/r/RABM/

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Lagrima - "Hannibal Ad Portas" (2012)

LAGRIMA "Hannibal Ad Portas"


Year: 2012
Genre: Epic Death/Black Metal
Country: Lebanon 

Track List:
  1. Prelude (... To the Gods of War)
  2. Serenade Upon Mount Aryx
  3. Conquest of Iberia
  4. Death of the Father ... Saguntum
  5. Arise and Arrest the Destiny of Rome
  6. Trepia Trazimian Cannie
  7. Abhore the Antagonists
  8. A Final Fight
  9. Sealed With Poison
DOWNLOAD

One more release I received for a review not so long ago, this time from a very unexpected place: Lebanon. Yes, I know there were such great Lebanese bands as Ayat and Damaar, and I already have wrote several posts on the subject of Middle Eastern metal in general, but it's the first time I receive a message from a Lebanese band. The music turned out to be very interesting and well-produced - a kind of melodic death/black metal with epic moments (but not in the "Scandinavian" way). Of course there were some parts which I didn't like, but in general it turned out to be much better than I initially thought it to be. Definitely recommended!

facebook / reverbnation / myspace

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Lamantide - s/t (2011)

LAMANTIDE "Lamantide"

Year: 2011
Genre: Blackened Crust/Hardcore
Country: Italy

Track List:
  1. Invocazione
  2. Adi Shakti
  3. ...e i giorni una maceria
  4. Esistere
  5. Nihil Ergo Sum
  6. Senza Calore
  7. Misero, grido
  8. O' Fortuna
  9. Ultimo Sangue
Lamantide are a left-leaning blackened hardcore band from Cremona (Italy), formed in 2009. I think they're a very good representative of Italian blackened hardcore/crust scene, which seems to be growing fast. Unfortunately I have this album only in 128kbps bitrate, but you can get its shorter version in 320 kbps bitrate off bandcamp, if you wish. And as a final word - their cover of Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana" "(O Fortuna)" is great:

Kompost - demo (2012)

KOMPOST "demo"

Year: 2012
Genre: Metallic Crust/Hardcore
Country: Italy

Track List:
  1. Vorrei non essere umano
  2. Al patibolo
  3. Psichiatria
  4. Virtual death
  5. Anossia
  6. Fame! (Berserk cover)
  7. Videocrazia
DOWNLOAD

Yet another demo from my mail, this time it is metallic hardcore/d-beat from Treviso (near Venice). On last.fm it was tagged as "grindcore" and "blackened crust"; however, I didn't hear much grindcore or BM influences there.

facebook

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Outer Gods - "Mael Medusa" (2012)

OUTER GODS "Mael Medusa"

Year: 2012
Genre: Dark Ambient / Funeral Doom
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Writ en Dominae
  2. Mael Medusa
bandcamp

Outer Gods are a new experimental drone/doom band from Atlanta who characterise their approach to music as "neofolk-ish / mystical". If I understood them right, they decided to send me their demo "Mael Medusa" because they wanted it to be on a blog that presents some genuinely different music. The demo consists of two long tracks stylistically ranging from dark ambient to funeral doom/drone. It also contains samples from avant-garde/classical works by Iannis Xenakis.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

A Cloud Forest - "October's Overture" (2012)

A CLOUD FOREST "October's Overture"

Year: 2012
Genre: Black Metal (not quite atmospheric or depressive, though)
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Cower Into My Darkness
  2. A Part of My Collapse
  3. Where Shadows Dissolve
DOWNLOAD

Latest up-to-date release from Phoenix (AZ)-based anarcho-BM project of Eric (Contravene). In my opinion, it's a great EP, and the vocal work is noticiably better than on ACF's early releases. However, it isn't as "atmospheric" as I expected it to be.

Release notes:

"Limited to 100 copies on CD and packaged in a 4 panel digipak. Written and recorded from October - December 2011. 3 tracks of depressive and atmospheric black metal. Welcoming the cold, dark days of winter. Physical CD release also includes the 25 minute bonus track "the Widow Ghost". Released by Silence and Solitude Records, available NOW for $6 plus postage worldwide either direct from us by going to the music page or from the Silence and Solitude Records webshop http://silenceandsolitude.storenvy.com/"

bandcamp

Monday, October 15, 2012

Panopticon - "Social Disservices" (2011)

PANOPTICON "Social Disservices"

Year: 2011
Genre: RABM
Country: USA
Label: Flenser Records 

Track List:
  1. Resident
  2. Client
  3. Subject
  4. Patient
DOWNLOAD

Speaking of Panopticon - here's one more album which I forgot to review in time, namely "Social Disservices". Unfortunately, my health condition remains to be not very good, and i'm not in the mood for writing of detailed reviews in English (all the more so, there already is one much better than I'll ever write). I'd say, though, that I personally liked it more than "Kentucky". It's more aggressive and "crusty" than most of the recent releases by Panopticon, sounding even like early 90's industrial metal at times (track #3, for example). Don't know if Flenser Rec. are OK with free distribution of this album (they probably aren't), but Austin himself definitely is, and you easily can buy it online, if you wish.

Merkaba - "Bones Of The Sacred Forest" (2011)

MERKABA "Bones of the Sacred Forest"

Year: 2011
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal, Post-Black Metal
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Faultline
  2. Eyes Lose Focus
  3. We Seem to Pass like Ships in the Night
  4. Continuum
  5. Glacial Fire
DOWNLOAD

"Bones Of The Sacred Forest" is the first full-length album by Merkaba, released about an year and a half ago. Back then I had an active correspondence both with the band and with the organization they're associated with (RAAN), but completely forgot to post their album when it was finally out. Then again, better late than never, so I hope you'll enjoy some atmospheric, meditative, post-rock'ish BM strongly in vein of my blog's ideology. Like Panopticon, Merkaba are from Kentucky, and participate in a Lexington, KY-based circle of experimental/eco-spiritualist musicians - Concentric Drone Cult.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Typhonic Age - "Wrath of a New Dawn" (2012)

TYPHONIC AGE "Wrath Of A New Dawn"

Year: 2012
Genre: USBM
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Procreating the Archetype
  2. Therionic Wolfhowl
  3. Storm the Heavens
  4. Ahriman Ascendent
bandcamp / facebook

This release from Typhonic Age contains songs from their first two demos, but re-recorded by TA as a full band (the demos were recorded by a duo). So you won't find any new material here, but any feedback will be helpful and appreciated by the band anyway. Speaking of their sound, it's still the old school (1st- and early 2nd-wave) black/thrash sound (their list of influences - Bathory, Celtic Frost, Sodom, and Darkthrone - says it all).

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Din of Awakening - "Demo II" (2012)

DIN OF AWAKENING "Demo II"

Year: 2012
Genre: Raw USBM
Country: USA
Label: Fallen Empire 

DOWNLOAD

New short demo from Din of Awakening (3 untitled tracks). I'm not feeling well right now, thus want to avoid writing long texts in English - so I'd just say its sound is indeed very different when compared with the 1st demo. For better or for worse? It's up to you to decide:



"Cast the stones,
Ancient Obsidian,
Altar of Bones,
Let the Ritual Begin

Blessed Tome,
Moonlit Messages,
Chants of Old,
Awaken from Dormancy

We are the Tribes of the Lunar Fires,
Clandestine seers ‘neath the Quickening,
Oracles of Celestial Splendor,
Imbolc bring Snowdrops and Aconite..."

Ivpiter - "IIII" (2012)

IVPITER "IIII"

Year: 2012
Genre: Raw BM / Blackened Crust
Country: Brazil

DOWNLOAD

Ivpiter (pronounced as "Jupiter") is a new anarchist black metal/d-beat project from Curitiba. "IIII" is Ivpiter's debut EP, consisting of 8 short untitled tracks. Recommended to those who like Brazilian noise punk and primitive black metal.

bandcamp

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

YOUWRETCH - "Sympathy of Wolves" (2012)

YOUWRETCH "Sympathy Of Wolves"

Year: 2012
Genre: Metallic Crust/Sludge
Country: USA
Label: Forward! Records (Collective nonprofit label from the Midwest) 

Track List:
  1. Sinner
  2. Three Days
  3. Bottom Feeder
  4. Fields
  5. Cobblestone & Smoke
  6. Tar Covered
  7. Crows Feet
  8. Sympathy of Wolves
  9. Hell Followed
  10. The Binding Dark
DOWNLOAD

A band from Minneapolis, MN, that isn't easily labelable. Some of their tracks are closer to hardcore and (blackened) crust, some - to sludge/doom and even progressive metal in the vein of Nevermore. Anyway, it's a very interesting release, thanks to the band for sending me it. Looks like Minneapolis area is indeed very rich in good BM, doom/sludge, and hardcore bands.

facebook / bandcamp / "Miss the Stars" sampler

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Celephaïs - "Tír na nÓg" (2012)

CELEPHAIS "Tír na nÓg"

Year: 2012
Genre: Post-Rock, Atmospheric BM
Country: Germany

Track List:
  1. Wisdom
  2. Tir n'a n'Og
bandcamp

Some more music from my readers, this time it's post-rock/atmospheric black metal from Germany. Most sites (M-A, last.fm, bandcamp) list their genre as post-black metal, but I personally think it's more post-rock than metal...

Anicon - "MMXII" (2012)

ANICON "MMXII"

Year: 2012
Genre: USBM
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Current of Ash and White
  2. A Hole in the Shape of God
  3. The Tomb of Illusions
  4. Lash and Ladder
Anicon are a new black metal band from New York (if I'm not mistaken). They aren't exactly a political band, but they know and love my blog, and at least one of their members grew up in the anarcho-punk scene in the Northwest. The EP is very good, definitely worth a 4$ download @ bandcamp.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Mania & Huldrekall - split (2011)

MANIA / HULDREKALL "split"

Year: 2011
Genre: Cascadian Black/Doom Metal
Country: USA
Label: Eternal Warfare

Track List:

Mania
  1. Manifesting Dark Energy
  2. Collapse of Spiraling Iteration II
Huldrekall
  1. Delusive Contentment
  2. An Unexpected Departure
  3. Trapped Within
bandcamp
And the last release on my list of "Cascadian BM which should be on my blog" - Mania/Huldrekall split. Excellent, as always. Still can't find Mania/L'Acephale split anywhere, but hope it's at least as good as this one.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Møllehøj - demo (2012)

MOLLEHOJ "demo"

Year: 2012
Genre: Raw Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: USA

bandcamp

Møllehøj is a new female-fronted eco-anarchist BM project, consisting of Jennifer Christensen and a couple of guest musicians. Jennifer mentioned her project in our RABM facebook group a few months ago, but they didn't have any recordings back then. And not so long ago I received a letter from her informing about the first Møllehøj demo. Yes, I can't disagree with Jennifer - it's really rough and somewhat monotous (therefore hard to listen through 42 minutes), but maybe someone will like it in its raw form. A better version is going to be recorded and released within the next few months.

"Mollehoj is an anarchistic celebration of the creative act and values improvisational art which dismantles the traditional idea of song structure over "perfect" art.
Mollehoj is a fusion of Musical Impressionism and Meditative Eco Black Metal.
Jennifer creates mainly with her voice, guitar, cello, piano, bass guitar and violin"

There's also a lot of live video on youtube under "Mollehoj":



Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Prison Of Mirrors - "Manning The Galleys" (2012)

PRISON OF MIRRORS "Manning The Galleys"

Year: 2012
Genre: Post-Black Metal
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Desiccation
  2. Sanctity In Chains
  3. Galley Slaves
  4. Horn Of Winter
  5. All We Cherish In Embers
DOWNLOAD

New release from POM, which I was supposed to post a few months earlier... but better late than never. Personally I wasn't as impressed by this album in comparison with the debut one, but it wasn't a disappointment either.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Arctic Flowers - "Reveries" (2011)

ARCTIC FLOWERS "Reveries"

Year: 2011
Genre: Anarcho-Punk, Post-Punk, Gothic Rock
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Double-Edged
  2. Fall To Pieces
  3. Vexed
  4. Rising
  5. Cri De Coeur
  6. Blue Heelers
  7. Crusaders + Banshees
  8. Reveries
DOWNLOAD

And now, for a change, an album from a Cascadian band that doesn't play black metal or neofolk, but a very interesting blend of hardcore/crust and post-punk/goth-rock. Arctic Flowers are a female-fronted band from Portland who appear to be not very well-known (at least outside their region), so I thought I should mention them on my blog. As for me, the music is very good, especially vocals; and I think the album cover suits the mood of music quite well. Recommended!