Album Review – Bergraven / Det Framlidna Minnet (2019)

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Never shy of venturing to the very edge of the extreme music terrain, this cult Experimental Black Metal unity from Sweden is back after 10 years with a brand new album dealing with memories, regret and despair.

Swedish Experimental Black Metal unity Bergraven is never shy of venturing to the very edge of the extreme music terrain and staring into the maddening abyss, delivering an always interesting and unique fusion of a wide range of styles such as Progressive Metal, Avantgarde/Atmospheric Black Metal and Post-Black Metal that penetrates deep inside our ears and minds. Now in 2019 the band formed in 2002 in the city of Hässleholm, but currently located in Malmö, is ready to take us on another vibrant journey beyond the boundaries of Black Metal with their brand new opus, entitled Det Framlidna Minnet, or “the lost memory” in English, ten years after the release of the excellent Till Makabert Väsen.

Carefully mastered by T. Stjerna at the renowned Necromorbus Studio (Watain, Armagedda, Mayhem, Shining) in Stockholm, Det Framlidna Minnet deals with memories, their fluid nature and how the healthy human spirit builds a wall around itself with adjusted memories, and yet sometimes the system corrupts and memories become ghosts that haunt their hosts with regret and despair. If these words are not enough to show you the true uniqueness and potency of the music by Bergraven, which by the way means “mountain black” in English, then let the triumvirate comprised of Pär Stille  on vocals and guitar (also known for his work as guitarist and songwriter for Swedish Black Metal band Stilla), Andreas Johansson on bass and Johan Marklund on drums guide you on a one-way journey into the realms of experimental heavy music made in Scandinavia.

The intro Minnesgåva (“memory gift”) provides the listener a very good idea of how wicked and bizarre Bergraven’s music is, with all its eerie noises and beats permeating the air until Allt (“all”) comes to haunt our souls with its creepy atmosphere and piercing guitar lines, while Pär begins his growling attack barking like a demon, with the music flowing demonically and obscurely into an abrupt and vile ending. Den Följsamma Plågan (“the painful plague”) is even more eccentric and experimental, with Pär and Andreas making sure even the acoustic moments do not sound calm at all, always adding a touch of dementia to their musicality in seven minutes of Post-Black Metal not recommended for the lighthearted (not to mention how its ending reeks sheer melancholy and insanity). And the metallic bass punches by Andreas and the Doom Metal-inspired beats by Johan provide Pär all he needs to roar in Minnets Melankoli (“memory of melancholy”), a Mastodon-meets-Gojira-meets-Dream Theater-meets pitch black darkness tune where the music alternates between serene, somber passages and a disturbing havoc for our total delectation.

Swedish words flow disturbingly from Pär’s deranged vocals throughout the over eight minutes of modern, progressive and doom-ish Post-Metal in Leendet Av Hans Verk (“the smile of his work”), where Johan’s beats get more and more obscure as the music progresses, adding even more thunder to the song’s visceral riffs and menacing ambience, followed by Den Dödes Stigar (“the paths of death”), bringing elements from Folk Metal to Bergraven’s already distinguished musicality. Furthermore, Pär doesn’t stop vociferating deeply and with a lot of anguish while Johan smashes his drums beautifully, resulting in a very detailed song that’s full of breaks, variations and creepy passages, remaining dense and enfolding from start to finish. Then get ready to be dragged into the pits of hell with over ten minutes of disturbing Experimental Black Metal in Till Priset Av Vårt Liv (“for the price of our lives”), led by Pär’s sulfurous gnarls and slashing riffs. In addition, it’s interesting to see how the trio gradually reduces the song’s pace and speed, slowly attracting us to their sonic realm, capturing our souls and keeping us in darkness forever. And there’s still time for a beyond dissident outro similar to the album’s intro, this time entitled Eftermäle (“posthumous reputation”), as if the band wanted to close the circle offering us a feast of whimsical sounds and tones.

You can actually savor all of Bergraven’s eccentricity by listening to Det Framlidna Minnet in full on Spotify, but if you’re already convinced of the band’s undeniable talent and insanity, you can also follow them on Facebook and purchase your copy of the album from the Nordvis Produktion’s BandCamp or webstore (in Digipak or LP format), as well as from iTunes, Amazon or Discogs. It’s not everyday that we, mere mortals, have the pleasure of facing such peculiar, nonconformist music like the one blasted by Bergraven, so don’t waste your time and succumb to the most unconventional side of Swedish heavy music together with Mr. Pär Stille and his horde. It’s surely worth the ride.

Best moments of the album: Allt, Minnets Melankoli and Den Dödes Stigar.

Worst moments of the album: Den Följsamma Plågan.

Released in 2019 Nordvis Produktion

Track listing
1. Minnesgåva 2:25
2. Allt 5:56
3. Den Följsamma Plågan 7:20
4. Minnets Melankoli 8:03
5. Leendet Av Hans Verk 8:20
6. Den Dödes Stigar 8:34
7. Till Priset Av Vårt Liv 10:41
8. Eftermäle 2:58

Band members
Pär Stille – vocals, guitar
Andreas Johansson – bass
Johan Marklund – drums

Album Review – Rage Of Light / Imploder (2019)

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A contrast made of light and rage in the form of an action-packed album of trance music and Melodic Death Metal.

A contrast made of light and rage. That’s exactly what you’re going to get in Imploder, the debut full-length album by Swiss Electronic Groove Metal unity Rage Of Light, the brainchild of vocalist and keyboardist Jonathan Pellet, known for his past works with Symphonic Power Metal band Trophallaxy/Dysrider. Offering a hybrid of trance and Melodic Death Metal, a unique combination of sounds that can be labeled as “Trance Metal”, Rage Of Light will stimulate all your senses with their brand new opus, showing why the multi-talented Jonathan, together with the gorgeous Melissa Bonny (Evenmore, Warkings, Ad Infinitum) on lead vocals and the talented Noé Schüpbach on guitars and bass, are more than ready to conquer the world of heavy music with their creativity, electricity and, of course, a lot of rage.

Jonathan came up with the idea to create a fusion of trance and metal music in 2007, but due to being busy with other projects it took almost a decade for the idea to fully bear fruit. Finally, in 2015, he recruited Melissa and Noé to complete the band, releasing in 2016 their debut five-track EP Chasing a Reflection, followed by a few very interesting singles in 2017 and 2018 including cover versions for Amon Amarth’s battle hymn “Twilight Of The Thunder God” and Lady Gaga’s hit “Judas”. After receiving very positive feedback from fans and critics from all over the world through the years, it’s time now in 2019 for Rage Of Light to reach new heights with Imploder, featuring a modern artwork by Brazilian artist Gustavo Sazes, cellist Joëlle “Jo” Graz (Trophallaxy/Dysrider) as a very special guest musician and, above all, three superb musicians who perfectly represent the union of endless talent and a deep passion for music.

The very atmospheric and entrancing intro Light captivates our senses from the very first second, dragging us to Rage Of Light’s lair of heavy music in Enraged, where the trio begins distilling their refined techniques and ethereal sounds, with Melissa’s hypnotizing vocals matching flawlessly with the song’s epic ambience and crushing beats, not to mention Noé’s amazing guitar solo as the icing on the cake. Following such powerful start, keep banging your head to Melissa, Jonathan and Noé to the heavy-as-hell Fallen, a beautiful fusion of modern-day Melodic Death Metal with trance music, or in other words, a rebellious hymn by Rage Of Light led by Jonathan’s whimsical keys and synths, all complemented by his own rabid growls. And in their 2018 single I Can, I Will we’re treated to a more frantic and electrified version of their Trance Metal, with both Melissa and Jonathan kicking some serious ass with their powerful roars, giving life to the song’s poetic lyrics (“My eyes drag me down / When I look around and see what I’m not / Is there, anywhere, a stairway to the top? / Watch me, never again / Will I look down and feel this pain / Cause now, step by step I start to climb and leave these cries behind”).

Experimenting even more with electronic and eccentric sounds, the band offers our ears another dancing fusion of 90’s trance with Heavy Metal infused with Symphonic Metal nuances in Away With You, where it’s quite impossible to stand still to its enfolding rhythm, while In The Shadow is another solid composition featuring classic beats and riffs mixed with the band’s trademark modernity (it falls flat after a while, though), with Melissa stealing the spotlight once again with her unique voice. Then the gentle and potent cello by Jo brings a touch of finesse to the beyond fantastic and insurgent Battlefront, with Melissa alternating between her crisp clean vocals and her she-demon roars in what’s probably the most detailed and multi-layered song from the entire album; and get ready for a trance-meets-metal party in the instrumental title-track Imploder, courtesy of Jonathan and Noé, who together generate a dense, mechanized and metallic atmosphere for admirers of the genre. Furthermore, despite the fact the drums in the entire album are programmed, they still sounds very organic, therefore smashing your skull mercilessly.

With lyrics sounding like a blend of cult flicks such as Terminator and Night of the Living Dead (“Our lives, threatened by this viral disease / We thought we could handle this affliction / No cure will stop the infection to spread / Condemned by our evolution”), Mechanicals, also previously released as a single, is a movie score-inspired extravaganza showcasing intricate guitar lines, pounding drums,  tons of insanity and a futuristic vibe in over seven minutes of first-class modern metal music, leaving us completely disoriented before Nothingness closes the regular version of the album, with Jo returning with her somber cello to add her share of melancholy and serenity to Rage Of Light’s vibrant music while Noé brings rage to the overrall result with his riffs, flowing smoothly until its delicate grand finale. And please I beg you to go for the deluxe edition of Imploder, as you’ll be absolutely stunned by the bonus track Twilight Of The Thunder God, their cover version for Amon Amarth’s most powerful tune of all time in my opinion (you can check the original version HERE). I saw somewhere a guy saying this version should be called “Twilight of the Thunder Goddess”, and I agree one hundred percent as Melissa is on her more-than-perfect “beast mode”, resulting in a flawless performance by one of the most versatile singers of the new era of metal music.

If you still can’t imagine how the flammable fusion of such distinct styles like trance and Melodic Death Metal sounds like, you can take a full listen at Imploder on Spotify, but in case you’re already familiar with (and addicted to) Rage Of Light’s breathtaking music, don’t forget to follow Jonathan, Melissa and Noé on Facebook and to purchase your copy of their excellent new album from their own BandCamp page, from the Napalm Records’ webstore (in Europe or in the United States), or from your regular retailers like iTunes and Amazon. In the end, no one knows for sure if Rage Of Light play a heavier-than-usual version of trance music, or a modernized and electronic version of Heavy Metal, and that very interesting contrast is what makes their music so unique and vibrant. That’s the beauty of it, don’t you agree?

Best moments of the album: Fallen, Battlefront, Mechanicals and Twilight Of The Thunder God.

Worst moments of the album: In The Shadow.

Released in 2019 Napalm Records

Track listing
1. Light 1:48
2. Enraged 5:01
3. Fallen 4:32
4. I Can, I Will 4:36
5. Away With You 3:50
6. In The Shadow 6:47
7. Battlefront 4:30
8. Imploder (Instrumental) 5:58
9. Mechanicals 7:17
10. Nothingness 5:40

Digipak Edition/iTunes/Amazon bonus track
11.Twilight Of The Thunder God (Amon Amarth cover) 4:06

Band members
Melissa Bonny – lead vocals
Jonathan Pellet – vocals, keyboards, synth, drums programming
Noé Schüpbach – guitars, bass

Guest musician
Joëlle “Jo” Graz – cello

Album Review – God in a Cone / Passing (2019)

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An amalgamation of metal and non-metal styles in the form of a concept album influenced by Greek philosopher Plato and his famous allegory of the cave, all carefully served in a cone.

Have you ever been served a “god in a cone”? If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, let me take you all the way to the charming Greece, where since 2016 vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Nick Marinos (lead singer for Greek Gothic/Industrial Metal act Slitherum) has been crafting a very fresh and unique amalgamation of styles such as Atmospheric Black Metal, Coldwave, Hard Rock, Industrial and Country Rock under the eccentric name of God in a Cone. And this Experimental Metal one-man army from Greece is ready to attack your senses once again with Passing, his seventh album and a concept album influenced by Greek philosopher Plato and his famous allegory of the cave, featuring a stylish artwork by Daniel Goudelis and produced, mixed and mastered by Dimitris Delis at Studio 222.

No one knows if the very atmospheric, ethereal and captivating title-track Passing is an intro to the album or if it’s a regular song, which in the end is the beauty of it, showcasing piercing vocalizations and a curious vibe that blends the strength of Black Metal with the innovative approach of Post-Metal. Then in Ξεψυχαω we’re treated to an eccentric fusion of Electronic and R&B with contemporary Hard Rock, with the raspy vocals by Nick giving an extra kick to the song’s Rap-like lyrics; whereas Νερο, one of the heaviest songs of the album, brings forward gripping guitar riffs, classic beats and a lot of potential for igniting some circle pits, also carrying several elements from the distinct music by metal acts like Pantera and Gojira, ending in a very serene manner. And it’s time for Nick to present his Grunge and Alternative Metal side with the semi-acoustic tune I Have to Pretend, with his Alice In Chains-inspired vocals being potentialized by the song’s Country-ish instrumental, proving God in a Cone truly have no boundaries in music.

Continuing with the same 90’s Seattle-based Grunge vibe, Iodine is a song perfect for being played at a badass Rock N’ Roll pub, with its rhythmic drums, soulful guitar solos and endless energy turning it into one of the best songs of the album. Then back to a more electronic musicality inspired by 80’s Gothic Rock the likes of Depeche Mode, Joy Division and Devo, Mr. Explode offers the listener cleaner vocal lines that match perfectly with all beeps and tones in the background, inspiring you to party together with Nick, while Deep Down sounds slightly darker than its predecessors, but also in the veins of Alice In Chains and Soundgarden in a well-balanced hybrid between Post-Metal and 90’s Grunge, flowing smoothly before Find Soul Brothers brings to our ears the weirdest version of God in a Cone. It’s a decent Country-inspired song, albeit it lacks the more obscure punch from the rest of the album.

Leaning towards a more rockin’ sonority, in special its slashing riffs and inebriate vocal lines, In And Out presents a vibrant rhythm perfect for banging your head nonstop, even displaying hints of progressiveness (which enhances the song’s impact considerably), followed by Will Of Diamonds, a very introspective, pensive tune with Nick’s somber vocal parts working as its core element, but with all background sounds also playing a very important part in keeping the entire song mournful and gloomy. And last but not least, Nick offers his fans a bonus track entitled Escape From the Cone, going back to the 80’s one more time to pay his own tribute to the music by all pop rock icons from that decade, making the investment in the deluxe edition of Passing totally worth it.

After you start following Nick and his God in a Cone on Facebook and after subscribing to the project’s YouTube channel, there’s no way back. You’ll be forever hypnotized by the wicked, idiosyncratic and utterly experimental sounds blasted by this talented Greek musician, with Passing being perhaps his boldest and most diverse album to date. Put differently, Passing is not only a very entertaining album of modern rock and metal music, but a solid statement that Nick will never stop trying new sounds and challenging our senses, serving us his wicked music “in a cone” for many years to come and always demonstrating his utmost passion for all things related to our good old Rock N’ Roll, no matter how weird it can be.

Best moments of the album: Νερο, Iodine and In And Out.

Worst moments of the album: Find Soul Brothers.

Released in 2019 Independent

Track listing
1. Passing 2:20
2. Ξεψυχαω 2:17
3. Νερο 4:21
4. I Have to Pretend 4:21
5. Iodine 3:30
6. Mr. Explode 5:12
7. Deep Down 3:39
8. Find Soul Brothers 3:53
9. In And Out 3:32
10. Will Of Diamonds 3:25

Deluxe Edition bonus track
11. Escape From the Cone 3:34

Band members
Nick Marinos – vocals, all insturments, programming

Album Review – Death Tribe / Beyond Pain And Pleasure: A Desert Experiment (2019)

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Inspired by the suffering of warfare, spirit breaking oppression and the refusal to submit to either, behold the debut album by Anthony Kaoteon’s newborn spawn of Extreme Metal.

“Come confess your mortal sins,
Sadistic violence, the trademark of kings”

Inspired by the suffering of warfare, spirit breaking oppression and the refusal to submit to either, Extreme Metal project Death Tribe is the sound of vociferous rebellion and defiant resistance spearheaded by Anthony Kaoteon, the mastermind behind Death/Black Metal band Kaoteon, who released in 2018 the excellent Damnatio Memoriae. And if you’re already familiar with Kaoteon’s insurgent music, you’ll certainly have a blast with Death Tribe’s first installment, entitled Beyond Pain And Pleasure: A Desert Experiment, Anthony’s personal monument to independence and his eternal tribute to every man, woman and child that refuses to bend the knee and submit.

Born into the chaos and conflict of Beirut, Lebanon, but currently residing in Utrecht, Netherlands, Anthony refuses to accept the strictures of others in his day-to-day life as well as in music, always determined to shape his own destiny. Conceived over a few years and drawing on sounds from different periods of metal’s development, Beyond Pain And Pleasure: A Desert Experiment features an array of guest vocalists such as Serge the Slave (Aramaic) and Youmni Abou el Zahab (Ascendant), who together with Anthony and his henchmen Linus Klausenitzer (Obscura, Alkaloid, Kaoteon) on bass and Mattias Landes (Dark Fortress, ReVamp) on drums generate a massive wall of violent and austere sounds recommended for fans of renowned acts like Revocation, Gojira and Skeletonwitch.  “I dedicate this album to those who keep chasing their dreams, to every person that was born with a tag on his forehead and defied the world to make his own statement heard – I will die soon but the music stays to remind those who listen of a man who didn’t obey,” said Anthony about his newborn spawn, inviting us all to join him in his musical rebellion.

Featuring Anthony himself on lead vocals, the opening track Hollow offers the listener an explosion of Groove Metal from the very first second, with Anthony barking like a beast while Mattias smashes his drums manically, or in other words, a straightforward, in-your-face tune tailored for admirers of rabid and pulverizing music. Following such demented start, Walid Wolflust (Kaoteon) lends his visceral roars to Beyond Pain and Pleasure, giving life (or I should say death) to its acid lyrics (“Are you delighted from others pain? / Are you distressed by another’s pleasure? / Come confess your mortal sins, / Sadistic violence, the trademark of kings”) in a brutal fusion of Black and Death Metal where Linus and Mattias are in an infernal sync; whereas in Implode Explode Anthony not only vociferates manically, but his scorching riffs add an extra touch of dementia to the overall musicality, inspiring us to slam into the circle pit to Death Tribe’s frantic fusion of Groove, Death and Thrash Metal.

It’s time for Death Tribe to go full Death Metal in Neurotic Breakdown, sounding gory, virulent and putrid from start to finish, with guest vocalist Serge the Slave (Aramaic) doing an amazing job by almost vomiting the song’s lyrics. Needless to say, the violence and hatred flowing from Anthony’s riffs and Mattias’ darkened beats is simply outstanding. Adnan Mryhij (Svengali) is the designated guest growler in Psychopathetic, a hybrid of Groove and Progressive Metal infused with the violence of Thrash Metal, sounding like a more demented version of Mastodon and also presenting a beyond infuriated Linus with his intricate bass punches; followed by Death Blues, where Youmni Abou el Zahab (Ascendant) brings a Hard Rock and Power Metal twist to the band’s crushing sonority with his high-pitched screams, with the overall result sounding as if classic 80’s metal has met the insanity and rage of modern-day extreme music.

Walid is back on vocals in the demolishing Narcissist Bastard Nation, where Linus and Mattias make the earth tremble with their respective instruments, sounding closer to Kaoteon’s sound from their 2018 album, also carrying obscure lyrics that are nothing but a sad reflection of our reality (“Money and Power is what they seek / Blinded by Hatred and their love of creed, / Sinners as saints covered by shame, / Killing each other’s and no justice to blame, / Narcissist Nation – Clueless bastard marionettes”). Then JM Elias (Damage Rite, Svengali) brings sheer hate and violence to the onrush of demented sounds titled Nuclear Hate, with Anthony slashing his strings in a very melodic but fierce manner while Linus keeps extracting thunderous tones from his bass nonstop. And Anthony and Serge bark and scream together in the closing tune named Face the Facts, a groovy extravaganza spiced up by elements from Southern Metal delivering lots of shredding and deranged growls for your avid ears, ending the album in an absolutely berserk way.

If you want to know more about this newborn beast known as Death Tribe, their music, their goals, principles and tour dates, simply go check what they’re up to on Facebook, and don’t forget to grab your copy of the flammable Beyond Pain And Pleasure: A Desert Experiment from the project’s own BandCamp page, from iTunes, from Amazon or from CD Baby. Because, in the end, it doesn’t really matter if Anthony incarnates his Kaoteon or his Death Tribe form, as he will keep being the voice of the voiceless until his final breath. Having said that, it’s time for all of us to join Anthony’s newly founded tribe of extreme music, always fighting for freedom of speech, and never kneeling to anyone.

Best moments of the album: Beyond Pain and Pleasure, Neurotic Breakdown and Nuclear Hate.

Worst moments of the album: Psychopathetic.

Released in 2019 Independent

Track listing
1. Hollow 4:10
2. Beyond Pain and Pleasure 3:41
3. Implode Explode 4:25
4. Neurotic Breakdown 5:25
5. Psychopathetic 3:09
6. Death Blues 3:41
7. Narcissist Bastard Nation 4:14
8. Nuclear Hate 3:52
9. Face the Facts 3:35

Band members
Anthony Kaoteon – guitars, lead vocals on “Hollow”, “Implode Explode” and “Face the Facts”
Linus Klausenitzer – bass
Mattias Landes – drums

Guest musicians
Walid Wolflust – vocals on “Beyond Pain and Pleasure” and “Narcissist Bastard Nation”
Serge the Slave – vocals on “Neurotic Breakdown” and “Face the Facts”
Adnan Mryhij – vocals on “Psychopathetic”
Youmni Abou el Zahab – vocals on “Death Blues”
JM Elias – vocals on “Nuclear Hate”

Metal Chick of the Month – Mariia “Masha” Dementieva

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Raise some hell, our true Lady Evil!

Are you ready to scream and roar together with our metal chick of the month of April in the name of darkness and evil, here on The Headbanging Moose webzine? If you’re a fan of the blasphemous, obscure and absolutely awesome music played by renowned acts like Behemoth, Septicflesh and Kaoteon, among many others, you’ll fall in love with the talent and beauty of Mariia “Masha” Dementieva, also known as simply Masha (or even  Mary Crematorium in a not-so-distant past, and if you prefer, Мария Дементьева in her mother tongue), the unrelenting frontwoman for Ukrainian Blackened Death Metal horde Nordwitch. That, of course, if you come from another galaxy or dimension and haven’t listened to Nordwitch’s sulfurous music yet, because if you’re from this planet I’m sure you’re already addicted to Masha’s demonic growling.

Although there’s isn’t much available online about Masha’s personal life (apart from many awesome photos from her career as a model, photo model and alternative tattoo model), you can still enjoy a good amount of information from her ass-kicking Kyiv-based band Nordwitch, formed in 2015. Singing about some very interesting topics such as satanism, occultism and ancient Scandinavian mythology, Nordwitch bring forth a flammable fusion of Black and Death Metal in their music, offering tons of melody amidst a brutal sonic devastation. The name Nordwitch, according to Masha herself, is the band’s representation of the mysticism and mystery of Scandinavian witches with a hint of female sexuality, which by the way matches perfectly with her diabolical vocal style. As a matter of fact, before becoming Nordwitch, Masha and the rest of the band, guitarists Max and Leo and bassist Max Senchilo, were all part of a Symphonic/Progressive Metal band named Crystalnight, where Masha was not their vocalist, but their keyboardist. If you’re curious to know how Masha and her bandmates used to sound before morphing into the dark beast known as Nordwitch, you can take a listen at some of their songs from their ReverbNation profile, such as Dark Angel and the original version of Nordwitch’s crushing tune Lady Evil.

In addition, not only Masha spearheads her horde of Blackened Death Metal in Nordwitch, but she was also one of the producers of their 2016 opus Mørk Profeti together with the other members of the band. You can listen to their pulverizing album in full on YouTube, and raise your horns to amazing songs like the aforementioned Lady Evil and Messiah of Death, or search for some live footage online like this one where the band is playing Lady Evil live at MHM – Metal Head’s Mission Festival in 2018. Furthermore, don’t forget to buy your copy of the album at the Satanath Records BandCamp, to subscribe to the band’s YouTube channel (where you can find for example a fun and raw version of the song No Regret live in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2016), follow them on VKontakte, and listen to more of their music through their ReverbNation and SoundCloud profiles. Who doesn’t enjoy listening to some brutal metal music like this remastered live version of Messiah of Death, right?

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In regards to her idols and main influences in music and in life in general, Masha said in one of her interviews that not only herself but all of her bandmates are inspired by mysticism, occultism and several other eccentric topics when writing their music, always trying to make their sound as unique as possible. As the main founder and central figure of Nordwitch, a project that was originated inside her pagan mind, Masha is obviously influenced by all classic Black Metal bands, such as Mayhem, Watain and Bathory, which she’s been a fan since she was a teenager, and you can see how much she’s passionate about such controversial but fantastic subgenre of heavy music by visiting her official Instagram account and searching for her personal videos playing several Black Metal classics on the piano and keyboard. For instance, take a very good listen at her delicate but at the same time piercing piano versions for Burzum’s Dunkelheit and Han Som Reiste, Dark Funeral’s Stigmata, Dissection’s Where Dead Angels Lie and Thorns Of Crimson Death, and Shining’s Tillsammans Är Vi Allt, among others, as well as non-Black Metal hymns like Type O Negative’s Love You To Death. In addition, she mentioned in an interview that she’s also influenced by classical music and Scandinavian folk music, which kind of explains her passion for the piano, and that Runhild Gammelsæter, a Norwegian musician notable for being the vocalist for the American bands Thorr’s Hammer and Khlyst, is her favorite female metal singer of all time, complementing by saying that she cannot choose only one male singer as her favorite, though, as there are too many.

When asked about her hobbies outside of music, Masha listed a few very interesting and healthy activities, like working out and practicing sports, modeling and photography, also mentioning her interest in satanism, occultism and the mythology of ancient Scandinavia, which as aforementioned are the main topics covered in the music by Nordwitch. In addition, Masha said in one of her interviews she’s an apolitical person, as in her opinion true Black Metal has always been and will continue to be away from politics or anything related to it, being focused on religion and other more obscure topics. She also said that she had always dreamed about being in an Extreme Metal band like Nordwitch, but she wasn’t sure if that was going to actually happen one day, also saying she understands being a woman in a Black and Death Metal band from the underground scene is not easy at all, but that she won’t give up and keep on rockin’, always counting on the support form her family, friends and fans, aiming as high as possible with Nordwitch in the years to come. And we, true metalheads, will be ready to hail darkness and raise our horns together with the unstoppable Masha and her henchmen, no doubt about that.

Masha’s Official Instagram
NordWitch’s Official Facebook page
NordWitch’s Official VKontakte
NordWitch’s Official YouTube channel

Album Review – Gruzja / I Iść Dalej (2019)

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A raw and visceral manifestation of Black Metal overflowing dirty sex, drugs, alcohol and extreme aggression, directly from Poland into your deranged mind.

“Music against aesthetisation
Music against shopping centres
Gals, devil, railway sidings…”

From the filthy, moist and drunken basements of Poland, one of the most prolific countries in the world of underground Extreme Metal, here comes a cryptic and heavy-as-hell entity known as Gruzja (which I believe is Polish for “Georgia”), distilling their vicious, nihilistic Black Metal in their brand new opus entitled I Iść Dalej, which translates to English as “and go ahead” or “and move further”. Recorded in the summer of 2018 in Tbilisi, the capital of the country of Georgia, and mixed and mastered by HG, I Iść Dalej is an amalgamation of infernal sounds, alcohol, pus, rot, ugliness and dirty sex, perfectly representing the everyday life of the band’s mysterious members, or as in their own words, “the spirit is local, but the music – from afar. Gruzja deals with art and, consequently, it is part of a culture. A culture of violence.”

A very unique intro of wicked sounds and noises warms up our senses for an avalanche of distorted, pulverizing riffs and crushing beats in Gruzini (“Georgians”), offering us three and a half minutes of raw and vile Black Metal where the vocal lines are beyond infernal, all spiced up by the fact everything is sung in Polish, of course. Then even more phantasmagorical, disturbing and crude we have Moja Ratyzbona (“my Regensburg”), with its riffage sounding crude and old school, accompanied by the song’s Doom Metal-inspired sluggish beats, while its putrid vociferations add an extra touch of evil to the musicality (not to mention how demented the clean vocals also sound and feel), whereas in Opuść Mnie (“leave me”) we’re treated to an austere wall of Black Metal sounds with an epic vibe perfect for crushing your skull into the circle pit, with an endless amount of aggressiveness and rage flowing from all instruments, in special from its frantic beats.

Manam is another perturbing chant by Gruzja, an excellent representation of what Extreme Metal is all about in the Polish underground scene, blending the most obscure elements from Black Metal to the atmospheric and gloomy waves of Doom Metal with vocals that couldn’t sound more desperate than this; followed by Jego Głos (“his voice”), presenting some amazing nuances of Punk and Hardcore added to their core Black Metal, therefore making their music even more rebellious and potent like if the instrumental parts from Motörhead were blended with the rabid and raspy vocal lines of The Exploited. And get ready for over four minutes of visceral sounds and tones in Ilu Nas Było? (“how many of us were there?”), darkening the skies like we expect from classic Doom Metal, with the strident tone from the guitar potentializing the gruesome and demonic roars blasted by the band’s uncanny lead singer, almost vomiting the song’s Polish words in our faces. Lastly, Gruzja offer us Iść Dalej (“go ahead”), completely different form the rest of the album, feeling more like a remix version of a song than an original composition per se (or maybe it’s just an outro, who knows). It’s not bad at all, but it takes away a little of the insane and hellish atmosphere from all previous songs.

Take a listen at this disturbing and very enjoyable album of underground music in full on YouTube or on Spotify and get ready to be smashed like an insignificant insect by the unruly and deranged Gruzja, and in order to show your true support to this very interesting Polish band simply follow them on Facebook, and purchase I Iść Dalej from the Godz ov War Productions’ BandCamp or webstore. In a nutshell, I Iść Dalej is a raw and visceral album of Black Metal overflowing sex, drugs, alcohol and an infinite amount of our good old aggression. What else can you ask for in underground extreme music, right?

Best moments of the album: Moja Ratyzbona and Opuść Mnie.

Worst moments of the album: Iść Dalej.

Released in 2019 Godz ov War Productions

Track listing
1. Gruzini 3:28
2. Moja Ratyzbona 4:18
3. Opuść Mnie 3:59
4. Manam 4:50
5. Jego Głos 3:08
6. Ilu Nas Było? 4:40
7. Iść Dalej 4:20

Band members
*Information not available*

Concert Review – Cradle of Filth (The Opera House, Toronto, ON, 03/27/2019)

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One year after storming Toronto with their Cryptoriana World Tour for the first time, the one and only Cradle of Filth returned for another fantastic round of blasphemy, darkness and seductiveness.

OPENING ACT: Raven Black

First of all, I would like to ask anyone to explain to me why WEDNESDAY 13, the Hollywood-based Gothic/Dark Metal band led by Murderdolls’ frontman Joseph Michael Poole (aka Wednesday 13), didn’t open for the almighty Cradle of Filth last night at The Opera House like they’ve been doing together with Los Angeles-based Gothic/Dark Metal unity RAVEN BLACK during this second round of the Cryptoriana North American tour, nicely named CRYPTORIANA WORLD TOUR 2019 – THE SECOND COMING OF VICE. All websites showed Raven Black scheduled for 7pm, Wednesday 13 for 7:45pm and Cradle of Filth for 8:55pm, but what actually happened last night in Toronto was a huge (and tedious) delay that ended up with Raven Black playing at 7:45pm and Cradle of Filth at 8:55pm, with no sign of Wednesday 13 at all nor any communication from the venue or the organizers. Unless they played at 5pm when no one was there to watch them, or if they wanted to make a very bad joke with their own name saying they were “late” two weeks (as yesterday was Wednesday 27), there’s no official reason for their absence. Can anyone out there explain to me what happened, please?

Anyway, without Wednesday 13, Raven Black was left with the always demanding duty of warming up the fans at The Opera house for another night of wicked, sulfurous and dark metal music. Comprised of the stunning, talented and very sympathetic Raven on lead vocals, The Doctor on lead guitar and backing vocals, Stitches on bass and Muppet on drums and harsh vocals (plus another mysterious, unnamed guitarist who would go on and off stage depending on the song played), Raven Black put on a great show, entertaining the fans avid for the more extreme music by Dani Filth and his horde. Still promoting their 2018 album 13, Raven Black played a fairly different setlist from the ones of this same tour, either by changing the order of the songs or by adding new ones, such as their brand new single named Carnival (a very good song, by the way), probably due to Wednesday 13’s cryptic absence. And it was impossible not to keep your eyes turned to the darkly, darkly sexy Raven, who delivered a very entertaining performance impersonating an evil doll with a special artifact per song, including a hula hoop, handcuffs and a giant teddy bear. My favorite songs of their concert were Dollhouse and Twinkle Twinkle Little Scars, and if you also enjoy this type of freakish, circus-inspired metal music, go take a look at their BandCamp page not only to purchase those two songs but their entire (short but already solid) discography.

Band members
Raven – lead vocals
The Doctor – lead guitar, backing vocals
Stitches – bass
Muppet – drums, harsh vocals

CRADLE OF FILTH

After a short break it was time for British Extreme Metal warlocks CRADLE OF FILTH to haunt The Opera House once again for our total delight, still promoting their 2017 album Cryptoriana – The Seductiveness of Decay, almost exactly one year after their 2018 concert in the city, coincidentally also on a Wednesday night. The setlist was very close to their previous one, with a few changes to some of the songs such as the removal of Beneath the Howling Stars and The Death of Love and the inclusion of Nemesis and Honey and Sulphur. I love all those songs, so I was more than fine with those changes as it’s always a pleasure to see a fantastic band like Cradle of Filth playing different songs live, but there was one huge “mistake” made by the band, which was NOT closing the show with the all-time classic From the Cradle to Enslave. Sorry, Dani, but I can’t forgive you for that even after seeing your Instagram post where you say you were quite sick last night (so sick he said they dropped Saffron’s Curse instead of From the Cradle to Enslave). Just kidding, of course.

Anyway, I can’t get tired of watching Dani growling like a demonic beast (even when he’s under the weather) while his bandmates make sure the atmosphere remains as obscure, devilish and aggressive as possible, with one of the nicest keyboardists in the world, Lindsay Schoolcraft, and the unstoppable guitarist Richard Shaw providing an extra touch of delicacy and madness to the show, respectively. Richard didn’t stop jumping up and down, spinning around, spitting and urging the crowd to go crazy into the circle pit, and all that while at the same time he was flawless with his riffs and solos. That’s what I call a true metalhead, my friends, providing Dani some effective support and relief due to his illness. If you were there, I bet their performance during the unparalleled 10-minute infernal beast Bathory Aria left you completely disoriented. That says it all.

In the end, although we didn’t have Wednesday 13 for some unknown reason, it was indeed another amazing night of Extreme Metal, with Raven Black and specially Cradle of Filth, of course, showing Toronto everything they got. When all was said and done (and after all the devastation the fans were promoting inside the endless circle pit in the center of the venue), everyone had a huge smile on their faces, and not even an exhausting day at work (like the one I had) could stop the crowd from enjoying the concert to its fullest. Furthermore, there were several amazing Cradle of Filth shirts being sold by their crew or worn by the fans as usual, but there was a guy wearing a very specific one that caught my attention, where in the back it said “DANI FILTH LOVES YOU”’. Well, how can we argue with that? He surely loves Toronto, and Toronto loves him and his iconic band back. That is pure, mutual respect and admiration that makes them come back to the city again and again. Hence, it’s been just less than a day after the concert was over, but I’m already eager to see the mighty Cradle of Filth possessing our souls once again here in our beloved Toronto.

Setlist
ACT I
Ave Satani (Intro)
Gilded Cunt
Nemesis
Right Wing of the Garden Triptych
Heartbreak and Seance
Bathory Aria: Benighted Like Usher / A Murder of Ravens in Fugue / Eyes That Witnessed Madness
Wester Vespertine
Dusk and Her Embrace
You Will Know the Lion by His Claw
Creatures That Kissed in Cold Mirrors (Interlude)

ACT II
A Bruise Upon the Silent Moon (Intro)
The Promise of Fever
Saffron’s Curse
Nymphetamine (Fix)
Honey and Sulphur
Her Ghost in the Fog
Blooding the Hounds of Hell (Outro)

Band members
Dani Filth – lead vocals
Richard Shaw – guitars
Marek “Ashok” Šmerda – guitars
Daniel Firth – bass
Lindsay Schoolcraft – female vocals, keyboards
Martin “Marthus” Škaroupka – drums

Album Review – Through The Noise / Dualism (2019)

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Let’s make some noise to this five-piece Swedish Hardcore and Nu Metal act and their melodious brand new album overflowing rage and rebelliousness.

Founded in 2013 in the city of Lund, located around 30km from Malmö, in southern Sweden, the unruly five-piece Post-Hardcore/Nu Metal act comprised of Jowl Nyberg on vocals, Victor Adonis and Marcus Skantz on the guitars, Martin Lingonblad on bass and Peter Liwgren on drums, collectively known as Through The Noise, is back in action now in 2019 for our total delight with their second full-length album, entitled Dualism, a natural follow-up to their 2013 demo Adorn The Silence and their 2015 debut album Fall of Gaia, showcasing all the band’s talent, energy and, above all that, their absolute passion for heavy music.

Mixed by Erik Wiss (Eleine, Creye, To Dust), engineered by Ermin Hamadovic (Periphery, Devin Townsend Project, Architects), and mastered by Thomas ‘Plec’ Johansson (Soilwork, Watain, Scar Symmetry) at The Panic Room in Skövde, Sweden, Dualism is a pummeling mix of Hardcore and Nu Metal, containing nine glorious songs that are guaranteed to please even the ficklest of critics. Not only that, Dualism also brings to our ears the amazing guest vocals by local Swedish punk vocalist Jahna Lund (from Death By Horse), adding an extra touch of finesse and rage all at once to three of the most electrifying songs from the album.

The opening track Shattered already provides the listener a heavier-than-usual version of Hardcore from the very first second, with Peter sounding like a machine gun on drums while Jowl begins screaming rabidly, also presenting an atmospheric background that makes an interesting paradox with the slashing riffs by Victor and Marcus. Then featuring the aforementioned Jahna Lund we have Psychomachia, a frantic and aggressive tune perfect for slamming into the circle pit like there’s no tomorrow, and where the sound of the guitars couldn’t be more metallic and vibrant than what it already is. Peter keeps smashing his drums in the also fast and furious House of Asterion, a well-balanced mix of Metalcore, classic Hardcore and Alternative Metal where Martin’s bass lines rumble beautifully while Jowl roars nonstop like a maniac, followed by Digital Playground, a rock n’ roll radio hit where the entire band kicks us in the head with their rebellious instruments, spearheaded by Peter’s violent beats and the guitar duo’s lancinating riffs. And featuring Jahna once again, lending her gorgeous voice to the band’s crisp musicality, we have Secret Project, not as berserk as its predecessors but still very heavy and melodic, with Peter and Martin bringing thunder to the overall result with their respective instruments.

Deceiver is another explosion of Metalcore and Alternative Metal by the quintet, being highly recommended for breaking your neck in half headbanging but obviously maintaining a pleasant harmony in its core, all boosted by Jowl’s visceral growls and screams; whereas in Maktbegär, which translates as “lust for power” from Swedish, the band delivers an aggressive feast of smashing beats, cutting riffs and endless rage,  or in other words, a mosh pit-catalyst Metalcore tune that will work amazingly when played live (and even if you don’t know a single word in Swedish you’ll starting singing the song’s chorus with the band). And there’s no time to breathe as Through The Noise don’t slow down not even a bit in Meaning Through Noise, hammering our skulls with more of their violent fusion of Hardcore and Nu Metal and also presenting those melodious clean vocals we got used to in first-class Metalcore, while the talented growler Jahna joins the band one more time for their last blast of ass-kicking heavy music in Beyond Betrayal, where the amazing job done by both Victor and Marcus with their razor-edged riffs provides Jowl all he needs to scream and shout, inviting us all to jump up and down with the band in a very fun and vibrant way and, therefore, closing the album on a high note.

All the insane and entertaining noise blasted by Through The Noise can be better appreciated by subscribing to their YouTube channel and by listening to their music on Spotify, and if you truly enjoyed the hybrid of Metalcore and Hardcore with a modern-day Nu Metal twist crafted by those Swedish guys in Dualism, don’t forget to purchase your copy of the album from iTunes or from Amazon, and to follow them on Facebook for news and tour dates. Through The Noise definitely know how to make a lot of noise, always loyal to the foundations of Hardcore, and if they keep generating such thrilling music in the years to come I’m beyond sure we’ll hear a lot more from them, a band that can already be considered one of the best bands of the Swedish Hardcore scene, and a band that deserves all our noise in their honor.

Best moments of the album: Psychomachia, Deceiver and Maktbegär.

Worst moments of the album: Shattered.

Released in 2019 Eclipse Records

Track listing
1. Shattered 4:10
2. Psychomachia (feat. Jahna Lund) 2:55
3. House of Asterion 3:47
4. Digital Playground 4:48
5. Secret Project (feat. Jahna Lund) 6:17
6. Deceiver 4:02
7. Maktbegär 4:54
8. Meaning Through Noise 4:48
9. Beyond Betrayal (feat. Jahna Lund) 5:19

Band members
Jowl Nyberg – vocals
Victor Adonis – guitar
Marcus Skantz – guitar
Martin Lingonblad – bass
Peter Liwgren – drums

Guest musician
Jahna Lund – additional vocals on “Psychomachia”, “Secret Project” and “Beyond Betrayal”

Album Review – Helevorn / Aamamata (2019)

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Embrace darkness and melancholy to the sound of the breathtaking new opus by one of the most interesting names from the underground Spanish scene.

Hailing from Palma de Mallorca (which is becoming a recurrent source of first-class metal music at The Headbanging Moose), in the Balearic Islands, Spain, the melancholic, somber and utterly melodic Gothic/Doom Metal outfit that goes by the stylish name of Helevorn (a lake in Tolkien’s The Silmarillion) returns in 2019 with their fourth full-length album and what’s perhaps their boldest and most detailed opus since their inception in 1999, the multi-layered Aamamata, leaving us absolutely stunned with its almost one hour of the finest and most elegant heavy music you can think of. Comprised of lead singer Josep Brunet, guitarists Sandro Vizcaino and Samuel Morales, bassist Guillem Morey, pianist and keyboardist Enrique Sierra, and drummer Xavi Gil, Helevorn aim at reaching new heights with Aamamata, proving melancholic doom can be just as breathtaking as any style considered faster or heavier, being highly recommended for admirers of the gloomy music by renowned acts like Draconian, Swallow The Sun and Paradise Lost.

Featuring a classy logo by Irene Serrano, a mesmerizing artwork by Gonzalo Aeneas depicting Sibyl, and Ancient Greek prophetess, and several brilliant guest musicians such as Júlia Colom and Heike Langhans (from Draconian), Aamamata, the song that Death sings every day in the Mediterranean Sea (which has become a desolate pit for human lives), goes beyond the boundaries of traditional Doom Metal, bringing elements from countless metal and non-metal styles and, therefore, offering our avid ears a unique and captivating sonority from start to finish. “We know that we are not discovering something new, but it’s how it sounds the 90’s goth-doom metal in the present times. It should be received like a piece to reborn the scene and to relate music and the decadence of Humankind through the drama of the refugees, that constantly are dying trying to escape from the hell that Western Countries put to them. We think that fans will love the new album,” said the band about their newborn spawn, and they’re more than right in stating we, fans of underground heavy music, will simply love Aamamata in its entirety.

Sandro and Samuel begin slashing their strings in the sluggish and atmospheric opening track A Sail To Sanity, urging us all to bang our heads like there’s no tomorrow in a beautiful display of classic Doom Metal where Josep growls deeply and with a lot of anguish, whereas in Goodbye, Hope the piano and keys by Enrique bring a touch of delicacy and melancholy to the musicality, while Xavi pounds his drums in the most damned way possible, being tailored for fans of somber and heavy-as-hell doom. And in Blackened Waves, led by Gulliem’s metallic bass lines and Enrique’s ethereal keys, we’re treated to a dense and enfolding sound enhanced by cryptic lyrics that exhale poetry and arcane feelings (“Rolling by, weary, uneven planes / A darkness lurks / Slowly, I am given to the mystery / I am drawn into its depths / A wall of, formidable strength / The power is palpable”).

However, it’s in Aurora, a hypnotizing voyage through the most obscure realms of Doom Metal, that Helevorn position themselves as one of the most interesting names of the current Spanish scene, with the music starting in a compelling way with the gorgeous vocals by guest Júlia Colom together with the eccentric sounds of the bouzouki and bağlama by Jaume Compte, bringing an extra dosage of finesse to the music, not to mention its classic riffs and pleasant pace. Furthermore, this flawless aria is dedicated to all of those who have fallen by executions and political persecution during the fascist coup in Spain in 1936, and are still missing, buried in hundreds of unmarked mass graves, but is especially dedicated to Aurora Picornell, a freedom fighter who stood up for liberty and civil rights, and was executed on January 5, 1937 (more than 80 years after her death, her body has not yet been found). If that doesn’t touch your soul, I honestly don’t know what would. Anyway, drinking from the same fountain as Paradise Lost and Draconian, Helevorn deliver Forgotten Fields, a song that feels like it was written in the 90’s with Josep once again doing an amazing job with both his harsh growls and clean vocals, followed by the serene Nostrum Mare (Et deixo un pont de mar blava), featuring spoken parts by (in order of appearance) Vassilis Mazaris (Greek), Diane Camenzuli (Maltese), Joan Oliver (Spanish), Sara Husein El Ahmed (Arabic), Pablo Ferrarese (Italian), Isabelle Pereira (French), Élide Terrón and Felip Palou (Catalan), and Corin Solo Fogel (Hebraic), while the band makes sure the atmosphere remains vibrant and obscure throughout the entire song, in special the piano notes by Enrique and the metallic riffs by the band’s guitar duo.

Once Upon a War is another old school composition showcasing slow and steady drums, low-tuned bass punches intertwined with piano notes, and a very powerful vocal performance by Josep deeply vociferating the song’s acid lyrics (“A woman taken from home / To appease the warlords’ thirst / The children give themselves up / What must be done to save their own innocence? / Innocents!”), all embraced by Sandro’s and Samuel’s crisp riffs and solos, before the over 8 minutes of mesmerizing, doomed music found in the following tune, entitled The Path to Puya, majestically penetrates deep inside your mind, with the stunning guest vocalist Heike Langhans forming a fantastic dynamic duo with Josep, while guest Pedro Zubiri (from Blind Panic) fires a soulful guitar solo for our total delight, and that hypnotizing and breathtaking vibe goes on until the song’s obscure finale. And lastly, Helevorn bring forward the gentle La Sibil-la, a Catalan medieval song dated from the 10th century, with the band’s version being very delicate and dense, switching from purely acoustic passages to the traditional heaviness of Doom Metal, providing a superb ending for a grandiose album of dark and mournful metal music.

You can find Aamamata available for a full listen on YouTube, and purchase your copy of such awesome album from the band’s official BandCamp page or webstore, as well as from the Solitude Productions webstore (in regular CD or Digipak format), from iTunes, from Amazon or from Discogs. Furthermore, don’t forget to show your utmost support to those talented Spaniards by following them on Facebook, by subscribing to their YouTube channel and by listening to their music on Spotify. Helevorn elevated not only the quality and potency of their already refined Doom Metal in Aamamata, but the spirits of all of those who admire the fusion of good heavy music with a strong background message or meaning. And that, my dear metalheads, is the true essence of heavy music and everything we should always look for when in pursuit of new or unique names in the underground metal scene like Helevorn.

Best moments of the album: A Sail To Sanity, Blackened Waves, Aurora and The Path to Puya.

Worst moments of the album: Forgotten Fields.

Released in 2019 Solitude Productions/BadMoodMan Music

Track listing
1. A Sail To Sanity 5:25
2. Goodbye, Hope 5:58
3. Blackened Waves 5:26
4. Aurora 7:24
5. Forgotten Fields 5:44
6. Nostrum Mare (Et deixo un pont de mar blava) 7:28
7. Once Upon a War 5:55
8. The Path to Puya 8:38
9. La Sibil-la 5:05

Band members
Josep Brunet – vocals
Sandro Vizcaino – guitars
Samuel Morales – guitars
Guillem Morey – bass
Enrique Sierra – piano, keyboards
Xavi Gil – drums

Guest musicians
Júlia Colom – guest vocals on “Aurora” and “Nostrum Mare”
Heike Langhans – guest vocals on “The Path to Puya”
Jaume Compte – bouzouki and bağlama on “Aurora”
Pedro Zubiri – guitar solo on “The Path to Puya”
Batucada d’es Gremi – additional drums on “Aurora”
‘Are’are women (Malaita, Salomon Islands) – outro singing on “The Path to Puya”
Vassilis Mazaris, Diane Camenzuli, Joan Oliver, Sara Husein El Ahmed, Pablo Ferrarese, Isabelle Pereira, Élide Terrón, Felip Palou & Corin Solo Fogel – spoken parts on “Nostrum Mare”

Album Review – Rotting Christ / The Heretics (2019)

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Heretics, atheists and rebels, it’s time to burn in the fires of the dark and occult Black Metal masterfully crafted by the greatest Greek institution in the history of heavy music.

“Since man cannot live without miracles, he will provide himself with the miracles of his own making. He will believe in any kind of deity even though he may otherwise be a heretic, an atheist, and a rebel.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky

It is not a coincidence that our review number 666 exhales blasphemy, heresy and, above all, first-class occult Black Metal and a lot of fire. Hailing from Athens, the capital of the beautiful Greece and the heart of Ancient Greece, here comes the greatest Greek metal institution of all time, the almighty Rotting Christ, spitting fire upon humanity with their fantastic and very atmospheric new opus, entitled The Heretics, their thirteenth studio album and a beautiful follow-up to their excellent 2016 release Rituals.  Recorded at Pentagram Studios in Athens, mixed and mastered at Fascination Street Studio in Örebro, Sweden, and featuring a stunning artwork by Ukrainian designer Vyacheslav Smeshko and cover art by Greek artist Maximos Manolis, Rotting Christ’s new album is absolutely incendiary, going against all types of religion, church and creed.

And when I say incendiary I’m not exaggerating, as pretty much every single song from The Heretics mentions the world “fire”, proving the band’s mastermind, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sakis Tolis and his brother, drummer Themis Tolis, knew exactly what they were doing when turning what it truly means to be a heretic into their unparalleled Dark Metal. All lyrics are obscure, austere and rebellious, which together with all beautiful intonations by guests Stelios Steele and Dayal Patterson, as well as an array of guest musicians such as Irina Zybina (vocalist for Russian Pagan/Folk Metal bands Alkonost and Грай), Alexis Karamelis and Melechesh Ashmedi, makes the experience of listening to The Heretics truly hypnotizing, enfolding our souls in darkness and fire while the music remains as heavy, intricate and epic as we got used to from the Tolis Brothers. In other words, are you ready to burn in the purifying fires of the Dark Metal blasted by the one and only Rotting Christ?

The imposing In the Name of God brings forward a very atmospheric start, with the words by Russian philosopher Fyodor Dostoyevsky spoken by guest Stelios Steele setting the stage for the crushing wall of sounds created by the Tolis Brothers, always in the name of fire, not to mention how its headbanging riffs will inspire you to break your neck in half, while Vetry Zlye, also called “Ветры злые” (which translates as “evil winds” from Russian), is another beautiful composition by those Greek metallers with the help of guest vocalist Irina Zybina and her mesmerizing voice, getting closer to what the band did in Rituals and with the drums by Themis sounding as imposing and demolishing as we like it in classic extreme music. “The mind is universe and can make a heaven of hell a hell of heaven”, and it’s with those words by English poet John Milton that Rotting Chirst kick off another thrilling hymn titled Heaven and Hell and Fire, showcasing austere, cryptic lyrics (“Beyond the burning fire, heaven and hell / Today I give you choices: life or death / I offer you desire, I sentence you to death / Today I give you a choice, I give you Hell”) that perfectly match with the song’s flammable, classic and very melodic musicality, with Sakis once again being a beast with his riffs and unmatched roars.

Hallowed Be Thy Name is a mesmerizing and extremely obscure hymn by led by Themis’ pounding beats, with Sakis extracting those low-tuned, Stygian sounds we love so much from his guitar and bass. Put differently, join their mass and burn with them, also savoring the words by William Shakespeare powerfully declaimed by Stelios, putting a majestic end to the song. Following such enfolding tune we have Dies Irae, where Sakis’ work on the guitar is the perfect example of how heavy and harmonious a riff can be at the same time, as well as the song’s background choir bringing even more thunder to this already potent song; whereas in I Believe (or “Πιστεύω”), which is based on a poem by Nikos Kazantzakis, a giant of modern Greek literature, the instrumental pieces are a bit too “polluted”, but nothing that makes the song boring or not enjoyable. Moreover, it should work a lot better live as it has the potential to generate huge circle pits due to its frantic pace. Back to a more visceral mode, we have the fabulous Fire God and Fear, with the words by French philosopher Voltaire (“Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.”) generating a stunning paradox with the birds gently chirping in the background in the beginning, before the scorching riffs and thunderous drums by the Greek brothers of metal urge us all to bang our heads nonstop. Hence, this is by far one of my favorite songs of the entire album, where we can savor that classic Rotting Christ sonority with a welcome contemporary twist.

Rotting Christ The Heretics Box Collector

The Voice of Universe is another song that will reach deep inside your mind and soul, with Sakis vociferating its insurgent words (“The angel, I won’t serve again / I won’t have a place anymore in heaven / It’s my own soul, it’s my own mind / And can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven.”) while Themis keeps blasting his trademark tribal beats, and when you think those Greek metallers couldn’t sound more mesmerizing and brutal at the same time they deliver the excellent The New Messiah, featuring an excerpt from Matthew 24:11 (“And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.”), with the guitars and all background elements and voices filling out all spaces in the air. And lastly, as the icing on the cake we have the magnificent, somber and ferocious The Raven, based on what’s probably the most famous poem by the iconic american writer Edgar Allan Poe, offering our ears over five minutes of cutting riffs, Black and Doom Metal drums, and endless poetry, with highlights to the sensational job done by Stelios Steele, giving life to Poe’s renowned lines. Actually, if you have some spare money to purchase any of the special editions of the album, you’ll also be able to enjoy the bonus tracks The Sons of Hell and Phobos (also called “The Sons of Hell, Pt. 1 & 2” by some people), two dark and demolishing tunes that make it worth the additional investment, or in other words, two excellent samples of modern-day Black Metal infused with epic and atmospheric elements.

In summary, The Heretics, available for a full listen on YouTube and on sale from several locations such as the band’s own BandCamp page and the Season of Mist webstore (and if I were you, I would go for the limited edition deluxe wooden boxset as it comes with several awesome perks), is definitely an album that will touch your heart and soul, taking you on a fascinating musical ride through the woes of religious wars, Zoroastrianism and the eternal war between good and evil. That’s what the unrelenting Rotting Christ offer us in their top-of-the-line new opus, and may Sakis and his horde continue to burn us all heretics, atheists and rebels with their dark and occult Black Metal for many decades to come.

Best moments of the album: Heaven and Hell and Fire, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Fire God and Fear and The Raven.

Worst moments of the album: I Believe.

Released in 2019 Season of Mist

Track listing
1. In the Name of God 4:13
2. Vetry Zlye 3:14
3. Heaven and Hell and Fire 4:52
4. Hallowed Be Thy Name 5:06
5. Dies Irae 3:45
6. I Believe 3:42
7. Fire God and Fear 4:49
8. The Voice of Universe 5:22
9. The New Messiah 3:07
10. The Raven 5:23

Deluxe Edition/ Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset bonus track
11. The Sons of Hell 4:18

Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset bonus track
12. Phobos 4:12

Band members
Sakis Tolis – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, percussion
Themis Tolis – drums

Guest musicians
Giannis Kalamatas – guitars (live)
Van Ace – bass (live)
Stelios Steele – poem intonation on “In the Name of God”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and “The Raven”
Alexis Karamelis – backing vocals on “I Believe”
Stratis Steele, Alexandros Louziotis, Giannis Stamatakis & Theodoros Aivaliotis – vocals (choirs)
Nikos Velentzas, Stamatis Ampatalis, Vasilis Koutsoyflakis & Manos Six – percussion
Irina Zybina – female Vocals on “Vetry Zlye”
Dayal Patterson – intonation on “Heaven and Hell and Fire” and “Fire God and Fear”
Melechesh Ashmedi – vocals on “The Voice of Universe”