Label Roundup: Eldritch Lunar Miasma Records
I am a stalker. Stalking is what I do. Even though it is not the most salutary of activities, some forms of, hm… people watching can prove beneficial to myself and others, like that time I found a sick metal label via Bandcamp stalking. So sick I had to mini-review my favorite releases off of their budding Bandcamp roster.
Toilet, meet Eldritch Lunar Miasma. You’ll get along just fine.
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Nolti Nan Gana Nan Nolta – Death by the Venomhammer
A venomhammer blow to the head is what you get as soon as you press play on this EP. Wobbly from the blunt force trauma, you find yourself back in 1984, breaking your neck to some sick first wave black metal. I’m talkin about nasty riffs and tone, frenzied drumming that makes you want to run out the house and slay the neighbors who are probably already terrified from hearing the vocals on this thing. One of the highlights of Death by the Venomhammer is that the songs are a little longer than what you’d find in Bathory‘s self-titled, so there is room for variation and tempo changes that make me a satisfied big black thrash boy.
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Fetid Zombie/Deathevoker – Monolith of Death
In this excellent split we get two different spins on how to make putrid OSDM. On the first five tracks we get Fetid Zombie unleashing a thrash-leaning assault that occasionally reaches towards trad and NWOBHM for riff inspiration. It sounds like the Big Four’s undead cousin band, complete with a vocalist that gargles forth pitch-shifted filth at you. In a lovely way, of course. They also scatter around unorthodox elements like the choir-like backing on tracks “Bow To No Gods” and “Gazing Into The Eyes of Death”. Deathevoker, on the other hand, fills the bottom end of the split with a sound that’s more easily tagged as death metal. Their thick and distorted guitar tone spreads across the room, like in the obnoxiously plodding moments of “Sinking Into Unconsciousness”, a song that also sees the band exploring their faster, blasting side towards the end. Right after, in “The Monolith”, we get an infectious rendition of punky death metal. The split is closed with the excellent cover of Sadus‘ “Sadus Attack”.
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Cultfinder – Hell’s Teeth
Remember when we sort of collectively agreed that black metal is the most emotional subgenre of metal? Unless “beer” became an emotion – something that would explain how I feel for a good amount of time – this is not the kind of black metal to get your feels from. What you get instead is a trifecta of catchy riffs, great songwriting and frenetic drumming. The krvsty production job just laces it all up perfectly. I have a feeling this would be Fenriz approved metal, with the loud drums and vocals taking the forefront of the sonic mayhem. “Drink to the Devil” and “Morbid Breed” are anthems in their own right, the choruses of both songs will be stuck to your head. This shit is FUN.
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Taarma – Nuclear Jihad
If more nuanced and atmospheric black metal is what you crave, this release is for you. Atmospheric in this case does not mean polished, nor does it evoke natural beauty. The low fidelity of the recording and the sound weaved by Taarma takes me on a lonely walk through a barren wasteland, the aftermath of the arrogance and idiocy of men. The harrowing vocals sound like the winds of death blowing on the hair over your shoulders. At times, clarity arises from the fog, bringing sorrowful melodies to the surface. When joined by the vocals, like in the song “As The Night Becomes A Funeral”, these melodies create moments of pure isolation and poignancy. Is there hope at the end of the journey? The answer is no, only silent acceptance of a horrid fate.
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Coedwig Machen – Wandering Eternal
I have a huge problem with this release, and it’s the fact that it’s only comprised of two tracks. Over the course of its 18 minute run time one gets to hear the best guitar tone in the label. Open notes ring freely with the complement of delay pedals, while the chords sound deliciously overdriven. The description says it is an “experience about the dark and depressing concepts of Death and suicide”, which can be misleading. While the music in Wandering Eternal packs a lot of emotional heft, it is far from morose or from the sound I typically associate to DSBM. I dare saying that, instead of being in the shoes of someone contemplating suicide, Coedwig Machen’s goal was to put the listener on the position of someone who just lost a loved one to suicide.
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A lot of other worthy releases lie in Eldritch Lunar Miasma’s dungeons, but I will leave some of the fun to you. On their Bandcamp alone there is Chilean Incantation-worship, neo-folk, Malaysian black metal and in their official website there are even more goodies to be found. Most of these releases are available as casettes only, some of them on CD, but none as digital purchases. Still, this is a somewhat unknown label that deserves major props for putting out good metal regardless of genre. I need to get my hands on a casette player now…
Make sure to stab the following links for more information:
ELM’s Facebook
ELM’s official website
ELM’s web store
Have fun digging.
