Pestis – Demo I 2023

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…

Sotherion – Schwarmgeist [Demo]

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…

Festerdecay – Reality Rotten To The Core

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…

Lunatic Devote – Demonstration Of Lunatic Rituals [Demo]

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…

Drakon Ho Megas – Έλευσις Αντίχριστου

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…

Agönphetish – Promo ’23

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…

Grave Alter – Grave Alter [Demo]

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…

Satanika – Horde Of Disgust

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…

Scáth Na Déithe – Virulent Providence

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…

Sepulchromancy – Hell Crisis [Demo]

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…

Sammale – Sammale

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…

Cult Of Fire – Píseň Černých Vran [EP]

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).…

Regnum Tenebrarum – Légendes Noires [EP]

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…

Solothus – Summoned From The Void [Re-Release]

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’,…

Masticated Cadaver – Necrotic Mutation [Demo]

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…

Uønsket – Forlatt [EP]

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)…

Slug Gore – Extraterrestrial Gastropod Mollusc [EP]

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…

Tulus – Fandens Kall

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…

Depraver / Vrenth – Split LP

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…

Dehiscence – Colony [EP]

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…

Aethyrick – The Seventh

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…

Aethyrick – Pilgrimage

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…

Hulder – Benighted In Blood

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…

Forbidden Temple – Step Into The Black Pentagram

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…

Mortem – Filicide [Re-Release]

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’.…

Mánþiel – Vestiges Engraved In Frozen Mysticism

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…

Chasmdweller – Blood Vortex

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…

Eucharist – Mirrorworlds [Reissue]

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…

Eucharist – A Velvet Creation [Reissue]

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’…

Opiumortem – Мъртви души

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…

Opiumortem – Demo 1+2 [Compilation]

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.…

Deviser – Evil Summons Evil

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…

Parasitario – Everything Belongs To Death

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…

Pale Spektr – Bereft Of Xerotic Layers

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…

Desolate Shrine – Fires Of The Dying World

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…

Änterbila – Änterbila

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…

Slegest – Avstand

Artist: SlegestCountry: NorwayLabel: Dark Essence RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Slegest was formed by Stig Ese in 2010, a year after he left the Norwegian band Vreid. He released two full-length albums and two EPs as a one-man band before…

Frost – Winterblood

Artist: FrostCountry: HungaryLabel: Metal ör Die RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2021 The roots of the Hungarian Black Metal band Frost go back to 1996, although technically they were formed upon the ruins of the shortlived band Prophecy that started even a year…

Azatoth – Ungodly Carnage [Demo]

Artist: AzatothCountry: FinlandLabel: The Other RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 The guys of Azatoth, a Finnish Death Metal band, returned with their recording in the summer of 2022. Their previous EP was covered on our VM-Underground pages already and was described…

Disguised Malignance – Unearthly Death [Demo]

Artist: Disguised MalignanceCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Disguised Malignance is a relatively new band from Helsinki, Finland. Some of the young band members have already been featured on our pages with a review for a demo of their other…

Frozen Blood – Revenge [Demo]

Artist: Frozen Blood Country: Chile Label: Adirondack Black Mass / Dry Cough Records / Excarnation Records Formats: 12″ LP / Demo tape / Demo CD Year: 2023 It might have taken a bit more time than initially expected, as the…

Véhémence – Ordalies

Artist: VéhémenceCountry: FranceLabel: Antiq RecordsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Blending metal with folky and medieval elements are almost as old as the metal genre itself, from the very giants of the Heavy Metal genre, including Black Sabbath and Iron…

Anéanti – Poison: Les Formules Diaboliques [EP]

Artist: AnéantiCountry: BelgiumLabel: Death Prayer RecordsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 Formed in Brussels, Belgium in 2020, the Black Metal duo of Anéanti consists of Grafdelver on drums and backing vocals and Woudmeester on vocals, guitars and bass. Their…

Death Breath – The Old Hag [EP]

Artist: Death BreathCountry: SwedenLabel: Electric Assault RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 When Death Breath first emerged with their eponymous 2006 released 7” EP, it marked the grand return of the ultimate Swedish Death Metal legend, Nicke Andersson, who, after leaving Entombed…

Beyond Helvete – Anthem Of Decay

Artist: Beyond HelveteCountry: GermanyLabel: Immortal Frost ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2022 The oddly named one-man Black Metal band Beyond Helvete is the brainchild of Sven ‘Natrgaard’ Krause and was already formed in 2007. Though being able to release two albums and some…