Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Artist: Ritual DeathCountry: NorwayLabel: Shadow RecordsFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2023 The end of 2022 saw the release of the debut full length album of the Nidrosian Black Metal band Ritual Death. That album followed a number of EPs released between 2016…
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…
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…
Artist: BeheritCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 It always baffles me when I realise that Beherit, as a Black Metal entity, only existed for some 4 years. Their unparalleled and indescribable influence on…
Artist: Nubivagant Country: Italy Label: Amor Fati Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 It was in 2020 that Gionata “Omega” Potenti (Darvaza, Frostmoon Eclipse, Chaos Invocation, ex-Acherontas, ex-Blut Aus Nord, ex-Fides Inversa a.o.) surprised the world with a stunningly…
Artist: ConjurethCountry: USALabel: Memento Mori Records / Rotted Life RecordsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 With this new full-length album the San Diego, Californaia, USA based Death Metal band Conjureth now have been able to deliver two EP’s and two…
Artist: ConjurethCountry: USALabel: Fucking Kill RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2022 Although this compilation of both of Conjureth’s demos was already released at the very beginning of 2021, it saw its first repressing during the summer of 2022. And, rightfully so, because with…
Artist: ACODCountry: FranceLabel: Les Acteurs de l’Ombre ProductionsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 I was initially drawn to the band ACOD when they were featured on the Black Metal Promotion YouTube channel with their newest EP ‘Cryptic Curse’. To be honest, I…
Artist: ACODCountry: FranceLabel: Les Acteurs de l’Ombre ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 The French band ACOD was formed in 2006, but as years progressed the line-up of the band was reduced to just the duo of original members Fred on…
Artist: NorrhemCountry: FinlandLabel: Spread Evil ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2022 Formed in 2017 in Turku, Finland, the then two-piece of Valthor and MA started their journey which led to their first demo. When T also joined the band, Norrhem swiftly finished their…
Artist: Nocturnal Departure Country: Canada Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: Split 7″ EP Year: 2022 In the current and ongoing Black Metal rejuvenation, the name of Nocturnal Departure was dropped more than once as one of the genre highlights. The…
Artist: BarbalansCountry: MalaysiaLabel: Goatlordth RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 Barbalans was undoubtedly one of the earliest Black Metal bands from Malaysia, being formed as early as 1993. Despite releasing a couple of demos and an EP in those early years, the…
Artist: Diabolique Nocturne MagickaCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 One-man Black Metal band Diabolique Nocturne Magicka is run by the anonymous figure of Graf Kaalveg S. A. Starnesii, who self-released his project’s first offering, the ‘Aufklärung’ EP on a nice…
Artist: AmpitationCountry: NorwayLabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2020 The origins of all the well-known and genre-defining Norwegian Black Metal bands can be traced back to a small amount of extreme metal bands. Like basically…
Artist: PanychidaCountry: Czech RepublicLabel: Folter RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 The release of the ‘Gabreta Aeterna’ album in 2020 marked the fifth full-length in the history of the Czech band Panychida. Having taken three to four years between each album so…
Artist: PanychidaCountry: Czech RepublicLabel: Evil Horn Records / Folter Records / Nasphyr RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2020 Ever since 2004, the Czech band Panychida have been spreading their Pagan Metal to the world. The creative core of…
Artist: VonülfsrëichCountry: FinlandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 That the music of Vonülfsrëich has been changing from one release to the other was clear from their slew of EPs released since the band was born. This was possibly in part due…
Artist: VonülfsrëichCountry: FinlandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: CDYear: 2022 After its inception in 2012, the Finnish band Vonülfsrëich have released numerous releases, of which most were EPs. And on these EPs, the musical direction wasn’t always the same as the releases that…
Artist: VonülfsrëichCountry: FinlandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: CDYear: 2021 The Oulu, Finland based band Vonülfsrëich was formed by Fogg in 2012. In the early days Fogg was joined by bass player and vocalist Lempo, who passed away in 2015. However, the band’s…
Artist: Written In BloodCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Trollzorn RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 Written In Blood is a new Dutch Death Metal band featuring ex-Vortex and ex-Mandator drummer Jos Eggens and, most prominently, ex-God Dethroned bassist Bert ‘Beef’ Hoving. When I first got…
Artist: Jade Country: Germany / Spain Label: Pulverised Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 The German/Spanish Melodic Death Metal band released a demo in 2018 but went silent afterwards, it wasn’t until the very end of 2022 that the…
Artist: Hormagaunt Country: Australia Label: Bitter Loss Records / Frozen Screams Imprint Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2022 After an untitled demo from 2021, the Australian Death Metal combo Hormagaunt now returns with a full-length album. ‘In The Flesh’…
Artist: Moenen Of Xezbeth Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: 12″ EP Year: 2023 Hot on the heals of the band’s debut 7” EP, ‘Forever Rotting Winter’ in 2017, Moenen Of Xezbeth also released this 5-track demo tape (including…
Artist: Ieschure Country: Ukraine Label: Ars Funebris Records / Old Metal Rites Formats: Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2023 Ever since the inception of Ieschure, back in 2015, this Rivne-based Ukrainian Black Metal act has been on the top…
Artist: Static Abyss Country: USA Label: Filth Junkies Records / Peaceville Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Autopsy has always been a band that spawned many a side-project, of which The Ravenous and Abscess might be…
Artist: YrrCountry: FinlandLabel: Korpituli Productions / The Oath / White Wolf ProductionsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 After a decent first demo in early 2022, the Finnish band Yrr continued to work on their first EP. Initially started by…
Artist: YrrCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital DemoYear: 2022 Yrr is a project formed in Finland. It was formed by the sole band member, also called YRR, who had previously contributed to the bands Yrrthorn and Grimsvötn. On the first demo of the…
Artist: EnthronedCountry: BelgiumLabel: Medieval Prophecy RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2021 Enthroned is without a glimmer of a doubt one of the most important bands of the Belgian extreme metal scene. Though being formed back in 1993, in those very thriving formative years…
Artist: Serpents Oath Country: Belgium Label: Soulseller Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 The Belgian Black Metal band Serpents Oath released their second album halfway last year, again through the Dutch Soulseller Records label. Though the band might not…
Artist: DeiquisitorCountry: DenmarkLabel: Extrmely Rotten ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette / CDYear: 2023 Time flies, when you’re having fun. Right? ‘Apotheosis’ is already the fourth full-length album for Deiquisitor, one the flagships of the Danish thriving Death Metal scene. 2023 marks…
Artist: OhydaCountry: PolandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 On the back of their excellent first EP, Ohyda started working on new material. Once more released by Wolfspell Records, the Polish band again brings us an EP filled with raw Black…
Artist: OhydaCountry: PolandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 In 2021, the trio of Diabolizer, Bloodwhip and Necheshetrion, together representing the Polish scene in numerous bands, banded together in a new entity called Ohyda. This has so far led to the…
Artist: Skeletal Earth Country: USA Label: VIC Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 The Madison, Alabama, USA based Death/Thrash Metal band were not quite top of their league back in the early 90’s. They were best known in their own local…
Artist: Skeletal Earth Country: USA Label: VIC Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2022 Together with the reissue of the band’s two full-length albums, VIC Records also reissued Skeletal Earth’s 7” EP from 1993. The rather corny title, ‘Dreighphuck’, is quite…
Artist: Skeletal Earth Country: USA Label: VIC Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 In 1994 Skeletal Earth returned once again with a full-length album, which turned out to be their last one as they threw in the towel shortly…