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Outside of Striborg, there's not a wealth of atmospheric black metal from Australia that I've discovered or enjoyed. Until Moon, that is. Forming some years ago, this has long been the project of a single individual, one 'Miasmyr' as he channels the tropes of spacious and incredibly grim, primitive black metal into a lush otherworld where the very process used to record it compensates for any true lack of innovation. Caduceus Chalice is the first full-length, following up on a series of demos and EPs, but what one will immediately notice here is the very sound of the thing, a dire and malevolent apocrypha of carnal repression that becomes a thing of beauty despite itself.

Basically, you've got these distant, echoing vocals being carried across either subterranean or deep, dark woodland spaces while desolate razor guitars hiss at the very edge of perception. The drums remain steady, programmed and driving, while keyboards play through the voracious eloquence like spectral choirs. A clear influence would be Burzum's Filosofem, but I might also compare this to some of what Xasthur, Leviathan or Striborg have achieved, only with a more straightforward purchase upon the listener's lonely soul. Tracks like "Forest Samhain" and "Beneath" do devolve into a measure of repetition, but Miasmyr is wise to never let such bleak passages procrastinate forever, so like the greatest of black metal, one does feel as if he or she has partaken on a journey, ever downward into the seas of madness that slosh at the base of the soul like stomach acid. The latter half of the album, consisting of "Caduceus" and the 20 minute "Chalice" itself could be counted as something more experimental, more deeply rooted in sheer atmosphere and ambiance, but they never concede the stark oppression of the pure metal tunes.

Call it depressive, call it suicidal, or call it opaque, Caduceus Chalice is a thing of atmosphere and wonder in accordance with the finer fringes of this tradition, easy to become absorbed in if one ceases to hold onto the guiding lights of hope and acceptance. Clearly something you want to be checking out if you're into any of the artists I've already listed, or perhaps Hypothermia, or even Drowning the Light. 50 minutes of warmth that you will never have back, leeched from your spirit with each passing, paranormal phrase. Mired, resonant and raw. A stellar, lunar acquisition for Moribund, which will hopefully exceed the extremely limited cassette format it was previously released upon. Kills.

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://moonmyth.blogspot.com/

Being that I was highly smitten with Midnight Odyssey's 2009 demo full-length Firmament, I have naturally been anticipating the newest project from its creator, Australian Dis Pater. The Crevices Below provides a conceptual and diametric parallel to that other work: while Midnight Odyssey provides an emotionally draining, immensely consistent journey beyond our native sphere, this project attempts to drill below the surface of that very same world. Centered around a fantastical underground liege and his gradual spiral into madness, it explores feelings of isolation, loss, and the strange beauty of an alien environment: in this case, the desperation and depression of fighting off the lightless infinity of a crushing, hollow place.

Despite their polar opposition in thematic content, The Crevices Below & Midnight Odyssey do occupy the same niche of their genre, if not entirely. Droning, spacious guitars resonate along the echo of dour, narrative rasping, while synthesizers and percussive, programmed clamor used to imitate the natural subterranean environment, as if you were experiencing lost machinery, the clanging of rocks and metals, the dripping of underground streams. This is captured in six movements, one of which ("Below the Crevices") centers on larger swaths of ambient escalation, another upon pure keyboard instrumentation ("Whispers of Sorrow"), yet another on resonant dementia ("The Tomb of Subterranea"). My favorite chunk of the disc comes at the very climax, between the bleak, Gothic suburbs of "Trapped in Suicidal Depths" and the epic indictment that is "Carrying the Cries of the Lost"; 11 minutes of thundering melodic torment offset with sparse acoustic sequences.

There is more variation here than upon Firmament, which for all its brilliance was of a single, beautiful course. Dis Pater is exploring more clean vocals, and a more cohesive story arc to fuel the emotional undertow. There is still that same, predictable feeling here that dominated most of Midnight Odyssey's compositions, and yet the music is so unabashedly atmospheric that it no impediment to the sediment of sadness and atrophy. All told, I'm not sure I took away quite so much as with that album, which took me entirely by surprise, but it's still amazing. Redundant title aside, Below the Crevices is worth repeated exposure, especially if you can set the proper mood and environment to enjoy it on its own terms. I recommend an old basement, or if you're lucky enough to have a local cave network...go for it. Or just the dark recesses of your solitude, with a single candle lit to remind you of your humanity amidst the ominous oppression of callous, crushing stone.

Verdict: Win [8.75/10]

http://www.midnight-odyssey.com/?page_id=146

Artist: The Amenta
Album: V01D
Released: 2011
Country: Australia
Genre: Industrial Death Metal
Quality: mp3, 320 kbps
Duration: 58:46
Size: 136 Mb

Tracklist:
01. Empty (0:42)
02. V01d (5:19)
03. Erebus (4:07)
04. Ache (3:45)
05. Junky (4:50)
06. Spine (3:59)
07. Null (2:52)
08. Vermin (4:10)
09. Nihil (5:24)
10. Nil (3:19)
11. Enigmatize (4:20)
12. None (3:16)
13. Junky (Remix) (3:08)
14. Nihil (Remix) (3:21)
15. Vermin (Remix) (2:56)
16. Erebus (Remix) (3:18)

Download @ iFolder
Download @ LetitBit
Download @ TurboBit
The Amenta @ Myspace

Artist: Whitehorse
Album: Progression
Year: 2011
Style: Sludge / Drone / Doom Metal
Country: Australia
Format: mp3 @ 320kbps
Size: 90 MB

1. Mechanical Disintegration 07:38
2. Progression 06:10
3. Remains Unknown 10:45
4. Control, Annihilate 04:06
5. Time Worn Regression 09:26

Total playing time 38:06

Download @ FileSonic
Download @ iFolder
Whitehorse @ Myspace

To the Devil His Due was released last year as a limited LP, but seeing as it kicks a fair amount of ass, Hell's Headbangers has decided to bring out a proper CD format. This is effectively a compilation of four 7" EPs that Australian road tyrants Deströyer 666 have issued through the years, gathered in one location for those of us who were either negligent or simply unable to attain the originals. Call me lazy, but I'm a sucker for this sort of product; normally it means that I don't have to blow a wad of cash tracking down music in a format I rarely use. What's better, all of this material is exclusive to the EPs, so you won't find redundancies with the four full-lengths or the original debut EP Violence in the Prince of This World, which is not included. It's not the most complete package out there, and I wouldn't have minded having the Terror Abraxas tracks here, but almost all of these songs are good, so it plays out like a straight full-length, with the obvious differences in production over time.

First are "Satanic Speed Metal" and "The Siren's Call", from the Satanic Speed Metal 7" (1998). The former is straight ripping black/thrash with some audience participation, K.K. Warslut tearing the admittedly cheesy lyrics out over the night; the latter a bit more destructive and serious. It's impressive that they had such a loud and potent mix despite the rawness of the material, but the collection reaches its peak with the 2000 King of Kings/Lord of the Wild material, which is far more atmospheric, melodic, and dense, with KK performing some of his more repressed, death grunts. I also love the haughty backing shouts on "King of Kings" and the loud resonance of the solo. But "Lord of the Wild" is simply one of my favorite Deströyer 666 tunes, bristling with a savage, incessant majesty as the fuzzed leads howl over the crashing chords in the bridge. Also gotta love the swelling ambient outro.

After this comes the ...Of Wolves, Women & War EP from 2002. Yes, the one with the broad getting it doggystyle, and here is yet another of my faves from the band, "Ghost Dance" with its airy, wild melodies Warsluts soul defying venom. "Taste the Poison" is more of a straight blaster, but it too has a pretty great bridge. But "Levens Bloed" returns to the threatening valor of "Ghost Dance", with some crashing background percussion and raw black/death riffing. Lastly, they've included the two tracks from their See You In Hell EP (2010), which are far more polished sounding than the rest. "Through the Broken Pentagram" is solid slaughter with yet another example of a great thrash breakdown, and "See You in Hell", while my least favorite on the album, is swaggering and manly with a lot of backup barks.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is pretty damn cool. A noble ambition. I've not seen the band live in some time, but I'd love it if they'd incorporate some of these in their regular set lists. That it plays out like some 'lost album' that you've never quite heard is just an added bonus. Of the 35 minutes here, 25-30 are mandatory for the Deströyer 666 fan base, and if you're one of the majority who were unable to acquire the limited 7"s from which it draws its content, then it is well worth a purchase.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10]

http://www.destroyer666.net/