Adaestuo – Purge Of The Night Cloak [EP]

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…

Chasmdweller – Fossilized [EP]

Artist: ChasmdwellerCountry: CanadaLabel: Life After DeathFormats: Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 Having started out as Doom/Death Metal band, Chasmdweller developed into a full-on, hard hitting yet quite raw Death Metal of the filthiest kind. The band consists out of…

Cryptic Brood – Caustic Fetid Vomit [EP]

Artist: Cryptic BroodCountry: GermanyLabel: Bitter Loss Records / Burning Coffin Records / Lycanthropic Chants / Necrolatry Records / Rotted Life RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 While Cryptic Brood by no means is the crème de la crème of todays Death Metal…

Ruach Raah – Marquise Of Serpents [Demo / EP]

Artist: Ruach Raah Country: Portugal Label: Signal Rex Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2022 Ruach Raah, which translates to something ‘Spirit Of Evil’ from Hebrew, has been around for about a decade now and continues to release their stripped down Black…

Disma – The Graveless Remains [Reissue]

Artist: DismaCountry: USALabel: Seed Of DoomFormats: Cassette EPYear: 2022 Apart from a few purists who continue to swear by the first demo tape, ‘Towards The Megalith’ is commonly regarded as Disma’s best effort. Some go even as far as calling…

Hellish – The Vermis Mysteriis

Artist: Hellish Country: Chile Label: Dissonant Death Records / Unspeakable Axe Records Formats: 7″ EP / Cassette EP Year: 2021 It was early in the year 2015 when I first heard of this Chilean Thrash Metal band called Hellish, through…

Benothing – Temporal Bliss Surrealms [EP]

Artist: BenothingCountry: FinlandLabel: Everlasting Spew RecordsFormats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2021 Originally released at the end of last year on both cassette tape and CD formats, this EP from Finnish Death Metal band Benothing finally found…

Angra Mainyu – Ashera Triumphant [EP]

Artist: Angra MainyuCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 The story of the Black Metal band Angra Mainyu from Sweden goes way back to the early 90’s, when they were around under the name of Ahriman. Ahriman was an ancient Persian…

Pyra – Pyra [EP]

Artist: Pyra Country: Italy Label: Immortal Frost Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Founded in 2020, this Italian Black/Death Metal three-piece released a couple of digital singles in prelude to the official release of their self-titled debut EP through…

Nile – Festivals Of Atonement [EP / Re-Release]

Artist: Nile Country: USA Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP Year: 2022 Although ‘Festivals Of Atonement’ was actually Nile’s second release, originally unleashed in 1995, and came before the ‘Ramses Bringer Of War’-demo from 1996, Hells…

Pukewraith / Intestinal Hex – Medieval Grime [Split]

Artist: Pukewraith / Intestinal Hex Country: Canada Label: Gurgling Gore Formats: Split Cassette EP Year: 2022 On this Gurgling Gore presented split tape we get two Canadian one-man Death Metal acts, each presenting three tracks. Both musicians have been featured…

Nile – Ramses Bringer Of War [Demo / Re-Release]

Artist: Nile Country: USA Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: 7″ EP / Cassette EP Year: 2022 Before Nile took the Death Metal scene by storm with its debut album ‘Amongst The Catacombs Of Nephren-Ka’ in 1998 and their sophomore album…

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…

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…

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.…

Pukewraith – Returned Through Bile [EP]

Artist: Pukewraith Country: Canada Label: Gurgling Gore Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2021 Pukewraith is the solo Death Metal project of Brendan Dean, who is active in various other bands and projects, with Fumes and Gutvoid being the best known. The…

Father Befouled / Exaugurate – Purging Holiness [Split EP]

Artist: Father Befouled / ExaugurateCountry: USALabel: Rotted Life RecordsFormats: Split 7″ EPYear: 2021 While preparing for the review for Father Befouled’s most recent album, ‘Crowned In Veneficum’ (Everlasting Spew Records), I noticed that I had missed out on a split…

Stench Collector – Effluviatorium Du Jour [EP]

Artist: Stench Collector Country: USA Label: Redefining Darkness Records Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2021 The artwork for ‘Effluviatorium Du Jour’ gives away what you’re about to get into before you even press the play…

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…

Bestiarius – Bestiarius [EP]

Artist: BestiariusCountry: PeruLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EP Year: 2022 Fresh out of Lima, Peru comes this new EP from Bestiarius. Which is the follow-up to the 2020 demo tape and digitally released by the band itself. With their all-consuming mix of…

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 – 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…

Barbarity / Paganizer – Split 7″ EP

Artist: Barbarity / PaganizerCountry: Russia / SwedenLabel: Coyote RecordsFormats: Split 7″ EPYear: 2021 On this split 7″ EP we find a collaboration between Russia’s Barbarity and the Swedish workaholics of Paganizer. Both bands each contribute a song on this EP…

Poisonous – Doomed Pillars [EP]

Artist: Poisonous Country: Brazil Label: Ablaze Productions / Morbid Ways To Die Formats: Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 The Brazilians of Poisonous may be toxic, but it is a slow-acting poison. After their 2010 debut, ‘Perdition’s Den’, Poisonous…

Grimdusk – Hiver Noir

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…

Fumes – Stellar Murders Upwards [EP]

Artist: Fumes Country: Mexico Label: MVIRecs / Sentenced In Hellfire Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2022 From Mexico City comes this new four-piece Death/Black Metal band who are releasing their first EP with ‘Stellar Murders Upwards’. However, the four musicians…

Vampirblut – Black Metal Punks [EP]

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…

Sexmag – Sex Metal [EP]

Artist: Sexmag Country: Poland Label: Dying Victims Productions Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 A band with such a name immediately draws attention, add to that this fantastic cover artwork and you have yourself a…

Grave Troll – The Diseased And The Hunted [EP]

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…

Wombbath – The Weight Of Reality [EP]

Artist: WombbathCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Pretty soon after the Russian unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last February 24th, many labels and bands expressed their support for Ukraine and its many metal bands. Benefit concerts were organised and special editions…

Defleshed – Fleshless And Wild [EP]

Artist: DefleshedCountry: SwedenLabel: Regain RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2021 After a career of almost 15 years, Swedish Death/Thrash band Defleshed threw in the towel in 2005. Up to that point in their existence, the band had released five full-length albums and…

Deströyer 666 – Guillotine [EP]

Artist: Deströyer 666Country: AustraliaLabel: Burn RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 Seemingly out of the blue there is this new sign of life from one of the most iconic Black/Thrash bands. Although influential, Deströyer 666 has not been very productive in recent…

Diabolical Fullmoon – The Depths Of The Slavic Country [EP]

Artist: Diabolical FullmoonCountry: PolandLabel: Medieval Prophecy RecordsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 Contrary to what you might expect, this is not an Immortal cover band, nor does it have much to do musically with Norwegian Black Metal. For me, Diabolical Fullmoon’s previous…

Bitter Loss – Valleys Of The Fallen Empire [EP]

Artist: Bitter LossCountry: RussiaLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 From St. Petersburg, Russia, comes this five-piece Death Metal band. Last year they spawned a first EP, ‘Oblivion in Ceremonial Void’, which they released on CD themselves and got a cassette tape…

Abythic – Eden Of The Doomed [EP]

Artist: AbythicCountry: GermanyLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: 12″ EP / CD EP / Cassette EPYear: 2022 Abythic’s three albums have all been released by a different label, and certainly not the least. In chronological order, Blood Harvest Records, Xtreem Music and…

Larvae – Acid Horror Cult [EP]

Artist: Larvae Country: Romania Label: Dawnbreed Records / Sacred Tomb Records / Unholy Domain Records Formats: 7″ EP / Cassette EP Year: 2022 For me, this ‘Acid Horror Cult’-EP was my first introduction to the Romanian/Italian Larvae, but I wouldn’t…

Scorching Tomb – Rotting Away [EP]

Artist: Scorching Tomb Country: Canada Label: Dismal Fate Records Formats: Cassette EP Year: 2022 Canadian Death Metal will mainly evoke associations with the mainly technical flank of the genre, bands like Cryptopsy, Gorguts, the more modern Archspire or maybe even…

Centinex – The Pestilence [EP]

Artist: CentinexCountry: SwedenLabel: Agonia RecordsFormats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EPYear: 2022 You can accuse the Swedes of Centinex of anything, except a lack of underground aesthetics. Despite taking a few years off (from 2006 to 2014), they have been tenacious…

Severe Torture – Fisting The Sockets [EP]

Artist: Severe Torture Country: The Netherlands Label: Season Of Mist Formats: CD EP Year: 2022 Dutch Death Metal is mainly linked to the more classic bands from around the 90’s. Of course, bands like Pestilence, Sinister and Gorefest have been…