Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: OerheksCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Babylon Doom Cult RecordsFormats: 12″ Demo / Demo tapeYear: 2023 In the region of Cagghenvinna (currently known as Kaggevinne) in Belgium, a forest called the Prinsenbos once stood proud. Victim to the greed…
Artist: VerhindererCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Very hot on the heels, only three weeks after the release of the band’s debut EP ‘Ruhepol’, Verhinderer already presents its second feat with this new digital demo. ‘Ruhepol’ appealed to me not…
Artist: Abysmal GriefCountry: ItalyLabel: Avantgarde MusicFormats: LPYear: 2023 To celebrate the joyous fact that one of the most obscure Doom Metal bands has found a home with the celebrated quality label Avantgarde Music and as an advance sweetener in anticipation…
Artist: EnforcedCountry: USALabel: Century MediaFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Although the blending of Thrash Metal and Hardcore is not exactly something new, and in the 80’s, through bands like D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies, it was a breath of fresh air…
Artist: SieluhaaskaCountry: FinlandLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 A melancholic piercing riff, an ever so subtle background hum of the keyboards, rumbling bass and raspy cries upon a midpace drum rhythm: Sieluhaaska doesn’t waste time to introduce what they…
Artist: AutrestCountry: BrazilLabel: Northern Silence ProductionsFormats: Digital / CDYear: 2023 A view from a snowclad forest, with mountainsides reaching beyond where the eye can see. Hardly a scenery that you associate with the country Brazil, but this is exactly the…
Artist: ArzhaabatCountry: SwedenLabel: Cosmic Cause ProductionsFormats: Cassette single / Demo tapeYear: 2023 Taking the inhumane working pace of multi-instrumentalist and overall musical wizard MBN in consideration, it might not surprise that he already returns with a follow-up to Arzhaabat’s great ‘Forest Tribes Triumphant’ demo tape,…
Artist: AaraCountry: SwitzerlandLabel: Debemur Morti ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 In 1820 the Irish playwright finished his gothic novel ‘Melmoth the Wanderer’. In this tale, the lead character Melmoth is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in…
Artist: OldCountry: GermanyLabel: Unsilent Tombs RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 German Black/Thrash Metal band Old is the owner of a modest back catalogue which was realised around the mid 00’s. The authenticity of the offered material gained them a bit…
Artist: Satanic WarmasterCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Despite coming somewhat later to the party after formation in 1998, the mark of Satanic Warmaster on the Finnish Black Metal scene is considerable. With albums such…
Artist: SumerlandsCountry: USALabel: Relapse RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2022 I can’t deny a bit of scepticism when I first heard of a new Sumerlands record. Not because the debut was bad. On the contrary, it was…
Artist: Vulture LordCountry: NorwayLabel: Masters of Kaos ProductionsFormats: Double 7″ EPYear: 2023 The Norwegian Black/Thrash Metal act Vulture Lord has been in existence since 1995, although its origins date back even further to as early as 1990. To honour these…
Not all too long ago I stumbled upon a great demo tape that blended all of those tasty elements of both Hellhammer and Isengard. It was a no-brainer to imediately order this first Dungeon Keeper demo and while reviewing it…
Artist: Darkness DomainCountry: FinlandLabel: Darker Than Black Records / Old Forest ProductionFormats: Digital / LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 A mysterious entity that hails somewhere from within the borders of Finland, Darkness Domain released their first recording upon…
Artist: Imperial DemonicCountry: United KingdomLabel: Black Lion MusicFormats: 12″ EP / CDYear: 2023 ‘Beneath the Crimson Eclipse’ may be the debut EP of Imperial Demonic, but judging by the music presented on this release there can be no mistake that…
Artist: MotherwoodCountry: Brazil, GermanyLabel: Low Noise ProductionsFormats: Cassette TapeYear: 2023 The origins of Motherwood lie in Brazil, where both of its band members, Yuri Camargo and Guilherme Malosso, originate from. Somewhere after their self-titled debut album saw its release in…
Artist: UdrękaCountry: PolandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 ‘Zgnij’ introduces us to Udręka, presenting the first 17 minutes of recorded material of the group from Kielce, Poland. During the three songs of the EP, we get a fairly good idea what…
For a long time, the Death Metal genre seems to have been a fairly static affair. Apart from a few exceptions in the form of bands like Atheist, Cryptopsy and, of course, Death, most of it has been mostly of…
One of Sweden’s longest running Black Metal bands suddenly reappeared (again) in 2020 and last year we could finally and definitely welcome Lord Belial back with a new album. On ‘Rapture’, the band’s ninth album and the first for the…
When one of the longest-running Dutch extreme metal bands releases a new album, as a true Dutchman you naturally have to subject it to a thorough examination. Dead Head’s seventh album saw the light of day already a year ago…
Artist: StangarigelCountry: SlovakiaLabel: Hexencave ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Malokarpatan is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only have they released three excellent albums, the members of the Slovakian band are also active in several side…
Artist: VoidCeremonyCountry: USALabel: 20 Buck SpinFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 VoidCeremony has been featured here before and each time I was left amazed. The music always delivered an outstanding experience, a wild and extravagant sort Death Metal…
Artist: Blaze of SorrowCountry: ItalyLabel: Eisenwald, Moonlight Gate ProductionsFormats: Cassette Tape / CDYear: 2023 It was impossible for me not to be drawn to the artwork of the latest Blaze of Sorrow record, 2023’s ‘Vultus Fati’. The imagery of a…
Artist: VerhindererCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Bettler, the sole member behind this new Black Metal project from Germany, is not only really honest about his musical achievements but very humble too. Maybe not quite self-effacing, but well, blessed are…
Artist: Carpet BombCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 Apart from two previously released online singles, ‘Awaken Terror’ is the debut from this Phoenix, Arizona, USA-based Thrash Metal trio. The band doesn’t mince words, with a cover like this one, you pretty…
Artist: RaakimusCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 ‘Tuskien Taival’ is the debut EP of this Finnish duo that blends parts of both Melodic/Symphonic Black with Dungeon Synth. Not quite the first band to do so, but that they might be…
Artist: MithrandirCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 The connection between Lord of the Rings and Metal is one that has lasted almost as long as the music genre has been around. Legions of bands including Cirith Ungol, Gorgoroth and Burzum owe…
One of the longest running Greek Black/Death Metal bands is definitely Embrace Of Thorns, not only have they been there for a quarter of a century now, they are also one of the best bands from Greece – and, quite…
Artist: Deströyer 666Country: AustraliaLabel: Season Of MistFormats: LP, Cassette Tape, CDYear: 2022 Good morning, y’all. Am I late to the party? Again. Yes, I suppose I am, this new album for Deströyer 666 has been out since early December last…
Artist: Katy ScaryCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Two demos and this latest EP is the solo output of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA based Katy Scary. With her other band, Klaymore, she has been active in the Heavy Metal/Power Metal spectrum,…
Artist: Dying RemainsCountry: CanadaLabel: Maggot StompFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2023 Although I couldn’t relate much to the positive vibe that was created around Detherous, the Canadian Death/Thrash Metal band, and found their album quite a bit of an underwhelming affair, everything…
Artist: Knüth Country: Russia Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital demo Year: 2023 After quite a steady and impressive working pace, the duo that makes up this Russian Black Metal band fell kind of silent by late 2021. In November of that…
Artist: Moon OracleCountry: FinlandLabel: Bestial Burst / Signal RexFormats: LP / Cassette tape /CDYear: 2023 Ever since the band’s formation Moon Oracle has been a bit of the odd-one out in the current Finnish Black Metal scene. Although the involved…
Artist: Mortem AgmenCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Although Mortem Agmen is a new band, the German trio behind this act is not exactly inexperienced. Over the past years, the three musicians have gained their experience in a wide range…
Artist: Mithridatum Country: Italy / USA Label: Willowtip Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 Mithridatum is a new band, founded last year, of a trio with their origin in both the USA as well as Italy,…
Artist: BlodtårCountry: SwedenLabel: Nordvis ProduktionFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Off the back of their impressive self-titled EP that my colleague FelixS lauded for its blistering Black Metal onslaught with an almost Pagan-like melodicism comes the debut album of the Swedish…
Artist: IzrodCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Signal RexFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Behind a new name lurks a familiar host of people. Izrod is a continuation of what started as Cave Ritual and took further shape as Void Prayer and contains…
Artist: Morbid DestroyerCountry: USALabel: Nihil Verum Nisi Mors ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Morbid Destroyer, a band with a more than appropriate name, releases its first demo with ‘Accursed Summoning’ – not counting the short digital promo from 2022. But despite…
Artist: ÅndutsynCountry: USALabel: Nihtstang ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 The Black Metal act Åndutsyn is another musical entity run by Sceadugenga, who might be known best for his work with Geheimnisvoll but also has a few other musical endeavours to keep…
Artist: Blood MagicCountry: USALabel: Black Gangrene ProductionsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2023 After two demos, with the first one released in 2020 and the second in 2022, the US-based Black Metal band Blood Magic comes up with a brand new 7” EP…
Artist: VerzauberCountry: IrelandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 Although the band name might suggest something else (Verzauber meaning ‘Bewitch’ in English), this is a one-man Black Metal act from Cork, Ireland. With its debut album ‘Frankincense & Vitriol’ the anonymous person who…
Artist: NightsideCountry: FinlandLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: Demo CDYear: 2023 When Nightside was formed in Turku, Finland in 1996, there wasn’t so much of a Finnish Black Metal scene as we know it today. Sure, bands like Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, Archgoat…
Artist: VargravCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: CD, DigitalYear: 2023 2023 will see the release of the new Vargrav album, baptized ‘The Nighthold’. This third album follows the critically acclaimed debut album ‘Netherstorm’ from 2018 and ‘Reign in Supreme Darkness’ from 2019.…
Artist: Argenthorns Country: Finland Label: Avantgarde Music Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Symphonic Black Metal has been on the rise for a few years now, and Finland has certainly made some big contributions to its revival. One of the…
Artist: EntrancementCountry: USALabel: Altare Productions / Perverse HomageFormats: Cassette Tape, CDYear: 2023 After two demos, which also appeared together on a compilation LP by Goatowarex, and a split with the (dreadful) Midnight Betrothed, American Entrancement comes out with the much…
Artist: Savage NecromancyCountry: USALabel: 20 Buck SpinFormats: 12″, Cassette Tape, CDYear: 2022 Originally released in 2021 on CD and in two versions on cassette tape, all three by different labels, the album was also picked up by the much larger…
Artist: Crippling MadnessCountry: PolandLabel: Putrid CultFormats: CDYear: 2023 Polish Thrash Metal of the straightforward and ugly kind, that is what Crippling Madness offers on their sophomore album, ‘Władcy Nocy’. The differences between both albums are scarce, as this new album…
Artist: EstenosisCountry: SpainLabel: Escafismo RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 ‘Orgía Necrofílica’ is Estenosis’ third demo and just like the two preceding tapes, this one has quite an impressive tracklist of no less than 18 tracks. Tracks that are brimming with some…