Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: AethyrickCountry: FinlandLabel: The Sinister FlameFormats: 12″ EP / CDYear: 2023 On April 9th, Finland celebrates the Day of the Finnish language. On this day Finland commemorates the death of Mikael Agricola, the father of the Finnish language who is…
Artist: Hospital Bomber Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 ‘Demonstration Of Two Songs’ is the first demo of this New York, USA based Death Metal band. And, believe it or not, it is indeed a demo containing,…
Artist: Surgical Invasion Country: Ukraine Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 This Ukrainian Thrash Metal duo makes no secret of their inspiration. The band name and the cover with this EP give it all away, the whole medicine cabinet…
Artist: Schizophrenia Country: Belgium Label: Self-Released Formats: CD EP Year: 2023 Okay, admittedly. I have always kept some distance from this band. I always thought the name was terribly badly chosen. When you choose to name your Thrash Metal band…
Artist: Slakter Country: Indonesia Label: Delusive Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Okay, admittedly, the name of this EP is a bit cheesy and rather simplistic. But then again, it is the first EP from this Indonesian band and despite…
Artist: YskelgrothCountry: SpainLabel: Xtreem MusicFormats: CDYear: 2023 Dave Rotten’s influence and contribution to the (extreme) metal scene is huge, especially in his homeland Spain, his importance is almost without equal. Especially with his label Xtreem Music (and its predecessors, Drowned…
Artist: Speedpussy Country: USA Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 With a band name like this and such an old school cover, it was a no brainer to click play. And, yes, of course I simply got what I…
Artist: Yellow ObeliskCountry: United KingdomLabel: Negate EverythingFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Hardly anything is known about this act, of which I presume is from the UK, so instead we go and dive directly into their brand of Raw Black Metal. The…
Artist: WightCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2023 Wight from Winchester, Virginia lands on the US Black Metal scene with first release, a self-titled EP. In four tracks, A. Geist (all instruments) and NXH (vocals) take us through their obsession with…
Artist: Misery Index Country: USA Label: Century Media Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 It is no secret that Misery Index has named themselves after a track of the 1997 released album of one of the best Grindcore bands from…
Artist: Diabolical MessiahCountry: ChileLabel: Veins Full of Wrath ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 Not counting a handful of split EPs, compilations and a demo, the Chileans of Diabolical Messiah present their third feat with ‘Satanic Alpha-Omega’. On the previous two long-players, the band had already shown they…
Artist: Keep Of KalessinCountry: NorwayLabel: Back On BlackFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 Keep Of Kalessin caused a bit of a stir with the release of their 2006 album ‘Armada’. Even though their origins dated back to 1993…
Artist: Psoglav Country: Bulgaria Label: Diabolic Hate Propaganda Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 With new works by Todorac, the inspirer behind this new project, it is always worth taking a moment to delve into the background and meaning of…
Artist: Hellcrash Country: Italy Label: Dying Victims Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2023 In the review for Hellcrash’s debut album, ‘Krvcifix Invertör’ our chief-editor Ricardo got flabbergasted by the sheer Venom-worship of their music, so I…
Artist: Proselytism Country: Norway Label: Duplicate Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 After the 2020 released debut ‘Blood Of The Deceivers’, the Norwegian duo of Proselytism returns with their sophomore album, again through Duplicate Records. Those who have heard…
Artist: Outlaw Country: Brazil Label: Art Of Propaganda Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 This Brazilian Black Metal band releases their third full-length with ‘Reaching Beyond Assiah’, but due to the low distribution of their previous works, this album will…
Artist: FeedingCountry: CanadaLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Although this Canadian Death Metal band already released a couple of demos over the past few years, they are relatively unknown, even to such an extent that they haven’t been included on Metal-Archives…
Artist: Cemetery LightsCountry: USALabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The first and only time Cemetery Lights graced our pages was with their debut EP, ‘Lemuralia’ (2018). In the meantime we are several releases on. This record, ‘Consumption’, is Cemetery…
Artist: DeathcircleCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Esfinge de la Calavera / Goatowarex / Sinister ShadowFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 One of the very first bands to arise from the Black Plague Circle was Deathcircle, which was formed in…
Artist: ThromvosisCountry: GreeceLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 In fact, a review can be very easy, or even unnecessary. The real connoisseur has of course already seen it: the red/black/white artwork, the logo, the band name and its title. Everything about this…
Artist: Opaque Blue Country: Bosnia And Herzegovina Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 This new Raw Black Metal band was born as a side-project of Black Stem Rust, an interesting but quirky Black Metal act from Bosnia And Herzegovina.…
Artist: CEPCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 It might not come as a total surprise, but ‘First Tape’ is actually this band’s first release. But while this might be the first offering of the band, at least one…
Artist: ArjenCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 The Black Metal movement originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina called the Black Plague Circle largely owes its existence to the two prolific members O. and H.P. Together, they started the scene in…
Artist: Dark MillenniumCountry: GermanyLabel: Floga RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2023 In the later years of the first Death Metal peak, say, the early 90’s there were bands that were pushing the boundaries of the genre. Into different directions, really. Of course, there…
Artist: Kasturn Country: United Kingdom Label: Death Hymns Formats: Demo tape Year: 2023 Although it is not 1997 anymore, but I could’ve picked any other random bygone year, sometimes a good cover still does the trick. On my daily foray…
Artist: Incandescence Country: Canada Label: Profound Lore Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 Incandescence, hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Canada hasn’t got much in common with the so-called ‘Metal Noir Quebecois’ movement that has been spawning one great band after another. But,…
Artist: PerfideCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: ZwaertgevegtFormats: LP / Cassette tapeYear: 2023 ‘De Republiek Der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden’ (which translates to ‘The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands’) was a confederation that existed from 1588 to 1795 and covered most of what…
Artist: ArzhaabatCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Arzhaabat is a new musical vehicle of the ever-prolific MBN (Chevallier Skrog among other and the person behind the Pant Y Meddygon label). This time, he is once again all alone at the helm, bringing us…
Artist: Blau BlutCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Blau Blut is a new band made up of musicians from several countries, including Sweden, Austria and Slovakia. This international company, in which we recognise at least MBN (of Chevallier…
Artist: DoomorderCountry: Finland / SpainLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 After a short promo in 2016, which was released as a part of a split 7” (pressed on a clear lathe disc) in 2017 the duo behind Doomorder returns with a self-released digital full-length album. The…
Artist: TëmorCountry: FranceLabel: Croux RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 In the ever-emerging scene that combines the fury of the old early 80’s anarchist Punk with the depraved sort of bareboned Black Metal, comes this Parisian act Tëmor. It is not completely…
Artist: HersirCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital DemoYear: 2023 Five songs totalling nearly 21 minutes is what the Swedish band Hersir presents us on their second demo ‘Hateful Draugar’ that saw its release in March 2023. Musically the band’s Black Metal can…
Artist: Serement Country: Greece Label: Theogonia Records Formats: CD EP Year: 2023 ‘Deviation From God’ is the first effort by this new Greek Death Metal band and was self-released digitally at the end of last year, but now gets a…
Artist: Carpathian WrathCountry: Puerto RicoLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 If Puerto Rican Carpathian Wrath have proved anything (besides their own musical prowess, of course), it is how elitist Metal Archives’ arbitrary regime is. Several attempts have apparently been made to include the band…
Artist: Maze Of Sothoth Country: Italy Label: Everlasting Spew Records Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 With ‘Extirpated Light’, this Italian foursome is on its second album. After a good demo and a successful debut album, expectations are high;…
Artist: Cult Of OrpistCountry: GreeceLabel: Theogonia RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 The combination of the band name of this EP and especially the cover art, I was allured into checking out this band from new metal band. Why? Because everybody loves…
Artist: DragonCountry: PolandLabel: Metal Mind ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 It must have been in the early 00’s that I snatched a batch of vinyl records of eBay (or something similar) and I also grabbed a copy of Dragon’s ‘Horda Goga’. I had never heard of…
Artist: Moloch / Wampyric RitesCountry: Ukraine / EcuadorLabel: Inferna Profundus Records / Signal RexFormats: Split LP / Split cassette tape / Split CDYear: 2023 ‘The Serpent Cult Of Darkness’ is the next chapter in the ongoing series of split releases…
Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 Most bands start in a rather modest way, probing one’s own musical abilities, gaining experience in writing and recording. In short, demo time. The same, of course, applies to Drowning The Light. Although…
Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 In a long series of vinyl reissues of the impressive Drowning The Light back catalogue, Iron Bonehead Productions also added ‘Oceans Of Eternity’ to its list. Originally released in 2013, ‘Oceans Of Eternity’…
Artist: CountessCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 One of the very oldest Dutch Black Metal bands is Countess, formed in 1992. There may no longer be any original band members in the current line-up and the band took a…
Artist: AstriferousCountry: Costa RicaLabel: Me Saco un Ojo Records / Pulverised Records / Seed of DoomFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 This is the fourth review to appear for Astriferous on our VM-Underground pages, not counting the interview, but for me personally, admittedly,…
Artist: CatacombCountry: FranceLabel: Xtreem MusicFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 When the French cult band Catacomb announced their return, I couldn’t help but being both enthusiastic and sceptic at the same time. Of course, it is great to have a band…
Artist: Venereal BaptismCountry: USALabel: Ascension RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 It has been about four years since this Laredo, Texas, USA based Blackened Death Metal band has released anything. The previous two albums already showed what this duo had in mind when…
Artist: Mystic Circle Country: Germany Label: Fireflash Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Actually, only just recovered from the shock of Mystic Circle’s unexpected return and, subsequently, their first feat in sixteen years, the German duo is already back…
Artist: Critical ExtravasationCountry: RussiaLabel: Redefining Darkness RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 On the band’s previous EP, ‘Morbid Existence’, this Russian Death Metal band Critical Extravasation already introduced us to their brand of Technical Death Metal. Our own chief editor of…
Artist: VrenthCountry: USALabel: Rotted Life RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 On the band’s previous release, the split LP with Depraver, Vrenth surprised me with their take on Death Metal that both had a distinct oppressive sound as…
Artist: Mist Of Misery Country: Sweden Label: Non Serviam Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 This Swedish Melodic Black Metal band has been formed back in 2010 and has kept a steady working pace ever since their inception, with ‘Severance’ being…