Scorn Coalescence - Serpents Athirst / Genocide Shrines / Trepanation / Heresiarch

By Bryan Camphire. Cyclopean Eye Productions, a label out of Bangalore, present Scorn Coalescence, a four-way split of blistering death metal. The first two bands hail from Singapore, while the latter two are native to New Zealand.

By Bryan Camphire.

Artwork by Roger Moore.

Cyclopean Eye Productions, a label out of Bangalore, present Scorn Coalescence, a four-way split of blistering death metal. The first two bands hail from Sri Lanka, while the latter two are native to New Zealand. Taken together, the songs capture death metal's potential to be momentous and captivating, the kind of release that you wish was twice as long.

First up is "Poisoning the Seven", by Serpents Athirst. The song feels like an anthem from its opening bars. A minute in, they ratchet up the intensity and the tempo, recalling the relentless death metal of early 2000s Brazilian acts like Rebaelliun and Abhorrence. There is an urgent intensity to the emotions on display here. The track is brimming over with malevolence in its smoldering attack.

Genocide Shrines darken the mood with, "All and/or Nothing". The bass is at least as loud as the guitars and its bombast spews forth with the relentlessness of a Gatling gun. The whole cut is the sound of being ground to a paste on concrete underfoot. Yet for all its teeming antipathy, the music is also painstakingly measured and precise. Its explosiveness is calculated, set off with iron-fisted control.

Trepanation slow things down on "B/H/T". Just when you feel like you're on solid footing vocals and blast beats are thrown over your head and tied tight with rope, as you're tossed into the trunk of a car. The music careens along in fits and starts. When things slow down, an accompanying feeling of dread sets in as you anticipate the violence around the next corner, forced to manage the suspense and catharsis.

Heresiarch close off the split with "Dread Prophesy", a coughing erratic piece of death metal. Fast, confident and careening, it shows how the band's prowess for detailed sprawling death metal takes no prisoners in its assault. Frequent rhythm changes beg repeated listens while sacrificing none of the music's immediacy.

The record as a whole vouches for these four bands' abilities to convey destruction and death distilled into a unique powerful display. This release should leave little room for doubt that this is an era of strong uncompromising death metal. Coming from four bands from extreme ends of the underground, Scorn Coalescence is a vitally concentrated offering.

Short and to the point 2

By Steven Leslie. Now this is how you combine ambient/atmospheric music with black metal. Titaan appeared out of nowhere earlier this year and dropped easily one of the most impressive debut albums I have heard in years.

By Steven Leslie.


Now this is how you combine ambient/atmospheric music with black metal. Titaan appeared out of nowhere earlier this year and dropped easily one of the most impressive debut albums I have heard in years. What is most impressive is the organic way in which Titaan’s sole member Lalartu is able to organically weave in dark ambient sections and even silence in between absolutely feral blasts of black metal, both building suspense and heightening the intensity of the album’s ferocious moments. This is one that you will want to listen to as a whole and truly immerse yourself in as it careens between utterly oppressive aural onslaughts and engrossing atmospheric sections. The multi-layered vocals also deserve a mention as they blur the line between brutal death grunts and savage blackened shrieks. If you like your occult black metal to take you on a spiritual journey into the heart of darkness, look no further.

Cover art by Morkh

Released in late 2015, Serpents Athirst Heralding Ceremonial Mass Obliteration is another gem of black/death metal out of Sri Lanka. Following in the footsteps of the mighty Genocide Shrines, but bringing enough of their own flavor to the mix, this is one fans of rabid and vicious metal will not want to miss. Eschewing the cavernous death metal sound that is so prolific right now in favor of something far more visceral and intense, Serpents Athirst have made a bold statement with this three-song assault. Utilizing razor sharp riffs that will rend flesh from bone and an absolutely filthy vocal assault puts many black and death metal vocalist’s to shame Heralding will leave you battered, broken and terrified in just under 12 minutes. Can’t wait to hear a full length from these hellraisers.

Artwork by Boris Haimov

Israel isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind when you think of Luciferian black metal, but that is going to change if Mortuus Umbra has their way. Released towards the tail end of 2015, this excellent EP has sadly slipped under most people’s radars despite its undeniable quality. Catechism manages to achieve the same dissonant and enveloping atmosphere Deathspell Omega are masters of without ever entering into copycat territory. Add to that some truly memorable riffs, expressive and varied screams and an excellent production job, hitting that perfect balance that Watain did on albums like Sworn to the Dark, and you have an occult black metal release that is more than worthy of your dollars and your time.

Artwork by Noir Soufre

This is Virvel av Morkerhatet’s first release since their 2010 debut, but it was definitely worth the six-year wait. Virvel aren’t afraid to show off their technical proficiency on this slab of forward thinking black metal. In fact, it is their ability to utilize various time signatures and angular riffs to create an alien atmosphere that really helps this Ukrainian band stand apart from the overpopulated black metal scene. Even more impressive is the band’s ability to balance their precise riffs with quality songwriting, easily avoiding the technical wankery trap bands this proficient often fall into. This is one that will give you a lot of replay value, as there is lots of variety and nuance to discover as you delve deeper and deeper into it’s 50 minute run time. Not quite as a much of a mind-fuck as Dodheimsgard’s latest, but just as engrossing, give this one a shot if you prefer your black metal shooting for the stars as opposed to the basement.