Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets June 1st as the international release date for Lunar Chalice‘s highly anticipated debut album, Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in 2019, Lunar Chalice comprise prolific veterans of the German metal underground. Under the alluring moniker Lunar Chalice, the band quickly set upon a slew of releases, first with the Walpurgis Dance demo in 2019 and the Night Poetry EP right after, exhibiting a subtly refreshing approach to classics-minded black metal. The next year came the even-stronger Medieval Cults of Heresy EP, thus setting the stage for the band’s debut full-length.
Taking a relatively longer time given their feverish creativity, Lunar Chalice now deliver the grand statement of their so-far-undiscovered powers, Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage. With one steel-toed boot planted under a funeral moon and the other in a world without end, Lunar Chalice give a masterclass in stripped-down songwriting rich in nuance and dynamics. Their black metal is like a boulder gathering momentum down a mountain and rumbling across valleys; the movement is inexorable, and portends doom, and simply cannot be stopped. Lunar Chalice, in effect, extend a spectrum of black metal sonics that’s feral and unhinged on one hand and mercilessly martial on the other; that their almost-overwhelmingly physical onslaught is deliberately (and eerily) clipped betrays both a depth of vision and a rare grace in a landscape usually laden with filth. Which isn’t to say that Transcendentia doesn’t sound “dirty” (it does), but rather that that’s not the overarching thematic – that there’s a sense of ceremony or even regality at play here. Credit due to the absolutely madman vocals of bassist E.I.-M., who more often than not channels a clean tenor that’s more disturbing than most “black metal” vocals.
Past, present, and future: Lunar Chalice‘s vision encompasses all on Transcendentia: The Shadow Pilgrimage.
Open thine eyes to the brand-new new track “Calix Cum Velum” here:
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets June 1st as the international release date for a brand-new mini-album from America’s Crucifier, Say Your Prayers, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats.
One of the longest-running entities in the American underground, Crucifier was formed in 1990 by vocalist/drummer Cazz Grant. While myriad lineups would come and go – and the band’s eventual debut album, Stronger Than Passing Time, wouldn’t be released until 2003 – Crucifier have kept consistent to their blasphemous, blackened death metal style steeped in the truly ancient and most underground ways.
Now, four years after their last recording (the full-length Thy Sulfur Throne on High), Crucifier return to ruin everyone’s day with a five-song/26-minute mini-album titled Say Your Prayers. Primal but not primitive, weird and wandering but fully locked-in and never forgetting the METAL aspect, the quartet create a ghastly, grimy experience here, with Grant’s vocals in particular stunning in their diabolic delirium. Furthering that delirium are the mind-mangled leads by Spencer “Madman” Murphy, also aided by Grant, altogether proving that Crucifier‘s eldritch sound is eternal.
Concluded by a Carnivore cover, Crucifier never stop the madness, so Say Your Prayers!
Begin never stopping the madness with the brand-new track “Into Ash” here:
Tracklisting for Crucifier (USA)’s Say Your Prayers 1. My Soul to Take [6:20] 2. Foul Deeds Will Rise [5:44] 3. Into Ash [3:18] 4. Chime of the Goat’s Head Bell [3:59] 5. Jesus Hitler [Carnivore cover] [5:52]
Season of Mist is proud to announce the signing of UNFELLED, the pagan black metal project from WOODS OF DESOLATION mastermind and multi-instrumentalist D.!
UNFELLED comments on the signing: “Very pleased to announce that Unfelled has signed to Season of Mist. It is a privilege to be able to release our debut full-length with a label such as Season of Mist, and we look forward to working together.“
For a glimpse of what to expect, check out UNFELLED‘s music here:
For frequent updates on the recordings and the band in general, check out UNFELLED‘s Facebook!
Formed in 2016 as a project of D. (WOODS OF DESOLATION, REMETE), UNFELLED first emerged with the solo demo offering “Beneath Distant Skies” at the end of 2017.
Expanding the line-up in 2020, fellow veterans Mitch (AUSTERE, DEARTHE) and Vlad (DRUDKH, WINDSWEPT) were enlisted on vocals and drums respectively, completing the vision for the band.
Moving forward as a three-piece, the forthcoming full-length, recorded through 2020-2021, sees UNFELLED pursuing heavier, more aggressive territory, yet never entirely eschewing the sense of melody and atmosphere established on the debut demo. In 2021, UNFELLED proudly joined forces with Season of Mist who will release the album.
Today, Iron Bonehead Productions sets May 27th as the international release date for a brand-new mini-album from Abythic, Eden of the Doomed, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats.
It was but early 2021 when Abythic revealed their masterful third album, Dominion of the Wicked, via Iron Bonehead. Reaping widespread acclaim, Dominion of the Wicked displayed the Germans at their most DOOMED-OUT…and their brand-new Eden of the Doomed mini-album continues this upward “downward” trend. Impossibly heavy and portending and patient in their stripped-back but nuanced songwriting, Abythic again give a masterclass in pure ‘n’ proud death metal songwriting steeped in the grand teachings of mid-period Bolt Thrower, Asphyx, Grave, and Pentacle. Indeed, keeping that same power-trio lineup handily underlines the POWER within the no-less-atmospheric crush ‘n’ cruise; the production, in kind, is sharp and shuddering. Consider Eden of the Doomed a brief-but-robust bookend to Dominion of the Wicked and you’ll once again be under Abythic‘s black-ash spell!
Hear the first spell with the brand-new track “Conquest of the One True Creed” here:
Tracklisting for Abythic’s Eden of the Doomed 1. Revelation from the Great Vastness Thereafter [6:28] 2. Conquest of the One True Creed [6:10] 3. Victory in your Eden of the Doomed [5:18]
Today, Edged Circle Productions announces May 27th as the international release date for the highly anticipated second album of pan-international death metal elite Darkened, The Black Winter, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
While Darkened made a none-more-auspicious start with the Into the Blackness EP during the summer of 2019, it was the band’s debut album, Kingdom of Decay, where they literally EXPLODED onto the scene. Proud and pure death metal, no more but definitely no less, it was not at all surprising that Darkened made an immediate impact given their lineup on that debut full-length: drummer Andy Whale (Memoriam, ex-Bolt Thrower), vocalist Gord Olson (Ye Goat-Herd Gods / Demisery), guitarists Linus Nirbrant (A Canorous Quintet / This Ending) and Hempa Brynolfsson (Excruciate / Ordo Infernus), and new bassist Tobias Cristiansson (Grave / ex-Dismember). Patient and punishing, they proved that true songwriting stuns and crushes when practiced by masters of the death metal craft.
Now, as presaged earlier this year by the quick-hitting Mourn the Dying Light EP, Darkened arrive with their massive second album, The Black Winter. Immediately, their trademark sound is in place – clear & crushing riffs, grooves like a tank, an overall world-eating sensibility – but delve deeper and one will find Darkened expanding their already-considerable powers. Most prominently, there’s a surprising amount of atmosphere being explored on The Black Winter, true to its namesake. The resultant spaciousness is somehow just as suffocating as the band’s now-characteristic density; whether it’s in the riffing itself or the very subtle touches of synth underneath, the album certainly bears a unique-yet-unified aspect. From there, melancholic twists and wistful melody are seamlessly integrated into the Darkened onslaught of sound, which alternately pushes the aggression to murderous levels and the doom to the darkest depths; put another way, everything here sounds HUGE. And credit for that must go to Linus Nirbrant, who handled The Black Winter‘s production, as well as mixing & mastering by the Dan Swanö at Unisound – truly, one will not find a clearer yet more crushing death metal record this year!
As these endtimes take on a muted resignation, it’s only bleakly fitting that Darkened provide the soundtrack with The Black Winter…
Hear for yourself with the brand-new track “Blood” here:
. Cover artwork, courtesy of Juanjo Castellano Rosado (Unleashed, The Black Dalhia Murder, Gates of Ishtar), and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Darkened (International)’s The Black Winter 1. Premonitions 2. Blood 3. Flayed 4. Terminal Lucidity 5. Black Winter 6. Fearful Quandary 7. Swallowed by the World 8. Plague of Despair 9. Regret
Today, German black metal vanguard Chaos Invocation stream the entirety of their highly anticipated fourth album, Devil, Stone & Man. Set for international release on March 24th via W.T.C. Productions, hear Chaos Invocation‘s Devil, Stone & Man in entirety here:
By now, Chaos Invocation should require little introduction. Formed in 2004 and releasing three increasingly celebrated full-lengths via W.T.C., Chaos Invocation have steadily become a pillar of Germany’s long-potent black metal underground. Their last album, 2018’s Reaping Season, Bloodshed Beyond, was an iron-fisted smash through more dynamic corridors, with their sinuous and serpentine black metal taking on a more heightened (but no less muscular) melodic aspect. As the world has fully turned to shit, Chaos Invocation thus cover that iron fist with a grime unfathomably dark and dreadful. Indeed, Devil, Stone & Man is the record deserving of these times – or rather, vice versa.
Perhaps as a counterreaction or at least parallel development to that dynamic predecessor, Devil, Stone & Man is inarguably Chaos Invocation‘s most direct and aggressive album to date, and one give horrific power through its massive & molten production, which handily challenges those naysayers who claim true black metal can’t palatably possess “professional” recording. Its ultraviolence twists and turns but ever moves forward, downward, diving across dazzling depths and heights with the ease of masters. Truly, Chaos Invocation‘s already-sturdy songwriting has been given an uptick in detail and nuance here, sounding sweeping and ceremonial as it does teeth-gnashingly harsh and harrowing. A whirlwind, a vortex, both and beyond: Chaos Invocation have been qualified as these before, but now one can add world-eating dreadnought to that list, as well, with Devil, Stone & Man.
Gaze deeply into Devil, Stone & Man‘s stark cover artwork – courtesy of BMS Illustration – and one will begin to understand where Chaos Invocation are coming from, and where they are going. Will you follow them to The End?
Aforementioned cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Chaos Invocation’s Devil, Stone & Man 1. Strike Of The Dominator’s Fist 2. A Stranger’s Pale Hand 3. Diabolical Hammer 4. Odonata Fields 5. Where We Have Taken The Cross 6. Triple Fire 7. Curses Upon You 8. The Revolting Abyss
On May 6th internationally, Personal Records – in conspiracy with Lycanthropic Chants and Transylvanian Recordings – is proud to present a brand-new EP from Sepulchral Curse, Deathbed Sessions. Personal Records will handle the CD version of the EP, Lycanthropic Chants will release it on vinyl and digital, and Transylvanian Recordings is handling the tape.
After the release of the highly acclaimed debut album, Only Ashes Remain, the world was ravaged by the plague. As always, Sepulchral Curse did not find it suitable to stand still and instead headed into the studio to record a new EP, titled Deathbed Sessions. Featuring three previously unreleased songs and one Demigod cover track as a tribute to legendary Finnish death metal, their latest offering shows that Sepulchral Curse is here to take the scene by storm!
Here, furious and relentless death metal is combined with twisted and ominous brutality. From the more atmospheric “Circular Aeons” to the wrathful attack of “Dystheist,” Deathbed Sessions shows that Sepulchral Curse is not afraid to blaze their own trail. In particular, “Dystheist” pushes the boundaries and sound of the band to their extremes.
You can catch the band live with the new lineup 10.6.2022 at Bar Loose, Helsinki or 10.9.2022 at Byker Grave Festival II in Newcastle, UK. More dates will be announced!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Dystheist here:
Preorder info for the CD version can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Sepulchral Curse’s Deathbed Sessions 1. Circular Aeons 2. Harvesting The Bloodlines 3. Dystheist 4. Towards The Shrouded Infinity [Demigod cover]
Today, NoEvDia releases DeathSpell Omega‘s highly anticipated The Long Defeat.
Stand witness to The Long Defeat! Hearken to the first emanation of the third era of DeathSpell Omega: 44 minutes of black metal enacted through five instalments. Recorded live by the French power trio in July 2021. Bile and venom distilled and added until the leaves fell.
The Long Defeat unfolds over three parallel storylines told via three different mediums. Two in writing: the lyrics, as well as a fable. The third speaks through the artwork – two meters’ worth of maniacally detailed visions depicting the same premise its written content draws from. All three are fundamentally entwined but diverging in narrative, each complementing or contradicting the others.
Cover above and below. Tracklisting is as follows:
Tracklisting for DeathSpell Omega’s The Long Defeat 1. Enantiodromia [11:57] 2. Eadem, Sed Aliter [9:08] 3. The Long Defeat [8:35] 4. Sie Sind Gerichtet! [7:18] 5. Our Life Is Your Death [7:15]
It is time! Norwegian metal titans ABBATH are now streaming their brand-new album ‘Dread Reaver’ in advance of the release date! The new offering is going to be released worldwide on Friday the 25th of March 2022, but can already be listened to via the official Season of Mist YouTube Channel tonight at 8 PM CET
‘Dread Reaver’ is available in the Season of Mist shop HERE. Pre-save the album HERE.
ABBATH previously announced a European Tour with WATAIN, TRIBULATION and BØLZER in September and October 2022. A full list of confirmed dates can be found below.
ABBATH Live: 01 Jun 22 Moscow (RU) Izvestiya Hall 02 Jun 22 St. Petersburg (RU) Aurora 09 Aug 22 Josefov (CZ) Brutal Assault (Exact date TBA ) 13 Aug 22 Kortrijk (BE) Alcatraz Festival 2022 (Exact date TBA)
ABBATH + WATAIN + TRIBULATION + BØLZER 15 Sep 22 Paris (FR) Elysee Montmartre 16 Sep 22 Oberhausen (DE) Turbinenhalle 17 Sep 22 Munich (DE) Backstage 18 Sep 22 Milan (IT) Live Club 20 Sep 22 Toulouse (FR) Le Bikini 22 Sep 22 Lisbon (PT) Lisboa Ao Vivo 23 Sep 22 Madrid (ES) La Riviera 24 Sep 22 Barcelona (ES) Apolo 25 Sep 22 Lyon (FR) Transbordeur 27 Sep 22 Zurich (CH) Komplex 457 28 Sep 22 Filderstadt (DE) Filharmonie 29 Sep 22 Tilburg (NL) 013 30 Sep 22 London (UK) Earth 02 Oct 22 Antwerp (BE) Trix 04 Oct 22 Hamburg (DE) Markthalle 05 Oct 22 Copenhagen (DK) Amager Bio 06 Oct 22 Oslo (NO) Rockefeller 07 Oct 22 Stockholm (SE) Fallan 09 Oct 22 Helsinki (FI) Vanha
The cover for‘Dread Reaver’,which was created by Bjørn Stian Bjoarvik, can be found below together with the track list. The photos were made by Francisco Munoz.
Tracklist: 1. Acid Haze (04:51) 2. Scarred Core (03:29) 3. Dream Cull (04:15) WATCH HERE 4. Myrmidon (04:33) 5. The Deep Unbound (04:05) 6. Septentrion (04:30) 7. Trapped Under Ice (03:59) 8. The Book of Breath (04:35) WATCH HERE 9. Dread Reaver (04:43) WATCH HERE 10. Make my day (04:16)
The ravens gaze ominously from above. The seas roar in anticipation. The mountains creak yet again. ABBATH’s remarkable new album, Dread Reaver, is upon us all. Two years in the making, ABBATH’s third full-length is the culmination of everything before it. A fusion of debut Abbath (2016) and follow-up Outstrider (2019), the aptly titled Dread Reaver extends its fantastical fangs outward and drives its cloven hooves onward. Indeed, there’s nothing like an ABBATH record. This is the darkest metal for epic journeys and ancient battles. Comprised of eight riveting tracks and a red-hot cover of METALLICA’s “Trapped Under Ice,” Dread Reaver shows ABBATH triumphing over all trials and tribulations, riding hard into merciless glory as the one and only “Lemmy of black metal.”
ABBATH was formed by Olve Eikemo (aka Abbath) in Bergen, Norway, in 2015. After splitting with vaunted extreme metallers IMMORTAL, the beguiling frontman and storied songwriter only had one path: ABBATH. Years before, he had proven that venturing out of the IMMORTAL constellation was not only plausible but doable with the I project, a short-lived, one-album (Between Two Worlds) band featuring notable musicians from IMMORTAL, ENSLAVED, and GORGOROTH. Indeed, once Eikemo was free of IMMORTAL’s ’s shackles, he was able to assemble a cadre of like-minded conspirators for his solo debut album, Abbath. So crucial was Abbath that the Norwegian Embassy in the UK ran a music/culture piece, while in Norway, the album was nominated for a Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy). Metal Hammer Germany even gonged Abbath with its Best Debut award. Follow-up album, Outstrider, was equally lauded. Billboard’s coverage sent shockwaves through the rock/metal scenes, while Kerrang! labelled it “dominating and creative,” awarding it 4Ks. Decibel also heaped praise on Outstrider, giving it the Best New Noise trophy. The new album Dread Reaver will yet again lionize ABBATH as leader of the frost-bitten pack.
Powered by Abbath’s creative musical imagination, Dread Reaver runs riotously out of the gate. The album’s edifice affords tracks like “Acid Haze,” “Scarred Core,” “The Deep Unbound,” and the album’s closing title track ample room to champion the extremes of black metal, heavy metal, and hard rock. While there are nods to NWOBHM greats, thrash metal’s luminaries, and black metal icons, Dread Reaver is unmistakably ABBATH. There is no other fingerprint. Paired with thought-provoking lyrics based on the historical figure of Othryades, ABBATH’s third album not only shouts exultant but reads like an ancient pyrrhic tale steeped in violence, sorrow, and grit. The idea of a Dread Reaver—a fearless duelist—can also be read as a metaphor for life’s actions and subsequent struggles. Be warned: Dread Reaver is ABBATH at his most menacing and accomplished.
Dread Reaver was produced by Endre Kirkesola, ABBATH, and Dag Erik Nygaard at Dub Studio in Kristiansand and Bergen Lydstudio, respectively. Kirkesola and Nygaard also engineered. Mixing was performed by ABBATH and Kirkesola, while the mastering was done by maestro Maor Appelbaum (FAITH NO MORE, ROB HALFORD) at Maor Appelbaum Mastering in Los Angeles. The goal was to field a storming production that sat firmly at the crossroads of Abbath’s heroes KISS, MOTÖRHEAD, MANOWAR and BATHORY. From the anthemic thrust of opener “Acid Haze” and the epic pound of “Dream Cull” to the rampaging “The Book of Breath” and the wicked cover of METALLICA’s “Trapped Under Ice,” Dread Reaver sounds as massive as Norwegian mountain and as fiery as the depths of Hell. Truly, the recording line-up of Abbath (guitar, bass, vocals), Ukri Suvilehto (drums), Ole André Farstad (guitars), and Mia Wallace (bass) found their sonic muse.
If “Ace of Spades” catapulted MOTÖRHEAD to fame and notoriety, then Dread Reaver will find ABBATH atop the metal’s gigantic heap, the spoils of icy blood, scorching sweat, and steely tears at his feet. As “Myrmidon” states, “Die with a smile, stare glassy-eyed up / At boiling skies! / Valkyries descend to gore-caked fen / Fallen warriors arise!” Lightning strikes thrice with ABBATH’s incredible Dread Reaver!
Recording line-up: Abbath – Guitar, bass & vocals Ukri Suvilehto – Drums Ole André Farstad – Lead & acoustic guitars Mia Wallace – Bass on Acid Haze, Scarred Core, The Deep Unbound & Dread Reaver
Recording studio: Recorded in Dub Studio / Additional recordings: Bergen Lydstudio
Producer / sound engineer: Endre Kirkesola / Dag Erik Nygaard Mixing studio and engineer: Abbath and Endre Kirkesola
Mastering studio / engineer: Maor Appelbaum at Maor Appelbaum Mastering – California – U.S.A
BLOOD HARVEST RECORDS is proud to present SACRILEGA’s highly anticipated debut album, The Arcana Spear, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. The CD and tape versions will be released on April 29th, while the vinyl version will follow on July 29th.
During the summer of 2020, SACRILEGA burst from the void with their debut EP, Rites of Macabre. Although a brand-new entity, the Californian power-trio features members currently aligned with Rites of Thy Degringolade, Impure Consecration, and Invocation War among others. As such, it was not surprising that that their Impious Death Metal worship was so powerful and punishing this early on.
However, SACRILEGA are set to eclipse those not-inconsiderable expectations with their full-length debut, The Arcana Spear. Recorded at Ramona Studio with Charlie Koryn, SACRILEGA’s debut album is a veritable firestorm of finessed fury – malice, malevolence, and mesmerizing visions writ large across throttling death metal songwriting both classic and contemporary. Driving that propulsion is underground drum-god Paulus Kressman, whose veritable eight octopus arms create a dizzying, dread-inducing landscape for his bandmates to slay with their razor-wire strings. Their songwriting always pushes forward with a near-bestial pulse that cannot be denied; still, attention is duly paid to detail within riffing and atmosphere alike, elevating The Arcana Spear beyond a mere exercise in ultraviolence. SACRILEGA thus locate that elusive balance between the cunningly precise and rabidly maximal, placing due emphasis on the songwriting itself and allowing the execution to tell the grandiose-yet-doomed tales it so requires.
Featuring suitably stark-yet-grandiose artwork courtesy of Artem Grigoryev, SACRILEGA deliver one of death metal’s most stunning debuts with The Arcana Spear. Embrace the grand tyranny!
