Herzog – Furnace

Artist: HerzogCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Once again the Belgian Black Metal scene and the German label Amor Fati Productions cooperate to bring us a new slice of darkness. And not for the first time, musical…

Shithammered – Atomic Sodomizer [EP]

Artist: Shithammered Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 Despite the fact that the Chris Moyen-like black/red-with-goat cover might make you expect a serving of Ross Bay Cult Bestial Black/Death Metal, the music of this American duo is…

Nihil Invocation – Blood Upon The Gates At Dawn

Artist: Nihil Invocation Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 During the band’s lifespan since its formation in 2016, Nihil Invocation has already amassed a respectable discography with the great common denominator being raw and unpolished punk-style Black Metal.…

Gryftigæn – Wurmwaldgaistoz

Artist: Gryftigæn Country: Chile Label: Inferna Profundus Productions / Pile Of Heads Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Admitted, I am arriving a little late to the party with Gryftigæn’s ‘Wurmwaldgaistoz’, as it already saw the…

Cryfemal – La Gran Victoria Del Mal

Artist: Cryfemal Country: Spain Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: CD Year: 2023 In the current Black Metal constellation where there are as many types of Black Metal or sub-subgenres as there are musicians active, it can be a breath of…

Fabricant – Drudge To The Thicket

Artist: Fabricant Country: USA Label: Profound Lore Records Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 After a demo in 2010 and a split CD with Apocryphon in 2013, things got awfully quiet around this American Death Metal band.…

Vindalf – Legion Of Spectral Blood

Artist: Vindalf Country: Chile Label: Signal Rex Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Vindalf’s previous full-length album, ‘Ancient Spell Of Darkness’ was one of the best Black Metal albums from South America that I had heard in…

Deadspace – Unveiling The Palest Truth

Artist: Deadspace Country: Austalia Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Despite having been around since 2014 (albeit with a short break between 2020 and 2021) and already having a hefty discography, Australian black metal outfit Deadspace…

Alchemy Of Flesh – By Will Alone

Artist: Alchemy Of Flesh Country: USA Label: Redefining Darkness Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Every now and then I am testing myself. Testing to see if things can change or that I should change my mind on certain…

Aldaaron – Majestic Heights, Melancholic Depths

Artist: AldaaronCountry: FranceLabel: Paragon RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 With a striking cover on their latest album ‘Majestic Heights, Melancholic Depths’ the French band Aldaaron surely managed to pique my interest. And to those that see resemblance to the Limbonic…

Malokarpatan / Botulistum – Delirium [Split]

Artist: Malokarpatan / BotulistumCountry: Slovakia / The NetherlandsLabel: New Era ProductionsFormats: Split LPYear: 2023 Both with a long-awaited full-length under their belts, 2023 wasn’t a bad year by any means for either Malokarpatan or Botulistum. But it turns out the…

Ave Sanguine – By Clandestine Will [EP]

Artist: Ave SanguineCountry: TurkeyLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 It would be so easy to assume that ‘By Clandestine Will’ was released by a Finnish band. But instead of hailing from a city like Turku, the two members of Ave Sanguine…

Wurgilnõ – Angst [EP]

Artist: WurgilnõCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Merg & Been / Rotting Sun Records / Wolfkult ReligionFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2023 The Wurgilnõ debut ‘De Doden Rusten Niet In Vrede’ came like a bolt from the blue earlier in 2023, and riding that momentum…

Beyond The Permafrost – Fallen from the Throne

Artist: Beyond The PermafrostCountry: FranceLabel: Naturmacht ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 Somewhat earlier this year I was pleasantly surprised by the French band ACOD with their musical presentation of what I ultimately described as a much heavier and more Black…

Phantom – Handed To Execution

Artist: Phantom Country: Mexico Label: Inframetal Records Formats: CD Year: 2023 Ever since their inception in 2021 this young Mexican Speed/Black Metal band has been cranking out demos with utterly raw and rowdy material that is worthy of the old…

Carnal Tomb – Embalmed In Decay

Artist: Carnal Tomb Country: Germany Label: Testimony Records Formats: LP / Cassette / CD Year: 2023 Despite having seen some Carnal Tomb art-covers passing by before and the band having been on the road since 2014, it took until the…

Vér – Apparitions Of The Past

Artist: Vér Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 Autumn last year was the first time that I heard about this Canadian one-man act Vér. It was part of a three-way split on cassette tape released through the Wilt-Shine…

Black Edifice – The Miasmic Trance [EP]

Artist: Black Edifice Country: Norway Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 When I first read the name of this new Norwegian band, my thoughts immediately went to Dream Death, this American cult band has a song of…

Satanism – Lycanthropic Legion

Artist: Satanism Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 In the last couple of months I reviewed two releases of other bands of Scott Thayer (here going under the name of “Preacher of Unholy Blasphemies”) and I think I…

Fertilizer – The World Continues To Turn [Demo]

Artist: Fertilizer Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Last year around the same time I reviewed the first demo, simply called ‘Demo’, of Canadian one-man act Fertilizer and was quite enamored by the mix of styles that…

Thlipsis (Θλίψις) – Dawn Of Defiance

Artist: Thlipsis (Θλίψις) Country: Greece Label: Floga Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Greek Black Metal, where to start? While the scene may not be too big in terms of the number of bands, their impact on the global…

Goatkraft – Prophet Of Eternal Damnation

Artist: Goatkraft Country: Norway Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Norway, the land of the beautiful landscapes and equally stunning metal. Norway will forever be remembered as the country that has brought us the well-thought out…

Svartkonst – May the Night Fall 

Artist: SvartkonstCountry: SwedenLabel: Trust No One RecordingsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Somehow I’ve never come across the work of Rickard Törnqvist’s solo brainchild Svartkonst before, despite the band being active for a little over a decade. But when I came…

Mithrandir – Valapatto [EP]

Artist: MithrandirCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Mithrandir’s debut ‘Towards the Spires of Dol Guldur’ was quite a striking debut. Expertly combining their Finnish Black Metal roots of the likes of Satanic Warmaster and Sargeist with touches of Burzum, Darkthrone…

Cult Ov Black Blood – Apocalyptic Banner Ov Abaddon

Artist: Cult Ov Black Blood Country: Poland Label: Rex Diaboli Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Although this band was already founded back in 2015 and released three demos (all compiled on the Total War-released ‘Abhorrence Ov God’ CD)…

Dripping Decay – Festering Grotesqueries

Artist: Dripping Decay Country: USA Label: Satanik Royalty Records / Old Shadows Records Formats: LP / Cassette / CD Year: 2023 Those who are lurking deep enough in the Death Metal scene might already picked up the name of this…