Seminal brutal death metal pioneers CRYPTOPSY will once again redefine the boundaries of extreme music with their forthcoming Infernal Bloodshed Over Europe 2025 tour. Double-kick ferocity and complex, technical compositions continue to be the hallmarks of a band that has spent over three decades tearing through the fabric of the underground metal scene.
Fans across Europe will have the opportunity to witness the unparalleled aggression and blistering precision that CRYPTOPSY has consistently delivered. Since their initial tearing of the metal veil, the band has become synonymous with musical innovation and relentless brutality. Ready yourselves for a tour that promises to be nothing short of a seismic event.
CRYPTOPSY will be joining Decapitated across 35 dates in Mainland Europe & the UK, with support from Warbringer & Carnation. Infernal Bloodshed Over Europe 2025: 01 May: Kopervik, NO @ Karmbygeddon* 03 May: London, UK @ Incineration Festival 04 May: Exeter, UK @ Phoenix 05 May: Cardiff, UK @ The Globe 06 May: Newcastle, UK @ Anarchy Brewery 07 May: Glasgow, UK @ Slay 08 May: Manchester, UK @ Academy 2 09 May: Birmingham, UK @ XOYO 10 May: Nottingham, UK @ Rescue Rooms 11 May: Norwich, UK @ The Waterfront 13 May: Lille, FR @ The Black Lab 14 May: Enschede, NL @ Metropool 15 May: Munich, DE @ Backstage 16 May: Aarau, CH @ KiFF 17 May: Lindau, DE @ Vaudeville 18 May: Vienna, AT @ Szene 19 May: Budapest, HU @ Dürer Kert 20 May: Prague, CZ @ Fuchs2 21 May: Schweinfurt, DE @ Stattbahnhof 22 May: Dresden, DE @ Blauer Salon 23 May: Krakow, PL @ Hype Park 24 May: Warsaw, PL @ Proxima 26 May: Berlin, DE @ Hole44 27 May: Aarhus, DK @ Voxhall 28 May: Hamburg, DE @ Logo 29 May: Vechta, DE @ Gulfhaus 30 May: Dortmund, DE @ Junkyard 31 May: Sint-Niklaas, BE @ Casino 01 June: Paris, FR @ La Machine 03 June: Frankfurt, DE @ Das Bett 04 June: Karlsruhe, DE @ Substage 05 June: Milan, IT @ Legend Club 06 June: Bologna, IT @ Locomotiv 07 June: Lyon, FR @ Lions Metal Fest 08 June: Maastricht, NL @ South of Heaven*
Relive the gut-wrenching tales from The Book of Suffering: Tome I & II as CRYPTOPSY revamps their setlist with these mid-2010s masterworks. Dubbed as the band’s finest material of the new century by Decibel and Angry Metal Guy, these EPs laid the groundwork for CRYPTOPSY’s staunch commitment to brutal innovation. The Book of Suggering: Tome I & II can be pre-ordered from Season of Mist here: https://redirect.season-of-mist.com/CryptopsyBookofSuffering
The Book of Suffering: Tome I 1. Detritus (The One They Kept) (4:33) 2. The Knife, The Head And What Remains (3:30) 3. Halothane Glow (4:21) 4. Framed By Blood (4:20) Total runtime: 16:47
The Book of Suffering: Tome II 1. The Wretched Living (4:51) 2. Sire of Sin (4:27) 3. Fear His Displeasure (3:55) 4. The Laws Of The Flesh (4:28) Total runtime: 17:41
Lineup: Flo Mounier – Drums Matt McGachy – Vocals Christian Donaldson – Guitar Oli Pinard – Bass
When CRYPTOPSY emerged from Montreal, Quebec in 1993, their groundbreaking blend of technical prowess and brutal intensity left an indelible mark on extreme metal.
Right away, Cryptopsy showcased their unparalleled musicianship with their debut album. Blasphemy Made Flesh (1994) set the stage for a career that’s been defined by innovation and boundary-pushing. Their next album solidified the band as pioneers of death metal. None So Vile (1996) earned them critical acclaim and a devoted fanbase across the world.
“Brutal and beautifully chaotic…a must-have for any extreme metal fan’s collection”, wrote Metal Hammer, who named None So Vile one of the best death metal albums ever.
Cryptopsy has continued to evolve throughout their storied career. Their 30-year discography defies any one categorization, ranging from jazz fusion on Whisper Supremacy (1998) and the avant-garde rhythms of Once Was Not (2005) to the melodic experiments of The Unspoken King (2008).
In 2012, Cryptopsy released their self-titled album, which signaled a return to their brutal roots. Three years later, the band embarked on The Book of Suffering, an ambitious two-part EP that Decibelregarded as “an absolute fucking burner”.
Almost 30 years into their career, Cryptopsy won the JUNO Award for Best Metal/Hard Music Album for their latest album As Gomorrah Burns (2023). They followed that up by earning another prestigious honor: joining Death to All on a tour of North America.
Along with their celebrated discography, a relentless work ethic and reputation as blistering live performers has cemented Cryptopsy as one of metal’s most influential and respected bands. But while their legacy is safely established, the band remain committed to expanding the definitions of extreme music. Having now signed with Season of Mist, they’re preparing to release new music, along with definitive reissues from their classic catalogue, starting with The Book of Suffering: Tome I and Tome II. Booking Agents:
Today, French black metallers Genocide Kommando reveal the new track “Battle for Eradication.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated third album, Third World War, set for international release on December 27th via Osmose Productions. Hear Genocide Kommando‘s “Battle for Eradication” in its entirety here:
After Black Metal Supremacy (2002) and Anthems of Mass Massacre (2022), the nihilist prophets Genocide Kommando are back with Third World War! With hatred and powerful consistency, this new opus is a new anthem devoted to anti-human themes! Don’t expect anything but the violent music and aesthetics mating of war and Satanism!
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Genocide Kommando’s Third World War 1. 666 – Mark of the Black Beast [1:01] 2. Obliteration [2:41] 3. Raped Destiny [4:07] 4. Battle for Eradication [3:59] 5. Impious Venom [4:33] 6. Mankind-Self-Destruction [5:00] 7. Burn the Cenotaph [5:31] 8. Drowning in Acid Poison [4:46] 9. Abyssic Warfare [4:50] 10. Fallen Angel Rape [3:53]
Through unholy sacrifice and hellish Norwegian winters, for 20 years years, Tsjuder were blessed by Anti-Christian. But when the band’s heretical drummer bowed out ahead of their first album in eight years, founding members Nag and Draugluin needed another maniacal player to take their drum throne.
As willed by the Lords of Metal, iron beast Jon Rice ensured that Helvegr held hard and fast to the band’s eternally uncompromising spirit. Now, as they prepare to burn through Inferno and other European festivals, Tsjuder have officially announced their new permanent drummer.
“We are proud to announce Emil Wiksten as our permanent drummer”, says Nag and Draugluin. “We have been in contact with Emil for quite a few years and have been rehearsing and playing together live for some time now.
“A huge thanks goes to Jon Rice for playing on Helvegr and Scandinavian Black Metal Attack, as well as a bunch of our gigs”, they continue. “We would also like to give the same huge thanks to Eivin Bryre for performing on all our European gigs over the last four years”.
This isn’t the first time that Emil Wiksten has joined an esteemed band like Tsjuder. Not only has the Swedish native drummed for Blood Red Throne, Aeon and the legendary Abbath. He also helped arrange several songs on Helvegr, including the album’s fist-pumping lead single “Gods of Black Blood”.
“It’s another gnarly, kickass ride that reminds me that when I get on a Tsjuder kick, I can’t listen to black metal for a while. First, because it’s hard to find black metal I enjoy this much. And second, because my ears are bleeding” – Angry Metal Guy
“Helvegr is an utterly diabolical ride through the harsh, licking flames of Hell and one that’ll remind fans why Tsjuder are some of the titans of the genre” – New Noise
“You can’t make a better black metal album” – Metal Bite
“They are still an incredibly relevant and influential force that could still run circles around the majority of modern black metal acts with ease” – Distorted Sound
Order the limited-edition box set of Helvegr and get two genuine leather Tsjuder coasters, a two-clutch metal band pin and a bonus CD that pays tribute to Bathory.
Tsjuder’s Tribute to Bathory Scandinavian Black Metal Attack (featuring Frederick Melander)
1. The Return of Darkness and Evil (4:53) 2. Satan My Master (2:02) 3. Born for Burning (5:11) 4. Reaper (2:33) 5. Raise the Dead (3:53)
Track-list: 1. Iron Beast (3:37) [WATCH] 2. Prestehammeren (4:01) [WATCH] 3. Surtr (6:59) 4. Gamle-Erik (3:46) 5. Chaos Fiend (4:02) 6. Gods of Black Blood (5:19) [WATCH] 7. Helvegr (7:36) [WATCH] 8. Faenskap og Død (3:08) 9. Hvit Død (2:52)
Since their inception in 1993, Oslo’s TSJUDER have been responsible for some of the most hate-filled ferocity perpetrated under the banner of TRUE NORWEGIAN BLACK METAL.
The band’s unholy fire was initially lit when founding members NAG (vocals/bass), BERSERK (guitar) and DRAUGLUIN (guitar) grew weary of playing death metal and sought out engorged levels of extremity to sate their increasingly profane ambitions. The time was ripe to inaugurate a ceaseless campaign committed to an uncompromising strain of brutally raw black metal, influenced by the primal thrash blasts of Sodom, Kreator, Destruction, Sarcófago and early Sepultura; black metal first wave trailblazers such as Bathory and Hellhammer; and, most vitally, Mayhem’s seminal Deathcrush, and Darkthrone’s game-changer, A Blaze in the Northern Sky.
Assuming the TSJUDER name, a moniker plundered from a mythical, murderous Northern tribe, various embryonic line-ups gathered around the all-conquering core of Nag and Draugluin, laying the fearsome foundations for what was to follow with two demos – Ved Ferdens Ende and Possessed – recorded between 1995-96. But it was with 1997’s EP, Throne of the Goat, that the black metal underground really began to sit up and take notice, the release establishing TSJUDER’s reputation as a blasphemous bulldozer hellbent on crushing the insipid and nostalgic in relentless blizzards of sub-zero riffage, punitive blast beats and blood-curdling screams.
Recordings for an inaugural full-length in 1999 were lost to a computer virus, but from the scavenged remnants of these sessions would emerge the Atum Nocturnem demo, an obnoxious foretaste of the group’s debut album, Kill For Satan, an international breakthrough slathered in slime-encrusted sacrilege. That damnable release saw the aptly-named ANTI-CHRISTIAN open his TSJUDER account, the drummer blasting a succession of gateways though the underworld, pulverising a punitive march to the band’s malevolent maelstroms.
Demonic Possession (2002) and Desert Northern Hell (2004) sustained the band’s focus on death, devils and destruction, while ratcheting up the production levels on a barbaric brace of flesh-strippers conjuring a landscape of frost-bitten wastes and foul abyssal realms. With the music press busy dishing out plaudits, the band’s burgeoning confederacy of fanatics were becoming desperate for some TSJUDER live action. Heeding the clarion, the band embarked on a full European tour with fellow countrymen Carpathian Forest. They also recorded a pair of gloriously powerful live performances in 2005, in Norway, which would subsequently be documented on the group’s NorwegianApocalypse DVD.
TSJUDER would take a deserved hiatus in 2006, with members finding other musical outlets for their creativity; Nag launching heretical black metal outfit KRYPT; Draugluin and Anti-Christian doing time with the thrashier TYRANN.
But it wouldn’t be long before the irresistible call of TSJUDER would exert itself once more. The band reconvened, reenergised and eager to make up for lost time, returning to live performances in 2010 before finally unleashing the mighty Legion Helvete (2011), a typically uncompromising comeback interspersed with pronounced Motörhead influences on punkish hyper-blasters such as ‘Slakt’. It would be another four years before TSJUDER issued the merciless Antiliv (2015), a snarling lycanthropic howl of a record, heavy-loaded with vindictive black’n’roll swagger and lashings of buzzsaw guitar.
TSJUDER quickly set about creating the follow-up to Antiliv, but musical differences and protracted disputes led to a parting of the ways, with Anti-Christian bowing out after an impressive 20-year tenure with the group. Undaunted, Nag and Draughluin enlisted doyen tub-thumper JON RICE to provide the requisite drum artillery and continued to work on new recordings – fine-tuning guitar tones and sharpening mixes.
Then COVID-19 struck, the pandemic further stymieing the album’s release as the world tumbled from its fragile axis. But humanity is now benignly settling into its most chronic phase of perpetual abnormality and TSJUDER are steeled again to hoist their inverted cross above the barricades of conciliation. Their latest opus, Helvegr, is a devastatingly savage offering, one which fully adheres to the band’s eternal credo of “NO FUCKING COMPROMISE”.
Line-up: Nag – Bass & Vocals Draugluin – Guitars & Vocals Emil Wiksten – Drums
Guest musicians: Guitar solo on ‘Gamle Erik’ by Pål Emanuelsen Guest vocals on ‘Gods of Black Blood’ by Seidemann (1349)
Mixing + Mastering: North Waves Studios by Pål Emanuelsen Artwork: Jonas Svensson and Laura Nardelli
Formats: Digital CD Digipak Cassette CD Clamshell box (+ Bathory cover album) Vinyl in various colours (WHITE IS SOLD OUT) LTD Box Vinyl (+Bathory cover Vinyl)
Today, Balkan black metallers CMPT reveal the new track “U raljama košave.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Na utrini, set for international release on December 27th via Osmose Productions. Hear CMPT‘s “U raljama košave” in its entirety here:
The second in the ambitious Balkan black metal trilogy, started with the debut album Na utrini, offers a conceptual prequel set before the events of the previous album begin to unfold. Utrina comes from the local vocabulary usually meaning a neglected, uncultivated land that no one pays attention to anymore. It is a desolate piece of land at the end of villages, between fields and forests, roads and marshlands, alienated and abandoned by common folk.
While Krv i pepeo carries the symbol of bloodlust, Na utrini paves its way in symbols of land, mud, and dirt and, as such, explores the world located on the northern wing of the Danube bank in the lower part of the Pannonian basin. These wet and muddy lands at the foot of the Carpathians were, for centuries, both home and the grave for numerous empires and civilizations, many of which still have their mark in local folklore, beliefs, and toponyms. It was here that the ancestors of the southern Slavs made their last stop before definitively settling on the Balkan Peninsula.
Once again following the night and the local “demon hour” (Serbian: “gluvo doba”), Na utrini is a record about the darkness of abandoned places, old ruins, cemeteries, wastelands, and liminal spaces that time has forgotten.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for CMPT’s Na utrini
1. Na utrini [9:30] 2. Oppidum Panuka [4:57] 3. Mesečina [5:37] 4. Campus de Maxond [1:59] 5. Crna voda [3:47] 6. U raljama košave [5:35] 7. Kao srp u noći [9:26] 8. Δ ΙΣΤΡΟΥ [7:27]
Today, Osmose Productions announces January 31st, 2025 as the international release date for the highly anticipated third album of Russia’s Pyre, Where Obscurity Sways, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
After four long years of silence and absence in the fog of the pandemic and war, like a heavy sledgehammer rushing towards your head, Russia’s Pyre return with their third full-length murderous opus, Where Obscurity Sways.
With the unique, fresh-sounding production but yet traditionally made in the old-school vein, along with the new level of performance, the new album delivers mid-tempo darkness and colder atmosphere of their previous album, complemented by classic phrases of band’s well-known high-speed crushing low-tuned rattling riffage with obscure melodies and solos and surely recognizable signature frantic voice.
In the meantime, see & hear the brand-new video “Murderous Transcendence” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Pyre (Russia)’s Where Obscurity Sways
1. Where Obscurity Sways [4:34] 2. From The Stygian Depths [3:13] 3. Domains Of The Nameless Rites [4:48] 4. Wandering… [1:06] 5. Murderous Transcendence [5:19] 6. Writhing Souls [4:34] 7. Chanting Ancient Incantations [2:52] 8. Pestilential Fumes [3:43] 9. Descending… [1:27] 10. Prognostic Of The Apocalypse [3:36]
Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2), an unapologetic declaration of reverence, sees CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX laying bare the influences that have long seared their spirits with incandescent defiance. Within Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2), the band transforms seminal tracks such as Fugazi’s Blueprint and Laura Branigan’s Self Control into haunting renditions that challenge the listener to peer into these classics through a new, unflinching lens. The intricate layers woven by founder Justin Greaves and Belinda Kordic’s haunting melodies envelop each note with authenticity and raw power.
Joined by old companions and new kindred souls, the album is a canvas of rich soundscapes echoing the tumultuous symphony of human tales. Each reinterpretation swells with the unmistakable CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX essence, striking a perfect balance between honoring the legacy of its predecessors and carving its own path of revolution.
Listen to the full new Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) here:
Their upcoming double album, The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature and Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2), commemorates two decades of relentless introspection and unyielding rebellion.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature An album which exhumes and resurrects their buried treasures, reworking and re-recording iconic tracks that have weathered the storms of time. These anthems – imbued with the rawness of old friends and new allies – surge with renewed vigor, challenging the very essence of complacency. Anthem such as We Forgotten Who We Are or the lead single Goodnight, Europe, completely re-imagined.
Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) An albums which serves as a dark homage to the musical titans who ignited their spirit, with visceral covers that explode into life. With tracks like the searing rendition of New Model Army’s Vengeance and the haunting introspection of Laura Branigan’s Self Control, this album is a collection of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX‘s masterful rendition of classic songs which have inspired them over the years.
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature + Horrific Honorifics Number Two (2) is out November 29 on Season of Mist.
Tracklist: 1. We Forgotten Who We Are (11:17) 2. You Put The Devil In Me (6:18) 3. 444 (7:23) [LISTEN] 4. Goodnight, Europe (Pt2) (8:37) [WATCH] 5. (-) (4:39) 6. Song For The Unloved (14:22) 7. Whissendine (6:58) 8. Blizzard Of Horned Cats (4:43) Total runtime: 1:04:21
Tracklist: 1. Vengeance (4:16) 2. Self Control (5:23) [LISTEN] 3. Blueprint (4:03) [LISTEN] 4. And That’s Sad (6:52) 5. Hammer Song (4:52) 6. When A Blind Man Cries (3:22) 7. My Pal (3:51) 8. Goin’ Against Your Mind (8:53) Total runtime: 41:36
The thread that binds CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s bold and towering discography — a dozen studio albums, a half-dozen mini-albums, a handful of compilations and swaths of bootlegs — could not be more apropos circa 2022. Since its 2004 creation by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Justin Greaves, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX has served as the voice for the voiceless, whether it be animals, the unequal and the different. Greaves and longstanding vocalist and lyricist Belinda Kordic have often proffered that these beings cannot fend for themselves. Henceforth, CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s mission has been to shed light on the human condition and the inequalities that befall humankind and its creatures. Their battle marches on with their latest studio album, Banefyre.
Banefyre follows 2020’s Ellengæst — an effort that found CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX employ a series of notable guest vocalists alongside Kordic, prompting Metal Hammer to describe it as their “most cohesive and emotionally devastating record.” Kordic is now paired with Swedish vocalist Joel Segerstedt, who made his CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX debut last year via the “Painful Reminder/Dead is Dead” single. Piano, synth and trumpet player Helen Stanley and additional guitarist Andy Taylor complete the lineup. Greaves says Stanley and Taylor “fit so well creatively,” which has made CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX feel like a band when making plans and decisions.
Also central to this is Segerstedt. According to Kordic, the vocalist and lyricist lives a mere five minutes from her in Sweden and has quickly integrated himself into the band. “What I like about Joel is that he’s a good person,” she says. “There’s no fakeness with him; he has cajones. He’s not a bitch-talker, either. I can’t handle people who don’t have a backbone, but Joel is real and can speak his mind.”
“I like how Joel has come in and spoke for himself,” adds Greaves. “He’s in the band for the right reasons. I see him the same way as Belinda — she took an interest in the whole artistic thing behind CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX, like the vocals, lyrics, artwork and aesthetic. It’s the same with Joel. He has taken an interest in all of those things. In the past, we had people who didn’t contribute artistically and only cared about what they got out of the band. But Joel is really proactive and takes the initiative.”
Greaves assembled 13 songs (including “No Regrets,” a bonus track for his new project with Kordic, Johnny the Boy) imbued with the depth and introspection that will reinforce CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s standing as a band that defies genre. The album was tracked at Chapel Studios in South Thoresby, Lincolnshire, with vocals cut at Monolith Studio and Kapsylen Studio in Stockholm, Sweden. Kurt Ballou handled mixing in GodCity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts — a pivotal move in determining the album’s overall sound.
“I love the album so much because it was a different approach with the production,” says Greaves. “For my part, it was a little bit of a reaction. I didn’t want to do the same warm, safe CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX album. I’m aware that when we did [2012’s] I, Vigilante, everyone wanted I, Vigilante again. As it so often happens with this band, people complain about the next one, then grow into it. Ellengæst is like I, Vigilante. It’s a shorter album. It hit the mark and was done really well, but everyone will expect another Ellengæst. I feared that, but I care enough not to make another Ellengæst. It’s the right thing to do. That’s why we got Kurt to mix it — we wanted that analog, raw power. Even though the album has mellow moments, those are edgy as well. We just didn’t want to do the same album twice. We’re never going to be a band that people can rely on.”
Greaves’ summation of his band notwithstanding, his distinctive guitar playing and enduring knack for immersive songwriting is the propellent behind the haunting, chant-laden “Ghostland,” pensive “The Reckoning” and forlorn “Everything is Beautiful but Us,” the band’s spot-on analysis of the retreat of humankind indoors during the pandemic that revealed nature’s priceless beauty. The album is also stocked with no less than four ten-minute-plus cuts (“Rose of Jericho,” “Down the Rabbit Hole,” “I’m Okay, Just Not Alright” and “The Scene is a False Prophet”) that are intermixed with drama and melancholy.
It all ties into Banefyre’s central theme of the persecution of people who are deemed “different” by society. The album title is a play on the song “Bonefire” that Kordic named and wrote lyrics for. In classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, Greaves turned it into the Olde English translation to represent the bonfires that engulfed witches and politicians through the 15th and 18th centuries, hence, the name Banefyre.
The album begins with “Incantation for the Different,” which was written and orated by Chicago-based witch, artist, author and occultist Shane Bugbee, who, according to Greaves, “brought us some positive, dark energy.” Banefyre then delves into the Salem Witch Trials (“Wyches and Basterdz”), fox hunting in Great Britain (“The Reckoning”), politicians of an unscrupulous and dishonest kind (“Bonefire”) and the New York City Blackout of 1977 (“Blackout77”).
Greaves says Banefyre’s topics may have a decidedly negative and pessimistic tone, but a glimmer of hope and joy remains. “There’s always the random bits, but overall, Banefyre is about the people who have suffered because they are different. The album covers inequality and oppression, like ‘Incantation for the Different,’ which is about overcoming when you’re put down because you’re not like everyone else.”
In true CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX fashion, the Lucy Marshall-created Banefyre cover leaves plenty to the imagination, depicting four animals seated at a table — interacting and dressed like human beings. “It’s sort of like Planet of the Apes showing what animals could do to humans,” says Greaves. “The cover was specially commissioned and is unique to the album. It’s incorporating all the classic CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX elements with the love for animals and twisting the narrative around.”
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX’s reputation was built on the back of their studio albums and live shows. The pandemic prevented the band from supporting Ellengæst, but it did provide them additional time to bring in new members to their live configuration.
“We’ve done one show since 2019,” says Greaves. “We are going to do something in Europe this year. Hopefully, we can get back on track. We’re also going to do something in the States — that’s not just talk, we’re actually going to do it. It’s well overdue. The live band is fucking amazing. We have the five of us and now we have Jordi [Farré] on drums, Paco [Fleischfresser] on synth and a really good friend of mine, Matt Crawford on bass.
“We did the Leipzig show and even though the rehearsals were better than the show itself, that lineup, our live band, is so good. Because we haven’t been under pressure to put a live band together since 2019 and spent so long talking to people, we’ve got a better band from those results. Out of disaster, we’ve got quite a good, positive thing.”
The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature & Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are a double album celebrating the 20 year existence of CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX.
Original Credits: All tracks on Horrific Honorifics Number Two(2) are covers of various artists.
Vengeance Originally recorded by New Model Army, Written by: Sullivan/Morrow
Self Control Originally recorded by Laura Branigan, Written by: Giancarlo Bigazzi, Raffaele Riefoli, Steve Piccolo
Blueprint Originally recorded by Fugazi, Written by: Canty, Lilly, MacKaye, Picciotto
And That’s Sad Originally recorded by NoMeansNo, Written by: NoMeansNo
Hammer Song Originally recorded by Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Written by Alex Harvey
When A Blind Man Cries Originally recorded by Deep Purple, Written by: Gillan, Glover, Blackmore, Lord, Paice
My Pal Originally recorded by God, Written by: God, Joel Silbersher)
Goin’ Against Your Mind Originally recorded by Built To Spill, Written by: Doug Martsch, Jim Roth, Brett Nelson, Scott Plouf
Self Control Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Baritone Guitar Helen Stanley – Synth Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Blueprint Ryan Patterson – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Helen Stanley – Piano Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
And That’s Sad Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Vocals Wesley Wasley – Bass, Vocals
Hammer Song Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitar, Acoustic guitar Helen Stanley – Synth, Hammond Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
When A Blind Man Cries Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves, Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitars Helen Stanley – Piano Kostas Panagiotou – Hammond Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
My Pal Belinda Kordic – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars, Backing Vocals Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Goin’ Against Your Mind Justin Storms – Vocals Justin Greaves – Drums, Guitars Andy Taylor – Guitar Wesley J. Wasley – Bass
Recorded in 2023 at: Chapel Studios, Lincolnshire Engineered by Pieter Rietkerk
Additional Vocal Sessions at: Kapsylen Studio, Stockholm Engineered by Jörgen Jugglo Wall. House Of Foto, Louisville, KY Engineered by Ryan Patterson
Additional Production Credits: Mixed by Pieter Rietkerk Mastered by Magnus Lindberg Produced by Justin Greaves
Today, Portuguese speed thrash black metal kings Filii Nigrantium Infernalium stream the entirety of their highly anticipated fifth album, Pérfida Contracção do Aço. Set for international release on November 29th via Osmose Productions, hear Filii Nigrantium Infernalium‘sPérfida Contracção do Açoin its entirety here:
Open the mouth of Hell: Filii Nigrantium Infernalium, classic Portuguese maniac black metal pioneers, deliver their fourth album for Osmose.
Crushing, demented production and compositions. Blasphemous, disconcerting artwork by cult artist Paolo Girardi. Forged out from the pandemic, this masterpiece is raw, baroque, and complexly straight to the point, an unpredictable, insane labyrinth of sound and words.
Sacrilegious and offensive speedthrashblackmetal, grotesque sinister gloom, venomous sarcasm ranging from old-school heavy metal to dark sharpened doom and relentlessly wild blasting beats’ devastation.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Filii Nigrantium Infernalium’s Pérfida Contracção do Aço 1. Beata Fornicanda [2:50] 2. Holocausto Molto Vivace Ma Non Troppo [4:30] 3. Negros Hábitos [4:24] 4. Cristo.Rei.Animal. [4:14] 5. Pérfida Contracção do Aço [5:50] 6. Comes Carne [5:30] 7. Má Criação [4:09] 8. Vaticanale [9:45] 9. Chuva Dourada [3:47]
Today, vampiric black metallers Order of Nosferat reveal the new track “At the Sea She Longs for His Return.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated sixth album, Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok, set for international release on December 25th via Purity ThroughFire. Hear Order of Nosferat‘s “At the Sea She Longs for His Return” in its entirety here:
By now, those well versed in the crimes of Purity ThroughFire should be well aware of Order of Nosferat. Emerging from the shadows in early 2021, the duo of Count Revenant and Anzillu released TWO full-lengths that year: Necuratul and Arrival of the Plague Bearer. And while both underground veterans are no strangers to black metal, the variety they unleashed with Order of Nosferat was most definitely OLD, in every sense of the word: undead vampiric black metal had truly arisen! Like (vampiric) clockwork, two more full-lengths followed the next year – Nachtmusik in March and Vampiric Wrath Unleashed in December – proving that their bloodthirst could not be sated. While 2023 was relatively quiet, Order of Nosferat “only” released a split album with Lunar Spells, showing a more nuanced and atmospheric side to their vampirism.
Alas, 2024 has proven to be predictably bountiful for Order of Nosferat, as The Absence of Grace arrived as the snows began to melt – and now, as those snows soon take hold, so does yet another full-length. Titled Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok, on LP#6 do the duo of Revenant and Anzillu return to misery and comfort, regressing their black metal further back to somewhere around 1997-1999. Whereas The Absence of Grace moved at a more measured pace and utilized a unique production style – crisp and cutting but somehow brittle, exceptionally ethereal in its effect – Order of Nosferat kick up the pace again, galloping triumphantly into the night in search of prey. The production’s equally brittle, but authentically vintage: the fuzz ‘n’ buzz recalls old French vampires like Blessed in Sin, Winter Funeral, and Osculum Infame, esteemed company and spiritual forebears for this particular (and pure) style of black metal. And while the duo have always had exquisitely moonlit synths, aiding and abetting their melancholia, they truly meld into something majestic here, indeed taking the listener Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok. Christmas day shall hereby be a bloody one, courtesy of Order of Nosferat!
Also hear the previously revealed title track “Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok” HERE at the Black Metal Promotion YouTube channel. Cover artwork, courtesy of Vhan Artworks, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Order of Nosferat’s Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok 1. …Far Away to the Land of Ghosts 2. Crossing the Shadowland 3. Towards the Nightrealm of Orlok 4. At the Sea She Longs for His Return 5. Blood is Life! 6. Into Pale Shadows and Ghostly Dreams 7. Where the Werewolf Haunts the Woods 8. Beyond the Eternity Gates I Wait 9. Don’t Leave [Gummy Boy cover]
Today, idiosyncratic metallers Hexenbrett premiere the new track “Imotep”. The track is the third to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter, set for international release on December 20th via Dying Victims Productions. Hear Hexenbrett‘s “Imotep” in its entirety here:
It was but May of the cursed year of 2020 when Hexenbrett truly came into their own with their shockingly masterful debut album, Zweite Beschwörung: Ein Kind zu töten, courtesy of Dying Victims. While the enigmatic duo of Josto Feratu and Scarlettina Bolétte had definitely turned heads with the Erste Beschwörung demo in 2019, their debut album’s idiosyncratic kaleidoscope of Varathron, Jean Rollin, Danzig, Goblin, and Van Halen emerged as completely unique and unlike little else around.
Predictably unpredictable, Hexenbrett returned the following year with Intermezzo dei quattro coltelli nudi, a crazed ‘n’ crazy EP that was the result of canceled concerts and tours. As suggested by its title, the record was no “beschwörung” but, rather, an intermezzo: for the first time in the then-brief history of Hexenbrett, this EP did not feature performances by the duo but, instead, the live line-up for 2020 – of course, under the watchful eyes and ears of the clandestine couple. A split EP with fellow Austrian eccentrics Hagzissa followed in 2022, with the duo returning to recorded format.
Josto and Scarlettina continued to refuse playing live but managed to recruit musicians to perform their music on live stages. Their recruits recently finished the IN CONCERTZIONE 2024 European club tour with labelmates Deathstorm. During that time, Josto and Scarlettina laid the finishing touches on what would become Hexenbrett’s second album.
Now, at long last, comes that second full-length to eclipse all that came before. Titled Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter, Hexenbrett’s second album is a devilish and drama-filled rollercoaster ride through cult metal and cult cinema alike. Arguably more so than their previous recordings, Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter truly encapsulates their demi-tag of “The Sound of the Bloody Iris,” for a wide panoply of sounds and sensations swarm the listener, wrapping them in a wild and bewildering but above all kaleidoscopic headspace that easily avoids simple categorization.
While other bands are usually influenced by heavyweights of heavy metal music like Judas Priest or Bathory, Hexenbrett take their main inspiration from Euro cult cinema and soundtracks; some of the most important names are Sergio Martino, Jess Franco, Jean Rollin, Bruno Nicolai, and Alessandro Alessandroni. One will readily hear that influence here in the prominent usage of vintage synths as well as chimes – the latter both beautiful and ominous – as readily as one will hear guitar leads that are alternately haunting / heroic. But the salient point is that Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter moves in a most filmic fashion – metallic, sure, but this is far, FAR from your Normal Metal Music.
As such, Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter is an amalgamation of love and hate, and represents the duality of birth and death. Its purpose is to enable listeners to escape; it strangles and stabs the status quo of normality. Normality is surrender – escape with Hexenbrett!
Begin escaping with the previously revealed “Wozu die Angst” exclusively HERE, courtesy of NoCleanSinging.com, as well as the previously revealed “Um Mitternacht” exclusively HERE, courtesy of Deaf Forever magazine. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Hexenbrett’s Dritte Beschwörung: Dem Teufel eine Tochter 1. Um Mitternacht 2. Dem Teufel eine Tochter 3. Marisa 4. Imhotep 5. Wozu die Angst 6. La Plese De La Nuit 7. Leder im Nachtverkehr 8. Denn der Tod lächelt nicht 9. Sette Gocce Rosse Su Velluto Verde
On November 27th internationally, Darkness Shall Rise Productions is proud to present a special vinyl 12″ compiling two crucial new demos, Fessus‘ Pilgrims of Morbidity and Kill the Lord‘s Decrowned II: Trinity Ablaze. And today, they stream the split album in its entirety. Hear Fessus and Kill the Lord‘s Pilgrims of Morbidity /Decrowned II: Trinity Ablaze in its entirety here:
Austria’s Fessus are a festering new entity (de)composed of dwellers from the Viennese underworld. With their first demo Pilgrims of Morbidity, Fessusdeliver the best death metal any Austrian band has come up since the glorious days of Pungent Stench, Miasma, or Disastrous Murmur – period. This is rotten and morbid death metal at its foulest that fans of Necrophagia and Autopsy will revel in with perverted pleasure.
If veterans of the German underground team up, you are in for a treat. On their first demo – here amended with two additional tracks – Kill the Lord perform death metal heavily inspired by Swedish masterpieces from the ’90s. Presented with a bludgeoning production, Decrowned II: Trinity Ablaze will leave any old-school death metal adherent thirsting for more.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Respective covers and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Fessus’ Pilgrims of Morbidity / Kill the Lord’s Decrowned II: Trinity Ablaze
1. Fessus – Acidic Secretion 2. Fessus – Pilgrims of Morbidity 3. Fessus – Unmoored 4. Kill the Lord – Kill The Lord 5. Kill the Lord – Food For Worms 6. Kil the Lord – Di(Stress)ed 7. Kill the Lord – Sacrificial Blaze
