Parisians Hell Militia are have closed in on a decade of depravity, and are celebrating with another set of blasting black metal destruction in Jacob's Ladder, their new LP due this week (11/20) via Season of Mist. Stream all of Jacob's Ladder below, and order yours now.

Hell Militia dates are few and far between (the band was scheduled to be part of the debacle that was Rites of Darkness), so in the meantime check out live video of the band below (and the album stream!).

Continue reading "stream all of Hell Militia's 'Jacob's Ladder'"

by BBG

Inquisition @ The Studio

Inquisition are on their way to the crumbling four-day Texas festival known as Rites of Darkness, where they'll join-up with an ever decreasing number of bands. Since "finalizing" the lineup earlier this year, a staggering 20 of the 54 bands, most of them headliners and exclusives, have all fallen off of the lineup due to an issue with Paypal.

As the festival has grown closer, the list of casualties has increased. Some bands succumbed to the pleas of fans begging to stay on (like Zemial), and others tried but ultimately still had to drop off (like Pagan Altar). The festival issued a definitive statement on 11/30 which confirmed the lineup, but then six more bands cancelled. It has, to say the least, been a rollercoaster ride for Rites of Darkness ticketholders, who are now still awaiting confirmations from Zemial, Hell Militia and Nunslaughter. Regardless, I'll see you there this weekend.

UPDATE: Both Hell Militia and Nunslaughter have cancelled. Nunslaughter's official statement is here, while Hell Militia's is here.

Meanwhile, Northwestern black metal duo Inquisition played The Studio at Webster Hall on Friday 12/2, joined by Disma and Agrath (after Mortuary Drape and Negative Plane dropped off of the show). NJ death metal crew Disma were also scheduled to play Rites of Darkness but cancelled their appearance alongside related bands Evoken and Funebrarum, so the NYC show was unfortunately their last of the year.

Drenched in fog (courtesy of the itchy trigger finger of Tooth from Natur) and red lighting, both Inquisition and Disma ripped at The Studio, playing favorites from their recent LP offerings Ominous Doctrines of the Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm and Towards the Megalith respectively. Agrath, which contains members of Negative Plane, opened the evening to a mostly packed house with their primitive blackened stomp.

More pictures from the NYC show are below.

Continue reading "Inquisition played Studio @ Webster w/ Disma & Agrath (pics); Rites of Darkness festival continues to crumble UPDATED"

by BBG

Inquisition at MDF (more by BBG)

"This is Danny, the promoter for Rites of Darkness. I understand people have been getting frustrated with lack of news so I personally apologize for that. We have gone through a rash of cancellations which were beyond our control.. Paypal froze the Festival's account which caused delayed flights for months. By the time Paypal decided to release our account flights escalated beyond our set budget. So the show is NOT cancelled by any means but the following bands will not be performing: Root, Akitsa, Interment, Demonical, Valkyrja, Dead Congregation, Hour of 13, and Strid"

Rites of Darkness, the San Antonio festival in December that lined up an impressive slate of bands from around the world and many notable exclusives, has suffered a rash of cancellations (including Mortuary Drape), many of which were headlining bands.

The festival has remained silent about the situation for close to two weeks, but finally updated festival-goers today. Their message, excerpted above and available in full below, explains the situation, but neglects to mention that Pagan Altar also cancelled (they were slated for a two hour set) and that Zemial cancelled too. Another band that is currently in flux, Stargazer, is reportedly without flights (the band is from Australia) at the moment. The listing is missing General Surgery, and no announcement has been made about the pre-fest which includes France's Hell Militia. Previously announced cancellations include Ondskapt, Urfaust, Behexen, and Sargeist. RoD has added new Profound Lore signees Pallbearer.

Reminder: two RoD bands, Inquisition and Disma, are scheduled to play The Studio at Webster Hall on 12/2 with Agrath. Tickets are still available.

UPDATE: Both Zemial and Pagan Altar are reconsidering their appearances. Statements from both are below.

UPDATED AGAIN: Disma, Funebrarum, Evoken, and Oak have all cancelled their appearances.

The most recent Rites of Darkness statement and the current lineup is below.

Continue reading "Rites of Darkness 2011 still on despite heavy cancellations UPDATED"