Depressive black metallers Ghost Bath have emerged from beyond the veil with their new album, Rose Thorn Necklace, through long-time partner Nuclear Blast. Free from the Moonlover-Starmourner-Self Loather conceptual trilogy, sole proprietor Nameless (aka Dennis Mikula) explores the most intense and introspective Ghost Bath's oeuvre, advancing with blackened blasts and melancholic movements while moving his only child forward into the unknown. Hoisted into the firmament by the shimmering 'Vodka Butterfly' and the dissonant bliss of 'Well, I Tried Drowning' on one end and lowered into Mikula's personal abyss with 'Dandelion Tea' and the riveting title track on the other, Rose Thorn Necklace is absolute danger and haunting beauty.

Conceptually, Eldamar used to be inspired by J.R.R Tolkien, Heathenism, Elven Magic and Nature. On the new albums, however, this focus has shifted more towards existential themes and nonphysical experiences.
The goal of Eldamar's art has always been to help listeners to open up to the music in an emotional way and combine the experience with their imagination. To that end, the combination of aural and visual impressions was and still is important.
Where in the past Eldamar used the gorgeous nature paintings of Albert Bierstadt to help the listener to enter dream-like lands, the new album, which is part two of a conceptual work, uses another magnificent painting by the Polish master of surreal art Mariusz Lewandowski to give the listener some visual cues as to what this album is about…

Antropomorphia are back! Six years after their acclaimed studio full-length "Merciless Savagery" (2019), the Dutch death dealers return with their most brutal and dark record so far that is aptly entitled "Devoid of Light". When Antropomorphia created "Devoid of Light" over a period of two and a half years, they never lost sight of their vision: to combine a wide variety of harsh musical textures including fanatical, white-eyed aggression, misanthropic and nihilistic lyrics, and dark emotions such as anger, despair, and pain among many others into dark and oppressive soundscapes. Antropomorphia were originally spawned from the foul stench of death in the Dutch city of Tilburg in 1990. At the time, they were pioneers, which soon turned them into a corner stone of the brutal music scene in the Netherlands…

Behemoth's ascent is a story that can be told in many ways and from many perspectives. When one writes about a band that has written and rewritten the book on extreme metal for over 30 years that much is inevitable. However, it would be difficult to really capture the story's essence without focusing on the ambition and power which drive the band. While both power and ambition, as terms, can be tied in some way and some meaning to every story - their interpretation here is exact and carefully chosen. Ambition is the charioteer, navigating ever forwards to new horizons and visions and power are the horses, without whose prowess those horizons would be but a distant dream.
The new opus, The Shit Ov God, is emblematic of that. Here's a band that, 34 years in, is releasing it's most inflammatory and extreme record to date…

With a dozen ferocious and acclaimed albums since 1996's Daemon Qui Fecit Terra, Hate's fortunate thirteenth album, Bellum Regiis, finds the relentless Polish quartet forging a bolder and more aggressive style than ever. The nine songs on Bellum Regiis see vocalist/guitarist ATF Sinner, guitarist Domin, drummer Nar-Sil and bassist Tiermes hone a modern sound full of eerie atmosphere and depth. Produced by David Castillo (Candlemass, Carcass, Dark Tranquility, Katatonia) at Stockholm's Grondahl Studio, Bellum Regiis is lyrically a more "human and personal" album than Rugia. The songs of Bellum Regiis, explains founder Sinner, are a contemporary sonic and visual exploration of "a struggle for power and everything that goes with it"…

Goldstar takes perennial New Yorkers, Imperial Triumphant's exploration of the extreme and arcane and delivers the band’s most focused, authentic and accessible work to date. While the triumvirate has expanded the language of extreme music with albums including Alphaville (2021) and Spirit of Ecstasy (2023) via musical improvisation and a visual obliqueness that extends to their haunting masked performances, this is their defining moment. Also joining the Decibel magazine vaunted ensemble are Meshuggah drummer Thomas Haake and legendary drummer, Dave Lombardo, both of whose presence makes it clear that musically, Imperial Triumphant are in a class by themselves. From album opener “Eye of Mars” to the stirring “Hotel Sphinx” and the death metal scraping “Rot Moderne”, this is the sound of Imperial capitalizing on months of churning up the road in the company of Behemoth, Carcass and Zeal & Ardor…

On their 14th studio opus, Cradle Of Filth blend their iconic macabre sound with dark new delights!
Grammy Award-nominated Cradle Of Filth reign supreme as one of the most revered, formative and notorious names in music - from the depths of the extreme metal underground to the peaks of mainstream pop culture itself, and are responsible for breaking ground for many of today’s top metal artists with their trademark mixture of blackened heaviness, macabre theatricality and scintillating gothic style.
Now, following the release of 2021’s Existence Is Futile - which debuted at #20 on the Billboard 200 with Hard Rock Genre (beyond many other chart debuts) - the international institution returns with their arrestingly catchy 14th studio album, The Screaming of the Valkyries…

Hailing from the mist-clad highlands of Scotland, Saor is a band that breathes life into history with their majestic blend of black metal intensity and Celtic folk melodies. Guided by the spirit of Caledonia, Saor's music transcends time, echoing the ancient tales of their homeland. Amidst the melancholy ruins and the grandeur of nature, their latest album, Amidst the Ruins, majestically intertwines the past with the present. From the haunting echoes of Glen of Sorrow that recounts the betrayal of the Massacre of Glencoe, to the forest's whispered secrets in The Sylvan Embrace featuring Jo Quail, each track is a portal to Scotland’s rich heritage. This album is a tribute to the timeless landscapes and ancestral spirits, capturing the soul of a nation in every note…

"Blot-Ilt-Taut" is Ereb Altor's tribute to Swedens most legendary band Bathory! Finally available on CD!
Every fan knowing about Ereb Altor's career is aware that they are by far not a Bathory tribute or cover band, but Quorthon and his legendary band is one of the main influences and with tons of heart and soul Ereb Altor transport this heritage to the present age!
Now Ereb Altor choose to record 7 Bathory classics for this release entitled "Blot-Ilt-Taut" (which is old Swedish and means nothing less than "Blood-Fire-Death"!), where they praise with reverence and much respect the mighty works of Tomas "Ace" Börje Forsberg who sadly passed away in 2004 much too early.

In spite of straying so far from its black metal roots as to almost seem a completely different band at times, Dimmu Borgir still packs a powerful punch on Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia. New guitarist Galder (formerly of Old Man's Child) nicely infuses more traditional metallic mannerisms, but the addition of drummer Nicholas Barker (Cradle of Filth and Lock Up) is critical. His always-punishing percussive prowess allows the seamless melding of speedy black metal with considerably more orchestration, this time around provided by the Gothenburg Opera Orchestra itself, creating a cacophony of nefarious melodies atop gothic gloom. "Puritania" is indicative of something the band probably would never have tried even a few years ago, a stirring descant with a myriad of vocal styles seemingly coming from all directions…

Erg sounds like a true blending of black metal hostility and post-metal worldbuilding, albeit one that’s presented in a predominantly post-black framework. The songs blur boundaries as they craft their atmospheric layers, providing the listener with a journey that’s both harsh and expressive. It’s an aggressive base that Agrypnia build upon, but they do so with melodic colour and well-structured texture. It’s a mood-rich album, with a few different flavours spread out across the tracks. Some of the music sounds quite earthy and stripped back, whereas at other times it can be more complex and sophisticated.

Carved from the frozen landscapes of Norway, 1349 have etched their mark upon the black metal pantheon, wielding their instruments like war-axes in the vanguard of the genre's relentless assault. With a legacy drenched in the blood of aural extremities, they have become the standard-bearers of unyielding sonic warfare, relentless in their pursuit of the darker arts. Behold The Wolf and The King, the latest cataclysm to be unleashed by 1349. A tempestuous odyssey through eight tracks of pure, unadulterated black metal, flawlessly showcasing the band's mastery over chaos and carnage. From the voracious onslaught of The God Devourer to the sinister depths of Fatalist, each track is a portal into a realm where shadows reign supreme, and the air is thick with the stench of decay. Ash of Ages blends thrash influences with extreme black metal flourishes…

Five years after the release of Hearts of No Light, Swiss avant garde experimentalists Schammasch return with the follow up, The Maldoror Chants: Old Ocean - set for release via Prosthetic Records on October 25. This upcoming release will be the second in an ongoing series of works by Schammasch that draws from Les Chants de Maldoror - one of the 19th century’s most fascinating literary works which would later become part of the foundation of the surrealist movement. Sonically, the album charts the continued evolution in the sound of Schammasch; dark, gothy undertones rise often to the surface with sultry spoken word taking centre stage at various points. A pulsating, monolithic rhythm flows through the album with their atmospheric take on post-black metal providing a majestic backdrop - replete with a love for detail and the use of unusual elements like accordions, classical orchestration or industrial soundscapes…