Last Burzum metal recording ever

by Staff on April 27, 2013

burzumBurzum composer Varg Vikernes has posted a “goodbye” to his old self as a metal composer and in a sentimental posting, announced his retirement from metal and his intent to pursue ambient music alone.

Burzum appeared from nowhere in 1991 with a demo tape made up of a dozen guitars-and-bass-only tracks in rehearsal quality. I made a few more or less successful metal albums, but they all always included at least some ambient music. With time I moved further and further away from metal, and today only the ambient music remains. Today (2013) I think I am done playing metal music for good.

Many of you followed Burzum through the years, some even from the beginning, and I think metal-Burzum deserves a proper “good bye”. So, just like I started out I will finish metal-Burzum with a guitars-and-bass-only track in rehearsal quality. “Back to the Shadows” is made up of the last metal riffs I ever made (in 2012). It was never released in any way, or recorded (beyond what you hear here), and it will not either — beyond this short “video”.

Take it for what it is; a sentimental good bye to metal-Burzum.

The music is playing with an image of the 17 year-old me, taken from the time when some of the first Burzum tracks were made. You can see this track as a good bye to that fellow too.

For those of us who have been watching Burzum and Vikernes over the years, this is a welcome development. Heavy metal is beautiful but it will always be attached to popular conceptions of entertainment. Ambient music, especially complex material, gets treated as culture.

While we hope to change that perception of metal and to have it be studied as art and part of culture, that’s an uphill battle when the fans routinely rush to gimmick bands and depthless clones in a hope to be part of the next popular trend.

Either way, this bodes well for more interesting compositions in Burzum’s future.

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Necropsy’s demos re-released

by Ralph Archer on April 27, 2013

necropsyCentury Media Records will release all demos of Finnish death metallers Necropsy on June 3rd in a compilation containing three CDs, all songs remastered from the original tapes. CMR promote it thus:

The result is mindblowing: Without ever destroying the analog charm of the old tapes, all songs sound fresh, just like they have been recorded just a few years ago.

Tomb Of The Forgotten – The Complete Demo Recordings will start anno 1989 and end in 1993, a time period in which the band, frankly, only recorded demos, with the exception of an EP and a split with Demigod in 1992. The band’s first full-length, Bloodwork, arrived as late as in 2011, after a 17 year long hiatus.

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Zombiefication – At the Caves of Eternal

by Staff on April 26, 2013

zombiefication-at_the_caves_of_eternalZombiefication incorporate many styles into their old school styled death metal but their ultimate forte is melodic death metal in the style made popular by early Necrophobic or Unanimated.

This band contributed a track to the Cenotaph tribute album and it’s hard not to think of the second and third Cenotaph albums which used the stylistic span between At the Gates and Therion’s Lepaca Kliffoth. In addition, Zombiefication use riffs much like early Amorphis, if Amorphis were interested in single-string picking of quick melodies.

Not all is old school however. At the Caves of Eternal features vocals that might be more at place on later At the Gates or The Haunted albums. They are nearly monotonic and do not vary style or inflection between songs, which gives them a consistency that breaks from the death metal tradition that all instruments labor toward the same effect. Drumming is more modern as well, with a jazz-fusion influence that is understated but prevalent. In addition, many of the leads follow more of a rock sense of theme and balance than the metal goal of high intensity chaos forming order despite itself.

At the Caves of Eternal uses the melodic death metal style effectively across this album, with the songs clustered near beginning and end having the most punch. If it has a fault, it is not stylistic, but in substance; the emotions and approach do not seem to vary between songs, making them variations on a theme that may be entirely musical. However, if you want to revive the old school melodic style, this album presents a potent option.

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Burzum – Sôl austan, Mâni vestan preview

by Staff on April 26, 2013

burzum-sol_austan_mani_vestanThe latest album from Norwegian one-man black metal/dark ambient band Burzum will be entitled Sôl austan, Mâni vestan (East of the Sun, West of the Moon) and will be released in coming months on the Peaceville sub-label Byelobog.

According to the press release authored by Varg Vikernes, this album will be like the other Burzum albums a concept album.

Sôl austan, Mâni vestan is near release but as of this morning samples were released, and the following teaser video combines visual and sound to reveal what to expect on this forthcoming work. Like the previous Burzum albums, it features use layered sampled sounds and keyboards, including some tribal drums, but without the constant percussion of modern pop.

Comparing it to Tangerine Dream, Vikernes described the new album as “relaxing, slow-paced, contemplative and very much original.” The topic on this one is said to be the “Pagan religious-spiritual concept of a descent into darkness and the follwoing ascend back into the light; the Pagan initiation, the elevation of man to the divine, the enlightenment of the mind, the feeding of the elven light in man.”

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Black Sabbath North America tour 2013

by Jon Wild on April 26, 2013

black_sabbath-nihilismBlack Sabbath has revealed their complete North American touring schedule for the summer and fall of 2013.

Starting at the end of July in Houston, the band will bring a mixture of new and old songs across the country, with their final gig at the beginning of September.

Listeners can expect to hear a wide variety of styles during one concert, as the band’s history provides fertile ground for selections from the blues-influenced hard rock and heavy metal genres.

Tickets will go on sale starting in May and are expected to sell out quickly, as this may be the last time the band graces this continent.

  • 7/25 Houston, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion (on sale May 4th)
  • 7/27 Austin, TX – Frank Erwin Center (on sale May 4th)
  • 7/29 Tampa, FL – Live Nation Amphitheatre (on sale May 11th)
  • 7/31 W. Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/2 Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live (on sale May 10th)
  • 8/4 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
  • 8/6 Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theatre (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/8 Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/10 Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/12 Boston, MA – Comcast Center
  • 8/14 Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
  • 8/16 Tinley Park, IL – First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/18 Indianapolis, IN – Klipsch Music Center (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/22 Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/24 Seattle, WA – Gorge Amphitheatre
  • 8/26 San Francisco, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre at Mountain View (on sale May 4th)
  • 8/28 Irvine, CA – – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
  • 8/30 Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center
  • 9/1 Las Vegas, NV – MGM Grand Garden Arena
  • 9/3 Los Angeles, CA – Los Angeles Sports Arena
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New Burzum track shows metal technique applied to folk

by Brett Stevens on April 25, 2013

varg_vikernes-burzum-band_photoThe semi-reclusive Varg Vikernes, sole composer of Burzum, has announced his plans to release a film and a new role-playing game (RPG). As part of the film project, he has revealed a new track designed to act as part of a soundtrack for the film.

As if influenced by some of the non-black-metal soundtrack material from the film Until the Light Takes Us in which Vikernes, as in Lords of Chaos, the most in-depth story of black metal before it, Vikernes opts for a down-tempo single guitar track with no distortion.

The result utilizes a slow and gentle sweeping arpeggio behind which lower notes direct the evolution of the track, much as happened with the countertheme in “Rundgang um die transzendentale Säule Der Singularität” from Filosofem. As the song goes on, these layers interact to push change into the main theme, not in the electronica method of circular layers, but the metal one of a narrative expanding from within itself.

It is hard to tell if this is the type of material that will be on the forthcoming Burzum album Sôl austan, Mâni vestan. While many consider the “keyboard albums” among the band’s best output, a mixed-medium album could be interesting. While this new track has one foot in that world, it also has one foot in the more audience-geared world of the last few Burzum black metal albums.

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Heavy metal musicians involved with politics

by Jon Wild on April 25, 2013

jeff_sprague-damage_incJeff Sprague is a Canadian politician who is also a heavy metal musician. By day, he works in private security and is a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. By night he fronts a Metallica tribute band titled Damage Inc.

This may seem an unusual marriage, but consider: if we recognize that heavy metal expresses eternal values that are worth spreading; in the age of democracy, politics can be an effective method of achieving this. Rather than dismissing politics, Hessians should strive to get in and turn it in a more positive direction, as this not only improves political discourse, it also increases awareness of the Hessian community.

Unfortunately for Mr. Sprague, last Thursday he initiated a late night drunk driving incident. As reported by The Province, he decided to suspend his candidacy. A disappointing end, but one that offers a theme to reflect upon: politics requires a high degree of public professional behavior, something Hessians striving to achieve political change should take note of.

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Veterans Thanatos return with a CMR deal

by Ralph Archer on April 24, 2013

Thanatos 2012The “first ever death metal band from the Netherlands”, Thanatos, have recently signed a deal with Century Media Records. The record company initially only expected to re-release some of the legends’ back catalogue, but Thanatos’ sixth album will now see the light on CMR:

When Stephan and Paul visited the CM headquarters in Dortmund in autumn last year, they told us about their plans to record a new album which they’d like to release in 2014 […]. Of course we wanted them to release it on Century Media.

Stephan Gebédi, vocalist/guitarist of the band, who recorded their first demo back in 1984, said they intend to record

an absolute death/thrash metal monster to coincide with our 30th anniversary in 2014! We come from an era when there was no strict boundaries between thrash and death metal which resulted in masterpieces like DARK ANGEL’s “Darkness Descends” and POSSESSED’s “Seven Churches” and it’s our mission to transport the legacy of those albums to 2014 and beyond…

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Demilich compilation CD call for artifacts

by Brett Stevens on April 24, 2013

demilich-nespitheIn a Google+ post, Demilich guitarist/vocalist Antti Boman both announces the arrival of a Demilich compilation CD on Svart Records, and calls for those with “artifacts” of the Demilich era to send them to him or end a link to where to download the material.

“The Demilich demo compilation CD and LP will be coming out in autumn. If you have old photos, flyers, or other Demilich memorabilia, good quality scans or originals will be gladly received,” Boman wrote, then added: “Thanks for the idea, dear brothers of Svart Records.”

For those who are joining death metal later in life, Demilich was one of the first death metal bands to break out of the fast and brutal and get into the weird and nuanced. Its style, featuring spidery lead rhythm playing slowly rotating to reveal a melodic core, influenced all that came after it.

While many in the early 1990s were slow to catch on to the value of technical death metal, perhaps fearing the wankery of the 00s that haunts us to this day and was dominant in “progressive” hardcore at the time, Demilich‘s return in 2006 brought huge crowds of maniacs to hail this unique and powerful band.

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