Concert Review: Empty Chalice, Bezaliel, Varulf, Cardinal and Nøkken at Chris' New Harbor Bar (May 31, 2025)

    On May 31st, 2025 darkness descended upon the Bay Area, specifically the city of Belmont, CA where an unholy gathering took place featuring five utterly malevolent bands. Empty Chalice, Cardinal, Bezaliel, Varulf and Nøkken, looked to unleash some cranial shattering riffs and unapologetically blasphemous songs for the fiendish audience in attendance to savor. 

    The show took place at Chris' New Harbor Bar located in Belmont, CA which for all of those unfamiliar with the Bay Area, is a city just south of San Francisco on the San Francisco Peninsula. So unlike going to a show in San Francisco, you don’t have to worry about stepping in human feces and there aren’t hipsters on bikes riding right in front of your goddamn car. Anyway, I have to say that the venue was a perfect place for this type of underground black metal show and I thought the intimate atmosphere inside ended up being a huge benefit during each band’s set. 

    Opening the show was, Nøkken, from the shadowy woods of Boulder Creek, CA. I thought that they did a tremendous job starting the show off by getting the audience to bang their heads to the monstrous riffs. Right from the beginning, the band’s guitarist was utterly possessed as he hammered away at his guitar and he played with such ferocity throughout their set. The drummer also provided some ear shattering rhythms from behind the kit and definitely kept the music fearsomely moving without missing a beat. Plus, the band’s singer really captured the early 90’s black metal aesthetic both in terms of his vocal style as well as his overall image. Seeing him screaming into the mic with the corpse paint on looking like a tortured soul from beyond, just perfectly complimented the band’s misanthropic lyrical content. For my first time seeing them live, I thought the sounded solid and would definitely be down to see them again. 

Nøkken

    The second band, Cardinal, was a band that I had heard of before after watching a video of them playing at an ice cream shop in San Jose. Yes, there was a black metal show at an ice cream shop, probably because the Vietnamese coffee shop in San Jose was hosting an illegal gambling party that night. Now, I think what makes this band standout compared to a lot of other up and coming raw black metal bands is that they have an actual keyboard player coming up with some haunting keyboard arrangements during their songs. I have to say that all four members sounded extremely tight and know how to play their instruments. Also, the malevolent sounds of the keyboard contrasting with the savage guitar riffs sounded great live. Their sound reminded me a bit of what you can hear on Nokturnal Mortum’s “Lunar Poetry,” where the keyboards lull you into this false sense of security and eventually you become overwhelmed by the insanely intense raw compositions flowing at you with this pure evil synergy. Cardinal is a band that I really hope gets around to making a full-length album, because with their creative mindset and sinister passion for black metal, I bet that they could craft some profoundly diabolical tracks.  

Cardinal

    After Cardinal finished their set, the third band, Varulf, from San Jose started setting up for their pulverizing black metal onslaught. At first the ear piercing sounds of feedback and technical challenges delayed them from launching into their first song, however, once they got everything going there was no stopping this band’s demonically brutal energy. Right away, the dual vocals provided by the band’s singer and the band's bassist/singer amplified the music as they each growled mercilessly over the chaotic arrangements. Both guitarists played with tremendously ravenous passion as they hammered out evil sounding chord progressions. Varulf did not let off the pedal once as they continuously dealt out cataclysmic song after song. I feel Varulf is a band highly worth checking out live, because they know how to put on a non-stop adrenaline pumping performance. 

Varulf

    The fourth band on the bill was, Bezaliel, an evil act trio from the Bay Area that played their set with candles, incense burning and red siren lights flashing to establish a very ritualistic atmosphere, which I do believe visually looked great. Also, the bassist was all decked out in chains and spikes, but I must admit unlike some black metal musicians who have the look down yet cannot play their instruments to save their lives, this guy could play like a maniac. There were a couple songs where the bass player laid down some wicked sounding bass parts to inject a juggernaut sized boost of low-end brutality. Also, Bezaliel conjured up some punishing riffs that started getting people moshing around, so I thought that even after three previous bands the crowd was still going strong if they were running around pumping into each other. 

Bezaliel

    The final band of the evening, Empty Chalice, traveled all the way down from Victoria B.C., Canada and this black metal horde is so insanely malevolent and down right badass that they gave Justin Trudeau such terrible nightmares that some say it was why Trudeau decided to resign. If you have been following this blog I have reviewed some of Empty Chalice’s demos in the past, so for me I was very excited to finally see them live, especially after the release of their new demo Violated Oaths. As the members launched into the first song I could tell that they were ready to raise some hell. The two guitar attack provided by the band’s two guitarists provided some deafening riffs as the band’s bassist would also follow along sadistically strike his bass. At one point the drummer from Empty Chalice was playing so fast that one of his drum sticks flew out of his hand and went right by my head, but he pulled out another one and kept feverishly drumming away. During their set the band’s singer did a great job interacting with the crowd between songs trying to get people to headbanging and even took off his noose which was around his neck and then put it on someone who was not banging their head. The band did a killer cover of Marduk’s “Baptism by Fire,” as that is off of one of my favorite Marduk albums, so it was cool that they incorporated into their set. Overall, Empty Chalice sounded brutal and gave the audience a wicked set, so hope that they can comeback to the Bay Area in the future. 

Empty Chalice

    In the end, I thought all the bands sounded extremely solid and the crowd always seemed to be engaged. Unlike some shows where people only go to see their friends play and then just leave, I thought the people in attendance who were passionate fans of extreme underground music stuck around to appreciate what these bands had to offer. I definitely look forward to seeing what these bands have in the works and would recommend checking them out. The Bay Area like a lot places across the US has definitely seen a decline in the availability of venues for extreme metal music, so shoutout to the people who put on this show and Chris' New Harbor Bar for hosting this event. Also, anytime there is a Bay Area metal show and I don't have to drive into SF is a huge win, because when a city has an app that tracks the areas where people poop on the street, that is a place that I like to avoid. 

Empty Chalice Bandcamp:

https://emptychalicebm.bandcamp.com/

Cardinal Bandcamp:

https://c666.bandcamp.com/music

Bezaliel Bandcamp:

https://bezaliel.bandcamp.com/

Nøkken Bandcamp:

https://nokkensemperviren.bandcamp.com/album/demo-1

Prophetic Suffering “Rivalry of Thyself”

    The nefariously barbaric death metal outfit, Prophetic Suffering, sets out to pave a pathway of unforgiving brutality with the release of their debut full-length album, “Rivalry of Thyself.” The Edmonton-based band draws influence from the profane death metal acts of the early to mid 90's, yet also mixes in some harsh black metal elements to achieve an utterly grotesque and pulverizing sound. 

    Following up their 2022 demo release, the band will be working with Sentient Ruin to unleash their debut full-length upon the extreme metal world on May 9th. I strongly believe that the band’s savage artistic vision aligns well with the other inhumanely insidious acts on the Sentient Ruin roster. Their sound and approach on this album is all about hammering out sadistically ruthless death metal riffs, while also finding ways to violently alter their arrangements by incorporating these agonizing dissonant noises. The vocals on this release add to the gruesome imagery, and sound as if they were recordings captured from some blackened abyss where fiendish creatures attempt to viciously claw their way of the obsidian like darkness. Similar to a lot of other profoundly brutal up and coming death metal acts drawing influence from the monstrous old school bands that paved the way, Prophetic Suffering offers up a plethora of ear shattering rhythms and deafening drum work. The production quality and sound of the drums on this album is unbelievably catastrophic sounding at times. 

    The eight tracks featured on the album are all merciless pieces of death metal music conveying a primitively aggressive nature that never strays away from the band’s pestilent vision. For example the opening song, “Holy Death, Sacred Rot,” is a punishing introduction to the band's vile sound that stirs up these cyclone like riffs of entropic destruction. During the song you can really hear the bass as the notes seem to ring out along to the devastating drumming. Of course, the guitar playing is down right incinerating throughout the song, and the overwhelming rush of brutal and dissonant sounds coming from the guitars seems to be fueled by an endless amount of sinister adrenaline. There are songs on this album like "Foul” and “Gift of Decay,” where the band does not waste a moment of time by feverishly blasting out short death metal tracks to completely overload your ears these monolithic bursts of putrid death metal. 

    On the track, “East Prey (Weakness Defined),” I liked how the band maintained their simple barbaric approach, which allowed the singer to deliver a hellish performance to compliment the relentlessly aggressive guitar and drum attack. Another creative moment during the song was as the band was going all out with their musical onslaught toward the end of the song, an explosion rocked the soundscape and then the following sounds were of church bells ringing which I thought really stood out. The final two song, “Rivalry of Thyself” and “Oppressor Beheaded,” are two abhorrent offerings evoking more of that same hateful energy that can be heard on the previous tracks. “Oppressor Beheaded,” is an insanely sinister track with some dynamically terrifying riffs and lead parts to create an unapologetic nightmarish atmosphere for the vocalist to unleash all these monstrous growls. 

    Instead of going for the over the top progressive death metal approach to where you become confused by the pointless shredding and odd time signatures, Prophetic Suffering decided to keep the music down right horrifically brutal on, “Rivalry of Thyself.” I highly recommend checking out Prophetic Suffering if you are a fan of abhorrent extreme metal music, especially given that they are working with one of the top underground labels in the extreme music world for their debut full-length release. In the end, I would saty that this is definitely not band looking to push the technical boundaries of extreme metal, but instead they are looking to walk right up to people and manically punch them in the face with a mighty fistful of unfathomable brutality. 

Check out the song "Gift of Decay" below:

Link to Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/rivalry-of-thyself

Moonlight Haze “Beyond”

 

    The Italian symphonic power metal act, Moonlight Haze, once again conjures up an epic sounding journey across bombastic musical landscapes accompanied by plenty of awe-inspiring vocals and utterly catchy sounding riffs. For their fourth full-length album, “Beyond,” which will be released May 23rd through Scarlet Records, the band continues to enhance their overall sound which allows them to further explore their extremely deep and meaningful lyrical content. 

    Personally, I am very particular about symphonic power metal with a majority of the modern acts not really appealing to me given the lack of substance along with the repetitive sounding formula that has been beaten to death within the sub-genre. Also, I feel a lot of acts tend to put too much focus putting on their Renaissance Faire attire and they end up writing some very forgettable sounding songs. Such is not the case with Moonlight Haze, and after hearing their 2021 release, “Animus,” I could tell that they took their craft seriously and put effort into writing some profoundly passionate pieces of music. “Beyond,” isn’t just another step forward for the band, as I really feel as though they are taking a massive leap forward with this new material. 

    One of the areas on this new album that I noticed right away were the heavier elements added to their sound, thus injecting a more old school metallic edge at times. Also, vocalist Chiara Tricarico delivers another outstanding performance by showing off here magnificent range that confidently soars over the melodic instrumental arrangements. The guitar playing on this release is on point and the leads are fluid yet never over crowd the soundscape to where you find yourself bogged down by endless amounts of pointless shredding. Guitarists Marco Falanga and Alberto Melinato are talented players that come-up with some catchy sounding riffs that can deliver a more fiery flare when needed by throwing into some blazing solos, or an extra dose of heavy crushing riff sections. 

    The album’s opening song, “Beyond,” is a very calming introducing featuring a soothing piano arrangement accompanied by Chiara’s captivating vocals. I thought the intro’s ethereal overall tone was a perfect way to begin the album, especially considering the shift in terms of heaviness that can be heard on the album’s second track, “Tame the Storm.” I would say that, “Tame the Storm,” is definitely a more dynamically intense track and one that takes on a more fearsome old school power metal sound. Also, I was impressed by how Chiara’s vocals seem to naturally adapt to the music when the band transitions from a melodic section to a heavier sounding part. The same can be said on the song, “Chase the Light,” where the opening rhythm is utterly crushing, which I would attribute to drummer Giulio Capone’s monstrous drumming from behind the kit. From the energetic melodic lead guitar playing to vibrant chorus sections, the music just flows with such a graceful synergy. 

    Now, as much as I enjoyed the album’s heavier moments, I must admit that the calmer and more uplifting tracks are not to be ignored. One of the most deep and meaningful song’s off the album is, “L'eco Del Silenzio.” At first Chiara sings in English over a somber acoustic arrangement, but then she transitions into singing into Italian which I thought really strengthened the track’s bewitching sound. Another song that caught my attention was, “D.N.A. (Do Not Apologize),” with its scorching riffs and epic chorus where Chiara delivers a strong vocal performance. The final two songs on the album, "Time to Go," and "Awakening," are also very well recorded tracks featuring more brilliant symphonic power metal compositions as well as these truly electrifying chorus sections. 

    Overall, the “Beyond” is probably Moonlight Haze’s most sonically and lyrically impressive albums to date. The production on this album is extreme solid and I can tell that having the assistance of the highly skilled music producer Sascha Paeth made a significant impact on the final mix. If you happen to be a fan who enjoy symphonic power metal then I would highly recommend checking out Moonlight Haze. The band seems to really be pushing themselves in terms of their songwriting skills and musical abilities, which I could definitely hear loud and clear on this new album.  

Checkout the video for the song "Chase the Light" below:

Moonlight Haze website:

https://www.moonlighthaze.com/

Samiarus “Reign Destroyer”

 

    The debut EP from the sadistic SF Bay Area based black/death horde, Samiarus, is an inhumanely punishing release that seeks to land a profoundly devastating blow upon the world of extreme music. Titled, “Reign Destroyer,” the debut EP is a vile concoction containing some of the most profoundly extreme and down right unapologetic elements known to those within the underground music community.  

    Featuring members from Bay Area bands like Abstracter, Mentor, Doomsday, Abnutivum, Meth Sores, Flesh Dungeon and Slaughteruin, all of these accomplished extreme metal musicians in Samiarus really deliver a vicious decree of aural hostility. Right away I noticed the influence of war metal acts like Blasphemy and Archgoat, but I also could hear the anarchist punk/hardcore elements that seemed to fuel the band’s defiantly raw and savage vision. From the start of the EP, you are instantly hooked by the harsh surreal sounds of a world thrown into bleak entropic turmoil, which is eventually consumed by an utterly deafening riff onslaught. Songs like, “New Iron Age” and “Torment’s Spear,” feature plenty of bestial compositions as well as these horrifying vocals from the band's lead singer. I thought the vocals perfectly complimented the chaotic instrumental compositions by adding to the music’s agonizingly apocalyptic atmopshere. 

    Even though there are only seven tracks featured on the album, you feel as though you are constantly being overwhelmed by the band’s ferocious energy during each song. Also, unlike some of these modern black/death war metal bands that do nothing but mindlessly hammer away at recycled Blasphemy riffs, Samiarus really offers up something more with their sound and approach to writing songs. For example the song, “Throne Devoured,” is a monstrous piece of extreme music featuring some pulverizing rhythms, especially from the band’s fiendish drummer. The level of intensity from the beginning of the track until the end is almost unfathomable. “Crushed by Inferior,” is another solid track which once again contains some solid sinister guitar work while unleashing an aggressive sonic assault aimed at crippling the corrupt foundations working to oppress society. The album’s last track, “Exitium,” served as this more nightmarish industrial sendoff after all the decimating black/death metal riffs, and I thought the track was a clever way to finish off the album. 

    Overall, Samiarus did not waste one moment on this debut EP and they definitely left a ruthless everlasting mark when recording of this release. “Reign Destroyer,” is being released through Sentient Ruin on April 25th, so if you are a fan of extreme underground music then you better go get yourself a copy. I can honestly say that there are no half-ass compositions on this release, which is rare when you have so many extreme metal bands coming up with releases lacking substance, or just following trends to get noticed. Samiarus proves to be a band driven my uncompromising artistic ethos, which is why I would consider their debut EP to be one of the best extreme metal releases of this year so far. 

Check out the song "New Iron Age" below:

Link to Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/

Pale Cremation “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984]”

    Having snuck some recordings out of a secret underground base similar to the one from Resident Evil: Retribution minus the Russian zombie soldiers that knew how to operate motorcycles, Pale Cremation was able to obtain these never before heard recordings from 1984. Titled, “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” the latest Pale Cremation album is one of the most diverse sounding releases to date and the plethora of different influences perfectly captures the dynamic mindset of the artist behind this release. 

    The mastermind behind Pale Cremation, Matt Lasserre, conjures up yet another out of this world sounding creation by bringing together a variety of different musical styles on each of the eight tracks. Pale Cremation’s early releases were very much grounded in old school doom metal and hard rock, but with the last few releases I feel as though Matt has incorporated more old school progressive rock elements into his music along with more experimentation with synths and ambient noises. On “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” Matt really embraces the sci-fi horror world by composing some very cinematic synth arrangements that pays homage to the film scores from 70’s and 80’s sci-fi horror movies. The most notable movie being, John Carpenter’s The Thing, which is referenced on the tracks, “Mimic” and “Indistinguishable to Human Eyes.” During the song, “Indistinguishable to Human Eyes,” you can hear audio clips from the movie while Matt unleashes a decimating doom onslaught mixed with hypnotic synth breaks wedged between the heavy sounding riff barrage.  

    On this album, Matt has drummer Anders Wienerholden handling the drum parts and coming up with some punishing rhythms to complement the bombastic metallic sounding riffs. The opening track, “Walls of Ice,” is very surreal sounding with this frantic build-up of drums and guitar that seems to create an atmosphere of sheer terror and suspense. I would even say that there are some trippy industrial arrangements sprinkled throughout the album, which definitely strengthens the album’s sci-fi horror/government cover-up theme. “Indistinguishable to Human Eyes,” is a great example of a horrifying industrial/doom metal like track, especially when you hear Kurt Russell’s voice from The Thing being heard right before a savage arrangement shatters the soundscape. 

    Speaking more on the cinematic emphasis that seems to be very prevalent throughout the album, tracks like “Eldritch Prophecy” and “”Shodan,” are both very futuristic sounding synth wave style tracks that I could almost see being used as the music for video games. “Shodan,” especially reminded me of something from a haunting sci-fi video game, or even an 80’s horror film John Carpenter might have worked on, because the song has that utterly bewitching synth sound. For listeners who prefer more hard hitting riffs Matt has you covered with tracks like, “Malevolent Cosmic Forms” and “Communion,” that contain some heavy sounding psychedelic progressive rock structures. I have to say that, “Communion,” was one mind-altering listening experience and the lead guitar parts provided by Eric Doyle were down right mesmerizing as the notes rang out over the cataclysmic compositions. 

    Overall, “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” has to be one of the most creative releases from Pale Cremation that vividly demonstrates Matt’s talents, as well as his eclectic musical influences. I think this album can be something a wide range of people will find fascinating given the mixture of heavy metal, progressive rock and synth wave used to strengthen the album’s themes about malevolent extraterrestrial lifeforms trying to overtake humanity. One day when the world meets it’s inevitable fate at the hands of some superior galactic race, they will discover Pale Cremation’s “Communion [Soviet Tapes 1984],” and realize that humans were not all useless sacks of insufferable crap like that damn Hawk Tuah Girl, or those douchey frat boy podcasters. 

Check out the entire album below via 666MrDoom's Channel:

Link to Pale Cremation's Bandcamp:

https://palecremation.bandcamp.com/album/communion-soviet-tapes-1984