In September 2019, Norkh will release their first LP through Bleeding Heart Nihilist Productions – a celebration of true extreme underground metal in all its hellish facets in eight furious songs.
The band’s sound is influenced by the grimness of Darkthrone and Celtic Frost, the unleashed power of old school death metal riffs, and the rude aggression of pure thrash, which they manage to combine in a way that should make all modern retro posers weep. Lyrically, Norkh does not focus on any esoteric or religious bullshit either, but strictly on the natural born terror on this rotating ball of shit we call earth.
In time for Wigrid′s 20-year anniversary, there is an all-new album by the Depressive-Black-Metal legend; the first since 2005! "Entfremdungsmoment" picks up right where "Die Asche eines Lebens" left off while still integrating all Wigrid trademarks since the first demos. At the same time there is undeniable progress in terms of matured songwriting and arrangements, and, for the first time ever, this album features an entirely independent production process, including analog drums and a radically improved sound mix by Ulfhednir himself.
"Entfremdungsmoment" will be officially released on September 11th 2019, here in its CD edition as a 2-panel Digipak with an 8-page booklet.
After 2017’s self-released demo “Cosmic Winter”, Arcane Frost further processed their musical concept through the experience of numerous live shows and will now release “Dragged Into the Void” - a debut EP containing four new anthems that suck the listener into an absorbing undertow of icy atmosphere and ravening darkness.
“Dragged Into the Void” will be released on 6 September 2019 as a strictly limited tape version, as well as on CD in a Digipak edition which additionally contains the tracks from the sought-after demo as an exclusive bonus.
Gestank is a particularly raw specimen among the vast raw black metal solo project history of "Räude" (Animo Aeger, Obscest, Siech, Vrångbild, Cruda Sorte). This CD is simply a compilation of all previous, sold-out demo and EP releases: "Anti-Aesthetic Warfare", "Hail Intoxication" and "Rathymns". Plus one unreleased bonus track.
Jewelcase CD, limited and hand-numbered to 666 copies.
From unknown hinterlands of western Sweden comes DRUX, impenetrable black metal violence. One unknown man stands accountable for DRUX, and Herkeleth, originally released in 2016 on this extremely limited CD, represents his entrance into the underground.
Nine counts of cruel opprobrium constitute Herkeleth. Expect adept human drumming, with copious blasting therein, riffs like electroshock therapy, and blood-spewing insectoid vocals. In essence, mercilessly executed, hate-filled Swedish black metal that's intentionally marred with a poisonous atmosphere production.
2018 reissue of the first album as well as the two previous demos of the German Ruhrpott area thrash band ETERNAL DIRGE, one of the internationally most innovative bands of early 90s underground metal, which disbanded in 1996. Sadly, this also became sort of a memorial release for the band mastermind Timo Knopf who suddenly and tragically passed away this same year. R.I.P.!
Double-CD including the early hardcore-inspired and sociocritical ′89 demo "Right To The Core", the distinctly matured 1990 demo "We Are The Dead" already pioneering technical death metal, and of course the defining avantgardistic Lovecraftian debut album "Morbus Ascendit", one of the most timeless and progressive works in extreme metal and a milestone of German metal history to this day.
"True Norwegian Black Metal from Germany, between puke and grandeur - obnoxious and clichéd since 2010." There′s not much you can add to that self-diagnosis. Froststarr pretty much do everything right. Some early-Gorgoroth riff nostalgia here, some sloppy black′n′roll there, interrupted by quasi-avantgardistic atmospheric shit. Anything to piss off the listener. Then song titles like "My Metal is Blacker Than Your Asshole" and covering keyboard Burzum with guitars. Save for the programmed drums a bona fide BHN dream band.
CD comes as Digipak with a massive nicely done booklet and original autographs by the band (essential).
On their second album "disart brut: mausoleum", HERMANN offer 7 pieces that are generally rooted in black metal, incorporating various influences from doom, death and crust. While often vaguely compared to Darkthrone, Bethlehem or Totenmond for reference, HERMANN has certainly managed to establish a consistent individual band sound with an equally characteristic lyrical concept since the beginning. The album stays true to the style established on the debut. The general mood of the first recording is further refined, with the lyrics once again being presented in the German mother tongue. The separate pieces are each very diversified and unique, while still forming a coherent unit as an album. Through the interconnected introduction and fading out of the final song, the oevre is structurally embedded in an unsettling sonic framework. In between, sluggish, grinding parts meet frantic blastbeats, to be in turn dissolved by hammering staccato attacks. Extravagant accents, such as the use of an almost disintegrated accordion ("pervitin") or the HERMANN interpretation of a traditional Eastern European dirge ("die pauke vier mal"), adorn an across-the-board unconventional album, which, if not very typical for the genre in its free-spirited variety, is accordingly exciting and unpredictable.
Fallen Tyrant play old-school black metal. Not more and certainly not less. Soaring tremolo riffs, furious blast beat attacks, droning distorted bass and harsh and angry vocals are the armament of this South-Hessian war machine. But on the seven songs of the second full-length album Children of a Nuclear Dawn, they manage to use these most conservative means to inflict maximum creative damage. And this is not only due to special features like subtle saxophone and synth appearances on "Shifting Tides Along the Rhine" and "Astronomy" or scattered clean vocals parts, but simply through original and intelligent songwriting with charakter, skills and melody – as well as a good sense for the roots of heavy music.
On their third album, Essenz from Berlin/Germany hands down reached a first career peak with their doomy black metal brand and cement their status as one of the most original, atmospheric and authentic bands in the German scene. Comparisons are moot. This record has all the potential to become a modern classic. Nuff said.
Brand-new 2018 album by these Dutch underground up-and-comers. And there′s been some definite evolution since their already very cool 2015 EP: these songs are a good notch heavier, colder and angrier than the short black′n′roll pieces on "Koud Gemaakt". A little more black metal, a little less punk, and finally with an appropriate production. Besides traditional and absolutely authentic blasting, Grafjammer′s strength mostly lies in the pacing, groovy Parts that you don′t hear so often. On the whole definitely Norwegian-rooted and an unconditional recommendation for fans of Khold, Carpathian Forest, millenial Darkthrone. And people who happen to like Koldbrann′s "Vertigo" album mustn′t think twice about getting this.
Probably Germany′s most interesting real black metal band at the moment (BHN obviously excepted). Narvik actually still try to combine innovation and skills with tradition and authenticity - and pass with flying colors. Without any musical revisionism they capture the spirit from around the turn of the millenium, arguably the most creative phase of the dying out old black metal scene. Clean and heavy production, hypnotic and original riffing, recognizable and expressive vocals, pretty much all you could ask for from a relevant modern black metal recording.
Most recent album by this band from Huelva, Spain, for everybody with 90s symphonic black metal nostalgia. Well produced, well written, this actually manages to avoid all the many pitfalls of shitty bands that gave this genre such a bad reputation back in the day. Real black metal that always remains extreme and interesting and despite heavy synth use keeps the focus on the guitars.
Leftovers from the 2009 debut by the Berlin schizos of Animo Aeger. Back then coming across as mostly raw, depressive and "black-metal", at least the lyrical concept and some unexpected avant-gardist moments already foretold the potential that would later discharge in albums like "KotzeAdel". For people for whom the latter was too weird, "Impuls" might just hit the perfect spot.
The first new album in 8 years by German underground institution Winterblut. The solo project by L′Hiver became an instant cult band with 1996′s "Asche Gottes", arguably the best German black metal demo of the entire 90s, and Winterblut has thrived for authenticity and originality ever since. The traditional and highly melodic style until the first album was soon countered with a dissonant antithesis rejecting any and all commercial popularity. Consequentially, "Seid furchtbar und zerstöret Euch!" is not a good fit for naive US-/post BM fans and continues the chosen path in a new radicalism. This is pure raw hypnotic evil with no regard for pre-conceived notions of "songs", "black metal" or "production". True underground.
First EP by Pestlegion from Germany, released in 2014. 4 songs early-90s black metal which could not be any more traditional and pure. A real throwback to a better time.
Last copies, the CD has already sold out at the label!
2017 saw the release of the first full-length album by the "whiskey-fueled old-school black metal"-heads from Germany's Ruhrpott region. These 10 tracks celebrate relentless, primeval 90s black metal in a perfection which is very, very rare these days.
2017 debut album by THE German Sludge newcomers. As usual, the "Sludge" barely describes this admittedly original mix of doom, punk, post-HC and blackmetal. Simply good, brutal music.
After several line-up changes finally the third album by CRUDA SORTE from Berlin, Germany. Stylistically, all generic genre inhibitions were cast aside by now, to create an original, diversified yet traditionalist work, which at the same time represents black metal in its primordial facets, as well as transcending it with alien musical counterpoints influences – as most blatantly showcased on the track "Spinnentanz und Giftbefall" for instance. Generally, "Ewigkeiten im Schimmel" lives off a mostly down-to-earth foundation of raw and atmospheric black metal, which is wrapped by Memnoch′s lead guitar and capped off by the whole range of extreme vocals of the three contributing singers.
Even though the album, for the first time in CRUDA SORTE history, doesn′t follow a typical concept, the songs are still lyrically connected. Death, ruin, and the inherent finiteness form the major themes. In this context, the eponymous "Schimmel" ("mold") is treated as a symbol for something "new", something "creational", which enters life as something collapses and disintegrates, while examining different forms and conceptions of eternity – without stooping to played out "circle of life" hippie platitudes.
First album (after a name change and countless demos already released in 2007!) of one of Germany′s oldest and most notorious black metal one-man-projects, without much of a musical justification. Nargaroth before Nargaroth, if you will. In any case, a piece of black metal history. Most primitive and raw black metal at a special nostalgia price!
Late sign of life by the always incarcerated early-90s underground one-man-band legend Grausamkeit. "Needlesharing Necro Black fucking Metal" in a respectively "old-school" sound quality, but featuring all the characteristic trademarks from way back. This split CD is complemented by a newer project from Saarbrücken called Khaomega, which mainly stands out through its guitar work and offers a sterile variety of traditional black metal that brings to mind the brilliant Thorns.
Trallskogen is a project founded by Swedish-German singer Annika Jonsson with the fundamental vision to cross Scandinavian folklore with jazz music. The lyrical concept follows the old tradition of Swedish trall singers to create a unique atmosphere of natural experience and mythology.
Musically, the vocal performance is emphasized by the nature of this whole endeavor, and it is certainly impressive in its own right. Annika Jonsson, a studied professional jazz vocalist, doesn′t use the spotlight to aimlessly show off her skill, but always works for each individual song, at times leading with simply beautiful, enchanting melodies that will stay with you from the first listen, and at times finding a niche within the instrumental frame to accentuate the music and giving it space to create a particular mood the piece might call for. Speaking of instrumentation: the „backing band“ is much more than what the word implies. The line-up consists of drums, double bass, (clean) electric guitar and piano, which all add crucial contributions to this avantgardistic mix of styles and sounds. There are solo parts all over the place and there′s hardly a dull moment in any of the musician′s backing parts, without stooping to an exercise in technical proficiency. They successfully tread the fine line of comprehensible musicianship that is enjoyable for laymen and music nerd alike. One alleged drawback to some in the songwriting, a deliberate lack of obvious stylistic and structural coherence, is arguably one of the album′s biggest strengths. You never know what will happen next, and it′s never just unpredictability for the hell of it, but each composition builds its own little universe and makes perfect sense therein. Some songs only unfold when you′re in sync with their special vibe, until the whole thing solowly reveals itself once you let go of whatever expectations you had coming in.
In metal genre terms, „Trollskogen“ is definitely worth a listen for fans of STORM and Kari Rueslåtten, or folksy early Ulver, and might in some sense even be relatable to Myrkur – if Myrkur had any musical substance to speak of. In any case, this comes with the highest recommendations to all truly open-minded fans of independent and progressive, original music in general.
Second album release by this Bavarian depressive/suicidal black metal project from 2016 in a limited jewel case edition. Musically, everything stays true to the tried and tested good old style.
Second, 2016 album by the traditional black metal horde from Nuremberg, Germany. Still top-notch melancholy, atmospheric underground sound from the early 90s school.
2015 digipak edition of the first and possibly also last full album by this long-standing underground ensemble from Frankfurt, Germany. Cult black-thrashing death metal of the absolute old-school variety.
Second full-length album by this black metal band from Berlin, Germany. Somber, sick and very atmospheric underground BM with some doom bearings, which never fails to impress in its authenticity and a fetching nonconformity.
Limited jewel case edition with 4-panel booklet including all lyrics.
Seven years after the recordings for the album "Storchenwahrheit, -wirklichkeit" the weird duo ANIMO AEGER returns with the new full-length "KotzeAdel" on Bleeding Heart Nihilist Productions. The seven songs combine furious riffing with melancholic, at times almost solemn melodies, progressively complex song structures and, of course, the manic vocal performance which has long become a major trademark of the band′s unconventional style. If you′re searching for something that features the aggression of Black Metal as well as the scornful impudence of a punk band permanently high on angeldust, this album might just be your revelation.
The second Siniestro release "Revelations in Mayhem" shows the band matured and progressing at the same time. Siniestro managed to improve on all their trademarks from "Oppression of the Sunlight" without any compromise: the brutally fast and technically most proficient thrash is more present than ever and you′ll still savor all the anthemic modern groove and rowdy punk vibe that distinguished Siniestro from the retro crowd since Day 1. However, as arguably the main advance, you′ll find that they added a good amount of morbid black metal spirit into the delicate mix, which turns Siniestro into a whole new demented beast on this recording. To guarantee the appropriate state-of-the-art sound, the album was mastered by no other than globally renowned producer Jens Bogren (Kreator, Rotting Christ, Arch Enemy etc.). As on the previous CD, all artwork was once again designed by distinguished French artist Pascal Cataye to package this musical statement in an adequate aesthetic Digipak as well.
Raw and furious yet melodic black metal from Hesse, Germany. Perhaps comparable to Gorgoroth in their heyday, though gradually carving out its own identity with tasteful guitar solos, occasional clear vocals and little harmonic details. A remarkable homage to the classic Norwegian style.
Great quirky mix of depressive black metal and so-called post punk, with intelligent, mostly German lyrics and versatile acoustic passages, none of which comes off as cheesy.
Traditional 90s style underground Black Metal from Hesse, Germany. This is a compilation with the band′s full only album plus their two complete demos, together 25 tracks with 80min playing time! Strictly limited and hand-numbered edition.
Sunshine & Lollipops are finally taking the next step after their debut 7" and the split-CD with WIGRID, with the upcoming release of their first full-length album, titled "Empty (Always Look On the Dull Side)". It contains 8 songs with a total playing time of 42:30min, mixed and mastered by Sebastian Braunreuther.
Excellent 80s-Metal from Greece! Brilliantly produced mix of speed metal and classic hard rock. Technically perfect dual guitar solos and singer Nick Adam′s voice, which evokes great memories of Def Leppard′s Joe Elliott at his early best, set Accelerator′s 2015 debut far above the rest of the current retro wave.
Suicidal/depressive (Post-) black metal from Germany with similarities to Forgotten Woods, Wigrid etc., sometimes even Urfaust. One of the rare gleams of hope within this beaten-to-death copycat genre!
Diversified, well-played underground black metal in Norwegian tradition with the occasional folksy pagan touch. No keyboard, no bullshit, guitar does all the work.
Traditional raw and fast underground black metal with Machosias from Pagan Winter, who initially founded Old Pagan as his solo project which evolved into a full line-up in the meantime. Feat. Darkthrone cover from the underrated "Total Death" album!
Inofficial follow-up band of the legendary Sons of Tarantula. 14 songs of fantastic death-grind-punk-HC noise inferno with its own unique vibe and expectedly insane lyrics.
Debut of the German band with a sick mix of black metal with crust and doom influences: Darkthrone institutionalized with Wolfbrigade and Bethlehem. Feat. members of 100000 Tonnen Kruppstahl and Essenz.
Comes as digipak in protective jacket, including a sticker and digital download code.
Brutal technical death metal from Magdeburg, Germany that's on par with many accomplished scene greats through adept musicianship and diversified song writing. Produced by Andy Classen!
2013 debut album by this stoner metal trio from Stockholm: 11 songs sharing the trademark groovy riffing of greats such as Black Sabbath, COC or Pantera. A must for all fans of DOWN!
Comes as digipak with booklet including all lyrics.
Absinth-fueled Black 'n' Roll ranging from Motörhead and Venom to bona fide second-wave black metal, often leaning towards a melodic Swedish variety. Horrormance somehow manage to tread the thin line between tongue-in-cheek and silly, while taking no prisoners musically.
"You need help how to rape a nun seriously?" "Instructions for sodomizing?" "A reason to fill your veins with more beer as normal?"
¡OK!
This is Satan´s Propaganda! 10 SatanicThrash/Black´n'Roll hyms signed by the Lord himself. Incl. Rock for Satan, Satanized by Satan, Horned´n' Horny and Rock the Nun until you cum!!!
Be satanized!!! Be sodomized!!! Don´t drink and pray!!!
Current EP release by The Inner Abyss, conceptualized as an atmospheric musical adaptation of films like "Alien" or "Prometheus". Cold and detached Black Metal reminiscent of Mysticum, Niden Div. 187, Zyklon B.
"Split the Indifference (Geteilte Gleichgültigkeit)" is a split album by the bands Wigrid and Sunshine & Lollipops, each contributing two new and unreleased works. Wigrid's share consists of one ambient-like sound collage track, while the other with a running time of more than 10 minutes is a refined continuation of the suicidal/depressive BM style from earlier works.
S&L represents a more old-school interpretation of BM, with musical roots situated somewhere between Venom and the early Norwegians. Regarding the lyrical concept, S&L is concerned mainly with Schopenhauerian nihilism and revolt as interpreted by Camus – without taking themselves too seriously. Hence the stilistic self-characterization as Absurdist Anarcho-Blackmetal. As a bonus to the two exclusive new tracks, there's also two remastered songs from S&L's 2012 debut 7“ EP.
This is the debut release by Stockholm based metal punks Siniestro, featuring six tracks touching on a wide array of heavy styles. There's something for fans of brutal, modern thrash with the groove of Pantera and the aggression of The Haunted, there's an influence of scum punk and NY hardcore, and there's even classically inspired acoustic pieces - all skillfully blended together into a coherent, intoxicating cocktail that's sure to kick your ass.
CD comes as factory-sealed digipak with four-page booklet including all lyrics.
This is the official Bleeding Heart Nihilist re-release of the initially independently produced debut album by Graverape Ritual from Stockholm. „Against the Rotten Music Industry“ contains 14 tracks of brutal, no-holds-barred groove thrash metal in the vein of 90s Slayer and Pantera, with a unique melodic touch at times reminiscent of Swedish death metal pioneers such as At The Gates or Hypocrisy.
CD comes as 4-panel digipak with booklet, inside extra protective cover jacket.
On this highly anticipated sophomore album, God's gift to the ladies, Mr. Yellow Discipline, has actually managed to surpass the instant classic debut as well as any societal limits of so-called good taste - again!
"Cunt Machine" is a collection of ten exhilarating songs, spanning an incredible variety of musical expression, melancholy and uplifting at once, sometimes inviting you to dream, sometimes urging you to dance - always profoundly sexy and irresistibly catchy. They can only be insufficiently described with labels like alt rock, goth or punk - they're simply love songs, and they're the best.
THRASH ′EM DOWN is a four-piece Metal Band from Magdeburg, Germany, which was formed in the beginning of 2012. First gigs came up in 2013, sharing the stage with Grave, Madball and Biohazard. Now, in the late summer of 2014, the band released this demo, which was recorded live in their own rehearsal room. The demo contains four tracks full of Thrash-Metal and comes with a quality embroidered patch!
German Schlager from the Uruguayan expat and formerly known and respected screamo-death and porno-rap avantgarde artist Franz Saarschleifer. The second album from 2014 containing nine instant golden oldies comes here in a ultra-rare deluxe edition, as hand-crafted Digipak made from wood (!) and leather (!!).
2014 debut album by the German fun punks: 20 completely moronic songs inspired by bands such as Abstürzende Brieftauben, Chefdenker, Blinker Links or die Kassierer - a style the musicians themselves tellingly refer to as afro-japanese napalm jazz. Definitely a must-have for true fans of that well-established genre!
