Metal News - September 5th-11th

In the past week there's been quite a lot of buzz going on in the metal community. Autopsy announced a new album, Lifelover's songwriter "B" died, Krisiun went analog, and doomlords Black Pyramid broke up.

Autopsy also announced that they will be releasing an EP compilation. Here's the quote from the band:

"Greetings Sicko's, we go into the studio at the end of October to record 3 new songs. It will be a taste of the new album that will soon follow. The 3 new songs will be released on a special release by Peaceville Records. It will also include all the E.P.s (Tomb Within, Fiend for Blood, Retribution for the Dead, Horrific Obssession 7", and Funereality) that are out of print. A jackhammer to your skull."

That sounds fucking awesome, although I'm not sure how great Macabre Eternal really is. It certainly holds up pretty well as opposed to other death metal legends' recent releases, but I don't find it particularly amazing. As for Lifelover, I can safely say "okay." Nothing done by Lifelover has impressed me in the slightest, and although it's sad news for fans of the band, I couldn't really care less. As for Black Pyramid, I'm a bit shocked since they never really reached their full potential. The self-titled is cool if a bit derivative, but they showed promise. A shame indeed.

As for Krisiun, the new album has me stoked. Even if it's just PR bullshit like it normally is, check this out:

"KRISIUN only used analog gear and instruments this time to avoid the compressed sound that so many musicians produce today. This wise decision resulted in a more organic sound, with the songs on "The Great Execution" possessing both warmth and rawness, which are so often lost through digital production. The low end is deeper, with drums that pound instead of bounce and guitar tones that sear rather than hiss".

So although Southern Storm was a bit compressed and overproduced, the Brazilian death trio seems to be kicking it back to their roots on Black Force Domain.

Stay tuned on Halloween for this monstrous album.

I'll try to keep the updates coming, but honestly with school starting up and all the socializing and other stuff, it's going to be tough to be on time.

New Blut Aus Nord coming Nov. 11th/15th!

French black metal masters Blut Aus Nord plan to release their second album in the "777 trilogy," titled 777 - The Desanctification, this November. Check out the teaser!



Sounds like 777 - Sect(s). The only thing I'm a bit iffy on is that drum sound, but then again the sound on 777 - Sect(s) was pretty similar.

Light Bearer - Lapsus

Here comes another tough write-up, but definitely something you should check out if you haven't already!

Post-rock, post-metal, post-hardcore, sludge: these are the defining elements of Light Bearer's 2011 debut titled Lapsus. The London based group took the concept series penned by Alex (the vocalist) and turned it into a sonic tale of free will. Each part of the series, Lapsus, Silver Tongue, Magisterium, and Lattermost Sword, deals with the passing of the "truth" from metaphorical Lucifer (the light bearer) onto mitochondrial "Eve" and eventually humanity. They've got EPs and splits planned too, which apparently cover the formation of the universe and life (according to their Facebook). Lapsus is naturally the first album in the concept.

And what a glorious debut it is. Lapsus relies almost entirely on atmosphere to carry the listener through great soundscapes, and it does this quite well. The album begins with "Beyond The Infinite," which really just sets up the concept for the rest of the album to play through. "Primum Movens" is Red Sparowes-esque but much more beautiful. Honestly that's the only to describe it. It's got all the layering and that "growing" feeling common with many post-rock masterpieces. "Armoury Choir" has a much more somber tone, and the epic, clean vocal conclusion of "Prelapsus" seamlessly flows straight into "Lapsus" which revisits previous themes from the other tracks, culminating in the end of the album.

It sounds like a bit much and hardly tells you anything about the music itself, right? Well the instrumentation is suitable for this kind of music. The production is heavy in low-end, yet every instrument is present and clearly heard throughout the album. There's interesting fills midway through "Armoury Choir" and quality bass licks to complement the droning chords on nearly every track. Light Bearer isn't afraid to ease off the distortion for some cleaner sections on "Lapsus" and "Primum Movens," but the album is still pretty heavy as a whole. I've seen a few people compare it to Neurosis' mid-era and later work. Some of the riffs could be spiced up a bit, but I wasn't expecting the most technically proficient music when I heard those comparisons. The clean vocals at the end of "Prelapsus" are a bit overdone but it does suit the song quite well regardless, and to top it all off the album concludes on a memorable collusion with a violin while the distant snare taps away in the background. That's about all you can really say about the album. Believe me when I say my words don't do Lapsus justice. It's an album that has to be heard to appreciate.

9.0 out of 10
This album is destined to be a post-rock/metal/hardcore classic and I definitely recommend it to everyone who likes that sort of thing. It took a little to grow on me, so don't discount it at first listen.

Tracklisting:

1.	Beyond the Infinite
2.	Primum Movens
3.	Armoury Choir
4.	The Metatron
5.	Prelapsus
6.	Lapsus

Origin - Entity

Origin's new album came out quite awhile ago, and honestly I didn't enjoy it at first. The lame crystal clear production was to blame, but as time went on I noticed the ingenuity in some of the riffs. There was a creative spark on Entity that was missing from their previous records, but at the same time it was mired in that oh-so-shitty low end lacking production.

A few months later and I'm finally ready to tackle this album. As I mentioned, the first thing that any fan of Origin will notice is the stupidly clean production and the lack of any real heaviness. It should hit you like a wrecking ball to the face right after the opening of "Expulsion Of Fury." "That's fine, there's bound to be sweet riffs. This is Origin, after all!" Yeah, that's what I thought for quite some time too.

An apt comparison to Origin's riffs is the water weight a lot of steroid using athletes put on. They're superficial, bloated, and it's ever so common amongst the competition. There are some gems hidden amongst the coal though - "Saligia" is extremely catchy, "Swarm" ends on a headbanger, and "Committed" sounds like something Gigan would write. The closing riff at the end of "Evolution Of Extinction" is pretty badass as well. It's a shame that the rest isn't up to par since I really liked the album for a week or so, but after that I found myself zoning out everytime I gave it a spin.

The technicality on the album is on par with or greater than that of Origin's magnum opus Antithesis, and I feel like a lot of the songs sound like they'd fit more in with Echoes Of Decimation than their previous effort. "Consequence Of Solution" is one of those tracks. A few of the shorter, grindier songs are completely forgettable, like "Banishing Illusion" and "Fornever." The exceptions would be the relentless "Swarm" and the odd "Committed," with the rest falling somewhere in between.

It's a shame that Entity's potential was never realized and the production is so god-awful. If you're a fan of technical death or Origin you may find something worth listening to on here, and I can guarantee it'll hold your interest for a little at least. But don't spend any of your hard-earned cash on this when there's stuff like Archspire, Beyond Creation, and Gigan. Better yet go pick up Echoes Of Decimation or Antithesis.

6.5 out of 10

Tracklisting:

1.	Expulsion of Fury
2.	Purgatory
3.	Conceiving Death
4.	Swarm
5.	Saligia
6.	The Descent
7.	Fornever
8.	Committed
9.	Banishing Illusion
10.	Consequence of Solution
11.	Evolution of Extinction