Diabolique Nocturne Magicka – Aufklärung [Demo]

Artist: Diabolique Nocturne MagickaCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 One-man Black Metal band Diabolique Nocturne Magicka is run by the anonymous figure of Graf Kaalveg S. A. Starnesii, who self-released his project’s first offering, the ‘Aufklärung’ EP on a nice…

Amputation – Slaughtered In The Arms Of God [Compilation]

Artist: AmpitationCountry: NorwayLabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2020 The origins of all the well-known and genre-defining Norwegian Black Metal bands can be traced back to a small amount of extreme metal bands. Like basically…

Panychida – Říruřec / Dreisessel [EP]

Artist: PanychidaCountry: Czech RepublicLabel: Folter RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 The release of the ‘Gabreta Aeterna’ album in 2020 marked the fifth full-length in the history of the Czech band Panychida. Having taken three to four years between each album so…

Panychida – Gabreta Aeterna

Artist: PanychidaCountry: Czech RepublicLabel: Evil Horn Records / Folter Records / Nasphyr RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2020 Ever since 2004, the Czech band Panychida have been spreading their Pagan Metal to the world. The creative core of…

Vonülfsrëich – Miasmal Winds

Artist: VonülfsrëichCountry: FinlandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 That the music of Vonülfsrëich has been changing from one release to the other was clear from their slew of EPs released since the band was born. This was possibly in part due…

Vonülfsrëich – Ragnarök Rising

Artist: VonülfsrëichCountry: FinlandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: CDYear: 2022 After its inception in 2012, the Finnish band Vonülfsrëich have released numerous releases, of which most were EPs. And on these EPs, the musical direction wasn’t always the same as the releases that…

Vonülfsrëich – Northern Shamanism [Reissue]

Artist: VonülfsrëichCountry: FinlandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: CDYear: 2021 The Oulu, Finland based band Vonülfsrëich was formed by Fogg in 2012. In the early days Fogg was joined by bass player and vocalist Lempo, who passed away in 2015. However, the band’s…

Written In Blood – Written In Blood

Artist: Written In BloodCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Trollzorn RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 Written In Blood is a new Dutch Death Metal band featuring ex-Vortex and ex-Mandator drummer Jos Eggens and, most prominently, ex-God Dethroned bassist Bert ‘Beef’ Hoving. When I first got…

Jade – The Pacification Of Death

Artist: Jade Country: Germany / Spain Label: Pulverised Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 The German/Spanish Melodic Death Metal band released a demo in 2018 but went silent afterwards, it wasn’t until the very end of 2022 that the…

Hormagaunt – In The Flesh

Artist: Hormagaunt Country: Australia Label: Bitter Loss Records / Frozen Screams Imprint Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2022 After an untitled demo from 2021, the Australian Death Metal combo Hormagaunt now returns with a full-length album. ‘In The Flesh’…

Ieschure – The Mystic Fields [EP]

Artist: Ieschure Country: Ukraine Label: Ars Funebris Records / Old Metal Rites Formats: Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2023 Ever since the inception of Ieschure, back in 2015, this Rivne-based Ukrainian Black Metal act has been on the top…

Static Abyss – Labyrinth Of Veins

Artist: Static Abyss Country: USA Label: Filth Junkies Records / Peaceville Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Autopsy has always been a band that spawned many a side-project, of which The Ravenous and Abscess might be…

Yrr – Sokeiden Valtakunta [EP]

Artist: YrrCountry: FinlandLabel: Korpituli Productions / The Oath / White Wolf ProductionsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 After a decent first demo in early 2022, the Finnish band Yrr continued to work on their first EP. Initially started by…

Yrr – Vanhat Haavat Ovat Auenneet [Demo]

Artist: YrrCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital DemoYear: 2022 Yrr is a project formed in Finland. It was formed by the sole band member, also called YRR, who had previously contributed to the bands Yrrthorn and Grimsvötn. On the first demo of the…

Enthroned – Promo 94 [Demo / Reissue]

Artist: EnthronedCountry: BelgiumLabel: Medieval Prophecy RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2021 Enthroned is without a glimmer of a doubt one of the most important bands of the Belgian extreme metal scene. Though being formed back in 1993, in those very thriving formative years…

Serpents Oath – Ascension

Artist: Serpents Oath Country: Belgium Label: Soulseller Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 The Belgian Black Metal band Serpents Oath released their second album halfway last year, again through the Dutch Soulseller Records label. Though the band might not…

Deiquisitor – Apotheosis

Artist: DeiquisitorCountry: DenmarkLabel: Extrmely Rotten ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette / CDYear: 2023 Time flies, when you’re having fun. Right? ‘Apotheosis’ is already the fourth full-length album for Deiquisitor, one the flagships of the Danish thriving Death Metal scene. 2023 marks…

Ohyda – W Imieniu Bestii [EP]

Artist: OhydaCountry: PolandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 On the back of their excellent first EP, Ohyda started working on new material. Once more released by Wolfspell Records, the Polish band again brings us an EP filled with raw Black…

Ohyda – Ohyda Spustoszenia [EP]

Artist: OhydaCountry: PolandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 In 2021, the trio of Diabolizer, Bloodwhip and Necheshetrion, together representing the Polish scene in numerous bands, banded together in a new entity called Ohyda. This has so far led to the…

Skeletal Earth – Dreighphuck [EP / Re-Release]

Artist: Skeletal Earth Country: USA Label: VIC Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2022 Together with the reissue of the band’s two full-length albums, VIC Records also reissued Skeletal Earth’s 7” EP from 1993. The rather corny title, ‘Dreighphuck’, is quite…

Venefices – Incubacy [EP]

Artist: VeneficesCountry: PolandLabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: Vinyl EP / Cassette EPYear: 2023 The Polish war machine of Venefices was formed in 2019 by Desolator (member of Medico Peste and ex-Bestial Raids) on drums and Sadist (currently in Doombringer and…

Sterveling – In de Schoot der Aarde [Demo]

Artist: StervelingCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 Sterveling is the brainchild of M.vdW, who is or was active in the Avant-garde Metal band Prospectors, Black Metal band Weltschmerz, the Death Metal band Iron Harvest and the dissonant Black Metal…

Bones – Sombre Opulence

Artist: BonesCountry: BelgiumLabel: Invictus ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Although the band has been around since 2010 and has already released several demos and EPs, Bones took plenty of time to come up with their debut album. Late last year…

Kalmankantaja – Waiennut

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Korpituli Productions / Wolfspell RecordsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Although the name was very familiar to me, Kalmakantaja from Finland was the sort of band that I never paid much attention to. But when I randomly…

Kalmankantaja – Talvisota [EP]

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Hammerbund / Korpituli ProductionsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 On November 30, 1939, three months after World War II had started, the Soviet Union invaded Finland. Three and a half months later on March 13th, 1940…

Kalmankantaja – Ahdistus MMXXI

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 ‘Ahdistus’ was originally the fourth full-length album by the Finnish Kalmankantaja, which saw a release in 2014 courtesy of War Against Yourself Records. At that time, vocalist Nagh was still part of the…

Kalmankantaja – Metsäuhri

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Korpituli Productions / Wolfspell RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The first full-length album that Kalmankantaja released in 2022 was the, by my count, 20th in the history of the band. Quite a feat considering…

Witchcraft – Sodomythic Temple [Demo]

Artist: WitchcraftCountry: FinlandLabel: Down With The Most HighFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 ‘Sodomythic Temple’ marks the third and last chapter of a series of demo/rehearsal tapes that Witchcraft released independently somewhere halfway last year and which were reissued by Down With…

Nihil Invocation – The Chaos Of Our Lost And Evil Souls

Artist: Nihil Invocation Country: USA Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape Year: 2022 Although the cassette tape version of Nihil Invocation’s fourth album was already released about a year earlier, the vinyl edition only appeared a…

Chao Abyssi – Spiritual Essence [EP]

Artist: Chao AbyssiCountry: PolandLabel: Black Death ProductionFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 The Polish label Black Death Promotion presents us with the debut release of their countrymen, Chao Abyssi. This first EP titled ‘Spiritual Essence’ of the otherwise mysterious act comes at…

Wolfpath – Wolfpath [EP]

Artist: WolfpathCountry: PolandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 From the Pagan Vastlands of Warsaw, Poland comes Wolfpath, a new unity in which multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Void is joined by current Acherontas and former Inferno drummer Marcello. After having formed in 2021,…

Witchcraft – Ghastly Demonolatria [Demo]

Artist: WitchcraftCountry: FinlandLabel: Down With The Most HighFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 Out of a series of three reissues demo/rehearsal tapes of one of Finland’s best kept secrets, Witchcraft, comes this second tape: ‘Ghastly Demonolatria’. Which was, just like the other…

Nachtgnawer – Eternal Curse of the Blood [Demo]

Artist: NachtgnawerCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital DemoYear: 2022 Straight from the chasms of the Finnish underground comes Nachtgnawer, a new Black Metal band consisting of two members of Licht Des Urteils, as well as Advorsvs of Sacrificium Carmen, Riivaus, Wömit Angel…

Strychnos – A Mother’s Curse

Artist: Strychnos Country: Denmark Label: Dark Descent Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Honestly, Danish Black/Death Metal band Strychnos never really did much to me with the bands’ early (and sparse) releases over the course of…

Witchcraft – Black Imprecation [Demo]

Artist: WitchcraftCountry: FinlandLabel: Down With The Most HighFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 Originally released in only a handful of copies and spread early on in 2022, this rehearsal demo is the first of three of such demos that were reissued by…

Siniestral – Contemplando el Abismo [Demo]

Artist: SiniestralCountry: ChileLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital DemoYear: 2023 Siniestral is the brainchild of the Chilean multi-instrumentalist Victor L. Zamarca, who had previously released Thrash Metal recordings with his other bands Deathrone and Ectoplasma. With this entity he threads into new territories,…

Funeral Mass – Shadow of the Raventhrone

Artist: Funeral MassCountry: PolandLabel: Marquee RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 The Polish Black Metal act Funeral Mass was formed in 2018 by three members of the Blackened Thrash Metal band Deafness. Their first release was the ‘Cold Winds of Desolation’ EP released…

Abraded – Unadulterated Perversity

Artist: AbradedCountry: USALabel: Aggressively Uninterested Formats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 American Death Metal/Grindcore combo Abraded returns with a new full-length album, after their eponymous debut from 2021. A debut that to me was a very welcome and refreshing listen,…

Vargrike – A Vereségben

Artist: VargrikeCountry: Hungary / USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 Not long after the release of their debut EP, the American/Hungarian duo of Vargrike commenced work on their first full-length album. What exactly determines the line between an EP and full-length is…

Vargrike – Útkereső [EP]

Artist: VargrikeCountry: Hungary / USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: CD EPYear: 2021 How the international Black Metal duo came together is unknown, but in today’s day and age it allowed the union of the San Diego, USA based Velsingard and the Budapest, Hungary…

Nächtlich – Third Ritual [EP / Re-Release]

Artist: Nächtlich Country: Canada Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: CD EP Year: 2022 Canadian Nächtlich was one of the bands that helped shape the current revival of the (ultimate) Raw or even Lo-Fi Black Metal movement. The band that already…

Nächtlich – Howling Depths Rehearsal [Demo]

Artist: Nächtlich Country: Canada Label: Vinland Corpse Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 In the band’s preparation for their show at the Summoning Of The Elder Spirits festival earlier in 2022, at which the band appeared alongside acts such as Borda’s…

Galvanizer – Prying Sight Of Imperception

Artist: GalvanizerCountry: FinlandLabel: Everlasting Spew Records / Extremely Rotten Productions / Headsplit Records / Me Saco un Ojo RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 Oh dear, this album has been gathering dust in our promo closet for far…

…and Oceans – As in Gardens, So in Tombs

Artist: …and OceansCountry: FinlandLabel: Season of MistFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 The musical legacy of …and Oceans has hardly been one of conformity. From the very earliest album, the band has always given their own distinct and…