CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC To Release OLD MOTHER HELL’s Debut Album On Digital And Vinyl Platforms

November 2, 2017October 31, 2017 EnricoLeave a comment

OLD MOTHER HELL was formed in 2015 from the ashes of another local thrash act, HATCHERY, by guitarist/vocalist Bernd Wener, bassist Ronald Senft and drummer Ruben André. Their self-funded debut album was recorded in May 2017 in Rama Studio Mannheim by Jens Siefert, who mixed and produced the LP under the band’s watchful eye. The result is a striking balance between mountainous epic metal and a straightforward attack, with doom influences present, even as the band is playing pure, take-no-prisoners metal.

Cruz Del Sur Music will release the self-titled debut album from German metallers OLD MOTHER HELL on digital and vinyl platforms in early 2018.

OLD MOTHER HELL was formed in 2015 from the ashes of another local thrash act, HATCHERY, by guitarist/vocalist Bernd Wener, bassist Ronald Senft and drummer Ruben André. Their self-funded debut album was recorded in May 2017 in Rama Studio Mannheim by Jens Siefert, who mixed and produced the LP under the band’s watchful eye. The result is a striking balance between mountainous epic metal and a straightforward attack, with doom influences present, even as the band is playing pure, take-no-prisoners metal.

Comments the band: “We wanted to sound exactly as in our rehearsal room, just with a really fat sound. What should we say? Jens Siefert more than delivered on that wish. Regarding today’s listening and production standards, we are probably breaking every rule. Not anyone may like it, but we don‘t care. For us it was a fantastic journey through time back to the golden era of rock music.
Adds Wener: “I guess you could say that we are most proud of doing the album the way we wanted: recording live, the old-school way, not even doing a second guitar, grid-editing, drum samples, copy and paste or other ‘fancy’ stuff. It was a hell of a ride and felt absolutely fantastic and authentic. Jens captured that feeling and turned it into exactly the sound we wanted.”

With their first album already in the books and the ink dry on the digital and vinyl distribution deal for their self-titled album, OLD MOTHER HELL is already back in their rehearsal room, hard at work on new songs, all the while mapping a live show schedule that will bring their unique brand of metal in front of European audiences.

“OLD MOTHER HELL isn‘t about plans,” concludes Wener. “We certainly don’t aim for being rock stars. We won’t buy into tours or such stuff. The first underground festival show, Frostbiter in Wuppertal, organized by the Deaf Forever Forum, is confirmed. We will organize some shows ourselves and just rock every stage as it comes our way. Meanwhile we are working on new songs for a second album and are more than thrilled to see all our new fans who gave us such great feedback when ordering the CD. Everything else? We will see.”

“Old Mother Hell” track listing:

Another War
Mountain
Narcotic Overthrow
Howling Wolves
Kneel to No God
Old Mother Hell

APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE To Hit Studio In September

September 5, 2017 EnricoLeave a comment

American doom titans APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE are slated to enter Russian Recording Studios in Bloomington, Indiana in mid-September to record the follow-up to 2014’s “Of Woe And Wounds”. Studio owner and engineer Mike Bridavsky (MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC COMPANY, M WARD, LIL BUB) will handle production duties. The album is slated for a March 2018 release via Italy’s Cruz Del Sur Music.

Comments guitarist/vocalist Chuck Brown: “Previous APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE records have been rather lengthy in duration, ranging from 60 to 70 minutes-plus. We’ve made a purposeful decision to make this next record slightly shorter, looking to clock in around the 45-minute mark. With the recording process being rather expensive and time-consuming, this time around, we wanted to afford ourselves more time to focus on getting things the way we want them to be rather than having to settle because of money or time constraints.

“Once the record is out in 2018, we’re all very much looking forward to going out on the road both at home in the U.S. and most definitely back to Europe again.”

“Of Woe And Wounds” was APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE’s third full-length overall and first for Cruz Del Sur Music. The Sludgelord said “Of Woe And Wounds” “Puts everyone on notice just how good they are going to need to be after hearing this one,” while Metal Temple said the album “Is the strongest of doses, the elite of the elite, and is so heavy that their music should come with some kind of a warning label.”

HANDS OF ORLAC / THE WANDERING MIDGET: Split Release out in September

July 7, 2017 EnricoLeave a comment

The worlds of occult metal and colossal doom collide on the HANDS OF ORLAC and THE WANDERING MIDGET split, set for a September 8 release via Cruz Del Sur Music.

Featuring four contributions from Italian/Swedish occult metal troupe HANDS OF ORLAC and one 18-minute epic from Finnish doomsters THE WANDERING MIDGET, the split finds two disparate, unique bands offering a glimpse into their dark and mysterious worlds.

Formed in 2009, HANDS OF ORLAC has gradually evolved from its early doom forays into a horror soundtrack-infused outfit, heavily inspired by the works of BALLETTO DI BRONZO, GOBLIN, BIGLIETTO PER L’INFERNO and ALPHATAURUS. The band’s four offerings on the split were recorded by veteran producer Berno Paulsson at the renowned Berno Studio in Malmö, Sweden. With the mystical vocal and exotic flute work of G. leading the way, HANDS OF ORLAC offer up an invigorating take on occult metal, with both the progressive “Curse Of The Human Skull” and straightforward “From Beyond The Stars” displaying a degree of balance that is emblematic of a band capable of pushing boundaries without falling prey to genre clichés.

THE WANDERING MIDGET hail from Lappeenranta, Finland and were formed in 2005. The band’s 2008 “The Serpent Coven” and 2012 “From The Meadows Of Opium Dreams” LPs were riff-intense bodies of work, channeling the true spirit of doom forerunners BLACK SABBATH and CANDLEMASS. THE WANDERING MIDGET’s contribution to the split, “Where We March The Vultures Follow”, is their first sonic offering in over five years, and is a true stroke of monolithic doom, laced with anguished, slow-churned melodies and the animated vocals of Samuel Wormius.

The split is the first release on Cruz Del Sur Music for HANDS OF ORLAC and THE WANDERING MIDGET, representing the label’s continued focus on unearthing the underground’s most challenging bands. The sounds of occult metal and epic doom joined together have never sounded so foreboding.

SPLIT TRACK LISTING:

HANDS OF ORLAC – Curse Of The Human Skull

HANDS OF ORLAC – Per Aspera

HANDS OF ORLAC – From Beyond The Stars

HANDS OF ORLAC – Ad Astra

THE WANDERING MIDGET – Where We March The Vultures Follow

HANDS OF ORLAC line-up:

G. – Vocals / Flute

A. – Guitars

F. – Bass

J.– Drums

HANDS OF ORLAC discography:

Hands Of Orlac (2011, Horror Records)

Resurrection Of The Dead 7” split (2013, Horror Records)

Figli Del Crepuscolo ( 2014, Terror From Hell / Horror Records)

THE WANDERING MIDGET line-up:

Samuel Wormius – Fire Lungs & Tornados

Thomas Grenier – Storm of Locusts

Jonathan Sprenger – Earthquake Sorcery

THE WANDERING MIDGET discography:

I Am The Gate (2007 – Eyes Like Snow)

The Serpent Coven (2008 – Eyes Like Snow)

From The Meadows of Opium Dreams (2012, Eyes Like Snow)