When listening to the opening track “Dragon’s Tail” on Void Cruiser’s third album Call of the Void, two questions came to mind. The first is if this band was from Southern California? No, they’re from Finland. The second question is this a reissue of an album released in the mid 90s? The answer is also no. For some reason, Void Cruiser made an album that’s a throwback to 90s alt stadium rock. It’s not an unpleasant album but it is an unsurprising listen.
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Well. What a weekend that was.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
Welcome back to another edition of Embracing the Descent and another opportunity to catch some fire from this week’s incoming metal. Miss us last week? Rhetorical question, of course. Recap time: if it’s your first visit, we briefly discuss a handful of the current week’s new releases that stood out for whatever reason and maybe, from time to time, a week behind. We won’t be hitting everything because a 40 – 60 entry piece ain’t happening and who’s got that kind of time anyway. Let’s jump in and don’t forget to check out the full listing from Monday’s Initial Descent. Continue reading
Yep, here we are amongst best of 2016 list season and in true form these final weeks are looking to be list busters. But hey, on the bright side we have tons of great new metal just in time for the hectic shopping and traffic season. So, strap on a pair of headphones, get out there and brave it. Sweden’s black metallers Murg return with their second full length Gudatall which is as heavy on black metal aggression as it is on suffocating atmosphere, Grafvitnir offers scathing and utterly evil black metal on Obeisance to a Witch Moon, Call of the Void continue their amalgam of death, grind, punk and sludge metal on AYFKM (guess what that stands for), Black Cilice gives us yet another cold and blistering black metal release for the week on Nocturnal Mysticism, and Youdash bend time as well as all constraints of typical death metal thought patterns on their strikingly good debut Astrophobia. Stellar week here on Initial Descent and we still have more to go so continue the exploration, after the jump. Continue reading
Call of the Void is a relatively young band for as much as they have accomplished since forming. They signed a deal with Relapse Records before releasing their debut in 2013. Their records have been solid and reviewed positively across the board. They’ve toured extensively with awesome bands like Bleak and Inter Arma: making a reputation on fantastic and intense live shows. AYFKM is their first release since losing their vocalist after releasing Ageless in 2015. With their crushing live performance and praise-worthy studio releases, I had no worries about how the new release would be. Continue reading
Nine Circles 