From self-dubbed mechanical dark ambient, to black death metal and sludge, today’s round-up might be our most extreme one yet.

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Haeresis Noviomagi and Levertraan join forces in De Ontkoppeling

Seemingly out of nowhere, two fascinating labels operating in the Dutch underground, Haeresis Noviomagi and Levertraan, have joined forces to release the first (and likely only) EP from enigmatic entity De Ontkoppeling (Dutch for “the decoupling”). The EP consists of twenty three unsettling minutes made from “field recordings, tape manipulations, guitar drones and raw analogue effects.” Described by the labels as “mechanical dark ambient”, we’d add the comment that some of the guitar riffs on display have an eerie black metal vibe to them, which is not that surprising given their respective catalogues. The authors of «De Ontkoppeling», which you can hear below, further elaborate on the underlying themes of the EP, stating that they aim to evoke “modern man’s alienation from both a world cast aside and forgotten, as well as any true relationship with ourselves.” The description, befitting of the idea of decoupling the project’s title explicitly refers to, proceeds by saying that the music “pierces the membranes of our symbolic – ultimately shallow – relationship with our surroundings. It provides a distressing and hallucinogenic sonic representation of these dislocations.”

«De Ontkoppeling» is out now in tape format via Haeresis Noviomagi and Levertraan, is limited to 150 copies and can be ordered at this location.

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Listen: «Corona de Epidemia», from Morbosidad’s new LP

In a curious turn of events, at a time where the war metal they played throughout most of their 25 year-long career is arguably at its most popular, Morbosidad announced late last year that 2018 would be their last year of activity. In two days, their fifth LP «Corona de Epidemia» will be released internationally, after a first release last November to celebrate the band’s performance at the Mass Destruction Metal Fest. Below, you can hear the title track, available at Nuclear War Now!‘s bandcamp.

«Corona de Epidemia» is set for release on March 15 via Nuclear War Now! on cd and vinyl. The artwork seen above was authored by Chris Moyen.

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Leechfeast to release «Neon Crosses» by the end of March

Slovenian sludge quartet Leechfeast is set to release their record since that fantastic split with Meth Drinker from back in 2015. Entitled «Neon Crosses», the band’s upcoming second LP is described as “born from the fertile soil of false salvation, wounds left by expectations and refusal to let things go – all illuminated by the flicker of the streetlight.” The third of four tracks which comprise «Neon Crosses», «Tar», can be heard below, provided there is a desire to subject oneself to fifteen minutes of some of the nastiest sludge being made these days, as should always be the case.

«Neon Crosses» is set for a joint release on March 30 via Dry Cough and Rope or Guillotine. LP pre-orders are available at this location and shipping is set to begin around the release date. Afterwards, the band will embark on a European tour to promote the record, whose dates can be found here.