Door to Door Promotion: Mist - Demo 2013

 Dear witch hunters and fellow headbangers,

Mist is a new all-female occult doom metal band from Ljubljana (Slovenia), formed in July 2012. They build their music on the legacy of legendary bands like Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Candlemass, Coven, Saint Vitus and others. With the premiere live show at the end of September 2013 the girls without a doubt demonstrated, that such a specific genre of music is not necessarily just a men's domain. The band just released a limited edition of their demo simply entitled Demo 2013, which is already sold out.

Line Up:

Nina Spruk - vocals
Ema Babošek - rhythm guitar & backing vocals
Nina Grizonič - lead guitar
Neža Pečan - bass
Mihaela Žitko - drums

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FOR EVERYONE.

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Crypticus - The Barrens (2013) Review

Album | The Barrens

Country | USA
Genre | Death Metal
Label | Razorback Records

| The clocktower chimes the 13th time |

Crypticus is yet another band that leans towards horror concepts and riff based compositions, creating average but enjoyable albums recommended for any age. Even though there isn't much going on when you're listening to them, it doesn't feel like they're doing something wrong, but more like they aren't doing something special either. The Barrens is their third and latest album to date and it offers some really tasty grooves, as well as occult aspirations, and that's about it. Apart from a couple of great moments, I didn't find the album that fascinating after all.

The band consists of two guys and one of them is a Norwegian dude that has experience with bands like Megascavenger and The Grotesquery, stepping into the realm of Rogga Johansson and his countless projects. Crypticus seem to be influenced and have some characteristics of that part of Swedish death metal, mainly because of the lyrical theme, the general aesthetics and the stomping riffing attitude they have. The Barrens contains eleven tracks (and a bonus one in physical format) and lasts thirty four minutes. It sounds like these guys have laid back on the already known recipes, comfortably recreating them with a few personal additions and little spirit to present, as if they know which notes to play, but not why they should be played.

My first objection on the album is the gargling vocals. While it seems like they're decent growls, they don't sound painful or staggering at all, delivering some kind of boredom from the vocalist who was eager for this shit to get on. I can't call a growl decent, especially when it doesn't have the power and the intention to dominate as a main part of a record like that, failing to draw any attention as the listener focuses more and more on the rest of the instruments and eventually on nothing at all. If you listen to each track closely, you get the feeling that the vocals were recorded in a low volume which was courageously increased to catch up with the overly boosted guitars.

Which brings me to another weak point of the album, which is the production. I don't like the way it has been mixed, erasing any signs of bass, squashing the drums into one-dimensional, fake sounding hits, dragging the vocals on the top and the guitars right behind them. From the first songs, it's obvious how the toms have been strangely altered into click sounds while the snares and high hats are notably cleaner, a common result of sloppy production, which would not be such a deal if the album didn't have all these blast beats. They are capable of giving you a headache for that reason and The Barrens is full of them. The drummer goes for solid musicianship and does whatever possible to accompany the songs, but his partial success is clouded by the annoying sound they later arranged in the studio.

On the other hand, the guitar work is splendid. The tracks have great melodies and great changes, as well as some exciting solos. For the most part, the album is suitable for drinking and headbanging, insinuating the use of bulky riffs in it's entirety. Specifically, I enjoyed "Together Towards Terror", Being the best aspect of the whole thing, it's what makes The Barrens a little memorable and the reason it was kept alive in my head, for a little while, after it finished. The band also uses a bit of synth lines in a couple of songs and in the introduction, accurately and correctly used to add to the horror vibe in tracks like "Necronom IX" and "Misanthropy Mine", the latter being the standout track of the whole album.

I believe the album will be an attraction for a significant part of the scene and it will generally get positive comments. However, it's fragile sound and disturbing vocals overthrew it into the dumpster and I'm not coming back to it any soon. If this is what the band had to offer five years after the release of their previous full length They Called Me Mad!, I am not impressed at all. A nice cover, some solid lyrics (and parts of them taken as quote texts) and regular jamming is not enough for me, and me only. I encourage you to listen for yourself and you might find something in there, it's not completely drained.

DAMAGE: 4.5/10

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Countess - Sermons of the Infidel [EP] (2013)

Country | Netherlands
Genre | Black / Heavy Metal
Label | Self-released
Dynamic range | DR7

| Ancient fires are lit again |

Countess have a huge history and discography behind them, rooting back to the early nineties and the beginnings of the second wave. With medium ranged but steady and solid albums, it's a band that has lived in the underground for more than two decades and the mastermind behind it, Orlok, still has some ideas to put into practice. My first experience with the band was when I found their first four albums, back when I was listening to any black metal release of 1990-1995 I could get my hands on. They were a bit unstable musically, but he managed to snap out of the fatigue and release some really good albums in the mid 2000s, like Heilig Vuur and Blazing Flames of War. I still need some time to examine all his albums more closely.

Sermons of the Infidel is the latest EP by the band and it was released in the early summer of this year, as a digital release. I think it was only released digitally because of the missing budget to finance physical copies, but it doesn't matter that much to me. Despite being an EP, it's thirty five minutes length could easily fit for a full record release of a regular band, but not Countess of course. Orlok chooses to release full lengths that feature over an hour of music at least. Nonetheless, a booklet of the album is included in the digital purchase. It's also not completely an one man project anymore, since there is another member named Zagan that plays the guitars (he has helped the band with albums before).

The production here is pretty gratifying and by no means noisy. It sounds polished and warm, keeping a specific tone over the album which is not comparable to shitty recording by an obscure black metal band. The drums, the guitars, the vocals and the bass are highly audible, allocating the listener with a legit result that gives the music the space it deserves. However, one can say that it is a bit overdone with the mixing, as it's almost sterile as a whole and lacks any ounce of dirt that some fans actually crave for. A lot of work has been done in the studio and this production fits to the essence of a digital release, as it relegates to "digitalized" sound.

The tracks of the record represent very well the uncompromising playing style of Orlok, which can not be labeled in one specific genre at all. Paying respect to the old underground attitude and classic black and heavy metal bands, Sermons of the Infidel includes simple compositions of lot's of guitar riffing and synths, the two main elements of the record. One can listen to various styles and subgenres of metal in there, knitted nicely by a really talented musician who knows what he's doing by now. Listening to tracks like "Child of the Millenia" and "Son of the Dragon", you can't directly match it with another band and it just sounds like Countess, proving it's originality even after many years.

A component that does not go completely well with the shiny sound is his vocals. Coming from the extreme underground, Orlok still possesses a harsh and ominous tongue that spits his anger perfectly, but with the instrumentation not following the same menace, it sometimes fail in delivering. It also doesn't serve the more heavy metal driven moments of the albums like in the song "Chosen by the Gods", which im my opinion, would be great even if it was an instrumental track. The record is generally middle paced and the total of eight songs go from three to five minutes, focusing on building up atmosphere and melody over than brutality.

The two tracks that I think are the most memorable and stand out on top among the rest, are the first two. "Hymn to the Gods of Yore" has an awesome synth line and great lyrics, as well as very good melodies for you to enjoy by the time the album opens, since it's also the first track of the record. The second "Trumpets of Dawn" contains a couple of very cool riffs and a more nostalgic synth part in moments, as well as a melodic solo towards the end. I could not find the lyrics for this or any other track of the album except the introductory one, but still the vocals are distinguishable for the most part.

In general, Sermons of the Infidel is a nice record with the familiar Countess feel. It's easy to reach to a conclusion of disliking them because of their character, but after a couple of listens it's easy to recognize some things that worth the listen and even if it's not a full album, it does show what the band sounds like today. I myself enjoyed a couple of tracks a lot and I think this combination of black and heavy metal is meant only to serve underground quality music and nothing more. For newcomers, I suggest you get a taste of their first albums as well and then go into this, there is something for everyone in the box.

DAMAGE: 7.5/10

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Beastiality - Ancient Ball Chimes (Demo, 2013) Review

Country | Sweden
Genre | Death Metal
Label | Self-released
Dynamic range | DR6

| Witches' Funeral |

I almost check Swedish death metal bands blindfolded, in case we're talking about old school fanatics instead of the Gothenburg scene, which is cool but not as cool, let's be honest. Constantly searching for new bands, one is pleased when one finds a legit Entombed copycat, always having the desire for originality as a secret wish on the back of their mind. Now, you can't tell Beastiality from Stockholm completely innovative, but they do sound like themselves in their first ever demo, Ancient Ball Chimes.

The production is really dirty. The instruments sound dusty, the drums are hidden behind the buzz and the vocals are a mix of growls / screams / whispers, something from the depths of hell, worn out and rough. However, everything is pleasingly audible and the noise is deliberately channeled towards building a thick layer of a stenching rabble, totally raw and haunting in it's entirety. The demo grows in you the more you listen to it, provided that the necessary time is given to it.

The concept of the band revolves around witchcraft, Satan and morbid subjects, which gives them a more occult label compared to the classics of the scene. Ancient Ball Chimes is generally more malefic than the average death metal record, with a furious pace that doesn't really go into the doom department at all. The three songs included in here offer a total of thirteen minutes of music, containing a bunch of melodies and a few samples for you to grasp on while trying to choose your favorite track off them. For me, the standout track is the last "Funeral of A Virgin Sinner", since it has an awesome bell intro (I have a thing for church bells, I'm sorry), really interesting and dark riffs, but most of all, a peculiar clean vocal scream towards the end, that sounds a bit distorted even for  the underground heavy metal standards.

The demo is very close to black metal aesthetically as well as musically. In fact, I was thinking of early Bathory throughout the whole recording, especially in the first song "Curse of the Devil". Given that these guys come from the same country, it's more than logical for one think that they are influenced by the first Quorthon era. That's probably the reason why it's not pure death metal like other Swedish bands, drawing influences from two different genres. Generally, I would place this as a combination of early 80s black / thrash, combined with the first wave of black as well as Swedish death, with equal doses of the first two and a larger one of the third.

Ancient Ball Chimes is for the lovers of extreme metal demo recordings. The band has produced it in a way that it's personality does not drift away while it unfolds and it has a respectable degree of quality, touching various underground genres in various moments. I'm going to look out for these guys, hoping that they will record and release a full length album anytime soon. Until then, I guarantee that they deserve your attention.

DAMAGE: 8.0/10

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Coffin Lust - Beyond the Dark (Demo, 2012) Review

Country | Australia
Genre | Death Metal
Label | Sarlacc Productions
Dynamic range | DR10

I have to admit, that I have connected Australia with the hardcore / whatevercore scene in general and not with much activity outside that whatsoever. Of course I'm wrong and there are numerous, obvious exceptions, but still there are more than enough bands like that over there. However, Coffin Lust come from Victoria with a first demo that seems to be very close to traditional, solid and appreciated death metal, simple minded and yet very beautiful in execution. The record contains four tracks of around three to five minutes in length each.

Musically, the band uses catchy riffs straight from the nineties, as well as regular drum patterns behind each track, followed by the present but a bit quiet bass work. A highlight of the demo is the vocals, which are straightforward caveman growls, similar to these of classic death metal bands we all love. The production is amazing and equal to one of a full length, offering a polished and powerful sound.

In the veins of bands like Autopsy, Bolt Thrower or Grave, these guys avoid pointless technicality and aim high with slower and more hurtful compositions, creating a both brutal and evil outcome. he band doesn't have it's own sound completely, but in a way it produces something above average, somewhere between old school death metal and doom / death, with hidden highlight moments like in the tracks "Fading Life" (which begins with a cool sample of wind and a church bell) and "Forsaken". The closing "Beyond the Dark" is as fast as they get and it's fanatical about it's roots, also a wonderful song.

As a debut demo, it's legit and very promising for what's going to follow in the future. The demo was originally released on tape but the copies were sold quick, so a second CD press was released a bit later, in a remastered version. The remastered tracks sound a bit cleaner, but only towards a better result.

DAMAGE: 7.75/10

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