It’s easy to get caught up in the drama that surrounds this world, and with our political and societal volatility increasing by the hour, it would be nice to escape this plane to head somewhere else for a while. Is there somewhere else? We might never know in our current form, but the idea has been around forever, and who’s the say this world is the end?

Slovakian black metal force Ceremony of Silence examine that very concept and others on their thunderous second record “Hálios,” which is a motherfucker. This seven-track bruiser is served just right, a thick and blackened dose of death metal that might remind a bit of Ulcerate but brawls in different directions. This album contemplates the idea of our place in the universe, the illumination of the great star around which we revolve, and, in their words, a reenacting of “the old stories inspired by the essence of the ancient Indo-European mythology, entwined in the obscure visions and dreams.” It’s a lot to consider, but this band—vocalist N., guitarist/bassist/vocalist Viliam Pilarčík, drummer Matúš S. Ďurčík—makes the venture one in which you’ll want to engage, and their utter ferocity is enough to pull you into a place you’ll never want to leave.

“Primaeval Sacrifice” instantly rips everything to shreds, scrambling brains with vicious growls and a force that quakes the earth. The melodies snake through soot, combusting with beastly growls as the playing drills into the earth, drawing lava and trudging to a burly end. “Serpent Slayer” drives and roars, peeling back flesh as dizzying playing makes you lightheaded, grisly growls continuing that disorientation. The pressure continues to dig into muscle, increasing the heat as it goes to dangerous levels, the guitars lathering as the molten rock continues to flow at an inescapable pace. “Moon Vessel” bathes in humidity as the riffs jerk, and the low end smashes with concise abandon. The drums pound away as the smearing vocals spread ash down your throat, letting sounds hang in the air and haunt, finally submitting to echo. “Eternal Return” is a short, blunt track with guitars stinging, growls festering amid an ashen atmosphere, clouds eventually blocking out the sun.

“Light Runs Through Light” pulverizes, blistering with seismic force, the growls burying all hopes as the bludgeoning hits dangerous levels. The curdling heat gets more oppressive as the music tangles and explodes, wrenching as the drums combust, the growls scorch, and cosmic confusion is at its apex. “Perennial Incantation” smashes its way in, the leads hinting every so slightly at melody, the pace ripping and pulverizing, sounds hovering as the roars increase in intensity. The chaos bewilders and wrecks, guitars branching out, the thick steam bath robbing you of consciousness. Closer “King in the Mountain” slays, thrashing with start/stop mashing, drubbing with a force that does not have your well being in mind. Gargantuan hell is unleashed, sinew pushing through open wounds, a psychedelic echo making you wonder about your sanity. Eeriness thickens and then erupts, tearing holes in the earth, bending time at its will, expiring in a thick halo of exhaust.

Ceremony of Silence capture the brutality and mystery of trying to branch into another dimension, pushing your limits elsewhere as your corporeal form battles modern struggles. “Hálios” reaches into mysticism and the heavens with a battering ram, a record that feels like it is trying to dislodge the core of the earth and jettison it into the stars. This is a mighty, alluring work, an album that leaves you battered but profoundly more connected to this world and the next.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/ceremonyofsilence

To buy the album, go here: https://www.willowtip.com/store/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.willowtip.com/home.aspx

Love and intimacy don’t come up a whole lot with the records we write about here and with the bulk of heavy music releases that arrive each year. The earlier days of heavy metal would entertain these topics more regularly, but as this form of music has gotten darker and more dangerous, these themes have gone by the wayside.

Dutch power Vuur & Zijde (translates to “fire and silk”) brings that long-forgotten theme back into our consciousness on their great debut “Boezem” (translates to “bosom”), a nine-track, 46-minute full-length. Conditional and unconditional love, intimacy, and the bonds of motherhood are major parts of this record, which is something you won’t find in many other places. The band—vocalist Famke Canrinus, guitarist/synth player Nicky Heijmen, guitarist Carmen Raats, bassist Sylwin Cornielje, drummer Richard Japenga—bring experience from other metallic units including Terzij de Horde, Silver Knife, Witte Wieven, Grey Aura, and others, though they have evened out their more black metal strains and colored them with various shades of grey. There is a deep post-punk vibe interwoven into these songs, and they could just as easily find favor among metalheads as they could a goth audience or someone into Cocteau Twins. Canrinus’ vocals are sung in Dutch and Frisian, a language still spoken in a few Dutch and German areas.

“Onbemind” is gothy and hazy, Canrinus’ singing chilling flesh, eventually exploding and gushing with new energy. The drums blast as a gazey wonder spreads, the singing adding grey hues, punching and melting into a hum. “Zusterzon” brings darkness amid bending basslines, the singing luring you into a trap. Cloud coverage increases as Canrinus’ vocals numb, the moodiness lurking consistently, the tempo staying active and pumping blood until every element settles into ash. “Ús” is dreary as the singing chills, guitars dripping and creating a mist, gliding through the shadows. The playing hypnotizes, Canrinus’ words coursing through veins, and then the sounds corrode, the pressure thickening before dissolving. “Onbemind” brings a vibrant pace, the playing charring as the guitars thicken, the singing sweeping through dimensions. A catchy, driving pace gets the waters flowing with greater force, the playing overtaking with colors before splitting into static.

“Kuier” opens amid nighttime keys, a cold wave going through you as speaking sends strange sensations, the fog thickening as rain lands harder, compromising your vision. Weirdness eats away at your psyche, red and orange hues brushing the horizon. “II” has guitars playing tricks, the singing glazing, and the smearing melodies reminding of the glory days of the 4AD label. Synth zaps as the bass recoils, Canrinus’ singing again carrying the emotion, encircling into a frosty landing spot. “Nest” punches harder, a more metallic approach increasing the thorniness. Strong vocals prod as the guitars get mightier, the playing haunting as the echoes ring out, the backbone solidifying, a stirring tempo taking over as the final strains bleed away. “Adem” has a strong post-punk vibe, the bass chugging as the guitars get more devious. An icy strangeness works through your cells, the tempo getting your adrenaline going, the guitars merging with an oncoming storm. Closer “Naakt” brings a guitar haze and belting singing, the playing basking in a fog as the pace buzzes. The heat increases as the vocals dig their claws into muscle, the bass doubles down, and spirited woah calls create sparks, slowly dissolving into dreams.

Vuur & Zijde not only branch further than any metallic boundaries, they also refuse to back down from genre cliches by embracing the themes of love with enthusiastic darkness. “Boezem” certainly plays well in heavier music spaces, but there’s so much more going on here, a rushing world where nurturing and intimacy are embraced, celebrated, and put on full display. This is an exciting, shadowy record and band that, even if the language barrier prevents you from understanding the words, the emotion and themes easily get past all of that and give you a new understanding of what’s possible in heavy music.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/vuurenzijde

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://us.spkr.media/us/Artists/Vuur-Zijde/

Or here (Europe): https://en.prophecy.de/en/Artists/Vuur-Zijde/

For more on the label, go here: https://en.prophecy.de/

The darkness can be an incredibly terrifying force, and it’s something that has haunted people for generations as the worries of demonic creatures lurking mounts. But it can be a beautiful, calming presence, a place where one can rest, contemplate the future, or just enjoy lightless wonder.

 Daniele Vergine, the sole force behind black metal spirit Occulta Veritas, pays homage to the absence of light on “Irreducible Fear of the Sublime,” a 6-track, 32-minute excursion into the deep. This is a brutal, yet mind-altering adventure that can overtake you and push you to contemplate a force perhaps not further considered before. The playing is exhilarating and forceful, pushing you to the limit of your personal comfort and perhaps digging into some long-held fears that haven’t reared their head in some time.

“The Mirror Stage” opens warmly, luring you into a false sense of security before guts are ripped from body cavities, shrieks raining down amid rubbery, weird, prog-fueled madness. “The Sacred Horizons of Totality” is fluid, screams rampaging, the leads sprawling and increasing the already thick humidity. Animalistic playing and coarse growls head into blinding fury, and that’s overtaken by a horrifying, yet trippy onslaught that eats into your psyche before fading. “Metonimia” unfurls blistering guitars, smearing howls, and an attack that never feels like it relents. Progressive waters bubble over as the playing haunts, peppering with scathing blows before bleeding away.

“S(A)” is a strange change of pace, a cosmically freezing piece that hovers overhead like an alien craft, wordless calls feeling like they’re transmitting a message from beyond. The playing is spellbinding and detached from this plane, draining into the stars. “Bound to Incompleteness” basks in echoing shrieks, and a driving, trudging pace, the playing utterly ambushing. A wild spirit runs through this track, feeling bizarre and disorienting, disappearing and mixing into the night sky. The closing title track opens with sharp screams, tangling leads, and a bloody, yet haunting adventure into the unknown. The playing bleeds and causes the room to spin, the pace chugs, the guitars pick up the intensity, and wordless calls falls like ice daggers to the earth.

Basking in the darkness and its rich beauty is a theme that’s all over “Irreducible Fear of the Sublime,” and while it’s properly crushing, Occulta Veritas weave in the proper adulation and awe for a force that cannot be toppled. The playing here is heavy and the proper amount of beastly, an album that is perfectly portioned and designed to enhance the sense of mystery. It’s a record that will keep you up at night so you can show admiration for a serene blackness that can trigger panic as easily as calm.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/OccultaVeritas/

To buy the album (U.S.), go here: https://metalodyssey.8merch.us/

Or here (Europe): https://metalodyssey.8merch.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://i-voidhangerrecords.bandcamp.com/

The current societal and political climate in our world, not to mention the actual climate, are harrowing. We’re teetering on the edge of full-blown fascism, and here in the United States, we’re coming off one of the most sobering, terrifying weeks in a long time as we watch law and order in this land fall to the clutches of religious and right-wing fanaticism.

Germany’s Uprising has been on the musical frontline since the project started a decade ago, and its mastermind W also has been an integral part of Waldgeflüster, another band that’s battled social and political forces for years. Uprising’s new full-length “III” continues that effort, and over six blazing tracks and 40 inspired minutes, we are thrown full bore into melodic, but forceful black metal that refuses to give an inch and unabashedly throws the bullshit back into the face of a budding power structure that wants to strangle freedom. Joining W is drummer Austin Lunn (the power behind the mighty Panopticon), and the force is sweltering and catchy, a defiant fist into an enemy that thinks we’re a pushover.

“Eternal Mantra” launches with fire and emotion, ripping hard as the playing takes a hold of you and scorches with its passion. Lyrically, there are callouts to the endless class war artificially tilted toward the rich as the playing pounds, spacious singing coming in and adding a new texture. The guitars blaze as a glorious gust slams shut the gates. “Uprise III” continues a path that started on the band’s self-titled debut, and here the guitars are spindly, the pace trudging, the howls scarring. Melodies flood as clean singing bellows, nasty howls following up with nasty precision, the drums punishing. Poison darts are thrown at selfishness and embraces the strive for social justice, the playing shaking before fading into a current. “Raise a Glass” simmers in organs before the tempo erupts, growls crushing, fiery and colorful playing flooding over. Shrieks and singing rush over the chorus, black metal-style violence swirls, and a jarring force flattens every bone in your body.

“A Message to the Hypocrites” drills, the screams digging into the earth, the riffs speeding and slipping into tornadic fury. Vicious playing and forceful hammering make for an unbeatable team, growls ripping as defiant calls leave bruising and burns all over the enemy. “While the World Is Burning” fades in, churning as the pressure builds, shrieks charring as the tempo becomes an even bigger menace. News clips about the threat of climate change and quotes from serial felon Donald Trump denying the issue not only can make your blood boil but also make you want to take up arms. Someone better. “Deny the past, deny the reasons,” W wails furiously, trying to hammer home a desperate measure as rageful melodies burn into the ground. Closer “Brace Yourself” is molten, engulfing you in a devastating force that slips into vicious melodies and harsh howls. Guitars swelter as the pace blisters, W singing, “You will know sorrow before this is over,” a sobering thought going into an ideological battleground. The final moments stab toward the oncoming wave of tyranny, the wash of acoustics cleansing wounds and pushing the fight.

We live in a dangerously changing world, and while I see the rot settling into America, I know that it’s not going to stay restrained to this land. Uprising have been at this struggle for years, even before this venture came together, and “III” is a battle cry, the metallic equivalent of storming the gates of the enemy with only victory in mind. Tyranny looms largely over us, but the war is far from over, so the fight must continue.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/uprisingblackmetal

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.aoprecords.de/gb/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.aoprecords.de/

It’s easy to feel like you’re alone, especially when hard times strike. Or when you experience failure or loss. All we truly know is our own perspective, and it’s very understandable to get lost in the negativity and the feeling that everything is piling on our chest. Maybe it is, but to be able to share that burden with someone else can make the lift a little easier.

That’s the primary theme of “The Promise of Rain,” the second record from experimental black metal force Scarcity, and it’s a collection that fucks with one’s brain based on the sonic assault that attacks you from moment one. But ultimately, the messages here are encouraging, even uplifting if you grasp the point that suffering and struggling does not have to be an individual sport. The newly expanded version of the group brings together artists who worked with such diverse forces as Pyrhhon, Depravity, Sigur Ros, Krallice, and Glenn Branca Ensemble, and this band—vocalist Doug Moore, guitarists Brendon Randall-Myers and Dylan Dilella, bassist Tristan Kasten-Krause, drummer Lev Weinstein—pours everything into these six tracks and 40 minutes of mind-tangling madness. It’s a much difference concept than what we heard on debut “Aveilut” and shows a different side of this beast that has an enthralling future ahead of them.

“In the Basin of Alkaline Grief” almost immediately induces panic, manic guitars playing in a non-stop loop that makes your mind topple, Moore’s shrieks matching the insanity flowing through the space. It feels like an emergency siren gone wrong, the fury increasing, wails boiling, and a thick haze enveloping. “Scorched Vision” runs 11:25  and launches with encircling guitars, chaotic energy meeting with a psychotic front, dizzying heaviness making the room spin out of control. Gutting, corrosive howls mix in with the chugging, trudging playing, the bass clobbering as the intensity ramps up all over again. The playing tingles and strikes amid group calls, an electric riff buries itself behind the wall of sound, and the uneasiness bleeds into instrumental cut “Subduction.” There, the bass plods, and the increasing heat makes everything steadily more uncomfortable. A smokescreen thickens as the guitars take on tornadic chaos, ending in a gasp of exhaust.

“Undertow” continues the guitars from the opener that feel like they’re trying to peel open your skull, shrieks raining down, other calls feeling detached from reality. The guitars agitate before a brief calm settles in, and the bass slithers from there, coarse growls picking open scabs. “Venom & Cadmium” arrives with an enthusiastic riff, shrieks raining fire, and the playing digging in further, group calls rousing you and forcing your attention. The pace keeps drilling deeper, nasty calls lacerating, the tempo slicing in place, aching as you pour sweat from the humidity. A strange glaze accumulates and hangs over everything, an unsettlingly dream passage fading softly. The closing title track erupts with gurgling growls and a mangling energy, the agony multiplying dangerously. The band stokes progressive fires, the path toying with you, frenzied guitars splattering alongside sickening wails that emit power. The bass ripples as apocalyptic energy increases, settling into a fog and expiring.

It’s easy to feel alone in our grief and struggles, but most of us are a part of an interwoven support system that gives us strength when we’re at our lowest. “The Promise of Rain,” while threatening sounding at first, also is a reminder to not get too ensconced in our pain and agony as we have other people around us who can help with the burden. No one’s life ever will be easy, but with reminders like these (as terrifying as they may sound), hopefully more people will remember to reach out and ask for a hand in facing turmoil.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/scarcity.noise

To buy the album, go here: https://nowflensing.com/collections/flenser-releases

For more on the label, go here: https://nowflensing.com/

Every day we’re faced with decisions, and some of them have greater weight than others. Take, for example, having to make a call about something that will benefit you but will do harm to another person. Do you do it anyway? A lot of people would do that, and we see that every day with every government around the world. Is choosing evil worth it in the end?

Canadian doom power Occult Witches tangle with making evil decisions, Satan, and all things dark and mysterious on their fourth record “Sorrow’s Pyre.” Over nine tracks, the band—vocalist Vanessa San Martin, guitarist Alec Marceau, bassist Danick Cournoyer, drummer Eliot Sirois—weaves together tales about different characters and the challenges that they face. Tying it all together is the idea of whether there is merit in making a decision based in evil, and how that is balanced with instead choosing a more honorable path.

“Intro” opens with birds calling and footstep crunching, leading into “Malice” that dawns gently as guitars trickle. Then the power strikes, San Martin’s singing unfurling and catching fire, the playing buzzing with command. The guitar work blows up with attitude, delving into classic metal terrain, driving everything to a massive finish. “Tumbling Through the Dark” unleashes psychedelic lightning, the guitars taking on a bluesy edge, the vocals pushing as everything turns darker. The pace picks up, and the guitars emit smoke, a twin-style attack bringing on a Maiden-like shine. “Faustian Bargain” is warm and hypnotic, the singing scathing, powerful blasts adding tumult to the otherwise sultry aura. The shadows thicken as the soloing goes off, conjuring spirits and emotion, gently melting into mystery.

“Flesh and Bones” rampages and throws stiff punches, great guitar work torching, the playing calming down as a spoken passage haunts. The pressure rises as the attack gets more aggressive, the guitars taking on a ferocious tone, calls echoing out into the night sky. “Interlude in E-Flat Minor” has plinking guitars and rustic acoustics, the tempo picking up and getting jazzier, basking in cold waters. “The Fool” sparks as the singing swells, bluesy heat wilting flesh, the melodies booming and making blood race. Guitars vibrate as everything builds to a stampede, sending energy through your veins and trudging to a finish. “Sorrow” traces its steps, jabbing your ribs, the guitars scaling to new heights. “Sacrifice is what they want from us,” San Martin sings with booming power, the playing agitating and turning into a molten force, crushing to the final moment. Closer “Bluesman (Sunrise Cocaine)” is a barnburner, especially for Marceau whose guitar playing here melts faces. San Martin’s singing matches the intensity as the track takes off, hurtling through intense heat, feeling playful and spirited as everything comes to a massive end.

The strange thing about people making evil decisions is so many commit those acts due to their so-called faith. The characters on these blazing songs on “Sorrow’s Pyre” faced similar circumstances, and not all came out of it in a better condition than they were in when things started. Occult Witches bring a classic doom sheen to these timeless ideas as we’ve been struggling with doing the right thing from the start, and we likely will face that battle until humanity’s last days.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/Occultwitches

To buy the album or for more on the label, go here: https://blackthroneproductions.com/en-us

There are plenty of bands that, as soon as you hear them, you know which other artists influenced their music. You could fill a three-day festival with bands that were inspired by Morbid Angel. Or Iron Maiden. Or Death. All of that is well and good, but when it comes down to it, you want to be able to pick out the players’ DNA and not their heroes’.

Spanish metal trio Totengott made their start as a Celtic Frost cover band, taking their name from a song by Triptykon, Tom Warrior’s latest creation. Even after they transitioned to creating their own songs, you still could hear a ton of their influence on debut offering “Doppelganger,” a pretty fitting title. It was a mighty record regardless, and as time has gone on, they’ve thrown more of themselves into the recipe. Their third record “Beyond the Veil” digs even deeper into the three people who comprise this band—vocalist/guitarist José Enrique Saavedra, bassist/backing vocalist Nacho Bernaldo, drummer/backing vocalist Jose Mora—morphing even further into their own monster, spreading that budding magic over these seven tracks and 44 minutes that show this band coming to life and establishing their own personality and wicked agenda.

“Inner Flame” starts basking in eerie sounds before the pace begins punishing, barked vocals activating your nerve endings. The pace flattens and bruises, crunchy, yet fiery playing increasing the temperatures, the guitars going off as morbid chaos is achieved. “Sons of the Serpent” has calls hovering overhead, dizzying singing, and the playing feeling through a thick cloud cover. The singing numbs as the playing glimmers, a mysterious aura thickening, trudging through a path of alien synth layers. “Marrow of the Soul” stomps through muddy terrain, punishing and galloping, the guitars scorching as the wails hammer. The playing mauls as the thrashiness increases, burrowing into filth as an acidic finish scorches flesh. “The Architect” is strange and ghostly, doomy playing thickening blood as off-kilter singing washes over. Ominous and scathing, a pall hangs over everything, hypnotic vocals spinning the atmosphere, bells chiming and signifying the end.

“Beyond the Veil Part I: Mirrors of Doom” is a mostly instrumental piece with strings glazing, and guest Marija Krstevska’s haunting singing getting into your blood. A haze hangs over and illuminates your pathway, leading into “Beyond the Veil Part II: Necromancer” that hammers away, acting like a bulldozer over loose terrain. The howls carve as the playing smothers, making it feel like you’re trying to breathe in a furnace, the vocals adding more forceful blows. Madness scars as the pace slowly winds down, setting in a pit full of soot. Closer “The Golden Crest (the Ritual, the Curse, the Path, the Light)” runs 13:33, and chilling group chants greet you, the playing chugging as they build a mood, a strange cult-like feel hanging overhead. Burly leads scald as growls echo, the body easing into a strange sound bath, steely and doomy, dragging you into nightmare terrain. Doom bells chime as the skies darken, strange horns call into the distance, and misery spreads, finally relenting as the end draws near, pulling you into the mystery of night.

While Totengott may have their original roots in homage to the great Celtic Frost, this band has expanded past their initial influences into a full-bodied machine that’s making some of the more interesting waves in heavy music. “Beyond the Veil” proves the ambition and building blocks laid by their first two records were building to this, a place where they add even more of their own flesh and blood into their recipe as they hurtle toward the void. There’s no escaping the menace and drama plastered all over this record, and it’s nice to see them develop into a more formidable beast flooding with potential.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/totengottmetal

To buy the album, go here: https://hammerheartstore.com/collections/vendors?q=Totengott

For more on the label, go here: https://www.hammerheart.com/

Heavy metal long has provided rich content on the destruction of our world, wars, evil, and anything that tears us apart by the seams. As we move closer to that becoming an actual reality, and as we stare a volatile future in the eyes, it seems like those bands might have been onto something. We’re nearly in hell.

Swedish death crushers Vanhelgd worked at a pretty steady clip from 2008 to 2018, releasing five records that established their fire and fury. But it’s been six years since we heard from the band—guitarists/vocalists Mattias Frisk and Jimmy Johansson, bassist Jonas Albrektsson, drummer Mathias Westman—and there’s a good reason for that. We had a global pandemic that shut down the world, crippling a lot of bands’ progress in the process, and things steadily have fallen apart globally ever since. Now arrives their sixth record “Atropos Doctrina,” sung in their native tongue, and it’s a barnstormer that takes you apart limb from limb, forcing you to stare into the miasma of hell that is our world.

“Saliga äro de dödfödda” churns as the hellish howls bellow, manic fluidity overwhelming, the playing feeling melodic and punchy. The fury continues as the drums are mashed, desperate wails calling out as the door is slammed shut. “Kom dödens tysta ängel” brings spiraling guitars and a surging attack, savage growls making their impact as blunt fury has its way. Grisly leads tingle as the playing is flush with color, whipping into a frenzy that robs you of breath. “Ofredsår” enters with drums pacing the machine as nasty wails leave welts, melodic fire unleashing havoc as the temperatures increase. Leads round back as the vocals get more incendiary, scathing through catchy madness and blending into spacious skies. “I ovigd jord” has spindling, humid guitars swarming, desperate cries reverberating, and a section of slowly paced punishment opening wounds. The infernal power makes the surface quake, the pressure building as growls engorge, and gothy keys drip away.

“Atropos Hymnarium” echoes with doom bells ringing, guitars snaking as the walls are smashed, guitars exploring as doomy ugliness rears its head and revels in soot. The playing then unloads, the playing cascading over harsh wails, the beastlike nature drawing blood. “Galgdanstid” bursts and immediately slashes flesh, crazed calls swelling, a melodic gust feeling almost tornadic. Strong guitar work takes off as new colors conjure spirits, the playing scorching until the final second. “Kerernas törst” delivers spiraling guitars, savage wails, and a forceful storm that forces you to take cover. The darkness continues to spread, viciousness welling up and threatening to take you down, blistering to a mangling finish. Closer “Gravjordsfrid” dawns with hissed howls, a grisly grind, and thorny, slower pounding. The growls dig deep as sorrowful melodies mix in with the carnage, the guitar work sends off echoes, and eerie keys lay the record to rest.

Vanhelgd see the same impending darkness many of us have spotted on the horizon, and they spill their dour tidings into “Atropos Doctrina.” I speak English, so I have no idea what the fuck they’re actually saying; but anger and destructive visions defy language and deliver universal messages on these songs. This is a morbid, yet oddly catchy record that soundtracks a downfall that looks to be driven by avarice and greed.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/vanhelgd

To buy the album, go here: https://www.darkdescentrecords.com/shop/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.facebook.com/DarkDescentRecords/