Metal 125 Items

MAYHEM: One of the earliest of the Norwegian black metal bands to form (aptly named after a Venom track) the bands 20 year history is littered with tragedy and controversy. Now Back On Black re-issues the bands 4 studio albums on deluxe audiophile quality vinyl. All editions of these classic black metal albums come in gatefold packaging!

10 year anniversary gatefold 2LP edition of Cult of Luna's take on Fritz Lang's Metropolis film, Vertikal.

"Somewhere Along The Highway" and "Eternal Kingdom" were inspired by the landscape of Västerbotten, the county we are from. We realised that there was only one way to go for us: to the city, into the future. Making a droney John Carpenter-esque album would be too easy and we’ve never been about taking the simple route. I was studying film at the time and had been floored by the aesthetic of German expressionism. This resonated perfectly with Erik Olofsson, who had just got into Italian futurism. This was a real challenge.

We put in a lot of effort to realize our vision of the stale, artificial city in all aspects of what an album is. The way we played guitar (only down strokes), the production, artwork and band photos, everything was done with the vision as a guide.

"Vertikal" is the album where we had the most precise vision of what we wanted to do and worked hardest to transform it from an idea into reality.

A lot of things happened during the years between "Eternal Kingdom" and "Vertikal" and I could continue writing for ages but this will do for now. Ten years have passed since its release and what felt like a rebirth of the band, the band that is still ongoing with new goals and missions.

It’s a full circle kind of thing. At the time we had no label and now we are releasing it on our very own. Life is strange.

Johannes Persson - Umeå December 2022

Expertly transitioning between atmospheric Black Metal, Celtic Folk, and traditional Scottish sounds – the wildly exploratory music of Saor knows no limitations and seeks out every opportunity to expand on its potential. Sophomore record ‘Aura’ has been remastered and will be reissued on Season of Mist with a bonus track.

Red marbled vinyl. Cover with small beginning of seam split on top spine. Copy closer to NM

Love Metal (Clear Vinyl) - HiM

Razorblade Romance (Clear Vinyl) - HiM

Re-issue of Year OF NO LIGHT's album 'Ausserwelt'!! Year OF NO LIGHT's lengthy, sprawling compositions of towering walls of guitars and sombre synths irradiate a sense of dire solemniand spiritual gravity, and couldn't be a more fitting soundtrack for such grim medieval scenarios. But there is also the element of element of absolution transcendence in the face of death. Year Of No Light sound dense, rich and lush and yet somehow starved and deprived. “There's a thread running through all of our albums”, the band comments, “an exploration of the sensitive world that obeys a certain telos, first fantasized ("Nord") and reverberated ("Ausserwelt"), then declaimed as a warning ("Tocsin"). The deeper we dig, the more the motifs we have to unveil appear to us. Yes, it's a bit gnostic. This album is invoked after the Tocsin, it's the epiphany of the Fall”.

To celebrate the return of 1349 with their new album "The Infernal Pathway" on Season Of Mist, Indie Recordings present special limited edition repress of their 2014 album "Massive Cauldron of Chaos"

For the first time in their diverse second act, they allow themselves to be a rock band, freed of adornment and embellishment. As much as Carlson’s guitar has always been the focal point of Earth’s music, it’s been surrounded by consistently diverse instrumentation. Here the dialog between Carlson and Davies drumming remains pivotal, underpinned by the sympathetic bass of Bill Herzog (Sunn O))), Joel RL Phelps, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter) and thickened by additional layers of guitar from Brett Netson (Built To Spill, Caustic Resin) and Jodie Cox (Narrows). Perhaps the largest left turn on Primitive And Deadly, though, is the prominence of guest vocalists Mark Lanegan and Rabia Shaheen Qazi (Rose Windows) who transform the traditionally free ranging meditations of Earth into something approaching traditional pop structures.

On “Rooks Across the Gates,” a song stylistically the closest to the folk inspired modality of Angels Of Darkness, Carlson stretches out into some of his most lyrical playing to date, creating an almost symbiotic relationship between his performance and the vocals of old friend Mark Lanegan. “From the Zodiacal Light,” meanwhile, takes the late 60s San Franciscan/freaked-out jazz-rock transcendence of The Bees Made Honey In The Lion’s Skull and quickly re-appropriates that sound into a musky torch song for the witching hour.

This contradictive tension between a band pushing itself ever-forward whilst surveying their history is reflected in the albums twin recording locales. The foundation of the record was laid in the mystic desert highlands of Joshua Tree, California where Earth recorded hour after hour of meditations on each track's central theme at Rancho de la Luna. Upon returning to Seattle these were edited, arranged and expanded upon at Avast with the help of long-term collaborator Randall Dunn (who was previously at the helm for the Hex, The Bees Made Honey In The Lion's Skull and Hibernaculum sessions).

The second album and classic Hfts album completely new re-recorded with Krimh (Septic Flesh) on drums. This album will blow everything away and finally includes the song "Mad World"

I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant is an expanded edition of the fourth full-length album by The Body, first released to widespread acclaim, and terror, in 2014. Sharing their moribund vision with Bobby Krlic, aka The Haxan Cloak, the tried and true sound of The Body is shred to pieces on I Shall Die Here, mutilated by process and re-animated in a spectral state by the collaboration. This double album set is expanded with the previously unreleased Earth Triumphant, a full-length companion album that would become I Shall Die Here, showcasing The Body's brutality in its most primal form. With both albums revisited by The Body and Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets and remastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, this is the definitive edition of a shocking classic of unbridled bleakness and innovation. Formed by drummer Lee Buford and guitarist Chip King in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1999, The Body soon relocated to Providence, Rhode Island. The duo remained in Providence for a decade before moving west to their current home of Portland, Oregon. Their debut self-titled album (Moganano, 2003) and on the widely-acclaimed, classification curtailing of All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood (At A Loss, 2011) readied the band for even more experimentations. The employment of the Assembly of Light Choir's classical chorales on All the Waters, alongside more industrial music techniques such as vocal sampling and drum programming, prompted RVNG to inquire with King and Buford which darker corners of the electronic universe they were presumably interested in exploring. The undertaking of I Shall Die Here was aided by Seth Manchester and Keith Souza, The Body's long standing engineer and creative collaborator, and noted producer Bobby Krlic. Krlic's own work as The Haxan Cloak struck a similarly despairing chord to The Body with the celebrated Excavation (Tri Angle, 2013), itself a minimalist evocation of the afterlife. I Shall Die Here shares similar nether space with the morbidly deviating darkness of Excavation, but remains sculpturally frozen in a sort of earthen purgatory. The Body's musical approach, engraved by Buford's colossal beats and King's mad howl and bass-bladed guitar dirge, became something even more terrifying with Krlic's post-mortem ambiences serving as both baseline and outer limit. I Shall Die Here sonically serrates the remains of metal's already unidentifiable corpse and splays it amid tormented voices in shadow. This expanded edition gives us a window into the creation of a classic with the inclusion of its in utero twin, Earth Triumphant. Recorded as a nearly finished album by Buford and King before The Haxan Cloak's transformation, it stands as a raw statement of intent, the original DNA for what would soon mutate into something wholly new. Fans of I Shall Die Here will find familiar sonic fragments in a more primitive state - like seeing an out-of-context photograph of a family member taken well before you knew them - but the album stands on its own in its minimalist brutality, a natural bridge to what The Body was soon to become. The Body's I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant will be released in digital and vinyl formats on June 30, 2023. On behalf of The Body, The Haxan Cloak, and RVNG Intl., a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Intransitive, an organization that works to advance the cause of Trans liberation in Arkansas through art, education, advocacy, organizing and culture in order to create effective systemic change and on-the-ground impact.

2022 repress on solid black vinyL!2xLP vinyl. 9mm spine gatefold sleeve with gold hot foil & metallic inks. Printed inner sleeves.insert and engraving on Side D.W The ,centrics"-albums saw the introduction of current vocalist Loïc Rossetti to the band's lineup, a game changer in their 17 years history. ,Anthropocentric" is heavier than its same-year predecessor ,Heliocentric", with the crushing 15-minutes openening track duality ,The Grand Inquisitor" part I and II and following track ,She Was The Universe", one of the most-streamed THE OCEAN tracks to date, setting the bar high for the rest of the album. Conceptually, ,Heliocentric" and ,Anthropocentric" are a comprehensive critique of the legacy of christianity: While ,Heliocentric" approaches the topic in a historical-chronological way, the main focus of ,Anthropocentric" is the ,Grand Inquisitor"-chapter in Dostoyevsky's world-famous novel ,The Brothers Karamazov", spread out over 3 tracks of the album. Other songs like the serene ,The Almightiness Contradiction" take up ideas by Richard Dawkins, the spearhead of modern day's aetheism.Since 2001, the Berlin-based musician collective THE OCEAN have released 7 critically acclaimedstudio albums, and a split EP with Japanese post-rock legends Mono.

Recorded at Lambesis Studios with Daniel Castleman (AS I LAY Dying, Winds OF Plague, WAR OF AGES),There Will Be Violence is ten tracks of the heaviest and finest metal that fans have come to expect from Southern California’s Impending Doom.

Norway´s masters of blackened sonic evil, 1349, are finally back with a deadly vengeance. Four long years after the release of the masterpiece “Demonoir”, the band returns with a new full-length album this fall. “Massive Cauldron of Chaos” is set to be released on September 29 through Indie Recordings worldwide, except for North America, where Season of Mist will be handling the album.

Founded in Norway in 1997, 1349 have remained a constant influence on the Norwegian black metal scene. With a penchant for lightning speed riffing, blazing drums, and apocalyptic lyrics, the band has trail-blazed the underground, surpassing many of their peers through brute musical force. Following a quintet of landmark albums, 1349 is set to re-establish their dominance in worldwide extreme metal scene. “Massive Cauldron of Chaos” leave no doubt as to their intentions. Not looking back, but constantly evolving and challenging our perceptions as to what to expect from an extreme metal band. Comments the band: "We entered the studio with an idea of putting everything that 1349 has ever been about into a cauldron, stir it well, and pour in some fresh ingredients - as well as some strange old ones - and come up with our most potent elixir ever. And we brought the spirit to match the ambitious attempt. Boil, boil, toil and trouble...Behold! We have made the most delightfully intoxicating and dangerous potion you can dream of. FEEL THE FIRE! And Hail Hell."?

1349 will tour Europe this fall, make sure not to miss the Aural Hellfire as it blaze through your neighborhood!

Clear Red Vinyl Edition.

I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant is an expanded edition of the fourth full-length album by The Body, first released to widespread acclaim, and terror, in 2014. Sharing their moribund vision with Bobby Krlic, aka The Haxan Cloak, the tried and true sound of The Body is shred to pieces on I Shall Die Here, mutilated by process and re-animated in a spectral state by the collaboration. This double album set is expanded with the previously unreleased Earth Triumphant, a full-length companion album that would become I Shall Die Here, showcasing The Body's brutality in its most primal form. With both albums revisited by The Body and Seth Manchester at Machines With Magnets and remastered by Matt Colton at Metropolis Studios, this is the definitive edition of a shocking classic of unbridled bleakness and innovation. Formed by drummer Lee Buford and guitarist Chip King in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1999, The Body soon relocated to Providence, Rhode Island. The duo remained in Providence for a decade before moving west to their current home of Portland, Oregon. Their debut self-titled album (Moganano, 2003) and on the widely-acclaimed, classification curtailing of All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood (At A Loss, 2011) readied the band for even more experimentations. The employment of the Assembly of Light Choir's classical chorales on All the Waters, alongside more industrial music techniques such as vocal sampling and drum programming, prompted RVNG to inquire with King and Buford which darker corners of the electronic universe they were presumably interested in exploring. The undertaking of I Shall Die Here was aided by Seth Manchester and Keith Souza, The Body's long standing engineer and creative collaborator, and noted producer Bobby Krlic. Krlic's own work as The Haxan Cloak struck a similarly despairing chord to The Body with the celebrated Excavation (Tri Angle, 2013), itself a minimalist evocation of the afterlife. I Shall Die Here shares similar nether space with the morbidly deviating darkness of Excavation, but remains sculpturally frozen in a sort of earthen purgatory. The Body's musical approach, engraved by Buford's colossal beats and King's mad howl and bass-bladed guitar dirge, became something even more terrifying with Krlic's post-mortem ambiences serving as both baseline and outer limit. I Shall Die Here sonically serrates the remains of metal's already unidentifiable corpse and splays it amid tormented voices in shadow. This expanded edition gives us a window into the creation of a classic with the inclusion of its in utero twin, Earth Triumphant. Recorded as a nearly finished album by Buford and King before The Haxan Cloak's transformation, it stands as a raw statement of intent, the original DNA for what would soon mutate into something wholly new. Fans of I Shall Die Here will find familiar sonic fragments in a more primitive state - like seeing an out-of-context photograph of a family member taken well before you knew them - but the album stands on its own in its minimalist brutality, a natural bridge to what The Body was soon to become. The Body's I Shall Die Here / Earth Triumphant will be released in digital and vinyl formats on June 30, 2023. On behalf of The Body, The Haxan Cloak, and RVNG Intl., a portion of the proceeds from this release will benefit Intransitive, an organization that works to advance the cause of Trans liberation in Arkansas through art, education, advocacy, organizing and culture in order to create effective systemic change and on-the-ground impact.

Red Fang's self-titled debut full-length will be reissued on Sargent House in December 2021.This debut is being repressed for the first time since 2015). Red Fang is the formation of long time friends and collaborators Bryan Giles (Last of the Juanitas, Party Time), Aaron Beam (Dark Forces, Lachrymator), David Sullivan (Party Time, facedowninshit, Shiny Beast) and John Sherman (Party Time, Bad Wizard, Trumans Water, All Night). Unleashed on New Year's Eve of 2006 in Portland, Oregon, Red Fang stormed out of the gates, introducing a sweaty, seething basement to a new kind of unforgettable fist-pumping, beer-chugging rock music. Since that night, the band has continued with the same intensity, energy, and intimacy to quickly become a touring juggernaut, playing shows all over the US with bands like The Melvins, Big Business, and The Sword, to name just a few. Residing somewhere between Black Flag and Black Sabbath, Red Fang recall a time when rock was more urgent and horrifying. Synthesizing a variety of heavy music influences into their own distinct musical identity, the band easily shifts from barn-burning punk to mid-tempo, hyper-distorted bass destruction all while maintaining a cohesive sound. Red Fang create gigantic rock songs that are easy to listen to (not easy listening, mind you) and qualify the simultaneous usage of both the thinking and the banging head, which are usually mutually exclusive. Their instrumentation is fluid and effortless, and the vocals are delivered melodically and forcefully, with enough rasp and effect saturation to fit nicely within the music. Paired with elemental imagery, the lyrics are immense and satisfying without any pretense. Classic black vinyl, for Fans of Fu Manchu, Melvins, Clutch, Stoner, Doom & Sludge!

The duo of Godflesh, Justin K Broadrick and Ben Green, augmented by Machines, are seen as a pivotal entity in the world of 'heavy' music, impacting entire cultures of heavy music since the bands inception in 1988. It is regarded as a cultural icon, and its impact can be felt across generations of 'heavy' music, both mainstream and underground. It is credited as being one of the first bands to cross old British industrial music with down tuned primitive minimal metal, accidentally pioneering the 'industrial metal' sound, yet the band has so much more to offer than what that term displays.

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

Spiral Shadow is the fifth full-length album by American sludge metal band Kylesa. A metal band to the bone, Kylesa stomp the clichés right out of psych-rock on Spiral Shadow. The Georgia band's new album, their fifth in less than a decade, is the next step in a pretty seamless evolution that's hidden increasingly complex (and catchy!) music behind an attack that still hits with the in-the-red rawness of hardcore. - Pitchfork

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

Ghost is the name of a devil worshipping ministry, that in order to spread their unholy gospels and, furthermore, trick mankind into believing that the end is ultimately a good thing, have decided to use the ever so popular rock music medium as a way to achieve their ends. Standing motionless and anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes which their sect demand, the six nameless ghouls of Ghost deliver litanies of sexually pulsating heavy rock music and romantic lyrics, that glorify and glamorise the disgusting and sacrilegious, with the simple intention to communicate a message of pure evil via the most effective device they can find - entertainment. In May 2010 Ghost were contracted to a UK based gramophone company called Rise Above Ltd, who swore an oath stating that they will assist the group in the task of spreading their musical blasphemies through formats such as Compact Discs, Long Playing Vinyl Records and Digital Downloading. The first full length Ghost album ‘Opus Eponymous’ will be released in October 2010 and it is understood and agreed that Rise Above Ltd will invest money in areas such as magazine advertising and retail marketing and will employ the services of music publicity specialists in order to expose the music of Ghost to the wider public. Specific attention will be paid to targeting people (research suggests these are most likely to be adolescents) who have a void in their life, perhaps caused by some form of emotional trauma or upset, that can be filled by the music and philosophies of Ghost. In time, these easily manipulated children will come to share the views and goals of the Ghost sect and can prepare their own plans for the downfall of humanity....

"Majesty and Decay" is Immolation's eighth full-length album, originally released 2010. This death metal classic is often cited by fans as the band best album!

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

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

American progressive metal band Cynic's 2010 EP Re-Traced available on 12" vinyl for the first time ever, including a memorial tribute track to the late Sean Malone.

Cynic was formed in Miami, Florida by Paul Masvidal in 1987, incorporating elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal. Their debut album Focus was released in 1993, after which they disbanded in 1994. The comeback in 2006 resulted in the sophomore album Traced in Air (2008), of which the four first songs on Re-Traced are re-interpretations of. Svart Records in co-operation with Cynic now proudly present Re-Traced reborn on a 12" vinyl, including three alternative versions of the songs and liner notes by Martin Popoff.

Paul Masvidal comments the reissue: “Seeing Re-Traced pressed on a legit 12” vinyl is an exciting first, especially with the inclusion of bonus tracks like Sean Malone’s beautiful, never-before-released bass rendition of Wheels Within Wheels and his magical performance on Integral, which I initially released digitally as a memorial tribute to him. The electronic renditions of Traced in Air tracks like Space, Evolutionary and King take the songs into entirely new realms. It’s also synchronistic that I’m now playing these songs in my solo acoustic ambient shows, finally bringing them into a live format. Altogether, it feels quite special to see these two records reborn.”

"Fans of Traced in Air and Cynic in general should buy this. It’s not even a question of whether or not this is worth your time and money. The sheer talent of this band turns me into a blithering fanboy and this EP just gets me excited for more new Cynic." -Angry Metal Guy, 2010

High Roller Records, re-issue 2023, orange/ blue bi-color vinyl, insert, ltd 200

More information coming soon.

Double-Heavyweight 180g Vinyl! Remastered by Scott Hull Gatefoldcover on 300g Paper Printed Innersleeves 30 Tracks, incl. ALL Non-Album Material from 2001-2008 In the meantime, we are pleased to announce, at long last, the discography collection of splits and EPS, entitled "Pulling Out The Nails" (after the first song the band wrote). It will feature 30 tracks, and include ALL non-album material from 2001-2008, including the Overthrow and Dissent EPs, as well as the splits with Structure of Lies, Commit Suicide, Mumakil, and Bathtub Shitter, the Hang em' High 7", live tracks, bonus covers etc. The compilation was remastered by Scott Hull last year. No More words needed.

Chris Spencer, the leader of Unsane, re-activates his noise rock band The Cutthroats 9 with a limited edition LP entitled Dissent on his newly-formed record label Lamb Unlimited. Following a full decade off the grid, San Francisco-based trio The Cutthroats 9 mark their proud re-invasion of the human population once again in 2014. Blending earthy bends and cool, organic harmonics into the bed of foundation-crumbling low-end swagger and massive amplification, Dissent brings The Cutthroats 9 back into the mix in massive style with seven slamming new tracks. With long-time skin-smasher WILL CARROLL (OLD GRANDDAD, DEATH ANGEL) returning to the line-up, and the addition of bassist Tony BaumeisteR (16, Aeges) joining founding guitarist/vocalist Chris Spencer (Unsane, Celan), Dissent was recorded and mixed at Louder Studios with producer Tim Green (Melvins, Bikini Kill, Dystopia, The Fucking Champs, Wolves In The Throne Room) where the band recorded their 2000-released self-titled debut LP, bringing everything full-circle fifteen years later. The LP is limited to 1,000 copies pressed on heavyweight vinyl running at 45 RPM for maximum heaviness.

High Roller Records, reissue 2023, black vinyl, ltd 150, lyric sheet

High Roller Records, reissue 2023, white w/ yellow & red "fire splatter"vinyl, ltd 250, insert