I have no idea about the background of this collective, called Scepter & Crown. I think it is a newly formed band, which consists of the members S (guitars and vocals, as well as the main lyrics), G (drums), and H (textures). The trio hails from Maryland, and more specifically from the city of Baltimore.
Even during harsh and uncertain eras, new labels arise out of the putrid depths. Please bid welcome to Grind To Death Records, a pretty young label based in Malmö, Sweden, which focuses on the harsher side of Death Metal (Brutal / Slam / Grinding Death Metal) and Grindcore. The label did start enormously tranquil, with only two releases in 2020 – yes, that’s it – but I have the feeling that this isn’t but an omen, the quiet before the storm, and I expect a tornado on skull-crushing material yet to come.
After the Lahti, Finland based act Avafrost split up, some of its members decided to continue spreading their word of joy and peace, so they did form a new act, Plaguebreeder; the moniker of this band being at least as sweet and tolerant as the message they want to bring. …quite prophetic back then, quite topical too lately. Indeed, with poems dealing with human extinction and post-nuclear devastation, their message is filled with cheer and mirth.
Because this release was the most captivating, overwhelming surprise from 2020 – at least for me – I couldn’t but ignore it; I just have to write down something to express my wonder. Also, this band have recently finished a next opus, so as a prequel to that upcoming full album, foist some thoughts on this one-track mini-album.
One of the most, eh, how will I put it, eh, let’s call it a ‘weird’ label… So, here it comes: Fish Prints is a weird label (haha, I did it, safely), dedicated to ‘curious sounds, past and present’, with releases by some truly unusual artists. No, seriously, when talking about an open-minded approach, this label by Thor Maillet houses Music(k) from so many angles, yet with one thing in common: not for the grey masses!
Not that long ago, I got in touch with a young lady from Belarus, Olga Kann. I didn’t immediately recognize her name, but still I had to know some of her works, for she is quite ‘famous’ as visual artist (besides painter / drawing artist, she’s also photographer and sculptor, by the way, with a very open-minded artistic vision, drawing influences from different angles).
I did start this review, for myself, tens of times before, and I did delete my introduction time after time. I wanted to focus on the destructive nature of ‘us’, the human kind, and as you might know, ‘we’, that ‘human kind’, is a disaster for Mater Terra in all its aspects. But then again, I didn’t feel like going into that matter too deeply this time.
French musician Antoine Guibert aka Le Démoniaque surprised me enormously with 2017’s album Le Démoniaque, which got released via one of my mostly appreciated labels from France, Hass Weg Productions, under the flag of Catacombes (which is French for - and now you smart-ass will be surprised - ‘catacombs’ indeed!). So, it did somehow please me when R. from Hass Weg Productions did send me a successor to that debut full length album a while ago.
I was not sure about how to start this review. I would focus on my appreciation for Dunkelheit Produktionen’s roster, since I am a ‘fan’ of Extreme Metal for, well, some decades. And then I would refer to the open-minded approach of this label for they do sign, and release, material from other (related) genres too.
Driven by a vision to support the Underground, I am open-minded in a sense that I do not limit myself to review new material only. Most labels I am working with do know that. And more than often I get in touch with an older release that is simply worth being experienced. In this review’s case, I want to refer to the fabulous – yet way too underestimated – label Drone Records, and the Ctephin release DUAD.
