Vigor Reconstruct: A Benefit For The Soroka Family

Here at Metal Bandcamp we have been fans of Markov Soroka's many projects for years. Like Drown, Aureole, Krukh, and of course the mighty Tchornobog. This, though, is not a celebration of another new release from Markov, it's a benefit compilation with a sad background:

Artwork by Calvin Cushman

Here at Metal Bandcamp we have been fans of Markov Soroka's many projects for years. Like Drown, Aureole, Krukh, and of course the mighty Tchornobog. This, though, is not a celebration of another new release from Markov, it's a benefit compilation with a sad background:

Markov Soroka's father suffered a severe heart attack earlier this summer and, though he survived, was left without a job nor insurance in the wake of such tumult. Now the Soroka family faces at least $66,000 in medical bills. It is our hope that this compilation, featuring some of the very best of the metal (and beyond) underground, will help ameliorate some of the financial woes which they face.

Musically there's much to enjoy here (Mare Cognitum tearing through "Cosmic Keys to My Creations & Times"? Yes, please). The fantastic King's X cover by Panopticon led me to rediscover a band I had forgotten all about (I'm currently deep down a King's X Youtube rabbit hole). For another look back at good times, here's a couple of candid Tchernobog merch actions shots from when they played (remember live music?) Kill-Town Death Fest last year:

Tchornobog merch action at Kill-Town Death Fest 2019.

Oh, one last thing. An important message from the compilation organizers:

We will also concurrently be running a raffle for the original hand-painted artwork by Calvin Cushman, as well as original artwork by Karmazid (Tchornobog logo et al). At $5 per ticket, you are welcome to purchase as many "tickets" as possible (Paypal the total amount as Friends and Family to sorokafamilybenefit@gmail.com) between 10/2 and 10/4 (at midnight PST), with the winners being announced 10/5. Global shipping will be covered by the artists.

Toadeater - Bit to ewigen daogen

By Justin C. While discussing this album with a friend, an obvious question came up: What the hell is a toadeater? The interwebs provided the answer: "Originally, a charlatan's helper who ate (or pretended to eat) poisonous toads so that his employer could display his prowess in expelling the poison."

By Justin C.

Artwork by Drowned Orange.

While discussing this album with a friend, an obvious question came up: What the hell is a toadeater? The interwebs provided the answer: "Originally, a charlatan's helper who ate (or pretended to eat) poisonous toads so that his employer could display his prowess in expelling the poison." So, an appropriately bleak moniker for a black metal band, with bonus points because they avoided using phrases like "necro" and "goat."

The band's second full length, Bit to ewigen daogen, starts off with the standard mood-setting, instrumental opener. To be honest, I’ve gotten a bit tired of this widespread pattern, but I have to give kudos to the band here for melodically tying the intro into the first track, which is much better than the usual, formless fare found in these. From there, we're off to the races with "Conquering the Throne," which immediately sets the band apart from a sea of melodic black metal. The song somehow manages to straddle the line between thin and frosty and a meatier, fuller sound. The driving energy reminds me of late-period Woe, with a punk-like aggression. The lyrics come barked out, syllable by syllable, directly on the beat while a guitar plays a chiming line above. It’s not long before the band breaks to a different direction, opening up to an airier sound while the drums and (audible) bass plow on. It’s a barn-burner of a track that maintains the momentum while giving space to compelling melodic lines.

"Crows and Sparrows" covers similar territory, but adding in some far-off, clean sing-chanting that actually manages to not sound trite or cheesy. "Returning the Crown" does a similar trick--it keeps the band’s core sound and energy, but also mixes in some influences that remind me of The Cure or Depeche Mode. That gothic/new wave-y sound wouldn’t necessarily be up my alley, but the band absorbs and incorporates it in an organic way that somehow makes those sounds seem like a natural fit in with the maelstrom.

The album comes in a little on the short side for this genre--just 36 minutes and change--but the upside is that the band doesn’t wear out their welcome. Without the lyrics, I can’t say if the band is pro- or anti-toad eating, but regardless of your own predilections, you should give this album a spin with whatever snack you prefer.

Lares - Towards Nothingness

By Ulla Roschat. Towards Nothingness is the sophomore album of the four piece German Berlin based band Lares. The band founded in 2015 and this album follows up their first EP Mask of Discomfort from 2017. Towards Nothingness is 8 songs and about 36 minutes of Blackened Psychedelic Sludge/Doom, and it's also an apocalyptic space trip.

By Ulla Roschat.

Artwork by Mariusz Lewandowski.

Towards Nothingness is the sophomore album of the four piece German Berlin based band Lares. The band founded in 2015 and this album follows up their first EP Mask of Discomfort from 2017. Towards Nothingness is 8 songs and about 36 minutes of Blackened Psychedelic Sludge/Doom, and it's also an apocalyptic space trip.

The album starts with the track "It Burns" and yes it burns like the rocket that shoots you into space and into unknown realms, fueled by driving, hypnotic rhythms. A distorted, psychic buzz that keeps you trippin, and soaring harsh vocals with blackened ferocity. There are also a few moments on the album that create a sense of contemplative floating, like in the second track "Theiaphobic Ansia", but they never feel like a soothing weightlessness or moments of serenity. With a sound damp and blurred with distortion and electronic effects they rather create an atmosphere of depressive bleakness and disorientation.

And these first two tracks are a perfect introduction to the album. They showcase the album's basic and omnipresent atmospheres.

Yet each song has its own moods and defining elements that make them memorable. There's the urgency of the ferocious vocals in "Cursed With Embodiment", the somber, gloomy doom riffs and huge build up of "SN1987A Space Alteration Machine", the loud-quiet dynamics and glorious propelling drumming in "Grey Haze" that keep spiraling deeper and deeper into the unknown. The dark and brooding ambience of "Oumuamua", the gooey, bluesy riffs and the spacious sound of "Catacomb Eyes", and, eventually, the droney, almost formless waves of noise of "Towards Nothingness", that let you know you've reached your destination.

This variety of nuances weaves a thick, expanding texture into the entire album and adds to its dramatic structure with waves of tension building the all encompassing structure. The highest peak of these waves is no doubt "SN1987A Space Alteration Machine". This is the longest track of the album (9:21) and Lares don't waste one second of it. Here they set space truly ablaze like a supernova with a sweeping, carefully layered build up creating a sublime, intense and monolithic atmosphere.

It's Lares' ability to combine the fierceness of Black Metal, the abrasive filth of Sludge, the entrancing grip of Psychedelia, the gloomy heaviness of Doom and the thrilling dynamics of Post Metal in an exciting way, that makes Towards Nothingness an organic, cohesive unity and an extremely rewarding listening experience. And to make the sense of completeness even "completer", once again, Mariusz Lewandowski perfectly captures the soul of the music with his cover artwork (like so many times before for Abigail Williams, Astral Altar, Bell Witch, Elder Druid, Eremit, Jupiterian... just to name a few). So I am hoping for a vinyl edition of Towards Nothingness, not only, but also, because of this great artwork.