Today, Greek black metal vanguard Funeral Storm reveal the new track “The Void.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Chthonic Invocations, which will see release through Hells Headbangers later this year. Hear Funeral Storm‘s “The Void” in its entirety here:
The song is to commemorate the passing of H.P. Lovecraft, with the lyrics inspired by “The Viridian Verses” from The Bible Of Cthulhu. As the band explain of the forthcoming Chthonic Invocations, “Inspired by these hard times the world is going through, this album came out a lot darker and aggressive than its predecessor, Arcane Mysteries. This song is dedicated to a very special someone who, under the gaze of the Gods, entered the Void. May They Rise.”
Release date, cover, tracklisting, and preorder info for Chthonic Invocations to be announced shortly. For more info, consult the links below.
Today, Edged Circle Productions announces May 20th as the international release date for the highly anticipated debut album of Chile’s Sign of Evil, Psychodelic Death, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
It was but early 2020 when Sign of Evil burst forth from some Lovecraftian fever dream to release their debut EP, Psychodelic Horror. Hailing from the cult-metal hotbed of Chile, it was no surprise that this then-one-man project of Witchfucker (also of the well-regarded Invocation Spells and Dekapited) bore some semblance of classic South American madness, but there was just as equally as sorts of other madness bubbling in Sign of Evil‘s cauldron. Black speed metal but with elements of early GISM, strange Eastern Bloc metal from the ’80s, and ancient Italian occult rock? Maybe, but however you wished to describe it, Edged Circle was absolutely smitten and released Psychodelic Horror on 7″ vinyl not long after, and saw fit to sign the band for their debut album.
And now it’s here, bearing the continuing-the-tale title of Psychodelic Death. Witchfucker’s joined by new drummer Thoth, and the duo’s chemistry is immediate and mesmerizing. Everything about its short-length predecessor is not only taken up a notch, it’s nearly maximized to overkill-type levels, but that’s the only kind of madness for Sign of Evil! More chorus pedal on everything, more guitar solos everywhere, more anthems and more hypnosis and more EVIL and more ARGH!!! In fact, that chorus-pedal abuse puts Psychodelic Death in a realm almost removed from metal and into old deathrock – so sinister yet also so sexy. But rest assured that the duo have their noses planted deeply in an ancient ugliness redolent of early Bathory, Venom, Warfare, and even the Plasmatics: Witchfucker’s now got two vocal styles warring with each other – one a thirsty ‘n’ miserable blackrasp, the other a sewer vomit warped by a harmonizer ala very early Carcass, Impetigo, or Carnage – and Thoth’s snare sound is straight outta Sarcofago’s INRI. The cultest metal album of the year? YOU FUCKING BET!
It’s almost alarming that Sign of Evil trounce the massive potential they showed on their first EP, but those are the facts: Psychodelic Death never stops the madness!!!
Begin never stopping the madness with the brand-new video “Bad Trip” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Sign of Evil (Chile)’s Psychodelic Death 1. Bad Trip 2. The Consequence Of Your Actions 3. Psychodelic Death 4. Serpent Poison 5. When The Day Arrives 6. Anonymous 7. The War Is Now 8. August 8th MMIX 9. The Underground 10. Die 11. Rusted Nailed 12. Slow Death 13. Into The Unknown
Today, Osmose Productions announces April 29th as the international release date for former Mütiilation founder Meyhnach‘s highly anticipated second album, Miseria de profundis, on CD format. The vinyl version will be released later this year.
Five years after Non omnis moriar, Meyhnach is back with a second opus called Miseria de profundis, a full-length piece of black metal with some weird elements. The album contains the seven prophecies of a visionary digging into the depths of human misery.
Miseria de profundis, lamentum in fine saeculi predicts the world’s downfall through the eyes of a mad man that travels through feelings like paranoia, pandemics, terrorism, and other faces of Evil of the third millennium.
First track premiere to be revealed on April 15th. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Meyhnach’s Miseria de profundis
1. Virus [7:52] 2. To Exterminate the World [8:37] 3. Into the Weird [6:04] 4. Grim Omen [7:48] 5. Relapse [6:09] 6. In Search of Wasted Time [7:22] 7. Tentacles of Anguish [7:34]
Today, American black/death cult Perversion reveal the new track “Axioms of Domination.“ The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Dies Irae, which will see release via Hells Headbangers later this spring. Hear Perversion‘s “Axioms of Domination” in its entirety here:
Perversion initiated rehearsal sessions in a basement of Detroit around the fall of 2008, originally formed by Fernando Conde (guitars), Alan Hoover (bass), Neil Spencer (vocals), and James Haley (drums). In February 2009, the Metal is Death demo was released and several shows were played locally (Detroit, Lansing, and Cleveland). In the summer of 2009, the original drummer left the band and Peter Gibbs was recruited. A split 7″ with Anguish was recorded and released by Black Shit Noise Productions from Texas. Neil stepped out of the band, and Fernando started doing vocals in addition to lead/rhythm guitars. A new demo was recorded, and several shows were played in the Midwest and Detroit.
In 2012, Perversion took part in the Filthiest of Apocalyptic Detroit four-way split. Shortly after, the first full-length, Storm of Evil, was recorded and released by Bitchy Witch Records. After several dates all over the U.S. and South America, Perversion started writing again and released several rehearsal tapes and a demo titled Archaic Death Metal, which is an advance of the upcoming album.
At long last, two years later, arrives that album: Dies Irae. If “archaic death metal” indeed aptly described Perversion previously, here they shatter that definition with an utterly ultraviolent assault on the senses. Swirling malevolently in a cauldron brewed from the darkest depths of old Brazilian proto-death, earliest German thrash, bestial detonations at the dawn of the ’90s, and even ’80s grindcore, Perversion proceed to lay waste across the album’s seven central tracks, plus ominous intro and an album-closing cover of Bathory’s “Possessed.” That the power-trio prize songwriting amidst their barbaric onslaught puts Perversion in a unique realm, and one truly within that of the archaic. With chaotic-yet-composed solos flying fast and free and rough-yet-robust production heightening that sense of the diabolical, Dies Irae is maniacal black/death for true black/death maniacs.
“Perversion have always had an orthodox and purist ideology in regards to how black and death metal are meant to sound,” the band state in conclusion. “Gathering inspiration from the degeneration of civilization, the decay in morality, and the Iron Age/Kali Yuga itself, we captured an archaic structure in our latest recordings. Our principles and convictions have remained unchanged through the years. We have forged an alliance with Hells Headbangers to release our second full-length, which is definitely not for people looking for refined, modern-sounding music, but for fanatics of barbaric and punishing cacophony.”
Release date, cover, tracklisting, and preorder info for Dies Irae to be announced shortly. For more info, consult the links below.
Today, ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ – the rebirth of Acherontas – stream the entirety of their highly anticipated new album, The Seven Tongues of ΔΑΗΜΩΝ. Set for international release on March 14th via Zazen Sounds, hear ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ‘s The Seven Tongues of ΔΑΗΜΩΝ in its entirety here:
Mysticism, magic, occult arts and rituals, all of which are driving factors behind ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ, are also the most adequate words that can be used to describe the band’s image, sound, and lyrics. The band is considered as one of the leading representatives of the second wave of Greek black metal, heavily influenced by the original Hellenic metal scene, retro rock (especially ’70s rock), and occult/spiritual philosophy & activism.
ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ was brought to life in 1996 by V.P.Sorcerer and was ever since true to its internal tenets and traditions, which deemed the band as a “Magickal Coven, dedicated to the Ancient Sumerian Mysteries of Drakonian Blood.” According to the band, “Many traditions embrace these ancient sources as footprints and take form in our Void as Astral Vampirism, Hermeticism, Kabbalah, Dream Workings, and Luciferian Magic.” V. P.Sorcerer continues: “True sorcery is not an art, it’s science… in order to dare, we must know; in order to will, we must dare. We must will to possess empire, and to reign, we must be silent. We are real to those with eyes to see…”
Their Magickal Coven commences the Third and ultimate cycle of its manifestations, embodying its final reincarnation in the novel external form of ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ. After a 15-year-long second period of esoteric culmination, the Coven of ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ now enters the next alchemical stage of its existence. Transforming and shapeshifting into a yet-unexplored aspect of the same Entity, a new Seal is unveiled, channeling the hidden forces into the future of our Great Work: ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ is revealed.
A compass of feverish devotion unto the omnipotent and everlasting, the Gateway to the Sinister Arts that glorify the Other. Seven rays conjoined within a seal of apparition, whereupon all weak aspects of the Self fall into disarray, surfacing the Iron facet of spiritual survival across the planes of the uncharted Netherworlds. A map, a weapon, and ceremonial ornament of the Seven Archons, molded and reforged to signify the Eternal Hunt of blood-ridden Aeons.
ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ commented on the new album: “The new Opus, bearing the fiery symbolic crown of The Seven Tongues of ΔΑΗΜΩΝ, unto the realms of matter. The sands of creation shall shift once again, as the new album of the Coven signifies the sail towards new horizons, fertilizing the grounds with blessed sonic resources to bear fruits on spiritual levels. Seven pacts with powers unknown to mortal men, yet to be known to the elevated individual that chooses to follow the thread beyond mortality. Seven pathways to the Inner Sanctum, grasping a harsh lesson, a taunt of spirit and soul, benign and glorifying.
“The Coven places this newborn Opus upon the altars of the Seven Gods, paying tribute to the forces of the Other that have inspired its course over the decades. The listener is set to be reached by this reverence, since this reverence is set to extend within the listener and let him become one with the multidimensional becoming that is assigned, this Mission of Seven Hells and Seven Destinations. This is a new era of continuity, forging all the bestial aspects of the Past to a shining athame that shapes the Future.”
Cover artwork, by Maximilian Pirner (1854-1929), and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for ΑΧΕΡΟΝΤΑΣ’s The Seven Tongues of ΔΑΗΜΩΝ I. Lucifer – Breath of Fire II. Leviathan – The Fervent Scales In Reverence III. Belial – The Enn of Beliya’al IV. Satan – Exaltation of Unbeing V. Choronzon – Webs of Alienation VI. Hecate – Queen of the Crossroads VII. ΔΡΑΚΩΝ – ΑPOTHEOSIS
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces May 20th as the international release date for Vaamatar‘s striking debut album, Medievalgeist, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in 2020, out of the ashes of two projects coming to an end, Los Angeles’ Vaamatar was born with one intention: to play black metal in its purest form. Raw and fast and free of frills, the full-length Medievalgeist is the follow-up to their debut EP, Evil Witching Black Metal. Immediately, old sensations are awakened and recast anew. The spectre of the second wave of black metal during the 1990s drapes its wings across Medievalgeist, but Vaamatar‘s strong songwriting eludes easy categorization. Instead of early Darkthrone, one can hear here contemporaneously early Dødheimsgard; instead of early Enslaved, the ’90s work of Norway’s Hades; instead of prime Marduk, comparably prime Arckanum, and so on. Which is all to underline that the duo of Vaamatar are old souls to the bitter end, having imbibed ancient wisdoms and now spilling them freely across their own teachings in the form of Medievalgeist.
Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Greg Wilkinson (Autopsy, Necrot, Vastum) during the turbulent unrelenting pandemic, Medievalgeist conveys a cold, apocalyptic atmosphere fit for the ages. Its six-song/41-minute runtime is exceptionally immersive, working on spiritual/transcendental levels as well as ones rooted in good, old-fashioned headbanging. But mark these words: Vaamatar do not play “party” black metal. This is serious, sophisticatedly unsophisticated Black Art brewed in archaic splendor – old catacombs open and spectral shades escape to the velvety embrace of the night. This is Medievalgeist!
Embrace the night with the brand-new track “Hallowed Flesh” here:
Today, uprising Finnish black metallers Aesthus reveal the new track “Tyhjyys, ikuinen kuolema.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa, set for international release on March 21st via Purity ThroughFire on CD and cassette tape formats; the vinyl LP version will follow later in the year. Hear Aesthus‘ “Tyhjyys, ikuinen kuolema” in its entirety here:
One of the most striking newcomers in the ever-fertile Finnish black metal underground, Aesthus formed in 2017 and released their first demo, Polku, in the summer of 2020, which Purity ThroughFire released later that year. Already, the freezing fire of paradigmatic Finnish black metal burned brightly, and now that blaze coalesces into a conflagration on Aesthus‘ debut full-length, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa.
Proud and pure, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa exudes that aura of classic Finnish black metal from the late ’90s onward, as laid down by the likes of Horna, Satanic Warmaster, and Azaghal among others. Black metal doesn’t need to “be” anything more than what it already IS – or what it should be – and such is the case with Aesthus. Every element here, from the melancholically melodic riffing to the surging ‘n’ swirling battery to, the distinctly twisted timbre of the Finnish tongue, of course, is in perfect, precise, PASSIONATE lockstep to create a maelstrom of hypnotic-yet-hummable proportions. Indeed, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa is the work of a true band – meaning, a group of people playing together rather than a disconnected file-sharing project – with each of these seven songs drench in literal blood and sweat and perhaps alcohol. If there’s one trump card that Aesthus play (and poignantly), it’s their dual-guitar lead work; the lead lines explode with memorability and malice in equal measure, underlining the METAL in black metal but never belaboring the point.
Like the album cover’s lone figure pondering mysteries only known to him, Aesthus prefigure a new era of strength & honor with Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa.
Go deeper with the previously revealed “Vihani alttarilta” HERE, also at Purity Through Fire‘s official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Aesthus’ Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa 1. Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa 2. Vihani alttarilta 3. Kuolonpolku 4. Jälkeläinen 5. Verta Saatanalle 6. Ikiyössä 7. Tyhjyys, ikuinen kuolema
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions announces May 20th as the international release date for Wampyrinacht‘s highly anticipated second album, Night of the Desecration, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
One of the deepest gems of the always-vital Greek black metal scene, Wampyrinacht began unholy life back in 1995. Their first demo arrived the next year, followed two years later by an EP released by Melancholy Promotion, the precursor to the infamous ISO666 label. Thereafter, Wampyrinacht more or less returned to the crypt, as members drifted off and mainman Necrolord sought to establish a new lineup. Mind you, Necrolord kept busy in myriad bands in the meantime – truly, he is one of the most prolific veterans of the Greek underground – but it was not until 2017 when Wampyrinacht would return with a new recording. Thankfully, that record bore fruit in full-length form, under the title We Will Be Watching: Les cultes de Satan et les mystères de la mort. A dynamic and dazzling display of canonic Hellenic black metal but infused with a melancholy that was indeed vampyric, We Will Be Watching became a late-days essential of Greek classicism.
Patient but still present, Wampyrinacht arrive when the time is right with their second album, Night of the Desecration. Immediately, an uptick in energy and clarity is felt; the oft-otherworldly rawness of its predecessor is replaced by a stout ‘n’ surging sound brimming with a newfound professionalism that pays off in spades. For Night of the Desecration burns with a fire that flickers in myriad directions – rising, falling, cresting, flowing, all-consuming at every turn across the album’s deceptively epic 43-minute runtime – but always focused, always finessed. Leading the charge is Necrolord’s guitar work here, ably balancing stout ‘n’ strident riffing with emotive ‘n’ bone-chilling leads; the heavy metal spirit at the core of classic Greek black metal pulses proudly, but Wampyrinacht doubtlessly put their own shadowy twist on it. Night of the Desecration is thus a work steeped in the ancients whilst retaining a freshness of approach that should span generations of black metallers: actual songwriting is king, now more than ever.
Maudlin yet malevolent, old and new, Wampyrinacht‘s timely return with Night of the Desecration is just cause for celebration. Let the cries of ecstasy resound in the medieval deep!
Cry out in ecstasy with the brand-new track “The Church of Thorns” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Wampyrinacht’s Night of the Desecration 1. The Fountain of All Sorrows and Wrath [0:36] 2. Thorns for my Damnation [6:09] 3. Night of the Desecration [11:15] 4. My Angel [1:08] 5. The Church of Thorns [8:30] 6. A Wanderer’s Journey… [1:58] 7. Hammer of the Angels [7:59] 8. …Towards the Glimmering Star [3:52] 9. Of Statues Wrecked and Ruined [0:58]
Today, Amor Fati Productions sets April 30th – Walpurgnisnacht – as the international release date for Häxenzijrkell‘s highly anticipated second album, Urgrund, on CD format. The vinyl LP version shall be released later this year.
Ever since the release of their first demo tape back in 2016, Häxenzijrkell marched on their very own path towards the bottomless pit of darkness. Raw and resolute black metal was the German duo’s foundation; the mysteries of the beyond was their goal. And thirsty and miserable was that march, stridently suffocating the listener (and perhaps themselves) with epic-length screeds of despair and dread, culminating in two more EPs as well as split EPs with LVTHN and Brånd in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Alas, the bottom of that bottomless pit dropped out completely with Häxenzijrkell‘s debut album, Die Nachtseite, released to widespread acclaim (as well as terror) in 2020 by Amor Fati. Sonically consistent with their prior works yet wielding new twists to their trademark horror & howl, Die Nachtseite marked a further step: a ritual divided in three parts – the Path, the Flame, and the Awakening. And again do the band venture further into the boundless beyond with another three-part full-length, Urgrund.
Mercilessly melancholic, strangely regal, and altogether ceremonial in its inexorable march into an impossibly vast unknown, Urgrund is in many ways the perfect counterpart to its equally towering predecessor. Here, Ugrund is divided into three epic tracks – one topping 18 minutes, the other two over eight – that form the foundation for 36 haunting, heaving minutes. Sinister atmosphere is still Häxenzijrkell‘s forte, but whereas Die Nachtseite tended toward the suffocating, Ugrund is wide open and spacious…for a time, that is: by “Part 3,” an avalanche of hypnotic blasting speed buries the listener, all before unravelling and then evaporating back into the inky depths. Massive, to be sure, and somehow concise – Häxenzijrkell possess some strange magick. No hope, no light!
In the meantime, see & hear a video excerpt of the epic new track “Der Pfad der Finsternis” here:
Cover and tracklisting as follows:
Tracklisting for Häxenzijrkell’s Urgrund
1. Part 1: Die Entschleierung [18:20] 2. Part 2: Von Zeit und Form [8:12] 3. Part 3: Der Pfad der Finsternis [8:42]
Today, Finnish black metal vanguard Aethyrick premiere the new track “Winds of the Wanderer”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s brand-new fourth album, Pilgrimage, set for international release on March 31st via The Sinister Flame. Hear Aethyrick‘s “Winds of the Wanderer” in its entirety here:
By now, Aethyrick should require little introduction. Since their formation in 2016, the duo of Gall and Exile have begun a meteoric ascent in the black metal underground that’s culminated in three increasingly celebrated full-lengths for The Sinister Flame: 2018’s Praxis, 2020’s Gnosis, and last year’s Apotheosis. While such a feverish release schedule would otherwise suggest a mindset of quantity over quality, nothing could be further from the truth for these Finns: Aethyrick have boldly and confidently etched a unique headspace all their own, bountifully brimming with magick and mysticism simultaneously aeons-old and strikingly modern. That they’ve been able to be comfortable enough in that skin to summon creations seemingly so effortlessly is perhaps more amazing than their already-sturdy aesthetic.
And much as “feverish” aptly described the aforementioned Apotheosis, like clockwork does another engrossing full-length grace our ears: Pilgrimage. Everything is in the title: here on Pilgrimage, Aethyrick journey to a sacred place – one deep in their hearts, its secrets known only to them – that could verily evoke nostalgia or a simpler time or foundational feelings or any combination thereof. But, that’s merely in the music itself, which takes on a more ponderous gait, mystical synth swirling around a steady mid-tempo thrust of bittersweet darkness; even the well-timed bouts of speed maintain a nobler yet more-resigned aspect. It immediately sounds like Aethyrick‘s black metal – that is, traditional all-caps BLACK METAL spoken in their own enrapturing dialect – and one that suggests new journeys to embark upon, new stones to uncover.
And yet, that’s only half the story of Pilgrimage. As Aethyrick explain, “The red thread running from the first track to the last is threefold. The outer layer tells a story of an individual who cuts himself loose from the mundane world of his fellow men through the act of murder most foul and goes into the wilderness to live as a hermit – a king of his own realm, as it were – never to return. Under this narrative, one can find a poetic description of a gradual shift in perception – the rather inherent illusion of man as the very crown of creation is replaced by the realization of his absolute oneness with all nature. And yet, at the heart of it all, there are the eight steps of a foundation rite rooted in the tradition that gave birth to Aethyrick in the first place.”
Stargazing grandeur giving way to austere transformation, boundless as ever…here marks Aethryick‘s Pilgrimage. Black metal as an artform is still in good, capable hands.
Begin the Pilgrimage with the previously revealed “Hallowed Bloodline” HERE, also at the Black Metal Promotion YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Aethyrick’s Pilgrimage 1. The Turning Away 2. In the Chapel of One Spirit 3. Threefold Resurrection 4. Winds of the Wanderer 5. A Brother to the Stars 6. Hallowed Bloodline 7. The Moon and Her Consort 8. Kingdom
