Red & Anarchist Black Metal [and much more!]

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

/temporary post/

Spent the whole night improving the design of the blog and writing a comprehensive FAQ on RABM and related subjects. Right now I think the work is close to being completed, but if you have any additions / corrections, go on and propose it. I'm also still looking for the people who'd help me with the reviews, because I see my work is appreciated by many, and closing down the blog would be a too major loss...

Stay tuned.

Friday, May 17, 2013

Dark Blasphemer - "Drowning in Depression" (2012)

DARK BLASPHEMER "Drowning In Depression"

Year: 2012
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:

Intro
Eternal Sleep
Hate & Spirit
Black Warrior
Blasphemer
Dead Emperor
Suicide My Mind
Tenebris Artium
Devastation World
Drowning in Depression
Dawn of Destruction
Outro

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Black metal band from Bahía Blanca (Argentina), formed in December 2011. Their music is more or less standard BM, nothing really groundbreaking here, but at least we can be sure that they're RABM-friendly (according to their guitarist's posts in our facebook group).

facebook

P.S. And finally, some more bad news for you: I'm afraid I can't continue this blog anymore, or at least I'll have to put it on hold for a quite long time. If you wish to help me writing reviews, you can contact me via email, and I'll consider giving you a guest author access to my blog (preferably if you're one of my long-time readers, and your English is better than mine ;)). Either way, don't expect many updates here (at least until the end of the summer. In the meanwhile, you can read the blog of our comrades in Greece, or the Black Spring blog (mostly dedicated to the Berber BM scene, but very RABM-friendly too). Let's hope it won't be the end, stay tuned!

Vestiges - split w/ Panopticon (2012)

VESTIGES / PANOPTICON

Year: 2012
Genre: Black Metal, Post-Metal
Country: USA

The Vestiges/Panopticon split was announced to be released 12 December 2012, but only two tracks are available (for streaming, not for purchase or free download) @ Vestiges' bandcamp so far. However, these tracks sound VERY promising, so I hope the whole split will be amazing. Also, some news from Austin L. of Panopticon:

"Now is as good of a time to announce it officially, yesterday was the first day of drum tracking for the new Panopticon album. The drums are being tracked with Spenser Morris at lundr lodge studio, I will be recording the rest myself and the reamping/mixing and mastering will be handled by Colin Marston again, so expect the most professional sounding Panopticon record so far. The songs have been written since 2011 and represent a well rounded combination of all of the elements I have explored in the past 5 albums and the splits. This album represents the end of an era for this project, with darker, more emotional songs and very personal subject matter rather than history or social commentary, so I plan to make it count. Details of the release(s!), title and artwork will arrive in the coming months. Wish us luck today!"

I wonder what he meant by "the end of an era"... hope he isn't going to close the project. There were some pretty bad news lately (Forge of Customs split up in February, B.D.M. is now defunct too, plus there are no news from the Old Roots New Shoots circle), so I hope at least the most well-known RABM project is going to stay active.

Skagos - "Anarchic" (2013)

SKAGOS "Anarchic"

Year: 2013
Genre: Cascadian Black Metal, Post-Metal
Country: Canada

Track List:

Anarchic I-III
Anarchic IV-V
Anarchic VI-VII

A long-awaited Skagos' second full-length album is finally released in its entirety. Just like in case with "Terma" by Sadhaka and all the releases of The Flenser Rec., I won't include a download link - better listen it @ bandcamp and buy it if you like it. As for a review - check out this one, it's much more complete than anything I'd ever write (and of course, written in much better English...)

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Mortal Plague - "Omens" (2011)

MORTAL PLAGUE "Omens"

Year: 2011
Genre: Symphonic Black/Death Metal
Country: USA

Track List:

House of the Vengeful Spirits
Misanthropic Enlightenment
I, Destructor
Winter is Neverending
Visage
Cult of the Mourning Sun
Forged for Destruction
Reflections of a Dying Soul
Crushing Ignorance
Bringer of Plagues
Northern Demise
Omens

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An apolitical band which I think should be on my blog, because one of their members was very active in our facebook group and invited us to check out their demo "Winter is Neverending" some time ago; plus this album is completely free (released under the Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 license). While they're from the Cascadian region (Hood River, OR), their music bears not much resemblance to Cascadian BM: it's more or less standard death/black metal with some symphonic elements. Their first full-length, "The Ballad of Misanthropy", was said to be just melodic black metal (haven't listened to it yet). As for "Omens", I'd definitely recommend it, even though it's a quite lengthy release and might seem to be too monotonous to some of you. For me it's a very good album.

bandcamp

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Ceaseless Desolation - "Nicość" (2013)

CEASELESS DESOLATION "Nicość"

Year: 2013
Genre: Blackened Crust
Country: Poland

Track List:

Nieustająca Dewastacja / Tyrania Widm
Dwunożna Autodestrukcja
Egzystencjalny Szum
Poroniony Raj
Jutro?
Nicość
Ucieczka
Z Życia Marionetek
Bez Szczęśliwego Zakończenia
Do Zatracenia

DOWNLOAD

Finally, a first full-length album from this Poland-based blackened crustcore band, much better sounding than their debut demo. If I remember all correctly, one of their members was an active RABM supporter from the very beginning (when this blog didn't exist yet), and their ideology is close to anarcho-individualism (Max Stirner's ideas etc.) I think it'd be safe to say they're the best Polish blackened crust so far...

bandcamp

Schattenlicht - "Erinnerung" (2011)

SCHATTENLICHT "Erinnerung"

Year: 2011

Genre: Black Metal

Country: Austria

Track List:

Am Abgrund (Intro)
Ein Blick in die Tiefe
Erinnerung
Verzweifelnd Träumend
Gefangen
Frei
Brücken (Outro)

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This DIY anarchist black metal duo was formed in 2008, but I didn't know anything about them until very recently. Their only release "Erinnerung" is very good, though - nothing out of the ordinary, but still a very promising debut. AFAIK they've just finished a 6-track split w/ Karg and are going to release it this week.

facebook / bandcamp

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Marnost - "Die Hamletmaschine" (2013)

MARNOST "Die Hamletmaschine"

Year: 2013

Genre: Black Metal, Blackened Hardcore

Country: Czech Republic

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The newest single from Marnost - a soundtrack for a movie based on Heiner Müller's 1979 drama "Die Hamletmaschine":

"As we were striked by the message of Müller's play touching issues of totality or abuse of power, and as it seems to us that Müller was a person who understood art as one of the ways to freedom, we decided to take this opportuinity. This song came out of feelings about the recorded scenes and about the play itself. Maybe it's a step off the way that we chose, but it makes sense"

As of now, Marnost are focused on making music inspired by Czech anarchist writers, but they find Heiner Müller (a left-wing dissident in former Eastern Germany) an interesting person too. So far they're one of the best "new" RABM projects, so I hope they'll make more music in the future, even though they have a lot of work on their other projects.

bandcamp / official site

ANCST - "The Humane Condition" (2013)

ANCST "The Humane Condition"

Year: 2013

Genre: Black Metal, Blackened Crust/Hardcore

Country: Germany

Track List:

Ascetic
Entropie

DOWNLOAD

This Berlin-based anarcho-BM/crust project returns with a new EP and a slightly different name. Of course the correct spelling is "Angst", but there already are too many bands under this name...

"this was released by Dark Omen Records in an edition of 100 copies. 15 of these will be available as special pre-order with alternativ coloured artwork and an extra patch. Pre-order is available here:
darkomenrecords.storenvy.com/products/1356455-ancst-the-humane-condition-ep-dor006-preorder-w-patch

please check out Dark Omen Records here:
darkomenrecords.wordpress.com
www.facebook.com/darkomenrecords"

bandcamp

Ravensdöm & The Austrasian Goat - split (2012)

RAVENSDOM / THE AUSTRASIAN GOAT & THE VNTRVE ENSEMBLE

Year: 2012

Genre: Raw Black Metal, Blackened Punk

Country: France

Track List:

The Austrasian Goat

Intro
Counterfeit
A Decade in Dust
Shed
The Agonist
The Purity of a Clenched Fist

Ravensdöm

Séculaire
Divisions
La Fille du Diable
Abandon

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I think both Ravensdöm and The Austrasian Goat need no introduction, as I already have several their releases posted on my blog. This split, just like the albums of some other French anarchist BM bands, comes as a cassette rip with only 2 long tracks ("Side A" & "Side B"). Thanks to X. for posting this release!

About the blog

First of all: there's probably a lot of broken English on this blog. Hope it isn't that bad, at least I'm trying to do my best. Feel free to point me to any of my mistakes, if there are any. -B.K.

UPD. 17 May 2013: this blog is currently on hold, demo submissions aren't accepted at this time. Sorry.

We're currently looking for the people who can help with writing reviews for this blog, or can offer any other help to the RABM community. Contact us at:

Most of the uploads here are band sanctioned. Anyway, if you for some reason don't want to see your music here, send me a message (see the email address above) and I'll consider taking it down.

FAQ

Q.: Which kinds of music are featured on this blog?
A.: - (primarily) RABM or Red & Anarchist Black Metal: all kinds of black metal-related music charged with radical leftist (anarchist, libertarian socialist, eco-anarchist, etc.) political views. Some of the bands featured here may be not openly political, but all of them are RABM-friendly;
- blackened crust/hardcore/punk (only if it's openly RABM-friendly, or if it's just very good music; I've no intention to collect here all the blackened punk in existence);
- other kinds of political (anarchist, socialist, etc.) metal - death, thrash, post-metal, etc.;
- dark ambient, neofolk, industrial, dark electro, etc. - but only if it has some RABM-friendly ideology;
- regular punk/hardcore/crust, post-rock, conscious hip-hop, etc. - but only as a rare exception (so if you want me to send a demo in one of these genres, you're probably in the wrong place).

Q.: What are some RABM/blackened crust bands to start listening from?
A.: Here's an old compilation which I made in late 2009. Doesn't include a lot of good RABM bands that I didn't know of back then, but still recommended if you're new to RABM:

Q.: How can I support a particular RABM band with my money?
A.: Most bands nowadays have a bandcamp page, where you can but their stuff online (usually for an arbitrary price). It's the most convinient way to support the band. If your favourite band don't have a bandcamp or bigcartel page, try to find out in which distro you can find their albums/merch. Of course, go to concerts if you have such opportunity.

Q.: How can I offer my financial support to this blog, or the RABM movement in general?
A.: Unfortunately right I don't have an opportunity to accept donations, but I hope I'll be able to set it up soon.

Q.: What is the connection between black metal and hardcore/punk/crust?
A.: It's a well-established fact that the connection between black metal and punk scenes existed since the early days of BM (think Venom, early Bathory, early Mayhem and early Sodom on one side, and Amebix, Discharge and Axegrinder on another). Recently this mix of BM and hardcore punk got a new life in the form of blackened crust (thanks to Black Kronstadt / Iskra in first place). And don't forget about Cascadian black metal bands with their radical environmentalist ideology, often to the extent of radical eco-anarchism or "pro-nature/anti-humanity" ideas.

Q.: What's your main ideology?
A.: This blog is generally written from a position of anarchism without adjectives; however, the RABM scene is very diverse ideologically. Let me end on this, as this blog isn't quite a right place for purely political debates; if you want to learn or argue about anarchism/other ideologies, there's a lot of specialized FAQs/blogs/forums for you.

Q.: Isn't black metal supposed to be apolitical?
A.: Supposed by whom? I personally don't think so, but if you think that political awareness should have no place in "true" black metal, you can feel free to call the bands featured on here "blackened punk" or whatever you want. It should be noted, though, that a lot of these bands doesn't openly talk about politics in their lyrics, exactly because they think it wouldn't be suitable for black metal.

Q.: Isn't RABM just an "answer" to NSBM?
A.: While RABM is definitely against NSBM and any other kind of far-right crap in metal scene, it's most emphatically a self-sufficient movement and not any kind of "answer to NSBM". Similarly, while RABM is 100% pro liberation from any kinds of religious tyranny, it isn't a movement against any particular religion (Christianity, Islam, or any other).

Q.: What's your opinion on Satanism?
A.: The so-called "Hollywood Satanism", which is often found in black metal, is, in our opinion, nothing more than inverted Christianity, so we aren't big on it. Many of us are simply atheists, pagans of all kinds, gnostics, etc. We also don't share the notion that only genuine theistic Satanists / Devil-worshippers can play "real" black metal (this would exclude such bands as Venom, Bathory, Immortal, Summoning, and many many others). Additionally, the very term "Satanism" is quite vague, and can't be narrowed down to LaVeyan Satanism (which is heavily disliked by many black metallers), or whatever else. LaVey had some good points, but in general his philosophy can be described just as "Ayn Rand with some occult tinge".

Q.: What about misanthropy and nihilism?
A.: To put it in short: we don't hate everyone and everything (and we don't think there's anyone who truly does). We just hate these traits of humanity which make true anarchist society most likely infeasible in the foreseeable future.

Q.: Collectivism or individualism?
A.: There actually is no "hard" contradiction between these two terms. Individualism is simply an outlook emphasizes the moral worth of the individual and its right not to be oppressed by the state or some social group. It doesn't contradict at all with standing up for your rights along with a group of like-minded individuals. It also worth noting that the early black metal scene didn't promote individualism that much (see "black metal circles").

Q.: Who coined the term "RABM"?
A.: Hard to say, but there's an apparent similarity to RASH ("Red & Anarchist Skinheads"). Here's the very first mention of "RABM" we could find (August 2005). The term was popularized by our last.fm group (and later - by this blog) since 2009.

Q.: Who are the people in the header image of this blog?
A.: I wanted to include as many musicians as possible, but the space was limited, so I had to chose only a few. Still I wanted my selection to represent musicians of all genders, genres (RABM, blackened crust, viking/folk metal, etc.), coming from all the major black metal countries. From left to right: Danielle of Iskra (Canada), Austin of Panopticon (USA), Satanislav of Mrakobesie (Russia), Trish of DödsÄngel (AFAIK she is originally from Sweden, but now lives in Canada/Norway), Sorg of Sorgsvart (Norway), and Jeff of The Dead Musician (France).

Q.: Is there a place for ideological hostility/sectarianism (anarchists vs. marxists, etc.) within the RABM movement?
A.: RABM is open to various opinions, we do not endorse any kind of division of the RABM scene - "Anarchism vs. Marxism", "Trotskyism vs. Anti-Revisionism", "Primitivism vs. Transhumanism" (for me, both are way too radical...) or whatever else. However, we definitely don't support totalitarian ideologies like Juche/Baathism/Polpotism/any other kind of monarchism or nationalism disguised as Stalinism, Marxism or even Anarchism, or so called "anti-imperialist" tyrannies like the mullocracy in Iran (however, we do oppose them being attacked by other imperialist powers, like the U.S.)

Q.: What's your position on left-wing nationalism / "national liberation" movements?
A.: The only kind of "national liberation" movements that we can support are the ones which seek for individual freedoms and social justice, progress of the society and liberation from authoritarian prejudices and religious fundamentalism. Examples of such movements include:

Q.: Do you know the ideology of the band X? It isn't obvious if they're NSBM or not...
A.: Sorry, we don't know, do your own research. It's often hard to say anything certain about a band's views, if the members themselves aren't open about it. We also don't advice using various "lists of nazi bands" etc. as a reference, as most of them are full of bullshit.

Q.: Can I use some materials from this blog on my site?
A.: Of course you're welcome to do so (unless otherwise is specified), as we're against copyrights.

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

/temporary post/

Friday, May 17, 2013

Dark Blasphemer - "Drowning in Depression" (2012)

Vestiges - split w/ Panopticon (2012)

Skagos - "Anarchic" (2013)

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Mortal Plague - "Omens" (2011)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Ceaseless Desolation - "Nicość" (2013)

Schattenlicht - "Erinnerung" (2011)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Marnost - "Die Hamletmaschine" (2013)

ANCST - "The Humane Condition" (2013)

Ravensdöm & The Austrasian Goat - split (2012)

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About the blog

Non-authoritarian left in the ex-USSR

About Me

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Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Friday, May 17, 2013

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

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About the blog

Non-authoritarian left in the ex-USSR

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