In the fall of 2015, a new Swiss band calling themselves Ungfell put out one of the weirdest and most original demos not just of that year, but of any year since black metal’s genesis. Called Demo(lition), Ungfell’s demo was part ritualistic black majesty, part wandering souls folk music, and an all-around captivating listen. Throughout its disconcerting thirty plus minutes an accordion sporadically howled like a body pulled on the rack; there were baritone clean vocals like haughty histrionics from some wayward witchfinder general; there were moments of staggering beauty, lacuna of breath-stealing eeriness. There was palpably blood put into those demo songs. Ancient blood revived by wild invocations.
Now Ungfell are set to cast an even more potent and bewildering spell upon the unsuspecting world with their debut full length, Tôtbringære. According to Menetekel, the main force behind Ungfell, “Tôtbringære” means “bringer of death,” and is an Old German name for the Devil.
We’re privileged to bring you an exclusive premiere of “Gottes Acker,” the third track from Ungfell’s debut full length. Enjoy “the melodic sounds of a tortured minstrel as he is being burned on a stack of wood,” as Menetekel himself describes the "Gottes Acker."
Secure your own copy of Tôtbringære on pro-tape from Graceless Recordings today.
Progressive metal has yielded countless great bands over time, many of whom exchange the convenience of an easily classifiable sound for challenging and off-the-wall compositions. Enter Cyborg Octopus.
One listen to the Northern California group confirms that they are indeed hard to describe, but easy to remember. Cyborg Octopus fuse jazz, Latin, funk and electronic music with progressive metal; the end result is an album’s worth of songs, called Learning to Breathe, that have all of the aforementioned sounds plus an abundance of chunky grooves and face melting solos.
We can see how it would be easy to believe an actual cyborg is making Cyborg Octopus’ music, but you can ditch that thought. Check out this clip of Cyborg Octopus playing “Baptism of Clay” for a SharkBite Studio Session.
"Cyborg Octopus is extremely proud to present this studio session of one of our heaviest songs,” guitarist David Wu comments. “Many may not know this but the band’s vocalist, Ian Forsythe, has a deep-seated fear of claymation. In ‘Baptism Of Clay’ he recounts a particularly disturbing period of his life and expresses it through the lens of his phobia.”
“The recording process really pushed us to perform at the next level and we unanimously agree that the final product speaks for itself,” Wu added.
You can grab a copy of Learning to Breathe through Apewhale.
Interviewing #RobHalford from @judaspriest right now. We hope hope your Friday night is going just as well. http://pic.twitter.com/fB4oaKvPNI
— Musicians Institute (@MIHollywood) August 6, 2016
In a little more than a month, everyone will get a chance to hear Pallbearer's newest album, Heartless, in full. It is the band's most adventurous and colorful statement since they crashed this decade's doom party with their first full-length record, Sorrow and Extinction.
When we started gathering information for our recent Pallbearer cover story (Issue #148, February 2017), we began hearing about some of the band's high profile fans. Turns out, longtime doom doers Hamish Glencross (Vallenfyre, ex-My Dying Bride) and Andrew Craighan (My Dying Bride) are particularly enamored of the Arkansas boys and their brand of low 'n' slow. We checked in with the two guitarists and let them gush praise about a surprising new favorite.
While you read their thoughts, be sure to check out "Thorns," a peek into one angle the band has taken with their new music.
When did you first hear Pallbearer's music?
Glencross: It was sound check at the first [Decibel Tour] show in L.A., I'm sorry to say! I just hadn't checked them out before the first show, so I was absolutely blown away by what I heard for the first time. I remember I was with Alejandro [Coredor] (live bass player for Vallenfyre) behind the stage, and I just said to him, "Fuck, that's a glorious noise!" The stage was shaking!
What did you think about their performances on the Decibel Tour?
Glencross: I made a point to watch them as much as I could, which was hard because they were on straight after us with only a very quick changeover, but I loved how much they changed the set from night to night, so I got to see a great selection of songs. I loved watching [bassist] Joe [Rowland]'s playing in particular – he is such a wonderful player. I knew the songs by riffs rather than names for so long. When I got back off tour and bought everything of theirs that I could, it was kind of strange hearing the recorded versions of songs I now knew so well.
I understand you spent a bunch of time with them on that tour, in part because of shared dressing rooms. What was it like hanging out with them on tour?
Glencross: They are just the absolute most wonderful, funny and friendly guys; they were a joy to spend time with. I managed to spend some time with each of them individually in different cities too, so that was awesome. They were so generous in letting use their gear too. We had a good laugh joking that [guitarist] Devin [Holt] is actually my long lost son!
What was the situation that led to you playing with them?
Glencross: We arrived in Canada at the venue to find them with Joe missing. They'd had bad luck at the border with some dicks who either hated their job or loved it too much. So they planned to play the show as a three piece. I said I'd love to do a guest spot with them the next night, so we ran through a few riffs in preparation for the next night. I was so excited and also a bit nervous! It was so wonderful to join them onstage, especially as they'd been telling me that they'd been listening to stuff I'd done for years.
What do you enjoy about their recorded work?
Glencross: The sheer vastness of emotion shining through everything they do. There's glorious heights and crushing lows. I didn't think that I'd be finding a new favourite band in this day and age, but that's exactly what's happened. I feel it my duty to share their music with friends of mine, whether they want me to or not! Just ask Andy [Craighan, guitarist] from My Dying Bride! He's a convert after I insisted he listen to them. I'm starting my own Pallbearer fan club!
When did you first hear Pallbearer's music?
Craighan: I was introduced to them by our former guitarist Hamish Glencross (yes we’re friends still). In March of this year, he’d taken a break from knocking his wife up and emailed me. He said, “Check this out, I think you’ll like it.” I tapped up my CD broker at Hellraiser and she supplied me with Foundations of Burden and later Sorrow and Extinction. What got me hooked totally was the acoustic intro to “Foreigner” (and then the rest of the song) from Sorrow and Extinction though, it was the final hair raising moment for me. At that point they were my new best friends. There are not many other doom bands I listen to but when they come along like this I have no qualms in buying their CDs (and t-shirts and their vinyl EP too, which I can’t play as I have no record player, but that’s not the point) and enjoying it as a simple doom metal fan.
What do you enjoy about their recorded work?
Craighan: To be honest, at first, when I only had the Foundations of Burden CD, I wasn’t quite sure what they were doing - it was so downtuned I thought it sounded odd. Then after a few spins in the car I really started “getting” it, and I thought wow this is not like anything I’ve heard before, doom or otherwise. I was sold. I quickly emailed my CD broker again and received Sorrow and Extinction shortly afterwards, now this is a classic. The opening acoustic guitar is just brilliant the rest of the album equally so, not a bad track on it.
Have you met the guys in Pallbearer?
Craighan: No, and I intend to keep it that way as to not spoil the fun.
Haven't read the 2017 preview issue featuring Pallbearer? Order it here.
Coming from the Nefarious Industries camp is Dying Whale, a sludge/punk/hardcore trio blasting out of Georgia. Now a three-piece with a slew of guest vocal appearances, Last Moments of Misery is a tour de force that pulls from a host of sounds.
Album opener “Black Sky Absorbs You In” sets the tone for the record: frantic riffing, energetic vocals and a hardcore breakdown are all territory Dying Whale treads in less than two minutes. And the whole record is like that.
If Dying Whale isn’t ripping into two minutes of raging hardcore punk, they might be embracing their doomier side, like on “Distress.” Further diversifying their sound, vocal contributions come from members of Gatherers, Fero Lux and a handful of others.
Thematically, the Georgia outfit has said previously that the album is written about the dark times in one’s life, and feeling like one doesn’t have a home in this life or the next.
Last Moments of Misery proves again that Dying Whale can bounce around in styles and bring it back to a cohesive product. Nefarious Industries will release the album on February 3. Grab a preorder here.
Dying Whale is hitting the road in March:
2/06/2017 Ashley Street Station – Valdosta, GA *record release show w/ Jucifer
3/16/2017 Williams Street – Valdosta, GA w/ Machinist!
3/17/2017 Handlebar – Pensacola, FL w/ Machinist!
3/18/2017 White Swan – Houston, TX w/ Machinist!
3/19/2017 Your Moms Place – Oklahoma City, OK w/ Machinist!
3/20/2017 Dr. Jacks Drinkery – Omaha, NE w/ Machinist!
3/23/2017 Rakes End – Cincinnati, OH w/ Machinist!
3/25/2017 Uflyfest – Dothan, AL w/ Machinist!
Sammy Hagar and James Hetfield announced the date and lineup for the Acoustic-4-a-Cure IV annual benefit concert. It returns to the Fillmore...