Tag Archives: AEvangelist

Abyssal – Antikatastaseis

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Abyssal-Antikatastaseis

In every musical movement, the leaders are the ones who bring their own twist, their own innovation, to the collective sound. Since Portal’s cross-over from novelty clock-head band to serious underground phenomenon, the number of bands following them into abstract Noise-damaged eldritch Death Metal have steadily increased until it constitutes a genuine – if deeply underground – trend. We’re still at the point where even the orthodox followers can still deliver a genuine impact, but the big hitters are already identifiable as the ones with their own distinctive contribution to the formula; Portal, of course, with their ferocious creativity and nightmarish song structures; Aevangelist with their super-dense wall of Noise overload and Impetuous Ritual with their underpants. With their let’s-have-fun-with-syllables third album Antikatastaseis (Profound Lore), British one-piece Abyssal step firmly up to join the top tier.

Having mastered their thick, oppressive brand of Murky Death Metal over two previous albums, Abyssal’s grand bid for innovation here is to mix it up with a hefty dose of what I’ll grudgingly call “post-rock” – the expansive, contemplative sound-scaping (another grudgingly used term) that’s been an increasing part of Metal’s musical landscape since Neurosis.  On paper it sounds hackneyed and forced, and the first listen may not do much to dispel that impression – the more post-heavy passages sound surprisingly conventional, almost twee, to ears prepared for eldritch cacophony, and the transition between them and the more typically murky passages seem a little abrupt – but give it time and it develops into something genuinely distinctive and unsettling.

The key to Antikatastaseis’ success is probably that Abyssal haven’t softened the attack of their Death Metal elements in any way – they’re still as cavernous and oppressive as anything on Novit Enim Dominus… (Independent) – but they have put them in a different context. Whirlwinds of chaotic Death Metal are dragged and distorted into unexpected, atmospheric shapes that would almost be beautiful if they weren’t so ugly. Passages of genuine harmony collapse into sudden, jarring violence, or fade into chilling ambient drones. At times the effect calls to mind Black Metal bands like Fen or Winterfylleth, but with their bucolic pastoralism replaced with nightmarish horror. This isn’t Portal-lite  – though it may have the potential to cross over to a wider audience than some of their peers – it’s the work of a band who are putting their inspirations into a new and distinctive form, just like all innovators.

The temptation to make a joke about Antikatastaseis being as hard to listen to as it is to say is pretty hard to resist, but they deserve better.  It’s also not true – once you’ve adjusted to the combination of elements, it’s a surprisingly intuitive and engaging sound that develops with each listen. Whatever you think of the current state of spooky abstract Death Metal, Abyssal have simultaneously appointed themselves to the top tiers of the scene, and created an album with the potential to draw in fans from outside it.

 

9.0/10

Abyssal. Too kvlt for Social Media.

 

RICHIE HR


Outre – Ghost Chants

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The recording of a debut album is a pressurizing and difficult task under any circumstance; the first chance to make a mark on the world and put your presence on the radar. In the case of Polish Black metallers Outre the whole process became all the more complex with the sudden departure of vocalist Andrezej Nowak right at the beginning of recording, resulting in session vocalist Stawrogin being hastily brought in. Surely a testament of this band’s fortitude as they have come out of it with an exceptionally impressive debut in the form of Ghost Chants ( Third Eye Temple).

Despite expectations to follow in the footsteps of homegrown peers such as Behemoth, Outre have chosen to distance themselves from the more melodic and accessible takes on Black metal and have gone down the rabbit hole of the more progressive and challenging strains of the likes of Aevangelist and Deathspell Omega.

Split into seven “Chant” track parts, things proceed in an ominous and gradually building fashion on ‘Departure’, using an atmospheric slow build and eerie chanting vocals to build tension, before the following ‘Shadow’ explodes into view. Rather than sticking to all out pace, Ghost Chants veers between full throttle speed to an unsettling crawl, accompanied by an equally diverse and suited vocal range which shows Stawrogin, as a perfect and hopefully continued acquisition.

In the experimental and innovation stakes it may not have quite the same aurora of evolution and mystique as some of its peers, such as the aforementioned Deathspell Omega, but Ghost Chants is a debut which shows a commendable level of chemistry and fluidity, that of a much more experienced unit. It may not be a game changer in the genre but with their debut, Outre should firmly make a mark on the radar, one that only shows signs of growing more over time.

One of the most formidable debut’s you will hear all year.

 

8.0/10

Outre on Facebook

 

CHRIS TIPPELL


Malthusian – Below the Hengiform EP

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A side project of Mourning Beloveth, Abaddon Incarnate and Altar of Plagues members, only a demo has previously emerged in the three years of Malthusian‘s existence. A support slot on the recent Primordial UK tour raised a few surprised heads in appreciation, and this downright dank, evil EP, Below the Hengiform (Invictus) enhances that growing reputation.

Coated in a production dripping with rotting tendrils and assorted filth, a crushing Doom-like weight yields to a more technical, less chaos-infested version of infernal Portland duo Aevangelist, and when a production is deliberately engineered to augment the sound I’m all for it,

The rasping screams of opener ‘The Gasless Billows’ lead into an eerie, Blackened-Doom corridor of fear before the blastbeats and subdued, skewed riffs emit increased energy, yet remain utterly devoid of hope. The fetid atmospheres of the dark, possessed ‘Slouching Equinox’, it’s crashing roars subterranean, are positively rancid and reek of decaying life; the cavernous roar near unintelligible yet the mid-paced bridges, whilst steeped in swampwater, display elements of Classic Metal and the disgusting filth the crashing coda washes the ears in is as delicious as it is diseased. The full cacophony is utterly monstrous and, while the Doomy mid-section does occasionally feel a little empty, the omen of horror remains and is borne out by a chilling, screaming coda.

The weight of those riffs and pounding drums in closer ‘Forms Become Vapor’ is nauseating, yet not enough to prevent a return to Aevangelist’s swerving riffs and harrowing choruses. It’s a finale that continues the blend of twisted horror and monolithic power this band, with all its experience, seems destined to purvey to perfection.

 

8.0/10

Malthusian on Facebook

 

PAUL QUINN


The Official Ghost Cult Writers Albums of the Year Top 50: 40-31

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The countdown to the Official Ghost Cult Magazine Album of the Year for 2014 continues. Please consume and enjoy the results of our 2014 Writers’ Poll. We hope it will introduce you to some of the incredible works of art you may have missed that we have had the immense pleasure of listening to and writing about this year.

In our second installment we bring you albums 40 through to 31

 

jfac-new-album-cover-400x40040. JOB FOR A COWBOY – Sun Eater (Metal Blade) 

“Evolution from deathcore to a more compact, yet technical, death metal…  complex and melodic structures accompany a diversified approach” DIOGO FERREIRA 7/10 Full review here

 

 

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39. AGELESS OBLIVION – Pethos (Siege of Amida / Century Media)

Marrying both technical and atmospheric forms of Death Metal, Ageless Oblivion create their own brand of chilling yet punishing aggression, presented in a show of impressive progression.

 

 

 

 

Killer-Be-Killed-Killer-Be-Killed-400x40038. KILLER BE KILLED – Killer Be Killed (Nuclear Blast)

“Cavalera, Puciato, Sanders, and Elitch put their stamp on this recording, making a memorable, political-flavored, heavy album that certainly lives up to the hype” KEITH ‘KEEFY’ CHACHKES 8.5/10 Full review here

 

 

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37. AEVANGELIST – Writhes In The Murk (Debemur Morti)

“If you’re able to get past the initial disorientation and look inside, you’ll find an album that follows its own perverse ambition flawlessly, with not a shred of compromise, dilution or failure” RICHIE HR 10/10 Full review here

 

 

 

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36. FEN – Carrion Skies (Code666)

“Fen are the rawer, rockier, more achingly human cousin to Tombs’ Neurosis-driven thunder, and among the richest and most emotionally expressive Metal albums of 2014” RICHIE HR 9/10 Full review here

 

 

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35. JUDAS PRIEST – Redeemer of Souls (Epic/Columbia)

“Judas Priest has released a retrospective that nods to their career, recalling everything that has made them genuine legends of our metal world, Redeemer Of Souls has a beautifully warm and classic Priest feel”. STEVE TOVEY 8.5/10 Full review here

 

 

CW_418_lowRes-630x63034. COFFINWORM – IV.I.VIII (Profound Lore)

The phrase “Doom” doesn’t do justice to the ugly, polluted, measured sludgy bludgeon of IV.I.VIII; a beautifully horrible record of nihilistic malevolence, that dissolves doom, death, black and sludge in its fetid path.

 

 

 

trap-them-blissfucker-400x40033. TRAP THEM – Blissfucker (Prosthetic)

“My advice? If you have never listened to Trap Them, get on this bandwagon before these guys run you over with it”. TIM LEDIN 8/10 Full review here

 

 

yaitw_album32. YOUNG AND IN THE WAY – When Life Comes To Death (Deathwish Inc)

The hardest of hardcore punk fused with the blackest of Darkthrone’s black metal offspring, creating a crusty hell in aural format.

 

 

against-me-transgender-dysphoria-blues31. AGAINST ME! – Transgender Dysphoria Blues (Total Treble)

The gutsy pop-punk outfit release a cathartic biographical concept album of frontwoman Laura Jane Grace’s experiences for their sixth album.

 

 

 

Ghost Cult ‘Albums Of The Year’ 50-41 here

Compiled by Steve Tovey


Dreams of the Carrion Kind (Part II) – The Watcher from FEN

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To celebrate the release of their stunning 9/10 album Carrion Skies (Code666 – review here) The Watcher, guitarist and vocalist of England’s atmospheric post-Black Metal band Fen spoke to Ghost Cult on a range of subjects. In the second of four parts, with a further feature to follow in the next Ghost Cult digimag, the discussion turned to changes in the consumption of music…

 

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The music of Fen inspires a sense of other, and your music is something where, as a listener, you become immersed in the music – it serves to take you away…

“Immersion and escapism… I don’t they are dirty words. People listen to music for a variety of reasons and one of those is to take yourself away from the day to day for a little bit, you can take yourself to another world. And if you’re writing 12 minute long songs with lots of guitar textures, it’s something you’d hope the music would do for the listener. I don’t want to be writing background, I don’t want to be writing backgrounds to somebody’s trip to the shops.”

But isn’t that how a lot of music is consumed now? Listened to ipod shuffle. It’s become the death of the “album”, the rise of youtube, Spotify and playlists, and of flicking from one band to another. I saw the other day Skid Row saying that they are no longer going to do albums, because no one listens to albums, (though maybe that’s because no one listens to their albums any more…)

I still listen to the first the two Skid Row albums quite regularly…!

Absolutely, the first two albums are awesome! But bearing in mind what they’re saying, and you get acts like TRC too, who say they just do EPs or singles… As Fen is an album band, does it concern you that “the album” may become an obsolete format?

“It depends, and it’s all quite subjective, because you can get a band like Moonsorrow that do an EP that’s 58 minutes long, and then you get Slayer do an album that’s 28 minutes long. The digital issue blurs the lines a little bit, but it’s just an expression of music. Album…  EP… Single… It’s just a self-contained unit of music and it depends on what your style is and how long it takes you tell that story. I don’t think the album is going to die, in effect that “the album” doesn’t have a defined existence.

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“People are still going to release music in a discrete unit of how long it needs to be to tell their story. We all have our personal definition of what an album is, be it 6 or 7 songs, 60 minutes, or however long it’s going to be, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. What you’ll see as the digital age gathers pace is that people might start releasing collections of EPs, and have more regular release cycle of shorter pieces of music, whether to keep interest sustained, or because it’s now easier to record things yourself.

“Equally there are certain bands and genres where the album is a necessary vehicle to deliver what they want to deliver, and certainly for a band like Fen where we write long songs, we want people to become immersed in our songs and an album for us is an important way of actually spreading atmosphere. If anything we might in danger of the opposite; [with Carrion Skies] we actually recorded too much music for a single CD and one of the tracks had to come out.

“I think the boundaries of what might make an album will dissipate. If we’re not tied to the limits of a CD, then a 90 minute album is fine. If that’s what is needed to fully to tell a story, or evoke the atmosphere trying to be evoked, then so be it. All the boundaries can crumble.”

That’s a fair point, Contradiction by Schammasch (Prosthetic) and AEvangelist’s Omen Ex Simulacra (Debemur Morti) both chip in around the 85 minute mark…

“And you have the last Dødsengel album, Imperator (Terratur), that is two and a half hours long and it’s really, really good, and that really underlines the creative power of some bands. If you have a band that says they’re going to do a two hour album, and they pull it off, fair play to them. I think bands will feel less beholden to the album cycle, and rather than ‘Here are 10 songs, 45 minutes, bang, here we go’, maybe you think ‘Do you know what, I feel really inspired this year, so we could put together a good hour and half of an album here’. Or, another band might think, we’re the sort of band that thrives on short, sharp shock, so let’s do a series of 4 track EP’s.

“It should be liberating. With digital, downloading, it’s changed the way music is presented and digested, and consumed, and I think it’s pointless to rail against it. Bands should see it for the liberating creating force it could be.”

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Fen on Facebook

Order Carrion Skies here

 

Words by STEVE TOVEY


Full Of Hell – Full Of Hell And Merzbow

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If anyone reading this is still in their first few years of listening to Extreme Metal, allow me to give you a piece of advice, as unpatronisingly as I can manage – don’t believe all that nonsense it not being ruled by fashion. Next to actual mainstream music Extreme Metal may seem joyous and unrestrained, but once you’ve been around the block a few times you realise that it’s as bound up in the tidal flow of trend and counter-trend as everything else.  I mention this because blending your Metal/Hardcore with Noise, it would seem, is IN.

Earlier this year I reviewed the latest album from AEvangelist and talked about how they played their Noise and Death Metal elements simultaneously – this collaboration between Full Of Hell and Japanese Noise Royalty Masami Akita takes a similar approach for most of its eleven tracks, Merzbow’s caustic, dissonant Noise coexisting with FOH’s dirty, rumbling Grindcore. The Noise is much lower in the mix than with AEvangelist, though, adding depth and texture to the Grind rather than competing with. It works well, though doesn’t really explore any territory not already mapped out by Pig Destroyer or Narcosis, and it seems almost disrespectful to hear an artist of Akita’s influence essentially joining someone else’s band as a “Noise guy”.

The balance does shift, however – some tracks are dominated by Merzbow’s sinister, chittering Noise supported by distant feedback and distorted Grind screams, while others (album stand-out High Fells the most notable example) put both elements on a more even footing to deliver something more distinctive and representative of both artists.  It’s in these moments when the true value of a collaboration – something new forged from the qualities and strengths of both parties – becomes clear, and it’s a shame that it’s a relatively small part of the album.

I feel as though I’ve been fairly negative here, so I’d like to take a step back – Full Of Hell & Merzbow (Profound Lore) is a savagely efficient, well-structured album that achieves exactly what it sets out to do and doesn’t waste a second of its running time, and is not going to disappoint anyone who finds the idea of Grind and Noise cohabiting an interesting one. Criticising for what it isn’t is perhaps unfair, but with a name like Merzbow on the cover, it’s perhaps not too unreasonable to have hoped that more risks would be taken.

 

7.5/10

 

Full of Hell on Facebook

Merzbow on Facebook

 

RICHIE HR


AEvangelist – Writhes In The Murk

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All reviewers know, in their secret hearts, that grading albums is an arbitrary process, and that the wider the scale the more subjective the judgement will be. Fans will argue and bicker over whether a given album is a 7.5 or an 8, somehow not realising that these are simply forced formalisations of a personal judgement, a qualitative emotional response squeezed into a quantitative shape. Every so often, however, an album comes along that by its sheer enormity, its absolute refusal to be pinned down so crudely, forces anyone hearing it to confront the essential meaninglessness of their numbers.

AEvangelist have only been around since 2011, and have already released three full-length albums, two EPs and a split, during which they have developed their sinister Death Metal into a genuinely unique style.  The blending of Extreme Metal with Dark Ambient/Electronic Noise is nothing new – indeed, my role at Ghost Cult seems to be chasing the multiple products of this relationship and hitting them with a big stick – but bands have disagreed over how to approach it: Portal borrow the composition and layering approach of Noise artists to turn their Death Metal into a dense, chaotic swamp, whereas Grave Upheaval strip their Metal down to its barest skeleton, casting aside all ostentation until nothing is left but fetid Dark Ambient drones. AEvangelist’s approach – more maximalist, and initially quite overwhelming – is to simply PLAY EVERYTHING AT ONCE. At times it seems like there are two AEvangelists – the claustrophobic, shrieking Ambient Noise artist and the cavernous, meandering Death Metal band – and neither is prepared to give the other a moment to themselves, both bands playing their music on top of, alongside and writhing between the notes of the other.

Each subsequent album has taken this approach a little far, and Writhes In The Murk (Debemur Morti) reveals it in its most excessive, most intoxicating, most entirely singular form yet, and on the first few listens it can almost impossible to pick anything out at all.  Riffs are buried in noise and static, atmospheric passages are interrupted by monotonous, rumbling-drainpipe vocals, the whole thing could easily be dismissed as an exercise in extremity for its own sake, an example of why musicians set themselves boundaries to work in – many people will doubtless stop listening with that impression in mind, and it’s hard to say that they’re wrong to do so. Persevere, though (and it IS perseverance – this album will make you work for everything it has to give) and a structure starts to emerge from the mire, an alien, shifting but nevertheless consistent logic that reveals Writhes In The Murk as a true album rather than a collection of disparate noises. The key to unlocking its shape lies in the pairing of ambient instrumental ‘Disquiet’ and the heaving, chaotic shambles that is ‘Aelixir’ – all saxophones and flailing, smoky tendrils of broken Jazz – at the centre, with a trio of more conventional (by this band’s standards) Death Metal songs at either side.

Grading music in numbers is, as explained already, a useful lie – painting the veneer of objectivity onto a subjective process that works right up until someone like AEvangelist comes along with an album so utterly, undeniably itself that only the very bottom or the very top of the marking scale could possibly make any sense at all. Writhes In The Murk is not the perfect album (imagining for a moment that such a thing could ever exist), and a lot of people are going to hate it for perfectly valid reasons. However, if you’re able to get past the initial disorientation and look inside, you’ll find an album that follows its own perverse ambition flawlessly, with not a shred of compromise, dilution or failure.

 

10.0/10

AEvangelist on Facebook

 

RICHIE HR


Teitanblood – Death

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It may not always seem the most sophisticated or progressive of genres, but horrible old Death Metal has been undergoing something of a late renaissance of late. With bands like Portal, Ulcerate and Gorguts (finally no longer alone in a field they’ve ploughed since the mid 90’s) bending the genre into new shapes while old heroes like Autopsy remind us of the strengths of playing it straight. Growling over a blast-beat hasn’t been this exciting in years.

 

Teitanblood’s latest contribution to this is more subtle and developed than it may initially seem, and opens up over the course of several listens into an album of surprising depth. Mashing old-school Death Metal with touches of Crust, Grind and Black Metal they create a noxious mess that lurches from Blasphemy-style chaos to blackened sludge, referencing classic Carcass and the occasional d-beat on the way.

 

The most glaring issue with Death (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) – initially a big one – is the sheer length. Weighing in at over 60 minutes, with songs averaging around 10minutes, this seems far too overblown for such an unambitious, chaotic sound. Persevere, though, and it starts to become clear that Teitanblood have got more going on than they initially seem to. Firstly, their sense of dynamics; songs catapult explosively through genuinely well-crafted structures, riffs and beats shifting effortlessly into shapes that prevent them from getting mired in the repetition that one might expect. Secondly, there is their use of ambient noises and samples in the background of many songs, comparable to that of AEvangelist, but deployed with a much lighter hand. Many listeners may not even hear them at first, but they add a depth and atmosphere to Teitanblood’s dense, organic music that genuinely helps the album justify its running time.

 

Not instantly the easiest of listens, then, and will likely be dismissed by many as too long or too chaotic, but an album of surprising depth which fans of the noisier end of Death Metal should find rewards repeated listens.

 

8.0 / 10.0

Teitanblood on Facebook

 

RICHIE H-R

 


Shroud of the Heretic – Revelations in Alchemy

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Portland, Oregon dosen’t seem to garner many headlines referring to a depressing, culturally-impoverished existence. One of America’s most environmentally-conscious places, it’s also largely liberal and not particularly a hotbed of unemployment. So quite why this ‘Beervana’ appears to be giving rise to some of the most disturbing and affecting sounds emanating from the New Country in recent years is something of a mystery.

Leaning to the chaotic death end of the market, this debut album from new sons Shroud of the Heretic gives all of what it says on the tin. Abject horror blends with brooding portent, Thom Gunn‘s vocal a wheezy scour buried low in the mix. There’s much of the blackened death of city brethren Aevangelist here, the frantic lead wailings and frosted riffs clashing with violent background ambience, the howlings of souls in limbo evocative of a Bosch masterpiece. Particularly with opener ‘The Arrival’ however, this is tempered by slower passages evoking the desolation of impending doom, leaving a skewed amalgam of tortured darkness. ‘Chaotic Astral Ascension’ reflects its title: a slamming mess of discord and malevolence, gradually falling to a sudden funereal sequence depicting the peace of the rise. The blastbeat-dictated lift from the murk of ‘Illuminism’ is a prime example of timing and effect, whilst the spearing riff feeding the gloom of the title track falls to a sudden, wakening bass and this, with Gunn’s initial emanations building to the pummelling drums, is nerve-twitchingly terrifying.

The problem here is the growing familiarity. When the monstrous Portal first sallied forth it was with a cacophony containing such levels of fear as had not previously been encountered, an immediacy which left the listener needing the loo and a cushion to hide behind. Aevangelist exacerbated this horror but that impact is lessening with each new attempt at emulation and, despite Revelations in Alchemy (Blood Harvest) being delightfully terrible throughout, those experienced in the sound will grimace knowingly. The odd time change will satisfy the ‘noise is everything’ merchants but, to create lasting flavour and identity, something more memorable is required. These guys are definitely capable: let’s ‘ave it.

6.5 / 10

Shroud of the Heretic on Facebook

PAUL QUINN


Pyrrhon – The Mother Of Virtues

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For many a year a bands’ “extremity” was defined by how offensive their lyrics were, how unintelligible their vocals were, how fast they could play, and for how long. But, as Tiago Moreira sagely commented in his review of the excellent Artificial Brain album Labyrinth Constellation these are finally different and special days for Death Metal. Death Metal lives in Interesting Times.

With The Mother Of Virtues (Relapse), New York’s Pyrrhon have found a way to meld and then go beyond the warped, technical dissonance of Gorguts, Ulcerate, Portal and Deathspell Omega to create quite possibly the most extreme and impenetrable album to date. By anyone.

Five minutes into the album, and we’ve had a minute and a half Grind/Jazz obliteration at the hands of ‘The Oracle Of Nassau’, which is the last time Pyrrhon pay any attention to “traditional” structure or definable output, and the first three minutes of ‘White Flag’, which starts with an inoffensive bass dally before sweeping off in a riot of aggression and notes from all points of the guitar necks that slows down again to tail into sub-noise via discordant jangles. And that’s just the beginning of an extraordinary album that forces re-evaluation of what can be achieved in the name of extreme music. Boundaries aren’t just pushed, they are non-existent. I don’t like, know, or get jazz, but this is surely what the most fucked-up jazz can only dream of sounding like.

The Mother Of Virtues doesn’t just challenge what is “extreme”, but calls into question whether some of what is produced is actually even music. It certainly shouldn’t be called songs. And is all the better for it.

Completely and utterly impenetrable, and not in the way Krallice or AEvangelist are, and exceptional with it. I don’t “get it”, but I don’t think I’m supposed to. I don’t think the point is to understand what I now imagine the soundtrack of a complete and devastating neural implosion to sound like. I think the point is to be challenged by it.

The technique of all involved is incredible as Pyrrhon deconstruct frictional technical death metal and brokenly put it back together in a consciously unnatural way as only the bass and drums retain any semblance of what we are used to, underpinning and holding everything just about together throughout tracks like the Ved Buens Ende tinged ‘Eternity In A Breath’ as if the rhythm section of a different, more “normal” band, but by the midpoint of ‘Invisible Injury’ both have detached themselves from each other, as the Underworld spills out from all parts of the band into pure extreme free-form.

The Mother Of Virtues will never be an easy listen, will never be comfortable, will always be disorientating and doesn’t so much teeter on the razors edge of insanity and genius as hurl itself from one end of the spectrum to the other and back again. But it will always be an extraordinary album.

 

9.5/10

Pyrrhon on Facebook

STEVE TOVEY