Vinterland - Welcome My Last Chapter

It's Sunday morning, 6 a.m. to be exact, and temperatures have been hitting the high 90's, low 100's here in Arkansas. As the sun crushes all of our fun for the summer, as always, we can only hope and pray that the world will turn into an iceberg. The fan in my room keeps me somewhat cool but not to the point that Satan himself will cool off. Where am I going with this scenario you ask? A little band that goes by the name Vinterland, of course. The one band besides Immortal, Bathory or Burzum that can turn my heat filled days into tundras of solid ice. Putting their Swedish mark on the black metal scene back in '96 with a record titled "Welcome My Last Chapter", we have yet to see what this band is doing beside their other project, The Black.

Mystical worlds that embody the freezing rivers, snow covered landscapes and thousands of caves that keep the humans warm enough to stay alive in the middle of the night. A record that has this much integrity and guts should be looked upon as one of the classics. "Welcome My Last Chapter" delivers on all cylinders, giving you the huge influence of second wave black metal but with more melodies. I know it sounds like something you may not enjoy but trust me, it's a record that will ice your heart over ten fold. Piano sections so marvelous  that it echos through the trees of a decaying forest while you try to stay warm by that fire with the other worthless humans that are traveling with you. In some sense of it all, vampiric struggles seem to be a pretty large part of the lyrics. Covering situations such as trying to find blood to quench the thirst of the man in the lyrics to just consuming the forest on a dark winter night so he can feel as one with his surroundings. 

From the track "Still The Night Is Awake" - "Still the night is awake, like a black candle that's all around. To go from dusk from here, I walk thirsty for blood. Thirsty for blood. Still the night is awake, with the dead I spread my wings. Now the realm is here, come with me?"

Illusions of dark rituals also seem to bash the side of your brain as this record is playing. The classic situation of cult leaders walking through the forest with torches as they hunt for the people that escaped their grasp nearly minutes earlier. You can hear the wolves crying in the background as these merciless souls are trying to find any kind kind of hope in the winter, snow filled woods. The best part about this record is that's really, in a weird way, ahead of it's time. The black metal we hear today is mainly filled with melodic riffs and little to zero time signatures. Vinterland was doing this all back in the mid 90's, except they put acoustic sections and time signatures into their tracks.

Think of it this way, when the mainstream talks about the best metal/hard rock acts of all time, Rush isn't usually on the list and if they are they seem to be pretty low on the list. Vinterland is the Rush of black metal, it's that simple. Many would rather give crowns to bands like Immortal, Darkthrone, Celtic Frost, Bathory, Burzum and even Carpathian Forest but in the tradition that I work in, I give one to Vinterland. I'm not taking anything away from those great bands mentioned above but Vinterland deserves to be in the discussion along with those great acts.

1) Our Dawn Of Glory

2) I'm An Other In The Night

3) So Far Beyond...(The Great Vastforest)

4) A Crystal So Crystal Clear

5) As I Behold The Dying Sun

6) Vinterskogen

7) Still The Night Is Awake

8) A Winter Breeze

9) Wings Of Sorrow

Download the record here

Cursed Ruin - Goat Urine

You know, the black metal scene in the last couple of years has really disappointed me. Very few bands are actually putting out records that sound like black metal. I don't need blast beats and so much distortion it makes the record horrible. Plus, I'm a very firm believe that black metal sounds a shit load better with low-fi production that can set a scene of Satan filled destruction and horror. Cursed Ruin seems to have figured that out in their 2010 demo, "Goat Urine", great title by the way. Haling from Jacksonville, FL, where the black metal scene seems to be raving and growing more and more over the years, they fit right at home with this release.

Dwelling deep inside the dark hallways of a haunted mansion, you can feel the wind brush upon your neck as it whips in from the cracked window in the kitchen. As the pictures on the wall start to shake, you get this overwhelming sense that something is about to happen and you don't like what it could be. The smells of burning flesh as screams from Hell below fill the air you breath, you hear loud drums from the servants that are coming to take you prisoner. The way this demo has really low-fi production, it's able to set atmospheres and turns your surroundings into dark, twisted images very quickly. You can picture the demons flying high in the midnight sky as lightning strikes down and it pours with no sign of letting up. "Goat Urine" is a four track demo snapping over the length of eighteen minutes, the perfect length for your mind to start playing tricks on your until you bash your own skull in with anything that's in reach. Cursed Ruin seems to have went way back with the influences on this release, looking more in the direction of "Transilvanian Hunger"/"Under A Funeral Moon" era of Darkthrone and even elements that "Grom" by the almighty Behemoth gave us. "Necro-Pedophile Priest", the forth track on the demo, might be my favorite on the record. It has this drum beat that never quits, the vocal work reminds me of some voodoo chant that you would find deep in the south of Louisiana and the distortion is just perfection to what Cursed Ruin are bringing to the table.

I won't sit here and tell you that this is the best black metal record to ever exist or it blows everything out of the water, blah blah blah. I will tell you though that it's a decent record filled with haunting tempos, great and I mean great vocal work to creep the hell out of you and it's filled with four solid tracks that are nothing but pure black metal. "Goat Urine" is what black metal's suppose to sound like, that's just a fact.

1) Cross Nailer

2) Cacophony Of Pure Black Emotion

3) Forest of Thornes

4) Necro-Pedophile Priest

Download the record here

Gnaw Their Tongues – All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity

Picture yourself lounging in front of a very large theater screen out in the middle of a very open field. It’s midnight, the moon is full and you have to sit through a film that is nothing like you’ve seen before. A black and white film, covering nothing but suffering, screams from people getting burnt alive in some cult ritual and an atmosphere that is so bleak you start to lose sense of who you even are. Gnaw Their Tongues sets this mood perfectly in his fourth full-length record “All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity”. The mastermind behind Gnaw Their Tongues goes by the name Mories, a dutchman from the Netherlands that is focused on three things; setting a mood that will build beautiful yet dark landscapes, making you want to listen to his records over and over again and scarying the hell out of you to the point you can’t sleep.

Experiental, noise, black metal; you can call Gnaw Their Tongues which ever you please but I’ll simply stick with calling him a creative force that won’t stop until he destroys the whole underground. Feeding you sounds of wretched screeches, huge samples that you will remember when you sleep at night and tons of heavy bass lines, Mories can get inside your head in a split second if you let him. The way that Mories creates these sounds are somewhat magical since it’s mainly all programmed. The only thing that aren’t programmed are the bass which gives you this bottomless pit of Hell feel. It’s the same exact feeling I get when I wake up in the middle of the night from a god-awful nightmare where my whole family is killed in a brutal hostage situations and I’m left soaked in their blood. The vocals, also not programmed, are pretty touching too, not in a good way either. More of in a way that will reach right down your throat, grab your inner organs and pull them out without hesitation. This whole record is muggy, distorted, twisted and just creeps me the fuck out on every level possible. “All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity” is the type of record that will leave you uncomfortable with the atmosphere it creates. On the other hand, it will leave you pleading for more, mainly because you will love the landscapes it paints. “Broken Fingers Point Upwards in Vain”, the third track on the record uses samples of a woman crying and begging for her life as she seems to be chased by some cult leader that wants nothing more than to tie her up, rape her and just use her at any cost. The samples make this record what it is, they give it life, set the mood for each track individually and make it as unholy as possible. Another great sound effect that is used quite often is the “Witch” effect, as I call it. It’s the same effect that the Wizard of Oz had when the witch would be seen or she would fly away on her broom. Great effects and programming will tear you to shreds on this record so be prepared with a suit made of steel because you will need it, no question about it.

Gnaw Their Tongues is something that most may not like but if you’re really into the whole experimental/noise with a tiny pinch of black metal, you’ll dig what Mories is doing on any of his records. The new record, “L’Arrivée De La Terne Mort Triomphante”, is out now via Candlelight Records. I’ll be reviewing that record also in the future so keep an eye out and support this one man, hell ride of a project while you still can.

*The last three tracks on the record are vinyl only.

1) My Orifices Await Ravaging
2) Verbrennt und Verflucht
3) Broken Fingers Point Upwards in Vain
4) The Stench of Dead Horses on My Breath and the Vile of Existence in My Hands
5) l’Ange qui Annonce la Fin du Temps
6) Gazing at Me Through Tears of Urine
7) Rife with Deep Teeth Marks
8 ) All the Dread Magnificence of Perversity
9) The Gnostic Ritual Consumption of Semen As Embodiment of Wounds Teared in the Soul
10)Thee, I Invoke, Akephalou *
11) I Hear Only the Clanking of the Scythe *
12) A Promise of Revenge Whispered from Stitched Lips *

Download the record here

Verwüstung - Beyond the Watercooler Sunset, We Feel New Life

As you enter the hallway to your new apartment building, you hear small whispers of conversation as the people give you looks of despair, emptiness and fright. You open the door to your brand new apartment, only to find that everything has been destroyed. Small fires are set in corners, blood soaked sheets and pillows are thrown all over the place. You feel helpless, so helpless that you literally just want to jump out the window of your brand new apartment and let your body twist and dangle as you fall four stories to your death. These are the type of things that your imagination dreams of when you listen to "Beyond the Watercolor Sunset, We Feel New Life" from Verwüstung.

Dwelling deep inside the San Francisco, CA walls is a man that goes by the name Verwüstung. While he does have a couple side-projects, Camlann and Airs, Verwüstung seems to be his golden pot of joy, which is a great thing. With "Beyond the Watercooler Sunset, We Feel New Life" you'll get one solid track that is a little under 30 minutes in length. As Verwüstung labels his music Black/Drone/Doom metal, you really can't grab onto anything that's similar to Drone or Doom. The track starts out by setting the mood perfectly, small guitar riffs echo through the trees as you seem to wake from your slumber. You get yourself ready for the day by cleaning and eating some food, now it's off to find what adventures are held for you in the wilderness. Chants of helplessness catch your ear, you hear two women talking about how the other is addicted to things that the devil himself would enjoy. Screams and pain hit the clouds as if the addicted woman is in the pain of her life. Around the six minute mark is when the shit hits the fan, with distored black metal riffs and surging feedback, you might want to strap yourself in for the ride.. This record is split-up into different chapters, you have the wondering paths of massive order and clamness and you have the chapters that will decay your inner thoughts of any beauty you can think of. Skip foward to around the sixteen minute mark and you'll feel so filthy and rotten that your teeth are falling out by themselves. Hope seems to be a theme on this record, at least for me. The way that the acoustic guitar just barrels through everything on the calm sections, it gives you that warmth that you missed as a child. While you listen to this record, atmospheres come alive, literally. You'll be able to smell smoke from a campfire, you can imagine birds flying in the sky and the spring time breeze just brush up against your cheeks. Four chapters, divided into two sections each; one for black metal, one for acoustic sets. The last leg of this record is a full on black metal section, filled with tones of grief, despair and just distortion that most major black metal bands can't seem to get right. Prepare for a very chilling yet amazing, sunny adventure with "Beyond the Watercoolor Sunset, We Feel New Life" because it's exactly what you'll get from this masterpiece.

So, what have we gathered from our garden of raw talent? Well, I learned that anything this man releases will be greatness and I'll be waiting for whatever you wants to drop on my head. I also learned that you can have clear landscapes filled with breezes and mystical emotions but on the other hand, that landscape is filled with evil, dark, twisted images that no man nor woman should have to be apart of.  Verwüstung - He loves to give you hope, bring you joy and make you feel on cloud nine but he will also show you some of the most wicked atmospheres your eyes will ever see.

1) Beyond the Watercooler Sunset, We Feel New Life

Download the record here