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Blut Der Nacht – Demo MMXI (Fallen Empire, 2011)
The recent resurgence of cassette culture within the US black metal underground (and elsewhere) seems to be foreshadowing a paradigm shift within the scene; perhaps it is the beginning of the death...
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Xibalba – Demo 2010 (Nuclear War Now!, 2010)
There’s something that’s flat-out wrong about Xibalba’s Demo 2010. It’s a queasy, warped atmosphere that sounds like the product of fried ‘n’ frazzled minds bending the black metal paradigm to their...
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Worship Black Metal Cassettes: Scratching the surface of Crepusculo Negro and...
In my review of Blut Der Nacht’s excellent Demo MMXI, I talked a little about the rise of cassette culture within the American black metal underground over the last few years. Some see it as...
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Arnaut Pavle – demo (Vlad Tapes, 2013)
If it hasn’t by now become readily apparent, black metal cassettes are here to stay. Sure, big name metal bands like Pig Destroyer are getting in on the act, but I’m pretty sure that has more to do...
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Halfway to Hell: The year in metal so far.
2013 has already been a hell of a year for metal. Unlike last year, which saw an overwhelming avalanche of stellar releases, 2013 so far has been more akin to 2011, which was all about quality over...
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Unru – Demo MMXIII (Caligari Records, 2013)
Fledgling cassette label Caligari Records has already impressed me once this year with their maiden release, the nasty-ass blackened thrash assault of DeathCult’s The Test of Time, and just a few...
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THKD’s top 10 metal cassette and vinyl releases of 2013
2013 is a pretty strange time to be a metal blogger. Big-time labels won’t send me CDs that probably cost all of a dollar to manufacture, but small labels that probably struggle just to break even...
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Chthe’ilist – Amechth’ntaas’m'rriachth (Graceless Recordings, 2013)
Chthe’ilist are a duo hailing from Quebec, but judging from their tongue-twisting moniker and the equally challenging title of their debut demo on Graceless Recordings, Amechth’ntaas’m'rriachth, it’s...
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Skelethal / Inisans – 2012 Demos (Caligari Records, 2014)
Leave it to Caligari Records to make waves with their first foray into full-on death metal by unearthing not one but two of the gnarliest demos out there and cramming them both onto one cassette. The...
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Ritual Decay – The Conquering Darkness (Caligari Records, 2014)
Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Ritual Decay are a power trio plying a particularly nasty-ass brand of blackened death metal. On The Conquering Darkness, their debut demo from the seemingly...
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Bandcamp Band Crap #1
Whenever I want to look beyond the promo pile for new music, I inevitably head for Bandcamp. The site is a veritable world of wonders, a treasure trove of music from across the genre spectrum just...
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Sons of Famine – Alcohol and Razor Blades (self-released, 2013)
Just as I’ve started to settle into life on the West Coast, along comes a band from the Midwest to remind me that my home region can kick serious ass when it wants to. That band is Chicago’s Sons of...
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The Hyle – demo (Caligari Records, 2014)
Earlier in 2014, Caligari Records brought us the debut demo from Denmark’s Demon Head, now the label brings us another round of Danish doom from The Hyle; has Caligari unearthed the beginnings of a...
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Negative Vortex – Tomb Absolute (Caligari Records, 2015)
I haven’t really heard much straight-up death metal that tickles my fancy in 2015, so it was a pleasant surprise to get a copy of Negative Vortex’s Tomb Absolute in the mail from the ever-reliable...
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Kafirun – Death Worship and Essene – demo (Sol y Nieve, 2014)
Of the handful of cassette-centric labels I’ve developed relationships with over the past few years, Sol y Nieve is surely one of the most exciting. While they aren’t the most prolific, they stress...
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Caligari Records Round-up: Gloam, Hadit and Taphos Nomos
Are you guys getting tired of me gushing about Caligari Records yet? Well if you are, too bad! The Florida-based label continues to put out some of the finest underground metal you’re likely to come...
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Kriegszittern ist krieg
Kriegszittern are a German duo committed to vomiting up short, sharp shocks of punky, war-obsessed death metal. Their debut demo was recently committed to tape by the ever-reliable and increasingly...
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