Norwegian world music collective Wardruna release a live video for the song ‘Heimta Thurs’. The video is a part of the band’s Live at the Acropolis show, which will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray alongside Wardruna’s new album Birna on January 24th.
Originating from Wardruna’s debut album Runaljod – Gap var ginnunga, the song ‘Heimta Thurs’ has grown into one of the group’s most iconic songs and a fan favourite. Set against the backdrop of the world heritage site Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis, the composition and visual experience reach ecstatic new heights.
The connections between the old and ancient, deeply human and natural at the same time can be felt at every live performance of Wardruna, resounding equally on stage and throughout the audience. Live at the Acropolis is a testament to that.
Aural Aggravation is extremely proud to present a new exclusive video premiere in the shape of ‘Opilione’ by Vomitriste .
We promise work from the furthest reaches beyond the mainstream, and this is it.
Vomistriste comment: ‘Opilione’ probably represents the darkest corners of Black Abyss Invocation as a whole, encapsulating the claustrophobic anguish and pervasive dread that discolours the entirety of the record. During the recording session, this is where everything ultimately clicked together seamlessly and solidified this new dismal and murky direction of the band. Murmuring words and uttering phrases that shall not be written on top of ever-evolving vortex-esque sonics… It’s apparently possible to scare yourself solely by being who you are and doing what you must.”
‘Opilione’ is dark and nasty – and we love it.
Vomitriste began their aural trek in 2022 by means of crafting colossal, noisy drones and profound dark ambient, and went on to release six albums under that motif during the following two years. While the duo’s visceral output was greeted with open arms by many and their signature sound found new aspects to itself through life shows, midway through 2024 the project came to its natural conclusion. With the aim of putting one last effort out under the moniker, the two musicians decided to instead leave all pre-conceived notions of what the band should be out of their mutual headspace, and begun composing the idea of doing something else entirely with a fresh approach and open mindset. The end result was something unexpected, which left the duo initially perplexed, but soon turned out to be a restart of sorts for the band. The previous records were lumped under the collective title of Droneworks (2022-2024) and now, a new chapter has begun.
Black Abyss Invocation is the first album under this newfound direction, introducing Vomitriste anew as a vessel of grating and pervasive cacophonous dread it was always meant to be. Certain aspects of their previous doings are present, but the seminal orientation across the record lies at the perimeters of black ambient and death industrial, taking elements from black metal and noise and mashing those together with dark ambient and electronics, with the inclusion of ritualistic and trance-inducing, jarring rhythms and waypast ominous atmospheres. The void has opened its maw once more, and instead of balancing on its rim, Vomitriste dove straight into the unknown without hesitation only to emerge from the opposite end speaking a malformed and atrocious language while sporting only motes of resemblance of its past self.
The six songs making up Black Abyss Invocation were created in a single session overnight, and left its creators in awe of what they accidentally stumbled upon. The sonic terrains discovered were nothing sort of hostile and unfathomably haunting, yet the kind that lures you deeper and deeper into its uncharted areas on every passing second. Where once stood a wall signifying the ultimate point of unease and anxiety, now a vast black ocean spread out, beckoning both the band as well as its listeners to wade into it until reaching neck-deep and suddenly being pulled down by something inexplicable and unnamed. Where there once was scarce light, now there is none.
Born from a love of experimental rock, noise rock, early industrial, sludge, and doom, Guiltless (featuring members of A Storm of Light, Intronaut, Generation of Vipers and Battle of Mice) heralds the coming of a heavy music which looks both inwards and out to convey the encompassing mixture of hope, despair and determination which comes from observing life as we know it today. Guiltless released their debut EP, Thorns, via Neurot Recordings in early 2024. Crushing and cheerless, it seemed to welcome the apocalypse looming on our collective horizon.
On March 7th 2025, Guiltless shall release their debut full-length album Teeth To Sky via Neurot, a record more pulverising, focused and introspective than what came before.
Today they share the bruising title track today, which combines the gnarled sensibilities of The Jesus Lizard, Cherubs and Barn Owl into a rumination on Mother Nature’s revenge. “The title track represents a surrender to nature’s unstoppable force,” vocalist Josh Graham says. “As climate extremes continue to grow and impact virtually everyone on earth, we are now facing the impact of our forefathers’ actions, and our children will live through a new and unprecedented future.”
Maud the moth, the solo project of Spanish-born and Scotland-based pianist, singer and songwriter Amaya Lopez-Carromero shares the new track ‘Despeñaperros’, taken from her forthcoming album, The Distaff, to be released via The Larvarium (digital +CD) and La Rubia Producciones (vinyl), with Woodford Halse/Fenny Compton contributing a tape release on 21st February 2025.
Amaya has long used the mantle of Maud the moth as an alter-ego, a séance-like conduit to explore themes of rootlessness, identity and trauma. The Distaff in particular refers to the stick or spindle onto which wool or flax is wound for spinning, and an object which has historically been used across multiple cultures as a symbol wielded by the “virtuous woman”, an authoritarian ideal around which much of the trauma surrounding the feminine coalesces. The album takes the form of a sort of self reflective and surreal autobiography. It was in part inspired by the poem of the same name written by the Greek poet Erinna, as she mourns her friend’s loss of individuality and agency in exchange for marriage – and therefore safety and acceptance in the eyes of society.
Maud the moth shares the video for ‘Despeñaperros’. About the track, Maud the moth says;
"Despeñaperros is one of the cornerstones of The Distaff’s universe. A canyon and natural reserve with dramatic geology and very violent historical background, the Despeñaperros Pass is a gateway into the wilderness. Its name, which can be translated as “where dogs are thrown off the cliff”, has unclear origins and adds to the lore and mystery shrouding this area in the Spanish collective consciousness. Growing up in an environment where hunting and animal cruelty were commonplace and artistic sensitivities often ridiculed, Despeñaperros unfolded in my imagination, transcending its real physical location, and reforming as a quasi-mythical location for the sacrifice of those perceived as weak, different, misunderstood or simply challenging tradition.”
“Way way back in the early days I used to say a lot about ‘The Terminal Kaleidoscope’, a concept comparing the fragile planet we live on to a drowning human being with life flashing before his or her eyes, the images constantly accelerating. It’s 2024, a little over two decades since the turn of this unbearably turbulent century and the concept appears to have become an unlikely soap opera where we are the cast. Let’s hang in there….” Edward Ka-Spel – The Legendary Pink Dots
SO LONELY IN HEAVEN – THE CREATION
So Lonely in Heaven is the new album by the Anglo-Dutch experimental rock band The Legendary Pink Dots, who formed in London in 1980 and are still helmed by co-founder and frontman Edward Ka-Spel. Their second full-length effort since the World stopped for a Global Pandemic, group members were still scattered across three countries and two continents as they began writing it, with ideas spun across Cyberspace for months. However, the magic eventually happened collectively in small spaces with the tape running.
SO LONELY IN HEAVEN – THE MESSAGE
The machine is everything we are. It sees everything, hears everything, knows everything and feeds, speeds, drinks us down, spits us out – we lost control of it at the instant of its conception. You may cough, curse and die, but the machine will resurrect you without the flaws, at your peak, smiling from a screen, bidding someone in a lonely room to join you. It’s an invitation from Heaven, where anyone can be anything they want to be, but it’s a Nation of One. You’ll be everything we are. You’ll be a shadow of yourself. You’ll repeat yourself – endlessly. You’ll be desperate for some kind of explanation. You’ll be lonely. So very lonely….
Noisepicker share the remarkable video for ‘Chew’ ahead of the release of their second record, The Earth Will Swallow The Sun, out 21st March 2025 via Exile on Mainstream.
The band says:
"7/8 groove and a mountain of fat chugs. Splattered with disgust at the human form displayed in the mirrors. ‘Chewed up and spat out’ as the chorus declares. The result of generations of human failure through self interest. ‘So sick and tired of that stupid grin’. The only logical solution: destroy it."
…and further about the video itself: "The two of us live on opposite sides of the country, which makes getting together tricky at times. To the point where we never rehearse. Apart from two songs, we had only played the entire new album together when we entered the studio to record it. And those two tracks were only ever played during soundcheck, an hour before we played them live. Which probably explains a lot! This means we need to be ‘inventive’ when thinking about videos, basically making sure that we are not the main focus of them. We grab footage of each other when we can and store it up in case it’s needed. That’s where the puppet idea came from. I couldn’t get us both in the same room, so I had to improvise. I think it actually makes for a better video! The song is about hating what you’ve become after chasing the expectations of an unfulfilling society, and only realising you’ve been had when it’s far too late. You’ve been played. Like a puppet on a string. Enjoy!"
‘Church of Bones’ is the first music video released by Underheaven, the Lower Bucks County, PA duo comprised of multi-instrumentalist / producer / songwriter Chris Gelok and songwriter / bassist / vocalist Howard Wuelfing. The video was created by Gelok, an experienced creator of CGI video. The song is a haunting portrait of a human being’s last moments of consciousness. Have a look here:
AA
Philadelphia-based multi-instrumentalist Chris Gelok has been an active part of the local Metal scene since the early aughts, playing guitar with Chorea from 2005 through 2013, then Disgorgement from 2013 through 2020. Along the way he took time out to participate in Funk-bound side ventures including Bassnectar and Big Pimp Jones. He’s also provided musical settings for a number of television networks.
Howard Wuelfing was active in the original Washington D.C. Punk scene, playing in The Look, Slickee Boys, Nurses, the original version of Underheaven, and finally Half Japanese before relocating to New Jersey.
The first edition of Underheaven was founded by guitarist Don Zientara and Wuelfing who first met when Don recorded several of the groups Howard played in at the first incarnation of Zientara’s now-storied Inner Ear Studios. After the band opened for acts like R.E.M., The Bangles, etc. and recorded an EPs worth of material with Ian MacKaye at the control board the members went their separate ways. Decades later, Zientara and Wuelfing reconvened the group joined by Half Japanese guitarist Mark Jickling on guitar and Dan Buccino on drums. When lockdown thwarted live performing, they recorded a pair of vintage originals, ‘One Mad Answer’ and ‘The Moment I Die’ before calling it quits – some of the last recordings done at Inner Ear before it fell prey to developers; these tracks were released digitally in mid-2023.
Gelok and Wuelfing joined forces soon after the D.C.-based line-up dissolved to record a growing body of original songs, his first new compositions in decades. Since they began working together, their stock of distinctive original material has grown steadily and plans are to release their full length debut.
Dark electronic music producer, MISS FD has just released her latest bewitching cinematic gothic music video for her song, ‘Curse Breaker’.
‘Curse Breaker’ is a liberating dark piano piece with laid bare female vocals that channel raw emotion, empowerment, and mystique. A spell unbinding transformative song about overcoming and letting go.
The music video, directed by long-time collaborator and friend Tas Limur, was filmed in a Victorian mansion in Historic Old Louisville, KY.
The video follows MISS FD through a curse-breaking séance which releases her from a haunting apparition, symbolizing freeing oneself from the binds and limitations of the past.
Former LORDS OF ACID vocalist, Mea Fisher (aka DJ Mea) and her solo project, ME AND MY NIGHTMARE just unveiled the heartfelt & poignant new single and video, ‘Don’t Forget Me’. The single features En Esch (Slick Idiot, <PIG>, Pigface, Ex-KMFDM) on keyboards.
‘Don’t Forget Me’ is Mea’s tribute to her mother, Patricia who tragically passed away after a battle with Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 84.
A common occurrence during the stages of Alzheimer’s disease is when the patient loses their memory. Mea states, “As her only child, the fear of being told that someday my mother might forget me terrified me to the core. I feared it everyday but it didn’t happen. She always remembered her ‘little baby girl’ all the way to the very end. Never once did she forget me. It was a gift, even though I lost her.”
Aural Aggravation 