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Black Vinyl
Proud and pure, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa exudes that aura of classic Finnish black metal from the late '90s onward, as laid down by the likes of Horna, Satanic Warmaster, and Azaghal among others. Black metal doesn't need to "be" anything more than what it already IS - or what it should be - and such is the case with AESTHUS. Every element here, from the melancholically melodic riffing to the surging 'n' swirling battery to, the distinctly twisted timbre of the Finnish tongue, of course, is in perfect, precise, PASSIONATE lockstep to create a maelstrom of hypnotic-yet-hummable proportions. Indeed, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa is the work of a true band - meaning, a group of people playing together rather than a disconnected file-sharing project - with each of these seven songs drench in literal blood and sweat and perhaps alcohol. If there's one trump card that AESTHUS play (and poignantly), it's their dual-guitar lead work; the lead lines explode with memorability and malice in equal measure, underlining the METAL in black metal but never belaboring the point.
Criminally, SHADOW'S MORTUARY are still one of the best-kept secrets in the always-fertile Finnish black metal scene. The quartet formed in 2013, and patiently released two digital-only EPs - Kylmään Hautaan in 2015, and then Tulen Valtakunta in 2018 - before releasing their debut album, also titled Tulen Valtakunta, in 2018. That album was initially released on cassette through the cult Worship Tapes label, but soon did PURITY THROUGH FIRE step in to release it on a wider scale on CD format. A year later came the band's equally strong second album, Kuoleman Portit, also released by PURITY THROUGH FIRE. Across these recordings but especially the two full-lengths, SHADOW'S MORTUARY displayed righteously traditional and ever-fiery Finnish BLACK METAL - no more, but certainly no less - that possessed all the iron-clad trademarks of that idiom.
While things have been relatively quiet on their front since then, SHADOW'S MORTUARY return with a righteous fervor with Unohdettu Maa. Translated into English as "The Forgotten Land," Unohdettu Maa "stands for a vision of a place where no religions reign," the band explain, "Without its effect on human behavior and thinking. With this album, we attack towards Abrahamic religions with full force, carrying the torch of northern heritage and mysticism." Indeed do they accomplish that in a swift-yet-satisfying 32 minutes here, making their point plain and proud: melancholic melodicism, cold-fire execution, a punkish straightforwardness but never primitively so, and simply strong songs, just like the album's two predecessors. But Unohdettu Maa's true trump card comes in SHADOW'S MORTUARY's increasingly effortless ability to span the epic and the rabble-rousing, bringing forth grandeur in less cliched "epic" ways and, similarly, to sound incensed and headbanging without resorting to "party black metal" corniness.
Hailing from the oft-overlooked UK black metal scene, WRITTEN IN TORMENT have been patiently perfecting their craft for nearly 20 years now. A demo and EP followed in quick succession in 2006, followed by a hiatus until 2013, when the debut album Bellum Omnium Contra Omnes was released. WRITTEN IN TORMENT, as ever, is helmed by mainman Leviathan, and he kept apace with a split in 2014, a demo in 2015, and then two full-lengths, Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum and Maledictus Dies Illa, in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
And now, at long last, WRITTEN IN TORMENT deliver their masterwork: Black Command. Presciently titled, Black Command finds Leviathan hitting a fever pitch of creativity, recasting old ghosts of '90s epic/melodic black metal - Throne of Ahaz, Abyssos, Midvinter, Prophanity, and Amsvartner among others - into dazzling new shapes. Rest assured, in word and deed is Black Command BLACK METAL to the hilt, but by no means does it strident traditionalism hinder it in the least. Ripping chops and deft textural layering take center stage across the album's six-song/41-minute runtime, creating a compact canvas that's somehow vast, which is to say nothing of the well-timed incorporation of acoustic guitars and cinematic synths. All this is filtered into a thematic framework focusing on the life and crimes of Jonathan Martin, the infamous arsonist of the Minster Cathedral in York. Joining Leviathan here - and no doubt adding further fuel to the fire - are Prometheus on lead guitars and keyboards and drummer Storm (Blasphemer, ex-Bal-Sagoth, ex-My Dying Bride).
180g Vinyl, thick cardboard, matt finish.
Black wax
For nearly eight years now, the defiant warlord otherwise known as Baptist has put forth a stark, austere style of black metal under the MAVORIM banner. With a couple demos, splits, and then two albums 2018's Silent Leges Inter Arma debut album and 2020's Axis Mundi - through PURITY THROUGH FIRE, MAVORIM has swiftly come to define the new breed of German black metal that hearkens back to the old guard: Teutonic to the bone, harsh and harrowing yet heralding triumph.
And while 2020 did see the release of Axis Mundi AND two splits with comrades TOTENWACHE and AD MORTEM, Baptist wastes no time keeping the conflagrating momentum going with MAVORIM's third full-length, Non Omnis Moriar. No more but definitely no less, Non Omnis Moriar is definitive MAVORIM through and through: cold, cutting, and martial but breathing passion and poignancy at every twisted turn. Whereas the preceding Axis Mundi saw Baptist exploring more epic and atmospheric textures, here does MAVORIM kick up the intensity once again, fully locked-in and reeking of bloodlust - BUT that insanely catchy songwriting that's come to earmark the band has been carried over here, and given a palpitating shot of adrenaline. And even with a runtime of 48 minutes, the ten songs comprising Non Omnis Moriar seem to fly by in a flash, and you're left licking your wounds on the battlefield...if you survive Baptist's berserker fury.
FROSTEN is the most recent creation of prolific UK underground veteran Azrael, who also numbers such entities as Heathen Deity, Helvellyn, Torver, and now-labelmates THY DYING LIGHT among his many current endeavors. As FROSTEN, the duo of Azrael and session drummer Julian Foster play True English Black Metal. Their debut album, With Sigils and Infernal Signs, was originally released in 2020 on cassette only, and now PURITY THROUGH FIRE steps forward to unleash this blast of cryogenic fire on CD format. Almost effortlessly, FROSTEN skillfully exude a classic atmosphere of the late '90s, brimming with the stultifying violence and cold, hard gleam of early Enthroned, Setherial, and Thy Primordial but with a subtly British aspect, most especially in the oft-melodic (and tastefully so) riffing. Grim and bare it With Sigils and Infernal Signs!
Proud and pure, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa exudes that aura of classic Finnish black metal from the late '90s onward, as laid down by the likes of Horna, Satanic Warmaster, and Azaghal among others. Black metal doesn't need to "be" anything more than what it already IS - or what it should be - and such is the case with AESTHUS. Every element here, from the melancholically melodic riffing to the surging 'n' swirling battery to, the distinctly twisted timbre of the Finnish tongue, of course, is in perfect, precise, PASSIONATE lockstep to create a maelstrom of hypnotic-yet-hummable proportions. Indeed, Hänen temppelinsä varjoissa is the work of a true band - meaning, a group of people playing together rather than a disconnected file-sharing project - with each of these seven songs drench in literal blood and sweat and perhaps alcohol. If there's one trump card that AESTHUS play (and poignantly), it's their dual-guitar lead work; the lead lines explode with memorability and malice in equal measure, underlining the METAL in black metal but never belaboring the point.
One of the most imposing and revered bands in black metal's underground for the past decade, BEKËTH NEXËHMÜ have built a literally towering body of work. The band is yet another creative vehicle of Ancient Records linchpin Swartadauþuz (Azelisassath, Digerdöden, Gnipahålan, Musmahhu, Mystik, Summum, Trolldom, Daudadagr, as well as current labelmates GREVE and MUVITIUM), but it's largely BEKËTH NEXËHMÜ where the man has most built his legacy. To date, three official albums have been released - 2010's de dunkla herrarna, 2019's De fördolda klangorna, and last year's literally massive De Fornas Likgaldrar double-album, which featured over two hours of re-recorded material, recast as a whole new experience - and a literal bounty of demos, each one arguably greater and grander than most band's actual albums, that have equally put a frightening new(er) face on Swedish black metal, by turns becoming the nowadays face of the form.
For nearly eight years now, the defiant warlord otherwise known as Baptist has put forth a stark, austere style of black metal under the MAVORIM banner. With a couple demos, splits, and then two albums 2018's Silent Leges Inter Arma debut album and 2020's Axis Mundi - through PURITY THROUGH FIRE, MAVORIM has swiftly come to define the new breed of German black metal that hearkens back to the old guard: Teutonic to the bone, harsh and harrowing yet heralding triumph.
And while 2020 did see the release of Axis Mundi AND two splits with comrades TOTENWACHE and AD MORTEM, Baptist wastes no time keeping the conflagrating momentum going with MAVORIM's third full-length, Non Omnis Moriar. No more but definitely no less, Non Omnis Moriar is definitive MAVORIM through and through: cold, cutting, and martial but breathing passion and poignancy at every twisted turn. Whereas the preceding Axis Mundi saw Baptist exploring more epic and atmospheric textures, here does MAVORIM kick up the intensity once again, fully locked-in and reeking of bloodlust - BUT that insanely catchy songwriting that's come to earmark the band has been carried over here, and given a palpitating shot of adrenaline. And even with a runtime of 48 minutes, the ten songs comprising Non Omnis Moriar seem to fly by in a flash, and you're left licking your wounds on the battlefield...if you survive Baptist's berserker fury.
Since 2011, ÚLFARR have stood for uncompromising, antisocial UK black metal - or, under their own banner of Cumbrian Black Metal. Helmed by Dominus, AKA Hrafn - who counts the equally prolific THY DYING LIGHT amongst his activities, as well as fellow labelmates NEFARIOUS DUSK and MORTE LUNE - ÚLFARR released a couple demos its first few years and then a split album with comrades Hrafnblóð. Another demo followed in 2014, followed by, uniquely, two live albums. Then, in 2019 did the band's debut mini-album at last arrive, bearing the all-too-fitting title Hate & Terror - The Rise Of Pure Evil. Swift and scything, ÚLFARR stoked the flames of traditional black metal in the vein of classic Craft, Darkthrone, Mayhem, One Head One Tail, and Death Cult.
Now, after two more years of silence, ÚLFARR return to stoke those flames again with The Ruins of Human Failure. Another apt title, The Ruins of Human Failure encompasses a four-part title track that spits venom and vitriol for miles around, dumping further fuel on the bonfire of humanity. No more and no less, ÚLFARR hold tight to their sound and hone in one dark, dismal energies inspired by the desolate landscapes of their homeland, the unrelentingly bleak climate, and a shared disdain towards humanity in the overpopulated wastelands of modern Britain. At times more primitive than its predecessor and more headbanging at others, you don't so much as listen to The Ruins of Human Failure as FEEL it - and it still hates you, too.
A brand-new entity that sounds positively/negatively OLD, AVSKRÄDE hearken to the most ancient days of Scandinavian black metal, both in Norway and their native Sweden. The duo delivered a demo earlier in 2021, but now arrive from the coldest, purest past with a 36-minute full-length titled Det stora tunga sjuka. Right from the album's opening seconds, there's no mistaking that AVSKRÄDE play nothing but traditional BLACK METAL Exclusively. From the classic "Peaceville trilogy" of Darkthrone to Malicious-era Gorgoroth on to the early works of Sweden's Craft and Armagedda, Det stora tunga sjuka invokes a nostalgia for grim, glorious times. Indeed, to arrive at its rustic sound, the band recorded the album during primitive conditions in the very north of Sweden, where it is cold and dark most of the time - something they endeavored to transfer to the music itself. And accomplish that they did, as Det stora tunga sjuka is authentically vintage black metal, even down to the Grieghallen-esque guitar tone. HAIL DEATH!!!
A brand-new entity from Finland's ever-fertile black metal underground, KRIEGZEIT are as nasty and twisted as the warfare fro, but then upend familiarity with an alternately agonizing / sublime angularity that somehow retains the latent catchiness of classic headbanging black metal. However, do not linger under the assumption that Hateworship is some type of "party" black metal record; no, KRIEGZEIT are deadly serious in their devotion to darkness and the taboo, but likewise do they retain a devilish sense of mischief. All that's writ large - and FILTHILY - across the wild & wasted Hateworship. Put another way, take one look at the psychedelic-nightmare cover art and you should know what KRIEGZEIT sound like.
CORAXUL hail from the ever-fertile Finnish black metal underground. Although brand-new in name, the quartet's members hail from the well-regarded likes of Licht des Urteils, Curse Upon a Prayer, and labelmates SACRIFICIUM CARMEN and RIIVAUS. Staunchly traditional, expect no grand deviations from the timeless Finnish black metal archetype on the band's debut full-length, Vihavirsiä Aamunkoin - but within that staunch traditionalism lies a bounty of mysticism and melody. CORAXUL thus combines Satan worship, nature glorification, and traditional Finnish folklore in the vein of Finnish national poet Eino Leino, and that melancholic mélange bears bitter fruit across the album's taut-yet-expansive 40-minute runtime. It's warmly familiar but freezingly cold as quintessential Finnish black metal gets, fondly recalling the late/great likes of Noenum, Vitsaus, and Prevalent Resistance rather than the usual suspects. But with the blanching passion and palpable physicality on display across Vihavirsiä Aamunkoin, CORAXUL are indeed their own masters. Besides, black metal doesn't need to "be" anything more than it already is.
