This was the second year of Filthfest in Dublin city, so after last years two day festival being so good, it was a must to go again this year. After arriving I had to visit the usual haunts in Dublin on any visit, Into The Void Records, Chapters bookshop and Delhi O’Deli for some Indian street food. Then off to the venue called ‘The Pint’ a long Dublin city’s quays, the bar has that traditional Irish pub look. But then you look in the window and you notice some facial tattoos and mean looking bearded fuckers necking back Guinness… but that of course is the band Coldwar. So then straight up to the rooftop of the place for a great post apocalyptic looking vegan barbecue, grilled on an old burnt out shopping trolley. Then the filthy feedback started rising up to the roof.

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It is no secret that these four nihilistic horsemen of the Apocalypse known as The Secret are one of the most brutal bands to walk among this wretched earth. This time they bring “Agnus Dei”, their fourth full length coming out by the hand of Southern Lord. A true ode to the apocalypse able to eclipse the sun, turning the earth into a desolate place banished by plagues and death.

Produced by the hand of Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studios,”Agnus Dei” shows us a more terrific, vicious and menacing The Secret album to date, blending in a amazing and perfect way the most dark elements from crust, grindcore and black metal. Maybe it’s just me but this time i get the feeling that these guys might have been locked in their rooms listening to nothing else than black metal albums. The presence of tremolo picking riffs and blastbeats are constant along “Agnus Dei” and yet they are so well executed that im pretty sure that “Agnus Dei” it will make the envy out of most good black metal bands out there.

Kicking off with the self titled track “Agnus Dei” the floor immediately cracks over our feet and we are swollen into the depths of Hell. The fierce blackened attack that floods our ears instantly causes us visions of death, desolation and despair as our skin and flesh melts away from the bones. Distributing 13 songs in the space of 43 minutes, this vile sonic attack continuously bombs us with shards of the most blackened and vicious bile with tracks like “May God Damn All Of Us”, “Violent Infection”, “Daily Lies”, “The Bottomless Pit” and “Obscure Dogma” that barelly last more than two minutes long, where tenebrous riffage and sharpened blast beats lurk around every corner. On the other hand, tracks like “Geometric Power”, “Post Mortem Nihilist Est”, “Love Your Enemy” or the epic “Heretic Temple” have that really The Secret characteristic sound filled with that negative energy that create a cold chill crawl over your spine. But this time their sound is more corrosive and sharp as a rusty knife. The whole negativity endorsed on “Agnus Dei” is really moving towards one way, devastating everything and everyone on its passage, leaving nothing but bones and dust behind. Yet in the middle of this blasphemous wave of destruction, the best is saved for the end with the closing track “Seven Billion Graves” that holds a hidden track, that in my modest opinion, is one of the best tracks made by the band. Epic, dark and majestic, exhaling catastrophe in every single note. It’s the coronation of Death. The best, and perfect, way to close this magnificent album by The Secret.
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Stop what the fuck you are doing and tune into this ultra INSANE NAILS live set at This Is Hardcore, filmed by Hate5six. Hot damn, this set should be released as a live album, the band was on fire! We have heard some news about the new record: that it is even more ABRASIVE than the last! Wow, this footage is the best NAILS video I have ever seen; the sound & picture quality is just fucking on point! So peep how the NAILS kill shit after the jump – warning, you might want to punch walls after you see this.

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Now this is well fucking beyond awesome: both Code Orange Kids & Oathbreaker straight wrecked shit at this year’s This Is Hardcore festival. Hate5six was on hand and filmed some unreal footage. These bands are on their own level of spectacular rawness. Code Orange Kids’ set was full of my favorites, which they performed like they wanted to rip a hole in the stage. The word on the street is that they just finished their new album for Deathwish Inc. entitled Love is Love//Return to Dust, which I know will be an instant classic! Oathbreaker fucking blazed through an unreal set of sonic mayhem like only they could. I look forward to one day seeing both of these bands live because to me they represent the future. Plus, I just want to head bang all the way to Hell! Peep both of their killer sets in full after the jump!

Photo by Tanner Douglas

Code Orange Kids (Full Set) from hate5six on Vimeo.

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Review Source Equivoke

Here’s a submission by an Indiana band called Thenn. I’m trying to get through the pile, and I think this is an excellent place to start.

What I think would best describe Thenn’s style is the reverse of Young and In The Way. Where YAITW take a sprinkle of black metal and delicately lace their crusty hardcore with it, Thenn stand on a thick foundation of old school black metal ala Darkthrone and inject some crust into thrashy dark nest they’ve made.

With a sickly rasp the vocalist sprays cryptic cult messages, it’s a very ugly and gnarled howl that perfectly fits the tangled instrumentals underneath. The guitar and drumming is very reminiscent of older iterations of black metal with fast, crunchy tremolo riffs and abrasive, foul percussion. The bass has a fair presence as well which is always nice to hear.

This group kind of takes Barghest’s approach as they breath new life into the style. When the crust emerges it’s subtle and more akin to YAITW’s V. Eternal Depression style: occasional cold passages between the writhing, but they are few and leave the black metal unscathed the majority of the EP.

There’s five short tracks to ingest here, and they’re all quite chaotic and hazy. “Abscesses of Light” starts things off with straight up stormy black metal riffs, with very little indication of their crusty influences except for a more hardcore tempo chunk near the end. Following up is “Bathing in Cold Autumn” which continues with the same fervor but with a slight tainting of hardcore when a slower powerchord emerges amongst the tremolos.

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Guest Writer Guilty Parents

Endless Grinning Skulls

Nottingham’s hardcore punk lineage has always been stronghold the genre’s nastier tendencies. Almost as though the city’s sonic language had been dredged up from the bed of the filthy River Trent that runs straight through it’s heart. Endless Grinning Skulls are one of the town’s latest exports and their pedigree is beyond question. These lifers have rooted their sound in the dirt of anarcho legends like Anti-Sect and Rudimentry Peni but injected it with contemporary forcefulness. 2011′s self titled debut lp seemed to turn heads both at home and abroad, and this month sees the release of the all new “Fear, Ignorance, Control” e.p. on hip young label Viral Age Records. Which no doubt will have the crust hordes singing along to every word word by the next time they play out.

Lich

Lich are a band from London who could teach the vast majority of metallic crust bands a few things, both about sheer sonic violence and injecting said violence with a bit of imagination. Featuring members of the much underrated Battle Of Wolf 359, Lich have earned a venue flattening reputation at hardcore shows up and down the country and this summer they’ve put out yet another split release, this time with south coast thrashcore band Man Hands. If you thought tragedy had wimped out on their last record, then check this.

I never get tired of seeing awesome photography from someone who is young and full of fucking talent, in fact, I get hyped. This is exactly what happened the other day when I found the tumblr Misplaced Lens Cap by Matthew Grant Anson. This epic young photo wizard has something special when it comes to taking pictures. His photos have a magic to them that makes you feel like you are in the photo, or there while it was being taken. It’s pretty clear that Matthew is a part of the scene, and this fact makes the people that he photographs extra comfortable in front of his lens. Not only are his flicks of bands off the chain, his pictures of the humans around at a party or gig are pretty killer as well. I’ve got to say, when I look at his pictures, I feel like I’m looking at the future when it comes to actually capturing what youth culture is really up to. This is why Misplaced Lens Cap is our favorite tumblr this week. Make sure to stay tuned for an upcoming Seven Stories featuring Matthew Grant Anson’s work. For now, see what the punk youth of Los Angeles are up to after the jump!

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Review by Metaloath

Black September’s second album, Into The Darkness Into The Void, (Prosthetic Records) contains 9 tracks of churning metal harnessed in the black and vile regions of metal. The band spawned from the Chicago crust scene around 2006 and has put out some EPs and toured frequently since then. Their touring CV includes supporting acts for well-known acts such as Skeletonwitch, Tragedy and Enslaved. That should stir the interest of any metalhead.

Now they are releasing the album Into The Darkness Into The Void through Prosthetic Records. The album is an important album in the sense that is a follow up to the first substantial release (The Forbidden Gates, 2010, through Shaman Records), and thus becomes the first effort after the debut and their first album on Prosthetic Records. This is by definition the leap from the surface of the underground to the outposts of established metal culture.

The human resources in Black September revolve around Chris and Jen McMorrow. The rest of the band members are mysteriously hidden in two-letter codes. The album was recorded by Andy Nelson at Bricktop Recording.

The nine tracks on the album are all well recognizable within the formats of blackened thrash metal: galloping drums, swarming riffs chasing in scales, catchy hooks, and timed breaks aligned with the headbanging likely to occur when listening. The opening track offers the usual feedback/sludged noise, and it kicks off with punctuated, mid-tempo power riffs and melodic fills. The sound is definitely rawer than more traditional heavy metal bands, but still not as filthy and fucked-up as, for example, Lord Mantis. The guitars here have the crispy chain-saw buzz when they howl through the fill-ins and between-break melody lines. The first song, “Solitude,” presents a full frontal assault with an unmistakable black metal kinda vibe.

Read the full review after the jump!
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Have you ever heard of TamutAmen from Isreal? This band straight rip shit with blackened sludge that bleeds with the dirge of doom and screams with the anger of black metal. Last year, these cloaked humans set off on a very successful tour of Europe. TamutAmen released a gnarly 7″ but decided to take it a step further by recording an outstanding video version of the record. I must say I’m really impressed with the way this footage was filmed, and it really brings a different dimension to their already radical music. You can download the TamutAmen 7″ HERE and watch their video after the jump!

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It’s fucking on…CVLT Nation is ultra stoked to announce that Vol. VII of our acclaimed mixtape series, Blackened Everything, goes live today! We made sure that this one was more brutal than ever before. Get ready to make your ears explode with 21 tracks of pure rancid audio torment! Follow the download links below (scroll over the image to download) and blast this motherfucker loud! Check the tracklisting after the jump. CVLT Nation salutes all of the bands that made it on this volume for creating the music that makes our blood boil!

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