Grave Upheaval / Manticore - Split (2012)

Split, Nuclear War Now! Productions
July 9th, 2012

Genre: Death Metal
Region: Australia / USA

Once again the twisted minds behind Impetuous Ritual and Portal, through their heinous Death/Doom Metal project Grave Upheaval, unleash more crawling chaos in this split with Manticore; who also contribute to their own seasoned catalogue of filthy death metal.

Probably the only thing that bothers me about Grave Upheaval (other than not having recorded a full length yet) is the fact that all their tracks are "untitled" which can make things a little confusing. A minor and insignificant complaint considering whenever they raise from their earthen tomb to project cold doom-infused death metal upon the underground community it is uncompromisingly destructive.

They contribute two tracks to this record, both of which I saw performed at Rites of Darkness III not long ago and both are suffocating, crushing and dirty as a smoker's lungs. The production is slightly clearer on this compared to their split with Encoffination which to some might take away from their murky atmosphere but to me the riffs and groaning vocals are no less oppressive and lurching with a little more clarity in the mix.

The first track is a little shorter but the severely low tuning and creeping pace is such that it feels just as torturous as any ten minute doom track, hammering the listener with drawn out tremolo riffs as the moans crawl forward — drums flickering ominously with the sudden appearance of a gong. The pacing is set slightly faster by the drums as the riffs continue to weigh down with a single set of notes which continues right to the finish, so low and dirty.

This tone is only altered slightly once you hit the second track which pulses with crunchy, slow doom powerchords punctuated by an occasional hammer-on. It's pure darkness as the track somehow hits an even lower pitch when the rasping growls enter. They hold this nice groove with very slight changes in the dismal sway, drums only picking up a touch in the final moments of the track. Every chord struck is a granite slab in the face to be savored on their side. Their material is growing stronger with each short step and I long for a full release even more at this point.

Honestly I'm not all too familiar with Manticore's releases prior to this but their side is great regardless. Manticore definitely take a more traditional approach compared to their partners here, though they remain filthy and evil in their own right. "Unleashing Unholy Temptations" opens slowly, demonic rasps uttered with palpable hate as the chunky riffs plow for a short time. The pace is decided more thrashy and oldschool immediately after this short intro: a choppy onslaught of death metal with some nice hooks near the end before an abrupt close.

"Insemination of the Sycophant" is just as vicious. Powerful percussive blasts pummel you the entire way through — the pace only slows in the middle where a crushing section briefly interrupts the thrashing before tossing you back into the blackened fury. It all ends so quickly you'll definitely need to run through both tracks a few times to get a proper dose of the whirlwind chaos, something that shouldn't be any trouble at all.

If you're aching for another taste of what Grave Upheaval are conjuring in their dark pit in Australia, or what Manticore have been working on since their 2006 full length and last years split then jump on this one. Buy this shit from the Nuclear War Now! Productions store, the diehard version comes with two patches. You can also stream this in full on their bandcamp page.

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Rites of Darkness III Festival

— RITES OF DARKNESS III — 

A HALF-ASSED REVIEW THAT NO ONE WILL CARE ABOUT

Early Monday morning on December 12th, a mere 4 hours after the final band left the stage at Backstage Live in San Antonio, Texas I was on a flight back to Toronto; sleep deprived, sore and totally destroyed from 5 days of head-crushing metal.

There wasn't much activity on Equivoke during the past week and that's because I was busy having a shit ton of fun down in Texas at the Rites of Darkness III festival. Despite the bitching an whining in the weeks and days leading up to it (some of it justified) the show was definitely one I would've regretted missing even if Evoken/Funebrarum/Disma/Dead Congregation/Pagan Altar/etc. didn't make it in the end — there was ample amounts of brilliant bands that made the trip absolutely worth it. It may have been too much for a 3 day fest if the 11+ bands that dropped off had been able to show up since even without them shows went pretty late (10 hour days man, I barely got any sleep).

So yes this post is going to be a lazy review of the fest and a shameless plug of my youtube shit. Skip it if you don't care, I won't make a habit out of these kinds of posts I assure you and I'll get back to posting albums soon.

Grave Upheaval / Encoffination - Split (2011)

Split, Psychedelic Lotus Order
November 11th, 2011

Genre: Death/Doom Metal
Region: Australia / USA

A fucking oppressive, crushingly dark release. Would you expect anything less from these bestial, gloom-ridden acts?

This is the second release for Grave Upheaval (who I'll be seeing at Rites of Darkness III in a few days) and the first split for Encoffination, released just before their recent somber, crawling and terrifying second full length "O' Hell, Shine In Thy Whited Sepulchres".

I think you all know what lies within this split: unbearable darkness and suffering in sonic form. Encoffination open with "Inurnment of Fleshless Disembodied Remains", their classic use of chiming cathedral bells emanating throughout the track followed by a slow build of feedback and a quick sample dragging you into a down-tuned apocalypse. If you love their recent release this will be greatly satisfying. Grave Upheaval's untitled track follows with a muffled and turbulent hatefilled atmosphere. The riffs are pitch black and unbearably heavy, with grievously haunting rasps permeating the spiraling ferocity. This track has a huge low end as well — it will shake your place without question.

A truly perfect pairing of bands on this release. It couldn't be more appropriate. Highly recommended, do not pass this up. It's limited to 250 copies on vinyl from various places (I got mine from Dark Descent Records but it looks like they're out). This is a vinyl rip, any problems let me know.

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Antediluvian - Λόγος (2013)

Full Length / Demo, Nuclear War Now! Productions
2013

Genre: Black/Death Metal
Region: Canada

As some of you might be aware of, the Cassette rip of the limited demo (?) version of the upcoming Antediluvian record Λόγος has finally been circling the outer rungs of the web. I really wanted to hear this at the end of 2012 but only heard about it weeks after it was stealthily released. Anyway here we have it.

Pronounced "logos", a cursory Google search suggests it's ancient Greek for "I say" or "that which is said" (or possibly "reason" but I am both lazy and out of my element here), lending to the ancient biblical and cryptic tone the band has shouldered thus far even more so. The art is once again very eerie. I know that it's a little hard to believe but even in demo form (and depending on the future, even more so here) its blatantly obvious this material represents the greatest channeling of archaic global turmoil Antediluvian have achieved.

At first Λόγος seems like it is far more formless and fluid in structure than all their past recordings, and in reality their bizarre conjurations are definitely far more entangled than ever before. They once again manage to keep vigilant and cull only the best 34 minutes it seems. Riffs which are constantly mutating through copious dissonant bends and decrepit time signatures is what makes Antediluvian and their brethren so violating and captivating, and yes they continue to wallow in this filth here.

Something that also continues is the wrecking ball drumming, putting a lot of guys to shame as she coordinates with the frightening guitar work Haasiophis dredges up. "Beyond Diurnal Winds" for example, this chick is a fucking beast. The bass however is fairly lost underneath everything else, I can hear it but it needs either more growl or bounce; this was not a problem on the last few records.

The crooked paths of the songs and their unpredictability forces you to pay attention as there's so much buried in each track you have no choice, lest you get lost and write it off as poor writing (a hard sell no doubt). On the first listen as it progresses Λόγος grasps a firmer foundation, probably around "The Ash and the Stars" (which is huge and complex) you've begun to just get hold of this writhing serpent; a song which is the first time I would argue that the Portal comparisons are actually accurate. Everything before this was almost overwhelming in it's reveling in chaos, where you only get glimpses as you adjust once again to their craft.

However on successive listens, much like with earlier works, the material becomes clearer and you gain a great appreciation for the meticulous discord it's wrapped in. I almost forgot it was supposed to be a rough cut as it started sounding far crisper at this point "Homunculus Daimon-eon (Awakening)" shreds wildly in descending spirals and later opens up, stretching the 7/4 and never dropping it's pace. And if it weren't for the quick silence you'd mistake "Consumate Spellbound Synapses" for a continuation of the opener. It's ever more pungent with horror sustained wails behind this wall of hypnotizing, lopsided rhythm and hailing blasts,  both combine to level you and the weight just increases as you listen.

There's some debate over whether some of the intro vocals are pitch shifted, not that it matters much. The intros are already cavernous enough. The rest of the time Haasiophis gurgles and froths abhorrently the spells of antiquity as he obliterates his instrument in the darkest ceremonies they've crafted yet. Sometimes on tracks like "On the Tree of Life and Death" there's more hoarse screams at one or two points and I'm not sure if that's him as well (I believe they were a four piece at the time), same with the spoken passage ending the final song. That song opens with a particularly intoxicating intro before erupting into misshapen and uncontrolled masses, decaying midway through to a crawl.

Tracks like "Tower of Silence" and "Nuclear Crucifixion (Turning the Spear Inward)" are even more ugly and tumultuous, if you haven't been overwhelmed by the time you've hit the former then the latter will be all the more tasty. Definitely my picks right now along with "The Ash and the Stars". "Transept of Limbs" opens with a very angelic intro before the blasphemous avalanche breaks. Later an enthralling pinched harmonic lead is woven through the corrosive static and punishing percussion, it's unexpected and fits well.

They always know how to close with a boom and with "Death Meta" Antediluvian manage to do it again, slowing it down and returning to "Under Wing of Asael" briefly. It's another example of how twisted they make everything, the almost slow-down like whammy effect Haasiophis achieves alongside the monolithic kit work from Mars brings this one to a close and leaves a deep scar in all those who make it through.

I didn't have much time to get properly excited for this, and I was pretty surprised that they were already working on/had released a new record so soon after their last success. That made me unduly wary but even considering this I'm coming away extremely pleased with everything they're doing on this rough cut, so when the official version is out I can only imagine it'll be as good if not more relentless and savage. Certainly top ten material even as an unfinished monstrosity.

A must for fans of this genre. Antediluvian have definitely brought something more challenging in this current version of their style. Further corruption by the cassette quality along with a continued standard of great writing takes their sound to more obscure subterranean depths. The only band that competes with them on the "holy fuck" chaos level would be Impetuous Ritual in my humble opinion; I guess you could include Grave Upheaval too. You probably can't find this anywhere unless someones got it on ebay but I hear a more complete/official release is in the works over at Nuclear War Now! Productions so watch that closely. For now enjoy the cassette rip.



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Sanakan's Top 20 Albums of 2011

Yep, this year I decided to post my picks for 2011. I usually keep my lists confined to my last.fm page and haven’t posted them here in the past but fuck it.

I went with a main top 20 list plus a separate demos + EPs and splits list with less detail — despite the fact that a few EPs show up in my main list. Usually everything from the top 5 stays solidified at their spots the others may go up and down the list occasionally.

2011 was another great year for music, there was so much great shit released by hard working groups and labels that again it was a tough year to make a list. I always feel as though I should wait like a month or two after the new year to make a list like this since I do usually miss an amazing record and regret not putting it on the list. On that note: if I miss something it’s cool if you post a suggestion in the comments, but please try to hold off on the “You forgot _______, not good enough for ya?!” type of comments — you guys have your own lists to do justice to those albums you feel I’ve missed.

Do post suggestions though. I have added a huge Honorable Mentions and More Good Shit list for recommended albums that aren’t in the top 20 but are great. Anything not on that list I didn’t feel like mentioning, haven't heard it or I just missed it.

Enjoy and GFYS.