Eisenwald

4-panel Digipak in a deluxe reverse (rough) finish. Accompanied by a 8-page booklet on uncoated paper, including lyrics and album information.

Iskandr, the enigmatic heathen black metal project by creator O, returns in the autumn of the year MMXXI with their third full-length album. In two albums and two EP’s spread out between MMXVI and now, the project has seen an interesting arc of development from spacious atmospheres and regal solitude towards both a more battle hardened aggression as well as elaborate acoustic instrumentation. The new album “Vergezicht” not only delivers on what these earlier releases promised but further elevates Iskandr into higher planes of compositional complexity.

Utilising a variety of electric and acoustic instruments – as well as a wide array of vocal techniques – the sound of Iskandr has ventured further into realms of monumental sonic architecture. The fruitful collaboration between O’s musical direction and engineering, and M. Koop’s foundational drumming, provides a degree of clarity and forcefulness to the record that goes well beyond anything put out under the Haeresis Noviomagi banners until now. The regal triumphalism of its MMXVIII predecessor “Euprosopon” is further expanded upon, yielding six hymns chronicling stories of heroic resistance, deceit and regeneration. 

4-panel Digipak on matte stock, inside prints and including digital album download.

On "Vom Bruch bis zur Freiheit", the band showcases a keen understanding of what has become their very own distinct sonic palette, while allowing for alterations in performance and presentation to further enrich their sound. Musically, Tardigrada demonstrates a strong sense for composition, allowing melodies carried primarily by a dense wall of soaring guitars to develop and envelop listeners in a deep, ever flowing stream of broad sound.

4-panel Digipak on matte stock, inside prints and including digital album download

Switzerland's Tardigrada have emerged as one of the leading purveyors of truly immersive, atmospheric extreme metal music. With members based in Basel and Zürich, the band's demo "Widrstand" provides a glimpse into the sonic seeds that would fully grow into their full-length releases.

On "Widrstand", Tardigrada presents a rawer sound that is no less capable of gripping listeners with its keen sense for melody than the band's more accomplished later works. Due to "Widrstand" no longer being available in its original, strictly limited release run, it is long overdue for a re-release. For this occasion, it will feature an additional song entitled "Leere" (which translates to "Emptiness").

Carefully re-mastered by Christoph Brandes of Iguana Studios, allowing for listeners to experience them in a new light, enhancing their original soundscape while retaining the original recordings' essence.

BE CAREFUL: NOT THE RED VERSION

2023 repress, 500 copies with regular cover.

Solid sleeve on reverse board, thick 12" insert on uncoated stock, old-school A4 insert with lyrics and artwork on uncoated paper, poly-lined inner-sleeve, download of the album on a specially designed card.

Manufactured in Germany.

First press with special handmade digipak package.
Stereo Compact Disc, RED foil edition.

Digipak CD edition. First press with exclusive debossed slipcase made of special red natural card stock!

See the product info TAB for all details!

On their fourth full-length album "Stave", Osi and the Jupiter provide listeners with a unique journey through the delicate sounds of what may have been believed to be long lost; allowing for a truly immersive experience that is informed by the innate mysticism still dwelling beneath the surface of their native Appalachian region of eastern Ohio.

On "Arete", NETHERBIRD return with their signature melodic black/death metal that has become their hallmark. It is deeply rooted in the Scandinavian underground legacy, yet delivered with a strong sense of feel and urgency, allowing these tracks to exude the confidence and songwriting prowess of a band at the peak of their craft. The album itself is the third installment of the trilogy that started on “The Grander Voyage” and continued on “Into the Vast Uncharted”. The journey has come to its completion with this album, where the very concept of Arete – the classic ideal of excellence – is scrutinized from various angles in these songs.

Vinyl has screen printed artwork on the backside.
Housed in a single jacket printed on reserve board.
3 art prints included.

With an enchanting splendor FLYKT takes us on a very down to earth yet intense musical journey, a ritual tribute to our Northern legacy and a time when people lived in harmony with nature and worshipped the Nordic gods. There is more to FLYKT than merely ambient tones that resonate with atmospheric soundscapes - it also serves as a reminder to us all to embrace our heritage; to bring back what has been lost and to cherish it until the very end.

4-panel digipak with silver prints, comes with 12-page fold-out poster booklet incl. all lyrics and artwork.

REISSUE 2022

(180g black vinyl, gatefold, Poster)

On their third full-length album, "Es grauet", Ungfell abducts listeners on a sonic journey detailing moral ambivalence and treachery. Set in a seemingly idyllic rural village in pre-modern times, all is not as it seems. Tragedy strikes the town in the form of a horrific, grisly murder. Unfounded accusations lead the town further astray, while these occurences of debauchery exceed the comprehension of the local inhabitants. Alas, evil lurks where you may least expect it... The story unfolds, accompanied by ravaging riffs and gripping songwriting that appropriately underline the complex, yet harrowing narrative. "Es grauet" shows Ungfell at their most ambitious and most audacious, featuring incredibly dynamic and warm production values, emphasizing atmosphere even more than previous releases and managing to compliment the story being told.

CD in classic jewelcase with 8-page fold-out booklet and silver prints

Granted, while ODAL's melodicism here is much more on the melancholic side, there's a uniquely uplifting aspect to it. Perhaps that's due to the lyrical themes underpinning Welten Mutter: translating to "World's Mother" in English, they deal deeply with nature are dedicated to Nordic mythology, specifically with the creation of the world(s) on earth and for the gods. As such, Welten Mutter is arguably ODAL's most pagan-oriented album, but thankfully, their version of pagan black metal safely evades all the cliches usually associated with such an appellation.

At once authentically retro and uncompromisingly adventurous, Welten Mutter stands tall as ODAL's defining statement in a world too often fixated on the "new" and frequently too blurry about the past.

Stone & Sea (blue/grey blend) Vinyl

Triumphant and tragic, Odal returns with its 5th album 'Welten Mutter'.
Honest and pure black metal at its poignant best, ripp(l)ing with a melodicism that's graceful and heartstrings-pulling but never overwrought. An eternal flame seems to burn over and under all here, as energy is not in short supply, but dynamics are never sacrificed in the process; the interplay between the longstanding duo of Taaken and A.D.D. is fluid and flawless, and conveys a very tangible urgency that makes each of these seven rousing hymns even more breathtaking.

Granted, while ODAL's melodicism here is much more on the melancholic side, there's a uniquely uplifting aspect to it. Perhaps that's due to the lyrical themes underpinning Welten Mutter: translating to "World's Mother" in English, they deal deeply with nature are dedicated to Nordic mythology, specifically with the creation of the world(s) on earth and for the gods. As such, Welten Mutter is arguably ODAL's most pagan-oriented album, but thankfully, their version of pagan black metal safely evades all the cliches usually associated with such an appellation.

At once authentically retro and uncompromisingly adventurous, Welten Mutter stands tall as ODAL's defining statement in a world too often fixated on the "new" and frequently too blurry about the past.

On their third full-length album, "Es grauet", Ungfell abducts listeners on a sonic journey detailing moral ambivalence and treachery. Set in a seemingly idyllic rural village in pre-modern times, all is not as it seems. Tragedy strikes the town in the form of a horrific, grisly murder. Unfounded accusations lead the town further astray, while these occurences of debauchery exceed the comprehension of the local inhabitants. Alas, evil lurks where you may least expect it... The story unfolds, accompanied by ravaging riffs and gripping songwriting that appropriately underline the complex, yet harrowing narrative. "Es grauet" shows Ungfell at their most ambitious and most audacious, featuring incredibly dynamic and warm production values, emphasizing atmosphere even more than previous releases and managing to compliment the story being told.

Re-release, no re-master, with original (optimized) layout.

Originally released in 2008, Lost Horizons of Wisdom is a hauntingly mystical black metal album, with just the right dose of ambiance mixed into the sonic journey. The album's evocative nature is matched by its flawless lo-fi production of ghostly guitars, ethereal synths, and classic 90`s aesthetics to create a truly atmospheric black metal record.

15 years anniversary edition.

Already in the early days „The Stars Are Dead Now“ was advanced with two additional tracks, followed by multiple re-issues showcasing the interest in this recording.CD in classic jewelcase with 4-page booklet on thick stock, decorative obi strip. Silver print on natural black card stock

New ISKANDR tunes on 12" vinyl with CD listening copy.
Mastered for vinyl by Greg Chandler at Priory Studios UK.

ISKANDR continues to roam, wider and wistfully, with the epic new EP Gelderse Poort. Comprising two tracks for a total of 24 minutes, Gelderse Poort is a thematically unified release, offering yet more depth to the already-deep ISKANDR aesthetic. The EP’s title track was recorded during the Euprosopon sessions and deal with O’s home region and both the spiritual connection and distance to one's place of origin. The “Gelderse Poort” is a literal name for the region where the Rhine enters the Netherlands from Germany, since it is on this border that the river cuts a path through two elevated areas and, as such, resembles a sort of "gate" into the Netherlands. As O explains, “I take this 'gate' as a more symbolic entity, a metaphorical entryway into or exit from one's home – that moment whenever you feel like 'Ah, I'm back again!' or the other way around, 'Damn, I feel very far removed from home right now.' Fittingly, the title track spans a wealth of sonic terrain, from spacious ‘n’ pastoral to the searingly violent, but all with ISKANDR’s characteristically deft and dynamic touch.

“Het Graf,” the second track, features a spoken rendition of a part of the poem "het Graf" (English: “The Grave”) by Dutch writer Rhijnvis Feith, spoken by O’s father. Even moodier than Gelderse Poort’s title track, dipping into eerily quiet passages brimming with beauty and tension alike, the song fittingly deals with death, the finitude of life, and youth vs. old age. “It was very significant to have my dad on the record since all ISKANDR material is pretty personal in nature,” O enthuses, “and having him recite a poem dealing with these existential themes is a very meaningful addition to my discography, I feel.”

Meaningful, and essential: ISKANDR’s discography may be spare still, but the band’s vision continues to be breathtaking. Set sail for splendor and wonder with Gelderse Poort! 

180g Clear/Oxblood 'Blood Galaxy' Vinyl with lyric book.
Limited to 200 copies.

KANKAR make their first grand statement with 'Dunkle Millennia', the duo's debut full-length. Immediately recognizable as KANKAR but bolstered on every level - songwriting, performance, production - Dunkle Millennia literally bristles with an electricity that's undeniable. For a band still (proudly) black metal, the KANKAR of now here evince an artistry that spans decades and even genres; one can detect trace elements of classic death metal, pagan metal, traditional metal, and even rock 'n' roll within the album's succinct-yet-expansive 45-minute runtime, and yet all of it's spliced and diced in a most fluid manner, and not once ever schizophrenic. In fact, the muscular-yet-finessed interplay between vocalist/guitarist/bassist Stríð and drummer Plágan suggests an almost symbiotic relationship, each ever-unfolding passage walking/surging down a thorny path but with the route known only to KANKAR. Even with these increasingly tricky detours, the 11 component songs of Dunkle Millennia never suffer from information overload or convoluted expressions of such: everything is always felt, darkly and dynamically. Credit that feel to the gleaming(ly powerful) production of Markus Stock (Helrunar, Bethlehem, Empyrium, Secrets of the Moon etc.) at his renown Klangschmiede Studio E.

Collectors Digipak edition with hot foil embossing and tight booklet.

KANKAR make their first grand statement with 'Dunkle Millennia', the duo's debut full-length. Immediately recognizable as KANKAR but bolstered on every level - songwriting, performance, production - Dunkle Millennia literally bristles with an electricity that's undeniable. For a band still (proudly) black metal, the KANKAR of now here evince an artistry that spans decades and even genres; one can detect trace elements of classic death metal, pagan metal, traditional metal, and even rock 'n' roll within the album's succinct-yet-expansive 45-minute runtime, and yet all of it's spliced and diced in a most fluid manner, and not once ever schizophrenic. In fact, the muscular-yet-finessed interplay between vocalist/guitarist/bassist Stríð and drummer Plágan suggests an almost symbiotic relationship, each ever-unfolding passage walking/surging down a thorny path but with the route known only to KANKAR. Even with these increasingly tricky detours, the 11 component songs of Dunkle Millennia never suffer from information overload or convoluted expressions of such: everything is always felt, darkly and dynamically. Credit that feel to the gleaming(ly powerful) production of Markus Stock (Helrunar, Bethlehem, Empyrium, Secrets of the Moon etc.) at his renown Klangschmiede Studio E.

Solbrud is known for performing at unique locations, with special care for lights and props, which now results in ‘Levende I Brønshøj Vandtårn’; a carefully curated live double album and video. Recorded inside Brønshøj Water Tower in Copenhagen at two totally sold-out nights. The tower is known for its brutalist architecture and unique acoustics – 15 seconds of natural reverb, which creates a fitting atmospheric backdrop for the monumental sound of the band. On top of that, the tower was freezing cold, amplifying the nature of the music.

The full concert consists of 8 tracks, including songs from all three previous Solbrud albums. Some have been rearranged, taking the special acoustics into account, while others blast through in their original form. In addition to their set, the new song ‘Sjæleskrig’ was added to their setlist, which resonates hauntingly in the great tower’s reverberance.

‘Levende I Brønshøj Vandtårn’ was recorded on November 23rd and 24th 2019 and mixed by Marcus Ferreira Larsen (Demon Head) at No Master's Voice. Mastered by Flemming Rasmussen (Metallica, Morbid Angel, Rainbow, etc.) at Sweet Silence Studios.

Deluxe 12" vinyl edition feat. three overlooked tracks.

For over a decade, FEN have steadily developed into one of the most intriguing bands within the UK black metal scene. Often bracketed within the post-black and "shoegaze" movements, the London trio’s sound is actually more unique to themselves – a startling paradox of searing and aggressive paradox within a progressively daring and ambient beauty. Starting out with a pastoral form of atmospheric black metal on 2009's acclaimed debut The Malediction Fields, the trio's sound has expanded and diversified considerably across five full-length albums to embrace a number of different elements all honed and synthesized into a distinctive, yet captivating, soundscape. In late 2015, the band recorded a three-track EP, entitled Stone and Sea, which was a deliberate hearken back to their older, more explosive, sound whilst retaining the maturity the English trio had developed across the years. The intention was to record something ‘for themselves’, to escape from the album cycle for a time and work on a self-contained piece.  

Recorded, produced and re-mastered specifically for vinyl by Greg Chandler (Esoteric, Lychgate, Grave Miasma, Fluisteraars), these tracks take the best aspects of post-rock and black metal and intertwine key elements of traditional folk to create a masterpiece laced with a definite touch of the "epic."
'Stone & Sea' is a tribute to the crumbling coastlines of Eastern England and the spirits that lie restless beneath the waters.

Recorded, produced and mastered specifically for vinyl by Greg Chandler at Priory Recording Studios in Birmingham, UK. www.prioryrecordingstudios.co.uk
Artwork by Immortalpict Illustration. immortalpictillustration facebook