CD

Poland's experimental black metal five-piece THAW is thrilled to announce the release of its fifth album, marking its long-awaited return after years of hiatus. The album, featuring six tracks, is the quintessence of the band's musical identity, showcasing its unique sound in a new light.

The musical layer on THAW's new album truly captures the essence of the band, combining vibrant sounds with heavy, low-tuned guitars. These powerful sounds are further enriched with noisy electronics, adding depth and character to each track.

Five The Hierophant continues to walk the winding path they’ve chosen for themselves in the beginning; further down towards within, and further out towards new horizons. Refusing to ascribe to a singular style, they blend elements of black/doom, psychedelic, ambient, experimental and jazz into one syncretic trip. “Apeiron” is a hypnotic, hallucinatory experience with heavy emphasis on the dark atmosphere, cinematic dreamscapes, and repetitive ritualistic trance-inducing sounds. The production, without a doubt, is a step up from the previous installment, “Through Aureate Void”. The band keeps expanding the use of atypical instruments, such as: horns, trumpets, gongs, bells, violins, skull shakers, ritual drums and other tools, which help to capture the haunting spirit of the music.

With their anticipated debut full length Seraphic Punishment in 2022, Fargo’s Maul dropped one of the most memorable death metal earworms of the year. Coupled with the band’s relentless drive for bringing their music to the people live throughout the country, Maul’s reputation rapidly grew and a pact with 20 Buck Spin was scrawled in blood. The initial fruit of that union was delivered late in 2023 with the Desecration And Enchantment promo tape. And now all roads have led to Maul’s second album, In The Jaws Of Bereavement.

While the rotten death metal heart at the core of the band is without question, the band have no shame in their game when it comes to embracing a penchant for the heavier side of hardcore with mosh-ready riffs and crowd-killing breaks. In The Jaws Of Bereavement manages to so skillfully fuse the eerie apparitions and melodic lead work of death metal’s greats with the punishing rhythms of hardcore’s violent power it feels completely organic. It’s all tied together by the unhinged vocal prowess of the human wrecking ball Garrett Alvarado.

At its putrescent core Maul is a live band, and the songs on In The Jaws Of Bereavement are adeptly tailored to the environs of a dank club sweltering from the energy created through this music and a crowd living for nothing but the moment and the swell of bodies on bodies. The production here is clear and in one’s face, and allows the band to expand their unique blend of old and new to become Midwest death incarnate.

Limited to 500 copies in deluxe clamshell box with alternative art, containing the following items:
-Digipack CD + 24paged booklet & Poster
-Textile Flag
-Crest Metal Logo Pin
-Woven Patch (digipack design)
-2x album cover stickers (of both jewel case and digipack design)

10TH ALBUM ANNIVERSARY EDITION
The album contains the tracks from the sold out 10″ MLP 20:11.
DIGIPACK: 4 panel color print, 300g b-b cardboard, glossy UV varnish
SLIPCASE: color print, silver laminate + glossy UV varnish; assembly and sealing into foil.

Official reissue on Peaceville

From the depths of outer space, a new creature reached planet Earth: Vrazorth is a new one-man band shrouded in mystery, albeit rumors say they originated somewhere in Sweden.

Vrazorth, a cryptic force lurking in Sweden’s black metal underworld, conjures chilling atmospheres that spiral through the infinite void. The solo project of Vra, shrouded in anonymity, blends icy riffs with cosmic dissonance, like the cold embrace of a forgotten star collapsing into darkness. Unholy whispers entwine with celestial screams, creating soundscapes that evoke a realm beyond time.

To craft its debut studio album, Vrazorth drew inspiration from the best: the alien atmosphere of Darkspace, the hallucinated violence of Mysticum, the unpredictable and hybrid nature of Mesarthim. Everything perfectly mixed together to create music that sings of the cosmos, its void and the hidden mysteries that lie among the stars.