FLAGELLANT - MONUMENTS

FLAGELLANT Monuments World Terror Committee 2010

flag·el·lant n
1. One who whips, especially one who scourges oneself for religious discipline or public penance.
2. One who seeks sexual gratification in beating or being beaten by another person.

Back when the Black Plague was spreading like a contagious disease flagellants went around, beating themselves in search for the Lord's forgiveness and to end this strife of humanity. Little did they know that they helped the disease spread, resulting in more people dying than otherwise would have. Oh, how the Lord works in mysterious ways.

As Black Metal grows older so do the growlers. My eardrums have forced a disdain upon me for horridly screeching vocals. Lucky me, then, that Flagellant's singer embraces the rawer style that sounds more like anger personified and less like a man with his balls in a vice.

"...for He shall break us with tempests,
and multiply the wounds of the Lamb, a thousandfold..."

This is Orthodox Swedish Black Metal, aka orthoblack. There is much worship of the divine Beast here and you will feel as the lyrics of these songs have been conjured up from old grimoires. And perhaps they have. Somehow it all feels so genuine. Thought has been put into this, it isn't here just to look good. Although it does look good. These things often go together.

For there is nothing more beautiful than what the Beast itself has inspired. Even when you've heard everything before, there is nothing that can surprise you, you will be surprised while listening to Monuments. The differences are in the small letters, unsurprisingly, and you will have to give this one a proper listen because, and I'm afraid it might be so for more than a few, it will go by you without much notice.

DETEST PREMIER NEW MIASMAL TRACK!

The Belgian Death Metal maniac behind Detest Records, known to us only as "Jerry" has today graced us with a taster for the upcoming Miasmal album. Check out the song here and for further info on Miasmal or Detest Records click on the bold lettered names.

Fans of chainsaw death pay close attention!

LIFELOVER - SJUKDOM REVIEW

LIFELOVER Sjukdom Prophecy
Fear not, good listener, for Death is not upon you just yet. Her sister, Despair, is upon you and will not let go.
Like a poppish Silencer, Lifelover attacks you. With spazztic blurrs it is on you like a crow is on a dead lamb. First the eyes, then the rest, until nothing remains.
This album gets better with each listen, in my opinion. With each note more damage is done. The hopelessness surrounds the listener and soon a state of high-anxiety is upon you.
Suffer the vocals of the bastard childe of Nattramn. Suffer the keyboards deliberately put off tune to torment you, to bring you to hell and back. And alas... After the listen hopelessness once again grips me because I know, in all fairness, that Lifelover will more likely be used as a pick-up line rather than a way out...
Sjukdom @ amazon.com

BLEEDING FIST - MONUMENT DESECRATION

It's great that some Black Metal bands have finally discovered that video cameras can be used proficiently and understood that most of the time less is more!

"Monuments Desecration" is a song off Bleeding Fist's forthcoming MCD for Moribund Cult that will be released as summer dawns upon us Europeans. 
 

ARTAS - RIOTOLOGY REVIEW

ARTAS Riotology Napalm
Ask not what Artas can do for you, ask what you can do for Artas!
Catchy as Hell Metal offered here. A sure win on the festival stages this summer. I am sure more than a few beers will be spilled while listening to this one.

Exceptionally catchy this is with a modern flair which, in all fairness, means that this sounds more like Disturbed than any of the classic Death or Thrash Metal bands that belong to yesterday. Today's Metal for today's people.

Lyrics in English, German, Spanish & French. Can it get more multilingual than that? Will the next album include songs in Icelandic or Japanese? Only time can tell.

ALGHAZANTH - VINUM INTUS REVIEW

ALGHAZANTH Vinum Intus Woodcut
There is a certain nostalgic feeling about "Vinum Intus". Right from the start where the "A Perfect Vision of the Rising Northland" feeling is supreme. Those in the know will know.

Fear not, this album is not a rehash of old ideas. In it's simplest form it is heavy on the keyboards, traditional Finnish black Metal. A bit of a Bathory vibe every now and then. A bit of the eighties, a bit of the nineties & a bit of the new. All black.

It's the keyboards that help this album from becoming another album forgotten by time and dust. The five black emperors have done their job, creating an album that draws from the past and something that is worth supporting.

ACID WITCH - STONED

ACID WITCH 
Stoned 
Hells Headbangers
It starts like a more morbid version of the intro to Garth Marengi's Darkplace. From thereon the occult sixties are embraced and the hammer of horror strikes deadly blows of mass hysteria.

From there things unravel quickly into a psychedelic journey led by a storyteller that has smoked one too many to be properly understood.
I can only imagine that the tales he tells us deal with Satanism, devil worship and what people today consider child's play. Morbid symphonies.

Marked it is by the beast. The old gods are honored and the Devil given his due in this occult doom ride of death. Black Magick beasts awaken.

HOUR OF 13 - INTERVIEW

Here's a link to an interview I did with Hour of 13. Posted at Eternal Terror.

LINK

ESSENZ - VIVAT ENTITAS OKKULTA

Essenz "Vivat Entitas Okkulta" from Con Men on Vimeo.

HOUR OF 13 - GRIM REALITY Rehearsal recordings from 2 February 2011

ANNOUNCEMENT

I have decided to reactivate the Blogspot site I used before www.currents-online.com. This is done because of problems I have been having with my server. Although www.currents-online.com will not go offline this will be used more frequently in the future.

EASTERN FRONT - BLOOD ON SNOW

CANDLELIGHT | EASTERN FRONT

EASTERN FRONT Blood on Snow

Candlelight 2010

There are few bands out there that have, throughout the album, made that vibe you caught when you first saw the cover of the album linger.

Eastern Front is a bit of both worlds, at some parts heavily mid-nineties Black Metal and then at the next moment it’s all modern and a bit of a “new car smell” fills your nostrils. There’s no Nu-Metal here, just a bit of “Extreme Metal”.

As modern as they are they still make you feel like you are in the trenches while listening to this album. Tanks going by. People dying. The cruelty of war. The nature of man.

Highlight: Unleash the Panzer Division and the band’s use of acoustic guitars.

Blood on Snow @ amazon.com

ABACINATE - GENESIS

EPITOMITE | ABACINATE

ABACINATE Genesis

Epitomite 2011

Feel the steel! The cold touch of death! It’s cynical to think that this, as far as I can tell, is about as Metal from the grave as is possible. The band recorded this album last summer, the singer passed away last september and now the album finally sees the light of day. Excuse the morbidness, dear folks, no disrespect intended.

For the last six years Abacinate has been slaving away in a cold basement somewhere in New Jersey, USA, consistently belching out a new release every year or two. Kind of reminds me of the good old days when you could count on bands to release a new album every year. Their effort has paid off and we have here is consistently varied Death Metal that’s more on the Brutal than anything else but not as monotonous as the rest. Add the samples from the horror movies and the mafia thrillers and you’ve got a good thing going on.

Highlight: A Harmless Walk

Genesis @ amazon.com

EVOCATION - APOCALYPTIC

CYCLONE EMPIRE | EVOCATION

EVOCATION Apocalyptic

Cyclone Empire 2010

Rotting away Evocation did, for close to fifteen years the band lay dormant. Described by many as a band that might have been the next big thing in 1992 the band is dangerously close to being just another brick in the wall today.

I hadn’t discovered the hidden art of ordering demos back during Evocation’s first phase and now, during Evocations second phase, I’m not getting the whole deal about this band. The band has all the classic trademarks that you look for in Swedish Death Metal but the connection just isn’t there. That just happens, you know, with this like anything else. You can’t win ‘em all.

EVANGELIVM - NIGHTSIDE OF EDEN

HAMMER OF HATE

EVANGELIVM Nightside of Eden

Hammer of Hate 2010

There are times when this albums gets soaring. There are times when Evangelivm are up there with the likes of Ondskapt. There are also times when the drum machine is on the verge of ruining everything.

There are two sides to everything and this albums begins as well as it ends badly.

The band sets the tone with “Abyssus Abyssum...” and follows it through without any fault throughout the album just until the last minute of the album. I’m not kidding, when the last track hits the one minute mark things go south and not in a good way! Skip the outro and you have a good release that’s full of the somber black metal devil worship feeling you lust after!

NEGATIVE PLANE - STAINED GLASS REVELATIONS

INVICTUS | NEGATIVE PLANE

NEGATIVE PLANE Stained Glass Revelations

Invictus Productions 2011

Since the announcement of this album’s release the anticipation for it has almost manifested itself into physical form. With mere five days until this one hits the shelves I grow more terrified, I am sure I will see this one running towards me. Mask on face. Knife in hand. Gloves of black.

And they Lynch people! These Americans know how to create a haunting & horrifying atmosphere. Straight from the start there is a Devil Doll-ian vibe to Stained Glass Revelations. That vibe stays throughout the album. Imagine, if you will, and don’t listen to what they say, what people like Nachtmystium has been doing and dip it in utter darkness! Majestic. Satanic. Progged. Madness!

The first thing that captured me with this album and, I’m shameful to admit, were the vocals. The vocals take me back to Mike Browning’s glory days with Nocturnus. Yeah, I don’t care if you hear it or not. You think I’m off? Well, fuck you very much, then! Then came the guitars... you can get lost in all this for days.

The music is like a seldom found maze that becomes enjoyable as you get more and more lost in it. There are countless genres this one could fit in. I’ll leave with just these words on how the music affected me, not what it actually sounds like.

Stained Glass Revelations @ amazon.com