Much like the best coffees, Metal is more exciting when it comes hard and bold to the senses in a fresh and refreshing way. Boatman’s Toll is not your standard extreme Metal as they offer a unique,bold flavor of several sub-genres. On their most recent release, you will be treated to plenty of sludgy and doom/thrash laden riffs with just a hint of Death and dash of Black Metal to keep the most hardcore fans interested.
For starters, yes, this is a heavy album. It may not come out of the gates and punch you in the throat but it will leave it’s mark with some great sludgy groves. Corporate Indentured Servitude is an awesome Death n Roll track and the intro to Torn is perfection. Nothing Means Nothing is an aggressive track that will get your head banging if you aren’t too busy singing along. In the Falling Away is easily the sludgiest track on this offering with some killer stoner vibes. Finally to close out the album, Boatman’s Toll have included an impressive cover of Acid Bath’s The Blue. Already an awesome classic, this Chicago based group absolutely nail this brutal beast giving this album the perfect send off.
The Fat is in the Fire is currently available through Seeing Red Records here.
Definitely a lot of different brutal sounds happening on this album making it worth listening to on repeat
Self Offering may be a short EP clocking in less than 20 minutes in length but Absolver manage to stuff in plenty of grim,blackened noise layered together for an (un)pleasant listening experience. This is some serious nasty stuff here guaranteed to haunt you with their unique blend of Black/Noise/Doom Metal signature style.
Much of this EP plays like a haunted dream with bursts of Black Metal that transcends into ambient noise, unconventional synths and strange textures, then punches back through your skull shattering your senses with some truly dark and cold depressing metal. The EP has a very experimental vibe throughout that has to be listened to a few times to get the true experience Absolver are going for here.With each listen you pick up a little more bringing you back again and again.
The band released an official video to go along with the EP’s release that plays through its entirety like a mini movie. The video, just like the music featured, is a nightmare of flashing images of gore, sexual content and cannibalism in a cold red and black filter. (what more could you want?) Definitely NSFW but well worth checking out as it is the perfect companion to the music.
Check out Absolver in our Coffee Subscriptions this month or purchase the Self Offering EP (and merch) directly, here.
Veteran Metaller Matt Harvey is nothing, if not diverse. They’ve had Mr. Harvey on the show many times over the years, regaling us with everything to do with his numerous bands Exhumed, Gruesome, Expulsion a.o. Sonically, all these projects differed from one another. But his latest outfit, Pounder, really falls off the creative beaten path. Pounder is a more traditional, NWOBHM influenced sounding band. Their debut full length debut recently dropped courtesy of the fine folks at Hell’s Headbangers. Once again Radmetal has gotten Matt on the horn. He gave the why and wherefores of the new record, most notably his hooking up with Carcass axeman Tom Draper. As well, full Horns to Gruesome drummer Gus Rios for stepping up when needed! In the “News, Views, and Tunes”, we share our recent experience on the live front and all the goings on at Trve Kvlt Coffee! Musically, we crank the Pounder album, some Gruesome, Expulsion, Midnight, Wolfblood, Terminal Nation and introduce French crust punkers Vegan Fox in our “Indie Spotlight!” Horns!!
Romanian Black Metal veterans MERCY’S DIRGE set to release debut album
Part of the very first wave of Romanian Extreme Metal bands (from the beginning of the ’90’s) Suceava based Black Metallers MERCY’S DIRGE are gearing up for a Spring 2019 CD version release of their first full-length album “Live, Raw & Relentless“, in collaboration with Loud Rage Music.
As a preview the track Devilish Wish is now streaming!
Featuring 11 tracks, Live, Raw & Relentless was recorded live at the Odyssey Studio by Cristi Rangu in February 2018 capturing a rough, visceral and organic Black Metal for fans of the old ways of this genre.
HECATE ENTHRONED Unveils New Song From Upcoming Album ‘Embrace Of The Godless Aeon’
UK Black/Death Metal Act HECATE ENTHRONED Unveils New Song ‘Temples That Breathe’Long-awaited new album ‘Embrace Of The Godless Aeon’ coming January 25, 2019, their first album in five years.
Says bassist Dylan Hughes, “The track is a critique of the Catholic Church for centuries of abuse. It paints the church as a kind of virulent entity that spreads pain and horror, almost as if the church itself is alive – hence, temples that breathe. The stark, menacing stills and imagery within the video create this unnerving miasma, an uneasy feeling like cold, stale secular breath on the back of your neck. The song features epic and sweeping orchestrations, heavy aggressive riffing, breakneck speeds and harmonies with a brutal vocal delivery – all the elements you’d expect from HECATE ENTHRONED, which are contained in abundance on this album, making this track the perfect first release to give you a flavor of what’s to come.”
“Embrace Of The Godless Aeon” – which features cover artwork by Nestor Avalos (Bloodbath, Rotting Christ, The Black Dahlia Murder) can be pre-ordered now on CD and red splatter vinyl at www.m-theoryaudio.com/store. A limited-edition deluxe box set that includes exclusive purple vinyl and cassette editions of the album, a signed photo card and other collectibles is also available. Digital pre-orders on Bandcamp and other platforms include “Temples That Breathe” as an instant download.
One of the UK underground’s longest-running and most respected acts, HECATE ENTHRONED has been praised by the likes of Terrorizer for their “mixture of death metal aggression with black metal atmosphere.” “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon” – their first recording with vocalist Joe Stamps, who joined the band in 2015 – sees the group continue to deftly mix black with death, modern with classic and extreme with symphonic. The album, which features guest vocals on three songs by Sarah Jezebel Deva (Cradle of Filth, Therion, Mortiis), was co-produced by Dan Abela (Voices, The Antichrist Imperium).
In the wake of the tragic, untimely death of longtime drummer Dave Castillo on November 12th, underground icons Deceased have announced their new touring drummer, Amos Rifkin, as well as structural changes to their recording lineup. Deceased founder and vocalist King Fowley says the following: “Deceased recently lost our drummer and dear friend Dave Castillo. He sadly drowned while visiting family in El Salvador. Deceased is a band that is all about family and friendship above all. The shock is still fresh in our systems as we decide how to proceed with the band’s future. After a few weeks of letting everything sink in, it is now a fruition. Deceased is continuing on! We all know in our hearts Dave would be the very first one to tell us to keep on rocking. The plan now is for me to go back to playing drums on the studio records, and we are bringing in a friend to play live drums for us.”
Continuing, King says, “Finding the right guy to play drums for us wasn’t easy. There’s a lot to what we do drum-wise in the band, and we need a heavy, precise hitter whose 110% always reliable and ready to rock at the drop of a hat. Oddly, how we found this guy is kinda ‘haunting,’ keeping in a Deceased career-long off-kilter kind of way. A few months ago, while playing on tour, Dave fell in love with a band called Death of Kings that were supporting us. He totally enjoyed their in-your-face thrash attack and really dug the drumming in the band. The two bands became good pals and metal brothers over the almost-two-week jaunt. At our last show of the tour in Detroit, Michigan, Dave told me, ‘If anything ever happens to me, you gotta get this motherfucker on drums – he kicks ass!’ Hauntingly enough, we stand here today finding a replacement for Dave. Talking amongst band members, a name kept coming up in every conversation. I put it at my top of the list of things for me to look into. Weirdly, at this same time, I was asked for my address by the guy and a letter came to my house. The letter was a handwritten two pages expressing condolences and had a genuine honesty to it that immediately made me take notice. He wrote of how much he enjoyed playing together on the tour and how Deceased was a powerful entity in the underground music world. About two thirds through the letter, he started to talk of offering his playing skills to the band to keep the entity rolling on. I called him up, and we talked for a good while. I explained how things work in the band and what we’d need and expect from him. He was all in, as were we. Deceased has people living all over the world anymore, it seems, so him being four states over from us is nothing. Homework is the most important thing in this band, and you come in ready in full. After a few video tryouts of him playing to our music, it is exactly as expected – full-hearted and played with passion, and a knack for understanding the wacky traits that are Deceased drums. The band will rehearse throughout winter and into 2019. Look for our first shows April 14th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the Decibel music festival, quickly followed on April 19th at the Milwaukee NYDM spring bash.”
Concluding, “So here we are, about to go into our 34th year as a band. And I now introduce you to our new touring drummer, and fellow maniac for the music, Amos Rifkin. UP THE TOMBSTONES!”
Deceased‘s long-awaited eighth album, Ghostly White, is out now via Hells Headbangers. It features Dave Castillo’s final performance with the band, and can be heard in its entirety HERE at Hells Headbangers‘ Bandcamp.
Cover art, courtesy of Raul Gonzalez, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Deceased’s Ghostly White
1. Mrs. Allardyce
2. Germ of Distorted Lore
3. A Palpation’s Warning
4. To Serve the Insane
5. Endless Well
6. The Shivers
7. Thoughts of a Leaking Brain
8. Pale Surroundings
DAVE CASTILLO
November 25th, 1974 – November 12th, 2018
With heavy hearts, it has been announced that Deeds of Flesh & Unique Leader Records Founder & CEO, Erik Lindmark has passed away.
The following is a statement released by Unique Leader Records, via social media.
“It is with great sadness that we must announce that our CEO & Founder, Erik Lindmark, passed away today after battling with Sclerosis.
The indelible mark he has left on the Death Metal genre is monumental, both as a business man and as a musician. After building this label from scratch with his Deeds bandmates, Erik took Unique Leader to a level he had never expected it, or the genre, to get to.
During his time in Hospital, Erik was absolutely implicit with his instructions to staff to go full steam ahead with the label in his absence- which is exactly what we intend to do.
That being said, we will not be releasing anything in January so that we can make the necessary adjustments and delegations within the company. We would like to thank you all for your well wishes, support and kindness toward Erik on socials and via private correspondence.
There is a gofundme setup for Erik’s daughter Bella (5) and his wife- link below.
https://www.gofundme.com/bella-lindmark-fund
Rest in peace Erik. You were a true warrior.”
Please consider donating, even if it’s just a little pocket change.
HECATE ENTHRONED: New Album ‘Embrace Of The Godless Aeon’ Coming In January
The UK-based blackened death metal group Hecate Enthroned will release “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon,” their first album in five years (and their debut for new label M-Theory Audio), on January 25, 2019. The album – which features cover artwork by Nestor Avalos (Bloodbath, Rotting Christ, The Black Dahlia Murder), as seen to the left – can be pre-ordered now on CD and red splatter vinyl at m-theoryaudio.com/store. A limited-edition deluxe box set that includes exclusive purple vinyl and cassette editions of the album, a signed photo card and other collectibles is also available.
A new song from the album, “Temples That Breathe,” can be heard here:
One of the UK underground’s longest-running and most respected acts, HECATE ENTHRONED has been praised by the likes of Terrorizer for their “mixture of death metal aggression with black metal atmosphere.” “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon” – their first recording with vocalist Joe Stamps, who joined the band in 2015 – sees the group continue to deftly mix black with death, modern with classic and extreme with symphonic. The album, which features guest vocals on three songs by Sarah Jezebel Deva (Cradle of Filth, Therion, Mortiis), was co-produced by Dan Abela (Voices, The Antichrist Imperium).
Bassist Dylan Hughes, “This album with its epic sweeping orchestration and heavy aggression represents a new chapter for us cementing the chemistry of the current lineup and our partnership with M-Theory. A welcome return from Sarah Jezebel Deva hints to the grandiose flavor of earlier releases, but this time, it’s tempered with a guitar and drum sound forged from solid steel and then edged by a razor-sharp production from Dan Abela. The summoning of unholy flame and terror that is the cover art is an oil painting commissioned from in-demand satanic artist Nestor Avalos and begins your visceral journey through cold bleak landscapes, crushing tormented seas and searing shards of heavy metal.”
Originally co-founded in Wales by guitarist Nigel Dennen in the mid-1990s, HECATE ENTHRONED is dedicated to delivering their own brand of evil metal with little regard to politics or the trends of popular demand. The group’s 1997 full-length debut, the Andy Sneap-produced “The Slaughter Of Innocence, A Requiem For The Mighty”(Blackend Records), was a seminal release in the then-burgeoning orchestral black metal movement. Since then, several full-lengths and EPs and numerous live performances have firmly established the band as one of extreme metal’s most important voices, a sentiment that “Embrace Of The Godless Aeon” firmly reinforces.
HECATE ENTHRONED’s next live performance will take place on December 1 at the Tabernacle Chapel in Llandundo, North Wales, followed by a show in Belgium on December 14th with Altar at De Verlichte Geest in Roeselare. The group plans to tour extensively throughout 2019.
death metal group