lundi 7 avril 2025

Grimgrave Caves & Woods (2024)



Label:Ancient Sounds of Madness Productions

Tracklist:

1.Vae Victis 

2.Back to Caves                 

3.Let Us Mourn                   

4.Cavemankind                  

5.Smoking Dope, Praising the Goat      

6.Winds Haunt My Tombstone

Grimgraveis a one-man band by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Kyrie from Poland her debut full-length named Caves & Woods via Ancient Sounds of Madness Productions and it’s Melodic Black/Death with doomed with slower part and some part are atmospheric black metalthroughmelancholic soundscapes,heavy metal elements all this turn in an underground roots.

Caves& Wood introVaeVictis are a mix of all bored and slower styles, but the serious things begins with the second track Back To Caves raw riffs followed with melodic / atmospheric big part,Grimgrave switch between slow, passages with occasional bursts of intensity passing by slow ambient part maybe like some Burzum sound, there are some variation but the flavour of the oddly sounds makes the album more stronger and interested

Other track to pay attention maybe it’s the fav Cavemankind the other tracks are also not bad.

with this first album, I think you can easily add Caves & Woods to your collection.

mercredi 26 mars 2025

Manifestum Darkness - Desecration Rotten Corpse (2025)

 


Label:Death In Pieces Records

Tracklist:

1-Baptized

2-Blasphemous Priest

3-Perpetual Cult Of Perversion

4-Evil Domain

5-Obscurity

6-Hossana In The Abyss

7-Segregation of The Morbid Cross

Mexican underground death metal band Manifestum Darkness. Founded in 2016 their first demo named Initiation 2018. And their debut album Desecration Rotten Corpse2025 via  Death in Pieces Records label.

Desecration Rotten Corpse sound it's awesome for the old schooler and underground worshiper, with blasphemy, dark and rotten influenceswithout cutting-edge technology of modern fucking metal of shit

The riffing sounds like the grinding, un-oiled gears of a massive machine Yet those sounds also seem to dismally wail, indeed abysmal in their hopelessness as well as abyssal.

Manifestum Darkness have dedicated their albumto blasphemy, dark and rotten sound towards the abysses sound or from the caves of hell for Hell's Headbangers,with their traditional style of old school death metal .

As a sign of what this means, today we’re premiering a foul and ferocious song from the album named Hossana In the Abyss

One important thing on this album you can see the golden age ‘80s/early '90s black/death metal,this album presents a pretty easy-peasy and simple run of traditional death metal riffing and sometimes guitars were lower heavy as hell

Drums are pushed into the background and nestled next to the vocals, with only bass drums and cymbals being very readily audible, as the gruff, mid-range growls but suffocated, strangle with little noisy in summary the vocal is not technical

In any case ,Desecration Rotten Corpseis acceptable debut album and you can add this full-length to your collection.

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lundi 17 mars 2025

Pendulvm - Llanos de Tumbas (2024)

 

Tracklist:

1.Llanos de tumbas             

2.Old and Doomed               

3.Lento descenso al desprecio    

4.Caballero errante

Recently I've been writing a lot of reviews recently of atmospheric doomed black metal, but this one is from the cave of the pure underground from the great sick and killer Chile metal scene, Besides, I have always appreciated the Chile metal scene.

Pendulvm one-man band who bring a dark and primitive doomed horrific and morbid black /death metal with the sick old school flavor and even the art work cover has a very fit design only in black and white a full moon above cemetery that remember me cover CD’s and tapes of some great names like Apocalyptic Raids (Hellhammer), In Battle There Is No Law! (Bolt Thrower) early Darkthrone (Ravishing Grimness, Soulside Journey and maybe Hate Them) and many more the EP called Llanos de Tumbas fortunately is very brief just four tracks.

The title track, which loosely means Llanos de tumbas, shifts seamlessly between slow, lumbering doom and unsettling tempos. This sets the atmosphere that awaits you, where Anhedonist’s guttural vocals Old and Doomed stands out with its grinding intensity, presenting a terrifying force that lingers long after the track ends with slower constant and regular tempo and  much thicker and heavier sound than the other tracks, Lento Descenso Al Desprecio’ continues the horror, blending dread with an organic, churning sound. The final number, Caballero Errante, wraps up the EP, leaving you with a feeling of just being traversed through a dark nightmare, just like the album cover

In any case, a full-length album cannot be too far, in the meantime you can add Llanos de Tumbas to your collection.


samedi 15 mars 2025

Interview with Scenic Lucid Decay


No Mercy: First of all, thank you for taking part in this interview, I just wanted to ask a bit about the origins of the band since 2017. How was the songwriting process divided across the course of all these years, was it spread out or product of a very short time frame when time allowed it?

Emeld: Thanks for your interest and time! Scenic Lucid Decay is a continuation of Embers From Cremation, which started in 2003 but had ideas going back to the late 90s with jam bands and solo project ideas. It was time for a new name, and to start from scratch to an extent. The songs on the latest album Revenge Obsession were written in 2013-2015 and I never wanted to use drum programming on them. The one exception is the song for the betterment of mankind which was written in 2021.

No Mercy: What do you think of the worldwide death metal and extreme scene today?

Emeld: There's so much stuff these days, it's really hard to keep up on it!


No Mercy: What can you tell us about your line up, and will you introduce other members? what does it do to you to have Lord Marco (the killer god of drums) has been a part in several great bands like Vital Remains, Vile, Six Feet Under and many much more? 

Emeld: I'm Emeld. I compose the music on the guitar and also do the vocals, on past releases I also played bass and did the drum programming on until the worms comeback. The bass player Vittorio is from Italy and I met him in 2021 while travelling in Europe and was thoroughly impressed by his playing, he is currently also playing with the Italian band Onirikas they work on new material. It's great to have Marco playing on this album, it gave the songs a lot of life, and I couldn't imagine anyone else playing this stuff. I knew of him from bands like Braindrill, Six Feet Under and Waking The Cadaver.

No Mercy: What is the meaning and inspiration behind the name Scenic Lucid Decay?

Emeld: It's basically about my love of old decaying structures and ghost towns, though it can have other meanings.

No Mercy: What are your plans for promoting the album? Can fans expect tours, music videos, or special events in 2025? Any fav bands to get on stage with?

 Are there any upcoming tour, videos, or other projects?  What are the immediate plans for the band after having released.

Emeld: No plans other than getting more and more physical media and putting the music in record shops.

No Mercy: What can you tell us about the lyrical themes?

Emeld: For the first two releases they're apocalyptic, the rotting and collapse of society, and about end of the world conspiracies. For Revenge Obsession it's a little more personal. For example, Nights Grace is about overcoming one’s dark experiences in life, which can lead you to the light so to speak or give you wisdom. Revenge Obsession is about wanting revenge but also about the negatives impacts that feeling has on ones well being


No Mercy: Your last release Revenge Obsession is very brief compared with Your previous release what can you tell us about? Andwhy did you modify a bit your logo band?

Emeld: This release takes a lot from my dark and black metal type sound, and the logo represents that.


No Mercy: Until The Worms Come Back artwork is very nice. How did you collaborate with him to visually represent the themes and essence of the music?

Emeld: That was basically just a pre-made image, but I had Georgi add some giant worms to it. I'm glad you like it.

No Mercy: Can you tell us a little bit more about the artwork that is presented on the new EP cover?

Emeld: It represents the lyrics to Revenge Obsession really good, and adds to the theme. For example, the person is drowning in their own hate, with the acidic green ooze representing the hate.

No Mercy: After 2017, what challenges have you faced as a band, and how have you overcome them to remain a dominant force in death metal?

Emeld: The biggest challenge is just getting people to hear your music and find live and fulltime members. I think this is a huge problem for tons of bands these days.

No Mercy: Can you tell us more about the recording process at Sound mix Studios in? What challenges did you face while tracking the album in such a short time?

Emeld: For this release and the previous release my friend Scott Moughton(ex- Operation Mind Crime) helped engineer the album and did a great job. This time around everything but the guitars were recorded elsewhere. I think it's the best quality I've ever had, and it still has a raw unhinged style to it. That being said, it had to be remixed/remastered as I didn't pay enough attention to some of the details while approving the first mix, so at this point the CD version and Bandcamp version are the only way to hear the correct mix.

No Mercy: For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about ?

Emeld: I've been writing music for a very long time now, since about 1996. I never wanted too necessarily be stuck in a certain format, so the music represents that. I am inspired by of all forms of extreme metal, from death to thrash to black to speed to grind etc and even other stuff like classical, hard rock, and electronica etc. Though at the end of the day its basically just brutal extreme music.

No Mercy:  Are you satisfy with your label and witch label fit to your music?

Emeld: We currently don't have a label.


No Mercy: Reinvigorating The God Complexis the single from the album Reinvigorating The God Complex what made this track the ideal choice to introduce listeners to? In any case the track is to pay attention with great dose of technical brutality?

Emeld: The Reinvigorating The God Complex album is a re-recording of old demo songs that were under the name Embers From Cremation with their original drum tracks, the song titles and lyrics were changed. The reason it was chosen as a single is because it was the first song that was fully written for embers from cremation back in 2002, and it also represents what SLD is about these days as well, having more black metal type leanings in the sound. There is a lot of crazy over the top songwriting on this album, but Reinvigorating The God Complex sticks out as it's not nearly as crazy as the other songs from a song structure point of view, while still being quite crazy.

No Mercy: On a worldwide level how has the reaction been to your music by fans

Emeld: I'm not sure about this, I hardly hear from people on the matter. But from people I know, they say that Revenge Obsession is hands down the best recording yet.

No Mercy: Thank you a lot for sharing your time with No Mercy Zine, do you have any particular messages for particular people or any closing notes, last words are yours?

Emeld: Thanks again for the interview, and supporting and help keeping the underground alive. If you as reader like what you hear, spread the word to your music friends.

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vendredi 7 mars 2025

Räum - Emperor of the Sun (2025)

 

Label:Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions

Tracklist:

1.Eclipse of the Empyreal Dawn

2.Nemo Me Impune Lacessit      

3.Grounds of Desolation    

4.Towards the Flame

5.Obscure

6.Emperor of the Sun

7.A Path to the Abyss

Belgian black metal band and this is their second album Emperor of the Sun via Les Acteurs De L’Ombre

Räum is a mix of melody, atmosphere, with some touch of brutality

Succeeding, on from 2023’s Cursed by the Crown comes the 44-minute Emperor of the Sun. This new record builds on Räum’s past achievements, making for a very enjoyable slice of black metal.

The album starts with the brutalized intro Eclipse of the Empyreal Dawn, which then jumps out at you with its bloody riffs, furious vocal parts and icy atmosphere. Harmonics and maybe melancholic embellish the majestic rhythm that moves forward under the piercing growls, and if the track seems to end in a death rattle, it picks up again and carries us through to Nemo Me Impune Lacessit, where the tone is heavier. The composition is also jerkier, offering a shifting rhythm that doesn’t hesitate to accelerate and adopt rawerbecause the tempo changes at the right time

A second part much more doomed and atmospheric from the third track

Grounds of Desolation it’s turns between moments of intense blasts and heavy and atmospheric doomed passages, indeed mid-tempo

Towards The Flames starts off again at full speed, fast but melodic, sometimes mystical, always captivating like the very atmospheric, almost post-black.

Emperor of the Sun it’s a rich piece, with completely hypnotic vocals. Finally, "A Path To The Abyss" closes it all with firmness and mixed beauty. If the rhythm is infernal, the melodies, the atmospheres and the choirs call us like sirens to dive into the deepest abysses of humanity.

If "Cursed By The Crown" was promising, "Emperor Of The Sun" marks a turning point in the mastery of a modern black metal in any case you can add Emperor Of The Sun to your collection.

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mercredi 12 février 2025

Where The Light Fades - Into the Depths of the Black Creek (2025)

 

Label:  Canadian Northernshadow

Tracklist:

1.Torn Out         

2.Sands of Time         

3.Looming Doom (Into the Depths)

Where The Light Fades is band that arose out of the ashes of Astaroth Incarnate. Their new 3-track EP, "Into The Depths of The Black Creek," will be released on January 31st as a limited edition of 250 ecopack CDs hosted by Northern Shadow Canadian record

The EP is brief have only three songs during 15:26 minutes the artwork was done by Eza Fadhlul (Conqueror Ink) about the cover artwork it’s very fit and perfect with their style. 

Expect a mix of atmospheric/doom black (the basic style), with raw and some melodic death metal in the vein of Wolves In The Throne Room, Imperium Dekadenz, Mgła, Darkthrone, Taake, and early Katatonia.The lyrics are based on life, death, and grieving - something anyone can relate to.

Short debut EP for Where the Light Fades, it starts with Torn Out inflamed energy at first but fortunately suddenly tempo changes and bored things begins melancholic melodic and atmospheric slower riffs ….but at the end a little correction, nice melody followed by a raw sound, Sands of Time to pay attention because it’s the best and my fav of this mini EP ,powerful  sound , some more black metal moments the song are more raw music  speeds  up that are rooted in this second track with blast beat  can  be  heard and more evil angry vocals adding touch of death metal  growls all adjusting and all updates  have been accomplished in this tracks to be prefect as  well  as  the quality of the recording reaches the cutting edge of technology, Looming Doom (Into the Depths) in this last song  you heard doom and  melodic things , mid-tempo with up and down , we could say that it’s atmospheric black heavy 

In any case ,everybody guess a full-length album cannot be too far off.

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lundi 27 janvier 2025

Time Lurker - Emprise (2024)

 


Label:Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions

Tracklist:

1.Emprise          
2.Cavalière de feu     
3.Poussière mortifère
4.Disparais, soleil
5.Fils sacré 

Still with atmospheric black metal via Les Acteurs De L’Ombre and this time with Time Lurker

Time Lurker is a French one-man bandatmospheric black metal project formed in 2014 by multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Mick. The band name is inspired by the song "Time's Lurker" by Catacomb (the former band of Mick's uncle James Moreau and aunt Nathalie). The name also refers to the Lovecraftian themes and lyrical content of both bands. Back in 2017, Time Lurker released Time Lurker, and now return after a 7-year gap to present Emprise powerful dark atmosphere the grim and disturbing setting depicted by that horrifying and scary cover artfollowed with evil nightmare vocal who remember me a little to Abruptum

brevity of this album just five songs but over 33min,First of these five tracks intro who takes the auditor to gloomy dark ambient universe after that , the duo starts withCavalière de feu atmospheric black metal, as we know it from previous Time Lurker releases. The tempo is faster, the guitar work is characterized by melodies, while Sotte's howling vocals, reminiscent of old Burzum, are mixed more in the background, Poussièremortifère is in the same style, but the speed is more mid-tempo.

Fils sacré the last one and the fav to pay attention over 8:33 min it’s begins the with raw riffs unstoppable go with  drumming, the drummer do his best on this tracksome tempo changes at right time with pretty awesome melodies fest of snare and double pedals

Now you can do your choice,add Emprise or not to your collection .

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mercredi 8 janvier 2025

Sordide - Ainsi Finit Le Jour (2024)

 

Label:Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions

Tracklist:

1 - Des Feux Plus Forts

2 - Nos Cendres Et Nos Râles

3 - Le Cambouis Et Le Carmin

4 - Sous Vivre

5 - Banlieues Rouges

6 - La Poésie Du Caebene

7 - Ainsi Finit Le Jour

8 - La Beauté Du Désastre

9 - Tout Est à La Mort

This is the fifth album of French atmospheric black metal Sordide with lyrics in French (nothing in English)via Les Acteurs De L’Ombre nothing in English with nine tracks during fifty-four minutes, this French trio plays an ambiguous style of black metalit’s it looks to atmospheric black metal but !!!!! usually black metal fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an emphasis with Sordide

I can’t say black metal i’ts maybe post black with modern metal aparence

Structurally, it's got your basic variety of blasting and then some slower, grooving chords almost like Darkthrone or Hellhammer (not sure), but then they clamp on that strangeness and it becomes just left of center. The slower tunes,the vocalist's raucous screams make him sound enraged. There are also much bored slower songs that deliver a dark, doomy atmosphere with crushing heaviness, quite a contrast with the faster songs and you can literally feel the darkness and despair enveloping you while listening to these,other songs have fast tempo with raw riffs but tempo changes suddenly Towards the end of Des feux plus forts my fav song but tempo not really changes at the right time , in any case the nine songs are varied and some reviewer find an aggressive hardcore punk vibe maybe in the second and fifth song Nos cendres Et Nos Râles and  Banlieues Rouges

Now I think you can add Ainsi Finit le Jour to your collection.

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