Behexen - By The Blessing of Satan

By Andy Curtis-Brignell. The lazy man’s Behexen review goes like this: use the typical ‘raw black metal’ signifiers; talk for a paragraph or so about the so-called ‘Finnish Filth’ movement; mention Beherit; close. Essentially discussion of Behexen, or at least this period of their existence, is typified by their apparent

By Andy Curtis-Brignell.


The lazy man’s Behexen review goes like this: use the typical ‘raw black metal’ signifiers; talk for a paragraph or so about the so-called ‘Finnish Filth’ movement; mention Beherit; close. Essentially discussion of Behexen, or at least this period of their existence, is typified by their apparent ‘regressiveness’ and primitivism. That’s not what I want to talk about.

I’m consistently fascinated by liminal spaces in music, particularly when one can follow a band through their career and find points of flux - moments of uncertainty or experimentation that add a new dimension to music you are apparently familiar with. When we join the band for By the Blessing of Satan, we land squarely in the midst of one of these locus points. The band’s debut album Rituale Satanum from four years earlier, whilst a satisfying piece of work in its own right, is epitomised by a meat-and-potatoes approach to black metal, with very little beyond simple ferocity distinguishing it from the rest of the early 2000s swell of resurgent Euro-BM. This wasn’t helped by a particularly hollow and generic wind-tunnel production job that made it difficult to pinpoint the songwriting chops displayed on its followup.

By contrast, BTBOS has a thick but granular quality to its sound, conjuring visions of vast, sharp boulders rolling over and over you in the bowels of the earth, while Hoath Torog’s white-noise shrieks ceaselessly peak and crash like the waves of some awful sunless sea. Sonically the album appears to have been far more deliberately engineered to highlight the band’s growing talent in terms of dynamics, pacing and melody - because this is a truly melodic album despite its pace and ferocity.

Behexen 2014. Photos by Carmelo Española.

Whilst there are storming numbers such as the opening title track and the raging "Fist of the Satanist" where speed and intensity approaches Antaeus levels of belligerence, the real meat of the album comes in the mid paced numbers such as "Black Metal Baptism". The melodic interplay displayed on this track in particular is astonishing, with an unusually (for black metal, anyway) prominent bass guitar providing both a dense bedrock for the song and a deeply harmonious counterpoint to the yearningly overdriven guitars. "Black Metal Baptism" resonates with deeply felt emotion, which is all the more remarkable when both the title and lyrics seem to evoke a kind of black metal manifesto:

Black metal baptism opened the gates to darkness
and gave me the powers of sorcerers
The sign of black pentagram burned deep in my heart.

Arguably since the work of depressive pioneers such as Strid black metal has aesthetically been torn in two apparently opposed directions: the melancholy and the furious. The greatest acts are, in my opinion, those who can bridge the gap between the two, smelting something new and complex from an overused forge. With "Black Metal Baptism", Behexen reconcile these two concepts beautifully and crucially this is done seamlessly within the context of the album as a whole. By the Blessing of Satan has all the speed, anger and intensity of the most popular Norsecore but with a sense of pathos and depth of feeling that’s often alien to this strand of the genre. Sadly the main influence that seems to have been borrowed from this period of Behexen’s work seems to be an aping of the bands almost romantic fervour for satan-worship (count how many ‘orthodox’ black metal bands sprung up between 2004-6, Ill wait) rather than focusing on the sincere emotion that lay behind it.

After the success of this album and having become key influencers in the genre, the band would travel further down this melodic path with the followup to this album, My Soul for His Glory. Unfortunately the tradeoff seemed to be unequal hereon out, as the highs and lows of BTBOS are normalised into a more anonymous, if more harmonious, whole. By the Blessing of Satan truly then exists in a liminal space - between chaos and order, triumph and sorrow, hatred and love.

Artist Spotlight: Thy Catafalque

By Professor D. Grover the XIIIth. Greetings and salutations, friends. For those of seeing my name and wondering who the hell I am, allow to to briefly introduce myself. I am Professor D. Grover the XIIIth, and you may remember me from such obscure blogs as The Number Of The Blog, Oculus Infernus, and No Clean Singing. If any of those sites rings a bell, excellent.

By Professor D. Grover the XIIIth.

Greetings and salutations, friends. For those of seeing my name and wondering who the hell I am, allow to to briefly introduce myself. I am Professor D. Grover the XIIIth, and you may remember me from such obscure blogs as The Number Of The Blog, Oculus Infernus, and No Clean Singing. If any of those sites rings a bell, excellent. If not, that is unfortunate, but hopefully you will take the time to consume my mad scribblings anyway. Now, to the point at hand.


I have been recruited for this article because I am, in short, a massive Thy Catafalque fanboy. I have been known to vocally proclaim my entirely platonic love for Thy Catafalque mainman and all-around musical genius Tamás Kátai. Thy Catafalque, for the unfamiliar, is a Hungarian avant-garde black metal band, although labeling it as such does the music a disservice, as the project’s music is so uniquely expansive and varied that a simple label can do little to truly describe it. However, as a starting point, such a label is the nearest touchstone that I can provide, and so it shall have to do for the moment.

The band’s roots are fairly simple, starting as a collaboration between the extremely prolific Kátai (who at the band’s inception was also releasing music under the monikers of Darklight, Towards Rusted Soil, Gort, and Gire) and guitarist János Juhász. Thy Catafalque’s initial material was decidedly more black metal than avant-garde, and in truth I haven’t listened to those albums a great deal, but even then they bore the imprints of Kátai’s unique sensibilities, which I will cover momentarily. As of the last Thy Catafalque album, the brilliant Rengeteg, Kátai had taken over as the band’s sole member, but the change did not affect the band’s sound much, which as I will discuss is a very, very good thing.

Thy Catafalque have a new album, titled Sgùrr, coming soon via Season Of Mist, and as that time approaches there has been a flurry of activity, with re-releases of the entire Thy Catafalque catalog on vinyl and CD, including the most recent (and sold out) compilation of The Early Works, which encompass the first three Thy Catafalque releases into a single 3-disc package, and the name-your-price Bandcamp release of the lone full-length Gire album, a Hungarian death metal project featuring Kátai’s synth-work and drum programming that is most likely the closest thing in sound to Thy Catafalque that I have managed to find up to this point. Most importantly, Thy Catafalque’s two most important releases have seen remasters and have also been released on Bandcamp as name-your-price downloads, and it is these releases I am here to discuss.


The first of these releases is 2004’s Tűnő idő tárlat (translated, An Exhibition of Vanishing Time), an album as daring in composition as it is brilliant. It takes true testicular fortitude to start your album with two 9+ minute tracks bookending a massive 18+ minute epic, but the opening journey of "Csillagkohó", "Neath Waters (Minden Vízbe Mártott Test)", and "Bolygó, bolyongó" bear testament to just how insanely great this album is. Across these three tracks, the listener is dragged through searing black metal, pounding industrial, trancelike electro, and dreamlike ambient passages with little regard for one’s sanity. It’s an exhausting, exhilarating way to start an album, and afterward there are still five more tracks to go.

It’s important to note at this point that while I can attempt to describe exactly what you will hear on these albums, I will fail miserably at doing so. That much is an absolute certainty. You have to hear the tracks for themselves to truly understand what I am attempting to convey. Fortunately, technology being what it is, you can listen to the album via the embedded widget as you read along! I cannot recommend highly enough that you do this, because it is the only true way for you to experience such an intricately nuanced album.

The remaining five tracks are equally dynamic, from the dirgelike riffing of "Héja-nász az avaron" and the ethereal female vocals (provided by session vocalist Nikoletta Gerzanits) of "Zápor" to the thumping drums and blistering riffs of "Az ősanya szól ivadékaihoz" and the stark soundscape denouement of "Varjak fekszenek". The most intriguing thing to my ear with this album is the mix of disparate musical styles, and not only that they are present on the same album and within the same songs, but often that they are present at the same time. This is noteworthy, because often with avant-garde and experimental music you will see bands switching between styles rather than combining them. Often you will hear ambient passages and clean instrumentation underlaid by a heavy electronic beat (the drums are entirely programmed and very distinct, an element of the Thy Catafalque sound that has existed since the beginning), or heavy riffs interwoven with melodic synth lines or the aforementioned clean instrumentation (see the latter half of "Az ősanya szól ivadékaihoz", where the riffs give way momentarily for a mix of piano and violin before joining right back in, until the whole thing is swept away by a pulsing, building electronic section). It is, to be honest, unlike anything I have ever heard.

Actually, that’s not entirely accurate, because we also have Róka hasa rádió (translated, Fox Belly Radio), the 2009 followup that matches Tűnő idő tárlat for sheer brilliance and audacity. Rather like its predecessor, it challenges the listener immediately by starting with an 11-minute track and then following that up with a 19-minute epic. Album opener "Szervetlen" serves notice that you are in for another journey, featuring some insanely heavy guitars and programmed percussion, interspersed with clean vocals (provided by Woodland Choir/Quadrivium singer Attila Bakos, who would also lend his voice to Rengeteg) and Kátai’s distinctive keyboards.

The second track, the aforementioned 19-minute epic "Molekuláris gépezetek", is truly special. It is the track that first made Thy Catafalque’s music truly click for me, and I cannot say enough about it. It starts with sheer blackened fury, all roiling guitars, hazy tortured vocals, pounding drums, held together by a pervasive synth melody. It quickly scales back, incorporating Bakos back into the mix and changing up the drums, and then around the 6 minute mark it takes an absolute left turn, dropping almost all instrumentation except for a shuffling drumbeat, some clean guitar, and a spare synth melody. It then changes up the drumbeat ever so slightly and adds, of all things, a saxophone melody and the beautiful clean vocals of Ágnes Tóth (who also would go on to contribute on Rengeteg). Eventually, it strips everything down to just the synths for a bit before swinging back into the drums and Tóth’s vocals. Then, when the listener has been lulled into a false sense of security around 15 minutes in, the song comes blasting back. It is an absolutely insane way to write a song, and by all rights it shouldn’t work, but it simply does.

Again, it is an absolutely exhausting and exhilarating way to start an album. From that point, Kátai plays it a bit more traditional, with the remaining seven tracks ranging from 4-6 minutes, although the music is no less weird and varied. Bakos and Tóth play important roles, with Bakos assuming the lead vocals on "Köd utánam" and "Esőlámpás", both of which combine his cleans with driving guitar riffs and the sort of utterly unforgettable synth melodies that seems to be Kátai’s specialty. "Űrhajók makón", on the other hand, gives Tóth free reign over yet another beautiful keyboard melody. The synth programming actually takes more precedent on Róka hasa rádió, playing to the album’s concept (as described by Kátai, “revolving, rotating movements of past and future, colours, sounds, long lost scents by a strange transmission from a timeless radio”), although Juhász’ guitar riffs play their own essential role, and Kátai’s bandmates in Gire, Balázs Hermann and Zoltán Kónya, provide additional bass and guitars respectively. If anything, Róka hasa rádió is even more adventurous and experimental than its predecessor, although both albums are utterly brilliant and unlike anything else out there.

I would be remiss in not at least mentioning Rengeteg, the 2011 followup to Róka hasa rádió released through Season Of Mist. Rengeteg found Kátai continuing the project as a solo act, upping the aggression ever so slightly and reining in things a bit (the longest track here is a mere 14 minutes and comes in the album’s midsection), but make no mistake, it is still most definitely a Thy Catafalque album and retains everything that makes this band special.

It seems fitting to conclude with the information we have regarding Sgùrr (translated, The Top Of A Mountain from Scottish Gaelic, a nod to Kátai’s new home in Scotland), the forthcoming new Thy Catafalque album. Due October 16th, the album promises to be another shift in sound. Says Kátai,

The title of this album derives from Scottish Gaelic and means 'the top of a mountain'. Yet most of the songs are equally about water, mountains, their interrelationship and the symbols attached to them - inspired by the Scottish Highlands and weird enough the Hungarian Lowlands. There are not many vocal lines at all, but when there occur, they are not pleasant. Compare to previous albums this music is mostly unfriendly, bristling and cold compared to the previous albums. I guess everything is more metal this time.

At this time, there is a single full track available for streaming, the drums-guitar-violin instrumental "Alföldi Kozmosz", and an ambient minute-and-a-half teaser on YouTube previewing an unspecified track. Both serve only to further heighten my need to hear this album. In the meantime, well, at least I have a couple of classics to occupy my time.

Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions: Part XVI - Live Archives

By Craig Hayes. I’ve made it my mission in life to write about all of Sunn O)))'s releases that are available on Bandcamp with this Monoliths and Opinions series. Obviously, documenting the band's exploits in such a way suggests that I am a big fan of Sunn O))). Or that I am a very lonely masochist, with far too much time on my hands.

By Craig Hayes.

Sunn O))) @ Lx Factory, Lisbon, Portugal 2010 by Pedro Roque.

I’ve made it my mission in life to write about all of Sunn O)))'s releases that are available on Bandcamp with this Monoliths and Opinions series. Obviously, documenting the band's exploits in such a way suggests that I am a big fan of Sunn O))). Or that I am a very lonely masochist, with far too much time on my hands. Either way, I should point out that writing this series isn’t a back-breaking task that’s been imposed upon me.

I want to make that clear because there are people out there who would view this Monoliths and Opinions project as some kind of cruel and unusual punishment. They’re the kind of people who think that Sunn O)))'s music is torturous and tedious. Some of those people like to complain very loudly about that online as well. And, not so long ago, I watched a few of those folks launch into some stinging criticism of Sunn O)))'s set at this year's Temples Festival in the UK.

I think that Sunn O))) confounded and crossed the line for some at the Temples Festival is a wonderful indictment of the band’s continued importance. I see Sunn O))) continuing to ruffle feathers in this day and age as a hugely positive sign. Lord knows we need more music that challenges us, tests our temperaments, and isn’t baited with blatant commercial hooks.

Still, it's also important to note that a defence of Sunn O)))'s music isn't necessarily needed or even wanted by the band's critics. We all have bands we simply love to hate no matter what anyone else thinks. We all piss and moan about those bands. And no amount of explaining or clarifying the appeal of those bands is going to convince us to change our opinion one iota.

Really, in the case of providing any explanation for a series like this Monoliths and Opinions project, all I can say is that I'm not indulging in any duplicitous or disingenuous antics here. I'm not trying to sell Sunn O))) to you. Nor is any neurotic or unhealthy fixation keeping me preoccupied with Sunn O)))'s oeuvre. I've simply been fascinated by the unconventionality of Sunn O)))'s music since I first heard the band 15 years ago.

I discovered Sunn O))) via the band's ØØ Void album, which was released in 2000. ØØ Void resonated with me because it spoke directly to that part of me that had been utterly entranced by Earth's Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version album way back in 1993. Of course, Sunn O))) have mentioned the debt they owe to Dylan Carlson's famed band many times over the years. And it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Earth invented the entire drone or ambient metal genre.

At the heart of it, ØØ Void appealed to me because it was very different to anything being released at the time. (Both in metal and experimental music circles.) It felt like a fresh challenge. One where Sunn O))) stripped their music back to the purest and rawest essence of the riff. That was bold, bruising, and inherently idiosyncratic and defiant. Sunn O))) dared you to make it through ØØ Void. I loved that about Sunn O))). Still do. And I imagine that's the same reason that many of the band’s fans continue to tune in.

That said, I completely understand why some people remain utterly perplexed by Sunn O)))'s appeal. Fact is, Sunn O)))'s music is not easy on the ear or accessible. Sunn O))) deal in drone, and drone is an acquired taste and niche musical medium at the best of times. Drone is something you feel (or not) at an instinctual level. And if you happen to feel that drone is monotonous, featureless and dull, then you'll clearly be left wondering how anyone could enjoy any of Sunn O)))'s protracted tracks.

There are no halfway measures with Sunn O))). It's all in or nothing at all. And Sunn O))) unquestionably use provocative musical techniques that could easily lead to a hostile response. We all know how irritating it is to encounter music that immediately rubs us the wrong way. And the soundscapes that Sunn O))) explore are formidable.

Sunn O))) frequently ignore musical mainstays like rhythm or melody. They deal in teeth-rattling distortion, feedback, and subterranean vibrations and reverberations. The band's songs are performed at an incredibly slow pace. And there is absolutely nothing about Sunn O))) that is going to appeal to fans of turbo-speed rock 'n' roll.

Hell, there’s not even an easy entry point into the band's catalogue. Sunn O)))’s most popular album, 2009’s Monoliths & Dimensions (the album's title summing up the band's aesthetic perfectly) did find favour with a wider audience on release. But, even then, Monoliths & Dimensions was still an imposing album with made zero compromises made for the listeners comfort therein.

Sunn O))) @ Lx Factory, Lisbon, Portugal 2010 by Pedro Roque.

Still, no matter the critical adoration or their expanding fanbase, Sunn O)))’s music remains easy to mock or dismiss because that's the way many eccentric forms of artistic expression are routinely treated. A lot of challenging art (and music) is immediately scoffed at. And that frequently reveals more about the underlying values of the scoffer than it does the essence of the art.

Often, gripes arise to mask confusion about the meaning behind avant-garde works of art. None of us like to feel that we're missing the point and, sometimes, it's simply that misunderstandings occur because we're not aware of the particular lineage or history behind off-kilter works of art or music.

Weird music is tough to unpack. To conceptualise. And to appreciate.

However, alternatively, having an aversion to Sunn O))) might not be the result of any of the above issues. Some folks just hate the band because they find them mind-numbingly boring. And there’s nothing complicated about that at all.

I get that too. It's that age-old aversion to music you just find fucking tiresome. And that's exactly how I feel about deathcore. Or screamo. Or goregrind. Or pirate metal. Or most symphonic or folk metal. Or [insert some truly awful band like Dream Theater or Soulfly right here].

For me, the allure of Sunn O)))’s music is that it sounds and feels like a form of orchestrated chaos kicking down those famed doors of perception. The band's sub-harmonic and frequently nerve-tweaking pursuits offer a very powerful experience if you're willing to give yourself over to the band’s music. Immerse yourself in Sunn O)))’s universe and the band’s sojourns become transcendent journeys. There's a jaunt beyond the stars here. A trip to higher plane or another dimension there. Or just a steep dive into the very darkest pits of Hades.

It's really no different to getting lost in or swept away by any other musical form that affects you deeply. Albeit, with Sunn O)))'s mode of transportation being of the more leaden-footed and monolithic variety. Of course, making an effort to understand why fans enjoy Sunn O)))'s music is not on the radar for many of the folks who like to complain about the band. They're often just really pissed because Sunn O))) represents an arm of experimental metal that’s skirted close to wider acceptance.

Certainly, although Sunn O))) are never going to a hugely popular band in commercial terms, many of the group's fans do reside outside of metal's borders. We all know that some folks feel very aggrieved when an outré metal band gets paid any attention by the mainstream media. And we’ve all seen groups like Deafheaven or Liturgy get vilified in quarters of the metal media for turning up on pages of the mainstream press.

The point to keep in mind is that Sunn O)))'s founders, Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson, are not casual metal tourists or newcomers to making in-your-face music. See Khanate, Burning Witch and Goatsnake for proof of that. Nor have O'Malley and Anderson committed some crime against the underground by finding themselves under the spotlight. If anything, O'Malley and Anderson are forging ahead with a distinctly underground attitude by continuing to make challenging music. That’s a laudable feat, I would have thought. Even if you didn't happen to like the noise being made.

Sunn O))) does speak a very unorthodox musical language. Stretching riffs out to infinity while destroying many routine musical motifs sees the physicality of sound often used as a key instrumental component. As a result, a pressure-wave is frequently at the forefront of the band’s sound. Yet, O'Malley and Anderson have always been open to explaining exactly what is it they're doing and, more importantly, why they're doing it without any pretentiousness. In fact, some of O'Malley and Anderson's interviews have been incredibly open and frank and they've subsequently made for truly fascinating insights into the world of explorative music.

Of course, in the end, there’s just no pleasing some folks. Discussions of why and how Sunn O))) make all that noise are of little value to someone who's not going to read them anyway. Obviously, not everyone appreciates everything. And we wouldn't want a world overflowing with sycophants anyway. Some people just instinctively hate the fact that Sunn O))) is deemed interesting or worthy of coverage. And I imagine a negative reaction pleases O'Malley and Anderson just as much as a positive one.

Sunn O))) @ Lx Factory, Lisbon, Portugal 2010 by Pedro Roque.

Ultimately, to my eyes and ears, the whole point of Sunn O)))'s music is to provoke a visceral reaction. And Sunn O)))’s latest Bandcamp venture, a live archive page filled with dozens of concert recordings, is guaranteed to do that.

In fact, for people who find Sunn O))) perplexing, boring or downright annoying, the 77 shows available on the band's live archive page are sure to be a horror show beyond measure. I've been a fan of Sunn O))) forever. And I’m certain I want the band's The Iron Soul Of Nothing collaboration with Nurse With Wound to soundtrack my funeral. But, even then, fandom assured, Sunn O)))’s live archive page still fills me with dread.

It would be a huge challenge to try and pick apart every individual recording on Sunn O)))'s live archive page. So I won’t be reviewing them one by one here. Honestly, writing about the particulars of each one of those live recordings is too much for this old man. But I will say this: The shows on Sunn O)))'s live archive page date back to 2002. They are unmixed and unmastered––i.e presented in their rawest state. And if you're a fan or critic of the band, you'll know exactly what to expect.

There's hooded figures shrouded in fog wielding huge riffs and making a gloriously ear-splitting racket on every one of those live recordings. There are plenty of guests and collaborators adding their own thunderous elements too. And you could certainly look at the sum total of those live recordings as a rather awe-inspiring riposte to Sunn O)))’s critics.

Every one of those live recordings features all the fundamental Sunn O))) elements that folks gripe about writ large and goddamn loud. Which, I have to admit, I kind of love about the band. I love that Sunn O))) have never made any excuses for cutting their own weird and cacophonous path into the hinterlands of experimental music. Pick up any of the recordings linked in this essay, or any other from the band's live archives page and you'll certainly be greeted by different points of exploration. However, what you are facing, in overwhelming abundance on that live archive page, is exactly the same vast wall-of-noise that provokes such intense reactions every single time Sunn O))) takes the stage.

For me, that means Sunn O)))'s live archives page contains untold manna from the Gods of sonic subversiveness. For others, that page might well be Hell on earth. Both are entirely understandable reactions. And both are reactions that I think O’Malley and Anderson would wholeheartedly approve of.

The Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions series.

Atanamar’s Favorite Bandcamp Finds of 2014

Written by Atanamar Sunyata.

Metal archaeology is the work of a lifetime; there are pages missing from every grail seeker’s diary. As more and more music appears on Bandcamp, we are offered a unique opportunity to rediscover the past in high fidelity. 2014 was prime time for musical gravedigging; I was able to unearth albums I had only heard in passing during the '90s, resuscitate specters of long lost tape trades, and replace the content of CDs that mysteriously disappeared in college. Best of all, I discovered classics completely unbeknownst to me. These are some of my favorite Bandcamp hauls of 2014:

Deathevokation - Chalice of Ages (2007)

Cover art by Axel Hermann

Deathevokation quietly produced a death metal masterpiece in the not too distant past, disappearing into oblivion before their prodigious achievement could be properly recognized. Chalice of Ages unfurls a fusillade of doom-tinged death propelled by Amon Amarth-grade grooves and fascinating melody. These tunes ride on a riff-hardened chassis, rampaging at all the right speeds. Deathevokation had a distinctive character, and their sole creation's pedigree is simply spectacular. Reunion, please?

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

The Chasm - Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm (2009)

Artwork by Daniel Corchado

The Chasm is the best band whose discography was most unrepresented in my collection. That was quickly resolved when Max clued us into The Chasm’s Bandcamp page in March. Like Max, Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm is my favorite of the titles represented. The Chasm stand astride the death metal's continental divide, blending the progressive precision of Death with the skin crawling filth of Incantation (mainman Daniel Corchado actually played on Diabolical Conquest). Fascinating riffs, thrashy intricacies, and dynamics for days are the name of the game; Farseeing the Paranormal Abysm is all wins.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Adramelech - Psychostasia (1996)

Artwork by Turkka Rantanen

Adramelech emerged from the bountiful Finnish death metal scene in the mid '90s, possessing the utmost power of the riff. Psychostasia is the finest moment of the band's brief career. It's also a death metal classic, a balm to these jaded and abused ears. Impossibly compelling anti-melodies flow in torrents of glorious death, coalescing around indelible riffs and feats of compositional ingenuity. Adramelech have indubitable roots in Demigod's sinuous sonic oeuvre, but they also inherit bits of bizarre behavior from countrymen Demilich. Everyone should have a little Psychostasia in their life.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Disembowelment - Disembowelment (2005)

Funeral doom, as an art form, is concerned with feats of amazing restraint. Grindcore and death metal? Not so much. Disembowelment bridged that dichotomy in spectacular style in 1992. Transcendence into the Peripheral (included here along with most of the band’s recorded output) presents discrete visions of crisp, sharp, and haunting doom of the literal sort. Driven by industrial strength percussion, the outbursts of putridity manifest as sheets of blinding, grinding rage. Disembowelment’s time on this earth was brief, but their legacy is a delicious landmark.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Gadget - Remote (2004)

I'm usually behind the ball on grindcore. When I need it, I need it bad. The rest of the time? Clueless. I missed Gadget's debut by a decade. Here stalks Swedish grind-mastery that's light on the Sunlight sauce preferred by their countrymen (see Nasum, etc.). Articulate crunch is borne on precision blasts and big fat beats. Caution is thrown to the wind, but satisfying, nuanced melody seeps into the gears, ensuring optimal aural lubrication. Someone dropped their dipstick in a bit of Dissection; cheers to you, Gadget. Remote is timeless grind.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Human Remains - Where Were You When (2002)

Building on meaty mounds of spasmodic deathgrind brilliance, Human Remains recorded in fits and spurts in the early ‘90s until the Using Sickness as a Hero EP spelled their untimely demise. Human Remains possessed all of the genius you’d expect from a band featuring Steve Procopio (Gridlink, Discordance Axis) and Dave Witte (Discordance Axis, Municipal Waste, and every band ever). Where Were You When is a compilation of the band’s recorded material, and I was clearly not there when it was released in 2002. Every one of these tracks, from the most immaculately recorded to those produced in a toilet, are a pure joy of crushing daedal impossibility. Rejoice in moist, mandatory mucoidal madness.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Unlocking the Shrine: A look at The Ruins of Beverast

Written by Aaron Sullivan.


For me Germany is a country that I find synonymous with quality Metal. There may be no band to exemplify that better than The Ruins of Beverast. The brainchild of Alexander von Meilenwald, Ruins is an Atmospheric Blackened DOOM monster. For just a bit of background and perhaps a better understanding of the mindset of the artist; the word Beverast is von Meilenwald's own derivation of the word "Bifröst" influenced by the old Norse term for the bridge between Midgard, the realm of the humans, and Asgard, the realm of the gods. Now this is not that he sings about Norse mythology. But when one imagines the mindset of people as they see the ruins of what would connect them to the heaven they hope for in death, and what might await them on the earth they have been forsaken to. You begin to see what dark and bleak themes await the listener.

His first full length release was 2004’s Unlock the Shrine. The album establishes early on his penchant for creating atmosphere. It opens with slow turning guitars and keyboards along with audio clips from the 1987 movie The Believers, a movie about a New York psychiatrist who finds that a voodoo cult, which believes in child sacrifice, has a keen interest in his own son. These are the type of dark themes that will become a Ruins trademark. One thing that is a huge difference with this album, are the interludes between songs. While not something he gets rid of entirely, on later albums they are a bit shorter and the song lengths are longer. The stand out tracks for me are "The Clockhand's Groaning Circles". It has this great riff that sticks in your head and a great doomy middle. Also "Summer Decapitation Ritual"; starting with it’s bombastic opening and then shifting into this almost Wagnerian middle before returning to it’s Black Metal roots. All will become Ruin standards. A fantastic debut.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

With 2006’s Rain upon the Impure two things immediately stand out. One, the the production is much rawer and two, the songs are much longer. Neither of which is a bad thing for me at all. The songs are so raw they feel almost claustrophobic, as there is little room to breathe in between instruments. This only enhances the dark and ominous feeling that the Ruins experience offers. The songs lengths (none of which are under 10 minutes minus two small interludes) can be seen as daunting for some. Each their own mini epic. But once the songs start the time is never dragging. He keeps things fresh by changing tempos in the songs. A song like "Soliloquy of the Stigmatised Shepherd" starts as a funeral dirge for the first seven minutes before going into an all out rager, then back into the blackened doomyness he does so well. The added Gregorian like chants towards the end only continue to add to the overall atmosphere. While picking a favorite of all his albums is no easy task, this may be the one for me.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Live at maschinenfest 2013. Photos by s.alt

He returned in 2009 with Foulest Semen of a Sheltered Elite. This serves as a great mix of the two first album. It has the better production and smaller interludes of the first album but the song lengths and layered elements of the second. There even seems to be a pattern of short interlude, medium length song, then epic song. In a way it really helps with the flow of the album. Songs like "Mount Sinai Moloch" take all that he has learned over the years and all that he done on record and puts it into one song. The Black Metal, the DOOM, the atmosphere. He is really at the top of his game with this album.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

The fourth album, Blood Vaults - The Blazing Gospel of Heinrich Kramer, was among my favorites of 2013. This album finds Alexander von Meilenwald sound even more polished (or as polished as underground Black Metal gets). But this is not a bad thing. In fact I think it helps. Though I love the rawness of his older albums, the better production does nothing to lessen the overall product. What it does do is make the layers more evident to the listener. Songs are still epic and dark. Exploring all the elements that make up this bands music. The album and lyrics are inspired by German inquisitor Heinrich Kramer’s work about witches and sorcerers known as the Malleus Maleficarum, a concept album if you will. With this album he proved he has found his niche and is experimenting within it.

Ruins albums are ones to sit and listen to. They are long, all over one hour in length, and all their own adventure into Alexander’s dark world. But for those who are willing to take the journey, the rewards are worth it. Because of how diverse and layered each of his albums are I find new things in them with each listen. There is a beauty in his darkness, and the albums transport you to his dark vision like few artist can. One man Black Metal is not rare. But most is minimalistic basement projects and few have the weight of Ruins. Furthermore many one man bands begin to feel stagnant over time. This has certainly not been the case with Ruins.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Krieg - The Black House & Patrick Bateman

By Dave Schalek. USBM forefathers Krieg probably don't need much of an introduction, but little has been heard from the band since the release of The Isolationist a couple of years ago. However, regardless of the relative lack of activity

By Dave Schalek.


USBM forefathers Krieg probably don't need much of an introduction, but little has been heard from the band since the release of The Isolationist a couple of years ago. However, regardless of the relative lack of activity, Krieg appear to still be very much alive and well as mastermind Imperial has expanded his band's presence on Bandcamp. Two classic releases from Krieg, The Black House and Patrick Bateman, are now available for purchase.

Krieg 2012. Photo by Carmelo Española.

The Black House was originally released in 2004, but has regained a higher profile in metal's collective consciousness recently by being named as one of the Top 100 Black Metal albums of all time in a recently released special edition collector's issue of Decibel Magazine. Coinciding very nicely with the album's inclusion on that list is the release of the album on Bandcamp.

A vile blast of misanthropic hate, The Black House is an abrasively loud example of fast black metal that is probably closer to its Scandinavian brethren than most USBM released at the time. A fine example of pure black metal, The Black House is highly recommended.

Krieg 2012. Photo by Carmelo Española.

Patrick Bateman, an EP exploring the title character of the book American Psycho, also was originally released in 2004 and pretty much continues where The Black House left off. Fast black metal with riffs cascading up and down the fret board, Patrick Bateman is characterized by a slightly deeper sound than The Black House, but is stylistically very similar. What shines through on both releases, though, is Imperial's vocal delivery of pure hate, the obvious backbone of Krieg.

Here's your chance to get acquainted with some classic releases from Krieg.

Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions: Part XIII - Che, Candlewolff ov Thee Golden Chalice, Cro-Monolithic Remixes for an Iron Age, and compilation appearances.

Written by Craig Hayes.

Self-proclaimed 'power ambient' duo Sunn O))) was formed by guitarist Stephen O’Malley and bassist Greg Anderson in the mid 90s, and since then, the band has explored the possibilities of sonic and emotional reward via thundering and increasingly more adventurous drones. Recently, Sunn O))) put their entire catalogue up on Bandcamp, and over the next few months I'm going to look at every release. Call it my 'Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions' project, or call it a fan biting off far more than he can chew. Whatever the case, here we go... unto the breach my friends; I hope to see you on the other side.


Thanks, from the bottom of my rotting little heart, for following this Monoliths and Opinions project. This post is the last in the series, at least until Sunn O))) put another thundering work on Bandcamp. Cheers to, (L) LORD <------(((O)))------>SOMA (R), and their numerous collaborators, for crafting the abundant victuals to review in the first place, and thanks, of course, to Metal Bandcamp's overlord Max, for indulging my (((drone))) obsession.

Photo by Metal Chris.

As much as you could argue that without drone architect Earth there would be no Sunn O))), you could also construct a pretty solid argument to say that without the avant-garde sound experiments of New York legends Suicide in the 1970s the world of droning and dissonant guitars and electronics would be a far more timid place. In 2008, label Blast First commissioned a series of 10" EPs to celebrate the 70th birthday of Suicide vocalist and no-wave hero, Alan Vega, and Sunn O)))'s contribution to that series saw the band collaborating with Finnish experimental electronic duo Pan Sonic on, "Che". The track sees Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson bring warmer, albeit still intimidating, riffs to the table. Wrapping those in Hammond and Moog, and adding in deep vocals from Joe Preston, and splintery electronics from Pan Sonic's Mika Vainio, there's a fitting sense of eccentricity and awe to "Che". It's six moody and textured minutes of buzzing and psych-fuelled grimness, all dipped in due reverence.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

As far as revered goes, British DJ John Peel was a hugely respected figure in music history too. A longtime supporter of adventurous music across the genres, Peel's BBC Radio 1 Sessions were famed for their importance in promoting non-mainstream bands. Peel was a huge fan of metal, putting Napalm Death on his show from the beginning of their career and, of course, he was a big fan of Sunn O))) as well. Peel died suddenly in October 2004, and Sunn O)))'s "Candlewolff ov Thee Golden Chalice" was recorded the following December – having been commissioned before Peel's passing. The 19-minute track begins gently enough, for a song from Sunn O)))'s universe, with the ebb and flow of subterranean riffing clawing its way to the surface. Moog and harmonium intertwine with the lava flow riffs later on, and a tamboura jangles away like a dark wind blowing through the wreckage of a temple. There's no doubt Peel would have heartily approved of the slow creeping tempo of "Candlewolff ov Thee Golden Chalice"

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Sunn O)))'s oeuvre is, obviously, primed for remixing. There's a lot of time, space, and caverns to explore and rebore, and that was resoundingly proven with the magnificent feast that Nurse With Wound provided on The Iron Soul of Nothing. Famed producer, mixer and mastering wizard James Plotkin – one of O'Malley's co-conspirators in the sadly departed colossus Khanate – leant his remixing skills to the band on single remix track, "Veils it White". Utilizing material from Sunn O)))'s Flight of the Behemoth recording sessions, Plotkin sculpted a lengthy, rumbling slab of minimalism and injected it with piercing pitches, stark piano, and industrial clangs – all twisted around feedback and nose-bleeding frequencies. Similarly to Nurse With Wound's remix ventures, Plotkin took the familiarly Sunn O))) into unfamiliar and fascinating territory.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

As well as being remixed, Sunn O))) have also played the role of remixer, and Cro-Monolithic Remixes for an Iron Age sees the band remixing a track each from Earth and Japanese noise legend Merzbow. The bare bones of the Earth remix, "Rule The Divine (Mysteria Caelestis Mugivi)" were taken from the original multitrack tapes of Earth's 1993 album, Earth 2: Special Low Frequency Version – which is, of course, the womb from which all metallic drone was born. The track can also be found on Legacy Of Dissolution, an album well worth seeking out, containing more Earth remixes from the likes of Mogwai, Justin Broadrick and Autechre.

Photo by Metal Chris.

"Rule The Divine (Mysteria Caelestis Mugivi)" was clearly a joy for O'Malley and Anderson to lay their hands on. The way in which they revel in amplifying the elongated passages of harsh scrapes and scratches brings more Stygian gloom to the track, and a hollowed-out midsection sees Carlson's guitar return for a powerful, reeling finish. In Merzbow's case, Sunn O))) remix the Japanese digital devastator's track, "Frog"– retitling it in the process to, "Catch 22 (Surrender Or Die)". O'Malley and Anderson burying the glitch and squalls in the back streets of a sci-fi nightmare, with the digital maelstrom burnished somewhat by a singular deep note that brings a prolonged undercurrent of doom to the fore.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Finishing up this Sunn O))) collection are two compilation tracks lurking on the band's Bandcamp page. "Isengard (chopped and screwed)" comes from the, Does Your Cat Know My Dog, compilation, and recorded live, the track is a grungy and grunty kick in the stomach, followed by another to the teeth. However, "BP//Simple", taken from the Jukebox Buddha compilation, sees the band toying with the possibilities of the Buddha Machine loop device to magnificent effect. The little heard track is actually one of Sunn O)))'s most beautiful, and it certainly deserves more attention. It's 10-minutes of sacramental hum and thrum, with chants carried on a circuitous, warm and fuzzy drone; very spiritual, very deep, and very... O)))hmmmm.

Maximum volume yields maximum results.
C)))

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Photo by Metal Chris.

The Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions series.

Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions: Part XI - Sunn O))) Live (Collected).

Written by Craig Hayes.

Self-proclaimed 'power ambient' duo Sunn O))) was formed by guitarist Stephen O’Malley and bassist Greg Anderson in the mid 90s, and since then, the band has explored the possibilities of sonic and emotional reward via thundering and increasingly more adventurous drones. Recently, Sunn O))) put their entire catalogue up on Bandcamp, and over the next few months I'm going to look at every release. Call it my 'Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions' project, or call it a fan biting off far more than he can chew. Whatever the case, here we go... unto the breach my friends; I hope to see you on the other side.

Photography by Koen Jacobs

You could probably make a case that you have to see Sunn O))) live to truly appreciate the band's power. You can put an album on, follow Sunn O)))'s instructions to the letter ("Maximum Volume Yields Maximum Results") and you'll feel the abundant weight and density of its sound. However, that's never going to replace standing in front of a gigantic stack of amplifiers as Sunn O))) blasts out seven shades of sub-harmonic hell as you gaze dazzled at hooded figures prowling around on a smoke-filled stage.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

The problem is, many Sunn O))) fans have never seen the band live – myself included. So, live recordings and an inordinate amount of time spent on YouTube has to slate our thirst for the full experience. However, that isn't a tragic tale per se. If you're seeking the recorded Sunn O))) live experience, one of the benefits of the online world is that you've got multiple choices of multiple line-ups in multiple venues at your fingertips, and that's certainly the case when it comes to the live releases collected on Sunn O)))'s Bandcamp page.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

If you want to listen to Attila Csihar's distinctive vocal stylings, or hear a fuller band line-up, you can indulge in the fantastic liturgical overload of Dømkirke, or try LXNDXN Subcamden Underworld Hallo'Ween 2003 – which includes the 49 soul-crushing minutes of "The Libations of Samhain". Solstitium Fulminate contains two tracks recorded live in 2005, and was originally included on the first 2000 copies of the double CD version of Black One.The release sees Csihar, Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson joined by Oren Ambarchi on guitars and electronics, and Tos Nieuwenhuizen on synth, and the band tear a ragged hole into other dimensions with the gloriously abrasive "Wine & Fog" and "Vlad Tepes"– Csihar chanting, growling and gargling with all his diabolic glee.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Agharti Live 09–10 comes highly recommended too. Recorded at the tail end of 2009 and beginning of 2010, Agharti Live 09–10 sees Monoliths and Dimensions ripped up by O'Malley, Anderson, and Csihar and disgorged in a new form – with songs stretched, reinterpreted and retitled. "Descent/Ascent" and "A/Interior I/Eye" offer two magnificent and mammoth drones orbiting 20 minutes in length, with Randall Dunn's front-of-house recording perfectly capturing all the mind-obliterating fuzz and churning, frequency ferocity.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

While many associate Csihar as being the Sunn O))) vocalist of choice, he's not the only noted black metal howler to have played live with the band. La Mort Noir Dans Exch/ Alzette, recorded in Luxembourg in 2006, features Malefic (Xasthur) out front, joining the usual gruesome twosome of O'Malley and Anderson, and additional noise-makers Dylan Carlson (Earth) on guitars, Tos Nieuwenhuizen on Moog, and Steve Moore on trombone. La Mort Noir Dans Exch/ Alzette also sees Randall Dunn occupying the live sound engineer role again, and accordingly, tracks such as "Hallow-Cave", "Reptile Lux", and the 22-minute lurching onslaught of "CandleGoat/Bathori" are bleeding-raw bruisers; exactly the kind of monoliths of trudge and trample you'd imagine them to be.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

If Sunn O))) as a trio sounds good, then Live White is definitely worth your time too. Joining O'Malley and Anderson on the release is Rex Ritter. And, as is par for the course with Sunn O))) live, the band transforms its recorded works by twisting the roots of tracks from Flight of the Behemoth, OO Void, White1 and White2, and striking them all with a slowly swung sledgehammer of sludge, doom, feedback and distortion. The 17-minute dirge of "Funerældrone // Funerælmarch (To the Grave)" – dedicated to Thorns' Snorre Ruch – is alone worth purchasing Live White for.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

If Sunn O))) as a trio seems excessive, then GrimmRobes Live 101008 – recorded at the Regent Theatre in Los Angles in 2008 – captures the power-house duo of O'Malley and Anderson celebrating the GrimmRobes 10th anniversary concert. Originally issued as an extremely limited tour release, the 90-minute-plus set is, as you'd expect, tyrannosaurus drone drowning in a tar pit – skull-splittingly brutal and all the more beautiful because of it – and The GrimmRobe Demos are also celebrated on Live at Primavera Sound Festival 2009 on WFMU. The famed demo (tracked here as "I | II | III") is performed in lumbering, crushing, and emotionally devastating style in front of an audience of 6,000 in Barcelona – no doubt setting a record for the number of minds Sunn O))) can melt in one sitting.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

In all, Sunn O)))'s Bandcamp live selection provides abundant evidence that the band is always mesmerizing in concert. Some might suggest that a live recording is nowhere close to the in-person live experience, but until the band hits your town, there's more than enough potent and pulverizing fare here.


The Sunn O))) Monoliths and Opinions series.

Pagan Altar - The Time Lord

Guest review by Eric Yanyo from Valley of Steel.


Shadow Kingdom Records has re-released The Time Lord, a long-out-of-print EP by NWOBHM stalwarts Pagan Altar. This is a collection of old demo recordings — some dating back to the band’s beginnings in the late 70s. Considering the fact that the five songs here were not intended to be officially released, the sound quality is pretty decent -- in this remastered version, I'd say The Time Lord could stand alongside records of many of the band's contemporaries without suffering from the comparison.

These songs definitely represent the band's niche in metal history, spanning from the hard rock "proto-metal" years through the inception of doom metal and beyond. Shades of early British metal influences such as Deep Purple are very prevalent here, especially on the first couple songs, but Pagan Altar also incorporate some sounds traditionally associated with American southern hard rock -- in particular, the title track seems to recall some of the long-form guitar jams of Molly Hatchet or the Allman Brothers Band.

With "Judgement of the Dead" and subsequent tracks, the band really seem to have found their voice in the early doom metal style -- full of Sabbath-esque riffing, along the lines of the kind of stuff Pentagram were doing at the time.

The Time Lord offers a fascinating snapshot into the history of a band that has been wrongfully overlooked for far too long, as well as encapsulating the evolution of the NWOBHM into doom metal. Fans of these styles will definitely want to pick up a copy, and be sure to keep an eye on Shadow Kingdom too, as I've heard whispers that there might be reissues or repressings of other Pagan Altar material on the horizon as well!

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Agalloch - Faustian Echoes - The Grey - The White

Agalloch has made a new song, Faustian Echoes, available at their Bandcamp. It is a single, two-part song based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s epic masterpiece “Faust.”. It is also the longest song Agalloch have ever written. Islander from No clean Singing said this about Faustian Echoes:

The piece works in a melodramatic, sturm-und-drang mode befitting its source material, with a central section recalling the melodic doom passages of Yob, and fluttering guitar leads that reminded me a great deal of the last Cormorant LP—which is always a good thing. Much like their previous 20-minute epic, “Black Lake Nidstang,” Faustian Echoes has a remarkable ability to hold my attention for its complete duration.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Also, you can now buy the companion EPs The White and The Grey at the Agalloch Bandcamp. The Grey from 2004 is a re-interpretation of two songs from their second full length The Mantle, and The White from 2008 collects seven lovely neofolk and dark ambient tracks.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]