Last year our comrades in heavy Southern Lord joined forces with Scion AV and held an unreal showcase featuring Martyrdod, Black Breath, Burning Love, Pelican and Enabler. Not only was some superdelic live footage taken, some interesting interviews were also created. What I dig about these conversations is that you get to know things about the bands that you maybe would never find out. CVLT Nation is stoked to be premiering these Southern Lord//Scion AV visuals featuring some of our favorite bands! So after the jump, let’s get down to the nitty gritty!

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Being a child of the 70′s means that my mind was altered in 1977 after watching the first Star Wars film. I had never seen anything like it before, and I remember how the whole world was affected by this movie. Never before in my young life had I seen the public go crazy for a film like this. The characters in Star Wars spoke to different parts of all of our humanity. As the years have gone by and the series has continued, it seems that this movie has grown into a cult of it’s own. For sure Star Wars has helped shape pop culture over the past three decades. One thing that I find interesting is how it has inspired its’ fans to express themselves, inventing their own worlds inspired by these movies. They have created endless pieces of art dedicated to Star Wars. This is why CVLT Nation has decided to do a Fuck Yeah Star Wars ART post, celebrating the cult status of this film and how it has inspired artists from around the world. After the jump, check out some of our top pieces, and may the force be with you…

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This is going to be featuring Heavy bands I’ve had the privilege of seeing/hearing. Heavy as in Crushing, Loud, Abrasive, & Powerful bands not restricted to the confides of any one genre.

Bruxers, from San Jose, California, are (((Heavy as Fuck))). They play deathdoom drenched in filthy crust with tons of insane blasts. Half of the band shares roles in Mortuous whom along with Cerebrate – a new project featuring members of Ash Borer and Servile Sect, were playing this evening. Bruxers have a new cassette out that you can order from the band by sending an email here or here – They only pressed 100 – I highly recommend getting a copy of these cassettes as they will most definitely sell out. I’ve been listening and really digging the S/T Bruxers release over the past 2 years awaiting it’s official release. Bruxers Crush! You get the picture – now watch the video.

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Vastum is a killer band from The Bay Area that highlights the brooding brutalness of a very talented group of musicians – Dan(Vocals), Kyle(Lead Guitar) & Luca(Bass) also played together in Acephalix, Leila(Guitars/Vocals) played in Saros and Adam(Drums) spent time behind the kit with Enemy Soil.

This is an official statement from the band on current happenings: “Vastum will be playing at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland on FRIDAY DEC 14 with Pale Chalice, Scolex, Bruxers and Cardinal Wyrm. This will be Vastum’s last show with Kyle in the band. We are sad to see him go, but wish him the best with his other projects.

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Heavy Music is Power. This is a “Heavy Hour” brought to you by two fine examples of American Heaviness.

Laudanum is a crushing band that features the talents of Nathan Misterek from Graves at Sea on Vocals, Sal from Asunder on Bass, and combined with the punishing power duo of Becky on Drums and Judd on Guitar. They’ve been punishing ear drums for the better part of a decade now and this was one of my favorite performances of theirs.

Loss footage after the jump!
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Sigur Rós is a band that truly knows how to balance their love for art & music! For their new album Valtari, they gave 12 different filmmakers the same budget to create whatever visuals the music inspired in their minds…Check out all of the details, including info about the official screenings around the world on Dec. 7th to 9th, HERE. Today CVLT Nation would like to celebrate Sigur Rós and this grand artistic expression by posting all of the videos collected thus far…So after the jump, immerense yourself into the weird world of Sigur Rós!

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The Belgian band The Black Heart Rebellion is about to change the game with their soon to be released album HAR NEVO. When I play this record, it makes me feel so lucky to have ears so that I can hear such magical music. CVLT Nation is thrilled to have the opportunity to share with you a video and art preview of HAR NEVO. Trust me when I say this: The Black Heart Rebellion have outdone themselves by creating such an honest record! Stay tuned to CVLT Nation in the coming weeks for an exclusive video premiere & stream. HAR NEVO is going to be one of those records that brings people together, no matter what subculture you exist in…Hail the Church of Ra & The Black Heart Rebellion.

I used to be a fiend for Thrasher Magazine when it first came out! Not just for all of the sick skating that was featured in a way that appealed to young punks, but also for the off the wall ads. One person that changed the way skate ads looked long before Thrasher was Tony Alva. Besides being one of the raddest skaters ever, he was a wizard at bringing the artistic vibe to the way he marketed Alva Skates. For instance, his first ad with Christian Hosoi, that featured his broken Sims deck in the background and his new fishtail up front (the rest was skating history). Next up was Natas, the king of 80′s street skating, but also the vision behind Santa Monica Airlines. Focusing on these ads might seem weird to kids nowadays, but all of the old heads reading this will understand how much impact this magazine had on our lives. This is also the place where a kid pre-internet could get their first look at the new Misfits or Black Flag decks. I could write more, but fuck that, why don’t you check out some vintage 80′s skate ads for yourself. So after the jump, peep our FUCK YEAH 80′S SKATE ADS gallery!…Lets rip it up!!!

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Occult symbolism seems to be everywhere today. Maybe it’s all the talk about the world ending (again), or maybe it’s the endless wars that have plagued the globe for the past century. But amid all of the inverted crosses/Chanel logos, it’s good to remember that occult symbolism is an art form, and it should be taken seriously. There is power in the ancient runes of pagan magick, and even more so in the knowledge of their true meanings. One artisan that takes occult symbolism seriously is Occult Woodcarving. He creates hand-carved wooden decorative plaques with respect and reverence for their power. He creates with deference to the past, carrying on a tradition of hand-carving that has produced these objects for millennia. Those who are truly students of the occult will appreciate the dedication he puts into each carving, imbuing the symbol with energy that only adds to its radiance. After the jump, read Occult Woodcarving’s explanation and definition of the symbols he works with, plus a full gallery of his work.

The cover of Joy Division’s 1979 album Unknown Pleasures is as stark and enigmatic as the music itself: a series of jagged white lines against a black background that’s been recreated in tattoos, clothing, and animation. In a clip for New York’s Visualized Conference, former Factory Records graphic designer Peter Saville explains the origin behind the cover, which represents the frequency of the signal from the first observed pulsar or pulsating star. “As pretty much with all groups with their first release, [Joy Division] knew what they wanted on the cover,” Saville says. “They gave me this page… the page from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy.” After inverting the colors, the image went on the band’s first album, and into endless remixes — including the one above — during the ensuing decades.

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