Germany has vast underground black metal scene and Tot aus dem Wald is one of the jewels of this scene. This one has been in the scene since 1997 led by entity called Das Kakophonieä (All Instruments, Vocals). This opus offers eight old school raw black metal anthems filled with energy of old times and resisting these modern overproduced so called black metal bands. Besides hypnotic almost ritualistic guitar work, there are couple of subtle melodies thrown underneath it all and what I also find remarkable are those dark ambient sounds like some mixture of J-horror and Kurosawa movies. Lyrics are in German and I think they deal with some sort of Asian warrior demons if I am not mistaken. My personal favorites are Oni, wollen zerreissen wollen zerfetzen, and also one called Tengu, die Nase des Todes. This is old school raw black metal par excellence.
I once visited Požega, Croatia in December and it was magic. All those woods, a kind of sinister atmosphere, some invisible spirit of old in the air. Well, Kktz, veteran and legend of Croatian underground scene delivered another release with his black metal entity Tenebrositas. This time, significant news is that on this release Tenebrositas is a duo with Kktz handling vox. guitars and bass and O. handling drums and production. This is in fact one epic tale, song of just under fifteen minutes which indicates a bit of new path for Tenebrositas. It is still fast and raw almost hypnotic black metal with repetitive melody on guitar that kind of rolls through all song parts reappearing again and again. Atmosphere is dark yet fighting, victorious and persisting that dark hordes will prevail one day. Vocals are fantastic as always but this time Kktz tried some new things, by this I don’t mean clean singing but a bit more following guitar melody and melancholy with his shrieks. I love how the opus kind of slows down almost doomy towards the end but then wakes up to promise us another battle. This is in my opinion best Tenebrositas yet, I follow this entity for years in my zine. Recommendation.
At present, ARGENTO RECORDS and THE THROAT are enraptured to announce the brand new second full-length ‘THE GREAT ANGUISH OF RAPTURE’ by FACELESS ENTITY from The Netherlands!!
A release date is set for April 15th, 2022 and shall come in the following formats: DIGITAL / MC / LP
A second track, “THE ENIGMA OF DEATH” can now be heard on the website of one of Germany’s finest printed magazines DEAF FOREVER:
“Further down the insanity, we grasp at the meaning of death. If death is our shadow, our pale companion, how can it end us, the living? Where does life end, and death begin? The Enigma of Death is a constant spiral into the maelstrom of existential dread, expressed through a haunting melody that never seems to let us go. As it invites us to contemplate, it rests in cosmic havoc. After this distraction, it returns with the same intensity as it appeared before. It has no beginning, and no end.”
Emerging from the grand nameless void, Faceless Entity established a reputation since its inception in 2014 through the release of four demos. Their first full-length, ‘In Via Ad Nusquam’ (On the Road to Nowhere), was a pursuit deeply rooted in a boundless dissonant sound that captures the metaphysical axioms of previous creations, further refining their overall arrangements. Their encounters with the void are expressed in shadowy wails and clamors of sadistic delirium, culminating in a curse of demented, unhinged Black Metal. Ultimately ritualistic in substance, untamed in praxis, the abyss takes form and onward emanates the wisdom of the dead. Their aim is to continue this sinister path in a soon to be unleashed follow-up to the first full length through Argento Records.
Contemplate life and death. Give in to the fear of the unknown and let that fear wreak mental havoc on your psyche. Breathe in slow; your imminent demise is just around the corner. Let us mourn for you. Forever mourning the dead and the living…
A growing Void…
Over the last decade, few entities have subjected the feeble human to such a plethora of dreadful expressions turned into audial flesh like Faceless Entity. Almost five years after ‘In Via Ad Nusquam’, the journey towards nothingness whispers a new conjuration, a cold catacomb of Death and misery over five brooding tomes.
From the very first moments of ‘The Great Anguish of Rapture’, a slice of torturous riffing breaks the eerie silence, a miasma of sonic despair alongside a pulse of funereal drumming lurking as an aghast corpse creeping its polluted body in dread and disgust. As a cold fog of electrical guitar ecstasy sweeps through the blinding mist, the screams of the dead are manifested by a deluge of demented wails slashing like rusty bloody razors. The air gets gradually filled with a density and shivering oppression, the impending Death growing in strength and might into physical form, haunting our very core as we face the Void in horror and wonder. A trance-like state is induced by the long blistering mantras, recreating the anguish of the uttermost ghastly abyss, ever dynamic, ever rapturing, as Faceless Entity reaches the zenith of its haunting existence with supreme songwriting and the highest bent to evoke absolute terror with the most enticing and befitting sonic quality the band as captured to date.
As these forty minutes of sinister, ominous Black Metal reach its conclusion, we are left in awe and crazed delight with the crushing witnessing of our rotting existence. Through this, the mourning of the dead and the living continues…
To be unleashed by Argento Records on Vinyl & CD, and by The Throat on Cassette
1. The Great Anguish of Rapture (9:57) 2. Decaying Banners of Existence (8:23) 3. The Enigma of Death (6:57) 4. A Growing Void (6:52) 5. Death, a Rot Beneath the Mask of Existence (8:31) Total (41:07)
Discography: Demented Incantations (Demo / The Throat 2014) Faceless Entity (Demo / Black Gangrene Productions 2014) Semper Dolens (Demo / The Throat 2015) Imminence (Demo / The Throat 2015) In Via Ad Nusquam (Full-length / Nebular Carcoma Records & Altare Productions 2017)
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 