DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS – updates on new albums up for pre order from Karloff, Warlust, Sandstorm #dyingvictimsproductions

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present KARLOFF’s debut mini-album, Raw Nights, on 12” vinyl and digital formats.

Forming in 2018, KARLOFF hail from Germany, helmed by erstwhile Graveyard Ghoul member Tom Horrified alongside a couple close comrades. But compared to that band’s old-school death metal stylings, KARLOFF go in a more punk-oriented direction – more street than cavern, as it were – with a sound self-described as “raw obscure punk turns into blackness.”

KARLOFF did exactly that with their debut Demo ’18, three thirsty ‘n’ miserable tracks of street-walking napalm. But things got more twisted ‘n’ pissed with the following Raw Nights a year later. Like a more gutter-level Midnight, here did KARLOFF kick out the (creepy) jams, strutting with sleazy confidence and an infectious sense of bash/crash/slash that struck deep into the heart of what makes the best of both punk and metal. Of course, that blackened singe is never far away, and gives KARLOFF’s canon that ever-special twist of ancient evil.

Fans from the very beginning, now does DYING VICTIMS combine both recordings onto one longer-playing format, under the title Raw Nights. Raw is this night in-fucking-deed, and you get eight quick-hitting tracks in a tantalizing 20 minutes, graced with new cover art courtesy of Tom Horrified and Jan Utecht of Occvlta. Go hard, go fast, go free: KARLOFF compel you to partake generously in Raw Nights!

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.

Release date: 24^th April

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the highly anticipated second album of Germany’s WARLUST, Unearthing Shattered Philosophies, on CD, vinyl LP and digital formats.

One of the metal underground’s best-kept secrets, WARLUST began their assault on the false in 2012. The title of their debut demo, 2014’s Unholy Attack, said everything it needed to: here was blackthrashing METAL, steeped in the spirits of old and with genuinely evil blood coursing through its veins. However, it was 2017’s Morbid Execution debut album where WARLUST first truly took flight – on burning wings of flame! More intense, more epic, more heavy fucking metal, Morbid Execution carried on the noble work started by founding fathers Desaster in their homeland and Deströyer 666, Zemial, and Aura Noir abroad.

But, while that debut LP was still tethered to more traditional-style blackthrash, with Unearthing Shattered Philosophies do WARLUST’s songwriting chops blossom with startling strength and crushing clarity. It’s all immediately WARLUST, for sure, but within the album’s eight-song/45-minute runtime lurks a travelogue of terror and triumph, of melancholy and malevolence. Calling it more “epic” would be accurate, but that only tells half the story, if at all; allowing oneself to be swept away by both teeth-gnashing thrash sprints and strident, swords-aloft marches is more representative of the experience, of total possession, in thrall to the eternal and unyielding spirit of Hell’s heavy metal. Likewise, WARLUST’s command of dynamics here is impressive, to say the very least: part and parcel of those more epic stylings, the narrative flow within each track and then from one track to the next takes the band into the upper echelon of nowadays evil metal. And the band’s melodicism is, as ever, simultaneously cryogenic and burning hot to the touch in the grand tradition of classic Dissection and Necrophobic.

Better yet, gaze deeply into the moody art work Unearthing Shattered Philosophies and see where WARLUST lead you!

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.
Cd Version with Sticker.

Release date: 24^th April

DYING VICTIMS PRODUCTIONS is proud to present the striking debut album of Canada’s SANDSTORM, Time to Strike, on 12” vinyl and CD formats.

Hailing from Vancouver, SANDSTORM are a power-trio in the grand tradition: PJ “The Butcher” La Griffe on drums, Reptile Anderson on lead vocals & bass guitar, and Stevie “Broke” Whiteless on lead vocals & guitar. The band formed during the winter 2017 and were initially inspired by ‘80s Swedish underground metal, the original NWOBHM movement, and “Rob Halford’s Instagram account.” While knowing (and fully embracing) all of heavy metal’s over-the-top aesthetics at the dawn of the 1980s, it became immediately apparent that SANDSTORM were indeed the Real fucking Deal when faced with their debut album, Time to Strike.

In early 2019, SANDSTORM digitally released Time to Strike and did a self-released run of 100 CDs and tapes, all of which sold out quickly, and for good reason: here was glorious (and gloriously scrappy) pre-speed/thrash HEAVY METAL in the literally ancient, sword-wielding style so favored in the early ‘80s, rendered in such authentic (and authentically over-the-top) style, you’d be forgiven for thinking that this was some unearthed relic from the era. Nothing’s overdriven here, and everything moves at a patient yet hot-rocking pace; all strings suitably retain a strong sense of rock ‘n’ roll, pared back in distortion to allow the medieval melodicism to work its magick. And, like all the best early true metal, the vocals are clear and authoritative and just high-pitched enough to evoke that misty ‘n’ mystical sensation. And although Time to Strike comprises but six songs, each one’s a mini-epic in its own right, making the album a compact but somehow expansive 35 minutes.

Many references could be made to Time to Strike, but no specific one in particular – that’s just how infectious and charismatic SANDSTORM are. And this is only the beginning, with more new material due later this year on DYING VICTIMS. Additionally, SANDSTORM will play Sweden’s esteemed Muskelrock fest this year, which perfectly suits the band’s obscure ‘n’ old-school take on heavy metal. Fuck yeah, it’s Time to Strike!

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.
CD Version with Sticker.

Release date: 24th April