Cult of Luna (SE) + Altaar (NO)
2013-02-27 @ Parkteateret, Oslo, Norway

Text and Photos by Metaloath

We’re talking mid-tempo to slow, here. Altaar (NO) is an apocalyptic doom act that operates in the atmospheric end of metal with tension and funeral eerieness as their foremost characteristics. Cult of Luna (SE), on the other hand, does not restrain themselves when it comes to mid-tempo heaviness or massive riff-upon-riff-plus-some-electronics material. Considering the latest albums and back catalogue, I’d say that these bands combined could probably generate metal music heavy enough to tilt the planet Earth out of orbit.

Altaar put out their self-titled album in February 2013, and it is so far well received across the mighty Internet (for the Cvlt Nation review, go this way). Tonight, they did the support act for their labelmates on Indie Recordings, Cult of Luna.

Full Review & Photo Gallery after the jump!
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The 80′s gave the world hardcore, and the 90′s gave us sludge. If you talk to most bands from this era, they will tell you that Black Flag and Black Sabbath were a major influence on their sound. DAMAD was one band that came out of this era and created some radical records while they were active. I could listen to this band all day long because they play that kind southern-fried, crust-infused, deranged sludge that gets me hyped! Today CVLT Nation celebrates DAMAD with a live video essay. So break out some whiskey and your bong, press play after the jump and lose your mind!!!

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We all have burdens to bear, and we all use different things to help us get through to our brighter days. Today was an extremely heavy day for me; I felt like I was hit in the gut with a ton of negative energy. Then I came back to the CVLT Nation HQ and started blasting the new KYLESA track “Unspoken” over and over. After repeat plays of this radical tune, I started to feel like life was not so fucked up after all. I have been a fan of KYLESA for years, and that’s not going to change with the release of their new album Ultraviolet on May 28th via Season of Mist. Now it’s your turn to check out their new song, because we are streaming “Unspoken” below…Also read what Laura Pleasant has to say about “Ultraviolet” as well…

“Whereas Spiral Shadow was a warm album suggesting concepts of hope, Ultraviolet is a bit colder and darker,” explains songwriter/guitar player Laura Pleasants. “All of our studio albums have their own unique identity and we’ve always been a band who strives for something different than what current fads suggest. With Ultraviolet, we took a step inward and wrote music that we felt we had to write; this album centers around the multiple themes of loss and you can feel it in the music. Everyone goes through it during their lifetime and this record reflects that experience.”

Love hate or fear, next month, the beast of furied sound that is SXSW will be upon us. Though I can completely understand the jagged glass, jaded view clenched by many amongst the horde, I have always found blackened joy in wandering its dizzying streets. And while I have been absent from SXSW’s cacophony for the past few years, in bit champing excitement of my return, I thought I’d share a few sacred slices of past videos from that world.

In perusing my capturings for this inaugural installment, I wasn’t quite sure which direction to steer the ghost ship, that is, until I stumbled into a brief bit sludgy, still-born doom from the epic Dark Castle. Roughly two years ago, Brooklyn Vegan, a trustworthy name in this department, hosted a free party with a metal stage whose lineup could not be quenched by all of the invisible oranges in the world. Many face pounding impressions were made that day, but this brooding and bloody Dark Castle set was a voidened stand out.

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I’m not even going to write that much, just know that right here and now, you can download the 1st Moss Icon – The Life demo from 1989. I will say this – if you are a Moss Icon fan, get this, blast it ultra loud and sail on your own winds of change!!!

Track listing after the jump!
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Review by Metaloath
Altaar ‘Altaar’ (2013) (Indie Recordings)

So it begins, with a slow melodic movement with a majestic sorrow rising from the sparse instrumentation. The repetitive flow builds momentum and invites the listener further into the layers of harmonics, and the drums wisely hover in the background to delicately punctate the song without making to much out of it.

The self-titled album from Altaar contains two songs, a total of 35 minutes that coils like Satan’s serpents, and the album probably is one of the strongest releases this year in this genre.

Altaar originally started out as a one-man project in 2007, with mainman Andreas Tylden (Guitar, vocals/One Head One Tail) taking his recording gear to the Vår Frelsers graveyard in Oslo during the night. Since the first ‘Doedsoenske’ cassette was recorded and released in 2009, the project has evolved. The latest album musicians Sten Ole Toft (Electronics, guitar, piano/Faux Pas, Ryfylke), Espen Hangård (guitar, synth, vocals/KILLL, ex-Diskord, NoPlaceToHide), and Kennth Lamond (drums/Jr Ewing), and Didrik Telle (bass/Obliteration) contributes. Espen Hangård is also credited with the mixing, whereas Morten Øby handled the production, and Tom Kvålsvold/Strype Audio has done the mastering. And they even moved the recording session from the graveyard to a proper studio, Taakeheimen Lydrike Studio, Oslo – getting soft, in that sense.

Anyways, the song ‘Heil Mary’ from Altaar on the Fysisk Format sampler CD, released during summer 2012, presented more of an old-school/new-wave black metal approach with witching screams and an intentional lo-fi production. The album, due 26.02.13, is very different. The self-titled album is a step away from the graveyard shift / funeral moods of the early cassette EPs, and it all comes off as more open and less confined. But it’s still about the atmosphere. And they still do these 1000-ton riffs that’ll make your ears plead for mercy and cause your knees to involuntarily bend. The album also has these ambient segments that are as cheerful as funeral wakes – and in fact, slightly eerie in their simplicity. Sustained tones that linger like fading heartbeats, trembling on the verge of disharmony with distant thumps from afar like Death herself sluggishly knocking on your door to collect your life prematurely.

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CVLT Nation is a global community that wants to shine a light on radical art worldwide. This is why when our Italian comrades over at The New Noise webzine told us about their new compilation of Italian bands, we had to share it with our readers! So check out Vol. 1 & 2, with over 30 bands and all available for free download…CVLT Nation salutes all of our readers from this rad country & big up to The New Noise webzine…Enjoy all of the sounds below!

The debut video “Passing Through” from CULT OF LUNA‘s new album Vertikal will have you staring at your screen for sure. This heavy, cold visual was directed by Markus Lundvist and is super creepy but stunning at the same time! Check out the new CULT OF LUNA video after the jump, plus their tour dates!

“Passing Through” is the closing track on Vertikal and is sung by guitarist Fredrik Kihlberg. “When we decided to start writing a new COL album and talked about which direction we wanted to go, this was actually the first idea that came to my head,” said Kihlberg. “I had this phrase – time is passing me by – in my head, going on repeat, and I thought and I should try to make something out of it. It’s a simple phrase but at the same time a powerful and overwhelming feeling. We wanted this to be a beautiful but at the same time intimidating song.”

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Who is the man? Repeat after me: who is the man? Nick Cave is the man, and GRINDERMAN is the shit. Mr. Cave has been on point since the 70′s, and has not lost a beat since then. Check out GRINDERMAN rock the 2011 Exit Festival and you will see what I’m talking about. This band is on some OG punk shit that is timeless – GRINDERMAN is in full effect and destroys everything around you! Peep the real sonic realness after the jump!

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The Japanese band BORIS are a scene unto themselves and have always focused on forging their own unique path. Since 1996, this band has had the world listening as they have sonically shape-shifted with almost every release. This year, BORIS is headlining the Austin Psych Fest in late April, but it’s their residence dates that have really gotten me excited (check out the details & dates after the jump). Today CVLT Nation salutes BORIS with a huge video essay…Make sure to see them on this very special tour! Pick up the heavy rocks after the fall!

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