Funeral Rain Press Corps

Genres: Depressive Black Metal, Progressive Black Metal, Progressive Metal
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

Ekove Efrits presents a strange listen, one that is somewhat hard to get through without rewinding it once in awhile to catch something that caught your ear. The core is based around black metal, with a depressive lean, but it’s so progressive in ways that it’s hard to call it black metal at all in some sections.
Strings and keys play a huge part in the overall sound, with a slightly longer song structure averaging just over six minutes. Slower paces and spoken words, whispers, and immense atmosphere really help drag you into the music. I wouldn’t recommend playing this at your next party, unless you were planning a Jim Jones tribute.
Fans of Nine Inch Nails (especially The Fragile), Kraftwerk, Opeth, Morgul, and HDR’s other releases should not miss out on this one. It’s really good.
7 out of 10.

Ekove Efrits on Facebook.

Hypnotic Dirge Records has signed two new bands onto its artist roster, with both bands planned to have a release in the first half of 2012. The new bands added to the roster are Epitimia and Silent Path.

Epitimia is a black metal/post-rock band from Russia consisting of three members known simply as A., K., and M. Epitimia has released two prior full-length albums, as well as two split albums. Their latest album was called Four Truths of the Noble Ones and was released through Grailight Productions in october 2010. Epitimia‘s next album will be called Faces of Insanity, exploring the story of an individual suffering from a mental disease, and will be released through Hypnotic Dirge Records in the first half of 2012. For the time-being, check out the Epitimia profile page which features streaming audio, band members photos, and a full biography.

Silent Path is a one-man funeral doom metal/depressive black metal project from Iran created by Saman Nu. The project’s only member is also known as Count de Efrit, the musician behind the project Ekove Efrits which is already signed to Hypnotic Dirge Records. We will be releasing the debut Silent Path album Mourner Portraits within the first half of 2012. In the meantime, you can listen to streaming music from Silent Path‘s upcoming debut album, and read more in-depth about the history of the project on the official Silent Path profile page.

Genre: Depressive Black Metal, Progressive Black Metal, Symphonic Black Metal
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

It’s quite unreal the amount of quality work that is coming from Hypnotic Dirge as a record label. Skog has been signing such great bands that really are different from the standards in depressive black metal (which is HDR’s primary bread and butter along with more ambient sounds), and Funeral Fornication is not a change of his general attitude.

FF’s newest album, Pandemic Trangression, is at it’s core depressive black metal but it has so many facets to it that it almost immediately steps out from the shadow of generic one man closet DSBM. Clean guitars and pianos, true singing, and symphonics that would make Dimmu Borgir proud are brought together with a real rawness that you could only get from the mountains of British Columbia.

This is Canadian black metal like no other, and I definitely recommend it for fans of the aforementioned Dimmu Borgir, old Cradle of Filth, Spectre, and the shoegazing black metal that is seeming to be taking over the world (Alcest, An Autumn for Crippled Children, etc…).

8 out of 10.

Funeral Fornication on MySpace.

Hypnotic Dirge Records has reached a deal with the project Ekove Efrits based out of Tehran, Iran. Ekove Erfits is a one man project which has a history dating back to 2001, releasing demos and a split release before their first full-length album was released in 2008 by Possesion Productions, and a second full-length album was self-released in 2010.
Over the years, Ekove Efrits have defined their sound to something that is incredibly haunting, atmospheric, and experimental which is a perfect fit for what we seek to release on Hypnotic Dirge Records, and at the same time, in our opinion, become the pinnacle of Iranian black metal. We are pleased to have Ekove Efrits bring a Middle Eastern presence to Hypnotic Dirge Records for the first time, and to release the new full-length album entitled Conceptual Horizon in the Summer of 2011!

Genre: Progressive Depressive Black Metal
Label: Hypnotic Dirge Records

For most people, hearing this album might result in a big “what the fuck?” Literally, there is trip-hop on this album. Mixed with depressive black metal. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.
This is definitely the most unique BM release I’ve heard in awhile, and it’s something that I’m going to be listening to for awhile too. Things being as they are, I honestly don’t know if this is a good review, simply because I’m still trying to digest the album.
Either way, what I’ve heard so far I love. It’s actually something FRESH and it’s actually BLACK METAL. Two things that don’t always go hand in hand unless you’re a fringe band on the furthest reaches of black metal, and this definitely is one such band.
If you think you’ve got the balls to try something really new and you’re a black metal fan, check out Netra. Mélancolie Urbaine is a fucking win. For fans of Alcest, Ausserwelt, Les Discrets… wait a minute… these are all French bands! Hm. Maybe there’s your hint.
8 out of 10.

Netra on MySpace.