by Lance Viggiano.

Burzum and Beherit each represent two summits of black metal’s many perspectives – in particular its looking back to look ahead ethos. The work of Laiho is exploratory and spiritual while the work of Varg is seeking and religious. Each composer followed a similar trajectory of mapping this landscape through metal first, then ambient. Each phase reveals strengths and weakness in each of their aims which results in a somewhat complementary synthesis between two highly individual bodies of work.

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Sadistic Metal Reviews: Taste the Rainbow!

rainbow shit

Coming soon to a used CD bin near you!

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Dark Fury – This Story Happened Before (2016)

Dark Fury - This Story Happened Before - front cover

Dark Fury present a mid-paced black metal work of catchy lead melodies atop generic power chord metal riffing. These leads are never jaw-dropping or profoundly clever but mostly effective in the context of the songs. This Story Happened Before‘s problem is that many of the best leads send out a sense of déjà entendu and are only occasionally progressed to fitting melodic conclusions; Dark Fury rely too much on highly-structured rock song formats with bridges and breaks almost making the album a riff salad. Many of the rhythm riffs are the sort of filler power chord chugs used by death metal bands and the few war metal bands that actually care to occasionally have metal riffs such as Diocletian. Dark Fury too often use this as a songwriting crutch.

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Master’s Hammer – Ritual (1991)

Master's Hammer - Ritual

Ritual is the pinnacle of the Central European black metal style characterized by continuing the riffing tradition of traditional heavy metal and strict adherence to speed metal song structure; Hellhammer, Mercyful Fate, Slayer, and even Megadeth influences are easily heard along with Bartók’s folkishness and Chopin’s romanticism. While their compatriots Root presaged the Hellenic scene, Master’s Hammer’s operatic use of the mellotron inspired the divergent atmosphere Emperor employed on In the Nightside Eclipse.

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Bulldozer Vinyl Repress

bulldozer the final separation

Bulldozer’s first two albums of drunken Motorhead, proto-underground metal in the style of Venom and Sodom are being repressed on vinyl from the original tapes for the first time in thirty years by F.O.A.D Records. Neither of these albums ever had good CD releases (the CDs sound like compressed needle drops) so fans of beer-fueled, 1980s first-wave black metal might want to check these  out.


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