SOLUS GRIEF set release date for new PURITY THROUGH FIRE album, reveal first track – features KVAD, UNHOLY CRAFT members+++

Today, Purity Through Fire announces September 22nd as the international release date for Solus Grief‘s highly anticipated second album, What If This Was Everything, on CD format. The vinyl LP version will follow on October 27.

It was late last year when Norwegian newcomer Solus Grief burst from the void with their debut album, With a Last Exhale. Originally released digitally, by February of this year did Purity Through Fire spread the infection in physical form, seeing as the label has taken under its banner the myriad other bands of mainman Peregrinus – among them, Unholy Craft and Kvad. With a Last Exhale, on paper, might’ve seemed like just another one-man DSBM release, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth: with robust songwriting and tangible physicality, Solus Grief‘s first album equally nodded to ’90s melodic death metal, ’80s doom metal, and even proper heavy metal itself, making for a unique expression stemming from the Norwegian black metal tradition.

Bucking expectations once again, Solus Grief returns quickly with their second album, What If This Was Everything, and just as quickly show newer sides to that expression. Immediately, it becomes clear that this sophomore full-length is a rawer and wilder one – denser and more desperate, restless and relentless, the very sound of a man painfully wearing his heart on his sleeve and then just obliterating it. Suitably recorded during the winter by Peregrinus, What If This Was Everything utilizes the same epic four-song structure as its predecessor, but with 47 minutes this time instead of 41, those labyrinths become longer and more treacherous, betraying an expanded palette and frenzied brushwork. It’s not that huge changes in style occur here – the foundation, for the most part, is nearly the same – but the songwriting undeniably becomes more winding, the melodicism more surprising, and the black metal underbelly fully felt. Still, it’s the utter anguish in Peregrinus’ voice which puts this record into rarefied territory, as well as the equally anguished manner in which he plays all the instruments: you truly BELIEVE IT. Compounding this frayed-ends-of-sanity approach is the aforementioned production, which is more caustic than its stoic predecessor, but perhaps this is simply down to Peregrinus punishing said instruments…What If This Was Everything indeed.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Upon the Winds, My Breath Left” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Solus Grief’s What If This Was Everything
1. Upon the Winds, My Breath Left [9:25]
2. Within the Fires [12:21]
3. What If This Was Everything [13:43]
4. Of the Earth Cold [10:42]

MORE INFO:
www.solusgrief.bandcamp.com

THE RITE stream new IRON BONEHEAD album – features members of DENIAL OF GOD, BLACK OATH+++

Today, morbid metallers The Rite stream the entirety of their highly anticipated second album, The Astral Gloom. Set for international release on August 11th via Iron Bonehead Productions, hear The Rite‘s
The Astral Gloom in its entirety here:

The Rite was formed in autumn 2017 when A.th (Black Oath) and Ustumallagam (Denial of God) joined forces to create a band that exclusively plays morbid black metal, praising complete and utmost darkness. Their influences range from iconic bands such as Mercyful Fate, Death SS, Celtic Frost, Samael, Goatlord, Ripper, and others, as well as occult literature. The music walks a fine line between slow and dreary parts and fast and merciless attacks, but by and large, it falls into the black/doom 
category. 

The recording of The Rite‘s five-track mini-album, The Brocken Fires, was finished in August 2018 and originally released on tape by Unholy Domain Records in October 2018. In August 2019, the mini-album was then released on CD and 12″ vinyl formats by Iron Bonehead and successively received a great response from the underground scene. 

In July 2019, The Rite performed their debut show at Denmark’s Metal Magic Festival. In the autumn of that year, the band performed their second show, this time in Italy. Around the same time, The Rite entered the studio again to record their debut album, Liturgy of the Black, which contained 10 tracks of morbid black metal, including a cover of Ripper. The album was released in June 2020 by Iron Bonehead, showing The Rite creating an atmosphere of darkness and the occult rather than focusing on speed or technicality. The music, written by A.th, this time incorporated both guitar solos and keyboards while staying true to The Rite‘s original path of mainly slow and heavy black metal. The lyrics, penned by Ustumallagam, covered various intriguing subjects such as pure devil worship, devotion to the dark, strange rituals, and the afterlife, and the man’s characteristically creepy annunciation brought those subjects to undead life with drama and intensity.

Around the turn of 2020 to 2021, The Rite returned to the studio to record new tracks for two upcoming releases. Some of the tracks were included on a split CD with Coven of Impurity, released by Cursed Recordings (A.th’s label), and one track was featured on a split 7″ EP with Bezwering, released on Headkick Music (Ustumallagam’s label) in May 2022, after facing cursed delays. The split CD with Coven of Impurity sold out quickly, and most of the copies of the split 7″ with Bezwering were sold within a few days. 

In 2022, The Rite‘s lineup underwent some changes. The original drummer, P. Guts, was replaced by someone else who the band parted ways with just days before their third show at Winter Metal Magic in Denmark. War D. (Morbus Grave) stepped in at the last moment and saved the day, and has been with the band ever since. A second guitar player was found in M. Desecrator (VomitVulva, Funest), making The Rite a five-piece band, even stronger in their live performances. 

Despite being busy with both Denial of God and Black Oath, The Rite began working intensely on the follow-up to Liturgy of the Black. After some initial rehearsals, their second album was recorded in December 2022. Titled The Astral Gloom, The Rite‘s new album contains another 10 tracks, proving as dark and dynamic as ever, with creepier excursions into quieter territory and an even more heightened atmospheric element without losing any heaviness – thus, the title The Astral Gloom is more than fitting. That heaviness is provocatively played to the hilt with this two-guitar lineup, and the lead parts evoke a macabre majesty only hinted at before. Once again, The Rite choose a unique cover – this time, the Lollipops’ “Naked When You Come,” an eerie psychedelic pop song from 1966 – and they truly make it their own.

With this new lineup bolstered and better than ever, The Rite seek to take their morbid metal to the stage more often and promote The Astral Gloom as fully as possible. The black bells toll more ominously than ever, the veil between worlds begins to open…step forth into The Astral Gloom!

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for The Rite’s The Astral Gloom
1. Intro – The Evocation
2. The Spirit of Mendes
3. The Fathomless Dark
4. Under A Lunar Spell
5. Walpurgis Night
6. The Astral Gloom
7. Nosophoros
8. Naked When You Come
9. The Valley of Megiddo
10. Outro – Sheol

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/The-Rite-band-page-219647875291113

ABIGAIL and NEKROFILTH reveal first tracks from upcoming split album on HELLS HEADBANGERS

Today, Japan’s prolific Abigail reveal the new track “Black Funeral War” alongside America’s equally prolific Nekrofilth revealing the new track “Fuck in Hell.” Both tracks are the first to be revealed from their forthcoming split album together, Fuck in Hell’s Evil Bitches, to be released on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats later this year by Hells Headbangers. Hear Abigail‘s “Black Funeral War” here:

as well as Nekrofilth‘s “Fuck in Hell” here:

Two of the most prolific forces in the filthy metal underground, Japan’s Abigail and America’s Nekrofilth team up for the first time ever on Fuck in Hell’s Evil Bitches. Featuring nine new and exclusive tracks, this split album is a swift-yet-salacious display of both bands’ characteristic nastiness. Abigail are first up with four tracks of their now-legendary street metal. Even after 30 years now, Yasuyuki and crew continue to push their perverted agenda and create an immediately-identifiable blend of black metal, thrash, and hardcore punk; these four tracks are arguably some of Abigail‘s noisiest-yet-addicting work yet. Not to be outdone, Nekrofilth hit HARD with five tracks of their own. While it’s been some time since 2018’s celebrated Worm Ritual full-length, Nekrofilth got back into action at the beginning of 2023 and are proving that their gutted grime – equal parts early grindcore, primitive death metal, and crusty punk – is eternal no matter what year of release. Naturally, it’s inspiring to see the band active again and not losing one step, and especially more so with their cover of the Germs’ “Forming” here. Together, in any language, the message is clear: Fuck in Hell’s Evil Bitches!

Release date, cover art, tracklisting, and preorder info to be announced shortly. For more info, consult the links further below.

www.hellsheadbangers.com

THIRD STORM set release date for new CHAOS RECORDS album, reveal first track – features members of GOLD SPIRE, ANGUISH, SARCASM, SENTINEL SIRENS+++

Today, Chaos Records announces October 6th as the international release date for Third Storm‘s highly anticipated second album, The Locust Mantra, on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

Third Storm was formed in 1986 in Uppsala, Sweden by four people who shared the same passion for the underground extreme music and at that time was very much influenced by acts like Bathory, Venom, Hellhammer etc. The music scene in Sweden back then was very glam oriented – more so than most European countries – and extreme metal bands were seen as talentless bums. The band didn’t care and tried their best to be the most extreme; the members were just kids in the 14-16 age range when they started, and how well you played didn’t matter as long you could make noise with your instrument. 

Third Storm performed about a dozen shows at that time. The overall crazy performance and the Satanic image were very over the top and therefore not taken seriously, so the band was laughed at for two years until they finally split up in 1988. But the past decade or so, people have seriously taken interest in the past and found about this obscure, strange band who is more known for their name than their music. 

The stuff Third Storm recorded in the ’80s is rare as hell: a couple of recordings were made just for the band themselves, and very few copies were spread back in the old days of tape-trading. The music back then was very primitive and raw, like other black metal bands at that time; the music was also thrash-influenced, but with a very noisy touch. The band used blastbeats in ’86, and not many could grasp that kind of noise back then. The vocals were insane screams, and lyrics were written in a way the South American bands did back in the ’80s. They didn’t even take any band photos and didn’t think or care in the terms of promotion, photos, flyers, studios, etc – they just wanted to bang their heads and make noise. In 2015, Dark Descent Records released Third Storm‘s “comeback” record, the two-song Tarîtîya Me EP. 

The spirit of Third Storm today is the same as in 1986, but the musical direction is breaking new ground and new sinister elements are added. The band released their first full-length, The Grand Manifestation, in 2018. That album is also their first of a trilogy the band is working on.
 
In 2022, Third Storm finally entered the studio to record their second full-length, The Locust Mantra, now aligned with Chaos Records. Continuing the momentum set forth on The Grand Manifestation, Third Storm‘s second album is a tour de force of quintessentially Swedish blackened death metal: classic yet current, “retro” 1990s but plausibly modern. Totaling 41 minutes, the nine songs comprising The Locust Mantra are more dynamic and epic than before, but there’s still an intensity and heaviness that harkens to those primordial days of ’80s proto-black, particularly from South America. Slashing and searing but gleaming with a classiness and clarity, the production across the album highlights the outstanding technical skills of Third Storm‘s bolstered new lineup. The new rhythm section of bassist Daniel Håkansson and drummer Jesper Ojala make their presence felt with power and passion, while the core members of vocalist Heval Bozarslan and guitarists Hasse Hansson and David Eriksson sound fired up and feed off that new black blood in the band.

Timeless and untrendy, Third Storm prove with The Locust Mantra that Swedish blackened death metal is far from fading away. 

Hear for yourself with the brand-new track “World Infernal”  here:

Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of Raul Gonzales, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Third Storm’s The Locust Mantra
1. The Clandestine Gospel
2. Mater Pest
3. Demigod Doctrine
4. World Infernal
5. When Noble Hearts Failed
6. Inescapable Echoes of War
7. Alter Omega
8. In the Garden of Crystallized Souls
9. Dawn of the Fearmongers

MORE INFO:
www.thirdstorm.nu 
www.facebook.com/thirdstorm 

www.chaos-records.com
www.facebook.com/chaosrecords

EXCARNATED ENTITY premiere new track – features members of ANHEDONIST and TRIUMVIR FOUL

Today, Pacific Northwest death metallers Excarnated Entity premiere the new track “Corridor of Flame” at heavily trafficked web-portal NoCleanSinging.com. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Mass Grave Horizon, set for international release on September 8th via Nuclear Winter Records. Hear Excarnated Entity’s “Corridor of Flame” in its entirety here:

Excarnated Entity was stillborn under lifeless skies in the year 2018. Originally hailing from Seattle, the quartet features current and former members of Anhedonist and Triumvir Foul. From the beginning, Excarnated Entity‘s aim has been to deliver desolate-yet-powerful death metal doom. They self-released their Stillborn in Ash demo in May 2019, which quickly caught the attention of various labels. It immediately got reissued on tape by Extremely Rotten Productions, followed by vinyl and CD reissues on Nuclear Winter with new artwork/design and remixed audio. 

In mid-2020, Excarnated Entity relocated to Portland, Oregon and underwent a handful of lineup changes before reaching their current formation. With the new lineup in place, work on their debut album was finally completed. Mass Grave Horizon paints a hopeless vision of the future, drearily dredging death metal’s darkest depths and locating majestically miserable doom among those ominously bubbling landscapes. Following a two-minute instrumental introduction, Excarnated Entity kick in with a classic downtuned death metal surge before gutting its underbelly, revealing the morose melodicism of earliest My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. As the eight-song/44-minute album plays on, its attendant song titles vividly illustrate said vision – “Carcinogen Shroud,” “Corridor of Flame,” and “The Butcher’s Pulpit” among them – and one can further detect shades of Trouble, Cathedral, Solitude Aeturnus, and even Lycia lurking within those ruins. It’s a massively dense-yet-spacious sound, and the quartet’s songwriting suitably incorporates slow twists of the knife, but always in a deliberate and linear fashion. And, come climactic closer “Gallery of Defeat,” your fate is sealed and your soul spent…and Excarnated Entity stand stoic, unmoved and unmovable. 

Also hear the previously revealed “Irradiated Shadows” HERE at Nuclear Winter‘s Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Excarnated Entity’s Mass Grave Horizon
1. Abjection
2. Carcinogen Shroud
3. Irradiated Shadows
4. Corridor of Flame
5. Paralytic Reverie
6. Mass Grave Horizon
7. The Butcher’s Pulpit
8. Gallery of Defeat

MORE INFO:
www.excarnatedentity.bandcamp.com

www.nuclearwinterrecords.com
www.nuclearwinterrecords.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/martyrdoomproductions

Finland’s VALRAVN reveal second track from new PRIMITIVE REACTION album

Today, Finnish black metallers Valravn reveal the new track “Liekki Tiemme Valaisee.” The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated second album, The Awakening, set for international release on September 8th via Primitive Reaction. Hear Valravn‘s “Liekki Tiemme Valaisee” in its entirety here:

Like a bolt from the blue, Finland’s Valravn arrived fully formed with their first album, 2020’s Prey. Evincing a mastery beyond their short time as a band, Prey no doubt displayed characteristics of Finland’s now-world-renown black metal sound – cryogenic melody, raw ‘n’ rugged execution, an unapologetic assertion of traditionalism – but in other, more telling aspects, Valravn asserted their own identity counter to this prevailing paradigm: From the tranquil, tellingly autumnal acoustic opening and across comparable textures, the album burned with the intensity of a November coming fire. 

Now, as the summer heat continues to blaze after the revelry of midsummer, Valravn return with a second full-length, The Awakening. Tellingly titled, The Awakening displays yet more sides to this still-unfolding entity. To be sure, Valravn‘s poise and power are firmly accounted for here – you can still FEEL every note, so vital, virile, and vivid – and they’ve even added a bit of death metalled muscle, too, but the songwriting itself is where their second album truly takes flight. Sharp and yet never sterile, thanks to a production that’s on the right side of polished, there’s an acute balance of contrasts across The Awakening‘s 44-minute runtime; each of the album’s eight songs features some twist of melancholy and militancy, of bursting color and bristling monochromatism, of stoic resignation and steadfast determination, of man-on-the-mountain spaciousness and stuck-in-the-catacombs claustrophobia. Concluding with the literally breathtaking “Charge of the Last Cavalry,” The Awakening consolidates all the strengths of its predecessor and indeed leads Valravn into a new charge for glory. The fires of Finnish black metal have yet to be vanquished!

Also hear the previously revealed “Charge of the Last Cavalry” HERE, also at Primitive Reaction‘s official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Valravn (Finland)’s The Awakening
1. The Black Flame [5:20]
2. Kehän Murtama [4:59]
3. Liekki Tiemme Valaisee [5:17]
4. The Great Deceit [4:02]
5. The Insolent    [7:57]
6. Sisyphean Torment [3:55]
A Symphony of Horror [6:32]
8. Charge of the Last Cavalry [5:44]

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/valravnfin

WOODEN THRONE set release date for new PURITY THROUGH FIRE album, reveal first track – features OCTOBER FALLS member

Today, Purity Through Fire announces Augst 25th as the international release date for Wooden Throne‘s highly anticipated second album, Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky, on deluxe digipack CD format, featuring massive embossed gold-printing. 

In 2021, at the dawn of autumn’s oncoming frost, a new name in mystical splendor emerged: Wooden Throne. Although brand-new at the time, the creator behind Wooden Throne was none other than October Falls mainman Mikko Lehto. While that band has prolifically spanned a wealth of no-less-thrilling styles during the past 20-plus years, with Wooden Throne‘s Under the Moon They Wander Until Fading Away debut did Lehto get to focus on the spectral mysteries of the night and suitably create epic black metal of a most stargazing stripe. Granted, October Falls have spanned the more epic ends of black metal themselves, but where the forest is the spiritual/psychic plane for their creations, Wooden Throne‘s realm is more so the moon and cosmos. The cover art gave visual cues, and the message was well received across the international underground.

Now, as summer’s heat inevitably fades away amid soon-to-be-falling leaves, Wooden Throne returns with an equally mighty successor: Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky. Almost too perfectly titled, Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky highlights the nostalgia hinted at by its full-length predecessor while also expanding Lehto’s gaze as high as that night sky AND down to the mossy depths of the forest floor. Much of what made Wooden Throne‘s first album such a classic is still intact – acute sense of space (often literally), impassioned performance, kaleidoscopic production – but Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky is every inch a counterpart / counterpoint. The real development is the prominent usage of piano: never busy but always front and center, sublimely bittersweet notes lead the onward-and-skyward charge, pulling heartstrings as handily as they send chills down the spine. In this sense, and when coupled with Lehto’s more overtly lead-oriented guitar work here, Wooden Throne‘s second album is not so much a strictly “black metal” record as it is an atmospheric metal one – and, once again, paradoxically uplifting no matter what appellation you apply to it.

A superlative guide under any moniker, with Wooden Throne‘s Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky does Lehto provides a poignant soundtrack for wandering within the forest, exploring dream states, or simply pondering life’s impossible mysteries. Maximum immersion awaits the homesick explorer!

Begin that immersion with the brand-new title track “Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky” here:

Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Wooden Throne’s Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky
1. Eternal Wanderer of the Night Sky [5:44]
2. Forward into Starless Abyss [5:57]
3. The Autumnal Frost [5:50]
4. The Earthly Womb [5:37]
5. Firm Roots of the Scarred North [4:36]
6. Talvikki [6:52]

www.purity-through-fire.com

Second-wave black metallers Belial’s Throne premiere the new track “Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls

Today, second-wave black metallers Belial’s Throne premiere the new track “Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls”. The track is the second to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated debut album, Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls, set for international release on September 1st via Spread Evil Productions. Hear Belial’s Throne‘s title track “Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls” in its entirety here:

Belial’s Throne is an international project based primarily in Ireland. It was formed in May 2016 by Bartosz Dziukiewicz AKA King of Shadows. Quickly the project was powered by Rafał Garbaciak, AKA Ragaart, who played bass, handled recordings, fully composed the outro and designed cover art. Chris Grestas Ulverhead, AKA “C,” takes over on vocals, and with this lineup, Belial’s Throne released their debut four-track EP, Pavor Nocturnus, which was release in August 2020.

After about half a year, permanent drummer Boban, AKA “B,” joins the lineup, and the remixed and remastered version of Pavor Nocturnus with live drums is released. The EP appears as the One Year Anniversary Edition on CD through Diabolic Art and is also released on cassette tape through Rotten Records. Between 2021 and 2023, with changes in the lineup, Belial’s Throne began working on their first full-length recording. Due to health issues and personal disturbances, vocalist Chris is replaced by Szymon Skiba, AKA Golghotha.

At long last, that debut album is here, bearing the title Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls. Soundly eclipsing its no-less-considerable predecessor, this first Belial’s Throne album absolutely burns with the spirit of the ’90s – particularly the latter half of that decade, where the melodic BM idiom truly took flight and delivered many a classic. Spirited yet never belabored, Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls features sympatico songwriting that surges and swooshes and even stomps with an authentically vintage feel. Atmosphere, aggression, and of course melodic (RIPPING) riffing work in evil harmony here, chilling the soul with their ever-insistent and -uncoiling attack but rendered in rich, analog tones courtesy of an astute mix & master by Shauny Cads at Last Light Records Studio.

Those who still heed the noble call of ’90s Necrophobic, Sacramentum, Naglfar, or even the super-cult likes of Midvinter, Prophanity, and Cardinal Sin are hereby commanded to take hold of the dragon wings of Belial’s Throne‘s Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls!

Also hear the previously revealed “Void” HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Belial’s Throne’s Forgotten Land of the Lost Souls
1. Forgotten Land Of The Lost Souls
2. Void
3. Ascension Ritual
4. Pit Of Dead Realm
5. Halls Of Silent Kingdom
6. Rejoin At Dusk
7. Last Time We Meet
8. Outro

MORE INFO:
www.facebook.com/Belials-Throne-107104880966688

www.spreadevil.net 

FINSTERFORST reveal second track from upcoming AOP RECORDS mini-album

Today, Black Forest Metallers Finsterforst reveal the new track “Kapitel II: Dualität.” The track is the second excerpt from the band’s upcoming mini-album Jenseits, set for international release on September 8th via AOP Records. Hear Finsterforst‘s “Kapitel II: Dualität” in its entirety here:

Founded in 2004, Finsterforst have released five albums and two EPs thus far. Starting as a folk metal act with heavy usage of accordion, the German band have evolved their sound to an epic, cinematic mix of post-black metal, traditional black metal, and folk metal featuring an enormous range of different singing styles and always-heavy riffing. The quintet calls this sound Black Forest Metal, referencing their roots in the Black Forest region.

During the Covid pandemic, Finsterforst asked their fans to help fund a new mini-album with only one song clocking in at almost 40 minutes. The fans came to help, and Jenseits was born. Arguably the band’s boldest statement to date, Jenseits is definitely not made for streaming, but those who enter this ominous but soon-awe-inspiring forest of sound will be infinitely rewarded: their characteristic Black Forest Metal here unfolds with a mesmerizing majesty that takes many, MANY twists and turns, but always with superlative songwriting acumen. Although the mini-album is broken up into four parts, Jenseits is undeniably an immersive experience that requires attention to its totality, and the 3D production itself renders that experience incredibly cinematic – again, arguably the band’s most cinematic to date.

With Jenseits, Finsterforst continue to go their own way of creating mind-bending art that will stand the test of time – and long may it continue!

Also hear the previously revealed excerpt/track “Kapitel I: Freiheit” HERE, also at AOP Records‘ official YouTube channel. Cover artwork, courtesy of Yaroslav Gerzhedovich, and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Finsterforst’s Jenseits
1. Kapitel I – Freiheit [8:31]
2. Kapitel II – Dualitaet [9:17]
3. Kapitel III – Reflexionen [5:32]
4. Kapitel IV – Katharsis [15:49]

MORE INFO:
www.finsterforst.de

www.aoprecords.de

ANCIENT TORMENT and HAXEN stream ETERNAL DEATH split album

On August 4th internationally, Eternal Death will release The Howling Gale, a special split album between Ancient Torment and Haxen, on CD format (Timeworn Records will be releasing the cassette tape version). And today, the bands streams the split in its entirety. Hear Ancient Torment and Haxen‘s The Howling Gale in its entirety here:

Ancient Torment was formed in the cold New England winter of 2016 by guitarist Tormentum. The band lingered in shadows for two years until debuting live on Halloween night 2018 in the gutters of Olneyville. In 2019, Ancient Torment released the debut EP Satan’s Legacy Come Flesh via Eternal Death. At the beginning of 2020 came the Of Wolves and Pain demo via their own Old Pain Records. After several personnel changes, their current lineup is by far the strongest: vocalist/bassist Tabarnak on (Abaroth, ex-Abnormality); on guitar, both Tormentum (Witch King, I,Deströyer) and Taíno Sangre (Sanguine Moon, ex- Crypter); and drummer Zealot (Witch King). 

Taking strong influence from the gloomy darkness of the Finnish scene and the triumphant misery of Quebec black metal, Ancient Torment initially cut their teeth devouring records from Providence’s Armageddon shop. Drawing inspiration from common themes such as blasphemy, sex, lust, death, old New England, and inebriation, the band’s style strongly opposes Christian Nationalism by virtue of Satanism. There are no songs about dragons, castles, or fantasy adaptations; no masks, hoods, or face-paint to conceal appearances, as the band’s blue-collar Rhode Island DNA presents a true representation of the confrontational nature of black metal. Ancient Torment have the fire of the Gaspee in their hands and are prepared to burn down the world, as displayed by the two lengthy tracks here. 

Also hailing from Rhode Island, Haxen have been fighting the good black metal fight since the year 2000. The band’s first demo arrived in 2003, with a steady flow of demos following for the next decade. In 2013, Haxen released their self-titled debut album via Eternal Death, a bare-knuckled synthesis of old Finnish nastiness and the ’90s East Coast filth of early Profanatica and Blood Storm.

Now, after four years since their last release – a split with Perdizione, also via Eternal Death – Haxen have returned in 2023 with another split album, this time with co-conspirators Ancient Torment. On this particular split, Haxen have contributed three new tracks, with each song having its own unique sound – a bounty for discerning listeners of honest, straightforward black METAL. Here on their side of the split, the band goes from a headbanging anthem that rattles bones and brains (“Blood on the Fire”) to the forgotten tones of the obscure (“Cave and Solitude”) to blasting simplicity that soars to a soulful and longing destination (“Black Eyes of Dog”). Altogether, Haxen’s new material is an antidote to the stagnant and redundant.  

Eternal Death continues to proudly fly the flag for authentic American black metal. This latest split album between Ancient Torment and Haxen features a fiery half-hour of exclusive material, with both bands complementing one another in atmosphere, delivery, and camaraderie. Prepare to face The Howling Gale or be dashed upon the rocky shores of the Atlantic!

Preorder info can be found HERE at Eternal Death‘s Bandcamp. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Ancient Torment & Haxen’s The Howling Gale
1. Ancient Torment – A Solitary Grave Illuminated by the Light of the Morningstar
2. Ancient Torment – Outlaw Cleansed Waters
3. Haxen – Blood on the Fire
4. Haxen – Cave and Solitude
5. Haxen – Black Eyes of Dog

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