Italian horror-themed doom rockers Arcana 13 released their debut album, Danza Macabra, last month via Aural Music, and their new video is comprised of footage from Dario Argento‘s 1980 film, Inferno. Not exactly small potatoes in terms of what they’re taking on to accompany the track in question, “Hell Behind You,” but the scale of the song works on a likewise ambitious scale, culling the raw classic doom of Pentagram and the more poised approach of Candlemass and setting it to a modern swing that’s not quite indebted to Uncle Acid, but definitely aware of the rise of garage doom this decade has wrought. It’s as much traditional as it is forward thinking, and while the roots are metallic, “Hell Behind You” finds the Ravenna foursome with a corresponding heavy rock sensibility.

That comes through especially in the solo section of “Hell Behind You” and in the drumming of the chorus, but as the horror show plays out in the video, the song develops a strong rhythmic push with cinematic elements of its own, layers of effects or keys and dramatic tempo changes, opening to crash cymbals and a brooding setup for the grand finale that ends out just as Inferno seems to be most living up to its title. If you’re not familiar with the movie, it’s got witches, murder, bizarre rituals, of course fire — pretty much everything one could ask, and the video does a good job of setting its timing to the song. Which you could find out for yourself easily enough just by watching the thing.

Danza Marcabra is out now. More info follows the clip itself, which you’ll find on the player below.

Enjoy:

Arcana 13, “Hell Behind You” official video

ARCANA 13 – “Hell Behind You” official video from the album DANZA MACABRA with images taken from Dario Argento’s masterpiece “Inferno” (1980). Order DANZA MACABRA NOW (LTD MUSIC BOX / Digipak CD / 2xLP): http://www.auralwebstore.com

Italy-based Heavy Occult Rock legion ARCANA 13 unveil their Italian horror inspired debut album featuring cover artwork by legendary Enzo Sciotti. Imagine the ominous mystique of Lucio Fulci’s classic The Beyond or Dario Argento’s Inferno set to a Black Sabbath or Pentagram-inspired soundtrack: this is ARCANA 13.

Out March 11th 2016 on Aural Music.

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Italian outfit Void of Sleep will release their new album, New World Order, on Oct. 19 through Aural Music. It’s their second full-length behind 2013’s Tales Between Reality and Madness and arrives anchored in the rather bleak theme of a hopeless future, not so much telling about a character’s struggle against it as reveling in the futility of that struggle to start with across seven tracks/44 minutes that only become more expansive as they go. The four-piece — guitarist/vocalist Andrea “Burdo” Burdisso, guitarist/backing vocalist Marco “Gale” Galeotti, bassist Riccardo “Paso” Pasini and drummer Andrea “Allo” Allodoli — cast a broad stylistic net, varying in poise and aggression throughout, but ultimately land in a comfortable space that blends the impact of sludge riffing with the purposefulness of prog.

Split into two sides, New World Order presents its atmosphere through its theme and through the sound of the material itself — precise but not too clean. Early on, with the opening duo of “The Devil’s Conjuration” and “Hidden Revelations,” Void of Sleep show themselves to be capable of melding complex structures with resonant hooks, the melodies and shouts banding together in order to make an individual impression as “Slaves Shall Serve” takes hold leading into the side A closer “Ordo ab Chao,” which slows down and spreads out earlier intensity as a precursor to some of the second half of the album’s more grandiose sensibilities. Those manifest quickly in the side B intro “Lords of Conspiracy” — one may recognize the same from which this record derives its title from Ministry‘s use of it in “N.W.O.” circa 1992 — but only get more expansive as Void of Sleep push through the title-track and into the 14-minute closer “Ending Theme.”

Compared to what follows, the first half of New World Order is more straightforward. Its choruses are hooks and it feels put together on the basis of its individual songs. Side B, on the other hand, is meant to feed right from its intro into “New World Order” and into “Ending Theme,” which also breaks into three component parts over its extended runtime. Accordingly, Void of Sleep come across as more theatrical and narrative, though many of the elements they’re using to give that vibe are similar to what they presented earlier on — tight rhythms, crisp melodies, a generally progressive ambience around what they’re touring and why they’re doing it, and so on. As such, though it doesn’t quite account for a complete summary of what New World Order has to offer, I’m thrilled today to be able to host the premiere of “Hidden Revelations” ahead of the album’s release next month.

The longest cut on side A at 6:36, it boasts a particularly engaging interplay from the two — that’s not to say “dueling” — vocalists and an aggro mood resulting that only develops and grows richer as the rest of New World Order plays out.

Please find “Hidden Revelations” on the player below, followed by info off the PR wire, and enjoy:

Italian progressive occult metal visionaries, VOID OF SLEEP, will release their sophomore full-length next month via Aural Music. Titled, New World Order, the seven track concept album and follow-up to 2013’s acclaimed Tales Between Reality And Madness long player was captured by bassist Riccardo Pasini (Ephel Duath, The Secret) at Studio73 in Ravenna, Italy and mastered by Collin Jordan (Eyehategod, Indian, Wovenhand, Voivod etc.) at The Boiler Room in Chicago, Illinois.

“New World Orderrepresents to us a new culmination of our sound,” issues of the band of their latest compositions. “Now more than ever you can call it visionary, sludgy and progressive. It’s an occult, esoteric and wicked metaphor to the modern society as we consider it: with no positive expectations of the future of this world. This album embraces the concept of evil in its purest form. Since the beginning, man has been doomed to consume and enslave and destroy his own kind in an absurd discord to the final extinction.”

New World Order comes shrouded in the arcane cover creation of Simone Bertozzi who relays of the work, “while doing it I experienced the breath of Lucifer on my back, the Illuminati around the corner and reptilians getting ready for my abduction. Coincidence? I think not.”

New World Order Track Listing:
1. The Devil’s Conjuration
2. Hidden Revelations
3. Slaves Shall Serve
4. Ordo Ab Chao
5. Lords Of Conspiracy
6. New World Order
7. Ending Theme (l. Mourn ll. Triumphant lll. Void)

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New World Order preorders through Aural Music