Guitarist and founding member Lord Ahriman comments: “Our bad luck with labels in the past has for sure been very frustrating. So it is with great pleasure to finally be able to turn the page, move on and start a new dark chapter in the DARK FUNERAL saga, as we join the great Century Media family. Century Media has more than enough proven to be a stable and highly professional label. And we are totally looking forward to this new cooperation, which I’m sure will prove to be very satisfying and successful for both parts. Hail the goat!”

Jens Prueter, Head Of A&R at Century Media Records Europe, comments: “I always respected DARK FUNERAL for their endurance and integrity. They’ve gone through some hard times, but never gave up and also never gave in to compromise on their musical and aesthetic vision. Almost 20 years after their formation it’s still the same powerhouse of unmerciful black metal and the new line-up is stronger and more focused than in the past. Thanks to Lord Ahriman and the whole band! Looking forward to their 20th anniversary in 2013 with a new album In The Sign Of The Horns!”

Founded back in 1993 in the depths of Sweden by Lord Ahriman and Blackmoon, DARK FUNERAL has proven to be one of the leaders of the second wave of black metal among other legends such as MARDUK and DARKTHRONE. While other black metal bands lost themselves through the late 90′s / early 2000′s, DARK FUNERAL managed to remain faithful to their roots, be it musically, aesthetically and lyrically. After 5 albums, hundreds of live rituals, the band leaded by Lord Ahriman and now featuring Nachtgarm on vocals is ready to embark on a new satanic crusade with Century Media Records.

Expect nothing but pure black metal the way it was meant to be.

DARK FUNERAL 2012:

Nachtgarm – vocals

Lord Ahriman – guitars

Chaq Mol – guitars

Zornheym – bass

Dominator – drums

DARK FUNERAL Live:

07.06.2012 – Sweden Rock Festival – Norje, Sweden

22.06.2012 15 – Ans Tout A Fond – Montpellier, France

29.06.2012 – With Full Force Open Air – Lobnitz, Germany

04.08.2012 – Wacken Open Air – Wacken, Germany

06.08.2012 – Metalcamp – Tolmin, Slovenia

10.08.2012 – Carpathian Alliance Festival – Lviv Region, Ukraine

16.08.2012 – Rockstad Falun – Falun, Sweden

http://thecleansing.net

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That’s largely because Pneuma isn’t a black metal album with psychedelia bleeding in around the edges – it’s a psychedelic album that’s gone black and rotten at its core. Every song here is a colorful kaleidoscope of heaving organs, tumbling bass and goblin-esque vocals that scrape, slither and cavort. Trippy, yes, but it might also send you scrambling for the Thorazine. Tracks like opener “Mountain of Horror” and the 12-minute epic “In the Gates of Time” are structured as heavy, psychedelic dirges, equal parts of The Doors or The Moody Blues crossed with Sigh or Solefald. These two songs mostly lope and lurch along at a mid-paced tempo, but also crank to a thrashy gallop or blackened scramble before going all prog-wackadoo. Best of all, they’re always cogent and listenable even as they morph and expand. Every minute offers some new twist or quirk, but it all rumbles along in the same direction, rather than the Frankenstein-mishmash ADD approach that defines some other avant-garde acts.

Hail Spirit Noir also has a wicked sense of humor, as you’ll hear in Pneuma’s two gauzy folk-ballads. “Let the Devil Come Inside” starts as a cooing lullaby, then quickly goes all wrong with its out-of-nowhere growled chorus, “Kill your mother, while you’re still in her womb.” The song wanders off from there into a dreamlike interlude of xylophone and strings, then dives into a nightmare of burbling bass, spidery dissonant solos and muffled blastbeats. “When All is Black” is even weirder, with soothing flutes and a sonorous clean vocal that turns the lyric “Smells like dry sores” into a haunting and lovely refrain. Then it too takes off on a gallop through psychedelic hinterlands, where time drips backwards and the flowers unfurl grey petals and the goats nestle in tight by the banks of a poison river… I can’t help but compare a song like “When All is Black” to one of the psychedelic odysseys off of Opeth’s Heritage; they both tread the same twisty path that leads back to the hazy fractal bloom of the late ’60s, but somehow this comes off as more authentic and creepy than many of that album’s tracks.

And then there’s “Against the Curse We Dream,” the album’s groovy, shambling highlight. It’s basically black metal surf-rock with horror movie keyboards, like a Scooby Doo chase sequence except the ghostly sea captain isn’t some guy in a shabby costume and phosphorescent dust – he’s a kelp-strangled corpse with water in his lungs and rape in his eyes. “Against the Curse” is the album’s most straightforward track, but it’s also super-catchy and odd and entertaining as hell.

Mixing retro ’60s/’70s psychedelia or occult rock with blacker influences isn’t radically novel these days, given similar sounds from Opeth, Sigh and Ghost. If you missed the death influence from Heritage though, you’ll definitely want to check this out, even if the rougher sections of Pneuma are still not terribly ferocious. Still, this is an awesome, authentic and weird little treasure, and well worth seeking out if you like your metal weird, melodic and memorable. Pneuma will be occupying a special place in my collection along with other delicious little oddities like Phantasmagory’s Anamorphosis of Dreams, Ved Buens Ende’s Written in Waters, Frantic Bleep’s The Sense Apparatus and Korovakill’s Waterhells.

Welcome Atoma and the ‘new’ group’s ‘new’ full-length debut, Skylight. Just as the predecessor to another moniker, Skylight rises out of nowhere to become one of the best albums of 2012 thus far. The genesis of the group has had an effect on the internals as well, as members seem to have picked up different roles and instruments, a curiosity that’s pretty much only noticeable after comparing the Atoma’s and Slumber’s albums directly side by side along with the booklet credits.

Those expecting another Fallout straight from the get-go will no doubt become slightly puzzled. With its more open, mechanized, progressive and space-y atmosphere Skylight sounds different, if not completely new and somewhat unheard of. There’s also a clear cinematic layer to Skylight’s compositions ― a course of drama that cements the fact that this is indeed a concept album. Despite all the changes, despite the rebirth, as minutes progress it’s also clear from which band Atoma grew out of. Just listen to tracks like “Skylight” (featuring deep growls for old time’s sake) and one of the album’s definite highlights, “Hole in the Sky”.

In that light, I’d also claim that Skylight is a very Swedish sounding album as nearly all the comparisons―even if their directness can be strongly debated―are drawn towards acts like Katatonia and Khoma. However, it’s actually Tiamat that lingered the most in my head as I was floating through the album, trying to grasp the light unfolding. In a way, I can’t but fantasize if this is what Johan Edlund’s material could have sounded like after Wildhoney and A Deeper Kind of Slumber (see that last word?) had he grown an unhealthy interest towards sci-fi themes and philosophical pondering of our own existence. The question is even further emphasized by the fact that at times, vocalist and primus motor (and Slumber’s keyboardist) Ensahn Kalantarpour could easily switch places with Edlund (“Highway” for example).

But what we truly have here is a journey that carries without a hitch or a fault throughout the 47-minute length. The songs are varied as they cater to those that wish to lose themselves in a trance, but Skylight also offers plenty of hooks, memorable melodies and a strong sense of emotion. In the end, once you start dissecting the album like Fox Mulder, the presence of Slumber is truly evident, even if the electronic instrumentals such as the strong album opening “Atoma”, amazing intermission “Bermuda Riviera” and “Solaris”―a track that mixes Fifth Element and Blade Runner with the more 2 A.M sort space ambient―might jam your bearings. Oh, there’s also “Saturn & I”. It’s clear that the band’s creative forces aren’t alien towards animated Japanese space operas or video game scores, collectively pulling enough familiar cues to form a strong visual image of the music into the listener’s brain.

To conclude, despite what your expectations might be, it would only showcase your stupidity to miss out on this trip, as Skylight truly is an experience quite like no other in the metal world. It takes the the listener through various locations, scenes and in the end, offers a chance to learn something about yourself. Hopefully, Atoma is here to stay this time around as it would be a goddamn shame for this group not to put out further material ― even if we, as humanity, kind of deserve all the shit that’s upon us.

David Haley: To be honest I really didn’t have anything in mind. It was a very densely populated area, but we haven’t seen too much thus far, so, we’re still eager to check things out y’know.

Have you heard about stuff like the ban on chewing gum?

David Haley: [Laughter in the background from Jason Peppiat] We knew we couldn’t bring chewing gum, we knew we couldn’t smoke cigarettes and throw the butts on the ground.

And especially our drug laws as well.

David Haley: Yeah, we knew that the laws are strict so we’re on our best behavior at the moment. [Group laughter]

Did you know that the smoking laws in Singapore are becoming stricter as well?

David Haley: Really?

It’s increasingly harder for smokers to find any place to smoke at.

David Haley: Wow.

Jason Peppiat: Sounds like Australia. [Laughs]

David Haley: Is that a good thing?

Jason Peppiat: Not to me. [Laughs]

Countries like China and Singapore have governments that like to control many aspects of their people’s lives, yet even they are opening their doors to extreme metal bands to perform for their fans. Do you find it funny or ironic that such tightly-controlled countries are becoming more accepting towards bands like you guys?

David Haley: Yeah it is pretty ironic, but I guess we’re not a hugely popular band, and we’re not out there making political statements and inciting any kind of anti-government sentiments; so they probably don’t really care about what we do, ‘cos we’re not really making an impact as far as they are concerned.

When we are in someone else’s country, we respect their laws and even if we don’t agree with them, we are not going to go out there and talk shit about them, because it’s not our place [to do so]. It’s like if someone came to our country or our homes and started criticizing things about our homes, we wouldn’t be too happy about it, so we’re not going to do the same, y’know?

We’ve all got our own opinions, and our own opinions might be different even within the band, so we don’t really have the right to pass judgment or talk shit about other people and other places.

Psycroptic mainly dealt with themes related to death and fantasy on the earlier albums. On the latest album however, the lyrical theme seems to be heavily influenced by political ideas—even the usually sci-fi/fantasy inspired album artwork is gone! What influenced or inspired such a focus on political ideas?

David Haley: I guess we just write about what we—

Jason Peppiat: What impacts us really.

David Haley: I cannot speak for all of the lyrics because I write half the lyrics and Jason writes the other half, so yeah, I mean some of the songs are inspired by certain [real] events, but they’re by no means preaching, and they are by no means saying this is what you should believe in. The lyrics I write are always about a certain subject.

So for example, when I look at the title of The Inherited Repression, it kind of gives me a political feel right away. What is it supposed to mean?

David Haley: Well, I mean if you take that interpretation then that’s correct for you.

But basically, I came up with the idea of the human race always having repression kinda build up from generation to generation, whether it’s political, social or just individual mental repression. It’s not just the government. It’s not just a big bad entity that is repressing, you know, but it just gets handed down throughout history, through certain customs, beliefs, and anything! Anything that gets handed down and people don’t actually think about it. People don’t stop and think, “Why are we doing this? This doesn’t make any sense.” So it’s more about people not taking control of their own lives and their own thoughts, and it’s not about blaming someone or something for being repressive; it’s more like “Okay, stop and think. There’s lots of things that are actually repressing you and your life, but you haven’t thought about it.”

So no governments are involved?

David Haley: It’s not a specific thing, that’s what I’m trying to say. But if people interpreted it saying, “Oh, it’s about the government,” then for them, it is. All the lyrics are entirely up to the interpretation of the reader, or the listener. We’re not saying particular things, we’re not writing as if I’ve got something in mind—when Jason writes lyrics, he’s got something in mind—and most of the time we don’t even tell each other. So others might read our lyrics and think they’re about something, but they’re [actually] about something completely different.

Jason Peppiat: I always try to write lyrics not to be so direct. You know what you’re trying to say but—

David Haley: You’re trying to be cryptic.

Jason Peppiat: YEAH! That’s the word I’m looking for. [Laughs]

David Haley: Open to interpretation.

Why is the person featured on the album cover wearing a gas mask?

Jason Peppiat: That was sort of [inspired] from the song “Carriers Of The Plague”. That was originally what we were thinking of calling the album, and I suppose we based the artwork around that song.

So the album cover is supposed to be a graphic representation of “Carriers Of the Plague”?

David Haley: What we do with every album is that we always give a few sets of lyrics to the others, and we say, “Read through this and—

Jason Peppiat: Interpret.

David Haley: —just come up with something that you think is appropriate.” When we work with an artist, we work within his/her skills and it’s not us telling him/her what to do. It’s like when Joe writes for his guitar [part] I’m not going to sit there and tell him what to do, or when Jason does a certain vocal phrasing, I’m not going to tell him what to do. So it’s the same when we work with an artist.

Jason Peppiat: Makes it fun though.

Joseph Haley: When we do let them do their own thing, I guess they are more into it. They know what they are doing, and it all ends up better.

The album cover actually kind of reminds me of an album called Riders Of The Plague by a band called The Absence. The names are very similar—“Carriers Of The Plague”, “Riders Of The Plague”…

Jason Peppiat: Yeah. [Group laughter]

…and the album cover for that particular album actually featured a guy wearing a gas mask as well.

Jason Peppiat: Oh, okay. [Group laughter]

You guys can check them out! They’re on Metal Blade Records.

Jason Peppiat: Oh, okay.

Joseph Haley: What band is it?

The Absence.

So, this year has been a really good one for technical death metal so far. Both Gorod and Spawn Of Possession have released excellent albums of their own as well. Do you think Psycroptic can get on more year-end lists than them?

David Haley: I’m not sure, I don’t know, it’s not up to me. [Laughs]

What do you think of them actually?

David Haley: I’m a fan of both bands. I like Spawn Of Possession, I just got the new album and it’s a lot to take in. It’s very, very exceptionally technical.

What about Gorod?

David Haley: I haven’t heard the new album thus far, but I heard, I think, two tracks of it and I was blown away; so I’m keen to check that one out as soon as I can. I heard one of their songs on the radio last week, so I’ve got to track it down.

This year also happens to be one in which two highly anticipated sci-fi movies will be released, namely the Alien 1 prequel “Prometheus” and the remake of the classic Arnie sci-fi flick, “Total Recall”. As you guys seem to be fans of sci-fi, will you be watching them?

Joseph Haley: I’ll be watching “Prometheus”.

Jason Peppiat: I didn’t even know they had a remake of “Total Recall”. [Laughs]

David Haley: I mean “Total Recall” was an awesome movie, so I’m not sure why they’re remaking it.

Jason Peppiat: Yeeeah. [Laughs]

It isn’t exactly a remake. It is more of a re-interpretation of the original short story by the author Philip K. Dick.

David Haley: Okay, I don’t know too much about that.

It’s kind of like both movies have the same names, but it’s different interpretations of the original short story.

Jason Peppiat: Ah, okay.

David Haley: Right, okay. Well, I’m keen to check it out. [Laughs] If it is a complete remake, then I wouldn’t really be interested.

Oh, there’s no Mars involved.

David Haley: Ah, okay.

It’s basically a very political movie. The story goes something like Euromerica and New Shanghai are fighting to be superpowers in the world, and the main guy is actually an agent for Euromerica who has had his memory wiped. No Mars involved.

David Haley: Right. [Laughs]I’ll have to check it out, I don’t know too much about it.

Why do you think technical death metal bands are usually obsessed with sci-fi themes in their music?

Jason Peppiat: ‘Cos we’re all nerds. [Group laughter]

I mean I’ve never actually heard a technical death metal band singing about slaying dragons or something.

Jason Peppiat: Yeah. [Group laughter] It’s kind of carved its own niche a little bit, hasn’t it?

David Haley: I’ll let you go into that one. [Laughs]

Jason Peppiat: C’mon Joe, you’re the nerd in the band. [Laughs]

Joseph Haley: I don’t know, I guess it’s just the sound of the music. Y’know, with the technicality and stuff; and all the—

Jason Peppiat & Joseph Haley: Dissonance.

Jason Peppiat: All the sounds of [outer] space and stuff. [Laughs]

Joseph Haley: Yeah, yeah. [Laughs] That’s all I can think of.

What sci-fi movies do you think Psycroptic’s music would be most appropriate for?

David Haley: That’s a good question.

Jason Peppiat: You’re the man for this one, Joe.

Joseph Haley: Ah, Jesus. What movie in particular…

Jason Peppiat: You’ve got a lot of stuff back there. [Group laughter, and this is obviously an inside joke that we will never understand]

David Haley: Yeah, that’s probably not very appropriate. [Laughs]Maybe something like, say, “Dark City” or something like that?

Joseph Haley: Yeah maybe, something like that.

Dark City? Is that a very old movie?

Jason Peppiat: Yeah.

David Haley: It’s [from the] ‘90s.

I don’t think I’ve even heard of it until now.

Jason Peppiat: It’s good.

Joseph Haley: It’s really good, although it wasn’t actually a very big movie.

Jason Peppiat: It’s the one with the wiping of memories?

Joseph Haley: Yeah.

Jason Peppiat: Yeah, that’s awesome.

Do you find the word “technical” in “technical death metal” redundant? I mean, technically speaking, all music is technical to a certain extent.

David Haley: Yeah, I never use that term.

So you guys just call yourselves “death metal”?

David Haley: We just call ourselves “metal”.

Jason Peppiat: Yeah, we try not to really keep ourselves to a genre so much because then you know you sort of put yourself in a set of guidelines to so many people, see? They say that you’re a technical death metal band, but then, our latest album we branched out a lot and—

David Haley: Well, it’s not technical death metal anymore you know? It’s gone on to something else.

Jason Peppiat: We never said we were. [Laughs] We are just doing what we want to do.

David Haley: It’s simpler-sounding music, but it’s way harder for us to play the new stuff than the old stuff. So, we don’t view ourselves as a technical [death metal] band.

Jason Peppiat: I’d say we’re probably more of an “extreme metal” band. I mean it’s got your death metally bits, but then it’s got a lot of thrash as well. I mean on the last few albums, there’s been a lot of thrash-inspired guitar work.

Joseph Haley: Yeah pretty much all the guitars, to me, it’s a lot more thrash than anything else. I think once everything is put together—like all the drumming and stuff—it obviously leans a lot further away from just thrash y’know.

What food, drink or product from Australia do you miss whenever you are touring overseas?

David Haley: Meat pies.

Joseph Haley: Meat pies.

Jason Peppiat: Yeah. [Laughs]

Anything else?

David Haley: Don’t really miss the beers.

Have you tried Tiger Beer?

David Haley: Yeah.

Jason Peppiat: Yeah.

So how do you find it?

David Haley: Yeah, I like it. I was just drinking it yesterday.

Do you find it bitter?

Jason Peppiat: Most Australian beers are bitter anyway, so I suppose it’s kind of what we’re used to, really.

David Haley: We like going to different countries and trying different beers, so we don’t miss the beers back home. It’s good beer, but we don’t miss it. But I definitely miss my pies. [Laughs]

If your life journey were a diary, what do you think will be on the second last page?

David Haley: [Epic 7-second pause] Gosh. [Group laughter]

So, if my life were…

A diary.

David Haley: A diary.

What do you think will be on the second-last page.

David Haley: Second-last page?

Yeah, I mean asking you what will be on the last page is too easy, right?

David Haley: Yeah, last page is gonna be nothing there, ‘cos you’d be dead. [Laughs] Um… second-last page? [Slightly epic 5-second pause] I don’t know… maybe a picture. [Group laughter]

A picture?

David Haley: Yeeah! Photograph.

Showing you doing… ?

David Haley: Doing whatever I’m doing… just before the last page. [Group laughter]Which could be anything. It could be one of these pictures. [Gestures at my photographer’s camera and everyone in the hotel room]

Oh, okay.

David Haley: It could be anything! [Group laughter]I’d turn that question around.

Was that the most befuddling question anyone has ever posed to you?

David Haley: Pretty good question.

Jason Peppiat: Yeeeah. [Laughs]

David Haley: It’s a good question if you can’t answer it.

Jason Peppiat: You don’t know when that last page is coming I guess. [Laughs]

David Haley: About that picture, my second-last page would be a picture, ‘cos mine would be a picturebook [Jason laughs] as it wouldn’t have too many words.

So your diary will basically be a photo album?

David Haley: Yeah, the best kind. And then you can interpret it however you like, rather than me telling you what it’s gonna be.

While Joha provides the face and voice of Desultor with his varied and emotive clean croons, the back bone of Desultor is provided by the incredibly tight and frenetic drumming of Ibrahim Stråhlman (of  late 90s early 00s melodic death metal act Auberon)  and when the two come together it somehow works.  Partly because the music is so high octane and often relentless with its polished assault, but partly because Joha’s vocals deliver just the right mix of epic, memorable clarity and gravelly emotion. A few gruff bellows and screams here and there also help to remind you of the albums underlying extremity, which can be often overlooked with the presence of the vocals.

Only recently discovering Strapping Young Lad, I hear some of Devin Townsend’s more insane balls out moments here (i.e “You Suck”) as the energy of the music is pretty impressive. And the duo balance everything perfectly. Even not being a huge fan of this vocal style, the music more than makes up for it, and Joha (who also does the guitars and drums) does a good job of making the vocals even more effective by making the choruses pretty damn catchy also.

After the atmospheric intro “Chapter 1- New Era”, “Black Monday” explodes from the speakers with a throttling salvo of double bass intensity and beefy crystal clear riffing. Admittedly, “Black Monday” is pretty much the receipt for the rest of the album, but with a confident, catchy delivery and attention grabbing intensity, the likes of “Another World”, “Division Insane”, “Luxury of Pain” and particularly ferocious “As So We Bleed”  will get your neck snapping and fingers shredding.

Another two instrumentals “Chapter 2- The Phoenix” and “The End” offer some respite, but make no mistake the goal of the album is pure shred, and the interludes merely serve as breathers between hard and fast sprints. Add a tight, crisp production and package is complete, even a little repetitive towards the end, but certainly a very pleasant surprise for 2012 and a bit of a welcome break from all the growling and gurgling I usually subject myself to.

”Frozen at the Moment of Death” promptly showcases this imposing and masterful evolution in the overall attack with some neat melodies, a great groove, and a certain hint of a thrashy spirit defining its outlines. It immediately impresses with how vivifying and bar-raising it is. ”Formaldehyde” goes further into that promising direction with one pleasingly engrossing structure, fairly psychotropic technical riffage, and a well-balanced series of tempo shifts. The format is very compact and intelligently laid out, aiding this track greatly in its venture to aim satisfyingly high. It does have its merit. ”18 Days” has en effective down tempo intro, but that fleeting moment of promise is short-lived. The rest of the track is weak at best, sounding half-assed even on the riffage front, as Barnes’ dull and go-through-the-motions growls follow along with the monotony. ”Molest Dead” is slightly better. Nevertheless, it doesn’t succeed in the task of pushing past the boundaries of downright blandness. I can safely say that the awesomeness of the next four tracks sure makes up for this lack of focused consistency with one heck of a moving versatility. ”Blood on My Hands” is very filthy and menacing, and is nuanced enough to keep the interest on board. The fleshing out of the melodic licks around the 2:40 minute-mark is especially kickass. ”Missing Victims” has an elaborate and absorbing main riff, a positively threatening drive in the meshing of the songwriting ideas soaring in the background during the verses, one engaging upbeat tempo shift around mid-track, and some nice hooks and well-calculated pattern shifts. It’s a very spontaneous and creative tune that goes to prove Six Feet Under are solidifying their street cred quite a bit with this smasher of an album. ”Reckless” easily classifies as the catchiest song around these parts. It has punch, grit, and one infectious groove, and the chorus hits the nail on the head. This colossal kick in the face is directly followed by the relentlessly bone-crushing and absolutely uncivil ”Near Death Experience” that rolls in with a riff that sounds a bit off in its introduction, but it thankfully quickly skips to the good stuff by slashing right through brick walls with punishing full speed brutal death dementia backed up by Talley’s voracious delivery.

”The Scar” pales in comparison. The drumming is the key element that gives it personality and an ability to stomp, but the rest of the instrumentation is tame and pedestrian. It’s a moment of clear letdown leading up to a convincing consolation in the form of ”Delayed Combustion Device”. It’s one epic and multifarious ordeal with a heck of an erratic backbone, and that sincerely blows me away in the case of this band. Even Barnes’ growling range is expanding considerably, instantly becoming more powerful by the same token. ”Vampire Apocalypse”, on the other hand, is one vain and decidedly filler dreck. The riffs are missing the mark, the chorus is extremely lame, and the overall vibe of the song is singularly timid ’til a slight addition of kick comes from Talley’s end of the deal to snap one out of the zoneout motion, saving the song from being literally boring until the last second. ”The Depths of Depravity” is a direct contrast to this sub-par flatness with a very cavernous and original approach. It’s meaty, catchy, wild, and knows to go into brutal head-chopping mode at just the right moment, this skin-slicing endeavor being surrounded by effective melodies. The song ends with an entertaining experimental breakdown followed by this sweet and slightly atmospheric melodic bit I wouldn’t've expected to hear on a record like this one.

In a nutshell, ”Undead” is definitely good news for the hopefuls that stuck around hoping some kind of rejuvenated twist would rear its head. It pummels mercilessly and sure stands its ground, certainly being remarkable for what it is. Nice work.

The nine minute “The Devil’s Eyes” starts blasting almost from the starting gate then slows down and adds in melodic flair and sung vocals along the lines of Enslaved or Borknagar. There are some moments of interesting motifs and cool riffs but they are overshadowed by whining clean vocals and simple blasting. The drumming is quite fine but often stripped down. Ardroth cuts loose on the last two songs so wait for it. I find this song, “The Devil’s Eyes”, gets bogged down a bit the last three minutes or so.

But wait, don’t count them out yet. Musicianship is excellent. The music flows nicely with blastbeats and pounding bass drum working well with the layers of guitar lines. Guitars are low in the mix allowing drums to dominate but the guitars are clearly heard, and the drums frequently get out of the way, particularly when the clean vocals kick in. Interludes incorporate various noise effects, vocal or otherwise, and slow and simple melancholic phrasing. The dominant pace is fast but not blazingly so, though it is always slow for the clean vocals.

Often with bands incorporating clean singing and acoustic or synth instrumentation I say cease and desist, get back to the metal. I get the whole idea of the soft shit makes one appreciate the blasting all the more, or is it the other way, the blasting makes one appreciate the wimpy shit, in any case these guys do it well enough to keep me from hitting skip and fans of this style should find it quite competent, if not downright compelling. It is obvious these guys have put a lot of heart into this recording on top of quality musicianship. Any references to keyboards equalling sell out are so far back into the 80’s as to be irrelevant, this is not mass-marketable black metal ready for Walmart shelves, so no worries there, these three guys still need day jobs. (Yes that is a complement).

The vocals on “Upon Stone” are more spoken than whined, which is of course an improvement. (I have a distaste for the whined rock style, which Galen finds himself falling into). His semi-harsh vocals are quite good, actually reminding me of Hrimgrimnir of Helheim from time to time. Then he has typical growls, which are not great but more than passable. It may be Ardroth doing the growls. It is the transitions from the three styles and the timing within the composition that is impressive, nicely done. This song is shorter, more tightly focused in its presentation of all the same elements used in the opening nine minutes of the album.

“A Code Of Will” is their attempt at nine minute plus blackened grandeur. Some cool riffs are worked in with nice melodic lines that don’t crowd out the rhythm section. Dropping a solo in that does not feel like an interruption is challenging and here it is done well more than once. Galen’s blackened vocals are mostly understandable on first listen. I’m glad they are a bit buried, especially when we get to the clean vocals, not too overpowering. It is the doomy guitars I want to hear at that point. Mesmerizingly gloomy in a Candlemass way. For a nine minute song there are a lot of vocals yet the music still breathes and expands and his vocals are part of it, not just tacked on top. In the end I say this attempt is a success.

The album closes with the nine minute “A Path Unwritten,” the third nine minute song on here. This song could have started the album, and if it was a demo vying for attention it would get it as the opening salvo. It really gives you a great introduction to the prowess of the band. More rage, less searching, plenty of dropped in interludes, and a strong forward propulsion that gets you through the tempo changes and wandering guitar lines that do not ever lose the beat. Maybe a bit too much with the distortion effects but it works so I won’t complain, and I won’t object to the melodic wankery for the same reason, they make it flow seamlessly and achieve a good balance.

These last two songs, “A Code of Will,” and “A Path Unwritten” show the band’s diversity and potential and make a great 18 minute listening pleasure, add in the first two songs and we are blessed with a strong debut from a newcomer that hopefully will stick around for a while. I’d say if you count Borknagar, Frostmoon Eclipse and Wolves in the Throne Room as favorites along with the likes of Emperor and Ulver then Infero Bruo is a no brainer. Pick it up. Plus Christophe Szpajdel (Emperor, Wolves in the Throne Room, Enthroned and many other black metal luminaries) did the logo honors.

The fact that this album goes to such great lengths to keep variation on the dial gives the listening experience a full bodied and persuasive effectiveness, which is exactly the element a death metal record needs to make a real difference and remain an influential point of reference over time. There’s plenty of deathgrind releases to sink our teeth into, hitting the shelves absolutely every day – it has to be said, though, that not every single endeavor reaches a real culminating point, in the midst of this ever-growing scene. A compact, entertaining, and sufficiently experimental record like this one is bound to grab a large crowd by the skin of the neck with a hold strong enough to create a couple shock waves in the brain and bring new fans on board while at it.

Both ”Morgue Feast” and ”Leechlord” are intoxicating and mesmeric as it gets with ape drumming, and infatiguable rhythm sections. The second cut particularly struck me with its very creative melodic tempo shifts. ”Quarantine of Leprosy” is the ultimate mammoth out of those three first slabs of psychotic goodness, going at this insane fucking speed while incorporating well-constructed grooves and intricate, uncluttered tech passages. The way this song’s nuances are cleverly distributed along its structure really make the most face melting bits stand out in a three-dimensional and slicing way, and that corrosive solo laying on one blindingly sick and neck-breaking drum pattern around the 3:27 minute mark is a thing of speech-robbing beauty. Fourth cut ”Flesh of a Sick Virgin” doesn’t show signs of wear at all, being aptly schizophrenic and thunderous – nevertheless, ”The Stake Crawlers” stands out even more. Not only is its main riff malevolent and instantly likeable as it fleshes itself out at ’bout the same time the vocals step in; the overall framework is very rich, demented, and chaotic. This is a stand-out track that got me stopping and thinking of the epicness of one Immolation. It calls the shots in terms of utilizing melodies that are bound to stay with you after the very first listen.

”Undead Awake” didn’t strike me as relentlessly original; still, it’s a rabid cut, and does reach a point of bold greatness around mid-track with some more superbly vicious drum work from Mark Marzocca’s end. ”Elmer the Exhumer” sticks its neck out with a stylishly invigorated and singular structure. The experimental prog section around the 3:00 minute-mark is definitely a rad handful. The way less than merciful evisceration rooms alongside this type of very contrasting approach is quite fresh-sounding and interesting once the initial skepticism fades. ”Dead Shall Rise” is definitely more traditional with a format of brutality that doesn’t let up for a shadow of a split second.

In this picture, there’s no room for a single raincheck – Natron are sure going all out with imposing and maddening efficiency. This is going a zillion miles an hour with the full intent to try its hand at playing things out with a good sense of unconventionality. Credit will go where it’s greatly due.

Originally self-released back in 2010 and now reissued by Maple Metal Records, Lost in the North delivers everything in very similar fashion to Bolero (who just changed their name to Vesperia)  and America’s own Hammer Horde or Blackguard; that’s to say very heavily Ensiferum/ Turisas/Equilibrium  influenced epic and melodic folk, viking metal with a bouncy black-ish power metal gait and lots of rousing synths, ‘Viking’ vocals and such.

Admittedly, Lost In the North doesn’t start so impressively with a couple of tracks that do little to rouse or inspire as the instrumental title track and “Nightborn” do little than rehash second tier Ensiferum leftovers with a sloppy energy. However, things do start to get better, and in the end the album ends up being a decent little slab of the genre. Certainly not a special act, and certainly not quite up to par with the bands mentioned above, but a fun little release nonetheless.

“Far Away” starts the albums improvement with a nifty mid-song chorus and stern march. But then “Beer, Metal, Trolls and Vomit!” really takes off with a super catchy, Korpiklaani-styled romp, and also shows that Nordheim have a little mischievous undercurrent in their cliched sound. Things make a more somber turn for “Promise to  the Gods”, which is a moody slower number. Then “Glorious March” delivers a varied but drawn out and slightly stale number. But as is par for the album, things pick right back up with the excellent seafaring  “Sailing the Drakkar”, and segues into “Old Crazy Man”, with another dash of humor and another high octane, bouncy catchy number.

The album closes with the duo of “Beyond the Howling North”, an majestic, anthemic number I picture as a popular live set closer, and “Blessing from the Stars” a rousing mid paced number I also envision as a popular live number. With these two tracks and the better tracks scattered around the album, Nordhiem show some potential in the genre and when they plant their tongue firmly in their cheek, they certainly fill a niche in the genre. I look forward to them developing and tightening up their sound a little more.

In Solitude was up first, with their thrashy throwback sound to the old days of Mercyful Fate and NWOBHM. I don’t know their latest album (The World, The Flesh, The Devil) well, but they blasted through a good chunk of it for 30-40 minutes. Crowd was quiet and standoffish at the start of the set, but they warmed up over time, due to the band’s infectious energy and blue-jeaned authenticity. Speaking of authentic, there was a dude nearby dressed in faded jeans and matching jean jacket, with a big King Diamond graphic pinned to his back, white high-tops and short hair slicked back. Looked like he just stepped out of 1981 and seemed to be the band’s most devoted fan – spent the set throwing horns and headbanging furiously. Great contrast to all the black shirts and long hair around him, and perfectly matched to the band’s retro sound.

The Devil’s Blood was next, and came out bare-chested, bearded and drenched in blood. They changed the atmosphere in the place before they struck the first note. As the intro to The Thousandfold Epicentre boomed and swelled, the guitarists prayed and murmured devotions, silently willing the crowd to take part in their dark ritual.

Then they exploded into “On the Wings of Gloria,” which sounded fantastic. F, center stage in a long flowing gown, frequently reached her arms to the skies (or ceiling, as it were), as if channeling the spirits of the dead – or the ghost of Janis Joplin. Seeing this band in San Francisco was even more special, given that their dark psychedelic shtick plays like a Black Mass during the Summer of Love. Some of the intricacies of the heavily-layered recording were lost in the thunder of the live performance, but all in all, the band was mesmerizing.

“She” was next, off the new album, and while not as dark or magisterial as “Gloria,” kept things rocking. Then the band chose what I think was the wrong direction for their final song – a minimalist and softly crooned version of “Voodoo Dust,” off of the Come, Reap EP. Now, that’s an amazing song, but the lullaby approach and long psychedelic outro drained the crowd’s enthusiasm, and just when everyone was getting really into the band’s energy. Something shorter and more hard-hitting, say “Queen of My Burning Heart” or “Christ or Cocaine” would have won more converts, and then they could have finished off the set with “Cruel Lover” from the new one, which would have delivered the same menacing mood as “Dust” but without lulling the crowd into a stupor. 25 minute set, but only 3 songs. Left everyone kind of unfulfilled.

Ah well, “Dust” just served to be the quiet before the storm, as Watain took the stage next in all their corpse-painted glory. Hellish red lights, goat skulls on the speakers, the works. The first pits of the evening soon followed. I couldn’t tell you what the setlist was – it all blurred past although a good chunk of it seemed to be from Lawless Darkness. I found their slowed-down, almost bluesy moments to be more interesting than their straight-ahead black attack, but truth be told, I spent a good amount of their set at the bar.

Final act, Behemoth, and it was who most of the crowd were there to see. I haven’t bought a Behemoth album since Zos Kia Cultus back in 2002, have barely kept tabs on the band during their rise to popularity in the last decade. Cool videos and entertaining shtick but musically they always seemed to me to be a dull version of Nile, without any of the flashy technical prowess. Good to see Nergal back up and around again though, and he took to the stage with a shaved head, looking appropriately like he’d faced a terrible disease and survived.

Again, couldn’t tell you the setlist, they pumped out an energetic set and the crowd seemed into it, but the booming bass and walls of reverb just rendered the whole performance as a colorless thunder. Plus I wanted a burrito before catching the train, so we bailed. Anyway, pictures, thousand words, Behemoth.

Kudos to Decibel for assembling a tasteful and genuine roster. As I said above, I was mainly there for The Devil’s Blood and was impressed by their showmanship but left wanting by the set itself. Hopefully they will make it back to the States sometime soon.

On their debut EP, Cop Problem seamlessly integrate elements of hardcore, d-beat, crust and grind in sweet, and short, package. “Monuments” starts slow until it blows out with blasting d-beat hardcore and ferocious vocals. “Along for the Ride” brings more d-beat and burns down with a classically ripping crusty blast. “Blinded by Power” sees the band stretch a bit (and almost hitting the five minute mark!), incorporating clean guitar and spoken vocals at the halfway point, building to a devastating climax of layered screams and chaotic drumming. Thankfully, the vocals are of the distinctly intelligible kind, which makes the social commentary in the lyrics easier to digest. It’s all of nine minutes but hot damn if it isn’t a hell of a ride.

Cop Problem have really set the bar high for themselves because it is hard to imagine a stronger opening salvo. This is a caustic and ripping debut EP and a good sign of things to come from this young band.

What is so interesting about this band and what has kept their sound fresh is the mixture of styles they put on display.  You get the ambient technicality of Cephalic Carnage, the death/grind elements of Aborted, the spastic nature of Phobia, and the death metal influence and groove of Kataklysm.  Put in a blender and shake at 280 beats per minute and this is what you’ll get.  But these guys never seem to ape one style and it would be criminal to call them copycats.  Part of their unique sound can undoubtedly be credited to vocalist Travis Ryan, who displays an incredible array of pitches and growls on this album.  The most notable being the almost childish female sounding vocals on “A Living, Breathing Piece of Defecating Meat”.  They are probably pitch-shifted and show up at a few other points in the album and add an odd, if interesting, touch.  I most enjoy his full on brutal death growl, which can’t help but make the fans of all things brootal grin like they do when watching the torture scenes in Saw II for the 63^rd time.

Drummer David McGraw is relentless on this album, highlighted by the insane gravity blast on opener “The Carbon Stampede”; they also fortunately show up later on.  He probably went through about 15 pairs of sticks tracking this album as his drums take an insane level of punishment on this album.  Josh Elmore varies things nicely, moving from sweeps to solos to the wall-shaking breakdown that ends the best track on the album, “Forced Gender Reassignment”.  The best part of the album is the thought and varied structures that went into each track, allowing each one to stand on its own yet as a whole come together into nearly 45 trauma-inducing minutes.

On a more cerebral level and something followers of this band well know, all four members are vegans and very pro-animal in their ideology.  On the flipside they loathe human beings as a whole and their lyrics reflect those themes unabashedly.  Maybe it fuels the furnace of destruction on this album, and if so then hate all you want because the extreme metal genre as a whole are the beneficiary.  Evolving one’s sound in the death metal realm can be quite challenging, but I can only hope Cattle Decapitation continue to pump out albums like this one.  Early front-runner for top death/grind album of the year.

Even though Anathema doesn’t deviate from their soft exploratory rock on Weather Systems, it feels as if they’ve finally found the sound and balance they’ve perhaps been unable to fully locate and apply consistently previously. They make good use of the newfound confidence―not saying they’ve ever been astray―as the band seems refreshed with the new material. While it would not be impossible to draw all sorts of shady thin lines to acts like Coldplay, 30 Seconds to Mars and various smaller acts operating in less stadium filling seas, Anathema weaves its musical history and varied influences into an entity that the band can exclusively call its own. The more you listen to Weather Systems, the more you see the distance the group has walked throughout the years but still, there’s a very strong, nuanced connection on display to the past as well.

Thus, it’s easy to say that Anathema has provided yet another solid release that resonates through a wide variety of emotions and at times sounds a lot bigger than you’d expect. While the group never seems to lose hope, tracks like the storming “The Gathering of Clouds” and perhaps the album’s most traditional piece “The Lost Child” easily prove they could churn the listener back into a much more darker corner if they so wanted. On the other hand, the group explores relatively new avenues with the 9-minute progressively growing epic “The Storm Before the Calm”, where machines reign inside a maelstrom of Katatonia-influences. The second half of the journey calms things down a bit, before throwing a very powerful moment echoing some of the past’s anguish, but instead of embracing the dark matter as they once did, the track concludes on a rather positive note instead. The follow-up “The Beginning and the End” too is another solid, emotional track that starts out softly before an ultimate resolution. Then there’s “Internal Landscape” that gives the album a cathartic conclusion, clearly recollecting the 55-minute album and finally letting go.

Weather Systems is another proof of Vincent Cavanaugh’s undeniable charisma as he wades through the drama masterfully but without suffocating the rest of the talented group ― as expected. On the other hand, it’s also becoming more and more clear that Anathema acts according to what’s best for the material. There are various layers of vocals from everybody and especially Lee Douglas seems to have gained a much more prominent role on the album this time around. It doesn’t stop there either as the other Douglas, longtime drummer John, also provides a surprisingly thundering and hard hitting backbone. A welcomed development.

The album took me quite a while to fully sink in. For example, I’m still having a bit of a hard time with “Lightning Song” that seems a bit of a whatever-track to me and then there’s the huge issue with the first two songs. You see, Weather Systems has the catchiest opening to any album in Anathema’s history (Judgement is on par but in a different way): “Untouchable, Part 1” and “Part 2” create such a captivating whirlwind from the start that it’s next to impossible for the rest of the tracks, aside from perhaps “The Gathering of Clouds” and “The Beginning and the End” to truly live up to them. In fact, I’d go as far as claim those two tracks―as one―to be the best new song I’ve heard all year. I’ve listened to the two far more many times than the whole album and I’m yet to feel any wear in them. Both tracks share a lot of traits but where “Part 1” is more rocking, “Part 2” gives gives a more serene perspective. Yet, that too explodes at the end in the best post-rock manner; an element that’s also underlying in the first. While the band is known to have quite a few catchy tunes (see “Panic”, “Empty” and “Pulled under…”) this really took me by surprise. I’m not completely confident in rationalizing the experience, but to me, the songs provided another one of those moments where you remember just how powerful music can be at its best. Consider me moved.

In the end, while Weather Systems features some of the most memorable―and some of the best―moments from Anathema in a good long time, I wouldn’t say that it is the band’s greatest achievement. I’d be lying if I did. Then again, what is and how could that even be possible? Each of the band’s releases serves a completely different purpose (for me) and each has all sorts of personal history engraved into them ― just as one day the new one will. What I’ll state as a fact however, is that the new one is definitely a good addition to the group’s  discography and I’d imagine that’s all it needs to be: Weather Systems is again a strong reminder that even if the band is far from a pure metal band these days, Anathema hasn’t lost its impact or relevance one bit.

Eddie: Yeah it’s been good. It’s met all our expectations. Every single market we’ve hit, we’ve enjoyed the turnouts and enjoyed all these people coming out to see us play for an hour and 10 minutes.

That’s good to hear, welcome to being a headliner right?  Eddie, if memory serves me correct, before being in All Shall Perish, you were in a band called Gun Metal Grey right? When did you join All Shall Perish?

Eddie: I joined in 2005 officially, but didn’t release a record with me as the vocalist until 2006′s The Price of Existence.

Got it. So how’s it been with this bill? It’s largely an American deathcore styled bill with Conducting from the Grave, you guys and Carnifex. Then you’ve got a more progressive band like The Contortionist and finally a brutal technical, Italian death metal band in Fleshgod Apocalypse. How has the chemistry been between the bands?

Ben: We are all here for the same purpose and that’s just to play the music we love and maybe learn a little from each,  we respect each others craft. Everyone has been very easy going and everyone gets along so it’s been really great.

In my opinion, The Price of Existence was your real breakthrough album, fair opinion?

Eddie: I think so.  That was my first record with the band. I personally felt like I had a lot to prove. I loved Hate. Malice. Revenge, I saw the band play local shows, so when I got an opportunity I attacked it full bore, and I think that comes out on the album. Add (guitarist) Chris Storey joining the fold and it really changed the spectrum and sound of All Shall Perish on that album.

That’s a great point. Chris wasn’t on Hate. Malice. Revenge, and all of a sudden; more melody, more shredding and more technicality…

Eddie: I don’t agree with that really. I thought there was lots of melody on Hate. Malice Revenge. That’s what drew me to them, that they would go from these slammy death metal riffs to these more open melodic parts.

OK, is it fair to say then that Chris really added to that then?

Eddie: Absolutely. However, I do feel that when Chris and myself came into the picture we changed the gears of the band and it hasn’t changed since. We kept that sound. I really don’t feel that The Price of Existence flipped things around from Hate. Malice Revenge, I think the band was headed in that direction and we just helped it come along faster.

So The Price of Existence is a killer record that really put you guys on the map, but then in 2008 you released Awaken the Dreamersand while I don’t want to sit here and tell you it’s a step back to your face, but it was, and the critics seemed to think so, but then you come roaring back with This is Where it Ends, which simply rips. Talk to me a little about that process and the difference between Awaken the Dreamers and the new album.

Ben: Awaken the Dreamers was an interesting cycle/process, because of what was going on in our personal lives. Some of us were going through some hard times, family stuff. Some people weren’t  present to contribute. Some had more time than others to contribute.  And that all comes through on the album. That was a fucking crazy time. I look at all of the albums as a time in my life, that album (Awaken the Dreamers) defines that era of my life when it came out

Was Chris Storey on that album?

Ben: Yes. But he left the band right after it came out.

When you look back at Awaken the Dreamers  and apparently what a crazy time it was — any regrets about that album?

Ben: Nope. I think I wish Eddie and Mike (Tiner, bassist) were more there for the recording and writing.

How so?

Eddie: Well it was more that Matt (Kuykendall, drummer) was more forcefully present in the vocals and writing process. We worked well together on The Price of Existence, but on Awaken the Dreamers we worked much more separately. He would write songs including the vocals, and I would just record them, then I would write songs and sing the vocals. I was much more detached from the songs on Awaken the Dreamers.

So it’s safe to say that Awaken the Dreamers is a ‘disjointed’ writing and recording effort compared to The Price of Existence?

Eddie: Absolutely. You can hear and feel on that record that everyone wasn’t getting along. When you don’t get along personally it comes out in the music. Music  is a very gay way of copulating — both sides have to be into it, or it just doesn’t work [laughs]

Ben: I wish that our drummer at the time was different, the way he was at the time was really not a positive working environment.

Eddie: I still love the record though. There’s some great songs on that record.

I think “Black Gold Reign” is a great song. One of the better songs in your whole discography. But it definitely stands out on Awaken the Dreamers.

Eddie: That’s right. The whole album is like that. It’s not really a complete record, there’s bits, more bits and pieces than anything else we had put out.

So back to the new album which absolutely shreds. It sounds like a very cathartic album.

Ben: This is the album that should have come out instead of Awaken the Dreamers.

Eddie: The fire and intensity that we had on This is Where it Ends is what we wanted for Awaken the Dreamers. It’s the fire and intensity we want to have going into every record. We were a unit and we were ready to take over and it’s the mentality we have now and going forward.

Was it very difficult writing an album without Chris Storey, who in my opinion really brought some special guitar work and solos to your sound?

Ben: It was a 1000 percent easier. He was a very difficult person to work with.

To be completely honest, not that you guys give a shit about my opinion, but , I really didn’t like Awaken the Dreamers, and thought you guys were on the decline and going to sell out and be a has-been-band, but along comes the new album and it’s a real scorcher. It shows you guys are not going anywhere. How does it feel to make  a comeback with such an intense killer record?

Eddie: First, we absolutely do care what people like you think and say about our music. We put it out there and when people don’t like it, it hurts a little bit . But to answer the question, this record, we came at with an intensity we should have had for every record.

Ben: I felt the difference between the Awaken the Dreamers and This is Where it Ends is that on Awaken the Dreamers the songs were lifeless and flat. But on this album we wanted  to be invoking emotions, either make someone flip out or cry because it’s so beautiful. We want people to feel something or feel the best they have felt when listening to the record.

So here’s the big question: Do you prefer the new record over The Price of Existence?

Eddie: Oh man, I can’t say that. I can’t compare records. it’s like comparing favorite children. The Price of Existence has more of a personal atonement and fulfillment. There’s never going to be a record that reaches that level of fulfillment.  That record didn’t sell as well as other releases, it did only a thousand the first week opposed to the new album selling 8500, but naturally that’s how it goes, BUT, I mean The Price of Existence will always be the record where I feel “I did it! I joined a band and made a difference and incorporated myself into a record and band”.

Ben, being a founding member when you look at the fact you’ve released four albums, three on Nuclear Blast records and just released arguably your best record — all  in a flash in the pan genre with bands who break up and rotate members every other day, how does that make you feel to be so consistent?

Ben: It’s incredible. I think a lot of bands look to us to see what’s next musically and where things should be taken. Not to take credit for the genre, but we were one of the first bands to get this sound going, The Price of Existence pioneered a lot of bands’ sound. Now we are traveling all over the world, playing slamming death metal and it’s a lot of fun.

Talk to me a little about the deathcore tag or label. It’s almost become a dirty word in the metal scene. I mean I’m a 40 year old, old school death metal guy that grew up on the classics like Obituary and Morbid Angel. On a base level I like the music, deathcore, but I have a hard time wrapping my head around ‘the scene’ and the whole fashion show it’s become.

Ben: That’s a tough one. It has become a ‘scene’ and a look and fashion and even age is a big factor. We’ve always tried to stay on the side and watch it and just focus on the music.

Eddie: Like Ben was saying I don’t think Ive ever rocked a swoop haircut, or worn skinny jeans or anything like that. But these scene kids are 13, 14 years old and have no idea whats going on. It is a scene, but death metal is a scene too. But what needs to happen, is guys like you, instead of crossing your arms and looking down on these guys and saying ‘fuck these guys’, you need to take them aside and play them some Morbid Angel or some Death and the metal that inspired you. We are that band for them, but they need to hear the bands that inspire me and you. I give them credit for looking different and not giving a fuck though. I don’t give a fuck, I just look different doing it.

Ben: But if someone doesn’t check out All Shall Perish because we are labelled ‘deathcore’ — that’s a problem and people need to open up their ears and just accept what sounds good, and not listen to something because of a tag.

Talking of those classic bands, where do you see yourselves in 15-10 years? Are we going to be talking about All Shall Perish and their legacy like Morbid Angel now.

Ben: So long as we don’t put put an album like they just put out! [laughs]

 Eddie: I dunno man, we’ll see how long my voice lasts.

Does deathcore itself have the ability to stick around and be as revered as death metal is now over 20 years later?

Ben: Elements of it can. Look at thrash metal. It died off and now it came back. The same with movies being remade 20 years later. Everything has a cycle and maybe deathcore will die, evolve and resurface 20 years from now in some form.

Speaking of evolving, what’s your opinion on some of these techno deathcore crossover bands like Attack Attack and Eskimo Callboy etc?

Ben: Oh, Rise Records bands right?  They play that music to get pussy that’s all it’s for.

Does it work for you guys?

Ben: I’m married, so no

Eddie: We are real deathcore so we get none of the girls, and none of the dudes.

 So what bands are you guys listening to right now?

Eddie: I just started listening to this band called Vildjharta, I’m really liking the dudes we are touring with The Contortionist. I’m enjoying some of these new bands paying homage to Meshuggah.

Ben: I’m currently really into bands like Alcest  and Agalloch. I also listen to mostly post-rock and some of the old stuff. I like to throw on some old Sepultura and go for a 4 mile run.

Well guys, we’ve got some more beer to drink and you’ve got a show to get ready for. Many thanks for your time to talk to me tonight.

Eddie: Thanks! I hope we gave you enough good stuff to use.

At the throbbing heart of The Great Old Ones‘ sound is lengthy songs that balance of ambient, shimmery, eloquent and often beautiful black or grey metal and a bursts of atonal slithering black metal like their nastier, twisted country mates. And it comes together perfectly to form one of the more striking new French black metal bands I’ve heard since the country erupted a decade or so ago. While the subject matter is often linked with nastier, more filthy music, The Great Old Ones are still able to convey the mood of slithering tendrils and monstrous otherworldly beings , albeit with a more hypnotic and atmospheric delivery. Though still haunting and oppressive, Al Azif (the original Arabic name for the Necromonicon) manages to add an air of swaying, ethereal majesty to the undulating, pulsing aura.

And boy is the end result impressive. Al Azif is a truly mesmerizing effort that instantly catapults The Great Old Ones into French black metal’s upper echelons. The six songs all range from 6-10 minutes and each offer up commanding and varied mood that require active, attentive listening. From the opening doomy throes and subsequent Blut Aus Nord styled atonal gallop of the opener “Al Azif” through the demented shifting beauty of “Rue D’ Auseil” to the sprawling 10 minute closer “My Love for the Stars (Cthulhu Fhtagn)” , the album has a dreamy but still paranoid presence of gorgeous celestial enormity colliding with unspeakable , unnameable horrors. Distant screams and shrieks tell the tale of a descent into madness as the music weaves and shimmers with the gaze of a thousand eyes. The oft use ambient segues only serves to build a beautiful tension as you wait for the next spiraling riff into insanity.

Like many of their peers, Al-Azif isn’t so much an album, so more of a ritual or sonic incantation. The crisp but still, distant and suitably ethereal production lends itself to the overall majestic but horror filled aura, so do you self a favor and get Al Azif and join Jonas Markham’s journey as he sinks deeper into the mouth of madness.

After a throwaway intro, you’re smacked upside the head with the realization that these native Coloradans haven’t missed a beat.  They still have the same corrosive, blistering grind sound not unlike Phobia, Kill the Client, and Rotten Sound.  And that’s one reason why I think I like these guys so much, is I hear a lot of Rotten Sound in their style.  That comparison is most obvious in the filthy, chainsaw guitar sound that is pure grind through and through.   They also know when to slow down into a nice chord driven groove to let the pit slow down for a bit, before jumping back into a blast riddled noise-fest that makes you want to start kicking over speaker towers.

The songs stick mainly to the short bursts of fury in classic grind style, with the whole album clocking in at just under 30 minutes.  One thing I feel sets Catheter apart from run-of-the-mill grind is their use of a tri, and sometimes quad vocal attack.  They use a standard death growl, raspy scream, and then one style that can only be likened to an 85 year old lifetime smoker yelling at you to get off his lawn.  It’s a hollow yell that’s hard to describe but is 100% Catheter, and it works; you’ll just need to listen to the album to see what I mean.  Check out the beginning of “Bullshit Business” for the best example.  You’ll also at times hear a kind of mid-range yell, and maybe even a fifth or sixth style.  Hell with all that’s going on it’s hard to count, but the best part is it all fits together extremely well.

The final track, “In This Moment”, is by far the longest at 5 minutes and really ends the album on a high note.  You get an impressive drum driven intro before a doomy pace leads to some spoken vocals, and a hefty lurching close that brings it all full circle.  A solid album overall and a must listen for fans of no frills, relentless grindcore.  Let the beatings commence.

The Mars Volta may be a good place to start when comparing and describing the Ben Levin Group. Both bands have a cast of incredibly skilled members, and both mix a jazz fusion sound with hard rock and intense psychedelia. Deliberating further; the Ben Levin Group make generous use of the violin to give their sound a dreamlike, classical charm, not unlike their fellow Berklee alumni in Kayo Dot. From their declaration of a forty-minute epic alone, there is no doubt that the band are taken ambition to heart with their work. ‘Pulse of a Nation’ is offered both as a single track, and as an album broken up into ‘sections’. It may better suit the purposes of this music to take it as one whole and nothing else; not a minute here consolidates into ‘conventional songwriting’. Something that the psychedelic and jazz fusion influences of the band have in common is that they tend to prefer drawn out segments, and ‘Pulse of a Nation’ is full of these, although they are kept fresh and exciting with a spinning wheel of weird, delightful sounds. Ben Levin’s Zappa-esque guitar explorations are not without melody however, and this is what makes the music here brilliant. It is constant and unerring with its regard to experimentation and unorthodoxy, yet truly memorable melodies are worked into the music.

From the skyward noise experimentation of what’s referred to in the multi-track version as ‘Pulse’, to the Opeth-like cool down in ‘Sleep’, there’s a great deal of dynamic and variety thrown in. By all means, the Ben Levin Group should sound like they are forcing beautiful things together into something horrible and corrupt, sort of like if you were to cook peanut butter chocolate on top of a pepperoni pizza and then call it an album. Somehow though, the Ben Levin Group not only make ‘Pulse of a Nation’ work, but make it one of the most impressive underground gems prog has seen in recent years. A group of maniacally skilled musicians can always get together in a room and make something ‘weird’, but it takes more to make something like ‘Pulse of a Nation’.

It’s not often you get to cover Buddhist-inspired metal, much less Buddhist metal from Portugal. I was very impressed by The Firstborn’s fourth release, The Noble Search, back in 2009. It blended prog and melodic death with thick, roiling sludge, not unlike Mastodon or Gojira, and then blessed it all with a breeze of East Indian instruments. If they had added a lot more of that orchestration and atmosphere, I would have been even more entranced.

Now, three years later, it appears that some of those prayers have been answered. Lions Among Men is awash in sitars and mysticism, trembling cymbals and whispering chimes, and the way they writhe and coil in and out of the band’s heavy, rhythmic crash is powerful and mesmerizing. Too bad, then, that the songs they’re lashed to are so dull.

For some reason, The Firstborn have smoothed out the angular riffage and choppier rhythms of their previous release in favor of a more ominous and monotonous wash of mid-tempo sludge. It starts with the title track, a slow build of growled vocals and mystical trails, like the veils being pulled away from perception and reality to reveal something greater, grander, infinitely wondrous. As the intensity builds, climbing and cresting in one tumbling, sludgy roar, you wait for the big crescendo to hit, for revelation and amazement to come pouring in with one massive punch of a peak. And instead, the song plateaus. It winds in on itself again a few times before finally cresting to that awaited climax, but by this time, the drama has been squandered. The peak isn’t loud enough, crazy enough, impressive enough. Hardly a revelation at all, in fact. And so it goes with most of the album: long, drawn-out songs that lope along at a frustratingly mid-tempo rumble, with a thick but overly-balanced production that offers too little contrast.

There are a few bright spots, of course – how could there not be, with such an interesting concept and palette? There are some busier, more urgent and involving rhythms in tracks like “Without as Within” and “Eight Flashing Lances” (the album’s best and most dynamic track). And as I said above, when the instrumentation comes in hard and heavy, as on “Wantless” and “Vajra Eyes,” it’s entrancing. There’s a great synergy between percussion and orchestration in these passages, and this is what should really define The Firstborn’s sound, not the long, building expanses of monotony that dominate much of this album.

I also have to mention the vocals again, as I did in the last review. The growls are blunted, muffled, heavy, a lot like Troy Sanders of Mastodon, and they work fine. The clean vocals that might throw you, though – they’re a weird, baritone croon that half-slink, half-melt around the melody lines. It’s obviously a stylistic choice, and (forgive my ignorance) possibly inspired by an Eastern or Buddhist chanting style, but all the same, you’ll either come to appreciate it, or you won’t. I’m still on the fence. “Eight Flashing Lances” features a higher-pitched croon, closer to conventional clean singing in progressive metal, and it’s far more successful.

You’d expect an album titled Lions Among Men to be ferocious, unrestrained and exciting, but instead, The Noble Search, which suggests a far more meditative experience, was the more dynamic album of the two. It’s a shame because the concept is unique and the instrumentation is well-integrated, but the revelations veiled at the summits of this journey are hardly worth the climb.

So when The Pilgrimage showed up in my mail box, it almost went directly into my gun cabinet as a future target for next pistol shooting trip, but out of sheer curiosity I gave it a cursory listen, hoping it would be just as boring as the debut and I could move on with my life knowing another shitty band was still shitty and my initial review was spot on.

Well, I’ll be mother fucking dildo raped by a butch lesbian roadie in flannel…The Pilgrimage is pretty damn good.

And I”m not saying that because I’m still trying to get into the  pants of with Ms. Thérèse Lanz  and Stefani MacKichan (fuck fuck fuck, another shitstorm), ‘cos I blew that chance with my initial review or I’m back tracking from my original feelings on the band. I’m saying it because its true and I’m more than willing to eat crow and listen to the choruses of ‘I told you so’ from the bands fans. Though truth be told, I’m sure I’ll still be on the bands and the fans shit list, because ya ‘know,  in real life, I really am a sexist, anti Canadian pig and those folks have no sense of humor.

On to the the album at hand, Mares of Thrace continue with their sort of sludgy and discordant /hardcore/doom mix that has some similar traits to the likes of Kylesa, Grayceon, Subrosa and Made Out Of Babies. However, improvements in production and song writing have made Mares of Thrace a much more dynamic and listenable act.

Still an earthy, hempy band, Mares of Thrace‘s hues are rendered in a much more hefty and gritty fashion and like the female personality, blends moments of languid sensuality, hypnotic beauty, unpredictable moods shifts and pre menstrual histrionics (the perfect storm of shit storms coming?) into one seething ball of emotional vitriol. Look no further than the the closing 8 minute track “…and the Bird Sturgeon” as an ample window into the soul of Mares of Thrace, but that visage is contained throughout the albums draining journey, and all mingle the aforementioned elements into a confident sounding, feedback drenched caustic noise that has hints of vulnerability. You’ve got the crumbling, rumbling, sneer and screech of opener “Act I: David Glimpses Bathsheba”, the atonal, snarling percussive  tumble of “The Pragmatist”, the brooding build and controlled lurch of “The Gallwasp” and the gruff, angular assault of ” The Perpetrator”. But the albums more controlled and patient  latter stages offer a more refined and moody demeanor including the sultry grooves of “Act II: Bathsheba’s Reply To David”, smoky, moody atmospherics of “The Goat Thief”,  hazy instrumental ” The Three-Legged Courtesan… ” and the aforementioned excellent closer, which hits on everything Mares of Thrace suddenly do very well.

And so, this Crow is indeed rather tasty and all humor, sarcasm, and sexism aside this is a pretty impressive effort. I can see this duo making some pretty good sized waves should they continue this improvement and development into a pretty dang sturdy and respectable metal act regardless of gender.

Now- how about that date ladies? (nudge nudge, wink  wink).

However, there is a lot to be desired with Excruciating Existence simply for the fact that it offers little else other than being a filler album until the likes of Suffocation, Incantation, Sinister, Autopsy (though Autopsy just released their compilation album) and the like unleash their brand of death metal upon the masses. Literally nothing on this album is unique in any form; it’s basic paint-by-the-numbers death metal that has been done a billion times. Working in Escanrium’s favor, though, is the fact that this sort of throwback, retro style of traditional death metal has become en vogue again so this release has come out at just the right time.

“Self Proclaimed Messiah”, “Slaves of an Ending Fate” and “Covered in Decadence”, all songs from their Rex Verminorum EP, have made it to the full length but nothing much has changed from those versions to these. The remaining six tracks all follow the same blueprint of the aforementioned songs, though nothing truly stands out as the cornerstone or anchor of the bunch.

While none of the nine songs on Excruciating Existence are lousy, they just don’t possess the sort of “it” quality to make them stand out in front of the pack. To make matters worse, the songs suffer from a horrible case of production woes; the powerful drumming of Nestor Carrera has been shot dead in the water thanks to a terribly sterile sound. His drums, particularly the kick drums, have that utterly annoying and frustrating pitter-patter sound to them. His double bass, rolls, and fills have been sucked of energy and voracity because of the final mix. Also, the duel guitars of Eucini Santy and Victor Ellian have that wooden/muffled sound to them, much like Obituary’s underwhelming Back from the Dead record.

This isn’t the fault of the musicians (we assume), but the meat and potatoes of what would otherwise be a moderately splendid album has been castrated in the studio. It’s unknown if this was the direction Escarnium was aiming for, but methinks the band is probably a savage in the live setting. There are some quality old school death metal licks scattered throughout the record, but the sheer lack of originality, coupled with a final mix that weakens every instrument, makes this only a so-so release.

Nowadays, it’s virtually a pre-requisite to have tight performance skills in prog metal, otherwise a band is nary considered ‘worthy’ of being part of the genre. Suffice to say, Dynahead do not disappoint on this front, and while it’s basically taken for granted that bands of this nature have some degree of technical skill, Dynahead impress on all fronts, at least as far as their playing is concerned. The music is built around the rhythm guitars, which are most often heavy and a little thrash-oriented. Caio Duarte’s vocals seem a little stuck between sounding melodic and sounding gruff, but he is a very capable vocalist, effortlessly covering everything from power metal wails to death growls and the gaps in-between.

Dynahead is certainly an eclectic bunch, although their palette is confined mainly to the prog metal canon. Seasoned prog metallers will not have too difficult a time recognizing where many of Dynahead ‘s ideas are influenced from; Dream Theater, Opeth, Pain of Salvation, and even Meshuggah all play their parts at one point or another. This does lead to some very good musical ideas, and although Dynahead are covering four or five band’s worth of territory relative to style, their emulation is convincing. Therein is the greatest problem I can recognize with ‘Youniverse‘, Dynahead , and the modern progressive metal scene at large; although the band are certainly capable musically, there is virtually nothing in terms of originality to digest here.

Although one might argue that a band combining the sounds of other bands makes something ‘original’, or even that there’s no such thing as ‘originality’, I call bullshit when it becomes painfully clear who a band is being influenced by at a given point. Take the album’s highlight and closer ‘Onset’; it is difficult to hear it and not hear Opeth somewhere in the mix. The songwriting does a decent job of tying these disparate elements together, but the ideas and melodies are not excellent enough to have Dynahead  stand out in spite of their lacking originality. With that being said, Dynahead is not a band without a great deal of potential and talent; it will just need the dedication to finding a particular identity to make them climb up the next rung in prog metal.

I can easily jump back and forth between Seven Bells and say Carved in Stigmata Wounds without feeling like a favorite band has betrayed their origins. They have evolved in a positive direction and they are a damn fine band now as well as then.

Now you know their style change was so gradual it is not jarring to hear them now but still they have not abandoned their roots, which can be seen if not directly heard in the video for “Nyx”. Now with the newest album, Seven Bells, I think they sound how they are supposed to sound and I imagine they are quite happy with how the disc turned out. Darkthrone, Emperor and Celtic Frost still resonate yet the thrash elements play a vital role now early on the disc, as do the more ephemeral atmospheric flourishes that have always been there. Synchronized riffing, abrupt speed changes, intricate drum patterns, and an overall heaviness and crunch are balanced by the proper black metal aura that is still part of the exhibition.

Epic is often used as a descriptive simply to designate length of song, which I always thought irrelevant. Epic can be two minutes and twelve minute dirges can be anything but epic. Once again Secrets provided both long songs and epic songs. If you liked Privilegivm you should like this one, if you came across the tour 7 inch Warhead you have already heard a short version of “Seven Bells.” The seven minute title track sets the tone early and if you are not engaged by the two minute mark you won’t be. They are not afraid to have extended slow passages with minimal notes nor are they afraid to tear off a run of blastbeats.

Even before reading the press release I could hear Tom G. Warrior. He co-produced the album and the excellent “Worship” in particular shows the bands’ respect for Tom. By the time you get to the end of “Nyx” you will be bruised and scarred, and possibly brainwashed into hitting repeat and by now you’ll have forgotten the loss of the heavier elements one third the way into the album and you will also recognize that the power of these songs is cumulative, meant to be experienced as a whole. Welcome to the newest direction of Secrets of the Moon, and once again it makes sense because it was telegraphed a few years back and once again they have successfully brought me along. The worship service that is “Nyx” is sure to have brought favor to them so that the moon will impart yet more secrets for them to explore on the next album, and yes I’m already looking forward to that one.

“this world is coming to an end
the bells are tolling
calling for the devil send
you that have wandered far and wide
the church is open now
and all the stars are blind
this world is coming to an end.”
So says “The Three Beggars,” which closes out the album demonstrating that blastbeats and warbling guitars still have a place in their future, and at twelve minutes, “The Three Beggars” has plenty of room to explore the themes set down with some memorable soundscapes to carry you over till the next one. Unless Satan does not succeed,
“let’s rebuild satan’s church
let him reign in here forever
let him roam through our corridors
let his time stand still
let him work for a thousand years.”

And lest you feel this is simply Tom Warrior putting his forceful personality on another project, which is not a bad thing, there is nothing here that Secrets of the Moon has not at least whispered about on previous conjurings during nocturnal new moons in the black forest.

Massa Damnata continues this approach, while also dialing back the songwriting into more mid-tempo, rocking sort of black metal. Not dumbed-down, but just sort of streamlined. Little infusions of clean singing and some bluesy guitar solos add to the rock and roll vibe.

There’s a great consistency and flow to the album, such that it’s a little difficult to point out highlights. “In Praise of Folly” and “The 13th Horseman” show off the most variety in composition, with slow sections reminiscent of Thorns, while “In Gloria, In Excelsis” is the most furious and aggressive track presented. If anything that really demonstrates how much less vicious this album is than the last three, as it’s nowhere near blistering. You won’t find anything like “In Creation of a Mortal Spirit” or “Dark Ages” on Massa Damnata. The feel is more murderer-creeping-through-a-hospital than it is grim, northern forests.

They finally throw in a curveball with the final song “The Curtain of Darkness and Death,” an entirely melodically sung song that begins with a phone call to a lawyer admitting to killing a bunch of people. Instead of using a clean, chanting sort of voice that you often find sprinkled in black metal, the voice used on most of the track has more of a gruff, stoner rock vibe, and it honestly works really well.

Other than that, not much here is all that inventive, as for the most part it could have been released right alongside Satyricon’s Rebel Extravaganza, Thorns‘s self-titled album, and DHG’s 666 International. And though I don’t dig it as much (and it doesn’t have any zany electronics), I think it’s better than anything that those bands have done since then.

Torture Throne play a style of death metal similar to that heard many, many years ago during the explosion of the Swedish death metal scene. The obvious nods to Left Hand Path, Like an Ever Flowing Stream, Penetralia, etc are all over this one. Sporting that familiar buzzy guitar tone and tortured vocals, fans of the NWOSDM scene will probably dig this one as well.

With that said, Thy Serpent’s Cult is far from groundbreaking or revolutionary by any stretch of the imagination. The guitars are too thin in the final mix and the drums have virtually no meat to them; far too clicky and pitter-patter to make any sort of indelible impression on the listener. Luckily Torture Throne don’t try to get too fancy with technical prowess or throw in nonsensical melodies for the sake of trying to stand out; they play honest, old fashioned Swedish-styled death metal.

If Torture Throne sticks around long enough to find their own true identity rather than trying to rehash what’s already been created over two decades ago, there’s enough potential to make them interesting. They proudly wear their influences all over their jean jackets and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But in order to “make it” in this industry, there has to be some sort of ingenuity or originality, two things that these young dudes don’t yet possess. Given proper time, they could blossom into something of splendor, but as of right now, before they’ve even released a proper full-length album, they’re just another in a long line of bands who love vintage Entombed, Dismember, Hypocrisy, et al.