TRIPLE TRACK PREMIERE: ‘Revolt and Regicide’ Compilation by REALM AND RITUAL

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It’s been said before, but REALM AND RITUAL is an underground label with heart. Proudly anarchist, antifascist and anti-capitalist, they’ve been a key part of the growing push to counter right-wing extremism in black metal and dungeon synth since their inception in 2018, providing an alternative, more welcoming narrative for those just discovering the scene (and they release absolutely killer tapes, too). Now, they’re using that heart to assist the less fortunate once more, with an absolutely massive compilation in the name of charity – aptly entitled Revolt and Regicide.

An immaculately curated double cassette release, it features friends, comrades, and accomplices of the cult label playing black metal or dungeon synth (an entire cassette devoted to each). All proceeds from the cassette and all digital sales will be donated to GiveDirectly, a charity that assists families living in extreme poverty in the US and Africa, by making unconditional cash transfers. This approach to charity allows individuals to invest in what they need to assist their families and communities.

Aside from existing to help a very worthy cause, Revolt and Regicide is rammed full of exclusive or advance tracks from a plethora of revered underground artists (feast your eyes upon the listing under this paragraph!) that you’ll definitely want to own a physical copy of – to whet your appetite, digital pre-orders are launching at this very moment and we are taking a closer look at not one, not two, but three of the comp’s black metal gems here today (alongside brief explanations from the artists themselves). So, immerse yourself in these works from WREKAN, RUOHTTA and WOUNDS OF RECOLLECTION below, then prepare to support on December 17th when the physical edition drops in a limitation of 125 copies.

Destroy poverty. Kill the kings. REVOLT.

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Artist: WREKAN

Track: ‘Burning Darkness’

“Did you know that God has abandoned us? That’s why you’re afraid to die. Just like I am.” Anti-humanist and anti-life, the Swedish outfit WREKAN lurched into wretched existence during 2020 (originally under the moniker Vråk) and has since excreted a steady stream of ruinous negativity across two demos, an EP, split and April’s devastating full-length album Gevurah. Sole practitioner M self-deprecatingly cites the project as “primitive black metal. No talent – no masters!” which is evidently and demonstrably not true; it takes remarkable talent to wield these primal forces into such an utterly withering storm of bleakness and loathing.

Contributing the six and a half-minute ‘Burning Darkness’ to this compilation, M says about the track: “The theme is mainly despair. Look around you. Every living thing depends on the death of another for continued life, life sits atop a mountain of skulls. The earth deteriorates before our eyes and will eventually become unlivable. Then existence will be stretched out until there is total nothingness. All will be lost, all is pointless, all is hopeless. Life is nonsense.“

Life IS nonsense. There is no peace. There is no forgiveness… just an onslaught of misery obliterating your soul for eternity, condensed into raw musical form through Wrekan. Submit to it and be lost in the ‘Burning Darkness’.

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Artist: RUOHTTA

Track: ‘Sairastima’

Casting gloom over the land in acidic miasma since 2012 and contributing an altogether more contemplative piece to the compilation, Swedish raw black metal / black ambient solo entity RUOHTTA presents ‘Sairastima’ (“get sick”). The post-punk influence present on debut album Gutna takes a backseat once more as main man Tervaaja crafts a slow-burning piece built around layers of melancholy guitar drone and ponderous bassline. But, there is a twist – ‘Sairastima’ eventually culminates in an explosive, anxious conclusion; a wonderful and sure-handed reversal of the energies that swirl and eddy throughout the first half of the track, as if the thoughts entertained in the first movement finally overwhelmed and caused severe distress and physical consequences.

Tervaaja has this to say about it: “This single track ‘Sairastima’ was a personal experiment in order to see whether I would be able to record, mix, master and release music all in the same day. I intentionally chose a day and time for this in the liminal space between darkness changing to light in Northern Sápmi due to the tension and atmosphere it projects. The lyrics to ‘Sairastima’ is about how ones soul becomes damaged due to forced or imposed relocation in both local and global contexts.”

The track is a teaser taken from an upcoming, as-yet unnamed work that will be co-released by Realm and Ritual and TormentRex, which on the strength of this will be one to look forward to. In the meantime – support, and sink deep into your illness.

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Artist: WOUNDS OF RECOLLECTION

Track: ‘A Constant Spiral’

Closing out this striking triptych of subterranean art is perhaps the most emotionally affecting piece of all – US solo post-black project Wounds Of Recollection, bringing us the touching ‘A Constant Spiral’. We first covered prolific solo artist Annos‘ work way back in 2017, when we described his fifth album The Nail In The Meadow as “a savage tug at the heartstrings with some truly beautiful moments hidden within”. Well, for those who haven’t kept up with the project, ‘A Constant Spiral’ proves that in the years since then Annos has only become ever-more adept at embracing our souls and spiriting them away through bursting waves of pain and passion.

Featuring lush instrumentation and gorgeous melodies, this intricately woven composition will definitely leave a mark as it soars through several parts, inexorably heading for a tormented end. Annos allows us a glimpse into the meaning behind it all: “‘A Constant Spiral’ was written at a time when I felt like my life decisions were starting to crumble around me. I moved to a new city that I realized quickly I didn’t want to be in, I quit a job and got a new one that paid less, I had let my substance addictions, like alcohol, caffeine, pain-killers, get to a concerning point. I began feeling unexcited by my college work and future career. All of the things in my life that I had built myself around began to feel like a constant spiral down to the worst depression I had every experienced. Thankfully, I managed to seek some private help for my substance addictions and anxiety issues which led me to being in the better place I am today. But when the song was written, it truly felt like things were never going to get better.”

The penultimate track of the compilation, ‘A Constant Spiral’ would be the perfect note to finish on – but you’ll have to see for yourself what could possibly follow it, which you can do in full at the Realm and Ritual Bandcamp. Only 125 copies are being crafted of what may be one of the best compilations of the year… and certainly the one with the biggest heart. Don’t miss out.

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Revolt and Regicide releases December 17th via Realm and Ritual.

Support REALM AND RITUAL:

• Official Facebook
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• Official Bandcamp
• Official Twitter
• Official YouTube

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LABEL SPOTLIGHT: Realm and Ritual

Awakened from elder shores in the midst of Anno Domini 2018, US tape label Realm and Ritual has only been active for about a year but has fast established itself as one of the labels out there doing it right. Focusing purely on the underground and lovingly hand-dubbing carefully curated releases that otherwise might not have seen a physical manifestation, main man SG is right on the money and if there’s any justice left on this wretched earth, his label would be huge based solely on how much of a solid dude he is. So, for our next Label Spotlight, we have a chat to the man himself and take a look at a few recent releases – plus he has a special deal in store for all Black Metal Daily readers. Check it out below.

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Hello SG! Thanks for speaking to us today. As everyone should know, you’re the man behind the relatively new yet excellent tape label Realm and Ritual. So, tell us a little about it! How did the label begin? What made you want to start a cassette label?

– Hey Aaron, thanks for the kind words. I’ve always wanted to run a label but the time never seemed to be right until recently. Last year I was in between musical projects, I had a little bit of disposable income, and felt like I had enough initial knowledge to get something started. I was interested in starting a cassette label specifically because I am sort of obsessed with tape. I collect VHS, Betamax, and obviously cassettes. It’s part nostalgia – I remember my friend taping me Life is Peachy when I wasn’t allowed to buy the CD – and the desire to have physical objects in a digital world. They are cheaper to produce than vinyl and the physical form resonates with me more than CDs.

The manifesto on the label Facebook page contains a rather beautiful quote: “When you light a candle, you also cast a shadow”. Where is this quote from, and what does it mean in relation to Realm and Ritual?

– The quote is from “A Wizard of Earthsea” by Ursula K. Le Guin. The quote, in my mind, speaks to a balance of the world; a duality. Regarding black metal, the music I like the most is both triumphant and defeated, beautiful and grotesque. I want to listen to music that speaks to the depth of human experience, the good and the bad and every nuance in between.

Realm and Ritual has so far dealt mainly in DIY cassette hand dubs, but I believe (and please correct me if I’m wrong) that you’ve looked into releasing pro-tapes. I love the hand dub approach, but why do you personally like them? Are hand dubs something you will continue to do throughout the life of the label?

– I’ve released two pro-dubbed tapes but you’re correct that the majority of my releases have been hand-dubbed. I personally like them because they allow me to have a role in the entire production of the tape and allow me to do smaller runs. I also dub everything in real time and while it’s certainly not time-efficient, the process feels honest to me. As long as I continue to do smaller runs (less than 50 tapes) I will most likely continue to hand-dub tapes.

Whilst the label has only been active for less than a year, I’m sure you’ve had quite an experience running it so far. What have you found the most challenging thing about running a label to be, and what are the most positive things you’ve discovered?

– I think the hardest thing for me is determining the appropriate amount of promotion for each release. There is so much new music coming out every day that it’s disorienting. I don’t want my releases to get lost in the shuffle but also don’t want to aggressively spam social media either. In terms of the positives, running the label has made me more active in consuming new music and has been a good vehicle for meeting other people interested in some pretty niche genres of music. I’ve done some tape trading with other labels I really like, Winter Sky out of Canada and Pacific Threnodies and Mospharic out of California, which has also been really cool.

Now, something I’m sure at least a few readers will want to know: what do you look for when hunting new artists for your roster, and how do you discover these artists? Do you accept submissions?

– I am always accepting submissions. I have found artists through social media (I ended up working with a few artists I met on Order Ov the Black Arts) and through tags on Bandcamp. I want to work with artists that have a fully fledged concept for their release and music that connects to me personally. I want to release the stuff I listen to with a special nod toward Atmo-Black, RABM, Depressive, and Dungeon Synth. I also want to prioritize working with POC, women, and LGBTQ folks because I think they are hugely unrepresented in the Black Metal/DS communities.

It’s been a more turbulent than usual time for black metal lately, with much focus and discussion on the political side of things – shows are being cancelled, while seemingly every two minutes a thread somewhere becomes a dumpster fire of hurled accusations of genre tourist scene policing or nazi enabling. Where does Realm and Ritual position itself in the landscape of this debate?

– Realm and Ritual is 100% committed to anti-fascism. I actively release red and anarchist black metal and will not release music from national socialist musicians or nazi sympathizers. I tend to avoid the aforementioned contentious threads because it often feels like a waste of time. For what it’s worth, I don’t think the problem is that there’s a huge nazi population in black metal but rather that there’s a issue with privilege. There is a willingness to support shitty belief systems and behavior because it tends not to affect the people providing that support. If you’re more upset about shows being cancelled than with the marginalization of minority communities, I would argue that you should reassess your priorities.

Tell us a little about the man behind the tapes – what’s your musical background and how did you arrive at black metal? What do you listen to on your own time, and do you have any favourite releases from this year so far?

– I’ve always been involved in music in some way though my arrival at black metal has only happened in the last few years. I found my musical tastes stagnating a little and not really finding anything new that I loved. I decided to get out of my comfort zone (punk, skramz, emo) and start listening to black metal and I was hooked almost immediately. It’s satisfying to me to have so much new material coming out all of the time and to have a huge backlog of classics to experience for the first time.

My favorite BM releases this year are: None – Damp Chill of Life, Numenorean – Adore, Falaise – A Place I Don’t Belong To, Uhtceare – El Genocidio Primordial Llevará El Nombre Infinito De La Empatía, and Stronghold Guardian – Westward. This is really just the tip of the iceberg though, I’ve really enjoyed all of the Gilead Media, Fólkvangr Records, and Death Kvlt Productions releases.

My favorite DS/Dark Ambient/Neo-folk releases this year are: Malfet – The Way to Avalon, Tir – Urd, Skuld & Verdandi, Fogweaver – Self-Titled, Secluded Alchemist – Wintry Beauty of Nature/A Glacial Grave, and Torchlight – Witchcraft. I’ve also loved everything from Out of Season and Akashic Envoy.

If you could entice one artist or score one particular album to release through Realm and Ritual, what would it be?

– I love questions like this but find them almost impossible to answer. I suppose that any of my top albums of the year that don’t have a tape release. I understand that vinyl and CD is the standard for many musicians but I love tape as a physical form and would like to see more and more artists continue to release music on cassette.

And finally – you’ve been putting out some great stuff lately, everything from dungeon synth to atmospheric and raw black. Talk us through your thoughts on a few of your latest releases and what you have in store for us in future, if you would!

– Over the summer I’ve released four tapes, Awenden (Cascadian BM), Grimtone (Second wave worship from Sweden), Ururdhagaz (Old School DS with some modern trappings from Sweden), and today I announced a release from Wooded Memory (Romantic DS from the US) [and it’s already sold out! – ED.]. I’m trying to maintain a balance of various styles of black metal and dungeon synth. I know there are some pitfalls to releasing music that sounds dramatically different in some cases but I was inspired by other labels that have maintained a diverse roster and have regular supporters.

As for upcoming releases, I have a few projects on the horizon which should be out in September/October:

– Orb of the Moons (debut album from ambient/DS artist)
– Apothecary (Depressive BM with lots of dark ambience)
– Lunar Ark (This is actually my band. Doomy post-metal)

In addition, I have two more tapes in the works with a project from Italy and one from Russia. I’m not quite ready to announce those yet.

Thanks again for your time, SG. Power to Realm and Ritual, may it live long and prosper. Any final words you would like to leave us with?

– Thanks so much for doing this. For final words, I’d just like to offer a discount for all Black Metal Daily readers until the end of August. Use code “bmd” at checkout and get 25% your entire order for anything on our Bandcamp.

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…Cheers, SG. To take advantage of this incredibly generous offer, head on over to https://realmandritual.bandcamp.com and snap everything up while you can. Aside from some excellent older releases we’ve previously covered like Raat‘s Once and True or Staurophagia‘s Sacrifice of the Wind (amongst others), they also have a few copies of the following recent gems left on hand… don’t sleep.

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Artist: Grimtone

Title: Morte In Vitam

First up, the ineffable triumvirate of Grimtone play ripping Swedish black with a searing fire at its core, exclusively. This album was released under two different titles this year; I’ve no clue why it was changed for the later CD issue but Morte In Vitam is the original title this tape has been bestowed with, and it slaps. From the impassioned hyperblast of tracks like ‘Djävulens Tyrann‘ to the crust-ish carnage of ‘Ur Avgrunden Född’ there’s just enough variety injected into the age-old Scandinavian attack to grab your attention and hold it for the duration; and all delivered with admirable ferocity. These gents can write a riff, too – grab this on smoke-coloured hand dubbed cassette. Very nice.

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Artist: Awenden

Title: Awenden

This enigmatic US post-black crew (or solo project?) only formed last year and wasted no time crafting a compelling debut EP that aaaaalmost feels like it could be an album if there were another track added. This is the type of post-black that invites deep internal contemplation – swathes of ethereal synth flow within rugged, soaring compositions that feel both vital and yet despondent all at once, effortlessly brewing a darkness that will affect you for days. There aren’t too many vocals to be found here either which, instead of detracting from the experience, only adds to the immersion as the emotional dynamism of the (often surprisingly technical) music is given full room to breathe and work its considerable magic.

Refreshing to listen to and with wonderful, weighty atmospherics; pick it up at name your price download or on putty-coloured, hand-dubbed and hand stamped cassette.

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Artist: Ururdhagaz

Title: Någonstans i en Tid..

And the last of the three we’re considering today (these three are the only recent releases that aren’t sold out yet, so be quick) is Någonstans i en Tid.., the debut of Swedish dungeon synth artist Ururdhagaz. Straight up, this had me hooked from the opening seconds of the first track ‘Skogen Magiska Kraften’ – the track is catchy as fuck and I was immediately sold on the haunting, percussion-driven grandeur of what I was hearing. The percussion doesn’t hang around for the entire (and rather varied, You’ll even find some choral vocalisations in later cut ‘Den Magiska Hymnen’) release, but that doesn’t matter. The best DS is transportative and what Ururdhagaz does is sweep you away to the deepest candlelit hallways through sheer vibe and austere melody.

A great debut from the project, grab it on black, hand-dubbed and hand stamped cassette before the remaining few copies vanish into the ether. Hails.

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Support Realm and Ritual:

• Official Facebook
• Official Bandcamp

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