Good morning, it’s time to metal. Here’s some news you might have missed from yesterday:
Well, we’ve made it to the eve of Easter. For you youngsters out there be mindful of time as it happens and seize the moment, you will get older and time will fly by so fast you’ll miss everything. Speaking of seizing the moment, there’s tons of great metal to enjoy this week so let’s get to it. Craven Idol lead us off with their second full length of blackened thrash, The Shackles of Mammon — full review and interview links are moments away and worth every second of your time to investigate. Next up is Vaiya with their mesmerizing take on atmospheric black metal and first proper full length Remnant Light. Moving on, Buckshot Facelift melt ears, faces and everything else within hearing distance with their heady mix of death metal, grindcore and powerviolence on Ulcer Island. Hexis show us how blackened hardcore violence is properly put to tape on Tando Ashanti, and old school thrashers Blood Feast are back with their first release in 28 years, The Future State of Wicked, and honestly you have no idea how much you’ve missed them until you hit play on this wicked good album, get it — trust me. As usual there’s much more in store to take up all your time so feel free to stay as long as you like and sample everything there is to offer, after the jump. Continue reading
“Atmosphere” in black metal can mean many different things. For Rob Allen, the driving force behind the Australian solo black metal entity known as Vaiya, that atmosphere took on multiple aspects: the sense of air and space in the acoustic and folk elements that made the bulk of two single track EPs, and the vacuum of that same air as each track evolved into a storm of swirling guitars and drums, trapped behind a membrane you could feel barely holding the back the maelstrom. On Vaiya’s first proper LP Remnant Light the air has been sucked out completely, leaving little behind except the suffocating black metal now free envelop and smother the listener in its frenzy. Continue reading
Here we are on April Fools Day and I got no jokes, no tricks and no BS. But I do have tons of metal so slap the first person that pulls some nonsense on you and tell them there’s no time to waste. The metals are waiting. Leading off are the black/folk metal phenoms Falls of Rauros with their fourth album Vigilance Perennial and honestly if you’ve never heard them let this be your call to get on that, QUICKLY (see below). Next up is Coldfell with their debut Coldfell which blurs the lines of black and doom metal extremely well and so much so you’ll have a hard time distinguishing between the two. Marching on, Mastodon release their seventh full length Emperor of Sand and for any of you with doubts rest assured there’s a pleasant surprise in store. And Our Season Draws Near from 1476 rounds out the top four slots in style with their exceptional mixture of post black metal, folk, ambient and punk — that’s a mouthful for sure but trust me when I say it works beautifully. If you’ve been following along you know what’s next, for those just visiting for the first time thank you but we’re not done, much more to follow right after the jump. Continue reading
For over a decade Falls of Rauros have taken the folk/black metal template and subtly expanded its scope to encompass a number of musical styles all while maintaining a singular vision. New album Vigilance Perennial feels like the culmination of this musical exploration: a deep, layered tapestry of melody and aggression that isn’t afraid to rely on the strength of its quieter moments to complement the harsher passages. Nine Circles took the time to talk with founding member Aaron Charles about the band’s history, approach to writing, as well as where and how they fit into the black/folk metal tag. Check it out after the jump. Continue reading
