Today, Osmose Productions announces March 31st as the international release date Diablation‘s second album, Par Le Feu, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Veterans of French black metal Vicomte Vampyr Arkames and V. Orias. A, after having respectively created and burnt their soul in Seth and Ad Inferna, deliver Diablation‘s second album, named Par le Feu.
Without concession, this opus is a true ode to the death of humanity, the cataclysmic account of its last hours carried by a metallic wave honoring their black metal roots, those of the ’90s.
Joined by Maximilien B. (Bâ’a) and X, the quartet, deeply rooted in the underground and refusing any public appearance, mischievously alternates grandiloquent moments and passages of rare violence: the quiet times are short-lived, the continuous onslaught of tragic and addictive melodies leading relentlessly to the end of time.
“Par le Feu, Par le Sang, Par la Haine”: thus begins one of the major albums of the French extreme scene.
First track premiere to be revealed shortly. Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Diablation’s Par Le Feu 1. Inferi Ostium [0:51] 2. Vox Diaboli [4:44] 3. L’Unique Merveille [5:34] 4. Au Bord du Gouffre [4:59] 5. Crépuscule Doré [4:23] 6. Testament de l’Humanité [5:48] 7. Mort, Marche avec Moi [13:31]
Today, Italian blackthrashers Satanika reveal the new track “Tentacles of Horror.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated fifth album, Horde of Disgust, set for international release on February 24th via Osmose Productions. Hear Satanika‘s “Tentacles of Horror” in its entirety here:
Evil has returned… more aggression… more morbid…
More evil and darker than ever…
More heads will bang by this new thrash/black metal menace by the Italian incarnation of sleaze called SATANIKA!
This time, it’s diabolical… this time is ripping evil metal…
A merciless plunge into the depths of Hell, surrounded by obscure and blasphemic beings…
Preorder link can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Satanika’s Horde of Disgust
1. Not Of This Earth [2:26] 2. The Void [3:55] 3. Cosmic Funeral [4:43] 4. Horde of Disgust [4:09] 5. The Fog [3:50] 6. Their Hands Upon Our Throat [3:50] 7. Tentacles of Horror [3:45] 8. Cursed Be Thy Name [3:49] 9. The Absolute Torment [3:02] 10. Bleed for Darkness [3:47]
Today, Chaos Records announces April 7th as the international release date for Thysia‘s striking debut album, Islands in Cosmic Darkness, on CD format.
Translated from ancient Greek as “ritual sacrifice,” Thysia was spawned in 2019 in Cavaso del Tomba (Treviso, Italy) by Nefasto on guitar and vocals, Mistyr on drums, and Nihil on bass; Fenrir joins in 2021 and takes over vocals. The band’s collective experience includes the likes of Haemophagus, Messa, Undead Creep, Assumption, and Nox Interitus. After a couple of interruptions due to the outbreak of the pandemic, Thysia completed their first public work, the full-length Islands in Cosmic Darkness.
Just as Thysia are aptly monikered, so, too, is Islands in Cosmic Darkness truly titled. Its black metal is deeply rooted in the ancients, but not just one corridor of this rich tradition; lurking within Thysia‘s cauldron, one will find Craft, Varathron, Mayhem, Celtic Frost, Tangorodrim, and early Rotting Christ among others. With a suitably cavernous but fully physical sound, Islands in Cosmic Darkness sends out undulating sinewaves of spiritual negativity, its lyrical references rooted in Greek mythology and its inner cosmic landscapes expanding outward from an austere core. Put another way, Thysia in general and their debut album in particular sound astoundingly OLD – not simply “old” like ’90s black metal, but rather old as the earth itself. Dusty and dusky like so much Mediterranean black metal from the darkest past, these sonic bones and scrolls emit a blanching aspect that’s simply impossible to find these days. Modernity is left to rot in Thysia‘s world.
For those who thrill to the equally eldritch likes of Negative Plane, Malokarpatan, Cultes des Ghoules, and Funereal Presence, prepare to have your coordinates rearranged by Thysia‘s Islands in Cosmic Darkness.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Psallo” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover artwork, courtesy of Nihil, and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Thysia’s Islands in Cosmic Darkness
1. Nexus of Cataclysmic Forces 2. Scorched Bronze Earth 3. Phrenes 4. Psallo 5. Communicating Halls of the Netherworld 6. Moira Krataià 7. Spiritual Desert 8. Islands in Cosmic Darkness
The universe is ready for the new offering. Void Metal outfit OMEGA INFINITY, the project of Xenoyr (NE OBLIVISCARIS) and Tentakel P. (TODTGELICHTER), are now releasing their third new single ‘Death Rays‘. The track is taken from their upcoming album “The Anticurrent” which will drop down on this planet via Season of Mist on the 24th of February, 2023.
‘Death Rays’ is now streaming here:
The album translates the assumption of the whole universe being originated from the Big Bang, where the currents eventually draws everything back into the Void. OMEGA INFINITY leaves their personal note on ‘Death Rays‘ here:
“The life cycle of the universe comes to a close. Stars are dying. Cosmos devouring itself. Piercing rays of light incinerating all that is left. Everything that ever was implodes into one supermassive Black Hole. The next Big Bang is imminent and the cycle will start again. We will see you on the other side of The Void soon!”
“The Anticurrent” can be pre-saved HERE and pre-ordered HERE.
The cover art was created by Adrien Bousson and can be viewed below, together with the tracklist.
Track List: 1. The Alpha (07:40) 2. Creation (05:11) 3. Iron Age (07:11) feat. Adrienne Cowan [WATCH HERE] 4. Banish Us From Eden (04:42) 5. To The Stars (05:16) [WATCH HERE] 6. Death Rays (06:18) feat. Lindsay Schoolcraft [WATCH HERE] 7. Voices From The End Of Time (12:19) feat. András Nagy Bonus 8. Night Journey (Sear Bliss cover) (Bonus) feat. András Nagy 9. Ye Entrancemperium (Emperor cover) (Bonus) feat. MJ Braun
OMEGA INFINITY: The story of the endless cycle of birth and death told on a cosmic scale, being viewed from The Void that permeates the whole existence. The debut album “Solar Spectre” (released in 2020 by Season Of Mist) created a dark and disturbing soundtrack for a journey through our own solar system, combining furious Black Metal of the 90‘s, harsh electronic and menacing ambient sounds with ancient growls and screams and gathered overwhelmingly positive press and fan response when it was first unleashed upon earth.
Not content with only one small statement and following their greater vision for The Void, Tentakel P. (TODTGELICHTER) and Xen (NE OBLIVISCARIS/ ANTIQVA) had already finished their sophomore album at that time, with only the pandemic preventing the vocal recordings and thus an earlier release.
“The Anticurrent” unleashed a very different view of The Void unto the listener. Rather than the blackness of space, the second album explores Time: From the Big Bang and the chaotic birth of the universe, the album’s focus moves through the rise and fall of human civilisation, while zooming back out to a cosmic scale to witness the inevitable end of the universe in the menacing finale.
No OMEGA INFINITY album would be complete without cover versions (SEAR BLISS and EMPEROR) and the addition of friends as guests to the ensemble: Heralding The End together with the band are (in order of appearance) Adrienne Cowan (SEVEN SPIRES/ AVANTASIA), Lindsay Schoolcraft (ANTIQVA/ ex-CRADLE OF FILTH), Andras Nagy (SEAR BLISS) and Marta J. Braun (TODTGELICHTER/ VYRE).
If you ever wanted to know how a myriad of Black Holes devouring themselves in a time distortion sound – look no further than OMEGA INFINITY’s sophomore album “The Anticurrent”!
Adrienne Cowan (SEVEN SPIRES) – Clean vocals and screams on „Iron Age“ Lindsay Schoolcraft (ANTIQVA, ex-CRADLE OF FILTH a.m.m.)– speech and screams on „Death Rays“ András Nagy (SEAR BLISS) – screams on „Voices From The End Of Time“ and „Night Journey“ Marta J. Braun (TODTGELICHTER, VYRE) – clean vocals and screams on „Ye Entranceemperium“
Recording studio: Deep Void Studio
Producer / Mixing engineer: Tentakel P. (Deep Void Studio) Vocal Engineering For Xen By Xenoyr And Tentakel P. (Deep Void Studio) Vocal Recordings By Adrienne Cowan herself Adrienne Cowan Appears Courtesy Of Frontiers Music Vocal Recordings For Lindsay Schoolcraft By Tyler Williams (Monolithic Prod.) Vocal Recordings For András Nagy By Viktor Scheer (Intercellar Studio) Vocal Recordings For Marta J. Braun By Tentakel P. (Deep Void Studio) All Other Recordings, Engineering And Mix By Tentakel P. (Deep Void Studio)
Mastering studio and engineer: Markus Stock At Klangschmiede Studio E. Mellrichstadt
Today, legendary Dutch black metallers Funeral Winds reveal the new track “Stigmata Mali.” The track is the first to be revealed from the band’s highly anticipated seventh album, Stigmata Mali, set for international release on February 24th via Osmose Productions. Hear Funeral Winds‘ title track “Stigmata Mali” in its entirety here:
Funeral Winds is back with another stab of the murderous knife infused with poison of early ’90s raw black metal filth. Stigmata Mali consists of eight wounds of black metal wrath inflicted on all that’s holy. As one of the pioneering European black metal bands that is still active today, Funeral Winds deliver with Stigmata Mali a monument of dedication to true black metal and the sinister. Hateful, raw, and Satanic…black metal the way it was meant to be!
Stigmata Mali translates as “The Stigmata of Evil” and is the title of Funeral Winds‘ seventh studio album and first album to be released via Osmose Productions.
Preorder link can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Funeral Winds (Netherlands)’ Stigmata Mali
1. Open the Wounds [5:18] 2. Stigmata Mali [3:52] 3. By these Hands, By Your Command [4:17] 4. Odious Emanations [3:45] 5. The Angles of Darkness [3:17] 6. Ferocious Revelations [4:44] 7. Purified by Acausal Flames [4:30] 8. The Bornless Forever [5:15]
On April 7th internationally, Personal Records is proud to present The Grifted‘s highly anticipated debut album, Doomsday & Salvation, on CD format.
The Grifted are a Swedish death metal that stays true to the sound of the early ’90s. That being said and with an advantage from other bands doing this, is that they lived and breathed this at that time in bands like Treblinka, Tiamat, Septic Grave, and later Mr. Death. They also recorded their debut album, Doomsday & Salvation, at the esteemed Sunlight Studios with Tomas Skögsberg, so not only can you expect an era-authentic experience, you’ll get that exquisitely filthy & meaty production that’s made the studio so legendary.
More specifically, The Grifted is an old constellation under a new name. Some of the members have a history that goes back to the beginning of the evilution of the Stockholm death metal scene; maybe we could think about the “death of the fittest,” as it were. We’re talking about when the scene was still in its embryonic stages and solely consisted of 15-20 skinny kids in their mid-teens.
Jörgen Thullberg and Stefan Lagergren joined up 35 years ago in the band Treblinka, who later became Tiamat. After decades apart, Jörgen teamed up with Jonas Ohlsson, a low-key drummer from the northernmost part of Sweden, and became part of forming Mr. Death. Possibly with absolutely no scientific source or evidence, Jonas Ohlson is the first person in world history to play drums on a death metal demo recorded above the arctic circle – a feat difficult to copy since his hometown no longer exists and is completely leveled out. Like in the film Deliverance, you build a lifelong connection with everybody from the same bloodline, and when getting the chance to be creative together, the product is something more stunning than a death-like experience.
Joakim Lindström, the hardcoreish singer from PhotoParade – his and Jörgen’s former hardcore/punk band – soon joined and time-warped back to his origins as a death metal musician. Stefan joined Mr. Death around 2008 after a one-time Treblinka reunion gig. In 2012, Staffan Skoglund joined the nowadays-not-so-young band, and they continued in their old-men routine. Mr. Death got back to their initial state where rehearsing, writing songs, and doing some occasional live shows became their drill.
After a couple of years, the music and band dynamic had evolved, and Mr. Death changed their name to The Grifted. You could say that they grew out of their old suits and had to shape up. The music is more complex, without losing the punkish old-school death metal feeling. It would not be very surprising if someone claims or makes a remark that these guys have one foot in the grave, one foot in the old-school scene, and one foot in present times. Either way you call it, The Grifted offer Doomsday & Salvation in bountiful supply…if Hell was such a bad place, then it would be cold down there!
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “Fractured” here:
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for The Grifted’s Doomsday & Salvation 1. Fractured 2. Behind Me In Ruins 3. Closure 4. Bleed Before My Eyes 5. The Maggots Feast 6. This Place of Madness 7. Days of the End 8. When a Phoenix Dies 9. Hope for Death 10. You Will Never Live 11. Doomsday and Salvation
Jocke Lindström – vocals, formerly Mr. Death, PhotoParade, Digression Assassins etc, also currently in grindcore side-project Child. Staffan Skoglund – guitar & backing vocals, formerly Ethnocide, Silverbug, Mr. Death etc. Jonas Ohlsson – drums, formerly Septic Grave etc. Stefan Lagergren – guitar, formerly Tiamat, Treblinka, Rivers Edge, Mr. Death etc., also currently in death metal supergroup Grand Cadaver Jörgen Thullberg – bass, formerly Tiamat, Treblinka, Mr. Death, Clint Eastwood Experience, PhotoParade etc.
On February 3rd internationally, III Damnation Productions will release a special compilation from A Diadem of Dead Stars, Emerald Sunsets, on digipack CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats. And today, we stream the collection in its entirety. Hear A Diadem of Dead Stars‘ Emerald Sunsets in its entirety here:
Begun in 2014 and helmed by the prolific The Pilgrim – whose prior bands include the cult Hierophant’s Descent and Angstridden, and currently The Seal of R’Lyeh and Barak Tor – Greece’s A Diadem of Dead Stars proudly play “Misty Lowlands Black Metal.” Theirs is a sound rooted in a (misty) past; whether it’s precisely the mid ’90s or the mid-2000s matters not when faced with such compelling quality. The full-length The Mist Bearer began the journey in 2014, and continued across a demo, two EPs, and then second album Kingdoms Bathed in Golden Light in 2016. A recording hiatus ensued until that cursed year of 2020, but that cursed proved fruitful for The Pilgrim: a single, a demo, and EP followed in quick succession.
And that’s where we arrive with Emerald Sunsets. Totaling four tracks across 28 minutes, Emerald Sunsets includes all previously digital-only material from A Diadem of Dead Stars: namely, 2020’s …Of Green Pastures… single and The Light That Burns demo and 2021’s The Furrow of Woes EP. As such, this collection sees The Pilgrim at his most invigorating and most nostalgic, immediately instilling a sense of loss or at least bittersweetness before building into cresting waves of moonlight mysticism and autumnal splendor – never categorically “negative” like most extant black metal, nor necessarily “hopeful” like much falling under the wider “post-” umbrella – with the upticks/downshifts of speed both fluid and flowing. Of course, atmosphere is always crucial to the A Diadem of Dead Stars experience, and you’ll find a bounty of it here on Emerald Sunsets, verily evoking its title. In fact, the record ends on the especially evocative “Of Green Pastures,” a beautifully haunting hymn of acoustic guitar and birdsong. The way this collection is threaded together makes it less of the standard odds & ends “collection” and one more suited to its own headspace and experience. A Diadem of Dead Stars will guide you to Emerald Sunsets, indeed.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for A Diadem of Dead Stars’ Emerald Sunsets 1. The Furrow of Woes [7:08] 2. And Swallows Flew Away From This Land [7:08] 3. The Light That Burns [6:10] 4. Of Green Pastures [6:55]
On February 3rd internationally, Personal Records will release a new double-EP from Carathis, Amethyst & Moonstone, on CD format. And today, we stream the double-EP in its entirety. Hear Carathis‘ Amethyst & Moonstone in its entirety here:
Carathis‘ second release for Personal, Amethyst & Moonstone includes two EP recordings – 2021’s The Amethyst Fortress, previously only available digitally, and the otherwise-unreleased The Moonstone Temple – totaling 45 minutes across nine tracks. Truly, these two recordings see Carathis hitting a fever pitch of creativity. Whereas the band upon their Hymns to the Tower debut EP (later released by Personal as a split with Sulfure) were a duo, on The Amethyst Fortress is the band now back to mainman Erech Leleth, who concurrently plays in labelmates Grandeur as well as Ancient Mastery, Narzissus, and Golden Blood. As such, Leleth takes the Carathis sound to uncharted mysticism and splendor. The first five tracks on this collection belong to The Amethyst Fortress, which is aptly titled, for a purple-velvet sensation arises from its grim hysteria, creating a unique disconnect amidst the nowadays “Bandcamp black metal” scene. Clearer and more cutting is the four-song The Moonstone Temple, which follows next on this CD, and features Palisade on drums. The medieval organs are even more prominent here, often leading the charge and yet never softening the central attack. It might be tempting to qualify Carathis at this stage as symphonic black metal, no matter how raw they remain, but more accurately could one put the band alongside other organ-prominent practitioners like early Solefald and Sigh or even Negura Bunget and the brass-led Sear Bliss. But, it’s early days still for Carathis, and Erech Leleth is already proving to be a formidable entity with Amethyst & Moonstone.
Preorder info can be found HERE. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Carathis’ Amethyst & Moonstone 1. The Sacred Walls 2. The Crimson Gate 3. The Forsaken Realm 4. The Fallen Star 5. The Amethyst Fortess 6. The Portal 7. The Procession 8. The Prayer 9. The Priestess
Today, Helter Skelter Productions (distributed & marketed by Regain Records) announces May 12th as the international release date for Warcoe‘s striking debut album, The Giant’s Dream, on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Warcoe are a power-trio hailing from Italy, that land rich in doomed materials. Naturally, Warcoe honor their national identity with a ’70s-entrenched vision of pure DOOM METAL as first laid out by Ozzy-era Black Sabbath. In fact, in vocalist/guitarist Stefano Fiorelli, you will not find a more uncanny Ozzy doppelganger.
Warcoe began their journey in 2021, first with a couple digital singles and then an EP, all of which coalesced into their debut album, The Giant’s Dream. Likewise released digitally, The Giant’s Dream was also self-released on CDR and tape in true DIY fashion. So smitten with these authentically vintage vibes, Helter Skelter is now releasing The Giant’s Dream on CD and vinyl with hopes of spreading the Warcoe name far and wide.
Indeed, that should be simple enough given the strength of The Giant’s Dream‘s songwriting and charisma. No more but definitely no less, Warcoe here brew up a thick ‘n’ heady potion of hard-rocking proto-metal, warm in tone but definitely supernatural in aura. True, that spectre of classic Sabbath looms large across The Giant’s Dream, but the trio manage to massage new sensations from that eternal archetype whilst staying reverent. Thus, it’s not inaccurate to liken Warcoe to immediate Sabbathian progeny like Witchfinder General and Trouble – very esteemed company, to be sure. Your “new” old-doom trip begins here!
In the meantime, stream the album in its entirety here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Warcoe’s The Giant’s Dream 1. Giant’s Dream 2. Cats Will Follow 3. Omega Sunrise 4. Fire and Snow 5. Winternaut 6. Thieves, Heretics and Whores 7. Scars Will Remain 8. Church of Void
Today, Eternal Death announces March 17th as the international release date for a brand-new EP from Death Vanish, Hermitic Fire, on cassette tape format.
Formed in 2017, Death Vanish is a solo project of Valder from the band One Master. Playing select live shows with a full lineup, the songwriting and all instruments on the recorded material is performed by Valder. Since the project’s formation, two EPs and a split have been released – and now , four years after the last one, arrives a new EP titled Hermitic Fire.
Compared to his other ongoing musical endeavors, Death Vanish explores Valder’s interest in the more primitive side of black metal expressed by bands such as Beherit and Profanatica. And yet, there’s plenty of other nasty ingredients lurking within that cauldron, as evidenced by this latest Hermitic Fire. More diverse overall and yet also more focused, Hermitic Fire shows Death Vanish as true pervertors of black metal, here incorporating a deathrock side – subtle, but still pronounced – and a general air of unorthodoxy that drives deep into the heart of black metal’s earliest antagonists. As such, all sides of Death Vanish are displayed here: from the furious simplicity of the opening track “Conquer With Solar Might,” to the awkward riffs and remedial keyboards on the unabashed homage to Beherit “From Down There,” to the ritualistic channeling of Big Boss in “Old Magick and Tyrant,” to the final two more headbanging tributes to Profanatica. Altogether, it’s 24 trend-free minutes bound to amaze and confuse in equal measure – simultaneously archaic and fuck-you fresh – and Valder, naturally, wouldn’t have it any other way.
Following the release of Hermitic Fire, Death Vanish will return to the stage with limited live performances. Only true deviants need apply.
In the meantime, hear the brand-new track “From Down There” here:
Cover and tracklisting are as follows:
Tracklisting for Death Vanish’s Hermitic Fire 1. Conquer With Solar Might 2. From Down There 3. Old Magick and Tyrant 4. Hermitic Fire 5. Doctrine of a Beast
