argento records

Initial Descent: March 26 – April 1, 2023

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Allfather
Allfather

This week comes to a halt on April Fools Day so get all your hijinx ready to roll and be prepared. With that said, there’s no fooling in this week’s batch of new releases that we kick off with the bearded bashers Allfather and their newest collection of violent and deadly anthems, then we’ve got black metal from Blaze of Sorrow, serrated grindcore from Rotten Sound, and more black metal from Lamp of Murmuur. As always though, there’s a ton more hiding out in the list below that are sure to make all of you happy, mad, sad, want to tear down the walls, or whatever you need to do so get to digging and we’ll see you here throughout the week.

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Album Review: Lamp of Murmuur — “Saturnian Bloodstorm”

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Over the past decade there’s been a number of fantastic extreme metal bands creating music that’s clearly a tribute to some of the pioneers of a particular subgenre, while simultaneously pushing that style forward — notable examples include Stormkeep, Spectral Voice, the very recent Majesties debut, and my personal favorite, Caladan Brood. Adding to this list of devotees is Lamp of Murmuur, who have abandoned the lo-fi black metal and gothic rock influences of previous releases in favor of late ’90s Immortal worship with their third full-length album, Saturnian Bloodstorm. If there’s a fine line between homage and imitation, this album tends to fall on the opposite side of the aforementioned bands.

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Receiving the Evcharist: Verwoed and Charles Shaw Pinot Noir

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Receiving the Evcharist 2018

Receiving the Evcharist is our weekly feature where we pair choice albums with our favorite libations.  Drink from the cup of heresy. This week’s offering: Verwoed’s De Val and Charles Shaw Pinot Noir.
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Initial Descent: July 15 – 21, 2018

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Khôrada
Khôrada

Kicking off another week, first thing, here on Initial Descent. None of you spoke up and said you hated the move to Monday so you’re stuck with it but I can’t think of a better way to get the momentum going than some new metal. Let’s do this.

First up is the fantastic debut, Seasons of Salt, from Khôrada which sees ex Agalloch and Giant Squid members unite to form a dark and challenging but beautiful piece of work. Mutilation Rites return with their fiery and filthy brand of black / death metal on Chasm, Future Cult sees The Lion’s Daughter mix extreme metal with 80s style slasherwave which equals a big score, and Wölfblood pull all the stops on their motorpunk, speed warped EP Nightriders which finally sees physical release so get on it.

There you have it, week is officially kicked off. Great openers but there’s many more to get into so stick around. We’ll be seeing you here throughout the week. Continue reading →

Wake Up and Smell the Satan! – April 20, 2018

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wake-up-and-smell-satan

For a stretch of time, this space profiled some of the most legendary and emergent black metal and infernally infused extreme music. Whether it was Behemoth or Diocletian, it was all deliciously dark magic worth your time.

It’s been a lively few days. Between the arrest of James Larkin on human trafficking charges to the 13th annual exorcists convention hosted by the Vatican (the decline of Christianity and rise of the Internet are driving the exorcism business) to the long-winding Septicflesh/Dark Funeral tour, the (sinister) heavens have much to rejoice about this week. On the down side, French protesters are seeking to shut down Hellfest on charges of Satanism, and two of Rotting Christ’s members were jailed this week in the country of Georgia, allegedly for practicing Satanism. Capping it all off with the day every doughnut shop eagerly awaits seems fitting.

Finally this week, Sentient Ruin and Argento Records announced they would jointly issue French black metal act Novae Militiae’s 2017 album Gash’khalah to vinyl and cassette. The digital release of infernal noise and throwback black metal fury came out last year. “Black Temple Consecration” is among the beauties of this release.

– EA