Good afternoon and Happy Monday, readers. Just one quick question: do you — in the words of Ol’ Dirty Bastard on his groundbreaking 1995 album Return to the 36 Chambers — “like it raw“?

If so, I’ve got two brand-new releases that just may be right up your alley, both of which came out on Bandcamp just a few days ago, and both of which represent black metal of the RAW variety…

 

Wolven Daughter / Molten Dagger – Split (self-released, 05 November 2021)

 

Vinterdracul – Necrotethical Prelude (self-released, 05 November 2021)

 

 

First up is a split with one song apiece by Wolven Daughter (who we’ve mentioned previously, albeit in the project’s lone member’s authorial capacity, rather than in a musical sense) and Molten Dagger (the debut recording — to the best of my knowledge — by a new solo project of “AS” from Revered and Reviled Above All Others, whom we’ve also discussed earlier this year).

The first of these songs (“Blood to Gold”) truly embraces the lo-fi aesthetic of authentically old-school black metal: a demon-possessed voice croaks and gurgles atop music that clearly has inexplicably emerged from a forgotten ancient AM radio buried beneath some arcane junk in the corner of the attic of a spooky Victorian mansion.

The flip side of the split (“A Loophole through Consciousness”) likewise takes a lo-fi route, subdued growling and shouting blended with drums and guitars that are compressed and compacted to the point where they are identifiable as individual instruments only on a theoretical, quantum level. Melodic and harmonized singing over the track’s waning moments adds another magnitude of intrigue and, to be honest, of existential dread.

 

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Regarding the seven-track debut EP by Vinterdracul (featuring as members the same two individuals who comprise the highly-experimental Bornwithhair), the duo asserts that “we have attempted to speak in the voices of those who know no death.”

Not unexpectedly, for those who may be familiar with any of this creative partnership’s other output, these songs are a bit less traditional — yet still very much residing within the raw black (or blackened) metal realm. Impassioned shrieks, furious drumming and riffing, offset with a myriad of synths — ranging from the sound of deteriorating old sci-fi film soundtracks to musty old 8-bit RPG video game soundtracks. Not easy listening, by any means, but if that’s what you are seeking I’m sorry to report you’ve come to the wrong place!

 

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http://wolvendaughter.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/VVolvenDaughter
 
http://vinterdracul.bandcamp.com
http://twitter.com/vinterdracul