Horror and evil are perfect settings for heavy metal. They all belong together—do they not?—and when they’re perfectly mixed, it can make for a thrilling record and a band you won’t soon forget. Horror cinema also plays a major part in this, as it has been celebrated the genre over, and a record that soon will find its way into your hands is the latest in a long line to be moved by film.

Demon Lung debuted in 2013 with their excellent first album “The Hundredth Name,” a collection of occult-inspired doom that was huge, laced with evil, and glorious. Now, the Las Vegas-based quartet return with their smoking sophomore platter “A Dracula,” a record inspired by and based on the 1978 Mexican cult film “Alucarda.” The film, thought to be based on an 1872 novella, follows two young girls living in a convent who go on to summon evil after meeting a band of gypsies and are possessed by Satanic forces looking to destroy the place with blood and fire. Taking a storyline such as that seems to be just ideal for a band such as Demon Lung, and they wring that story line for every drip of darkness on this eight-track record that is blisteringly fun but also richly mind-altering, like you’re being beaten alive as drugs paralyze your system.

Out front is vocalist Shanda Fredrick, who took the film’s plot points and devised the record’s story. Aside from her masterful interpretation of this evil tale are her powerful, intoxicating vocals. She could sing you into a trance without you even realizing it, and her vocals are some of the finest, most fitting in all of doom metal. Along with her in Demon Lung are guitarist Phillip Burns, bassist Patrick Warren, and drummer Jeremy Brenton. This unit, when combining all of their major forces, create a sound that could find favor among fans of Electric Wizard, Witchsorrow, Black Sabbath, and Windhand, and it’s clear they possess the musical imagination to keep creating tantalizing worlds like this record.

“Rursumque Alucarda” begins the journey, spreading acoustic strains and rather rustic sounds over this brief intro. It eventually swells and spills right into “Behold the Daughter,” a ripping, clobbering piece that breathes life into the title character and puts your brain in the proper headspace. The vocals swarm and bubble, with the music offering dense macabre and eventually a sludgy mid-section. The end of the song takes on a ritualistic feel, as Fredrick howls, “The end begins,” while the body of this thing trickles out. “I Am Haunted” has a thrashy stance, with Fredrick prompting, “Would you die for me?” as the riffs get massive and the tempo hits the mud. The song goes back and forth teasing all-out destruction before pulling back, and when Fredrick insists, “We will die together,” in the song’s closing sequences, the ball rolling downhill toward death is pushed. “Gypsy Curse” finds the two girls possessed, and the song crunches with Sabbath-style guitar work, mauling intensity, and muddy melodies that cake your face and leave you gasping for air. “Bow down before your god,” Fredrick taunts, as the track gives way to a cavalcade of noise.

“Deny the Savior” should be pretty clear from its title, and the track takes on an almost ceremonial feel at times. There is darkness and beauty to this one, with the vocals a near hush at points, and the riffs again are complete monsters. “You worship death, I worship life,” Fredrick poses, with the song dissolving into static and eventually closing its eyes. “Mark of Jubilee” has soulful, powerful vocals, with the band creating a haunting tapestry of doom. Underneath, there’s a near-Western noir thing going on, making it seem like a cool sunset in the desert, and the song’s slower, more mellow sections lure you right into its trap. Suddenly, everything erupts again, as filthy pounding takes over and leaves you bruised heavily. “Rursumque Adracula” rises up, another quick instrumental with acoustics, sunburnt guitars soaring, and the elements setting a bridge to the thunderous finale “Raped by the Serpent.” There, slow-driving, smothering melodies start smoking before the chugging arrives. In a way, it is the most straight-forward cut here, as the blanket of haze is pulled back, and the chaos eventually ices over, providing a chance to cool down. But it’s a temporary state as the track tears open anew, with drums blasting, guitars slaying, and Fredrick vowing, “Their hearts connect like fire,” as the band brings this tale to a cataclysmic, thrilling finish.

Demon Lung have done an admirable job with “A Dracula” to bring the film into more people’s awareness and to add their own, horrific stamp to the piece of work. This band is one of doom’s most exciting new bands, and they now have two excellent records to slay you. This band keeps getting better and more imaginative, and this new album not only scratches every damn doom itch but also has me wondering what buried, bloody classic they can conjure next. They don’t need some film to do that; their collective imagination surely will be enough to foot the bill.

For more on the band, go here: http://demonlungband.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.manicmusiconline.com/demon-lung-a-dracula

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

Tom G. Warrior’s place in metal lore is cemented, even if the adulation heaped upon him sometimes makes him uncomfortable. This is an incredibly humble man, who deflects any thoughts that what he touches these days turns to gold, and who shows an amazing amount of vulnerability. This is a human being, after all, and that fact has not been lost on him. He may be a world-famous musician, but he’s not a rock star. He rejects that notion. Perhaps that’s what keeps him a tireless worker, the man who helped pioneer black metal with Hellhammer and Celtic Frost and keeps the fires burning with Triptyon. Here, on this second installment of the conversation I had with Warrior the day after Triptykon played Maryland Deathfest, he opens up about the dissolution of Celtic Frost, what kind of relationship he has with the members of that band, and how he feels about his own future. Once again, many thanks to the folks at Century Media for arranging the interview, my incredible wife Christina for transcribing this, and for Warrior himself for his honesty and amazing contributions to the world of metal. Long may he run.

Meat Mead Metal: You mentioned that there is conceptually a third (Triptykon) album?

Tom G. Warrior: Conceptually, there are many more albums. Writing a good album is infinitely difficult. Many times, I’m fortunate enough that people bestow titles upon me that are huge in their meaning. I personally don’t think that I deserve all of this. People think I have some sort of secret recipe, but I don’t. I’m a human being, and it’s a struggle. A good album is a struggle. A good album is difficult to create, otherwise everybody all the time would create good albums. Me, too. I’ve created terrible albums. But it’s difficult, very, very difficult to create a good album. I am fortunate enough, in my humble opinion, to have had three albums that are very strong. The last Celtic Frost and the first two Triptykon albums. I have no idea if I can replicate that. It’s a challenge, it’s a daunting challenge. I will do, of course, my best. But who am I to say whether the next album’s going to be strong? I don’t know.

MMM: Do you feel that whole idea that people do bestow these titles and these ways of thinking about you and your art, does that make you work harder to prove that you deserve these things that people say about you?

TGW: No, and I don’t mean that arrogantly. I say no, because I make myself work really hard. I don’t think it’s possible to apply a more critical person to me than myself. I’ve created at least one disastrous album at the end the 1980s, and it has changed my entire outlook on everything. I’ve become a far more self-critical musician, a far more detailed producer, a far more merciless producer. I’ve vowed to myself that I’m never going to release an album of such truly terrible quality again. When I go to the studio nowadays, of course I want to release a good album, a strong album, which is also the reason why the last album was difficult for me. I felt the album was strong, but I felt it could be much stronger, much, much stronger. I have certain quality standards that I apply rigorously. No, I don’t like to work under pressure. The only pressure upon me is my own. I think the rest of the band also wants to achieve that kind of quality.

I know what Triptykon needs to sound like, and so do the others, and I’m very fortunate that our guitar player’s (V. Santura) a very accomplished co-producer and engineer, and we work fantastically together. Sometimes in studio, we hear something, we look at each other, and we don’t even have to communicate, we know exactly what it needs. We are intellectually aware that there’s a certain expectation, a certain pressure, but in all honesty, it doesn’t impact us because that pressure existed within ourselves to begin with. You have a certain responsibility. People pay for your work, and the more time progresses, the more difficult it seems to be for everybody, including musicians, to earn that money. I want to have a good album when I buy an album by another band. If I spend my money, I want to have a good album. Our audience has a right to get some value for their money, when it comes down to it. It being art and everything, but at the end of the day, they’re spending money on it. They’re spending their hard-earned money to come to concerts, and they deserve something good. So, yes, of course you want to apply quality to it.

MMM: You have been in the metal scene for three decades, now. How do you view the state of metal right now? Are there any young bands that excite you?

TGW: There are a few young bands, yeah. I hardly listen to metal, personally. I’ve been a musician for 33 years, and I’ve been listening to hard rock, and later metal, since 1973. If I listened to this music constantly, I’d be utterly burned out. I have a very wide horizon. I listen to all kinds of music. I’m trying to do that to remain a little fresh, and not to be turned off by an overload. More than ever in the history of metal there’s a saturation.

MMM: As a writer, trust me, it’s tough to keep up!

TGW: I don’t know how you do it now, there’s so many releases. Even with the best intentions, it’s impossible. There’s the occasional band like the Wounded Kings, and stuff like that that excites me, or Portal from Australia. But these are accidental finds. Maybe I sound old when I say that, but I tend to listen to hard music, heavy rock from the 70s or from the first half of the 1980s when metal underwent an extremely exciting phase, a revolutionary phase. I listen to a lot of New Wave from the late 70s, early 80s, because that, too, was an extremely creative phase. I am still discovering new stuff from that era. Even then, there were so many bands that it was impossible to digest it all. I listen to a lot of jazz, a lot of classical music, stuff like that.

MMM: Oh, well, with Celtic Frost during the 80s, you definitely are able to hear a bit of New Wave.

TGW: It was a major influence.

MMM: Going to Celtic Frost quickly, do you still have relationships with Martin (Eric Ain) and the other people in the band? Where does that stand? I’m not sure how comfortable you feel talking about that.

TGW: I feel very comfortable. You can ask me anything. Yeah, I see Martin occasionally. The last time I saw him was in March. He was part of a podium discussion on a book about art and music, and I was in the audience, and we met and we talked. We get along; we’ve known each other since 1981. It’s a cordial relationship. Martin does his best to avoid any difficult topics, of which there are, of course, many, given the nature of the second breakup of Celtic Frost. But I don’t blame him. I don’t want to argue anymore. We argued enough in Celtic Frost. That was sparked mostly by a third party. But it has impacted our friendship. And there were certain things that I was disappointed about with him, because he could’ve prevented a lot of things from happening and he didn’t, because he was very much burnt out by everything that was going on. As it is, Celtic Frost was the past, and it’s never going to exist again, so what good would it do if we would fight now? It’s the past. And nothing can rectify what happened. I’ve left the company we had formed behind Celtic Frost for all the business affairs. I’ve left that. I’ve left all of my shares to him to be able to leave. He controls the entire Celtic Frost empire. I have nothing to do with that anymore. That sounds odd, but this is why I can step up to him and talk to him like a normal human being, because I’m not tied to this bullshit anymore.

There were so many disagreements on the business side. I felt betrayed. I know it’s a hard word, but that’s how I felt. Because he and a third party made a lot of decisions I wasn’t happy with. Since we were three people, if two people sided with each other… I was very unhappy with the situation, so I left it all, which made it possible for me to have a future with Triptyon and to be happy and to create music again, and to actually focus on art rather on human issues. This is why Martin and I can meet occasionally and have a good talk about old times and music and this and that. I’m happy about that. Same goes for old members of Celtic Frost from the 80s and stuff. We have very good relationships. The only person I have no interest in seeing is, of course, the last drummer of Celtic Frost who caused all of this. If I am allowed to sound arrogant for a second, he’s irrelevant, anyway. So, there you go.

MMM: Do you ever see any creative situation where you and Martin can work together again?

TGW: No. When I left Celtic Frost for the final time, Martin and I had dinner about 1 or 2 weeks after I left Celtic Frost, and he said, “You and I are going to create music again.” And I told him, “No, Martin, this time it’s different. This time, there’s so much damage. I don’t think that’s ever going to happen again.” And he said, “Ehh, you’ll see.” But it hasn’t really changed. I’ve invested so much time and also my personal money in bringing Celtic Frost back. We’ve worked 5 1/2 years on the comeback album (“Monotheist”). I invested so much effort and finances in that and everything else. And only to have it all turn on me, I’m not going to go through that again. If Celtic Frost were to record a new album now, the expectations would be huge. Of course, we would want to live up to that. We wouldn’t know what kind of album we would have to produce. It would be an immense amount of work to live up to these expectations, our own expectations, the back catalog. That would take so much work, I don’t want to do that and face the danger of having it all implode on me yet again. The big star trips and rock star behavior and egotism. No, no, no, no. I don’t that. Triptykon operates on a completely different level. It’s almost hippie-like. We’re all like, it’s a family. Sometimes we have minute arguments that evaporate after a day. It’s ridiculous compared to Celtic Frost. We work together and we have fun playing. We don’t act to be a band on stage. We are actually a band. Why would I want to trade this? Yes, of course, one could say there’s more success attached to Celtic Frost. But there’s also much more hassle attached. If I weighed the two against each other, the choice is clear.

MMM: It’s one of those things where even if there was more money attached to that, money’s not happiness.

TGW: I’ve been offered so much money for Celtic Frost reunions, even most recently, and also for Hellhammer reunions. And maybe I’m stupid because I have my bills to pay, and it’s become very difficult to make some money in music nowadays. But no, I’m not creating my fucking music for money. That would be sinking to the lowest level. Suggesting to my audience, yeah, I’m here because I’m enthusiastic, and in reality, being here for a check. I know of bands that do that. Bands have told me personally that they do it for that reason. I formed Hellhammer at the tail end of the punk wave, and there was a completely different attitude prevalent at the time, and I still function according to that. I’m not creating music for capitalist reasons. I’m creating music because it screams out of me.

MMM: Maybe that is one of those reasons that people do put titles on you and give you the adulation they do, because you are coming from an honest standpoint. You’re coming to it from an artistic standpoint, and not a “you want the money” standpoint. And I think maybe people can see that. Do you think maybe that could be?

TGW: To me, it’s personal. I don’t even think so far about it. I analyze it in interviews such as yours, but I personally just create music because it’s inside of me. I wanted to become a musician because I felt that whenever I listened to albums in 70s and early 80s, it started burning inside of me. I had this inescapable feeling that I wanted to do this, too. That’s really the end of it. That’s why I became a musician, or I was hoping at the time to become a musician. Of course, I never thought it would actually work. I was very humbled. I didn’t think I would ever get the chance.

MMM: And especially to be here 30 years later…

TGW: It blows my mind. It’s now 33 years since I first formed Hellhammer. In May 82, it’s exactly 33 years.

MMM: The future of Triptykon, where do you see, if you can see it from this point? What do you hope for, what do you see?

TGW:  This might disappoint you. I have no plans whatsoever.

MMM: Are you working on new music?

TGW: Yes, of course. We are an existing band. We are a working band. I have no ambitions and no plans anymore. I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do. I don’t want this to be perceived negatively; actually I’m fortunate to be able to say that. As I just told you in the last question, I was this tiny little kid, a complete outcast. I mean, you can’t be a more clichéd outcast than I was, in this little farm village where I grew up. I was an outcast and later I formed the band, and my band was ridiculed. Magazines ripped our EP apart, Hellhammer. And then with Celtic Frost, “Those are the guys from Hellhammer who can’t play,” and this and that. We had very difficult beginnings. The success and the cult following only started in the 1990s. So, I’m very fortunate to have done this well, and it’s gone much, much further than I ever expected when I was a little kid, a hard rock fan, and later, a little musician in a mildewy, stinky bunker that everybody laughed at. I’ve toured the world a million times. I’ve played in Japan, I’ve released two books, I’ve met all the musicians I wanted to meet, I created albums. It would preposterous to say I wanted to do more, more, more. I hate this capitalist attitude. It’s not sustainable. It’s completely counter to nature and human nature and everything. I refuse to be a part of that. My mind doesn’t work like that. I’ve been extremely fortunate to be granted all of this, given my beginnings and the background I had my in my youth. Now, I’m just playing music for my enjoyment. I’ll work on a new album, and if I’m actually managing to pull off a good album, yes, it will be released. If not, I will be honest and say, well, I can’t do it. I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do, and everything now is basically dessert. I have no plans or ambitions whatsoever. Which feels very good. It feels very good. I have no pressure whatsoever.

MMM: Tom, this is my last question, and it’s sort of a summary question considering all we’ve talked about: How are you now?

TGW: That’s a very complex question. It’s a struggle. I’m trying to keep this simple and not keep you here for another half hour. It’s a struggle, what can I say? I’m very disenfranchised by the direction of the world, basically the human behavior on this planet, both in the big picture and the small picture. The way we treat each other, the way we treat the environment, the way we treat our fellow living beings on this planet, I don’t agree with that at all. I’ve had personally in my private life very difficult years in the past, and only due to one or two people in my life was I able to find the strength to actually say, “Alright, I’ll stick around.” But having said that, it’s not easy to stick around, because I’m not very good at burying my head in the sand. I tend to think I’m very informed of what’s going on in the world, I read, and I watch, and it doesn’t seem to get better. When I was a young teenager in the 1970s, there was a prevalent mood of advancement, of enlightenment. And me and my best friend at the time we both thought, the world is heading into a very enlightened era, where modernity and knowledge persists, and compassion. As it happens, we are now delving back into medieval times. Weapons, and war, and animal abuse, and mass killings of human beings and animals, and destruction of the environment, they’re all rampant. That doesn’t really add to make me stronger in my private life. It makes me very disenfranchised and sad. What can I say? It’s a struggle.

For more on Triptykon, go here: http://www.triptykon.net/

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

Over the past few years, Jess and the Ancient Ones have become a revelation in the world of metal and extreme music. Their haunting occult-based sound is infectious and enrapturing, and their powerful singer has pipes that can put the world to shame. Seeing them open for King Diamond last year was a highlight, and their music is some that I revisit with great regularity.

But apparently the members of the band, primarily guitarist/songwriter Thomas Corpse, have plenty of other material brewing that wasn’t quite right for the JATAO setting. Corpse felt strongly about the material and seeing it move forward, thus the Exploding Eyes Orchestra was born. This group contains five of JATAO’s seven members, and definitely does go down far different avenues than their main band. But damn right these songs are worthy and should be out there for consumption, and their debut record “I” certainly sets itself apart from what the band accomplished with their main vehicle. In fact, I have just as much fun listening to these songs as I do the Jess material, and it’s a pretty neat thing hearing this band divide their talents into two pretty different personas.

Obviously we noted Corpse, the main driver behind the Exploding Eyes Orchestra. Joining him are four others members of the Jess band including powerful vocalist Jess, who shows a completely new shadow of her persona here. Not terribly certain which of the other three Jess members appear here (their profile has been kept relatively shadowy), but they do a damn fine job bringing out new sounds. There is a lot of soul to these songs, as well as a deep serving of blues. The tracks have a great amount of attitude, they sound fantastic, and while they might not necessarily be tried-and-true metal, this music certainly can trickle over and find much favor within that audience. The other bit of good news if you’re into this collection is that they have a second full album of material ready to go for next spring.

The record gets off to a great start with “The Smoke,” a psyhedelia-filled track that has Jess commanding over the verses, with a spoken section complementing her work. “Did you hear the news? They say someone’s going to die tonight,” she wails, as the band backs her with ample swagger and fire. “Crazy Heart” is an early show stopper, a moody, dark ballad that can rob you of your control. The guitar work here is heavily textured and rich, with some brass bleeding in later, giving the track a bit of a ’70s feel. The song is swelling and emotional, and the vocals are just powerful. “My Father the Wolf” gets sinister, with keys emerging and the whole thing taking on a Deep Purple feel. The song is catchy as well, with one hell of a great chorus, and the back end of this thing really starts to gain steam and gives the track a sweltering conclusion. “Drawing Down the West” also is slower and more somber, with Jess belting out her words, vowing, “I will return.” The intensity kicks up later, with warm guitars lathering and the singing taking on a new level of intensity.

“Two-Zero 13” agitates the prog end of their sound, with spacey keys zapping, noise ringing out, and the guitars feeling pretty damn glammy. “Suicide baby, it’s the end,” Jess vows, as the heavy psychedelic rock strains come pounding down and the buzzing takes over your head. “Black Hound” is a hell of a journey, with lines from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Hound” woven into the mix. The track has a tasty bluesy haze, with harmonicas sprawling, a smoky ambiance cutting through, and the melodies swelling and stinging. The danger of this one is apparent, and the end burns pretty slowly. “Farewell to All-in-One” takes a little time to open itself, and the story that emerges is a sad one with a bleeding heart attached. “I’m so happy she found love, now she’s going to hide it away,” Jess sings, letting you see the scars and open wounds that sparked this tragic song. The whole thing really pulls at you—the words and the music combined—and it all fades out into the ether, leaving your soul heaving.

It’s tough enough to come up with one band that’s compelling and powerful, but to now have two bands that are operating at a high level is a major accomplishment for the members of The Exploding Eyes Orchestra. “I” is an excellent debut record that proves just how much creativity these musicians have in their tank, and with a second collection on the horizon, who knows what their limits are? If you’re already a Jess and the Ancient Ones devotee, go out of your way to hear this thing. If you’re new to their magic, you might find a new world in which to get totally enveloped.

For more on the band, go here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Exploding-Eyes-Orchestra/1375153479399278

To buy the album, go here: http://svartrecords.com/shoppe/

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

It’s not easy to find a band that can take black metal and make it sound fresh. There are tons of black metal bands—too many, if you ask me—and it’s so difficult to find ones that really make me excited about the music form and puped about digging into what they are doing.

But Pale Chalice are one that, ever since their formation in 2008 and release of criminally underappreciated 2011 EP “Afflicting the Dichotomy of Trepid Creation,” has had me hopeful that modern black metal bands still could be relevant and interesting. That collection scorches the flesh, but it also contained exciting elements and dynamics that pushed your brain to new levels. Clearly they weren’t just here to play black metal for the sake of it; they were here to add dangerous new dimensions and make it a place worth being enthralled about again. And then they seemed to disappear. It’s been four long years since that initial EP, but luckily those of us clamoring for their return are getting just that.

“Negate the Infinite and Miraculous” is the band’s first full-length document, and it’s being dual released by Gilead Media, a label on a serious roll this year with some pretty heavy hitters on the horizon. Locked inside this seven-track beast are blasts of primal black metal that are heavy on the riffs, completely scathing, and a total payoff on the promise they displayed on their EP. The members of this mysterious union—vocalist/bassist Ephemeral Domignostika (also of terrifying Mastery), guitarists Oram Evad and Baneist Nonrutin, and drummer Masthanthric Nodrab—sound channeled, full of fire, and ready to prove black metal can spew dragon’s fire and be the most penetrating form of metal on the Earth. They also prove to be a band, black metal or not, that is worth following into the future because they just seem to be scratching the surface of what they can do.

“Through Vexed Veil” has a stinging, chilling open, letting the flames get fanned and cracking open at just the right time. The vocals emerge, sounding like they’re emanating from a formless void, and it spills right into barnstorming “Shaking Nerves and Vacuous Sphere,” a song that’s got some of the stickiest riffs you’ll ever hear. Each elements tidal waves one after the other, with the vocals sounding fiery and deranged and the music chilling your bones and surging your blood. The song calms a bit toward the center, as things are allowed to stretch and the humidity gathers. But toward the end of the song, the terror whips up again, looping back to the stomping that started the cut, coming to a smothering end. “Bound Intransigent Flight” has guitars spiraling out and savage vocals, with the tempo bounding forward and the atmosphere feeling a little rock oriented underneath all the soot. Domignostika’s cries are desperate and pained, while the band spends the final minute reigniting all of the blazes. “Fragile Bones Cradling Tallow” crushes hard, with a mechanical storm cloud hovering overhead, guitars shimmering and stabbing, and the vocals retching again. The song hits another level in its second half, with the intensity multiplied, the growls gurgling, and everything suddenly disappearing into nothingness.

“Weltering Depths of a Carrion Wave” has a super chunky guitar riff that drives this bastard forward, feeling like a winter storm pouring on with the vortex confusing your eyes and brains. The chorus is infernal and wonderfully simple, with just the song title howled back, and the bulk of this enrapturing horror has guitars swelling and the tempo driving you mad. Awesome song. “Bent by Carapace Chain” has riffs spilling down, creating a dark swath of shadows. Weird, deranged melodies ring out, spinning your head around, and that leads into the band chugging heavily before going back into the murk. It’s quite the journey. The sounds swim in the swamps, with wild cries erupting, the noises filtering out like you’re emerging from a dream, and a cosmically deranged finish. Closer “Stigmatic Glands Through Supernal Rifts” brings back the riff that opens the record, tying together the package nicely, though this cut goes in a different direction than does “Vexed.” The song simmers and lets off steam, heading in all kinds of different directions, rounding back to a thunderous pace, with the vocals lacerating veins and a blinding ending ripping the air from your lungs.

It may have taken seven years to get a full-length out of these beasts, but Pale Chalice deliver a hellacious display on “Negate the Infinite and Miraculous” that was worth the wait. This band is in the right place with Gilead Media to get their music to those who will devour it the most aggressively, and they are a unit that should get more immersive and destructive as time goes on. This is one of the finest black metal offerings this year, one that will punish your soul with every listen.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.erodingwinds.com/product-category/music/gilead-media-releases/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.gileadmedia.net/

You know what’s super annoying as a writer who has to hold it down and listen to tons of new records each week? When an album comes out of left field, tosses you down a flight of steps, sits on your chest, and convinces your brain you need to hear it over and over again, the rest of your work be damned.

While you all cry for me and burn effigies for my giant workload many metal listeners would kill for, let me tell you about Black Tower. This Ottawa-based trio fires up classic heavy metal, black metal, power, and punk in such a glorious, fire-breathing manner on their debut “The Secret Fire,” it’s impossible not to get caught up in their spirit and be swept away. The album is being released both by No Idea (that covers the punk and hardcore bases) and Unspeakable Axe (for the tried-and-true metal fans, who will get a ton out of this), and it’s a platter that will sweep you up like a chariot and run you into the night, torch in hand. I’m pretty sure I can’t fully encapsulate in words what a damn rush this collection is, so just take my word for it, guys. This band is onto something good.

This killer threesome is comprised of guitarist/vocalist Erin Ewing, bassist/vocalist Skottie Lobotomy (who are truly a tandem when it comes to vocals, as each get equal time to do damage), and drummer Dave Monomania. The band’s only been operational for the past two years, which is astonishing considering how well-oiled their sound already is, and this record is one that is a weird hybrid that could find favor among so many different audiences, sort of like a Royal Thunder, Castle, or Kylesa. Really, there is no ceiling for them, and the power they already display seems to indicate they are aware of that and will shoot to whatever levels they can to come up with something explosive and anthemic.

Opener “Death March” is a total rouser, a blast of energy and tenacity that is so infectious, it’s ridiculous. Ewing leads most of the way, shrieking with power and fury, howling, “We’re ready to die.” The song transitions into a new section, with Lobotomy taking over and offering more punk-style vocals (that’s what he does best), singing, “We have blood on our swords,” as you can imagine the battle finally finished. Holy shit, what a great song. “Black Moon” keeps the energy high, with a punk-fueled assault and raucous vocals, imagining that “rituals begin” as the fire and spirits rise. “The Dark Lord” starts hazy, with funeral bells ringing, before the tempo bursts. Ewing and Lobotomy trade turns on vocals, and the chorus is a burst of juice that will get your blood flowing.  “Riders” has a more ominous opening before it hits the gas and rushes forward. Lobotomy takes the verses, with Ewing raging in later, urging, “Burn our candles through the night.” The song has a delirious, aggressive bend to it.

Speaking of aggression, “Shadows” has a violent black metal feel to it, leading into NWOBHM-style riffs that kill and Ewing shrieking like a demon. The pace is earth quaking, with melody moving in here and there, and an up-tempo assault dressing the line, “Trapped on Earth, these shadows are ghosts.” “Winter” also has its dark moments, with the guitars conjuring a classic metal sense and the band hitting a mad gallop. Both vocalists go cleaner and powerful on this track, with the song feeling wholly punk inspired. “The Dragon Flies” thrashes madly, with thick keys lurking beneath the chaos, and Lobotomy’s singing running headlong into Ewing’s screams. There are some fantastic guitar runs as the song nears its ends, causing the fires to burn even brighter. “Night Siege” has a traditional Medieval castle-ransacking adventure to it, with smothering guitar leads, speed, and the singing traded off, with, “To take the kingdom, take our freedom,” coloring the scene perfectly. The song is destructive and blazing, with the final salvo causing bruises. The closing title cut is an outro in the truest sense, a collection of rustic acoustics, synth warmth, and sounds that could remind of Bathory’s and Primordial’s more primitive moments. It’s a nice breath of smoky air at the end of a heathen journey.

Black Tower won me over with a single visit with “The Secret Fire,” and as noted, it’s an album that’s been in massive rotation as I work to squeeze in other albums I need to cover. I love the band’s energy, tenacity, and power, and I am really intrigued as to where they take this thing from here. This band has all the possibilities in the world in front of them, and it’ll be awesome to watch them capitalize on that as they unfurl their debut for the world and create other works into the future.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.unspeakableaxerecords.com/purchase/

Or here: http://store.noidearecords.com/products/black-tower-the-secret-fire

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

And here: http://store.noidearecords.com/

It’s mid-week, right? Feeling miserable and beaten down kind of comes with the territory, because while half of the week is in the rearview, the other 50 percent is still to come. And for those of us who don’t know what a regular work schedule is like, I’m not even sure how to console you.

I’ve always gotten the idea from hearing Philly-based grunge sludgers Fight Amp that they’re constantly in a state of disrepair. Only there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. It’s a constant grind, a process of work and tiring tasks that raise their ire and make their music that much more agitated. You certainly can hear that on their new “Constantly Off,” a tight, economical release that seems to understand the idea of terminal frustration. It’s the follow-up to 2012’s blistering “Birth Control” and their fourth record overall. This is six tracks in under a half hour, and through it all, they keep finding a way to hit the right buttons and channel into what anger and annoyances have you down. The dudes in the band—bassist/vocalist Jon DeHart, guitarist/vocalist Mike McGinnis, and drummer Dan Smith–bludgeon you hard with grimy noise that could remind of bands as varied as the Melvins, Nirvana, Torche, and the Jesus Lizard.

“Ex Everything” starts things up with charging guitars and noises hanging in the air, with the vocals coming in as wailed cries. The tempo is muddy and filthy, though it has a bit of catchiness to it to throw you off guard, and it ends in a flurry of punches. “Survival Is Strange” has sweltering punishment brewing, feeling a little like Black Flag at times, and the band works hard to lather and smother you as you fight for a clean gasp of air. The song is short and to the point, feeling abrasive every step of the way. “Leveling in a Dream” feels humid and thick, with harsh yells over the thick atmosphere, and an agitated, annoyed chorus that pounds home their point. There is a nice bit of melody mixed in for some variation, though it’s never at the expense of the overall crunch.

“You Don’t Wanna Live Forever” is the perfect downer of a song title, and it’s a harsher cut that drives right into the tar pits. There is some singing over the chorus, which is the calmest element of the song, but otherwise it’s a propulsive, crushing will-killer. “I Perceive Reptoids” seems a little silly from the title, but don’t go in expecting a joke or you’ll get smothered. The thick bass erupts, mangling everything, and thing get weird and psychotic later, especially with the bizarre yet sobering shout of, “My screen is empty and I still can’t look away!” “Happy Joyful Life” sets the opposite tone of its title, which obviously is tongue-buried-in-cheek brutal. The bass crushes, while the guitars charge up the riffs, and the vocals come off like barks. As the song goes on, it gets faster and nastier, packed with aggression and anxiety, feeling like a truck being driven, on purpose, off the edge of a cliff, where only consuming fire will be the master. It’s a skin-gashing end to a pretty irritated collection of songs.

So yeah, maybe you’re pissed off or disillusioned or both, but you’re not alone. “Constantly Off” is right there next to you, bitching about conditions and getting fed up with life’s constant, unforgivable cycles. Fight Amp always have had a knack for understand and reinterpreting that psychotic, negative energy. They drag you through the gutter with them and bring you out on the other side a little more calloused than you were before.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.fightamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.brutalpandarecords.com/collections/all

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

There are parts of writing about heavy metal that are surreal. Like sitting at a table with the legendary Tom G. Warrior less than 24 hours after his band Triptykon played this year’s Maryland Deathfest. Here is this iconic artist who played in influential, genre-toppling bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost, and here is me. It might seem like an intimidating, harrowing experience, looking into this man’s face and hearing him talk about his experiences from the past three decades. But Warrior is such a kind, soft-spoken, humble individual that he immediately makes you feel like you’re at home talking to an old friend. Over a half hour or so, we talked about the band’s set at Deathfest, his friendship with the late artist H.R. Giger (who passed May 12, 2014 at the age of 74), who had a profound effect on his life and career, the ups and downs of his three decades in music, and the future, as cloudy as that may be. This is the first of what will be two installments, the second running next Tuesday. Many thanks to the folks at Century Media for arranging the interview, my incredible wife Christina for transcribing this, and for Warrior himself for such a wonderful, engaging conversation. Here it is, one of the absolute highlights of my writing career.

Meat Mead Metal: You finally got to play Maryland Deathfest after missing last year’s event following the passing of H.R. Giger. Tell me about the experience you had in front of the crowd.

Tom G. Warrior: The experience was fantastic. We haven’t been in the States in a while, and the audience was sensational. I have nothing but the best to say. They gave us back so much … adrenaline, enthusiasm. I thought we were a bit rusty because we haven’t played in half a year, but the energy we got from the audience erased that immediately. It was fantastic. I hope they have the same impression. We enjoyed it tremendously. It was a very important show for us. Number 1, because we weren’t in the states for quite a long time; number 2 because we missed it last time; number 3, because we followed the festival for quite a while. It’s a very important festival. I’m very happy it came out this way, and I’m blown away by the audience’s reaction.

MMM: We don’t have a lot of festivals in the U.S. I know in Europe there’s lots of festivals.

TGW: There’s almost too many.

MMM: Deathfest, for metal fans…

TGW: It has a reputation that goes far beyond the United States.

MMM: We’re a little over a year since H.R. Giger’s passing. What are your feelings now, with a year’s time having passed, and what are your reflections?

TGW: It was very difficult in the beginning. He had such a unique and strong presence that it was difficult to accept that he should no longer exist. It was very surreal for all of us, his whole circle of friends, his wife. It was just impossible to think of him as dead. As odd as that sounds. He had this magical presence, this impact on all of our lives that our psyche refused to accept this. Of course we all know, yes, it is true. So, the first few months, we all operated in some sort of trance. We drew together quite tightly, especially helping the widow, who suffered most of course, trying to give her some strength, which is difficult, and I understand that. By now, it’s much better. We all met on the anniversary of his passing. We met in the garden of his house with his widow, and we had a light dinner, and we decided not to do something somber. We just had a small garden party with just the inner circle and we reminisced, had a good time, and talked about our own lives and futures. It wasn’t a sad thing. It was a sad background, mood, of course, because we all know why we sat there. But it was a good thing. It was friends sitting there, being all brought together by this individual who changed our lives. So it was alright.

MMM: Sounds more celebratory than anything. Not like a party. But you know what I mean.

TGW: Exactly. We are all working on a major Giger exhibition in his hometown of Zurich, which will start in June. I am involved with that, as are many other of his friends. We will commemorate him, and we will remember by means of this exhibition. We tried to make it very meaningful. We will display things that have never, ever been seen outside of the house. Some new sculptures and everything. Trying to give this a positive spin, as positive as it can possibly be in this situation.

MMM: Do you see this as something that could possibly travel as well? Could it go to other places, exhibited in a museum, or will it remain in Zurich?

TGW: Possibly. There are Giger exhibitions planned in various countries, independent Giger exhibitions. Curated by one of the inner circle, who was Giger’s curator for many years. So yes, there are going to be international Giger exhibitions. And right now in New York, there’s a Giger film festival with all of his experimental and unseen films, in addition to the documentary that is playing in America. Which, I’m not saying because Triptykon is in it, but the documentary, I can highly recommend. Either go see it in a cinema or get the DVD. The director managed to portray Giger in a very private and intimate manner. It’s not just the same run-of-the-mill “Alien” and such. It’s a very deep documentary that shows Giger like you’ve hardly seen him before. So, I can highly recommend “Dark Star,” the documentary.

MMM: What does it mean to you that Giger’s artwork, which has meant so much to you, now lives on through your art?

TGW: We are a tiny, tiny part. Giger doesn’t need Celtic Frost or Triptykon to be immortal. We are blessed to have the chance to have his contributions.

MMM: Well, sure, OK. But your music still reaches a lot of people, and having Giger’s artwork represent your music has to be a major honor.

TGW: When you do an album, you think, what will be on the cover? And you either look in classical paintings, you commission someone you know who you think is good, or you approach an artist you think has something fantastic. In the case of Celtic Frost or Triptyon and Giger, it’s different in that every single Giger cover I’ve ever had has had a very distinctive meaning. It wasn’t like I approached an artist, “Hey, we need a cover.” The first Giger cover, of course, was given to us free of charge, when we were complete nobodies. We didn’t even have a record deal. Everyone around us laughed about us. We were still in Hellhammer. Nobody took us seriously. Everybody laughed about us. Everybody said, “You’re never going anywhere. You’re just playing noise.”  Giger was at the height of his fame. He had just won the Academy Award. We approached him as complete nobodies, and he calls me and writes letters to me, and says, “I’m going to give you not just one painting, I’m going to give you two. And yes, I think your music and my paintings have a similar aura, message.” We were completely blown away. Everyone hates us, laughs at us. And he, a world-class artist, believes in us or at least gives a chance, becomes our mentor.

The second Giger cover, the first Triptyon album, Celtic Frost had imploded spectacularly, on a personal level infinitely disappointingly. I’ve had people who I thought were friends that I had to completely reevaluate my relationship with them. I discovered maybe they weren’t my friends but they were my enemies. People I’ve known for decades. I had to recreate the band from nothing. From the ruins of Celtic Frost, to try to salvage the crew, the relationship with the record company, relationship with the recording studio. I had to build up everything from nothing. I had to prove myself yet again. It was very difficult. Could I pull this off without Celtic Frost. And who is there believing me again? Giger. Before he even heard a single note from Triptykon, he agreed to give me a Giger painting for the first album. And I was so grateful. I never would’ve gone back. I didn’t want to seem insatiable or greedy. But it was Giger who approaches me with the second album of Triptykon because he was so happy with the first. Which once again blew my mind. He has never approached a band. It was always bands approaching him. Including mine. And Giger, of all people, one of the greatest surrealists of human history, which completely blew my mind, I couldn’t believe it. So every single Giger cover I have had has had huge meaning to me. Life-changing meaning. What more can I say, you know? They’re not just record covers for me. I know they mean a lot to the audiences as well, you know, the combination of these images with this music. But for me, it goes far, far, far beyond that. And we designed another album with Giger when he was still alive, before I knew that he would die. When he approached me for the second album, we decided together to do a triptych. The third album cover is designed, if we actually do a next album, it will be the last cover that Giger was ever personally involved with. Which, yet again, is something extremely special.

MMM: Let’s go to that second record, “Melana Chasmata.” I had read elsewhere that you are disappointed with it? Is that true?

TGW: Yes, that is true.

MMM: What was disappointing about it to you? I say this as a listener, my first experience listening to it – I was blown away. I loved it. I still am.

TGW: I appreciate that you like it. I feel very fortunate that audiences have embraced the album. Which by no means is something that is guaranteed for any band. I don’t take this for granted, and I’m very happy and I feel blessed that this happened. But yes, I personally take a very critical stance with this album. To me, it’s unfinished. And for me, it was an extremely difficult album to make. We started it, I personally, my contributions started after we released the first album. And I entered an extremely difficult period of my life, for unfortunately more than one reason. Both my health and certain things that took place in my private life. I had three extremely difficult years. To be frank, they brought me to the brink of giving up. And it takes a lot for me to give up. But I certainly was there. It’s only due mainly to the influence of one person in my life that I’m actually still here. But that’s the time when we had worked on the album, that the album had remained unfinished. I didn’t touch it for over a year. During the worst year, I had no strength to work on the album.

Once I had regained my composure to some extent, we gathered the band, and we had to see, is the band still together because the other members of the band were quite insecure as to where the band was heading because of my condition. After we had done that, we decided to finish the album. We gave ourselves a deadline, but the album was somehow tainted to me because of that, and I found it very difficult emotionally to finish these songs with these lyrics and everything that all stem from this era. I don’t mean to make this sound totally dramatic, but that’s the way it happened. We finished by the deadline, but it’s a difficult album for me to listen to because it’s connected to all of these things, and I think it could’ve taken some more work. But after three and a half years or so, we knew that we couldn’t work on it anymore. It was just going to make it worse. Under ideal circumstances, we should’ve gone back and finished some of the songs. We needed to move on. We needed to finish this album and leave it in the past, look to the future, that’s what we did. No one’s surprised that everybody liked it more than me. It’s a gift. It’s such a difficult album. It’s a gift. But it doesn’t make it less difficult for me.

MMM: How is playing the songs?

TGW: It’s a little more abstract. It’s not so immediate. Live, it carries a different energy, and it’s embedded with other songs from throughout my career. It makes it a little different. If you play a song from this album between a Hellhammer song and a Celtic Frost song and a Triptykon song. It’s a different context, a different mood to it. So that’s different. It’s OK.

MMM: Is it a reinterpretation live, because you’re not in that place where you were when you were creating it?

TGW: I enjoy both venues very much. I enjoy the stage very much, and I enjoy the studio very much. I always have. But to me, they’re very different. They’re different aspects of the band. So, when you take an album to the stage, it’s always going to be different. But with this album, that’s a good thing. It makes it possible to honestly play these songs with enthusiasm. It’s not forced, because people like it. For example, a song like “Altar of Deceit” has become one of my favorite songs live, because it’s so heavy and so slow and I didn’t think that would’ve been possible that it would feel different on stage.

Next Tuesday, we look at the disappointing crumbling of Celtic Frost, the status of Warrior’s relationship with the members of that band, and what the future holds for Triptykon’s music. It’s the heavier of the two installments, and they’re words I won’t soon forget.

For more on Triptykon, go here: http://www.triptykon.net/

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

The metal of death is not supposed to be complicated, pretty, or well-polished. Yet, that’s exactly what’s happened for the most part. People see dollar signs and a way to make this disgusting beast into a feasible commodity and, before you know it, teen apparel stores nationwide are stocking shirts from bands that claim to feast from the death teat.

Luckily those bands remain that want to keep the medium ugly, puss-filled, and close to the freshly shoveled graveyard. D.C.’s Genocide Pact is one of those, and their no-frills debut record “Forged Through Domination” is a visit with the good stuff. There is no spit shine here, no attempt to be welcoming to the masses, and only an intent to keep things as bloody and destructive as possible. Made up of members of Disciples of Christ and Red Death, this threesome is heavy, miserable, and in just the right frame of mind to make the most ardent of death fans happy. The guys responsible for this thrashing is guitarist/vocalist Tim, bassist Nolan, and drummer Connor Donegan, and their first burst of infamy is a concise, well-played 26 minutes of death that is dosed just right and does ample damage.

The album opens with “Induction,” a riffy, muddy, chugging first cut that sets the scene for carnage and keeps building on the ugliness. The band begins mauling harder as the track goes, with the throaty growls rumbling, and it makes for a nice initial blast of doom-fed death. “Agnogenesis” charges and pounds from the word go, and the punishing thrashing dealt out here meets up with a scorching section of soloing and lathering bit of clubbing that feel calculating and full of ill intent. “Submission Reigns” is much of the same, in that it’s a piece that feels like it’s wailing away at your chest and, as its title suggests, hopes it can make you tap out to the pain. The vocals are lurching and menacing, and toward the end of the song, the pace kicks up hard and drives you headfirst into a wall. Painful. “Desecration” pours feedback that pierces the eardrums, and the tempo is a little muddier than what preceded it. The track feels monstrous, and the fiery riffs that emerge let the song have an even greater impact and leave you with a nice bit of bruising.

“Despotism” launches itself right at you, proving itself to be the heaviest thing on a record that’s pretty full of mashing tracks. The band later hits a pretty nasty groove, proving there is some swagger with their chaos, and the vocals absolutely rumble over top of you, leaving your body flat. The final minute is full of a renewed sense of speed and a hearty helping of blasts. “Menial Subsistence” takes its time with its battery, definitely taking its shots and knocking you for a loop, but doing so in ways that lets you get back to your feet before another body blow. There are some classic guitar parts built in, and that section leads toward the final moments where devastation is unleashed. Closer “Experiments in Nihilism” launches feedback and a sludgy background, leading the way into gruesome vocals and slow-driving horror. Out of that mud, the tempo erupts, the band starts killing anew, soloing explodes out of the din, and the band lets the violence bleed out and away.

No need for a long, fluffy essay on this record. It’s simple, brutal, and a nicely timed slab of death metal that never overstays its welcome. “Forged Through Domination” is a fitting first entry into the world for Genocide Pact, and it’ll get your ass kicked whether you’re listening on headphones or witnessing these beasts in a live setting.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://shop.a389records.com/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.a389records.com/site/

It’s great that we live in a time where we no longer persecute people who we don’t understand and have come to terms that there are beings who live their lives differently than do we. Haha. Yeah, right. The saying “being burned at the stake” is just as prevalent and relevant as ever, and though it may have come from the witchcraft mania from centuries ago, it still applies to groups of people today.

OK, you didn’t come for a political speech, so I’ll cut it there. But the Belgian band Possession haven’t forgotten the paranoia surrounding witchcraft that enveloped the past, and their scorching new mini-album “1585-1646” chronicles a witch that wreaked havoc in France during that time period. On this record, we visit with the witch, find out about her visitation from the devil, and follow her as she realizes her powers and eventually is hunted down by the people that she terrorizes. It’s a perfect setting for a metal record, is it not? It has a very King Diamond feel to it, and for those of us who relish stories such as these, the album is a damn pleasure.

What makes it even better is we are hearing Possession develop as a band before our eyes and ears. The band made a huge impression on 2013’s great demo “His Best Deceit” and have slowly but surely added to their collection with last year’s smoldering “Annaliese” and now this new mini effort. The band—vocalist Mestema, guitarist I. Dveikus, bassist/vocalist V. Viriakh, drummer Pz.Kpfw—quickly are becoming one of the better bands in underground death and black metal, and by taking their time to develop, each new release from the band sounds that much more impressive. This 25-minute effort is thunderous and bloody, spooky and hellish, and it should increase the respect this band is getting by each day that passes.

The record opens with the 9-minute Obscurity/Visitation,” a track that takes some time to set a scene, with winds whipping up, choral chants blowing in, death bells ringing, and a storm brewing. Then the guitars light up and start burning, and the whole scene rips open with muscle-bound riffs, screamy vocals, and an assault that cascades hard and smears you with ferocity. That bleeds into “Ceremony” that starts with heavy thrashing and a show of force that could crush your chest cavity. The guitars wail violently, the drums are beaten to dust, the vocals are raw and bloody, and the final moments completely tear things apart. “Guilty” continues the intensity, with the riffs churning and the growling awash in eerie echo. The song is guttural and brutal, with the guitars shrieking like a ghoul, a meaty thrash section erupting, and Mestema howling like a ghost whose soul is burning. The album ends with “Ablaze,” a song that shouldn’t be too hard to figure out thematically based on our plot line, and it hits sections of speed that just blind. The band mashes your bones, with a thick bassline adding to the soot, delirious fury spinning your brain, and the vocals spiraling, ending this tale in a pit of madness.

Possession are a band on the rise, one of those groups you better pay your attention if you know what’s good for you. Over a series of small releases, they’ve built their reputation and keep getting deadlier. “1585-1646” is a can’t-miss slab of death and black metal that will scar your soul and burn you down right along with the album’s main character.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.possessionrealm.com/

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

Or here: http://www.invictusproductions.net/shop/

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

And here: http://invictusproductions.net/

Really special, really important bands don’t come around every day. In fact, they don’t come around every year. Not to whine, but being a writer who is inundated with music every day and only gets to truly know a fraction of the records I hear every year, coming across a band that fundamentally changes your feelings about metal or music in general happens by chance. So any time it does I try to embrace that fully.

A few years ago, I started hearing rumblings about this band FALSE, a group out of Minnesota that was keeping their business well under the shadows, with only the lucky few who witnessed them live even knowing who was behind the madness and understanding the force of this band. The arrival of their untitled debut recording in 2012 already was an anticipated moment for me after everything I had heard from the band from very trusted sources, and the music on that document instantly transformed me into a FALSE believer. Same goes for their contributions to their split effort with Barghest, and finally seeing this band live, where they manage to conjure something brutal, psychologically draining, and absolutely mesmerizing, it all came together for me. Now, with their first full-length in our hands, I can say this without flinching: FALSE is the best black metal band in America, possibly the world, and they are one of the few groups who can stop me dead in my tracks when experiencing their music.

The band still eschews almost all interview requests and does not issue promo photos. Finding their names isn’t impossible, but they’re not exactly out there splashing their social media accounts everywhere. It is clear the focus is on their music, and while, yeah, that whole remaining secretive can be seen as something that actually could draw added attention to FALSE, it doesn’t come off that way. And if you doubt that, tackle this five-track, 60-minute watershed album for domestic metal. People like me whine that too much music sounds so terribly alike. Who cares about that when a group like this can pull off a full-length record with this much ambition, emotion, violence, imagination, and creativity? Those other groups don’t matter. Almost every cut is more than 10 minutes long, and each song grabs you from the start, drags you through fierce twists and turns, and turns you up at the end utterly breathless. A lot of good music has come out this year; plenty more will come. But here’s guessing that matching what FALSE bring on this record won’t be topped, just like their EP from three years ago remains one of the finest metal recordings to come out in all of the 2000s. Period.

“Saturnalia” kicks off the record, letting noise sizzle for a moment before the band launches. Rachel’s vocals wrench and slither, as the band hits panic-inducing sections, portions of synth haze that mixes perfectly into the chaos, and intensity that storms heavily. There is plenty of exploration and emotional tumult as the song develops, crushing you into corners, eventually letting you take a breath, then killing again. As the song reaches its last quarter, Rachel howls, “Give us solace in the moonless sky,” as the music bleeds fury and then your heart reaches a dangerous level. That sets the stage for “The Deluge,” a song you have to hear to believe. It might be the most perfect thing FALSE ever created, and the way they build each layer largely is responsible for that. Out of a synth smog, the song rupture and rambles forward. There is a lot of dark melody weaved into the cut, and Kishel’s keys keep adding depth and texture, the guitars cut pathways, and the vocals scar your flesh. A sort of calm comes over the scene, though you know the clouds are about to break, and when they do, what comes next is an absolute revelation. Guest vocalist Sarah Green’s choral-style singing bursts above Rachel’s growled lines, acting as an emotional tidal wave, a total holy-fucking-shit moment that could be the best recorded metal moment of the year. I know it’s only late May. I know that’s hyperbolic. Hear it and see if I’m wrong. I can’t see what will top that one minute’s time. (If you don’t believe me, check the great Steel for Brains site, who debuted the song this week: http://steelforbrains.com/post/120113434952/the-key-of-passive-suffering-a-conversation-with)

If you need time to breathe and reflect after “The Deluge,” it makes sense, but instead, tumble head-first into an untitled cut that wails into rupturing melodies, with a great dose of blackness afoot, vocals that could lacerate, and some really great guitar work that has a classic metal feel to it. In fact, that happens a few times over the span of this album, which is a good time. The final two minutes of this thing just boil over and give the song a truly epic conclusion. “Entropy” is the longest cut at 15:28, and is it ever a world toppler. It unfurls majestically, with guitars catching fire and then the whole thing blowing apart. Synth sheets rain down, as the rest of the band tangles you in a black metal pretzel, with the vocals unleashed in a tempered manner. There are some murky, moody sections, with their artistic tributaries trickling more slowly. But late in the song, a new sense of intensity and speed is realized, as the band drives the caravan down a canyon wall and through the gates of hell. The vocals strike hard, the music causes thunder claps, and it all fades into an ambient void. Closer “Hedgecraft” runs 13:19, and it opens into melodic punishment and a pace that lets the colors and fires slowly build. The guitar work spirals, while Rachel’s words work to run your face into the gravel, and later they strike the gas pedal again on an assault that could cause you great anxiety. In a good way. The band tears into a smothering Iron Maiden-like gallop as the song goes on, with the vocals piercing and then everything dramatically changing the pace yet again. Every element is brought on heavily, like hot wax being poured from a cauldron, and as the guitars glimmer, the music erupts, and the last gasp of vocals deliver their final messages, the song quickly fades into the night, leaving you a heaving mess in a pool of sweat on the floor.

This first official FALSE record had a ton of anticipation behind it, especially with people like me who are in total awe of the band. Having had the better part of calendar year 2015 to absorb it, I still haven’t uncovered every mystery and fully swung through every curve. This record is an astonishing work of greatness, an album that can be held aloft to show just what the United States has contributed to make metal greater and black metal richer. This is a rare band we don’t hear very often. And this record has the power to knock down cities.

For more on the band, go here: http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/False/3540332204

To buy the album, go here: http://www.erodingwinds.com/product-category/music/gilead-media-releases/

For more on the label, go here: http://www.gileadmedia.net/