Dying Victims Productions is proud to announce the following releases:

DVP 153 Coltre – Under the Influence LP/CD

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present COLTRE’s striking debut, Under the Influence, on CD and 12” vinyl formats.

COLTRE was forged in London, England by guitarists Daniel Sweed and Marco Stamigna in May 2019. They met at a Midnight concert and decided to form a band inspired by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. They started rehearsing, and by the beginning of 2020 had recorded the four-song EP Under the Influence, to be released in time for their first gig, supporting Witchtower at Boston Music Rooms.

The band self-released Under the Influence on CD and digital formats, but now DYING VICTIMS steps forward to champion COLTRE’s cause and release it as a five-song work, featuring an exclusive new track. Rough and rustic but brimming with an authentically ancient fire, Under the Influence is moody metallic majesty: dark ‘n’ mysterious riffs, portentously galloping rhythms, epic-yet-direct compositions, and the sage-like pipes of Stagmina atop it all. One could be mistaken for thinking COLTRE were some unearthed relic from the original NWOBHM movement, so hot-rockin’ is their swords-aloft surge, evoking high fantasy and urban grit in equal measure, and crucially retaining that pivotal rock ‘n’ roll thrust Thin Lizzy largely gifted to that movement.

But COLTRE are their own men, and as reverential as they are of these enduring paradigms, Under the Influence is undoubtedly its own creation, its own wild world. You are hereby compelled to go under THEIR influence!

– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download code.
– Special edition on colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code and patch.
– CD edition with sticker

DVP 154 Deathstorm – For Dread Shall Reign LP/CD

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the highly anticipated fourth album of Austria’s DEATHSTORM, For Dread Shall Reign, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

A veritable institution by now, DEATHSTORM have been flying the flag of hate for a decade now, releasing albums on such well-regarded labels as I Hate and High Roller. DEATHSTORM delivered a swift ‘n’ sweet EP for DYING VICTIMS titled The Gallows in 2015, and now the power-trio return to the label for their most intense and varied recording yet, For Dread Shall Reign.

Without doubt, the spectre of classic Kreator looms large over DEATHSTORM still – and why should it not, when you’re doing deathtrash this devastating? – but with For Dread Shall Reign, the band bring forth a whole host of equally classic contours. From very old Metallica to equally old Slayer on to ‘80s Death and especially Demolition Hammer, DEATHSTORM here hammer out riffs, riffs, RIFFS! But, unlike so much thrash that haphazardly seeks to simply catalog riffs in disservice of the song, these Austrian veterans thread their enviable arsenal into hard-charging, headbanging juggernauts of immediately memorable metal-mania manna. There’s nothing fancy here, no concessions toward “maturity” or “crossover” or other euphemisms for watering-down their already-heady brew; for DEATHSTORM, heavy metal is the law, and For Dread Shall Reign honors this noble ideal pairing strong songwriting with a tight ‘n’ brutal production favorably reminiscent of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Because DEATHSTORM aren’t broken – so don’ fix ‘em!

Social criticism, serial killers, cults, anti-religion, war…all this is grist for DEATHSTORM’s lyrical mill. What they spit out is supreme DEATH-fucking-THRASH of the highest order, because in these troubled times, For Dread Shall Reign!

– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download code.
– Special edition on colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code and patch.
– CD edition with sticker

DVP 155 Midnight Priest – Aggressive Hauntings LP

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present MIDNIGHT PRIEST’s stellar third album, Aggressive Hauntings, on vinyl LP format.

By now a fixture on the true metal scene, Portugal’s MIDNIGHT PRIEST have been keeping it true for a dozen years now. With CD releases on such esteemed labels as Stormspell, Metal on Metal, and Slaney, this exceptionally monikered quintet – drummer War Tank, guitarists Iron Fist and Steel Bringer, vocalist Lex Thunder, and bassist Joe Dalton – consistently burn with a proud ‘n’ powerful sound that’s 1000% iron-clad HEAVY METAL.

Of their full-length releases, arguably, it is 2019’s Aggressive Hauntings which is their proudest and most powerful statement yet. No great changes made here – cruising-yet-crunchy metal between mid-tempo and speed, tracing a trajectory from classic Lizzy Borden to ‘80s King Diamond to Painkiller-era Judas Priest – but it’s the swagger and confidence MIDNIGHT PRIEST display across this third album that make it absolutely addicting. These are all ANTHEMS, brimming with bravado and drama and total ‘n’ utter POWER, each one draped in darkness but equally sheathed in steel most glimmering. It’s not titled Aggressive Hauntings for nothing!

Dedicated to the memory of metal legends Lemmy, Mark Shelton, and Terry Jones, MIDNIGHT PRIEST’s Aggressive Hauntings is at last unleashed on the most perfect format for classic metal: VINYL!

– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download code.
– Special edition on colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code and patch.

DVP 157 Venator/Angel Blade – Split LP

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present a special split album between Austria’s VENATOR and Germany’s ANGEL BLADE on vinyl LP format.

Combining debut demos/EPs by both bands, this split album brings together two exciting new talents in traditional metal on the format so fitting for such: VINYL! On one side is VENATOR’s Paradiser EP. Featuring killer, era-authentic artwork reminiscent of Mausoleum Records’ mid-‘80s heyday, VENATOR’s entry here is three moody ‘n’ melodic tracks which have a subtly anthemic quality; just as equally, one can feel the chill of night blow across Paradiser. The uniquely retro-futuristic production simply accentuates the atmospheric push and pull – and already, VENATOR are hard at work on their debut album for DYING VICTIMS. (The label will also release Paradiser as a standalone CD and cassette.)

On the other side is ANGEL BLADE’s self-titled debut demo, which was originally released on cassette but has created high demand for other formats since. And it’s not difficult to discover why, as Angel Blade literally sounds like a lost demo from 1981: so authentic is ANGEL BLADE’s study of ancient NWOBHM and Scandinavian metal, you’ll be checking the calendar as each of these three shimmering, steel-clad tracks takes a hold.

Together, you’ll be in thrall to VENATOR and ANGEL BLADE’s classic metal mesmerism!

– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download code.
– Special edition on colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code and 2 patches.

DVP 134 Megaton Sword – Niralet MLP/MC

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to repress MEGATON SWORD’s striking debut EP, Niralet, on 12″ vinyl and music cassette formats.

Hailing from Switzerland and founded in 2018, MEGATON SWORD are ever aptly monikered: theirs is a nuclear-powered style of true-as-steel HEAVY METAL drunk on high fantasy and the enduring themes of conquest and valor, triumph and tragedy. The band’s first public recording is titled Niralet, and it arrives as a fully formed document of a young band already capitalizing on their considerable strengths. The quartet – vocalist Uzzy Unchained, guitarist Chris the Axe, bassist Simon the Sorcerer, and drummer Dan Thundersteel – here create five mini-epics that feel far vaster than their succinct track times suggest. Perhaps it’s the patient pacing they employ, allowing each bellow of bathos and push of pathos to ring out and as true as possible; perhaps it’s the passion and machismo dripping from every element, every drop of blood, sweat, and tears tangible and intense; or perhaps it’s Niralet simultaneously sounding timeless and fresh, safely evading both rote “retro” throwback and over-modernity in kind.

We can make references to ’80s Manowar, Warlord, and Manilla Road as well as maybe early Running Wild or Nasty Savage, but even this early on, MEGATON SWORD are being no one but themselves. Wield MEGATON SWORD and begin the quest to Niralet! Suitably soothing ‘n’ eerie artwork courtesy of Adam Burke.

– Regular LP edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker and download link.
– Special LP edition on colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, woven patch and download link.

– MC edition with sticker and button.

Dying Victims Productions is proud to announce the following new Pre-orders:

 

DVP 158 HEXECUTOR – Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge… LP/CD/MC

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present HEXECUTOR’s highly anticipated second album, Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

It’s been four long years since HEXECUTOR released their shockingly masterful debut album, Poison, Lust and Damnation. The “shock” wasn’t so much that the French quartet came out of nowhere – indeed, they’d made waves in the underground with their debut demo in 2012 and especially the Hangmen of Roazhon EP two years later (which DYING VICTIMS reissued on 12” vinyl in 2018, to meet demand) – but rather that there existed a band putting an undeniably authentic yet also unique twist on classic mid-‘80s speed metal and thrash. HEXECUTOR weren’t trying to reinvent language; they were simply trying to expand the lexicon a bit, and they did so with astonishing aplomb on Poison, Lust and Damnation.

But, now rested (and wild!), HEXECUTOR return with an even bolder record in their long-awaited second album, Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge. If its no-less-considerable predecessor pushed traditional tropes, Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge topples them altogether! It’s all recognizably HEXECUTOR – and immediately, charismatically so – but swirling in their cantankerous cauldron of old Slayer, Razor, Destruction, Sepultura, and Merciless is a passion for classic hard rock and heavy metal and coated in the feeling of Bathory’s Blood Fire Death and Manowar’s Into Glory Ride. Thus, this second strike is a much more EPIC one, all without striving to be “epic” in the pejorative sense. It’s all twisted with grace and gnarliness, in equal measure, as one will find filtered traces of Thin Lizzy, Uriah Heep, Blue Öyster Cult, UFO, and even the Eagles as prominently as those of Deströyer 666, Absu, Gospel of the Horns, and Vomitor. HEXECUTOR even touch upon just-as-classic black metal and death metal mainstays as Morbid Angel, Sweden’s Dawn, and early Necrophobic, Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, and Satyricon…but again, simply hearing Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge is witnessing the band’s widescreen yet still-wild ways. Slowing down doesn’t mean wimping out, and diversity can be a wondrous thing when handled with care and class. In a word, magickal!

Then again, a recording as momentous Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge is underpinned by a deep and thoughtful thematic, relating directly to HEXECUTOR’s homeland. As heavy metal is a great medium to relate legends and epic stories, HEXECUTOR chose to glorify the beauty of their folklore with a concept album based exclusively on myths, factual history, and fantastic tales kept alive by the oral tradition and collected by authors, folklorists, and poets such as Anatole Le Braz, Paul Sébillot, or François Cadic.

It bears repeating that Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge is a momentous event, and it’s suitably graced with amazing artwork courtesy of Skelethal’s Jon Whiplash. HEXECUTOR here have delivered a modern classic!

– Regular gatefold edition on black vinyl, with poster, sticker, post card, woven patch and download link.
– Special gatefold edition on oxblood colored vinyl, with poster, sticker, post card, woven patch and download link.
– Special gatefold edition on golden colored vinyl, with poster, sticker, post card, woven patch and download link.
– CD edition with sticker
– MC edition with sticker, button and download code.

Release date: 25^th September

DVP 161 BLACKEVIL – Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire LP/CD

DYING VICTIMS is proud to present BLACKEVIL’s highly anticipated second album, Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Hailing from Bavaria, BLACKEVIL have been forging fire since 2013. Their first demo, appropriately titled Hail the Cult, emerged from the darkness in 2015, auspiciously revealing a razor-sharp and endlessly salacious style of blackthrash. Come BLACKEVIL’s debut album, 2017’s The Ceremonial Fire, the power-trio up-ratcheted everything: more speed, more hooks, more black, more evil, more of MORE! Diehards took notice, thankfully, and the band furthered the momentum the next year with a split LP with Italy’s esteemed Witchunter. Still, the best was yet to come…

At last, BLACKEVIL’s breakout moment arrives with their long-awaited second album, Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire. Of course, ones for astute titles, BLACKEVIL nevertheless lay it all on the line with Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire, bringing together their not-inconsiderable past with an envious present and doubtlessly damned future! Naturally, they’d never betray their roots – whether it’s the German thrash Big Three of Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction or evil speed metal legends like Razor, Evil Angel, OZ, and Exciter, and plenty of other classic points in between – but the way the trio assimilate them into something that’s so uniquely their own and yet so uniquely and purely HEAVY METAL, we can only guess there’s some black magick at play. Put another way, Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire is fucking EPIC from beginning to end, but it never sounds like it’s straining to sound “epic.” Likewise, one could charitably qualify BLACKEVIL here as transcending blackthrash altogether, so creative is this idiosyncratic iteration of the idiom…but even then, that’s selling both band and record short.

All we can say is simply step into this eternal fire, feel the witching-metal leads course through your veins, the throttling yet tastefully nuanced drums guide your quest, and allow bassist Abyss’ commanding and increasingly charismatic vocals to lead the charge; try to resist ALL THAT, and try remaining metal to the bone. Won’t work! Suitably for such a classic-in-the-making, Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire is baptized with (un)godly cover art by the masterful Paolo Girardi. Make no mistake: BLACKEVIL have ARRIVED!

– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download link.
– Special edition on colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, woven patch and download link.
– CD edition with sticker

Release date: 25^th September

DVP 162 EARLY MOODS – Spellbound MLP/MCD

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present EARLY MOODS’ striking debut mini-album, Spellbound, on CD and 12” vinyl formats.

Hailing from Los Angeles, EARLY MOODS formed in 2015 as an amalgamation of various experienced acts such as Rude, (ex-)Skeletal Remains, Fortress (California) and Nightmare (USA). From the beginning, the goal was simple yet sturdy: to pay homage to such classic bands as Candlemass, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Trouble, and the almighty Black Sabbath. However, it wasn’t until 2020 when the band’s first recording appeared, originally self-released digitally on April 20th.

Bearing the evocative title Spellbound, form surely meets content here, as EARLY MOODS entrance the listener with molten grooves and bewitching atmosphere; this is tried-and-true HEAVY DOOM that doesn’t step past 1980! Naturally, traces of the aforementioned influences are tastefully spread across the 27-minute record, but each of its five component songs convey an alluring, addicting identity that’s entirely their own. Not for nothing are EARLY MOODS monikered as such, for their aeons-old aura and doomed-out swagger bespeaks an impossibly eldritch aspect – precisely, the kind’s perfect for proto-doom and its eventual genesis into traditional doom.

Darkly colored with sulfurous leads that’ll ruin your day, EARLY MOODS dare you to gaze into their crystal ball and become Spellbound!

– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download link.
– Special edition on colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, woven patch and download link.
– MCD edition with sticker

Release date: 25^th September