Today, oceanic black metallers Lhaäd stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, Beneath. Set for international release on March 20th via Amor Fati Productions in conspiracy with Extraconscious Records, hear Lhaäd‘s Beneath in its entirety here:
Hailing from the currently thriving Belgian black metal scene, Lhaäd are a part of the esteemed Nox Entity collective, which also includes the likes of Entartung, Rituals of the Dead Hand, and Wolven. To begin to understand Lhaäd, one must dissect the band’s phonetically & visually unique moniker: an anagram of “hadal.” The hadal zone, also known as the hadopelagic zone, is the deepest region of the ocean, lying within oceanic trenches. The name comes from Hades, the ancient Greek god of the underworld. Fittingly, Lhaäd bring the same, incredibly vast darkness & tension as if they were to capture and take you to the ocean floor, deep within the largest abysses.
Such was the sound of the band’s 2021 debut album, Below, and now Lhaäd go impossibly deeper & darker with the follow-up Beneath. The band’s framework of martial/cosmic hypnosis is well and accounted for – namely, classic Thorns and Darkspace – but mainman Lykormas here evinces an engaging, almost-ceremonial aspect that brings forth ominous beauty to the no-doubt-dark deluge; perhaps one could make a parallel in this respect to his post-metal titans Hemelbestormer. Tempos thus span the slower end of the spectrum – trudging, ominous, HUGE – as frequently as the ultraviolent, altogether making for a slipstream that’s deceptively melodic and even tragically blissful. Too, the aquatic element is even more pronounced on Below, as cold & caustic riffs undulate and overlap like currents of the ocean, seemingly infinite in possibility but always with the portent of everlasting darkness.
True to its title, Beneath is a six-song/40-minute experience of going under the Below. Lhaäd plays hadopelagic black metal exclusively!
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Lhaäd’s Beneath 1. Beneath I [5:57] 2. Beneath II [7:18] 3. Beneath III [7:21] 4. Beneath IV [5:24] 5. Beneath V [6:20] 6. Beneath VI [7:39]
FlyingFox AB & Doomstar Bookings present the Nordic Descent Tour 2024. Featuring the legendary Icelanders Sólstafir as they kick off their tour in preparation for their next full length studio album. They’ll be supported by psychedelic black metal maestros Oranssi Pazuzu across all dates. Hamferð will be joining the first leg of the tour from November 13 to November 24 and Season of Mist band Helga from November 26 to December 9.
With a full catalog of truly exceptional timeless hits to perform, as well as some much-anticipated new music, the atmospheric Icelandic rock n´roll sound that is uniquely Sólstafir always delivers to those who bear witness to their epic sets that take you on a journey through the ice and snow, fire and lava and breathtaking soundscapes of their homeland.
What sets the Nordic Descent Tour 2024 apart is the celebration of cultural heritage through language, with each band performing in their native tongues, offering audiences a profound emotional and auditory experience. This tour represents more than just concerts; it is a journey through the heart of Northern musical tradition and an invitation to explore the depth of its timeless allure.
As the night wraps in mist and melodies, let the Nordic Descent be your guide to the soul-stirring world of northern soundscapes. This is your opportunity to witness the confluence of landscapes and soundtracks, where every note tells a story, and every silence speaks the language of the fjords and forests.
“We are hugely excited to be joining Sólstafir and Oranssi Pazuzu on this run of European shows in support of our debut album ‘Wrapped in Mist’! We can’t wait to play this material live on our first European tour alongside such incredible musicians. It’s a big world…“ HELGA proclaims, as they prepare for their first tour following their debut release Wrapped in Mist on Season of Mist.
Nordic Descent Tour 2024:
13 Nov: Groningen, NL @ De Oosterpoort 14 Nov: Nijmegen, NL @ Doornroosje 15 Nov: Maastricht, NL @ Muziekgieterij 16 Nov: Brussels, BE @ Botanique 17 Nov: Bielefeld, DE @ Forum 19 Nov: Lille, FR @ Le Splendid 20 Nov: Brighton, UK @ Concorde 2 21 Nov: Manchester, UK @ Club Academy 22 Nov: Dublin, IR @ Opium 23 Nov: Glasgow, UK @ Queen Margaret Union 24 Nov: London, UK @ Electric Brixton 26 Nov: Paris, FR @ La Machine Du Moulin Rouge 27 Nov: Rennes, FR @ L’Antipode 28 Nov: Toulouse, FR @ Metronum 29 Nov: Pamplona, ES @ Sala Totem 30 Nov: Madrid, ES @ Sala Mon 01 Dec: Barcelona, ES @ Razzmatazz 2 03 Dec: Milano, IT @ Alcatraz 04 Dec: Pratteln, CH @ Z7 05 Dec: München, DE @ Technikum 06 Dec: Vienna, AT @ Simm City 07 Dec: Warsaw, PL @ Proxima 08 Dec: Leipzig, DE @ Taubchental 09 Dec: Berlin, DE @ Metropol
In November of 2023, HELGA released their debut album Wrapped in Mist on Season of Mist. Helga’s sublime voice mirrors the refreshing resonance of chapel choirs, punctuated with the soulful spirit of the birch and pine of her sanctum. With this debut album, she is joined by Cameron Gledhill & Cai Sumption on guitars, Ryan Fairclough on bass, and Sami Javed on Drums – forming the band HELGA. Together, they paint a captivating and emotive landscape, merging melodic baroque with an Opeth-esque climax, subtly interlaced with black metal traditions and ethereal vocals.
Track List: Skogen mumlar (4:23) Burden (4:57) Water (3:55) If Death Comes Now (3:58) Farfäl (4:34) Alive Again (3:35) Vast and Wild (4:04) Som en trumma (4:26) Mountain Song (5:34) Wrapped in Mist (6:41) Total runtime: 46:07
Once, sequestered away in the far reaches of Swedish hinterland, a shrouded girl wandered alone through interminable forest. Chanting psalms amidst birch and pine, her choral voice drifted like birds through an evening mist. The chapel choir she sang with had gifted and honed her voice, but woodland and lake would always be her church. Her name – Helga.
Alas, despite her reverence for fjäll and forest, a beckoning had begun to stir deep within Helga’s heart. A longing, yearning to be heard and to share the majesty of song. Gathering books and belongings, Helga bid farewell and emerged from the wilderness that had nurtured her since she was a child.
“Singing in small local bands I’d experimented with songs in both English and Swedish, but sometimes English just felt misplaced, you know? Like a betrayal of where the song is coming from, where I am from. I love languages, exploring the meaning of that which I don’t know.” -Helga
Journeying west in 2019, Helga settled across the North Sea in the old Viking town of York, North Yorkshire. Surrounded by pub-filled streets of cobblestone and restored Roman walls, York was host to droves of cameraladen tourists and scholars of two thriving universities.
These strange anachronistic surroundings would pave the foundation for a myriad of rueful reflections and musings, a far cry to the world Helga had left behind.
Previously, Helga had joined forces with Icons Creating Evil Art and released two solo EPs, Nebulous (2018) and The Autumn Lament (2019). Inviting tribal drums, ominous strings and throat singing in accompaniment on songs such as Mörker and Haunted, it was evident that her artistic transition was compelled to darker pursuits.
Meanwhile… Not far away, three childhood friends (Cai, Cameron and Ryan) stared across a table at one another spellbound. Playing together in various bands, such as ‘People as Places as People’, since 2009, they knew they had found something special.
“One day Cameron stumbled upon Helga’s advertisement saying she was looking to put a band together. As soon as we heard that ethereal voice, we knew we had to move mountains to somehow be a part of this project.” -Cai
Following several brief stints with different drummers, the band soon found its final element in the form of precocious poly-instrumentalist, Sami Javed. Teaming up with producer Luiz Felipe Netto, the quintet was complete. The rest – as they say – was history. HELGA was born.
Summoning a plethora of layers and genre, HELGA culminated their premier album Wrapped in Mist into dirgeful lamentations of mortality and mental health, punctuated by formidable drums, spectral strings and chugging riffs.
The album’s opening track, Skogen Mumlar (The Forest Murmurs), transcends forthwith into emotive dreamscapes that leave hairs trembling on goose-pimpled skin. Ennio Morricone echoing as the intro’s muse.
“We draw on many different influences, from Swedish folk to progressive metal, post-rock to black metal to pop. Distilling this into a single genre is a challenge.” – Cai
But as the journey through Wrapped in Mist transpires, songs such as Farväl (Farewell) reveal HELGA’s black metal and darker sensibilities. Bewitching through this myriad range, the album’s waltzing coda flirts with a melodic baroque that crescendos with Opeth-esque climax.
The inception of Wrapped in Mist promises to plunge HELGA deep into the spotlight of mesmerizing live performances following release. From the hills and forests of rural dwelling, this is a band destined for a future worth following.
Production: Drums recorded by Bob Cooper at Chairworks Studios Guitars & Vocals recorded by Tom Peters at Trapdoor Studios Mixed & Produced by Luiz Felipe Netto Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege
Recording Lineup: Helga Gabriel (Vocals) Ryan Fairclough (Bass) Cameron Gledhill (Guitar) Cai Sumption (Guitar) Sami Javed (Drums)
Additional Musicians: Damian Bolotin (Violin on Skogen mumlar, Vast and Wild & Wrapped in Mist) Antonio Guerra (Grand piano on Mountain Song & Vast and Wild Mafram do Maracanã (Percussion on Skogen mumlar & Wrapped in Mist Bruno Migliari (Double bass on Mountain Song, Skogen mumlar & Wrapped in Mist Luiz Felipe Netto (Acoustic guitar on If Death Comes Now & Wrapped in Mist, additional electric guitars, keyboards and string arrangements) Ayran Nicodemo (Violin on Mountain Song, Skogen mumlar, Vast and Wild & Wrapped in Mist) Bruno Serroni (Cello on Farväl & Vast and Wild) Joe Zeitlin (Cello on Farväl, Mountain Song, Skogen mumlar, Vast and Wild & Wrapped in Mist)
Cover Artwork: David Thiérrée (Artwork) Ester Segarra (Photography) Per Wiberg (Layout)
Today, New Zealand dreadnought Heresiarch premiere the new track “Noose Above the Abyss”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Edifice, set for international release on April 12th via Iron Bonehead Productions. Hear Heresiarch‘s “Noose Above the Abyss” in its entirety here:
For over 15 years now, New Zealand’s Heresiarch have patiently crafted a body of work that has come to transcend their early influences. Though lineups have shifted during that time, led by founding vocalist N.H. and enhanced by guitarist C.S. in 2013, Heresiarch have wisely taken their time with recordings and prized quality over quantity. The band’s debut album, Death Ordinance, arrived in 2017 after a trio of savage short-lengths. A new rhythm section took root following that album’s release, and a couple splits in the ensuing years honed their doomed ‘n’ barbaric sound into something more molten and ominous.
And now arrives that megaton payload of devastation, Heresiarch‘s second album, elegantly titled Edifice. If there were any doubts that the band were but yet another toneless ‘n’ tired “war metal” troupe, the New Zealanders trounce any and all trepidation with exceptionally seismic songwriting. Here on Edifice, the parameters of Heresiarch‘s sound – death metal muscle, black metal atmosphere, grindcore aggression – are all in devastating harmony, creating a hydra-headed beast that betrays a wealth of true-yet-twisted ideas. More than just safely evading easy categorization (which is often mere doublespeak for “pleasing all constituents”), the quartet lay bare a landscape of texture titanic in its heft and foreboding in its effect, seamlessly winding through minefields both sonic and psychic and eventually culminating in a grandiose two-part finale in the equally compellingly titled “Hubris and Decline” and “Militate Pyrric Collapse.” For sure, Heresiarch sound as martial as ever, but the lava now flows in palatably unique ways, all without compromising their core aesthetic. Indeed, one could say they’ve finally found order through chaos.
The possibilities of life’s destruction are endless for those who wander before Heresiarch‘s Edifice.
Also hear the previously revealed “Gloryless Execution” HERE at Iron Bonehead‘s Soundcloud. Cover and tracklisting are as follows
Tracklisting for Heresiarch’s Edifice 1. Forged Doctrine 2. Manifest Odium 3. Noose Above the Abyss 4. Gloryless Execution 5. Tides of Regression 6. A World Lit Only By Fire 7. Swarming Blight 8. Mystic and Chaos 9. Hubris and Decline 10. Militate Pyrrhic Collapse
Today, Caligari Records in conspiracy with Ixiol Productions announce May 17th as the international release date for Torturers’ Lobby‘s highly anticipated debut album, Deadened Nerves. Caligari will release the CD and cassette tape versions while Ixiol will release the vinyl version.
Hailing from Tampa, Torturers’ Lobby began as a three-piece band with Tim Anderson on drums, Ryan Conway on bass, and Evan Dawson, on guitar/vocals. After the Again debut demo in 2021, Adam Shaw joined as a dedicated vocalist. With this lineup, the band recorded the Crisis of Faith Rehearsal, which was released later in 2021. The following year, the 7″ EP Man in Zwugzang was released, and Anderson left the band after the subsequent Kinetic Disapproval rehearsal, which featured some early versions of songs that would be on Torturers’ Lobby‘s eventual debut album, Deadened Nerves. Dwane Nihiser replaced him, and that debut album is the first release with him playing drums.
Now at last here and their lineup firm, Deadened Nerves announces Torturers’ Lobby‘s arrival with devastating punctuation. A metal record for metal people, the band’s first full-length doesn’t kowtow to genre conventions – death metal, black metal, thrash, and even juiced-up traditional metal all get diced and sliced into their cranky cauldron – nor does it get overly “clever” and pay lazy lip service to a please-everybody middle ground. No, Torturers’ Lobby simply go for the throat quickly and without compunction, rushing forth with an urgency of approach and physicality that’s tangible – truly, this is a whole band playing together instead of punched-in parts – but soon twist the knife in myriad ways. And that’s perhaps the trump card of Deadened Nerves: violent and off the rails it might often be, but there’s a diabolic logic to the angular shapes Torturers’ Lobby throw, a strive to elevate songwriting to something at once palpitating and mind-bending, careening and in control. RIFFS are aplenty, and the production’s thick and scuzzy yet fully pro, and Shaw’s vocals keep apace with acerbic annunciation.
“Truly, we just wanted to create unique music we haven’t heard, yet want to listen to,” state the band. “It’s very difficult to nail down what we play, and we like it that way. We worship no specific style, as the greats have already done it, so there is no sense in recreating some watered-down parody of it. We just wanted to be different and pursue something new, a different direction in violent ‘underground’ music. We have jokingly referred to our sound as ‘Florida shitkicker.'”
Still, there’s no joking around on Deadened Nerves. The lyrics match the severity of its music, focusing on actual events and societal ails. “We do not write silly songs about juvenile notions of ‘evil,’ the ‘occult,’ or fictitious gore,” the band continue. “We strive to turn humanity to face its grotesque reflection and reconcile with its own evil and misguided obsession with cruelty, morbidity, and lack of independent thought. This is a real reflection of the decaying world around us, though we are not seeking to advocate for it.”
Nasty, authentically underground, but not bogged down by too-cool borders, Torturers’ Lobby shitkick past, present, and future with Deadened Nerves.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Reaper’s Impunity” here:
Today, second-wave black metal classicists Winter Eternal reveal the brand-new track “The Serpent’s Curse.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated fourth album, Echoes of Primordial Gnosis, which should see release later this year via Hells Headbangers. Hear Winter Eternal‘s “The Serpent’s Curse” in its entirety here:
The band’s third album overall and first with Hells Headbangers, Land of Darkness truly launched the name Winter Eternal onto the worldwide metal map with their absolutely authentic synthesis of 1997-vintage melodicism and mysticism. “Melodic black metal” before it became a dirty word, mainman Soulreaper proved that his heart pumped the blood of the ancients, recalling both ’90s Swedish and Hellenic scenes (the band originally formed in Greece, but later relocated to Scotland) but now with charisma and personality to spare. Above all, Land of Darkness bristled with stellar songwriting and impassioned playing – timeless black metal songcraft that can stacked alongside those old, hallowed tomes rather than simply drawing influence from them.
Now, two years later, Winter Eternal return with their boldest record yet: Echoes of Primordial Gnosis. While immediately recognizable as the same Winter Eternal that delivered the preceding modern classic, Echoes of Primordial Gnosis just-as-prominently displays a greater usage of dynamics, particularly those revolving around acoustic and clean-stringed instruments such as cello. Similarly, the still-impassioned playing has been giving an uptick in intensity and analog spirit through session drums by V. Nuctemeron (Sacral Rage, Chainsaw), lending warmth – nay, burning desire! – to the band’s ever-characteristic attack. Soulreaper, for his part, gives a masterclass in spiraling, twilit melodicism: hammering and mesmerizing at first, but his riffs become rippling layers of majesty and mayhem that seemingly echo back on each other, proving that there’s indeed complexity in simplicity of design. Add to this his anguished & emotive vocals, with guest clean vocals courtesy of Macabre Omen mainman Alexandros and Hildr Valkyrie, and the album’s overall concept fully comes into focus: calling forth the spirits of ancient gods and legendary heroes around the world, paying tribute to their timeless powers, with each song thematically focused on one such god or hero. Form meeting content, in every sense – and likewise for Mars Triumph’s symbolic cover artwork.
No longer the black metal underground’s best-kept-secret, Winter Eternal step fully into the halls of greatness with Echoes of Primordial Wisdom.
Release date, tracklisting, cover artwork, and preorder info to be announced shortly. In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “The Serpent’s Curse” HERE at Hells Headbangers‘ official YouTube channel. Also hear the previously revealed “Two Heavens as One” HERE, also at Hells Headbangers‘ official YouTube channel. For more info, consult the links below.
Today, American black/death institution Crucifier premiere the new track “Biers of Catholic Bones”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated third album, Led Astray, set for international release on April 12th via Iron Bonehead Productions. Hear Crucifier‘s “Biers of Catholic Bones” in its entirety here:
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, two years after their weird & wild Say Your Prayers mini-album, Crucifier align with Iron Bonehead once again for the release of their third full-length, Led Astray. Taking the wandering yet fully locked-in songwriting of that mini to its ultimate conclusion, Led Astray is a masterclass in memorable, METAL riffing and twisted rhythmic thrust. As is their signature, Crucifier sound positively primal here but never primitive; while these nine screeds of blasphemy might confuse or insult normcore listeners, there’s an extremely considered & calculated delirium behind their blackened devilry. As such, the “tight looseness” that’s characterized Crucifier‘s work to date gets sharpened to an enviable degree as these nine labyrinths surge and storm with a paradoxical / perverse sense of class. Credit the latter largely to the jaw-dropping dual lead-work across Led Astray: an element that’s been bubbling in the Crucifier cauldron for years, but which really reaches a superlative level here. Of course, Grant’s vocals are as diabolic as ever, seemingly coming from every direction and hackle-raising in their articulation.
Crucifier hereby have delivered a modern classic of blackened death metal in Led Astray!
Also hear the previously revealed “Smite…” HERE at Iron Bonehead‘s Soundcloud. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Crucifier (USA)’s Led Astray 1. Smite… 2. Feed the Furnace 3. In Hircine Splendor 4. Biers of Catholic Bones 5. With Cornu and Peccant Breath 6. Trafficking with the Devil 7. Serenaded by the Angels’ Shrills 8. Harbingers of Apollyon 9. An Endeavour of Rats
Today, Signal Rex announces May 1st as the international release date for Kratti‘s highly anticipated debut album, Matka Kohti Kosmista, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.
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 the nostalgia with the brand-new track “Ääni Hiljaisuuteen Katoava” here:
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
The new record from underground legends Deceased is coming! It’s titled Children of the Morgue, and is slated for release in August on Hells Headbangers Records. It will be recorded this Spring 2024 at Oblivion Studios, where the band has recorded quite a few past records including Fearless Undead Machines and Supernatural Addiction. It will be a concept record of life and death, with a running time of around one hour. Full cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Deceased’s Children of the Morgue 1. Destination: Morgue 2. Children of the Morgue 3. Turn to Wither 4. Terrornaut 5. The Reaper is Nesting 6. Uninvited Dirge 7. The Grave Digger 8. Eerie Wavelengths 9. Fed to Mother Earth 10. Skull with the Vacant Stare 11. Brooding Lament 12. Farewell (Taken to Forever)
Musically, band leader King Fowley says, “It’s as always 100% Deceased! There will be fast parts, slow parts, melodic parts, noisy parts, and everything in between.” He also calls it their “darkest record to date lyrically.” Before the album is recorded, the band will go out for a short tour with Vio-lence and Exhorder in early April. Full list of tour dates as well as poster art are as follows:
April 5 – Cambridge, MA @ Middle East April 6 – Brooklyn, NY @ Monarch April 7 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts April 8 – Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar April 10 – Cleveland, OH @ The Winchester April 11 – Cincinatti, OH @ Legends April 12 – Detroit, MI @ Sanctuary April 13 – Chicago, IL @ Reggies
During the tour, Deceased will have for sale the new Hells Headbangers CD editions of 2000’s Supernatural Addiction (yellow disc) and 2018’s Ghostly White (blue disc). Additionally, Hells Headbangers‘ vinyl reissue of 1995’s The Blueprints of Madness is slated for September. For more info, consult the links below.
SLAUGHTERSUN has released a lyric video for their new single “Relentless Thelemic”.
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
On May 24th internationally, Dying Victims Productions will release the highly anticipated sixth album of Germany’s Lucifuge, Hexensabbat, on CD and vinyl LP formats. And today, they premiere the new track “Into Eternal Sleep.” Hear Lucifuge‘s “Into Eternal Sleep” in its entirety here:
Since 2016, Germany’s Lucifuge have been steadily perfect an addicting style of blackened speed metalpunk, all guided by the iron fist of mainman Equinox. Come 2021’s fourth full-length Infernal Power, Equinox expanded Lucifuge to a full lineup, and it paid off in spades: the band’s first album under the banner of Dying Victims capped this signature sound with power and aplomb, exuding a new professionalism that somehow sounded dirtier than ever.
However, it was 2023’s Monoliths of Wrath where Lucifugefurther spit-shined their sound and took it in a newer but no-less-parallel direction: classic, ripping-FAST thrash of ‘80s gods Sodom, Kreator, Exodus, and of course Slayer. Thankfully, Lucifuge keep that sonic shift going with their sixth full-length, Hexensabbat. Ditching more its predecessor’s complex song structures, Hexensabbat heaves toward the gates of Hell with a greasy gallop that brings back a bit of the black while honoring the nether-realms of still-stuck-in-the-‘80s thrash and speed metal. True, those aforementioned gods still hold a place in Lucifuge’s current sound, but more so can one detect the likes of Exciter, Razor, Iron Angel, and even later ‘80s Gang Green, the Exploited, and Crumbsuckers. Put another way, if Monoliths of Wrath was spiritually akin to a Combat Records release, then Hexensabbat would definitely come out on Combat Core, so straightforward and rancorous is its all-pistons-pumping surge. Plus, more than a bit of Lucifuge’s old-school grit is back in full force, which makes the album’s slightly melodic-yet-malevolent riffing sound majestic – and, most importantly, not render Hexensabbat a total retro retread.
Leaner, meaner, and keeping the 1987 faith alive, Lucifuge command you to honor the Hexansabbat!
Cover artwork, courtesy of Kerbcrawlerghost, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Lucifuge (Germany)’s Hexensabbat 1. Gates of the Eternal Night 2. Hexensabbat 3. The Court of the Profane 4. No Sun Shall Rise 5. Into Eternal Sleep 6. The Sign of Cain 7. An Oath of Blood and Fire 8. Enter the Realms of Death 9. They Come in Legions 10. Cursed to Eternity 11. The Destruction of the Sword
