Songwriter and guitarist Ivar Bjørnson comments:
Enslaved wanted to do something really special for the bonus edition of the new album “Axioma Ethica Odini”: it was decided to go ahead and record two very special songs, in a very special environment.
The first song on the EP is “Jotunblod (Doom)”. This is basically Enslaved “covering” Enslaved. The original “Jotunblod” can be found on the legendary “Frost” album from back in 1994. The self-cover version “Jotunblod (Doom)” was initially specially made for the Roadburn Festival 2010, where Enslaved were Artists in Residence (altogether the audience saw four Enslaved-related concerts that weekend). Why a doom version? This version was made to honor that festival and its goers for their open-mindedness on one side. On the other side: Enslaved wanted to challenge themselves by re-arranging one of their most iconic songs. The result was so effectual that the band wanted to make a one-off recording of the version; that is how it ended up as one side of this bonus- 7” EP. The song is based on the chaotic forces of the Giants, the Jotuns, from Northern Mythology. While the original recording from “Frost” is a somewhat obvious sound-portrait of these forces (fast, chaotic and at the same time, complex and melodic), this doom-version highlights another specter of the primeval forces: the heavy, from-the-core-of-the-Earth-type-sluggish and unrelenting march of chaos that can’t be stopped.
The other song on the 7” is another one that hasn’t been recorded before, but has been played live! “Migration” is plain and simple song number six from the obscure collaboration between Enslaved and Norwegian metal-jazzers Shining that took place at Molde International Jazz Fest in 2008. “Migration” represents the atmosphere that Enslaved brought to table in the collaboration. It represents both the escapism and extreme presence delivered in Enslaved’s music and concepts: an existential paradox in itself.
These two songs were recorded in the woods of Valevåg – a small village on the West coast of Norway that is the birth place of Enslaved’s Grutle Kjellson. Enslaved got help from local farmers with driving their backline and recording equipment deep into the woods of Valevåg (close to Le Cimitiere de Marin, made famous by Norwegian composer Fartein Valen). The séance was recorded by Iver Sandøy (who co-produced the drums for “Axioma Ethica Odini”) and mixed in his Solslottet Studios.
The thought behind releasing the album as a 7” EP with the album inside hails from Enslaved’s undying vinyl and patriotism and is a tribute to the eternal principle of an album-release being something special and important!

Axioma Ethica Odini is the eleventh studio album from ENSLAVED, and is produced by Bjørnson, Kjellson, and keyboardist/backing vocalist Herbrand Larsen.
The album was recorded at three different studios in Bergen, Norway: 1) Duper Studios; 2) Earshot Studios (belonging to ENSLAVED members Larsen and lead guitarist Ice Dale); and 3) Peersonal Sound (owned by Bjørnson). The album was mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Bloodbath, Amon Amarth, Eluveitie) at Fascination Street Studios in Orebro, Sweden and mastered by Chris Sansom (Mortiis) at Propeller Music Division in Oslo, Norway.
Axioma Ethica Odini follows up the 2008 masterpiece Vertebrae, which was crowned “Album of the Year” by Terrorizer Magazine.
Terrorizer editor Louise Brown stated; “That ['Vertebrae'] is our album of the year is no surprise. That it stormed ahead of every other album is also no surprise. And if this album becomes contender for album of the decade… nah, that won’t be a surprise either.”

Vertebrae also ended up high on the list when other magazines rounded up the best of 2008 with the likes of Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles: #4; Metal Edge: #9; Metal Maniacs: #11; Revolver Magazine: #14; Decibel Magazine: #16; and Kerrang!: #19. And in their home country of Norway, they received their third consecutive Spellemann award (the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy).

Visit ENSLAVED online at www.ENSLAVED.no, www.myspace.com/ENSLAVED, www.facebook.com/ENSLAVED, and www.youtube.com/user/enslavedofficial.

Album: Upon The Warlords Crawl
Release: March 14, 2008
Country: Australia
Genre: Metal
Label: Truth Inc.
www.myspace.com/truthcorroded

Track Listing:

01 Crown The Apocalypse 4:03
02 The Immolation Seen 3:04
03 Salute The Horrors 3:36
04 Decimate 3:48
05 Buried Alive By Demons 6:07
06 We Are Failed 5:10
07 When God Is Murder 4:04
08 (Dust) 0:51
09 The Waste That Is Their Word 2:41
10 The Disfiguring 3:54
11 Despair Your Black Earth 8:17

“With influences ranging from the aggression of Daath and Chimaira to the iconic shred of Morbid Angel and Slayer, TRUTH CORRODEDís brand of metal comes at you straight no chase, raw, unfiltered, and uncompromising.”

Review:

Today we have Truth Inc Records artist Truth Corroded, and their recent release “Upon The Warlords Crawl”. Consistent without missing a beat, this album is well mastered, leveled and produced to an industry standard. Keeping the metal genre constant, bands such as this promote that metal will continue to reign as a forever lasting genre. Heavily distorted and fast paced “Upon The Warlords Crawl”, will have you in any mosh pit, anywhere, beating the hell out of the person closest to you. Filled with barreling drum beats, floor shaking bass parts, dirty and heavy guitars, and driving vocals, this album hits you full force and keeps it going until you are almost beaten to death. It is quite clear to see why these guys were able to land slots with acts such as “In Flames” and “Lamb Of God”. Each event throughout the album is nothing short of surpassing the mark. Catchy and consistent this album seems to have much time spent on the overall production, no overdone factory presets, no noise, everything is crystal clear and easy to pick out. A nice use of effects, some panning and a few filters were a nice touch on multiple tracks. Honestly I really like this album due to its lack of “imaginary events”, most of the lyrics are based upon the realization of how close this world has come to absolute shit, no Jesus, no Satan, nothing to bore me over in 20 seconds like some past albums have.

So in conclusion, great album, I would recommend this to anyone looking to release any sort of stress or just something to listen to on your way to church. Nice job, keep up the great work.

562/666
-Wrath-

DIMMU BORGIR guitarist/songwriter Silenoz states:

“Parts of the European trek on our Darkness Reborn World Tour will come in support from our friends in Enslaved and Sahg! We’re excited to share the stage with these great bands and finally again be able to perform new material for our fans, old and new alike!”

The members of ENSLAVED check in about the upcoming trek:

“We are glad to confirm that we have been invited to do direct support on DIMMU BORGIR’s European tour in September and October. We are delighted to announce these dates as the opening of Enslaved’s touring for our new album Axioma Ethica Odini. It will be great to be touring with another Norwegian band. High spirits should be a guaranteed; we’re looking forward to this one!”

SAHG adds:

“This tour will prove that nothing exceeds Norwegian metal! Sahg is proud to be in this line-up of Norway’s deadliest, with Dimmu Borgir and Enslaved. We can’t wait to perform the songs from our brand new album Sahg III to the European audience for the very first time .”

Confirmed dates are as follows:

21 September – Forum, London, U.K. (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
20 September – Bataclan, Paris, FR (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
27 September – Alcatraz, Milan, IT (DB Headlining Show)
28 September – Boogaloo Club, Zagreb, CRO (DB Headlining Show)
30 September – Den Atelier, Luxembourg, LU (DB Headlining Show)
07 October – Progresja, Warsaw, PL (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
08 October – Studio, Krakow, PL (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
09 October – KD Vltavaska, Prague, CZ (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
11 October – Vega, Copenhagen, DK (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
12 October – Arenan, Stockholm, SE (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
14 October – Pakkahoune, Tampere, FI (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
15 October – House Of Culture, Helsinki, FI (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
17 October – Tragarn, Gothenburg, SE (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)
18 October – Sentrum Scene, Oslo, NO (DB Headlining Show with Enslaved and Sahg)

Track Listing:

Tracks
01 The Ladder 4:42
02 Salieri ` 7:52
03 Fool’s Errand 6:54
04 Wisp Of Tow 3:20
05 Ocean Of Water 5:45
06 It’s Always Worth While Speaking To A Clever… 0:47
07 Fleshmaker 5:29
08 Maybe I’m Malaised 2:11
09 A Long Defeat 9:00
10 Gordian Corridor 2:55
11 Handshake In Your Mouth 4:16
12 Don’t Stop Bereaving 2:00
13 Beasteater 7:27

“Born from the dissolution of the Postman Syndrome, East of the Wall formed as Brett Bamberger (bass, Biclops/ex-Day without Dawn/ex-Postman Syndrome) and Mike Somers (drums, ex-Postman Syndrome) joining forces with guitarist Jeff Speidell (Delft).”

Review:

So here we have Translation Loss Records recording artist “East Of The Wall”, and their most recent release, Ressentiment. To sum it all up, it strikes me as, at the very least, a particularly odd album. Everything sounds crystal clear, well leveled and mastered to the point of perfection. But they don’t really seem to stick with one particular sound, which in my opinion is just as good as it is bad. The negative end is such as, most people prefer a consistent sound, thats why one person listens to so many bands is due to the idea that each has its own depth and genre. You pull out something odd or alternative such as this and it tends to throw some people through a loop. The positive side of all this is that it leaves alot of move for the band, as an artistic entity, to move around without limitation, and keep the listener on the edge of their seat, in this case they do that quite well.
Keeping a very clean, extremely melodic tone, and clearly singing, will be a definite highlight for most listeners of this album. It is a very well thought out album, basing itself more on overall complexity than “hooks” and simple popularity tricks. This was in no way any sort of “overnight” project. Everything you could ever want in an album is here, and a large amount of it. The overall clarity is just astounding, and how much of each instrument is present is almost overwhelming. From the tighest fill to the more melodic drum break/solos, to how the guitar sounds like it is right next to you, the overall sound is enough to sell this album.

In conclusion, a more modern rock album than metal. But definately not your standard album, this would be as close to alternative as possible without changing the guidelines for the genre. These guys can easily reshape the genre if they keep this kind of work up. So great job guys, I hope to hear more from you in the not too distant future.

476/666
-Wrath-

I would like to inform all of our fans that on Saturday, August 21, at the Summer Breeze festival in Germany, I will be doing my last show with Dark Funeral.

Naturally I have “mixed feelings” about this decision, but it is final! They say that every person will have about 15min of fame during their life….!
Well, I have had a “hell-of-a-ride” for 15 years now together with Lord Ahriman and Dark Funeral.
As some people love to spread weird rumors about others, let me make this clear once and for all. I have not committed suicide, I have not taken an overdose, nor are there any personal issues between me and Dark Funeral.

However……!
My life has taken a new turn lately, and I am also getting married this year (NOT to some crazy bitch in the U.S though….Hahaha), whereof my priorities in life lie somewhere else.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank ALL of our fans for their amazing support during all the 15 years I’ve been with the band. And I would also like to thank my brothers in Dark Funeral for all these years together.

Lord Ahriman and I have managed to raise Dark Funeral from the deepest of abyss, when we have confronted problems before. And there is NO doubt in my mind, that Dark Funeral, without me, will raise once more, stronger than ever…

Thus I have spoken, thus shalt it be……

Horns up, Masse Broberg A.K.A Emperor Magus Caligula

**********************************************************************************
Ave everyone!

Caligula and I have shared some 15 kick ass years together. And I would naturally like to thank my brother for the amazing work he has done for Dark Funeral over all these years. It’s been a pleasure indeed working together. You will be missed deeply! But as with everything else, I understand when people change course and get new priorities in life. And I fully respect that. Life moves on after all, and so will DARK FUNERAL.

In the meantime, and while we’re searching for a new vocalist, the most logical thing for us to do, is obviously to enter writing mood. And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing. From now on and until we have found and installed a new killer vocalist we begin to work on a new full-length album. However, you can be rest assured that as soon as we have found a new vocalist, we’ll set full force, and continue to tour the world in usual Dark Funeral manner.

THIS STATEMENT ALSO SERVES AS AN OFFICIAL LAUNCH FOR A NEW VOCALIST!
Naturally, our demands on a new vocalist will be VERY high, but I/we are fully confident that there are some amazing vocalists out there that would fit us like a hand in glove. So if you do believe that you have what it takes to blow us away with your vocal skills, and to replace Caligula, don’t hesitate to send us some AUDIO/DVD files of your vocal performance! Send to: vocalist@darkfuneral.se

Since the show at Summer Breeze Festival on Aug 21th will be the very last show we will do with Caligula behind the Mic, you can be sure that we’ll prepare a very special pyro show. See you there!

Lord Ahriman & Dark Funeral

Formed in 2001 in Bergen by guitarist Martin Legreid, bassist Mads Mowinckel (BREED) and drummer Mads Lilletvedt (BYFROST), HELLISH OUTCAST quickly gained a reputation as one of the most extreme live bands in Bergen’s underground scene.  The band’s first release was the controversial EP “Raping – Killing – Murder”, and the new album, which is titled “Your God Will Bleed”, will follow in the lyrical footsteps laid down in the EP, with its exploration of the violence and brutality in the world today, but, according to the band, the music promises to be even more aggressive.

More information about HELLISH OUTCAST can be found on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/hellishoutcast

Photo: Espen Bakken

 

Photo: Espen Bakken