CRUZ DEL SUR MUSIC To Re-Release ORODRUIN And PALE DIVINE Classics On Vinyl To Support SOLSTICE’s RICH WALKER




Last summer, the metal community learned that legendary SOLSTICE guitarist Rich Walker needed crucial surgery. WHILE HEAVEN WEPT leader Tom Phillips and a few friends came up with an approach to assist Walker in offsetting his mounting medical expenses: A GoFundMe campaign, series of exclusive compilations and lastly, a collection of hand-picked limited-edition LPs re-releases. Phillips has teamed up with Cruz Del Sur Music to release for the very first time on vinyl, ORODRUIN’s 2003 “Epicurean Mass” debut and PALE DIVINE’s heralded third album, “Cemetery Earth”. The releases will be available in late May.

“These titles are doom metal classics that are long overdue for the vinyl treatment,” said Phillips. “‘Epicurean Mass’ firmly established ORODRUIN as a powerful force out of the gate at the height of doom metal fever. And, ‘Cemetery Earth’ represents the culmination and consolidation of everything PALE DIVINE was building towards — a rock-solid package that was ‘all killer, no filler.

“The premise here was to do our best to make these companions to the original CD pressings rather than rewriting history. However, there were some subtle changes to both records after much dialogue — both to ensure the best LP listening experience possible and also to rectify some details that had always been intended but for one reason or another didn’t happen for the original releases.”

ORODRUIN frontman John Gallo says the band was first introduced to Walker when he reviewed SOLSTICE’s “New Dark Age” album for his “Born Too Late” website in 2000. From there, Walker was a regular advocate of ORODRUIN. The re-release of “Epicurean Mass” holds special significance for Gallo and his bandmates — the album effectively put ORODRUIN on the map and charted the course for the rest of their career.  

“We’ll never forget how it opened many doors for us,” he says. “To host the debut Born Too Late Festival and premier our band alongside PENANCE, REVELATION, WHILE HEAVEN WEPT, PALE DIVINE, THE GATES OF SLUMBER, UNEARTHLY TRANCE and SOULPREACHER to having our first United States ‘Doomination’ tour with THE PROPHECY and MOURNING BELOVETH. In 2004, we went out to Europe to support PENANCE along with our label master at ‘psycheDOOMelic’, the man…Mark Hegedus! It was an amazing ride and we even played ‘Doom Shall Rise II’ in Germany! I pray and hope for new exciting adventures with my band of grim-doomed hobbit-foot brethren! May doom rise from the ashes of the eternal flames from the heart of Mount Doom!”

PALE DIVINE’s Darin McCloskey said Walker has been there for the band “since the beginning.” Upon recommendation from Black Tears distribution head Russell Smith, they sent Walker an advance of their debut “Crimson Tears” demo for inclusion on one of Walker’s Miskatonic Foundation “At The Mountains of Madness” compilations. Walker soon became one of the first overseas supporters of PALE DIVINE, something McCloskey will never forget.

“He brought us into what would grow to become a doom metal family,” says McCloskey. “Rich always held true to his convictions and had no time for nonsense. He was a soldier for truth and integrity in a constantly compromising music scene. He held a quality of standard that oftentimes polarized him from the ‘herd,’ something that he often wore as a badge of honor.”

Now is the time to get your hands albums that have never been available on vinyl — until now. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Walker’s medical expenses right away.

“The first two stages of our fundraising efforts for Rich have been fairly successful, but the vinyl was always going to help get us over the top,” says Phillips. “These 2021 editions were a team effort across the board. Don’t miss your chance to grab these doom metal monoliths — they’re ‘one-offs’ and, quite frankly, they deserve a place in any respectable collection of the genre!”

TERMINUS Signs With Cruz Del Sur Music; New Album ‘A Single Point Of Light’ Due This November

Irish epic metallers TERMINUS have signed with Cruz Del Sur Music for the release of their second studio album, “A Single Point Of Light”. Recorded at the home studio of instrumentalist David Gillespie and mixed and mastered by Richard Whittaker (SOLSTICE), the album will see the light of day this November. The artwork was created by Anaïs Mulgrew.

The TERMINUS/Cruz Del Sur relationship stretches back to 2013 when both parties were tossing around the idea of releasing the band’s “The Reaper’s Spiral” debut. While the idea didn’t come to fruition then, there is no better time than the present — Gillespie says Cruz Del Sur is a “natural fit” for TERMINUS since their friends in RAVENSIRE, ARGUS, LETHEAN, GATEKEEPER and LUNAR SHADOW already call the label home. 

TERMINUS ceased to be a live entity in late 2017 after triumphant appearances at Keep It True, Up The Hammers, Pyrennean Warriors Open Air and Ultimate Revenge in Helsinki, enabling the band (now a two-piece featuring vocalist James Beattie and Gillespie on instruments) enough time to focus on new material. According to Gillespie, the goal with “A Single Point Of Light” was to “evolve enough so that a second album was not a redundant exercise while still remaining true to our core sound.”

“As the principal songwriter, it was self-imposed pressure to prove — to myself — that I wasn’t a one-off and that I could write another record of equal or superior quality,” he continues. “Hence, we did not simply poop out an album in 18 months, but took our time.”

Like its predecessor, “A Single Point Of Light” is a deep dive into the realms of epic and progressive metal, with bountiful guitar harmonies, complex song arrangements and the controlled, but emotive delivery of Beattie. It results in an album that is a comfortable step forward for TERMINUS while not reneging on the core tenets that initially brought the band together in 2012.

“The obvious thing is that we haven’t turned into a Sisters Of Mercy tribute band or anything silly like that,” says Gillespie. “The new album is in the same vein and we have retained our ethos — which seems to have become strikingly popular of late — that the album should fit on one side of a 90-minute tape and should split evenly and sympathetically across both sides of a 12-inch LP. Some elements of the sound have been dropped, some have been focused on and there are a few new textures in there to keep things fresh.”

“A Single Point Of Light” again finds TERMINUS exploring lyrical themes off the traditional heavy metal path. Instead, the band continues their approach of interpreting classic science-fiction tales alongside stories of their own telling.

“We have always been antithetical to the rest of the subgenre, lyrically,” wraps Gillespie. “Our songs are not about heroes and their deeds. They’re about cowards, deviants, deceivers — the scum of the universe, really. There are no heroics and no victories to be found in our world.”

“A Single Point Of Light” track listing:

  1. To Ash, To Dust
  2. Harvest
  3. As Through A Child’s Eyes
  4. Flesh Falls From Steel
  5. Mhira, Tell Me The Nature Of Your Existence
  6. Cry Havoc
  7. Spinning Webs, Catching Dreams

LETHEAN presents “Idylls Of The King”: pre-orders of “The Waters Of Death” open!

 

 

We’re glad to be finally able to present you LETHEAN’s “Idylls Of The King” off their debut album “The Waters Of Death”.

 

To be released on Nov 9, “The Waters Of Death” is an epic doom monolith that will appeal to fans of the genre especially those into Solstice or Atlantean Kodex’s atmospheres.

Accompanied by atmospheric cover art courtesy of German artist Stefan Bleyl, “The Waters of Death” is an album that details themes of decline, departure and the passage of time, reinforced by diverse imagery drawn from mythology, literature and the elements. Ambitious in scope and rich in the fundamental traits of epic heavy metal, “The Waters of Death” firmly places Lethean into their own category where class, intelligence and a taste for the bold reign supreme.

“The Waters Of Death” will be released on compact disc, vinyl and digital. Pre-order your copy here:

Compact disc: https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1858

LP (limited 400 copies, black vinyl, includes insert & download card):

https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/store/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=1859