Photo by Michael Ray Sheets

I’m going on this tangent again, but finding new fresh acts in the metal world whose sound makes you sit up and pay attention is rare. Really rare. It’s the spoils of having so damn many bands from which to choose and about a hundred million records that land in writers’ inbox each year that makes people like me feel this way. When special ones come along, it’s a joyous occasion.

As you may have guessed, we are in the company of one of those today. Seattle’s Eye of Nix certainly have a lot about them that sets them apart from much of the metal world. For one, they have a drama and excitement to them that lives in their music. This isn’t a group that’s here to blow you over with brutality. And that’s fine because we have plenty of groups out there trying to do just that. This group instead works to create interesting songs, weave together parts that’ll keep surprising you, and in front of them, they have a pretty great weapon that makes them even more special. That would be vocalist Joy Von Spain, whose operatic abilities grab you instantly and force you to pay attention. She has amazing pipes, no doubt, but she also knows how to use them. She doesn’t overpower the music, as many singers with abilities such as her have a tendency to do, and she’s a really unique, very powerful presence in front of this impressive band.

Eye of Nix formed three years ago, combining aforementioned Von Spain along with guitarist Nicholas Martinez, bassist Gerald Hansen, drummer Justin Straw, and noise artist Masaaki Masao. The band put out a four-track demo while also taking on tours and strengthening their live sound. They released their debut full-length “Moros” earlier this year, following that with an extensive Western U.S. tour and a video clip for “Elysium Elusive” that was made alongside filmmaker Michael Ray Sheets and butoh performer Vanesa Skantze. It’s been a pretty full year for this band, and now “Moros” is getting re-released with two bonus songs added, giving people who missed out the first time around a chance to catch up. What you’ll find is something not easily described, as the band mixes doom, noise, prog, and Von Spain’s amazing singing that injects Siouxsie Sioux/Jarboe/Kate Bush-style theatrics into the music. It’s a really cool element, though it should be pointed out when Von Spain needs to get destructive, she can belt out ferocious growls and shrieks with the best of them.

“Elysium Elusive” opens the collection, with darkness sprawling, Von Spain’s voice swelling, and the band taking on a calculated pace, as they slowly overpower you. The cut eventually starts to blister, with the operatic singing climbing over top and leading the way through the darkness. The song keeps progressing, building layer upon layer, until it all bleeds out into the night. “We Perish” starts with quiet playing, as Von Spain takes on the role of storyteller (or so it seems), as the track slowly devolves. Heavy growls erupt, as the track gets thornier and the noise elements get nastier and more aggressive. Toward the back end, the doors blow off, the band starts pummeling, and her voice rips into wild, harsh wails that leave a ton of bruising. “Veil” gets off to an eerie start, as tricky guitars enter the scene, and the track takes on a post-metal feel. Growls signal the arrival of dark forces, while the music gets vicious and sludgy, mauling right up to the unexpected calm. Birds chirp and all seems serene, but the music starts to buzz again, and while it has a dreamy essence, you can tell that not all’s right in the universe. “Turned to Ash” has jangly guitar work, a punchy tempo, and a nice infusion of moodiness. As it rolls along, it takes on heavier qualities, with bursts of power, Von Spain’s enrapturing singing, and a close that’s catchy and furious.

“Shroud” has a much proggier bend, which is a nice change of pace, though Von Spain goes for blood here as her she belts out growls and shrieks that will terrify you. From there, the song gets more unhinged and deadly, with the vocals leaving welts, but then the track suddenly trickles into beauty. It’s a track that shows both their light and dark sides. “Optimo Vero” begins with chants before the guitars start prodding, and the whole thing takes on a ceremonial ambiance. The band then starts to strike hard, with the vocals coming out like pained wails, and the tempo of the track beginning to drub you. Von Spain goes from horrifying screams to abrasive growls, showing the might of her voice, while the band strikes over and over, thrashing and mashing, with everything sizzling out of control. “Blood in Fire” is the first of two bonus tracks, with Von Spain’s delivery leaning toward jazzy while the band slinks along with her. The track slowly begins to corrode, with the singing turning to growls, and the band slipping into experimental weirdness before they round back to swinging again, ending the track in a wonderfully bewildering way. “Rome Burned” caps the album, and it’s arguably the angriest track on the record. Amid clips about protesting authority and corrupted power, complete with the recitation of the SLA line, “Death to the fascist insect that preys on the life of the people,” the fires really get moving. The band settles into a nice, furious groove, as Von Spain lets her voice rip, riots break out in the background, and the playing pays off the emotion and unrest lingering within this track. This is one hell of an ending.

Eye of Nix slowly are making their mark, and hopefully “Moros” getting a boost of new life will help them jar awake more people. This is an inventive, mesmerizing band that sounds like no other, and they’re lucky to have a singer who is in the upper echelon when it comes to discussing some of metal’s new voices. The universe is the limit here, and hearing this band morph and change in the future is going to be pretty damn interesting.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.beliefmowercult.bigcartel.com/

Or here: http://eyeofnix.bandcamp.com/album/moros

The world can be a horrible place with terrible things happening with or without sense and logic. People can be terrible beings, and as far as we’ve come with technology, medical advancements, and other accomplishments, humans never fail to find new ways to be despicable and horrible.

Dragged Into Sunlight and Gnaw Their Tongues are two acts in extreme music that understand this greatly and have poured this into their respective music. They are two of the most unnerving, raw, violent acts in the entire world, and the thought of them combining forces should be something that drives chills down spines. Well, either fortunately or unfortunately (depends on your outlook), they have melded forces for the terrifying new combined effort “N.V.” (stands for negative volume) that brings their horrifying worlds together in a way that only can mean devastation and psychological woes. Over five songs, they poke and prod at the worst of humanity in a way only these two acts could do this shockingly. If you can imagine what these bands would create together without hearing the results, you likely will land on what they do here. There are no surprises really, and that’s not a negative. This effort is scary, penetrating, and bloody, just like I’d hoped it would be.

For those a little behind (or if you just need a quick refresher), Dragged Into Sunlight is the mask-bearing horror squad out of the UK that smears death and black metal together in a sooty, clobbering way. They have two smothering full-lengths to their name (“Widowmaker” was one of our favorites of 2012) and generally keep their shadows over the seamy underbelly of society, focusing on killers and abuse, all the things that make life so wonderful. Gnaw Their Tongues is the long-time black noise project of Dutch musician Mories that is responsible for a shit ton of releases (we visited with “Abyss of Longing Throats” earlier this year) since this idea was started a decade ago. These two acts combining together to make music makes too much sense, and the result is as gross and disgusting as expected.

“Visceral Repulsion” has that DIS focus on serial killers at the forefront (it’s a recurring element here), with Richard Speck warbling on over noise and then crushing death. There is a mix of harsh growls and ear-splitting shrieks that work to create madness, as the noise spitting and thrashing fury meet up and create a dangerous storm front. Later, Michael Bruce Ross, also known as “The Egg Man,” speaks of his terrible acts while eerie soundscapes bubble up, and the two entities work to pound you into submission over the final minutes. “Absolver” completely crushes from the start, with fierce growls splitting out and black melodies drizzling down. The vocals later turn burly, matching the muddy pace, and as the track goes on, it keeps getting more and more ferocious, ripping apart sanity, crashing down, and later bleeding out. “Strangled With the Cord” is an obvious one, isn’t it? It starts with slow-driving punishment, echoing growls, and more words from killers. Parts of this simmers and steams, with the end torn out later, the bands pelting you with foreign objects, and the vocals sounding inhuman and unhinged.

“Omniscienza” erupts right away, as if you’re being sprayed with nails, and the vocals are utterly savage. We hear more killers speak, as the bands create an atmosphere that should make you shake with fear. The vocals pierce and slash, as the bands keep piling on sounds and tons of weight, with the tempo mashing, and the collective power making your head spin as you grab the wall to prevent a fall. Closer “Alchemy in the Subyear” lets the elements build up and threaten, with swarming sounds coming from every corner and the playing crunching your puny bones. Noise haze situates itself over the scene, like a poisonous cloud slowly stretching over a terrain, while chaos erupts elsewhere. The guitars sink their claws, as the track unleashes punishing thrashing, delivering shot after shot until the thing ends abruptly, as if your lights have been put out with you even realizing it.

So yeah, there’s nothing about this record that will put a smile on your face or uplift your spirits. Dragged Into Sunlight and Gnaw Their Tongues have the market on psychological torment pretty much cornered, which they prove on “N.V.” This is the stuff that, as gruesome and unfriendly as it is, you can’t turn away from it. It’s the horror that, as much as it will turn your stomach, you have to immerse yourself in and splash in every bloody bit.

For more on Dragged Into Sunlight, go here: https://www.facebook.com/draggedintosunlight

For more on Gnaw Their Tongues, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gnaw-Their-Tongues/128655237208690

To buy the album, go here: http://prostheticrecords.limitedrun.com/

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

Metal is a territory that has a lot of horrific imagery tied to it, and for outsiders, that’s mostly what they know about this form of music. Ultimately, a lot of it is really cartoonish, sometimes on purpose, and there are so many outlandish covers, song titles, and lyrics, it’s hard to be shocked or surprised by most of it. That’s not really a criticism. It’s just how it is.

I find psychological anguish and tangible horrors a lot more impactful, because these are things that actually could occur in one’s life. Yeah, I guess I possibly could wake up one day to find a skeleton eating my entrails, but I’m not really fretting that one. That’s one of the reasons I find Vastum so fascinating. Ever since their formation six years ago, the band has explored matters of sexuality and the horrors, pain, guilt, and terror that can go along with that terrain, as well as matters of abuse and psychological wounds. No, we aren’t talking cartoon eroticism here. You walk away feeling bruised and shaken, just like many of the would-be narrators in these songs who have seen things and suffered punishment that goes blind to many people. This is one of the things that really set Vastum apart from many of the other bands in death metal, and this is before we even dig into how their music sounds.

Vastum’s third record “Hole Below” is arriving, and it’s one of their darkest, most deranged collections in their already scathing discography. The follow-up to their excellent 2013 record “Patricidal Lust,” “Hole Below” contains six more tracks that dig way below the surface of subject matter most don’t even care to acknowledge. The band—vocalist Daniel Butler, guitarist/vocalist Leila Abdul-Rauf, guitarist Shelby Lermo, bassist Luca Indrio, and drummer Adam Perry—turns out 37 minutes of bruising death metal twisted with morose visions, disturbing lyrics, and a sense that all is not right in the world in one of grimiest, most internally digested senses. You cannot walk away feeling good about yourself, and if there is suffering and degradation within you, don’t be surprised to see your own emotions come spilling out in a pool of piss as your guts twist inside of you.

Strangeness is present from the very start as “Sodomitic Malevolence” begins in a pocket of buzzing noise, with voices moaning in the background as if in misery. Once the track really gets moving, you’re blown over by guitars shredding away, grinding fury, and warbles and growls that trade off melting your face. The song manages to get even heavier toward the end of the track, with faster playing, a few moments of serenity, and the madness fading out. “Amniosis” is a death march from the beginning, with coarse growls gurgling, and the lead guitars breathing fire. The band mashes your fingers as they make their way down the path, with more deranged howls sitting behind the muck, and Abdul-Rauf ripping in with her authoritative, scary growls. “In Sickness and in Death” gets off to a slow maul, with both vocalists blending together to create an ugly, scary mix, and the band chugging ahead. The guitars singe what stands in front of them, while the muck bubbles to the surface and mars the scene, trudging hard to what ends up being a pretty eerie finish.

“Intrusions” has a mangling start, raging forward as Abdul-Rauf injects horror and violence into the song with her growls. The song lurches hard, with strong lead guitar work bubbling over top and some tasty thrashing landing. Detached speaking arrives, feeling like ghostly and chilling rants, and the back end of the song takes its time doing its damage. “Hole Below (A Dream of Ritual Abuse)” slips into a filth death groove, as the psychological torment spreads its wings and infects. The vocals scrape and expose bruised skin, while the band sets off all sorts of morbid color with their playing, leaving you a heaping pile on the floor. Closer “Empty Breast” is packed with pain and torment, as the guitar works commands the effort, and later the track folds into aggressive thrashing. The guitar work is outright fierce, as the vocals smear soot in your mouth, the music starts to set up a bizarre atmosphere, and the same strange noises that opened the record return, creating a disarming bookend. It’s a devastating, bloody exclamation point at the end of a morbid journey.

Vastum are one of the heaviest, most interesting, most disturbing bands in modern death metal, and much of that has to do with them poking into wounds that are very real and could happen to anyone. “Hole Below” is flat-out black-pit ugly, a drubbing serving of pain that could make you feel like you’re voiding fire and rolling in your own dirt. It’s a sobering, searing record that’s scarier and deadlier than any old death record poking at the bones of Satan or graveyard terror. That’s because this is the real, miserable thing.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vastum/440192535391

To buy the album, go here: http://www.20buckspin.com/collections/music

Don’t roll your eyes, please, but I don’t mind when I find metal records calming or tranquil. The reason bands such as Cynic, latter Anathema, and Ulver always resonate with me is because they are something beyond the brutal and devastating and instead put their music in a more imaginative, sometimes dream state. I don’t need thrashed all the time, and when a record can move me from the inside, that’s a welcome experience.

Digging into “Prisoner of Sunlight,” the debut full-length record from Austaras, gave me that exact feeling. While there is rocky terrain and explosive sections, so much of this record make it feel like I’m catapulting through the clouds, on my way to the sun. Violence isn’t on the tip of my tongue. Instead, I find I’m stretching my mind and immersing myself in the band’s liquidy passages. While post-black metal remains a part of the band’s base, they’ve really pushed much further on this record, fully embracing soaring prog rock, jazzy sounds, and also some stormy weather to keep you aware of your surroundings. It’s easy to get swept away during these songs, and this has been a record I’ve turned to quite a bit the past two weeks as work has piled up on top of me.

Austaras, based in Chicago, have been active nearly a decade now, but the only other release they have under their belt is a 2011 EP “Under the Abysmal Light.” This new effort is not as dark and thorny as that one, but as noted, it trades some of those elements for a path more cosmically enlightening. The band is comprised of primary members John Becker (vocals, guitars, violin, viola, analog synth), Adam Hansen (vocals, drums, percussion), and Shane Hill (guitars), as well as Jeremy Eberhard (synth, piano), and Richard Stancato (bass), who were a crucial part of the studio creation. The band’s work here seems like fluid, ever-changing being itself. You never know where you’re headed next, be it straight down into a murky valley or right into the sky, but that’s part of the adventure. The vocals almost are entirely devoid of growls, and the combination of Becker and Hansen’s singing gives this a softer, more reflective touch that sets the band apart.

“Deserter” is the first taste of Austaras’ expanded sound, complete with elegant guitar playing, synth waves, and eventually a charged-up tempo met with rich clean vocals. “Desert the path honored by ruins,” it is urged, as the band slips in spacious solos, prog twists, and a nice bit of crunch at the end. “Thrones” has spacey keys that surge into bursts, with soulful, soaring guitars shooting out like beams of light, and the singing blending right in. The drums rattle away, while the band takes some colorful angles, the synth feels like a cool breeze, and acoustic guitars settle before one final burst. “Refractions” is a slow-moving piece, with clean sounds trickling, the guitar work glimmering brightly, and a moody sentiment creating a shadow over the song. “Threshold” has a damn nice riff that brings you in, sticking with you and pushing you into a more rock-oriented segment. “Enter and be judged,” as the singing takes the reins, the song gets edgier as it goes, and a melding of synth and power at the end is punctuated by the first gnarly growls of the record.

“Ossify” has clean guitars dripping, moody, gentler passages sprawling out, and even a woodsy sequence that gives the track a little bit of a rustic feel to it. “Fractures,” which runs 10:05 and doesn’t feel nearly that long, then erupts from the gates, blistering and making impacts on the ground. The singing once again is really strong here, as the track goes from the volcanic to settled and back again, with the urge of, “Sever your mind from all physical borders,” hanging in the air and circling your mind. A synth fog settles in, and out of that comes some great soloing that cuts its way through and toward the rousing group callback of, “Into the fractures we shall fall, never to return.” Really good track. “Reflections” brings things back down again, as it is filled with acoustic strumming and wordless harmonies, leading you into the instrumental finale “Seaworthy.” Here, clean guitar, looping bass, and jazzy rhythms take hold, creating a foggy picture. Guitars take a heavier role as the song progresses, burning brightly over everything, and then things really open up and chug about halfway through. The scene gets murkier and serene as the track winds to a close, with waves crashing, a mist creating a film over your face, and the album floating off into the distance, ever so slowly until you no longer can make out its image.

Austaras’ work is indicative of a band that, while metal at heart, doesn’t feel the need to be a slave to any one sound. They put so many different colors and textures into “Prisoner of Sunlight” that is really is a record that has new things to discover with each listen. This is a really enjoyable, adventurous album, and Austaras is a band whose future direction really is anyone’s guess. And it’ll be pretty awesome following them on that ride.

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

To buy the album (available Nov. 6), go here: https://austaras.bandcamp.com/

Nerrath

We probably all feel like we have way too much to do every day and not enough time to get it done. Work, home responsibilities, trying to eat right, taking care of your family, that all takes a lot of time and effort, and I know there are tons of times when I wonder if I can do it all.

Well, German musician Nerrath probably reads all of that and laughs. Not that I know what the guy does every day or how he makes ends meet, but apparently he hasn’t let any of that get in the way of his creative output. Not only does he have a new record out for his solo project Horn, he also got together with his other band Cross Vault and completed a new album with them. Both of those efforts are unleashed upon us puny weaklings this week, and each one satisfies different aspects of the metal universe. But if you’re one that has a strong affinity for raw, yet rustic black metal and emotional doom, then you’re bound to have even more to do when you sit to absorb both offerings.

Horn has been around for 13 years now, and ever since 2005, Nerrath has managed to put out a new full-length every few years, with new “Feldpost” being his sixth record under this banner. According to the bio materials, this is the first one Nerrath has recorded in a proper professional studio, and the music benefits from a richness and atmosphere that does nothing to compromise the darkness and fury of the music. The music also is very emotional and infectious in spots, with parts woven in that’ll replay in your mind long after the music stops playing. Thematically, Nerrath digs back to tales from the two world wars, and all of the material is sung in German only. So if you’re not familiar with the tongue, you’ll have to go on the majesty of the music. Also, two of the tracks here are carryover cuts from the 2010 “Distanz” album re-recorded for this effort.

“Drei Spaten am Grab” opens the record, feeling a bit like early Primordial, as it fires up with harsh growls, swelling melodies, and some bellowing vocals that come ripping out. ”Die Würfel rollen wieder” surges, with vicious, creaking growls mixed with spirited singing, riveting playing, and a heavy storm settling in toward the end, as the track comes to a volcanic finish. ” Wache schreibt…” has guitars spiraling, melodies flooding to the surface, and all the elements cascading. There’s a relentless pounding to part of the song, yet later it slips into folkish territory, adding rustic texture to the pumeling sounds. ”…und keiner wüsst’ von Flandern” opens with dark and ominous tones, presenting itself as one of the harshest cuts on the album. The song is delivered slowly, with coarse vocals bubbling up, and then a spirited, really emorable section of melodic singing bursts through the gates. That part really sticks in my head and has so ever since the first visit with this record. Finally, we end with the two redone cuts from ”Distanz,” as ” Überall und über allem” is a little bit longer than the original version, remaining thrashing, slattering, and punishing; while ”Die verlorene Rotte” closes this great effort with heavy riffs, rolicking bass, abrasive growls, and more folk elements mixing in with the total blackness.

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

Cross Vault

If you’re looking to feel dark and near tears, that’s where Cross Vault comes in handy. The feeling of horrible loss and mournful darkness is impossible to avoid on “The all-consuming,” their second record, with Nerrath (or N, as he is known here) sticking to English for his words and vocals. He and his bandmates—M on guitars and bass, B on drums—dig deep into the guts for what they conjure here, spilling slow-boiling doom into these tracks but also countering with folk lushness elsewhere to add even more heart and texture to these songs. The songs can feel solemn and hopeless in spots, gargantuan and crushing in others, and it’s the strongest of the band’s two albums (last year they released “Spectres of Revocable Loss”). This is a band that hasn’t really made a huge impact beyond their underground lair, but all it takes is more ears before Cross Vault’s name dances on more tongues.

These tracks are filled with anguish and pain, starting with “Revocable Loss,” a 10:19-long epic that starts with calm, reflective guitars that set the stage for the heart-ripping impact and Nerrath’s clean singing bellowing. Later the song goes cold, growls emerge, and strong soloing fires up, paving the path for some elegant playing and Nerrath calling, “We will forever be weightless.” “Simple marksman in the pines” is slow and melodic, one hell of a mammoth cut that’s rich with emotion. More stellar guitar work, quiet acoustics, and gut-wrenching playing all have a part, with the crushing tale unfurling before you, and dark clouds accumulating and drifting off into the distance. “Amber Nights” sounds exactly like what its title indicates, a delicate, lush passage that veers into folk, singing that sounds delivered from the depths of Nerrath’s guts, and later a deluge of sound that pays off the sense that the drama is building forcefully. The title track delivers punches right away, staying as dark as anything on here and later allowing gorgeous guitars to slip into the scene. Gritty singing that dissolves into growls, dreary guitar work, and expression that bleeds away slowly highlights this cut. Finally, closer “The words that pierce no soul” is an 11:22 song built on morose melodies, punishing emotions, and Nerrath, at the end of his rope, admitting, “Here I stand with nothing more to give.” If you walk away from the record unaffected, you have no heart.

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

These records might not serve the same audience necessarily, but there darkness that stretches across both that certainly could unite listeners of each band. Nerrath has a lot to show for this burst of creativity, both what he did on his own with Horn and what he and Cross Vault created together. These are two damn formidable releases that and worth your while, brain cells, and whatever you have left of your hearing.

To buy either album, go here: http://shop.northern-silence.de/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.northern-silence.de/

I have a weird affinity for wanting to feel uncomfortable and a little bit on edge. I was terrified by a lot of things growing up, including alien abductions, what lurked in the dark woods surrounding my childhood home, ghosts, you name it. Having an overactive imagination didn’t help matters much, because I always found new and more disturbing ways to imagine each of those scenarios.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve embraced those things that made me feel so strange as a kid. In the fact, in the potential TMI department, I still take showers in the pitch black because that used to fill me with anxiety and fear as a kid, and I want to recapture some of that feeling now. Maybe it’s some twisted form of nostalgia for me. Anyway, music that that sparks some of those uneasy feelings inside always end up being stuff to which I gravitate. That’s what made me love Pink Floyd as a kid (the spacey synth terrain always gave me goosebumps), Zombi, and now Pinkish Black. Ever since hearing their imaginative, woefully morbid debut record “Everything Went Dark” that landed in 2011, I have been hooked on the band’s strange passages that feel like they arrived here from another era, another dimension, right smack in the middle of the night when everything is tenuous.

The band—Daron Beck (vocals, keys, synth, mellotron) and Jon Teague (drums, synth)—are back with one of their darkest turns yet in “Bottom of the Morning.” If you’ve been on the ride with the band ever since they rose from the ashes of The Great Tyrant (more on them later), they’ve been making sounds that would sound perfectly played at top volume, late at night, while you drive down a desolate highway toward nothingness. The band always has had tragedy at their fingertips (hell, the very reason for their name, which we covered before, is marred with horror), and the past few years have been no different. “Bottom of the Morning” right away feels like a record you wouldn’t want to hear at your most vulnerable, for you might disappear down the drain with the band. Even the strange cover art—that brownish rainbow arching over a city—feels unsettling, like everything you know has changed and been replaced with something so alien, you can’t help but feel out of your element.

“Brown Rainbow” fittingly begins the record, with dark, doomy keys spilling forth and the music practically intoxicating. “The end is here to stay,” Beck mournfully, but coolly wails, with the murky strangeness flooding over, into your veins, and straight to your mind. “Special Dark” actually has some buried shrieks at its front end, as if panic has struck, and then the song bursts open further. Beck’s singing is a rich baritone here (well, it is most places), as the music achieves a chilling swirling effect. There is a fierceness to this one, a mission to make you feel as unwell as possible, and all of the sounds blast out and head right toward “I’m All Gone.” The keys smear, with the singing coming as a low register, deliberately delivered and bringing with it personal destruction you can reach out and practically feel. “Burn My Body” is eerie and claustrophobic, with the dramatic first minute or so feeling like the introduction theme for a villain slipping in through the fog. The vocals burn slowly, while the music achieves the essence of a late ’70s sci-fi film, feeling murky and strange right down to its core.

“Everything Must Go” has a rambling, zombie-like pace, feeling playful on one end, threatening on the other. The keys bounce and pulsate, tearing open and letting a UFO beam rip your eyesight apart. The noise keeps building, while laser sounds zap all over the place, lighting up every corner. The final minute is frantic and anxiety inducing, and it sets the stage nicely for the record’s 9:31-long title track. Here, synth fog rolls in, with the vocals coming softly and disarming. The sounds start to build up and rollick, with nightmare synth oozing and a trippy, psychedelic window opening you up to a world of colors you didn’t know existed. The drums crash down, key strikes hit like asteroids, and the manic pace spills over into quiet admission of, “Everything’s the same again,” a line that stirs over and over before the track slips into dizzying dreams. The closer “The Master Is Away” is an instrumental track that find keys dripping down, almost whimsically, while beats splash, synth envelops, and a thick haze rises and sets, making everything in front of you impossible to see, yet you head into the void anyway.

We mentioned The Great Tyrant earlier, the band in which Beck and Teague played with Tommy Wayne Atkins before his untimely demise. Their second and final record “The Trouble With Being Born” finally is being released on a limited basis by Relapse. The record is rougher around the edges, confrontational in a much different way, and certainly the obvious genesis for what was to come with Pinkish Black. Coupling this record with “Bottom of the Morning” gives you a great perspective on which bizarre cloud this band was formed, and how far it has come in the past half-decade. Both records have their own merit, with “The Trouble” being an ominously named record that still scars, and “Bottom” being one of the finest things Teague and Beck ever did together. Get ready to feel like you’re having an out-of-body experience from which you may never awake.

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

To buy either album, go here: http://www.relapse.com/store.html

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

A band truly coming into its own is a fascinating thing to experience, that is if you’ve been along for the whole ride. Meeting up with a band when they first start and following their peaks and valleys often ends in maximum enjoyment for the listener when that true breakthrough moment strikes.

Horrendous have been making serious waves in underground death metal with their take on the old school philosophies they have twisted to meet their modern needs. They’ve been a band on the rise, and in a pretty short amount of time, forming six years ago and already having developed a sterling reputation based on their output. In fact, last year’s “Ecdysis” was a high-water mark for the band, a record that opened up a ton of ears to their style and one of 2014’s most inventive and interesting metal albums. But now comes “Anareta” barely more than a year later, and everything has changed again. That high-water mark? Yeah, it’s at tsunami level now with this new collection that, all the hyperbole aside, could find itself remembered as a modern classic that broke the band onto a new level.

What we have on “Anareta” is not just an exemplary death metal album; it’s one of the most lively, colorful, fun records to come out of the sub-genre in a long, long time. In fact, if I can mix sub-genres for a moment, much of this new record makes me imagine of what “Rust” era Megadeth and, say, “Human” years Death could have conjured had they mixed together their influences. The playing is absolutely top notch and breathes furious fire, and the band—guitarist/bassist/vocalist Damian Herring, guitarist/vocalist Matt Knox, drummer Jamie Knox—never have sounded this channeled and deadly before. It’s a joy to hear (weird to say about a death metal band) and gets even more intriguing the more you explore the thing.

“The Nihilist” begins the record with guitars arriving, wild howls taking hold, and the song hitting full launch. The riffs are nice and crunchy, while the tempo gets trucking, and the guitars seem to race each other. There are some great exploratory sections, a quick moment of reflection, and then another burst, with howls of, “I am everything, I am nothing!” Ozymandias” is the longest cut at 7:21, and it has a nice, fluid start. The leads are razor sharp, while the howls are harsh and abrasive, and the band sinks into deep thrashing. It should go without saying that the playing is so on the money here (it really is everywhere), and some great soloing leads into vicious growls and a final blast of madness. “Siderea” is an instrumental cut where Horrendous show their proggy side, with the track slowly unfurling, the guitars swimming in the murk, and the pace eventually blistering. “Polaris” starts stomping right away, with creaked growls leading the way, colorful leads exploding, and some pretty cool twists and turns, feeling techy and thrashy, and always full of heart.

“Acolytes” runs a healthy 7:14, and it has an ominous beginning, chugging and sweltering, playing tricks with your mind. The tracks breaks open more, with the vocals blasting out furiously, the pace absolutely steamrolling, and the guitars stretching out into the cosmos. Manic progressions prevail before the song becomes calmer, and then we’re onto “Sum of All Failures” and its quiet, acoustic opening. Naturally the serenity doesn’t last long as the crunch unloads, strong guitar work rollicks, and more prog fire spits out, adding some weirder textures. A nice classic metal feel emerges, as the guitars enrage the fires, and everything builds right up to its abrupt end. “Stillborn Gods” has a bit of a rock feel to it in spots, but that doesn’t take any bite out of the track’s intensity. The race is catchy and fun, while the vocals are violent and screechy, and the melodies kill everything. It’s a nice organic development for this one, and it fades out, paving the way for closer “The Solipsist (Mirrors Gaze).” The track has an elegant, clean launch, sprawling slowly before the fireworks burst. The band pours on the punishment, with every element bringing chaotic flashes, but from there, the track goes more calculated. The band takes its time, punching and bruising, with the vocals delivered harshly, and the song mashing and thrashing before the whole thing slowly bleeds away.

“Anareta” already has been met with quite a bit of praise, and there’s a damn good reason behind this. Horrendous truly have come into their own, at least how that’s defined in late 2015. They likely could do more, grow further, and discover other ways to blow minds. This is a damn fine example of classic-minded death scraped with modern thinking, and it established Horrendous as one of the finest bands going in this or any other corner of metal’s landscape.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.darkdescentrecords.com/store/

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

Photo by Paul Werkmeister

Finding balance in my life is not something I’m all that great at achieving. I can be a constant ball of anxiety, wondering if any weird thing going on with my body is something that spells doom, and calming down and collecting facts often go by the wayside for an old-fashioned panic attack. It’s a good time.

For the longest time, my wife has suggested I try yoga. Let me warn you there isn’t some happy ending bow tied to this one as I have yet to actually go into a public setting and try this. I have a hard enough time eating in public much less stretching out and letting myself be vulnerable in a physical setting. That said, the closest I’ve ever come to doing this has been with Black Yo)))ga, a project started by Kimee Massie, a 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher-certified instructor, her musician husband Scott (who also helms Pittsburgh label Innervenus), and their friend Chad Hammitt. For years, you could see flyers for their sessions all over Pittsburgh, at record stores, on coffee shop windows, you name it. The venues would change, but their unique program, that used drone, doom, and stoner metal, continued to spread and gain wide acceptance locally. Now, they’re taking Black Yo)))ga to the world with the release of “Asanas Ritual, Vol. 1,” a CD/DVD package that contains an hour-long instructional class session, as well as their own soundtrack created by a collective of local musicians.

I’m going to concentrate more on the musical aspect here, as I noted I’m bereft of yoga knowledge, but no doubt the DVD portion is a great help to people like me whose social anxiety may get the best of them and rob them of an experience such as this. This lets you unwind without the pressure of other people, learn the process, and make as many mistakes as you need to in the comfort of your own home. Only the dog will be there to laugh at me! Plus, the music is something that helps connect with those of us with darker personality complexions who find more relaxation and connection with dark, pulsating sounds. I literally find bands such as Sunn 0))), Sleep, and Nadja incredibly relaxing, so this makes all the sense in the world to me. But this effort also seeks to help those struggling with addiction, anxiety, PTSD, dark passengers, phobia, etc. in order to help these people cope and make more of their lives.

As for the music, Scott Massie (you also may know him from Storm King), Hammitt, and a collection of musicians from bands such as Hero Destroyed, Agnes Wired for Sound, Vulture, Torrential Bleeding, Moonstation Burning, Complete Failure, and a ton more grouped together to create the soundtrack to go along with the yoga instruction. The music is full of dark ambiance, doom drone, mystical chants, and all sort of foggy corners designed to get inside your veins, work their way to the burning spots, and help you reach beyond your turmoil. I’ve used the soundtrack itself to help me gather myself or simply meditate during bouts of panic, and it has worked perfectly. Hell, even if you don’t want to do the yoga portion, the music itself is rumbling and evocative, and a really strong collection that hopefully paves the way for more creations for any future installments of Black Yo)))ga.

“A Wandering Through” begins the music, with static and noises rising, chattering swimming underneath, and strings cutting through. I kept imagine sailing on dark waters, with nothing but storm clouds ahead but feeling oddly at ease. Melodies slip into the scene, drone chants emerge, and guitars open up, with strings continuing to scrape and this flowing into “The Dark Places in Our Lives.” Stomps echo at the start, with guitars looping inward, and the pace righteously plodding along. Chimes punctuate the end of each musical thought, while the accumulating melodies roll ahead with the strings following. Everything flows ideally, with dark cries reaching out, sounds swirling, and the end bleeding into “Carmentis,” where the vocal calls continue. Guitars and bass begin to bubble and scorch, with noise snaking through, and a compelling passage takes you into a liquid-filled, spacey section. Creaky moans and gasps poke, with the wordless wails stretching, and the glistening music going right into “Hungry Ghosts” that starts with echoes and waves crashing. The sounds are chilling, with the guitars mimicking birds chirping (or I’m imagining that), the strings pattering, and mist rising, along with a threatening cloud of noise.

“Negative Confession” charges up, with drums cascading and the noise getting bigger and more gargantuan. Screams simmer, while darkness and morbidity rise up, making itself into a strange beast you stare down as you head right into “Lament,” where soulful, heartfelt singing wells up and bursts. As the song builds, the doom bottom drops out, the feral cries build in intensity, and the rising storm bears down, mauling away and challenging you. The riffs that emerge are episodic, as the noise boils and spills over into the piece’s longest track “Nest of Thorns” that runs a healthy 14:20. The start is gentle but ominous, with the deliberately paced music figuring out its way and the guitars taking on a satisfying, exploratory, psychedelic wash. Things get trippy and then throbbing, as it continues to move your emotions and then feed you a thick drone. The drums start to splatter, and this mixes into the final movement “Loophole in the Universe,” where noise sizzles, wooshes cool your skin, and what sounds like alien sirens begin reaching out. It feels like spaceship exhaust is enveloping you, with thick and penetrating tones having their way, while the piece rings out in silence. By the way there also are edited versions of “Carmentis” and “Negative Confession” available only on the digital release.

Black Yo)))ga has become a large part of the Pittsburgh metal scene, and it’s great to see this project branch out so that it can touch the lives of people all around the world. The commitment the Massies and Hammitt have made to this effort is admirable, and they have put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into Black Yo)))ga to get it where it is today. This is a worthwhile addition to your life if you could use some relaxation, a chance to branch out, or some soothing influences if you struggle with you own darkness. And the other great thing about “Asanas Ritual, Vol. 1” is if you struggle with social anxiety like I do, you can take advantage of this in your own home first before you join the group at one of their events.

Speaking of which, if you’re in Pittsburgh tonight, there is a release party for “Asanas Ritual, Vol. 1” from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at Union Project, 801 North Negley Ave., Pittsburgh. Bring your own mat!

For more on the release party, go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1613061185612192/

For more on the project, go here: http://www.black-yoga.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.screamingcrow.com/shop/55-black-yo-ga

Or here: http://blackyoga.storenvy.com/

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

This time of the year is perfect for certain things. Two of them, in my humble opinion, are doom metal and monsters. That’s not exactly a reach, is it? I’ve been harping on about autumn being the finest time to indulge in doom, and with Halloween capping off the week, bloody, gelatinous, undead, and horrifying creatures tend to be in the forefront. Unless you’re a loser and hate this time of year.

Anyway, today’s band and record could not be arriving at a more perfect time with all of that in mind. Hooded Menace long have pulled their inspiration from zombie movies and all kinds of old horror films that probably would confound people who bombard themselves with today’s offerings of these types of movies. This Finnish band is a throwback to those days, and the doom they conjure on their latest record, the supremely awesome “Darkness Drips Forth,” also should have people harkening back to the early Peaceville Records days. That’s no hyperbole, by the way. These songs wretch doom, slithering with a punishing pace, and even inject some lush melody into the ugliest of settings. It’s one of the band’s best records to date, and it’s also one of their most unexpected.

Hooded Menace have been one of the more consistent doom bands of the past decade, also injecting quite a bit of death metal into their cauldron, as well as the aforementioned hints of horror movie chaos. Having started out in 2007, they quickly made a mark with their 2008 debut “Fulfill the Curse,” following up two years later with the awesome “Never Cross the Dead” (released by Profound Lore domestically), and then jumping to Relapse for 2012’s “Effigies of Evil.” Lasse Pyykko has been at the forefront of this band from the start, handling guitars and vocals. Well, he still is the band’s vocalist in the studio, but in a live setting, it’s different. Along with him, the Menace lineup is rounded out by guitarist Teemu Hannonen, bassist Markus Makkonen (he’s the vocalist for their live shows), and drummer Pekka Koskelo, and they are at their doomy finest on this record, which is a total … monster.

“Blood of the Burning Oath/Dungeons of the Disembodied” is a mouthful of a title, and it’s the album opener, starting with chimes ringing out, only to have guitars bubble up like foam and meet it. In the background, you can hear villagers wailing in agony, as the tempo lurches along and the growls begin bleeding. The track really opens up later, with riffs glimmering, strong leads taking command, and the growls getting more forceful and in your face. The tempo later slows and burns, with riffs lapping over top, the track marching and grinding, and the song disappearing into a pocket of wails. “Elysium of Dripping Death” follows, with a mournful setting being set, and the vocals retching. The track then starts to break apart, letting violence well up. The guitars form a strange wall that has a hypnotic effect, while the tempo boils, giving off mists that add to the surreal atmosphere. The track turns even more dizzying, though at the same time gritty, and the vocals bubble in the back of Pyykko’s throat like a thick film of blood. It’s not long until all the sounds meld together, boil over, and fade away.

“Ashen With Solemn Decay” begins with guitars surging and the rhythms rumbling heavily, and then the growls kick in and make things ugly. The band hits a harder, more aggressive tone, though strong melodies arrive to make your brain tingle, and the clouds open up to let light break through the clouds. Strong soloing causes sparks, while the pace keeps rolling on, with melodies twisting and turning. The growls get mucky, and then each element piles up and bleeds away. Closer “Beyond Deserted Flesh” starts with riffs. Of course. But the growls erupt from there, with the guitars spidering their way through, with mournful and brutal melodies raining down. Things feel spacey and weird, but then everything spill into darkness, with the pace chugging and thick guitars flowing over. Sinewy riffs take hold, the song stretches out its muscles, and cleanliness arrives, almost like it’s pretending the blood never was there, as it all flows down the drain.

Hooded Menace really have nothing to prove to anyone, but instead of rest on their reputation, they made one of the most curious, yet satisfying, records of their run with “Darkness Drips Forth.” There’s plenty of death and doom to keep everyone well fed, and considering we are in the spooky season, these four songs should soundtrack you scaring the shit out of your neighbors. This is a great effort from a band that always seem to have a dastardly surprise up their sleeves.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.relapse.com/store.html

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

Hurtling through chaos, into a vortex of mystery and madness, ready at any time to take the blow that puts you out of your misery for good. That’s the way really good, infernal black metal can make you feel, and as the sub-genre has essentially exploded the past decade, getting that sensation has become a little less common.

But it’s not a deceased concept by any means. Sometimes you get a record, put it on, and it feels like you’re headed toward a pit of vipers, ready to take one for the team. I got that when tackling “The Burning Fanatism,” the latest record from long-running Italian horde Tundra. From day one with this band, it’s all been about violence and torment, and they deliver the goods wholeheartedly on this album. Yes, it’s plenty vicious, but dig a little deeper, and you’ll find cool pools of melody making things even more interesting. The band has more substance to them than just bombarding you with blasts and carnage, and the fact that there is plenty of meat to the music means you’ll return for more once the shock of their fire subsides.

Tundra have been running strong since 2002, putting out their debut full-length “Ansia” three years later in 2015. Since that time, they’ve only put out one more record, that being 2008’s “Primordial,” but they’ve offered up a slew of EPs and split efforts (with the likes of Inferno, Ruina, Operation Winter Mist, Alastor, and Korium, just to name a few) to keep their ravenous audience well fed. Another thing that’s been common for Tundra over the years is lineup turnover, of which they’ve suffered plenty. But original member Pesten remains on bass and guitar, and with him are Thorns (Fides Inversa, Deathrow, Kult, Acherontas) on vocals and drums and Shatraug (Horna, Sargeist, Behexen) handling guitars on this record that’s a really solid entry in their bustling catalog. By the way, this lineup is the one that recorded the record, and now Demogorgon (vocals) and Under (guitars, drums) have joined, replacing the latter two.

The album opens with “Disgust,” and from the start things get kind of weird. The song begins sounding more like a Neurosis piece, complete with the desperate wails, but it’s not long until the track blows up and the stampede strikes. Melody and savagery unite, while Thorns’ vocals get nasty and gurgly, growling along with intensity matched by the music. A little calm sets in, but then we’re quaking again, with howls of, “You are nothing!” sounding both anthemic and accusatory. “Oblivion” is fierce from the start, with the band hammering away and the growls sounding more talkative. The storming continues through the song’s body, only ending when the track comes to an abrupt finish. “Breakdown” simmers as it starts, with the pace whipping up a good fog, and the band working hard to disorient as they lay in the punches. “Everything around me must collapse and disappear,” Thorns howls before he’s overcome by the flood of panic. “Insanity” is another that bruises, but it also confounds. There is an unsettling element to this one, as the vocals sound tortured and detached, and the music is fast and blinding when it isn’t deliberately clubbing you. “Blurred” slips in and also changes the pace a bit, with some acoustic strains ringing out, guitars creaking, and thunderclaps and storms soaking this instrumental cut.

“Wrath” has a dissonant start, with the guitars churning in the atmosphere and preparing for landfall. Melodies fire up, and tales of humanity’s collapse are woven, with Thorns howling what we all have come to know: “Only death is real!” From there, the band stages a hellish invasion, with the growls going crazed, and total destruction unearthed. “Revenge” digs up speed again, with the riffs blaring, and the vocals almost sounding choked. “There is no god,” is a declaration made over and over again, and there’s a punk feel to some of the melodies, making this seem all the more raucous. “Fanatism” boils slowly at times, letting the intensity of the song be the focal point. “Eradicating the human virus,” Thorns calls, as the tempo simmers, hypnotic waves of melody reach out, and the final horrifying notes are allowed to just hang in the air. Closer “Empty” also delivers strangeness, with guitars sending out weird signals as the pace goes slower but remains undoubtedly heavy. There are reflective passages, scorching parts that cause you to cover your eyes, and a bottomless pit in which this song swirls and drains away forever.

Tundra may have had some faces change over the years, but their hellish mission remains true and steadfast. “The Burning Fanatism” proves Tundra’s collective teeth remain sharp, and their penchant for brutality amid melody is as strong as ever. This is just a damn good slab of traditional black metal, a refreshing collection amid a sea of albums and bands that just can’t measure up.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://avantgardemusic.bigcartel.com/

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