Verlust - Hymns To Oblivion (cassette)
I was visiting Hawai’i earlier this summer. I just wanted to see what it was like. I wandered along the beaches and made my way to to the middle of the big island to see the natural beauty. As night fell, I found myself in Honolulu’s Chinatown district. I wandered in and out of vintage shops, Asian markets, book shops, bars, and cafes. One morning, I woke and thought to visit a shop that was closed as I had passed by the night before. I bought a book of Mark Lanegan’s lyrics and as I was at the counter cashing out, putting on my sunglasses, in full blacks and boots, preparing to enter the tropical heat, something caught my eye. I saw a small pile of two or three tapes on the edge of the counter. Of course, I reached for one, inspected it and was immediately struck. This is what I was looking for. It was of “Hymns To Oblivion” by Verlust. It looked like Black Metal, I thought “there is no way…” I asked the clerk to add it to my purchase and inquired about this tape. He said, “It’s a local black metal band… this guy J. I don’t know.” I stuffed it in my backpack, flew across the ocean and landed in Michigan, dog-tired, and ran to my tape deck. I pushed in the tape, and was instantly blown away. Majestic, powerful, strong, melodic black metal pierced through my speakers. Defiantly USBM, but clearly inspired by the pulsing riffs of pagan metal from a land that must have seemed like another world compared to the sun-drenched greens and blues of Hawai’i. I immediately contacted Verlust, and to my surprise, J. was not only familiar with CSR, but was a fan of some of the bands on the label. I asked humbly if I could re-issue this cassette on the mainland, and was met with a resounding positive answer. Never one to be afraid to ask anything, I inquired if there was another track we could add for this version. J. responded swiftly with a new track, “Liberation.” Nearly fifty-seven minutes of beauty and darkness enveloped me. I’m honored to present to you “Hymns To Oblivion” with an exclusive bonus track. Black Metal from the Kingdom of Hawai’i.
- Damian Master, September 2023.
COMES WITH FREE TWO-SIDED DO NOT DISTURB CSR DOOR TAG + digital download.
I was visiting Hawai’i earlier this summer. I just wanted to see what it was like. I wandered along the beaches and made my way to to the middle of the big island to see the natural beauty. As night fell, I found myself in Honolulu’s Chinatown district. I wandered in and out of vintage shops, Asian markets, book shops, bars, and cafes. One morning, I woke and thought to visit a shop that was closed as I had passed by the night before. I bought a book of Mark Lanegan’s lyrics and as I was at the counter cashing out, putting on my sunglasses, in full blacks and boots, preparing to enter the tropical heat, something caught my eye. I saw a small pile of two or three tapes on the edge of the counter. Of course, I reached for one, inspected it and was immediately struck. This is what I was looking for. It was of “Hymns To Oblivion” by Verlust. It looked like Black Metal, I thought “there is no way…” I asked the clerk to add it to my purchase and inquired about this tape. He said, “It’s a local black metal band… this guy J. I don’t know.” I stuffed it in my backpack, flew across the ocean and landed in Michigan, dog-tired, and ran to my tape deck. I pushed in the tape, and was instantly blown away. Majestic, powerful, strong, melodic black metal pierced through my speakers. Defiantly USBM, but clearly inspired by the pulsing riffs of pagan metal from a land that must have seemed like another world compared to the sun-drenched greens and blues of Hawai’i. I immediately contacted Verlust, and to my surprise, J. was not only familiar with CSR, but was a fan of some of the bands on the label. I asked humbly if I could re-issue this cassette on the mainland, and was met with a resounding positive answer. Never one to be afraid to ask anything, I inquired if there was another track we could add for this version. J. responded swiftly with a new track, “Liberation.” Nearly fifty-seven minutes of beauty and darkness enveloped me. I’m honored to present to you “Hymns To Oblivion” with an exclusive bonus track. Black Metal from the Kingdom of Hawai’i.
- Damian Master, September 2023.
COMES WITH FREE TWO-SIDED DO NOT DISTURB CSR DOOR TAG + digital download.
I was visiting Hawai’i earlier this summer. I just wanted to see what it was like. I wandered along the beaches and made my way to to the middle of the big island to see the natural beauty. As night fell, I found myself in Honolulu’s Chinatown district. I wandered in and out of vintage shops, Asian markets, book shops, bars, and cafes. One morning, I woke and thought to visit a shop that was closed as I had passed by the night before. I bought a book of Mark Lanegan’s lyrics and as I was at the counter cashing out, putting on my sunglasses, in full blacks and boots, preparing to enter the tropical heat, something caught my eye. I saw a small pile of two or three tapes on the edge of the counter. Of course, I reached for one, inspected it and was immediately struck. This is what I was looking for. It was of “Hymns To Oblivion” by Verlust. It looked like Black Metal, I thought “there is no way…” I asked the clerk to add it to my purchase and inquired about this tape. He said, “It’s a local black metal band… this guy J. I don’t know.” I stuffed it in my backpack, flew across the ocean and landed in Michigan, dog-tired, and ran to my tape deck. I pushed in the tape, and was instantly blown away. Majestic, powerful, strong, melodic black metal pierced through my speakers. Defiantly USBM, but clearly inspired by the pulsing riffs of pagan metal from a land that must have seemed like another world compared to the sun-drenched greens and blues of Hawai’i. I immediately contacted Verlust, and to my surprise, J. was not only familiar with CSR, but was a fan of some of the bands on the label. I asked humbly if I could re-issue this cassette on the mainland, and was met with a resounding positive answer. Never one to be afraid to ask anything, I inquired if there was another track we could add for this version. J. responded swiftly with a new track, “Liberation.” Nearly fifty-seven minutes of beauty and darkness enveloped me. I’m honored to present to you “Hymns To Oblivion” with an exclusive bonus track. Black Metal from the Kingdom of Hawai’i.
- Damian Master, September 2023.
COMES WITH FREE TWO-SIDED DO NOT DISTURB CSR DOOR TAG + digital download.