Today, Finnish black metallers Kratti premiere the new track “Haudanvvartija”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Matka Kohti Kosmista, set for international release on May 1st via Signal Rex. Hear Kratti‘s “Haudanvvartija” in its entirety here:
Kratti are a power-trio hailing from the infinitely fertile Finnish black metal underground. They made their public demo with the accurately titled Demo 2023. Despite their apparent newness, Kratti are undeniably old souls as far as black metal goes, and they fully assert their ancientness with the full-length debut, Matka Kohti Kosmista.
While so much Finnish black metal for the past couple decades has been influenced by the hands of Shatraug or a certain Warmaster, Kratti cast their gaze upon some of the scene’s culter or less-fully-realized likes, such as antagonistic paragons Impious Havoc or the short-lived Syöpä. Which is to say, Matka Kohti Kosmista is NOT for trendy ears, and unapologetically whips forth a nastiness that’s shot through with melancholy – hypnotically hummable riffs spiraled to the point of delirium, but built upon a stern ‘n’ stoic foundation of linear, deceptively epic songwriting. Even with the hysteric surge at which Kratti move most of the time, atmosphere is built from within, their flat-yet-full production choice working as another instrument and rendering their miasmic musings that much more pained and poignant. Plus, occasional daubs of moonlit synth further separate band and record from normcore “black metal” non-ideals.
For those nostalgic for a more Sombre age, Kratti have created a transportive spell with Matka Kohti Kosmista.
Feel more nostalgia with the previously revealed “Ääni Hiljaisuuteen Katoava” HERE at Signal Rex‘s Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows
Tracklisting for Kratti’s Matka Kohti Kosmista 1. Pyhä Alttari 2. Haudanvartija 3. Matka Kohti Kosmista 4. Sota Viimeinen 5. Ääni Hiljaisuuteen Katoava 6. Synkissä Muistoissa
oday, Purity ThroughFire announces May 24th as the international release date for the long-awaited second album of Finland’s Nightside, Death From the North, on digipack CD and vinyl LP formats.
Finland’s Nightside were originally founded in 1996, in Turku. A cult band by nearly every definition, they soon set about a stream of short-length releases over the next three years, finally culminating in their 2001 debut album, The End of Christianity. Their sound was strikingly of the times, just as their native country was beginning to assert its dominance in the underground. However, by 2003, Nightside effectively split up and all members continued on with other bands.
Then, in 2021, Nightside returned with a new lineup that still contained two original members, and they played a comeback gig in early 2022 at the Turku Saatanalle fest. Soon after that, some new songs were written. Of them, three new songs were performed live for the first time in early December 2022 and, a week after that, recorded as a demo to showcase what the band’s all about nowadays. This manifested in Lions (Demo 2023), which Purity Through Fire released in April of that year. Despite the “demo” appellation, Lions contained superlative quality within, not to mention sharpened, era-authentic production courtesy of Kryptamok‘s Hex Inferi. An auspicious comeback recording as any, setting the stage for Nightside‘s long-awaited second album…
Now, at LONG last is it here, bearing the make-no-mistake title of Death From the North. Picking up exactly where Lions left off – or, indeed, The End of Christianity – Nightside‘S second album shows that the fire of old burns brighter than ever. Just like that short-length predecessor, Death From the North could be a veritable throwback to the late ’90s, if not for the absolutely invigorating passion presented across these 42 windswept moments. Indeed, Nightside reap a whirlwind of mystical magisterial energy here, with grim splendor to spare: forthrightly melodic riffing rips the soul asunder, rhythms underneath surge and coil with malevolent intent, the vocals of founding frontman Serpent spit invective and acid, and the subtle-yet-overt synths of wrap majestically around the icy spires the sextet so effortlessly erect. Once again, Hex Inferi helps harness this magickal assault with sterling clarity, never sacrificing grit whilst allowing each awe-inspiring layer to breathe its fullest breaths. “Fuck off melodic black metal”? FUCK YOU!
In today’s “black metal” landscape, records like Death From the North might seem antiquated or anachronistic. To suggest such betrays the dearth of authenticity in the Bandcamp era. Undeterred, Nightside righteously return from their slumber as the new kings of old!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new title track “Death From the North” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Nightside (Finland)’s Death From the North 1. Death from the North 2. The Crumbling Tower 3. Disciples 4. There Won’t Be Another Dawn 5. Dying Sun 6. Gates of Hell 7. Lions 8. Solitude
Amidst Wardruna´s song-writing hibernation, the group resurfaces to offer a taste of their next album with the single release and music video for the song Hertan. The song is available on all digital streaming platforms now.
Einar Selvik comments on the new song: ““Hertan” is the proto-Scandinavian word for “heart” and that is exactly what we explore in this song and film. The duality of the heart with the rhythm, flow and pulse we can see, hear, and feel in nature and in all forms of life – and the more abstract idea of the heart, The rudder on the ship of emotions, our decisions, and our true desires.”
Once again, Wardruna teamed up with Finnish director and photographer Tuukka Koski for the video production of Hertan. Koski has previously directed Wardruna´s videos for Raido, Voluspá, and Grá. This time, the production mainly took place during some freezing nights in northern Finland at the island of Hailouto.
Einar about the video shooting process: “It is always a true pleasure to create art with Tuukka and his colleagues at Breakfast Helsinki! His experience and eye for detail as well as the ability to always conjure up next-level material, is very inspiring to be part of. Three days, three locations, no sleep but a lot of heart. This is how it went down. Hope you will enjoy the result!”
Hertan Cover | Picture by Tuukka Koski | Design by Øivind Myksvoll
ABOUT WARDRUNA
Hertan, the proto-Scandinvian word for heart, is steeped in Wardruna tradition. With this new song, Wardruna announce the beginning of a vibrant new cycle, pulsating with life. The song explores the rhythm of pulse, a flow visible in all forms of life and in nature, and the heart as the rider of decisions.
Making room for something new to come into being, the Norwegian group ends the Kvitravn touring cycle in a remarkable way. During the autumn equinox on September 21, 2023, Wardruna performed at the world heritage site Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Acropolis, Athens. The event sold out quickly, with fans from all over the world attending.
The concert at the Acropolis is the culmination of an intense period of touring, with successful shows in the United States, Norway, Iceland and the United Kingdom. In 2022, Wardruna headlined the festivals Wacken Open Air in Germany and Hellfest Open Air in France and saw the group perform at historic sites, such as Ancient Theater in Plovdiv and Castle Devin, Bratislava during the Nordic Night Tour. In 2023, the second leg of the Kvitravn touring cycle took place throughout the summer with Wardruna playing (festival) shows in Germany, France, The Netherlands and a concert at Borgholm Castle in Sweden.
At the heart of Wardruna lies the vision of sowing new seeds and strengthening old roots, a concept that main composer Einar Selvik, Lindy-Fay Hella and former member Gaahl bought to life in 2009. The first three albums formed the Runaljod trilogy and featured musical renditions based on the Nordic runes. Each of the three releases focused around eight of the twenty-four Proto-Norse runes, more commonly known as the Elder Futhark. The trilogy consists of Runaljod – gap var Ginnunga (2009), Runaljod – Yggdrasil (2013), Runaljod – Ragnarok (2016).
After years of acoustic concerts and lectures, performing Wardruna songs and creations made for the TV-show Vikings, Einar Selvik recorded Skald (2018). The album was recorded live with the intention of capturing the raw and uncompromising energy of the live performance. It set out to give a voice to the ancient craft that once lay at the foundation of the Norse oral traditions, presented as it takes shape in the hands of a humble contemporary skald today.
Wardruna’s fifth full-length Kvitravn (White-Raven) was released in January 2021. The album musically continues where the Runaljod trilogy left off, yet it marks a distinct evolution in the group’s sound. Throughout eleven songs, Kvitravn discusses Northern sorcery, spirit-animals, shadows, nature and animism, the wisdom and meanings of certain myths, various Norse spiritual concepts, and the relation between sage and songs. The record charted in 13 countries, including #1 in Canada and Austria, and #2 in Germany. A year later, the band presented a virtual live experience in the form of First Flight of the White Raven, also landing in the official German Album Charts.
The period between First Flight of the White Raven and Hertan, is not without creative output. A new rendition of Voluspá (live with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra) came out in June 2023. Einar Selvik also performed on national Norwegian television with electronic dance music DJ Matoma and joined Faroese singer-songwriter Eivør and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra for a symphonic concert series. One of the duets, Voluspá (live with Eivør) shall be released physically on Record Store Day in April 2024, in the United States, Canada and Germany. Now a new cycle begins with Hertan and Wardruna soon announce new live dates in support of this new release.
As a live band Wardruna operates in various constellations of personnel but the standard configuration the last years has been as follows:
Discography Runaljod – gap var Ginnunga (2009) Runaljod – Yggdrasil (2013) Runaljod – Ragnarok (2016) Skald (2018) Kvitravn (2021) Kvitravn – First Flight of the White Raven (2022)
Today, Chaos Records announces May 31st as the international release date for Abreaktion‘s striking debut EP, Bornhatred, on CD format.
Hailing from the cult-metal hotbed of Chile, Santiago’s Abreaktion are a thrash metal band founded in mid-2023 in by guitarists Roran Fatehatred and Javier Salgado and bassist Sebastián Logan. After only a few months of rehearsing, the band began recording their first EP at Lion’s Roar studio, which would be titled Bornhatred. At the end of the same year, the band released the first single from this EP, titled “Pyromaniac,” opening the way for some live performances that are still ongoing.
As a first strike, Bornhatred is deadly. Red-eyed and rabid with just a tinge of ’80s-style death metal, Abreaktion‘s first EP flies fast and free and fiercely, largely eschewing the usual Bay Area or German tropes for the culter likes of Sacrifice, Artillery, Holy Terror, and Atrophy. That they conclude Bornhatred with a cover of Dark Angel’s “Welcome to the Slaughterhouse” simply underlines their devotion to classic ’80s thrash and even its deathrash variants: no more but definitely no less, Abreaktion are thrash metal maniacs making thrash metal for other thrash metal maniacs.
After a series of lineup changes, the Abreaktion lineup is finally established with Roran Fatehatred (guitar/vocals), Javier Salgado (guitar), Edu (bass), and Andrés “Ratanás” Vega (drums). Already, with this already with stability in the lineup, they’ve begun working on demos of new songs for what will be their first full-length. In the meantime, fucking THRASH with Bornhatred!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Empty Promises” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of Alex Aguayo, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Abreaktion’s Bornhatred
1. Empty Promises 2. Pyromaniac 3. Amnesia Chronicle 4. Mental Torture 5. Welcome to the Slaughterhouse [Dark Angel cover]
Today, Eternal Death announces May 24th as the international release date for a brand-new EP from Black Sorcery, Plummeting Into the Hour of the Wolf, on cassette tape format.
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.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “World Demands Cruelty” here:
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]
On April 4th internationally, Chaos Records will release a reissue of Degraved‘s Whispered Morbidity & Exhumed Remnants on CD format. Hear Degraved‘s Whispered Morbidity & Exhumed Remnants in its entirety here:
With roots in the dismal and damp soil of the Pacific Northwest, the members of Degraved are not newcomers to the sordid landscape of death metal. Originally a recording project of members of Cavurn, the duo found themselves needing an outlet for faster downtuned riffs in the harrowing American tradition.
In 2020, Degraved released their first demo, Exhumed Remnants. Absolutely gutsfucking, this four-song salvo conspicuously nodded to the gods of downtuned DM – Cianide, Funebrarum, and early Necros Christos – but did so with the feral force and gutter-drenched ritualism. That gutter-ward descent continued with the band’s second short-length offering, 2023’s Whispered Morbidity. On this EP, the band doubled in size to a quartet, and their base barbarity received a razor-sharpened refinement, somehow becoming heavier and more heaving in the process. Still old-school to the bone, eerie synth lurked between slabs of guitar and guttural onslaught, proving Degraved‘s intent to desecrate the tarnished earth. Now compiled onto one convenient CD, both Whispered Morbidity and Exhumed Remnants will together entrance the listener with their more-than-fanit call of death beckoning.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Degraved’s Whispered Morbidity & Exhumed Remnants
1. Crematortured 2. Compulsory Bloodletting 3. Reduced to Bone and Ash 4. Whispered Morbidity 5. Exhumed Remnants 6. Corpse Fermentation 7. Incinerated
Today, Chaos Records announces May 31st as the international release date for Black Wound‘s highly anticipated debut album, Warping Structure, on CD format.
Following a trio of demos, a split, and an EP since their formation in 2021, Sweden’s Black Wound at last reveal their debut full-length, Warping Structure, consisting of six tracks of dense, murky, cavernous death metal. Clocking in at just over 40 minutes, the trio here sound like they’ve spent an unhealthy amount of time in the deepest, dankest subterranean hovel, with only humankind’s darkest nightmares for company.
Impossibly, Warping Structure sees Black Wound cranking up the aural brutality a couple notches. Everything goes up to that mythical eleven: the vocals, the guitars, the bass, all layered over the pummeling drums in a way that it feels like all light has been extinguished and suffocation seems inevitable. Teasingly, the crawling, doomier interludes provide some form of relief before the ferocious, relentless wall of sound overwhelms again.
Make no mistake, Warping Structure is a punishing journey, but once you’re immersed in Black Wound‘s bleak hellscape, you’ll find it to be an immensely satisfying listen. Maniacs for Spectral Voice, Teitanblood, and Winter are wholeheartedly encouraged to immerse themselves in this subterranean hovel!
In the meantime, stream Warping Structure in its entirety here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Today, mystical black metallers Magistraal premiere the new track “Waar leed zich eeuwig voedt”. The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut EP, Fantoom van de Deemsterburcht, which will be digitally self-released on April 16th internationally; the EP will also be available through Zwaertgevegt on vinyl format as one half of a split release. Hear Magistraal‘s “Waar leed zich eeuwig voedt” in its entirety here:
Magistraal: a jet-black concoction sprung from the depths of the Shadow Mountains, fashioned in the gruesome sight of the eight hateful eyes of Shelob and beautified by the enchanting fingers of Fëanor, maestro of architecture. Cultivated by two opposing, ancient powers: she is mistress of the cold, dark, drizzly existence and embittered by a lonely exile, cast into a darkness where her shrill voice was banished for an eternity; he was a powerful designer of splendor, an inventor of works of art and a superior preserver of light, a perfectionist whose work proved to be a refuge for the apostate.
In reality, the duo – originating from the Netherlands – do not want to reveal much about themselves, comparing a presence in the scene to an enigmatic and mystical existence of black metal in the ’90s, reawakened in 2023. Magistraal is an expression of fantasy, dreamscapes, the power of imagination, emotion and kinship, audible in hidden lyrics underpinned by an atmospheric-yet-raw approach to workings in dark music.
The duo’s first expression is the EP Fantoom van de Deemsterburcht, penned and crafted in 2023. Here, Magistraal cultivate a wide arsenal of tempo, rhythm, and instrumental styles for the listener – where the title track “Fantoom van de Deemsterburcht” and the eruption of “Waar leed zich eeuwig voedt” are presented with overwhelming violence, the centerpiece of this allotment of music is a constructive opus of 11 minutes of growing madness in the form of “Mijn branded licht.” Dutch evil produced in three depraved episodes, each embracing its own godless theme, but which merge into a creeping, lugubrious muck.
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Magistraal’s Fantoom van de Deemsterburcht 1. Waar leed zich eeuwig voedt [5:21] 2. Mijn brandend licht [11:29] 3. Fantoom van de Deemsterburcht [4:37]
Today, Invictus Productions announces May 24th as the international release date for the highly anticipated debut album of Canada’s Reversed, Wildly Possessed.
Arising from Vancouver’s potent extreme metal mire, Reversed initially materialized in 2015 through a dedication to the spirit of real death metal and a rabid obsession with death. Guided more by passion than execution, this collection of well-honed ghouls quickly fell into a sepulchral trance to channel a singular form of necrotic, razor-lined heavy metal devilry.
Dying to crack open the tomb, Reversed harnessed and released the Widow Recluse demo tape into the wild in 2018 via Muerto En La Cruz and the recently closed Temple of Mystery. Showcasing the band’s gestating lunacy, the demo revealed shades of black, death, and thrash violently assembled into a refined vision of chaotic mayhem – a runaway train barely remaining on the rails. Due to wild demand, this was immediately followed by vinyl and CD versions on Temple of Mystery in 2019.
Afterward, a string of live shows displayed the wretched results across Western Canada and the USA, playing alongside Aura Noir, Morbid Saint, Antediluvian, Witch Vomit, and more. What followed was a period of cloistered writing and conspiring while the world writhed in torment by the festering plague.
Two rough tracks destined for the eventual debut album were recorded in the Reversed ritual space and released on limited tape by Bent Window Productions. This was to be fully realized on the Reversed debut LP, Wildly Possesed, heralding the dawn of a more aggressive and voracious worship of the ultimate extreme metal essence – 1986 – where labels of death, black, speed, and thrash were interchangeable.
The album was recorded at the infamous Fiasco Bros. Studios where Blasphemy recorded their legendary albums, mixed and mastered by Marco S. Vermiglio at The Forge Music Productions, and set to unleashed by infamous Irish underground devotee Invictus Productions in Spring 2024.
In the meantime, see & hear a video for the brand-new track “Final Death” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Reversed (Canada)’s Wildly Possessed 1. Wildly Possessed 2. Maelstrom Juggernaut 3. Hungry Graves 4. Beneath Evil Eyes 5. Final Death 6. Rusted Breath 7. Black Seed
Today, black metal noiseniks Brakel premiere the new track “Kwadeplas”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Wranger Wanen, set for international release on May 1st via Signal Rex. Hear Brakel‘s “Kwadeplas” in its entirety here:
The first full-length recording of Belgium’s Brakel, Wranger Wanen comprises nine songs across a time-evaporating / stretching 27 minutes. Signposts among raw black metal’s elite exist here – be it Black Cilice, Candelabrum, Múspellzheimr, or those orbiting the Signal Rex-endorsed Clandestine Circle of Aldebaran – but beneath the alternately shocking / shimmering soundfield bubble torched debris of power electronics. Hateful and ghoulish in equal measure but utterly alien in effect, the ghostly surge of in-the-red decibels across Wranger Wanen get wrangled into obscene shapes; with all those indeterminate pulses underneath, sometimes Brakel‘s sound approaches the mechanistic…if the Industrial Revolution was visualized in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, such is the expressionist horror on display.
No identities, no fun, no past, no future: Brakel assault the unsuspecting with Wranger Wanen.
Also get assaulted by the previously revealed “Tegen Geweten” HERE at Signal Rex‘s official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Brakel’s Wranger Wanen 1. Overdal 2. Kwadeplas 3. Grauwkraal 4. Tegen Geweten 5. Dwaalrag 6. Oude Maart 7. Blâan 8. Zonderling En Drang 9. Nevel Neer
