Oomph!

Oomph!

Ritual

I finally sat down with the entirety of Neue-Deutsche-Härte founders Oomph!'s latest album, and I consider this to be one of their greatest albums. This is absolutely fantastic from start to finish, and I really don't think it slows down at all. It's got the hefty weight and crunch of metal but the catchy melody of rock, and the industrial elements are both harsh and majestic.

Dero's vocal work is on point, nailing nasty vicious bits and then morphing into powerful cleans with gusto. The guitar riffs are pummeling, almost reminiscent of Rammstein's level of heaviness. Not to mention chorus vocals are well mixed, aligning perfectly while still being discernable. The rythym doesn't let up, and enforces the heavy crush of the riffwork. It's aggressively melodic, and will lift you up before smashing you like a train repeatedly. It's wild, weighty, and moving.

Again, definitely one of their best albums to me. The singles such as Tausend Mann und ein Befehl and TRRR-FCKN-HTLR are intensely catchy, and songs like Europa (ft. Chris Harms of Lord of the Lost, who released an excellent album last year) and Lazarus are majestically powerful.

You can get it everywhere from Bandcamp to Amazon, so do yourself a favor and check it out.

Obscured

BlutEngel + Hocico

Well it finally happened, an alliance between two prominent dark electronic acts that really should have been done ages ago.

Chris Pohl of BlutEngel has been busier than ever it seems. He released two albums as BlutEngel last year, just dropped this, and has a new project, She Hates Emotions, that just released material. But I digress, back to the track at hand.

I find the song has a decidedly more Hocico sound to the music, but a very BlutEngel bend to the vocal work. It makes for a nice blend, and frankly I'd actually be up for a whole album of it. All three vocalists present lend their easily identifiable twist on their respective parts, and the combination of Pohl and Agroyam as music composers is fantastic, a mix of dark melody and harsh beats. Honestly this single is a superb combination of these bands and their sounds, and they really outdid themselves ensuring it blended well.

The other tracks present are remixes by each band that showcases their personal styles more, and an additional remix by Rasco Agroyam's side project Dulce Liquido that has a very minimalist Aggrotech sound. If you get the digital version there is a bonus remix by German electronic act S.I.T.D., with a bit more ebm/ industrial sound.

As of this writing there's a handful of physical copies left, however it is also available digitally on the Out of Line Music Bandcamp page, and probably other digital platforms as well.

Hey, my blog's a year old!

They grow up so fast....

-Black Vice- Austin, Texas based black metal.

Photo by blogger. 2017

Black Vice

Black Vice / Haunter, by Black Vice

3 track album

Hocico

Bienvenido a La Maldad

Speaking of electronic music, Mexican industrial masters Hocico have one of my all time favorite music videos.

It's a superb blend of Hellraiser and Aztec imagery that does an exceptional job evoking the theme of the song. It's the lion barely kept caged at the circus, waiting to strike. Primal rage underlying a pretense of control. It's aggressive, fast-paced, and spirited, while playing sensual and appealing. Leather and feathers, chains and war paint.

I'd love to see these guys live sometime, but it really feels like lately they have an easier time going across the Atlantic to Germany than across the border into Texas. Alas, someday.

New Elegiac just dropped! He continues to be one of my favorite American Black Metal projects.

You can pick it up from the band, Sacrificial Sounds Records, or Red River Family Records.

Dutch progressive black metal duo Urfaust are easily one of my favorite 21st century black metal bands. Their mix of ambience, atmosphere, and the avant-garde is excellent, and they consistently release quality music.

Their 2016 release, Empty Space Meditations, is a slow building crescendo of ambience that morphs into aggressively majestic howls, a bellowing wail into the void of existence. Each track builds upon the last, flowing seamlessly into one another while still maintaining individual identity.

This duo are exceptional musicians, and they work together flawlessly. This is some of my favorite black metal vocal work, from the tormented screeches to the majestic roaring cleans. And the drumwork. Meditatum V is my favorite track, mostly for the drumming. Its perfectly woven around the chant-like vocals, blending wonderfully with the riffs in a ritual of cosmic comprehension.

I believe most of their material is available from Van Records, and can be found easily on Bandcamp. Highly recommend them if you want a powerful and magical music experience.