Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: PerfideCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 As part of the never-ending desire to expand their wealth during the golden age, many overseas colonies were added to ‘De Republiek Der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden’ (‘The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands’),…
Artist: Infinity Country: The Netherlands Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Despite Infinity not being very prolific in their early days after their formation in 1995, the band got a taste for it in the 00s…
Artist: Nights Horn Country: France Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo tape Year: 2023 Of course, it is nonsensical to write an essay on Dissection’s far-reaching influence on today’s extreme metal scene. Almost weekly, we are treated to bands that (sometimes more…
Artist: Ritual Hammer Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 There is little background information to give you any guidance before you turn on ‘Demo 2023’ by Ritual Hammer. But this demo, so far only available as a…
Artist: Weregoat Country: USA Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2023 Ahh, Weregoat. The ever-cheerful trio that has been ostentatiously hitting the road since the late 00s is making themselves heard again. Although their previous (and only) full-length…
Artist: Luciferian CeremonyCountry: PolandLabel: Fallen TempleFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 With a clear statement of hate against all Pseudo “Black metal” Luciferian Ceremony certainly isn’t out to make friends. Obviously, deeper down is their pure contempt for the commercialism of Black…
Artist: PestCountry: FinlandLabel: New Era ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 It’s 1997. In Norway, the sound of the second wave of Black Metal is shifting to a more symphonic and melodic sound. In Finland, Beherit has taken a completely different electronic direction,…
Artist: LureCountry: FranceLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 In some artists, creativity flows in many shapes and forms. The name of Pierre Perichaud may ring a few bells, but it’s especially the pseudonym Business for Satan (or B.F.S.) that probably…
Artist: Miscreance Country: Italy Label: Season Of Mist Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Although I came across the debut of this Italian Miscreance last summer, I did not get around to giving it a few words at the time.…
Artist: Worm Altar Country: USA Label: Gurgling Gore Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Last year, one-man formation Worm Altar already delivered a very attractive piece of Doom/Death Metal with a self-titled demo. Although that particular genre has been troubled by…
Artist: DenevérCountry: HungaryLabel: Metal Ör Die RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 ‘Vampír’ was a striking debut by the Hungarian band Denevér. On that album Tibor Terebesi paid homage to his Hungarian heritage, both in telling the story of the blood countess Báthory Erzsébet, as well…
Artist: Sacred OutcryCountry: GreeceLabel: No Remorse RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Sometimes you have to trust your gut and you have to give in to that irresistible urge to buy a record just off of some quick listens. Or maybe…
Artist: Helleruin Country: The Netherlands Label: New Era Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 Even for many a seasoned connoisseur, Helleruin’s sudden rising star must have come as a surprise. If I may speak for myself:…
Artist: Sammath Country: The Netherlands Label: Hammerheart Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 The award for most persistent Dutch Black Metal band goes to Sammath without question; ever since their formation in 1994, the band has stuck (for the…
Artist: ShadowsCountry: ChileLabel: Sentient Ruin LaboratoriesFormats: LP / Cassette / CDYear: 2023 Sentient Ruin has struck some pure gold here. Shadows hails from Chile, a country with a small but exceptionally high in quality metal scene. This time it’s not…
Artist: Imperishable Country: Sweden Label: Hammerheart Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 When I stumbled upon Imperishable’s ‘Deathspawn’ demo I was really very much intrigued by the fact that it had been able to get under my radar for…
Artist: Miserere LuminisCountry: CanadaLabel: Sepulchral ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 Miserere Luminis is a band with a bit of a mythical status in the Québécois Metal scene. Formed in 2008, it represented the collaboration of Neptune and Icare of the band Gris…
Artist: Verhinderer Country: Germany Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital demo Year: 2023 With ‘Groschenroman’, we already have Verhinderer’s third demo/EP in our hands, and that in less than a few months, as the band was only started in 2023. This one-man…
Artist: TrépasCountry: CanadaLabel: Sepulchral ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 While some of the members of Trépas have dabbled in Black Metal with their other bands, most people will more likely recognize them from their involvement in the Death Metal acts Outre-Tombe and…
Artist: SacrenoirCountry: CanadaLabel: Sepulchral ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 While both are considered amongst the frontrunners of the Métal Noir Québécois scene, it has been a while since we last saw an album by either Forteresse or Monarque. Forteresse’s fantastic fifth record…
Artist: Cattle Decapitation Country: Terrasite Label: Metal Blade Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Apart from maybe the very first outings (of which some were reissued on 2018’s ‘Medium Rarities’ compilation), Cattle Decapitation were never much of your regular…
Artist: Drowning The Light / Ghosts Of Oceania Country: Australia Label: Dark Adversary Productions Formats: Split CD Year: 2023 Those of you who tend to follow Azgorh’s musical steps in general and that of Drowning The Light in particular, will…
Artist: Moonlight Sorcery Country: Finland Label: Avantgarde Music Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2023 Admittedly, I felt a little let down by Moonlight Sorcery’s second EP, ‘Nightwind: The Conqueror From The Stars’ from December 2022. Although having largely the same ingredients…
Artist: Mournful Congregation Country: Australia Label: Osmose Productions / 20 Buck Spin Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 We live in a time where everything happens so fast, where all contacts seem fleeting and there seems to…
Artist: Vomitory Country: Sweden Label: Metal Blade Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Vomitory is such a band that is hard to dislike if you are into extreme metal in general or Death Metal in particular. Although it might…
Artist: Sól Án VarmaCountry: IcelandLabel: Ván RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 I’m not sure if anyone, including the bands themselves and the label behind their first albums, saw it coming that the debut albums of the Icelandic bands Svartidauði, Misþyrming…
Artist: TsjuderCountry: NorwayLabel: Season Of MistFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 Even though the band has existed since 1993, right at the peak years of the second wave of Black Metal, Tsjuder’s sound came to fruition a little…
Artist: RuïmCountry: Norway / PortugalLabel: Peaceville RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Mayhem has left Black Metal fans divided for decades. Still followed and revered by legions, there are plenty that swear the band died with the murder of Øystein “Euronymous”…
Artist: KvadCountry: NorwayLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CDYear: 2023 A raw and suffocating type of Black Metal with a cold atmosphere that mixed classic American Black Metal with an Eastern European sound. That is the description that my writing partner in…
Despite leaving behind only a very modest discography, the German band Old managed to leave a solid impression in the Black/Thrash Metal scene. So much so that the band’s only full-length album, 17 years on, is widely regarded as a…
Artist: SarvekasCountry: FinlandLabel: Soulseller RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 On the debut of Sarvekas, melodies with an epic undertone combined with a crushing rhythm guitar sound and overall pace made up the majority of the material. Comparisons with both Finnish…
Artist: EneveldeCountry: NorwayLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 The flow of creativity streaming through the veins of B. Kråbøl seems endless. While his work with Misotheist has left a deep impression upon the admirers of the Black Metal brewing in the…
The actually ever-productive Azaghal unexpectedly was very silent for several years; after ‘Valo Pohjoisesta’, released in 2018, it was years of waiting for a follow-up to this solid album. But in 2022, some digital singles arrived there. These turned out…
Artist: Terrifier Country: Canada Label: Empire Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Although the darkness and violence of Black Metal and Death Metal makes up the majority of our TWD content, we are certainly up for a good serving…
Artist: Nattehimmel Country: Norway Label: Hammerheart Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 From the ever-fertile and imaginative soil of Norway, many bands emerged at the beginning of the 1990s that gave colour and new impetus to the Black Metal…
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Australia-based Denouncement Pyre, a band that I feel does not always get the credit it does deserve based on its music. Last year, the band released their fourth album with ‘Forever Burning’ through…
Artist: DioneCountry: PolandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: 10″ EP / CD EPYear: 2023 The seeds of Dione, a Polish one-man project consisting of Krystian Łukaszewicz, must have been sown some time ago. It almost has to be, to pull of an EP of…
With the release of ‘III: The Great Light Above’ Wesenwille delivered one of the strongest albums of 2022. It presented the culmination of the band’s journey into dissonant Black Metal that once started heavily inspired by Deathspell Omega and Svartidauði but…
Artist: ImmortalCountry: NorwayLabel: Nuclear Blast RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 With ‘War Against All’ the Norwegian Black Metal institute Immortal brings forth its 10th instalment. A new album alone is enough to revisit this monumental band, but a tenth album…
When I first heard Diabolical Messiah’s debut album, I didn’t hesitate for long and picked up the vinyl edition, released via Blood Harvest. ‘Satan Tottendemon Victory!!!’ was yet another proof that there had to be something very deadly in the…
Artist: Perdition windsCountry: FinlandLabel: Hellthrasher ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 ‘Transcendent Emptiness’, the second record by the Finnish Black Metal band Perdition Winds, was a ripper of a record. But maybe that wasn’t all that surprising, as the band features…
Contrary to the usually otherwise quite chauvinistic proud nature of the French people, the French Black Metal scene has remained quite modest when it comes to their influence on the overall genre. OK, that about the chauvinism might be a…
Artist: Spirit Possession Country: USA Label: Profound Lore Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Take Black Metal with a strong Heavy Metal riff base that features a cacophony of sliding and tapping guitar notes best known to Black Metal…
Artist: SkuggeheimCountry: NorwayLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 After the explosive 90’s of Norwegian Black Metal, not much of that bustling prolific and high-quality scene was still intact by the mid 2000’s. Sure, bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Satyricon and…
Although Infernal Conjuration is not the most prolific band from Mexico’s rich underground scene, the band’s sparse work is emblematic of what that Mexican metal has to offer. Their last album, ‘Infernale Metallum Mortis’ dates back to 2019, but, singer…
Over the past decade, the Black Metal genre has, once again, renewed, deepened and broadened. This can be largely credited to a number of Icelandic and Norwegian bands (always those Norwegians!), whose recordings often have been released under the watchful…
Last year’s ‘Ascetic Reflection’ was one of the best forward thinking Death Metal releases that reached my ears in a long time. The compelling intricacies, creative dynamics and overall mind-boggling musical wizardy made the album slip into my Top-15 of…
Artist: StutyrCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 One of my favorite demos of 2022 was the first release by the Finnish Herugrim, whose ‘Demo XXMMII’ featured a stunning mix of raw Black metal with epic Heavy Metal…