Australia’s metallic supremacy is no surprise to anyone who’s ever nodded sagely along to the explanation behind ‘We Are Death… Fukk You!’, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t awfully nice to discover yet another gem from under the Southern Cross. Anonymous entity Lampades have been established since 2012, but arose last year to deliver one of the most crushing demos of 2012. They’re already off to a good start for 2013, too, with an upcoming split with fellow Aussie destroyers Bleakwood under their belts Their style of death is familiar, as they churn out wilfully primitive, visceral and dark metal of death and lightless decay, inspired by the spirit of the underworld from whence they drew their name. “This style of music is what we all grew up listening to, and is representative of our earlier years of musical influence; it is easier to write and perform in this style than what we do with our other bands, and thus not suitable for use as it would be very much out of context. It’s basic and primitive – a simple release of dark energy,” an unnamed source explains, keeping tacitly quiet about who those “other bands” may be. The ‘IX’ compilation demo … Read More

NUCLEAR WAR! NOW FESTIVAL III BERLIN POSTBAHNHOF-FRITZCLUB

So here we were, apostles at the altars of madness. And thanks to a queue snaking the building’s length, Knelt Rote are missed by most. Anatomia quickly make up for any loss and summon a good start to the festival with their deathly doom. These Japanese magicians have a great sound for so early on and put on an impressive display, knocking out last night’s pre-show cobwebs. Pseudogod’s unholy black death calls the masses once again, but dogged by sound problems from the start, they fail to recover and are plagued until the end with a high end sound, which is inaudible from certain parts of the venue, and no doubt the stage. A real shame, as they are one of the bands with high anticipation surrounding them. Onwards we march, into the shadows, as Antediluvian take us further down into hell. Their ominous sound reverberates from the walls like a swarm, surrounding everything within their dark veil. Clad all in black, their presence is akin to their sound; one of the weekend’s most crushing performances. As the day becomes more chaotic, so does the music and the Italians in Blasphemophagher deliver it by the truckload. Their frantic black/thrash … Read More