Old Witch "Come Mourning Come"

Bleak, depressing, anguished, tormented. All of these are adjectives that i could use to describe Old Witch's "Come Mourning Come". And this is exactly what i needed to hear right now. A blistering mix of doom, sludge with some beautiful atmospheric parts that blend perfectly in the cauldron of Old Witch. A very interesting release that has all the features that attract me and in which I fear I'll be immersed during the next hours. Do not let this release pass you.. quality material here.

Recommended for fans of Hell, Argentinum Astrum, Atavist, The Austrasian Goat, Thou, etc.

Bruxas

Pornography "Promises & Virtues" & "Mississippi"

Pornography are a explicit experimental metal band from Nashville that fuses genres like doom and maybe some post punk that result into this very minimalist, ritualistic kind of post-doom sound. Pornography are like a contemporary version of Khanate but with some kind of dark hardcore vibe behind them, playing very slow and mixing a lot of noise into their sound. The thing is that the result here is quite interesting and quite different from what i usually run into. I ran into this a long time ago but only now, God knows why, i've decided to post it here on Forever Cursed. These two samples left me very curious and i would like to hear more from this band. Recommended for fans of Gray Ghost, Pharaoh, Khanate.

XXX

Ash Borer "Bloodlands" Review

At this point everyone knows already Ash Borer recognized as one of the foremost exponents of the Cascadian black metal scene. After a split with their fellow Fell Voices, a Demo and their latest  full-length", Cold Of Ages" released last year by the hand of Profound Lore Records, Ash Borer are at this point completely rooted in the USBM generating a large cult around them and on every release they put out. 

The first aspect i felt after hearing this new release was that, to me, "Bloodlands" feels almost like a sequel of "Cold Of Ages" due to the sound and song structure on it. Almost if the tracks featured here are, well.. leftovers isn't a very pretty word, but were built in the creative process of "Cold Of Ages". Many people i've talked to, said that they were a little bit disappointed with last year's "Cold Of Ages", I on the other hand must belong in that small minority that absolutely loved it. It's sounds precisely like... Ash Borer. Many people probably felt they sell-out because of that album being released by Profound Lore, i don't know. That chaotic whirlwind of cold and rough shaped riffs along with that blasting drum buried deep in the mix and those haunting blood-freezing screams all ensnared in the midst of this desolate and gelid scenario, was in fact, still there.

In all their releases, the band always had a tendency to evolve in order to create something more atmospheric, and that is not an exception here on "Bloodlands". The opening track "Oblivion's Spring", starts with some repetitive isolated guitar notes earlier accompanied by a keyboard in the background, as another layer of guitar notes is added into this mix, creating an atmosphere shrouded in mystery. This is just a short introduction that is immediately pulled under our feet as a storm of sharp riffs and savage blastbeats falls upon us as the shrieking screams circle through the middle of this vortex which plagues us, absorbing us in such a way, that we hardly realize the 15 minutes that this track lasts. Going from chaotically accelerated rhythms to mid-paced sections extinguishing slowly to the sound of the same notes that opened it now distorted by a twisted atmosphere like the howl of the cold Winter wind that carries the ashes of what once was beautiful.

To help you to understand the effect of this track imagine this: as the first notes echo, imagine yourself in the middle of a beautiful garden in the midst of Spring when suddenly, without warning, the sky turns black and a terrible storm falls upon us, with very strong and cold winds destroying everything. Leaving nothing but wrecks and smithereens on the floor. "Oblivion's Spring" is a obscure hymn to despair, loneliness and madness. As something dark and macabre that was hidden behind something as seemingly naive and beautiful... That's how i visually imagine "Oblivion's Spring" in my head.

Right after this turbulent start we enter "Dirge/Purgation", which I'm going to face as two tracks merged into one, being "Dirge" a beautiful instrumental interlude served as intro for "Purgation" that has kind of a doom-ish touch. It begins with very slow beats as the dragged sound of the guitars mourn along a path at least, painful. The voice barely cuts through as it's very caught up in the mix. As if the instruments were in a determined room and the voice is one or two room below.

Now under a much more dynamic rhythm, "Purgation" is a track that kind of hypnotizes us, leading us into a state of trance due to the those repetitive guitar notes that very rarely and occasionally, break into other territories ranging from increasingly fast to slow rhythms that seem to belong to a more doom-ish territory due to the decadent and gloomy sound that it emits. I definitely feel that Ash Borer were trying something different with this track here. Experiencing something new into a more atmospheric  territories, trying to create new dynamics to their tracks without losing the seal "Ash Borer" in it. Looking back to "Bloodlands" it's another great and unique milestone into Ash Borer's career, a record that makes me come back repeatedly never getting tired of hearing it.

In the meantime you can order it here at the Gilead Media store, it also will be available on Psychic Violence store but only after the european tour ends, along with some other goodies like the Ruin Lust LP for example. Stay tuned.

Enter the  Bloodlands

Almanac "FindingYourRestingPlace"

"FindingYourRestingPlace" the debut EP from Almanac, a one man black metal band described as "lo-fi black metal tinged misanthropic punk exploring the traditional black metal theme of nature and connects it to the deepest roots of isolation, depression and the human condition all in a short, raw, dark and abrasive sitting." Expect some harsh, raw and rugged lo-fi black metal in the vein of Ancestors, Black Beasts and more stuff like it that you kids love so much nowadays. I guess you must be pretty excited at this point and basically you're just not giving a shit for what I'm writing over here as you're already pressing the "download" button.. fine. Go ahead. This is quite cool.  

Almanac's ""FindingYourRestingPlace" was brought to me by Nick, the founder of New Jersey's label Deplorable Sound. Created exclusively with the intention of spreading out some personal musical projects and from his inner circle of friends. Check the link below.

no rest for the wicked

FFO: Ancestors, Bone Awl, Darkthrone

מזמור - "Untitled Winter EP" & "מזמור"

מזמור can be read as "Mizmor" and for those who don't know, Mizmor is a project from one half of Salem, Oregon doom monster Hell, A.L.N. Being active since 2012 and carrying a very DIY attitude behind this project, so far he has released a full-length, the self-titled "מזמור" that was released last year and "Untitled Winter EP" released in the beginning of this year. Soundwise Mizmor isn't very different from his sibling Hell, although the two releases featured here have little and very small differences between them. The self-titled full-length is a more primitive, stripped down black metal soaked drone doom with a very raw recording attached to it, while the "Untitled Winter EP" sounds a lot more closer to what we are used to hear in Hell's records, specially the album "III". It opens with a very minimal acoustic section creating the perfect mood for the colossal wall of doom crushes us then. Those winches, those slow-motion drum hits, the sound of that bass that looks like its chords almost reach the ground, the guitar... all of this orchestra of gloom emanates desolation and suffering in every single note. Just terrifying.

For all the analog lovers I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news: all of Mizmor's physical releases seem to be sold out at the moment. Luckily i was fast enough to grab one copy of each release, so "Hurray!" for me. But do not despair! in the meantime A.L.N was kind enough to put all of Mizmor's releases as "name your price" on Bandcamp. Don't be just another fucking leech, support amazing artists like this one in order to bring in the future more truckloads of heavy duty doom, as described by the band itself: "...not for the faint of heart.". Take note: Each link below will lead you to each one of these amazing releases. Support!!

Note: Just found out that there's a few copies left of the "Untitled Winter" EP tape available over at Dying God Records, act fast!

Psalm | Winter

Whorls "Lvmen Natvrae"

Danish band Whorls are back with their latest 7'' entitled "Lvmen Natvrae". Expect three themes of the most blackened and crushing hardcore being currently made nowadays. "Lvmen Natvrae" 7'' is available for purchase directly from the band for just 4€ here or you can head to the following stores, Maniyax Records or Boue Records. Crushing release!

Light of Darkness

VA "Hour of the Cake"

And now to keep the flame burning a little bit more here i've decided to post a compilation i've made for a radio show i had the pleasure to host for one of the most alternative radios here, Radio Radar. Of course i couldn't play any sludge, doom, death or black metal on a in broad saturday afternoon radio broadcast. Instead i've gathered a handful of some more alternative acts that i quite enjoy a lot. Some are old and others are new favorites So i hope you do enjoy this more alternative selection i've made. And leave a fucking comment below goddamn it! You will be surprised.

Black Tea

Ommadon "IV"

Ommadon are Ewan Mackenzie (Drums, Keyboards, Noise) and David Tobin (Guitars, Noise) an independent duo and former members of mythical Scottish doom band Snowblood. Now as Ommadon, both Ewan and David are committed in making some heavy doom/drone atmospheres. "IV" was recorded all by themselves in the highlands of Scotland. All live, no overdubs and mastered by Billy Anderson. Basically "IV" consists in two tracks reaching in total, almost one-hour of length. The first track, "In the presence of absence",  is a rich composite of sounds and textures that unfold gently, slowly giving way to a pit of noise and distortion, filled by this instrumental barrier composed of drums, guitar and noise, quite in the style of a Moss, Atavist or even Gog if you seek comparisons, to which the band crushes and reduces to dust the frame that was early designed at the beginning of this track that started well by way of foreplay and now ends in climax. "Beyond opposition", a 26 minute long beast, soon reveals the monster that is, stuffed with decibels moving at a very slow pace, the pace of a snail, circling around us and tightening the siege on every passing minute, suffocating us until our own very end. It is true that it doesn't introduces anything new within' the genre, but if you like your doom/drone quite thick and full of decibels, then I invite you to spend an hour in the hands of Ommadon. I, personally I'm a sucker for this kind of beasts. "IV" is available in CD with an all hand-crafted packaging, head straight to the band website or contact them through their Facebook page.

 IV

Ride At Dawn "Blast Cage"

Toronto's Ride At Dawn are back again with their second full-length "Blast Cage". Recorded in their practice room in midwinter of 2012 using a single harmonica microphone, "Blast Cage" introduces us 6 vicious themes with a more stripped, crude, ugly treatment. The sound on "Blast Cage" is quite different from the one we heard on the "Human Altars" LP, not that the sound on "Human Altars" was all polished and neat. It was more ascertained, but still corrosive as Hell. Here on "Blast Cage" the sound is more.. how can i say: "in your-face". No studio mambo-jambo, no tricks, nothing... it's meant to be served and eaten fucking raw.

Starting off with the venomous "Serpent Riders" which has carved in it, a very punk-ish black metal vibe, very similar to the kind of stuff you can hear on Darkthrone's "F.O.A.D" in their later punk/d-beat, call it what you want, phase. But not all here runs at a frenetic pace, the next track immediately cuts us down from the initial rhythm the first track put us in. "The Eldritch Matriarch" moves at a more slow almost morbid pace, crawling in a foggy cemetery where shadows seem to creep behind old and mossy tombstones. This is probably the slowest song on this new release since the four following tracks continue to distill the corrosive black punk metal from Ride At Dawn filled with simple, yet effective, riffs that tear our flesh apart as we penetrate deeper into the tracks. A rabid blast of mean, ugly and vicious black punk metal. Like raging rats trapped in a rusty cage... Great stuff.

The first run of 100 tapes will be available via survivalist so keep your eyes out for this one.

Dawn riders

ARRM "Sand"

Time to chill a little bit here on Forever Cursed. To get you in a zen mode for the weekend i bring you today ARRM, a Polish duo formed by A. and M. who create some brilliant experimental atmospheric music. "Sand" serves basically two atmospheric tracks where both create a very relaxing journey into the desert landscapes of experimental instrumental music. "Sand" is a very chilling, psychedelic track while "Black Water" is a more hypnotic journey into the unknown territories of drone where ethereal layers of notes exhaled by the guitars put us in a state of numbness conducting us to a secret inner peace. Ideal music for listening in perfect isolation in the heart of nature. Recommended for fans of Barn Owl, Brian Eno, Crone, MGR.

ARRM