Sunbather is one of my mot anticipated releases. Deafheaven just have a way that makes their special brand of black metal so emotive and feel so warm and open rather than icy and cold like most black metal does. With the June 11th release date slowly approaching, it was only a matter of time before a single or video was released, as lo and behold, we got a studio video!
When black metal was only a twinkle in the eye of the public, Darkthrone were… well, playing death metal under the name Black Death at the time. But in 1991, they changed their name and created the music we all know and love them for. With the release of their new album The Underground Resistance (out now on Peaceville Records), the dynamic duo continue to show the world what black metal is all about.
Krallice01. IIIIIII
02. IIIIIIII
03. IIIIIIIII
04. IIIIIIIIII
05. IIIIIIIIIII
06. IIIIIIIIIIII
Black metal is a curious beast; it can either be really beautiful and transcend the five senses we are born with and expose us to new pleasures previously unknown, or it can unlock seething vitriol and hatred, eschewing the misanthrope, violence, and racism for which the genre is notorious. Whatever the case, it’s easily one of the most controversial and centralized of all metal sub-genres. Every brand has its clique: trve kvlt, atmospheric, post, experimental, progressive, etc. All of these separate sub-sections stay within their limits, and so do the fans. Now there are some exceptions to the rule, of course, and there will always be overlap for those who love all metal, but as a whole metal fans — and fans of music in general — tend stick to their own little sphere. Krallice fall in the gray area; an area in which all boundaries are knocked down and the music encompasses far more genres and influences than ever thought.
Black metal is a genre we don’t often delve into and when we do it’s typically with influence from other genres like post and prog metal. However, today we’re going to explore the atmospheric side of things in the light of Drudkh, Burzum and Hate Forest. Enter Walknut, a two man project from the glorious motherland of Russia. Consisting of members from Temnozor and Forest, Walknut’s style of atmospheric black metal is a little more in the vein of traditional black metal. You won’t find long, boring field recordings here. No, Graveforests and Their Shadows relies purely on its ability to captivate and mesmerize the listener with its instruments. Armed with a thick guitar tone and a distortion pedal cranked to 11, multi-instrumentalist Stringsskald (who did everything but the lyrics on this album) plays tremolo-picked riffs over blast beats and double bass of varying tempos, usually in the mid realm but often times opting for speed. While this may sound like every black metal band ever, the brilliance comes from its Burzum style and quality songwriting. Dark riffs are repeated over and over and passages typically last 1 to 2 minutes before fluidly transitioning into the next one. And yet… they never overstay their welcome. They’re long enough to evoke an isolated, cold atmosphere and short enough to avoid repetition ad nauseam. It’s songwriting at its finest to say the least.
Norwegian black metal band Borknagar have released news of a new album to follow up 2010′s Universal. The new album, titled Urd (this won’t get made fun of), has a release date of March 26th in Europe and March 27th in North America via Century Media Records. Øystein G. Brun has released the following statement regarding the album:
“Well, our new album “Urd” was finished in mid December and all in all we spent about 6 months to record, produce and mix it. In the “Bork-World” this isn’t really long, but I can assure you that we have never before invested so much time, energy and effort into one single production. It has been a tough, yet inspiring ride. Since June 2011 I have constantly been working with this album, recording, editing and so forth – day and night. The same goes for my comrades, never before have we made an album where everybody in the band has been so heavily involved and dedicated as this time around. “Urd” is surely the peak of our musical journey so far and we are extremely proud to have made this giant of an album! It’s massive, it’s emotional, it’s fast, it’s slow, it’s epic, and it’s progressive…all the ingredients that we have crafted our musical world on! And not to mention the “golden threesome” on vocals (Vintersorg, Mr. Vortex and Lazare) really shines on this album…Do I need to say more?!”
There was also this statement regarding the title. We thought they could probably explain it better:
“Our previous album was called “Universal” and where should we go after an album title with such a magnitude? Well, we decided to head back home to earth. We really wanted to get back to the core of the band, where it all started – the admiration and pondering about nature and mankind’s place therein. “Urd” is the name of one of the norns that according to northern mythology stands under Yggdrasill and weaves the lifeline of mankind. “Urd” is representing the past, while “Verdande” is representing the present and “Skuld” is representing the future. You might very well say that this is an ancient expression of what we today know as DNA. And I have always been very fascinated by the fact that parts and bits of our DNA actually derive from the very beginning of time. All living creatures are somewhat connected to the very first organic cell. That is some of the story behind the album title…”
That’s all the info for now, so look out for this if it’s your bag.
- MW
Before I start I wanted to take a moment to formally introduce myself. I am Tentaclesworth, a Canadian metal hipster who likes all kinds of music. We can be buds if you don’t like Cannibal Corpse. I look forward to writing for you guys.
So I have this running list of things I want to see certain bands and musicians do. I try and think of all the unconventional collaborations, songs stylings and covers that would be really interesting (or at least interesting to me.), and I’m interested to hear if anyone has anything to add?
I mean, the possibilities are endless. I have always wanted to see a cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Black Dog” by Jack White. I think Jack White would kill that song, and although this subject is about subjective as it gets, you can really dabble in this kind of thinking and perhaps it will lead you to something quite like what you had in mind.
For example, I was playing bass one day and I had it all cool sounding and distorted. I then realized how capable the bass was at making catchy melodies and sounding very awesome with distortion. I wanted to hear bass as a lead instrument. After some research I discovered a two-piece dance/punk outfit called Death From Above 1979. They have a bassist/ keyboard player and a drummer/vocalist. Safe to say, I was quite satisfied. It was exactly what I was looking for.
The discovery of a new band is always exciting. Will it be something you’ve heard countless times? An experience that leaves a bad taste in your mouth? Or is it a treat from which you cannot stop consuming? I wanted to take a trip back in time to reminisce about bands/albums that not only introduced me to heavy music, but kept me coming back for more…
From The Archive: Bathory – Bathory
Since it’s formation in 1983, which includes a discography of 12 full-length albums, Bathory is a very well-known and respected band in the metal community. And rightfully so, as this band is one of the pioneers of the first wave of black metal, as well as viking metal music. Bathory was the creation of founding member, Tomas Forsberg, who went by such nicknames as Black Spade and Ace Shoot, but to fans, he is more known for his final moniker, Quorthon. Though never releasing an official demo, the first two Bathory tracks that were recorded, were featured on the Scandinavian Metal Attack compilation back in 1984 and later that same year, Quorthon released his first self-titled full-length album, Bathory.
Lantlôs01. Minusmensch
02. These Nights Were Ours
03. Pulse/Surreal
04. Neige De Mars
05. Coma
06. Neon
Mixing the aesthetics of black metal with shoegaze and post-rock to create atmospheric, melodic, and introspective music, post-black metal (also sometimes referred to as blackgaze in the right context) is one of the more interesting genres to recently hit a peak in the last decade. If there’s one thing I’ve noticed in my newfound love-affair with post-black metal is that Neige is a big player in the fringe genre; Amesoeurs, Alcest, and Lantlôs all feature Neige in some form.
While Neige’s role was not as integral in the creation of Lantlôs’ Neon as he was this year’s highlight in Alcest’s Écailles de Lune (where he played every instrument sans drums), he provides vocal duties in both melancholic singing and tortured screams. Neige is a very capable vocalist for the genre and compliments the album’s attempt of capturing a dark and brooding, yet optimistic tone that songwriter and primary instrumentalist Markus “Herbst” Siegenhort had achieved to moderate success.
Sorry if you guys have missed me for the past three weeks. I’m a busy man with busy plans. But school has finally finished for me so that means this summer is finally free for me. I have a little planned but not so much. I will be gone on the second to last week of June and then the first week of August but otherwise I am pretty much free. I’m not planning on going to many shows if any, which sucks. That was my summer’s resolution originally because I usually go to two or three a summer so I was planning on going to four or five this summer but with neither the Scream the Prayer tour or the Summer Slaughter tour coming within a five hour drive, I’m not going to many shows if any. I might go see Every Time I Die (who was the first band I ever saw live so it would awesome to have some nostalgia), Norma Jean (who I love all of their material and don’t get why people hate the newer stuff even though it’s different from the old stuff), and Cancer Bats(who are just a fun time). Otherwise, maybe see some indie music by seeing Thao with The Get Down Stay Down at a restaurant that’s about 45 minutes away but otherwise I probably won’t be going to that many concerts.
