Manipura, an anonymous duo from Athens, Greece, has been formed early 2020.
The atmospheric industrial black metal they create, is a manifestation of their contempt for humanity. Once engaged in their music, you will be lifted towards an outer-self, inner-core emergence of anti-being. In nothingness, we gain total emptiness.
They have crafted two impressive, atmospheric industrial black metal albums. While both albums clearly fall in this subgenre, they showcase different aspects of the genre.
33 is filled to the brim with atmosphere and leans towards the style known from Borgne. Anomia, on the other hand, has more bursts of energy and aggression, not unlike Impaled Nazarene. Both albums show a love for Mysticum, DHG, Thorns and the likes.
33 and Anomia are available on music cassette as of now.
Listen to Of Those Stricken By Fate, the second track of FREJA‘s striking debut album TIDES.
The difference with the first premiered track Our Chosen Path couldn’t be bigger. Where the first track was thundering and crushing, these towers of sound are not to be found on Of Those Stricken By Fate. This track shows a more melancholic and ethereal side of the band.
These two sides of the band blend perfectly on the four remaining tracks on the album.
TIDES will be released on both LP and CD on April 22nd. The band will play the renowned Roadburn Festival on the very release day.
FREJA are a duo hailing from the Netherlands, consisting of C. (Witte Wieven) and W. (Laster, Verval). The two found each other musically during the lead-up to Roadburn 2019 while working on the commissioned piece Maalstroom – a veritable “supergroup” of the ever-thriving Dutch black metal scene, including members from the esteemed likes of Fluisteraars, Turia, Terzij de Horde, Verwoed, and Grey Aura among others – and they decided to continue that creative energy with FREJA.
Tides is FREJA’s first public recording, and a more auspicious debut one will not find. The duo’s shared interest in atmospheric metal is immediately reflected in FREJA’s towers of sound, built upon layers of dense-yet-spacious riffs, subtly shimmering melodies, and plausibly catchy compositions which include themes that evolve throughout each of the album’s six songs. Thundering, crushing, almost inescapably so? Yes, but also immensely ethereal and sometimes as smooth as gossamer, creating a paradoxically levitation aspect that effortlessly carries the listener through these Tides.
With Weemoedsklanken, MESLAMTAEA continue to observe and mourn the way humanity treats our beloved mother earth.
Stylistically they have deepened their sound. Weemoedsklanken contains an intro followed by seven tracks of unorthodox black metal with aggressive guitars, catchy melodies, sax and flugelhorn frenzines, spitting vocals, spoken word parts, vocoder and jazzy drums.
The LP comes on black vinyl in a reverse board jacket with an insert and is limited to 200 copies. Order here. The CD is limited to 100 copies on a 6-panel digipak. Order here.
There are a few guests on this album. Fraukje van Burg (Doodswens): spoken word Kevin Kentie (Verbum Verus, Ibex Angel Order, Sauron, …): vocals Otto Kokke: saxophone
Babylon Doom Cult Records is proud to announce the release of “Weemoedsklanken“, the upcoming full length by MESLAMTAEA.
We’re excited to unleash the second track, “Uiteengevallen” featuring spoken word passages by Fraukje van Burg (Doodswens).
The album will see a limited LP and CD release on February 25th.
The LP comes with an insert and is limited to 200 copies. Pre-order here. The CD comes on a 6-panel digipak and is limited to 100 copies. Pre-order here. Pre-orders are going fast.
FREJA are a duo hailing from the Netherlands, consisting of C. (Witte Wieven) and W. (Laster, Verval). The two found each other musically during the lead-up to Roadburn 2019 while working on the commissioned piece Maalstroom – a veritable “supergroup” of the ever-thriving Dutch black metal scene, including members from the esteemed likes of Fluisteraars, Turia, Terzij de Horde, Verwoed, and Grey Aura among others – and they decided to continue that creative energy with FREJA.
Tides is FREJA’s first public recording, and a more auspicious debut one will not find. The duo’s shared interest in atmospheric metal is immediately reflected in FREJA’s towers of sound, built upon layers of dense-yet-spacious riffs, subtly shimmering melodies, and plausibly catchy compositions which include themes that evolve throughout each of the album’s six songs. Thundering, crushing, almost inescapably so? Yes, but also immensely ethereal and sometimes as smooth as gossamer, creating a paradoxically levitation aspect that effortlessly carries the listener through these Tides.
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” In the case of UNRU, time has and will always be of essence! May that be in the long-time process of creating their very art, letting it grow and ferment like fine wine; be it the duration of the songs and the aspect of revision in the actual music itself; or just the bending of time, room and matter the sheer force of UNRU’s sound is able to achieve.
Founded in Bielefeld, Germany in 2012, UNRU made an immediate deep impact with their monumental MMXIII demo (re-released on vinyl by Supreme Chaos Records in 2018), to be evolved upon by split recordings with PARAMNESIA, SUN WORSHIP and TONGUE, as well as their disturbing and ferocious debut full-length album “Als Tier ist der Mensch nichts’ in 2016.
Babylon Doom Cult Records and UNRU are proud to announce the release of “Die Wiederkehr des Verdrängten“ – six years in the making, countless hours devoted to revise, retain, revolt, reinvent and survive. It took UNRU strength and time to craft a worthy successor to “Als Tier ist der Mensch nichts”, yet with “Die Wiederkehr des Verdrängten” the now 5-piece band finally unleash their second album as a grandiose statement: an unstoppable maelstrom of sound; a five-song sonic tour-de-force, which, aside from the band’s trademark sound, leaves behind the band’s early traces of chaotic German 90’s hardcore or American apocalyptic crust, further opening up the gates of ever so deep blackened gloom and fury, and balancing dissonance and harmony to sheer perfection.
This album is the distilled essence of all their prior releases, sounding the most black metal the band has ever sounded, without once stumbling into traps of worn out paths this genre ever so often sets. Five emotional songs fueled by the question of what actual freedom and revolution is within the individual as well as the societal I. The five songs reformulate UNRU’s pillars of furious black metal, blackened doom, fragile ambient and glorious Mount Eerie-esque immortality to an amalgamation of emotional purity and existential angst.
UNRU exists through:
E – synth & vocals H – drums & percussion L – guitar & organ S – guitar & vocals T – bass & vocals
Tracklist:
1. Intro (7:49) 2. Die Wiederkehr des Verdrängten (5:06) first single 3. Ein Haug der Freiheit (12:59) second single 4. Hungersteine (15:47) 5. Eintausend Stimmen (12:33) Total: (54:23)
Recorded in August 2020 and April – May 2021 at Spirit Cave, Berlin and Drum Hard, Bielefeld by L. Ennsen & UNRU Mixed & mastered at Goblin Sound Studio, Cologne by Andy Rosczyk
Cover painting by Jani Kaunisto, titled “I’m on my hands and knees.” (Acryl on canvas, 130cm x 100cm, 2020)
Babylon Doom Cult Records is proud to announce the release of “Weemoedsklanken“, the upcoming full length by MESLAMTAEA.
Rad des Tijds is the first advance track.
The album will see a limited LP and CD release on February 25th.
The LP comes with an insert and is limited to 200 copies. Pre-order here. The CD comes on a 6-panel digipak and is limited to 100 copies. Pre-order here.
Babylon Doom Cult Records is proud to present a second track from the upcoming Helleruin / De Gevreesde Ziekte split LP called “Invincible / Ω“
De Gevreesde Ziekte have crafted one new track, “Zwartgallig“, for this split which you can listen to right now. The other two tracks have already been released on tape by Zwaertgevegt.
The music of De Gevreesde Ziekte bridges the gap between nineties and contemporary black metal.
The split will be released on LP, CD and cassette on January 7th and contains six tracks:
Lhaäd is the brand new entity of Belgian multi-instrumentalist Lykormas (Hemelbestormer, Entartung, Wolven & Rituals of the Dead Hand).
Named after Hades, the Greek god of the dead and the underworld, Lhaäd is an anagram for hadal: the deepest region of the ocean, lying within oceanic trenches. ‘Below‘, where light is absent: the perfect surroundings for hadopelagic black metal.
Influenced by industrial and intense sounding bands like Mysticum, Thorns and Darkspace, Lhaäd creates its own unique, claustrophobic and dense atmosphere, as if a wall of water comes crushing down on you.
