Black Metal
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...
Trivium’s Matt Heafy Debuts Black Metal Project Ibaraki with First Single “Tamashii No Houkai” Feat. Ihsahn: Stream
Trivium frontman Matthew Kiichi Heafy has unveiled his new black-metal solo project Ibaraki, sharing the video for debut single “Tamashii No Houkai” featuring Ihsahn. Ibaraki — the name for a Japanese demon taken from feudal legend — celebrates Heafy’s Japanese heritage and appreciation for the music of Ihsahn. It was the Emperor founder that inspired Heafy to embark on the path of black metal, acting as a friend and mentor. The mutual appreciation between the two artists led to collaboration, with Ihsahn producing the Ibaraki material. “Tamashii No Houkai” is only the first of numerous songs “assembled over months and years,” and Ihsahn himself appears on the song. Advertisement Related Video The track opens with a gust of Nordic black metal. Incorporating harsh and clean vocals, Heafy so...
Midnight Announce New Album Let There Be Witchery, Share “Szex Witchery”: Stream
Midnight, the one-man metal project of multi-instrumentalist Athenar, has announced a new album, Let There Be Witchery. Lead single “Szex Witchery” is available now ahead of the LP’s March 4th release date. Under the Midnight moniker, Athenar has proliferated a brand of blackened heavy metal where sodomy and blasphemy reign. For the uninitiated, the new song “Szex Witchery” is a perfect introduction to the Midnight’s Motörhead-playing-black-metal assault. This is “music to start fights to,” as record label Metal Blade so gently puts it. “I always want it to be loud and nasty,” Athenar said via the label’s press release. “That kinda thing never gets old with me. How funny will that look to see me at age 77 — if I reach that point — sitting on the porch blasting Hellhammer?” Advertisement Re...
Behemoth and Arch Enemy Announce Co-Headlining 2022 North American Tour
Behemoth and Arch Enemy are joining forces for the co-headlining “North American Siege” tour this spring. Napalm Death and Unto Others (formerly known as Idle Hands) will support the outing, making for a stacked bill of extreme metal. The tour spans 19 shows and kicks off on April 16th in Tempe, Arizona, running through a May 15th date in Los Angeles. Tickets go sale Friday (January 21st) at 10 a.m. local time and can be purchased via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning tomorrow (January 20th). “To say that we are dying to return on the road would be an understatement!” remarked Behemoth frontman Nergal. “In fact, we’ve never been more hungry to reunite with our legions… not only to bring young of the hottest extreme metal touring lineups in a long time but also to bring you new Behemot...
Mayhem and Watain Announce 2022 North American Tour
Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem and Swedish black metal veterans Watain are teaming up for a co-headlining 2022 North American tour. Blackened speed metal band Midnight will serve as support. The tour, dubbed “The Sanguine Sodomy of North America,” kicks off March 7th in San Francisco and runs through an April 3rd show in Joliet, Illinois. Tickets go on sale this Friday (November 19th) via Ticketmaster, with pre-sales beginning Thursday. In a press release, the two headliners stated, “Mayhem and Watain are delighted to announce that what is to become known in history as the sanguine sodomy of North America is set to take place in the spring of 2022, with both our bands at the helm and with the infamous Midnight joining us as special guests. Advertisement They added, “We hereby in...
Myrkur Shares Spellbinding Demo for New Song “Rivers Blessed”: Stream
Myrkur has shared the demo for her new song “Rivers Blessed,” a song written about her “journey into motherhood.” Following a similarly stripped down traditional folk template as 2020’s Folkesange, “Rivers Blessed” features only harp and the voice of Myrkur, aka Amalie Bruun. “‘Rivers Blessed’ is written about my journey into motherhood, a path that by no means was easy but it changed my life and how I view the world forever,” she said via a press release. “I wanted the song to have a strong feeling of winter, and therefor the harp is the only instrument, because its sound reminds me of falling snowflakes.” Advertisement Related Video The combination of Bruun’s voice and the harp is captivating, as the singer further explores her Scandinavian musical roots. The chorus, for example, was cul...
Metal Musician Andrea Meyer Among Five People Killed by Bow-and-Arrow Attack in Norway
Andrea Meyer — a German metal musician, actress, and screenwriter — was one of five people killed in a bow-and-arrow attack in Norway on October 13th. According to the Associated Press, the horrific incident happened at a supermarket in Kongsberg, Norway. Police apprehended the suspect, 37-year-old Espen Andersen Braathen, and authorities believe the attack to be “an act of terrorism.” Meyer recorded pagan music under the names Nebelhexë, Hagalaz’ Runedance, and Andrea Nebel. She also contributed guest vocals to Cradle of Filth’s 1994 debut, The Principle of Evil Made Flesh, and a spoken-word part to Satyricon’s 1996 album, Nemesis Divina. Advertisement Related Video The 52-year-old multimedia artist leaves behind a daughter, Alva, whom she shared with ex-husband Tomas “Samoth” Haugen, lon...
Portrayal of Guilt Unveil Eerie Music Video for New Song “…Where the Suffering Never Ends”: Stream
Portrayal of Guilt have unleashed the new song “…Where the Suffering Never Ends” from the Austin band’s upcoming full-length, Christf**ker, out November 5th. The single is accompanied by an eerie cinematic music video. Once again, Portrayal of Guilt conjure a sense of catharsis and foreboding with a heavy onslaught that melds various styles: death metal, noise, screamo, and post-hardcore. The trio continue to prove they can exist outside of these labels while appealing to the dedicated fans of such hyper-specific subgenres. Director Craig Murray brought the song’s grim implications to life with a horrific Blair Witch-style clip. Trimmed down from an initial 15-20 minute edit, the video functions as a short film, building up a towering sense of unease and suspense before its bloody climax. ...
Mayhem Unveil New Song “Voces Ab Alta”: Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-06-03T13:59:44+00:00“>June 3, 2021 | 9:59am ET Norwegian black metal legends Mayhem have shared a new single called “Voces Ab Alta”. It’s one of three original songs from the band’s seven-track Atavistic Black Disorder / Kommando EP, out July 9th. “Voces Ab Alta” hails from the recordings sessions for 2019’s masterful Daemon album, but has gone unreleased until now. A theatrical, suffocating ripper in line with the songs from that LP, the track is sure to rally the black metal hordes. The desolation conjured by the band is also portrayed in the accompanying animated visualizer, created by artist Costin Chioreanu (Ghost, Opeth). The two other originals on the upcoming EP (“Black Glas...
Corpse Paint Facial Masks Are the Latest Thing for Skincare
Want to look evil and take care of your skin at the same time? Soon you can, thanks to a new line of corpse paint skincare masks inspired by your favorite black-metal bands. Yes, corpse paint facial masks are now a thing — or soon will be once Kaamos Cosmetics reaches their crowdfunding goal. The brains behind the cosmetics brand are the same people who brought us the highly popular corpse paint bar soaps that bore the likenesses of such icons as King Diamond, Abbath and Dani Filth. There are currently two types of facial masks — a green tea mask and a rice bran mask — each with a distinct corpse paint style designed by Finnish illustrator JP Ahonen. Cleverly, Kaamos Cosmetics is calling it “total sincare”: “Vegan and cruelty-free ingredients, extra cruel looks! For the self-caring metalhe...
