Dying Victims Productions is proud to announce the following new releases:
DVP 169 TOXIKULL – Cursed and Punished LP
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present TOXIKULL’s stellar second album, Cursed and Punished, on vinyl LP format. Licenced from Metal on Metal Records.
Hailing from Portugal, TOXIKULL burst onto the scene fully formed in 2016 with their debut album, Black Sheep. Indeed black sheep amongst the modern metal landscape, the quartet unleashed a fury of classy-yet-OTT speed metal pumped full of thrash overdrive – a sound that, while classically rooted, didn’t conveniently slot itself into one category. Leading the charge were the authoritative vocals of ex-Midnight Priest frontman Lex Thunder, here also playing guitar. But Thunder’s banshee cries weren’t the only arsenal: his bandmates shredded with the best of ‘em, putting considerable chops to good use with cruising-yet-crunchy ease.
A couple EPs followed in 2018, but TOXIKULL really hit a fever pitch with their second album, 2019’s Cursed and Punished. Everything killer about their debut album was magnified tenfold, everyone going for glory and for the throat, delivering unbridled METAL MAYHEM that was simply impossible not to get swept up in! Each element here positively bristled with electricity and urgency – guitars razor-sharp but dynamic, the leads utterly blistering but with also with memorability, the rhythm section pumping like a locomotive on the way to Hell, and of course, Thunder’s vocals reaching new heights of grandeur and…well, height – and all of them were coated in a gleaming production job, courtesy of Miguel Tereso from Demigod Recordings, that sacrificed not ounce of power…in fact, quite the opposite! Through it all, the songwriting was nothing short of stunning; each of these 10 songs could be an anthem itself, and TOXIKULL banged ‘em out in a cool ‘n’ compact 34 minutes, making the listener beg for more.
Looking for a modern answer to old Helstar, Liege Lord, and Jag Panzer but with speed and power to spare? Look no further than TOXIKULL’s Cursed and Punished, at last unleashed on the most perfect format for classic metal: VINYL!
Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker and postcard.
Special edition on halloween orange colored vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, postcard and woven patch.
DVP 158 HEXECUTOR – Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge… LP 2nd press
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present HEXECUTOR’s highly anticipated second album, Beyond Any Human Conception of Knowledge, on vinyl LP format. 2nd press.
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 golden colored vinyl, sold out
DVP 153 Coltre – Under the Influence LP 2nd press
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present COLTRE’s striking debut, Under the Influence, on 12” vinyl formats. 2nd press.
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.