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North Carolina’s ONE OF NINE play JRR Tolkien inspired majestic black metal and are the most prominent Tolkien/Lord Of The Rings black metal band since the legendary Summoning. Their sophomore LP Dawn of the Iron Shadow (out Oct 31 through Profound Lore Records) follows their 2023 debut LP Eternal Sorcery which laid the foundation for ONE OF NINE trodding their way to the forefront of the new breed of US black metal. With Dawn of the Iron Shadow (which is graced by cover art courtesy of legendary Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith), ONE OF NINE elevate their black metal sorcery to a more epic and glorious plateau. One that is more expanded in its vision of grandeur and scope through its symphonic and grandiloquent magnificence.

With a history of metal steeped in horror and the occult - as previously established by bands like Death SS, Black Hole, and Mortuary Drape - Italy has proven itself a fertile breeding ground for extreme music that explores these themes. Formed in 2018, Scolopendra is the latest to continue in this tradition, as evidenced on its debut album, “Those of the Catacombs.” Unlike its Italian ancestors, however, who have more typically opted for the sounds of doom or black metal, the vehicle that Scolopendra has chosen to deliver its horror-tinged themes is that of death metal. This aspect adds an element to the band’s output that distinguishes itself from its predecessors, thus making it a unique addition to its genre. Consisting of two members with a history of many years of collaboration in several bands, including Abhor, Scolopendra boasts both the pedigree and chemistry to give “Those of the Catacombs” the deathly authenticity that is obvious upon first listen.

Approximately three years after it first arose to haunt the domain of the living with "Those of the Catacombs," Scolopendra again emerges from its Italian tomb to deliver its second full-length album, "VM18." Much like its predecessor, "VM18" draws notably on an inherited tradition first established by the band's compatriots in Death SS, by evoking a grotesque atmosphere that would befit an old RG horror comic of the 1970s set to motion picture. In fact, the cover art on both "VM18" and the debut are more than a subtle nod to this literary genre. Musically speaking, Scolopendra deviates from the style of Death SS to some degree by heavily incorporating the sound of ancient U.S. death metal, as perhaps most reflected in the work of Autopsy and Necrophagia. The tempo is primarily in the higher range, with occasional dives into doomier interludes. Driving bass lines are dominantly featured in the mix, as the guitars chug along with them and occasionally rise above with a well-timed lead. Of course, it is almost impossible to imagine a horror-based musical form without keyboards, and Scolopendra makes very effective and judicious use of them without going overboard. Finally, aside from their omission in the two instrumental tracks (not including the short intro), it is perhaps most likely the vocals that will leave the greatest impression on the listener. It is this element that contributes most to the overall grisliness of the sound, as the lyrics are seemingly disgorged from the decomposed vocal tract of an undead being. All told, "VM18" serves not only as a laudable follow-up to its predecessor, but also as a worthy descendant in a long and esteemed lineage of Italian horror metal.
 

*Chasm of Immurement, the Debut Full-Length from Clairvoyance, features six tracks of extremely rotten gut-wrenching Death / Doom Metal! Poland’s Clairvoyance was forged in late 2019 by vocalist Maciej Cesarczyk and guitarist Denis Didenko. Taking inspiration mostly from Finnish and American bands from the ‘90s, the duo eventually locked into a classic Death Metal sound, then rounded out their lineup by recruiting drummer Adrian Szczepański and bassist Jasiek Kraciuk. The quartet quickly conjured a three-song demo in May of 2020, which was received positively both locally and internationally, seeing a Cassette release through Caligari Records, while Behind The Mountain released the 7” vinyl edition. For the next two years Clairvoyance would gain notability within Warsaw’s Death Metal Underground, especially after the release of their Threshold Of Nothingness EP (Blood Harvest - 2022). Clairvoyance returned to the studio again in the Summer of 2024 to record their long overdue debut LP, “Chasm Of Immurement”. By upping the intensity and the aggressiveness of their sound, the band hopes to start a new chapter in their journey and to show their listeners what Clairvoyance was truly meant to be. “Chasm Of Immurement” was Recorded and Engineered by Clairvoyance guitarist Kacper Pawluk, Mixed by Pawluk and Piotrek Polak, and Mastered by Polak. Cover Artwork by Paolo Girardi (Bell Witch, Chthe’ilist, Noroth).

North Carolina’s ONE OF NINE play JRR Tolkien inspired majestic black metal and are the most prominent Tolkien/Lord Of The Rings black metal band since the legendary Summoning. Their sophomore LP Dawn of the Iron Shadow (out Oct 31 through Profound Lore Records) follows their 2023 debut LP Eternal Sorcery which laid the foundation for ONE OF NINE trodding their way to the forefront of the new breed of US black metal. With Dawn of the Iron Shadow (which is graced by cover art courtesy of legendary Tolkien artist Ted Nasmith), ONE OF NINE elevate their black metal sorcery to a more epic and glorious plateau. One that is more expanded in its vision of grandeur and scope through its symphonic and grandiloquent magnificence.

Total playing time: 67:24

Recorded live 31.08.2024 at Obscure Selections Vol. 1, MeetFactory in Prague, Czech Republic.
Mixed and Mastered by Matti Kynsijärvi, Graphic Design: Kalle Pyyhtinen.

An amazing soundboard recording of their performance captured in Prague CZ.
A true testament to their live ritual power that conjures darkness from beyond human existence.
 

On “Crepuscular Dirge For The Blessed Ones”, sole mastermind Gabriele Garmaglia continues the COSMIC PUTREFACTION narrative begun on the previous album “The Horizons Towards Which Splendour Withers”, where the only survivor from an apocalyptic annihilation of a dying planet walks towards its withered horizons. On “Crepuscular Dirge…” this character ultimately finds an even more sorrowful truth at the end of his journey; one that shows the empyrean fall of man through the metaphysical world and the gods whom inhabit it.

Through “Crepuscular Dirge For The Blessed Ones”, Gramaglia establishes even more his own vision of death metal, this time enriching his multifaceted sound with widened atmospheres and a patina of omnipresent melancholy suggested by distant arpeggios, e-bow guitars and sometimes even synths organically blended with the relentless, ferocious riffs always present in this new effort. To cap off this layered effort, Gramaglia this time relied on drummer Giulio Galati (Nero di Marte, Hideous Divinity) to deliver an extremely powerful and dynamic performance behind the kit.

Pacific Northwest’s CAUSTIC WOUND (featuring members of MORTIFERUM, Cerebral Rot, Fetid, and Magrudergrind) play unrelenting and punishing brutal death-grind that captures the aesthetic and palpitations of the classic old-school era of the genre (not exceeding 1992). Their debut album, “Death Posture” (out April 10 on CD/LP/Digital) which follows their 2018 “Grinding Terror” demo, sounds like that foul relic that could have been produced somewhere around ‘88-91 while upholding a powerful, dark, murky yet unyielding production, all while eschewing and laying waste to the clinical, plastic and ornamental trappings of what comprises the majority of the grind scene today.

For fans of early/old-school Terrorizer, Napalm Death (88-90), and Carcass (88-91)

Upon the release of the first full length album Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel it was instantly revealed that VoidCeremony were treading a path few walk. The album proved that death metal can be performed with the gliding, controlled chaos and smooth fluidity of a jazz quartet, while still leaving the listener holed up in a dungeon, low on HP, out of spells, and surrounded by deadly demons.

Threads Of Unknowing is a journey which resurrects concepts on earlier display and summons evermore progressive and technical compositions. Mastermind and guitarist / vocalist Garrett Johnson and guitar virtuoso Phil Tougas (Atramentus, Chthe’ilist, Worm, First Fragment) share both vocals and lead guitar duties here, while bass god Damon Good weaves both fretted and fretless bass mastery and drummer Charlie Koryn encompasses not only speed and brutality, but a fine mix of precision and improvisation from jazz fusion. The end result is VoidCeremony and their signature sound: time-melting death black fusion.

With an apt cover painting representing the lyrical and philosophical vision of an ancient and forgotten future, VoidCeremony itself seems to be operating on an alternate death metal timeline that once made itself known, but only briefly, and was soon left behind for more commercial appeal. Yet the portal has been re-opened and the merging of these boundless possibilities and directions are now being brought forth directly once again.

 The hauntingly grandiose new Hulder album Verses In Oath, created during the dreariest cold months of the Northwest winter, constitutes the most majestic, untamed manifestation thus far in the band’s journey of conquest, as new territory is put to flame and conquered by sword and shield.

• Majestic black metal from the colds of the Pacific Northwest

With their second album, “Satan Soldier of Fortune”, Departure Chandelier weave in reverse order the process of Napoleonic battlefield cleanup against self-coronation and the emperor’s ascent to deity whom profited off the fallen of both sides. While the dying are stripped naked to fertilize the countryside, boots and teeth are hurriedly taken for sale in Paris. Blood soaked coins fill the grave robber’s purse, the jangling song heard all the way to Notre Dame. Against the backdrop of the throne Illuminated by the bivouac fires, fallen men, horses and cannon wagons churn like twisted celtic knots across the sea of the battlefield as the coronation begins. Dressed in the gown of swarming Merovingian bees, a wreath of laurel arched above his skull, the Regent diamond flashes in the hilt of the Antichrist’s saber encrusted on the gold scepter – rising in his hand, yet unable to support the weight of Charlemagne’s crown. What is dark if Lucifer’s light? Compositionally wild but rich in melody, the band’s unique combination of perched guitars and impending choral keyboards beneath raw unhinged vocals spearheading lyrics of existential rebellion captures the necro sound of old French black metal. The arrangements are shorn of needless complexity, yet greater than the sum of their parts purportedly recorded on the same 4-track with the old distortions and synths used on ‘Antichrist Rise To Power’ now immortalized on their Occult Antiquities imprint. Indeed, nearly five years in the making, Their Death Is Alive Again!
STREAM TWO SONGS AT THIS LINK