Wormlust reveal new album title

   Last June, Icelandic one-man black metal act Wormlust released its first psychedelic assault The Feral Wisdom that went on to be one of the most touted and praised underground black metal albums of the year. Not even a year later, mastermind H.V Lyngdal is already preparing for a new release. In a facebook status released a few hours ago, Lyngdal says it all:

    Given Lyngdal's stellar track record, this upcoming record is sure to be amazing.

Coffinworm - IV.I.VIII REVIEW

          2014 is shaping up to be one hell of a sludge year. With releases from Thou and Indian already under our belt, and the filth of Lord Mantis, the Body, and The Atlas Moth looming on the horizon, the risk of being asphyxiated by the oppressive undercurrents of these bands' music is in full force. Enter Coffinworm - a Profound Lore act and labelmate of the aforementioned Lord Mantis and the Atlas Moth. The band, which plays abrasive, blackened sludge akin to some of Dopethrone or Wolvhammer's more abrasive moments, have only another album under their belt - 2010's When All Became None, but just a few weeks ago put out their sophomore album IV.I.VIII. While, on the surface, IV.I.VIII seems to be an unremarkable affair - the Ouroborous of the cover art is, at this point, highly cliche when it comes to metal, it nevertheless treads the sordid mire between sludge and black metal in its own unique way.
       While other artists attempt to unite the two genres - equally inaccessible and totally wretched in their own right - with mixed results, Coffinworm move back and forth between the two with surprising alacrity, even ceding to elements that wouldn't fall in either category. Vocalist Dave Britts' versatile vocals move easily and intuitively through bestial, guttural lows during the more churning, rancid sludge passages, but he'll routinely break out with a raspy, eviscerating shriek to add some extra punishment. During the record's more black-metal themed portions, he sometimes resorts to his lower howls. It worked for Archgoat, and it sure as hell works for these guys.
        Meanwhile, the instrumentals serve up a chilling-yet-refreshing variety of traditional sludge festooned with the odd blast-beat or tremolo, or even subsiding into a sickeningly heavy, but clean portion. It's in these moments that Coffinworm really define themselves. Other bands in the same field as them limit the black metal influences to the vocals, but Coffinworm mix traditional black metal riffing and songwriting into their instrumentals as well. 'Instant Death Syndrome' features a curdling mess of distortion and blast beats before erupting into a methodical, crushing riff.
        IV.I.VIII is a record with very little vocal-instrumental cohesion. While that sounds bad, both aspects of the band remain singularly focused on the same objective music-wise, but go through different routes to achieve it. When compared with other doomful acts, which have a very clear sense of direction and can sometimes move into straight-up boring territory (see: Reverend Bizarre), Coffinworm lacks a little bit of that order, and while it's still a mid-tempo nuclear explosion, it somehow manages to be frantic and chaotic. To conclude, for fans of Indian's From All Purity still howling for more and unable to wait for Lord Mantis, the new Coffinworm album is sure to satisfy twisted cravings the world over.
     

Could this be the first mention of a new Leviathan album?

            A few hours ago, Profound Lore posted this image on facebook, captioned mysteriously with '6.10.14':

           
            Rumors have been all over the place, from Pallbearer to Drake, but the most pervasive thought is it's the new Leviathan record. It's been a while since the solo project of Jef 'Wrest' Whitehead has made an appearance in the world of metal - after 2011's lukewarm True Traitor, True Whore burst out of nowhere, Whitehead primarily seemed to be focusing on other projects - including black metal supergroup Twilight and Hate Meditation, a side project of Blake Judd of Nachtmystrium. That's saying nothing of his shocking cover art for Lord Mantis' Death Mask, which is due out next month.
             But it would seem Leviathan is far from dead, and the project's wikipedia page has an ominous 2014 - TBA addition to the list of albums. If this is indeed a new Leviathan album, and it is indeed less than three months away, it's time to get excited.
           

Thou - Heathen REVIEW

        There must be something profoundly horrible lurking in the swamps of Louisiana. Something monstrous and horrifying that shambles through the sweltering bayous by night doing who knows what by the light of the full moon. It's really the only explanation for the inspiration behind most of Thou's music, and their newest album Heathen is no exception. As a band Thou have made a name for themselves for the absolutely insane amount of material the band releases every year - most of which is eventually released for free download on the band's website - and for their fierce commitment to a DIY ethic. Thou are a band who will never prop themselves up with unnecessary frill and pomp, and in a lot of ways this bare-bones attitude makes its way into the band's musical outings.

          Heathen, like its predecessors Summit, Peasant, and Tyrant, is an album based in minimalism - dirty, entrancing, bone-crushingly heavy minimalism. The songs grind at a torturous pace, often caving into looming, cavernous ambient breaks that can last whole minutes. It's a trek through waist-deep southern quicksand, and at over an hour, exhausting accurately describes how to feel upon reaching the end of this record. But unlike previous Thou outings, Heathen has the band both expanding and improving on their previous triumphs. 

           It's been four years since Summit, and although the band have been far from quiet, Heathen nevertheless manages to be a departure both from Summit and from more recent EPs and splits. Quite frankly, this is an album that came out nowhere sound-wise - with the added time allotment Thou have honed - no, perfected - the droning, oppressive passages that made 'Voices in the Wilderness' or 'The Work Ethic Myth' so entrancing. Heathen's opener 'Free Will' is somber but mysterious, eerie but terrifyingly powerful - like the swamp behemoth Thou must be seeing in their backyard. As it builds, gently coaxing the listener through its twilight-stained textures, Bryan Funck's rasped, blackened shriek shatters the near-serenity.

           It bears mentioning that Heathen isn't afraid to turn on the more traditionally sludge elements, but in between the strained crunch of the guitars bizarre melodies somehow find their way out of the oppressive heat. This is where Funck's vocals shine the most - when the rage and undeniable ugliness of his voice fiercely combat the thick-but-sorrowful guitar. And as would be expected, of course, Heathen's lyrics are delightfully philosophical-yet-enraged, with Funck intoning 'So falsely are we led into mired existence, entrapped and sinking in the truest bogs and quicksand of urbanity' on 'Into the Marshland'. 

             What makes Heathen stand out as, debatably Thou's best outing yet, is the contrast the band set up, with enigmatic acoustic sections such as 'Dawn' and a lengthy passage on 'At the Foot of Mt. Driskill' sounding totally out of place before the crushing heaviness returns. The band's vision with this record was to get away from the urban angst of previous outings, instead highlighting the distance that has grown between man and nature thanks to industry.
             There's a duality that takes hold as Heathen rambles on slowly - with traditional sludge riffing, such as in 'In Defiance of the Sages', and Funck's harsh vocals acting in direct opposition to the beautiful swells and melodies that lazily seem to collapse under the crushing heat of the Louisiana summer. Lyrically, 'Feral Faun' calls sidewalks and urbanization 'an everlasting shrine to submission and death'. It's clear to see which side of the fence the band are on.
             Almost every artistic choice made on Heathen works to its credit. The wistful, almost regretful gaze of the eerie album art, the dichotomy set up effortlessly that defines the album to its end, and the eloquence of the band's lyrical delivery all add up to make Heathen an absolute titan of a record. Is it Thou's best? That's likely to become a matter of debate soon, but what Heathen certainly does do is continue the band's tradition for musical excellence.
              This is not an album anyone should miss. To say Heathen will be this year's Sunbather wouldn't be too outlandish of a claim.

ASG release a new single - 'From Beyond'

           

           My favorite North Carolinan riff masters, ASG, have been on my radar for about a year now. Last year, they released Blood Drive to critical acclaim, mixing melody with their signature big, burly riffs and packing a varied enough punch that the record made the year-end lists for lots of sites and publications.
              To my pleasure, then, the band have released a new single - 'From Beyond' that's right out of left field again. At only three and a half-minutes it's horrifically short, but in that brief window the band manage to simultaneously echo their past efforts while interjecting the sensibility of Blood Drive-era songwriting. It's crushingly heavy, and the band this time move at a stolid, mid-tempo pace that veers into straight-up doom domain near the end of the song.
             You can listen to it here.

Black Mare - Field of the Host REVIEW

           

             In 2009, a Californian doom metal band named Black Math Horseman penned a wonderfully bizarre gem, Wyllt, that would go on to be their sole release before disbanding last year. Self-proclaimed 'atmospheric doom' (which to me sounds like slower post-metal, but I digress), Wyllt was notable in that, while it strayed far from the path of metal aesthetically, its dark, plodding rhythms kept Black Math  Horseman firmly rooted in a metallic state of mind. It also served as a window into the mind of frontman Sera Timms, who laced the majority of Wyllt's eerie despair with her spine-tingling vocals.
             Keeping with the equestrian theme, Simms moved on to a solo project called  Black Mare after the release of Wyllt, as well as played in the dark rock band Ides of Gemini. Black Mare's first full length, Field of the Host, saw the light of day last month, and while the memory of Black Math Horseman is alive and well, Field of the Host sees Timms sticking with the most memorable and well-done aspects of Wyllt and fine-tuning them with a trained eye.
              As with Timms' other projects, Field of the Host is a poignantly atmospheric venture. Everything about the music of Black Mare is about projecting itself over a profound distance - from the downplayed drumwork on 'Tearer', to the persistent echo Simms imbues her own haunting voice with. The vocals, in particular, contribute the most to the misty landscapes the album is determined to purvey - though Simms' lyrics are beautifully written and convey the esoteric feel most of her work is known for, the reverb renders most of the lyrics unintelligible. While this sounds like a drawback, it's actually key to the vision of the album, and sounds like it could be a distant gust of wind, or a forgotten voice from deep within the wilderness. The same artistic choice worked to Deafheaven's benefit on Sunbather, or Ash Borer's Cold of Ages, in that it forces the listener into the environment of the music, never wrenching them out with a familiar word.
            The instrumentals on Field of the Host work in exact tandem with Timms' vocals, alternating between eerie (the intro on 'Saturn's Grave') and mysterious ('Cybelle'). The guitar work is, similar to the vocals, absolutely dripping with echo and you can tell the chorus pedal is cranked up to 11. Technically, they drone endlessly through surprisingly-heavy ethereal clouds, while the bass and drums are used minimally and lightly, being extremely far back in the mix and supplying the smallest amount of rhythm that gives Black Mare's songs a sense of inertia as they plod their way through.
             This is an important ability to have when writing minimalist music - while the instrumentation is highly repetitive, and at times even ambient, Black Mare never veers into straight-on inaction a la Sunn O))). Instead, Timms' elegantly looped riffs and tastefully light percussion give the record a sense of direction and purpose as the album continues. Simultaneously, however, Field of the Host flows together exceptionally well, and it's only on second and third listens that you realize how unique and standout each track on this album really is. This is what gives the record its biggest staying power, and the reason I've been listening to it a lot over the past few days - plenty of albums are pretty much only listenable in their entirety, whether it's about flow or continuity, while others, if listened to all at once, are a great way to ruin the record. Field of the Host is excellent when viewed as a unit, or from a song-to-song perspective.
             Field of the Host is music to listen to as the sun comes out after a thunderstorm, or as the snow piles up outside your window. It draws comparison not just to Timms' previous work, but to a whole plethora of other artists from Chelsea Wolfe and Have a Nice Life, to maybe even a little bit of Alcest-ian nostalgia in the empassioned cries of 'Fighting Birds'. For those who enjoy post-rock, dark folk, or just want to space out and want some music to listen to while the sun sets, this record is sure to please.

OPETH are back!

       

        It's been a while since we heard from the pastoral prog gods in Opeth, who left us in 2011 with Heritage, a cardinal sin to metal purists and the band's softest and most unusual release yet. But, it seems, the wait is nearly over. Loudwire reported earlier today that Mikael Akerfeldt aims to have the new Opeth album done by June of this year.

            We've known a new Opeth record is in the works, but know absolutely nothing about it, let alone what it's going to sound like. But as one of the bands that got me into metal, Opeth has me stoked like nothing else for this release, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it no matter what!

Another new Whitechapel song surfaces, NPR stream Thou

         

           Well these are two diametrically opposed acts.

           Whitechapel have raised the hype on their upcoming fifth full-length Our Endless War by releasing a new single, 'Mono'. Compared to 'the Saw is the Law' from a few weeks back, 'Mono' is far more aggressive and fast-paced, echoing the band's pre-2012 work - think A New Era of Corruption with a mite more Suicide Silence-type bubbling fury mixed in. It's a fun listen, culminating in an edgier-than-normal 'KILL YOURSELF!' as Phil Bozeman shows off his insane vocal range. Stream it at AP here.

            Secondly, as the release date of Thou's sonic titan Heathen looms, the album has both already found its way online, courtesy of the band, but in a fit of bizarreness, NPR is streaming the album in its entirety. I haven't checked it out yet, but my school's metal society is having a listening party tomorrow to hear it in its entirety. Stream it here.

           

Year in Review - the Releases of November & December 2013

 Well folks, it's been a long, arduous ride from start to finish, but we are at the end of this retrospective! I hope this has been an informative, semi-comprehensive look back on what had been a truly rich and enjoyable year for music. Now, I have to get caught up on what 2014 has to offer...

Cult of Fire – Ascetic Meditation of Death

Genre: Black Metal

        It's always nice when a fairly uninteresting band really gets their bearings together for their sophomore release – My Bloody Valentine, with their boring debut Isn't Anything and stunning followup Loveless spring to mind as the most striking example – and usually exists in diametric opposition to the so-called 'sophomore slump' which is a definite threat to artists who encounter any modicum of success at the start. One of the best cases for the 'sophomore spike' last year was Cult of Fire, a Czech black metal act with only another album to their name – 2012's Triumvirát. The record suffered from uninteresting ideas, overdone riffs, and an overall lack of memorability. Luckily, 2013 saw Ascetic Meditation of Death (stylized in Tibetan, which I can't type in because my word processor doesn't support) – which took most of black metal's tropes and stood them totally on their head by interjecting Eastern influences.

        Opening track 'Samhara Rakhta Kali', with its mystical sitar-and-throat-warbling-studded intro culminating with the crash of a gong, is a pretty fair indication of what Cult of Fire have in store for you on this record – it's undeniably black metal, but the persistent Eastern instruments give the music a far more unique and unprecedented sense of atmosphere, which, after the unbridled ugliness of Triumvirát, is both unexpected and welcome. Meanwhile, following track 'On the Funeral Pyre of Existence' begins abruptly with a dizzying keyboard zap that erupts into an almost progressive-like blast. Off-kilter melodies careen about in the violent haze, at once out of place but nevertheless fitting.

         With Ascetic Meditation of Death, Cult of Fire both expand their own horizons, as well as pave new ground in a genre many consider done to death. The aforementioned 'On the Funeral Pyre of Existence' features a brief, but nevertheless haunting break which features a solemn melody as flames crackle. The record flows very easily between triumphant marches and Eastern chaos – with the production just murky enough for the sound to drag you into din of battle, but still allows for the commendable percussion of Tom Coroner to shine. For all of their adherence to the doctrine of black metal, Cult of Fire nevertheless manage to squeeze in a bit of cheese to what many would consider quite a novel and artistically meritorious album. Power-metal like synth passages abound – with 'Shava Sadhana' (track 3), 'Kali Ma' (track 4) and 'Khanda Manda Yoga' (track 7) having the most striking examples.

        This is a record that could teach Utah cheese-purveyors Caladan Brood a thing or two about mixing epic and black metal. In many ways Caladan's debut Echoes of Battle echoes (no pun intended) some of the more in-your-face dungeon synth elements of Ascetic Meditation of Death, but while the Americans opted for a more Summoning-centric approach, Cult of Fire brought more 1349 and Dark Funeral to the forefront – the album is a dedication to the Hindu god of death, anyway.

      I could write for hours about how unique, refreshing, and almost fun this album is, but I'll let this brief writeup speak for itself. Rest assured, for fans of black metal, this is not a record to be missed!

Notable Tracks: 'Samhara Rakhta Kali' (track 1), 'Kali Ma' (track 4), 'Gruesome Dance of Death' (track 6).

Whores – Clean

Genre: Noise Rock

        Whores' equally in-your-face band name and bright pink bandcamp page are about as subtle as the music these Atlantans crank out at a breakneck pace on their newest album Clean. With a monstrous, lumbering bass attack combined thick-n-juicy guitar riffs and get-drunk-and-sing-along vocal hooks, Clean has all the features of what seems to be yet another Californian sun-kissed stoner rock album. But while their devil-may-care yelling and disregard for your feelings might scream Fu Manchu, near the end of opener 'Baby Bird', the instruments fall away from vocalist Christian Lembach who fills the empty space with his absolutely furious yell.

        Indeed, the band roughly humps the line between angry stoner rock and a more vicious, almost crust-punk like edge that shows up where you'd least expect – no, not in the bouncy introduction to 'I Am Not a Goal Oriented Person', but later on in the song where things ramp up in sleazy noise and feedback begins to wail.

         There's something raw, primal, and not very pleased that Whores bring to the table with Clean. As Lembach intones “I've had enough” in 'Cougars, not Kittens' before lasping into some more contrite heaviness. 'Cougars' in particular plays with a light/heavy dynamic that makes every punishing punch the band throw that much more emphatic.

        If bands like Every Time I Die and Teethmarks make you happy, give this record a spin. Definitely a fun time, and at not even 40 minutes it's over all too soon.

Notable Tracks: 'I Am Not a Goal Oriented Person”, 'Blue Blood', 'Baby Bird'.

Weekend Nachos – Still

Genre: Powerviolence

        Along with Nails, hilariously-named Chicago powerviolence collective Weekend Nachos put out one of the must talked-about and eagerly-anticipated powerviolence outings of the year. But while Nails' brutal, uncompromising Abandon All Life rushed through its 17 minutes of pure aural annihilation, Weekend Nachos' Still adds an element of spasticity to its approach that lets it pull ahead of the pack. Despite barely cracking the 20 minute mark, the method to Still's madness is to pack in as much brutality and ugliness as possible, with the band moving effortlessly between more traditional hardcore riffs and hazy, almost sludgey passages. Amazingly, there are some spare seconds that the band fills with a sinister build up before erupting into everyone's favorite blend of rapid, chunky hardcore – 'Satan Sucker', despite being barely two minutes long, manages to cram in a definitive beginning, middle, and end, with easy distinction marking the difference.

          What sets Still apart from previous Nachos outings is, foremostly, that the grindcore element of their more guttural and wretched records like Worthless and Torture is toned down in lieu of sweltering crust that would make Amebix and Rorschach proud. 'Watch You Suffer''s devilish crust riffing that explodes into a protracted, howling break is Still's prime example, and at 3 minutes 25 seconds, it's among the record's longer pieces, and features Weekend Nachos doing the unthinkable – slowing down for a devastatingly heavy hardcore pummeling as feedback warbles heighten the intensity before the storm comes crashing down again with 'Wolves'.

         This gives Still both a unique flavor among Weekend Nachos' discography, and allows for some definitive 'fuck yeah' moments now that the band's vocals are actually comprehensible – they even threw in a song called 'You're Not Punk' to definitively stick it to the posers. There isn't a single track on Still that feels out of place, and for powerviolence fans it's definitely not a record to miss.

        Notable Tracks: 'Satan Sucker', 'Yes Way', 'Broken Mirror'.

Year of No Light – Tocsin

Genre: Post-Metal

          Year of No Light have, by themselves, one of the most unique track records of any post-metal acts on the market. Their discography, as of writing, is comprised of 2008's lengthy Nord, the effervescently crushing Ausserwelt, and, unexpectedly enough, a score for the classic horror movie Nosferatu the band wrote in 2012 (Vampyr). In any case, the band is known for their bleak, frigid, and massive soundscapes that seem to grow even larger with every release. Their newest effort, Tocsin, is no different, and as it moves between somber clean and torturous distorted guitar on the opening title track, it's readily apparent that Year of No Light have been methodically moving towards a droning, almost funeral doom-like approach to their music. This is a switch characterized by the abandonment of post-metal's more ethereal, hazy instrumentation, and instead, layering emotionally destructive patterns atop one another to create a dark, raw epic.

        As with the Body's Christs, Redeemers, Tocsin further highlights post-metal's sludge roots, plowing resolutely through some punishingly heavy bass mires as multiple guitars swirl about impossibly above. As 'Tocsin' moves into 'Géhenna', the mire contracts, exploding into a blinding, piercing net of light that seems to move everywhere at once.

         The vivid imagery I'm painting with the music isn't flighty chance – Tocsin is an incredibly evocative record that never quite lets up the intensity, even in its more airy moments. For as serene as most of the instrumentals are on the record, the pervasive sense of desolation paints everything with a shade of grey, and the heaviness of bassist Johan Sébenne anchors most of the album in emotional negativity. Also to the band's credit, Tocsin is a fully instrumental album – which cuts out the potential flop of the band's vocals, thereby allowing the music to flow out in its entirety and strangle you without being jolted back to the reality.

Tocsin feels very much like the soundtrack to the end of the world – whole sagas start and end in each massive song, and when the record is played in its entirety it's absolutely wonderful to behold. Electronic elements, as in Altar of Plagues' Teethed Glory & Injury, are used sparingly, and only when necessary to heighten the bleakness Year of No Light are purveying. When listening to Tocsin, it feels as though everything has its own place – every song stands on its own, even as most top ten minutes and scrape fifteen – and each is a finely orchestrated, searing narrative of the apocalypse.

        To conclude, this is not an album you want to miss out on. Here's to hoping we don't have to wait another four years for a new Year of No Light record.

Celeste – Animale(s)

Genre: Black Metal/Post-Hardcore

       Celeste as a band have faced a number of struggles over the years – the French act have three previous albums to their name, each more monstrous and hulking than the next, but anyone who has listened to Celeste's material can tell you one thing – the band's records tend to blur together, with very little to tell them apart. Though this problem was slightly remedied on 2010's Morte(s) Nee(s), Celeste still had quite a ways to go before sitting through an album of theirs was refreshing rather than redundant.

        Thus, it came as a bit of surprise when the band announced last year that their upcoming effort Animale(s) would be a two-disc feature clocking in at over an hour and a half. Animale(s) is a concept album about two youngsters falling out of love very quickly – not new ground by any means, but the band's excellent, genre-bending songwriting works wonders for getting around what's by now a fairly hackneyed narrative. Unfortunately, though, there is a limit to how much the band pushes the envelope. In a lot of ways, Animale(s) stumbles on the same grounds previous Celeste outings did – it's not a very interesting album at all. When contrasted with Year of No Light's tasteful, varied songwriting, Celeste simply don't hold up. Musically, however, their nationality, however, is the last thing Celeste and YONL have in common – Animale(s) is a malevolent, rage-ridden mess that, past its forlorn, echoing introduction, is totally unafraid to demolish everything in its way.

        Celeste draw influence primarily from the darkness of black metal and emotional wretchedness of post-hardcore, putting both together in ways you wouldn't expect – ever heard black metal with semi-hardcore vocals? Look no further than the record's first minutes. Ever wonder what would happen if Converge listened to less Black Flag and more Celtic Frost? Celeste indulge that thought experiment. The intensity the band are now known for is back full-force in Animale(s), and even though it's wholly punishing and overwhelmingly brutal, it really is the band's only trick up their sleeve, and for the entire 90 minutes it's played out ad nauseum.

        Trying to make it through Animale(s) is difficult. Extremely so. After about ten minutes and your anger is purged, the band's lack of variety becomes one of its most defining characteristics and everything falls apart for them. It's wholly unfortunate, because if Celeste had a few more ideas they'd be writing some truly fascinating music, but instead their newest record sounds undeniably like their other three.

The Agonist part ways with vocalist Alissa White-Gluz, who has joined Arch Enemy

       

       Rumblings in the world of melodeath today!

        Angela Gossow, who has been with Swedish melodeath act Arch Enemy for almost fourteen years, officially parted ways with the band for unknown reasons. Her replacement was announced, just as suddenly, as Alissa White-Gluz of the renowned French Canadian band the Agonist. The Agonist, in turn, have signed Greek vocalist Vicky Psarakis as White-Gluz's replacement. Psarakis has been in a previous band called E.V.E which I have never heard of, but here's to hoping she'll be great!

        As a side note, where the hell have Arch Enemy been the past few years? It feels like this is the first news from them in quite a while...

Sargeist premiere new song, album release date

 

   In 2012, Finnish black metal masters Sargeist released what many consider to be one of the best albums the scene has ever seen - Let the Devil In's tasteful, mild symphonic elements and silvery production were a complete departure from the raw, primal, bestial metal the band played in the same vein as their countrymen in Horna, Archgoat, and others, and garnered the attention and admiration of extreme metal fans the world over.
      Today the band announced that they have a new album, entitled Feeding the Crawling Shadows, to be released at the end of the month, and released a new single - 'The Shunned Angel'. From just this brief glimpse into the band's new material, it seems Let the Devil In may have been a one-time affair - 'the Shunned Angel' is grim and icy, but the most notable element is the evil production and the slight echo to vocalist Hoath Torog's maniacal screech as it moves between a high-pitched shriek and a more mid-range bellow. It's a blast of a song, and when you remember that Feeding the Crawling Shadows will see the light of day in four weeks, it's hard not to get a little excited.

     You can listen to 'the Shunned Angel' here, courtesy of Stereogum.

EVERY TIME I DIE HAVE A NEW RECORD IN THE WORKS

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!