Artist: Coldfall
Country: United Kingdom
Label: Forbidden Keep Records
Formats: Demo Tape
Year: 2026
Not so long ago, I reviewed two recent releases by Fields Of Agony and Pragha, two bands from the increasingly interesting British black metal scene. Although both acts had released material before, those debuts had passed me by. The same applies to Coldfall’s debut EP from 2023, a band comprising, amongst others, members of the aforementioned Fields Of Agony and Pragha. Ultimately, virtually everything in these kinds of smaller scenes is the result of tightly-knit communities, where cross-pollination and various collaborations are the rule rather than the exception. Coldfall is an excellent example of this.
That first self-titled EP, released on cassette by Mercenary Press, was the result of the original two members of the band, but somewhere along the way to what became ‘Dregs Of The Scythe’, the band was joined by two musicians from Fields Of Agony. It’s hard to say, of course, whether the expansion of the band has resulted in this new demo sounding a bit rawer than the debut EP, but the musical concept has certainly remained unchanged.
Although the tempo is still on the slow side, the strong Punk vibe that permeated the entire debut EP has carried over to this new demo. In fact, the whole thing sounds rather simple and stripped down, reflecting much of the early Punk or Garage Rock aesthetics, but due to the considerably rawer approach of the overall sound, its all kept firmly into the true Raw Black Metal tradition. Although the rawer sides of Black Metal has been en vogue quite a bit in the recent years, let’s say a decade now, the music harks back to a tradition of much longer ago. The relentless repetitiveness is something that will definitely appeal to those who have a strong knack for late 90s and early 00s Black Metal.
Not only the line-up did change, also the logo and the label. With this demo’s rather minimal artwork and that updated logo, it is clear that the band will stay within the same musical framework. But it is especially Coldfall’s move to Forbidden Keep Records that might earn them a little more attention, which is definitely well deserved.
