DVP 149 Zatyr – Ornament of Proposition MLP
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present ZATYR’s striking debut EP, Ornament of Proposition, on 12” vinyl and digital formats.
Hailing from Sweden and forming in 2019, ZATYR quickly set to work on their debut EP – plus, speaking of “set,” their vocalist Set used to be in the beloved Devil Lee Rot. Titled Ornament of Proposition, the band’s first public recording was released digitally in September of that year, and proudly displayed an otherwise-new band brimming with the fire of the ancients and confidence to spare. Indeed, ZATYR here sounded authentically old, casting their gaze across the darkest and classiest currents of classic heavy metal singed with a touch of first-wave black metal. But, paradoxically, the quartet just as ably burned with the enthusiasm of feral youngbloods, imbuing the EP’s three tracks with boundless passion.
Seeing fit to foster the rich lifeblood of the heavy metal underground, DYING VICTIMS grants ZATYR’s debut EP on a new lease on life, rendering it onto black gold and including an exclusive bonus track, now encompassing a total of 18 stout minutes. Truly, this re-release shall rightfully expose ZATYR to the wider metal landscape, boldly emblazoning “The Devil’s Rock ‘n’ Roll” across the hearts and minds of those who hail ancient heavy metal and black metal alike. Names to be referenced include early Running Wild, Mercyful Fate, Omen, Brocas Helm, Death SS and even Bathory’s transition from Blood Fire Death to Hammerheart, but all done with an addicting zeal that’s entirely ZATYR’s alone. Open thy ears and allow Ornament of Proposition to recast its spells!
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DVP 150 Hexenbrett – Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten LP/CD/MC
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present HEXENBRETT’s highly anticipated debut album, Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
It was at the dawn of 2019 when a strange little demo inconspicuously announced itself from the other side and introduced the sound of the bloody iris. Titled Erste Beschwörung, it was the first public recording of one HEXENBRETT, the work of a mysterious duo revealing themselves as Josto Feratu and Scarlettina Bolétte. This was a literal bolt from the blue, sounds that were as refreshingly new as they were authentically old. “Cemetery sounds” is what the band called them, but that only told half the story. Wild and wily, HEXENBRETT unloaded a dizzying payload of sounds both traditional and unorthodox, dumping into its hot-rockin’ cauldron spices from first-wave black metal, Iron Curtain-era speed metal, outsider doom, and even old-school deathrock. It was a kaleidoscopic spin, and caught the attention of Caligari Records (who did a wider cassette release) and then DYING VICTIMS with their 12” vinyl version toward the end of the year. Lots of other, strange-starved ears picked up on it, too.
The stage thus set, HEXENBRETT proceeds to defy expectations and obliterate the slate with its debut album, Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten. A record of stark contrasts, Zweite Beschwörung immediately sounds definitively like HEXENBRETT: roaming ancient cemeteries with a torch in hand, conjuring the madness and mysticism of early black metal, when unorthodoxy was celebrated and no blueprints yet existed – only paths to be blazed! But, that latter element is precisely where Zweite Beschwörung takes a different turn, delving into waters both more refined and more rarefied, more straightforward and more obtuse – more METAL, epic and outlandish and “true,” but decidedly in an un-metal manner – beguiling the senses either way, and addictively so. It’s a turn that’s directly inspired by such sources as varied as Varathron, Jean Rollin, Danzig, Goblin, and Van Halen, and yet emerging completely unique and unlike little else around. A diverse journey through mouldy crypts and deranged minds, Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten features eight original tracks and an astonishing cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “The Spider Song”.
Quite commandingly, HEXENBRETT reveal an uncanny knack for songcraft, building defined and endearing hooks that unfold unexpectedly yet thrillingly, the intensity constantly rising and falling with preternatural ease but always in service of the song. Elsewhere, the band coats its creations with subtle layers of synth, further fanning that otherworldly atmosphere that laid in wait across the demo while ragged aggression usually took over. Which is all to say nothing of the absolutely spellbinding chimes often employed, evoking a banquet of horror with an almost-filmic quality in line with the band’s love for European cult cinema. And, fittingly, the production across Zweite Beschwörung is richly analog, scrappy but shimmering, evincing a totality of design and just-professional-enough presentation without sacrificing the entity’s original ethics. Like most first albums should be, the tale of HEXENBRETT truly begins here.
If there was ever any question about HEXENBRETT’s singular nature, just beginning to bloom, simply gaze upon the cover art to Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten. All other paths blazed, this is the only one left, and it’s HEXENBRETT’s alone… The dead will dance, expect the unexpected!
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DVP 151 Tøronto – Under Siege MLP
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present TØRONTO’s striking debut mini-album, Under Siege, on 12” vinyl and digital formats.
Hailing from Sweden, TØRONTO formed in 2017, partly out of the ashes of the sorely missed Morbus Chron – vocalist/guitarist Edvin Aftonfalk and bassist Dag Landin, here under the stage names Eddie Flawless and 79-83, respectively – and also powerhouse drummer Leo Ekström Sollenmo, from the well-respected Lethal Steel and Temisto, under the name Lt. Oxtreme as well as one Seb Cyborg on guitars. With this lineup in place, the quartet released their debut demo in 2018 and then the Nocturnal High tape on DYING VICTIMS later that year. That latter title alone suggested that something strange ‘n’ salacious was indeed afoot…
And it is! Wanna get nocturnal higher? Then become Under Siege! Encompassing the strides they made across their two demos, TØRONTO’s first longer-playing record is a rush of weird ‘n’ wild speed metal heavily informed by hardcore punk. Put simply, one could imagine the sound of Under Siege as greased-up NWOBHM colliding headlong into early Razor and Warfare, but overseen by Inepsy, mid ‘80s Discharge, and even Howard Benson-era Motörhead. Shit shreds, fast and free, each raucous-yet-rockin’ section charging into the night but equally exuding an unselfconsciously subtle minimalism that somehow gets these eight bangers over and done with in an average of barely two minutes each. Put another way, one could also imagine the zombified spirit of Morbus Chron holding court here, in the sense that that band both embodied and defied death metal; TØRONTO similarly does such with speed metal, but again renders it into an alternately ideal/oblique form that’s entirely theirs – and this is just the start.
While maybe not as off-the-wall weird as GISM’s NWOBHM/noise mélange M.A.N., TØRONTO are treading comparably rarified ground with Under Siege, and their trajectory into the strange is assured. Get with their program or get out of the way!
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DVP 156 Venator – Paradiser MCD/MC
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present VENATOR’s debut ep Paradiser on CD and cassette format.
Austria has one more exciting new talent in traditional metal, VENATOR! Paradiser features killer, era-authentic artwork reminiscent of Mausoleum Records’ mid-‘80s heyday and is VENATOR’s entry with three moody ‘n’ melodic tracks which have a subtly anthemic quality; just as equally, one can feel the chill of night blow across Paradiser. The uniquely retro-futuristic production simply accentuates the atmospheric push and pull – and already, VENATOR are hard at work on their debut album for DYING VICTIMS.
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DVP 127 The Night Eternal – The Night Eternal MLP Repress
Although THE NIGHT ETERNAL’s first public recording, already, these Germans are evincing the mastery of veterans. Across their three original compositions and a reverentially poignant cover of Judas Priest’s “(Take These) Chains,” the quintet concoct a supremely powerful and stirringly moody sort of heavy metal, both traditionally pure-steel in their dynamics yet also brimming with epicness and a sort of forlorn heroism. In fact, early ’80s Judas Priest is an apt reference for The Night Eternal‘s night-prowling style, all gleaming chrome and classy, but bespeaking an ever-present darkness beneath that alluring exterior. Of course, hooks are massive as are the commanding vocals of frontman Ricardo, who’s already on his way to being a first class heavy metal singer in his own right, but it’s the chemistry among the five members of THE NIGHT ETERNAL that puts this beyond most other debut recordings: truly, their fire and fluidity are magick to behold! Appropriately moody cover art courtesy of Brouemaster Visual Decay.
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DVP 140 Hexenbrett – Erste Beschwörung MCD edition + MLP Repress
HEXENBRETT is an entity that provides cemetery sounds exclusively. The first invocation, fittingly entitled Erste Beschwörung, is a sample of what will follow in the future. Roaming ancient dungeons with sword in one hand and torch in the other, HEXENBRETT conjures the madness and mysticism of olde-worlde black metal, when unorthodoxy was celebrated and no blueprints yet existed – only paths to be blazed! Indeed does HEXENBRETT blaze across this four-song/19-minute offering, remaining firmly rooted in the purest metals but fanning those flames with a creepy, coffin-dwelling atmosphere that puts Erste Beschwörung in a league all its own, also incorporating eldritch doom and deathrock into this wildly bubbling cauldron. And it’s early days still…
No boundaries, no limitations: HEXENBRETT digs its own unique grave with Erste Beschwörung, and the cemetery is wide-fucking-open. The spell was cast, the demons are here – let the haunting begin!
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Today, modern NWOBHM torchbearers Coltre premiere the new track "Fight" at heavily trafficked web-portal RideIntoGlory.com. The track hails from the band's highly anticipated debut album, Under the Influence, set for international release on July 31st via Dying Victims Productions. Hear Coltre's "Fight" in its entirety exclusively HERE.
Coltre was forged in London, England by guitarists Daniel Sweed and Marco Stamigna in May 2019. They met at a Midnight concert and decided to form a band inspired by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They started rehearsing, and by the beginning of 2020 had recorded the four-song EP Under the Influence, to be released in time for their first gig, supporting Witchtower at Boston Music Rooms.
The band self-released Under the Influence on CD and digital formats, but now Dying Victims steps forward to champion Coltre’s cause and release it as a five-song work, featuring an exclusive new track. Rough and rustic but brimming with an authentically ancient fire, Under the Influence is moody metallic majesty: dark ‘n’ mysterious riffs, portentously galloping rhythms, epic-yet-direct compositions, and the sage-like pipes of Stagmina atop it all. One could be mistaken for thinking Coltre were some unearthed relic from the original NWOBHM movement, so hot-rockin’ is their swords-aloft surge, evoking high fantasy and urban grit in equal measure, and crucially retaining that pivotal rock ‘n’ roll thrust Thin Lizzy largely gifted to that movement.
But Coltre are their own men, and as reverential as they are of these enduring paradigms, Under the Influence is undoubtedly its own creation, its own wild world. You are hereby compelled to go under THEIR influence!
Continue going under that influence with the brand-new track "Fight" exclusively HERE, courtesy of RideIntoGlory.com. Begin going under that influence with the previously revealed "Lambs to the Slaughter" exclusively HERE, courtesy of Deaf Forever magazine. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Coltre's Under the Influence
1. Lambs to the Slaughter [7:26]
2. Crimson Killer [4:32]
3. Fight [5:58]
4. Plague Doctor [9:24]
5. On the Edge of the Abyss [5:50]
MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/coltre.UK
www.dying-victims.de
www.facebook.com/dyingvictimsproductions
