Ominous Hymn - "Promo EP" (2015)

Ominous Hymn - "Promo EP"

Year: 2015
Genre: Black Metal
Country: United States

Track List:

1. Parasitic Virtue
2. Banners Raised Against God and Creation
3. As Earth and Heaven Burn

Bandcamp//Facebook

What first stood out to me about Ominous Hymn is how honest the music is. It's black metal. No silly gimmicks or run through sub genres. The members don't have demonic alias' or wear corpse paint to look more sinister. It's just honest music played by hard working musicians because they love the art. Now onto the music! This is a Promo EP of three songs. Through the three tracks you can hear the numerous inspirations (Inquisition, Deathspell Omega, Darkthrone) and is well recorded without losing a certain unpolished grime. My only real complaint being that the drums sound a little too triggered. I was especially fond of the guitar that is very musical but just so perfectly raw. My favorite track is by far "As Earth and Heaven Burn" which is a spectacular piece of music. The ending arpeggio riff has been stuck in my head for several days now. Even after many plays I find myself coming back to hear it over and over. 

Leadeater - "Oxalis" (2015)

Leadeater - "Oxalis"

Year: 2015
Genre: Black Metal, Dark Ambience
Country: United States

Track List:

1. Oxalis

bandcamp

Leadeater begins with a sound very ambiguous, yet dark. They then harken back to the time of the 90s grunge and punk at about a minute in with a slow, rhythmic guitar that continues the musical interlude, without vocals. Their music slowly builds up to an explosion of bitter frustration with vocals after the five minute mark, which descends slightly more rapidly into despair and frustration. Eventually this mesh of feelings comes together and fuels more of the fire that is urgent need resulting in despair and frustration which is the constant showcase of the song throughout. The song was a bit too repetitious for my taste for the first 12 and a half minutes, but regardless it was done skillfully, albeit repetitiously.

Afterwards, the dark ambience sometimes doesn't sound so dark as it sounds like a popular 90s rock song as a musical interlude, in my opinion until the twenty minute and thirty second marker where the song explodes and becomes the rightful black metal/dark ambience song it deserved to be. Perhaps this is a representation of the Oakland, California music scene and I'm quick to judge, but there seemed to be something missing from the song regarding the modern black metal scene until that last mark at twenty and a half minutes. The dark ambience really sets in afterwards after the twenty-four minute mark.

Altogether, pleased enough with the last eight minutes and first four minutes to say this album is worth the listen. Unfortunately, it was so worth the listen that it's apparently already sold out. Give this band a listen, definitely!

12 December 2015: RABM festivals in US & UK

First off: thanks to everyone who decided to join this blog as a contributor after Hayduke has left. Looks like I shouldn't be afraid for the future of the blog any more... although let's wait until the end of the year and then see.

Second: the Haglaz Fest III has just ended, but it isn't the only RABM-friendly fest to be held in 2015. On 12th of December, the Black Metal Alliance plans to release the 3rd compilation in the Crushing Intolerance series of anti-NSBM samplers. The release party is planned to be held in the Borg Ward (Milwakee, WI). The lineup consists of bands that I never heard of before, but that's what is good about the BMA - their compilations help to discover a lot of obscure new acts:

Falter MKE - (WI)
Hardcore/Grindcore
http://falterhc.bandcamp.com/

Ashbringer - (MN)
Atmospheric black metal
https://ashbringermusic.bandcamp.com/

Winterbourne WI - (WI)
Atmospheric black metal
http://winterbourne1.bandcamp.com/releases

No Heroes - (MN)
Crust/Grindcore
http://noheroesmn.bandcamp.com/releases

Shadow Lake - (OH)
Black Metal
http://shadowlake.bandcamp.com/releases

Bib - (NE) Members of Bent Life/Powerslop
Punk/Hardcore
https://bibhc.bandcamp.com/releases

facebook

On the same day, a similar fest is to be held in The Lughole (Sheffied, UK). It's called Ruins Fest and organized by Enfer du Nord and The Black Metal Alliance. Participants:


HERETOIR (Augsburg, DE)
Post-black metal. Melancholy, nostalgia, isolation and introspection.
https://heretoir.bandcamp.com/

THRÄNENKIND (Munich, DE)
Green anarchist, civilization-critical post-metal.
https://thraenenkind.bandcamp.com/

MOUNTAINS CRAVE (Leeds)
Intense atmospheric black metal.
http://mountainscrave.bandcamp.com/

MAR (Newcastle)
Bleak misery.
http://maruk.bandcamp.com/

DAWN RAY’D (Liverpool)
Black metal. Ex We Came Out Like Tigers.
http://dawnrayd.bandcamp.com/

NARAYANA (Leeds)
Negative grinding black metal
https://www.facebook.com/narayanaleeds


facebook

P.S. And finally, check out this t-shirt design from Huldrekall / Einsamkeit Tapes:

Regnvm Animale - "Et sic in infinitum" (2015)

Regnvm Animale - "Et sic in infinitum"

Year: 2015
Genre: Black Metal, Blackened D-Beat/Crust Punk
Country: Sweden

Track List:

1. Maya
2. Ars Moriendi
3. Från bördig jord till salthed
4. Osäkerhetsprincipen
5. Förfallet
6. Och så vidare i evighet
7. Kassandrarop
8. Inåt
9. Grund

bandcamp

Be prepared to wish greetings and solidarity to Regnvm Animale, a black metal d-beat/crust punk band from Sweden. They define themselves as an extreme metal duo. I quote their e-mail in which they write, "The songs on this first release circles around topics like freedom and being trapped and unfree, alienation towards civilization and the state of human society today." Their first track Maya opens and builds suspense in a way that is very thrilling and does deliver. Their second track opens with a unique guitar riff that makes you ponder existence. Although, their second track Ars Moriendi sounds a lot like their fourth track, Osäkerhetsprincipen. Their third track has an equal balance of screaming, singing and instrumental interludes. Then with their fifth track, Förfallet, they build up another calm before the storm that brings you back for more. Their sixth track, Och så vidare i evighet, brings you back slowly again from the second coming of the calm. Their seventh track, Kassandrarop, brings you up to speed with a serious punk rock intro, along with some spoken word with musical interludes that I would regrettably attribute to early AFI (a punk band that isn't anarchist). With their eighth track, Inåt, you feel the closing coming, but don't fret just yet as there is still one more track on the album called Grund which has a primitivist sounding banjo with folk-sounding lyrics.

Wildspeaker - "Survey The Wreckage" (2015)

Wildspeaker - "Survey The Wreckage"

Year: 2015

Genre: Blackened Crust / Hardcore

Country: USA

Track List:

1. Ouroboros
2. Survey The Wreckage
3. Apex Predator
4. Invasive Species
5. Overgrown Tomb
6. Abrupt Decay
7. Ultimate Price
8. Path To Exile
9. Power Lines
10. Reclamation

Bandcamp / Facebook

"Feminist, anarchist and ultra-leftist blackened crust from Texas. Be warned, this is not shit to be taken lightly – this is the real shit, music of pure intent, songs of absolutely pillaging emotion and desperation. Dragged into unimaginable pits of despair by the furious vocal delivery of singer Natalie, Wildspeaker create songs that sweep through you like a frozen wind of pure desolation and hit you like a hail of bullets, disintegrating your bones. This is crust punk in which all has gone livid, all hope has evaporated, all has ended up in embitterment, in which all prayers have been exhausted, all patience has ended, and all will to understand and tolerate certain things about society have ended in a massive implosion of rage and disillusion. Wildspeaker’s songs are a perfect blend of punk urgency and black metal bitterness." - Mattia A., Cvlt Nation

Tempest - "Self-Titled" (2015)

TEMPEST "Tempest"

Year: 2015
Genre: Blackened Punk, Hardcore Punk
Country: Canada

Track List:

1. Intro
2. A Grand Design
3. Shroud
4. Sunless Year
5. Atonement
6. Wounding Pattern
7. Deprivation
8. The Night Remains

bandcamp / facebook

A self-titled demo out from Vancouver, B.C.'s own Tempest, welcome another hardcore punk/black metal band who considers themselves akin to the sound of Buried Inside, Converge, His Hero is Gone, One Eyed God Prophecy, and Fell Voices. I listened and they definitely play hardcore punk in a black metal fashion. Honestly, they're what I thought Amebix would sound like before I had ever heard them before, which is black metal but faster and harder than Amebix actually plays. Dark ambience music with a fast rhythum that doesn't sink your heart too deeply, but it doesn't intend to, because it follows up the dark ambience with fast and speedy punk riffs! I love it. Recording quality is good, though the vocals sound distant at times, but that may be intentional. With songs like A Grand Design and Shroud, I can say it was a good listen with a refreshing mix. Some people love bad quality demos, and while the demo isn't a terrible recording, it could have been polished up or done better. I am just not of the opinion that much anything with dark ambience, even with hardcore punk influences, doesn't set up for a good album with average recording quality, in my opinion. If you give it a listen and like it, though, the album will be on React with Protest records and An Out Recordings later this year.