#cultleader — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #cultleader, aggregated by home.social.
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#Charismatic #Churches Are #CULTY with a #CultLeader at the Helm Using #FEARTactics (Pt 1 of 2) #cult
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[Video] #Man says #fatherinlaw #refusing 'all #FEMA #help' because of #ConvictedFelon and #MAGA #CultLeader #DonaldTrump
A #Republican #House #member from #NorthCarolina took to #socialmedia this week to help #debunk the #disinformation spread by members of his own #party about #hurricanehelene
Meanwhile, a man tells #DanAbrams his #fatherinlaw is #refusing #FEMA #help because of Trump's recent #rhetoric.
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GardensTale Goes to Roadburn 2024
By GardensTale
Roadburn is a unique festival. Many have no idea what it is, but those who know it often revere it. Starting in 1999 as a traveling stoner festival, it has grown into one of the most adventurous, envelope-pushing celebrations of music worldwide. The line-ups have grown increasingly experimental, and a few years ago the festival adopted the slogan Redefining Heaviness. It’s a mission statement that indicates the wide scope of the festival, exploring other forms of heaviness through the inclusion of genres beyond metal.
My partner and I have visited every Roadburn since 2017, when I last wrote a report on the experience. At the time, we had a sweet arrangement allowing free entry by playing host to a performing artist. Unfortunately, this option no longer exists since the pandemic, so instead we have been inviting random festival goers, which has netted us a steadily growing slew of festival buddies from across Europe. This year was no different, with a few old friends and a few new ones taking up residence in our living room. With the fires of friendship thus stoked, we set off on our sixth voyage into the depths of the heavy underground.
Day 1 (Thursday, 18th of April)
2:34 PM — Got to Hexvessel’s set playing Polar Veil a little late, because one of our guests needed a bracelet still. Good doom, played well, but doesn’t blow me away. Room is crammed, but it’s the first show of the festival.
2:44 PM — Watched a few songs, then went to grab merch. Hoodies were already sold out in several colors.
3:11 PM — Sunrise Patriot Motion is like “what if Ashenspire swallowed a synthwave band” and I like it. It’s a strange contrast but it works.
4:03 PM — Wiegedood were doing a live soundtrack to a Japanese experimental silent film from 1926 and it was as odd as that sounds.
5:44 PM — Grabbed some food during a gap in the schedule and afterward watched a few songs of Sean Mulrooney’s set (from Tau and the Drones of Praise). Dark folk with sparse vocals doesn’t really work unless the vocals are good, and these weren’t.
5:47 PM — Now sitting outside the venue where UBOA is doing her thing and it sounds like two supercomputers on train tracks colliding head-on. Bit above my maximum noise-to-music ratio.
7:16 PM — Inter Arma is pretty dang massive. Sound in the venue isn’t great so the guitars aren’t getting their due but faces are caving in.
8:26 PM — WHITE WARD IS FUCKING AMAZING
8:35 PM — Their saxophone player is in the army so they had to make do with samples, but after 4 canceled appearances due to Covid and the war, it was worth the wait.
9:46 PM — Everyone and the family dog wants to see Chelsea Wolfe, so being 20 minutes early still meant nosebleed spots in the balcony. Wolfe fills the room anyway. I don’t always click with her albums that much, but man she is a force to behold on stage.
10:54 PM — Shows hadn’t left much time for food today, so a big fat doner wrap will have to do. A fellow with too little blood in his alcohol walked into the door and cracked his head on the tiles. Walked away 10 minutes later. Hope he survived.
11:37 PM — Goddamn, Backxwash is heavier with her hip-hop than most bands are playing metal. No one on stage but a black woman in a poofy dress laying down the law over raw industrial beats. Fucking awesome set.
Day 2 (Friday, 19th of April)
3:14 PM — Started off crammed into the room like sardines to hear Fluisteraars do an experimental set: the droniest of drone with birdsong on top. Handled about 10 minutes of that before bailing. Not my jam and way overcrowded.
3:39 PM — Mat McNerney (aka Kvohst of Hexvessel and others) doing a commissioned piece called Music For Gloaming: A Nocturne. Very gothic doom/black mixture, pretty cool set with loads of atmosphere.
6:33 PM — After a meal we went to check out Lucy Kruger + The Lost Boys in the Hall of Fame venue. Very nice weighty dream pop, not unlike Emma Ruth Rundle.
8:31 PM — Good thing we were there because Inter Arma was drafted for a second performance, a secret set of material from their classic albums. Also in the Hall of Fame, the smallest venue of the festival. Absolutely brainscramblingly colossal. Easily the heaviest thing on the festival so far.
9:52 PM — Another secret set, this one by Couch Slut in the skate park. Harsh music under the harsh glare of the tubes. Great performance and the venue brought out their punky DIY spirit, looking forward to seeing them again early tomorrow for their new album playthrough.
Day 3 (Saturday, 20th of April)
1:24 PM — Knoll for breakfast is kind of terrifying and overwhelming but also kind of awesome in a “my skull is now 2D” kind of way.
1:26 PM — Suddenly a wild trumpet appears!
2:25 PM — Couch Slut playing their new album. Raw as all fucking get out. Great show! Excellent live band both performances, visceral as fuck. The frontwoman confessed to only sleeping 90 minutes that night, and occasionally it showed, but by and large, she killed it.
2:50 PM — Oneiroporeia is a super young band and it shows, but their blackened prog-goth sound is solid and promising.
5:04 PM — Roadburn has a queue problem this year, especially today, and primarily at the Spoorzone venues. It’s always unclear when a venue opens and the queues have gotten gigantic. After wasting some time in a queue in an attempt to see Agriculture, we decided to settle in at the Main stage and wait for The Keening.
5:52 PM — The Keening is as beautiful and fragile as the titular Little Bird, but could use a few more dynamic stanzas to balance out the mid-weight atmodoomfolk a little. Still quite pretty though.
8:37 PM — Between rain and queues we settled on Ni in the Paradox jazz club. Super skronky instrumental jazzmathcore is healing my soul right now.
10:44 PM — Ni turned out one of the best things I’ve seen at the festival this year. Cult Leader’s acidic sludgy hardcore made a run for the podium, but their gothic-doom passages just aren’t as captivating. When these guys go full blast though, they’re absolutely vicious.
11:32 PM — In the spirit of trying new things, we ended the day with a few Frail Body tracks. Safe to say that screamo is not my new passion.
Day 4 (Sunday, 21st of April)
3:05 PM — We dragged our exhausted husks to the Terminal for the final day. Kicking off with Laster is a good start. The weird psych black band with ghoulish masks are pretty much studio-tight. It does feel a little clinical or impersonal as a live show but it’s a very solid performance.
4:47 PM — Today really is black metal day at the Terminal. No complaints from me! Verwoed tears down the place with their ritualistic and reasonably melodic take. Good sound and a spirited performance. The Dutch black metal scene proves to be thriving once more.
6:27 PM — After all the doom and gloom, a little black thrash that’s all riffs and no brakes is just the ticket, and Devil Master hits the spot. Doing the second half of the set sitting on the floor by the wall because my feet are withered stumps at this point.
6:31 PM — I’m also surprised by the amount of delighted surprised faces I get from bartenders when I show them my order on my phone screen. Is it really that uncommon? It’s so much simpler than shouting!
8:32 PM — Biological necessities (aka food) and a queue meant missing the first half of Fluisteraars’ full black metal set. This is a shame because fuck me this is one of the best performances of the whole festival. It’s apparently only the second time the band performs live and they put most of their peers to shame.
10:18 PM — Dödsrit led a 50-minute war band to raid and pillage the Terminal. Baller set, tons of energy and extremely fun! Sound was a bit off, as is tradition in this venue, but it didn’t spoil a good time. Thought this would be the last show for us, but in the interest of a last drink with a few friends we went to…
11:29 PM — …the main stage for Cloakroom. Not a terribly engaging band even by shoegaze standards, but a nice lullaby to sing the festival to sleep.
Between collaborations, commissioned pieces, secret sets, and integral album presentations, not to mention a lot of bands that would not fit in at many other festivals, Roadburn’s line-up is always unique. I’d never have found bands like Ni or Lucy Kruger without the concerted efforts of Walter Hoeijmakers and Becky Laverty to keep Roadburn one of the most forward-thinking festivals out there. I found some new favorites and checked out some bands I knew only by reputation. But best of all is experiencing it all with an ever-expanding gaggle of friends. We’ve rarely watched a show with just the two of us; nearly every time we had the company of friends, and come rain or queues, that is the best way to experience this festival.
#Agriculture #Ashenspire #Backxwash #ChelseaWolfe #Cloakroom #CouchSlut #CultLeader #DevilMaster #Dödsrit #EmmaRuthRundle #Fluisteraars #FrailBody #Hexvessel #InterArma #Knoll #Laster #LucyKrugerTheLostBoys #ni #Oneiroporeia #SunrisePatriotMotion #TauAndTheDronesOfPraise #TheKeening #UBOA #Verwoed #WhiteWard #Wiegedood
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It is still Mittwoch, so @Kitty's #MittwochMetalMix is still on:
Conjurer: It Dwells
https://song.link/9wrp8xq0gjtng
For connoisseurs, the Audiotree version is linked as well.
FFO #Bossk #CultLeader #Heriot
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Alleged #Kenyan #CultLeader Reminiscent of #JimJones Faces Horrific Charges
https://www.theroot.com/alleged-kenyan-cult-leader-reminiscent-of-jim-jones-fac-1851172693
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Stuck in the Filter – October’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
Frens, frenemies, poseurs, all. It’s been one helluva year, hasn’t it? Not only has the year of our Jørn 2023 played host to an unseemly number of metal releases, but an unusual quantity of those releases were good enough to earn their place in these hallowed Filters. Now, the end of the year looms, and we’ve got one more collection of filthy chunks to share.
I would like to thank all of the many contributors who have supplied material for this feature, helping it thrive these last couple of years. And of course, I’d like to extend my thanks to Steel Druhm and AMG Himself for entrusting me to manage this segment, and for further supporting and upgrading this feature so that it might gain an even greater presence for our readers in coming years. Without further ado, and in the spirit of Listurnalia, we welcome you to the final Stuck in the Filter piece of 2023. HUZZAH!
Kenstrosity’s Mildewed Masses
Akouphenom // Death·Chaos·Void [October 13th, 2023 – Avantgarde Music]
Spanish blackened death metal band Akouphenom sprung out of absolute nowhere for spongekind. Encountered during a biweekly listening session I attend with some Discord frens, debut record Death·Chaos·Void represents one twisted, barbed tome of scorched extreme metal. From the onset of opener proper “Devour,” I revel in the dark incantations of infernal horror which takes the form of vile riffs, phlegmy rasps, and rabid blasts. Reminiscent of Belphegor, Ars Magna Umbrae, and Veilburner, Death·Chaos·Void demands my soul as the price for engaging with its devilish charms, charms which allow its long-form constructs to fly by in the blink of an eye. You wouldn’t expect tracks like the twelve-minute “Upper Cycle of Infinite Tails” to shred time into ribbons, but its vicious and memorable songwriting enlivens each and every second such that it feels lithe and agile rather than bloated and clumsy (“Flesh Sublimation,” “Death·Chaos·Void”). An excellent production job further solidifies Death·Chaos·Void’s merit, especially considering this is Akouphenom’s first full length. With no weak songs to be had and very little to criticize, you may wonder why this record doesn’t earn a full Things You Might Have Missed article from yours truly. The answer? Neglect. I simply didn’t listen to this album in full until very recently. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Get in on this before the year’s out!
Eye of Horus // Noxium [October 14th, 2023 – Self Release]
Like it or not, The Black Dahlia Murder’s influence on the metalsphere cannot be denied. Imitators everywhere crib their material and try to grasp the glory that the legendary melodic death metal band secured for themselves over their storied career. While none of the bands strongly inspired by TBDM share the same success, many still put out worthy material. One such band is Eye of Horus, an unheralded Canadian melodic death metal quintet whose sophomore record Noxium represents one of the better slabs of TBDM worship I’ve heard. At a tight thirty-six minutes, Noxium brims with top-of-the-line hooks and compelling songwriting. Opener “Modern Meat Grinder” is proof positive of that end, with its infectious gang shout chorus of “FEED YOUR NEIGHBOR TO THE MEAT GRINDER!!!” Couple that with excellent riffcraft, meaty roars, and acrobatic drumming, and you’ve got yourself a top-notch start to a criminally fun record. To my great joy, many subsequent cuts live up to the initial quality established early on. “Patriarch,” “Hellbound,” “Phantom Sepulchre,” “Gripped by the Grave,” and closer “Beyond the Mortal Veil” all offer plenty of metallic goodness and exciting songwriting to push it above the pack. While they still lack a unique identity, Eye of Horus show ample potential to grow into their own voice down the line. Keep your eye on them!
Crystal Coffin // The Curse of Immortality [October 31st, 2023 – Self Release]
Doom_et_Al should’ve covered this record months ago. He knew it was coming. I am convinced of it. Don’t believe his denials! Thankfully, I am here to pick up the ball. Hailing from Vancouver, Crystal Coffin dropped their third LP The Curse of Immortality back on Halloween. While I agree with Doom‘s assessment of predecessor The Starway Eternal, something about Crystal Coffin’s latest effort feels elevated, refined, and matured. Lushly layered melodies, groovy drumming, and invigorated songwriting characterize The Curse of Immortality in a way we’ve not heard from this group before. Coupled with their already well-established knack for interesting storytelling and novel subject matter, the pieces come together to create an album greater than the sum of its parts. Opener “Shadows Never Cast” offers a great encapsulation of what to expect, replete with ripping tremolos, infectious energy, and fun electronic effects. Black-n-roll bangers like “The Undead,” “The Vortex of Earth and Death,” “Final Breaths,” and “Leviathans Encased” showcase Crystal Coffin’s versatility in fine fashion too. Juggling swaggering riffs with delicate piano, crooning cleans, and whimsical synthwork, these songs evoke an eerie, sci-fi atmosphere that deviates from the popular application of such aesthetics in black metal. In short, if you’re looking for quality black metal of a niche mold, give Crystal Coffin’s The Curse of Immortality a go.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Nonpareil Nuggets
Comaniac // All for None [October 13th, 2023 – Metalworld]
With a name oddly ripped from a classic Artillery song, banger titles like “Desolation Manifest” and “Breakdown Rite,” and an atemporal, battle-ready cover All for None screams with the rustic abandon of rowdy, shreddy thrash. Comaniac hail from the mountainous scape of Switzerland, a land that once hosted the neoclassically inclined, rapid-fire riffage of the legendary Coroner. Following in similar footsteps, ripping trash break after ripping thrash break litters this sweeping outing. And much like their countrymen in Stortregn, or a whimsical, aged act like Forbidden, guitarists Jonas Schmid and Valentin Mössinger—the latter of whom also provides a spacious and sparkling mix/master job—kill the electrics to up the drama with serenading nylon passages (“Eye to Eye,” “Life Long Doll,” “Self Sacrifice”). But this dash of progressive attitude doesn’t get in the way too often, though it can push Schmid’s already unadvisable, rabid bark into an accented croon that’s not particularly polished (“Life Long Doll,” “Self Sacrifice”). The strength of the shred-forward, throat-abusing cuts land powerfully enough make up the difference though (“Desolation Manifest,” “Breakdown Rite,” “Between the Stars”), with plenty of rapid tempo shifts and pull-off runs to dizzy an already spinning crowd. A techy thrash band this exciting hasn’t come around for me in a long time, and if I were a smarter man I’d probably have caught them sooner then this—All for None is their fourth album after all. But I don’t being late to the party when ass-kickin’ thrash is on the menu.
Novere // Nothing Stays Hidden in Daylight [October 1st, 2023 – Trepanation Recordings]
Founded by Dawnwalker guitarist Matteo Bianciotto, Thai-born now UK-based vocalist/bassist Top Tarasin,1, and a couple of other friends from the UK scene, Novere has been stewing their cinematic, heavy-hitting post-metal sound for a few years leading to this stunning full-length debut. Pulling from the hazy domain of alt-legends Tool and the ritualistic roar-to-altar of Amenra, Novere fills a wide scope with delicately recorded clean passages only to tear them away layer by layer with full volume crashes (“Hydra,” “Aphelion”). “Danse Macabre” may land as the most challenging of the bunch for those who crave the harsh release those first two numbers promise, its beautiful and folky expression leaning firmly in a glistening, textural post-rock world, dreamy croons included. But at four tracks, thirty-five minutes, and the haunting, ISIS-imbued speaker-rattling close of “Cromlech,” Nothing Stays Hidden in Daylight escapes the trapping trope of “never-ending whoosh” that the genre of post-metal so often harbors. With lush production handled by none other than postmaster himself Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), each careful listen of delicate string touches, wobbling bass lurches, splashing cymbal arrays, resonates more deeply than the last—truly ear candy. Once you’ve fallen prey to this as many times as I have in my short time with it, you’ll be hoping too for a quick turn around on a follow-up.
Dear Hollow’s Gutter Garbage
The Voynich Code // Insomnia [October 13th, 2023 – Unique Leader Records]
Look, deathcore can be cool again, although I’m not sure if it ever was. Aspiring deathcore shenaniganizers just need to play like Portugal’s The Voynich Code. Sounding like a deft combination of Born of Osiris and Shadow of Intent, with just hints of old Veil of Maya and Lorna Shore, there’s a lot going on with the four-piece’s second full-length. Following the milquetoast Aqua Vitae in 2017, I was resigned that perhaps The Voynich Code had better short-form pieces, as their debut 2015 EP Ignotum offered potential galore while 2021’s Post Mortem offered a punchy batch of solid tunes with tasteful brevity. Offering an absolute mammoth deathcore sound with hints of blackened and djent flavors, they more than make up for their poor stylistic choices with a penchant for shredding and tasteful technicality. “Homecoming,” “A Dying Age,” and “Hell’s Black Heart” offer blades of shredding riffs and wildly technical leads, while the blackened symphonic Dimmu Borgir flavors of “Insomnia” and “A Flicker of Life” offer a gravity of dread that adds an unmistakably horror-based experience. Ultimately, does The Voynich Code do anything earthshaking? No. The vocalist could stand to expand his range, the songs start to bleed together by a certain point, and there is a lot going on. But there’s also shredding technicality, dizzying intensity, full-throttle brutality, and a whole lotta fun to get your head bobbing.
End // The Sin of Human Frailty [October 27th, 2023 – Closed Casket Activities]
Excuse me while I add another soundtrack for my sellout. For the uninitiated, End is a supergroup from New Jersey, featuring heavy hitter veterans from household bands like Counterparts, Fit for an Autopsy, Shai Hulud, and The Acacia Strain. While the tag “metalcore” is present here, you’ll find more Full of Hell or Cult Leader in this caustic concoction rather than any of the August Burns Reds of the world. Brendan Murphy has never sounded so commanding, while the buzzsaw Nails-esque riffs of Will Putney and Gregory Thomas gash with furious intensity, undergirded by the abusive rhythm section of Jay Pepito and Matt Guglielmo. Bordering on powerviolence and grind at sporadic intervals in tracks like “Gaping Wounds of Earth” and “Twice Devoured Kill” (featuring Pig Destroyer’s J.R. Hayes) End features an expertly honed balance between bludgeoning weight and skronky technicality. While “Thaw” is a strangely EDM, industrial, and experimental inclusion (also featuring the croons of Heriot’s Debbie Gough), The Sin of Human Frailty sees End laying it on with a grind intensity, deathcore weight, and hardcore attitude – a punch in the face you’ll come back for again and again.
#2023 #Akouphenom #AllForNone #Amenra #AmericanMetal #ArsMagnaUmbrae #Artillery #AugustBurnsRed #AvantgardeMusic #Belphegor #BlackMetal #BlackNRoll #BlackenedDeathMetal #BornOfOsiris #CanadianMetal #ClosedCasketActivities #Comaniac #Coroner #Counterparts #CrystalCoffin #CultLeader #CultOfLuna #Dawnwalker #DeathMetal #DeathChaosVoid #Deathcore #DimmuBorgir #End #EyeOfHorus #FitForAnAutopsy #Forbidden #FullOfHell #Grind #Hardcore #Insomnia #Isis #LornaShore #MelodicBlackMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #Metalcore #Metalworld #Nails #NothingStaysHiddenInDaylight #Novere #Noxium #Oct23 #PigDestroyer #PortugueseMetal #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #ShadowOfIntent #ShaiHulud #Sludge #Stortregn #StuckInTheFilter #SwissMetal #SymphonicMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheAcaciaStrain #TheBlackDahliaMurder #TheCurseOfImmortality #TheSinOfHumanFrailty #TheVoynichCode #ThrashMetal #Tool #TrepanationRecordings #UKMetal #UniqueLeaderRecords #VeilOfMaya #Veilburner
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Stuck in the Filter – October’s Angry Misses
By Kenstrosity
Frens, frenemies, poseurs, all. It’s been one helluva year, hasn’t it? Not only has the year of our Jørn 2023 played host to an unseemly number of metal releases, but an unusual quantity of those releases were good enough to earn their place in these hallowed Filters. Now, the end of the year looms, and we’ve got one more collection of filthy chunks to share.
I would like to thank all of the many contributors who have supplied material for this feature, helping it thrive these last couple of years. And of course, I’d like to extend my thanks to Steel Druhm and AMG Himself for entrusting me to manage this segment, and for further supporting and upgrading this feature so that it might gain an even greater presence for our readers in coming years. Without further ado, and in the spirit of Listurnalia, we welcome you to the final Stuck in the Filter piece of 2023. HUZZAH!
Kenstrosity’s Mildewed Masses
Akouphenom // Death·Chaos·Void [October 13th, 2023 – Avantgarde Music]
Spanish blackened death metal band Akouphenom sprung out of absolute nowhere for spongekind. Encountered during a biweekly listening session I attend with some Discord frens, debut record Death·Chaos·Void represents one twisted, barbed tome of scorched extreme metal. From the onset of opener proper “Devour,” I revel in the dark incantations of infernal horror which takes the form of vile riffs, phlegmy rasps, and rabid blasts. Reminiscent of Belphegor, Ars Magna Umbrae, and Veilburner, Death·Chaos·Void demands my soul as the price for engaging with its devilish charms, charms which allow its long-form constructs to fly by in the blink of an eye. You wouldn’t expect tracks like the twelve-minute “Upper Cycle of Infinite Tails” to shred time into ribbons, but its vicious and memorable songwriting enlivens each and every second such that it feels lithe and agile rather than bloated and clumsy (“Flesh Sublimation,” “Death·Chaos·Void”). An excellent production job further solidifies Death·Chaos·Void’s merit, especially considering this is Akouphenom’s first full length. With no weak songs to be had and very little to criticize, you may wonder why this record doesn’t earn a full Things You Might Have Missed article from yours truly. The answer? Neglect. I simply didn’t listen to this album in full until very recently. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Get in on this before the year’s out!
Eye of Horus // Noxium [October 14th, 2023 – Self Release]
Like it or not, The Black Dahlia Murder’s influence on the metalsphere cannot be denied. Imitators everywhere crib their material and try to grasp the glory that the legendary melodic death metal band secured for themselves over their storied career. While none of the bands strongly inspired by TBDM share the same success, many still put out worthy material. One such band is Eye of Horus, an unheralded Canadian melodic death metal quintet whose sophomore record Noxium represents one of the better slabs of TBDM worship I’ve heard. At a tight thirty-six minutes, Noxium brims with top-of-the-line hooks and compelling songwriting. Opener “Modern Meat Grinder” is proof positive of that end, with its infectious gang shout chorus of “FEED YOUR NEIGHBOR TO THE MEAT GRINDER!!!” Couple that with excellent riffcraft, meaty roars, and acrobatic drumming, and you’ve got yourself a top-notch start to a criminally fun record. To my great joy, many subsequent cuts live up to the initial quality established early on. “Patriarch,” “Hellbound,” “Phantom Sepulchre,” “Gripped by the Grave,” and closer “Beyond the Mortal Veil” all offer plenty of metallic goodness and exciting songwriting to push it above the pack. While they still lack a unique identity, Eye of Horus show ample potential to grow into their own voice down the line. Keep your eye on them!
Crystal Coffin // The Curse of Immortality [October 31st, 2023 – Self Release]
Doom_et_Al should’ve covered this record months ago. He knew it was coming. I am convinced of it. Don’t believe his denials! Thankfully, I am here to pick up the ball. Hailing from Vancouver, Crystal Coffin dropped their third LP The Curse of Immortality back on Halloween. While I agree with Doom‘s assessment of predecessor The Starway Eternal, something about Crystal Coffin’s latest effort feels elevated, refined, and matured. Lushly layered melodies, groovy drumming, and invigorated songwriting characterize The Curse of Immortality in a way we’ve not heard from this group before. Coupled with their already well-established knack for interesting storytelling and novel subject matter, the pieces come together to create an album greater than the sum of its parts. Opener “Shadows Never Cast” offers a great encapsulation of what to expect, replete with ripping tremolos, infectious energy, and fun electronic effects. Black-n-roll bangers like “The Undead,” “The Vortex of Earth and Death,” “Final Breaths,” and “Leviathans Encased” showcase Crystal Coffin’s versatility in fine fashion too. Juggling swaggering riffs with delicate piano, crooning cleans, and whimsical synthwork, these songs evoke an eerie, sci-fi atmosphere that deviates from the popular application of such aesthetics in black metal. In short, if you’re looking for quality black metal of a niche mold, give Crystal Coffin’s The Curse of Immortality a go.
Dolphin Whisperer’s Nonpareil Nuggets
Comaniac // All for None [October 13th, 2023 – Metalworld]
With a name oddly ripped from a classic Artillery song, banger titles like “Desolation Manifest” and “Breakdown Rite,” and an atemporal, battle-ready cover All for None screams with the rustic abandon of rowdy, shreddy thrash. Comaniac hail from the mountainous scape of Switzerland, a land that once hosted the neoclassically inclined, rapid-fire riffage of the legendary Coroner. Following in similar footsteps, ripping trash break after ripping thrash break litters this sweeping outing. And much like their countrymen in Stortregn, or a whimsical, aged act like Forbidden, guitarists Jonas Schmid and Valentin Mössinger—the latter of whom also provides a spacious and sparkling mix/master job—kill the electrics to up the drama with serenading nylon passages (“Eye to Eye,” “Life Long Doll,” “Self Sacrifice”). But this dash of progressive attitude doesn’t get in the way too often, though it can push Schmid’s already unadvisable, rabid bark into an accented croon that’s not particularly polished (“Life Long Doll,” “Self Sacrifice”). The strength of the shred-forward, throat-abusing cuts land powerfully enough make up the difference though (“Desolation Manifest,” “Breakdown Rite,” “Between the Stars”), with plenty of rapid tempo shifts and pull-off runs to dizzy an already spinning crowd. A techy thrash band this exciting hasn’t come around for me in a long time, and if I were a smarter man I’d probably have caught them sooner then this—All for None is their fourth album after all. But I don’t being late to the party when ass-kickin’ thrash is on the menu.
Novere // Nothing Stays Hidden in Daylight [October 1st, 2023 – Trepanation Recordings]
Founded by Dawnwalker guitarist Matteo Bianciotto, Thai-born now UK-based vocalist/bassist Top Tarasin,1, and a couple of other friends from the UK scene, Novere has been stewing their cinematic, heavy-hitting post-metal sound for a few years leading to this stunning full-length debut. Pulling from the hazy domain of alt-legends Tool and the ritualistic roar-to-altar of Amenra, Novere fills a wide scope with delicately recorded clean passages only to tear them away layer by layer with full volume crashes (“Hydra,” “Aphelion”). “Danse Macabre” may land as the most challenging of the bunch for those who crave the harsh release those first two numbers promise, its beautiful and folky expression leaning firmly in a glistening, textural post-rock world, dreamy croons included. But at four tracks, thirty-five minutes, and the haunting, ISIS-imbued speaker-rattling close of “Cromlech,” Nothing Stays Hidden in Daylight escapes the trapping trope of “never-ending whoosh” that the genre of post-metal so often harbors. With lush production handled by none other than postmaster himself Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna), each careful listen of delicate string touches, wobbling bass lurches, splashing cymbal arrays, resonates more deeply than the last—truly ear candy. Once you’ve fallen prey to this as many times as I have in my short time with it, you’ll be hoping too for a quick turn around on a follow-up.
Dear Hollow’s Gutter Garbage
The Voynich Code // Insomnia [October 13th, 2023 – Unique Leader Records]
Look, deathcore can be cool again, although I’m not sure if it ever was. Aspiring deathcore shenaniganizers just need to play like Portugal’s The Voynich Code. Sounding like a deft combination of Born of Osiris and Shadow of Intent, with just hints of old Veil of Maya and Lorna Shore, there’s a lot going on with the four-piece’s second full-length. Following the milquetoast Aqua Vitae in 2017, I was resigned that perhaps The Voynich Code had better short-form pieces, as their debut 2015 EP Ignotum offered potential galore while 2021’s Post Mortem offered a punchy batch of solid tunes with tasteful brevity. Offering an absolute mammoth deathcore sound with hints of blackened and djent flavors, they more than make up for their poor stylistic choices with a penchant for shredding and tasteful technicality. “Homecoming,” “A Dying Age,” and “Hell’s Black Heart” offer blades of shredding riffs and wildly technical leads, while the blackened symphonic Dimmu Borgir flavors of “Insomnia” and “A Flicker of Life” offer a gravity of dread that adds an unmistakably horror-based experience. Ultimately, does The Voynich Code do anything earthshaking? No. The vocalist could stand to expand his range, the songs start to bleed together by a certain point, and there is a lot going on. But there’s also shredding technicality, dizzying intensity, full-throttle brutality, and a whole lotta fun to get your head bobbing.
End // The Sin of Human Frailty [October 27th, 2023 – Closed Casket Activities]
Excuse me while I add another soundtrack for my sellout. For the uninitiated, End is a supergroup from New Jersey, featuring heavy hitter veterans from household bands like Counterparts, Fit for an Autopsy, Shai Hulud, and The Acacia Strain. While the tag “metalcore” is present here, you’ll find more Full of Hell or Cult Leader in this caustic concoction rather than any of the August Burns Reds of the world. Brendan Murphy has never sounded so commanding, while the buzzsaw Nails-esque riffs of Will Putney and Gregory Thomas gash with furious intensity, undergirded by the abusive rhythm section of Jay Pepito and Matt Guglielmo. Bordering on powerviolence and grind at sporadic intervals in tracks like “Gaping Wounds of Earth” and “Twice Devoured Kill” (featuring Pig Destroyer’s J.R. Hayes) End features an expertly honed balance between bludgeoning weight and skronky technicality. While “Thaw” is a strangely EDM, industrial, and experimental inclusion (also featuring the croons of Heriot’s Debbie Gough), The Sin of Human Frailty sees End laying it on with a grind intensity, deathcore weight, and hardcore attitude – a punch in the face you’ll come back for again and again.
#2023 #Akouphenom #AllForNone #Amenra #AmericanMetal #ArsMagnaUmbrae #Artillery #AugustBurnsRed #AvantgardeMusic #Belphegor #BlackMetal #BlackNRoll #BlackenedDeathMetal #BornOfOsiris #CanadianMetal #ClosedCasketActivities #Comaniac #Coroner #Counterparts #CrystalCoffin #CultLeader #CultOfLuna #Dawnwalker #DeathMetal #DeathChaosVoid #Deathcore #DimmuBorgir #End #EyeOfHorus #FitForAnAutopsy #Forbidden #FullOfHell #Grind #Hardcore #Insomnia #Isis #LornaShore #MelodicBlackMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #Metalcore #Metalworld #Nails #NothingStaysHiddenInDaylight #Novere #Noxium #Oct23 #PigDestroyer #PortugueseMetal #PostMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SelfReleased #ShadowOfIntent #ShaiHulud #Sludge #Stortregn #StuckInTheFilter #SwissMetal #SymphonicMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheAcaciaStrain #TheBlackDahliaMurder #TheCurseOfImmortality #TheSinOfHumanFrailty #TheVoynichCode #ThrashMetal #Tool #TrepanationRecordings #UKMetal #UniqueLeaderRecords #VeilOfMaya #Veilburner
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What an excellent piece on #attachment specifically the #DisorganizedAttachment that arises out of being raised in a #cult bc of the push/pull of #love & #fear where the attachment is to the #ideology or #group or #CultLeader rather than the #secure base of the #GoodEnoughParent
http://www.alexandrastein.com/uploads/2/8/0/1/28010027/cults_final_ttsep16.pdf
