Tag: black vinyl

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New LP by Misotheist in January!

The Norwegian black metal powerhouse Misotheist return with their second album titled “For The Glory of Your Redeemer”, released on famous label Terratur Possessions. It is available for preorder at special sale price NOW!

“Kicking off the album with the 16 minute “Acts Of The Flesh” is a bit of a ballsy move. But it pays off in a dramatic way. It sees Misotheist executing at their most impressive level to date. Unlocking some truly exciting sounds and driving towards devilish new futures. Dark  soundscapes  along  with  a  very  powerful  sounding  bass  guitar  a  few  seconds  later  before  going  into  a  very  fast  and  raw  musical  direction  which  also  uses  a  great  amount  of  tremolo  picking  and  blast  beats  while  dissonant  structures  can  also  be  heard  in  some  of  the  riffing. It’s a masterpiece of composition and a testament to how far the band has come. Vocals  are  done  in  a  very  deep  yet  grim  black  metal  style  while  all  three  of  the  tracks  are  also very  long  and  epic  in  length.  All  of  the  musical  instruments  on  the  recording  also  have  a  very  powerful  sound  to  them  along  with  the  songs  also  adding  in  a  decent  mixture  of  slow,  mid  paced  and  fast  parts. Dark  sounding  melodies  are  also  added  into  some  of  the  guitar  riffing  along  with  the  guitar  leads  also  bringing  in  more  of  a  more  modern  style  as  well  as  a  brief  use  of  clean  playing  on  the  closing  track  and  the  music  sounds  nothing  like  their  Norwegian  counterparts  which  also  makes  the  recording  stand  out  in  their  home  country.  The  production  sounds  very  dark  and  raw  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark  themes.

Misotheist have managed to routinely impress over the course of their career, and this new album just sees them building on the screaming madness that made them such a compelling band in the first place. One will eagerly get lost in the twisted layers of this three song offering. It’s an absolute scorcher of a record that will leave you in awe. 

Meanwhile, the other two tracks build on the foundation of black metal mystery that made the band so great in the first place. In particular the dissonant guitars and off kilter melodies of “Rope And Hammer” are particularly enticing. 

“For The Glory Of Your Redeemer” is an absolute monster of an album that eagerly goes above and beyond with searing guitars, exciting drumming and some truly devilish songs. It’s a delight to get lost in the blasphemies within and unlock twisted layers of sound.”

– mixed quotes from Two Guys Metal Reviews, Occult Black Metal Zine

“For The Glory of Your Redeemer” tracklisting

  1. Acts of The Flesh
  2. Benefactor of Wounds
  3. Rope and Hammer

Album taster: “Benefactor of Wounds”

Please have a listen to the new really great track “Benefactor of Wounds”.

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Black metal act Leviathan (SWE) are back with “Förmörkelse”

Back from the dead, Swedish black metal outfit Leviathan return after 18 (!) years of silence with the followup to their 2002 debut “Far Beyond The Light”. The new LP “Förmörkelse” is written by, and all instruments are played by, Roger “Phycon” Markström. He got some help with prominent guest appearances, by members from Dråpsnatt and Vintersorg. We caught up with Roger to get a comment about the new album…

Leviathan about “Förmörkelse”…

Hello Roger, please tell us about the new album, “Förmörkelse”.

The new album has taken quite some time to be completely finalized and that is really kind of bizarre and weird, but also fascinating… I have for a long time had an urge to continue the ‘Leviathan journey’ and from time to time I was contacted by labels giving lousy offers. I have also ‘from natural causes’ learnt that it is important to be able to trust each other, in the relation between the artist and the label. After finally finding a label to work with, I got up to speed with the writing which was performed by me and me only in utter lonelieness, except for my Gibson guitar. I took my ideas and created promos and then the real recording of the album took place in three different studios in Skellefteå, Sweden.

This all may sound like a walk in the park, but behind this is misery – the album is truly about personal experiences, from the last 18 years, in the form of violence, drugs, alcohol, knives, bloodshed, disgusting perversion and perfect purity – these dark and sometimes tragic happenings constitutes the fundament for “Förmörkelse”, and without them the album wouldn’t exist…

Nebular Carcoma press release

“One of the most cult names before the term “cult” began being bandied about with reckless abandon, Leviathan appeared out of nowhere in 2002 with one album, Far Beyond the Light, and then disappeared forever. Granted, the man behind this Leviathan was no newcomer: one Phycon, who concurrently drummed in Armagedda before their demise and the precursor Volkermord. As such, the breadth of ambition across Förmörkelse was startling if not completely unexpected. So pure, so cold, and yet so brimming with lifeless life – an intentional paradox, perhaps – here did Phycon ably bridge the ’90s wave of black metal which so informed his youth with the yet-to-burst wave beginning at the dawn of the new millennium. It was an invigorating experience for all who heard it, and has since become a collector’s item, released as it was by Shining‘s since-closed Selbstmord Services label.

But, just like how Far Beyond the Light appeared literally out of nowhere, so, too, does Leviathan’s comeback with Förmörkelse. Almost picking up right where the debut album left off, after a tense intro does Leviathan-the-man waste no time in establishing a splendorously grim atmosphere, roiling with the rippling physicality which so endeared that debut whilst maintaining a perversely invigorating melancholy. Each of the subsequent nine tracks build both with patience and urgency, each deliriously dark texture taking its time to wrap its black leathery wings around the listener. An ages-old sort of melodicism is intertwined throughout, often draped in haunting / shimmering shades of chorus pedal, which works as ghostly counterpoint to the gnashing pulse so central to the Leviathan aesthetic. And central to that is Phycon’s exquisitely deft and daresay-swinging drum-work, which even shines during the album’s moments of restraint and repose, allowing space and shade to work their magick as Förmörkelse moves on. And, by record’s end, the listener is left with catharsis and climax – so pure, so cold, and yet so vibrant.

Indeed, Leviathan’s brilliance radiates outward through the ages, across decades, and remains just as vital and timeless as when the band began. If it takes nearly another 20 years for the follow-up to Förmörkelse, so be it: we are only richer for experiencing Phycon’s vision when he so chooses to reveal it.”

Taster from the album

Leviathan – “Förmörkelse” track listing

  1. XVII
  2. Avgrundens Återsken
  3. Förmörkelse
  4. Svart
  5. Förbannelsen
  6. Verklighetens Väv
  7. En Tidlös Illvilja
  8. Melankolins Ävja
  9. Babylons Sand
  10. Pestens Sigill