DEATHMETAL.ORG: THE ULTIMATE DEATH METAL RESOURCE

Historical perspectives on Singapore and Latin American underground scenes

While the basics of black metal and death metal were mostly laid down in the basements, clubs and rehearsal rooms of USA and Europe, the interest in morbid and extreme metal that mirrored the chaotic world, the hypocrisy of religion and the evil of politics which exist regardless of where you live, was inevitably spread to farthest reaches of Western youth culture: the alleys of the mega-city of Singapore and the hot shores surrounded by slums in Latin American lands. Key bands such as Sarcofago and Sepultura from Brazil and Impiety from Singapore, cranking out satanic, unhinged, delirious forms of early death metal and thrash, were reciprocally a tremendous shock and inspiration to underground metal fans in USA and Europe of the late 80′s and influenced a complete transformation of attitude in underground black metal from Mayhem to Beherit, leading to the so called second wave of black metal. As information about these phenomena outside the centres of main black and death metal culture is often scarce because of a lack of mainstream interest, social and language barriers etc. it is indispensable to have this kind of phenomenal resources and articles where to study it from:

Metaleros – A comprehensive resource on Latin American metal
Necromansy – Vasp Necrogoat’s underground metal page, including a massive article on Singaporean metal

Morbid Angel assaults Australia and South America

While we’re waiting for Morbid Angel‘s first new album since David Vincent joined the band again, there’s no better way to spend an evening than go see them creating new live mutations of “Chapel of Ghouls”, “Lord of All Fevers and Plague” and other classics once again. Last year Europeans were lucky to witness a series of their explosive live performances. Now it’s the turn of Australia and South America, with this bunch of dates.

2009/05/30 – Transmission Room, Auckland, New Zealand
2009/06/01 – Billboards Club, Melbourne, Australia
2009/06/03 – Capitol, Perth, Australia
2009/06/05 – The Metro, Sydney, Australia
2009/06/08 – The HiFi Brisbane, Brisbane, Australia
2009/06/20 – Guatemala City – Guatemala – Parque de la Industria
2009/06/21 – San Salvador – El Salvador – Centro de Ferias & Convenciones
2009/06/24 – Lima – Peru – VOCE
2009/06/26 – Quito – Ecuador – Estadio Chaupicruz
2009/06/27 – Bogota – Colombia – Parque Simon Bolivar – Rock al Parque Festival
2009/06/28 – Maracay – Venezuela – COMPLEJO FERIAL SAN JACINTO

Clips
God of Emptiness
Maze of Torment
Nevermore

Molested discography reissued on Ars Magna Recordings

One of our Norwegian death metal favorites of all time, Molested, was left out of our feature on Norwegian death metal because its output is mostly newer than the period we focused on. Molested was originally formed as Purgation by Øystein G. Brun, who is known more from his compositions in the famous Viking metal band Borknagar. For Borknagar fans and others, Ars Magna Recordings is doing the big cultural favor of re-releasing the whole discography on a double CD, including the “Blod Draum” album, “Stormvold” MCD and their two demos. The official release is set to be June 15. Melodic, persistent and addictive, this band has not received enough attention because of the rarity of the original pressings. As with Swedish death metallers Unanimated who are as close to the Romanticism of black metal in spirit as to the brutalities of death metal, they rise above the flock because of the special Northern journeyman-like feeling evoked; dreams of the dead ancestors, risen to walk the woods on the nights of dísablót. Get this release!

Reviews
Stormvold

Norwegian death metal article with Fenriz, Anders and Manheim

To illuminate the spiritual roots and original perspective of the Norwegian late 80′s metal underground, Deathmetal.org contacted Fenriz of Darkthrone, Anders of Cadaver and Manheim of Mayhem to discuss early Norwegian death metal. We focus on how continental and American influences combined into a unique form of rebellion for young Norwegian musicians, spawning diverse projects and bands such as Vomit, Old Funeral and Thou Shalt Suffer in addition to the interviewees’ bands. We prove that this was not only an unimportant bunch of demos from pre-black metal bands but a necessary training ground and logical development of musical ideas that were in many cases to be transferred to classic Norwegian black metal. The final article with overview, reviews and lots of interesting discussion is now finally published, exclusively at Deathmetal.org.

Iconoclasm Sweeps Norvegia: Impressions of Norwegian Death Metal

Satanic skinheads blaspheme again

If there ever was a more extreme, violent and influential black metal phenomenon than the Canadian warlords of Blasphemy, well, I haven’t seen it. As if synchronized with this year’s attacks by the most influential Canadian band of the previous generation Voivod, R. Förster of Blasphemy and Conqueror has released this statement:

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the release of the now infamous “Blood Upon the Altar” demo tape (1989ce); BLASPHEMY will be preforming a few Live Rituals both local (Vancouver, Canada Rituals planned) and abroad (KRK Black Flames of Blasphemy Festival Helsinki, Finland October 23rd-24th 2009ce).

NOCTURNAL GRAVE DESECRATOR and BLACK WINDS: Vocals
CALLER OF THE STORMS: Lead Guitar
3 BLACK HEARTS OF DAMNATION and IMPURITY: Drums
DEATHLORD OF ABOMINATION AND WAR APOCALYPSE: Guitar
Unbaptised Prospect (Ritual Name revealed in time): Bass & Backing Vocals

Well, wouldn’t I be pissed off if I didn’t happen to live in one of those two countries scheduled for bömbing. Of course we hope this band will get more active in other respects also now, since their brand of combining grindcore sounds with the blasphemous ideologies of black metal influenced everyone from Beherit to practically the whole Australian black-thrash-war scene. Hail Blasphemy!

Ross Bay Cult
Kold Reso Kvlt ry

Clips
Blasphemy
Ritual

Reviews
Fallen Angel of Doom
Fallen Angel of Doom
Gods of War
Gods of War
Gods of War
Gods of War

Voivod returns with one final tachyon bomb + tour

Voivod’s bloody history from early Canadian barbaric speed/thrash to progressive metal structures and later to progressive rock is probably familiar to any true metalhead. Few musicians’ deaths have caused such an unanimous burst of grievances as when Voivod’s Piggy in 2005 succumbed to cancer which is weirdly appropriate for a person who seemed to be able to conjure genetic mutations simply by his tormented guitar composition. His final home recordings have been preserved by his bandmates and post-produced into a complete album, which shall be the final Voivod document.

Infini was built from the final songs created by the band with Piggy. There were many discussions and ideas as to how to complete these recordings of songs that had never been actually performed with the whole band in one room. All of his original demo guitar tracks appear as they were recorded, no re-amping, no overdubs, just Piggy as he played the tracks he envisioned in his small bachelor apartment, the amp in the bathroom, capturing his performance with the laptop given to him by Jason Newsted.

Additionally, the world has one of the last chances now to see these robotic devastators on tour, performing material from the first 10 years of their discography with original bassist Blacky and guitarist Dan Mongrain (Martyr, Gorguts, Cryptopsy) completing the lineup. The following dates are currently confirmed (no US dates, sorry!):

Fri 05.06.09 Sweden Rock, Sweden
Fri 12.06.09 Download, Donington, UK
Sat 13.06.09 Waldrock, Wâlden, Netherlands
Fri 19.06.09 Hellfest, Clisson, France.
Tue 23.06.09 Petofi Csarnok, Budapest, Hungary with Down
Fri 26.06.09 Bang Your Head, Balingen, Messegelände, Southern Germany
Sat 27.06.09 Gods of Metal, Arena Park Nord, Bologna, Italy.
Mon 29.06.09 Rockwave, Athens, Greece
Fri 03.07.09 Woodstock en Beauce, QC
Sat 04.07.09 Jonquiere, QC
Fri 11.07.09 Knock Out, Krakow, Poland
Sun 12.07.09 Masters of Rock, Vizovice, Czech Republic
Sat 25.07.09 Lorca Rock, Lorca, Spain
Fri 14.08.09 Jalometalli Metal Music Festival, Club Teatria, Oulu, Finland.
Sat 15.08.09 Summer Breeze, Germany.
Fri 28.08.09 Hole In The Sky, USF, Norway.

Voivod
Samples from Infini

May 16th, 2009 – Skepticism in Helsinki, Finland

Shall the words not sing of sorrow
Leave for others words of lament

The label ‘Funeral Doom Metal’ is used to describe a plethora of bands that share a largely fatalistic ideological outlook in common. This is an extreme interpretation of the inherent misery of Doom Metal as a wider movement that dates back to when 70′s bands such as Pentagram and Pagan Altar, and 80′s bands St. Vitus, Candlemass and Cathedral from the early 90′s carried the baton bearing these surface qualities taken from Black Sabbath. It was, later still, passed on to bands best represented by Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Katatonia, who integrated this slow and doleful style with Death Metal techniques, as this movement had reached it’s apex in the remarkable ‘goldmine’ period (1989 – 1993). This style called Doomdeath would eventually become more extreme, spawning suicidal and eschatological Funeral Doom Metal bands such as Mournful Congregation, Paramaecium, Worship and Pantheist. They would claim more of a descent from the band most synonymous with the tag: Finland’s Skepticism, however, whose consistancy and contribution to Metal music as a whole far outweighs their status as the archetypal form of some sub-sub-genre. Emerging almost simultaneously from the South of Finland, both Skepticism and Thergothon were playing music less concerned with the self-obsessed emotions of Doom Metal; infact, they followed more in the footsteps of Death and Black Metal, illustrating their reverence for nature/cosmos, it’s eternal patterns and magestic forces that confront our fragile and often illusory perceptions (and feed the despair of most Doom Metal in it’s fatalism). 

This appropriately brings us to the annual ‘Dooomstock’ festival held at the Lepakkomies bar in the Sörnäinen district of Helsinki. More importantly, it brings us to Skepticism’s role not only as headliner, but the most uncompromising example of what has been discussed so far: that Skepticism – who bring the epic spirit of Romantic, nihilistic Metal to the Doom scene – reign supreme in a sea of shit. It’s the second day of the festival, and the opening act – Funeral Planet – amounted to little more than an extremely heavy and slow Rock band, which is the most unfortunate symptom of this kind of Black Sabbath worship. Thanks to the trial-and-error, improvisational nature of Rock composition, one or two riffs could be enjoyed but, without some meaningful musical context, only as a soundtrack to consuming bottles of Karhu – Finland’s premium lager. The Celtic Frost cover was a nice addition to the set but only served to increase the anticipation for Skepticism by hearing the work of another legendary band. Such an honourable title, the Finns in attendance would tell you, couldn’t be more applicable to the country’s original Doom Metal band and second act on the line-up: Spiritus Mortis, now being fronted by Sami Hynninen who is more well-known as Albert Witchfinder from Reverend Bizarre. Their brand of traditional Doom Metal is more competent than the preceding act, in that their sound hybridizes a wider range of influences, from Trouble and St. Vitus to the somehow rousing dirge-anthems of Pagan Altar and post-’Nightfall’ Candlemass. But was there more to the set than a collection of tightly-played tribute songs for a diehard group of Finnish Doom Metal connoisseurs? Beside’s Sami’s enthusiasm for singing to his own band within this lot of fans, in a voice more suited to Spiritus Mortis than to a bizarre cover of Burzum’s ‘Dunkelheit’, the answer would be that there was no more meaning. The next band, Ophis from Germany represented the new generation of Doomdeath bands, and delivered almost as promised, a juvenile set of clichéd tracks that rip-off the approach played first by diSEMBOWELMENT and littered this with token chugging lifted from the cruder moments of Worship’s first album. Ending the set with a cover of a band that nobody had heard of planted Ophis solidly into the grave, but it did feature a lot more of that chugging which is ambrosia for the Doom Metal fan, as shredding is for speed-addicts.

With all of this noise done and dusted, the stage was set for the mighty Skepticism, and those who seemed to have better understood the significance of what would come made their way to the feet of the masters. Skepticism’s image is about as disparate from their peers’ as their music is, with the band maintaining a strictly non-Metal sartorial code, led by Matti on vocals and his dishevelled conductor’s suit. The set began with an awe-inspiring and trance-inducing rendition of the classic ‘Sign of a Storm’, opener to the debut album. The opening words are growled more chthonically than on record, accompanied by Matti’s gestures as he appears to summon and conduct the elemental forces of nature, explaining his customary choice of attire. His performance as vocalist is in sharp contrast with Sami’s; his actions are erratic extensions of a music which is greater than himself and, though he is aware of the audience, knows his role as mediator at all times. In the basic element of sound, Skepticism sound more like a coherent whole rather than an unbalanced loudspeaker for an isolated riff, some crowd-friendly chugging or double-bass layer. The next song, as the tracklist of the ‘Stormcrowfleet’ album dictates is ‘Pouring’ and demonstrates the brutal harmony of their sound. None of their coherence is sacrificed as the set enters the classic ’Aether’ from the second album, which creates a lot more ambient space and dynamic demands that are delivered expertly. ‘The Curtain’ and ‘The Arrival’ from the latest album, ‘Alloy’ follow to demonstrate the quality music that Skepticism is still creating – a very rare phenomenon in the world of Metal. Next came two tracks that, while enjoyable, explain why ’Farmakon’ was such a hit-and-miss affair. The riffs are quite cumbersomely arranged, but with their characteristic power and glimpses of innovation, Skepticism drive them forward regardless. To close, nothing could have been a more fitting choice of song than the epic ‘March October’ as the band returns to ‘Alloy’ one last time. What a gift to leave behind for the audience to be inspired - sonic patterns of the continuum of life. The epic Skepticism transcended the Doom Metal festival in every aspect of their music and performance, and this is what, perhaps paradoxically, makes a Metal band great; by letting the form of the music be shaped and directed by the fundamental impulses that inspire it, like the sea upon the coming of a storm.

Proudly join the tunes sounding
Gallant ways the pulse beating
Take their place in the Alloy
Fortify the compound forming
And unite the substance growing
And meld matter made for lasting
To complete the March October

New black metal band destroying kill in Norway

It’s known in every music culture from pop to death metal that the sentimental, aggressive and normalcy-shunning artist personality can lead to a maze of alcohol, drugs, crime and madness. To the infernal legions of deceased promising metal musicians we are sorry to add Trondheim’s Steingrim Torson, vocalist and composer in Celestial Bloodshed, Kaosritual, Selvhat and related projects. On the haunted night of Walpurgis, when witches and demons alight, in the dark woods I could sense some evil spirit, possession happening during the night. And so it came to be in distant Norway – Elendig of Min Kniv and Jammerskrik shot Steingrim in the stomach with a shotgun. Reasons, accidents, chance and guile are irrelevant for the nihilist perception of life as a wheel of events driven by will in a landscape populated by unseen factors and a mankind beset by chaotic, destructive forces.

There would be no reason to make a point out of this if it wasn’t for the fact that these mentioned bands and projects have been the most vital, unique and memorable in the recent history of Norwegian music. The sad fact of a whole mini-scene composed by a small group of people is that the loss of two persons (one to grave, one to imprisonment), can possibly destroy 5 or more bands and projects at once and we were looking forward to some splendid art from these.

In pace requiescat…

Nordkult Rituals

Obscura – Cosmogenesis / Kalisia – Cybion

“Progressive” death metal is probably the most difficult death metal subgenre to do anything interesting in, because for the most part it is mainstream metal given the spin with dynamic production, aesthetic variation and all kinds of pointless superimposed elements, giving only rehashes of the popular substyles of death metal. It does not come as a surprise that on the new album “Cosmogenesis”, Obscura blends very well into the bland mainstream oriented current of Gothenburg (esp. Dark Tranquillity) and tech-death (esp. Atheist) influences. While apparently taking their name from a perennial Gorguts favorite, this neo-progressive metal opera only hints at the beautiful quasi-random soulseeking of Alf Svensson’s space-themed Oxiplegatz project and fails to unite all the various tendencies and instrumental parts into a descriptive work: the acoustic guitars, the Cynic-esque clean vocals, the fusion guitar heroics and even the modern grindcore reminiscent of Nile comes and goes at will but fails to instate lasting effect because the structure is uninvolving. Who anyway thought that it’s a good idea to combine Cynic’s “Focus” with metalcore standards and “catchy” lead guitar? It’s the most anal “heavy” music in 2009 but, hey, it will get 10000% in Metal-Archives because the majority are suckers for this! I like to think that these guys are very good jazz musicians but for metal, sorry, unable to capture the intensity and genius of the originators of the death metal genre.

Resembling a ten times more cheesy Nocturnus, Kalisia utilizes mainstream metal production values to hybridize progressive space metal with Arch Enemy school death/thrash. It contains some astonishingly bad sequences, like those belonging to vapid jazz musicians attempting death metal, especially when the solos scream conservatory trained pop musician virtuoso. Think of the latest Cynic album and make it more commercial and add booming synths and easy listening female vocals. In a weaker approximation of the massive sagas of Oxiplegatz and Bal-Sagoth, Kalisia goes for pure theatre of the macabre, a narrative science fiction tale of soundtrack cliches, processed voices and ADHD mix of influences as if doing something new, but wimpy and non-challenging. Death metal can lend itself beautifully to science fiction operas (think of Nocturnus or SUP) but it works only when suggestive use of texture can build an alien landscape – this kind of shrill, digital and annoying pop-influenced soundscape is closer to Nightwish than real death metal. The wanking and the various processes make Kalisia sound flashy and hysterical, rooted in a human personality. It has too much safe music for people who do not dare to truly break out and dream of the Otherworld. The professional musicianship may satisfy a fan of mainstream metal, but there’s very little sparkling innovation, unique spirit or brutal force to make an underground metal fan’s passion ignite.