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

Doedsvangr - Satan ov Suns

When i popped in this cd the first time i had actually missed the member info/hype that this three-piece band consisted by Doedsadmiral ( i had no knowlage of before this release and the research i did for this review) AND  the one and only Shatraug (Sargeist, Horna, Behexen etc) and Antichristian (drummer in Tsjuder among others)...

...I think i was lucky to have missed that info because i would been shaped by unhealthy hype mostly due to Shatraugs involvement.

 Ok i take the good news first:
It is a solid and fine album and all members delivers a professional creation of Traditional Norwegian Black Metal (leaning to the more occult & aggressive). Good clean and strong production and the cover artwork is superb and i would not mind haveing it as a big ass poster on my wall....and it is no short album either.

Over to my negative thoughts and feelings then:
 The first thing i had trouble to enjoy was the vocals that for my ears sounds to forced and it is like all his energy is put on to sound-like-he-does and no energy is left for soul and passion into the voice/lyrics (which is very important), one thing that could have helped here would be that he sang in more varied ways and not the same all the way. (Vocal style is in some middle range depth and has a gnarly rasp that reminds me of Dimmu Borgirs Shagrath...)

Then i guess the music it self is so very traditional and common that it would have needed a hell of a lot more killer riffs and drama to it to really shine through the crowd.(as the crowd is very thick!)  the three songs that only stands out for me is 3,4,5 and here Shatraug has some nice riff structures, both dark and sinister and some groovy ones but after that not so much more for me....

...I have no clue about how they recorded this album and how much they met douring the creative process and perhaps this album have gotten more meat and passion unto it if not Doedsadmiral was active with other releases in almost the same time and space. (check Svartelder, Nordjevel, Enepsigos. i have not heard any of them)

Either way i might sound like a jaded ass but one has its own taste of course, i have seen some other online reviews here and there that like this much more then me so you might be like them so do your self a favor and check out this release and then you know for yourself....and that is the only thing that matters!

Tracklist:

1.     Our Lord Cometh!     06:17    
2.     Rituals     02:35    
3.     Doedsvangr     06:02    
4.     Black Dawn     04:14    
5.     Northern Watchtowers     03:50    
6.     Diaboli     04:59    
7.     Gnashing of Teeth     05:37    
8.     Breath of Lucifer     04:51    
9.     Throne of Black Illumination     04:48    
10.     Blood Whores     03:30    
11.     Black Sun Nimbus     07:06    
      Total:53:49

Released by Immortal Frost Productions:
http://www.immortalfrostproductions.com/

VALOR - The coming Of a New Era

From the States comes this one man black metal project VALOR second attack!

For you who has not heard the first release or so this band drags up a dreary corps of a black metal style, it is primitive in both production (not overly raw but enough raw to call it raw ahaha!) and execution (all little misstakes is left in not that there are many though). It plays more or less in mid pace with some exceptions but all is coated in a ugly morbid attitude with vocals that are darker the regular black metal style but not dark as in death metal growling. some guitar compositions reminds me abit of early Satanic Warmaster. (and/or some morbid NSBM band i cant remember the name of...) 

The "No mosh – No core – No trends – No fun" fits quite nice for VALOR but that does not mean you will not enjoy this release... if you have a part of your soul that hunger for zero tolerant retaliation this gritty songs will caress that part.

Lyrics centers around Political subjects, narcissism, nihilism, anti-pc, take for example these song titles: FuckAntifa & PCfuckoff...yeah not so subtle but it does the job hehe!

This tape consists of 8 tracks with one of them an outro, not so long release but i feel it is just as long as it needs to be.

i think i like tracks  MachtUndEhre, Hampelmann& FuckAntifa the best

Released by Hateworks

Label link:
http://hatework418.tictail.com/

The Projectionist - Exalted Solitude

From the depths of Canadas ancient forests a woefull wind is blowing & rotting the life force away from its frail shell....

Lörd Matzigkeitus (Idolatry, Thy Sepulchral Moon etc) is back with his gang that is now (including Das Lörd) 5 member strong! This is the second full album from them and even if i liked the previous efforts this is easily their best work so far.

If you are not too familiar with this band they play a mix of traditional second wave black metal... very European cold atmosphere but also is personal in a nice way....  Each song is high on darkness and diabolic cocktails and Lörd himself with his possessed varied vocals leads this nightmare through bundles of burned souls and flesh and up finally to the isolated and deranged high castle.

It has both plenty of introspective ponderings and extroverted retaliations that´s going back and forth from start to finish. It has much to be intrigued by here and it is both a chotic ride as well as a poetic one with a good variation of song material.

As you can see from the great cover art (by Sang Ho Moon) this release goes enough its own way and escapes looking cliche or tiresome....so yes the musical content reflects well to this.

My best tracks would be 1,7,8 (and i also liked the acoustic bleak track 5)

Go and get this if you like to get both some solid traditional black metal but at the same time get something new!

This 10 track album will be released by Appalachian Noise Records and The True Plague.

link:
http://www.appalachiannoiserecords.com/product/the-projectionist-exalted-solitude-cd-preorder

Morte Lune - The Endless Forest

Here we have a new project with two main members from Reffus, Svorg etc. (looke these up here also for reviews i done)

This first demo release is a pretty strong one! Well it is "only" a traditional mix of thin and sharp misanthropic black metal with looped riffs but it has enough hateful hooks and engaging bleak compositions that after only a 3-4 minutes in you are intertwined into this woven pattern of soul sucking music.
Yes the production is borderline sharp and raw (but clear not muddy fuzz) it wont be everybodys cup of black coffee but who cares?
 One other thing that is important here to mention is that the members sincere anti-emotions comes through good (and clinges unto your mood with rusty nails) and that is something you cant buy with a fancy production anyways...

 
...I must say that with every new project that Repktkor and Morths comes out with they have grown from strength to strength, they are very well worth following as you will be  properly rewarded!

Besides the raw black metal tracks you are served some nice dark dungeon/ambient synth songs that pushes this release even higher. Good negative shit in other words!

Well worth hunting down!

The Grey Britain has become Black Britain once again!

My track pics is: 2,5 & 6


Track list:
Side A
1.     The Martyrdom        
2.     The Deliverance of Suffering        
3.     Ritualistic Hatred        
4.     Chaotic Flame        
5.     The Endless Forest        
Side B
6.     Les Morts        
7.     Tristesses de la Lune        
8.     Possessed by the Night        
9.     La Foret Sans Fin
   Dont know the total play time but i guess around 35 minutes

Released by Carvetii Productions
link:
http://carvetii-productions.weebly.com/

Hexensabbat - Pestilence Crawls over Bloodstained Land

From Canada it came!

Every countries black metal world has their own common quirks and recurring taste of style and sounds and Canada is no different as their creations often has some odd(disturbed) inclusions and is not affraid to go down both the old school way at the same time the off-beat and bizarre way...a little like France black metal world. Hexensabbat is a special kind of brew but not soo bizarre or anything but they mix together a murky second wave mid to slow tempo black metal (cold/melancholic & hatefull) with a doomy sense of constuction (not super long droning parts but they spread out in a nice drowning way of length) and even some light heavy metal bits (like the nice guitar solos)...from start to finish they serve up a fine meal of blood and bones, all is very well structured and with a lot of  putrid raw atmosphere.

I had to listen to this tape a couple of times to digest it cuz first time i saw the cover of this release i fell in love with it (and the logo) and i guess back in my head i got the notion this band played a bit different music then what i heard when i popped it in the deck.... after that little hick-up i enjoyed it a great deal! Songs like Bleeding Pestilence and Cold Winds of Hate, Black Flames of Hellhas has some superb guitar melodies that i cant get enough of also hehe.


Production is damp and has a slight veil of cellar rawness to it and it fits just right, all three members play their part great and to sum this up --- this is a no brainer to get!--- Great release and Hexensabbat holds much promise for the future.

Track list:

1.     The Incubus Lurking     03:37    
2.     Bleeding Pestilence     07:39    
3.     Solve et Coagula     06:56    
4.     Abysmal Worship     01:46    
5.     Self-Enthroned Through Death     04:22    
6.     Cold Winds of Hate, Black Flames of Hell     06:54    
                                   Total:31:14  

I hope this will get a vinyl re release! It really deserves it!

Released by No Sanctuary Records
link:
http://nosanctuaryrecordsfoad.blogspot.se/

Unryht Interview!

Here is a little talk with Blodspan from the interesting and promising black metal band Unryht from Bavaria, Germany!

1. Hailz!
How are things in Bavaria these days?

   - Too little snow in my city!

2. As you are a pretty new band and little is known about it please
share the details of the first gathering and visions you and the members had
when it all began? What is important to achieve with your creations?

 - The idea has existed since 2007; to keep the bleak emotions that  sometimes surface within me.  But i was never satisfied, so it took me a long time to choose these 4 songs for the first demonstration. First i started alone with programmed drums.
There are about 10-15 songs that will never be released because they are not good enough.
Then i asked the, in my opinion , best compositional drummer to work with me after we were drunken and stoned in our halls of bones.Kadaver has a really good feeling for emotional riffs, so he always knows what beat to play. This is absolutely great!

3. After hearing the great debut release Niþ i felt it was about time to do an interview.  For those of you who read my review of it, (posted some months ago) you would know that i really enjoyed it, on more levels than one. Please shed some light around the writing process, what the songs are about and how you feel about it yourself.  Also, what is the meaning of the title?

 -First of all thank you very much for the great review, we were very surprised when we read it.
 niþ is a word for social stigma and it describes my personality and my thoughts in the society as an   ejected person.The songs are about dreams of nature, witches and personal death thoughts, which make me an outcast.

4. From here on how do you see Unryht evolve in the near future? Do you feel you have started
a long road with it or do you think it will be a low/slow activity?
Are there other band activities besides this band?

 - Unryht will have a slow but long way. I am working in many projects like Schrat, Drudensang, Oscult, Schyach and other upcoming stuff.  I have found my passion and this will not change until my death. I will live and die with black metal. It gives and drains me from energy.
    This is a repetitive process.

5. When did you personally realize that black metal was for you to put your energies into?
Which bands helped you to grow and besides music are you active in some Satanic path?
   
  -I started making classical music when i was 5 years old, with the violin and the piano and i never stopped doing music. At 14-15 years old I had my first exposure to black metal-bands like old Dimmu Borgir, Burzum, Gorgoroth, Satyricon and i realized that this is the feeling where I was at home. The combination of criticism of mankind, the black metal aesthetics, satanism, anti-religiousness, the atmospheric and broken sound imprinted my brain and i knew i would never get away from it! "Liber AL vel Legis" should be enough to reveal my path.

6. By the way who did the great band logo for you? I have seen this person's logos for some other bands now and i think much of them are connected to some specific label...
 - This was made by an Austrian, whom I have not seen for a long time. A great artist! His name was Cornelius C.

7. So what are the band's close plans now this year?

 - This year we will make the second demo and a split with niht, a friend's band from the surrounding area. A total of 6 songs, 4 for the second demo and 2 for the split.

8. What releases from 2016 would you recommend?

 -Vuohen siunaus - Korgonthurus, Forteresse - Thèmes pour la rébellion, Krater - Urere (a masterpiece of a befriended band of Nürnberg),  Ravencult - Force of Profanation, Nachtwelten, a german oldschool jewel of good buddies from Pestnebel, Vitsaus - Ajan ja ihmisen haudoilla (released in 2004 but not until 2016 discovered by a well-known buddy Skilnir,the second guitar player of Schrat and Drudensang)

9. Talking about other music, which bands were the first to start doing black metal in your city?

 - I think it was us with Schrat in 2003, but maybe i am wrong. In Augsburg there is no real black metal scene.

10. Thanks for all, looking forward to your next release!

  -  Thank you!