CVLT Nation

Overthrone Anciients – Heart of Oak

Cheryl — Thu, 23 May 2013 17:33:43 +0000

Vancouver-based Anciients have been on the sidelines of the extreme progressive heavy metal scene for a number of years, having formed in 2009. They released an EP, Snakebeard (great title), in 2011 and this year finally saw their ideas poured into full-length debut Heart of Oak (via Season of Mist). Their sound incorporates the progressive tendencies of Enslaved whilst leaning towards the bittersweet vocal lines of bands such as Baroness and perhaps Opeth. Shifting between clean lines and gruff growls, Anciients battle the light and the dark and Heart of Oak glistens with revelation, hope and coping with the upheaval of the past, particularly during final track “For Lisa,” which traverses sadness and wonder in one fell instrumental swoop.

Heart of Oak throws you in at the deep end with “Raise the Sun,” which starts the album off in shades of acoustic guitar that steadily build up into layers of sound and a rich warm current of anticipation before the track kicks in properly with sweet clean vocal lines and countering screams – both guitarists, Chris Dyck and Kenneth Cook, tear into the song with their opposing vocal approaches and as such the comparison to Enslaved is almost unavoidable here. Of course, that isn’t a bad thing because, duh, Enslaved are great, and Anciients bring their own flavours to the genre, with climbing guitar sections and extended passages of instrumental precision. Occasionally though, these long interludes can become a tad wearying and Anciients border on the excessive in terms of how much is going on within a song, but this is only a small slight on what is an otherwise impressive debut.

“Overthrone” is a wonderful early highlight, all clashing guitars and sweeping sounds and the movement found here is immediate and exciting. Lapses into slower melody carry the song into doomed territory whilst not losing sight of writing a catchy riff or two and following track “Falling in Line” deals nicely in low-down, grumbling vocal lines and tripped out electronic pulses in its closing. The instrumental interlude of “One Foot in the Light” breaks the album in half, giving some respite from the preceding harshness before “Giants” revels in more guitar work than you can shake a stick at. Again it’s all a little too much at times but Anciients pull it back with the massive “Faith and Oath” and it’s growling chorus that calls to mind High on Fire or Mastodon and glorious, uplifting harmonies.

“Flood and Fire” is a heady journey and the different sections of the track flow into each with style and aggression, the guitars attacking the senses with no cause for the effect it will have on your hearing – both gruff vocals and those huge walls of guitar feed into each other, fueling the fire of the track and twisting it onto new paths and ever-changing landscapes of sound. The previously mentioned “For Lisa” is a beautiful and solemn ode to the past and although it wouldn’t be right to comment on their possible reasons for this composition, it seems that there is a slew of emotion brimming behind Anciients work and that sadly, some people are no longer here to celebrate the uplifting hooks (and jaunty organ passages culled from 1970s psych bands) that are found elsewhere in Heart of Oak.

All in all, Heart of Oak is a delightful, catchy and electrifying debut and whilst Anciients occasionally drift into the realm of too much prog, there is certainly a lot here to like and enjoy and bang your head to. That’s more than enough to pique your interest, surely?

Check out Anciients on tour with Skeletonwitch during May/June or take a listen over at the Season of Mist bandcamp!

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Anciients – Heart of Oak appeared first on CVLT Nation.

Bible Thumper Thetan Split Review

Bruce Wolfbiter — Thu, 23 May 2013 10:00:47 +0000

Bleak and distant. Two words that more than aptly describe Bible Thumper’s unholy half of their split with Thetan. This New Brunswick, NJ outfit churn out a rough, creature-like bit of D-beat evil. The sound materializes into a claustrophobic chamber wreathed in faraway anguish. Wrath permeates these three tracks, rubbing scaled grime deep into the sheer noise. The pieces at points coalesce to the point of being unrecognizable, while these are often counterbalanced with glorious malevolence.

“Soft Skull” opens with a sheen of discomfort, blasting off into a dirty ride that charges into ever-shifting cascades of accelerating torment. Screams of varying pitch and clarity form a mournful, ghostly chorus that accents the blistering percussion and scum-under-your-fingernails guitars. The bass mean mugs, out-muscling all but the torturous wails, attributing “Soft Skull” as the split’s most menacing track.

“Debt” is all speed on furious wheels, ripping through its sixty-second length without breaking into so much as a bead of slime. Shouts rage beneath the maelstrom sound, unleashing theological obscenities in pained bursts.

Attitude-thick bass lines hammer into you almost immediately on the formidable “Hell Hog.” A snout-pummeling reward of snarling guitars, cadence ravaging drums and bloody cries wreak utter sonic havoc, ending Bible Thumper’s killing spree with a satisfyingly mad grimace.

A free download of these songs can be found at their Bandcamp, in addition to Bible Thumper’s other releases.

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Thetan Split Review appeared first on CVLT Nation.

New Lake of Blood Track Feat.Leviathan “In Wells Of Shadow” Streaming Now!

Sean — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:30:36 +0000

Cult of Melancholia is a killer underground music collective based in Southern California, and they have released some of our favorite releases in the recent past. One upcoming record from their camp is the soon to be released Lake of Blood album, and one of their tracks is on the new Burnt Offerings Cassette. Today we are streaming this track, “In Wells Of Shadow,” featuring Leviathan on vocals and guitar! Make sure to stay tuned for more updates about the Cult of Melancholia and head over to their web store to support radness!

Burnt Offerings by Cult of Melancholia

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Track Feat.Leviathan
“In Wells Of Shadow”
Streaming Now! appeared first on CVLT Nation.

New KATECHON Video Beautiful Desolation Now Showing!

Sean — Thu, 23 May 2013 09:00:04 +0000

Straight up, I’m counting the days until the new Katechon album Man, God, Giant hits the fucking streets, because it’s going to destroy everything! Check out this new video they did for “Beautiful Desolation,” featuring footage from Mehrige’s Din Of Celestial Birds. Also stay tuned for another exclusive Katechon stream on June 6th, the day their record is released on Nuclear War Now!

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Beautiful Desolation
Now Showing! appeared first on CVLT Nation.

New Stock! Records and Summer 2013 T-shirts, Tanks, Tote Bags!

Meghan — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:30:18 +0000

Summer 2013 is here (in LA at least) and we have stocked up on a few of our most popular designs in tees and tanks! We’ve brought back Black Heavens and Bloodseed by Desecrator, Black Majesty by Alexander Brown, Constellations by Natvres Mortes Illvstration and Crown of Eyes by Halseycaust on both tees and tank top, plus we have a CVLT Store-only run of black/grey tie dye tees and tote bags. We have also stocked up on records and brought in some new titles, plus restocked some titles that sold out quick! Check out all our new clothing here and check out the record store here! Lots of rad photos below!

Black Heavens

Black Majesty

Bloodseed

Constellations

Crown of Eyes

Black Heavens and Constellations Tote Bags

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Barred for Life! A Chronicle of the Black Flag Tattoo

Meghan — Thu, 23 May 2013 08:00:54 +0000

It’s hard to exaggerate the importance of Black Flag to underground music. They pioneered a touring style that is standard for bands today, plus they basically invented hardcore, or at least set the standard for it. Their four bar logo has achieved almost Che-like status in pop culture iconography, but it manages to remain cool and underground at the same time – as Ebersole puts it: “look closely at those four rectangles and you will see a cute little waving black flag representing “ANARCHY;” the stateless state; a DIY politic. No Gods and No Masters, as they say!” I can’t tell you how many people I know or have met who have inked that logo somewhere on their body. With Barred For Life, Stewart Dean Ebersole has put together a photo documentary of how Black Flag has touched people’s lives – literally in the form of tattoos. Interspersed with photos of people he and photographer Jared Castaldi captured along their six years of travel in North America and abroad, Ebersole tells the story of being a punker of the 80′s in America, and how Black Flag figured in punk rock lore of the time. The result is rad to look at and a captivating read, and also includes in-depth interviews with Dez and Chuck. I would wager at least half of you reading this have a Black Flag tattoo on you somewhere, and you know you’re not alone! Check out some of the rad portraits below, and head over to the Barred For Life facebook page here and get your own copy here!

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A Chronicle of the Black Flag Tattoo appeared first on CVLT Nation.

State to State…‪ASSÜCK‬ 1992 Now Showing!

Sean — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:30:45 +0000

‪ASSÜCK‬ live in 1992…now watch this and dive into a gutter!!! This footage is freaking unreal and the sound quality is ultra on point!

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1992 Now Showing! appeared first on CVLT Nation.

New INTEGRITY Album “Suicide Black Snake” Streaming Now

Sean — Thu, 23 May 2013 07:00:48 +0000

On June 11th, Integrity are releasing their new album entitled Suicide Black Snake on vinyl via A389 Recordings, and on CD via Magic Bullet. To mark this moment in hardcore history, Integrity is streaming their new album NOW! Make sure to catch them on their world tour that starts today…peep the dates!

INTEGRITY Suicide Black Snake World Tour:
5/23/2013 The Webster – Hartford, CT w/ Overcast
5/24/2013 Foufounes – Montreal, QC (A389 Canadian Invasion)
5/25/2013 Wrongbar – Toronto, ON (A389 Canadian Invasion)
5/26/2013 Maryland Death Fest – Baltimore, MD
5/27/2013 Kingdom – Richmond, VA w/ Full Of Hell
5/28/2013 Motorco Music Hall – Durham, NC w/ Full Of Hell
5/29/2013 The End – Nashville, TN w/ Full Of Hell
5/30/2013 Siberia – New Orleans, LA w/ Full Of Hell
6/01/2013 Chaos In Tejas – Austin, TX
7/26/2013 Druckluft – Oberhausen, Germany
7/27/2013 Vlamrock Festival – AS, Belgium
7/28/2013 Le Pub – Port, UK
7/29/2013 Wharf Chambers – Leeds, UK
7/30/2013 Fiber – Dublin, Ireland
7/31/2013 Trillians – Newcastle, UK
8/01/2013 Underworld – London, UK
8/02/2013 Resurrection Festival – Viveiro, Spain
8/03/2013 New Noise – Karlsruhe, Germany
8/04/2013 Péniche Alternat – Paris, France
8/05/2013 Les Combustibles – Toulouse, France
8/06/2013 TBA – Bordeaux, France
8/07/2013 Le Korigan – Luynes/Aix en Provence, France
8/08/2013 Magnolia Club – Milano, Italy
8/09/2013 Freakout Club – Bologna, Italy
8/10/2013 Mostovna – Nova Goricia, Slovenia
8/16/2013 Voice Of Art Festival – Hohenstein, Germany
8/17/2013 Days Of Fury Fest – Fredericia, Denmark
8/18/2013 Innocent – Hengelo, Netherlands
8/19/2013 Bei Chez Heinz – Hannover, Germany
8/20/2013 Cassiopeia – Berlin, Germany
8/21/2013 Headcrash – Hamburg, Germany
8/22/2013 Bunker Festival – Oslo, Norway
8/23/2013 L’ Orient – Linkoping, Sweden

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“Suicide Black Snake”
Streaming Now appeared first on CVLT Nation.

CVLT Nation Streaming NO SIR, I WON’T Track “Harry Harlow”

Sean — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:00:58 +0000

Hot damn, NO SIR, I WON’T is a fucking killer band that play some off the chain peace punk! They have a new 12 inch entitled Door coming out via Frame Work Label on June 25th! Right now I want you to check out their new song “Harry Harlow” streaming below…Oh yeah, their east coast tour started yesterday – peep the dates!

Monday May 20 – Willimantic, CT @ Shitty Present HQ w/ Snotrocket
Tuesday May 21 – Winooski, VT @ The Monkey House w/ Last World, & Gorcrow
Wednesday May 22 – Boston, MA @ Ramrod w/ Terveet Kadet
Thursday May 23 – Lake Ronkonkoma, NY @ Hometowne Tavern w/ Pretty Shit, No More Victims, & Brian Connelly
Friday May 24 – Philadelphia, PA @ Golden Tea House w/ Terveet Kadet, Lotus Fucker, Low Charge, & Muscle Revolution
Saturday May 25 – Cleveland, OH @ TBA
Sunday May 26 – Washington, DC @ The Chill Factory w/ Cheap Love
Monday May 27 – Baltimore, MD @ Sidebar w/ Howling Curse, & Friendbest
Tuesday May 28 – Albany, NY @ Trampoline House w/ Neutron Rats, & Bourbon Scum

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NO SIR, I WON’T
Track “Harry Harlow” appeared first on CVLT Nation.

The Throne of Lucifer Gevurah – Necheshirion In Review

Cheryl — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:19 +0000

Canadian duo Gevurah deal in the kind of filthy, dark and dank death metal that the likes of Mitochondrion, Grave Miasma and Cruciamentum have pushed for in recent times. Both deeply unholy and gloriously dirty, Necheshirion is the band’s debut EP and it follows a demo so well received that it sold out almost immediately. Their route into the darkness is one that treads the path of Satanic majesty and as such the two minds behind this project allow the Dark Lord to work through their music with a savage and sly grace.

The name Gevurah is taken from the kabbalistic tree of life and when taken in non-Jewish terms, Gevurah is seen as the opposing force to God’s good will and as such the aspect that allows terrible things to happen and much suffering to occur. Ultimately Gevurah have aimed to encompass all that is wrong with the world and Necheshirion is certainly a work that evokes feelings of gross unease and claustrophobic paranoia, from the opening discord of “The Essence Unbound” to the closing dissonance of their cover of Malign’s “Entering Timeless Halls.”

Gevurah feed on discomfort and their sound is at times overwhelming, cloying and full of sulphuric hate. Necheshirion flows with a tangible and heady thrum of dark will and X.T’s (also drums) voice conveys the work of an unseemly entity via guttural roars and heightened streams of horror-laden curses. “Flesh Bounds Desecrated” pulses with a steady malevolence before the arcane spell of “The Throne of Lucifer.” Hypnotic rises of guitar (A.L. – also on bass) glisten through the jarringly melodic progression of the track. X.T.’s invocations are divinely depraved in tone and the deadly and malicious undercurrent of Gevurah’s manifesto seeps into the songs like blood into the earth. Consuming.

Order Necheshirion from Profound Lore Records immediately.

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Gevurah – Necheshirion
In Review appeared first on CVLT Nation.