Lamb of God, Clutch & Corrosion of Conformity Live at NOLA's Orpheum

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Images & Words, the breakthrough sophomore release from long-running progressive metal act Dream Theater, turns 25 today. For a certain percentage of incoming Berklee College Of Music students it’s practically the bible. For another percentage of metalheads it’s unlistenable cornball dreck. It’s at once an undeniable part of metal history, a foundational influence on more prog metal bands than we have time to list, and a stylistic outlier. I can’t think of a better way to breakdown the record’s legacy then in a needlessly complicated article that changes structure halfway through. Here are five and eight thoughts on Dream Theater’s most essential release. 1 - Before we dig too much deeper, let’s get this out of the way: this snare drum sound is ridiculous. No drum actually sounds like this, in any room, anywhere on earth. It’s what a political cartoon about 80s production would sound like. The drum mix on Images & Words represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what drummer Mike Portnoy does. This gated reverb effect is great for wide open mid tempo grooves and awful for fancy, high speed fills. Guess what Mike Portnoy happens to do a lot of on this record. Any time he starts pushing against the rest of the band, that soggy snare sound crowds out everything else in the arrangement. The remixes of “Pull Me Under”, “Another Day”, & “Take The Time” that show up on Greatest Hit, Dream Theater’s uncharacteristically self-aware Best Of compilation, solve the problem by replacing the enormous 80’s snare with a much less conspicuous thwack. Of course, the remixes also suffer from severe mid-00s over compression and sound dry as hell compared to the magic sparkle of the original mix, but hey, can’t win ‘em all. 2 - James LaBrie is the Penny Hardaway of metal vocalists. Whether or not you happen to be a fan of the tone his vocals, on a purely technical level his performance on Images & Words is nuts. The climb at the end of “Learning To Live” and the high-flying second verse of “Take The Time” are feats of vocal acrobatics that Charlie Dominici, the vocalist on Dream Theater’s debut, simply wasn’t capable of pulling off. Dominici was a fine singer, mind you, clear as a bell and charming in the way a lot of 80’s prog metal vocalists were, but Dream Theater don’t care about charming. They care about perfection, and for a short time LaBrie was able to give that to them until a bad case of food poisoning wrecked his throat. Since then we’ve been treated to a decade plus of bad Dave Mustaine impressions and less than successful attempts to reach his former glory. Penny Hardaway will always have the ‘95 Finals before his knees gave out, and LaBrie will always have that Napalm Death shirt.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mipc-JxrhRk

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3 - “Pull Me Under” is such a strange fucking fluke of a hit. Well, “hit” is being charitable. The song peaked on the rock charts in 1992 at no.10. That’s nothing to sneeze at, especially for a band whose music is so antithetical to radio play, but let’s not act like “Pull Me Under” was some kind of “song of the summer” world beater. Sometimes I wonder if “Pull Me Under”’s modest success was the worst thing that could have happened to Dream Theater. It may have opened the doors to a long career, but it also gave the band’s label expectations for future chart success that they had no chance of reaching. If there’s no “Pull Me Under” then maybe there’s no “You Not Me”. 4 - Well, maybe. After the fairly straight ahead blend of progressive rock and melodic heavy metal on When Day And Dream Unite, Images & Words began the time honored tradition of Dream Theater adjusting to the sounds of popular music several years too late. Smooth jazz saxophone on “Another Day”, faux-U2 guitar leads on “Surrounded”, a stiff necked attempt at funk rock on “Take The Time”. Listening back to those songs now, those bits sound like earnest miscalculations (except for the “Surrounded” lead. That shit rules), the same kind that would lead the band to ape Muse and Evanescence a decade later. 5 - The album is secretly saved by not having “Change Of Seasons” on it. The side-long epic was originally conceived as the closing track to Images & Words, because why hold back? Simple. Every single Dream Theater album after this one is too long by a solid 15 minutes at least. “Change Of Seasons” rules, but would have been overkill after “Learning To Live”. By separating the two, “Change Of Seasons” gets to be a terrific standalone song, and Images & Words stays under an hour.

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[caption id="attachment_56322" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Did Dream Theater accidentally invent vaporwave?[/caption]

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1 - Images & Words is an albatross for Dream Theater. As the purest representation of their sound, each successive release gets compared to it. It’s the template, and anything that varies that template by going heavier (Awake, Train of Thought) proggier (Scenes From A Memory) or poppier (Falling Into Infinity, Octavarium) will upset some portion of Dream Theater fans. Even when the band get as close as humanly possible to recreating the magic of Images & Words, like they did on 2011’s A Dramatic Turn Of Events, their fans end up doing shit like this. 2. A big reason that Images & Words remains in such esteem for Dream Theater fans is it’s high concentration of irreplicable circumstances and creative roads which the band would rarely travel down again. The slightest differences here take on a mythic quality. For example, “Learning To Live” would be a classic Dream Theater song even without bassist John Myung’s roaming lyrical style, but his lack of contributions after the early phase of the band’s career gives it an extra sheen of novelty. It’s the wrong detail to focus on, but it served as useful shorthand for fans wishing that the band could get two bottles full of lightning. 3. John Petrucci’s lyrics are another story. Petrucci has done a terrific job of demystifying himself since 1992. Not that he was some great wordsmith on this record, “Under A Glass Moon” is pure fanciful gobbledygook. However, gobbledygook is vastly preferable to the kind of boneheaded literalism that led Petrucci to write songs like “The Count Of Tuscany”. Not just because Petrucci’s modern approach to lyrics is clunky and unmusical, but because fanciful gobbledygook is EXACTLY what Dream Theater’s music sounds like. I have no idea what “Bathing your soul in silver tears/Beneath a blackened summer sky” means, but I know it’s a perfect fit to Petrucci’s liquid metal lead tone.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5sg8heGdyk

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4. I just want to briefly note that Petrucci’s signature Ibanez guitar, the one he used before switching to Music Man, bears an eerie resemblence to both Kevin Durant’s 2016 all star shoe and Dakis Joannou’s yacht The Guilty, designed by Jeff Koons. Clearly this is some illuminati shit. 5. Ok, one last thought about Petrucci and then we’ll move on. Part of what makes Petrucci’s playing so brilliant here is how he synthesizes two unrelated styles into something recognizably his own. In the simplest terms, he’s part Alex Lifeson part James Hetfield, but would never be confused with either for a second. What people tend to notice first is his absolutely absurd lead playing, but the way Petrucci manages his rhythm is far more fascinating. In a band where keys are mostly ornamental, bass guitar largely timbral, and where drums play against the pulse of the music just as often as they establish that pulse, Petrucci’s rhythm playing is the anchor. 6. Petrucci would later find a worthy sparring partner in Jordan Rudess, the band’s current Juilliard trained keyboardist, but on Images & Words the ivories were handled by Kevin Moore. Moore is another mythic element in the first act of Dream Theater’s career. Because he left the band prior to the uninspired Falling Into Infinity, it’s easy to see him as a missing ingredient which keeps the band from recapturing their glory days. This is a little unfair to Rudess, who can write some very stirring piano parts when he’s not trapped in clown town, but it is difficult to image Dream Theater pulling off something as simple and plainly human as “Waiting For Sleep” without Moore in their ranks. 7. There’s a case to be made that “Surrounded” stands alone in the Dream Theater discography. It has hardly any metal in it at all, but it isn’t a ballad or a conventional pop song either. The song isn’t up front about its technicality, almost all of the time manipulation happens under the hood of an effortless vocal melody. “Surrounded” is about as close as Dream Theater have ever come to being a pure progressive rock act, but it isn’t a pastiche of the genre’s classics either. Even stranger, they’ve almost never tried to tap into the bubbly major key vibe that makes up the bulk of this track without consciously aping another style as well. 8. Here is a chicken and egg question about “Metropolis Part One: The Miracle And The Sleeper”: Is it the most essential Dream Theater song because it sums up everything you need to know about the band, or did Dream Theater mold the rest of their catalog after it because they knew they had written their signature song? Clearly they know how integral it is to their body of work since they routinely close with it live and devoted an entire album (Scenes From A Memory in 1999) to paying off its motives. But what sets “Metropolis” apart from the countless songs that follow followed in it’s wake? Why is this particular instrumental freak out so much more fun? I don’t think the answer is necessarily in the composition itself, at least not on a theoretical level. The key difference is that on Images & Words Dream Theater were still probing for the limits of their abilities. “Metropolis” is the product of five musicians learning just how far they could push each other. The song is overflowing with the joy of creation, not replication. You can’t reverse engineer that discovery. You can only learn to fly once, and here Dream Theater soared.

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https://open.spotify.com/album/2QgGoL5VSQhPHudTObS7zK

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The analytics inform me that very few Invisible Oranges readers are from Michigan, and ergo very very few are from Detroit. Assuming that these numbers about hold true across the metal internet (and why wouldn’t they?) it’s understandable that people’s jaws may not drop at the mere existence of Temple of Void. The band is a murderer’s row of Detroit scene veterans. Singer Mike Erdody, also of Acid Witch and Harbinger, formerly of Borrowed Time, is by himself one of the most stacked musicians I can think of. Rhythm, lead, growl, sing, homeboy does all of it. That kind of pedigree marbles the whole band. Don Durr, the guitarist, is a veritable encyclopedia of riffs—and he’s the new guy. The outfit’s upcoming album, Lords of Death goes a fair bit to undermine the death-doom tag the band’s been saddled with before. Really, we need an agreed-upon descriptor for growling and chunky riffs played at a comfortable midtempo, still with rolling double bass below it. That’s Temple of Void’s new idiom, and it works for them. Determined, that’s the word. Each riff, each piece of each song feels necessary and distinct, “Graven Desires” especially so. The song comes at near the end of the album, and the near choral clean singing that closes it out gives the whole affair an air of the epic. Of course Shadow Kingdom records is putting it out (on July 28 FWIW)

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Heinali and Matt Finney as an artistic unit was dead. Five years gone. It sucked, watching a collaboration of such promise collapse under its own emotional weight following the loss of a label. Such a waste of potential, but not even death could keep the duo of Oleg "Heinali" Shpudeiko and Matt Finney from creating music. It should be said that How We Lived is a different face to Heinali and Matt Finney. I suppose change comes with years of stasis, addiction, and withdrawal, and this new era moves with the sluggishness and haze of first waking up. "Relationship Goals", across its nine minutes, echoes that stasis, rooting itself in a thick, dark drone, which slowly opens and fills itself with the warmth of life. Similarly creaking and listlessly moving is Matt Finney, whose Faulknerian prose is at its bleakest, both in substance and performance. This is the sound of betrayal, disappointment, and self-loathing, but lost in the emptiness of uncertainty. A far cry from the "doomgaze" of Ain't No Night (2011, Paradigms), Heinali and Matt Finney have effectively shifted their focus from the "doom" half of their self-imposed tag, instead both gazing at their feet in despondency. How We Lived will be released on The Flenser on August 11th. Read an in-depth, emotional interview with Matt Finney and listen to "Relationship Goals" below.

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Given the tumultuous end of Heinali & Matt Finney phase one, what ultimately brought you and Oleg [Shpudeiko aka Heinali] back together? Mostly just missing working with Heinali, really. Oleg's become such a close friend of mine and he knows more about me than my family does. Not really speaking to him for years, giving up writing completely... I forgot how big a part of my life our project was. It's the one thing I'm most proud of and I was dying to get back to that. I hated that I left him hanging. Scrapping out last album and all of the drama with that... I wanted to come back and make the best thing we possibly could. Kinda to show up the person that left us high and dry by not putting it out but also to kinda make everything else we've done look terrible by comparison. I'm just glad Oleg wanted to join me again. I do recall the difficult situation which led to the end of Oleg's and your work together, but I guess it never really occurred to me just how deeply it hurt you. Scrapping a whole album (the now-lost On Mercy's Shore) comes off as reckless and emotional, especially with the amount of work which goes into it. Why abandon it entirely? Does On Mercy's Shore exist in any vaulted form? It felt mostly like being betrayed by a friend. That's what hurt the most. We worked our asses off on it and to have the person that was gonna put it out just toss it away like garbage... I don't think I've been that mad about anything in my life. He was someone I trusted and admired. It was the final straw on top of a lot of things during those 5-6 years. We talked about finishing it but the spark was gone completely for me. I wasn't proud of it anymore. All I could think about was this guy leaving us out in the cold. I still get livid thinking about it. I'm not sure if Oleg has the demos that we did for it. The computer that I had everything on died a while back. I tried combing through my email archives but I think it's lost to the world. Being lost seems to be a wider focus on How We Lived, especially in the "voice" you used. I had gotten used to your Faulknerian depictions of the grotesque and beautiful things you had seen in the American South, but this new material is much more inward and self-loathing. I understand you went through your own period of darkness and self-destruction after being dropped from your former label - do you feel this overtly changed the way you viewed your work with Oleg? Or was it an unintentional shift you sort of "went with"? It was a bit of both, probably. With everything that was going on I couldn't help but focus it all on our journey. It didn't really seem important to talk about the South or really talk politics like I occasionally did. I was hurting and coming off of drugs and I stopped drinking. I think that probably affected the way I talked. It's a lot rougher. I talk slower now for some damn reason. Being lost is definitely the theme. Years I can't get back that were wasted almost tearing myself apart. Our work together was always about catharsis. I think he had a lot of pent up demons and things he wanted to explore with our music as well. We kinda welded those together here and put them on display. There is a detachment in your writing and spoken delivery. Does that sort of approach - viewing yourself from the outside - help with the coping and catharsis? I think it does. A lot of black humor in there as well. I mean, the album opens up with a fight in a Target parking lot. It probably doesn't sound all of that funny when you're listening to it while Oleg's slow brooding music is coming through but yeah. Looking at that time and approaching who I was then from a distance. Looking at everything from a distance. It helps. I'm glad I'm not who I was when I wrote these anymore. So you'd say How We Lived could retroactively be about your own evolution since that time, as well? Absolutely. We were both kinda obsessed with the passage of time. This album filled in the blanks. The missing years. That's why the songs are all so long and exhausting and intense. We wanted it to feel like time rolling over people. The more abstract approach - more droning and with an emphasis on the "-gaze" half of your self-appointed "doomgaze" tag - speaks to the "filling in the blanks" theme. Like you're trying to figure out what happened based on hazy memories. That's exactly it. Everything put under this sepia toned lens. Is there much you remember from that period of time? You were like a ghost, at least from my perspective. Completely dropped off the map. I remember sitting in a park on my birthday when my girlfriend of 3-4 years told me that if we hadn't lost our child she would've taken it and moved to North Carolina. She knew I wasn't happy, she knew I wasn't ready to be a father. That was my birthday present that year. I remember getting the call that my dad died. They found him 2 weeks after he died. I remember being scared as hell that I was gonna end up like him. I was already well on my way. Retreating into myself. Abusing whatever I could get my hands on. I was living like a ghost. Living in this trailer that I couldn't believe was still standing. I'd go to work, get drunk, get high, barely eat. Get up and repeat the whole thing over and over. I imagine pulling yourself from that was hard, if that word could really do it justice. I'm lucky I did. I remember my mom coming over and hugging me and sobbing. Getting her tears all over my shirt. Holding onto the person who barely looked like her son. I've never seen her like that. Telling me she didn't want me to kill myself. It was a wake up call really. I'm ashamed of everything from back then. Have you found your way back? Slowly but surely, man. I'm making an effort! What is next for the rejuvenating Matt Finney? I feel better than I have in years. Getting this album finished, releasing something on The Flenser (still not quite sure this isn't a dream or an elaborate prank from somebody), already starting work on the next album with Oleg. Just staying busy, That's when I'm at my best. I can't handle free time, obviously. I'm hoping for the best for you, man. It's good to see you active and positive again. Thanks brother. It means a ton.

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About the album:

"Heinali and Matt Finney are a transcontinental avant-garde electronic music project consisting of Ukranian composer Oleg Shpudeiko (Heinali) and Alabama-based spoken word poet Matt Finney. Their new album, How We Lived (their first for The Flenser), sees the duo return with their first release since 2011. Like their prior collaborations, Heinali provides a lush, foreboding soundtrack to Matt Finney's bleak narrations, but How We Lived demonstrates a more considered approach. The result is four long tracks which are denser and more cogent than anything they've released in the past. Matt Finney provides his most intimate and harrowing words to date, evoking the type anguish and enmity that only someone who has probed the depths of despair can. The duo first met online in 2010 and immediately began collaborating on their first EP. From there they established a prolific working relationship, recording and releasing a series of albums and EPs over the next two years. After the release of 2011's Ain't No Nighte, Matt Finney found himself in a bad place. A series of misfortunes, including familial illness, the death of his biological father, a miscarriage, and the failed release of their follow up album, drove him to drugs and alcohol. For the next two years he lived in a trailer as far away from society as he could get, where he languished in misery and rage. He gave up writing and human contact entirely. Eventually, his head cleared enough for him to realize how much his past work with Heinali had helped him deal with life's seemingly endless disappointments, and he emerged from his self-imposed exile eager to feel that catharsis again. The duo reconnected and began collaborating on new material. How We Lived is the result of those missing years."

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Follow Heinali & Matt Finney on Facebook and Bandcamp.

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[caption id="attachment_56473" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Sortilegia by Abi En[/caption]

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The Covenant Festival began in 2015 as an extension of the organiser’s black/death vinyl nights. The first edition, while commanding an impressive line-up, consisted of mostly bands from the region while the second event branched out further by bringing a number of more higher profile acts from overseas. For the third iteration, Covenant architect Sebastian Montesi - of Auroch and Mitochondrion – and his circle of conspirators curated a bloody, pestilent feast for fans of extreme black and death metal, drawing those near and far for the event. The first night took place at the Red Room, normally a dance club but host to the odd metal show. In terms of volume it was a softer start, with only five acts on the bill, merciful for the Thursday night crowd. Musically speaking, however, it was anything but. Randall Collier Ford introduced proceedings with a brief electronic set before giving way to Vancouver’s Ceremonial Bloodbath. It was the first time I’d had a chance to catch them and after hearing their Command Sacrifice demo. They did not disappoint. With members from Ahna and Haggatha, their slow, crushing riffs welcomed attendees to the weekend in devastating fashion.

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Another stalwart local band, Firecult, was up next. One of the most reliable black metal bands in the city, their sound is fairly orthodox – they were the only black metal band in a weekend chock full of them to don corpse paint – but they do it very well and always put on an excellent show.

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Edmonton’s Phylactery followed; a pretty straightforward death metal power trio that featured some wonderfully vile vocals from drummer Kevin Trueblood, also of Dire Omen. Though their forthcoming debut Necromancy Enthroned will certainly be on my radar when it drops this summer, I was mostly just anticipating Blood Incantation by the time their set wrapped up.

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Blood Incantation was the only band of the weekend with the distinction of having also appeared at last year’s festival. The 2016 rendition was an opening slot and preceded the release of their highly acclaimed debut album Starspawn, so to see them return for a longer set this year was deeply satisfying. It began like nearly every other set that weekend, with a plea to the soundman for max reverb on the vocals, and then the Red Room was launched through the star-gate. Besides being a total riff factory, full of frenetic energy and blistering solos, they also brandished a fantastically nerdy sense of humour. Delivered in a deadpan monotone, questions like “How do you guys feel about Kurt Russell?” and “What’s really going on in Antarctica?” delighted the heshers up front. I would be more than happy to see them back every year.

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Night two was a much earlier start, and the first of two nights at The Rickshaw Theatre. Nestled in the heart of Vancouver’s notorious downtown eastside, the Rickshaw - and surrounding venues like the Astoria – is the host of most metal shows in the city. Bigger name tours may land on the touristy Granville strip once in awhile, but the bulk of them take place there, in one of the poorest zip codes in North America. It is a familiar area to most local metalheads and the sights of the city’s destitute is unfortunately commonplace, so it is always interesting when bands roll through town to note their reactions to it. As with the previous night, and the one to follow, a set of dark-ambient electronic music kicked things off - this time by Vancouver’s own Kanashibari. The subtlety of said ambiance was reduced to ashes once Amphisbaena took the stage for what was apparently their first ever performance. I was only vaguely familiar with them beforehand – made up of members of Antediluvian and Rites of thy Degringolade with an EP to their name - but they were absolutely ferocious. Timothy Grieco, the intimidating figure who can be seen most publicly as the touring bassist and barker for Revenge, was on vocal duties and gave a legitimately creepy performance. Stalking the stage adorned in rags and a disturbing paper mache-looking mask, his otherworldly growls and shrieks coupled with the bludgeoning force of the music to make a memorable chaotic cocktail.

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Portland’s Shroud of the Heretic was next. After having to cancel their performance from last year’s festival I was looking forward to finally seeing them. Unfortunately it seemed their set was marred by sound issues. At first it was just the drums that needed to be turned up, but for most of the set the band kept looking at one another as if they could not hear each other. Perhaps it was their intention, but they produced a wall of sound so impenetrable that I could hardly tell what was going on.

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To further drive home the perplexing nature of their sound issues, Phoenix AZ’s Harvest Gulgaltha followed with a set that was crystal clear; or as clear as death metal can be. Even the lyrics were intelligible! Their set was tailor made head banging material: doom-laden riffs and double kicks interspersed with precise blasts. However, it was still on the earlier side for a Friday night and the crowd was fairly sparse, though that would not last much longer. As more attendees drifted in, they poked through the tables from vendors like Cavity Curiosity and Kaos Kult, checking out pendants, drinking horns, animal skulls, occult books, and other manner of esoteric souvenirs.

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By the time England’s Qrixkuor took the stage, masked and anonymous, the venue had filled out significantly. For the kind of music they play – cavernous, suffocating black/death metal with run-times of nearly 15 minutes per song – it wouldn’t have been shocking if things got a little monotonous, but Qrixkuor were riveting throughout. Long though the songs are, they were always dynamic and the band themselves put on an energetic performance.

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[caption id="attachment_56409" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Qrixkuor by Abi En[/caption]

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While it had all the intensity of the previous bands, Sortilegia’s performance was a much more introspective affair. All lights, save two that pointed to a projection of the band’s logo on either side of the stage, were turned off. The only other illumination came from a few candles on a makeshift altar at the front of the stage, also bearing several sticks of incense. Guitarist and vocalist Anastasia approached the altar in a black robe with her face covered in blood and the ritual began. It was a staggering set of tortured banshee howls, mournful shredding and lightning fast blast beats from drummer Cameron Warrack, who may as well have been a spectre in the shadows for all you could see in the hazy darkness. Anastasia swayed and wailed looking to be as lost in the music as the transfixed people in the crowd. Still, it was the final act of night that held my rapt attention most. Bolzer’s first appearance in Vancouver was a few years previous and their set felt much shorter than I would have hoped, so it was nice to see them back so soon. It was also incredibly fitting to have them as the centerpiece for the third Covenant Festival seeing as their last album HERO had such a focus on the mystical quality of trinities and the valknut in particular.

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Their performance was a primal rite bathed in dry ice; KzR’s growls and thunderous riffs and HzR’s martial drums urged the night on into oblivion. The sound was, thankfully, flawless and the band itself was as tight as ever. The set leaned heavily on HERO with much applauded appearances from Aura, the EP that essentially brought them to the world stage. The crowd was in its most frenzied state of the evening and I glanced over to see the fellows in Harvest Gulgaltha at the front of the stage going the craziest. It must have had some impact as Bolzer finished their set, bowing to the crowd, and after chants for more, returned stating “We never do this, so thank you” before playing an encore of “Zuess – Seducer of Hearts” from their Roman Acupuncture demo. The final day of Covenant saw things commence with the “Hangover” Vendors Market set up at the Black Lab, an all-ages DIY space across the street from the Rickshaw. Those who were feeling spry enough could venture there as early as noon and sip mimosas while they poked through the various records, shirts, and occult wares available.

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A cluster of bands were also on offer - Negative Vortex from Oakland, Victoria’s Human Agony and Vancouver’s own Ahna – to warm things up. At the last minute Blood Incantation also hopped on the bill for their second set of the weekend. Though it was tempting, I opted to instead to catch a few songs of depressive black metal from Edmonton’s Brulvanahtu in what may have been their first ever live show. Triumvir Foul followed with their brand of crust-infused OSDM in what turned out to be one of my favourite sets of the weekend. The Portland three piece’s dual vocal attack, filthy riffs, and galloping beats served as yet another lesson in making sure to catch the openers.

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Rites of Thy Degringolade was up next, and the excitement in the crowd was palpable. They had served as a headliner for the first edition of Covenant fest, and as the organizers themselves put it on their own facebook page “without them there would be no Covenant as it is”. Aside from a few quick mic issues for drummer/founding member Paulus Kressman, the band was front-to-back, rock solid. Kressman stood up from his kit at his great height announcing each song in stream-of-consciousness growls before unleashing the next invocation. All four members of the band took turns on vocals, at points becoming a cacophonous chorus of shrieks. They were incredibly tight and looked as if they’ve been playing together for years rather than a few isolated gigs since their resurrection in 2015. The only song they’ve released since reformation, called “The Universe in Three Parts”, made an appearance – perhaps another coincidental tribute to the third day of the third Covenant – and hopefully serves as indication of more great things to come. New Zealand’s Heresiarch arrived with a set of pummelling, straight ahead, Cro-Magnon death metal. The band stood nearly motionless for the duration of the set. Save for the odd raised fist, vocalist N.H. stood firmly planted, scowling at the audience as though he wanted to kill everyone in the room. It was intense in its own way, but served as a much needed break for myself. There was still much more to come.

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Necroholocaust began as you would expect them to: by adorning the stage in skulls and large goat pentagrams. After fourteen years of various festival appearances in other countries, they were bringing their brand of goat worship to a hometown show for the first time and there were clearly some die hards in the room. Vocalist/bassist David Nasz came out wearing an inverted-cross of Flava Flav proportions; you could have bludgeoned someone to death with it, and maybe that was the point. The bulk of the set was wall-to-wall blast beats and savage riffing, but there was the odd breakdown, to keep oneself from getting totally lost in the buzzing vortex of sound. Live guitarist/vocalist Kevin Smith (aka Peversor of Unholy Disorder), who plays in a slew of local bands including Chapel and Radioactive Vomit, shredded and snarled his way through the set, his demeanour always bordering on being totally unhinged. Before I knew it, he tossed an empty beer can into the crowd and the ritual was complete.

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The final act of the festival announced itself with an air-raid siren played over top of the timeless “Here is a man…” Taxi Driver monologue. It was the first headlining set for long running Edmonton war-metal-cult Revenge in our fair city, and it was abundantly clear from all the shirts in the room what band most people had come to see. It was my first time seeing them and I was eager to see legendary drummer and Revenge mastermind J. Read in action. The opening dirge of “Us and Them” kicked things off and from there until the end, the mass assembled at the Rickshaw were subjected to a torrent of vicious blasts, manic squealing solos and screams from vocalist/guitarist Vermin, and a barrage of disgusting growls from Grieco on bass. There was also, of course, the almost obligatory dedication to the old guard of Blasphemy, the members of who are always in attendance to witness bands of their flock. The sheer violence of Revenge’s songs is one thing on a set of headphones and quite another to be seen live. As a testament to their inspirations I glanced towards the pit to see the hulking guitarist from Heresiarch shirtless and arms aloft, stalking around the floor as if the animal was taking over. I noticed Anastasia of Sortilegia and the fellows in Bolzer nodding along, raising fists and drinks alike. It was a simple reminder of the sort of event that Covenant is: an intimate gathering of peers to celebrate death and underground extreme metal. It is not a case of “entertainers and entertained”; it is a place where, often, artist and fan are one and the same; where the bands playing are simply the events revolving around the community itself. For a festival filled to the brim with darkness and death, it was a paradoxically warm event with plenty of laughs amid old friends reuniting and new allegiances formed. May the Covenant reign upon us all again next year.

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[Editor's Note: An earlier version of the article attributed the photos to Milton Stille. The photos were taken by Abi En]

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Today Is The Day are currently on tour in honor of the 20th anniversary of their album Temple Of The Morning Star. In addition to the current leg of the tour, with Kayo Dot opening for them, they have just announced a second batch of dates in September. Invisible Oranges are proud to be co-presenters on this upcoming leg of the tour. Stream Temple Of The Morningstar below, and check out the remaining tour dates along with the newly announced ones.

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7/10 - Norfolk, VA - Charlie’s American Cafe 7/11 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 7/12 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade 7/13 - Houston, TX - Walters 7/14 - Baton Rouge, LA - Spanish Moon 7/15 - Dallas TX, - The Curtain Club 7/16 - Austin, TX - The Lost Well 7/19 - Phoeniz, AZ - Joe’s Grotto 7/20 - Upland, CA - Gideon’s Hall 7/21 - San Francisco, CA - The DNA Lounge 7/22 - Portland, OR - Tonic Lounge 7/23 - Seattle, WA - Highline 7/24 - Boise, ID - The Shredder 7/25 - Salt Lake City, UT - Club X 7/26 - Denver, CO - The Marquis Theater 7/27 - Kansas City, MO - The Riot Room 7/29 - Toronto, ON - Hard Luck 7/30 - Montreal, QC - L’Esco 9/2 - Amityville, NY - Amityville Music Hall 9/3 - Rochester, NY - Bugjar 9/5 - Ferndale, MI - The Loving Touch 9/6 - Chicago, IL - Reggie’s Music Joint 9/7 - Cudahy, WI - Club Garibaldi 9/8 - St. Paul, MN - Amsterdam Bar 9/9 - Rock Island, IL - Rock Island Brewing Co. 9/10 - St. Louis, MO - Fubar 9/11 - Little Rock, AR - Vino’s 9/12 - Memphis, TN - The Hi Tone 9/14 - Nashville, TN - The End 9/15 - Johnson City, TN - The Hideaway 9/16 - Dayton, OH - Rockstar Pro Arena 9/17 - Syracuse, NY - The Lost Horizon 9/19 - Orrington, ME - DJ’s Garage 9/20 - Portland, ME - Geno’s Rock Club

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[Editor's Note: This post was updated to include an additional show in Memphis.]

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I'm back, y'all. Here are the new metal releases for the week of June 25, 2017 – July 1, 2017. Release dates are formatted according to proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see the bulk of these records on shelves or distros on Friday unless otherwise noted or if labels and artists get impatient. Blurbs and designations are based on whether or not I have a lot to say about it. See something we missed? Goofs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging. As a little bit of a challenge, include your own opinion about anything you want to add. Make me want to listen to it! Please note: this is a review column and is not speculative. Any announced albums without preview material will not be covered. Additionally, any surprise releases which are uploaded or released after this column is published will be excluded.

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ANTICIPATED RELEASES

Jute Gyte - Oviri | Jeshimoth Entertainment | Avant-Garde Black Metal | United States From my premiere of the full album:

"Now with his own tables turned, new album Oviri takes the Jute Gyte school of black metal and transcribes it through a complicated array of proto-industrial soundscapes. Through the menagerie of drill sounds, treated kalimba, and typewriter sounds buried beneath muscular beats and distorted “beehive” microtonality, Kalmbach’s oeuvre remains challenging, difficult, and memorable. Or, at least, memorable in the way you might slightly remember a night terror. Listening to Jute Gyte’s homages to the oft-ignored scholarly music of the last 10century – the sound manipulations of Stockhausen, Oliveros, and Éloy – is difficult, and Oviri‘s own seventy-five minute journey will be pockmarked with your own pit stops and dedications to silence. However, Kalmbach’s vision remains as true as ever, and in so this difficulty becomes rewarding. This challenge to metal’s norm – a postmodern take on black metal – should be celebrated and used as fuel to move the genre forward. Romantic-era worship be damned."

Akatharsia - No Generation Without Corruption | Psychic Violence Records | Black Metal/Punk | United States Classic USBM - think a punky Judas Iscariot but with infinitely more crunch and Nick Blinko-influenced sleaze. Akatharsia's blistering harshness is everything we need to counteract the atmosphere worship generally associated with the Pacific Northwest. However, nothing will prepare you for the contemplative, droning "Adoration of the Void".

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OF NOTE

Boris - Dear | Sargent House | Various | Japan Boris's streak of musical perfection following Präparat continues. They might have spent a little too long doing the whole "random" thing (see: the Various tag), but the whole "deep, beautiful, shoegazing drone/doom" is definitely Boris's niche. Expulsion - Nightmare Future | Relapse Records | Grindcore | United States From Joseph's premiere "Comatose":

"This year, [Matt] Olivo returns with a new band, Expulsion comprised of former and current exhumed members Matt Harvey and Danny Walker (each hold too many projects under their belts to list) and Menno Verbaten, the completely insane bassist from Lightning Swords of Death who can play Van Halen’s “Eruption” on a four-string. On their debut EP, Nightmare Future, the band sound a whole lot like Motorhead writing a grindcore LP. The bass is thick, the riffs come first, and each brief piece of the record seems catchy as well as mosh-inducing."

Livid - Beneath This Shroud, The Earth Erodes | Prosthetic Records | Stoner/Doom Metal | United States From JJ Anselmi's premiere of "The Fire":

"Livid sounds like Sunn O))) if the drone troupe hired Swamp Thing as its drummer. As with the rest of Beneath this Shroud, the Earth Erodes, “The Fire” moves with the cruel indifference of a natural disaster, invoking a harsh state of hypnosis with its repetitive churn."

Totengott - Doppelgänger | Xtreem Music | Doom/Black/Thrash Metal | Spain From Joseph's premiere of the album in full:

"Enter Spain’s Totengott who, let’s be very honest, sound a hell of a lot like Celtic Frost-slash-Triptykon. I’m going to go ahead and say this is a good thing. Many bands sound sort-of like Celtic Frost (Goatwhore) or have covered Celtic Frost (Opeth). Very few bands actually make one sit up and say “Oh man, they even got Tom G. Warrior’s guitar tone right”. Totengott nail the guitar tone, the vocals, even the pacing of their debut album (It’s three songs long – as monolithic and Kubrickian as Triptykon’s “The Prolonging”). Is this kind of worship necessary? Yes. For as influential as this titanic death-doom sound is, there’s actually not that much of it. Totengott do it so damn well that their precise ability to embody that feeling is in and of itself an artistic triumph. Orson Welles would be proud. Normally this kind of abrupt and direct comparison could be seen as derogatory, not the kind of thing someone should do when trying to praise a band. Totengott, though, sort-of invite it. They even titled their record Doppelgänger."

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FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

Integrity - Howling, For The Nightmare Shall Consume | Relapse Records | Metalcore | United States At this point you should know what to expect from Integrity - the quintessence of muscular, angry, metallic hardcore, fronted with one of the genre's most intimidating (and controversial) vocalists. In this new age, Integrity concentrates on more atmospheric acrobatics, almost verging on Cave In psychedelia, but, at the same time, resembling the classic era of Trapped Under Ice's "tough guy" hardcore. Listening to this album in a sleeved shirt should be deemed illegal. Omahara - Omahara | Art As Catharsis | Post-Rock | Australia “Stalker”, Andrei Tarkovsky’s seminal sci-fi film from 1979, begins with a wordless sequence in which a man wakes up, quietly gets out of bed, puts on some pants, and leaves his family’s bed room. It takes four minutes. A more expedient director could probably knock this scene out in about 30 seconds, but Tarkovsky’s choice is a deliberate one. By spending so much time and care on such a simple set of actions, Tarkovsky is acclimating you to the pace of the film, readjusting your sense of time to match his. The scene also has a side effect of acting as a warning to anyone not on “Stalker”’s wavelength. Don’t bother if you aren’t patient. Omahara issue a similar warning at the start of their new record. The Tasmanian trio take their sweet time letting you know that they’re even present on the recording by letting a long slow drone do the talking for the much of the album’s 25 minute opener. Once they kick in with full force near the song’s end, it’s off to the races. A race between three tortoises on katrom, mind you, but a thrilling one nonetheless. Omahara aren’t big on variation, the four instrumental tracks on this record loop back over themselves countless times before moving on, each repetition one inch closer to revealing their music’s haunting core. The path to the center of the zone is a long one, but I couldn’t ask for a better guide.

-Ian Cory

Other Houses - Fortune Selector | Iron Pier | Powerpop | United States Other Houses sure has changed a lot since the first cassette of his I picked up...four years ago? Five? It's been a long time, however long. Now more closely resembling unplugged renditions of Nebraska-era Springsteen, Fortune Selector's catchy powerpop still nods toward Morgan Enos's slowcore roots, but in a much more self-referential sort of way. This is the kind of summery pickup I needed,

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FROM THE GRAVE

Planning for Burial - Matawan - Collected Works 2010-2014 | Flenser Records | Slowcore/Post-Rock/Doom Metal | United States The trail blazed between Thom Wasluck's three albums as Planning for Burial are bountiful and broad. Collecting a small library's worth of tapes, 7"s, CDrs, and a floppy disk (yes, that was a strange happening), the Matawan compilation connects the dots between the immensely differing Leaving and Desideratum and paints Wasluck in a much more creative, varied light. Sanguine Eagle - Individuation | Psychic Violence Records | Atmospheric Black Metal | United States All the fun of BlazeBirth Hall but with none of the sketch (I'm going to catch so much flak for that). A professional pressing of the long-since-sold-out House of First Light pressing, Sanguine Eagle's long-form, majestic black metal is both stately and obscure. If you aren't sold, maybe the Yellow Eyes, Ustalost, Imperial Trumpet, Vorde, and Hand of Glory ties will change your mind. I'm totally ordering this today.

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OTHER RELEASES

God Root - Salt and Rot | Horror Pain Gore Death | Sludge/Doom/Post-Metal | United States It's heavy, it's atmospheric, and it's imposing, but it isn't very memorable. There isn't anything inherently wrong with it, I just guess the "post-metal" ship has sailed. Vesicant - Shadows of Cleansing Iron | Iron Bonehead Productions | Black/Death Metal | New Zealand A band who wants to be Teitanblood so bad that they even copied their logo. This is shameless. Wren - Auburn Rule | Holy Roar Records | Stoner/Sludge Metal Everything you love about post-metal, but this time horrifically dark and terrifying. Execration - Return to the Void | Metal Blade Records | Death Metal | Norway I love Nocturnus, but it's cool to hear what is essentially Nocturnus with good production. Execration has always been a cool band, but this is definitely the best material from them yet. Dissonant, but not overwhelmingly so, and atmospheric, but still mildly direct in execution. Can deal.

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Sludge metal greats Bison -- or Bison B.C. -- are back with their first album in five years, the followup to 2012's Lovelessness. It's also their first for Pelagic and first with bassist Shane Clark, formerly of 3 Inches of Blood. These firsts give new life to Bison, which is exactly what guitarist/vocalist James Farwell says this album is about: "A story of a new life and escaping the city, while still being tethered to it." Bison make heavy, punishing music, but they really do sound alive and uplifting on You Are Not The Ocean You Are The Patient. There's a bit more a punk edge to this one than to Lovelessness. They sound faster, brighter, and more energized, and their dual-vocal shouts remain firmly rooted in hardcore -- "Anti War," for example, is closer to the latest Power Trip album than to the latest Baroness album. On "Kenopsia," they've got lead guitar that's nearly in Converge territory. Throughout the album, Bison aid their thick power chords with a handful of fiery classic-style guitar solos, and it's all captured with crisp-but-raw production courtesy of Jesse Gander (who's done several Bison releases, White Lung, Japandroids, and more). After an album of pure ferocity, they calm things down for the last song. It's a seven-minute, violin-fueled dose of Neurosis-style post-metal that really proves Bison are far from a one-trick pony on this LP. Stream the album in full here: -- This review was originally published in Five Notable Releases of the Week (7/7) on BrooklynVegan.

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Bloody Hammers are a weird band. Ostensibly a rock-metal hybrid, the outfit also incorporate a whole lot of industrial elements and horror film homages. That description probably makes people think of Rob Zombie, and to be fair band mastermind Anders Manga has a Zombie-ish sort of ambition. Under his own moniker, he composes soundtracks to horror movies that don’t exist. Also like Zombie, Manga frequently collaborates with his wife, Devallia, who contributes synthesizers to each song. Underneath the kitsch, though, Manga has more in common with horror rock pioneer Roky Erickson. Each possesses a unique voice, solid guitar chops and a talent for legit pop song structures. The band’s evolution has likewise been a little off-kilter. The second Bloody Hammers album, Under Satan’s Sun had a stoner metal trajectory to it, while last year’s Bloody Sort of Death doubled down on the industrial and pop elements. The Nine Inch Nails vibe took such hold that for a few weeks I privately investigated whether Manga was also behind my favorite—and highly recommended—underground industrial pop outfit in the US, The Ugly Façade (turns out he’s not). The new Bloody Hammers EP, The Horrific Case of Bloody Hammers, streaming below, isn’t the hard downshift that last year’s LP was. Instead, the gothic and industrial overtones still take precedence, but songs like “Gates of Hell“ bring more riffage into focus.

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Multi-instrumentalist Jenks Miller's various forays into metal all seem to exist in such a way. Horseback's own flirtations with various styles meet all the hallmarks - the blasting of "Thee Cult ov Henry Flynt" dissolves into psychedelic expanse, "Tyrant Symmetry"'s grooving haze grips onto black metal's harsh buzz, and even slowcore ballad "Blood Fountain"'s eventuality is an unexpected melt of avant-jazz drums. Miller's work exists in a strange grey area, uniquely fusing disparate elements of unrelated genres. Much like Horseback before it, Poison Blood's "black metal" isn't totally black metal. Yes, it blasts and grates, and, yes, it boasts Krieg's Neill Jameson's throat-rending gargle, but there's a lot more under the surface. Resting on a heavy foundation once led by Nick Blinko, Poison Blood's mid-paced stomp finds a middle ground between Marko Laiho's early, stumbling work as Beherit and the previously alluded Rudimentary Peni's psychotic, minimal punk. However strict and simple, Poison Blood appears to expand outward in a strange sort of mental psychedelia, however foreboding. So, yes, Poison Blood, can be considered "blackened" as much as it can find solace in the "punk" and "psychedelic" tag, but it's also not quite any of those. Yet again, Jenks Miller finds himself in the grey area to which he consistently holds dominion. Poison Blood's eponymous EP will be released August 11th on Relapse Records. Head below for an exclusive first listen of "Deformed Lights".

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From the artists:

"Neill sounds like he’s gargling blood on this track. The riffs here are a good example of what I was trying to do musically. I wanted to write riffs that were really catchy, with an almost sing-song quality to them. Obviously evil, but also whimsical, like a children’s song. The first track on the record (“The Scourge and the Gestalt,” which Relapse has already released on the web) is slower, a kind of doomy preamble before the record shifts into a higher gear for a few tracks. Production-wise I tried to steer clear of the cavernous sound of a lot of current “bestial” bands, because I wanted the riffs to stick. But this kind of music also needs a lo-fi grit. My all-time favorite metal record is probably The Lord Diabolus’ (pre-Beherit) Down There… demo. I was trying for the density of that recording, or what Beherit would achieve on Drawing Down the Moon, only with a bit more clarity."

-Jenks Miller

"Deformed Lights" was the song that truly cemented what my conceptual approach to the record would be. Something about it make me think of the desert at night, not in a stoner rock approach but more just how desolate, especially at night when it grows cold and the shadows hide their secrets. And as Americans it seems that much of the black metal scene here doesn't draw from this sort of inspiration, I guess because corpse paint melts in that kind of heat, but I was somehow drawn to it through what Jenks had written. On a simpler aesthetic level, this is the song out of any of the others on the record which seems to blend later period Rudimentary Peni and Beherit together the most while showing off the kind of guitar layering that you can find in Jenks' other work. I can't really speak about my contribution, I just yell at shit, which seems to be how I spend most of my spare time anyway.

-Neill Jameson

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Follow Poison Blood on Facebook and Bandcamp.

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Black metal has never prided itself on digestibility, and to its benefit. This arises from its maximalist tendencies, e.g. challenging song structures, extreme aesthetics, solid walls of sound, etc. With so much going on, the danger is overdoing it, stepping over the fine line between artless cacophony and surreal symphony. Most black metal bands don’t press the limit, and that’s fine: there’s more to powerful expression than being extreme. But some do search for the art in challenging convention, like East Coasters One Master with their upcoming fourth full-length Lycanthropic Burrowing. Check out an exclusive stream below. True fact: production quality matters (and often goes un-talked about), and One Master have meticulously honed a gritty but pure sound. They sought total clarity (each instrument discernable, especially vocalist Valder’s harsh shrieks), but not by polishing. Rather, it’s a targeted rawness, both acute and uncompromising. Lycanthropic Burrowing feels rancorous, but isn't a racket. That's the delicate balance: suppleness to foster complex texture versus rigidity to grind eardrums into powder. Fuzz is present as aftereffect, but relegated to a background murmur; a sharply focused midrange amplifies piercing tones which attack like goddamn missiles. Any ear fatigue notwithstanding, this album demands high volume at high fidelity, and a ton of listener endurance. That all said, it's not like Lycanthropic Burrowing is unlistenable. Au contraire. It sadistically delights by inflicting its pain. Catchy guitarwork offers hooks aplenty for those not (initially) into the pain-as-pleasure thing. Once reeled in, the brain scramble courtesy of the aforementioned production aesthetics becomes welcome relief from the onslaught’s tumult. Lycanthropic Burrowing is harrowing, all-encompassing, unrelenting, and malignant. Tracks are built on triangle waveforms, jarring between swaths of high-bpm blast beats (featuring extra crash) and doomy, depressive retreats. Hard-charging thrash riffs (with punky drum twists) act as connective tissue and add a welcome "let's fuckin' rock!" juxtaposition to an otherwise inward, claustrophobic listening experience. Speaking of inward experiences, Lycanthropic Burrowing’s overall intensity feels head-rushy and palpatory, taken right to the limit of comfort. Even the slowest moments are aggressive and foreboding, driven by unsettling anxiety. It just doesn't stop: one full listen makes any subsequent music sound like a sunny meadow. Normally, such immense effrontery comes as one dumb hammerblow. Here, One Master eviscerates intricately: satisfying detail exists both in the instrumental precision (offsetting the messiness of beyond-max volume/distortion) and unpredictable atmospherics. Operating on two levels, One Master is simultaneously grounded in headbangable black metal riffs and aloft with spiky sound-walls and mind-swallowing climaxes. This depth sets One Master apart from other especially noisy acts. Instead of inducing horror with occluded, foggy visions, they opt for jabbing at your perception with high-resolution imagery (if the album artwork says anything). Again, this reflects in how it’s been produced, arranged, and executed. Sometimes the most disorienting or confusing nightmares aren't the worst. It's the lucid ones where you feel immediately present in your fear. Disturbingly vivid, Lycanthropic Burrowing becomes real despite its nightmare-like aura. It invokes a situation where volition is absent, where even your helplessness serves no purpose. And perhaps as the soundtrack to, say, whitewater rafting down the River Styx, it’s not for the faint of heart. Lycanthropic Burrowing releases on July 14 via Eternal Death. Preorder here.

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"Like all of our albums, the songs on Lycanthropic Burrowing are centered around a common theme -- this time, understanding and attempting to gain control over the irrational and animalistic aspects of one's mind. All of the songs touch on a different aspect of that concept -- “The Claws of Dionysus,” a glimpse into the power one can gain from wild and unburdened excess; “Will of the Shadow,” understanding the irrational and often unconscious purpose/goals driving oneself; “The Black Bat,” the need to escape from others to understand one's psyche; “Death Resurrection,” purposefully acting to gain strength from the animalistic aspects of the psyche that religious and secular ideologies attempt to eradicate; “Erosion,” washing away the barriers to understanding oneself; and “Lycanthropic Burrowing,” the project of harnessing and being able to move back and forth between both the rational and irrational aspects of one's mind, becoming a “werewolf” in that sense. Musically, the songs on this album were written in a shorter time period than the last, so they are a bit more focused and direct. The only musical parts that pre-dated our last album are a few things in the song “Erosion,” so it’s almost completely a new set of ideas for the band. The artwork was made by the same artist who did everything for the last album -- Dave Fogg (Fog Palace). He is a friend and immediately understands what kinds of images will match the themes of our songs. The labyrinth and werewolf centerpiece on the cover sum up the theme of the album perfectly."

-Valder

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Follow One Master on Facebook here.

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Doom and clean-sung vocals have a healthy relationship. The non-distorted human voice brings valuable clarity and purity to a subgenre otherwise characterized by despair and sorrow. Perhaps there's resonance to be found in the calm acceptance of suffering as irrevocable from life's fabric; maybe restfulness and reflection are keys to awareness and mindfulness. That's to say: it’s the vocal beacon which will cut through the fog. Cue Oregon-based "minimalistic" doom duo A Stick And A Stone and their upcoming third full-length The Long Lost Art Of Getting Lost. Check out an exclusive stream of the album's opening track "Erosion" below. A Stick And A Stone have trimmed doom's musical fat to expose the bare emotions underneath; specifically, those driven primarily through vocalist Elliott Harvey's show-stopping and heartfelt performance. As exemplified on "Erosion," greatly reduced distortion allows for additional midrange headroom and a lighter headspace. Prominent viola (courtesy of co-member Myles Donovan) and soft bass offer a rounder replacement for hard-edged guitar chords. The floorspace so opened for Harvey's pipes sees them flexed deeply and passionately across impressive range; persistent, but entirely non-aggressive. And even while "Erosion" might be The Long Lost Art Of Getting Lost's jammiest track, Harvey creates pure, solemn doom ambiance on wavering ribbons of intensities. "Erosion" establishes the crestfallen mood of The Long Lost Art Of Getting Lost, which develops organically over six additional tracks (40 minutes total). Climaxes (also vocal-driven) rise and fall gently, and A Stick And A Stone clearly spent significant time detailing over the quietest moments. They teach us that doom is also about silence, and pause. As an entirely introspective album, it lacks any purposeful excitement which would sully its somber spirit. The Long Lost Art Of Getting Lost feels entirely personal, like a journey taken solo -- perhaps the strongest indicator of the album's resolute emotional value. The Long Lost Art Of Getting Lost releases July 21 via Sentient Ruin Laboratories, Breathe Plastic, Cold, and Spirit House. Listen to "Erosion" below.

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Follow A Stick And A Stone on Facebook here.

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More metal forever. Oh boy. Here are the new metal (and also other kinds of music sometimes) releases for the week of July 16, 2017 – July 22, 2017. Release dates are formatted according to proposed North American scheduling, if available. Expect to see the bulk of these records on shelves or distributors on Friday unless otherwise noted or if labels and artists get impatient. Blurbs and designations are based on whether or not I have a lot to say about it. See something we missed? Goofs? Let us know in the comments. Plus, as always, feel free to post your own shopping lists. Happy digging. As a little bit of a challenge, include your own opinion about anything you want to add. Make me want to listen to it! Please note: this is a review column and is not speculative. Any announced albums without preview material will not be covered. Additionally, any surprise releases which are uploaded or released after this column is published will be excluded.

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ANTICIPATED RELEASES

Tau Cross - Pillar of Fire | Relapse Records | Heavy Metal/Crust Punk/Folk Rock | Canada/Scotland/United States Rob "The Baron" Miller and company (including, of course, the great Michel "Away" Langevin) take their epic, Killing Joke-meets-classic-metal sound and make it... I don't want to say Tolkeinesque, but Pillar of Fire has this lovely sort of Highlander-esque folk feel. Not corny and typical like one might expect from any band who would have the gall to call themselves "celtic," but there's a definite sort of ancestral, sea-quenched, verdant quality to it which verifies the tag. Sun of the Sleepless - To the Elements | Prophecy Productions | Atmospheric Black Metal Germany From my premiere of "Motions":

"Following a decade-long slumber, Markus “Ulf Theador Schwadorf” Stock’s sleepless giant re-emerges from self-imposed exile. More popularly known for his work as the legendary, romantic Empyrium, Stock extended his talents into select, sparse side projects which, too, met their demise with his main project in 2004. Sun of the Sleepless was by far Schwadorf’s most unique child, at least aside from the pastoral Empyrium, eventually growing into a bizarre, chilling juxtaposition of Burzumic asceticism and mechanical trip-hop beats. In a way, the void sounds of Sun of the Sleepless’s self-described “poetic black metal” acted as a foil to Empyrium’s lush, autumnal gloom. After Empyrium’s reformation in 2010, The Turn of the Tides marked another imbalance in Schwadorf’s performance. It wasn’t bad, by any means, but there was a certain revelry in the band’s performances of songs like “The Franconian Woods in Winter’s Silence” which spoke to a greater desire to record something marginally blackened once more. Sun of the Sleepless’s sudden return certainly fills that void, but this new incarnation shows Schwadorf’s solo project casting off chilling electronic detachedness in favor of the emotive atmospheres of his earlier works, albeit through a more modern, atmospheric black metal prism. The bombastic, spine-tingling aura of To The Elements recalls this solo artist’s early-and-constant perfection of the “gothic metal” genre, projecting a cobwebbed, Victorian misery on a black metal canvas. In Sun of the Sleepless’s resurrection, Schwadorf finds balance once again."

Zaraza - Spasms of Rebirth | Independent | Industrial Death/Doom Metal | Canada/Ecuador You like getting pummeled in the face with a brick in a sock? Zaraza has always sounded somewhat like that. Taking strong cues from both Swans and diSEMBOWELMENT, the recently-revived industrial death/doom metal duo plods and bellows with mechanized, detached strength. Grey Aura - 1: Gelige, traumatische zielsverrukking | Independent/Digital | Atmospheric Black Metal | Netherlands Okay, so this technically got released last week, but bear with me here. Grey Aura's last album was a beautiful, glacial representation of a failed Antarctic expedition. Now? This Dutch trio is much more aggressive, and, dare I say, ugly. Verging on Expressionism, this new era of Grey Aura mires itself in complex texture and strange, nonlinear song structure. A surprising new direction for this young band, though, I suppose, it took almost three years for their last album to actually be released.

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OF NOTE

Wintersun - The Forest Seasons | Nuclear Blast | Symphonic Melodic Death Metal | Finland Nuclear Blast has Jari Mäenpää crowdfund another album, and we don't even get the previously announced sequel to Time I. I mean, parts of this are cool, but parts of me wonder if we'll ever really get something as truly fun and interesting as the self-titled debut. I hate to sound like "Amadeus"'s Orsini-Rosenberg, but there is too much going on here. I'm all for maximalism, but when you have to upgrade to four terabytes of ram [obviously an exaggeration] to fit all the layers of keyboards and VSTs...maybe you haven't spent enough time perfecting the songwriting upon which you've laid five orchestras. Self-indulgence is a real thing, and Wintersun have become the poster boys of its detraction. Does anyone think Jari actually got a sauna? Dzö-nga - The Sachem's Tales | Avantgarde Music | Atmospheric Black Metal | United States There's a lot going on with this one - buzzing, lots of crystal-cut keyboards, blasting. It's nice, but sometimes the drums are just a little too loud and end up overpowering every other element of the music. Oh, and be careful with how you pronounce this band name. Vindkast - Archaic Collapse | Avantgarde Music | Atmospheric Black Metal | Germany Space. It's the hot ticket. Black metal? Yes. Death metal? You've got yourself album of the year. Most bands who deal with space...mostly just aesthetic, but it looks nice. Vindkast, though, sounds like something which could be a nice soundtrack to the more overwhelming visual aspects of Sagan's "Cosmos". You know how it goes - atmospheric and pretty, but really, really big and empty. Zgard - У вирi чорної снаги (Within the Swirl of Black Vigor) | Svarga Music | Pagan Black Metal | Ukraine It's so cold and wonderful, especially since I'm melting in horrifically humid heat. "Slavonic" black metal generally deals with beautiful autumns on the Steppe (see: every Drudkh album ever) - Zgard's departure to a later, colder season almost acts as new territory. Within the Swirl of Black Vigor's own blustering textures come off as all the more crystalline, blanketed in frigid layers of white. Violet Cold - Anomie | Tridroid Records/Folkvangr Records | Post-Rock/Black Metal | Azerbaijan Welp, it's the golden standard of that post-rock/black metal hybrid. There is nothing truly wrong with it, nor is there anything really nice about it. Anomie follows all the hallmarks and never really misses a beat with regards to style, but it solely follows a template and does nothing more with it. For such an adventurous artist who has released trip-hop, noise, psychedelic rock, and more, you'd think he would take this kind of style to a higher level...but, alas.

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FOR THE ADVENTUROUS

because only listening to metal is dumb

Neun Welten - The Sea I'm Diving In | Prophecy Productions | Folk | Germany From my premiere of "The Dying Swan":

"Following their last album, and much to the chagrin of their fans, Renaissance-tinged dark folk troupe Neun Welten entered a deep, decade-long slumber. I suppose a sort of hibernation was necessary, especially after a prolific five years between the Valg EP (which still receives regular listens) and 2009’s intricate, Destrunken, but the wait was excruciating. What emerged from the chrysalis was definitely unexpected, but Neun Welten’s newly unfurled wings revealed a surprising luminescence. The Sea I’m Diving In, the band’s first album in eight years, casts off the band’s previous Renaissance proclivities in favor of a more “human” darkness. Refracting their dark folk roots through progressive and post-rock lenses, the hushed tones of “The Dying Swan” cast an eerie glow from their previously constructed darkness. In a way, this newest effort sounds like a different band, but such is the nature of entering a pupal state – Neun Welten’s dwelling in the past is no more, and their modern selves reveal a more fragile, inner emotive nature."

GlerAkur - The Mountains Are Beautiful Now | Prophecy Productions | Post-Rock | Iceland It's hard to tell if I like or dislike post-rock anymore. There was a period of time in which Mono and Explosions in the Sky really made me happy, but now with all these movie soundtracks and "loud post-rock" ("post-black metal") bands flooding the market the genre has become super white bread to me. That isn't to say GlerAkur's own take on post-rock, which, in itself, is cinematic and displays a unique sense of dynamism, is bad, but...I don't really remember much about it even after multiple listens. INTRCPTR - INTRCPTR | Magic Bullet | Post-Rock/Sludge | United States From Andrew Sacher's premiere of "Sandstorms":

If you dig Pelican and/or 5ive, you’re almost definitely gonna like this too. Like both of those bands, “Sandstorms” has crisp sludge riffs and really knows how to keep your attention without any words. Speaking about the song, the band tells us: “I was driving through the desert, 115 degrees out, I saw what looked to be a small swarm of bees hanging low on the road ahead, while plowing through it, at 90 miles per hour, it blinded me; Turns out It was a sandstorm.”

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FROM THE GRAVE

Sun of the Sleepless - Shadows of the Past | Prophecy Productions | Atmospheric Black Metal Germany With new Sun of the Sleepless coming out this week, it's nice to revisit his shorter, first-era works which dated from 1998-2004. Wholly different from the more pastoral, atmospheric work of To the Elements, earlier Sun of the Sleepless's "poetic black metal" acted as a sort of middle ground between Det som engang Var-era Burzum's simplicity and the electronic distance of trip-hop and IDM. Golden Dawn - Rehearsal 94 | Seedstock Records | Black Metal/Ambient | Austria Again, clarification: nothing to do with the really dumb Greek National Socialists. Anyway, following the great repress of the Golden Dawn/Apeiron split earlier this year, it's excitingly great to see labels like Seedstock, Tour de Garde, and Iron Bonehead taking more of an active role in making more available pressings of Stefan "Dreamlord" Traunmüller's archive. His first release as Golden Dawn in 1994, this rehearsal is undoubtedly an idiosyncratic piece for that era. There are elements of kosmiche and Medieval musics atop a strong, early second-wave black metal base. Eschewing the traditional harsh vocals of that era, Dreamlord's clean voice truly leave a unique mark on this unique piece from a largely ignored scene ("Austrian Black Metal Syndicate"), of which only Abigor truly survived.

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OTHER RELEASES

Rings of Saturn - Ultu Ulla | Nuclear Blast | Technical Deathcore | United States Oodles and oodles of unlistenable noodles. I will admit, however, to Rings of Saturn learning how to write about three actual riffs which appear in random places on this album. Pathology - Pathology | Comatose Music | Brutal Death Metal | United States This is the kind of brutal death metal I'm into - chunky, no frills, and, of course, filled to the brim with stupid fucking slams. It's the kind of music which necessitates flat brimmed caps, basketball shorts, and a strained frown which can only be properly expressed while taking a huge dump. Decrepit Birth - Axis Mundi | Nuclear Blast/Agonia Records | Technical Brutal Death Metal | United States I remember really liking Decrepit Birth when Diminishing Between Worlds first came out - something about the over-the-top nature of the music, but at this point I think what Decrepit Birth continues to do is… "old hat." Maybe I'm just old. Give me more Severed Savior.

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It’s no secret to your average metalhead in China that the country is currently undergoing a massive resurgence in its heavy music scenes. Sprouting up from the depths in cities across the country are a new generation of dynamic bands, their hunger and energy matched only by the continued onslaught of many of the country’s fiercest metal veterans. Bands with histories reaching back ten years or more are continuing to release new and exciting music, with many embarking on tours outside the country’s borders. Simultaneously, a younger crop of bands has been rising up over the past few years to add their voices to the cacophony. This convergence of frenzied activity has been nothing but an infernal blessing from the Dark Lord himself to metal fans within China and beyond. From black metal in Beijing and hardcore in Shanghai to thrash in Nanchang and more, here are 12 China-based bands absolutely worth your attention. Ranging from established mainstays to fresh newcomers, all the bands on this list are driving Chinese metal forward with hunger, determination and, above all, fiercely original music. Beijing Anyone looking to dip their toes into the wellspring of independent Chinese music would do well to begin in the capital city of Beijing. Though many of China’s other cities boast healthy music scenes of their own, Beijing continues to serve as the primary flame in which many of the country’s top bands are forged. Beijing’s status as the seat of China’s government often results in stricter scrutiny from on high, yet the city remains home to many of China’s record labels and best-known bands. Ritual Day [melodic black metal] Formed in 2000, Beijing’s Ritual Day quickly made a name for themselves in China’s independent music circles with their debut album Sky Lake. With a fresh new lineup, Ritual Day reemerged in January of this year with their explosive second album Devila Grantha. The music overlays progressive and melodic elements onto a firmly black metal foundation, complemented by the band’s fearsome costumes and stage presence.

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Skeletal Augury [black/thrash] Skeletal Augury, formed in 2008, present a classic take on black metal with a sound firmly rooted in old-school influences such as Celtic Frost, Venom, Bathory and early Mayhem. Their latest release Bless of Destroyed, Raped, Dismembered Flesh comes courtesy of Nanchang, China-based metal label Pest Productions, and serves as an ideal representation of the Pest aesthetic -- sometimes raw, usually mirthless, always at least a bit blackened. The record is a nonstop maelstrom of blistering guitars, frenetic blast beats and oozing vocals from outspoken frontman Lord Freeze.

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Saving Molly [post-hardcore] These scene favorites pen songs that are as undeniably catchy as they are musically complex. Saving Molly’s brand of sophisticated post-hardcore is reminiscent of early-2000s Thrice, yet with a much harder and heavier edge. Vocalist Xi Lin Hu’s throat-shredding screams are interspersed with clean melodies as the band’s constantly shifting riffs and grooves propel the music along.

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Shanghai Approximately five hours south of Beijing on one of China’s high-speed rail lines is Shanghai, the country’s largest city and preeminent financial hub of the mainland. Toiling tirelessly beneath the city’s craft cocktail bars, luxury shopping malls and hip eateries are a wide range of local bands, each adding their own element to the city’s ever-changing independent music scene. With a large portion of expat musicians, Shanghai’s lineup is a transient one as band members and promoters constantly come and go. However, an upside of this revolving door of participation is the scene’s constant yield of new and exciting musical output. Loudspeaker [crust] When I moved to Shanghai in 2008, Loudspeaker was already one of the top local bands on the heavy scene. With their original lineup intact, the band’s sound has shifted over time before arriving at its current crusty form with tangible black metal and thrash influences. Drummer Wang Lei in particular is a sight to behold as he flawlessly executes the band’s furiously paced songs with graceful fills and always-stoic composure.

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Spill Your Guts [hardcore] Spill Your Guts emerged in 2012 and quickly climbed to the top of China’s hardcore scene due to their powerful live performances and unflagging work ethic. The fact that drummer Tyler Bowa and vocalist Dima Bir are the only remaining original members has not once managed to hinder the band’s progress as ambassadors of Chinese hardcore, with tours across Japan and Southeast Asia under their belts along with an upcoming Russia tour in September. Their most recent EP Full Blast showcases the band’s diverse range of influences. I’m told by the band to expect a full-length release from them in August of this year, and having heard some demos of the tracks, I’m positive that it’ll be an album well worth picking up.

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Hitobashira [groove metal] Formed in December of 2015, Hitobashira sling aggressively infectious Pantera-esque groove metal with a hint of nu-metal riffing thrown in for good measure. The band has progressed quickly, already having toured Japan in 2016 with memorable live shows characterized by vocalist Si Shen’s animalistic stage antics and drummer Joshua Thompson’s pounding, primal technique. Their most recent release is 2016’s EP The Famine, with cover art by notable Shanghai-based tattooist Zhuo Dan Ting.

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Across the country The remaining bands in this list hail from cities across China’s massive landscape, illustrating the depth and variety of the creativity and determination present in abundance amongst the country’s musicians. Zuriaake [folk/atmospheric black metal] – Jinan, Shandong province No list of heavy bands in China would be complete without the monstrous Zuriaake. The band’s iconic outfits are as recognizable as their Chinese folk-influenced atmospheric black metal, which they craft and perform at world-class levels. Masters of subtlety and mood manipulation, Zuriaake write epic songs which whisk the listener along on gut-wrenching journeys steeped in equal parts blissful transcendence and hellish misery. They’ve just wrapped up their first European tour, for which they reissued their landmark record 孤雁 Gu Yan with lyrics translated into English.

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Demogorgon [atmospheric black metal] Demogorgon is a black metal supergroup comprising members of the above-mentioned Zuriaake as well as fellow Chinese black metal acts Holyarrow and Destruction of Redemption. Their sole release is the 2016 two-track EP Dilemma. Revenge. Snow., a spellbinding 25-minute odyssey inspired by the classic wuxia novel “Fox Volant of the Snowy Mountain” by Jin Yong.

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SMZB [Celtic punk] – Wuhan, Hubei province Wuhan punks SMZB are nothing short of legendary. Frontman Wu Wei has kept the virulently anti-establishment band going through two decades, making SMZB one of China’s first punk bands and certainly its most enduring. As if that’s not enough, Wu Wei also owns and operates Wuhan Prison, an iconic punk bar in his hometown of Wuhan and just around the corner from its premier live music venue Vox Livehouse. Persisting ceaselessly despite countless obstacles from a government that would prefer he keep silent, Wu Wei and SMZB are a shining beacon of resistance for legions of Chinese punks across the country. Their most recent release is the 2016 album The Chinese Are Coming on Beijing label Maybe Mars.

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Ego Fall [Mongolian folk/nu-metal] – Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia Ego Fall’s songs present listeners with a wide range of stylistic influences, unified throughout by the common thread of Mongolian folk. Their 2016 EP Jangar features chuggy breakdowns, industrial grooves, a clean ballad, EDM effects, and plenty of traditional Mongolian instrumentation and melodies. It’s worth your time if only for the stunning array of genre shifts the band manages to include across the EP’s four songs. Ego Fall released a documentary following their 2016 European tour, and has a new album lined up for release later this year.

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Explosicum [thrash] – Nanchang, Jiangxi province These guys are perhaps China’s best-known thrash band, and for good reason. Their 2014 album Raging Living is pure old-school thrash, surging forward ever mercilessly and granting listeners not a second to pause and catch their breath. These veterans have been at it since 2005 and show no signs of letting up the assault. The band released a limited-edition live cassette from Osaka’s True Thrash Fest in 2015 and most recently performed alongside Greek thrashers Bio-Cancer at the third Thrash China Festival in Beijing.

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Black Kirin [death/folk metal] – Changchun, Jilin province Despite having formed just a few years ago in 2013, Black Kirin have risen rapidly to prominence thanks to their blend of death metal and black metal with traditional Chinese instrumentation and Beijing opera vocals. Their 2016 debut album National Trauma is a slickly produced nine-track affair that adequately encapsulates their brutally artful sound. The band followed up only a few months later with 箫韶Xiao Shao, which presents haunting acoustic renditions of the songs found on their previous release.

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—Ivan Belcic