Black Metal
Behemoth’s Nergal to Musicians During Pandemic: “You Can Cry Like a Baby or … Do Something with the Situation”
It’s no secret that musicians have been hit hard during the pandemic, but Behemoth frontman Nergal insists that it’s all about what artists make of the circumstances. As he puts it, “You can … whine or cry like a baby, or you can do something with the situation.” With the concert industry shut down, it’s been a scary time for bands, as live shows have become a main source of revenue amidst diminished album sales in recent years. With no end to the pandemic in sight, many artists are wondering whether they can financially survive this tumultuous time. Behemoth, like other bands, are looking at creative ways to engage their fans and support their craft at the same time. The Polish metallers recently announced an immersive livestream concert event, dubbed “In Absentia Dei”, during which the b...
Extreme Metal Stalwarts Enslaved, Kataklysm, and Ihsahn All Release New Singles: Stream
Renowned extreme-metal acts Enslaved, Kataklysm, and Ihsahn all released new singles with accompanying music videos on Friday (August 28th), delivering a thunderous dose of new music to metalheads everywhere. Norwegian metal veterans Enslaved have unleashed “Urjotun” as the third single from their upcoming album Utgard, due October 2nd via Nuclear Blast. “The lyrical idea for ‘Urjotun’ had been spinning around in the chaos in the back of my head for quite a while, when Ivar sent me the riff-demo last autumn,” stated Enslaved singer Grutle Kjellson of the song. “I knew instantly that this was it, the very soundtrack of the rise of the primeval giant, the Urjotun! Our mutual love and fascination for that early krautrock scene and for bands like Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk, finally fully as...
Behemoth Announce Immersive In Absentia Dei Livestream Concert
Behemoth have announced a new immersive livestream event, “In Absentia Dei”. The black metal auteurs will broadcast the concert live from an undisclosed Polish church on September 5th, with special guests Imperial Triumphant performing from New York City. The show will stream in 4K high-definition with eight different camera angles to choose from — as well as a “Director’s Cut” option, ostensibly edited from the various camera angles. As per the press release, “parts of the performance may offend,” so the event is recommended for viewers 18 and up. “We bring a new offering for our faithful Legions!” Behemoth frontman Nergal declared in the press release. “You’ve seen Behemoth in many places across the globe, but never before in the Holy Church. This is a truly innovative event of whic...
Boris Releasing Six-Volume Archive Series via Bandcamp
Japanese metal luminaries Boris have announced an ongoing archival series, culling various rare and out-of-print releases from the band’s past. The first iteration, the six-part Archive series, is set to drop Friday (August 7th) via Boris’ Bandcamp page. The first three volumes of Archive were originally released in a limited CD… Please click the link below to read the full article. Boris Releasing Six-Volume Archive Series via Bandcamp Jon Hadusek You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet revenue...
Krallice Surprise Release New Album Mass Cathexis: Stream
Krallice have surprise released a new album, Mass Cathexis, on their Bandcamp page. A vinyl release is forthcoming via the band’s label home, Gilead Media. Earlier this week, the band “announced” the album with a mysterious Facebook post: “MASS CATHEXIS friday.” It’s an unexpected gift for fans of the NYC… Please click the link below to read the full article. Krallice Surprise Release New Album Mass Cathexis: Stream Jon Hadusek You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back their fair share of Internet reve...
Stay Clean with Corpse-Paint Bar Soap in the Likeness of King Diamond, Abbath, Mayhem, and More
We all want heavy metal concerts to return, and the best way for that to happen is if we stay clean and wash our hands. Etsy shop CorpsePaintSoaps is making that all the more enticing with their bar soaps that look like legendary metal musicians. It’s not quite what you think. The minimal two-tone bars are subtlety ingenious and even kinda cute, depicting the iconic corpse paint of King Diamond and black-metal luminaries like Abbath, Mayhem, and more. You can also get a pentagram shaped dish on which to rest your corpse-paint bar soap. “This is one of the best things I’ve ever bought,” reads a customer review of the Euronymous soap, “they make the best gifts!” Even Cradle of Filth’s Dani Filth has endorsed the soap, calling it “the filthiest soap bar there is.” The soaps are hand...
Black-Metal Legend Ihsahn Calls Out Taylor Swift Over Album Artwork
Ihsahn (courtesy of Spinefarm Records), Taylor Swift (courtesy of Republic Records) The cover artwork of Taylor Swift’s surprise new album folklore immediately caused a stir on social media, thanks to the decidedly metal look of the gloomy black & white forest scene. Now, an actual black-metal legend, Ihsahn, is calling out the pop superstar for the folklore cover’s uncanny resemblance to the artwork for his “Stridig” single, released earlier this year. The woods and black metal have had a longstanding relationship over the decades. Many a time, our favorite corpse-painted musicians have found themselves stuck in the middle of a desolate forest, with their only way out a combination of shrieking vocals and heavily distorted guitars. Now, Taylor Swift has found herself in the same predi...
The Internet Has Spoken: Taylor Swift’s Folklore Album Cover Is Actually Very Metal
Remember when pop star Justin Timberlake retreated into the forest to get his “folk” on and became a bonafide Man of the Woods? It looks like Taylor Swift spent her quarantine attempting to take that same earthy path, and the result is a new album literally called folklore. What’s more, she put it together with help from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, himself A Wisconsin Man of the Woods, and Aaron and Bryce Dessner, members of quintessential indie outfit The National. As Fluxblog founder Matthew Perpetua so succinctly put it, “I guess Taylor Swift finally went out in the woods with the National and Bon Iver boys to actually make ‘some indie record that’s much cooler than mine,’” plucking choice lyrics from Swift’s 2012 hit single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”. So I guess...
Ihsahn Announces Pharos EP, Shares New Song “Spectre at the Feast”: Stream
Black metal legend Ihsahn has set a September release for Pharos, the second of two companion EPs. In advance of the EP, he has shared the music video for lead single “Spectre at the Feast”. Pharos, due September 11th, concludes the two-part EP concept dedicated to Ihsahn’s home country of Norway. Following the February’s five-song Telemark EP, Pharos is billed as a “reverse image” of its counterpart. The EPs see Ihsahn drawing inspiration from the black metal he helped proliferate in his influential band Emperor, as well as other styles and genres. According to Ihsahn, this second EP is the “aesthetic and musical counterpart, wherein I can distill all those more progressive, experimental and mellow elements of my music.” The press release refers to it as “the light to Telemark‘s dark.” Th...
Liturgy and LEYA Collaborate on New Song “Antigone”: Stream
Hunter Hunt-Hendrix (Liturgy), courtesy of Promo Jukebox / Marilu Donovn & Adam Markiewicz (LEYA), photo by Erin Krimian Brooklyn black metal group Liturgy and NYC avant-pop duo LEYA have joined forces for a new collaborative single, “Antigone”. The track showcases the ambitious experimentation of both projects. The genre-blending black metal present on Liturgy’s 2019 album H.A.Q.Q. returns to provide a backdrop, accentuating the yearning vocals of LEYA’s Adam Markiewicz. “Originally its purpose was as a single to promote a tour we were going to do together last April that ended up getting cancelled,” Liturgy’s Hunter Hunt-Hendrix told Paper magazine of the song’s origins. “The track had a different name originally, and we would have put it out in early April, but held off, because we ...
Behemoth Share New EP A Forest, Unveil Trailer for Nergal Documentary: Stream
Behemoth have just released their new EP, A Forest, which includes two different covers of The Cure’s song by the same name, as well as two new original tracks. Previously, Behemoth shared the studio version of “A Forest”, which puts an extreme-metal spin on the goth classic and features guest vocals from Shining’s Niklas Kvarforth. The EP also boasts a live version of the Cure song that was recorded at a December 2018 gig in Poland. Along with the EP’s release, Behemoth have unveiled a visualizer for the song “Evoe”, one of two previously unreleased original tracks on the EP that were recorded during the sessions for 2018’s I Loved You at Your Darkest album. In other news, a trailer has been revealed for an upcoming documentary about Behemoth frontman Adam “Nergal” Darski. The film, ...
Behemoth Add Brutality to The Cure’s “A Forest” on Newly Announced EP: Stream
Behemoth have unveiled a cover of The Cure classic “A Forest” that will appear on an upcoming EP of the same name. The extreme metal band’s crushing take on the gothic track features guest vocals by Shining’s Niklas Kvarforth. The EP, A Forest, arrives on May 29th and features the studio cover of the Cure song, as well as a live version recorded during a December 2018 show in Behemoth’s home country of Poland. In addition, the EP contains two new original Behemoth songs — “Shadows ov Ea Cast Upon Golgotha” and “Evoerecording” — that are described by frontman Nergal as a continuation of the band’s 2018 album I Loved You at Your Darkest. The rendition of “A Forest” features Kvarforth delivering the verses while Nergal chimes in with guttural screams, adding brutality to what is one of ...
