Heinous – Ritual, Blood and Mysterious Dawn

Artist: HeinousCountry: BelgiumLabel: New Era Productions / Nuclear War Now! ProductionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 My first introduction to Heinous came with their ‘Demo I’, initially released through Medieval Prophecy Records (cassette) and later by New Era…

Drudkh – All Belong to the Night

Artist: DrudkhCountry: UkraineLabel: Season of Mist Underground ActivistsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the birth of Drudkh, the by now legendary Ukranian band formed by original members Roman Saenko and Thurios and…

Darkthrone – Astral Fortress

Artist: DarkthroneCountry: NorwayLabel: Peaceville RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Obviously Darkthrone needs no introduction. An absolutely legendary band from the Norwegian Black Metal scene, the duo of Fenriz and Nocturno Culto have been spreading their music for well over three…

Ymir – Aeons Of Sorrow

Artist: YmirCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 A long, long time ago there was nothing but a deep and wide chasm called Ginnungagap that separated the cold and wild of Niflheim from the heat and fire of Muspelheim.…

Sorgetid – Natt av Tusen Dödsfall

Artist: SorgetidCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 The translation of the Norwegian word Sorgetid to English means something like mourning period, while the title of their debut album ‘Natt av Tusen Dödsfall’ translates to ‘Night of a Thousand…

Chevallier Skrog – Peasant Rebellion

Artist: Chevallier SkrogCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2022 With this second full-length album, the ever-active Chevallier Skrog delivers its sixth achievement of this year. Where many one-person acts from the same Lo-Fi Black Metal corner that keep up…

In Twilight’s Embrace – Lifeblood

Artist: In Twilight’s EmbraceCountry: PolandLabel: Malignant Voices / Terratur PossessionsFormats: CDYear: 2022 I have a confession to make. Sometimes, without any good reason, I decide to not give music a chance and avoid listening to it. I guess to save…

Fellmoon – Fellmoon [Demo]

Artist: FellmoonCountry: NorwayLabel: Self-releasedFormats: DigitalYear: 2022 “Alle er en måne og har en mørk side, som han aldri viser til noen”. This message is left by the entity Fellmoon on their only source of information, their Bandcamp page. The text…

Givre – Le Pressoir Mystique [Re-Release]

Artist: Givre Country: Canada Label: Eisenwald / Extinctionist Records / Fólkvangr Records / Winter Sky Records Formats: Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 In the wake of many a local Black Metal scene, the one currently brewing in Canada, in…

Givre – Destin Messianique

Artist: Givre Country: Canada Label: Eisenwald Formats: CD Year: 2022 At the same time as the Eisenwald-rereleased ‘Le Pressoir Mystique’ the Canadians come up with their sophomore album. On their debut album the band showed that Métal Noir Québécois is…

Rienaus – Luciferille

Artist: RienausCountry: FinlandLabel: KvltFormats: CDYear: 2022 The Finnish word Rienaus literally translates to blasphemy, so in a way it’s not surprising that through the years more than one Finnish band has used this band name. The band in question here…

Bythos – The Womb of Zero

Artist: BythosCountry: FinlandLabel: Terratur PossessionsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2020 The Finnish Black Metal scene is about as rich and diverse as any scene, ranging from the ultra raw to the symphonic and melodic. However, for the most…

Frostmoon Eclipse – Rustworn [EP]

Artist: Frostmoon Eclipse Country: Italy Label: Immortal Frost Productions Formats: CD EP Year: 2022 As one of Italy’s longest running Black Metal bands, with their roots dating all the way back to 1994, and having released quite an impressive string…

Blessing Lycanthropy – Demo II [Demo]

Artist: Blessing LycanthropyCountry: SlovakiaLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 The first demo from this three-member Slovakian Black Metal band Blessing Lycanthropy was released in June this year. Just one month later, the band is already releasing ‘Demo II’. In…

Kjeld – Ôfstân

Artist: Kjeld Country: The Netherlands Label: Heidens Hart Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2021 Northern Netherlands-based Kjeld is not a band in a big hurry. On the contrary. The band was formed back in 2003, but it took them…

Perversion – Dies Irae

Artist: Perversion / Pyromancer Country: USA Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 “Dies irae, dies illa. Solvet saeclum in favilla“. The first words in the Latin Dies Irae, the Day Of Wrath, they…

Firtan – Marter

Artist: FirtanCountry: GermanyLabel: Act Of PropagandaFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Black Metal has always been a genre in flux and development. If you look at the First Wave Black Metal in which bands like Hellhammer, Bathory and Venom ruled the…

Drowning The Light – Abyssic Tides

Artist: Drowning The LightCountry: AustraliaLabel: Dark Adversary ProductionsFormats: CDYear: 2022 When it comes to highly prolific Black Metal bands, I think anyone who is deep enough into the scene will mention Australian Black Metal trailblazer Drowning The Light as one of those bands…

Nocturnal Depression – When My Time Has Come [EP]

Artist: Nocturnal Depression Country: France Label: Ars Macabra Audio Formats: CD EP Year: 2022 When I first encountered Nocturnal Depression, a Depressive Black Metal band from France, I was not quite impressed. I have always thought that the term of…

Angrrsth / Czort – W Czeluść [Split]

Artist: Angrrsth / CzortCountry: PolandLabel: Godz ov War ProductionsFormats: Split CDYear: 2022 Once again through the power of eye-catching artwork I stumbled upon a split by the two Polish bands Angrrsth and Czort. I hadn’t heard of Igor Datkiewicz &…

Angrrsth – Donikąd

Artist: AngrrsthCountry: PolandLabel: Godz ov War ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 Angrrsth was formed in Toruń, Poland in 2018. After the release of an EP in their year of formation they took the next three years to work on their…

Czort – Apostoł

Artist: Angrrsth / CzortCountry: PolandLabel: Under the Sign of Garazel ProductionsFormats: Split CDYear: 2020 Czort is a Polish band from the Silesian Voivodeship, a province of which Katowice is the capital. The band, who shares their name with a horned,…

Deathhammer – Electric Warfare

Artist: DeathhammerCountry: NorwayLabel: Hells Headbangers RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Norway’s Deathhammer have taken the Metal world by storm, crushing the masses with their intense Thrash/Speed Metal mix that blends in some of their Norwegian Black Metal…

Weregoat – The Devil’s Lust [EP]

Artist: Weregoat Country: USA Label: Iron Bonehead Productions Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 Upon seeing this new EP, put in a subtle cover by Sadistik Exekution’s Rok, I had dived into my own collection.…

Gärgäntuäh – Dödenlicht [Demo / Reissue]

Artist: GärgäntuähCountry: The NetherlandsLabels: GoatowaRex / New Era Productions / Tour de GardeFormats: 12″ Demo / Demo tapeYear: 2021 This first demo by Dutch band Gärgäntuäh has already been released back in 2020 by the highly revered labels of New…

Svor – Demo I

Artist: Svor Country: Czechia / United Kingdom Label: Legion Blotan / Pant Y Meddygon Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 Svor is a new international band by G.P. (George Proctor) from the UK and MBN from the Czech Republic but residing…

Goat Torment – Forked Tongues

Artist: Goat TormentCountry: BelgiumLabel: Season Of Mist Underground ActivistsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 I still vividly remember the first time I saw Goat Torment live. It was 2016, when a small one-time Black Metal festival called Odium Nostrum was held…

Suicidal Solitude – Život Nikdy Nebol [Demo]

Artist: Suicidal Solitude Country: Slovakia Label: Pant Y Meddygon Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 With a band name like Suicidal Solitude you might not expect the brightest and most uplifting music. And… guess what, you are right. Although I am…

Ofermod – Mysterium Iniquitatis

Artist: OfermodCountry: SwedenLabel: Shadow RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 In the review for ‘Pentagrammaton’ on our pages, my colleague already spent a few words on Ofermod. It is hard to introduce a band with such a valuable legacy, but the…

Plaguefever – Crude Implements [EP]

Artist: Plaguefever Country: USA Label: Elvte Kvlt Recvrds Formats: 12″ / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2021 This trio from Richmond, Virginia, USA released their debut EP late last year and was picked up not long after by Elvte…

Lore Liege – Dreams Of A Forgotten Curse [EP]

Artist: Lore Liege Country: USA Label: Fólkvangr Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2022 When bands sound very much like their great examples, it always generates debate. Is it worship or copycat? Or, in some cases, even scavenging? In all styles…

Imprecation – In Nomine Diaboli

Artist: ImprecationCountry: USALabel: Dark Descent RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Although Imprecation’s history goes all the way back to the heyday of (American) Death Metal of the early 90’s, the band has always remained a bit more in the background. An underground…

Ceremoniële Walging – Ingekankerd

Artist: Ceremoniële WalgingCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Babylon Doom Cult RecordsFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2022 After last year’s scorching ‘Vergeet De Eeuwenoude Haat Nooit’ demo (which was also released on cassette tape by Babylon Doom Cult Records early this year), the anonymous Ceremoniële…

Weathered Crest – Dust Vessel [EP]

Artist: Weathered CrestCountry: AustriaLabel: Fallow FieldFormats: Cassette tape EPYear: 2022 On their first EP and debut album, we were already introduced to Weathered Crest, a Raw Black Metal band from Austria that sprung from the brain of Vritra of Kringa…

Weathered Crest – Blossoming Of The Paths

Artist: Weathered CrestCountry: AustriaLabel: Into Endless Chaos Records / Tour de GardeFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 Earlier in 2021, Weathered Crest, the project started by Vritra from Brånd and Kringa, released the ‘Broken Column’ debut EP. Which…

Weathered Crest – Broken Column [EP]

Artist: Weathered CrestCountry: AustriaLabel: Födweg / Into Endless Chaos RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2021 Early last year, the world saw Weathered Crest’s first born, the ‘Broken Column’ EP. Weathered Crest is a side-project of Vritra who continues to kill his time…

Daemoniac Ecstasy – Promo MMXXII [Demo]

Artist: Daemoniac EcstasyCountry: USALabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 Having been quite impressed by the ‘Crescendos Of Ululation’ demo-tape from earlier this year, I now throw myself at this 1-track promo, simply christened ‘Promo MMXXII’. This promo was released in an…

Tundra – Eclipse Of Blood [EP]

Artist: TundraCountry: ItalyLabel: Staring Into DarknessFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2022 It might be the COVID-19 pandemic, or maybe something else, but for the Italian Black Metallers of Tundra 2021 was a striking prolific year, with no less than seven singles and…

Opiumortem – Opiumortem [Demo]

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…

Smyrtonos – Endless Fury [Demo]

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…