Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Lichtblick Country: Austria Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 Lichtblick is German for ‘bright spot’, a symbol for hope, a brighter future. This is in stark contrast to the title of this second full-length from the Austrian…
Artist: Ancient NorthCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 After having released two albums and an EP earlier this year, Forlorn, the sole initiator and driving force of the entity that is Ancient North, decided to close off the year with another…
Artist: The Rite / BezweringCountry: Denmark / Italy / The NetherlandsLabel: Headkick MusicFormats: Split 7″ EPYear: 2022 Dutch Bezwering and Danish/Italian band The Rite team up for a split 7” EP that was released just before last summer by rather…
Artist: Ritual Necromancy / Fossilization Country: USA / Brazil Label: Everlasting Spew Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Earlier this year Everlasting Spew Records presented a split release by two nice Death Metal bands: Ritual Necromancy, a former Dark…
Artist: Phlebotomized Country: The Netherlands Label: Hammerheart Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape Year: 2022 One of the most original bands that helped shape the ‘famous’ Dutch Death/Doom Metal scene was certainly Phlebotomized. With their 1992 ‘Devoted To God’-demo tape…
Artist: AnaelCountry: GermanyLabel: Darkness Shall Rise Productions / Into Endless Chaos RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tapeYear: 2021 Anael has always been a massively overlooked band in the German Black Metal scene. Not only were they able to bring something else…
Artist: Moonlight Sorcery Country: Finland Label: Avantgarde Music Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 At the beginning of this year I was completely blown away by the debut EP from Finnish newcomers Moonlight Sorcery. Just…
Artist: WargeistCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Not much is known about this new band called Wargeist, except the fact that they are from Germany and recently digitally released their first EP, ‘Altar Of Genocide’. So, instead of digging into…
Artist: DesecresyCountry: FinlandLabel: Xtreem MusicFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Originally started out as a duo, Desecresy was brought back to a one-man Death Metal playground for Jarno Nurmi, who previously gained some fame in the otherwise quite…
Artist: VoidCeremonyCountry: USALabel: 20 Buck SpinFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 The exact purpose of this demo is unclear to me, the Californian based VoidCeremony already released their debut album ‘Entropic Reflections Continuum: Dimensional Unravel’ in 2017 through the same label, 20…
Artist: Vile RitesCountry: USALabel: Desert Wastelands ProductionsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 At the beginning of the year, the recently formed band Vile Rites from Santa Rosa, California, USA, released their first EP with ‘The Ageless’. Graced with some…
Artist: Nocturnal Sorcery Country: Finland Label: Kvlt Formats: CD Year: 2022 After the release of two demos and a split with fellow Finnish Daemonblut, Nocturnal Sorcery treats us with their debut album, ‘The Holy Law In Total Ruin’, brought to…
Artist: EctoplasmaCountry: GreeceLabel: Memento Mori / Rotted Life RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Having been founded exactly ten years ago, Ectoplasma from Greece, have been quite an active band. They have managed to crank out quite a…
Artist: TeitanbloodCountry: SpainLabel: Norma Evangelium DiaboliFormats: LPYear: 2022 Originally released in 2011 as a single-sided 12” EP, ‘Purging Tongues’ recently got a reissue in a new cover and with the etched B-side being replaced for a different take of the…
Artist: VarathronCountry: GreeceLabel: Agonia RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2020 In its very lengthy career, Greek forebearers of the so much beloved Hellenic Black Metal sound, Varathron, never released a live album before. So, when the band embarked on a trip…
Artist: Septicflesh Country: Greece Label: Chaos Reigns / Nuclear Blast / Shinigami Records / Ward Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 When the band fell apart in 2003 and arose again four years later, they not…
Artist: Faceless BurialCountry: AustraliaLabel: Dark Descent Records / Desiccated Productions / Me Saco un Ojo RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 With ‘Speciation’, the Australian Death Metallers shook off their early-stage darker branded Death Metal, not much was…
Artist: Molder Country: USA Label: Headsplit Records / Prosthetic Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Illinois pusheads Molder released their sophomore album, ‘Engrossed In Decay’, last summer. The bands’ debut album for Prosthetic Records, who took…
Artist: DemigodCountry: FinlandLabel: Svart RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The Finnish Death Metal scene is a quirky one. Not only did it crystalize somewhat late, it also formed quite independently from the exploding US and Swedish scenes…
Artist: Revolting Country: Sweden Label: Xtreem Music Formats: CD Year: 2022 Album number eight for Revolting, one of the many Rogga Johansson starring bands. What can be said that hasn’t been said about Johansson and any of his musical endeavours?…
Artist: ZemialCountry: GreeceLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Archon Vorskaath has led his brainchild Zemial through many years of musical transitions and past many great releases. On many occasions, the enigmatic act has managed to surprise fans and critics alike. Looking…
Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: LP Year: 2022 In 2019 Drowning The Light released the ‘A Gleam In The Eye Of Set’ mini CD through Azgorh’s own Dark Adversary Records which ended up on this vinyl together with 2022’s ‘Wolrd…
Artist: Funeral WindsCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: NecromanteionFormats: DigitalYear: 2021 By the end of last year the Dutch Black Metal entity Funeral Winds independently released this compilation of “raw sounding Funeral Winds recorings”, which were recorded over the years between 2001 and…
Artist: DesultoryCountry: SwedenLabel: Floga RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2022 Founded as early as 1989, Desultory was one of the first Swedish Death Metal bands, but unlike many of their contemporaries, they opted for a different take on the genre. While most other…
Artist: DesultoryCountry: SwedenLabel: Floga RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2022 With the bands’ first album, the Metal Blade released ‘Into Eternity’ from 1993, Desultory firmly cemented their (then) original take on Swedish Death Metal into the collective brains of every Death Metal fan.…
Artist: Vengeance SorceryCountry: USALabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2022 Recently I dived into the four demo tapes of the illustrious duo of Vengeance Sorcery, going through many minutes of their quirky and captivating blend of Black Metal and Doom…
Artist: Vengeance SorceryCountry: USALabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 At the very beginning of this year Nuclear War Now! Productions reissued the first demo of American duo Vengeance Sorcery, that originally saw the dark of night in 2019…
Artist: ChaotianCountry: DenmarkLabel: Dark Descent Records / Extremely Rotten Productions / Me Saco un Ojo RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 When I was thrown the demos compilation LP ‘Festering Excarnation’ by VM-Underground’s VincentP, I had quite a…
Artist: VintertodtCountry: USALabel: Fólkvangr Records / Forest SummonerFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 From New York, USA, hails the Black Metal band Vintertodt. Formed in 2018, the band soon recorded their first demo which was released in 2019. ‘Pure Fucking…
Artist: Phlebotomized Country: The Netherlands Label: Hammerheart Records / Petrichor Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP Year: 2021 Being one of the bands that helped shape the Dutch underground metal scene, many eyes were on Phlebotomized after it was announced…
Artist: Old Castles Country: Chile Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 After no less than eight demos and a split release with Moon’s Veneris (yes, Moon’s Veneris, not Mons Veneris), and I am not even counting…
Artist: Katavasia Country: Greece Label: Iron Bonehead Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2022 Katavasia was formed in 2014 by Varathron mastermind Stefanos ‘Necroabyssious’ Karasavvas, undoubtedly one of the founding fathers of the famous Hellenic Black Metal sound. And although not…
Artist: Bastard Grave / Graveyard GhoulCountry: Sweden / GermanyLabel: Lycanthropic ChantsFormats: Split 7″ EP Year: 2021 On this split 7”, released by Germany’s great underground label Lycanthropic Chants, Swedish Bastard Grave and Graveyard Ghoul from Germany team up for some…
Artist: AltarsCountry: AustraliaLabel: Everlasting Spew RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Following the bands’ debut album, the great Blood Harvest Records released ‘Paramnesia’ from 2013, Altars mostly lay dormant for about a decade. That means that having the band returned to…
Artist: Mangled Torsos Country: Germany Label: Morbid Classics Formats: LP Year: 2021 Though I was not exactly there at that exact time, because of my age, I always loved the atmosphere and feeling of those early 90’s demo tapes and…
Artist: NihilvmCountry: PolandLabel: Malignant VoicesFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 Poland’s Nihilvm was formed in 2020, but that’s about all the information that’s out there. Well, that and that the band was signed to the highly esteemed Malignant Voices label, which has…
Artist: Eternal Rot / CoffinsCountry: Poland / JapanLabel: Behind The MountainFormats: Split LP / Split cassette tape / Split CDYear: 2021 Coffins should require no introduction, not only have they released a couple of outstanding full-length album, they also left…
Artist: Ceremonial OathCountry: SwedenLabel: Floga RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2022 If you take any old Swedish extreme metal demo, EP or debut album and look at the line-up, list of external contributions or even thank lists, you are basically diving into a…
Artist: Concrete WindsCountry: FinlandLabel: Sepulchral Voice RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 At the end of last year Concrete Winds treated us to a new album of extreme violence. I can imagine that you are still recovering from 2019’s ‘Primitive Force’,…
Artist: OcculsedCountry: USALabel: Everlasting Spew RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 When I first saw the amazing cover art of ‘Crepitation of Phlegethon’ and the old school red logo of Occulsed, I first thought this was one of those early 90’s…
Artist: Blood LossCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2022 Not too long ago I was poring over the ‘Visions Of A Darker World’-demo, which came out early this January, and now for the second time this year I have the honour to say a few words…
Artist: Cantique LépreuxCountry: CanadaLabel: EisenwaldFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Our loyal readers have already seen many a Canadian Black Metal release pass by, it is a scene that is developing rapidly and producing a good number of, often exceptionally good, acts. In particular,…
Artist: Morbus Grave Country: Italy Label: Chaos Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 After having released a handful of demos and two split releases, the Italian Death Metal band Morbus Grave felt ready for a full-length album, which was recently released…
Artist: Meslamtaea Country: The Netherlands Label: Babylon Doom Cult Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Formed in 1998, Meslamtaea may be considered one of the longest-running Dutch Black Metal acts, but in that almost quarter-century of its existence, main…
Artist: Blood Of The WolfCountry: USALabel: Horror Pain Gore Death ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2022 The title of ‘IV: The Declaration Of War Eternal’ implies that there were (at least) three chapter preceding this latest album by American Death Metallers Blood Of The Wolf. And while I…
Artist: HelwettiCountry: FinlandLabel: Northern Heritage RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 It was quite a surprise that 2021 saw the release of the debut album of the Finnish band Helwetti. Outside some involvement in (live) activities of the cult band Warloghe, the members…
Artist: ConsumptionCountry: SwedenLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Consumption is a band that was formed two years ago by Håkan Stuvemark of Wombbath fame and two fellow musicians with experience in a wide range of different bands. They didn’t…
Artist: Blood / IncantationCountry: Germany / USALabel: Hells Headbangers Records / VIC RecordsFormats: Split LP / Split CDYear: 2022 This is a split that you knew that would happen one day. Both bands never made a secret for their mutual…