Deep Switch – Nine Inches of God (1986)

The NWOBHM movement defined the basis for what both underground and commercial metal would become, everything was present from the gallops, the harmonized melodies, unconventional song structures and the reverence for the riff above all else. The movement struggled with commercializing itself and so even the more vicious bands were obligated in selling out and writing a ballad or a mid-paced rock song in hopes of being picked up by a major label as there was at that time money to be made. The micro-genre eventually burned out due to two main reasons. First was that the door to mainstream success had been closed permanently for the British bands as the media loved Def Leppard and the like. The second reason was that there were far too many bands releasing the same rehashed material while bands elsewhere were exploring unventured paths and the standards were on average raised as the pub rock riffs of most of the NWOBHM were simply not up to par. Enter Deep Switch, a band that appeared in the scene after the death of the genre and were set to make some of the most bizarre NWOBHM imaginable but falling to the same pitfalls as their predecessors.

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Andrzej Sapkowski – The Last Wish

Andrzej Sapkowski’s “The Witcher” series has seen itself appropriated and simplified in the form of a ridiculous TV show and movie that never garnered much respect in its native Poland and has been heavily critiqued by Sapkowski himself. The books find themselves once again simplified and denied of their essence in the form of three large budget video games that do attempt to bring to life the world of the series, but gameplay, endless superfluous content and the lack of understanding from the writers hinder this. Fortunately we are blessed by a truly transcendent series of books that despite the mainstream’s attempts at commercializing them remain unaffected in their message and expression. Enter “The Last Wish” which is the first book of a majestic saga that soars above the common man’s need for digestible media.

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DMU Song Contest Results Part 1

The second DMU song contest has been closed and the results have been compiled. More than fifteen contestants ranging from the hilariously bad to the inspiringly potent have shared their works for brutal and honest criticism. Our ever growing Discord community has submitted a few of these compositions,here is a permanent invitation for those wishing to partake in various discussions on the subject of metal and other related Hessian activities.

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Levels of NSBM Initiation

As a genre less defined aesthetically than on terms of propaganda, NSBM bears the mark of Cain that stigmatizes bands that express a certain ideology. On the basis that music is pure Will, this article focuses on contrasting a split by Der Sturmer, Malsaint and Blutkult with Spear of Longinus on the grounds of understanding and conviction to their ideas, or, to be less dramatic, on how the need to express grander statements creates grander music.

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Mordor – Csejthe (1992)

Medievalism with disdain towards life, punishingly tardive and yet theatrical, this is epitaphial death metal with an aim. This aim is to reframe a life of industrial decay by the droning transcendental funeral of the God in man. This is the soundtrack of living in Mordor.

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Inverloch – Distance | Collapsed (2016)

Inverloch are an Australian death/doom four piece mostly known for being composed of half of the members of Disembowelment and for being considered their rightful heir. With projects like these there is a fine line between upholding the heritage of a previous project and reiterating past works in hope of achieving former glory. Inverloch straddle that thin line but also manage to find influence in much more recent branches of death metal and the funeral doom subgenre and overall create an enjoyable piece of work that may push the listener towards the greater releases in the genre, especially Transcendence into the Peripheral.

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