Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Feral HowlCountry: NorwayLabel: Breath Of Pestilence / Night Rhythms RecordingsFormats: Demo tape / Demo CDYear: 2023 Feral Howl is a relatively new Black Metal act from Norway of which quite little is known. It seems to be a one-man…
Artist: Krusifoitu Country: Finland Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 With ‘Demo ‘23’ the four-piece Death Metal band from the Finnish capitol of Helsinki brings forth their first recording. The six tracks clock in at a total playing time…
Artist: BræCountry: Belgium / SwedenLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 The debut album of Bræ entitled ‘A Thousand Ways to End it all’ was released in 2021 without any background information about the band. For the follow-up ‘Av Vålnader Bortom…
Artist: BræCountry: Belgium / SwedenLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2021 When the new Bræ album caught my eye, the boss of VM Underground was kind enough to point out that the review material of their debut album ‘A Thousand Ways…
Artist: Sigils Of Ruin Country: Indonesia Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 This four-piece Death Metal band from Indonesia offers their first demo tape, aptly titled ‘Demo I’ at the very start of February of this year. Yet, while…
Artist: Bastard GraveCountry: SwedenLabel: Pulverised RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 With ‘Vortex Of Disgust’ the Old School Swedish Death Metal combo of Bastard Grave delivers their third album. And anyone who has heard some of the band’s…
Artist: Haunting Figure Country: USA Label: Primitive Propaganda Formats: Demo tape Year: 2023 Haunting Figure is a new band from Providence, Rhode Island, USA. That is pretty much all the information available about this act, otherwise it shrouds itself in…
Artist: Sulphuric NightCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Black Gangrene ProductionsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2023 Evil is stirring in the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A Black Metal community called the Black Plague Circle has been surfacing over the last few years, releasing…
Artist: Stench Collector / Seep Country: USA Label: Gurgling Gore Formats: Split Cassette Year: 2023 This very short split EP, released on cassette tape, is the latest offering of both Stench Collector and Seep. Two bands haunting the gurgling and…
Artist: Vital SpiritCountry: CanadaLabel: Hidden Tribe / Vendetta RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Canadian Black Metal is getting more and more popular, and rightfully so, as their quite sophisticated approach to the genre is offering the listener…
Artist: ArborCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 ‘In Starless Night… We Follow A River Of Blood’ is the fifth demo of Arbor, a one-man Black Metal act from New York, USA which is helmed by Taurus, who is also active in Fellwinter and Gauntlet Ring.…
Artist: KiiraCountry: FinlandLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Out Of The DungeonFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 With the release of their debut album ‘Tulkoon Yö / Talviyö’, Kiira performed a work based on the contemplation of Bláinn, who was perceived as…
Artist: Kiira / SvartsejdCountry: Finland / SwedenLabel: AvgrundsklangerFormats: Split cassette tape Year: 2022 The bands Svartsejd and Kiira are far from strangers from each other. Although they were formed separately in 2010 and 2011 respectively and even originate from different…
Artist: Dungeon KeeperCountry: GermanyLabel: Kellerassel RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 I remember when I first got into extreme metal and starting jamming out the tunes of Hellhammer’s ‘Apocalyptic Raids’ somewhere at the end of the 90’s, my two younger brothers were playing video games. One of…
Artist: GrieveCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 In 2022, Grieve appeared to have drawn their last breath. The band, consisting of Finnish Black Metal icons Werwolf (Satanic Warmaster and many more) and v-Khaoz (Vargrav and numerous others) had announced that…
Artist: TetrasigilCountry: FinlandLabel: Amor Fati Productions / KuunpalvelusFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 When Luxixul Sumering Auter put an end to Cosmic Church in 2017 it opened room for him to focus on some of his other projects. Frozen Graves released…
Artist: MistcavernCountry: HungaryLabel: A Fine Day To Die Records, Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 The Hungarian four-piece band Mistcavern was formed in 2019, and straight away released a pretty phenomenal demo called ‘Winds…
Artist: BjesCountry: Czech RepublicLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 For the Czech band Bjes, the self-released EP ‘Prázdnota’ is their first release. With a release title that translates to ‘Emptiness’ you might be tempted to think the tone of the band’s…
Artist: Genocidal Rites Country: USA Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 With one demo and one EP, both originally only released digitally by the band themselves and the latter one also been issued on cassette tape by…
Artist: DeiphageCountry: USALabel: Propagator PropagandaFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 When I first encountered this band I though, for a very brief moment, that the band name was spelled wrong and that this was new material of the Hells…
Artist: Burning LordCountry: USALabel: Tribe Dream RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 Burning Lord is a band from Boston, Massachusetts, USA and is founded by a bunch of Hardcore Punks. At least, that’s what I presume, as their Hardcore influences seep through…
Artist: Scourge LairCountry: FinlandLabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2022 Scourge Lair caught the attention of the esteemed Nuclear War Now! Productions with the release of their 2019 demo ‘One Hundred Eyes One Hundred Arms’. That demo was the second…
Artist: Ründgard Country: Chile Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: LP Year: 2023 Multi-instrumentalist and ultimate blackaholic Lord Valtgryftåke has released quite an impressing slew of releases over the last couple of months. Amongst his latest offerings we do find the…
Artist: Paranoiac Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 From Los Angeles, USA comes this relatively new band, Paranoiac. A Thrash Metal band that last summer self-released their 3-track demo tape ‘Morbid Psycho’. In less than 10 minutes,…
Artist: Spectral WhisperCountry: GermanyLabel: Astral Nightmare ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 Spectral Whisper was a band from Germany that was formed in 2017 and featured at least one member in the shape of Frater Noxathra. In 2020 the band name was changed…
Artist: Seven Doors Country: United Kingdom Label: Redefining Darkness Records, Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 After an EP, a digital split and a few singles, Ryan Wills felt he was ready recording and releasing his first full-length album with…
Artist: CentinexCountry: SwedenLabel: Diabolical Summoning RecordsFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2022 Centinex has never been a band that made it big in the Swedish Death Metal scene. Instead they always kind of got stuck behind the biggest bands or even the ones that followed, making…
Artist: ChroniclesCountry: BangladeshLabel: Hellprod RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 From Bangladesh comes this five piece Death Metal band Chronicles. With ‘Chaos Cosmogony’ they present their second demo and third release in total (their first offering being an EP), it was released…
Artist: InsiktCountry: SwedenLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Mysticism ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Insikt is one of the many vessels of Swedish Black Metal mastermind Swartadauþuz, of which the first and thus far only release ‘Wanderings Through a Cursed Mind’…
Artist: GreveCountry: SwedenLabel: Mysticism Productions / Purity Through FireFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Those with a weak spot for Black Metal will undoubtedly have heard one or more bands featuring the Swedish multi-instrumentalist Swartadauþuz, who also runs Ancient Records and Mysticism Productions.…
Artist: Crimson EvenfallCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2023 Funeral Frost operated in the early days of the Swedish Black Metal scene, being formed in 1993. Their two demos and promo eventually led to the release of the 1996 debut album…
Artist: MorcaintCountry: SwedenLabel: Nordvis ProduktionFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 In 2008, Ulvtyr and Heruhim formed the band Morcaint. Together, they started work on an album which they wrote, but ultimately never recorded. And so, the project was put on hold, while…
Artist: Putridarium Country: Germany Label: Headsplit Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 At the very edge of 2022 the German Death Metal band Putridarium unleashed their third demo tape through their partners in crime since their very inception, Headsplit Records.…
Artist: Carpathian WrathCountry: Puerto RicoLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Carpathian Wrath is a three-piece Black Metal band from Puerto Rico. Probably not quite the place you that you will come up with when you think of classic 90’s “Vampyric Black Metal”. It also…
Artist: Mánþiel / Wampyric Rites Country: Chile / Germany / Ecuador Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: Split LP Year: 2023 With ‘Ensomhet (Shattered Memories From A Distant Past)’ the admired Lithuanian Black Metal label Inferna Profundus Productions present two of…
Artist: DaemonlustCountry: FinlandLabel: Out Of The DungeonFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Though the band was already founded back in 2006, Daemonlust is not quite a very well known band within the Finnish Black Metal scene. The fact that…
Artist: Crimson EvenfallCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2023 “This demo was the final release of Crimson Evenfall. Thanks for all those who have supported us. In the future, Thyrgrimmr and Strigoi Mort will play under the name of Musta Surma.…
Artist: Crimson EvenfallCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2023 The Finnish band Musta Surma has yet to release a single full-length despite their creation in 1997, but their discography is filled with high profile releases in the form of in particular…
Artist: Phlegmesis Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Second demo for this one-man Death Metal act that has little to do with sophisticated soundscapes or technical wizardry. Instead, Phlegmesis goes deep into the most rancid sewers of…
Artist: VergewaltigerCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Although the band had a demo, a one-track single and a split EP before, the music of Vergewaltiger never reached my ears before. Due to a recommendation I stumbled upon them and the…
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.…