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Memento Mori to release debut of Formless Oedon: "Feel their 'Streams of Rot' wash over you!"
May 23, 2023
In their endless quest to push and support current underground acts that deliver the goods unaware of trends and hypes, on July 24th, Memento Mori is proud to present Formless Oedon’s highly anticipated debut album, ‘Streams of Rot’.
Hailing from the Philippines, Formless Oedon came into being in late 2019 when founder/songwriter Rozel decided to re-ignite an old project that he had envisioned way back in 2014, which he later put on hiatus after facing difficulties in finding dedicated bandmates with the same passion for Death Metal. The band was originally started as a three-piece act comprised of fellow bandmates Jonathan and Andrei from local Thrash Metal group Desolator. The band owes much of their style and sound to old Finnish bands such as Demigod, Purtenance, Rippikoulu, and Convulse and other legendary bands including (but not limited to) Incantation, Dead Congregation, and Immolation.
In December 2019, Formless Oedon recorded an EP titled ‘Deathless Luminosity’, which was then released in March 2020, during the peak of the pandemic in their country. The EP garnered the attention of the underground scene in their home country as well as overseas. With nationwide borders finally relaxing restrictions and live shows slowly returning to life, the band now aims to finally carve their piece of sonic history into the scene by releasing their debut album, actively playing live shows, and taking the underground by storm.
Indeed, Formless Oedon should take the underground by storm with said debut album, appropriately titled ‘Streams of Rot’. Form meeting content, ‘Streams of Rot’ is a festering sore of old-school filth in the Finnish tradition: lumbering but volatile, dripping with slime yet exactingly executed, and utterly world-eating no matter the tempo. However, the quartet are total DEATH METAL maniacs above all, and authentically integrate myriad other twists into that noble paradigm, betraying a wealth of personality and charisma even while strictly coloring within the lines. Feel their ‘Streams of Rot’ wash over you!
More info: Formless Oedon; Memento Mori;Miserere Luminis to release 'Ordalie' via Sepulchral Productions: "...fans of the band will find there everything that made their first opus so striking..."
May 22, 2023
Nearly 15 years after the release of the debut album of their collaborative project, Gris’ Icare and Neptune as well as Sombre Forêts’ Annatar are back with a long-awaited second Miserere Luminis album!
Despite the very long time between the two albums, fans of the band will find there everything that made their first opus so striking: dissonant and atmospheric guitars, complex song structures, tortured vocals, and that ever-present flair for the dramatic! Dark and beautiful at the same time, ‘Ordalie’ will take you through a journey unlike any other, crafted by legends of Québec’s atmospheric Black Metal scene…
More info: Gris; Miserere Luminis; Sombres Forêts; Sepulchral Productions;Eternal Rot to unleash 'Moribound': "That it's stripped to the fucking bone is one thing (and indeed it is); that it's insanely CATCHY is another!"
May 22, 2023
On July 24th internationally, Memento Mori in conspiracy with Godz ov War Productions will release Eternal Rot’s highly anticipated third album, ‘Moribound’, on CD and vinyl/cassette tape/digital formats, respectively.
Eternal Rot crawled out of a musty dungeon in London in 2012, born out of a passion for death metal by Mayer and Grindak. Their 2013 Promo Tape demo (released as Grave Grooves on 7″ EP through Fallen Temple Productions a year after), featured two swampy and deadly tracks that attracted vigilant zombies who began to spread the word about a new sonic disease. A few years of disgusting excavations later, they joined forces with Godz ov War and spewed out the debut album Cadaverine, which was adorned with the artwork of Mark Riddick, who would ultimately become the band’s artist of choice from then on. Shortly after, the duo were joined by Radek Pierściński (Meat Spreader, Neuropathia, The Dead Goats) on drums, and the result was the band’s second album, Putridarium, which featured an improved formula of their already trademark purulent and über-crushing Death Metal. The band’s latest chapter of filth up to date was the 2021 split with Death/Doom metal powerhouse Coffins, on Behind the Mountain Records.
Now, at long last, Eternal Rot will release their third album, ‘Moribound’. Aptly titled in a perverse way and again graced with another unforgettable Mark Riddick cover, ‘Moribound’ proves that the power-trio’s death metal is as undead as ever – “rottenly fresh,” as it were, or perhaps “freshly rotten”! No compromise made and no quarter given, Eternal Rot stick to their grimy guns and unleash another slab of organ-crushing, mind-blowing, and sickening Death Metal. That it’s stripped to the fucking bone is one thing (and indeed it is); that it’s insanely CATCHY is another! Someone once said that it takes a truly smart man to know when to be dumb, and Eternal Rot just might be the smartest men around with the ignorant, knuckle-dragging stomp of ‘Moribound’. There’s just no resisting these anthems-in-the-making, especially as the gut-wrenching crunch devours you whole and then sucks the very marrow from both bone and soul. Of course, a horror-drenched atmosphere still pervades all that Eternal Rot do, but the modus operandi here is undeniably the absolute CRUSH of the listener – in the catchiest way possible!
Maniacs for Autopsy, Undergang, Hooded Menace, Rippikoulu, Anatomia, Disma, Coffins, Grave, Incantation, and Funebrarum, prepare to permanently add Eternal Rot to that list with ‘Moribound’!
More info: Eternal Rot; Godz Ov War Productions; Memento Mori;Coffin Mulch to release debut album 'Spectral Intercession': "Each of the album's eight tracks offers ample proof of the potency of traditional, turn-of-the-'90s Death Metal"
May 8, 2023
In their endless quest to push and support current underground acts that perpetuate the odor of vintage Death Metal, on June 30th internationally, Memento Mori is proud to present Coffin Mulch’s highly anticipated debut album, ‘Spectral Intercession’.
Hailing from Scotland, Coffin Mulch formed in 2018 and quickly set to work on their debut demo, Coffin Mulch, which was released a year later. Two years later came the ‘Septic Funeral’ EP, both of which have garnered widespread acclaim in the Death Metal underground. Although undeniably a Death Metal band, the quartet come from a diverse musical background, having played in a variety of different bands throughout the years, but started Coffin Mulch to play old-school, heavy & pounding Death Metal influenced by late ’80s / early ’90s gods like Entombed, Autopsy, Massacre, Death, and Bolt Thrower. They’re all punks at heart, though, and the DIY ethic and aesthetic is just as important to them as the tunes.
And “tunes” they indeed have across their full-length debut, ‘Spectral Intercession’. With gutted tones just on the right side of raw and a horrifying intro to set the scene, Coffin Mulch lurch and crunch forward with ominous intent. Each of the album’s eight tracks offers ample proof of the potency of traditional, turn-of-the-’90s Death Metal – especially so, when it’s done with this much passion and intensity. Indeed, no matter the tempo employed (and quite often, the band stick to a headbanging gallop), Coffin Mulch make you feel every mangled riff, every ragged drum-hit, every tortured tonsil…the songwriting may be simple, but it’s not simplistic, and it’s their execution that truly puts over ‘Spectral Intercession’. Nevertheless, they’re not afraid to put a little twist here and there, whether it’s a fleeting (and subtly employed) guitar effect or an intentionally askew transition, and the rare guitar solo really hits with soul-searing aplomb. Or witness the eerie, climactic closer ‘Eternal Enslavement’, where a doomed morass opens up and swallows the listener whole.
There’s no shortage of “old school” Death Metal records these days, but it’s rare to find one with such personality that’s unselfconscious and not belabored. Coffin Mulch find that sweet spot with ‘Spectral Intercession’!
More info: Coffin Mulch; Memento Mori;Night Terrors Records and Bitter Loss Records to release split of Cryptic Dissolution and Gravepeeler: "Limited white bone shell with black plastic case"
May 7, 2023
Night Terrors Records is proud to present a new split featuring brand new ‘bone-crushing eye-popping brain-melting’ tracks from Cryptic Dissolution, three piece OSDM band from Moscow, Russia (with members of Exist Enslaved and Constrained Ferocity) and Gravepeeler, four piece OSDM from Melbourne, Australia (with members of Carcinoid, Hormagaunt and Defenestration).
It will be released on cassette tape at the beginning of June on white bone shell with black plastic case, limited to 100 copies worldwide. The CD edition will be available later this year via Bitter Loss Records.
In our review of Cryptic Dissolution’s ‘Morbific Reminiscences In Physical Forms’ we decribed their Death Metal as: “This is perfect for fans of bands like Coffins, Rottrevore, Undergang, Rippikoulu, Krypts and Stench Of Decay. Not too long ago, Dismal Fate Records also brought me to a deathly ecstasy with the Canadians of Scorching Tomb, they now do the same with this Russian rock ’em sock ’em Death Metal. Simply superb!”
More info: Cryptic Dissolution; Gravepeeler; Bitter Loss Records; Night Terrors Records;Serpent Corpse and Temple of Mystery Records work together for debut album: "...the Canadian quartet prove that the idea of traditional all-caps DEATH METAL is undying and infinite"
May 7, 2023
On July 5th internationally, Temple of Mystery Records is proud to present Serpent Corpse’s striking debut album, ‘Blood Sabbath’, on CD and vinyl LP formats
Hailing from the ever-rising Montreal Death Metal scene, Serpent Corpse are at once foreign and familiar. ‘Blood Sabbath’, their full-length debut following a demo in 2021, on first glance feels resolutely old school: straightforward songwriting, analog production, little flash but full fire.
And indeed, Serpent Corpse do show noble influence from the very early ’90s – foremost among them, the world-eating enormity of classic Bolt Thrower and vigorous D-beating of early Entombed – but along with another set of tweaked influences and, more so, a maniacal manner in which to pursue them, the Canadian quartet prove that the idea of traditional all-caps DEATH METAL is undying and infinite.
The further one steps into the ichor of ‘Blood Sabbath’, the more those tweaks take shape – Darkthrone during their Death Metal days, Seance skewing death ‘n’ roll, the DM-in-glue of classic Cianide, or especially Autopsy’s transition into Abscess – and the more the exemplary songwriting truly begins to shine…or ROT, as it were! For this nine-song/39-minute album sounds as slimy as it does headbanging – and those singed ‘n’ seared leads are the definition of haunting!
Coupled with powerfully clear annunciation from vocalist/guitarist Andrew Haddad and mesmerizing cover art courtesy of Lucas Korte, Serpent Corpse deliver one of the most essential Death Metal debuts of recent memory. A festering death awaits!
More info: Serpent Corpse; Temple of Mystery Records;A new album from Hate Manifesto to be released soon: "Appellations matter not when faced with this sort of iron-fisted attack..."
May 4, 2023
Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) is proud to present a Hate Manifesto’s highly anticipated second album, ‘Αποστάτης’, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
One of Greece’s best-kept secrets, Hate Manifesto formed in 2003 but, so far, have an extremely sparse discography. However, what they lack in quantity, they more than double-up on in quality. ‘To Those Who Glorified Death’, their debut album from 2017 – which Helter Skelter rereleased on a worldwide scale in early 2018 – displayed the shockingly extreme force with which Hate Manifesto could create their whirlwind of martial black/death. In 2019 came the aptly titled ‘Herald of Triumph’ EP, which fully displayed the armament of their potential. Comprising four fierce ‘n’ fiery tracks in a swift ‘n’ decisive 17 minutes, Herald of Triumph was full-on shock & awe – CRUSH, KILL, DESTROY – with Hate Manifesto’s chosen weapons being the iron-fisted surge of Black Metal and the muscular swarm of Death Metal, all rendered in rich, devastating tones. Of course, none of this should’ve come as a surprise given that the band is yet another work of the extremely prolific W.S.P., who also numbers such Helter Skelter cults as Caedes Cruenta, Black Blood Invocation, and Walpurgia among many others.
Now W.S.P. returns Hate Manifesto to the front with the full-length ‘Αποστάτης’, and he’s joined by drum-god Simon “Bloodhammer” Schilling (Marduk, Eucharist). Picking up the pieces left behind by ‘Herald of Triumph’ – or rather, the wreckage from the battlefield – ‘Αποστάτης’ (“Apostate” in English) is an immediately obliterating spin. Across eight songs in 38 minutes, the duo continue to create a martial sort of Black/Death that’s strict, cruel, and caustic. Is it “blackened death metal” or even “Deathened Black Metal”? Appellations matter not when faced with this sort of iron-fisted attack, for its strength lies in the songwriting: W.S.P.’s riffs flow like acidic mercury, and Schilling’s drums race with deft dynamics. Indeed, for however harsh and austere Hate Manifesto’s aesthetic is here, there’s a remarkably streamlined sensibility that lends infinite memorability to ‘Αποστάτης’ – and repeatability, as you’ll be compelled to press “play” and submit to their onslaught again and again. And when the rare burst of guitar solos come in? MADNESS!
Simultaneously classic and modern, Hate Manifesto continue their campaign of cruelty with ‘Αποστάτης’!
More info: Hate Manifesto; Helter Skelter Productions;Neckbreaker Records & Bitter Loss Records team up to release new KHNVM EP: "'Visions Of A Plague Ridden Sky' is a thought-provoking album that explores multiple philosophical and spiritual concepts through its lyrics and music."
May 3, 2023
Formed in 2018 and fronted by Bangladesh-born Obliterator, Death Metallers KHNVM have quickly made a name for themselves with their blend of aggressive vocals, crushing riffs, and blistering drumming.
Their highly acclaimed debut album, ‘Foretold Monuments Of Flesh’ was released by Testimony Records in 2019 and solidified KHNVM’s place in the Death Metal scene. In 2021, they released the highly anticipated second full-length, ‘Portals To Oblivion’, on Neckbreaker Records. The album was again well received by fans and critics alike, showcasing the band’s growth and maturity as musicians. To support the release, KHNVM embarked on their first tour (‘Ophidian Madness Tour’), playing shows across Germany and at famous festivals such as In Flammen Open Air, Masters of the Unicorn, Damned Days, and Metal Attack Fest.
Despite some difficulties, KHNVM continues to push forward. In 2022, Obliterator had to relocate from Magdeburg to Berlin. He asked drummer Alex Simpson from US Brutal Death legends Incinerate for help and they recorded a mini album entitled ‘Visions Of A Plague Ridden Sky“, consisting of 5 face-melting Death Metal tracks and 2 instrumentals which showcase Obliterator’s eastern classical influence, perfectly blended to set the album’s ambience.
‘Visions Of A Plague Ridden Sky’ is a thought-provoking album that explores multiple philosophical and spiritual concepts through its lyrics and music. The themes touch upon the concepts of death, the afterlife, human suffering, existentialism and spirituality, delving deep into the human psyche and exploring the darkest corners of the mind. The album’s message is to provoke thought and challenge preconceived notions about the world and our place in it.
The mini album, featuring an artwork from Mitchell Nolte, will be released by Neckbreaker Records at the prestigious Protzen Open Air on June 23rd, 2023. A cassette version will follow from the Australian label Bitter Loss Records. KHNVM recently played a Brazilian tour, travelling to 12 cities in 15 days along with local legends like Violator and Headhunter BC. A baltic tour is currently scheduled from October 24th to 31st.
More info: KHNVM; Bitter Loss Records; Neckbreaker Records;Infernal Curse to release third album via Iron Bonehead Productions: "Once again, the Argentinians both embody and defy the bestial metal paradigm, and harken back to the earliest expulsions from mid '80s South America"
May 2, 2023
Iron Bonehead Productions is proud to present the long-awaited third album of Argentina’s Infernal Curse, ‘Revelations Beyond Insanity’, on vinyl LP format.
Hailing from the oft-overlooked scene of Argentina, Infernal Curse are a study in patience and defiance. Forming in 2008, early on, the band’s sound was strictly within the blown-out Black/Thrash characteristic of South America’s most-underground metal, culminating in the clattering ‘n’ chaotic ‘Awakening of the Damned’ debut LP in 2012. However, it was with the Iron Bonehead-released mini-album The End Upon Us in 2014 where Infernal Curse truly found their stride. Reigning in the chaos for a more pulsing form of barbarity, the power-trio were as violent and virulent as ever, but pushed the still-overwhelming physicality into the beyond. Amazingly, they then pushed beyond The Beyond with 2016’s ‘Apocalipsis’ full-length, again released by Iron Bonehead. Bestial metal taken to its psychedelic extremes, ‘Apocalipsis’ presented a paradox between profundity and crudity, forever elevating Infernal Curse above the mongrel hordes mindlessly battering away to the same well-worn, black/white/red-all-over Blasphemy tropes.
That album no doubt proved to be an apex for Infernal Curse, and thereafter did the band stick to EPs and splits – and even then, three years on from ‘Apocalipsis’. Now, at long last, Infernal Curse deliver their third album, ‘Revelations Beyond Insanity’. Once again, the Argentinians both embody and defy the bestial metal paradigm, and harken back to the earliest expulsions from mid ’80s South America. After its eerie church-organ intro, ‘Revelations Beyond Insanity’ kicks in with one of the most SAVAGE guitar/bass tones in many years; swirling and deliriously effected, all strings chundering forth from their fingers congeal into a crumbling cathedral of nightmarish enormity. That drummer Bestial Offensor follows suit with a loose & lively tornado of DD Crazy-style controlled chaos should not be surprising: South American touchstones like ‘Bloody Vengeance’, ‘Immortal Force’, and especially ‘INRI’ and ‘Sexual Carnage’ are recast in a manner both world-eating and ceremonial.
Yet, for Infernal Curse, even when plumbing the depths of primitivism, a haunting throughline elevates their approach above base barbaric physicality and into the realm of rigorous mind-expansion – that that Beyond explodes into a kaleidoscope of feral atavism at the heart of the psychedelic experience. Or, simply dispense with fancy words altogether and submit to the overwhelming onslaught of ‘Revelations Beyond Insanity’: Infernal Curse have returned to the full-length front to reclaim their throne.
More info: Infernal Curse; Iron Bonehead Productions;The Kryptik ready with their third album: "Have they delivered a classic on par with ‘Witchcraft’, ‘The Sad Realm of the Stars’, or even ‘Stormblåst’? Only time shall be the judge..."
May 1, 2023
Purity Through Fire is proud to present The Kryptik’s highly anticipated third album, ’A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom’, on CD and vinyl LP formats. The CD version will be released on June 2nd while the vinyl version will follow later.
With a past that stretches back to the late ’90s and a patient path that began in 2013 with a moniker change, Brazil’s The Kryptik burst forth into brilliance when they aligned with Purity Through Fire. In the autumn of 2019 came their acclaimed second album, ’When the Shadows Rise’, a startlingly immersive gem of symphonic black metal, and many finally took notice. A year late came the 40-minute ’Behold Fortress Inferno’, which poignantly expanded on their vast canvas despite “only” being a mini-album. Between these two records especially, The Kryptik proved that “symphonic black metal” need not be a dirty word; with no outside influence from the nowadays “black metal” scene, the duo dependably practiced their mystical arts and erected a grand citadel of sound – an atavistic awakening of when all was simply BLACK METAL, heedless of appellations.
And so it goes with The Kryptik’s massive third album, ’A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom’. Truly titled, the seven-track/70-minute ’A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom’ reveals the duo’s grandest vision yet: neo-ancient symphonic black metal drenched in the dark waters of the cosmos, a castle of crystalline ice whose spires reach into boundless space. The band’s ebon flow continually crests and cascades, synths swirling all about and with utterly magickal effect. The production here in this Darkest Kingdom is clear and sharp – all murk excised for maximum immersion, gorgeous swell, and pulsing violence – altogether sounding incredibly vintage and era-authentic yet somehow fresher than most nowadays black metal recordings. But, that magick largely resides in The Kryptik’s songwriting, as each song is an epic in its own right and then are all threaded together as one fever dream: melodicism, majesty, and malice in perfect balance. Thus, ’A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom’ follows logically in The Kryptik’s continuum whilst pushing their creativity to even-more-breathtaking heights. Have they delivered a classic on par with ‘Witchcraft’, ‘The Sad Realm of the Stars’, or even ‘Stormblåst’? Only time shall be the judge…
Shadowlords
from us the gift of eternity
so the Lucifer’s star to shine
a journey to the darkest kingdom
