(We welcome back Professor D. Grover the XIIIth (ex-The Number of the Blog) with what we hope will be the first of many regular appearances at our site. Today, he introduces the music of three bands whose names are new to NCS.)
Greetings and salutations, friends. It has been too long, it seems, and although my life is filled nearly to its brim, I find that the old urges to write still surface from time to time. Although I lack the time and attention to run yet another site independently, my good friend Islander has always been an exceptionally welcoming host, and No Clean Singing has perhaps the best base of readers to be found on the internet among the various metal sites out there. As such, when I decided to revive Oculus Infernus Industries on a part-time basis, I knew where I needed to go.
In this particular missive, I shall present to you three works from musical collectives with whom you may not be familiar. Fear not, as this is intentional. It is ever my aim to unearth those diabolically unknown recordings so that you may peruse them for yourselves and reach your own determinations regarding their true meanings. Let us commence.
HELLBEAR
From the wilds of Richmond, VA, Hellbear emerge, creating through some sort of foul musical alchemy a four-piece EP that is equal parts sludge, thrash, stoner, and speed metal. The quartet, who feature among their ranks former PsyOpus vocalist Harrison Christy, conjure foul images of some Sheol-born ursine, rampaging through the gnarled boles of some twisted forest, striking its prey with terrible speed before devouring the soft parts. The accompanying artwork is horrific, yet utterly compelling. This release can be had for free via Bandcamp.
http://hellbear.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/hellbearmusic
KROSSBURST
While the foursome known as Krossburst originate from Italy, they currently are based out of Oslo, Norway, and their sole aim is utter sonic destruction via blackened speed metal. Their lone demo, Speed Metal Chaos Legiöns (note the proper usage of the metal umlaut), was initially released on cassette back in 2011, but as it sold out, the group decided to release it for free as a digital download in order to further spread the blasphemy. In the band’s own words, “If you’re going to spend more than 5-6 bucks for the tape on ebay or somewhere else you’re a LOSER and this is not the right music for you. Buy brainkilling drugs and alcohol instead of wasting your money for a demo-tape released a couple of years ago!!” Heed them.
http://krossburst.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/krossburst
SATANIKA
Perhaps the least obscure of the three, Satanika also hail from Italy (Rome, to be specific), and have been quite prolific in their four-plus years of existence, releasing 6 EPs and 3 full-length albums. The music here is pure black/thrash, hardly an original mixture, but well-executed nonetheless. Besides, it is difficult to argue with a tune entitled ‘Blood Orgy Of The She-Devils’. The crusty, blistering sounds that emanate from this quartet will likely strip the paint from nearby walls, and long-term exposure may very well be detrimental to household pets. Their new album Nightmare, with cover art by Mark Riddick, will appear on January 24.
16 Responses to “OCULUS INFERNUS — IN WHICH THE PROFESSOR EXAMINES HELLBEAR, KROSSBURST, AND SATANIKA”
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Wow. Gotta say, that Hellbrear EP really hit the spot. What a perfect little mix of sludge, hardcore and thrash.
Indeed. My tolerance for sludge tends to be pretty low, but Hellbear hit the spot in a most satisfying way.
If only more underground bands thought like Krossburst.
Also, Satanika was a nice way to start my morning.
It is my hope that Krossburst continue on and create more, because this lone demo serves only to whet the appetite.
I actually was referring to the fact that they chose to make a digital version available after the cassette sold out (looking at you, Stone Dagger!).
But the music ain’t bad either.
That is also a good point. If only House Of Atreus would do the same thing, instead of just making their demos streamable on their Bandcamp page. Let the good people pay you!
I know! I want that one BAD. Same thing happened with the new Ataraxie with me until it finally showed up in a US distro. Before that I couldn’t even get it digitally stateside.
In fairness, I have an illegal download of it, but they really did not leave me a lot of options.
Hellbear? Hell fuckin’ yeah dude
Quite.
Great to see Oculus Infernus back in action. I had a feeling you couldn’t stay out of the fray for too long, Professor.
Old habits certainly die hard, and the call of the pen was simply too great to resist.
Hellbear and Satanika sound awesome, great finds!
As always, I endeavor to serve.
Excellent list. I’m always looking for more good black/thrash.
I have been ever increasingly seeking out blackened thrash and the like. There’s something about the speed and the rawness that I find utterly compelling.