Hell Awaits is a column by Kim Kelly and Andy O'Connor that shines a light on extreme and underground metal. This time, Andy O'Connor sizes up new releases from Dawnbringer, Cara Neir, Rigor Mortis and more.

Dawnbringer: "Hands of Death"

Chris Black, Chicago’s Metal Lord, isn’t content with having one smash record this year. High Spirits, his ecstatic, Thin Lizzy-worshipping solo project, released the tops-drop summer jam, You Are Here, earlier this year. He’s following that up with Night of the Hammer, the latest from Dawnbringer, due out October 28 on Profound Lore. As summer gives way to autumn, Dawnbringer’s slower, more contemplative but no less majestic melodic metal becomes more appealing. “Hands of Death” is the fifth track from Hammer, a laid-back number that verges towards Black’s High Spirits work while maintaining Dawnbringer’s darker character. Black’s vocals still ring clearly; he couldn’t turn off his anthemic strut even if he tried his damndest. Hammer’s cover depicts Black standing alone in a nondescript (but possibly Midwestern) field; “Death,” and Night as a whole is great for heading out to the highway to pass through waves of said fields, bleak day or bleaker night.

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Cara Neir: "Pitiful Human Bindings"__

Dallas black metal duo Cara Neir have not slowed down since the release of their third record, Portals to a Better, Dead World, last year. In fact, their upcoming release, a split with Chicago blacknoise trio Venowl on October 14 through Broken Limbs Recordings, will be their third release of 2014. (This is also not their first split with Venowl, having also been on a split with them plus Horseback and Njiqahdda in 2012.) “Pitiful Human Bindings” is the last song from their side, and their fusion of black metal and post-hardcore still reigns. Garry Brents’ melodies, which were brimming with potential with his past projects Parabstruse and Semen Across Lips, are more fully realized here. He incorporates the most searing moments of early '00s metalcore while leaving out the Swedeath dependance and excessive melodrama. Vocalist Chris Francis is in fine form too, harnessing a vocal style not unlike Austin Lunn of Panopticon. He grounds Brents’ music into something more earthbound, filled with mystery but also a sense of openness.

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Rigor Mortis: Slaves to the Grave__

When Ministry become a heroin-fueled industrial metal beast, they needed a guitarist who could handle their inhuman rhythms. They found that in Mike Scaccia of Dallas thrashers Rigor Mortis. Scaccia’s right hand was utilized in Ministry with reckless abandon, but his work with that band did not hint at his gift for songwriting and intricate riffing that made Rigor Mortis a groundbreaking, if under-appreciated, group. Their self-titled debut is as essential as Master of Puppets and Reign in Blood. Sadly, he passed away in 2012 from a heart attack while performing with Rigor Mortis, and Slaves to the Grave, which comes out October 7 through Rigor Mortis Records, is the epitaph to his career. For the most part, it’s the real follow-up to their debut. Impending death did not slow down his guitar work; “The Infected” features an intro passage that reaches a glorious balance between Cacophony-like shred and catchy flamboyance. Opening track “Poltergiest” has Scaccia calling up bee swarms that would be the envy of most primitive black metal bands. Vocalist Bruce Corbitt, currently of Warbeast along with bassist Casey Orr, is also as animated as ever, delivering horror-movie-inspired lines with a bulging-eyes fervor. Admittedly, the last track, “Ludus Magnus”, where Corbitt takes the role of a Roman Emperor, is a little overwrought, but it’s less shameful than anything Al Jourgensen puts his name on these days. Rigor Mortis will reunite as Wizards of Gore for next month’s Housecore Horror Film Festival in Austin with Mike Taylor on guitar. (Stream “Ancient Horror” below.)