onsdag 19 juli 2017

Totenwache - Ursprung

A new roar is heard in Germanys forests! A new horde is here to keep the ancient flame of black metal heritage burning.


Yes it is totally traditional mid-tempo cold harsh black metal, nothing new here but that is the point also as it flows in line with and continues the alternative dimensional time-line of second wave medieval black metal....yeah one can complain here and there on many bands that they dont have a purpose or push the envelope enough etc etc and sure it is early to see how strong black flame Totenwache has as this is their debut release only but these songs here have enough of solid compositions and correct atmosphere to have their place and spot in the long line of rustic black metal hordes.


The main quality points to speak about here besides the nice old forest wind is their good taste of timing and simple but effective compositions, it all flows well together and even under the 12 minutes song "Denial of Consciousness" they dont fall into boredome traps. Enough of solid guitar parts which leads most of the music as well as the vocals which is raspy and fitting, drums is also good, the band sounds tight playing.
Production is just as it should here, organic and balanced. not directly raw but good.



All in all this debut release is good, perhaps nothing extraordinary but a promising start that gives me hunger for more material.
To top it off the band logo is cool and cover art/layout is good also!

For our masters will!

Tracklist:
1.     Crushing the Impure Crown     06:51    
2.     Tome of Lies     06:12    
3.     Denial of Consciousness     12:18    
4.     The Defiled King     05:30    
        Total:30:51

bandcamp:
https://totenwache.bandcamp.com/releases
band page
https://www.facebook.com/totenwache/?ref=br_rs

måndag 17 juli 2017

Ruins of Unlight / Swine Soul - Two Tyrants of Terror


And down fell a burnt wing from an angel....then came a massive rain of blood and bodies.... the golden throne was empty.

From Narbentage Produktionen comes this split with Swine Soul which is a one man band from USA and  Ruins of Unlight (4 members) from Germany / Austria.


Swine Souls music emanates from a noise perspective but incorporates enough black metal parts to make it appeal to me, i for sure have nothing against bands to mix in all kind of electromagnetic darkness into black metal...it can have a powerful effect.
It sounds like a thick smog of dismay and pain. It is parts like a "wall of noise" but guitars shine through just enough to make you sit up and take notice....SS´s music has a quite wide range of ways to make his point...many layers of insanity molds into a dirty road that takes you to...............your destination.
It has a more surreal dream like state rather then "songs" so it is an acquired taste. It was effective and gave me new internal visions...and that never hurts when i am about to paint or create something.
 Parts of it retains some of the ancient BM world sound but much of it also has an urban nightmare  vibe over it...

Both bands throws in a collaboration track in the midst of this split and it sounds great! It leans more towards pure black metal but i think the best of this song is its raw demonic energy. Could work as a new side project perhaps?


Ruins of Unlight brings forth a more traditional melancholic raw mid-tempo satanic metal, the mix is also quite heavy and choked and disted which work great as a backbone to the compositions, the raspy vocals are great and has some nice variations and it flows nicely together with the guitars, drums are drowned almost but the puls rytm from them  come through and fulfill its reason of existence.
 For me this is the best side but i think both are strong in their own ways.

Winds from the ancient war blows over your soul, grand and strong it wander forward, through fire & ice.... song after song recreates this vision of heavy struggling.
I hope someday i will see a full length from Ruins of Unlight on vinyl.( the Burzum cover was nice also)



This split clocks in slightly over one whole hour so you get much pain and strife for your cash that is for sure!!

A good if a bit genre mixed split tape. (i am happy to have my artwork as the cover for this too hehe)



TTT Track list:

Side A
1.     Swine Soul - Bats Crawl from Thy Lady's Maw (Intro)     03:56       instrumental
2.     Swine Soul - Animalistic Deathcry of Despair     04:52    
3.     Swine Soul - Dying Disharmonies of a Soul's Light     02:56    
4.     Swine Soul - Dead Blossom     09:55    
5.     Swine Soul - Dog Meat     10:57    
Side B
6.     Swine Soul & Ruins of Unlight - Two Tyrants of Terror     06:05    
7.     Ruins of Unlight - Bastion of Chaos     06:28    
8.     Ruins of Unlight - Krampus     04:58    
9.     Ruins of Unlight - Ophiuchus     04:05    
10.     Ruins of Unlight - Ea, Lord of the Depths (Burzum cover)     04:49    
11.     Ruins of Unlight - Driven Shivering Chant (Outro)     05:30       instrumental
      Total:01:04:31

Label link:

http://narbentage.de/


söndag 16 juli 2017

Nyctophilia / Nihil Invocation - Season of the Purest Decay


The putrid chamber doors open once again into Hateworks temple!



This time we are threatened with a split tape from two fairly new bands, the split starts off with  Nihil Invocation which is a one man band from the States and he delivers a bleak and slow paced puke of illness, a bit rough around the edges (technically speaking) but it goes well with the dead atmosphere though, the three songs here takes you to a place where a withering solitude is king and you is its bitch.
Raw and primitive, an interesting start....also NI has another release out this year called "Disease in Solitude"...dont know if it has a physical release though.

On the B-side we have the Polish one man band Nyctophilia.
This music continues with the utter bleakness and, these two bands fit very well together on this split for sure. Besides the similar atmospheres Nyctophilia plays a more solid and concentrated style and for me it is the side i resonate the most with. It has effective friction between vengeful raw  outbursts to the more calmer icy bits,  only two songs but i feel they give you enough of its bleeding persona & damaged soul to make it worthwile.
 Nyctophilia also have released a Ep "Gdzie noc jest najczarniejsza"(dont ask me what that means..) & a full length this year called "Dwelling in the Fullmoon Light".

All in all a solid slab of raw misanthropic black metal. (that also make me want to hear more from both bands)



On a sidenote both the members of these bands have another band together called Baphometic Deathslaught with a fresh debut demo out now...digitally anyways.

Tracklist:
1.     Nihil Invocation - The Ceremonial Chambers of Perpetual Hate (Intro)     01:11       instrumental
2.     Nihil Invocation - A God Amongst Lethargy and Desolation     04:50    
3.     Nihil Invocation - Only the Dissonant Shadows...Cast Upon My Throne     05:14    
4.     Nyctophilia - Beneath Oppression of Sun     06:16    
5.     Nyctophilia - Let My Dark Blood Flow     06:54    
      Total:24:25

Label link:
https://www.facebook.com/FacelessArild/

Lathspell - Torn Cold Void


After enjoying their previous album "Impious Incantations" in 2014 my appetite for more Lathspell was ignited! Sure that album was already their fourth one (and not counting the demos and splits) so i was already seriously  behind....but better late then never they say. (who?     .............they.)


The music you get here is some smokey black (well written) shards of darkness, it shimmers and reflects both internal and external apocalyptic longings and strife.... it mixes greatly both aggressive blast attacks with somber melodic hymns that both caress and chokes, the mixing & production is strong, punchy and organic. An all engulfing experience!

Also i find it has a quite grown up vibe to it, a sophistication (both in composition and atmosphere) that runs like a river of blood through out the album...

Long songs is not uncommon in black metal of course but these four ones infuses a perfectly balanced blend of memorable guitar compositions, harsh and bleeding vocals and punishing drums....and some well used bass parts. Never a dull moment in other words.

All in all this release has nothing i can nit pick on really it is just a great album...certainly one of 2016 top creations.



Co-released by Wolfspell Records & Patologian Laboratorio Productions
label link:
https://www.wolfspellrex.com/


Tracklist:

1.     I Am Death     08:54    
2.     Beneath the Flaming Earth     11:34    
3.     Blood Embrace This Soil     10:06    
4.     Torn Cold Void     09:34    
        Total:40:08    

måndag 3 juli 2017

Huoripukki - Barbaria.nyt


Last year this first EP from Huoripukki (means whoremonger in Finnish) got out from the dusty chambers, previously they had released a string of (four) demos between 2008 and 2010 but non i have heard though so this tape is the first assult i hear from them....first reason really i got interested in them was their messy but charmingly cool band logo hehe....



They play in a dusty quite slow barbaric death metal but with some inspirations from other generes like Thrash and heavy metal i think but these are morphed into the whole very nicely.
They sound pretty much as the cover looks like (the artwork reminds me of the art from the artist Warhead...) blunt and unforgiving. Guitars chuggs along the thumping drums but it also lash out a solo here and there for good measure.Vocals is dry and foggy and encapsules the atmosphere with dread and strengths.

 
From start to finish you get a heavy and meaty experience...sounds like a good old medieval Rape, pillage and plunder sound track!

I like the bands overall sound as it both stands on its own with its barbaric battlefield beats and embraces its traditional primitive death metal roots.... they have already this year released a new demo called Nekala Dungeons '17 but what i really look forward to is a full album from them where they could bump up the barbaric feel and dramatize it even more because there is much potential here to explore deeper.



Released by Fallen Temple
link:
https://www.facebook.com/fallentemple666/


Track list:

1.     Barbaarien viisaus     03:41    
2.     Ruttokirkot     03:18    
3.     Kuvainraastaja     03:33    
4.     Valkyriain hylkäämä     04:39    
        Total:15:11

Also a exclusive interview with the band will be published in my next printed RAW WAR issue. (due to be out early next year)