This is the début album from the mysterious collective that is Dead in the Manger.
Dead in the Manger play a curiously unusual mix of Depressive/Funeral Black Metal and Blackened Grindcore, as ably showcased on their début EP Transience.
On this latest release the band continue with their exploration down the path lass travelled, (never travelled?), that they started on Transience.
The juxtaposition of Depressive melody and harsh Blackened Grind is still not something that’s common and by all rights it shouldn’t work, but Dead in the Manger take a hitherto largely unexplored sub-genre that probably hardly anybody else is usually bothered with, let alone covets, and make it fully their own.
A harsh Black Metal ambience and general negatively-charged melodicism are created by the band only to then smash it into a mutated, bastard Grind template that results in songs combining both atmosphere and aggression.
It’s like someone has taken Shoegaze Black Metal and given it some real backbone.
So has their sound progressed from Transience at all? Yes; I’d say that the Black Metal component is more prevalent on Cessation, although that could also be due to the fact that they’ve learned to incorporate beauty and brutality at an even deeper level on this release. There’s also more mid-paced sections where the band demonstrate that not only can they create an evil atmosphere but they can maintain it.
In order to get something like this right you really need to know what you’re doing, and Dead in the Manger have proven that their first release wasn’t just some fluke. Cessation is even better.
A highly recommended listen. If you haven’t done so already you need to discover Dead in the Manger.
Cowards are from France and this is their second album. They play a brand of Hardcore that’s a blend of Sludge and Black Metal.
This is the kind of discordant, ugly, abrasive, extreme Hardcore that I absolutely love. Throw in a Blackened Sludge influence as well and you’ve a love affair just waiting to happen.
Well, actually it’s been happening ever since I discovered their début album really, but this new one affirms it.
Cowards incorporate interesting ideas and riffs into their aural assault and every song brings something slightly different to the table.
The granddaddy of this style is, of course, the mighty Converge. Cowards take the template laid down by the masters and dirty it up with Sludge and Black Metal influences until it’s firmly their own. I like a band that stamps their own identity on the style of music they choose to play; Cowards do this with jackhammers.
Toweringly slow, blisteringly fast, chuggingly heavy, Blackly aggressive, sadistically spiteful…I could go on. Suffice to say that Cowards have created an album that’s heavy and extreme in all of the right ways.
And have I mentioned the riffs? There are some choice ones on here. Slow, fast, atypical, angular, you name it.
The singer is appropriately intense throughout. This kind of music needs a singer who sounds like he’s about to lose it and explode into a fit of violence and this is what we get.
Great stuff. If you like music that’s heavy and aggressive you’ll love Cowards.
This is the second album from UK group Voices. They play Progressive Blackened Death Metal.
Featuring former members of Akercocke, this is an album full of promise from the start as Akercocke were one of the best and most individual bands that the UK had to offer.
As soon as the dark acoustic opener Suicide Note starts I’m instantly hit with the feeling that Akercocke gave me in their more restrained moments. Then Music for the Recently Bereaved blasts out of the speakers and I feel warm and fuzzy inside and out.
If voices aren’t the heirs to Akercocke then I don’t know who is. They’re definitely their own entity but they channel the same primordial power and majesty that Akercocke did so well.
Blasting Death Metal, scathing Black Metal, Progressive Metal, Avant-Garde and everything in between make up these tracks. Progressive Blackened Death Metal is as good a term as any, but it seems so small. Voices are just bigger than that and have a whole lot more on offer than that mouthful of a genre tag implies.
The songs here are varied and full of interesting ideas and avenues for exploration. The band essentially just do what they want and I’m incredibly glad of this as it has resulted in a top quality album full of modern Extreme Metal that stands alone.
Growls, screams, cleans; the band do it all with style. It’s like Akercocke, Arcturus, Opeth and Emperor were crushed up together, digested and vomited up as a slick, professional, fully formed Extreme Metal machine. It’s classy and in a class of its own.
I love it when bands do their own thing and inject their art with personality and character. It’s even better when they do this with obvious talent and a passionate hunger. London is all of these things and more.
This is ambitious and hugely impressive. For a snapshot of everything that Extreme Metal should be these days then London is flawless.
In fact that’s all I need to say really; London is flawless.
Ignotum are a Black Metal band from Italy and this is their début album.
This is aggressive and ugly, but not without melody. As well as their Black Metal sound they also incorporate licks and riffs that have a more Classic Metal feel as well as having some pretty good leads and solos.
Due to the above additions to their sound, this is not the usual pitch-black purist Black Metal affair, yet nor is it some jaunty, upbeat Melodic Black Metal one either; the truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. The band are Metal enough to have some driving riffs and strong melodic leads but Blackened enough to be ugly and uncompromising in other areas of their delivery.
The band definitely have a harsh streak to their sound, brought to the fore with no small assistance from the snarling vocals. And really, snarl is the best word to describe them. The singer goes about his task with all of the pent up threat of a dog about to pounce.
Ignotum have crafted an interesting album that combines a slick molten Metal delivery with the ugly Blackened nature of the really grim. It’s an interesting combination that makes for an enjoyable listen.
This is the third album from Finnish Blackened Death Metallers Archgoat.
This is raw, underground music filled with a horrific vibe and lashings of brutality. Blackened Death Metal, for the most part, usually means a Death Metal band with some Blackened influences. Archgoat have found that rare middle ground though that straddles both genres equally.
The Black Metal influence lends the songs a grim atmosphere and the Death Metal influence provides the aggression and ugliness.
Archgoat have created a very good listen with this album. Each song blurs the line between the two parent genres and we’re left with something that most people would just abort, but not Archgoat; they love, nurture and sculpt this malignant offspring into something worthy and deadly.
The deep growls seem to belch out malevolent black smoke and they seem to erupt out of the guitars like cancerous evil.
The riffs are captivating as they combine that Black Metal groove with Death Metal attack. It’s a winning combination.
Ahamkara are from the UK and play Atmospheric Black Metal. This is their début album.
This is Black Metal with epic length songs and a windswept feel.
This is the kind of album that’s the soundtrack to exploration. It’s the Blackened equivalent of a map of uncharted territories and frost-worn mountains.
The Embers of the Stars is bitingly cold and achingly sensual in equal amounts. These songs are emotive and expressive, infused with the raw energy of nature and the passion that goes along with this.
Heartfelt guitars and subtle synths provide the rasping vocals with a rich background on which to scream out into the heavens.
This sweeping music is perfect for Black Metal that’s inspired by nature and seeks to channel it via a darkened Metal route. Each of these songs is extremely well composed and gives the feeling of really being in the raw, dangerous outdoors.
This is the kind of epic, atmospheric music that has been characterised well by the Cascadian scene, even though this is from the UK. Fans of Wolves in the Throne Room, Altar of Plagues, Agalloch, Fen, Skagos, Fauna, Wodensthrone, (who share a member), etc., will be very at home with Ahamkara. However, whereas a lot of these bands have Post-Metal qualities to their sound, Ahamkara substitute these for shades of the mighty Emperor and thus are more “pure” Black Metal than not.
Really top quality work like this should always be supported. Listen and become enthralled.
Grimoire are from Canada and this EP is their second release. They play Black Metal.
Grimoire have an epic sound that consists of melodic grandeur, atmospheric keyboard highlights and frostbitten blasting.
This EP contains 4 songs totalling just under 25 minutes; 3 actual songs and an instrumental/ambient piece. It’s well-recorded and sounds like a labour of love for the band.
Vocals are primarily the standard rasps, performed well. Other styles occasionally appear for added variety.
Affecting leads and emotive riffs are the bedrock of Grimoire’s foundation and there’s a streak of Depressive/Funereal Black Metal in their sound due to this.
L’Aorasie des Spectres Rêveurs is full of celestial textures and enchanting melodies. This is haunting, powerfully atmospheric music when the band want it to be. And when they don’t? That’s when the icy blast beats and more aggressive guitars make appearances.
The songs here have an obscure, otherworldly quality to them, in keeping with the EP cover. Barren and cold yet magical and enthralling; the land of Grimoire is for hardy adventurers only.
My favourite parts are when the band slow down and the full grandeur of what they are capable of is unleashed like some grand and terrible funeral march, such as near the middle of Les Rumeurs des Astres.
Chalice of Blood are from Sweden and this is their latest EP. They play Black Metal.
This is sleek, occult Black Metal that’s sharp and vibrant. It’s Orthodox Black Metal played well and with a great production that fits the band like a warm death.
Chalice of Blood’s songs are covered in Blackened melodies and violent darkness. The tracks are largely fast and have strong guitars which hack out subtle melodies from the ice and sharpen them to killing implements.
The singer has a good Black Metal croak that sounds sufficiently evil and inhuman. The music complements this by sounding cold and unnatural but very professional at the same time. Chalice of Blood have a polished sheen to them which manages to enhance rather than detract from their malevolent nature.
The riffs sting like razorblades and the drums lacerate at 100 paces. As I sit here absorbing this music I can feel it getting under my skin, going direct through the layers of flesh to get at my lifesblood. I don’t try to stop it, that would be folly. Chalice of Blood have produced music that’s worthy of devotion.
Desolate Shrine are a Death Metal band from Finland. This is their third album.
This is not your standard Death Metal. Oh, all of the features and identifying marks of the genre are present and correct, but this is a more mature, expanded beast than the average.
Desolate Shrine specialise in dark, malevolent Death Metal that’s epic in scope. This is over an hour in length, with some tracks having well over ten minutes duration.
The band complement their Death Metal core with a few Black/Doom influences and overall The Heart of the Netherworld boasts evil atmospheres and gloomy auras.
The songs have a lot of meat to them and there is plenty of variety and interest to be had here. Slower, atmospheric parts, brutal riffs, lighter mood-building sections, rhythmic destruction; Desolate Shrine have it all.
Deep growls are accentuated with the occasional scream. The singer has a powerful voice that lends the songs an inhuman component and brings out their otherworldly side even more than the music already does.
The sound of the album matches the content; it’s strong and clear enough to do the band justice but murky and grim enough to bring out the sense of ritualistic nightmare that the band create.
Three albums into their career and Desolate Shrine have clearly mastered the art of writing involved songs that are wrapped in darkness. Think of a band like Ævangelist only with less of a pure-horror Black Metal viewpoint and more of a powerful Death Metal one.
This is a top quality album of horror Metal if ever there was one. Check out Desolate Shrine today and try not to soil yourself.
Ctulu are re-releasing their 2011 album Sarkomand, and what an album it is. Arne Uekert and Mathias Junge answered some questions and filled in the blanks…
For those who are unfamiliar with your band – introduce yourself!
Arne: I am Arne Uekert, guitarist and vocalist in Ctulu.
Give us a bit of history to Ctulu
Arne: Ctulu was founded in 2004 in Northern Germany with the aim to create fast and dark, yet melodic extreme metal.
What are your influences?
Arne: I’d let the listener decide on this point.
Mathias: Most people would say, it’s black/death metal in old Swedish style of the 90s like Dissection or Naglfar, but during the time of making music we created our own style called ”Seastorming Extreme Metal”.
What are you listening to at the moment that you would like to recommend?
Arne: I am listening a lot to Totenmond – Tonbergurtod at the moment. You may miss the point of the lyrics when you’re not speaking German, but the music is one of the heaviest and most evil I’ve ever heard.
Mathias: At the moment, there’s is nothing I would like to recommend.
Sarkomand is a few years old now but is being reissued for your 10 year anniversary – tell us about this.
Arne: The CD version is practically sold out and we always wanted to go vinyl. It was just a logical consequence.
Mathias: ”Sarkomand” is predestinated for this cause. A 45 minute manifest of pure violence and horror in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft! Who knows his stories will like this release. The album was loved by the fans right after release and is sold out for a while! Now it’s back on 12” vinyl and a must have for every Extreme Metal lover.
Since the album was originally released, how do you feel about it now – is there anything you would change or do differently?
Arne: Most unexpectedly I’d say that I wouldn’t. Actually this desire is normal, but I think this album works perfectly this way. The length is good, there are no fillers and I think each track stands out on its own. For me, this is still our best album.
Mathias: No, there is nothing I would change, for me it has everything what a good Extreme Metal album needs.
What’s your favourite song on the album and why?
Arne: Mondsucht, definitely. I think it’s a good track to end an album with and I like the atmosphere it creates a lot.
Mathias: Good question…it’s hard to say…if I have to choose I would say Blindes Chaos, because in this song all the components of Ctulu‘s Extreme Metal are combined.
How do you feel you fit into the wider Black Metal scene, and do you feel differently about this now than when Sarkomand originally came out?
Arne: For us, Sarkomand was the ultimate evidence that we’re actually NO black metal outfit. Some reviews even counted this album as death metal. Freie Geister (our début album) earned a lot of harsh criticism because it is so very “unblack”. We wanted to make a statement with Sarkomand. This is extreme metal, this goes beyond death/black/dark metal or whatever.
Mathias: Well, we actually never associated ourselves with the Black Metal scene, because from the beginning till now, we never got religious (Satanic) influences in our lyrics or use any symbols of that on stage or in our artworks. We got nothing to do with any religions, that‘s why we call our music ”Extreme Metal” and when Sarkomand came out in 2011, it wasn’t different.
What can you tell us about the lyrics? Would you change them now?
Arne: Sarkomand is kind of a concept album about the Dreamland cycle by H.P. Lovecraft. Reading the “Dreamquest of unknown Kadath” will help you a lot diving deeper beyond the surface of the lyrics on this album.
Mathias: The lyrics are about nightmares and other Lovecratian themes. If we would change something, we wouldn’t be Ctulu anymore.
Give us a bit of information on the songwriting process.
Arne: The songwriting was done by our lead guitarist Mathias Junge and our former drummer Jan Westermann (now active in the Greek outfits Released Anger and Diablery). I just added some second guitar tracks here and there. The lyrics were written by Mathias and me. About the songwriting itself, there’s actually nothing all too special to say. The tracks evolved very naturally and were finished very fast.
Mathias: The songwriting process is split between Arne and me. If we have new material, we work it out together with both guitars and then all the other instruments will follow.
How do you see your songs/direction developing in the future?
Arne: We’ve started to work with tracks written by both Mathias and myself now. We work longer on the single tracks now and we’ve found a better way to record demos, so the songwriting has changed a lot since Sarkomand. I think this will help the music get to the point faster now than it did three years ago.
Mathias: I don’t want to make any predictions, we will see what happen in future!
What’s next for Ctulu?
Arne: We’re working intensely on our forthcoming album that we hope to record at the end of this year.
Mathias: We working on a new album and the first live shows for 2015 are confirmed!
This is the début album from the mysterious collective that is Dead in the Manger.
What’s your favourite song on the album and why?
Wonderbox Metal 