SEEN AND HEARD: TEITANBLOOD, CASTLE, INFERNAL CURSE

As explained in an earlier pissing-and-moaning post today, I was way out of touch yesterday and have been spending some time today catching up on what I missed. But of course I found a whole lot of new likable things that appeared today as well. To avoid falling too far behind, I’m gathering a few of today’s goodies in this post and will collect some of those catch-up items in a piece for tomorrow.

TEITANBLOOD

Teitanblood from Madrid, Spain, were one of my first introductions to the kind of apocalyptic music that some people call blackened death metal and others term war metal. I wrote about them here, not long after making the discovery, in a post that also included music from Blasphemophagher and Diocletian. At the time, I was hunting for the right phrase to describe the music — “Atmospheric death metal”? “Apocalyptic prog”? “Post-death metal?” I decided “war metal” was as good as any label.

Teitanblood’s second full-length, entitled Death, is now scheduled for release on May 13 — five years after Seven Chalices. It’s available on CD and double LP from The Ajna Offensive. It features suitably black cover art (and to see a much larger image, click the one above.)

I’m pleased to say that I have an advance copy of the music. I’m displeased to say that I haven’t yet listened to it. BUT, I have heard one song that has became available on YouTube — “Anteinfierno”.

It’s a giant storm of obliterating riffs, white hot guitar leads, and furious percussion. Some kind of ravenous beast is howling in the storm’s midst. Nuclear detonations happen, too. There are also periodic nanosecond pauses — but not long enough for you to catch your breath, which will be sucked from your lungs as if by exposure to a vacuum.

 

 

 

 

CASTLE

The last few years have been swimming in occult-themed, retro-flavored doom releases. For me, a little bit of that goes a long way. One of the bands in that field who did strike a chord with me were SF’s Castle, and their 2012 album Blacklands. I was originally drawn to the album by the amazing cover art, and today my bloodshot eyes spied yet another remarkable piece of cover art for what I hope will be another great Castle release — Under Seige — which will be released by Prosthetic on May 20 (it’s available for pre-order here).

Although the artist wasn’t identified in the news item I saw, I have no doubt it’s the creation of Denis Forkas Kostromitin, who was responsible for the last Blacklands cover, too. (Click the image to see a larger version.)

Along with the new cover art, I found a teaser of music from a new Castle song named “Temple of the Lost”. It’s less than a minute of music, and doesn’t treat us to Liz Blackwell’s voice, but it still sounds promising.

https://www.facebook.com/CastleSF

 

 

 

INFERNAL CURSE

Unlike the first two bands in this post, Argentina’s Infernal Curse is a new name to me. I was drawn to explore them by yet another eye-catching piece of album art collected in this post, which graces the cover of the band’s forthcoming 12″ MLP, The End Upon Us. That will be released by Germany’s Iron Bonehead label. The cover was created by Vomitart.

I don’t have a release date for the MLP yet, but I do have a song to share with you by the name of “Waters of Phlegethon”. It has a thoroughly radioactive sound, with enough distortion to eat right through your speakers. After an intro soaked in doom, it also jumps into a d-beat rhythm that’s a sure-fire neck-snapper (plus some Grade A stomping, chugging, and blasting before the song ends). The echoing vocals are deliciously gruesome, like the exhalations of someone with a sucking chest wound.

This is a thoroughly infectious, thoroughly damned piece of putrid, primeval death metal. I’m in lust with it.