rimethurses - II.

Rimethurses - II

17:01

33.26 MB

1. Untitled

2. Untitled

3. Untitled

4. Untitled

here's yet another project from george proctor of legion blotan, this time joined by his brother, frederick. this is their second release under the rimethurses monicker, the first being another demo released in 2012.

and, honestly, I don't know how to describe the music here...it has several of the components of black metal, but it's definitely not black metal...at least, I don't think it is...really, I'm at a loss for words.

the description on the legion blotan site describes this as "broken black metal," and you know, that's pretty apt. the pieces are all here, they're just put together in a very different, very unexpected way.

so check it out and judge for yourself, and if you like it, pick up a copy below along with a few other legion blotan releases while you're at it.




(buy a copy from legion blotan.)


(for preview purposes only.)

dommedagssalme - terra.

Dommedagssalme - Terra

38:19

71.73 MB

1. Nadir

2. Ruins

3. Deathwill

4. Terra

5. Flesh

please allow me to apologize once more for the lack of posts recently. at first it was because of our cross-country move. but then only two weeks after getting back, I got a new job...definitely didn't think it would be that fast.

anyway, said job is extremely time-consuming, strenuous, and stressful, especially with two large events on the horizon. paired with a three-hour commute, I've had little energy to devote to music at all, let alone ripping, listening, and writing. and that doesn't even touch the longer film-related pieces. the material is there, I just have to get to it...and I will. once the job settles down and we move into our new apartment, I'll not only have more time but more energy as well.

and that (fingers crossed) should be no more than two weeks away.

---

dommedagssalme is a perennial favorite here and one listen to any of john marshall's releases should tell you why. his simultaneously conventional yet fresh approach to black metal just sounds great - little hints of melody, epically tormented vocals, and great arrangements all combine to bring a new sound to what is otherwise a very traditional formula.

his work on terra, a demo released in 2008 via legion blotan, brings a slightly different sound and production value than was heard on the more recent tape that I last posted. the mix is drastically different, with the guitars (and synths?) right up front, then the vocals, then the drums that seem to be buried particularly deep.

the resulting sound bears a striking resemblance to drone and *gasp* shoegaze. but this is still black metal at heart, with plenty of fuzzed-out riffs, furious drum parts, and tortured vocals. copies are available via legion blotan at the link below - just scroll down a little, everything's in alphabetical order.



(buy a copy from legion blotan.)


(for preview purposes only.)

mors atra crucis - one.

Mors Atra Crucis - I

15:33

29.17 MB

1. Plague

2. Pestilence

3. No Feeling

4. Plague II

two quick notes before this tape: first, this is my one hundredth post. wow. wasn't sure I'd make it this far. I meant to have a special critical analysis of one of my favorite books, but that will have to wait until post number one hundred and one. that's because, and this is point two, my girlfriend and I are in the process of moving across the country (again). we're leaving the vast, culture-less wasteland of los angeles and returning to the best city in the world, new york.

this has been the cause of the lack of posts over the last month or so, and I apologize...I don't even have my tape deck nor my record player right now, as they're both in transit. I have a couple more tapes already banked, but when I'm back up and running I'll be posting releases from monorail trespassing, legion blotan, universal consciousness, rhinocervs (if rh-16 ever actually ships), and a couple more.

and now, without further ado, we return to our regularly scheduled programming...

____


a new project from white medal's george proctor, this is the first (and currently only) demo from mors atra crucis, released through proctor's own legion blotan label earlier this year.

regular readers of this blog should be familiar with legion blotan - they've been releasing quality material from a wide variety of black metal-oriented acts since 2008. proctor himself has a whole host of projects he's a part of, which I won't even attempt to summarize here...suffice to say that everything I've heard from him has been worthwhile.

this new project and demo features the same roaring vocals that proctor is known for, as well as some fantastic, head-banging riffs that wrap up in just fifteen short minutes - this is definitely the kind of tape you'll want to listen to on repeat in order to absorb everything. it's his typical brand of excellent, death-oriented black metal.

copies are available from analog worship, the legion blotan webstore, and discogs, so grab one however you can. this is a great start - hopefully they'll release another demo before the year's end.



(buy a copy from analog worship.)


(for preview purposes only.)

dommedagssalme - division.

Dommedagssalme - Division

43:27

80.12 MB

1. Belief

2. Burden

ever since "to that which lies dormant" came out via fallen empire, I've been a big dommedagssalme fan. a solo project by john marshall, there's nothing particularly unique about this brand of black metal, but there's something about it that just works. lots of repeating riffs, shrieked vocals and the perfect combination of ambience and melody result in black metal that's incredibly listenable. I hate that terms and I usually think it's a cop-out, but that's the best I can come up with right now.

this one, "division," is the newest dommedagssalme tape that was released late last year via legion blotan, another label I've featured before. these two tracks run a little more than twenty minutes each and they're both fantastic. anyone who enjoyed the tape on fallen empire will find a lot to love here.

dommedagssalme have two demo other tapes out on legion blotan and a self-released CDr full-length in addition to the aforementioned fallen empire release, and I highly recommend seeking all of them out. this is a band that definitely deserves more attention, and if they can keep releasing music of this quality, they'll get to the next level in no time at all.

copies are available directly from legion blotan for those of you in the UK, and from fallen empire for those of you in the US. alternatively, you can buy everything directly from the artist, so feel free to choose whichever option works best for you. no matter what, you'll end up with great music.



(for preview purposes only.)

bandcamp roundup, part two - black metal labels.

as should be pretty obvious by what I post on this blog, black metal is easily my favorite metal subgenre. what started out as a narrow, primarily scandinavian, journey into the darkest depths of human suffering has become incredibly diverse, reflecting a wide variety of sounds, ideologies, and nationalities. black metal from countries as disparate as south america, china, australia, and south africa have all added their own contributions to the larger community.

the sound of black metal has also transmogrified, becoming something that it's creators could never have foreseen - whether it's ambience, noise, punk, or classical orchestration, if you can imagine it, someone's probably done it (but whether they've been successful or not is a whole other story...). needless to say, the reason I started this blog was to share black metal, so with this post I'm bringing the blog back to its roots.

here are my recent black metal bandcamp favorites:

fallen empire - let's start off with an obvious one. I'm sure you're all familiar with fallen empire but I had to give them a shout-out here just for being so great - great music, great packaging, great customer service, and great people. all of their releases are not only excellent, but available digitally for as much (or as little) as you see fit.

legion blotan - this is another one that should be familiar to any faithful readers of this blog, as I've posted a couple of their releases in the past. and although their bandcamp isn't as fully-stocked as one might hope, they still have some great releases up that can be difficult to track down in any other format.

sol y nieve - while not strictly black metal, this label put out my favorite split of last year, between yellow eyes and monument, and their releases have some of the best packaging around. anything from teeth to feathers can be found in sol y nieve releases and the music never disappoints. plus, everything is pay-what-you-like on bandcamp.

milam records - here's one you might not be familiar with, but milam is definitely an up-and-comer in the black metal underground. not only did they release the tape version of mare cognitum's excellent "the sea which has become known" last year, they also have a fantastic soon-to-be-released split between ekadzati and bleakwood. definitely keep an eye on this one, I'm sure more great material is in the works.

tagobella - my friend at forever cursed turned me on to this label recently. they've released a wide variety of sounds, but their bands fanapth and doth have released some excellent, noisy black metal in the vein of early sutekh hexen. definitely check out fanapth's untitled 2012 demo, which is still available on cassette from the label's webstore.

broken limbs recordings - this is one whose recordings I knew but was unfamiliar with the label itself. and what better way to rectify that than with a quick look through their extensive bandcamp discography? featuring albums from yellow eyes, sun worship, vattnet viskar, and fhoi myore, this is a treasure-trove of excellent modern black metal and shoegaze. not everything is free, but it's all worthwhile.



band-specific black metal bandcamp roundup coming soon...

and, as always, feel free to mention some of your own favorites in the comments below.

wóddréa mylenstede - demo II.

Wóddréa Mylenstede - Demo II

35:17

68.51 MB

1. Gebyrdtid

2. Monadfylen

3. Carmsceapen Weorc

4. Foresceawian

5. Sweltan

6. Geosceaftgast

here's the second wóddréa mylenstede demo, also on legion blotan and also not available (digitally, at least) anywhere else online.

it has the same murky production of the first demo and other legion blotan releases, but while the first one was merely good, this second one blows it out of the water - the songwriting is much more mature and there are actually a couple of melodies and riffs buried under the static that really tie it together and make it feel like an album instead of a mere demo.

needless to say, I'm really looking forward to whatever these guys(?) put out next.

stop by legion blotan here to pick up a copy. they're located in the UK so shipping might be a little pricier than usual, but they've got a ton of great releases and need your support.


(for preview purposes only.)

wóddréa mylenstede - untitled.

Wóddréa Mylenstede - Untitled

37:42

70.78 MB

1. Untitled

2. Untitled

3. Untitled

4. Untitled

5. Untitled

6. Untitled

the first wóddréa mylenstede demo on legion blotan - couldn't find it anywhere else, so here it is.

it's typical of the other legion blotan releases - noisy, chaotic, discordant black metal from the uk.

enjoy it and support the artist and especially the label - they have tons of great releases that are more than worthy of your dollars. or pounds, or euros, or whatever.

(for preview purposes only.)

best of 2012.

here are four best-of-the-year lists for your reading pleasure - twenty widely released albums, ten cassettes, ten splits, and ten digital releases. each list is in no particular order.

it was an especially great year for cassettes, splits, and digital from small labels.

these albums are readily available all over the internet for free. but please buy something if you like it.

top twenty widely-released albums
menace ruine - alight in ashes

evoken - atra mors

elysian blaze - blood geometry

panopticon - kentucky

sutekh hexen - larvae

wrathprayer - the sun of moloch…

rage nucléaire - unrelenting fucking hatred

wildernessking - the writing of gods in the sand

baroness - yellow & green

mutilation rites - empyrean

worm ouroboros - come the thaw

mgla - with hearts toward none

mares of thrace - the pilgrimage

cryptopsy - s/t

bosse-de-nage - III

drudkh - eternal turn of the wheel

pseudogod - death womb catechesis

horseback - half blood

ash borer - cold of ages

pig destroyer - book burner

top ten cassettes

this station of life - plastic fire

rhinocervs - rh-12

rhinocervs - rh-14

ash pool - cremation is irreversible

dommedagssalme - to that which lies dormant

dressed in streams - s/t

voltur - obscuritas incantamentum

grinning death's head - golden dawn

hell - hell III

torture chain - time is but a doorway to the incinerator

top ten splits

absum/odz manouk

a pregnant light/obscure lupine quietus

wheels within wheels/merkaba

thou/hell

barghest/false

muknal/the haunting presence

trist/lonesummer

white medal/cäina

year of no light/altar of plagues

yellow eyes/monument

top ten digital/self-releases

ekadzati - s/t

thenn - threshing the golden fields

jute gyte - senescence

venowl - patterns of failure

cellgraft - s/t

acédia - l'exil

book of sand - mourning star

mare cognitum - an extraconscious lucidity

dephosphorus - night sky transform

botanist - III: doom in bloom

what did I miss?