Shrine of Insanabilis Archives

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE (AND A REVIEW): SHRINE OF INSANABILIS — “VAST VORTEX LITANIES”

Oct 172019

Today W.T.C. Productions is releasing Vast Vortex Litanies, the highly anticipated second album by the German black metal band Shrine of Insanabilis. It has been highly anticipated because the band’s first album, 2015’s Disciples of the Void, was so damned good (and the follow-on EP, 2016’s Tombs Opened by Fervent Tongues… Earth’s Final Necropolis, proved that the debut was no fluke). But Vast Vortex Litanies is nonetheless better than everything that has preceded it — as you’ll discover through the full album stream we’re sharing today.

While the band’s song-writing reveals improved dynamism and the enhanced infiltration of sorcerous melodies, it is the heights of glorious yet frightening frenzy that stand out, and that make the album such a continuously exhilarating experience. Continue reading »

SHADES OF BLACK (PART 1): THE DEATHTRIP, DYSANGELIUM, SHRINE OF INSANABILIS

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Sep 162019

I was in Utah over the weekend for my job and didn’t have a lot of free time. I did have enough time to do some listening and make these selections, but not enough to finish this column and post it in its usual place on Sunday before I had to go to the airport for the trip back to Seattle.

As you can see, there will be a second Part later today. For this first Part I’ve chosen songs that mark the return of bands whose previous work we’ve praised and promoted. The second Part includes a number of new discoveries.

THE DEATHTRIP

My tumble into the music of The Deathtrip began in July 2016 when Neill Jameson included these words about the band’s 2014 debut album Deep Drone Master in an NCS post about black metal:

“The Deathtrip is an Aldrahn project (who you should know from Dødheimsgard amongst others). Two demos that were primitive and degenerate as hell were enough to keep my interest, but the realization of the building blocks they represented which came together on this release is startling and welcome. Aldrahn has always had one of the greatest voices in black metal and it has felt like far too long since it’s been heard. Hopefully this is a project that will continue and grow.” Continue reading »

SHORT BUT SWEET: OV SHADOWS AND SHRINE OF INSANABILIS

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Sep 052016

In this post I’m combining reviews of two short releases that were recommended by friends whose names may be familiar to long-time readers of our site — the first by .jh (Obitus) and the second by eiterorm. I owe them thanks, because both of these releases are excellent, and they also complement each other very well.

OV SHADOWS

Between 2008 and 2014 the Swedish band Waning released two albums and four shorter works, including a contribution to the Elemental Nightmares series of splits in 2014 that we wrote about incessantly. The song on that 2014 split turns out to be the last of Waning’s output, because at the start of this month they announced that the band had ended. However, members of Waning (one of whom is also in the aforementioned Obitus) and Black Drop Effect have formed a new group named Ov Shadows, and they have recently released a three-track EP called Monologues. Continue reading »

AN NCS ALBUM PREMIERE: SHRINE OF INSANABILIS — “DISCIPLES OF THE VOID”

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Sep 212015

About a month ago we brought you a clue to what lies within Disciples of the Void, the debut album by a mysterious entity known as Shrine of Insanabilis, with our premiere of a song from the album named “Ruina“. Now we are privileged to lift the veil all the way off as we deliver a full stream of the album in advance of its September 22 release by W.T.C. Productions.

Actually, that metaphor about lifting the veil is an overstatement, because the identities of the band’s members are still concealed, and the music itself remains mystical. But that’s only part of its allure. Continue reading »

AN NCS PREMIERE: SHRINE OF INSANABILIS — “RUINA”

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Aug 192015

David Glomba’s cover art for the debut album Disciples of the Void by Shrine of Insanabilis puts to the test my pet hypothesis that cool album covers tend to be a sign that cool music lies within — and this cover is definitely wonderful.

For better or worse, there are few other advance clues about the quality of the music in the public domain — other than the fact that the album will be released by W.T.C. Productions (which is certainly another favorable sign). The band’s members are unidentified, the location of the band isn’t widely advertised (though they seem to be from somewhere in Germany), and I’ve been unable to find any previously released recordings of their music.

But you are about to get a very strong clue about the music, because we’re bringing you the premiere of the new album’s second track, “Ruina”. Continue reading »