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Die jungen Wilden des Old School Death Metal!
Die Death Metaller PLAGUEMACE sind bereit, ihr Debütalbum Reptilian Warlords am 17. November
2023 via Napalm Records auf die Menschheit loszulassen! Die Old School Death Metal Band wurde 2019
in Dänemark gegründet und veröffentlichte im November 2020 ihre erste EP Primal Priest mit sechs markerschütternden Tracks. Die erbarmungslose Energie und die dreckigen Riffs der Newcomer entfesseln auf
der Bühne einem brutalen Wirbel aus Gitarren-Schreddern, Headbanging und dem puren Wahnsinn. Bereits
im ersten Jahr ihrer jungen Karriere haben PLAGUEMACE bereits 25 Konzerte absolviert, darunter mehrere
Headliner Shows sowie Support Slots für Bands wie Baest, Katla und Crocell. Bisheriges Highlight war die
UK-Tour im Frühjahr 2023 als Support für ihre Labelkolleginnen Nervosa.
Es besteht kein Zweifel daran, dass Fans von Bands wie Grave, High on Fire, Entombed und Obituary
das erste Studioalbum einer der vielversprechendsten Bands der neuen Generation des Old School Death
Metal ihre blanke Freude finden werden und mit einer frischen Brise an brutalem Sound versorgt werden!

Shatter And Fall - mächtiger Melodic Death Metal in all seinen finstersten Nuancen

Die aufstrebende US-amerikanische Melodic Death Metal Band HINAYANA veröffentlicht am 10. November 2023 ihr zweites Studioalbum Shatter and Fall via Napalm Records. Das Werk besticht mit beeindruckendem Songwriting und den namhaften Feature-Gästen Vincent Jackson Jones (Aether Realm) und Tuomas Saukkonen (Wolfheart). Produziert von Frontmann Casey Hurd und Kevin Butler, wurde Shatter and Fall von Dan Swanö in seinem Unisound-Studio gemastert.

Wie keine zweiten lassen die Texaner moderne Elemente in ihren Melodic Death Metal einfließen womit sie sich von Genregrößen wie Insomnium, Amorphis und Swallow the Sun abheben und ihrem markanten Sound ein frisches Alleinstellungsmerkmal verleihen. Nach der Veröffentlichung der ersten Demo EP sicherte sich die 2014 gegründete Band mit dem Debütalbum Order Divine (2018) einen festen Platz in der Metal Szene und zog zugleich die Aufmerksamkeit von Napalm Records auf sich. Es folgte die Veröffentlichung der Labeldebüt-EP Death Of The Cosmic (2020), mit der HINAYANA der Pandemie strotzten.

Nun sind sie bereit ihre elf neuen Songs diesen Herbst auf der großen Europa Tour mit ihren Labelkollegen von Wolfheart und Before The Dawn zu präsentieren.

Recently reformed Swedish death metal pioneers DISMEMBER are proud to announce that they have once again joined the ranks of NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS, where they released their demo, Reborn In Blasphemy (1990), their 1991 debut album, Like An Everflowing Stream, as well as the four records that would follow. Between 1988 and 2011 DISMEMBER earned a notorious reputation as the “Motörhead (version) of death metal”, through eight classic albums and furious live shows around the globe. The band was formed by Robert Sennebäck, David Blomqvist and Fred Estby in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1988 and has long since been regarded as one of the originators of the trademark Swedish death metal sound, next to other pioneering bands such as ENTOMBED, GRAVE and UNLEASHED. DISMEMBER recorded a couple of self-released demos before their 1990 demo cassette, Reborn In Blasphemy, with Matti Kärki on vocals and ENTOMBED's Nicke Andersson taking over most lead guitar parts, got picked up for a wider release by NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS. In 1991, their first full-length, Like An Everflowing Stream (Nuclear Blast Records), saw the light of day, which was recorded by Tomas Skogsberg at the now legendary Sunlight Studios, and featured Richard Cabeza (UNANIMATED) on bass. DISMEMBER released their acclaimed sophomore album, Indecent & Obscene, in 1993, which to this day remains their most successful output.

Released in 1997, the fourth studio album by Sweden's DISMEMBER totally lives up to its title, and provides a harsher, more aggressive sound than its predecessor. Including a barrage of great tracks like 'Misanthropic', 'Of Fire', 'Silent Are The Watchers', it also marked the debut of drummer Fred Estby as producer. This remaster by Patrick W. Engel adds an impressive additional punch resulting in the ultimate version of this classic.

Prika Amaral am Mikrofon und doppelte Riffpower - NERVOSA läuten mit Jailbreak ein neues Zeitalter der Bandgeschichte ein!

Die Thrash Metal Institution NERVOSA kehrt mit unaufhaltsamer Power, neuem Line-Up und ihrem neuen Studioalbum Jailbreak zurück, das am 29. September 2023 über Napalm Records erscheint.

Mit ihrem Vorgänger Perpetual Chaos (2,8 Mio. Plays auf Spotify) sicherten sich NERVOSA nicht nur ihre ersten Chartplatzierungen (#18 der offziellen Deutschen Albumcharts, #6 US Hard Music Albums, #9 US Top New Artist Albums Charts), sondern traten auch auf einigen der größten Festivals Europas auf, wie z.B. Copenhell, Resurrection, Metal Days, Summer Breeze, Wacken Open Air, und vielen mehr. Jailbreak steht mit seinen insgesamt 13 Tracks nicht nur für eine rasende Thrash Metal Attacke, sondern läutet auch ein neues Kapitel in der Geschichte der Band ein. Es ist die erste Veröffentlichung mit Gründungsmitglied Prika Amaral an den Vocals. Darüber hinaus geben NERVOSA mit der talentierten und erfahrenen Helena Kotina als zweite Gitarristin, Hel Pyre am Bass und Michaela Naydenova am Schlagzeug weitere spannende Neuerungen im Line-Up bekannt. Mit Jailbreak senden die vier Frauen die Botschaft, sich von allem und jedem zu befreien, das einen daran hindern könnte, den eigenen Weg und die eigenen Vorstellungen zu verfolgen und umzusetzen. Es geht darum, stolz auf sich selbst zu sein und auf die eigenen Stärken zu vertrauen.

Anlässlich des 20jährigen Jubiläums erscheint ”The Antidote” von Moonspell am 29.09.2023 als Re-Issue auf CD im Digipack und als 1LP Gatefold.

CRYPTA manifestieren mit Shades of Sorrow ihre herausragende Stellung im Death Metal!

Das brasilianische Death-Metal-Quartett CRYPTA veröffentlicht mit Shades of Sorrow am 4. August 2023 via Napalm Records den Nachfolger seines von Kritiker hoch gelobten 2021er Debüts Echoes of the Soul (#55 der Offiziellen Deutschen Album Charts sowie #15 der US Hard Music Albums und Top New Artist Albums Charts). 2019 von den ehemaligen NERVOSA-Mitgliedern Luana Dametto (Schlagzeug) und Fernanda Lira (Gesang) gegründet, komplettieren die beiden Gitarristinnen Tainá Bergamaschi und Jessica di Falchi die ungestüme Death Metal Macht, die ihrem einzigartigen Sound auf Shades of Sorrow treu bleibt und ihre herausragende Stellung in der Szene mit Album Nummer zwei manifestiert. CRYPTA vereinen selbstbewusst klassischen und modernen Death Metal mit signifikanten Extreme- und Black-MetalElementen und veredeln diese Mischung mit schäumender Energie und unvergleichlichem Charisma.

CRYPTA haben mit Shades of Sorrow ein weiteres, beeindruckendes Death Metal Meisterwerk geschaffen, das die technischen Fähigkeiten und Songwriting-Skills der vier Frauen über 13 Songs hinweg perfekt herausstellt. Aufgenommen wurde das Album im Family Mob Studio, von Daniel Bergstrand (33 Stockholm, Schweden) gemischt und von Jens Bogren im Fascination Street Studio gemastert.

1914 – das Debütalbum Eschatology of War in neuen physischen
Formaten!

“Wir singen nicht einfach die Songs, wir erzählen Geschichten!“(1914)

Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 2014 thematisieren die ukrainischen Blackened-Death/Doom-Metal-Visionäre 1914 in ihren Songs die Grausamkeiten des Ersten Weltkriegs. Begonnen hat dieser unerbittliche Streifzug durch die Geschichte mit ihrem Debüt Eschatology of War (2015) und gipfelte zuletzt im erneut von Kritikern hoch gelobten Where Fear and Weapons Meet (2021). Nachdem Eschatology of War 2021 über Napalm Records zunächst digital wiederveröffentlicht wurde, folgen am 4. August 2023 nun endlich auch mehrere neue, physische Formate.

Ohne jegliche Kompromisse kombinieren 1914 Death und Black Metal der alten Schule zu einer unheilvollen Allianz. Mit ihren Werken schaffen 1914 eine eigene, höchst authentische bemerkenswerte Klangwelt und Hommage an alle, die im Ersten Weltkrieg gefallen sind. Zusammen mit intensiven Texten und einem einzigartigen visuellen Erlebnis transportieren sie die Hörer zurück in eine grausame Zeit der Menschheit und strecken ihr gleichermaßen den Spiegel der Gegenwart entgegen. 1914 rufen dazu auf, sich mit der eigenen, schrecklichen Vergangenheit auseinander zu setzen, die nie vergessen werden darf, vor allem aber auch, das Hier und Jetzt nicht aus dem Fokus zu verlieren, während das musikalische Schaffen der Künstler zudem eine Hommage an alle darstellt, die im Ersten Weltkrieg gefallen sind.

"Terra Em Desapego" marks the second longplayer of the Portuguese for LIFEFORCE RECORDS. On the 2019 album "Eterno Rancor", a cover of the Bad Brains was found in the last place. On the EPs released since then, the group from Lisbon has taken on tracks by Only Living Witness, Napalm Death and Devo. This fits conceivably well, because BESTA have proven to be a band that moves between death'n'grindcore, punk and hardcore. The seven tracks of "Terra Em Desapego" are above all uncompromising and oppressive. BESTA appear direct and furious at all times, but do not miss out on variety. More melody and atmosphere than on the new album have never been. The Portuguese surprise with playful, sometimes really catchy heavy songs that still sound familiar rough and pleasingly uncomfortable. The more consciousness and metallic basis as well as the clearer production work fit in very well. BESTA continue to sound impulsive and biting, but "Terra Em Desapego" opens up a different approach to the rigorous approach of the Lisbon band. All this does not change anything about the lyrics in the Portuguese mother tongue of the musicians - of course not. Cover art was done by CVSPE (Arch Enemy, Uniform) and the album was produced by Miguel Tereso (Analepsy, Sinistro).

Das Comeback der finnischen Melodic Metal Vorreiter BEFORE THE DAWN!
Nach ihrer zehnjährigen Pause meldet sich die finnische Melodic Death Metal Band BEFORE THE DAWN zurück! Gegründet 1999, waren BEFORE THE DAWN eine der erfolgreichsten finnischen Metal Bands der frühen 2000er Jahre. Obwohl sie 2013 das Projekt auf Eis gelegt haben, wurde ihre Musik von hunderttausenden neuen Fans auf Streaming-Plattformen entdeckt, ganz ohne Promotion oder den Support eines Labels. Ob die Musik die Leute gefunden hat oder die Leute die Musik ist nicht zusagen, aber nach fast einem Jahrzehnt beenden BEFORE THE DAWN nun ihre Pause und kehren mit dem neuen Studioalbum Stormbringers zurück - und das stärker denn je! Ursprünglich war die Band ein Soloprojekt des finnischen Metal Award-Gewinners Tuomas Saukkonen (Wolfheart), doch im Laufe der Jahre gab es mehrere Besetzungswechsel. Mit einem gänzlich neu aufgestellten Lineup steht die Band aktuell vor ihrer bisher größte Veränderung. Der frühere Gitarrist und Sänger Saukkonen sitzt mittlerweile hinter dem Schlagzeug und der talentierte Voice Of Finland 2022-Finalist Paavo Laapotti konnte als Sänger gewonnen werden, während Juho Räihä (Swallow The Sun) - der seit 2006 bei BEFORE THE DAWN spielt - die Leadgitarre übernommen hat. Mit diesem starken Line Up haben die Finnen nun voll und ganz ihre neue Kraft erreicht und sind bereit, die Szene zurückzuerobern!

Born from the fractal innerworld of Vymethoxy Redspiders,
better known as Urocerus Gigas from Leeds-based xenofeminist
crisis energy rock duo Guttersnipe, The Ephemeron Loop's
debut is a synaesthetic acid bath that cracks open the doors of
perception to reveal a sonic landscape of ineffable beauty,
divine femininity and continual transformation.

"PsychonauticEscapism" sublimes Guttersnipe's teeth-gnashing spacegrindaesthetic leaving washes of dream pop ambience, dilated
speedcore fusillades and shapeshifting psychedelic dub effects.

It's an album that lodges itself creatively between Cocteau
Twins, Arca, Basic Channel and Napalm Death, lysergically
fluxing imperceptibly between seemingly contradictory sonics
and philosophies. Miss VR took 14 long, difficult years to write
the album, which developed cautiously as she broke through
the misery of her pre-transition life with shoegaze music, rave
and psychedelic drugs in Leeds' queer underground. An
existence languishing in negativity, soundtracked by extreme
music was replaced with the opportunity to experience
euphoria, elation and ecstatic freedom, emotions that coalesce
sensually on "Psychonautic Escapism".

These formativeexperiences are the album's initial building blocks, assembled between 2007 and 2018 as Miss VR came to grips with her
reality as an autistic/ADHD trans woman and the multidimensional psychotropic experiences that assisted that realization. And as V's worldview expanded and shifted as she lived a fresh life, the music itself developed spiritually. In 2018,after being impressed with producer Ross Halden's work with Guttersnipe, Miss VR asked him to assist her with developing The Ephemeron Loop's fragmented songs and visions. "I learned a lot about why people don't usually combine various kinds of sounds or styles in music," she admits. "It is very difficult to get it to all work together!" But after two-and-a-half years of the duo navigating a "labyrinth of fragmented Reason 5 and Logic
projects," re-recording and processing, and working tirelessly on
complex arrangements and compositions, they eventually found
a light at the end of the tunnel. The finished album is towering
and ambitious, Escher-like in its illusory reconstruction of
familiar elements into brain-altering forms. The album begins
with 'Psychonautic Escapism (Cold Alienation)', decorating Miss
VR's disembodied moans with throbbing dub techno synths,
insectoid digital percussion and disorientating high-BPM
electronics.

Her vocals hover weightlessly between My Bloody Valentine's Bilinda Butcher and Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, and on 'Lattice Dysmorphism of Lysothymic Oneiroid Cytoterrain' drift against grinding industrial hardcore kicks, serrated bass and Lorenzo Senni-esque trance pointillism. On 'Trench Through Pink Death', Miss VR's voice mutates into a shrill scream as she directs the music from splattered freeflowing doom into harsh hyper-speed death metal and
breakcore. Woven together with both precision and delicacy, "Psychonautic Escapism" turns a rough patchwork of ideas,
experiences, feelings and vivid emotions into a glorious neon
tapestry. In living and exploring the realities of autism, ADHD
and trans identity, Vymethoxy Redspiders has masterminded a
sonic language that feels fresh, urgent and shockingly honest.
Psychedelic is a term that gets thrown around far too loosely at
the moment - in this case there's just no better way of
describing the album's scope.

Blackened thrash veterans LEGION OF THE DAMNED slay on new studio album The Poison Chalice The LEGION slays again! Dutch thrash veterans LEGION OF THE DAMNED have once again entered into an alliance with the devouring depths of black and death metal and unleash another angry beast, The Poison Chalice, on May 26, 2023 via Napalm Records. The shredding monster delivers the most delicious pitch-black brew and tortures dark souls into demonic underworlds. Founded in 1990 as Occult, the thrash machine around founding members Maurice Swinkels and Erik Fleuren was reborn as LEGION OF THE DAMNED in 2005. On The Poison Chalice, the band unites with Fabian Verweij as second guitarist besides Twan van Geel and hails together with bassist Harold Gielen performing as a five piece for the first time ever on a studio album. Conquering the European charts for decades, the LEGION crowned itself at #17 in the Official German Album Charts with predecessor Slaves Of The Shadow Realms (2019). For almost 35 years, they have formed their aggressive signature sound from the most horrific ingredients of thrash and death metal, combined with brutal blackened influences, resulting in one of the most defined and unique sounds in the scene. The Poison Chalice comes to life by spreading its eerily beautiful wings within the first few seconds, then dives headfirst into a hellishly furious storm before the second song ""Contamination"" absolutely kills. In classic LEGION OF THE DAMNED manner, there is no escape as the track relentlessly drives into the abyss. The album spreads brutal and ice cold thrash soundscapes through relentless attacking drums and incredible guitar harmonies from both lead guitarists, underlined by angry bass lines. Infectious thrash treasures such as “Progressive Destructor”, and the almost seven-minute berserk “Behold The Beyond” break necks with hammering guitar riffs and bloody double bass infernos. “Beheading of The Godhead” delivers what the song title promises, before the past 48 minutes of hate closes with a final deep gulp from “The Poison Chalice” - leaving no one behind. Together with producer Erwin Hermsen, the band has closed the gates of the underworld in Toneshed Studio and demonstrates that they remain the unchallenged masters of brute and unrelenting death-thrash metal in 2023

Die neue Death Thrash Macht mit Metal-Größen David Ellefson (ex-Megadeth), Guilherme Miranda (exEntombed A.D.) und Michał Łysejko (ex-Decapitated).

Bereits 2022 versetzten DIETH die Metal-Szene in Aufruhr, als die neu formierte Band Mitte des Jahres ihre Debütsingle „In The Hall of the Hanging Serpents” veröffentlichte. Nachdem es einige Zeit ruhig um
die einzelnen Musiker war, bündelten der mit dem Grammy Award ausgezeichnete Bassist David Ellefson (ex-Megadeth), Schlagzeuger Michał Łysejko (ex-Decapitated) und der für den schwedischen Grammy nominierte Gitarrist und Sänger Guilherme Miranda (ex-Entombed A.D.) ihre Kräfte zu einer Death Thrash Allianz, die es in sich hat, und begeisterten mit dieser Überraschung Fans und Medien gleichermaßen.

Am 02.06.2023 erscheint mit To Hell And Back nun endlich das heiß ersehnte Debutalbum über Napalm Records. To Hell And Back steht für einen Neuanfang in sämtlichen Belangen – textlich, musikalisch
und natürlich nicht zuletzt persönlich, für die Musiker selbst. In Eigenregie produzeiert und gemischt und gemastert von Tomasz Zed Zalewski in den Zed Studios in Chechło, Polen, haben DIETH die früheren Genre-Stereotype hinter sich gelassen und setzen nun neue, ganz eigene Akzente. Unerbittlicher Death Metal mit Tech-Anteilen trifft auf rasante Thrash-Attacken und präsentiert ganz nebenbei Ellefsons Debut als Lead-Sänger auf einem der zehn Tracks.

THULCANDRA’s rise to power ignited when the Germany-based outfit unleashed their debut album, Fallen Angel’s Dominion, upon metaldom in 2010. The group, fronted by founding member and visionary Steffen Kummerer (also of Obscura fame), have tightened their hibernal grip on blackened death metal since. The desolate melodic emanations in follow-up studio records Under a Frozen Sun (2011), Ascension Lost (2015), and the chart-topping, 2021-album A Dying Wish, dedicated to the late drummer Chris Kratzer, solidified THULCANDRA as a superior force, expertly thrusting the magic and mystery of mid-’90s melodic black-death metal into the modern era. Their fifth attack, entitled Hail the Abyss, sees THULCANDRA prove yet again why they’re atop death metal’s malefic vedette! Fierce tracks such as "As I Walk Through The Gateway", or the uber-brutal "Blood Of Slaves", showcase the band‘s affinity for dark, aggressive, and mellifluous metal while the album title track and the epic, mid-tempo rager "On The Wings Of Cosmic Fire" rip and terrorize with the intensity of hell. As always, THULCANDRA's about a vibe - there's a distinct "feel" to the band's latest album that's distinctly old-school but without the tired trappings of it. The hotly-anticipated Hail the Abyss is slated for release on May 19, 2023 via Napalm Records. Cooperation with renowned producer Dan Swanö (Dissection, Opeth, Katatonia), who handled the crushing album mix, was compulsory, as was the re-invitation to cover-master Lochner. Don’t fear the reaper—fear the majestic might of THULCANDRA, as Hail the Abyss will see them ultimately rise to full power!

Ltd coloured 2LP edition, w/ etching on side D! "I'm obsessed with late 90's Meshug- gah, early Dillinger Escape Plan, and early Cult of Luna," explains guitarist Pierre Carroz deftly about the influences behind the sound of his brainchild. Combining the sonic agility of the American math-core pioneers with the relentless ferocity of the Swedish progressive metal innovators, Herod produce a brand of heavy music that is truly face melting. Having played with le- gendary metal acts like Obituary, Napalm Death and Carcass, Herod are no strangers to the international metal scene, and it shows in the calibre of their music. Their upcom- ing third album The Iconoclast puts the full power of their artistry on display, redefining musical heaviness and atmosphere at every turn imaginable. Iconoclast sees the Swiss quintet paint with a consistent palette of groovy syncopated riff- ing, heavy breakdowns, and a diversity of vocal techniques and deliveries. Using similar col- ours and textures to create many different pictures, it's an approach that feels almost experi- mental. Like great abstract painters like Kazimir Malevich or Jackson Pollock, Herod continue to develop their technique and method throughout their oeuvre. Iconoclast is a creation of pure magnificence, combining an undeniable artistic mindset with the best of what modern metal has to offer. «The Edifice» features the incredible Matt McGachy from Canadian technical death metal legends Cryptopsy while the album closer sees the band collaborate with long-time friend Loi"c Rosetti: «The Prophecy» poses him against a most ferocious backdrop, capturing two amazing vocalists of the past and present Ocean Col- lective teaming up and facing off, since Herod's vocalist Mike Pilat was the main vocalist on The Ocean's «Precambrian» album (2007). FOR FANS OF Meshuggah, Gojira, Cult of Luna, LLNN, Vildjharta, Primitive Man, Uneven Structure

Trouble And Their Double Lives: Das diabolische CRADLE OF FILTH Live-Spektakel inklusive zwei neuer Songs!

Während die Fans sehnsüchtig auf das Folgewerk von CRADLE OF FILTHs hochgelobten Album Existence Is Futile (2021, #9 der Deutschen Album Charts) warten, haben die Extrem-Metal-Legenden um Szene-Ikone Dani Filth die Rufe ihrer Anhängerschar erhört und veröffentlichen 2023 mit Trouble And Their Double Lives das erste Live-Album seit über 20 Jahren! Das diabolische Spektakel erscheint am 28. April 2023 über Napalm Records. CRADLE OF FILTH haben das Album zwischen 2014 und 2019 während verschiedener Shows in den USA, Europa, Australien sowie ihrer ”Cryptoriana World Tour” samt darauffolgenden Terminen aufgenommen. Diese musikalische Zeitkapsel steckt voller intensiver Live-Energie und liefert ein erstklassiges Zeugnis einer gesamten Ära der Band.

Produziert, gemischt und gemastert von Scott Atkins in den Grindstone Studios in Suffolk, England, mit Aufnahmen von Danny B, enthält die brandneue Live-Attacke nicht nur eine Reihe von Fan-Favoriten aus der umjubelten Diskografie der Briten, sondern auch zwei Bonustracks sowie zwei völlig neue Songs.
Klassiker wie ”Nymphetamine (Fix)”, ”The Death of Love” und ”Blackest Magick in Practice” treffen auf ”She is a Fire” und ”Demon Prince Regent”. Letztere geben einen Vorgeschmack auf das, was auf
zukünftigen CRADLE OF FILTH Studioalben zu erwarten sein wird.

FOR FANS OF: TERRORIZER, MORBID ANGEL, NAPALM DEATH, OBITUARY.
Die Rückkehr von MASSACRE im Jahr 2021 – mit den ursprünglichen Mitgliedern Kam Lee (Ex-Mantas, Ex-Death) und Mike Borders – war ein riesengroßer Erfolg und brachte die internationale Death Metal Szene zum beben. Mit dem Killer-Album „Resurgence“ aus dem Jahr 2021 setzten MASSACRE ein Zeichen und kamen stärker als je zuvor zurück! Mit „Mythos“ hat MASSACRE 4 neue Tracks eingehämmert, die nun in strikt limitierter Auflage im 10inch Vinyl-Format - gepresst in blauer Farbe - erscheint. Als Special Guest konnte Anders Odden von Cadaver gewonnen werden.

I was lucky enough to release Godflesh 'Love is a dog from Hell' on my old label Pathological many moons ago. I was equally lucky to drop JK Flesh 'In Your Pit' on my new label PRESSURE three years ago, and then follow that up with the G36 vs JK Flesh sound clash 'Disintegration Dubs' last year. Justin has consistently handed me pure audio gold, and actually gifted me some of my favourite releases from him full stop, in an incredible career of riches which he has tirelessly. produced since Napalm Death til today. So again, I’m now totally psyched to drop 'Sewer Bait' on my label PRESSURE. The sixth album from JK Flesh, this album is a Slo-mo, Slo-fi, Sewer tech journey into utter gutter level filth. Overdriven, corroded, corrupted and absolutely blasted, it contains so many essential elements of clubland low life, but yet manages to remain beautifully original whilst pushing all levels deep into the red until it hurts in the best possible way. Anyone hooked on Andy Stott's dirtiest works, Porter Ricks deepest explorations or Techno Animal's speaker punishing grooves will find addictive nourishment within these relentlessly distorted heavyweight grooves.... Not so much hard as completely f-ckin brutal, the master stroke from Justin Broadrick however, is takin his raw materials and feeding them militantly into the dub chamber. This is like a wholesale destruction of Techno, 4/4 for people too wasted and strung out to give a f-ck about dancefloors, yet compelling enough and magnetic enough to completely insist upon fully body hypnotism in an undersized room with an oversized rig. The album's title track sounds like Drum & Bass don Digital or the peak of the Metalheadz label dragged down into hell for the ultimate bad rave trip, whilst 'Crawler' could be Killing Joke, jammin with Regis and his aggro allies from Birmingham Techno's underappreciated discography, deep in a warehouse warzone. You don’t have to dig techno to dig this dirt, you just have to enjoy having your head taken off and your body physically punished. If Jeff Mills output had been chopped, screwed and then painfully, slowly crushed, it may resemble the monolithic, psychedelic, crawl of 'Sewer Bait'.” – Kevin Martin

Neues Grindcore Projekt von Shane Embury (NAPALM DEATH) und Mick Kenney (MISTRESS) mit Unterstützung von Duncan Wilkins (CEREBRAL FIX) - das kann nur ein Mega-Brett sein!
Wer auf Bands
wie Terrorizer, Napalm Death, Righteous Pigs, Autopsy etc. steht wird mit BORN TO MURDER THE WORLD viel Freude haben. Ein mächtiges Grindcore Werk der Spitzenklasse.

Die schwedischen Afflicted verblüfften den Death Metal 1992 mit ihrem viel gelobten Debüt "Prodigal Sun". Progressiv, psychedelisch und doch zutiefst brutal stürmten die Stockholmer mit "Ivory Tower", "Tidings from the Blue Sphere", "Harbouring the Soul" und "In Years to Come" in die Herzen der Konventionen. Seit Jahren nicht mehr erhältlich, erstrahlt "Prodigal Sun" in neuem Licht durch ein spektakuläres, originalgetreues Remaster von Patrick W. Engel (Corrosion of Conformity, Destruction) in den Temple of Disharmony Studios. Wenn Napalm Death, Soundgarden, Voivod und Pink Floyd einen kollektiven Peyote-Ausflug in den bewaldeten Vororten Stockholms unternähmen, dann wäre das Ergebnis Afflicted's bahnbrechendes "Prodigal Sun". Dieses hochgelobte klassische Meisterwerk erscheint als 180g LP inklusive LP-Booklet, als Ltd. CD Jewelcase im Schuber sowie als digitales Album

Mit Album Nummer vier sollten MARIANAS REST nun endgültig auf dem Radar jedes Melodic Death- und Extreme Doom Metal-Fans landen. Die Band stammt aus der Küstenstadt Kotka, ihr Sound verkörpert finnische Melancholie und Traurigkeit einer kalten, rauen Winterlandschaft in Perfektion.

Am 24. März 2023 erscheint ihr neuestes Werk „Auer“ über Napalm Records, welches mit einer intensiven Mischung aus melodischem Death Metal und tief schwarzen Doom- und Black Metal-Elementen alle Erwartungen übertrifft!

Der Sixtett rund um Sänger Jaakko Mäntymaa und Omnium Gatherum‘s Aapo Koivisto am Keyboard wurde 2013 gegründet.
Mit der Veröffentlichung ihres beeindruckenden Debüts „Horror Vacui“ im Jahr 2016 eroberten sie die Underground Metal Szene im Sturm.
Pünktlich zu ihrem 10-jährigen Bandjubiläum entfesseln MARIANAS REST acht neue Tracks, die vielschichtiger nicht sein könnten. „Auer“ ist episch, schwer, traurig und düster; die insgesamt melancholischen jedoch brutalen Riffs, hypnotisierenden Klangfarben und eindringlichen Vocals dringen bis ins tiefste Mark.

„Auer“ ist eine Reise durch eine verstörend kalte und doch atemberaubend schöne, erhabene Klanglandschaft, wie sie nur eine finnische Band wie MARIANAS REST erschaffen kann.
Ohne Zweifel wird „Auer“ den Namen MARIANAS REST als eine der fesselndsten und außergewöhnlichsten Melodic Death- und Blackened Doom Metal- Bands etablieren!

Ukrainian blackened death/doom metal offensive 1914 continue to reflect the gruesome tales of World War I, its soldiers’ fate, their death, fear and feats to be never forgotten, and unleash their new opus, Where Fear and Weapons Meet, on October 22nd, via Napalm Records. Its eleven tracks of pure historic harshness follow up to the band’s sophomore full-length, The Blind Leading the Blilnd (2018), and debut, Eschatology of War (2014), both highly acclaimed amongst critics, and create a sophisticated variety of massively brutal blackened death metal accented by dramatic and realistic audio soundscapes and disquieting melodies spiced with the approach of sludge and doom! Blurb IG#1: "After their highly acclaimed previous records, blackened death/doom metal unit 1914 again faces the cruelty of World War I on its third opus Where Fear and Weapons Meet . The first single “...And a Cross Now Marks His Place” already marks an absolute highlight, as this massive outburst features none other than Paradise Lost icon Nick Holmes, whose pervasive delivery matches with 1914 ’s mastermind Hptm. Ditmar Kumarberg’s (9. Westpreußisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 176) vocal harshness." Blurb IG#2: Blackened death/doom metal frontrunners 1914 return with their third inexorable opus, the new studio album Where Fear and Weapons Meet. On this masterpiece of pure harshness, 1914 again reflects the gruesome tales of World War I without making any compromises. Second single “Pillars of fire”, that deals with The Battle of Messines in 1917, starts with an atmospheric introduction that draws the listener deep into the album theme and erupts into a massive blackened death/doom outburst shortly after. Blurb IG#3:Since 2014, Ukrainian blackened death/doom metal visionaries 1914 have told the gruesome tales of World War I and are now ready to face the fiery depths again on their third attack, Where Fear and Weapons Meet. Third single “FN .380 ACP#19074” breaks in with heavy guitar lines and thunderous black metal drumming like a blaze of gunfire and reflects the assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife 1914 in Sarejevo, an event that caused the outbreak of World War I.

Darker Days Ahead is Terrorizer's follow up to their classic 1989 album World Downfall. It features original members Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel) and Jesse Pintado (Napalm Death, Brujeria) on drums and guitar with new members Anthony Rezhawk and Tony Norman joining in on vocals and bass. Despite the 16 year gap between releases, the band picked up exactly where they left off in 1989 and created an album full of pure extreme metal that is guaranteed to satisfy all fans of old school death metal and grindcore. The Svart reissue is officially licensed from Century Media and comes on black and limited green wax.

Darker Days Ahead is Terrorizer's follow up to their classic 1989 album World Downfall. It features original members Pete Sandoval (Morbid Angel) and Jesse Pintado (Napalm Death, Brujeria) on drums and guitar with new members Anthony Rezhawk and Tony Norman joining in on vocals and bass. Despite the 16 year gap between releases, the band picked up exactly where they left off in 1989 and created an album full of pure extreme metal that is guaranteed to satisfy all fans of old school death metal and grindcore. The Svart reissue is officially licensed from Century Media and comes on black and limited green wax.

Finally available on vinyl for the first time, with extra tracks - Limited edition numbered red vinyl. 500 copies worldwide A supergroup with twenty lead singers from twenty different bands, featuring members of: Killing Joke, Carcass, Funeral For a Friend, Therapy, Hundred Reasons, Napalm Death, Sikth, Pitchshifter, Fightstar, Earthtone 9, Amen, New Model Army, Send More Paramedics, Hiding Place, Romeo Must Die, Murder One, Hondo Maclean. Architect and founding This is Menace member MD Clayden (Pitchshifter) has curated ‘Ism’ adding previously unreleased material. Reviews: “A living, breathing, subversive collective.” Kerrang Magazine / “Furious. Like a juggernaut. F*ck yeah!” Metal Hammer Magazine / “Brash...and brilliant to break stuff to.” NME

VINYL COLOUR IS GREY. BORSTAL, the UK-Hardcore band featuring Nick Barker (Brujeria, ex-Dimmu Borgir, Cradle Of Filth) & Pierre Mendivil (Knuckledust) release details of brand new 2 track 7". Produced by Russ Russell (Napalm Death/The Exploited/At The Gates). The 2 songs are a follow up BORSTAL's debut EP "At Her Majesty's Pleasure". The 7" record is a collaboration between Rucktion Records & 4 Family Records. Both labels are offering different variants and bundles of the 7" in extremely limited quantities. Pressed on heavyweight Vinyl and including a free download code! Front man 'Pierre' comments on the new video 'No Surrender'; "This song is inspired by confronting the defeatist mentality that society seems to want to push on us, on so many levels! And even in ourselves as we battle everyday to try better and strengthen our mental attitude just to deal with life these days." BORSTAL Guitarist 'Lee' continues "It's nice to finally get some fresh music out there. We recorded these 2 songs in 2021 with our brother Russ Russell. But due to delays with pressing plants and so on, we got held up! I feel like our sound is really coming together now, and these new tunes are just a teaser for what's to come. We've nearly finished writing our full length too, so they'll be news to follow that soon". The cover artwork for the 7" is by Australian artist Mick Lambrou. Mick has recently designed t-shirts, flyers and artwork for the likes of hardcore legends Agnostic Front, Madball & Slapshot.

ARISE FROM WORMS ist die neue Metal-Supergroup aus den USA; bestehend aus den Musikern Sonny
Lombardozzi (Incantation), Steve Tucker (Morbid Angel) und Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy). Das erste Baby
enthält 4 Songs und wird alle Freunde und Fans von Terrorizer, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel und alten
Slayer begeistern

Celebrating almost 40 years of doom metal mastery, Swedish Grammis award-winning and US Grammy- nominated doom metal legends CANDLEMASS commemorate the release of their 13th full-length album, Sweet Evil Sun, with the epic third single ""When Death Sighs”, featuring Jennie-Ann Smith of Swedish progressive rock/doom metal unit Avatarium. She accents the song’s shimmering, blood-freezing chorus lines before the haunting atmosphere is highlighted by an amazing guitar solo that reads like a story!"

2010 release from the New York Hardcore outfit. With a career spanning 20 years and hundreds of thousands of albums sold worldwide, Based On A True Story adds an exhilarating new chapter to the Sick Of It All legend. Doubtlessly the band's hardest hitting effort to date, Based On A True Story easily meets the high quality of its predecessor and offers tons of soon-to-be-classic Hardcore hymns like 'Dominated', 'Long As She's Standing', 'The Divide' and 'Lowest Common Denominator. It features the most catchy and powerful material the band has ever written. The album was recorded with Tue Madsen, this time at Starstruck Studios in Copenhagen, Denmark, resulting in a massive metallic heaviness.

Before the very popular thrashy death metal band Legion Of The Damned was formed, with albums out on Massacre and Napalm Records, vocalist Maurice Swinkels and drummer Erik Fleuren played in the more brutal extreme blackened death metal band Occult.

 Hailing from Geldrop, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands, the already very extreme barking voice of Swinkels was supported by female vocalist Rachel with an even more brutal grunt. After two studio albums on the Dutch label Foundation 2000 they were on the search for an international record deal and they recorded two demos to achieve that goal.

The first four songs on this album come from a rehearsal room session in 1997, and the last five songs were recorded in the small Harrow Studios in 1998. It resulted in a deal with the German Massacre Records label, and Occult’s third studioalbum, ‘Of Flesh And Blood’, saw the light in 1999.

Now you can finally hear, for the first time, most of these songs in their original, raw and rough demoversions.
For fans of Desaster, Absu, Deicide, Usurper, Vader, Sinister, Skeletonwitch, Goatwhore, Destroyer 666.

Before the very popular thrashy death metal band Legion Of The Damned was formed, with albums out on Massacre and Napalm Records, vocalist Maurice Swinkels and drummer Erik Fleuren played in the more brutal extreme blackened death metal band Occult.

 Hailing from Geldrop, Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands, the already very extreme barking voice of Swinkels was supported by female vocalist Rachel with an even more brutal grunt. After two studio albums on the Dutch label Foundation 2000 they were on the search for an international record deal and they recorded two demos to achieve that goal.

The first four songs on this album come from a rehearsal room session in 1997, and the last five songs were recorded in the small Harrow Studios in 1998. It resulted in a deal with the German Massacre Records label, and Occult’s third studioalbum, ‘Of Flesh And Blood’, saw the light in 1999.

Now you can finally hear, for the first time, most of these songs in their original, raw and rough demoversions.
For fans of Desaster, Absu, Deicide, Usurper, Vader, Sinister, Skeletonwitch, Goatwhore, Destroyer 666.

Longform: EXHUMED return from the depths with their macabre new album, To the Dead! The band' storied career needs no introduction; EXHUMED are the pioneers of blood-soaked "Gore" Metal. To the Dead is the culmination of decades upon decades of nightmarish riffs, obliterating blast beats, and hellish screams from the very depths the band crawled out from! "To The Dead is a destination," EXHUMED mastermind Matt Harvey says. "A rotting world populated by the grotesquely twisted truths of our waking world and the decaying fallout of our most deranged ambitions. But it's also a title that evokes a celebration of, and an invitation into the gore-soaked world of EXHUMED." The very celebration of EXHUMED's history is ever-present on this album. "We've expanded the writing team on the record to include former members Mike Beams, Leon del Muerte, Matt Widener and Bud Burke in an effort to celebrate the band's history - at this point decades of it - and I think the resulting record is an excellent testament to the surprising longevity of Gore Fucking Metal!" Harvey says. So please, accept the band's humble invitation and sink six feet down to their level. EXHUMED can't wait for you to get a whiff of what they've cooked up - this will be the most fun you've ever had being disgusted! Short: EXHUMED return from the depths with their macabre new album, To the Dead! The new album is the culmination of decades upon decades of nightmarish riffs, obliterating blast beats, and hellish screams from the very depths the band crawled out from! FFO: Carcass, Repulsion, Aborted, Autopsy, Dying Fetus, Impaled, Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death

Green Bay, WI's Choke presents their blistering new debut EP "Desiphon"!
Mixed by Kurt Ballou at God City and mastered by Brad Boatright for
Audiosiege, "Desiphon" encapsulates Death Metal and Grindcore's great's
(think Rotten Sound, Napalm Death and Pig Destroyer) while covering all
new territory!

Death Metal der alten Schule - unerbittlich und bitterböse!
Nach 2018 ENDLICH das neue Studioalbum der SUPER GROUP: Paradise Lost, Opeth, Katatonia & Lik

Die Zeit ist reif für “Survival Of The Sickest” (9. September 2022 via Napalm Records) - das sechste Album von BLOODBATH, den schwedischen Meistern des Old School Death Metal. Die All-Star-Supergroup wurde 1998 von Jonas Renkse und Anders Nyström (beide Katatonia), Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) und Dan Swanö (Edge Of Sanity) gegründet und von Anfang an haben sich BLOODBATH dem puren und authentischen Death Metal der alten Schule verschrieben. Seit 2014 führen sie diesen musikalischen Streifzug gemeinsam mit Paradise Lost-Legende Nick Holmes - der in seiner Rolle als Old Nick Blut in Form morbider Lyric spuckt. Mit einem neu formierten Line-up, bestehend aus Renkse, Nyström, Per ’Sodomizer’ Eriksson (Ex-Katatonia), Martin ’Axe’ Axenrot (Ex-Opeth) und Holmes, konnte es nur einen Weg geben: Noch tiefer in die Abgründe der Sterblichkeit und der hässlichen Facetten des Übernatürlichen.

Ein Sprung ins Jahr 2022: Die Welt steht in Flammen, und “Survival Of The Sickest” hält den Schrecken der Realität den Spiegel vor. Gemeinsam mit ihrem neuen Gitarristen Tomas ’Plytet’ Åkvik (Lik), haben BLOODBATH ihr bis dato stärkstes Album geschaffen, das den Hörer mit zehn Songs voller gewaltiger Death Metal-Raserei unausweichlich in die Dunkelheit lockt.

Survival Of The Sickest offers no respite from the horrors of reality. Instead, BLOODBATH’s latest and greatest album gleefully confronts the slavering ghoul lurking in the shadows, and treats him to ten songs of ripping death metal frenzy. In contrast with their last album, Survival of the Sickest goes straight for the jugular in true old school fashion. With strong echoes of everything from Morbid Angel & Death through to Deicide & Obituary. Survival Of The Sickest boasts a smattering of irresistible cameos from the great, and ghoulish of the metal underground, including Barney Greenway (Napalm Death), Luc Lemay (Gorguts) & Marc Grewe (Morgoth). On Survival Of The Sickest, BLOODBATH evoke their most horrifying sonic scenarios to date.

Die dänische Melodic Death Metal Band DEFACING GOD steht mit ihrem Debütalbum The Resurrection of Lilith in den Startlöchern, das am 2. September 2022 über Napalm Records veröffentlicht wird. Die
2015 von Sängerin Sandie ”The Lilith” Gjørtz und Drummer Michael Olsson gegründete Band folgt mit ihrer harschen Musik skandinavischen Metal Traditionen und im Zentrum ihrer Texte steht der Mythos um den weiblichen Dämon Lilith, der Unabhängigkeit und unbeugsamen Widerstand symbolisiert. DEFACING GOD gelingt es mit ihren Erzählungen, ihrer Musik und der düsteren Ästhetik die Hörer in ein dunkles Universum von obskuren Mythen und uralten Geschichten zu locken. Gleichzeitig ziehen sie von diesen
Mythen subtile Verbindungen zu aktuellen gesellschaftlichen Themen, wie Unterdrückung oder auch inneren Dämonen. Auf klanglicher Ebene schließen DEFACING GOD an Bands wie Cradle of Filth, Carach Angren und Dimmu Borgir an und balancieren massive Melodien, die durch die grandiose Orchestrierung von Lars Vinther untermalt werden. Anstatt diese symphonischen Melodien mit Black Metal verschmelzen lassen, werden sie bei DEFACING GOD rohem Death Metal gegenübergestellt. Produziert wurde ihr Debüt The Resurrection Of Lilith von niemand geringerem als Jacob Hansen, der für seine Arbeit mit Fleshgod Apocalypse, Volbeat, Evergrey, Epica und unzähligen anderen bekannt ist.

As many artists have experienced, the past two years hit the entire music and culture industry hard. But MY SLEEPING KARMA – they have truly faced the abyss. Formed almost 20 years ago as a strong bond of best friends with a steady line-up ever since, the band has amassed an incredibly successful back catalogue of five highly acclaimed records and a live album in 2017, as well as extensive touring performances at sold-out venues and prestigious festivals that have marked them as one of the most well-respected instrumental post- and hypnotic rock bands within the heavy music community. Closing a seven-year gap since their latest studio album, Moksha, MY SLEEPING KARMA will release their most emotional, deepest, darkest record to date, inspired by tragic events, on July 29, 2022. The new album, Atma – the logical successor to Moksha – describes the (absolute) self, the indestructible, eternal essence of the spirit, and is often translated as the "soul". Sickness, death, and existential fear had brought the band to a point in music and life at which they were close to parting ways. But their will to survive has been recorded on Atma, a record the band wasn’t even sure would see the light of day when they started working on it back in 2017, and if it did, would’ve never been for industry sales, fame or success.

Nearly 20 years ago, Karl Sanders – the founder, principal songwriter, and driving creative force behind the exotic, devastatingly heavy stylings of American extreme death metal icons Nile – forayed from his metallic leanings to serve listeners with a transfixing dose of the cinematic, meditative, world music-driven Saurian Meditation (2004). The album explores highly original compositions of hypnotizing, primarily Middle Eastern inspired music, featuring the unique inclusion of instruments such as the balagma saz (Turkish lute) and Glissentar, often blended with dark electronic ambience and deft electric guitar work. Saurian Meditation marked the beginning of Sanders’ Saurian journey, being the first of now three Saurian releases. From the haunting first notes of “Awaiting the Vultures”, which dreamily conjures images of traversing through the dark, mysterious halls of an abandoned ancient temple, to the slithering, percussion-driven pulses and searing electric solos on the ominous album closer “Beckon the Sick Winds of Pestilence” – Saurian Meditation provides a diverse escape for both fans of Nile and the outer realms beyond. Thematically centered around its acoustically-driven, spellbinding seventh track, “Dreaming Through the Eyes of Serpents”, the album ebbs and flows from a higher, rhythmic consciousness to a darker, hypnotic inner balance, achieving a Reptilian Theta State of deep meditation. Saurian Meditation launches the multi-dimensional Saurian universe – witness the very first, transcendental solo output by Karl Sanders, available for the very first time on vinyl, as well as in CD and digital formats, via Napalm Records!

Rarely do two types of music meet on a level where they threaten to cancel each other out - let alone create something even more meaningful in their mutual vanishing. But the music created within the seminal Murder Ballads (Drift) by Martyn Bates (Eyeless in Gaza, & parallel solo career) and Mick Harris (Napalm Death, Lull, Painkiller, Scorn) creates just such a world. Murder Ballads (Drift) evolves Martyn Bates vocalisations / storytelling song-voices, by turns expressed as labyrinthine layers, calls and responses, muted and distant echoes, sung whispers and counter-melodies, ultimately resulting in a mesmeric conversation of musical inferences and correspondences. Murder Ballads (Drift) created the post-isolationist frame of reference, innovating and extemporising into a truly original dazzlingly unique form.

Mick Harris traffics in the isolationist ambience of Lull, while Martyn Bates is the emotive voice of literate cult-pop duo Eyeless in Gaza. The unlikely pair - one given to terminally frigid drone, the other to impassioned, bittersweet voicings - finds common ground in folk music's most macabre tradition, the murder ballad. These ghoulish parables are awash in blood and tears, the strands of love, hate, birth, death, sin, and salvation entwined within like the roots of an ancient tree. Mothers callously kill their children; suitors slay their maidens without remorse; and fate exacts its cruel price from all.

The archaic murder ballads that leak from Bates' vocal cords are intensely sad and carnal. They tend to leap off cliffs of hollow effects or drone darkly, offering neither a robust delivery nor an element of irony to take the edge off. The archetypal characters that live and die in them give life's full tragedy back to Harris' electronically numbed "post-isolationist" dreaming.

Drift (originally released in 1994) plays out an unbreakable and timeless cycle of bloody folklore (people) and hypnotic soundscapes (the god who watches). The effect is chilling yet engrossing. Where most ambient music has barely enough courage to ring the doorbell and run, Murder Ballads slips through the cracks of the unconscious and does its work with remarkable ease.

All the more reason to listen thoughtfully.

In 2021 - re-emerging nearly twenty years after its initial inception, and first time on vinyl - somewhat surprisingly, Murder Ballads (Drift) still remains/exists in an area overlooked by other artists, an area that truly still remains the sole province of M.J. Harris / Martyn Bates.

Rarely do two types of music meet on a level where they threaten to cancel each other out - let alone create something even more meaningful in their mutual vanishing. But the music created within the seminal Murder Ballads (Drift) by Martyn Bates (Eyeless in Gaza, & parallel solo career) and Mick Harris (Napalm Death, Lull, Painkiller, Scorn) creates just such a world. Murder Ballads (Drift) evolves Martyn Bates vocalisations / storytelling song-voices, by turns expressed as labyrinthine layers, calls and responses, muted and distant echoes, sung whispers and counter-melodies, ultimately resulting in a mesmeric conversation of musical inferences and correspondences. Murder Ballads (Drift) created the post-isolationist frame of reference, innovating and extemporising into a truly original dazzlingly unique form.

Mick Harris traffics in the isolationist ambience of Lull, while Martyn Bates is the emotive voice of literate cult-pop duo Eyeless in Gaza. The unlikely pair - one given to terminally frigid drone, the other to impassioned, bittersweet voicings - finds common ground in folk music's most macabre tradition, the murder ballad. These ghoulish parables are awash in blood and tears, the strands of love, hate, birth, death, sin, and salvation entwined within like the roots of an ancient tree. Mothers callously kill their children; suitors slay their maidens without remorse; and fate exacts its cruel price from all.

The archaic murder ballads that leak from Bates' vocal cords are intensely sad and carnal. They tend to leap off cliffs of hollow effects or drone darkly, offering neither a robust delivery nor an element of irony to take the edge off. The archetypal characters that live and die in them give life's full tragedy back to Harris' electronically numbed "post-isolationist" dreaming.

Passages (originally released in 1997) plays out an unbreakable and timeless cycle of bloody folklore (people) and hypnotic soundscapes (the god who watches). The effect is chilling yet engrossing. Where most ambient music has barely enough courage to ring the doorbell and run, Murder Ballads slips through the cracks of the unconscious and does its work with remarkable ease.