Neverlight Horizon – Walxaz [EP]

Artist: Neverlight Horizon Country: Belgium Label: Self-Released Formats: CD EP Year: 2023 Once upon a time… twenty years ago, almost 21 even… there was this young, juvenile little fellow that reviewed a fine demo from a Belgian Death Metal band…

Vargrav – The Nighthold

Artist: VargravCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: CD, DigitalYear: 2023 There’s a strong argument to be made that Vargrav was one of the initiators of the blossoming Symphonic Black Metal revival that has been going on the past few years. Certainly, the…

Kalmankantaja – Kohti Valon Kuolemaa

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 As this turn around the sun is about to reach its end and a new round of the endless cycle soon begins, Kalmankanataja closes off 2023 with its third full-length of the year,…

Sadism – Obscurans

Artist: Sadism Country: Chile Label: Hammerheart Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Being formed all the way back in 1988, Sadism definitely is one of the oldest and still running Death Metal bands from Latin America and with that…

Infernal Execrator – Diabolatry

Artist: Infernal Execrator Country: Singapore Label: Pulverised Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Infernal Execrator, ever since their inception in 2005 they have been pounding our collective eardrums on a more than regular basis and with their uncompromising style…

Wolves Of Desor – Lost Kingdom Of The Giants [Demo]

Artist: Wolves Of Desor Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Although ‘Lost Kingdom Of The Giants’ is the first brain child of Wraithlord, the youthful mind behind Wolves Of Desor, under this moniker, he has been spawning…

Hasswald – Und So Begann… [EP]

Artist: Hasswald Country: Estonia Label: Warhorn Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 From the deepest and darkest pits of Estonia comes this new and anonymous Black Metal act Hasswald. With next to nothing of information to work with, this illustrious band…

Azathoth’s Dream – Nocturnal Vampyric Bewitchment

Artist: Azathoth’s Dream Country: USA Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: LP Year: 2023 Earlier this year I was pretty impressed by the American Black Metal band Luring, brought to us by Iron Bonehead Productions. The mystic and haunting Black Metal…

Annihilation Cult – Demonstration MMXXIII [Demo]

Artist: Annihilation Cult Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Although ‘Demonstration MMXXIII’ is the first offering of this new American outfit, it does not consist out of newbees. On the contrary, the trio are also active in…

Kêres – The King Sleeps without Tears [EP]

Artist: KêresCountry: FinlandLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: 12” EP / CD EPYear: 2023 It pretty much says it all about Atvar, that while recording the latest full-length ‘Vexilloid’ he just recorded another Kêres EP in the same session. Thus, instead of making…

Kêres – Vexilloid

Artist: KêresCountry: FinlandLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Kêres has never been a band that delved into frivolic and experimental outskirts of Black Metal. Whenever you buy a record bearing the band name, you know that primitive and raw…

Uhritulet – Uhritulet

Artist: UhrituletCountry: FinlandLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CDYear: 2023 Even though Uhritulet hails from Finland, the band consisting of sole member VP doesn’t exactly sound like your run of the mill Finnish act. Perhaps the bareboned midtempo basis of groove along…

Malokarpatan – Vertumnus Caesar

Artist: MalokarpatanCountry: SlovakiaLabel: Invictus ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 It’s kind of odd to realize that ‘Stridžie dni’ was released as recently as 2015. It certainly feels to me as if Malokarpatan has been around for decades, in terms of…

Vastum – Inward To Gethsemane

Artist: Vastum Country: USA Label: 20 Buck Spin Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 Ever since their inception in 2009, Vastum has been a force to be reckoned with and they have proven to be a true…

Ulvhedner – Fjosmetall

Artist: Ulvhedner Country: Norway Label: Hellstain Productions Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 No, I was not exactly impressed by the sophomore album of this Norwegian Pagan-ish Black Metal act. That record, ‘Legd’ from 2020, sounded much…

In Twilight’s Embrace- Eden of Iniquity [EP]

Artist: In Twilight’s EmbraceCountry: PolandLabel: Cold Weapons MusicFormats: 10″ EPYear: 2023 Without any doubt, ‘Lifeblood’ by In Twilight’s Embrace still stands as one of my favorite records of 2022. And while many records lose their radiance over time, I personally…

Grïixis – Srenvëlet Falëndalët [Demo]

Artist: Grïixis Country: France Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Without the need of having to give any specific examples, some countries are special when it comes to their local (extreme) metal scenes. The beauty of Black Metal is…

Gam – Alt Hans Væsen

Artist: Gam Country: Denmark Label: Den Ottende Kunst Formats: Cassette Tape Year: 2023 Those who have been digging deep enough into the gems and secrets of today’s Black Metal scene might have been stumbling upon last year’s great ‘Hvisken Fra…

Left Cross – Upon Desecrated Altars

Artist: Left Cross Country: USA Label: Profound Lore Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 After a couple of EP’s and a self-released debut album, the American Death Metal band Left Cross got picked up by the revered Profound Lore…

Thurthul – Hate, Vengeance, Black Metal

Artist: ThurthulCountry: PolandLabel: Stronghold Clothes and Music / Werewolf Promotion / Wulfhere ProductionsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EP
Year: 2023 Hate, Vengeance, Black Metal: the Polish one-man band Thurthul leaves little to the imagination when it comes to the genre of…

Asagraum – Veil of Death, Ruptured

Artist: AsagraumCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Edged Circle ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 That the Dutch Black Metal scene has been thriving has been noticeable within the borders of the country for many years. But also internationally, bands are…

Kratti – Demo 2023

Artist: KrattiCountry: FinlandLabel: Escafismo Records / TÄH! RecordsFormats: Demo tape / Demo CDYear: 2023 Anleifr strikes again. Having previously impressed with Xavarthan, Stutyr and Herugrim, the multi-instrumentalist returns with Kratti in which he’s joined by Elliot and Sami. Black Metal is…

Siimes – Näkyjä Pimeydessä [EP]

Artist: SiimesCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Siimes from Joensuu, Finland, is not your typical Finnish Black Metal band. At least not in terms of musical formula. Rather than basing their style on influential compatriots such as Beherit, Satanic Warmaster,…

Herzog – Furnace

Artist: HerzogCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Once again the Belgian Black Metal scene and the German label Amor Fati Productions cooperate to bring us a new slice of darkness. And not for the first time, musical…

Shithammered – Atomic Sodomizer [EP]

Artist: Shithammered Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 Despite the fact that the Chris Moyen-like black/red-with-goat cover might make you expect a serving of Ross Bay Cult Bestial Black/Death Metal, the music of this American duo is…

Nihil Invocation – Blood Upon The Gates At Dawn

Artist: Nihil Invocation Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 During the band’s lifespan since its formation in 2016, Nihil Invocation has already amassed a respectable discography with the great common denominator being raw and unpolished punk-style Black Metal.…

Gryftigæn – Wurmwaldgaistoz

Artist: Gryftigæn Country: Chile Label: Inferna Profundus Productions / Pile Of Heads Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Admitted, I am arriving a little late to the party with Gryftigæn’s ‘Wurmwaldgaistoz’, as it already saw the…

Cryfemal – La Gran Victoria Del Mal

Artist: Cryfemal Country: Spain Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: CD Year: 2023 In the current Black Metal constellation where there are as many types of Black Metal or sub-subgenres as there are musicians active, it can be a breath of…

Fabricant – Drudge To The Thicket

Artist: Fabricant Country: USA Label: Profound Lore Records Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 After a demo in 2010 and a split CD with Apocryphon in 2013, things got awfully quiet around this American Death Metal band.…

Vindalf – Legion Of Spectral Blood

Artist: Vindalf Country: Chile Label: Signal Rex Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Vindalf’s previous full-length album, ‘Ancient Spell Of Darkness’ was one of the best Black Metal albums from South America that I had heard in…

Deadspace – Unveiling The Palest Truth

Artist: Deadspace Country: Austalia Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Despite having been around since 2014 (albeit with a short break between 2020 and 2021) and already having a hefty discography, Australian black metal outfit Deadspace…

Alchemy Of Flesh – By Will Alone

Artist: Alchemy Of Flesh Country: USA Label: Redefining Darkness Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Every now and then I am testing myself. Testing to see if things can change or that I should change my mind on certain…

Aldaaron – Majestic Heights, Melancholic Depths

Artist: AldaaronCountry: FranceLabel: Paragon RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 With a striking cover on their latest album ‘Majestic Heights, Melancholic Depths’ the French band Aldaaron surely managed to pique my interest. And to those that see resemblance to the Limbonic…

Malokarpatan / Botulistum – Delirium [Split]

Artist: Malokarpatan / BotulistumCountry: Slovakia / The NetherlandsLabel: New Era ProductionsFormats: Split LPYear: 2023 Both with a long-awaited full-length under their belts, 2023 wasn’t a bad year by any means for either Malokarpatan or Botulistum. But it turns out the…

Ave Sanguine – By Clandestine Will [EP]

Artist: Ave SanguineCountry: TurkeyLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 It would be so easy to assume that ‘By Clandestine Will’ was released by a Finnish band. But instead of hailing from a city like Turku, the two members of Ave Sanguine…

Wurgilnõ – Angst [EP]

Artist: WurgilnõCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Merg & Been / Rotting Sun Records / Wolfkult ReligionFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2023 The Wurgilnõ debut ‘De Doden Rusten Niet In Vrede’ came like a bolt from the blue earlier in 2023, and riding that momentum…

Beyond The Permafrost – Fallen from the Throne

Artist: Beyond The PermafrostCountry: FranceLabel: Naturmacht ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 Somewhat earlier this year I was pleasantly surprised by the French band ACOD with their musical presentation of what I ultimately described as a much heavier and more Black…

Phantom – Handed To Execution

Artist: Phantom Country: Mexico Label: Inframetal Records Formats: CD Year: 2023 Ever since their inception in 2021 this young Mexican Speed/Black Metal band has been cranking out demos with utterly raw and rowdy material that is worthy of the old…

Carnal Tomb – Embalmed In Decay

Artist: Carnal Tomb Country: Germany Label: Testimony Records Formats: LP / Cassette / CD Year: 2023 Despite having seen some Carnal Tomb art-covers passing by before and the band having been on the road since 2014, it took until the…

Vér – Apparitions Of The Past

Artist: Vér Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 Autumn last year was the first time that I heard about this Canadian one-man act Vér. It was part of a three-way split on cassette tape released through the Wilt-Shine…

Black Edifice – The Miasmic Trance [EP]

Artist: Black Edifice Country: Norway Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 When I first read the name of this new Norwegian band, my thoughts immediately went to Dream Death, this American cult band has a song of…