Sep 122014
 

My ears have feasted upon a big smorgasbord of new and newish metal over the last 24 hours, a big spread of many different styles of delectables. However, in deciding what to assemble for this round-up I was influenced by the Obscure Burials EP I reviewed for today’s first post. Which is to say I was in the mood for more jet-fueled mayhem. Sometimes you just want to have your head torn off, you know what I mean?

Because there’s so much stuff in this post, including two new videos, I’m going to dispense with complete sentences and keep my blather short and sweet. Presenting this alpha music in alphabetical order:

ANTROPOMORPHIA

Location: The Netherlands
Song: “Carved To Pieces”
Album: Rites Ov Perversion
Release date: Sept 12 (Europe) and Sept 16 (NorthAm)
Label: Metal Blade
https://www.facebook.com/AntropomorphiA

Ravenous, ripping, spine-smashing, skull-cleaving, roof-collapsing, gruesome, atmospheric, sing-along music. Continue reading »

Oct 252012
 

Would you like some quality video entertainment? You would? Well, then, you’ve come to the right place, because I happen to have three clips right here that I think you’ll enjoy.

ANTROPOMORPHIA

Antropomorphia are a Dutch band whose new Metal Blade release, Evangelivm Nekromantia, really snuck up on me. The clues were there, as was a promo sitting in my in-box, and I just missed all of it until last night, when I watched the band’s recent official video for a track from the album named “Psuchagogia”.

The song burrowed under my skin immediately. It’s an occult-flavored form of death metal, reminiscent at times of Behemoth, with heavy use of tremolo guitar, demonic vocals, and a thundering beat. Halfway through, there’s a slow, very cool instrumental break with the bass taking the lead, and in the video, a ritual then reaches its defining moment in the drinking of blood from a skull, with relish.

Though “psuchagogia” doesn’t appear to be a word found in the dictionary, “psychogogia” is a Greek word meaning the leading of the soul and was used in its original context to describe a ritual of raising souls from the dead. Just so you know.

One word about the album art before we turn to the killer video itself: If those three skeletons in red and the shrouded figure in purple ring any bells, it’s because the band wanted to pay homage to the cover of Death’s Scream Bloody Gore. Continue reading »