Statement from DEATHWAVE NEXION Record Label and Publishing House [MMXVIII E.H.]

D.A.R.G. : the statement below came to us from the leadership of Deathwave Nexion, and is published here as part of our continued support of outstanding music by people fostering genuinely dark philosophy through adversarial action.

Statement from DEATHWAVE NEXION Record Label and Publishing House:

Whilst remaining largely driven to the release of Neoclassical, Electronic and Ambient records, as detailed in the past and present efforts, our nexial decision to begin incorporating Heavy Metal bands into our cadre has come with no easy discernment. Purposefully aimed at quality over quantity, we have thus far approached or have been approached by artisans who we can collectively say are ‘masters of their craft,’ and no such lower tier of delivery should be permissible if our full weight of promotion and esoteric pairing are to be present.

We have selected a small group of individuals, each with their own sublets from which they are respective champions, but maintaining a shared lineup throughout. These are: DECIEVERION, a classic Black Metal act from Pennsylvania, and no stranger to the nightspirits of yesteryear; SHADOWS IN THE CRYPT, a ‘Sinister Cult’ from Pennsylvania whose sole purpose is to create the most menacing, hate-driven anthems of Devildom, and SERPENT OV OLD, the masterful effusion of many-years of learning through hardships and grief.

These three bands share one common thing among themselves: the members, whose efforts in the genre of North American Black Metal, and especially that which has thrived within the tri-state area, has existed and proliferated independent of genre-trends, subcultural infiltration or consumer interest. Nay, this Unholy Trinity has been, each respectively the bastions of inspiration, and each collectively, the circle of tradition, from which in the darkest times of the Black Metal genre’s foolery, have held down the fort for all of those whom have stayed pledged in allegiance to the dark.

What then separates the efforts of some small, underground, virtually invisible label, and its venture into the metal genre, from any other plastic theater? It is the fact that these “musicians,” are not just that, they are each individually, archetypes of the new aeon. The personnel surrounding the groups in question are antibodies within the mundane superstructure. Given to paths of sharp-living, recognizing no law, and no authority – foregoing the “normal” life which is emblazoned on the armbands of every reactionary, neo-Neckbeard; these are real criminals. They are dedicated to the dark deeds of the devil. In this, their journey towards restoration of principles once commonplace in Black Metal might yet see a renaissance, and in their seedings, might a new prototype of individual arise to stand before the failing species of man.

A New Sample Track from SERPENT OV OLD (2018 via Deathwave Nexion)

Many thanks to D.A.R.G. for the continued support and camaraderie, to S.R. Prozak and the Hessian stratosphere, and for their journalism, which has intersected with our work in the past, and with any luck will continue to in the future.

Julvarg
Deathwave Nexion
2018 Era Horrificus

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Fanisk: 2002-2013

Article by Doron Rosenberg

It would certainly not be far from the mark to say that Fanisk are the crowning achievement of “NSBM.” The limits reached by Eldrig’s sublime compositions, tempered by the conceptual direction given by Vitholf, far exceeded anything that came either from the “NS” or the “US” camps, altogether escaping the cliched definitions of either. That is, as music, Fanisk fits neither of the pseudo sub-genres in quesion, and only belongs to either by dint of their ideological sponsoring and geographical location. (more…)

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Arbeit macht frei


Article by Doron Rosenberg

“Work will make you free,” no more truthful beautiful statement has been made and set into action. The fact that the original intent and its whole meaningfulness has been swallowed up by propaganda and lies is a different matter altogether. Whatever the case, it is clear that it is only through work, by accomplishing goals that entail results, that we are able to gain power and influence, and thus an increased ‘freedom’ of action. This is true in each and every case, where the work done does indeed impact those performing it by returning a certain value.
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Kristallnacht – Blooddrenched Memorial 1994-2002 (2006)

Article by Doron Rosenberg

The present is the final compilation of all music released by “NSBM” band Kristallnacht. The importance of this release lies entirely on the fact that it is one of the few acts coming from said ideological background with any artistic merit at all. That said, Kristallnacht was always a band of modest musical means, making up for it with a subtle talent for suggestive melodies in lullaby-like triplet feels. As is “tradition” within these circles, the music aims at the formation of axis between melancholic longing, mystic elevation and disenfranchised anger. These are deeply connected to point of origin of everything that underlies the movement, explaining the very limited, usually embarrassingly poor resulting art —to which projects like Kristallnacht or Fanisk are an exception.
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Kataxu – Hunger of Elements (2005)

Kataxu play a style of black metal in which the keyboards appear to lead, while the guitars follow a complementary role that enhances and sustains. In maintaining activity in the melodic movement of the phrases, and a distinct harmonic progression between sections, Kataxu avoids relaxing on the guitar riffs avoiding a meandering feeling that is common to bands utilizing this type of approach. Guitars in distorted power chords are always behind the keyboards in the mix, but are given prominence in between sections or in certain passages in ways that enrich textural variety accross the pieces. Percussion is ever present, but one can rather sense their bulk in the spectrume, rather than actually hear drum patterns.
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Vargavinter – Frostfödd (1996)

A single-release project from Sweden, Vargavinter play a style of black metal that could accurately be described as melodic and ‘ripping’, ‘pagan’ and ‘symphonic’ without falling into any of those narrow misnomers. By holding its influences together into a pointed lance-tip, the music is able to maintain a dignified character as it preserves a certain aggression. The driving, aggressive impetus is able to stand even major chord progressions without disassembling its unitary momentum into constituent mediocrity.  When such disintegration takes place, subpar passages arise, and the music is no longer black metal, but ‘pagan’ or ‘progressive’, for instance. This process entails a frequent alternation of outstanding and mediocre moments in Frostfödd which make of it a tragedy.
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A first step: MMXVIII eh

A triumphant first month has just elapsed, and our current team has been able to capitalize on all the effort and work that Brock Dorsey put introducing and maintaining a more structured internal protocol. By now, besides reviews focused on excellence and constructive highlighting, we have designed different series of articles, with more technical and didactic material in the works to propagate the know-how and philosophy for a dark artistry, rather than musical entertainment or sportsmanship.
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An Exercise in Linear Songwriting: Deeds of Flesh “End of All”

Although most likely viewed as a mere footnote in the immense catalog of Deeds if Flesh, “End of All” from Inbreeding the Anthropophagi is deceptive in that its brief run time and violent introduction mask the fact that it may be one of the only instances in truly linear songwriting present in the metal genre. Having heard the song countless times since its release but still not fully grasping the nuances of its composition, I decided to figure out how it’s played only to realize that aside from one brief moment where a segment of a phrase is repeated, there are no repeats of any kind in the song either regarding whole riffs or portions of melody. It had still somehow become a track that had tangible substance despite there being so little to retain in one’s memory, so I made a video of a playthrough of the track to point out what exactly is happening to give the song resonance where typical structuring would normally provide support. (more…)

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Ectovoid – Dark Abstraction (2015)

In this age of musical saturation, noteworthy releases slip through the cracks as mediocrity bombards the average Death metal listener who prefers to remain within the well-defined boundaries of the classics of the genre. Some bands distinguish themselves the horde and create compelling works that while not classics are sincere and well-crafted pieces of music that deserve attention and that merit multiple listens. Very rarely do we see works of art crafted within this genre that can be compared on equal footing to the greats of the past in creating their own unique voice. Here at Death Metal Underground we have entered Sammath and Serpent Ascending into that category. Today we open the gates for Ectovoid and their release Dark Abstraction (2015).
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