COVEN, PAGAN ALTAR & ALTAR OF OBLIVION: Why SHADOW KINGDOM RECORDS will make your summer heavier

If you’ve read some of my blogs before you know that already: I firmly believe that “small” and specialized labels are the most interesting source of Metal records. 

Don’t get me wrong; I’ve got nothing against important labels such as Roadrunner, Century Media, Metal Blade or Nuclear Blast… I actually buy some of their chunky “limited edition” CDs every single month (you know, the ones that come in big shiny digipacks with useless “making of” bonus DVDs).

The thing is, these important companies do not (and probably CANNOT) have a specific and clear artistic orientation, as they must enlarge their audience as much as possible. Specialized labels however select their artists according to one very simple thing: their boss's taste! That’s why it’s most of the time a completely passion-driven and authentic decision. In fact, after following some labels for a while, I feel that I know their bosses almost personally, because I understand completely their musical tastes, just by listening to their releases. Awesome right? And so old-school: you don't need to listen to a CD before buying it, with these labels, you know just exactly what to expect!

And yes: as you might have guessed already, Shadow Kingdom Records if one of those passion-driven labels. Their specialty is Heavy Metal, with a particular attraction for obscure and doomy stuff. This Pittsburgh-USA based label have made me discover some amazing new bands, like Argus, Sinister Realm, or Crowned In Earth, it has brought back from the dead the mighty Iron Man and it has reissued some hidden gems from the past like Deep Switch, Wolfbane, Revelation and so many more!

This summer, there are 3 Shadow Kingdom Released you need to check out if you’re into Heavy Metal or Heavy/Doom stuff. And the first one I want to tell you about is also the strangest one. Coven have reformed under the name Coven 13 recently. Probably because of the other 256 bands called Coven around the globe.

This US Heavy Metal band has existed quite briefly in the late 80’s, with only one official release, an LP called “Worship New Gods”. Back in the day, the band self-released it on vinyl only and split-up shortly after. And guess what, it’s now re-released on CD by Shadow Kingdom in a remastered version with a booklet including a bunch of old photos! Seriously, where the hell does Shadow Kingdom Records find these bands??!! Release after release, SKR's  boss shows to be one of the finest Heavy Metal connoisseurs in the world.

Coven sounds pretty much like a typical US-Heavy Metal band, with the sharp riffs and the taste for doomy atmospheres. Some might even classify it as “Heavy/Doom” which pretty much illustrates the global feeling of this record. I also must insist on the old-school taste of this one, just look at the artwork, the band photos and some details. The first song starts with a clear statement as singer David Landrum says “The Gods Made Men, Men Made Steel!”. Now that is HEAVY! I also love the old-fashionned effects in the beginning of “The Wicked Day” and “Loki”. 
This release may seem a little strange at first, as it took me some time to get into it, maybe because of the high-pitched vocals that sometimes get out of control. But when it did click, I really started to enjoy it, especially some songs like the aforementioned “The Wicked Day”, “Ruler” or even “Burial Ground” and “Jailhouse”. Another thing I like about this record is that I never really heard anything like it before... Some songs have a strange and very marked Gothic vibe like “Kiss Me With Blood” or “Threshold Of The New” (this one is like The Cure meet Heavy Metal!!). Last track “Loki” is also very original with a very unusual -not to say weird- structure and chorus.

Trust me, this release is not just a rarity destined to a few Metal archeologists, as it sounds like nothing you’ve heard before, although a bit “dated” maybe, but hey, that’s totally part of it’s charm!

Second summer release on Shadow Kingdom is another rarity reedition, only this time around it’s by a much more famous band: Pagan Altar. "The Time Lord" had only been released on vinyl a few years ago and Shadow Kingdom brings it to you for the first time on CD. These tracks are the very first recordings by the band, done in 1978 and 1979, so yes; this is another historical release.

I personally love this kind of very early Heavy Metal, still filled with hard-rock vibes and tons of BLUES. The feeling these guys have is just amazing, and it’s unbelievable that this band has been ignored for so long (although formed in the late 70s, their first official recording was released in 1998!). There are 5 songs on that release for a total running time of 32 minutes. The songs tend to be a little long, with multiple developments, essentially led by Alan Jones (accompanied by Les Moody on the songs “The Time Lord” and “Highway Cavalier”) who does a fantastic job on the guitars (both acoustic and electric). 

The song “The Time Lord” is truly one of my favorites on this EP, with it’s 8 minutes of pure transcendental pleasure. “Judgment Of The Dead” is heavier, and really sounds like many of the “doom” bands you might know from our actual era (Glen Robinson’s bass also gives me the chills on that one). “The Black Mass” has a darker feeling, still filled with blues and some HEAVY riffing! Really impressive stuff for a song composed in the late 70s. And that's when I realized that Pagan Altar could have been a real alternative for Black Sabbath, who are considered like the Godfathers of Heavy Music in general. History is sometimes so cruel… Last track “Reincarnation” is also a tremendous one, with a beautiful acoustic beginning that develops into one heavy and epic song. Terry Jone’s vocals are nothing short of impressive: full of blues and emotion. This EP is clearly an instant classic. What more can I say? As usual with SKR, the CD comes with a new and fantastic artwork.

The last SKR release on the menu today isn’t another hidden treasure. Grand Gesture Of Defiance is Altar Of Oblivion’s second LP. And as the bio on the SKR website says, this is probably the best Heavy Metal band to come out from Denmark since Mercyful Fate. Altar Of Oblivion are however quite different from their famous predecessors, as their sound is much heavier and “doomier”. The guitar-sound is very thick and the guys have got a Scandinavian approach to their Heavy/Doom (this label perfectly fits the band): everything is so bombastic and operatic here. Just look at the artwork, the song titles and even the style of the booklet. Of course, the very demonstrative vocals also totally reflect that. It’s even clearly specified on the last page of the booklet (awesome artwork by the way); Mik Mentor doesn’t just handle vocals, he’s in charge of the “Stentorian Narration & Ars Melancholia”. There you go!

Music-wise, this is some pretty classic stuff, extremely well performed and composed, with crazy riffing all over it, some killer melodies, and a few Mellotron parts here and there. The production is just perfect; very heavy yet organic and all the instruments sound natural. The Danish usually master the art of Metal production, so this is no surprise at all. The first track “Where Darkness Is Light” is really a strong opener, that will dive you into the record and that displays the band’s talent instantly. However, I absolutely love the second track, “the Graveyard Of Broken Dreams” because of its fantastic chorus and the melodic break in the middle of it. The other highlight of the record is the very heavy “Sentenced In Absentia”, preceded by the acoustic “The Smoke-Filled Room”. Again, nothing fundamentally new here, but these guys sure know what Heavy & Doom means…

All in all I really enjoyed listening to this record, because albeit being pretty classical in its approach, the band manages to show a unique personality, with a specific concept, a deep melancholia and an operatic attitude that does make a difference.

These 3 releases are equally awesome, each one of them being different and special in it’s own way. If you’re into the SKR stuff, then just do what you usually do, trust the label and get these releases. If you are a metal archeologist interested by bizarre and original stuff check out Coven, if you like your Heavy filled with blues then you must get that Pagan Altar EP. Finally, if you're into Heavy/Doom Metal, then Altar Of Oblivion is a band you absolutely have to check out!

As for me, I just can’t pick-up a favorite; I’ve been playing these records one after the other for the past few days…

Yath

http://shadowkingdomrecords.com/

Start your summer the brutal way with Chaos Inception, Hypnosia and the mighty Massacre

Summer has finally arrived and I bet all you wanna do is listen to cool hard-rock and chill around with a cold drink. Or even worse: you wanna listen to the radio and put your brain on hold with some easy-listening stuff.

Well, to counter that, here are 3 different yet coolish BRUTAL releases that will remind you how much heavy is good, and how much you can’t live without heavy.

 The artwork is basically as awesome as the music: typical nevertheless amazing.

I really want to start with the newcomers CHAOS INCEPTION. In fact, they’re not exactly newcomers since “The Abrogation” is their second LP, but that is the first time I hear about the Alabama-based band. This record is Lavadome Production’s third release; and man, what a release! The Abrogation is an impressive Brutal-Death record, with all the necessary ingredients the genre requires: extreme brutality, technicality, smooth songwriting and that boiling sense of urgency that will hang by the skin of your teeth all along these insane 30 minutes. 

Obviously, you’ll need to enjoy brutality to appreciate such a record. But if you do like your riffs fast, sharp and technical, there is no way you can miss Chaos Inception. Their music reminded me of old-school acts like Morbid Angel, Krisiun and Incantation. The riffs are fast, brutal, technical and they just keep on changing! I also need to underline the top-notch production; crystal clear yet very organic and “warm”. Really appreciated that release although I can’t pretend I’m a specialist when it comes to Brutal Death Metal. Songs like “Hammer Of The Infidel” and “The Exterminati” (so heavy with a fantastic melodic lead) stand out, as their songwriting skills are definitely one of the band’s top assets.

Everything is very typical here, but this is some very fine piece of work, done with passion, dedication and truckloads of talent.

http://www.lavadome.org/

http://www.facebook.com/ChaosInception

The second record I’d like to mention today is a reissue out on the LOVELY I Hate Records. Horror Infernal is a compilation by Sweden’s Hypnosia. This release comprises “The Crushed Existence” and “The Storms” demos, plus “The Violent Intensity” mini-album from 1999 and 3 bonus tracks (“Outbreak Of Evil”-Sodom cover, “My Belief”-Possessed cover, and a live track). This Scandinavian Thrash Metal band has split in 2000, after the release of their only LP “Extreme Hatred”. I hate Records have remastered these songs and the result is really outstanding; powerful and totally rough, exactly what you need for Thrash Metal. I’m actually not surprised to see I Hate Records releasing that material, since this is typically the music label founder Peter Lindén loves (just listen to his band Terrorama and you’ll understand). This is furious Scandinavian Thrash Metal (see my blog about Nekromantheon for a definition of Scandinavian Thrash), driven by unbelievable riffs. Hysterical, fast, furious, heavy, punk, aggressive, harsh; it’s all in there. You like Thrash? Then you like Hypnosia, Period. Check out the songs “Undead” and “Haunting Death”, probably some of the best Thrash songs you could imagine

Nice Interview with the band on Voices From the Darkside Webzine right here. 

Although I'm a bit late, I couldn't miss the reissue of Massacre’s ultimate Classic “From Beyond” out on Earache. This edition comes with a red version of Repka’s sublime artwork, a nice poster (so old-school to insert a poster in a CD!) and most importantly, this release comprises the 1992 “Inhuman condition” EP, that has become pretty hard to find.

What could I possibly say about this record? It’s a classic, no doubt about that and about the fact that it has definitely been underrated. The line-up still looks like a supergroup today, with Terry Butler on bass, Bill Andrews on drums, Rick Rozz on guitar and Kam Lee for the screams. Just go to Metal Archives and look at these guys Curriculum to reconsider your definition of “super-group”. 

Anyways, here’s a fantastic collection of old-school Death Metal; that simply crushes all the new bands that are trying to recapture that specific sound. I just love the riffs, the crazy rhythm section -technical yet so instinctive- and also the lyrics, so typical of the 90s! There is an immense amount of classic songs here, like ‘Biohazard”, “Chamber Of Ages” (coolest intro for that one, with those cheesy effects), “Corpse Grinder”… 

The “Inhuman Condition” EP is no exactly as impressive, but it does contain some awesome tunes, like the title song or the Venom Cover “Warhead” featuring guest vocals by Cronos himself.

All in all, that is one essential release that you must posses if you like Death Metal. Also note that the band has actually reunited and is currently touring with Rick Rozz, Terry Butler Mike Mazzonetto on drums and Edwin Webb on vocals.

Massacre Facebook Page.

And the 2011 world champions are…

I’m a big fan of those “end of the year best-of lists”. After an entire year of frantic listening to new records it’s always good to look back at all of them and to select the ones that truely made a difference (and to basically forget the rest…). And I have to say I enjoy selecting my own favorite records just as much as I enjoy going through other people’s lists.

Some of the records listed below may not necessarily be among the best I heard this year. It’s just a selection of albums I think you should consider checking out, because to me, this year, they mattered more than the others.

There is no ranking here; the 20 records cited below are all winners and they’re simply listed in an alphabetical order. That’s easy to understand, since the selection extremely eclectic, and it would obviously be absurd to compare a brutal death metal record with a stoner album!

Band: Autopsy

Album: Macabre Eternal

Style: Death Metal Institution

Autopsy’s return was a bit of a surprise last year, and many wondered how the new record featuring the legacy line-up (Reifert, Cutler, Allen, Coralles) was going to sound. And the debate never even started, as Macabre Eternal showed to be just as awesome as in your wildest dreams. Macabre Eternal is a lesson in Death Metal, and Autopsy reaches indescribable morbidity on the epic (and horrific) final track called “Sadistic Gratification”. Macabre and Eternal Indeed. 

Band: Battlecross

Album: Pursuit Of Honor

Style: Pure Metal

Every year on earth comes with its load of new “Metalcore” bands. But this new band from Michigan is like no other. Their secret? They simply display more energy than anything you’ve ever seen. This is 100% pure Metal power, with killer riffs and amazing melodies. These guys can rock and they sure can write some great songs. Pursuit Of Honor is one the albums I listened most to this year. Check out my detailed review right here.

Band: Disma

Album: Towards The Megalith

Style: Death (Doom) Metal

Towards The Megalith was one of 2011’s most anticipated albums. The first record from this new death metal band HAD to destroy all competition. And when it came out last summer, it just did as expected. All the excitement born after the release of some demo tracks and a fantastic split CD with Winterwolf was totally justified, and this album just crushed everything on its way. Some songs like “Of A Past Forlorn” are one of this year’s best songs. You like your Death Metal slow and dominating? Then you need to possess this album (reviewed here)!

Band: Dornenreich

Album: Flammentriebe

Style: Classy Black/Prog Metal

I have to admit I didn’t really know Dornenreich before listening to their new album earlier this year. And this record really struck by with its beauty and it’s intelligence. This is some finely composed Black/Prog’ Metal, believe me. The music is extremely balanced, with a perfect “beauty/beast” aspect creating such a visual music. A tremendous introduction to the very demanding and refined Prophecy Production catalogue…

Band: Farsot

Album: Insects

Style: German Black metal

Farsot has probably become, alongside Secrets Of The Moon, the best illustration of what “German Black Metal” is about. It’s dark, cold, methodic and intelligent. Each song is perfectly balanced, dynamic and with a clear focus on elaborating of a specific atmosphere. “Insects” deals with the earth, the way we treat it and the way we’re probably going to end. Guess what; just listen to it and you’ll have that persistent taste of soil in your mouth. Impressive.

Band: Forgotten Tomb

Album: Under Saturn Retrograde

Style: Gothic Black Metal

Just to get things straight: I usually hate gothic black metal. But somehow, this band talks to me. The poppy and gothic black metal these guys have to offer is unbelievably catchy and disgusting at the same time. They used to illustrate their music with “arty” shots of decadence, and no matter how silly it might seem, it really does represent their music perfectly. So disgusting yet so sweet!

Band: Lifelover

Album: Sjukdom

Style: Gothic/Nihilistic Black Metal

Just like Forgotten Tomb, Lifelover perfectly masters the art of disgusting beauty. In fact, they perfectly MASTERED that art, since frontman “B” was found dead a few months ago… A terrible loss to the scene. Their final album was released with some accessories: barbwire, syringe…

Band: Mastodon

Album: The Hunter

Style: Mastodon Rock

You know what’s so strange with Mastodon? Sometimes you can’t stand listening to their music, and you still have to recognize the fact that this is genius stuff. These guys are unbelievably talented and ahead of their time. I also saw them live on Sonisphere this summer, and they rocked the place really strong. Badass stuff.  

Band: Miasmal

Album: Miasmal

Style: Swedish Death Metal

I told you about Miasmal earlier this year in a blog crowning them as “2011’s death metal champions” with Disma. And I still believe these young guys from Sweden produced the BEST Swedish old-school Death Metal album this year. The groove and the urge on their self-titled debut are utterly outstanding and you’ll keep pressing “play” over and over again. It’s like an addiction. I even got caught dancing on that shit!

Band: Myrath

Album: Tales Of The Sands

Style: Progressive Metal

I once lost faith in prog’ metal. All of the Dream Theater and Symphony X clones nearly got me to quit the genre completely (I blogged about that this summer). Then a new generation rose, and Myrath, a band from Tunisia, blasted through the “Arab Spring” with their new album this year. Energy, technique, emotion and oriental melodies; you’ll get all of that wrapped up in a perfect mix of Dream Theater and Symphony X. I also got to see the band on their first real tour this year, and trust me; they have a brilliant future ahead of them.

Band: Obscura

Album: Omnivium

Style: Techno-Death

Don’t you think that the bands that really matter are those who make you enjoy a musical style you didn’t appreciate before? And that’s precisely what Obscura did to me this year. One quick listen to Omnivium and I was under the spell. I ran out to the store and bought all their records. These guys are insane, and their music is just “art”.

Band: Premonition 13

Album: Premonition 13

Style: Wino’s Rock

Okay, I confess. Anytime Wino will put out a new CD, you’ll find it in my best-of list. I can’t help it. This guy is a rock genius, and no matter what band he plays in, his music rocks, grooves and will give you gooseflesh. And guess what, the Obsessed are coming back next year!

Band: Revocation

Album: Chaos Of Forms

Style: Techno-Thrash

Revocation may sometimes be described as “prog-thrash” metal. Why not. I simply adore this band because they are technical enough to express their madness through fast, crazy and boiling Thrash Metal. And the key-factor here is that these guys never forget that they’re playing Metal as they keep focused on what matters most: HEADBANGING!

Band: Rival Sons

Album: Pressure And Time

Style: Hard Rock

A lot of new “retro” or 70’s hard rock bands have appeared lately, but this new Earache rooster has something special. They just sound so genuine and pure! This is an awesome record here with plenty of instant “hits”. Check out their video for the song “All Over The Road” (right here) and you’ll get my point instantly.

Band: Sinister Realm

Album: The Crystal Eye

Style: Heavy Metal

Now you’ve all noticed there’s a heavy metal revival going on, as many new and young bands are coming from out of everywhere, trying to recapture the ancient’s magic for heavy metal. Most of them fail, some succeed, and some come up with Classics. And John Gaffney’s Sinister Realm just crushed all sorts of competition with their second record; The Crystal Eye. This album is built like a Classic and does sound like one. Everything is perfect on this album, and I just keep on listening to it over and over again! Make sure to read my review as well as the interview conducted with John.

Band: The Devil’s Blood

Album: The Thousandfold Epicentre

Style: Occult Rock

After the inexplicable hype around their first LP, The Devil’s Blood’s second album was highly anticipated. And instead of playing it safe and recording something similar to their successful first album, our satanic friends took things MUCH further with a fantastic second album full of top-notch musicality. You’ll also find some insane and weird psychedelic passages on this one. Top quality stuff.

Band: The Haunted

Album: Unseen

Style: Metal

If only one was to remain, it would be Unseen by The Haunted. This is without a doubt my favorite album this year, the one I listened to the most ad the one that impresses me the most. I thought I knew the band before, and I completely rediscovered it with this album. Unseen is heavy, melodic, sexy, groovy, dark, bright. Everything you love about music is in here, look no further, this is the ULTIMATE record.

Band: The Wounded Kings

Album: In the Chapel Of The Black Hand

Style: Dooooom

The Wounded Kings is a band that I love, because they make you feel exactly what they want you to feel. On their previous record, “The Shadow Over Atlantis”, you really felt you were under the sea. This new album is not as gloomy; this time around it’s occult, groovy and ritualistic. Great great doom from the UK!

Band: Vektor

Album: Outer Isolation

Style: Thrash from outer space

Wow, where can I start? These insane dudes rock. Crazy Thrash Metal that is technical, furious, fast, weird, full of sci-fi madness. If you like your metal original and hectic, then make sure to check these guys out!

Band: Wolves In the Throne Room

Album: Celestial Lineage

Style: Black Metal

Wolves In The throne Room is one of the most interesting New Black Metal Bands from the US. The band somehow managed to use the Scandinavian heritage of BM and to adapt it to their US roots. It’s about nature and religion, and it’s definitely something you really have to investigate, especially that the album comes out in some really fancy CD and LP editions.

The Outsiders:

If you’re a real psycho and if you’ve already dissected all the albums listed above, here’s a suggestion of serious outsiders that could have made it into my list:

Torchbearer – Death Meditations

Exaclty the kind of Metal I Love. Epic stuff from Sweden that will drag you into the battlefield. This supergroup isn’t the most productive one, and their new record has a more symphonic edge that I really appreciated.

Vallenfyre – A Fragile King

Gregor Mackintosh (Paradise Lost) wrote old-school death metal songs as a catharsis after his father passed. A Fragile King by Vallenfyre is the demonstration that the man still masters the art. A Perfect exercise in style.

Entrench – Inevitable Decay

Fantastic Thrash Metal from Sweden: nervous, fast, aggressive and nasty. You like Thrash, you like Entrench! Really love the artwork as well.

Rotten Sound – Cursed

No presentations needed for the Finnish institution of Grind metal. Only this time around, their new record is so groovy and so heavy that it reminded me of the very early Finnish doom/death metal bands. Awesome!

Yob - Atma

The thing is, I still haven't had the chance to listen to that one yet! However, I'm a big fan of Yob, and I just know that this record is at least as good as the previous ones. Plus the artwork alone is worth investing in that awesome 2LP edition. 

The Jokes:

Lou Reed & Metallica’s Lulu

Lame story and horrible music. Claiming that this is “misunderstood art” ain’t enough anymore. The music SUCKS, end of story.

Korn – the Path Of Totality

J.Davis apparently stated that “Dubstep is the future of Metal”. Yeah right! One thing for sure though: Korn is no longer the future of Metal…


Here we are! Another year of great Metal has passed, and it was once again very tough to select the "best" albums. There are so many records coming out every month (way too many in my opinion) and it's become impossible to listen to all of them. I hope that selection will give you hints about some cool bands that deserve your attention! 
Happy Holidays everyone!

Is Deathcore really all about the looks?

First thing, what on earth is Deathcore? It doesn’t really mean much honestly, it’s just another new label to describe modern death metal bands, influenced by several movements other than traditional Death Metal. That label appeared to describe Metalcore bands that were heavier than the regular ones. Most of the bands come from the US and yes, one of their main characteristics is to have fantastic artworks, very cool merch and nice, studied looks. I was walking around some Metal Market at a summer fest earlier this year and it really shocked me to see all the cool Tshirts with band names I didn’t know about.

And of course, the haters use this to criticize Deathcore bands and accuse them of being opportunistic and shallow. Of course dudes. New bands, with new looks for the new generation, they have to be opportunistic right? Back in the day, bands were soooo much real, genuine, integer…I really hate that old fart mentality.

New generation means new looks and new mentality; we have to accept that. And it’s not about being pro or anti Deathcore, it’s about finding the right bands, as usual. To illustrate this, I chose 2 radically different bands, that both have awesome looks.

The first one is Whitechapel, and I think that their music is really awful. I bought the record called A New Era Of Corruption By mistake, and I still regret it after a few spins. The artwork is FANTASTIC though; a superb black digipack with very complex "man meets machine" art. The golden font is bright and classy; it makes you feel you’re holding something really precious in your hands. But as soon as you play the CD… It’s a disaster. The guys obviously can play. They can play fast and they can play sharp. It’s full of violence and heaviness, but it’s completely harmless because it has no soul. Nothing, just cold blunt riffing, with no personality and no feelings. You can play this record over and over again without even noticing it. A shame but a very good lesson that shows that it’s not enough to be technically good, you still need that bit of genius to compose proper songs.

Really cool cover right? Forget it, the music sucks...

The second example I chose is far more exiting and well recognized, especially here in Europe. I just LOVE The Black Dahlia Murder. They also have awesome looks. The new record called Ritual and it's very beutiful digibook has this ritualistic approach and also makes you feel you’re holding some Black Magik initiation book. But this time, the music fits. The Black Dahlia Murder’s Deathcore is powerful, smart, dynamic and particularly well composed. The band is technically impressive but they know how to throw in some slow parts and some cool leads to let the tension down for a moment, before they punch you back in the face with a blast beat.

Ok, now that one looks good but also SOUNDS good.

They also can create some pretty freaky atmospheres, something cold and typically Scandinavian. Not bad for a band from Michigan right? If you dig Ritual, I suggest you go and listen to all their previous records, especially my personally favorite called Nocturnal. That one’s got a pretty outstanding outwork as well. 

Just AWESOME. A real musthave for modern death metal lovers.