February 27, 2020

Munknörr - Futharuna

By Master of Muppets. It's tough to tell exactly when 'metal' transcended its earliest, simplest yet most clearly defined self and became all but a blanket term for 'awesome music that isn't on the radio.' Because of the metal community's appropriation of pretty much
By Master of Muppets.


It's tough to tell exactly when 'metal' transcended its earliest, simplest yet most clearly defined self and became all but a blanket term for 'awesome music that isn't on the radio.' Because of the metal community's appropriation of pretty much anything that's ever made a sound, these days it's tough to tell what isn't metal. We'll take acoustic works - from traditional one-off albums to bands who strictly utilize straight-up medieval instruments - just as readily as we'll claim purely programmed digital nonsense to still be metal. I don't claim to know what the rules are regarding which subgenres are up for metal annexation, I also don't claim to care: Munknörr's Futharuna is apparently metal enough for me to babble about it here, and that's all I care about.

So, yeah, if you're looking for overdriven amps and riffs written in the name of Satan, Munknörr probably aren't for you. Like Wardruna or Eldrim, this Uruguayan act evokes a world long since passed, transporting the listener to a time of shamanism and rune worship. In its most serene moments, Futharuna evokes the air of an ancient ritual by firelight, enveloping the listener in pensive, atmospheric percussion and guttural chanting; at its most intense, it's the kind of music that makes you want to don your battleaxe and run to your nearest woodland, screaming death to the enemy and glory to Odin all the way - and really, isn't that all any metalhead really wants?

In the absence of electronically augmented instrumentation, Munknörr's percussive elements are largely responsible for keeping things immediately heavy. Thundering, ominous drums bring Futharuna to life the way they did before all the digital sonic accessories of modern metal, their pummeling almost palpable in the pulse of the unsuspecting listener. Vocals are likewise utilized in a manner that amplifies the album's atmosphere more awesomely than any effect pedal could ever achieve, testifying to the resonating power that is the core of music - and in doing so, to the futility of our modern attempts to digitally enhance something that is inherently perfect. That such intricate soundscapes are constructed with such simple tools is more than impressive: it's fucking metal.

A more/actually qualified reviewer would almost certainly be able to provide you all with more apt and succinct points of reference for the Munknörr sound, but you got Muppet so you get this: Futharuna exists on a sonic plane directly adjacent to the scores for Spartacus and Game of Thrones, full of energy and ancient imagery. I can't tell you which instruments were used to summon the eery, airy ambience of "Odin", or the pensively plucked procession of primeval sounds that comprise "Laguz". I have no idea at all what's going on "Raido", but it makes me want to commune with the spirits of fallen warriors by fire light on the eve of a great battle, and if that not only makes any sense but also sounds like something that you'd like to hear then this album is more than worth your time.

Futharuna is neither br00tal nor kvlt; it does not djent, nor will it melt your face off in a sea of high gain guitar noodlery or else blast-beat you into next week. At its non-core core, it is more ambient than anything, and surely only an obscure technicality or else a grave lapse in judgment allowed it to appear here on Metal Bandcamp - but here it is, nonetheless. This album never got me to bang my head or hail Satan, but it did manage to take me somewhere that I've never been and yet inexplicably yearn to return to, and that is truly fucking heavy.

February 21, 2020

10 Years of Death in Kill-Town

The first Kill-Town Death Fest was held in 2010 so this years edition is billed as "10 Years of Death". Due to 2015-2018 hiatus it's actually fest number eight, but hey, ten years is ten years. All 36 bands of the lineup has been announced and here's a Bandcamp playlist of nearly all of them in announcement order

The first Kill-Town Death Fest was held in 2010 so this years edition is billed as "10 Years of Death". Due to 2015-2018 hiatus it's actually fest number eight, but hey, ten years is ten years. All 36 bands of the lineup has been announced and here's a Bandcamp playlist of nearly all of them in announcement order, some with a quote from the announcement telling why the band is extra special. Even if you won't be visiting Kill-Town this year there should be something to enjoy for any lover of Death Metal.

Like the last years the fest takes place in Pumpehuset in Copenhagen, a venue with small and a larger stage. Expect the small stage to become super crowded for some of the sets. Tickets go on sale here Friday 21st February at 17:00 CET The festival is now SOLD OUT. Check the Kill-Town Facebook page for more information.

This post will be continually updated with with the latest Bandcamp releases from all the bands involved, and when is the schedule is announced the bands will be sorted according to their set times.


1 - Coffin Texts (United States)
They rarely play live and have never set foot on this side of the Atlantic, so it’s with immense pride we can present the first European show ever of the mighty COFFIN TEXTS!!!


2 - Acephalix (United States)
It’s been 9 years since this Bay Area 5 piece played shows in Europe, so it’s with great pleasure we can announce ACEPHALIX for the KTDF VIII lineup!


3 - Father Befouled (United States)


4 - Vanhelgd (Sweden)


5 - Krypts (Finland)


6 - Witch Vomit (United States)
They have never played Europe before and they will only come over to do this KTDF special one-off set. Please welcome one of Portlands best contemporary death metal bands; WITCH VOMIT!!!


7 - Sijjin (Germany)
Arisen from the ashes of the soon defunct Necros Christos, its with great pleasure we can present SIJJIN as part of the KTDF VIII lineup!!!


8 - Mortiferum (United States)


9 - Faceless Burial (Australia)
its with great pleasure we can present the first ever European show for FACELESS BURIAL!!!


10 - Ossuary (United States).
This three piece, consisting of 2 members from the amazing occult rock band Jex Thoth. It’s with tremendous pleasure that KTDF can present the very first European performance of OSSUARY!!!


11 - Burial Invocation (Turkey)


12 - Interment (Sweden)


13 - Bloodsoaked Necrovoid (Costa Rica)
it’s with great pleasure we can announce the first ever European performance for BLOODSOAKED NECROVOID!!!


14 - Gorephilia (Finland)


15 - Deathcult (Switzerland)


16 - Innumerable Forms (United States)


17 - Concrete Winds (Finland)
a new project as a duo who set out to take the direction of Vorum’s final album and bring it to a whole new level of extreme. Therefore it’s with tremendous pleasure we can welcome CONCRETE WINDS to the KTDF VIII lineup!!!


18 - Void Rot (United States)
We are excited to announce that VOID ROT will be performing their first ever European show at KTDF VIII!


19 - Engulfed (Turkey)


20 - Sněť (Czechia)


21 - Ascendency (Denmark)


22 - Atavisma (France)
We are obviously happy to be presenting this band and a special show, but also sad that this will be their last ever live performance ... so it’s with great pleasure that we can welcome ATAVISMA to the Gloomy Sunday line-up!


23 - Mortal Wound (United States)
we are proud to present the very first European performance for MORTAL WOUND!!!


24 - Cryptic Brood (Germany)


25 - Cavurn (United States)
It’s with great pleasure we can present an exclusive one off performance and first European show ever for CAVURN!!!


26 - Carcinoid (Australia)
Today we head all the back down under to present to you another first time in Europe band! We welcome Australia’s CARCINOID to the KTDF VIII line-up!


27 - Convocation (Finland)
This band has never played live before and will possibly never play live again. Therefore we are elated to be able to present a unique one-off live experience with the mighty CONVOCATION!!!


28 - Hyperdontia (Denmark/Tyrkey)


29 - Proscription (Finland)
Please welcome from the ashes of Maveth, PROSCRIPTION!!!


30 - Astriferous (Costa Rica)
We are excited to be able to present the first ever European performance for this great 4 piece from San José, Costa Rica – please welcome ASTRIFEROUS!!!


31 - Encoffination (United States)
We are honoured to be able to present an exclusive European one-off for none other than the mighty ENCOFFINATION!!!


32 - Morta Skuld (United States)
[Morta Skuld only has this compilation of their first two demos on Bandcamp]


33 - Degial (Sweden)
With two members currently playing for Watain their busy schedules rarely allow them to perform live. So therefore its with tremendous pleasure that we can announce that the mighty DEGIAL will be performing the 8th edition of KTDF!!!


34 - Blood Incantation (United States)


35 - Dead Congregation (Greece)


36 - Asphyx (Netherlands)
[Asphyx are signed to Century Media which means nothing on Bandcamp. So here's the last EP by the excellent Dead Congregation to round things off]


February 14, 2020

Konvent - Puritan Masochism

By Calen Henry. Copenhagen based newcomers Konvent are billed as death doom. From the first huge guitar note, however, their blown out fuzz assault is more reminiscent of manic sludge punks Mantar than the likes of Hooded Menace and Runemagick. The trudging pace is certainly reminiscent of those two, though, making for an intriguing sludge doom mix.
By Calen Henry.


Copenhagen based newcomers Konvent are billed as death doom. From the first huge guitar note, however, their blown out fuzz assault is more reminiscent of manic sludge punks Mantar than the likes of Hooded Menace and Runemagick. The trudging pace is certainly reminiscent of those two, though, making for an intriguing sludge doom mix.

Puritan Masochism is the band’s first full length, though they’ve been together since 2015. The result sounds confident, purposeful, and extremely focused. The women in Konvent know exactly what they’re doing: Bludgeoning melodic riffs, guttural growls, witch rasps. Rinse. Repeat.

Such a no frills approach is a bit of a gamble in an increasingly saturated metal world but the band draws enough from doom, death metal, and sludge to create a signature sound while backing it up with good riffs and good vocals It does mean there isn’t a lot to say about them, though. But what more do you need than: Turn on, Tune in, drop into a continuous slow head bang.

February 11, 2020

Riff Spreader Best of January

[Riff Spreader is back with his best discoveries from January. As usual the agenda is: No fash trash. Just righteous riffs]. There’s a new Nachtlieder track called “Avgrunden” and I’m starting to wonder if Dagny Susanne was built in a black metal lab somewhere. If you imagined perfect black metal riffs I don’t think you could get much closer than this song. ["Avgrunden" is a single from the EP Views from the North vol. I, due late February].
[Riff Spreader is back with his best discoveries from January. As usual the agenda is: No fash trash. Just righteous riffs.]


There’s a new Nachtlieder track called “Avgrunden” and I’m starting to wonder if Dagny Susanne was built in a black metal lab somewhere. If you imagined perfect black metal riffs I don’t think you could get much closer than this song. ["Avgrunden" is a single from the Views from the North vol. I EP, due late February].


Artwork by Karmazid.

Hey, there's new shit from Garroted out - a split with Calcemia, who I have never heard but will shortly. Garroted rules, if you didn't know. [So does Calcemia].


Artwork by Lordigan Pedro Sana.

The new Wormhole album has arrived. Slammy tech death with hardcore influence. These guys were a lot of fun live, and I've been waiting for this one for a while. Good times. Actually a lot of the hardcore influence is gone on this release. This is much more proggy/tech than their debut.


Artwork by CT Nelson.

There's a new Sutrah track streaming on Bandcamp and it's very, very good. I almost wet myself at the 2 minute mark. If this track is any indication, the new album is going to be even better than the debut, which is insane. [And the pre-order for the Aletheia EP is only $4].

February 6, 2020

The Doomed Concept - Bull Elephant, Howling Giant, and Bushwhacker

By Calen Henry. Last year saw the release of three great doomy concept albums, all of which I either initially missed or glossed over and all of which are worth revisiting both for music and stories. Anonymous UK collective Bull Elephant dropped their self-titled debut in November. They go all in on their concept telling the story of a slaughtered African elephant reanimated by Nazi occultists
By Calen Henry.

Last year saw the release of three great doomy concept albums, all of which I either initially missed or glossed over and all of which are worth revisiting both for music and stories.

Cover art by all4band.com.

Anonymous UK collective Bull Elephant dropped their self-titled debut in November. They go all in on their concept telling the story of a slaughtered African elephant reanimated by Nazi occultists to further their war effort, only to be interrupted by a witch-shaman and turned on its killers. Elder forces, having other plans for the beast, intercede through time and space. They realize that no matter which side prevails, the earth is doomed to a slow cycle of degradation as humans, a mere cosmic footnote, wage their slowly escalating war on nature. After the great pachyderm falls in battle against its captors and killers, these elder gods raise it for one final battle to catalyze humanity’s ruin and reset the cosmic balance.

Backing up the story is a wall of doom/sludge that constantly churns through riffs, leads, and vocal styles. At first listen the heavier side dominates; thundering drums, crushing guitar riffs and guttural vocals. Ultimately, though, the vocals unlock the album’s potential. The vocalist(s) run the gamut from guttural death metal growls, to black metal rasps, gritty mid-range, and a manic falsetto that just pushes into distorted without turning into a shriek.

The instruments lock in with all these changes, always the right sonic palette for the vocals. They effortlessly slip from psychedelic clean guitar passages into crushing doom riffs, and soaring guitar leads, even dropping into full-on HM-2 fueled OSDM for “Corrupted Truth”. The swirling musical shifts match not only the vocal changes, but the scenes in the story. As the story moves from terrestrial to celestial happenings, and into the future and back the musical backdrop always matches. It makes following the story with the included PDF lyrics sheet thoroughly enthralling.

The icing is that, though Bull Elephant are anonymous and independent, they’ve gone to great lengths to perfect their album. It sounds amazing. No matter how airy, busy, or dirty it is at a given point it always sounds just right. Everything comes through and nothing gets lost.

By delivering the full package of ridiculous kitchen-sink metal concept album Bull Elephant have set the bar high on their debut and are allegedly already working on Bull Elephant II...


Cover Art by Lindsey Camelio.

The Space Between Worlds is Howling Giant's first full length after a series of pulp science fiction themed EPs. This time the Nashville trio has gone full sci-fi concept album. The overarching story is that of a huntress on a journey through the metaphysical realm of humanity’s collective dreamscape. In it she must confront a dream eater in an attempt to stop it devouring dreamers and destabilizing the dimension itself. The actual story is told completely within the dream realm and plays out more like a classic fantasy yarn as the huntress traverses the land on the way to the dream eater’s citadel for the final confrontation.

In contrast to Bull Elephant’s prog doom melting pot Howling Giant play extremely melodic stoner rock. The closest touch-point is ASG (Jason Shi even provides some guest vocals). All the vocals are clean with lots of harmonized parts and the guitar tone is warm and fuzzy. It’s an extremely easy album to listen to, and indeed, I glossed over it on my first listen. Underneath the easily digestible sound the band have written a selection of great songs full of hooks and ear-worm sing-along choruses. Instead of falling into the common stoner rock trap of stringing together some huge riffs and calling it an album, the songs feel intentionally structured to both support the story and come out as good songs. They keep things moving along, rarely riding a riff for very long and often working in 6/8, so that when they do drop into a huge “slow headbang” stoner metal riff it always hits hard.

Like The Sword’s sci-fi concept period (Warp Riders and Apochryphon) Howling Giant aren’t reinventing the wheel. But The Space Between Worlds deliver an exciting concept that’s well executed with a signature sound that’s immediately approachable, but continually rewarding.


Cover Art by Adam Burke.

Originally hailing from Canada’s Klondike, Vancouver’s Bushwhacker go full cowboy concept metal on A Fistful of Poison. It chronicles the downfall of a drug addicted band of desperadoes, tricked by a local barkeep into seeking out a cult rumoured to grow their chosen drug and worship the ancient Egyptian crocodile-headed god Sobek. Matt over at Can This Even Be Called Music delves deep into the story better than I possibly could, and it really requires that level of immersion because the narrative drives the whole album and is essential to its success.

The narrative drives everything from the radio-drama style vignettes to the flow of the music itself. The vignettes are over the top, but so is the whole concept so it works. They unambiguously deliver the core story, letting the lyrics deliver the metaphorical and psychological side of the desperadoes' doomed journey. Between these the musical content of A Fistful of Poison leans heavily on long atmospheric instrumental sections to fully develop the story's pervasive feeling of manic desperation. Bushwhacker take the framework pioneered by Sleep of lengthy passages dominated by a single riff, slowly building and shifting, and employ it in service of the narrative. It's a perfect match for the vocals. The incantation-like delivery, a rhythmic chanting, escalates in parallel with the instruments to an unhinged rasp at key story moments.

Bushwhacker are all in on the storytelling and A Fistful of Poison is a fantastic soundtrack to an engrossing narrative, but without delving into both it risks falling flat. That may make it a polarizing album, but it's well worth the effort to unpack and unlike almost any other.