Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: RaakimusCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 ‘Tuskien Taival’ is the debut EP of this Finnish duo that blends parts of both Melodic/Symphonic Black with Dungeon Synth. Not quite the first band to do so, but that they might be…
Artist: MithrandirCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 The connection between Lord of the Rings and Metal is one that has lasted almost as long as the music genre has been around. Legions of bands including Cirith Ungol, Gorgoroth and Burzum owe…
One of the longest running Greek Black/Death Metal bands is definitely Embrace Of Thorns, not only have they been there for a quarter of a century now, they are also one of the best bands from Greece – and, quite…
Artist: Deströyer 666Country: AustraliaLabel: Season Of MistFormats: LP, Cassette Tape, CDYear: 2022 Good morning, y’all. Am I late to the party? Again. Yes, I suppose I am, this new album for Deströyer 666 has been out since early December last…
Artist: Katy ScaryCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Two demos and this latest EP is the solo output of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA based Katy Scary. With her other band, Klaymore, she has been active in the Heavy Metal/Power Metal spectrum,…
Artist: Knüth Country: Russia Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital demo Year: 2023 After quite a steady and impressive working pace, the duo that makes up this Russian Black Metal band fell kind of silent by late 2021. In November of that…
Artist: Moon OracleCountry: FinlandLabel: Bestial Burst / Signal RexFormats: LP / Cassette tape /CDYear: 2023 Ever since the band’s formation Moon Oracle has been a bit of the odd-one out in the current Finnish Black Metal scene. Although the involved…
Artist: Mortem AgmenCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Although Mortem Agmen is a new band, the German trio behind this act is not exactly inexperienced. Over the past years, the three musicians have gained their experience in a wide range…
Artist: Mithridatum Country: Italy / USA Label: Willowtip Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2023 Mithridatum is a new band, founded last year, of a trio with their origin in both the USA as well as Italy,…
Artist: BlodtårCountry: SwedenLabel: Nordvis ProduktionFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Off the back of their impressive self-titled EP that my colleague FelixS lauded for its blistering Black Metal onslaught with an almost Pagan-like melodicism comes the debut album of the Swedish…
Artist: IzrodCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Signal RexFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Behind a new name lurks a familiar host of people. Izrod is a continuation of what started as Cave Ritual and took further shape as Void Prayer and contains…
Artist: Morbid DestroyerCountry: USALabel: Nihil Verum Nisi Mors ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Morbid Destroyer, a band with a more than appropriate name, releases its first demo with ‘Accursed Summoning’ – not counting the short digital promo from 2022. But despite…
Artist: ÅndutsynCountry: USALabel: Nihtstang ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 The Black Metal act Åndutsyn is another musical entity run by Sceadugenga, who might be known best for his work with Geheimnisvoll but also has a few other musical endeavours to keep…
Artist: Blood MagicCountry: USALabel: Black Gangrene ProductionsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2023 After two demos, with the first one released in 2020 and the second in 2022, the US-based Black Metal band Blood Magic comes up with a brand new 7” EP…
Artist: VerzauberCountry: IrelandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 Although the band name might suggest something else (Verzauber meaning ‘Bewitch’ in English), this is a one-man Black Metal act from Cork, Ireland. With its debut album ‘Frankincense & Vitriol’ the anonymous person who…
Artist: NightsideCountry: FinlandLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: Demo CDYear: 2023 When Nightside was formed in Turku, Finland in 1996, there wasn’t so much of a Finnish Black Metal scene as we know it today. Sure, bands like Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, Archgoat…
Artist: VargravCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: CD, DigitalYear: 2023 2023 will see the release of the new Vargrav album, baptized ‘The Nighthold’. This third album follows the critically acclaimed debut album ‘Netherstorm’ from 2018 and ‘Reign in Supreme Darkness’ from 2019.…
Artist: Argenthorns Country: Finland Label: Avantgarde Music Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Symphonic Black Metal has been on the rise for a few years now, and Finland has certainly made some big contributions to its revival. One of the…
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: Savage NecromancyCountry: USALabel: 20 Buck SpinFormats: 12″, Cassette Tape, CDYear: 2022 Originally released in 2021 on CD and in two versions on cassette tape, all three by different labels, the album was also picked up by the much larger…
Artist: EstenosisCountry: SpainLabel: Escafismo RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 ‘Orgía Necrofílica’ is Estenosis’ third demo and just like the two preceding tapes, this one has quite an impressive tracklist of no less than 18 tracks. Tracks that are brimming with some…
Artist: Plague BearerCountry: USALabel: Nameless Grave RecordsFormats: LP, CDYear: 2023 Plague Bearer is a band that was formed all the way back to 1992 and released two demos in the first half of the 90’s. Then, in 1994, the band…
Artist: SerpentfyreCountry: FinlandLabel: Altare ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 ‘Baptism of Shadows’ is the second album by the Finnish act Serpentfyre and comes roughly 10 years after the formation of the band. As soon as the gates open with ‘Black…
Artist: QwälenCountry: FinlandLabel: Time To Kill RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette Tape / CDYear: 2023 That Qwälen is a Finnish band becomes immediately clear once the ambient intro track ‘Sairaus’ fades into ‘Kutsu Minua Saatanaksi’. On their sophomore album ‘Syvä Hiljaisuus’…
Artist: SokeusCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 With ‘Immortal Wisdom’ the Finnish duo behind black metal band Sokeus shove their second demo under our collective noses. The first, ‘Forever Cursed’ saw the light of day last summer and already gave…
Artist: AnarkhonCountry: BrazilLabel: Debemur Morti ProductionsFormats: LP, CDYear: 2023 Although the band has never been much of a standard gory styled Death Metal band, the Brazilians of Anarkhon have come quite a long way. The band was already founded back…
Artist: Peti Nuage NoirCountry: PolandLabel: Planetary King RecordsFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2023 It would be easy to assume that behind Petit Nuage Noir, which in French means small black cloud, is a band from France, but in fact we are dealing…
Artist: Maelgin / Ancient NorthCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital splitYear: 2023 Maeglin is a relatively new Black Metal act from Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA, but although they have been formed in January 2022, the band already spawned an impressive discography of…
Artist: Cursed ExcruciationCountry: BrazilLabel: Angel of Cemetery Records / Iron Bonehead Productions / Unpure RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 After two demos tapes, released in 2021, Cursed Excruciation’s sole member, Trance Of The Undead, started forging his ancient steel into something…
Artist: Order Of NosferatCountry: Finland / GermanyLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: LP, CDYear: 2022 The previous album by this international Black Metal band was a good and organic album in which the loneliness of existence as a vampire clearly shone through.…
Artist: Order Of NosferatCountry: Finland / GermanyLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: LP, CDYear: 2022 When a band chooses a name that leaves so little to the imagination, it can only do its best to fully and completely live up to the…
Artist: Black Offal MessiahCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2023 Well, what should you expect from a band calling itself Black Offal Messiah? Add to that the artwork, which is not a little reminiscent of Profanatica, and you can’t really go…
Artist: FlammaeCountry: PolandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 Formed by the Polish drummer Nekrolyte (currently also in Doomslaughter and formerly Deofel and Okulus Diaboli) and Aahros on guitars and vocals (also active in Petit Nuage Noir), Flammae presented their debut album ‘Ordo’…
Artist: Black LycanthropyCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 After the great self-released digital ‘Through Strength And Victory’ EP from spring last year, Infernal Werewolf, the only soul behind this American Black Metal act, returns with yet another offering of his…
Artist: OrderCountry: NorwayLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 It’s already been a couple of years since the Norwegian band Order released their second album ‘The Gospel’. That record was very much in line with the legendary ‘Deathcrush’ EP by Mayhem, which…
Artist: Svraoz Country: Indonesia Label: Delusive Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 From Indonesia comes this new Black/Thrash Metal band Svraoz and with ‘Sacraments Of Evil’ they do present their first recordings, a 7-track EP, clocking in at just under…
Artist: Leather Brigade Country: Romania Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2023 From Romania comes this four-piece that are releasing their 5-track debut EP ‘Pray To The Knife’. I think that a quick look at both the band name/EP title…
Artist: Sanguine Relic Country: USA Label: GoatowaRex / Perverse Homage Formats: 7″ EP / Cassette EP Year: 2023 A few years back, Sanguine Relic became, whether intended or not, one of the faces of the resurgence of the (ultimate) crude…
Artist: EvilcultCountry: BrazilLabel: Awakening RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 When it comes to old school sounding Black/Thrash Metal the country of Brazil has a rich history. Not only because of the obvious relation to that of the early Sepultura records and the…
Artist: Raw Vomit Country: Portugal Label: Enfermo Distro Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 From the deepest pits and sewers from Portugal comes Raw Vomit, a band that has absolutely no sense for subtlety or melody. In fact, the soul or…
Artist: UnpureCountry: SwedenLabel: Invictus ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Sweden’s Unpure have already well reached their 30th anniversary, the band, formed in 1991, has been around for a while but spent their years somewhat in the dank underground. Although the…
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: 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: 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…