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Tag Archive: Cormorant


Sad news, everyone. Frontman of the internet’s favorite Tiberian Ass Bastard Folk band (it’s a thing by now, surely!) Cormorant is currently without founding member and all-around swell guy Arthur von Nagel (above center). His personality as frontman and poetic lyrics are part of what made Cormorant so great, so while it is a huge bummer that he’s stepping out of the band, it’s easy to see why he had to make such a tough decision. Leaving one childhood dream job for another, he has left the band to focus on his career in video games, most recently working at Telltale Games on The Walking Dead series.

Below are statements from Arthur and the rest of Cormorant, via Brave Words:

Arthur: “It is with great deference and gratitude to our fans and supporters that I announce my departure from Cormorant. After the overwhelming reception for Dwellings and national tours with longtime personal heroes, I feel fortunate to end this chapter of my life on a high note. Nick, Brennan, and Matt will continue to write and perform as Cormorant with my full support. The albums we created together were very personal to all of us, and I know the music they are composing now is of the same passion and honesty. I cherish our time working together, and I wish them the best.

I am taking a break from music to pursue my career in video games—another lifelong passion. Since May of this year, I have been at Telltale Games, hard at work on The Walking Dead episodic adventure series. Contributing to the game’s development has afforded me artistic fulfillment I never thought possible professionally. Thanks to the many colleagues I count as friends and projects I care deeply about, I look forward to going to work every morning for the first time in my life.

I have nothing but the most sincere thanks to our fans. You are incredible. From the Lebanese diehard metalhead who smuggled his contraband Metazoa CD in from Saudi Arabia, to the gentleman of indigenous Australian descent who wrote to tell us how profoundly “The First Man” had affected him, knowing that we’ve forged a connection with people through our music is the most gratifying. I feel grateful to have had the opportunity to perform for our fans across the US this year. Meeting you all in person was a true pleasure. I only regret that a worldwide tour wasn’t possible!

I’d like to thank the sound engineers and producers who made us sound our best, the publicists and journalists who wrote so beautifully about us, the visual artists who brought our music to life, the promoters who included us on such wonderful bills, and the bands with whom we shared the stage. While I have always taken great pride in Cormorant’s independence, so much of the band’s success is owed to your support. I look forward to attending future Cormorant shows from the other side of the stage.” – Arthur von Nagel, November 2012

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Alcest – Les Voyages De L’Âme

Alcest

Les Voyages De L’Âme

01. Autre Temps
02. Là Où Naissent Les Couleurs Nouvelles
03. Les Voyages De L’Âme
04. Nous Sommes L’Emeraude
05. Beings of Light
06. Faiseurs De Mondes
07. Havens
08. Summer’s Glory

[01/06/12]
[Prophecy Productions]

Ah yes, Alcest; the main project of the influential progenitor of the niche post-black/blackgaze genre Neige. Alcest’s 2010 album Écailles de Lune brought the man’s body of work and the genre to my attention, and it was my very first experience with something that was both blackened and beautiful. As with any musical innovation, many more bands have sprouted from the influence of Neige’s work in pushing black metal into a more ethereal and transcendent realm with previous bands like Amesoeurs and Peste Noire and the current works of Lantlos and Alcest, but Alcest’s latest album Les Voyages De L’Âme is a firm reminder of why he’s at the forefront of the genre.

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[If you don't remember the name, it's okay! We'd like to re-introduce former co-editor and occasional contributor of the trve and grim Mitch "Dethcaek" West as he counts down his top 20 albums of 2011, a list that is more unique than any other list you'll read on the site. Enjoy obscure doom, death, and black metal? This list is for you! - JR]

This sure was a year for new releases. I mean, some stuff came out. Wow! Modern technology sure is crazy. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the quality of doom released this year but I’m also sure a lot passed me by. I skipped out on honorable mentions to give a more strict and focused post containing the best of the best. As the odd man out on this site as far as taste goes, get ready for a thrill ride of stuff you won’t enjoy!

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Cormorant – Dwellings

Cormorant

Dwellings

01. The First Man
02. Funambulist
03. Confusion of Tongues
04. Junta
05. The Purest Land
06. A Howling Dust
07. Unearthly Dreamings

[12/06/11]
[Self-released]

With winter approaching and the end of the year in sight, new releases are beginning to slow to crawl with only a few significant releases yet to see the light of day before the calender turns. This could be due to a number of reasons from holiday downtime to fewer available resources, but the infamously DIY Bay Area blackened progressive metal band Cormorant‘s late entry for the year will no doubt benefit them, as their sophomore album Dwellings will no doubt go down as the last great album of 2011.

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Everyone’s favorite Tiberian Ass-Bastard Folk Metal band Cormorant are poised to release what is the last great album of the year next week, December 6th. However, as is the norm these days, they’re streaming their new album ahead of its release over at the apparently very metal friendly NPR. If you like your prog rooted in more traditional metal styles as well as touches of death and black, then you need to hit this up pronto.

- JR

In addition to Ever Forthright‘s recent tracklist and album art announcement, we’ve just got some other tidbits from this jazzy prog group. Their self-titled debut is seeing release this December via Myriad Records. They’ve also announced that Robert Richards of Painted in Exile and Le’Asha Julius of The Rainbow Children will be featured as guest vocalists on the track “Infinitely Inward.”  NEAT.

The group have also released a teaser for the album:

Ever Forthright is available for pre-order right now. Get excited, because this could be the last great album of 2011, depending on its release. I mean, we still have Cormorant to look forward to, after all! More news is expected soon enough, and we’ll pass it along when it comes in!

- JR

Progressive Black Metallers Cormorant are poised to release the exclamation mark on a year of excellent releases for metal in December. Two songs in, and Dwellings is already showing signs of being better than its predecessor Metazoa. The Purest Land” is streaming over at Pitchfork Music. Give it a listen!

Dwellings will be out December 6th. You can pre-order this bad boy right here.

- JR

You can now feast your ears on a brand new Cormorant track—titled “Junta”over at the apparently very metal-friendly NPR! “Junta” is absolutely fantastic and features some of the band’s best work to date. It’s almost criminal to give us this song three months away from it’s official release date in December. The 9+ minute song explores a variety of different styles including sludge and black metal, but not without its fair share of progressive flair and an overall epic feel.

The song has pretty deep lyrical themes as well, as explained by bassist/vocalist Arthur von Nagel in the interview with NPR:

When I picked “Junta” to premiere, I had no idea at the time that the song was inspired by NPR’s 2009 coverage of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy rally in Guinea — specifically, the sexual violence toward women. It’s a horrific story. What drew you to it?

The story aired on NPR in October 2009, I think. I was driving on 101 at the time, and I actually pulled over to listen to the story. I couldn’t begin to understand the factors that led to those kinds of acts — I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I tried writing the lyrics inspired by the Conakry Massacre for the next year and a half or so after that, but I just couldn’t pull it off. I kept inserting myself into it, trying to figure it out from inside the text, but that was a futile exercise. I came to the conclusion that there was nothing to understand when you’re dealing with mass murders and rapes in broad daylight. Finally, I decided to go with a stark and journalistic interpretation of events, best I could. Take the subjectivity out of it. The horror tells itself. What drew me to the story was that hopelessness.

Be sure to check out the rest of the thought-provoking interview and stream “Junta” over at NPR. Dwellings is due out December 6th. If you dig this song (as you should) perhaps you could spare some money and help fund the album via pre-order and have your name immortalized in the liner notes? HBIH wound up in the liner notes for Last Chance To Reason‘s Level 2 and that felt pretty awesome, so here’s your chance to brag to your friends about how rightfully awesome you are!

- JR

Woah! I knew that after Cormorant‘s full length debut Metazoa, the bar was set pretty high for the artwork and what is expected from them on a visual front—the band themselves certainly know this as their fingers are kept firmly on the pulse of their fanbase. Thankfully, they decided to continue the tradition of beautifully crafted artwork by commissioning the wonderful artist Alice Duke for their highly anticipated sophomore album Dwellings. The art is quite unique in its size, which will be spread across a 6-panel digi-pack.

Along with the album art, Cormorant have rolled out a handful of special limited edition pre-order bundles, ranging from $30—$60 USD. It may sound a bit steep, but here’s the basic package:

It’s true! To build anticipation for their new album Dwellings, Cormorant are offering their 2009 album Metazoa for free or a limited time via Bandcamp. If you haven’t listened to them before, here’s your chance! Cormorant are easily one of the best DIY independent/unsigned bands going strong today, and this album is certainly one to be heard by fans of progressive, folk, and black metal.

Cormorant have also recently unveiled the tracklisting for Dwellings:

The First Man
Funambulist
Confusion Of Tongues
Junta
The Purest Land
A Howling Dust
Unearthly Dreamings

Dwellings promises to be a darker follow-up, with a larger emphasis on doom and black metal. It will no doubt be a beast of an album. Dwellings is due out this November.

- JR

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