Pittsburgh has many things going for it. There have been decades of great sports triumphs with the Steelers and Penguins winning multiple championships. The city transformed itself from a smoky, steel-producing behemoth to one of the most picturesque places in America with a thriving healthcare industry. It’s more than a place that just puts fries on a sandwich.

There also is a deep pool of killer bands, from long-running death metal warriors Derketa, to grinders Complete Failure and Hero Destroyed, to hardcore punchers Code Orange (no longer Kids!), Killer of Sheep, and sadly defunct Heartless, to classic throwbacks such as Ladybeast, to gnarly mind-benders including Meth Quarry and Storm King. There’s a ton here for heavy music fans, and though you might not know that if you rely too heavily on local media (they like Bob Dylan, you see), if you know where to look, you can find tons of ways to get your head beaten in and your eardrums permanently defaced. Seriously, I just rattled off some top-of-my-head shit above. Dig deeply into our city, and you’ll find so much buried treasure.

Now come Wrought Iron, a band that you can see opening locally for national headliners like Absu, Pyrrhon, and Vattnet Viskar and totally holding up their end of the deal. It’s hard to figure out exactly how to label these dudes, but they splatter death, black, doom, grind, and noise metal every time they play, and if you ever watched this band destroy a room, you know exactly why they’re one of Pittsburgh’s great metallic hopes. The band cuts a pretty straight path through the room when they play, and while they don’t subscribe to any silly histrionics, their ability to remain content while pummeling you with their power and heaviness is a real drawing card. That same sense comes across on their new album “Rejoice and Transcend,” their debut for the always reliable Grimoire Records and one of the nastiest things to slither out of this city in some time.

The people responsible for this unholy racket are four men who don’t seem to have anyone’s best interests in mind, including their own. Vocalist Kenny Snyder, one of the more unpredictable, prowling figures in this town, a dude you’re not quite sure if he’s just getting into the character of a song or if he’s thinking about you assaulting outright in front of a roomful of witnesses. Guitarist Nick Lucci keeps thing dark and captivating, taking time to open up some wounds and twist your scars and scabs. The rhythm section of bassist Brooks Criswell (also of other Pittsburgh pounders Oh Shit They’re Going to Kill Us and Circle of Dead Children) and drummer Nick Tupi are a formidable unit that keeps the low end brutal and could make your heart feel like it’s about to explode inside your chest cavity. You feel their intensity both live and on their record, and they have the ability to be a band that puts Pittsburgh in a bloodier, more respectful position on extreme metal’s map.

“Dawn of the Swamp” greets you like a mouthful of fire to the face, with a fast, devastating drumming, vocals that sound so unhinged, a doctor probably could prescribe proper medication just by hearing them, and swirling black metal riffs that dizzy and crush. “White Death” unloads buckets of blasts and lightning-fast riffs that make perfect compatriots for the maniacal vocals that are so discomforting, they could have you clawing at your skin. “Danse Macabre” is one of the most impressive songs in the band’s catalog, as it is built on sinister riffs, death-like thrashing that is tasty and meaty, goblin-torture vocals, and even some aggressively proggy work that shows these guys are capable players along with decibolic butchers. “Brine” has a slow-driving, bone-crushing personality, with vocals that could welt your eyelids, and as the piece progresses, it becomes sludgy and full of muck. “Konig von Scheisse” has an awesome, explosive riff tied to it, it’s thrash-infested and clubbing, and the crazed frenzy that the track becomes could leave you hearing voices.

“Revelation and Awakening” has guitar lines that catch fire and deface the path in front of it, while the vocals are guttural and evil, with Snyder howling, “You are the chosen one,” almost as if he means it in mockery and pure disgust. “Descendant” explodes open, with the drums leading the way and causing a fracas, and the vocals again giving reason to believe the person letting the words fall out of his mouth might be ripe for examination. The song is gurgly, wholly violent, and a perfect representation of what makes Wrought Iron so good. “Impulse Hangover” which is a tremendous song title, has a punk rock ethos to it, and it’s a firebreather. Yet the band explores space a little more than before, with the guitars becoming spacious and atmospheric, but underneath it all is that seamy, ugly sentiment that inhabits all of their songs. Closer “Coyote” also is a bit more experimental, but with all eyes focused on bloodshed nonetheless. After some fog is let in, and moisture beads the trees, the band works toward lighting all of that on fire, with calculating madness, filthy darkness, and the final barked vocals from a man on the edge who you’re not sure has gone through catharsis or just pushed himself closer to finality.

Wrought Iron is one of Pittsburgh’s most devastating bands, and up to now, we’ve mostly had the band to our selfish own. They’re capable of pushing beyond city limits and out into the great unknown, where they can bloody faces, sicken the masses, and remind people that metal can be nasty, dangerous, and bad for your health. They are making sure people hear their violence and will force those with the heads in the sand to pay heed to “Rejoice and Transcend”. They’re a rabid, foaming-at-the-mouth beast live, and they manage to translate that chaos to their album as menacingly as possible.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://grimoirerecords.bandcamp.com/album/rejoice-and-transcend

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

Oh, hey, if you’re lucky enough to be in Pittsburgh June 25, you can check out Wrought Iron’s album release show at Howler’s in Bloomfield. Show starts at 8 p.m., and there’s a $7 cover. Also on the bill are Post Mortal Possession, Begrime Exemious, and Cryptic Yeast.

Death metal can be all kinds of things to all kinds of people. It’s hard to say if any particular group of people is right, considering opinions are supposed to be open ended, but whatever. I feel like slick, glossy, Best Buy-available metal isn’t death. Well, except Autopsy. How’d that get on the shelf? But that’s just how death metal is to me.

There are many different ways to go about death metal, from technical to guttural to infernal to glossy and pretty (though we reserve the right to reject those bands outright), and we’ve been inundated by groups that practice all of those approaches. Then we have bands such as Auroch that just kind of throw the whole rulebook out the window and do things the way they want. That means they do it all jacked up and weird, and they easily can make you wonder if they’re trying to come up with some bizarre new scientific formulas while they’re plugged in and drubbing your brain. They do have some of the classic tenets of death metal that have been passed on through the ages, such as the savagery, intensity, and power. They even have the technical side to things, in case that’s your thing, but not in a way where their hearts and minds are detached from their mission because they’re trying to wow with their prowess. They’re just good. That’s all. They have an interesting way at attacking death metal and assaulting with it. Their teeth are sharp, and they’ll split your skill with their bare hands.

Auroch have been around since 2008, having dropped a series of demo recordings before their 2012 full-length debut “From Forgotten Worlds” dropped on Hellthrasher Productions. That album leaned a little harder toward the thrash side of things, in the most violent, devastating manner possible, and it was a really promising sign of what was to come. Now with the arrival of their hellacious second record “Taman Shud,” they’ve increased the amount of bloodshed and made things even stormier than anything they’ve done before. The band–guitarist/vocalist Sebastian Montesi (bassist with Mitochondrion) bassist Shawn Hache (guitarist/vocalist with Mitochondrion), and drummer Zack Chandler–burns the torches for Canadian death metal and the genre as a whole. What they do on this nine track, 26-minute record is prove that this style of music can be deadly and creative at the same time, without giving a ounce of mercy. It’s a frenzy, and if it doesn’t make your neurons fire, maybe a slicker, less dangerous product is in store for you after all.

“Villainous” is the perfect opening for this record both because of its name and because it steamrolls you from the get go. There are scintillating melodies woven through the song, as gritty vocals are spat out and smeared on the walls, and the whole thing is devoured by crunch. “Octavo (Swirling in Capricorn)” has guitars that whip up like a funnel cloud, and the vocals are demonic and dangerous. Soloing erupts that grabs the track by its legs and whips it into a carcass pile, and the slurry final leads would leave even the most hardened listener dizzy. “Noxious Plume” feels like just that, as the sound rises up and chokes you, with heavy amounts of damage, guitars that switch back and forth between speed and muck, and vocals that sound absolutely animalistic.The title cut is a mystical-style interlude, complete with dusty passages like an ancient book being opened for the first time in centuries, and the acoustic guitars provide the perfect passageway into the second part of the record.

“Voice of Gemini” is lighting fast, intricate, and hammering, with grisly vocals and noise shutting off all beams of light. “Death Canonized” feels like it gets down in the mud, yet at the same time it lets some of its fumes rise back into the atmosphere to instill a sense of dread. It’s not around for very long, but it makes its weird impact easily. “Defixio” has guitars that spiral all over the place, like a strobe gone wild in a dark room, and the sounds bubble over, leading into deep, from-the-bacterial-tracts-style growling. It’s dark and ominous for sure. “Novemportis” is all over the map, with mind-erasing playing, guitars with a sense of adventure and death, and growls that sound pained and drenched in anguish. Then the final cut “The Balkan Affair” arrives, dressed in eerie acoustic guitars, whispers, and howls, and before you know it, it’s over. Not just the song, but this strange, alien-like serving of mutating death that wrapped your nerves into balls for the past half hour.

Auroch’s path is unpredictable and rumbling, and their style of death metal injects more hope into a sub-genre that’s lost much of its edge. This band will keep you up at night, but not necessarily in fear. They’ll keep you on the edge of your seat, head tilted, confused and intrigued, never able to guess the next bends in their path. “Taman Shud” never loses its edge, no matter how many times you visit, and this sounds like the very beginning of their campaign, both mentally and artistically.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.profoundlorerecords.com/products-page/

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

There are bands that use sadness and misery as a sort of channel in order to make a connection with an audience and perhaps help their listeners get a little insight into themselves. Then there are those whose black emotions and world of sorrow is so immense, so overwhelming that you can’t help but feel fully enveloped by their music.

Australian funeral doom group Mournful Congregation always impressed on me that what they are doing is not a gimmick or way to get attention. They live and feel these things for real, and their music is an artistic representation of what is going through their bloodstream and running across their minds. Their sound is massive and impossibly heavy, but not in the usual sense when discussing doom metal. Yeah, they can crush you but that heaviness is more mental than physical, and their long, hulking dirges often go on for 10 minutes and longer, letting every drip of their torment drip down your throat. The band’s records make it seem like its members lived many tortured lifetimes, with their misfortune repeating upon each fresh birth, and they have all of the generations of chaos to draw upon.

We last heard from Mournful Congregation on their amazing 2011 record “Book of Kings,” the first to really get good penetration into the United States, thanks to them having a reliable advocate in 20 Buck Spin. The band is getting ready to return to the country to play a few shows (on the East Coast this time!), and in tow they have a massive new EP “Concrescence of the Sophia.” I know it seems silly to call an EP “massive,” but this is Mournful Congregation, after all, and this document is longer than most grindcore bands’ full-length albums. Damon Good (StarGazer, Cauldron Black Ram) remains out front of the band as its vocalist and guitarist, and along with him is guitarist Justin Hartwig (Black Orchid), bassist Ben Newsome (Cauldron Black Ram, Intellect Devourer) and drummer Adrian Bickle (though Tim Call of Aldebaran and Nightfell played drums on the record for an ailing Bickle). The band sounds as morose and bereft of hope as ever, and this is a great tide-you-over release before full-length number five bubbles up from the Earth’s crust.

There are two tracks on this thing, but as you can imagine, they’re long and involved. The title cut opens with buzzing drone, slowly hammering melodies, and speak-sung vocals that sound like Good delivering his own final epitaph. Finally, the low-rumbling growls emerge, as they slither along with the pace of the song that unfurls itself with no particular sense of urgency. The guitars sound as if they’re weeping over a lost soul, perhaps the players’ own, and eventually calm arrives with acoustics letting a gust of cold air into the room. The vocals go back and forth from quivering singing just above a whisper and growls that sound pained and anguished, and the final minutes of this 21:42 eulogy is dressed with poetically flowing leads and the noise settling for fading into silence.

The second cut is a quick jam in comparison, the 8:57-long “Silence of the Passed.” The track begins building its fires with slow-burning guitar work that wastes no time coating your lungs with soot, until clean playing arrives like a cool, soothing rain. Hushed howls and low-register vocals tell the tale, weaving misery and darkness that match the music ideally. The pace drives slowly, like a long funeral march, and the deep growls join in with glorious guitar leads that sound like they’re paying homage to the pioneers of their genre. There’s a fury beneath all of the darkness, and the final moments of the song make that apparent. There’s a frustration, a struggle to survive that becomes apparent with the music, and the track ends like a tall pillar of fire reaching into the night’s sky and suddenly disappearing.

It may only be 30 minutes of new Mournful Congregation music, but that’s more than enough to tide us all over until their next full-length. Anyone who’s been a devout follower of the band will be more than pleased with what they hear on “Concrescence of the Sophia,” and anyone with an interest in what the best funeral doom band in the world is up to will get one hell of a taste. There are few bands that make you feel as sorrowful and bleak as this one, and that’s why they’re always going to welcome in my home for as long as they choose to live.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://20buckspinshop.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://www.facebook.com/20buckspin

I’ve had a chance to write about some truly legendary, untouchable bands doing this site. That’s something never lost on me, and the fact that sometimes those bands later reach out and thank us for doing a story on a new record is stunning. It really never loses its luster.

But today, we’re going to talk about new music from one of the most influential bands alive, who I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to write about. It’s not like it was a given we’d ever get new music from Godflesh ever again, despite the band’s reunion and playing shows semi-regularly the past few years. Kind of like when Carcass first got back together, it was great that they were doing shows and giving people a chance to hear their classics live, but a new record never was a given. Same with Godflesh. Witnessing them play major festivals such as Maryland Deathfest, and even getting smaller tours always was nice, and there was no reason to expect anything above all of that if the band wasn’t into that idea. Luckily, as time has passed, they have geared back toward recording new music, and now we have the new four-track EP “Decline & Fall” at our disposal.

There hasn’t been new, original Godflesh music in 13 years from this duo of guitarist/vocalist/programmer Justin Broadrick (Jesu, Palesketcher Greymachine, ex-Napalm Death) and bassist CG Green, that being 2001’s “Hymns.” They made their mark as an industrially powered, noise-infested metal force on classic records such as their legendary 1989 debut record “Streetcleaner,” as well as other stops along the way including “Slavestate” (1991), “Pure” (1992), “Selfless” (1994), “Songs of Love and Hate” (1996), and “Us and Them” (1996). “Decline & Fall” blends nicely into their back catalog, as it keeps their touchstone sounds in place, so that longtime fans can grab this thing and instantly feel right at home. Their savagery and intensity are there in full, and hearing these four songs bleed out and pulverize your senses is a great feeling. It’s awesome to have an active Godflesh back and bringing us music that gives a stark reminder of what “heavy” really means, and they sound as dedicated and relevant as ever. I can only imagine what their upcoming new full-length “A World Lit Only By Fire” is going to be like.

“Ringer” open the EP with a deep static wave, and then the crushing begins. The vocals sound like they’re swimming in chaos, driving against the waves and always holding up their end of the bargain. The pace is devastating and calculated, as the drumming punishes, and the guys head into a blistering section of thrashing before a mucky finish pelts extra helpings of mud onto everything. “Dogbite” is thick and riffy, with barked vocals that are authoritative and slightly tyrannical, kind of like you’re being hollered at with Broadrick’s finger poking your chest like a drill sergeant. The guitars simmer, the noises taunt, and the howl of, “Nowhere safe to hide!” seems to act like this EP’s prevailing statement. “Playing With Fire” bristles and burns early on, with Green’s meaty bassline leading you right into the conflict. The singing is a little cleaner on this track, through the music is sludgy and swaggering, with riffs that sound hellbent on maiming. Broadrick calmly sings, “Born of water, born of fire,” as the grimy tones take this song out into the night. The closing title cut has more barked vocals, sleek programmed beats that give a trip-hop shade to the song, and clobbering, humid guitar work that’ll grease your face. There is a techy feel to the guitar playing, delving just a bit into death metal territory, and the sounds penetrate and lace you until the track finally bleeds out, certainly leaving you breathless.

So there we go, new Godflesh music in 2014. Not only is this an incredible thing to behold based on its existence alone, but it’s also pure, honest Godflesh, which is all anyone really could ask for. They sound as devastating and channeled as ever before, and it’s a great thing to have such an important band back and creating new anthems of devastation. It won’t be long until we have that new full-length, so until that time, we have these four great new Godflesh songs to remind us that it won’t be too tough to find a perfect soundtrack for the end of the world.

For more on the band, go here: http://godflesh1.bandcamp.com/releases

To buy the album, go here: http://avalancheinc.co.uk/

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

Do you know what it’s like to have someone truly detest you? Or, have you ever been on the other side, with such a deep-seeded discomfort in or displeasure of another that it practically makes the bile rise up and choke you? Are you ever so disgusted by the ways of the world and the manner in which people have devolved and begun attacking each other’s character that it makes a black morning seem welcome?

Hopefully you never felt any of these things, because they are not pleasurable. If you have been in these situations, you probably will immediately connect with Barghest, the Baton Rouge, La.-based band that makes black metal sound like an exercise in pure disintegration of everything around them. A quick trip down another path: Black metal doesn’t sound like it used to, for the most part, as labels have figured out how to make it slick and appeal to the masses. There’s not much real hate and disgust left in the music. This is where we get back to Barghest, who have no problem letting every awful feeling contained within them out to gallivant and strike hard. It’s not against any particular person or movement, but against the world in general and what’s inside the place. Pay close enough attention to your surroundings, and you may realize the way people act can sicken you. Barghest clearly have been gagging long enough.

The band’s behemoth new record “The Virtuous Purge” has arrived, and like a great plague with no eyes for who it kills or any plans for who it infects, they’re here for us all. The follow-up to their basement dank, self-titled 2011 debut rages with power. For one thing, the production is higher grade, but not to a level where it sounds acceptable or pretty. It’s still chock full of violence and abuse, and it will hurt badly anyone not ready for it, but it does give the band a slightly crisper sound that is to their benefit. They also have more of a death metal edge this time around, proving they can be just as menacing in that terrain as in black metal. The alliance of guitarists/vocalists Dallas Smith and Jason Thorning, guitarist Matthew Thudium (also of Thou), and drummer Philth convinces you without a doubt of the black fury they feel deep inside of them, and you never have to ask yourself if what you’re hearing is nasty. You’ll know it right away, and if it scares you off, then maybe this kind of metal isn’t for you. I’m sure Best Buy will have something kick-ass to suit your needs and get you home safe and sound.

Opener “Our Last Night on Earth” doesn’t tear right into you. Instead, a wave of static leads into dark, mournful guitar work that sounds bleak and devoid of all hope It unfurls and hangs in the air. Naturally the bottom eventually falls out and the band starts hammering you with full force and utter violence, paying you a hellish visit. The song later turns back into a slow-driving storm, spilling into black guitars and vocals that sound set to maim. “Agonizing Spiritual Descent” begins with boiling guitar work, like blood bubbling in a pot, and the charcoal-smeared vocals erupt as pure death growls. The music bores into your soul, like it’s trying to make a permanent, open scar, and the tempos switch around to leave you guessing and your head spinning. The final moments thrash like mad, blowing the doors off the place. “When the Cross Points to Hell” is like classic death metal set on fire and left to burn for days and days. The vocals are unforgiving and laced with warnings, calling forth the “bringer of evil,” and the guys sound like they’re ready to do any dirty deed required of them. Just an ugly pile of carnage.

“Thought Disease” has a spacious open, atypical of the band’s piledriving style, but then the drums go off, and the pace grows heavy and relentless, with poking shouts of, “Your savior is nowhere to be found.” The final moments are buried in smoke and speed, like a funeral pyre set to accelerate. The title track has bendy, tricky guitars that are unexpected, and then it lets in destructive vocals. The song spurts and sprawls all over, throwing blazing fists in every direction, leaving you no place to take cover. Following the shout of, “Now your life is no more,” the band settles into a sinister groove that takes the track to its finish. “Spent Brass” is vicious and clobbering, with the vocals looking to do damage to both the listener and the messenger. The music is slurry and damaged, giving it a truly warped sense of danger. Closer “My Own Grave” is a 7:18-long instrumental that is full of misery and calculated horror. The song is rich with doom, long sections of solemn playing, and a dark sense of foreboding. It feels like a thick, suffocating fog is wafting in and darkening everything. You can’t see more than a few inches in front of you, yet you hear the hulk breathing, heaving, ready to strike. Then he attacks, as the band rages along with him, mauling you and grinding your face into the pavement, striking again and again until you can take no more. Then it all goes back into the murk, regaining its doom senses and dragging you through every square inch of their misery. It’s a fitting end to an exercise in human agony.

“The Virtuous Purge” is maniacally played and viciously executed, a true slab of charred black and bleeding death that will rot inside your system. There is no solace here, no warm greetings, and no chance for understanding or compassion. Barghest breed hate and ill intentions, and they smear their disease on whoever is closest, because that being likely deserves it in some form. If this sounds over the top to you, visit this record. You’ll realize I might not have gone far enough in describing to you this filthy document of anti-humanity.

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

To buy the album, go here: http://www.gileadmedia.net/releasedirectory/relic54-barghest-the-virtuous-purge-lp/

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

When two of metal’s strangest, most shadow-casting forces come together to offer up creations on the same collection, you have no choice but to sit back and hear the magic unfold. That’s the best advice I can offer for encountering “Triunity,” the new split record that brings together Blut Aus Nord and P.H.O.B.O.S.

Both entities call France home, and as we’ve said time and time again when it comes to that country, the water must be infected because of some of the strange transmissions that come from there. Both groups have made some pulverizing, thought-provoking music over the years, with Blut Aus Nord taking the dream-inducing lanes of the black metal highway to come up with their work, and P.H.O.B.O.S. driving industrial drone fires and engines for their abrasive creations. Yet both sides have their adventurous tendencies, and while they might sound terribly alike sonically, you can tell they meet somewhere in the middle of their art. That’s part of what makes this record work so well. The other is the music that has both bands sounding haunting and penetrating.

Blut Aus Nord have been plenty busy since their birth in 1994, creating 10 albums, the most recent three comprised the incredible concept “777” trilogy. Over the years, the band, led by Vindsval, hasn’t been afraid to add various non-black metal elements into the music, such as trip hop, electronics, and even industrial strains, and 2012’s “Cosmosophy” turned out to be one of the great artistic triumphs in the band’s career. But if you were one of those who couldn’t help but fret their sound has changed and become a little easier to digest, their three cuts here will ease your mind, you big baby. P.H.O.B.O.S. began as a full band in 2000, taking cues from groups such as Godflesh and Voivod, before slowly whittling down to Frederic Sacri for the band’s 2005 debut record “Tectonics.” As time went on, the band’s machine-like sound grew darker and more ominous, as “Anœdipal” arrived in 2008, and “Atona Hypermnesia” followed in 2012. Now, for this record, Sacri worked with James Plotkin on these three suffocating songs that match Blut Aus Nord’s mind-warping sound nicely.

Blut Aus Nord get started with “De Librio Arbitrio,” a song that opens with eerie keys and a hazy environment. It picks up on a tempo it is hesitant to let go, drubbing and smoldering, keeping you running in place. Strange noises erupt, the vocals slip into cosmic growls, and there’s a slight industrial edge to the song that makes the cut a little gritty. “Hubris” runs along a similar path as the first song, even drumming up a melody that sounds like it shares the same DNA. The vocals sound like they are delivered by a ghoul floating through space, perhaps being filtered through a Vocoder, and then the guitars charge up hard. The song is similar to what we heard on the second helping of the “777” series “The Desanctification,” and Vindsval spills more animalistic growls over everything. “Nemeinn” finishes off Blut Aus Nord’s contributions, and it’s a total mind warp with heavy crunch, creaky vocals, and a tempo that pushes along dreamily. Eventually there is some rumbling, as the track has the feel of a classic Blut Aus Nord track at times, and the stormy piece eventually subsides. This song gives serious hope for what’s ahead on the band’s upcoming new record, the third installment of “Memoria Vetusta.”

P.H.O.B.O.S. kick off with “Glowing Phosphorous” that emits weird noises, some trippy ambiance, and eventually heavy industrial pounding you’ve come to expect from this project. The track also blasts off into the stars, making it a great companion for the Blut Aus Nord cuts, and it is a strange, ominous piece to behold. “Transfixed Golgotha” is quite trancey and could have you doing the million-mile stare. The song and the playing feel machine-like, but not without heart, and the stretch of this thing is cool and mesmerizing. I kept going back to this one because it slips into the bloodstream so willingly. The last P.H.O.B.O.S. entry is “Ahrimanic Impulse Victory” with talky vocals, more ghoulish sounds that haunt, and a pace that remains steady but penetrating over its running time. Some growls emerge, and some cool blips rise up, drumming up Sacri’s own trip-hop tendencies. The cut eventually fades into black, giving enormous hope for what’s ahead for this band.

“Triunity” is a wholly pleasing, mentally involved journey that should engage the more ambitious, experimentally inclined listeners. For fans of both bands, you’ll be hard pressed to find any complaints since both remain loyal to their traditional traits but also push forward into new terrain. These bands sound like they were meant to inhabit the same corner of the universe, even if sonically their respective DNA remains mostly different.

For more on Blut Aus Nord, go here: https://www.facebook.com/blutausnord.official

For more on P.H.O.B.O.S., go here: http://www.phobosdrone.org/

To buy the album, go here: http://www.debemur-morti.com/en/12-eshop

For more on the label, go here: http://www.debemur-morti.com/en/

If you’re reading this, you likely enjoy metal. I know, right? What a revelation. Well, if you do, someone likely has said to you while hearing something you had playing, “This music sounds like someone is dying.” And you’ve probably had to respond something like, “Really? You got that from Amon Amarth?”

Well, if you’ve been through that before like I have, you should revisit that conversation. Only this time, play that person “Patterns of Failure,” the debut from terrifying Chicago-based doom killers Venowl, and watch the poor bastard’s face turn white in no time. Now this is music that sounds like people dying. Badly. Over a long, torturous period of time. That might not sound very enjoyable to some, but if you like infernally scarring metal like I do, it’s bound to give you hours of crazed fun and mentally warped madness. It’s a noisy, disturbing, sometimes baffling record comprised of three tracks that continually grinds your face into the dirt and makes you taste blood. Then it screams indecipherable nonsense into your face, frightening you because of how little you understand the message. Other than the part where you’re screwed.

Venowl’s debut initially was released in 2012 in incredibly limited number, with fewer than 100 even pressed. So if you have your hands on an original copy, congratulations. Luckily, Broken Limbs is putting out the album on cassette (again, in small numbers, as only 100 are being made), and the music has been remastered by one of the most important members of the noise doom scene James Plotkin. The mysterious, shrouded band members, who simply go by ][, II and ::, have a number of other releases to their name, some of which were recorded in one horrible take just to give you a deep understanding of just how distressing their sound is. But it all starts with this first full-length, a record that should warm the dead hearts of the most ardent Khanate and Sunn 0))) fans.

The record begins with the disturbing 17:55-long title track, a song that’ll drag you over glass and force you to watch as your blood is smeared over the ground. Feedback wails heavily, and deep waves of drone wash over everything, leaving the scene completely blackened. The animalistic growls and howls begin, and they never, ever smooth out on this song. Or this record. The vocals always seem like they’re emanating from a dying soul, crying out for mercy only to be kept alive so the suffering can continue. The music remains scary and deranged, with doom boiling over and causing strange humidity, while the noise buckles again and leads to more pained howls. “Hung Alive By the Ribs to the Gallows,” a really uncomfortable sounding situation, opens with strings rumbling and lurching doom arriving. More feral shrieks rain down, sounding like hungry, ghostly forces fighting to the death in the woods somewhere, and the serving is just pure hell. The whole piece feels unhinged and terrifying, and if you happened upon a scene in real life that sounded like this, you’d run the other direction in no time.

Then oppressive, 27-minute closer “The Bounded Are Loathed” lands, with noise ringing out and the feeling like villages are being burned, with its inhabitants dying alive. The drubbing goes on and on, poking at funeral doom and really not changing its tempo very much at all as it slowly spills over the Earth’s crust. Noise and static are whipped into a frenzy, hanging above everything like a venomous swarm, and the cries, shrieks, and blood-curdling wails keep coming at you without relent. The song feels every bit of its 27 minutes, but that’s not because it drags. It simply inflicts so much punishment, mostly mentally, that you might feel like you need to take a breath. But if you’re like me, you won’t end up taking that break, instead committing to this panic-inducing, rabid chaos that continues to strangle the senses until it finally relents and lets you perish.

Certainly I encourage you to explore all of Venowl’s work, which you can find on their Bandcamp below, but this one is their first full, manic step. That it’s finally back for a limited engagement, with a remastered identity, is a major plus and a giant opportunity for any doom fans who don’t just live for the riff but also want unbridled violence. This is a difficult, demanding listen that might scare even the burliest of doom fans, but if you can make it to the other side, you’ll be better for off for all the heavy scarring you suffer. And you will suffer.

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

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

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

Death is all around us. We see it on TV every day. We read about it on our social media accounts. Sometimes it happens to us directly when we lose a loved one. It is certain, but what’s after it is shrouded with mystery.

That’s one of the themes that drove Mike Hill, vocalist/guitarist for the mighty experimental black metal band Tombs on their huge third record “Savage Gold.” Death is something we all know is coming, and none of us can avoid its presence. So why not reach beyond that murk and try to find some other kind of meaning?

“When we die, we have no idea what goes on beyond that if anything,” Hill says on the phone from his Brooklyn home. “It’s not like any of us know anyone who passed away who were able to get on Facebook or Twitter afterward and say, ‘Hey man, everything’s OK!’ So there’s this whole idea of imaging what goes on from here. Is there another plane of existence? Does it go black? What’s there when you die?”

It’s a heavy question, and one that could keep people awake at night, but for Hill, he saw it differently. “Savage Gold” is full of references to death, worlds falling apart, fire, and even suicide, but as far as he’s concerned, he’s not seeing death as a negative. He doesn’t view “Savage Gold” as a downer or a dark, depressing record; rather it is one that strives into positive terrain and makes sure doing the most things possible in life is at the forefront.

“It’s not meant to be a negative way of thinking,” he says. “It’s reaching beyond this life, transforming into something else, and perhaps living on in same way or form. That’s what I was looking at when writing this record. Stretching beyond and transformation.”

As for the album title itself, the “gold” contained in the title is not referring to riches or fortunes in the physical sense, but rather alchemy, where scientists long strive to turn base metals into pure gold. Alchemists constantly are looking into greater means of understanding and knowledge, a new level of awareness not discovered before, making something great out of something mundane, and Hill says that mission is something that fueled his thinking while he was writing the songs contained on this incredible
album, the best yet in their catalog.

The album shows more of the band’s progression, something that’s been a major part of Tombs from their humble beginnings on their debut EP, through to their 2009 debut “Winter Hours,” into 2011’s “Path of Totality,” and now to “Savage Gold.” Hill says progression and refusal to adhere to boxes or restraints from any one genre have fueled the band from day one, and he says he’s not concerned if naysayers out there are worried there is not enough black metal in their sound or if they happen to add more post-punk sounds into their mix like they do on the new album.

Hill also has expanded his voice quite a bit. Yes, you hear plenty of his burly growls that sound as monstrous as ever, but he’s also using more of his low-register singing voice, something he says is inspired by heavy hitters such as Tom G. Warrior of Triptykon, Celtic Frost, and Hellhammer (“He’s one of my heroes, for sure.”) and Carl McCoy of Fields of Nephilim. It’s another way he is branching out and becoming the most he can be as an artist.

Some other changes come as far as lineup and those working behind the scenes. Death metal producer extraordinaire Erik Rutan (whose band Hate Eternal is one not to be messed with) is behind the board for “Savage Gold,” as Hill says he’s always been impressed with his work, especially with what he’s done with Goatwhore, who Hill calls “probably one of my top five favorite metal bands.”

As far as the band goes, guitarist Ben Brand (ex-Woe) and Garrett Bussanick (Flourishing) joined the band to replace Dan Howard and Carson Daniel James, respectively. There was no crazy drama or gossip-rich stories behind the lineup shuffling, as Hill says the responsibilities of everyday life combined with the rigors of touring and being in the band simply made it impossible for the former members to continue on with Hill and drummer Andrew Hernandez II. It’s not that he doesn’t miss playing with those guys, but Hill thinks Tombs’ current formation is formidable and one that could power the band well into the future.

“I’m really happy with this lineup,” Hill says. “We’ve had some really great players in this band over the years, and all have helped Tombs get where we have gotten. But I’m really excited about this lineup, and I think it’s one of the strongest in our history.”

As far as the record goes, it tears open with “Thanatos,” a callback to the Greek daemon of death that Hill says inspired the song. It’s a grisly, meaty number that’s unforgivably heavy and should leave massive bruising. Hill’s howls of, “Our savage gold!” midway through the cut is one that easily could be shouted back live, and it’s a great first dose of this new Tombs. “Portraits” follows with a strong black metal-style lead, along with some post-punk melodies trickling over top everything, and Hill unleashes some of his most monstrous growls, backed by drumming that sounds like it is trying to turn everything to dust. “Séance” is heavy and blistering, with a calculated pace, more harsh growls, and a tempo that chugs along mightily. Hill revisits the record’s underlying theme, howling, “I hear the calm from beyond this realm, exist outside of time,” with the last portion yelled repeatedly. “Echoes” has colder, cleaner tones, with Hill’s vocals easing into lower register singing. When the tempo kicks up, so does the intensity of Hill’s voice, as he sounds like he’s channeling current-day Tom G. Warrior with his icy shouts. “Life is fragile,” he later reminds, bringing everything back into perspective and finishing the track with freezing sentiment and more raucous drums. “Deathtripper” also pulls back a bit, at least at the start, with darker melodies flowing and the singing taking on a purposeful monotone. As the track progresses, sludgy doom re-emerges, as the band pounds away vigorously, with Hill shouting, “I can’t stop the dream of blood and suicide.”

“Edge of Darkness” digs back into pure heaviness, with guitars taking on black metal tones, Hill declaring, “I see the end of time,” in as morbid a way as he possibly can, and the fires burning along until the track reaches its final destination. “Ashes” is built on aggression and some boiling guitar work that can get your blood moving, as the words reach beyond this plane of existence and into something altogether not accessible by human touch. “Deny the gifts of heaven,” Hill shouts, not so much as a lash out against spirituality but as a means of encouraging more open-minded thinking about what’s out there. “Legacy” is the most straightforward track on “Savage Gold,” setting up its crushing mission, carrying out its intentions, and bludgeoning you with power. “Severed Lives” slips back into the murk, with Hill’s voice joining it in the darkness, singing, “We rule the world/This burning world,” as eerie guitars ring out and the final moments get ready to unfurl. That last blast is “Spiral,” a song that addresses death to its face, with guitars swirling, some weird sounds spilling out, and Hill prodding aloud, “We live in fear/What lies beyond our mortal soul?” Therefore, his final words are turned on the listener as much as himself as he poses the question, “And when you feel the darkness calling, how will your final thoughts assemble?” And the final moments of the song sound like what he just described, as blips and strange wooshes settle in, almost as if your soul is being transported to whatever journey awaits you next.

Tombs never are at a loss when it comes to though-provoking material and damaging metallic assaults, but “Savage Gold” is both their most sobering and, if you approach it the right way, most inspirational. None of us know when the switch will be turned off, and many of us could do a lot better living like there is no tomorrow and making the best of this plane of existence. This is Tombs’ most ambitious work yet, a record that will take you on an existential journey mentally and still bludgeon you sonically. Good luck shaking it, because this thing’s going to stick with you.

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

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

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

Photo by Mark Dawursk

Bands with true, distinct personalities are not that easy to come by these days. So when you get one, it’s easy to hold them close because you know when they come at you with new music, it’s going to be a unique experience.

That’s one of the many things that have kept me tuned into The Atlas Moth over the years. The Chicago-based band has a knack for songwriting, in that their work stays with you well after it’s done playing and you remember significant hooks and melodies from their songs. They also have an approach that draws from different areas but, when put together, is all their own. You’ll hear strains of ISIS, the Deftones, A Storm of Light, and bands of that nature, and they very easily could break out into some mainstream success or stay perfectly tucked underground. The sky really is the limit for this band, and their latest opus “The Old Believer” is their most realized, enriching experience to date. Everything you’ve come to from these guys over the course of their three full-lengths is here—the spacey sludge, the doomy dreamy, the black metal-tinged rock—just in more astonishing doses and extra clarity than ever before.

The band’s lineup remains pretty steady from 2011’s excellent “An Ache for the Distance,” with guitarists Stavros Giannopoulus (the harsh vocals) and David Kush (the clean vocals) handling the dual-personality singing, contributing to pieces that equally can be beautiful and volatile; Andrew Ragin handling keyboard and guitars; Alex Klein on bass; and new drummer Dan Lasek. What they create on “The Old Believer” is a record that’s as picturesque as it is sonically moving, the perfect soundtrack for late-dusk gazing when the skyline is a mix of orange and dark blues hues. The songs have their heavy, punchy spots, but they also are melodic and approachable enough that they could bring in followers from many different styles of music, even the deader-than-dead mainstream rock scene, which could use the shot in the arm The Atlas Moth could provide. And as noted at the start, their music has clear-cut identity and personality, and they’re never a threat to just blend in with background noise. You know when you’re hearing The Atlas Moth, and that’s a refreshing thing.

The record begins ringing out from the skies with opener “Jet Black Passenger,” a fluid, involved song that, like each track on the record, has the clean singing/growling companionship driving the way. Rarely are these voices not heard together, but those moments do occur on this album. The song feels like a jolt into nighttime, with the howled call of, “Can you accept this transmission?” Then it’s into “Collider,” a song that has keys dripping like ice shards, warm guitars, and melodies that envelop your headspace with weird dreams and visions. “The Sea Beyond” is a definite highlight, with keys leading into a burly, massive guitar line, and melodies surging throughout the song. The words are delivered as if they’re reaching out for some greater understanding through various planes, as Kush wonders, “If I concentrate, will you take shape again?” This is one of the best tracks in the band’s entire catalog. “Halcyon Blvd.” has a shimmering start that opens up for some of the most soulful signing on the record and passages that feel eerie and alien-like. “Sacred Vine” is another song that could help this band break out, with sunburst guitars that feel hazy and comfortable, and great vocal hooks, such as when Kush observes he’s “closer to space where the lines disappear.” This is a really strong song that could lure in anyone.

The title cut is built on crunch and new shades of colors, with the growls from Giannopoulus taking a greater role. There’s a heavy stoner feel to the song, and when it seems to be gaining momentum, it drops like a rock into the ocean. “City of Light” has classical-style synth lines that jerk you awake, followed by soaring guitar textures, and the dual vocals bringing on a sense of liberation. “Wynona” has a thunderous feel to it, with the shrieks pelting the side of your body like hail, but there also are layers of dreaminess that could make you feel drowsy like you had some strong medicine that plans to lull you to odd spaces in your brain. The song also can be jagged and fierce, making for an interesting experience that seems to be pulling you two different directions with equal force. “Hesperian” has a bizarre open that makes it feel like you’re entering into a trance, and even once the guitars open up and the vocals take shape, you can’t help but feel woozy over what’s happening. Toward the end, the guitars rise up and bubble, giving the track a compelling finish. Closer “Blood Will Tell” is sweltering and humid following its brawny open, and there are some of the heavier moments on the record on this cut. At one point Giannopoulus howls, “I feel the world crumbling down!” as if he’s seeing pieces of sky clobber the Earth’s surface, with the band playing on and fading away as the world comes to an end. Turns out the scene is not as hellish as you thought. It’s rather comforting and serene.

“The Old Believer” is another giant step ahead for The Atlas Moth, a band that’s been blowing out minds for nearly a decade now. This record needs to be in more ears, and it’s the type of album that could make people realize there still is great, stimulating rock music being made. You just need to know where to find it. This band just keeps getting better with age, and there’s no telling what their high-water mark might be. Maybe they don’t have one, and they’re going to keep making one space majesty after another. You certainly won’t get any complaints out of me if that’s the case.

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

To buy the album, go here: https://www.profoundlorerecords.com/products-page/

Or here: http://brutalpandarecords.com/shop/atlas-moth-old-believer-12/

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

It seems like being in Trap Them isn’t all that easy a lot in life. That’s not to suggest they don’t have their share of fun, and their brand of blackened metallic hardcore certainly can bring down a house, but just listening to their records and witnessing the steamroller lives just screams “hard living.”

Some of that actually has come to pass for the band. Check out the feature on the band in the new issue of Decibel (Eyehategod cover), and you’ll read about how vocalist Ryan McKenney has done so much physical damage to his body that the amount of shows the band can do remains in flux, and his very health has been compromised. Much has been brought on itself due to the band’s physical style and refusal not to throw caution and whatever shrapnel surrounds them to the wind. It’s scary on one hand because it’s something that sounds like it could have been avoided. But had they played it safe, they wouldn’t be Trap Them, one of the most savage bands alive.

The band’s new, fourth record is called “Blissfucker.” Enough said right there. What more is there to read into and analyze? Well, actually, a lot. There still are words being spat, tension being released, and anger, frustration, and disappointment being doused all over this thing, only to light the whole thing ablaze as if turns to ashes on the ground. It’s an intense, furious experience, pitting founding members McKenney and guitarist Brian Izzi and new rhythm section of bassist Brad Fickeisen and drummer Galen Baudhuin against the world, nature, good sense, morality, and anything anyone holds pure. It’s an explosive, dangerous record that could be the band’s last considering the damage that’s been done to these guys. Who knows with a band that operates on this volatile a level? There’s no indication that’s the case, that “Blissfucker” is their last, but it’s so fiery and filthy, but with a killer rock and roll edge smeared all over the thing, that’s it’s as good a last will and testament as you’re bound to find.

“Salted Crypts” opens the record with mucky, pounding violence, making it seem like it’ll slowly drag you along, but then it ignites, with McKenney unleashing his raspy shouts. The guitars sometimes have a Southern-friend edge to them, and the song has a downright thrashy feel. “Habitland” has an assault that slips out of guitars ringing in the air, with blistering punishment, and the final moments being dressed by rabid shouts over cymbals getting crushed to death. “Gift and Gift Unsteady” unleashes some rock and roll goodness along with the Converge-style clobbering, and a slithering guitar lines loops itself all through this thing and ends in a squall. “Lungrunners” is built on raw riffs and speed, with the drums exploding like storm clouds and the melodies reminding of Motorhead at their gnarliest. “Organic Infernal” is a little different, with a strange tempo and chilling guitar tones, with howled vocals that sound like they’re bouncing in reverb. “Sanitations” is ripped apart by the devastating drumming, screamy vocals, and bloody guitar work.

“Bad Nones” starts slowly, with cymbals being tapped, and murk rising up, and most of this one adheres to a muddier personality that takes its time pummeling you. “Former Lining Wide the Walls” is explosive from the start, with a tempo that sounds like it’s aiming for your jugular, and some black metal-style melodies seeping into the mix. “Savage Climbers” is the longest cut on the record at 7:28, and it is in no hurry to exhaust its energy, settling into a heavy, but more deliberate pace for its running time, with the growls feeling menacing and dangerous. “Ransom Risen” is a boiling instrumental—well, mostly, as McKenney is present, but only in the form of wordless screams—that starts with a tribal feel but eventually evolves into sonic madness. The 6:25-long closer “Let Each Fall and Every Sedition Symptom” unloads fiery riffs, fierce vocals, and massive drumming and lets every element run roughshod. The cut is thrashy and monstrous, a perfect sweltering finish to this physically and mentally demanding record.

Trap Them are an entity unto themselves, and very few have the piss, vinegar, and lava to match what they do. They have teetered on the edge of burning out and dissolving, but they always found a way to adapt and survive. “Blissfucker” is their most captivating, masochistic release yet, one that scars psyches, starting with their own. My guess is we haven’t heard the last of Trap Them. But if for some reason we have, this record will be their equivalent of acting like an asteroid tearing into the Earth, leaving a worldwide cloud of dust to choke out all surviving inhabitants.

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

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

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