It is tim
e to introduce a project that has been going on the last seven month. Sanctuarii is the spiteful result of my collaboration with Antonio “X_DIAS” Dias. Hailing from Portugal and originally black metal vocalist, he extended is range on this effort to powerful death metal growls and more. I, for those who don’t know me, am Benjamin “Megaptere” Soubeille, guitarist and composer from France, interested in the fusion of metal with other genres. But let’s not digress more. Sanctuarii is an entity on its own, with its distinct sound, stealing the heritage of many extreme metal genres with savagery, and subtly adding progressive and symphonic flavors.
Sanctuarii’s first release is a concept EP containing five intense tracks with their own unique atmosphere. With no more gossip, here it is, for you.
Enjoy.
The EP is released for free, so dowload it stream it, and spread the word!
See its release page on Open Metal Records for more information.
A new experiment with this time electronic sonorities, but don’t flee now, we’re still talking about metal. I went into a bunch off odd-time riffs but not really in order to make brain taking rhythms as it’s mostly the purpose in genres like djent. I just did not restrain myself to use of standard bars, all the parts are like I improvised them, so the result is quite natural sounding.
Hope you’ll enjoy it.
Credits :
All music and production by me except guitar solo by C-Ryan
There are bands that truly makes you believe that you’re listening to disciples of a sect executing obscure rituals. In fact, you’re not listening to the ritual, you are part of it. You can feel its dark magic around you and sometimes catch a glimpse of weak light. Khonsu is a band like this. Strongly reminding me of Smohalla and Blut Aus Nord that I mentioned in this columns before, the music here is pretty hard to describe. I’d say it’s an oscillation between Black Metal, Industrial, and Post Metal. Very changing smoothly transforming into something you can’t stop listening to. A surprising moment à la Porcupine Tree, to melt again with the darker patterns.
Brilliant.
Artist : Khonsu
Album : Anomalia
Song : The Host
After a long absence, the track of the week returns! Today, some sick music by Australian band Alchemist. To describe it is a pretty hard exercise, and that alone is the sign of very original effort. I’d paint it as electrified tribal cavern metal. I can hear a clear Tool influence in the sound while the vocals remind me of Mastodon. No fancy technical stuff, just raw music and heavy atmosphere. Slow and deep its sounds paints landscapes from other times.
Artist : Alchemist
Album : Organasm
Song : Aural Spectrum
This time we enter the dark lands of doom. Usually I get easily bored by doom metal since the slow rhythms and often repetitive melodic patterns hardly maintain my attention. But this is deep. Very deep with a powerful and flawless production in the Swedish style. Here the use of mid pitched clean voice contrasts nicely with the instrumental which is heavy and uses strange but at the same time familiar sounding melodic schemes. Some orchestral elements carefully placed here and there add to the huge sound.
And suddenly, growls.
Beautiful and deep growls that reminds me of Opeth and Daylight dies at their best moments. Rogga Johansson (Demiurg / Edge Of Sanity) is a master in his domain and I really recommend you to check out the two bands I quoted.
In the end this track doesn’t really bring something new but a fresh and original combination of known elements.
And it just works.
Artist : The 11th Hour
Album : Burden Of Grief
Song : Weep For Me
Discovered thanks to the Death Metal Baboon, really nice track by the two men band Wall Of The Eyeless melting post – rock influences with raw black-metallish atmospheres. The sound production could be way better but it is not really disturbing since the tracks are pretty hypnotizing as they are. There’s really no limit in the territory they’re exploring at least on the melodic aspect. No gratuitous brutality or pathetic darkness, all the sounds you hear takes place in the landscapes. Enjoy the trip.
Artist : Wall Of The Eyeless
Album : Through Emptiness
Song : Do We Belong Here?
An experiment with soundtrack/orchestral writing and death metal influences :
Second “Movie Metal” shot, this track describes a war from the beginning of the march to the reconstruction of all the broken lives, stepping through tension, merciless battles, epic victories and the deepest abysses of death.
I think this sentence explains it all, I tried to bring the listener through all the steps, like an accoustic trip, using the ambient feel of a symphonic orchestra and death metal’ deep violence to make this very descriptive and contemplative track.
Hope you enjoy!
