I was fortunate enough to be standing in front of the stage at Het Patronaat at last year’s Roadburn festival when the Irish trio Dread Sovereign made their inaugural live appearance, and subsequently, the first time I put on their debut full-length, All Hell’s Martyrs, the chorus of “Thirteen Clergy” immediately brought back the memory of the murk-laden, atmospherically dense doom the three-piece craft. All Hell’s Martyrs is due for release this Friday, March 21, on Germany’s Ván Records, on both CD and gatefold 2LP with preorders available, and while one might recognize drummer Simon “Sol Dubh” O’Laoghaire and bassist/vocalist Alan “Nemtheanga” Averill from their ongoing tenure in Primordial, Dread Sovereign prove quickly to be an entirely different beast in terms of style and approach.

The guitar work of Bones is an immediate distinguishing factor. While Averill sets a foundation of malevolently churning low end on the 10-minute “Cthulhu Opiate Haze,” Bones‘ guitar is equally amenable to topping it with extended droning feedback, chugging riffs or solos alternately mournful or, as is the case later into the penultimate “Cathars to Their Doom,” rife with classic rocking flair. Averill‘s vocals — inimitable and a key element in Primordial‘s many sonic triumphs — begins “Thirteen Clergy” with a shifted, more trad-doom affect, though it seems to wear off as All Hell’s Martyrs continues to progress, and by the time they’ve made their way through the interlude “The Devil’s Venom” and into “Pray to the Devil in Man” (also the title cut of their 2013 debut EP), he’s melded this take with layered semi-spoken chanting, melodic wails and familiarly righteous proclamations, keeping deeper growls and high-register screaming in his pocket for when the song seems to call for them.

At 67 minutes, All Hell’s Martyrs is a considerable undertaking, and while I haven’t seen how the vinyl edition breaks down into sides, in a linear format its trudging intent is made clear, and the songs seem to echo up from the Lovecraftian horror cave in which they were no doubt put to tape. “Pray to the Devil in Man” gives way to the longer second half of the tracklist, which only gets more consuming as the relatively uptempo “Scourging Iron” gives way to the ambience of the interlude “The Great Beast” en route to the closing trio of “We Wield the Spear of Longinus” (11:35), “Cathars to Their Doom” (8:55) and “All Hell’s Martyrs, Transmissions from the Devil Star” (13:19). Unto themselves, these three tracks carry a full-length’s worth of doomly terrors, but taken in context with the rest of All Hell’s Martyrs preceding, they not only make sure you’re lost within Dread Sovereign‘s plod and wretched sensibilities, but also that you don’t come back the same as you went in. Bones shows more fleetness in his soloing in the faster second half of “We Wield the Spear of Longinus,” but if there’s any hope presented, it’s devoured with everything else by Dread Sovereign‘s noisy, Satanic wash.

For fans of Averill‘s contributions to post-black metal in Primordial — that’s to say nothing of O’Laoghaire‘s own; his drumming is the steady ground on which these tracks are built — the grueling chaos of Dread Sovereign is bound to present a different side, but knowledge of the one by no means precludes enjoyment of the other. These are different bands, and whatever else it might be, All Hell’s Martyrs is a debut from a trio establishing itself in a territory of aesthetic, whatever sense of accomplishment they may bring via past experience. While “Cathars to Their Doom” echoes the numerology of “Thirteen Clergy” in its rocking second half and “All Hell’s Martyrs, Transmissions from the Devil Star” marches into the album’s synth-topped finish, it’s worth appreciating All Hell’s Martyrs as a beginning as much as a culmination.

To my knowledge, the album has been featured in a couple full-length streams this week. I’m happy to be in the company and to have the chance to feature it here for you to check out.

Please enjoy:

[mp3player width=480 height=400 config=fmp_jw_widget_config.xml playlist=dread-sovereign-all-hells-martyrs.xml]

Dread Sovereign‘s All Hell’s Martyrs is out March 21 on Ván Records. For more info, check the links.

All Hell’s Martyrs preorder from Ván Records

Dread Sovereign on Thee Facebooks

Dread Sovereign on Bandcamp

San Francisco/Toronto doom rockers Castle have a new single coming via Ván Records ahead of their third full-length. The band have a lyric video for the lead track, “Second Coming,” an Alice Cooper cover originally appearing on 1971’s Love it to Death paired with “The Ballad of Dwight Fry.” Castle are also set to tour in Europe next month, playing with Conan and The Graviators as well as putting in an appearance at Desertfest in Berlin. Their second record, Blacklands, came out on Prosthetic in 2011, and the new one is expected in spring.

My brain is pretty fried, but it’s a cool cover and the video design follows suit, so have at you:

Castle, “Second Coming” lyric video

Castle cover Alice Cooper’s Second Coming; release single / video

San Francisco doom-tinged metaller’s CASTLE have released a 7″ single on their European label Van Records. The limited edition single features the band covering Alice Cooper’s “Second Coming” as well as a demo track, “Labyrinth of Death” from their upcoming full length. Details for the follow-up to 2012’s “Blacklands” will be released in the coming weeks. For now the band have also unveiled a lyric video for “Second Coming” and European tour dates in support the single.

CASTLE were formed in 2009 and released their debut album “In Witch Order” via the German label Van Records (The Devil’s Blood) in the spring of 2011. The album brought light to the newly formed band and gained them the title of Metal Hammer Norway’s album of the year as well as Roadburn Festival’s “Newcomer of the Year”. The follow-up record “Blacklands” was nominated for a Canadian Juno award for best metal album of the year in 2013.

European Tour Dates
4/11 Cafe Cairo, Würzburg, GER *
4/12 Boröm Pöm Pöm, Oberentfelden, CH
4/13 Slow Club, Freiburg, GER
4/14 La Zone, Leige BEL
4/15 Feierwerk, Munich, GER
4/19 DNA, Brussels, BEL
4/20 Doornroosje, Nijmegen, NL
4/21 Little Devil, Tilburg, NL
4/24 Kulturpalast, Wiesbaden, GER ^
4/25 Vera, Groningen, NL ^
4/26 Desertfest, Berlin, GER
4/27 Underground,Cologne, GER ^
5/1 Katy’s Garage, Dresden, GER

* w/ Conan
^ w/ Conan, Graviators

Castle on Thee Facebooks

Ván Records

Heralding the release of their debut album, Angels’ Necropolis, Swedish cult rockers Year of the Goat (featuring ex-members of House of Aquarius, whose album was recently reissued on Electric Magic Records) have unveiled their new video for the song “Spirits of Fire.” Fans of the newly-departed The Devil’s Blood and of Jess and the Ancient Ones should take note, as Year of the Goat get down with some similarly classic Lucifer loving on the LP. Judging by his smile at the end, Satan is pleased as ever with the arrival of the nudie lady.

The clip came down the PR wire earlier today, followed by the info in blue:

Blazing with over fifty minutes of supreme, metallic occult rock, Angels’ Necropolis, the infernal debut album from YEAR OF THE GOAT, has been claiming mass praise from heavy metal fans and critics alike, elevating this new act in the ranks of the scene quickly.

A brilliantly infectious album highlighting classic metal/occult rock harmonies Östergötland/Norrköping, Sweden-based quintet seemingly permeate the air around them with, rather than “perform” or “execute,” the atmospheric permeation of the eight rituals which comprise their Angel’s Necropolis offering form the proper conditions to transport the listener to another plane of existence; a meditative state in tribute to Lucifer and his legions. The album was released on CD, LP and digitally worldwide via Ván Records, also liable for bringing The Devil’s Blood, The Ruins Of Beverast, Nagelfar and others into the cult spotlight over the last decade.

YEAR OF THE GOAT will hit the stage sporadically and continuously through the year, having just announced the acts first confirmed performances of 2013. Stay tuned for further updates as more shows are confirmed.

YEAR OF THE GOAT Live Rituals:
3/01/2013 John Dee – Sankt Hanshaugen, Norway
3/09/2013 Dynamo – Norrköping, Sweden
3/22/2013 Harry’s Rock Night – Linkoping, Sweden
5/24/2013 Club Destroyer – Sundsvall, Sweden
7/27/2013 Skogsröjet – Rejmre, Sweden
8/29/2013 Beyond The Gates – Bergen, Norway
11/16/2013 Hammer Of Doom Festival – Würzburg, Germany

Always diverse, always intriguing, the Roadburn lineup continues to expand its horizons and those of anyone lucky enough to get tickets. Word just came down the wire of San Franciscan metallers Castle being added. Check it out below, followed by their new video for the song “Corpse Candles” from their Van Records sophomore outing, Blacklands. Right on:

San Francisco’s Castle bringing “true” metal to Roadburn 2013

Like your metal chunky? Full of old-school doomy riffs? So do we! That’s why we’re really happy to announce that San Francisco’s metal juggernaut Castle have been confirmed for the Roadburn festival on Thursday, April 18th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, Holland.

Signed to Ván Records, Castle have created quite a buzz with their energetic live shows and their extremely well-reviewed albums “In Witch Order” and “Blacklands”. The lineup is a classic power trio comprised of bassist/vocalist Elizabeth Blackwell, guitarist (and occasional vocalist) Mat Davis and drummer Al McCartney. Their churning, roiling metal is filled with intensely catchy riffs framed by memorable songwriting and delivered with gusto and true metal panache.

Mostly delving into mid-tempo, heavy headbanging territory, Castle are anything but an anachronistic throwback band. Instead, they take the classic sound of doomy metal and infuse it with creativity and relentless drive to create a vital and unstoppable onslaught of chunky riffs, catchy hooks and bludgeoning energy that reminds us of the metal we grew up worshipping, but in an undeniably contemporary way.

Celebrate the pure joy of real metal with Castle at the Roadburn festival, you will find us in the front row headbanging like we used to do in our bedrooms when we were 13!