Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
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…
Artist: Outlaw Country: Brazil Label: Art Of Propaganda Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 This Brazilian Black Metal band releases their third full-length with ‘Reaching Beyond Assiah’, but due to the low distribution of their previous works, this album will…
Artist: Cemetery LightsCountry: USALabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The first and only time Cemetery Lights graced our pages was with their debut EP, ‘Lemuralia’ (2018). In the meantime we are several releases on. This record, ‘Consumption’, is Cemetery…
Artist: DeathcircleCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Esfinge de la Calavera / Goatowarex / Sinister ShadowFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 One of the very first bands to arise from the Black Plague Circle was Deathcircle, which was formed in…
Artist: ThromvosisCountry: GreeceLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2023 In fact, a review can be very easy, or even unnecessary. The real connoisseur has of course already seen it: the red/black/white artwork, the logo, the band name and its title. Everything about this…
Artist: Opaque Blue Country: Bosnia And Herzegovina Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 This new Raw Black Metal band was born as a side-project of Black Stem Rust, an interesting but quirky Black Metal act from Bosnia And Herzegovina.…
Artist: CEPCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 It might not come as a total surprise, but ‘First Tape’ is actually this band’s first release. But while this might be the first offering of the band, at least one…
Artist: ArjenCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 The Black Metal movement originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina called the Black Plague Circle largely owes its existence to the two prolific members O. and H.P. Together, they started the scene in…
Artist: Incandescence Country: Canada Label: Profound Lore Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 Incandescence, hailing from Montreal, Quebec, Canada hasn’t got much in common with the so-called ‘Metal Noir Quebecois’ movement that has been spawning one great band after another. But,…
Artist: PerfideCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: ZwaertgevegtFormats: LP / Cassette tapeYear: 2023 ‘De Republiek Der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden’ (which translates to ‘The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands’) was a confederation that existed from 1588 to 1795 and covered most of what…
Artist: ArzhaabatCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Arzhaabat is a new musical vehicle of the ever-prolific MBN (Chevallier Skrog among other and the person behind the Pant Y Meddygon label). This time, he is once again all alone at the helm, bringing us…
Artist: Blau BlutCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Blau Blut is a new band made up of musicians from several countries, including Sweden, Austria and Slovakia. This international company, in which we recognise at least MBN (of Chevallier…
Artist: DoomorderCountry: Finland / SpainLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 After a short promo in 2016, which was released as a part of a split 7” (pressed on a clear lathe disc) in 2017 the duo behind Doomorder returns with a self-released digital full-length album. The…
Artist: TëmorCountry: FranceLabel: Croux RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 In the ever-emerging scene that combines the fury of the old early 80’s anarchist Punk with the depraved sort of bareboned Black Metal, comes this Parisian act Tëmor. It is not completely…
Artist: HersirCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital DemoYear: 2023 Five songs totalling nearly 21 minutes is what the Swedish band Hersir presents us on their second demo ‘Hateful Draugar’ that saw its release in March 2023. Musically the band’s Black Metal can…
Artist: Carpathian WrathCountry: Puerto RicoLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 If Puerto Rican Carpathian Wrath have proved anything (besides their own musical prowess, of course), it is how elitist Metal Archives’ arbitrary regime is. Several attempts have apparently been made to include the band…
Artist: Moloch / Wampyric RitesCountry: Ukraine / EcuadorLabel: Inferna Profundus Records / Signal RexFormats: Split LP / Split cassette tape / Split CDYear: 2023 ‘The Serpent Cult Of Darkness’ is the next chapter in the ongoing series of split releases…
Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 Most bands start in a rather modest way, probing one’s own musical abilities, gaining experience in writing and recording. In short, demo time. The same, of course, applies to Drowning The Light. Although…
Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 In a long series of vinyl reissues of the impressive Drowning The Light back catalogue, Iron Bonehead Productions also added ‘Oceans Of Eternity’ to its list. Originally released in 2013, ‘Oceans Of Eternity’…
Artist: CountessCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 One of the very oldest Dutch Black Metal bands is Countess, formed in 1992. There may no longer be any original band members in the current line-up and the band took a…
Artist: Venereal BaptismCountry: USALabel: Ascension RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 It has been about four years since this Laredo, Texas, USA based Blackened Death Metal band has released anything. The previous two albums already showed what this duo had in mind when…
Artist: Mystic Circle Country: Germany Label: Fireflash Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Actually, only just recovered from the shock of Mystic Circle’s unexpected return and, subsequently, their first feat in sixteen years, the German duo is already back…
Artist: Mist Of Misery Country: Sweden Label: Non Serviam Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 This Swedish Melodic Black Metal band has been formed back in 2010 and has kept a steady working pace ever since their inception, with ‘Severance’ being…
Artist: BlasfemiaCountry: ColombiaLabel: I Hate Records / To The Death RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2022 What we have here is a vinyl-only release that compiles the Blasfemia tracks from their 2015 release split CDR with Ramón as well as some tracks from…
Artist: AzaxulCountry: GermanyLabel: Misanthrophia DiscosFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Despite both bands having also existed simultaneously and side-by-side for a brief moment, Azaxul only really came to life when Moonblood was carried to its grave in 1999. Only then Azaxul…
Artist: Heáfodbán Country: International Label: Northern Doom Records Formats: Cassette tape Year: 2023 Heáfodbán hail from Seattle, Washington, USA and blend in some folk-induced burst of rage to a firmly chaotic sort of Black Metal. Just to be sure, adding…
Artist: VârcolacCountry: RomaniaLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 ‘Demo II’ marks the return of this, seemingly, one-man Black Metal act from Romania, Vârcolac. Early 2022 saw the release of the band’s debut full-length album, which was digitally released by the band…
Artist: Kalmankantaja / Hadak Ura Country: Finland / USA Label: Death Hymns / Wolfspell Records Formats: Split Cassette / Split CD Year: 2022 Although Kalmankantaja beats Hadak Ura in terms of volume, both acts are quite prolific and dish out…
Artist: WolflustCountry: BrazilLabel: Hammer Of DamnationFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 The Brazilians of Wolflust have come out with their second EP, ‘Endless War’, which, with some 16 minutes of material, presents us with a modest bite of unbridled…
Artist: Hadak Ura Country: USA Label: Death Hymns Formats: LP Year: 2022 Hadak Ura, a one-man band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, which, before today, wasn’t featured on our VM-Underground pages but together with the more recent split release with Kalmankantaja…
Artist: Steingrab Country: Germany Label: Astral Nightmare Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 ‘Fluch Der Ruhelosigkeit’ is Steingrab’s sixth album (not counting, the live and compilation album, nor the first demo), making this one-man quite a prolific one. Though it was…
Artist: Black KnifeCountry: USALabel: Morbid And Miserable RecordsFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2023 I first picked up the music of Black Knife with the 2017 released split 7” EP with Abigail. That split collaboration already gave away a little what to expect…