DECEMBER 2011
Thanks to those of you who ordered our new SYMBEL shirts, which were posted out on the 5th of December. We have a small number of shirts now available for purchase in M and L sizes. And, as the year draws to a close, we are also pleased to announce a winter sale of our remaining releases at a bargain £5.99.
PEND12BLK
SYMBEL - HEATHEN DRINKING METAL IN BLACK
UK £12.99 / EUROPE £13.99 / WORLD £14.99
PEND12FOR
SYMBEL - HEATHEN DRINKING METAL IN FOREST GREEN
UK £12.99 / EUROPE £13.99 / WORLD £14.99
Work continues on SYMBEL's third full length album. We will publish more information in January, with a predicted March release. In the meantime, buy yourself a Symbel shirt, or if you've already got one, be sure to go over to SEVEN KINGDOMS and pre-order the latest album and shirt bundle from fellow Englishmen FOREFATHER!
Thanks to all of you for your support throughout 2011 - have a good Yule!
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NOVEMBER 2011
Firstly, thanks to all of you who ordered the HERNE shirts - we are now completely sold out.
This month, we are releasing a SYMBEL 'Heathen Drinking Metal' shirt to commemorate the anniversary of the demo recordings that took place in the long dark winter of 2001, a release that set in motion the label King Penda Productions.
Once again this is a top quality Glldan Ultra 205gsm shirt, and is available in either black or dark forest green.
We have made available for the rest of 2011 a free download of the original scrumpy and psylocybin fuelled chaos that was SYMBEL's 'Heathen Drinking Metal' demo cassette.
In other label news, SYMBEL recordings are taking place over December for a new as yet untitled release. We expect to have a list of songs for the December update. Designs for the BRETWALDAS tshirt are being finalised for a January press. In terms of other musical output, the winds of Albion carry news that Wartooth is once again crafting new BRETWALDAS material. Meanwhile, in the Germanic lands, Morten.B is writing material for a second HERNE album.
Winter Sale - all of our remaining CDs are now £5.99!
Thanks for taking the time to read ths update. Until next time!
OCTOBER 2011
Hot enough for you? Inbetween talking about the weather, having tea with the queen, looting city centre shops for fashion trainers and saying 'crikey old chap', we managed to find time to embark on a merchandising plan and are now taking preorders for an imminent limited edition run of HERNE SHIRTS, printed on top quality 205gsm earthen brown. We'll leave the preorder available for two weeks before starting the printing, so you can expect your shirt at the end of October, by which time, it will be snowing.
HERNE - LOGO ON EARTHEN BROWN
UK £10.99 EUROPE £11.99 WORLD £12.99
PREORDER BELOW
Est delivery 31st October 2011
SOLD OUT SOLD OUT SOLD OUT
In release news - BRETWALDAS is on hiatus, and SYMBEL is finally recording and arranging material for a new album.
Until next time! Stay fit and well!
JULY 2011
Time slips by.....we apologise for the length of time between updates. We trust you are all well! Thanks to those of you who have purchased releases these last three months, and to our longstanding supporters, thanks for everything! BRETWALDAS 'Seven Bloodied Ramparts' continues to get good reviews. Check the most recent review at DeafSparrow.com, and a BRETWALDAS interview at the same site.
MARCH 2011
Interesting times ahead! In the UK, fuel prices are now double what they were 15 years ago. Perhaps one day we will be forced to despatch your CDs by carrier pigeon, or maybe the label will employ wandering minstrels instead. Still, given that it takes a million years to make, maybe it is a bargain after all? We should have an announcement to have regarding our next release this month, but we can tell you that BRETWALDAS OF HEATHEN DOOM are interviewed and featured at Doomantia.com, and you can read a new review of 'Seven Bloodied Ramparts' here.
We also have a new interview wth Geoff Birchenall of the excellent ASGARD ROOT zine in the articles section.
More updates soon. In the meantime, keep the faith!
FEBRUARY 2011
January was a quiet month in the UK, and a few people are wondering what the future holds for them as the Western dream starts to look shaky, hastened perhaps by our new ( and more aggressively capitalist than anyone even imagined ) right wing government. Ayn Rand anyone? Well, we did all think it was time for a change, but there are no doubt some who will be a little sorry that what they wished for might now actually come true! Still, they say at times like this, the best professions to be in are the army or the police ( if they weren't being cut back ), or perhaps the private security, or weapons and handcuffs industries. As poor downtrodden Saxon serfs looking woefully up into the eyes of the smug Norman oppressors, torching our villages for 'our own good', we might however remember our national woodlands that we could escape to and live a life of band...oh no, wait... they're being sold!
A Dark Riddle
In the Hunter's Shadow
Metamorphosis
Aelfraed
Modraniht
Zwergenreigen
Leothweorc Buy HERNE 'Face of the Hunter'So, topically, in band news, the first copies of new release HERNE - FACE OF THE HUNTER were sent out last month to our loyal subscribers. Inspired by the 'Robin of Sherwood' TV series of the 1980s, and the book 'The Way of Wyrd' by Brian Bates, this is forty one minutes of old school pagan metal with thumping drums, real amplified guitars, acoustic passages and archaic synths. Promo copies are going out to magazines this month, but it's a limited run so if you want one then act sooner rather than later!
Those complete and utter bastards the BRETWALDAS OF HEATHEN DOOM are authoring their fourth release with the working title 'Looting the Barrows' ( a reference to our fast disappearing heritage ). Wartooth has suffered a brush with the law that has caused some delay to the vocal recordings that were to be carried out in January, so March is likely to be the time that news of this release is confirmed.
Zero Tolerance Magazine has run a feature on the DIY scene which we believe ( we haven't seen it yet ) features an interview with BRETWALDAS with particular emphasis on their stance as a DIY act. If you haven't read this bi-monthly before, we can recommend that it is possibly the only remaining UK print magazine that hasn't yet bowed to the sycophantic music industry...the quality of the writing and articles are very high, and the team clearly puts a lot of effort into each issue. Use them or lose them!
This month in our article section we are privileged to have an interview with Terry Brown, author of the excellent Book 'English MartIal Arts' in which he answers some of our questions about the quarterstaff, following up on the interview we did with Chris Gilchrist of the British Quarterstaff Association.
That's it until next month people! Stay strong and well!
JANUARY 2011
We trust that you had a great Yule break! There is a lot of news this month as a precursor to what we expect to be a busy year.
Firstly , we have taken the decision to make available our older releases ( and as some people have argued - pointlessly limited ) as digital downloads at Bandcamp, in response to the new ways in which many people now listen to music. In contrast to the very unpleasant experience that is Myspace, Bandcamp is an uncluttered and fast loading format, unhindered by advertising and interference from balding, cigar smoking label bosses. Each album can be played via 128k streaming, or downloaded at the highest quality mp3 rate, or even better, in lossless flac, just lke CD quality. We've also made sure that all of the lyrics / stories have been added to each track, as they were always an important part of the music, and we're assured that many modern phones and players will display this information whilst you listen. Those of you who downloaded 'Droner' before today ( the 2nd January ) won't have the version with embedded lyrics. We're assuming in the short term that you have the option to redownload, although we're not entirely sure what the experience is like for the consumer, so if that isn't the case and you want to have the lyric experience immediately, get in touch with us and we'll fix it rght away.
Click on any of the album covers below to go straight to the bandcamp page:
BRETWALDAS first album 'Droner' 2003 - Psychedelic meandering guitar passages writhe against monlithic distorted bass lines to create a dark, brooding and sorrowful lament to the forgotten and haunted monuments of this sceptred isle.
SYMBEL 'We Drink - Hymns and Counsel of Anglo-Saxon Heathenry' 2003 - Classic drum machine-driven one man pagan metal, written and performed under shamanic delusions. Similar to early Baltic greats Obtest.
SYMBEL 'Ale Whores of Mercia' 2007 - A ridiculously limited fan only release containing eleven tracks with drums recorded in an echoey disused firestation. Contains lyrics and storyline based around the concept of Beowulf.
Go to BANDCAMP Have a listen, and escape to a murky pagan metal past!
