Dark Castle has changed the shape of sound to come with their most recent Profound Lore release, Surrender To All Life Beyond Form. This album is a journey into a universe of pure radness, where space & time melt your speakers. Dark Castle flipped the script with this release, & created an album that is all their own. CVLT Nation had chance to interview Dark Castle’s Stevie Floyd about the band’s creative process etc., & she broke everything down to the nitty gritty. So after the jump, check out this mind-altering read, so tune in & do not tune out!

Photo By Samantha Marble

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Today CVLT Nation releases Vol. III of our Blackened Everything mixtape series. This volume is a sonic killing machine on a blackened warpath of audio terror! From the time you press play, the onslaught on your eardrums is on! CVLT Nation Vol. III highlights many super gnarly unsigned bands that will totally smash your brain, plus gnarly signed bands that bring the hate as well. No more words, just fucking listen to this mixtape! Make sure to peep the track list after the jump & scroll over the image for the download option.

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Am I lost in space, or did I just smoke way too much green medication…whatever the case, I watched a super epic video from Cultus Sabbati. The visual was a teaser for their upcoming release, Descent Into The Maelstrom, via Buh/Land of Decay. From the look of things, your mind will be bent & expanded when you get your hands on this release. Right now, maybe you should do what I did – feel the effects of your meds & watch this visual drug that alters your state of being for sure! Also, stay tuned to CVLT Nation for an in-depth review of Descent Into The Maelstrom.

Napalm Death were having a show here last night in Jakarta, Indonesia. This is their third time here and they are still as brutal and abrasive as ever. So much energy and so much entertainment. And the heart of the show was the spectacle of watching frontman Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway do his unorthodox presence on stage. After all these years, they’re still consistent, and have great reputable achievements from “Scum” (1987) to “Time Waits For No Slave” (2009) – Napalm Death are still creating new and excitingly different albums. The surprise of the evening was their covers of songs from Cryptic Slaughter “Low Life“, Siege “Conform” and lastly the legendary Dead Kennedys “Nazi Punks Fuck Off“. So yes, the godfathers of grind are truly and still amazingly unbelievable.

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When I heard the word “Rostov”, well what comes in my mind is Andrei Chikatilo a.k.a The Rostov Ripper. But no, we aint gonna talk about that maniac right now. Lets move on to Rostov-on-Don, my friend just recommend me a post-punk band named УТРО (well according to google translate, its read “Utro” which means “Morning”). I couldnt find more info about this band, their lastfm page only said that УТРО is a side project of another Russian post-punk band Motorama (which is one of my fav band). Have no idea if УТРО is the ‘darker’ alter ego of Motorama, or only featured some of the members. But sure, the music is much more gloomy than Motorama, its like Motorama meets Joy Division and The Birthday Party. I cant tell more, even their website kinda freaks me out! You’ll find nothing but weird things like old shoes, fork, spoon, vintage photos, random lines, symbols and illustrations. Some of the images linked to strange videos, but if you are lucky enough to click one of the image it will self download their songs. Well check out some weirdness, right after the jump!

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What happens when the body of hardcore gets possessed by the speed demons of murder metal? They create a bastard hellspawn named Oathbreaker who plans on conquering the world by releasing a killer album titled Maelstrom on July 5th via Deathwish. This is some straight get the fuck out my face blackened punk, cooked with some metallic rage that will get you aggro for sure. Do not get it twisted – what’s extra epic about this recording is the level of madman emotion that weaves it’s way in & out of each track. Meaning that even though Oathbreaker punches you in the skull with their controlled chaos, they still hit these notes & tones with their songs that construct paths of empathy for beams of hope to illuminate. One of the raddest instruments that this band has in it’s arsenal is their caustic throat, who has one awesome decaying vocal delivery & creeps you out while drawing you into desolate world at the same time. Trust me, I’m not taking nothing away from this band because musically is fast moving damaged radness that has the force to snap necks. Songs like “Fate Is Nigh” are a perfect example of how this band can bring the pain & wipe your tears away at the same time. Dude, the drumming on Maelstrom will give you bangover which is caused by too much excessive head banging which will occur when listening to this album. What I dig about this band is they have taken the foundation but transformed into their own dark mass of black sound. Oathbreaker’s music will take you down many different roads & directions while never getting lost, you will even be walked down into the pit of doom on certain songs then into to the cave of brutality. Check this – it’s the last song on the album that gets kudos for the weirdo factor. It’s the title track on the album Maelstrom it’s a simple & haunting acoustic number with awesome vocals to lead you away into nothingness…

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Odessa, Ukraine’s Olia Pishchanska is a photographer of mammoth talent and vision. Her photos are strange journeys into a foggy underworld where pagan spirits rule and introspection is at its highest. The landscape of Ukraine is her canvas, and she brings out the mysterious beauty and sinister quality of it in every photograph. She recently completed a solo show, “Dreamcatcher,” accompanied by a haunting soundtrack by Heinali and Matt Finney of the same name. Today CVLT Nation speaks with Pishchanska about her works and inspiration. After the jump, read our interview with the Dreamcatcher Queen…

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One of the gnarliest hardcore bands to come out of Washington, D.C. was the almighty VOID. These dudes were one of the first bands to have metal leanings & waved that flag high before anyone else. VOID starlight ripped shit on the split, and they did it with FAITH. When they were rocking shit on the East Coast, we were out west causing havok. Check this out, CVLT Nation has found some killer live footage of an ultra rad band. When you watch this video, you will see how a good front man controls the crowd. What I really dig about this footage is how amped up the crowd is – it just seems like a classic time in hardcore history!!!

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I’ve been meaning to write this post since I got back from MDF but fuck it, shit happens. Anyways, can somebody please explain the band Ghost to me? I’m be-fucking-wildered at how/why this seemingly innocuous, 70′s rock throwback, Witchcraft-lite with goofy costumes can turn the gnarliest of DeathMetalers and the crustiest of punks into screaming, crying beatlemaniaesque teenyboppers singing along to every word.

Now, for full disclosure, the first time I heard this band I was so fucking annoyed I made it through about 15 seconds of song after the vocals came in and then slammed my fat meatpaw against the keyboard repeatedly until it fucking ceased. At first listen, my impressions were basically limited to, “Fuck this pussy shit, this sounds like fucking Journey and I hate it. What is wrong with you for giving me this to listen to? You are a puppyfucker.” That coupled with the fact that when the co-writer who posted it on my site/gave it to me to listen to had it taken down by their lawyers in like 36 seconds officially sealed the deal that these assclowns were basically a cause that wasn’t even worth losing. Read the rest of the discourse after the jump!!!

If you do not know now, you are about to find out about one of the raddest American black metal bands creating magic right now, named LEUCOSIS. This Santa Cruz band released an album this year called Pulling Down the Sky that conjures up some epic & extra awesome rituals. On a personal note, this band’s sonic energy teleports me into another place & time, were black skies rule. I guess you could say that LEUCOSIS opens the portals to my imagination so I can travel beyond the here & now, and so I can open doors to other realms of reality. Waterfalls come to my mind when I listen to this album, because constant waves of blackened emotion wash over my being & thoughts that might have depressed me in the past are now thoughts of joy. LEUCOSIS’ songs are actually speaking for Mother Nature, & saying that these capitalistic demons need to stop misusing her for their greed. Some of the guitar notes that this band plays sound like weeping willows, & i dig that with their music they are giving a voice to beings that can’t speak for themselves. Pulling Down the Sky is a creation that unfolds into many grand directions, but never seems forced or contrived. With all of the instruments playing their roles, this band paints beautiful transcendental portraits of our bleak existence. On the title track, “Pulling Down the Sky,” it starts off with ancient chants, before floating into killer emotive crashing drums; it’s only gets better as the vocalist begins to spit his heartfelt bile. To pin this band down into one genre would be very hard, because at certain times during this record you will think that you are hearing doom, but then it melts into an ancient folk vibe. What really impresses me is the way I can hear LEUCOSIS’ love for what & the way they create – it bleeds through the speakers into your heart. The epic 17 minute long “Incarceral Form” is a perfect example of how gnarly this band is. My advice to you is just let the black feedback be your guide & the cold distortion set you free. LEUCOSIS have manifested an album that will age well with time & only get better…now pull the sky down on me.

LEUCOSIS : Pulling Down the Sky

LEUCOSIS : Incarceral Form