SLUDGECAMP: A deep dive into the newest black/death metal releases on Bandcamp w/c 15/06/2018

By: Daniel Jackson

Dryad

Welcome to the inaugural edition of THE SLUDGELORD’s “Sludgecamp”.  I’ve been doing my own weekly deep dives into the newest black and death metal releases on bandcamp for some time through the joy of the site’s “Discover” feature, so I thought “why not share what I’ve found with the rest of you”?

I’ll be covering new releases first, followed by classic albums that have been recently added to the site, and finally some notable pre-orders for albums coming out down the road. I hope you find something to enjoy!

Released the week of 15/6/2018:

Dryad, “The Silurian Age”

    

My favorite discovery of the week goes to Iowa’s Dryad. The band have crafted an absolutely brilliant style for themselves with a combination of raw, primitive black metal, hardcore punk, and moody keyboards. As of right now, it’s my favorite release of the year, with the only negative being that I’m selfishly disappointed that it isn’t a full length’s worth of material.

Forlorn Citadel, “Songs of Mourning”

 
The bandcamp page for this release indicates that this is a remastered demo release from May, but is seeing a new official release through Dark East Productions. With that out of the way, this is absolutely essential if you’re a fan of Summoning. People have understandably heaped praise upon Caladan Brood’s ‘Echoes Of Battle’ from 2013 for its brilliant recreation of that classic Summoning sound, but Forlorn Citadel is every bit as good at Caladan Brood, and maybe even a tad better. They absolutely NAIL that buzzing, reverb-drenched guitar tone, and the vocals are excellent as well.

Tired Lord, “Demo”

 
Tired Lordis apparently a one-and-done project out of San Francisco, and it’s a shame they’re only ever putting out this one demo. This is black metal with a strong emphasis on groove, which is all the more impressive when you consider that the drums here are programmed. If you’re a fan of Cobalt or Black Anvil, to cite a couple of loose comparisons, you’d do well to give this a shot. Tired Lord, for their ultra brief existence, were undoubtedly a riff factory. (Note: I’m cheating a little bit here as this was actually released June 8th, but From Corners Unknown Records uploaded it during the week of the 15th.)

Ashen Chalice, “Kroz život sa razbijenim očima”

    

Croatia’s Ashen Chaliceare a bit of a mystery. No social media presence to speak of and the band seem intent on drowning their music in reverb and fuzzy distortion. The focus here is all on mood and atmosphere, as opposed to traditional songwriting and memorability. Typically that wouldn’t be my thing here, but the ambient world this album creates is so engrossing that I can’t help but recommend it. This is the sort of musical alchemy that gets me to throw my standard tastes out the window for the sake of getting lost in new sonic worlds.

Sanguinary Trance, “Wine, Song and Sacrifice”

 
I had a hard time finding much info on Austria’s Sanguinary Trance. The band seem to have a thing for Dionysian mysteries, as it relates to wine and ritual. This is a case where the aesthetic elements in the album cover and in the song titles set the table nicely for the music, which could be called black metal with a sense of drama, without crossing over into Cradle of Filth style shlock.

Newly available through Bandcamp:

Imperial Crystalline Entombment, “Apocalyptic End in White”

 
A nostalgic pick here, as Imperial Crystalline Entombment originally released this album back in 2004. The album’s a total blastfest, and acts as something of an American counterpart to Cadaver Inc’s black metal and grindcore hybrid from the prior year. For their part, the music mixes in some Immortal (naturally) and a bit of death metal into the mix as well, which makes sense for a project brought to us by members of Aurora Borealis.

Pre-orders:

Kosmogyr, “Eviternally: The Remixes”(Out 13/7/2018)

 
A unique idea here, as Kosmogyr have commissioned various artists to remix their excellent debut EP. The idea of a remix album isn’t unique on its own, but when the original album is this kind of muscular melodic black metal, that can change things quite a bit. I’m woefully underqualified to evaluate this sort of project, but the idea warrants attention and investigation.

Hellish, “The Spectre Of Lonely Souls” (Out 31/8/2018)

    

Unspeakable Axeis always coming up with the goods, counting Scorched, Voidspawn, Act of Impalement and more as some of the great previous and upcoming releases through their label. Add Hellish to that list too, as their particular brand of blackened thrash features riffs that are smarter and catchier than you’re likely to find from your average 1st wave diehards, as evidenced by the album’s advance track “The Walker of Shadows”.

Gravecoven, “Coughing Blood” (Out 11/7/2018)

Some strong sounding black metal infused doom coming to us care of Transylvanian Tapes in just a few weeks. This has the downtuned filth you love in your doom, coupled with the chilling atmosphere you want in your black metal and Gravecoven pull the combo off nicely. 

BAND SPOTLIGHT: Kosmogyr defy conventional methods to create "Eviternity"

By: Daniel Jackson

Kosmogyr is a long-distance collaborative effort between Shanghai resident Xander Cheng and former Shanghai resident Ivan Belcic, now living in Prague. Their potent black metal brew is one of both melodic grandiosity and colossal sonic weight, that added heft given from the judicious use of deep, churning melodic death metal. The band displays a clear understanding of what’s made these styles work so well over the last twenty-plus years, while still sounding very much a part of the here and now.

In that sense, Kosmogyr acts as a musical counterpoint to the idea of post-black metal. Its existence is proof of how black metal has necessarily grown and adapted rather than morphed into something else altogether. There will always be plenty of bands holding down the fort for traditionalism, and the genre still thrives even within those rigid boundaries. But it’s the genre’s ability to blend with new sounds and seamlessly interact with different musical contexts that makes it so creatively viable more than twenty years after its original peak.

The Process

That Kosmogyr have accomplished what they have on ‘Eviternity’ despite the expansive distance between Shanghai and Prague helps define Cheng and Belcic’s drive and passion for the music they’re making, when so many others would likely have tried to find new outlets, rather than commit to a more complicated system for making music. Thankfully, Belcic offered to help explain the collaborative process that went into making the album:

“The typical Kosmogyr song begins with a collection of riffs from Xander, along with rudimentary drums underneath to give me an idea of what he has in mind. He’d send me a set of riffs that belong together, and I’d go through them to sort out which feels to me like a chorus, which has more of a “main riff” vibe, and so forth. I might ask him to flesh out a section, or bring another riff or two in, depending on the direction I’m seeing for the arrangement.

“After coming up with a first draft of the arrangement, I’d bounce it back to Xander for his feedback, and based on that, we’d make whatever final changes were needed before arriving at the final song structure. After we locked it in, I’d go back and write all the detailed drum parts with fills and such.”

An approach based on one artist rearranging and fine tuning the pieces put forth by another isn’t one you’re likely to come across very often, at least not in black metal. It speaks to a selflessness in Cheng that he’d create riffs to be put together in ways he may not have imagined himself. It also speaks to Cheng and Belcic’s symbiotic musical relationship even across such a great distance. That’s especially impressive given black metal’s history with one-person projects and inflexible creative methods.

 The Humanity of Drum Programming

The use of drum programming as opposed to a live drummer has, and will continue to be, a subject of debate among metal fans. Some fans are strongly against it, regardless of whether it’s done out of necessity, born out of lack of resources, reliable musicians, or anything else. For some listeners, the circumstances surrounding the use of drum programming don’t factor in at all. But like anything musical it’s all about how it’s executed. Someone who is generally against non-human drumming might still be a fan of albums released by Type O Negative (from 1996-2003), Anaal Nathrakh, Agoraphobic Nosebleed, Limbonic Art, or Summoning.

Often, the best programming will come from someone who understands drumming to begin with. It’s extraordinarily helpful to know how a drummer might accent certain notes or how to use dynamics to give programmed drums a more human groove element that a lot of drummerless albums lack. Belcic describes his own approach to programming:

“Though I am a drummer, I am sadly one bereft of the chops, stamina and discipline needed to pull off this style of music with perfect timing and finesse. The programming on the record is what I would play, if I could play it at the required level.

The drums were programmed note by note using the same MIDI composition software as the songwriting. Despite this, I tried my best to take as natural an approach to the drum programming as possible. I’d listen to the riffs and air-drum along to the drum parts I’d hear in my head, and so that’s how I’d figure out what each riff would get. The same goes for fills — I’d listen along, and anytime my brain-drummer threw in a fill, I’d transcribe what I “heard” with the software.”

That existing knowledge of how drums should be played shows in the end result. While the tones themselves still have a somewhat mechanical sound to them, the beat selection and natural flow to the programming makes the experience much more genuine than it would be otherwise. I asked about specific drummers Belcic might have looked to as an inspiration for his programming style, but there wasn’t as much direct influence as you might expect:

“There was only one time I remember purposefully grabbing influence from a specific drummer, and it was after spending an hour or so in a YouTube rabbit hole of Anup Sastry videos. I think it was while doing the drums for “Iridescent,” so if you hear any fills in that song that sound particularly badass, that’s why. Anup, if you’re reading this, thanks for slaying.”

Crushing Sounds, And The Voice They Require

Turning our gaze back to the guitars, one of the things Kosmogyrbrings to the table that few others do is a robust and heavy guitar tone. The closest black metal comparison I can think of is the tone on Gorgoroth’s ‘Twilight of the Gods’, though it’s not as murky. Cheng is inclined to view it as an obvious, natural choice:

“For me as a producer, the guitar sound is not about taking influence from which bands or which genres — it’s all about creating a rich sound that is enjoyable to hear. For the audience, a rich sound overall is more fulfilling than an unbalanced mix, even with excellent songwriting. I wanted the music to be welcomed by a wider group of people, so before I started the production, I’d already created my concept for our sound and our mix.”

For posterity’s sake, Belcic adds “Those fat chords under the main riff in “Eviternity,” though, that was all me. It’s my one actual bit of guitar writing on the record, and the world must know”.

When it comes to vocals; it goes without saying that every band is going to be different. While strictly-defined vocal limits might work for bands as different as Meshuggah or early Darkthrone, Belcic’s more varied approach on ‘Eviternity’is just what’s needed. Having found plenty of extreme vocal space to explore between his caustic highs and thundering growls, Belcic sheds some light on his vocal approach:

“I’ve always been drawn to vocalists who utilize a dynamic range of textures, and it’s the type of vocalist I try to be. It was important to me that our songs be given this sort of treatment, as opposed to more of a one-style-fits-all approach.”

And as to whether this was something mapped out in advance or played out by ear, Belcic clarifies further:

“The vocal choices were made on a very instinctual level. I wasn’t consciously making decisions so much as responding to each passage of a song with the vocal style that it evoked. It came down to how each riff affected me as I listened to the songs, and how adjacent sections would complement and contrast with one another.”

His range didn’t come easily to him, though:

“For many years, the high-end black metal shrieks have stubbornly been the toughest vocal style for me to grasp, and so it was an inspiring challenge to hack my way through these recording sessions. I did all the vocals in the bathroom of my apartment…I can’t imagine what my neighbors must think of me.”

The Last Word

Lyrically, Kosmogyr prefer to remain something of a closed book. Where some bands have created a captivating musical identity by wearing their political beliefs on their sleeve; Belcic is tight-lipped, preferring to let us all sort these things out for ourselves. Knowing that Kosmogyrrecently appeared on the socially-conscious ‘Crushing Intolerance’ black metal compilation series, I’d wondered if their political views had found their way into their lyrics at all:

“I don’t want to characterize or contextualize our lyrics in any sort of overt way, because I think everyone should be able to create their own sense of meaning for the songs. I can say that while I’m quite open about my views online, and while we’re proud to have been included on last year’s Crushing Intolerance compilation with Black Metal Alliance, our album isn’t an explicitly political record.”

With that left to our imagination, Kosmogyr has given us more than enough to process and appreciate on ‘Eviternity’. It’s not just the devastating waves of sorrowful melody, the gorgeous atmosphere provided by the ambient lead guitar work, or the multifaceted vocal performance giving the album the voice this music demands. It’s also about all the effort and patience that went into it, as a long distance collaboration of this sort would have required. That the album ended up being so damned good must have made all of that work worthwhile.

“Eviternity” is available to buy here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp