ill omen - radiant behest of excessum.

Ill Omen - Radiant Behest Of Excessum

14:13

24.69 MB

1. Radiant Behest Of Excessum

after putting out a stellar full-length two years ago, ill omen have returned in 2013 with a pair of releases. the first, according to metal archives, is an EP, while the other is a demo. this is the demo - the shorter of the two - consisting of one epic track contained within equally epic packaging.

released by ceremonial oath, the label responsible for the cassette version of aosoth's "III", this lone track arrives on a translucent red cassette with on-body print housed in a clear, oversized case with lyrics and an insert. all of the artwork is gorgeous and fits the mood of the music perfectly.

and that music is black with some doom and death influences that all meld together into a seamless whole. it starts off low and slow before kicking into high gear a little after the three-minute mark. cavernous, raspy vocals backed by up-tempo riffs and drumming propel the track forward until a brief interlude around the eight-minute mark where the guitar comes to the forefront. after a few minutes everything comes crashing back in, barreling through the last couple minutes all the way to the end.

one track running fourteen minutes may seem to some like a tough pill to swallow, but this track moves so fluidly - it's packed with varied dynamics, tones, and passages - that it all flies by in a heartbeat. then you flip it over and press play again. and again. and again.

the always-excellent fallen empire still has copies in stock - mine arrived within days of purchasing. I believe the label also some copies left but their webstore is undergoing some maintenance now and has been for a while, so it looks like fallen empire is your best bet for now. but aren't they always?

do yourselves a favor and pick this one up. it's worthy of your dollars in every way - great music and great packaging, and you're supporting independent artists and labels, too. so grab one now.


(buy a copy from fallen empire.)


(for preview purposes only.)

maesus - call of the black plague.

Maesus - Call Of The Black Plague

13:26

26.41 MB

1. Scorching Smell Of Human Torches

2. Call Of The Black Plague

3. From Beyond The Tomb

4. Torture And Misery

here we have the debut demo from portugal's maesus, "call of the black plague," released earlier this year via skull productions. I decided to take a chance on this after listening to a sample on the fallen empire webstore and it doesn't disappoint.

this is probably the most old-school leaning black metal release I've posted - buzzsaw guitars; shrieking, raspy vocals; blastbeats that sound like they're being played on a tin can - it's all here, it's all ferocious, and it's all excellent.

I don't have much to say about this one. maesus blast through these four tracks in about thirteen and a half minutes. there are no ambient interludes, no drawn-out orchestral arrangements, nothing at all to distract from the full-frontal assault of the music.

my only complaint would have to be the mix - the guitars can be a little overwhelming at times and tend to drown out all of the other sounds. but isn't dealing with poor mixes part of the fun of listening to lo-fi black metal demos? of course it is.

skull productions has released some excellent material by great acts like ostots and white medal, so don't be afraid to take a chance on some other artists you may not have heard of - and since fallen empire has a solid selection to choose from, those of us in america won't have to break the bank on shipping.



(buy a copy from fallen empire.)


(for preview purposes only.)

gevurah - anno mmxi.

Gevurah - Anno MMXI

23:35

45.61 MB

1. Scalding Sun

2. The Shores Of The Sitra Ahra

3. Vanquishing The Realms Of Creation

I'm sure we can all agree that fallen empire's most recent store update was nothing short of epic, and I'm also sure many people missed out on at least a couple things they were hoping to grab.

there was only one copy of this, gevurah's "anno mmxi" demo, and after hearing them on fallen empire's own svn okklt compilation, I jumped at the chance to pick up their only tape. and just days before the store update, profound lore announced that they would be releasing gevurah's debut ep, "necheshirion," in may of this year.

so with gevurah set to break out, here is their debut demo tape from 2011. both the sound and production are comparable to their track on the svn okklt compilation, so there really shouldn't be any big surprises here - just epic, fast, and furious black metal. these three tracks should give you just enough to chew on until the ep comes out (or leaks, depending on your personal preference).

the fallen empire store is down this weekend for the eternal warfare fest in salem, oregon, but it's sold out there anyway since I got the last copy. but as of this writing, there is one for sale on discogs, so snap it up quick because it's sure to become a collector's item in the near future.

and because it's a great demo filled with excellent black metal.



UPDATE: here's a better rip, courtesy of faithful reader who wishes to remain anonymous:

(for preview purposes only.)

things to spend money on.

on the off chance that you all have piles of money to spend on audio formats that most people find obsolete, there were three store updates over the last four days. most of you are probably already aware of them, but for those that aren't, here's a rundown.

total black is a brand new label with stock that had been listed as "coming soon" for the last month, and everything finally went up for sale on friday. in addition to distro items, they have their first three cassettes up for sale - the first is from âmes sanglantes, "man and his becoming;" the second is from cremation lily, "lorient shield;" and third is a new tape and zine combo from sequences, "transient form." special editions of the âmes sanglantes and cremation lily tapes were available, but those are long-gone. and so is the standard edition of the cremation lily tape, so be sure to jump on the other two while they're still in stock.

fallen empire is back after founder mike's cross-country move from new jersey to portland and the wealth of goodness is simply too much to list here. there are dozens of new tapes and records for your purchasing pleasure, and you can be sure that they'll arrive quickly and safely thanks to fallen empire's stellar customer service. there's a text-version of the new arrivals here, so check it out and head over to the store - I'm sure several are already sold out.

colloquial sound recordings, one of the finest purveyors of cassette releases around, has just issued four new tapes (in very small pressing runs) and a zine from stand-bys a pregnant light, this station of life, and vestal virgin, as well as new additions deeper wells and quincunx, the latter of which is already sold out. audio samples of all releases are available, so be sure to check them out if you're unsure. but with CSR, it's pretty much impossible to make a bad choice. I can say that the this station of life tape and the a pregnant light/deeper wells split are both fantastic - jump on them quick before they're gone for good. and the best part? within minutes of ordering, you'll be emailed digital versions of your purchases, so you can start listening right away.

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.

svn okklt compilation.

I know this goes against my self-declared "rule" for this blog, i.e., releases available nowhere else online, but this one is too good to pass up.

this long-awaited double cassette compilation, curated by svn okklt and released by fallen empire, is finally available to all. if either of those names are familiar (and they certainly should be), then you know what to expect - the most forward-thinking, savage, chaotic and epic black metal available today.

after spending the weekend listening to the stream on invisible oranges (which, might I add, is the first time I've ever listened to a stream more than once), a couple early favorites are definitely the final three tracks, by dressed in streams, xothist, and jute gyte.

dressed in streams is a mainstay on colloquial sound recordings, having released their first two cassettes through the label last year. while relatively traditional, the songwriting is epic, emotional, and torturous - all necessary qualities for solid black metal.

xothist, on the other hand, is much less traditional and incorporates more noise and ambience into their sound but the end goal is the same - creating an utterly unique and chaotic world inside the listener's head. see my previous post on the vocivus cassette here for more from this black metal force.

and jute gyte, well, where to begin? with close to two dozen releases over the last couple of years, this man is in a class unto himself. sure, not every release has been strictly black metal, but all are worth your time and money. not only are all of his releases available for free on bandcamp, he also puts together stellar cds in dvd-style cases with large inserts and lyrics for only $9 plus shipping. I highly recommend senescence and young eagle to any and every black metal fan out there. his track on this compilation is just as epic as his previous material. it's traditional without being stale, epic without being ponderous, and melodic without sacrificing it's own sense of identity.

anyway, enough with the talk - this is music that transcends words.

turn down the lights.

put on your best pair of headphones.

fall away from the world and into the void.


(original post via svn okklt.)

(pay what you want via fallen empire.)

(buy the double cassette here.)

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?