Tag: Black Metal

Galaktik Cancer Squad – Celestia

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Galaktik Cancer Sqaud - logo

Wayyyyyyyy back in August the German band (one man, obvs) subject to this review reached out to me over the waves of the web and asked if I’d be interested in talking about Celestia. I checked it out, kinda loved the name Galaktik Cancer Sqaud, and replied in the affirmative. And then, like a moron, I just didn’t get around to doing anything with it. I know, I am lax, and for that I apologise to Mr Galaktic Cancer Sqaud – or Argwohn if we’re being fancy.

Galaktik Cancer Squad - Celestia
Argwhon – everything
1. Omnivore
2. Foreign Day
3. Artificial Life
4. Celestia
5. Kings of Dust and Ice
6. Foreign Night
7. Genesung

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Imperial Triumphant – Abominamentvm

Cheryl2 Comments

Imperial Triumphant and the filth-ridden and dissonant structures of Abominamentvm (nice use of the kvlt “v” there fellas) writhe under a layer of smoke and a cloak of distinctly European sound. The New York based trio owe a great debt to French masters Deathspell Omega and the presence of that deliciously utter nastiness in both the mysterious DsO and now Imperial Triumphant is as rotten as any corpse, and marvellous with it.


1. Hierophant
2. Manifesto
3. Crushing the Idol
4. Credo in Nihil
5. Devs Est Machina
6. Scaphism
7. S.P.Q.R
8. Bellvm

Ilya – guitars/vocals, Malave – bass, Cohen – drums

“Hierophant” introduces this solid debut with a beautifully riven bass line than sinks deep into the subconscious whilst preparing you for the inevitable war to follow. Imperial Triumphant evidently enjoy testing their subjects and tend to pull away from the obvious tactics of black metal and here, instead of going all out straight way, “Hierophant” is a little doomy and deeply unnerving in equal measure. Of course this subtly doesn’t last long and “Manifesto” soon powers forward on the bands signature weird time changes and occasional dip into frighteningly abstract territory- funky bass riff included.

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Deafheaven+Bosse-de-Nage – SPLIT LP

Cheryl1 Comment

It’s no secret that here at Bleak Metal we (um…..me) are pretty into Bosse-de-Nage and their dastardly enigmatic ways (check out a review of ii and also iii which I did for SPB). The mysterious band have been consistently producing some of the most interesting and intriguing post-rock/punk infused black metal of the past couple of years and November sees the release of a split record with Deafheaven – a band that similarly challenge the concepts of black metal and what it really means.

For this release, Bosse-de-Nage recorded a brand new track – “A Mimesis of Purpose” – and Deafheaven deigned to take on something no one ever expected – a Mogwai cover. Yep. And holy shit, do they ever do this melancholic masterpiece justice.

Deafheaven+Bosse-de-Nage – split cover

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Bastard Sapling – Dragged From Our Restless Trance

Cheryl1 Comment

Bastard Sapling are another band from the Forcefield Records roster (and unsurprisingly are from Richmond, Virginia), yet they are nothing at all like the other two bands previously featured on Bleak Metal – Unholy Thoughts and The Catalyst. This record is actually, y’know, bleak. Sometimes I like to change things up ok. But back to the point, Bastard Sapling’s debut first appeared on cassette a couple of months ago and now Forcefield Records are preparing to release the record on vinyl, and evidently have a couple of pre-order bundles ready to be finalised. All pertinent details can be found on their website, so check that out ASAP.

1. Prophecy Born from Dismal Terrain
2. Cold Winds Howled Across the Desolation
3. The Apex of Suffering
4. Beyond the Void of Life

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It’s The End Of The Year Or Whatever….

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It’s that time of year again, where everyone goes all out to prove their exemplary credentials as a music lover and that they indeed are, the most metal. A time of year where lists abound – “Look at my fantastic taste everyone! Look at all the things I listen to that you’ve never heard of! Look at how obscure my musical interests are!”

It’s with that in mind, that I bash out a list of my own. If you’re interested in what my top six demo releases of the year are, check ’em out here: http://www.cvltnation.com/topsixdemos/

And for a list featuring things that aren’t metal at all (although yes, a lot of what you see below is on it), this is a link that has my personal top 25 on it: http://www.scenepointblank.com/features/music/scene-point-blanks-favorites-year-end-2011/2

As an aside, my top album of the year is Rome – Die Æsthetik der Herrschaftsfreiheit. I’m not including it here, because it isn’t metal and afterall, this is a metal blog right? I made a review of it, which you can read by clicking the title. Cool!

Again, for reasons of fairness, this will be alphabetical. Also, I just really like to alphabetise. Who knows how many will end up on this.

Absu – Abzu

Altar Of Plagues – Mammal

Aphrenous – Ravaged By The Incessant Scourge Of Deception

Arckanum – Helvítismyrkr

Ash Borer – Ash Borer

Barghest – Barghest

Bestial Raids – Prime Evil Damnation

Bosse-de-Nage – ii

Brocken Moon – Huffnungslos

Caïna – Hands That Pluck

Circle Of Ouroborus – Eleven Fingers

Cold Body Radiation – Deer Twillight

Corrupted – Garten Der Unbewusstheit

Craft – Void

Esoteric – Paragon Of Dissonance

40 Watt Sun – The Inside Room

Giles Corey – Giles Corey

Goatmoon – Varjot

Gottesmorder – Gottesmorder

Lake Of Blood – As Time And Tide Erodes Stone

Light Bearer – Lapsus

Mournful Congregation – The Book Of Kings

Necros Christos – Doom Of The Occult

Negative Plane – Stained Glass Revelations

Panopticon – Social Disservices

Sutekh Hexen – Luciform

Taake – Noregs Vaapen

Ulcerate – The Destroyers Of All

Woods Of Desolation – Torn Beyond Reason

Wreck & Reference – Black Cassette

Bosse-de-Nage – ii

Cheryl3 Comments

Bosse-de-Nage hail from the Bay Area of San Franciso………and that’s pretty much all I, or anyone else who isn’t actually in Bosse-de-Nage, know about the band. But that’s cool, because Bosse-de-Nage’s newest opus certainly needs no explanation as to the personality’s behind the music. Because this album RULES.

1. Volume II Chapter I

2. Marie In A Cage

3. The Lampless Hours

4. The Death Posture

5. Why Am I So Lovely ? Because My Master Washes Me

 ii is a beautifully realised record, full of the kind of sounds you’d expect in an orthodox black metal band – screeched vocals and intense blastbeats. But Bosse-de-Nage are far from orthodox, pulling their influences from a spectrum most inclusive of a little country called France. They take their name from a character in a novel by French writer Alfred Jarry, with the book in question being “Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, pataphysician” and Jarry is well known for being a little bit surreal, a tad absurd and a lot of a drunk. This isn’t the only French (and by no means the last) literary influence, final track “Why Am I So Lovely ? Because My Master Washes Me,” takes it’s title from a line in a Paul Eluard (another absurdist/surrealist poet, and of seemingly significant interest to the group) work.

The lyrical style on this record is hard to describe. The album has a very narrative feel and if you have the lyrics in front of you it’s almost as though you’re reading from a book, and not listening to some of the harshest vocals put to disc screamed at you. Reading the words whilst hearing the enigmatically named “B” shriek his way through some of the most obscure verse you will likely hear is definitely an other-worldly experience.

The words conjure images of despair, a kind of hell, an overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia. “Marie In A Cage” is possibly the most overtly sexual and pornographic piece of writing I’ve seen in black metal. This is not a band conforming to the norm. This is a band unafraid to cross boundaries, unafraid to bring together multiple influences and to present them in such a manner.

Musically Bosse-de-Nage hold true to black metal conventions, but encompass so many different styles that it’d be hard to place them in any one sub-genre. There’s flashes of Cascadian style in some of the guitar progressions, second wave in the vocal delivery and raging drum work and at times there is the evocation of raw and melodic French black metal. It sounds weird, and darn, it is, but it’s done so well and with such attention to detail that you cannot help but be sucked into the swirling vortex created.

The closing seconds of  final track “Why Am I So Lovely ? Because My Master Washes Me” are an education in how to terrify. A huge crashing wall of feedback envelops you, the melody of the track completely loses it’s way and is taken over by this cacophony of noise. It. Is. Glorious.

Take a look at the band’s official website, where you can grab digital downloads of their first two demo recordings.

http://bdn.greymetal.com/

To pre-order the CD and/or LP, go here:

http://theflenser.com/

Kvlt Albvm Ov The Weak

Cheryl2 Comments

Thorns. You might have heard of this band. And if you haven’t, I can’t help but wonder what exactly you’ve been doing with your life.

I’ve done some very in depth research to prove to myself that this is not a band a lot of people know of and learnt that over the past week, the most played Thorns track scrobbled to last.fm had 63 plays. Whereas say, Emperor (check out the Emperor/Thorns split), has 645. Yet Thorns are a highly influential band, black metal through and through. So kvlt that they’ve only released one full length record in the twenty plus years since their inception. Probably because founder Blackthorn (Snorre) was imprisoned for eight years for his hand in the infamous murder of Mayhem guitarist Euronymous. If you can track down the early Thorns demos from a time when they were still called Stigma Diabolicum, then do. For no reason other than they’re excellent. Which is reason enough, right ?

1. Existence

2. World Playground Deceit

3. Shifting Channels

4. Stellar Master Elite

5. Underneath The Universe A

6. Underneath The Universe B

7. Interface To God

8. Vortex

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Kvlt Albvm Ov The Weak

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This Kvlt Albvm Ov The Weak is technically a new release. The music has been kicking about since 1990. Yet it’s only just recently seen the light of day. Hence the title. And it’s kvlt as fvck status. Bow down before the almighty Beherit.

1. Rehearsal

2. Grave Desecration Vengeance

3. At The Devil’s Churns

4. Nocturnal Evil

5. Whores Of Belial

6. Witchcraft

7. The Oath Of Black Blood

8. Six Days With Sadistic Slayer

9. Demonomancy

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Cheryl Prime Attempts A ┼op ┼en Favovrite Albvms Ov The Year So Far List.

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It’s nearly the middle of the year. And what better way to celebrate than with a nice list of brilliant albums that have come out already. There’s probably better ways to celebrate this passage of time, but it’s a Sunday and I can’t be bothered. I could easily have expanded this list to a top twenty. But that seemed like a lot of effort.

This list will be alphabetical, for the sake of fairness. And also because it’s too hard to choose a number one. Sorry.

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