The malignancy seems to have entered remission. The sound is clearer and cleaner, the guitar tone of voice is less threatening with a more expressive feel, mixing in bonafied solos, and the steady strumming has reemerged re-imagined as an actual discernible rhythm. The overarching pacing has quickened to a crawl, and at times a trot. […]

Imagine getting trampled by a galloping horse, no, imagine getting stomped by a prancing pony, each hoof raised high and thumped on your head over and over and over because that pony is not making forward progress, that is “Osiris”. Monstrously oppressive riffing with enticing melodies that make you dare the collapsing sky, this is […]

I’ve been occupied with thinking of the prospect of the arrival of a followup to Wrathrash for about fifteen seconds total over the past few years. I enjoyed both eps and the demo but sadly never think of playing them without a gentle nudge like popping open a package and seeing the cool cover to […]

You can think of France’s Merrimack as a slightly known kult band because of their fifteen year existence and minimal output, or as a reborn band finding their voice only about five years back. All three of their full length studio recordings have come since 2002 and it is a safe bet most listeners only […]

The anticipation level is high, adrenal glands working overtime, then the first song starts…. I find my mind wandering and playing “Cryptic Winterstorms” internally, so hit stop, pull up Diabolical, listen in its entirety, put All Shall Fall back on and hit play, now where were we… halfway through the first song I have the […]

Three listens back to back to back of Wormwood will leave you laying on the floor in a pool of drool, even if you are up to date on your inoculations. To paraphrase Legion, if you don’t know what Marduk is what the hell are you doing here.  Marduk has a history of short intros, […]

If you do not know Belphegor by now you must have just hatched. Eight studio full lengths and a couple of eps. You would think Austria’s kings of perversion would have it all figured out by now. Walpurgis Rites – Hexenwahn is the title, so the lyrical disposition should be obvious to all. The bonus […]

An hour and a half of new recordings from Horna. Sanojesi Äärelle, (‘to the fount of thy word’), presents the Finnish  masters of minimalism at their current best. They are still maintaining that live in the studio feel, vocals in one take, cracks and slips kept intact, etc. Motorhead lives. Corvus has been with the […]

This Greek band first hit my radar because of the Enshadowed connections. I was compelled to seek out the other bands those god fearing, fine upstanding members of christiandom were involved with. War, Revenge & Total Annihilation just greased the rails with christian blood for a boat launching of Scandinavian proportions. Raw nordic black metal […]

Archgoat released the  Angelcunt ep back in 1992 on 12 inch, thanks Necropolis, then promptly disintegrated. One of Finland’s most highly spoken of black bands based on what? vinyl and tape releases? low, low budget primitive black has been done well and not so well, in all honesty Archgoat fits the second category. I’ll acknowledge […]

Both formed in 2003, both from California, both have cool logos, both have a full length out and now they shave a split. California’s best kept secret. I’ve never really been a fan of band names of more than two words, if you need to come up with a truncated version for everyday conversation the […]

The only thing more satisfying than human misery is a new Impiety disk. You know those days when you are mightily pissed off at the world, bright sun, not a cloud in the sky, smiling faces everywhere you look. Tourist season is upon us and in anticipation I have been out blasting Impiety in public […]

The first thing that grabs you with Battle Dagorath is the Christophe Szpajdel  logo. Next is the fact that they fail from California. Sure they have mountains out there but not really the land of Cosmic Frozen Landscapes. Another notable tidbit, at least for us Vinterriket fans, is that Christoph Ziegler is the keyboardist. Eternal […]

Give yourself over to space. Aran of Lunar Aurora fame formed Trist back in 2000 as a side project but like most people I never ran across any of his recordings until much later. His first album was released in only 500 copies. Being a long time Lunar Aurora fan I like to see what […]

After more than a decade of aggression, the time for divine intervention has arisen. After the blood sacrifice was deemed properly performed, selecting just the best pieces of babies, “In darkness thou shalt worship me,” so states the sacred text of Synagoga Satanae, Tom G. Warrior answered the call to the old gods and appeared […]

One of Germanic heathenry’s newer voices is also one of it’s most skilled. Just because a band releases a disc on their own does not mean it is a demo.  Some bands release a demo and call it a self released full length, implying quality, other band release a full length and call it a […]

Can one have epic music with no hooks, no groove? This is black metal heavy on atmospherics and ambience, not pit friendly, but with an unnerving edge that screams epic. You are definitely on a journey. Some think epic means simply write long songs. Geïst could do a  two minute song and make it epic. […]

Warning do not operate heavy machinery while listening to this disc until you are sure about how it will affect you. When I first heard of this band I knew it would be good, with the Destroyer 666 connection how could it not be? Highly talented veterans banding together to challenge each other to put […]

When Ondskapt members announced a side project a few years back, I jumped at it, who would not? I must say I was underwhelmed with IXXI, the self titled debut, though I still picked up Assorted Armament. I will freely admit that I was not planning on buying Elect Darkness but then it arrived in […]

Long songs, ambient heaviness with percussive power and speed, relentless punishment with crushing guitar lines that would please vintage Metallica fans, and wandering passages at full intensity reminiscent of Lunar Aurora greet the listener of Germany’s Mortuus Infradaemoni, who return with another hour of material for their second full length. Get Nathaniel, and Profanatitas together, […]

Learn the Old Ways, pass them on, oral tradition was strong in the north in the old days. Throne of Katarsis carries on the tradition, continues telling the tales, songs inspired by the old masters. Can I call them that if most of them are younger than me? In the oral tradition individual storytellers adapted […]

Being a Hate Forest, Astrofaes, Nokturnal Mortum, Lucifugum, fan made it an obvious leap to Khors. Mysticism is now the third Khors album I have been on board for, and as it turns out, they have only three albums released. Even though band members are shared with the above mentioned bands as well as Runes […]

The great Absu moving from ideal to actual. The ideal lineup we all know, the actual lineup is now on display. The question is is the comparative equivalent Candlemass with just Leif, or Gorgoroth with no founders? Take one member from an acclaimed lineup and give him the band name and the reigns, disaster awaits. […]

These are the sound waves we should be blasting out into space for other cultures to hear, not Elvis and the Beatles. Other worlds might actually send emissaries instead of shunning us. Way back in 2001 Vindsval announced the title of his next Blut aus Nord album as Dialogue With The Stars. After several side […]

It is refreshing to find a band not only with strong convictions but also with a strong thirst for knowledge and a vast foundation of knowledge already learned from which to draw. Belfagor is a true devotee and a student of all religions, realizing all are connected in some fashion. He borrows imagery as he […]