Canadian blackgaze solo-project UNREQVITED unveils the acclaimed new seventh full-length A Pathway to the Moon in full.
UNREQVITED comment: “This album represents the most significant sonic evolution in my journey thus far”, mastermind 鬼 writes. “With A Pathway to the Moon, I have embarked on a daring and novel exploration into a predominantly lyrical realm, diverging from the traditional Unreqvited sound. As we evolve into a touring band, this album was carefully crafted with the live performance in mind. These new compositions further elevate Unreqvited’s expansive soundscape, infusing it with grandiose anthemic refrains and vibrant, expressive lyricism.”
One of Aural Aggro’s favourite bands of recent years, Pound Land have kicked off 2025 with a live album recorded late last year, available at the bargain basement price of Pay What You Like and free to stream.
Their third live release, it captures them almost a year and a half on from Live at New River Studios, which featured an altogether different – and one off – iteration of the band, and on storming form, a mess of feedback, thunderous percussion and dingy bass. The majority of the set is lifted from Mugged, with a full-on rendition of ‘Pistol Shrimp’ and the trudging grind of ‘Power to the People’ bringing the pace to a mid-set crawl. It also provides the first live airing of new song ‘Cunt Do It’, which comes on like The Anti-Nowhere League’s Animal fronting Swans as they tackle a Hawkwind cover.
It’s pretty bloody brutal, and absolutely bloody brilliant.
German avant-garde metal pioneers DISILLUSION release and stream the limited instrumental edition of their acclaimed current album Ayam released on November 8, 2024.
DISILLUSION commented: “We are stoked that our first instrumental album ever is finally seeing the light of day”, singer and guitarist Andy Schmidt wrote. “The idea for this concept already came up during the recording of Ayam. We wanted to metaphorically let the music do all the talking. An abundance of details and intricacies within the tracks have now shifted to the foreground. This allows a quite different perspective on the album and illuminates previously hidden facets. Hopefully, you will find this as exciting as we do. Enjoy!”
AA
Two years after the release of Ayam, the fourth DISILLUSION full-length will have spun on record and CD players, and also been streamed countless times. Every melody, rhythm pattern, and note will have been listened to again and again. And yet, there are still many musical ‘secrets’ waiting to be uncovered and treasures to be found. With Ayam (Instrumental), DISILLUSION offer their most dedicated followers a beautiful map to find some of the hidden gems. Without the magnificent vocals, other aspects of the songs begin to shine, and new aspects of each track come to the fore. Nothing has been added from the original songs, only the vocals have been taken out of Ayam.
Who are we? Where do we go? These are the kind of existential questions that have arisen for many of us during these last years and that have also been haunting DISILLUSION during the creation of "Ayam". Without a chance to perform live and their personal lives also being affected by many restrictions the focus of the German avant-gardists shifted fully towards their band and the creation of new songs as well as recording. The effect is audible: Ayam sounds richer, even more multi-layered, and fully matured compared to the already highly praised previous releases. Yet the intricacies of their music are never just a means to an end, but more than anything all the complexity is subjugated to serve the inner feeling and cinematic aspect of each song itself.
The thematic questions and multi-dimensional layers of the songs are also reflected in the album title Ayam. The word derives from Sanskrit and means "This One". Pronounced in English it sounds like "I am", while reading it backwards turns it into "Maya", which is neither an accident nor explained by the band that obviously likes to offer riddles.
While DISILLUSION stuck closer together, they were also searching their hearts whether it was time to change old habits and try out something new. This led to the excellent decision to leave the mix of the album to different ears than the bands’ for the first time. Their choice could not have been better as renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, MOONSPELL) once again worked his exciting magic and enhanced their already unique sound by shining a sonic spotlight to the most important aspects such as the vocals.
Founded around singer and guitarist Andy Schmidt in the East Germany city of Zwickau in 1994, DISILLUSION pulled the rare trick of already becoming a staple in the field of avant-garde melodic death metal with the release of their full-length debut Back to Times of Splendor in 2004. The Germans have always been driven to seek new challenges and find new ways to evolve their music, which was exemplified by the following album Gloria that took radical musical steps in several directions at the same time. Gloria was far ahead of its time in terms of composition and sound, which becomes apparent when compared to GOJIRA’s masterpiece Magma for example that came out a decade later.
Despite their early success, DISILLUSION took a creative hiatus until suddenly returning in 2016 with the single ‘Alea’ and a new line-up that had changed in several positions. Quite likely even to the band’s surprise, a large and loyal fan base had formed during the decade of their absence, which showed in sold out shows and a highly successful crowdfunding campaign to realise a new album, which the Germans repeated for Ayam.
When The Liberation was released in 2019, critics described the album as a logical continuation of Back to Times of Splendor. Its songs reflected 15 years of additional experience in the musical development of Andy Schmidt. The Liberation turbo-charged all of DISILLUSION’s best qualities: the perfect interplay of massive metal with moments of pure euphoria and quiet introspection that create a sonic rollercoaster ride of passionate emotions.
With Ayam, DISILLUSION again sail among the stars to new stellar constellations of heavy sounds. While staying true to their general course, the German avant-garde pioneers also continue dropping anchor to explore new planets sparkling in space with a multitude of radiant sounds. Ayam offers exciting evolution rather than radical revolution, and DISILLUSION’s new musical forms and means are most beautiful and astonishing to behold. This album is a golden ticket to join the extraordinary journey of a life-time. Please feel free to check-in anytime you like. And with Ayam (Instrumental) you can even take the scenic route!
Chicago riff-doom four-piece HIGH PRIEST officially present their debut full-length Invocation to the world, now streaming everywhere and available in record shops across the galaxy from 23rd June 2023.
The band comment: “Our debut album Invocation is the culmination of years of hard work and collaboration”, guitarist John Regan writes. “We wanted to represent our breadth of influences and create something new while harkening back to the bands that inspired us to play music in the first place. I am the most proud of this record of anything I’ve ever worked on, and I’m so excited to share with the world.”
When night falls onto the sub-arctic landscapes of the Land of the Thousand Lakes, in the twilight of forest and swamps, the veils between our reality and the otherworld grow thin. It is at those times that stories such as ‘the fairy tale that never was’ leak into the lyrics and music of TENHI.
On their sixth album, Valkama, which translates as ‘harbour’ or ‘shelter’ among other meanings, the Finns originally began telling of a journey that was meant as a fairy tale in a burning, war-torn village and the crossing over dark waters to an island of the dead. The island is called Verisurma (‘the place for those who have suffered blood-death’) in Finnish folklore, where those dwell that died in war or were killed with a blade, and who shed blood on its shore forever.
Yet, during the ten years that TENHI were working on the album, our reality started to bleed into the otherworld with its own terrors and wars. Year after year, the musicians felt their story becoming more and more real until the point was reached that the band decided to change course.
Although echoes of the original work are still audible in the final music and visible in the artwork, the album now feels more harmonious and comforting, even brighter. The journey from this world to the other is more abstract and peaceful while still crossing dark waters, but after a decade TENHI have found the harbour called "Valkama". This transition of the story but also the long journey that the band undertook to reach their sheltering harbour are both reflected in the artwork of Valkama : An old wooden boat serves as a metaphor for various meanings such as a vessel, a coffin, a womb, a shelter, change, and the journey itself.
Valkama is now streaming in full at the link below; and TENHI have added a lyric video including an English translation for each song (click image for link):
Fuzzy stoner/garage punk group Loose Sutures has released their third record, Sado Sex for Dummies, today (26 May) via Electric Valley Records. The Sardinian act’s first studio outing as a trio, the album features a couple of other guests, including the heavy rock royalties Nick Oliveri and Alain Johannes.
States Loose Sutures: “Sado Sex for Dummies is the ultimate guide for all the pervs across the globe! On this sticky tour, you’ll find all you need: how to escape from a party gone wrong and survive a spell to your bone, chronicles from a highway shooter, valentines from Lucifer, and so much more. So whip out the whips and let’s welcome violence!”
Listen here:
Assembled in 2019 by four roughnecks, Loose Sutures plays classic ’70s riffs with a pinch of modern punk attitude, conjuring a blend of stoner and garage energy and displaying an abundance of evil beats, venomous fuzzes, and raunchy lyrics. Loose Sutures’ music has been praised by fans and critics for evoking a dark and seductive atmosphere reminiscent of cult exploitation movies.
Depicting killer profiles and kinky love stories, the Sardinian group presented their self-titled debut LP in March 2020 via Electric Valley Records. They followed it up with the sophomore album, A Gash with Sharp Teeth and Other Tales, the following year via Electric Valley Records; it later saw a Japanese edition in the Spring of 2022. Introducing the newly recruited Giuseppe Hussain (who replaced Gianpaolo Cherchi, guitars/vocals), the album is “a journey delving into lust with filthy guitars, stoned rhythms, and creepy voices escorting you deep inside the sticky core of what you fear yet desire at the same time.”
Loose Sutures again encountered a lineup change in 2022 when Giuseppe Hussain left the band, leaving the band to operate as a trio. It was a setback, but they refused to let it hold them back. Longtime fellow Marco “Grey” Manca joined to take care of the role of Giuseppe on the “High Heeled Barbarians Tour” around Europe the same year. Sado Sex for Dummies, as the name hints, is a complete handbook to satisfy the needs of the pervs, sadists, and killers out there. An invitation to indulge in fuzz-drenched, punk-‘n-roll violence, this third record from Loose Sutures has no shortage of lurid stories. While there is a touch of evolution, the album has not strayed too far from the band’s established hard, fast, and crude sound. To add more spice to some songs, the album features some guest musicians, including the legendary Nick Oliveri and Alain Johannes.
Get ready to be taken on a frenzied ride into the depths of your darkest desires.
Norwegian grindcore innovators Beaten to Death have just unleashed a music video for a new song off their new album “Laat maar, ik verhuis naar het bos”, now available only on vinyl. Titled “Melankolske Oppstøt”, this new track is also featured on the EP “Laat maar, deel vier: ik verhuis naar Endor”, the last of a series of four EPS containing different versions of album’s tracks that are now available as name your price at Bandcamp. Watch the video here:
Baptists have announced they are heading to Europe for the first time ever – supporting SUMAC, their third album Beacon Of Faith is out now via Southern Lord. Also joining the tour on select dates are Endon and Nordra. Find full dates below:
BAPTISTS EUROPEAN DATES:
08/03/2019 DK Aalborg 1000fryd w/ Nordra 09/03/2019 DK Copenhagen Alice w/ Nordra 10/03/2019 SE Gothenburg Skjul Fyra Sex w/ Nordra 11/03/2019 NO Oslo Blä w/ Nordra 12/03/2019 SE Stockholm Kafe 44 w/ Nordra 14/03/2019 NL Dortmund Junkyard w/ Endon 15/03/2019 BE Brussels Magasin 4 w/ Endon 16/03/2019 UK Bristol The Exchange w/ Endon 17/03/2019 UK Glasgow Stereo w/ Endon 18/03/2019 UK Manchester Deaf Institute w/ Endon 19/03/2019 UK London The Underworld w/ Endon 20/03/2019 FR Paris Petit Bain w/ Endon 21/03/2019 DE Karlsruhe Jubez w/ Endon 22/03/2019 DE Leipzig Institut Fur Zukunft w/ Endon 23/03/2019 DE Berlin Zukunft Am Ostkreuz w/ Nordra
Aural Aggravation 