SEEN AND HEARD: BLACK ANVIL, DEAD VOID, PARIUS, BONES, BLODKVALT

Today we’ve already presented a pair of raunchy reviews, the premiere of some dismal and nightmarish black metal, and another evocative installment of a Fire in the Mountains festival report. But even with all that, I thought I’d still try to squeeze in a roundup of new songs and videos, just to somewhat lighten the load on me for the usual Saturday roundup. It will still be a crushing load, but maybe getting the following five items out there mow will leave a few vertebrae intact tomorrow.

BLACK ANVIL (U.S.)

Let’s begin with something bracing, something that’s both chilling and muscular, a song that creates tension and tightens it, becomes scathing and sweeping in its portrayal of despair, stampedes in a fury, and raises its voice in proclamations of hellish reverence.

The song is “Castrum Doloris“, the first advance track off Black Anvil‘s latest album Regenesis (highly anticipated around here), which will be out on November 4th via Season of Mist. Credit for the lyric video goes to Guilherme Henriques.

https://shopusa.season-of-mist.com/band/black-anvil
https://orcd.co/blackanvilregen
https://www.facebook.com/BlackAnvil/

 

 

DEAD VOID (Denmark)

At last, Dead Void have produced a debut album, and the next long song provides some convincing evidence that they’ve used their three preceding demos as a firm foundation on which to build something even more deleterious to body and soul.

“Perpetually Circling the Void” is monstrously heavy and oppressive. You can imagine the earth heaving as this humongous death/doom beast slowly stalks ahead, emitting beastly growls and radiating toxic vapors as it goes. The music grows more feverish as the drums become more manically catastrophic, the riffing begins to writhe and seethe, and the guitar leads and vocals flare in crazed outbursts.

But the song returns to pulverizing death blows and music that wails in abject agony and convulses in pain, while continuing to build stultifying sonic nightmares all the way to the bitter end.

The name of the album is Volatile Forms, and it will be co-released by Dark Descent and Me Saco Un Ojo on September 15th.

https://darkdescentrecords.bandcamp.com/album/volatile-forms
https://mesacounojo.bandcamp.com/album/volatile-forms
https://www.facebook.com/TheDeadVoid

 

 

PARIUS (U.S.)

After that last song I scratched my head about where to go next: Stay with something that will continue to make you shudder, or kick some adrenaline (and maybe some joy) into your nervous system? You’ll see that I chose the second path.

This next song, “The Signal“, is a head-spinner. It provides rambunctious and jolting rhythms, but uses those grooves as a framework for lots of nimble bass maneuvers and mercurial guitar excursions. I must warn you that the vocals are clean-sung and far-flung, but they have the effect of magnifying the blood-pumping impact of all the proggy instrumental work and sending the track into higher elevations, which is in keeping with the band’s spacey themes.

The song is from Parius‘ new album The Signal Heard Throughout Space, which will be released by Willowtip on October 7th.

https://parius.bandcamp.com/album/the-signal-heard-throughout-space
https://www.facebook.com/pariusofficial

 

 

BONES (Belgium)

After that last track there wasn’t much doubt in my mind about where to go next. I searched for a more ravaging and ruinous experience, and found it in the electrifying punishment inflicted by this next song.

“Twilight Divination” is a thunderous and battering bruiser for sure, but it will give your head a swift spin as well. The heaviest chords heave and stomp, but the guitars swivel, swirl, scream in deranged ecstasy, and the drumming goes off in equally unpredictable maneuvers. Indeed, the song s a whole is riotously dynamic, pivoting on a dime in thrilling fashion, but never forsaking the air of savagery that blankets the track — which comes through loud and clear in the possessed, bestial vocals.

When you listen to this track, you’ll get why the band named it “Twilight Divinations“, and maybe even why they named their debut album Sombre Opulence. It’s set for release by Invictus Productions on September 9th.

https://invictusproductions666.bandcamp.com/album/sombre-opulence
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100027587905043

 

 

BLODKVALT (Norway)

To close this week-ending roundup I picked a video for a new track named “Decapitation” by this new Norwegian band from Oslo, who discharge a boiling stew of black metal, grindcore, punk, and noise.

The song title is not a head-fake because the music is indeed a head-remover. With drums going full-bore, a heavy undulating bass undercurrent, and screaming vocals that seem more like a napalm torrent than a human larynx, the song delivers a flood of vicious circle-saw riffing that whirls in a frenzy.

There’s a lot of feral punk spirit bouncing off the burning walls of this song, and it will make for a fine antidote if your ass is dragging for any reason. It’s the first single from an album named Algor Mortis that will be released by Fysisk Format on November 18th. The single is also being released along with a B-side live track named “Rotting Flesh“.

https://ffm.to/decapitation
https://blodkvalt.bandcamp.com/album/decapitation
https://www.instagram.com/blodkvalt/