Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Top Ten Black Metal albums for 2014

So, as usual, here is the top 10 Black Metal albums for Lachryma Christi for 2014











Agalloch - The Serpent and The Sphere - Profound Lore Records











Manimalism - Manimalism - Adversum












Hoth - Oathbreaker - Epicurus Records












Nightbringer - Ego Dominus Tuus - Season of Mist












Fen - Carrion Skies - Code666 Records












Mysticum - Planet Satan - Peaceville Records












Mayhem - Esoteric Warfare - Season of Mist












Abigor - Leytmotif Luzifer (The 7 Temptations of Man) - Avantgarde Music











Garden of Grief - Endstation - Winterblast Halls












Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen - Metal Blade Records

Review: Rise of Avernus' upcoming album "Dramatis Personæ"

For those who don't know, Rise of Avernus are a band from Australia who perform a unique style. They call it Orchestral Progressive Doom Metal but for Lachryma Christi it is much more than that. It is quite Doomy and almost experimental.
So Rise of Avernus are releasing a new album called Dramatis Personæ next month through Code666. Besides what was already said on the previous paragraph, the album is very dark and heavy and powerful. There are the orchestrations mostly of the time, which makes it sound very good, and certain details like the clean voice or the whispers  make each track very special. The only thing that could be dismissed is the female voice, but still matches and blends well with the rest.
On the track Acta Est Fabula you can hear the voice of the great Grutle Kjellson from Enslaved, which makes it even more special.
This is not entirely the thing of Lachryma Christi, and some of the orchestral bits remind a bit of Nightwish at times, but if you can put that aside, everything together is so good, it is difficult to be indifferent to it. Give it a listen. So good. So heavy, so profound, so great.






Carach Angren stream full album

Carach Angren are now streaming their upcoming album in full. The album will be called This Is No Fairytale and will be released on the 23rd of February through Season of Mist.




1.    Once upon a Time... 
2.    There's No Place Like Home
3.    When Crows Tick on Windows 
4.    Two Flies Flew into a Black Sugar Cobweb
5.    Dreaming of a Nightmare in Eden 
6.    Possessed by a Craft of Witchery
7.    Killed and Served by the Devil 
8.    The Witch Perished in Flames 
9.    Tragedy Ever After


You may find the album in the following formats:
Jewel Case CD
Digibox with extras and planchette for Ouija board
Vinyl Gatefold LP in various colours (Ouija board design inside print)

You can stream it here:


Photo-credit: Erik Wijnands         


Line-up
Seregor: vocals, guitars
Ardek: keyboards, orchestra
Namtar: drums


Read more in:



Hypothermia reveal cover artwork and details of new album "Svartkonst"

Swedish band Hypothermia have released details of their upcoming album called Svartkonst, to be released on the 15th f May in Europe and 19th of May in North America through Agonia Records. You can see the cover art below.




The album has five tracksand features a guest appearance of the violinist, E.B.

Tracklist:
01 - Invokation
02 - Svartkonst
03 - Efterglöd
04 - Regnvals
05 - Vy

You will be able to find Svartkonst in regular jewelcase CD, ekopack CD (limited to 1000 copies), gatefold black LPgatefold picture disc LP (limited to 200 hand-numbered copies), green/black haze LP (limited to 150 hand-numbered copies) and in digital formats.




Lineup:
Kim Carlsson - vocals/guitars
Richard Abrams - drums
Hans Cools - guitars

Upcoming shows:
Helvete Metal Club, Oberhausen (GER) - Feb 20th
JUZ, Moormerland (GER) - Feb 21st
Vera, Groningen (NL) - Feb 22nd
Bunker, Sala de Conciertos, San Luis Potosi (MEX) - April 10th
Multiforo Cultural Alicia, Mexico City (MEX) - April 11th






Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Crest of Darkness post lyric video of Alice Cooper from upcoming release



Crest of Darkness have released a lyric video of Sick Things, the Alice Cooper cover that will appear on their upcoming EP Evil Messiah,  which is scheduled to be released on My Kingdom Music on the 23rd February in both Digipack CD and vinyl format as well as digital download.  The video, produced by EstremArte, can be seen on the band's YouTube channel at http://youtu.be/tQJC4ZJuqk8

Evil Messiah will be the first studio outing  of the band's new lineup, which includes founder and frontman Ingar Amlien (ROQUEFIRE, CONCEPTION, AMLIEN's INFERNO) on bass and vocals, Rebo on guitars, and Bernhard (ex- PALE FOREST) on drums.  

Track listing on the four-track EP,  which includes special guest Kristian Wentzel  on keyboards, and was mixed and partly recorded at the MLP Studios and partly in Rebo's own studio in Gjøvik,  as follows:

1. Evil Messiah
2. Armageddon
3. Abandoned by God
4. Sick Things (Alice Cooper cover)

The band will play  three Norwegian dates in February, the first being on the 13th at the Felix Pub and Scene in Lillehammer. On  the 14th the band will play two shows at the Kultursenter in Gjøvik, where the early show, starting at 18:00, will be open to all ages. This will then be followed by a show for audiences aged 18 and upwards at 21:00. 

Crest of Darkness witll also be playing for the first time ever in UK at the Black Hart in Camden, London, on the 7th March,  on a bill that includes ACHERONTAS, THAW, MORD'A'STIGMATA and TOWERS OF FLESH

Evil Messiah is available to pre-order from the following:

CD - http://smarturl.it/COD-CD
 LP - http://smarturl.it/COD-LP
 iTunes - http://smarturl.it/COD-iTunes
 ONErpm - http://smarturl.it/COD-ONErpm
 Amazon - http://smarturl.it/COD-amazon

A rehearsal video featuring snippets of the material from Evil Messiah was recently released on the band's YouTube channel and can be seen at http://youtu.be/B4iwk0ubmIQ

Read more in:






ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
My Kingdom Music:  info@mykingdommusic.net
Band Contact and Booking: contact@crestofdarkness.com
Management and Booking:  patriciathomas@btinternet.com

The 3rd Attempt inks deal with Dark Essence Records

The 3rd Attempt, the new band from former Carpathian Forest guitarists,  inks deal with Dark Essence Records 



When Carpathian Forest guitarists Tchort and BloodPervertor announced last year that they were leaving to set up a new band, they knew that they were leaving behind them the security of  one of the most iconic Norwegian Black Metal bands of all time. They decided to start something completely new and unproven,  at a time when labels are reluctant to go for something unknown and new bands emerge  in their hundreds every week, only to be around for a short while and disappear. But when you have two musicians with the skill and experience of Tchort and BloodPervertor, who have the desire to work in an environment that could motivate them again, it had to happen.  Various labels showed their interest and today the band are pleased to be able to announce that they have inked a deal with one of Norway's foremost labels - Dark Essence Records. 

Commenting on their decision to sign with Dark Essence, the band had this to say: "Dark Essence signalled their interest in the possibility of working together as soon as we announced THE 3rd ATTEMPT, even before they had heard anything,  and they have kept in close touch, actually  making the effort to attend rehearsals and get to know our new members.  In the end, it came down to a decision as to whether we wanted to sign with a large label and, as a new band,  risk disappearing in the depth of their rosters, or whether we wanted to work with a label who was genuinely interested in us as a band, and who would be with us every step of the way, in all aspects.  We also heard many good things about Dark Essence from the musicians already signed to them, so, Dark Essence it is!  We've got a lot of work ahead of us with preparing and rehearsing the new material ready to enter the studio,  and we are excited to see what the future will bring".

Dark Essence Records commented on the signing: "It takes a substantial label to be able to afford to sign a band like CARPATHIAN FOREST,  so when it was announced that Tchort and BloodPervertor were leaving and starting again from scratch with THE 3rd ATTEMPT, we were immediately interested in seeing what direction they would take, and opened a dialogue with them . We already knew what formidable musicians they were and what they were capable of, so Dark  Essence's Kristine Knapskog went along to rehearsals to check out their new material.  She very much liked their enthusiasm and attitude, and their desire to work closely with a label,  and  we are very happy to welcome them to the Dark Essence family ".  

 The 3rd Attempt lineup includes frontman Kaahrl Ă˜demark (ex- Midnattsvrede, ex-Necrocave) who was selected following online auditions that drew in submissions from all over the world, and drummer Tybalt (Fortid, Den Saakaldte, Ethereal Forest, ex- Heathen Deity, ex-Pantheon I) who was originally going to join the band as session live drummer for an upcoming appearance, but after taking part in rehearsals, it was decided that he would become a full-time member. 

The band's first live  appearance will be at Blastfest, in Bergen,  Norway, on  the 18th February,  on  board the boat "Showline" which will take fans on a 5 hour cruise of Bergen's spectacular fjord,  and which kicks off the 4 day festival. 

The 3rd Attempt recently released a demo track The Beast Within, which also features Carpathian Forests's Daniel Vrangsinn on bass and Anders Kobro on drums, and which was  used in a shortened form for the vocalist auditions.  It is not a "finished"  track.  It can be heard on the band's SoundCloud page at:




Read more in:


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/the-3rd-attempt
Band contact: tchort@online.no
Management & PR: patriciathomas@btinternet.com
Dark Essence contact: post@karismarecords.no
Dark Essence Records: www.darkessencerecords.no
Dark Essence SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/dark-essence-records
Dark Essence Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/darkessencerecords
Dark Essence Webshop: http://karismarecords.bigcartel.com/
Dark Essence Records KlickTrack: shop.klicktrack.com/karismadarkessencerecords




FORGOTTEN TOMB reveal new album details

Hurt Yourself and The Ones You Love is the title of the new album by Italy's black/doom metal band, FORGOTTEN TOMB. The band's highly anticipated 8th studio album is scheduled for release via Agonia Records, on April 17th in Europe and April 21st in North America. Album cover is available below.




- digipack CD; 
- box CD with jewelcase CD, bullet pendant and armband with band's logo (limited to 500 numbered copies); 
- picture disc limited to 300 hand-numbered copies; 
- transparent white vinyl with red splatter (limited to 150 hand-numbered copies);
- black vinyl; 
- digital formats.


Hurt Yourself and The Ones You Love's tracklist:
1- Soulless Upheaval
2- King Of The Undesirables
3- Bad Dreams Come True
4- Hurt Yourself And The Ones You Love
5- Mislead The Snakes
6- Dread The Sundown
7- Swallow The Void

Line-up:
Ferdinando "Herr Morbid" Marchisio - guitar, vocals
Andrea "A." Ponzoni - lead guitar
Alessandro "Algol" Comerio - bass
Kyoo Nam "Asher" Rossi - drums

Upcoming shows:
- 14/02/2015 - Midian, Cremona (ITALY)
- 28/02/2015 - Under The Doom Festival, Lisbon (PORTUGAL)
- 14/03/2015 - ComunitĂ  Giovanile, Busto Arsizio [Va] (ITALY)
- 03/04/2015 - Doom Over London Festival, London (UK)
- 15/05/2015 - Tapper Club, Tallinn (ESTONIA)
- 16/05/2015 - Melna Piektdiena, Riga (LATVIA)
- 17/05/2015 - Kablys, Vilnius (LITHUANIA)





Blastfest releases schedule and more





BlastInk - Tattoo Convention
There will be a tattoo convention held in the main festival venue, USF from February 19th - 21st every day from 5pm to 11pm. Artists at work will include Line Hammett, Carlos Aguilar, Don Fatt, Trine Grimm and Leading Light Tattoo.



'Blackhearts' Prescreening

Blastfest is proud to offer an exclusive prescreening of a brand new documentary. A surprising look at the people beneath the corpse paint – from Tehran and Athens to BogotĂ¡ and finally... Norway.



BlastUp Comedy - Craig Campbell

In association with iStage, Blastfest welcome the super funny and great stand-up comedian Craig Campbell to Blastfest 2015!


Blastfest Sightseeing 

With over 60% of the Blastfest ticket holders travelling from outside Norway organisers have decided to make the Blastfest experience even more simple. February 19th - 21st there will be guided (English) sightseeing tours going to Fantoft Stavechurch and around the town to give you a great complete experience of Bergen!

Tickets for the sightseeing will be on sale in accreditation at Garage Bergen from Wednesday 18th February.



4 Days | 4 Venues | 60 Bands | Exhibitions | Clinics | Stand-Up Comedy | Tattoo Convention | Theme DJ's


Tickets on sale now: http://blastfest.no/?page_id=60


Monday, February 2, 2015

Tsjuder re-sign with Season of Mist and enter studio

Norwegian Black Metal band re-signed with Season of Mist and are recording a new album to be released later this year.

Comment of the band:

"We are proud to be re-signed to Season of Mist.  For us there's never been any doubt about continuing the cooperation with our label. We have a very good relationship, and they have always done an excellent job for us. We have just started the recording of our next album, so prepare for Hell!"




The band will be playing in London, UK, on the 14th of February:





And you can find a interview Lachryma Christi did to Tsjuder a while back:

http://lachrymachristizine.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/lachryma-christi-is-very-pleased-to.html


Read more in:

www.season-of-mist.com/

Rotting Christ in festivals 2015