One of the best kept secrets coming out of the German black metal scene they have been overlooked for far too long. Secrets of the Moon are back with their fifth full length release. They have been kicking around in one form or another for quite a long time, with sG being around for all […]

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. […]

Eudaimony is the new band of Matthias Jell (ex-Dark Fortress), Marcus E. Norman (Naglfar, Bewitched), Jörg Heemann (Secrets Of The Moon), and Michael Håkansson (ex-Evergrey, ex-The Forsaken). Following their dictum ‘Negativity in its purest form’, this quartet combines doomy, disharmonic music with lyrics from the downbeat and hopeless side of life. You can listen to […]

Being one of the most undeniably experimental genres running right now, Black Metal has taken quite a growth spurt in the past few years. It has become so empirical that it’s hard to like the sub-par bands. Mediocre or not, Farsot’s debut full-length IIII is solid and shows some potential for future releases. The band […]

I have a list of upcoming releases that I keep, constantly adding the names of albums of interest as I learn about them. Sometimes I add a band name followed by a question mark in anticipation of an as yet unannounced new album. Drautran is such a band, having been on my list for six […]

Helrunar has quickly jumped to the top of the heap of Norwegian wave black metal imitators. This German band has only a six year recording history but obviously a much longer history as a fan of real black metal. Baldr ok Iss is their third full length release, and second by Lupus Lounge. In terms […]

With The Exhibitions EP being my first exposure to this German black metal band, I’m not sure I’m able to gage Secrets of The Moon’s standing within the hierarchy of black metal, but based on personal taste alone, I happen to think this band is one of the finest, yet underrated black metal bands around. […]

Helrunar hails from Munster Germany and formed in spring 2001. They play Heathen black metal and Frostnacht is their debut album for a record label, with Gratr being self released. If I was in the habit of offering quick and dirty comparisons to known bands I’d say Enslaved meets Immortal circa 1994 with Frostmoon Eclipse […]