Füneral Rain Press Cörps

Genre: Black Metal

Label: Hammer of Hate

Sacrilegious Impalement are a Finnish black metal band who have released one prior effort, 2009′s Cultus Nex. The members have been in bands such as the awesome black/thrash Evil Angel and the bestial black/death Goatsodomy, both of whom I enjoy. Their first album was not the worst black metal I have ever heard, but it was very generic and did not move me. I have not had a desire to listen to it again.

Approaching this album, I hoped for some progression. I was not disappointed! While still not a very original album, Exalted Spectres is memorable and well executed. Vocalist Hellwind Inferion’s Chant of “SIX! SIX! SIX!” at the end of “Wolves of the Black Moon” made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Musically, this album is a fusion of typical Marduk/Dark Funeral blasting and the more melodic riffs of De Mysteriis era Mayhem or Watain. Plenty of dissonant yet gorgeous chords and tremolo picking, just listen to “At the Altar Afore Eternity” or “The Woods in a Solitary Soul”. There are a lot of cool riffs. Even the intro track is not your typical satanic chanting sample or synthesizer piece; it’s a short, blasting black metal song.

The drums are not really exceptional, but they don’t take away from the music. I can think of a few places on this album where a drum roll or two would have been cool, and the bass is also inaudible, but this is a black metal album, so neither of those things are surprising or terribly annoying. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a guitar solo, closing the final track, the epic slab of melancholy that is “The Grand Funeral Convoy”.

Though I did compare this to Watain, don’t assume it’s as frilly and atypical as the direction Watain is moving in now; this is still a pretty straight forward black metal album, though it is certainly has musical substance.  If you like Mayhem, Marduk, or more current bands like Watain and Acheronian Dirge, you will like this album. Standout tracks are “Wolves of the Black Moon”, “Enter Godhood”, and “Grand Funeral Convoy” . I give this an 8/10.

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Hammer of Hate Records

The Death Holy Death Tour 2011 lays waste to Europe beginning tomorrow, beginning in Germany and ending in the Netherlands. The tour features the insanity of Watain, Shining, and Aosoth, and is pretty much guaranteed to kick some serious ass.

The Death Holy Death Tour 2011:
25.02.2011 DE – Adelsheim, Eventhall
26.02.2011 CH – Lausanne, Docks
27.02.2011 FR – Montpellier, Secret Place
28.02.2011 ES – Barcelona, Mephisto
01.03.2011 ES – Madrid, Caracol
02.03.2011 PT – Lisboa, Cine-teatro Corroios
03.03.2011 PT – Porto, Hard Club
04.03.2011 FR – Angouleme, Nef
05.03.2011 FR – Savigny le temple, Empreinte
06.03.2011 UK – London, Relentless Garage
07.03.2011 UK – Reading, Sub 89
08.03.2011 UK – Glasgow, Ivory Blacks
09.03.2011 UK – Liverpool, Masque
10.03.2011 UK – Birmingham, Library
11.03.2011 FR – Notre Dame de Gravenchon, Arcade
12.03.2011 BE – Vosselaar, Biebob
13.03.2011 NL – Zaandam, De Kade

Genre: Black Metal
Label: Abyss Records

Norway’s Hat have been in the scene for awhile, throwing pretty awesome black metal into the faces of the unwary, and their newest offering from Abyss Records is no different.
Mixing semi-flat drums, slightly noisy guitars, and very necro vocals, this duo are sonically abrasive and yet melodic like raw, true Norwegian black metal from the early 90′s. Vortex of Death is a killer album from a band that’s destined to become known as a classic stalwart for the genre.
Favorite tracks are “Invocating Death”, “Slaves of Insanity” and “Ultimate Evil”.
7.5 out of 10.

San Francisco heathens Pale Chalice, the latest acquisition to The Flenser‘s blackened roster, have finalized the details to their debut EP, set for CD and digital release on March 8th, 2011.

Recorded at Death Midi Soundlab by Navene Koperweis (drummer for Animals as Leaders), the expansive four-song Afflicting The Dichotomy Of Trepid Creation EP captures nearly half-an-hour of this fairly new yet wholly ripened act’s honed, black metal skills, bearing more content and gritty traction than many full-length releases from the genre we’ll see released throughout the coming year.

Propagating intensely memorable yet brutal riffs, devoid of filler, the band’s lyrics are dark and abstract, with influences which range from introverted psychosis to dimensional anomalies.

The outfit that would become Pale Chalice was born as 2008 was dying off, essentially bearing three founding members: Oram Evad, Masthantric Nodrab and Baneist Nonrutin. A plethora of bassists and vocalists persisted through the years, until early 2010, when Ephemeral Domignostika (Mastery, Pandiscordian Necrogenesis, ex-Horn of Dagoth) and Grobahn Huv were added as permanent members.

While a great deal of touring from Pale Chalice is not planned for the immediate future, the band are capable of annihilating live audiences as the desire, having already provided live support locally for internationally touring acts such as Watain and Goatwhore, as well as local favorites and now lablemates Necrite since they took the act live in the Summer of 2010.

Stay tuned for more details on the upcoming EP, sporadic live actions and more on Pale Chalice throughout the coming year

Afflicting The Dichotomy Of Trepid Creation Track Listing:
1. Transplant Of Dimensional Recourse
2. Command of the Formless
3. Caressed by a Feeble Flame
4. Ascend the Idyllic Sphere

“Reaping Death” the latest single from Swedish black metal battalion Watain, was certified gold in Sweden for sales in excess of 10,000 copies. Earlier this week, the band was awarded their gold record in Stockholm in the presence of press and various guests. Said frontman Erik Danielsson at the presentation: “‘Reaping Death’ is a song written as a tribute to the first murderer and Satanist, Cain. Through the murder of his brother Abel, he was the first to break the shackles of creation and went against the will of God. Therefore, he was pushed away and found his way to his true father, the serpent in the Garden of Eden, also known as Satan. To openly praise Cain, his origin, his works and his offspring is something that never would have been possible, say 300 years ago. 300 years ago they tied people such as us up and burned them alive. Now we are awarded gold discs and praise in the media. This is an encouraging proof that this road is leading to hell.

“Through black metal,” he continued, “we now have a forum, in which we, without being persecuted and tortured, can celebrate the ancient ruin forces, revolutions and the gods of total liberation, and thus give them additional force. This gold disc is proof that the genre as such is one to be reckoned with, and with fire, fanaticism and passion as the driving force, we intend to take it even further, deep down in still unexplored abysses.We also would like to thank Sound Pollution, Season of Mist, Sweden Rock and ‘Boss’ at Black Mark.”

“Reaping Death” comes off Watain‘s Lawless Darkness full-length released via Season Of Mist this past June. Lawless Darkness was recorded at Necromorbus Studio (Deathspell Omega, Funeral Mist, Ondskapt, Nominon, Unanimated et al) in Alvik, Sweden and features cover art by Zbigniew M. Bielak.