We don’t do a lot of music in the folk-metal territory for no real good reason. It’s a fun genre full of heart and passion, and while it might not be our preferred style of music, there are bands out there that make an indelible impression and whose music finds a proper place next to all the violence and doom soot in our record collection.

One of those bands is Sojourner, a group that’s spread over different areas including New Zealand, Switzerland, and Italy and whose music can give you a boost of energy even on your shittiest of days. The band’s second record “The Shadowed Road” has arrived, and it’s a tour-de-force of power and passion, seven tracks spread over nearly 52 minutes that are both metallic and full of wonder. This isn’t the style of folk metal that makes you think of drinking in a sunburnt field all day and wearing weird clothing (and there is zero wrong with that). These sound like fantastical adventures on which you’re invited to partake, and some of the waves are violent and bruising. The band—Emilio Crespo (vocals), Mike Lamb (guitars, piano, synth), Chloe Bray (guitars, tin whistle, vocals), Mike Wilson (bass), and Riccardo Floridia (drums)—capitalizes on what they did so well on their 2016 debut “Empires of Ash,” and the music here can be a perfect escape from your daily frustrations as you battle alongside them. This album is a joint effort of Avantgarde and Folkvangr, giving it a wider reach and a ton of ways to hear it or own it.

“Winter’s Slumber” kicks off the record with keys dropping in, a glorious riff overtaking, and an approach that reminds a bit of modern-day Amorphis. Grim growls from Crespo mix with Bray’s clean singing, creating a fascinating dynamic, while the song surges. Whistles push, synth creates a fog, and the vocals wrench as the song comes to its end. “Titan” is ominous as it begins, sending chills, and then the track opens with the wail of, “Nothing will ever be the same again!” The song punches as it bubbles, with fast, melodic guitars bringing a sense of Iron Maiden histrionics, and the whirry synth mixes with the brutal growls to play tricks on your mind. “Ode to the Sovereign” begins with synth glow as the song unfurls and eventually bursts open. The vocals crush, while the chorus swells, and Bray’s voice floats above the mystical keyboard lines, sending you back over the triumph and into a welling pool.

“An Oath in Sorrow” has gothy keys dripping and an aura of calm before the serenity is pierced. Bray’s voice carries us through, wondering, “What have you become?” as the band sets a mid-tempo assault. Later, Crespo belts out devotion, noting, “You were always there by my side,” with the battle moving into the dark, and the end sending charges. “Our Bones Among the Ruins” is punchy with creaking growls and a blistering pace. The guitars bubble and lighten the way, while the song later draws back, allowing keys to flourish before the track bursts anew, blasting everything into a mist. “Where Lost Hope Lies” is the longest cut at 9:53, and it starts in shadowy cleanliness before the track erupts. Bray’s voice sweeps into the atmosphere, as the band provides an equal amount of energy and heaviness. The leads go off, while the drums lay waste, and then the pace eases up to allow a breath of woodwinds into the scene. But it’s not long until the track swallows the world, letting a raucous folk-style run to set up shop, sadness over distance and desperation to paint its colors, and the keys to splash its last jolts. The title track ends the record, and it’s very different from what preceded it in tone. The song is awash in sadness and vulnerability for the first part before Crespo’s growls join in, and the guitars open the sky. Emotion rushes and builds, with the guitars creating lightning, the dual vocals ensnaring your mind, and the track coming to a huge crescendo, leaving your heart a fluttering mess.

Sojourner’s excellent second effort “The Shadowed Road” is a huge step ahead for them, as they smear their folk-based creations with black metal fury and classic metal passion. This album bursts at the seams with strength and melody, and the songs will carve their way into your mind. The songs reek of old battles and struggles won, with the band hammering home these tales that will enrapture you as you immerse yourself in their world.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://folkvangrrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-shadowed-road

Or here: http://avantgardemusic.bigcartel.com/

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

And here: http://www.avantgardemusic.com/

Beorn’s Hall

A friend of mine whom I also work with just got a shipment of a bunch of cassettes a few months back. Knowing I’m down with albums on tape, she brought them in for me to see, and a coworker of ours was stunned that people still buy tapes. I told her there are labels that release their music primarily on cassette, and we’re going to visit one of those today.

We’ve hailed Folkvangr Records in the past, and they’re back with a trio of releases you definitely want to consider when making your record-buying budget. However, we will only be featuring two of those today, as the third one will be coming tomorrow. Both records are very different from each other, but there’s a good chance the audience for each will be interested in the other one. That sentence was OK, right?

New Hampshire-based duo Beorn’s Hall bring a savagery and passion to their Pagan-splashed black metal, and the band’s second offering “Estuary” is one electrifying listen. Following up last year’s debut record “Mountain Hymns,” the group—drummer/vocalist Vulcan and guitarist/bassist/keyboard player Rognvaldr—harness what is majestic about their New England-based home state with a folk-infused collection that sounds raw, emblazoned with nature, and burning with chaotic fires. This record that features nine songs (including an unexpected cover) reeks of black metal’s past glories, as it sounds like it was dreamt and created decades ago when the roots were just taking form. Their music can make your blood rush, and I’ve spent a ton of time poring over this record, as it reveals something new each time. This is a joint release with Folkvangr handling the cassette (its cover at is breathtakingly magical) and Naturmacht issuing the LP and CD.

After a woody, tribal-sounding intro cut, we dig right into “Dark Wood-Black Marsh” that emerges from acoustics and fog before wild howls erupt, and a fiery assault emerges. Some of this has a nice old-style black metal feel, sort of like Bathory, and that carries over onto other tracks including the awesome title cut that has doses of castle synth before launching into punishing thrash and folkish fury; “The Nurturing Soil” that is just a killer track, with a rousing chorus, accordion adding texture, and some truly feral moments toward the end that draw blood; “New Hampshire Rain” that, quite obviously, opens with a downpour before leading to a grisly, yet spirited attack complete with massive growls, great melodies, a dramatic shift into prog-fueled wonders, and as return to serving riffs that keep you bruised but well nourished. Then there’s that cover, a rustic take on The Grateful Dead’s “I Know You, Rider” that plays like it emanates from a crackling old record and drinks the spirit of the song but also adds the band’s gruff fingerprints. This is a really strong record you should make a point to hear.

Battle Dagorath, yet another duo, have been awfully busy the past couple years delivered two mammoth releases that redefined the idea of space-inspired black metal. Over the course of 2016’s “I – Dark Dragons of the Cosmos” and last year’s “II – Frozen Light of Eternal Darkness,” records that demanded a large chunk of your time to digest, the band expanded on its galactic vision, and you weren’t likely to tackle either with a single listen. Through a cassette box set courtesy of Folkvangr in partnership with Out of Season, both of these records are being presented in a single set that lasts an intense two hours, 17 minutes. But this is the perfect way to handle the work presented by vocalist/bassist/guitarist/drummer BSB and keyboard player Vinterriket, as you can start from the very first moments of the journey, through these 14 cuts, and into the wooshing, atmospheric conclusion. It’s a must-have package, especially if you enjoy pushing through the galaxies during your musical adventures.

It would be kind of pointless to sum up this entire package, plus it might be nice to leave some to the imagination for anyone who has yet to hear either record. “I” begins with “From the Black Sun’s Fire,” a quick introduction cut that feels like an eerie space movement, and then we’re right into “Phantom Horizons Beyond,” a beefy, 13:50 pounder that mixes speed and soot, as deranged howls make their way across the stars, and the music has sections where it feels equally alien and demonic. The melodies are thick, and the song offers servings of hypnosis. “Return to Gates of Dawn” has furious riffs, relentless chaos, and scorching vocals, with the guitars agitating the fires, squealing out like a bizarre transmission from beyond. “Transfixion of the Spheres” is a blur of madness, with the vocals doing plenty of damage, and keys washing in like a strange burst of cosmic dust. Eerie cleanliness makes your body shiver, and the track makes it feel like you’re traveling through an endless vortex.

“II” also starts with a short opener, “The Great Untuning” that gets your psyche ready for tracks such “Asteres Planetai” where an extended exposure to creeping winds feels like you’re trapped on an isolated planet with no other companion than the strange darkness. Once it opens, it’s ashen black metal that compels and terrifies. “Cast Their Ashes to the North Wind” is the longest song of the bunch at 19:12, and it sucks you right in, with wrenching melodies, blasts of dangerous madness, and even a stretch of calm that lets the storm die down, the cloud cover to change, and another burst of mauling devastation to carry you the end. The final two tracks are instrumental based, as “Supernal Realms” forces your head to swim as stars burst; and closer “Ignis Fatuus” is an ambient, spellbinding finish that melts among the galaxy and imprints its DNA on your psyche. You’ll be exhausted but enthralled when it’s over.

These are two excellent releases that will please any listener of challenging metal bands not satisfied with trends or status quo. They practically exist on separate planets, these two groups, but together they make for interesting journeys into music that will expand your horizons. Folkvangr always is a reliable place to find this kind of music, and these albums are well worth your absorption.

For more on Beorn’s Hall, go here: https://www.facebook.com/beornshall/

To buy the album, go here: https://folkvangrrecords.bandcamp.com/album/estuary

For more on the Battle Dagorath, go here: https://www.facebook.com/BattleDagorath/

To buy the album, go here: https://folkvangrrecords.bandcamp.com/album/i-dark-dragons-of-the-cosmos-ii-frozen-light-of-eternal-darkness

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

I’ve never hunted. I never will hunt. It’s not in my DNA, and the very concept of it is greatly upsetting to me. I’m also a hypocrite as a meat eater, because it’s not like death of another hasn’t made it possible for me to be nourished, and in many ways, what those creatures went through likely was worse. It’s a constant moral struggle, and often I decide to just not think about it. I am a coward.

Ulvesang’s second effort “The Hunt” focuses on that very thing, and while there is potential glory and power derived from tracking down prey, there also is sadness in knowing that another living being lost its life for the struggle. This 10-track record follows the process as people gather, plans are made, strategies devised, and then all are off into the wilderness to bring back bounty. The duo of Alex Boyd and Ana Dujakovic (also of Astral Path) create mostly wordless folk music that isn’t metallic by definition but certainly could pull in fans of artists such as Neurosis, Wolves in the Throne Room, and Panopticon who also employ more rustic, rootsy sounds in their music. Even without words, the Canadian duo convey the emotion and devastation revolving around the story and create an album that can settle in your head and take you along for the sojourn.

“Invocation” starts the record as sort of an introduction, with winds whipping, crows calling, a singular drum tapping, and woodsy chants leading to “The Trial,” where a rush of acoustics starts. Melodies flush and travel, as wordless calls haunt, while the autumnal tones infect, and the final melody line, which would make a great black metal riff, pushes away. “The Dance” lights up and rivets, as chants hum, acoustics rustle, and the tempo pushes harder. The playing keeps lighting up before guitars drips away for good. “The End” has a solemn start, as the guitars spread their wings, and chimes and chants mix. Later on, the tempo shifts leading to keys plinking, cosmic wooshes, and a jarring finish you won’t sense coming. “The Hunt” has water rushing, as the acoustic guitars ignite, and a hearty melody makes its way toward the center. The track takes on a mystical strangeness, and ghostly chants take up the reins from there to the song’s end.

“The Break” starts with guitars awakening, spooky tones getting into your head, and a misty ambiance coating your face with condensation. The music builds from there, flooding over and leaving everything underneath it, buried. “The Run” has fires crackling, as guitars join in, and chants fill the air. The acoustics pace this run, as they bring melody and spirit, and then the song gives way to the sounds of a dark, isolated wooded area, with chirps filling the senses. “The Gloom” is solemn and sad, with keys glimmering and providing dim light, and then we’re on a journey that feels like it takes place in a boat on an unlit tributary. The feeling lasts until the final draining seconds, pulling into the mouth of “The Truth.” This is the one song with actual lyrics and singing (Boyd handles the tale), and a deep, enrapturing tempo takes us into tapped drums, elegant playing, and a push through troubled waters. Closer “Močvara/мочвара” feels like the perfect bookend, as waters cascade, your head feels like it’s swimming in fog, and the whole thing comes to a chilling, uneasy finish, leaving you to tie up the loose emotional ends yourself.

Ulvesang’s music pushes past metal’s borders, almost as if we’re travelling beyond the Wall to meet wilder creatures living different lives on “The Hunt.” The record is many layered and filled with tumult, something it might take a few listens to fully absorb. This will be a great fall companion, especially on a cold, foggy day when the chill is at its apex. You’re not participating in the communal hunt yourself but living vicariously through the mission.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.nordvis.com/ulvesang-a-20

Or here: https://folkvangrrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-hunt

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

And here: https://www.facebook.com/folkvangrrecords/

The end is here. We’ve heard people talk about it, speculate on it, worry, and make predictions. The two minutes to midnight expired so fast, and in the aftermath, nuclear holocaust arrived, and fallout rained down over what would otherwise be a lovely, picturesque autumn day, the one that would warm the heart about the splashes of color and need to layer. All of that is gone.

That’s the sentiment that greets you on Vile Creature’s devastating new record “Cast of Static and Smoke,” a dystopian sci-fi tale about the end of civilization brought on by nuclear devastation. The record falls at an opportune moment, when the world seems to be at a crossroads as to how we will proceed into the future, and if we even have that future at all. This ambitious release, accompanied by a 16-page book that includes the lyrics and the entire story itself, is a sludge-splashed, caustic doom metal opus created by the Canadian duo of drummer/vocalist Vic and guitarist/vocalist/percussionist KW. This record, their follow-up to 2015 debut “A Steady Descent Into the Soil” and 2016 EP “A Pessimistic Doomsayer,” is a massive step forward for the band. They already were impressive on their first two releases, but this one pushes them even further ahead, as it’s the band finding the path they were meant to be on and burning any previous roads. These four songs spread over a caustic 44 minutes are utterly devastating most of the time, achingly heartbreaking at others as our fate, of which we weren’t even in control, is selfishly torn from our grasp.

“Water, Tinted Gold and Tainted Copper” is a 10:20 opener that details the aftermath of the nuclear terror, with narrator Erin Severson informing, “The end came swiftly,” before the band is full bore into bludgeoning. Their terrifying power blasts over the fall skies they detail, with the music flooding and gut-wrenching wails bringing pain. The track pulls back its tempo, though still mauling, while Vic wails, “Got what we thought we wanted, what we thought we knew, touched the wires together.” From there, gargantuan pounding erupts, as growls and noise combine, and guitars shriek before exiting. “Circuits, Bending and Breaking” starts with a steady push from the drums and tortured cries behind them. The misery is amplified further, as the track cuts through the mud, and brutality leaks from every crevice. Animalistic growls register overhead, nearly bringing your heart to a stop, while the pace then pounds relentlessly, with noise spreading before bleeding away.

“Forest, Subsists as a Tomb” is the longest cut, a 13:36 monster that starts with keys blazing, feedback stinging, and a sorrowful ambiance that extends its black arms. Drone collects before the song starts gaining steam, while growls slice through the body of the music, and the drums bash away. The band hits a thrashier pattern, delivering devastation, while the vocals shred the senses before Severson delivers another dialog, leading into the final stretch built with mashing playing, bone-splitting energy, and a finality that sends shockwaves through your body. “Sky, in Descending Pieces” brings the record to a close and is the shortest piece at a still-generous 8:52. The track has a cold, trickling start as the music unfurls slowly, with the growls sounding like they’re buried under waves. Anguish is splashed over everything, from the guttural vocals, with KW howling behind all of that, and Severson again speaks as the tale draws to a close. The music is wrenching, the cries feel like they are desperate for hope, and the song ends with darkness prevailing, as all existence is rendered a memory.

Vile Creature deserve to be acknowledged as one of the true special new bands lifting doom up by its lofty tent poles, and “Cast of Static and Smoke” is an awesome show of force both musically and philosophically. This band has put up with their fair share of bullshit from people who disagree with their battle to defend their and others’ sexuality, politics, and social issues, but this duo only come out of that much more galvanized. Look no further than this record that proves Vile Creature are strong as fuck, and their crushing visions and expression is enough to bring cowards to their knees.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/label-releases/halo108-vile-creature-cast-of-static-and-smoke-lp/

Or here: http://www.drycoughrecords.com/product/vile-creature-cast-of-static-and-smoke-lp

For more on the label, go here: http://www.halooffliesrecords.com/

And here: http://www.drycoughrecords.com/

Photo by Zsolt Reti

There’s a classic Patton Oswalt bit about how, if he could go back in time, he would choose to kill George Lucas to prevent the creation of the prequels. It’s all about not caring about where the thing you like came from. There’s some validity in that way of thinking, but that doesn’t apply across the board for every situation.

Take, for example, the bands you like and listen to on a daily basis. It’s often interesting to dig into their roots to find out what music pushed them to create their own catalog and if there isn’t something mysterious sitting behind the curtain. Crippled Black Phoenix have been an important band for me not only because of their music but also their messages (to me, “Bronze” feels like an accidental daily soundtrack to the Trump era), and their new EP “Horrific Honorifics” instantly intrigued me because they were giving their own treatment to six songs that have meant a lot to them and their own creative process. Not surprisingly, these songs run the gamut of styles and colors (from punk to doom weirdness to rustic Midwestern rock), and taking a journey with these cuts not only reveal more about the band—the mammoth lineup includes Justin Greaves (guitar, drums, saw, keyboard, acoustic guitar, banjo, effects, samples”; Daniel Änghede (vocals, electric guitar); Mark Furnevall (synthesizer, keyboards, backing vocals); Daisy Chapman (piano, vocals); Ben Wilsker (drums); Niall Hone (bass); Jonas Stålhammar (guitar); and Belinda Kordic (vocals)—but also might introduce you to something you never encountered before.

“False Spring” is their take on the 2009 Arbouretum track, and it’s punchy, with the singing floating, and atmosphere backing the power. Cosmic blips join sweltering soloing before it powers out. Their version of Swans’ 1992 cut “The Golden Boy That Was Swallowed By the Sea” is one of the highlights, as they dress the track with murky synth, a dreamy pace, and singing that makes your head swim, as the desperation is tangible. Kordic takes over on vocals for their version of Magnolia Electric Co.’s “Will-O-the-Wisp,” a personal soft spot as I love everything Jason Molina has ever done. Kordic’s singing sells the sadness and pain, which filled Molina fully, and their slight twist on the song adds their own moody touch to this classic.

Nomeansno’s old punk cut “Victory” gets pulled back just a bit, but the song still bites pretty hard. The track gets a foggy, gazey treatment, and lines such as, “I will not admit defeat,” hits you from a totally different angle. I didn’t know much about The God Machine going into this, but I dug more into their stuff after hearing this version of “In Bad Dreams.” The line, “You only see me in bad dreams,” is a crusher, and the band does a nice job paying off that depressive realization. The last track is the most insane, a take on the Sensational Alex Harvey Band’s 1973 gem “Faith Healer” delivered with dark energy, comically deep crooning, and organs swimming in and out of the madness. “Can I put my hands on you?” sounds sinister, not helpful, as the song spills out with a vicious edge.

Crippled Black Phoenix’s epic, emotional, politically charged, apocalyptic rock is like nothing else out there, and being able to examine some of the roots of their towering tree of woe has been quite fulfilling. These six songs are really interesting choices, and they led me down some avenues I never traveled before. I’m always hungry for new original content from this band, but considering the fingerprints they put on these songs, it’s almost like getting just that.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/CBP444/

To buy the album (North America), go here: https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/

Or here (International): https://shop.season-of-mist.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.season-of-mist.com/

Photo by Marco Gazaneo

I’ve been watching this miniseries “Waco,” about the David Koresh-led Branch Davidians and their demise at the hands of the U.S. government, and along with it are these mini-episodes you can access online that fleshes out the story more and gives added insight. It’s way to dig deeper into the source material and ensconce yourself into the mentality and events that led to the cult’s end.

While not quite the same idea, German pagan-style black metal band Horn, the effort of sole member Nerrath, has a similar idea on his hands with new mini-release “Retrograd.” It comes on the heels of last year’s astonishing seventh full-length “Turm Am Hang,” a record we loved and praised, and this EP’s six songs and 27 minutes are sort of an extension of that effort. The sound and style very much are the same, as Viking metal is wrapped in lush folk accompaniment, giving the record an edge that’s equally violent and lush. The record again surrounds itself in the majesty of nature, a topic very near and dear to so many artists who create in the pagan/Viking/black metal terrain, and Nerrath’s expression and emotional display can only make your insides quake as you take on these spirited tracks.

“Retrograd – Einleitung” is a quick intro track built with acoustic strumming, drums, and rustic notes before going into the full “Retrograd” cut that punches open, with autoharp jarring the senses, and gruff vocals joining the swarming melodies. The chorus is strong, while horns and synth unite, tremendous riffs rain down, and the track dissolves into strings, bringing the darkness to a close. “Bocksfuß – Einleitung” is a quick two-minute cut that has rain falling, strings chiming, and wordless calls, leading into the fuller body of “Bocksfuß” that tears open, with drums pounding, and grim growls mixing with clean singing. Proggy, spirited playing emerges like thick mist, bringing solemnity, but then things burst open again, and the track speeds ahead. Thorny growls and a melodic fury bring the track to its end.

“Garant” is folk-infused at the start before metallic fury arrives, and a strong riff slips in as the spine, and the pace utterly blisters. This reminds a bit of Primordial in sound and spirit, with a punishing assault, vocals spat out, and a grimly sung chorus that makes the blood rush. From there, the playing surges and catapults energy before it’s crushed closed. Closer “De Einder” has sweeping strings and a humid environment, as Nerrath’s singing is outright bellowing, as he pours his heart into the tale. The track balances folk and gloom, as the song punches ahead, achieving a fluid place that rushes. The final minutes amp up the emotion and turmoil, with the song tidal waving, and woodsy strings ending the tale.

Nerrath’s majestic power and metallic glory are on full display with “Retrograd,” a perfect stop after “Turm Am Hang” to give his listeners just a bit more color and substance in which to sink their teeth. His music continues to get more compelling as he goes on, and there’s plenty of adventure left in his world. It’s a journey that doesn’t demand much of your time but still leaves you compelled when it’s all said and done.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://shop.ironbonehead.de/

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

Photo by Pale With Decay

If you walk away from a death metal record feeling emboldened and empowered, somebody messed up. Either you’re bad at listening to music, or the band is really not very good at expressing their chosen sub-genre. I realize there are flavors for everyone but come on now. This is the land of the dead. What good possibly can come from that?

Denver’s Of Feather and Bone have the misery and virulent chaos one should expect and desire from a death metal record, and their second album “Bestial Hymns of Perversion” should tell you everything you need to know about the headspace right from the title. This is seven tracks, 32 minutes of brutality, a place where blood is shed without a tear, and the pain distributed is nearly too much to handle. Thank fuck for that, too. The last thing we need is more spit shine on this sub-genre, and these guys—guitarist/vocalist DG, bassist/vocalist AS, and drummer PW—continue delivering heaping, stinking death that should please anyone with sickening tastes. The band has been doing its thing since 2012, dropping a couple EPs and a split release before their eye-opening debut “Embrace the Wretched Flesh” in 2015. As time has gone, their sound only has grown deadlier and more violent, which you can hear all over “Bestial Hymns.”

“Repulsive Obscurity” gets us started with bubbling noise and growls tearing through the fog before the tempo strikes. The guitars grind away, while the vocals are gross and menacing, and the band sets up complete demolition. The guitars later dizzy and spread, while the monstrous drumming leaves bruises on your chest. “Resounding From the Depths” destroys right away, and some of this gives me a Revenge vibe, which is a positive. The band thrashes away and brings strike after strike, as the thick bass levels you, and it feels like you’re headed into a death furnace. The pace continues to pelt before a massive, charred end. “Lust for Torment” drops the hammers, as massive growls bury you, and the guitars swoop and stab away. Things become an ugly pit of hell, as the assault continues, the growls gurgle blood, and the drumming lands haymakers.

“Mockery of the Ascension” rips everything apart, as it is massive and heavy, with no escape hinted at from this battery. Guitars coil and strike, while crazed roars lash out, and the band twists you into a knot, continuing the violence until the song finally bleeds out. “Hymn of Perversion” has melody bouncing all around before the thing is blown to bits. The track smothers you in heaviness, getting uglier as it gains speed and collects bones. The vocals are blasphemously dangerous, mixing right into the hellish playing that only gets more vicious as it lives. “Pious Abnormality” chews at the flesh, mauling and driving thorns deep into your tissues. The drums blast as the cries for “invocation of the spirit!” release even more pain, leading the song into pure madness. The band settles back into a death groove, laying waste and leading toward finale “Throne of the Serpent.” There, filth slowly collects as growls lurk beneath the surface, and an animalistic charge delivers misery. The song trudges and brings blood rushing to your face, while the final minutes offer total devastation and a swarm of stinging insects looking to feast on your body.

Of Feather and Bone continue to add to death metal’s horrid tradition, and “Bestial Hymns of Perversion” should go down as one of this year’s more terrifying releases. There is no sunlight here, there is no place to find salvation, and there is no hope. There only are seven tracks of unrelenting hell that are here to sour and destroy your soul.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://profoundlorerecords.merchtable.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/

The haunting season remains a good while away (I see all you people counting down to Halloween every day!), but that doesn’t mean we can’t indulge in some horrific tales and music that would please the red man downstairs with the pointed tail. Be it terrifying tales or anthems to evil, anytime is a good time to revel in the madness, no matter the season outside the door.

Which brings us to tried-and-true sludge death crushers Ilsa, who have been doing their thing for a decade now and still are burying our faces in the dirt to this day. They’re back with their fifth album “Corpse Fortress,” their first for Relapse, and it’s another dose of filth and outright destruction. The DC-based killers come at you with nine tracks that spill over nearly 48 minutes, and they fit right along with earlier work such as what was packed onto “The Felon’s Claw” and “Tutti Il Colori del Buio.” The band—vocalist Orion, guitarists Tim and Brendan, bassist Sharad, and drummer Joshy—mixes muddy fury with a penchant for grinding, ugly death metal, making for a formula that’s perfect for telling their horrific tales and spreading their bloody madness all over your psyche.

“Hikikomori,” Japanese for being pulled inward or being confined, rips out of the gates with the drums kicking up, sludgy power shaking its hips, and the band settling into mauling, bruising death. Orion’s vocals belt you in the chest, while slurry soloing mesmerizes, savagely dealt chaos bubbles, and the track bleeds into noise. “Nasty, Brutish” is aptly named, as a doomy groove is set free, and ferocity blasts at you, with Orion warning, “Say your prayers, prepare to die!” Soloing goes off, as the track gasps its last breath. “Cosmos Antinomos” rumbles, with monstrous growls from Orion, devastating playing, and a pace that’s heavy, yet grinding your face in the mud. Black melodies are unleashed, while the track chugs ahead and ends in animalistic violence. “Prosector” is wild, as Orion wails bloody hell, sludgy riffs bruise eyes, and doomy lumbering comes your way with no hint of mercy, as this ends heavily as fuck. “Old Maid” is a change of pace, with the punishment going off as KC Oden’s harsh vocals enter the mix, sending shrieks down your spine. The track is catchy but incendiary, with both Orion and Oden’s vocals twisting and strangling.

“Long Lost Friend” starts with a voice running down an epic list of sins before a smudgy swirl lets loose, and the band enters into open assault. The cries for Satan are hungry and bloody, while warm guitars add some light, and the doom hammers later drop and maim. “Ruckenfigur” has a doomy stomp, with vocals piercing your flesh, and grisly playing opening up old and new wounds. A gravelly sung chorus gets the adrenaline flowing, while a brief pull back sets the stage for a thrashy attack and the final blasts for good measure. “Polly Vaughn” surely is the most twisted, deprived version of the old traditional Irish folk song, with these guys hammering at its corpse and warping its original form into a new nightmare. The song never was a happy one, and these guys make sure you feel every ounce of misery. Closer “Drums of the Dark Gods” has guitars droning and sounds boiling, letting its massive cloud drag for about four minutes before the band pulverizes you with power and horror, with Orion wailing, “Torture unrelenting”! The noise fog only spreads, thickening and poising, coating your lungs as you heave for clean air.

Ilsa’s decade-long run covering us in disgusting sludge and horror-filled devastation is well known by those following their bloody path, and “Corpse Fortress” should give their hungry audience exactly what they need. Bloody tales and satanic madness are delivered in full, and their arrival at Relapse should expose them to even more people. This band has delivered consistently vile, punishing metal over their time together, and there’s no reason to think they’ll ruin out of content anytime soon.

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

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

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

There’s no reason to wax poetic today about an album that simply exists to make your hearing that much worse, your psyche that much more fringed. Sometimes I get tired of trying to pin a record to a particular theme or life event, so today we have something that just turns on the demolition switch and watches you get caught in the gears.

The union of political thrashers Iron Reagan and death merchants Gatecreeper is an intriguing idea, one that combines two of the more heralded underground acts of the past few years, both housed under the Relapse umbrella. Their new split release brings eight tracks barreling toward you in a nice, concise package that doesn’t take long to absorb but still leaves you properly damaged. It’s a nice collection not only because the content is strong but also because these two bands really could not be more different in sound and approach. Iron Reagan’s thrash-infested madness has crushed us for the past six years now, with three full-lengths in tow, including last year’s killer “Crossover Ministry.” As for Gatecreeper, they’ve been at their furious approach to death metal only a year shorter than their split mates, and their massive debut record “Sonoran Deprivation” has been out for a couple years now, so we should be due for a longer platter from them. It’s a nice mix, and it keeps it interesting.

Iron Reagan’s helping kicks off with “Warning” that has a spirited open, with Tony Foresta’s vocals practically spat out, with him later, grimly, figuring, “We’re going to die,” as he and the band get on violently about what might happen if people sit on their asses waiting for change. “Paper Shredder” gleefully takes aim at governmental cover-ups, with the band gang shouting “shred!” while the song goes much in the way of a classic Exodus jam. “Take the Fall” is heavy as fuck, with the band trying cut away at the ultimate truth behind the lies we’re told, with Foresta declaring, “Exposure to truth exposes all!” “Proudly Unaccountable” is a blast that speeds by in less than a minute, with the guitars slicing limbs, the vocals crushing, and the drums leaving things in dust. Their last salvo is “Burn for This,” a track that erupts and destroys, with Foresta warning, “No one gets out alive!” It’s thashy and bloody and ends on a razor-sharp burst of soloing.

Gatecreeper get started with “Daybreak (Intro),” an instrumental piece that unloads slowly grinding misery and horrifying intentions, as the guitars bleed and drain into the mouth of “Dead Inside” that immediately gets bones crunching. Grisly growls are unleashed, while the guitars light up and cause a blinding glare, and the back-end thrashes heavily. The track gets uglier, yet more melodic as it stretches on, before things come to a neck-breaking, abrupt finish. “War Has Begun” caps off their offerings, as guitars cut through like a freshly sharpened scythe, and then the pace is ripped apart. The tempo is furious and mean, as gut-wrenching hell explodes, and the leads begins to tangle dangerously. Guttural growls and smothering guitars well up and threaten, while the song hammers for a final time before things are laid to rest.

This split combining Iron Reagan and Gatecreeper is a concise, blistering, fun release that gives you a good taste of what each band brings to the table. The combo of political thrash and punishing death metal might not seem a match, but these bands’ music actually sounds pretty good together, perhaps paving the way for a future tour as mates. If nothing else, we have this package that aims to beat the shit out of you and leave you a heaving heap.

For more on Iron Reagan, go here: https://www.facebook.com/IRONREAGAN

For more on Gatecreeper, go here: https://www.facebook.com/gatecreeper

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

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

How much madness is too much? At what point does one’s psyche collapse under the pressure and render itself incapable of moving ahead any further and only can deal with the very end of things? On that same note, how does one accurately portray that frame of crumbling mind in music in a way where you not only hear but feel the utter destruction?

Before even reading a word of the bio information accompanying “Alterity,” the panic-inducing fourth record from grind smashers Knelt Rote, it felt like this was a collection of music that isn’t for every listener, no matter how harsh one’s tastes might be. This is an album that pushes things over the edge, from the sound to the delivery to the unmistakable darkness that greets you at its gates. After poring over the information about this record, it wasn’t a surprise to learn some of the themes are social dissolution, identity (the album title hints at this), mental illness, obsession, and non-physical suicide. The album and its seven songs feel like one’s mind being shredded slowly, as the blood and pain are allowed to drip in long, sticky tributaries that are testaments to one’s breakdown. The band—guitarist/vocalist Gordon Ashworth, bassist/guitarist Lucas Danner, and drummer Elias Bloch—already are a deadly force live, but they’ve taken their agony and punishment to a new level. A person I’m friendly with on social media described this record as being something the world is not really to handle, and I can’t put it any better myself. That’s a warning.

“Lachesis” starts the record, and right away, there are signs of great trouble. Noise envelopes everything and threatens to derail the record before it begins, but then the assault unloads, with the vocals punishing, and some black metal-style melodies arriving. The track is a total fucking massacre, pushing your blood to the forefront, leading toward “Lineage and Dependence,” where guitars well like a town-ending flood. The pace smashes, while the vocal savagery mashes nerves, but then a weird swagger arrives and changes the tone. The pace melts, while uncomfortable whispers pelt, and wild howls smash you to bits. “Rumination” has a purely death metal start, as grisly fury and a barbarian-style assault are unleashed. The riffs clobber, while Ashworth’s growls devastate, and things come to an abrupt, smothering end.

“Genetic Memory” is a bulldozer, as the growls feel like they’re trying to devour the earth, and speed and ugliness spread. Blood and guts are spilled all over, and then it’s into “Othering,” where drums burst, and ferocious power is dealt. The growls roar, while violence erupts across the land, and then it’s into chunky mauling and pure pit fighting. “Salience” has drums pounding away, as slow-driving filth pushes your face into the dirt. Cavernous growls erupt and signal trouble, while chaos bleeds through the wall and splits heads. Monstrous growls send shrapnel flying, while sounds emerge and drown out everything. Closer “Black Triptych” spills venom with a vengeance, as growls swarm like millions of wasp nests, and the soloing goes off. The vocals are packed with a fury, as the murderous power and intense mental trauma finally subside.

Knelt Rote’s fury and abysmal chaos in their heads are on full display with “Alterity,” easily the most painful and punishing of their four records. It’s been six long years since we last heard from the band, and it’s clear in the time since “Trespass” that things have only grown darker and more dangerous. This is a record to approach with caution, especially if you identify with the themes, because you only can walk away a more broken, shattered person.

For more on the band (um, sort of), go here: https://www.facebook.com/Knelt-Rote-442289149130881/

To buy the album (vinyl not available until May), go here: https://shop.nwnprod.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.nwnprod.com/