Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Torturer’s LobbyCountry: USALabel: PromulgatorFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 Death Metal has a rich history when it comes to themes and musically elaborated concepts. The most well-trodden paths are death and destruction on one side and the anti-Christian on the other.…
Artist: Necrom Country: Ukraine Label: Osmose Productions Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve got ourselves a Nostradamus! VM-Underground’s very own chief editor Ricardo already predicted in May 2019 that Necrom would be picked…
Artist: Corpse DesecrationCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Demo CDYear: 2022 Corpse Desecration is a Cleveland, Ohio based Death Metal crew and released their first demo only a couple of days ago. Apart from their origin, no further information about the band is…
Artist: KathaariaCountry: GermanyLabel: End All Life ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 To be completely honest, I hadn’t heard of the band Kathaaria before the cover art for their 2022 release, ‘To Be Shunned by All... As Centres of Pestilence’, caught…
Artist: Necrohell Country: Greece Label: Christhunt Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 Greek Black Metal has always had a special place in the scene. Without bringing up the widely known history and naming the celebrated bands once again, we can safely…
Artist: Perverted Ceremony Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2021 We at VM-Underground have given ourselves quite a bit of Belgian Black Metal to review over the past few months, not infrequently I have personally stood…
Artist: DoedsvangrCountry: NorwayLabel: Devilry ProductionsFormats: 12″ EPYear: 2022 Straight after the release of their 2021 sophomore album ‘Serpents ov Old’, Doedsvangr didn’t rest on their laurels and quickly followed it up with an EP entitled ‘Koinonia’. The EP, available digitally…
Artist: DoedsvangrCountry: Finland / France / NorwayLabel: Debemur Morti ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 In the Black Metal collective called Doedsvangr we find experienced musicians from Norway, Finland and France. The Norwegian nation is represented by drummer AntiChristian (Grimfist, ex-Tsjuder…
Artist: Phlegethon’s Majesty / Gouffre Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: Split 7″ EP Year: 2022 Belgian Black Metal has been on the rise in recent years. The times when we could only name Ancient Rites and Enthroned are…
Artist: Sexmag Country: Poland Label: Dying Victims Productions Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 A band with such a name immediately draws attention, add to that this fantastic cover artwork and you have yourself a…
Artist: Self Execration / Suicidechain Country: USA Label: War Ritual Records Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2022 I recently encountered Self Execration’s first demo, released last September, and that’s also how I came upon this split release that saw the light…
Artist: Self Execration Country: USA Label: War Ritual Records Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2022 What we have here is yet another one-man Black Metal act from America. Self Execration is the brainchild of the somewhat misogynistic character of Slutslaughterer who…
Artist: Grave Troll Country: USA Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Though having released two demo tapes in 2020 and a split tape with Drug Darkness last year, the anonymous entity of Grave Troll returns this year with…
Artist: Anatomia / MorbificCountry: Japan / FinlandLabel: Lycanthropic ChantsFormats: Split 7″ EPYear: 2022 This 7” EP, released by German-based Lycanthropic Chants, is yet another chapter in the ever-expanding discography of Anatomia. This time these prolific Japanese Death Metallers team up…
Artist: Cosmic ChurchCountry: FinlandLabel: KuunpalvelusFormats: LPYear: 2022 While Cosmic Church is mostly known as the one-man band of Luxixul Sumering Auter, a few of their releases were actually recorded as a two-piece. On the very first Cosmic Church demo, ‘The…
Artist: Sadistic Drive Country: Finland Label: Headsplit Records / SelfMadeGod Records Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Anyone who has heard Sadistic Drive’s 2018 ‘Street Cannibal Gluttony’ demo/EP and then also 2020’s first album, ‘Anthropophagy’, has already noticed a…
Artist: Abysmal SpiteCountry: USALabel: Cult Of Oblivion RecordingsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 With ‘Demo MMXXII’ this American Black Metal duo releases their first feat under their collective name of Abysmal Spite. On this firstling Antaeus is responsible for all the instrumentation…
There is a lot of talk about Russia, especially lately, but it is rarely about the good metal bands that the country has to offer. Recently I heard the great Bitter Loss from Saint-Petersburg and reviewed the well-deserved reissue of Mortem‘s ‘Amputator’ album.…
Artist: WombbathCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Pretty soon after the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last February 24th, many labels and bands expressed their support for Ukraine and its many metal bands. Benefit concerts were organised and special editions…
Artist: Sadistic Drive Country: Finland Label: Blood Harvest / Headsplit Records / La Caverna Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2020 When I was immersing myself in this Finnish Death Metal band for a review for their…
Artist: Strigoi Country: United Kingdom Label: Season Of Mist Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 If I am sufficiently informed, Vallenfyre was founded by Greg Mackintosh, best known as Paradise Lost guitarist, as a vehicle to help him cope with…
Artist: MānbryneCountry: PolandLabel: Malignant Voices / Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 Although the focus tends to go to Norway, at the dawn of the 90’s Black Metal scenes started sprouting all over the world. One such…
Artist: KêresCountry: FinlandLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2021 Kêres is one of the many vessels that the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and Kuunpalvelus label boss Rauta (in the case of Kêres performing under the name of Atvar) uses to…
Artist: Oxalate Country: USA Label: Dawnbeed Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2022 Originally released in 2019, American Oxalate’s ‘Infatuating Sickness’ EP now sees a re-release on cassette tape via Dutch label Dawnbreed Records. Previously, it had been released digitally by…
Artist: Sepulchral Triumph Country: Argentina Label: His Wounds Formats: LP Year: 2022 Argentina-based Sepulchral Triumph is ruled by a single soul, someone who calls himself Beulenpest. When you add this to that the enigmatic cover, you know you are dealing…
Artist: Cryptic DissolutionCountry: RussiaLabel: Dismal Fate RecordsFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2022 From Moscow, Russia comes this new trio playing Old School and Grinding Death Metal. Their first full-length album (although just clocking over 20 minutes), ‘Morbific Reminiscences In Physical Forms’ will…
Artist: Putrescine Country: Germany Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2021 From Berlin, Germany comes this three-piece Death Metal band. In 2020 they released their first demo tape ‘Putrescent Utterance’ through the Italian Unholy Domain label – with an extra…
Artist: Whoredom RifeCountry: NorwayLabel: Cloven Hoof Brewing & Releasing / Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 Whoredom rife, the Norwegian band consisting of K.R. (ex-Bloodthorn) on vocals and V. Einride (Syning, ex-Keep of Kalessin) playing all instruments,…
Artist: Tírad Dûr Country: USA Label: Night Of The Palemoon Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 After reviewing some of Kūka’ilimoku’s releases, a look at its spiritual father’s other projects was, of course, inevitable. Although Kūka’ilimoku is Kūwāha’ilo’s main musical vehicle,…
Artist: Mayhemic Country: Chile Label: Awakening Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 This Chilean Thrash Metal band, formed in 2018, released several demos and EP’s over the past few years. However, none of these releases reached my ears before, so for…
One of this years’ musical highlights for me is definitely this Finnish band Moonlight Sorcery. They had digitally released their EP in February this year, after which Avantgade Music was the chosen label to release this pretty little gem of…
Artist: EneveldeCountry: NorwayLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2021 In the review of Enevelde’s debut record I already highlighted the bright current Nidrosian Black Metal scene that Trondheim has been enlightening the world with. But that Black Metal history is more…
Artist: EneveldeCountry: NorwayLabel: Cloven Hoof Brewing & Releasing / Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2020 Located at the Trondheimfjord lies the city of Trondheim. Once the capitol of Norway and the centre of the Norwegian Vikings, Trondheim…
Artist: DefleshedCountry: SwedenLabel: Regain RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2021 After a career of almost 15 years, Swedish Death/Thrash band Defleshed threw in the towel in 2005. Up to that point in their existence, the band had released five full-length albums and…
Artist: Human Corpse Abuse Country: USA Label: Caligari Records / Dark Descent Records / Obliteration Records / Selfmadegod Records Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2022 Human Corpse Abuse is a new band hailing from, as they say themselves, the…
Artist: Herbstlethargie Country: Germany Label: Northern Silence Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 It is a common phenomenon: with the leaves falling, the weather getting drizzly, the exchange of your summer coat for a waterproof one, the human psyche gets into…
Artist: Moonlight Sword Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2022 From Greensboro, North Carolina, comes Moonlight Sword, a one-man Black Metal act. Or rather, a one-woman Black Metal act. The lady in question, who calls herself Carmilla II…
Artist: Moonlight Sword Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2022 With ‘Elven Blood’ Carmilla II Dracul returns with a follow-up to her ‘Elvenwinter’-demo, released earlier this year. The demo gave a nice first taste of the music of…
Artist: Mortem Country: Russia Label: Coyote Records Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Reviewing this treasure is a bit of a little party for myself. In the early years of my ‘metal career’, I was lucky enough to buy…
Artist: Frozen GravesCountry: FinlandLabel: KuunpalvelusFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Cosmic Church, the band whose later albums had iconic images of mastermind Luxixul Sumering Auter in a red robe on the cover, left quite an impression with their recordings. The release…
Artist: EucharistCountry: SwedenLabel: Regain RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 While some bands in the Swedish Death Metal scene seemed to be fighting for the title of who was the hardest, heaviest, nastiest, most vicious… Eucharist was already…
Artist: WombbathCountry: SwedenLabel: Transcending Obscurity RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 When Wombbath announced their return in 2014, a sense of enthusiasm was my first emotion. Then quickly followed by scepticism. How many of the ‘old masters’ who returned years or…
Artist: Deströyer 666Country: AustraliaLabel: Burn RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 Seemingly out of the blue there is this new sign of life from one of the most iconic Black/Thrash bands. Although influential, Deströyer 666 has not been very productive in recent…
Artist: Thou Art LordCountry: GreeceLabel: The Circle MusicFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 Fans of Greek Black Metal will all have a soft spot for Thou Art Lord, one of the founders of the Greek Black Metal scene and partly responsible for…
Artist: DenevérCountry: HungaryLabel: Metal ör Die RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 At the turn of the 80’s, the Hungarian band Tormentor recorded a legendary demo entitled `Anno Domini’. The recording would end up influencing young souls far beyond the borders of Hungary…
Artist: WombbathCountry: SwedenLabel: Transcending Obscurity RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2020 In their persuit for the desired sound and place in the Old School (Swedish) Death Metal scene, Wombbath released ‘Tales Of Madness’ by the end of 2020 – actually their…
A few weeks ago I came across this band from Thailand, Amorphous Dominion. Their first demo, simply named ‘Demo 2022’ is a pretty good example that on all corners of the world great Symphonic Black Metal is being made. Surprisingly…
Artist: WizardkeepCountry: USALabel: Canti Eretici / Spellcaster RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 Not too long ago I reviewed an album by a band named Daedric Armour and I had no idea what the band name actually meant, so I turned to…
Artist: Repulsive Mass Country: Sweden Label: Brutal Cave Productions / Noise Horde Productions Formats: Demo Tape / Demo CD Year: 2021 Patrik Tegnander, the man behind this one-man Death Metal act we have featured on the pages of VM-Underground before…
Artist: Hail Conjurer Country: Finland Label: Bestial Burst / Signal Rex Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2022 In case you have never heard of this illustrious one-man Black Metal act from Finland, in spite of the band’s…