SEEN AND HEARD: IMPERIUM DEKADENZ, VEIN COLLECTOR, KONTRUST, AND SVART CROWN

 

I’m still in day-job hell, or more accurately day-and-night-job hell. All personal plans for listening to albums and EPs and writing reviews are on hold. Actually, everything I do here is pretty much on hold except for quickly checking metal news and doing some fast web surfing in search of new songs — and I make time for that mainly to preserve some feeble semblance of balance in my existence.

In this post are new or new-ish things from four bands that I randomly happened upon. By the end of the post, you may conclude that my efforts at preserving balance have failed and I’ve fallen off the edge.

IMPERIUM DEKADENZ

I discovered this German band in the spring of 2010 and wrote a review of their then-current album Procella Vadens (which is superb), except I wrote it as if Suffocation’s Frank Mullen were writing the review. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Imperium Dekadenz have recorded a new album, Meadows of Nostalgia, which will be released by Season of Mist on March 19 in North America. Two songs have premiered so far, with the second one getting an exclusive stream over at DECIBEL yesterday. That one is called “Der Unweg”, and it’s mesmerizing and memorable. If you have a taste for haunting, atmospheric black metal, I strongly recommend you go HERE to listen.

The previously released track “Aura Silvae” is on Bandcamp, and I’ll stream that one below. Though it also carries a memorable melody, it’s faster and more highly energized, more rocking and romping than “Der Uweg”. I’m really digging both of these songs and am anxious to hear the whole album when I can get my head above water.

http://www.facebook.com/ImperiumDekadenz

VEIN COLLECTOR

Vein Collector is a one-man project based in Wheeling, Illinois. I was unfamiliar with the band or the music until I came across an official video for a song called “The Sound of Delay” yesterday. The song will appear on Vein Collector’s forthcoming debut album Prophet. I got hooked by the song.

It’s kind of a blackened form of industrial metal with a compulsive beat and a mix of clean and scarred vocals. I don’t listen to this style of music very often, but it’s hitting me in the right spot at the moment.

In poking around the interhole, I found a Bandcamp page for Vein Collector that appears to include the entire album, though the title seems to be different. I haven’t sorted out the confusion, but I am including the Bandcamp album stream below.

http://www.facebook.com/veincollector
http://www.veincollector.com/store_vc/
http://veincollector.bandcamp.com/

 

KONTRUST

Okay, here’s where you may decide I’ve gone off the rails, if you hadn’t already reached that conclusion before now.

This Austrian band’s most recent album, Second Hand Wonderland, was released last May by Napalm Records. I haven’t heard it. What I’ve heard is a song for which the band released an official video earlier today — “Hey DJ!” The music is a mashup of styles, including a few whisps of nu metal (which is about as close as it gets to metal). I confess that I found it catchy. I also confess that I like the chorus.

But mainly, I really had fun watching the nutty video. So I’m putting it right here.  Sue me.

http://www.facebook.com/kontrust

 

SVART CROWN

I discovered this French band back in 2010 when I reviewed their second album, Witnessing the Fall. I compared them to a joint venture between Immortal and Immolation.

They have a new album coming too. Entitled Profane, it’s scheduled for release by Listenable Records on April 22 in Europe and in May in the US. Along with providing those release dates, the band also unveiled the album cover a couple days ago (thanks to Andy Synn for the tip). I saw it yesterday. Eye-catching, wouldn’t you agree?