US Black Metal band Salvaticus have just released their début album Hidden Manna.
The first thing that strikes me about Salvaticus is their raw sound that actually adds to the power of the songs rather than detracts from them. It’s raw in an underground way yet still strong enough not to sound weak or low quality. It somehow manages to capture the barbarity necessary for the heavier bits whilst remaining clear enough for the lighter ones. Either way, you can always hear and appreciate everything that’s gong on.
And what is going on? Quite a lot actually. This is an interesting brand of Black Metal that explores the state of the genre in 2014 and takes from multiple incarnations of the style to suit the vision of the band.
The songs are nature inspired/influenced and although based on the second wave of Black Metal there are elements of other sub-styles in their songs as well, the most notable being a combination of the Cascadian style and a strong Post-Metal feeling in places.
Coming across as a rougher version, (in a good way), of bands like Enslaved and Entropia, Salvaticus have hit upon a great formula for their sound.
The four songs here are epic in scope and pulled off due to the obvious talent and songwriting skills of the band. The album is full of powerful riffs, ideas, melodies and dark feelings.
Albums like this are very easy to get lost in. Listen to Salvaticus. Now.
This is the début album of Spanish Death Metal band Aposento.
Take a look at the album art. If that doesn’t scream DEATH METAL at you at then I don’t know what does. Top work.
Aposento have been around for a very, very long time but this is the first album they’ve actually released. Kind of crossing the sound of bands like Avulsed and Deicide, Aposento offer us in-your-face Death Metal with an understanding of what makes a good song catchy and memorable while simultaneously piling on the brutality.
A strong, solid sound increases the impact the songs have with the riffs and pounding drums working in unison to plough down anything in front of it.
Vocally the singer is deep and follows the Avulsed school of guttural noises.
The songs take elements of Old-School Death Metal and merge them with a more timeless style of Death Metal akin to Cannibal Corpse’s USDM in the sense that it’s not ultra-modern but it’s not completely Old-School either; rather it contains elements of the timeless Classic style. Ultimately this is Death Metal, and no-one would have trouble recognising this for what it is.
Quality Death Metal played by lifers who know their business.
Leather Chalice are from the US and this is their latest EP.
One track, almost 16 minutes in length; this is a heady fusion of Black Metal and Post-Hardcore.
Luna starts off with samples and noises before slowly introducing the drums and a lightly strumming guitar. Very soon we’re into shoegaze lo-fi territory with the band tentatively picking their way along to a backdrop of strange and unusual sounds.
This abruptly changes to a 70’s inspired piece that has some lovely rumbling bass and emotive guitars. The vocals also start and we’re treated to some real throat-shredding screams.
The guitars have a nice 70’s Progressive feel to them and the whole thing feels analogue and very down to earth. Lo-fi this may be but it’s rich in content and feeling with the band exploring their chosen path with passion and verve.
I love that you can hear the bass and it adds a lot to the song rather then just being under-utilised as in most bands.
As the song progresses things get more upbeat and venture closer to raw Black Metal while keeping the overarching theme of the track intact.
The quasi-Industrial sounds are brought to the fore once more two thirds of the way in before blasting off again for the final run.
I could listen to this kind of music all day. There’s something very honest and open about music which on one hand seems like it has been thrown up quickly and is only held together by the thinnest of threads, whilst on the other hand feeling timeless and like it will undoubtedly endure for a long time to come.
Take a chance, lift the Leather Chalice up and take a good hard listen.
Corrosion of Conformity are from the US and this, as the title suggests, is their 9th album and it’s chock full of tasty Southern Metal.
For many though this band need no introduction. This is Southern Metal that combines elements of Heavy Metal, Doom Metal and Punk Rock into the 42 minutes playing time.
The songs exude confidence and walk with a cocky swagger. In some ways you could call this “feelgood Metal”. This is good-time Rock-and-Roll that’s the Metal equivalent of easy listening. Almost.
The album has an organic, earthy feel to it with the sound matching.
There’s a very relaxed vibe to most of these songs, with the band sounding loose, almost like it’s a rehearsal. They sound very much at ease with the material and even the more up tempo songs don’t seem hurried in any way.
The vocals are lazily melodic and have an ease of delivery where it feels like his voice just falls out of the speakers.
Ultimately Corrosion of Conformity have a lot of charisma and the songs are easy to like. IX is a good listen.
This is the second album by US Black Metal band Humut Tabal.
Humut Tabal play frigid Black Metal with dark melodies lashing out from every angle. The riffs are catchy and purposeful and the songs are driven by a sense of urgency and grandeur.
Speed is very important on The Dark Emperor ov the Shadow Realm and the band give it their all when they need to. They’re not adverse to slower/mid-paced sections too though and there is enough mixture between the two to keep things interesting.
The band base their sound on the likes of Mayhem, Satyricon, Naglfar and Emperor. Using this base they then build on it with their own personality as well as injecting some Classical/Experimental influences into their compositions. They’re confident enough in their own abilities to pull it off with panache.
Vocally the high pitched shrieking is classic Black Metal and sounds just right for the music.
The complete package is rounded off with a strong recording that serves the band well.
On the whole the band have created an enjoyable and powerful set of songs.
This is the latest EP from US Sludge/Doom Metal band Servants of the Mist.
The EP is 25 minutesin length and after the perfunctory intro we’re into the feedback-drenched first song Undeserving, which at just under 12 minutes serves as the centrepiece of the release.
The music is crushing, monolithic Doom with a corrupted, rotten Sludge veneer and a core of pure hatred.
We get bowel-loosening deep vocals and piercing high-pitched ones, both sound great and complement the music perfectly.
A deep aura of misery pervades these tracks and the band do all they can to punish and obliterate the listener with their steady, slow assault.
This is a really enjoyable form of dank Doom that just won’t give up; the strongly oppressive feeling of the tracks makes for a compelling release that sticks in the mind long after the last foetid chord has faded.
The band have enough talent that whether they are playing agonisingly slow Doom or slightly-more-upbeat Sludge they do it with obvious passion and with riffs to die for.
Negatively emotive and bleakly enticing; Servants of the Mist really know how to write a good Doom tune.
I mean, honestly; if you’re at all into this kind of music what’s not to like here?
Wolves in the Throne Room are from the US and play Cascadian Black Metal, at least they do normally.
Celestite is different. Stylistically still rooted in the Black Metal genre, the band have stripped out the drums and vocals and instead created five atmospheric soundscapes to captivate and entrance the listener.
Synth-based exploration and orchestrated Blackened sonics give this the air of an extended film soundtrack. This is cinematic music with grand musical vistas and sweeping arcs of ambitious beauty.
In the wrong hands this could easily sound trite or just plain dull, but Wolves in the Throne Room prove that they can take the atmospheric build-and-release dynamics that they honed so perfectly on their Black Metal work and transfer this intact to the compositions on Celestite.
This is an album crafted with lofty aims and I’m pleased to say that it works. Each track successfully conjures the majesty of celestial imagery and awe-inspiring wonder at the breathtaking scenery that nature can deliver. The album cover is truly appropriate at putting across just what the music feels like.
This may be an experiment for the band compared to their usual work but it’s a roaring success. The ideal accompaniment to watching the night sky.
This is the début release from Destitution, who play Thrash Metal and come from The Netherlands.
Destitution play Old-School Thrash that’s unpolished and street smart.
There are riffs, licks, chops, leads and solos aplenty on this release, more than enough Metal to satisfy. The guitarists can obviously play, (as can the rest of the band), and the performances all round are good.
The songs have an energy about them that’s propelled by the Old-School riffs.
Vocally they remind of Kreator/Testament and musically they recall the same but with a bit of Anthrax thrown in. Its safe to say that if those bands appeal then Destitution will too, especially as they inject themselves into the mix so that the album doesn’t come across as pure homage or hero worship.
The songs are well written and are compositionally sound. It’s mainly high octane Thrash, as is expected, but they even try their hand at a ballad in the form of Affinity. It works surprisingly well.
Having recently released their début album Imago, Mordbrand are like a fiery beacon of hope and devastation in the overcrowded Death Metal arena. Time to find out more – Björn Larsson gets a grilling below…
Give us a bit of history to Mordbrand
Me and Johan started out doing death metal again after a hiatus of a couple of years (we used to do the same in a band called Horned that we split up in 2002). I was very inspired by older filthier death metal bands – which sounds like a cliché today in this over flooded OSDM “scene”. Well, that’s the way it played out and we recorded some songs in our rehearsal place (that then was inhabited by THE LAW, the thrash metal band that we were very active with then). After releasing a split with EVOKE (eng) we decided to bring things up a notch. We contacted Per, he liked what he heard and we started writing and recorded what came to be “Necropsychotic”.
Where did the name come from?
I thought of the name “Arson” but I didn’t like it too much. Then my fiancee came up with the idea to use the swedish translation – “Mordbrand” – in a very non-Yoko kind of way. We, the band, thought it sounded good and didn’t care too much about the actual meaning of it. This was still in the early phase of the band but the moniker just stuck with us.
What are your influences?
Lyrically: Total death. Musically: Old death metal, newer esoteric death & black metal and crusty punk.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
Oh, I listen to a lot of things. I think that Mitochondrion, Autopsy, Vallenfyre, Bombs of Hades, Rite, Gravehill, Triptykon & Behemoth have released really impressive stuff lately.
How did you decide on the style of Death Metal that you wanted to play – what appeals about the Swedish Death Metal sound?
We started out playing Autopsy-esque death metal and never really thought we’d make “swedeath”, and I’m not sure we do. I think it’s the d-beat stuff that make people draw that conclusion. We don’t care, people can label us in any way they want. I use a Boss HM2 pedal which is quite important for the swedish sound, and maybe people can’t get passed that. I don’t know.
I’m pleased that you’re not just regurgitating past glories with your music. You seem to be one of the few bands who are trying to move the style forward and develop it. What are your thoughts on this?
Yes and no. I think we’re moving forward as a band but I don’t feel we have a responsibility against the genre. We do music the way we like it and we happen to digest a lot of melodic and dark music upon the strong death metal foundation. So we don’t have a deliberate task or anything. But it’s obvious that you get that we’re not a tribute band and that’s something more and more people are discovering.
What were your goals with Imago?
To make a record you haven’t heard until you’ve heard the whole thing. A lot of records do ‘sounds’ pretty well. Bands are good at nailing a mood or a sound of some genre or scene that they dig – which is cool. Our focus is to make _songs_ and try not to repeat ourselves. You’re gonna hear a lot of different things going on on “Imago”, but I think and hope that it all stays in the framework that is Mordbrand. Per’s unique vocals bind it all together in my opinion.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
Often it’s me making the riffs and putting together demos that I send to the other guys. Then they bring me feedback and Johan starts rehearsing the songs. When the demo’s sound solid we start recording and produce it together. Since we record everything ourselves we’re not reliant on someone’s payroll and we get to throw away stuff if we’re not pleased with it, which is great ’cause we don’t have to gamble with quality.
Would you change anything if you had to do the album again?
Of course. Since we do everything ourselves we’re constantly learning. It’s a process in itself to not think about all the flaws in the end result. But everything is flawed, so it’s about ‘letting go’ and realizing when you’re done. Luckily we don’t have to do the album again.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
Well, the way we develop as artists and songwriters. Mordbrand will always be dark and brutal and that’s the only guarantee we can give.
What’s next for Mordbrand?
A split 7″ with RITE is on the way and should be out during the summer on Chaos Records. We also have a 7″ of our own with two new songs on it. Two other splits are planned too, but we can’t reveal any info on that just yet. All of our releases are gonna contain original unique material, at least that’s the plan, so we won’t regurgitate old stuff and release separately just because it’s convenient. We did that with two songs on “Necropsycotic” ’cause Per’s ideas changed the songs into new entities (and he didn’t sing on the original versions), but that was an exception to the rule.
Blut Aus Nord are France’s premier Black Metal/Avant Garde/Industrial/Dark Metal kings, and this is their split with fellow French band P.H.O.B.O.S. who play Industrial Doom.
Each band contributes three songs, with Blut Aus Nord up first. Their songs are as impressive as you would imagine and follow their standard Dark Metal template of Blackened riffs, proficient drumming, atmospheric auras and semi-industrial feelings; like watching urban decay sped up and slowed down at the same time.
Warped and haunting melodies layer these three tracks and engage the listener fully. The first track De Librio Arbitrio is so involving that it’s almost startling to hear vocals in the latter part of the song.
These three songs are bleakly emotive Black Metal and it’s once more apparent why Blut Aus Nord are in a league of their own with very few bands even coming close to a similar style of any real quality. And even though the band are better known for their atmospheres than their riffs, they still know how to kick them out when they need to; listen to that grinding mid-paced riffing in Hùbris. Quality.
And on to the second half of the split; all three tracks by P.H.O.B.O.S. are 7:00 in length, which immediately made me take notice.
This is Dark Industrial Doom that may be different from Blut Aus Nord’s Black Metal but shares the same stylistic headspace. The tracks slither and wind their way around to a backdrop of pounding drums that sound like heavy items being dropped from great height.
If Blut Aus Nord were remixed and regurgitated by Godflesh then the result might not be too far from this. The three tracks pulse nicely with automated, mechanistic darkness and I’m quite happy that I’ve now encountered P.H.O.B.O.S.
This is a premium split that showcases the exceptional talents of both bands and at 40 minutes in length it’s a darn sight longer than most splits.
US Black Metal band Salvaticus have just released their début album Hidden Manna.
What are your influences?
Would you change anything if you had to do the album again?
Wonderbox Metal 