Tag Archives: occult symbols

SKULL590

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LIMB, demo 2012 (2012, demo)

The skull:
Take away the fuzzy shit in the background (it looks like the artist just shook his dryer’s lint trap over his scanner) and this is a pretty bare cover. That dust makes all the difference. But: King Diamond wants his little symbol back. I know he got it from Anton LaVey, but King’s pretty much trademarked it in the heavy metal space, so don’t be intruding on his jam, Limb.

The music:
Ah, fuzzed-out doom. It’s been a while! You’re looking well. You still sound like shit, but you are what you are, I suppose. What’s new? Ha ha, I’m only kidding. I know nothing’s new. No one’s done anything new since Vol. 4 amiright? Okay, okay, fair enough – “sludge” is newer than that. So who are these kids you’re hanging out with now? Limb? Not the sharpest tools in the shed, huh? And that singer, jeez. Yeah, I saw the bassist’s SG. Very authentic, I guess. A little cliche, though, don’t you think? Well, sure, I bet they’re all really nice people, but does the world really need another band like this? No, I was asking rhetorically. Of course you’d say yes! Anyway, it was nice to see you again. Take it easy. I’m sure I’ll catch you around soon enough.
— Friar Johnsen

SKULL577

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WEAPON, Embers and Revelations (2012, Relapse)

The skull:
Sometimes we at Skull HQ complain about covers jammed up with just too much shit, but here’s a fine example of maximalism done right. Let’s start with the snakes: usually when you see a symmetrical design like this, the snakes are an obvious cut and paste job. But if that’s the case here, the artist at least went to some lengths to make sure each snake looked like his own serpent. For that matter, most artists would have just doubled that wolf, but here the artist wisely went with a tiger/wolf thing. The circle behind the skull is unique the whole way around, the crown is actually lighted, hell even the horns are distinct (and while it looks goofy, I appreciate the more realistically goat-like placement thereof.) The skull looks childish, which is a motif we always appreciate here, and the background is nicely textured and NOT BROWN. Really, there is basically nothing to complain about here, except that what the hell does any of this have to do with embers or revelations?

The music:
If Rebel Extravaganza-era Satyricon and Covenant-era Morbid Angel had a demon skull love child, it might sound like Embers and Revelations. That’s a good thing! This is a rather excellent black/death metal album that might lean a bit more heavily in the black direction, but is still supremely heavy and riffy after the fashion of the best death metal. The songs show variety and even some genuine imagination (the phased-out ending of “Disavowing Each in Aum” is so cool I listened to it three times!); the production is stellar, and the performances all around are top notch. Though it’s rare that I really crave this sort of thing, this is exactly what I’d want to hear when I do (assuming I can’t find my copy of Old Mand’s Child’s In Defiance of Existence, at least). There are a ton of bands on Relapse that I can’t stand, but that’s almost always because I don’t care for the specific type of music. Damned near every band on that label works at the highest levels of its respective subgenre, and Weapon is a sterling example of that. Shame that the band broke up after this, but what an exit!
— Friar Johnsen

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MORBID SLAUGHTER, Wicca (2014, Boris)

The skull:
This valiant skull tried to take a bite (literally!) out of whatever occult, Illuminati organization bears this particular emblem, and look what it got him: a head full of fire. These are powerful people, and not to be trifled with! They install their toothless cronies in the USDA. They set the prices of goat futures with impunity. They cannot be stopped! They condemn lesser skulls than this to be ground into dust and dumped into the sewer. Some forces are simply too vast, too sinister for even the biggest, dumbest skulls, no matter how righteous, but this martyred skull, this crusader for good governance and transparency, shall not be forgotten so long as the name of “Morbid Slaughter” is on the tongues of good people everywhere.

The music:
The first song on this 7″ has three riffs. Three! One is the solo riff, played once, and the other is like a bridge or something, and it comes up a few times, but at least 80% of this song is a single riff, and not a good one at that, but rather some rudimentary take on Venom, played slightly faster than Venom’s default tempo. The vocals are a corny black metal whisper/snarl, and are awful. The second song has slightly more riffs than the first song (like, maybe it has four), but none of them are any better, or more original, then the other three. What a stupid fucking band. Morbid Slaughter are from Peru, where this kind of oldschool garbage never really went out of style, but these guys operate with all the conviction and vitality of a hipster throwback band from Brooklyn. Screw this noise.
— Friar Johnsen

SKULL522

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BLACK RAINBOWS, Holy Moon  (2013, Heavy Psych Sounds)

The skull:
Could this be the skull world’s equivalent of “mooning”? I mean, they don’t have an ass to work with, so maybe a quick upthrust of the jaw is the way a skull would gesture his mischevious indolence? Perhaps this is what’s being depicted on the cover of the appropriately-titled Holy Moon. Skull-mooning cheered on by occult symbols that give him strength to be such a crazy man as this. It’s hardly as surprising and crass as a full-buttocks mooning, and a skull obviously also lacks a hand with which to do the old Italian chin flick, so just cut him some slack and pretend you’re shocked, okay?

The music:
We’ve had a lot of EPs come through the Skullection recently, and I guess it’s a fair indication that many bands don’t regard EPs with as much importance as their full-lengths. “Oh, that thing with two crappy new songs we left off the album and three shitty-sounding live tracks? I dunno…a skull is fine, I guess.” So, this Italian band play stoner rock/metal, and it’s telling that so many stoner bands choose a big dumb skull to represent their music. There isn’t much thought put into stoner music so why should they exhaust an ounce of precious ambition for the artwork? Black Rainbows have this sound down pat, that’s for sure, and that means it sounds a ton like Kyuss meets Sleep meets Clutch meets Fu Manchu. Good for them, and good for the fans who demand things that fit comfortably into the stoner template the way this does. But since there are a zillion other desert/psych/stoner bands that sound just like this, you’re not missing out on much if you miss out on Black Rainbows. You already know exactly what this EP sounds like without having heard a note. Trust us. Two bonus points for the cover of MC5’s “Black to Comm” — not because it’s an ass-jackingly amazing version, but because at least they didn’t bring yet another version of “Kick Out the Jams” into the world.
— Friar Wagner

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BALMOG / DEATHROW – Odium Mors / Neverending Rain split (2009, Bloody Productions)

The skull:
Gracing the Balmog side of this split, here we have yet another skull doing service for Satan, particularly his servants Balmog. The skull sits humbly, looking bored, probably thinking “geez, how did I become yet another skull encircled in occult symbols and some Latin title. Why can’t I get a gig like that Axe Minister skull, or at least a steady paying gig with Black Label Society?” Nah, there isn’t much of note here, especially that we haven’t seen before, but he sports a nice set of upper choppers, more than making up for the complete lack of lower ones.

The music:
Balmog’s “Odium Mors” track is quite good. These Spaniards have studied their mid-paced Gorgoroth, as this song has that Infernus-style guitar scraping, something both caustic and sweeping in its diabolical tone. Vocals are varied and on the lower side of the scale, avoiding the patented screech most black metal vocalists skate by on. (There are moments that reference Attila Csihar’s work on Mayhem’s De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, although no one has ever successfully captured that particular vibe). The recording is clear, powerful and crisp, bringing plenty of darkness despite its pro-recorded slickness. It’s not an anemic Dimmu Borgir-slick or anything, but it is remarkable that an obscure black metal band are recording this kind of material with this sort of production aesthetic. Derivative of Gorgoroth and Mayhem, then, but pretty good regardless. Reviewing the Deathrow side of the split isn’t mandatory, sayeth the Council, since their artwork is sans skull. And I prefer to ignore them, since they ignored the fact that there were two bands of note bearing the Deathrow (or Death Row) name prior to their existence, and 1) if they knew that but chose to overlook it, they’re idiots, and 2) If they don’t know who the German Deathrow is, they’re idiots.
— Friar Wagner