Tour of Duty: Hockey Canada

It's hard to remember that Canada has more to offer than Hockey, but when you search hard enough there's a lot of black metal to be found. There's actually quite a diverse amount of sounds and scenes throughout the Maple Leaf land, but I've decided to narrow in on what put them on the map; War Metal.

For those who don't know Blasphemy, it's basically black metal aesthetic, 80's death metal guitars stripped down to simple tremolo riffs and a complete lack of melody or anything nice and an overall need to constantly thud and thud quickly. With that in mind, basically any "war metal" band just sounds like Blasphemy (I'm only partially kidding). While nearly anything J. Reed's involved with will sound similar, this compilation hosts some varied stuff (not all strictly war metal for you nitpickers). That said...

There's Conqueror who I think of having written the one of the most extreme albums ever simply because it always on, always abrasive, doesn't allow room to digest anything, and is just plain torrid.It's an album that I love, yet rarely listen to in its entirety, however contradictory that might sound, War Cult Supremacy's the kind of album that makes you listen to Kenny G for weeks afterwards to even out the violence. There's Axis of Advance and Revenge who also have J.Reed on drums and offer a bit more coherence than Conqueror, but sound very similar. Rites of Thy Degringolade's got a strange uncomfortable and clunky sound to it that's really grown on me, Lust's a complete mess that could be a great if it weren't for some extremely out place and terrible vocals (and their regrettable NS bullshit). Antichrist's a great carbon copy of Blasphemy with a bit more of a penchant for cohesive song structures.

It pains me to leave out great acts like Skagos, Menace Ruine, Akitsa, Trails of Anguish and others, but THE MOTIF MUST STAND.

Download
1.Blasphemy - "Nocturnal Slayer" - Gods of War
2. Conqueror - "Chaos Domination (Conquer the Enslaver)" - War Cult Supremacy
3. Revenge - "Blood of my Blood" - Triumph.Genocide.Antichrist
4.Axis of Advance - "The Torture" - The List
5.Rites of Thy Degringolade - "Of Purist Impurity" - An Ode to Sin
6. Lust - "Spear of Destiny" - Genesis of a Satanic Race
7. Antichrist - "Chopped and Chewed" - Sacrament of Blood
Download

Cerebrate -Demo CS

The current old school death metal revival is a trend I fully endorse. It's a bit funny to call it a trend as metal, especially death metal such as this, is pretty obscure in the larger picture of things; but it's gained momentum nonetheless.Cerebrate's a pungent musk of 90's Swedish death metal dragged through a dense fog of retrospect and admiration. Comprised of Ash Borer members, Cerebrate have all but a sold out demo cassette to their name (there's a promise of a pro edition to come soon). The demo itself is two tracks of cavernous death metal that's full of riffs, solos, brooding atmosphere and concrete gurgling vocals drenched in the reverb that's to be expected of such an act.

So much more than shameless homage, Cerebrate capture the magic of analogue and a time before "core" was the appropriate suffix to almost everything. Much like the band's black metal project, Cerebrate's cassette contains the bare minimum in terms of information and aesthetic; the track titles as well are simply "I" and "II." And while the production's stripped down, the music itself is dynamic and cataclysmic as songs are aren't content to just rely on one gimmick or one section.Dark tremolo sections lead to punky like stomps and thrashy midpaced sections with some seriously sinister riffs that'd make Incantation proud.

I by cerebratedeath

Tour of Duty: Teutonic Dreariness

A sociological study unto itself, Germany's bred some of the best depressive black metal over the years. I admit, a label like "depressive" is a bit silly for a bunch of reasons, but it fits as these are some of the bleakest and sordid acts around.Typically, many bands employ absurdly high shrieks (a bit unbearable in terms of Strenbend), thin production, and a focus on repetitive guitar lines that are melancholic and trance inducing. Of course not every band in Germany has these traits, or those on this mixtape for that matter, but they're just some key traits to keep in mind.

When there's a place called "The Black Forest" in your country you're expected to churn out some good black metal.

My favorite of the bunch is Nyktalgia for sure as they're one of the few to mix all the above mentioned traits and inject vigor and interesting craftsmanship. Wigrid's simplistic one man Hoffnungstod is a stellar piece of ritual melody that builds upon Burzum like simplicity and structure. Klage has the muddiest production of the bunch and in its haze is as forlorn as it is trance inducing. There's Anti who has a much slicker and more modern sound (partially because of a drum machine) and ColdWorld who's built upon an act like Wigrid and turned up the production attention and values.

You'll have to excuse the bump in motif, but there are two who might seem a bit out of place, Lunar Aurora and  Dark Tribe. Where Dark Tribe's a bizarrely unsettling, chaotic jamboree, Lunar Aurora's a conventional band in comparison as it's catchy and driving black metal with heavy attention to atmosphere.

1. Lunar Aurora - "Aufgewacht" - Mond

2. Lantlôs - "Kalte Tage" - Lantlôs

3.Anti - "Landscape in Minor" - The Insignificance of Life

4. ColdWorld - "Red Snow" - Melancholie²

5. Nyktalgia - "Misere Nobis" - Nyktalgia

6. Wigrid - "Die Entstehung" - Hoffnungstod

7. Klage - "Wurmestugend" - Dystopias Wiege

8. Sterbend - "Dwelling Lifeless" - Dwelling Lifeless

9. Dark Tribe - 'The Seed" - In Jeraspunta - Die Rückkehr der Tollwütigen Bestie

Tour of Duty: Teutonic Dreainess from Perpetual Strife on 8tracks.

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Mind as Prison - Maryland Grindcore

Amidst the sea of great DIY acts in Maryland, Mind as Prison claim Maryland for themselves with their recent EP titled Maryland Grindcore. Old school and unadulterated, Mind as Prison blast through muddy and dismally dark grindcore with a dénouement  in the shape of a Sick of it All cover (fully fledged with its intro that the bands points out to be wrongfully cut from the track).

At times the putrid bass, hazy guitar, thundering drums and guttural grunts all run askew into a forceful tidal wave that's on one hand awesomely violent, and on another just plain muddy. The production is what it is, but it doesn't hamper the band's sheer aggression and delivery. It's a style of recording that's an honest excuse to lure you into a live show as I can only assume that's where the band truly exceeds. Songs are well thought out plans of attack in terms of structure and rhythm. There's tons of momentum behind every second of the band and when things do slow down it's just the rise before the fall.

Genuine grindcore for those of you sick of overproduce garbage like Rotten Sound and the like; Mind as Prison are fresh faces sticking to an old and true doctrine.

To Live a Lie Records
2011

Tour of Duty: Tvr3 N0rVV3gian Blk Metl

For the first of this lengthy series, we'll take a look at the birthplace of modern black metal; Norway. I won't bore you with crap you either know, or that can easily be found elsewhere, instead, I hope to show many of the bands (or releases) that get shafted from the limelight.

If you don't like Immortal you're a stone's throw from being mentally incapable of being interesting or cool.

Strid, a band that can arguably be called the fathers of depressive black metal, Mysticum, who were one of the first advances into electronic music from a black metal point of view, Dødheimsgard  who took cues from Teutonic thrash as well as Sacrofago but got progressively weirder, then there was Manes who eventually developed into a sound like none other while incorporating symphonic influences, nowhere as simple as early Gehenna. Thorns gained notoriety for all the wrong reasons, before man main Snorre was incarcerated his demo work was light years ahead of every other metal band in the world. Many should know the name Ulver, I've included a demo track of theirs which shows how undeveloped some of their great ideas were.

There's Forgotten Woods who were one of the first to offer a glimpse into the winning combination of black metal and post-rock. There's also Ildjarn who was one of the first to strip black metal down to an oi like stomp and make it as harsh and primitive as possible, and  Tulus who win the award for stupidest album cover of the lot (but they played a wickedly brazen and sometimes bizarre style). And, of course, there's Zyklon-B, an all-star outing with Frost (Satyricon) on drums, Draug Aldrahn (Dødheimsgard) singing, Samoth (Emperor) on guitars and bass and fellow band-mate Ihshan on keyboards; maybe the most misanthropic and nihilistic out of all the Norwegian acts.

Download - Tvr3 N0rVV3gian Blk Metl

1. Ildjarn - "Svarte Hjerter" - Norse (1993)
2. Zyklon-B - "Bloodsoil" - Blood Must be Shed (1995)
3. Dødheimsgard - "Lost in Faces" - Monumental Possession (1996)
4. Tulus - "Midtvintermåne"- Pure Black Energy (1996)
5. Ulver - "Tragediens Trone" - Vargnatt (1993)
6. Thorns - "Funeral Marches to the Grave" -  Trøndertun (1992) 
7. Manes - "Uten Liv Ligger Landet Øde" - Under ein Blodraud Maane (1999)
8. Gehenna - "Angelwings and Ravenclaws" - First Spell (1994)
9. Mysticum - "Crypt of Fear" - In the Streams of Inferno (1996)
10. Strid - "Det Hviskes Blant Sorte Vinder" - Strid (1994)
11. Forgotten Woods - "The Velvet Room" - The Curse of Mankind (1996)

Download - Tvr3 N0rVV3gian Blk Metl

As well as trying to stay with lesser known acts, I've also limited this collection to releases from 1999 and earlier. I would have liked to do earlier than that, but Manes's demo material was just too foggy and poorly produced to include rather than their magnificent debut Under ein Blodraud Maane (probably my favorite effort here).

Momentum - Whetting Occam's Razor

Momentum's debut Whetting Occam's Razor showcases a style of hardcore that has its head in books and heart in the pit as their lyrics are expansive meditations of not only political matters but also matters of existence and the whole goddamn universe. While the music is driving, melodically intertwined hardcore with a concoction of misanthropy and hope, Whetting Occam's Razor is a fulfilling and ambitious work that hits all points of stimulation, both in ideology as well as musicality.

The music itself is a continually moving and heavy force not without similarities to Fall of Efrafa and Plague Mass (the band does contain members of the aforementioned bands). Where comparisons might be easy to make, Momentum doesn't sound exactly like those two, or any others for that matter. The album lends itself to picky listeners, as well as astute observers of "albums as a whole" as tracks like "Emergence" cement your interest with catchy hooks and a steady pulse while ones like "Miopia" are a fiery burst of hardcore that's just way too short as the curve ball that ends it sounds so great and "Masters" is an epic monolith of a track.

As mentioned earlier,the band is entrenched in various niches of science and political action. Much of their lyrics, topics, and even artwork are inspired largely by Carl Sagan. The band explores the expansiveness and possibilities that exist, or potentially could exist, in the universe. Thankfully though, the music doesn't tread this way and get unwavering and spacey in itself. This ends up being a nice match until the track "Void" and its melodramatic and didactic clip/reading that would make me embarrassed if others listened in.With that in mind, I am grateful that the band strays away from being too "heady" or pretentious, instead they play an emotive and thundering brand of music that offers plenty to think about and more to headbang too.

Overall I continue to enjoy Momentum's release and find myself staying up late with it spinning on my turntable and reading the lyrics to match.


Halo of Flies
Dec. 2011