SLIDHR Present Second Song ‘What The Gauntlet Bestows’

As a second evocation from forthcoming album “White Hart!“, Ireland’s finest SLIDHR present ‘What The Gauntlet Bestows‘. This perfectly executed new composition convinces with full blown Black Metal fanaticism and carefully interwoven passages of ominous calm. Listen via Bandcamp and the label’s YT channel, below.

Composer J. Deegan notes:

“Given that the first single and title track is probably the most musically direct and aggressive track on the album, it is easy to see why this one sounds a lot more diverse. The core is still somewhat brutal and straightforward but branching out to avoid fatigue. Some bands can do brutality from beginning to end but that is not really our thing. As with almost all SLIDHR tracks, this one began with me figuring out stuff on guitar. It’s my main and my favorite instrument to write on. When I compose a song, I try to let it develop as I write but also not overthink. The last section of this one was a result of my fondness for stuff like BATHORY and ISENGARD. Heavy, catchy folkish vibes. We have visited this before but there’s always room for more of this stuff. Lyrically, this one deals with those who are too weak to stand for what they believe in and are content to live a life of servitude to tyranny. Weaklings who are happy to do as they are commanded for fear of the master’s whip. Perhaps for some the years of punishment will result in a breaking point.“

Find more information about the album here.

“White Hart!” will be released on CD, vinyl and digital via Debemur Morti Productions on October 13th. Pre-orders are possible via the label’s EU, US and Bandcamp shops.

“The entity of SLIDHR is that of pure hopelessness and desolation. Scion of the Black Stream, flowing into hollow vessels and the miasma to all creatures of the earth. SLIDHR is the illumination of the hidden serpent, removed of its black shroud, draining the vitality of very existence itself.

An understanding of SLIDHR is an understanding of the overwhelming essence of death.

SLIDHR is the exultation to a dead realm, itself a spark in a realm of nothingness, so far removed from recurring banality. It is creeping death enveloping the empty body of man, a great plague decimating mortal unity.“

Formed in 2005 and hailing from Dublin, Ireland, SLIDHR is an immersive maelstrom of venomously misanthropic Black Metal. The band’s name derives from the Sliðr, a river flowing through Hel, the land of the dead in Norse mythology – a moniker which befits their dark enigmatic power.

Founded as a solo project by artist, tattooist and bassist/guitarist/vocalist Joseph Deegan, since 2013 the band has featured Icelandic drummer Bjarni Einarsson (SINMARA, ALMYRKVI) and more recently bassist Stefan Dietz.

Following the 2006 cassette release of “Demo 1” (Debemur Morti Productions), the band has unleashed two full-length albums – “Deluge” (2013, DMP) and “The Futile Fires Of Man” (2018, Ván Records) – in addition to two EPs and two split releases. The abyssal atmosphere of these records in combination with furiously intense select live performances at festivals such as Inferno, Prague Death Mass, Caledonian Darkness and Ascension has established SLIDHR as a force to be reckoned with.

A highly-anticipated third long player entitled “White Hart!” will be released via DMP at the end of 2023.