Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Black CrucifixionCountry: FinlandLabel: Fallen Pages Productions / Séance RecordsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 When talking about early Finnish Black Metal, the same names invariably come up: Impaled Nazarene, Beherit, Barathrum and Archgoat. The latter only released two demos…
Artist: Liber Null Country: Italy / The Netherlands Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Liber Null, for those who are not familiar with the band, is another band that has one of Black Metal’s most prolific…
Artist: Black CommunionCountry: ColombiaLabel: Dunkelheit ProduktionenFormats: LP / CDYear: 2020 From Colombia came this Black/Death band, which folded not too long after releasing ‘Miasmic Monstrosity’. With current and ex-band members sporting names like Necro Pervertor, Blasphemer Goatpriest of Virgin’s Impalement, Sadistik Offender and A.C.M Six…
Artist: Depressive WitchesCountry: FranceLabel: WormHoleDeathFormats: CDYear: 2022 After the release of the band’s debut album ‘Bad Flask’ and after getting somewhat used to the band not taking themselves very seriously, we should be ready for Depressive Witches’ second album. Again…
Artist: Depressive WitchesCountry: FranceLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: CDYear: 2021 Anyone here who has been around a bit longer and knows the Black Metal scene of the 90’s will remember the video clips of the likes of Immortal and Hecate Enthroned. Where the…
Artist: Denouncement PyreCountry: AustraliaLabel: Agonia RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 With Denouncement Pyre’s 20th anniversary approaching and a brand new album under its belt, this is a perfect time to give this underrated band some well-deserved praise. Because although the band has…
Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Dark Adversary ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2022 The last two or so years, Dark Adversary Records, run by Drowning The Light mastermind Azgorh, has been reissuing quite a lot of his older material. Some of his older albums saw the…
Artist: Lichtblick Country: Austria Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 Lichtblick is German for ‘bright spot’, a symbol for hope, a brighter future. This is in stark contrast to the title of this second full-length from the Austrian…
Artist: Ancient NorthCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 After having released two albums and an EP earlier this year, Forlorn, the sole initiator and driving force of the entity that is Ancient North, decided to close off the year with another…
Artist: The Rite / BezweringCountry: Denmark / Italy / The NetherlandsLabel: Headkick MusicFormats: Split 7″ EPYear: 2022 Dutch Bezwering and Danish/Italian band The Rite team up for a split 7” EP that was released just before last summer by rather…
Artist: AnaelCountry: GermanyLabel: Darkness Shall Rise Productions / Into Endless Chaos RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tapeYear: 2021 Anael has always been a massively overlooked band in the German Black Metal scene. Not only were they able to bring something else…
Artist: Moonlight Sorcery Country: Finland Label: Avantgarde Music Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 At the beginning of this year I was completely blown away by the debut EP from Finnish newcomers Moonlight Sorcery. Just…
Artist: WargeistCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Not much is known about this new band called Wargeist, except the fact that they are from Germany and recently digitally released their first EP, ‘Altar Of Genocide’. So, instead of digging into…
Artist: Nocturnal Sorcery Country: Finland Label: Kvlt Formats: CD Year: 2022 After the release of two demos and a split with fellow Finnish Daemonblut, Nocturnal Sorcery treats us with their debut album, ‘The Holy Law In Total Ruin’, brought to…
Artist: VarathronCountry: GreeceLabel: Agonia RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2020 In its very lengthy career, Greek forebearers of the so much beloved Hellenic Black Metal sound, Varathron, never released a live album before. So, when the band embarked on a trip…
Artist: Septicflesh Country: Greece Label: Chaos Reigns / Nuclear Blast / Shinigami Records / Ward Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 When the band fell apart in 2003 and arose again four years later, they not…
Artist: ZemialCountry: GreeceLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Archon Vorskaath has led his brainchild Zemial through many years of musical transitions and past many great releases. On many occasions, the enigmatic act has managed to surprise fans and critics alike. Looking…
Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: LP Year: 2022 In 2019 Drowning The Light released the ‘A Gleam In The Eye Of Set’ mini CD through Azgorh’s own Dark Adversary Records which ended up on this vinyl together with 2022’s ‘Wolrd…
Artist: Funeral WindsCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: NecromanteionFormats: DigitalYear: 2021 By the end of last year the Dutch Black Metal entity Funeral Winds independently released this compilation of “raw sounding Funeral Winds recorings”, which were recorded over the years between 2001 and…
Artist: Vengeance SorceryCountry: USALabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2022 Recently I dived into the four demo tapes of the illustrious duo of Vengeance Sorcery, going through many minutes of their quirky and captivating blend of Black Metal and Doom…
Artist: Vengeance SorceryCountry: USALabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 At the very beginning of this year Nuclear War Now! Productions reissued the first demo of American duo Vengeance Sorcery, that originally saw the dark of night in 2019…
Artist: VintertodtCountry: USALabel: Fólkvangr Records / Forest SummonerFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 From New York, USA, hails the Black Metal band Vintertodt. Formed in 2018, the band soon recorded their first demo which was released in 2019. ‘Pure Fucking…
Artist: Old Castles Country: Chile Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 After no less than eight demos and a split release with Moon’s Veneris (yes, Moon’s Veneris, not Mons Veneris), and I am not even counting…
Artist: Katavasia Country: Greece Label: Iron Bonehead Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2022 Katavasia was formed in 2014 by Varathron mastermind Stefanos ‘Necroabyssious’ Karasavvas, undoubtedly one of the founding fathers of the famous Hellenic Black Metal sound. And although not…
Artist: NihilvmCountry: PolandLabel: Malignant VoicesFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 Poland’s Nihilvm was formed in 2020, but that’s about all the information that’s out there. Well, that and that the band was signed to the highly esteemed Malignant Voices label, which has…
Artist: Concrete WindsCountry: FinlandLabel: Sepulchral Voice RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 At the end of last year Concrete Winds treated us to a new album of extreme violence. I can imagine that you are still recovering from 2019’s ‘Primitive Force’,…
Artist: Cantique LépreuxCountry: CanadaLabel: EisenwaldFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Our loyal readers have already seen many a Canadian Black Metal release pass by, it is a scene that is developing rapidly and producing a good number of, often exceptionally good, acts. In particular,…
Artist: Meslamtaea Country: The Netherlands Label: Babylon Doom Cult Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Formed in 1998, Meslamtaea may be considered one of the longest-running Dutch Black Metal acts, but in that almost quarter-century of its existence, main…
Artist: Blood Of The WolfCountry: USALabel: Horror Pain Gore Death ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2022 The title of ‘IV: The Declaration Of War Eternal’ implies that there were (at least) three chapter preceding this latest album by American Death Metallers Blood Of The Wolf. And while I…
Artist: HelwettiCountry: FinlandLabel: Northern Heritage RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2022 It was quite a surprise that 2021 saw the release of the debut album of the Finnish band Helwetti. Outside some involvement in (live) activities of the cult band Warloghe, the members…
Artist: Necromaniac Country: United Kingdom Label: Invictus Productions Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2021 Originally released in 2015 by Me Saco Un Ojo Records (and already reissued a year later) Invictus Productions thought it was about time to give this demo…
Artist: HerugrimCountry: FinlandLabel: Escafismo RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 “This might be something for you to review”, said TWD’s own FelixS when he forwarded me the first demo of the Finnish band Herugrim. He’s right, if it’s Black Metal and comes…
Artist: AteiggärCountry: SwitzerlandLabel: EisenwaldFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 With the band’s first offering, the ‘Us d’r Höll Chunnt Nume Zyt’ EP from 2019, Switzerland’s Ateiggär surprised us with a fiery brand of Black Metal with its roots firmly in the Norwegian scene from the mid…
Artist: A Different CloudCountry: PolandLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 A Different Cloud is the solo project of the Polish artist Demian, but other than that not much is known about the band. What is known is that with ‘Sult’, the first…
Artist: Departure ChandelierCountry: CanadaLabel: Nuclear War Now! Productions / Obliteration RecordsFormats: 10″ EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Originally an independently released demo, ‘Dripping Papal Blood’ got a proper CD release earlier this year through USA’s top purveyors of all things…
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: Abysmal LordCountry: USALabel: Blackseed Productions / Serpents Head ReprisalFormats: 7″ EP, Cassette EPYear: 2020 In 2019 we at VM-Underground reviewed Abysmal Lord’s second album, ‘Exaltation Of The Infernal Cabal’ and claimed that the band was able to stand shoulder…
Artist: MooncitadelCountry: FinlandLabel: Out Of The DungeonFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2021 Quite soon after the release of their debut album ‘Night’s Scarlet Symphonies’, the Finnish Black Metal band Mooncitadel were ready to strike again with a new release.…
Artist: MooncitadelCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2020 The origins of Mooncitadel date back to 2007, when multi-intrumentalist and vocalist Stormheist formed the band Empire of Tharaphita. After two demos and a split with Drowning the Light, Stormheit decided to change…
Artist: Ritual DeathCountry: NorwayLabel: Shadow RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The first years of Ritual Death were quite productive. The band was formed in 2016 as yet another product of the phenomenal Trondheim Black Metal scene by…
Artist: DaevaCountry: USALabel: 20 Buck SpinFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Back in 2019, our chief-editor reviewed Daeva’s first EP, and although he appreciated the offering, it wasn’t all too special for him. Now, a few years ahead…
Artist: Der TrauerschwanCountry: SwedenLabel: Soulseller RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 When the Chilean band Hetroertzen relocated to the Swedish town of Västerås, they quickly recruited members from the local scene to complement their live line-up. One of the members that…
Artist: Deus MortemCountry: PolandLabel: Malignant Voices / Terratur PossessionsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2020 Although both Malignant Voices and Terratur Possessions usually are pretty much the epitome of quality Black Metal, the Polish Deus Mortem had not quite fully…
Artist: Kawir Country: Greece Label: Pagan Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 When talking about Greek Black Metal, the conversations will most likely be first about Rotting Christ, Varathron, Septicflesh, Thou Art Lord and Necromantia, only then about the…
Artist: AdaestuoCountry: USALabel: W.T.C. ProductionsFormats: CD EPYear: 2022 Formed in 2014, this three-piece band with bandmembers living on different places on earth (Finland, Poland and the USA), surprised with their first EP in 2016 through W.T.C. Productions, which they followed…
Artist: DarvazaCountry: Italy / NorwayLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Darvaza, formed back in 2015 by two elusive figures in the international Black Metal scene, released three critically acclaimed EP’s through Black Metal elitist label Terratur…
Artist: HelwettiCountry: FinlandLabel: Illuminating Void ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 Over the years, the Finnish Black Metal scene has created quite the name for itself, spreading their unique take on Black Metal to the far reaches of the world. However,…
Artist: Umbra ConscientiaCountry: Costa Rica / GermanyLabel: Cloven Hoof Brewing & Releasing / Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Somewhat out of the blue came this international combo of Umbra Conscientia, releasing their debut album by the…
Artist: TheriomorphCountry: FinlandLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Finnish multi-instrumentalist Vainaya has been in several bands over the past two decades. Among them were underground stalwarts like Neutron Hammer and Horna, but he also had a…
Artist: Exordium MorsCountry: AustraliaLabel: Praetorian Sword RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2022 When New Zealand is mentioned many people think of those great mountain landscapes in which Peter Jackson filmed his Lord Of The Rings trilogy. But it also has a small but…