Dying Victims Productions is proud to announce the following new Pre-orders:
DVP 306 Blackevil – Praise the Communion Fire for the Unhallowed Sacrament LP/CD
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present BLACKEVIL’s highly anticipated third album, Praise the Communion Fire for the Unhallowed Sacrament, 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! Still, their breakout moment was yet to come. Under the auspices of DYING VICTIMS, BLACKEVIL released their second album, Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire, in 2020. Here, the duo laid it all on the line, taking their noble roots – most obviously the German thrash Big Three of Sodom, Kreator, and Destruction as well as evil speed metal legends like Razor, Evil Angel, OZ, and Exciter – and assimilating them something that was uniquely their own and yet uniquely and purely HEAVY METAL.
Now, with third album Praise the Communion Fire for the Unhallowed Sacrament, BLACKEVIL take bolder steps into the epic that they only hinted at prior. If its predecessor began to transcend “blackthrash” categorization, Praise the Communion Fire wholly does so, canvassing a wider range of other stylistic sizes – late ‘90s melodic black metal, same-era blackened death, early ‘80s epic metal, and even a bit of NWOBHM that preceded that – that altogether result in something that’s more unique than ever. The album’s runtime of 46 minutes across seven tracks no doubt suggests that turn toward the epic, and the songwriting indeed goes everywhere but still with remarkable focus. Their chops, while thankfully evincing a human touch, support these daring constructs with finesse and a finely honed clarity. Leads and otherwise-more-melodic riffs lead the charge into the battlefield, buttressed by dynamics that are never boisterous for their own sake; rather, they’re reigned in, allowing those riffs and rhythms to breathe, thus making the surges of energy all the more exciting. Put another way, BLACKEVIL aren’t just another black(ened) metal band flying off the rails, imparting one extreme expression after another: there’s actual class and craft at work here, honoring the ancient lore of heavy metal whilst adding to its lexicon. In that sense, the ceremonial reverence they exude truly supports the title Praise the Communion Fire for the Unhallowed Sacrament.
Forever Baptised in Eternal Fire reaped acclaim, but still left BLACKEVIL as a well-kept secret. Again blessed with (un)godly art by the masterful Paolo Girardi, Praise the Communion Fire for the Unhallowed Sacrament should once and for all establish BLACKEVIL as top-tier heavy metal blacksmiths!
– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download code.
– Special edition on halloween crush orange vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code and patch.
– CD edition with sticker and obi.
Out 25th October
DVP 307 Challenger – Force of Nature LP/CD
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the highly anticipated debut album of Slovenia’s CHALLENGER, Force of Nature, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
The idea for Slovenia’s CHALLENGER started in the summer of 2016, when Jakob Rejec (ex-VIGILANCE, Ambra) was challenged to play a foodball game with Urban Železnik (SkyEye), and if Urban won, they would form a band together. Unfortunately, they never played the game, but still decided to form a band.
For the first lineup, they invited Blaž Tanšek (Mist, ex-Teleport) to play the bass guitar and Mihaela Žitko (Mist) to join on the drums. Through some jam sessions, the first riffs were made, and in November, the band had their first gig under the name Irön Breed, combining the surnames of Jakob and Urban, with Rejec meaning “breeder” and Železnik meaning “iron.” Soon after, they changed their name to CHALLENGER, and Mihaela left her drum duties to Toni Pleško (ex-Teleport, Natt, Đornata). In 2019, they released their first EP Turned to Dust to critical acclaim.
Corona times were not very fruitful for CHALLENGER, but in 2022, they came back with new blood on the bass guitar with Nika Krmelj (Eruption). With her, they finished their debut album and recorded a pre-production demo in the spring of 2023 but had to let her go soon after. The last lineup was formed with Samo Stopar picking up the bass guitar in the summer of 2023, with whom they finished recording their debut album in March 2024.
Now, at long last, that debut album is here: Force of Nature. Aptly titled, CHALLENGER’s first full-length draws from a deep well of heavy metal wisdom, and does so with gusto. Their stated influences include Saxon, Iron Maiden, Tank, Rainbow, Judas Priest, Venom, Mercyful Fate, Running Wild, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, and the UK’s Satan, and verily do CHALLENGER siphon off both the best and most idiosyncratic strains of those legends’ DNA and reconfigure them into a travelogue of pathos and bravado. The songwriting across Force of Nature suitably gallops with energy, but the band patiently allow each construct to unfold, retaining a sense of austere grace in the process. The leads are majestic and many; most impart a melancholy seemingly at odds with the jaunty tempos explored, but the sum effect becomes one of steely-eyed stateliness perfectly in line with the album’s wider “doomed hero” drama. That CHALLENGER posses impeccable chops – to the man, with actual bass guitar prominent in the soundfield – only make these eight mini-epics gleam that much brighter.
CHALLENGER may unapologetically look the past, but their heavy metal heroism is truly timeless. Behold a true Force of Nature!
– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download code.
– Special edition on red vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code and patch.
– CD edition with sticker and obi.
Out 25th October