A weekly feature focusing on select heavy music news, primarily involving new and upcoming releases with a list of ’em provided at the end. This also serves as a week in review, collecting all of the most recent content on Grizzly Butts in a brief additional list. Want to see what came out this week? Read the “Annihilate This Week” column every Monday. If I can’t hear it, I won’t cover it! If you have new releases, show announcements, or important heavy music news that’ll be relevant or interesting to folks send it to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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THIS WEEK IN NEWS (2/27/21 – 3/05/21)

• Spanish brutal death metal duo WITH ALL OF MY HATE have announced their fourth full-length album ‘Impaired Existence‘ will be released through Japanese brutal death metal label Amputated Vein Records in 2021, though the exact date is tentative. Well, Oscar’s work is always very consistent so keep an eye out for the release by following the social media included in the description of this new preview track/lyric video for “Detach the Inherent” over on YouTube : [LINK]
• Although I didn’t hear about it until the end of February, this debut full-length from funeral death/doom metal project EMBER SUN released on March 1st via Bandcamp. ‘On Earth and Heaven‘ promises to be a greater hymn to sorrow and solitude. Ember Sun is an independent project from the founding guitarist/ex-member of Greek black metal band Order of the Ebon Hand, think of the sonic extremity of funeral doom but also the emotional timbre of melodic death/doom and gothic metal/darkwave. Check it out for yourself as it is all up on Bandcamp: [LINK]
• Polish atmospheric black metal giants BATUSHKA (БАТЮШКА) have revealed the second single from their upcoming EP ‘ЦАРЮ НЕБЕСНЫЙ’ / ‘CARJU NIEBIESNYJ’ which translates to ‘Heavenly King’. “ПИСЬМО I / PISMO I” is the album opener and begins with fragments of “the Old Church Slavonic prayer to the holy spirit, of course in the allegorical message and interpretation of Batushka, which connects the profanum with the sacrum of the orthodox church” So far I am enjoying the approach this project is taking with EP releases and deliberate themes with a clear aesthetic. Check out the video for “Pismo I” over on YouTube: [LINK]
• French label Impure Wedding Productions have done a fine job of several cassette reissues of late alongside a really fine job with Osculum Infame’s 1997 debut. Lately they’ve set their sights on tapes from Swedish black metal’s hierarchy, starting with Midvinter (!) and A Canorous Quintet before recently announcing they will put VARGAVINTER‘s underrated pagan classic ‘Frostfödd‘ to cassette tape. A blizzard of aggression with a keen ear for crystalline melodicism ‘Frostfödd’ was originally released by Invasion Records in 1996 and has seen only a few limited reissues since. Of the elite melodic black metal lineage from that era the melodic voice of Vargavinter is perhaps the least examined, they were also one of few Swedish black metal bands I’ve ever heard of using 8-string basses for certain songs. If you love early Dawn you must hear the title track! Head over to Impure Wedding’s Shop to order : [LINK]
• Birth Ritual Records (ex-Deadlight Records) have announced they will be releasing the cassette version of EYEHATEGOD‘s upcoming sixth full-length ‘A History of Nomadic Behavior‘ on March 9th. They’ve also licensed a cassette version of Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals album ‘Walk Through Exits Only’ as their second official release. Pre-orders are up for the Eyehategod album on the label website: [LINK]
• Purity Through Fire have set April 16th as the day of release for Finnish black metal quartet MALUM‘s fourth album ‘Devil’s Creation‘ on CD and A5 digipack with vinyl and cassette options to be announced. This is great news because their last album ‘Legion’ was really onto something cool, a classic sound that they’re able to twist into many shapes. The artwork is once again from R. Ärling and I am glad to see more artists commissioning his work, it fits especially well with records that have a certain arcane quality. Looking forward to this one, check out the first preview track “Messiaan Kuolema” over on YouTube: [LINK]
• Finnish death metal swamplords SADISTIK FOREST have announced their latest EP ‘Obscure Old Remains’ will release via Transcending Obscurity Records this coming May 28th. Great news since their third album was on the right track back in 2018. It looks like they’ve swapped in a former guitarist in the interim and hey, this first single has a real thrashing Pestilence-esque edge to it. Wild cover art too. Check out “Mandragore” over on YouTube: [LINK]
• Amor Fati Productions have announced they will conspire with Ancient Records in the admirable conjuration of raw melodic black metal artist SULPUR‘s debut album ‘Embracing Hatred and Beckoning Darkness‘, this coming March 10th. Hateful to be sure, the attitude of this project is palpable from the moment the guitars kick in. Elite yet unconcerned, traditional yet entirely personal. My take on it, I guess. See for yourself, check out the first preview track “A Temple Draped in Shadow” over on YouTube: [LINK]
• Finland’s heaviest noise rock band THROAT have announce they’ll be bleaking up your outlook with a darker, face-slapping third full-length in the form of ‘Smile Less‘. They’ve got a new drummer but it looks like they’ve gone with a similar team for the recording/rendering of the album which’ll be out on vinyl, CD and digitally this coming May 15th. I’m a huge fan of this band so I’ll be getting’ it as long as I can avoid the Finnish postage. The first single, “Shots” kicks the planned singles off with a buzzing creeper post-punk vibe, not sure if they’re going to a party or a fight club. My guess is on fight club after checking out the trip-heavy music video from Rick Smith (Torche) is up over on Youtube: [LINK]
• Iron Bonehead Productions have announced the ghast will depart its vessel this mournful May 28th as German doom metal band CROSS VAULT‘s eagerly awaited third full-length ‘As Strangers We Depart‘ etches into stone their damning legacy on CD and vinyl LP. If you thought Horn had upped the ante musically on their latest record, wait until you hear this terrifyingly emotional first single “Gods Left Unsung”, which manages a regal yet somber collapse as it strides along. Hugely anticipating this one alongside the new Wheel. Check out “Gods Left Unsung” over on YouTube: [LINK]
• Invictus Productions announces you will drink of the cosmos this coming… well, right now you can listen to it but, this coming May 7th they’ll release the physical edition of LUNAR MANTRA‘s latest EP ‘Psychosomatika‘. This EP was released independently/digitally last year but I’d actually missed it so what a treat it has been to spend part of my Friday jamming its enormous obsidian knife into my skull. Huge sound and a style definitely for folks who love bold takes on semi-dissonant black metal Barshasketh, Sinmara etc. Listen now on Bandcamp and pre-order by your own will: [LINK]
• Always esoteric and perhaps quite long underappreciated in terms of actual units shipped, the legend of Sicilian blackened death metal act SINOATH‘s ‘Research’ finally receives a long overdue CD reissue thanks to the folks at Hessian Firm. The 1995 classic is still a brilliant gem of underground progressive death metal from a prime era of avant-garde metal invention. The CD will release March 27th and should especially excite fans of early Septic Flesh and Sadist: [LINK]
• Texas-based death/thrash metalpunk band STEEL BEARING HAND have announced their partnership with Carbonized Records for their ‘Slay in Hell‘ full-length which’ll release this coming April 2nd. They’ve got a bit of a motörpunk side which is immediately apparent once you’ve cracked into the first single from the album, opener “Command of the Infernal Exarch” which you can check out over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
• Septenary Arts a sub-label of The Sinister Flame have announced March 20th will not only advance the spring equinox but will be the day of release for ‘Das Unheimliche‘ a collaborative split recording between legendary German composer HERMANN KOPP and respected Luciferian composer BATHORY LEGION. Lend an ear and eye to preview of the album over on YouTube, make sure you read about the inspiration for each piece previewed and check out whatever related Kopp pieces show up in the ‘related videos’ feed, you cannot go wrong with piano arrangements of Nekromantik. Watch the preview over on YouTube: [LINK]
• Finally, a coffin fit to sleep in. Personal Records have announced they will release the sixth full-length album from Querétaro, Mexico based death/doom metal band MAJESTIC DOWNFALL, which they’ve titled ‘Aorta‘ this coming May 21st. It sounds like they’ve balanced modern influences with their most classic sound to some incredible results as evidenced by the colossal 20 minute opener “Roberta”, which serves as the first single from the album. This album is a mountain and serves as a flagship statement for Personal Records, which is maestro Córdova’s (also of Zombiefication) already brilliantly curated label. Be flattened by “Roberta” and its crushing bass guitar tone: [LINK]
• After some considerable wait, the second full length from experimental black/death metal trio SEPUTUS, ‘Phantom Indigo‘ has been announced for release this coming June 4th via Willowtip Records. The band features members of Pyrrhon, Weeping Sores, Glorious Depravity and is specifically spearheaded by Pyrrhon’s drummer Stephen Schwegler. The intent is clearly to push the limits of extreme music, lots of interesting collision going on in this first track “The Learned Respons” which you can check out over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
• Black/doom metal band RITUALS OF THE DEAD HAND are back with a new album entitled ‘With Hoof And Horn‘ which will be released May 1st through Dunkelheit Produktionen. The first preview track “Sulphur” emphasizes their black metal side to start before chunking into some bigger doom moments along the way, a brilliant introduction to their sound and style. I am definitely looking forward to hearing how the rest of the albums develop this sound, which is more distinct than their debut. Check out “Sulphur” over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
• Invictus Productions have announced May 7th as the release date for Australian black-thrashing nukefest HECATOMB‘s debut demo tape ‘Horrid Invocations‘ on CD and 12″ vinyl. Echoing blood hammered spite metal that blurs the legal limit for thrashing in a rotten mid-80’s black/death metal mutation. Toxic thrash with a killing pace you’ve gotta know, stream the whole thing over on Bandcamp and buy a physical copy if you’re up for it: [LINK]
• Well-respected Greek atmospheric black metal artist SPECTRAL LORE return with their latest full-length album ‘Ετερόφωτος’, which looks to further their unique progressive and atmospheric vision of black metal. The suggestion is that this album picks up where ‘Sentinel’ left off. My favorites are ‘Gnosis’ and ‘III’ so I am looking forward to parsing out the succession of his discography and seeing which vibes are continuous and reimagined. Delve into the midst of this gorgeous double LP with “The Sorcerer Above The Clouds” over on Bandcamp: [LINK]
• Well holy shit, this whole week has been one big “Hey, its been a while.” London-based occult death metal band GRAVE MIASMA have announced the upcoming release of ‘Abyss Of Wrathful Deities‘, their second full-length. To celebrate the occasion they’ve released a music video for “Rogyapa”, a song that showcases their signature knack for diabolical death metal riffing. I won’t have a verdict on how hyped I am until I see the alum cover. The album will be out on CD, vinyl, cassette and digital through Dark Descent Records (US) and Sepulchral Voice (Europe) this coming May 14th. Check out the video for “Rogyapa” over on YouTube: [LINK]
• Edged Circle Productions have announced the signing of Swedish black metal band IN APHELION. In Aphelion is a trio featuring members of Necrophobic and Cryptosis. Naturally an electrical crossing of black metal and some thrashing moments results from this unit. A lot of finesse on display here, I’m interested to see what they work out. They’re set to record a 12 track debut album this coming Spring, so nothing definite beyond that. The band have released a video containing a demo track “Let the Beast Run Wild” which gives you a chance to check their vibe over on YouTube: [LINK]
• NOTABLE ALBUMS AT PRESS THIS WEEK FROM: Karma Violens, To the Grave, Superlynx, Epiphanic Truth, Assassin, Lunar Mantra, Primal Age, Seputus, Miasma Theory, Hectomb, Spectral Lore, Neptunian Maximalism, Stonus, Sadistik Forest, Sepiroth, Bizarrekult, Hypnosia, Blue Ox, Sahara, Malum, Sulpur, Ruttokosmos, Jordfast and several more. Look for coverage in the near future. Don’t see your album listed? Send it to me: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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SITE WEEK IN REVIEW (2/27/21 – 3/05/21)

• Annihilate This Week 3/01/21: “A naïve faith in causality, mid-collapse.”
  • This year …From the Tomb becomes Annihilate This Week, still focusing on new releases from the week but now accumulating a New Releases list/discussion in addition to short reviews for around 5-10 new albums each week. It will post every Monday.
  • This week I chose to cover 5 New Releases from March 5th. Favorites: Butterfly and Hallucination.
• An Exhaustive Study: Death Metal/Crust Punk [1988-Present] Part III – “Darkness on the Horizon”
  • Thoughts on twenty five records from 2001-2010 in the death/crust adjacent reality as we explore this sub-genre fusion throughout the ages. The last entry will cover 2011-2020, please suggest albums from the last decade as this is the hardest to research thanks to Bandcamp bands not being well documented in many cases.
  • Favorites: Hellshock, Stormcrow, Sanctum, Black Breath, Bastard Priest, Acephalix, etc.
• ASSASSIN’S CREED – Valhalla (2020) | REVIEW
  • After taking a detour to focus on Cyberpunk 2077 I’d finally finished all 114 hours of my AC: Valhalla playthrough, most of which was streamed on YouTube without commentary. I didn’t stream the ending chapters, though. It’d be a fine game if they cut its length in half, there is no plot/storyline justification that has yet worked within these far too large worlds that Ubisoft Montreal creates. A character action RPG game has no business being so vast and though the game is breathtaking to look at and moderately fun to play, it bogs down horribly and overstays its welcome by a good 40+ hours of grinding.
  • A review for Werewolf: The Apocalypse — Earthblood (2021) is in the draft stages. I am currently playing through Greedfall (2019) in the late evenings, with the hopes that I will keep up the momentum and find more reasons to write about video games. I will likely reprise the BACKLOG blog feature if I am able to keep this momentum up.

Tons of news this week, not a ton of new releases but a good spread of interest. Glad some great standout noise rock is coming my way, loving all of the death/doom, traditional doom metal and black metal. This doesn’t yet look like a big year for revivalist ‘old school’ death metal compared to the last two, or am I out of the loop? Let me know. Things will be far more intense on those last three weeks of March so, time to gear up and listen to everything.

• TRIGGER CUT – ROGO (2021) | REVIEW
• STARSCAPE – Colony (2021) | REVIEW
• PUSTILENCE – The Birth Of The Beginning Before The Inception Of The End (2021) | REVIEW
• SEPULCROS – Vazio (2021) | REVIEW
• ZARATUS – In the Days of Whore (2021) | REVIEW
• REAPER – The Atonality of Flesh [Iron Bonehead Productions] Coming Soon…
• STORTREGN – Impermanence [The Artisan Era] Coming Soon…

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UPCOMING RELEASES (3/06/21 – 3/12/21)

NOTE: This is not a comprehensive list, some titles are already reviewed and/or covered and some have yet to enter the final queue for consideration and processing. An asterisk (*) indicates that a full review is drafted or in preparation. A pound (#) indicates a short review is warranted and in process. A plus (+) indicates that the album has already been reviewed. Click/Tap on RECORD LABEL name for preview, stream, or store.

• DEMISER – Through the Gate Eternal [March 12th, Boris Records] #
• MYOPIC & AT THE GRAVES – A Cold Sweat of Quiet Dread [March 12th, Grimoire Records] #
• NECROPANTHER – In Depths We Sleep [March 12th, Self-Released] #
• WHITE VOID – Anti [March 12th, Nuclear Blast] #
• VARMIA – Bal Lada [March 12th, M-Theory Audio]
• SLEEPLESS – Blood Libel [March 12th, Necromantic Press Records]
• SEPULCROS – Vazio [March 12th, Transcending Obscurity Records] +
• STORTREGN – Impermanence [March 12th, The Artisan Era] *
• ISGHERURD MORTH – Infernh [March 12th, Repose Records] *
• UTBYRD – Varskrik [March 12th, Petrichor]
• WITCH TIT – Intoxicating Lethargy [March 12th, Self-Released]
• STARMEN – By the Grave of Rock N’ Roll [March 12th, Melodic Passion Records]
• TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE – Beset by False Prophets [March 12th, Comatose Music]
• BOUND IN FEAR – Eternal [March 12th, Unique Leader]
• A NOEND OF MINE – Sanctuaires [March 12th, Hypnotic Dirge Records] #

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