SATURDAY WITH SONNE ADAM, PTAHIL, AND ALPTHRAUM

As I write this, it’s a Saturday morning in the vicinity of Seattle, where the rain gods are taking a breath before going to work again. Actual rays of sunshine are illuminating the water drops that hang from every living thing in the forest around where I live, and the earth looks like a saturated sponge that can’t hold any more. I might take a walk later, before the sky starts peeing again. But for now, I’m just listening . . .

. . . and what I’ve been hearing are new tunes from Sonne Adam (Israel), Ptahil (U.S.), and Alpthraum (Canada).

SONNE ADAM

Israel’s Sonne Adam have recently loosed two bestial releases. The first is a vinyl EP entitled Doctrines of Dark Devotion, the magnificent cover of which is staring you in the face at the top of this post. That one was released by Imperium Productions.

The second release is Messengers Of Desolate Ways, a CD compilation from Century Media containing all the tracks on that new EP plus all the music from two previous vinyl-only EPs, Armed With Hammers and The Sun Is Dead, and three previously unreleased songs.

Recently, Sonne Adam began streaming “The Day I Chose to Rot”, which appears on both of the new releases. The song is fucking immense, a shattering mid-paced crusher of blackened death metal might. It brings down a dank, heavy shroud of doom, shot through with indigo melody and made all the more disturbing by truly horrific vocals. It sucks souls into the abyss and consumes them with grisly relish.

I also discovered that another song from both releases was put up on YouTube even earlier — “Hater of Mankind”. It’s imperially infernal, too. Which is a nice way of saying “scary as shit”. It includes a malignant howl that goes on . . . forever. Did I say this music is IMMENSE?
 

 

 

PTAHIL

Indiana’s Ptahil regurgitated one of 2011’s most memorable albums, For His Satanic Majesty’s Glory (reviewed here). Now they’re on the verge of delivering their next hellish offspring, The Almighty Propagator of Doom and Despair. It’s scheduled for release on Dec 21 and is now available for pre-order on CD from Wraith Productions at this location. And how’s this for some good ad copy:

“The Almighty Propagator of Doom and Despair” is a ritual casting to the forces of Death, Revolution and Liberty, in acknowledgement of the continual entrapment of free essence into the chains of life through the force of the phallus.

I bet that got your attention. The new song that Ptahil recently started streaming will get your attention, too. “Possessed By Death” is another primitive satanic ritual of hot black metal, its thumping rhythms and rancid guitars guaranteed to hook you in the brain stem. The rough ‘n’ raw vokills are positively demonic, too. Prepare yourself from some merciless rockin’ hellfire:

 

ALPTHRAUM

The grandiosity and bombast of symphonic metal can sometimes be overwhelming, but in the right hands it brings a satisfying sense of power and headbanging catharsis. Montreal’s Alpthraum have the right hands. They capably meld synthesized symphonic sweep with chug-heavy melodic death metal, and they have a new album due for release on November 25.

The new album is named Chronophage, and the band have started streaming two tracks on SoundCloud — “Nothing” and “Event Reborn”. The music pounds with heavy riffs and thundering drums, shimmers with keyboard atmospherics, and swirls and bounds with clean guitar leads. Thankfully, the vocals are mostly jagged and bestial.

Both of these catchy songs are available for free download here. Check ’em out (and after those two tracks you’ll find a preview of the entire album). The album will be available on Alpthraum’s Bandcamp page on 11/25; you can find them on Facebook here.