Label Spotlight: Blood Music

By Kevin Page. There's eclectic and then there's Blood Music in Finland. Since it's humble beginning in an attic in 2011, there seemingly hasn't been anything too experimental for them to get behind. Death, black, progressive metal, jazz, or avant garde

By Kevin Page.

There's eclectic and then there's Blood Music in Finland. Since it's humble beginning in an attic in 2011, there seemingly hasn't been anything too experimental for them to get behind. Death, black, progressive metal, jazz, or avant garde, most of their roster defies typical classification. Which brings us to 2015 and three bands that once again are fresh and unique.


Apparently synthwave is a "thing" and there is a burgeoning scene to go along with it. But what Gost seem to be doing differently is adding a horror element to its sound. Baalberith, the sole member of Gost, has a history of playing in metal bands, but was always an electronic music fan. So it comes as no small surprise that even though this isn't a metal album, Behemoth, speaks to me. It feels like a soundtrack to all those 80's horror movies I'd watch with friends at sleepovers in my youth. Throw in some evil album art and the package is complete.




I'm a fan of Gautier Serre and the thoroughly warped, Igorrr, so I anxiously awaited this side project of his, Corpo-Mente. Featuring the lush operatic vocals of Laure Le Prunenec (Öxxö Xööx, Rïcïnn), it's much more, shall we say, "normal", than Igorrr (then again, most bands are by comparison). It's a classical journey of baroque, trip hop & acoustique. But it's also beautifully haunting and mysterious, like some twisted noir. It's by no means aggressive or in your face, but that doesn't stop it from being one hell of a piece of art.

Artwork by Luca F. Carey

Yes, another synthwave band. Although Dan Terminus prefers the term cyberpunk or 'darksynth' (coined by Perturbator, another band of the genre who is also on Blood Music and you can check out here). While it firmly sits in the same genre as it's fellow labelmates, The Wrath of Code has a much more overall sci-fi feel. Think Blade Runner and an the endless amounts of old school video games. For the most part its an uptempo affair, but it does slow down to mix things up on occasion. Perfect cover art really encapsulates the sound and feel of this album.

Klamm - Wahnsee

Klamm - Wahnsee. At base this is melodic atmospheric lack metal, but it is mixed with ambient and avant garde sounding parts. It's music filled with ambitious ideas and played by musicians capable of carrying out those ideas without sounding forced or flashy. Special note must go to the vocalist who

does a really good job in applying many different techniques from whispering over croaking, moaning and screaming in different heights to hoarse or also “normal” singing passages.

as described in this review from The Metal Archives. The production is warm, clear and organic. Bass and drums simply sounds great, and you can hear all the intricacies (and the crunch) of the guitars. At 79 minutes this is a long album, thankfully Klamm spends that time well.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies

Arcturus - Sideshow Symphonies from 2005 has been added to the Season of Mist Bandcamp. You could call this cerebral metal. The atmosphere is airy and mournful. The music is progressive, avant garde even, with just the slightest hint of black metal. The whole album has the feel of a rock-opera.

The focus is on song structure and vocal hooks though. Combine those hooks with the beautiful operatic tenor of Simen Hestnæs and you get parts that sounds like a-ha playing metal (and that is a good thing). Fantastic stuff. Here's one review from Metal Review and here's eleven more from The Metal Archives.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Obolus - Lament

Art by Bryan Proteau.

Obolus - Lament has been released as a free download on the Flenser Records Bandcamp. Free because the Flenser want more people to know about Obolus and giving away the bands new release seemed like the best way to accomplish this.

This is a 20 minutes atmospheric black metal journey. Haunting shrieks buried by screaming guitars and blasting drums, interspersed with slower depressive interludes. Lament delivers on the promises Obolus made with their Demo, which was reviewed by Cvlt Nation and Don't Count on it Reviews.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Brian Proteau also did the fantastic artwork for both the original and the remastered version of Lycus - Demo 2011.

Update: The Obolus Demo has just been released on cassette, available for pre-order here and also featuring artwork by Brian Proteau.

Wreck and Reference - Black Cassette (Remastered)

A remastered version of Wreck and Reference's Black Cassette was added to the Flenser Records Bandcamp. This is experimental doom/noise rock, done without guitars, they use keyboards, synths, samples, and excellent drumming to provide the heavy sounds. The vocals and the almost "poppy" feel of some of the tracks makes it sound kind of like The Cure playing doom. Here are two reviews from Don't Count on it Reviews and Invisible Oranges and an interview from Cvlt Nation.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

The original (non-remastered) version of Black Cassette is available from Wreck and Reference's own Bandcamp