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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
Tomb from Malysia to release new EP via Iron Bonehead Productions: "Here on 'The Dark Subconscious' do Tomb go even more primitive..."
May 1, 2023
Iron Bonehead Productions is proud to present a brand-new mini-album from Malaysia’s Tomb, ‘The Dark Subconscious’, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats.
Formed in 2014, Kuala Lumpur’s Tomb hail from the small-yet-lethal Malaysian black/death underground that features such stalwarts as Mantak and Thorns of Hate. And just like those two contemporaries, Tomb exhibit a frightening feralness that can only come from South East Asia. And while many/most bands wimp out or slick up as they go along, the reverse is actually true for Tomb, as proven by their latest ‘The Dark Subconscious’ mini-album.
While their earlier EPs are hardly “refined,” the throbbing mysticism compared favorably to earliest Samael, Root, and Black Funeral. Here on ‘The Dark Subconscious’ do Tomb go even more primitive – “bestial,” yes, but a form of bestiality birthed by the likes of Abhorer. Indeed, it’s no accident that Tomb’s logo change is not unlike that of those cult Singaporeans: a swirling, sulfurous mass of gutter frequencies soon assault the listener on ‘The Dark Subconscious’, occasionally colored by no-less-primitive synths left over from their earlier days. In that regard, one could liken the 16-minute miasma to Beherit’s ‘Drawing Down the Moon’, the ’90s work of Greece’s Disharmony, or especially Mystifier’s paradigmatic duo of ‘Wicca’ and ‘Goetia’…but there’s still that sense of strange, of scene-unbound lawlessness, across Tomb’s latest short-length. Short but VERY sweet, long may they obey that lawlessness!
More info: Tomb; Iron Bonehead Productions;Krucyator Productions to release new live-album of Corpsessed: "This live recording is a testament to the fact that Corpsessed is, above all, a live band"
April 30, 2023
Krucyator Productions presents ‘Skeletal Grotesquery’, the upcoming live album by Finland’s death metal group Corpsessed. The album is scheduled for CD and digital formats on 29 May.
Corpsessed was spawned from putrescent slime in 2007 at the rotting houses of delta-area Järvenpää — a quiet somnolent town in the suburbs of the Southern Capital Area of Finland. The five-piece, with four full-length albums and two EPs under their belt, has been solidifying their presence as one of the most vital torch-bearers of the current Finnish Death Metal scene for the past 15 years.
The band is known for their dark brand of death metal that harks back to the old days of the early ‘90s and has received high praise for their hard-hitting and suffocating live shows, and this is precisely what the band was created for — crushing music that is best experienced live.
‘Skeletal Grotesquery’ is a live recording from Corpsessed’s performance at Braincrusher in Hell Festival in Hirschaid, Germany, on 25 November 2022. The live setlist, comprised of nine songs from their formidable discography, displays a visceral and unyielding form of sonic aggression. The audio was captured directly from the soundboard and later mixed by M.M. of the band and mastered by Loic Fontaine at Krucyator Studio in early 2023. No overdubs were done, and this recording presents the band in its raw and vital form. This live recording is a testament to the fact that Corpsessed is, above all, a live band and can be best experienced at maximum volume.
This live album contains tracks like ‘Succumb to Rot’, ‘Death-Stench Effluvium’, ‘Demoniacal Subjugation’ and ‘Forlorn Burial’ among others.
We have described their last full-length album ‘Succumb to Rot’ as: “Corpsessed deepened and perfected their sound to this huge and all-devouring cthulhian monster. It is less grinding but leans more on haunting dark riffs and thunderous drums, something that brings Corpsessed closer to a band like Dead Congregation than to, say, Purtenance or Convulse….Corpsessed proves to be one of the best bands in the genre and anyone how liked their previous efforts won’t be disappointed by ‘Succumb To Rot’.”
More info: Corpsessed; Krucyator Productions;Kvad's second album 'So Old' to be released by Purity Through Fire; "...the album begins with a desolate melancholy of what once was, and then the blizzard of distortion leads into a cryogenic grimness not unlike mid-'90s Gorgoroth, particularly the hackle-raising, Hat-esque screams of Peregrinus"
April 17, 2023
Purity Through Fire is proud to present Kvad’s highly anticipated second album, ‘So Old’, on CD and vinyl LP formats. The CD version will be released on June 2nd while the vinyl version will follow later.
Hailing from Norway, Kvad indeed performs black metal exclusively in the ancient Nordic tradition. The band is yet another project of the ever-prolific Peregrinus, who numbers the likes of Unholy Craft, Solus Grief, Hjemsøkt, Darkest Bethlehem, and Praefuro among his current endeavors. Then a duo, in 2022, Kvad released the ‘Invocations’ EP and ‘Cold & Dark, As Life’ debut album in quick succession, and now Peregrinus continues to strike while the burning church is hot with their second album, ‘So Old’.
On one hand, ‘So Old’ is aptly titled: the album begins with a desolate melancholy of what once was, and then the blizzard of distortion leads into a cryogenic grimness not unlike mid-’90s Gorgoroth, particularly the hackle-raising, Hat-esque screams of Peregrinus. And so Kvad follows this trajectory for a good deal of the album…but their songwriting unfolds, fever-dreaming into strange shapes not found among the ashes of those churches. While never dissonant per se, that blizzard of riffing soon compounds into a fury/flurry backed by Peregrinus’ brisk-yet-building drums; it’s a howling hysteria that’s not altogether untuneful, and its slipstreaming vortex suggests the superlative late ’90s psychedelia of Svest and Weakling. But, much as he does with his other projects, Peregrinus is not one to be (exclusively) pinned down to one specific style, and possesses the songwriting nous to turn these classics-minded creations into ones respectably modern. ‘So Old’, and yet so alive!
At VM-Underground we described the debut album as “Kvad has not (yet) reached the same level of quality like a band such as Nordgeist, but this is a very promising first album nonetheless.”
More info: Kvad; Purity Through Fire;Torture Rack back with new album: "Torture Rack exists for one reason: to pulverize skulls and grind bones through bludgeoning gore-soaked Death Metal depravity!"
April 14, 2023
20 Buck Spin announces Torture Rack’s new full-length, entitled ‘Primeval Onslaught’! It will be released on June 9th, 2023 on LP, CD, MC and in digital formats.
Torture Rack exists for one reason: to pulverize skulls and grind bones through bludgeoning gore-soaked Death Metal depravity! Their third album ‘Primeval Onslaught’ continues that bloodstained legacy, witnessed previously on ‘Barbaric Persecution’ and ‘Malefic Humiliation’ with a barrage of meat-torn-from-bone riffs and greased-flesh savagery.The band’s songwriting and intent has been tightened like a garrote, filling each track with meathooks into the skin and precise, constant battering, rarely eclipsing the 4 minute mark. The album will contain songtitles like ‘Ceremonial Flesh Feast’, ‘Morning Star Massacre’, ‘Fucked By Death’ and ‘Descent Into Infernal Chasms’.
Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Seánan McCullough and Joe Anderson at Helvete Sound, Portland Oregon. Cover artwork by ROK of Australian legends Sadistik Exekution.
Get your first knockdown blow with the track “Decrepit Funeral Home” at 20 Buck Spin YouTube channel.
More info: Torture Rack; 20 Buck Spin;Vomitory to release new album after 12 years: "...it was rather about making a decision whether we should continue as a band, i.e. release new material, or simply put the band back in the grave again"
April 12, 2023
In any serious conversation about Death Metal the name Vomitory has to come up. Following their inception in 1989, between 1996 and 2011 they dropped eight of the most blistering albums the genre has spewed up, the quartet parting ways in 2013. However, the band’s retirement turned out to be short lived, returning to stages in 2019 to celebrate the band’s 30th anniversary, and now they drop their first new full-length in twelve years, the monstrous ‘All Heads Are Gonna Roll’.
Boasting the classic Vomitory sound with a few new twists and turns, it is everything their faithful could have hoped for, the band having taken their time before committing to it rather than rushing in. “We weren’t feeling any pressure, it was rather about making a decision whether we should continue as a band, i.e. release new material, or simply put the band back in the grave again,” explains drummer Tobias Gustafsson. “We wrote a few songs first just for the fun of it, to see if we still ‘had it’, before we made the final decision to continue and make a new full-length album.”
‘All Heads Are Gonna Roll’ is best described as “fast, grinding, D-beat, fist-in-your-face Death Metal”, it features fresh aspects that are uncommon to Vomitory records. “One thing in particular we did was to try to build distinct choruses in the songs, which is something we didn’t put too much effort into earlier,” explains drummer Tobias Gustafsson. “We have also spent a lot more time working with the backing vocal arrangements, which we certainly think paid off very well. It brings something new to our sound. We have also tried to write more straightforward riffs, like we did in the early 2000s.”
The instruments for the record were tracked in the band’s rehearsal space, on a mobile studio setup engineered by Mats Lindström, and was self-produced. This allowed them to work at their own pace in the hours that worked for them, rather than having this dictated to them as would be the case if they had rented a studio. “Although we had a lot of flexibility to choose our working hours, it was still crucial to keep the recording schedule as strict as possible, because it was so easy to say ‘let’s do it tomorrow instead’.” For vocals, they went to Leon Music Studios and engineer Rikard Löfgren, which was where they recorded their last three albums. They brought in good friend Christian Fredriksson (Vulkan) to play some guitar solos, but otherwise it is entirely their own work.
With vivid horror movie-inspired artwork – with a hint of anti-religion thrown in for good measure – ‘All Heads Are Gonna Roll’really is the whole package for Death Metal fans, and a stunning return to form after so many years between releases.
A new video can be found on the Metal Blade YouTube channel.
More info: Vomitory; Metal Blade;Into It Records to release compilation of Putrid Mass: "50 minutes of gore-dripping Death Metal for fans of Autopsy, Obituary and especially the mighty Dr. Shrinker"
February 23, 2023
Both demos from Wisconsin’s purveyors of putrid, crunchy Death Metal compiled on a single tape with new artwork by the master of gore and filth Bram Bruyneel, Putrid Mass were a shortlived band from the US who released 2 demos, the 1993 demo ‘Stripped Of My Flesh’ and the 1994 demo ‘Crushing The Masses’. 50 minutes of gore-dripping Death Metal for fans of Autopsy, Obituary and especially the mighty Dr. Shrinker.
After Putrid Mass split-up at some point of the 90’s, members Baron Rehak (bass), Brian Rehak (drums, vocals, also from Dr. Shrinker and Death/Doom band Sickness from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) and Matt Schmitz (guitars, currently in Sleestak, former member of the same Sickness and Put Her in the Trunk) formed the band Memory’s Garden.
More info: Putrid Mass; Into It Records;