Hell Awaits is a column by Kim Kelly and Andy O'Connor that shines a light on extreme and underground metal. This week, Andy rounds up new (and not-so-new) releases from French "occult dark metal" band Warpstone, Finnish upstarts Foreseen, mechanical destroyers Street Sects, and more. Welcome to Hell.
Foreseen: Structural Oppression
When Power Trip made it to Helsinki on their European tour last fall, they found a spitting image of themselves in Finnish upstarts Foreseen. (The show also featured Finnish speed metal maniacs Ranger, who I've raved about before.) “Structural Oppression”, from Foreseen's EP of the same name, is a living tapestry of mosh, going from circle pit speed to slam dancing breakdowns in the span of four minutes. Oppression's been out since last year, but Mind Rot will rerelease the EP for American headbangers sometime in the spring. Now you can't use that tired “international shipping rates are too damn high” excuse anymore.
Devilspit: “Bring Back the Black”
Devilspit is a black/punk one-man project from France, whose creator only goes by F. “Bring Back to Black” is the only available track from his self-titled demo, out on Impious Desecration, and while the music itself is vicious, the real attraction here is the vocals. F's got his snarl and his “ughs,” but there's a satanic choirboy crying out as well, giving the record a post-punk quality while retaining an overall metal attitude. He's got a Google-proof moniker too—everything suggests “Devil's Pit” instead, and you certainly aren't looking for ICP albums.
Warpstone: Into the Phantasmancer Celestial Castle
French metal trio Warpstone call themselves “occult dark metal." Their music recalls the gothic metal of Paradise Lost, Amorphis' more experimental tendencies, and even progressive metal in parts. Traces of Massacra, a supremely underrated French death metal group, can also be heard in the band's more unrelenting movements. If you wish Opeth would to return to their heavier roots, Warpstone will fill that void. Both of their releases—Into the Phantasmancer Celestial Castle, released in January, and 2012's Daemonic Warpfire—carry album covers from the infallable Italian artist Paolo Girardi, but Warpstone may be his first client that could fit on a tour of American progressive bands. Of course, Warpstone would reduce the Russian Circles and Intronauts of the world to dust.
Satan's Satyrs: Black Souls
Let's imagine for a minute that garage punk imprint Burger Records would decide to co-release an album with Hell's Headbangers. It'll never happen, but if it did, Virginia's Satan's Satyrs would be a likely candidate. Clayton “Claythanas” Burgess takes the newer sound of Electric Wizard and punks it up considerably—the ideal soundtrack for methed-out biker fantasies. 2012's Wild Beyond Belief! is a gem of scuzzy charm. Funny thing is, the Wizard themselves liked it so much that they not only invited Satan's Satyrs to Roadburn, but they asked Burgess to be their new bassist! Here's to hoping for a Electric Wizard/Satan's Satyrs North American tour. Trash King Productions will release the Black Souls 7” on March 31.
Street Sects: The Morning After the Night We Raped Death
Street Sects are a new unit from Austin who don't use any guitars but create rhythmic assaults with only samplers. You might be thinking, "aren't they just jacking Wreck and Reference's style?" Not quite. When I asked the group earlier in the year if they had seen Wreck and Reference live, they had never even heard of the group. Anyway, last month, they released their debut 7”, The Morning After the Night We Raped Death, the first in a five-part series entitled Gentrification: A Serial Album. If you think Agoraphobic Nosebleed have been getting a little too “human” as of late, this is the mechanical destruction you've been craving. Their digital decadence and manipulation of inhuman drum patterns also recall Japanese breakcore/death metal fusion duo Noism. Futuristic and dystopian at the same time, this is an exciting new direction for heavy music.
Nuklear Goddessrape: “Fukushima”
If you're reading this column, there's a good chance you're familiar with Mick Barr, known for his microshredding in Krallice and Orthrelm. It's less likely you know about Nondor Nevai, a drummer from Chicago who's frequently collaborated with Barr and has played in some demented ensembles of his own, including noise-grind maniacs Aborted Christ Childe. Nuklear Goddessrape is their latest project, and whether you want to call it metal, avant-garde, noise, or anti-music—it's maddening. Barr performs his usual guitar barrage hypnosis, but he also has some disorienting guzheng work thrown in. Nevai is as free with his drumming as he is with his howls. Their bestial name is appropriate due to their black metal influence, but this may be too weird for the goats-and-gas-masks set. The video for “Fukushima” is a testament to the duo's brilliant absurdity. Funny that they're wearing censor bar glasses... what are they trying to hide? And can they hide anything with all the insanity flowing forth? This is even more bizarre than when Barr shredded for Martha Stewart. If they ever release any more music, the public won't be ready.