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Nuclear War Now! is proud to continue its longstanding allegiance with the legendary Witches Hammer with the release of “Devourer of the Dead,” the band’s second full-length album in as many years. Originally active in the fertile extreme metal scene of British Columbia during the second half of the 1980s, Witches Hammer developed its brand of Canadian speed metal during the same era and in the same place as such greats as Blasphemy and Procreation. That said, its initial period of activity, which ended in 1990, passed without the recording of a proper album. Instead, it resulted in what some might consider unfulfilled promise, with the release of three demo cassettes and a twelve-inch mini-LP. Almost thirty years later, original members Marco Banco (guitars) and Rayy Crude (vocals) decided to resurrect the band, which culminated in the 2020 release of its debut album, “Damnation is My Salvation.” This recording proved that Witches Hammer’s intervening dormancy had done nothing to dull the blistering speed metal attack that had been so brilliantly pioneered decades earlier. Now, a little over one year later, the release of “Devourer of the Dead” reconfirms the band’s strict adherence to its dogma of no compromise, no trends, and no fashion. Indeed, aside from the added clarity of an enhanced production level, “Devourer…” is a fruit of the same wicked root that burrowed its way insidiously into the Vancouver-area underground more than a generation ago. Composed of five brand-new tracks and three newly-recorded demo tracks from the band’s original inception, this album bridges two eras of speed metal perfection with its breakneck tempos and the scalpel-like precision of its demonstrated musicianship. All told, “Devourer of the Dead” promises not to disappoint Witches Hammer fans, both old and new alike.
Track 11 "Black Earth" is a Bonus Track, originally released on "Under The Southern Cross" compilation (1999)
Purple Vinyl.
Regular version in gatefold jacket with A2 poster and 12-page art zine.
All too often a band emerges from the underground, records a promising demo or EP, and soon after, under some perceived notion of urgency, releases a lackluster debut album rife with impotent filler tracks, and is thus discarded to the overpopulated scrap pile of mediocre metal bands. Fewer and farther between are the bands that rightfully and patiently take their time to properly develop their musicianship and songwriting abilities, experiment with their sound and recording technique, and then unleash a debut album, sometimes several years later, that is more than worthy of its time in waiting. Having existed for over ten years, but content to this point to have released just a handful of demos, splits, and a single EP, Italy’s Mefitic fits the latter categorization. With its debut album, “Woes of Mortal Devotion,” hereby released under the banner of Nuclear War Now!, Mefitic proves that patience is rewarded by the quality of its product. Those who are familiar with Mefitic’s earlier releases are likely to note a distinct evolution in the band’s sound on their debut full-length. Although it continues to fester in the wound recently opened by the 2012 EP, “Columns of Subsidence,” the approach to this album is notably less chaos-driven and instead more controlled than previous recordings. On the one hand, it invokes the same raw intensity of bands like Black Witchery and Demoncy, and on the other it conjures a hypnotic dissonance akin to that of a band like Antaeus, as well as a ritualistic dimension similar to that of Necros Christos and Teitanblood. Having been recorded at the infamous Mara Cave, as done previously by fellow countrymen Blasphemophagher and Demonomancy, a gimmick-free and rehearsal-like atmosphere results in a natural sound that successfully enhances the asphyxiating character of the music. Finally, as a perfect complement to the music itself, the artwork gracing the cover of the 12-page booklet, as executed by Manuel Tinnemans, undeniably evokes the same anguished and corrupted vision of a world also represented in Mefitic’s lyrical themes.
Active from 2001-2005, the highly revered side project of Leviathan’s Jef Whitehead, Lurker of Chalice, is mostly known for the 2005 self-titled full-length. Prior to that album, however, Wrest recorded two CD-R demos under the Lurker of Chalice name, each of which was limited to approximately 50 copies or less and sold at a single record store in San Francisco, near where he was living at the time. Like the full-length, both demos were eponymous, though the first demo was identified only by the initials “L.O.C.” written in runes. While a few of the songs from the demo era bear indicia of black metal, the material from that period is generally far more experimental, defying any effort to be neatly categorized. For “Tellurian Slaked Furnace,” Wrest has distilled the best material from the early period of the project and edited, collaged, and compiled it, weaving together something more coherent and album-like. In this way, there seems to be something of his current artistic sensibility projected onto these recordings from nearly two decades earlier. In keeping with the confusing taxonomy of the project, the tracks on this LP are unnamed. The album opens with a song previously called “Lurker of Chalice” on the 2002 demo but is untitled on this release. The song showcases the haunting minimalism of Lurker of Chalice as slow acoustic guitars revolve around one another, arpeggiated chords ringing out above percussive accents. With the second track, a more sinister energy emerges, advanced by the first and only appearance of Wrest’s seething vocals. Over the full, 70-minute duration of this album, the music, almost completely instrumental, expands and contracts, evolves and disintegrates. Delicate ambient passages and labyrinthine excursions give way to electronic dirges of lumbering percussion with guitar shimmering transcendent above a melancholic lake of atmospheric sound and cascading sheets of electronics dissolving into lush acoustic melodies. Only very rarely do heavy riffs emerge; compared with Wrest’s work in Leviathan, or even the Lurker of Chalice album, the metal elements are far less direct and overt. Instead, this album conjures a bleak, unsettling mood without resorting to the compositional trappings of black metal. The music, which strangely seems both intensely personal, yet also detached and cinematic, evokes a palpable sense of solitude—the disconsolate reckoning of the self in the absence of others. The release of “Tellurian Slaked Furnace” marks the first time any of the Lurker of Chalice demo recordings have been reissued and also offers a substantial amount of previously unheard material.
Following last year’s reissues of Loits’ first two full-length LPs, NWN! now presents the band’s “Furor Aesticus” compilation on vinyl for the first time. Originally self-released on CDr, in 2004, and repressed earlier this year on CD (with two bonus tracks) by Those Opposed Records, this record compiles Loits’ 7” trilogy. The material on these three EPs—“Legion Estland,” “Meeste Muusika,” and “Raiugem Ruunideks”—was recorded after the debut album, during the time leading up to the release of the monumental “Vere Kutse Kohustab” LP. Comprised of seven original tracks and one cover (by Estonian black metal contermporaries, Tharaphita), one can hear in these recordings the stylistic progression of the band between the first two albums, as Loits came to define their unique “Militant Flak ‘N’ Roll” style: a fusion of traditional black metal melody and aesthetics with the rebellious vigor of rock ‘n’ roll and punk. Like nearly all of the band’s output from the era, the songs here are suffused with fervent Estonian pride and recount, in historical terms, the resistance to Soviet occupation, extolling the virtues of war and lamenting the turmoil of combat. In addition to the songs collected from the EPs, this LP features the two bonus cover songs from the official CD edition. These tracks, on which Loits convincingly try their hands at stylistically disparate songs by legendary Estonian punk outfit, JMKE, and avant garde black metal pioneers, Ved Buens Ende, offer added insight into the converging streams of influence that gave rise to Loits’ sound.
With their second album, “Vere kutse kohustab,” released in 2004, Loits further defined their musical identity, which the band describes as “Militant Flak ‘N’ Roll”—a hybrid of black metal and rock ‘n’ roll with reference to anti-aircraft artillery fire, evoking the band’s historical and military interests. The photo accompanying the album depicts the five members of the band completely dressed in WWII-era Estonian military uniforms. (The only exception is female keyboardist Karje, who wears a military nurse’s uniform.) Though the uniforms may appear similar to those worn by the Germans, this was because, in an effort to preserve their independence from the Soviet Union, the Estonian resistance was briefly aligned with Germany. An explanation of this complex and tortured history is provided in the liner notes. As the band has said, this album “is dedicated to those young men who might have been wearing a wrong uniform but fought against the right enemy.” More conceptually focused than the band’s esoteric debut album, “Vere kutse kohustab” is steeped in the odor of blood and gunpowder, capturing the essence of battle beneath the soot-stained skies of Estonia. Loits’ influences on this album are less obvious. The early Norwegian sound forms a foundation—comparisons to Enslaved, Satyricon, and Fluerty are justifiable—but Loits’ expansive palette and advanced musicianship allow for radical deviations from any formula. At times, Loits incorporate a more raw, elemental approach, drawing upon the influence of Motörhead and Estonian punk pioneers J.M.K.E., while at other points on the album the band’s approach is abstract and atmospheric. “Vere kutse kohustab” is a finely tuned expression of Loits’ intentions. Musically and lyrically, the album is visionary, summoning with every song the spirit of fallen warriors fighting for their homeland. The drama of war—the glory of conquest, the horror and sorrow, all of the adrenaline-drenched sensations of combat—find complete expression on “Vere kutse kohustab” in a way that few, if any, bands have managed to achieve.
First pressing of 300 copies all on black vinyl with 3mm jacket and double sided 12″ insert.
Between the late '80s and 2000, a fringe of the extreme heavy metal youth culture decided to secede from the contemporary scenes to express their deep disgust and hostility towards organized religions, democracies, human rights, the modern world, and humankind in general. Driven by hatred, misanthropy and Satanism, fueled by juvenile passion, and with very limited means, they produced myriads of home made Black Metal recordings which left no room whatsoever to tolerance, mercy, or any kind of positive energy. Some were spoiled brats in search for a reason to rebel, some were convicted murderers, arsonists, grave desecrators or rapists, others were merely incredibly talented artists with a sincere will to put their work in the service of a greater evil. Little consideration was given to sophisticated production, and given how much money was available in the scene, fancy options were not on the table anyway. Home-xeroxed duplicated tapes were spread hand-to-hand within local scenes, or worldwide, via snail mail, amongst a network of individuals all gathered around one idea : to remain an elite that stood alone against the modern world and prayed for its annihilation. A lot of them disappeared, a chosen few became legends—before falling into disgrace to represent the embarrassing circus that Black Metal mostly stands for a quarter of century later. 300 page hard bound book documenting over 370 bands and featuring 550 visual archives of black metal demo tapes.
NEW and unaplyed but comes with a small "hit" on one cover's corner occured during shipment
the damage is truely unrelevant...
Compilation of 1989 and 1990 demo releases plus never before released rehearsal tracks.
Die Hard Edition comes with a bonus “Live Verftet Thrash Fest Sept 29-30 1989″ MLP, a patch and a sticker.
Tracks A1-A2: Slaughtered In The Arms Of God
Tracks A3-A6: Achieve The Mutilation - Demo '89
Tracks B1-B6: rehearsal 1989
