Gorguts Live at Allston, MA’s Brighton Music Hall
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Luc Lemay – guitarist, vocalist and primary architect behind the avant-technical death metal project Gorguts – recruited a new lineup for the band’s 20th anniversary in 2009, featuring guitarist Kevin Hufnagel, bassist Colin Marston and drummer Patrice Hamelin. Colored Sands, the 2013 LP which that lineup convened to create, was the rare reunion effort that didn’t register as a cop-out or cash-grab. Like their erstwhile tourmates and fellow extreme metal luminaries in Carcass, Gorguts returned from a decade-plus hiatus with new material that confidently held up among their best. Earlier this year, they proved Sands was no fluke with the release of its follow-up, the ambitious, engrossing Pleiades’ Dust EP. This fall, they’ve taken to the road to support that release on a trek that opened in Boston on October 3rd.
The tour’s openers also leaned toward the experimental and progressive side of the metal spectrum. Chicago trio Brain Tentacles, who recently released a debut LP on Relapse, trafficked in something resembling metallic free jazz. Bruce Lamont’s heavily processed saxophone squawked atop Dave Witte and Aaron Dallison’s tight rhythm section in a set that confounded as often as it transcended. LA’s Intronaut offered a more traditional prog-metal approach that felt both satisfying and much heavier than when I last saw them, opening for Between the Buried and Me alongside Deafheaven (which, in retrospect, was a strange experience for all involved).
As for Gorguts, on record they are a band that sound almost impossibly intricate. Over the course of their original four album run, the band stretched the boundaries of technicality and musicianship. Both Sands and Dust doubled down on that willingness to push the envelope. On stage, they deliver on the promise of those recordings.
Their opening volley of Colored Sands tracks left the room riveted, and the entirety of the multi-part epic that is “Pleiades’ Dust” mesmerized for the mid portion of the set. When it came time for a concluding run of pre-reunion songs (“Inverted,” “Obscura” and “Orphans of Sickness”), the transfixed crowd finally exploded into a pit that consumed most of the floor. Start to finish, every zigzagging riff and dizzying rhythmic turn fell into place along with Lemay’s roars. The band was in sync to a superhuman degree, and it was an impressive feat to witness. Perfectly paced and executed, this set was a testament to the peak of Gorguts’ otherworldly powers.
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Brain Tentacles
Brain Tentacles at Brighton Music Hall
Brain Tentacles at Brighton Music Hall
Brain Tentacles at Brighton Music Hall
Brain Tentacles at Brighton Music Hall
Brain Tentacles at Brighton Music Hall
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Intronaut
Ulcerate Announce New Album “Stare Into Death and Be Still,” Share Title Track
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New Zealand's Ulcerate will release their sixth album, Stare Into Death and Be Still, on April 24th via Debemur Morti Productions, and going by the eight-and-a-half minute title track, their unique blend of death, black, sludge, and atmosphere sounds as killer as ever. Listen below....
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Tracklist: 1. The Lifeless Advance 2. Exhale the Ash 3. Stare Into Death and Be Still 4. There Is No Horizon 5. Inversion 6. Visceral Ends 7. Drawn Into The Next Void 8. Dissolved Orders...
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Dwaal Preaches Profane Truths on “Gospel of the Vile” (Album Premiere)
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"Dwaal" is an Afrikaans word that refers to a dreamy, dazed, or befuddled state. Ironically, that is not a state that Dwaal, the Norwegian doom/sludge band, induces. Sometimes, doom and sludge metal can be generally relaxing affairs that can leave you in hazy disarray, but not so here -- expect the byzantine atmosphere of their debut full-length Gospel of the Vile to seize and hold your focus wholeheartedly despite the 64-minute runtime. Clear your schedule, because we're streaming the album in full now:...
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Set within a dystopian-feeling bed of anxiety-inducing noise and aural pressure, each of the songs on Gospel of the Vile showcase compelling themes played at a grinding pace where every note creates a pathological need for the next. While there's titanic riffs to be had (forming the basis of tracks such as "Like Rats"), many of the compositions are primarily driven by more complex orchestration, using the whole lineup to great effect. Notably, no single piece leads the charge in these less-immediate portions -- instead, guitars, vocals, foghorn-like synths, and a ultra-present bass trade off mid-motif, adding an intricacy that's a strange but welcome companion to the antipathy-laden songs as they create multi-layered unease. The album is an arresting ride -- the combination of towering guitar segments with the varied instrumentals at hand builds and releases tension provocatively, never letting calmness sneak into the equation. Where a wholly pummeling sludge approach might have worn out its welcome and a more atmospheric, mellow interpretation could have grown stale, the fusion of both with a misanthropic packaging to unify them easily fills up its hour-plus runtime and leaves us wanting more. Careful study of Gospel of the Vile's teachings will reveal one single, critical tenet: Dwaal manufactures the type of doom that pulls your guts out through your eardrums....
Gospel of the Vile releases March 6th via Dark Essence Records. Follow Dwaal on Facebook and Bandcamp....
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Upcoming Metal Releases: 3/1/20 — 3/7/20
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Here are the new (and recent) metal releases for the week of March 1st to March 7th, 2020. Releases reflect proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see most of these albums on shelves or distros on Fridays. See something we missed or have any thoughts? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging. Send us your promos (streaming links preferred) to: [email protected]. Do not send us promo material via social media....
Surprise Releases + Things We Missed
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Frostnatt -- Den Russiske Tomheten | Black Metal | Russia I won't lie, it was the album art here that drew me into Den Russiske Tomheten. Soon, though, the black metal (sans blast beats) of Frostnatt took hold of my mind, and I was hooked for the duration of its dreamy, eerie soundscape. This music is cold, almost mechanical, but still lush and full of character. It's an interesting blend that works well even in this short format.-- Andrew Rothmund
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Upcoming Releases
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My Dying Bride - The Ghost of Orion | Nuclear Blast | Gothic/Death/Doom Metal | England My Dying Bride’s latest album, The Ghost of Orion, is an album that almost never happened. Only a few years ago, vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe discovered his young daughter was stricken with cancer, at the time Stainthorpe describing it as “the cruellest of God's bitter and loveless creations,” and the band was put on hiatus so Stainthorpe and his family could focus on their daughter’s well-being. Fortunately, in 2018 it was announced Stainthorpe’s daughter had beaten the disease and was now recovering, which eventually allowed My Dying Bride to reconvene... though by the time they arrived in the studio two members had departed from the group. In spite of all the hardships foisted upon them the band persevered to create an ambitious album in it’s approach that the band themselves have called “accessible” and “easy on the ears.” Rest assured it’s still My Dying Bride, but The Ghost of Orion certainly has a more fragile and tearful beauty as exemplified well on songs like “Tired of Tears” and the Lindy Fay-Hella [Wardruna] guest-vocal-led “The Solace.” While some of the stomp and violent mid-paced gallop might be missing, there’s certainly no loss of Stainthorpe’s tortured growling that highlights on heavy moments throughout the album, and quite strongly on epic closer “The Old Earth.” The Ghost of Orion is an album that might not please all long time fans but it’s clearly a work of craft and care from artists who long ago abandoned the need to impress anyone but themselves.-Joseph Aprill
https://youtu.be/F1DI7447ia0...
Pure Wrath -- The Fornlorn Soldier EP | Debemur Morti Productions | Black Metal | Indonesia From Andrew Rothmund's premiere of "Children of the Homeland" (and interview with the project's mastermind):Sometimes metal is more important than the music. In the case of Indonesian solo black metal project Pure Wrath, metal is about life itself (specifically, the preservation of it). The project’s upcoming The Forlorn Soldier EP explores the nationalistic genocide of the 1960s during which many lost their lives and their families. Immersed in a blackened nocturne, Pure Wrath’s latest digs deeper into some of the thickest and most compelling atmospheres in the business, painting a grim and heartfelt picture of what took place so many decades ago. It’s a sobering look, really, as the The Forlorn Soldier EP holds nothing back in terms of intensity and human pain — project mastermind Januaryo Hardy’s vocals are as pained and real as ever, coloring this music with true sensitivity instead of just the representation of it.
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Medium -- Medium | Transcending Obscurity | Crust + Grind | Argentina From Ivan Belcic's premiere of Medium:From the first track to the last, Medium maintains a punishing and relentless pace. “Black Future Patrol,” the album’s midpoint, briefly slows in tempo before the band ramps them up again in the second half of the record; even here, downbeat-driven passages provide no respite. Where other bands might have tacked on a fistful or two of extra songs to pad things out, Medium keeps their debut lean, and as a result, each song thrives.https://youtu.be/5GKsSdQUP64
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Ahna -- Crimson Dawn | Caligari Records | Death Metal + Crust + Grind | Canada There's a lot of things at play in Crimson Dawn, but most importantly, it slaps hard enough to leave a lasting imprint. When bands have as much to say as Ahna does with as many influences, oftentimes killer riffs are shelved in favor of nifty atmosphere-building progressions and dissonant what-have-you. However, Ahna has built out their particular fusion on a backbone of catchy patterns that counterintuitively pair well with the acerbic vocals and tonalities in use.-- Ted Nubel
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Svengahli -- Nightmares of Our Design | Progressive Death Metal | United States (Maryland) This is about as mental as you can get without having a total mental meltdown. The proggy and technical death metal of Svengahli bleeds and oozes with vivid instrumentation; the talent reaches beyond mere calisthenics, though, and it turns out Nightmares of Our Design flows like water despite its chock-full approach.-- Andrew Rothmund
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Dwaal -- Gospel of the Vile | Dark Essence Records | Sludge + Doom + Post-Metal | Norway Gospel, indeed - this album speaks volumes over its lengthy runtime, and not just lyrically. Delivering undisputed tomes of heavy doom that gets the most out of each element of its sound, Dwaal builds heavy, post-sludge-leaning epics that make every note count. Stay tuned for more on Dwaal later today.-- Ted Nubel
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Tulus -- Old Old Death | Soulseller Records | Black Metal | Norway From Jon Rosenthal's premiere of "Hel":Maximizing on the space between each of their triadic pieces, Tulus’s powerful, punchy approach to black metal concentrates less on black metal’s atmospherics in favor of raw, sinewy might. However eerie the music found within Old Old Death is, that is simply a by-product — Tulus simply wants to ruin. Even so, each member gets a chance to really flourish, be it Crowbel’s wonderfully unexpected, complex bass work, Sarke’s pummeling backbone percussion, or Blodstrup’s spine-chilling, fist-raising riffwork. Some of the strangeness of this trio’s other band Khold makes its way into the fold, as well, manifesting as a bizarre sub-atmosphere or undercurrent to the music — something doesn’t feel quite right here, but it works to their benefit. Old Old Death resembles the classic Tulus works, but this newfound oddity sets this particular album apart in their discography. Raise your fist, stomp your feet, Tulus is back.
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Beast of Revelation -- The Ancient Ritual of Death | Iron Bonehead Productions | Death Metal + Doom | Netherlands Crushing, mean death-doom with a big emphasis, tone-wise, on the death -- but played very much at doom speeds. It's rare for death-doom to simply sound like death metal but, like, slow: this is a prime specimen of such an approach and a strong argument that it needs to happen more often. The rusted-out guitar tones and sparing use of double-bass mesh excellently with the gut-wrenching vocals at the center of the sound here.-- Ted Nubel
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Azure Emote -- The Third Perpsective | Selfmadegod | Avant-Garde Death Metal | United States (Pennsylvania) Insane, mind-bending shit. That's enough to say for now; stay tuned very soon for some more coverage of this bonkers release.-- Andrew Rothmund
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Vredehammer -- Viperous | Indie Recordings | Death Metal + Black Metal | Norway Continuing the musical (and alliterative) trend from previous albums (Vinteroffer, Violator), Viperous offers dense black/death metal stained with a malignant ichor. I would classify this as a massively consistent offering -- like in past works, tight grooves shaped from relentless double-bass and unforgivingly intricate guitar work dominate the material, although this time around the production is even more in-your-face.-- Ted Nubel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0-hmFcd_n0...
Wombbath -- Choirs of the Fallen | Soulseller Records | Death Metal | Sweden Holy HM-2! This is fuzz and bite taken to the extreme; hell, everything about Choirs of the Fallen is maxxed out. The sizzle here is exceptional, actually, and does get your taste buds going, if you're into this sort of filthy death metal. The distortion might be a little cliche at this stage, but when applied properly, it blends in and becomes transparent, honestly. This is great shit.-- Andrew Rothmund
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Gorguts
Elaboration of the Avant-Garde: Azure Emote’s Wild and Expansive “The Third Perspective” (Album Premiere)
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When some bands take the "kitchen sink" route -- tossing every imaginable idea into one formula and seeing how it pans out -- the results are often… messy. There's a lot of talent out there in the world, but it seems that wrangling with musical skill is sometimes tougher than developing that skill to begin with. Azure Emote, who first came onto the scene with a 2007 debut, do not suffer this pitfall -- for over a decade, the band has been challenging listeners with an industrial, definitely avant-garde, and eclectic mix of death, doom, and black metal, plus jazz and prog. I mean, you can listen to their latest full-length The Third Perspective and, at every juncture, describe how the music feels at once familiar (grounded in some sort of subgenre) but also totally effortless and bespoke. Truly, there are not many bands like Azure Emote; again, not many bands take this huge of a risk. Check it out for yourself with an exclusive full stream of The Third Perspective below....
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The Third Perspective releases Friday via Selfmadegod Records (international pre-orders here). Check out a message from project mastermind Mike Hrubovcak below:This is a meticulously crafted personal catharsis for me. Proceed with an open mind, as each song is meant to be its own unique acid trip within a labyrinth of dystopian atmospheres. Highly poetic and filled with symbolism, there are deeper themes here than your average metal album, so reading between the lines is crucial. Step outside the proverbial box and see things from a fresh perspective –- The Third Perspective.[caption id="attachment_69160" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Image credit: Ron Vento[/caption]
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February 2020 Release Roundup
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The second month of the new decade has passed. So far, the year 2020 has brought us instant classics and creative gems from all across the metal spectrum. As we recapped January 2020, we already knew that this month would continue a special streak in metal. Perhaps later down the road, we'll look back to this particular era of heavy music and be able to understand it more fully in context; for now, though, we're going to keep spinning our favorite releases and gushing about them until the end of time. Come along with us, if you'd like....
Andrew Rothmund
Beneath the Massacre -- Fearmonger February 28th, 2020 The epitome. Beneath the Massacre have outdone themselves with Fearmonger. It's a triumphant return to the studio for the band and showcases exactly what they're made of: invincible granite and endless steel. Even though this album's technical complexity is nearly impenetrable, the songs still flow as effortlessly as butter melting on a hot day; Beneath the Massacre are the top masters of condensing so much music into pithy, physics-defying songs. This is music for ripping your own head clean off, or having someone rip it off for you, and I like that no-bullshit, all-guts approach to writing heavy metal. https://youtu.be/l7BTiFYtaho...
Jon Rosenthal
Lugubrum -- Plage Chômage February 1st, 2020 Welcome to the world of Lugubrum, where everything is Lugubrumesque. Though previous records boasted a vast black metal cloak which masked their avant-garde tendencies, Plage Chômage is a casting off of their warm, fuzzy coat. This new album is an adventure into the "Jamaican" and Polynesian influences which defined the "Lugubrum Trio" albums (Herval and Wakar Cartel). Rhythmic, clean, strange, and wondrous, Lugubrum's most Lugubrumesque effort is by far their most challenging....
Ted Nubel
Stallion -- Slaves of Time February 28th, 2020 In the enduring tradition of Teutonic speed metal, Stallion's latest full-length Slaves of Time preserves the deadly trappings of the 1980s -- vicious guitar bite, manic vocals and breakneck drums -- but also trots out a few glossy, hair-metal-inclined ballads with some tambourine thrown in for good measure. That certainly came as a surprise to me initially, but it's no reason to put it out to pasture: less speedy tracks like "Time to Reload" (with quite a fitting name) and the first half of its follow-up "All In" provide a chance to take cover from the relentless barrage shortly before we're back in the thick of it. It's not like Stallion couldn't have written a full album of gate-crashers, judging by the majority of the album's content, but this intermixing of tempos is a deliberate choice to return to the beginning of speed metal, when it hadn't yet separated from the traditional metal and rock-'n'-roll from which it originated. The high-pitched vocals might be a make-or-break element for some -- personally, I can't get enough of the tinges of madness and abrasion that creep into the wails, and they leave the mid-range open for more savage guitar crunch to fill up. On "Die With Me," coincidentally another more mid-paced track, the vocals really go off the rails and add emotional zeal. Anachronistic at heart, Slaves of Time holds loving respect for the past (you may be left with an urge to listen to Accept's Restless and Wild next), but it's loaded with a fresh salvo of riffs that shoot to kill. Seconds out of the gate, this one will hook you -- there's some twists and turns throughout the course, but expect to be subjugated for its full runtime....
Langdon Hickman
Fluisteraars -- Bloem February 28th, 2020 It's not uncommon these days to hear black metal described as beautiful; blackgaze, after all, seemed to finally fatally burst open that door forever. But sometimes you hear a record and it reminds you of the very first time you had the thought, like the shale-like scales of cynicism fall free from you. You'll be hearing more from me very soon about Fluisteraars, but it's worth noting to you as soon as possible that this is one of the most beautiful and poignant releases I've heard this year from metal or beyond. Springtime black metal? Not since Bergtatt has it been this good....
Andrew Sacher
Today is the Day -- No Good to Anyone February 28th, 2020 "Anything goes at any second," said Today is the Day mastermind Steve Austin when talking about No Good to Anyone, the long-running project's first album in six years. And I don't know if there's a better way to sum up this album than those five words. Today is the Day was never easy to pigeonhole into one genre, but on No Good to Anyone, Austin's music sounds more like a hodgepodge of musical styles than ever. It can be black metal one minute and 1970s hard rock the next, and then it could sound like Swans-like dark folk, or it could sound like 1990s alt-rock -- the list goes on. Taken out of context, the songs can seem disjointed, but when listened to as a whole, No Good to Anyone takes you on a real trip, constantly surprising you even once you've come to expect the unexpected. https://youtu.be/Uo0I30a7YmU...
Ivan Belcic
Cult of Fire -- Moksha + Nirvana February 20th, 2020 There’s no one in the game right now like Cult of Fire. To prove this point yet again, they’ve just dropped a monster double-album of some of the most mature and clear-headed black metal being created today. Moksha and Nirvana comprise a twin-headed examination of two separate-yet-similar spiritual themes, and like they’ve done most elsewhere in their catalog, Cult of Fire look at these ideas not with shallow scorn and derision, as I imagine would many of their affectedly blackened contemporaries, but with reverence and sincerity. Moksha, paying tribute to 17th-century Indian ascetic Baba Kinaram, and Nirvana, referring to concepts in Hinduism and Buddhism, represent a release from earthly suffering, though in two distinct ways. And it’s the cathartic embrace of Cult of Fire’s black metal that can, at least for a time, help placate whatever temporal afflictions plague you as you make your way along whichever path through life you find most appropriate....
Greg Kennelty
Kvelertak -- Splid February 14th, 2020 Kvelertak has entered the next phase of their career, now being helmed by vocalist Ivar Nikolaisen in the absence of the owl-headed Erlend Hjelvik. Kvelertak seems to have taken a more punk approach to their music, replacing tongue-in-cheek retro rock anthems with more impactful and serious riff-fests that basically force you out of your seat. Admittedly, Kvelertak's music has always been on the cusp of interesting for me without ever getting there. Splid changes that. This is the record I simply cannot stop blasting in the car, the one that puts their guitar harmonies, riffs, structures, and basically everything they do in a new (and more appealing) light. https://youtu.be/VTgGTLys078...
Tom Campagna
Psychotic Waltz -- The God-Shaped Void February 14th, 2020 Long-dormant Californian progressive metallers Psychotic Waltz just released The God-Shaped Void, their first album in nearly 24 years. My progressive metal tastes were shaped by the likes of Queensryche, Fates Warning, and King’s X, although I cannot say I knew very much about Psychotic Waltz prior to this listen. This album is all about is classic, late-1980s progressive metal akin to the bands previously mentioned, featuring moving instrumental passages and expertly written lyrics: “Past the fringe of your perception (we are waiting), Just beyond your reach (how long we've been waiting)” acts as the chorus on album opener "Devils and Angels." This could be mirroring the fanbase’s feelings, which, while mostly European in their heyday, has become more vocal in their home country too. This is a meticulously crafted and well-executed album no matter your locale, and a solid jumping-off point for new fans as well. https://youtu.be/O6Heqhw0Z1o...
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Mourning for Lost Futures with WuW’s “En Souvenir Des Jours Que Nous N’Aurons Pas Vécus” (Song Premiere)
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The past is a certain thing; the future, less so. Even the most predictable chain of events could be led astray by the smallest of changes -- butterfly wings, hurricanes, and all that. Mice and men both make schemes, but many will never be realized: there are days that we can conceive of that we'll never live. That -- or something close to it -- is what the French multi-instrumental duo WuW writes about in their song "En Souvenir Des Jours Que Nous N’Aurons Pas Vécus." It's the fourth track on their upcoming album Rétablir L’Eternité and even features Yakuza saxophone master Bruce Lamont -- check it out in an exclusive stream below....
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Two things initially drew me to this release -- for one, WuW is the creation of two brothers, and as someone in a band with their twin, I'm always curious about family-driven groups. Secondly, Lamont, who guests on this song, participates and features in a bafflingly large amount of other musical endeavors from our hometown of Chicago and elsewhere -- from the time I saw him open for Stinking Lizaveta solo (to an infuriatingly small crowd) to any of his hall-packing Yakuza gigs, he's a reliable indicator of something worth paying attention to. Unsurprisingly, WuW fits into this categorization as well. This band creates cinematic progressive music that blows minds but still sticks around afterward. Any of the layers of Rétablir L’Eternité are solid enough on their own, and generally rather ear-wormy, but when interlaced and presented as a whole, the result is nearly overwhelming. It feels like the duo is stacking genres and moods atop one another to find the optimal superposition -- so, in "En Souvenir Des Jours Que Nous N’Aurons Pas Vécus," you'll hear a rock-driven rhythmic motif, developed following an initial saxophone-led lament. Then, after establishing an uneasy harmony with Lamont's downcast melodies, that same pattern eventually collides with tremolo-picked, neoclassical guitar lines. Weird, but in a good way. Each of the five tracks on Rétablir L’Eternité holds something unexpected -- a characteristic both unintentional and yet purposeful, as WuW practices an unconscious, improvisational songwriting approach. What the process yields is unconventional, dynamic compositions that maintain subliminal consistency despite frequently jumping between dissimilar memorable passages. Intrigued by this and entranced by the music, I exchanged some questions and answers with the group -- check out more details on their writing process, as well as creating music with siblings and intercontinental collaboration, below....
[caption id="attachment_69173" align="alignnone" width="630"] Brian Ravaux[/caption]...
One thing about WuW that caught my attention is that you're brothers -- how has writing music with a family member shaped your songwriting process? Actually, we have always played music together. As far as we can remember, we played music together at music school or in our bedroom, when we were teenagers, learning to play guitar and drums by ourselves. Playing songs from our favorite bands or composing our first songs. So it is very natural for us to play, and to compose together. And there're no ego issues between us. We have total confidence and respect for each other's point of view, even if we sometimes disagree, of course. So, it's not very funny or spectacular to tell, but it's the total opposite to "Some Kind Of Monster." As a fraternal twin myself, I have to ask a follow-up question: given that you're both multi-instrumentalists, do you ever fight about who gets to play what? Haha! No! We both have our preferences and instruments we are more comfortable with. So 99% of the time, Benjamin plays drums, Guillaume plays guitars and bass, and we share the keyboards parts (I would say depending on who had the idea)... once again, things are very easy and natural between us. I can't really pin it down, but Rétablir L’Eternité feels a bit different to me than your last album -- more instruments in play or different textures, perhaps. Did you go into writing it with any ideas on what you wanted to do differently, or was it more of a continuous process after you finished the last album? It was definitely a continuous process. I can't precisely remember, but I would say we composed the first track for the second album (which is also the first on the track listing) just after we finished mixing "Rien Ne Nous Sera Epargné." So probably about the same time that we signed the contract with Prosthetic Records for the first album. And we feel the same as you about the album, even if we can’t put it into words either. I would say each component is more assertive: it's heavier, more "metal," more ambient... all at the same time. Probably the main difference is that we did let each part of the music evolve and develop more than on the first album. Your writing process for Rétablir L’Eternité has been described as "unconscious," sort of an instinctive approach. Could you explain how that works in practice, and what made it the right approach to you? It is the logical continuation of the previous answer. When we start a new track, we have absolutely no idea what it will sound like, what kind of atmosphere we will develop or what kind of structure will emerge. We always start with one or two short ideas, three at max. In a way, we try to let the music go and find its own path. And the good thing is, even we are surprised by the results. I like to think that in a certain way, things have their own existence and we are just some kind of catalyst or developer, like the bath analogy in photography laboratories in which images slowly appear. Maybe one day we will change our composition process but for now it works this way. There are some interesting collaborators involved in this upcoming album: saxophonist Bruce Lamont, who appears on the track we're premiering, and the vocals of Sam Kün (Welcome-X). How did you forge these relationships, and what made these collaborations a good fit for the record? Sam has been a friend for a long time, we’ve known each other for more than ten years. He has a very large vocal range, from high notes and melodic singing to screams and growls. And that was exactly what we needed. We knew precisely what we wanted and he perfectly understood so the recording of his parts was very quick and easy. With Bruce, it was much more improbable but also very easy and comfortable. We knew we wanted a different musical color for this song and a baritone-saxophone appeared to be an ideal fit to blend into our music and sound. We composed the track with that idea and tried to leave enough space for another part. But we didn’t know any baritone saxophonists personally. Of course we had Bruce’s name in mind because he is one of the most famous (if not the most) in our musical genre and we love his work. Prosthetic Records released Yakuza’s albums in the past so we thought, "Okay, let’s try this channel! We have nothing to lose anyway!" And it worked. He was very effective and available. We gave him very few instructions so he could play what he wanted and felt, the way he felt it. And the result is beyond our expectations! Speaking of the premiere, the track is titled "En Souvenir Des Jours Que Nous N’Aurons Pas Vécus," which roughly translates to "In Memory of the Days That We Have Not Lived." Just like the song, it's mournful, but elusive -- what inspired the song, and does the title have a specific meaning for you? I would say "In Memory of the Days That We Will Not Have Lived," which is not any clearer, I do agree! As I said, we did not compose the tracks with any preconceived ideas or intentions. And the titles always come in a second time. There’s no secret meaning or key. On the contrary, I often find questions more instructive and enriching than answers. I just try to find unusual combinations of words or sentences, not too strange or too weird, but something that makes me think and consider things slightly differently. Here precisely, it’s about loss and mourning, past ones and future ones, and how to live as peaceful as possible with this. One of the most common and old feelings in the world!...
Rétablir L’Eternité releases March 27th via Prosthetic Records. [caption id="attachment_69172" align="alignnone" width="630"] Photo Credit: Brian Ravaux[/caption]...
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In Search of Black Metal’s Quintessence in Häxanu’s “Materia Prima” (Featuring a Member of Chaos Moon)
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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: black metal is the music of atmosphere, but as a result. Atmosphere, the room-filling magic which the genre exudes, is merely a by-product of black metal's essence. Said essence, however, is that of teeth-gnashing aggression, and none can more perfectly embody this duality than Alex Poole's latest project, Häxanu. Listen to an exclusive premiere of "Materia Prima" from the band's debut album Snare of All Salvation below....
https://youtu.be/SUv6QIykQVU...
Snare of All Salvation balances itself on a razor's edge, bringing duality into a monist reality: atmosphere is aggression, hostility is ambiance. Poole's mastery of black metal precedes him, with his work in Chaos Moon, Ringarë, Gardsghastr, and more acting as part of a greater thesis on the genre, and Häxanu's more vitriolic approach is yet another strong point made within Poole's oeuvre. Compared to his other works, Häxanu presents itself as a more bellicose cousin to its creator's other works -- a faster, sharper manifestation of Poole's creativity -- and yet Snare of All Salvation still nestles itself comfortably within his greater discography....
Snare of All Salvation releases April 1st via Amor Fati Productions. Häxanu does not use social media....
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Inescapable Horror Under Beggar’s “Blood Moon” (Song Premiere)
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Beggar are a band that knows how to make an entrance. Their debut record Compelled to Repeat begins with a two-chord haymaker combo that, just as you’re beginning to regain your footing, goes all-in with a thorough bludgeoning of the mind and spirit. Hold your own against Beggar’s uncompromising battery, if you can, with our exclusive premiere of the album opener “Blood Moon” below....
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It’s no coincidence that Beggar chose to initiate Compelled to Repeat, their first full-length album after an impressive string of EPs reaching back to 2013, with a song that contains a taste of nearly every bladed and blunt instrument in their toolbag. “It’s got a bit of everything -- a big stomping groove, passages that are a little bit psych, passages that grind,” says vocalist and bassist Charlie Davis. “We wanted to combine some downtuned swagger with some really extreme harshness, so in a way, it’s a statement of intent for the rest of the record.” That big stomping groove, which wouldn’t feel at all out of place in a Clutch song if they’d first been thrown headlong through a portal to hell, comes from guitarist and backing vocalist Jake Leyland. He wrote it “off the back of a fairly dark experience he had in Bangui,” says Davis, offering no further explanation as to what that experience contained. But given the sheer heft of this monstrous riff I’m content to speculate in lieu of hard details. “Blood Moon” is also an apt primer on what Beggar can bring to the table vocally. The first voice heard on the record is a blackened howl, which about-faces into a passage of cave-diving lows before reaching back up into the upper register for the song’s proper first verse. Then, a riveting, all-pretense-aside full-throated battle cry rings out, creating in the midst of all this carnage the song’s most visceral and disturbing moment, simply by the force of its primal sincerity. These vocal transitions are a reflection of the dual lyrical themes in the song. “It’s a song about transformation and alteration of the self, about constant, unbridled consumption of media and about the way in which our interaction with other people elides with our interaction with technology,” he explains. “At the same time, it’s also about berserk, cannibalistic bloodlust.” At no point in the song does the latter theme emerge quite so violently as it does in the surprise ending -- you’ll know it when it eviscerates you. When crafting the lyrics for “Blood Moon,” Davis found himself reaching to a variety of literary references -- Ligotti’s nihilistic gothic horror as well as Deleuze and Guattari to inform his sense of where our society might be heading. “Used in this context, [the work of these authors] creates a grim kind of futurism that brings out how scary today’s creep in advertising or technology or faceless hyper-capitalism can seem,” explains Davis. With personal privacy a fleeting remnant of a pre-digital past and digital fingerprinting and data mining increasingly standard as practice, Beggar struggle to keep a torch lit for clarity of the self. “Blood Moon” sets the opening themes for Compelled to Repeat as Davis and his bandmates ring out their warning loud and clear: “It’s a horror story about becoming something other than yourself, about the processes through which a person can become a monster.”...
Compelled to Repeat releases on vinyl, CD, and digital on April 3 via APF Records....
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Psychedelic Black Metal Mania on Black Vice’s “Emergence”
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Texans Black Vice are a psychedelic black metal nightmare. Taking the tenets of riff-driven mania and imbuing it with an atmospheric, tentacular bent, this four-piece's take on the tried and true genre takes "atmosphere" and replaces it with monochromatic incubus. This swirling, blasting, melodic form of black metal is familiar, but at the same time feels alien and new. Following a smattering of EPs, demos, and a split with Haunter, we find Black Vice truly coming into their own with this new release. Listen to an exclusive premiere of "Emergence" from their debut album The Alchemist's Vision below....
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The Alchemist's Vision releases March 27th on Crown & Throne Ltd.. Follow Black Vice on Facebook and Bandcamp....
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Photo Gallery: Cult of Luna + Emma Ruth Rundle + Intronaut @ Chicago’s House of Blues
Photography by Zak Kiernan
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Support Invisible Oranges on Patreon and check out our merch....
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Gorguts is still on tour. Dates are as follows.
10/14 Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theatre
10/15 Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
10/16 Portland, OR @ The Raven
10/19 San Francisco, CA @ DNA Lounge
10/20 W. Hollywood, CA @ The Roxy Theatre
10/21 San Diego, CA @ Brick By Brick
10/22 Mesa, AZ @ Club Red Mesa
10/24 Fort Worth, TX @ The Rail Club
10/25 Austin, TX @ Dirty Dog Bar
10/26 New Orleans, LA @ Siberia
10/27 Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
10/28 Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
10/29 Philadelphia, PA @ Voltage Lounge
10/30 New York, NY @ (le) poisson rouge
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