listen to these

Uber dark metal mastermind, Wrest, steps above and below his usual recording evokation of Leviathan to unleash a entirely different incarnate: LURKER OF CHALICE.

With Leviathan, Wrest has poisoned the US Black Metal Underground with 3 now legendary works of pure black art. "Verrater, The 10th Sub-Level of Suicide" and "Tentacles of Whorror" firmly established the self made recordings of Leviathan as a serious threat in undergound Black Metal Circles. However their are many more layers and worlds of darkness for this artist to explore and contaminate the audio canals of the unsuspecting.

With Lurker, Wrest takes a nearly gothic approach to some of his vokills. Incorporating melodies and harmonies that although just as bleak as previous works, create a unique grim atmosphere that explores the subtle dynamics of darkness unlike anything he has done in the past. The songs are all composed and solely performed by Wrest. Some of the songs are as reminiscent of Fields Of The Nephilim (Elizium era) and Bauhaus as they are of black metal artists like: Blut Aus Nord, Emperor, or Burzum. Indeed it still reaks of Black Metal but this material drags you through new lows that are rarely reached by nowadays orthodox black metal acts.

-review by ? (don't remember who wrote this)




WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM - DIADEM OF 12 STARS

-Artist Statement-

Our music is a reflection of the land in which we dwell; it draws its power from the long, dark winters, the perpetual mist. It is the sound of dampness and decay, the fear that we shall never see the sun again; it is icy and crystalline. It is the sound of roaring bonfires, the drunkenness of hot wine and mead, the loneliness and solitude of a strong hall in the forest, the quiet hum and peace of springtide. We sing a lament for our lost connection with nature; with magic and the ways of our ancestors; we call out for the blood of our enemies.

It is our personal experience of the power of the land around us that gives our music animating force. We are not Satanists, nor do we subscribe to right wing ideologies, though we understand the anger and hopelessness that draws lost souls to these philosophical dead ends. Our philosophies are anti-modern, romantic and anti-human, a musical expression of an emerging eco-black metal consciousness that has taken root here in the Pacific North West. We are unique in that we express a deeply underground ideology on a larger stage.

Our Black Metal is highly local and personal – not beholden to the expectations and demands of any scene. Our music is rooted in the traditions of Black Metal, but we subvert the aesthetic and ideology to remain true to our personal manifestation. To us, Black Metal might be understood as the Death card in the Tarot or the number 13, which represents not an end to life, but the shedding of an old and outmoded way of being: death and rebirth, transformation and enlightenment. Our music is perhaps what happens after the initial, necessary, hateful burst; after the psychic explosion that is Black Metal wipes away that which came before: the sick and twisted “truths” of our modern condition. For in Black Metal, we see great truth, transcendence and power. Black Metal is the cleansing fire that frees us from the bondage of rationality, science, morality, religion, leaving us free to choose our own path.

interview that follows the statement : www.nocturnalcult.com

HEAVY METAL DISABILITY?

Man gets sick benefits for heavy metal addiction

Published: 19th June 2007 15:12 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/7650/

A Swedish heavy metal fan has had his musical preferences officially classified as a disability. The results of a psychological analysis enable the metal lover to supplement his income with state benefits.

Roger Tullgren, 42, from Hässleholm in southern Sweden has just started working part time as a dishwasher at a local restaurant.
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Because heavy metal dominates so many aspects of his life, the Employment Service has agreed to pay part of Tullgren's salary. His new boss meanwhile has given him a special dispensation to play loud music at work.

"I have been trying for ten years to get this classified as a handicap," Tullgren told The Local.

"I spoke to three psychologists and they finally agreed that I needed this to avoid being discriminated against."

Roger Tullgren first developed an interest in heavy metal when his older brother came home with a Black Sabbath album in 1971.

Since then little else has mattered for the 42-year-old, who has long black hair, a collection of tattoos and wears skull and crossbones jewelry.

The ageing rocker claims to have attended almost three hundred shows last year, often skipping work in the process.

Eventually his last employer tired of his absences and Tullgren was left jobless and reliant on welfare handouts.

But his sessions with the occupational psychologists led to a solution of sorts: Tullgren signed a piece of paper on which his heavy metal lifestyle was classified as a disability, an assessment that entitles him to a wage supplement from the job centre.

"I signed a form saying: 'Roger feels compelled to show his heavy metal style. This puts him in a difficult situation on the labour market. Therefore he needs extra financial help'. So now I can turn up at a job interview dressed in my normal clothes and just hand the interviewers this piece of paper," he said.

The manager at his new workplace allows him to go to concerts as long as he makes up for lost time at a later point. He is also allowed to dress as he likes and listen to heavy metal while washing up.

"But not too loud when there are guests," he said.

The Local spoke to an occupational psychologist in Stockolm, who admitted to being baffled by the decision.

"I think it's extremely strange. Unless there is an underlying diagnosis it is absolutely unbelievable that the job centre would pay pay out.

"If somebody has a gambling addiction, we don't send them down to the racetrack. We try to cure the addiction, not encourage it," he said.

Henrietta Stein, deputy employment director for the Skåne region, is also puzzled by the move; "an interest in music" is not usually sufficient to qualify for wage benefits.

"Certain cases are confidential but in general there is always a medical reason that is well-documented," she said.

Tullgren currently plays bass and guitar in two rock bands and says that he tends to get a lot of positive reactions for daring to be himself.

"Some might say that I should grow up and learn to listen to other types of music but I can't. Heavy metal is my lifestyle," he said.

TT/The Local (news@thelocal.se/08 656 6518)