Hell Awaits is a column by Kim Kelly and Andy O'Connor that shines a light on extreme and underground metal. This time, Kim recommends new releases from Auroch, Trepaneringsritualen, Bombs of Hades and more. Welcome to Hell.
Auroch: "Noxious Plume"
For a young band, Auroch comes with a lot of baggage. The Vancouver trio shares members with the hellish spectre of Mitochondrion, to say nothing of Western Canada’s own imposing extreme metal lineage. But judging by their latest aural transgression, the sublimely twisted Taman Shud, we’re more likely to find Auroch spilling blood upon the altars of Gorguts and vintage Cryptopsy than in Ross Bay’s cemetery soil. The songwriting is technical and clever without wankery or pretension, and it harkens back to those halcyon days when “technical death metal” stood for innovation instead of masturbation. The guitar-work often stinks of Floridian slime, but the wrenched chords and manic pacing are pure Northern hyperblast. Much like the even younger Chthe’ilist, Auroch have hit upon the perfect alchemical formula to create compelling, boundary-pushing death metal. Inhale “Noxious Plume” below, and grab the album from Profound Lore on June 24.
Trepaneringsritualen: “Castrate Christ”
Trepaneringsritualen is the work of Thomas Eklund, a Gothenburg native with a chip on his shoulder. His self-christened “gothic death industrial” (Götisk Dödsindustri) project is a terrifying sight to behold in the live arena, and is no less unsettling on record. He crafts waves of hideous distortion and harsh percolating noise, topping it all with guttural roars. It’s confrontational and introspective in equal measure, reveling in its listeners’ discomfort and offering a harrowing glimpse into the morbid recesses of the mind. Eklund plumbs the depths of ritual ambient and death industrial on new album Perfection & Permanence (Cold Spring). Album highlight “Castrate Christ” rides a panicky synth line straight to hell, accompanied by ominous mechanized clangs and the muffled roars of ravenous beasts. Dark, chilling, and entrancing.
Bombs of Hades: “And Your Flesh Still Burns”
Swedish threat Bombs of Hades’ new album Atomic Temple will be released by War Anthem on May 23, and it's guaranteed to scratch your itch for catchy, punky death done the old way. From the metallicized crunch of the guitar tone to the greasy swagger and caveman drumming on tunes like “And Your Flesh Still Burns”, the Västerås-based band’s beginnings as a full-on crust outfit served them well. There's plenty of classic Swedish death metal mixed up in there too, down to the growled “alright!” that kicks off the track we’re streaming below. Does the world need another Disfear-meets-Entombed hybrid? As long as we’re talking Bombs of Hades, you bet your ass it does.
Anicon: “A Crown On Every Head”
Brooklyn’s extreme metal scene is alive and well, as an upcoming split release between black-metal savants Anicon and black/doom crushers Belus proves. The recording will see a joint release from Denmark's Dead Section and U.S. label Fragile Branch, featuring a couple tunes from each band. Anicon’s contribution sees them flexing some serious melodic muscle and songwriting chops. They’ve always taken clear inspiration from Finnish harmonic filth, but with “A Crown On Every Head,” Anicon outdoes itself with a slithery dominant melody and punchy drumming courtesy of Krallice/Geryon sticksman Lev Weinstein. Triumphant-sounding passages trade off with urgent tremolo breaks and sharp flashes of beauty amidst the urban decay. New Yorkers can catch Anicon alongside other rising beasts Iron Force and Syphilitic Lust at the Acheron on June 4.
Vassafor: “Son of the Moon” (Varathron cover)
There is no such thing as too much Vassafor, but the New Zealand duo seems to love making us wait. It’s been two years since the band’s first proper LP, the monstrously heavy black/doom Obsidian Codex. Thanks to Iron Bonehead, their latest release will take the form of a split LP with countrymen Sinistrous Diabolus. “Ossuary in Darkness” is pure, crawling horror, while on the second of their two contributions, the Auckland raiders pay tribute to the gods of old with a truly dark, evil take on Varathron’s “Son of the Moon”. Their slightly elongated version is surprisingly faithful to the warped original (which appeared on 1993’s His Majesty at the Swamp) but, of course, comes buried deep beneath a suffocating miasma of distortion and blight. Vassafor absolutely nails the grimy rock’n’roll tone of the original, down to the slithering guitar leads and subterranean vocals. Listen and worship for yourself.
Ego Depths: “Prowling Through the Corridors of Being”
Ego Depths was conceived in 2007 by sole member Stigmatheist in Donetsk, Ukraine, and released just one demo before relocating to Canada. Despite the oppressively down-tempo project’s current base in Montreal, it has far more in common with the funeral doom antics of its former neighbors in Russia (a 2011 split with Moscow’s He Who Dies In Siberian Slush makes that connection clear). Spearheaded by Solitude Productions, Russia’s funeral doom scene is remarkably robust, and it makes sense that those tenebrous proclivities would spill over and influence nearby musicians. Ego Depths is a bit more adventurous than its slothful kin, though, embracing shades of dark ambient, rattling death, and a trance-inducing approach within its mournful cries and listless tempo. Oligoria Blodd is Ego Depths’ third full-length, and standout track “Prowling Through the Corridors of Being” flows languidly for its nearly half-hour duration.