Greek black metal collective Eldingar is excited to announce the release of their second album, Lysistrata, due out on November 1st via Vinyl Store. Following the success of their 2021 debut Maenads, the band’s latest effort builds on their intense and philosophical approach to music.
The band shared their thoughts on the track: “’ODE’ is a hymn to the enduring pain and the human struggle to assimilate grief, often finding it difficult to express sorrow through tears. The lyrics touch on the emotional states that can lead people to despair, and in some cases, to suicide. Psychological dead ends, a timeless affliction, plague humanity and ultimately bring destruction—both in our era and throughout history.”
Lysistrata delves into themes of the dissolution of armies and the rejection of power, while exploring emotional liberation from submission. Eldingar’s music combines anti-war sentiments and reverence for nature, drawing inspiration from ancient Greek philosophy and weaving them into their sound.
US Black Metal innovators NACHTMYSTIUM drop the next advance single ‘A Slow Decay’ taken from their forthcoming ninth album Blight Privilege. The full-length has been scheduled for release on All Saints’ Day, November 1, 2024.
NACHTMYSTIUM comment: “The song ‘A Slow Decay’ concerns itself with the disintegration of society that is going on all around us”, mastermind Blake Judd muses. “It does not even matter which side you are on. We are all being played.”
Following the announcement of their new album Syv and the release of the wonderfully brutal first single ‘Utbrent’ last month, Norwegian black metal masters Mork are back today with their latest instalment of filth and misanthropy, ‘Heksebål’. An epic and progressive piece journeying back to the old times of judgment, fear and witch burning, ‘Heksebål’ arrives alongside a haunting new video by Matt Vickerstaff.
Watch the video here:
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When asked about the new single, Mork creator, frontman and mastermind Thomas Eriksen said “A depiction of mankind destroying what they don’t understand. Witch-hunts and witches at the stake burned to a crisp. Probably one of the more progressive songs with spellbinding riffs of witchery. May the spell curse those in doubt to a lifetime of bad luck and misery!”
Now marking twenty years since inception – which has seen a strong rise through the tiers of the black metal scene – Mork was created by Thomas Eriksen in 2004 & was primarily a side-project from inception until the debut album, Isebakke, in 2013. Since then, with a constant flow of releases and live performances spanning various continents including a hugely successful slot at this year’s Hellfest, the band has rightly earned the accolade as one of the top Norwegian black metal acts of recent years.
UPCOMING MORK SHOWS
14th September – Royal Metal Fest, Aarhus, Denmark
21st September – John Dee, Oslo, Norway (SYV release show)
28th September – The Bell Festival, Enebakk, Norway
12th October – California Deathfest, Los Angeles, USA
30th January -> 2nd February – 70.000 Tons Of Metal, Miami, FL – Ocho Rios, Jamaica
APTORIAN DEMON have announced the details of their sophomore full-length Liv tar slutt (‘Life Ends’), which will be released on November 15, 2024.
The underground Norwegian black metal act from Trondheim also unleashes a first advance track taken from Liv tar slutt. The single ‘Når livet tar slutt’ (‘When Life Ends’) is available here:
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PTORIAN DEMON hail from Trondheim, Norway. They were founded by vocalist, guitarist and sole member Storhetsvanviddets Mester, who has also been known as Ghâsh.
APTORIAN DEMON embody black metal in its original bleak and raw form. Their mastermind is neither apologetic about this, nor about the hateful, misanthropic, and satanic content. This is what black metal is about. Storhetsvanviddets Mester is a lone wolf, who does not want to be associated with previous bands or the Nidrosian scene.
APTORIAN DEMON have previously released the EP Angst, jammer og fortvilelse in 2005 and the debut album Libertus (2012), which gained the band a dedicated following in the underground. Naturally, there are no social media outlets.
APTORIAN DEMON have deigned the time to be right for their sophomore full-length. Entitled Liv tar slutt (‘Life Ends’), this album keeps every ‘promise’ of a strong black metal statement made by the previous releases and will delight dark souls with its cold, harsh, and razor-edged songs. This is Norwegian black metal! Take it or leave it!
RAT LORD, the Norwegian trio known for their ferocious energy and tongue-in-cheek approach, is back with a brand-new single, ‘Now Diabetical’.
“If you dig the idea of grindcore and powerviolence while poking fun at black metal, Rat Lord is gonna be your new favorite band,” says Decibel scribe Addison Herron-Wheeler about this unorthodox Norwegian act.
Following the success of their debut album This Is Not A Record, Rat Lord returns with the brilliantly titled Blazed In The Northern Sky. The band—comprising guitarist/vocalist Yngve Andersen, drummer Sigurd Haakaas (both from Blood Command), and bassist Martine Green—continues to push boundaries with their unique blend of powerviolence and grindcore.
The full album is set to drop on August 30th via Loyal Blood Records, but you can get an early taste of the chaos with the new track ‘Now Diabetical’ here:
The band comments: “‘Now Diabetical’ is a song about eating healthy, so you don’t catch diabetes type 2, which is a big problem for some. The title may or may not be making fun of Satyricon’s ‘Now Diabolical.’”
The follow-up to the band’s 2022 debut album This Is Not A Record, sees RAT LORD churning out the same gritty and destructive powerviolence/grind sound that received strong praise from various publications along their humorous lyrical content, this time parodying some of the most famous songs and events from the Norwegian Black Metal history, the album title for instance clearly nods at Darkthrone’s A Blaze in the Northern Sky.
I tend to give releases a wide berth if there’s anything that could be construed as iffy about them or the artist or anyone else involved, not because I’m fearful of controversy, but simply feel it better not to provide a platform. Of course, some will argue that silence is tantamount to complicity – and I’m painfully aware of the extent to which that it’s true that many bad things happen while no-one speaks out. But I like to think that overall, my positions on matters of politics and beyond are fairly obvious on account of what I do cover, and some of the discussions around them, and I’m not about to virtue-signal with a list of releases by abusers and shady shits which have landed in my inbox to be immediately deleted.
But this one stood out. I sift through emails and divide them into ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘maybe’ for review, and have a separate flow for those that I’ll likely not have time or energy to review, but might be posting as a stream.
I’d never heard of Nachtmystium, but was intrigued to learn that they were back, although the tone of the press release struck me as a little different, more muted, perhaps: ‘…after all that was said and done, mastermind Blake Judd aka Azentrius is still standing. Not only that, but Judd has clawed himself back from the abyss of a most extreme life imaginable to a much more quiet, observant, and matured artist and person… His return will not be met with universal applause – even from the black metal scene. For anybody following the tumultuous career of Blake Judd and his pioneering band that has pushed the borders of their genre into new territories, this comes hardly as a surprise.’
But the video… on first play, I figured it was perhaps a Day Today or Brasseye type spoof, or that Nachtmystium was the Bad News or Spinal Tap of Black Metal. But no. Comparatively cursory research reveals Blake Judd’s long history of junkiedom, thieving, scamming, fraud, and unpaid bills, not to mention connections to the National Socialist Black Metal scene – something Judd is on record as renouncing and denying direct involvement with, but saying ‘We don’t oppose people’s right to be ‘NS’ or whatever… Even though I personally, my band(s) and my label have absolutely no interest in being a part of that scene, I will ALWAYS take their side when it comes to their freedom of speech being imposed upon.”
Freedom of speech has become a battle ground like no other in recent years , and thanks to social media, it’s a debate that’s taken the ugliest, most divisive of shapes, largely splitting along lines of left and right, with the left calling out fascists and twats, with the right calling the left fascists and twats for wanting to suppress their right to be fascists and twats. But, just as opposing Antifa is, effectively to align oneself as being Profa, to say ‘hey, free speech, it’s their right to be nazis’ is not only spineless, but a tacit statement in support of the nazis, even if it’s one born out of ignorance of just how much harm their ‘free speech’ can cause – and I find it hard to believe any adult could truly be that ignorant nowadays.
So, to return to the video… it contains some stills of the man himself, treated with grainy effects overlayed, with some lyrics flashed up, flickering, as the main focus of the visuals to what is, in real terms, some pretty standard black metal. But throughout, presented as ‘cuttings’, snippets of comments from social media and various other sources, essentially decrying what a deplorable scumbag he is.
It seems perverse that while he’s growling about ‘the return of a rightful might’, there are comments to the effect of ‘fuck this guy’ and ‘he owes me so much money’ to ‘good luck, Prophecy’. And against snippets reporting on his jail time and drug addiction, he snarls ‘No remorse, no remorse’.
Prophecy is a label which has released countless fantastic acts, and continues to do so, but I can’t help but feel that this is something of a mis-step – not even releasing new work by Nachtmystium, necessarily, but the pitch may be rather misjudged. These aren’t a few ‘oops’ moments – which should be approached apologetically even if they were – but to market the release in a way which celebrates all of this? Even if intended humorously – which there’s nothing to indicate that it is – it’s not very funny for the victims of his wrongdoings. And yes, they are victims, however desperate his drug plight or whatever at the time.
Musically, ‘Predator Phoenix’ is fine, and although the title seems both dubious and self-aggrandising, it’s par for the course in black metal. But the way this comeback is being heralded… not cool, man, not cool.
LIMBONIC ART release the third and final advance single ‘The Wrath of Storms’ taken from the forthcoming album Opus Daemoniacal. The new full-length of the Norwegian black metal legends is chalked up for release on June 28, 2024.
Check it here:
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LIMBONIC ART comment: "The track ‘The Wrath of Storms’ unleashes a relentless metal onslaught of dark negative energies", mastermind Vidar "Daemon" Jensen explains. "As nature’s destructive fury rages across the planet and lays the domains of feeble entities and deities to waste, this track relates a profound tale of horror through the eyes of the beholder."
US noise/blackgaze experimentalists Cave Moth have recently unveiled the leading single off their forthcoming new EP In Memory Eternal, which is set to be released on March 29th.
Listen to ‘In Memoria Aeterna’ here:
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For nearly a decade, Cave Moth have been turning some heads thanks largely to their intriguing and caustic combination of noise, grindcore, and death metal driving each song. It’s no new territory, yet the diversity of their sounds and the full-blooded urgency of their playing really sets them apart from many bands of their kind. Originally from Florida, Cave Moth now resides in that peculiar space on the internet that oscillates between live band and studio project with members spread out across the east coast.
The band’s new EP In Memory Eternal, however, sees a shift in direction with Cave Moth injecting more black metal and screamo influences into their songs.
“We’ve dabbled in the post hardcore/screamo ether before. This is more similar to our 2021 release ‘Don’t Worry’, but In Memory Eternal definitely has a more black metal feel. I was experimenting with chord melodies and just found it really easy to write music in that melancholic, minor key vibe.” Says the guitarist/vocalist Daniel Quinn. This 10-minute composition hauntingly blends the melodies of Pianos Become the Teeth and Really From with explosive energy of black metal, delivering a visceral sonic experience.
Transcending Obscurity Records – 19th January 2024
Christopher Nosnibor
Every day, every week, the world descends further into a pit of shit of human making. I feel as if I’m continually circling back to this same premise to frame almost every discussion, not just when writing about music, but any conversation I have about pretty much anything. The sad fact is that there is simply no escaping the fact that it’s not just me personally, but the whole of our existence which hangs under a cloud of gloom.
Only this afternoon, my mother texted me in her usual cack-handed typo-filled fashion bemoaning the succession of storms which has battered the country this week, commenting on how she can’t get over it and asking what we’ve done to deserve such crap weather. I simply couldn’t face pointing out that things have been heading in a bad direction since the industrial revolution and that we’re pretty much driven off a cliff at full speed in the last fifty years thanks to capitalism, and what we’ve done to deserve is fucked the planet with greed. She probably wasn’t really looking for an explanation, and likely wouldn’t have appreciated or even understood if I’d given one. Meanwhile, wars are raging around the globe, and escalating on a daily basis. And because we don’t have quite enough death and destruction, the state of Alabama has seen fit to pilot slow and painful executions by nitrogen gas. What the fuck is wrong with the world? And is it any wonder we’re experiencing a massive mental health crisis?
In the face of all of this, you do what you can to get by, and while many will advocate meditation and calming music as an alternative, or supplement, to medication, catharsis can also provide a much-needed means of release. And after releasing a couple of well-received EPs, Australian band Resin Tomb have dropped their debut album, Cerebral Purgatory. It’s a title which pretty much encapsulates the condition of living under the conditions I’ve outlined above – and purgatory is the word, because there is no escape and it feels neverending. The first track, ‘Dysphoria’ perfectly articulates the existential anguish of life in these troubled times. Again, the title is spot on: I frequently see – and have likely made my own – mentions of how we are seemingly living in an amalgamation of every dystopia ever imagined. But what is the psychological response to this? Dysphoria: ‘a profound state of unease or dissatisfaction’, the antonym of euphoria. Much as I do sometimes feel like cheering humanity to the finish line in the race toward self-extinction, for the most part, I feel not simply gloomy or pessimistic, but a deep sense of anguish and anxiety, not to mention powerlessness. And I am by no means alone – although it’s more apparent from time spent on line than conversations with friends, family, or colleagues, perhaps because people tend to shy away from heavy topics for the most part, and instead prefer to shoot the breeze about the weather. But ‘Dysphoria’ is a brief, brutal blast, gnarly mess of difficult emotions articulated through the medium of full-throttle guitar noise and vocals spat venomously in a powerful purge.
As their bio puts it, ‘They’ve forged their own sound which is a remarkably cohesive mix of dissonant death metal, gravelly grind and somehow even thick, blackened sludge.’ And yes, yes they have. And it’s a dense, powerful, racket they blast out. There’s little point in drawing on references or comparisons: there are simply too many, and they all tumble over one another in this cacophony of monstrous metal noise, a flaming tempest of gut-ripping heaviosity.
‘Flesh Brock’ packs tempo changes and transitions galore, packing more into three minutes and eight seconds than seems feasible. And in packing it all in, the density reaches a critical mass which hits with the force of an atomic blast.
Four minutes and twenty seems to be Resin Tomb’s sweet spot, with four of the album’s eight tracks clocking in at precisely that. And when they do condense so much energy and weight into every second, four minutes and twenty seconds affords a lot of room.
The title track comes on with hunts of Melvins, a mess of overloading guitars and a bass so fucking nasty and so forceful it could shatter bones, melding to deliver a colossal bastard of a riff. ‘Human Confetti’ comes on heavier still, pounding away with a pulverising force and playing with elements of discord and dissonance in the picked guitar line – and while the lyrics may be indecipherable, the title alone conjures a gruesome image.
If ‘Purge Fluid’ and ‘Concrete Crypt’ again convey their fundamental essences in the titles alone – and these are absolutely brutal, punishing pieces – the album’s final track, ‘Putrefaction’ absolutely towers over the murky swamp of black metal and grindcore with a dramatic, nagging picked guitar and a cranium-crushing wall of noise. Holy fuck. It hurts. And good. Angry is good, and better to channel that anger into art than knifing people in town on a Friday night. That’s one for another time, perhaps. At this particular moment, we have this – an album so heavy, so violent, it’s an exorcism.
AUSTERE have revealed ‘Faded Ghost’ as the first single taken from the black metal duo’s forthcoming new album Beneath the Threshold. The band from Wollongong in Australia’s east coast state New South Wales will release their fourth full-length on April 5, 2023.
Watch the video here:
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AUSTERE comment: “Initially, ‘Faded Ghost’ was written as a ‘breather’ for the record, but while we were working at the details during its creation, the song evolved into what we now consider to be the second part of ‘Just for a Moment…’ – an older song of ours”, guitarist and singer Mitchell Keepin explains on behalf of the duo. “The material featured on Beneath the Threshold was always meant to be more riff-based and driving, while we were also determined to keep our multi-layered guitar and keyboard parts. In order to retain the feel of an open, atmospheric song, we structured ‘Faded Ghost’ in more or less the same manner as ‘Just for a Moment.…’ Once again, we employed clean vocals and additional harmonies for the entire track. Lyrically, we are delving into an obscure and dark subject, with all personal elements seemingly removed. You are invited to speculate what it’s about.”
Beneath the Threshold represents AUSTERE in the here and now. With their fourth full-length the Australians have taken a long step into the present and embrace their musical future in a way that might have been expected after a 13-year hiatus.
When their voluntary break ended with the release of Corrosion of Hearts in 2023, the duo consisting of Mitchell Keepin and Tim Yatras returned with a more mature and defined version of their own particular style of black metal, which reflected both their greater experience and evolution as artists. Both musicians had been active in other bands during the hiatus of AUSTERE.
While Corrosion of Hearts formed the bridge between the band’s musical history and the artists’ fresh vision, Beneath the Threshold takes a leap of expression. AUSTERE’s sonic heritage is still alive. Even though their roots in early Norse black metal and its depressive Scandinavian offspring continue to shine through, it is also apparent that the Australians have audibly strengthened their emotional expressiveness and previous blackgaze leanings beyond the point where a stylistic shift towards the latter needs to be diagnosed.
On Beneath the Threshold, AUSTERE offer more hooks and melodic harmonies to complement the multi-layered, harsh and dreamlike guitar textures expertly woven by Keepin with the aid of Yatras’ emotive drumming. This development is emphasised by a suitable production that lets each of the elements shine and does not try to blur the riffs.
AUSTERE evolved out of a solo-project run by multi-instrumentalist and singer Desolate alias Mitchell Keepin who joined forces with drummer, keyboard player, and vocalist Sorrow aka Tim Yatras in 2005. Signature frost-bitten guitars, alongside high-pitched screams and wails marked AUSTERE’s debut album Withering Illusions and Desolation (2007) as well as the two split-releases Only the Wind Remembers / Ending the Circle of Life (with LYRINX, 2008) and Bleak… (with ISOLATION, 2008), which AUSTERE reissued partly on the EP Only the Wind Remembers (2008). The sophomore album To Lay like Old Ashes followed in 2009 and still featured a raw sound but with a refined production.
The same year, AUSTERE entered a voluntary hiatus until activities were resumed in 2021. During their absence the number of followers continued to grow through word of mouth.
For AUSTERE the stars under the Southern Cross have newly aligned and the harsh majestic beauty of Beneath the Threshold calls out to everyone to raise their eyes up to the night sky around the globe and behold the finally unleashed Australian band in its full musical glory.
Aural Aggravation 