Text and photos by Astrid Tonella

It’s been a few weeks since the last Roadburn, and the after-festival is always a bit nostalgic. However, this year the nostalgia didn’t last long, with the brand new fest “Heavy Days in Doomtown” coming to darken the streets of Copenhagen, Denmark. Yet another “doom/sludge” festival you would say, but actually, this event is so much more than that. First of all, HDDT is organized and managed under the DIY principles, which means that the festival is run by volunteers only and as “payment” for their performance, bands get food, accommodation and transportation fixed for them. Besides, everyone is treated equally – it actually felt during the fest that the barrier between artists/volunteers/organizing crew/festival goers was almost nonexistent. For instance, the roster doesn’t have any headliners, despite the presence of big names such as Noothgrush (performing for the first time in Europe), Jex Thoth or Coffins, but it gives the chance for local bands to perform in front of an international audience. Other unique aspect of the fest is its strong artistic dimension. Not only does HDDT focus on the music, but also on the culture and aesthetic surrounding it. Therefore, all along the fest we were able to admire the extraordinary work of David D’Andrea, Glyn “Scrawled” Smyth, Samantha Mancino, 13th Sign Collective and Benjamin Sillanpaa, creating a whole new level of experience.

Full review after the jump…
READ MORE…

Story Source You’re Not Human

Ien Levin from Kiev Ukraine is a extra epic artist that uses skin as his canvas.He work makes me want to jump on a plane and have start tattooing my body asap.Ien lines are the perfect balance between beauty and cryptic decay.I can look at his work all day long and never get bored.It also seems that Ien has a huge morbid imagination that is able transform the normal into the abnormal! CVLT Nation has put together a huge gallery of his work.So turn off the light burn some black candles and peep his work after the jump!

READ MORE…

CVLT Nation is proud to present our first two limited edition silkscreened poster prints, Death Trip and Hell Awaits, now available in our webstore! Both prints are illustrations by Cub of the Woods, and are a part of our upcoming Solstice summer season, which will be released next week. We printed them at Seattle’s own Broken Press, and Andy handcrafted these beauties on 18″ x 24″ Pegasus Midnight Black heavyweight paper. It is a very limited run of 50 pieces worldwide, and far less than that is available in the CVLT Store. After the jump, check out an up-close gallery of Death Trip and Hell Awaits, and make sure you pick one up for yourself! Also, stay tuned for the Solstice release coming soon…

READ MORE…

Hello Jenks, thank you so much for doing this interview. How is everything in the Horseback camp?

Great, thanks Bryan.

The Invisible Mountain was the album that really put Horseback on the map, and you’ve released a lot of material since then. Your offerings on splits and collaborations since that release have been very different sonically. Did you intend to distance yourself from the sound of that record a little bit to avoid repetition?

I try to keep the process open. I’m not as concerned with whether or not I’m repeating myself as I am with pursuing ideas as they come. I try to avoid molding these ideas to fit any particular genre — some suggest a “rock-band” approach to realization, while others work best in more abstract arrangements.

The follow up to Mountain was a release called Forbidden Planet which was released initially very quietly on cassette by Brave Mysteries. That release was highly textural and an exploration of drone and soundscapes that focused primarily on guitar. Listening to it on tape adds an extra layer of hiss and noise. Do you see that record as lending itself specifically to the format of cassette?

I did, after it was finished. Listening back to Forbidden Planet is a challenge because there are so few concessions to listenability on that one. Like many harsh noise records, it’s to be endured — maybe even “beaten” — so that completion is an accomplishment. Records like that seem to benefit from an explicit layer of physicality between the listener and the sounds themselves. Cassettes provide that sense of confrontation: they are physical things that the listener must wrestle with, unlock. As you suggest, there’s a layer of hiss that won’t allow you to forget there’s a machine whirring away behind the music. Tape gets tangled in players, sometimes it tears. Cassettes demand a certain level of physical interaction that you don’t get from the digital medium.

Still, I don’t like obscurity for the sake of obscurity. I’m happy to reissue cassette releases in more accessible and widely-distributed formats, should the opportunity arise. The listener can choose which format is right for him or her.

Rest of the interview after the jump…
READ MORE…

One of the raddest things about being a part of CVLT Nation is the sense of community that this zine has been able to help create. One person that has been with us almost since day one is Bryan Proteau, who is not only a CVLT Nation writer and contributing photographer, he is also an illustrator who has created designs for our clothing as well as for releases from Lycus, Deafheaven, Atriarch and so many more bands and labels. He just returned from the outstanding Gilead Fest, where he was showing his art at his own stall, plus he took photos of some amazing bands! Bryan has just opened his Natvres Mortes Illvstration webstore HERE, where you can pick up back patches, tees, patches and pins that feature his gloomy, ethereal artowork. Check out a gallery of the goodies he stocks after the jump!

READ MORE…

Some people dig art that only makes sense to a chosen few, ie a huge blue canvas with a white dot in the center. I want art that I’m into to be an honest expression of the person who created it. Ever since the early 80′s, I have been into illustrators that are masters of the dark arts of the black pen! SIN-EATER from the UK is a present-day artist that I have loads of respect for, because his lines speak to the dark part of my soul. I will admit that I find myself on his tumblr often, gazing at his drawings after a good hit from my bong. This is why CVLT Nation’s favorite tumblr this moment is SIN-EATER’s. Check out some of his drawings after the jump!

READ MORE…

In an age of mass production and the destruction of human creativity, CVLT Nation tries to be a beacon for people who want to be creative and support each others’ creativity, whether in music, art, film, literature or any other format. Aeon Sophia Press is an Amsterdam-based publishing house that has recently released their first publication entitled Blood From Heaven, a work of occult/magick fiction by Priestess of the Temple of Babalon E.J. Alvey, a beautifully bound hardcover in gold-stamped scarlet cloth, and they will be releasing their second publication, Whisperings from the Void by Patrick John Larabee, for pre-order May 14th, 2012. Aeon Sophia Press is dedicated to spreading knowledge and ideas about the occult and chaos/black magick, and aims to publish these esoteric writings as limited edition, hand-made and illustrated hardcovers. They aim to publish works that focus on Sigil magick, Sex magick, Thelema, Chaos magick, Luciferian philosophy, Lillith, Hekate, Black magick, Satanism and other occult practices and philosophies. It’s awesome to see a publishing house emerge to specialize in such obscure subject matter, but also to support the reemergence of quality hard copy literature. These are not books that you can read on your Kindle or iPad, these are collectable tomes that were painstakingly created by passionate writers and Aeon Sophia Press’ driving force, Johann Boomsma. Boomsma has been very active in the Holland punk/hardcore underground music scene since the 90s, and has translated the DIY approach to life he learned as a teenager into his dream of publishing occult literature. I love featuring people like Boomsma and their projects on CVLT Nation, because our readers are so awesome and time and again have showed their support for creative people. After the jump check out some info about each release as well as images of Blood From Heaven…
READ MORE…

This spring is so far a celebration of metal! With Roadburn just passed, now we are setting our sights on the upcoming Heavy Days in Doomtown, soon to be darkening the streets of Copenhagen (you’ll read more about that soon). Two of our favorite artists will be collaborating with HDD to bring light to the artwork that is such an integral part of metal. David D’Andrea & Glyn Smyth will be a part of HDD’s art showcase May 3rd to 6th, and then will be holding their own show in Berlin at Sdw Neukolln, with the opening on May 12th from 4-11 pm. The show, “screen prints and drawings,” brings together the work of these two illustrators, who share an interest in the esoteric, nature worship, and underground music. They will be showing their screen prints and drawings, and will also have prints for sale. Check out the flyer below and a small selection of their artwork after the jump…

READ MORE…

Four artists I have the utmost respect for, Dan Harding, Jeremy Hush, Halsey Swain & Elli Adams are bringing their images of doom and darkness to the Screaming Sky Gallery in Portland, OR, next Thursday, April 26th. I wish I could pack up my life into a car that worked and head up there to check out the opening, because it seriously does feature a dream team of the macabre, artists that are highlights of my journalistic career here at CVLT Nation. If you are on the Rain Coast and have mobility, make sure you head over to the gallery from 5pm to 9pm, shake the artists’ hands and drink some free beers for us in sunny LA. The skies will be a little darker here next Thursday.

Sonic Cathedrals Vol. XLVIII Curated by SPLIT CRANIUM is all the way live! Let me tell you what is extra fun about being a part of this series is hearing how every mixture is full of surprises. SPLIT CRANIUM went to another planet of audio art with their song selection. Check out their description below, stream the mix and download after the jump!

Sean/Cvlt Nation kindly invited Split Cranium to compile a mix tape, and mentioned something about selecting some of our favorite D-beat oriented tracks. We’ve defiantly ignored Sean’s gentle prodding, and managed to avoid including any D-beat oriented tracks whatsoever. Instead what we’ve collected is an odd mix of of recent obsessions, long time favorites, and work by close friends who also happen to make great music. If there’s any unifying theme at all it is this: music that often includes “non-musical” elements and production – harsh electronics, murky effects and samples, horrible recordings, and sounds that exist outside the context of the song while occupying the same space. These are all things that have inspired us as musicians and have seeped into the music we make as Split Cranium. We hope you enjoy what we’ve collected and discover some new music along the way. Thanks for listening….. Go!
-xo Split Craniu

Stream Sonic Cathedrals Vol. XLVIII Curated by Split Cranium

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

READ MORE…