Anhedonist’s debut album, Netherwards is a crushing 40 minute masterpiece, and while containing only 4 tracks, the band manages to evoke all emotions ranging from one of destruction to desolation and desperation. We talk to Dan to find out more about the visions that the band see when writing Netherwards.
Read the interview here.
Be’lakor [Australia]
Of Breath and Bone
2012
Full Length
Kolony Records
Melodic Death Metal
Australian melodic death metal band Be’lakor has over the years crafted a name for themselves, with 2009’s excellent Stone’s Reach in particular leaving a rather deep impression of the band’s style of music. After 3 years of wait, the band finally releases the follow up, Of Breath and Bone and is perhaps one of the very few melodic death metal albums that I actually look forward to listening to.
Read the review here.
Reposted from: Blabbermouth.net
Dark Descent Records and Me Saco Un Ojo have announced the release of BINAH’s debut, “Hallucinating In Resurrecture”.
Despite none of the band’s members being newcomers to underground metal, the entity that is BINAH has spawned what is certain to be remembered as one of this year’s weightiest and hungriest-sounding full-length recordings. Spanning ten tracks of morbid-sounding death, “Hallucinating In Resurrecture” captures the U.K. trio’s concoction of obscure and primordial sounds; one that makes no secret of their Finnish, Dutch and Swedish (even some U.S. via AUTOPSY and MORBID ANGEL) prime inspirations yet oozes a dense ambiance that’s distinctly their own. Whether exploring fast and serpentine sections or sparser and more reflective passages; this beast remains unrestrained in its intensity. Focusing on its song-craft and otherworldly in its vibes; familiar yet eerie, “Hallucinating In Resurrecture” is pure death.
“Hallucinating In Resurrecture” will be released in late June/early July on CD through Dark Descent Records and as a standard LP via Me Saco Un Ojo. The cover art for the effort was done by MMonsterbrush.
“Hallucinating In Resurrecture” track listing
01. Into The Psychomanteum (Intro)
02. Morbid Obumbration
03. A New Rotten Dawn
04. The Emissary
05. Absorption Into The Unearthly
06. Eminence Of The Sombre (instrumental)
07. Hallucinating In Resurrecture
08. Dissolution
09. Crepuscular Transcendence
10. Buried Baptistry (outro) 
Reposted from: Blabbermouth.net
Finnish death metallers PYURIA wll release their third album, “Incarnadine Revelry”, on June 13 via Violent Journey Records. The CD was recorded by Henri Virsell and features the following track listing:
01. Immolate
02. Eradicate The Parasites
03. Flesh Grotesque
04. Skeletonized
05. I Am Pain
06. The Enemy
07. Incarnadine Revelry
08. The Dead Will Devour Us All
Formed in 1996 and playing “sick and groovy” death metal, PYURIA was joined by original TORTURE KILLER vocalist Matti Liuke to forge yet another brutal piece of psychopathic murder music.
PYURIA’s second album, “ubliette Ontology”, was released in 2007.
PYURIA is:
Matti Liuke - Vocals
Antti Kauri - Bass
Tuukka Franck - Drums
Oskari Mäki - Guitar
Ville Lahtivirta - Guitar
Reposted from: Blabbermouth.net
Icelandic ambient metallers KONTINUUM have inked a deal with Candlelight Records for the release of their debut album, “Earth Blood Magic”.
KONTINUUM originated more than 10 years ago from a project featuring Birgir Thorgerisson (POTENTIAM) and Kristjan Heidarsson (ex-POTENTIAM, CHANGER, DARK HARVEST).
It was in 2010 that KONTINUUM was officially born with the aim to make hypnotic and spiritual musical noise.
“I wanted to make music I liked, honest music with less constraints and room for various genre influences but without leaving my musical roots, one that could surprise, tell me something and take me somewhere,” says Thorgerisson. “It was, and is, a spiritual process.”
After focusing on their other bands for a decade, they entered Sundlaugin Studio in Iceland last year to record their first full-length.
“We are honored and excited about joining the impressive family of artists at Candlelight,” says KONTINUUM. “We see our music as being diverse and perhaps not always predictable. That is why it was important to us to team up with a label that understood the source of the vision we express. We look forward to the release of our debut on the world and our future co-operation with Candlelight.”
KONTINUUM’s current lineup is completed by Ingi Thor Palsson (I ADAPT) and Engilbert Hauksson (POTENTIAM).
Reposted from: Blabbermouth.net
Swedish dark rockers KATATONIA have set “Dead End Kings” as the title of their new album, due on August 28 (one day earlier internationally) via Peaceville Records. The CD, which will feature a guest appearance by Norwegian singer Silje Wergeland (THE GATHERING), was recorded over a two-month period at Stockholm’s Ghost Ward studios and the band’s new, as-yet-unnamed headquarters. David Castillo returned to “twiddle the knobs,” while band co-founders Anders “Blakkheim” Nyström and Jonas Renkse handled the rest of the production duties.
Commented Renkse: “‘Dead End Kings’ is about the corridors of our mind from where there is no return. Be a king or queen in your own right in these hallways, even at the dead end. Carry your burden with pride. That’s what we are doing, twenty years and counting. Kings, because we believe in what we are creating, in our own disturbing faith.”
Added Anders: “This album has doors revolving into many different genres of music but remain disguised within the KATATONIA trademark. We have walked the fine line between attempting not to repeat ourselves but also not to distance us away from what people know and love. We’re now ready to hand over the evidence and whatever the direction this has taken is now for you to decide. We’re confident the creativity and passion on this album is something that will be echoing even beyond the dead end.”
“Dead End Kings” track listing (not final running order)
01. The Parting
02. Hypnone
03. Undo You
04. The Racing Heart
05. Buildings
06. Leech
07. The One You Are Looking For Is Not Here (with Silje Wergeland)
08. First Prayer
09. Ambitions
10. Lethean
11. Dead Letters
“Our seal of identity is on here for sure,” Nyström told Decibel magazine. “We haven’t gone and changed our sound, but we’ve further explored some different angles of good music, and that’s what we need to do to keep the focus. It might not be so obvious to some, but to others it will be a bigger deal. So, sure, a few surprises and a few songs going off territory are in there, but overall this album is a natural follow-up to [2009’s] ‘Night Is The New Day’, and that is what we wanted to do.”
In a recent interview with Loud TV (audio available below), Nyström stated about the overall musical direction of the band’s new CD, “It sounds definitely like KATATONIA; it’s a KATATONIA album — solely KATATONIA album. The difference this time is that we maybe even pushed the differences even further. If you compare some of the songs, they could be almost in difference categories of genres, but the interesting thing here is that we have managed with our sound and the production and our performances to make it sound like it’s not that far apart; it sounds like it’s the same band. But if we would give the songs to some other band, it would sound very, very different. So I’m really happy with that. It was a big challenge. Like, for instance, you could have a song that is going totally off into this singer-songwriter territory, and you could have another song that goes into one of the most aggressive, heavy songs we’ve ever done, but when I listen to those both songs back to back, I can hear it’s the same band doing [them].”
When asked if the new KATATONIA album is the kind of record that will take several airings to really register with the listener, Nyström said, “Yes. It might be even more like that this time [than in the past], probably, which is a good thing. I was nervous in the beginning and a little bit insecure with how we were gonna pull this album off and what people were gonna think and everything, but now I have this total calm about it; I am totally positive and confident that we have made the album that we needed to do and also what people expect from us. It might take a few listenings to get into the whole thing, but that will stay longer in your listening collection — you will not get tired of it in the first place; I am totally sure of it.”
Regarding the upcoming CD’s cover artwork — which is once again being created by Travis Smith of Seempieces (OPETH, DEVIN TOWNSEND) — Nyström said, “It’s also gonna be a little bit different. It’s actually a really big piece that we’re splitting into four, and one of those four is gonna be on the cover. So there will be more to it than what you see first. I don’t want to describe too much what’s on it yet — you’re gonna see that when it’s [unveiled] pretty soon — but we’re changing the color theme this time. We have been doing the black and the red for a long time now, and we’re going totally the opposite and we’re doing, actually… The basic color is, actually, white on the new one, but it’s not solid white — it’s like shades of frost whites and a little bit grey and mixed with black.”
On the topic of the lyrical themes cover on the new KATATONIA album, Nyström said, “The lyrics are, actually, a mixture of trying to be as direct and easy as possible but also remaining a very cryptic feel at the same time, which is a very cool paradox. We’re not trying to make it too complicated, but it might be… I mean, the words aren’t too complicated, but the meaning of the songs is encrypted. And that we are very eager to see how people will react to and how they will define the meanings of these lyrics. ‘Cause they’re easy to read, easy to access, but the meaning itself might not be that easy [to decipher].” 
Reposted from: Blabbermouth.net
Italian “symphonic power epic” metal band THY MAJESTIE will release its long-waited fifth album, “ShiHuangDi”, later in the year via Scarlet Records. The CD, which marks the first THY MAJESTIE release since 2009’s “Dawn”, was recorded at Wreck Studios in Palermo, Italy, mixed by Giuseppe Orlando (NOVEMBRE) at Outer Sound Studios in Rome, Italy and mastered by Mika Jussila (NIGHTWISH, SONATA ARCTICA, STRATOVARIUS) at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki, Finland.
“ShiHuangDi” is described in a press release as “another epic conceptual record, in the vein of THY MAJESTIE’s acclaimed albums ‘The Lasting Power’ (2000) and ‘Hastings 1066’ (2002). [It] marks another important chapter in the band’s career, this time dealing with the life of the legendary Qin Shi Huang, who became the first emperor of a unified China in 221 BC.
“‘ShiHuangDi’ will see THY MAJESTIE returning to their trademark sound, made of epic atmospheres, massive orchestral and operatic parts and — most of all — genuinely devastating metal. A very special guest appearance by renowned singer Fabio Lione (RHAPSODY OF FIRE, VISION DIVINE, KAMELOT) has also been announced.” 
Reposted from: Blabbermouth.net
Greek black metallers NAER MATARON will release their new album, the title of which translates to “Long Live Death”, on July 6. The CD was produced at Hertz Studio, the cover art was created by George “Grin” Prasinis and the entire layout was handled by Mentalporn.com. The album will be released as a digipak and black 180-gram vinyl with gatefold cover limited to 333 units.
“Long Live Death” track listing:
01. Long Live Death (intro)
02. Apocalypse Of The Ancient One
03. Sleepless Beings
04. I Am Lucifer, Messenger Of Your Death
05. Goat Worship
06. Faceless Wrath Of Oblivion
07. Parade Into Centuries
08. Whisper Of Begotten Premonition
09. The Cult Of Doom And Dagger
10. Ode To Death (The Way Of All Flesh)
NAER MATARON is:
Kaiadas - Bass, Vocals
Indra - Guitar
Asmodevs Draco Dvx - Drums
“Ode To Death (The Way Of All Flesh)” can be streamed at this location.
NAER MATARON recently made headlines around the world when it was revealed that their bassist/bassist has been has been elected to Greece’s parliament.
Giorgos Germenis, who is known by the stage name “Kaiadas,” will represent the extremist Golden Dawn party, which is described as perhaps the most extreme of the far-right parties in all of Europe. Comparisons are made to Germany’s neo-Nazi National Democratic Party and many say Golden Dawn’s logo resembles a swastika.
Golden Dawn, an extreme right nationalist party with patriotic symbolism and an anti-immigrant stance, won between 5 and 7 percent of the vote in Greece’s general elections on May 6, enough for them to gain representation in parliament for the first time in Greek history.
In a statement, the members of NAER MATARON say, “NAER MATARON has been and still remains a pure-blooded black metal band, and as such, a non-political one. Any member of the band has the right to keep on to his personal beliefs and act accordingly. Therefore, any kind of legal political activity of any member, is a matter of personal choice and is respected as such. Attempts to put NAER MATARON under any political agenda are rejected by the band. In addition, any false accusations against the band will come across with legal actions on our behalf. The band stands only for black metal, and black metal is extreme music, not politics. Closing, anyone who is into the extreme music and thematology, but for any reason feels shocked or offended by non-extreme views and/or beliefs is not of our concern.” 
Doctor Veritas, the third album from Ukraine’s Experimental Death/Black Metal act SVYATOGOR, is out now via Svarga Music. Along with melodic fragments and penetrating vocals, the solos smack of classical Heavy Metal and the saxophone gives the music Jazz and Art-rock tendencies, all of which is rooted in Black Metal. Lyrics are written in Russian, Ukrainian, English and French languages and devoted to the problems of society, preparation of human emotions, reflection on the subject of contemporary history, structure of the universe, and macrocosm. SVYATOGOR features Amorth I.M. (ex-DRUDKH, ex-ASTROFAES, UNDERDARK) and Master Alafern (QUINTESSENCE MYSTICA, TRIGLAV, THUNDERKRAFT). Doctor Veritas is officially distributed by Australis Records (Chile), Casus Belli Musica (Russia), Dead Shop (Ukraine), Fono (C.I.S.), My Kingdom Music (Italy), Rock Inc/Bertus (BeNeLux), The End Records (North America) and Code7/PlasticHead (UK & Worldwide).
NoCleanSigning.com has posted an exclusive stream of the album’s title track at this location. 
1. Памяти мёртвых Героев [In Memory Of Fallen Heroes]
2. Word hard. Eat. Watch.
3. Манифест [The Manifesto]
4. Doctor Veritas
5. Нi вогню, нi меча… [Nor Fire, Nor Sword…]
6. AWOKE / INCOMING (Antarctic solitude)
7. Плюнуть и забыть [Spit And Forget]
8. Неизбежность [Inevitability]
9. La concupiscence [Lust]
10. Реинкарнация дум [Reincarnation Of Thoughts]
Death metal band THORNAFIRE has release the music video for “Malefactor Manifiesto” that is included on “Eclipse Nox Coagula”, release via Ibex Moon Records/Australis Records. The band comments on the video:
“The album Eclipse Nox Coagula… is all about the individuals that acts like puppets under this destructive system that we living on today, bad government, obsessive ambitions and pure misery. It represents metaphorically in terms of images, “Nuclear disasters, where the breeding environment is poison us and we are mutating little by little with a small conscience and almost no own will ….”
Watch the video on the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=296EvdDylvw
