Dying Victims Productions is proud to announce the following new releases:
DVP 280 Stress Angel – Punished by Nemesis LP/CD
On March 15, 2024, Dying Victims Productions & Stygian Black Hand will unchain the highly anticipated sophomore full-length from Stress Angel, “Punished by Nemesis”. LP out in US on Stygian Black Hand and EU on Dying Victims Productions. CD out worldwide on Dying Victims Productions.
With the flames of the Bursting Church still ravaging the minds and turntables of its parishioners, Stress Angel throw another scalding 40 minutes of maniacal deathrash into the blaze!
At the forefront, the songwriting on “Punished by Nemesis” demonstrates the maturation (or putrefaction) of Stress Angel’s already established sound, driving deeper into the twisted corridors of death, thrash, and first wave black metal. Weaving within, between, and beyond these classifications, the countless riffs on this album solidify Stress Angel’s reputation as not only wizened practitioners of the craft, but innovators as well.
Leading the punishment, drummer/vocalist Manny Sores continues his campaign of old metal piledriving with a thunderous performance that forces heads to bang and eventually roll (as a privileged few who have witnessed his mastercraft live can attest), while his tormented screams expose sickening truths about those who don the cloth and preach the holy word. Session soldier Hank S. Blackyard also returns on bass with his now-signature grim and gristly tone, beefing up the already muscular strings laid out with a butcher’s precision by guitarist Nicolai Orifice. All the while, the warm, familiar production evokes a feeling not unlike what one may have experienced dropping the needle on “Mental Funeral” or putting a dub of “Anno Domini” in the tape deck for the first time 35 years ago.
Hear the Jericho trumpet blare to herald “Punished by Nemesis”, a necessary evil for those who crave to be punished by authentic thrashing metal of death. In their own words, Stress Angel state, “‘Punished By Nemesis’ aims only to torment and abuse your already demented existence”. Recommended for fans of Autopsy, Tormentor, Old, and Aura Noir.
– 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.
DVP 286 Aardvark – Tough Love LP/CD
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the highly anticipated debut album of Australia’s AARDVARK, Tough Love, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Not to be confused with the cult ‘70s prog band, Australia’s AARDVARK are a classic heavy metal quartet hailing from Melbourne. Born from a desire to bring the masses together with the biting forces of power and honesty, AARDVARK aim to prove there is weight to sincerity and strength in vulnerability. The band’s twin-guitar attack keeps fists pumping with tough-yet-melodic riffs, while their thunderous rhythm section drives the tank forward with unyielding brawn.
Formed in 2021, AARDVARK burst onto the Australian heavy metal scene seemingly out of nowhere with an increasingly packed weekly residency at the iconic Tote Hotel in August 2023, followed quickly by a sold-out launch show for their debut 7” single. The AARDVARK hasn’t slowed down since, with a blistering run of local shows and upcoming supports in 2024 for Cirith Ungol and Riot City.
Now that tank is ready to plow down the gates with the debut album Tough Love. With its cover art encapsulating all their central themes, Tough Love proves the full potential of AARDVARK and that they band is good on their word. With nine tracks clocking in at 44 minutes, Tough Love is a compendium of songs that present a tough, masculine vulnerability, a mixture of personal anthems and mythical journeys that offer a pertinent contrast of escapism and self-reflection. With a sound somewhere between NWOBHM and traditional heavy metal, Tough Love aims to impact with a mix of mid-tempo rockers, poignant ballads, and attacking speed.
Reverential to the past but by no means blinkered by it, AARDVARK inject their own personality and panache into 1983-vintage heavy metal: moody, melodic, dynamic, and dashing. If Conan the Barbarian could shed a tear, he’d do it listening to Tough Love!
– 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.
DVP 287 Armagh – Exclamation Po!nt LP/CD
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present ARMAGH’s highly anticipated third album, Exclamation Po!nt, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in 2012, ARMAGH are a heavy metal force based in Satanic City Warsaw and Necropolis Navis. Mixing classic heavy metal from the ’70s and ’80s with proto-black metal, ARMAGH are the creators of First Wave Only movement, which unites several Polish bands delivering old-school metal – among them, labelmates GALLOWER and SEXMAG but also Torpor, Wielki Mrok, and R.I.P. – with primal severity in their sound and message.
Truly, ARMAGH are a maniac maniac’s band, idiosyncratic mainlining such noble influences as Thin Lizzy, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Motörhead, KISS, Manilla Road, early Slayer and Megadeth, W.A.S.P, Bathory, Dissection, Running Wild, KAT, and the NWOBHM in general into something authentically rustic and effortlessly unique. But it was their second album, Serpent Storm – originally self-released in 2022, but then released on vinyl the next year by DYING VICTIMS – where they had their breakout moment. A true record collector’s record, Serpent Storm displayed its power and personality at every turn, coming from an alien place – one where Battle Cry, Another Perfect Day, Haunting the Chapel, Chinatown, Under the Sign of the Black Mark, and Born Again all simultaneously play in perfect, hellish harmony – but evincing a wild and weird but never belabored alchemy that was simply peerless.
Now, two years later, ARMAGH stir up their cauldron once again with their third album, Exclamation Po!nt. This record features a wholly reconstructed lineup, with founding frontman/guitarist Galin Soulreaper now joined by fellow guitarist Vikk Vandall, bassist Tom CultCommander, and drummer Al Atom Smasher. As such, it’s a far more collaborative effort than the largely Soulripper-written Serpent Storm, with each new member adding their own fiery flair to an altogether less-immediate but much-more-mysterious album: Tom CultCommander’s spacey & hypnotic bass work (a Hawkwind influence is detectable across the record, as is a faint whiff of Rush), Vandall’s impulsive & spring-loaded leads, and the jazzy, Bill Ward-esque drumming of Atom Smasher. Less is indeed MORE here!
Just as wild and weird as its mighty predecessor but perhaps eating subtler, sweeter fruits, the deliberately demonstrative Exclamation Po!nt dives deeply into moodier and mustier waters, sounding impossibly older than even Serpent Storm. It’s all unmistakably ARMAGH, but if LP#3 proves anything (and loudly), it’s that these Polish maniacs are operating at the height of their powers – and, again, as a full band this time. No dynamic is too severe, no construct too off-kilter, no speed shunned: with greater emphasis on harmony vocals and Soulreaper’s lonely-warlock tones guiding the listener into a misty, mystical wonder-world, Exclamation Po!nt weaves a plaintive-yet-powerful spell that traverses the whole spectrum of human experience. And perhaps it’s there that ARMAGH in general and Exclamation Po!nt in particular excels – that it’s undeniably human in construction and execution, but its journey (and destination) is otherworldly to the splendorous extreme. Or, cutting out the fancy words, what we have here is heartfelt, handmade heavy metal: no modern, no trends, no way!
No longer the “sleeper hit of the year,” ARMAGH are prepared to punctuate “best of 2024” conversations already with Exclamation Po!nt!
– Regular edition on black vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card and download code.
– Special edition on splatter vinyl, with insert, poster, sticker, post card, download code and patch.
– CD edition with sticker and obi.
DVP 288 Spasms – Invocatio I MC
DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present SPASMS’ eerie debut demo, Invocatio I, on music cassette format.
This new entity hailing from Sweden consists of veterans of the underground scene including members from acts such as Antichrist, Insane and Witchgrave. SPASMS aim for a horror-inflicting, blood-chilling raw and ugly heavy metal sound. The 3 tracks plus instrumental take you to the cemetery, invoke voodoo spells and introduce you to a maniacal midnight slasher.