Late Summer/Fall releases from Gilead Media

Well folks, it should come as no surprise that with a massive batch of new releases from Gilead Media making their way to light, it's time for me to review them and share them with you. Aside from being one of the few labels I regularly feature with bands who are "well known," they're also one of the most consistently daring labels I've encountered, taking chances on unconventional artists only to watch them excel time after time. With this in mind, it's little surprise that these new releases are both daring and enriching for me as a listener.

For the sake of organization, I'll share them in order of catalog number. Relic 46 is Hexer's debut LP, and while this is a fresh face to me, I instantly see why this band belongs alongside such heavyweights as Thou, False, and Ash Borer. While the band's logo and album cover initially had me guessing this might be a thrash release, I'm delighted that things instantly open up with some of the most fuzz-drenched, riffy black metal (albeit with some thrash influence thrown in for good measure) I've heard in a while. While I love an intricate journey, sometimes a headbanging good time is all that's needed, and Hexer delivers in full force. That's not to say that this is a simplistic mosh-fest though, as the pace and structure changes on a dime, with the band hurtling ahead at full-speed into new territory at every chance. Even when the band slows things down to a marching pace, I can practically envision buildings crumbling and explosions surrounding the band as they methodically churn out their apocalyptic black madness. While many bands these days seem intent on hiding behind distortion and density of sound, Hexer has adopted the aesthetic subtly, using it as a jagged accent to their music instead of a mask to compensate for lack of musicianship like so many other groups have been known to do. If you're into facemelting grimness, this one will be up for sale soon enough, so keep an eye on Gilead's webstore.

Next up is Relic 50, the second release from Colin Marston's project Indricothere, which is appropriately titled "II." In all honesty, I have not enjoyed everything Marston related, so with slight anxiety but as much of an open mind as I can have, I approached this album. From the opening drum assault, I was surprised. While the music is as technically sound as one would expect from a member of projects like Krallice, Behold...The Arctopus, and Gorguts, this is more listenable than I had anticipated. Alternating between valiant, aggressive, and majestic, Indricothere practically pummels the beauty out of potentially hideous structures with it's machine-gun drumming and relentless guitars chiseling away at the listener. Once the assault has created enough open space, the guitars are free to explore the space, taking the listener on a journey that seems to weave in and out of some unknown dimension. Indeed, on songs like "VII" or the drifting ambiance of "XI," I find myself actually feeling relaxed amid the sheer expansive nature of sound. It's hard to explain, but for some reason this release is so fast, so chaotic, that the only response it leaves me with is to simply relax and let it take me along whatever route it sees fit. If you're looking for some solid instrumental wizardry and have an interdimensional journey in mind, you should preorder a copy of "II" and get ready to travel into the deepest recesses of your own brain.

While the order of these items was dictated by catalog number, it's only fitting that this post closes out with the "biggest" feeling release of the three, the new album from Northless, "World Keeps Sinking," which is a split release between Gilead Media and Halo of Flies. While I tend not to like hardcore and sludge hybrids, I can tell that Northless are on top of their game for the genre. Riffs swell up in an absolutely crushing fashion, which I love, but at times the song structures are a bit uninteresting to me. That's not to say that this is in any way a dull or "bad" release, but sometimes things feel a bit cleaner than my tastes generally lean. I'm also a bit less than sold on the vocalist's style, but again, I realize this is a matter of taste rather than quality. Where this album does excel is in its instrumental passages and its capacity to shape the songs in unpredictable directions at times. I'm always into a good surprise, and this album does deliver enough of those to keep me interested. Fans of slightly more chaotic hardcore or more polished sludge releases will definitely gravitate towards this, and this album is a clear indicator as to Northless' current popularity. Perhaps with a few more listens, even this curmudgeon will be won over.

The new LPs from Indricothere and Northless are available at a discounted price when purchased together, and Hexer's LP will be available for purchase when Gilead has copies on hand. Pairing these new releases with some excellent new distro updates (including Blut Aus Nord LPs that I'm swooning over) means we're all about to be a few dollars lighter in the pocket. Get these soon, as I anticipate each of them will be successful enough to sell out rather quickly.

Lychgate- "Lychgate" LP (Gilead Media)

So this album has been announced for a while now, yet I haven't had my review posted. Usually I'm pretty prompt with reviews, but usually albums aren't quite this overwhelming and massive. Lychgate's debut album is not something to be taken lightly. It's not uncommon for established musicians to start a new band which is all hype and minimal delivery. Lychgate does anything but that. To be honest, this album was able to sneak up on me in every sense and I'm delighted that it sounds even better than I'd hoped it would. Being the brainchild of members of Lunar Aurora, Esoteric, and Omega Centauri, one would expect something pretty chaotic and enjoyable, and indeed that is exactly what Lychgate has concocted.

The album opens with an appropriate hybrid of marches, and I'm unsure whether I'm witnessing a funeral or the initial onset of war, but I know that I'm in for something immense. What Lychgate follows up with is a bit of both. Perhaps it's the destruction of foes and the subsequent lamentation all at once, but this unique take on the black metal sound and style is just as much rooted in funeral doom as it is in classic black metal stylings. I hate referencing other bands, but I hear echoes of the grand orchestral fury of Septic Flesh and the majestic chaos of mid-period Arcturus in here alongside certain hints of Opethian melody and song structures. Lychgate spends so much time contorting around itself that I often find myself double checking to see if I'm listening to the same album, yet things are mostly cohesive and fluid. While it can be slightly disorienting as a listener, I feel like it's more of an attempt to fit many great ideas into one album that can only hold so much rather than any sort of identity crisis. If anything, Lychgate makes such a strong statement of intent on this album that I feel it should have been longer. That said, if the album's only true weakness is that its length betrays its sheer immensity, then perhaps future releases will allow Lychgate to expand within the appropriate space. I really feel like these guys are going to be a stellar live band, as every piece of the puzzle is already in place. I seriously hope this happens.

If you haven't already learned about this album from about a dozen other stellar metal blogs, now's your chance to head over to the Gilead Media website and place an order for your copy of this excellent debut. Share this slab of spiraling black madness with your friends and maybe we can garner enough interest for a US tour. Let's hope.

Fell Voices- "Regnum Saturni" 2xLP (Gilead Media/Antithetic)

With this post, I return from a lengthy period without writing. It's been about a week, and I've chosen a monster of an album to mark my return to this blog. With Regnum Saturni, Fell Voices have done many things that defied everything I have come to expect, yet have somehow exceeded and surpassed my hopes regardless. I've listened to this album many times and I'm still not sure how to even describe what they've done here. This album has many identities, each of them holding an equal importance and sonic appeal, and to call them all out individually and list them would detract from the beautiful place of balance they've created as an entity. Instead of trying to commit words to something that is both formless and calculated all at once, I've decided to write my review as the band recorded their album: entirely live. I'm about to start listening to the album again, and I'll describe my experience as it progresses

The album opens with "Flesh and Bone," the shortest of the three songs on this album at a mere 17:48. It hums in with some sort of soothing droning instrument that I can't identify. Accordion? Melodica? Synthesizer? I'm not too sure, but it's going to pop up a lot through the course of this album and it definitely sets the mood nicely. The pulsing of the drone is hypnotic yet it builds a certain musical tension as the listener waits for the onslaught to come. After a couple minutes the black metal breaks through, howling onward and upward like a storm of some sort. Vocals are almost entirely buried, serving as another abrasive texture in the ferocity. The first couple of minutes are almost utterly relentless. Just when the listener thinks that this might be the new norm, the song drops just enough for one to discern individual components just as easily as the greater musical piece. The thing that grips me the most is the balance between motion and stillness. The droning quality of the music is a constant, yet the song moves forward at an incredibly rapid rate. The album's cover is almost identical to the images of the hurricane at Saturn's north pole that have recently surfaced, perhaps this is indicative of the musical quality (and would make sense with the album's title). The eye of a hurricane might be calm and constant, yet the winds are wild and unforgiving. So it is with Fell Voices, a balance between calmness and punishing fury. Amusingly enough, many of the riffs spiral in and out of the song in a similar fashion to their peers in Ash Borer's latest album, although instead of Ash Borer's cold restraint, Fell Voices has set fire to everything around them and the arctic guitar patterns are the few glimpses of solace amidst the madness. Around the fifteen minute mark, the song loses control of itself, spiraling ever upward into an explosion that leaves us with the same drone that spawned the album, making way for "Emergence."

By this point I realize the drone is the only moment of forgiveness that the listener will receive. When the metallic aggression returns, it's with less of the misguided fury, forsaking blown out noise for a more direct and precise assault. This is probably my favorite on the album, although I could hardly recommend separating any section of this album from the others. There's a triumphant feeling here that just really strikes my fancy. Around 8 minutes in, the song has hit its pace and if you're not following intently, you're really missing out. Things lock into the most perfect groove and the density of the chaos surrounding this jam just adds to the overall sensation of being a direct part of this rather than a disconnected listener. I'm currently listening to this during a thunderstorm and it's pretty much the most awesome soundtrack. A little over halfway through the song, some of the density clears and you actually get a really good idea of what's going on between all the chaos, and it's truly beautiful. The riffing and frantic pace never slow, yet elements of shimmering, high-pitched melody creep in just long enough to feedback into a return to aggression. If nothing else, this song presents one of the finest displays of mastery over atmosphere I've witnessed all year. The song's peak hits sixteen to eighteen minutes in and the subsequent denoument fades away in a truly gripping fashion, droning into oblivion with wretched voices shrieking out of the void.

As "Dawn" snakes into my consciousness, I'm both frightened and excited. This album does require a degree of endurance from its listener, but the reward is well worth it. Much like the two songs before it, this tune runs you through pretty much any imaginable territory while managing to throw out a few surprises. As the sonic density rises for the listener to meet with the final challenge, there is a calmness and brilliance that resonates throughout each shimmering cymbal crash and each rhythmic riff. This song is the culmination of more than forty minutes of tension. By the time you've made it to the hollow rattling that signals the journey's end, there's a sense of accomplishment, peace, and also a slight sense of loss. Fell Voices' sonic shifting continues to delight me and I'm really happy to have had the honor of reviewing this album. You can obtain this colossal album from either of the labels that co-released it, Gilead Media or Antithetic Records. It's a double LP with an etched D-side and there's even a limited edition shirt available. This isn't just a recommended listen, it's going to be one of the year's strongest albums. Grab it and catch these guys live if you have any opportunity to do so.

Inter Arma- "Destroyer" CD (Gilead Media)

Inter Arma have been one of those bands that existed on my periphery for a year or two without actually making their way to my ears. Call it bad luck or perhaps just having too many great options at my disposal to ever really catch up on every band I'd like to hear, but I just never got around to listening to Inter Arma until just recently. I'm instantly regretting having overlooked these guys last year, because it looks like they'll be making their way into my regular vocabulary with this release.

It's really hard to give a name to the kind of metal Inter Arma plays aside from just victorious and sprawling. The vocalist alternates between being a phlegmy Lindberg-like maniac with a perfect rasp and a bellow that sounds like some ancient warrior calling across a battlefield. "Destroyer" seems to work as both title and description of their musical approach, with the aggressive moments seeming victorious and valiant while psychedelic and spiraling guitars seem to slowly bore into one's skull during mellower moments. The instruments play in and through each other in ways that call to mind some of Mastodon's earlier and more intense albums and there is a constant sense of forward movement as Inter Arma slays everything that gets in its way. I'm not often into music that's this streamlined and well-polished for some reason, but there's such sincerity to this music that I can absolutely get behind this. At times I can't stop nodding my head, even though the opening track is nearly ten minutes long. This is one of the few bands I've featured here that could give some heavyweights a run for their money. This isn't just something that should appeal to the underground--the headlining acts of the metal world should be eyeballing these guys as potential tour mates. Inter Arma has the appeal and the talent, it's just time for somebody to take notice.

With a recent signing to Relapse Records, it seems that this band is on their way to bigger things, so it's only logical to revisit some of this band's earlier works before they become huge. Aside from getting bragging rights for knowing them first, you'll also be treated to an incredible EP that's well worth the cost. Grab it from Gilead Media and hope that you're still in the first 500 orders so that you can get a sweet patch and button.

Ash Borer- "Bloodlands" (Gilead Media/Psychic Violence)

One of the harder things I've been doing as a music writer is learning to set aside assumptions or previous bias when examining a new piece of music from a band. Some bands I once disliked have surprised me with their growth, and some bands I've loved have produced sour music that didn't quite sit well with me. While examining the new Ash Borer album, I found myself neither disappointed nor newly converted. Instead, Ash Borer simply created something that met my already high expectations while completely changing my understanding of their music and its purpose. To be honest, after multiple visits with the undulating menace of Bloodlands, I still feel like I haven't fully grasped this album, but I am totally okay with that. Rather than simply giving up the goods on the first listen or five, this album slowly unravels after multiple listens, growing richer and more haunting over time.

Each of the two tracks on this bleak voyage meander past the fifteen-minute mark, showcasing a tendency toward massive scale compositions rather than brief, easily digested songs. The length of the songs is nothing new for Ash Borer, but as with each previous release, the intention and direction has evolved with these tunes. Instead of basking in simplicity and repetition as many black metal bands might, Ash Borer set up two musical pieces that flow in movements, with variations and recurring themes that feel more like the work of a masterful storyteller than a standard heavy metal band. The dystopian soundscapes that Ash Borer travel through with this next step in their sonic evolution bring to mind works of terrifying visionaries Blut Aus Nord (especially some of the bleaker moments of The Work Which Transforms God) or the otherworldly sculptures of H.R. Giger rather than the simplistic fury of black metal's earliest pioneers.

The A-side of the record contains the song "Oblivion's Spring," a slithering creeper of a track that moves through some of the coldest sounds I've heard from this group, traveling in a sonic form that somewhat mimics the sidewinding shape of the album's cover artwork. In case my words haven't already made it clear, Ash Borer's music is so visual to me that I might even say it's a struggle for me to describe it in basic musical terms. Bloodlands is an album that is sensory on a level that defies mere sonic interpretation and often makes its way into categories of pure experience. The song takes its time building up a dreadful ambiance before kicking into anything resembling conventional metal, and it glides out of existence with an eerie denoument that will get plant itself in the deepest recesses of the listeners brain, only to be conjured up again as one struggles to find sleep. When the band isn't creating soundtracks to my deepest anxieties, they're throwing out some of their most compelling riffs to date, paired with stellar key lines that fuse with the guitars rather than fighting them for space. By the end of this fifteen minute journey, I feel as though I've traveled through and past the grave, into the cold light of eternity. The B-side contains two separate songs, "Dirge" and "Purgation", which are paired together as one monolithic piece nearly twenty minutes in length. If the first track wasn't exciting and challenging enough, the mid-paced nightmare presented on the B-side of this album is the aural equivalent of slowly having one's flesh peeled off, and should leave listeners feeling both delighted and possibly unsettled.

Bloodlands will be available for pre-order in the very near future from both Gilead Media and Psychic Violence. If the challenging statement of last year's Cold of Ages wasn't ambitious and dizzying enough, then Bloodlands should impress even the naysayers who would love to lump Ash Borer into some heap of generic USBM groups. While I hate making a judgment call this early in the year, expect this to receive serious love from myself and other music writers when we round up 2013's top releases, because I'm already hooked.

Year End Extravaganza: Split Albums of 2012

Split albums seem to be regaining popularity in the extreme underground lately. They provide a great opportunity to hear a new artist while also obtaining new tunes from an artist you already love. If you're adventurous like me, oftentimes a split album is an easy way to discover multiple new bands all at once. As with my last list of concerts, I feel there were many stellar split albums released this year that deserve a mention on this blog in one way or another, but I'm not really inclined to prioritize. I will also apologize for not providing full details on each split here, but each of these was worth mentioning in its own way and I think I can let the music speak for itself wherever possible. Also, yes I have twelve releases on this list rather than a rounded number. I could have listed an even greater amount, but I'm trying to show something resembling self-restraint here.

A Pregnant Light/SADOS- "The SkyConspired Against Thee Before Thy Bones Had Dried" (Colloquial Sound Recordings)

This split was the second release from the ferocious A Pregnant Light, and so far the only utterance from the jagged and intriguing black monument of SADOS. Each group provided one lengthy song for this split, and it's a monumental experience. The dichotomy between these two artists shows the perfect nature of a split release.

Adversarial/Antediluvian- "Initiated in Impiety as Mysteries" (Nuclear War Now! Productions)

If you've followed this blog for any amount of time, you know some of my favorite keywords are filthy, hideous, and fuzzy. This swampy death metal release lives in the middle of some unknown territory directly between all of those terms. It's ugly and wonderful in every way I'd want. Adversarial and Antediluvian each contribute three menacing tracks, so grab this split while it's still available.

Batillus/Whitehorse (Vendetta)

As a fan of both extreme music and extreme beards, I've long held a soft spot in my heart for Australian death/doom maniacs Whitehorse. This split was my introduction to Batillus, and I'm quite grateful for it, as their contribution here is equally crushing and fantastic. My only regret is that they didn't accompany Whitehorse on their tour dates down here in Florida. Next time, Batillus, next time.

Cara Neir/Ramlord (Broken Limbs Recording)

This split caught me slightly off guard, I'll admit. I grabbed it on a whim, having heard just a bit of Cara Neir's music before, but I was quite pleased. In fact, I wrote a review of this album a few months ago that will do it better justice than this abridged snippet could. Check it out.

Barghest/False (Gilead Media)

This monster of an album would be a likely contender for album of the year if I were making such a list, split or not. To put it simply, Barghest's violent and scathing assault is the perfect complement to False's ethereal yet driving black metal. There isn't a bad moment on this album, and I'm always eager to flip it back over and play the other side when it's finished. If you don't already own this in some format, get on it.

Fossils/Winters in Osaka- "Celestial Hieroglyphs" (Cardinal Records)

This fantastic noise collage came into my periphery somewhat by accident. In a series of clicking "related videos" on youtube, I came across the sampler for this split and was sold. It's beautiful and scratchy. It's definitely on the safer end of the noise spectrum for those not yet comfortable with the harsh noise wall business. There's a good bit of sonic experimentation and trickery occurring here, which is perfect for me.

Grave Upheaval/Manticore (Nuclear War Now! Productions)
Another split from Nuclear War Now! that embodies my love of ugly, murky metal. Grave Upheaval are a mysterious group with members of the legendary Portal. The music is exactly what you'd expect for anything associated with Portal, but on the more primitive side of things. Less technicality, more horror. Manticore play more of a blackened death assault, with vocals that verge on the decipherable and a slightly less dense sound, but make up for it with unrivaled aggression.

Hell/Thou- "Resurrection Bay" (Pesanta Urfolk/Gilead Media)
Neither of these bands should be too foreign to most folks who are keeping an eye on the metal underground as a whole. Hell provides an ominous descent into despair and misery with their unique brand of churning sludge. Thou follow up with a ritualistic and jagged dirge of their own. The whole affair is tortured and violent, as you'd expect from either group. It's a stellar introduction to either of these bands for those not yet initiated.

Horseback/Njiqahdda/Venowl/Cara Neir (Handmade Birds)
This massive split is another album that just blew me away this year. I've subjected other folks to it on the road, I've forced my friends to sit and listen to it in my room, and I've written a review of it that says everything I could say here and more. Give it a read.

Sadness Saturn/Golden Raven (Handmade Birds)
This fantastic cassette holds the distinction of being the very first album I reviewed here on Black Metal and Brews. It's still an exciting and challenging listen for me, and it's interesting to read back my old review and see how differently I was writing just a few months ago. It's only fitting that this winds up on my list for the year's end.

Trist/Nuit Noire (Fallen Empire)
This 7" was one of those albums that took me by surprise. I'd heard the name of each group countless times but never really bothered to listen. As you can tell by the review I wrote last month, I regret not having heard these groups earlier.

Yellow Eyes/Monument (Sol Y Nieve)

As with a handful of these wonderful albums, this one already received high praise on my blog a couple months back. This also received high praise for its packaging from my friend Jon, who runs The Inarguable. The tape is as beautiful as the packaging it's been given.