Latin America! It’s been 6 long years since we last had the great pleasure of bringing our black magic to you and it is time for our return. Get your tickets and we’ll see you in March!
07.03 Limeira – Mirage, BRAZIL 08.03 Sao Paulo – VIP Station, BRAZIL 09.03 Curitiba – CWB Hall, BRAZIL 11.03 Buenos Aires – El Teatrito, ARGENTINA 13.03 Valparaiso – Espacio Segundo Piso, CHILE 14.03 Concepcion – Havana Club, CHILE 15.03 Santiago – Teatro Cariola, CHILE 16.03 La Serena – Teatro Centenario, CHILE 18.03 Bogota – Ace of Spades, COLOMBIA 20.03 San Salvador – Gimnasio Adolfo Pineda, EL SALVADOR 23.03 Mexico City – Circo Volador, MEXICO
Full Moon Haiku tour to visit Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria and the Netherlands
Tour follows the release of new Ante-Inferno album Death’s Soliloquy
Album release show this Saturday in Manchester
In support of their latest album Death’s Soliloquy, UK black metal band Ante-Inferno will return to central Europe this December on a 10-date tour which will see them perform to audiences across five countries.
Fresh off the release of their critically acclaimed album, Ante-Inferno will descend upon Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Austria, and the Netherlands, spreading their sonic darkness across the continent. Joining them on most dates is the German act Imha Tarikat, while select appearances will feature support from Ultima Necat.
The tour kicks off with a special UK album release show in Manchester on November 30th alongside Hulder. The Central European leg officially commences on 4th December in Munich, Germany, and continues through European cities until its conclusion on December 14th at Eindhoven Metal Meeting in the Netherlands.
ANTE-INFERNO FULL MOON HAIKU TOUR 2024 In Conspiracy with Imha Tarikat (*) & Ultima Necat (**)
Nov 30 – Manchester, UK (w/ Hulder) ** Dec 4 – Munich, Germany ** Dec 5 – Nuremberg, Germany ** Dec 6 – De Mortem Et Diabolum; Berlin, Germany * Dec 7 – Wintermelodei; Münster, Germany * Dec 8 – Erfurt, Germany * Dec 9 – Prague, Czech Republic – * ** Dec 10 – Vienna, Austria * Dec 11 – Wrocław, Poland * Dec 12 – Chemnitz, Germany * ** Dec 13 – Göttingen, Germany * Dec 14 – Eindhoven, Netherlands *
With Death’s Soliloquy, Ante-Inferno have delivered a malevolent hammer strike to the face of all who thought they would continue to mellow after the success of the atmospheric and otherworldly “Antediluvian Dreamscapes”. The album’s nightmarish cover art (from the masterful mind of Khaos Diktator Design), perfectly sums up the album’s sonic approach.
An ode to madness, mental illness, death obsession and unfettered suicidal despair, Death’s Soliloquy harnesses the bestial might of traditional black metal and intricately weaves it with the haunting majesty of the atmospheric sound the band is known for, and in doing so takes the listener on an anguished, hysterical descent into the blackened emptiness of the grave.
Death’s Soliloquy is available to order in physical formats from the band’s Bandcamp and Vendetta Records.
Onism Productions, Matriarch Records and Forbidden Keep Records have also prepared three special edition cassette versions of Death’s Soliloquy, which is available to order and will start shipping this week.
Today, Time To Kill Records is pleased to announce the addition of Italian black metal act SAKAHITER to its evergrowing and varied roster. The band will release their new album in the coming months.
Stay tuned for more details, the first single and pre-orders, which will launch soon!
Biography:
The band was formed in Campobasso in 2002 under the name SAKAHITER, which in the Oscan language means “let it be sacrificed.”
More specifically, it referred to the sacrifices of men and animals to propitiate the gods before a battle, a ceremony deeply rooted among the Samnites. Oscan was chosen because it is the ancient language spoken by the Samnites, a warrior people originally from a restricted area of southern Italy centered in Molise, Campania, and Basilicata.
From the very beginning, SAKAHITERidentified their genre as Samnite Black Metal, as both the lyrics and iconography reflect Samnite history.
In 2003, they released their first demo, “Lex Sacrata,” recorded in Rome at the Temple Of Noise Studios, using as the cover an 1879 engraving depicting the defeat of the Romans at the hands of the Samnites and the humiliation of the Caudine Forks.
After several live performances and some lineup changes, SAKAHITER recorded “Omnes Eiura Deos,” a 7-inch vinyl, again in Rome but this time at the 16th Cellar Studios, released in early 2005.
With a new lineup, in 2021, SAKAHITER signed a contract with Nova Era Records to release a new EP, “Legio Linteata,” and to reissue “Lex Sacrata.”
The band boasts numerous performances supporting acts such as Sodom, Dismember, Onslaught, Belphegor, Master and Necrodeath.
Following ten years of silence after the release of their debut album The Embers of the Stars and the untimely death of vocalist Steven, Ahamkara return with a new lineup and new album The Harrow of the Lost, an unflinching exploration of the transformative nature of grief.
An emotionally charged and fiercely personal record, “The Harrow of the Lost” takes the Ahamkara sound in a more complex and tormented direction, encompassing existential rage, nihilistic despair and all in between. Both rawer and more organic in sound, intensified by the electrifying drum work of new member Austin Lunn (Panopticon).
Scaling greater peaks of Emperial ambition than ever before, the album integrates the expansive reach of the Cascadian black metal sound with the densely detailed savagery of classic Emperor and the aching melancholy of early Anathema to produce a deeply involving journey of genre-transcending atmospheric metal.
Completed by a heartfelt and uncompromising vocal performance from founding member Michael and the nuanced, evocative synth work of Alexandra (also of label mates Nemorous), this is a journey into the scorched earth landscapes of bereavement that no follower of the Bindrune family should miss.
It has been 4 years since the release of Independence to the Beast (2020) and during this time, Canis Dirus have been refining their savage, yet atmospheric black metal during what has been the most prolific era of their career. 2021 found the split release A Harmonious Unionof Vibration to surface with the project Crown of Asteria, where Canis Dirus contributed 2 new tracks that blended their own unique form of twisted blackness, along with an ambient influence. Was this a sign of things to come?
Armed with the fantastic drum work of CJ Yacoub (Escaping Aghartha, Neverdawn, ex-Amun), TMP (Guitars, bass, Synth) and RH (Vocals) have been hard at work on what has become the the bands finest work, By the Grace of Death. Atmosphere still reigns in the dark sonic sphere of Canis Dirus, but on this impending new album, the bands black metal essence is at the forefront of this nocturnal hunt.
TMP’s riff/playing style remains truly his own with atypical phrasing that co-exists with a more orthodox BM style. The BM side can make one feel isolated and attacked one moment, then calm and nurtured the next with colorful folk music that has become a vibrant element of CD’s sound. RH’s vocals contribute to the adventurous nature of By The Grace of Death with his most feral performance to date.
By the Grace of Death will be unleashed in the months to come on LP by Bindrune Recordings and on CD (containing a bonus track) by Canis Dirus themselves.
Celebrated Italian doom / black metal brigade PONTE DEL DIAVOLO unleash a powerful single from their forthcoming compilation Tre – The EP Collection. Stream “Scintilla” HERE.
The band commented: “‘Scintilla’ (transl. ‘Spark’) is a rough and violent track in which love is action, movement, Freedom. The ‘Spark’ is the Devil and the ceaseless movement of nature”.
Following on from the release of their acclaimed debut album Fire Blades from the Tomb (Season Of Mist), PONTE DEL DIAVOLO will re-issue their now hard to come by first three EPs in the form ofTre – The EP Collection. The compilation will be available in CD, LP, tape and digital formats on December 9th 2024 via Time To Kill Records.
Track-list:
01 – Mystery of Mystery 02 – I 03 – The Wickedest Woman In The World 04 – 13 05 – The Unborn 06 – Un Bacio a Mezzanotte 07 – III 08 – Scintilla 09 – AVE
PONTE DEL DIAVOLO bridges the gap between two separate worlds. The Italian band proposes a doom / black metal sound with old-school roots, adding a modern and outside the box background. The female voice – with strong dark wave influences – is the lyric cor pus of this strongly esoteric project. The solid presence of two bassists creates the massive foundation for the rhythmic guitar, everything marked by a raw and dynamic drumming.
Mystery of Mystery / Secret Live Session marked the quintet’s debut EP. It was recorded live and without editing at Dracma Studio with the producer L’Ossario in their home base of Turin in March 2020. “I” was released on the web by Iopan Records. It was soon followed by their second single, “The Wickedest Woman In the World”.
At the end of 2021, PONTE DEL DIAVOLO recorded their second EP, Sancta Menstruis at Deepest Sea Studio in Turin with Danilo Battocchio. The first single, “The Unborn”, arrived in February 2022.
The band’s third EP, Ave Scintilla! was also recorded in Turin. This time around, they reconvened at Dracma Studio with L’Ossario. Prepare to cross over into the Italian dark arts.
Blackened death metal quintet AOIDOS carve out a fusion of haunting melodies and atmospheres from the realms of black metal in conjunction with the power and groove of death. Storytelling is core to the band, whose name AOIDOS means bard in Ancient Greek. Light your fire, pour yourself a drink and prepare for dark and shadowy tales as the band present their new offering, “Trauma”. The single is the first to emerge ahead of the forthcoming album Oizys that is set for release on November 29th, 2024, via Nox Liberatio Records. Watch “Trauma” HERE.
Dynamically, AOIDOS sculpt a thrilling soundscape across “Trauma” which encounters high intensity with brief moments that are almost serene. Delicate piano melodies enthrall among the weight of the heavy instrumentation. “Trauma” includes lyrics in the band’s native language – Portuguese. “The chorus is totally in Portuguese”, the band explain, “and it sings the plea of ‘Trauma’, a force that sees itself not as an oppressor, but as a protector, a shield between the victim and the true extent of the tragedies they went through.”
Tracklist + Running Times:
Dieaed – 01:29
Thrall – 05:56
Fire – 06:26
Oizys – 06:28
Trauma – 05:50
Old Ballad – 01:48
The Wheels – 04:03
Black Swan – 06:06
From the Surface Grate – 05:10
Slumber – 01:53
All! Wherever! Always! – 04:27
Full Album Running Time: 49:26
About AOIDOS: AOIDOS came to be following a night of mead at the iconic Taberna 58, in Coimbra, Portugal, in 2019. Inspired by storytelling and the Aoidos, who were the bards and minstrels of Ancient Greece, the band bring this element into their heavy and ambient style.
Influenced musically by the likes of GOJIRA, BEHEMOTH and WATAIN, alongside classical piano compositions, AOIDOS strive to create a rich and textural soundscape that embraces the fierce energy of death and ethereality of black metal. To date, the band have taken to stages around South West Europe, including festival appearances at Bajonca Rock Fest, Rock dos Romanos, Mosher Fest, Melena Fest.
Most recently, AOIDOS shared the bill with VADER, SEPTICFLESH and MOONSPELL at Laurus Nobilis Music Festival 2024. With a number of single releases behind them, AOIDOS are now set to unveil their debut album Oizysthis November.
AOIDOS: João “Freitanás” Freitas (Vocals / Guitars) Ekid Marques (Vocals / Bass) Pedro Miguel (Drums) Ivo Resende (Guitars / Backing Vocals) Erlkönig (Piano)
Special Guests: Chris Barber (Drums)
Credits: Producer: João “Freitanás” Freitas Recording Studio: All tracks recorded at Home and our Rehearsal Space in Coimbra except Drums, which were recorded at Golden Jack Studios, Coimbra. Engineer: João “Freitanás” Freitas and João Dourado Mastering: João Dourado Mixing: João “Freitanás” Freitas Album Cover Artist: Sofya Alves Band Photos by: Ruben Lopo
Dusktone welcomes Germany’s ALTAR OV ASTERIA to the label’s roster, announcing their entrancing debut album Éna for November release.
The first single, “Kataklysm”, is now streaming at THIS LOCATION.
Established by two girls from the Dresden area, Satyra and Melpomene, both heavily involved in the rich local underground, ALTAR OV ASTERIA was envisioned and formed through its members’ shared influence of black metal. The goal of the band’s material, embodied in their Éna debut, is to balance visceral energy with enveloping atmosphere and dark melody, creating a sound both rooted in black metal tradition and expansive new avantgarde sounds.
“Imagine you would wake up in a world full of mysteries and realities woven into each other, like in a story book of the past centuries of Dante Alighieri or Homer. Two black-robed mysteries in gold-snake masks wake you up from the heavy dorm with blackened sirens crushing your ears, mesmerizing your mind to sense the allegories of humankind existence. You’ve got an invitation to a storybook of hellish Sodom, chapter by chapter illustrating thy and foreign dystopia”.
Dusktone will release Éna on CD and all digital platforms on November 25th, 2024.
“Aderlater”, first single off upcoming album, streaming now
Rome, Italy; 16 October 2024: Dutch blackgaze band Noctambulist have signed to These Hands Melt for the release of their second full-length album. To get a first taste of the upcoming album, the band released the first single entitled “Aderlater”.
“We wrote the track Aderlater with the full band after J.D. and Stef came up with some chords that went nowhere,” said the band. “We were all listening to a lot of post-punk and new wave and most of us attended concerts by The Cure around the time.”
“If I recall correctly Mitch came up with the intro drum pattern and we changed the 6/8 we had to a 4/4 beat and wrote basically the entire song on the spot. The lead in the chorus came from Tristan from another old composition we never finished. It all fell into place, so to speak.”
“Lyrically the song deals with laying bare uncomfortable and personal feelings for the sake of music. It is, in a way, an ode to insecurity.”
“Aderlater” single artwork by Sandro Dal-Magro
Noctambulist are an atmospheric post-black metal outfit from Tilburg, the Netherlands. Formed in 2015 between housemates J.D. Kaye, Sam C.A. and Mitchell Scheerder, they set out to create a hard-hitting, melancholic style of black metal that draws inspiration from other genres such as post-rock, shoegaze, new wave and post-punk.
Noctambulist stand for contrasts. Serotonin summits and strung-out canyons. The empty and the grandiose. The beautiful and the appalling.
After defining their sound and completing the lineup with guitarists Tristan Tabbers and Stef Heesakkers they released their full-length debut Noctambulist I: Elegieën via Northern Silence Productions. Their second album will be released through These Hands Melt, with more information to be unveiled soon.
The spiritual successor to God is Myth and Ars Magna Recordings, AlteSeelen is a new US-based label supporting the extreme metal underground and adjacent subgenres.
Founded by the heads of God is Myth and Ars Magna Recordings, Alte Seelen aims to produce high-quality releases while illuminating the bands, artists, and individuals who contribute to the music that is our life’s blood. In time the label hopes to expand its reach to provide unique items, ranging from prints to wood carvings and leatherwork.
While the label acknowledges and draws upon the experiences of the past, Alte Seelen represents a conscious decision to leave those ventures dormant and dreaming.
A new banner has been raised… Halloween 2024 will see the release of the first two Alte Seelen titles.
Ringare – Sorrow Befell (majestic black metal / dark synth), CD and digital (originally released on vinyl by Iron Bonehead).
Kveldstimer – Scripture of the Woods (primitive, yet majestic Black Metal), CD and digital (limited-edition cassette released by Altare Productions).
In late fall/early winter, Alte Seelen will release By The Grace of Death from atmospheric black metal band Canis Dirus. Bindrune Recordings will handle vinyl treatment.
Announcing Panopticon‘s Autumnal Oration tour, presented by Hierophant Booking.
US black metal legends Panopticon will embark on an unprecedented string of intimate and powerful shows in the US and Canada this fall alongside dear friends and talented contemporaries Exulansis and Primeval Well – prepare accordingly!
Mexican post-black metal act THE DEPRESSICK are finally back with their brand new, second full-length album titled Faded.exe, a gut-wrenching musical journey. The album will be released on July 19th 2024 via Tragedy Productions/End My Life Records.
The record shows a broadening in the scope in their sound, packing in even more brooding melodies, eerie howls, whirlwind drumming, and a tightening of the band’s signature songwriting chops. Constantly maintaining the subtle balance between light and melancholy, soaring atmospherics and granite riffs, THE DESPRESSICK deliver their sonic rebirth in fifty minutes of a grippingly emotional experience.
The first single “Greywave” is now streaming HERE.
Faded.exe definitely marks another step forward for the band, incorporating new suggestions into their visceral sound that bleeds raw emotion.
THE DEPRESSICK is a Mexican Post-DSBM band formed in 2013. Based in Nezahualcoyotl a densely populated and historically impoverished suburb of Mexico City with considerable stigma attached to it. The “negativity, misery, poverty, sickness and filth” of their environment contributes to their music’s bleakness. For fans of: Lantlos, Lifelover, Amesoeurs and White Ward.
The short but epic journey begins on May 28th in Chicago and makes its way through Seattle, Mesa, and Los Angeles. Additional support will be provided by Archgoat and SevereTorture. Tickets are on sale now at THIS LOCATION! See confirmed dates below.
PRIMORDIAL: w/ Bloodbath, Archgoat, Severe Torture: 5/28/2024 Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL 5/30/2024 El Corazon – Seattle, WA 5/31/2024 Nile Theater – Mesa, AZ 6/01/2024 1720 – Los Angeles, CA
PRIMORDIAL released their acclaimed How It Ends full-length last Fall via Metal Blade Records. The follow-up to 2018’s critically lauded Exile Amongst The Ruins finds PRIMORDIAL delivering more of their seminal blend of Celtic and black metal, with added urgency staring down the apocalypse.
“The title is a question – is this how it ends? How it all goes down; culture, language, history, society, humanity… who knows?,” considers vocalist A. A. Nemtheanga. “Regardless of who you are or were, you get one chance at all of this, and it’s asking, is this the end of your town, state, nation? Myths, traditions, relationships…?, and I suppose it asks the question, who reacts, who rebels, how does it end now for them?”
Watch PRIMORDIAL’s “Death Holy Death” video atTHIS LOCATION.
Pagan Records and Monomaniax will release the English-language edition of “From Hades to Valhalla… BATHORY – The Epic Story”, the unofficial but definitive biography of one of the most influential metal bands of all time. Written by renowned metal journalist José Luis Cano Barron, this comprehensive tome delves into the band’s illustrious career, offering an uncensored and carefully researched account of its groundbreaking music and enduring legacy.
“From Hades to Valhalla… BATHORY – The Epic Story” will be available from 29 May 2024, and can be pre-ordered via Pagan Records here: https://tinyurl.com/24puj3ft
Originally published in Spanish, “From Hades to Valhalla… BATHORY – The Epic Story” has been translated into English, making this essential work accessible to a wider audience. With 156 vibrant pages packed with rare photographs, illustrations, and reproductions, the book chronicles Bathory’s journey from their early black metal roots to their Viking metal mastery, painting a vivid portrait of a band that defied categorisation and shaped the very sound of black and extreme metal.
“From Hades to Valhalla… BATHORY – The Epic Story” goes beyond mere biography, offering a deep analysis of Bathory’s music and its impact on the metal scene. Cano Barron draws upon his extensive knowledge and insider access to provide insights into the creative genius of Bathory’s enigmatic leader, Quorthon.
“From Hades to Valhalla… BATHORY – The Epic Story” is an essential addition to the library of any metal fan. With its captivating narrative, wealth of historical detail, and stunning visuals, this book offers a unique and immersive exploration of one of metal’s most revered bands.
Book Details:
Title: From Hades to Valhalla… BATHORY – The Epic Story
New Album ‘It Beckons Us All’ Released Tomorrow, Friday April 26
Ahead of the eagerly awaited new album It Beckons Us All from Darkthrone, the band give fans a final tease of what is awaiting them with the release of the official video for “The Bird People Of Nordland”. Video created by Matthew Vickerstaff .
Whilst freely admitting the concept for the song “Not a very metal subject, sorry!” Fenriz explains “ it’s about the EIDER bird and Nordland. Many years ago I saw a Norwegian documentary with the symbiotic relationship the coast people of Nordland had with the bird. They watched over the nests and in return could pick the eider for pillows clothing, warmth etc. So that is what the lyrics are about.” But, he continues “again, this is Ted’s song so a bit hard for me to comment on it musically but I will tell you all what I think when I hear it:
First of we have a typical grim Ted riff for the verse, then he surprises with a catchy riff for the refrain AND THEN comes my fave part of the album; the post-refrain riff which sounds like Queensryche 1984 style and you can also hear how much we enjoy to play it! EXACTLY where I want to be! Could have played that riff for 8 minutes straight, haha! This loops again with the refrain again without singing and then back to Queensryche ’84. Then first riff again with my added harmony guitar playing on it, what our studio man Ole Øvstedal called “the Corleone part.
A break arrives and then things are sped up (not faster than Yardbirds in 64, we are not an extreme metal band, more like MODERAT EPIC) which corresponds with a slower heavy metal riff where we also brought out the mellotrone if I remember correctly.
Then Ted bombs you with a final part, primitive d-beat thrash with a riff that sounds like Tom G Warrior made it and I also ordered Ted to lay on some hellish guitars. Anyway, I LIVE for that queensryche 84 riff, Ted!”
photo courtesy of Peer Olav Kittilsen
Humble as ever Nocturno Culto states“Well, AGAIN, talking about our music really blows or is very difficult, at least for me. Personally, music is a floating thing, and I am having a hard time to try to break it down. It´s metal, a bit of heavy/doom/black/thrash, that is Darkthrone now, mixing genres has been something we have done since A Blaze, and especially since 2005. And I am just looking forward on new material, new riffs and ideas.”
Just one more sleep until It Beckons Us All, Darkthrone’s new masterpiece, is unleashed in full!
Limited Edition Deluxe boxed edition: includes It Beckons Us All on CD, an exclusive corona vinyl LP & cassette and art prints all housed in a heavy duty lift off lid box
Limited edition ‘Fenriz’ edition LP on blue marble coloured vinyl– exclusively available through the Peaceville stores – VERY FEW COPIES LEFT!!
Limited edition ‘Nocturno Culto’ edition LP on grey marble coloured vinyl–available through the Peaceville stores
Plus other limited edition coloured vinyl LPs are available in stores across the world – cream white, crystal clear, petrol and .. a collectors dream .. if you can find them!
Brace yourself for a chilling journey through an album that tells the harrowing story of demonic possession and mind control.
Tales of Woe, the album from Dutch black metal band CODEX MORTIS, tells about an evil spirit that tortures a man through demonic possession and mind control. With horrific visions of its previous victims, the evil spirit tries to turn the man into a murderer. The man escapes its hold by taking his own life, as a desperate attempt to end the circle of terror…
CODEX MORTIS has unveiled part of this chilling narrative with the album’s first single, “Capricious Disembodied Villain.” Watch the lyric video at youtu.be/gI4nDC1Y3F8?si=ESTXiu81IwZr6GSq
Black Lion Records will release Tales of Woe on June 21. Pre-order/pre-save the album at snd.click/Codexmortis
In Tales of Woe, a harrowing history filled with injustice, agony, violence, and death unfolds as a tortured soul, the antagonist of the story, finds itself in an undying state, compelled to inflict suffering and death upon others trying to undo its own misery. It describes the troubles of its latest victim, the protagonist, as he is possessed and haunted by horrid visions.
Track-list:
Forsaken
Capricious Disembodied Villain
Chosen
Trenched in Blood
Fire Screams and Death
It Dies with Me
The album was mixed and mastered by Björnström Ljud & Produktion. Artwork by Vladimir ‘Smerdulak’ Chebakov.
CODEX MORTIS; Vocals by Dirk Willems Lyrics by Jos Schilder Drums by Michiel van der Plicht Guitars by Arjan van Dune Bass by Mathieu Westerveld
CODEX MORTIS is a Dutch Black Death Metal band with explosive and hypnotic skull-crushing music that will haunt you into the afterlife. Incorporating the influences of the 90s, CODEX MORTIS crafts a sonic landscape characterized by ferocious speed and an abyssal depth, with each arrangement a relentless devouring sound.
A SPELLBINDING CHRONICLE OF SEDUCTIVE FROZEN ATMOSPHERES AND FEARLESS INNOVATION
Pioneers of a sound that changed the world. Lifelong disciples of suspense and mystery. An enigmatic duo like no other, hell-bent on haunting souls through the eternities. There are many things Darkthrone have been called since forming in 1986 and these are but a few, having drawn from a creative well so potent and powerful it turned them into one of Norway’s biggest musical exports. Following from their debut album Soulside Journey, the next three full-lengths, often referred to as ‘the unholy three’, set the benchmark for black metal in the early 90s, though in truth they’ve never been the kind to rest on such laurels – distilling elements of vintage punk, doom, thrash and death into their own sonic fingerprint and continuing to test that equation throughout the years. It’s been quite the journey, having won cryptic pair Nocturno and Fenriz legions of loyal fans around the world. This tradition will only continue with latest masterpiece It Beckons Us All.
Set for release on Peaceville on 26th April 2024, the new music is an intense observation of the world around them – exciting and challenging the listener in equal measure, in the way only they can. Some of the riffs howl across a gallery of ice and snow while others crackle like a volcano awakening from its timeless slumber, Nocturno’s demonic barks ricocheting across the intoxicating structures almost like it’s beaming from a long-distant galaxy. As Darkthrone have shown us so many times in the past, their music is as visual as it gets – evoking tangible imagery through the medium of sound. Whether the ideas are sombre, reflective or incensed, they exist as emotional concepts you can see and feel as much as you hear.
“I am having difficulties putting into words my personal feelings around the existential title It Beckons Us All, I can only hope others out there can feel the darkness that encompasses it,” muses Fenriz.
Fenriz
Never afraid to venture beyond the confines of the extreme metal template they were paramount in creating, there are moments on It Beckons Us All that will dazzle and surprise, as well as satisfy fans of old.
Nocturno comments: “We recorded in the manner we always do, live, meaning drums and guitar, with another guitar added later. We found a new twist during this process that surely benefited this album. Fenriz did stellar clean vocals on several songs, and his way of thinking creatively made it so good. We also shared the bass work this time around. We added a lot of extra layers like solo guitars… it was just a cauldron of ideas. Instead of finding a plug-in or choir synth patch, we both recorded four vocal tracks each. Darkthrone is an ever-evolving band, as many should know by now, and this album is touching a bit into the heavy genre. I have no idea what genre we are, and have really not cared much about it, but I know for sure it’s metal.”
Nocturno Culto photo courtesy of Peer Olav Kittilsen
In that sense,It Beckons Us Allis very much demonstrative of two visionaries at their world-commanding best. They know what works but more importantly they choose to grow, throwing every ounce of their hearts and souls into evolving the jaw-dropping whirlpool of noise that could only ever have come from their collective minds. There are clean guitars, clean vocals and less typical instruments thrown into the mix, but the approach, intent and ethos at the heart of their fearless artistry remains very much the same. This is music for dreamers who find themselves paralysed by the contrasting beauty and ugliness in the world surrounding them. Never ones to appease the faint-hearted, Darkthrone are as real and human as it gets.
Limited Edition Deluxe boxed edition: includes It Beckons Us All on CD, an exclusive corona vinyl LP & cassette and art prints all housed in a heavy duty lift off lid box
Limited edition ‘Fenriz’ edition LP on blue marble coloured vinyl– exclusively available through the Peaceville stores
Limited edition ‘Nocturno Culto’ edition LP on grey marble coloured vinyl–available through the Peaceville stores
CD
LP
Digital
Plus other limited edition coloured vinyl LPs are available in stores across the world – cream white, crystal clear, petrol and .. a collectors dream .. if you can find them!
Formed in 2017, DEVASTATOR is a four-piece Black Thrash band from the county of Derbyshire in the United Kingdom . They released their debut album ‘Baptised in Blasphemy’ in 2019 on UK label Clobber records. The album was reissued remixed and remastered with 8 bonus tracks in November 2023 on Listenable. DEVASTATOR will release their brand new album ‘Conjurers of Cruelty’ on the 1st of March, 2024.
Expanding on the raucous Black ‘n’ Roll attitude of the band’s debut and turning up the Black Metal to cacophonous levels, DEVASTATOR‘s sophomore release ‘Conjurers of Cruelty’ differs in many aspects without losing the spirit and power of the band’s debut, harnessing other avenues in Extreme Metal and presenting a multilayered and expansive record which explores both Black Metal and Death Metal, whilst still delivering the furious Thrash Metal assault and NWOBHM drenched force that the band has become known for.
Ritual Abuse (Evil Never Dies) – Official Lyric Video watch HERE
The band comments on the new single : ‘Ritual Abuse (Evil Never Dies)’:
“We are proud to present the first offering from our long awaited new album ‘Conjurers of Cruelty’, when writing the material for this record we wanted to not only expand on the formula of our previous effort but also implement a stronger contemporary Black Metal approach which the first album only merely touched upon. This quickly became very natural to us and added to the new album’s overall themes of ritual sacrifice and ceremonial conjurations. ‘Ritual Abuse (Evil Never Dies)’ is a perfect example of our influences in complete and total display, from straight forward-no nonsense-Teutonic-styled Thrash, to pure Celtic Frost worship, topped off with a grim Black Metal outro”.
DEVASTATOR ’s new album ‘ Conjurers of Cruelty’ was recorded at Godhand Studios in Derbyshire with producer Ben ‘Audiomage’ Gaines who also remixed and remastered ‘Baptised in Blasphemy’.
DEVASTATOR – Conjurers of Cruelty’ Album track-listing: 1) Beyond the Gate. 1:06 2) Conjurers of Cruelty 5:01 3) Black Witchery. 5:02 4) Ritual Abuse (Evil Never Dies) 4:51 5) Walpurgisnacht 4:17 6) Necromantic Lust 3:13 7) Deathspell Defloration 5:58 8) Bestial Rites. 2:46 9) Sharpen the Blade. 4:10 10) Rabid Morbid Death 7:50 11) Liar in Wait 3:52 * 12) Death Forever 3:14 * (*CD bonus tracks )
DEVASTATOR: T. Nachtghul – Bass Guitar & Lead Vocals R. Amun – Lead Guitar C. W. Wolfgang – Rhythm Guitar J. Scarlett – Drums
Italian black metal unit STORMCROW will release their third album, “Path to Ascension”, sometime in 2024 via Time To Kill Records.
The band shares a new single from the new album. Stream “Dark Existence” at THIS LOCATION.
The video of the previous single “Vulgus Vult Decipi” is also available HERE.
The band started out in northen Italy in 1997 and is no secret to genre connoisseurs thanks to a couple of well-received albums and European tours with Dark Funeral, Enthroned, Shining and many more. But now their big moment in the spotlight has come – STORMCROW are ready for the final breakthrough with the new album “Path to Ascension”.
STORMCROW have kept the black flame burning for 20+ years simply out of adoration and their respect for the genre. Undoubtedly they share some of the same DNA of iconic black metal bands that have gone before them, and whilst their technical abilities add a more than impressive flourish, they operate on a ‘don’t overcomplicate for the sake of overcomplicating’ rule. Keeping theatrics to a minimum has yielded a lean, sharp album that embodies the blueprint of old school black metal and embraces both melody and an epic narrative.
Watch for more details on the new album release, new tour updates, and more news on other upcoming STORMCROW activities to be posted shortly.
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