Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Tempest Country: Mexico Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 Under the moniker Tempest, this trio, admittedly with modest experience in extreme metal, puts out a thoroughly enjoyable first EP. ‘Unending Torment’, a self-released 4-tracker with a total length…
Artist: Triclavian Country: Canada Label: Serpents Head Reprisal Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 While this trio from Canada may be a somewhat arcane entity, with all three members appearing only by their initials, the fact that this demo (or EP,…
Artist: DikasterionCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2023 Dikasterion’s ‘Demo MMXVIII’ left an immediate mark once I first heard it; a raw fist from the Belgian Underground with its chaos-embodying Black Metal in the spirit of…
Artist: Chamber Of UnlightCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: CD singleYear: 2023 The 2021 debut album of Chamber of Unlight was quite a hammer blow. The Finnish band was started by Necrosis (Ajatarra, Deathchain, Chaosweaver) and later shaped into a trio by…
Artist: Cruel ForceCountry: GermanyLabel: Shadow Kingdom RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette / CDYear: 2023 If you hadn’t heard about Cruel Force before, chances are you missed out. Between 2010 and 2011 the band released two rather stellar albums with ‘The Rise…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 With the release of ‘Unohdettu’, Kalmankantaja is up to their third release of 2023. After two full-length albums the latest addition to the discography is an EP, although with a total playing…
Artist: HedenskfridCountry: FinlandLabel: Hellthrasher ProductionsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 A cover showing a view through the trees on a lake with far away hills is certainly a captivating sight. And the same nature-inspired approach seems to have taken a deep root…
Artist: StangarigelCountry: SlovakiaLabel: Medieval Prophecy RecordsFormats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 After a stunning debut album, Stangarigel returns with their latest EP ‘Metafyzika Barbarstva’. Still strongly influenced by the earliest works of Satyricon and Ulver, the band…
Artist: The ChamberlainCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 With experience in several acts including Aesthus, Malum and Norrhem, it’s no wonder that new Finnish band The Chamberlain sounds far from rookies to the scene. On their first EP ‘Dominus Noctis’…
Artist: Chemin De Croix Country: Canada Label: Cosmic Cause Productions Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 Over the course over the past two years or so the Pant Y Meddygon label has been issuing an impressing amount of interesting releases. While…
Artist: Avulsed Country: Spain Label: Xtreem Music Formats: 10″ EP / CD EP Year: 2023 One of Spain’s longest running bands is back with this new two-track EP, which is actually the first new material since the 2017 released split…
Artist: Beenkerver Country: The Netherlands Label: Vendetta Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Last year we could already enjoy the by no means insignificant ‘Ontaard’, the debut album of this new musical project by Niels “Beenkerver” Riethorst, who we previously…
Artist: Order Of Nosferat / Lunar Spells Country: Germany & Finland / Greece Label: Northern Silence Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Because both bands on this Northern Silence presented split LP released full-length albums fairly recently, with Order…
Artist: Chamber of MirrorsCountry: USALabel: Drakkar ProductionsFormats: LP / Tape / CDYear: 2023 On their second album, US-based Chamber of Mirrors presents a well-crafted mix between raw and symphonic Black Metal. Consisting of the sole member Mortem, ‘Moonlight Decay’ follows…
Artist: NoenumCountry: FinlandLabel: Northern Heritage RecordsFormats: 10″ EPYear: 2023 In late 2022 came the unexpected return of the Finnish duo of Noenum after an absence that lasted well over a decade. However, upon the release of their debut full-length album…
Artist: VoidwindCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 Soothing, longing, sorrowful and intriguing: just some words that describe the music of Voidwind on their album ‘Clad in Your Misery’. Besides that it’s released by the Finnish Misantropia Records, not a whole…
Artist: VictimarumCountry: Finland:Label: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 One look at the corpsepaint pictures in snowclad landscapes might narrow down the options, but all it really takes is just pressing play on the digital ‘Demo 2023’ to realize that Victimarum is…
Artist: Chevallier Skrog Country: Sweden Label: Legion Blotan / Pant Y Meddygon Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 The ever-productive MBN is not always making life easy for us; while it is of course pleasing not to have to wait long…
Artist: Blazon RiteCountry: USALabel: Gates Of Hell RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 When the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal exploded in the 80s and conquered the world, not all bands were recognized equally. One such underrated band was Manilla…
Artist: BurgonetCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Hailing from Finland, Burgonet does not hide their love of the Norwegian Black Metal scene at all. On their first demo simply titled ‘Demo One’, the band professes their adoration for the earliest…
Artist: Undergang / Spectral VoiceCountry: Denmark / USALabel: Extremely Rotten ProductionsFormats: Split LPYear: 2023 A revival of old school Death Metal had been festering in the underground for some years resulting in some essential new wave classics such as ‘Breed…
Artist: KrapylCountry: NorwayLabel: Cold Northern Breeze RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 Youth is instrumental in the birth and longevity of music scenes. Nearly all extreme metal genres were born out of musical experimentation by teens, trying to find new and unexplored…
Artist: Gravavgrav / Bastard Grave Country: Japan / Sweden Label: Behind The Mountain Formats: Split 7″ EP Year: 2023 As a fan of the split 7″ EP format for its (often) musical variety and the 7″ EP in general, it…
Artist: Casket Fesh Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Whether there will ever be a shortage of gory and zombie-inspired Death Metal is of course only questionable, but if it is up to Casket Flesh that moment…
Artist: Onheil Country: The Netherlands Label: Black Lion Records Formats: CD Year: 2023 As a young metal fan around the turn of the millennium, just taking his first steps into Black Metal, there was one band in the Netherlands that…
Artist: Stenched Country: Mexico Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 There was a time when all muddy Death Metal would be gobbled up like sweet pie by me, around the transition from the 00’s to the 10’s, all over…
Artist: Wurgilnõ Country: The Netherlands Label: Merg & Been / Fetzner Death Records Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Followers of the Dutch Black Metal scene have of course been aware of it for years, but where initially there…
Artist: The River Country: UK Label: Cavernous Records Formats: CD Year: 2023 While The River may not be a typical band that fits easily within the musical scope of most of the other acts reviewed on our pages, it is…
Artist: Dismorfia Country: Peru Label: Gurgling Gore Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Barbarity from Peru, that’s not exactly new of course. It may not be the purveyor of extreme metal from South American countries, but the country has certainly made…
Artist: Wyvern Country: The Netherlands Label: Heidens Hart Records Formats: CD EP Year: 2023 After the two demo tapes from 2019 and 2020, both of which saw the light of day via Tour de Garde and Zwartkunst Smederij, the mysterious…
Artist: PerfideCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 As part of the never-ending desire to expand their wealth during the golden age, many overseas colonies were added to ‘De Republiek Der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden’ (‘The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands’),…
Artist: Infinity Country: The Netherlands Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Despite Infinity not being very prolific in their early days after their formation in 1995, the band got a taste for it in the 00s…
Artist: Nights Horn Country: France Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo tape Year: 2023 Of course, it is nonsensical to write an essay on Dissection’s far-reaching influence on today’s extreme metal scene. Almost weekly, we are treated to bands that (sometimes more…
Artist: Ritual Hammer Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 There is little background information to give you any guidance before you turn on ‘Demo 2023’ by Ritual Hammer. But this demo, so far only available as a…
Artist: Weregoat Country: USA Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2023 Ahh, Weregoat. The ever-cheerful trio that has been ostentatiously hitting the road since the late 00s is making themselves heard again. Although their previous (and only) full-length…
Artist: Luciferian CeremonyCountry: PolandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 With a clear statement of hate against all Pseudo “Black metal” Luciferian Ceremony certainly isn’t out to make friends. Obviously, deeper down is their pure contempt for the commercialism of Black…
Artist: PestCountry: FinlandLabel: New Era ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 It’s 1997. In Norway, the sound of the second wave of Black Metal is shifting to a more symphonic and melodic sound. In Finland, Beherit has taken a completely different electronic direction,…
Artist: LureCountry: FranceLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 In some artists, creativity flows in many shapes and forms. The name of Pierre Perichaud may ring a few bells, but it’s especially the pseudonym Business for Satan (or B.F.S.) that probably…
Artist: Miscreance Country: Italy Label: Season Of Mist Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Although I came across the debut of this Italian Miscreance last summer, I did not get around to giving it a few words at the time.…
Artist: Worm Altar Country: USA Label: Gurgling Gore Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Last year, one-man formation Worm Altar already delivered a very attractive piece of Doom/Death Metal with a self-titled demo. Although that particular genre has been troubled by…
Artist: DenevérCountry: HungaryLabel: Metal Ör Die RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 ‘Vampír’ was a striking debut by the Hungarian band Denevér. On that album Tibor Terebesi paid homage to his Hungarian heritage, both in telling the story of the blood countess Báthory Erzsébet, as well…
Artist: Sacred OutcryCountry: GreeceLabel: No Remorse RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Sometimes you have to trust your gut and you have to give in to that irresistible urge to buy a record just off of some quick listens. Or maybe…
Artist: Helleruin Country: The Netherlands Label: New Era Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Even for many a seasoned connoisseur, Helleruin’s sudden rising star must have come as a surprise. If I may speak for myself:…
Artist: Sammath Country: The Netherlands Label: Hammerheart Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 The award for most persistent Dutch Black Metal band goes to Sammath without question; ever since their formation in 1994, the band has stuck (for the…
Artist: ShadowsCountry: ChileLabel: Sentient Ruin LaboratoriesFormats: LP / Cassette / CDYear: 2023 Sentient Ruin has struck some pure gold here. Shadows hails from Chile, a country with a small but exceptionally high in quality metal scene. This time it’s not…
Artist: Imperishable Country: Sweden Label: Hammerheart Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 When I stumbled upon Imperishable’s ‘Deathspawn’ demo I was really very much intrigued by the fact that it had been able to get under my radar for…
Artist: Miserere LuminisCountry: CanadaLabel: Sepulchral ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 Miserere Luminis is a band with a bit of a mythical status in the Québécois Metal scene. Formed in 2008, it represented the collaboration of Neptune and Icare of the band Gris…
Artist: Verhinderer Country: Germany Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital demo Year: 2023 With ‘Groschenroman’, we already have Verhinderer’s third demo/EP in our hands, and that in less than a few months, as the band was only started in 2023. This one-man…
Artist: TrépasCountry: CanadaLabel: Sepulchral ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 While some of the members of Trépas have dabbled in Black Metal with their other bands, most people will more likely recognize them from their involvement in the Death Metal acts Outre-Tombe and…
Artist: SacrenoirCountry: CanadaLabel: Sepulchral ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 While both are considered amongst the frontrunners of the Métal Noir Québécois scene, it has been a while since we last saw an album by either Forteresse or Monarque. Forteresse’s fantastic fifth record…