terraasymmetry Features

SYNCHRONY: Music News, Week in Review & Upcoming (10/04/2019)

SYNCHRONY is a weekly feature focusing on relevant heavy music news, new releases, upcoming releases, as well as a week in review to help folks keep up with all of the content on GrizzlyButts. This’ll also include a list of upcoming releases and some preliminary notes on upcoming reviews or coverage. Some Seattle, Washington area live shows will be intermittently featured. If you have New Releases, show announcements, or important heavy music news that’ll be relevant or interesting to folks contact me at: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com Priority to PR/label submissions and straight up if I can’t hear it, I won’t cover it.

THIS WEEK IN NEWS

  • Fire up le barbeqois because French medieval black metal tyrants GRYLLE have announced a deluxe and gloriously expanded vinyl edition of their pentultimate statement in the realm of mystical, magickal, medieval black metal, their opus sans electric guitars: ‘Les Grandes Compagnies‘. Even if you’ve no idea what I’m on about, go O’ unfaithful swarm and listen. The double LP version will be released November 15th but in the meantime, try the original release out on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Let it ring throughout the endless vastness of space, growing deeper in its resonant violence with every passing eon of lightless death that OMEGAVORTEX have found a home with the mighty thunderbolt of Invictus Productions and Deathworx for the release of their forthcoming debut full-length ‘Black Abomination Spawn’ in early 2020. This German band formerly aligned with the chaos of the abyss under the name Ambevilence but changed their name and focus since 2017. I was so enthusiastic about their 2018 promo tape so this news is especially exciting to hear. If you love riffs, and tons of them, you must keep an eye out for this band! Catch up with the band’s work with a recent compilation released by GoatThrone Records: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Spanish melodic death/doom band SUN OF THE DYING pay homage to Lovecraft’s At the Mountains of Madness on this first single, “Monolith”, from their debut on AOP Records ‘The Earth is Silent’. No doubt their influences are clear, taking cues from Swallow the Sun and the ‘Peaceville Three’ in terms of modus but this album is much more ambitious than a plain sub-genre entry and should be well worth the wait when it comes out November 29th: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Eight songs, eight pieces, eight albums, and much excitement greets the announcement from Les Acteurs De L’Ombre Productions that progressive death/doom band MONOLITHE will release their latest full-length ‘Okta Khora‘ on January 29th, 2020. The mathematically derived rhythmic symbolism of ‘Nebula Septem’ appears to return on this much anticipated album and I couldn’t be more excited for it! In the meantime catch up with the band’s more recent releases, a cover of Cathedral for a compilation and an incredible live album: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • The review isn’t up yet but I’ll have to agree with progressive death metal band IN MOURNING‘s sentiments surrounding ‘Garden of Storms’, that is their finest hour yet– Their most compelling and complete musical statement yet. If you’re looking for more context and interest beyond the album itself, which releases today October 4th on Agonia Records, check out this 50+ minute documentary on the making of the album and the meaning behind its deeper waters. I will hopefully have the review finished by the time this news has posted: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Prolific Portland, Oregon black metal artist Vardlokker‘s main project WITCHBONES have been picked up by Iron Bonehead Productions for the December 6th release of ‘The Seas of Draugen’, his second full-length this year alone. Don’t discount a prolific black metal band, plenty of righteous lo-fi ruin to enjoy within. A roaring sea of horror to drown in awaits on the label’s SoundCloud: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Remember Ohio melodic blackened death/thrash band DISMEMBERMENT? They had this gnarly ‘Heartwork’-esque snarl and plenty of big thrashing riffs to throw around back in 2014 but they’ve been touring and up to whatever else in the years since. Their return to the full-length game finds the band on Creator-Destructor Records and lands under the name ‘Arc Of Ancients’ on October 18th. Yeah?! The month is crowded but holy damn, this one sounds great. They’re still rocking that early Revocation-meets-Carcass sound and doing a great job of it on the first preview track “Once Forsaken”, check it out on Bandcamp: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • HEGEMONY is the name of the cult that’ll rip you from the womb and slap your carcass with a spiked baseball bat. Hegemony is the righteous slap of blackened harrowing death metal butchery you’ll await until early 2020 when their forthcoming debut album, ‘Enthroned by Persecution’, from Hell’s Headbangers Records will nuke the enfeebled and poisonous masses into neutrons. Not since Abysmal Lord has Alabama squirted out such a feral lot. Bow to them for mercy via YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Oakland, California death metal band VASTUM lift yet another veil in preparation for their upcoming full-length ‘Orificial Purge’. “I On the Knife (Second Wound)” not only showcases the twisted insight the band have always brought to the table but also their classic death metal sound, enhanced by a powerful dual vocal presence. Plenty of folks feel like a Vastum record sells itself but I’d say it bears repeating that there are few bands doing mid-paced, pure death metal heaviness this -right- in 2019. If you are in the know, expect something just an edge darker than ‘Hole Below’. Its out on October 25th through 20 Buck Spin, check out the single on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • It cannot wait, it cannot be contained, it cannot be understated how mind-bending it is to finally hear a glimpse of the coming storm that early 2020 will bring and particularly from the Invictus Productions/Dark Descent Records partnership in the form of Swedish 80’s styled death metal masters ENSNARED‘s upcoming full-length ‘Inimicus Generis Humani’, which will release February 14th next year. Don’t believe me? Get your stupid ass over to YouTube and give a listen to “Disciples of the Whip”, it will melt the skin from your ignorant skull!: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Speaking of heavily anticipated rip ‘n roaring death metal of the old school variety SENTIENT HORROR‘s second album ‘Morbid Realms’ is slated for slaughter on November 29th through Redefining Darkness Records (NA) / Testimony Records (EU) and you should be scrambling to see the artwork they’ve commissioned from Jaunjo Casetellano! This is a big step for the Euro-death influenced New Jersey band and that includes finishing touches from Dan Swanö himself. [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • Swedish black metal brutalists AVSLUT are suggesting they’ve gone harder on ‘Tyranni’, their second full-length for Osmose Productions in two years but if you crank their latest single, the title track “Tyranni”, you’ll no doubt recognize their ultra-swede style of post-1998 black metal, complete with an exceptionally tuned drum performance. They’re still a spitting image of Dark Funeral/Marduk in some respects but I’m loving how balanced and heavy the production values are. Check it out on YouTube: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • It appears that the righteously unhallowed Sepulchral Voice Records once again finds themselves home to some of the very best music on the planet as they announce November 29th as the date of release for the wetly anticipated third album from Swedish blackened death/thrash gone extreme noise rock band REVEAL. ‘Scissorgod‘, is what I’ll worship from now on, its massive bleeding sore of a freakout will be my deity, despite the abuse and the horror I gladly let it devour me! All you get for now is a teaser on YouTube, but I’m sitting here afraid to press play on the album, oh god, ho-god, O’ scissorgod…: [Click/Tap HERE for more info]
  • HYPE ALBUMS AT PRESS THIS WEEK FROM: Reveal, PH, Djevel, Sentient Horror, Horrocious, Sartegos, Maeskyyrn, Mortuary, Pombajira, Reido, Dismemberment, Alcest, Vesperith, Witchbones, The Bedroom Witch, Ramprasad, Tragic Death, Teeth, Cinema Cinema, Xeno Ooze, The Lone Madman, Minenwerfer, Vision Divine, Avslut and several more. Look for coverage in the near future. Don’t see your album listed? Send it to me!

GRIZZLY BUTTS‘ WEEK IN REVIEW (9/28/19 – 10/04/19)

WEEKLY FEATURES:

  • Ten From the Tomb 9/30/19: Ignobility in a time of mass self-destruction.
    • This week I chose to cover ten hardcore punk records that rule.
    • Must hear: Los Huaycos, Meatwound, Berthold City.
    • Next week (10/07) will cover ten requests from independent artists. I will not be accepting any more requests for reviews until late December as I cannot fit any extra listening into my schedule for the rest of the year. Some special cases may apply, and I will create a queue either way.
  • Thrash ‘Til Death #40: Sorcery (Sweden) 1986-1992
    • Sorcery were exactly the sort of teenaged Bathory loving extreme metal kids out of the Uppsala/Stockholm area that you’d expect in the early 80’s and no doubt their love of King Diamond early on translated into some very open-minded exploration of the new frontiers that death and black metal brought to their neck of the woods. Their demos continue to be the most thrilling part of their early discography, and their new albums are pretty solid as well.
    • Next week (10/08) will feature a look at the totally forgotten but entirely ripping death-thrashers Vacant Grave (United States) as they navigated the 80’s in style and dropped dead as soon as their full-length hit. Get ready for some raw-ass tapes!

REVIEWS: The big releases this week were from: Toxic Holocaust, Gatecreeper, In Mourning, Slutvomit, Ehlder, Dysrythmia, and Exhumed. Working on reviews for all of these except Gatecreeper as I did not receive a review copy, I’ll try and check it out when I have extra time. Otherwise, I’ve already looked ahead to next week for some reviews but the pile of regretful oversights is growing steep.

UPCOMING SHOWS: [That I’ll likely attend]

  • ORANSSI PAZUZU w/Insect Ark 10/27/2019 @ Chop Suey – Seattle, WA
  • KING DIAMOND w/Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats @ The Paramount 11/25/19
  • HIGH ON FIRE, Power Trip, Devil Master & Creeping Death – 12/02/19 @ Neumos – Seattle, WA

RELEASED/OVERLOOKED THIS WEEK (10/01/19 – 10/06/19)

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NOTE: This small sample includes overlooked releases that are not yet reviewed or covered but are recommended. Some of these will still be featured in other coverage. An asterisk (*) indicates that a review is drafted or in preparation. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.

UPCOMING RELEASES (10/07/19 – 10/11/19)

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NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list, some titles are already reviewed and/or covered and some have yet to enter the final queue for consideration and processing. An asterisk (*) indicates that a review is drafted or in preparation. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.

Did I miss something important this week? Send me an e-mail and tell me about it. It is always worthwhile to speak up for the lesser known stuff. Please remember you can donate to help keep me in front of the computer writing about metal. Thanks.

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