Midnite Madness CXXIV—Gateway to Hell

ALRIGHT! Show 124, finally catching up on some of the 2019 gems that have been sent my way. See you in a few weeks...

Midnite Madness CXVI—Force of Hades

Shouts to anyone who not only knows the movie where the intro comes from, but mainly who sampled it (clue for those that don't know: it's an Irish band). Answers on a postcard, maniacs!
Back on December 12th for the final show of the year, the customary round-up of the calendar's best releases. Probably loads of "surprises", but definitely no High On Fire, haha.

Midnite Madness CXIII—Jacob's Ladder

Apologies for the delayed posting of last month's show, totally thought I had already. Anyways, here she is, in all her glory, ready to be devoured by the dwindling horde that lights this otherwise darkened corridor of Blogger. I shall return with more MIDNITE MADNESS on September 19th, 2018, so be ready...

Midnite Madness CIII—Sean Mhiotail

2017 show on December 13th, see you then...

Midnite Madness XCVI—HELLO VICTIMS

It's show 96, next one is 97. See you May 31st for Midnite Madness.

Trapped Under Vice

It has been almost five years to the day since the last in the so-far-five-part mix series, Trapped Under Vice, was posted on this very blog. The original links for these mixes got lost to DMCA complaints etc. so I have finally re-uploaded all five volumes for your downloading and listening pleasure.
The series spanned a 14-month spell from July 2009 to September 2010 in which the prolific mixmaker, now simply titled DJ Fenriz, supplied me with five killer mixes, each one an almost entirely different genre to the last, which undeniably had its influence on my radio show. Of course, he went on to do more sweet mixes for this blog and others, before finally starting his own radio show earlier this year.
So here, once again, for all those who weren't around then or didn't know/care, are the mixes. I had to "remaster" some of the artworks due to the odd mistake and bad typeface, but if you want more info on the mixes such as tracklistings and wise words from the man himself about each compilation, click through the title to get to the original post for each respective mix. Cry out!

VOLUME I

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VOLUME II

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VOLUME III

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VOLUME IV feat. SINDRE SOLEM

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VOLUME V

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I will be (slowly) re-uploading all the missing links for all the AFITFOG mixes in time. 'til then, keep it locked to Radio Fenriz (especially the CULT METAL shows), for similar listening. Thanks again to Fenriz for keeping the flame lit and to all heavy metal maniacs worldwide. Hell awaits!

A Fist In The Face Of God presents... The Initiation—Carefully Compiled By Janny Ratten

Image by Jan Utecht

Jan from Occvlta is one those multi-talented people who, no matter what he seems to try his hand at (his artwork for a recent mix still kills me every time I see it), is perpetually great. I first heard his band, Occvlta, in the lead up to the very first Live Festival back in 2009, where legend has it he basically told the former organiser that they were playing the festival, no questions asked. I was helping out with interviews for the zine to accompany the festival, but finding them was tough, as, back then they weren't even listed on Encyclopaedia Metallum (Wikipedia for metal-nerds, basically), such was their relative newness.
So we got to the interview eventually, and Jan was the ideal interviewee. His confidence in getting a place at the festival (their first show, if I'm not mistaken, and first-up on the bill of what would be a legendary festival) wasn't unfounded. They fucking slayed.
Then, when VICE's music site Noisey was launched, I travelled to an Occvlta show in -16° Berlin, in December of 2010, to see them desecrate White Trash alongside infernal death-bangers, Deathhammer, and 80s Italian speed metallers, Fingernails. This performance was captured and features in their Noisey show. Jan had just had his first-born around he that time (hey, Grimur!), but as his lady and offspring were out of town for a few days, he put me and few other beer/weed/sweat-stinking metalheads up in his ludicrously cheap Kreuzberg apartment for a few nights, and the allegiance formed.

Jan (middle) in Berlin, 2010

Anyways, recent-ish-ly he did a mix for the prestigious Lodown Magazine, which is mostly made up of just weird stuff and no metal, and it reminded me, 'Hey, wasn't he supposed to do me a mix?' So here it is, all ready to be devoured, below a few words from Jan himself.

Well, this mix. What to say about it. In a way, it's a mirror of the metal I listen to and how I feel at the moment. Which is mostly black and heavy, haha. You'll find obscure stuff and songs you've probably known for ages, but I think that makes the MIX. Actually, I don't listen to "Life Eternal" that often, but it really is one of my absolute favourites. And then there is Winterhawk. Also a true masterpiece. I thought it sucks, when hearing it for the first time. Too much guitar. But I let time decide what I like, if I don't feel in the mood for something new, well, if the gods want, we are gonna meet again. There is so many great bands it took years for me to like/understand, and it feels so good to know that there is no hurry and a lot more. So who cares. A lot of the songs I was introduced to by friends or my brother. Hanging out with cool people listening to cool music ... on facebook, haha.

"Devil Eyes" and "Princess of the Night" I owe to my brother, Torm [Occvlta drummer]; Sapphire I owe to Tooth [drummer of New York band Natur], "Lady of Mars" to Marcelo [Evil Spirits], and Winterhawk I think was originally introduced to me by Henry [Yuan of Electric Assault Records], but it took a few years until Torben played it and then BOOM. There you go.

TRACKLIST:

1. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind (USA) - "Main Title 'The Shining'" [1980]
2. Aura Noir (Norway) - "Towers of Limbs and Fevers (Original Version)" [1994]
3. Mighty Sphincter (USA) - "Ghost Walking" [1985]
4. Isengard (Norway) - "Our Lord Will Come" [1991]
5. Darkthrone (Norway) - "As Flittermice as Satans Spys" [1994]
6. Kringa (Austria) - "Pearly Gates, Abhorrent Ascent (Unreleased)" [2015]
7. Mayhem (Norway) - "Life Eternal" [1994]
8. Mercyful Fate (Denmark) - "Devil Eyes" [1982]
9. Sapphire (England) - "Encounter" [1982]
10. Dark Star (England) - "Lady of Mars" [1981]
11. Saxon (England) - "Princess of the Night" [1981]
12. Winterhawk (USA) - "Free to Live" [1982]

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A Fist in the Face of God presents... Loud & Raw—Hectic Tunes Selected by Sergeant Salsten

Artwork by Salsten himself

On my last trip to Norway, back in February of 2012, I stayed with Deathhammer frontman Daniel "Sergeant" Salsten in his downtown Oslo apartment. Fenriz and I had been out thrashing in a remote town called Drammen with Salsten the night previous, and when we rocked up at Sergeant's place he was still going, a crate of stubbies on the living room table and an old live Exodus VHS. Thrash living 100%.

Fenriz was DJing a house club that night and was only staying a short while, but Daniel played us some records from the crates littering his hallway, many of them songs neither of us had heard before. I think this was the first time I asked him if he'd be up for doing a mix.

Then, quite deservedly, he and Sadomancer's band Deathhammer became pretty big (for an underground thrash band) and started touring more or less consistently across the globe, and we would meet at Live Evil every year, continue the jokes and hazy cloud that seems to follow us, and then get chatting about doing a mix again.

It took him to move to Tazmania as recent as January just past (seriously), for him to finally get the project started and from the off, it was never going to disappoint. In one of the most tinkered with mixes I have ever received, he managed to trim it down to almost 90 mins of loud and raw metal and punk. Almost pure perfection. He had this to say about the mix:

thrashing out and spacing in with dylan at last years live evil festival, and the talks of creating a mix for this killer radio blog began. after floating in the back of my mind for a while, the theme of the compilation ended up being some intense aggressive shit. it's a mix of hardcore, speed and black metal, mostly quite fast. the crossover blend of hardcore and thrash is highly present - for those relentless moods when the blood is rushing and the neck is loose. it's a natural fusion i wish was more around these days really. i trimmed the mix down to contain only the most ripping and max filthy tunes, energetic rapid stuff ideal for a rotten wasted night. if you are also obsessed by raw power and thrashing rage this compilation is for you.

Before adding this about the insanely cool cover he drew:

here's the cover, inspired by how cool i felt wearing a chicago bulls cap as a child hahah.

Play this one loud!

TRACKLISTING:
1. Impetigo (USA) - "Sinister Urge/Faceless" [1990]
2. Pokolgép (Hungary) - "Vallomás" [1987]
3. Raw Power (Italy) - "A Certain Kind of Killer" [1985]
4. Rudimentary Peni [England] - "Nothing But A Nightmare" [1983]
5. Crossfire [Belgium] - "Feeling Down" [1985]
6. Kafka Prosess [Norway] - "90 Åra" [1985]
7. Angel Dust (Germany) - "Fighters Return" [1986]
8. Agnostic Front (USA) - "The Eliminator" [1986]
9. Abhorer (Singapore) - "Zygotical Sabbatory Anabapt" [1996]
10. Kaaos (Finalnd) - "Mellakka" [1982]
11. Sauron (USA) - "Demonic Invasion" [2004]
12. Turbo (Poland) - "Sztuczne Oddychanie" [1986]
13. 666 (Norway) - "Alkohol" [1982]
14. Descendants (USA) - "I'm Not A Loser" [1982]
15. Cryptic Slaughter (USA) - "Rest in Pain" [1982]
16. Biest (Germany) - "Motortraum" [1987]
17. Victimised (Norway) - "Lot Deg Ligge" [2004]
18. Carrion (Switzerland) - "Evil is There" [1986]
19. Thrust (USA) - "Overdrive" [1984]
20. R.K.L. (USA) - "Think Positive" [1985]
21. Celtic Frost (Switzerland) - "Journey Into Fear" [1985]
22. Nuclear Death (USA) - "Prolong the Agony" [1988]
23. Kohu-63 (Finland) - "Huorra" [1982]
24. Ghoul-Cult (Norway) - "Bulletbelt Berserker" [2002]
25. Gang Green (USA) - "Sick Sex Sick" [1987]
26. Impaled Nazarene (Finland) - "Condemned to Hell" [1993]
27. Sodom (Germany) - "After the Deluge" [1986]

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Maniac Monday L - Heavy Metal Mania V

Heavy Metal Mania returns! Like mentioned in the show, I was going to do a best of—seeing as it is the 50th show and all—but I was too lazy to even do that, so here is a new speed/heavy/NWOBHM show. There are a few tracks I have played before, but as always I tried to come up with different bands/songs. Getting trick now I'm 50 shows deep, so who knows how many more of these genre-themed shows there will be in the future.
What I do know is that but the next show will be death fucking metal, and that is a sure thing, on February 3rd.
Tomorrow will see the first guest mix of the year, a two-hour speed metal opus from Omega mastermind Hades, so check back for that, it's a ripper!

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Maniac Monday XXXVI - Heavy Metal Mania IV—Speed Metal Supremacy

ALRIGHT. It felt apt to do another Heavy Metal Mania show so soon again mainly due to me being inundated with mixes of the heavy/speed metal variety. Thanks again to Anna Hallstrom for her two mixes—three tracks off each feature in the second half-hour—and like I mention in the show, if you want one of them uploaded just say which. If one of them gets, say, five or more requests I will do so.
I will be back on July 15th for more madness so don't forget to tune in then.

Maniac Monday XXII - 1985

Yes, another show complete, this time the year 1985 got its turn. In-keeping with recent shows, there is much thrash and speed metal on this show, but some other stuff too, so make sure to check it out. Obviously this isn't a definitive 1985 show, like all my shows, I more wanted to play bands people mightn't have heard or bands I haven't been playing enough of. And using 1985 as an excuse to play more Warrant too, hehe.
Not sure how many shows are left this year, there might be two, or maybe one—my last show is supposed to go out Dec 31st but I am awaiting confirmation on that. Regardless, the next show is on December 17th, so don't forget to tune in to NTS for that one. Also, one of these next two shows will be a 2012 show. Look out for a special Amulet show early next year, by the way. 'til next time...

Maniac Monday, obituary X - Heavy Metal Mania

Apologies again for the week-long delay posting this and thanks to Witch Cross for making Fit For Fight, which basically inspired this show.
Next one is in five days, on July 2nd, and will, I think, be a split show of covers and self-titled songs. Maybe this is getting gimmicky now, but until I have everything out I won't be repeating any themes just yet, so keep it locked!

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Interview with Heathen Steven of Amulet

Photo by Sanna Charles

It's been many moons since last I wrote about a band from these shores. But, finally, London has birthed a new band to worship, and their name is Amulet. They released their "Cut The Crap" demo last year, and played their first show in April at the Heavy Easter metal fest in Lancaster. Tonight, they make their hometown debut VICE's own Old Blue Last, with Canadian doom merchants Cauchemar. I caught up with Amulet guitarist Heathen Steven late last night. Read on, or your soul shall not be worthy.

AFITFOG: So, Amulet. Can you give the masses a little background info as to what brought you heathen souls together?
‪Heathen Steven: It was insignificant but unavoidable cosmic destiny. It's a number of passionate but unassuming metal warriors picking up arms together. Basically, we're mates. Mates drawn together through mutual love of the heavy rock and the wish to deliver it. You know, the usual.

And how have Amulet been received?
We have been received splendidly, so far. Particularly from the underground scene, which means a lot. I would say there is definitely room for a London metal band. There is always room for good metal, eh?

Indeed. So you've been together now for, what, a year?
Well, Bill Dozer and I had the idea in 2010, but that is the long and short of it. We are eager beavers. Spring chickens. We are prostrate before the scene, but armed.

So what is the role of Heathen Steven in this unholy unification?
I play some guitars and keep my eye on the clock. I'm pretty wary of time—the time keeper! I like working on song structures and dissing the church, etc.

So you write lyrics and riffs?
I have some riffs. We all bring them, really. Bill Dozer had some of the best phrases on the demo. He also came up with the band and demo name. The singer, Jamie, generally comes up with much of the wordplay. We all chip in, as we all basically have the same taste. Not much thought goes into it or is required, really. Channel the universe!

Nice. Is the demo's title indicative of anything in particular, or is it a message to all the phonies out there making piss-poor music?
Neither really. We just said "What shall we call the demo?" and Bill said "Cut the Crap", so we did. For me, it just felt like the right thing for our vibe. Nothing specific. But it's a pretty good phrase for life generally. You can read into it, I guess. Take what you want, man.

Will you be playing anything other than the demo tracks at tomorrow's maiden London show, then?
We have a couple of tunes which add a bit of colour to the demo tracks. I think you should always write better songs each time, ideally. We're looking forward to it and particularly looking forward to seeing Cauchemar who are incredible... fuck.

It's their first show here too, right?
Yeah, they've been on an insane world trip [check out Annick from Cauchemar's blog], tasting food, playing killer shows and checking out metal scenes everywhere. And this is their first UK show so I hope people come. If you like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Witchfinder General then I would set aside the evening, personally.

For sure. Say, didn't Annick do that Hellbent For Cooking heavy metal cookbook?
Yeah, and the Morbid Tales zine.

Alright. So, can we expect any sort of onstage ritual or anything tonight?
Well, let's just say we have a proper heavy metal show planned and leave it at that – it won't be dull.

Photo by Malek Baali

And when are you guys putting out your next onslaught?
Well, the demo is sold out, but we have a 7" version coming in June from Mordgrimm Records.

Oh, one last thing. Live Evil festival, which you co-run, is off this year I've heard?

It is at the Underworld, yes, the deal was bananas. BUT, there are two other plans that might knock you socks off a bit if they happen... one in October and one next year.

Alright, the metal underground will be sharpening its swords 'til then, thanks!

Amulet and Cauchemar play the Old Blue Last tonight and it is FREE.

Maniac Monday, obituary III - Heavy/Speed/Thrash Attack

Above is last nite's tracklisting from my third Maniac Monday slot on NTS, which you can listen to below (I come in at 1.15). As you can see it is mostly heavy and speed metal, the last hour of which I played exclusive tracks from Aura Noir and Deathhammer's new albums, a track from an Occvlta split, a Nekromantheon track which may appear on the forthcoming Nekrothrash compilation, and one from the Salute vaults that I have been hoarding now for almost two years. I finished with Isengard, a glimpse into what I will be playing on my next show—black metal and the darker side of thrash. That will be on March 26th, 9-11GMT, so tune in then for that.