Black Metal
Mining Metal: Critical Extravasation, Cryptae, Dream Unending, Elder, Fell Ruin, Feminizer, Spider God, and Tchornobog, and Abyssal
Mining Metal is a monthly column from Heavy Consequence contributing writers Langdon Hickman and Colin Dempsey. The focus is on noteworthy new music emerging from the non-mainstream metal scene, highlighting releases from small and independent labels — or even releases from unsigned acts. Peter Griffin once asked, “Where are those good old-fashioned values on which we used to rely?” While he was talking about entertainment at large when he posed that question, stroking his inappropriately-shaped chin, it’s debatable if he’d ask heavy metal, the genre that holds onto its good old-fashioned values with a Mankind-Mandible-Claw-like grip, that same query. This is to say that metal is laden with refinement more than drastic innovation. Now, this is actually good in that metal has arguably ...
Mining Metal: Abduction, Daeva, Faceless Burial, Forlesen, God Alone, MAL, The Otolith, and SUMAC/Keiji Haino
Every month, I could write to you all about how the selection process for this column is hard. When you first sit down to do something like this, there’s a hunger to write about all the bands that really get your engines going, to finally get to make people outside of your circle hear the things you’ve rehearsed in your head to pitch all this music you love to others. But as the months (and now years) creep on, you start finding that, well, those bands keep putting out music and a lot of it has stayed pretty good, but now new bands have joined the pack, and oh that’s a new label, and I’ve never even heard of this scene before, and wow these classic bands came back and put out a really special release, and… So sometimes the choices are less based on pure quality as other paradigms. One of t...
Immortal Announce New Album War Against All, Unveil Artwork and Tracklist
Norwegian black metal pioneers Immortal have announced their 10th studio album, War Against All. The new album is expected to arrive sometime in 2023 via Nuclear Blast, and will be the second Immortal album fronted by founding guitarist Demonaz, who took over vocals following the departure of Abbath in 2015. “Immortal continues the style that was established and defined on our very first records,” stated Demonaz in a press release. “It’s fast, furious, epic, and mighty Blashyrkh metal — the one and only way!” Related Video Regarding the artistic process of creating War Against All, Demonaz said that he still writes riffs and composes the same way he has since the early days of Immortal. Fans can expect the band to stick to its tried-and-true style of harsh black metal on the forthcoming LP...
Liturgy Announce New Double Album 93696, Release Title Track and Mini-LP: Stream
Liturgy have announced a new double album and shared the title track “93696.” The band also released a new stand-alone mini-LP, As the Blood of God Bursts the Veins of Time, that is available to stream now. Clocking in at 15 minutes, “93696” is another ambitious sonic leap for Liturgy. The genre-defying epic is structured into three movements that are crammed with musical flourishes. At any one point, you might hear tremelo-picked black metal riffs, a Melvins-y breakdown, or mind-boggling mathematical prog. The howls of guitarist/vocalist Ravenna Hunt-Hendrix (formerly Hunter Hunt-Hendrix) peek in and out of the fray. Hunt-Hendrix has been at the center of Liturgy since its inception, often joined by a revolving-door lineup of musicians who can achieve her complex musical vision. Here, the...
Katatonia Announce Fall 2022 North American Tour
Katatonia have announced a fall 2022 North American tour with support from The Ocean Collective and Cellar Darling. The outing is Katatonia’s first on North American shores since 2017. Dates kick off November 9th in Washington, D.C., and run through December 10th in Tampa, Florida. Ticket pre-sales for select dates go live Wednesday (August 24th) at 11 a.m. local time. General on sale begins Friday at 11 a.m. ET. You can pick up tickets via Ticketmaster. Advertisement Related Video ”North America! We are very pleased to announce that we are coming back to your shores for a full headline tour,” commented Katatonia frontman Jonas Renske via a press release. “Support will come from our talented friends in The Ocean Collective and Cellar Darling. We haven’t toured North America since 2017, so ...
R.I.P. Stuart Anstis, Former Cradle of Filth Guitarist Dead at 48
Former Cradle of Filth guitarist Stuart Anstis has died at the age of 48. Anstis joined the UK extreme metal band in 1995 and contributed to some its most significant albums and EPs: 1996’s Dusk… and Her Embrace; 1996’s V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein EP; 1998’s Cruelty and the Beast; and 1999’s From the Cradle to Enslave EP. Anstis would exit Cradle of Filth in 1999 due to artistic differences and go on to form his own project, Bastardsun. The news of Anstis’ passing came via his wife, Antoinette, via a Facebook post: “Stuart Anstis 2/5/1974 – 21/8/2022. Rest in Peace, you were too beautiful for this world me Lover. Nothing will ever be the same again. Love Always and ever your Antoinette. Until we meet again…” Related Video Cradle of Filth mastermind Dani Filth also posted a t...
Goatwhore Announce New Album, Unleash Blackened Thrash Ripper “Born of Satan’s Flesh”: Stream
Goatwhore are returning with a new album, Angels Hung from Arches of Heaven, on October 7th via Metal Blade Records. Upon the LP’s announcement, the New Orleans band offered up the video for lead single “Born of Satan’s Flesh.” A vicious brew of blackened thrash and death metal is Goatwhore’s M.O., and “Born of Satan’s Flesh” hits that multi-genre intersection at blinding speeds. Guitarist Sammy Duet rains down precision riffs while frontman Louis Ben Falgoust II spouts blasphemies through his bellowing snarl. The accompanying performance clip offers a glimpse at what it would be like to witness the brutality live. The band again tapped producer Jarrett Pritchard (Exhumed, 1349) and tracked the new album primarily at Studio in the Country in Bogalusa, Louisiana under pandemic restrictions....
Devil Master Announce Summer 2022 North American Tour
Devil Master will embark on the Summer 2022 “Hungry Jaws of Hell” North American tour in support of their recently released new album, Ecstasies of Never Ending Night. The Philadelphia outfit, which combines black metal with punk sensibilities, will hit the road starting July 8th with an appearance at Necro Fest in Brooklyn, New York. The itinerary runs through a July 23rd show in Washington, D.C. and is highlighted by a trio of Midwest shows with Hulder in the middle of the outing. Tickets for Devil Master’s upcoming shows are available via Ticketmaster. In addition to their own headlining shows, Devil Master will then take on a major support role for My Chemical Romance on three bills: Philadelphia (August 29th), Houston (September 27th), and Dallas (September 28th). Advertisement Relate...
Trivium’s Matt Heafy Shares New Ibaraki Song “Rōnin” Featuring My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way: Stream
Trivium frontman Matthew Kiichi Heafy has unveiled the new song “Rōnin” from his solo black metal project Ibaraki, and it features guest vocals from My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way. It’s the third single from Ibaraki’s debut album Rashomon, arriving May 6th. Produced by Ihsahn, the album and song see Heafy melding a black metal sound with the melodic sensibilities of his past metal output. “Rōnin” exemplifies the double-edged blade of melody and harshness that has defined the Ibaraki singles so far. Interestingly, it’s Heafy providing the clean vocals, while Way delivers the screams. Advertisement Related Video “‘A rōnin is a masterless warrior,” said Heafy via a press release. “The final two full compositions on Rashōmon see a significant shift musically. The album as a whole — with...
Devil Master Announce New Album, Unveil Video for “Acid Black Mass”: Stream
Devil Master have announced their eagerly anticipated sophomore album, Ecstasies of Never Ending Night. Ahead of the April 29th release date, the Philadelphia-based band has shared the video for lead single “Acid Black Mass.” The new album sees Devil Master exploring a more mystical and darkly numinous path in lieu of the self-described “childish Satanism” of their debut album. This is best exemplified in the album art for Ecstasies, which depicts an enchanting fantasy-scape. That doesn’t mean the band has dropped its core black metal and punk rock influences. Devil Master once again tap into the infernal majesty of Celtic Frost and raw street punk of GISM on “Acid Black Mass,” though the overall arrangement and playing is tighter and more atmospheric. A DIY camcorder-shot video of the ban...
Watain Drop Off Co-Headlining North American Tour with Mayhem Due to Visa Issues
Mayhem and Watain’s North American co-headlining tour was set to be one of the year’s strongest exhibitions of infernal black metal. Unfortunately, Watain won’t be making the trip due to visa issues. Watain are known for their occult, ritualistic live shows, which are thus treated with a near-religious reverence by their dedicated fanbase. The Swedish band only make it stateside ever so often, and to make matters worse, the tour was meant to support a new album, The Agony & Ecstasy of Watain, out April 29th. File this one under agony. The band shared a lengthy statement explaining the situation via Facebook: “We regret to inform you all that, due to reasons entirely beyond our control, we’re forced to cancel our participation in the upcoming US Tour with Mayhem and Midnight, for which ...
Trivium’s Matt Heafy Announces Debut Ibaraki Album, Shares “Akumu” Featuring Nergal: Stream
Trivium frontman Matthew Kiichi Heafy has announced Rashomon, the debut album from his black metal solo project Ibaraki. The Ihsahn-produced LP arrives May 6th via Nuclear Blast. Ahead of the release date, Heafy shared the second single from the project, “Akumu,” which features guest vocals by Behemoth’s Nergal. It was co-written by Heafy and Ihsahn, with Nergal translating the lyrics into his native Polish. “‘Akumu’ translates to ‘nightmare’ — and with this piece, I encourage the listener to work to find their interpretations of what they feel from the lyrics, music, and the haunting visuals of the music video,” Heafy remarked in a press release. “I have always been fascinated by Sagazan’s ‘Transfiguration,’ and for years, I have wanted to pay homage to his works with a performance art pi...
