By now, Savannah, Georgia, metal band Baroness is down to one original member—singer/guitarist and album cover artist extraordinaire John Baizley—and based in Philadelphia. But the steady turnover during the past decade and a half hasn\'t made Baroness feel any less cohesive or consistent. Their fifth full-length album throws in a few stylistic changes (the post-rock interludes “Assault on East Falls” and “Sevens,” the hushed acoustic guitars comprising the first minute of “Tourniquet,” and “Blankets of Ash,” which is a little bit of each) but is as much of an endpoint for the band as it is a springboard. Baizley has said this will be the last Baroness album to be named after colors, an overarching concept that stretches back to 2007\'s *Red Album*. Whatever that portends, it won\'t be due to a lack of ideas. Frantic pulse-quickeners like “Throw Me an Anchor,” “Seasons,” and “Broken Halo” sit alongside the beat-heavy, atmospheric “I\'m Already Gone,” which Baizley himself has described as “Massive Attack meets TLC\'s \'Waterfalls.\'”
Richmond's INTER ARMA, reigning masters of the slow build, continue to trace a distinctly ambitious trajectory through modern metal. Their impulses tend toward the epic, but never bloat; they meld several styles — doom, sludge, and hard psych — without coming off like dilettantes. This newest full-length, Sulphur English, finds them mining deeper in the proggy organic doom fields that made both Paradise Gallows and Sky Burial so thrilling while expanding further the on the psych-folk strain that made those albums' peaks seem so lofty. Few metal bands have ever made such effective use of acoustic instruments in truly heavy environments as INTER ARMA do; the acoustic guitar that stitches "Stillness" together is as effective as any overdriven bass; a two-minute gloomy piano-and-feedback piece titled "Observances of the Path" rolls out the carpet for "The Atavist's Meridian," an album highlight that rides a gigantic, roomy drum sound into realms akin to a murkier Paradise Lost, a more aggressive Om, and a dreamier, more stoned Kylesa all playing together at once. Few bands make music as engrossing as INTER ARMA; their lengthy, almost meditative songs rumble patiently forward until you're ready to get thrown off a bridge — and then they throw you, with great force. - Words by John Darnielle
Flashback to 2017: Spirit Adrift dropped its 2nd LP ‘Curse Of Conception’ via 20 Buck Spin, a huge step forward following the debut, landing at #2 in Decibel Magazine’s best albums of the year and carving out a sound now patently its own. Lazily labelled Doom by some, the band is in fact the true representation of what modern Heavy Metal should be, a direct descendent of the widely-appealing arena-filling superstars of the ‘80s and ‘90s without a whiff of anachronistic cosplay fantasies. Spirit Adrift’s third album ‘Divided By Darkness’ delivers on the promise first revealed on ‘Curse Of Conception’ and then advances far beyond it in every way achieving a timeless album for the ages. First single ‘Hear Her’ pummels with the concise urgency and unforgettable chorus of a vital radio hit while ‘Angel & Abyss’ has the classic progression that leads from reflective ballad to rapturous anthemic triumph. The continued evolution of Nathan Garrett as a top vocal talent in modern Heavy Metal shines through amidst the masterful musicianship and huge production value engineered by Sanford Parker. Among the many stylistic divergences within rock and metal, Spirit Adrift’s ‘Divided By Darkness’ understands that there is no substitute for huge ambition, soul-bearing lyricism and most importantly the ability of a pristinely penned riff and impassioned chorus to alter hearts and minds. Astonishingly ‘Divided By Darkness’ is Spirit Adrift’s heaviest and most accessible album to date and will stand as the apex of Heavy Metal songcraft in 2019.
Michigan-based grindcore cult heroes Cloud Rat return with Pollinator, the band's most intense and blistering recordings to date. Over the past ten years, Cloud Rat has established itself as one of the most compelling bands in the underground. Over a staggering number of releases – four full-length albums, eleven EPs and splits, a live album, and various other comps, in one decade – the Michigan band has made a name for itself via sheer emotion and musical freedom. NPR Music called Cloud Rat's 2013 album, Moksha, "a feral, fearsome and fearless piece of work." Noisey described a live show in 2015 with these words: "Cloud Rat is one of those rare bands whose music connects instantly, painfully – you feel the words, the riffs, and the all-consuming cacophony deep within the marrow of your bones, vibrating out into a hostile world." Emerging from the space where hardcore punk spirals into grindcore, Cloud Rat is that and so much more. The band knows no limits and incorporates influences from across the map – black metal, noise, doom, goth, folk, and beyond – all while retaining its realness and urgency. The first edition of Pollinator is released in a limited 2CD digipak and includes an entire bonus CD of eclectic, experimental material, with elements of industrial, acoustic, drone, noise, and shoegaze. A limited splatter vinyl is also available. Cloud Rat have taken grind to the next level on Pollinator, and it's vicious. "Tempestuous expressions for troubled times." -Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork "Cloud Rat is one of those rare bands whose music connects instantly, painfully—you feel the words, the riffs, and the all-consuming cacophony deep within the marrow of your bones, vibrating out into a hostile world." -Kim Kelly, Noisey Stream Pollinator on Spotify: orcd.co/cloudratpollinator Pollinator tracklist: 1) Losing Weight 2) Delayed Grief // Farmhouse Red 3) Seven Heads 4) Night Song 5) Wonder 6) The Mad 7) Al Di La 8) Last Leaf 9) Zula 10) Biome 11) Webspinner 12) Luminescent Cellar 13) Marionettes 14) Perla Do Not Let Me Off the Cliff tracklist: 1) Thrust 2) Keep Flies 3) Share 4) 623 5) The Portal of God Is Nonexistence 6) Pity Sex 7) Dropping from Trees
Featuring classic 1970s artwork by Sci-Fi god Bruce Pennington, “Hidden History of the Human Race” promises to be both a meditative inquiry on the Mystery & Nature of human consciousness, and a dynamic foray into the realms of progressive, brutal & atmospheric death metal, as revealed by BLOOD INCANTATION. Recorded completely analogue at World Famous Studios in Denver, CO, “Hidden History of the Human Race” expands the sonic cosmos explored on BLOOD INCANTATION’s critically acclaimed debut “Starspawn” (Dark Descent Records) and contains the following new tracks: 1. Slave Species of the Gods - 05:31 2. The Giza Power Plant - 07:06 3. Inner Paths (to Outer Space - 05:38 4. Awakening From the Dream of Existence to the Multidimensional Nature of Our Reality (Mirror of the Soul) - 18:05
To put it mildly, San Diego-based artist Kristin Hayter’s second album under the Lingua Ignota name is not for the faint of heart. (Her first, it’s maybe worth noting, is called *All Bitches Die*.) A dark communion of neoclassical strings, industrial atmospherics, and Hayter’s classically trained vibrato, *Caligula* is an arresting meditation on abuse, recovery, and revenge. The opening “Faithful Servant Friend of Christ” sets the album’s tone early, showcasing both Hayter’s stirring vocal range and the complex religious themes that underpin most songs. On the funereal “Do You Doubt Me Traitor,” she sharpens her lyrics into weapons, even enlisting the Devil himself as an ally in her personal war against her abuser and herself (“I don’t eat/I don’t sleep/I let it consume me/How do I break you/Before you break me?”). This is not an uplifting journey through trauma to peace, however—the strangled wails and purgative screams of “Butcher of the World” and “Day of Tears and Mourning” speak to a catharsis without resolution or relief, only riddance. It’s an exhilarating, intense, apocalyptic jeremiad told with disarming honesty and starkness.
“CALIGULA”, the new album from LINGUA IGNOTA set for release on July 19th on CD/2xLP/Digital through Profound Lore Records, takes the vision of Kristin Hayter’s vessel to a new level of grandeur, her purging and vengeful audial vision going beyond anything preceding it and reaching a new unparalleled sonic plane within her oeuvre. Succeeding her self-released 2017 “All Bitches Die” opus (re-released by Profound Lore Records in 2018), “CALIGULA” sees Hayter design her most ambitious work to date, displaying the full force of her talent as a vocalist, composer, and storyteller. Vast in scope and multivalent in its influences, with delivery nothing short of demonic, “CALIGULA” is an outsider’s opera; magnificent, hideous, and raw. Eschewing and disavowing genre altogether, Hayter builds her own world. Here she fully embodies the moniker Lingua Ignota, from the German mystic Hildegard of Bingen, meaning “unknown language” — this music has no home, any precedent or comparison could only be uneasily given, and there is nothing else like it in our contemporary realm. LINGUA IGNOTA has always taken a radical, unflinching approach to themes of violence and vengeance, and “CALIGULA” builds on the transformation of the survivor at the core of this narrative. “CALIGULA” embraces the darkness that closes in, sharpens itself with the cruelty it has been subjected to, betrays as it has been betrayed. It is wrath unleashed, scathing, a caustic blood-letting: “Let them hate me so long as they fear me,” Hayter snarls in a voice that ricochets from chilling raw power to agonizing vulnerability. Whilst “CALIGULA” is unapologetically personal and critically self-aware, there are broader themes explored; the decadence, corruption, depravity and senseless violence of emperor Caligula is well documented and yet still permeates today. Brimming with references and sly jabs, Hayter’s sardonic commentary on abuse of power and invalidation is deftly woven. Working closely with Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets studio in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Hayter strips away much of the industrial and electronic elements of her previous work, approaching instead the corporeal intensity and intimate menace of her notorious live performances, achieved with unconventional recording techniques and sound sources, as well as a full arsenal of live instrumentation and collaborators including harsh noise master Sam McKinlay (THE RITA), visceral drummer Lee Buford (The Body) and frenetic percussionist Ted Byrnes (Cackle Car, Wood & Metal), with guest vocals from Dylan Walker (Full of Hell), Mike Berdan (Uniform), and Noraa Kaplan (Visibilities). “CALIGULA” is a massive work, a multi-layered epic that gives voice and space to that which has been silenced and cut out.
Following an avalanche of positivity towards the ‘deviant black metal noir’ of 2017 debut Futility Report, WHITE WARD from Odessa, Ukraine present second full-length Love Exchange Failure, the next step of their rapid evolution into an increasingly unique musical force. The band channel Bohren, Badalamenti and contemporary blackened majesty into an eclectic set of visionary hymns that fuse late-night metropolitan contemplation, psychological horror, intoxicating melodicism and primeval, animal-state ferocity. Drenched in composure, creativity and dynamism, Love Exchange Failure blends brushed drums, reverberant piano, a variety of guesting clean vocalists and neo-noir saxophone within an architecture of first-rate contemporary misanthropic black metal. Diverse movements and tonal shifts interlink as if to mirror what the band describes as humanity’s existential struggle “caused by the inability to understand who we are and what our place on this planet is” - a clash between dreamworlds and harsh reality evocative as the urban landscapes of photographer Luke Pownall used throughout the packaging. Love Exchange Failure is an essential listen, a record that on repeat plays opens up like a streetscape sinkhole to drag you into the degenerate heart of the city.
Philadelphia's DEVIL MASTER stake their claim as one of the most venomous, twisted entities in the underground with their hellish debut, Satan Spits on Children of Light. The album, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Arthur Rizk (POWER TRIP, MAMMOTH GRINDER, OUTER HEAVEN, and more,) rattles the very gates of hell with a vile dose of black metal-infused punk mayhem. Commanding the steel of VENOM, the fury of BATHORY's earliest years, and the raw, uncompromising nature of the notorious GISM, Satan Spits on Children of Light sees DEVIL MASTER emerge from the grave and reach new blasphemous heights. Give in to the Satanic panic and obey your DEVIL MASTER!
15 years into their career, TORCHE have established themselves as a cornerstone of American heavy rock. Their highly anticipated new album, Admission, sees the band expanding on the themes and songwriting prowess that have always reverberated with music fans throughout their critically acclaimed discography. Everything about Admission feels like an elevation. TORCHE's guitar work is loaded with powerful, refreshing riffing and an array of profound textures, proving to be more versatile and crushing than ever before. The band's unforgettable vocal harmonies are met with hook-driven, pop sensibilities that propel the music to new heights. Track such as "Slide", "Times Missing", and the monumental title track see TORCHE hone in on these very elements to create one of 2019's most captivating albums. Admission is a triumph, as it launches TORCHE forward into the next chapter of their already inimitable career.
Vinyl, CD, and cassette available at mizmor(dot)bigcartel(dot)com (link in side panel). -------------------------- "Cairn" is an emotional exploration of the absurdity of life - man's constant search for meaning in a chaotic universe devoid of an ultimate purpose. This absurd premise prompts the individual to choose between a leap of faith into an ultimate purpose, suicide, or acceptance of reality. "Cairn" asserts that there is but one viable option, acceptance, and that one must build monuments to the other two as guide posts forbidding return. It declares that one must revolt and live in the present face of this absurdity and create in enjoyment the meaning necessary for life. From A.L.N.: ""Cairn" clocks in at just under one hour of new original music. I recorded the album over the course of three months in my home studio. I took the long way, sparing no expense or detail in my recording. I sought to take the project to a new territory tonally, starting with my education. I won't get into too much detail lest I bore the majority of you, so I will leave it simple: this is the highest resolution recording of the most thoroughly written and rehearsed Mizmor material there's ever been. I was purposefully the pickiest I've ever been with myself at all stages of this album's production and coming through the other side, I'm extremely happy with the result. I'm incredibly honored and thrilled to again have worked with Sonny DiPerri and Adam Gonsalves). Together, the three of us crafted the sound of "Yodh" and have now taken "Cairn" well beyond the prior's sonic limits. I am also floored by the final product of the extremely personal commissioned painting by Mariusz Lewandowski. Continuing in the vein of the polish surrealist master, Beksinski, Lewandowski has beautifully interpreted the theme's of "Cairn" into his painting "Time Immemorial," which sprawls to grace both covers of the album."
_______________________________ "Indomitable with a maturity, aggression and complexity, “Sacramental Death Qualia” is the expected step forward in terms of both expressivity and personality. This release is going to impose them on the same audience of bands like Gorguts, Blut Aus Nord, Akercocke, and early Opeth: bands that become reminiscent throughout the album. Mastered by Brendan Sloan (Convulsing), “Sacramental Death Qualia” is a true experience of conscience's awakening; a progressive album where the unrelenting violence of death metal and the obscurity of black metal are sewn together by mind-bending, complex arrangements that are the epitome of change. HAUNTER's compositions constantly morph and evolve with never-ending creativity, chasing forms at the same time ferocious and elegant, destructive and gentle. Acoustic passages of ethereal beauty, where delicate guitars draw melancholic and autumnal melodies counterbalance the band's untamable fury during the most frenetic moments." HAUNTER is: Bradley Tiffin Mark Cruz Cole Tucker Enrique Bonilla
Order Vinyl & CD: gileadmedia.bandcamp.com/album/rare-field-ceiling Rare Field Ceiling is the coldest Yellow Eyes record to date, and it is also the warmest. It is the most inviting, the most alienating, the murkiest and the sharpest, always falling apart and yet held together by a dawning sense that within the thicket is a vision of majestic clarity. But as Rare Field Ceiling climbs and climbs, majesty becomes delusion and clarity becomes mania. Yellow Eyes have always held failure up to the light and found patterns in the glow, but here they trace a doomed arc and, with unnerving focus, follow it to the very end. In the cryptic, labyrinthine tradition of Ved Buens Ende, Fleurety, and early Blut Aus Nord, Yellow Eyes play black metal, uncompromising and unbound. Rare Field Ceiling is the latest statement in an increasingly significant and singular legacy.
False return with the most pivotal record of their career, "Portent". A redefining of the extreme underground, "Portent" sees the band harness their shared experiences of pain and loss, and use that energy to create a truly monumental album for American Black Metal that is expansive, wholly engrossing, daring, and above all, honest and genuine. 4 tracks span the width and scope of the band's approach to the genre. The defining trait of the band reveals itself from the onset; the urgency in "Portent" is palpable.
FULL OF HELL make their Relapse debut with their most explosive album to date, Weeping Choir. Dynamic, pissed, and wholly urgent, the highly anticipated Weeping Choir is a definitive statement of intent by one of the underground’s most dynamic and virulent entities. FULL OF HELL have once again culled the extreme elements from hardcore, metal, and power electronics to redefine darkness and sheer brutality. Distorted guitars, and ominous, disparate electronics grind and gnash against rapid-fire drumming, as FULL OF HELL take themes of religion, loss, hatred, and set them ablaze. Recorded by the critically acclaimed Kurt Ballou at GodCity Studio, Weeping Choir sees FULL OF HELL fully unleashed. Abrasive, confrontational, none equal!
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE DEAD THINK: Rob Marton - Guitars, Bass (ex Discordance Axis) Kyosuke Nakano - Drums (ex Cohol) Jon Chang - Vocals (ex Discordance Axis) The definitive ending to the piloted bullet hell grind album series started in 1992, No One Knows What the Dead Think documents eight original stages plus a hard reboot of the Discordance Axis stage Dominion
The band’s blistering new full length platter, Wretched Illusions, raises the stakes with undeniable and unrelenting anthems like “Bloodlust Contamination,” “World Decay,” “Corroded from Within,” and album opener “Ripping Through Flesh.” Each of the record’s ten tracks is a certified ripper, keeping those baseball bat swings coming, over and over. Devotees of influential death metal merchants like Blood Red Throne (Norway), Gorguts (Canada), and Grave (Sweden) have a new American band to champion. Creeping Death draw liberally from the template set by those bands along with the speed of early Sepultura (Brazil) and the hammering epic crush of Bolt Thrower (England). All of these classic sounds are reforged together and reflected through Creeping Death’s own fresh and unique prism.
Swiss black metal vanguards SCHAMMASCH return with their brand new album 'Hearts Of No Light’, which lays its foundation in the heights of their past work whilst presenting their most flowing and organic approach to date - jet-black at its core whilst vast and expansive in experimentation.
On their eighth studio album, Sunn O))) wanted to take their signature drone metal back to its most minimalist form. During the past decade, the Stephen O’Malley- and Greg Anderson-led unit ventured into a series of collaborations—with artists ranging from Norwegian experimental collective Ulver to the late singer/composer/producer Scott Walker—before releasing 2015’s *Kannon*, which incorporated death-metal growls into their guitar assaults. For *Life Metal*, the band hired studio veteran Steve Albini—whose recordings distill a band\'s bare essence—to capture their expansive, amplified noise live to tape. “Troubled Air” is mired in their typically impenetrable feedback, though a gleaming pipe organ (arranged by Australian composer Anthony Pateras) faintly clears the darkness toward the song’s end. The lumbering “Between Sleipnir’s Breaths”—inspired by the creature from Norse mythology—plays like an orchestral piece, contrasting trenchant dissonance with Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’s ghostly vocals. Simplicity is at the core of these four lengthy tracks, but those unexpected elements—and O’Malley and Anderson\'s broader palette of sounds in general—add a newfound depth to the band\'s arsenal.
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