Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Wampyric Rites Country: Ecuador Label: Signal Rex Formats: 12” EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2023 Although the band was only formed in 2019, Ecuadorian Wampyric Rites is one of the most eye-catching bands from the thriving…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
Artist: Funeral Fullmoon / Nocturnal Prayer Country: Chile / Canada Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: LP Year: 2023 Not too long after the band’s second full-length album, Chilean Funeral Fullmoon returns with some new work. Despite not having expected new…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Artist: MānbryneCountry: PolandLabel: Malignant Voices / Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Mānbryne left a lasting impression as soon as I heard the gorgeous and deceptively simple solo melody of `Pustka, Którą Znam’, a melody that still lingers in my mind…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Artist: Satanism Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 In the last couple of months I reviewed two releases of other bands of Scott Thayer (here going under the name of “Preacher of Unholy Blasphemies”) and I think I…
Artist: Kurjuus Country: Finland Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Although already having been founded in 2017 and having released a good number of demo’s and EP’s, this latest one being the 11th release in total, this is the…
Despite The Netherlands having once been big in Death Metal with bands like Gorefest, Sinister and Pestilence, the Dutch Death Metal scene has been somewhat thin on the ground in recent years. However, every now and then some new bands…
Artist: Fertilizer Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Last year around the same time I reviewed the first demo, simply called ‘Demo’, of Canadian one-man act Fertilizer and was quite enamored by the mix of styles that…
Yes, we do like our fair share of Thrash Metal. Sometimes a bit more old school, bit more complex or just plain simple and fast in-your-face sort of Thrash Metal. In the latter catergory falls Painsaw from Canada, a band…
Artist: Thlipsis (Θλίψις) Country: Greece Label: Floga Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Greek Black Metal, where to start? While the scene may not be too big in terms of the number of bands, their impact on the global…
Artist: Goatkraft Country: Norway Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Norway, the land of the beautiful landscapes and equally stunning metal. Norway will forever be remembered as the country that has brought us the well-thought out…
Artist: SvartkonstCountry: SwedenLabel: Trust No One RecordingsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Somehow I’ve never come across the work of Rickard Törnqvist’s solo brainchild Svartkonst before, despite the band being active for a little over a decade. But when I came…
Artist: MithrandirCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Mithrandir’s debut ‘Towards the Spires of Dol Guldur’ was quite a striking debut. Expertly combining their Finnish Black Metal roots of the likes of Satanic Warmaster and Sargeist with touches of Burzum, Darkthrone…
Artist: Grollheim Country: Chile Label: Forbidden Files Records Formats: Demo CD Year: 2023 Over the past few years, I have covered Chilean bands a good number of times, and in recent times the emphasis has overtly shifted from Death Metal…
Artist: Cult Ov Black Blood Country: Poland Label: Rex Diaboli Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Although this band was already founded back in 2015 and released three demos (all compiled on the Total War-released ‘Abhorrence Ov God’ CD)…
Artist: Funeral Fullmoon Country: Chile Label: Inferna Profundus Records / Desolated Woods Records Formats: LP / Cassette tape Year: 2023 Over the past few years Chileans Black Metal has seen numerous of new acts emerge, many of which have featured…
Artist: Dripping Decay Country: USA Label: Satanik Royalty Records / Old Shadows Records Formats: LP / Cassette / CD Year: 2023 Those who are lurking deep enough in the Death Metal scene might already picked up the name of this…
Artist: Sulphur AeonCountry: GermanyLabel: Ván RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 The story you are about to read did not come easily. And that starts with memories of Sulphur Aeon. Their debut ‘Swallowed by the Ocean’s Tide’ wasn’t necessarily the first…
Artist: KaikkivaltiasCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 For those intrigued by the prospect of a mix of Classic/ Progressive Rock, Heavy Metal and Black Metal coming together in a medieval theme, take heed. Kaikkivaltias is the brainchild of the Finn…
One of the most distinctive bands from the Australian extreme metal scene is undoubtedly Tyrannic from Sydney. The band primarily qualifies itself as a Black Metal act but musically has much more than just that to offer. It effortlessly interweaves…
Artist: ChaînesCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 Just listing the names of the bands that Belgian musician Déhà is involved in would be enough to make for a hefty read, so for the purpose of brevity it suffices to…
Artist: Verhinderer Country: Germany Label: Kvlt Und Kaos Productions Formats: Cassette tape Year: 2023 Hot on the heels of the Black Metal band’s debut album, ‘Der Kettenritter’ from August of this year, the one-man project hat is Verhinderer returns with…
Artist: Cemetery Urn Country: Australia Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 It has always been somewhat of a mystery to me why a band like Cemetery Urn has never received any more attention…
Artist: Akitsa Country: Canada Label: Hospital Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 In their almost quarter of a century of existence, the band was formed in 1999, Akitsa have amassed a pretty hefty discography, but given…
Artist: VoidescentCountry: SpainLabel: Avantgarde MusicFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 While Voidescent (what’s in a name) isn’t exactly a new band, it might be more likely that the previous incarnation of the band is better known. As Andhord, the Spanish quartet…
Artist: Permanent SolutionCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 There’s a few things that drew me to the album of Permanent Solution. For one, their label Misantropia Records generally releases good, often Kalmankantaja related, Finnish Black Metal. The tracklist of ‘Permanent…
Artist: Hellevaerder / Duindwaler / Schavot / Asgrauw Country: The Netherlands Label: Zwaertgevegt Formats: LP Year: 2023 If the ‘Verloren Vertellingen’ LP proved anything, it is that, even in the deepest caverns of underground Black Metal, you can create some…
Artist: Verhinderer Country: Germany Label: Kvlt Und Kaos Productions Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 After three smaller releases, two demo’s and an EP, this German one-man act returns with its first full-length album. Considering these are all done…
Artist: Devil MoonCountry: FinlandLabel: Signal RexFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 A sleazy rocking mix of Heavy Metal and Black Metal is what Devil Moon served us on their eponymous first EP. Now they come back with the…
Artist: Gotthammer Country: Canada Label: Forbidden Sonority Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 As of late it seems that there is an increasing amount of bands that do seem to worship the sound of the old Black/Death/Grind-sound that was originally brought…
Artist: Luciferian Annihilation Cult Country: Germany Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Black and white cover? Check. Red logo? Check. Satanic imagery? Check. Barbarian sounding band name and release title? Check! Even without listening to a single chord of…
Artist: Krieg Country: USA Label: Profound Lore Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Krieg’s heady musical career is one characterised by an impressive multitude when it comes to both its equally staggering list of (mostly) ex-band members and the…