Funeral Winds – Stigmata Mali

Artist: Funeral WindsCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Osmose ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 One of the most important bands in the development of Dutch Black Metal is without a glimmer of a doubt Funeral Winds. Though now operating out…

Vengeance Hammer – Preemptive Assault [Demo]

Artist: Vengeance HammerCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2022 You can just take the band name, Vengeance Hammer, add to that the gruesome cover art, and if you also keep in mind that the lyrics deal with nuclear war, diseases and…

Krusifoitu – Demo ’23

Artist: Krusifoitu Country: Finland Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 With ‘Demo ‘23’ the four-piece Death Metal band from the Finnish capitol of Helsinki brings forth their first recording. The six tracks clock in at a total playing time…

Bræ – Av Vålnader Bortom Allt

Artist: BræCountry: Belgium / SwedenLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2023 The debut album of Bræ entitled ‘A Thousand Ways to End it all’ was released in 2021 without any background information about the band. For the follow-up ‘Av Vålnader Bortom…

Bræ – A Thousand Ways to End it all

Artist: BræCountry: Belgium / SwedenLabel: Amor Fati ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2021 When the new Bræ album caught my eye, the boss of VM Underground was kind enough to point out that the review material of their debut album ‘A Thousand Ways…

Haunting Figure – Demo I [Re-Release]

Artist: Haunting Figure Country: USA Label: Primitive Propaganda Formats: Demo tape Year: 2023 Haunting Figure is a new band from Providence, Rhode Island, USA. That is pretty much all the information available about this act, otherwise it shrouds itself in…

Sulphuric Night – Black Metal Tyranny [EP]

Artist: Sulphuric NightCountry: Bosnia and HerzegovinaLabel: Black Gangrene ProductionsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2023 Evil is stirring in the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A Black Metal community called the Black Plague Circle has been surfacing over the last few years, releasing…

Vital Spirit – Still As The Night, Cold As The Wind

Artist: Vital SpiritCountry: CanadaLabel: Hidden Tribe / Vendetta RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Canadian Black Metal is getting more and more popular, and rightfully so, as their quite sophisticated approach to the genre is offering the listener…

Kiira – I​ä​tt​ö​m​ä​n Sanat

Artist: KiiraCountry: FinlandLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Out Of The DungeonFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 With the release of their debut album ‘Tulkoon Yö / Talviyö’, Kiira performed a work based on the contemplation of Bláinn, who was perceived as…

Kiira / Svartsejd – Kiira / Svartsejd [Split]

Artist: Kiira / SvartsejdCountry: Finland / SwedenLabel: AvgrundsklangerFormats: Split cassette tape Year: 2022 The bands Svartsejd and Kiira are far from strangers from each other. Although they were formed separately in 2010 and 2011 respectively and even originate from different…

Dungeon Keeper – Fortress Of Evil [Demo]

Artist: Dungeon KeeperCountry: GermanyLabel: Kellerassel RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 I remember when I first got into extreme metal and starting jamming out the tunes of Hellhammer’s ‘Apocalyptic Raids’ somewhere at the end of the 90’s, my two younger brothers were playing video games. One of…

Grieve – Wolves of the Northern Moon

Artist: GrieveCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 In 2022, Grieve appeared to have drawn their last breath. The band, consisting of Finnish Black Metal icons Werwolf (Satanic Warmaster and many more) and v-Khaoz (Vargrav and numerous others) had announced that…

Tetrasigil – Forest Storm

Artist: TetrasigilCountry: FinlandLabel: Amor Fati Productions / KuunpalvelusFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 When Luxixul Sumering Auter put an end to Cosmic Church in 2017 it opened room for him to focus on some of his other projects. Frozen Graves released…

Mistcavern – Into Twilight [EP]

Artist: MistcavernCountry: HungaryLabel: A Fine Day To Die Records, Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 The Hungarian four-piece band Mistcavern was formed in 2019, and straight away released a pretty phenomenal demo called ‘Winds…

Bjes – Prázdnota [EP]

Artist: BjesCountry: Czech RepublicLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 For the Czech band Bjes, the self-released EP ‘Prázdnota’ is their first release. With a release title that translates to ‘Emptiness’ you might be tempted to think the tone of the band’s…

Genocidal Rites – Exsanguination Of The Gods [EP]

Artist: Genocidal Rites Country: USA Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 With one demo and one EP, both originally only released digitally by the band themselves and the latter one also been issued on cassette tape by…

Deiphage – Nuclear Cavalry [EP]

Artist: DeiphageCountry: USALabel: Propagator PropagandaFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2023 When I first encountered this band I though, for a very brief moment, that the band name was spelled wrong and that this was new material of the Hells…

Scourge Lair – Calamities

Artist: Scourge LairCountry: FinlandLabel: Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LPYear: 2022 Scourge Lair caught the attention of the esteemed Nuclear War Now! Productions with the release of their 2019 demo ‘One Hundred Eyes One Hundred Arms’. That demo was the second…

Ründgard – Ulvmonddomānen

Artist: Ründgard Country: Chile Label: Inferna Profundus Records Formats: LP Year: 2023 Multi-instrumentalist and ultimate blackaholic Lord Valtgryftåke has released quite an impressing slew of releases over the last couple of months. Amongst his latest offerings we do find the…

Spectral Whisper – Enchantress of Black Curses

Artist: Spectral WhisperCountry: GermanyLabel: Astral Nightmare ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2023 Spectral Whisper was a band from Germany that was formed in 2017 and featured at least one member in the shape of Frater Noxathra. In 2020 the band name was changed…

Insikt – Wanderings through a Cursed Mind

Artist: InsiktCountry: SwedenLabel: Amor Fati Productions / Mysticism ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Insikt is one of the many vessels of Swedish Black Metal mastermind Swartadauþuz, of which the first and thus far only release ‘Wanderings Through a Cursed Mind’…

Greve – Föllo Afv Svavel Lifvets Dimridå

Artist: GreveCountry: SwedenLabel: Mysticism Productions / Purity Through FireFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Those with a weak spot for Black Metal will undoubtedly have heard one or more bands featuring the Swedish multi-instrumentalist Swartadauþuz, who also runs Ancient Records and Mysticism Productions.…

Funeral Frost – Queen of Frost [Reissue]

Artist: Crimson EvenfallCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2023 Funeral Frost operated in the early days of the Swedish Black Metal scene, being formed in 1993. Their two demos and promo eventually led to the release of the 1996 debut album…

Morcaint – Elessar [EP]

Artist: MorcaintCountry: SwedenLabel: Nordvis ProduktionFormats: Digital EPYear: 2023 In 2008, Ulvtyr and Heruhim formed the band Morcaint. Together, they started work on an album which they wrote, but ultimately never recorded. And so, the project was put on hold, while…

Carpathian Wrath – The Son Of The Dragon [Reissue]

Artist: Carpathian WrathCountry: Puerto RicoLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Carpathian Wrath is a three-piece Black Metal band from Puerto Rico. Probably not quite the place you that you will come up with when you think of classic 90’s “Vampyric Black Metal”. It also…

Daemonlust – Daemonlust

Artist: DaemonlustCountry: FinlandLabel: Out Of The DungeonFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Though the band was already founded back in 2006, Daemonlust is not quite a very well known band within the Finnish Black Metal scene. The fact that…

Vergewaltiger – Unholy Mysticism [Demo]

Artist: VergewaltigerCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2023 Although the band had a demo, a one-track single and a split EP before, the music of Vergewaltiger never reached my ears before. Due to a recommendation I stumbled upon them and the…

Tyrant’s Might – Recrudescence Of Diabolism [Demo]

Artist: Tyrant’s MightCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 This Dallas, Texas, USA based Black/Speed Metal trio recently finished the recordings of their first demo/EP, ‘Recrudescence Of Diabolism’, which was eventually released at the very start of February of 2023. It…

Black Hurst – Black Hurst [Demo]

Artist: Black HurstCountry: USALabel: Into The PentagramFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2023 This eponymous demo tape is the first offering of the New York, USA based Black Hurst. The band profiles itself with a term of ‘Pagan Black Metal Mysticism’ and with…

Kalmankantaja – Second Death

Artist: KalmankantajaCountry: FinlandLabel: Misantropia RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2023 About four months have passed since the most recent Kalmankantaja album ‘Waiennut’ was released, and the Finnish band revolving around the creative mastermind Grim666 is back with another full-length. Despite numerous releases every…

GoatScrote – Humanity Must Be Destroyed [Demo]

Artist: GoatScrote Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2023 Besides one full-length album the Canadian pervs of GoatScrote have released a handful of demos and EP’s as well, this new one, ‘Humanity Must Be Destroyed’, being their fifth.…

Ghostwound – The Way Back (Demo I)

Artist: Ghostwound Country: Indonesia Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2023 Ghostwound is a new Dungeon Synth-heavy Black Metal act that is most likely the product of one anonymous figure, I guess the one depicted on the cover, from Indonesia.…

Sotherion – Schwarmgeist [Demo]

Artist: Sotherion Country: France Label: W.T.C. Productions Formats: Demo tape Year: 2022 Though W.T.C. Productions does release cassette tapes every now and then, I can’t really remember when they last released a ‘real’ demo tape, if they ever did. With the two-track…

Drakon Ho Megas – Έλευσις Αντίχριστου

Artist: Drakon Ho MegasCountry: GreeceLabel: Floga RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 At the very beginning of this year Drakon Ho Megas’ sophomore album was released through Floga Records. ‘Έλευσις Αντίχριστου’, ‘Coming Of The Antichrist’ in English, is the follow-up to the 2021 released great…

Agönphetish – Promo ’23

Artist: AgönphetishCountry: TurkeyLabel: Demo tapeYear: 2023 ‘Promo ‘23’ is the first offering of Agönphetish, a new band from Turkey of which its band member or members is (yet) unknown. Yet, this four-track demo tape, including an intro, gives quite a…

Satanika – Horde Of Disgust

Artist: Satanika Country: Italy Label: Osmose Productions Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 ‘Horde Of Disgust’ is the fifth album for the Italian Black/Thrash Metal band Satanika. Although the band has been releasing their albums and EP’s through a wide…

Scáth Na Déithe – Virulent Providence

Artist: Scáth Na DéitheCountry: IrelandLabel: Vendetta RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2023 Shadow of the Gods. That is a rough translation of the Irish text Scáth Na Déithe, which is also a band hailing from Rush (or An…

Sammale – Sammale

Artist: SammaleCountry: FinlandLabel: Naturmacht ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 The artist behind Paisaunt and main composer and guitar player of Marrasmieli, an individual called Zannibal, sought a vessel for the atmospheric soundtrack fitting with a path through forest and…

Cult Of Fire – Píseň Černých Vran [EP]

Artist: Cult Of FireCountry: CzechiaLabel: Doomentia RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2023 The recently resurrected Doomentia Records returns with a few new records. The label started with the reissue of Fata Morgana’s ‘Kremace Dábla’ demo from 1992 (with great artwork from Rok).…

Regnum Tenebrarum – Légendes Noires [EP]

Artist: Regnum Tenebrarum Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: 12″ EP / CD EP Year: 2023 After the 2020 ‘Des Enfers’ EP, also released via Medieval Prophecy Records, things went quiet for a while around Regnum Tenebrarum, who hail…

Uønsket – Forlatt [EP]

Artist: UønsketCountry: USALabel: Jems LabelFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Depending on which picture you see of Richard Fuller, the young man behind Uønsket, he is adorned in a dark cape, wearing warpaint and spikes (sometimes of impressive size)…

Tulus – Fandens Kall

Artist: Tulus Country: Norway Label: Soulseller Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2024 With the release of ‘Fandens Kall’ the Norwegian zealots of Tulus have released more albums after their return in 2006 than in their first period that is…

Aethyrick – The Seventh

Artist: AethyrickCountry: FinlandLabel: The Sinister FlameFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2022 On December 21st, 2022, exactly six years after their formation, the Finnish band Aethyrick unveiled their latest release. This time presented as a three-song EP, ‘The Seventh’ is a special cassette…