Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Contrary to the usually otherwise quite chauvinistic proud nature of the French people, the French Black Metal scene has remained quite modest when it comes to their influence on the overall genre. OK, that about the chauvinism might be a…
Artist: Spirit Possession Country: USA Label: Profound Lore Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 Take Black Metal with a strong Heavy Metal riff base that features a cacophony of sliding and tapping guitar notes best known to Black Metal…
Artist: SkuggeheimCountry: NorwayLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 After the explosive 90’s of Norwegian Black Metal, not much of that bustling prolific and high-quality scene was still intact by the mid 2000’s. Sure, bands like Mayhem, Darkthrone, Satyricon and…
Over the past decade, the Black Metal genre has, once again, renewed, deepened and broadened. This can be largely credited to a number of Icelandic and Norwegian bands (always those Norwegians!), whose recordings often have been released under the watchful…
Artist: StutyrCountry: FinlandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 One of my favorite demos of 2022 was the first release by the Finnish Herugrim, whose ‘Demo XXMMII’ featured a stunning mix of raw Black metal with epic Heavy Metal…
Artist: ThulcandraCountry: GermanyLabel: Napalm RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 Admittedly, I only got hooked on the Thulcandra phenomenon quite recently. In the past, I had heard some individual songs, but then ultimately chose not to delve further into it. Reason?…
Artist: Devil MoonCountry: FinlandLabel: Signal Rex / Old Forest ProductionFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 A bondage ritual on the front cover, a pentagram in the band logo and a member of Morgal in the line-up: Devil Moon ticks…
Artist: DeimhalCountry: FinlandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 In a time where melodic Dissection-inspired Black Metal and symphonic Black Metal were at the height of their popularity, bands like the Finnish Catamenia fit right in. Perhaps never the most original or…
Artist: NoirceurCountry: FranceLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Anyone with any interest in the underground Black Metal of the 1990’s must undoubtedly have stumbled across one of the bands from the illustrious Les Legions Noires at least once. This collective comprised…
Artist: ManiakCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Maniak, not to be confused with the Filipino band of the same name (and even a somewhat similar logo), releases their debut EP with ‘Speed Metal Terrorist’, a more than fitting follow-up to…
Artist: Norrhem / SielunvihollinenCountry: FinlandLabel: Hammer Of Hate RecordsFormats: Split CDYear: 2023 Norrhem and Sielunvihollinen have a bit of history together. Not only are they both from Finland, Sielunvihollinen mastermind Ruttokieli was part of the live lineup of Norrhem and…
Artist: Gärgäntuäh / KastijderCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: New Era ProductionsFormats: Split LPYear: 2023 With the demos ‘Dödenlicht’ and ‘Kastijder’, New Era Productions had released two gems from the Dutch Black Metal underground courtesy of the bands Gärgäntuäh and Kastijder respectively. Both…
Artist: ProfeciCountry: PolandLabel: Godz Ov War ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 When the previous Profeci album ‘Aporia’ was recommended to me a few years ago, it didn’t take long to see what had gotten my referrer excited…
Artist: Niteris / КрюкокрестCountry: Bosnia and Herzegovina / RussiaLabel: New Era Productions / Horrible RoomFormats: Split LP / Split cassette tape / Split CDYear: 2022 The Black Plague Circle versus the Pleskau Brethren, or more precisely, Niteris from Bosnia and…
Artist: GrotCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: CDYear: 2023 Seemingly inspired by forest, woodlands, and nature as a whole, US Black Metal band Grot gained quite some positive feedback for their 2021 released ‘Hymns of the Woodland’ EP. And for a good reason.…
Artist: Anal BlasphemyCountry: FinlandLabel: Spread Evil ProductionsFormats: 7″ EP / CD EPYear: 2023 With ‘Lust Of The Evil Witches’ Finland’s finest, Anal Blasphemy, makes its return after what ultimately turned out to be a five-year hiatus. After the Iron Bonehead Productions released ‘Western Decadence’-album from…
When Imprecation announce a new album, you can unquestionably count on the fact that we will be dealing with another monumental piece of Blackened Death Metal. And, yes, with ‘In Nomine Diaboli’, the Texas veterans once again fulfil all expectations.…
Artist: The KryptikCountry: BrazilLabel: Purity Through FireFormats: CDYear: 2023 In a genre where nostalgia reign supreme, bold statements can set things off on the wrong foot. It’s at the very least a striking claim to suggest an album might be…
Artist: ZiminiarCountry: UnknownLabel: Azermedoth Records / Bitter Misery Records / Victims Of FateFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 When literally nothing is known about a band and their origins it all comes down to the bare musical essence.…
Pretty much out of the blue, two releases from a new German Black Metal band came out in the space of just a handful of days. Verhinderer is the brainchild of Bettler, the lone soul behind this project, who seems…
Artist: Acid MassCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Acid Mass is a new one-man band from Cincinatti, Ohio, USA that throws its first feat on the table with ‘Lust For Violence’. There are records that through a well-chosen title and…
Artist: BotulistumCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: New Era RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 It has taken a while, but this band, founded in 1998, has finally arrived at its debut album in 2023. Like some kind of nocturnal animal…
Artist: WilczycaCountry: PolandLabel: Godz Ov War ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 “When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a pale horse; and…
Artist: UnhallowedCountry: GermanyLabel: Folter RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 One should never judge a book by its cover, but it’s hard not to think of Dissection when a band is named after one of their many iconic songs. Even putting this name…
Artist: Burning WindsCountry: USALabel: Heidens HartFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 Aside from a sporadic release as a demo CDR, a split LP, a compilation LP and a split 7″, Burning Winds’ entire (impressive) output has been released on cassette tape, so…
Artist: NethermancyCountry: PortugalLabel: Helldprod RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 The roots of Nethermancy dig deep into the Portuguese Black Metal scene, having been formed over 25 years ago and with some of its members commited to the local Black Metal scene since…
Artist: OhydaCountry: PolandLabel: Wolfspell RecordsFormats: CD EPYear: 2023 Following two praiseworthy EPs released in 2022, this year brings us the third EP in the discography of Poland’s Ohyda. After guitar, bass and keyboard player Bloodwhip had graced the cover of…
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: VerhindererCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Very hot on the heels, only three weeks after the release of the band’s debut EP ‘Ruhepol’, Verhinderer already presents its second feat with this new digital demo. ‘Ruhepol’ appealed to me not…
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: ArzhaabatCountry: SwedenLabel: Cosmic Cause ProductionsFormats: Cassette single / Demo tapeYear: 2023 Taking the inhumane working pace of multi-instrumentalist and overall musical wizard MBN in consideration, it might not surprise that he already returns with a follow-up to Arzhaabat’s great ‘Forest Tribes Triumphant’ demo tape,…
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: OldCountry: GermanyLabel: Unsilent Tombs RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 German Black/Thrash Metal band Old is the owner of a modest back catalogue which was realised around the mid 00’s. The authenticity of the offered material gained them a bit…
Artist: Satanic WarmasterCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Despite coming somewhat later to the party after formation in 1998, the mark of Satanic Warmaster on the Finnish Black Metal scene is considerable. With albums such…
Artist: Vulture LordCountry: NorwayLabel: Masters of Kaos ProductionsFormats: Double 7″ EPYear: 2023 The Norwegian Black/Thrash Metal act Vulture Lord has been in existence since 1995, although its origins date back even further to as early as 1990. To honour these…
Not all too long ago I stumbled upon a great demo tape that blended all of those tasty elements of both Hellhammer and Isengard. It was a no-brainer to imediately order this first Dungeon Keeper demo and while reviewing it…
Artist: Darkness DomainCountry: FinlandLabel: Darker Than Black Records / Old Forest ProductionFormats: Digital / LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 A mysterious entity that hails somewhere from within the borders of Finland, Darkness Domain released their first recording upon…
Artist: Imperial DemonicCountry: United KingdomLabel: Black Lion MusicFormats: 12″ EP / CDYear: 2023 ‘Beneath the Crimson Eclipse’ may be the debut EP of Imperial Demonic, but judging by the music presented on this release there can be no mistake that…
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: UdrękaCountry: PolandLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 ‘Zgnij’ introduces us to Udręka, presenting the first 17 minutes of recorded material of the group from Kielce, Poland. During the three songs of the EP, we get a fairly good idea what…
One of Sweden’s longest running Black Metal bands suddenly reappeared (again) in 2020 and last year we could finally and definitely welcome Lord Belial back with a new album. On ‘Rapture’, the band’s ninth album and the first for the…
Artist: StangarigelCountry: SlovakiaLabel: Hexencave ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Malokarpatan is the gift that keeps on giving. Not only have they released three excellent albums, the members of the Slovakian band are also active in several side…
Artist: Blaze of SorrowCountry: ItalyLabel: Eisenwald, Moonlight Gate ProductionsFormats: Cassette Tape / CDYear: 2023 It was impossible for me not to be drawn to the artwork of the latest Blaze of Sorrow record, 2023’s ‘Vultus Fati’. The imagery of a…
Artist: VerhindererCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 Bettler, the sole member behind this new Black Metal project from Germany, is not only really honest about his musical achievements but very humble too. Maybe not quite self-effacing, but well, blessed are…
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,…