Mouth of the Serpent – Manifest (10 January 2012, Swimming with Sharks Records)

Good afternoon, Valley of Steel reader.  Or depending on where you live (or when you come across this post), good morning or good evening. If whatever time of day it happens to be is perhaps not so good for you, just bear with me, it’ll get better.  I’m going to introduce some more music to you, and I’ve got a feeling pretty soon everything will be just fine.

For starters, just look at that cover art up there!  Now that’s some cool shit, huh?  It was created by Tony Koehl, who has been responsible for quite a few other album covers (check out this gallery), probably the most high-profile of which was Black Dahlia Murder‘s 2009 album Deflorate (as seen here).

Anyway, back to this present work of art.  People say you shouldn’t judge what’s inside
a book or album or whatever, just based on the cover.  Good advice, but not very practical in real life — after all, isn’t that why there is a cover in the first place?  To give you an idea what you will expect from the contents, and to get you started in your decision whether you think you will like it or not?

Well in this case, the artwork definitely catches your eye, and that odd juxtaposition of themes could possibly confuse the viewer, but in a way that should leave you feeling curious about what lies within.  ARE you curious, Dear Reader?  I can’t quite tell what that giant swamp monster thing is doing, but it might be inhaling a tree — definitely it looks like it’s causing some sort of massive destruction.  The creature itself looks pretty grim and brutal, like you might expect to find on the cover of some pretty brutal death metal, right?  Then in the background, the scene is all outer-spacey and there’s like a transdimensional portal or something, exactly the sort of imagery that would be well-suited to some experimental tech-death music, wouldn’t you say?

I think you can probably guess what this is leading up to, and you’d be right: the material found on Manifest, the recently-released EP by Los Angeles’ Mouth of the Serpent, turns out to be an interesting amalgamation of all of the above — and much more!

MOTS guitarist Andrew Rubin contacted me after he saw my recent review of The Great Tribulation by Sangre (whom he says they had been friends with for quite a while).  I’m assuming he felt that it was the most beautiful piece of prose he’d ever read, and that he was nearly moved to tears by the excellence of the writing.  Of course, I’m only guessing about what actually happened, and it’s possible I could be embellishing a little bit or even completely making this up.  In any case, he wrote to me, saying that he would greatly appreciate it if I could take the time to write about his band’s new release as well, so I am more than happy to oblige.  Especially when I’d already had some exposure to the music and already knew I was going to like it.

Just like in Sangre’s case, the first time I heard of this band was when their song “Psychosomatic Disorder” was included on a Kosher Metal collection, Kosher Komp Vol. 1.  If you somehow missed out on that, you can grab a free download right here.  This song is also available as part of the Swimming with Sharks Records sampler, which you can download for free from here.  If you’re really super lazy (or you don’t want to download anything) you can just listen to the song on Bandcamp, courtesy of Kosher Metal.

Then, earlier this month when Kosher Komp Vol. 2 was released, once again there was a Mouth of the Serpent song included — this time it was “Cisterna.”  Now you definitely should already have gotten this compilation, since I wrote a whole post about it when it was released, but you can download that one from here if for some reason you didn’t get it yet.  Once again, if you are too lazy to do the download thing, the song is available for your listening pleasure at Bandcamp.

As you can hear, both of those songs are pretty progressive-leaning, successfully walking along the border between brutal and technical death metal, two sub-subgenres that can often seem to be at odds with each other, although they are blended together quite adeptly in this case.  The blunt force of some of the riffing here, in conjunction with the striking precision of the drums and the guitar leads, brings to mind others who have crafted sounds borrowing from multiple strains of death metal; Dying Fetus is one prominent example.  That comparison also seems to arise from the dual-vocal attack used here, particularly in the sound of the deeper, more gutteral voice — the other vocal part is a bit more reminiscent (to me, anyway) of Exhumed, back when they had dual vocalists.  The big difference here, though, is that there is only a single vocalist credited on this album; major kudos to Max Reis if he is, indeed, the only one performing these parts.

Together, the two songs featured above make up roughly half the running time of this six-track package; “Entheogen,” which is sequenced immediately after “Cisterna,” follows in a fairly similar vein to its predecessor, although it tends to bring just a touch more brutality — and the vocals here briefly slip from gutteral to nearly “bree” territory a couple of times.  All of that would be fine, if that were all this band had to offer, but actually what you’ve heard so far is only half the story of this album.

Manifest opens with some cavernous atmospheric sounds, including some tribal-sounding percussion (courtesy of Rubin and fellow guitarist Justin Biddle, who each evidently serve double-duty here by also playing the djembe), in a brief track called “Caravan,” essentially the introduction into the one-two punch of “Cisterna” and “Entheogen.”  Then, we are treated to a bit of an interlude in the form of a two-part suite called “Siphoning.”  The first of these, “The Task,” returns to the atmospheric feeling of the intro, adding another sprinkling of ethnic percussion sounds (including a goat-hoof shaker) as well as some didgeridoo-esque throat singing (performed by vocalist Reis and, interestingly enough, cover artist Koehl – who also contributes some of the percussion parts).  This segues into the second part, “The Unmaker,” which heads in yet another direction, as this consists mostly of jazz-inspired experimental instrumental prog-metal.  Very interesting and well-performed, particularly in some of the vamps and fills provided by bassist Luis Echevarria, the track also incorporates some syncopated riffs that tie the material back to the death metal that comprises the rest of the record, prior to fading away after a mere two-and-a-half minutes.  That would be my only complaint: I would not have minded if the song had continued for another few minutes.  In fact, the overall length is the only downfall I can find in this entire release; these tracks are followed by “Psychosomatic Disorder” and then suddenly (and, I might add, somewhat unexpectedly) the EP is over.

Anyway, as a supplement to the songs that have been made available for streaming or downloading, the band also has a Youtube channel, where they recently put out an official live version of the closing track:

So anyway, I guess all that’s left would be to tell you how to get a copy of this EP for yourself, right?  As described in this press release, the band signed to Dallas-based label Swimming with Sharks Records (run by The Browning‘s drummer Noah Robertson) earlier this year, and in January they made Manifest available via their online merch store.  Take a look around; you’ll find some cool deals including one bundle that offers the CD along with a t-shirt and poster.  If you prefer, you can buy the digital download version instead.  (Note: MOTS’s 2010 album Inception is available on CD in the merch store as well, or it can be downloaded from Bandcamp using the “name your price” option.)

Mouth of the Serpent: official website / Facebook
Swimming with Sharks: official website / Facebook

Good morning, folks.  Did you see last night’s review of the new Fist Fight in the Parking Lot album?  It’s right here, go read it!

Now that you’re all excited about this new release, you can download the album (from Amazon) or order the CD (from Innervenus).  But it gets better — this Saturday (25 February) the official release party is taking place at the 31st Street Pub in Pittsburgh!

Facebook event page (Innervenus) and another event page (31st Street Pub)

Fist Fight in the Parking Lot – CD RELEASE SHOW – w/ Chux Beta & Sistered

Saturday 25 February 2012, 10pm

21+, only $5 to get in!

Fist Fight in the Parking Lot: website / Facebook page
Chux Beta: website / Facebook page
Sistered: website / Facebook page

Innervenus Music: website / Facebook page
31st Street Pub: Facebook page

Fist Fight in the Parking Lot – Fist Fight in the Parking Lot (21 February 2012, Innervenus Music)

Good evening, readers! Sorry for the tardiness of this review — I totally meant to publish it this morning, but then I got distracted by something shiny. It happens. Actually it was an announcement that the new self-titled album by Corrosion of Conformity was streaming in full over at AOL Music. I hadn’t heard it yet, and I don’t know how long it’ll be available, so I wanted to jump on that. I’m sure you can understand. If you haven’t heard it yet, you’ll probably want to check it out, too.

From what I’d read about it, the new COC album is supposed to appeal to fans of their earlier, more hardcore-oriented work, as well as those who prefer their more recent foray into Sabbath-inspired stoner metal. So I was curious to see what it was all about. What I found surprised me: I heard very little of the sound mainly associated with either era of the band’s history, instead feeling more of an old-school doom vibe — along the lines of some of Wino‘s earlier work, or any of a slew of his bands’ imitators. A style I enjoy, to be sure, but one that can also seem monotonous at times, over the course of an entire record. This was one of those occasions: despite some higher points, the album really didn’t reach out and grab my attention at any point. Missing here were the truly memorable songs that make you want to sing along, or hear them again and again.

Well, all of that soon changed, because a little later in the day I switched gears to the brand new release by Pittsburgh’s Fist Fight in the Parking Lot, made available today through the Innervenus Music Collective.

From the very first moments of opening track “S&M,” here were the riffs I’d been hoping for: fuzzy and hard-hitting, but more than anything, catchy. Right off the bat this has the hallmarks of a great memorable stoner jam, reminiscent of a song like “Albatross,” for instance.  While singer Abby Krizner may not channel Pepper Keenan any more than COC bassist and current vocalist Mike Dean does, her voice is well-suited to the style, displaying a mastery of the “pissed-off rock chick” sneering delivery, as well as a good command of melodies and harmonies when called for.  The latter really shine on “Side Steppin’ Ninja,” which would probably be the most likely hit single from this album, and which was previously available as part of the FREE Iron Atrocity compilation (get it here, if you haven’t already).

Elsewhere on the album, shades of sludge or grunge enter into the riff-fest; in particular, there are several moments that bring to mind Facelift-era Alice in Chains.  After eight tracks of high-quality sludgey hard-rocking goodness, the final song “Blue Jesus” definitely brings in a mellower attitude, closing out the album with a very similar effect to Deliverance‘s “Pearls Before Swine,” as it also incorporates plenty of punch just like that song does.

In addition to “Side Steppin’ Ninja” being available on Iron Atrocity, that song can also be heard — along with “S&M” and “The Lone Gunman” — at the Innervenus artist page, here.  The Fist Fight in the Parking Lot album is now available to download from Amazon, here.  The CD can be ordered directly from Innervenus (on their Merch page), or if you’re in Pittsburgh this weekend, check out the official CD release party happening Saturday night!  More information  can be found at the band’s official website or Facebook page, as well as the Innervenus website or Facebook.

Welcome to this week’s installment of the “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week feature, which is where I profile a band I’ve discovered on the “Sign Me to Roadrunner Records” website, and then give you the opportunity to listen to a few songs from somebody you might never have heard before.  My hope is, you might find something you really dig, and then when they explode in popularity and sell a million records, you can scoff at all the bandwagon-jumpers, saying you’ve been a fan since the beginning.

All of the bands I’ve written about so far in this weekly column have been people who’ve contacted me directly, actively seeking reviews.  If your band has already written to me, don’t worry, I’ll get to you soon — I’ve got a few more lined up for the next several weeks.  But today is a little different because it’s a band I ran across last weekend when I was writing about the upcoming Dream Death reunion show —  one of the opening acts for that show is a local band I hadn’t heard before, so in the course of writing that article I had to do a little research to find out who they are.  That was Closer to Hell, a death metal band from Ford City, PA (just a little while north of Pittsburgh in Armstrong County).  After I located their Facebook page, I found that they also had an account on Signmeto, where I was able to give them a listen.  So naturally, I decided to include them here so you could do the same.

These guys have only put one of their songs at the Signmeto Roadrunner website: “Perfect War Machine.”  This song starts out with a little atmospheric stuff and what sounds like horror movie dialogue samples, giving the impression that we might be treated to some goregrind or brutal death or something along those lines.  But then the guitar and bass both jump in with a pretty cool unison riff that more closely resembles technical death metal or even something a bit progressive.  This gives way to some more traditional death metal riffage, all of which has a pretty decent sound to it.  The vocals don’t come in until around the halfway point of the song, but when they do it also has a bit of a OSDM feel, not too far removed from somebody like Chuck Schuldiner.

Just one song doesn’t really give you a lot to go by, I know, and apparently so do the guys in Closer to Hell, because besides the song here, they have also made a couple more available on Youtube.  These include a few covers as well as some more original tunes, and they show a wider range of influences — all based in death metal, but with bits of thrash, speed metal, and hardcore thrown in here and there.

In addition to the links I’ve already included here (Signmeto, Facebook, Youtube), Closer to Hell can also be found at Reverbnation.

I hope you enjoyed this post – please feel free to share your opinion in the comments below!  Until next week… if you happen to stumble across something you’d like to share (or if you are in a band and are trying to get your music heard), just write to me at my Signmeto “scout” page.  Thanks for reading!

Good evening!  I usually don’t get a chance to post anything on Sundays, but I was just listening to these songs I downloaded the other day from Leodensian prog-rockers Deep in the Mire, and I just felt that I had to toss this little announcement out there, so you could check them out, too.  You’re welcome.

These guys have been posting recording updates on their Facebook page for the past couple months, and making vague references to giving away free downloads during much of that time as well.  Then, a couple days ago, I got an email from bassist Sidge Rushton, who said:

Long ago (maybe FOUR MONTHS??!!) we promised you all some free DITM music. After numerous technical difficulties we worked out this was the best way to bring it too you.

 Go here:

http://soundcloud.com/deep-in-the-mire

You can listen to each song in full before you download it. If you want it click on the little downward facing arrow next to ‘add to set’ and it should start downloading. Up there is ‘Again’, ‘Biganeha’ and new single ‘The Moth’ all for free.

Download and enjoy and feel free to send the song to anyone you want.

Love and respect from the DITM Tribe.

I have to warn you, the downloads are pretty large, because these are WAVs rather than MP3s.  Of course, the upside to that is the sound quality is much better.  Also, as stated above, you have the opportunity to listen to the streams on Soundcloud before deciding to download.  In fact, I’m embedding the player for each of the three songs below, for your listening convenience.

On these tracks, Deep in the Mire bring a fairly mellow sort of progressive music, although “The Moth” cranks up the rock a bit in parts.  The best way I can describe it is that they are reminiscent of Tool in their softer, more introspective moments.  These songs incorporate lovely melodies with an exotic Persian flavor, especially in the vocals, as well as infusing traditional Middle-Eastern instruments such as the santour, oud, and various different percussion sounds.  In fact, the percussion is another spot that makes me think of Tool; specifically, a lot of the different sounds Danny Carey was bringing in on the Lateralus album.

Anyway, here they are, give ‘em a listen, and then download them if you like.  Share them with your friends if you like.  Definitely go “like” the band on Facebook if you like, because they may be unsigned now, but these guys are definitely going places soon, and you won’t want to miss out.

You might remember I talked about this project before — back in November I posted about some upcoming Molasses Barge shows which included a benefit show in Decmeber to support the Iron Atrocity v.2 compilation.

If you don’t remember, Iron Atrocity is a digital download (available free by visiting www.ironatrocity.com) or CD compilation (I do not know if any copies are still available, but it was given out for free at shows associated with Innervenus or any of the bands on the CD) which highlights some of the best in Pittsburgh-area metal music today.

Well, the second compilation in the series is currently in the works, and the folks at Innervenus are trying to raise a little extra capital to get this thing off the ground…

From Kickstarter:

Iron Atrocity v.2 will be the second installment of a compilation series that documents the Pittsburgh metal scene; put together, manufactured and distributed by the Innervenus Music Collective.

Just like Volume 1 (which you can download for free at www.ironatrocity.com, by the way), we’re pressing 1,000 hand numbered discs with a 24 page booklet that showcases the bands and the scene as a whole. The discs are then given away for free to raise awareness and promote unity throughout the metal community.

After a few months of planning and a fantastic benefit show to help us out, we were rolling along just fine until an unexpected financial crisis struck us down hard last month. Now, we’re asking for your help to keep this on track. The first one had such a tremendous response, I couldn’t stand to drop it now. Could you?

Bands confirmed for this installment are: Derketa, Liquified Guts, October, Ascend the Fallen, Girlfight, Blackmarket Bodyparts, Solarburn, Moths, Lythem, Grisly Amputation, Motorpsychos, Vermithrax, Lycosa, United By Hate, Tyrant and Lady Beast.

Thank you for your support.

–
Scott Massie
Music & Art Director, Manufacturing, etc.

The Innervenus Music Collective
P.O. Box 81213
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 USA
www.innervenus.org

They’ve set their goal at raising $2,500 in one month. Just like all Kickstarter campaigns, there are some gifts for those who donate at various pledge levels — but with a minimum set at just $1, ANY amount would surely be appreciated, and would go a long way toward supporting local music!

• $10 or more: Your name will be included on the Thank You List in the liner notes of the CD.
• $25 or more: Pins, Stickers, Deluxe Packaging of CD + the above.
• $50 or more: Exclusive Iron Atrocity T-Shirt + the above.
• $75 or more: Any 2 Albums from the Innervenus Catalog + the above.
• $100 or more: Limited Edition, Hand Numbered Screen Print Poster + the above.
• $250 or more: Exclusive Iron Atrocity Hoodie + the above.
• $2,500 or more: I will personally come mow your lawn.  And wash your car.  And take out your trash.  I might even walk your dog.  I don’t really like dogs though, so maybe I won’t walk your dog, but I might give your cat a bath.  Oh, and a hug.  You definitely get a hug for $2,500.

Once again, the Kickstarter project page is here.

Innervenus website / Facebook page
Iron Atrocity website / Facebook page

Wykked Wytch – The Ultimate Deception (14 February 2012, Goomba Music)

Happy Valentine’s Day, readers! Hugs and kisses and hearts and flowers, and all that. I don’t know if they have anything like this wherever you live, but here, February 14th is supposed to be some sort of commemoration for the martyred Roman-Catholic Saint Valentinus (although various accounts differ as to which particular saint named Valentinus or Valentine the day is named for, or even whether he was actually a real person in the first place), but of course in typical fashion, any links to a religious observence that originally existed have long since gone out the window (just like Easter turned into a day for little kids to get fat eating bunnies made out of chocolate), and nowadays it’s mostly just a time where people are expected to spend a bunch of money on cards and candy or fancy dinners for their significant others. At least, if they want to keep that person as a significant other.

So, in keeping with this tradition, I’ve got a lovely Valentines Day gift for you, Dear Reader. It’s a heart-shaped box filled with dulcet melodies and harmonious sonnets; love songs with lyrics so beautiful you might just be moved to tears.

Yeah, fuck all that. Actually what I’ve got for you is a review of a record being released today on Goomba Music, called The Ultimate Deception, which is the fifth album by Floridian extreme metal band Wykked Wytch — whose core is as black as the crispy, charred remains of a martyr who’d been burnt at the stake.

And He asked him, “What is thy name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion: for we are many.” — Mark 5:9

The biblical tale of the man who called himself Legion (because he had been possessed by, literally, a legion of demons) is quite a well-known story. Both the name “Legion” and the tagline “for we are many” are commonly referenced throughout the world of heavy metal. However, it wasn’t until I began listening to The Ultimate Deception that I truly had a glimpse of what a person possessed by so many devils would actually sound like.

Throughout the nearly two-decade history of Wykked Wytch, the band’s sound has gradually evolved, which is partly attributable to the fact that over that same time period there has been quite a revolving door of band members. In fact, the only constant member from album to album has been founding vocalist Ipek. However, her presence is enough of a defining characteristic for an entire band, as evidenced by the fact that she has maintained the same project name over the years despite all of these changes. (After recording had been completed on this new allbum last spring, and mixing and mastering were commencing, the vocalist had stated, “As it stands now the album is such a refreshing and drastic rebirth I’m not sure if this album will be released under ‘Wykked Wytch’ or as a new project. Stay Tuned!!”)

Well, it’s pretty clear what she chose, and now the band, which includes new lead guitarist and principal songwriter Nate Poulson, keyboardist Salvatore LoPresti, and session drummer Kevin Talley (whom you might remember from his stint with Dying Fetus a while back, or several other bands), are ready for their creation to be unleashed into the world.

What they’ve assembled here would primarily be described as black metal, although with some symphonic or gothic shades at times, such as the string intro that leads into epic opening track “Birthing the Beast” as well as various hints of more melodic parts found throughout. There is also a considerable amount of death metal or melodic death metal mixed in, as well. The drums and guitars seem equally comfortable operating in both black and death modes, which suits the vocals perfectly.

Yes, the vocals: I made mention of the voices of a legion of demons, and that is truly what you will find throughout these ten songs. Ipek, astoundingly the only vocalist present in the recording, possesses a rather convincing death growl, blackened shriek, reptilian snarl, hardcore shout, and melodic — soaring, almost operatic, at times — clean singing voice. And she uses them all. In the same song. Often more than one at the same time.

This unique blend of various voices is constantly shifting, giving each song a slightly different character — almost as though this cadre of evil spirits inhabiting a single body were all struggling for dominance. It certainly is an intriguing effect, and the overdubbing definitely increases the strength of the vocals: the sum total sounds far more menacing than any of the individual component parts would have sounded by themselves. Also, surpisingly, at no point does this conglomerate of sounds seem jumbled or muddled: in fact, having so many different intonations of the same lyrics actually seems to enhance the clarity, because practically all of the words are easily understood throughout the album (unlike in typical black metal and some death metal).

Wykked Wytch have offered up a preview of the album, courtesy of Amp Magazine, allowing track #4 “Despised Existence” to be streamed in its entirety. This one works just as well as any, as a representation of the album as a whole, as it runs the gamut from lightning-fast guitar runs and otherworldly screaming to slower, goth-inspired breaks with haunting singing, and finally culminating in perhaps the most venomous, malignant-sounding rasp to be found anywhere on this record. But enough talking about it, just hit play and take it all in:

As an extra special bonus, you can also check out the band’s cover version of “Fade to Black” which appears as track #8 on the album. Personally, I think it’s pretty well-done, and an interesting take on the song, but it doesn’t really showcase the band’s strengths and abilities as well as the original compositions do. The best parts of the song are the blistering black metal sections; during the earlier, cleaner parts it almost feels like they are rushing to get that out of the way. On the album, this song is followed by “Abolish the Weak” which starts out at a fierce, stormy tempo, and to some degree it feels like a refreshing return to true form after “Fade” had broken up the album’s continuity a bit.

On a related note, the final song “Eyes of a Vulture” seems to end somewhat abruptly, leaving a sort of unsettled “oh, is it over?” feeling. I don’t know whether this is intentional, but I actually think the album would have benefitted from a slight reordering of the tracks: simply moving the cover song out of the eighth slot and putting it after “Vulture” would have preserved the integrity of the set of original songs, while adding a fitting change of pace as a coda. But anyway, here is their interpretation of “Fade to Black”:

Anyway, if these samples have put you in the Valentine’s Day spirit, why not indulge yourself and pick up The Ultimate Deception on CD or download the digital version today. You deserve it.

**UPDATE** The band is now offering a THIRD song stream, track #6 “When the Sleepers Rise” which is currently available at Pure Grain Audio.

Wykked Wytch: official website / Facebook
Goomba Music: official website / Facebook

Welcome to yet another installment of the “Signmeto” Unsigned Band of the Week feature, which is a profile of a band I’ve discovered on the “Sign Me to Roadrunner Records” website.  You’ll find a huge variety of material here; each week you’ll have the opportunity to listen to a few songs from a different band you might never have heard before.  My hope is, you might find something you really dig, and then when they explode in popularity and sell a million records, you can scoff at all the bandwagon-jumpers, saying you’ve been a fan since the beginning.

This week we’re talking about Chtonium, from Uddevalla, in southern Sweden near the Norwegian border.  If that artwork above didn’t contain the word “THRASHMETAL,” I’m guessing the look of the logo and flaming skull might still have given you a pretty big hint about what direction we will be heading today!

First formed in 1999 under the name Conspiracy, the band released a total of four demos through 2006. The name was changed to Chtonium (to avoid confusion with other similarly-named groups) in early 2007, a change which coincided with a lineup change, leaving guitarists/songwriters Andreas and Björn the only remaining original members. Another demo was released under the new name, but soon after, more band members departed, once again leaving the two founders to carry on as a two-piece from 2008 through the present (bringing in others, as needed, for live performances and recordings).

Chtonium have offered two songs on their Signmeto page: “Deadly Parade” and “Killing Device.” Both serve as examples of good old-fashioned thrash, with a hint of death metal influence as well. As you might expect from a band whose only fulltime members and songwriters are both guitarists, the riffs and solos are all pretty impeccable here. In the first song, I thought the drum part was mixed a little too prominently, especially considering that it sounds very basic and mechanical. That took away from my enjoyment slightly, as it served as a bit of a distraction through much of the song, but soon the raw power of the guitars and vocals (especially the wailing scream through the end of the song!) won me over. The second song is either a little dirtier and grittier, or it is mixed better, or perhaps the drums just sound a little more alive here — maybe a combination of these — but in whichever case, I spent more time focusing on the doomy/thrashy riffing here, which is quite enjoyable and likely to get your neck muscles some exercise. I’m sure that’s something everyone can use on a Monday when perhaps you’d rather not be back at work yet… I know it’s the case for me!

Go check out these songs at Signmeto Roadrunner Records, and if you like what you hear, you’ll surely be interested in keeping up with what the band has in store for the future! You can do this in several ways, including Facebook, Myspace, or Reverbnation.

I hope you enjoyed this post – please feel free to share your opinion in the comments below!  Until next week… if you happen to stumble across something you’d like to share (or if you are in a band and are trying to get your music heard), just write to me at my Signmeto “scout” page.  Thanks for reading!

The Blodsgard song “Mentalt Minefelt” was selected by No Clean Singing as one of 2011′s “Most Infectious Extreme Metal Songs” and in thanks for that honor the band is giving free downloads of the video for that song. Christianity gets a comeuppance courtesy of the Swedish cult film Häxan‘s Devil, and Blodsgard provides the crushing soundtrack. Click the link below to go to the video page and get the free DL for your computer or your smart phone.

This is the email update that I recently received from Norwegian black metal miscreants Blodsgard (which translates to “blood farm”). If you aren’t familiar with the band, I can’t think of a better way to get acquainted than to check out this video, and then you can grab your very own copy if you’d like.

“Mentalt Mindfelt” translates to “Mental Minefield” which, if you think about it, is a pretty apt description of a lot of Norwegian black metal. This particular video consists of scenes from a movie that is ninety years old, so while it contains images of torture devices, devils, blood and death, none of it is really what we would consider graphic today. However, the music on the other hand… I make no promises that this will not give you nightmares.

As the email stated, the song was included by No Clean Singing as one of their “most infectious” songs of last year; in fact, it was one of the first couple songs on the list (original post here). Here’s what NCS’s head honcho Islander had to say about the band, and the song, at that time:

What I’ve heard from Blodsgard to date ranges from solid to superb. The music is definitely nekro, rooted in the hallowed traditions of Trve Norwegian Black Metal, but guitarist/vocalist Fredrik R is a talented songwriter, and what he creates is much more than the typical hate-filled, clawing-to-the-bone that you might expect. There’s one song in particular to which I’ve returned many times — “Mentalt Minefelt”. I’ve become addicted to the bleak, moaning melody, the kataclysmic drum explosions, and Fredrik R’s positively harrowing vocal style. This song is kvlt — and it’s also tremendously infectious.

To spend some more quality reading time, you might also want to check out the No Clean Singing review of some of the band’s other music. Or, if you’d rather just jump straight into it, check out some of the links below:

Blodsgard official website / Facebook page
Blodsgard videos page (where you can watch videos for several of the band’s songs, and which also includes the FREE download link for “Mentalt Minefelt”)

Visit IMDB for more info on the movie Häxan.

Yes, that Dream Death. The Pittsburgh doom legends from the 1980s. The ones who attained cult status in local metal lore, after they had split up and reconfigured themselves as Penance. They recently posted an update on Facebook announcing that they were getting back together the last line-up of the band (which included all of the founding members except for bassist Ted Williams, meaning that this also includes all the members of Dream Death who later went on to form Penance) for a one-time-only show!

Pittsburgh metal legends Dream Death are reuniting for one show.

This will be the line up of:
Brian Lawrence (Goodbread)
Mike Smail
Terry Weston
Richie Freund

With special guests Argus and one more TBA. 21+

Saturday, April 21, 2012
9:00pm

31st Street Pub
3101 Penn Ave. (Penn Ave @ 31st St. Bridge)
Pittsburgh, PA 15201

Believe me, I will be keeping a close eye as more details emerge about this show, including when tickets will become available.

In the meantime, you can find out more by visiting the following links:
Dream Death on Facebook
Journey into Mystery album (CD – rare, out of print! | MP3 Download)
Pittsburgh Sludge Metal live album (CD)

Penance on Facebook
Parallel Corners album (CD)
Alpha & Omega album (CD | MP3 Download)

Argus (second-billed band for this show, featuring vocalist Brian “Butch Balich, who is also the current vocalist of Penance)
Facebook page / official website
Boldy Stride the Doomed album (CD | MP3 Download)

Closer to Hell (opening band) on Facebook
31st Street Pub on Facebook