Every day is a great day at CVLT Nation, and a big part of that comes from the support we receive from the community, ie:labels, bands and especially our readers. We see this webzine as platform for creative, like-minded humans. So when we got an email from Jan from Germany saying he took sick photos of the SLEEP & A Storm of Light gig on 05/10/12 at Conne Island in Leipzig, we were stoked to check them out. I must say, the dude totally blew my mind with the quality of his flicks – the lighting is on point! What a year for doom heads: SLEEP re-releases Dopesmoker on Southern Lord, plus they go on tour tomorrow – the weed gods are blowing our way! Light your bong and have a look at this stonerdelic photo essay…Euro tour dates after the jump!

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Besides writing for CVLT Nation, I also do graphic design from time to time. One thing that I really dig about tumblr is the endless amounts of visual inspiration you can find. It’s pretty epic when I stumble across pages that are full of killer images that just fucking blow my mind. THERE IS NO LIFE HERE, ONLY DIFFERENT WAYS TO DIE is that sort of tumbler where you can totally lose yourself but at the sometime finding out that you treasure everything morbid! Due to this fact and others, THERE IS NO LIFE HERE, ONLY DIFFERENT WAYS TO DIE is our tumblr favorite this very moment! Crawl around a really cool photo gallery after the jump!

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This has been an amazing week in heavy music! On of my favorite bands, OLD MAN GLOOM, released a new album entitled NO via Hydra Head, pre-order HERE plus they played a sold out show at Club Europa in Brooklyn. Our comrades in radness, photographer Samantha Marble and videographer (((unartig))), were both on hand to capture this excerxise in audio magic. Samantha’s photo are fucking unreal, and we are so stoked that she took flicks for CVLT Nation on this killer night. Also, as usual, (((unartig))) did his thing with his video camera that only he can do! I’m going to let this beyond awesome photo gallery and video do the rest of the talking! So after the jump, peep OLD MAN GLOOM!

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Photographer: Max Hale

Site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/maxhalephotography/

Based in: Sydney, Australia

These images have been taken through various venues in Australia over the past four years. In that time, I have been drawn to the dark alternative scene and found my roots in local black metal. There are a lot of great bands and, as a photographer, they appeal due to their presence on-stage. My mission has been to connect with these Australian bands’, and some international ones, in a way that presents the reality of their performances.

ONE

Portal, 2010, The Bald Faced Stag, Sydney

I have shot Portal a few times now and they are a treat to shoot because of how they dress and perform on stage. Some people may not think there is much to taking a good gig shot but it is all about the moment. Being so immersed within the music to feel that moment and know when to shoot. This photo was taken when Portal played inSydneyat the start of 2010. The reason I picked this particular photo is the lighting. Given the fact that they were all wearing black robes, I feel it added colour to what was a darkly brilliant performance.

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The fanzine f666 Number 3 Spring 2012 is photo filth in the best sense of the word. All of the flicks are shot by one of our favorite photographers, Suren Karapetyan. What makes this fanzine so awesome is that when you look at the photos, they actually make you feel like you are inside of them. You know for a fact that f666 Number 3 was created by someone who is a part of the scene, not an outsider looking in. This epic zine is on sale HERE now…plus read what Suren has to say about what inspired this issue below and peep some flicks of f666 Number 3 after the jump!

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Text by Aaron Lariviere

Photos by Adam Murray

Decibel Tour 2012: Behemoth’s Return

I feel alive.

The best shows leave you changed somehow—you walk out of the venue energized, having captured a fraction of the spark you witnessed onstage. Watching Behemoth in concert, they were on fucking fire—I’ve never seen anything like it.
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April 25: the Decibel tour stopped by the Sunset Strip House of Blues on a rare rainy Los Angeles night. I shot over straight from work but still missed local openers Ides of Gemini, who started at some ungodly hour (before 7 on a week day? Really?). Bummer—their new record is fantastic. In Solitude did their trad-metal stuff right, coming off a lot heavier than they do on record. It’s worth mentioning their ridiculous pants: nut-hugging tights or skin-tight jeans—it was hard to tell—but they were ripped in all the right places. Who says metalheads can’t dress? The Devil’s Blood brought a similar sound—harmonized leads, retro vibe, also heavier live than recorded—but had a greater command of the stage. Front-woman “F.” sounded pitch-perfect, easily outperforming her recorded output. Three guitarists on stage felt excessive, but it’s hard to argue with the results.

Read the full review and peep the huge photo gallery after the jump!
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On April 12th, a very special event took place: CVLT Nation’s 1st Anniversary show. All of the bands ripped shit, and you could feel the positivity in the room. To see bands that I am into do what they do live was almost surreal. Vince from Low Places went above and beyond helping us set this up, and Ignat from Wreck & Reference and Adam Murray were both on hand to take photos of this killer show. So after the jump, peep how it was all the way live @ BIP. I want to say thanks to everyone who came out to support CVLT Nation and to all of the bands – Doctorshopper, Low Places, Creatures, Age of Collapse, Wreck & Reference, Skinfather – we salute you!

Doctorshopper Photo by Ignat
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I have always fallen short with words when it comes to reviewing shows, as most stories for me have always been better told and projected in photos rather than in words, but in this case I feel that it’s only mandatory to do a brief summary of the chaos which ensued this past Saturday in Vancouver, BC – headlining with a full line-up of obscure death metal Canadian legions from start to finish. This event was held at the Rickshaw Theatre, where I had previously shot the Decibel Magazine tour a week prior, except with this round there were less attendees that were drawn into the venue but many, if not all of them consisted of die-hards. The atmosphere was that of which I’ve grown more adapted to than ‘bigger’ tours and there was no shortage of good times had. Of course without making it more obvious than it already is, all the bands did an excellent job of running on schedule as well as putting on stellar and exceptional performances in their own light. The only band I regrettably missed was Auroch, as the schedule was running smoothly (something which I am also NOT used to!) and as I decided to step out for a brief moment for inbetween-set-drinks, I later realized that they had already finished. Although I’m bummed about missing them live, I was told by those who caught them that they were great and would have also been along my lines of interest as far as top-notch Lovecraftian death metal goes. READ MORE…

So what do we have here…an unreal photo essay of INQUISITION & CASTEVET by Suren Karapetyan, a CVLT Nation Seven Stories Alumni and curator of F666 Zine. Also, we have some beyond gnarly video footage of of both bands’ most recent Brooklyn conquest, captured by (((unartig))). What we are going to do is allow the flicks and the video to transport your black souls to St. Vitus to see how rad the event was. So after the jump, ride these bloody riffs to the underworld and peep the video and flicks!


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Deep in the pulsating earthen heart of Romania a.k.a. Transylvania, radiates some of the purest inspiration for an array of black metal and ethnic folk bands dispersed across it’ land. One can journey through it’s relic forests or hike the majestic mountain steppes, and spend time in the local village for feasting and ceremonial arts. One particular metal band has injected all this natural stimulation into their lifestyle and their eloquent music, namely Negura Bunget (“Dark Foggy Forest”). Coming out of the shadows in 1996, and reigning for 15 years years thus far, it was to be their primary journey to Canadian Soils. Their past drummer and current keyboardist, Negru and Inia Dinia were also coming with them under the banner of Din Brad (“from the fir tree”). The former of these perform melodious hymns in their native tongue, utilizing a single bass drum, a shaman drum, a panpipe, and keyboards. Inia’s lyrics resonates within those who have an appreciation for exotic language, and her voice has a certain penetrative quality to it, that can heal your inner self if you let it. Together with these two esoteric groups, were two black metal sects from the local and northerly lands of Ontario. Mark Howitt (Lord Defiler) was one who was greatly a fundamental pillar to make this night possible. Wolven Ancestry, and Eclipse Eternal supplied a harsher pagan edge to the evening’s communion.

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