SEEN AND HEARD: SHINING (SWEDEN), KATAKLYSM, THE RUINS OF BEVERAST, ARMAGEDON

Here’s the promised second part of today’s effort to catch up on noteworthy new things from the last several days.

SHINING

Sweden’s Shining announced a while back that their next album, 8 ½ – Feberdrömmar I Vaket Tillstånd (scheduled for release by Dark Essence on Sept 23), would feature many guest vocalists, in addition to frontman Niklas Kvarforth of course. As of today, we know who they are, and it’s an interesting list that includes more than a few black metal luminaries:

1. “Terres Des Anonymes” featuring FAMINE of PESTE NOIRE
2. “Szabadulj Meg Önmagadtól” featuring ATTILA CSIHAR of MAYHEM, TORMENTOR
3. “Ett Liv Utan Mening” featuring PEHR LARSSON of ALFAHANNE
4. “Selvdestruktivitetens Emissarie” featuring GAAHL of GOD SEED, WARDRUNA, ex-GORGOROTH
5. “Black Industrial Misery” featuring MANIAC of SKITLIV, ex-MAYHEM
6. “Through Corridors Of Oppression” featuring KVARFORTH

The songs themselves date back to an earlier era in Shining’s life. Original pre-production tracks of the songs were used as the foundation, with the addition of newly recorded bass and guitars as well as keyboards performed by Lars Fredrik Fröslie (Angst Skvadron, Wobbler, Asmegin). Should be worth checking out when it arrives.

 

KATAKLYSM

Some of you may remember an extended period of time over which TheMadIsraeli reviewed the entirety of Kataklysm’s extensive discography. It’s about to have a new addition, because Nuclear Blast has announced the release date for a new Kataklysm album, Waiting For the End To Come: October 29 (in North America). As you can see, the cover art by Hungarian artist Peter Sallai has also been unveiled.

A few days ago the label also uploaded an album teaser to YouTube which contains a snippet of new music — far too little on which to form any judgments about the album of course, but for what it is, it sounds nice.

 

THE RUINS OF BEVERAST

I’ve been beating the drum for The Ruins of Beverast‘s new album, Blood Vaults (due out next month on Ván), every time I get a new drum to beat. Today brought yet another skin head I can thump with a new song premiere via the unlikely source of Pitchfork.com, with an accompanying write-up by the more likely source of Kim Kelly. The song is named “Daemon”, and it’s just as ravaging as the others I’ve featured in previous posts.

You’ll have to go here to listen. Okay, you don’t HAVE to, but if you think you might have a taste for music that’s “choked with mouldering death and foul black vomit [with a] measured interval of keys float[ing] regally above the mire before coagulating back into the polluted black, death, and doom amalgam from whence it came” (to quote Grim Kim), then you really should.

UPDATE: “Daemon” is now on YouTube, and therefore now on NCS:

 

 

ARMAGEDON

To wrap up this round-up, I’d like to bring you a new song from a Polish band named Armagedon, who resurrected themselves four years ago after a 16-year hiatus. The song is “Cemeteries” and it appears on the band’s third album (and the first in four years), Thanatology, which is projected for release on October 2 by Mystic Production.

I suppose that when I listen to new death metal from Poland I have a subconscious tendency to hear the influence of one or more of that nation’s best known death-dealers. In this case, I’ve done it again, though I do think I’m not imagining the resemblance of this song to aspects of the lethal output by Hate and Vader. This, of course, is not a bad thing — far from it.

“Cemeteries” is a well-executed, well-produced barrage of ferocious riffs, murderous percussion, and bellowing roars, all surrounded by an an air of imperial might. Very nice song, and you can download it at Bandcamp for a price you name.

http://armagedon.bandcamp.com/#
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ARMAGEDON/121157611253385