2018

RUTSA / POHJAMUTA / CICUTOXIN – Cold Case [Finland, Sludge / Punk / Noise] (2018)

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Rämekuukkeli-levyt | 2-1-18

…and here we are in some far flung corner of the world with a three way split of things that may or may not be metal. I do not think it matters as it is 100% effective. I adore not only the quest for weird and caustic thing but also when there is a breakdown between genres to achieve an end goal. The Cold Case split is a three way collaboration with three Finnish underground acts whose seems united in their own unorthodoxy.

If there was any track to catch attention it would be RUTSA with its bombed out landscape of noise and terror. Outside of the aesthetic of harsh noise that populates the air like a swarm of hornets, the structure of the music is a churning machine of broken gears and mechanical fluid. Further investigation into the band’s demo tapes reveal a similar sound but without the level of abrasiveness present in this recent split.

I could not find the selection by CICUTOXIN in any streaming form though the band’s sludge / doom seems fitting for the collaboration. POHJAMUTA, on the other hand, does have their song available which is horrifying amalgamation between sludge and some sort of rabid punk which sees vocals screamed with irreverence and tensions wound tight around necks. All three make up a motley crew of Finnish underground acts which seem to pledge to the same monstrous god which lives in sewers and in runoffs next to graveyards. The unaligned seems to be a theme with a split that can certainly be used to scour the grime from metal.

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Human Agony – Goring Christ [Canada, Black / Death] (2018)

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Self Released | 2-1-18

The fact I can’t listen to more than one song from this EP is hilarious as it is infuriating. The mail order distro which is attached to this band, Blud Auk also has its samples on Soundcloud. It seems to be my fate finding really awesome music that sails international waters in terms of formats and presentation. What is important however is that I have found some clues and leads to a cavern of death and rot whose location is only known by those already infected with spiritual sickness.

Despite Goring Christ only having one song, listening to the Final Laceration demo shows a band ready to smash windows and use the pieces to inflict harm on whoever is closest. This is the trenches of black / death / punk / war / bestial and whatever other avatar of horrid music that comes from the lose of goodness. It is fast, gross, and undeniably fun. Goring Christ and the greater Blood Auk label has found an aesthetic and a distribution method that seems to work for fanatics of slime and grime. I will make any addendum to this review if the rest of the EP turns out to be any different than what is present on the previous demo or preview track. If the band suddenly changes to symphonic progressive, Ill be sure to post a follow up. For now and until that point sit back and die a thousand times over.

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Висельник – Despair [Russia, Raw Black / Ambient] (2017)

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Self Released | 1-26-18

I think changing the tag of DSBM to Black / Ambient is better for longevity purposes. Depressive Suicidal Black Metal sometimes drops the Suicidal portion of the name and even though some bands do bask in the macabre of self harm, they do so often without the tag of DSBM. At this point DSBM has become a genre that was a thing but is no longer needed. This isn’t to say that depressive black metal or even the sounds that were heralds to the genre aren’t being used. Take Висельник who has all of the hallmarks of the genre from the tin razor guitar sound, to the anguished wail, to the catalog of demos that have gone unnoticed.

Despair is the 26th proper demo for an act that has only been around for 10 years. In the larger picture, Despair does not charge into any new landscapes fro the artist rather continues a small incremental march towards well rounded black ambient. the fact that most all of these 16 demos have gone unnoticed frames the work of Висельник as a personal endeavor with some grief stricken results. Beyond the wall of torn sound that inhabits most of the music, there are some wonderful melodies which flies around music that is a near textbook example of depressive black metal.

I am usually not a seeker for this type of music and in fact find a lot of the tropes used in this genre ruin the aesthetic and mood. Висельник manages to make depressive music without succumbing to cartoons or edge laded tropes. the final few songs are covers by other obscure depressive black metal acts which again allows the user to go further into the dark cellars of emotion. Despite this demo probably being apart of a larger book from an artist who will likely bask in shadows, Despair is a fine pick for the gloomiest of days.

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Wojtek – Slaved In Eternal Obeisance To Gravelords Of Old [US, Black / Punk] (2018)

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Self Released | 1-29-18

there are a lot of things I enjoy about Wojtek. I love the fact they lay music in a way that is feverish and maniacal. I love the fact their aesthetic clings to a crossover between occult black and anarchopunk. I love the fact all of the song titles and album cover could be slight parody if not backed up by blistering chaos. I love the fact their band is named after a WWII bear adopted by the Polish military. With everything to love, listening to Slaved In Eternal Obeisance To Gravelords Of Old is similar to reaching for a hug but only getting arms full of razorwire in return.

similar to the tag of black/doom, black/punk is varied in its final mixture and can be different for each practitioner. While some blackened punk retains the musical structure of punk with shrieking vocals and others black metal with predilections for chaos, Wojtek is right in the middle with a record that could honestly be a black sheep in each of its parent genres. With nothing to call home, Slaved In Eternal Obeisance To Gravelords Of Old turns into a molotov cocktail of alchemist fire and hammers in the aesthetic of a city devoured in the flames of sorcery.

I do not know if I would like this better with a more orthodox album cover. I have been staring at the cheap Xerox quality drawing wondering if it would be better just with a black and white sigil of some sorts. After deep meditations, I feel the cover for Slaved In Eternal Obeisance To Gravelords Of Old is fitting as it showcases all of the wants and needs of this record and really acts an overture for the album. Prepare for nothing you are preprepared for.

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Khragkh – Šlach Anihilacyi [Belarus, Black] (2013) [REISSUE]

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Exit Fetish Tapes | 1-19-18

I am going to start tagging tape reissues rather than try to cram them into the current year. Acts like Khragkh are current working black metal bands who are having their demos released by DIY labels like Exit Fetish Tapes. This does not mean Šlach Anihilacyi can slide into 2018 as a release as the band already has their debut LP planted in 2017. For this and for future releases that transcend an actual year, I hope this makes more sense. I am only spending so much time to get this right as things like Šlach Anihilacyi are worthy of attention in both years.

Going through the band’s 2017 full length one can hear things that are slightly askew. Despite a jump in production and a step up in terms of album design, the core of Khragkh remains maniacal with black metal twisted by sorcery. From the vocals which sound as if from a boneclad shaman or the tendency to get lost in hypnotic instrumentals, Khragkh is a wonderful gem hidden under the blood of a sacrificial altar.

The Šlach Anihilacyi demo is going to offer one everything in terms of aesthetic looking for lesser known black metal that was heard by 20 people in its original run. This does not mean, however, later records on “bigger” labels are not worth ones time. Khragkh is probably the only belarusian band I can think of off the top of my head and with that distinction, they are the best Beleariusian band at the moment.

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Dead Void – The Looming Spectre [Denmark, Death / Doom] (2018)

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Self Released | 1-17-18

From their Bandcamp page, Death Void states “Recorded (mostly live) in October 2017. Cassette release will be available to order after we return from The Abyss Underground Festival.” It is as if we caught this band going out of the door and had little time for us being in their place. Add to this a photocopied demo and one wonders if we should just come back in a few months. This nonchalance regarding their demo only serves to heighten interest as The Looming Spectre, while not a perfect demo, is more than fun to listen to with a band that seems to have tons of potential hidden away under a cool visage.

As the rule with demos goes, one could be getting a 4 minute or 70 minute release. The Looming Spectre falls somewhere between with 33 minutes being dedicated across 4 tracks of rotten death / doom or just slow moving death. As far as sound goes, this is music that works as low fidelity as it would with better production since there is a thesis under these corpses and it is one of existential obliteration. This is music to dance to if dancing mean wearing your ankles down to the nub.

One of the band’s promo pictures has the tag line of “non ritualistic death metal” and since this band is the only one using that tag, I can only assume it is a step away from occult black / death to something more primal and ultimately festering. One may think there is not much separating Death Void from the likes of bands like Temple Nightside and QRIXKUOR but in the world of death metal, Dead Void is far beyond civilization hidden under the stench of verdant decay.

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Benthik Zone – Causa Modicum Temporis Spatium [Portugal, Atmospheric Black / Death] (2018)

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Self Released | 1-18-18

After a short rest following end of the year festivities, this is the first Tape Wyrm review of 2018. I thought it would be fitting to celebrate the passing of the new year with a record that sounds like the collapsing of worlds and the coming of an age of darkness.

From a very Latin background, the title for this EP translates to something like to cause a short space of time. While the track titles are rendered in cryptic aesthetics, the lyrics are still Portuguese which yield abstract and cosmisc themes. If the album titles and track lengths were not a giveaway, Benthik Zone reaches for the heavens and tries to pull down the blackness beyond the light.

I am just learning about this band and their records as Via Cosmicam ad Europam ab Gelid Inferis was released in September of 2017 and would have fit perfectly on this site for much of the same reasons as their 2018 did. It sometimes takes a band and their releases to reach certain places much in the same way light does across the galaxy. For now, Causa Modicum Temporis Spatium has arrived coming from somewhere beyond the heavens.

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Husk – Fangs [Italy, Black] (2018)

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Death Kvlt Productions | 2-5-18

within the deadzone of album releases, there are moments when future records are released almost in their entirety 2 months early. Welcome Husk, a one man black metal project probably from the UK but not entirely sure (Actually Italy). Fangs is limited to 15 copies and is scheduled to release in February of 2018. What you can hear now, however, is almost the entire demo. If it were not for Death Kvlt being a really cool up and coming label, I would have questions about why they were doing it this way.

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