Death Fortress - Reign of the Unending

By Bryan Camphire. Reign of the Unending. It's a fitting title for a record released just before the fall of Fallen Empire Records, as the label prepares to lock up its gates. The venerable label's influence is indeed unending, and Death Fortress is a band best equipped to exhibit this fact

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Raul Gonzalez.

Reign of the Unending. It's a fitting title for a record released just before the fall of Fallen Empire Records, as the label prepares to lock up its gates. The venerable label's influence is indeed unending, and Death Fortress is a band best equipped to exhibit this fact, as they have been releasing uncompromising music via Fallen Empire throughout the label's seven year history.

Death Fortress make records that sound like the band is playing live in your living room. It's a ferocious sound they've cultivated with heaping measures of muscle and teeth. In an era rampant with over-produced recordings, it's refreshing to hear a set as raw and powerful as this. To my ears, Death Fortress blends the bombast of Bleach-era Nirvana with the blasphemous bent of Belketre.

The human touch to this performance imbues the music with grit and gristle. The drumming is jaw dropping. This has been the case on all of the band's records and the clip is maintained throughout on this release. The vocals are another source of intrigue. Guttural howls are interspersed with hellish cries. These elements combined with gain-heavy guitars and low slung bass lines produce a high voltage of intensity to leave a lasting impression on the listener.

"Nearer to Purity" is a highlight. The momentum this track kicks up and the tension it creates is like experiencing a helicopter crash in a blizzard and living to tell the tale. Half of the tunes on this release have mid-tempo breakdowns. It's these moments that all at once provide reprieve and serve to strengthen the songs' potency. The music gets ratcheted up in these slow sections like a measured ascent that precedes a free fall. It's a sensation you can feel in your chest, and Death Fortress orchestrates the experience with mastery.

On Reign of the Unending, each song title on is concerned with power, and this theme is reflected in the energy of the playing. There isn't an ambient interlude to be found throughout the thirty-eight minute run time of this set. It's all blood and guts. The ferocity on display here lends the music its escalated heartbeat, which cuts a stark path through unforgiving landscapes. Death Fortress brings feverish heat to desolate atmospheres, which are richly realized on this release.

Farewell to Fallen Empire

By Justin C. Fallen Empire has announced that they plan to stop releasing new music by the end of this year or early 2019. The label has long been a source of some of the most mysterious and outre metal out there. Focusing on primarily black metal and black metal-adjacent sounds

By Justin C.

Fallen Empire has announced that they plan to stop releasing new music by the end of 2018. The label has long been a source of some of the most mysterious and outre metal out there. Focusing on primarily black metal and black metal-adjacent sounds, Fallen Empire has been a beacon of no-fucks-given releases. Albums appeared with little promotion or forewarning, and information on the artists has been mostly scant. For all I know, some of these releases have been made by particularly kvlt cats, perhaps by my own corpse paint kitty.

Marshall.

A look at our archives shows that we’ve been fans for a while, but as a final tribute, I wanted to talk about three recent releases that will in all likelihood be some of the last music that Fallen Empire puts out.


Arkhtinn’s latest album, 最初の災害, which Google translate tells me means “First Disaster” in Japanese, is an interesting case. They call this their debut, although they’ve put out at least six releases before. That said, this is the first album of theirs that I’ve really gotten into, so maybe their choice to call this a debut isn’t an arbitrary distinction.

On the album's two 20+ minute tracks, Arkhtinn uses sheets of black metal sound. Electronic storms start the first track, before layers and layers of more traditional black metal sounds wash over you. Screeches fight their way to the surface. But as dense and impenetrable as this can sound, there’s a strong melodic line as well. The second track is a bit different--here the band keeps their signature sound, but plays with different levels of complexity vs. directness. The track occasionally drops down to simpler, chugging riffs, and even a mournful piano/synth/organ passage, before spiraling off again into even higher levels of intensity and pure old meanness. I’ve liked parts of their previous releases, but I think this track is really what finally sold me on this band.

Cover art by Adam Burke.

Andeis’s Servants of the Cold Night is apparently the work of two individuals, referred to as Laignech and Verwoesting, and their Bandcamp page says that the project has been in development from 1999 to 2016. Yes, that’s a full 17 years. It’s anyone’s guess as to why the gestation period was that long, but I’m glad it finally saw the light of day before Fallen Empire went away.

Andeis also falls squarely into the lo-fi black metal category--Fallen Empire’s bread and butter--but unlike Arkhtinn, their music is a more direct, stomping affair. But that doesn’t mean simple. Under the dirt and grime, there’s a distinct, gothy tinge to the music. For example, there are some chant/moan-like vocals in “Wintrus hailagaizos aggwiþos,” followed up by some old school, horror movie-style organ. What could be lost in a sea of other similarly styled bands jumped out at me as something with an interesting twist.

Artwork by Karmazid.

I had the feeling Krukh would be a special release, because it’s yet another one of Markov Soroka’s projects. I’ve reviewed his work before, including his barely-there black metal space project Aureole and the meatier, blackened death of Tchornobog. This first album by Krukh, titled Безглуздість! (which appears to roughly translate to “Absurdity!”), fits somewhere between the two.

If you’ve spent any time with Soroka’s other work, it’s easy to recognize his stylistic touches on this. The first track features an addictive push-pull dynamic between two rhythmic figures while Soroka uses more of a “bellowing/hollering” approach to vocals than what we typically expect from black metal. The album largely deals in mid- to fast-paced black metal with a heavy emphasis on melody, but I also initially got a strong sense of what I’d describe as extreme emotional frustration mixed with sadness permeating these tracks--a sense that’s reinforced by track titles like “Thoughtlessness,” “Lost,” and “Grief.” “Lost” hammers this point home by pitting a lonely guitar against sounds of rain, and the final track offers contemplative acoustic guitar that fades into silence. The band themselves describe the album as being about the struggles immigrants to the U.S. face, which of course is a particularly fraught topic right now, making the range of emotions that comes through the music even more powerful. It’s possible I’ve just become a Soroka fanboy, but I’m continually impressed with the range and quality of the music he’s put out, and it’s a fitting release for the last batch of Fallen Empire records we’ll probably ever hear.

Tchornobog - Tchornobog

By Justin C. Markov Soroka gave me a challenge two-and-a-half years ago, namely how to write about his Aureole project. The debut album, Lunar Citadel, is an elusive, space-based journey through ambient/atmospheric black metal soundscapes

By Justin C.

Markov Soroka gave me a challenge two-and-a-half years ago, namely how to write about his Aureole project. The debut album, Alunar, is an elusive, space-based journey through ambient/atmospheric black metal soundscapes, and as much as I liked it, its ethereal qualities made it difficult to put into words why I liked it so much.

Artwork by Adam Burke.

Now, after a long gestation process, we have the debut of another Soroka project, Tchornobog. On its face, the self-titled Tchornobog album seems like something more tangible to sink our ear-teeth into. The first track, "The Vomiting Tchornobog," starts immediately with a blackened death fury, with mysterious-sounding roars and frantic guitars and rhythm--solid meat and potatoes stuff. But before we're done with this nearly 20-minute-long track, tempos slow to doomier sounds, harsh brass sounds you might expect from hell's own marching band blare through, and at some points, the music almost slows to a crawl.

The question, of course, is this the hallmark of an incoherent mess or some larger plan? Although at some points I thought a little could have been trimmed from the longer tracks on this album (the four tracks clock in at over an hour), I've finally landed firmly into the "larger plan" camp. The fascinating thing about Tchornobog is that, in spite of being generally heavier than Aureole, it also possesses an elusive quality to it, some slippery bit that's hard to put your finger on, but makes you want to listen more. I've given it many listens since I got my grubby hands on the promo, and it still both fascinates me and, at times, eludes my attempts to pin it down in words.

Artwork by Adam Burke.

About that title: Tchornobog refers to a Slavic "black god" with many spellings and seemingly only speculation about how this particular god was viewed or understood. Reading the lyrics at a surface level, one might be convinced that Soroka just wanted to take a break from metal's Cthulhu worship and do something a little different, but his stated intentions describe the use of Tchornobog in more of a metaphorical context, including "a testament to those with severe illness and a nod to those of a religious related coping mechanism for the fear of death"

That said, I'm always hesitant to try to impose my own understandings on other people's lyrics, so I'll shift focus to the music itself. "The Vomiting Tchornobog" will give you a general idea of what's to come in the album (although the vomiting sound effects at the end of the track don't seem to recur), but I think the crown jewel of this album is the third track, "Non-existence's Warmth." The track opens with buzzing cellos and minimal percussion opening up to a descending guitar riff that's both eerie and melancholy at the same time. More quiet, clean guitars add to the song's strong melodic sense, and before the whole thing's done, we're treated to some saxophone playing (tenor, unless my ear betrays me), heavy riffs that manage to be both majestic and meditative at the same time. There's even more to unpack before the heavier fare kicks back in much later in the song. It's a monument.

I've known about this album for a while, impatiently waiting as it's struggled to make its way to the light of day, so there was certainly a danger of the album failing to live up to extended anticipation built up in my own head. I'm happy to say that it exceeded my hopes anyway.

Death Fortress - Triumph of the Undying

By Bryan Camphire. Death Fortress churns out malicious bone-crunching black metal. They make music with a vengeance, unhinged and foaming at the mouth. It's the sound of a horde of hell hounds rabidly chasing your

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Raul Gonzalez.

Death Fortress churns out malicious bone-crunching black metal. They make music with a vengeance, unhinged and foaming at the mouth. It's the sound of a horde of hell hounds rabidly chasing your sinful soul toward irrevocable damnation.

On Triumph of the Undying, the tone is evil and punishing. The minor key melodies are full of menace. The serrated guitars mirror the hoarfrosted hellscapes depicted on the cover art. The low slung bass is like ten tons of blue-green undulating sludge. And the drums ...the drums ...the drums. Shawn Eldridge plays like a man possessed, like he's tirelessly trying to turn the kit inside out as he attacks it with every ounce of his being.

Death Fortress spread destruction with the voracity of a hungry wildfire. The songs careen forwards at breakneck speed, consuming all and sundry with heinous jagged tongues. Now and then the music slows to half-time, presenting the full extent of the scorched remains like a helicopter surveying acres upon acres of ashen death.

Deathless March of the Unyielding, the previous long player by Death Fortress, was one of the sickest releases of last year. Triumph of the Undying is leaner and meaner without losing any of the quality we have come to expect from this band. It's a short set: six songs clock in at just about thirty minutes flat. Once again, Death Fortress have delivered another masterful set of uncompromising black metal, full to the brim with grit and gristle.

Skáphe - Untitled

By Bryan Camphire. Kill the lights. Cover the windows. Light a candle. Skáphe have delivered another harrowing seance. In "VII", the untitled release’s single twenty-two minute song, the band maintains their reputation as

By Bryan Camphire.


Kill the lights. Cover the windows. Light a candle. Skáphe have delivered another harrowing seance. In "VII", the release’s single twenty-two minute song, the band maintains their reputation as one of the strangest acts active in extreme metal. Forging metal of dissonance and dismay along the lines of today’s weirdest and most twisted acts. If one were dubbing this track onto cassette, a work that would compliment it nicely for a B side would be The Marrow Veil EP by Howls of Ebb. The guitar playing is wildly original and pointedly chaotic. More notes seem to be bent than not, which sends the music headlong into oblivion. The entire song feels very deliberately off kilter. The drums sound like they are being played backwards during the faster sections, as though they have eclipsed time and space and are operating in some kind of shadow dimension. It gives the listener the feeling of being re-introduced to reality through a distorted perspective after having sustained a serious head injury. In fact, it has been said that this music was inspired by experiences taking psilocybin mushrooms. Once upon a time, I ingested mushrooms that were much too strong for my constitution. I ended up in the fetal position on a dingy cot in a filthy overcrowded hovel. I distinctly remember the overwhelming inconsolable fear that my sanity was lost, never to return. Time was condensed into diamond-like densities. Lifetimes - even aeons - seemed to pass in the span of an hour. Reality was a tightrope I had fallen from, careening downwards, flailing towards a bottomless abyss. With so much stoner metal populating the rank and file of heavy metal music, it is refreshing to encounter metal that is hallucinatory. Impressions of being on the edge of madness come to mind when listening to this outstanding work.

The cut above: a look back at 2016 part 2

By Bryan Camphire. Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love, the 2016 album by Polish black metal horde Cultes des Ghoules, has five songs and clocks in at one hour and thirty-eight minutes. To refer to this record as epic is no cheap use of hyperbole. The songs are dynamic and feature frequent change ups.

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Mar.A.

Coven, or Evil Ways Instead of Love, the 2016 album by Polish black metal horde Cultes des Ghoules, has five songs and clocks in at one hour and thirty-eight minutes. To refer to this record as epic is no cheap use of hyperbole. The songs are dynamic and feature frequent change ups. The bass is particularly prominent, and there are even occasional drum and bass breaks, a feature that feels almost more punk rock than it does black metal. This music is raw. The production feels like it is going for as close to a live sound as possible. The effect is to give the feeling of being in the room with this evil coven of sadistic Satanic musicians, witnessing their heresy live as it happens. The singer of this group is known as Mark of the Devil (Is his given name Mark? One wonders... because that would be pretty clever...). To me, he has every bit as much character and originality as Ozzy Osbourne brought to the genre of metal some forty-five years ago. Mark of the Devil cackles, croons, chants, grunts, growls, screams, whispers and sermonizes with extreme gusto. He does his job with a depth and thoroughness the likes of which I haven't heard equaled among other hordes of blasphemers. This man truly sounds like a evangelist for Satan preaching from an altar top adorned with a prostrate virgin oozing blood from every pore. Highly recommended devilry.

Artwork by Trine + Kim Design Studio.

Virus are among the stranger acts making heavy music at present. In fact, their guitar work is predominantly clean, so it is difficult to even categorize the music they make as metal. The devil being in the details, it’s in the group’s sinister use of harmony where the real mischief lies. Put another way, if one were to take the work of Virus transcribed as sheet music and feed it into a synthesizer, no matter what patch one might try to apply (How does this music sound transposed for brass instruments? Or, how might this sound if played on an accordion?), the result would sound much more menacing than most metal music on the market today. This group has been perfecting their craft for decades, and it shows in the strength of their songwriting. This music exists in a delirium entirely of its own.

Cover Art by Raul Gonzalez.

Here we have the genuine article in contemporary American black metal. We take a look at the front cover of this record and we see cold deep blues and blacks everywhere, lightning striking, storms raging, swirling mystical mists, craggy pathways leading downward toward perdition laden with stalactites dripping dreary deathless doom. At the center of all of this is Death Fortress. What secret lies beyond those dark castle walls? How does this horde reign supreme in the realms of the Unyielding? The magic is in the breakdowns. I’m talking about those sections of music where the band plays in half time. The drummer smacks the bell of the ride so hard it sounds like broadswords clashing. The listener pumps her fists and thinks it might just be time to go burn down a church. Listening closely to the tempo changes on this album, one marvels at the rhythm section’s deft balance of tempo changes.

The first track, "Enthroning the Oppressor," goes full tilt for four full minutes of blistering blast beats until that breakdown finally comes in glorious half-time. In the next track, "The Erasure Of Species", Death Fortress seems to sense the lust for blood in the audience, and the breakdown comes forth right at the two minute marker. One can feel the boots stomping along to this deathless march. Then along comes "Mercyless Deluge", and the band careens forth until just one minute and twenty seconds before a riff is played in half time… only to reveal itself as just a fraction of a larger phrase, which speeds up and then slows back down and then speeds back up again, like some unearthly carriage racing around corners driven by mad rabid beasts unyielding in their drive towards the beyond. "Scourge of Aeons", the fourth track, speeds along unremittingly throughout its entire length.

This is where things start to get interesting into the record’s B side. This is where the breakdowns turn into dirges. Track five, "Power Beyond the Stars," plays it’s first minute and a half slowly, really letting the bass come to the fore, and the band just builds and builds from there, upping the tension more and more. "Trail of Graves", the penultimate track, starts fast before devoting its entire last half to an evil menacing dirge. The last track is the record’s title track, clocks in at ten and a half minutes, with drums changing all over the place - which, by the way, is becoming something of a trademark style of Shawn Eldridge, the same drummer of Ruinous, who plays like an undead hellspawn. Get this record already, now that I’ve broken down nearly every breakdown for you. "Enthroning the Oppressor" will never feel so good outside the confines of the unholy Death Fortress.

[Check out Bryan's playing in Bloody Panda and Traducer]

Short and to the point 7

By Aaron Sullivan. As people who know me know, Death Metal is one of the genres I just can never really get into with the exception of a few bands and albums here and there. But, add some DOOM and you’ll get my attention. Hands of Thieves album Feasting on Dark Intentions does just that and it got my attention.

By Aaron Sullivan.

Artwork by Jason Graham

As people who know me know, Death Metal is one of the genres I just can never really get into with the exception of a few bands and albums here and there. But, add some DOOM and you’ll get my attention. Hands of Thieves' album Feasting on Dark Intentions does just that and it got my attention.

Chunky riffage and a grittiness are big part of their sound. Vocals are mix of gurgling screeches and deep growls. The atmosphere is dark and primitive sounding, and there is a huge low end to their riffage. At times elements of Black Metal creep in as well. With only four songs they do so much and show a ton of promise.

Originally released by Transylvanian Tapes on cassette Feasting on Dark Intentions is now being released by Baneful Genesis on limited vinyl, so make sure and get you one!

The great thing about year end lists is finding the stuff you missed especially in genres you're not that familiar with. Deathrock is for sure of those genres. Thanks to Cvlt Nation's top ten list I found out about one such band right in my backyard. Los Angeles's own The Wraith and there EP Shadow Flag.

With the opening of "Comatic Romance" I was hooked. The driving bass line. The hoarse pucky vocals and gothy guitar sound. Reminded me of "The Hunt" from New Model Army (a song made famous to most metal fans by Sepultura). The rest of the EP follows along those same lines. Fans of Killing Joke and Samhain would dig this. While Shadow Flag may borrow heavily from that 80’s deathrock sound it still feels very fresh. Hope to catch these guys live soon.

Artwork by View from the Coffin

From Sacramento California comes Vrtra and their album My Bones Hold a Stillness. An album that is based in Black Metal with hints of DOOM, Death, and Post-Black Metal to spice things up. All done with such fluidity the transitions are seamless.

The sound is huge! Guitars and Drums right in your face with vocals mixed in the middle. There is an epicness to the three tracks. The songs have weight. Vocals feel as though they are devouring everything in their way. They can shift from these beautiful middle sections to pummeling blast beats of destruction to drive the song home.

You ever hear an album and while you’re not sure what the hell is going on, you also know you can’t stop listening to it? That’s was the case with 夢遊病者’s album 5772. According to google translate 夢遊病者 is Japanese for Sleepwalker. Aptly titled as their music can feel like a mix of beautiful fantasies and a fever dream.

What is their genre you say? Might be easier to tell you what genre they don’t play. Experimental would be the easiest and bit of an understatement. There are elements of Black Metal, Krautrock, Shoegaze, and Ambient all mixed perfectly. Done in a way that captivates the listener because you're never quite sure where they may go next. Vocals are ghost like. Breathy and low in the mix almost whispered. This is an album done by people that have thrown out the rules and forged their own path. Just a great listen. Even it you don’t find it to be something you want to hear again, I doubt you'll be mad if you hear 5772 at least once. And I’m certain you won’t hear much else like it.

There are those labels that when they announce the release of an album, just based on their track record you know you are going to check it out - and most likely give them your money. Fallen Empire has been a label like that for me for some time, and when they announced the release of Tardigrada’s latest album of Atmospheric Black Metal, Emotionale Ödnis, I was interested.

The album setup is 5 songs with a short instrumental intro before each of them. It’s a formula that works. The intros are soft and light, before the songs kick in with their epic feel and melancholic atmospheres. Vocals are high pitched wails like those found in DSBM. But despite the sadness of the music there is a still a bit of light in each song. Like moonlight shining through dark clouds. Things never get too flashy or technical and Tardigrada are not doing anything unheard of before. But Emotionale Ödnis is a solid album from start to finish, as I have come to expect from Fallen Empire releases.

Skáphe - Skáphe²

By Kaptain Carbon. When approached to review Skáphe’s second full length, I was ecstatic. To begin, 2014 was the year I started skipping down the harrowing path of the Fallen Empire label. Through much of my indulgent sampling, I quickly

By Kaptain Carbon.

Artwork by H.V Lyngdal

When approached to review Skáphe’s second full length, I was ecstatic. To begin, 2014 was the year I started skipping down the harrowing path of the Fallen Empire label. Through much of my indulgent sampling, I quickly became aware of a variety of bands and releases that had little to no information about them, save for some weird pictures and frightening music. Skáphe’s 2014 self titled debut was a dizzying effort that towered over other releases of that year, leading me to use the terms “suffocating” and “vertigo” in the most affectionate way possible. Two years later, I am scrambling to find other adjectives to describe Skáphe², which for all intents and purposes, may be the full realization of this band and their descent upon the world.

Similar to many contemporary black metal bands, and even a theme among many Fallen Empire artists, Skáphe² adopts the numerical system in terms of titling songs. This is different than their debut, as Skáphe had actual, albeit cryptic, song titles. The numeric titling system fits with not only Skáphe’s music but most of black metal, which strives for a sense of anonymity. Skáphe is not as anonymous as other Fallen Empire bands with clear connections between acts Misþyrming and Chaos Moon, yet their music begs for deprivation in identification. When fully subjecting yourself to themes of abandonment, devastation, and gleeful pandemonium, it is more exciting to not know the name of your assailants. This followup to their 2014 debut follows these trending themes, however, as where breathless death once existed before there is now a deluge of experimentation and frantic skirmishes.

It is difficult sometimes to explain how qualities like chaos, madness, and debilitating glee can be entertaining. The 6 tracks on Skáphe² roll by with no real clear beginning or ending between each makes the whole affair maddening and exhilarating. “I” begins as if it was a transition from another song, quickly rolling the listener into a skirmish with an invisible foe. The spaces between songs that are there are merely just pauses for breath before the next punch to the throat, and you enter a space where seemingly uncomfortable qualities of music become positives. The highlight of Skáphe² comes with its 8 minute “climax” as a slow wander up a downtempo mountain, which borders on drone and atmospheric nothingness before descending into the foreseeable briar patch of insanity.

For all intents and purposes, Skáphe² is listed as black metal, though when listening to their two albums, the lines become blurred as to what qualifies it as such. There are instances of blast beats, harsh vocals, and atmosphere indicative of black metal, however Skáphe sees the need to take those elements and run them through in a random order, possibly backwards. The intended effect is a sense of vertigo that does not stop at physical discomfort, rather an existential one. If one enjoyed the looseness of Misþyrming’s Söngvar elds og óreiðu and the abandonment of Chaos Moon’s Resurrection Extract, then Skáphe² is going to be a grand walk in the park and by park I mean hellish craggy landscape.

Sometimes people talk abut what heavy metal will sound like in the future and what the next breakthrough will sound like. I am not implying that Skáphe is the future of metal, rather whatever will come and break expectations in heavy metal will probably not sound like things before, and will perhaps sound terrifying in a genre of already scary tones. I feel Skáphe is skipping down that harrowing path and darkness is beginning to close in. If begged for one simple adjective to describe Skáphe², it would be chaotic. If allowed more of an elaboration, it would be formations of systems and organizations within that chaos that are even more terrifying than lawless order. If pushed even further it would be a deviant sense of fascination as that chaos formed a wave to rise up and engulf oneself whole.

Misþyrming - Söngvar elds og óreiðu

By Calen Henry. Misþyrming (Misthyrming) was apparently a one-man black metal project in Iceland for a few years before mustering members and releasing a full length album.

By Calen Henry.


Misþyrming (Misthyrming) was apparently a one-man black metal project in Iceland for a few years before mustering members and releasing a full length album. That album, Söngvar elds og óreiðu suddenly appeared as the most popular album under “black metal” on Bandcamp with little buzz surrounding it and it’s an early album of the year contender.

The band mixes a core of swirling frostbitten black metal with almost every other conceivable style of black metal in a remarkably cohesive “kitchen sink” approach. Misthyrming swirl their way through icy blasts, slow thrashy riffs, weird Imperial Triumphant style bent riffs, ambient passages, jangly Polish style riffs reminiscent of Mgla and Nocel, and even a few dirge-like passages of blackened doom.

The skill with which they weave these styles into a cohesive whole is breathtaking. Almost every song shows a different style (sometimes two or three) but the result sounds like an album, not a collection of songs, or an assortment of (killer) riffs. Even with the stylistic acrobatics they've crafted an album that showcases the essence of great black metal. It’s adventurous without meandering, chaotic without being out of control. The result is a sound and feeling that early pioneers’ work can’t evoke for those of us who've grown accustomed to clarity and studio production quality.

There are a couple of points that hold the album back from pure brilliance. One or two of the riffs sound like “black metal chord voicings 101”, and the dynamically compressed mix sounds a bit claustrophobic. That may be intentional but a more open mix would have showcased the shapeshifting black metal assault and otherwise excellent production.

None of that really takes away from the overall quality of the album. There is no other band quite like Misthyrming; Söngvar elds og óreiðu is an extremely impressive debut that is especially worth checking out given that it’s Pay What You Want.

Mad Max's Wheels of Steel #2

Written by Maxim Björky.

Wheels of Steel is back for another go ‘round; this time taking up the thrashier, grimier side of things. I’m going to try to throw a couple of newer things into this cocktail of an article along with one release that brings up the rear by a year or two. Then again, committing to formulas is what kills careers, substantive ones like those we herald in our favorite bands, so this will probably change. I’m hoping the rich coffers of tunage I empty at your feet will be enough to help you ignore my sleep-deprived typos and run on sentences.


So, I have a confession to make – I don’t really like Municipal Waste. I listen to every release and react positively towards it but it just doesn't give me that feeling that crossover once did. There was a time when I would sing the praises of bands like All Out War and thought military style caps were acceptable (those were dark times). I don’t plan on living in a cave any time soon, so I need this kind of gas-guzzling degeneracy to get the engine revving and boy does Bat deliver.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Artwork by Astral Body Horror

I believe this one has graced the pages of Metal Bandcamp once before but with a 2014 full-length on Fallen Empire Records evidently in the cards, seems like a good time to remind folks that these dudes exist. To say that Arnaut Pavle sounds like Darkthrone is like saying, “Beatles influenced band now on tour,” when talking about Oasis. A few of these tracks sound like B-sides from A Blaze in the Northern Sky – stompy, crunchy, gravediggin’ riffs thrown together without much of a regard for subtlety. Then, of course, you’ll hit that clever moment when they seamlessly shift gears from Darkthrone to….Darkthrone, this time conjuring up the graveyard kegger vibes of F.O.A.D.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

One of the best releases of the year – glammed up and still somehow raw and snotty. The bands other work was unfocused and its lo-fi songwriting was stripped naked with the kind of overproduction that made it so you could hear every little defect. It just wasn’t working. Now, these guys have four high-flying songs that fuse the nastiness of WASP with the party rock of Turbonegro. It’s just slightly unrefined enough to get the point across and still allow you to hear every instrument. Highly recommended!

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Until next time.

Focus on Fallen Empire Records

By Dave Schalek.

By Dave Schalek.

Fallen Empire Records plays a very smart marketing game. Besides capturing a portion of the cassette and vinyl release market, the New Jersey-based label has established a strong presence on Bandcamp. Here’s a quick look at two recent releases.

Artwork by H.V Lyngdal

The phrase “asphyxiating black metal” is used to describe this outfit, an apt description as Skáphe are a swirling miasma of raw guitars, off kilter tempo changes, screeched vocals, and horrid atmosphere. The music takes on a suffocating air, but Skáphe are at their best when they downshift into eerie bass lines and other quiet moments. Comparisons to the now defunct Necrite come to mind, as well as to Pale Chalice and a few other similar bands. Very little information about Skáphe could be gleaned from my cursory research other than the band is from the United States.




A black metal trio from Québec, Eos first gained exposure on the monstrous Svn Okklt cassette sampler in 2013. Like many acts from Québec, Eos play raw black metal with plenty of atmospherics on L'Avalé, officially labeled as a three-song demo. Limited to only 150 copies, your best bet in hearing this release from Eos is on Bandcamp. Two of the songs are new with “Katharsis,” the middle track, having previously appeared on the Svn Okklt sampler. The new songs are a bit different from “Katharsis” with a greater concentration upon slow atmospherics. The production values are slightly different, as well, possibly indicating that the songs were recorded at different times. Regardless, though, L'Avalé is an intriguing release.

Arnaut Pavle - Arnaut Pavle

By Dave Schalek. Portland, Oregon label and distro extraordinaire Fallen Empire Records is extremely generous on Bandcamp, asking customers to name their price for most, if not all, of the releases and re-releases from the label.

By Dave Schalek.

Artwork by Astral Body Horror

Portland, Oregon label and distro extraordinaire Fallen Empire Records is extremely generous on Bandcamp, asking customers to name their price for most, if not all, of the releases and re-releases from the label. Not only that, but Fallen Empire Records has its collective ear finely tuned to the underground, mining the analog waters for some truly excellent releases, mostly of the black metal variety.

One of Fallen Empire’s most recent finds is Arnaut Pavle, a mysterious Finnish outfit who will be releasing their debut full-length in 2014. While we wait for that, Fallen Empire treats us to a re-release of their previously released (and sold out) demo from earlier this year. Arnaut Pavle play sloppy, messy low-fi black metal that comes off as a collision between early Gorgoroth and d-beat fueled latter day Darkthrone. The whole glorious mess is very rough, in your face, and definitely a bastard child of the analog era.

Fallen Empire’s specialty, at least on Bandcamp, is providing high quality digital releases of material that would only otherwise be available on vinyl and/ or cassette formats. You can’t go wrong by jumping on board Fallen Empire Records with the debut from Arnaut Pavle.

Label spotlight: Fallen Empire Records

Fallen Empire Records is a small label from New Jersey USA, dedicated to releasing black metal on cassette and vinyl. Fallen Empire Records have no need for a label sampler, as all releases on their Bandcamp is available as free downloads. It functions as the try before you buy section of their webshop. Recently Fallen Empires added a slew of new releases, below are my short notes on two of them; two very different takes on underground black metal.

Death Fortress - Pulling Ancient Stone. Unforgiving black metal. Interesting mix of screams and growls for the vocals. Both pummeling and melodic. Production is in your face, your hear the hiss of electricity, the hum of the amplifiers, and every raw crunch of the guitars.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Kaxan Suum. Selftitled compilation of their two previously recorded works. Part of the Black Twilight Circle. While still pretty raw, this is much more abstract black metal. First track is a little too guitar droney for me, the second (featured below) is an black metal epic, that effortlessly combines ambient parts, noise freakouts, heavy riffing, and almost progressive chord progressions. Amazing. Now go to the Bandcamp to download this.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Desolate Winds - In Times of Cold

Desolate Winds - In Times of Cold is available on the Fallen Empire Records Bandcamp. This is two long tracks of plodding atmospheric black metal, meant to represent the cold, harsh winters of Cumbria. The icy tremolo picking, the distant screams and the slow death march of the drums does conjure up images of solemn winter landscapes. This is not original, many bands does the atmospheric black metal thing, but Desolate Winds manages to create real atmosphere.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]