Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
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,…
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…
Artist: Wolves In The Throne Room Country: USA Label: Relapse Records / Century Media Formats: 12″ EP / CD EP Year: 2023 As with many bands that are dealt with a certain hype in their careers this phenomenon comes with…
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…
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…
Artist: Wooden ThroneCountry: FinlandLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CDYear: 2023 Mikko Lehto isn’t exactly a stranger to atmospheric Black Metal. Since the inception in 2001, he has released six full-length albums with October Falls, initially as a solo project but since…
The combination of enchanting atmospheric Black metal and profound lyrics dealing with the Belgian area of Kaggevinne were just a few of the many obvious qualities of the band Oerheks. To delve into what moves the band and what lies…
De combinatie van de bezwerende atmosferische Black Metal en diepgaande teksten over de Belgische streek Kaggevinne waren slechts enkele van de in het oog springende kwaliteiten van de Belgische band Oerheks. Om verder te duiken in wat de band beweegt…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 With the release of ‘Unohdettu’, Kalmankantaja is up to their third release of 2023. After two full-length albums the latest addition to the discography is an EP, although with a total playing…
Artist: HedenskfridCountry: FinlandLabel: Hellthrasher ProductionsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 A cover showing a view through the trees on a lake with far away hills is certainly a captivating sight. And the same nature-inspired approach seems to have taken a deep root…
Artist: VoidwindCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 Soothing, longing, sorrowful and intriguing: just some words that describe the music of Voidwind on their album ‘Clad in Your Misery’. Besides that it’s released by the Finnish Misantropia Records, not a whole…
Artist: BurgonetCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Hailing from Finland, Burgonet does not hide their love of the Norwegian Black Metal scene at all. On their first demo simply titled ‘Demo One’, the band professes their adoration for the earliest…
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: 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: OerheksCountry: BelgiumLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Babylon Doom Cult RecordsFormats: 12″ Demo / Demo tapeYear: 2023 In the region of Cagghenvinna (currently known as Kaggevinne) in Belgium, a forest called the Prinsenbos once stood proud. Victim to the greed…
Artist: SieluhaaskaCountry: FinlandLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 A melancholic piercing riff, an ever so subtle background hum of the keyboards, rumbling bass and raspy cries upon a midpace drum rhythm: Sieluhaaska doesn’t waste time to introduce what they…
Artist: AutrestCountry: BrazilLabel: Northern Silence ProductionsFormats: Digital / CDYear: 2023 A view from a snowclad forest, with mountainsides reaching beyond where the eye can see. Hardly a scenery that you associate with the country Brazil, but this is exactly the…
Artist: AaraCountry: SwitzerlandLabel: Debemur Morti ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 In 1820 the Irish playwright finished his gothic novel ‘Melmoth the Wanderer’. In this tale, the lead character Melmoth is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in…
Artist: MotherwoodCountry: Brazil, GermanyLabel: Low Noise ProductionsFormats: Cassette TapeYear: 2023 The origins of Motherwood lie in Brazil, where both of its band members, Yuri Camargo and Guilherme Malosso, originate from. Somewhere after their self-titled debut album saw its release in…
Artist: EntrancementCountry: USALabel: Altare Productions / Perverse HomageFormats: Cassette Tape, CDYear: 2023 After two demos, which also appeared together on a compilation LP by Goatowarex, and a split with the (dreadful) Midnight Betrothed, American Entrancement comes out with the much…
Artist: UnohdusCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 With two tracks spanning a total of 8 minutes, Finland’s Unohdus’ arrival on the Black Metal scene is short but sweet. The atmospheric Black Metal in these two songs shows the one-man band…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: HammerbundFormats: CDYear: 2023 With the arrival of ‘Surun Saattomailla’, the second Kalmankantaja album of 2023 and 24th full-length in total sees its release. Often working with in particular different vocalists, this time we once again find Grim666 taking…
Artist: TetrasigilCountry: FinlandLabel: Amor Fati Productions / KuunpalvelusFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 When Luxixul Sumering Auter put an end to Cosmic Church in 2017 it opened room for him to focus on some of his other projects. Frozen Graves released…
Artist: BjesCountry: Czech RepublicLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 For the Czech band Bjes, the self-released EP ‘Prázdnota’ is their first release. With a release title that translates to ‘Emptiness’ you might be tempted to think the tone of the band’s…
Artist: InsiktCountry: SwedenLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Mysticism ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Insikt is one of the many vessels of Swedish Black Metal mastermind Swartadauþuz, of which the first and thus far only release ‘Wanderings Through a Cursed Mind’…
Artist: GreveCountry: SwedenLabel: Mysticism Productions / Purity Through FireFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Those with a weak spot for Black Metal will undoubtedly have heard one or more bands featuring the Swedish multi-instrumentalist Swartadauþuz, who also runs Ancient Records and Mysticism Productions.…
Artist: SammaleCountry: FinlandLabel: Naturmacht ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The artist behind Paisaunt and main composer and guitar player of Marrasmieli, an individual called Zannibal, sought a vessel for the atmospheric soundtrack fitting with a path through forest and…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Korpituli Productions / Wolfspell RecordsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Although the name was very familiar to me, Kalmakantaja from Finland was the sort of band that I never paid much attention to. But when I randomly…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Hammerbund / Korpituli ProductionsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 On November 30, 1939, three months after World War II had started, the Soviet Union invaded Finland. Three and a half months later on March 13th, 1940…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 ‘Ahdistus’ was originally the fourth full-length album by the Finnish Kalmankantaja, which saw a release in 2014 courtesy of War Against Yourself Records. At that time, vocalist Nagh was still part of the…
Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Korpituli Productions / Wolfspell RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The first full-length album that Kalmankantaja released in 2022 was the, by my count, 20th in the history of the band. Quite a feat considering…
Artist: VargrikeCountry: Hungary / USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 Not long after the release of their debut EP, the American/Hungarian duo of Vargrike commenced work on their first full-length album. What exactly determines the line between an EP and full-length is…
Artist: VargrikeCountry: Hungary / USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: CD EPYear: 2021 How the international Black Metal duo came together is unknown, but in today’s day and age it allowed the union of the San Diego, USA based Velsingard and the Budapest, Hungary…
Artist: The Mist From The MountainsCountry: FinlandLabel: Primitive ReactionFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The Mist From The Mountains is a new band formed in 2020. But the members behind the band have made their marks in Finnish…
Artist: GeistlichtCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 In September of 2022, Geistlicht’s debut release ‘Hidden in the Mists’ pleasantly surprised me with beautiful artwork but most of all, a great album filled with atmospheric Black Metal. Possibly equally surprising, the band…
Artist: NyrakCountry: BelgiumLabel: Self-releasedFormats: CDYear: 2022 Featuring members that are involved in bands such as Gotmoor, Serpent’s Oath, Wound Collector and Scarificator, the Belgian band Nyrak formed in 2021. Within a year they were ready to release their first release,…
Artist: HeinousCountry: BelgiumLabel: New Era Productions / Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 My first introduction to Heinous came with their ‘Demo I’, initially released through Medieval Prophecy Records (cassette) and later by New Era…
Artist: Cosmic ChurchCountry: FinlandLabel: KuunpalvelusFormats: LPYear: 2022 While Cosmic Church is mostly known as the one-man band of Luxixul Sumering Auter, a few of their releases were actually recorded as a two-piece. On the very first Cosmic Church demo, ‘The…
Artist: KêresCountry: FinlandLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2021 Kêres is one of the many vessels that the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and Kuunpalvelus label boss Rauta (in the case of Kêres performing under the name of Atvar) uses to…
Artist: Frozen GravesCountry: FinlandLabel: KuunpalvelusFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Cosmic Church, the band whose later albums had iconic images of mastermind Luxixul Sumering Auter in a red robe on the cover, left quite an impression with their recordings. The release…
Artist: GeistlichtCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 Sometimes I think about the good old days, when you wouldn’t know a thing about a band except for the appeal of the album cover, the excitement of discovering something based on a piece…
Artist: Précieux SangCountry: CanadaLabel: EisenwaldFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 The Black Metal scene in the Canadian province of Québec, often named Métal Noir Québécois after the first Forteresse album, has made a name for itself around the globe for producing numerous outstanding bands. While many…
Artist: NahtrunarCountry: AustriaLabel: Altare Productions / Symbolismus WerkeFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Insiders might know Austria’s Nahtrunar from the excellent debut album `Symbolismus’, a work that was heavily inspired by the spirit of 90s Norwegian Black Metal. Follow-up `Existenz’ mostly…
Artist: Saor Country: United Kingdom Label: Season Of Mist Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 With Saor celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, it’s safe to say that Andy Marshall has (much) more to offer than just…
Artist: Negură Bunget Country: Romania Label: Code666 Formats: CD Year: 2006 If there is one band that has been pushing the boundaries of black metal, and if there is one band that has been working their blackened asses off to…
Artist: Negură Bunget Country: Romania Label: Code666 Formats: CD EP Year: 2005 One of the better things that has happend over the last few years when it comes to black metal will definitely be the signing of Negura Bunget to…
After reviewing ‘Winterschatten’, the great last work by German band Vinterriket. I thought it was about time to talk a little about the things that happened since last interview, last year. I asked the man several questions about the music,…
Artist: Negură Bunget Country: Romania Label: Code666 Formats: CD Year: 2002 Much has been said and told about this band from Romania, but not really much is known about them. Also, all the releases, before this one, are barely obtainable.…