SEEN AND HEARD (PART 3): WOMBBATH, ABBATH, WORSHIP, NYLITHIA, THE INFERNAL SEA, ACHREN

 

Well, some days around here (like last Friday), it’s a drought. But when it rains, it pours. Already today we’ve posted a two-part round-up of new music and videos by DGR (here and here), along with KevinP’s list of top albums released this month, including still more music streams (here). And I’ve found time this morning before leaving town again for my fucking day job to compile this additional collection of new streams (along with one doomy news item contributed by Grant Skelton).

I do worry that on days like this we’re subjecting readers to absolute sensory overload. But I obviously don’t worry too much about it… so here we go:

WOMBBATH

I’ve been singing the praises of the Wombbath’s new album Downfall Rising since hearing the first teaser from it, and now the entire album is out and available for streaming — so I’m posting the album stream as the first item in this round-up.

 

 

If by chance you’ve missed out on the news, this is the band’s first new album in about 20 years. Guitarist Håkan Stuvemark (Skineater) is still in the fold from the early days, and on this new album he’s joined by vocalist/bassist Jonny Petterson (Ashcloud, Syn:drom, etc.), guitarist Al Riglin, and drummer Jeramie Kling (Infernaeon, The Absence), with additional guitar parts provided by Taylor Nordberg (Infernaeon).

If you’re a fan of old school Swedish death metal, you really need to hear the album. Hell, if you’re a fan of death metal, period, you need to hear it. And now you can — I’ve included streams from YouTube and Bandcamp below.

Purchase the CD (and more) at:

http://www.wombbath.bigcartel.com

https://www.facebook.com/Wombbath
https://pulverised.bandcamp.com/album/downfall-rising

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABBATH

I guess everyone who follows extreme metal even tangentially probably knows of the split-up of Immortal and of Abbath’s decision to move forward under his own name and with new bandmates. Today I saw the news that Season of Mist will release a new Abbath 7″ single on December 11, in advance of the Abbath debut album coming next January.

The single will include a new track named “Count the Dead”, plus a cover of the Judas Priest song “Riding on the Wind”. That should be fun. The single is already available for pre-order at the Season of Mist E-Shop.

Here’s the artwork for the Count the Dead single:

 

 

Abbath also recently released a video of a live recording of a new track named “Fenrir Hunts”, which will appear on the new album next year. Two more live video tracks will be coming out this fall.

All I want to say is that “Fenrir Hunts” is a fuckin’ ripping, electrifying assault of black thrashing hellfire. The flame clearly continues to burn in Abbath’s veins.

https://www.facebook.com/abbathband

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WORSHIP

(written by Grant Skelton)

If you’re like me, your catacombs run deep to make room for all the funeral doom you’ve been stockpiling this year. Worship, from Munich, Germany, are about to add to your funerary arsenal. They have officially launched preorders for their new album Dusk Of Legion, Morning Of One. The artwork above was painted by vocalist and lead guitarist Daniel “The Doommonger” Pharos. The tracklist follows:

1. Dusk (Intro)
2. Weight of a Fallen World
3. Core of Shadows
4. The Promised Wastelands
5. Garden of Undoing
6. Morning of One

Though none of the new songs has been released yet, the band said of the new album:

Because of the live influence, there are more riffs and more dramatic moments. For the first time, all our musicians will also play on the album (less work for me!). The range of moods and paces is slightly raised, some new well-blended elements will meet our faithful foundation. Songs are pretty much packed full of ideas, without losing sight of what we really are, I hope you can feel 3 years of fat-trimming and polishing. 5 Songs (+Intro) take you on a solitary messiah/pariah journey to the early hours of mankind & the birth of its fatal Flaw, falling from the heights of Creation through the deepest valleys of despair.

Physical preorders will receive a Bandcamp download code when the items are shipped. An official release date has not been announced, but all preorders will ship in November. Hopefully we will likewise see Worship’s back catalogue on Bandcamp soon. Preorders are live at the Endzeit Elegies website below. Worship are about to embark on a short US tour with Lycus (replacing Loss) and Shroud Of The Heretic. Get dates at Worship’s website.

Preorder Dusk Of Legion, Morning Of One:

http://www.endzeitelegies.com/catalog/products_new.php

Worship’s official website:

http://worshipdoom.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/WorshipDoom/

 

 

 

NYLITHIA

I first found out about Vancouver’s Nylithia in March 2012 (writing about them here), and then in September of that year we had the pleasure of debuting a Nylithia song called “Hyperthrash”, and then wrote about their next song in January and a new video in May of 2013.

In a nutshell, they were working on an album also called Hyperthrash, releasing one song at a time for download, with separate artwork and videos for each song. I hadn’t heard anything about their further progress until late July of this year when they released a new song named “61-50-7“ (featured here).

And then finally, this morning, I received a Bandcamp alert telling me that Nylithia had established a page for the Hyperthrash album, with a listing of 12 tracks, a release date of November 21, the ability to place a pre-order — and another new song named “Razor”. And with this new song Nylithia continue to prove that the wait for this album will be worth it. Listen below.

https://nylithia.bandcamp.com/album/hyperthrash
https://www.facebook.com/NYLITHIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE INFERNAL SEA

In April of this year, our man Andy Synn reviewed a live show in Birmingham (UK) that included a performance by the British black metal band The Infernal Sea. He wrote this about them:

I’ve seen The Infernal Sea live on several occasions now, and they honestly just get better every time. Their raw, utterly anguished take on Black Metal – think Rebel Extravaganza-era Satyricon and you’ll be in the right sort of ballpark – positively pulsates with thick, grimy grooves and skin-shredding riffage, the vocals a distorted howl of despair and contempt, with the band’s monstrously talented drummer unleashing a veritable maelstrom of savage blasting and precision pounding.

Clad in black hoodies and with beaked plague masks on their faces, the four-piece ripped through a truly visceral set mostly drawn from their upcoming album The Great Mortality (which has quickly become one of my most anticipated albums of the year) along with a couple of cuts from their highly underrated debut (such as “A Prayer for Cleansing”), leaving the steadily growing audience more than a little dazed by their display of sheer sonic terrorism.

Today, The Infernal Sea released an official music video (directed and produced by James Burke) for a new song named “Entombed In Darkness” from that forthcoming album The Great Mortality. The band explain that lyrically “The Great Mortality delves into the dark and macabre history of the Black Death that swept across Europe from 1348 onward. Each track explores the sadistic nature of mankind during this time of despair and the violent acts and atrocities they committed to their fellow man.”

And now I’m definitely in Andy’s camp — eagerly awaiting the new album, because “Entombed In Darkness” is absolutely electrifying.

The Great Mortality is available to order now in a limited-edition cassette version (see the first link below); I presume other formats will be made available, too.

http://theinfernalsea.bigcartel.com/product/the-great-mortality-cassette
https://www.facebook.com/theinfernalsea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ACHREN

I first discovered Achren (from Glasgow, Scotland) in a June 2011 MISCELLANY post and have written about them several times since then. They’ve experienced some line-up changes and now have a new drummer, Allan “McDibet” MacDonald (ex-Cerebral Bore), as well as a change in the bassist (guitarist Callum Kirk picking up those duties, too).

The band are also at work on a new album and have recently released a single from it called “The Strangling Air”. The song is as grim and as potent as a heart attack, a bleak but memorable track that combines elements of black and death metal and that can carry you away quickly even on a first listen. It’s a very good sign for the new album.

“The Strangling Air” is currently available for a limited time as a “name your price” download at Bandcamp

https://achren.bandcamp.com/track/the-strangling-air-preview-demo-version

https://www.facebook.com/achrenmetal