Archive: Columns
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Unearthing the Metal Underground: Speedwhore
Germany’s Speedwhore, known as Speed Whore up until 2013, has been vomiting its filthy blackened thrash since 2006. With clear intent, the unit isn’t bringing anything new to the table at all. The quartet has always championed tried and true, nasty cuts that are as in line with the style that fans would want. Aura Noir is an immediate reference point, as well as OG masters Slayer, going back to the legendary California band’s earliest period, that is. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground Geist Of Ouachita
One-man black metal bands are a dime a dozen, especially here stateside. This kind of ubiquity suggests inevitable musical homogeneity and, by and large, an abundance of lackluster artists that are rightfully doomed to irrelevance and the confines of the shadows. Somewhat surprisingly, then, Geist Of Ouachita has produced something that’s worthy of the attention of black metal aficionados. Helmed by one “Roanoke,” a multi-instrumentalist who has been involved with too many bands to count, the Oklahoma-based project is set to release its debut album, “Imprisoned in the Graven Wood,” on June 16 via Signal Rex. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Elder Devil
However lofty or not the intentions may have been at the band’s onset, and no matter how much traction they’ll ultimately seize is beside the point. As an abrasive, full-frontal artistic assault, Elder Devil is proving is clearly worthy of the attention of fans of grind and sludge with its sophomore album, “Everything Worth Loving,” which is slated for release on June 16 by Prosthetic Records. The unit has been kicking and screaming since 2016 with the union of primary songwriter Jacob Lee (Hellish Form, Keeper, Plasticbag Facemask) and their vocalist Stephen Muir. With album number two, the quartet has taken its expression to exponentially more evocative terrain, tapping into deeply personal grief. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Void King
Indianapolis’ stoner doom outfit VOID KING has been plugging away since its 2014 inception. The unit was previously linked up with a label a few years ago, and there's a dash of irony considering that they are no longer with the Netherlands-based Off The Record Label. Keeping true to its passion for music, label support or not, the quartet just released its third full-length, "The Hidden Hymnal,” independently as a digital release on April 7. VOID KING’s fresh, six-song release is a perfect example of a band that straddles the fence between stoner and doom, embracing the hard-rocking, fuzz-drenched qualities of the former style without betraying the dreary gloom that’s integral to the latter. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Godslut
Poland has had a stranglehold upon extreme metal for years. Death metal bands like Vader, Decapitated and Dead Infection stand out on one end, and black metal bands like Graveland and Mgla have made names for themselves as well. The ever-so-eloquently named Godslut have been making noise since 2020. In spite of a few lineup shakeups, head honcho Krzysiek Sniadecki (guitars/vocals) has marched onward. And with his new team in tow, Godslut is gearing up to release its debut album, “Procreation Of God,” via the legendary Polish extreme metal label Selfmadegod Records on CD and digitally on May 5. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Poison Ruin
Philadelphia’s metallic punk outfit Poison Ruin has recently linked out with the long-running underground label Relapse Records. In addition to recently reissued the band’s self-titled debut, Relapse is also releasing the band’s new album “Harvest!” on April 14. The Pennsylvanians don’t seem shy about their left-leaning sociopolitical ideologies, not by a long shot. But while they support the notion of overt protest songs, “Sometimes your message can reach a greater audience if you imbue it with a certain interactive, almost magical realist element,” vocalist Mac Kennedy states via a press release. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Unpure
Unpure has been around for decades, and it has garnered a formidable reputation in some quarters. But they’ve essentially existed beneath the surface by and large. The Swedish band initially came together in 1991 as a black metal band prior to developing toward a blend of blackened thrash and speed metal. Between 2004 and 2017, however, the unit was silent. Since then, they’ve only had a couple of releases that featured just a handful of newer songs. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Vexing
Oddball metallic extremity is no stranger to the Mile High City. The multi-faceted, genre-defying juggernaut that is Cephalic Carnage has been blowing minds with it’s bizarre deathgrind for decades. And in recent times, relative new-comers Vexing has been bubbling beneath the surface. The Denver-based band has been making noise since 2017, but they’ve only released a demo and an EP thus far. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Sepulcrum
Dark extreme metal has had a stronghold in Chile for years, most notably we can look to the classic Anton Reisseneger-led death trash act Pentagram. But there is new, impure blood that has been making crimson waves across Chile’s underground in recent years. Sepulcrum has been plumbing the depths of late eighties/early nineties death metal hell since its inception in 2019. They began with their promising EP “Corpse Dividing Holes” in 2020, and the carnivorous quartet is set to release its debut full-length, “Lamentation of Immolated Souls,” on March 17 via Chaos Records worldwide on multiple formats, while Canometal and Burning coffin will release the album in Chile on CD and tape respectively. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: The Evil
Brazil boasts a rich history of extreme, dark metal. To name but a few, Brazil has given birth to Sepultura, Volcano and Sarcofago, the latter of whom was led by Wagner Antichrist. (He also briefly fronted Sepultura in the early eighties, but I digress…) Nowadays, the storied metal veteran spends time as a university economics professor. But he hasn’t hung up his bullet belt entirely. He is the guitarist for the occult-focused doom metal/occult rock band The Evil. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Imperial Demonic
New black metal bands tend to diverge on an immediate point and approach. Will you be clean and polished, or lo fi and dirty? Hailing from Belfast, Ireland, there’s no question that Imperial Demonic chose the path of lush, crisp black metal in the vein of Dimmu Borgir and Cradle Of Filth. What first emerged as a solo project, driven by Cameron Åhslund-Glass’, grew to become a more traditional five-member band. The band’s ambitious five-song debut, “Beneath The Crimson Eclipse,” is set for release on April 7, 2023, via Black Lion Records. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Häxanu
The United States isn’t typically known for its black metal compared to Europe and elsewhere, but keeping in mind a top tier band like Absu, American black metal shouldn’t be dismissed too quickly. Häxanu has been in existence for just a few years, having released “Snare of All Salvation” in 2020. The duo returns with its sophomore release, “Totenpass,” a seven-song effort that was released on February 7 via Amor Fati Productions. The band’s second album is a succinct, melodic and memorable display of second-wave inspired black metal. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Telomyras
Seattle has been home to countless notable bands who have left an indelible mark upon rock and metal fans. Heavy metal newcomers Telomyras seem to have been making noise for a couple of years. The Seattle-based heavy metal quintet is set to self release its self-titled debut EP on February 18. Steeped in classic heavy metal, Telomyras leverages a timeless energy and feel with the occasional atypical punctuation, as with the death growl spouted on “First Blood.” More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Mammoth Caravan
Arkansas has belched forth top-tier, disgusting doom and sludge for years. Bands like Rwake, Deadbird and Pallbearer are undeniably at the forefront of such subgenres. Born recently from this rich soil of southern sludge is Little Rock's Mammoth Caravan. They released a two-song promo this year, and both of those tracks will appear on the band’s debut EP, “Ice Cold Oblivion,” which is set for release on February 25, 2023. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Har Shatan
Germany’s satanic-themed black metal entity Har Shatan initially emerged 20 years ago, operating on a very underground level as it released a handful of demos, splits and one full-length independently and with the help of start-up labels from 2003 through 2009. Following the 2009 debut long player, “His Legacy,” the one-man project—Zepar performs all instruments and vocals—either broke up or was placed into hiatus mode for over a decade. Come 2022, the project emerged once more with a six-song demo. And as the year winds down, The Sinister Flame is set to release Har Shatan’s second album, “Manum Inicere Alicui,” on December 31. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Bark
Groove metal was one of the most prominent and popular strands of metal in the nineties. While bands like Pantera and Sepultura continue to be revered, there has unfortunately been a noticeable void in terms of new, younger acts that draw from the veins of those powerhouses. Enter Antwerp, Belgium’s interestingly named Bark. The quintet was born in 2014 and has been active ever since. Bark released its fourth album, “Rambler of Aeons,” on November 11 via Listenable Records, and it most certainly needs to infect the earholes of groove metal fans who have been yearning for newer blood. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground:Order of Nosferat
Bands featured in this column are typically either fresh new buds or long-timers who haven’t received their due exposure. On occasion, I highlight newer bands that are comprised of scene veterans. Case in point: Order of Nosferat. The project is comprised of Finland’s Anzillu on drums (From the Void, Iku-Turso, Nachtvrucht, Serpentfyre) and Germany’s Count Revenant on
vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards (Sarkrista, Slagmark, ex-Rituals of a Blasphemer, ex-Sarastus). As Order of Nosferat, the international act hasn’t been wasting time since its start in 2021, having released three full-lengths since that time. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Black Spell
We can safely assume that Skull isn’t the actual last name shared by the members of Black Spell. In any event, the trio—bassist Pierre (bass), Johan (drums, synthesizer) and Alastair (guitars, organ, vocals)—has been making waves in the international stoner doom scene since its self-titled debut album in 2020. With its third full-length poised for release, the Italian band continues to stand tall by paying homage to its homeland’s impressive history in the realms of both doom metal and psychedelic rock. “Season of the Damned” will be released by Helter Skelter Productions/Regain Records digitally on November 11, followed by CD and vinyl versions on December 9, 2022, and January 20, 2023, respectively. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Antt
The incorporation of a culture’s folk and traditional instruments isn’t new to metal by any stretch of the imagination. Looking further eastward on a global scale, however, it isn’t necessarily quite as common. As such, the traditional elements peppered within Indian band Antt’s self-released 2021 debut EP, “Esoteric Misanthropy,” are quite refreshing. What’s special is the manner in which the band spouts black metal with a respect for the genre’s western roots whilst viewing it somewhat through its eastern lens. More...
Unearthing the Metal Underground: Mythosphere
Mythosphere is a new face, but the unit isn’t exactly comprised of new kids on the block who have established names within the American doom and epic metal communities. Pale Divine’s vocalist/guitarist Dana Ortt, drummer Darin McCloskey and bassist Ron McGinnis united with former Fates Warning guitarist Victor Arduini to form Mythosphere, a band that smoothly bridges true heavy metal with powerful, detailed prog rock. Mythosphere—apparently meaning “the sacred narrative that permeates human life,” according to a press release—was born in 2021. Cruz Del Sur Music will release the project’s debut album, “Pathological,” on November 18. More...