Nourished by nightmares and the throbbing pulse of pragmatic terror, CARNIFEX have returned with their ninth full-length studio album, Necromanteum.

While it may come as a surprise to some fans, the themes of Necromanteum are a little less personal compared to previous releases. Vocalist and founder Scott Ian Lewis explains: “We wanted to delve into more supernatural and ethereal subjects like astral projection, the duality of man, and the crossroads of intellectualism and the supernatural... There was indeed a time when Doctors were also performing seances!”

Decades ago, wealthy intellectuals began installing psychomanteum in their homes; a secret room completely filled with mirrors, or a single mirror, and in complete darkness, in order to speak to the dead in other dimensions, and gain their knowledge. It was often used as a healing tool to help dissolve grief, or considered a form of prophecy. Necromanteum presents the concept: what if you could use that kind of room to speak with death, itself? What secrets of the world could you uncover from a direct conversation with the grim reaper? Not a monster, but a fellow intellect.

“This album is for the fans,” states Lewis. “We’re always striving to give you the best version of us, but it’s only ours until we turn it in. Then it becomes everyone else’s record. It’s a form of entertainment, and we truly hope to help listeners break away from real life, and have some escape into our little world through the Necromanteum .”

Suffocation are globally recognized innovators of death metal. Since the 1990s, their massive influence on the genre came from pioneering the balance between brutal and technical sounds now commonly heard in 21st century death metal. After several demos and singles, 1991's now-classic Effigy of the Forgotten influenced an entire generation in death metal and grindcore circles. It was followed by 1993's critically acclaimed Breeding of the Spawn. The band split in 1995, but re-formed years later for 2004's Souls to Deny. 2009's Blood Oath marked their first American chart entry. 2017's ...Of the Dark Light charted in Europe. In 2019, Suffocation's trailblazing frontman Frank Mullen retired and handed the mike to Ricky Myers for 2023's Hymns from the Apocrypha.

Brutal/technical death metal band Suffocation were formed in New York during the late '80s. The original lineup was composed of vocalist Frank Mullen, guitarists Doug Cerrito and Terrance Hobbs, bassist Chris Richards, and drummer Mike Smith. The group's 1991 debut album, Effigy of the Forgotten, became quite influential in the grind/death metal community. Released on Roadrunner Records, it was followed two years later by Breeding of the Spawn. After the release of the Human Waste EP, Smith left Suffocation and was replaced by drummer Doug Bohn. By 1995, the second lineup had issued their first album, Pierced from Within. The band broke up soon after, disheartened by label problems and lack of direction.

A mystery album, Despise the Sun, floated around due to record label politics until Relapse finally released it in the summer of 2002. The band re-formed in late 2003 to begin working on their fourth studio album. The resulting Souls to Deny, which marked the return of original drummer Mike Smith, arrived the following year, effectively ending the group's hiatus. Suffocation's eponymous fifth outing saw release in 2006, and was followed in 2009 by Blood Oath; it was the band's first official entry on the Billboard charts, peaking at number two on the Heatseekers chart and at 135 in the Top 200.

The Joe Cincotta-produced Pinnacle of Bedlam, the group's seventh studio album, arrived in 2013 and also went to number two at Heatseekers and peaked at 153 in the Billboard 200. By 2017, when Suffocation released ...Of the Dark Light, Mullen and Hobbs remained the only constant members of Suffocation. The album lineup also included bassist Derek Boyer, who had been with the band since 2004, and guitarist Charlie Errigo and drummer Eric Morotti, both of whom joined in 2016 and made their recording debut on ...Of the Dark Light. Again produced and mixed by Cincotta, the album failed to chart in the U.S. despite celebratory reviews, but it placed very respectably in Europe, where it charted in several countries. In 2021, Suffocation released Live in North America, on Nuclear Blast. Recorded in 2018 at a concert in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it marked the final appearance for Mullen who retired at the end of 2019. Late period touring member and Disgorge drummer Ricky Myers took over on vocals for 2023's Hymns from the Apocrypha, the band's ninth studio set. ~ John Bush, Rovi

Throughout DEVOURMENT’s extreme 24 years of existence, one thing has remained constant: unyielding brutality. Formed in 1995 and hailing from Dallas, TX, DEVOURMENT has remained consistent and powerful throughout several reformations, leading many to celebrate them as the heaviest death metal band in the world due to their influential blend of vicious slam elements with an old school death metal sound.

DEVOURMENT took the underground by storm with 1999’s legendary Molesting the Decapitated, released on United Guttural. A compilation album titled 1.3.8., featuring the infamous track “Babykiller,” was released through Corpse Gristle in 2000, and reissued by Displeased and Unmatched Brutality in 2004. Butcher the Weak, self-released in 2005 and then re-recorded and reissued by Brutal Bands in 2006; and Unleash the Carnivore, released in 2009 on Brutal Bands. On the power of these releases, and the band’s explosive live shows, DEVOURMENT soon became one of the most infamous acts in the death metal underground throughout the last decade.

Fast forward to 2010 and DEVOURMENT signed to Relapse Records for the eventual release of their fourth album Conceived in Sewage in 2013. The band teamed with master producer Erik Rutan of Hate Eternal and Morbid Angel for the album. Throughout the coming years, DEVOURMENT performed at festivals such as at Hellfest, Maryland Deathfest, Obscene Extreme; and selectively toured throughout the world, especially in Asia, South America, and Indonesia.

Now after 6 long-awaited years in 2019, DEVOURMENT return to form, embodying brutality with their ferocious new album, Obscene Majesty. For this album, they reunited with producer D. Braxton Henry, who helped craft the band’s sound on their first three albums. Obscene Majesty features original founding member and drummer Brad Fincher and Ruben Rosas back on vocal duties - a lineup previously heard only on the band's 1999 landmark album Molesting the Decapitated, the pioneers of brutal death metal sharpen their blades once again, and unleash some of the most disgustingly heavy slam ever!

Clubbing blows from tracks such as "Cognitive Sedation Butchery", "Narcissistic Paraphilia", and "Dysmorphic Autophagia" see the veterans as imposing and menacing as ever. Buzzsaw guitars shred through limbs against head-caving, hammering drums. Deathly, blood-soaked vocals personify pain and torture. Obscene Majesty is the epitome of uncontrollable destruction from beginning to end, as DEVOURMENT crush through break-neck speeds, deafening ears and melting faces along the way. Honing in on the very elements of gore, death, and mutilation that have crowned the band as kings of the scene for over 24 years, DEVOURMENT force you to bear witness to the Obscene Majesty!

DISTANT is a 4-piece crushing DOWNTEMPO DEATHCORE band hailing from Rotterdam, The Netherlands and Bratislava, Slovakia. 

Distant, the embodiment of energy, intensity, and sheer brutality in the realm of deathcore, stand as a formidable force in the heavy music landscape. Originating from the juxtaposed locales of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and Bratislava, Slovakia, this collective concocts a sonic amalgamation, melding hyper-dissonant downtempo deathcore, slamming brutal death metal, and beatdown into a maelstrom of heaviness that engulfs the senses.

Since their inception in 2014, Distant has commanded attention, unleashing their inaugural EP, "Slither," upon the world in 2015. Their meteoric rise surged with the critically acclaimed release of "Tsukuyomi" in 2017, solidifying their position as a force to be reckoned with. However, it was with their debut full-length album, "Tyrannotophia," under the banner of Unique Leader Records, that they truly cemented their musical prowess.

Driven by an unwavering commitment to delivering riveting yet ferociously aggressive compositions, Distant continued to assert their dominance with successive EPs in 2020 and 2021, laying the foundation for their monumental three-part saga, "Aeons Of Oblivion." This opus not only expanded upon the rich tapestry of Tyrannotophia but also introduced a captivating narrative, complemented by the release of the novel "The Rise of Tyrannotophia" in 2021, offering fans a deeper immersion into the band's fictional universe.

Drawing inspiration from the esoteric and the arcane, Distant transcends the confines of mere musicality, presenting themselves as storytellers with a profound tale to share and a legacy to carve. As their fictional universe of Tyrannotophia continues to evolve, it's evident that Distant's narrative prowess is poised to captivate audiences far beyond the confines of the stage.