CD

When drummer/vocalist Proscriptor McGovern (Russ R. Givens) dissolved Absu on January 27th 2020, his main intention was to splinter the 30-year old faction into a renewed songwriting concord. Proscriptor McGovern’s Apsû is the obvious by-product of that chemical breakdown, which constitutes a new incarnation and direct continuation of Absu’s legacy. Securing the ranks, alongside McGovern, are continuing bassist/vocalist Ezezu (Absu: 2008-2020), new guitar virtuoso Vaggreaz (Possessed, Gruesome) and keyboardist Vorskaath (Zemial, Agatus). Since Absu’s last, unreleased album was to be penned as “Apsû,” McGovern fused the title with his name to form the group. With this much anticipated, self-titled album, McGovern’s objective was to append the signature sound of “mythological occult metal,” but to convolute it with bouts of psychedelia, fusion and vintage electronics. Written for those who are curious and unwearied in their quest of arcane knowledge, the album was chronicled at studios around the world and features an exclusive set of guests

Eard is the Old English noun for land, country and home. Consisting in harpist Glorya Lyr and multi-instrumentalist MK (Silence Thereafter, Duir), the band borrowed the title for their debut De Rerum Natura from the poem by Roman author Lucretius, composed in the first century BC and translated as On The Nature Of Things.

After contributing to Saor Forgotten Paths, writing and performing the closing track “Exile”, Eard set forth to craft their own music. The band’s focus is to investigate human nature, of which De Rerum Natura depicts several aspects mainly related to Old English and Italian poetics.

The duo has solid roots in melodic black metal, and adds their own twist with the extensive use of the celtic harp, the strings of which constantly intertwine with the classic black metal equipment. The result of such is De Rerum Natura, a familiar yet extremely personal blend of atmospheric, nature-infused black metal.

"Even at their crucible, Cemetery of Scream was a force unto themselves. Original, dark and not afraid to experiment best sum up the bands humble beginnings. It’s always nice when you can listen to a band, put them in a category and do so without pointing out who they sound like if not a few resemblances to early My Dying Bride.
"Melancholy" finally finds new life again as a digipak CD and first time release on (double) vinyl

Digipak CD with 12 pags booklet

hardcover digibook, ltd 

Great grim black metal, a mixture between early Immortal and early Burzum

Calculating and cruel, steeped in an ambiance of controlled fury, the nine tracks offer a jarring journey through the haunted recesses of the mortal mind. They are violent and hypnotic, but also bring out the occasional demented melody to keep things unpredictable. The lyrics - manic demonological verses that read as the album sounds - are roared, chanted, moaned and snarled with equal parts conviction and possession. All combined, this results in a soundscape which, whilst firmly rooted in the death metal tradition, is thoroughly imbued with a theatrical vibe and spiritual depth more associated with black metal. The Broken Seal is a unique fusion of musical worlds, concocted to plague the reality of flesh.

Ladoga is a call of a modern man to his roots. It’s an attempt to look at the life of the ancient man through the prism of the legends and today’s cultural paradigm. The man who is physically same yet so diffident in mind.
It’s a journey from nowhere to nowhere. It’s about a fate of a person in the eternity of the existence

Windfaerer's Breaths of Elder Dawns is the black/folk metal quintet's latest and most elaborate output in its more than a decade of existence. As the band from New Jersey puts it, “Breaths of Elder Dawns explores themes of hope, kinship, destruction of the natural world, shattered illusions and longing for the numbing comfort of death. It is a journey of mourning through the ruins of abandonded dreams and aspirations. This record is an homage to a romantaicized past as much as it is a rejection of its glorification.

As with previous Windfaerer releases this record was a collaborative effort. Each member brought their own influences, perspectives and compositions and forged them into the spirit of the band. Extensive attention to detail was paid to all of the sonic elements—from the mic placements to the string orchestrations—in an effort to create a towering and expansive sound. Sorrow-laden melodies spiral through rugged, mountainous song structures in a synthesis of vulnerability and power. Breaths of Elder Dawns is a journey through aesthetic desolation and saudade. Here, the light of the sun exposes the anguished disfigurement of the soul”.

Reissue 2021