Likno – Summit and Trench

Artist: Likno Country: Greece Label: WolfKult Religion Formats: CD Year: 2025 On the same day that fireworks lit the sky to call for the end of 2025, Likno had a little thing to celebrate as well. Conceived in that same…

Saor – Amidst The Ruins

Artist: Saor Country: United Kingdom Label: Season Of Mist Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2025 Although ‘Origins’ ended up rather high on my Album Of The Year-list, I had difficulties properly wrapping my head around this follow-up…

Krvna Majka – Krvna Majka [EP]

Artist: Krvna Majka Country: USA Label: Prism of Deceit Recordings Formats: Digital Year: 2025 While the roots of the members are unknown, the Slavic band name Krvna Majka, or Blood Mother, may imply a European band is behind this eponymous…

Kalmankantaja – Autumnheart

Artist: Kalmankantaja Country: Finland Label: Wolfspell Records Formats: CD Year: 2025 ‘Autumnheart’ is the second Kalmankantaja album of 2025, and as the change of logo might foretell, it is quite a different affair. While ‘Musta Aurinko’ took the atmospheric Black…

Kalmankantaja – Musta Aurinko

Artist: Kalmankantaja Country: Finland Label: Wolfspell Records Formats: CD Year: 2025 While the band has been active on other fronts, 2025 in comparison seems like a rather modest year for Kalmankantaja in terms of new albums. Only two albums were…

Storming – Celestial Clear Moonlit

Artist: Storming Country: USA Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2025 Iron Bonehead Productions announced ‘Celestial Clear Moonlit’ as the “highly anticipated” second album of this one-man Black Metal band from the USA. To be honest, I…

Wisteria – Haunted By Memories [Demo]

Artist: Wisteria Country: USA Label: Lampshade Tapes Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2025 Wisteria, a one-man Black Metal band from Cleveland, Ohio, came to life early 2024 with a debut full-length called ‘Nightfall’. With its serene cover art and expressive title,…

Spellgate – Spellgate

Artist: Spellgate Country: Finland Label: Self-released Formats: Digital Year: 2025 From Finland hails the entity of Spellgate, a rather mysterious band of which we know that E.P. runs the entire show and that their debut eponymous album has just been…

Cénotaphe – Chimères

Artist: Cénotaphe Country: France Label: Ancien Culte / Nuclear War Now! Productions / Ossuaire Records Format: LP / CD Year: 2025 Things moved fast for Cénotaphe. Born out of their time together in Nécropole, instrumentalist Fog and vocalist Khaosgott started…

Draugaskógur – Fullmoon Hypnotic Ritual

Artist: Draugaskógur Country: Serbia Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: Cassette Tape Year: 2025 From the Inferna Profundus Records stables comes this new Serbian one-man project called Draugaskógur and with ‘Fullmoon Hypnotic Ritual’ it goes right for the full-length album, skipping…

Iätön – Portit Pohjolan

Artist: Iätön Country: Finland Label: Signal Rex Formats: LP / CD Year: 2025 After two highly enjoyable demos released on Altare Productions and Korpituli Records respectively, it is now time for the debut of Finnish Black Metalers Iätön. For that…

Orrery – Nine Odes to Oblivion [Re-release]

Artist: Orrery Country: Australia Label: Forbidden Frequencies Formats: LP Year: 2025 I’m sure many a music fanatic has those releases, the ones that made an immediate impact, stuck with you for years, yet never got the proper treatment and recognition…

Faidra – Dies Irae [EP]

Artist: FaidraCountry: SwedenLabel: Northern Silence ProductionsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2025 ‘Militant : Penitent : Triumphant’ was a rather impressive record, released by the Swedish one-man act Faidra in late 2023. Basing its atmospheric Black Metal on a straightforward but…

Drudkh – Shadow Play

Artist: DrudkhCountry: UkraineLabel: Season of Mist Underground ActivistsFormats: LP / Cassette tape /CDYear: 2025 As conflict continues to tear apart their homeland, Roman Saenko and companions relentlessly persist to bring a homage to the landscapes of Ukraine and its history.…

Canis Dirus – By The Grace Of Death

Artist: Canis Dirus Country: USA Label: Bindrune Formats: LP / CD Year: 2024 In this wretched world, life can still sometimes surprise you in a positive way. When I was asked to dive into this latest record of Canis Dirus,…

Svrm – Скорбота [EP]

Artist: Svrm Country: Ukraine Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2025 The prolific Ukrainian one-man Black Metal operation that is Svrm seems to prefer shorter releases over full-lengths. Although S. has delivered three full-length albums, ‘Скорбота’ is the band’s 11th…

Djevel – Natt Til Ende

Artist: DjevelCountry: NorwayLabel: Aftermath MusicFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2024 Ever since their beginning, Djevel has brought an ode to the Norwegian Black Metal of the 90’s, and in particular the more atmospheric likes of Gehenna, Ulver, Borknagar…

Vampyric Bloodlust – Wretched Is The Light [EP]

Artist: Vampyric BloodlustCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2024 Sure, I’m not the fastest writer, but in the time between adding the first Vampyric Bloodlust EP ‘Midnight Slaughter’ to my review list and the actual review, sole band member Mördann managed to…

Demstervold – Afgrondstocht

Artist: Demstervold Country: The Netherlands Label: New Era Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2024 After the impressive ‘Den Svartne Spökerii’ demo tape from 2017, which was released through Jeroen’s own then resurrected Black Abyss Productions, we were treated with…

Bortglömd – Haunting Calls [Demo]

Artist: Bortglömd Country: Sweden Label: Heidens Hart Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2024 ‘Haunting Calls’ is the debut demo of a new Swedish duo with Dutch connections, yet with this 3-track demo tape the band is distinctly sounding more Northern…

Winterfylleth – The Imperious Horizon

Artist: Winterfyllth Country: United Kingdom Label: Candlelight Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2024 Although Winterfylleth has become more or less synonymous with everything sounding safe, slick and accessible in Black Metal over the past few years, the English collective…

Nahtrunar – Hrima

Artist: NahtrunarCountry: AustriaLabel: Altare ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2024 Following up ‘Wolfsstunde’ is quite a tall order, as Nahtrunar delivered a stellar atmospheric Black Metal record that could match itself with their fantastic debut ‘Symbolismus’ and their genre peers. Yet…

Aethyrick – Death is Absent

Artist: AethyrickCountry: FinlandLabel: End All Life ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2024 After a collaboration giving rise to four full-length albums, a compilation and two EPs, the union of Aethyrick and The Sinister Flame is no more. As the fire of…

Volc Vermaledide – Zinnennevel [Demo]

Artist: Volc VermaledideCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Wolfkult ReligionFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2024 The Dutch band Volc Vermaledide finds its origins in 2001, and is the brainchild of Satanael M Raben, formerly in Cirith Gorgor and Walpurgisnacht and currently also in Asregen. After…

Wirdha / Nachtheem – Wirdha / Nachtheem [Split]

Artist: Wirdha / NachtheemCountry: Sweden / The NetherlandsLabel: Tour de GardeFormats: Split TapeYear: 2024 On this Tour de Garde released Split Tape, Wirdha and Nachtheem found each other. Wirdha is a new entity with anonymous Black Metal veterans from Sweden.…

Cachot d’Effroi / Wolftower – Split MMXXIV

Artist: Cachot d’Effroi / Wolftower Country: France / Finland Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: Split Cassette Tape Year: 2024 On this Narbentage Produktionen released split tape two of the most interesting bands out of today’s European Black Metal scene team up…

Cantique Lépreux – Le Bannissement

Artist: Cantique Lépreux Country: Canada Label: Eisenwald Formats: LP / CD Year: 2024 Anyone who has been compelled by the grandeur of the Metal Noir Quebecois scene will most likely have stumbled upon the back catalogue of Cantique Lépreux. It might be a bit…

Liminal Shroud – Visions Of Collapse

Artist: Liminal Shroud Country: Canada Label: Willowtip Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2024 Album number three for this Canadian three-piece and with 2022’s ‘All Virtues Ablaze’ they have set the bar high for its follow-up release. That sophomore album…

Iätön – Korpimaille [Demo]

Artist: IätönCountry: FinlandLabel: Korpituli ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2024 Following the release of their first demo ‘Loitsutulet’ I lauded the Finns in Iätön for delivering harsh and haunting Black Metal in the vein of Barathrum and Korgonthurus mixed with a dash of…

Oerheks – Heksen & Geesten van Brabant [Demo]

Artist: OerheksCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: 10″ DemoYear: 2024 In many ways, this review for the fourth demo of Oerheks has been a while coming. Mastermind H. had already mentioned last year that he had recorded five demos for this…

Nachtheem – Nacht, Zij met Ons… [EP]

Artist: NachtheemCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2024 Nachtheem is a mysterious new entity hailing from The Netherlands that released their debut EP ‘Nacht, Zij met Ons…’ at the dawn of 2024. While that release initially passed me by unnoticed,…

Svrm – Прощання [EP]

Artist: Svrm Country: Ukraine Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2024 Almost immediately after the band’s conception back in the early 00’s Drudkh has gained a big following. Not only in people who found something new in the sort of…

Kalmankantaja / Somber Winds – Split CD

Artist: Kalmankantaja / Somber WindsCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: Split CDYear: 2024 Shortly after the release of reimagined tracks from the 2014-2016 period, Kalmankantaja returns to the release front with the first new material of 2024 (although technically it was already…

Conifère – L’Imp​ô​t Du Sang

Artist: Conifère Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2024 After having released a demo and a split in 2020, Conifère went silent for a good couple of years. While many bands do release one album or EP after another,…

Kalmankantaja – Varjosielu

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2024 It has taken a couple of months, but with the release of ‘Varjosielu’ the first recording of Kalmankantaja of 2024 is finally here. This time around we aren’t presented with a new album,…

Vuosisata – Kuilu [Demo]

Artist: Vuosista Country: Finland Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo tape Year: 2024 ‘Kuilu’ might seem the first ever release for this Finnish Atmospheric Black Metal band, it is actually its second outing. Before switching to the name of ‘Vuosisasta’ the band…

Faidra – Militant : Penitent : Triumphant

Artist: FaidraCountry: SwedenLabel: Northern Silence ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 It seems that in the past year the number of new Atmospheric Black Metal bands has been through the roof. Or rather, it feels that the term…

Sammale – Finno-Ugric

Artist: SammaleCountry: FinlandLabel: Naturmacht ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 In languages, Finno-Ugric is a grouping of all languages in the Uralic family except the Samoyedic languages. The three most common of these languages are Hungarian, Finnish, and Estonian. A…

Kalmankantaja – Kohti Valon Kuolemaa

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 As this turn around the sun is about to reach its end and a new round of the endless cycle soon begins, Kalmankanataja closes off 2023 with its third full-length of the year,…

Permanent Solution – Permanent Solution

Artist: Permanent SolutionCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 There’s a few things that drew me to the album of Permanent Solution. For one, their label Misantropia Records generally releases good, often Kalmankantaja related, Finnish Black Metal. The tracklist of ‘Permanent…

Oerheks – Valkengebed [Demo]

Artist: OerheksCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Babylon Doom Cult RecordsFormats: 12″ Demo / Demo tapeYear: 2023 Soaring, high above the tree lines, carried by the thermals, observing all that transpires far beneath. With ‘Valkengebed’, Oerheks takes us once more to…

Waldgeflüster – Unter Bronzenen Kronen [EP]

Artist: WaldgeflüsterCountry: GermanyLabel: AOP RecordsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2023 Autumn equinox is here, and to celebrate the beauty of the leaves turning shades of red, green and bronze, Germany’s Waldgeflüster offers us with their latest EP, ‘Unter Bronzenen…