This Friday, Dec. 15, Italian trio Warcoe will release their second full-length, A Place for Demons, through Regain Records imprint Helter Skelter Productions, with tapes on Morbid and Miserable Records. As with their likewise willfully barebones 2022 debut, The Giant’s Dream (review here), the new eight-songer brings a grim and metallic spirit, but it’s more metal-of-eld than anything modern, and they grow more doomed as they progress through the album’s second half, but there’s punk, classic heavy rock, and even some more extreme elements at play, though admittedly that’s mostly in the atmosphere.

But even a hooky post-grunge rocker like “Ishkur,” which opens side B, the heft of their tonality comes through, as well as the space for lead guitar near the halfway point there, and a production that’s clear but not clean across the span bolsters the underground feel. Obscurity becomes a character in the material.

The album opens with its tone-setting title-track, a clarion of guitar going out soon joined by drums, then bass as Warcoe rise toward the snare snap into the first verse. Vocalist Stefano Fiorelli makes his presence felt in double-tracked layers with instrumental stomp to complement, and they shift into and through a nodding change before a quick guitar lead signals the return to the verse.

As with many of the lyrics on A Place for Demons, the title-track tells a story, and by the time its four minutes are done, Warcoe have pushed the thickened procession to a point of genuine momentum, and feedback leads into the Sabbath galloper “Pyramid of Despair” (premiered here), which follows and unfolds quicker into its riff-fueled counterpoint, Fiorelli, bassist Carlo and drummer Francesco seeming to enjoy the bounce as they course through the second chorus around the three-minute mark ahead of a raucous finish and a stretch of silence before the start of “Rune Dweller.”

At just over three minutes long, the acoustic guitar instrumental piece “Rune Dweller” is more than an interlude while still departed from the band’s ‘regular’ methodology as demonstrated across the first two tracks, but its finger-plucked movement is easy to follow and rhythmically, it holds onto the tension the band amassed through “A Place for Demons” and “Pyramid of Despair.” One is reminded of something that might’ve been found on one of earlier Metallica‘s outings, pulling back from the pummel — or in this case, the riffery — to give listeners a breather and demonstrate a more classical influence.

When side A closer “Leaves” crashes in directly after, it seems to hit that much harder, but nestles into a verse made anxious by the tremolo lead guitar running alongside the central swing, which holds for the duration and is a rocker’s rocker, where side B’s first impression is doomier with “Ishkur,” which takes a darker tonal turn while staying comfortably uptempo. But the march has begun and the trajectory is set. If you believe in fatalism, then we’re all doomed.

Shades of Saint Vitus show up in “Boys Become Kings” but more at the outset of the penultimate “Wounds Too Deep to Heal,” and while each is thicker than it is slow — call it “doom rock” while emphasizing both words — the mood dims in “Ishkur” and “Boys Become Kings” as the trio set up the second half of A Place for Demons as a movement growing more and more doomed with each plod. “Wounds Too Deep to Heal” is so deep into the Vitus aspect that it’s punk rock — that’s fandom — and it also boasts perhaps the hookiest impression of the record with Fiorelli‘s delivery of the title lyric in the chorus. But at 3:44, “Wounds Too Deep to Heal” is the shortest song on A Place for Demons–, and it leaves a spot for the only natural place it could go to end and keep its acceleration into doom: Black Sabbath.

It’s not a cover, but it doesn’t feel out of line to cite Black Sabbath‘s “Black Sabbath” as a primary influence on Warcoe‘s “Buio,” which brings the slowdown that seems to have been held in reserve all along as the band has played back and forth in pacing. It doesn’t drop out in the verse, and if you’re waiting for an Ozzy-ish “What is this…,” well, I have no doubt that Fiorelli would nail it, but the nine-minute closer is instrumental, so really, they’re plunging to the heart of the thing in the riff itself. Considering the ethic they’ve proffered throughout of sticking to their roots, “Buio” makes an organic landing spot for A Place for Demons, and says a lot about who Warcoe are and where they’re coming from in a way that another cut — even one with vocals — might not have been able to do.

There is something intangible about this band. I can’t quite put my finger on it, and I like that. I don’t know if it’s a dirtied-up NWOBHM influence, or black metal, or crust punk, but they’ve got this blend of styles that is its own cohesive thing — see “doom rock,” above — but that is malleable in speed and its mix, and able to shift moods fluidly. I feel a strong compulsion to repeat the word “obscure” that I’m not going to ignore. Maybe they play “obscure doom rock.” And on the off chance someone in the band likes Emperor, I’ll add “exclusively” to that.

But, although when taken as a whole, A Place for Demons isn’t overly aggressive, it sounds like it thinks of itself as metal, and maybe that’s the difference. Whatever tag you might apply — I’ve been through a few — they have become more themselves in this material, and that only makes Warcoe a stronger band, now and moving forward.

You’ll find A Place for Demons streaming in its entirety on the player below, followed by more info from the PR wire.

Listen actively, and please enjoy:

HELTER SKELTER PRODUCTIONS (distributed & marketed by REGAIN RECORDS) is proud to present WARCOE’s highly anticipated second album, A Place for Demons, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

WARCO are a power-trio hailing from Italy, that land rich in doomed materials. Naturally, WARCOE honor their national identity with a ’70s-entrenched vision of pure DOOM METAL as first laid out by Ozzy-era Black Sabbath. In fact, in vocalist/guitarist Stefano Fiorelli, you will not find a more uncanny Ozzy doppelganger.

WARCOE began their journey in 2021, first with a couple digital singles and then an EP, all of which coalesced into their debut album, The Giant’s Dream. Likewise released digitally, The Giant’s Dream was also self-released on CDR and tape in true DIY fashion. So smitten with these authentically vintage vibes, HELTER SKELTER released The Giant’s Dream on CD and vinyl right before the summer, with hopes of spreading the WARCOE name far and wide.

Wasting no time – and, indeed, sure to spread that name further and wider – WARCOE return with their second full-length, A Place for Demons. Aptly titled, A Place for Demons is prime olde-world DOOM, steeped in Sabbathian tones and proto-metal vibes. Much like they did on its full-length predecessor, the power-trio manage to massage new sensations from that eternal archetype whilst staying reverent; if anything, there’s a pronounced swagger to A Place for Demons that suggests star-power in the making.

So, take WARCOE’s hand and enter A Place for Demons: your “new” old-doom trip continues here!

Music and lyrics by Stefano
Warcoe logo by Federico Pazzi Andreoli
Cover art by Shane Horror
Recorded at Avangarage Recording Studio in 2023
Mastered by Craig Thomas (Preyer, UK)

Lineup:
Stefano Fiorelli – guitars and vocals
Carlo – bass
Francesco – drums

Warcoe on Facebook

Warcoe on Instagram

Warcoe on Bandcamp

Helter Skelter Productions on Facebook

Helter Skelter Productions on Instagram

Helter Skelter Productions website

Regain Records on Bandcamp

Morbid and Miserable Records on Facebook

Morbid and Miserable Records on Instagram

Morbid and Miserable Records on Bandcamp

Friday morning and the Spring 2021 Quarterly Review draws to a close. It’s been a good one, and though there are probably enough albums on my desktop to make it go another few days, better to quit while I’m ahead in terms of not-being-so-tired-I’m-angry-at-everything-I’m-hearing. In any case, as always, I hope you found something here you enjoy. I have been pleasantly surprised on more than a few occasions, especially by debuts.

We wrap with more cool stuff today and since I’m on borrowed time as it is, let me not delay.

Quarterly Review #41-50:

Sonic Flower, Rides Again

Like Church of Misery‘s groove but feel kind of icky with all those songs about serial killers? Legit. Say hello to Tatsu Mikami‘s Sonic Flower. Once upon a 2003, the band brought all the boogie and none of the slaughter of Tatsu‘s now-legendary Sabbathian doom rock outfit to a self-titled debut (reissue review here), and Rides Again is the lost follow-up from 2005, unearthed like so many of the early ’70s forsaken classics that clearly inspired it. With covers of The Meters and Graham Central Station, Sonic Flower makes their funky intentions plain as day, and the blowout drums and full-on fuzz they bring to those cuts as well as the five originals on the short-but-satisfying 28-minute offering is a win academically and for casual fans alike. You ain’t gonna hear “Jungle Cruise” or their take on “Earthquake” and come out complaining, is what I’m saying. This is the kind of record that makes you buy more records.

Sonic Flower on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

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Demon Head, Viscera

With Viscera, Copenhagen’s Demon Head make their debut on Metal Blade Records. It is their fourth album overall, the follow-up to 2019’s Hellfire Ocean Void (review here), and it continues the five-piece’s enduring exploration of darker places. Dramatic vocals recount grim narratives over backing instrumentals that are less doom at the outset with “Tooth and Nail” and “The Feline Smile” than goth, and atmospheric pieces like “Arrows” and “The Lupine Choir” and “A Long, Groaning Descent” and “Wreath” and certainly the closer “The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony” further the impression that Viscera, though its title conjures raw guts, is instead an elaborate entirety — if perhaps one of raw guts — and meant to be taken in its 36-minute whole. Demon Head make that LP-friendly runtime a progression down into reaches they’d not until this point gone, tapping sadness for its inherent beauty.

Demon Head on Thee Facebooks

Metal Blade Records website

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Rakta & Deafkids, Live at Sesc Pompeia

Next time someone asks you what the future sounds like, you’ll have a good answer for them. Combined into a six-piece band, Brazilian outfits Rakta and Deafkids harness ambience and space-punk thrust into a sound that is born of a past that hasn’t yet happened. Their Live at Sesc Pompeia LP follows on from a 2019 two-songer, but it’s in the live performance that the spirit of this unity really shines through, and from opener/longest track (immediate points) “Miragem” through the semi-industrialized effects swirl of “Templo do Caos,” into the blower-noise dance party “Sigilo,” the weirdo-chug-jam of “Forma” and the space rock breakout “Flor de Pele” and the percussed buzz and echoing howls of “Espirais,” they are equal parts encompassing and singular. It is not to be ignored, and though there are moments that border on unlistenable, you can hear from the wailing crowd at the end that to be in that room was to witness something special. As a document of that, Live at Sesc Pompeia feels like history in the making.

Rakta on Thee Facebooks

Deafkids on Thee Facebooks

Rapid Eye Records website

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Timo Ellis, Death is Everywhere

A madcap, weighted-but-anti-genre sensibility comes to life in supernova-experimentalist fashion throughout the four songs of Timo Ellis‘ Death is Everywhere. The lockdown-era EP from Ellis (Netherlands, Yoko Ono, Cibo Matto, on and on) makes post-modern shenanigans out of apocalypses inner and outer, and from lines like “this bridal shower is bumming me out” in the unabashedly hooky “Vampire Rodeo” to “the earth will still breathe fire without you!” in “Left Without an Answer,” the stakes are high despite the flittering-in-appreciation-of-the-absurd mood of the tracks themselves. The title-track and “Evolve or Die” blend sonic heft and the experimental pop movement that “Vampire Rodeo” sets forth — the third cut is positively manic and maniacally positive — while “Left Without an Answer” almost can’t help but be consuming as it rolls into a long fade leaving intertwining vocals lines as the last to go, telling the listener to “learn to say goodbye” without making it easy. Won’t be for everyone, doesn’t want to be. Is expression for itself. Feels genuine in that, and admirable.

Timo Ellis on Thee Facebooks

Timo Ellis on Bandcamp

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Heavy Feather, Mountain of Sugar

With not-at-all-subtle nods to Humble Pie and Ennio Morricone in its opening tracks, Heavy Feather‘s second LP, Mountain of Sugar, has boogie to spare. No time is wasted on the 38-minute/11-track follow-up to 2019’s Débris & Rubble (review here), and true to the record’s title, it’s pretty sweet. The collection pits retro mindset against modern fullness in its harmonica-laced, duly-fuzzed title-track, and goes full-Fleetwood on “Come We Can Go” heading into a side B that brings a highlight in the soft-touch-stomp of “Rubble and Debris” and an earned bit of Southern-styled turn in “Sometimes I Feel” that makes a fitting companion to all the bluesy vibes throughout, particularly those of the mellow “Let it Shine” earlier. The Stockholm outfit knew what they were doing last time out too, but you can hear their process being refined throughout Mountain of Sugar, and even its most purposefully familiar aspects come across with a sense of will and playfulness.

Heavy Feather on Thee Facebooks

The Sign Records on Thee Facebooks

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Slow Draw, Yellow & Gray

Don’t tell him I told you so, but Slow Draw is starting to sound an awful lot like a band. What began as a drone/soundscaping project from Stone Machine Electric drummer/noisemaker Mark Kitchens has sprouted percussive roots of its own on Yellow & Gray, and as Kitchens explores textures of psychedelic funk, mellow heavy and even a bit of ’70s proggy homage in “Sylvia” ahead of the readily Beck-ian jam “Turntable” and acousti-drone closer “A Slow Move,” the band-vibe is rampant. I’m going to call Yellow & Gray a full-length despite the fact that it’s 24 minutes long because its eight songs inhabit so many different spaces between them, but however you want to tag it, it demonstrates the burgeoning depth of Kitchens‘ project and how it’s grown in perhaps unanticipated ways. If this is what he’s been doing in isolation — as much as Texas ever shuttered for the pandemic — his time has not been wasted.

Slow Draw on Thee Facebooks

Slow Draw on Bandcamp

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Pilot Voyager, Nuclear Candy Bar

Freak! Out! The 66-minute Nuclear Candy Bar from Hungarian psychedelicists Pilot Voyager might end mostly drifting with the 27-minute “23:61,” but much of the four tracks prior to that finale are fuzz-on-go-go-go-out-out-out heavy jams, full in tone and improv spirit however planned their course may or may not actually be. To say the least, “Fuzziness” lives up to its name, as guitarist/founder Ákos Karancz — joined by bassist Bence Ambrus (who also mastered) and drummers Krisztián Megyeri and István Baumgartner (the latter only on the closer) — uses a relatively earthbound chug as a launchpad for further space/krautrocking bliss, culminating in a scorching cacophony that’s the shortest piece on the record at just under seven minutes. If you make it past the molten heat of the penultimate title-track, there’s no turning away from “23:61,” as the first minute of that next day pulls you in from the outset, a full-length flow all unto itself. More more more, yes yes yes. Alright you get the point.

Pilot Voyager on Thee Facebooks

Psychedelic Source Records on Bandcamp

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The Ginger Faye Bakers, Camaro

Sit with The Ginger Faye Bakers‘ Camaro EP for a little bit. Don’t just listen to the first track, or even the second, third or fourth, on their own, but take a few minutes to put it all together. Won’t take long, the thing’s only 17 minutes long, and in so doing you’ll emerge with a more complex picture of who they are as a band. Yeah, you hear the opening title-cut and think early-Queens of the Stone Age-style desert riffing, maybe with a touch of we’re-actually-from-the-Northeast tonal thickness, but the garage-heavy of “The Creeps” feels self-aware in its Uncle Acid-style swing, and as the trio move through the swinging “The Master” and “Satan’s Helpers,” the last song drawing effectively from all sides, the totality of the release becomes all the more sinister for the relatively straight-ahead beginning just a short time earlier. Might be a listen or two before it sinks in, but they’ve found a niche for themselves here and one hopes they continue to follow where their impulses lead them.

The Ginger Faye Bakers on Thee Facebooks

The Ginger Faye Bakers on Bandcamp

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Neromega, Nero Omega

If you’re not yet keeping an eye on Regain Records offshoot Helter Skelter Productions, Rome’s Neromega are a fervent argument for doing so. The initials-only cultish five-piece are Italian as much in their style of doom as they are in geography, and across their four-song Nero Omega debut EP, they run horror organ and classic heavy rock grooves alongside each other while nodding subtly at more extreme fare like the death ‘n’ roll rumble in closer “Un Posto” or the dirt-coated low end that caps “Pugnale Ardore,” the drifting psych only moments ago quickly forgotten in favor of renewed shuffle. Eight-minute opener “Solitudine,” might be the highlight as well as the longest inclusion on the 24-minute first-showing, but it’s by no means the sum total of what the band have on offer, as they saunter through giallo, psychedelia, doom, heavy riffs and who knows what else to come, they strike an immediately individual atmospheric presence even while actively toying with familiar sounds. The EP is cohesive enough to make me wonder what their initials are.

Neromega on Thee Facebooks

Helter Skelter Productions website

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Tung, Bleak

Some of the made-even-bigger-by-echo vocals from guitarist Craig Kasamis might remind of Maurice Bryan Giles from Red Fang, but Ventura, California’s Tung are up chasing down a different kind of party on 2020’s Bleak, though Kasamis, guitarist David Briceno (since replaced by Bill Bensen), bassist Nick Minasian and drummer Rob Dean have a strong current of West Coast noise rock in what they’re doing as well in “Runaway,” a lurcher like “Spit” later on or the run-till-it-crashes finisher “Fallen Crown,” which the only song apart from the bookending opener “Succession Hand” to have a title longer than a single word. Still, Tung have their own, less pop-minded take on brashness, and this debut album leaves the bruises behind to demonstrate its born-from-hardcore lineage. Their according lack of frills makes Bleak all the more effective at getting its point across, and while they’d probably tell you their sound is nothing fancy, it’s fancy enough to stomp all over your ears for about half an hour, and that’s as fancy as it needs to be. Easy to dig even in its more aggressive moments.

Tung on Thee Facebooks

Plain Disguise Records website

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Anyone out there? Am I talking to myself? Fine, good. Note to myself, then: these guys are onto something. Buried under all the initials-only aestheticism and horror whatnot there’s a current of dark psych very much in league with Italy’s long and storied history of such things — Paul Chain, Death SS, the usual names, plus movies. Plus it’s in Italian, which finds the band less posturing than some of Italy’s more rock-minded outfits of years past trying to party-down in English. This has more edge, but still trippy. Dark trippy. I dig it.

EP was released late 2020, tape. CD/LP through Helter Skelter Productions under the Regain Records banner. Again, pretty cool.

Conclude note to myself:

Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces April 11th as the international release date for Neromega’s striking debut mini-album, Nero Omega, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats.

Neromega is a gathering of Italian musicians from Rome who have been active for over 25 years in different bands and musical contexts, yet knew each other since the mid ’90s and always shared a passion for a certain kind of musical vibe/themes and high-quality songwriting.

Neromega’s debut mini-album, Nero Omega, was initially released in October 2020 on cassette tape in limited quantities, and now Helter Skelter are releasing it on a worldwide scale. And for good reason: Neromega meet at the crossroads of early Black Sabbath, Italian doom, and progressive/psychedelic rock of old. Yet, they find their own unique path by being more than a sum of their elements, their sound equally reeking of doom, Italian giallo/noir/horror morbidity, and Covid-19. With Nero Omega will one find three original songs and a cover of Balletto di Bronzo’s “Un posto,” all of it wrapped in the dulcet tones of their native tongue. The 25 minutes of Nero Omega are but a taste of Neromega’s forthcoming debut album.

In the meantime, stream Neromega in its entirety HERE at Regain Records’ Bandcamp, where both formats can be preordered. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Neromega’s Nero Omega
1. Solitudine [8:02]
2. Pugnale Adore [6:36]
3. Morte Nella Fede [4:31]
4. Un Posto [4:52]

NERO OMEGA IS:
S.M. guitars
S.S. vocals
F.C. guitars
M.S. bass
A.F. drums

www.facebook.com/Neromega.doom
www.helterskelterproductions.se
www.facebook.com/helterskelterproductions
www.regainrecords.bandcamp.com

Neromega, Nero Omega (2020)

Alright. If you clicked here from social media or whatever, or if you’re actually just on the frontpage scrolling through to see what’s here, and you want to just scroll down to the bottom of the post and hear Amon Acid‘s “Overlord,” go ahead. I won’t take it personally. Album’s called Paradigm Shift and it’s out Feb. 26 on Helter Skelter Productions, and the Leeds-based swirl-doomers have a clear bent toward the lysergic and the obscure in their sound, creating a colorful murk that the visualizer for the track mirrors with due hypnotic effect. One is reminded of some of Pombagira‘s willfully dense liquefaction, but Amon Acid may yet prove to be on their own trip with their ambitiously-named debut. I’ll let you know when I hear it. Meantime, preorders are up if you’re feeling adventurous.

PR wire info follows, and if you want to skip that too for the time being and just listen to the song, I won’t tell:

AMON ACID set release date for HELTER SKELTER debut, reveal first track

Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces February 26th, 2021 as the international release date for Amon Acid’s striking debut album, Paradigm Shift, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Hailing from Leeds, UK, Amon Acid formed in 2018 to make psychedelic doom metal. It started as a bit of fun between two people, jamming at home, but after self-releasing their first EP, which received a positive response, it became a serious mission. Indeed, the core duo of Sarantis (originally from Athens) and Briony (from UK) are serious, and one listen to their debut album, Paradigm Shift, is enough to convert unbelievers into fanatics, so hypnotically addicting is their sonic drug.

However, to merely call Amon Acid “psychedelic doom metal” is a misnomer, for the duo’s interests and ethnic backgrounds bring together a swirling soup of unique sensibilities. Across Paradigm Shift, one can hear trace elements of space rock, doom, psych, rebetiko, and Anatolian music as well as their love of horror and science-fiction. In this way, they fuse together a world of sounds which is consistent and unpredictable at the same time. And, unlike so many doomers past and present, Amon Acid acutely know when to lay off the heaviness – the “pedal to the metal,” as it were – and allow the listener to float along to their eerily ethereal textures. Thus, Paradigm Shift is likely to draw in fans of Spiritualized, Acid Mothers Temple, and old Skullflower as surely as those of the paradigmatic Electric Wizard and Reverend Bizarre.

And Amon Acid are just getting started: their forthcoming material is reportedly heading in a heavier direction, with a clearer doom/stoner influence without betraying their broad psychedelic roots. In the meantime, drop out to their Paradigm Shift!

Begin dropping out with the brand-new track “Overlord” both HERE at Regain Records’ official YouTube channel and also HERE at Regain’s Bandcamp, where the album can be preordered. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Amon Acid’s Paradigm Shift
1. Intro [1:19]
2. Monarch [7:30]
3. Alien King [6:13]
4. Overlord [7:38]
5. Fear of Space [5:11]
6. Paradigm Shift [12:42]

AMON ACID are:
Sarantis Charvas – guitar, tzouras, vocals, keyboards/synths, drum programming
Briony Charvas – bass, synths

www.facebook.com/amonacidband
www.helterskelterproductions.se
www.facebook.com/helterskelterproductions
www.helterskelterproductions.bandcamp.com

Amon Acid, “Overlord”

I’ve covered Mephistofeles once or twice over the last couple years. The Argentinian three-piece are probably known as much for their visual style as much as grit-coated distorted riffing, indulging as they do in post-Electric Wizard-style exploitation in various degrees of the pornographic. Truth be told, that kind of thing puts me off, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to like the band, since the music is good. I’ve been through the upcoming EP, A Path of Black, twice now and its three songs should make a killer entry to anyone who hasn’t picked up on them yet. Hooky, filth-toned, semi-doomed but right on in terms of vibe, they bring forward the band’s appeal in a way that somewhat belies the fuckall of their presentation, but still keeps the swing loose and misanthropic.

They’ve signed to Helter Skelter Productions for the new release in February, and their two full-lengths are also being reissued as you can see in the copious PR wire info below. But don’t miss out on the video for EP opener “Lucifer’s Hellride” below. I think the title-cut is the best of the three, but this one surely gets the point across as well.

Dig:

MEPHISTOFELES to release new EP through HELTER SKELTER, reissue two albums – first video from EP streaming now

Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) is proud to announce an alliance with the one and only Mephistofeles. The first fruit of this alliance will be a new EP, A Path of Black, set for release on February 26th, 2021 on CD, 12″ vinyl, and cassette tape formats. Also on February 26th, 2021 shall follow two reissues through Helter Skelter: Mephistofeles’ classic second album, I’m Heroin, on vinyl LP format and the band’s classic third album, Satan Sex Ceremonies, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

One of the cultest names in the underground, Mephistofeles hail from Argentina and have prolifically perfected a literally addicting blend of garage rock, stoner doom, and ritual atmosphere that truly puts the SATANIC in Satanic panic! From 2013 onward, this power-trio have been pumping out one sonic drug after another, from singles and demos to EPs and even live albums, all culminating in three full-lengths to date. And now, longtime fans Helter Skelter Productions will be reissuing parts of Mephistofeles’ back catalog as well as some new recordings.

The first of these new recordings, A Path of Black is a quick-hitting slab of Mephistofeles at their darkest, druggiest best. Featuring three brand-new songs, A Path of Black is aptly titled: there’s garage-rockin’ energy to spare, but you literally feel the darkness dragging you down like a drug you can’t shake. If anything, this EP emphasizes the ROCK far more than the doom, but it’s all recognizably their signature sound. And like all Mephistofeles’ recordings, each of these three tracks is as immediately memorable as the last, the trio’s swagger truly something to behold.

See & hear a special promo video for the brand-new track “Lucifers Hellride” HERE at Regain Records’ YouTube channel. Preorder info can be found HERE at Regain Records’ Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Mephistofeles’ A Path of Black
1. Lucifers Hellride [3:43]
2. Electric Ripper [2:47]
3. A Path of Black [5:45]

The first of the reissues, I’m Heroin was originally released in 2017 but in extremely limited quantities. Mephistofeles have always had a knack for compelling(ly lurid) record titles, and I’m Heroin is no exception: both phonetically and visually in its original incarnation of ( ( ( I ‘ M H E R O I N ) ) ), it conveys the sense of delirium and madness written large across the grooves of this nearly 47-minute work. Indeed, Mephistofeles’ second long-player goes all in on getting gone – hypnotic yet loose, jammy yet locked-in, devilishly drugged-out and above all FUN in its freedom. Minutes turn into hours, hours turn into days, days turn into weeks, ad infinitum…being stuck inside I’m Heroin is like being stuck inside a jellied coma you never wanna come out of! Preorder info can be found HERE at Regain Records’ Bandcamp. Tracklisting is as follows:

Tracklisting for Mephistofeles’ I’m Heroin
1. Transylvanian Funeral [9:09]
2. The Rogue [4:06]
3. White Butterfly [5:55]
4. Trash Lord [5:10]
5. Heroin [5:55]
6. Addicted to Satan [4:19]
7. Into the Night [10:48]

The second of the reissues, Satan Sex Ceremonies was originally released in 2019 but in extremely limited quantities. Mephistofeles have always had a knack for compelling(ly lurid) record titles, and Satan Sex Ceremonies is no exception – in fact, it pretty much sums up the Mephistofeles experience in a mere three words! As such, the album’s a slowly bubbling cauldron of eerie atmospheres and drugged-out sonics; amidst the ever-present haze of hashish and sulfur, it’s by far one of the band’s most authentically DOOM recordings. And at 47 minutes, the simmering slime Mephistofeles here dole out so effortlessly sounds more like 47 hours, so ensnared by addiction you’ll be. Preorder info can be found HERE at Regain Records’ Bandcamp. Tracklisting is as follows:

Tracklisting for Mephistofeles’ Satan Sex Ceremonies
1. Satan Sex Ceremonies / The Wrath of Jacula [15:03]
2. Profanation [3:30]
3. Down Again [4:15]
4. Overdose [3:12]
5. Syringe [6:12]
6. Curse of the Knife [5:17]
7. Chains of Agony [9:51]

http://mephistofeles.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/mephistofelesdrone/
http://instagram.com/fuckoffhippieposers
www.helterskelterproductions.se
www.facebook.com/helterskelterproductions
www.helterskelterproductions.bandcamp.com

Mephistofeles, “Lucifer Hellride” official video