Regretting Western Intervention in the Middle East
https://consortiumnews.com/2025/05/20/regretting-western-intervention-in-the-middle-east/
“Wars for oil, control and strategic dominance were cloaked in the language of democracy” — Ann Wright delivers an argument at the Cambridge Union Debates. Here is a video of the entire debate; author’s segment 2:39 — 14:16. By Ann…
#Politics #Afghanistan #Commentary #Environment #Gaza #HumanRights #Iraq #Lebanon #Libya #Militarism #Pakistan #Palestine #Propaganda #Somalia #Syria #U.s. #WarCrimes #Yemen #9/11Attacks #AbuGhraib #AnnWright #BlackSites #C.i.a.Renditions #C.i.a.Torture #CambridgeUnionDebates #ChilcotReport #CostsOfWarProject #DonaldRumsfeld #Fallujah #GazaIsraelWar #GlobalWarOnTerror #GuantanamoBayPrison #Isis #Mosul #OccupiedPalestinianTerritory(opt) #PresidentGeorgeW.Bush #U.s.DepartmentOfHomelandSecurity #WeaponsOfMassDestruction(wmd)
#Fallujah
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#MetalInjection
RIVERS OF NIHIL, LORNA SHORE, FUGITIVE, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS & More Among Metal Injection's Top Tracks Of The Week
#RiversOfNihil #LornaShore #Fugitive #AbigailWilliams #MetalInjection #Fallujah #ShadowOfIntent #PupilSlicer #Volbeat #Cryptopsy
#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BraveWords–WhereMusicLives
FALLUJAH Release New Single “Step Through The Portal And Breathe”; Music Video
#Fallujah #Xenotaph #StepThroughThePortalAndBreathe #NuclearBlast #ScottCarstairs #KyleSchaefer #SamMooradian #DeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #NewSingle
#TheMetalDogArticleList
#MetalSucks
Fallujah Urge You to “Step Through The Portal And Breathe” with Their New Single
#Fallujah #Xenotaph #StepThroughThePortalAndBreathe #ScottCarstairs #KyleSchaefer #SamMooradian #NuclearBlastRecords #DeathMetal #NewSingle #GuitarSolo
By Carcharodon
Kardashev’s return has been the most eagerly anticipated in a year, and so far, it has been full of returning favorites. Since I discovered their stunning 2020 EP, The Baring of Shadows, they’ve been a firm favorite. Their progressive, blackened “deathgaze” was both haunting and beautiful in its ferociously emotive stylings. Although 2022’s Liminal Rite suffered a bit from its production, that didn’t stop me awarding it a 4.5 and placing it at #5 on my end-of-year List, both decisions that I stand by. Upping their progressive tendencies and leaning into longer form storytelling, I hoped the Arizonan quartet would carve their own little niche just a little deeper on fourth full-length, Alunea. Three years in the making, and picking up a tale they began on 2017’s The Almanac, can Kardashev possibly match what they achieved on Liminal Rite?
As Alunea opens on “A Precipice. A Door,” it’s immediately and unmistakably Kardashev. From the swelling wash of synths, through which Mark Garrett’s crystalline cleans and Nico Mirolla’s precise guitar lines slowly surface, to the propulsive, deftly progressive drum work by Sean Lang, I felt like I was on familiar ground. However, as Alunea progresses, it’s clear that the band’s journey is taking them in a subtly new direction. Dubbed as ‘deathgaze’ from an early stage in their career, much of the ‘gaze’ is now gone, with the band focusing on progressive, and even technical, death metal, recalling the likes of Fallujah and Aronious (parts of “Reunion” and “Truth to Form”). Garrett, whom I’ve lauded as one of metal’s most versatile vocalists, rampages through the album’s heavier passages, rasping, snarling, and growling like a man possessed. However, this juts up against fragile, stripped-back melodic passages, which see his soaring cleans, replete with powerful sustains set to rising guitar melodies and Alex Rieth’s liquid bass groove.
At an hour long, Liminal Rite risked faltering under its own weight. The fact that Kardashev reined in this tendency, keeping Alunea to a tight 43 minutes, despite the band’s deeper forays into progressive metal, does them credit. However, the compositions here don’t hold a candle to Liminal Rite or The Baring of Shadows. Meandering, often lacking an obviously discernible structure, Kardashev packed so many ideas in that it’s actually disorienting as tracks lurch unpredictably between frantic techy heaviness, extended melodic passages, or both. At its best, Alunea pulls this off. Lead single “Reunion,” probably closest in tone to earlier Kardashev, is great, while “Seed of the Night” and “We Could Fold the Stars” both showcase what I think Kardashev aimed for throughout: vicious heaviness, borrowing from both post-black and tech death, to create something harsh and crushing, but also complex. This is then played off against soft, but deceptively involved, melodic passages. While there are flashes of brilliance elsewhere (the back end of “Speak Silence,” which sees guest vocals from Genital Shame’s Erin Dawson being one), much of it falls short.
Too often, Alunea feels like Kardashev exploring partly formed ideas, leaping between them, without taking the time to either fully flesh out what they’ve written or consider logical sequencing. The skill of the musicians involved prevents the record from descending into the chaos it could have been in less capable hands, with transitions smooth, and the musicianship still top tier. But, whether it’s the confused “Truth to Form” or “Edge of Forever,” which simply runs out of energy and ideas around the halfway mark, Alunea lacks both bite and incisiveness. Garrett, so often the band’s MVP, is also clearly trying to further expand his already huge versatility. While his death growls and snarling, blackened rasp remain on point, and his cleans are as gorgeous as ever, he often leans into a heavily distorted bark, which sounds slightly forced and lacking in power. Kardashev did at least learn from the production errors made on Liminal Rite, with Alunea’s soundstage more expansive and the guitars just about in the right place in the mix, likely the work of new engineer Zack Ohren (taking over from Mirolla).
Penning this review of Kardashev’s latest outing has given me even less pleasure than Alunea itself. I was so disappointed by the first few spins that I had to leave it completely alone for a week before returning fresh. Rose-tinted spectacles duly crushed underfoot, I started to see some of Alunea’s qualities (“Reunion,” Seed of the Night” and “We Could Fold that Stars”) but its key shortcoming came into focus also: it lacks structures, which guide the listener through the journey Kardashev want to take you on. They did this very effectively on Liminal Rite, but, in cutting length, they also lost clarity in the songwriting. Alunea has many strong building blocks, but they have been stacked at overly jaunty angles.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Metal Blade Records
Websites: kardashev.bandcamp.com | kardashevband.com | facebook.com/Kardashevband
Releases Worldwide: April 25th, 2025
#25 #2025 #Alunea #AmericanMetal #Apr25 #Aronious #Deathcore #Deathgaze #Fallujah #GenitalShame #Kardashev #MelodicMetal #MetalBladeRecords #PostMetal #ProgressiveDeath #Review #Reviews
Fallujah debut new single “Labyrinth of Stone”
Progressive death metal masters Fallujah have revealed the second single, "Labyrinth of Stone", taken from their upcoming sixth album, Xenotaph, due for release 13th June via Nuclear Blast Records (pre-orders available now).
Commenting on the new single, founding guitarist Scott Carstairs states:
"Labyrinth of Stone" i
https://www.moshville.co.uk/news/video/2025/04/fallujah-debut-new-single-labyrinth-of-stone/
> + New report from the Cost of War Project at Brown shows the persistent health consequences from the bombing of Fallujah, where bone sampling detected uranium in the bones of 29% of study participants in Fallujah. Researchers have never before detected uranium in bones in living populations. Lead was detected in 100% of participants’ samples…
https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/04/04/roaming-charges-welcome-to-the-machine/
#Fallujah #DU #DepletedUranium #JeffreyStClair #RoaminCharges #USAIraq #USAIraqWar #FallujahDU
Tómarúm – Beyond Obsidian Euphoria
By Kenstrosity
Over the past three years, I’ve come to appreciate Tómarúm’s surprising, mature debut Ash in Realms of Stone Icons at a deeper level than I had hoped to reach in the mere two weeks provided at the time. While I stand by my overall score—and by my critiques—my relationship with that record grew more meaningful and rewarding with time. Tómarúm’s spiritually charged, introspective point of view speaks volumes of suffering and strife, while the complexity of their musical compositions reflects in uncompromising clarity the fluid order that governs a turbulent chaos of the soul and of the heart. With this fresh in mind, I approach follow-up Beyond Obsidian Euphoria with great curiosity and equal anticipation.
Occupying a niche of progressive metal most commonly associated with acts like Ne Obliviscaris, but also connected to newer groups such as Amiensus, An Abstract Illusion, and Dawn of Ouroboros, Atlanta quintet Tómarúm boast an especially fluid and emotive sound. Progressive structures and ever-shifting phrases abound, yet never intrude, obstruct, or interrupt. Technical prowess reminiscent of Fallujah and Lunar Chamber creates additional dynamics most noticeably felt in the bass guitar, lead guitar, and drum performances. And, to my great delight, a new twist of machine-gun burst riffing pulled from Warforged‘s I: Voice playbook grants a palpable, terrifying presence. Beyond Obsidian Euphoria takes all of these elements, intrinsic to Tómarúm’s identity, and implements them with the same finesse and refinement of the last record, but with an altogether more hopeful tone. While still dealing with subjects of profound anguish and emotional turmoil, Beyond explores further the catharsis borne of dedicated, dogged persistence against those internal demons which would otherwise have your singular light extinguished from this mortal coil.
Nothing better exemplifies this shift in tone than the one-two punch of standout duo “Shallow Ecstasy” and “Shed This Erroneous Skin.” Epic sweeps of ominous shadow collide with shimmers of brilliance as menacing pummels advance their campaign against soaring leads and righteous solos. Those blackened rasps that voiced past work join the fray again as crooning cleans provide motivating counterpoint to fuel the flame of continuing life. A vivid chiaroscuro of composition personifies every moment across this 16-minute span, but the surrounding environs offer just as many dynamic moments of beauty and beastliness. The remarkably short and savage “Blood Mirage” deals massive damage to the cranium as it executes a brutal assault of riffs and tech-y oscillations, while “Halcyon Memory: Dreamscapes Across the Blue” evokes an Hail Spirit Noir-esque airiness that belies its double-bass propulsion and quasi-bluesy harmonized solos. The gamut of sounds, styles and textures malleate as soft putty in Tómarúm’s talented fingers, which allows their unfaltering focus on story and character to shine ever brighter on Beyond’s second immense suite of epics, “Silver, Ashen Tears” and “The Final Pursuit of Light.” Any impression of bloat falls to the wayside in the face of such nuanced and well-realized musical design, as melody, pace, substance, and technicality find a kaleidoscopic harmony striking in its multifaceted vibrancy.
At just under 70 minutes, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria daunts any audience with a monumental investment. The dividends, however, more than make up for the sacrifice. That is, if the listener is willing and ready to dig deep and find those moments most intimate and vulnerable. That delicate pluck of the string in a phrase flanked by vicious scrapes; the contrabass frequency that stimulates the spine as starry tremolos dot the sky; the desperate howl of pain and of shattered spirit that preludes an epiphany of truth and of healing; the miraculous congregation of hook and sophistication moving in tandem towards a shared apex of sound and story; all find a place in this wonderful piece, and each piece has its place. Unlike my experience with Ash in Realms, my experience with Beyond is one of complete and utter immersion. There is hardly a moment I would change, barely a segment I would cut—save for the fluffy interlude “Introspection III,” appearing too early on to leave a lasting mark by the close.
Occasionally, I find myself unable to dedicate the time necessary to engage with Tómarúm’s latest opus. I expect that others will experience the same unfortunate circumstance. While that certainly poses a question to the value statement of an album this long, specifically because its individual chapters can’t be separated without compromising the integrity of the whole, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria feels like a rare record that needs every second it consumes. The passion and personality Tómarúm exude in this work demands the price of time to bloom. If you give it the space to do so, what awaits can only be described as euphoric.
Rating: Excellent!
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Prosthetic Records
Websites: tomarum.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/TomarumBM/
Releases Worldwide: April 4th, 2025
#2025 #45 #AmericanMetal #Amiensus #AnAbstractIllusion #Apr25 #BeyondObsidianEuphoria #BlackMetal #Cormorant #DawnOfOuroboros #DeathMetal #Fallujah #HailSpiritNoir #LunarChamber #MelodicBlackMetal #MelodicDeathMetal #NeObliviscaris #ProgressiveBlackMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #ProstheticRecords #Review #Reviews #TechnicalDeathMetal #Tómarúm #Warforged
Aversed – Erasure of Color Review
By Dolphin Whisperer
Melodeath is an old, reliable friend for many a metalhead. Ever since the In Flames and Arch Enemies of the World took an anthemic and accessible version of the Gothenburg sound to the masses throughout the ’90s and ’00s, countless acts and other regional sounds have emerged from rollicking riff and less-than-deathly vocal inclusions. But combined with the right personal flair—a modern melding of blackened, jazzned, and altned influences much like contemporary wildcards Dawn of Ouroboros or Vintersea—melodic extreme metal forms have a growing presence in the hands of those who came of age with this musical history as their guide. Imitation breeds iteration, and, combined with adoration, the heart hopes to find a path alongside its infatuations, not just in shadow. Aversed walks the walk and Erasure of Color talks the talk.
As yet another product of a Berklee pedigree, in part, the Massachusetts-hailing Aversed displays a technical polish across their languished and rifftacular displays that saturates Erasure of Color far beyond mere hero worship. Rather than use these exemplary qualifications to noodle and sweep songs to oblivion, guitarist and primary songwriter Sungwoo Jeong runs with his talents through a gamut of heavy metal influences, from the Jeff Loomis-indebted (Nevermore, ex-Arch Enemy) squeals and scale runs (“Lucid Decapitation,” “Burn”) to a classic heavy metal strum and wail (“Departures”) that shade the languid messages sewn through Erasure. Of course, Jeong can shred and does so in flashes of neoclassical brilliance once cutthroat chords and rattling bass runs build tension enough to will an electric clearing (“Cross to Bear” and “Departure” having the wildest solos). Compared to the full-length debut, 2021’s Impermanent, the structures here are tighter, darker, and loaded with an expedited drama.
Emotion comes first, whether at Jeong’s nimble articulations or new vocalist Sarah Hartman’s vast array of screeching, tearing, and slithering harsh and clean vocal techniques. And through languishing cry, soulful croon, and whammy-kissed solo, Aversed builds a world through Erasure that’s as detailed as it is immediate. Churning riffs pave the way for Hartman to unleash laryngeal assaults of growing intensity, equally likely to find feral shrill (“To Cover Up the Sky,” “Lucid Decapitation”) as they are full-chested clean belting (“Inexorable,” “Departure”). It may seem that Hartman’s ferocious and elegant climbs drive the growth of each of Erasure’s numbers, but Jeong’s blend of Björriff to bright metalcore chase, and thrashy groove to swaying treble dive guitar action, carries just as much the energetic arc. Covered in echoing arpeggios (“Lucid Decapitation”), scorching bends (“Burn,” “Erasure of Color”), and unstoppable charges (“To Cover…”) Erasure wears a guitar identity that’s toothsome and exhilarating.
However, as strong as the pull of Aversed’s fervent rhythms and dreamlike melodies are on the best cuts from Erasure, its back half finds a more tepid momentum. It’s hard to say where a song like “Solitary” belongs on an album like this as its ballad-like nature neither swells with grandiosity of similar closer “Departures” nor slams, at its conclusion, with the level of thuggishness of the preceding “Burn.” And with the burst of speed that the title track injects after “Solitary” and before the acoustic interlude “Yearning,” the inherent tempo jostle that succeeds within many tracks feels bumpy at the macro level—really, Aversed has an exacting feel for acceleration and easing within the confines of each individual piece. Erasure doesn’t have a higher-level concept to spin, though, so any dip in quality or overall flow—even if no song is ever bad—is to its slight detriment.
Alas, it’s easy to love the best of what Aversed has to offer with Erasure of Color, its clanging rhythms and finessed guitar weeping sticking readily to memory with its most careful hooks. Finding contemporary touchstones adjacent to the blackened melodic tech of Australia’s Freedom of Fear, the hypnotic whammy abuse of the frenetic Fallujah, and accessible progressive aim of Vintersea, Aversed emboldens the forward-thinking melodeath scene to make an effort to be more riff-driven, more hook-wielding, and more vocally distinct. Erasure of Color does everything but paint Aversed as a one-trick pony. And in time, I’m certain1 that Aversed, in their impassioned and empathetic lashings, will find even more weaponized and wide-reaching aggression.
Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: M-Theory Audio | Bandcamp
Websites: aversed.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/aversedmetal
Releases Worldwide: March 21st, 2025
#2025 #35 #AmericanMetal #ArchEnemy #Aversed #DawnOfOuroboros #ErasureOfColor #Fallujah #InFlames #MTheoryAudio #Mar25 #MelodicDeathMetal #Nevermore #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #ProgressiveMetalcore #Vintersea
#MittwochMetalMix Kaleidoscopic Waves, the new single from Fallujah's upcoming album, Xenotaph (out on June 13)
youtube link for the MV:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iA1m63buh8
#Music #Metal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #Fallujah
"I came to understand the importance of a deeper interdisciplinary scholarship that would better support what doctors in #Fallujah had been yelling to the international community for years [..] which is that something horrible has happened to the #environmentInFallujah, that it is changing ppl's reproductive health..."
#KaliRubaii on toxic supply chains of war in #Iraq
https://soundcloud.com/vomekpfa-1/toxic-supply-chains-of-war-in-iraq
#uranium #depletedUranium #uraniumPoisoning #ecocide #USmilitaryPollution #IraqWar #DRC @iraq
Iraq photogallery click https://www.flickr.com/photos/marcodileo/sets/72177720306298954/ - photos are taken : #Iraq #Baghdad #Mosul #Babylon #Basra #Kerbela #Erbil #Najaf #Tikrit #Ukhaidir #Samarra #Chibayish #Uruk #Nasiriyah #Fallujah #Ctesiphon #Dujail #Kalak #Qurnah #Amarah #Hoja #Kifl #Ur #Samawah #Kut #Borsippa #AbuGhraib
"A senior US official said [#bush] needed a ‘dose of reality’ to deal with [#Fallujah], documents reveal"
The "dose of reality" being "if you collectively punish a city in the style of Nazis in eastern Europe then the population of the country will resist you to the bitter end and will never accept your puppet government."
This was April 2004, 16-17 years before the predicted outcome came to pass.
Stuck in the Filter: August and September 2024
By Kenstrosity
I am a stubborn bitch. I work my underlings hard, and I won’t let up until they dig up shiny goodies for me to share with the general public. Share might be a generous term. Foist upon is probably more accurate…
In any case, despite some pretty intense setbacks on my end, I still managed to collect enough material for a two-month spread. HUZZAH! REJOICE! Now get the hell away from me and listen to some of our very cool and good tunes.
Kenstrosity’s Turgid Truncheons
Tenue // Arcos, bóvedas, pórticos [August 1st, 2024 – Self-Release]
Spanish post-black/crust/screamo quartet Tenue earned my favor with their debut record, Anábasis, back in 2018. Equal parts vicious, introspective, and strangely uplifting, that record changed what I thought I could expect from anything bearing the screamo tag. By integrating ascendant black metal tremolos within post-punk structures and crusty attitude, Tenue established a sound that not only opened horizons for me taste-wise but also brought me a great deal of emotional catharsis on its own merit. Follow-up Arcos, bóvedas, pórticos deepens that relationship. Utilizing a wider atmospheric palette (“Distracción”), a shift towards epic song lengths (“Inquietude, and a greater variety of instrumentation (observe the beautiful horns on long-form opener “Inquietude”), and a bluesier swagger than previous material exhibited (“Letargo”), Tenue’s second salvo showcases a musical versatility I wasn’t expecting to complement the bleeding-heart emotional depth I knew would return. This expansion of scale and skillset sets the record apart from almost anything else I’ve heard this year. Even though one or two moments struggle to stick long-term (“Enfoque”), Arcos, bóvedas, pórticos represents an affecting, creative, and ridiculously engaging addition to my listening schedule. And for the low low price of NYP, it ought to be a part of yours as well.
Open Flesh Wound // Vile Putrefaction [August 28th, 2024 – Inherited Suffering Records]
Thicc, muggy slam with a million pick scrapes. Who could ask for anything more? Not I, and so it is with great pleasure that I introduce to my AMG fam Pennsylvania’s very own Open Flesh Wound and their debut LP Vile Putrefaction. Essentially the result of Analepsy’s and Devourment‘s carnal lovemaking, Vile Putrefaction is a nasty, slammy, brutal expulsion of chunky upchuck. Only those with the most caved-in craniums will appreciate the scraping swamp-ass riffs showcased on such slammers as “Smashed in Liquids” and “Cinder Block to the Forehead,” or the groove-laden thuggery of death-focused tracks like the title track, “Fermented Intestinal Blockage” and “Body Baggie.” Vile Putrefaction’s molasses-like production is an absolute boon to this sound as well, with just enough gloss to provide a deliciously moist texture which imparts an unlikely clarity to especially gruesome details in “Stoma Necrosis” and “Skin Like Jelly.” It’s dumb as hell, and isn’t doing anything new, but is an overdose of good, dirty fun. Simple as.
The Flaying // Ni dieu, ni maître [September 5th, 2024 – Self Release]
I’ve been singing Canadian melodic death metal quartet The Flaying’s praises for almost six years now. And still to this day not enough people choose to sing with me. Why? Because they wouldn’t know sickeningly fun death metal if it hacked their faces right off. That’s okay, because The Flaying do hack faces right off regardless, and it feels so good to watch the faces of those who don’t heed my call get hacked right off. Third onslaught Ni dieu, ni maître proves that once again, The Flaying are an unstoppable force of bass wizardry, riff mastery, and hook-laden songwriting. Opener “Le nécrologiste” perfectly encapsulates The Flaying’s particularly addicting brew of Cannibal Corpse, The Black Dahlia Murder, and De Profundis influences, shaken and stirred until the resulting cocktail blooms with a flavor all its own. Technical and brutally fast, follow-up track “L’enclave” continues the deadly rampage, featuring noodly bass lines guaranteed to elicit stank face in the even most prim and proper elite. A trim twenty nine minutes, spread over ten tightly trained tracks, Ni dieu, ni maître boasts unbeatable replay value. Highlights “Ni dieu, ni maître,” “Les Frondes” “La forge,” and “Noyau sombre” seal the deal by providing sharp hard points and memorable landmarks to which any listener would look forward. Simply put, this record rocks my socks and further proves that I am right about The Flaying, and those who ignore my recommendation are wrong.
Dolphin Whisperer’s All-Seeing Affirmations
Eye Eater // Alienate [August 1st, 2024 – Self Release]
In a post-Ulcerate world, the modern output of atmosphere-minded death metal has grown exponentially. With ringing dissonant chords and slow post-informed builds taking center stage, bands like New Zealand’s unheralded Eye Eater borrow plenty from the Destroyers of All sound. However, while many acts would be content to dial in the space or ramp up the dissonance to try and put their own twist on this growing post-death movement, Eye Eater looks to the laser-precise melodic tones of progressive, core-borrowing names like Fallujah and Vildhjarta to carve an identity into each of Alienate’s album eight sprawling tracks. Swinging sustained brightness in one hand about the grizzly chug-crush of the other, burly bangers like “Other Planets” and “Failure Artifacts” find churning, djentrified grooves that amplify the swell of the blaring melodies that swirl above the low-end clamor. And though the main refrains of “Alienate” and “Everything You Fear and Hope For” sound like loving odes to their Kiwi Forebears, the growth into sonorous and lush-chorded peaks lands much closer to the attraction of turn of the 10s progressive death/metalcore luminaries The Contortionist had they stayed closer to their heavy-toned, hefty-voiced roots. As an anonymous act with little social presence, it’s hard to say whether Eye Eater has more cooking for the future. With their ears tuned to the recent past for inspiration, it’s easy to see how a band with this kind of melodic immediacy—still wrapped in the weight of a brooding, death metal identity—could easily play for the tops of underground charts. To those who have been following the twists and turns of both underground and accessible over the past decade or so, Eye Eater may not sound entirely novel. But Alienate’s familiarity in presence against its quality of execution and fullness of sound makes it easy to ensnare all the same.
Dissolve // Polymorphic Ways of Unconsciousness [September 20th, 2024 – Self Release]
From the sand-blasted, monochrome human escaping the floor of Polymorphic Ways’ cover to the tags of technical, progressive, death that adorn the Bandcamp tags, it’s easy to put a band like Dissolve in a box, mentally. But with the first bent guitar run that sets off “Efficiency Defiled” in a run like Judas Priest more than Spawn of Possession, it’s clear that Dissolve plays by a different set of rules than your average chug and run tech death band. Yet true to their French nature, the riffs that litter Polymorphic Ways of Unconsciousness possess a tangible groove following the footsteps of lesser-known tricksters Trepalium and Olympic titans of metal Gojira (“The Great Pessimistic,”1 “Polymorphic Ways of Unconsciousness,” “Vultures”). And while too Dissolve finds a base in the low-end trem assault of Morbid Angel (“Ignorance Will Prevail”), there’s a thrash and bark energy at play that nets a rambunctious and experimental sound recalling the warped Hetfield-ian (Metallica) scrawl of Destroy Erase Improve Meshuggah, right down to the monstrous bass tone that defines Sonny Bellonie’s (Sanctuary, ODC) growling, extended range performance. As a trio it’d be easy for guitarist Briac Turquety (Smerter, ex-Sideburn) to rely on overdubs for saturation of sound and complexity of layers—and for solo cut-ins he definitely does—but equally as often his choice to let certain chords and notes escape a thrashy muting to ring in distorted harmony against snaking bass lines. And speaking of solos, Turquety’s prowess ranges from bluesy shred (“The Great Pessimistic,” “Ropes of Madness”) to noisy, jazzy explorations (“Polymorphic…,” “Shattered Minds of Evolution”) to Satriani on Slayer whammy abuse (“Bonfire of the Vanities”)—a true treat to lovers of tasteful shred. Turquety, Bellonie, and Quentin Feron (on drums, also of Smerter) sound as if they’ve been playing together for much longer than the year that Dissolve has existed. With a debut this polished, it’s anyone’s guess as to what kind of monster will emerge from the talent that appears so effortless in assembly.
Obsidian Mantra // As We All Will [September 27th, 2024 – Self Release]
Sometimes, a tangled and foreboding cover sits as the biggest draw amongst a crowd of death metal albums alight with splattered zombie remains, illegible logos, and alarm-colored palettes. And in the case of Obsidian Mantra, it doesn’t hurt that lead single “Cult of Depression” possesses a devastating, hypnotic groove that recalls the once captivating technical whiplash of an early Decapitated. However, rather than wrestle with tones that incite a pure and raw violence like that cornerstone act (or similar Poldeath that has followed in its legacy like Dormant Ordeal), Obsidian Mantra uses aggressive and bass-loaded rhythmic forms to erupt in spacious and glass-toned guitar chimes to create an engrossing neck-snapping (“Slave Without a Master,” “Condemned to Oppression”). Whether we call these downcast refrains a dissonant melody or slowly resolving phrase, they grow throughout each track in a manner that calls continual reinforcement from a rhythm section that can drop into hammering blasts at a dime and a vocal presence that oscillates between vicious snarl and reverberating howl. In its most accessible numbers (“Chaos Will Consume Us All,” “Weavers of Misery”), Obsidian Mantra finds an oppressive warmth that grows to border anthemic, much in the way like beloved blackened/progressive acts like Hath do with their biggest moments. As We All Will still never quite reaches that full mountainous peak, though, opting to pursue the continual call of the groove to keep the listener coming back. Having come a long way from the Meshuggah-centered roots where Obsidian Mantra first sowed their deathly seeds, As We All Will provides 30 minutes of modern, pulsating, and venomous kick-driven pieces that will flare easy motivation for either a brutalizing pit or a mightily-thrusted iron on leg day.
Thus Spoke’s Cursed Collection
Esoctrilihum // Döth-Derniàlh [September 20th, 2024 – I, Voidhanger Records]
We complete another orbit around the Sun, and Esoctrilihum completes another album; such are the inalterable laws governing each 365.25 Earth day period in our Solar System. Possessed by some mad, restless spirit, it seems they cannot be stopped. Ever the experimenter, sole member Asthâghul now picks up an acoustic guitar, a nickelharpa, and warms up his throat for more clean vocals to further bizarre-ify his avant-garde black metal. As we travel into the cosmos for Döth-Derniàlh, Esoctrilihumisms abound in the see-sawing strings and echoes of chanted singing and throaty snarls. The addition of more acoustic elements does bring some weird delicacy to moments here and there (“Zilthuryth (Void of Zeraphaël),” “Murzaithas (Celestial Voices)”), and it adds layers of beauty in addition to those already harmonious passages. it’s striking how well these new instruments blend with the overall sound: so well, in fact, that it almost feels like Esoctrilihum hasn’t evolved at all. This isn’t even a bad thing, because Döth-Derniàlh still feels like an improvement. Past albums have always had at least sections of perfection, where the scattered clouds of self-interfering chaos or repetition blow away and the brilliant light of the moon shines strongly. Döth-Derniàlh has more of these than ever, some extending to whole, 16-minute songs (“Dy’th Eternalhys (The Mortuary Renewal),”).2 If you have it in you to listen to one (more) album over an hour long, and you don’t already know you hate Esoctrilihum, sit down with a drink, and maybe a joint, and go where Döth-Derniàlh takes you.
#2024 #Alienate #AmericanMetal #ArcosBóvedasPórticos #AsWeAllWill #AtmosphericDeathMetal #Aug24 #AvantGarde #BlackMetal #BrutalDeathMetal #CanadianMetal #CannibalCorpse #DeProfundis #DeathMetal #Decapitated #Dissolve #DormantOrdeal #DöthDerniàlh #Esoctrilihum #EyeEater #Fallujah #FrenchMetal #Gojira #GrandMagus #GrendelSSÿster #Gygax #HarcorePunk #IVoidhangerRecords #InheritedSufferingRecords #JethroTull #JudasPriest #MelodicDeathMetal #Meshuggah #Metallica #MorbidAngel #NewZealandMetal #NiDieuNiMaîTre #ObsidianMantra #ODC #OpenFleshWound #PolishMetal #PolymorphicWaysOfUnconsciousness #PostDeathMetal #PostMetal #postPunk #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #Punk #Sanctuary #Screamo #SelfRelease #Sep24 #Sideburn #Slam #Slayer #Smerter #SpanishMetal #SpawnOfPossession #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2024 #TechnicalDeathMetal #Tenue #TheBlackDahliaMurder #TheContortionist #TheFlaying #ThinLizzy #Trepalium #Vildhjarta #VilePutrefaction #WishboneAsh
Not the first time #Israel has used #DepletedUranium on civilian populations...
From 2015: VP/HR — Gaza Strip and bombs with depleted uranium
March 3, 2015
"There is now enough convincing data to prove that Israel has repeatedly used depleted uranium [#DU] weaponry. Such was the case in the large-scale massacre that took place in the #GazaStrip in August 2014.
"These weapons cause #cancers and #foetal malformations in the populations affected, which may take on epidemic proportions. In #Iraq, in the city of #Fallujah, where these bombs were launched in industrial quantities by the International Coalition led by the# UnitedStates, 52% of children today are born with #deformities.
"The lethal effects of #radioactivity caused by explosions and subsequent fires, including cancer of the lungs and pleura, can persist for centuries in the #environment and particularly in #aquifers. We are therefore on the verge of another humanitarian catastrophe in #Palestine and in particular in the #Gaza Strip, where thousands of tons of depleted uranium bombs were dropped with the effects that have already been documented.
"In view of this situation, what is the Vice-President/High Representative thinking of doing to pressure Israel into assuming its responsibilities for this crime against humanity, and what help can the Vice-President/High Representative offer to the Palestinian authorities to carry out epidemiological monitoring, which also includes all EU citizens who have moved to the territory since then?"
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2015-003481_EN.html
#WaterIsLife #FreePalestine #IsraeliWarCrimes #UraniumPoisoning #DU
#WorldWarBibi #NoWar #NoDepletedUranium #NoNuclearWeapons
#RadioactiveContamination
#HumanRightsViolations #BannedWeapons
Fallujah and their insane laser precision guitar work and blast beat insanity is scratching the itch today.
https://youtu.be/jJ0kfkfwNbc?si=gj8KboKOuE91pmYi
#fallujah #techdeath #technicaldeathmetal #deathmetal #music #metalmondays
Concert Calendar (6/28-7/13): Summer’s Lethal Strike. Lez Zeppelin, Fallujah, & more:
#ConcertCalendar #LezZeppelin #Fallujah #Anvil #VeilofMaya #Tours #Summershows