A Thousand Sufferings Archives

By some kind of industry consensus Fridays have become big days for the release of new music. When you stack a Bandcamp Friday on top of that, you get a deluge of biblical proportions. In an effort to keep up with the torrent, I compiled an extra-large roundup yesterday, but even though it included 14 new songs and videos that I enjoyed it still only scratched the surface. So I decided to do it again today, and to go even bigger, though I didn’t quite make it to Z in the alphabet.

Once again, there are a lot of bigger names in this collection, and once again I’ve injected some lesser-knowns as well. I’ve also included some playthrough videos. There’s not a lot of black metal in the mix, but that’s because tomorrow is Sunday, and you know what that means. Don’t you?

A THOUSAND SUFFERINGS (Belgium)

In this first song the dark, folksy, acoustic opening grabbed me, and then I felt both swept aloft and heart-stricken by the ensuing waves of bleak but grand melody and the shattering screams. The sounds are immense, stately, and emotionally crushing, even with the softer, haunting interstitials that arrive. The music boils over into sounds of torment and fury, and becomes almost hallucinatory in its agony, which makes this rendering of black/doom even more powerful. Continue reading »

With a 2015 debut album (Burden) and a 2017 split with Marche Funèbre in their review mirror, the Belgian band A Thousand Sufferings are on the brink of returning with a second album, Bleakness, which will be released on November 22nd by Symbol of Domination. It won’t be a happy occurrence, as you might guess from the album’s title and the band’s name, even if you were unfamiliar with their previous creations. But pain and gloom become manifest in different ways through music, just as they do in our lives.

The concoctions of blackened sludge and doom brewed by A Thousand Sufferings is a particularly intense portrayal of disillusionment and death, almost merciless in the scraped-raw immediacy of its maimed and wounding sounds. As displayed through the song we’re premiering today, they channel feelings of betrayal and disgust, torture and fury, with emotionally compelling power — without foregoing the appeal of head-moving rhythms and melodies that will stay with you. Continue reading »

SEEN AND HEARD ON A SATURDAY (STILL TOO MANY NAMES TO PUT IN A POST TITLE)

AN NCS PREMIERE: A THOUSAND SUFFERINGS — “FACES”