Is that it? Am I the last one? Dang. Again. Wait, maybe one more to come… Anyway, I guess I’ll start this off on my soapbox as always, by noting that I truly cannot comprehend where we are as a society. Well, I suppose I can, which is even more frustrating. If 2020 wasn’t a brutal enough year (not in a good way), 2021 seemed to serve as an appropriate encore. Seemingly everything we experience in life has been weaponized for political gain in one way or another, a global pandemic has been widely accepted as an endemic thanks, in part, to widespread misinformation, and, just as bluntly, climate disasters resulting from human activity are on the brink of running rampant for the duration of humanity’s remaining existence… however brief that may be. And those are just my three favorite, non-personal, items to discuss in our corner of the universe. It sucks, and I’m burnt out. Optimism has completely faded at this point, and I’m ready to run screaming into the woods. But hey, cheers to 2020, right?!
Continue readingkrigsgrav
Initial Descent: August 1 – 7, 2021
Ah yes, the glorious return to the real world. Zero sarcasm in that…or not. Definitely was a much needed break that went by way too fast, but here we are with another new release list that’s sure to strike an arc with everyone. And, it’ll give me the swift kick in the ass I need on my first day back to reality. Score. First up we’ve got the masters of bleak blackened doom, Krigsgrav, with yet another stunner, then we’ve got death metal from Decrepisy and a vinyl edition from Perilaxe Occlusion (both of which I highly recommend), then we’ve got an intense mix of noise, black metal, and grind from Vessel of Iniquity, and of course, a ton more to follow. Happy hunting.
Continue readingCANTO: Krigsgrav, Lacuna Coil, Hooded Menace, and More
Alright, let’s see if things normalize a bit this week. Not likely.
- I’m going to kick things off with a personal favorite. Krigsgrav, the blackened doom project out of Dallas, have revealed the first single from The Sundering, titled “The Sun No Longer Reaches Here”. And it is absolutely vicious. That album drops on August 6th through Wise Blood Records. Pre-order it here.
- And then we’ll jump over to Hooded Menace, who shared “Chime Diabolicus”, a new track taken from their upcoming new album, The Tritonus Bell. That one is set for an August 27th release through Season of Mist.
- Halestorm have added some summer and fall headlining and festival dates, which coincide with that massive tour with Evanescence. Those start in July and run into December. Get the full schedule, and tickets, here.
- Netherbird will release their sixth full-length album, titled Arete, on August 6th through Eisenwald (a label I’ve become a huge fan of recently). Check out the new track, “Towers of the Night” right here.
- We’ll close with Lacuna Coil, who released another new live track and video. This one is for “Veneficium”. That is, of course, taken from Live From The Apocalypse, which drops this coming Friday through Century Media.
“Ein Bier… bitte.”
– cmb
Interview: Justin Coleman of Krigsgrav on “Leave No Path to Follow,” Getting Personal, and Capturing Moments in Time
The singular beauty of Krigsgrav and their latest Leave No Path to Follow is how it updates the template of classic Peaceville doom and forges a deeply personal connection with the listener – no easy feat in this day and age of instant music access. It’s no secret how much we dug the album, but the constant evolution between albums and the choice to look inward with the new one had us curious to dig deeper, so we reached out to Justin Coleman (guitar, vocals) to give up the ghost on the making of the album and the path the band has and will continue to tread. Be sure to check out the new album with the embed contained within and turn it up loud as we get into the details. Continue reading
Album Review: Krigsgrav – “Leave No Path to Follow”
I could do a lot of poetic waxing here to set the mood for Leave No Path to Follow, the new album from Texas blackened doom merchants Krigsgrav, about how their mid-paced melancholic mix of metal was not only a chance to get some alliteration in this review, but also describes the thick atmosphere they bring to the table. I could mention the sterling cover of “Brave” from Katatonia’s Brave Murder Day and how that really stands as a touchstone for what the band can do. And I’ll probably talk about all that in greater detail in the main part of this review.
The clearest thing I can say about the album and band is this: I never heard of them before, got the promo, took a listen, and immediately went and bought the rest of the band’s discography. It’s called striking a nerve, and it struck all of mine. So let’s do this. Continue reading