OERHEKS stream new AMOR FATI / BABYLON DOOM CULT demo

On October 28th, Amor Fati Productions, in conspiracy with Babylon Doom Cult, will release Oerheks‘ third demo, Valkengebed; Amor Fati will handle the 12″ vinyl version while Babylon Doom Cult will handle the tape version. And today, we stream the demo in its entirety. Hear Oerheks‘ Valkengebed in its entirety here:

In seemingly swift succession, Belgium’s Oerheks have invigorated ancient Flemish black metal – pagan in approach, recalling stories as olde as the Hageland – across two demos, 2022’s Cagghenvinna and Landschapsanachronismen earlier this year. Perhaps it should come as no surprise that this newcomer has displayed so much mastery early on: Oerheks is another, keenly focused creative guise of the ever-prolific Hans Cools, renowned for labelmates Silver Knife as well as Hypothermia among many others. But, on evidence of the forthcoming Valkengebed demo, the band is very much set to be held in as high regard as Cools’ myriad other works.

Set to be released on October 28th – the night of the Hunting Moon, as an ode to the two hunters on which its lyrics focus – Valkengebed is a startling expansion of the Oerheks sound. Impossibly ethereal, almost sensually so, Valkengebed is an epic, two-song/27-minute work of dynamic songwriting and dense-yet-spacious layers. Valkengebed translates to “Falcon’s prayer,” the Dutch word for the moment falcons/kestrels hover in the air, searching for prey on the fields below, which is an apt metaphor for the sonic approach of the demo as a whole and its opening title track. Second track “Blauwe Vleugels” translates to “Blue Wings,” referring to the blue herons roaming the fields and marshes of Kaggevinne. Both birds serve as silent witnesses of the Kaggevinne area throughout the ages; their hegemony over the skies, the grandeur of their flight, and the inner peace they bring over the fields and forests of Kaggevinne are encapsulated by Oerheks‘ continually cresting black metal here, indeed imparting a levitational aspect that’s liberating despite the deeply traditional approach. The synth work alone is staggering, but the manner in which Cools incorporates it into the whole of the demo makes Valkengebed the band’s most awe-inspiring recording yet.

Completed by stunningly sympathetic artwork courtesy of Business for Satan, Valkengebed marks an undeniable apex for Oerheks. To commemorate this ascent, Amor Fati and Babylon Doom Cult will concurrently compile all three Oerheks demos onto a double-CD set titled Grondslagen.

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Oerheks’ Valkengebed

1. Valkengebed [11:24]
2. Blauwe Vleugels [15:07]


MORE INFO:
www.oerheks.bandcamp.com

www.amor-fati-productions.de 
www.amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com

Belgium’s HERZOG premiere new track – features Déhà

Today, Belgian black metallers Herzog premiere the new track “All Rites”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Furnace, set for international release on November 24th via Amor Fati Productions. Hear Herzog‘s “All Rites” in its entirety here:

Herzog is a new black metal entity hailing from Belgium, formed by Asgeir Amort years ago but never brought to life. A distilled version of their black art, working with shapes that should not go together, but they do so through a craftsmanship worth a thousand working devotees.

Taken under the wing of producer & madman Déhà and accompanied by drummer Hochofen, Herzog offer a unique form of black metal which cannot be compared to anything or anyone in the scene. “Complex, but transcendent” might be scratching the surface of Asgeir Amort’s craft: flawless riffing, possessed drumming, and unworldly screams which will take you on a dark journey through the mind of the creator.

Black metal being the foremost main weapon of the band, Herzog doesn’t shy away from the darkest of death metal sometimes, or even pushes you to a corner to make all your inner emotions implode. A debut album shattering a lot of veterans: this is Furnace.

Also hear the previously revealed “Haunted Tesseract” HERE at Amor Fati‘s official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Herzog (Belgium)’s Furnace
1. Loss of Utopia
2. Acheminement
3. Melted Tesseract
4. Oath of Weakness
5. The Craftsmen
6. All Rites
7. Oath of I
8. Oath of Us

www.amor-fati-productions.de 
www.amorfatiproductions.bandcamp.com

New England black metallers Ritual Clearing premiere new track

Today, New England black metallers Ritual Clearing premiere the new track “Penitence”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Penitence, set for international release on November 17th via Eternal Death. Hear Ritual Clearing‘s “Penitence” in its entirety here:

Ritual Clearing have returned, building off of the cold depravity of their 2020 demo and now unleashing their debut full-length effort, Penitence. Continuing their unholy alliance with Eternal Death, this new record showcases six epic tracks of dark, brooding black metal. The band’s noble influences they displayed across that well-received first demo – Bathory, Sacramentum, and Lord Belial – have been built upon and refined here, revealing riff labyrinths not unlike the cult ’90s work of Sorhin but further fleshed out by bouts of nearly hardcore-punk mania and especially a raw hideousness not unlike their American brethren in the Black Twilight Circle. Still, Ritual Clearing and clearly their own masters, and the alternately linear / darting depths of Penitence open wide to devour the listener in hypnotic, harrowing splendor. Still as melodic-yet-cutting as ever, it’s not surprising that the album was written during the grim landscape of the global plague; there’s an undeniable sense of dread across Penitence, laced with a resigned melancholia (sickly) colored by opportunely timed acoustics. Fucking RIFFS for days, Ritual Clearing provide this offering as the overture to a sick and dying world.   

Also hear the previously revealed “Burn” HERE at Eternal Death‘s Bandcamp, where the album can also be preordered. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Ritual Clearing’s Penitence
1. Burn [8:15]
2. Penitence [3:40]
3. Cold, Forever [6:53]    
4. Deathfog [5:15]
5. Void [6:46]
6. Mensis [7:42]


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/ritualclearing

www.eternal-death.com
eternaldeath.bandcamp.com

Finland’s MALICIOUS set release date for new INVICTUS EP, reveal first track

Today, Invictus Productions announces December 1st as the international release date for a brand-new EP from Finland’s Malicious, Merciless Storm, on CD and 12″ vinyl formats.

It was but October 2020 when Invictus released Malicious‘ long-awaited debut album, Deranged Hexes. With both band moniker and album title aptly-fucking-named, Malicious‘ Deranged Hexes completely upratcheted the band’s foundational sound – a car crash of cobwebbed evil and gibbering intensity, ranging the likes of Necrovore, ‘80s Possessed, and especially Mike Browning-era Morbid Angel to the earliest (and best) works of Sarcofago and Sepultura – to an insanely OTT level. In every respect, the record was the penultimate in blackened Metal of Death, and it was duly hailed for its dangerously unhinged demeanor.

Three years may’ve passed since that recording, but Malicious have only become more unhinged in the meantime. Witness the four-song Merciless Storm. Tauntingly titled once again, Merciless Storm picks up right where Deranged Hexes left off, but sees the Finns following a natural progression in all aspects. With a runtime of 11 minutes, it’s mercilessly / mercifully short and sweet, upping the violence and aggression to levels impossibly beyond that nuclear-powered debut album. And yet, the songwriting remains stout and streamlined and perhaps minutely more detailed and even palatably “refined.” If anything, Merciless Storm possesses a clearer soundfield, but that only amplifies the savagery to an insane degree, especially the ’80s Slayer-style solos. Nothing else to say: this is a fucking Merciless Storm!

In the meantime, hear the brand-new title track “Merciless Storm” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Malicious (Finland)’s Merciless Storm

1. Merciless Storm
2. Invasive Terror
3. Ambient Sonic Annihilation
4. Chronic Quake

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/MaliciousFin

www.invictusproductions.net

AVRÆ LVNÆ set release date for SIGNAL REX debut, reveal first track – features members of WAMPYRIC RITES, WINTERSTORM, DUNGEON STEEL, GRYMMSTALT+++

Today, Signal Rex announces December 8th as the international release date for Avræ Lvnæ‘s highly anticipated debut album, Ntdd Strl, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

Avræ Lvnæ are a power-trio hailing from the still-rising Ecuadorian black metal scene. Fronted by Wampyric Strigoi – mainman of  Wampyric Rites, who’ve had a huge hand in shaping that scene, as well as Grymmstalt, Winterstorm, and Dungeon Steel among many others – Avræ Lvnæ also feature erstwhile   Wampyric Rites / Dungeon Steel drummer Eblis Destructor and one Geist der Natur on guitar and bass. Uniquely, the band brand their black metal “neon metal,” which isn’t as garish as it sounds; rather, they draw to the fore the shimmering, stained-glass textures of mystical black metal, making for a mesmerizing (and MELODIC) display of psychedelic obsidian.

Now, after a compilation appearance and demo last year, Avræ Lvnæ conjure the full fathom of their dazzling powers with the debut album Ntdd Strl. Containing a beguiling set of phonetically challenging song titles – or rather, a certain “code” to decipher – Ntdd Strl makes its point plainly and poignantly with an immediately sumptuous feast of sonics. Actually-gorgeous synths play a prominent role here, weaving in and out of the frequently chorused guitars, whose reverberating melodies penetrate the soul with ease and elan. Vocals are a suitably emotive ululation from both space and tundra, psychic or otherwise, where stargazing mysteries are writ large and wondrously. Whereas so much of the Ecuadorian style of black metal seethes with rabidity and rawness, there’s an almost aristocratic air to Avræ Lvnæ here, or at least a synthesis of classic cosmic and medieval BM idioms – and that “space” is indeed space, for their textures allow ample room to immerse oneself without being onslaughtered by that rabidity & rawness. Thus, one could reference early Abigor, Gehenna, and Ragnarok as well as later Lunar Aurora, Evilfeast, and Midnight Odyssey, ​but Avræ Lvnæ are raising the banners for NEON METAL ​high and proud!
 
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “N l Mjstvs Nch” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Avræ Lvnæ’s Ntdd Strl
1. Ntr – Cnstlcn d Rn
2. Ntdd Strl
3. N l Mjstvs Nch
4. Crpt Strl
5. Ls Strlls sn ls Js Csmcs
6. Scndnd ls Nfns Cnfn Strl
7. Ls Rgns Hnsptas dl Vnrs
8. Vtr – Cntlcn d Scrpn

MORE INFO:
auraelunae.bandcamp.com

www.signalrex.com
www.facebook.com/signalrex

Sadistic Force Release Video For “Midnight Assassin”

Austin-based blackened speed metal band SADISTIC FORCE have unveiled a bloodcurdling video for “Midnight Assassin”. Taken from their latest album Midnight Assassin, the trio are inspired by true crime and 80s slasher films.

“Midnight Assassin is a record steeped in blood and terror,” Oliver says of the release. This comes as no surprise considering the source material. With songs inspired by serial killers, stalkers, and necrophiliacs, SADISTIC FORCE will transport listeners into a dark and twisted sonic arena that exposes the harsh realities of human depravity and violence.

Watch the video for “Midnight Assassin” here:

SADISTIC FORCE is a three-piece blackened speed metal band hailing from Austin, Texas. Formed in 2020 by lead vocalist and guitarist, James Oliver, the band serves as an outlet for the members to create proper, traditional heavy metal. The band doesn’t stop there, however. Combining the subgenres of speed metal, black metal, and thrash metal, SADISTIC FORCE synthesizes a singular auditory experience that feels both familiar and original. 

In early 2021, SADISTIC FORCE released their first EP, Pain, Sex, and Rapture. The effort features founding member James Oliver and a mysterious percussionist known only as Hell Troll. Soon after, the duo would team up again for the band’s sophomore EP, Black Moon Sadism, and the digital single, “Lagoon of Doom.” Following these releases, Oliver scoured the Austin music scene for like-minded individuals to join his cause.

Soon after, bassist Blaine Dismukes and drummer Jose Alcaraz joined the project. Now a fully-fledged band, SADISTIC FORCE went on to record their first full-length album, Aces Wild. The effort was praised by metal outlets, with Metal Forces Magazine calling it “frenzied, scathing… all that heavy metal should be about.”  Just four months later, the three-piece combined their talents with Tijuana-based band HELLROT on an exciting 4-song split, aptly titled Sadistic Rot. The band then decided to take their impressive show on the road, performing everywhere from California to Scotland, before returning home to begin work on their second full-length studio album.

Connect With SADISTIC FORCE:

Apple Music
Spotify
Bandcamp
YouTube
Instagram
Facebook
Website

Track Listing: 
1. The Unseen Force
2. Corpsewood Curse
3. Speeding Black Leather Hell
4. Midnight Assassin
5. Nuremberg Nights
6. The Butcher’s Apron
7. Marked For Death
8. Campaign of Sin
9. Howl of the Horde

SUICIDE CIRCLE set release date for new OSMOSE album – features MÜTIILATION member

Today, Osmose Productions announces December 29th as the international release date for Suicide Circle‘s highly anticipated second album, Bukkake of Souls, on CD and vinyl LP formats.

Suicide Circle is back with a new opus called Bukkake of Souls. Suicide Circle is the suicide side project of Meyhna’ch from Mütiilation. Meyhna’ch and Kham are the current main line-up. However, some guests appeared for the bukkake such as Maxime Taccardi, Obskuritatem, and Zoldier Noiz.

First track premiere to be revealed on November 27th. Preorder info can be found HERE. Presave link can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Suicide Circle’s Bukkake of Souls

1. The Star Spawn [6:49]
2. The Highest Spheres [6:27]
3. The Advent [6:58]
4. Bukkake of Souls [8:21]
5. For Nothing [5:20]
6. The Prince of Darkness [7:07]
7. Any of You [6:17]


MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/meyhnachrats

www.osmoseproductions.com

Great White North death metallers Cruel Fate premiere new track

Today, Great White North death metallers Cruel Fate premiere the new track “Descente aux Enfers”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, Destin Cruel, set for international release on November 17th via Personal Records. Hear Cruel Fate‘s “Descente aux Enfers” in its entirety here:

Conjured in 2015 in the frozen landscapes of Canada, Cruel Fate released their first demo soon after their inception, followed by a full-length in 2019 (A Quaternary of Decrepit Night Mares), a split album in 2021 with fellow Canuck death-dealers Expunged, and the Live Necropsy live tape in 2022. As impious apostles of the old vanguard, Cruel Fate worships at the altar of ’90s greats such as Unleashed, Grave, Benediction, and Bolt Thrower, while lacing the chalice’s blood with their own blend of ferocious, stomping death metal. 

Now wielding the French language as a bludgeoning battle axe, Cruel Fate unleashes their second full-length, Destin Cruel. Cleanly produced yet cold & crushing, Cruel Fate‘s sophomore album is a tour de force of classic death metal songcraft, comprising rolling-tank grooves, judiciously parceled bouts of speed, slipstreaming breakdowns, and a haunting lead or five. Nothing fancy or flashy, nor does it need to be: simply, Destin Cruel quickly makes its point in a half-hour and gets out, devastating the listener in the process. This release is sure to tighten the quartet’s steel grip on the throat of maniacs worldwide.

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Cruel Fate’s Destin Cruel

1. Triomphe de la Mort
2. Vampire Boréal
3. Destin Cruel
4. Transit Sidéral
5. Descente aux Enfers
6. Feu Christique
7. L’Usurpateur

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/cruelfateottawa 

www.personal-records.com
personal-records.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/personalrecords666

Germany’s DETHRONED set release date for new DOMINANCE OF DARKNESS album, reveal first track – 30th anniversary

On December 1st internationally, Dominance of Darkness Records is proud to present the highly anticipated second album of Germany’s Dethroned, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

Dethroned are one of the most cult entities in the rich (yet often overlooked) history of German black metal. The band’s roots stretch back to 1991, with the band Mysticism, who released but one demo. From Mysticism’s ashes came Dethroned in 1993, founded by the trio of Barkayal, BSoD, and Morgoth. Over the course of the next three years, the band would release a half-dozen demos, faithfully exuding the spirit of the mid ’90s black metal scene. In 1998, Dethroned would release a live tape, Christentod, which would include a couple bonus tracks that were from an aborted 7″ EP. They would retreat to the shadows for a full decade before emerging with Promo 2008, soon followed by the Dominance of Darkness-released In the Sign of the Pentagram, a retrospective compilation covering their ’90s works. Another hiatus ensued until 2016, which saw Dethroned release a split album joined by fellow German hordes Sacrilegious Rite and Goatblood. At long last, in 2017 did they release their first full-length, Bluotrunst, thankfully sounding very much like the ’90s never ended.

And so it goes (and, as expected, after some years of silence) with Dethroned‘s second album, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness. Something of a 30th anniversary release for the Germans, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness is truly titled: 47 minutes of trend-free olde-worlde black metal, serving as a portal to mysteries and mysticism beyond the mien of mortals. Like the mythical era from which they sprang, Dethroned here maintain a curious contrast between stark monochromatism and borderless songwriting – a throwback to the days when you immediately knew you were experiencing BLACK METAL, but each band offered unique twists in its make-no-mistake presentation. As such, A Bridge to Eternal Darkness is a deceptively dynamic listen. Aggression is certainly accounted for, but so is melancholia, and often within the same song; songwriting largely sticks to mid-tempos at once triumphant and sashaying, martial and reposed. Guitars are sharp and cold, of course, but actual bass guitar pushes those dynamics forward; foggy synths linger where they may, intermittent but always with powerful purpose. The production is superlative in its balance between effervescent rawness and crystalline clarity, altogether highlighting the very real (and very impassioned) playing across the album. Concluding in a manner most fitting is a cover of the scene-legendary Grausamkeit, ​honoring both tradition as well as BSoD and Barkayal’s years in Dethroned.

Keeping matters DIY, guitarist John Never handled all artwork (exterior and interior) for A Bridge to Eternal Darkness. To celebrate this anniversary, Dominance of Darkness will concurrently reissue Bluotrunst as a six-panel digipack CD with alternate cover art. Hate, riot & blasphemy since 1993: Dethroned strike a blow against modernity!
 
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Come to Me” here:

Aforementioned cover artwork and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Dethroned (Germany)’s A Bridge to Eternal Darkness

1. Come to Me
2. Vinum Creaturae
3. Disciple of the Elders
4. Colour Out of Space
5. Void
6. Ewig Fäulnis
7. Ruf der Tiefe
8. Descent
9. A Bridge To Eternal Darkness
10. Im Zeichen Des Bösen (Grausamkeit cover)

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/dethroned1993

www.dod-records.de 

Luciferian black metallers Nahasheol premiere new track

Today, Luciferian black metallers Nahasheol premiere the new track “Bringer of Divine Ecstasy”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Serpens Abyssi, set for international release on November 3rd via Wolves of Hades and Argento Records. Hear Nahasheol‘s “Bringer of Divine Ecstasy” in its entirety here:

From the haunted shores of purgatory, a spectral entity cryptically summoned as Nahasheol rose from a cauldron of ominous shade carrying a will of draconian fire. With an inception dating back to last year, the enigma twisted waves under the sign of Kaaosoth, a three-song tome bursting with sinister ecstasy and sheer darkness. Now, a new vortex has been carved, a pathway into the realms of timeless chaos is unchained. Enter Serpens Abyssi! From the first moments of the belligerent opening “Arcanum Mortuus,” Nahasheol set the pathway to its journey, crafted from the nether regions with a blazing ardor of black metal devilry. Whether through fast impending rages of visceral wrath or alluring melodic strokes, a scorching ordeal of unholy riffing engraves a spiritual trail to the Luciferian mysteries with a poisonous drive, destructive electrical compulsions which permeate the whole record, ever hardening and potent, as varied as reeking with the essence of black metal tradition.
 
Organic and dynamic, the utterly brilliant sonic alchemy, courtesy of Daniel Souza and Tore Stjerna, focuses on atmosphere, energy, and metallic venom in equal measures. An overall compelling sound showcases a charismatic rhythmic section forged by pulsating impulses of percussive excellence, backing magnetic six-string gifts to the unlimited underworld while an enigmatic voice hails the chthonic revelations, narrating the aetheric void with fearless momentum. Such words of sacred meaning encounter a striking parallel on the magnanimous visual traits, meticulously crafted graphics, channeling the Promethean Fire, reflections of the magickal meaning and spiritual cadence behind Nahasheol’s expression.
 
Released by Wolves of Hades & Argento, Serpens Abyssi takes the listener on a treacherous and unforgiving journey into the sacred Luciferian trails, a ceremonial cast of abyssal emanations, pledged to be carved in black blood in the very heart of its enthralled disciple. 

Hear the previously revealed “Arcanum Mortuus” HERE at Wolves of Hades‘ Bandcamp. Cover artwork, courtesy of Cayo Farias, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Nahasheol’s Serpens Abyssi

1. Arcanum Mortuus
2. The Aetheric Void
3. The Awakening
4. Bring Of Divine Ecstasy
5. Mambah Maa
6. Devan Thanatha

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/NAHASHEOL-107778595139006

www.wolvesofhades.myshopify.com