EP

Everybody knows Carmina Burana by Karl Orff, and especially the O Fortuna fragment, for it has been used hundreds of times before as intro on a (demonstrational) recording or for a live gig.

I will not spend too much time in an introduction this time, for I hope this band will come up with a full length soon; and then I will give a more profound and appropriate description of this band’s history, discography and biography. But I cannot but mention that Malakhim consists of members of e.g. Naglfar and Sanity Of Impiety. The five-piece was formed in 2016, and they had a first demo in 2017.

The Flemish artist Wesley Beernaert might not be that known (not yet!), but there is quite a big possibility that you have heard him ‘singing’ before. He has been doing vocals for Lemuria for several years, for the international act Fabulae Dramatis (worth checking out if you can appreciate a more progressive approach!), for Satyrus (also an important name within the Flemish underground scene), for September Syn, or for Persephone’s Blade (with former members of e.g.

Nefastu was (actually it must be: ‘is’) a band from Oporto, Portugal, that was modestly active at the beginning of this decade. But with exception of some demonstrational material (there were, I think, only two demo-tapes in 2011 and 2012), the band did not exactly record anything that would put their name on the (worldwide) map. Now, after more than six years of silence, the trio returns with three new tracks, gathered on vinyl, being limited to an edition of 150 copies.

I have to admit that, when it comes to Dungeon Synth Music, I can be extremely aroused, or immensely irritated. Some projects delve deep into mystery and magic spheres, while others just try to create a superficial would-be world of fake phantasies. Dungeon Synth, as it was once created for, needs depth, content and significance. At least, that’s my opinion, but those semi-happy 8-bit oriented projects that are conquering this scene lately do insult the essence of dark-spirited Aural Art.

I am not going to write a full introduction on Cryostasium this time, for you can find all info you want in one of the reviews I did for this American project in the past. Just enter the band-name in the tab ‘Search’ to find out more about this frenzy solo-outfit of one Cody Maillet…

And hey, I will not digress too intensively about this new recording either. The reason: same fabulous shit! Ha!

This review deals, once more, with an older recording / re-release by Drone Records. This time I will not go to deep into the label, nor the band. When it comes to the label, I would like to refer to several other reviews I did for Concreteweb in the (recent) past for this label, and sister-labels Substantia Innominata and Transgredient Records. Just enter these names in the ‘search’ tab to find out more… I will not go to deep into the matter ‘Aidan Baker’ either.

Active since 2012, German act Pestlegion, originating from the city of Marl in Germany, not that far away from the border with the Netherlands, didn’t record that much. In early April 2014 they released the mini-CD March To War via Bret Hard Records, and early 2017 saw the light for the first full length (and sole full album to date), called Dominus Profundum via that very same German label.

I am a ‘fan’ of Debemur Morti Productions’ roster for almost two decades. No, not every single release is a classic-to-be, but this label did release so many excellent albums in the meantime. One of those was A Sigil Burnt Deep Into The Flesh by Helel, originally released on compact disc (and digital) in very early 2009. It is the band’s sole release until now, except for a compilation (tape + digital late 2014), but officially they did not split up, I think. Never mind…

Of Wolves And Men is the first official full length (aka EP, but the album lasts for more than thirty-five minutes, so it is not exactly an EP – yet that’s a discussion not of importance right here, right now) by DXVXDXD SXLF. The band’s name in fact comes from The Divided Self: An Existential Study In Sanity And Madness, one of the earliest works by British author / psychiatrist / philosopher R.D. Laing.