Ill Omen Archives - NO CLEAN SINGING

This edition of SHADES OF BLACK is brought to you by the letter “I”.

I usually post these columns on Sundays, and didn’t intend to do one for this Tuesday until last night. While listening to candidates for a “Quick Hits” round-up to be posted today, I became enamored of these three new tracks, and since they’re all forms of black metal and coincidentally were created by bands whose names begin with “I”, well, the impulse proved irresistible. With a bit of luck, I may still get that “Quick Hits” post finished today, too.

INCORPOREA

Exorcize the Sun appears to be the first official release by this two-man band from Spain. It appeared in April and I learned of it through a recent invitation from Incorporea. Consisting of two tracks captured on 7″ vinyl, it’s a seductive offering of atmospheric black metal that has depth and power, and an impressive degree of sophistication. Continue reading »

Two striking black metal bands separated by the Pacific have joined forces in a new split release coming out tomorrow on 7″ vinyl from Iron Bonehead Productions. The split’s title, Pestilential Hierophanies, is a conjunction of the two track names on the album, with Australia’s Ill Omen contributing “Whited, Pestilent Sepulchre…” and Chile’s Slaughtbbath providing “Inverted Hierophany”.

You can — and should — listen to both tracks below. I have a brief review first, and in a nutshell, this is one of the best splits I’ve come across this year.

ILL OMEN

The lone artist behind Ill Omen (“IV”) has quite a resume of participation in other groups, including his membership in Temple Nightside and previous work in Austere. Under the Ill Omen banner he has produced many short releases as well as three albums, including this year’s Æ.Thy.Rift. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK: INCORPOREA, ILL OMEN, INEXORUM

AN NCS PREMIERE: ILL OMEN AND SLAUGHTBBATH — “PESTILENTIAL HIEROPHANIES”