When I look back at the last twenty years, there is perhaps no more important musical entity in my life than England’s EARACHE RECORDS (srs). Back when I was a little kid on a quest to find the fastest, most cock-smashingly brutal music I could get my hands on, I stumbled across a copy of the legendary Grindcrusher compilation, and I’ve been hooked on death metal ever since. As my gateway to metal, Earache will always have a special place in my heart– and when you care for someone as I do for Earache, it hurts to see them lose their way, stumble, and fall as Earache did in the 90s and 00s. I had written them off as yet another band/label/artist who has a brief moment of brilliance, burns brightly, then fizzles out before dying in undignified circumstances [via Vincent Van Gogh]. But I am happy to report that I couldn’t be more wrong! Earach is back on the horse, stronger than ever, and signing more relevant, exciting bands than ever (srs).

In this post, I will briefly recap the label’s history in three sections to bring newer readers up to speed on Nottingham’s finest export. I will then share my thoughts on their current signings and solicit suggestions on which bands the label should sign next– hopefully Dig is reading!

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When one thinks of black metal OGs Darkthrone, most likely, the image of a gangly guy with a candelabra comes to mind, and with it, black metal’s trappings and faults. But, like true originators, the band molded the style they helped create to their liking, moving from the raw mist of tremolo picking on Transylvanian Hunger to the (relatively more) refined old school black metal on 2004’s Sardonic Wrath to the anthemic and (dare I say) kinda fun blackened crust punk of their excellent last two releases, F.O.A.D and Dark Thrones and Black Flags. Despite being an integral part of one of the most important movements in metal’s history 20 years ago, Darkthrone are still putting out some of their best work right now, still raw and confrontational and, most importantly, still not giving a fuck about what people want them to play. Punk rock has always lurked underneath the band’s best material, but its attitude of individuality is what fuels Darkthrone and sets them apart from most of their frosty peers.

Part of the band’s artistic growth could most likely be due to its distillation to its core: Guitarist/vocalist Nocturno Culto and drummer/lyricist/occasional vocalist Fenriz have been the band‘s sole members for quite a while. The latter member has become a celebrity in his own right in the metal world through assembling the occasional compilation (his latest, Trapped Under Vice II, a collection of obscure trad metal and prog, is pretty fucking great) and generally coming across as a funny dude with a broad knowledge of metal by way of entertaining interviews. One of those interviews was recently with MetalSucks via email, where Fenriz discussed his band’s future (new album in February!), his approach to vocal work both in Darkthrone and his long gestating doom metal side project Fenriz’ Red Planet, his thoughts on production, and how “true” black metal was just black metal back when they started.

[Editor's note: English is not Fenriz's first language, but in the hopes of maintaining as much of what he wanted to say the way he wanted to say it, we did very little editing to his e-mail responses. In other words, we sometimes sacrificed proper grammar for the sake of keeping the interview interesting.]

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In no particular order…

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Salome, who just might be our favorite modern doom metal band on the planet, are about to hit the road with Hull and Batillus as part of the Beard Destroyer Tour 2009 (Best tour moniker ever? We think so!). The band also recently completed a split with Thou (cover art above), which is being mastered by James Plotkin (Khanate, OLD, Sunn O))), Isis, etc.) and should be out on Vendetta Records in the next couple of months.

But why wait a couple of months when you can hear some new shit right this very second? The band has been cool enough to graciously allow us to debut a brand new track, “With Hell for a Mouth,” as a free download. Like all Salome, the song is slow like honey and crushing like an anvil, with Kat’s inimitable vocals from the bowels of hell bolstering the performance of guitarist Rob Moore and drummer Aaron Deal. It also marks the next evolutionary step for Salome, as it features slightly brighter production than their EP and even has – gasp! – some sections that are kinda bouncy. It is, in a word, awesome.

Download the song, absolutely free, below. Then, after the jump, get dates for the Beard Destroyer Tour 2009. You need to see Salome live; they are truly otherworldly.

Salome, “With Hell for a Mouth”

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