Eos – L’Avalé [Canada / Black] (2014)

Fallen Empire | 3-14-14

I have not been shy about my adoration for Fallen Empire. Ever since stumbling across the two cassette compilation from SVN-OKKLT, which showcased some fantastic underground black metal including Death Fortress, Witch in Her Tomb, Axis of Light, and Eos, I have been a fan and activley camped out in front of the office doors. Since that compilation, Fallen Empire has released a tremendous amount of material that included the full length from Death Fortress, the massively underrated Premonicion De Guerra by Lluvia, and now a demo from Eos. 2014 seems to be a good year for the Quebec based Eos. What little information is available for this act only adds to the mystery, as their debut demo L’Avalé is one of the better black metal releases of the year.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

One Master – Live in the House of Quiet [US, Black] (2014)

NoVisible Scars | 1-3-14

Well, then. We have One Master. From the not so horrid lands of Boston, One Master is a traditional first/second wave black metal band with their eyes focused on the occult. In fact, the cover for their 2006 full length The Quiet Eye of Eternity looks like the last image one sees before ritual sacrifice. This band has the imaginary to go to bat as well as the chaotic disposition to scare their listeners into submission.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Urzeit – Der zweite Drei [US, Black] (2014)

Self Released | 1-15-14

I think I would have thought this were a German group if not for catching a few passing mentions of Ash Borer. Urzeit is from Portland, Oregon and contain one of the members in the half atmospheric half second wave black metal act Ash Borer as well as the sludge doom act Hell. Because it is more interesting when outer collaborations differ from the previous acts, Urzeit stands as the orthodox disciple of raw black metal. No frills here, Der zweite Drei is an open wound with gravel rubbed in for good measure.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Ethereal Riffian – Aeonian [Ukraine, Stoner / Doom] (2014)

Mulligore Productions | 2-25-14

Lets us get this out of the way. Ethereal Riffian is sort of a silly name unless you can shrug it off as stoner humor. From the now popular country of Ukraine comes Ethereal Riffian which wants nothing more than to add to the universe unearthed by bands like Sleep and Ufomammut. The band is seeing their 2014 debut released on cassette through distribution by Tarturus Records. I quite like the new artwork as the black and white balance is more appealing than the band’s first album art which looked like a cover for a DMT documentary.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Cemetery Fog – Shadows from the Cemetery [Finland, Black / Death / Doom] (2013)

Iron Bonehead | 3-31-14

I usually like to focus on music from the current calendar year but then again, cassette demos are usually timeless. Back in the early days of 2013, there was this Finnish band, who couldn’t decide on whether or not they wanted to be death metal, or doom metal, or black metal. So this Finnish band, whose name is Cemetery Fog, decided to be all three. Back in 2013, the band released their third demo Shadows from the Cemetery which probably stayed in the hands of friends, family, and websites who stumbled on it by accident. Today in 2014, Iron Bonehead re releases this treasured gem for a greater audience. Who knew that while we slept, the sounds of death and doom where being played with gloomy grandeur.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Wildernessking – The Devil Within [South Africa, Black] (2014)

Grimoire Cassette Cvlture | 3-14-14

The amount of metal coming out of Africa is minimal at best. The majority of African metal either comes from the northern countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya) or South Africa. Wildernessking is from South Africa and by all intents and purposes fits within a very large family of atmospheric black metal with varying relations to post rock. The band’s debut album The Writing of Gods In the Sand impressed and surprised a handful of blogs and critics. Despite African metal being an easy prompt for review, Wildernessking survives on its own merit with their 2014 EP The Devil Within proving to be of similar caliber.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Torrid Husk – Caesious [US, Black Metal] (2014)

Grimoire Records | 2-4-14

I just discussed Grimoire records being at the weird middle of different styles and now this record is here. Torrid Husk is not at the center of different genres rather a clean and neat package of black metal with only slight modifications. The funniest part about searching out lesser known metal bands is running into releases that may have been released last year to the attention of fewer than deserved. Torrid Husk’s debut Mingo was silently released and celebrated but without much fanfare. The band follows up their first on Grimoire records with a short yet concise EP with second wave flirtations as well as a deep groove which runs like jagged wire throughout the record.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Nefaria / Sylvan Frost [US, Black Metal / Ambient] (2014)

Self Released | 1-31-14

I feel my journey into lesser known metal is going to unearth some awesome and strange examples of artwork. Example — this fucking pencil drawing used on the cassette of the Nefaria / Sylvan Frost split. Perhaps the best part about this cover is the total disregard of any sort of graphic assistance. Nope, I am going to hand write the names. Fuck you guys and your use of “computers.” From a design perspective this is both insulting and completely charming. Who in the world is this meant for? The answer is everyone as this cassette has been famously xeroxed for anyone who got a chance to purchase it.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Ethereal Shroud – Absolution|Emptiness [UK, DSBM] (2014)

Grimoire Cassette Cvlture | 1-14-14

Note: This album was released October 13th of 2013 but is now being released as a cassette from US based Grimoire Cassette Cvlture.

It is perhaps fitting the bandcamp page for Ethereal Shroud is cast in an almost illegible greyscale. the text is near illegible and there is not much information regarding the record. Because the creator goes by “Anonymous” and everything is released for free without much fanfare, Absolution|Emptiness comes cast in a fog of obscurity. This, of course, is the correct atmosphere one strives for when releasing depressive black metal. It is almost as it is cast in an abstract veil. Alright, fine … cast in an ethereal shroud. There.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.

Cavern – Tales of Ruin [US, Sludge/Rock] (2014)

Grimorie Records | 3-4-14

Alright, there are a couple of reasons how I ran across this. First of all Grimorie Records is a Baltimore based metal label which specializes in, well, a lot of things. The second reason is that this brightly colored illustration depicts a crying nun and, well, that is eye catching to say the least. I am already writing about a black metal band from Grimorie but Cavern’s Tales of Ruin was just too disaffecting to pass up. I am also a sucker for sludge.

Kaptain Carbon

Kaptain Carbon is the custodian of Tape Wyrm, a mod for Reddit’s r/metal, Creator of Vintage Obscura, and a Reckless Scholar for Dungeon Synth.