Tales From The Underground
Tales From The Underground
Artist: Skeletal Earth Country: USA Label: VIC Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 In 1994 Skeletal Earth returned once again with a full-length album, which turned out to be their last one as they threw in the towel shortly…
Artist: ToxikCountry: USALabel: Back On BlackFormats: LP / CDYear: 2023 My personal story is actually like so many here in The Netherlands. As a young enthusiast, I became hooked on metal in the late 1990’s, but at the time when Spotify…
Artist: Saram Country: Peru Label: Werewolf Records Formats: LP Year: 2023 Despite being officially formed in 1998 in Lima, Peru, Saram’s history goes back many more years. In 1991, the band Neuroparalya was formed which eventually turned into Saram Scivit…
Artist: Sex Messiah Country: Japan Label: Austral Holocaust Records / Nuclear War Now! Productions / Sex Desire Records Formats: 12″ EP / Cassette EP / CD EP Year: 2022 I once read an article that Japanese would be the most…
Artist: Hate Propaganda Country: Italy Label: Sentient Ruin Laboratories Formats: 10″ EP Year: 2022 An anonymous band from Portugal delivering some relentless raging Black/Thrash Metal with a sharp grinding edge, that’s what Hate Propaganda is all about. Back in 2019…
Artist: Sacrifice Country: Canada Label: High Roller Records / Shadow Kingdom Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 After a raw and musically slightly naïve start with ‘Torment In Fire’ (1986), which basically featured all of those…
Artist: Sacrifice Country: Canada Label: Daymare Recordings Formats: CD Year: 2022 Halfway through the first half of the 90s can be seen as the time when the Death Metal genre was already on its way out and Thrash Metal with…
Artist: EvilspellCountry: ItalyLabel: Blasphemous RecordsFormats: CDYear: 2021 Seven years after their last sign of life, the Italian Black/Thrash Metal band Evilspell returned to the front in 2021, with their third full-length ‘Padre Vostro’, which, if Google Translate is not fooling…
Artist: Flames Country: Greece Label: No Remorse Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 When it comes to the Greek metal scene, one of the earliest and most important bands that helped shape the lively scene that we know today,…
Artist: Flames Country: Greece Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2022 Hot on the heals of their first album in over a quarter of a century, the Greek Thrash Metallers of Flames self-released this 2-track rehearsal EP. So, people who…
Artist: Sax Country: Czechia Label: I Hate Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 Those who dig deeper and look beyond the usual names from the glossy metal magazines will know that in the mid- to late 80’s and early 90’s there…
Artist: Sacrifice Country: Canada Label: High Roller Records / Shadow Kingdom Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 While Germany had their Big 3 (Sodom, Destruction, Kreator) and the USA had their Big 4 (Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth…
Artist: Sacrifice Country: Canada Label: High Roller Records, Shadow Kingdom Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 A much heard criticism upon the release of Canadian Thrash Metal band Sacrifice’s debut album, ‘Torment In Fire’ (1986), was…
Artist: Vulture LordCountry: NorwayLabel: Bylec-Tum Productions / Odium RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 Even though the band formed in the mid 90’s, Vulture Lord’s career hasn’t been all too prolific. In fact, apart from a debut album…
Artist: Necrodeath Country: Italy Label: Time To Kill Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2023 We’re writing early 2023 and I think we already have a strong contender for the corniest album title of the year. Seriously, what were they…
Artist: Aurora BorealisCountry: USALabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Some bands just tend to never get going. I am sure everyone reading this have some of those in their collections. Bands that, despite their musical efforts being decent enough to at least attract…
Artist: Hellish Country: Chile Label: Dying Victims Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Earlier this year the Chilean Thrash Metal band Hellish already released a sneak preview to their new album in the form of a digital 2-track EP.…
Artist: Protector Country: Germany Label: High Roller Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 The history of Protector is a rather messy one, with lots of band members getting in and out of the band and also…
Artist: CutthroatCountry: ChinaLabel: DeadheadzFormats: Cassette tapeYear: 2022 Cutthroat were a Japanese ‘all-star’ band, with members of Abigail, Barbatos and Sigh, featuring genre legends such as Yasuyuki Suzuki (Abigail and Barbatos) and Mirai Kawashima (Sigh, Necrophagia). In the years between 1998…
Artist: Atomic WitchCountry: USALabel: Redefining Darkness RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 After having released a couple of singles/EP’s, Atomic Witch releases their first full-length album with ‘Crypt Of Sleepless Malice’, graced in a horrendously nuclear sort of artwork. And after having heard the album…
Artist: ZemialCountry: GreeceLabel: Self-releasedFormats: Digital EPYear: 2022 Archon Vorskaath has led his brainchild Zemial through many years of musical transitions and past many great releases. On many occasions, the enigmatic act has managed to surprise fans and critics alike. Looking…
Artist: Necromaniac Country: United Kingdom Label: Invictus Productions Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2021 Originally released in 2015 by Me Saco Un Ojo Records (and already reissued a year later) Invictus Productions thought it was about time to give this demo…
Artist: ApostasyCountry: ChileLabel: Hammerheart Records / Sentient Ruin LaboratoriesFormats: LP, CDYear: 2022 First appeared in 2021 on both cassette tape and CD formats (by Cabalist Records and Fallen Temple respectively), this third album by Chilean cult thrashers got another run of releases in 2022 by…
Artist: Hellish Country: Chile Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2022 As an appetizer for their upcoming album, ‘The Dance of the Four Elemental Serpents’ which is set for a release on December 16th of this year through Dying Victims Records,…
Artist: DaevaCountry: USALabel: 20 Buck SpinFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2022 Back in 2019, our chief-editor reviewed Daeva’s first EP, and although he appreciated the offering, it wasn’t all too special for him. Now, a few years ahead…
Artist: Exordium MorsCountry: AustraliaLabel: Praetorian Sword RecordsFormats: LPYear: 2022 When New Zealand is mentioned many people think of those great mountain landscapes in which Peter Jackson filmed his Lord Of The Rings trilogy. But it also has a small but…
Artist: Sarcator Country: Sweden Label: Black Lion Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2022 Usually I am not quite interested in father-son kind of relations, or any other family relations, between musicians. I think that every individual…
Artist: Sodom Country: Germany Label: Steamhammer Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 Whether you like Heavy Metal or Black Metal, Thrash Metal or Death Metal, there is no way that your favourite bands from each of those genres has not…
Artist: DefleshedCountry: SwedenLabel: Metal Blade RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Not too long ago I spent quite a few words on Defleshed’s 7” EP, ‘Fleshless And Wild’, which was released to reintroduce us to the recently resurrected Defleshed. Arguably Sweden’s…
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…
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…
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: 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: Sexmag Country: Poland Label: Dying Victims Productions Formats: Demo Tape Year: 2022 After their “tasteful” debut EP ‘Sex Metal’ from 2021, these Poles returned last summer with this new demo tape, which, like the EP, was also released by…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Artist: Proscriptor McGovern’s Apsû Country: USA Label: Agonia Records Formats: LP / Cassette Tape / CD Year: 2021 One of America’s most iconic Black Metal bands is undoubtedly Absu. The multi-headed monster that originally emerged from several previous incarnations and…
Artist: Dead HeadCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Hammerheart RecordsFormats: LP / CDYear: 2022 Considering this album was released by the end of April this year, I am a little late to the party with this review. Dead Head has never really changed…
Artist: MorgalCountry: FinlandLabel: Werewolf RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 One of the interesting aspects of reviewing albums is diving into the musical history of a band, going back to the earliest material, and comparing how a band…
Artist: Anal VomitCountry: PeruLabel: Black Legion RecordsFormats: Demo tapeYear: 2022 It was about 17 years ago when I reviewed Anal Vomit’s ‘Demonic Flagellations’ (From Beyond Productions) for VM-Underground’s predecessor and also conducted an interview with the band about these early…
Artist: Krushhammer Country: Brazil Label: Hellprod Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2022 I do love the simple things in life. I am just fine when things are predictable. Admitted, I also like to have a musical surprise every now…
Artist: DestructoCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Dying Victims Productions / Wolves Of Hades RecordsFormats: LP / Cassette tape / CDYear: 2021 I don’t think I have to tell you that The Netherlands is a rather small country and its metal scene is…
Artist: Painsaw Country: Canada Label: Self-Released Formats: Digital EP Year: 2022 Ahh, great! Canadian Thrash Metal. Yes, please! Painsaw hail from Fredericton, New Brunswick and presents their first offering: ‘Infinite Violence’. That promises a nice piece of uncompromising Thrash Metal.…
Artist: ThanatosCountry: The NetherlandsLabel: Xtreem MusicFormats: 10″ EPYear: 2020 A series that is called ’10 Inches Of Deathcult’ would not be complete without Hollands’ self-proclaimed initiators of Dutch Death Metal. Though the band was already founded as early as 1984…
Artist: Recipients Of Death Country: USA Label: VIC Records Formats: CD Year: 2022 Halfway the 80’s, the absolute heydays of Thrash Metal, many of the founding fathers of the genre released their iconic and classic albums. But it was also…
Artist: Mutilator Country: Brazil Label: Hellven Records Formats: LP / CD Year: 2021 When you talk about classic Brazilian Thrash Metal albums, you automatically end up with Sarcófago’s ‘INRI’, Sepultura’s ‘Morbid Visions’ and Mutilator’s ‘Immortal Force’. Of course, they were…
Artist: Sacrifice Country: Canada Label: Cyclone Empire / Marquee Records / War On Music Formats: LP / CD Year: 2009 With the unstoppable stream of returning old Thrash Metal legends (as well as some lesser heroes), you would almost think…