I know that Sentient Ruin Laboratories do not release catchy or poppy stuff, and once again this Californian label figuratively hits, and crushes, my (beautifully-shaped) skull with a rusty pickaxe. Resigner is the name of that rabid monster, that unleashed vehicle by one-man-army 8 Hour Animal.
The respectable Julien Lacroix is the mastermind behind the fabulous outfit Moloch Conspiracy, but he’s involved with other projects too. Apparently this guy is hugely passionate by the Japanese history and culture (which also includes music, evidently) throughout the centuries, as well as rather modern themes from Japan, like their video games and movies. This did result in some intriguing new experiments, i.e.
Two years and a half after their debut Blood Oath, Dunkelheit Produktionen do release the sophomore full-length album With Hoof And Horn by Flemish act Rituals Of The Dead Hand, part of the sweet collective The Nox Entity. This band was formed in 2016 by Hemelbestormer members Filip ‘Lykaios’ Dupont and Frederik ‘Isangrim’ Cosemans.
I will not go too deep within this Flemish band’s history this time; I’d rather like to refer to one of the reviews I did write for their former full-length releases – see below for the links on Burden (Satanath Records, 2015) and Bleakness (Symbol Of Domination Productions, 2018). So, I will go almost immediately to the aural content of this newest effort by this act from Antwerp-based soil. But first a small introduction…
Recently I same in touch with Alexey ‘Curche’ Pyshkin, a member of the crew behind Wroth Emitter Productions. That Russian label was formed almost three decades ago, releasing demos of (cult) acts like Scald or Crrombid Traxorm, but somehow they did remain in mist, veil and underground.
The Greek label Aisxini Records is a very open-minded one, with some hands full of acceptable Metal (re)releases. Recently they also took care of the album ΑΜΑΥΡΩΣΙΣ, aka Amavrosis, a split of two great one-man combos from Hellenic soil. It has nothing to do with Black, Death or Doom Metal, yet it is at least as obscure, oppressive and overwhelming.
When the Hasselt (Flanders) based act Quaedt disbanded, a couple of its members, in collaboration with colleagues from Natan (also put to rest in the meantime), wanted to continue somehow. They created a handful of songs, which they gathered under the new band-name Ill (‘ill’, not the Latin number ‘3’). The purpose was to combine the blackened approach from the past with elements from Doom and Psychedelic influences.
After several digitally self-released tracks, the Australian outfit MaziKeen (an archaic Hebrew word meaning something like deleterious soul or detrimental spirit) signed to Satanath Records from St. Petersburgh in order to release their first official full-length album; it’s a cooperative happening with Iron, Blood And Death Corporation from Mexican soil.
Well, it is almost incredible to notice that new labels can still make it during these weird eras of existence. I think it is the core of ‘our’ genre(s), the essence of our beloved raison d’être, the purity of the happy few that do know what Sonic Supremacy and Aural Art are all about.
Some might recognize the name of Ryan Scott Fairfield from his activities in Terrible Old Man / Toxic Cross, but he used to be the guy behind Hallowed Butchery as well. ‘used to be’? Well, no no no, for Hallowed Butchery apparently have not faded away yet into the one true reality, death. It took a decade or so, but this project resurrected from oblivion with a new pièce d’art sonorique, called Deathsongs (From The Hymnal Of The Church Of The Final Pilgrimage).
