Today, Werewolf Records, in conspiracy with Hells Headbangers, sets April 26th as the international release date for Vargrav‘s highly anticipated second album, Reign in Supreme Darkness, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Hailing from Finland, the root of Vargrav originated during starless nights in late 2015. Working in clandestine solitude, sole creator V-Khaoz – a prolific veteran of the Finnish black metal underground, dating back to the late ’90s – soon shaped the initial vision of Vargrav‘s debut album and submitted it, in demo form, to various labels. During the the summer of 2016, Werewolf Records was immediately chosen to be the most suitable collaborator with which to work, and the sinister glow of the black flame began to burn brighter…
Alas, at the dawn of 2018 came Vargrav‘s debut album, Netherstorm, and it indeed took the underground by storm, garnering rave reviews across the world. Not surprising, this, as the album offered a boundlessly fresh perspective by honoring the ancient past: specifically, the oft-unjustly-derided “symphonic black metal” subgenre, which back in simpler, more idealistic times was simply BLACK METAL. No matter what appellation you put it, Netherstorm radiated a spellbinding magick that was impossible to deny. The past was alive, with Vargrav lighting the way…
And now, V-Khaoz returns to quickly eclipse that feat with Vargrav‘s second album, Reign in Supreme Darkness. Ever aptly titled, Reign in Supreme Darkness is essentially an intensification and consolidation of Netherstorm‘s most enduring traits, expanding the band’s lexicon by basically speaking it more boldly than before. Still a swarming, densely layered maelstrom of medieval majesty and moonlit madness, here Vargrav heightens the drama that’s latently laid at the band’s core, focusing the attack into more finessed form, and stripping away some of its predecessor’s more blizzard-blown excesses. In their stead arrives a more dynamic approach to songwriting, varying tempos while maximizing movement, and an overall more mournful and mysterious aspect to the prominent layers of synth.
Just as timeless as Netherstorm, if not more so, Vargrav once again evokes the visionary works of old Obtained Enslavement, Dimmu Borgir, Abigor, Limbonic Art, and especially early Emperor. And once again, another classic of symphonic black metal graces the purple-velvet landscape of our imagination, and it bears the justifiably arrogant title of Reign in Supreme Darkness.
Werewolf Records is a Luciferian metal temple founded in 1998. The wolfish cry from the Carelian battlegrounds, Werewolf Records releases black metal and other dark arts motivated exclusively by theistic Satanist views of the founder Werwolf. In this age when black metal’s worth is questionable, idealism and rigor are the exception when they should be the highest law. We uphold the law of the Wolf – the destruction of the weak and the false so that the original vitality of the dark magic art can continue to grow and create the foundations for an empire. Black metal is Will and Power. We deal with material that inspires us on our journey towards our own kingdom – a kingdom that is not yours, but bears a resemblance to the one there could be for you. Now in conspiracy with Hells Headbangers, the temple of Werewolf Records shall wage its war farther and wider than ever, with no spiritual surrender.
In the meantime, hear the new Vargrav tracks “In Streams From Great Mysteries” HERE and “As the Shadows Grow Silent” here: |