Ceremonial Bloodbath “Genesis of Malignant Entropy”

    Sentient Ruin has already released a plethora of unfathomably brutal releases this year, however Ceremonial Bloodbath’s sophomore release “Genesis of Malignant Entropy,” is the apex album when pertaining to raw inhuman brutality. Based out of Vancouver BC, Canada, Ceremonial Bloodbath’s savage scorched-earth blackened death metal style is on a completely different level, and the band's new material looks to take the underground metal community by overwhelmingly unapologetic force. 

    Ceremonial Bloodbath's debut full-length album which was also released through Sentient Ruin, “The Tides of Blood,” is a monstrous sounding release featuring some unbelievably pestilent sounding cuts of gruesome blackened death metal along with some extremely insidious lyrical themes. If you enjoy pulverizing sadistic music similar to that of Bestial Warlust, Blasphemy, Archgoat and Beherit, then you will be instantly hooked by Ceremonial Bloodbath’s music. On this new album, these ruthless Canadian extreme metal musicians come up with even more apocalyptically devastating tracks by continuing where they left off on, “The Tides of Blood,” and going further into the deafening chaotic sounding realms of unspeakable demonic horror. 

    From the instant you start listening to this album, you feel as though you have stepped into some unholy wasteland where there is still this inhumanly savage sounding massacre taking place. The opening track, “The Ritual of Unholy Descent,” establishes a haunting atmosphere of pure surrealistic sounding horror to paint this lifeless dominion which has been incinerated through mass slaughter. On the second track, “Exhumation of the Ominous,” the band aggressively launches into a destructive sounding arrangement featuring some feverish drumming and savage riffs. The drumming on this album is utterly ear shattering and adds to the album’s catastrophic vision by fueling the band’s abhorrent drive with gruesome bone crushing rhythms. 

    Along with the primordial rhythms and barbaric guitar playing, I thought the vocals on this album were really sinister sounding and perfectly complimented the compositions. During the third track, "Bloodlust Raids of Vengeance,” I really thought that the hateful sounding vocals damned your full attention as the band hacked away at these sickening riff progressions. Another area of this album that I thought the band excelled at was incorporating some of those Bolt Thrower like lead parts into the bludgeoning mix, especially the frantic guitar solo towards the end of, “Bloodlust Raids of Vengeance.” One of the my favorite songs off of the album, “The Boneless One,” is another entropic exploration into the blackened death metal void that paints a horrendously bestial landscape where all light has been devoured by dark ageless entities. 

    Throughout this entire album I do not believe that the band ever failed to deliver a profoundly brutal sounding piece of music. Tracks like “Caustic Invocation” and “Dissonance of Morbidity,” convey such ferociously festering emotions that you become hopelessly trapped in this distorted sounding bombardment. I would say, “Mutilation of Sacrifice” is another exceptional cut of morbid brutality that appeared on the band’s 2021 demo titled, “Mutilation of Sacrifice.” I think the song perfectly fits into this album’s abysmal theme by really putting an emphasis on those agonizing riff sections as well as the blistering lead parts. For the final track on the album, “The Invocation of the Tomb of Mankind,” the band concludes by creating these terrifying cinematic sounds that makes you feel as if you are standing all alone on a deserted dark plain after witness some tragic event unfold. This feeling of complete solitude and frightening isolation is a surprising way to end an album after hearing such crushing sounding arrangements, but in the end that is what I think makes this final track vividly standout. 

    Overall, “Genesis of Malignant Entropy,” is an extremely sadistic offering and ventures into an even more hellacious direction musically, which is saying something given how much profoundly dark abhorrent energy can be heard on the band's first release. In my opinion, Ceremonial Bloodbath is one of the most destructively omniscient sounding blackened death metal acts around, and they have really worked hard to achieve a malevolent sound. I highly recommend that you check this album out as I do believe, “Genesis of Malignant Entropy,” will be making its way on some top ten lists for this year, because when all is said and done there is no denying this band’s truly raw ritualistic blackened death metal talents. 

Check out the song "Bloodlust Raids of Vengeance" below:

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/genesis-of-malignant-entropy

Ceremonial Bloodbath Bandcamp:

https://ceremonialbloodbath.bandcamp.com/music

Ch’Ahom “Knots of Abhorrence”

    There is much to be said about the raw surrealistic brutality which Ch’Ahom diabolically explores throughout their debut full-length release, “Knots of Abhorrence.” The band’s sadistic blend of savage ritualistic bestial blackened death metal with mind bending progressive elements creates a vividly abhorrent tale that travels deep into the dark jungles where malevolent forces dwell amongst the ancient mysterious ruins. 

    What impressed me most from these German extreme metal musicians was how well they captured the album’s theme by incorporating some ritualistic tribal noises to create these haunting hallucinogenic moments right before they would launch into a brutal sounding blackened death metal onslaught. The monumental riffs sections mixed with the constant nerve shattering rhythms from the band’s insanely talented drummer, really establishes this violent and unpredictable extreme sounding atmospheres. 

    From the very beginning of this album until the end, each of the five tracks hooks you with such aggressively raw force. The profound sonic exploration into the ancient Mayan lore and ritualistic themes is what I picked up right away when I started listening to the first track, “Xibalba.” You become completely frozen with fear by the primitive drum sounds and ceremonial flutes as if you are walking into a spiritual ritual that begins to unfold into something even darker once the gritty guitar distortion slowly creeps in and eventually kicks into a monstrous death metal assault. Ch’Ahom does a really great job when pertaining to how they transition from the slow riff sections to the more intense arrangements where you feel as though you are being viciously torn apart as the music ruthlessly evolves. 

    The band's fiendish and horrifying extreme metal mindset continues on the second track, “Chavín de Huántar,” which is another pulverizing piece of metal music featuring some utterly deafening rhythms along with some insanely frantic guitar solos. The lead guitar playing throughout this album is another crucial factor in establishing such an unfathomably brutal sound, and in my opinion the lead parts on, “Path to Ixtab,” perfectly compliments the juggernaut sized riffs. “Path to Ixtab,” is an extraordinary bestial beatdown that contains some really agonizing arrangements which reminded me of bands like Beherit, Necrovore and Archgoat. 

    The final two songs on the album, “Knots of Abhorrence I and Knots of Abhorrence II,” are both solid tracks containing more fearsome riffs and decimating drum parts, yet the band keeps standing out amongst most modern metal bands by passionately pursuing their sinisterly creative vision. I really believe that the overall execution and production on the final two tracks solidifies this album as one of the best extreme conceptual releases to come out this year.  Towards the end of, “Knots of Abhorrence II,” you start feel as though everything around you is imploding as the lead guitarist tears through these entropic sounding scales. 

    Sentient Ruin will be responsible for releasing this ritualistic blackened death metal beast upon the metal world, so make sure to mark your calendars for November 3rd when the album is to be released. “Knots of Abhorrence,” is a strong debut album and Ch’Ahom is a band that demonstrates some truly talented extreme music making skills. Also, the creativity that went into developing the album's lyrical themes is another reason why this album makes for a solid listening experience from start to finish. I highly look forward to how the band will build off of this album's strong execution and vivid lyrical themes on future releases, but for now I shall rejoice in the ceremonial sonic carnage that can be heard on this debut album. 

Check out the track, "Knots of Abhorrence I," below:

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/

Old Tower “Draconic Synthesis”

    From out of the pestilent dark esoteric shadows comes an ominous new recording from Old Tower titled, “Draconic Synthesis.” On this new release the one-man dungeon synth artist known as, The Specter, continues to establish Old Tower as one of the most profound dungeon synth and ambient acts around by creating terrifyingly gloomy atmospheres where all light is devoured by a supreme dark presence. 

    “Draconic Synthesis,” is slightly similar to previous Old Tower releases in which The Specter composes these vividly haunting landscapes that convey a very cinematic like feel. Old Tower’s previous full-length album, “The Old King of Witches,” was a sinisterly mesmerizing tale that took listeners into an almost otherworldly dark sounding realm featuring some unbelievably bone chilling sounds and spectral synth arrangements. The early Old Tower releases definitely focus on a more old school dungeon synth approach, which I would say pays homage to acts like Mortiis and Secret Stairways. However, with each new album I cannot but stress how The Specter’s malevolent vision has started to venture into an even more nightmarish direction, thus making the new recordings profoundly haunting at times. 

    On this new album, The Specter dives deep into the shadowy soundscapes that can be heard on past recordings, but this world seems to be even more mysterious and even more diabolic as you listen to each song. The album’s opening track,“Draconic Arcanum,” slowly begins with these hauntingly uncomfortable noises, as if you are slowly entering a bleak underground world hidden from the rest of normal society. As the ritualistic sounds begin to take form you sense a monstrous force rising from the depths waiting to lead you further into the ancient inhuman landscape beyond. There was something about this opening song which eventually put my mind at ease towards the end of it, yet also had me highly anticipating what frightful sounds would be conjured up following this beginning track. 

    The second song, “Spirit Vessel,” definitely takes on a more old school dungeon style by emphasizing these blaring medieval noises to create a triumphantly evil composition. For the third track,“Gateway to the Serpent’s Dimension,” I felt as though the music took on a more ethereal sound, especially when pertaining to the very captivating synth arrangement which made me feel like I was floating through a celestial void and into an unspeakable dominion where some greater force slumbers in the shadows. A lot of the arrangements on this album really do an impressive job heighten the album’s striking cinematic sound with the most profound example being the Gregorian like chanting during the song, “Sacred Carvings.” That song sent chills down my spine and instantly grips you with its surrealistic musical elements. 

    Another song that also really caught my attention was, “Draugr Armada.” This track was one of the most realistic pieces of music on the entire release by utilizing sound effects to compliment the song's theme. As the eerie atmosphere completely surrounds you like a sinister fog, you can also hear the sounds of water splashing behind the other layers of sound. I could imagine a fleet of grotesque phantasmal ships moving across a blackened sea as I listened to the track. After listening to this song, I thought it could have very well been the album's finale, however, the actual last track on the album, "Crafting the Symmetry of Aeons," was yet another really extraordinary piece of music. I would describe, "Crafting the Symmetry of Aeons," as a more dynamic ambient experiment that still compliments the previous tracks, but goes beyond the boundaries of dungeon synth. At first you are left wondering where the music is headed and then all of a sudden from the gloomy trenches you step into this horrifying mind bending synth wave like section which reminded me of something you might hear in a John Carpenter film. 

    As some who has followed Old Tower for a while now, I thought, "Draconic Synthesis," was a very creative and unique musical offering. Honestly, The Specter's ability to tell these haunting surrealistic stories is getting better and better with each new release. I personally was a huge fan of, "The Old King of Witches," so I was pleased to hear that same approach and willingness to experiment on this new album along with some old school dungeon synth touches thrown in at times. No matter what seems to be happening in the world of music, Old Tower continues to be that dark resilient force standing against all adversity and thriving in the ruins of solitude crafting these extraordinarily vivid ambient tales to let our imaginations wonder amongst the ghoulish archaic depths of untrodden realms. 

Check out the song "Draugr Armada" below :

Old Tower Bandcamp:

https://oldtower.bandcamp.com/album/draconic-synthesis

Infinite Rising “Awakening”

    Just as our galaxy is a place that has fueled human curiosity and inspired wondering minds, the Italian trio Infinite Rising combines their fascination for space and Sci-Fi movies with a passion for progressive rock and metal music that traverses through a plethora of captivating musical landscapes. The band’s debut album, “Awakening,” is a dynamic sounding instrumental release which combines technical talent with breath taking cinematic like touches. 

    Musically, Infinite Rising seems to be very efficient in terms of their technical talents, reminding me of such acts as Scale the Summit and Animals as Leaders. They really do an impressive job at building such complex compositions through the use of various time signatures as well as riff structures. The three band members, Federico Albanese (guitar), Silvia Pistolesi (bass) and Alessandro Formichi (drums), have really great chemistry and the music flows with a graceful synergy. “Awakening,” is a very refreshing release that not only demonstrates the group’s highly skilled technical talents, but also their keen compositional efforts and ability to have everything flawlessly come together. 

  The album features six tracks with the opening song called, “Nocturnal Skywatchers.” From the very beginning of the song, you can tell that these three musicians are extremely creative when pertaining to how they use their instruments to tell this complex progressive story without any words. Also, the production and recording quality adds so much to band’s sound and really highlights the guitarist’s brilliant tone. Plus, the bass parts during the track sounded so fluid and vibrant to compliment the mesmerizing guitar notes and precise drum rhythms. On the second track, "Cosmic Sunset," the band begins with some frantic scale runs and eventually transitions into a more metal sounding jam. I thought the lead guitar playing was very virtuosic and it really demanded your attention as the guitarist shredded throughout the composition. 

  As a huge fan of Rush, I really liked the bass playing on the third track, “Perpetual Mood,” which reminded me of Geddy’s playing on albums like “Roll the Bones” and “Counterparts.” That bass tone just hits you with such bombastic force, while at the same time offering up these funky and unbelievably catchy fills. The drumming is also very well executed and on the fourth song, “Orbital Inclination,” the different time signatures and rhythmic patterns has your head completely spinning. It can be very challenging to come up with instrumental tracks, as sometimes you might get overwhelmed by the constant tempo changes along with the endless technical arrangements. However, Infinite Rising did a solid job keeping everything sounding tight and making sure they did not deviate too far from their vision. 

  Personally I thought the final two songs on the album were the most fascinating pieces of music with the fifth song, “Eternal,” being a truly profoundly progressive science fiction themed odyssey. I am a huge fan of atmospheric elements and I thought the band incorporated some haunting celestial atmospheric sounds to compliment the dynamic arrangements. The final song on the album, “Emotion Galaxy,” features a spectacular piano arrangement, which allows the conclusion of this album to be a very soothing experience. Again, I thought the overall execution when pertaining to how they went about arranging their songs was without a doubt one of the band’s greatest accomplishments on this release. 

  When looking back at the entire release, “Awakening,” is an unbelievably creative and skillfully crafted album that brings together progressive rock and metal elements to explore infinite sounding possibilities. I would highly recommend this album to anyone who enjoys progressive instrumental rock and metal music, because when there are no words the music allows your mind to create these mental images and drift away into the comforting complex melodic landscapes. I look forward to more music from Infinite Rising and I hope the band digs deeper into some of the musical concepts I heard on the fifth track, “Eternal,” as that is easily the best song off the album in my opinion.
Even though there are still mysteries about the galaxy which we do not yet know, Infinite Rising is able to provide us with a soundtrack to listen to as we ponder about the vast starry frontier above us. 

Check out the video for the song "Cosmic Sunset" below:

Infinite Rising's website:

https://infiniterising.co/

Uranium “Pure Nuclear Death”

    The American one-man savage doomsday composer behind Uranium unleashes a devastating full-length album that is brighter than a thousand suns and more devastating than anything one could have ever imagined. The mixture of agonizing black metal and surrealistic industrial elements creates a wasteland of post-apocalyptic sounding horror, making Uranium’s sophomore release, “Pure Nuclear Death,” an utterly haunting listening experience. 

    Uranium is working with Sentient Ruin once again, which comes as no surprise given the fact that Sentient Ruin was responsible for releasing Uranium’s cassette compilation “Wormboiler" back in 2021 as well as the band's first full-length album, “An Exacting Punishment.” This new release definitely continues the reign of industrial extreme blackened electronic chaos that one can hear on the previous releases, but I think this album goes even further into the entropic sounding landscapes where all light is devoured by a dark cloud of ash. 

    When I look at this album and the five tracks which are featured on it, I find that the entire release is one vivid sounding abysmal tale from beginning to end that almost traumatizes you as your mind is constantly being overloaded by these surreal arrangements. From the very first track, “Absolute Terror,” you are met with a festering swarm of raw aggressive guitar distortion and nerve pounding rhythms. Uranium holds nothing back and really begins the album with a merciless assault of sonic terror, thus grabbing your attention as the music radioactively seems to evolve into even darker sounding directions. On the second track, “Pure Nuclear Death,” you find yourself speechless hearing the crackling sounds burst out of the speakers while these sound clips discuss the grim realities of what will happen if we experience nuclear armageddon. 

    For me the album is going to be one those releases that you either find extremely fascinating, or one which will end up leaving you completely terrified and not wanting to leave your house for a week. The music is very abrasive sounding as the album progresses with song's such as “Casual Violence” and “Fortified Mass Fungus.” In terms of the explosive chaotic compositions, they only become more overwhelming as you try to make sense of the bleak reality which will befall humanity if we continue to march off the cliff and into a hopeless oblivion. The vocal parts on this album actually impressed me the most, as the vocals really compliment the doom like atmospheres that give off a very cinematic like aura at times. I really enjoyed the last song, “Black Knight Satellite,” as the Godflesh-like approach with its agonizing industrial elements aggressively shreds away at your sanity. You almost cannot imagine what you are hearing is human as the music transforms into this cataclysmic electronic onslaught. 

    Overall, Uranium’s “Pure Nuclear Death,” is a horrifying extreme warning to all of us regarding nuclear war and the impacts it will have on our world should our world leaders decide to the press buttons. I think Uranium’s unfathomable extreme creativity throughout this release was on full display. Even if you are not a fan of this type of music I believe that the attention to detail as well as the strong production made the album’s theme undeniable potent. Extreme music has always been at the forefront when it comes to calling out these topics that people tend to ignore, which is why labels like Sentient Ruin and artists like Uranium continue to gain massive support from the underground extreme music community. Highly worth checking out if you are into punishing extreme music with a very profound message! 

Check out the song "Pure Nuclear Death" :

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/album/pure-nuclear-death

 

Ash Prison “Future Torn”

    Ash Prison is a true meeting of the most malevolent minds in the world of decimating underground extreme music and their debut album, "Future Torn," is a surrealistic sounding nightmare that invites listeners to partake in one punishing darkened industrial sounding exhibition. Featuring Matt Auxier from industrial occult themed act 6th Circle, J. Thompson from the darkwave group Child Ov Night and M. Alagna of Abstracter/Somnolent/ex-Atrament, their collaboration on this release is definitely something to take notice of if you are fan of agonizing extreme music. 

    Sentient Ruin will be responsible for releasing this sadistic electronic creation, so right away you know that the music is going to be profoundly sinister and down right unapologetic to the rotten core. Ash Prison’s sound and style is exactly what you want to hear if you are a fan of Ministry (The Land of Rape and Honey period especially), Godflesh and Skinny Puppy, as well as ambient industrial black metal artists that have come along as of recent to offer these really raw and mind altering pieces of hateful sounding music. This album speaks to those who see the world as a bleak and hopeless mess, slowly being driven to the edge of collapse. M. Alagna’s vocals tell this frightening tale of futuristic annihilation as the heart pounding industrial rhythms and gritty distortion perfectly forms these ruinous soundscapes. 

    Once I first started listening to this album, I could definitely hear a mixture of each musician’s vicious artistic backgrounds as well as their extreme sounding musical influences. The opening track, “Archangel,” commences with these thunderous bursts of guitar distortion that signal forth the hellish deafening destruction. As much as the arrangements hit and grab your attention, I can’t stress the importance of the vocals and how on songs such as, “Death Reborn,” “Eraser” and “No Return,” the lyrics inject a sense of vividly haunting realism that speaks directly to you. “No Return,” is especially one track which I really enjoyed as the hypnotic sounds as well as the abrasive straightforward guitar riffs definitely convey a harsh old school 90’s industrial metal sound. 

    As I listened to this album multiple times, I truly felt as though that the execution on each track in terms of the production and recording quality played an important role in making this release really standout. A lot of artists that experiment with extreme industrial music tend to get carried away and end up putting out atrocious sound piles of horseshit, which is why I am very selective with this style of extreme music. Ash Prison’s confident and uncompromising aggression simply demands your attention. As the album progresses, you can really hear their sadistic experimental passion on tracks like, “Scorn,” “Collapse” and “Black Horizon.” Actually, the suffocating atmosphere on “Black Horizon” perfectly captures the nihilistic nature of raw black metal, which is why it was probably one of my favorite tracks off of the album. 

    To quote Pinhead from the movie Hellraiser, “Demons to some, angels to others.” Ash Prison is an act that I can see winning over those who fiendishly desire chaotic extreme industrial music which digs deep into the endless blackened distorted depths, while at the same time striking fear into the minds of those who might find themselves lost in the abrasive sounding voids. “Future Torn” is an album that perfectly encapsulates the abhorrently creative artistic talents that Sentient Ruin continues to promote, thus making this yet another album highly worth seeking out once it is released September 22, 2023. 

Check out the song "Death Reborn" below:

Sentient Ruin Bandcamp:

https://sentientruin.bandcamp.com/

Abstracter, Disimperium and Funeral Chant live at Eli's Mile High Club (9/8/2023)

 

    Last night I decided to make the trek out to Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, CA where three unfathomably extreme bands would be performing and offering up decimating ear shattering riffs to all those metal maniacs in attendance. Funeral Chant, Disimperium and Abstracter are three very insidious sounding acts that exemplifying the decimating dark spirit of extreme music. 

    Before the show I will admit that driving through the part of Oakland where Eli’s Mile High Club is located can be a very surreal and sobering experience when pertaining to the state of society. As much as the bands performing are “extreme” and the fans in attendance can put on the tough image, nothing compares to the harsh and abysmal reality of the area around the venue where you see people strung out on drugs and living in torn up tents. Actually, getting to hear live music while being around people who share the same passionate of extreme metal is sort of the perfect escape from that chaotic world outside. Also, I was also really excited to meet up my friend from Canada who came out to the Bay Area, because he too has the same enthusiastic mindset for metal music as I do, which made attend this show really enjoyable. 

    Upon arriving at the venue, the first band Funeral Chant just launched into their set right as I walked through the door and into the dimly light venue. Funeral Chant is a local black metal band that has a purely sinister sound that reminds me a bit of groups like Marduk, Blasphemy and Beherit. Being that they are a local band I could tell the audience was extremely supportive of the group throughout the entire set. I thought the band’s singer/guitarist had great stage presence as he unleashed his agonizing cries over the hellish chord progressions. The band for the most part sounded solid and I think that they were a good choice to open the show, because the crowd seemed to very responsive from the start of their set until the very end. 

    After Funeral Chant cleared the stage, the second band Disimperium began setting up for their set. This destructive four-piece band from Portland, OR caught my attention a couple years back with the release of their debut EP, "Malefic Obliteration.” They combine sickening black metal with tormenting death metal to offer up one sadistic overall sound. Recently, they released an album called, “Grand Insurgence Upon Despotic Altars,” so I was looking forwarded to hearing the new material live. Right away, I could tell that this band had a profoundly brutal live sound as both guitarist seemed to play with this unexplainable savage synergy. The band’s technical riffs capture that gruesome old school death metal sound, while the slower sections convey a more malevolent and raw blackened death metal quality. Also, the drumming was insanely intense and I could tell that the drummer was expending a ton of energy from behind the kit. 

Disimperium

    Once Disimperium finished their extreme sounding onslaught, it was then time for the night’s headliner to take the stage. Abstracter is a Bay Area band that I have followed for many years, but unfortunately never had yet seen perform live. I was highly anticipating their performance, so as the band took to the stage with their instruments looking unleash their ferocious brand of apocalyptic blackened death/doom, I quickly made my way to the front. From the very first riff I was completely taken back by how tight and in sync they seemed to be while performing with all this smoke swirling around them. They sounded exactly the same as they do on their albums, if not even louder and more vicious live! The band’s singer is a tremendously talented frontman and he delivered the lyrics with such unapologetic attitude which really complimented the soul crushing arrangements. Getting to hear material from one of my favorite albums, "Abominion," was probably my favorite part of the whole night, as the songs from that album are insanely brutal. 

Abstracter

As the smoke cleared and the noise from Abstracter’s amps faded away until everything went silent, the audience roared with appreciation for the band one last time before everyone started to make their way out of the venue. I must commend each of the three band’s for giving every once of energy to put on such a cataclysmic show. This show was a testament to how underground extreme music continues to thrive due to the hard work from the truly creative musicians and the loyal support from all those diehard metal fanatics. I highly recommend checking out all three of these bands, and I hope to see them continue to record/perform as this world needs something to get us through all the insanity of where society seems to be headed...trust me, when you have to watch out for dog crap and human crap when walking down the street...things are not looking good. 

Abstracter Bandcamp:

https://abstracter.bandcamp.com/

Disimperium Bandcamp:

https://disimperium.bandcamp.com/album/grand-insurgence-upon-despotic-altars

Funeral Chant:

https://funeralchant.bandcamp.com/album/funeral-chant