Britain: Are we a bit rubbish? Time to reclaim our Metal credentials!
This little piece of bloggage was inspired by a Facebook status. It was from a member of a UK-based band who was commenting on the fact that they were selling a considerable amount more albums in Germany in comparison to the UK. I believe he mentioned the ratio was something along the lines of 30:1. There’s something a bit wrong with that.
The UK is arguably the birth place of Metal. So, why does the UK Metal scene seem a little bit limp in places. I’ve noticed it myself at gigs – the turn-out just doesn’t seem to be as good as it was a few years ago. Is it all due to the recession? Or, are we just not that Metal? Do the majority of people concern themselves more with fads and trends instead of decent homegrown talent?
I’m determined not to let Blighty lose its Metal credentials, so I’m going to make an effort to feature as many UK-based bands on this website as possible. So, if you’re in a UK-based Metal band and you want me to shout your name from the rooftops, get in touch.
That’s not to say I’ve been neglecting our little island. Hell no! Many UK bands have already been featured here… and I plan to showcase them again in the coming weeks… along with a LOAD more 
So, keep an eye on this site as I will be regularly updating it with Flying the Flag for Blighty’s Metal Scene stuff. Each post will contain information about three different UK-based Metal/Rock bands. If you would like to thank me for providing links and information to such musical wonders, the best thing to do would be to check out each band and, if you like them, SUPPORT THEM! Buy their stuff and get to as many gigs as you can! You can also live a comment below saying how lovely I am. I like that too.
The first set of bands are all quite different… but each one is awesome in its own right…
Talanas
I love Talanas… and they seem to fill the void left by Akercocke quite well…
Info:
TALANAS – the darker side of the UK’s cutting edge
Combining all the ferocity of extreme metal with atmospheric soundscapes influenced by the more esoteric leanings of the 80s & 90s mainstream, with inspirations ranging from Suffocation to Scott Walker, talanas have made their stamp with the debut ‘reason & abstract’ EP in August 2010, following this in May 2011 with ‘the waspkeeper’ – 11 tracks of dark, innovative savagery, available now through Eulogy Media (Dām, For The Blind), that further coins a sound that Zero Tolerance magazine has described as “thinking man’s metal for the next millennium”.
Voted 3rd Best Unsigned Act of by Terrorizer Magazine and 5th Best New / Unsigned Act by Classic Rock Presents Prog Magazine in 2010, hailed by fans as “the new Akercocke” and featuring ex members of interlock (Anticulture Records), the London four-piece face a busy year of live performance.
Line-Up:
HAL SINDEN – vocals, guitar
EWAN PARRY – guitar
MARK ‘DUFF’ DUFFY – bass
JOE BUTTERWORTH – drums
Links:
http://www.talanas.org
facebook.com/talanasband
louciferspeaks.com/?s=talanas
I.C.O.N
Want some straight-up, no nonsense Heavy Metal? Check out I.C.O.N!
Info:
Sounding like a punch up between Down, Iron Maiden and Motorhead whilst BLS, Metallica and COC put the boot in…
…Welcome to I.C.O.N
With the recent release of their debut album NEW BORN LIE, I.C.O.N are going from strength to strength, continuing to build their fanbase across the UK and Europe. Their music can be found on the smash PC off-road driving game MOTORM4X.
…
I.C.O.N have so far shared the stage with Blaze Bayley, Diamond Head, Furyon, Witchfynde, Conquest of Steel, Jaguar,Sworn To Oath, Logan, Zico Chain, Rogue Male and Voodoo Six amongst many other great rock and metal bands.
Line-Up:
Mark Sagar – Vocals
Scott Knowles – Guitar
Reece Bevan – Bass
Aaron Youd – Drums
Links
officialicon.blogspot.com
facebook.com/icon.uk
louciferspeaks.com/?s=i.c.o.n
Basement Torture Killings
Death Metal for Serial Killers. What’s not to like? Basement Torture Killings are possibly one of the most entertaining live bands I’ve ever seen.
Info:
Basement Torture Killings were formed in the Winter of 2007 by past and present members of Thus Defiled, Reign Of Erebus, Fleshrot and Scarabaeus. Part band, part horror presentation, the members consist of unconvicted serial killers Bertrand, Tarquin, Professor Kennith and The Fourth Killer. The band’s music can best be described as old school death/gore grind with influences from luminaries su…ch as Carcass, Cannibal Corpse, Entombed, Deicide, Death etc… Added to this blend of classic death metal is a visual image which is part slasher flick, part The League Of Gentlemen.
Basement Torture Killings released their first recording, “The First Cumming”, in the Summer of 2008. Shortly after they played their debut gig in London with cult Swedish grind act Afgrund. This performance caught the eye of Terrorizer Magazine, and on the back of this they received not only a very positive live review, but also an interview in the Breaking Faces section of the magazine. The band continued to promote “The First Cumming” with several more live appearances, which led to them featuring in the 2009 Terrorizer Readers Poll as a runner up in the Best Unsigned Band category.
The band inked a deal in the winter of ’10 with label Arcane Productions, which saw the release of the debut album “The Second Cumming (Gagged ‘n’ Stuffed Edition)” in the spring of 2011. The album received awesome reviews in all the major UK metal press, as well as many online ‘zines. The band also received numerous interviews, including Metal Hammer, Terrorizer and Zero Tolerance in the UK. This led the band touring the UK with acts such as Deicide, Belphegor, Malevolent Creation, Avulsed, General Surgery, Amputated and Desecration.
Basement Torture Killings play an extreme style of death metal that features high speed riffing, drawing influences from the classic period of late ‘80s and early ‘90s death metal. Lyrically, themes are based on murder and torture in its most sadistic and deviant form. All combined with a visual image that pays homage to your favorite horror movies, fused with those most quintessential English sickos that are The League Of Gentlemen.
Metal Hammer described the band as “A death metal perversity in knitted cardigans, tweed and Hannibal Lecter masks”. Terrorizer states “‘The Second Cumming’ is an impressive display of gore-splattered death metal, akin to what Carcass might have sounded like if they’d ditched the medical text books and headed for the “true crime” section of their local library”, whilst Zero Tolerance suggest that “BTK have hit upon a violently potent formula”.
Bertrand, Tarquin, Professor Kennith and The 4th Killer have only just begun their campaign of murder most foul, and it looks certain that Basement Torture Killings will claim many more victims over the cumming months and years.
Line-Up:
Bertrand: Sinews and Gorgasm Screams
Tarquin: Axe and Goratory Orgasms
The Fourth Killer: Angelic Faces Pummeler
Links:
facebook.com/pages/Basement-Torture-Killings/106420996271
myspace.com/btkbasementtorturekillings
louciferspeaks.com/?s=basement+torture+killings
Now, dear reader, go forth into the internet – click on those links and let these bands provide you with multiple eargasms!
Once again, if you’d like your band to be featured, please get in touch.
The next installment will be coming very soon… possibly tomorrow, possibly not… I like to keep you on your toes…
I have to admit… I’d actually reached the point where I thought this wouldn’t happen… but, thankfully, it seems that Jari and co are going to prove me wrong! “Time” is on its way and it’s going to be in two parts! I think I may need a sit down and a strong (celebratory) drink. I honestly can’t wait for this!!!
Finland’s WINTERSUN have released the following update regarding their long-awaited second album:
Hello friends!
Time for some album(s) news. Wintersun’s Time is going to be two albums, titled TIME I & TIME II. We made this decision simply because of few reasons:
- All the 80min of material won’t fit on a regular CD and we didn’t want to cut anything out.
- We want you to be able to hear new material sooner and not wait any longer and we want to go on tour sooner.
- The music is very full and complex, so listening this kind of “hard listening (not easy listening)” material straight for 80 minutes is a bit too much (even for me). Both albums will be approx. nice 40 min epic packages of fireworks.
- We like the idea of releasing two albums within one year, so the band will stay more visible longer, which is important in these “modern times.” No more years of silence for us!
We hope you’ll approve our new little “plan” and support us when the “Time” comes!
The track listing for TIME I looks like this:
TIME I
1. When Time Fades Away
2. Sons of Winter and Stars
I Rain of Stars
II Surrounded by Darkness
III Journey Inside a Dream
IV Sons of Winter and Stars
3. Land of Snow and Sorrow
4. Darkness and Frost
5. TimeTIME I mix is set to be finished by July, mastered in the beginning of July and released in early fall of 2012! TIME II will be released in 2013. Conception of album artworks, videos, live shows including rehearsals will keep us busy during the summer and I’ll also continue mixing TIME II meanwhile. We’ll be hopefully posting some videos and teasers during summer. Also some new live show announcements soon, so stay tuned for those!
We can’t wait for you guys to hear TIME I material and play it to you live! Have a great summer!
- Jari & Wintersun boys
WINTERSUN are confirmed to headline this year’s edition of the HEIDENFEST tour kicking off in October supported by Korpiklaani, Varg, Trollfest and Krampus, before they go on touring the world. Further infos, dates and tickets on heidenfest.eu.
Original source: facebook.com/notes/wintersun/wintersun-album-update-track-listing-revealed/10151756957115234
Lahmia’s “Forget Every Sunrise” EP has been lurking around my playlist for quite a few years (click here to read a review) and it’s a fantastic example of melodeath played to an extremely high standard, so I was thrilled when I heard that the band were releasing a full length album.
So, does “Into the Abyss” reach the same level of awesome as the EP? Well, yes. “Into the Abyss” pretty much carries on where the EP left off (actually it contains most of the tracks from “Forget Every Sunrise”) so we’re treated to the same level of quality songwriting and tantalisingly good riffs.
Even though four years have passed, not much has changed. There hasn’t been a lot of progression. Whether or not this is a problem, really depends on your point of view. If, like myself, you absolutely loved the EP then the fact that Lahmia are continuing to put out top notch melodeath should thrill you. If you liked the EP, but were hoping for something a little different this time around, then you may find yourself feeling a little bit disappointed. On the other hand, if you’re completely new to Lahmia, “Into the Abyss” will provide you with the perfect introduction.
Now the important bit… What does it sound like? Despite hailing from Italy, Lahmia sound like they come from Sweden in the 1990s. Yep, they’ve got that Gothenburg sound and they do it well. Shockingly well. Lahmia should really be touring with Dark Tranquility.
If you like the Gothenburg sound, then there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy this little slice of tasty metal. Melodic riffs soar through each track and get stuck in your head with ease (I’ve found myself humming “The Tunnel” on quite a few occasions – a sure sign of a job well done!) and – as mentioned before – the songs are well written and flow terrifically well together.
In short, this is a good album. No, scrap that, this is a great album. It ticks all of the right boxes and leaves me with a dopey smile on my face. Lahmia may not be doing anything particulary unique or out of the ordinary here, but they do seem to have spent a lot of time learning their craft and becoming masters at it. It’s a shame that they do not have access to a time machine that will take them to the 90s where could get the acclaim that they deserve. I fear that these days they will be ignored in favour of whatever is currently ‘in’.
Rating: 88%
Sanity Burns have released a trailer to promote their forthcoming debut album. Check it out below:
More information can be found at the links below:
myspace.com/sanityburns
reverbnation.com/sanityburns
facebook.com/SanityBurns
Thanks to a couple of monstrous assignments I had to do this week, I didn’t get a chance to report on this fantastic news when it was first released. So, I’m a few days late. Oops.
The reigning kings of technical, historically-themed brutality, NILE, have revealed the track list for their upcoming release entitled At The Gate Of Sethu. The follow-up to NILE’s latest state-of-the-death-metal-art release, Those Whom the Gods Detest (2009), will be released via Nuclear Blast Records on June 29 (Europe) and July 3 (North America). Artwork (both covers) was created this time around by Seth Siro Anton (SOILWORK, PARADISE LOST, SEPTIC FLESH). Once again Neil Kernon (CANNIBAL CORPSE, NEVERMORE) handled production duties for this, the group’s seventh full-length album.
North American Digi/ European Digi Cover Artwork:
At the Gate of Sethu track listing (North American Digi/ European Digi):
1. Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame
2. The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased
3. The Inevitable Degradation of Flesh
4. When My Wrath is Done
5. Slaves of Xul
6. The Gods Who Light Up the Sky at the Gate of Sethu
7. Natural Liberation of Fear Through the Ritual Deception of Death
8. Ethno-Musicological Cannibalisms
9. Tribunal of the Dead
10. Supreme Humanism of Megalomania
11. The Chaining of the Iniquitous
Bonus:
12. Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame (Instrumental)
13. The Inevitable Degradation of Flesh (Instrumental)
European Jewel Case Cover Artwork:
At the Gate of Sethu track listing (European Jewel Case):
1. Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame
2. The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased
3. The Inevitable Degradation of Flesh
4. When My Wrath is Done
5. Slaves of Xul
6. The Gods Who Light Up the Sky at the Gate of Sethu
7. Natural Liberation of Fear Through the Ritual Deception of Death
8. Ethno-Musicological Cannibalisms
9. Tribunal of the Dead
10. Supreme Humanism of Megalomania
11. The Chaining of the Iniquitous
A track from the new album, “The Fiends Who Come to Steal the Magick of the Deceased”, premiered on noisecreep.com on 25th May and you can now listen to it via the SoundCloud widget below:
Nile-Catacombs.net
Facebook.com/NileCatacombs
Twitter.com/NileCatacombs
