SEEN AND HEARD: MARE INFINITUM, GOAT TORMENT, JUPITERIAN, STRAUSS

 

This is a collection of new music I heard yesterday that I hope you will explore. It’s all over the map, both musically and geographically (in terms of the bands’ locations).

MARE INFINITUM

Usually, the music I include in these “Seen and Heard” round-ups consists of individual new songs or videos, released in advance of the albums or EPs on which they will appear. But this first song is from an album that you can now hear in its entirety because I was too slow to jump on it — but believe me, that’s not a bad thing.

The band is Mare Infinitum and they’re based in Moscow (Russia, not Idaho). Their debut album Sea of Infinity came out in 2011, and their second one, Alien Monolith God, was released by Solitude Productions one week ago. It consists of five long tracks, totaling almost one hour of music. So exploring even one song is going to take more than a little of your time.

The song I want to push your way is the opening one, “The Nightmare Corpse — City of R’lyeh”. The Lovecraftian title is appropriate for the music. The piercing guitar melody and clean vocals are exotic, with an Eastern flavor, but they’re juxtaposed against mammoth hammering riffs and deep, harsh growls. It’s a doom/death saga that’s entrancing but also heavier than a granite slab. This one you’ll have trouble getting out of your head. And if you’re like me, you won’t stop with just this one song.

https://www.facebook.com/MareInfinitum
https://mareinfinitum.bandcamp.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOAT TORMENT

Goat Torment are a Belgian band active since 2009 with one album to their credit and a new one coming this June from Amor Fati Productions, the title of which is Sermons To Death. Though the band seems to have amassed a devoted following, the new song that became available for listening a couple of days ago was my first exposure to their music.

The name of the song is “Rising Dominion” and it’s a shot of pure adrenaline right from the beginning — and there’s a shot of black metal heroin in the song, too.  It has an occult vibe running through it like poison, with ritualistic clean vocals and bestial harsh ones combining to enhance the effect. The song also effectively integrates slow, massive doom segments with whirlwind black metal scything and blasting. Listening to it is like being in the presence of a great and powerful serpent — it slowly coils, and then it strikes.

https://www.facebook.com/Goattorment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JUPITERIAN

This is a Brazilian band whose debut EP, Archaic, came out last year. I really enjoyed the EP though I failed to write about it. I noticed yesterday that the band have recently released a new single named “Drag Me To My Grave”.

The song is built around a couple of simple but fiendishly infectious riffs. It’s slow, it vibrates with massive distortion, and it’s stupefyingly heavy. The vocals are a mix of grotesquely gargantuan growls and hair-raising shrieks. Yes, this will drag you into a grave, and freeze your blood. Did I mention it’s ridiculously infectious?

Check out the new single below. You can find it on Bandcamp along with the Archaic EP. The band are at work on a debut full-length named Aphotic.

https://jupiterian.bandcamp.com/album/
https://www.facebook.com/jupiteriandoom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STRAUSS

Strauss are based in London, but the band’s four members are originally from France, Italy, and Spain, as well as the UK. Their second EP, a five-track affair named Luia, is due for release on May 26, and one song from the EP is now up on Bandcamp — “Mud At You”.

I was attracted to the song because of the cover art for Luia, created by Rebecca Carter, which is amazing. The song is just as good — a rumbling, rocking ride of sludgy stoner metal with riffs made of gold and really good, jugular-rupturing vocals. And all that would be just fine by itself, but the song also includes a very cool segment that mixes hard-jabbing chords and a psychoactive guitar lead. Very cool, very catchy shit.

https://straussband.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/StraussBand