https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Hands of Orlac & The Wandering Midget Split Due Sept. 8

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 28th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

Those who seek the maximum bizarro quotient in their doom likely don’t need me to tell them that the pairing of Italy’s Hands of Orlac and Finland’s The Wandering Midget — who haven’t had a release out in a what-happened-to-the-last five years, apparently — is good news. Cruz del Sur will boldly stand behind the two outfits as they join together for a new split out Sept. 8 that brings four cuts from the former and one extended piece from the wildly politically-incorrectly-monikered latter, and it’s sure to be a dark-hued freakout of a high order both in terms of quality and chemical ingestion. Both bands will be making their debut on the label with this release.

Gonna hope to have more to come on this one as we get closer to Sept. 8, but here’s cover art and the basic social medias announcement of its impending arrival. Hooray for getting weird:

hands-of-orlac-the-wandering-midget-split

HANDS OF ORLAC / THE WANDERING MIDGET Split Release out in September

The worlds of occult metal and colossal doom collide on the HANDS OF ORLAC and THE WANDERING MIDGET split, set for a September 8 release via Cruz Del Sur Music.

Featuring four contributions from Italian/Swedish occult metal troupe HANDS OF ORLAC and one 18-minute epic from Finnish doomsters THE WANDERING MIDGET, the split finds two disparate, unique bands offering a glimpse into their dark and mysterious worlds.

Formed in 2009, HANDS OF ORLAC has gradually evolved from its early doom forays into a horror soundtrack-infused outfit, heavily inspired by the works of BALLETTO DI BRONZO, GOBLIN, BIGLIETTO PER L’INFERNO and ALPHATAURUS. The band’s four offerings on the split were recorded by veteran producer Berno Paulsson at the renowned Berno Studio in Malmö, Sweden. With the mystical vocal and exotic flute work of G. leading the way, HANDS OF ORLAC offer up an invigorating take on occult metal, with both the progressive “Curse Of The Human Skull” and straightforward “From Beyond The Stars” displaying a degree of balance that is emblematic of a band capable of pushing boundaries without falling prey to genre clichés.

THE WANDERING MIDGET hail from Lappeenranta, Finland and were formed in 2005. The band’s 2008 “The Serpent Coven” and 2012 “From The Meadows Of Opium Dreams” LPs were riff-intense bodies of work, channeling the true spirit of doom forerunners BLACK SABBATH and CANDLEMASS. THE WANDERING MIDGET’s contribution to the split, “Where We March The Vultures Follow”, is their first sonic offering in over five years, and is a true stroke of monolithic doom, laced with anguished, slow-churned melodies and the animated vocals of Samuel Wormius.

The split is the first release on Cruz Del Sur Music for HANDS OF ORLAC and THE WANDERING MIDGET, representing the label’s continued focus on unearthing the underground’s most challenging bands. The sounds of occult metal and epic doom joined together have never sounded so foreboding.

Split track listing:
1. HANDS OF ORLAC – Curse Of The Human Skull
2. HANDS OF ORLAC – Per Aspera
3. HANDS OF ORLAC – From Beyond The Stars
4. HANDS OF ORLAC – Ad Astra
5. THE WANDERING MIDGET – Where We March The Vultures Follow

HANDS OF ORLAC line-up:
G. – Vocals / Flute
A. – Guitars
F. – Bass
J.– Drums

THE WANDERING MIDGET line-up:
Samuel Wormius – Fire Lungs & Tornados
Thomas Grenier – Storm of Locusts
Jonathan Sprenger – Earthquake Sorcery

http://handsofevil.blogspot.com/
handsoforlac.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/TheWanderingMidget
https://thewanderingmidget.bandcamp.com/
www.cruzdelsurmusic.com
cruzdelsurmusic.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/cruzdelsurmusic
twitter.com/CruzDelSurMusic

Hands of Orlac, “Witches Hammer”

The Wandering Midget, From the Meadows of Opium Dreams (2012)

Tags: , , , , ,