Tag Archives: USBM

DeathCult – The Test of Time (Caligari Records, 2013)

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533690_498822426845855_397733024_nBeing a one-man project released on cassette, you’d probably be expecting DeathCult’s The Test of Time to be some kind of depressive/suicidal/ambient black metal clusterfuck.  Fortunately you couldn’t be more wrong, because this Chicago-based maniac’s stock-in-trade is ripping, heavily blackened thrash that as expected pays its grim respects to the unholy trinity (Venom/Bathory/Celtic Frost), while at the same time putting its own nasty-ass stamp on one of metal’s gnarliest subgenres.
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Ash Borer – Bloodlands (Gilead Media, 2013)

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relic47-pvviiHot on the heels of last year’s excellent Cold of Ages (review HERE), California black metallers Ash Borer are back with Bloodlands, an EP set to be released by everyone’s favorite vinyl porn purveyors, Gilead Media.  The quintet have already proven themselves to be among the finest of the current crop of young upstart USBM bands, and Bloodlands not only cements their position but continues to build upon the impressive foundation they’ve assembled for themselves across a handful of splits, demos and full lengths.
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Avakr – A Word From Within (Sygil Records, 2013)

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3367083332-1Of all the labels that have contacted me within the past year or so requesting coverage, Sygil Records is surely among the most interesting.  These guys have an ear for excellence from across the spectrum of extreme music, from drone to doom to black metal, and I’m pretty enamored with all of the various releases they graciously sent me for review.  First and foremost among them is A Word From Within, the debut full length from Bloomington, Indiana black metal duo Avakr.
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Backlit #1 out now!

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backlit01_bigcover

Another poison arrow in the heart of print is now unleashed…

http://backlitzine.com/1/

Backlit / 1
Early 2013
Now available at http://backlitzine.com/
Cover Art by Christian Edler

Articles, Columns & Interviews:
Frayed Threads of Vanity / Kyle Harcott
Worship Black Twilight / Jordan Campbell
Interview With Wreck & Reference / Josh Haun
Interview With Voivoid / Josh Haun
Midnight Ride of the Graveyard Mule / Jordan Campbell
Doomsday Device #2 / Josh Haun
Raping Angels in America #2 / Josh Haun
Libations in the Labyrinth Vol. 2 / Danhammer Obstkrieg
Beneath The Grime #1 / Jon Rosenthal
Progressive Regression / Jordan Campbell

Art & Fiction:
Perfume Virus / Jordan Krall
Interview with Christian Edler / Brandon Duncan & Philip Tyson

Staff:

Overlords:
Joshua Haun
Brandon Duncan

Contributing Writers:
Joshua Haun
Jordan Campbell
Dan Obstkrieg
Kyle Harcott
Jon Rosenthal

Copy Editor:
Dan Obstkrieg

Design:
Brandon Duncan
Philip Tyson
Spencer Walker

Exclusive album stream: The Beyond – Frostbitepanzerfuck

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PrintIn a time when both black metal and punk rock are about as threatening as a switchblade comb, The Beyond are bringing back the danger and showing us how to get rude, crude and evil as hell with their debut full length, Frostbitepanzerfuck, which is being released tomorrow by the mighty Horror Pain Gore Death Productions (you can purchase the CD HERE).  From the gnarly Murder Junkies-esque assault of “Roto-Cunt” to the zombified crawl of “Exterminate Humanity,” the album is a twenty-eight minute lesson in violence that wastes no time in slitting your throat and sodomizing the bloody corpse.

THKD is excited to present an exclusive stream of Frostbitepanzerfuck in its entirety; you can find the stream after the jump, as well as a brief interview with vocalist/guitarist Danny Starkiller.  Enjoy or die.
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Demoncy – Enthroned is the Night (Forever Plagued Records, 2012)

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Demoncy 2012 Enthroned Is The NightThe last time I heard US black metal OG Demoncy was 1999′s Joined in Darkness, an ultra-gnarly one-man affair that to this day is one of the most desolate, subterranean-sounding recordings I’ve ever experienced. I somehow missed out on 2003′s Empire of the Fallen Angel, which was apparently a full band effort and not nearly as well-received; I have a hard time imagining Demoncy as anything other than a solitary undertaking, both as an entity and a listening experience, as Joined in Darkness is surely one of those albums best digested in complete isolation, darkened room optional, but definitely preferred. Given my fondness for that now fourteen-year-old album, I was very much looking forward to a proper sequel, and I’m pleased to say that Demoncy mastermind Ixithra has delivered with Enthroned is the Night, released last year on Forever Plagued Records, a label that’s quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.

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Darkest Grove – Coming of 2012 (Forever Plagued Records, 2012)

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DGCOVER2012The year 2012 has come and gone, and sadly, our planet was not ripped apart at the seams by the apocalypse. This unfortunate turn of events doesn’t stop Darkest Grove’s Coming of 2012 from being one of the most impressive and potent US black metal offerings I’ve come upon in recent times. While the musical stylings of Darkest Grove mastermind Devoid Being may be rooted in the most ancient of black metal traditions, it is the excellence of execution on display here that sets the album apart from the glut of USBM bands that have crawled out of the woodwork in recent times.

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Palace of Worms / Mastery – split (Flenser, 2012)

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The Flenser - Palace of Worms-Mastery - coverFlenser Records continues to be a haven for the latest and greatest in Bay Area black metal with this rad split cassette between Palace of Worms and Mastery, also available for free download from the label’s Bandcamp page. Both bands are one man affairs; California seems to be quite the fertile breeding ground for solitary black metal entities (see also: Xasthur, Leviathan, Crebain, Draugar, et al.) and Palace of Worms and Mastery uphold the level excellence that’s come to be expected from the Golden State’s corpse painted isolationist contingent.

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THKD’s Top 20 Metal Albums of 2012

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2012 has been more stressful than a motherfucker; probably one of the most all-around stressful years of my life. Buying a house + assorted family and work-related issues that I wouldn’t even dream of getting into here managed to turn the year into a goddamn pressure-cooker. I’m pretty sure the only things that kept me alive were my wife’s unwavering love (and limitless patience) and an avalanche of incredible music. In 2011 I was feeling pretty jaded and dissatisfied with the state of heavy metal, this year I found myself feeling better about things than I have in years. That isn’t to say there weren’t great albums released in 2011, there were, but in 2012 I felt like there was so much greatness that I couldn’t possibly keep up with it all.

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Ash Borer – Cold of Ages (Profound Lore, 2012)

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As American black metal continues to assert its dominance, so to does California continue to be a breeding ground for some of the best bands the genre has to offer.  Having visited the state on several occasions and even lived there for half a year (I was a PR intern for Metal Blade Records during college), it’s hard to imagine such bleak, harrowing music emanating from such a sunny, pleasant environment. But even the most pleasant places have filthy, pitch-black underbellies that the casual observer (such as myself) may never ever see.  If the Golden State possesses such an underbelly, then the mysterious quintet known as Ash Borer was undoubtedly born in the deepest, darkest recesses of that forsaken place, as their latest album, the devastating Cold of Ages attests.
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