What mere mortal can articulate Incantation's mojo? I can't claim to fully fathom their might, and I most certainly cannot conjure adequate words to describe their masterful discography. As always, their music pits shambling disintegration against putrescent precision and blasting.

On Dirges of Elysium, Incantation ratchet up the doom elements of their ethos, hitting the brakes and summoning pleasant whiffs of Mortal Throne of Nazarene. Satisfying, sinister melodies slither over cadences that both plod and pummel. Such dirge; I approve.

Good death metal is made of moments of indelible madness. Incantation have spent years crafting such abominable abandon, and Dirges of Elysium brings many more of these moments into being. The album features some massive, impossibly alluring grooves that erupt from the mire to induce obeisance; heads will bang. I caught a couple of these songs live at Maryland Deathfest, and they stood up well to the enduring pillars of the band’s back catalog.

Although I've heard many folks pleading to the contrary, I prefer Dirges of Elysium to its predecessor, Vanquish in Vengeance. The production here is a bit fuller, and the sheer weight of these tectonic heavings casts blastbeaten passages in the light of dynamic clarity. Incantation have once again tilled the wretched depths to unearth rapturous annihilation. I’m convinced they can mine superior death until the end of days.

Atanamar Sunyata

Band info: www.incantation.com
Label info: www.listenable.net

Atanamar Sunyata is a software engineer by trade and a herder of cats by calling. He lives in Peekskill, NY, with his wife and three man cats. When the inspiration strikes, Atanamar spouts metal hyperbole for Scratch the Surface, Metal Bandcamp, and his own blog, sunyata – mindful of metal. You can also find him on Twitter @AtanamarSunyata and Facebook.

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The "psychedelic stoner rock" description that this Bordelais trio have imposed upon themselves does little to actually describe their lightness of touch or just how inventive their songwriting can be. Soon to be released in the US (Europe had it back in April), Stranded In Arcadia contains tracks that sound like they've simply drifted in from the desert with deeply stylized, sultry vocals that place you in amongst the buzzing swarm of rich, tripped-out instruments competing for space. The majority of songs here reside within the stoned triangle of Kylesa, Fu Manchu and Band Of Skulls as the band seek to draw inspiration from everything in between and beyond.

From the off, there are big hits of Kyuss and Electric Wizard as "The Light Beyond" sets off pumping out a voluminous, elephantine bassline supplemented by floor-shaking fuzz and wailing vocals. Very quickly you'll hit the volley of catchy choruses and cutting vocal hooks like those that punch forth powerfully from "Hovering Satellites", "Holy Mondays" and "Join The Race".

Do look out for the sharp, bluesy groover "Circles". It's a unique track that goads the sweet dual vocal of Julien Praz and Jimmy Kinast into suddenly mimicking duos like those that appeared in The Animals or 60s-afficionados Arlo. The end result is unbelievably rich in colour, insistently introspective and comes complete with a mile-deep groove and a timeless, sun-kissed vibe. Elsewhere, there is an abundance of warbling pedal effects, "Arcadia" and "Beyond The Light", and glitching electronic techniques employed, most probably in what would have been an intensive session of post-production. These are the tracks that reveal the most about the band's intentions. They are clearly invitations to release your shackles and travel as far along their emotional journey as you dare.

There is an elegant simplicity to so many of these structures. The cosmos-stretching cursive sections and the repeating motif certainly allow the listener to fully explore the variety of spaces into which they are thrown. To that end, there are those who may find the music to be a little too repetitious, unnecessarily twee or, at worst, agonisingly self-indulgent (the stomping "Seen A Ghost" is a particularly tiresome prospect), but persevere and there is far more to marvel than to sneer at. It is certainly the case that those who drink deepest will undoubtedly feel the soothing qualities of this one part-doom, two parts-psych soup best of all.

John Skibeat 

Band info: www.facebook.com/marsredskyband
Label info: www.listenable.net

John Skibeat is a self-described word monkey hampered by cravings for strong ale and stinky cheese. He continues to practice surgical dissection on most genres of music with the leftovers currently reaching publication at 'zines like Heavy Blog Is Heavy, The Line Of Best Fit or Ave Noctum. When not smacking seven bells out of various sizes of orb, he tumbles at johnskibeat, tweets @johnskibeat and blogs at, yes, you guessed it, johnskibeat.

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Swedish death metallers Tormented have posted a promo video featuring the title track off their forthcoming release “Death Awaits”. If you like old-school death-metal in the vein of Entombed, be sure to check it out.
“Death Awaits” will be out in Europe on March 25th via Listenable Records, and a North American release date is yet to be announced. More info on Tormented can be found here.

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Four years following the release of their second record “The Cancer Empire”, Swedish/American combo Zonaria have returned with another album full of crushing guitar riffs, solid melodies and commanding leads. Now signed to French label Listenable Records, the band have relied on the same formula that made their previous effort such an instant grabber, although this time they’ve thrown an extra dose of brutality into the mix. The striking melodies and orchestral moments are still present and provide such a wonderful contrast to their more brutal side, but for the most part “Arrival Of The Red Sun” doesn’t mess around.
Marching quickly onward, the band goes for the jugular on every song, blending brutal, thick riffs with crushing grooves and pummelling rhythms that reminds us of later, groovier Hypocrisy and to some extent Samael. Both “The Blood That Must Be Paid” and “Face My Justice” display a quasi-industrial, groovy vibe that is reminiscent of the Swiss. 

We can safely say that these guys certainly know what they're doing and it's pretty much impossible to figure out anything worth complaining about on “Arrival Of The Red Sun”. Sure it’s nothing new, but it’s superbly well done, sure to please fans of Swedish bands such as Hypocrisy and Devian. 

David Alexandre 

Band info: www.facebook.com/ZonariaOfficial 

Label info: www.listenable.net
 

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