Hailing from Tunisia, this young band evidently has big ideas and despite the album being less than 20 minutes long, it is an enthralling and captivating experience (whether you like it or not.) From the get go it is very reminiscient of Deathspell Omega or Dodecahedron, with rolling, amelodic riffing; drums and guitars deliberately going in completely different directions and near-spoken-word vocals. However, this is not the unintelligent aping that I have come to hate. While it instantly reminds me of the aforementioned bands, the similarities begin to dissipate as the songs progress. Much like Kenya’s Absence of Light, there is a massive wall of sound that relentlessly rolls forward; there is no haste in Brood of Hatred and in spite of the frantic drumwork, the songs lurch forward in an inhuman fashion rather than blistering speed. Mohamed Melki’s guttural vocals are some of the deepest and most foreboding I’ve heard come from our continent in a long time too, becoming near unintelligible even with the lyrics in front of me. The message is clear though and the seething atmosphere is almost malicious in it’s composition.

Album opener, “Deconstruction” sets the tone well and an insidious bass intro gives way to the filthy guitar tone and well composed drums. There is a tendency with death metal to just go all out all the time and after a while it begins to wear thin. Drummer, Yousef Aouadi, evidently knows his weapons well and and uses them to great effect alternating between frenzied blasting and far more measured drum beats. This only serves to accent the guitar work which is also filled with variety. Riffs switch between dissonant chords, tremolo picked passages and chuggy sections very naturally and nothing ever feels abrupt or haphazard. Little peace is given in the aural onslaught and it is only the third track, “Terminal Velocity” that offers a brief breather in the form of a few lone bass notes before the abyss closes in again.

The production on New Order of Intelligence is muddy, but that’s the point. The music feels like it is evoking chaos itself and there is no room for crystal clear pinch harmonics or expertly triggered drums. There is little variation in Brood of Hatred’s songwriting, but this in only a four track EP so there is plenty of room for exapansion when the full length comes out. Given the room to grow, I think this band could definitely make some big waves overseas and the seed has been planted with this EP. Definitely an African band to keep an eye on in the coming years!

Stream “Deconstruction” off New Order of Intelligence below:

Buy New Order of Intelligence at the official Brood of Hatred Bandcamp.

“It was after our 2009 tour to Europe,” Sean told us, “When Nazar and I decided that it was time to seriously consider a move. We thought of the tour as ‘testing the waters’ and we had our hearts set on it.” To the horror of the South African metal community, Nazar was killed in a car accident in October of 2010 and with the loss of Sean’s strongest ally in driving the move, plans fell silent in the months following.
“We had many member changes, but would not give up working toward a goal. I see this move as a step towards not just fulfilling my own dream, but Nazar’s dream too.”

Sean describes the current line-up of the band as primarily session members: George (guitar), Brandon (bass) and Gavin (drums).
“These guys have been amazing, but right now it is just myself taking the Warthane name and material over. A new European-based line-up has been in the cards, but I will not hesitate to call on my South African bandmates if and when a great opportunity arises.” Naturally, it will take some time – likely a number of months at best – for Sean to find his feet and re-establish the band, but he is driven and hints towards some big surprises to come. He went on to describe the excellent feedback received from European contacts since releasing the Black Divine album in December of 2011, and says that now is the time to consider offers. His initial focus, however, will be to set up a highly professional live line-up who are gig-ready and up to par with the bands new surroundings.

We asked Sean for a closing statement, or any message he would like to offer his soon-to-be former local community:

“Warthane has been given six great years in South Africa; I have many memories that will be always held dear to me. For now, Europe is my main concern, but once Warthane has built up a following in Europe, some home tours would be great!”

“None of this would have been possible without the burning fury of our South African metal scene and our fans. When we return, we want to bring nothing but our A-game and hopefully something big and spectacular. This is an exciting time and it finally feels like the hard work and sacrifice is paying off. It is not always easy to wave your home country goodbye and it is certainly no easy task feeling like you are leaving the SA family behind, but we hope that everyone will appreciate out efforts and desire to progress as far as we can. We only have one life; make things happen!”

“I would also like to thank everybody for being so positive about the move and wishing us well on our journey. I could never live with myself knowing that I never tried chasing my dreams and those of my dearly missed friend. Warthane is a work horse and will always be. Just when you think it’s down, it comes back stonger!”

From the team at Metal4africa.com, we wish Sean and Warthane all the best in his European endeavors, and we will keep a close tab on progress. Good luck, and may the spirit of Odin be with you!

About two weeks ago we were contacted by Ewa Kopyra of Radio Revolta in Poland regarding a South African metal special of the show. The show, “Demons of South Africa”, will be aired this Thursday (10 May) at 21:00 Polish time (which is approximately 20:00 here in South Africa).

Click the promo poster to visit Radio Revolta:

To stream Radio Revolta, download the playlist file and load it into your media player of choice! We look forward to hearing your thoughts on the show and the way South African metal is portrayed to the rest of the world!

Straight out of the gates, Bloodlust pummels you over the head with “Out for Blood”. Frantic riffs and blastbeats aplenty greet the ears and there is a very apparent groove sensibility to everything. Death metal’s trend to just rush through riffs and passages often leaves the listener bewildered and left behind, but discernable refrains keep ones attention as much as a brand new riff. Fans of Cannibal Corpse will feel right at home with the lyrical content as well as the style of soloing in the tracks, especially on “Merciless” and “Butcher for Pleasure”.

The music draws you in (if the striking cover art by Eko Rana doesn’t already,) and slowly morphs the surroundings into a blood-soaked morgue. Those looking for poetry over the music can head somewhere else because at first glance the lyrics are gore-soaked and bile-hurling. However, reading past the layers of death metal schlock, there is a level of social conscience to Bloodbeast which is normally absent from metal, let alone its more extreme progeny. Songs like “Sadeye SNAFU”, which deals with accidental injuries as a result of wartime and “Fuck or Die”, which is a fittingly brutal allegory for rape show an interest to explore more than just horror movie pulp. The latter of these two songs is actually uncomfortable to listen to because of the bluntness with which it tackles the issue.

On the subject of production, it is good, but not as good as it could be. All of the instruments are audible and clear in the mix but seem to just fall short of being as chunky as the music deserves. The clicky kick drum and tinny guitar tone don’t detract from the experience though and it’s more a personal gripe than anything else. The vocals are surprisingly audible for death metal and despite being further back in the mix than they belong, they are solid and strong. What I’m getting at here is that it is a very “local” sounding record and as happy as I am to see a “Proudly South African” product, I also feel that Bloodlust could have benefitted from an outside ear from across the seas to push it into truly stellar territory!

Despite clocking in at just over thirty minutes, the songs on Bloodlust feel long and expansive. Thanks to their “pop-sensibility” of bringing riffs back and writing good hooks, the music is compelling and warrants multiple listens. My impression of Bloodbeast is that they are a powder keg of talent and an influence that are definitely at the front of South Africa’s death metal charge!

Stream “Fuck or Die” off Bloodlust below:

Buy Bloodlust at the official Bloodbeast Bandcamp.

Contained in the seven track album is a great slice of melodic metal that draws on a number of influences from all over the metal spectrum. The strong Lamb of God-esque vocals, crunchy guitars, Metallica inspired riffs and the haunting female voice on “Reflections in Blood” all make for a really stellar and professional package; something all South Africans can be proud of!

Gadabout has existed since 2003 and has played such events as Ramfest, MotherFudd, Whiplash and Thornfest.

Stream “One More Day” off Take Another Life below:

As it turned out, Cape Town and surrounding provinces do indeed sport a small contingent of survivors from the 90s era doom scene. I arrived at ROAR to discover that not only had this convention of long-time metallers birthed between 1965 – 1980 arrived, but rather a diverse crowd sporting anybody between eighteen years and fifty! Although not a huge number of people by any means, the venue had been well chosen because the shadowy entities contained therein had it comfortably filled. It was absolutely fantastic to actually attend a show where there seemed a stronger emphasis on the social aspect than just filling the night with noisy bands, and I offer full kudos to them for keeping the atmosphere true to the key focus of the night. A masterfully selected playlist filled our ears whilst in anticipation of the show.

The performance began with no announcement, and I suspect that most people thought it was another track on the playlist. During the first few notes of “Your River” (tribute to My Dying Bride,) the curtains were opened to reveal the stage, occupied at this time by a performance act comprised of members from band such as Axxon, A Walk With The Wicked, Ashes At My Grave, and even members from Cape Town’s 90s doom sensation, Grämlich. Within just a few seconds, the audience was transfixed. This particular track was delivered at a high level of excellence and the passion that the musicians feel for this artist was clear in their performance. Following a very quick trade of instruments by members and the addition of a fresh recruit on vocals, they went on to deliver “And When He Falleth” (originally by Theatre Of Tragedy), and so the evening progressed.

By the end of the performance we had seen no less than ten musicians rotating responsibilities on the stage, with backgrounds from almost as many current and past South African bands. With such an ensemble and with so many instruments and different tunings trading hands, there were a few minor slips – but none of which the audience would not have forgiven considering the overall quality and complexity of the production, and the effort which had gone into it. The evening revealed other members affiliated with The League Of Doom from even more bands such as Crow Black Sky, Terminatryx and Mind Assault, and even one of the key performers experiencing his very first live experience.

What this night represented to a lot of the people involved was not only a celebration of a great sub-genre of metal, but also the fact that it is enjoyed by a diverse composition of people where virtually the only common ground between them is that love which they all share for the dark and dramatic. I think it is safe to say that everybody came away from the night feeling culturally enriched and eager to hear when The League will be doing a follow-up presentation. Maybe it will be six months, or maybe a year or possibly more. However, if there is one thing that is certain, it is that doom metal is alive and well.

Homeward Tracklisting:

Initiation
Niflheim
Elder Bliss
Old Man Maiden
Land Van ‘n Duisend Mere
Valhalla
Witches’ Betrayal
Autumn Moon
Earth Reborn
Homeward
Enter Euphoria
Conclusion

According to the band, the first single, entitled “Niflheim”, will be released as a teaser about a month prior to the album’s release.

The artwork has just been unveiled, along with the track listing, and album release date is expected to be announced for sometime in September. With bands such as Balyios and the somewhat more seasoned Haggis and Bong, it is becoming apparent that the folk metal scene in South Africa is on the up-rise. Enthusiasts for the sub-genre might also take an interest in bands such as Riddare Av Koden and Strident, who both exhibit some influences – albeit more subtle – from the folk scene.

Visit Balyios on Facebook here

They approached alternative music veteran and entertainment writer Paul Blom (Terminatryx, V.O.D, ex-K.O.B.U.S.) to helm the column. Dubbed Eruption, the 3-page spread will include a feature (the debut piece taking a peek at the state of SA Metal from the perspective of Metal4Africa founder Darkfiend), news clips, reviews and more. It will serve both as a hub for people into more extreme music, and for those unaware of its existence and global reach. Muse Magazine is a full colour print magazine distributed across South Africa.

Check them out at www.museonline.co.za

Rising from the primordial seas of the local metal scene is a new band that has recently gained the attention of many. Megalodon is a five-piece, eight-string slinging experimental groove metal band hailing from Cape Town.

Their recent debut show at Metal4Africa’s Summerfest ’12 was highly praised, with a full house of head bangers showing up to see them. I myself was excited to see them perform their polyrhythmic grooves to my eager ears. Megalodon were one of the few bands to get some serious attention and I was very surprised to see the M4A stage area chock-full with an outstanding influx of a crowd. I guess they had gathered a substantial interest through their demo releases.

Since they are most likely the first gigging band to use 8-strings and polyrhythmic grooves, you would be quick to think that they are simply ripping off another band that starts with the letter M. This is certainly not the case because it is clear that they have their own sound and it’s building up a force which cannot be denied. Their sound can be described as thick and laden with “the boomy”, due to the use of what sounds like the bass tuned an octave down from the guitars, as well as heavy power chord usage which most 8-string players avoid; both techniques being quite unconventional.

Megalodon can tick off many boxes which categorise them as a djent band. If you haven’t heard already, on the circuits overseas there is a growing trend some of you might know as “djent” and is what some Meshuggah-esque bands call their genre or sound. Some of these groups just sound like deathcore, while others have a very unique take on the idea-bending genre known as djent.

Djent, is in itself a literal guitar sound as well as being a scene, and many see it as a genre. Meshuggah are seen as the forefathers of this sound and there is a rumour that Fredrik Thordendal (guitarist of Meshuggah) originally coined the term. Although in the USA, a guitarist by the name of Misha “Bulb” Mansoor apparently made the term “djent” ever so popular on the internet. His “djent” band, Periphery, has become extremely successful; at least in the US and European scenes.

The trend started a few years ago, in which an official djent website had spawned and many aspiring home studio owners created and shared their own versions of this kind of metal. The trend is very similar to nu-metal and such things before; it is quite disposable and is creating a huge rise in mediocre one-man projects and boring bands that are trying to coast in this popular trend. Djent is a fun word to throw around; especially when a band is clearly influenced by Meshuggah but it is extremely vague and doesn’t do any band justice as a genre label.

I implore the readers to excuse all that which you have heard before, this local monster known as Megalodon is not just another “djent” band; keep an open mind and be ready for the innovation they bring us. Local metal bands aren’t getting enough of our support as metal fans and a band like this that brings something so fresh to the table needs our support.

Listen to Megalodon’s latest track, “Omnipresent Authority Figure” below and check out their other tracks through their Facebook page

Megalodon – Omnipresent Authority Figure by Megalodonza

“We’ve all worked really hard on this recording and are quite proud of it”, Alex Wiese (Messiah Complex frontman) told us. The band is still reasonably new in the Cape Town scene, and Alex went on to tell us how each new song the band writes is harder for each member to cope with, but the result is that Messiah Complex is constantly driven towards streamlining their sound, which is now available for all to hear and salivate over. “I think a lot of people will be quite surprised as to how we’ve developed over the years,” he concluded, and we at M4A most certainly were. Go and check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/messiahcomplexsa