One of Manchester’s brightest up-and-coming lights opened this autumn evening, the first night of a huge week of metal in the city. Impavidus were as tight as hell, the commonly-used MeloDeath soubriquet seeming very wide of the mark despite Michelle Adamson’s staggering use of harsh and clean vocals and some howling leadplay from Gav Smith.
After four long years of waiting, the Finnish black metal troubadours Baptism have finally regaled us with a new album; V: The Devil’s Fire (Season of Mist). Their newest effort follows their 2012 release As Darkness Enters.
From the very start of the record, the production is a pleasant surprise. Whereas most black metal bands seek the “trve kvlt” sound of low-fi recordings, this albums benefits from a very crisp and clear sound. Every instrument has its own place in the aural painting and the vocals are nestled in quite nicely.
Next to the tremolo-picked chords, the blast beats in triplets, and the Abbath-like growling vocals – all must-haves in black metal – Baptism also ventures into very melodic (almost post-black) sections with original chord progressions, which give you a moment to breathe between the old school black pummeling. The song ‘The Sacrament Of Blood And Ash’ introduces the melodic meandering to the listener quite well, with the help of the death/doom outfit Swallow the Sun’s vocalist Mikko Kotamäki. Mr. Kotamäki’s haunting vocals compliment the first gloomy respite of the album very nicely. His vocals complete the gloomy, weary, almost desperate atmosphere of the instrumentation.
Moving ever further down the line, ‘Abyss’ and ‘Cold Eternity’ further explore another venture away from the traditional black metal sound. Earlier on in the album Baptism already hints at a Pagan influence in their songwriting, which comes to true fruition in these two songs. The arrangements, very reminiscent of England’s Winterfylleth, project vivid mental images of veteran pagan warriors contemplating their battles and losses, and the feeling one gets when aimlessly wandering around ancient forests.
All in all, Baptisms fifth studio release is a solid black metal bastion, with a fresh twist. Purists might argue that it is not “black enough”, but for a casual of curious listener it is a very solid record. Most importantly, the reason I did not single out any band member in particular, is that the band sounds like a unified front. A solid record by a solid band.
7.5/10
SAM C.A. VAN DE LEUR
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Saturday we were up for a great hangover from the amazing day we had at day one of Eindhoven Metal Meeting. This was maybe a bit too much beer for the rest of the year. But still we held our heads high and bravely went to The Effenaar (by bus, there was no way we went by bike). This might be the reason why we were a bit too late, and I missed Distillator and Bodyfarm. But I walked in on this great old school death band named Necros Christos. I wonder how this band would have done on the smaller stage, the large stage really didn’t seem to fit them. The atmosphere they were trying to convince me about didn’t really came through. You can hear that this is a really good band, but it just didn’t come to me. I really want to see this band again sometime soon, but I want to experience them on a smaller stage.
German doomers AHAB definitely gave a great show! You could see that there wasn’t a great doom scene at Eindhoven Metal Meeting, the crowd at the Large Stage was empty if you ask me. Some real doom enthusiasts stayed, and they heard one of the greatest shows I have seen. Damn this is a band of quality. A band with a great atmosphere and we noticed that this band can really drag you out of a severe hangover. And for that we thank them.
I was really siked for Lvcifyre, but this didn’t last. I didn’t enjoy this band at all, the drummer delivered quite a show. However, the frontman said nothing at all and have no contact with the audience at all just doesn’t fit the job. I like black metal and I know the contact mostly isn’t that present, but most vocalists still sing to the audience, this guy didn’t even seem to bother. I do not have to see this band again.
Now we were really up for a party with one of the very last shows of the dutch goregrind band Rompeprop. I have always had this strange relationship with the style. There is nothing more party-mode-setting as a goregrind band. A bunch of friends were standing with me and we were doing the most crazy dance moves, because it is goregrind! We can do sprinklers, the lawn mower, and the hot towel! No one just cares and everyone is as crazy as you are. Just go with the flow and have a great time. A great, no-nonsense band with beach toys as props. Yes, this is my kind of party.
Now we were up for Marduk. This is definitely not the first time I have seen this band performing. But they always give a great performance and never disappoint. The quality this time was better than I have heard before, the riffs were more defined and the drums seemed to be more powerful.
Next up was the exclusive headliner Samael. The sound wasn’t that great, so it was not what I have expected at all. They used drum machine and they tried to play the old songs in the new style. It definitely wasn’t my piece of cake, but still I was intrigued and wanted to stay and watch the show.
After this band we headed for the last after party at Stratumseind. Eindhoven Metal Meeting 2015 was a good edition if you asked me. I met a lot of friends and a lot of new faces. I have noticed there were more foreigners than the years past. This was a plus for the atmosphere of different cultures and styles and that combined to a good festival experience. I am definitely going back next year.
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Eindhoven Metal Meeting: Day 1 Review
WORDS BY KAAT VON DORMALEN
On a remarkably warm December day, we rode to Eindhoven again for the sold out Eindhoven Metal Meeting. With a killer lineup this year, it would have been a shame to miss this event. The line up of EMM has never disappointed me so far.
Last year I was kind of nagging about the fact it felt way to crowded, there is still no place to sit except for the stairs and some places in the smoking area but it really felt less crowded this year! This helped the atmosphere of the festival a lot. Eindhoven Metal Meeting is not an open air festival so you can indulge yourself in the luxury of a hotel and the luxury of descent facilities, which is common in winter, but very welcome after a whole summer festival season behind us. No getting nasty from standing in piss soaked mud this time!
I already was psyched for this festival, one of my favorite bands as headliner (Behemoth), the great atmosphere from the crowd in the south of The Netherlands, a good brand of beer, great afterparties ahead of us and me and a friend even helped an old hag to her car for some karma points. So this year nothing could go wrong at all!
The festival began and we walked in to hear the band Winterfylleth. I heard of this band, but never saw them live before. I can say there is nothing wrong with some good old raging black metal to drink your first festival beers on. The quartets latest opus The Divination of Antiquity definitely left a mark on me when I heard it, and it really came alive on stage. It felt like black metal was meant to sound like this and nothing else.
Next up on the Large stage (which is not only called that way because it is the largest stage, but is also called after one of the sponsors of the festivals) was Aeternus, a band with grandeur and a real attitude if you ask me. Their show was way to short if you ask me. I want more Aeternus, but next time it wouldn’t hurt if the guitars were a bit less sloppy. I loved the low tuned voice which really took me away.
An unexpected highlight was Onslaught, even though I am not really a thrash enthusiast. They were convincing me with a really convincing and energetic front man, which really got me in the mood. A really tight and top-notch show was is definitely the result of band members that really want to go for it and really want to bring us a great show.
A real highlight of the Friday and if you tell me the best band up until now was Conan. I enjoyed it from the start of the show up untill the end. The wall of sound this band creates blew me away. They drag you away into this trance. What a great vibe this band creates. WE WANT MORE CONAN!
In the mean while it was time to grab some food, we weren’t the only ones with this great idea. After waiting a while for my pulled pork sandwich (which wasn’t that special at all) we went back to the District 19 stage (the small stage). There are a lot of bands from Eindhoven playing this year, but Heretic really impressed. Not everyone seemed to like the black punk and roll, but damn this was ment to party on. The enthusiasm from the stage really impressed and even made a few metalheads dancing, yes, dancing, not headlbanging. This was quite an experience I can tell.
Now we were up for the headliner Behemoth, the time schedule for the Large stage wasnt that accurate anymore so they started a bit late, but no worries. They gave away a show like only Behemoth can deliver. Grim, dark, but full with energy. Nergal really wins the Oscar for best stage performer ever! There seemed to be some technical difficulties, but I didn’t hear any and I think everybody was just enjoying the great light show and the performance of this great band. If you have never seen Behemoth, do not miss them. This is a must see band!
Next up was Candlemass, a lot of visitors have already left the building and it really wasn’t as crowded as it was before. Still, the heavy bass and good combination of riffing and incredible vocals was a great experience.
After Candlemass we were up for a good party! Lucky for us the Dynamo had a after party organised with some great cover bands: a GG Allin cover band, an Iron Maiden cover band (that didn’t convince me) and this great glam rock cover band Lipstick`N Bullets with members from the Metal Factory. (yes in the Netherlands we have a school where you can study metal). We were here to party, and this is what we got.
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WORDS BY KAAT VAN DOREMALEN
This weekend marks another close to the music festival calendar for the year with the Eindhoven Metal Meeting in The Netherlands. Ghost Cult Magazine has covered the festival every year in its existence, based on stellar line ups and their commitment to the best fan experience possible for fans of death metal, black metal and doom among other genres. Over two days 36 bands will assault 2 stages with their performances. This year EMM is headlined by none other than Behemoth! The band continues to tour behind their acclaimed 2013 album The Satanist (Metal Blade) and with the future plans of the band up in the air, you might not want to miss them at EMM.
Behemoth plays on Day 1 on the Large Rockhand Stage, along with heavyweights Candlemass, God Dethroned, Onslaught and Winterfylleth among others. The side stage, the District 19 stage has such not to be missed bands as Conan, Loudblast, Gehennah, and Acid Reign.
Day 2 has an equally strong line-up with Craft, Samael, Marduk, Nuclear Assault (in one of their final performances) Ahab and Vektor on the main stage. The side stage has acts such as Hooded Menace, Mourning Beloveth, Gama Bomb, Lvcifyre and Solstice. Tickets are still available at this link:
The host of independent labels involved in the various-format issue of Burn and Bury (React With Protest /Vetala Productions/SuperFi Records/Prismatik), the latest EP from Colchester nasty noiseniks Jøtnarr, is testament to a steadying realisation of the promise this relatively young outfit possesses in buckets.
From the start there’s an unmistakably British feel to the music: the Crust infusion lending the frosted riffs an almost Post-punk vibe. The mournful groove to opener ‘Rise By Sin’, however, is as desolate as it is infectious and memorable. Stark, cold leadwork opens into a rolling, crushing coda of Stoner-style riffs which pulse with an added energy, while Chris Moore’s harsh vocal coats the whole with brief yet highly-effective bursts of tar-gurgling. The band’s diversity is fully displayed in the ensuing ‘Sunless’: a Shoegaze jangle, doubtless anathema to many pure Blackhearts, steadily dropping into a eruption of Winterfylleth-esque violent emotion; the slower pace and wistful lead yowls maintaining the earlier touches of humanity.
The tremolo thrills of ‘Hernswolf’ zig-zag through intricate patterns and bludgeoning riffs, Moore’s horrifying rasp unifying the band’s core elements in an all-too-brief track which perfectly embodies their ethos. The medieval melancholy opening ‘Waldeinsamkeit’, meanwhile, is wonderfully dictated by Oliver Harvey’s stunning stickwork which courses subtly throughout this eye-opening set; the closing track exploding into life halfway in before cascading to another of those pensive time switches and subsequent wailing solos.
Jøtnarr’s arsenal is proving increasingly powerful, their Black undercurrent positively effervescent with the superb blend and execution of other hostilities. Burn and Bury marks them out as one of the UK’s brightest underground lights at present.
7.5/10
PAUL QUINN
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
Although emotive, the dark harshness of Vattnet Viskar’s sound seemed a strange choice to accompany the heavier, more melodic Pallbearer on last winter’s US tour. Look deeper, however, into the very British blackness of Settler (Century Media), the New Hampshire quartet’s second album, and the melancholy shines through.
Brutal stickwork permeates the tremolo riffs of ‘Colony’ until a wholly unexpected mid-point breakdown of slow, deliberate Shoegaze, reappearing at the track’s coda, marks the band out as a different breed. ‘Yearn’ begins with a portentous yet evocative passage, building with delicate synth effects into vocalist Nicholas Thornbury’s colossal yet almost whispered, dry bark; a more Doom-laden pace seeing lead shimmerings emerge only in a Post-style underpin. It’s a savage track, yet pregnant with emotion: the layered, twisting chicanes sending the sound into the more inventive horror of Inter Arma’s Blackened spin-off Bastard Sapling, rather than that of the band’s core which is heavily influenced by Winterfylleth, Fen et al. ‘Impact’, for example, evokes images of rolling, furze-heavy hills in winter, as is expected from that UK Pagan contingent: yet a Viking element adds punch to this truly moving track.
This is an album giving true meaning to the ‘Atmospheric Black Metal’ tag: expertly blending the hostile, hissing tundra with chest-swelling passion and, in doing so, creating a living monster. Seamus Menihane’s pounding, resonant tubs return as the direction for the aptly named ‘Glory’, more sadness wrought from that lead guitar as an initial Trad metal rhythm gives way to dual Post wails, crushing riffs returning at the height of the ensuing explosion, an emphysemic roar coating the whole in a wonderful disease. The brutalised, throbbing heartbreak of both the title track and ‘Heirs’, meanwhile, where those expressions of angst remain constantly on the right side of Metalcore to emit sincere feeling, are supreme examples of the band’s organic versatility and heart of fire.
Closer ‘Coldwar’ melds elements of Black, Melancholia, Post-metal and Rock in a swelling, distraught yet euphoric finale. A refreshing, ambitious effort whilst remaining faithful to the dark core, Settler shows Vattnet Viskar to the stage of serious contenders.
8.0/10
Vattnet Viskar on Facebook
PAUL QUINN
In an age where all the mystique has vanished from the extreme music scene, Drudkh’s uncompromising no live shows/interviews/promo pictures/music videos approach is to be cherished, for it is the music they produce that is the only thing that matters. Of course the flipside to this is that the band are open to unsavoury accusations from those who seek to project their own agendas; despite no association with extremist ideology, Drudkh have been branded a far-right band primarily due to their lyrical references to nationalist Ukrainian poets.
While the four members may still draw inspiration from the glories and failings of their country’s past, it’s likely that the present is currently a far more pressing concern. The conflict in Ukraine shows no sign of abating, and with death and destruction a daily concern, it’s a wonder that they have been able to record a new album. But we should be thankful they have, for tenth full-length release A Furrow Cut Short (all Drudkh releases are Season of Mist) is one of their finest efforts to date.
The first thing one notices after pressing play is just how much passion Drudkh have captured here. The dry post-rock flavours of 2010’s Handful of Stars and the somewhat formulaic approach of 2012’s Eternal Turn of the Wheel have been consigned to the dustbin, with a much-needed injection of self-belief and renewed vigour the order of the day. Opening track ‘Cursed Sons’ follows the traditional Drudkh pattern of rapid, windswept riffing, energised percussion and sorrowful melodies, but is just that much more alive and urgent than on recent efforts, with vocalist Thurios in particular sounding mightily pissed off. The second part of the track slows down towards the end before racing off into an utterly triumphant finish complete with a fantastic guitar melody.
The influence Drudkh have had on current UK darlings Winterfylleth is evident in the magnificent driving riffs and subtle soaring keyboards of ‘To the Epoch of Unbowed Poets’, a stirring call-to-arms that harks back to the glory days of 2004’s Autumn Aurora, conjuring images of soldiers marching to war under a glaring sunset. Elsewhere, ‘Embers’ slows the pace slightly for a thoroughly melodic and more introspective six-odd minutes before the aggression returns with a vengeance on the first part of eighteen minute two-part epic ‘Dishonour’, with part two giving off a strong Burzum feel with its gloomy refrains and vicious, snarled vocals.
This is still main man Roman Saenko’s baby of course. As the main songwriter and guitarist, the man appears to be a bottomless well of creativity, and his guitar playing is capable of evoking emotion like few others. Well versed in black metal lore yet resolute in his vision, Saenko is a true artist who has made a fiercely private band from Eastern Europe into one of the most respected and revered acts in the annals of underground music. The music he and his comrades have captured on A Furrow Cut Short may not quite hit the heights of 2006’s magnificent Blood in Our Wells but it has come pretty damn close. Like all great Drudkh releases, this is an album that reveals more with every listen, a rousing yell of defiance backed by a passionate beating heart.
9.0/10
Drudkh community page on Facebook
JAMES CONWAY
The influence of nature and earth on black metal has become somewhat more of a recurrent theme in recent times. Some of black metal’s current champions such as Drudkh, Wodensthrone and Winterfylleth have embraced inspiration from such landscapes, in some degrees from their own locales rather than necessarily the stereotypical Satanic lyrical content of the genre’s forebears; also offering a more atmospheric approach. On this split, From Moonrise To Moonset (Blackwood), we see the contributions from two upcoming UK bands of such an ilk, with some variation in style and result.
The first half sees contributions from Torver, beginning with an ominous, gradually building introduction track, complete with wolf howling and strings, setting the tone and expectations quite high. The following tracks ‘Naked Moonrise’ and ‘Lunar Ritual’ are both bold examples of forward thinking Black Metal, alternating in pace between a slow crawl to more uptempo, and combining typical shrills with an eerie chant like drawl. A lot of positives to take but sadly it becomes unstuck by a thin production which buries the vocals far into the mix and kills some of its atmospheric air.
In the production stakes Arcane North’s half fairs a whole lot better and thus has a much more encapsulating tone to it. Vocally this is on much more familiar territory but elsewhere it still holds an ambitious streak, but is simultaneously familiar for the less au fait with the genre. As a result it is much more immediate and is certainly the more recommended part.
Neither band gives a complete or perfect offering, but both bands show a lot of potential, if not very much to differentiate in an arena that is starting to get a lot more crowded.
6.0/10
Torver on Facebook
Blackwood Productions on Facebook
CHRIS TIPPELL