The blog is one day later than planned because of another chaotic
week. Anyway, the Skiddaw EP is now in my Bandcamp store and at the end of
this posting you’ll find details about the cd pre-order and free badge offer.
Let’s start this weeks blog with a split between Rotten Light and Pestilent Desolation.
I was expecting some very depressing Black Metal, but
it’s more in the vein of keyboard dominated atmospheric ambience.
Rotten Light’s contribution is an all too short 3 minute
snapshot of utter beauty, with the mesmerizing Vein Consumed, which is layers
of keyboards, topped off with an angelic voice.
While Pestilent Desolation’s track, Everlasting Cold,
glides along in restrained misery and feels like a soundtrack to a horror based
computer game.
A wonderful way to spend 10 minutes and I’d love to hear
more from both bands doing something similar, preferably with a longer track
from Rotten Light the next time around.
Taking a quick journey across the Atlantic we find New
Jersey band Apocrophex
Now I have to confess I’m not a fan of the more technical
forms of Metal, nor am I particularly fond of the more brutal forms of Death
Metal. And I know you’ve already guessed where this is going. Yep, Apocrophex
are a Technical Brutal Death Metal band. But you know what? This is
unbelievably good.
Maybe it’s because both tracks are short, that they
manage to keep my attention throughout their duration. Wheels Within Wheels, is
utterly riveting, as the vocals follow the path of the music and these guys are
obviously a very tight unit.
Their sound opens up a bit more on Halos Of Light,
especially with the inclusion of cleaner vocals and more atmospheric tones and
in less than 5 minutes, I’ve been won over.
I’ve nothing but positive things to say about this EP,
surprisingly.
I don’t listen to enough Stoner Rock. It’s a genre I’ve
always enjoyed, but one I’ve never really explored and got to know properly. So
topping up my quota are Mexican band Turbulence.
Their laidback approach reminds me of a Stoner version of Pantera with James
Hetfield on vocals. Their sound has a head-nodding feelgood vibe and is pretty
cool chill-out music.
There’s a backbone of Metal that’s present throughout
every track and every song is catchy as hell. I spent ages trying to work out
who else they remind me of and I came up with a mixture of early Pearl Jam,
Soundgarden, Nirvana and even a bit of Blind Melon.
So a massive pot of influences and also a sound of their
own, mainly created by Adrián Santana’s ear pleasing vocals.
Well worth checking out: http://www.reverbnation.com/turbulence1
My Spanish is non-existent, but from what I can work out, Colombian Black Metal band Penumbra, have an album coming out soon. And if you head on over to ReverbNation, you can hear a new track, Marchando a la Guerra, plus a small preview of another track.
There’s also a couple of old demo tracks which have awful production. But at least it shows how much the band have progressed in a short space of time
There’s also a track available on You Tube for another new track, Ritual Genocide
And while we are roaming around You Tube, here’s a track I’ve been playing a lot this week
It’s a rough mix of God Is Dead from UK Black Metal band Nefarious Dusk.
This isn’t the first Serbian band to reach me in recent weeks. The quality of what I’ve found from this country has been very good.
Here we have a new Black Metal project, Ophidian Coil. Gloria In Deo is a furious piece whose aggression is tempered by some glorious Gregorian chanting. Manifestum Mortis is just pure hatred in musical form and its darkness is incredibly pleasing to the ear.
The band has recorded 4 tracks this year, 2 of which can be heard here:
Ending this weeks round-up are Hyre, from the UK. I’ve spotted the band spreading their name around online this week, so it would be rude not to check them out.
Technically, I suppose this could be classed as Black Metal. But this is much more refined, the music more complex and, well, better constructed than your average homage to Satan. And their use of more atmospheric textures is spot on.
This doesn’t provide an immediate fix of exultation, it’s more of a grower and your pleasure is gained from repeated plays as you marvel at how well this is actually put together.
Mooted as part of a trilogy, these guys are definitely ones to keep tabs on as it will be interesting to see how they progress from such a strong opening salvo.
Sixsixsix Music Updates
Had another very productive week. The Skiddaw EP can be found in my Bandcamp shop: http://sixsixsixmusic.bandcamp.com/
Skiddaw EP CD Pre-Order
I should have cd copies of the Skiddaw EP at the end of the month
It'll come in a slim cd case with a booklet
The price in the UK is £4 including postage and all pre-orders will receive 2 x 25mm Skiddaw badges free of charge. All overseas orders have to pay additional postage, so please contact me directly if you're interested from another country and I'll work out the price for you.
And if you just want the badges, the price in the UK is £2.50 including postage
contact: steve@sixsixsixmusic.com
Baalberith - Apparition Of Skulls
The digital download of the new Baalberith album will be online on Monday June 14th
The cd release date will be announced soon
Here's a sneak peek of a new track
The Wolves Of Avalon album, Boudicca's Last Stand will be out on July 21st
Here's another new track from the album, featuring Thurios of Drudkh on guest vocals.
Below that, in case you missed this track last week. Here's a track featuring a wonderful performance by Hildr Valkyrie
And finally, I'm pleased to announce another new band to the Sixisixsix Music roster, Haate.
Hailing from Italy, this is a dark ambient project, influenced by the the likes of Lustre, Ulver and Wolves in The Throne Room.
The digital release will be online via Bandcamp on July 13th, with a cd release expected at the end of August
For more regular updates from the label side of Sixsixsix Music, keep an eye on the Facebook page, which is updated most days
Thanks for reading and next weeks update will be back on Friday (hopefully)
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