Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Although the band has been active for over a quarter of a century, Anael is not exactly a hot topic. That was somewhat the case in their early years, when new material appeared regularly, but since the release of the…
Artist: Cryptworm Country: United Kingdom Label: Extremely Rotten Records / Me Saco Un Ojo Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2026 At the very tail-end of 2023 marked the return of one of the UK’s most celebrated…
Artist: Hammerthrone Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2026 Hammerthrone is a new band that emerged from the ideas of a few like-minded musicians from Austin, Texas, USA, who are also active in other bands playing different musical…
Artist: Cadaverno Country: Chile Label: Cadaverismo Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2025 It’s probably not quite a good sign when you’re starting to have conversations about how good the times were when you were young. Most likely it means that you’re…
Artist: Funeral Vultures Country: Brazil Label: Moon Rites Productions / Reliquaire Hérétique Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 ‘Dread Cenotaph’ is the first release for this one-man Black Metal from Brazil, but while it was first distributed digitally through Moon Rites…
Artist: Podridão Country: Brazil Label: Iron Fortress Records / Kill Again Records Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2025 ‘Coffin Of The Corrupted Dead’ is this band’s fourth album, but even with the rather impressive back catalogue of Podridão, most…
Artist: Ald Weald Country: Unknown Label: Forlorn Majesty Records Formats: Cassette Tape Year: 2026 This is yet another Black Metal band that is trying hard to be as obscure as possible. Although I do acknowledge that a bit of anonymity…
Artist: Omegavortex Country: Germany Label: Third Eye Temple Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2025 Although I knew there was a new Omegavortex album in the works, I only learned that it was released in December 2025 because…
Artist: Blood Rites Country: Chile Label: Life Eternal Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2026 After two demo tapes, from 2018 and 2020 respectively, and a 7” EP in 2021 via Zzooouhh Records, Blood Rites’ career came to a complete standstill. It was…
Artist: Noctis Bellum Country: USA Label: Torture Palace Productions Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it was Vargrav and Evilfeast who, with their respective ‘Netherstorm’ (2018) and ‘Elegies Of The Stellar Wind’ (2017) single-handedly put…
Artist: Fulminate Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2025 Fulminate, a one-man project from the US that combines Goregrind and Death Metal in a thoroughly old school way, was founded in 2022 and has since built up a…
Artist: Aerdryk / Oerheks Country: Belgium Label: Amor Fati Productions Formats: Split LP Year: 2026 Despite them both taking their own paths, Aerdryk and Oerheks have been linked since the very beginning. They represented the 199th and 200th release by…
Artist: Szmrdt Country: Czechia Label: Filth Junkies Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 It will come as no surprise that, even more than the artwork and the logo, it was the title of this debut demo tape that caught my…
Artist: Abhorvm Country: Scotland Label: Death Revelations Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2026 Abhorvm is the newest addition to the ranks of Death Revelations, a label that has been churning out stellar underground releases lately by Triumphal Vengeance, Hæksenhamer and Sacris…
Artist: Gaalvan Country: Germany Label: Crimson Reign Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 Gaalvan is a rather new one-man Black Metal project from Germany, solely helmed by Dark Tormentor (also in Asmodeum). As is more often the case with one-man…
Artist: Sammas’ Equinox Country: Finland Label: Breath of Pestilence Formats: CD Year: 2025 ‘Pohjanheimo’ is the second album by Sammas’ Equinox, a band from Finland that amongst others harbours members of Blood Red Fog, Moon Oracle, Caestus and Nécropole (live).…
Artist: Aürc Country: Spain Label: Diabolical Vitriol Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 One-man Black Metal project Aürc, hailing from Catalonia, Spain, debuted with a digital demo called ‘Autumn Fires’ by the end of 2021, yet it remained largely unnoticed. Yours…
Artist: Black Hurst Country: USA Label: Ixiol Productions / Nuclear War Now! Productions / Signal Rex Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2026 Black Hurst made their debut with a demo tape in 2023, if we don’t count…
Artist: Mughtasib Country: Spain Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 This second demo tape by Mexican one-man band Mughtasib, which translates to “Violator”, is simply called ‘Invictus’ and continues the path chosen about two years ago when…
Artist: Harvest Of Grief Country: Spain Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 Medieval Prophecy Records, home to Forbidden Temple, one of my favourite bands in the ancient rotting Black Metal genre, was once a label where you…
Artist: Diavol Country: Romania Label: Self-Releasaed Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2025 Diavol is a relatively new band, hailing from the seemingly fertile Heavy Metal grounds in Bucharest, Romania. It is a duo consisting of Mike Witchspit on drums and on…
Artist: Vömitt Country: Romania Label: Self-Releasaed Formats: Digital EP Year: 2026 In the summer of 2024 I first heard from Vömitt, a bunch of motörized scallywags from Romania. Although these lads already released an EP a year prior, I only…
Artist: Grieving Mirror Country: USA Label: Neuro Plastic Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 In summer last year, Grieving Mirror debuted with ‘Opulence And Grandeur’, a very interesting demo tape that showed the multifaceted character of this one-man project, led by…
Artist: Crévüre Country: France Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 Whether Sanglant is also involved with other bands or projects, I do not know, but either way, ‘En Rase Campagne’ is the debut demo tape of Crévüre. As one might expect, judging by…
Artist: Blood Ecstacy Country: Spain Label: Diabolical Vitriol Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 Although Spain’s Extreme Metal scene is one of the smallest in Europe relative to the country’s population, there’s always something great to experience. It may be a sad thought that the…
Some bands seem to achieve success and widespread acclaim almost effortlessly, while others are less fortunate. To be fair, most successful bands—and how you define success is, of course, open to interpretation—have worked hard to get where they are. However,…
Artist: Monstrosity Country: USA Label: Metal Blade Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2026 Monstrosity’s career got off to a promising start with an excellent 7″ single on Relapse Records in 1991 and, a year later, an even better debut album on Nuclear Blast Records—the…
Artist: Possession Country: Belgium Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2026 Some ten years ago, Possession was the top focus of the Belgian extreme Metal world. Obviously, the country has produced some fine Black Metal over the…
Artist: Ejecutor Country: Chile Label: Chaos Records Formats: CD Year: 2026 Although Ejecutor was already founded back in 1999 and seen their name pop up every now and then, I honestly never really paid any real attention to them. And…
Artist: Nachtgnawer Country: Finland Label: Purity Through Fire Formats: CD EP Year: 2026 Nachtgnawer managed to heavily impress me so far, both with their ‘Eternal Curse of the Blood’ Demo and ‘Unholy Vampyric Supremacy’ collaboration EP with Wulfseer. There are…
Artist: FesterDecay Country: Japan Label: Relapse Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2026 I can’t remember the last time I reviewed two good albums from Relapse Records in such a short space of time as the latest…
Artist: Bloodaxe Holocaust Country: United Kingdom Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 Bloodaxe Holocaust is the brainchild of Jake Davids and is at the helm all by himself. Whether this means the end of Sorrow’s Maw, that debuted with…
Artist: Fegefeuer Country: Germany Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: LP Year: 2026 Narbentage Produktionen, the label behind this vinyl reissue of the only recording Fegefeuer ever made, is based in the village of Ralingen, a town situated right on the Luxembourg…
Artist: Artavoz Country: Georgia Label: Narbentage Produktionen Format: Cassette Tape Year: 2026 Although this Black Metal duo, hailing from unknown origins, made their debut back in 2023 with a digital and instrumental single, you’d be forgiven if it slipped your attention. It did mine,…
Artist: Nathrath Country: Spain Label: Narbentage Produktionen Format: Demo Tape Year: 2026 For an old soul like me, it’s still nice to actually hear a demo on cassette tape, especially a first one. In fact, I have nothing against demos being made available digitally,…
Artist: Wanterkraaft Country: Luxembourg Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: LP Year: 2026 Given that Luxembourg has a population of less than 700,000, it is hardly surprising that it is not a major supplier of Extreme Metal. However, when I think of…
Artist: Mortal Dread Country: USA Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions Formats: LP Year: 2026 Of course, there is every reason for a label to provide a release with some words of praise as part of its promotional work. Often, however,…
Artist: Pus Excretor Country: Mexico Label: Extremely Rotten Productions / Me Saco Un Ojo / Templum Obscenum Records Formats: 7″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2025 Pus Excretor is a Mexican one-man Death Metal/Grindcore band that released…
Without wishing to disparage this band or anyone involved with it, I think anyone who has been around for a while knows the feeling of having a certain fondness for a particular CD without really having a good reason for…
Artist: Bloody Vengeance Country: USA Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions Format: 12″ EP Year: 2026 Although the band has been around for about fifteen years, it is only in the last few years that Bloody Vengeance has started to gain traction. Perhaps this is…
Artist: Astral Bewitchment Country: USA Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2025 Although this demo was already released in digital form in October 2025 through the artist’s Bandcamp page and a few months later also through the…
Artist: Dreadful Relic Country: Greece / USA Label: Frost & Fire Records / Nuclear War Now! Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2025 Despite the mild controversy surrounding Dreadful Relic, I have considered this band to be a prime Nuclear…
Artist: Galghe Country: Belgium/The Netherlands Label: Zwaertgevegt Format: LP Year: 2026 On the soon to be released debut full-length ‘Heerscht de Dood nu als Onderkoning?’, Galghe continues on their thematical journey to use their music to tell tales of the…
Artist: Templar Country: Sweden Label: Jawbreaker Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2026 After a well-received demo and an EP as well as a good amount of live shows, Templar from Sweden now strike back with their…
Artist: Aerdryk Country: Belgium Label: Amor Fati Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2026 When the Aerdryk debut was released in 2022, it was presented with quite some flair. Not only did it form catalog number AFP199 of the renowned…
Artist: Dødmoon Country: Finland Label: Signal Rex Formats: Demo tape / Demo CD Year: 2026 With pulsating pace and rasping vocals Dødmoon kicks off its first release ‘Demø MMXXV’. These Finns mean business with Black Metal in the Scandinavian style.…
Artist: Vargrav Country: Finland Label: Werewolf Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2026 Three years have passed since Vargrav released their third record ‘The Nighthold’. A time in which things have changed. For the band, who went from a fearsome…
Artist: Lokabrenna Country: Iceland Label: Sect Entropy Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2026 After the release of ‘Flesh Cathedral’ in 2012, a real underground hype arose around Svartidauði, which marked the start of the Icelandic Black Metal “boom” and the hipsster…