Posts Tagged ‘Testimony Records’

Watch: ‘Devourer of Existence’ by Crucivore

Posted: 26 September 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Something brutal and pernicious is dragged kicking and squealing from the unfathomable depths of ancient Lisbon: CRUCIVORE unveil the filmed music video ‘Devourer of Existence’. The track is also the next advance single taken from the Portuguese band’s forthcoming debut full-length Desecration. The album has been slated for release on November 13, 2026.

CRUCIVORE comment: “The track ‘Devourer of Existence’ is pure brutality from start to finish”, guitarist Ricardo Jorge states on behalf of the band. “This song is packed with crushing riffs, slam, massive breakdowns, and relentless blast beats that don’t leave much room to breathe. Without a doubt, this is one of the most diverse and punishing tracks we’ve made so far and it will definitely shake your soul.”

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Crucivore were conceived on December 14, 2024. Precisely on that day, former ANALEPSY vocalist Ricardo Proença and guitarist Sérgio Páscoa (DOWNFALL OF MANKIND et al.) decided to join forces and form a new band. After recruiting more experienced musicians from Portugal, this new musical entity drew from decades of honing their craft to amalgamate crushing riffs, relentless drum pounding, devastating breakdowns, cavernous vocals, and carefully crafted dynamics into a contemporary sound that merges death metal intensity with the crushing weight of brutal death and slam.

Crucivore opted for the classic lyrical themes of their genre, and their songs generally revolve around corruption, decay, blasphemy, mortality, and apocalyptic scenes, while also exploring the grotesque nature of existence through a lens of darkness and desecration.

Rather than relying on nostalgia or trends, Crucivore seek to contribute to the ongoing evolution of death metal through conviction, experience, and an unwavering dedication to the underground. Instead of just delivering more of the same, the Portuguese seek for ways forward and they have found it in musical storytelling.

With Desecration, Crucivore deliver an outstanding debut full-length album and a musical vision that is bound to respectfully and diligently broaden the horizon of death metal.

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Watch: ‘8 Minutes’ by Space Chaser

Posted: 25 August 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Berlin headbangers SPACE CHASER get the party started with the lyric video of the punk-fuelled thrash anthem ‘8 Minutes’ that is taken from their forthcoming full-length Razorblade Bay. 
The thrash metal maniacs’ fourth studio album has been scheduled for release on September 11, 2026.

Space Chaser comment: “If we were ever to find out that we had only eight minutes left to live…”, drummer Matthias Scheuerer claims, “…well, we would just grab a couple of beers and play this thrash-punk hymn four times. Cheers!”

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Watch: ‘Seelenjäger’ by Leper Colony

Posted: 19 August 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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LEPER COLONY reveal the haunting horror lyric video ‘Seelenjäger’ (‘Soulhunter’) as the second advance track taken from the deadly international trio’s new full-length Back to Primal Sludge. The third album of these death metal fanatics has been scheduled for release on October 9, 2026.

Leper Colony comment on ‘Seelenjäger’: “The filth lives in the lower tempos”, shred-master Rogga Johansson writes. “The epic, dirty, and massively catchy ‘Seelenjäger’ takes you on your final journey, with crushing grooves envenomed by a vocal performance that leaves its mark.”

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Leper Colony hold firm and relentlessly soldier on in their unholy quest to create the perfect equilibrium between the Floridian and Stockholm styles of old school death metal on their third full-length Back to Primal Sludge.

This defines Back to Primal Sludge in many ways as a direct continuation of their sophomore album Those of the Morbid (2025). Yet, there are twists and tweaks in the details. While the previous release offered a handful of references to deadly German influences, these have been further reduced just as the second album had dropped the classic thrash elements from the self-titled Leper Colony debut (2023).

Leper Colony  came into being as a physical expression of the long-year friendship between German vocalist Marc Grewe and Swedish guitarist Rogga Johansson. Both decided in 2020 that their mutual love for old school death metal should come together in the shape of an album.

Marc Grewe firmly established his name as the former frontman of MORGOTH, and later with INSIDIOUS DISEASE as well as ASINHELL. Guitarist and bass player Rogga Johansson has left a massive trace in Swedish death metal as a member of many successful acts including PAGANIZER, RIBSPREADER, and REVOLTING.

The core duo at first enlisted the aid of CONSUMPTION drummer Jon Skäre and lead-guitarist Kjetil Lyngahug (PAGANIZER) to record Leper Colony. Later, they were permanently joined by British drummer Jon Rudin, who is known best from MONSTROUS and DEAD SUN, among several other death metal bands.

With Back to Primal Sludge, Leper Colony deliver another work of old school death metal love that every fanatic of this brutal genre and follower of this band has been hoping for!

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Watch: ‘Depths of Despair’ by Crucivore

Posted: 18 August 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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CRUCIVORE unveil the crushing music video ‘Depths of Despair’. This brand new track is the first advance single taken from their forthcoming debut full-length Desecration. The Portuguese’s first album has been scheduled for release on November 13, 2026.

Crucivore comment: “The track ‘Depths of Despair’ carries a distinctive sense of eerie darkness”, vocalist Ricardo Proença explains on behalf of the band. “This unsettling atmosphere is created by a melodic foundation that is contrasted with powerful grooves and precisely placed slams, which add crushing weight to the track. Lyrically, this song explores the feeling of being trapped within your own despair, with no apparent way out. Heavy, dark, and captivating, ‘Depths of Despair’ combines a cinematic feeling with brutality to a powerful and immersive experience.”

Check the video and prepare to be devastated here:

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Watch: ‘These Blades’ by Leper Colony

Posted: 14 July 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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LEPER COLONY drop the first brutal advance track ‘These Blades’ taken from the deadly international trio’s new full-length Back to Primal Sludge. The third album of these death metal fanatics has been slated for release on October 9, 2026.

LEPER COLONY comment on ‘These Blades’: “This ferocious track whips uptempo filth your way and opens up a new breathing hole in your neck”, shred-master Rogga Johansson claims. “Meaty, fully fleshed-out riffs, mercilessly pounding drums, and a brutal vocal delivery deluxe are included. For us, ‘These Blades’ creates a perfect equilibrium between the American and Swedish approaches to death metal.”

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LEPER COLONY hold firm and relentlessly soldier on in their unholy quest to create the perfect equilibrium between the Floridian and Stockholm styles of old school death metal on their third full-length Back to Primal Sludge.

This defines Back to Primal Sludge in many ways as a direct continuation of their sophomore album Those of the Morbid (2025). Yet, there are twists and tweaks in the details. While the previous release offered a handful of references to deadly German influences, these have been further reduced just as the second album had dropped the classic thrash elements from the self-titled LEPER COLONY debut (2023).

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Watch: ‘Rites of Blasphemy’ by Temple Of Dread

Posted: 17 June 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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TEMPLE OF DREAD reveal the crushing music video ‘Rites of Blasphemy’ as the second advance single taken from the forthcoming new full-length Dreadspawn Dominion. The East Frisians’ sixth album has been chalked up for release on August 7, 2026.

TEMPLE OF DREAD comment: “Who is a true believer, and who is a blasphemer?”, guitarist Markus Bünnemeyer asks rhetorically. “This is always the most difficult question when you want to start a new religion. This track is a typical Temple of Dread ‘ballad’, and it will go straight to your hearts. No surrender, no prisoners!”

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Like a mighty battle trireme, TEMPLE OF DREAD are leaving their port on the East Frisian island of Spiekeroog to deliver brutal death metal with the new massive ram bow Dreadspawn Dominion to all that dare to try and block their course.

Musically, TEMPLE OF DREAD remain true to their old school death metal roots but continue to expand their sonic range by further honing their cinematic aspects with even more dark and heavy elements that began to receive special attention on the previous albums Beyond Acheron (2023) and God of the Godless (2024). These veterans are making full use of their vast experience and audible confidence in their deadly craft to add true emotions into their often rather technically focussed genre.

Once again, these hardy islanders make use of classical themes from the ancient world with lyrics penned by their friend and long-time collaborator, the psychologist Frank “Doc” Albers. Followers of TEMPLE OF DREAD will recognise familiar threads, particularly the continuation of the clash between Charon, the ferryman of the souls across the River Styx and the personalised deity of the underworld, Hades.

The stunning cover artwork of Dreadspawn Dominion was again created by celebrated Italian artist Paolo Girardi and the resoundingly sharp-edged production also returned into the most capable hands of TEMPLE OF DREAD drummer Jörg Uken, whose renowned Soundlodge Tonstudio has also been frequented by such acts as DEW-SCENTED, GOD DETHRONED, OBSCENITY, and SUICIDAL ANGELS.

The most obvious change that has affected TEMPLE OF DREAD between the recording of God of the Godless and Dreadspawn Dominion is the addition of second guitarist Daniel Maurer and bass player Andi Bauer, who enhance the Frisian band with even more punch – both live and in studio.

TEMPLE OF DREAD were founded on the island of Spiekeroog in 2017 by Markus Bünnemeyer with the intent to play old school death metal. The guitarist was soon joined by vocalist Jens Finger, who also plays guitar in SLAUGHTERDAY, and drummer Jörg Uken. Both musicians have remained in the line-up ever since.

Already the first TEMPLE OF DREAD full-length, Blood Craving Mantras (2019), hit the scene hard. Their excellent reputation grew with the next albums World Sacrifice (2020) and Hades Unleashed (2021) that followed in rapid succession.

With Dreadspawn Dominion, TEMPLE OF DREAD do not just deliver about everything that their old school death metal following might desire but also invite listeners from other realms on the darker and harder side of metal to lend an ear. Listen and behold: an ancient darkness is rising to claim your souls!

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Watch: ‘Vengeance in Fur’ by Ravaged By The Yeti

Posted: 14 April 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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Pitter-patter, splinter-splatter, RAVAGED BY THE YETI unleash the monstrous opening track ‘Vengeance in Fur’ taken from their forthcoming new full-length Snowbound Horror as the first advance single in the shape of a gory music video.

The release date of the sophomore full-length by the frost-bitten death metal trio has been set into stone for July 10, 2026.

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Ravaged By The Yeti comment: “The opening track of Snowbound Horror delivers classic midtempo death metal riffage that gives way to an old school heavy groove”, frontman Rogga Johansson explains. “Punishing vocals put the icing on ‘Vengeance in Fur’. This is a headbanger through and through.”

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Watch: ‘Under Scarred Skin’ by Arroganz

Posted: 29 March 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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ARROGANZ reveal the next advance single ‘Under Scarred Skin’ taken from the forthcoming new album Death Doom Punks in the shape of an eruptive music video. The seventh full-length of the German death doom punks has been slated for release on May 15, 2026.

ARROGANZ comment: “In terms of the music, this song is not just a tribute to such legends as Carcass, Dying Fetus, Six Feet Under, and even Slayer – it is also a further proof that funky basslines work exceedingly well in death metal”, frontman -K- explains on behalf of the trio. “You want to have groove, feeling, and brutality all in one song? Here you go! Regarding the lyrics, well, you’ll be happy to read that they will drown you in utter despair. Enjoy!”

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Slaughterday – Dread Emperor

Posted: 15 January 2026 in Albums, Reviews
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Testimony Records – 13th February 2026

Christopher Nosnibor

When I first started Aural Aggravation – kinda by stealth, with no fanfare – back in October 2015, with a review of Philip Jecks’ Cardinal, it was with a view to using the platform to break away from more conventional and comparatively short-form reviews to indulge in more personal, reflective, essay-type analysis. But with a bursting inbox and a desire to provide coverage to as many acts as possible, sometimes it’s not always appropriate to spend hours and column inches pondering the context and the content through a framework that sits between reception theory and gonzo journalism. More to the point, there simply aren’t enough hours.

Slaughterday is an old-school death metal duo, and Dread Emperor is their sixth album. They promise ‘crushing doom-ridden ultra-heavy parts to calculated outbreaks of utter brutality,’ and cite as lyrical inspirations ‘H. P. Lovecraft and other masters of horror’. They go on to add, ‘while sinister things crawl and creep through the duo’s timeless brutality, they have always portrayed them with a sinister flair of their own. These days, the band has repurposed those monstrous creatures as metaphorical ciphers for relevant contemporary topics’.

Titles such as ‘Rapture of Rot’, ‘Necrocide’, ‘Obliteration Crusade’ and ‘Astral Carnage’ speak for themselves, and the ‘crushing’ ‘doomy’ aspects they focus on in their pitch are very much to the fore: ‘Enthroned’ lifts the curtain with some slow, heavyweight riffery, and paves the way for the rabid attack of ‘Obliteration Crusade’.

That bands which blast out frenetic guitar mayhem at a thousand miles an hour with impenetrable growls and howls by way of vocals go to lengths to sell the merits of the lyrical content is something which is a source of vague amusement – I mean, as if you could make out a single word by ear. But it’s beside the point, really: as I’ve touched on before, it’s about the conveyance of sentiment, the implication of meaning.

On Dread Emperor, Slaughterday leap and lurch from bowel-bursting heavyweight sludge-trudge to flamboyant pirouettes on the frets. As they say themselves, they ‘deliver everything that they excel in, which is also precisely what their fans want from the duo’: as such, it’s no criticism to say that Dread Emperor ticks genre boxes, because it’s mission accomplished for the band. And it’s hard to argue otherwise. Dread Emperor delivers riff after riff, drives hard, brings the heavy and snarls, growls and spits its way with gut-churning malevolence from beginning to end.

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Watch: ‘Sanity Is Lost’ by Resurrected

Posted: 14 January 2026 in Recommended Streams and Videos, Singles and EPs
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RESURRECTED unleash the music video ‘Sanity Is Lost’ as the first advance single taken from their forthcoming new album Perpetual. The eighth full-length of the German death metal veterans has been scheduled for release on April 10, 2026.

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RESURRECTED comment: “The first single track, ‘Sanity Is Lost’, delivers a crushing mid-tempo assault rooted deep in the old school death metal tradition”, drummer Dennis Thiele writes. “It is driven by filthy grooves, dense riffing, and relentless heaviness. We are channelling the raw brutality of classic Cannibal Corpse–era death metal. At this song’s midpoint, the pace accelerates into a violent outburst that pushes intensity to breaking point. It is a merciless reminder that once the momentum hits, sanity is truly lost.”

The video is inspired by Germany’s most catastrophic mining disaster: On February 20, 1946, shortly after noon, a methane explosion ignited an even bigger coal dust detonation in the mine Zeche Monopol Schacht Grimberg 3/4. 405 miners, personnel, and three British officers of the North German Coal Control perished in the massive detonation underground. While the reason for the initial gas ignition remains unknown, lax post-war security standards are generally blamed. The so-called Myth of Grimberg remains as a deep scar in the collective memory of the Ruhr Area.

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