/r/RABM/

Thursday, November 20, 2014

misfortune - "Feathered Duke and Tar Fowler" (2011)

MISFORTUNE - "Feathered Duke and Tar Fowler"

Year: 2011
Genre: Black Metal, Grindcore
Country: Canada

Track List:
  1. Hatred
  2. Bloodlaws
  3. Scalps on a Mantle 
DOWNLOAD

Hello readers, I would like to begin this post by introducing myself, Preston Ell, as one of the new contributors to the RABM blog. I'm extremely excited to be a part of this because it is bar none my favourite blog out there and the political edge only sweetens it for me. I know that some of the writers here have been very busy and unable to make frequent posts so I only hope that I can take some weight off of their shoulders.

A little bit of info about me: I come from Canada (London, Ontario to be exact..) and I am also an active artist involved with lots of projects, basement shows, and my own little DIY label called Why Gang Records. My solo music was posted here a bit ago for those who may have seen it and I am currently in the production of another album under the same name that's proving to be some of my best work yet.

If you have any music you want to show me, feel free to shoot me an email: [p - system @ hotmail 'dot' com]

Anyways, without going into too much about myself, I would like to begin my first post by introducing one of my favourite local bands that is now sadly defunct. Misfortune was a really solid black metal band with fantastic musicians and their live performances were extremely intense/loud. They've since gone in various different directions and I know that their vocalist Anthony is currently living in Vancouver. You can check out his new project OAF here.

This release isn't too long but it's a great representation of what the band was. There are more tracks in the hopper ready to be released but they are lacking vocals at the moment. I'm hoping that they can get those out someday and maybe even play a reunion show of some sorts. Fans of grindy black metal will really enjoy this so give it a listen when you can.

bandcamp/facebook

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Modern Dark Age - "The End Of Eternity" (2014)

MODERN DARK AGE "The End Of Eternity"

Year: 2014
Genre: Black/Death Metal, Blackened Crust
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Darkened Dreams
  2. Vivisection Of An Empire
  3. The Dark Age Has Arrived
  4. The End Of Eternity
DOWNLOAD

I'm back but not for long. A couple of my readers offered me their help with reviews, so I hope we'll have more active co-editors pretty soon. In the meanwhile, I just have listened to the newest release from Modern Dark Age, one of the first blackened crust projects I got to know about.

MDA started as an one-man project by Dave Jay in 2008, and got some publicity in the myspace group "Black Metal Anarchists" (the only RABM resource on the net back then) shortly thereafter. However, the first full-length release came out only in 2013, followed by this EP in 2014:

"From 2011 to mid 2013, very little activity occurred in Modern Dark Age. Dave Jay suffered a major injury which subsequently resulted in permanent nerve damage in his right arm. This has drastically affected any ability to play instruments and compose or record new material.

After multiple medical procedures and a nerve transposition surgery from 2011 through 2013, there still has been no actual healing or relief from said nerve damage. This is the reason for such lengthy period of inactivity.

Despite this painful and limiting effect on the ability to produce material in the previous capacity or timeliness, Modern Dark Age has been pushing through all of this. Little by little, Dave Jay has been slowly building new material. The majority of this work is completing 2 unfinished full length albums"


Dave Jay describes the ideology behind the project as follows:

"With the background and influences of Crust Punk plus a heavy interest in Black Metal, the need for my expression in this world exists as Modern Dark Age. We are technologically advanced, yet always falling into an abyss of archaic thinking and societal decay. We have the ability to excel, yet many choose this declension. Now is the Modern Dark Age..."

I don't know if he's aware of the existence of my blog, but hopefully he won't be against this EP being posted on here. It's a really good mix of BM and metallic crust, recorded during 2013-2014 and released on 9th Meridian Records 23 September 2014.

bandcamp / facebook

Friday, November 7, 2014

Larva Ov Cum - "Resistenza" (2014)

LARVA OV CUM "Resistenza"

Year: 2014
Genre: Industrial Black Metal
Country: Italy

Track List:
  1. Introducendo Inni Partigiani
  2. Nessuna Politica Italiana
  3. Attuando la Guerra Capitalista
  4. Invocando Granai, Non Atomi
  5. Contando Inegualmente Innocenti Cadaveri
  6. Volontà dei Popoli
DOWNLOAD

This Italian political metal project is back with a new EP, which continues the line LoC took on the earlier releases - intense, "mechanical" BM sound, and relatively clean vocals. It sounds a bit monotonous at times, but "Resistenza" isn't a long release, so it's not a big problem. Ideologically, it probably will appear more to those who are on the "red" side of RABM (that's possibly why it was released on 7th of November). Like all the previous releases from LoC, "Resistenza" is released by an independent label SUN Prods., and it's officially available for free download/distribution.

bandcamp

P.S. Well, I think I've posted more than enough for today. I still have more than 20 albums waiting for a review, but a lot of them either have little to do with RABM, or it isn't really "my" thing in terms of music. Hopefully my co-editors will take care of it, while I take a break from blogging. I don't know when I'll return, but it'll happen sooner or later. Stay tuned.

Vranac & Svartmörke - "Заговор" (2014)

VRANAC / SVARTMORKE "Заговор"

Year: 2014
Genre: Post-Black Metal, Blackened Crust
Country: Russia

Track List:

Vranac
  1. Скверна
  2. Смута
  3. Стаями горящих птиц
Svartmörke
  1. Тварь вселенной
  2. С головой впадая в хаос
  3. По дням бессилья и позора
DOWNLOAD

The latest release from Vranac up to date - a split w/ Svartmörke from Karelia, who are playing raw blackened crust of Scandinavian variety. I especially liked Vranac's side, it's definitely better than their first EP. If you prefer Svartmörke's side, I'd also recommend Norrbrand - they're from SPb too, and their music is Scandinavian style metallic crust. A Norrbrand/Svartmörke split is in the plans as well.

bandcamp

Vranac - "Знамение" (2014)

VRANAC "Знамение"

Year: 2014
Genre: Post-Black Metal, Neocrust
Country: Russia

Track List:
  1. Знамение
  2. Навет
  3. Время
  4. Я не верю
  5. Искра
  6. Возвращаясь в холодные дни
DOWNLOAD

One more band that, in my opinion, deserves to be on my blog, even though I have no personal contacts with them. They're coming from the DIY crust/hardcore/metal scene of SPb, and their style is a blend of neocrust and (post-)BM. I have no idea what their name stands for, but I hope it means something cool (all I could find in google was some brand of Serbian wine). Here's is their debut EP, which is good enough for a first release (although not a masterpiece). Can't say they're a super political band, but they're listed as an "anarchist black metal" band on wikipedia (not a very reliable source, yes), and have participated in some RABM-friendly events (i.e. "Karelian Plague"), so I think putting them on my blog would be OK.

bandcamp

Worhs - "Le Temps des Blasphèmes" (2014)

WORHS "Le Temps des Blasphèmes"

Year: 2014
Genre: Black Metal
Country: France/Turkey

Track List:
  1. Fils d'un Avenir Corrompu
  2. Ces Terres Maudites
  3. Fanatisme ?
  4. Les Yeux Ouverts
  5. Destroyers of His Story
  6. Anitkabir ou le Triste Constat
  7. La Mémoire Profanée
DOWNLOAD

Worhs started in June 2014 as a collaboration between WLWD, a metal journalist from Paris (Metallian, Horns Up, Metalliquement Vôtre), and  Emir Togrul, a musician from Turkey (Yayla, Viranesir, Blliigghhtted), initially under the name "Destroyers of History"). Musically, it's old school black metal (reminding me of Profecium for some reason), and the political part of their lyrics is mostly critical of the conservative party that rules Turkey nowadays. "Le Temps des Blasphèmes" is the debut full-length from Worhs, which was released November this year (right now Worhs is an one-man project of WLWD). The whole album is available for preview on youtube:


facebook / bandcamp

Among The Rotting Trees - "The Cold, Misty Morning" (2014)

AMONG THE ROTTING TREES "The Cold, Misty Morning"

Year: 2014
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Country: Poland

Track List:
  1. Cold
  2. Mist
  3. Morning
DOWNLOAD

ATRT is a new project of Marek (Garden Of Sadness, Algorithm Ov Void). This debut full-length is called "The Cold, Misty Morning", and contains 3 long tracks of instrumental atmospheric BM. Most of this material was composed and recorded in 2010-2011, work was finished later in 2012-2013 and for some various reasons is released for audience only now. If some label would be interested in release it officially on CD/CD-R (small amount of copies will be sufficient), feel free to contact the author via bandcamp/facebook.

Since all the tracks are instrumental, there are no lyrics (and therefore no political agenda) on this album, but the author is definitely on the far-left side and RABM-friendly. This debut is very good for a self-produced release, and it definitely isn't boring, despite being quite lengthy and purely instrumental.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Mácula & Seeds In Barren Fields - split (2014)

MACULA / SEEDS IN BARREN FIELDS

Year: 2014
Genre: Blackened Crust, Blackened Death Metal
Country: Brazil / Sweden

Track List:

Mácula
  1. Seguindo O Coração
  2. Prisões
  3. Ideias Incendiárias
  4. Campos De Concentração Estendidos Ao Mundo Livre
Seeds In Barren Fields
  1. Reverence
  2. Headless/Heartless
DOWNLOAD

I think both Mácula & SIBF need no introduction - both of these bands have appeared on my blog before, and both are very good. I planned to post this split shortly after it came out, but due to large amount of other stuff to review, I forgot to do it in time. Well, better late than never...

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Ambergris - s/t (2014)

AMBERGRIS "Ambergris"

Year: 2014
Genre: Experimental Black Metal
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Led to a Stone Chamber
  2. In the Royal Cemetery
DOWNLOAD

Ambergris are a duo (guitar/drums) from San Diego, which released their first EP in late September this year. If I understood it correctly, right now the project is on hiatus, and it isn't certain if they'll release any new material in the future. Even though Ambergris isn't an explicitly political band, at least one of its members is highly sympathetic to the RABM movement, and entirely unsympathetic to the right-wing/elitist tendencies that are so pervasive in the metal culture. If there's an ideology that motivates his interest in black metal in particular, then it's what's been called "pessimistic materialism":

"...It's certainly not an eco-anarchist or "pro-nature/anti-humanity" ideology - in fact it's almost an apparent inversion (anti-nature/pro-humanity) of such an ideology. But the inversion really is only apparent, since it shares with such an ideology (at least as far as I understand it) an anti-anthropocentrism (it seems to me that eco-anarchism, with its emphasis on human beings as the source of all natural ills, is actually rather closer to anthropocentrism), and the opposition of "a good nature to a corrupt civilization."

Pessimistic materialism recognizes class society as the other principal source of human unhappiness, but stresses that, were the elimination of class society to be achieved, men would still suffer from their biological limits and the knowledge of their insignificance in the universe. Through this fusion of class politics and pessimistic materialist philosophy, such an ideology aims to bring about the creation of a pessimistic culture
for all. This music, I hope, is a contribution to the creation of such a culture.

Sorry if I ragged on eco-anarchism too much, but I want to stress my support for all the forces (bands, blogs, communities) associated with RABM, whatever their politico-ideological stripe, in their opposition to the rightist forces dominating metal culture!"


bandcamp

Monday, November 3, 2014

Bereft - "Lost Ages" (2014)

BEREFT "Lost Ages"

Year: 2014
Genre: Post-(Black) Metal
Country: USA

Track List:
  1. Lost Ages
  2. Unwelcome
  3. The Secret Fate of All Life
  4. Loss
  5. For Nothing
DOWNLOAD

Line-up:

Zach Johnson (guitars/vocals)
Alex Linden (guitars/vocals)
Neil Weiss (drums)
Cade Gentry (bass)

Bereft are a post-metal band from Madison, WI, formed in the summer of 2011 by Alex Linden & Zach Jonson. Their style can be described as a blend of BM, post-metal, and doom metal. They're currently signed to an independent label called Silent Pendulum Productions. The owner of SPP is a professional drummer for such bands as Black Table and Downfall Of Gaia, so I think the fans of these bands might be interested in Bereft and other bands on SP Productions as well.


bandcamp / facebook / twitter / official blog

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Capgrass - "Reflections" (2014)

CAPGRASS "Reflections"

Year: 2014
Genre: Black Metal
Country: Argentina

Track List:
  1. Intro
  2. Dead In The Crowd
  3. Disruption Of The Deepest Dreams
  4. Material Agony
  5. Shade
  6. Voice Of Perdition
DOWNLOAD

Line-up:

Martin Alexis Franco Santillan - drums
Julian Corbera - guitar
Isaias Daniel Cañete Lucena - voice
Gabriel Ruiz Diaz - bass

Capgrass started in 2010 and released their first EP "Reflections" in June this year. The lyrics on this EP contain some social criticism, as well as the topics of psychology/psychopathology, but in general it's apolitical. However, at least one of the band members considers himself an anarchist, and in the future they plan to release more material that may be considered a statement against fascism, etc. 



bandcamp / facebook

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Reek - "Necrogenesis" (2014)

REEK "Necrogenesis"

Year: 2014
Genre: Technical Thrash Metal
Country: Spain

Track List:
  1. The Sound of Decadence
  2. Violent Winterlight
  3. Hypochondriac
  4. Ethereal Shadows
  5. Landscapes of Elysium
  6. Human Condition
  7. Pernicious Gerontophiliac Commitment
  8. Babidi Resurrection
  9. Scions of the Void
DOWNLOAD

Not black metal, yet very good. Reek are a Catalan progressive thrash metal band which released their debut full-length "Necrogenesis" this year, with help of several quite well-known musicians: "“Necrogenesis” has been mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna) and its artwork has been designed by Ideophony (Ihsahn, Leprous)". If I'm not mistaken, they're also acquainted with Obsidian Kingdom (who, by the way, have released their new video not so long ago, and currently are on a European tour w/ Sólstafir, Sahg, and Esben & the Witch).

bandcamp / facebook / twitter / youtube / press kit