Necrolust: Svartidauði, Cemetary Piss, Domains, and Propast

I generally try to go for a little variety in these columns, but it’s so fucking cold here that the thought of writing about nice, warm doom tones or fiery high-octane grind is just cruel. So, with the exception of Domains (who clearly listen to a lot of old Darkthrone demos anyway), all of the bands covered below fall firmly on the black metal spectrum, albeit with a few qualifiers here and there. Since it’s 23 degrees outside my apartment right now and even colder where a lot of you guys reside, let’s all cuddle up close and put the “necro” back in “Necrolust.”

SVARTIDAUDI

Svartidauði is one of the best bands currently engaged in the creation of black metal music, and now that a new track and news of an upcoming release have surfaced, the bar has been set even further out of reach. “Venus Illegitima’ is another tense, foreboding, and deeply strange composition that dovetails neatly with the material on 2012’s triumphant Flesh Cathedral LP, but also hints of darker things to come. The song is taken from The Synthesis of Whore and Beast available the 30th of April via Terratur Possessions and Daemon Worship Productions. Just listen to it; you can thank me later.

CEMETERY PISS

This band is ridiculous in the best possible way. Cemetery Piss is raw as fuck and lo-fi as hell black/thrash that comes completely smothered in distortion and rickety recording, like an even scummier, punk Profanatica. Snotty, mean, and depraved, the three songs on the band’s latest EP, Such As the Vultures, sound as fucked-up as a drunk Friday night in Baltimore.  Nab the 7” from Cricket Cemetery or tape from Diabolic Force; they’re already in their second pressing!

Stream Such As the Vultures below:

DOMAINS

Domains may be the latest band to emerge from Spain’s virulent extreme metal underground, but allow me to nip those inevitable Teintanblood/Proclamation comparisons in the bud. This Valencia outfit peddles murky, ruinous death metal done the old way, smeared lightly with ancient black metal and crowned with insidious dark melodies that lift the material right out of the sucking sand of the Immolation/Demigod pit and fortify it with a distinct aura of malevolence and vitality. The album’s a grower, but it’s definitely worth investing the time.

Sample a few tracks off upcoming album Sinister Ceremonies below:

PROPAST

This Serbian duo is about as grim as it gets. Propast (loosely translated as “abyss”) has existed since 2007, but so far 2013’s old-school-to-the-bone ‘Věstnik Preispodnji’ EP stands as their sole release. The album deftly straddles that fertile ground between raw and atmospheric, and while Propast has a definite blast fetish, there are ringing echoes of Horna and Nokturnal Mortum in their more melodic sections. There’s even a brilliantly done Graveland cover tacked on at the end (Propast has no political affiliations that I could find, but if I’m wrong, please correct me). It’s a great cover regardless, and a damn fine EP. If you’re craving some straight up, no frills, totally fucking necro black metal, Propast has ya covered.

Listen: