Wulfheim - Abomination

Some years ago i reviewed Wulfheims (Spain) third album "Alsvart" and liked it pretty much...time went on and suddenly i noticed a new album had been released so naturally i had to check it out!


Funny thing is after the dark sinister intro track here on "Abomination" when the first actual song started i thought there was something wrong with my headphones or that the contact was not really put in....i did not hear any bass...the sound that hit me was like a furious thin dishwasher swirl sound! Once i realized that the sound was sounding like it was meant to (no broken headphones etc) i could settle down and give it a proper listen haha.

The good thing is that after some tracks (which all has a similar type of production sound and delivery) when you get used to this peculiar type of sound-mix  you find some nice maniac blistering black metal! It is really a over-the-top attack!

Yeah i actually even like this album better then the last one (which has a similar digital high pitch swishing style, programmed drum?) as it take this style a step further both in intensity and in compositions, in other words he has honed his skills.
I like all the little musical stuff he puts in here and there through the steely storms as they enriches the whole experience.
First you will think WTF! haha but give it some songs and you´ll hear whats really in store.  I cant really compare Wulfheims sound to any other acts out there (soundwise)... i guess there is some bands similar but i must have missed them. Either way if you are looking for a medieval thunderstorm this can do the trick!

The only thing i would have done considering its relentless speed and attack on all tracks (not counting the outro/intro/interludes which helps though the albums structure) i would have picked off 2-3 tracks to keep the running time shorter, for me at least it would helped my brain not to boil over hehe. It is a bit of an over kill.

What ever you think after reading this review i feel its totally worth checking this album out.

Tracklist:

1.     Overture - Cult of Blood     01:27       instrumental
2.     The Order of Scars     04:05    
3.     The Hollowman     03:54      
4.     Aegrus Umbra     04:33      
5.     Crown of Upheaval     05:32      
6.     Peccatum Vermes     04:13      
7.     Overture - Magnus     01:04      
8.     Heresy of Pestilence     03:35      
9.     The Psalm of Rats     04:14      
10.     The Subhuman     05:00      
11.     The Scarecrows Ceremony     03:53    
12.     Trolle Corpus     03:39    
13.     Epilogue - A Funeral in Nowhere     00:57       instrumental
      Total:46:06

Released by: Damnatio ad Bestias

link:
https://www.damnatioadbestias.com/

Varulv - Sagenlieder

Last time i heard something from this Austrian horde was their great second album "Wolfszorn" so coming from from that release i had pretty high expectations for this third full length.

I was not dissapointed luckily!
The band (which is only 2 members now?) continues to play in their traditional way combining icy middle fast - middle slow second wave black metal (with a clear early Norwegian influence with some hints of pagan here and there) but this time around compared to the previous one they have toned down the aggression (both in speed and production) and have a more heavy focus on cold sombre landscapes.

For me one of the high points of last album was just their aggressive attack mixed with their grand but bleak guitar compositions so first i was a little put back listening to this new record....but after the third and forth spin it was no longer a problem for me as the actual music popped up & became clear for me, as i said this album has a more subdued tone and it almost feels like the members has some extra weight on their shoulders in real life...i might be wrong but that is the feeling i get....either way it is a positive thing to me as it feels more real, more flesh and bones to gnaw on.

Even though it has an overall a downbeat atmosphear their old grand and ancient tunes comes through and in the end the experience here is a worthwhile one to take, the cold forest and mountains on the cover (and through the whole production design) resonates exactly what you hear so thats perfect.

As i cant speak or read any of their language i cant really comment on lyrics but from the little i got out from some research i think at least some of the songs is based on old poetic texts etc which is nice and fits Varulvs image greatly.

My personal favorite tracks is 5,6,7, first two is in the long and slower epic style but with some nice and extra effective guitar compositions and the third one is the best up tempo attack song on this release, good bloody stuff! ah and the production is well rounded evenly mixed but not too polished.

 (bone not included)

So all in all it is a solid album (that builds up through repeated listenings) that is worth checking out! And for the already fans of Varulv there should be no stopping you to buy it!

track list:
1.     Knochenkult     05:02    
2.     Der Teufel nahm sich eine Dirn     04:31    
3.     Vom schwarzen Flößer     06:03    
4.     Irrlichter     05:21    
5.     Der Wassermann     06:13    
6.     Die Trud     08:02    
7.     Festmahl der Hobagoaß     03:13    
8.     Im Graben     04:44    
      Total: 43:09   

Released by : Talheim Records
link:
https://webstore.talheim-records.at/

Megalith Grave - The Endless Cycle of Repugnant Omens

I have in recent time (1-2 years) been getting more and more interested in this band so getting the latest Megalith Grave release is always a great moment for me.

If you have not heard MG he (Gamol) plays a very raw and obscure black metal, but as he has been active in around 6 years now he have evolved his sound i think and he has a quite nice spectrum of diversity (inside this genre) in what he releases, besides the BM he throws in some good dark ambient from time to time. Tasty vile art for the underground rats !

So the tape here in question is a two-track tape (Ominous Sickness & Decomposing Tranquility) and even if that seems short the songs are not too short in of themselves, for me these songs are some of my favorite tracks i heard also from MG. The buzzing melancholic guitar parts takes you quite slowly over the damp grounds of the scared landscape of a mind, the vocals here is very shrieking and emotional and it almost sounds like Gamol is sinking down into a deep cold stone well. Desperate feelings enshourds the air. Second track continues with similar bleak compositions and completes this tape just nicely....and one thing i love is that the tape length is fittind for the songs length...not slapping two songs on a 90 tape etc.

Another reason this tape was made is to make these two songs justice, they was released before on the split with Angelcide... here is a statement from Gamol himself about this matter:

" I made the mistake of actually cutting them to make it fit the 7" and rushing the mix to get the work out on time. I hated the outcome and regretted doing this ever since. This release was created to justify those tracks to actually show the listener of their true form."

band link:
https://www.facebook.com/MegalithGrave/

Tape released by Hateworks
label link:
https://www.facebook.com/FacelessArild/

 
 

Kryptus / Funerary Temple - Vile Decrepit Stench: A Plague of Filth

Down in the forgotten dry hollows of Australia you can find these two rabid dogs gnawing on their own bones....it is such an undelightful sight!

This offering (split) is called "Vile Decrepit Stench: A Plague of Filth" and it is a valid title for the content for sure!

As this tape is hurled through the chaos hole there is no side A or B so it is up to the cruel fate to decide which band you hear first haha!

For me it was Funerary Temples track that became the opener, for those who have not heard this band before i can say they play in a ultra raw fashion, vile and chaotic but the actual tempos is quite slow and i get a strong depressive feeling coming out between the noise, both in a desperate way and also a drowning way. The track is pretty long but it evolvs in a subtle and powerful  style.
One thing that i think i should mention is that even if i described this as chaotic, nois and ultra raw you will find a composed red thread through it all, it is not pure noise. it is pure hate!

Be sure to dig up this bands earlier 3 demos also, good evil stuff all the way!

Next we have Kryptus (side project from a member from  Entsetzlich, Ethereal Mist)
As this was the band i heard after Funerary Temples hard puke for me this became like an aftermath soundscape, as Kryptus has an ambient loose structure to it and dont rely on compositions rather then impulsive ghostly raw landscapes i felt like walking around among dead bodies....flies buzz around my head and the world has ended.
The three tracks from Kryptus play out more or less like this and it feels almost nice... like walking in an old tranquil cemetary after you slaughtered your own family...to chill out in other words hehe.

Another good  harsh Black metal release from Hatework Propaganda! ...As long you dont like your food cooked, only raw dishes here!

66 tape copies
33 green color & 33 black color
undisclosed number of copies comes with Miniposter and extra jcard
 
Label Link:
https://www.facebook.com/FacelessArild/

Latest Caligo Arcanum releases slay!

If you like your black metal raw and obscured to hell look no further then to this Mexican witch crypt! Caligo Arcanum Production has been around some years now and their releases has always intrigued me with their total under-the-grid existence and utter foul aura!


I here present to you the three latest (more or less) releases!

First off we have Orlok! Yes this label got the honor to do the official release of this "only-to-close-friends-demo" from the Finnish goat-guru (you know who he is!), so this very first demo(Black Souls) to this Orlok project sounds great which is no big surprise, to be more precise it sounds like if you would have mixed the albums longer hypnotic and cold Dracula-riff structures with the more ugly and almost destroyed soundscapes of the 7" but recorded inside a small damp cave .(or a moldy sauna.)

I have not heard the tape split so i dont know if this first demo is similar to this or whatever...
All in all it is a very dimly lit & unwelcoming raw debut demo that i am glad that finally  is released out from the shadows into our greedy little human hands.(6 tracks, i really like this first Orlok logo also, print it on a t-shirt please!)

The second release here is the split between Vore and Herxsebet called - Of Mist Orchids and Ritual Cave Stench.

 Vore is a new (to me at least) very interesting entity that has a pretty wide mix of sound and ideas in his black metal, sure the main base is raw cryptic black metal hate but its "frames" is quite loose and more then often other stuff sips into the main picture....it sounds a bit wierd but in a good way and also it is more structured and composed then you would think first. Vore is a band to keep an eye open for!
So next after this comes the one and only Herxsebet!
It is a little strange bands to have a split together but whatever i like both sides but i like them for total different reasons, Vore i like from a more traditional musical angle and Herxsebet is perhaps for the opposite way!
If you have not heard Herxsebet i can tell you that it is a total deconstructed ugly ritualistic black metal that is not suited or enjoyed by the random BM fan and it should not be either. Even me that has heard some releases (and Krypthall also) cant just put his music on anytime and go nuts haha! no this "music" requires the right emotional state for it to really be able to melt into your ears/brain/thoughts/feelings.
It can be everything sometimes and nothing other times.
(Vore 3 tracks/ Herxsebet 6 tracks. Nice art and layout here but all the titles  looks great!)


Last but not least we have Byyrth! This is a 2-member band from the States.

This is their debut full album "Saviors of Armageddon", i did not hear the first demo from 2016 but either way this album is both intriguing and pretty solid. It has a quite grand ancient rusty feeling to the atmosphere with some good main riffs that is rotated to good effect in most of the songs, drums hammer like there is tomorrow.... vocals is disted and raw, sounds good and works nice to the music but it could have been a bit less of it so the musical compositions could breath some more but that is a minor critique.
On track 4(and 8) it slows down some and gives the album some good overall dynamic, grim and vampyric atmosphere. Track 6 ambient soundscape is also a nice touch.
After hearing this i feel interested in seeing what they will have in store for the future as i feel good things will come from them.
(8 tracks)

label link:

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