NEW ARRIVALS - 2014.08
INCARCERATION - SACRIFICE
INCARCERATION was formed 2010 in Brazil and moved to the north of Germany to spread the unholy plague inspired by the fastest riffs of Nihilist, Repugnant, early Sepultura or Sadistic Intent. Classic necrotic death metal straight to the bone with lyrics about existence, suffering and death. Limited to 376 copies on black vinyl.
MESSENGER - SOMNILOQUIST (BLACK)
Limited to 500 copies black vinyl. A prelude to the band's grand album release in March, we present Somniloquist by Messenger on limited edition seven inch vinyl. The flipside features a breathtaking rendition of the song Pictures of Sadness, originally performed by Eduardo Bort on his eponymous 1975 album. The song is exclusive to this 7". MESSENGER (UK) is a musical troupe from London formed in the spring of 2012 by Khaled Lowe and Barnaby Maddick. They booked a session with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios that gave birth to their debut album, Illusory Blues: a cosmic ode to the forces of nature and the inevitable cycle of life. To cite musical influences would be futile. The musicians had made their names with bands in scenes as far apart as hardcore punk, black metal, and ambient music. Tonally, one might recall finding oneself in the same "space" occupied by other architects of sound such as Ulver, The Beatles, Swans, or Pink Floyd. But the stream of sound that emanates from the source of Illusory Blues is a heaving mass of organic richness, brimmed with intricate sounds that acknowledge the original fathers of experimentation but look forward in creating something new and unique. They dwell equally in the earthly realm of folk music and in the celestial void of progressive psychedelia, but have chanced upon a sound and an experience that sounds like no other.
BABYLON WHORES - (BLACK) PRIDE OF THE DAMNED (6LP)
A carefully curated box set containing all the available Babylon Whores material ranging from obscure demos and compilation appearances to the three-full length albums on six slabs of pitch-black records. Completing the box is a 100-page book with many rare photographs including unused promo shots, interviews, and an in-depth band history by Mikko Mattila of Isten zine documenting the entirety of the unusual and rather colourful career of the band all the way to their legendary secret gigs in later years. Many contemporaries, label-mates and folks otherwise connected with Babylon Whores chip in with their reminiscences and assessments of the Babylonian legacy, including current and ex-members of bands such as Mayhem, The Black League, Sunn O))), Hexvessel, Endvra, Saturnalia Temple, Therion, Deathchain, & more. The box also includes the classic Cold Heaven band photo as a poster.
CONVULSE - EVIL PREVAILS (BLACK)
Finnish death metal quartet CONVULSE are commonly known as one of the most classic bands from the first wave of Finnish death metal, with the debut album World Without God being one of the most collectible items of the era. But this past January's comeback EP Inner Evil, recorded after an 18-year break, proved that the group can still cut it. CONVULSE spent the whole of August locked away in an old-fashioned analog studio, recording what was to become Evil Prevails. A fascinating combination of old-school death metal, lightning-fast thrashing parts, some blastbeats here and there, and even ultra-slow doom elements. The CONVULSE of the year 2013 is heavier and meaner than ever before. This album is a rebirth as much as it is continuation of the old-school spirit.
DISEASE CONCEPT - YOUR DESTROYER
Strictly limited to 300 copies, all on blue translucid wax with red splattering. Artwork by Scott Stearns. This band features Jesse Kling (Vocals - Sollubi), Dave Szulkin (Guitar - Blood Farmers), Tommy Southard (Guitar - Solace), Rob Hultz (Bass - Trouble, Solace) and Corey Bing (Drums - Fistula, Accept Death). On offer are seven tracks in the vein of Eyehategod, Blood Farmers, Judas Priest and Kiss.
DOPETHRONE - III
Limited vinyl pressing of the third album by DOPETHRONE! For the uninitiated, Dopethrone play the classic kind of sludge, evil as Satan himself, dripping blood and black bile, while it claws at your flesh from within a cloud of weed smoke and burning homes. If anything 'III' hits harder than 'Dark Foil'. The riffs are monumental monsters of distortion and grime. It's like the buzz of a thousand hornets inside an empty skull.
DYNAMITE - LOCK N LOAD (BLACK)
If you ever wondered how the follow up album to 'Highway To Hell' should sound like, look no further ! If Bon Scott would be alive, AC/DC would have delivered this album. It oozes with fat Angus Young'ish riffs and a Bon Scott-like voice. This is high energy classic rock, comparable with AC/DC, KROKUS and ROSE TATTOO, and easily outrocking new bands like AIRBORNE and BONAFIDE. This is the band that got chased by the police force in Sweden after an imaginary bank robbery some folks thought was real!
ESCARNIUM - EXCRUCIATING EXISTENCE
Escarnium is a death metal band from Salvador (Brazil). This is their first full-length, which until now only was available on CD. Here it's on 180-gram vinyl, with remastered sound and new artwork! Limited to 197 copies on black vinyl.
KUOLEMANLAAKSO - TULIJOUTSEN (BLACK)
Gatefold, black vinyl , limited 350 copies. The highly acclaimed Finnish death doomsters return with their most ambitious work to date. Produced once again by the Triptykon and Dark Fortress guitarist V. Santura, Kuolemanlaaksos sophomore album "Tulijoutsen" ("The Fire Swan") explores unconquered grounds of heaviness, and pushes the band into a new level of melancholy. The 50-minute magnum opus was inspired by the grandeur of the Finnish forests, serene eeriness of the lakes and early 1900s poetry and folklore. Thus it was only natural for the band to live the lyrics, so to speak, and isolate themselves in a secluded location in the middle of the woods, and capture the true essence of the songs on hard disk.
LOINEN - LOINEN
Sludge metal has been experiencing a resurgence in Finland over the past few years, with bands like Fleshpress, Frogskin, Stumm and Hebosagil. The grittiest, nastiest and most obscure of the bunch, however, is Loinen, hailing from the dirtiest ghettos of Karjaa, in downtuned wasteland of southern Finland. With more focus on the sludge than the metal, Loinen have the habit of churning out untitled releases primarily on tape and vinyl. This untitled album was recorded in early 2012 and will see the bright light of day on Valentine's Day 2014. Presented by Svart Records, the work is available on 12 inch vinyl only, without a download card, and limited to 425 copies.
MANTAR - DEATH BY BURNING (BLACK)
Gatefold, black vinyl version. Recorded earlier in 2013 and titled "Death By Burning", the album is a raw, self produced and 100% DIY display of power. The half German, half Turkish band has existed for less than a year and released one limited run 7" - probably sold out by the time you read this. MANTAR manages to sound heavier than most five piece bands you may know, in spite of the fact that no bass guitar was used on this record. Just drums and guitar set for destruction. Forget about Rock 'n Roll. This will hurt. Flogging beats and blackened melodies meet feedback orgies and doom mayhem. Early Melvins, Motorhead, Darkthrone. You name it. Don't call it sludge though. Everything as black as possible. A soundtrack for the final battle.
MARCH 15 - OUR LOVE BECOMES A FUNERAL PYRE
Although known for wider audience as the founder and the main song writer of REVEREND BIZARRE, THE PURITAN and OPIUM WARLORDS, and the vocalist of SPIRITUS MORTIS, AZRAEL RISING and THTIPORTTI, Sami Albert "Witchfinder" Hynninen has his roots in the most extreme, experimental, and avantgarde areas of music. The original recording sessions of the two compositions, 'OUR LOVE BECOMES A FUNERAL PYRE' and 'NO LOVE LOST', meant to constitute the MARCH 15 EP, took place on Valentine's Day, 2004, in the suffocative atmosphere of a northern Finnish town Tornio (birthplace of a legendary HC band TERVEET KADET), with Vesa Karppinen of local heavy metal band FALL OF THE IDOLS. The EP was not released until 2008, and even then only in Chile, as a poor quality CD version. Now, exactly 10 years after the original sessions, this material finally gets a proper release through Svart Records, remastered and expanded with a whole B-side of new exclusive material, written and recorded in 2010 and 2013.
MORDICUS - DANCES FROM LEFT (+7"/BLACK)
This official 20th anniversary release marks the vinyl debut of Mordicus' debut album 'Dances From Left', originally release by Thrash Records on CD in 1993. As an added bonus the package also features an exact replica of the band's debut 7" EP 'Three Way Dissection' from 1992.
NIGHTWISH - OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY (2LP)
On 180-gram audiophile vinyl! Finnish symphonic Metal giants Nightwish released the 'Over The Hills And Far Away' EP in 2001, when the band was still conquering stages all over the world with original singer Tarja Turunen. It made a big impact upon its release. The EP was released during an intensive tour schedule following their success albums 'Oceanborn' and 'Wishmaster'. The title track is a cover version of Gary Moore's original song. Included is a selection of eight fine live performances by the band, recorded in 2000 in Tampere, Finland. Two live tracks have never been issued on vinyl before ('10th Man Down' and the title track)! This is an edition of 1500 copies on solid blue vinyl! Each copy is individually numbered. The D-side features a beautiful etch.
REVEREND BIZARRE - SO LONG SUCKERS (BLACK) (4LP)
Reverend Bizarre's final opus is a 130 minute juggernaut, thought by many as impossible to fit on vinyl. Well, you thought wrong. Mastered under the supervision of Albert Witchfinder by Joona Lukala, this four LP package presents the work cut on eight sides of 12 inch vinyl. The set comes with an expanded 20 page booklet and a poster, all packaged in a heavy duty gold foil stamped box.
INCARCERATION - SACRIFICE
INCARCERATION was formed 2010 in Brazil and moved to the north of Germany to spread the unholy plague inspired by the fastest riffs of Nihilist, Repugnant, early Sepultura or Sadistic Intent. Classic necrotic death metal straight to the bone with lyrics about existence, suffering and death. Limited to 376 copies on black vinyl.
MESSENGER - SOMNILOQUIST (BLACK)
Limited to 500 copies black vinyl. A prelude to the band's grand album release in March, we present Somniloquist by Messenger on limited edition seven inch vinyl. The flipside features a breathtaking rendition of the song Pictures of Sadness, originally performed by Eduardo Bort on his eponymous 1975 album. The song is exclusive to this 7". MESSENGER (UK) is a musical troupe from London formed in the spring of 2012 by Khaled Lowe and Barnaby Maddick. They booked a session with producer Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios that gave birth to their debut album, Illusory Blues: a cosmic ode to the forces of nature and the inevitable cycle of life. To cite musical influences would be futile. The musicians had made their names with bands in scenes as far apart as hardcore punk, black metal, and ambient music. Tonally, one might recall finding oneself in the same "space" occupied by other architects of sound such as Ulver, The Beatles, Swans, or Pink Floyd. But the stream of sound that emanates from the source of Illusory Blues is a heaving mass of organic richness, brimmed with intricate sounds that acknowledge the original fathers of experimentation but look forward in creating something new and unique. They dwell equally in the earthly realm of folk music and in the celestial void of progressive psychedelia, but have chanced upon a sound and an experience that sounds like no other.
BABYLON WHORES - (BLACK) PRIDE OF THE DAMNED (6LP)
A carefully curated box set containing all the available Babylon Whores material ranging from obscure demos and compilation appearances to the three-full length albums on six slabs of pitch-black records. Completing the box is a 100-page book with many rare photographs including unused promo shots, interviews, and an in-depth band history by Mikko Mattila of Isten zine documenting the entirety of the unusual and rather colourful career of the band all the way to their legendary secret gigs in later years. Many contemporaries, label-mates and folks otherwise connected with Babylon Whores chip in with their reminiscences and assessments of the Babylonian legacy, including current and ex-members of bands such as Mayhem, The Black League, Sunn O))), Hexvessel, Endvra, Saturnalia Temple, Therion, Deathchain, & more. The box also includes the classic Cold Heaven band photo as a poster.
CONVULSE - EVIL PREVAILS (BLACK)
Finnish death metal quartet CONVULSE are commonly known as one of the most classic bands from the first wave of Finnish death metal, with the debut album World Without God being one of the most collectible items of the era. But this past January's comeback EP Inner Evil, recorded after an 18-year break, proved that the group can still cut it. CONVULSE spent the whole of August locked away in an old-fashioned analog studio, recording what was to become Evil Prevails. A fascinating combination of old-school death metal, lightning-fast thrashing parts, some blastbeats here and there, and even ultra-slow doom elements. The CONVULSE of the year 2013 is heavier and meaner than ever before. This album is a rebirth as much as it is continuation of the old-school spirit.
DISEASE CONCEPT - YOUR DESTROYER
Strictly limited to 300 copies, all on blue translucid wax with red splattering. Artwork by Scott Stearns. This band features Jesse Kling (Vocals - Sollubi), Dave Szulkin (Guitar - Blood Farmers), Tommy Southard (Guitar - Solace), Rob Hultz (Bass - Trouble, Solace) and Corey Bing (Drums - Fistula, Accept Death). On offer are seven tracks in the vein of Eyehategod, Blood Farmers, Judas Priest and Kiss.
DOPETHRONE - III
Limited vinyl pressing of the third album by DOPETHRONE! For the uninitiated, Dopethrone play the classic kind of sludge, evil as Satan himself, dripping blood and black bile, while it claws at your flesh from within a cloud of weed smoke and burning homes. If anything 'III' hits harder than 'Dark Foil'. The riffs are monumental monsters of distortion and grime. It's like the buzz of a thousand hornets inside an empty skull.
DYNAMITE - LOCK N LOAD (BLACK)
If you ever wondered how the follow up album to 'Highway To Hell' should sound like, look no further ! If Bon Scott would be alive, AC/DC would have delivered this album. It oozes with fat Angus Young'ish riffs and a Bon Scott-like voice. This is high energy classic rock, comparable with AC/DC, KROKUS and ROSE TATTOO, and easily outrocking new bands like AIRBORNE and BONAFIDE. This is the band that got chased by the police force in Sweden after an imaginary bank robbery some folks thought was real!
ESCARNIUM - EXCRUCIATING EXISTENCE
Escarnium is a death metal band from Salvador (Brazil). This is their first full-length, which until now only was available on CD. Here it's on 180-gram vinyl, with remastered sound and new artwork! Limited to 197 copies on black vinyl.
KUOLEMANLAAKSO - TULIJOUTSEN (BLACK)
Gatefold, black vinyl , limited 350 copies. The highly acclaimed Finnish death doomsters return with their most ambitious work to date. Produced once again by the Triptykon and Dark Fortress guitarist V. Santura, Kuolemanlaaksos sophomore album "Tulijoutsen" ("The Fire Swan") explores unconquered grounds of heaviness, and pushes the band into a new level of melancholy. The 50-minute magnum opus was inspired by the grandeur of the Finnish forests, serene eeriness of the lakes and early 1900s poetry and folklore. Thus it was only natural for the band to live the lyrics, so to speak, and isolate themselves in a secluded location in the middle of the woods, and capture the true essence of the songs on hard disk.
LOINEN - LOINEN
Sludge metal has been experiencing a resurgence in Finland over the past few years, with bands like Fleshpress, Frogskin, Stumm and Hebosagil. The grittiest, nastiest and most obscure of the bunch, however, is Loinen, hailing from the dirtiest ghettos of Karjaa, in downtuned wasteland of southern Finland. With more focus on the sludge than the metal, Loinen have the habit of churning out untitled releases primarily on tape and vinyl. This untitled album was recorded in early 2012 and will see the bright light of day on Valentine's Day 2014. Presented by Svart Records, the work is available on 12 inch vinyl only, without a download card, and limited to 425 copies.
MANTAR - DEATH BY BURNING (BLACK)
Gatefold, black vinyl version. Recorded earlier in 2013 and titled "Death By Burning", the album is a raw, self produced and 100% DIY display of power. The half German, half Turkish band has existed for less than a year and released one limited run 7" - probably sold out by the time you read this. MANTAR manages to sound heavier than most five piece bands you may know, in spite of the fact that no bass guitar was used on this record. Just drums and guitar set for destruction. Forget about Rock 'n Roll. This will hurt. Flogging beats and blackened melodies meet feedback orgies and doom mayhem. Early Melvins, Motorhead, Darkthrone. You name it. Don't call it sludge though. Everything as black as possible. A soundtrack for the final battle.
MARCH 15 - OUR LOVE BECOMES A FUNERAL PYRE
Although known for wider audience as the founder and the main song writer of REVEREND BIZARRE, THE PURITAN and OPIUM WARLORDS, and the vocalist of SPIRITUS MORTIS, AZRAEL RISING and THTIPORTTI, Sami Albert "Witchfinder" Hynninen has his roots in the most extreme, experimental, and avantgarde areas of music. The original recording sessions of the two compositions, 'OUR LOVE BECOMES A FUNERAL PYRE' and 'NO LOVE LOST', meant to constitute the MARCH 15 EP, took place on Valentine's Day, 2004, in the suffocative atmosphere of a northern Finnish town Tornio (birthplace of a legendary HC band TERVEET KADET), with Vesa Karppinen of local heavy metal band FALL OF THE IDOLS. The EP was not released until 2008, and even then only in Chile, as a poor quality CD version. Now, exactly 10 years after the original sessions, this material finally gets a proper release through Svart Records, remastered and expanded with a whole B-side of new exclusive material, written and recorded in 2010 and 2013.
MORDICUS - DANCES FROM LEFT (+7"/BLACK)
This official 20th anniversary release marks the vinyl debut of Mordicus' debut album 'Dances From Left', originally release by Thrash Records on CD in 1993. As an added bonus the package also features an exact replica of the band's debut 7" EP 'Three Way Dissection' from 1992.
NIGHTWISH - OVER THE HILLS AND FAR AWAY (2LP)
On 180-gram audiophile vinyl! Finnish symphonic Metal giants Nightwish released the 'Over The Hills And Far Away' EP in 2001, when the band was still conquering stages all over the world with original singer Tarja Turunen. It made a big impact upon its release. The EP was released during an intensive tour schedule following their success albums 'Oceanborn' and 'Wishmaster'. The title track is a cover version of Gary Moore's original song. Included is a selection of eight fine live performances by the band, recorded in 2000 in Tampere, Finland. Two live tracks have never been issued on vinyl before ('10th Man Down' and the title track)! This is an edition of 1500 copies on solid blue vinyl! Each copy is individually numbered. The D-side features a beautiful etch.
REVEREND BIZARRE - SO LONG SUCKERS (BLACK) (4LP)
Reverend Bizarre's final opus is a 130 minute juggernaut, thought by many as impossible to fit on vinyl. Well, you thought wrong. Mastered under the supervision of Albert Witchfinder by Joona Lukala, this four LP package presents the work cut on eight sides of 12 inch vinyl. The set comes with an expanded 20 page booklet and a poster, all packaged in a heavy duty gold foil stamped box.
