vendetta records

Initial Descent: February 24 – March 02, 2019

Josh1 Comment
pigs_blood_band
Pig’s Blood

Made it out of the mountains and not one Bigfoot to be found. Oh well, guess we’ll have to wait for the next hodgepodge video to surface so we can call bullshit on it. Anyway, I did exactly as I said and had one hell of a soundtrack for the weekend and this week is no different. Why you ask? Well, dear reader, we have treasures for you…

First up is Wisconsin’s Pig’s Blood with their second full length of war tattered death metal, A Flock Slaughtered, and if you thought their self titled debut was good (it was) this is going to blow your ears clean off your cranium. Next is Colombia’s Lucifera who wowed me with Preludio del Mal and its fierce take on blackened death with a slight lean towards thrash but on La Caceria De Brujas, their fourth effort, the band is at their deadliest – the vocals alone are enough to cause bodily harm and add in the d-beat touch? GOLD. Moving along: Fange, France’s answer to a nasty strain of sludge induced doom and death metal, return with Punir and this time they introduce a touch of noise and an industrious feel to the mix – Fange has been a favorite for awhile now and this album seals the deal. Last up top is yet another album, Heretical Sect, full of blackened death / doom from a reclusive bunch called Heretical Sect and again, go now and get it – multiple formats on multiple labels so do that and stop making excuses.

Much more below so don’t delay. Continue reading →

Initial Descent: June 17 – 23, 2018

ChrisLeave a comment
Khemmis
Khemmis – photo courtesy of Alvino Salcedo

With our fearless editor still banking massive quantities of cocktails on an undisclosed beach I am once again taking keyboard in hand to deliver your weekly dose of Initial Descent.  And there’s some killer tunes arriving on the solar wings of Summer, so let’s get to it.

Khemmis return with their particular blend of melodic doom with Desolation, and it doubles down on everything that worked on their previous albums, but with a slight tweak to engage a classic hard rock vibe. And hey, how about those harsh vocals?  If you’re into black metal then the rest of this paragraph is going to make you very, very happy because first off Unsettling Whispers, the debut LP from Gaerea is a gorgeous dark and brooding example of atmospheric black metal you just might be hearing a lot more about on an upcoming episode of the Nine Circles Audio Thing.  Next up Anicon return with Entropy Mantra, and I make no excuses: these guys have completely keyed into my love of modernizing traditional black metal since their Aphasia EP back in 2015.  The new album just rips with great drumming and blistering guitar lines.  Finally, Sweden’s Craft are back after seven long years with White Noise and Black Metal, and it’s a clarion call to all the crusty, old school black metal you love with just a hint of progression to show you these veterans can take the face off anyone around nowadays.

And that’s just a taste of what came out this week, so check out the list below and let us know in the comments what’s been whispering evil things to you in the dark.   Continue reading →

Album Review: Anicon – “Entropy Mantra”

Chris2 Comments

Anicon - Entropy Mantra

With one foot in tradition and another in exploration, Brooklyn’s Anicon have been steadily churning out some of the most engaging and ripping black metal in the past few years.  Never abandoning the tried and true foundations of the genre, each release has sought to fold a sense of adventure through melody, rhythm and counterpoint to create something that never fails to identify with with the genre while simultaneously push against it.  Entropy Mantra captures that sense in what feels like the band’s most realized album to date.   Continue reading →

Initial Descent: March 12 – 18, 2017

Josh1 Comment
Woe
Woe

I’m not going to ramble on this week because not only do we have some stellar music for you in the top four slots but we have plenty more in store beyond that. Oh and I’m heading out to the Atlanta Decibel Tour in a few short hours so expect some words on that in the coming days, should be epic. Stay tuned. Up first is Woe‘s incendiary Hope Attrition that basks in its ability to see the current state of affairs as they really are and calls for action instead of complacency, vicious black metal with a message. Next up, Fange return with their second full length Pourrissoir and somehow they’ve managed to retain all the nasty sludge qualities that made their debut so amazing but here they hone their song craft to a sharpened tip of extremity. Third up is legendary US death metallers Obituary with their tenth full length Obituary, and yes the band still has it after all these years and yes it will be a treat to see these guys tonight (had to throw that in there). Last but not least is Saille with their melodic yet epic black metal on Gnosis and if you’ve yet to experience this band now is as good a time as any, you won’t be disappointed. So there you have it with the top slots but there’s so much more to explore after the jump. Continue reading →

Album Review: Woe – “Hope Attrition”

Vincent4 Comments

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When we think about black metal it’s hard to forget all the times we’ve been disappointed by bands whose music we love but whose members we come to find out are piss-poor examples of humanity. While anti-fascist metal exists, it seems to be often drowned out by both right wing extremists and people who would prefer to keep politics out of metal entirely. The fact is, metal has always been a political vehicle, as all art forms have, and the time to be silent about the rise of intolerance in the world has long since passed. Enter New York’s Woe, who return with a scorching new album, Hope Attrition, as a rallying cry to those in the metal scene who would stand up for what is right.
Continue reading →