Chapter IV

At the heart of The Wailing Ossuary lies an ancient ritual summoning pentacle surrounded by laughing skulls. They challenge brave metalheads to lead five mighty musicians in an epic performance to try to conjure a monster of metal.

This week the Eurovision Song Contest brings the very real risk of you accidentally wasting hours of your life listening to cheesy pop songs. We recommend you mitigate this risk by clicking the album link below and losing yourself in the infinitely preferable world of gothic metal. Put on your headphones and don’t remove them until the Eurovision final is over. If you feel yourself slipping can you always review previous newsletter editions on our website for more album recommendations.

The Chorus

Someplace Better, the second album from Athenian metal gods Elysion, opens in the best way possible: an intoxicating siren call underscored by chunky, dropped riffs. Made of Lies introduces the band’s unique, cohesive sound and the opening themes follow through the title track and into Fairytale. The album is filled with the perfect blend of deep ballads and headbangers but our favourite track has to be What Lies Beneath. If you love this album as much as we do then you should also check out Elysion’s latest offering Bring Out Your Dead which was released just last year.

The Champion - I

Lena Scissorhands is one of the most metal vocalists in existence and her raw talent is accompanied by one of the industry’s coolest monikers (a reference to her days as a hairstylist). Her signature vocal range seamlessly slides between clean singing and guttural screaming; a vital part of the distinct sound of Moldovan metal band Infected Rain. Her voice and style, however, announce her everywhere from her work with prog metal group Seas on the Moon to fronting US based Death Dealer Union. If you want your ritual to succeed, choosing Lena for the first position is essential.

The Curse

You called and Paimon answered. As long as you have answered his question honestly and correctly he imparts his roaring voice to you, an unsurpassable gift for any aspiring metal legend. He also offers to share his ability to bind people to his will which could be useful in those horrendous meetings with music industry execs. In fact, Paimon is so generous that he also offers some of his legions to help sell out your gigs. Do you want to borrow his camel as well? Probably not.