ALBUM REVIEW: Botanist, "Photosynthesis"

By: Josh McIntyre

 

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/10/2020

Label: The Flenser

 

“Photosynthesis” track listing:

 

1). Light

2). Water

3). Chrorophyll

4). Dehydration

5). Bacteria

6). Stroma

7). Palisade

8). Oxygen

 

The Review:

 

A degree of antihumanism, both philosophically and literally, has flown through the veins of black metal since its founding. As the shock-value aspects (ie anti-Christendom, actual murder) withered away over time due to oversaturation, more bands sought to position their interests beyond the anthropocentrism of certain reactionary artists and more aligned with environmentalist romanticism. This has been especially true within the American/Cascadian scene. References to landscapes and preservation grow in prominence over more traditional and human ideas such as mythology.

 

Botanist lies at the end of this polarity. All remnants of human experience are removed in favor of our chlorophyll-filled friends. Biosphere over anthrosphere. As silly as this may appear on paper it makes sense as a reaction to black metal culture, taking the ideas from bands like Wolves in the Throne Room to their radical end points. We all know the rumor about Ulver recording in a forest. Well, Botanist is the forest. And of course ideology is meaningless without praxis. Botanist’s push beyond black metal (while staying within the subgenre’s core elements) features the replacement of guitars with hammered dulcimers, a stringed instrument that is struck with mallets. Again, this may sound silly at first mention but it creates a feeling of melodicism and atmosphere not too distant from other experimentalist extreme metal artists such those already mentioned. This is achieved while also giving the project a unique quality.

 

“Photosynthesis” is the culmination of Botanist’s journey after a decade. While Botanist has sought to become-plant it has also been slowly becoming-Botanist through a series of releases, usually through Flenser, one of the prime exporters of challenging and experimental artists today. Botanist has made a name for itself as such a project but past outputs, while generally great, have differed in both musical quality and production value. “Photosynthesis”is the first time tracks bring me pure pleasantness without the occasional distraction of “wow this is really weird.” This album achieves Botanist at a high point, a coalescence of uniqueness and togetherness within the post-black metal world. Botanist is still weird, yes, but it no longer sounds as if that has been a goal in itself.

 

It is really amazing how great the often-piano-like dirges of hammer dulcimers flow over the more familiar sounds of aggressive drums and distorted bass. The singing vocals carry weight and sensitivity, like a mysterious choir heard underneath the canopy during a nightly hike, while the shrill screaming is more like a forceful declaration of both a desire and a right to life. It is the language and refrain of the vegetation around you, the human outsider, simply existing because it can.

 

We are brought beyond civilization, beyond human. We explore that which is often cast aside by our anthropocentric attitudes, especially in Western culture. There is more to life than 46 chromosomes and skin. To better understand ourselves we must occasionally cast aside our humanity.  Botanist holds its hands out to invite us to higher thinking, to connectivity with that which we have segregated ourselves from.

 

“Photosynthesis” is available HERE

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM PREMIERE: DUN RINGILL offer fans a dark and doomy "Welcome"

When The Order of Israfel took a one year break from September 2017, the rhythm section Patrik Andersson Winberg (Bass) and drummer Hans Lilja (also in Lotus) grabbed the chance to create new music again together with Patrik's old band mate from the Doomdogs era, Tomas Eriksson (Intoxicate and ex Grotesque).

To make this exciting project of DUN RINGILL as great as possible, the band teamed up with Gothenburg's fellow musicians, guitarists Tommy Stegemann (Silverhorse), Jens Florén (also in Lommi & ex- live guitarist for Dark Tranquillity) and Patric Grammann (SFT, Neon Leon). Of what started as a dark and doomy jam project with Nordic folk influences, should become something bigger: This Friday, March 1^st, DUN RINGILL will release their first full-length album, “Welcome”, with Argonauta Records! Ahead of its official release, you can stream the album now and in full, exclusively with THE SLUDGELORD!  “Welcome” is issued on CD, LP and Digital Download formats  and is available to purchase at: www.argonautarecords.com

Says the band “We are super stoked that we finally will be able to show the world our beloved debut album that we recorded last year and we are extra happy that The mighty Sludgelord are streaming this beast exclusively before it is released officially!”

Band info: facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: The Dark Red Seed debut "Dukkha"

Seattle's THE DARK RED SEED are set to release their new album "Becomes Awake" on May 18th 2018. The band which is the musical outlet of Tosten Larson, guitarist for Seattle dark folk musician King Dude is an amazing combo of dark folk and heavy psych music and today we premiere their song "Dukkha".

Tosten commented:

“Dukkha” was not the first song written for the “Becomes Awake” album but it was written intentionally as the starting point of our story.  Instrumentally it is supposed to be big and loud and chaotic.  The bridge is meant to have a dissonant, uncomfortable chord progression with saxophones, Synths and guitars blaring all around.  The verse and chorus section is vaguely inspired by an similar chaotic At the Drive In song I heard many years ago.  “Dukkha” doesn’t actually sound like the song it was inspired by but rather I wanted to create a jarring angular feeling I got when I first heard the At the Drive In song.  The reason for all the chaos and stress the song should invoke is because that is what the song is about and that is where the journey of this story begins.  “Dukkha” translates to pain and suffering.  In this case my interpretation of” Dukkha” could be seen as experienced by unchecked hedonism causing a life out of balance.” 

Pre-order the album here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Ulvesang, "The Hunt"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 16/03/2018

Label: Nordvis

The Hunt is bleak, dark and quite beautiful, highly evocative of nature and all that is fresh and clean. If this sounds like your kind of thing, it will be. This is a fantastic record.

“The Hunt” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Invocation

2). The Trial

3). The Dance

4). The End

5). The Hunt

6). The Break

7). The Run

8). The Gloom

9). The Truth

10). Močvara/Мочвара

The Review:

Ulvesang play folk- or neofolk/dark folk to be more accurate and hail not from Sweden or Norway but from Canada- still the Frozen North, so quite fitting. The two piece specialise in very dark but pretty acoustic textures. Being as this is an instrumental work (or without lyrics at least), what images it conjures up are a matter for the individual listener, but I would imagine that many listeners would find the sound and atmosphere here to be evocative of the forest, leaf and stream and all that is natural.

It is perhaps odd to some that this might fit right in alongside black metal, but not for me. It is bleak, it is dark, it is quite beautiful- similar to the very best of the black metal genre. Fans of Winterfylleth, eagerly awaiting their forthcoming acoustic record, and fans of the more ethereal work of Ulver and so on will find much to enjoy here.

The opening intro of “Invocation” sets the mood and the mood does not falter from there on, whether it be the bitter-sweet “The Trial” or the wistfully bleak “The End”- the textures are richly dark. However, the feel is not necessarily cold; there is melancholy and bleakness but the album is never grim; maudlin might be a better description. The ten tracks are all highly evocative of nature and all that is fresh and clean. If this sounds like your kind of thing, it will be. A fantastic record.

“The Hunt” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Neverending Winter - ‘Сеногной’

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: EP
Date Released: 28/01/2018
Label: Independent

Their riffs burrow their way into a listener’s soul and take up permanent residence. It’s definitely ugly and miserable, but it’s also memorable to a degree of which few other bands in the style are capable.  My hopes were high for this new EP and I will state unequivocally that there is no band in the underground I feel more strongly about right now than Neverending Winter. The musical pieces are all in place, all that needs to happen from here are people taking notice. 

‘Сеногной’ DD track listing:

1. Новый рассвет (New Dawn)

2. Frost Leash

3. Сеногной (Drizzle-drozzle)

The Review:

Neverending Winter’s previous release, last year’s ‘Хиус’ was an absolute revelation. Its blend of black metal crust and folk made such an impact with me that it ended up on my best of 2017 list. To say that my hopes were high for this new EP would be an understatement, and to say that ‘Сеногной’ exceeds those hopes would be an understatement as well.

An all-too-brief experience at just over 14 minutes, what we have here is masterpiece-level material. Sub-three minute opener “Новый рассвет” builds upon a folkier theme adding heaviness as it goes until it’s blasting climax, the fallout of which blends directly into “Frost Leash”, which takes a different tone altogether.

Equal parts dissonant d-beat thrill ride and decimating breakdowns, the song is a goddamned masterpiece. What makes Neverending Winter so remarkable is their ability to take a style that typically favors nasty production and emotional tone over songwriting and evens the scales. Their riffs burrow their way into a listener’s soul and take up permanent residence. It’s definitely ugly and miserable, but it’s also memorable to a degree of which few other bands in the style are capable.

The second half of ‘Сеногной’ is comprised entirely of the EP’s title track, which takes a more experimental tact, taking the feel of “ Новый рассвет” and putting it in both a more aggressive and progressive context. The song rages and stomps, and then recedes and recuperates. The final minute of the song fades into a reflective and delicate folk, which ends on a strangely calming note for such a tempestuous release.

By all rights, Neverending Winter should be on any compatible label’s radar. Sure the band might be an unknown quantity from a sales standpoint, but from a quality side of the coin, there’s no reason this band shouldn’t be among the most hyped bands in the underground. They’re simply too damned good to be left to the side any longer. If you’re reading this, I’m virtually begging you to give this band a shot. I can’t guarantee you’ll love it as much as I do because nobody can ever guarantee something like that. But I will state unequivocally that there is no band in the underground I feel more strongly about right now than Neverending Winter. The musical pieces are all in place, all that needs to happen from here are people taking notice.

‘Сеногной’ is available here  

Band info: Facebook || Bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Ancient VVisdom - "33"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/10/2017

Label: Argonauta Records (CD) |

Magic Bullet Records (DD) |

DHU Records (LP)

Like the morning star it praises, Ancient VVisdom is more deceptive than you realize. It heralds that section of the genre that is far darker than even the loudest bands while doing a style you don't recognize is nearly this cursed. "33" is going to live on for quite some time.

“33” CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Ascending Eternally

2. Light of Lucifer

3. In the Name of Satan

4. True Will

5. The Infernal One

6. Summoning Eternal Light

7. Rise Fallen Angel

8. 33

9. The Great Beast

10. Lux

11. Dispelling Darkness

The Review:

Metal music has since its dawn been preoccupied with the visage of Beelzebub. Whether it was Ozzy Osbourne conjuring the idea of Satan's love in "N.I.B." or mainstream heavy rock like Ghost calling out to the "old one, master," Satan has been that ultimate taboo in music. For metal, the Devil has also been the totem of rejecting all convention. And though there have been many incursions into popular culture, it would seem metal music's fixation with the sinister and demons may always be part.

So when a recording comes across that embodies some of that dark spirit, it almost feels like splitting hairs to argue how it qualifies as metal. In Ancient VVisdom's case, it indubitably does.

The Austin-based trio formed in 2009 and have three releases – 2011's "A Godlike Inferno”, 2013's "Deathlike" and 2014's "Sacrificial" – as well as a rather infamous 2010 split disc with incarcerated mass murderer Charles Manson on their resume. Its first full length in three years, "33," is alternately inspired by a variety of meanings for the number, including the birth year that Jesus Christ was crucified. The horrific vibe never quite goes away from there.

If you have not heard the group prior, Ancient VVisdom is metal in the first-wave death rock or the folkloric styles you may recall rose to prominence in metal in the early 2000s. "33" is thus largely rooted in acoustic music, without drum and sparing electric guitar. The focus of Ancient VVisdom is Nathan Opposition, vocalist and songwriter. He's crucial, because Ancient VVisdom is nothing if not a lyrical act whose songs and stories are its reason for being.

To be clear, Ancient VVisdom has magnificent instrumentation. Whether it is the guitar, synths or hints of percussion, the minimal nature of "33" means all of it has to count even more than the average band. However, Ancient VVisdom's Satanic verses drive the music for the most part. Indeed Nathan Opposition's vocals set up much of the art that is here. "Ascending Eternally" opens like a hymn, while "Light of Lucifer" begins the release smoothly out of that hymn into a chord that you might hear around the fire at a church's summer camp. However, this is no revival.

Songs like "Summoning Eternal Light" and "The Great Beast" musically deliver the crunch you might more expect from metal, whereas "Rise Fallen Angel" is Ancient VVisdom's closest foray into heavy rock. These selections and a handful of others are not ultraviolent songs. They're musically savvy, but as with other cuts, the imagery of the occult, Lucifer and the great unknown are the true canvas.

Like the morning star it praises, Ancient VVisdom is more deceptive than you realize. It heralds that section of the genre that is far darker than even the loudest bands while doing a style you don't recognize is nearly this cursed. "33" is going to live on for quite some time.

"33" is available digitally here, CD here and eventually on vinyl here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

EP PREMIERE: Progressive heavy rockers OLD MAN WIZARD return with "Innocent Hands"

Progressive heavy rock band OLD MAN WIZARD return with their new single “Innocent Hands”. The 2 track release will be self released by the band on 7" vinyl on the 25 August 2017, following on from their recent tour earlier this month. Acting as a follow up to their 2013 debut “Unfavorable” a remarkably complex, colourful, and genre bending release, OLD MAN WIZARD are a truly unique voice in the underground scene and today you can stream “Innocent Hands” in full below.  

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Avatarium - "Hurricanes And Halos"

By Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 26/05/2017

Label: Nuclear Blast

This is another great record from Avatarium and one which places the band firmly in the upper echelons of doom outfits operating today. There is nothing to fault here. If you enjoyed the band's previous work, don't hesitate. If you have never heard the band, then this is as good a place as any to start. Great record.

“Hurricanes And Halos” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Into The Fire - Into The Storm (4:14)

2. The Starless Sleep (4:47)

3. Road To Jerusalem (5:48)

4. Medusa Child (9:00)

5. The Sky At The Bottom Of The Sea (5:25)

6. When Breath Turns To Air (4:46)

7. A Kiss (From The End Of The World) (7:14)

8. Hurricanes And Halos (3:22)

The Review:

Avatarium are proving to be a rather prolific band. The brainchild of Leif Edling (Candlemass) they have now put out three full lengths and an EP since 2013! After the excellent “The Girl With The Raven Mask”, I wondered where the band would go next. That particular album struck me as somewhat Dio-esque- with all the drama and storytelling of the miniature vocal maestro.

This time around, Dio still looms large in the influences I can hear; but more from his Rainbow era rather than his solo work. Uriah Heep offer a reference point here as well- with the rolling rhythms and Hammond organ work of “Demons and Wizards” being present and correct. The record offers up a couple of the epic song lengths that fans will expect and Jennie Ann Smith's vocals are as haunting as ever and are a real selling point of the band, not to mention a highlight of the album.

There is a lightness of touch to songs like “The Starless Sleep”, despite the weight of riffage, while there are more whimsical acoustic sounds in tracks like “Road To Jerusalem”. “Medusa Child” offers something of a centrepiece to the album at the half way point. It's a fantastic track, full of changes, production flourishes and a darkness and gloom that is always found in the best doom.

Elsewhere, “Easy Living” by Heep is echoed, Led Zep at their more morose is to be found and the downbeat grandeur of Sabbath can be heard in “A Kiss (From The End Of The World)” before the strange outro of a title track closes the record.

This is another great record from Avatarium and one which places the band firmly in the upper echelons of doom outfits operating today. There is nothing to fault here. If you enjoyed the band's previous work, don't hesitate. If you have never heard the band, then this is as good a place as any to start. Great record.

“Hurricanes & Halos” is available now

FFO: Candlemass, Jex Thoth, Dio, Uriah Heep

Band info: facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Pelander - "Time"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 14/10/2016

Label: Nuclear Blast

Clearly, as can be heard over the course of this interesting record, Magnus Pelander is not always a happy man- through his sadness, though; he has created a thing of beauty. This album is excellent; one of the best I have heard this year. If you are searching for sombre acoustic music, then this is essential.

“Time” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Umbrella (5:28)

2. Family Song (3:43)

3. The Irony Of Man (4:31)

4. True Colour (8:57)

5. Precious Swan (9:52)

6. Time (4:15)

The Review:

Magnus Pelander, of Witchcraft fame, has really come up with the goods here. I must admit that the last Witchcraft album did not really pique my interest- too long, very dark and I found it hard to get into. However, what we have here is a sparse record more akin to Jethro Tull or the acoustic moments of the Sabbath canon.

Pelander employs acoustic guitar, flute and backing singers- all on the first track- to create a rather sublime mixture of dark folk with doom vibes. As the album progresses, the vibe remains melancholic, wistful and in keeping with Pelander's more familiar chosen genre. His voice, instantly recognisable and unique, is one of the album's strongest points. His somewhat odd pronunciation remains intact here and this is part of what marks him out. “Family Song” is a rather pretty acoustic track with strong melodies and in parts Pelander's voice really soars.

“The Irony of Man” is somewhat more downbeat as is “True Colour”, but each track is in perfect keeping with the sombre mood on display here. As the nights draw in and summer becomes a rather distant memory, this album could be the perfect soundtrack.

“Precious Swan” begins with sparse acoustic, but adds violin and reverbed vocals. It is a sombre listen, no doubt, but strangely uplifting as well. Pelander's voice delivers heartfelt words here. The title track closes this six track extravaganza and is strangely catchy as well as downbeat. Clearly, as can be heard over the course of this interesting record, Magnus Pelander is not always a happy man- through his sadness, though; he has created a thing of beauty. This album is excellent; one of the best I have heard this year. If you are searching for sombre acoustic music, then this is essential. 

“Time” is available everywhere now

Band info: bandcamp

Wytch Hazel - "Prelude" (Album Review)

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 22/04/2016
Label: Bad Omen Records

If you have any interest in Tull, Ash, Lizzy, Sabbath et al and yearn for a band to come along and play like those heroes of a bygone era, Wytch Hazel are definitely worth your time and money. They are a great band and one that is doing something unique- out are occult tropes and devil-ish imagery, in are song-writing, medieval sonics/themes and enthusiasm rather than cynicism. A triumphant record on every level.

“Prelude” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Freedom Battle
2). Fight
3). Mighty King
4). More Than Conquerors
5). Psalm
6). Prelude
7). He Shall Reign
8). Dark Ages
9). Wytch Hazel
10). We Will Be Strong

The Review:

This Lancaster troupe of minstrels release this full length via Bad Omen Records (home of the recently reviewed Wretch!). Musically, this is somewhere between Jethro Tull (folk rock period up to 1980) and Black Sabbath/Thin Lizzy. It certainly has the folk-ish elements and the complexity of the former, but it also brandishes the power of the latter as well- this is not folk rock; it's too heavy for that.

“Freedom Battle” starts off at a fine clip and brings elements of Maiden (and thus their beloved influences) to the fray. “Fight” continues the combative theme of resistance and has many changes which are deftly handled by the band. “Mighty King” has no shortage of whimsical guitar work or vocal hooks. The sound is pleasingly warm and, yes, 70's. “More Than Conquerors” comes on like a revved up Wishbone Ash, while “Psalm” also echoes this; particularly with it’s rather pretty acoustic guitars and lyrics themed around nature, solitude and so on. Nice keyboard work, too.

The title track has a lot of the aforementioned elements and influences and hearing the ambient hiss (if you listen carefully on headphones) at the start of the track adds to the sense that this album is a trip back in time. “He Shall Reign” is a rather triumphant track in tone and boasts some excellent dynamics and vocals, along with a heavy turn in the middle. “Dark Ages” is a lament about an age of apathy and deceit. Prescient.

The band's theme song (if that is not too crass a term) follows with a rather muscular and Lizzy-esque four and a half minutes, interspersed with an acoustic passage and a superb harmony guitar section. The closing six minutes of “We Will Be Strong” is another powerful song with plenty of guitar interplay and soaring vocals. There is a tight rhythm section at work (as there is throughout the album) and plenty of singable lead work.

If you have any interest in Tull, Ash, Lizzy, Sabbath et al and yearn for a band to come along and play like those heroes of a bygone era, Wytch Hazel are definitely worth your time and money. They are a great band and one that is doing something unique- out are occult tropes and devil-ish imagery, in are song-writing, medieval sonics/themes and enthusiasm rather than cynicism. A triumphant record on every level.

“Prelude” is available here

Band info: facebook

Hexvessel - "When We Are Death" (Album Review)

By: Doza Hawes

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 29/01/2016

Label: Century Media Records

All in all, the album marks a stark departure from the band's previous offerings, stripping away the atmospheric, acoustic folk instrumentation and eerie choir vocals for a mainly electric guitar-centred rock and surf sensibility.  I definitely recommend giving this album a chance, see what happens when traditional forest dwellers put down their folk instruments, pick up an electric guitar, take some acid, and head to the beach.

“When We Are Death” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Transparent Eyeball

2. Earth Over Us

3. Cosmic Truth

4. When I’m Dead

5. Mirror Boy

6. Drugged Up On The Universe

7. Teeth Of The Mountain

8. Green Gold

9. Mushroom Spirit Doors

10. Hunter’s Prayer

11. Last Lovers In Hell (bonus track)

The Review:

After years of summoning spirits in the forests of Scandanavia, Hexvessel needed a vacation-- so they went to the beach, or so their latest album implies.

I first discovered Hexvessel whilst browsing the line-up of the legendary Roadburn Festival back in 2012. Described as "enigmatic, spirit-trafficking, Finnish forest-psych weirdos," I had to give them a listen based solely on their description. The music of Hexvessel, which spans 3 albums and a 2-song 7", began as primarily acoustic, atmospheric, and trance-inducing.  Their eerie, captivating sound has held my attention ever since, as I revisit their catalogue quite frequently.

In 2013 they released “Iron Marsh”, which took a slightly new direction, adding electric guitar and some rock elements to their sound, but primarily kept the ethereal quality of their earlier records.

The latest album from Hexvessel, “When We Are Death”, continues the altered trajectory set in their previous record, and goes much further in its electric instrumentation, revealing a band experimenting with new sounds and musical avenues (for them at least), primarily into the realm of surf rock, psychedelia, and alternative pop. The album, as a whole, is much more diverse than their previous offerings, which might be a bit jarring to listeners expecting the transcendent forest spirituality of their previous albums. If you can abandon any expectations you might have, based on their previous recordings, you might be able to get into "When We Are Death."

The opening tracks, “Transparent Eyeball”and “Earth Over Us”, immediately let the listener know that the band is taking a new direction. Centred around the electric guitar, these tightly-constructed psychedelic surf rock songs are upbeat and a far departure from the spirit realm of the forest. Track 3, “Cosmic Truth”, brings us back to the band's acoustic roots, and is a shining gem on this album. Lyrically, it's captivating, and the lilting vocal melodies combine with a melancholy piano drone to create a truly beautifully crafted song. “When I'm Dead” returns to the upbeat psychedelic/surf formula, with an interesting electric slide guitar meandering throughout, and a prog rock-inspired ending. “Mirror Boy” is a minimalist, soothing and stripped down tune, reminiscent of earlier records. “Drugged up on the Universe” sees the band venturing into a harder, yet spacey, perhaps Hawkwind-inspired bad acid trip. “Teeth of the Mountain” is a finely-crafted psychedelic rock song, with a beautiful mellotron overlay.

“Green Gold” continues along the same lines, finding a nice middle ground between the acoustic and electric realms that this album inhabits. “Mushroom Spirit Doors” gives us one last upbeat tune before the album seems to leave the beach and return home to the forest and close the album with the haunting melodies of “Hunter's Prayer”.

All in all, the album marks a stark departure from the band's previous offerings, stripping away the atmospheric, acoustic folk instrumentation and eerie choir vocals for a mainly electric guitar-centred rock and surf sensibility.  I definitely recommend giving this album a chance, see what happens when traditional forest dwellers put down their folk instruments, pick up an electric guitar, take some acid, and head to the beach.

“When We Are Death” is available now

Band info: facebook || bandcamp