Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: DegravedCountry: USALabel: Gurgling GoreFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 Degraved’s demo from last year, ‘Exhumed Remnants’ was reviewed on these VM-Underground pages and was concluded to be a “not a bad little demo” to which my colleague added…
Artist: Lividity Country: USA Label: Grinder Cirujano Records / Sindrome Productions Formats: Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 ‘Rejoice In Morbidity’ was Lividity’s first EP, originally released on cassette tape back in 1996 on the short-lived Immortal Records (which,…
Artist: Nethingness Country: USA Label: Everlasting Spew Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 In the review for Nothingness’ first self-released album, ‘The Hollow Gaze Of Death’, from 2019, my colleague was already positive about this USA…
Artist: Tyrant’s MightCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 This Dallas, Texas, USA based Black/Speed Metal trio recently finished the recordings of their first demo/EP, ‘Recrudescence Of Diabolism’, which was eventually released at the very start of February of 2023. It…
Artist: Black HurstCountry: USALabel: Into The PentagramFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 This eponymous demo tape is the first offering of the New York, USA based Black Hurst. The band profiles itself with a term of ‘Pagan Black Metal Mysticism’ and with…
Artist: WormfaceCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 What does a reviewer have to add when pretty much all the grass has already been cut from under his feet by the band themselves? With a band name like this and a…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 About four months have passed since the most recent Kalmankantaja album ‘Waiennut’ was released, and the Finnish band revolving around the creative mastermind Grim666 is back with another full-length. Despite numerous releases every…
Artist: Inanna Country: Chile Label: Floga Records Formats: LP Year: 2023 While Inanna is far from a new band, being formed back in the year 2000, they never really had a lot going. At least in terms of popularity beyond…
Artist: GoatScrote Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 Besides one full-length album the Canadian pervs of GoatScrote have released a handful of demos and EP’s as well, this new one, ‘Humanity Must Be Destroyed’, being their fifth.…
Artist: Ghostwound Country: Indonesia Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Ghostwound is a new Dungeon Synth-heavy Black Metal act that is most likely the product of one anonymous figure, I guess the one depicted on the cover, from Indonesia.…
Artist: Pestis Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 With a title like this, it is not hard to guess that we are dealing here with a first demo by a new band. Indeed, the Canadian Death Metal…
Artist: Eternal DarknessCountry: SwedenLabel: Xtreem MusicFormats: 10″ EPYear: 2021 Some of the Swedish Death Metal bands from the early 90’s gained huge amounts of fame, some of which still live on, and others just had too little to offer (or…
Artist: Sotherion Country: France Label: W.T.C. Productions Formats: Demo tape Year: 2022 Though W.T.C. Productions does release cassette tapes every now and then, I can’t really remember when they last released a ‘real’ demo tape, if they ever did. With the two-track…
Artist: FesterdecayCountry: JapanLabel: Everlasting Spew RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 The infamous ‘Gods Of Grind’ tour in 1992, featuring Confessor, Cathedral, Entombed and Carcass, turned out to be an event of great prophetic value. Not so much…
Artist: Autopsia PrematuraCountry: PeruLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 The Peruvian Death Metal band Autopsia Prematura did release a demo and a 4-way split CD prior this new demo, ‘Crónicas De Un Feto Moribundo’. The music the duo presents on this…
Artist: Lunatic Devote Country: Greece Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 This Chicago, Illinois, USA based Death Metal outfit Lunatic Devote is presenting its first digital demo in the form of ‘Demonstration Of Lunatic Rituals’. Though it is very…
Artist: Drakon Ho MegasCountry: GreeceLabel: Floga RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 At the very beginning of this year Drakon Ho Megas’ sophomore album was released through Floga Records. ‘Έλευσις Αντίχριστου’, ‘Coming Of The Antichrist’ in English, is the follow-up to the 2021 released great…
Artist: AgönphetishCountry: TurkeyLabel: Demo tapeYear: 2023 ‘Promo ‘23’ is the first offering of Agönphetish, a new band from Turkey of which its band member or members is (yet) unknown. Yet, this four-track demo tape, including an intro, gives quite a…
Artist: Grave Alter Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 What would fit better to a lovely Valentine’s Day then a piece of rotten and depraved Death Metal? Well? Yeah, I figured… Nothing! On the menu today is…
Artist: Satanika Country: Italy Label: Osmose Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 ‘Horde Of Disgust’ is the fifth album for the Italian Black/Thrash Metal band Satanika. Although the band has been releasing their albums and EP’s through a wide…
Artist: Scáth Na DéitheCountry: IrelandLabel: Vendetta RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 Shadow of the Gods. That is a rough translation of the Irish text Scáth Na Déithe, which is also a band hailing from Rush (or An…
Artist: Sepulchromancy Country: Argentina Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 This anonymous Death/Thrash Metal band (or project) has recently released its very first offering, a five-track demo, or EP, if you will, with a total playing time of just…
Artist: SammaleCountry: FinlandLabel: Naturmacht ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The artist behind Paisaunt and main composer and guitar player of Marrasmieli, an individual called Zannibal, sought a vessel for the atmospheric soundtrack fitting with a path through forest and…
Artist: Cult Of FireCountry: CzechiaLabel: Doomentia RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2023 The recently resurrected Doomentia Records returns with a few new records. The label started with the reissue of Fata Morgana’s ‘Kremace Dábla’ demo from 1992 (with great artwork from Rok).…
Artist: Regnum Tenebrarum Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: 12″ EP / CD EP Year: 2023 After the 2020 ‘Des Enfers’ EP, also released via Medieval Prophecy Records, things went quiet for a while around Regnum Tenebrarum, who hail…
Artist: Solothus Country: Finland Label: Doomentia Records Formats: LP Year: 2023 The first time I heard the Finnish Death/Doom Metal band Solothus was with the 2013 Nihilistic Holocaust released reissue of the band’s sole demo, ‘Ritual Of The Horned Skull’,…
Artist: Masticated Cadaver Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 When going through the preparation for the review for this first demo of Canadian based Death Metal act Masticated Cadaver I learned a few things. First of all…
Artist: UønsketCountry: USALabel: Jems LabelFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Depending on which picture you see of Richard Fuller, the young man behind Uønsket, he is adorned in a dark cape, wearing warpaint and spikes (sometimes of impressive size)…
Artist: Slug Gore Country: Italy Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape/ CD Demo Year: 2023 The slug-themed EP/demo ‘Extraterrestrial Gastropod Mollusc’ of Italian based Death Metal/Grindcore combo Slug Gore, is the band’s first outing. And apparently, with all their sluggishness, they…
Artist: AbnutivumCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 The illustrious duo that is known as Abnutivum has seemingly resurrected out of a 10 year hibernation. Their first and only offering was a 2013 released demo/EP on cassette tape, called ‘Master’s Morbid…
Artist: Tulus Country: Norway Label: Soulseller Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2024 With the release of ‘Fandens Kall’ the Norwegian zealots of Tulus have released more albums after their return in 2006 than in their first period that is…
Artist: Depraver / VrenthCountry: USALabel: Seed Of DoomFormats: Split LPYear: 2022 This split release between two Californian Death Metal acts, Depraver and Vrenth, was originally released in 2021 on both cassette tape (Nero One Records) and CD (Cavernous Records) and…
Artist: DehiscenceCountry: USALabel: Chaos Records / Pale Magus Productions / Seed of DoomFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 Dehiscence is a new band comprised of musicians who prefer to be left anonymous, but, if certain sources are to be…
Artist: AethyrickCountry: FinlandLabel: The Sinister FlameFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2022 On December 21st, 2022, exactly six years after their formation, the Finnish band Aethyrick unveiled their latest release. This time presented as a three-song EP, ‘The Seventh’ is a special cassette…
Artist: AethyrickCountry: FinlandLabel: The Sinister FlameFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 On winter solstice of 2016, Gall and Exile formed the band Aethyrick. The Finnish duo has turned out to be a prolific songwriting entity, quickly releasing a…
Artist: Hulder Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Cassette Year: 2022 Over the past two or three years the name of Hulder became a much revered band in the Black Metal scene. The one-woman band gained some quick ‘fame’ and went…
Artist: Forbidden Temple Country: Belgium Label: Gramschap Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2022 This is actually not the right order, because after this first full-length album by this downright fantastic Belgian Black Metal band, two more releases…
Artist: Mortem Country: Russia Label: Coyote Records Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 In the wake of the re-release of Mortem’s first album, ‘Amputator’ (originally released in 1993), Coyote Records continues on its path, now also re-releasing 2000’s ‘Filicide’.…
Artist: Old Castles / Winterstorm Country: Chile / Chile/Ecuador Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: Split LP / Split CD Year: 2023 The Lithuanian label Inferna Profundus Records apparently is increasingly becoming the home for South American Raw Black Metal. With…
Artist: Mánþiel Country: Chile / Germany Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: LP Year: 2023 This new Mánþiel (or Mantiel, if you prefer an easier version of their band name) album is one that will only have a vinyl release, done…
Artist: ChasmdwellerCountry: CanadaLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 The Death Metal duo known as Chasmdweller keep a pleasant pace of work. The Toronto, Canada-based band releases their first recording of the year with ‘Blood Vortex’, marking the latest chapter…
Artist: EucharistCountry: SwedenLabel: Regain RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Nostalgia. ‘Mirrorworlds’ is an album that completely fits that description. It takes me back to a time when I was a teen. A time that the Gothenburg melodic…
Artist: EucharistCountry: SwedenLabel: Regain RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Although the band made quite an impressive entry to the Swedish Death Metal scene with their demo tape from 1992, simply called ‘Demo 1’ and the ‘Greeting Immortality’…
Artist: Opiumortem Country: Bulgaria Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 After two demos, which were recently compiled onto one tape and released through Narbentage Produktionen, Opiumortem now returns with a full-length album. Apparently it was recorded in the span of…
Artist: Opiumortem Country: Bulgaria Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: Cassette Tape Year: 2022 Bulgaria’s Opiumortem’s both demos were rather hard to get, in fact, only the first one, entitled ‘Lethargia’ was released on a very small self-released run of cassette tapes.…
Artist: DeviserCountry: GreeceLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Many of my reviews have started with the remark that there is more to the Greek Black Metal scene than your standard Rotting Christ, Varathron and SepticFlesh. Which, by no means…
Artist: Parasitario Country: Japan Label: F.D.A. Records / Obliteration Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 The Japanese Death Metal band Parasitario sounds anything but Japanese. Well, if there is a distinct Japanese sound to begin with, it certainly is…
Artist: Pale Spektr Country: Germany Label: Amor Fati Productions / Nuclear War Now! Productions Formats: LP / Cassette Tape Year: 2022 Pale Spektre is a new German Black/Death Metal band that seemingly came out of nowhere. Though the four musicians…
Artist: Desolate ShrineCountry: FinlandLabel: Dark Descent RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 My first encounter with Desolate Shrine was with their second album, ‘The Sanctum Of Human Darkness’. The band’s dense Death Metal had such a dark and…
Artist: ÄnterbilaCountry: SwedenLabel: Nordvis ProduktionFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Some labels release whatever band they like regardless of genre, others focus on a music scene from a certain city, and there’s some that are known for a specific sound. When…