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Thursday, June 2, 2022

WHITE MARE – ISLE OF BLISS ( Review by Varg The Mighty )

 

Today’s review is of International Melodic Death Doom Metal band White Mare’s debut album.

This release offers a desolate soundscape that displays pretty well the feelings of desperation that are often associated with the genre. Through calm and atmospheric sections that sometimes outnumber the heavier bits, a melancholic aura is steadily weaved.

While it’s a good piece of saddened melody and looming demise, it may be too dense for those that aren’t too used to the slowest kinds of Doom. Nonetheless, diehard fans of the genre will be pleased with this dark opus. The album lingers between a fairly ambient approach to Melodic Doom Metal and Funeral Doom at its peaks, and their identity seems to be crafted in between. My personal highlights are “Time, The Devourer” and “The White Mares’ Procession”.

I recommend this album to fans of Melodic Death Doom Metal and Funeral Doom Metal. My rating is of 8,5/10.

VARG THE MIGHTY 


 

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Barbarian Swords Excrete Crusaders Of The Apocalypse Single – The Return

Barbarian Swords excretan el single de Crusaders Of The Apocalypse – The Return





11 and a half minutes of sonic rot perpetrated from their rehearsal room, and dating from who knows when. That is what Barbarian Swords have decided to present as a preview of Crusaders Of The Apocalypse – The Return, the reissue of their first demo ten years later along with six unreleased songs and a second CD with a concert in Barcelona that has never been released before either.

'Untitled II' had not been heard until now, and it has the particularity that its bassist Panzer is the one who takes the reins on vocals. Thus, instead of Von Päx's poison we find here some frightful gutturals that come to finish off a song that is already especially maddening and agonizing. This is the version of the black doom of Barbarian Swords more past, noisy, caveman and infected.

Crusaders Of The Apocalypse – The Return will be out on June 17 through Negra Nit and Negre planY, but you can already pre-order here

: http://www.paura.cat/es/negra-nit-/3539-barbarian-swords-crusaders-of-the-apocalypse-the-return.html
Click on the screen to listen to the new Barbarian Swords single

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BarbarianSwords
Instagram: www.instagram.com/barbarianswords
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BarbarianSwords
Bandcamp: https://barbarianswords.bandcamp.com

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OZZY OSBOURNE POSTER IN BARCELONA 1992 ( REVIEW BY JAVIER BARBA VALLEJO)


 ESPAÑOL:

 Este especialmente para mí es un post que me encanta poder hacer y hablar de ello , para destacar la implicación desinteresada de amig@s personales y de Facebook haciendo piña entre nosotr@s por la colaboración entre gente del Metal.
Corría el mes de Diciembre de 2021 cuando Cesar Aguilar  me hizo un encargo de un par de Satan Things en A3 enmarcados , concretamente el del Monsters Of Rock de 1991 con AC/DC de cabeza de cartel y el de Metallica de 1992 ambos en Barcelona y junto a ellos me pidió un tercero , el cartel del concierto al que asistió de Ozzy Osbourne en Zeleste el 1/3/92  , pero él me decía que  no recordaba haber visto jamas cartel alguno de ese concierto y fué entonces cuando yo flipe muchísimo , porque pese a ser uno de los muchos conciertos memorables de los que he asistido y conocer la temática de los carteles , lo había olvidado por completo !!! .... aparte de no tenerlo en el catalogo de Satan Things y tampoco recordarlo en los pirulís publicitarios de las calles y traseras de los kioscos donde hace años arrancaba yo los carteles .
Así que me puse a investigar sobre él por internet y preguntando a mis amistades Old School , pero por ningún sitio salía y nadie lo recordaba ....
Y es entonces cuando decidí exponer mí duda en mí muro de Facebook y ver con grata sorpresa la implicación de la gente en resolverla , entre los que comentaron estuvo mí gran amigo  Jose Manuel Perez  alias Pepe "Motor", Javi Canovas  , el incendiario David Sarabia Peicasat  , Javi Morales  , Eric Moya  , los Kisseros Jesús Valverde Ruiz  y Salva Rockss  ,  Jaume Harris Maiden Costa Villà  , David Wasp  , Rafael Rodriguez Saavedra  , Jordi Pons Gibernau ,  Ricki Rcde  , Cesar Aguilar , Jordi Del Rio Macias  , el gran coleccionista , colaborador y amigo Greg Pntt  , mí amigo Joan Ponte  quien mostró una pequeña imagen del anuncio de gira y Javi Metaliko  que nadie sabe más de carteles que él , quien dijo que solo existió un cartel de color naranja compartido con otros grupos en los que sólo ponía las fechas .
En el año 91/92 Ozzy Osbourne montó la gira de promoción de su sexto álbum de estudio "No More Tears" (1991) dando el nombre a la gira de "Theatre Of Madness" una gira de pequeñas salas y teatros en las que decía mantenerse fuera de la influencia del alcohol y las drogas y querer volver a sentir la cercania de sus fans en directo como en los inicios de su carrera , bueno .....y también sea dicho de paso la recesión en ventas tanto de discos como de tickets de grandes bandas del Metal , tanto en Estados Unidos como en Europa debido a crisis económicas , el auge que se le dio con marketing al Grunge  para que dominara la actualidad  comercial del panorama musical y la falta de apoyo e interés de las discográficas por el Heavy Metal más clasico , por citar un ejemplo discos de bandas Europeas como Doro en EEUU por esa época pasaron a llegarles solo de  importación porque ya no había interés por este tipo de grupos .
El caso es que en Europa esa gira hizo trece fechas y una de ellas la única del territorio cayó en Barcelona , como en las del resto de Europa apenas salieron las entradas a la venta se agotaron en un Pim Pam !!!
Y ya ni se llegaron ha hacer carteles publicitarios , aunque tras la info que saqué de la consulta en Facebook y con una pequeña imagen que mostro Joan Ponte , me puse a la búsqueda y conseguí encontrar y digitalizar el cartel de la gira  Europea "Theatrer Of Madnes"  aproximadamente de 100 cm x 140 cm.
Aunque lo puedo hacer desde su tamaño original a cualquier medida , me lo he hecho para mí enmarcado a 40 cm x 30 cm (A3 , El de la foto1).
Recuerdo que al salir de la estación  del Metro de Marina ese día caminando hacia la sala Zeleste por la calle  Almogavars dos gigantescos focos antiaéreos se reflejaban en las nubes nocturnas que ví al ir llegando frente a la sala junto con dos grandes inflables de Demonios que no cabían en la sala , dentro no se podía ni respirar de lo apretada que estaba la gente , esta época era anterior a la actual normativa de aforos y Zeleste tuvo conciertos como Iron Maiden , Ozzy o Blind Guardian por citar algunos que fueron una puta jaula de grillos apretad@s a presión , aún así estuve por las primeras filas y el loco de Ozzy me tiró unos cuantos cubos de agua por encima como ya hiciese en su primera visita al Palacio de los deportes en 1989. Michael Inez al bajo , Randy Castillo a la batería y Zakk Wilde a la guitarra ofrecieron un bolazo mítico y brutal , pese a que "No More Tears" era un álbum mucho más melódico  y no tan Heavy como su anterior "No Rest For The Wicked" (1988)  y todo bajo la atenta mirada de la esposa y manager del Madman , Sharon Osbourne desde un lado del escenario .
Al acabar el concierto aún dentro de la sala me encontré con Zakk Wilde y me firmo la entrada de ese memorable show del que ahora tengo el cartel en Satan Things por si alguien le interesa.
Quiero agradecer en este post a tod@s aquell@s que participaron y comentaron aquel día mí pregunta por qué sin ell@s no lo hubiese conseguido.
SATAN THINGS RULES  !!!

ENGLISH:

This especially for me is a post that I love to be able to do and talk about it, to highlight the selfless involvement of personal friends and Facebook making pineapple among us for the collaboration between Metal people.
It was December 2021 when Cesar Aguilar commissioned me for a couple of Satan Things in framed A3, specifically the Monsters Of Rock from 1991 with AC/DC headlining and the Metallica from 1992 both in Barcelona and Along with them he asked me for a third one , the poster of the concert he attended by Ozzy Osbourne in Zeleste on 3/1/92 , but he told me that he did not remember ever having seen any poster of that concert and that was when I freaked out a lot , because despite being one of the many memorable concerts I have attended and knowing the theme of the posters, I had completely forgotten about it!!! .... apart from not having it in the Satan Things catalog and not remembering it in the advertising lollipops on the streets and behind the kiosks where years ago I tore up the posters.


So I started researching about it online and asking my Old School friends, but it didn't come out anywhere and no one remembered it....
And that's when I decided to expose my doubt on my Facebook wall and see with pleasant surprise the involvement of people in solving it, among those who commented was my great friend Jose Manuel Perez aka Pepe "Motor", Javi Canovas, the arsonist David Sarabia Peicasat, Javi Morales, Eric Moya, the Kisseros Jesús Valverde Ruiz and Salva Rockss, Jaume Harris Maiden Costa Villà, David Wasp, Rafael Rodriguez Saavedra, Jordi Pons Gibernau, Ricki Rcde, Cesar Aguilar, Jordi Del Rio Macias, the great collector, collaborator and friend Greg Pntt , my friend Joan Ponte who showed a small image of the tour advertisement and Javi Metaliko who knows more about posters than him , who said that there was only one orange poster shared with other groups in which he only put the dates.
In the year 91/92 Ozzy Osbourne mounted the promotion tour of his sixth studio album "No More Tears" (1991) giving the name to the tour of "Theatre Of Madness" a tour of small halls and theaters in which he said stay out of the influence of alcohol and drugs and want to feel the closeness of his fans again live as in the beginning of his career, well ..... and also the recession in sales of both albums and of tickets of great Metal bands , both in the United States and in Europe due to economic crises , the boom that was given to Grunge marketing so that it would dominate the commercial current affairs of the music scene and the lack of support and interest from the record companies for the most classic Heavy Metal, to cite an example, albums by European bands like Doro in the US at that time only came to them as imports because there was no longer any interest in this type of group.

The fact is that in Europe that tour made thirteen dates and one of them the only one in the territory fell in Barcelona, ​​as in the rest of Europe as soon as the tickets went on sale they sold out in a Pim Pam!!!


And advertising posters weren't even made, although after the information I got from the query on Facebook and with a small image that Joan Ponte showed, I started searching and managed to find and digitize the poster for the European tour "Theatre Of Madnes" approximately 100 cm x 140 cm.
Although I can make it from its original size to any measure, I have made it for myself framed at 40 cm x 30 cm (A3, The one in photo1).
I remember that when I left the Marina Metro station that day, walking towards the Zeleste room along Almogavars street, two gigantic anti-aircraft searchlights were reflected in the night clouds that I saw as I arrived in front of the room together with two large inflatable Demons that did not they fit in the room , inside you could not even breathe because of how crowded the people were , this time was before the current capacity regulations and Zeleste had concerts like Iron Maiden , Ozzy or Blind Guardian to name a few that were a fucking cage of crickets tight under pressure, even so I was in the front rows and crazy Ozzy threw a few buckets of water over me as he did on his first visit to the Palacio de los Deportes in 1989. Michael Inez on bass, Randy Castillo on the drums and Zakk Wilde on the guitar offered a mythical and brutal hit, despite the fact that "No More Tears" was a much more melodic album and not as Heavy as his previous "No Rest For The Wicked" (1988) and all under the watchful eye of the Madman's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne from the side of the stage.
At the end of the concert, still inside the room, I met Zakk Wilde and he signed me in for that memorable show that I now have the poster for in Satan Things in case anyone is interested.
I want to thank in this post all those who participated and commented on that day, my question is why without them I would not have succeeded.
SATAN THINGS RULES!!!

JAVIER BARBA VALLEJO




HERO,HERO (JUDAS PRIEST COMPILATION) REVIEW BY JAVIER BARBA VALLEJO ( SPA/ENG)


 ESPAÑOL:

 

No soy muy de comprar recopilaciones de mis grupos favoritos a no ser que sean oficiales , míticas o importantes en su carrera como era el caso del Strorng Arm Metal (1984) de Saxon a la cual ya le hice un post/articulo .
Ahora me ha llegado el tiempo de comprarme Hero , Hero (1981) de mis adorados Judas Priest una recopilación no oficial de sus dos primeros álbumes Rocka Rolla (1974) y Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976 ) lanzada sin el permiso de la banda , por su pequeña compañía discográfica independiente en aquellos tiempos Gull Records.
Debe de ser por nostalgia de que en los 80 era un clasicazo esta portada del ilustrador Melvin Grant que tituló "Sword Of Gael" que me encontraba siempre al rebuscar por las tiendas y ferias de discos y que ahora ya no la veo por ahí y eso es lo que ha hecho decidirme a comprarla , no sin antes consultarlo con "El Presi" de Bathory Zine , Didac Metallian López gran conocedor de los Judas asesorandome para acabar comprando una edición más exclusiva concretamente esta con la carpeta que se abre en doble y en su interior hay una ilustración del grupo muy a lo Pop de Andy Warhol del artista Alan Morrison.
En la edición normal aunque Hero Hero es una recopilación doble la carpeta no se abre.
Musicalmente pues Judas Fucking Priest de los primeros tiempos obras maestras como todo lo que han hecho en su carrera.

 
 
ENGLISH : 
´
 I'm not very fond of buying compilations of my favorite bands unless they are official, mythical or important in their career, as was the case with Saxon's Strong Arm Metal (1984), to which I already did a post/article.
Now the time has come for me to buy Hero, Hero (1981) by my beloved Judas Priest an unofficial compilation of their first two albums Rocka Rolla (1974) and Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976) released without the permission of the band, by his small independent record company at the time Gull Records.
It must be because of nostalgia that in the 80s this cover by the illustrator Melvin Grant entitled "Sword Of Gael" was a classic that I always found when searching through stores and record fairs and that now I don't see it around anymore and that This is what made me decide to buy it, but not without first consulting with "El Presi" from Bathory Zine, Didac Metallian López, a great connoisseur of the Judas, advising me to end up buying a more exclusive edition, specifically this one with the folder that opens in double and in Inside there is an illustration of Andy Warhol's very Pop group by artist Alan Morrison.
In the normal edition, although Hero Hero is a double compilation, the folder does not open.
Musically, then, Judas Fucking Priest from the early days, masterpieces like everything they've done in their career.

JAVIER BARBA VALLEJO



SOUTHERN NORTH – NARRATIONS OF A LOST SOUL ( Review By Varg The Mighty )


 

SOUTHERN NORTH – NARRATIONS OF A LOST SOUL

Today’s review is of Greek Experimental one-woman project Southern North’s new album.

This release is very daring and hard to pin in a concrete style. It’s like a more ambient approach to Wolvennest, a less jazzy version of Katharos XIII’s new album or a heavier version of My Dying Bride’s “Evinta”. While the Metal elements it incorporates don’t fully coalesce most of the time, it may appeal to fans of Experimental Black Metal given its dark, atmospheric, avant-garde and occult direction.

It has a certain kind of disturbing feeling that may also be compared to Rïcïnn or Diamanda Galás in a more spacy way, and the Doom influences combined with an amazing vocal performance truly help to materialise its vast amount of mysticism. All these descriptions differ in some way or another from the true essence exposed on the album, so a play of it is highly recommended to comprehend it for oneself. Fans of Dark Ambient and the likes will also surely enjoy it, but for listeners of more dynamic genres it may feel long, for its undeniably dense for the unexperienced. As usual, it’s a full-length that grows after every time you listen to it. There’s also notably an unsettling synth-driven cover of Bathory. My personal highlights are “Alpha Sophia” and “Elegy Of Hecate”.

I recommend this album to fans of Atmospheric Avant-Garde Metal, Dark Ambient and Experimental Black Metal. My rating is of 9,5/10.

VARG THE MIGHTY