Metal 340 Items

Classic black vinyl!The contemporary Belgian music scene keeps spawning awesome bands, and B R I Q U E V I L L E - the spaces in between the letters are part of their moniker are among the most intriguing and compelling of them. The meditative heaviness of their sound and the carefulengineering of the visual aspects of their mesmerizing live-performance rituals are awe-inspiring and challenging in equal measure.After 2017's dazzling instrumental opus ,II", the Flemish 5-piece finally return with their 3rd studio album, one of the first real pandemic-albums to be released on Pelagic. The band members had to finish the album in separation, which worked outbetter than they had initially expected: the forced distance allowed them to take distance not only to each other, but alsotowards their own song material. Some pieces grew larger than originally intended, others were stripped down to the essentials and reinvented.The end result is a staggering album that is sophisticated and smothering at the same time, made up of altogether shorter songs as compared to the previous release, and there is a more prominent focus on those tasty electronics, which have always been an integral part of B R I Q U E V I L L E 's sound. The album is also the first one with an album title: Quelle means ,source" in German, and ,which" in French. ,We strongly feel that this record keeps all the ingredients of previous recordsand explores them further than we ever did before. The theme of a 'source', and the 'which' linking it reflexively to our previous album artwork gave us the feeling that we stayed true to our original concept, music, artwork and clips. Water and sand as a source of life and death. How an isolated soul deals with these elements", says a nameless band member... What? Yes, B R I Q U E V I L L E is a band shrouded in mystery. The black Nazgûl-robes and golden masks that all members wear on stage give their presence the air of an occult ritual... butthe band is not chasing (a) Ghost; in fact t...

Cynic's vinyl reissues including bonus material to be released via Svart Records in February 2025

American progressive metal band Cynic's 2014 album Kindly Bent to Free Us 10 year anniversary edition out in February!

Cynic was formed in Miami, Florida by Paul Masvidal in 1987, incorporating elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal. Their third full length offering Kindly Bent to Free Us is the final Cynic album to feature original drummer Sean Reinert and long time member Sean Malone on bass, who both passed away in 2020. Originally released on a 2LP version and mastered at 45rpm, Svart Records in co-operation with Cynic now proudly present the single LP edition of the album including a bonus track Earth Is My Witness for the first time on vinyl and a booklet with linter notes by Martin Popoff, lyrics, notation to the song Kindly Bent to Free Us, and more.

Paul Masvidal comments the reissue: “Kindly Bent to Free Us is reborn on vinyl for its 10th anniversary. This record holds a special place in my heart for many reasons. First, the songs and the journey they take, exploring inner realms as represented by the cover art. Then, there are the arrangements—raw and explosive—which R. Walt Vincent was so good at capturing the live energy we shared as a trio in the rehearsal room when these ideas were developed. There’s also something poignant about this being the last record the three of us would make together. It’s exciting to finally see The Earth is My Witness, which was previously only a bonus track on the box set, brought into this format for the first time.”

"If I'm giving anyone a heart-shaped box this year, that thing will have a copy of the freshly purchased Cynic album, Kindly Bent to Free Us in it. I personally feel like this is a much more grand gesture of love than any other." -Daniel Cordova, Metal Injection, 2014

Even if this album has already been released 9 months ago, Heavy Psych Sounds Records had the guts to make another pressing cause fell in love with the album! Pink Cigs are truly inspired by the 70’s kind of sound and they can write songs like if they were living back in the 70’s. The sound is devoted to the low-fi, raw rock n' roll of the Freak Age, mixed with a lot of cool guitar riffs, and groovy drumming.The attitude is the one you could find back in the days, they play a unique sound of Acid Rock, Fuzz Rock, Heavy Blues, Garage Psych. They are sons of the magik trinity: Stooges-Blue Cheer-MC5 but also perfect for fans of early Pentagram, Witchfinder General, Black Sabbath. 10 incredible tracks will glue the listener until the end of the last song !! Biography: Pink Cigs is a fuzzy head band from the Lughole Sheffield, UK. They play unique sound of Acid Rock, Fuzz Rock, Heavy Blues and Garage Psych. For fans of: Stooges, Blue Cheer, MC5 but also early Pentagram, Witchfinder General and Black Sabbath!!

Originally self-released in 2017, extreme progressive metallers VINTERSEA's “The Gravity of Fall” was hailed by No Clean Singing as “dynamic and genre-bending!” The album – which has never been offered on vinyl until now – was recorded by Justin Phelps (The Mars Volta, Joe Satriani) and mixed by Evan Sammons (Last Chance To Reason). As a special added bonus, the 2LP pressing of “The Gravity of Fall” will also include VINTERSEA's five-track debut EP 'Constellations' which was originally released in 2014 when the band was known as Asterion. A download code for those songs will be included with the CD. Both formats will include expanded packaging and updated layouts with lyrics, photos and more.

Over the past near-decade, Lancashire’s medieval metal phenomenon Wytch Hazel have been honing an uncommonly wholesome, rustic and devotional brand of timewarped hard rock that’s all their own, with 2016’s Prelude and 2018’s II: Sojourn summoning to mind fevered images of Robin Hood and his Merry Men grooving to Jethro Tull and Thin Lizzy. Yet within moments of pressing play on their third LP, III: Pentecost, the musty mystical minstrelsy takes a back seat in favour of a rich, sumptuous, anthemic late-night drivetime vibe, passionately embracing the most high-end smash-hit classic rock and metal circa its late 1970s heyday. “I thought I put a lot into the second album, but this album has been an absolute obsession,” stresses the band leader, Colin Hendra. “Every aspect had to be as good as possible. We’ve gone back and forth, Ed was tinkering with it for months on end. There’s quadruple tracking going on with the rhythm parts, then we’ve doubled, tripled and quadrupled all our lead parts to get that richness and fullness of sound, all meticulously planned with pages and pages of organisational notes. It wasn’t just ‘get in the studio and see how it goes!’” he laughs. “One day I did 14 hours of vocal recording. All vocals are double-tracked, I can’t express how much hard work that is. The last album feels like a breeze compared to what we’ve done with this - and I don’t plan on ramping it down!” Musically, there are gorgeous self-professed touches of Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Ac/dc and early Scorpions—“With the soloing I was trying to go for Michael Schenker” beams Colin—while the scampering headbanger I Will Not initially took a nod from Angel Witch, who Hendra was helping out on second guitar back in 2015 when the track was composed, before studio treatment made it sound “a lot more Wytch Hazelly”. But perhaps the most lateral comparison is to a band from the opposite spiritual realm, with Archangel an explicit homage to Swedish faux-Satanic devil cult Ghost. “I find them fascinating, Ghost; musically great, the songwriting is spot-on,” enthuses the frontman. “We share an intrinsic connection, with [Bad Omen honcho] Will Palmer being the person who discovered us both. “Music is created for all, it’s a common grace for everyone,” he affirms, “which is why the music that shows the glory of God the most, in my opinion, is not music created by Christians. It’s Black Sabbath!”

Gatefold double LP, splattered vinyl. Special extended LP edition of Pilgrim’s cult Misery Wizard album, dedicated to the memory of Jon Rossi. Includes two extra bonus tracks, Return of Astaroth and Gryphon Rider, from the band’s unfinished third album. This legendary doom classic is pressed on three sides of vinyl for extra heavy fidelity and crushing sound, with bonus tracks on 4th side. Exclusive brand new liner notes provided by Albert Witchfinder (Reverend Bizarre) and Eric Heath-Dittrich(Pilgrim) offer deeper insight into the album and Pilgrim’s legacy. Released in a limited edition of 1000 copies, 400 of which are on splatter vinyl. Mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Cathedral).

AOP Records is proud to present Theotoxin’s highly anticipated third album, Fragment : Erhabenheit, on CD and vinyl LP formats. With the intention of creating supreme black metal art, Theotoxin ascended from the catacombs of Vienna, Austria in 2016. A quintet featuring members of Zombie Inc., Selbstentleibung, Anomalie, this strong lineup of musicians has been well tested on tour all over Europe. In 2017, Theotoxin self-released their debut album, Atramentvm, and kept writing new material, which led to the release of the successor Consilivm (Massacre Records) just a year later. Plenty of live appearances and a tour through Europe followed, further honing the band’s considerable chops. On those stages did the band deliver a throttling live show with deep atmosphere; the name Theotoxin began to spread. Now aligned with longtime fans AOP Records, Theotoxin are eager to spread their black chants even further with their strongest album yet. Bearing the thematic title of Fragment : Erhabenheit, Theotoxin’s third album is both a consolidation of the band’s strengths as well as an extension of new ones. Much like their intense onstage performances, the violence is palpable – almost overwhelmingly so – and is doled out with the ease of experienced masters. Equally so, however, a chilling melodicism rises from this physicality which puts Fragment : Erhabenheit in rarefied territory: a paradoxically refreshing (re)iteration of second-wave black metal classicism. It’s as much mid ‘90s as it is Now, and Theotoxin simply make it look all too easy… Suitably graced with demonic-yet-mystical artwork courtesy of the masterful Jose Gabriel Sabogal, Fragment : Erhabenheit is guaranteed to be Theotoxin’s breakout moment!

Defecto’s dive into the metal scene has been fast and even frantic at times. Only a year after the release of their debut album, the band supported acts like Metallica and Rammstein. They sold out headlining tours in Denmark and played on successful tours throughout Europe. They performed at large festivals both in- and outside Denmark and amassed several million streams. Few metal bands in Denmark have achieved such progress in such a short amount of time. The band is now set to release their next album Duality. Taking inspiration in the duality of life, the band uses their sonic diversity to create a seamless mix including both the explosive and the atmospheric. Duality is the combination of light and dark, and the culmination of what Defecto stands for.

The chainsaw-doused RIPPED TO SHREDS return once again with the second conceptual full-length record Luan, ten serrated tracks of galling, uncompromising Death Metal with labyrinthine structures; loosely based on an ancient Chinese war-themed folktale.

Finnish funeral doom metal titans released their fourth album Alloy in 2008. This is the remarkable album’s vinyl debut. Spread over three LP sides and paired with the album’s counterpart from 1999, the EP Aes, the entire package has been remastered from the original DAT tapes by Jaime Gomez Arellano at Orgone Studios.

Record Store Day 2020 Release.

Black Rainbows are back with a brand new album! This time they are delivering 12 new and fresh tunes. Recorded and produced by Fabio Sforza, who was also behind the previous album Pandaemonium. “Cosmic Ritual Supertrip” has a monolithic force; guitars, drums and bass are all glued together to give the listener a punch in the face! This album gets its magic power from mixing together a 70’s attitude with a doom-occult and stoner rock sound in a masterful way. We can count a bunch of singles, such as “Isolation” and “Master Rocket Power Blast”, as well as a couple of doomy songs like “Universal Phase” and “Saacred Graal” and also more catchy tunes like “Radio 666” and “At Midnight You Cry”. This is the 8th album of the band and we believe the best one so far. Recorded at Forward Studios in Rome on a huge Neve desk, this new gem will be out May 1st, on Heavy Psych Sounds Records.
The amazing artwork, made by the one and only Robin Gnista, is matching in its entirety the album music concept.

High Roller Records, reissue 2023, blue w/ white & red splatter vinyl, ltd 150, lyric sheet

Oakland black/death metal plague wielders Dearth finally debut with their long awaited and highly anticipated first full-length album To Crown All Befoulment, a sonic reign of terror clawing deep into the most wretched, abominable, and hideous realms of human nature. Nihilistic beyond comprehension and sonically devastating, on the crushing debut LP Dearth explore incomprehensible thresholds of disgust and abjection through a sonic arsenal forged deep into in the most tormented circles of hell, unleashing a cataclysm of dark death metal horror that will leave the listener scarred and ravaged. Thorough an inescapable maze of oppressive death metal riffs and malefic atmospheres, the Oakland death-bringers have drawn influence from extreme metal titans like Dead Congregation, Deathspell Omega, Lucifyre, Demoncy, and Pseudogod to assemble a mortal weapon of mass extermination that symbolizes and glorifies the complete and implacable eradication of humanity in its every form and manifestation.

Thunderous bass, powerful drums, sharped riffs, fierce vocals and yet a great piece of melodic heavy metal. Lady Beast celebrate 10 years with the 2020 release of their fourth full length studio album ‘The Vulture’s Amulet’.

Origin of the Alimonies is Liturgy’s fifth full-length album and their first to fully integrate Hunter Hunt-Hendrix’s vision of total art, or what she calls Perichoresis, with her musical compositions. The music amplifies a dramatic narrative addressing the question of the origin of all things, which itself aesthetically grounds the content of Hunt-Hendrix’s ongoing philosophical YouTube series on her System of Transcendental Qabala.

The album is by far Liturgy’s most meticulous and radical statement, pushing their characteristic synthesis between black metal, minimalism, experimental club music, and 19th–century romanticism to new extremes. Exploring microtonality, free improvisation, polymetric structures and Richard Wagner’s ideas of musikdrama and leitmotif, Hunt-Hendrix employs her unique “burst beat” technique to bind together the rhythmic signatures of metal, experimental club and classical music in the service of speech patterns and narrative flow.

Featuring the virtuosic playing of bandmates Leo Didkovsky, Tia Vincent-Clark and Bernard Gann, the entire album also includes flute, piano, harp, strings and horns performed by a 8-piece chamber ensemble drawn from New York’s various avant-garde music scenes.

Influenced by kabbalah, German Idealism and French post-structuralism, the opera tells the story of a cosmogonical traumatic explosion between Oioion and Siheymn, a pair of divine beings whose thwarted love tears a wound from which civilization is generated, producing the Four Alimonies of the intelligible universe and the task of collective emancipation.

Outside the narrative frame, the piece is meant to foster productive discord between the modes of attention and political commitments that implicitly accompany its various genres, as well as to hover in the liminal territory between the music industry, the art world and the contemporary philosophy community, reiterating the message of Jesus via William Blake by belonging nowhere, only half-comprehensible within any established framework, puncturing hypocritical ideologies while crying out in the name of love.

The album is accompanied by a new, eponymous album-length operatic video written, directed, shot, edited by and starring Hunt-Hendrix, who uses her evolving body, in the wake of her recent gender affirmation as a trans woman, as the medium for the story.

The beginnings of Grave Digger date back to 1980. After various appearances at small festivals, the band recorded a song for the compilation album “Rock From Hell” in 1983. A year later, Grave Digger released their debut album “Heavy Metal Breakdown”, second album “Witch Hunter” in 1985. Then some changes happened in the line-up. Further festival appearances, a tour as the supporting act for Helloween, and a triple headlining tour with Celtic Frost and Helloween, followed before the release of the third album “War Games” in January 1986, still on Noise Records, as the previous ones. Then Uwe Lulis on guitar joined the band in 1987 and the band's name was changed to Digger, the name under which they released the album “Stronger Than Ever”. This album hardly had anything in common with the earlier music of Grave Digger. It was more an attempt to reach the masses with mainstream rock like that of Bon Jovi or Van Halen. The album flopped, as it was not readily accepted by fans nor the mainstream. As a result, Chris Boltendahl declared the break-up of the band at the end of 1987. However, the band partially reformed in 1991. Chris Boltendahl and Uwe Lulis, along with two newcomers, Tomi Göttlich and Jörg Michael (Rage, later in Running Wild, Stratovarius), released a comeback record, “The Reaper”, returning to the true roots of Grave Digger. “Symphony Of Death” followed in 1994, with the same line-up of “The Reaper”. In the meantime, Grave Digger, now with new drummer, Frank Ullrich, toured Germany, playing as the supporting act for Manowar. In 1995, the album “Heart Of Darkness” was released, considered one of the best of the band. In 1996, Stefan Arnold became the new drummer. This year also marked the release of the concept album “Tunes Of War”, which dealt with the early history of Scotland. The second album, “Knights Of The Cross”, with Jens Becker (Running Wild) on bass, was completed in 1997 and was about the rise and fall of the Knights Templar. The third and final part of the middle-age trilogy, “Excalibur” (1999), explored the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Shortly after the band embarked on a world tour and was joined by keyboardist Hans-Peter Katzenburg, who later became a permanent bandmember. In 2000, Grave Digger celebrated their 20th anniversary. To mark the occasion, they performed a sold-out concert at the Zeche in Bochum. This concert marked a defining chapter in the band's history, as Uwe Lulis left the band shortly before the show due to both personal and business-related differences. A replacement was found in ex-Rage guitarist Manni Schmidt, who first appears in “The Grave Digger” (2001) with lyrics of the album inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's books. Their first live album, “Tunes Of Wacken”, was released in 2002. About a year later new album followed, entitled “Rheingold” inspired on the opera “Der Ring Der Nibelungen” by Richard Wagner. After the successful Rheingold-Tour the band recorded a new album, “The Last Supper” (2005). All these last 4 albums were released under Nuclear Blast. 2007 saw the release of “Liberty Or Death” (on Locomotive Records) and later that year, Grave Digger performed at the legendary Wacken Open Air. In October, a new member joined the Grave Digger family, Thilo Hermann (Running Wild) became the second guitarist. Grave Digger split with Locomotive, dealing with Napalm Records. “Ballads Of A Hangman” was released in the summer of 2009 entering the charts in Austria and Switzerland, it reached number 31 in the German Media Control Charts. Fueled by the tremendous feedback, they embarked on an extensive tour, also playing selected shows at numerous European festivals. Due to personal and musical differences, both guitarists Thilo Hermann and Manni Schmidt left the band, prior to entering the studio. Axel Ritt took over all guitar duties on “The Clans Will Rise Again.” With lyrics returning to the Scottish Highlands. To mark their 30th anniversary, Grave Digger invited many guests on stage at the Wacken Open Air 2010 to join in the celebration. The amazing reaction of the fans and the outstanding chemistry of those involved led to the fantastic double package “Ballad Of Mary” and “The Clans Are Still Marching”. On their latest album “Clash of the Titans”, Grave Digger entered the legendary realm of Ancient Greek and its gods and creatures. After this release the band recorded, always for Napalm Records, 3 more albums "Return of the Reaper", "Healed by Metal", "The Living Dead" and "Exhumation, The Early Years" compilation.The new recording is planned for 2020. With this long discography in over 35 years of career, Grave Digger shows to be one of the most longeval and appreciated band devoted to classic and old school HM.