Category: news

Urza – The Omniprescence of Loss (2019)

Yeah, so we’re technically a couple of years behind on checking out this album, but we’ve got an excuse. The first physical release of this album will be happening next month, so if you think about it that way, we’re actually ahead of things, yeah? In any event, this is the debut album from the German group Urza (a name some nerds in the audience no doubt recognize from a different context), and it’s one steeped in funeral doom morbidity.

Opening track “Lost in Decline” is seventeen minutes long, to give you some idea of how things are gonna roll. Rising from bass drones to slow-stomping gloom, and passing through bridge after bridge, it delivers an atmosphere to make you straight-up shiver. Excellent winter music, and probably even better if you can somehow arrange yourself a listen in an underground crypt. The music is almost physically heavy, moving along on tank-tread riffs, and the vocals, deep and booming, are a fantastic fit.

Things continue on in that vein for the remainder of the album, with an evocative track title for each sprawling excursion. “A History of Ghosts”, “Path of Tombs”, “From the Vaults to Extermination”, and “Demystifying the Blackness” make up the remainder, in that order, finding reliably satisfying ways to explore fusions of morbidity and heaviness. If you’re already a funeral doom fan, you’ll find a lot to savor here; for those new to the style, it’ll likely be akin to jumping in the deep end. Songs flow smoothly from one to the next, and it’s easy to find yourself sucked into the tarry gravity of the tracks. Coming together at just about an hour of abyssal anguish, it’s a stunning debut, and a thorough testament to the band’s abilities. The physical release is on cassette, through Nailbat Tapes, and officially drops on March 5th, though pre-orders are already up. If funeral doom so deep-toned you can practically drown in it is your thing, don’t miss out on this release.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Heavydeath, Jupiterian, Malsten, Primitive Man, Thergothon

Facebook • Official Website • Nailbat Tapes BandCamp • BandCamp

Urza – Path of Tombs (320 kbps)

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The online symphonic metal collective Valcata have released their new standalone single ‘Tower’. The song is the first glance of new music since their debut album in 2019, and was mixed by the acclaimed engineer Jacob Hansen (Pyramaze, Volbeat, Amaranthe).

Watch the lyric video below:

  

“We hope you’re as excited for this release as we are,” writes composer Oha Cade, “Since our debut in October 2019, I’ve been feverishly working on new music. While my ultimate goal is to create another full-length album, some things just can’t wait. When you hear this song and the lyrical themes, you’ll see why.”

Follow Valcata here: valcata.com/links

 

 

Below are the full credits:

MIXING AND MASTERING
Jacob Hansen (Pyramaze, Volbeat, Amaranthe, Delain)

VOCALISTS
Hadi Kiani (Gereh, The Frame, Deaton LeMay Project) — as Hessabi
Angel Wolf-Black (Goditha, Alexandra Zerner, Vivaldi Metal Project) — as Hypatia
Joshua Morse (The Doubted) — as Morbus

GUITARS
João Miguel (Enblood, Tokyo Wanderer)

BASS
Chris Kollias (SL Theory, Serenity Broken, Persona Non Grata)

DRUMS
Jonas Schütz (Sacrosanct, Sapiency, Eraserhead, Diësis, Condemned to Dream, First Encounter, Oceanrise)

STRINGS
Nathaniel Wolkstein (Just Nathaniel, Gravity the Architect, Imagine the Moon)

SYNTHS
Oha Cade

ARTWORK
Joshua McQuary (McMonster)

 

 

The online symphonic metal collective Valcata have released their new standalone single ‘Tower’. The song is the first glance of new music since their debut album in 2019, and was mixed by the acclaimed engineer Jacob Hansen (Pyramaze, Volbeat, Amaranthe).

Watch the lyric video below:

  

“We hope you’re as excited for this release as we are,” writes composer Oha Cade, “Since our debut in October 2019, I’ve been feverishly working on new music. While my ultimate goal is to create another full-length album, some things just can’t wait. When you hear this song and the lyrical themes, you’ll see why.”

Follow Valcata here: valcata.com/links

 

 

Below are the full credits:

MIXING AND MASTERING
Jacob Hansen (Pyramaze, Volbeat, Amaranthe, Delain)

VOCALISTS
Hadi Kiani (Gereh, The Frame, Deaton LeMay Project) — as Hessabi
Angel Wolf-Black (Goditha, Alexandra Zerner, Vivaldi Metal Project) — as Hypatia
Joshua Morse (The Doubted) — as Morbus

GUITARS
João Miguel (Enblood, Tokyo Wanderer)

BASS
Chris Kollias (SL Theory, Serenity Broken, Persona Non Grata)

DRUMS
Jonas Schütz (Sacrosanct, Sapiency, Eraserhead, Diësis, Condemned to Dream, First Encounter, Oceanrise)

STRINGS
Nathaniel Wolkstein (Just Nathaniel, Gravity the Architect, Imagine the Moon)

SYNTHS
Oha Cade

ARTWORK
Joshua McQuary (McMonster)

Dopelord – Reality Dagger (2021)

Arriving about a year after their most recent album, Sign of the Devil, this EP finds the Polish psych-doomers of Dopelord still flying in high form. Sporting a Suspiria-styled bit of cover art, the three-track release leads off with “Dark Coils”, a fuzzy groover with thick bass, deep-mixed drums, and hazed-out vocals. Working riffs with all their usual mind-hooking adeptness, the band is right in its element, and the intensification towards the end comes through with great execution.

“Your Blood” takes place for track two, keeping the fogged-out atmosphere going smooth. Some tasty guitar soloing over a bass riff makes for a fine bridge, before the song slides into echoing vocals and reverb worship. Those first two songs put together come to about the runtime of the title track, coming up to close out the EP with nearly eleven minutes of down-tuned psych metal. Low-pitched groove digging from the bass keeps things plowing along, while the drummer keeps things low-key until it’s time for him to cut loose. Some goosebump-inducing vocal effects tilt things in a darker direction than the band usually operates, while the guitarist gets some more solo time with a crunching progression leading back to the pedal-powered morass.

It’s a quick trip, but one which clearly shows the group still operating in fantastic form, while trying out some fun tweaks on their usual style. Established fans will get good times out of this, while newcomers will find it a compelling reason to jump into one of the full LPs. Green Plague Records will be handling release across various formats come February 19^th, so mark your calendars to pick it up before it vanishes as fast as their physical releases usually do.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Dopethrone, Electric Wizard, Keef Mountain, Tar Pit, Uncle Acid

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Dopelord – Reality Dagger (2021)

Arriving about a year after their most recent album, Sign of the Devil, this EP finds the Polish psych-doomers of Dopelord still flying in high form. Sporting a Suspiria-styled bit of cover art, the three-track release leads off with “Dark Coils”, a fuzzy groover with thick bass, deep-mixed drums, and hazed-out vocals. Working riffs with all their usual mind-hooking adeptness, the band is right in its element, and the intensification towards the end comes through with great execution.

“Your Blood” takes place for track two, keeping the fogged-out atmosphere going smooth. Some tasty guitar soloing over a bass riff makes for a fine bridge, before the song slides into echoing vocals and reverb worship. Those first two songs put together come to about the runtime of the title track, coming up to close out the EP with nearly eleven minutes of down-tuned psych metal. Low-pitched groove digging from the bass keeps things plowing along, while the drummer keeps things low-key until it’s time for him to cut loose. Some goosebump-inducing vocal effects tilt things in a darker direction than the band usually operates, while the guitarist gets some more solo time with a crunching progression leading back to the pedal-powered morass.

It’s a quick trip, but one which clearly shows the group still operating in fantastic form, while trying out some fun tweaks on their usual style. Established fans will get good times out of this, while newcomers will find it a compelling reason to jump into one of the full LPs. Green Plague Records will be handling release across various formats come February 19^th, so mark your calendars to pick it up before it vanishes as fast as their physical releases usually do.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Dopethrone, Electric Wizard, Keef Mountain, Tar Pit, Uncle Acid

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The online symphonic metal collective Valcata have put out a teaser for their new standalone single Tower, which will be released on February 12th, 2021. The song is the first glance of new music since their debut album in 2019, and was mixed by the acclaimed engineer Jacob Hansen (Pyramaze, Volbeat, Amaranthe).

Watch the video below:

  

“We hope you’re as excited for this release as we are,” writes composer Oha Cade, “Please pre-save, follow us and stay safe!“

Pre-save the song on Spotify and follow the band here: valcata.com/links

The online symphonic metal collective Valcata have put out a teaser for their new standalone single Tower, which will be released on February 12th, 2021. The song is the first glance of new music since their debut album in 2019, and was mixed by the acclaimed engineer Jacob Hansen (Pyramaze, Volbeat, Amaranthe).

Watch the video below:

  

“We hope you’re as excited for this release as we are,” writes composer Oha Cade, “Please pre-save, follow us and stay safe!“

Pre-save the song on Spotify and follow the band here: valcata.com/links

These bands should have been huge. A baker’s dozen of Glam and Grit bands that should have been–would have been–huge. Read Now

Cortége – Chasing Daylight (2021)

Having been around for about half a decade, the Austin-based duo of Cortége have put out a good half-dozen releases. With the sci-fi flavor of their presentation, and the doomed Western vibe to the music, it’s tempting to compare them to the KC-based Merlin, of Christ Killer fame. But with this new two-track EP, coming together at just over a quarter of an hour, the band clearly shows their own distinctively Texas-sun-scorched character, with morbidity and melancholy never entirely deprived of stylish swagger.

Starting off with some tone-setting engine cranking and radio-tuning (including reports of a Texas-sized meteor), Cortége then slam into a huge and moody funeral stomp, shift gears into a dirge-like gloom, and rumbles on from there. Despite the rowdiness of the opening, a considerable part of the song is focused on drifting tones and slow riff grooving, simply relishing the details of the instrumental swamp they’re exploring. It’s like a mix of the classic Italian film music for low-budget but high-ambition flicks in the western and horror genres, fused around dramatic and goosebump-raising foci.

The break into the second half squeals through on rough tires, but carries listeners smoothly into deeper and darker audio territory, somehow almost somber in its bar-twang guitar and boot-step percussion. As much as it tends to hang onto one riff for a while, the musicians coax an amazing amount of nuanced characterization from the wide-spaced clangs and chords. It helps that they’re willing to experiment with instruments, bringing keyboards and bells to prominence alongside the usual doom metal bass/drums/guitar. All together, it’s a very impressive EP, and a concise, compelling argument for the band’s skills across an open range. If you haven’t checked the band out before, this makes for an excellent intro; and if you have, it’s a welcome reminder of just how damn good they are.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Broughton’s Rules, Farflung, Frozen Planet….1969, Strato’s, Tumbleweed Dealer

Facebook • BandCamp

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Cortége – Chasing Daylight (2021)

Having been around for about half a decade, the Austin-based duo of Cortége have put out a good half-dozen releases. With the sci-fi flavor of their presentation, and the doomed Western vibe to the music, it’s tempting to compare them to the KC-based Merlin, of Christ Killer fame. But with this new two-track EP, coming together at just over a quarter of an hour, the band clearly shows their own distinctively Texas-sun-scorched character, with morbidity and melancholy never entirely deprived of stylish swagger.

Starting off with some tone-setting engine cranking and radio-tuning (including reports of a Texas-sized meteor), Cortége then slam into a huge and moody funeral stomp, shift gears into a dirge-like gloom, and rumbles on from there. Despite the rowdiness of the opening, a considerable part of the song is focused on drifting tones and slow riff grooving, simply relishing the details of the instrumental swamp they’re exploring. It’s like a mix of the classic Italian film music for low-budget but high-ambition flicks in the western and horror genres, fused around dramatic and goosebump-raising foci.

The break into the second half squeals through on rough tires, but carries listeners smoothly into deeper and darker audio territory, somehow almost somber in its bar-twang guitar and boot-step percussion. As much as it tends to hang onto one riff for a while, the musicians coax an amazing amount of nuanced characterization from the wide-spaced clangs and chords. It helps that they’re willing to experiment with instruments, bringing keyboards and bells to prominence alongside the usual doom metal bass/drums/guitar. All together, it’s a very impressive EP, and a concise, compelling argument for the band’s skills across an open range. If you haven’t checked the band out before, this makes for an excellent intro; and if you have, it’s a welcome reminder of just how damn good they are.

~ Gabriel

For Fans Of; Broughton’s Rules, Farflung, Frozen Planet….1969, Strato’s, Tumbleweed Dealer

Facebook • BandCamp

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