The Cloven Hoof #2 -Flyer 2-

Here is the newest CH#2 flyer/promo, two bands that will be added to the next one is the Swedish Neglektum & Netherlands Orodruin.

Shibalba - Memphitic Invocations

Here we have a nice re release (and re-mastered plus new artwork) of Shibalbas first release "Memphitic Invocations", this edition is put out by the new quality label Antiqua Tenebrae Records. (you can find the link at the end)

Just dont come looking for guitars here man!
hehe yeah this is a purely keyboard experience (maybe some other instruments also i guess if one analysis the live photos...), this is not really heading for some evil rough atmosphere of hell rather then a levitating surreal vibe and beautiful exotic forest like transcendence ( try sprinkling xanax on weed) so one can guess that the name Shibalba has something to do with "Xibalba" that is the name of the underworld in K'iche' Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers.... but then again it has very much Egyptian references on/in it so i must be in the wrong here.

So think of this as a nice lubricant for introverted  ritual journeys or just some great mystic music that gives you a big hug. :) Thick full filling ambiance from the first invocation to the last.

Members is Acherontas very own V.Priest Aldra-Al-Melekh & Karl NE/Nachzehrer. Session Live Member Nekelmu ILU... so if you have heards some of Acherontas great albums you will have heard some intros/outros that is a bit like this "Memphitic Invocations".

A plus for the great package (paper and print quality is top). I have know this Shibalba entity for awhile now and now finally have listen to it i feel hungry for more of this! They have released like 5 splits and now finally a full album so there should be no problem there.

Bands own statement-
"This Manifestation of Shadows was created as a dedication to the Lords of Eternity,Those who keep the keys of Immortality!
Embrace Us in your Holy Presence that we may behold the face of the Sun and that we may behold the Moon for Ever and Ever!
Hail to thee Ancient Ones!"

Photo by Elena Merkouri.

Track list:

1.Hemet Netjer (Invocation I) 05:34
2.Sekhem 05:34
3.Akhet 04:13
4.Udjat (Invocation II)

--Antiqua Tenebrae Records --
link:
https://www.facebook.com/AntiquaTenebraeRecords/?fref=ts
 

Mephorash - 1557 - Rites of Nullification

"The  Rites of Nullification are a theoretical construction of as well as hymns of a wedding ceremony of the Bride of chaos, which is symbolically enacted through a siege laid on all fronts against the four Kabbalistic worlds of creation."
                              - Gilles De Laval

Even if that explanation sounds like jibberish to you this album will fulfill your desires of epic black magic metal!

This is the third full album from these Swedish/Upsala warlocks and i promise that when reminiscing about this very album in the future people will tell you this is the bands first real milestone and it is a mandatory record for any serious black metal fan.

As their last album was the "real" start for Mephorash with the embarking on a clear path into qliphothic war this third opus is where they come in (the first) full circle and shed their skin and become something new and powerful, i guess experience sculpted this dagger even sharper from the split work they did with "Ashencult" between the latest full lengths also but either way 1557 - Rites of Nullification is a grand standing evidence of dark energy transformed into notes & sonic waves....and i wont blame you if you get some "The Ninth Gate" vibes here and there. hehe

If you dont know their sound it is quite Swedish (and also Greece) with powerful mid to fast shredding menacing guitars and varied blast beats intercepted with some epic melodies without ever becoming silly, keyboards is used with great effect also and guest vocals (From bands like Ofermod, Hetroertzen, Embrace of Thorns) kick the songs even higher into orbit! Production is solid and evenly mixed with both clean parts and rough ones.

These four long songs is something thats both easy to get into and also grows through repeated listening and if you did not know this band Mephorash before you will certainly do it after this beast!

...and yeah a Ep is on its way also early next year! So dont let your ears fall off just yet.



Track list:

1.     Riphyon - The Tree of Assiyah Putrescent     09:22    
2.     Phezur - Dissolving the Sea of Yetzirah     10:43    
3.     Cheidolun - Breaking the Blade of Beriah     10:41    
4.     Berberioth - Vandalising the Throne of Atziluth     11:45    
      42:31

Released by : Odium Records
info@odiumrex.com

New hot split with Azaghal / Oath!

Recommended split!

Words from the label:

"The split album of the Finnish bands Azaghal and Oath is now available.
Together with this split album, 2 logo patches are also available for sale."

And if you like Azaghal pick up this also, split with Ars Veneficium !

Label contact:
Immortalfrostproductions@hotmail.com
http://www.shop.immortalfrostproductions.com/product/azaghal-oath-azaghal-oath/

Gratzug - Offenbarung

From what i know this one man (Mephistopheles) band from Germany started in 2011 and since then released two demos, two Ep´s, one split and one compilation and 4 full albums and this very one is the third one....and also the first full release that i have listened to.

As the nice album design suggests the sound of Gratzug is a soaring & epic attack of atmospheric black metal, the sound has a good reverbance and production & mixes both cold parts with a bit warmer ones, melodic for sure and as often in this genre they are spread out under longer stretches and repeated and built on as the song progresses to get to mighty heights & intertwined with harsher elements through out, all is very professional done with a good taste of notes and strong feeling. Another good thing is that it really hold up well with repeated listening as it loses no power and reveals more details with time.

It takes you away to another time and place which is an unholy blessing in this time & age!

As the album is quite long (around one hour and five minutes) and the songs follow more or less the same (effective though) patterns it can get a bit samey...maybe could work best as two Eps? But that is a small niggle as the actual compositions are great!(besides two tracks towards the end that come close to pop compositions...quite hard to digest that but luckily its only in minor parts of them.)

If you have not listen to Gratzug this album is a good start i guess as it was for me and i got hungry for more.

Quality black metal music from Germany!

Best tracks is 2,3 (a must listen)

Track list:

1.     Vor         
2.     Offenbarung         
3.     Miasma         
4.     Die Nächtliche        
5.     Durch Scharfrichters Hand         
6.     Karner        
7.     Der Atmosphäre alte Geister        
8.     Strigoi         
9.     Ohne Zeit         
10.     Gottesacker         
11.     Nach

Released by Hammerbund!

Label link:
http://www.hammerbund.blogspot.se/

Averxu Atrium - Ω Qliphoth Sefirot Kéter Ω

From Costa Rica this trio opens up the night sky so we can witness the midnight sun!
The members is also active in &  past activities in bands like Morbid Funeral, Zwarte Vlam, ex-Amarok, ex-Vedar Gal, ex-Kaintormenthave so one is not surprised this Ep would sound professional.
That said this was better then what i imagined!

Their sound is a mix of early evil thrash and old school death metal (with some extra nice cuts & grooves) sprinkled with some straight face occult black metal mentality.
It all start off with a good eerie instrumental intro that flips your mind above the clouds and over to the mystic orient, the first real song shows the most inspiration from Thrash and also i hear some very Brittish guitar riffing that would fit right in in the 80´s Maiden era, the vocals through out it all has a good mid dark death growling (thats quite articulated) but also blackish raspy harpies fly around and and scream as backing vocals here & there. (also chants and shouts is to be found)
Third and fifth tracks are also instrumental intermissions that continue to keep the mood on this dark path and hold your hand into the next attack. The second and last songs have less Thrash/speed traces in them and goes more into the devastating demonic slaughter and if i would pick just one i say that the "Incantatem Grimorioum Lux" song is the best but all is great even if you have heard all the original bands the inspirations comes from.

All in all a tight recording with strong production and solid epic compositions,  both headbanging and evil but at the same time feels enough sincere and serious to buy the Qliphothic esoteric vibrations and lyrics.

This was first released last year on tape by  New Order Records (as seen above here) but this review is based on this new sweet re release from Antiqua Tenebrae Records, great packaging quality and art through and through. I feel we will see more from this band soon!

Get it!

Track list:

1.     Qliphoth Sefirot Kéter        
2.     Neter Khertet        
3.      Ad bis anu kyes set (extra track only on the cd release)
4.     Incantatem Grimorioum Lux        
5.     A.F.L.I.R.        
6.     Jentyamentiu Averni


Label link:

https://www.facebook.com/AntiquaTenebraeRecords/?fref=ts

Malepeste Interview!

1.Hailz! Welcome to the non-physical plane of RAW WAR! Malepeste started its course back in 2010 (if my source is correct) which means this year is the fifth active year of its existence,how is the band now compared to the start?

-Hails, and thanks for your support !
This is interesting to look in the past, to see the path we went through. When you listen our first demo “Malepeste” you can hear something more raw, more depressive in vocals. Our first full length is more close to our work now. Something with a lot of arpeggi, some groovy parts and dissonances. You can easily listen the difference between our sound too, we always recorded by ourself, and after years we get more experience and material.
And this is the same for ceremonies, we get more stuff, it’s getting more visual.
This is important to us to make a concert as a ceremony and not just a concert.

2.How was the time when you recorded the first demo and do you still like what you composed? 

- It depends, I still like some tracks of our first demo but I think they need to be revisited, maybe one day, why not. We did it quickly and we get good returns from people and webzine so finally it was good.
But now this is not what Malepeste is doing anymore, well or sort of, but better now.

3.The first full length "Dereliction" got out in 2013, as the title means something along the lines of "act of abandoning" one wonders if its life thats getting the ditch or how was the idea behind the title? And was it only a self release?

- First of all yes, it was completely self-released, from the recording to the pressing. And about the title “dereliction”: it's more about exploring this feeling of loneliness as a whole, and developing all what we can find throughout the album, than the “I want to die” sort of crap. Primarily theological, this word expresses the feeling of the Christ on his cross, we found within it an interesting reinterpretation in a darker way. It’s also a strong and unknown word that deserves to be brought out that’s why it’s a good title for this album

4.How would you describe your occult path and interest? I get a bit anti-cosmic vibe here and/or some necromancy luring in shadows.

- This is something personal for each band members. We don’t support any kind of institution or philosophy, each member find what he needs to find in occultism and ceremony. The interest of each one depends of a lot of things, but finally we all agreed on something: we are looking for a personal elevation and transcendental paths in ritual music.
We operate with pictures. Our lyrics and our music is made for images, full of metaphors etc… We want our followers to travel in their mind during and accompany us in an images world, without limits. Everything our music made them feels and see is interesting to know. Music is a question of feelings and pictures.

5.Then in last year you released the split "Mysterium Coniunctionis", How did you come in contact with Krowos (Italy) and what can you say about the content of your tracks? How is your general view on splits?

 
- At first I made a trade with Frozen, the Krowos drummer with the cd of his other band: Arcanum Inferi. And he proposed to do this split. I just said ok and there it is.
Each bands composed three tracks for this split, and we made a common intro with Frozen, this is stuff you can only found on this split.
Splits are a good way to discover bands, you buy it for a band, and by the way you listen another and it could be a good thing. Or not. But this an important thing in underground, and the kind of split I really like is when a special theme is studied by the two bands for a split.

6.And now this your sophomore album is at hand! Its title is "Deliquescent Exaltation"... as the cover art paints a picture of man rising/levitating towards or by the horned god (or is it the opposite?) it feels but at the same time when i checked the meaning of the word Deliquescent (Becoming liquid, or having a tendency to become liquid.) it got a bit blurry hehe.. please tell about the vision and thoughts behind the album title and art. Other then that this album (so far) feels like a big but natural step for the band.

 
- For this album we worked on a concept, the tracks and lyrics studied the concept of falls and elevations. This is just the natural path for spiritual elevation, you have to go through different step of falling, before recovered yourself and reach the spiritual exaltation.
The name of the album express perfectly this concept. Deliquescent Exaltation is a kind of oxymoron who express the lowest body state, but necessary to go reach the great elevation. That’s what the word Exaltation means, the perfect state of spiritual well being.

For example the track “Going Under” speaks about this necessary path. It speaks about the Sokushinbutsu monks, some Japanese Buddhists priests who tried to self-mummify themselves. Taking a very special diet during years to finaly buried themselves alive on a special cave in lotus position with just a little tube to breath and a bell to say if they are still alive or not.

When this ring shuts up, the cave is closed and after one year they opened again the cave and if the monk is mummified he becomes Bodhisattva, he gets the perfect illumination and is revered as Buddha himself. If he failed, he is just respected for his perseverance.
This example express very well the concept of the album.

7.Is there some other bands that you respect in Lyon? And how would you describe it as a city? Pretty large city i think.

- Lyon is a great city to live. Not as big and touristic as Paris, bug big enough to see some interesting bands and great places.
A lot of great bands are from Lyon, like Crystalium, Orthanc, Nehëmah, Ad Hominem etc…
And still today, we have bands like Dux, Udyr, Daughters of Sophia, Evil Eruption, Neige Morte, Celeste etc…
I respect all authentic bands, people who really are into the music they made, not just for their personal image. Music and especially black metal is a need, not a desire.

8.If one likes to gets some merch from the band what can one look out for?

- We have some shirts, patches and pins, but the principal is our albums, available from us and some labels.

9.After this album release what is in your plans? Some gigs? And talking about gigs if you would say one -Worst thing about live rituals and one Best thing about live rituals?

- After this album we are working on a very special ritual, only with friends under invitation. A way for us to express this darkest part of our art with great people who can understand and appreciate it. We wanted to do it long time ago but we missed time, know this is getting concrete.

We are working in a special split too with two other great bands from Lyon: Udyr and Daughters of Sophia.
Gigs are extremely important for us, these are our rituals and each one of us lives it in a personal way. This is the only way to feel the dark energies, and people help us to the stage exaltation by sharing with us this special moment. One of our best moments was during the last tour with Hetroertzen and Malhkebre, we performed in a very special place. This was a private ritual with something like 30 people only in an old troglodyte cave. It was extremely intense and strong!
The worst thing happened during a show in Grenoble, because of our candles and the fog machine, an alarm rang, the lights turned on and the sound stopped. It was a terrible experience, we were really in, starting to leave our conscious and this brutal return to reality was absolutely painful.

10.Thanks for your time answering this! Last word is yours!

-Thanks a lot to everybody for the support and go to see live rituals.
This the way bands really exist!

The Cloven Hoof #2 flyer 1,b

Ondfødt - Hexkonst

The great cover art (by Karmazid) describes what you get pretty much, in other words you will get some
 - Hellish turbulent Nordic witch crafting trolls dancing around the black boiling cauldron -

 As this is a mainly Finnish based horde the vocals though is in Norwegian and also the music sounds like it could come from the same country...not that it matter though because its a great slab of primitive occultism here to both entertain... and irritate its surrounding nature hehe.

To be more technical i would say you get a slower and more groovy Arckanum (not all to correct alternative but thats what echoed in my old cranium) but with added insanity like the ones that can be found on for example the Ancient Records (ex: Bekëth Nexëhmü, Grifteskymfning etc) but with more a rocking coherent structure, the vocals is the most fucked thing on this release as they differs from traditional good raspy vocals to some mocking mental gnome screams and shouts!

Best songs is by far  track 5 & 6, number five with its really speedy morbid devil attack vibe and the other with some really depressing tunes that goes pretty far down...ah and dont forget that cold but splendid piano outro! Top stuff!

haha surely it makes me laugh and i feel all in all that careless psycho dancing around the fire in the winter forest up north suits this album "Hexkonst" to 100%, an almost forgotten folklore where evil lurks behind every tree and the stones is really sleeping trolls.

 Production is spot on and let all parts meld together just right, semi raw and punchy!

I hope the band or what is left of them will struggle on and continue because it would be a shame if they just
vanished now...

Track list:

1.     Ur djävulens kittel        
2.     Bloodspill        
3.     Faensgyte         
4.     Kristi fanskap        
5.     Giganternes vraal         
6.     Hexkonst         
7.     Verlden er min slakteri         
8.     Midvintermarsch         
9.     Sorgens skyer   

Released by Immortal Frost
contact:
Immortalfrostproductions@hotmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/Immortalfrostproductions/?fref=nf