Sheer Ignorance - "Conditioning" (2011)

SHEER IGNORANCE "Conditioning"

Year: 2011
Genre: Blackened Crust
Country: UK (Scotland)

Track List:

1. Pay Your Dues to Punk
2. Social Conditioning
3. Blood Sludge
4. Militant Zombie Deathsquad
5. Mind Control Airwaves

DOWNLOAD

Another loud and uncompromising crust punk/black metal band whose members know about my blog. One of them also plays in a death metal band Nerrus Kor. Their debut EP was released in September 2011, and I'm posting it here along with booklet (containing all the lyrics). You may also purchase it from bandcamp.

Aspera Ad Astra: another band from Germany

From our group on Facebook:

"I'm radical left and vocalist in a black metal band from germany. The band and lyrics are apolitical, but sometimes libertine and got intertextuality with left art like from the Situationist International."

Vidargängr: German punks playing black metal

As far as I know, they're a RABM-friendy band featuring members of such Leipzig-based punk and metal acts as Rattenpisse and Distinct Cult. Their main lyrical themes are disaffection, hate and anti-Christianity. They plan to record a demo this or next month.

Shapeless - "Non-Aretaic Dimensions" (2011)

SHAPELESS "Non-Aretaic Dimensions (of misery and freedom)"

Year: 2011
Genre: Raw Black Metal / Dark Ambient
Country: Australia

Track List:

1. Boner of the Fallen Satyr
2. Putres Motuos et Leviathan
3. An Introverted Journey Through Worthlessness
4. Non-Aretaic Dimensions

DOWNLOAD

Another demo made by one of my readers. According to him:


"I just finished my solo demo. It's pretty shit, but it combines some elements of DSBM, inspired by the horrid society we live in. There's also a track inspired by Against His-Story, Against Leviathan! and although the lyrics might be a bit vague on exactly what I'm trying to get across, the gist of it is Anarchism and the rejection of modern society...
I'm currently working on another EP. I'd be happy to send it along when it's done. Unlike Non-Aretaic Dimensions, I'll be putting more time into it - though hopefully it will still retain the raw quality"

Well... the 2nd track is good enough for a first home-made demo. Reminds me of L'Acephale and Mania (and maybe also Burzum's "Det Som En Gang Var"). Tracks #1 and #3 are just electronic interludies, nothing really remarkable. The 4th track is also not that bad, but the sound is much more raw and noisy. Overall, the music is as minimalistic as the cover image, but I'm not saying like it's a bad thing. Let's wait for a 2nd demo...

Forge of Customs - "Zeitgeist" (2011)

FORGE OF CUSTOMS "Zeitgeist"

Year: 2011
Genre: Negative Hardcore/Metal
Country: Russia

Track List:

1. Break It Down! (Intro)
2. Endgame
3. Zeitgeist
4. Social Package
5. Simply Fashion
6. Last Generation

bonus

1. Black Monday
2. Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum!

DOWNLOAD


As you may have already noticed, I'm interested in metal and other underground music coming from the regions like Middle East. It's relatively easy to speak against Christianity while residing in already secular countries like Norway, but it takes a lot of courage to be critical of Islam in Iran or Saudi Arabia.
Speaking of Forge Of Customs - well, I don't think having one member in their lineup originally from Derbent (south Dagestan) makes them an "oriental metal" band, but it's hard not to notice that their music is heavily inspired by the political events in that region. Forge Of Customs is an anti-NWO, anti-consumerist, anti-religious fundamentalist metallic hardcore band with female vocals based in Moscow, and "Zeitgeist" is their first full-length release. While the music is somewhat repetitive and unoriginal by Western hardcore scene standards (plus I didn't like some clean vocal parts), it's already a promising release for an young Russian band. Leaving aside the black metal scene, we don't have that many political metal bands, and I hope FoS will eventually become one of the leading bands on our scene, along with Slaughter 2017.

The lyrics are overtly political, dealing with such subjects as terrorism, Moscow Metro bombings, consumerism, religious fanaticism and human stupidity. While their position is slightly more socially conservative compared with most other bands on my blog (as far as I understand, they mostly adhere to the sXe ethos), their lyrics are still honest and inspirational, and their music makes me feel real passion and anger. The archive includes 6 album tracks and two more tracks from their early demos, with slighlty different sound. As for me, "Sivis Pacem, Para Bellum" is the best track they've ever recorded, and I have no idea why it wasn't included in the album...

Kalendae - live set (from "Evenings of Forests and Sorrow")

The 3rd event in the series of "Evenings of Forests and Sorrow" will take place in SPb on 19th of October. Line-up:

1. Kalendae (atmospheric black metal\ post-)
2. ... и возвел их на гору (ambient)
3. Gray Bastion (death/doom metal)
4. Virosa (post-metal)

info

Two tracks from the first live show of Kalendae (not even a demo, just a live recording; the upcoming demo may sound different. I'm putting it here only to give you an idea of what kind of music they're playing):

DOWNLOAD (UPD: the demo is officially out)

And some more photos (credits to Julia Buryakova):

Fregoli Delusion - demo (2011)

FREGOLI DELUSION "demo"

Year: 2011
Genre: Funeral Doom/Black Metal
Country: Lithuania

Track List:

1. Flight
2. Epiphanies
3. Monochrome
4. Revolve

DOWNLOAD

"The Fregoli delusion is a rare disorder in which a person holds a delusional belief that different people are in fact a single person who changes appearance or is in disguise"


Fregoli Delusion is an one-man project from Lithuania,  featuring a member of such bands as Jane Doe Drowned and Vėžys. I'd label his music as funeral doom with some BM overtones, obviously influenced by blackened crust and Cascadian black metal. Reminds me of Mania and The Austrasian Goat (both musically and ideologically).

Harrow (ex-Wraith) - "Forest Altar" (2011)

HARROW "Forest Altar"

Year: 2011
Genre: Cascadian BM
Country: Canada

Track List:

1. Balance
2. Wraith
3. Watcher

DOWNLOAD

I hope you remember a demo called "Unending Lands" by Wraith, which I've posted here year ago. Now they're a full band and no longer a one man project, and they changed the name to "Harrow," though the band is a continuation of the themes and music from those Wraith demos. Their music is still very decent atmospheric BM, though the vocals aren't quite "black metal"-ish. And some words directly from the band (about their concept):


"Harrow is the struggle for understanding of the self and of the Earth. It is coming to terms with accepting the truth of being human and then learning to live in our world with that knowledge. We exist in a time when two forces are beginning to clash and the outcome will determine the fate of all life. One side seeks harmony and understanding with the Earth and its habitants. The other seeks dominance and gain for itself. “Forest Altar” sets out this opposition as a foundation to build upon. At this point, we walk through an obscuring fog, only seeing small parts of a larger whole. When the fog clears, the truth has been reached"

bandcamp

Shaytankutak - "Жаз" (2011)

ШАЙТАНКУТАК "Жаз"

Year: 2011
Genre: Post-Metal
Country: Kazakhstan

Track List:

1. Шу
2. Актобе
3. Жок
4. Жаз
5. Аспан

DOWNLOAD

Shaytankutak (Шайтанкутак) is a duo from northern Kazakhstan which was formed in 2007 as a political/satirical grindcore project. The band name can be literally translated as "Satanic Penis" or "Satanic Dildo". After releasing some noisegrind demos (which, to be honest, are just unlistenable), they finally recorded a "serious" 5-track album, the music on which is relatively far from grindcore. I'd say it's rather post-metal with strong BM and sludge influences, and some acoustic parts. Finally, a really interesting metal release from Kazakhstan! Recommended to everyone who likes progressive metal, post-hardcore and post-black metal. Sadly I can't understand the lyrics, but I guess they're political (at least track #3 is claimed to be about Domodedovo airport bombing).

Kalendae: live photos

Latest news from Kalendae: there's still no demos or live videos from them, but now they have a blog and an official newsfeed. Some photos of them from a recent gig (credits to Polina Chernovolenko):

Beauty Of Sirin - "Winter Demo(n)s" (2010)

BEAUTY OF SIRIN "Winter Demo(n)s"

Year: 2010
Genre: Blackgaze
Country: Russia

Track List:

1. Beauty Of Sirin
2. Blackened Winter
3. Giants

DOWNLOAD

Beauty Of Sirin are a trio from St.Petersburg whose music is very far from "true" black metal, but quite similar to Amesoeurs' first only LP, Dernier Martyr, and other depressive rock bands influenced by DSBM. They're apolitical, but associated with Kalendae, Kora and similar acts, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to post their demo here. Their second demo is announced to be released very soon, and will be a conceptual work with mythology-based lyrics (unlike this one, which has almost no lyrics except for some spoken word passages). However, they're mostly a live band, and don't distribute their demos through any labels.

Speaking of "Winter Demo(n)s" - I think it can best be labeled as depressive rock with some DSBM elements and electronic/ambient parts, akin to Amesoeurs, Velvet Cacoon / Clair Cassis, etc. It's interesting to compare them with O.R.N.S. bands, and projects like Dernier Martyr or All The Cold. Seems like Russian metal scene tends to produce more and more atmospheric and introspective stuff in the late few years, and I can't say it's a bad tendency...

26.09.2011, St.Petersburg - "An Evening of Forests and Sorrow", pt.2

One more event organized by our community - this time not quite RABM-themed, but there will be at least one band associated with RABM scene. The event will took place tomorrow in St.Petersburg, and it's called "Вечер лесов и грусти, vol.2" (which can be roughly translated as "An Evening of Forests and Sorrow/Sadness"). Line-up:

1. У меня всё хорошо, очень даже (drone doom, shoegaze, sludge)
2. Kalendae (atmospheric black metal/post-BM)
3. Not My Murder (sludge/metal)
4. Inter Arbores (ambient doom)

last.fm page / vkontakte

It's the second event in the line of "Evenings of Forests and Sorrow" - the first one took place at the same club in SPb month ago. The lineup consisted of Beauty Of Sirin (blackgaze) and Kalendae. Kora were also invited, but couldn't perform because one of their members was seriously injured.

This time the lineup consists mostly of sludge/doom metal and drone bands, but I hope EoF&S #3 will be more BM-oriented. None of these bands have released anything yet, but Kalendae are about to release a 2-track demo very soon. I've already heard their track called "Qliphoth", and it sounds very promising. BTW, they're members of "Old Roots New Shoots" association, along with such bands as Axidance and Kora (and their side projects: Our Last Rain, Дно, 66°33’39). The bands of O.R.N.S. have a lot in common with Cascadian BM bands, so I hope we'll see something comparable to Cascadian BM scene on post-Soviet space very soon.

Autumn Discomfort Fest II

So, the 2nd event in the line of Discomfort festivals is going on right now near Moscow! Just like the 1st Discomfort Fest, it's organized by the members of our RABM community. Line-up:

Moscow heretics:

• Kora (atmospheric black metal/RABM)
• AxidancE (neocrust (early), blackened crust/RABM (now))
• Fatum (stenchcore/blackened crust)
• Emancipation (old school crust)
• Nimrud (post-metal)
• Mutagen (hardcore punk)
• Virulent Mass (hardcore/crust)
• ConVince (d-beat/neocrust)
• The Zavod (oi)
• еГОр (psychedelic punk, cover band)
• DJ Pizdec (electro-folk)
• Fucking Paralytics (mystical noise)

Guests from SPb:

• DJ Distonn (breakcore; samples from Wolfbrigade, Skitsystem etc.)
• Krivda (raw black metal/crust/grindcore)
• Откаты (raw black metal/sludge)
• Adrianocelentano (booze d-beat)
• Distündrum ("ravepunk")
• Acid Vicious ("ravepunk")

event page on last.fm

As you can see, the lineup is big and diverse: there are RABM bands (sadly, not many - but they're headliners of the whole event), crusties, classic punks (including relatively well-known bands like Mutagen), and performers of extreme electronic music - both from Moscow and SPB. Finally, not only Colombians can have their own red&anarcho metal festivals ;) Good to see our RABM community grown so big and active within less than two years. If only our political situation would improve such fast...

(btw, not so long ago M.Verbitsky wrote an article which pretty much summarizes my own disappointment in politics and society. I'll translate it at least partly, if I'd have some free time tomorrow...)

P.S. Kudos to the designers of that flyer - it's the first time I see a punk or metal show flyer made in khokhloma style!

Fifteen Dead - "NecroCrust" (2011)

FIFTEEN DEAD "NecroCrust"

Year: 2011
Genre: Blackened Crust
Country: UK (Scotland)

Track List:

1. Sunset
2. Coalition/Demolition
3. NecroCrust

DOWNLOAD

I noticed this band after their first self-titled demo was posted on gnwp.ru (and it turned out to be very good). Then I received a letter from one of the band members, who asked me to post their 2nd demo, "NecroCrust". Well, here it is, and I have to admit it's one of the best blackened crust releases I've heard in the last few months.

The band is from Aberdeen, Scotland; however, the guy who wrote me is from Norway, and the other members are Scottish and Irish. They self-define their sound as "Tragedy meets Gorgoroth". As of today, they have played with very well-known bands like Oi Polloi, whose singer called them "the future of punk".


facebook / bandcamp

66° 33′39″ - "Arctic Sea" (2011)

66° 33′39″ "Arctic Sea"

Year: 2011
Genre: Dark / Cosmic Ambient
Country: Russia

Track List:

1. Arctic Sea

DOWNLOAD

One-track ambient demo by one of the most prominent activists of our local RABM community. Just like his first release, it's very minimalistic (and of course, don't expect to hear any metal there!)