spirit adrift - divided by darkness

it took me quite a long time to finally be convinced by spirit adrift. it started in 2017 when 20 buck spin records announced the release of the second full length by a band called spirit adrift. i never heard of them before but when they were likened to pallbearer, i was all ears. i am a fan of all things pallbearer but "curse of conception" could not really grab me.

i filed spirit adrift as "not for me" and moved on. when "divided by darkness" came out it was the same play. again i gave them a try but it did not click. while i was checking the van records store (van records is the european distributor of 20 buck spin) lately searching for the new tomb mold, i came up empty handed in tomb mold terms but found a second press for "divided by darkness". listening to the tunes this time and suddenly everything made perfectly sense. i ordered a copy quickly.

the record is fantastic. the pallbearer comparisons are undeniably accurate but that is not a bad thing. "divided by darkness" gets better with each song and in combination with the breathtaking artwork this bad boy might be the best doom metal release of the year. on a side note: after opening the parcel and pulling the vinyl from its dust sleeve, i was delighted to see that i actually got a tri-colour merge copy from the first press. lovely surprise. 250 copies made. 20 buck spin. 2019.

nocturnus a.d. - paradox

somehow i slept on the release of this gem right here. nocturnus were part of the massive earache records roster in the early nineties, where this fine u.k. label gathered the slickest bands from europe and across the pond. bolt thrower, morbid angel, entombed or godflesh just to name drop a few. and among them there was a band called nocturnus and their debut record called "the key".

a mixture of oldschool (back then not so oldschool actually) death metal, progressive death metal and sci-fi lyrics. something new and very well executed. mike browning, the mastermind of nocturnus reformed the band in 2013 as nocturnus ad with the plan to pick up where nocturnus left off with "the key". well, almost thirty years after the debut's release the new album "paradox" finally saw the light of day - and i missed it. when i got news all the colour vinyl was already gone. i am pretty well networked when it comes to new vinyl releases, but that one slipped through my fingers.

so i waited for a re-press which came sooner than i anticipated. i am a bit bummed that this clear green/black mix vinyl is one of those that look almost black when not held against a light source which is quite lame. well, beggars can't be choosers and musically "paradox" is at least as strong as "the key" in my humble opinion. not pure gold (which "the key" wasn't as well by the way) but a damn strong return to form. 100 copies made. profound lore records. 2019.

type o negative - none more negative

wow, it's been a while since i wrote something here. i don't know why but i didn't feel like posting anything. i got enough cool stuff to post in the coming days, though. i thought, i come back with a bang. my dearly awaited and desired copy of the "none more negative" box set by type o negative. since i bought "the least worst of" for a steal, i was hoping for re-issues of the type o back catalogue. little did i know that destiny would make it easy for me.

three months or so ago i got wind of warner music in the shape of run out grooves records was about to re-press the complete roadrunner records full length releases from type o (which means six out of seven type o albums) in a monumental box set. this box was actually released in 2011 for the first time for record store day. i ordered this new edition from nuclear blast even when the price of admission was not for the faint of heart. 200 bucks made my bank account frown upon me but there was no way i was going to miss this box.

after a little release date delay of two weeks, i feel like it was worth the money and definitely the wait. a beautiful and sturdy outer slip case with minimalistic art (which i think is cooler than the 2011 edition) houses the six gatefold/double lp records. they all got their original artwork (especially "the origin of the feces) but none comes with the iconical lettering in the corners of the cover. the vinyl colour is a nice opaque green with black marble. i will post the records individually so for now the pictures will do. 5000 copies made. roadrunner records / warner music. 2019.

job for a cowboy - genesis

i know job for a cowboy since they released their equally loved and hated first e.p. "doom" from 2005. at the time a lot of hype surrounded a new genre called deathcore, a breakdown orientated form of death metal - something new for the kids to play with. i was a kid back then and really liked it. the more i was shocked when i listened to "genesis" two years later. technical death metal and no breakdowns whatsoever.

in the coming years i really learned to appreciate "genesis" to point where i freaking loved it. i have all subsequent jfac records and this debut of them became my favourite. therefore i always hoped for a vinyl re-issue. there is a pressing from 2007 but no way i was going to buy a damn picture disc. so when metal blade announced this pressing, i wanted a copy badly. somehow i missed that metal blade moved their european shop from emp mailorder to kingsroad merch.

i thought that cool copies were already gone and so i opted for the less limited clear brown/orange marble version. i am still undecided if i should get a nicer opaque edition. we'll see. the album is brilliant and the pressing does it justice. lovely sounding pressing housed in a single pocket sleeve with insert and poster. my edition is limited to 500 copies. metal blade. 2007/2019.

thy art is murder - human target

another new album from 2019. thy art is murder and their latest effort "human target" was one i really waited for. there is something about this band that really resonates with me. i am usually not the deathcore type but they have something that goes beyond, or maybe not and it is just damn well executed. whatever it is, the new record lives up to all my expectations.

the record is full of blast beats, chunky riffs, sinister melodies and that fantastic guttural voice by singer c.j. mcmahon. speaking of, i saw the guys live at wacken open air this year and to me they had the most energetic performance of the whole festival. Also because the vocalist got himself a wacken tattoo live on stage. what a guy, see for yourself.

nuclear blast europe offered a white vinyl edition for pre-order and although i like the aesthetics of that colour-way, i knew this wasn't going to cut it. usually the label gets a few copies of the u.s. version and so i waited. i checked regularly and as soon as they were up, i grabbed one. here we are with this beautiful splattered orange/white merge edition housed in a glossy gatefold cover out of 500 copies. nuclear blast. 2019.

inferi - the path of apotheosis

the last of three inferi vinyl releases which was definitely the most elusive but not the most expensive. it was one of the artisan era records vinyl releases that were unavailable here in good ol' europe due to scarce distribution. i still struggle to get copies of the spawn of possession re-issues which artisan produced. just like the zenith passage record, i bought this in a lot from the same seller from latvia.

the records arrived here in fantastic condition. love these mailers with corner protection. musically this is another slab of fast, technical and melodic death metal that ticks all the right boxes with me. of course, there is a strong black dahlia murder resemblence, but i don't care if it is executed that damn well. re-mastered version sounds really good and the über lovely colour pattern makes this release a scorcher. hope i can catch them live in december. 125 copies made on "tyrant" vinyl. the artisan era. 2018.

the zenith passage - cosmic dissonance

yes, finally! since the artisan era announced the re-issue of the zenith passage's first e.p. "cosmic dissonance" last year, i wanted a copy badly. to this point, artisan era still has no proper european distribution and ordering from the states is no option because of insane shipping rates and extra fees here in germany.

so i hoped for the sources i bought artisan era stuff from before, to get it in stock. little did i know that none of those would lead me to satisfaction. one day a recurrent mail from discogs gave me the chance to snag a copy for a decent price and to a moderate shipping rate. the seller came from latvia and so the record made at least one more interesting turn before it landed at my place. from the czech republic where it was pressed, over the u.s.a. to latvia and finally germany. quite a journey.

the actual e.p. was released in 2013 and one can hear quite some differences to the sound the band would develop three years later on "solipsist". not as eloquent as its successor might sum it up, still a pretty good listen. the packaging is very nice. fantastic artwork which looks real ominous, an etching of the band logo "z" on the b-side and this sick pink/blue merge vinyl out of 200 copies. the artisan era. 2018.

inanimate existence - clockwork

another record that was hard to come by this year. i already had troubles with born of osiris and fallujah and almost every time jpc.de seems to be involved. i ordered "clockwork" at jpc with an initial delivery time of two weeks. of course this was expanded from week to week. i think after four or five weeks i got a shipping notification.

i thought: "wow, can it be?" when the package arrived and i opened it, i couldn't believe my eyes. they really sent me a fucking cd of the album. oh boy, i was through with them. i took another look around to see if other options emerged in the meantime. look and behold, an amazon market place seller from canada offered a copy for slim eighteen bucks. mine!

musically "clockwork" is a tech death beast. inanimate existence scored with all the right proportions. melodies, sick riffing, brilliant drumming and technical finesse in finest balance. my favourite work of them. the record comes in a single pocket sleeve with insert. got the most common colour-way out of 200 copies. looks very nice although the other colours are a bit hotter, ah what's the use... the artisan era. 2019.

ichor - hadal ascending

ichor is a german death metal band from trier, i believe. they are around for quite some time, eleven years at least, and got four full lengths under their belt. i actually had two of them on cd in my possession before a water damage in my basement ruined three quarter of my cd collection. i pretty much forgot about them but when i bought the avalanche record at the wooaaargh shop, i spotted this gem.

when i saw the cover art and the band name, i knew that i had to check that out. i listened to one song over at the tube and after that, there wasn't the shadow of a doubt that i had to have a vinyl copy for myself. the record is a beautiful bastard of modern death, a good portion doom and a bit tech. the presentation is awesome. lovely gatefold sleeve with cool artwork and stunning turquoise marble vinyl. 200 copies made. wooaaargh. 2018.

avalanche - interstellar movement

avalanche is a sludge metal band from vienna, austria. i already have their two releases before this full length here. those were just three and five song e.p.'s and already seven and six years old. so a lot of time went by and i thought the guys called it a day. the more i was surprised when i stumbled upon this record when checking the wooaaargh records shop.

what actually made me check out this album in particular was the cover art. as there is no band logo or so on the cover i wasn't aware that the band at hand was avalanche when i clicked it. i think the original painting is oil on canvas and just looks awesome. musically avalanche picked up where they left off with "thanatos" in 2012. rock solid sludge metal with a hardcore edge to it. check them here. 313 copies made. wooaaargh. 2019.