Genocidal Rites – Eternal Samhain [EP]

Artist: Genocidal Rites Country: USA Label: 18 Is 9 Records And Tapes Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Last year I reviewed ‘Exsanguination Of The Gods’, a tape-only release by Genocidal Rites. It was a short but sweet EP, presented by…

Kirous – VII [Demo]

Artist: Kirous Country: Finland Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital demo Year: 2023 Literally on the very edge of 2023, on December 30th, hard working Finnish one-man force Kirous releases yet another short but sweet digital demo. Like the title already suggests,…

Wolftower – Throne Of Nightfall’s Wrath

Artist: Wolftower Country: Finland Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape Year: 2023 In the very waning weeks of 2023 Finland’s Wolftower treats us with yet another new release, the twelfth in total but after a lot of…

Moonlight Sword – Imperial Dragoon Kommando [Demo]

Artist: Moonlight Sword Country: USA Label: Oakheart Production Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 In 2022 the one-woman band Moonlight Sword released two fine digital demos, that both also appeared on cassette tape by the Belgian Rabauw label. Carmilla II Dracul,…

Arzhaabat – In Veligrad Shadows

Artist: Arzhaabat Country: Czechia Label: Cosmic Cause Productions Formats: Cassette tape Year: 2023 After a demo and a single, both released on cassette tape in early 2023, the prolific MBN (or Vaérmiyr), who is also known for Blau Blut, Svor, CEP and the…

Hail Conjurer – Satanic Phenomenology

Artist: Hail Conjurer Country: Finland Label: Bestial Burst Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2024 One of the most intriguing Finnish Black Metal bands definitely is Hail Conjurer, the band’s otherworldly take on Black Metal has already resulted in a…

Wolftower – The Unholy Embrace Of Vampire [EP]

Artist: Wolftower Country: Finland Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Ever since the early 20’s Finnish one-man band Wolftower have been firing away one release after the other, yet none of them ever featured on these pages. Strange…

Haan Valar – Devotion To Xemzara [Demo]

Artist: Haan Valar Country: USA Label: Mamzer Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2024 Apart from the big commercial success of Rotting Christ, that mythical sound of Greek Black Metal has always been loved, it was mostly appreciated by a small…

Nekromanteion – The Sinister Flame [Demo / Re-Release]

Artist: Nekromanteion Country: Bolivia Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2024 Nekromanteion from Bolivia came to my path with their split 7” EP with Nebiros (2014) and the following ‘Cosmic Horrors’ 7” EP from 2015, both released by…

Funeral Vomit – Monumental Putrescence

Artist: Funeral Vomit Country: Colombia Label: Xtreem Music Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 Founded not too long ago, in 2020, this Colombian Death Metal band unleashed some first recordings in the form of two split EP’s,…

Moon Oracle – Totemic Lord [Single]

Artist: Moon Oracle Country: Finland Label: Bestial Burst Formats: CD Single Year: 2023 After the band’s second full-length, ‘Ophidian Glare’, released earlier in 2023, Moon Oracle already returns with a 2-track single, also released by the great Bestial Burst label.…

Ancient North – The Dark Ages

Artist: Ancient North Country: USA Label: Wulfhere Productions Formats: CD Year: 2024 If one-man Black Metal band Ancient North has proven one thing over the course of two years (and three full-length albums, an EP and a split release) is…

Black Funeral – Wallachian Voivode [EP]

Artist: Black Funeral Country: USA Label: Dark Adversary Productions Formats: CD EP Year: 2024 Over the course of its expansive career, spanning over three decades, Black Funeral have proven itself as one of the most elusive Black Metal bands ever…

Nartvind – Breath Of Night

Artist: Nartvind Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Nartvind is not quite the band that is firing away releases at Drowning The Light-speed, but when they do have something new for you, you can…

Gouffre – Demo III

Artist: Gouffre Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 After two great demo tapes released in 2019 and 2021 and the 2022-released split 7” EP with their compatriots of Phlegethon’s Majesty the band returned to the…

Varathron – The Crimson Temple

Artist: Varathron Country: Greece Label: Agonia Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 For the lovers of the Hellenic sound, Varathron will always remain something that sparks a feeling of magical enthusiasm. Not only were they amongst the very…

Venusberg Cardinal – Atlas Of Dungeons

Artist: Venusberg Cardinal Country: Canada Label: Nuclear War Now! Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Admittedly, I am arriving a bit late to the party with my review for the one and only release of the gritty sounding Canadian…

Bloedmaan – Castle Inside The Eclipse

Artist: Bloedmaan Country: Belgium Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 From the increasingly interesting Belgian Black Metal scene comes this latest addition, Bloedmaan (Blood Moon when translated from Dutch). Named after the scarlet red colour of…

Demoncy – Diabolica Blasphemiae [EP]

Artist: Demoncy Country: USA Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: 12″ / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2023 Hot on the heals off the band’s sixth full length album, Demoncy also releases this new 12” EP (also released on cassette…

Demoncy – Black Star Gnosis

Artist: Demoncy Country: USA Label: Dark Descent Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 If anything, Demoncy is a band that seems to work in short and unexpected outbursts of creativity. In their early days since their…

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…

Ringarë – Of Momentous Endless Night

Artist: Ringarë Country: USA Label: Avantgarde Music Formats: LP /  CD Year: 2023 The story of Ringarë began all the way back in 2004 when this US-based Black Metal band recorded two demos in the following years but eventually more or…

Korgunthurus- Jumalhaaska

Artist: KorgonthurusCountry: FinlandLabel: Woodcut RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 Despite a history marred by periods of inactivity and break ups, Korgonthurus managed to create one of the most enthralling records in Finnish Black Metal with 2009’s ‘Marras’.…

Hellmoon – Blood Laced With Emptiness [EP]

Artist: Hellmoon Country: Canada Label: Forbidden Keep Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2024 The Canadian Black Metal musician known as Plääg (although his mother knows him as Cavan Rian Hoover) is quite a busy man, not only is he active…

Urväsen – Fåror [EP]

Artist: UrväsenCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2023 While Urväsen appears to hail from Sweden, the music on the debut EP ‘Fåror’ sounds far from the typical Swedish Black Metal style. Instead, the music on the five tracks has more in…

Iätön – Loitsutulet [Demo]

Artist: IätönCountry: FinlandLabel: Altare ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Iätön is the brainchild of musicians Woewrb and Penetreichtus I. Formed in 2022, the band hailing from Oulu, Finland, recently released their very first demo courtesy of the mighty Altare Productions. Those…

Veitsi – Rautaa & Verta [EP]

Artist: VeitsiCountry: FinlandLabel: Escafismo RecordsFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 After having released three EPs in 2022, the first year of band’s existence, 2023 almost passed by without any new Veitsi releases. But salvation came on the 29th of December as the newest…

Syn – Villfarelse

Artist: SynCountry: NorwayLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 The latest offering presented by Terratur Possessions is Syn. While the collective behind it does not see a need to reveal the individuals behind it, the attentive listener might be able to pick…

Satans Mördör – Into The Cold Eternity… [Demo]

Artist: Satans Mördör Country: Unknown Label: Mamzer Records Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2024 ‘Into The Cold Eternity…’ was initially a digital self-released demo that appeared in December 2023, but since its impeccable quality it really needed a physical release as well. The…

Cursed Penetrator – Satanic Slaughter [Demo]

Artist: Cursed Penetrator Country: Finland Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Behind this new Finnish act are two anonymous individuals going under the names of “Desecrator Of Holy Cunt” and “Priest Of Angel Sodomy”, but at least one of them is…

Misanthropic War – Utter Human Annihilation

Artist: Misanthropic War Country: Germany Label: Godz Ov War Productions Formats: CD Year: 2023 Rarely do you come across a cover that so tellingly mirrors the musical content of an album as this one on German Misanthropic War’s ‘Utter Human Annihilation’. A…

Wulvyr – Moon.Malice.Heresy

Artist: Wulvyr Country: United Kingdom Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 Personally I love it when a band name, the title or artwork of an album clearly gives away what you are in for. Such is the case with Wulvyr’s…

Astral Crypt Of Moloch – Impurity [Demo]

Artist: Astral Crypt Of Moloch Country: USA Label: Death Hymns Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 In 2019 the elusive and mysterious one-man act Astral Crypt Of Moloch released one demo tape which served the listener some of the better Raw and Lo-Fi…

Heimdalls Wacht – Mystagogie – Lieder Voll Ewigkeit

Artist: Heimdalls Wacht Country: Germany Label: Trollzorn Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Although we were treated with an excellent split LP with Ancestors Blood earlier this year, ‘Mystagogie – Lieder Voll Ewigkeit’ marks the return of Heimdalls Wacht…

Victimarum – Tyhjyyden Roviolla [Single]

Artist: VictimarumCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital singleYear: 2023 2023 was a good year for the Finns in Victimarum. Not only did they release their first demo, but just as the year was about to expire, the band came back with yet…

Lysergic – Dimethyltryptikon

Artist: Lysergic Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Year: 2023 After and EP and a split EP, both released digitally, this Canadian noise-mongers felt ready for a full-length album. Yet, they never asked us, innocent bystanders, if we were ready…

Deathcode Society – Unlightenment

Artist: Deathcode Society Country: France Label: Osmose Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 While the French Black Metal scene will be mostly remembered for its crude and harsh sound that was brought to our ears by the likes of…

Daedric Chamber – Black Marsh Eternal

Artist: Daedric Chamber Country: USA Label: Blind Mage Records / WereGnome Records Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 Although Daedric Chambre has been formed in January 2022, this one-man project has already spawned no less than five EP’s, two…

Kurjuus – Erakon Tie [EP]

Artist: Kurjuus Country: Finland Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 Not too long ago I spent a few words on the ‘Korven Muuttumaton, Erehtym​ä​t​ö​n Laki’ demo from this Finnish one-man act, which in fact marked already the third release…

Lagnia – Sigil [Demo]

Artist: Lagnia Country: Germany Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 With little to no information about this new German Black Metal band, I took a deep dive into their first recording. Just like the band name the title of…

Veret – Demons Rise, Demons Ride! [Demo]

Artist: VeretCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Freshly conceived in 2023 and consisting of colorful pseudonyms like Vitriolic Voidseeker, Sepulcher Violator, Morbid Skullfukker and Perverse Korpse comes Veret. On their very first demo the Finnish four-piece takes the fierceness of…

Slidhr – White Heart!

Artist: SlidhrCountry: Ireland / IcelandLabel: Debemur Morti ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Once formed as the solo project of the Irish musician Joseph Deegan, Slidhr nowadays is a three-man band located in Iceland that consists of members from Ireland, Iceland…