By: Daniel Jackson
 |
| Rebel Wizard |
Welp, it didn’t take long, but life
got in the way and I missed several weeks worth of “Sludgecamp”. I don’t believe this is going to be a recurring thing,
so hopefully I’ll be a lot more consistent from here on in! This week is
another largely black metal affair, with a bit of death thrown in for some
balance. It’s also heavy on new pre-orders as opposed to albums released this
week. As always, I hope you find something to love here!
Released
this week:
1). Rebel Wizard, “Voluptuous worship
of rapture and response”
This album is garnering plenty of
praise and hype, and with good reason! The music is an infectious blend of
NWOBHM and black metal, housed within the harsh, fuzzy production B. Nekrasov
has favored from the project’s inception. With wild song titles (“Drunk on the wizdom of unicorn semen”,
for example) and brilliantly crafted riffs, Rebel Wizard
feels like something of a sure bet, with each new release improving over the
last. When you combine this kind of excellent songwriting with flashy lead
guitar work, and then wrap it in this kind of bat-shit crazy exterior, the
appeal seems so obvious that greater success feels like an inevitably at this
point.
2). Ladnah,
“Within
Dark Realms”
Coming to us from Greece is Ladnah, with the two tracks available offering two very
different experiences. “The Awakening”
has a very strong Emperor vibe, circa ‘Wrath of the Tyrant’ and the self-titled
EP. The other song, “Belial Rises From
The East” has much more of a current day Sargeist
kind of feel to it, but both are well done. This is a total throwback, and
would have fit in amazingly well as one of the super underground bands featured
in one of those old Blackened compilations back in the 90s. This is well worth
checking out if you have an affinity for that mid to late 90s symphonic black
metal sound.
New
Reissues on Bandcamp:
3). Mactätus, “Provenance Of Cruelty” (Napalm)
3). Mactätus, “Provenance Of Cruelty” (Napalm)
In something of a fun coincidence
given the previous band’s similar stylistic choices, underrated symphonic black
metallers Mactätus have made their way to bandcamp via
their old label home Napalm Records, and
they’re ready to rouse your late 90s symphonic black metal nostalgia as only
they can. Released originally in 1998, this album strikes a nice balance
between the early Emperor material and
pre-Galder Dimmu Borgir.
New
Pre-Orders:
4). Dödsrit,
‘Spirit
Crusher’
(28th of September)
Prosthetic Records
has been on something of a tear this year with well-regarded albums from Skeletonwitch, Monotheist, and now
this week’s Rebel Wizard all under their belts this
year. They’re coming back very quickly with another can’t miss album. This
time, they’re presenting us with a brand new Dödsrit album;
less than a year following their remarkable debut, and the preview song plain
old fucking kills. Their last album was on my year end list, and by the sound
of this, they’re damn well likely to be there again this year. If you have any
interest in atmospheric black metal, crust, or both: buy this. Immediately.
5). Mutilated by Zombies, ‘Scripts of
Anguish’
(5th of October)
Awesome old school death metal,
though of a different sort than you might be thinking. This one should appeal
more to the Morrisound, Florida death metal devotees of the world, offering
that early Deicide viciousness with the rhythmic chops
of prime Dying Fetus and Deeds of Flesh.
6). All My Sins, ‘Pra Sila - Vukov
Totem’
(23rd of September)
Raging melodic black metal out of
Serbia, and self-described as “South Slavic Black Metal Mysticism”. The
relentless blasting here is paired with icy tremolo riffs with a touch of folk
sprinkled in throughout, with the end result approaches something like the
current day Finnish black metal sound, only at hyperspeed and with a cleaner
production. “Vetrovo Kolo”, the song available to preview, rarely stops long
enough to let you catch your breath, but the ride is well worth the exhaustion.
Band info: Ladnah || Mactätus || DODSRIT || Mutilated By Zombies
|| All My Sins
