Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Opiumortem Country: Bulgaria Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 This self-titled demo is the follow-up of the ‘Lethargia’-demo tape that was released last summer. That short little demo had three tracks of interesting and dismal Lo-Fi Black Metal…
Artist: Smyrtonos Country: Bulgaria Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 ‘Endless Fury’ is Smyrtonos’ swansong as it was released posthumously after the project’s disbanding last summer. At least, Todorac had it released digitally only 4 days prior throwing…
Artist: Necromutilator Country: Italy Label: Osmose Productions Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 In the 1968 Hammer Horror movie ‘The Devil Rides Out’, Duc Richleau tries to rescue his late friend’s son and his girlfriend from the…
Artist: BokkerijdersCountry: BelgiumLabel: Babylon Doom Cult RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 For the Dutch and Belgians, the name ‘Bokkerijders’ is something that still evokes some magic. It is best translated as ‘Goatriders’. In folk belief, these were figures who rode through…
Artist: Opiumortem Country: Bulgaria Label: Self-Released Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 From Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria comes this one-man act Opiumortem, run by someone who goes under the name of Todorac who is also active in a few other…
Artist: Daemoniac EcstasyCountry: USALabel: Realm And RitualFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 What we have here is another fantasy-drive one-man act from the USA, Pennsylvania in this case. It is astonishing to realise that I am reviewing multiple American one-man acts each…
Artist: Szmej Country: Czechia Label: Pant Y Meddygon Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 The Pant Y Meddygon-stables only produce intriguing acts, in which the musical boundaries fade somewhat and actually turn out to be of little importance. Several releases from…
Artist: WildhelmCountry: FranceLabel: Death Eternal / Drakkar ProductionsFormats: Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Windhelm is the solo project of Aldric, who is also active in Grimdusk and Kaldt Helvete. And under this moniker Aldric has already built up a respectable…
Artist: Forbidden Temple Country: Belgium Label: Self-Released Formats: Cassette tape Year: 2022 Last month the Belgium Black Metal horde of Forbidden Temple released yet another chapter in their ever-growing discography. The band has a tradition of releasing raw rehearsals and…
Artist: Embrace Of ThornsCountry: GreeceLabel: Nuclear Winter RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 It was at the German Doom Shall Rise festival (of all places), sometime in the mid-00’s, that I first heard of Embrace Of Thorns. Walking…
Artist: Grafskymf Country: Sweden Label: His Wounds / Nihilistic Noise Propaganda/ Nithstang Productions Formats: LP / Cassette tape / CD Year: 2020 In October 2020, Afskum, the only soul behind this Swedish Black Metal project, wrote and recorded this first…
Artist: Embrace Of ThornsCountry: GreeceLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 Right in between ‘The Pantheon I’ 7″ EP (Iron Bonehead Productions) and the just released new album, ‘Entropy Dynamics’ (Nuclear Winter Records), Embrace Of Thorns came up with a self-released studio rehearsal…
Artist: BrotthoggCountry: NorwayLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 Back in 2020 one of my colleagues here at VM-Underground labelled Brotthogg as the most promising newcomers out of the Norwegian metal scene. That is quite a bold statement and one that might put…
Artist: Beyond ManCountry: NorwayLabel: The Sinister FlameFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 From the ashes of Vordrinn arose Beyond Man, a constellation consisting of members of the Trondheim Black Metal scene. But the band members soon turned their…
Artist: I Am The NightCountry: FinlandLabel: Svart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 In the mid 90’s, Markus Vanhala (Insomnium, Omnium Gatherum) and Janne Markkanen (ex-Omnium Gatherum) dreamt of once starting a melodic Black Metal project. In the end, that never…
Artist: TotholzCountry: GermanyLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2021 Wow, this is quite a trip down memory lane. I am not sure whether the two in this German Black Metal band actually meant their title (which translates to ‘Wake-up call to old…
Artist: Embryonic SlumberCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 When doing background research for the review of the Olio Tähtien Takana album ‘Spectral Katharsis’ I stumbled upon the band Embryonic Slumber. Like Olio Tähtien Takana, Embryonic Slumber consists of…
Artist: Ninkharsag Country: United Kingdom Label: Vendetta Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2021 The UK Black Metal band Ninkharsag was founded by Paul Armitstead in 2009, after his former band Unsanctum was carried to its grave.…
Artist: FertilizerCountry: CanadaLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2022 As of late Canadian Black Metal is best known for the somewhat more refined and at the same time furious Black Metal scene, bands like Sorcier Des Glaces, Forteresse, Cantique Lepreux, Monarque and…
Artist: DjevelCountry: NorwayLabel: Aftermath Music / Impure Wedding Productions / Tour de GardeFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 With our apologies, this review comes to you somewhat late, but I should also add right away that I was…
Artist: Ultra SilvamCountry: SwedenLabel: Shadow RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 That Ultra Silvam was a band to watch out for was immediately clear after first hearing their self-titled demo. The band effortlessly combined a ferocious untamed Black Metal…
Artist: Necrohammer Country: Mexico Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2022 Old School bestial Blackened Speed Metal fans of the world, rejoice! After a 2020 demo tape and a split CD (Bestial Possession, Profanación Sepulcral and Goatslaught) a year later,…
Artist: VampirblutCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital demo, SingleYear: 2022 American one-man Black Metal act Vampirblut releases one demo and single/EP after another with dizzying speed. So many that even Metal-Archives is struggling to give a complete picture, various demos are circulating…
Artist: BlackdeathCountry: RussiaLabel: End All Life ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 With their roots as deep as 1995, Blackdeath went through several name changes and an impressive discography to develop into one of Russia’s longest running and most valuable underground…
Artist: Dracul’s GraspCountry: CanadaLabel: Extinctionist RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 Dracul’s Grasp is one of the latest outings of the illustrious figure of Darghul, who also goes under the name of Extinctionist and runs the Extinctionist Records label and has well over 20 active bands…
Artist: Grimdusk Country: France Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2022 Out of the wild and dark French forests comes this Black Metal duo that goes under the name of Grimdusk. They are a part of a local Black Metal…
Artist: CalufraxCountry: CanadaLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital demoYear: 2022 Calufrax is quite a mysterious Black Metal act from Toronto, Canada. It is led by someone who goes under the name of Peon and released some demos and one full-length in the past,…
Artist: KorgonthurusCountry: FinlandLabel: Woodcut RecordsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2021 The origin of Korgonthurus goes back to 2000, with the band releasing two demos before splitting up in 2001. It wouldn’t take long before the two core band members,…
Artist: Chevallier Skrog / Dracul’s GraspCountry: Sweden / CanadaLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Cassette split tapeYear: 2022 The fairly large flow of releases indicates the healthy work ethics of the Czech/Swedish Chevallier Skrog. We have covered this intriguing one-man act before…
Artist: VampirblutCountry: USALabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 When I think of Black Metal Punk, my thoughts automatically turn to the Darkthrone records of a few years ago. Not all fans were equally happy with those albums, for that matter, some…
Artist: TheotoxinCountry: AustriaLabel: Art Of PropagandaFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 After some changes in their sound on the first few albums, Theotoxin seemingly found their style of Black Metal on the album ‘Fragment : Erhabenheit’. Eager to bring this to…
Artist: TheotoxinCountry: AustriaLabel: Art Of PropagandaFormats: LP / CDYear: 2020 Austria’s Theotoxin have upheld a steady pace of releasing albums since its formation in 2016. The sound varied a bit from one album to the other, however. On the 2017…
Artist: KathaariaCountry: GermanyLabel: End All Life ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 To be completely honest, I hadn’t heard of the band Kathaaria before the cover art for their 2022 release, ‘To Be Shunned by All... As Centres of Pestilence’, caught…
Artist: Necrohell Country: Greece Label: Christhunt Productions Formats: CD Year: 2022 Greek Black Metal has always had a special place in the scene. Without bringing up the widely known history and naming the celebrated bands once again, we can safely…
Artist: Perverted Ceremony Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2021 We at VM-Underground have given ourselves quite a bit of Belgian Black Metal to review over the past few months, not infrequently I have personally stood…
Artist: DoedsvangrCountry: NorwayLabel: Devilry ProductionsFormats: 12″ EPYear: 2022 Straight after the release of their 2021 sophomore album ‘Serpents ov Old’, Doedsvangr didn’t rest on their laurels and quickly followed it up with an EP entitled ‘Koinonia’. The EP, available digitally…
Artist: DoedsvangrCountry: Finland / France / NorwayLabel: Debemur Morti ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 In the Black Metal collective called Doedsvangr we find experienced musicians from Norway, Finland and France. The Norwegian nation is represented by drummer AntiChristian (Grimfist, ex-Tsjuder…
Artist: Phlegethon’s Majesty / Gouffre Country: Belgium Label: Medieval Prophecy Records Formats: Split 7″ EP Year: 2022 Belgian Black Metal has been on the rise in recent years. The times when we could only name Ancient Rites and Enthroned are…
Artist: Self Execration / Suicidechain Country: USA Label: War Ritual Records Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2022 I recently encountered Self Execration’s first demo, released last September, and that’s also how I came upon this split release that saw the light…
Artist: Self Execration Country: USA Label: War Ritual Records Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2022 What we have here is yet another one-man Black Metal act from America. Self Execration is the brainchild of the somewhat misogynistic character of Slutslaughterer who…
Artist: Grave Troll Country: USA Label: Narbentage Produktionen Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2023 Though having released two demo tapes in 2020 and a split tape with Drug Darkness last year, the anonymous entity of Grave Troll returns this year with…
Artist: Cosmic ChurchCountry: FinlandLabel: KuunpalvelusFormats: LPYear: 2022 While Cosmic Church is mostly known as the one-man band of Luxixul Sumering Auter, a few of their releases were actually recorded as a two-piece. On the very first Cosmic Church demo, ‘The…
Artist: Abysmal SpiteCountry: USALabel: Cult Of Oblivion RecordingsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 With ‘Demo MMXXII’ this American Black Metal duo releases their first feat under their collective name of Abysmal Spite. On this firstling Antaeus is responsible for all the instrumentation…
Artist: MānbryneCountry: PolandLabel: Malignant Voices / Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 Although the focus tends to go to Norway, at the dawn of the 90’s Black Metal scenes started sprouting all over the world. One such…
Artist: KêresCountry: FinlandLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EPYear: 2021 Kêres is one of the many vessels that the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and Kuunpalvelus label boss Rauta (in the case of Kêres performing under the name of Atvar) uses to…
Artist: Sepulchral Triumph Country: Argentina Label: His Wounds Formats: LP Year: 2022 Argentina-based Sepulchral Triumph is ruled by a single soul, someone who calls himself Beulenpest. When you add this to that the enigmatic cover, you know you are dealing…
Artist: Whoredom RifeCountry: NorwayLabel: Cloven Hoof Brewing & Releasing / Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 Whoredom rife, the Norwegian band consisting of K.R. (ex-Bloodthorn) on vocals and V. Einride (Syning, ex-Keep of Kalessin) playing all instruments,…
Artist: Tírad Dûr Country: USA Label: Night Of The Palemoon Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 After reviewing some of Kūka’ilimoku’s releases, a look at its spiritual father’s other projects was, of course, inevitable. Although Kūka’ilimoku is Kūwāha’ilo’s main musical vehicle,…
Artist: Mayhemic Country: Chile Label: Awakening Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 This Chilean Thrash Metal band, formed in 2018, released several demos and EP’s over the past few years. However, none of these releases reached my ears before, so for…
One of this years’ musical highlights for me is definitely this Finnish band Moonlight Sorcery. They had digitally released their EP in February this year, after which Avantgade Music was the chosen label to release this pretty little gem of…