Armchair rhetoric on extreme metal
A life in death metal 1987-1997 By David E. Gehlke Death metal was rock’s first truly underground cultural artefact. One only has to look at the way it crumbled and fragmented whenever it sniffed the bright lights and fanfare of “mainstream” attention. Look at heavy metal by contrast. Perfectly comfortable with a little big budget... Continue Reading →
Skognatt: AndromedaOut 6th September, self-released Synths, arpeggios, drum programming, the futurist starter pack melded with a batch of traditionalist black metal riffing and vocalisations binds together this new space themed direction for Germany’s Skognatt. Berlin school ambient and drone modernism meets an undercurrent of antiquarian lamentation as the cold naturalism extends its outlook upwards. Skognatt’s... Continue Reading →
Some of our regulars have a casual chat about Floridian death metal to ease us into triple figures and a new era for Necropolis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxoN4q56Aow
Children of the MorgueOut 30th August on Hells Headbangers Ah Deceased, on paper such a straightforward prospect, in practice anything but. One of death metal’s formative recruits in the late 80s, but outside the orbit of the fledging scene’s major hubs, their name never garnered the same cachet as their peers to the South and... Continue Reading →
Tried to do a positive video on metal…didn’t work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYbWTdtcu2E&t=2360s
Aeon Winds: AeonOut 10th August on ATMF Remix of debut demo from this Slovakian symphonic black metal outfit, originally released in 2010. Whilst comparisons to Limbonic Art may be apt, Gnipahålan is the more fitting contemporary reference point. An aggressively compressed mix, one dreads to think how many tracks went into crafting this monolith of... Continue Reading →
Desultory: Darkness Falls (The Early Years)Out 30th April on Darkness Shall Rise Productions Blueprint for the formation of Swedish melodic death metal as a direct descendent of late 80s thrash, specifically the Kreator school. This collection of early material from Desultory (much like the recent Unleashed collection) is instructive in the evolution of European death... Continue Reading →
To celebrate our 100th episode, we sink some beers and chat gatekeeping. We hope you get no enjoyment from this whatsoever. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgbFFe03shc
Observances of the Apophatic OrdealOut 28th April, self-released Cathedralist black metal at the intersection of funeral doom, Italy’s Sacrilegious Crown carry the flame lit by Elysian Blaze, and to a lesser extent Les Legions Noire, into a newer, more melodically focused era. Atmosphere is still the dominant ethos, but here it takes on an antagonistic... Continue Reading →
The restored, expanded, and definitive edition By Dayal Patterson The study of history serves the needs of the present. New agendas lead to new interpretations of old facts. New theoretical frameworks reappropriate the meaning behind key events and source materials. Despite being a pre-digital phenomenon, the history of black metal has largely been written in... Continue Reading →
Hate Meditations 