Derkéta - In Death We Meet

By Kim Kelly. Comebacks and reunions have lost their sparkle. They’re a dime a dozen nowadays, fueled by rising guarantees and nostalgia and buoyed by fans' all-consuming urge to see a band play "the old shit." Missed Carcass or Emperor

By Kim Kelly.

[Last week Derkéta updated their Bandcamp with a remixed/remastered version of In Death We Meet done by Ola Lindgren from Grave. The remix has replaced the existing version of the album, meaning you can download it free of charge from your Bandcamp fan page if you already bought it. And you definitely should do so, it sounds so good! To celebrate the new version of In Death We Meet here's a reprint of Kim Kelly's review plus a couple of photos by Brian Krasman from their recent set at Migration Fest.]

Cover art by Richard Schouten

Comebacks and reunions have lost their sparkle. They’re a dime a dozen nowadays, fueled by rising guarantees and nostalgia and buoyed by fans' all-consuming urge to see a band play "the old shit." Missed Carcass or Emperor the first time ‘round? No sweat, they’ll be right over (provided the money’s there). Nostalgia is now a thing of the past, but what of the bands that never got a chance to fade away? Derkéta's 2012 opus In Death We Meet may have felt like a comeback, but, improbably enough, served as their first proper introduction - one that took them nearly twenty-five years to make.

Far away from New York's brutish glamor or Florida's swampy heat, an ex-member of pioneering all-female death/doom band Mythic came together with two like-minded Rust Belt ladies and unwittingly launched what would become one of American death metal's unsung greats. It's taken nearly two decades for them to start getting the kind of recognition they so richly deserve, and even now, their first (!) proper album In Death We Meet is still flying further below the radar than one might like. The band's decision to quietly release the album themselves cut down on hype; I only found out the album existed during a chance encounter at a MDF distro stall, but happily plunked down those ten bucks faster than you can say "essential purchase."

There's never really been a core lineup, so to speak - members of Nunslaughter, Mythic, and now Cattle Decapitation have lent their talents to the cause, but at the heart of it all has been Sharon Bascovsky, a slight woman with a penchant for tuning down and possessed of a hugely powerful, caustic roar that'd bring Beelzebub himself trembling to his knees if he found himself on the wrong end of it. Joined by bassist Robin Mazen, drummer Terri Lewis, and guitarist Mary Bielich, Bascovsky has crafted a masterful collection of morbid, unerringly brutal death metal songs that would sound right at home on the band's cult Nineties output. They proceed at a relentless, measured stomp, shrouded in grim resolve. There isn't the faintest whiff of sterile modernity about it, and for good reason. In Death We Meet is the sound of a "Record" button being pressed on songs that have been hanging in the ether since 1990. Dérketa sounds old school because they were there - they lived it, and what's more, they created it. They helped build that fucking school, brick by muddy brick.

Derkéta at Migration Fest 2018. Photos by Brian Krasman from Meat Mead Metal

The album itself is everything a fan would want, and more. In Death We Meet feels far darker and heavier than your run-of-the-mill OSDM recording. The weight its creators carried on their shoulders press down upon its chords, and the album is intensely personal for reasons beyond its long gestation and perennially uncertain future. As Bascovsky shared with me during an interview last year, the title track on In Death We Meet was inspired by and dedicated to the memory of a close family friend who'd passed away unexpectedly. The death she screams of is not the glorified, incense-swathed reaper of popular metallic imagery; it's deeper than that. This death is all too familiar. Its hands aren't icy cold, but cool and papery, marked with hospital scars and bitten fingernails. It's death in its reality, not its fantasy - a heavy realization, a struggle to understand, and ultimately, the yawning chasm of rage, confusion, and grief that awaits us all. Derketa howl into the void, and come back gasping for air and clawing for purchase.

They have awakened from the cold embrace of their premature burial once more, and seem stronger than ever. Happily enough, Derketa have been playing live with a new drummer, and one can only hope that new material is forthcoming. Above all, they're survivors, and have fought hard for this second chance to shine. It's been a long time coming.

Hail the Goddess(es) of Death!

Friday funeral doom shopping list

By Manny-O-War. In a brief amount of time, say a few short months, it’s become a tradition on Thursdays to open up the lines of communication that social media affords us and play some Desert Island. Each week we select a genre

By Manny-O-War.

Artwork by Lars Simpkins

In a brief amount of time, say a few short months, it’s become a tradition on Thursdays to open up the lines of communication that social media affords us and play some Desert Island. Each week we select a genre, sub-genre or other category of music and each “contestant” (no one really wins or loses) selects five albums that they would bring with them to a desert island. Recently, we tackled the slow, undulating genre of funeral doom. It was met with much joy and participation, odd given the genre’s monicker. It was also a week where many people shared new bands and experiences with each other. And that’s the real motivation behind the desert island game on Thursdays: to allow people to explore categories of music they may not have previously delved into. It’s easy, using a hashtag on Twitter or a post on Facebook, for people to learn about any number of exciting artists held dear by people they respect, don’t know or perhaps are pals with. While not every desert island week leads to music purchases, it’s encouraging when someone takes the initiative to learn about bands and purchase the music directly from the artist.

That’s where Bandcamp comes in. It’s likely that you’ve seen the ##metalbandcampgiftclub hashtag floating around. Maybe you’ve been gifted a record or two, maybe you’ve gifted a record or two or maybe you’ve just seen the hashtag around. Regardless, you can read more about that here if you’re so inclined. Desert Island has given us yet another way to use Bandcamp as a sort of social networking application. It’s an easy way to find, stream and purchase works by artists that you’re interested in checking out. And, this Friday, August 4, 2017, Bandcamp has done something unique: they’ve committed to donate 100% of their profits, for the entire day, to the Transgender Law Center, a nonprofit organization that works tirelessly to change law, policy, and culture as well as defend transgender individuals who may suffer from those who seek to undermine their legitimacy. Bandcamp did something similar previously when it donated all proceeds to the ACLU. These are trying times not only for Americans suffering under a rigid, unwielding and hateful administration but also throughout the world where religion and government are often interchangeable institutions. It’s commendable that Bandcamp is willing to be such a proud supporter of human rights and it’s inspiring to see such a business as a beacon of hope in this oddly commerce-centric culture.

[Max: these albums are simply my shopping list gained from perusing Manny's #desertislandfuneraldoom posts. A few classics, some major releases from recent years that I somehow missed, and most excitingly: a handful of great albums I've never heard about before.]

[Bonus album: I just picked up this excellent mix of drone and funeral doom from Norway's Hjarnidaudi. As this short review from Metal Archives states "Fuzzed out guitars guitars flying everywhere, big walls of slow dirge rhythm, stuff that's melodic and disturbing and generally awesome".]

Dynamic Metal Roundup

By Calen Henry. Metal is loud and abrasive, but metal fans like it that way. Over the past 25 years, there has risen a pernicious side to the loudness of metal (and music in general). Dynamic range compression has

By Calen Henry.

Metal is loud and abrasive, but metal fans like it that way. Over the past 25 years, there has risen a pernicious side to the loudness of metal (and music in general). Dynamic range compression has drastically increased in a phenomenon called the Loudness War.

Simply put, during mastering much contemporary music is altered to raise the volume of all parts to the same level as the loudest part, often the drums. The resulting loss of dynamics decreases the overall impact of the music; when you turn it up everything gets super loud, instead of some parts being accented.

A loud master doesn't necessarily ruin an album, and poorly produced dynamic albums can still sound terrible, but there are essentially no examples of more dynamic masters sounding worse than the louder version, provided other factors are not also drastically altered.

Thankfully, since I started paying attention a few years ago the trend has been toward more dynamic masters for metal, though it's far from standard. That being said, a few artists really stand out in both their commitment to dynamics and their excellent music.


I'm a sucker for concept albums and Vainaja take it even further; they're a concept band. Comprised of The Preacher, The Cantor, and the Gravedigger they play absolutely crushing death doom, in Finnish. The concept revolves around Wilhelm, a mysterious (and fictional) cult leader believed to have risen from the dead to corrupt the townsfolk with his blasphemous sermons. The albums are based upon unearthed excerpts of his writings.

Musically, their first album Kadotetut is pretty straightforward death doom while the second Verenvalaja expands the sound with more interesting arrangements and some guest guitar work by Hooded Menace's Lasse Pyykko. On music alone Vainaja have made a name for themselves, but going above and beyond, they've released digital versions of the vinyl mixes for both Kadotetut and Verenvalaja and they sound incredible. Vainaja was the catalyst to write this roundup.

Death doom is far from the first genre one thinks of in relation to dynamics, but the dynamic mixes sound incredible. The drums in Verenvalaja are absolutely thunderous and every filthy guitar note is clearly audible. Plus the dynamic master makes it positively easy to blow through the whole album in one sitting. It will make you yearn for a vinyl mix of every album

Bordering on a household name, at least in the metal community, Horrendous inject just the right level of "progressive" into Old School Death Metal to make super interesting albums without leaving the bounds of "OSDM". In contrast to full on progressive death metal Horrendous stick to the OSDM sound but shake things up with truly interesting melodic compositions. Their two most recent albums, Anareta and Ecdysis were some of the earlier of the "New Wave of Dynamic Metal" and they sound fantastic. Everything from the buzzsaw guitars to the powerful drums and lush acoustic passages sounds phenomenal.

Like Vainaja, Be'lakor made a name for themselves based on their music, then released vinyl masters of older albums. Widely praised for injecting new life into the somewhat stale Melodic Death Metal scene, the vinyl masters of Stone's Reach and Of Breath and Bone sound stellar. Each individual part of the music, right down to the individual drum and cymbal hits comes through with amazing clarity adding another level to already fantastic albums.

Kuaun's latest album, Sorni Nai, sees the Finnish singing Russian band craft a concept album about the Dyatlov Pass incident. In 1959 a group of 9 skiers in Russia disappeared then were found dead with bizarre injuries and the whole story is still unknown. Sorni Nai is a cinematic album flowing through doom, black metal, post rock and even sections broaching on classical. It's all delivered with a huge dynamic mix and is Pay What You Want on Blood Music's Bandcamp (like all their releases).

Auric are another fantastic anomaly on this list. The Arkansas based band play blackened sludge with echoes of early Mastodon (they use the same tuning) and Pallbearer. Their most recent full length, Empty Seas, is absolutely jaw dropping and criminally underrated. They employ an Elder-like ability to incorporate aspects of Stoner metal, sludge, black metal, and post-rock into a cohesive whole, and bless it with a hugely dynamic mix. The drums, though have an oddly compressed character which stands out strangely during slower passages, but helps preserve clarity during the some of the lightning fast sections. Of particular note is the track "Backlit", where they take a filthy sludge riff and build all sorts of levels of melody over top of it. So good.

If this list piques your interest in dynamic metal it's worth noting that Earache records has a large back catalog of classics ranging from the death metal triangle (US, Sweden, Britain), to grindcore available as Full Dynamic Range versions; digital versions of the vinyl mixes. It's worth revisiting classics like Carcass' Heartwork and Entombed's Left Hand Path to hear the dynamic mixes.

Dave’s Demo Roundup Vol. X

By Dave Schalek. My neck has just about managed to recover from Maryland Deathfest XIV, held a few weeks ago. And, just in time! It’s time for another edition of Dave’s Demo Roundup! This time around, I examine demos from Tomb Mold, Erraunt, and Mortuous.

By Dave Schalek.

My neck has just about managed to recover from Maryland Deathfest XIV, held a few weeks ago. And, just in time! It’s time for another edition of Dave’s Demo Roundup! This time around, I examine demos from Tomb Mold, Erraunt, and Mortuous.


Also released on cassette, The Bottomless Perdition is the first demo from Tomb Mold, a duo from Toronto. Playing a slow to mid-paced form of dirty death metal, Tomb Mold are as heavy as their name would suggest, and The Bottomless Perdition is a solid release in the vein of early Incantation. Standing out immediately is the densely heavy, yet still very rough, production on this four-song demo, giving the music a tremendous amount of heft. Current information has Tomb Mold listed as unsigned thus far, but I can easily imagine a label such as Blood Harvest, or maybe Iron Bonehead, being very interested in Tomb Mold in the very near future.

One man, basement black metal has sort of faded as a distinct genre over the last few years, but Oneiric, a mysterious figure from Chicago, intends to resurrect the genre with The Portent, his first demo as Erraunt. All of the hallmarks of the genre are present: wafer thin production, muted, rasped vocals, simple percussion patterns with a drum sound that seems to fade into the distance, a bare hint of melody, and a horrid atmosphere. The guitar tone has an annoying, jangly quality to it; so much so that The Portent ends up being a challenging listen. No doubt, that’s the intention, as most releases in this genre tend to be, but, rather than focus on suicide as a theme, Erraunt explores, instead, dark fantasy with striking cover art. The Portent ends up an intriguing release.

Mortuous, a quartet from San Jose, California, play straight ahead Swedish death metal, HM-2 pedals and all, on Demo 2012, a five song affair. This is the second demo from Mortuous (and the last one recorded), but there’s a great deal of maturity being displayed here with good songwriting, solid production, and tons of great riffs and a galloping pace. This is not surprising, as members of Mortuous have appeared in a number of other bands, including some heavy hitters such as Repulsion and Exhumed. If early Dismember, Entombed, etc. is your bread and butter, then Mortuous will fill your plate nicely.

Aeon - Aeons Black

By Natalie Zina Walschots. Swedish underground death metal slayers Aeon have chosen an even more apocalyptic than usual approach with fourth full-length Aeons Black. There is a black metal-esque, cadaverous glee in the way they approach blasphemy

By Natalie Zina Walschots. Originally published here.

Cover art by Necrolord

Swedish underground death metal slayers Aeon have chosen an even more apocalyptic than usual approach with fourth full-length Aeons Black. There is a black metal-esque, cadaverous glee in the way they approach blasphemy, but trade none of their meaty death metal riffs for the hissing, reedy chill. There's also a smoky crustiness to the tone that aligns Aeon more closely with death metal in the Southern states, such as Deicide, than their Swedish death metal countrymen.

There is grandness to the scale of the songs that's new to Aeon, like the towering riffs that open "The Glowing Hate," giving Aeons Black a dark majesty. Vocalist Tommy Dahlström puts in a particularly fine performance, his lyrical delivery at once bestial and perfectly articulate. Aeon rely on superior songwriting (such as on the stunning "Garden of Sin") rather than brute strength to set themselves apart from their peers, and have carved out a successful niche for themselves as intelligent monsters.

Pharaoh!

By Dan Lawrence.


Power metal needs its evangelical wing. Truly.

But despite that need, power metal fans, particularly in America, can be an odd, awkward bunch. We're fired by the rightness of our cause, of course, but we know that if we push too hard, the blowback of ridicule and tuning out is always waiting just inches below the surface. Good music should always speak for itself, but some styles will always need an extra push to really connect.

Given that context, Pharaoh is pretty much the perfect band: they don't fit most of the flowery preconceptions that so many people hold about power metal. They don't sing about elves or fairies; none of their songs are medieval campfire singalongs; and they don't treat neoclassical shred as a sacred icon. In fact, over the course of their four unimpeachable albums, Pharaoh have established themselves as the quintessential exemplar of that ambiguous, mongrel genre: "US power metal."

But to whom, really, does Pharaoh compare? The short answer - and the real reason they're deserving of the red carpet treatment - is, "No one, or at least not exactly." Truly, they are difficult to pin an exact match on, but if they are unique, that's not to say they are without peer. They share a similar stoutness and traditional stomp with a band like Argus, while also resonating with some of the steelier Priest-isms of Primal Fear. At their most dramatic, it's not too much a stretch to hear echoes of Sanctuary, although Pharaoh also shares with The Lord Weird Slough Feg the ability to sound both playful and deadly serious at once. Hell, at times it even seems like Pharaoh sounds a bit like what might happen if Cynic's Focus had been a power metal album.

But their comrades are not what define them, particularly when the fusion of talents in the band is equal part unlikely and unavoidable. In fact, with the partial exception of High Spirits, I like Chris Black in Pharaoh far better than in any of his other projects. Similarly, while Pharaoh would be next to nothing without Matt Johnsen's seemingly effortless guitar, his work with Black in Dawnbringer rarely hits home for me. And despite his overwhelmingly evident skill, I never particularly cared for Tim Aymar in the context of Control Denied. Through whatever alchemical mystery, Pharaoh is the ideal venue for these disparate talents.

Cover Artwork by JP Fournier

This is an appropriate time of year to be writing about Pharaoh. When doubt, anxiety, and depression claw, all music is not created equal in its restorative capability. Plenty of power metal leans a little too positive and bright to feel authentic as self-medication. When you're low, the last thing you need is something high that feels like it's lying to you. Pharaoh, though, is chemically incapable of abetting wallowing. The music is too strident, stirring, and invigorating, but never anything less than truthful.

Because of these reasons and many others, Bury the Light is probably my favorite Pharaoh album (although The Longest Night makes a damned close play). More importantly, any time I listen to it feels like a righteous act of self-care. From the absurdly grandiose "Leave Me Here to Dream" (with its none-more-potent "No, not tonight / No, no, no" chorus the foil of Johnsen's rapid-fire uplift throughout) to the somehow Zeppelin-esque "The Year of the Blizzard" and the beautifully elastic rhythmic feint of "Castles in the Sky," Bury the Light is a monument to the power of music to awe and inspire. The outro that reprises the ending of "The Spider's Thread," however, is the masterstroke that truly marks the album of Pharaoh's most complete vision. That people aren't breaking down your door every other week to make sure your personal copy is still in good working order is some sort of crime.

"The Spider's Thread" reaches its climax with the line "Oh, can I ever hope to recover?" Although the song's answer to that question is not necessarily a positive one, "Bury the Light" on the whole has proven again and again to be one of those rare magical albums that always helps to keep my mind from going to a dark place. Sometimes you listen to music because it mirrors the mood you're already in; sometimes you listen to music because it creates in you the mood you'd like to be in. Pharaoh is ceaselessly the latter - a steady salve and companion.

If that doesn't inspire you to evangelism, then nothing will. Come, sisters and brothers: let's go out into the world together.

Ufomammut - Oro: Opus Primum

By Natalie Zina Walschots. Ufomammut are an experimental metal act based in Italy. Their name is a portmanteau of U.F.O. (the abbreviation for "unidentified flying object," often used to describe what people believe are alien spacecrafts) and "mammut," the Italian word for mammoth.

By Natalie Zina Walschots. Originally published here by Exclaim.

Artwork by Malleus

Ufomammut are an experimental metal act based in Italy. Their name is a portmanteau of U.F.O. (the abbreviation for "unidentified flying object," often used to describe what people believe are alien spacecrafts) and "mammut," the Italian word for mammoth. It's clear that they hope to evoke something both gigantic and nimble, embodying both immensity and mystery in their songwriting. With Oro: Opus Primum, they are entirely successful in this endeavor; you don't get labelled "space doom" for being straightforward and predictable. Their sixth full-length album is shockingly invasive, the squeezing, circular song structures wriggling deep into the listener's psyche.

Photos by François Carl Duguay.

The record begins slowly, almost languidly with "Empireum", easing the into listener's mind, but by the time "Aureum" gathers its strength, the music becomes a greased probe directed deep into the core of your grey matter. Throughout the album, samples of distorted voices, radio signals, chants and feedback cause the songs to take on a strange, otherworldly quality. Even the most familiar sounds are stretched and recontextualized until they become alien, made new and strange. It often feels as though Ufomammut are manipulating gravity, allowing one to float weightless one moment and then slam you down crushingly the next. Invasive and unknowably vast, Oro: Opus Primum is an excellent listen if you're looking to be blown apart.

Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions: Part XVI - Live Archives

By Craig Hayes. I’ve made it my mission in life to write about all of Sunn O)))'s releases that are available on Bandcamp with this Monoliths and Opinions series. Obviously, documenting the band's exploits in such a way suggests that I am a big fan of Sunn O))). Or that I am a very lonely masochist, with far too much time on my hands.

By Craig Hayes.

Sunn O))) @ Lx Factory, Lisbon, Portugal 2010 by Pedro Roque.

I’ve made it my mission in life to write about all of Sunn O)))'s releases that are available on Bandcamp with this Monoliths and Opinions series. Obviously, documenting the band's exploits in such a way suggests that I am a big fan of Sunn O))). Or that I am a very lonely masochist, with far too much time on my hands. Either way, I should point out that writing this series isn’t a back-breaking task that’s been imposed upon me.

I want to make that clear because there are people out there who would view this Monoliths and Opinions project as some kind of cruel and unusual punishment. They’re the kind of people who think that Sunn O)))'s music is torturous and tedious. Some of those people like to complain very loudly about that online as well. And, not so long ago, I watched a few of those folks launch into some stinging criticism of Sunn O)))'s set at this year's Temples Festival in the UK.

I think that Sunn O))) confounded and crossed the line for some at the Temples Festival is a wonderful indictment of the band’s continued importance. I see Sunn O))) continuing to ruffle feathers in this day and age as a hugely positive sign. Lord knows we need more music that challenges us, tests our temperaments, and isn’t baited with blatant commercial hooks.

Still, it's also important to note that a defence of Sunn O)))'s music isn't necessarily needed or even wanted by the band's critics. We all have bands we simply love to hate no matter what anyone else thinks. We all piss and moan about those bands. And no amount of explaining or clarifying the appeal of those bands is going to convince us to change our opinion one iota.

Really, in the case of providing any explanation for a series like this Monoliths and Opinions project, all I can say is that I'm not indulging in any duplicitous or disingenuous antics here. I'm not trying to sell Sunn O))) to you. Nor is any neurotic or unhealthy fixation keeping me preoccupied with Sunn O)))'s oeuvre. I've simply been fascinated by the unconventionality of Sunn O)))'s music since I first heard the band 15 years ago.

I discovered Sunn O))) via the band's ØØ Void album, which was released in 2000. ØØ Void resonated with me because it spoke directly to that part of me that had been utterly entranced by Earth's Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version album way back in 1993. Of course, Sunn O))) have mentioned the debt they owe to Dylan Carlson's famed band many times over the years. And it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Earth invented the entire drone or ambient metal genre.

At the heart of it, ØØ Void appealed to me because it was very different to anything being released at the time. (Both in metal and experimental music circles.) It felt like a fresh challenge. One where Sunn O))) stripped their music back to the purest and rawest essence of the riff. That was bold, bruising, and inherently idiosyncratic and defiant. Sunn O))) dared you to make it through ØØ Void. I loved that about Sunn O))). Still do. And I imagine that's the same reason that many of the band’s fans continue to tune in.

That said, I completely understand why some people remain utterly perplexed by Sunn O)))'s appeal. Fact is, Sunn O)))'s music is not easy on the ear or accessible. Sunn O))) deal in drone, and drone is an acquired taste and niche musical medium at the best of times. Drone is something you feel (or not) at an instinctual level. And if you happen to feel that drone is monotonous, featureless and dull, then you'll clearly be left wondering how anyone could enjoy any of Sunn O)))'s protracted tracks.

There are no halfway measures with Sunn O))). It's all in or nothing at all. And Sunn O))) unquestionably use provocative musical techniques that could easily lead to a hostile response. We all know how irritating it is to encounter music that immediately rubs us the wrong way. And the soundscapes that Sunn O))) explore are formidable.

Sunn O))) frequently ignore musical mainstays like rhythm or melody. They deal in teeth-rattling distortion, feedback, and subterranean vibrations and reverberations. The band's songs are performed at an incredibly slow pace. And there is absolutely nothing about Sunn O))) that is going to appeal to fans of turbo-speed rock 'n' roll.

Hell, there’s not even an easy entry point into the band's catalogue. Sunn O)))’s most popular album, 2009’s Monoliths & Dimensions (the album's title summing up the band's aesthetic perfectly) did find favour with a wider audience on release. But, even then, Monoliths & Dimensions was still an imposing album with made zero compromises made for the listeners comfort therein.

Sunn O))) @ Lx Factory, Lisbon, Portugal 2010 by Pedro Roque.

Still, no matter the critical adoration or their expanding fanbase, Sunn O)))’s music remains easy to mock or dismiss because that's the way many eccentric forms of artistic expression are routinely treated. A lot of challenging art (and music) is immediately scoffed at. And that frequently reveals more about the underlying values of the scoffer than it does the essence of the art.

Often, gripes arise to mask confusion about the meaning behind avant-garde works of art. None of us like to feel that we're missing the point and, sometimes, it's simply that misunderstandings occur because we're not aware of the particular lineage or history behind off-kilter works of art or music.

Weird music is tough to unpack. To conceptualise. And to appreciate.

However, alternatively, having an aversion to Sunn O))) might not be the result of any of the above issues. Some folks just hate the band because they find them mind-numbingly boring. And there’s nothing complicated about that at all.

I get that too. It's that age-old aversion to music you just find fucking tiresome. And that's exactly how I feel about deathcore. Or screamo. Or goregrind. Or pirate metal. Or most symphonic or folk metal. Or [insert some truly awful band like Dream Theater or Soulfly right here].

For me, the allure of Sunn O)))’s music is that it sounds and feels like a form of orchestrated chaos kicking down those famed doors of perception. The band's sub-harmonic and frequently nerve-tweaking pursuits offer a very powerful experience if you're willing to give yourself over to the band’s music. Immerse yourself in Sunn O)))’s universe and the band’s sojourns become transcendent journeys. There's a jaunt beyond the stars here. A trip to higher plane or another dimension there. Or just a steep dive into the very darkest pits of Hades.

It's really no different to getting lost in or swept away by any other musical form that affects you deeply. Albeit, with Sunn O)))'s mode of transportation being of the more leaden-footed and monolithic variety. Of course, making an effort to understand why fans enjoy Sunn O)))'s music is not on the radar for many of the folks who like to complain about the band. They're often just really pissed because Sunn O))) represents an arm of experimental metal that’s skirted close to wider acceptance.

Certainly, although Sunn O))) are never going to a hugely popular band in commercial terms, many of the group's fans do reside outside of metal's borders. We all know that some folks feel very aggrieved when an outré metal band gets paid any attention by the mainstream media. And we’ve all seen groups like Deafheaven or Liturgy get vilified in quarters of the metal media for turning up on pages of the mainstream press.

The point to keep in mind is that Sunn O)))'s founders, Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson, are not casual metal tourists or newcomers to making in-your-face music. See Khanate, Burning Witch and Goatsnake for proof of that. Nor have O'Malley and Anderson committed some crime against the underground by finding themselves under the spotlight. If anything, O'Malley and Anderson are forging ahead with a distinctly underground attitude by continuing to make challenging music. That’s a laudable feat, I would have thought. Even if you didn't happen to like the noise being made.

Sunn O))) does speak a very unorthodox musical language. Stretching riffs out to infinity while destroying many routine musical motifs sees the physicality of sound often used as a key instrumental component. As a result, a pressure-wave is frequently at the forefront of the band’s sound. Yet, O'Malley and Anderson have always been open to explaining exactly what is it they're doing and, more importantly, why they're doing it without any pretentiousness. In fact, some of O'Malley and Anderson's interviews have been incredibly open and frank and they've subsequently made for truly fascinating insights into the world of explorative music.

Of course, in the end, there’s just no pleasing some folks. Discussions of why and how Sunn O))) make all that noise are of little value to someone who's not going to read them anyway. Obviously, not everyone appreciates everything. And we wouldn't want a world overflowing with sycophants anyway. Some people just instinctively hate the fact that Sunn O))) is deemed interesting or worthy of coverage. And I imagine a negative reaction pleases O'Malley and Anderson just as much as a positive one.

Sunn O))) @ Lx Factory, Lisbon, Portugal 2010 by Pedro Roque.

Ultimately, to my eyes and ears, the whole point of Sunn O)))'s music is to provoke a visceral reaction. And Sunn O)))’s latest Bandcamp venture, a live archive page filled with dozens of concert recordings, is guaranteed to do that.

In fact, for people who find Sunn O))) perplexing, boring or downright annoying, the 77 shows available on the band's live archive page are sure to be a horror show beyond measure. I've been a fan of Sunn O))) forever. And I’m certain I want the band's The Iron Soul Of Nothing collaboration with Nurse With Wound to soundtrack my funeral. But, even then, fandom assured, Sunn O)))’s live archive page still fills me with dread.

It would be a huge challenge to try and pick apart every individual recording on Sunn O)))'s live archive page. So I won’t be reviewing them one by one here. Honestly, writing about the particulars of each one of those live recordings is too much for this old man. But I will say this: The shows on Sunn O)))'s live archive page date back to 2002. They are unmixed and unmastered––i.e presented in their rawest state. And if you're a fan or critic of the band, you'll know exactly what to expect.

There's hooded figures shrouded in fog wielding huge riffs and making a gloriously ear-splitting racket on every one of those live recordings. There are plenty of guests and collaborators adding their own thunderous elements too. And you could certainly look at the sum total of those live recordings as a rather awe-inspiring riposte to Sunn O)))’s critics.

Every one of those live recordings features all the fundamental Sunn O))) elements that folks gripe about writ large and goddamn loud. Which, I have to admit, I kind of love about the band. I love that Sunn O))) have never made any excuses for cutting their own weird and cacophonous path into the hinterlands of experimental music. Pick up any of the recordings linked in this essay, or any other from the band's live archives page and you'll certainly be greeted by different points of exploration. However, what you are facing, in overwhelming abundance on that live archive page, is exactly the same vast wall-of-noise that provokes such intense reactions every single time Sunn O))) takes the stage.

For me, that means Sunn O)))'s live archives page contains untold manna from the Gods of sonic subversiveness. For others, that page might well be Hell on earth. Both are entirely understandable reactions. And both are reactions that I think O’Malley and Anderson would wholeheartedly approve of.

The Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions series.

Metal Blade is now on Bandcamp!

By Andy Osborn. Metal Blade is now on Bandcamp. I was wondering when, if ever, I would get the chance to type those words as that little sentence is about the most exciting news that could land on the desks of our little site. Ubiquitous and world-renowned

By Andy Osborn.

Artwork by Necrolord

Metal Blade is now on Bandcamp. I was wondering when, if ever, I would get the chance to type those words as that little sentence is about the most exciting news that could land on the desks of our little site. Ubiquitous and world-renowned, the California-based label has been arguably the most important supporter of metal over the thirty-three years of its existence. They helped give birth to and nurture extreme metal in all its forms and continue to put out some of the best heavy music in the world.



They've started stocking their page with some of their best artists including the complete catalog of The Black Dahlia Murder and all of Cattle Decapitation's full-lengths save their debut. Not that they need any introduction, but simply seeing these bands on Bandcamp is a joy. The Black Dahlia Murder is THE band that got me interested in extreme metal, and while their recent output hasn't been overtly original, they are still without a doubt one of the best Melodic Death Metal acts on the planet. Their first three albums were absolutely pivotal in forming my tastes in all things extreme, and doubtless this is the case with many people. Cattle Decapitation, on the other hand, are only improving with time. Monolith of Inhumanity ranks in my top five albums ever. It embodies everything I love about metal and shows the long-running Deathgrind weirdos are at the top of their game. Both bands' highly anticipated upcoming albums are up and ready for pre-order.

Artwork by Wes Benscoter

The across the board $10 asking price is a bit high, but knowing that the money is going straight into the hands of this important label makes it worth it. Obviously, we here at Metal Bandcamp are excited. Expect plenty of Metal Blade-centric reviews, roundups, and discography specials in the near future.

Hey, Check This Out! #1

Hey, Check This Out is meant to be an irregular column of DIY reviews, presenting just the basic facts about albums that we wanted to give a full review but for some reason it never happened. First up is 3 very different bands from USA. Enjoy. Band: Replacire. City: Boston, Massachusetts.

Hey, Check This Out is meant to be an irregular column of DIY reviews, presenting just the basic facts about albums that we wanted to give a full review but for some reason it never happened. First up is 3 very different bands from USA. Enjoy.

Band:	Replacire.
City:	Boston, Massachusetts.
Genre:	Hits all the right tech metal notes.
Interesting fact:	Vocalist Evan Anderson Berry also plays guitar in Immortal Bird. Check out the awesome Replacire Eyeball Teeth Skull shirt.

Cover art by Dorian Cleavenger.

Band:	Dofka.
City:	Cleveland, Ohio.
Genre:	Dokken. A darker and slightly harder Dokken, but still.
Interesting fact:	Jim Dofka has contributed a guest guitar solo to each and everyone of Pharoh's albums.

Band:	Sovereign.
State:	Arizona.
Genre:	USBM at it's finest.
Interesting fact:	To our excuse this one took it's sweet time getting a full Bandcamp release. Mixed and mastered by Chris Grigg of Woe fame.

Alcest - Écailles de lune & Les voyages de l'âme

By Justin C. It's always cool to see a long-established artist suddenly appear on Bandcamp. You can pick up things missing from your collection, or just get higher-fidelity copies of things you already had.

By Justin C.

It's always cool to see a long-established artist suddenly appear on Bandcamp. You can pick up things missing from your collection, or just get higher-fidelity copies of things you already had. Now, when Prophecy Productions joined Bandcamp, we got a whole slew of new digital goodies, including Alcest. I briefly debated about whether Alcest really needed a write up here--doesn't everybody already know them? But on the other hand, there are always new people getting into metal, and it's easy to miss some gems. Or maybe the often-polarized opinion of this band scared you off, and you didn't have me whispering into your ear about why you should listen.

Photo by Webzine Chuul.

Alcest is primarily the work of Neige (a.k.a., Stéphane Paut). He started Alcest as a pretty standard, raw black metal outfit, but after the 2001 demo, Neige took Alcest into a new direction. A lot of people categorize Alcest as post-black metal, but the favorite genre label I've seen attached to them is "blackgaze." Neige mixes melodic shoegaze and black metal in a way that's simply brilliant. If you really think about it (and ignore the knuckle-headed screams of "sell out!" and "girlfriend metal!" that Internet Tough Guys love to apply to Alcest), the melding of shoegaze and black metal isn't actually that strange. Both genres typically rely on waves of sound washing over the listener, and what are blast beats and tremolo-picked guitars if not (angry) waves of sound? Sure, black metal is typically a bit more aggressive than, say, My Bloody Valentine or Catherine Wheel, but sonically, they have similar aesthetics, if different executions.

Cover art by Fursy Teyssier

It was hard to pick what albums to focus on, but for my money, 2010's Écailles de lune and 2012's Les voyages de l'âme stand as the pinnacle of what Alcest has achieved so far. Aside from the early demo, Écailles is probably one of the heavier albums in Alcest's catalog. "Écailles de lune (Part I)" serves as a melancholy intro to the album, but listen carefully: At around the 8-minute mark (Neige doesn't mind a slow build), we get some blast beats and lovely tremolo guitar, even if they're a bit less frosty than typical for black metal. Hang around for the next track, "Écailles de lune (Part II)", and after a deceptively gentle intro, you hear the first proper black metal shrieks of the album. I love Neige's clean vocals--they're subdued and non-showy while still conveying deep emotion--but I'd also happily listen to an album full of his raw shrieks. "Part II" eventually moves back to shoegazier territory, but it makes the blackened fury seem all the more intense.

Photo by Webzine Chuul.

It pains me to say it, but if you're disappointed by the heaviness level of the first two tracks of Écailles, you're probably not going to like Alcest. The shoegaze parts of the music and Neige's clean vocals aren't brief respites or interludes; they're integral to the sound. But if you're still with me, I have to convince you to also listen to Les voyages de l'âme, because it holds a firm place on my list of favorite albums post-2000, and perhaps on my list of favorite albums ever.

Cover art by Fursy Teyssier

Les voyages de l'âme does move Alcest a bit further away from its black metal roots, although you still get some great blackened fury in "Là où naissent les couleurs nouvelles" and "Faiseurs de mondes". What stands out on Voyages is the maturation of Neige's melodic sensibilities. He was always good, but what he did on Voyages is at a different level. The lush guitars and vocal melodies in the album opener "Autre Temps" immediately take me to another place, which seems appropriate because Neige has explained that Alcest is largely inspired by a dream world from his childhood. This album also sees Neige's blending of the heavy and light become nearly seamless. The gentle intro to "Là où naissent les couleurs nouvelles" is brilliantly revisited in the song's blackened sections. The transition thrills me every time, no matter how often I hear it. And the vocals and guitars in the title track? I don't even know how to put those feelings into words.

Photo by Webzine Chuul.

Alcest's lovely 2014 album Shelter moved firmly into a pop/shoegaze sound, and as with most Alcest albums, the reaction was polarized. However, Neige has changed directions before--Alcest's first proper full-length, Souvenirs d'un autre monde, had nary a black metal scream on it, so it's hard to say where he'll end up next. I'd hate to see Neige completely abandon his black metal roots, but on the other hand, his musicianship will show through no matter what he's doing, and I suspect Alcest albums are going to be an "insta-buy" for me for a long time to come.

Doomsday - Doomsday

Written by Natalie Zina Walschots. Originally published here by Exclaim.

Cover art by XNA

Pressing play on Doomsday feels a lot like opening the doors to a blast furnace: a sudden, overwhelming wall of heat hits you and doesn't let up. At barely over 20 minutes, this self-titled, blackened and crusted death metal debut shows mercy only in its brevity. Four of the five band members have served time in Nachtmystium, which translates into the record's blackened, brimstone-reeking guitar tone and relentless pace. The dominant texture of the album, however, is a thick, filthy crust element that makes every song seem to drip rust and corrosion.

Photos © John Mourlas. All rights reserved.

Most of the tracks are defined by a savage, primal violence, embodied best in album closer (and G.G. Allin cover) "I Kill Everything I Fuck," but there is a moment of bleakness in "Empty Vessel" that's not a respite as much as a shift of perspective, the one time the record moves from vicious agency to furious reflection. This is a baleful, rancid debut that arrives like a whirlwind and leaves the listener similarly wondering what just happened to them.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Dordeduh - Dar de Duh

Written by Natalie Zina Walschots. Originally published here by Exclaim.

Cover art by Costin Chioreanu

After departing from Romanian black metal act Negura Bunget in 2009, Hupogrammos and Sol Faur founded their new project, Dordeduh. Their first full-length album, Dar de Duh (which translates to "gift from the spirit"), contains many of the influences they had previously worked with in Negura Bunget, including soulful, sparkling interpretations of nature-based black metal and elements of Romanian folklore. Dordeduh take a distinctly more ambient approach, however, working less with sheer muscular force in the music and much more with shimmering, ethereal atmospheres. There's still a primal current of danger, as good folk metal often reminds the listener that the natural landscape is as deadly as it is lovely, but the thematic focus of Dar De Duh is definitely the sublime.

Photos by Dvergir

The traditional instruments are deployed deftly and intelligently, deepening the emotional impact of the sound. The complex and beautiful structures of the tracks are often dazzling, such as in the way the various elements of "Calea roților de foc" dovetail seamlessly with each other (i.e., the pleading percussion and the flute-and-guitar countermelodies). When Negura Bunget split in half, it could have been the band's death knell; instead, each half sprung up into a new beast, each a more evolved and refined version.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

This Bandcamp link is for the regular version of Dar de Duh. There's also a (more expensive) version with 3 bonus tracks. And you can check out the Prophecy Productions Bandcamp here.

Mad Max's Wheels of Steel #4

Written by Maxim Björky.

The inconsistent nature of this article is something I’m hoping to change but amid changing my employment, shuffling my living situations, and booking my sure-to-be comical trip to MDF –think Ernest goes to Baltimore—it’s been a rough go. Hope everyone had fun arguing about how Hallmark might rebrand Columbus Day, now let’s get our hands dirty with some fetid death metal demos that I think will earn your affection.


Deathcult is probably best known as having just been joined by Bölzer frontdude Okoi Thierry Jones. They're probably close to third in the pecking order behind the vaunted Kiwi outfit Witchrist, whom he likewise recently joined up with. While Deathcult might not rip the plane of temporal existence like Bölzer, they do crush skulls and bring the riff, which, as I recall, were among the reasons we all got into these death metal shenanigans in the first place. Likewise, if Bölzer’s knuckles simply don’t drag low enough for you, rest assured, this Swiss outfit veers much closer to Blasphemy and Bestial Warlust. Nothing much to dissect or mull over. Just spin it and maybe try to track down a tape. Sounds like they're a hot commodity. These guys also have a recent EP out on Me Saco Un Ojo Records with Jones actually on vocal duty in the studio; it’s not yet on Bandcamp as far as I can tell, so keep your brainshell on a swivel for that.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

This band is cool because early Bathory can never be replicated but modern production allows us to create the same unfiltered aggression while allowing the instruments to actually, ya know, be heard. Now this may sound like a dozen other bands I've written about (Bewitcher, Antichrist, Infiltrator, Hedlok, et al), but their rippin’ jams are also applicable to fans of more visible touring acts like Witchaven. Nor does it end there. There’s also an obvious 70s punk vibe going on somewhere under the surface, though the obligatory cover of “Necromansy” at the end of this demo makes me want to renege on giving them even that nuance. I swear there’s more to it than just Bathory worship and if you think there isn’t, have another beer and gaze longingly at a picture of Glenn Danzig.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Let’s just keep rolling with these roman numerals. Now for my favorite part of the program where some semantically OCD doofus aspiring scholar of musical historiography will tell me this is black metal and doesn't fit the theme of this week’s WoS but I arrogantly beg to differ. Though this band displays many landmarks borne by contemporary adherents of the second wave, there’s plenty of death metal flexing goin on. Sure these guys would be perfect on a bill with Mgła and Svartidauði but they could just as easily share the stage with Malthusian on Demilich's Reunion Tour (now wouldn't that be neat!).

See you guys same time next time!

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]