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Watch: ‘Sinners Will Inherit The Earth’ by Ulvtharm

Posted: 30 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Cyclic Law, Dark-Ambient, Emelina Rosenstielke, Industrial, Sinners Will Inherit The Earth, Ulvtharm, video stream

Sweden-based industrial/dark ambient artist ULVTHARM has released his second opus “7 Uthras” on May 3rd via Cyclic Law. The album is available as digisleeve CD (limited to 300 copies), black vinyl (limited to 200 copies), and red & black marbled vinyl (100 copies).

An official video has been released for the song ‘Sinners Will Inherit The Earth’. The video displays a female character – interpreted by the actress Emelina Rosenstielke (Feed) – sitting in a colorless room and in the center of a target painted on the floor. The character, who embodies modern civilization, is apparently afraid of the risks she may incur. Ulvtharm’s arrival on the scene and the subsequent initiation of a ritual reveal the true identity of the character, as well as of our civilization – thirsty for blood and personal success. We are all sinners on this Earth.

Watch it here:

“7 Uthras” is the second release from MZ 412 co-founder Jouni Ollila. Ulvtharm is painting his world as a sprawling, post-apocalyptic industrial wasteland, where humanity clings to survival in the shadows of monolithic factories and decaying cities. Skies choked with ash, and a sun that seldom breaks through the omnipresent smog. Within this landscape, the Seven Uthras exist not as beings of benevolence, but as ancient, god-like entities that emanate from the darkest depths of the earth, commanding forces beyond human comprehension. 7Uthras serves as a sonic gateway to otherworldly realms, offering a glimpse into the abyss that challenges and expands the listener’s perception of the known universe.

The artist masterfully blends the essence of dark industrial soundscapes with layers of mystical ambiance, creating an immersive experience that is both deeply unsettling and profoundly enlightening. This new album is not just an exploration of sound but a journey into the soul of its creator, exploring the chaos and darkness within his imagination. ULVTHARM’s deeper vocal experimentations are weaving a narrative that is both personal and universal. The album’s blend of dark, martial, pulsating rhythms and ambient organic soundscapes invites us to confront the death and ruins of our world. As each track unfolds, we will be drawn deeper into a narrative of chaos and transformation, where the end of one world signifies the birth of another. “7 Uthras” is not just an album; it is a ritualistic journey that seeks to unlock the ancient doors of perception and embrace the darkness as a path to enlightenment. All hail the Serpents, all hail the Seven Uthras!

Watch: ‘Anhedonia’ by Dawn Of Ashes

Posted: 29 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: aggrotech, Anhedonia, Dawn Of Ashes, EBM, Extreme Metal, Industrial, Metropolis Records, Reopening The Scars, Single, video stream

Dawn Of Ashes is a Los Angeles-based group whose very name brings to mind ‘the beginning of the end’. Formed in 2001, DOA have broken ground across multiple genres, from aggrotech/terror EBM to industrial/extreme metal, producing a unique hybrid of dark electro and metal styles. This fusion of terrifying soundscapes with brutal, relentless rhythms forms the foundation for the lyrical themes of founder and frontman Kristof Bathory, which explore concepts of horror, anti-monotheistic religion, misanthropy and the negative aspects from emotional abuse.

DOA have recently issued a new album entitled Reopening The Scars that was preceded by the single ‘Anhedonia’, a video for which has just been made available. Bathory describes the song as “a glimpse into the dark abyss of the subconscious. We are explorers into the often unspoken, dark and cruel reality of mental anguish, torment and depression,” adding that “there are various circles of Hell when it comes to emotional suffering. Depression is a place that can cripple the mind in so many different ways. Anhedonia is the state of depression where nothing matters anymore, and you become paralysed by your own self punishment.”

Reopening The Scars is DOA’s first album for Metropolis Records since returning to their former label home in late 2023. “It is a continuation from our previous album, Scars Of The Broken,” Bathory has previously stated. “It goes down a darker hole into a place where each lyrical topic touches on the struggles of self-destructive behaviour. Pain and suffering dictated the writing process and created the sounds of emotional hell.”

As for the music that DOA is now creating, Bathory concludes that “after all these years dabbling in dark electronic music as well as industrial and extreme metal, we have found a unique style that complements each genre as one. DOA is neither one or the other in a separate category. The music and lyrical content speaks for itself under a form of darkness that fits for all people who enjoy various types of aggressive music. Reopening The Scars defines that in a perfect form.”

Watch the video here:

Listen: ‘It Will Hurt the Entire Time You Are Alive’ (EP) by Cathari

Posted: 28 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: adness, Cathari, disappointment, EP stream, It Will Hurt the Entire Time You Are Alive, noisecore, Rage

With yet another 24th May release, Philadelphia-based Cathari has released their EP, It Will Hurt the Entire Time You Are Alive, their first studio offering since transitioning into noisecore from doom metal. The EP is available on cassettes and digital.

Vocalist Magdalena Stephens shares: “‘It Will Hurt The Entire Time You Are Alive’ is like a thesis statement for my own sadness and disappointment into adulthood. Every song is about disappointment in its own way, be it with the music scene, the people I used to call friends, or even myself. Growing older has been a bitter and unforgiving experience and I wanted to capture the rage that percolates beneath the surface of my life as I come to find it’s just all disappointment all the way down.”

Hear the EP in full here:

Watch: ‘Mercy’ by Dichro

Posted: 27 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Blues, Darkwave, Dichro, Distortion Productions, Mercy, Single, Stained Glass, video stream

Darkwave band, DICHRO has just unveiled their latest single & video, ‘Mercy’ from the forthcoming full-length album due out in August via Distortion Productions. The song carries a message that we should have mercy not just in our every day encounters, but free one another from judgement for choosing how to believe, if we believe, and what we believe. If we can start seeing one another with empathic eyes and hearts, perhaps we can rid our global atmosphere of so much fear and uncertainty. ‘Mercy’ is an outreach piece.

Says vocalist, Charmaine Freemonk: “We are reaching out to ask that everyone calm down a bit, take a breath, and be more conscientious of our actions. It is a heartfelt plea that we consider whether we are helping or harming one another, practice empathy, and if we cannot help, to at least not harm."

Check ‘Mercy’ here:

Watch: ‘Heroic Dose’ by Worshipper

Posted: 23 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Heroic Dose, lyric video stream, Magnetic Eye Records, Melvins, One Way Trip, Psychedelic, Stoner Rock, Worshipper

WORSHIPPER drop a psychedelic lyric video featuring the super heavy track ‘Heroic Dose’ as the next single taken from the Boston psychedelic hard rockers’ forthcoming third album One Way Trip which is scheduled for release on July 19, 2024.

WORSHIPPER comment on ‘Heroic Dose’: “This is the final song that we wrote for the record, and probably the most personal for me”, guitarist and singer John Brookhouse reveals. “I lost my dad in 2022, and one of the last conversations that we had was about his time in Vietnam. As I was writing the lyrics for this song, I realized that I had all of these remarkable stories, which he had told me about that period of time. Essentially, he flunked out of college, and in the midst of a ‘spirit journey’ he realized that he needed to enroll in the Army to avoid being drafted. I cannot even imagine being faced with such a grave decision. I made a bunch of war sounds with a Moog and a theremin that my dad gave me and handed them over to our producer, Alec Rodriguez. Alec just nailed the sound design, especially when mixed with all the acid fuzz freakout stuff at the end over Jarvis’ excellent drum fills.”

Watch: ‘Hero’ by Esoterik

Posted: 21 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: dark electro, Esoterik, Folk, Hero, Pagan Synth, synthpop, video stream, visualizer

Pagan Synth duo, ESOTERIK have just unveiled their new single, ‘Hero’.

For the new single, ESOTERIK explores the beauty in evolution and transformation. The hero’s journey is one of introspection with an effort to shed light on the flaws that stifle forward progress. But this process can also lead to rumination without the balance of right action. There comes a point in every hero’s journey where they feel as though they aren’t ready to take on the momentous call to duty that lies ahead of them. But it soon becomes clear that a path less-followed is the only option left.
The trial by fire truly cleanses the mind of all doubt giving way to an unfounded strength and focus to achieve their purpose.

Diving headfirst into one of the more well know archetypes, the ‘Hero’ is front and center in their new single. The listener will immediately notice a more guitar-oriented arrangement which is a slight departure from recent releases, although still retaining the band’s synthpop formula. Like a melodic freight train going full throttle, this track is steady in propelling the hero into uncharted territory.

Watch the promo clip – or visualiser, if you will – here:

Founded in 2013, US Dark Pop outfit, ESOTERIK, have steadily evolved into what fans have lovingly coined as Pagan-Synth. The band, comprised of Allison Eckfeldt and Brady Bledsoe, is known for their heady potion of soundscapes that highlight the melodic side of 80’s synthpop alongside the intensity of rock sensibilities. With lyrical content that explores the human condition and how we experience life with senses known and unknown, each compassion beckons the listener towards deep exploration of shadow and light. Their last release, Alchemy, has been described as ‘an album which has mystical folk tendrils, spliced together with electronic synths and rhythms. It is beautiful and danceable with a spiritual center, calling back to a time when our ancestors were more in-tune to the world they walked in and the earth was far more listened to.’

EXCLUSIVE AUDIO STREAM: ‘Haswell’ by Vorare & Earthflesh

Posted: 20 May 2024 in Previews and Editorial, Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Audio, bleak, Capitalism, collaboration, Harsh, Haswell, Heavy, Industrial, industrialisation, Rope Tower, track stream, Vorare & Earthflesh

Finish purveyors of extreme noise, Vorare, has paired up with Earthflesh to create the abrasive blast of an album which is Rope Tower. We’re on the edge of our seats for the album, and are beyond thrilled to present an exclusive premier of the second track from the album to be unveiled after ‘Seepage’.

On the face of it, a mining disaster in the North of England which occurred way back in 1844 may seem like an unusual choice of subject matter for two artists based in mainland Europe: it’s a pretty niche piece of local history. But it’s also a harrowing historical event that warns of the risk to life the industrial age brought. County Durham had a long mining heritage, and Haswell was one of the county’s largest collieries, employing over 300 men and boys. This single incident – an explosion – caused the deaths of almost a third of the workforce, with the blast itself killing 14, and a further 81 dying by suffocation.

For a moment, just imagine the scene, and the sensation. ‘Haswell’ makes for a fitting soundtrack, with a reflection on not only the how of their deaths, but the why…

Lyrics:

We find ourselves in the mines day in and day out, breaking our bones, shoveling our route to the alluring ore necessary for someone else to thrive off of. The caged canary leads the way deeper and deeper into the uncharted maw of Earth left gaping by bombs built by weak little men far from here. The clangs of pickaxes haunt our dreams while the fetters on our ankles might as well be extensions of our limbs alongside the instruments designed to violate the soil below our homes. As the morning seeps in lightless, we continue our work. Descending to the black hole stretching for miles on end, the explosions seem particularly strong today. We can’t see, but we can hear and feel. The chirp of the canary abates and soon runs out. Is this the smell of profit?

An account of the Haswell Colliery Explosion can be found here.

Listen: ‘I’ll be your doctor’ by Argonaut

Posted: 18 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: alternative, Argonaut, DIY, electro, I'll be your doctor, Indie, Post-Punk, single stream

The thing about Argonaut is that they’re continually evolving, continually pushing themselves, striving to do something different, and to create something new, constantly. No sooner had they completed their track-a-month ‘open-ended album’ project, Songs from the Black Hat, which saw them try out a range of styles, than they’re back to banging out new tunes at a remarkable rate.

Having deadlines or other set parameters doesn’t work for a lot of artists, but Argonaut seem to thrive on targets and goals, and ‘I’ll be your doctor’ is testament to that.

They describe it as ‘A song for the companions and for everyone courted and wooed with promises of excitement and adventure. A reminder to those making such vows to continuously reinvent, strive for greatness and never grow complacent. Musical nods to Depeche Mode, Nine inch Nails and Pink Floyd, lyrically inspired by Dr Who and the Velvet Underground. Delivering on our promise.’

It certainly incorporates an array of elements in its four and a half minutes, with some dark, stark post-punk electro vibes paired with some driving chords and some exploratory guitar work, all brought together with, of course, a strong hook.

Listen here:

Listen: ‘Under the Influence’ by WyndRider

Posted: 15 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Doom, Electric Valley Records, Psychedelic, revival, single stream, Stoner, Under The Influence, WyndRider

WyndRider’s second record, Revival, is scheduled to hit shelves on 7 June on vinyl and digital via Electric Valley Records, with a CD release handled independently. The East Tennessee stoner doom band is now streaming the second single, ‘Under the Influence.’

Of the track, WyndRider states: “Everybody is under the influence of something. Pick your poison.”

Listen to the track here:

After playing all over the Eastern US, WyndRider returned to their home in the Appalachian Mountains, focusing in on the hopes and horrors of living there with an unapologetically heavy Southern groove. The album Revival, washed in the blood of its region, sheds light on the smoke and mirrors of life in the Bible Belt and provides a fix for those left craving more after the first dose that WyndRider brought to the scene.

This year, WyndRider will be hitting the stage at Maryland Doom Fest, Gravitoyd Doom Fest in Houston, and Holler of Doom IV, alongside numerous other cities and states.

Upcoming Shows:

5/24 – Knoxville, TN – BrickYard Bar & Grill
5/26 – Charlotte, NC – The Milestone Club
6/08 – Johnson City, TN – The Hideaway
6/20 – Indianapolis, IN – Black Circle
6/21 – Akron, OH – Buzzbin
6/22 – The Maryland Doom Fest at Cafe 611
6/23 – New York, NY – The Bowery Electric
7/05 – Asheville, NC – The Odd
7/11 – Nashville, TN – Springwater
7/12 – London, KY – Holler of Doom Fest at Mountain View Farm
7/13 – Cincinnati, OH – The Comet

Watch: ‘Death Comes Home’ by Oathswan

Posted: 14 May 2024 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
Tags: Death Comes Home, Metalcore, Oathswan, Prog, Those Who Breathe From Darkness, video stream

Greek prog-driven metalcore newcomers Oathswan have recently shared a music video for a brand new song off the band’s debut EP For Those Who Breathe From Darkness, which was released last Friday, May 10.

Titled ‘Death Comes Home’, you can watch it here:

The band had this to say about the new song ‘Death Comes Home’, the 3rd track from the EP For Those Who Breathe From Darkness. “The song deals with the idea of home, our safe space, our sacred place. The place where we feel secure and distanced from our fears. Anyone who wishes to stay there without permission, means to end you.”

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