Fyrhtu

Leila Abdul-Rauf released new Vastum, formed Fyrhtu w/ Nathan Verrill (listen)

Oakland’s Fyrhtu is a new duo from the very prolific Leila Abdul-Rauf (a solo artist and a member of Vastum, Hammers of Misfortune, Amber Asylum, Cardinal Wrym, and more) and Nathan A. Verrill (also of doom band Cardinal Wrym), and they’re releasing their debut album No more days in the light next week, November 8 via Black Horizons (pre-order). Though both members are best known for playing in metal bands, with Fyrhtu they make eerie, atmospheric music that combines the haunting, ambient drone of Leila’s solo material with a strong folk music influence (both members sing, sometimes in harmony with each other). Fans of Current 93, Dead Can Dance, Coil, and similar acts will probably want to check this out.

Fyrhtu recently released the album’s nearly-ten-minute lead single “Men Come Hunting,” and we’re now premiering the slightly shorter but even creepier sounding “Ritual.” Here’s what Fyrhtu tell us about it:

“Ritual” speaks to the space between the spirit and tangible worlds. As the wall thins between them, we sense presences that are simultaneously welcoming and comforting, yet frightening and invasive. They pull us out of our tiny world as we draw them ever inside us, becoming one with their anguish, euphoria, grief and longing: “Confusion shriek…succumb.”

Fyrhtu are playing a hometown release show this Friday (11/2) with Barren Altar, Eye of Nix, and Exulansis, and they have more dates TBA. They also have a collaborative album with Gridfailure coming in 2020. Stay tuned for more, and listen to both new singles right here:

For the ever-busy Leila Abdul-Rauf, this new Fyrhtu song comes just one week after the release of the excellent new Vastum album Orificial Purge (out now on 20 Buck Spin), on which she is one of the two songwriter/vocalists. Here’s more on that album from Invisible Oranges‘ Thomas Hinds:

After four years of silence (excluding last year’s outstanding split with Spectral Voice), Bay Area underground death metal monstrosity Vastum returns with Orificial Purge, the long-awaited follow-up to their acclaimed third record Hole Below. This new album represents a marked evolution of the group’s signature blend of sinister atmosphere, punishing brutality, and lyrical and visual imagery that explores the connections between “perversion, mortification, and an abyssal mysticism of sin.” Plodding, mid-paced dirges and dungeon-crawling death-doom riffs are woven seamlessly into lacerating melodic dissonance and celestial grandeur, all bolstered by a pummeling rhythm section. A refined work and a fascinating expansion of their already formidable sound, Orificial Purge is a triumphant, attention-worthy return for Vastum.

Vastum’s only upcoming live date at the moment is Frederick, Maryland’s Shadow Frost festival in February, 2020. Leila is also playing a solo set at that. Stream Orificial Purge here: