SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): WIEGEDOOD, LE CHANT NOIR, DEATHFUCKER, THE LIFTED VEIL, AN HOMAGE TO SUMMONING

 

Last Sunday was bereft of a Shades of Black feature, so today I plan to have two. Yes, I’ve obviously forgotten my oft-learned lesson about not announcing future plans when you’re a part-time, half-witted metal blogger who can’t predict the diversions of life. So the truth is, the second part of this post may or may not arrive today. But at least you’ll have two good advance tracks, two excellent full releases, and one wonderful tribute compilation to keep you company in case I go off the rails.

WIEGEDOOD

Here’s an excerpt from our man Andy Synn’s review of Wiegedood’s last album,

“The Belgian three-piece, whose name is also the Dutch term for ‘Sudden Infant Death Syndrome’ (way to keep it morbid, guys), possess an enviable knack for pumping out a ferocious torrent of rage and fury, whilst maintaining a keen melodic edge that’s neither weak nor overbearing. That may not sound like much, but it’s a hard balance to get just right, and these guys make it look like child’s play. Pun intended.”

 

 

Wiegedood’s next album, De Doden Hebben Het Goed II, will be released by Consouling Sounds on February 10, and last week DECIBEL premiered a song from it called “Smeekbede”, which happens to be the closing track. Their feature included a quote from vocalist and guitarist Levy Seynaeve which explained that while “the atmosphere is a big part of our music”, for the new album the band “also tapped into a more aggressive vein”.

“Smeekbede” is proof of that statement. It’s a jolting, ripping display of high-speed ferocity laced with chilling melodic digressions and throat-shredding shrieks and yells. The music virtually explodes with feral energy, yet it’s true that the band haven’t completely abandoned the atmospheric side of their sound in this song. It’s a potent combination.

The album is available for pre-order at the Consouling Sounds webstore:

http://consouling.be/album/wiegedood-de-doden-hebben-het-goed-ii/

Wiegedood on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/wiegedood/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LE CHANT NOIR

Le Chant Noir are a relatively new Brazilian band whose line-up includes graphic artist Marcelo Vasco (aka Mantus), who has created artwork for the likes of Slayer, Hatebreed, Kreator, Machine Head, Soulfly, and Dark Funeral, as well as Lord Kaiaphas (ex-Ancient, Thokkian Vortex) and Malphas (Mysteriis). Their debut album Ars Arcanvm Vodvm will be released in 2017.

I came across the first single from the album by chance. It was sitting on the right side of a YouTube page alongside some other song I was listening to, and I randomly decided to check it out. That was a good decision.

The song’s name is “Wormslayer” and it’s a very interesting mid-paced mix of gloomy but seductive melody, pulsing bass tones, and horrific vocal malice that moves from mangling snarls to gruesome roars and other disturbing utterances. The album as a whole is described as a melding of “the oddest influences of Metal, Progressive, New Wave and Classical, still allied to a retro ritualistic tone of sci-fi and horror.” I’m eagerly intrigued….

Le Chant Noir on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lechantnoirofficial

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEATHFUCKER

How could I resist checking out a demo named Fuck the Trinity by a band named Deathfucker? Obviously, I fucking couldn’t.

Deathfucker is an Italian duo consisting of Insulter as vocalist/guitarist/bassist and J.K. as drummer. Their demo includes three songs, and I’ve included streams of them from both YouTube and Soundcloud. It takes barely 10 minutes for these songs to rip their way through your skull, and if you’re like me, the first thing you’ll want to do after they’re done is let them have their way with you again.

The vocals are scraped raw with braying fury, the abrasive riffs are charged with megawatt energy, and there’s some delicious fireball soloing in here as well. It’s a kind of death/punk/thrash fusion that kicks down your door, busts up all your furniture, batters your head, and leaves you grinning through broken teeth. Nasty, raw, and completely electrifying!

I don’t know if Fuck the Trinity will be released for download, or in physical form. But keep an eye on Deathfucker’s Facebook to find out.

YouTube Tracklist:
1. Dechristianized 00:00 – 04:02
2. Fuck The Trinity 04:03 – 07:00
3. Intoxication of the soul 07:01 – 10:04

Deathfucker on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/agentsofsatan/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE LIFTED VEIL

Mikkeli, Finland, is home base for The Lifted Veil, a five-man black/death band who released their debut EP The Wicked Shall Inherit the Earth on December 7. It’s a hell of a debut.

The sound is murky and dirty enough to match the ravaging ferocity of the music, but not so murky as to obscure the grim, magnetic power of the riffs. When the band pull out all the stops, the music becomes a cyclone of unhinged violence, with the vocalist sounding as if he’s being skinned alive. But they balance those passages of berserker warfare with slower, gloomier segments in which the cruel, cold appeal of the chords clamps on your neck like claws of iron.

There are few albums I’ve heard this year that are as effective as this one in channeling blood fury and an orgiastic desire to slaughter and maim. At times it’s like an unholy union of Anaal Nathrakh and Aborted. The vocals alone, which range across a wide variety of bestial sounds, are off the charts.

But I again hasten to add that as maniacally destructive as the music is, the band have built in so many dynamic twists and turns and undercurrents of diseased melody that the EP leaves you electrified rather than exhausted. Hugely impressive!

https://theliftedveil.bandcamp.com/album/the-wicked-shall-inherit-the-earth

The Lifted Veil on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/theliftedveilband

 

 

 

 

 

 

IN MORDOR WHERE THE SHADOWS ARE – HOMAGE TO SUMMONING

Last April I devoted a Rearview Mirror feature to the album Stronghold by Austria’s Summoning, and I’ll borrow these introductory words from that feature:

Tons of metal bands have mined the works of J.R.R. Tolkien for everything from band names to album and song titles and lyrics. Few have excavated his writing as extensively as Austria’s Summoning, in part because the band have been plying their trade for such a long time. Since their formation in 1993, Summoning have produced seven albums (the last of which was 2013’s Old Mornings Dawn), three EPs, and an assortment of early demos and splits. Summoning are probably best known for creating an epic, atmospheric, synth-heavy sound that captures the mythic, heroic sagas that have often inspired them and that have been reflected in their lyrics.

On December 15, Wolfspell Records released a compilation of 21 Summoning songs covered by other bands, including Mesarthim, Kalmankantaja, Galdur, Wyrd, Wędrujący Wiatr, Midnight Odyssey, and Caladan Brood — just to name the groups we’ve covered at NCS in the past. The compilation is available digitally via Bandcamp, as well as in a 3-CD box set.

There are some real gems in this comp, and all the songs are worth hearing. And with that, I’ll let you to explore the music for yourselves.

https://ashnazgdurbatuluk.bandcamp.com/album/in-mordor-where-the-shadows-are-homage-to-summoning