SEEN AND HEARD (PART 2): GOD DETHRONED, AUROCH AND ÆVANGELIST, PESTIFERE, MICO

 

As explained yesterday, since writing the first part of this SEEN AND HEARD collection I’ve discovered more news and more new music that I want to share with you. Rather than try to cram all of it into a single Part 2, I’ve divided it again, sort of like an amoeba. It may continue to divide, the cells combining to form something horrid and parasitic. Or not… but there will at least be a Part 3 (which I plan to finish in time for posting tomorrow).

GOD DETHRONED

In January 2012, God Dethroned played a farewell performance at the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise. That farewell was a sad development for me and many others. But then, in July 2014 frontman Henri Sattler announced that the band would be returning to the stage. At that time only Sattler and drummer Michiel van der Plicht remained from the band’s last line-up, to be joined by guest musicians whose identities weren’t then revealed. In writing about that news almost three years ago I noted that although Sattler’s statement hadn’t explicitly addressed whether the reunion would consist of more than new live shows, “we can only hope that a new album will be coming, too.” That wish has been granted.

 

 

On May 5, Metal Blade will release a new God Dethroned album named The World Ablaze. The line-up now includes lead guitarist Mike Ferguson and bassist Jeroen Pomper, in addition to Sattler and van der Plicht. Yesterday the band released a video for the first advance track from the album, “On the Wrong Side of the Wire“.

The World Ablaze is described as the final album in the band’s World War I trilogy, and the band’s comment about the first single is as follows:

“Here’s the first video we did for The World Ablaze. One of the easy going songs on the album. The other two upcoming ones will show some completely different aspects of the album. The album is very diverse, but you’ll find that out soon.”

Of course, the song is anything but easy-going. Instead, it’s a thundering, pulsing, fast-moving tank attack of death metal destruction, with Sattler sounding absolutely ferocious as he growls the war-themed lyrics. Welcome back, God Dethroned.

The World Ablaze was mixed by Dan Swanö and mastered by Sander van der Heide at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands. It’s available for pre-order here:

http://www.metalblade.com/goddethroned/

God Dethroned on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/goddethronedofficial/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUROCH AND ÆVANGELIST

In these collections I don’t often include mere announcements that aren’t accompanied by music, but I’m such a big fan of Auroch and Ævangelist that I’m making an exception. The announcement, which came during the last 24 hours, is that the two bands will be participating in a split release, to be named Ordained Vengeance. Details are scant, but these announcements appeared on the bands’ Facebook pages yesterday:

A visceral meditation of enslavement, suffering, and spiritual liberation, through the occult symbolism of Voudun and the diaspora.

“Cast down the image of the God…”
“From their eyes, He maketh their tears to flow…”

-Early 2018 : 20 Buck Spin–

I’m anxious to hear this. And in other news, Ævangelist has also announced that a new album is in the works, to be released by a new label for the band. Anxious to hear that too.

For further developments concerning the terrors approaching through the split, watch these spaces:

https://www.facebook.com/Aurochmetal/
https://www.facebook.com/aevangelist.official/
https://www.facebook.com/20buckspin/

 

 

 

PESTIFERE

Minneapolis-based Pestifere made their first appearance at NCS in late 2014 as part of a year-end list assembled by our Norwegian friend eiterorm, who called their debut album Liminal “ferocious, diverse, and infectious”. Pestifere returned last year with a new album named Hope Misery Death on the Eihwaz Recordings label, about which I wrote some compliments when the first advance track (“Peregrine’s Timbre”) appeared.

Yesterday the band released a new single named “Dissolution“, which is available as a name-your-price download at Bandcamp. It was recorded by Pestifere bassist Dylan Haseltine, with artwork by Sasha Zavyalova.

It’s a gripping black metal song that surges with pummeling low-end power as racing streamers of feverish tremolo melody fly overhead. As the song unfurls like a battle flag whipping in the wind, the vocalist hurls the words in a caustic spray of vehemence, and those rippling riffs and surging rhythms continually push the intensity. The band also vary the riffs by including some hard-rocking chords in the midst of their head-spinning flurries. This is in the red zone from start to finish… and it’s a heady rush indeed.

https://pestifere.bandcamp.com/album/dissolution
https://www.facebook.com/pg/pestiferemn/

 

 

 

 

 

 

MICO

Not long ago I learned about a band from Cali, Colombia, named MICO, and wrote (here) about two very different (and very impressive) songs from MICO’s new album Segunda Muerte, which will be released in June on a new label, Carne Débil.

Earlier this week MICO released a third song from the album, one named “Plaga“. This new song is further proof of MICO‘s considerable talents, delivering a mix of bludgeoning bass-and-drum force, dissonant guitar writhings, and blood-spraying vocal intensity. The song becomes faster and more wildly destructive as it moves ahead… and then slower and more dismal… intertwining elements of grindcore, hardcore, and sludgy, heavyweight post-metal in gripping fashion.

“Plaga” is below, along with a Bandcamp stream that allows you to hear the two previously released tracks, which demonstrate the considerable variety within the album even on the evidence of only three songs.

http://micolandia.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/micobulla/