SHADES OF BLACK: ROTTING CHRIST, CHARUN, SATANIC NORTH, DODENKROCHT, FRAGMENTUM, CANTIQUE LÉPREUX, BEDRÄNGNIS

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  3 Responses »
Mar 312024
 

It is a good thing to be tolerant of people who are different from you, including people who believe things you think are ridiculous. But tolerance is sorely tested by people who are hypocrites and con-men, whose professions of faith are a cover for corruption, hatefulness, and abuse of others.

Having those people in mind today, and all the people who have fought back against them (with a kind thought also for the sweet people who humbly try to follow the precepts of such passages as Matthew 7:12 and 25:35-40), I picked the following five songs from forthcoming records and two complete releases to recommend to you on this Easter Sunday.

ROTTING CHRIST (Greece)

Rotting Christ, but of course I’m starting with them today. Their new album ΠΡΟ ΧΡΙΣΤΟU (Pro Xristou) — “Before Christ” — “serves as a fervent tribute to the last Pagan kings who resisted the onslaught of Christianity, guarding their ancient values and knowledge”. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: EZKATON AND CANTIQUE LÉPREUX

 Album Reviews, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Oct 282018
 

 

I’m in the midst of a 4-day vacation in Las Vegas with my spouse and her sister and sister’s husband. Blogging has not been on the menu of activities. Getting more than about 4 hours of sleep a night hasn’t been on the menu either.

I did manage to extricate myself from one outing this morning, but spent an hour on the phone with internet support trying to get good enough wi-fi in the hotel room to stream music. Long story short: my time alone is now about to run out, and so this edition of SHADES OF BLACK is going to be shorter than usual.

EZKATON

In April of this year I came across a spellbinder of a song from the debut album of this Ukrainian black metal band, and quickly showered it with praise. Later, I discovered that the album as a whole (Plague for the Empires: Time) was also really powerful. And now Ezkaton will soon be releasing a new EP. Continue reading »

OUR LIST OF 2016’S MOST INFECTIOUS EXTREME METAL SONGS (PART 11): CANTIQUE LÉPREUX, WODE, FORTERESSE, GEVURAH

 MOST INFECTIOUS SONGS-2016  11 Responses »
Jan 142017
 

 

There was a time not so long ago, relative to the entire span of my life, when I wouldn’t have considered any of these four songs to be infectious. Certainly 10 years ago, and maybe even 7, I probably would have considered them almost unlistenable. But my own tastes and appreciation for metal have evolved, and now I would get depressed imagining life without these songs. For me, they are all so compelling that I go back to each of them repeatedly, even with as much time as I spend listening to new music. And that’s kind of the main criterion for this list.

To hear the other songs that were added before these, go here. After you listen to these songs, I don’t think there will be any mystery why I grouped them together.

CANTIQUE LÉPREUX

As you know, I get very excited about new music on almost a daily basis. But this song… this song nearly made my heart explode the first time I heard it, and it brings my heart near to exploding every damned time I hear it. How many songs do that to you? Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: DEATH FETISHIST, PTAHIL, WALDGEFLÜSTER, CANTIQUE LÉPREUX, GOATPSALM

 Album Reviews, RANDOM FUCKING MUSIC, SHADES OF BLACK, SHORT BUT SWEET  8 Responses »
Feb 122016
 

Death fetishist-Lucifer Descending

 

I usually post collections such as this one on Sundays, to make the Sabbath blacker. But I’m sitting on so much good new metal in a blackened vein that I decided to share this collection now. I’m hoping to put together another one for Sunday.

DEATH FETISHIST

Just a couple of days ago, the eminent Debemur Morti Productions announced the signing of a new band from Portland, Oregon, named Death Fetishist, whose debut album will be released by the label later this year. To commemorate the blessed event, Death Fetishist released a single-song EP entitled Lucifer Descending yesterday — which follows a two-song EP (Whorifice) released on the first day of this month. Both EPs are available on Bandcamp.

The person behind Death Fetishist is the prolific Matron Thorn, who is also the principal driving force in Ævangelist as well as the protagonist in a large number of solo projects, including Benighted In Sodom. He is the vocalist in Death Fetishist and performs all the instruments other than drums and percussion, which are handled by Grond Nefarious. Continue reading »