Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: ImmortalCountry: NorwayLabel: Nuclear Blast RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 With ‘War Against All’ the Norwegian Black Metal institute Immortal brings forth its 10th instalment. A new album alone is enough to revisit this monumental band, but a tenth album…
When I first heard Diabolical Messiah’s debut album, I didn’t hesitate for long and picked up the vinyl edition, released via Blood Harvest. ‘Satan Tottendemon Victory!!!’ was yet another proof that there had to be something very deadly in the…
Artist: Perdition windsCountry: FinlandLabel: Hellthrasher ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 ‘Transcendent Emptiness’, the second record by the Finnish Black Metal band Perdition Winds, was a ripper of a record. But maybe that wasn’t all that surprising, as the band features…
Contrary to the usually otherwise quite chauvinistic proud nature of the French people, the French Black Metal scene has remained quite modest when it comes to their influence on the overall genre. OK, that about the chauvinism might be a…
Artist: Spirit Possession Country: USA Label: Profound Lore Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Take Black Metal with a strong Heavy Metal riff base that features a cacophony of sliding and tapping guitar notes best known to Black Metal…
Artist: SkuggeheimCountry: NorwayLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 After the explosive 90’s of Norwegian Black Metal, not much of that bustling prolific and high-quality scene was still intact by the mid 2000’s. Sure, bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Satyricon and…
Although Infernal Conjuration is not the most prolific band from Mexico’s rich underground scene, the band’s sparse work is emblematic of what that Mexican metal has to offer. Their last album, ‘Infernale Metallum Mortis’ dates back to 2019, but, singer…
Over the past decade, the Black Metal genre has, once again, renewed, deepened and broadened. This can be largely credited to a number of Icelandic and Norwegian bands (always those Norwegians!), whose recordings often have been released under the watchful…
Last year’s ‘Ascetic Reflection’ was one of the best forward thinking Death Metal releases that reached my ears in a long time. The compelling intricacies, creative dynamics and overall mind-boggling musical wizardy made the album slip into my Top-15 of…
Artist: StutyrCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 One of my favorite demos of 2022 was the first release by the Finnish Herugrim, whose ‘Demo XXMMII’ featured a stunning mix of raw Black metal with epic Heavy Metal…
Artist: ThulcandraCountry: GermanyLabel: Napalm RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Admittedly, I only got hooked on the Thulcandra phenomenon quite recently. In the past, I had heard some individual songs, but then ultimately chose not to delve further into it. Reason?…
Artist: Devil MoonCountry: FinlandLabel: Signal Rex / Old Forest ProductionFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 A bondage ritual on the front cover, a pentagram in the band logo and a member of Morgal in the line-up: Devil Moon ticks…
Artist: DeimhalCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 In a time where melodic Dissection-inspired Black Metal and symphonic Black Metal were at the height of their popularity, bands like the Finnish Catamenia fit right in. Perhaps never the most original or…
Artist: NoirceurCountry: FranceLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Anyone with any interest in the underground Black Metal of the 1990’s must undoubtedly have stumbled across one of the bands from the illustrious Les Legions Noires at least once. This collective comprised…
Artist: ManiakCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Maniak, not to be confused with the Filipino band of the same name (and even a somewhat similar logo), releases their debut EP with ‘Speed Metal Terrorist’, a more than fitting follow-up to…
Artist: Impetuous RitualCountry: AustraliaLabel: Profound Lore RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 It was 2009’s ‘Relentless Execution Of Ceremonial Excrescence’, initially released by Profound Lore Records on CD and later in 2011 on vinyl by Blood Harvest, that put Australia’s Impetuous…
Artist: Norrhem / SielunvihollinenCountry: FinlandLabel: Hammer Of Hate RecordsFormats: Split CDYear: 2023 Norrhem and Sielunvihollinen have a bit of history together. Not only are they both from Finland, Sielunvihollinen mastermind Ruttokieli was part of the live lineup of Norrhem and…
Artist: Gärgäntuäh / KastijderCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: New Era ProductionsFormats: Split LPYear: 2023 With the demos ‘Dödenlicht’ and ‘Kastijder’, New Era Productions had released two gems from the Dutch Black Metal underground courtesy of the bands Gärgäntuäh and Kastijder respectively. Both…
Artist: Sněť / Grave InfestationCountry: Czechia / CanadaLabel: Me Saco Un OjoFormats: Split 7″ EPYear: 2023 Two of the current scene’s most revered underground Death Metal bands are sharing this piece of black wax of 7 inches in diameter, released by Me Saco Un Ojo.…
Artist: ProfeciCountry: PolandLabel: Godz Ov War ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 When the previous Profeci album ‘Aporia’ was recommended to me a few years ago, it didn’t take long to see what had gotten my referrer excited…
Artist: Niteris / КрюкокрестCountry: Bosnia and Herzegovina / RussiaLabel: New Era Productions / Horrible RoomFormats: Split LP / Split cassette tape / Split CDYear: 2022 The Black Plague Circle versus the Pleskau Brethren, or more precisely, Niteris from Bosnia and…
Artist: GrotCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: CDYear: 2023 Seemingly inspired by forest, woodlands, and nature as a whole, US Black Metal band Grot gained quite some positive feedback for their 2021 released ‘Hymns of the Woodland’ EP. And for a good reason.…
Artist: Anal BlasphemyCountry: FinlandLabel: Spread Evil ProductionsFormats: 7″ EP / CD EPYear: 2023 With ‘Lust Of The Evil Witches’ Finland’s finest, Anal Blasphemy, makes its return after what ultimately turned out to be a five-year hiatus. After the Iron Bonehead Productions released ‘Western Decadence’-album from…
When Imprecation announce a new album, you can unquestionably count on the fact that we will be dealing with another monumental piece of Blackened Death Metal. And, yes, with ‘In Nomine Diaboli’, the Texas veterans once again fulfil all expectations.…
Artist: The KryptikCountry: BrazilLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CDYear: 2023 In a genre where nostalgia reign supreme, bold statements can set things off on the wrong foot. It’s at the very least a striking claim to suggest an album might be…
Artist: ZiminiarCountry: UnknownLabel: Azermedoth Records / Bitter Misery Records / Victims Of FateFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 When literally nothing is known about a band and their origins it all comes down to the bare musical essence.…
Pretty much out of the blue, two releases from a new German Black Metal band came out in the space of just a handful of days. Verhinderer is the brainchild of Bettler, the lone soul behind this project, who seems…
Artist: Acid MassCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Acid Mass is a new one-man band from Cincinatti, Ohio, USA that throws its first feat on the table with ‘Lust For Violence’. There are records that through a well-chosen title and…
Artist: Galvanizer / MorbificCountry: FinlandLabel: Iron CorpseFormats: Split cassette tapeYear: 2023 To add some lustre to their joint tour, these Finnish bands are releasing a split tape where, in a pretty pink and yellow cover, they want to show off…
Artist: BotulistumCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: New Era RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 It has taken a while, but this band, founded in 1998, has finally arrived at its debut album in 2023. Like some kind of nocturnal animal…
Artist: WilczycaCountry: PolandLabel: Godz Ov War ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 “When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and…
Artist: UnhallowedCountry: GermanyLabel: Folter RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 One should never judge a book by its cover, but it’s hard not to think of Dissection when a band is named after one of their many iconic songs. Even putting this name…
Artist: Burning WindsCountry: USALabel: Heidens HartFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Aside from a sporadic release as a demo CDR, a split LP, a compilation LP and a split 7″, Burning Winds’ entire (impressive) output has been released on cassette tape, so…
Artist: NethermancyCountry: PortugalLabel: Helldprod RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 The roots of Nethermancy dig deep into the Portuguese Black Metal scene, having been formed over 25 years ago and with some of its members commited to the local Black Metal scene since…
Artist: OhydaCountry: PolandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 Following two praiseworthy EPs released in 2022, this year brings us the third EP in the discography of Poland’s Ohyda. After guitar, bass and keyboard player Bloodwhip had graced the cover of…
Artist: OerheksCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Babylon Doom Cult RecordsFormats: 12″ Demo / Demo tapeYear: 2023 In the region of Cagghenvinna (currently known as Kaggevinne) in Belgium, a forest called the Prinsenbos once stood proud. Victim to the greed…
Artist: VerhindererCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Very hot on the heels, only three weeks after the release of the band’s debut EP ‘Ruhepol’, Verhinderer already presents its second feat with this new digital demo. ‘Ruhepol’ appealed to me not…
Artist: Abysmal GriefCountry: ItalyLabel: Avantgarde MusicFormats: LPYear: 2023 To celebrate the joyous fact that one of the most obscure Doom Metal bands has found a home with the celebrated quality label Avantgarde Music and as an advance sweetener in anticipation…
Artist: EnforcedCountry: USALabel: Century MediaFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Although the blending of Thrash Metal and Hardcore is not exactly something new, and in the 80’s, through bands like D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies, it was a breath of fresh air…
Artist: SieluhaaskaCountry: FinlandLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 A melancholic piercing riff, an ever so subtle background hum of the keyboards, rumbling bass and raspy cries upon a midpace drum rhythm: Sieluhaaska doesn’t waste time to introduce what they…
Artist: AutrestCountry: BrazilLabel: Northern Silence ProductionsFormats: Digital / CDYear: 2023 A view from a snowclad forest, with mountainsides reaching beyond where the eye can see. Hardly a scenery that you associate with the country Brazil, but this is exactly the…
Artist: ArzhaabatCountry: SwedenLabel: Cosmic Cause ProductionsFormats: Cassette single / Demo tapeYear: 2023 Taking the inhumane working pace of multi-instrumentalist and overall musical wizard MBN in consideration, it might not surprise that he already returns with a follow-up to Arzhaabat’s great ‘Forest Tribes Triumphant’ demo tape,…
Artist: AaraCountry: SwitzerlandLabel: Debemur Morti ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 In 1820 the Irish playwright finished his gothic novel ‘Melmoth the Wanderer’. In this tale, the lead character Melmoth is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in…
Artist: OldCountry: GermanyLabel: Unsilent Tombs RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 German Black/Thrash Metal band Old is the owner of a modest back catalogue which was realised around the mid 00’s. The authenticity of the offered material gained them a bit…
Artist: Satanic WarmasterCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Despite coming somewhat later to the party after formation in 1998, the mark of Satanic Warmaster on the Finnish Black Metal scene is considerable. With albums such…
Artist: SumerlandsCountry: USALabel: Relapse RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2022 I can’t deny a bit of scepticism when I first heard of a new Sumerlands record. Not because the debut was bad. On the contrary, it was…
Artist: Vulture LordCountry: NorwayLabel: Masters of Kaos ProductionsFormats: Double 7″ EPYear: 2023 The Norwegian Black/Thrash Metal act Vulture Lord has been in existence since 1995, although its origins date back even further to as early as 1990. To honour these…
Not all too long ago I stumbled upon a great demo tape that blended all of those tasty elements of both Hellhammer and Isengard. It was a no-brainer to imediately order this first Dungeon Keeper demo and while reviewing it…
Artist: Darkness DomainCountry: FinlandLabel: Darker Than Black Records / Old Forest ProductionFormats: Digital / LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 A mysterious entity that hails somewhere from within the borders of Finland, Darkness Domain released their first recording upon…