New Titles In Stock From Iron Bonehead

Temple Nightside “Pillars of Damnation” LP/CD

By now, TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE require little to no introduction. Begun in 2010 by mainman IV – whose experience in the fertile Australian black metal underground is vast in itself – to explore a more blackened version of ancient death metal, the band’s initially self-described “Ritualistic Death Metal Necromancy” eventually morphed into more atmospheric and more deeply cavernous shapes, culminating in 2016’s critically acclaimed The Hecatomb. But such acclaim matters not to TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE, and the now-quartet next explored their past with the foul ‘n’ fascinating Recondemnation in 2018, which was a reimagining of their 2013 Condemnation debut album.
Their vision still boundless (and boundlessly BLACK), TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE return with the all-new Pillars of Damnation. Not for nothing is it titled as such: dense foundations of eldritch dread are both built around the listener and crushed by their hulking onslaught of sepulchral decibels. It’s immediately and irrevocably TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE in their purest, most punishing form – bestial pulses evaporating into a smokestack-sized fog of frightening, palpable evil – but here rendered in a dexterously taut manner, and one even deceptively “anthemic” if you will. For where so much nowadays “cavernous death metal” slathers on lazy glazes of half-formed riff masquerading as “atmosphere,” this Oz cult instead write RIFFS and their intensity has subsequently sharpened to a stultifying degree, lending a certain clarity to that evil that’s even more intimidating. We’d be loathe to qualify this attack on Pillars of Damnation as “tighter” lest one think of popcorn-triggered “death metal,” but it does give pause for reflection on this subtle-yet-radical development. Which is to say nothing of the closing 10-minute monolith “Damnation,” which will BURY you…
In short, TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE are death metal necromancy of the highest order, more so now than ever – and forever shall they reign. Behold their Pillars of Damnation and pay fealty before your inevitable burial.

Vassafor “To the Death” Double LP/CD

VASSAFOR should need no introduction. For the past decade and a half, since the band’s reactivation with their Demo II in 2005, this New Zealand cult have patiently plied their idiosyncratic craft, pushing the boundaries of black and death metal ever further whilst driving deep into each’s collective core. Although some will argue that they reached their apotheosis with 2012’s debut album, Obsidian Complex – a true, two-disc double album – VASSAFOR played their most daring hand with respective split LPs with comrades Sinistrous Diabolus and TEMPLE NIGHTSIDE (both released by IRON BONEHEAD in 2014 and 2015, respectively). In miniature, these works amplified the simultaneously world-eating/ethereal textures that lay at the heart of the VASSAFOR aesthetic. After an intense two years in the shadows, their grandest work so far was revealed: Malediction, released in October 2017 on vinyl and cassette via IRON BONEHEAD. VASSAFOR continued to cement their legend…
VASSAFOR are not ones for half-measures. For them, their spirituality is Satanic and absolute: no compromise, no quarter. Thus, with the aptly titled To the Death do VASSAFOR render their most direct statement yet, yet one also imbued with a lurking strangeness that’s entirely their own. At once submerging into the murkiest depths of the underground from whence they sprang, in other senses smothering those senses with a serpentine flow that’s stultifying to behold, the seven sonic incantations comprising the 66-minute To the Death prove that the duo indeed are ever able to conjure horrifying new shapes stitched from the fabric of the ancients. Not for nothing is this third full-length titled as such: To the Death bespeaks VASSAFOR’s own path – theirs, and theirs literally ALONE – that is verily “Archaic Black Metal that exists outside time.” Any band would kill to write songs as mesmerizing ‘n’ monolithic as the opening 12-minute title track, or the ten-minute self-explanatory “Eyrie,” or especially the 17-minute, likewise self-explanatory closer “Singularity”…and that’s barely half the album.
VASSAFOR exist on their own terms, and we can only help but bear witness to their black magick. To the Death is a statement of intent, a world unto itself, and so much more: bow, enter, die.

Rope Sect “The Great Flood” LP/CD

Germany’s ROPE SECT quietly but auspiciously debuted in 2017 with their first EP, Personae Ingratae, released by IRON BONEHEAD. While something of a “dark horse” for the label, ROPE SECT’s disarmingly Spartan style of deathrock soon found fervent followers around the globe, and word-of-mouth momentum built from there. Further proving that there were yet further twists to the trio’s idiosyncratic sound, the Proselytes 7″ followed later in 2017 for IRON BONEHEAD. ROPE SECT also took the stage thereafter, supporting the esteemed likes of Grave Pleasures and King Dude among others.
With almost graceful ease, ROPE SECT deliver their stunning debut album, aptly titled The Great Flood. Indeed, this first full-length floods the listener with a vast array of sounds and textures, paradoxically pulled tighter and in a more monochromatic manner. It is a record of stark contrasts, subtly drawn together: more delicate vs. more driving, more melody vs. more motorik, shimmering atmosphere vs. clanging minimalism, sharp stabs vs. smooth caresses. Each of these ten songs feels like something old – an old song, an old feeling, an old friend – brought back to life and revamped into a ghost of itself, perversely inviting but portending great gloom ‘n’ doom. And while there might’ve been trace elements of black metal across ROPE SECT’s prior short-lengths, here on The Great Flood, that’s all excised in favor of simply BLACK – and the boundless colors absorbed (and reconstituted) therein. The sum emphasis is on the SONGS, and these are all anti-anthems worth singing…or not. ROPE SECT, now more ever, are existing in their own bleak and brilliantly rarefied world.
And birds of a dark (and rarefied) feather flock together: Mat “Kvohst” McNerney (Hexvessel/Grave Pleasures) contributes lyrics and guest vocals on two tracks. Completed by icy-yet-warm mastering courtesy of Horrendous’ Damian Herring, ROPE SECT’s The Great Flood will for sure be a debut album for the (dark) ages.

Click here to order.