Vulture Industries – “The Hound” (stream) (PopMatters Premiere)

Norwegian metal band Vulture Industries might well be based in the city of Bergen, a location famed for its history of disagreeable and diabolic black metal, but the five piece experiments with a far wider range of styles. Progressive, doom, extreme, cabaret, industrial, and symphonic metal all play a role in the band’s dark and demented sound, as do jazz, alt-, hard-, and death-rock. All of this means that Vulture Industries toy with the avant-garde, wearing a similarly misshapen and eccentric crown to that of Arcturus, Ved Buens Ende, or Devin Townsend.

PopMatters is proud to debut “The Hound”, the first track from Vulture Industries’ upcoming album, The Tower, which is set for release on 27 September (1 October in North America) via Season of Mist. “The Hound” channels the spirit of Nick Cave via a Faith No More grind, offering a superb example of the surreal drama and unorthodox pivots to be found on The Tower. The charisma and vocal prowess of Vulture Industries’ frontman Bjørnar Erevik Nilsen is a crucial key. The Tower contains abundant twisted tales such as “The Tower”, “The Dead Won’t Mind”, and “Sleepwalkers”.

Fans of serpentine sounds and deranged theatrics, take note.