Profound Lore   Page 6

Dysrhythmia

Test Of Submission

Profound Lore

Extreme instrumental jazz- / fusion- / whatever-metal has seen a widespread resurgence of late, with a plethora of new bands out there trying to show off their musical fortitude. Brooklyn, NY’s Dysrhythmia, comprised of guitarist Kevin Hufnagel (Gorguts), bassist Colin Marston (Gorguts, Krallice, Behold… The Arctopus) and drummer Jeff Eber, formed over a decade ago and are among the pioneers of this new movement. Nobody else in the early ’00s was doing what they were doing, and it’s no surprise that the forward-thinking Relapse Records took notice. Over the course of three full-length albums for the label and countless jaw-dropping live shows, Dysrhythmia built a fanbase that ranged from extreme metal-heads to extreme music nerds. The band’s latest album, Test of Submission, is the darkest and most intense of their already storied career. Dysrhythmia prove themselves light years beyond the current crop of instrumental virtuosos, and it’s important to note that they compose actual songs with proper structures instead of merely showcasing the fact that they can play the living hell out of their instruments. Witness them wipe the floor with the competition on their most triumphant work yet.

Ash Borer

Cold Of Ages

Profound Lore

Arcata’s Ash Borer formed several years ago and in just a short time was recognized as one of the most prominent black metal bands from California. With a style of raw black metal that is bleak and atmospheric as well as harsh and searing, the group is aligned with such elite artists as the (now defunct) Weakling, Xasthur and Leviathan, along with the Black Twlight Circle (Volhan, Arizmenda, Dolovotre, etc.) and the Rhinocervs cult (Odz Manouk and Tukaaria). Their first demo, released in 2009, was just a mere glimpse of the coming sonic storm unleashed over the following years: a split EP with Santa Cruz’s Fell Voices, an acclaimed self-titled debut album, and a series of decimating live shows.  The band’s new album Cold of Ages finds Ash Borer at the height of their powers, one of the most important acts hailing from the American scene alongside the likes of Negative Plane, Avichi, Inquisition, and the aforementioned Black Twilight Circle and Rhinocervs horde. A darker and much more devastating work than the debut, Cold of Ages is a surging, twisted, primal and sprawling epic and will find its place among the most prominent black metal releases of the year.

Evoken

Atra Mors

Profound Lore

***BACK IN PRINT ON LIMITED VIOLET VINYL!!! After being out of print for a decade, Profound Lore’s 100th release is finally available again on vinyl in a limited pressing (Violet Vinyl, 500 units), namely Evoken’s landmark Atra Mors album. This is the death / doom metal legend’s milestone release that brought the band a new level of recognition and awareness that propelled their status as one of the most essential death / doom metal bands of all time, landing Evoken upon the highest echelon of the genre.

Howling Wind

Of Babalon

Profound Lore

Ryan Lipynsky is one of the most accomplished and underrated visionaries in the American extreme music underground. With Thralldom, he helped shape US black metal movement; with Unearthly Trance, he defined a new age of avant-blackened doom by forging one of the scene’s mightiest entities. His more recent venture, The Howling Wind, continues where Thralldom left off, with Lipynsky and collaborator Tim Parasitic (Aldebaran) pushing black metal into even more virulent territories. With their third album, not only do Lipynsky and Parasitic deliver the deadliest Howling Wind release yet, but in this current age where lines have been blurred, they present a fist-in-the-face genuine black metal album that realizes the true essence of the genre. Recorded by Colin Marston in his Thousand Caves studios, embodying unrelenting chaos and spiritual force in its music, lyrics and aesthetic themes, Of Babalon will yet again prove Lipynsky as one of America’s most important underground musicians today.

Bosse-de-nage

III

Profound Lore

Little is known about Bay Area enigma Bosse-De-Nage, since the band rarely plays live, doesn’t disclose its membership, or partake in promotional activities like interviews or promo photos. Nonetheless, the four-piece has a solid and distinct repertoire at their disposal. A cassette demo (released by Aesop Dekker of Agalloch / Worm Ouroboros / Ludicra fame) and two full-length albums (on Flenser Records) have made an impression within the underground, and the band’s vitriolic mix of minimal black metal, indie rock and post-punk has garnered reviews describing them as a black metal version of the legendary Slint. Their latest album and first for Profound Lore, titled simply III, is the most sophisticated and introspective Bosse-De-Nage release to date—one of the most powerful collisions of indie rock and black metal you’ll hear this year.

Witch Mountain

Cauldron Of The Wild

Profound Lore

Portland’s oldest existing doom metal band, Witch Mountain has an interesting history leading up to the present day. Formed in 1997 by guitarist Rob Wrong (Iommi Stubbs, ex-M99) and drummer Nathan Carson (Point Line Plane, Two Ton Boa, SUNN0))) collaborator), the group released their debut album …Come the Mountain to critical acclaim in 2001. In those years, Witch Mountain was a live staple in the Northwest and on the national circuit, touring with Weedeater and Spirit Caravan and gigging with the likes of Lost Goat, Bongzilla, Goatsnake, High on Fire, Orange Goblin, Electric Wizard, YOB, Unsane, EyeHateGod, Alabama Thunderpussy, Clutch, Sour Vein, Isis, Soilent Green, Raging Slab, Warhorse, Agalloch, Thrones, etc., etc.  A period of hibernation ensued until 2009 when the group resurfaced with front-woman Uta Plotkin, whose unmistakable, soaring vocal style has prompted critics to describe Witch Mountain as what Black Sabbath would sound like if fronted by Janis Joplin. Sophomore album South of Salem, recorded with mega-producer Billy Anderson in 2010 and initially self-released on vinyl only, garnered exceptional press from Decibel magazine all the way to NPR (who dubbed it the #4 metal album of the year) and beyond. With activity in the Witch Mountain camp currently at its peak, it’s no surprise that the long-awaited Cauldron of the Wild is easily the band’s mightiest release to date. Plotkin’s unparalleled vocals are at the height of their powers and the band (now featuring new bass player Neal Munson) delivers their heaviest, darkest and most soulful release yet....

Dawnbringer

Into The Lair Of The Sun God

Profound Lore

Dawnbringer has always been underrated—heralded by a select few as the best and most unique American metal band you’ve never heard. For a long time they were the one group lead by mastermind Chris Black that was unknown to most people familiar with his body of work, even though they are Black’s longest-running project. When Profound Lore released Dawnbringer’s Nucleus album in 2010, four years after its In Sickness and in Dreams predecessor (which, in turn, arrived six years after the band’s second album!), the metal world took notice and Dawnbringer finally began getting the recognition they deserved, appearing on quite a few “best of 2010” lists. Since Nucleus, the Dawnbringer machine has become more active than ever, and Black is poised to deliver its follow-up: a concept piece entitled Into the Lair of the Sun God. With its songs titled simply as the chapter numbers to the unfolding story, the album continues in the Dawnbringer fashion of epic, unique, forward-thinking heavy metal that captures the classic spirit of the past while pushing the movement forward to the future. One of the best American heavy metal albums of 2012, Into the Lair of the Sun God lays waste to poser novelty bands of the modern day.

Aldebaran

Embracing The Lightless Depths

Profound Lore

Along with the now-defunct Asunder, Portland, Oregon’s Aldebaran are the West Coast’s most prominent funeral / death / doom metal band. Despite only one proper album to their name, the group is relatively prolific, having released a number of EPs and appeared on many compilations and splits (with the likes of Unearthly Trance and Zoroaster, to name a few) since forming in 2004. Embracing the Lightless Depths is their long-awaited sophomore full-length—the follow-up to Dwellers in the Twilight (Parasitic Records, 2007)—and comes on the heels of last year’s single-track, 30-minute EP Buried Beneath Aeons. Delivering their strongest material to date, the album takes Aldebaran’s colossal funeral doom to its monolithic and monstrous zenith.

Occultation

Three And Seven

Profound Lore

Formed in the late ’00s, Brooklyn, New York’s Occultation released the limited Somber Dawn EP in 2011. Showcasing their bizarre brand of creepy and haunting psych horror metal, the three-track 7-inch attrached a buzz due to the presence of Negative Plane mastermind EMM (a.k.a. Nameless Void) on guitars and backing vocals. With Negative Plane’s reputation as one of the most important US black metal bands today, it was no surprise that the band’s aura rubbed off on Occultation—their twisted, dissonant and progressively constructed guitar scales finding their way into Occultation’s vision of horror. But Occultation has morphed into a beast in its own right. Along with weird and unearthly guitar play, the trio conjures ethereal and ghostly female vocals, dirge-like organ sounds, pulsating bass lines and ritualistic drum rhythms. The band takes its cues from ’70s prog, ’80s dark rock, classic metal (most notably early Mercyful Fate and Death SS) and cult horror soundtracks. Their debut full-length album Three & Seven is a haunting, creepy and unrelenting venture into a cathedral of sonic horror.

Worm Ouroboros

Come The Thaw

Profound Lore

Formed in 2008 by Lorraine Rath (ex-The Gault, Amber Asylum) and Jessica Way, San Francisco’s Worm Ouroboros made quite an impression with their self-titled debut album—described by Decibel magazine as “Kate Bush sitting in with Asunder.” Their delicately constructed chamber pieces, an immaculate combination of ’80s 4AD-inspired dark rock and doom metal, provided the perfect accompaniment to Agalloch on that band’s Marrow of the Spirit North American tour in the spring of 2011, and Worm Ouroboros even had the live set from their NY show streamed on NPR.  Now joined by veteran drumming underground legend Aesop Dekker (of Agalloch and the now-defunct Ludicra) on drums, Worm Ouroboros presents their most fully realized work yet. On Come the Thaw, the group refines their musical craft into something more meticulous and moving, staking out a much darker, more somber and delicate-sounding territory.

Locrian & Mamiffer

Bless Them That Curse You

Profound Lore

Bless Them That Curse You is the anticipated collaboration between two of the most respected and forward-thinking bands in the experimental / progressive music realm.  Chicago, Illinois’s Locrian craft epic waves of ambient noise mixed with elements of black metal and soundscape drone. The prolific group has assembled a mesmerizing and genre-defying body of work that continues to progress with each release. Founded by artist Faith Coloccia after the dissolution of her experimental project Everlovely Lightningheart, Mamiffer blends neoclassical piano with ambient electronic hums and reductionist metal dirge. Coloccia has collaborated with myriad musicians in the past but found a steadiness with her Mamiffer co-conspirators Travis Rommeriem and her partner Aaron Turner (of Isis / Hydra Head Records fame). Bless Them That Curse You fuses the two bands’ unique styles in an elegant and beautiful marriage. Adding layer upon layer of sound to color a vast sonic canvas, Locrian and Mamiffer exceed all expectations, delivering a whole far greater than the sum of its parts. The album was recorded at Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studios in Chicago and mixed by Randall Dunn in Seattle.

Pallbearer

Sorrow And Extinction

Profound Lore

Never before has a band generated such a huge buzz on the strength of a single demo release. With only a three-song self-released cassette to their name, Little Rock, Arkansas’s Pallbearer have risen through the ranks of the doom metal scene with unprecedented speed. The group’s sound recalls classic traditional heavy metal, taking cues not only from legendary doom bands like Candlemass, Trouble and Warning, but also from ’70s prog and hard rock. Sorrow and Extinction is Pallbearer’s much-anticipated proper debut album and it surpasses all expectations. Powerful melodies counterbalance epic, somber passages of gloom, and the soaring vocals from frontman Brett Campbell sound eerily like a young Ozzy Osbourne in his prime. Undoubtedly, Sorrow and Extinction will throw the young four-piece right into the spotlight as one of America’s mightiest doom metal acts.

Wold

Freermasonry

Profound Lore

Notorious and extreme Canadian band Wold, hailing from the vast, desolate prairies of the frozen northern wastelands, returns with their most powerful offering to date. Entitled Freermasonry, the new album is a raging blizzard of darkness and death whose harsh sounds of psychotic hypnosis are a haunting alien presence slowly waiting to reveal its true nature. The group’s deepest and most thought-provoking work yet, Freermasonry is an intriguing and in-depth look into Wold dictator Fortress Crookedjaw’s observations on religion, the occult and the Servant of the Light. Always polarizing, never for the weak of heart or mind, Wold is the most unique and bizarre extreme music enigma of our time.

Antediluvian

Through The Cervix Of Hawwah

Profound Lore

Canada’s Antediluvian are a cavernous death metal duo plying a psychotic and twisted take on the genre. Not part of some old-school revival, the group is breaking new ground with a raw, avant-garde and progressive style. On the heels of a handful of demos, EPs and split releases that built a buzz in the underground, Antediluvian unleashes their long-awaited full-length debut Through the Cervix of Hawwah. Comprised of their most powerful material yet, the album showcases intelligent lyrics and sophisticated themes that deal heavily in the occult—the death metal equivalent of Mayhem’s De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas mixed with Beherit’s Oath of Black Blood. Antediluvian will find their rightful place among the elite of the underground death metal scene through the chaos they manifest, alongside the likes of Portal, Mitochondrion, Vasaeleth, Impetuous Ritual and Disma.

Leviathan

True Traitor, True Whore

Profound Lore

Leviathan is one of the most creative and prolific entities in the black metal genre. Emerging from the Bay Area a little over a decade ago with a slew of demo releases, Leviathan initially gained widespread recognition for the Tenth Sub Level of Suicide debut. Several albums, EPs, splits and offshoot projects later, Leviathan returns with their latest full-length. Engineered and produced by Sanford Parker (Nachtmystium, Twilight, Buried at Sea, Minsk) at Engine Studios, the bizarre, surreal opus is the most progged-out Leviathan album to date.

Wolvhammer

Obsidian Plains

Profound Lore

Formed by ex-Across Tundras member Heath Rave in 2008, Wolvhammer in their short existence have earned a reputation as one of America’s most notorious black metal-influenced bands. The US is currently known for spawning such high-caliber acts as Cobalt, Leviathan, Ludicra, Goatwhore and Nachtmystium, and Wolvhammer is poised to stand among them with the release of their new album The Obsidian Plains. The group garnered massive critical and popular acclaim for their 2010 Black Marketeers of WWIII debut, showcasing a vicious and unrelenting mix of black metal (à la Darkthrone, Celtic Frost / Hellhammer), sludge, crust and punk. Easily surpassing that release, however, the Sanford Parker-produced The Obsidian Plains features an almost entirely new and more stable lineup. Wolvhammer now counts Jeff Wilson among its ranks, and the ex-Nachtmystium guitarist pushes their sound into previously unheard dimensions. Wolvhammer is known for putting on a killer live show, and with some touring under their belt (including an appearance at the 2011 SXSW Profound Lore showcase), the group takes things to the next level with their new album on their new label.

Atlas Moth

An Ache For The Distance

Profound Lore

Emerging from the sludge / doom / psychedelic / post-metal underground, Chicago’s The Atlas Moth has earned a reputation as one of the most prominent young heavy music bands in America today. They have toured widely in their brief existence, playing with Helmet, Eyehategod, Saint Vitus, Coalesce, Harvey Milk, Kylesa, Nachtmystium and more, and it was through their perseverance on the live circuit that The Atlas Moth first rose to prominence. Their A Glorified Piece of Blue Sky debut on Candlelight Records also grabbed quite a bit of acclaim (most notably from Stereogum and Decibel magazine), with the band compared to the likes of Isis, Neurosis and Black Sabbath. Yet The Atlas Moth has always carved their own unique niche with a pummeling three-guitar metal assault. An Ache for the Distance delivers nine solid, hard-hitting songs that are more straightforward, structured and catchier than the spacey, drawn-out material on previous releases. With stronger and more focused songwriting, The Atlas Moth is poised to raise their profile to even higher levels.

Caina

Hands That Pluck

Profound Lore

In recent years, a number of bands in the black metal underground have experimented with post-rock / shoegaze elements—most notably Alcest and Amesoeurs. However, the UK’s Caina has been melding the two genres since the group’s mid-’00s inception as a primitive, raw, one-man black metal project, well before the style was recognized as a burgeoning movement. Caina is the work of Andrew Curtis-Brignell, who conceived of the band in his late teens; his unique vision has been described as a mix of Burzum, Mogwai and The Red House Painters, or as if 4AD, Mute, or Matador had released a black metal album. A prolific musician, Curtis-Brignell already boasts a number of releases under the Caina moniker, including the critically acclaimed albums Mourner (2007) and Temporary Antennae (2008), both on Profound Lore. Hands That Pluck is Caina’s most ambitious work to date. Epic, progressive and visceral, it is a culmination of years spent developing an idiosyncratic sound. Assisting Curtis-Brignell on the album are three guest vocalists: Lord Imperial from cult black metal band Krieg, Rennie Resmini of hardcore group Starkweather and Chris Ross of Blood Revolt / Revenge / Axis of Advance fame. Though Hands That Pluck is priced as a single CD, it includes a bonus disc titled Old Songs, New Chords featuring reinterpretations of four classic Caina tracks, remastered versions of the originals, and a Nico cover.

Avichi

Devil’s Fractal

Profound Lore

The mastermind behind Avichi is multi-instrumentalist Andrew Markuszewski, a member of Nachtmystium and Lord Mantis and one of America’s most prominent black metal musicians. Their sophomore album, The Devil’s Fractal, follows 2007’s The Divine Tragedy debut and is among the most important underground US metal releases of 2011. A concept album retelling the history of Lucifer in seven chapters, The Devil’s Fractal offers a gaze upon the world through the eyes of the adversary. This dark and sinister journey through the realms of progressive, intricately structured black metal is comparable to the likes of Deathspell Omega and other revered acts of the genre’s pantheon. With The Devil’s Fractal, Markuszewski delivers a stunning opus that captures—musically, lyrically and aesthetically—the true essence of black metal.

Morne

Asylum

Profound Lore

Boston’s Morne was formed in 2005 by Polish ex-pat Milosz Gassan, formerly of Filth of Mankind and a legend of sorts in Poland’s underground crust punk movement. After releasing a demo and split release with Warprayer, the group unleashed their 2009 debut full-length Untold Wait to widespread critical acclaim. Among those singing the album’s praises were Fenriz and Nocturno Culto of Darkthrone, who even incorporated Morne’s logo on the cover of their 2010 album Circle the Wagons. Their reputation is also bolstered by the presence of guitarist Jeff Hayward (formerly of Grief, Disrupt and more). Morne’s brand of apocalyptic post-sludge / crust incorporates influences from genre pioneers Neurosis and Isis as well as traditional heavy metal, doom metal, prog and even the classic post-punk / new wave of Joy Division or early Cure. This epic sound, cinematic in scope and unrelentingly heavy, is on full display on their newest release, Asylum. The album is a grandiose journey through monolithic intensity and earth-crumbling ambient moments that climaxes with the gut-wrenching “Volition,” featuring Jarboe and Kris Force of Amber Asylum. Alternately haunting and crushing, Asylum is destined to because a triumph in the realm of post-metal.  “With the release of their brilliant sophomore full-length Asylum, the band’s even more deserving of [Darkthrone’s] namedrop: This seven-song, hour-plus collection features their most beautifully heavy, deeply atmospheric, patiently devastating recordings to date…. Asylum is a magisterial record, one that establishes something masterful with the 17-minute opening title track and doesn’t diminish.” —Stereogum

Dark Castle

Surrender To All Life Beyond Form

Profound Lore

Comprised of vocalist / guitarist Stevie Floyd and drummer Rob Shaffer, Florida’s Dark Castle is often referred to as doom metal’s version of The White Stripes. The male/female duo formed in the mid-’00s, first attracting the attention of the doom / sludge metal underground with their 2008 debut album Spirited Migration (At a Loss Recordings). While among the heaviest groups in America, Dark Castle doesn’t achieve this distinction with the elongated, time-stretching tracks of other doom bands—theirs are shorter, denser, more punishing and vitriolic songs that take in a wide variety of influences, from noise, drone, prog and even traditional Eastern music. Their live shows amaze crowds shocked by how two individuals alone could conjure such colossal, earth-rumbling heaviness. With Surrender to All Life Beyond Form, Dark Castle at last properly captures their live energy on record. The album was produced and recorded by Sanford Parker in Steve Albini’s Electrical Audio studio, and will be recognized not only the band’s most crushing work yet, but as their most experimental and progressive as well. A dark, visceral exercise in focused sonic devastation, it features guest appearances from Mike Scheidt of YOB, Blake Judd of Nachtmystium, Nate Hall of U.S. Christmas and Parker himself.

Loss

Despond

Profound Lore

Nashville, Tennessee’s Loss formed in 2004 and have been fine-tuning their brand of funeral / death doom ever since. The band’s Conceptual Funeralism and Life Without Hope… Death Without Reason demos made their way through underground channels, garnering praise and raising their profile, with the latter eventually seeing official release by Parasitic Records. Over the next few years, Loss solidified their standing as one of the premiere doom metal bands in the States with a handful of collaborative releases, most notably the Four Burials split with Mournful Congregation, Orthodox and Otesanek. Despond is the band’s debut full-length—a long-awaited album years in the making, during which Loss endured many trials, tribulations and curses upon them. This pain and suffering is reflected in their dirge-like riffs, mournful melodies, low-end frequencies and guttural vocals. Fueled by depression, anxiety, illness, fear and despair, Despond is the soundtrack to a funeral march toward ruin, decay and oblivion.

Altar Of Plagues

Mammal

Profound Lore

Renowned for their visceral blend of black metal and epic post-rock, Ireland’s Altar of Plagues released their first full-length album White Tomb on Profound Lore after a pair of well-regarded EPs. The critically acclaimed debut immediately resonated with fans of Isis, Wolves in the Throne Room and Agalloch, landing on many year-end lists and establishing the band as a force to be reckoned with. Not content to rest on their laurels, the band stepped it up a notch, doing tour runs in Europe and pulling off a very successful six-week jaunt across the United States. Altar of Plagues’ sophomore album is one of the most anticipated extreme metal releases of 2011. With Mammal, the band delivers their bleakest, most punishing work to date—a milestone of post-black metal that towers over all others in the genre. Comprised of four extended, time-stretching tracks, Mammal is a forward-thinking exploration of new realms in experimental and ambient music. The band has pushed their sound to a new level, and this is their masterpiece.

A Storm Of Light

As The Valley Of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade

Profound Lore

Josh Graham has taken many avenues to express his artistic impulses, from shaping the visual element of Neurosis’s live shows, directing videos for The Dillinger Escape Plan and Isis, designing artwork for groups such as Soundgarden and Shrinebuilder, to playing guitar for Red Sparowes and Battle of Mice. Though he is a current member of Neurosis, Graham finds his true musical calling in the Brooklyn-based A Storm of Light, a band that incorporates elements of sludge metal, doom metal, industrial and post-rock into their stirring and cinematic musical vision. With their two full-lengths released by Neurot Recordings, A Storm of Light unleashes their third and most powerful work, As the Valley of Death Becomes Us, Our Silver Memories Fade, courtesy of Profound Lore. Darker and heavier than ever, it is the culmination of Graham’s musical experiences into an atmospheric and moving opus. He is abetted by Joel Hamilton, Domenic Seita (ex-Tombs) and U.S. Christmas drummer Billy Graves—as well as none other than Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, who lays downs his signature guitar work on the tracks “Missing” and “Black Wolves.” The album also features guest appearances from Jarboe, Kris Force (Amber Asylum), Nerissa Campbell and members from Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and The Book of Knots.

Krallice

Diotima

Profound Lore

It didn’t take long for Brooklyn’s Krallice to attract attention. Formed by avant-garde shredder Mick Barr and technical guitar wizard Colin Marston as a means to explore a black metal terrain, the collaboration was intended to be a one-off side-project that would write and record a single album. However, with the success of their self-titled 2008 debut and the consolidation of their lineup for live shows, Krallice became a full-time functioning unit—not to mention a one-of-a-kind act in the extreme metal scene. The inspiration continued to flow and the group delivered their sophomore album little less than a year later to widespread critical acclaim. With Dimensional Bleedthrough, Krallice was on the verge of surpassing Barr’s and Marston’s other musical endeavors in the progressive / technical metal arena. Diotima marks a watershed moment for the band—their darkest, heaviest, most hypnotizing work to date. From the songwriting to the performances to the production, it outshines everything these musicians have created in the past. Diotima is a dense, challenging album that will solidify Krallice’s standing as one of the most unique and accomplished American metal bands in existence.

Ken Mode

Venerable

Profound Lore

Winnipeg, Canada’s KEN mode plays metallic noise rock with touches of post-metal, hardcore, sludge and doom—a product of long, hard winters culminating in a sound that whips, pummels and lacerates its audience like a wicked Manitoba wind. The power trio bares only the essential ingredients necessary to deliver maximum impact and is an exercise in efficiency and ferocity. Since 1999, they have played all over Canada, the US and Europe with the likes of Pelican, Daughters, Buried Inside, The End, Gaza, Engineer and Taint, and done various regional dates with Mastodon, Burnt by the Sun, Cursed, Baroness, Bison BC, Propagandhi, These Arms Are Snakes, Despised Icon, etc. With Venerable, the band unleashes their fourth and most devastating work to date. Recorded by veteran producer Kurt Ballou (Converge, Trap Them, Old Man Gloom) at Godcity Studios, the album is a volatile blend of epic, crushing hardcore fused with a Voivod-like metallic surge and sludgy doom influences. Devastation this massive has not been witnessed since the early experiments of Today Is the Day. Venerable is easily KEN mode’s best work to date, surpassing even 2006’s Reprisal, and will land the group at the top of the North American noise rock / hardcore scene.

Grayceon

All We Destroy

Profound Lore

Grayceon is an atypical three-piece from San Francisco comprised of electric cello, guitar, drums and vocals. Pulling together an diverse range of musical influences and writing styles, the group’s sound defies the limitations of the metal, rock and progressive genres with screaming melodic lines over distinct guitar chunks, doom riffs, jazz chord progressions, intricate folk-like delicacies and just about everything in between. Grayceon has been recording and performing nationally since 2006, and received high praise for their self-titled debut CD, their 7-inch split with Giant Squid (with whom they toured North America) and their sophomore album This Grand Show on Vendlus Records. In 2010 the band completed their first European tour with Jucifer.  All We Destroy is Grayceon at the height of their powers, their heaviest and most epic undertaking to date. The album fuses the progressive metal tendencies of bands such as Voivod and the Norwegian avant-garde movement (e.g. Ved Buens Ende) with elements of doom / sludge metal, chamber music and neo-folk. Grayceon is taking their game up another notch in 2011 with cellist / vocalist Jackie Perez Gratz coming off her stirring and moving performance on the new Agalloch album Marrow of the Spirit. Look for upcoming live appearances including a set at SXSW 2011.

Subrosa

No Help For The Mighty Ones

Profound Lore

Female-lead Salt Lake City band Subrosa began in the summer of 2005, playing doom rock with supernatural down-tuned guitar and low-end bass, the dark air of two eerie violins, thunderous raw percussion and black magick vocals. Imagine a diabolical and haunting mix of PJ Harvey, Kyuss, L7 and Coven filtered through the ghostly vibes of American gothic tragedy.  No Help for the Mighty Ones is Subrosa’s third album, mixed and mastered by Marduk bass player Magnus Devo Andersson at his Endarker Studios in Sweden. Easily their heaviest, darkest, and most oppressive sounding work to date, it easily eclipses both their self-released 2006 debut The Worm Has Turned and 2008’s Strega (released by respected Swedish doom metal label I Hate Records). With the American doom metal / rock scene currently gaining recognition, Subrosa is poised to slither their way among the best of them—Jex Thoth, YOB, Witch Mountain, Amber Asylum, Worm Ouroboros and The Gates of Slumber.

Mitochondrion

Parasignosis

Profound Lore

Western Canada’s Mitochondrion belongs to an elite group of death metal bands throughout the world—among them Portal, Dead Congregation, Grave Miasma, Vasaeleth, Disma and Stargazer—who are pushing the boundaries of the genre, moving forward into uncharted realms of darkness. Formed several years ago in Victoria, British Columbia’s Ross Bay Cemetery, the same hallowed ground which spawned legendary Canadian extreme metal maniacs Blasphemy, Mitochondrion made waves with their self-released 2008 debut, Archaeaeon. This unique take on death metal was a diabolical blend of Portal and Immolation, stretched out across ten-plus-minute songs. Parasignosis, Mitochondrion’s follow-up work, takes that signature sound even further into the otherworldly depths. An epic death metal invocation, the eleven-track album stirs up a whirlwind of warped rhythms, surreal riffing, guttural vocals and occult lyrics. With a style like no other band, Mitochondrion is breaking new ground and solidifying death metal as a true art form.

Salome

Terminal

Profound Lore

Fronted by a vocalist with one of the most powerful voices in metal, renowned for their stunning live performances, Virginia's Salome first made waves in 2008 when they released their self-titled debut album to an unsuspecting public. The three-piece quickly earned a reputation as one of the heaviest American bands alongside the likes of Yob and Dark Castle, recognized for bearing the doom metal torch passed to them by legends Khanate and Burning Witch. Following an attention-grabbing appearance at SXSW this past March, the band has garnered praise everywhere from metal blogosphere to NPR and The New York Times, and anticipation has been building for the trio's sophomore full-length. When Salome announced the impending release of Terminal through Profound Lore Records, respected metal publications Decibel and Terrorizer called it one of the most anticipated albums of 2010. Surpassing all expectations, Terminal is the most powerful entry in the heavy music arena this year. An album so crushing, ritualistic and epic in scope, it is destined to be recognized as a classic and milestone in American doom metal.

Slough Feg

Animal Spirits

Profound Lore

For the last 20 years, San Francisco's Slough Feg (formerly The Lord Weird Slough Feg) have carved a niche in the underground as a unique heavy metal band. Fusing NWOBHM, traditional metal and classic rock, their anthemic songs attract a small but devoted cult following--mainly in Europe, where their previous releases like Twilight of the Idols and the critically acclaimed Traveler have been released and distributed. The group is led by vocalist / guitarist Mike Scalzi, a one-time member of Hammers of Misfortune and a frontman who draws somewhat unlikely influence from storytelling performers like Robert Goulet. The Animal Spirits is Slough Feg's eighth full-length and the first released by a North American label. A genuine classic American heavy metal record in the making, it captures the essence of what makes the band great. For years, recognition in their homeland has escaped Slough Feg, as their albums have been hard to come by, but with Profound Lore's release of The Animal Spirits, the group is poised to finally get their due. 

Dawnbringer

Nucleus

Profound Lore

Chicago's Dawnbringer could very well be the most under-appreciated underground metal band in the US. Formed more than 15 years ago by prolific multi-instrumentalist Chris Black (also of Nachtmystium and a number of other projects), the group put out an EP and two killer and highly praised full-lengths in the late '90s and early '00s. After a brief hiatus, Black resurrected Dawnbringer in 2006 as a one-man act to release In Sickness and in Dreams, a dense, 25-minute record packed with myriad classic metal influences. The album caught the attention of Profound Lore Records, who contacted Black about the status of his band, and just like that, a deal with struck to release a follow-up. With a new concept for Dawnbringer, Black gathered a few trusted collaborators and entered Semaphore Studios to record his latest collection of songs with Sanford Parker (Yob, Zoroaster, Unearthly Trance) at the controls. Nucleus is Dawnbringer's strongest work to date, once again proving Black to be one of the most creative and talented musicians in the underground. Incorporating elements from NWOBHM, progressive, traditional and melodic death metal, it has all the ingredients of a true classic heavy metal album.

Stargazer

Great Work Of Ages

Profound Lore

One of the most unique and bizarre underground bands around, Stargazer plays death metal that leans toward the technical / progressive side of the genre, following in the footsteps of Atheist, Cynic, Pestilence and Gorguts. The two primary members--known as The Serpent Inquisitor and The Great Righteous Destroyer--have been involved with some of Australia's top extreme metal bands, including Mournful Congregation, Cauldron Black Ram and Outre-era Portal. Despite the fact that they've existed for the better part of the last fifteen years, Stargazer has only released a single full-length album, along with a handful of demos, splits and EPs. Nevertheless, much like their contemporaries in Portal, they command a fervent cult following of extreme music fans who appreciate artists who push the envelope within the genre. A Great Work of Ages, their sophomore album, is the follow-up to 2005's highly acclaimed The Scream That Tore the Sky debut. Steeped in themes of occult lore, it's an innovative and monumental album of intricately crafted death metal, sure to go down as one of the most creative and unique metal albums of the year.

Man’s Gin

Smiling Dogs

Profound Lore

Man's Gin was born in Colorado when Cobalt multi-instrumentalist Erik Wunder and a friend took up their their acoustic guitars and a bottle of cheap liquor and began writing lonely tributes to the drink in which they were drowning their sorrows. The collaboration yielded a batch of home-recorded songs they called The Rum Demos, and circulated among their small circle of friends. Fast-forward several years to 2009--Wunder was living in Brooklyn and Cobalt had just released Gin, one of the most celebrated metal albums of the year. Man's Gin songs had been kicking around in his head for years, and Wunder decided to resurrect the project, adding electric guitars and drums to the band's original acoustic guitar / vocal structure and enlisting the help of Josh Lozano and Scott Edward on grand piano and upright bass. Differing on the surface from the extreme blacked metal of Cobalt, Smiling Dogs explores the darker side of Americana from a singer-songwriter prospective. It's a heartfelt collection both unnerving and beautiful, reminiscent of Woven Hand, Henry's Dream-era Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, the more acoustic side of Alice and Chains, 16 Horsepower and even Tom Waits or Johnny Cash. Recorded by Colin Marston in his Thousand Caves studio, this powerful work is destined to be recognized as one of the best underground rock albums of 2010.

Blood Revolt

Indoctrine

Profound Lore

Comprised of Primordial vocalist extraordinaire A.A. Nemtheanga, Revenge / Conqueror mastermind J. Read, and C. Ross from the now-defunct and legendary Canadian extreme metal band Axis of Advance, Blood Revolt was formed with the intent to provoke both musically and thematically. It's an intriguing collaboration--Nemtheanga is among metal's most distinct vocalists and his soaring vocal melodies and harmonies are key elements of Primordial; Revenge, Conqueror, and Axis of Advance are some of the most devastating and brutal bands in the history of extreme metal. How will the former's vocals counter the dynamic brutality of the latter? The answer lies in Indoctrine, Blood Revolt's punishing and unique debut album. It's like nothing else in the world of extreme metal--a work destined to be the most controversial metal release of 2010. The concept behind involves a man's revolt against the system and organized religion, where he inevitably finds salvation and vengeance at the barrel of a gun.

Yakuza

Of Seismic Consequence

Profound Lore

***Back in stock on 2xLP, two different colors of vinyl, gatefold sleeve!  Received a 7.7 rating from Pitchfork.  Praised in publications ranging from Deaf Sparrow and The Metal Observer to Spin and Rolling Stone, Yakuza is one of the most celebrated avant-garde / progressive metal bands today. Following releases on Century Media and Prosthetic Records, the Chicago four-piece delivers Of Seismic Consequence, the darkest, heaviest and best album of their storied career. Yakuza conjures a unique mix of several extreme metal genres, fusing progressive metal, post-apocalyptic hardcore, jazz and grindcore styles, all laced with vocalist Bruce Lamont's unique vocal style. Their sound is wholly their own and no band in metal or heavy music sounds remotely similar. Lamont's use of saxophone attests to this--the instrument has become a defining trait of the band, playing as important a role as the guitar, rhythm section, and voice.  Of Seismic Consequence is Yakuza's defining moment. It's a different album for them--more introspective, yet rawer and more emotionally driven than past releases. It was recorded by Steve Albini at Electrical Audio and by Sanford Parker at Semaphore Recording Studios. The album is a powerful statement that illuminates the direction toward which heavy music will develop in the future.  "In a perfect world, Yakuza should be bigger than Opeth." --Self-Titled Mag  "Yakuza's music is revolutionary." --Scott Kelly (Neurosis)

Castevet

Mounds Of Ash

Profound Lore

Since their formation in 2007, New York City's Castevet has built quite a reputation within the underground scene. Delivering on the promise of their vicious live show, the trio's 2009 single Stones/Salts was a virulent mix of post-hardcore and dissonant black metal that sold out immediately. Mounds of Ash is Castevet's debut full-length. Recorded at The Thousand Caves Studios with Colin Marston, this punishing offering expands on their prior output in all respects--taking influence from the avant-garde elements of mid-'90s Norwegian black metal bands like Ved Buens Ende and Fleurety, and classic early-'90s metalcore groups like Rorschach and Deadguy. The album solidifies Castevet's standing as one of New York's most promising metal bands alongside like-minded acts Krallice and Liturgy.  "[Stones/Salts] is what I've listened to the most for weeks. Its two songs recall greats--Voivod, Morbid Angel, Deathspell Omega. They drape elegant dissonance over driving low-end. The result feels distant, foggy, dirty and emotional. Usually metal's presentation is singular--in-your-face, shrouded, etc. This experience, however, has both foreground and background. These songs are small worlds; I want to see their universe." --Cosmo Lee, Invisible Oranges

Howling Wind

Into The Cryosphere

Profound Lore

Ryan Lipynsky (a.k.a. Killusion) started The Howling Wind after the demise of his former band Thralldom--a legendary cult group and one of the spearheads of the current US black metal scene. Originally known as Drifting Collision, The Howling Wind was renowned even before the release of their now-out-of-print debut Pestilence and Peril. Expanding on the dark vision Lipynsky explored on past releases, Into the Cryosphere is a harsh, primal journey through the deadly terrain of Antarctica. But where the takes of other black metal bands on the frozen continent typically come off like something from the mind of a WWE wrestler, The Howling Wind sketches a barren sonic portrait--noisy, doom-filled, and steeped in occult themes. This extreme, old-school black metal takes cues from past greats such as Bathory, Celtic Frost / Hellhammer, Darkthrone, and Autopsy; a punishing soundtrack to an arctic death march where horror and despair are the only reality.

Hooded Menace

Never Cross The Dead

Profound Lore

Lasse Pyykkoe is a legend of sorts in Finland's underground death metal scene, first surfacing in the band Phlegethon in the late '80s and more recently doing time in killer acts Claws, Vacant Coffin and Acid Witch. But no band has generated more attention than Hooded Menace, who deliver some of the most vile, sludgy death doom today.  Formed in 2007, Hooded Menace was soon drawing comparisons to classic and legendary acts of the genre such as Winter, old-school Cathedral, Asphyx, Hellhammer, Paradise Lost and of course the almighty Autopsy. Their reputation is built solidly on a crushing blend of old-school guttural death metal and plodding, menacing doom. Pyykkoe's growled tributes to cult horror movies, backed by methodically heavy sludge riffs, have won the band acclaim from underground metal and horror film fans alike. Now, with Never Cross the Dead, Pyykkoe and company unleash their mightiest and most fearsome album yet.  "... disregarding predictable riffs, artwork, and vocal style, Finland's Hooded Menace strike big. Fulfill the Curse (Razorback, 2008) is astounding for a first full-length. Hooded Menace pack goodies from doom predecessors Saint Vitus, Electric Wizard, and Winter alike. But they do it with a punch in the gut." --Invisible Oranges

Coffinworm

When All Became None

Profound Lore

Indianapolis, Indiana's Coffinworm made an impact in 2009 with Great Bringer of Night (recorded by Gates of Slumber drummer Bob Fouts), hailed by a number of underground publications as one of the best metal demos of the year. Incorporating influences from the likes of Eyehategod, Deathspell Omega, and Unearthly Trance, the band's vicious and unforgiving combination of sludge, doom and black metal possesses a depraved aura of terror. When All Became None, Coffinworm's proper debut full-length, will undoubtedly go down as one of the darkest and most powerful sludge metal albums ever released. Through thick walls of reverb and feedback, the band unleashes massive, monolithic riffs heavy enough to shift the fault lines of the earth. Vocalist Dave Brits's throat-searing vo-kill assault carries the weight of a diabolical storm. Captured on tape by Sanford Parker (YOB, Yakuza, Nachtmystium, Gates of Slumber, Buried at Sea, etc.), this sonic nightmare of unholy proportions delivers to the utmost devastating and blasphemous degree. The downfall and destruction of humanity is at hand, and When All Became None shall serve as its soundtrack.