My friends! You might read the title of this post and have a few questions. The first one might be "what the fuck is Yagrum Bagarn?" and then, perchance, "who the fuck is Yagrum Bagarn?" Allow me to answer the second one first: Yagrum Bagarn is, of course, the last known living Dwemer in the classic game, Morrowind. Master crafter, terminal patient of Corprus disease, misunderstood genius, and all around swell guy (not really). Now, what is Yagrum Bagarn is a slightly harder question to answer. First and foremost, it is a band which plays a caustic style of blackened death metal, the kind of death metal that makes you want to wash off the acid from your sloughing flesh even as you exalt the cold heavens above. It is also a band who are releasing their debut album tomorrow, August 23rd. And it also contains some good friends of mine who are excellent musicians in their own right.
And it is also a band which is premiering said debut album, In the Corprusarium, right here below so you can hear for yourself that I'd be excited for this stuff even if I didn't know them. Just press play and perhaps alight over the introductory track to land right on "Hai Resdaynia!". I just love how those synths open the track by setting its broad canvas and then move to support the absolutely abrasive main riff of the track. Add in those deep gutturals and the higher pitched, needle like screams and you've got everything you need; the result seethes with the coldness of black metal and burns with the green fire of death. In short, it fucking rules.
Elsewhere on the album you can hear full on dungeon synth segments, which makes sense given the Morrowind grounding of the album, especially on the gorgeous "Path of the Incarnate". Elsewhere there are more hectic, progressive vibes like on the excellent, and angular, "A Dream to Stir Hearts", which honestly made me think of some fucked up, crustier Meshuggah. That's a compliment. Anyway, the entire thing is streaming above and you can, and should, click on through to pre-order it or set your alarm for Friday, August 23rd, to buy it when it releases. It's the good stuff! All Hail Todd Howard! Please don't sue the band and/or make Skyrim again, thanks.