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The Red Coil – "Lam" ...

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When it comes to “Coil” and Italian bands, this is the “Coil” I prefer, the Red one, not the Lacuna one!Apart from silly jokes, here I am with The Red Coil, a band that Doommantia appreciated right since their first utters, not long after the band had made their debut into the heavy-stoner metal scene with their short but juicy demo EP “Slough Off” (2009). [You can find the review and an interview by Dr. Doom HERE and HERE.


The Red Coil, from Milano, are Marco Marinoni on vox, Daniele Parini and Luca Colombo on guitars, Toni Viceconti on bass and Antonio “Bull” Carluccio on drums.  Back in time The Red Coil bunch was one of the cool unsigned bands populating the fertile Italian heavy underground panorama. The band’s name has some Oriental mystic implications (the idea of Kundalini, the dormant potential force residing in the human organism and represented by a sleepy serpent). However The Red Coil made their way into the scene thanks to their solid, raw and crunchy, alcoholic, southern sludge-stoner metal style encompassing Down, early Black Label Society, Kyuss, Crowbar, Pantera, Orange Goblin, late Corrosion of Conformity, etc., and classic southern bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top. During 2011 they came back to studio for recording Lam, their debut full-length album. They took it easy for forging the sounds right as they wanted. Lam saw the light during late 2012 while the band inked a contract with the Italian label Buil2Kill Records /Nadir Promotion.

Well, apparently the sleepy Kundalini serpent has waken up again to party, as Lam is over 45 minutes of energetic, testosterone-drenched tunes where vitamins are provided by beer and whiskey! The Red Coil guys broadly stayed faithful to their style briefly outlined above but shaped it around a somewhat heavier sound by much live experience on stage all around Italy in these last years. But another thing that the band didn’t change is its sort of dual face: heavy tunes coupled with mystic feelings, starting right with the cover art and the title of the new album. The term Lam is referred to the chakra where the Kundalini serpent/body energy resides. As explained in a recent interview on the Italian Noize webzine, The Red Coil’s lyrics combine elements of Oriental mysticism and thoughts about personal experiences, everyday defeats, dependance, more or less toxic ways of escaping life’s hardness, inspiration from reading, travels and meeting with other cultures, and so on. So let’s put it like this: with The Red Coil and Lam it will be like being a bit high and get involved into one of those free phylosophical conversations about life that sometimes a bit of alcohol encourages!


 In Lam you’ll find 10 tracks sweating out juicy and aggressive heaviness lead by full-fat heavy riffs and rough vocals that will urge you, minimum, to grab a can of a good one. Mahakala, the short atmospheric intro lead by the chanting of Tibetan monks, is tricky and might hint to some psychedelic jamming to follow.  But one minute of contemplation or meditation is enough for plunging into the real album, the one made of charges of abrasive riffing, hooking refrains lead by Marco Marinoni’s roaring vocals and tight drumming and Bull’s tight drumming. Tracks may be as short as 3 minutes and a half, like the compact The Ones That Fall from Grace and Barrio Alto, or ballads lasting between 5 and over 6 minutes where the band’s style becomes more narrative. The pace varies between mid-tempo dynamics and periodical slowing down to almost doomy, and occasionally grungy, moods recalling the meditative moments in Down and Alice in Chains more than Black Sabbath. For example, listen to the passionate, dark Mississippian density of Eastern Smell of Smoke.

Tracks like Fuckin’ Numb and  are infectious alcoholic ballads where the listener is sweating with the singer and the rest of the bunch while cursing over empty bottles, dust, flies, or whatever and they are all wearing long beards and long hairs like ZZ Top and Zakk Wylde. The Red Coil guys are from Milano and like to practice Oriental meditation, but they are dreaming of and in love with the American wild open spaces as well. So ballad S.S.C. is opened by another distant and equally solemn chant as in the Mahakala intro, a solitary Indian chant. This chant will be quickly absorbed by the roar of the guitars and the furious choirs that keep you headbanging. But melancholy finds its way here as well, with choirs turning sad, almost grungy and eventually morphing into another rhythmic Indian chant.  Guitars howling achingly and Marco roaring invocations to the desert sand bring back laid-back swamp atmospheres in the seducing mid-downtempo ballad The Desert’s Crown where blues is ruling.

Track Narcotic Jail is shooting you back into wild headbanging and will not let you breathe with its super-tight groove metal rhythms in the vein of Cowboys From Hell and few rapid incursions into melodies according to Down. Desperation is shouted out again in the strongly melodic Daybreak, where the band is caught between blues-drenched groove metal and intensely doleful, slow, southern sludgy melancholy. The short and fast track Barrio Alto will hook you with its fresh, catchy refrains and will prepare you to the final track of the album, the last slab of blues-drenched tunes, “Beginning from Nowhere”. Useless to say, the band gives a further hommage to the roots of the Devil’s music by knitting an almost 3 minutes-long semi-acoustic blues ballad driven by harmonica, chanting and touches of slide guitar. A burp will be the signal for the riffs to start again for the last charge of genuine, old-style, super-classic, southern rock/metal. And the last sounds greeting you will duly be those from the slide guitar …

So, if you want an innovative or experimental band who is trying to invent a new genre or reinterpret old sounds in an unusual, modern fashion, well … stay away from The Red Coil!
But if you want to enjoy some totally classic southern sludge-groove metal done well and endowed with a wealth of  cool riffs, cool raw sounds and some tough vocals. Marco’s vocals are great, both when he is roaring like a wounded bear and when he is indulging in melancholy with his own true calm voice, with no need to strain it like in Phil Anselmo.  A mention goes to the excellent treatment of sounds, adequate for the style of the band. So it was worthwhile for the band to be patient and attend long recording/mixing sessions to get the “right sound”, under the care of Andrea Garavaglia (Mesmerize). The mastering by Jacob Bredahl (Hatesphere, Allhelluja) at the Dead Rat Studio (Denmark) gave the final touch. The Red Coil’s album Lam is available as CD via the band’s page and as digital version via Amazon, i-Tunes etc. It is streamed in full on Bandcamp. I guess we’ll hear more from these sludge rockers soon and, why not, it will be interesting to see towards which direction their love for blues and metal will bring them. In the meantime, I think I need another sip of my ice-cold beer …

Words: Marilena Moroni

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The It-Men – "Greatest Its" ...

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Aaaargh! Hahahaha … I must confess that for a while I totally believed the history narrated in the biographical notes attached to the album “Greatest Its”, by US band The It*Men!  The old photos were not completely convincing, though, as well as the present-day photos I had happened to see on a website, with band members recently playing in a venue in Cleveland for raising funds for a medical issue. 

The fake history is well made and is telling about one of those old bands that were hitting hard back in the roaring years between the mid 60s and the late 70s, one of those bands driven by tons of talent but troubled by unfortunate fate. But try and read the start:

“Their name? The It*Men. Their mission? Rock.We take you back to 1965. A young pool hustler and popular trust fund kid turned street urchin, Ken Janssen, happened to stumble into The Hofbrau, a smoky Cleveland bar in the (then) economically depressed Lower East Side. The band that night - a group of local high schoolers, The Peppers - had taken the stage.

Though the band was quite adept at playing the current Motown hits of the day, it was not until the lead guitarist’s amplifier caught fire - a pure accident! - that Janssen stood up and took notice. After the gig he bought the boys a round and the saga of the It*Men began.” And it goes on, eventually signed by some honorable “Prof. Orville Pricklepatch” …

Hahahaha, too hilarious to be true! Therefore, OK, some aspects of this US band from Cleveland (Ohio) need to be fixed a bit, because these guys are much younger than what told in the fake bio. However several very important things are true: the provenance, the nature of their music (which is kickass garage rock’n’roll), and, well, the unfortunate fate to which some gigs for raising funds are related. About the provenance, Cleveland, Ohio, we are dealing with one of the most killer recent and present-day scenes for ultra-heavy music, notably but not exclusively hardcore as well as sludge and doom metal (e.g., all the bands variably related to the Fistula folks). Had The It-Men been really an oooold rock band, well, indeed it would have been like exploring the roots of a scene that I admire a lot.  But sincerely there is no problem because, old or young, The It*Men and their debut double LP is so much monster!

The band involves five Cleveland guys, Ken Janssen on vocals, Matt Cassidy on guitar and vocals, Dave Molnar on bass and vocals, Ben Gmetro on guitar and Charlie Druesedow on drums. The It*Men had been gigging between the 90s and 2000s and then disbanded. Frontman Ken Janssen, known for being promoter at the Beachland Ballroom venue in Cleveland. The band reunited in 2012 after Janssen was diagnosed with a very bad neurological disease, the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). So he is the one for whom the Beachland Ballroom hosted a benefit concert and record release party to help the singer on wheelchair to cope with the raising medical bills. So let’s come to tell about the music. The It*Men are devoted to fast and devilish, crazy, reckless, sex-obsessed retro-sounding heavy stomping rock, like garage rock mixed with rock’n’roll, proto-punk, hard rock, surf rock and acid psychedelic/krautrock.  The solid version of album Greatest Its comes as double LP in classic black vinyl, pressed at Cleveland’s Gotta Groove Records and is released via the band’s own Stow House label. Also the high quality digital version is available via Bandcamp. Altogether we’ve got 16 tracks for almost 1 hour and 25 minutes full immersion in tunes and atmospheres closely recalling MC5, Blue Cheer, The Stooges, Grand Funk Railroad, The Doors, Blue Oyster Cult, Motörhead, Hawkwind, even Deep Purple (as suggested by the band on Facebook), and so on.

Hence guitars are duly distorted and riffs are tight, raw, fat and contagious, but the guitar players also find occasions for employing some effects, like some wah wah as well as making their guitars howl in brief but intense Hendrixian trippy solos. Drumming is sharp and hard hitting; the loud, pumping bass is keeping the time and the vocals, either by Kenn or by the whole bunch in drunken choirs, contribute to the load of pure badassery. The sound is rough and pleasantly dirty, “old” as it should be.  The collection, or anthology, of songs includes early material recorded by The It*Men (i.e. tracks recorded in the late 90s and remastered for a CD in the mid 2000s) together with 6 new songs dating Spring 2013 and occupying the second LP. Apart from “normal” songs, lasting anything between 2 and 6 minutes, there is also an almost 22 minutes-long suite with a menacing title (Death Machine) occupying a whole side 3 of the second LP. That is an amazing piece where the band is blending hard-hitting garage/psych blues rock with a killer acid to spaced-out psychedelic rock jam lead by a possessed bass and reverbered guitars knitted together. Halfway the sounds become so dilated and stretched that melody is lost and pulverized in hallucinatory drony cosmic noise. Before everything dies out into silence halfway through the suite, the guitars wake up from their chemical slumber and get back to fast pumping, heavy rock. Fantastic …

Each track has something different from the others in spite of all of them being tightly connected to one another stylistically. The band was able to calibrate the hues of the different retro rock genres they like for keeping you hooked for quite a while till the end of the album, and make you switch “rewind”. Plus add the great sense of humor drenching title, lyrics and, well, the band’s attitude. In spite of all. There’s no point for me in further babbling about this or that track. The album is in full streaming on Bandcamp. Go and listen to it. I bet you won’t be able to resist!  Also think about the fact that buying it, either digital or the limited edition double LP, you will help a great, brave rocker in his fight against a scary illness. I just hope that this will be the first of a series of releases by this bunch of outlaws from mighty Cleveland!

Words: Marilena Moroni

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Bandcamp (Full Stream and Purchase)

Fatum Elisum - "Fatum Elisum" ...

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There have only been a few bands to attempt to combine the sounds of Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride and Fatum Elisum are easily the best. Taking the rawest bits from both bands more primal periods and forging them into their own sound we get an intensely unique yet strangely familiar sound. Slow heavy guitar dirges blend darkness and melancholy seamlessly. The low tuned guitars growl and moan their way through this epic ode to pain. Droning harmonies mix with clean and distorted passages accented by plenty of leads to keep things interesting. In keeping with their forefathers blueprints there are some decent death metal bits strewn throughout the album.

Thankfully there aren't any keyboards or female vocals; instead we're given a traditional five piece band who know how to rock their asses off. If there are any drawbacks to this album it would be the vocals. They're awesome when growling and even shouting, but the wailing "I'm being raped" cries of bitchiness detract from the songs. Ataraxie has this same problem, perhaps it's a French thing (?). The drums are very much in the MDB vein and while not as creative as their inspiration would have you believe they do get the job done.

There is a lot of agony in this music and while they do tread some familiar ground, despite their influences, they do have an original hopelessness to their writing. These songs reek of perfect despair lacking My Dying Bride's poetic romanticism and Paradise Lost's divine hatred; they create a new kind of misery in their morose tunes.

This is a band that has a lot of potential. Being one of a handful of doom bands in the black metal hot bed that is France says a lot to their conviction. This is one to catch if you like your doom heavy! This gets an 8/10.

Words: Grimm Doom

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NEWS: WEEDEATER Signs With SEASON OF MIST ...

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Season Of Mist has announced the signing of North Carolina's bastard sons of sludge WEEDEATER. The band's fifth full-length album is due next year. Commented the group: "When we heard we would be working with Season Of Mist, we almost wrecked our pants. Can't wait for y'all to check out this shit." Formed out of the ashes of BUZZOV*EN in the late Nineties, WEEDEATER has released four albums so far: "…And Justice For Y'All", "Sixteen Tons", "God Luck And Good Speed" and "Jason… The Dragon". All four will be reissued digitally on December 10.

The physical re-releases will hit stores sometime next year. In a 2011 interview with The Aquarian Weekly, WEEDEATER bassist "Dixie" Dave Collins stated about working with legendary producer Steve Albini: "['Jason… The Dragon' is] the second record in a row we’ve done with him, and he's one of the best producers in the world for analog stuff, for sure, and I've been very fortunate working with nothing but the best. Billy Anderson is also, in my opinion, right in the same caliber, one of the best producers for analog shit and live sound in the world.

"[Steve's] got one of the best recording studios in the world, if not in the U.S. I think the place is awesome. So we had a blast, and it was our second time there and all the same main people that work there are still there, and they're awesome. Look forward to doing another record either with him or Billy or somebody."

Read more at Blabbermouth

Uzala - "Tales of Blood & Fire " ...

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“Primitive” and “negative” are apt adjectives for doom metal. Conversely, Uzala, a melancholic doom act that splits its time between Boise, Idaho and Portland, Oregon, fit these descriptors well. As their war chant goes: arise despair!

Through huge waves of amplification and whilst riding on the angelic wings of singer/guitarist Darcy Nutt’s searing melodies, Uzala craft elegant tapestries of sonic sadness. “Tales of Fire & Blood,” the band’s second LP, is yet another ghoulish orchestration, and its five songs brilliantly display the band’s brand of psychedelic and pagan fuzz rock.

On their first time out (which was simply entitled “Uzala”), Uzala made an eight-track lamentation that managed to even include “Gloomy Sunday,” that favorite amongst suicides. “Uzala” unearthed and exposed a very primordial brand of metal, and at its best, “Uzala” revealed that clean singing need not mean wimpy exercises in heavy metal grandiloquence.

On “Tales of Fire & Blood,” Uzala take a much stranger turn. While “Uzala” at times bordered on the operatic, “Tales of Fire & Blood” is mostly a muddy affair that is kept well rooted in the Earth’s soil. To put it more bluntly, “Tales of Fire & Blood” is recorded funeral dirt.

Still, despite the simplistic character of Uzala’s latest record, the band does manage to experiment with their sound occasionally. These efforts are successful, and “Tales of Fire & Blood” sounds the more epic for their inclusion. For instance, “Tenement of the Lost,” the record’s final track, is a twelve minute ode to drone that deftly captures the album’s obsidian flavor. While “Uzala” wrapped up its allotted time with “Gloomy Sunday” (a song that actually included lyrics), the final denouement on “Tales of Fire & Blood” is an instrumental full of white (or rather black) noise and somber chord interludes that sound like electric wind chimes from Purgatory.

Speaking of death, one cannot escape the Grim Reaper on “Tales of Fire & Blood.” During the opening, which is entitled “Seven Veils,” Nutt culls forth the shrouded and hooded fates who seem to stalk the entire record. While Nutt is busy reciting the ceremony, guitarist Chad Remains busily bends and slurs his lines, thus creating slow, drippy riffs that ooze dangerous portents. “Seven Veils” is one hell of an opener, and more importantly, it immediately lets the listener know that they should have left their happiness at the record store’s door.

“Countess,” the record’s major standout and fourth track, quite explicitly tells the tale of a brooding and malevolent noblewoman who lives upon a hill. Are we talking about Countess Elizabeth Bathory looking down from her vantage point in Castle Čachtice here? Probably, but it’s better to keep some mystery and to even believe that Uzala have their own unique queen blasphemer in mind. Either way, “Countess” is a strong rocker that anchors “Tales of Fire & Blood” down to the streamlined components of noisy doom metal.

The remaining two songs - “Dark Days” and “Burned” - are more than serviceable, and, at best, they help to further darken the world Uzala has spun on “Tales of Fire & Blood.” This is certainly a bleak full-length, and it is even more dour than its very pessimistic predecessor. Uzala are making quite the name for themselves as morose metallers, even within the doom metal underground. “Tales of Fire & Blood” is yet another example of Uzala’s growing maturation and their ever-widening pool of heavy sounds. From acid rock to washed out drone, “Tales of Fire & Blood” represents a sitting atop of its own crude apex with both thumbs turned decidedly down. 

Track List:
1.    Seven Veils
2.    Dark Days
3.    Burned
4.    Countess
5.    Tenements of the Lost


Words: Benjamin Welton


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NEWS: CANDLEMASS' MATS 'MAPPE' BJÖRKMAN Visits FRAMUS And WARWICK Headquarters In Germany (Video) ...

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CANDLEMASS will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its third album, "Ancient Dreams", with special live concert on December 28 at Debaser Medis in Stockholm, Sweden.

The LP, which was originally issued in 1988, has long been hailed as a classic and will be performed in its entirety by CANDLEMASS, which was last year voted Sweden's best rock/metal band of all time in Sweden Rock Magazine.

CANDLEMASS' current touring lineup includes four members of its classic formation: Leif Edling on bass, Björkman on rhythm guitar, Lars Johansson on lead guitar and Janne Lindh on drums.

CANDLEMASS played its first show with singer Mats Levén on June 5, 2012 at Debaser Slussen in Stockholm, Sweden.

Levén is a former member of YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, THERION and TREAT, who also plays with CANDLEMASS bassist/mainman Leif Edling in KRUX.

Also joining the group for CANDLEMASS' recent live performances was keyboard player Per Wiberg (OPETH, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS).

CANDLEMASS in June 2012 parted ways singer Robert Lowe. The band stated at the time that this was "a very difficult decision" to make and had "mainly to do with the quality of the live performances."

Lowe — who is still a member of SOLITUDE AETERNUS — joined CANDLEMASS in January 2007 and sang on the band's last three studio albums: "King Of The Grey Islands" (2007), "Death Magic Doom" (2009) and "Psalms For The Dead" (2012).

CANDLEMASS released its 11th and final album, "Psalms For The Dead", on June 8, 2012 via Napalm Records. A limited-edition seven-inch vinyl single contaning two album tracks —"Dancing In The Temple Of The Mad Queen Bee" and "The Killing Of The Sun" — preceded the full-length effort on April 13, 2012.

Read more at Blabbermouth

Sadhak - Sadhak (demo 2013) ...

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Sadhak is purely fucking amazing. I listen to vast amounts of music every month, trying to catch up with the doom metal scene throughout the world and its derivatives and rarely ever stumble on something so incredibly good. The band name probably does not ring any bell for you - this is to be expected since there is hardly any information for the band anywhere. Therefore, here come I to enlighten you on the matter.

One does not need to spend long hours listening to this demo tape to come to the realisation that it is created by members of High Priest of Saturn. In fact, you can't find information about Sadhak's band members - not even in the booklet of their cassette; however, listening to the music it is more than obvious who created it. Maybe my opinion about this band is a little (or not so little) subjective, because I'm already a huge fan of High Priest and Resonaut. Oh wait, huge fan is not the proper description. I'll shoot straight - the High Priest and Resonaut releases were the best pieces of music to come out in the recent year. So, if you dig the already mentioned - there's no fucking way you are not buying Sadhak's demo tape. It is essential.

For anyone else who is unfamiliar - Sadhak's demo presents this very Lovecraftian, void-bound, out of the world music. I know that there are a lot of bands who put Cthulhu references in their songs and band names, but hardly someone ever reaches the goal of sounding like their hometown is the one of the ancient gods. Very slow-paced, the guitar riff is building slowly towards perfection and always accompanied by a distant drum - the perfect music to listen to white the rain is pouring and you're watching into blank space. "On the arrival of Man" creates this atmosphere from beyond everything material. When I first heard the music and the name of the song, it instantly created that association in my mind of something outwordly and devoid of matter. Not to mention the guitar at the end of the song. Are you fucking kidding me? I don't know how old this Andreas Hagen is or which planet he comes from, but he creates the best solos ever. Alright, I'm a naturally high person, but hey, there's no way you remain untouched by that solo.

The second track quite resembles the first one. The lyrics make it clear that I was right with my associations the first time:

"The Form does not differ from the Void
The Void does not differ from Form
There is no realm of consciousness
Form is Void and Void is Form"

I'm not trying to be an expert but as long as I know the origin of "Sadhaka" comes from Sanskrit and means "one has to reach the goal" or something like that, to put it into simple words. When I think about it, the idea that there's nothing after death makes me rather calm. Like, the simple idea that I should go to heaven, have contact with other people and simply use my brain again is very, very disturbing. Let's not get carried away. I just wanted to say that the conceptual idea behind Sadhak is as awesome as their music. If you like long, melancholic doom with a definite character, you need to check these guys. Heavy in a different way.

Words: Teddy Mateeva ( Sixth From The Sun )

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Vastum - “Patricidal Lust" ...

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Even though it’s one of the oldest stories around, the tale of Oedipus - his jonesing for his mother, his murder of his father, and his eventual self-mutilation - still scares the bejeezus out of most people, and its only modern day rival are the fever dreams of Jerry Sandusky. Vastum, a throwback doom/death act from the summery shores of San Francisco, know the old Greek yarn well, and “Patricidal Lust,” the band’s second LP and their first on 20 Buck Spin, is all about serious sexual transgression (I mean just look at Paolo Girardi’s cover!).

Well, that is if you even consider “sex” to be anything other than a social construct. In the scant few interviews that they have given so far, the members of Vastum (Luca Indrio on bass, Leila Abdul-Rauf on guitars and vocals, and Daniel Butler on vocals) have successfully proven to the world that they paid attention in college, thus forcing one anonymous Internet commenter to label Vastum as death metal “for people who have read Foucault, Bataille, and Kristeva.”
Well, that may be true, but you don’t need to be hip on gender studies or the theories of sexuality to get the thrust of “Patricidal Lust.” In six tracks, “Patricidal Lust” outlines a slower, more stripped-down type of death/doom blueprint that is then filled to the rafters with intelligent lyrics about existential dread, the fear of our own bodies, and yadda, yadda, yadda. It’s true that Vastum write smarter lyrics than the usual extreme metal outfit, but since the point of the growling vocal delivery is feeling trumping clarity, these highfalutin words are ultimately subservient to Vastum’s crushing grooves and their Obituary-meets-Bolt Thrower breakdowns.

“Libidinal Springs,” the album’s opener, lets the listener know immediately that this is a record of the old school - it focuses on the mid-range while at the same time it allows sonic space for the type of low-end, microtonal expressions that past and present cro-magnons love. “3Am in Agony,” the record’s third track, rinses and repeats much of the same lessons as “Libidinal Springs,” whilst “Enigma of Disgust,” the album’s longest track, unleashes a type of boorish brutality that can be felt even in the dankest recesses of the human body (i.e., the taint).

By the time “Repulsive Arousal” comes around, it should be clear to you that Patricidal Lust is the type of doom/death metal release that should have been made in 1991 - death metal’s golden year. Sludgy, pulverizing, and thicker than my arteries after wing night, “Patricidal Lust” is the sound of Cannibal Corpse-era Chris Barnes repeatedly smashing a hammer across your face, although this time around Barnes is clutching a Ph.D in lit. crit. in his other hand.

Track List:
1.    Libidinal Springs
2.    Enigma of Disgust
3.    3Am in Agony
4.    Incel
5.    Patricidal Lust
6.    Repulsive Arousal

“Patricidal Lust” will be released on November 12 via 20 Buck Spin

Words: Benjamin Welton

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NEWS: SAMOTHRACE To Deliver Their Psychedelic Remorse At Roadburn Festival 2014 Band To Perform Reverence To Stone In Its Entirety At Annual Gathering ...

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Slaloming between valleys of sloping lethargy, rocky mountain peaks of noise and feedback and canyon sized, melodic riffs, SAMOTHRACE's crushing heaviness is suffused with psychedelic radiation, delivering the perfect bludgeoning atmospherics for spaced out headbanging. Amidst SAMOTHRACE's massive, slo-mo sludgy grooves the band molds a captivating thing of beauty from anguish, ugliness and misery. Add to that some glorious, almost classic rock driven guitar soloing, and you'll find sustaining strength and comfort in despair.

This week, the promoters of the massive annual Roadburn Festival confirm that SAMOTHRACE will bring their mesmerizing form of organic doom metal to the masses attending the 2014 installment of the gathering, the performance to take place on Thursday, April 10th at Hey Patronaat in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Stated the festival's head promoters on the announcement: "We cannot wait for Seattle's SAMOTHRACE to bring their psychedelic remorse to Roadburn Festival 2014 by performing Reverence To Stone in its entirety!"

"We are very excited to be a part of Roadburn 2014 in our second trip to European soil," states drummer Joe Axler. "We feel privileged to be able to share the stage with so many old friends, and not only be able to play at such an amazing festival but also to see so many of our favorite bands and to be introduced to new ones as well. For Roadburn 2014, Samothrace we will be performing Reverence to Stone in its entirety. We are looking forward to bringing our form of Heavy to this event!!"

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

This announcement comes while SAMOTHRACE is already out on the road, currently embarked on their forage across the American continent through the rest of November.

SAMOTHRACE Tour Dates [ONGOING]:
11/12/2013 Rubber Gloves - Denton, TX
11/13/2013 The Conservatory - Oklahoma City, OK
11/14/2013 Bar Bar - Denver, CO
11/15/2013 Triple Nickel Tavern - Colorado Springs, CO
11/16/2013 Frank's North Star Tavern - Lawrence, KS
11/17/2013 Fubar - St. Louis, MO
11/18/2013 The Hideaway - Johnson City, TN
11/19/2013 Strange Matter - Richmond, VA
11/20/2013 Roger's Sports Pub - Chesapeake, VA
11/21/2013 Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC
11/22/2013 Ground Zero - Spartanburg, SC
11/23/2013 The Handlebar - Pensacola, FL
11/24/2013 The Bakery - New Orleans, LA
11/25/2013 house show - Baton Rouge, LA w/ Thou, Barghest
11/26/2013 Hotel Vegas - Austin, TX
11/27/2013 Soundpony - Tulsa, OK
11/29/2013 The Shred Shed - Salt Lake City, UT
11/30/2013 The Shredder - Boise, ID
4/10/2014 Roadburn Festival - Tilburg, The Netherlands

Worldwide contact dave@earsplitcompound.com with all SAMOTHRACE and 20 Buck Spin coverage requests.

NEWS: WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS Releases Ominous Video From New Fourth Album At The Obelisk ...

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Following the recent unfurling of their mammoth new Drifting Towards The Edge Of The Earth 2xCD full-length, Connecticut doom metal trio, WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS, has released a brand new video from the album.

Directed and edited by Charlie Winthal and the WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS' founding guitarist/vocalist, Aaron Lewis, the more than eleven-minute-long video tells the harrowing story for the third track of the album's first disc, "Sleeps In Burning Hills." The disturbing imagery of the tune comes to live in a bleak and ominous visual mini-movie now playing at The Obelisk, stating of the video: "Culminating in quick, vague jumpcuts that give way to eerily peaceful footage of forest sunset, there's a sense the whole time that something vile will happen, is happening, has happened. Lewis doubles as a photographer and is no stranger to fetish-based work, and it's precisely that air of sexualized violence/violent sexuality that comes through across 'Sleeps in Burning Hills.' I won't spoil the narrative thread, but things hardly seem to turn out well for the lady in the white dress. Take that, purity."

Go on, check it out... HERE

Also a stream "The Scavengers Daughter," playing RIGHT HERE

Formed in 2005 by ex-Cable guitarist Aaron Lewis, alongside bassist/vocalist Mike Parkyn and drummer Rich Kalinowski, WTDB signed with EarOne Productions early this year, and set out to capture their most ambitious work yet. Painstakingly recorded this past Spring at Room SevenZeroEight, mastered by Chris Tobias and Mike Livingston at Ear One Studios, on Drifting Towards The Edge Of The Earth WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS is at their finest and most explorative hour. The nearly two-hour-long 2xCD takes the listener on an extensive, engulfing voyage through the cosmos and annals of sludge/doom; devastating amplification boasts everything the talented members can create; mournful segues, booming classic rock ballad riffs, mystical and melodic interludes and straightforward, thunderous riffage coalesce into an exceptionally diverse album fans of Sleep, YOB, Ufomammut, Samothrace, Ramesses, Cable and the like will no doubt benefit from experiencing.

Review copies of Drifting Towards The Edge Of The Earth and interviews with WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS are available now via dave@earsplitcompound.com.

When The Deadbilt Breaks | Facebook
Ear One Productions | Official Website
Ear One Productions | Facebook

NEWS: THE LION'S DAUGHTER: St. Louis Doom Metal Misfits Unleash Collaboration With Folk Ensemble Indian Blanket; New Track Streaming ...

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 From: Earsplit PR


St. Louis doom metal misfits, THE LION'S DAUGHTER, are pleased to unearth the forbidden fruit of their latest full-length, A Black Sea. A full collaborative effort between THE LION'S DAUGHTER and somber folk ensemble/fellow St. Louis occupants, Indian Blanket, the initial idea was to create just one special song together, however through an enormous outpouring of creativity, musical chemistry, and perhaps some support from Jim Beam and various forms of earthbound psychedelics, what was prearranged as one track mushroomed into a full LP with both bands stepping far beyond their immediate comfort zones. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Gabe Usery (Fister) at Encapsulated Studios in St. Louis, A Black Sea features seven apocalyptic, blues-based, doom metal mantras that will blur your vision as they cradles your soul.

Sample "Wolves," currently streaming via Cvlt Nation at THIS LOCATION

A Black Sea Track Listing:
1. Wolves
2. Gods Much More Terrible
3. Swann
4. A Song For The Devil
5. Timeless Waters
6. Sea Of Trees
7. That Place

THE LION'S DAUGHTER was born out of a hatred for the insincere and uninspired cookie-cutter fodder the mainstream metal scene has become. They takes notes from black metal and doom, but live by no musical limitations and are driven to please no audience but themselves. The band's most recent work is a prime example of their play-to-please-no-one credo. Previous releases include two self-released EPs, a 12" split with Fister (Hands Up Records, 2011), and the full length Shame On Us All (Pissfork, 2012), which Cvlt Nation described as a, "hard-hitting blast of bruising riffs that will surely leave you drained from start to finish." The trio was created in 2007 by guitarist/vocalist Rick Giordano and drummer Erik Ramsier after leaving a band that neither liked much, and named their new project after a campy romance novel they saw at the airport. Scott Fogelbach of Love Lost But Not Forgotten soon joined and opening spots for Torche, Nachtmystium, High on Fire, Dark Funeral, Eyehategod, and more ensued as well as a national tour with Fister, with the band delivering a live show that the Riverfront Times called, "absolutely punishing." Additionally, THE LION'S DAUGHTER won the RFT Reader's Poll "Best Metal Band" (in St. Louis) award in 2011 and again in 2013. Forever Cursed calls THE LION'S DAUGHTER, "one of the most underrated bands out there," No Clean Singing champions their, "heavy, harsh, and harrowing," sound while The Bone Reader welcomes their,"caustic, blistering noise of the post-apocalypse." But the band doesn't play as if it simply wants to see the world end; it sounds like they want to be the ones to destroy it.

THE LION'S DAUGHTER:

Rick Giordano - Vocals, Guitars
Erik Ramsier - Drums
Scott Fogelbach - Bass, Vocals

INDIAN BLANKET:

Joe Andert - Vocals, Guitars, Banjo
Gina Eygenhuysen - Violin, Strings
Jim Hughes - Percussion, Mandolin
Alex Beaven - Guitars, Effects
Mike Brown - Bass, Bells

A Black Sea is officially available via the Good Die Young Music webstore. This LP is a two-hundred-fifty pressing with fifty limited edition, all white pressings available and includes a digital download of the album with a bonus track, "Moonshiner." Order your copy HERE

The Lions Daughter | Facebook
Good Die Young Music | Official Website
The Lions Daughter | Bandcamp

NEWS: SUNN O))) & ULVER: Collaborative Work Entitled Terrestrials Due For February 2014 Release Via Southern Lord ...

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SUNN O)))'s most recent studio album, 2009's Monoliths and Dimensions, and ULVER's 2013 album, Messe I.X-VI.X,found both evolving and longstanding groups venturing into the world of acoustic arrangement and contemporary orchestration. Besides arriving at this seeming parallel in vision, the pair's long standing camaraderie was initiated during SUNN O)))'s 2003's White1 sessions with the track "CutWOODED" which was produced by ULVER, in tribute to deceased film director Ed Wood.

ULVER's decision to emerge from the shadows into live performance, in 2009, unveiled a new facet of showmanship and presentation which took their audiences to an unforeseen level. SUNN O)))'s presence has continuously been felt -- whether in the prospect of their hundreds of legendary live concerts, the reissue of out-of-print albums in devotion to their loyal fanbase, or the recent unveiling of their NEW WEBSITE -- and the anticipation of something new was heightened beyond belief recently when the label posted online the words, "SUNN O))) & ULVER 2014".

Yes. At long last they have come together for a more developed collaborative work.

Today, it comes with great pleasure to confirm that these words, SUNN O))) and ULVER, together, represent an astonishing yet somehow totally tenable matrimony of these two earthshakingly powerful forces, coming together like tectonic plates. The result of this union is a three-track recording entitled Terrestrials; a trio of movements which flow like magma beneath the Earth's crust, sonically uninhibited, unpredictably cosmic, haunting and stirring, yet simultaneously ceremonious and beautiful.

Southern Lord shall release Terrestrials in February 2014.Over the course of the next month we shall be revealing the story of how this alliance and recording came to be, revealing the insight of the musicians involved, attempting to answer some of the burning questions which we have, for now, left hanging in the air.

For coverage of all Southern Lord actions, in North/South America contact dave@earsplitcompound.com and in Europe contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.


Sunn At Southern Lord | Official Website
Ulver | Jester Records
Southern Lord | Offical Website
Ideologic. Org

Doomsters At the Drive-In: Doom Metal Approved Fright Flicks Presents... The Dunwich Horror (1970)

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This is the first installment of a thirteen part series.


Although he died in relative obscurity in 1937, H.P. Lovecraft continues to have a pervasive influence on popular culture, especially that segment which deals with death, darkness, and other damnable things. Before he died of cancer at the young age of forty-six, Lovecraft was mostly known as a better-than-average writer who frequently contributed to “Weird Tales,” a pulp magazine that catered to the horror crowd.

Lovecraft was also a tireless writer of letters, with numerous correspondents and pen pals scattered throughout the U.S. Lovecraft wrote some of these letters to admirers, and some of them he wrote to peers, among whom were such luminaries as Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Donald Wandrei, and Robert E. Howard. These fellow writers did much to keep Lovecraft’s legacy alive, with Derleth and Wandrei even going so far as to establish the publishing house Arkham House in 1939 in order to keep Lovecraft’s many stories in print.
After the Second World War, Lovecraft’s popularity exploded, and even as early 1945 Lovecraft’s stories were collected for an Armed Services edition.

During the 1950s and 1960s, spurred on by the space race and the proliferation of nuclear arms, comic books and B movies became obsessed with the evil potential of runaway science and the threat posed by extraterrestrial entities. The cosmic element of Lovecraft’s fiction (which Derleth labeled the “Cthulhu Mythos”) fit in perfectly with this cultural paranoia, and so too did his depictions of secret societies and occult worshippers. For Lovecraft’s more conservative fans, the cult of the Great Old Ones - those extraterrestrial beings who ruled Earth before the coming of mankind -  became the fictional ancestors for the Beatniks and the Hippies, while for the younger, more rebellious sect, Lovecraft’s misanthropy and his highly detailed and decidedly non-Christian world became causes in and of themselves. These antagonistic streams of thought converged in one film - 1970’s “The Dunwich Horror.”

While it is neither the first Lovecraft story to be adapted for the screen nor is it the best (both of those honors belong to Roger Corman’s “The Haunted Palace” - a film that erroneously attributed its story to Edgar Allan Poe), “The Dunwich Horror” is the first Lovecraftian film that adequately captured the author’s atmosphere without corrupting it with Gothicism or kooky science fiction. Conversely, “The Dunwich Horror” blatantly connects Lovecraft’s original tale with the radical chic of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, forcing an Arthur Machen-inspired story from the 1920s to become an acid freakout about New Age religions, sexual experimentation, and recreational drugs.

“The Dunwich Horror” begins with a birth. Standing beside the bed of the pregnant Lavinia Whateley (played by Joanne Moore Jordan) are two silent albino women and Old Whateley (played by Sam Jaffe). All four are dressed in black robes and are decorated with obscure symbols that let the viewer know immediately that this is not an ordinary scene. Compounding this strangeness is the fact that Lavinia is beautiful and young, while Old Whateley, who is originally believed to be the father of Lavinia’s child, is noticeably older. Thus “The Dunwich Horror” immediately hints at subversive and taboo sexuality, from incest to unnatural partnerships. On top of that, the film’s gratuitous use of occult symbols speaks to the level of “Satanic panic” that was starting to creep into the consciousness of the Western nations.

Caused by high fertility rates and a brand of consumer capitalism that increasingly catered to teenagers, a culture of youthful rebellion began to take shape in North America and in Western Europe during the Cold War. For the most part, this culture was relatively harmless. Rock and roll was its soundtrack, and its aims ranged anywhere from hedonism to simply going against the wishes of anyone over thirty.

A much darker undercurrent existed alongside this more benign movement, though. Along with an upsurge in political terrorism that leeched itself onto the antiwar movement, a new wave of violence erupted all across the U.S., with certain cities turning into battlegrounds that mirrored the ones in Southeast Asia. Besides petty crimes, sensational stories of drug-induced murders and biker gangs run amok began taking up headlines in the mid ‘60s. Then, on Walpurgisnacht in 1966, Anton LeVay founded the Church of Satan in San Francisco. Finally, all those opposed to the counterculture could claim that the Hippies, the Yippies, and the other “long hairs” were tools of Satan. Never mind that LaVeyan Satanism takes its cues from Friedrich Nietzsche and Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, and never mind that the Satanism of 1966 dismissed Lucifer as a deity - 
pundits and tastemakers had a field day with the idea of Satanic youth.

“The Dunwich Horror” not only openly plays with the idea of youthful Satanism, but it made money off the more salacious aspects of the counterculture. Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson, the men behind American International Pictures, made a career out of producing and promoting sensationalist films, and they tasked director Daniel Haller, who had earlier adapted Lovecrat’s “The Colour Out of Space” as “Die, Monster, Die!,” to do the same with “The Dunwich Horror.”

After the credits role alongside an animation sequence that bears a lot in common with the later AIP film “Blacula” (1972), “The Dunwich Horror” begins its proper narrative with a campus setting. Dr. Henry Armitage (played by veteran actor Ed Begley) has just given a lecture on the Necronomicon, and two students - Nancy Wagner (played by Sandra Dee) and Elizabeth Hamilton (played by Donna Baccala) - want to discuss his research further. They are joined by a mysterious young man named Wilbur Whateley (played by a whispering Dean Stockwell). Wilbur is interested not only in Dr. Armitage’s findings, but he is even more interested in reading the Necronomicon - a forbidden tome that houses inter-dimensional secrets. After using the same hypnotic powers that Christopher Lee made famous during his many turns as Count Dracula, Wilbur convinces Nancy to let him read the Necronomicon before it is to be locked up in the university’s library.

At this point, Nancy has already come under the thrall of Wilbur, and during a night out with Dr. Armitage and Elizabeth, Nancy and Wilbur fall into conversation. Nancy shows herself to be keen on Wilbur’s philosophy, which Dr. Armitage describes as seeing “man as a rather dismal creature.” Wilbur explains that his negative views on humanity stem from his family’s history of persecution - a persecution based upon their adherence to the practices outlined in the Necronomicon. In short, Wilbur and his Whateleys are a shunned and despised people.

This fact is brought home during a nighttime drive to the Whateley’s rural homestead. After missing his bus, Wilbur convinces Nancy to give him a lift back to his home. While purchasing gas at a remote station, the attendant recognizes Wilbur and immediately stops his services. From here, the film builds its tension by focusing on the quiet malevolence of Wilbur and his familial home. The house itself is a ramshackle affair on the outside, while on the inside it is decked out in a Victorian manner that resembles a set from one of Hammer studio’s then popular monster movies. This is to become Nancy’s prison, for after drugging her tea with a mysterious substance and disabling her car, Wilbur chooses Nancy to be a part of a blasphemous ritual.

During her first night at the Whateley farmhouse, Nancy sleeps in the same room as Lavinia and even wears the same black robe. Considering that she will soon become the object of Wilbur’s sexual and religious desire, Wilbur’s intentional recasting of his mother in the form of Nancy drips with Freudian psychosis, especially Freud’s theory of the Oedipal complex.

During the night, Nancy has a nightmare that involves wild, painted people who at first chase her through the woods, then take part in an orgy that involves a goat. Much like the critically acclaimed “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968), the script by Curtis Hanson (who would go on to direct “L.A. Confidential,” “Wonder Boys,” and “8 Mile”), Henry Rosenbaum, and Ronald Silkosky sets Nancy up as the virginal woman plagued by sexualized demons. And like Mia Farrow’s Rosemary Woodhouse, Nancy’s primary antagonist is a man who tries to convince her of the normalcy of a decidedly abnormal act. For both Rosemary and Nancy, the supreme abnormal act is the birth of a wicked child, and both ultimately succumb to this fate.

It is Wilbur’s abduction of Nancy that causes both Dr. Armitage (who is the first to suspect Wilbur’s intentions) and Elizabeth to go on the offensive against the Whateley clan. This decision takes them from Arkham to Dunwich, which is just another one of the many weird little towns that populate American horror fiction. After finding out that Nancy has been brainwashed by Wilbur to stay on his property, Dr. Armitage and Elizabeth comb through the history of Dunwich in order to find out what Wilbur and Old Whateley really have in store for their friend.


(The monster of the Whateley family attacks Elizabeth)



It is at this point that “The Dunwich Horror” turns into a Manichean film that pits the forces of traditional order against the radical diabolism of Wilbur and his grandfather. On the side of good there is Dr. Armitage, Elizabeth, Dr. Cory (played by a horribly made-up Lloyd Bochner), who is the village doctor that delivered Wilbur, and Cora (played by a very young Talia Shire), Dr. Cory’s nurse. In between the forces of good and evil are the local townspeople, who are depicted in a rather unflattering light. Ignorant and violent, the townspeople torment Wilbur, even when he tries to bury Old Whateley according to their family’s idiosyncratic customs. Ultimately, many of these townspeople pay the price for their lack of neighborly’s love, especially during the film’s chaotic climax.

That climax has its start midway through the film after Elizabeth, who has returned to the Whateley estate alone in order rescue Nancy, unwittingly unleashes Wilbur’s twin brother (who was supposedly born stillborn) from its locked room. This creature, which has been hidden from the viewer since the beginning of the film, even though its watery sounds can be heard throughout, is an acid rock creation that attacks with its Gorgon-like head of snakes. Elizabeth’s death is shot with different colored lenses and cuts so quick that they help to obscure the absurdity of the rubber snakes and the fact that for some inexplicable reason the creature deemed it necessary to strip Elizabeth naked before killing her.

Wilbur makes the horns of Baphomet over a drugged Nancy



Each time that this creature is present in the film, “The Dunwich Horror” takes a psychedelic turn, with odd shots and strange noises. Call it a cynical appeal to drug-taking moviegoers, but either way “The Dunwich Horror” is at its most ridiculous when this Lovecraftian creature is prowling about.  As this creature destroys an entire house and lays waste to certain members of a hunting party, Wilbur is busy performing rituals with Nancy that involve sexual intercourse and, eventually, a large knife. While performing these rites, Wilbur chants certain Lovecraftian phrases (most notably “Yog-Sothoth”) and makes the horns of Baphomet - a pose made famous by British occultist Aleister Crowley. It is while in this position that Dr. Armitage corners Wilbur with counter magic, and thus ultimately causes God (in the form of lightning) to strike down Wilbur, which in turn eliminates his twin brother - the chimeric monster that is shown in its entirety during the film’s conclusion.

Although “The Dunwich Horror” is the very definition of kitsch, it nevertheless has managed to influence a whole slew of fans, many of whom are musicians. Justin Oborn, the founder of doom metal titans Electric Wizard, is one of them, and in 2009, Oborn told an interviewer for the Roadburn Festival that “‘Dunwich Horror’ is cool as all hell and sums up the whole Electric Wizard ethos...the dark side of the late 60s and early 70s, weird drugs, tentacle rape and of course H.P. Lovecraft.” This isn’t mere grandstanding either, for in 2007, “Witchcult Today,” Electric Wizard’s sixth studio album, contains an ode to “The Dunwich Horror” simply called “Dunwich.”

While Oborn and Rudimentary Peni, a British crust punk band who made a Lovecraft-themed album in 1988 called “Cacophony,” are fans of “The Dunwich Horror,” you might not be, especially if you love Lovecraft’s story. Besides a few surface-level similarities, Lovecraft’s original and the AIP film have little in common. While Lovecraft’s short story is a rumination on the evil that is inherent in the pagan wildernesses of western Massachusetts, “The Dunwich Horror,” which was shot in northern California, is mostly a schlock thriller that ham-handedly tries to expose the supposedly diabolic character of the countercultural youth. If you recognize this, then you can enjoy “The Dunwich Horror” for what is - the apex of the B movie form wrapped up in the Technicolor clothes of the rock and roll generation’s most stoned years.

“The Dunwich Horror” is currently available for streaming on Netflix.

Words: Benjamin Welton

NEWS: NOOTHGRUSH/COFFINS: Split LP Stream Unleashed Via Noisey ...

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NEWS FROM EARSPLIT PR

What is undoubtedly one the most essential albums to hail from the doom/sludge metal underworld in some time is just days from release, as the split LP from NOOTHGRUSH and COFFINS is being prepared to deliver a quagmire of the most undiluted and bulldozing riff-and-battery escapades of the year.

Oakland's iconic and elusive NOOTHGRUSH unload their first new material since their 2011 reformation, and beyond that since near the turn of the century. Leading off the split with three devastating new slug-paced, suffocating acts of sludge mastery, joined by Dino Somesse, of '90s crust icons, Dystopia, contributing vocals, this half of the platter alone is worth the price of admission to the devastation. But then you still have Tokyo's COFFINS to deal with, the infamous henchmen surging in like a tsunami of diseased lava, their mid-paced, gutturally-charged brutality channeling the old-school death metal filth of Autopsy with an altogether more rollicking lurch. The entire package unleashes thirty minutes of primal, mandatory audio terrorism, shrouded in artwork by Josh Graham, this utterly oppressive slab of crushing doom shall be officially released on 12" via Southern Lord in North America on November 26th.

Vice Magazine's music haven, Noisey, is hosting a stream of the entire split, describing the album as "an implement of fucking destruction." The post continues, "If there's one thing you should take away from this record it is: DOOM. Oakland's NOOTHGRUSH continue their 20-year descent into a pit of despair and hatred of humanity over three songs. And Japan's COFFINS add two songs that sound like the soundtrack to the apocalypse."

NOOTHGRUSH/COFFINS...Listen... right now... RIGHT HERE

In related news, COFFINS have announced a recent shift in their ranks as current vocalist Ryo Yamada will leave the band this month for personal reasons. Taking over the vomitous vocal duties is Jun Tokita, as the band prepares for more 2014 tour actions. They're already confirmed to perform at Obscene Extreme Asia, and then return to the U.S. for Maryland Deathfest, where NOOTHGRUSH will also bring their caustic brutality to the masses.

Review the NOOTHGRUSH/COFFINS split LP and interviews of the band are available now. For coverage of all Southern Lord releases, in North/South America contact dave@earsplitcompound.comand in Europe and abroad contact lauren@rarelyunable.com.

Coffins | Official Website
Noothgrush | Facebook
Southern Lord | Official Website

NEWS: SPIRIT CARAVAN – EXCLUSIVE REUNION SHOWS AT BOTH DESERTFESTS ...

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Here we are ! First headliner confirmed for both DESERTFEST LONDON & BERLIN is… the cult band SPIRIT CARAVAN, finally back after 12 years !!!

When The Obsessed folded in 1995 Scott “Wino” Weinrich moved from California to his native Maryland to create the band Shine. After a demo entitled “Powershine” and a 7? EP “Lost Sun Dance” release during 1997 Shine became SPIRIT CARAVAN as he was joined by bass player Dave Sherman and drummer Gary Isom.

A 7? single shared with Sixty Watt Shaman in 1999 was their first release together and several others followed : their first full-length album “Jug Fulla Sun” in 1999, a second EP intitled “Dreamwheel” later the same year, and after an extensive U.S. and European tour, their sophomore effort, “Elusive Truth” in 2001.

While SPIRIT CARAVAN’s sound isn’t drastically different from the aforementioned The Obsessed, who welded the foot-stomping organic qualities of Grand Funk Railroad with no-frills American roots punk like The Dictators, all the while observing Black Sabbath, SPIRIT CARAVAN injected a healthy dose of cryptic psychedelia to their mix. Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s guitar tone evinces the slow burning wisdom derived from many decades of hard living and touring in the underground music community.

The band received a lot of praise from the doom/stoner community but, unfortunately, SPIRIT CARAVAN split-up in May 2002… But as he showed many times in the past, Wino is like a phoenix ! And now it’s time for SPIRIT CARAVAN to be reborn !!

Let´s celebrate SPIRIT CARAVAN´s EXCLUSIVE Reunion shows at DESERTFEST LONDON & BERLIN !! Order now your tickets to attend this amazing event by sending an email at TICKETS@DESERTFEST.DE

Source: The Obelisk


NEWS: Slovenian all female doom metal band Mist released their debut demo ...

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Slovenian all female doom metal band Mist released their debut demo recording called Demo 2013. The demo can be streamed at this location BANDCAMP  and it is avaliable as Name your Price download.

Mist is a new all-female doom metal band from Ljubljana (Slovenia), formed in July 2012. They build their music on the legacy of legendary bands like Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Candlemass, Coven, Saint Vitus and others. With the premiere live show at the end of September 2013.  The girls without a doubt demonstrated, that such a specific genre of music is not necessarily just a men's domain.

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Source: Jan Zajc

NEWS: INDIAN To Release 'From All Purity' In January ...

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Chicago's favorite blackened doom nihilists INDIAN will release their long-awaited fifth full-length album, "From All Purity", via Relapse Records on CD/LP/digital in North America on January 21, 2014, Germany/Benelux/Finland on January 17, and in the rest of the world on January 20. The effort was recorded at Electrical Audio and Soma Studios in Chicago with engineer/co-producer Sanford Parker (MINSK, NACHTMYSTIUM, YOB, SAMOTHRACE).

"From All Purity" track listing:

01. Rape
02. The Impetus Bleeds
03. Directional
04. Rhetoric Of No
05. Clarify
06. Disambiguation

On "From All Purity", INDIAN takes its infamously hateful aggression to new levels of despair. Now augmented with an even keener sense of harsh noise, all the trademark elements of INDIAN's sound have been refined to reach new lows of powerful and punishing anguish. This is truly the antithesis of easy listening.

Forged in 2003, INDIAN's debut EP, "God Slave", was a self-released mission statement, welcoming the band into the world like young, kicking, screaming giants. INDIAN's first three full-lengths — "The Unquiet Sky", "Slights And Abuse" and "The Sycophant"— were all issued through Portland, Oregon-based metal imprint Seventh Rule Recordings. Each of these releases found the band gaining momentum and attracting followers, as well as performing shows with scene heavyweights such as WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, LOCRIAN, and AGALLOCH.

After signing to Relapse Records in 2010, INDIAN began to diligently craft its fourth full-length, knowing all eyes were on them. Not only did the band live up to fans' lofty expectations, they also achieved a massive critical breakthrough. "Guiltless" was released in 2011 to rave reviews. The Chicagoist described the album as, "a musical journey into the mouth of teeth-rattling metal madness," while Metal Hammer simply called it, "pretty much an essential album." Fans were also impressed, gathering to soak up the band's feverish rays of doom on tour across the country. INDIAN performed shows with HIGH ON FIRE, BATILLUS, and YOB, translating their recorded sounds into a murky, devilish live spectacle. Such performances confirmed INDIAN as one of the most exciting metal acts making music today, recalling an era in which the genre felt truly new, bursting with energy and untapped potential. Or, as Revolver puts it, "nothing has sounded more genuinely evil and distressing in a long time."

Source: Blabbermouth

Streaming Doom: Magic Circle - "Magic Circle" ...

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New feature at Doommantia is to feature a full album stream. To kick things off is Magic Circle's Self-titled masterpiece released earlier this year.  To read a full review.....CLICK HERE

Tristitia - "Crucidiction" ...

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The forgotten romanticism of generations past was rediscovered on the first Tristita album. Its subsequent release didn't disappoint as it too delivered the same morose vibe.

The music is full of classical influences, most obviously in the guitar work. The guitars go from acoustic to clean to distorted with more emphasis on open chorded passages to palm muted passages. An antiquarian ambiance flows through each dirge filled riff and mournful lead. The heaviness in the atmosphere is supported by intricate and very stylized guitar work. There are many harmonized leads and a bevy of simplistic solos. Passion and rigidity peacefully coexist within this disc.

The vocals are a somewhat mixed affair. The blackish rasp fits the dreamy mood swings of the music where as the clean somewhat chanted and very forced "deep crooning" is just out of place. Had they been the main vocals used it probably wouldn't have made a huge difference but since it's about half and half it does. The programmed drums work well enough but there are a few places where you can hear some noticeable screw ups. Light accenting keyboards add a nice touch to some of the quieter passages.

In terms of quality this is arguably a step up from 'One with the Darkness'. Both album are very similar with this album being more or less a continuation with slightly better production. They lyrics are very blunt and lack the subtlety music of this quality demands. The overt anti-christian message is heard loud and clear in every verse. Not a problem if you like black metal of course. This is a good hybrid of black and doom however. The music is very doom laded where as the vocals and lyrics are where the blackness lies. There is a very 80's quality to the music as well. Perhaps is the energy or maybe the tight guitar work? Either way there are plenty of layers to this album.

This album is recommended to black metal fans who are interested in breaking into the doom scene as well as die hard doom fans. This is mournful music meant to played in the dark. This gets an 8/10.

Words: Grimm Doom

Official Website

Longing for Dawn - "A Treacherous Ascension" ...

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Evolution is just a theory. Disregarding whether you believe in it or not, it's a very slow and gradually moving process. Significant lengths of time must take place before anything of note might happen in any given species; and even then the difference(s), if there are any, are slight at best. To that end, what would evolution sound like? Its long drawn out periods of singular incidents happening sporadically and without warning. The life cycle of a star could pass before something new is introduced, but something does eventually happen, in theory at least. That's probably as close to a description of Longing for Dawn's sophomore album as one could hope to make. This is Canada's best kept secret.

The bands sound is dominated by ultra heavy guitars. Intensely long and drawn out passages of sheer hopelessness and utter despair fill each song while a bitter lead mocking rides over the woeful dirges. Brief moments of near silence coated in strange electronic droning are destroyed by the wall sound the guitars produce. The grinding distorted bass not so much dirtying up the sound as adding a new and hateful layer to the oppressive atmosphere.

Big drums fill the void left in the wake of the stringed harbingers of doom. The slow plodding and understated presence of each strike instills a near tangible feeling of dread. Monstrous growls finish off the assault with a venomous bile. The Iliads of the discouraged add the last level of suicidal bliss to each song.

If you could hear cold this is what it would sound like. Barron and frigged and all consuming. Picture if you can a frozen tundra covered in snow but without any wind, just an unnatural stillness. Alone and hopelessly lost with no hope of getting back home as the night quietly envelopes you. That is what this sounds like.

Not many things are larger than life and this is one of them. Funeral doom doesn't need keyboards to be effective and LfD proves this in spades. The production is light years ahead of their first album as is the song writing. This is art in its purest form, raw, bitter and created through pain; it's breathtakingly beautiful. Words can only feebly describe the wonder that is Longing for Dawn. This gets an 8.5/10.

Words: Grimm Doom

Longing For Dawn | Official Website
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