Falls Of Rauros - Into the Archaic, Of Stone and the Stars in the Sky & Hail Wind and Hewn Oak

And now to admit that I'm wrong, and prove it, like I admitted with Encircling Sea, having a name which is a reference to LOTR doesn't mean you ain't down for the (eco) cause.

And again, the name specifically refers to:

Falls of Rauros or Rauros were the great falls of River Anduin beneath Nen Hithoel, where the river fell from Emyn Muil to the wetland of Nindalf. It also describes the area near the falls.
At the breaking of the The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and Sam paddled a boat from the west bank of the river to the east just above the falls and had to use all their strength to avoid being swept over the falls by the current. Shortly afterward Boromir's body was placed in another boat by Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli who sent it over the falls, but it apparently survived the fall; at any rate, soon afterward it was seen by Faramir upon the lower reaches of the Anduin in what felt to him like a dream yet from which there was no waking, and he retrieved Boromir's cloven horn in truth and not in seeming.

- Quote LOTR Wiki ("Falls Of Rauros")


Yes, I did just quote from something called the LOTR wiki. That's some crazy shit. Haha.

The band describes their music as "North Appalachian Heathen Black Folk Metal," exhibited by their firm beliefs in returning the world to a pre-Christian time, as well as their appreciation for nature.

- Quote Metal-Archives.com ("Falls Of Rauros")

Falls of Rauros is a Black Metal band hailing from Northern Appalachia, by the shores of the Atlantic, by the rocky coast of Maine. It is a unified effort by four individuals to encourage drastic, radical change: the upheaval of the modern world. For in these dire times there is only collapse to strive for… 

- Quote Last.fm


Personally, Falls Of Rauros are distinctly my thing. I definitely enjoy the folk elements, as some may realise I would, however the rawness (as in, like raw/trve BM for example) of the BM vocals don't do it for me. It is good BM, but just not for me. Definitely check it out if you love the conflation of folk and BM, especially if you like the raw BM vocal style.

Please note, this is an incomplete discography. I can't do everything, but that of which that doesn't not appear here contains songs that appear on the releases presented here however, so they are somewhat unnecessary.

Falls Of Rauros Official Myspace (including two free album downloads)

Album Name: Into the Archaic
Band: Falls of Rauros
Genre: Black/Folk Metal
Year: 2006
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	A Departure	01:46
2.	Retracing Our Lineage	06:29
3.	Contemplation of the Forgotten	05:44
4.	To Witness Existence As A Subservient Entity	09:40
5.	March of the Valorous Bane	11:25
6.	The Winter Harvest	06:46
7.	A Silent Premonition (Of Our End)	07:54
8.	Revisitation	08:22
Total playing time		58:10

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Album Name: Of Stone and the Stars in the Sky
Band: Falls of Rauros
Genre: Black/Folk Metal
Year: 2007
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Of Stone and the Stars in the Sky	09:10
2.	The Fire We Fathered	11:29
Total playing time		20:39

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Amongst the woods, winds, and celestial nights lay these compositions that are best described as Black Folk Metal. Utilizing Black Metal as the monolithic basis of the album; acoustic and electric movements provide for intricately detailed song structures that uphold an organic mood throughout.

- Quote here.



Album Name: Hail Wind and Hewn Oak
Band: Falls of Rauros
Genre: Black/Folk Metal
Year: 2008
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	The Sun Tonight Has Set	01:19
2.	The Fire We Fathered	12:01
3.	Hail Wind and Hewn Oak	07:38
4.	Fury in Our Blood, Thunder in Our Hearts	02:05
5.	Of Stone and the Stars in the Sky	09:00
6.	In Waves of Golden Light	10:16
7.	To Witness Existence	10:10
8.	And Never Shall There Be	07:53
Total playing time		01:00:22

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Panopticon (+ Wheels Within Wheels, Lake Of Blood, Skagos) - Discography

So more with what you probably already know, the classics. But it's worth having it here, both so I can say I mentioned it (for the perfectionists), to give them recognition for what they have contributed (give credit where it's due), and just even for the reference itself.

It's none other than Panopticon!

So perhaps you have noticed, but I indeed I think there is certainly "something in a name".  And indeed there is definitely something in this name:

The Panopticon is a type of prison building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in 1785. The concept of the design is to allow an observer to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) prisoners without the incarcerated being able to tell whether they are being watched, thereby conveying what one architect has called the "sentiment of an invisible omniscience."
Bentham himself described the Panopticon as "a new mode of obtaining power of mind over mind, in a quantity hitherto without example.

... While the design did not come to fruition during Bentham's time, it has been seen as an important development. For instance, the design was invoked by Michel Foucault (in Discipline and Punish) as metaphor for modern "disciplinary" societies and their pervasive inclination to observe and normalise. Foucault proposes that not only prisons but all hierarchical structures like the army, schools, hospitals and factories have evolved through history to resemble Bentham's Panopticon. The notoriety of the design today (although not its lasting influence in architectural realities) stems from Foucault's famous analysis of it.

... Contemporary social critics often assert that technology has allowed for the deployment of panoptic structures invisibly throughout society. Surveillance by closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in public spaces is an example of a technology that brings the gaze of a superior into the daily lives of the populace. Furthermore, a number of cities in England (UK), including Middlesbrough, Bristol, Brighton and London have recently added loudspeakers to a number of their existing CCTV cameras. They can transmit the voice of a camera supervisor to issue audible messages to the public. Similarly, critical analyses of internet practice have suggested that the internet allows for a panopticon form of observation. ISPs are able to track users' activities, while user-generated content means that daily social activity may be recorded and broadcast online.
Shoshana Zuboff used the metaphor of the panopticon in her 1988 book In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power to describe how computer technology makes work more visible. In 1991 Mohammad Kowsar used the metaphor in the title of his book "The Critical Panopticon: Essays in the Theatre and Contemporary Aesthetics" (American University Studies Series Xxvi Theatre Arts). Earlier, Michel Foucault used the term more generally as a metaphor in describing Western society.

- Quote Wikipedia ("Panopticon")


Panopticon, is also an Isis album, I should note.

Panopticon is a one-man atmospheric black metal band from Louisville, Kentucky, United States of America which holds anarchist beliefs. The band was formed by Austin Lunn (A.) in 2007, and in early 2008 he left his other band Anagnorisis to focus all his attention on Panopticon. The band is influenced both by early BM like Darkthrone and Mayhem and by crust bands such as Amebix, and has also named bluegrass, folk music (especially Nordic folk), Tom Waits, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor as influences; A. has also claimed that upcoming material will be influenced by shoegaze.

Discography:
2008 - Panopticon
2009 - Panopticon/Wheels Within Wheels (split with Wheels Within Wheels)
2009 - Collapse
2009 - Panopticon/Lake of Blood (split with Lake of Blood)
2010 - Panopticon/When Bitter Spring Sleeps (split with When Bitter Spring Sleeps)
2010 - Skagos/Panopticon (split with Skagos)

Throndt was originally slated to be involved with the Skagos split as well, but dropped out of the project. Panopticon’s sides for its 2010 splits comprise two halves of a record entitled On The Subject Of Mortality, which is slated for a forthcoming vinyl release as well). Several other releases are projected for the future and may have already been recorded, and A. is also recording drums for the new Falls of Rauros full-length. A. is also a member of doom metal band Seidr.

- Quote Last.fm ("Panopticon")

Honestly, what can I say? Panopticon really is the benchmark when it comes to Cascadian (style) BM. If you look at the rates of downloads at the RABM blog, Panopticon releases dominated it. It's a pretty easily understood fact, they have attained a commendable standard very quickly.

Even beyond that though, Panopticon does not find the easy way to such a place. From release to release, there is change, experimentation, evolution, ... risk. More traditional BM fans, maybe not as far as the raw/trve variety, admire some of it. But there is definite folk influences, especially evident in Collapse. For me, though perhaps not neccessarily my favourite stuff, I find compelling and beautiful in of itself. I think any music, be it metal or not, if attempting some relationship with the natural world and pre-modern (lack of a better word) cultures cannot ignore the place and beauty of folk music.

In the middle of the bush, the forest, in the wilderness, it's easier and more sustainible to play an acoustic instrument, etc than anything electric. What else is really in touch with a culture of communion, whilst still using the gifts that is the human hands to graft music that embraces the wild world that both we (hopefully) sustain, and that sustains us?

I really need not say more, Panopticon is a stand out BM out whoever you are, hippie like me or not. Diverse, yet consistent, and with a plethora of releases coming up (or just released).

Highly recommend, and enjoy!

Album Name: Panopticon
Band: Panopticon
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Year: 2008
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Intro	01:09
2.	Flag Burner, Torch Bearer	10:40
3.	I, Hedonist	15:08
4.	...Speaking...	12:51
5.	The Lay of Grimnir	13:06
6.	Archetype	08:01
7.	Emma's Song	06:38
Total playing time		01:07:33

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Album Name: Panopticon
Band: Panopticon / Lake of Blood
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Melodic Black Metal
Year: 2009
Country:
Track Listing:

Panopticon
1.	Haunted America	05:28
2.	La Passione di Sacco & Vanzetti	11:37
Lake of Blood
3.	Eternal in My Domain	03:49
4.	Lake of Blood (Live)	05:41
5.	Eternal in My Domain (Live)	03:36
Total playing time		30:11

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Album Name: Panopticon
Band: Panopticon/Wheels Within Wheels
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Black Metal
Year: 2009
Country:
Track Listing:

Panopticon
1.	...Speaking... (Collapsed Version)	10:40
2.	The Ghosts of Haymarket Square	07:27
Wheels Within Wheels
3.	Beginning	04:44
4.	White Light Rains Down On....	13:48
Total playing time		36:39

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Album Name: Collapse
Band: Panopticon
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Year: 2009
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	The Death of Baldr and the Coming War	15:54
2.	Aptrgangr	15:20
3.	Merkstave	10:07
4.	Idavoll	05:03
Total playing time		46:24

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Album Name: Panopticon
Band: Panopticon/Skagos
Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal/Black Metal
Year: 2010
Country:
Track Listing:

Skagos 1. Smoldering Embers 12:33 2. Anamnesis II: A Dry, Sterile Thunder, Without Rain 15:15 Panopticon 3. A Message to the Missionary 07:06 4. ..Seeing.. 08:08 5. Watching You 09:14 Total playing time 52:16

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And now we wait for the many splits to come, such as the one with When Bitter Springs Sleep.

Auka Runa & Flight Condor

Just briefly, Auka Runa (of Chile) and Flight Condor (of Colombia) are two prehispanic Metal bands that have taken my interest of late.

Neither appear to have any official releases as of yet (but you can find one song of Auka Runa on the second compilation on the prehispanic BM post), thus don't appear on Metal-Archives.com and there is little information about either band, but I am eagerly keeping an eye on their movements.

Ch'aska - Promo 2003 & 2007, Pururauca

So now let's take break from the USA (Imperialism, ain't that a B).

So Ch'aska are a Peruvian Metal band, related to Folk Metal and the prehispanic (Black) Metal genre. This of course relates to one, the use of "folk" instruments, and for the latter genre, references to indigenous peoples and culture (and unavoidably, colonisation) of Peru.

“Ch’aska” is a Quechua word that was used by the INCAS to mention the most shining star in the skies. This word is especially familiar with the planet VENUS.
*Quechua: Ancestral language of the Incas still spoken in the Andean regions of Peru and other countries of South America.

- Quote Metal-Archives ("Ch'aska")

Usually, as far as music goes, this isn't usually my cup of tea. There's certainly a mix of genres with this band, especially with the full-length. And of course it's the traditional instruments that give them their particular character. I especially enjoy the use of the flute/woodwind, just like with the band Guahaihoque.

Honestly, this is probably one of the more poppy Metal bands I listen to, but listening to such bands definitely have opened me up more to different sounds in Metal, like clean vocals, and certain types of melodic riffs.

This might be a bit strange for some people, but I enjoy it, and I recommend for anyone who likes Folk (or prehispanic) Metal, or either non-Western metal and Metal related to indigenous culture/peoples/struggles.

Ch'aska Myspace Page

Album Name: Promo cd 2003
Band: Ch'aska
Genre: Folk Metal
Year: 2003
Country: Perú
Track Listing:

1.	Sweet lover	05:40
2.	Imperio caído	05:36
Total playing time		11:16

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Album Name: Promo 2007
Band: Ch'aska
Genre: Folk Metal
Year: 2007
Country: Perú
Track Listing:

1.	Bicolour Cannibalism	04:29
2.	Tutachaska	04:59
Total playing time		09:28

DOWNLOAD  (Password: LordDarkness)

( Courtesy of the LordDarknessword Blog)

Album Name: Pururauca
Band: Ch'aska
Genre: Folk Metal
Year: 2009
Country: Perú
Track Listing:

1.	Bicolour Cannibalism	04:12
2.	A Flower Brought Me Down	08:24
3.	Nightcalls	06:46
4.	Nymph of the Lake	06:42
5.	Achuma	05:12
6.	Pictures	06:35
7.	Tuta Ch'aska	04:58
8.	Silent Notes of Agony	05:43
9.	Katari	03:16
10.	Pururauca	14:45
Total playing time		01:06:33

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Wolves in the Throne Room - Discography

Of course, Wolves in the Throne Room. Nothin' new. But a classic, and now you can't tell me I haven't mentioned them etc.

Someone once called them the Rancid (you know, the pop-punk band) of the Cascadian BM scene.

It's true, but they definitely were one of the first of such bands I listened to, and I do think some of their stuff is pretty cool.

So I heard about this band years ago. Didn't get into them for a long time though. And they are really popular and famous. It's like, hipsters listen to Darkthrone when it comes to trve BM, and similarly Wolves in the Throne Room with Cascadian BM.

When it comes down to it though, they are a talented band, a pioneer, nice people (at least when I met them), and have some solid lyrical content. For those unaware of the (underground?) Cascadian BM scene, WTTR represent a different thread of BM that is very ecologically aware, and just generally not excessively politically questionable.

The band's ideology is quite different from many black metal bands. In interviews they've expressed respect for left-wing politics, radical environmentalism and ecofeminism.

- Quote Metal-Archives.com ("Wolves in the Throne Room")


I used to be a really big fan of their earlier stuff when I first got into them, even the song Black Tea, maybe it's because I used to listen to alot of punk/hardcore/crust/etc. Nowadays, I'm more a fan of their later stuff, especially Malevolent Grain. I find such music is much darker in sound, and not quite as overly ambient as the previous albums.

If you're all too familiar with Cascadian BM, you will already have all of this. If not, welcome to where most people start off.

Recommended classics.


WTTR Official Myspace Page
Official Website

Album Name: Wolves in the Throne Room
Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2004
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Wolves in the Throne Room	07:27
2.	(Hands Pull You Through Purple) Black Tea	09:34
3.	If This Dark Age Conquers, We Will Leave This Echo	13:18
4.	Womb of Fire	11:39
Total playing time		41:58

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Album Name: 2005 Demo
Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2005
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Queen of the Borrowed Light	13:15
2.	Daggers of Amethyst Crystal	12:24
3.	(A Shimmering Radiance) Diadem of Twelve Stars	25:55
Total playing time		51:34

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Album Name: Diadem of 12 Stars
Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2006
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Queen of the Borrowed Light	12:58
2.	Face in a Night Time Mirror: Part 1	13:21
3.	Face in a Night Time Mirror: Part 2	13:58
4.	(A Shimmering Radiance) Diadem of 12 Stars	20:22
Total playing time		01:00:39

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Album Name: Two Hunters
Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2007
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Dea Artio	05:58
2.	Vastness and Sorrow	12:12
3.	Cleansing	09:55
4.	I Will Lay Down My Bones Among the Rocks and Roots	18:16
Total playing time		46:21

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Album Name: Live at Roadburn 2008 (Audio version)
Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2008
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Vastness & Sorrow	10:30
2.	Face in a Night Time Mirror Pt1	15:58
3.	Cleansing	10:25
4.	I Will Lay Down My Bones Among The Rocks and Roots	20:40
Total playing time		57:40

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Album Name: Malevolent Grain
Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2009
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	A Looming Resonance	13:01
2.	Hate Crystal	10:38
Total playing time		23:39

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 Album Name: Black Cascade
Band: Wolves in the Throne Room
Genre: Black Metal
Year: 2009
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog	10:33
2.	Ahrimanic Trance	14:05
3.	Ex Cathedra	10:58
4.	Crystal Ammunition	14:20
Total playing time		49:16

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Fauna - Rain & The Hunt

Fauna. The one of the bands that apparently influenced Wolves in the Throne Room. Another Cascadian BM band, specifically Olympia.

In a nutshell, completely amazing. Though it's difficult for me to get into songs that are so very long, with patience, I got into it. But generally, I'm not huge into songs much longer than 20min. Deep ecological undertones.

Brilliant, but not for the faint of heart.

A reclusive American dark ambient/black metal band. They released two demos titled Rain and The Hunt in 2007, each composed of a single song of over an hour in length. Rain was released on Aurora Borealis in 2008; a release of The Hunt followed in late 2009 with live drums replacing the drum machine of the original. Three additional suites have been conceived but have yet to be recorded officially, although a live recording of the third suite, Avifauna, has surfaced on the Internet under the title “Feathainne”. Band members also appear in Echtra, Threnos, Fearthainne, and Alethes.

- quote Last.fm (Fauna)

 

Fauna Homepage
Aurora Borealis artist page

FAUNA
'Rain' CD

Absolutley amazing self released CD from the ultra obscure FAUNA. Based in the temperate rainforest region of the Pacific Northwest, FAUNA are a strongly eco-centric band working in the black metal genre. 'Rain' consists of one epic track lasting over an hour. Beginning with a field recording of rain in a forest, the piece thereafter becomes an acoustic journey, sung vocals complete this section before a raw black metal surge of power and pummel. Really impressed by these guys. Its very honest, very organic, in some ways this has a hardcore vibe, like early Neurosis or something, though its more the spirit than anything. Its certainly not like any of the more commercial strands of black metal, but neither is it teenage faux satanic basement necro. The packaging is silkscreened black on black paper and the whole package is very organic feeling. Total recommendation here

- quote from here.

Album Name: Rain
Band: Fauna
Genre: Ambient Black Metal
Year: 2006
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Rain
Total playing time		01:03:18

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FAUNA
'The Hunt' CD
Absolutley amazing self released CD from the ultra obscure FAUNA. Based in the temperate rainforest region of the Pacific Northwest, FAUNA are a strongly eco-centric band working in the black metal genre. Described as 'A Mythic Journey in Seven Parts', this is the band's second CD of earth oriented forest metal. The story is of the hunger that leads to the quest to kill for food, the tracking, the stalking and the reverence for the prey. Excellent stuff, perhaps harsher overall then 'Rain', though still with incredible dynamic power as the story unfolds. The packaging is silkscreened black on black paper and the whole package is very organic feeling. Once again, highest recommendation here.

 - quote from here.

Album Name: The Hunt
Band: Fauna
Genre: Ambient Black Metal
Year: 2007
Country:
Track Listing:

The re-released version is sequenced as seven tracks with the following titles and running times: 1. The Door 05:43 2. Hunger 08:33 3. Setting Out 11:23 4. The Scent 17:32 5. Nocturne 04:45 6. Tracking 09:07 7. The Kill... Fulfillment 14:44 - quote Metal-Archives.com ("Fauna - The Hunt")

1. The Hunt Total playing time 01:19:57

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Peregrine (+ Auryn) - The Agrarian Curse & Green Scare Benefit Split

So Leech are one of the few outright "primitivist" BM bands around, so I thought, though not one of the early Cascadian BM bands (as is the trend I'm going on in this blog at the moment), I would present another primmie BM band, Peregrine.

Black and green metal from the Allegheny-Monogahela bioregion of Pennsylvania.
Anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-nationalist, anti-sexist, and anti-civilization. Pro-wildness, pro-collapse.
IF YOU ARE RACIST, HOMOPHOBIC, CHRISTIAN, MISOGYNIST, STATIST DOUCHE BAG AND/OR BAND, DO NOT CONTACT US, DO NOT FRIEND REQUEST US, AND DEFINITELY DO NOT ASK US TO HELP YOU WITH SHOWS. JUST FUCK OFF.
Peregrine is an anarcho-primitivist/savagist death metal band based out of southwestern PA. It was started at the end of 2006 by KT in Athens, GA as a release for overt anger against the world that domestication and civilization have created. Fueled by a love of wildness and solidarity with the lives of those directly confronted by the cannibalistic cycles of necessary growth of civilization. The purpose has been simple; spreading the directed hatred of civilization as a critique rather than a collection of misanthropic notions and undermining the domesticating process that is constantly reinforced in our lives.
     The music is the result of a sense of urgency and rage combined through the most appropriate forms: blackened death metal infused with elements of hardcore and crust.
    As of November 2008, KT moved back up to Pennsylvania and has re-established the band there with Jordan Villella on drums (Mammoth Bath, ex-Zimmerman's Note, ex-Circle of Dead Children), Jared Ondovchik (ex-Auryn) and Steve Kirk on guitar. The change up has brought in vigorous new blood and an entirely anarchist line up.
    We hate writing bios, hate civilization, love wildness, and stip the fuck out of whatever we can.
The word 'Peregrine' means wanderer, which, given our history/future as nomadic gatherer-hunter bands, is fitting enough. Bu the name comes after the Peregrine falcon. The fastest bird in the world, swooping at speeds over 200 miles per hour, is also one of the most widespread birds in the world. It inhabits every continent except Antarctica. And it was almost completely wiped out by DDT. Powerful. Amazing. Resilient. WILD.

- From their Myspace Page

And...

Peregrine's frontman, Kevin Tucker, is an anarcho-primitivist writer and speaker. He is the editor of the magazine, Species Traitor, and together with John Zerzan he has engaged on multiple speaking tours about civilization and primitivism.

- From Metal-Archives.com ("Peregrine")

Peregrine isn't really a Cascadian BM band, musically speaking, not to mention geographically (residing in Georgia and Pennsylvania apparently). Most say they are more similar to some sort of Death Metal (and grind), with differing degrees of BM influence. Not usually my cup of tea, but interesting nonetheless.
 
Buy it if you dig it.

Peregrine Official Myspace Page

Album Name: The Agrarian Curse
Band: Peregrine
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Year: 2008
Country:
Track Listing:

1.	Intro	02:32
2.	Anatomy of the Machine	04:35
3.	Empires' Playground	03:30
4.	Starvations' Servants	02:46
5.	Blood Over Borders	03:26
6.	The Domesticators' Hand	01:22
7.	Thirteen Days	03:42
8.	When the Lights Go Out	03:53
9.	Amor Fati	04:31
Total playing time		30:17

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Album Name: Green Scare Benefit Split
Band: Peregrine/Auryn
Genre: Black, Death Metal/Hardcore
Year: 2009
Country:
Track Listing:

Peregrine 1. Reduced To Ashes 05:31 2. The Sacred Game Defiled 04:14 3. The Final Act 04:57 Auryn 4. Titan's Eyes 5. Silphion's Spell 6. Like Roaches 7. Untamed Sun DOWNLOAD