Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Chevallier SkrogCountry: SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2022 Through the split tape with Kūka’ilimoku, I recently got to know Czech one-man Black Metal act Chevallier Skrog. This Swedish-based act had a few releases out before the aforementioned split…
Artist: Kūka’ilimoku / Chevallier SkrogCountry: USA / SwedenLabel: Pant Y MeddygonFormats: Cassette split tapeYear: 2022 This split tape is a collaboration between US-based Kūka’ilimoku, of which I have previously reviewed some releases and Czech Chevallier Skrog, who now operate out…
Artist: HetroertzenCountry: Chile / SwedenLabel: Listenable RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 My first introduction into the art of the Chilean band Hetroertzen came upon the release of `Exaltation of Wisdom’. The band, that still features founding members Frater D and…
Artist: Imperishable Country: Sweden Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital demo Year: 2021 Recently, I reviewed a compilation by a forgotten band from the Swedish Death Metal scene. In doing so, I argued that we still reap all the tasty fruits of…
Artist: Incarnated Country: Sweden Label: Graveless Souls Records / Grind To Death Records Formats: Cassette tape / CD Year: 2021 From a world as vital, innovative and musically creative as the early Swedish Death Metal scene have sprung many bands…
Artist: EucharistCountry: SwedenLabel: Regain RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 The history of Eucharist is one filled with split ups and reunions before the band called it quits in 1998. Still, the band managed to record two albums…
Artist: AlgaionCountry: SwedenLabel: Shadow RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 For the development of the American (Black) Metal scene, the Full Moon Productions-label was of great influence and importance. Not only did it help American bands like Acheron and Black Funeral…
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…
Artist: Haradrim Country: Sweden Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital demo Year: 2022 For the non-Lord of the Rings aficionado among us: The Haradrim were the race of Men from Harad in the region of Middle-Earth, directly south of Gondor. These people…
Artist: Niden Div. 187Country: SwedenLabel: Dawnbreed Records / De:Nihil RecordsFormats: Vinyl BoxsetYear: 2021 While both the Black and Death Metal genres were producing one groundbreaking record after another in the early nineties, the scenes exploded in volumes in the second…
Artist: WatainCountry: SwedenLabel: Chaos Reigns / Darkness Shall Rise Productions / His Master’s Noise / Nuclear Blast / Soyuz MusicFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Originally released on April 29th, I am a little late with this review…
Artist: Oppressive Descent / HellGoat Country: USA / Sweden Label: Corrupted Flesh Records / Feral Age Records / Jems Label / TormentRex Formats: Split LP / Split CD Year: 2021 ‘Death Knell Of A Dying World’ is a split LP…
Artist: Ribspreader Country: Sweden Label: Xtreem Music Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Writing an introduction to Ribspreader is actually not all that easy. There is a lot and at the very same time pretty little to…
Artist: TribulationCountry: SwedenLabel: Century MediaFormats: LP / CDYear: 2021 Amongst the earliest rumblings of a soon-to-be revived old school Death Metal earthquake, Tribulation were already releasing several demos and a strong debut. When ‘Formulas of Death’ marked a departure from that…
Artist: MortuusCountry: SwedenLabel: W.T.C. ProductionsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Sometimes an album just leaves a lasting impression. You don’t have to listen to it weekly, monthly, or even yearly; it somehow remains flawless in your mind. I never played Mortuus’…
Artist: BegravCountry: SwedenLabel: Self-ReleasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Begrav is a one-man Black Metal act from Gävle, Sweden and released something under his ‘own’ name of Äbaddohn already, but this ‘Black Art & Magick’ is the first offering under the moniker…
Artist: I, Of The Trees And Wind Country: Sweden / United Kingdom Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital Demo Year: 2022 This oddly named new band is a collaboration of Swedish and British musicians, who put together this 2-track demo of cold…
Artist: TrolldomCountry: Iron Bonehead ProductionsLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: 12″ LP / CDYear: 2022 The sole member of Trolldom is the illustrious figure of Swartadauþuz. Anyone delving into the extreme (Black) metal scene of today will at least stumbled once upon…
Artist: TrolldomCountry: Iron Bonehead ProductionsLabel: Iron Bonehead ProductionsFormats: 12″ LP / CDYear: 2022 One of the two albums that got released at the very same time by Swedish Trolldom, the brainchild of Swartadauþuz. One of the brainchilderen, actually. As this…
Artist: Lord BelialCountry: SwedenLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 A somewhat unexpected return. After no less than fourteen years Swedish Lord Belial is back with a new album. With this year marking their 30th anniversary (though quiting and reforming…
Artist: TherionCountry: SwedenLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 The second part of Hammerheart Records’ Therion reissues, after the great ‘Time Shall Tell’ 12” EP, is the bands’ second album ‘Beyond Sanctorum’. Indeed, skipping their great debut LP ‘Of Darkness…’…
Artist: TherionCountry: SwedenLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 The musical voyage of Therion, that led them from a pure, but atypical Death Metal band to a multi-layered and creative musical chameleon has been spread over four albums, with each…
Artist: TherionCountry: SwedenLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 With the bands’ 1992 album, ‘Beyond Sanctorum’, Therion proved not quite to be a band to play Death Metal-by-numbers. On the contrary. They already pushed the boundaries of the genre and…
Artist: TherionCountry: SwedenLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: 12″ EPYear: 2022 Introducing a band like Therion seems a little pointless as they are among the most successful bands on the Nuclear Blast roster – for a quarter of a century now. Much of…
Artist: Paganizer Country: Sweden Label: Transcending Obscurity Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Ah! Rogga Johansson again found some time to record yet another album, this time with Paganizer. It sometimes just puzzles me how some…
Artist: Dark FuneralCountry: SwedenLabel: Century MediaFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 What is the point in introducing Dark Funeral? No, there is none. A band that has drawn as much praise as it received rejection. Rejection because the band isn’t matching…
Artist: AngelBlastCountry: SwedenLabel: Edged Circle ProductionsFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2022 As a two-piece AngelBlast released a 7” in 2019, which marked the start of the band. The three songs on that 7” showcased a band in its early stages, but potential…
Artist: Funeral Mist Country: Sweden Label: Norma Evangelium Diaboli Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Like always is the case with Funeral Mist, all of a sudden there is a new album. I was pleasantly surprised by 2018’s ‘Hekatomb’-album, which…
Artist: Ceremonial OathCountry: SwedenLabel: VIC RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2020 After having paved the way for many bands that would follow and further perfect Ceremonial Oath’s blueprint for the melodic Gothenburg Death Metal sound with their amazing debut album, ‘The Book Of…
Artist: Bombs Of Hades Country: Sweden Label: Blood Harvest Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2008 I should’ve known better, really. I had this 7” EP here for quite some time before I started listening to it, the cover artwork for this…
Artist: Syphilitic Vaginas Country: Sweden Label: RFL Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2008 Syphilitic Vaginas have been releasing quite a pile of obscure vinyls and tapes over the last three-or-so years. And though it might come as they are from…
Artist: In Solitude Country: Sweden Label: High Roller Records / Pure Steel Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2008 This Swedish band with members from death metal band Katalysator (hailed in the Daniel Ekeroth’s book on Swedish Death Metal) and…
Artist: DoomVSCountry: SwedenLabel: Firedoom MusicFormats: CDYear: 2008 Since 2004 the rather strangely named project Doom:VS is Johan Ericson’s way to keep himself busy. Besides his main band, Draconian, he finds the time to get his solo project going as well. And with “Dead Words…
Artist: In Solitude Country: Sweden Label: Swedish Metal Productions Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2008 Once in a while there are some new bands that sound so much like those old metal LP’s you might/should have that it is almost hard…
Artist: Nocturnal / Pagan Rites Country: Germany / Sweden Label: Hells Headbangers Records Formats: Split 7″ EP Year: 2008 This is, of course, one of those 7” EP’s that can’t be missed and is a definite must-have for anyone into…
Artist: God Macabre Country: Sweden Label: Blood Harvest Formats: LP Year: 2008 As with many other great Swedish death metal releases, “The Winterlong” by God Macabre was a bit overlooked at the time of its release and failed to get…
Artist: BloodstoneCountry: SwedenLabel: Blood HarvestFormats: LPYear: 2008 As every death metal fan from the very first days or any vinyl collector would confirm, old school Swedish death metal is be experienced on vinyl exclusively. But, unfortunately not all great albums have been issued on the…
Artist: Necrovation Country: Sweden Label: Blood Harvest Formats: LP / CD Year: 2008 For the true followers of the Swedish death metal scene the name of Necrovation will definitely ring a bell. The band already released a cool demo-tape, a…
Artist: Enforcer Country: Sweden Label: Iron Pegasus Records Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2007 Enforcer from Sweden are far from an original band, in fact, they are a band that are knee-deep in the 80’s. Their old fashioned, yet fresh sounding,…
Artist: CauterizerCountry: SwedenLabel: Blood HarvestFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2007 This Swedish death metal band may be long forgotten, yet Blood Harvest didn’t. And lucky us, really, as this is some of the better Swedish death metal that came to my ears. I honestly have…
Artist: In Aeternum Country: Sweden Label: Blood Harvest / Pulverised Records Formats: 7″ EP / CD EP Year: 2007 With varying succes Swedish band In Aeternum have spawned records on mankind, through various labels and with an ever changing line-up.…
Artist: Isole Country: Sweden Label: I Hate Records Formats: CD Year: 2007 This is the re-release of Isole’s debut record, originally released back in early 2005. In fact, the original release never really got out of sight as I kept…
Artist: Ribspreader Country: Sweden Label: Blood Harvest Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2007 After a rather quick start this Swedish death metal act got a bit of a stranger in the scene. The band called its quits pretty much right after…
Artist: TribulationCountry: SwedenLabel: Blood HarvestFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2006 Though there are two different bands from Sweden with the name Tribulation, this is the alive and kicking one. It might be a little confusing as Blood Harvest also releases a lot…
Artist: Karnarium Country: Sweden Label: Blood Harvest Formats: 7″ EP Year: 2006 This underground Swedish death metal band has released a handful of demos before getting to releasing this 7” EP through the Swedish, underground praising Blood Harvest Records. Ever…
Artist: VominationCountry: SwedenLabel: Blood HarvestFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2006 This Swedish Vomination are throwing in some old school material on some old school format. That is how you can make me smile, some raw and obscure black, death, thrash or grindcore…
Artist: CorruptCountry: SwedenLabel: Blood HarvestFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2006 After four demos and a split 7” with Necrovation (also on Blood Harvest) that I personally all missed, even the split 7”, I finally got my first release from them in the…
Artist: Ceremonial ExecutionCountry: SwedenLabel: Blood HarvestFormats: 7″ EPYear: 2006 Before I read Blood Harvest was going to release this 7” EP I never heard of this Swedish band called Ceremonial Execution, so I didn’t know what to expect. Well, I…
Artist: ArckanumCountry: SwedenLabel: Carnal RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2006 After the recent release of Arckanum’s “The 11 Year Anniversary Album” it is time for more retro-releasing for one of Sweden’s best kept black secrets. This time it is Arckanum’s 1994 demo “Trulen”-demo tape put on a silver…
In the last few months I ‘discovered’ quite some interesting bands, one of the best will definitely be Nominon. I saw their name come by quite some times already, but I never came to the point of actually listening to…