Not just the best death metal release of 2009, it was also 2009's Oslo Award-winning album of year, and now it is finally available on vinyl courtesy of . A small stack of them just showed up on my doorstep so now I can offer them to you for the not-quite-a-bargain price of $24 plus s/h. If you think that sounds rough, well, that's far below what new vinyl from Norway usually costs with shipping and let me assure you, this modern classic is well worth it! 500 copies, awesome matte sleeve plus a bonus 7" featuring two exclusive cuts not available anywhere else: "Dawn of the deluge" b/w "Dead by dawn" (Dr. Shrinker)
Want one? Email mailorder@itsatrap.com. Recommended for all fans of dirty, ugly death metal.
It's always refreshing to see a label with so much devotion to good music that it'll have a multitude of acts spanning a variety of genres on its roster. It's the mark of a true music fan; someone who's not afraid to take risks and stick two fingers up to the naysayers and proudly state: "This is what I like and I'm releasing it!" Norwegian Nils Bech, is one of the non-metal acts on , his laid back, retro-styled electropop sitting alongside the fist and fury metal battery from the likes of Obliteration, Haust or Okkultokrati. It has to be said that there's a time and a place for "Look back"; It requires a certain frame of mind before someone could take the entire album in one sitting, but that doesn't mean it's a bad release. It's just conducive to pre-planned, late-night, candlelit ambience rather than any summer drive-time fervor. And when it kicks off in that kind of subdued atmosphere, it can be simply wondrous. Vocally, Bech is probably what a Morten Harket and Morrissey hybrid would sound like if they had been releasing stuff in the early '60s. Sure, his music might be classed as electropop but, with its definite retro leanings, it sounds more like the male counterpart of Goldfrapp's "Felt mountain" than the '80s disco companion of "Scoundrel days". The term 'crooner' springs to mind often on this and, if there's one main criticism of Bech, it's that his English pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired. Generally, English sung in a foreign tongue adds a certain mystique to an album and, while that's true on a lot of "Look back", Bech's approach can be slightly off-putting at times. The songs on here are well done and, while there's a good buzz around Nils Bech, the vocals really taint this release in places. Best tracks on here are the upbeat "Medieval times" and the distinctly Björk-y "French affairs". A good album that's definitely original. Unfortunately, it would have been much better if Nils had sung på norsk. - John Norby
Fenriz of Darkthrone has put together yet another mix for Vice, 'cept this time he's got some help from Sindre Solem of mighty Norwegian death metal act Obliteration: http://afistinthefaceofgod.blogspot.com/2010/05/trapped-under-vice-vol.html
Not a lot of Scandinavian selections this time (actually, just one), but don't sweat it -- every mix that's been posted so far has been a winner.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Sweatmaster - Turnover
02. TALK 1
03. Viola - Leave it all again (feat. Bääbs)
04. Regulations - Down the street
05. The Bear Quartet - Sweet beef
06. TALK 2
07. Mattias Alkberg - Lys upp mig en stjärna
08. Susanne Sundfør - Turkish delight
09. The Skull Defekts - Remain in cruxus (dub)
10. TALK 3
11. Obliteration - Ingesting death
12. Zombiekrig - Håll käften ge mig dina pengar
13. Grande Roses - The astronaut
14. Brutus - Solution
15. TALK 4
16. Ikons - Guns
17. Rising - Grail of bone
18. The Aches - Dancing syllables
19. TALK 5
20. Eskatol - Fane av løgner
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
The extra-kvlt cassette edition of Obliteration's excellent "Nekropsalms" album is now available from , along with quite a few other items of fine quality Norwegian darkness: http://ormeyngel.bigcartel.com/
For those of you holding out for copies of the "Nekropsalms" LP (+ bonus 7"!), I ordered a few copies for distro and should be getting them soonish.
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. Laakso - Worst case scenario
02. TALK 1
03. Du Pacque - Walk straight
04. Pascal - Tutti frutti
05. Nirvana 2002 - The awakening of...
06. Lapko - I shot the sheriff
07. TALK 2
08. The Floor is Made of Lava - The bigger picture
09. No Balls - Guilt blocker
10. Obliteration - Styxerian path (into darkness)
11. Next Life - Anti matter
12. TALK 3
13. Ikons - Imperiet
14. The Skull Defekts - Habit
15. Familjen - När planeterna stannat
16. TALK 4
17. Meleeh - Sun and moon
18. Kite - I give you the morning
19. Ef - 401 Lwa
20. TALK 5
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Shipping vinyl from Norway is ridiculously cost-prohibitive, but I don't think I can pass up the LP release of Obliteration's superb "Nekropsalms", now available for preorder from : http://www.duplicate-records.com/
, the fine label run by the folks behind bands such as Haust and Okkultokrati, now have a myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/ormeyngel
They also have a lot of awesome cassette releases in the works such as Obliteration - "Nekropsalms", Haust - "Powers of horror", Okkultokrati - "No Mass For Light" and a repress of Okkultokrati's demo.
Norwegian death metallers Obliteration have lined up a few extra dates in addition to their appearance at Maryland Deathfest and will be bringing their friends Nekromantheon along for the ride:
05/27 - Maryland Deathfest VIII Pre-fest Party @ Sonar, Baltimore, MD
05/29 - Maryland Deathfest VIII @ Sonar, Baltimore, MD
06/03 - Tones of Death @ Fontanas, NYC, NY
06/05 - Katacombes, Montreal, QC
06/06 - Ninkasi Club, Quebec, QC
06/07 - tba, Boston, MA
06/11 - The M Room, Philadelphia, PA
Many folks have abandoned myspace, but Fenriz of Darkthrone still uses it to highlight his favorite underground acts with his "Band of the Week" feature and now, after doing it continually for a long while, it's led to some bigger/better things besides just hipping many folks to lots of great music (myself included). First up, there will be a "Live Evil Fest" happening in Camden, UK in late October featuring a number of previous "Band of the Week" recipients including Obliteration and Sonic Ritual, two IAT favorites. Go here for more on that: http://www.myspace.com/liveevilfestival
Secondly, both Nocturno Culto and Fenriz will be co-editing the March issue of Terrorizer where they will be running features and interviews on many other bands they dig. Should be great for anyone into true underground metal + punk, so yeah, keep an eye out!
There's so much metal in so many shapes and guises out there these days that it's inevitable a proportion of bands will rage against the shimmery-shiny output of many of today's bigger acts and opt for the down and dirty approach adopted -- usually out of necessity -- by those who first kicked off the extreme metal movement. Indeed, Kolbotn's Obliteration have done just that and, while a lot of latter day old-school acts whet the whistle with demonic nods towards dirty metal's formative years, this Norwegian crew come across so authentically ancient that they could easily be mistaken as having been around during the early days of Darkthrone's bleak death metal reign. It's no wonder that Fenriz himself praises them for having succeeded in accomplishing what he and Nocturno Culto had attempted to do with "Soulside journey" and "Goatlord" between '88 and '91. Indeed, "Nekropsalms" harks right back to that era in terms of sound and song structure and offers a superb album that sounds even more old-school than some of the genuine mature stuff out there. There's not much point in highlighting examples of nostalgic vibe on this, the band's second full-length effort, when it oozes early-‘90s atmosphere from start to finish. If you want to relive the experience of discovering this type of music when it was first clawing its way out of subterranean Norway, then this is the album with which to do it. Death, doom, despair, horror and -- indeed -- Obliteration await. - John Norby
Here's the playlist for this week's radio show Sirius XMU:
01. November - En ny tid är här
02. TALK 1
03. Viola - 2010s (maybe the world won't end)
04. Love Is All - Kungen
05. Niels Nielsen - We are youth
06. NEI - 40 rabbits
07. TALK 2
08. Voices Break the Silence - Lost
09. Oriel Joans - Knuckles whiten
10. Ljudbilden & Piloten - Arms and legs together
11. David Åhlén - Great is thy faithfulness
12. TALK 3
13. Sambassadeur - Sandy dunes
14. Folkvang - Stugsista
15. Nirvana 2002 - Slumber
16. TALK 4
17. Obliteration - Exterminate
18. Java - Smokescreen
19. Thee Gutted String - White
20. TALK 5
21. Grande Roses - The farm
Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.
Nils Bech
Obliteration
