Today, Ukrainian black metallers Windswept reveal the new track “Verbrannte Brücken.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated new mini-album, Der eine, wahre König, now set for international release on June 21st via Primitive Reaction. Hear Windswept‘s “Verbrannte Brücken” in its entirety here:
Windswept is yet another creative vehicle for the esteemed Roman Saenko, known worldwide for his pioneering work in Drudkh and Hate Forest among others. While most of his musical creations stem from black metal, thankfully, Windswept is consistent in this regard and unapologetically restrictive, retaining Saenko’s characteristically hypnotic riffing coasting atop a wintry atmosphere.
Now, after a couple albums with Season of Mist, Windswept join forces with Primitive Reaction, who released the debut album of his Precambrian project in 2020, with the brand-new mini-album Der eine, wahre König. Uniquely, this four-song / 28-minute recording features two equally esteemed vocalists – Winterherr of Paysage D’ Hiver, and Meilenwald of Ruins of Beverast – with both men splitting duties evenly. Indeed, with such a structure, Der eine, wahre König is a portrait of evenness: unwavering, unflinching, immovable, engrossing. Movement manifests in subtlety, as is Saenko’s stock in trade; further and deeper listens reveal a wealth of nuance even if it’s not always apparent. All four tracks comprising the record feature all-German lyrics, evoking a different-yet-related sense of austerity from the mainman’s proudly Ukrainian ruminations, and both vocalists rise to the challenge of pushing their respective throats to the limit whilst remaining rooted to Windswept‘s core consistency. That Der eine, wahre König attacks from the very first second and successively expands, concluding with the near-11-minute “Jedes Todes Lohn,” and retains its astute balance of urgency and epicness speaks to Saenko’s never-faltering mastery.
Also hear the previously revealed “Jedes Todes Lohn” HERE, also at Primitive Reaction‘s official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Windswept’s Der eine, wahre König 1. Verbrannte Brücken [5:25] 2. Die Bürde der Erinnerungen [7:04] 3. Drangsal [5:03] 4. Jedes Todes Lohn [10:32]
Today, Osmose Productions announces May 31st as the international release date for Tsatthoggua‘ssurprise comeback album, We Are God, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
We Are God, the third full-length by the German band Tsatthoggua, is aimed at all the perverted black sado-crazies out there. The original line-up of the band has reunited after more than 20 years to kick some ass and dominate. In true black love, they are once again signed to the renowned Osmose Productions and offer you nine brutally hellish, blasphemous black terror tracks of the bizarre kind for 40 minutes.
The anthems of hate and contempt were recorded and mixed at the infamous Rambado recording studio. Incredibly, powerfully mastered by the fantastic D. Koehne, the new songs promise pure glorious ecstasy.
With this release, Tsatthoggua are taking a completely new path with their bizarre art paired with the inimitable chaotic style of years past. The next extraordinary artwork was designed by the fantastic artist MorphArts and shows in his art the clear demarcation from everything known from this and past days.
With We Are God, Tsatthoggua show once again that there is no paradise for human sheep. It will pass the time until salvation.
In the meantime, see & hear the brand-new video “Master Morality” here:
Preorder link can be found HERE. Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Tsatthoggua’s We Are God
1. Master Morality 2. Vorwärts Vernichter 3. The Doom-Scrawl Of Taran-Ish 4. I Drive My Dogs (To Thule) 5. True Black Love 6. No Paradise For Human Sheep 7. Gloria Extasia 8. We Are God 9. Pechmarie
In their endless quest to push and support current underground acts that perpetuate the odor of vintage death metal, on July 22nd internationally, Memento Mori is proud to present Krypticy‘s highly anticipated second album, The Non-Return, on CD format.
Krypticy was founded by main composer Alex Guerrero (vocals/guitar) in Málaga, back in 2013. The band’s debut EP, Necronomicon, captured their fondness for old-school death metal, most specially of the Floridian kind (Morbid Angel, Obituary, Death, Cancer). By the time they released their debut full-length, Hideous Being, a few years later, the band was already exhibiting a larger range of influences (Suffocation, Malevolent Creation, Deicide, Decapitated) and had begun to play live, sharing the stage with bands such as Lapidated, Avulsed, Wormed, Aposento, and Necrophiliac, among others.
With the band solidifying their lineup by the end of 2022 – Guerrero alongside Pancho Vázquez (drums), Thomas Schenk (bass/backing vocals), and Sergio Álvarez (guitar) – Krypticy signed with Memento Mori for their sophomore full-length. And now it arrives, bearing the ominous title The Non-Return. As forecasted by its stark cover artwork (courtesy of Cardaver Art) and cryptic nomenclature, The Non-Return sees Krypticy aiming to push the limits their already consolidated sound. Undoubtedly still tried & true DEATH METAL, there’s nevertheless a strive for something more spiritual here, as the quartet seek an evolution towards a more unique personality whilst retaining the classic edge that always defined Krypticy‘s approach to the genre. Mind you, this isn’t doublespeak for going all-out “prog” or leaving behind death metal altogether (and still calling it such); rather, the band have begun to more fluently speak different dialects within the same language, producing a multilingual approach that can only but strengthen the sum effect. So, while the traditional tropes of late ’80s thrashing and early ’90s grinding are well and accounted for, there’s a markedly angular aspect to Krypticy‘s songwriting on The Non-Return, which works up a fever & fury when riffs and riffs and RIFFS attack, one mercilessly after the other, the rhythm section surging and staying linear and ultimately producing a memorability that easily evades verse/chorus structures.
So, for those who willingly have their minds warped by such unfussy sleepers as Suffocation’s Pierced From Within, Malevolent Creation’s Stillborn, Decapitated’s The Negation, and Diabolic’s Infinity Through Purification, prepare to arrive at your destination with Krypticy‘s The Non-Return!
Begin departing with the brand-new track “Hypatia’s Heresy” here:
Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Krypticy’s The Non-Return 1. Infected Pharaoh 2. Hypatia’s Heresy 3. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4. The Void 5. The Water Street Butcher 6. UGH! 7. Krypticy 8. Virgins Recently Fucked Sacrifice
Today, AOP Records announces July 19th as the international release date for the highly anticipated third album of Germany’s Uprising, III, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Uprising was wretched from the shadows in 2016 by W. – a founding member of Waldgeflüster – with the release of I. While rooted in the classic tropes and topics of black metal, I already started to deal with social and political issues, which became the main focus on its successor, II, in 2020. II continued where I ended, incorporating rocking riffs and melancholic melodies built upon an aggressive and driving black metal foundation.
In 2024 follows III, continuing the path that was started eight years ago. Supported by the furious drumming by Austin Lunn of Panopticon, a sonically and spiritually suiting counterpart, Uprising‘s third album again focuses on melodies and aggression in the vein of its two predecessors – desperate but triumphant, furious but refined, and always maintaining an urgency no matter how epic a composition gets – but this time with a more refined sound and fully embracing the social and political criticism, which became one of the trademarks of this project. One could call III the band’s cleanest and clearest recording, and he would not be wrong; the tradeoff is that that sociopolitical criticism hits harder, for what good is a message if it’s not spoken in its sharpest voice? From social injustice to raging hymns advocating climate protection, Uprising stay true to their moniker and show again that black metal can be relevant to society.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Eternal Mantra” here:
Cover artwork, courtesy of Misanthropic Art, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Uprising (Germany)’s III 1. Eternal Mantra [6:39] 2. Uprise III [7:05] 3. Raise a Glass [6:36] 4. A Message to the Hypocrites [4:08] 5. While the World Is Burning [7:55] 6. Brace Yourself [8:05]
SETH emerge as the harbinger of a sound steeped in the clandestine narratives of Parisian lore and rebellion. Today, they release Dans le Cœur un Poignard, the latest single from their upcoming album La France des Maudits. A dark ode to those who bear the mark of betrayal and suffering within their hearts.
The haunting melody of Dans le Cœur un Poignard weaves through the labyrinth of Parisian despair, illuminating the darkest corners of a wounded heart. Lyrically, the track is a poignant narrative of anguish and defiance, serving as a siren call to those who navigate the treacherous waters of existence with a dagger sheathed within their soul. SETH, with their meticulous craftsmanship, etches a tale of sorrow and resilience, emboldened by the ethereal whispers of a love lost to the voracious appetite of betrayal.
“Dans mon cœur ce poignard. Toujours souffrir, Jusqu’à la mort!”, Saint Vincent echoes. A stark reminder of the perpetual battle against the specters of our past, encapsulating the essence of human struggle – a relentless journey punctuated by moments of exquisite pain and sublime liberation.
Alongside the haunting melodies of Dans le Cœur un Poignard, SETH has commissioned a visually arresting music video, bringing the song’s themes of betrayal, anguish, and defiance to life with heart-piercing imagery. Helmed by the visionary Pierre Reynard, it’s a striking piece of art, beautifully accompanying the song’s melancholic melodies.
Watch the music video for Dans le Cœur un Poignard here:
La France des Maudits is out July 14, on Bastille Day, through Season of Mist.
Tracklist 1. Paris des Maléfices (5:09) 2. Et Que Vive le Diable ! (5:35) [WATCH] 3. La Destruction des Reliques (5:51) 4. Dans le Cœur un Poignard (5:30) [WATCH] 5. Marianne (2:59) 6. Ivre du Sang des Saints (5:37) 7. Insurrection (7:33) 8. Le Vin du Condamné (8:06) 9. Initials B.B. (Serge Gainsbourg Cover) (Bonus Track) (3:49) Total runtime: 46:22
In the solemn shadows of a lyrically resurrected Paris, where the whispers of revolution still haunt the cobblestones and the phantom caress of the guillotine’s blade lingers in the air, stands a band – not merely of musicians, but of modern Marats, Robespierres in leather and lace, anointed with the spirit of insurrection. SETH, the harbingers of a dark yet fervidly awaited dawn, are poised once more to unleash a tempest upon the sanctified silence of the contemporary music scene with their newest auditory uprising, La France des Maudits.
The history of black metal formation SETH and Season of Mist spans back to the early days of the French metal scene. The band’s debut Les Blessures de L’Ame (1998) was one of the first releases on the label. This album is now regarded as a cornerstone in French black metal, pioneering the usage of their native tongue on a black metal record.
The release of Les Blessures de L’Ame quickly gained international attention and SETH built a solid fanbase. The French blasphemers signed a two-release deal with Osmose Productions and participated on the MAYHEM cult tribute album Originators of the Northern Darkness alongside IMMORTAL and BEHEMOTH. The second full-length The Excellence came out in 2000 and featured a contribution from none other than Fenriz (DARKTHRONE), who wrote the lyrics for the song Let Me Be The Salt In Your Wound.
Shortly after, the group recorded their third album Divine-X (2002) at the Excess Studios in Rotterdam (EPICA, AFTER FOREVER, SINISTER). This record demonstrated the ability of the band to mix gloomy and violent atmospheres and received extensive coverage from the international metal press at the time.
Returning to the Netherlands to record the fourth album Era-Decay (2004), two new members joined the ranks of SETH: vocalist Black Messiah and guitarist Cyriex. Afterwards, the band was invited to play at the prestigious Inferno festival in Norway in 2005.
A long hiatus followed, until the band returned in 2011 to play an exclusive show in Germany with the German cult act BETHLEHEM. The band re-joined the ranks of Season of Mist, eventually releasing The Howling Spirit (2013) and embarking on a European tour with PESTILENCE. Several appearances at major festivals followed, including Hellfest and Graspop Metal Meeting, concluded by a Canadian headliner tour with new vocalist Saint Vincent (BLACKLODGE).
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Les Blessures de L’Ame in 2018, SETH exclusively performed the entire album at festivals in Switzerland, Canada (Messe de Morts) and Belgium (Thronefest). The French label Les Acteurs de l’Ombre productions released a live recording of these shows, called 20 ans de Blasphème. The band’s new line-up features members of LOUDBLAST, ARKHON INFAUSTUS and MELTED SPACE.
In the twilight year of 2021, within Paris’ shadow-ridden crypt, Studio Sainte Marthe, an album was birthed from SETH‘s tumultuous revelation, christened, La Morsure du Christ. Earning plaudits of wonder, it was no mere collection of hymns, but a solitary harbinger of deconstruction, a cataclysm of unseen proportions. Inspiration seeped from Notre-Dame de Paris—her skeletal frame ablaze in a 2019’s firestorm—an emblem of decaying faith for a godforsaken era. As heavy as the iron heart of a guillotine, La Morsure du Christ echoed through the chambers of 2021, reigning supreme in a multitude of international & French metal charts, as well as its inclusion on premier streaming platform playlists. Bold symphonies interwoven with razor-sharp lyricism and a sophisticated conceptual resonance that dared to envision black metal through a revolutionary lens.
Rooted deeply in the soil that once drank deeply of royal and commoner blood alike during the tumultuous fervour of the French Revolution, SETH presents their latest opus – a black metal gospel according to the damned and the outcast. An intricate tapestry of shadows and defiance emerges from the darkness of history’s recesses, swirling with the mists of apocalyptic visions and the ashes of fallen angels. La France des Maudits is a declaration of war, a call to arms for the souls still smouldering beneath the veneer of a world too long gripped in the cold hands of a moribund orthodoxy.
With the fractured bones of dead gods beneath their boots, SETH voyages through the forbidden and the occult, tracing the lines of ancient prophecies and the decadent whispers of La Grande Catin Écarlate, the scarlet woman of the apocalypse. Their songs, from Paris des Maléfices to Insurrection, resonate with the echoes of a Paris besieged not by armies, but by souls clamouring for liberation – a city where each stone tells a tale of defiance, where every shadow harbours the spirit of revolt.
Lyrically, La France des Maudits is dripping with the wine of condemned men and the blood of saints, narrating the epic saga of rebellion from the ashes of a fallen Notre-Dame. This is not the Paris of light, but of enlightening darkness, where the façades of grandeur crumble to reveal the raw flesh of true humanity, writhing in its eternal struggle against divine oppression. Here, in the very heart of darkness, SETH finds its muse among the cacophony of broken chains and shattered dogmas.Prepare to march beneath the banner unfurled by SETH, in the grand tradition of those unyielding souls who once stormed the Bastille and dared to dream of a world remade. La France des Maudits beckons – not to the gallows, but to glory.
Line-up Saint Vincent – Vocals (Blacklodge) Heimoth – Guitar (Sinsaenum) Drakhian – Guitar (ex-Loudblast, Griffar) Pierre Le Pape – Keys (Melted Space) EsX – Bass (Arkhon Infaustus, ex-Merrimack) Alsvid – Drums (ex-Enthroned, ex-Ad Patres)
Recording Studio Sainte Marthe Studio
Production Credits Mixed, produced & mastered by Francis Caste
On May 24th internationally, Eternal Death will release a brand-new EP from Black Sorcery, Plummeting Into the Hour of the Wolf, on cassette tape format. And today, they stream the EP in its entirety. Hear Black Sorcery‘s Plummeting Into the Hour of the Wolf in its entirety here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkaoIfKJpzA
Forged out of the cursed landscape of Rhode Island, American black metal quartet Black Sorcery brings forth a new EP release titled Plummeting Into the Hour of the Wolf. Cold and foreboding, caustic, frenzied, and bound by somber introspection and destructive impulse, this latest work is a testament to the raw spirit of traditional black metal and remains devoted to the obscured paths of the genre’s unspoiled past. The three tracks are marked by themes of desperation, solitude, perversion, moral decay, and the loss of self in the suffocating darkness of existence – an unforgiving internal labyrinth of shattered mirrors where illumination is obtained through the talisman of suffering and pleasure realized in the ecstasy of willful damnation.
Black Sorcery‘s celebrated debut album, Deciphering Torment Through Malediction, last summer certainly raised the bar for New England black metal and American black metal in general, harkening to the ancient days of such labels as Sombre, A.M.S.G., and Drakkar Productions. Featuring more epic songwriting that always retains energy and urgency, as well as a pronounced emphasis on no-less-frenzied melancholy, Plummeting Into the Hour of the Wolf further displays Black Sorcery‘s ever-growing strengths, once again given a powerful push through Enormous Door’s mastering.
Preorder info can be found HERE at Eternal Death‘s Bandcamp. Cover artwork, courtesy of Derek Setzer and Maegan Lemay, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Black Sorcery’s Plummeting Into the Hour of the Wolf 1. World Demands Cruelty [5:15] 2. The Hour of the Wolf [6:34] 3. Without Reflection [8:43]
Fresh off of their recent European tour with SKÁLMÖLD and SEVEN SPIRES, Vancouver-based blackened symphonic metal outfit ATAVISTIA will release their new EP Inane Ducam (translates to ‘I Will Lead Into Nothingness’) on July 19, 2024. Featuring new guitarist Elia Baghbaniyan and bassist/vocalist Spencer Budworth, Inane Ducam seeks to explore different genres and styles while still maintaining the core ATAVISTIA sound.
Band founder Mattias Sippola comments “‘Inane Ducam’ was an experimental writing process – lower tuning, the debut of Spencer’s fierce low growls, and tempos reaching close to 300BPM. During the Winter months of 2023, Vancouver experienced extremely dark, cold, and gloomy days which is an antidote to creating music like this.”
Listen to the album’s first single “Timeless Despair” here:
Past praise for ATAVISTIA:
“‘Cosmic Warfare’ is a rollicking ride through metal’s propensity for duality as the quartet show off their skill at fist-banging harshness on one end and melodic layered density on the other.”- Decibel Magazine
“ATAVISTIAhave always managed to sound massive, but little more. Now, we have the massive aesthetic wedded to actual songs, nestled within an album composed with structure and discipline. The result is impressive. Scarily, there is still room to improve. Whereas before I wrote these guys off as cheap WINTERSUN knock-offs, they have now brought themselves whisper-close to their heroes. If Jari doesn’t get his act together, his band could be overtaken soon. Perhaps they have been already.”– Angry Metal Guy
Today, AOP Records announces July 26th as the international release date for ColdCell‘s highly anticipated fifth album, Age of Unreason, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
ColdCell were founded in 2012 in Basel, Switzerland and released their first album, Generation Abomination, during the following year. ColdCell are rooted in the Swiss underground black metal scene and have always been eager to deliver dark and atmospheric live shows. And although drummer aW concurrently plays in Swiss icons Schammasch, ColdCell put forward their own unique approach that melds both old and new schools of black metal, making for a highly personal expression both timeless and modern.
The impressions of the dark, eerie, and extreme are expressed within ColdCell‘s successive albums like Lowlife (2015), Those (2017), and The Greater Evil (2021). With their latest album, Age of Unreason,ColdCell now align with AOP Records and furthermore venture deeper into social abysses and explore the (un)reason of being. Their sound remains as challenging and unsettling as ever here, with equal emphasis placed on abyssal heft and ethereal atmosphere, slipstreaming violence and ominous trudge. While so many extreme metal albums trail off in a tide of unwavering familiarity, Age of Unreason reaches a crescendo at about the halfway point with “Meaningless,” which features bewitching guest vocals by Swiss chanteuse Ines Brodbeck (aka INEZONA), and continues to spiral into cathartic delirium with the closing combo of “Sink Our Souls” and “Discord.” During these three tracks in particular, the emotional core of ColdCell is on dazzlingly display, darkly exploring those corridors of the soul few dare to tread. In 47 minutes, Age of Unreason rips asunder and rearranges the template of orthodox black metal.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Dead to the World” here:
Cover artwork, courtesy of Gian Andrea Signorell, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for ColdCell’s Age of Unreason 1. Hope and Failure [7:32] 2. Dead to the World [8:04] 3. Left [5:56] 4. Solidarity or Solitude [5:46] 5. Meaningless feat. INEZONA [6:11] 6. Sink Our Souls [8:28] 7. Discord [4:52]
SLAUGHTERSUN has released a playthrough video for their song “Ready Cell Awaits”.
Vocalist Justin Hillman comments:
“‘Ready Cell Awaits’ takes the listener on the journey of sitting in a cell, awaiting execution and searching desperately for anything spiritual to cling to in order to relieve the anguish.”
Watch the lyric video here:
The band has also just announced their first show at the Lucky 13 Saloon in Brookyln.
About SLAUGHTERSUN: Drawing musical, lyrical and creative influences from the likes of DEMILICH, GORGUTS, CANNIBAL CORPSE and AT THE GATES, to name a few, SLAUGHTERSUN create their own take on the death metal subgenre. Band founder Ben Karas (WINDFAERER) initially began writing for SLAUGHTERSUN back in 2017, but it wasn’t until 2022 that Karas was able to fully dedicate time and energy into the band. The band’s line-up soon came together comprised of Karas’ THANK YOU SCIENTIST band mate Cody McCorry, along with Jason Quinones (TOMBSTONER) and Justin Hillman (CRANIAL DAMAGE). In 2023, SLAUGHTERSUN began to rehearse and record in their full form and soon turned to preparing their debut “Fall of the Firmament”.
SLAUGHTERSUN is: Justin Hillman – Unearthly Wails Ben Karas – Treble Strings Cody McCorry – Bass Strings Jason Quinones – Hammer Battalion
Out of Denver, Colorado, from along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Oak, Ash & Thorn arose with a collective passion for heavy metal and a shared pagan worldview.
Inspired by the likes of Týr, In Flames and Immortal, the band released their first album in 2018. May Every Altar Linger established a patented blend of anthemic riffs, athletic drumming, dueling clean vocals and death growls. In 2021, their EP To Gaze on Stars of Frost refined their sound further. Fabian Jiru of Trollfest handled production duties so masterfully that he was brought back for their next EP Eternal, which was released by Lost Future Records.
Last month, Lost Future released Oak, Ash & Thorn’s second album. Our Grief is Thus is tighter while also pushing beyond the band’s pagan roots and blackened death metal foundation. Songs like “Dying Culture” and “Auras” pulls from the galloping energy of crust punk, power metal’s soaring triumph and the unconventional melodies of progressive rock. The end result is a powerful, unique sound that is fully their own, as melodic and memorable as it is heavy and crushing.
Now, Oak, Ash & Thorn are taking the next step in their journey by signing with Season of Mist. As they continue to tour in support of their latest album, the band will begin writing what’s bound to be a highly-anticipated follow-up.
“We are thrilled to sign with Season of Mist” says Oak, Ash & Thorn. “It’s long been the home of some of our biggest influences, and it is a tremendous honor to now stand alongside them at one of the most reputable metal labels in the world. To say that we’re living out our dream is an understatement”.
Catch Oak, Ash & Thorn this October when they play The Roxy in their hometown of Denver, Colorado.
Lineup Jason Harding – Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals Erik Hoffman – Bass Cierra White – Drums Adam Armstrong – Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
While only loosely constructed as a concept album, with Our Grief is Thus, Oak, Ash & Thorn have built a monumental record. Every song deals with grief in some fashion. “Dying Culture” is about the decay of tradition by way of urbanization and generational decline. “Light My Pyre” tackles betrayal and the dissolution of friendship. “Auras” deals with the erosion (and rejuvenation) of honor and identity in the face of withering familial ties.
Oak, Ash & Thorn recorded their latest album in Ft. Collins, Colorado, at the Blasting Room, which was founded by Black Flag and Descendents drummer Bill Stevenson. Our Grief is Thus marks the first time in the band’s history that they have walked out of a studio with an album fully representing their vision.
Having now signed to Season of Mist, they’re ready to take their spirited brand of blackened pagan power metal to even greater heights.
