Review Source Pitchfork written by Kim Kelly
Label:Nuclear War Now!Productions

Anticipation is one hell of a drug. Back when internet access was a luxury rather than an assumption, music consumers were familiar with a certain sensation that surfaced after the announcement that their favorite band had hit the studio. Release dates meant something– you marked a date on a calendar, circled it in red, and let the excitement and dread build. But we’ve become accustomed to a constant stream of content– new albums every year, an EP every six months, a tour-only 7″ here, a digital compilation there– all stuffed down the feeding tube and shoehorned into our RSS feeds. (The wait is over; it never really had a chance to begin.) At this point, it’s almost pleasant when a band chooses to buck the trend and follow its own pace, pouring as much time and effort as they see fit into the creation of a record. Their fans are given a taste of actual anticipation, and unless we’re talking a washed-up 1980s buttrock reunion album or a flaccid slice of warmed-over nü metal, odds are it’s going to taste that much sweeter once they’re finally able to sink their fangs into it.

The Canadian black/death metal band Revenge understand this. It’s been four years since their last record, 2008′s Infiltration.Downfall.Death. Those familiar with the group’s mastermind, J. Read, and his twisted approach to songwriting have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of their fourth full-length, Scum.Collapse.Eradication, since their U.S. label, Nuclear War Now! Productions, announced its release a ways back. Those fans spent hours scouring message-boards for news, listening to the song samples that eventually surfaced, and speculating endlessly about what the band would sound like now that longtime member Pete Helmkamp (Order From Chaos, Angelcorpse, Kerasphorus, etc.) had defected. (Spoiler alert: His absence barely registers).
For those unfamiliar with the group, Revenge are gods within their realm, and virtual unknowns outside it. Formed in Edmonton, Alberta, in 2000 after the collapse of Read’s previous band, Conqueror, Revenge have long served as a cornerstone of the international black/death-metal scene, releasing a handful of essential records via French label Osmose (with earlier EPs surfacing courtesy of Dark Horizon and War Hammer) before aligning with California’s Nuclear War Now! Productions. Fair warning to the uninitiated: Unless you already know and love the likes of Read and his compatriots, or have an affinity for lo-fi, relentless walls of black noise, you might not “get” this album. “Niche” is an understatement.

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.

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.

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…

Coldwar have a valence of chaos and aversiveness that pervades in their music through idiosyncratic symbolism and noise. They have been in existence for over ten years now, rejecting every thread along the way. With their sound progressing even further to an even heavier, darker doomed landscape with last years release of ‘Christus Deathshead’. Political commentary without being cliché or sanctimonious. Bleak, cold and oppressive ambience permeates into intense spiraling riffs combined with a stellar growl. This is a portrait of the apocalypse, this is Coldwar.

CVLT Nation gives you an exclusive of a new unreleased track ‘Last Days Of The 4th Sun’.

On the one hand, BEATEN TO DEATH is a quite generic name for a Grindcore band. One the other hand, you know what you’ll get, and, more important, this is already the point where the mediocrity comes to a quick end and a whole bunch of motherfucking awesome gnarliness comes in. Because BEATEN TO DEATH from Norway bring lots of innovative and fresh ideas to a genre where almost everything has been said already 20 years ago. And they do it without whimping out or drifting towards some freaked out high-tech Death-Grind kind of thing. Xes and Strokes amazes with other qualities. Full review and video of the song Winston Churchill after the jump!
READ MORE…

On March 27th, Black Breath will be dropping a new album entitled Sentenced To Life via Southern Lord, and it is fucking packed with weapons of maximum rawness. What will happen once you press play? A never-ending shower of gnarly riffs will take over your being. Then you will get a tremendous energy jolt from all of the war-like drumming that will have you saying damn, I don’t want this album to end! Demonic baselines will have you thinking that the next time you see Black Breath live, your skull might separate from the rest of your body due to all of the chaotic headbanging that’s going to take place! Unholy fuck, Neil’s vocal delivery on Sentenced To Life is so awesome that his voice is another instrument in this band’s arsenal. Black Breath’s songwriting on this album is perfect, and with each listen, I get more excited. When you hear “Feast of the Damned,” you realize the you are in for a ride all the way to Hell. What gets me going on this album are the high levels of giant blackened groove and murder melody. All of the songs on this album rain death blows on your ears, but at the same time they have a subversive catchy quality to them. When the title track, “Sentenced To Life,” grabs you by the throat, it won’t let go – you are sentenced to death by this tune. The production on this album is thick and dense with anger, with an added ultra heavy dose of wild fury. Every second of Sentenced To Life transports my mind to a place where metal heads run shit, and the corporate bigwigs are our slaves. You can tell that nothing separates Black Breath from their fans, because the glory of metal is running through their veins. Black Breath have set the bar high for Album of the Year – this is my top contender so far. I’m super stoked to see them perform this record live, I just know it’s going to blow my living mind into the undead!

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.

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…

Today is a killer day, because it’s CVLT Nation’s first anniversary, so it’s time to celebrate! The first thing that came to mind was to create the sickest volume of our Blackened Everything mixtape series yet, and that’s what I did. When you press play, and brain tissue starts to leak out of your skull, do not be alarmed – it’s just the effects of blackened radness! Big time honor goes out to all of our writers, bands, labels and weirdos – you know who you are! Fuck, let’s get down to business, listen to Blackened Everything Vol.666 below, scroll over them image to download and after the jump peep the tracklisting!

Also, mad respect to all those that have shown CVLT Nation cool vibes over this past year, we salute you! In celebration of our first year of many to come, we are giving away two CVLT Nation t-shirts and two Broken Press posters! To enter the draw, email contact@cvltnation with “1-year giveaway” as the subject, and four random people will be selected with a raffle on Friday the 9th at noon PT to get a poster or a t-shirt. Thanks for your support, it keeps us going! **Our winners are: Blake Devine-Rosser, David Radon, Victoria Ngai & Attila Korsos! Thanks to everyone who entered and all of the support and kind words!

READ MORE…

Destroy kill kill murder murder…the new Mutant Supremacy 7′, ROTTING SEASON, is coming out today via Blast Beat Mailmurder and it fucking slays. After one listen, your face just might look like the cover, because this is straight flesh-eating death metal and it is pure decaying brutality! The riffs you will experience on this record will sew your eyelids shut, then slice your brain into tiny bloody pieces. Something about these songs sound like war itself – I have visions of body parts ripped off every time I press play. Mutant Supremacy’s vocals are ultra gnarly – I’m totally hyped on both the high and low vocal attack. The guitar playing: the speed and groove that this band possesses is off the fucking meat rack! Blast “Kill Without Question” on ten, so that you can feel the storm of death that this track will rain down upon you, and you will be able to taste the filth in your mouth! Unholy fuck, the title track, “Rotting Season,” gives me the sensation of having pieces of sharp glass shaking around in my skull, plus it’s straight john blaze! What makes this EP killer is that Mutant Supremacy is able to paint a picture of torment and horror with the way they write tunes. I must admit, the only thing is four songs is too fucking short, I want to hear more. Make sure to act quick – Blast Beat Mailmurder is only releasing 300 hand numbered copies of ROTTING SEASON, which you can order HERE. You are in luck – CVLT Nation is streaming the full Mutant Supremacy EP here and now, peep it below! Now listen for yourself, brutal recognize brutal!

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.

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.

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.

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.

All the death metal fiends in the underground know that the sickest demo of last year was released by ZOM, via Invictus Productions, and it sold ultra quick. Now on March 7th, you will have your chance to get the third pressing, which will sell out just as quick as the first two pressings! Read below what Jamie Grimes had to say about ZOM, plus you can hear their demo in full HERE. The real reason for this post is to share with a video of their full show on Friday the 13th this past month. So after the jump, allow ZOM to drag you down into the underworld, and peep this dark fucking footage!

Arising like some kind of monstrous, Fulci-esque zombie from the sewers earlier this year, ZOM have been a revelation locally. Having only played their debut show earlier this year after being locked in the rehearsal room honing their craft, they made an instant impression with their archaic brand of death metal, inspired by the likes of Necrovore, Beherit, Obscurity and demo-era Death. Sure,revisionism is rife in death metal in 2011 as everyone and their mother stocks up on Boss Heavy Metal pedals and attempts to re-write “the Left Hand Path” or “Onward to Golgotha”, but ZOM’s sound doesn’t feel contrived like many of their peers. It’s an organic approach that places emphasis on creating a dark and primitive atmosphere rather than simply realigning stolen riffs from their favourite albums.
Jamie Grimes

READ MORE…

I didn’t think it was possible but Deathhammer have raised the bar, which had been set in 2010 by their full length debut Phantom Knights, with the release of their second album Onward To The Pits this year on Hell’s Headbangers. Not since the almighty Darkthrone have two dudes from Norway produced such a wicked noise! They combine the best of old school German thrash with the worst of old school American thrash and the outcome is as breakneck and precise as it is sloppy and sleazy. While I love the technicality in thrash I’m not a fan of anything too flashy and over-polished, which would explain my affinity for this band because they’re super raw. “Fullmoon Sorcery” and “Voodoo Rites” set up the album perfectly as mission statements of what to expect. Those were my personal favorites but the album doesn’t let up from there. In fact, another aspect of Deathhammer that I appreciate are their unrelenting riffs. These guys rip the Flag Of Hate to shreds and their songs are jam packed with enough hammered-on bendy notes to choke all Four Horsemen. “To The Evil” is a prime example of that. Bassist, guitarist and lead vocalist Sergeant Salsten runs the vocal gambit from low, guttural death grunts to ultra high pitched shrieks, calling up from hell and possessing you to oscillate wildly. Sadomancer who plays drums also spits up some of the nastiest response chants I’ve heard in metal in recent years. The Sergeant’s dive bomb leads on cuts like “Seduced By The Flames” and “Army Of Death” are on par with some of Piotr from Vader‘s strongest work, in my opinion. The album’s title track, feels like it’s their “Genghis Kahn” seeing how it’s the only instrumental. On Onward To The Pits Deathhammer have really come into their own as a band and it’s a vast step up in terms of their songwriting’s technicality, structure and overall quality from any of their previous efforts which have recently been compiled in a new collection called Forever Ripping Fast.

True headbangers, the one’s that lack a sense of humor and don’t read these poorly scribed articles on trendy hipster blog sites are going to love this album and that’s about the best reason I could think to write about it.
Aside from the fact that you can skate like a demon to this record!

What skateboard company has cast a spell on me? The UK’s WITCHCRAFT Hardware - by far they are one of our favorite skate companies around. One thing that I give them respect for is their D.I.Y. mindset, and the way they have a pure affinity for the dark arts! It also must be known that WITCHCRAFT Hardware has some of the sickest gear around, drawn by some of the world’s most talented evil illustrators: French, Murdoch Stafford, André Coelho and Sin-Eater just to name a few. Today is a glorious dark day, because we are able to show you a brand new video from the coven of WITCHCRAFT Hardware. I will say this about the video – this team makes ripping shit look too easy! So after the jump, check out how the British skaters wake the undead!

READ MORE…

As a newly recruited member of the CVLT Nation team, I felt it was appropriate and only sensible to make a brief introductory post along with my top 5 albums of the month. As of February 2012, I will be posting my top 5 albums at the end of each month and occasionally provide photos of any bands that will be aforementioned and/or appropriate photos shot by myself which will suit the criteria of the music I will be reviewing. These will be in no particular order and with that said, onward to the February list… READ MORE…