Podwójna recenzja Via Doloris „Guerre et Paix”

 Via Doloris

„Guerre et Paix”

Season of Mist 2026

Za nazwą Via Doloris stoi Gildas Le Pape, który swego czasu udzielał się jako muzyk sesyjny i koncertowy w Satyricon. Niebawem, bo dwudziestego marca, ukaże się jego debiutancka płyta. „Guerre et Paix” to siedem kawałków black metalu, pod który bębny podłożył sam Frost, ale nie wydaje mi się, żeby to jakoś znacząco wpłynęło na efekt końcowy. (Czytaj dalej...)

Recenzja Dionysiaque „La Tourbe Des Reves”

 Dionysiaque

„La Tourbe Des Reves”

I, Voidhanger Records (2026)

 

Jakoś debiutancki album Francuzów, choć wydany w barwach lubianej przeze mnie I, Voidhanger Records mnie ominął. Podchodząc do odsłuchu nadchodzącego wydawnictwa zatytułowanego „La Tourbe Des Reves” spodziewałem się okołoblackowej awangardy do której włoski label nas przyzwyczaił. (Czytaj dalej...)

Mini THE LEAVING do odsłuchu

 

On March 6th internationally, Personal Records will release The Leaving's highly anticipated debut mini-album, The Leaving, on CD format. And today, the 666MrDoom YouTube channel streams the mini-album in its entirety. Hear The Leaving's The Leaving in its entirety exclusively HERE.

Kawałek z nowej EP-ki CRIMSON LEAVES

 

Formed in early 2024, Crimson Leaves is a blend of Gothic Darkness, Darkwave and heaviness of Doom and Death Metal. The quartet released a single and an EP at the dawn of 2024’s autumn with the name: Together in Death. From there the heavily autumn themed Band took on a broader variety of songs and genres and hence released on 14th February 2026 their Second EP titled: Tears on the Altar to feature wave songs along with the heavier side of music to combine a unique blend of styles.

Obsada jedenastej edycji Black Waves Fest

 

Video od GRAVEBORN

 

Boston-based progressive death metal band GRAVEBORN have posted a playthrough video of the title track off their upcoming fifth full-length album Metempsychosis.

The video features guitarist Chris Ramusiewicz shredding through his parts on "Metempsychosis." Watch now at this location.

"Metempsychosis," along with previous singles from the album are streaming on Spotify and Apple Music.

Tracklist:

1) Embers of Existence

2) The Archaea Paradox

3) Temporal Sands

4) Idols of Bone

5) Paralogs

6) Metempsychosis

7) River of the Eternal Mind

8) Epistatic Drift

9) Legacy of Light

10) The Maw of Recursion

11) Orthologs

Nowy WITCHING HOUR w maju

 

On May 22nd internationally, Dying Victims Productions will release the highly anticipated fourth album of Germany's Witching Hour, Descending... Where Time Has Ceased to Exist, on CD and vinyl LP formats. And today, Deaf Forever magazine's website premieres the new track "The Graves Yearn for the Dead." Hear Witching Hour's "The Graves Yearn for the Dead" in its entirety exclusively HERE.

It’s been a long, strange trip for Witching Hour. Formed in 2006 in the southwest of Germany, the band’s earliest work tended toward paradigmatic blackthrash, particularly the Teutonic iteration of it. And while releases have been patiently sparse during that time, they’ve been of uniformly high quality, all leading up to 2018’s pivotal third album, …And Silent Grief Shadows the Passing Moon. Here, Witching Hour staked their claim as some of thrash metal’s strongest songwriters with a narrative flow that was almost dream-like and a sound quite elevated from their humble beginnings. A career highpoint, to be sure, but silence then ensued…

So it goes with Witching Hour, patience is rewarded with their long-awaited fourth album, Descending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist. Much like its towering predecessor, Descending… comprises five epic tracks (plus instrumental intro) and, this time, exceeds the length by two minutes for a total of 44: a journey indeed awaits. In fact, the band recorded, mixed, and mastered the album at Journey into Eternity Studios, which is owned by drummer Sascha Bastian.

Ancient metal mysticism is the atmosphere that cloaks Witching Hour’s fourth album like ethereal chainmail. The grit of its predecessor has been slightly shined to a rustic gleam, of sorts, as the songwriting suitably grows more diversified and complex – and, even more uniquely, possessing a paradox of density and spaciousness. As each composition winds and wends on paths that are alternately mysterious, gloomy, and triumphant, the power-trio gallop with a confidence that’s compelling to the extreme; the narrative flow is more fluid than ever, drawing the listener deeper into the all-encompassing experience. That their riffing has grown even more (gloomily) melodic and the leads burn brighter than before simply underlines the band’s traditional metal foundations, particularly that of the NWOBHM.

To summarize and say that Descending… Where Time Has Ceased to Exist marries prog-rock structures to ancient heavy metal riffing & melody and draped in the atmosphere of pioneering German thrash and earliest black metal only explains half the brilliance of Witching Hour at this juncture – but it’ll perhaps encourage you to begin that journey!

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track "The Graves Yearn for the Dead" exclusively HERE, courtesy of Deaf Forever, Germany's defenders of the true. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Witching Hour (Germany)'s Descending... Where Time Has Ceased to Exist

1. Descending... [2:31]

2. Where Time Has Ceased To Exist [7:16]

3. Profane Resurrection Of A Presumed Dead [6:14]

4. The Graves Yearn For The Dead [7:05]

5. A Night Under A Crimson Moons Lament [8:35]

6. ...And Then Came The Flames [11:25]

Debiut PROTRUSION na dniach

 

A new contagion is set to be unleashed upon the underground: The Last Suppuration, the debut full-length from Indiana death metal band PROTRUSION. Forged in filth and steeped in the fetid atmosphere of early ’90s extremity, the album is a festering monument to the genre’s most savage traditions.

Stream the title track and lead single, "Boiled at Birth" at protrusion.bandcamp.com

Extremely Rotten Productions and Unholy Domain will release the vinyl edition of The Last Suppuration this spring. The album will be out March 13 on cassette via Unholy Domain (Europe) and Iron Fortress Records (North America) and CD through Sevared Records. US fans can order the cassette from Iron Fortress Records.

The band will release the album digitally at protrusion.bandcamp.com

European cassette pre-orders available at unholydomainrecords.bandcamp.com

North American cassette pre-orders available at www.ironfortressrecords.com

Pre-order the CD at store.sevared.com

Tracklist:

1) Confined to Anguish

2) Accursed Skin

3) Exhumer’s Romance

4) Morbid Mortality

5) Boiled at Birth

6) Slugs of Decadence

7) Scorned Vengeance

8) Sacrament

9) The Last Suppuration

10) Anthropophilic Anomaly

Recenzja Belith „Hounds of Hell”

 Belith

„Hounds of Hell”

Godz ov War 2026

Oho! Chyba Pan Grzegorz wziął się na serio za panienki. Bo chwilę temu była Visteria, ale widać jedna dziewoja to za mało, bo teraz mamy Belith. A tu muzykantek jest aż trzy! No cóż, jak to się mówi, głowa siwieje, dupa szaleje. Ale żarty na bok, bo znów ktoś o mnie napiszę, że jestem knurem i wszystko kojarzy mi się z jednym. Belith, jak już wspomniałem, tworzą trzy dziewczyny. (Czytaj dalej...)

Recenzja Antrisch „Expedition III: Renitenzpfad”

 Antrisch

„Expedition III: Renitenzpfad”

AOP Records 2026

Nigdy z muzyką tego kwintetu się nie spotkałem, choć o dziwo pochodzą z miasta, które dość dobrze znam. Cóż, nigdy nie jest za późno. Ci Niemcy grają razem już sześć lat, a „Expedition III: Renitenzpfad” jest ich drugim pełniakiem. Antrisch szyje black metal, który mocno kojarzy mi się z poczynaniami ich rodaków z Kanonenfieber, z tym, że jest u nich mniej wojennie, a bardziej malowniczo, bo każda z produkcji tej kapeli opowiada jakąś dramatyczną historię. (Czytaj dalej...)

Debiutancka EP-ka RELIC za miesiąc

 

Milwaukee (WI) - A new Blackened Death Metal entity has formed. Featuring veterans of the Milwaukee metal scene, RELIC is set to release debut EP, Crown of Flies, April 3 on CD and digital formats.

The EP's first single, "Scavengers Daughter," is streaming now at youtu.be/JHYByItCdFE, as well as on Bandcamp and Ampwall.

Delivering Death Metal's dissonant punishing riffage with Black Metal's relentless chaotic speed. RELIC builds a new monument on the foundation of those that came before. Comprised of seasoned Milwaukee metal scene veterans with a history of making tight and focused music. Their debut EP, Crown Of Flies, is a blistering slab of Midwest 90s Blackend Death Metal worship. Delivered with malintent for its listeners. No frills, no scene drama, or gimmicks used by so many bands today. Pure underground Death Metal that is in your face and out for blood.

Track Listing:

1. The Void Between Gods

2. Filth Of Rebirth

3. Scavengers Daughter

4. Iron Sactament

Wznowienie jedynki GOREROTTED

 

Gorerotted's debut "Mutilated in Minutes" pre-orders are online now! Available on Purple Marble vinyl (limited to 250 copies) and Clear with Red Splatter vinyl (limited to 100 copies)! This record that was never before released on regular vinyl until now!

Order here:

https://gorerotted.lnk.to/mutilatedinminutes

KÕDU wracają z nowym krążkiem

 

On April 25th internationally, Antiq is proud to present Kõdu's highly anticipated second album, Kirjad Sõgedate Külast.

Kõdu’s second full-length, Kirjad Sõgedate Külast is a concept album that unfolds as a collection of letters from a forgotten village on the brink of collapse. Through tales of drought, famine, a decaying royal bloodline sustained by inbreeding, and a murder mystery set at the turn of a century, the record paints a bleak portrait of isolation, superstition, and moral rot. Each song functions as a written testimony, revealing fragments of the village's fate from different perspectives.

Remaining true to Kõdu's ethos, all lyrics are performed in Estonian and are drawn from the works of Estonian poets active between 1850 and 1950, grounding the album deeply in local language and literary tradition. The visual identity is drawn from a 1913 artwork by Estonian artist Nikolai Triik. Kirjad Sõgedate Külast stands as a unified narrative work—rooted in black metal tradition, yet driven by storytelling and cultural memory.

Antiq is a label dedicated to the fully coherent concept of making music through sound, image, video, and attitude. They have been putting their entire existence into it since 2009. Over the years, Antiq have been identified as producers of not only perfectly coherent lyrics and themes through music, but also conceptual art and, of course, the manufacturing of beautiful objects. The label tries as much as it can to work with French creators, and if possible, with the smallest and most serious structures.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new title track "Kirjad Sõgedate Külast" HERE at the Black Metal Promotion YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Kõdu’s Kirjad Sõgedate Külast

1. I [2:02]

2. II [5:24]

3. III [6:30]

4. IV [2:24]

5. V [5:03]

6. VI [6:39]

7. VII [3:43]

Trzeci SICARIUS w kwietniu

 

On April 10th internationally, Adirondack Black Mass is proud to present Sicarius' highly anticipated third album, Nex, on CD and cassette tape formats.

SI_CA_RI_US

Latin. “Assassin, Murderer Dagger-Man, Slayer. Killer”

Formed in early 2014 by Argyris and Carnage, the idea behind Sicarius was to embody the fury and violent spirit of black metal. Drawing heavy inspiration from the artists of first- and second-wave acts from Scandinavia, Greece, and the US, Sicarius inject their potent cocktail of black metal with elements of American aggression like thrash, death metal, goth, and rock.

The five-piece lineup would be rounded out with original drummer Brandon Zackey (Whitechapel) and would release a demo in 2015 titled Scorch the Earth and, following that, would perform locally throughout all of 2016 until entering the studio with Mick Kenney (Kordhel, Anaal Nathrakh, Motionless in White, Bleeding Through), where the band would record their debut album, Serenade of Slitting Throats. Released through M-Theory Audio, Serenade of Slitting Throats was met with positive critical acclaim from fans and publications alike. Metal Hammer, Outburn, Invisible Oranges, and several others showered the record with praise, with New Noise magazine stating, "the band doesn’t simply re-tread over the very worn path; they blaze forward with the flags of their forefathers held high. That is what makes this fantastic album so special."

Sicarius would continue traversing this upward trajectory, performing with acts like 1349, Goatwhore, Vader, Marduk, Disgorge, and Incantation and traveling across the country and regions in Mexico.

In 2018, co-founder Argyris would step away to focus on his education and personal life, while the band would carry on with a replacement on guitar and enter the studio once again with producer Mick Kenney to record God of Dead Roots. This sophomore album would be released on M-Theory Audio during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the album was received positively by fans and critics, it would essentially signal the end of the band.

Over the course of the next few years, the band would lose their original lineup, with Brandon leaving to pursue his career with deathcore legends Whitechapel and the rest either leaving or being removed. Sicarius was dead.

It would be at this point, after six years, Argyris and Carnage would reconnect and rebuild the dead organism known as Sicarius.

In 2024, the two would write and begin recording their long-awaited third album, Nex: a gritty and ultraviolent crime drama of an album, pulling influences from bands like Bathory, Rotting Christ, Dissection, Mayhem, Urghehal, Marduk, Absu, and fusing in elements from groups like Type O Negative. It would be here that Sicarius would welcome new vocalist Akefalos to the lineup, where his soaring vocal style would make its debut, replacing longtime vocalist K. Karcass.

Sicarius also contributed to a split released at the end of 2024 called We’ll Meet You Where the Ravens Circle with SoCal black metal band Withermoon, where the former would rewrite and rerecord two songs from their demo days.

Nex is the culminating flatline of the death and rebirth of a band too pissed off to stay deceased: a 10-track story about loss, death, retribution, and fury that honors tradition while being unafraid to venture on its own.

Sicarius is hungry, Sicarius is ready.

Sicarius wants to hunt again.

In the meantime, hear the brand-new track "An Aptitude for Elimination" HERE at Adirondack Black Mass' official YouTube channel. Cover and tracklisting are as follows:

Tracklisting for Sicarius' Nex

1. Cold Death

2. Opened Obsidian Gateways

3. No Witnesses

4. Crashing Into The Abyss

5. Banshee

6. Daggers Down

7. The Hunger We Cannot Sate

8. An Aptitude For Elimination

9. Ambuscade

10. Nex (feat. Charles Hedger)

Singiel od PURE WRATH

 

PURE WRATH were formed 2014 in West Java, Indonesia as the anguished, atmospheric and affecting Black Metal project of multi-instrumentalist Januaryo Hardy.

Year-on-year the raw, visceral and tangible have seeped further into the band's music, culminating in fourth full-length "Bleak Days Ahead", recorded together in Bekasi with drummer Yurii Ciel (ex-WHITE WARD) for the first time. The result is a stridently modern and characteristically emotive record exploring the despair of living under uncertain conditions in dismal industrialised environments.

Tracklist:

01. Bleak Days Ahead, Pt. I

02. Bleak Days Ahead, Pt. II

03. Haven of Echoes

04. Spectral Insomnia

05. Opaque Mist

Cover artwork designed by Aghy Purakusuma.

Mastermind Ryo had this to say regarding "Bleak Days Ahead":

"Four years. I hadn't planned for it to take this long, but the songwriting became very difficult due to my drained energy from daily life matters and the lack of inspiring input from what I would call the dark times we are currently living in. In the end, every hour of phone calls with Yurii, not only as fellow musicians but also as best friends, was truly meaningful in shaping this album, both musically and philosophically. This time, I am deeply grateful that we were able to share the same air, laughter, and voices in the same studio while recording the album together."

PURE WRATH offer 'Spectral Insomnia' as an intense first impression of the new album – atmospheric Black Metal collides with raw emotional force, as panoramic melodies rise over a relentless rhythmic attack. Check out the song and video via DMP's YouTube channel and via Bandcamp:

"Bleak Days Ahead" will be released on CD and vinyl (including an exclusive DMP vinyl version), alongside an exclusive t-shirt, on April 24th.