Norway’s very own Sandvika and Finnmark-bound newcomers Tjære and Lil Snus have been doing an impeccable job in representing a consistent branding of an anti-authoritarian death cult that is against bogus, ingenuine, mass-produced capitalist systems in the industry. They strongly aspire to show people who understand their values and what they’re aiming for and to advocate what they stand for.
Indie singer-songwriter Trace Kotik has shared a feel-good video of the summer for his song “Chaos.” The track comes from his debut album Everything has been done by now, so now, everything is possible… which is out now. The inspiring and dramatic track is matched by the inventive lyric video is an installation created by Kotik’s father and colleague, Omer Harel, as part of their masters of design studies at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Featuring a barrel of water with a transducer underneath and a projector above, they are both connected to a computer that feeds data from a website that translates the collective moods (surprise, joy, anger, fear, sadness, love,) of Twitter users’ tweets in different locations, assigning each emotion a color. The transducer receives a frequency matching the color of the mood determined, which then feeds through the projector to cast that color onto the water. The video combines recordings of all of these emotions, symbolizing the chaos of feeling and the beauty of humanity. This is a truly unique experience, along with a great song. Check it out!
2R0I2P0 (Twenty Twenty RIP, Relapse Records) is a collaboration album from two luminaries of the Japanese experimental music scene, Boris and Merzbow. Boris has released a vast number of albums over the past 25 years, and their sound ranges from psychedelic post-rock to crushing metallic doom riffery. Noise artist Merzbow (the brainchild of Masami Akita) has been even more prolific, having released hundreds of records over a 40-year career.
Children of Bodom founder Alexi Laiho has formed a new band, Bodom After Midnight! The group will make its live debut this summer! Also in the group are guitarist Daniel Freyberg (ex-Children Of Bodom), drummer Waltteri Väyrynen (Paradise Lost), bassist Mitja Toivonen (ex-Santa Cruz) and touring keyboardist Lauri Salomaa. Children of Bodom, in its last form, announced it would not continue after their final show in late 2019, ending that era, Laiho needed a new project. IT is expected that Bodom After Midnight will perform COB material live this summer, before writing originals for a future release. Laiho’s popular memoir, Chaos, Control & Guitar, which has shipped 11,000 copies and is only avaialble as of now in Finish, will come out in English in May from Johnny Kniga, an imprint of Werner Söderström Ltd.Continue reading
Attila has released a second single from their forthcoming album Chaos , due on November 4th from Sharptone Records. Continue reading
It may not always seem the most sophisticated or progressive of genres, but horrible old Death Metal has been undergoing something of a late renaissance of late. With bands like Portal, Ulcerate and Gorguts (finally no longer alone in a field they’ve ploughed since the mid 90’s) bending the genre into new shapes while old heroes like Autopsy remind us of the strengths of playing it straight. Growling over a blast-beat hasn’t been this exciting in years.
Teitanblood’s latest contribution to this is more subtle and developed than it may initially seem, and opens up over the course of several listens into an album of surprising depth. Mashing old-school Death Metal with touches of Crust, Grind and Black Metal they create a noxious mess that lurches from Blasphemy-style chaos to blackened sludge, referencing classic Carcass and the occasional d-beat on the way.
The most glaring issue with Death (Norma Evangelium Diaboli) – initially a big one – is the sheer length. Weighing in at over 60 minutes, with songs averaging around 10minutes, this seems far too overblown for such an unambitious, chaotic sound. Persevere, though, and it starts to become clear that Teitanblood have got more going on than they initially seem to. Firstly, their sense of dynamics; songs catapult explosively through genuinely well-crafted structures, riffs and beats shifting effortlessly into shapes that prevent them from getting mired in the repetition that one might expect. Secondly, there is their use of ambient noises and samples in the background of many songs, comparable to that of AEvangelist, but deployed with a much lighter hand. Many listeners may not even hear them at first, but they add a depth and atmosphere to Teitanblood’s dense, organic music that genuinely helps the album justify its running time.
Not instantly the easiest of listens, then, and will likely be dismissed by many as too long or too chaotic, but an album of surprising depth which fans of the noisier end of Death Metal should find rewards repeated listens.
8.0 / 10.0
RICHIE H-R