Ravaging and rampaging the wastelands, the most infernal platoon hailing from Finland returns to the battlefront tighter and more caustic than ever with a brand new mini-album.
At long last, almost four years after the release of their fantastic debut album Iron Overkill, the venomous Lahti, Finland-based Black/Death Metal platoon that goes by the name of Front returns to the battlefront with a brand new mini-album titled Antichrist Militia, offering fans of the music by Marduk, Bestial Warlust and Motörhead decisive 23 minutes of brutality, rage, blasphemy and, above all that, war. Now expanded to a quartet formed by lead singer Kaosbringer, guitarist Von Bastard, bassist Meister F. and drummer Revenant, Front present in Antichrist Militia their deadliest Black and Death Metal sonic arsenal to date, with the ass-kicking artwork designed by Indonesian artist Jenglot Hitam (Abigail, Sabbat, Unholy Desecration) saying everything it needs to, that Front are ravaging and rampaging the wastelands, sounding tighter, more finessed and at the same time more caustic than ever, getting in and getting out with militaristic precision, and this time with a booze-reeking smirk across its barbed-wired face.
In the intro Doom Cult Legion, ominous and eerie noises from the pits of hell warm up our senses for the pulverizing title-track Antichrist Militia, where the entire band showcases their heavy artillery led by Revenant’s brutal and pounding drums while Von Bastard extracts sheer dementia form his guitar, all spiced up by Kaosbringer’s demonic roars and gnarls. Furthermore, this venomous tune is simply perfect for raising your horns while screaming the song’s name together with the band, not to mention its frantic, slamming and metallic second half, followed by Iron Front, their personal tribute to the almighty Motörhead, bringing forward a demented mix of Black and Death Metal with badass Rock N’ Roll where Meister F. hammers his bass in a way that would make the iconic Lemmy Kilmister (R.I.P.) truly proud, accompanied by Von Bastard’s hellish guitar riffs and solos. Hence, this ode to ruthless rock and metal will work perfectly during their live performances without a shadow of a doubt.
Leaning towards the current Black Metal sonority blasted by Marduk, Venom & Salt is a warlike tune spearheaded by Kaosbringer and his enraged growls, filling our ears with nonstop violence flowing from all instruments while Revenant shows no mercy at all for his drums, whereas an obscure start with somber voices evolves into a Black and Doom Metal chant titled Mouths of War, a Stygian song that will penetrate deep inside your psyche, disturbing your peace of mind while the quartet blasts evil and hatred form their weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, as the icing on the cake, the song also brings forward Winston Churchill’s renowned speech, the same form Iron Maiden’s hit “Aces High” by the way, just to give the final result an extra military touch. And finally, you’ll find yourself in the middle of a crossfire before Von Bastard puts the pedal to the metal with his sick riffage in Machinegun Blasphemy, with Revenant sounding absolutely infernal on drums from start to finish. This can easily be labeled “War Metal”, or in other words, the utmost depiction of what happens when old school Black and Death Metal unite in the name of war.
In a nutshell, Front bring forth in Antichrist Militia the precise soundtrack to inspire us all right before we head into the battlefield, and despite the album having only 23 minutes of music that’s actually more than enough to cause a nuclear explosion due to its gargantuan amount of heaviness and rage. Having said that, don’t forget to follow this infamous legion of metalheads on Facebook, and keep an eye on the Iron Bonehead Productions’ BandCamp page and webstore where sooner than later you’ll be able to put your dirty hands on such thrilling album of extreme music. Front’s “pocket version” of what can be described as a musical world war is almost upon us all, and based on the current state of our society I can’t think of a better option to bang our heads like true bastards until our inevitable and gruesome end.
Best moments of the album: Iron Front and Machinegun Blasphemy.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Iron Bonehead Productions
Track listing 1. Doom Cult Legion 0:43
2. Antichrist Militia 5:05
3. Iron Front 4:20
4. Venom & Salt 4:06
5. Mouths of War 3:43
6. Machinegun Blasphemy 4:48
Band members Kaosbringer – vocals
Von Bastard – guitars, choir vocals
Meister F. – bass
Revenant – drums, choir vocals
Bang your head to the debut EP by an Australian one-man band with a huge focus on artistic expressionism, animal rights, veganism and the inevitability of the planet’s decline.
The name Klendathu, which means means “triangular” in the Zulu language, is the homeworld of the creatures known as the Arachnids from the 1997 cult movie Starship Troopers, while the expression “ad nauseam” is a Latin term for argument or other discussion that has continued to the point of nausea. However, when you put those two together the result is a Melbourne, Australia-based Blackened Death Metal/Dark Metal one-man project entitled Klendathu, formed in the beginning of 2020 by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Scott Masson, the lead singer for Metalcore/Deathcore act He Who Seeks Vengeance and more recently for Death Metal band Apocalyptian, both already reviewed at The Headbanging Moose. With a huge focus on artistic expressionism and with its lyrical content inspired by our ecological footprint, environmental issues, animal rights, veganism and the inevitability of the planet’s decline, the project’s debut EP Ad Nauseam will surely please fans of the music by Behemoth, Gorgoroth, Cannibal Corpse, Sylosis, Six Feet Under and Sepultura, among many others, while at the same time sending a strong message to everyone who still thinks our decaying world is doing just fine.
Scott, who’s by the way a very proud vegan and animal rights activist and environmentalist, has already hinted at that theme in his previous records with He Who Seeks Vengeance (They Will Speak Of The Ghosts That We Became, released in 2019) and Apocalyptian (Citizens Of The Apocalypse, released earlier this year), but it’s with Klendathu that Scott finally has all the freedom to be himself and express how he feels about the current state of things. In addition, just to give you an idea of how personal the album is, everything in the album was recorded by Scott himself, with the exception of the mixing part which was done by an electronic producer named Kibosh, and the final result is indeed very personal, heavy and dark.
An ominous intro grows in intensity until dark and damned sounds invade our senses in Denying The Birth, where Scott fires Doom Metal-inspired riffs and infernal blast beats while screaming like a rabid beast, reminding me of old school Behemoth with some phantasmagorical background elements to add an extra kick to it. Then once again demolishing everything and everyone with his insane beats and riffage, Scott vociferates and barks nonstop in Anger Awakening, presenting hints of the Thrash and Groove Metal by Sepultura from their Roots-era while keeping Klendathu’s core obscurity intact, followed by Bargaining The New Revelation, the most vicious and devastating of all songs, with Scott doing a great job with his harsh roars and thunderous bass and drums, therefore generating a reverberating sound that will crush your skull mercilessly, all spiced up by teen activist Greta Thunberg’s famous one-liner “How dare you!” and other parts of her speech during the UN climate summit in New York on September 23, 2019. After such bold and dense tune, Scott adds nuances of devilish Blackened Doom to his already scorching sonority in The Prelude Depression, where you can easily feel all the anguish and hatred flowing from his demented screams while the song’s keys and piano notes give the overall result a touch of finesse. And last but not least, more groovy and enraged sounds permeate the air in Accepting The End, with Scott going full Death Metal on vocals and firing crisp guitar riffs and solos. Moreover, its modern-day Black Metal-like drums are the ultimate proof that this incendiary song couldn’t have sounded more austere than what it already is.
You can follow Scoot and his very interesting Klendathu on Facebook, showing your appreciation not only for his music but also for his fight for animal rights and his efforts against all environmental issues we’ve been facing in the past few decades, and of course purchase his debut opus Ad Nauseam directly from his BandCamp page, as well as from Apple Music and from Amazon, or stream the EP in full on YouTube and on Spotify. In the end, as long as you bang your head to Klendathu’s flammable music while doing your part in trying to make this world a better place, I’m sure guys like Scott will feel utterly inspired to keep crafting meaningful heavy music for many years to come. That, of course, if the world as we know it doesn’t come to an end first.
Best moments of the album: Bargaining The New Revelation and Accepting The End.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. Denying The Birth 6:19
2. Anger Awakening 4:52
3. Bargaining The New Revelation 5:27
4. The Prelude Depression 5:52
5. Accepting The End 5:02
Band members Scott Masson – vocals, all instruments
If there’s a woman that loves heavy music from the bottom of her (darkened) heart, more specifically our always controversial and blasphemous Black Metal, as well as music in general, that lady has to be the unrelenting Italian-born bassist Mia Wallace, who you’ll also find in several bands and projects under the names Michelle Mia Wallace, Mia W. Wallace, White Wallace or even Winter Wallace. As a matter of fact, either being a coincidence or not, the name Mia Wallace was given to the fictional character portrayed by the stunning Uma Thurman in the 1994 Quentin Tarantino cult movie Pulp Fiction, just to give you an idea of how mysterious, sexy and provocative our metal chick of the month of May can be, exactly how we expect from any true Black Metal musician. Known for her work in distinguished metal projects such as The True Endless (under the controversial moniker Soulfucker), Abbath, Triumph of Death and Niryth, among several others, Mia will undoubtedly hypnotize you with her obscure looks and smash your senses with her thunderous bass, proving once and for all Black Metal is and will always be home for some of the most talented women in the history of music.
Born somewhere, sometime in the always gorgeous Italy, Mia Wallace started playing bass in the now distant year of 1994. She said in one of her interviews that her boyfriend at the time, Italian multi-instrumentalist Marco De Rosa (R.I.P.), also known as simply M., who would become her bandmate in distinct bands and projects and best friend for over 25 years, encouraged her to try his white Fender Squier Vintage bass. She mentioned it was extremely heavy, but she immediately became passionate about that amazing instrument. Her first bass was then a four-string Hoyer SG-type from 1970, helping Mia become most probably the first female bass player in the entire Italy to wear corpsepaint, to play Black Metal on stage, and to perform fire-breathing during her live concerts. Among her gear, you’ll find some amazing stuff such as the Epiphone Nikki Sixx Blackbird, the BC Rich Beast and the Clover BassTard bass guitars; the Boss ODB-3, Boss DD-3 and Marshall Reflector RF-1 effects; and the Warwick Profet 5.2 amps.
There are several bands and projects where you can enjoy Mia kicking some serious ass with her rumbling bass, and in order to tell you a little about each one of those let’s start with the most recent or active ones and then move on to her previous bands which have either disbanded or have been put on an indefinite hiatus. Right now, we can say Mia is involved in two main projects, those being an Italian Electronic/Industrial/Alien/Darkwave Pop/Rock project entitled Kirlian Camera, where not only she plays bass but also keyboards (also doing backing vocals), and a mysterious Swiss project that goes by the name of Niryth, where she’s a co-founder, songwriter and lead bassist. There might be a third project which could be called her solo band Mia Wallace, but as there’s nothing online anywhere about it let’s just say there’s no reason for extending the topic on it.
Anyway, her role with Kirlian Camera (which name was taken from what’s known as Kirlian photography, a collection of photographic techniques used to capture the phenomenon of electrical coronal discharges) obviously goes beyond her usual bass playing duties, providing a unique support to the band’s mastermind Angelo Bergamini and frontwoman Elena Alice Fossi during their live performances. The band was founded in the distant year of in 1979 in the city of Parma by Angelo Bergamini and was a pioneering act of the Italian synthpop scene, featuring musicians from four distinct locations (Piombino, Marciana, Parma and Novara, all in Italy), and after a few ups and downs the duo now shares the stage with obviously Mia and other renowned musicians form the Italian scene such as Alessandro Comerio, Davide Mazza and Falk Pitschk. Having released a good amount of albums since their inception, starting with their 1983 debut effort It Doesn’t Matter Now until their most recent installment Hellfire, released in 2019, the project has always pushed the boundaries of experimental and electronic music, winning several awards through the years, with Mia bringing her share of heaviness and creativity to the band on stage. You won’t be able to listen to Mia in any of their studio albums, of course, but you can certainly enjoy some awesome live footage on YouTube such as this soundcheck in 2018 at a festival in Switzerland, this live version of the song V2K in Leipzig, Germany in 2020, or this 30-minute footage of the band live in Torino, Italy in 2018 playing some of their songs such as Holograms, Black August and News.
Her other project is considerably unique and I can’t even say if it’s still going on or if it has been archived by its band members. I’m talking about Nyrith, a distinguished metal project founded by Mia together with the one and only Tom. G Warrior (Hellhammer, Celtic Fost, Trypticon) with tastes of heavy and obscure doom, blending different styles from the music by Sisters of Mercy to Pink Floyd, all performed by not only one, not two, but three bass players. In one of her interviews Mia mentioned that Nyrith were ready to release their debut album depicting their visions of life and death, their struggles and pains, but so far nothing has been made official yet. She also said the idea of Nyrith came from Tom after Mia was left without a band a few years ago (and we’ll talk more about that later), including the idea of having three bass players on the same band, as at that time nobody was comfortable giving a woman the control of a new or existing band. In this project, Mia mentioned she was working on all the music which was refused by her previous band, a very restricted and traditional Black Metal act by the way, with all of her ideas being pretty much outside the Black Metal world. As aforementioned, there’s nothing officially released up to now, but we should all keep an eye on Nyrith as this is a very promising metal project (if it truly happens one day, of course). In addition, as an accomplished bass player, Mia has been asked several times about her technique, about how she enjoys playing bass and other nice-to-know details. For instance, when questioned about the fact she would play a five-string bass with Nyrith, she said that “I’ve been playing four-string basses for 20 years, but with Niryth, it is absolutely essential to play five-string bass, as the music requires far more versatility. I always felt good vibes with BC Rich basses. Among my favorite basses is a BC Rich Beast, in fact.”
Now it’s time to talk about all of her previous bands, starting with the one that’s in my opinion her most interesting and powerful project to date, Italian Black Metal horde The True Endless, founded in 1997 by M. and Mia (under the moniker Pollon, and later under her most controversial moniker Soulfucker) with the main goal of crafting violent and trendkiller music. After a couple of rehearsal tapes and some shows, The True Endless recorded their first studio work in 1999 called The Trendkiller EP, followed by an array of EP’s, splits, compilations, livr albums and obviously some very interesting and heavy-as-hell full-length albums, those being Wings of Wrath (2003), A Climb to Eternity (2005), Buried by Time and Dust (2006), 1888 from Hell (2008), An Year in Black (2009), Legacy of Hate (2013), and last but not least, Blacklight Inferno (2017), all with Mia kicking ass on bass and even working in the mastering of their 2008 album 1888 from Hell. Featuring lyrics in English, Italian and Novaras, a dialect of the Piedmontese language (Piemontèis) that was used to give their sound a more ancestral feeling, the scorching Black Metal played by The True Endless led the band to share the stage with some of the most important names of the extreme music scene such as Marduk, Deicide, Vader, Helheim, Darkened Nocturn Slaughtercult, Besatt, Morrigan, Vesna, Mortuary Drape, Opera IX and many more, playing through countless countries across Europe. You’ll “only” be able to find their latest released Blacklight Inferno on their official BandCamp page, but you can enjoy several of their songs and live footage by visiting their official YouTube channel (as well as other channels), as for example their cover version for Hellhammer’s classic Massacra, the songs Pale Waves, Under The Horned Waning Moon, Black Swamp, I Drink The Devil’s Blood and Nightfall, and this live version of Freezing Moon in the Czech Republic in 2011.
Unfortunately, after months fighting against a deadly cancer, the multi-talented M. sadly passed away on November 16, 2017 at the age of 43, and due to such tragic loss Mia and the band’s drummer Algol decided to end the project after 20 years of intense activity. However, as Mia herself always says, “the flame will burn forever.” And the skillful M. was also the founder of many other amazing projects such as Darkness, Huggin, Skoll and Teuta, most of them featuring our dauntless Mia on bass and/or on keyboards, and usually under the moniker Pollon. For instance, she played bass on the 2013 album Anti Human Life, by Italian Black/Thrash Metal band Darkness, on the 1998 demo Tales (from the Ancient Times), by Italian Black Metal horde Huginn, and played keyboards on the 1999 album Through the Mist We Come Back and on the 2000 split Keep Alive Your Heathenfolk/La oss slakte Guds lam, both by Italian Pagan Black/Viking Metal band Skoll. After listening to such amazing bands, we must all agree with Mia that the flame of M. will always burn bright through his classy and dark music across the centuries, no doubt about that.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Another memorable moment in Mia’s undisputed career happened between 2019 and 2020 when she joined the iconic Norwegian Black Metal act Abbath, spearheaded by one of the co-founders of Immortal, one of the trailblazers of the infamous Norwegian Black Metal scene. When asked about how the invitation to join Abbath in 2019 happened, Mia said that she always been part of the Bergen family, and as Abbath needed a strong figure to replace his previous bassist he noticed her as an experienced musician who would fit perfectly into his lineup. Mia was the bass player in Abbath’s latest opus, his 2019 album Outstrider, and you can enjoy her thunderous and menacing bass lines in songs like Harvest Pyre and Calm in Ire of Hurricane. Mia mentioned Outstrider was pretty much written when she joined the band, with Abbath asking her to write the bass lines and then they decided together about some adjustments on them, also saying that she didn’t feel any real pressure as the replacement of one of the most recognizable bassist in Black Metal, the iconic King ov Hell (God Seed, Gorgoroth), as they’re two musicians with different skills that were not actually competing nor anything like that. However, on January 28, 2020, Mia revealed that she was no longer part of the band, being informed over the phone by the Abbath’s manager shortly before the beginning of the Outstrider 2020 European tour. No formal announcement was made by the band, but she was replaced on bass by touring member, Rusty Cornell. As you can check HERE, Mia was not happy about the way things happened. “I am disappointed that none of my former colleagues have contacted me in this process except for the five minute phone call from Abbath’s manager in which I was told I would no longer be needed. I was told not to contact anyone in the band. The explanation for this had no substance and just made more questions and confusion for me. Up until then I had been preparing for the European tour as I had been told to do. I had to cancel other plans, and get time off work for the tour which I spent much time preparing for,” said Mia, also citing her comments to the media after the disastrous Abbath two-song concert in Argentina in 2019 as one of the probable reasons for being fired from the band.
Another amazing project where we were all able to enjoy Mia’s crushing bass lines between 2018 and 2019 was Tom G. Warrior’s Triumph Of Death, a tribute to his former group Hellhammer, consisting of playing the legendary music by Hellhammer from their three demos (Death Fiend, Triumph of Death and Satanic Rites) and the EP Apocalyptic Raids onstage after 37 years, starting in the summer of 2019. According to Tom and Mia, Triumph of Death is a Zurich, Switzerland-based open-ended project playing only select concerts and festivals, basically choosing the songs from the band’s small but rich catalog depending on how they felt at that moment, always open to change from time to time. When asked about how she felt playing those songs together with Tom and therefore continuing the legacy of one of the pioneers of Black Metal, she said it was a true honor for her as she’s been highly influenced by Hellhammer throughout her entire career, and you can see how happy Mia truly was by watching her interviews together with Tom in 2019 at some of the best metal festivals in the world such as Hellfest, Wacken Open Air and Brutal Assault, always talking about how it feels to play with Triumph of Death, the legacy of Hellhammer and why the name Hellhammer wasn’t used, as well as performing at the same time with Tom and Abbath. In addition, if you want to experience the music by Triumph of Death live, you can check some awesome live footage on YouTube such as the song Vision of Mortality at Kilkim Žaibu (the biggest ancient traditions and Extreme Metal festival in the Baltic States), Blood Insanityat Hellfest, Triumph of Death in Essen, Germany, or this full concert at Psycho Fest in Las Vegas, Nevada, in the United States.
Lastly, there’s one more metal project that’s worth mentioning, which is Swiss Goregrind/Death Metal band Embalming Theatre, where Mia didn’t play bass or keyboards, but instead she was the one responsible for crafting the intros and outros to pretty much all of their releases from 2000 until 2006, such as the intro, intermezzo and outro to the 2003 album Sweet Chainsaw Melodies, and the intro to the 2004 split Death Metal Karaoke/My Flesh Creeps at Insects. One curious thing is that if you go to the band’s official BandCamp page you’ll notice most of the albums there do not contain the intros and outros by Mia, and I have absolutely no idea why those pieces are missing. Anyway, Embalming Theatre are a very entertaining Goregrind act, with all of their albums being worth a shot with or without Mia’s insane collaboration.
Regarding her main influences and idols in music and in life in general, as mentioned a couple of times already she sees the iconic Tom G. Warrior as her master and mentor, even saying that “he is the one who unleashed the dormant beast inside me.” Without him, Mia said she would not have been able to effectively express her music and her creativity, complementing by saying her writing and composing process is very similar to his due to the huge influence his music has always had on her since her childhood, even before knowing him in person. According to our badass bassist, there would be no Black Metal without Tom, with his classic bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost being obviously among her favorite metal acts of all time. Mia also mentioned in some of her interviews the huge influence she also had from Abbath himself, whose real name is Olve Eikemo, always acknowledging the humongous importance his former band Immortal has always had on the birth and evolution of our beloved Norwegian Black Metal. I guess even after being fired from Abbath’s solo band the way it happened, Mia still sees him as a legend and as a true inspiration, and I’m sure she’ll always keep those moments onstage with him among her best memories in her musical career. Furthermore, in regards to bass players, Mia always mentions the enigmatic and multi-talented Peter Steele (R.I.P.), the lead singer, bassist and composer for Gothic Metal band Type O Negative, as her personal bass hero, but she also said she has always been fascinated by the onstage charisma of Martin Eric Ain (R.I.P.), the former bassist for Extreme Metal titans Celtic Frost, proving Mia definitely knows how to choose her music idols.
Finally, as much as we all see Mia as the talented and indestructible Black Metal bass player that she is, needless to say she’s also a human being like the rest of us, having to handle her own issues and struggles just like any regular person. As you can see in this article by Blabbermouth from the end of February, Mia mentioned in a special and very personal Facebook post that the past few months have been the been the darkest and most painful period of her life, with all recent events leaving her physically and emotionally destroyed. “I tried to face hell trying not to crack, always holding hard in front of events which, daily, were destroying my soul and my emotions, unfortunately, also physically, by pushing up that strong Mia everyone knows,” she wrote, complementing that by saying that “these terrible experiences are always destructive, but they also left a positive note: the ability to see who stayed, who, day after day, try to be close to me, without judging me or making me feel wrong, without making me feel the weight of my reactions dictated by despair, but simply making me feel that even though Mia is going through a negative phase, something good in her is still there, holding my hands and telling me that it will pass, listening to my pain, drying my tears and looking for the best way not to make me collapse.These people are the people who love me, my family, the people to whom my gratitude and love will remain as long as I am alive, and to whom I will give all of myself, with my strength and, unfortunately, flaws.” Those were the honest and austere words by “the imperfect” Mia, who we all wish a quick and healthy recovery and, of course, who we wish to see on stage smashing our skulls with her thunderous bass as soon as possible.
May 6, 2020 UPDATE: As you can see HERE, the unrelenting Mia Wallace has just been announced as the new bass player for Brazilian all-female Thrash Metal band Nervosa! The band’s mastermind Prika Amaral couldn’t have made a better choice to take care of their bass duties! Congratulations, Mia!
“As I have often been wont to do, I’ll quote Friedrich Nietzsche: ‘Without music, life would be a mistake.’ That has always been my modus vivendi.” – Mia Wallace
It’s time to listen to what these four (un)dead men from Orlando, Florida have to say in their thrilling new opus.
Three years after the release of the excellent The Sin and the Sentence, the unrelenting Matt Heafy on lead vocals and guitar, Corey Beaulieu on guitar and backing vocals, Paolo Gregoletto on bass guitar and backing vocals, and Alex Bent on drums and percussion, collectively known as Orlando, Florida-based Heavy Metal unity Trivium, return with another round of their always cohesive and breathtaking heavy music in What The Dead Men Say, the ninth studio album and another awesome addition to their undisputed career. Recorded at Studio 606 West in Northridge, Los Angeles, California, engineered, mixed and produced by Josh Wilbur, and mastered by Ted Jensen, What The Dead Men Say brings forward a myriad of styles and sounds that will please fans of all phases of the band, from Melodic Death Metal to Progressive Metal, Black Metal, Thrash Metal and Deathcore. “We’ve found a really great place to exist in this world. We love Melodic Death Metal, we love Death and Black Metal, and we love Hardcore. What the Dead Men Say is everything we do on one record,” commented Matt about their newborn spawn.
Furthermore, like The Sin and the Sentence, the lyrical content on What The Dead Men Say was inspired by modern aspects of life, with the album’s title being taken from a science fiction novella of the same name written by American writer Philip K. Dick, first published in Worlds of Tomorrow magazine in June 1964. For instance, “Catastrophist” deals with the theme of humanity in a crisis, “Amongst the Shadows & the Stones” is about the horrors of war, “The Defiant” was inspired by R. Kelly’s documentary and abuse-enabling, “Bending the Arc to Fear” talks about the surveillance aspect of modern society, and so on, with the closing song “The Ones We Leave Behind” being about “running over” people to succeed in life, delivering a powerful message and portraying a whole new meaning in the wake of the 2019–2020 COVID-19 pandemic. With that said, it was more than obvious that the fusion of a precise and powerful music with meaningful lyrics would result in another future classic by Trivium, leaving us eager for more of their always-evolving and never-repetitive music in the years yet to come.
As soon as you hit play, the cinematic instrumental intro IX (a clear reference to the fact that What The Dead Men Say is their ninth full-length album) sets the stage for Matt & Co. to kick some ass with the title-track What the Dead Men Say, where Alex begins crushing his drums with tons of precision and fury accompanied by the scorching riffs by Matt and Corey. Bringing elements from the Progressive and Groove Metal by bands like Lamb Of God added to their core musicality, this is indeed an excellent way to start their new opus, followed by Catastrophist, one of the previously released singles of the album, keeping the groove and electricity flowing from start to finish. Moreover, its razor-edged riffs remind me of some of their compositions from their 2013 album Vengeance Falls, while Paolo makes the earth tremble with his sick bass jabs.
Then it’s time to go absolutely mental to the sound of Amongst the Shadows & the Stones, by far my favorite of all songs, presenting their trademark riffage and solos, intricate beats, tons of breaks and variations and an endless amount of violence in a hybrid of Groove, Heavy and Thrash Metal, with Matt rabidly roaring the song’s lyrics (“Bloodied corpses, broken bones reveal / A throng of clashes crushed, our nightmare sealed / Amongst the shadows and the stones”), whereas the semi-ballad Bleed Into Me, despite the solidness of the instrumental pieces (in special Paolo’s somber bass lines), doesn’t really click and falls flat after a while, but there’s nothing to worry about as this is the only low (or maybe I should say less intense) point of the entire album. And back to their usual high-octane mode the quartet fires the also amazing The Defiant, showcasing Iron Maiden-inspired guitars walking hand in hand with the vicious beats by Alex while at the same time presenting a great balance between Matt’s clean vocals and harsh screams. As a matter of fact, could this be an “alternate” version or a sequel to their classic “The Deceived” due to the sonic similarity between both songs? That’s a question only Matt, Corey, Paolo and Alex can answer, of course.
In the top-of-the-line Sickness Unto You a mellow and melancholic start gradually morphs into a violent metal feast by Trivium, with sheer rage flowing form Matt’s vocals while he and Corey demolish our ears with their razor-edged riffs, both supported by the always thunderous bass by Paolo, whereas Scattering the Ashes can be considered a good example of how diverse their new album is by blending the music from Silence In The Snow with In Waves, once again presenting a solid instrumental and spot-on backing vocals overflowing pure anguish. Then we’re treated to more of their always cryptic lyrics (“A strain of vigilance / Deep roots that all connect / We wait so diligent / Watching you / Watching you”) in Bending the Arc to Fear, starting in a Black and Thrash Metal-ish vibe and sounding perfect for slamming into the pit to the sound of the bestial drums by Alex. On a side note, I personally love the strident and metallic sound of their stringed axes throughout the entire album, enhanced by its crisp and polished overall production. Lastly, closing the album the quartet offers us all the melodic and vibrant The Ones We Left Behind, featuring the rumbling bass by Paolo accompanied by the stunning beats and fills by Alex while Matt and Corey give a lesson in riffs and feeling, concluding the album in a powerful and effective manner.
After listening to What The Dead Men Say in its entirety for a few times, you’ll quickly notice how not only the band’s technique and professionalism, but also their synchronicity, have been growing stronger and stronger through the years, pointing to an even brighter future for Matt and his bandmates in a near future and, therefore, positioning Trivium as one of the driving forces of modern-day metal music, never sounding tiresome nor predictable at all with each one of their releases. Hence, go check what the boys are up to on Facebook and on Instagram (especially because they’re all very active users of most social media platforms), subscribe to their YouTube channel, and above all that, grab your copy of such entertaining album from the Warner Music webstore or click HERE for all locations where you can buy or stream the album (and if you have some extra money go for the Japanese Edition of the album, as it contains two very special acoustic versions for the songs “Bleed Into Me” and “Scattering the Ashes”), raising your horns, banging your head and listening to what the (un)dead men from Trivium have to say through their unparalleled music.
Best moments of the album: Amongst the Shadows & the Stones, The Defiant, Sickness Unto You and The Ones We Left Behind.
Worst moments of the album:Bleed Into Me.
Released in 2020 Roadrunner Records
Track listing 1. IX 1:59
2. What the Dead Men Say 4:45
3. Catastrophist 6:28
4. Amongst the Shadows & the Stones 5:40
5. Bleed Into Me 3:49
6. The Defiant 4:29
7. Sickness Unto You 6:14
8. Scattering the Ashes 3:25
9. Bending the Arc to Fear 4:46
10. The Ones We Left Behind 4:57
Japanese Edition bonus tracks 11. Bleed Into Me (Acoustic version) 3:45
12. Scattering the Ashes (Acoustic version) 3:04
Band members Matt Heafy – lead vocals, guitar
Corey Beaulieu – guitar, backing vocals
Paolo Gregoletto – bass guitar, backing vocals
Alex Bent – drums, percussion
An unrelenting Turkish horde continues to pave their path of anti-religiousness and nihilism in their brand new and sulfurous album.
“Zifir is a confession about who we are, and who you are.”
Arising from the pits of Istanbul, Turkey (and also hailing from Brno, Czech Republic) with an infernal explosion of putrid Black Metal spiced up with Doom Metal and Blackened Doom nuances, an unrelenting horde that goes by the name of Zifir, which by the way is the Persian-originated Turkish word for “tar” (finding its use in “zifiri karanlık”, an idiom corresponding to “utter darkness”), returns with another blasphemous album titled Demoniac Ethics, the fourth full-length opus since the band’s inception in 2006 in the Turkish city of İzmir. Formed by Onur Önok on vocals and guitars, Ilgar on bass and Nursuz on drums, Zifir continue to pave their path of anti-religiousness and nihilism in Demoniac Ethics, showing religion through a twisted kaleidoscope, exposing the imprisoning religious dogma and tyranny that have occurred throughout history, and taking you right into the innermost sanctum of their anti-religious agenda while delivering one of the strongest and most forward-thinking Black Metal releases of late. Add to all that the disturbing artwork by Ukrainian artist Vergvoktre and there you have a full-bodied ode to darkness made in Turkey.
And cryptic, somber sounds permeate the air in the intro Sûr before Onur begins his primeval sonic attack in Chants For Execution, growling and slashing his guitar strings manically while his bandmates fire sheer obscurity from their rumbling bass and drums, also presenting background ritualistic elements to make the whole experience even more impactful to the listener. Then in Still Reigning austere lyrics are darkly vociferated by Onur (“We are in despair, now and forever / The only truth is just dystopia / Behold the portrait of hell, in the realm of hysteria”) while Ilgar and Nursuz bring a grim Doom Metal touch to the overall sonority, feeling at times like pure Blackened Doom; followed by Empire of Worms, again venturing through the Stygian lands of crushing doom with Nursuz delivering both old school Black Metal beats and ominous, sluggish sounds, while Onur continues his descent into pitch black darkness with his inhumane vocalizations.
Gökyüzü Karanlık (or “the sky is dark” from Turkish), a pure, unfiltered Blackened Doom extravaganza led by the slow and fierce beats by Nursuz, is not recommended for the lighthearted, while Onur and Ilgar extract minimalist and extremely venomous sounds form their stringed axes, whereas the beyond vile bridge An Eerie Moment prepares our senses for Chaos Clouds, a vile and imposing Black Metal feast where Onur sounds more demonic than ever, sounding very atmospheric from start to finish and bringing forward tribal drums and razor-edge, crushing riffs intertwined with the vicious gnarls by Onur. And strident guitars and endless obscurity are the main ingredients in Spirit of Goats, all boosted by its anti-religious, sulfurous words (“Life they pledge / Death of else / Tons of faith / Drowned beneath lies / All shall rot / Tons of faith / Heresy saves / I am the spirit of goats”). Put differently, it couldn’t have sounded more old school and otherworldly that this.
Never tired of spreading blasphemy, rage and darkness, the trio fires the absolutely gruesome A Bleak Portrait, a hybrid between classic Black Metal and contemporary Blackened Doom spearheaded by Onur with his hellish growls and riffs, while Ephemeral Idols leans towards a more classic version of extreme music infused with Black N’ Roll elements. Moreover, Ilgar and his menacing bass lines are effectively complemented by the headbanging beats by Nursuz, resulting in an amazing performance by the trio and ending in the most Mephistophelian way possible. Lastly, closing the album we have the also somber and cryptic Insects as Messengers, a lesson in Black and Doom Metal led by the vicious roars by Onur and the slow and poisonous drums by Nursuz, with the sound of Onur’s guitars cutting your skin deep without a single drop of mercy.
There are several locations where you can purchase your copy of Demoniac Ethics (which is also available for a full listen on YouTube), including the band’s own BandCamp page, the Duplicate Records’ BandCamp page and webstore (in CD and LP formats), Apple Music and Amazon, and of course don’t forget to support the band by following them on Facebook and on Instagram and by subscribing to their YouTube channel, keeping the fires of underground, anti-religious Black Metal burning bright and spreading the blasphemous and utterly incendiary sounds and words of such demented Turkish horde to the four corners of our decaying, condemned world.
Best moments of the album: Chants For Execution, Spirit of Goats and Ephemeral Idols.
Worst moments of the album:Still Reigning.
Released in 2020 Duplicate Records
Track listing 1. Sûr 1:33
2. Chants For Execution 4:20
3. Still Reigning 5:38
4. Empire of Worms 5:04
5. Gökyüzü Karanlık 2:36
6. An Eerie Moment 2:04
7. Chaos Clouds 4:27
8. Spirit of Goats 3:39
9. A Bleak Portrait 3:55
10. Ephemeral Idols 3:53
11. Insects as Messengers 4:32
Band members
Onur Önok – vocals, guitars
Ilgar – bass
Nursuz – drums
Let your soul be embraced by 17 minutes of classy and piercing Atmospheric Black Metal made in Germany, perfectly representing what DIY is all about.
Two years after the release of his debut full-length opus Ancient Wisdom, Augsburg, Germany-based Atmospheric Black Metal/Dark Ambient one-man army Skognatt returns in full force with another solid EP entitled Autumn Skies, the third EP in the up-and-coming career of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Danijel Zambo after Stargazer and Ancient Wisdom, released in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Once again featuring guest musician Gerileme, from renowned underground acts such as Asche der Welten, Burial in the Woods and Osteon, who played and engineered all drums in the EP, Autumn Skies is an entertaining and detailed lesson in DIY, as Danijel not only wrote all music and lyrics in the album, but he was also responsible for all recording, mixing, mastering and layout aspects of it, showcasing all his talent as the Teutonic metaller he is.
Sounding as atmospheric as all of his previous creations, a sense of hopelessness and solitude permeates the air in Shadowlands, quickly exploding into modern-day Atmospheric Black Metal were Danijel slashes his guitar strings in great fashion while at the same time roaring and gnarling like a beast, accompanied by the classic Black Metal blast beats by Gerileme and also presenting acoustic, cryptic passages that will crawl deep inside your skin. Then we have Black Rain, even more atmospheric and melancholic with Danijel’s acoustic guitars bringing a touch of finesse to his scorching musicality, living up to the legacy of such distinct genre while our one-man army fires sheer rage and despair through his growls. And last but not least, the title-track Autumn Skies begins in a truly obscure and melodic manner, evolving into a multi-layered Atmospheric Black Metal feast where Danijel’s roars get deeper and darker than usual while Gerileme dictates the rhythm with his Doom Metal-inspired riffs, not to mention how darkly Danijel declaims the spoken words taken from a poem by John Keats, an English Romantic poet who was one of the main figures of the second generation of Romantic poets along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. Moreover, the way the song ends is absolutely phantasmagorical, putting an enfolding finale to Autumn Skies.
You can take a full and detailed listen to Autumn Skies on YouTube and also follow Danijel Zambo and his Skognatt on Facebook and on Instagram, but of course in order to truly support underground musicians like Danijel you should definitely purchase your copy of the EP directly from his official BandCamp page. In summary, Autumn Skies is not only a 17-minute album of Atmospheric Black Metal made in Germany, but a fresh and vibrant statement by Danijel to the entire world reminding everyone that Skognatt is alive and kicking, ready to represent true independent metal under any circumstances and showing us all Atmospheric Black Metal is still a driving force of the underground with a lot of fuel to burn. In addition to that, it’s beyond clear how the music by Danijel is evolving album after album, and I personally can’t wait to see what’s next in his promising career.
An infernal duo hailing from Turkey is ready to take the underworld of heavy music by storm with their debut EP of raw and undisputed Black Metal.
Forged in 2018 in the fires of Antalya, a gateway to Turkey’s southern Mediterranean region known as the Turquoise Coast for its blue waters, an infernal Black Metal duo that goes by the stylish name of Daelkyr is ready to take the underworld of heavy music by storm with their debut EP titled Eternal Decay, blasting our ears with their raw and undisputed Black Metal. By the way, the name of the band was taken from “The World of Eberron”, a number of features for the Eberron campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, meaning the evil embodiments of madness itself because they were Outsiders from Xoriat, the Plane of Madness, just to give you an idea of how dark and vile their music sounds. Featuring a devilish artwork by Turkish artist Reza Putra and a classic logo by Croatian artist Neon Cacti, Eternal Decay will certainly please all fans of the most primeval form of Black Metal, showcasing all the talent of vocalist and bassist Serpent (from Turkish Melodic Groove/Death Metal act Axxen Conners) and guitarist Kaulfel, supported by the unstoppable session drummer Krzysztof Klingbein (from bands like Aggressor, Akral Necrosis and Thunderwar).
The opening track As The Fog Rises exhales pure, unfiltered Black Metal from the very first second, demolishing everything and everyone that crosses Daelkyr’s path, with Krzysztof sounding utterly demented on drums while Kaulfel extracts sheer rage and obscurity form his guitar riffs, generating the perfect ambience for Serpent to vomit his demonic gnarls. And the band continues to smash our senses with their raw sounds in the more melodic and somber title-track Eternal Decay, where Kaulfel does a superb job with his crisp riffs living up to the legacy of classic Norwegian Black Metal, also sounding extremely sulfurous from start to finish; followed by Grey Inferno, another bestial and hellish creation by Daelkyr spearheaded by Serpet’s venomous Black Metal-growls, while Krzysztof puts the pedal to the metal with his blast beats, resulting in a full-bodied aria of underground extreme music. And closing the EP this talented Turkish horde offers the fulminating The Ritual of Existence, bringing to our ears a fusion of classic Black Metal with more harmonious and epic sounds, with the scorching riffs by Kaulfel walking hand in hand with the vicious beats and fills by Krzysztof.
If you want to dive deep into the obscure realm ruled by Daelkyr, you can take a full listen at Eternal Decay on YouTube and on Spotify, but of course in order to show your true support to this ruthless Turkish duo you can purchase the EP directly from their BandCamp page or from the Dark East Productions’ BandCamp page. Also, don’t forget to follow them on Facebook and on Instagram and to subscribe to their YouTube channel, staying updated of all things Daelkyr from now on. The dark and evil clouds of Turkish Black Metal are upon us all once again thanks to Daelkyr, with Eternal Decay being only the first step in their promising (and devilish) career.
Best moments of the album: Grey Inferno.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing
1. As The Fog Rises 4:57
2. Eternal Decay 4:49
3. Grey Inferno 4:16
4. The Ritual of Existence 4:40
Band members
Serpent – vocals, bass
Kaulfel – guitars
Guest musician Krzysztof Klingbein – drums (session)
Taking on a new twist of an already unique blend of Melodic and Industrial Death Metal, a one-man outfit from Zimbabwe descends upon us all again with an exciting new EP.
After only a few short months, Zimbabwean Melodic/Industrial Death Metal one-man outfit Nuclear Winter descends upon us all again ready to blast the world with his fourth release, a relatively short but very enjoyable four-track EP entitled Stormscapes. After the collaboration on his 2019 album Night Shift, Nuclear Winter’s mastermind Gary Stautmeister decided to strike out on his own and mold the four tracks in Stormsacapes alone, taking on a new twist of an already unique blend of Melodic and Industrial Death Metal with Alternative Rock, proving with his new opus that not only can this Harare, Zimbabwe-based multi-instrumentalist create a rare twist on the tried-and-true Melodic Death Metal formula, but he can push his own envelope in new directions and make excellent new material in the process, undoubtedly making Zimbabwe’s metal scene (and Melodeath in general) truly proud of Gary’s project.
After hitting play you’ll be treated to an imposing and industrialized sonority permeating the air in the opening track Hearts of Stone, with Gary crushing his drums and firing incendiary riffs nonstop, therefore living up to the legacy of Industrial Death Metal and also bringing tons of epicness and obscurity to our avid ears. Then shredding his guitar strings in great fashion Gary delivers the even more atmospheric and dense The Wide Water, leaning towards the Symphonic Black Metal played by Dimmu Borgir at times mainly due to all the song’s phantasmagorical background elements, not to mention how devilish and grim his gnarls are. And Gary somehow managed to get even darker and heavier in The Northern Winds, getting closer and closer to traditional Black Metal infused with symphonic and industrial nuances, barking rabidly while at the same time mercilessly smashing his drums and bass, followed by his personal rendition of Frank Sinatra’s biggest hit of all time New York, New York (check the original version HERE). I must admit Nuclear Winter’s version is not only heavy-as-hell, but it also maintains the energy and thrill of the original version, showcasing Gary’s undisputed talent, his passion for the music he plays, and his utmost respect for the classics.
In a nutshell, it’s truly impressive how Gary is capable of generating such bold sound all by himself, and in order to show your support to what’s most probably the most interesting metal project coming from Zimbabwe you should definitely go check what he’s up to on Facebook, on Twitter and on YouTube, and visit his official BandCamp page to listen to and purchase Stormscapes soon, as well as his 2019 effort Night Shift. The only “problem” is that you’ll have to wait until the end of May to listen to the new creations by Gary and his Nuclear Winter, unless of course he releases one of the songs as a single in the coming weeks to give you a better taste of what to expect from Stormscapes, but believe me when I say you’ll instantly get addicted to his music after listening to his upcoming EP, no doubt about that, opening your eyes (and ears) to the rich but yet unexplored Zimbabwean metal scene.
Best moments of the album: The Wide Water and New York, New York.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing
1. Hearts of Stone 3:51
2. The Wide Water 3:33
3. The Northern Winds 4:00
4. New York, New York (Frank Sinatra cover) 3:20
Band members
Gary Stautmeister – vocals, all instruments
Exploiting post-apocalyptic themes, the new album by this unrelenting Canadian Melodic Death Metal unity will undoubtedly eradicate all boredom and peace from the face of the earth.
Eight years after their sophomore album Desolation, Montreal, Quebec-based Melodic Death Metal unity Your Last Wish is back in full force with an even darker and heavier sound in their third full-length studio release, entitled Eradicate, an album that not only exploits post-apocalyptic themes, but that’s also a bilingual album alternating between English and French, showcasing all the dexterity and versatility of frontwoman Roxana Bouchard, guitarists David Gagné and Michael Cope, bassist Peter Hamm and drummer Blake Lemieux. Featuring a futuristic artwork by Canadian artist Francesco Lorenzetti, Eradicate is highly recommended for fans of the early days of bands like Arch Enemy, Soilwork and Carcass, encapsulating a wide variety of influences to create a sound that is at the same time haunting and harsh, delicate and disciplined, perfectly depicting everything Your Last Wish have always stood for since their inception in 2003.
Get ready to be stunned by Your Last Wish in the incendiary title-track Eradicate, where the primeval beats by Blake together with David’s and Michael’s slashing riffs provide Roxana all she needs to kick ass with her enraged roars, followed by Exile, presenting amazing instrumental pieces where Peter shows no mercy for his bass while Roxana rabidly vociferates its warlike lyrics (“Eurasia / Surrounded by violence and death / In battle, where men consume their own flesh / On the inside, no one there realizes / Few are permitted to survive / No allies / They couldn’t help but hide / After crossing the fiercest sea”). And as groovy and obscure as its predecessors, Monarque is a bestial display of modern-day Melodic Death Metal spearheaded by the demented she-demon screams by Roxana, while the band’s guitar duo blasts sheer aggressiveness and electricity through their eight-stringed axes nonstop.
Then ritualistic drums permeate the air in Décimé while Roxana fires a blend of Stygian vocalizations and demonic screams, also bringing forward tons of progressiveness flowing from the band’s guitar riffs, solos and bass jabs, with Blake enhancing the song’s complexity even more with his unstoppable beats. And an epic, imposing intro ignites the sinister Lost, presenting an enfolding atmosphere until becoming a mid-tempo Melodic Death Metal tune with Groove and Progressive Metal nuances, with the bass punches by Peter getting more and more metallic as the music progresses, whereas back to a more ferocious and rumbling sonority the band offers us all Pursuit, a fantastic Melodic Death Metal extravaganza where David and Michael will cut your skin deep with their riffs and solos. Furthermore, you’ll definitely be mesmerized by their crisp and demolishing sounds, overflowing sheer groove and rage with Peter and Blake shaking the foundations of earth with their respective instruments.
Do you have what it takes for more of the first-class metal music by Your Last Wish? Because an eerie start quickly explodes into a lesson in violence and progressiveness titled Pandore, featuring the talented growler Simon Girard (from Canadian Progressive/Technical Death Metal band Beyond Creation) as a guest vocalist making an infernal duo with Roxana amidst all the devastation and fury blasted by the whole band. In Prestige the band proves once again they never get tired of crushing our heads with their hellish sonority, with Roxana sounding absolutely demonic on vocals showcasing all her skills and strength as the awesome growler she is, not to mention how Blake adds some welcome hints of classic Black Metal to his beats, and if you thought they would slow things down to close the album you’re absolutely wrong, as Le Cri Du Monde brings forward more of their frantic and very intricate Melodic Death Metal led by Roxana’s evil roars and Peter’s rumbling bass, while the guitar solos bring a touch of finesse to the overall result, ending the album in a truly phantasmagorical way.
Having said all that, I guess I don’t need to tell you that you must add such insane album of modern and vicious metal music made in Canada to your personal collection, right? All you have to do is go to the band’s own BandCamp page or to their official website, where you’ll find all available options to stream and buy the album, such as on Spotify. In addition to that, don’t forget to show your support to Your Last Wish by also following them on Facebook and on Instagram, and by subscribing to their YouTube channel, getting instant notifications every time the band uploads an amazing video like this one called Growl medley with Roxana!, got it? Your Last Wish are more than ready to kick some ass armed with their breathtaking new album, eradicating all boredom and peace from the face of the earth just the way we like it in extreme music.
Best moments of the album: Eradicate, Monarque, Pandore and Le Cri Du Monde.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Independent
Track listing 1. Eradicate 5:52
2. Exile 4:46
3. Monarque 5:33
4. Décimé 5:24
5. Lost 5:12
6. Pursuit 4:33
7. Pandore 4:44
8. Prestige 4:46
9. Le Cri Du Monde 5:49
Band members
Roxana Bouchard – vocals
David Gagné – guitar
Michael Cope – guitar
Peter Hamm – bass
Blake Lemieux – drums
Hailing from Western Australia, an infernal horde returns with more of their ancient and inscrutable Black Metal in the form of the mightiest album of their career.
Back from the hellish pits of Perth, Western Australia with the mightiest album of their career, the excellent Acts of Repentance, a ruthless Black Metal horde known as Wardaemonic has gone from strength to strength in their new album, incorporating slower, dissonant parts that work brilliantly when contrasted with their trademark “ancient and inscrutable Black Metal”. Furthermore, the band comprised of Maelstrom on vocals and drums, Anharat and Lord Bane on the guitars and Blitz on bass and synths offers fans of the music by iconic names such as Immortal, Marduk, Watain and Dark Funeral, among others, everything we crave in classic Black Metal, feeling uncompromising and steely in its approach while backed with enough experience to make the entire album memorable and also intriguing for the listener to keep coming back to it for more. Featuring a sulfurous artwork by French artist Leoncio Harmr (Eternal Storm) and layout by Finnish artist Turkka Rantanen (Paganizer, Demilich), Acts of Repentance is not only a fantastic addition to the band’s discography, marking their fourth full-length opus and the follow-up to their 2015 installment Obsequium, but also a must-have release for anyone who respects and admires underground Black Metal from the bottom of their (evil) hearts.
Dragging our souls to their Stygian Australian lair, the quarter begins their devastating Black Metal onrush in the first of the album’s five acts from hell, Act I – Introspection, where Maelstrom sounds beyond infernal with both his blast beats and devilish vociferations, resulting in a lecture in old school Black Metal clearly inspired by the genre’s infamous Scandinavian sound. Not only that, Anharat and Lord Bane will penetrate deep inside your psyche with their crushing riffage, and if you survive such demented and vicious display of extreme music you better get ready for another ass-kicking tune titled Act II – Admission, offering the listener nine minutes of blackened sounds and cryptic passages where those four black metallers from Down Under don’t stop hammering their instruments for our total delight. Moreover, Blitz makes the earth tremble with his bass lines and diabolical synths, helping the music flow as darkly and aggressively as it can be until the very end.
Then an absolutely atmospheric and phantasmagorical intro ignites the 12-minute aria entitled Act III – Castigation, morphing into a disruptive and evil sonic feast led by Maelstrom and his unstoppable blast beats and also bringing elements of primeval Doom Metal and Blackened Doom to our avid ears, not to mention the strident riffs and endless rage flowing from Maelstrom’s inhumane gnarls, sounding multi-layered, dense and utterly impactful. Another grim and captivating ambience brought forth by Wardaemonic is suddenly replaced by an avalanche of violent Black Metal titled Act IV – Sufferance, where the somber vocalizations by Maelstrom make an interesting paradox with his trademark deep roars while the band’s guitar duo continues to breathe fire from their stringed weapons. And ending the album in the most brutal and demolishing way we have Act V – Repentance, an unrelenting display of traditional Black Metal infused with Melodic and even Atmospheric Black Metal nuances. Your mind will be destroyed by the stunning riffs by both Anharat and Lord Bane accompanied by Blitz’s thunderous bass punches, concluding the album’s five acts on a truly high note.
Wardaemonic Acts of Repentance Autographed CD Boxset
The gates to the underworld of Australian metal are open once again thanks to Wardaemonic and their wicked new opus Acts of Repentance, available for a full listen on YouTube and on Spotify, and in order to join those talented metallers in their quest for Black Metal simply follow them on Facebook and on Instagram, and purchase your copy of the album from their own BandCamp page, from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ webstore in CD format or as an amazing autographed CD boxset, or from Apple Music. After such pulverizing opus of Extreme Metal, I bet you’re eager for more of the music by Wardaemonic, and I’m quite sure we won’t have to wait for another five excruciating years to hear again from one of the most talented and solid metal acts coming from Australia, darkening the skies and our souls with their undisputed Black fuckin’ Metal.
Best moments of the album: Act I – Introspection and Act III – Castigation.
Worst moments of the album: None.
Released in 2020 Transcending Obscurity Records
Track listing 1. Act I – Introspection 7:15
2. Act II – Admission 8:58
3. Act III – Castigation 12:09
4. Act IV – Sufferance 9:01
5. Act V – Repentance 8:14
Band members
Maelstrom – vocals, drums
Anharat – lead guitars
Lord Bane – guitars
Blitz – bass, synth programming
At long last, almost four years after the release of their fantastic debut album Iron Overkill, the venomous Lahti, Finland-based Black/Death Metal platoon that goes by the name of Front returns to the battlefront with a brand new mini-album titled Antichrist Militia, offering fans of the music by Marduk, Bestial Warlust and Motörhead decisive 23 minutes of brutality, rage, blasphemy and, above all that, war. Now expanded to a quartet formed by lead singer Kaosbringer, guitarist Von Bastard, bassist Meister F. and drummer Revenant, Front present in Antichrist Militia their deadliest Black and Death Metal sonic arsenal to date, with the ass-kicking artwork designed by Indonesian artist Jenglot Hitam (Abigail, Sabbat, Unholy Desecration) saying everything it needs to, that Front are ravaging and rampaging the wastelands, sounding tighter, more finessed and at the same time more caustic than ever, getting in and getting out with militaristic precision, and this time with a booze-reeking smirk across its barbed-wired face.
Leaning towards the current Black Metal sonority blasted by Marduk, Venom & Salt is a warlike tune spearheaded by Kaosbringer and his enraged growls, filling our ears with nonstop violence flowing from all instruments while Revenant shows no mercy at all for his drums, whereas an obscure start with somber voices evolves into a Black and Doom Metal chant titled Mouths of War, a Stygian song that will penetrate deep inside your psyche, disturbing your peace of mind while the quartet blasts evil and hatred form their weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, as the icing on the cake, the song also brings forward Winston Churchill’s renowned speech, the same form Iron Maiden’s hit “Aces High” by the way, just to give the final result an extra military touch. And finally, you’ll find yourself in the middle of a crossfire before Von Bastard puts the pedal to the metal with his sick riffage in Machinegun Blasphemy, with Revenant sounding absolutely infernal on drums from start to finish. This can easily be labeled “War Metal”, or in other words, the utmost depiction of what happens when old school Black and Death Metal unite in the name of war.
THE HEADBANGING MOOSE 