Steve Bruder Des Lichts

BLUTGOTT reveal second video from new MASSACRE album

Today, BLUTGOTT present “Drachenlegion (Balgeroth Version),” the second single from their upcoming 3CD album Dracul Drakorgoth, set for international release on September 20th via Massacre Records. 

In the encompassing conflict that is called the War of Balgeroth, the entire Trinity of Blood Gods is on Earth for a short while: Balgeroth, Setekh Drakorgaur, and Dracul Drakorgoth. Balgeroth comes to Earth with part of his dragon legion fleets and attacks the entire planet-spanning Imperium of Mankind. His Blood Gods exterminate the human population and cover the land with an all-out war.  The songs from recent albums such as Beasts of Balgeroth and Bloodking played against this backdrop. “Drachenlegion” focuses on the demon machines of the Balgeroth Legion – draconic metal monsters from Hell.

The official video for “Drachenlegion” can be watched here:

THE BLUTGOTT METAL UNIVERSE

DEBAUCHERY– Monster Metal

BLOOD GOD– Hard Rock & Heavy Metal

BALGEROTH– German Metal

Over 20 years, singer and guitarist Thomas Gurrath has created an entire band universe with over 30 CDs spread across more than 17 albums from Debauchery, Blood God, and Balgeroth. He has united this Trinity of Blood Gods under the name BLUTGOTT.

Musically, the band moves across genres somewhere between Judas Priest, Slayer, AC/DC, Rammstein, and Bolt Thrower. There is pounding death metal, classic heavy metal, and groovy hard rock, sometimes with screeching vocals, sometimes with the distinctive monster voice, sometimes clean, and everything in between.

The lyrics – in German and English – deal with the band’s own dark fantasy universe: the World of Blood Gods, named after the Blood Gods – biomechanical vampire dragons with demonic abilities.

The three most infamous are Bal-Geroth, the Bloodking of Knochenheim; Dracul Drakorgoth, the Debauchery Blood God; and Setekh Drakorgaur, the Red Dragon. Together, they form the Trinity of Blood Gods.

In the war zones of the past and future, on Earth, Eden, other planets, and Hell, they fight brutal battles against elves, humans, and dwarves, as well as other demons. The World of Blood Gods has its own miniatures and its own tabletop game, called Kings of Carnage.

Concerts of the various incarnations of the BLUTGOTT Metal Universe have been held throughout Europe, Russia, and Asia. They have performed with Doro, Saxon, Dismember, Napalm Death, Destruction, and many other well-known bands from the metal scene and played at major festivals such as Wacken, Summer Breeze, and Bang Your Head. The albums are regularly in the top 50 of the official German album charts.

The new album Dracul Drakorgoth will be released on September 20th via Massacre Records and contains ten completely new songs each with the Debauchery Monster Voice, once with the German Balgeroth lyrics and also with the Blood God Heavy Metal voice. It will be available as 3CD digipack as  well as limited-edition box, and the Debauchery and Balgeroth versions each as limited-edition vinyl LP. The album was recorded by Dennis Ward (Unisonic, Krokus, Helloween).

In addition, there is the Blutfest Tour with a BLUTGOTT live show for the new album and 20 years of monsters and metal. Dates follow after the jump. Cover and tracklisting are as folllows:

Tracklisting for BLUTGOTT’s Dracul Drakorgoth

CD1 Debauchery Version

1. We Create Metal

2. Dracul Drakorgoth

3. Fire and Steel

4. Crusade Against Humanity

5. Overdrive of Brutality

6. Dragonsteel

7. Blood for Balgeroth

8. Setekh Drakorgaur

9. Blood Demands Blood

10. Drakespawn

CD 2 Balgeroth Version

1. Drachenlegion

2. Dracul Drakorgoth

3. Feuer und Stahl

4. Drachendivision

5. Blutgott Monsterhorde

6. Drachenstahl

7. Blut für Balgeroth

8. Setekh Drakorgaur

9. Blut verlangt Blut

10. Drachenbrut

CD3 Blood God Version

1. We Create Metal

2. Dracul Drakorgoth

3. Fire and Steel

4. Crusade Against Humanity

5. Overdrive of Brutality

6. Dragonsteel

7. Blood for Balgeroth

8. Setekh Drakorgaur

9. Blood Demands Blood

10. Drakespawn
 

BLUTGOTT LIVE
www.blutfest.de

03.08.2024 München – Backstage

05.09.2024 Nürnberg – Hirsch

20.09.2024 Passau – Zauberberg

21.09.2024 Aalen – Rock It

04.10.2024 Oberhausen – Helvete

05.10.2024 Rostock – Zuckerfabrik

01.11.2024 Weinheim – Cafe Central

02.11.2024 Kirchheim (Teck) – Linde – Heimspiel

06.12.2024 Lenzburg – Met-Bar (CH)

07.12.2024 Lindau – Club Vaudeville

12.12.2024 Wien – Viper Room (AT)

13.12.2024 Graz – Explosiv (AT)

31.01.2025 Hannover – Cafe Glocksee

01.02.2025 Hamburg – Logo

15.02.2025 Berlin – Slaughterhouse

08.03.2025 Selb – Rockclub Nordbayern

28.03.2025 Cham – LA
 

BLUTGOTT DISCOGRAPHY

2003 Kill Maim Burn (Debauchery)

2004 Rage of the Bloodbeast (Debauchery)

2005 Torture Pit (Debauchery)

2007 Back in Blood (Debauchery)

2008 Continue to Kill (Debauchery)

2009 Rockers & War (Debauchery)

2010 Hotter than Hell (Big Ball, now called Blood God)

2011 Germany’s next Death Metal (Debauchery)

2012 No Brain But Balls (Blood God / Debauchery)

2013 Kings of Carnage (Debauchery)

2014 Blood is my Trademark (Blood God / Debauchery)

2015 Fuck Humanity/Menschenhass/German Warmachine (Debauchery / Balgeroth / Blood God)

2016 Thunderbeast (Blood God / Debauchery)

2017 Rock’n’Roll Warmachine (Blood God)

2018 In der Hölle spricht man Deutsch / Enemy of Mankind (Balgeroth / Debauchery)

2018 Götter der Vernichtung (Balgeroth)

2019 Blood for the Blood God (Debauchery)

2021 Monster Metal/Böse bis ins Blut/Metal to the Bone (Debauchery/ Balgeroth / Blood God)

2022 Demons of Rock’n’Roll (Blood God / Debauchery)

2023 Respawned in Heavy Metal/Enemy of Mankind/Der Blutgott nagelt dich ans Kreuz(Blood God / Debauchery / Balgeroth)

2024 Dragongods/The Horror of the Forest/Drachenkult (Debauchery / Blood God / Balgeroth)

2024 Dracul Drakorgoth (Debauchery / Balgeroth / Blood God)

BLUTGOTT LINKS
www.blutgott.com
www.facebook.com/blutgott666
www.instagram.com/blutgott666
www.youtube.com/@blutgott666
www.tiktok.com/@blutgott666

BLOODCROSS stream PERSONAL RECORDS debut – features members of ANGELSCOURGE+++

Today, melodic black metallers BloodCross stream the entirety of their highly anticipated debut album, Gravebound. Set for international release on July 5th via Personal Records, hear  BloodCross‘ Gravebound in its entirety here:

BloodCross are a Finnish heavy metal band formed in 2019 that rose from the ashes of black metallers Angelscourge and their lone album, Seraph Impaler. Based in Turku, BloodCross cast their gaze wider to the past and draw inspiration from such old gods as Necrophobic, Dissection, and even Yngwie Malmsteen. 

BloodCross‘ first release was the demo Abyssal Blood in 2021, which featured three ear-piercing songs. At that point, the band had not yet fully introduced their influences from power metal to their already lethal and bloody cocktail of blackened melodic thrash metal.

However, that will all change with their full-length debut, Gravebound. Here, BloodCross boldly broaden their musical expression to soundscapes that are catchier, more melodic, and somehow also crushing soundscapes. Insanely fast at times but exuding a palatable precision, Gravebound is technical and relentless but never forsakes the art of songwriting, remaining mesmerizingly memorable every step of the way, building epic towers of icy, majesty melody and ripping, burn-the-touch intensity. Coupled with the crisp & gleaming production, one could possibly mistake BloodCross for a very young & hungry Children of Bodom, but the band’s late ’90s vibes extend further to such cult names as Swordmaster, Gates of Ishtar, Ablaze My Sorrow, Prophanity, and Raise Hell: in other words, this is melodic black metal par excellence.

Prepare for a new modern classic of meloblack with BloodCross‘ Gravebound!

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for BloodCross’ Gravebound

1. Warbeasts [5:09]
2. Nemesis Reborn [5:46]
3. Beyond Flesh [5:32]
4. Pale Avenger [5:09]
5. Gravebound [5:27]
6. Devil Speed [4:17]
7. Howling Spirits [7:39]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/bloodcrossmetal 

www.personal-records.com
personal-records.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/personalrecords666
Instagram.com/personalrecords666

Speed metallers Death Racer premiere the new track “Imola” 

Today, literal speed metallers Death Racer premiere the new track “Imola”. The track is the third to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, From Gravel to Grave, set for international release on July 26th via Dying Victims Productions. Hear Death Racer’s “Imola” in its entirety here:

Hailing from Austria, Death Racer are nothing if not thorough. See, the idea for the band was born years ago while philosophizing during listening to Razor’s “Deathrace.”  From there, a wellspring of inspiration followed – and the race was on! 

Death Racer’s debut demo, released in 2020, was appropriately titled Qualifying. Musically, their most important influence, maybe – rawness, straightforwardness, DRIVE – are the same qualities a racecar driver must possess. Without zero fucks given and a will to make devilish sacrifices at times, you were never able to hit the final laps back in the dangerous days of motorsports; a certain backwardness and nostalgia for those days is the most important ingredient overall for Death Racer. In their mind, post-apocalyptic / dystopian movies – with their totalitarian atmosphere and hostile approach against all life – are mirroring in perfect symbolism that of relentless racing.

And so they race forward, more relentless than ever, with their long-awaited debut album, From Gravel to Grave. Also perfectly titled, From Gravel to Grave presents Death Racer as an all-pistons-pumping runaway racecar, chassis gleaming but torched black with exhaust underneath, its very construction pushing the outer limits of safety before all the screws fall loose and a fiery wreck ensues. For sure, it’s not difficult to spot the Austrians’ influences, and they wouldn’t have it any other way – they are transparent as they are thorough, to circle back to the earliest point – so therefore, there’s the obligatory “High Speed Metal” of classic Razor as well as the comparable grit & grime of equally old, raw metal like earliest Slayer, Exciter, Bathory, Hungary’s Tormentor, Bulldozer, true-metal Darkthrone, cult NWOBHM, Violent Force, and of course, erudite Teutonic thrash. 

Still, it’s how Death Racer revs this noble engine that matters most, not how familiar it is (because what ISN’T familiar now?!), and they sneak some nitrous into that engine in the form of hardcore punk attitude and otherworldly black metal atmosphere as well as some touches of chorused guitar from old deathrock. But again, From Gravel to Grave is thorough as it is (filthy) fun, so its lyrics deal with true incidents / accidents on the world’s most demanding and terrifying racetracks (“Nordschleife,” “Imola ’94”) as well as the terrors of “real life” inspired by newspaper articles (“C.F.S.O.D.C”) or just plain fantasy (“Motormentor,” “S.M. Death Worship”) and daily struggles (“Inverted Crossroads,” “Traumatized in Traffic Jam Ejection”). All told, filth and fury and FUN. Death Racer is at the wheel, and you’re going From Gravel to Grave at 666 mph! 

Also hear the previously revealed “Inverted Crossroads” exclusively HERE, courtesy of MetalBite.com, as well as the previously revealed “Nordschleife” exclusively HERE, courtesy of Deaf Forever magazine. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Death Racer’s From Gravel to Grave
1. Motormentor
2. Nordschleife
3. Inverted Crossroads
4. C.F.S.O.D.C
4. Imola ’94 (From Gravel to Grave)
5. Racers of Death
6. Traumatized In Traffic Jam Ejection
7. S.M. Death Worship

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/deathracerspeedmetal

www.dying-victims.de 
www.facebook.com/dyingvictimsproductions 

INERTH stream new ABSTRACT EMOTIONS mini-album – features ex-members of LOOKING FOR AN ANSWER+++

Today, throwback extreme metallers Inerth stream the entirety of their highly anticipated new mini-album, Hybris. Set for international release on July 5th via Abstract Emotions on 12″ vinyl format, hear Inerth‘s Hybris in its entirety here:

Inerth was born in Madrid in early 2019 just after the dissolution of their previous band, the acclaimed grindcore act Looking For An Answer. Formed by veteran musicians with 25 years of touring and recording experience, Inerth‘s main idea was to create an amalgam of harsh-but-pondering music designed to reflect a lifelong passion for sounds ranging from death metal to sludge as well as incorporating doomed and industrial soundscapes.
After a self-titled EP debut, Inerth released their debut album, Void, in 2022 through Abstract Emotions, receiving great reviews worldwide and being included on the best albums list at such outlets like Mondo Sonoro, Rock Zone, Aversionline, Ritvual and Metalitalia among others. Taking inspiration from such bands as Godflesh, Napalm Death, Neurosis, Celtic Frost, Amebix, and Killing Joke, on their first full-length did Inerth reclaim the spirit of the 1990s’ most extreme & transgressive sounds.

With Hybris, Inerth show an evolutionary leap for the band. Unafraid of experimentation and going beyond boundaries, the four new songs here are full of strength and spirit. Inerth are clearly influenced by Godflesh, a band with which they recently toured, but Hybris equally shows their own idiosyncratic style in even-more-powerful form.

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Inerth’s Hybris
1. Midlife Wasteland [3:33]
2. Oblivion [6:05]
3. Fentanyl [3:16]
4. A.I. [5:25]

MORE INFO:
www.inerth.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/INERTHband

www.abstractemotions.com
www.facebook.com/abstractemotions1995

NIGHTHÄMMER: Oakland Black Metal Tyrants Release Debut Album “Land of Fear”

American black metal outfit NIGHTHÄMMER has released its debut album Land of Fear, out now via Imbecile Records and Inferna Profundus Records.

Born in the vilest gutters of Oakland, NIGHTHÄMMER was conceived by guitarist Coffin in 2023. Shortly thereafter, drummer Grond and bassist Frost Tormentor joined the ranks, and the trio plunged into Earhammer Studio to record Land of Fear with the renowned Greg Wilkinson (Autopsy, Brainoil, Necrot), crafting their formidable sonic heresy.

Channeling the spirit of second-wave black metal titans like Gorgoroth, Immortal, Darkthrone and Deströyer 666, NIGHTHÄMMER fuses thrash and d-beat into their blitzkrieg of speed-driven riffs, thunderous drums, eerie leads and retching screams with invocations from the apostolic occult.

According to the band, “Land of Fear is an aural odyssey across an irradiated Earth when omni-corporations have finally merged into a sole sycophantic theocratic vision of complete and total domination, pitting what remains of the human race and Earth’s resources against the solemn, cold ultimatum: join or die.”

Prepare to ride the cracking thunder and traverse the Land of Fear, due out June 28 on vinyl and cassette via the band’s Imbecile Records and Inferna Profundus Records, respectively.

1. Land of Fear
2. Land of Fear (Reprise)
3. Pelt of the Wolf
4. Gilded String of the Exalted Oppressor
5. Killing Frosts
6. Impregnable Black Night
7. Delumina

PURCHASE (vinyl): https://nighthammerus.bandcamp.com/album/land-of-fear

PURCHASE (cassette): https://infernaprofundusrecords.bandcamp.com/album/land-of-fear

NIGHTHÄMMER is:  
Coffin – guitars, vocals
Frost Tormentor – bass
Grond – drums  

Social Links:  

https://www.instagram.com/nighthammerus
https://nighthammerus.bandcamp.com

DECEASED set release date for new HELLS HEADBANGERS album, reveal first track

Today, Hells Headbangers Records announces August 30th as the international release date for Deceased‘s highly anticipated eighth album, Children of the Morgue, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

In lieu of this announcement, the band reveal the new title track “Children of the Morgue.” Hear Deceased‘s title track “Children of the Morgue” in its entirety here:

By now, Deceased need no introduction. One of the longest-running American death metal bands, since 1985, Deceased have been there for it all: death metal’s genesis, its creative peak, its commercial peak and subsequent sink into trendiness, the eventual fallout and “un-trendiness,” its rebirth at the hands of a new generation, and on and on. There they have stood, simply and 100% always Deceased, not caring what year it is or what is hip – simply, always, DEATH METAL FROM THE GRAVE!

And across their sizable-yet-succinct discography, at their heart, Deceased have always been a great HEAVY METAL band. They proved it with 1997’s landmark Fearless Undead Machines and continued to prove it with every album thereafter, with 2018’s Ghostly White showing that even this MANY years on, their pistons are pumping harder and more creatively than ever.

During those past three decades, Deceased have not been without ambition. Even when stretching the limits of complexity like on 1995’s The Blueprints for Madness, true-to-death storytelling has always been at the fore of their work, vividly illustrated by the characteristic throat of founder / former drummer King Fowley. And although Fearless Undead Machines was perhaps the apex of that storytelling, never before have Deceased attempted such an emotional, topically rooted-in-death album…until now!

Enter Children of the Morgue, Deceased‘s darkest record to date. The album’s concept is on dying and all that it entails, and suitably do the band integrate nearly every element of their past and present arsenal into its 55-minute runtime. “There will be fast parts, slow parts, melodic parts, noisy parts, and everything in between,” Fowley claimed pre-release, and he’s not wrong! But how Deceased manage to thread everything together so seamlessly speaks to the strength of their songwriting – always recognizable, but never resting on past laurels. Here on Children of the Morgue, moody-yet-melodic riffing and lead-work take center stage as Fowley narrates this epic-length tale of life and death. The album’s exceptional pacing and engaging, always-going-forward song constructions heighten the sensation that the record is a lot shorter than it actually is; however, if one was to do some quick math, he’d surmise at least half these tracks are indeed EPIC – at or above the eight-minute mark. Nevertheless, the sum effect is mesmerizing and even majestic, unremittingly DARK as the subject matter may be. The final icing on the cake (or slamming of the morgue’s doors?) is the warm & rustic recording courtesy of Oblivion Studios, where the aforementioned Fearless Undead Machines and co-classic Supernatural Addiction were rendered onto tape.

Nearly 40 years since their formation, Deceased show no signs of stopping – and, in fact, are arguably more potent than ever. You can now add Children of the Morgue to their list of undeniable classics…but this is not the end!

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Deceased’s Children of the Morgue
1. Destination: Morgue 
2. Children of the Morgue
3. Turn to Wither
4. Terrornaut 
5. The Reaper is Nesting 
6. Uninvited Dirge 
7. The Grave Digger 
8. Eerie Wavelengths 
9. Fed to Mother Earth 
10. Skull with the Vacant Stare 
11. Brooding Lament 
12. Farewell (Taken to Forever) 

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/deceasedofficial

www.hellsheadbangers.com
www.facebook.com/hellsheadbangers 

CONCRETE WINDS set release date for new SEPULCHRAL VOICE album, reveal first track

Today, Sepulchral Voice Records announces August 30th as the international release date for Concrete Winds‘ highly anticipated third album, self-titled Concrete Winds, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

To all death metal lunatics and black metal psychopaths left out there in this toothless and tamed scene, let us proclaim the word! Concrete Winds are back to push spikes, needles, and barbed wire into your flesh and ears.

Once again, the noise aggressors slit the veil from beyond and step into our world to pillage and hound to death all what was known, predictable, and comfortable in metal music. Their third album is self-titled for mandatory reasons and shows the band furthermore exploring the EXTREME in extreme metal. This truly is rabies set to music!

While their debut, 2019’s Primitive Force, was a beacon of strife in stretching and redefining the boundaries of unholy, grinding death metal, the successor, 2021’s Nerve Butcherer, pushed the limits even harder and set new standards in the world of audial bulldozing destruction and blitzin’ torment. 

With Concrete Winds, the band now open wide again the portals to the abattoir and continue right where Nerve Butcherer had left the listener helplessly in a sonic wasteland of scorched earth, barren soil, and sheer darkness. They manifest their will to tear the listeners’ drumheads out and to creep deep into souls black. As expected, the album is rooted in outrageous speed, heaviest trembling rhythm passages, abysmal croaked curses, turbulent breaks, and repulsive shrieking leads which let you drown in a maelstrom of insanity. But this time, new layers are also added to the pandemonic universe, as weird staccato riffing sections bleed into witching industrial scenarios.

Concrete Winds have always gone further than any recent extreme metal outfit and leave out everything that’s established in music, cut off what became comfortable in metal, and blow away what still feels “appropriate” in extreme metal. It seems that this once-urgent attitude to explore limits finally has a new helmsman. Nevertheless, they stay ever loyal to the elder originators of bloody metal mayhem, but evolve those inspirations taken from masters like Morbid Angel, Necrovore, and Repulsion to a very unique and nearly “reference-less” hellwitchin’ sound.

No less than Lawrence Mackrory – with the help of Matti Mäkelä – recorded, mixed, and mastered this cacophonic eruption mostly at Rorysounds Studios in Uppsala, Sweden. All of it is bound together in nine signature two-word-titled songs that altogether does not exceed the 27-minute mark. Calculators may wrongly estimate it as “short,” but measured in CW units, it has the perfect length to die a thousand deaths. 

Concrete Winds have never been for the faint-hearted. They always killed any scent of entertaining characters straight from the seed. It’s easy not to understand them; it’s easy not to comprehend them; it’s easy not to love them. But it should not be easy to confuse entertainment with art: true art must hurt.

However, this is Concrete fucking Winds‘ third album! And it will definitely not leave anyone untouched, no matter in which way – PERIOD.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Infernal Repeater”  here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Concrete Winds’ Concrete Winds
1. Permanent Dissonance
2. Virulent Glow
3. Daylight Amputations
4. Infernal Repeater
5. Subterranean Persuasion
6. Hell Trance
7. Systematic Distortion
8. Demented Gospels
9. Pounding Devotion

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/aggressivenoisetorment
www.concretewinds.bandcamp.com

www.sepulchralvoice.de
www.facebook.com/sepulchralvoicerecords

FÖRGJORD reveal first video from upcoming new WEREWOLF album

Today, Finnish black metallers Förgjord reveal the new video “Käärmeenkieli.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated seventh album, Perkeleen Weri, which should see release via Werewolf Records during the second half of 2024. See & hear Förgjord‘s “Käärmeenkieli” video in its entirety here:

For years one of Finnish black metal’s best-kept secrets, in recent times have Förgjord sprung to prominence among the adventurous as practitioners of a strangely alluring sort of obsidian. Although existing since the mid ’90s and patiently parceling out their recordings in an almost-clandestine manner, the upswing in activity began with Förgjord‘s third album (and first with Werewolf), Uhripuu, in 2017 and was followed by the equally challenging Ilmestykset in 2019, the comparatively more rockin’ Laulu kuolemasta a year later, and the draw-everything together Ruumissaarna Pt. 1 in 2022. Among those four full-lengths, the Finnish trio solidified and strengthened their strident aesthetic – malodorous melodicism, hypnotically rendered through a ripped-raw soundfield, making their strangely hummable ruminations on triumph & tragedy sound all the more alien, each album unified yet unique within that aesthetic – and made it all seem effortless. Finally, it seemed that the name Förgjord was no longer a “secret.”

As such, it makes total sense for Förgjord to strike back with inarguably their most-direct and least-tweaked album yet: Perkeleen Weri. The band’s seventh full-length, Perkeleen Weri is definitely – and immediately – recognizable as Förgjord, maintaining mostly all those above characteristics and chiseled into new-yet-familiar shapes. However, the distinct difference here is that the band have dialed down the atmosphere for the sake of the almighty RIFF. Indeed, Perkeleen Weri is rife with riffs…riff after riff after riff after RIFF, all of them rough and rowdy and catchy and cantankerous. It’s a sonic / psychic move back to ancient times, primordial “regression” of a most ’80s manner (or, at the very least, the very early ’90s) that’s symbolic of both youth and older age. While nostalgic in essence, the burning-black flame here strides forward, ready to burn past, present, and future; suitably, the execution and especially recording feel almost clearheaded in context, or at least Förgjord‘s most crystalized attack yet. Melodicism abounds, of course, but there’s a murderous edge to Perkeleen Weri that’s never been this fully explored. Add to that palpitating attack a tasteful dose of organ and some chorus FX and you have a black metal record that’s simultaneously traditional and nuanced.

“Perkeleen Weri is an album which is dedicated to glory days of black metal,” explains founding guitarist / bassist Valgrinder, “when things were pure and albums were built more on guitar riffs and not just atmosphere, when songs themselves weren’t hidden behind hellish tempos or under huge production. Perkeleen Weri is a pure, naked, and shameless album, for both good and bad – nothing more, nothing less.”

As always, a carefully cultivated lyricism informs Förgjord‘s latest work. Valgrinder again: “Lyrically, it is a compilation of small stories from our part of Savo area, stories that were told from one generation to the next. Whispered secrets, well-known tragedies, and horror stories that were told to children to keep them safe; memories from old days when brother stood against his brother – the untold sins of Finland’s civil war, wounds that never healed properly. It’s about hard times, when depression took over the lands and charlatans tried to exploit the common man – when the blood of Perkele was running and people did whatever they had to, just to survive. We are here not to judge, but to speak their stories.”Release date, cover, tracklisting to be announced shortly.

For more info, consult the links below.

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/forgjord

www.werewolf.fi
www.facebook.com/werewolf.rex

AGRYPNIE set release date for new AOP RECORDS album, reveal first track featuring SECRETS OF THE MOON member

Today, AOP Records announces September 13th as the international release date of Agrypnie‘s highly anticipated seventh album, Erg, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Founded in 2004 by songwriter Torsten H., who is also active in the bands Nocte Obducta, Theotoxin, and Suel as well as other musical projects, Agrypnie have developed into a significant force in the black metal scene over the years. What began as a solo project was expanded into a full band to enable live performances in 2007, a year after the release of the debut album F51.4.

With nine releases, including six albums, Agrypnie have created an extensive discography that reflects the variety and depth of their musical universe. Over time, Agrypnie have completed numerous tours and festival as well as club performances, captivating their audience with their intense stage presence and powerful performances.  And as of 2024, with the planned release of their seventh album, Erg, drum recordings for the eighth album are already completed.

The album Metamorphosis, released in 2021, was Agrypnie‘s first under the renowned label AOP Records and reached #29 on the official German album charts. Additionally, it was named one of the top five black metal releases of 2021 by the German Metal Hammer. These recent successes, along with past achievements, highlight the band’s continuous development.

And that development arguably reaches its apex with Erg. In one sense, Erg is Agrypnie‘s most aggressive album to date; every instrument attacks from every angle, almost overwhelmingly so if not for the clear & cutting recording and the band’s enviously sharp execution. In another sense, Erg displays considerable daring and depth; while “black metal” in foundation, the album’s songwriting crests and crashes with kaleidoscopic wonder and cathartic urgency alike. That Agrypnie manage to make these eight compositions (“Blut” is a two-part suite) a forever-unfolding adventure that reveals ever-deeper truths the more one listens to it is a testament to their power and prowess as both songwriters and musicians. Rich sonically and in emotion, majestic even when plumbing the depths of melancholy, Erg is a tour de force of wide-screen BLACK METAL regardless of “progressive” or “post-” appellations. 

Currently, along with Torsten, drummer Flo – songwriter for labelmates Theotoxin, drummer for Schirenc Plays Pungent Stench, and live drummer for bands such as Benighted and Schammasch – is the only permanent studio musician. The live musicians Lykanthrop (Batushka, guitar), Chris (Perchta, guitar), and Andi (ex-Paul Di’Anno Band, bass) complete  Agrypnie.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Aus rauchlosem Feuer” featuring Phil Jonas of Secrets of the Moon here:

Cover artwork, courtesy of syn2 / Marco Klein, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Agrypnie’s Erg
1. Aus rauchlosem Feuer
2. Meer ohne Wasser
3. Sturm
4. Blut
5. Entität
6. Stunde des Wolfes
7. Geister
8. Unter Sandessen und verscharrt

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/agrypnie.official

www.aoprecords.de
www.facebook.com/aoprecords

GRAVENOIRE Release First Single “France de l’Ombre”

In an era where the essence of black metal has been diluted by the sands of time and commercial ambition, GRAVENOIRE stands as the unyielding monument to its original, uncompromising spirit. Today, GRAVENOIRE is proud to announce the first beacon from their much-anticipated album, Devant La Porte Des Étoiles – the premiere single, France de l’Ombre.

Crafted in the crucible of raw emotion and shrouded mysteries, France de l’Ombre is a declaration, a ritualistic embrace of the shadows that define our existence. This composition dives deep into the heart of darkness, resurrecting the primordial sounds of 90’s black metal, intertwined with the unique mystical essence that courses through GRAVENOIRE‘s veins. It’s a journey back to the roots, back to a time when music was a gateway to the primal and the arcane.

GRAVENOIRE, forged in the sacred fires of artistic rebellion and spiritual awakening, channels the raw, unfiltered energies of spectral and telluric realms. This song, like each chapter of Devant La Porte Des Étoiles, serves as a tome, inscribed with the ink of defiance and the undying lust for transcendence. The musicianship of GRAVENOIRE, a covenant of beings bound by their shared lineage within the pantheon of black metal elites such as Anorexia Nervosa, BÂ’A, and Diablation, ascends in France de l’Ombre to guide listeners through forgotten paths under a starlit dome.

Devant La Porte Des Étoiles is out August 23 on Season of Mist: Underground Activists.

Witness the arcane majesty. Pre-save and pre-order your journey into the shadows here: https://orcd.co/gravenoiredevantlaportedesetoiles

Watch the video for France de l’Ombre here:

Tracklist:1. Pavens (1:27)
2. France de l’Ombre (5:53) [WATCH]
3. Ordo Opera Cultura (4:03)
4. Aux Chiens (4:18)
5. Granit (5:21)
6. Gravenoire (4:11)
Total runtime: 25:16

GRAVENOIRE was formed in early 2022 by Maximilien Brigliadori (BÂ’A, Diablation, former Hyrgal), Emmanuel Zuccaro (BÂ’A, Verfallen, former Hyrgal), Vicomte Vampyr Arkames (Diablation (former Seth / Ad-Inferna) and RMS Hreidmarr(Glaciation, BÂ’A, former Anorexia Nervosa / The CNK), with the clear intention of reconnecting with their past and a somewhat uncompromising vision of 90s Black Metal.
 
The band’s first album, “Devant La Porte Des Étoiles“, was recorded live on rehearsal, with no tracking, no triggers, no click track, no artifice. No compromise with reality, for it is through it and by it that we foresee other dimensions. 
 
GRAVENOIRE is not, however, merely nostalgic or backward-looking; it’s a project deeply rooted in its native lands, in their popular as well as spiritual and mystical traditions, drawing its essence from sacred places, cosmic architecture and primordial telluric forces. “The cosmos is a revolving door”.
Line-up:
Maximilien Brigliadori – Guitars, Bass Guitar
Emmanuel Zuccaro – Drums, Keys
Vicomte Vampyr Arkames – Vocals
RMS Hreidmarr – Vocals

Recording Studio:
Gravenoire Rehearsal Room, Location Unknown

Production Credits:
Produced & Engineered by Gravenoire
Mixed & Mastered by Arnaud Ménard at Sicarius Productions

Cover Art:
Aude Sine

Photography:
Aude Sine, Nel Walden & Gravenoire

Stream & Order: https://orcd.co/gravenoiredevantlaportedesetoiles

Links/Follow Artist:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553036631501
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gravenoireoff/

Available Formats:
Digital Download
CD Digipak
12″ Vinyl Gatefold – Black
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Crystal Clear
12″ Coloured Vinyl Gatefold – Purple w/ ​Black Splatters