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Released in January 2013 as a 7", this split ep is now being reissued ten years later as a 10" with some changes on the MonumentuM side:
PJ Harvey's classic "The River" is here featured in a different version from the one on the original ep, plus, to bless the two bands sodality, we are adding the song "In Misery Front Row", which originally appeared in 1998 as an instrumental track called "The Colour Of Compassion" on Misanthopy Records label's compilation Presumed Guilty, but hereby featuring Shining's mastermind Niklas Kvarforth on vocals.

Released in January 2013 as a 7", this split ep is now being reissued ten years later as a 10" with some changes on the MonumentuM side:
PJ Harvey's classic "The River" is here featured in a different version from the one on the original ep, plus, to bless the two bands sodality, we are adding the song "In Misery Front Row", which originally appeared in 1998 as an instrumental track called "The Colour Of Compassion" on Misanthopy Records label's compilation Presumed Guilty, but hereby featuring Shining's mastermind Niklas Kvarforth on vocals.

Limited edition, one-press 300 copies

Please note, if you are an Avantgarde Music Circle of Wax subscriber, this release is a part of bundle #3 (February bundle)

After two decades devoted to the dark arts within obscure black metal, Wraith (Vanquished) and Luzifaust (Kaifrun, Hostium) present a new chapter, going by the name of Vastatum.

An ancient parallelled entity born into modern existence. Rich with atmospheric maturity and an emphasis on existential impermanence, Vastatum have executed the sonic experience of passing beyond life into death’s immeasurable grasp. Thus melding the elusive soundscapes of disembodiment with the haunting distinctions of absolution. Poetic, and potent, melodic and malevolent.

Vastatum is driven by the dark innate will of creativity and the seductive allure of the occult, and Mercurial States Of Revelation is the first chapter in the band's history. A chapter written in black metal and contemplations upon human existence.

Mercurial States Of Revelation reflects upon the conceptual philosophy that since time immemorial the earth, world and existence (as we comprehend it) have been in a constant state of flux and continual transformation. Thus compelling all planetary inhabitants toward perpetual states of adaptation within a world that is rapidly evolving and transcending beyond the depths of the human species.

Through mighty riffs deeply rooted in both the classic sounds of Norway in the early ‘90s and the Cascadian tradition of the ‘00s, Vastatum find a perfect balance between the old, the contemporary and the esoteric, picturing visions of growing shadows and perishing bodies.

LP in galaxy effect, oxblood with green. Printed innersleeve

Please note, if you are an Avantgarde Music Circle of Wax subscriber, this release is a part of bundle #3 (February bundle)

Five long years after their fascinating debut, Milan-based duo A Pale December deliver their sophomore album, Death Panacea. Compared to The Shrine Of Primal Fire, Death Panacea steers towards more aggressive, warring sounds. The “atmospheric black metal” label which so aptly described their debut album, is now just one of the many, partial definitions which could be used to define the band’s music.

When asked about their new opus, multi-instrumentalists Riccardo Di Bella and Ernesto Ciotola provided the following, strong statement: “While many metal albums seem to appeal to a feeling of fierceness, a call to war, an urge to fight something, we wanted to express the opposite. Death Panacea is an album about defeat and hopelessness, about the inherent futility of human strife and all our laughable attempts at masking this unescapable nature.

We wanted to praise failing and giving up, as opposed to perseverance, pride and the grinding mentality. We wanted to praise the rejects above the leaders, who naively think they can escape this race towards oblivion, and the coward above the fighting man, whose only fault was believing in the frail concept of nation and a false sense of belonging.

While distancing ourselves from these delusional sentiments, we also didn't want to fall into optimistic nihilism; the idea that the awareness of an impending void can grant any peace is simply preposterous. 

Ultimately, this is the meaning that lies behind the title of the album: death is what keeps us in check and yet is the one and only panacea to all our anguishes. In all this, one could almost find a cold comfort, knowing that the top step of the podium is eventually just a springboard to the abyss”.

Remah is a black metal entity born from a long-standing friendship and split between Paris and Brussels. Dea and ABR have known each other for a very long time and played black metal together since the beginning of their friendship, 17 years ago.

After a 10-year gap in their musical relationship, they gathered once more to create Une Main, Remah debut album, of which Dea wrote and produced all the music and clean vocals while ABR wrote and sang the lyrics. The result is a mixture of ice-cold, blade-sharp black metal with deep roots in several different styles: there’s the circular riffing of Blut Aus Nord most atmospheric and industrial works, the profound suffering of Xasthur depressive black metal records and of course furious, relentless blasts of rage coming from a Scandinavian heritage.

But Remah do not end in black metal. Thanks to a diverse musical background and previous multi-colored experiences (Emptiness, Soror Dolorosa, Luminance and others), Dea’s music is greatly influenced by cold- and darkwave, as the musician specifically names the likes of Lycia among his influences, as well as the early psychedelic rock scene (Ultimate Spinach, The Zodiac, etc).

All these elements find their own place in Une Main, a black metal album capable of delivering the widest range of emotions. Abrasive at times, ominously psychedelic at others, Remah music have a vibe of its own. 

Australian experimental metal band Bolt Gun return with their 3rd full length album The Tower. Since their first release in 2014, Bolt Gun have continued to push the boundaries of heavy music, adopting a semi-improvised style that combines elements of black metal, post-metal, noise and dark ambient. 

The Tower is inspired by the literary works of Brian Evenson, Franz Kafka and Shirley Jackson and explores themes of isolation, extinction, absurdity and nihilism. Written throughout 2020 to 2022, the album expands on Bolt Gun’s interest in the dynamic possibilities of using ambient music within extreme metal.

The expansive tracks pull listeners into tornadoes of drone, noise and saxophone which then explode into more post-metal/black metal sounds. The music on The Tower is heavily influenced by 2nd wave black metal, experimental heavy bands such as Locrian and Swans in addition to the work of Colin Stetson and Bohren & der Club of Gore.

Artwork by Tomasz Winiarski.

Australian experimental metal band Bolt Gun return with their 3rd full length album The Tower. Since their first release in 2014, Bolt Gun have continued to push the boundaries of heavy music, adopting a semi-improvised style that combines elements of black metal, post-metal, noise and dark ambient. 

The Tower is inspired by the literary works of Brian Evenson, Franz Kafka and Shirley Jackson and explores themes of isolation, extinction, absurdity and nihilism. Written throughout 2020 to 2022, the album expands on Bolt Gun’s interest in the dynamic possibilities of using ambient music within extreme metal.

The expansive tracks pull listeners into tornadoes of drone, noise and saxophone which then explode into more post-metal/black metal sounds. The music on The Tower is heavily influenced by 2nd wave black metal, experimental heavy bands such as Locrian and Swans in addition to the work of Colin Stetson and Bohren & der Club of Gore.

Artwork by Tomasz Winiarski.

BANDCAMP DOWNLOAD CODE INCLUDED 

Color vinyl (marble link and purple) with booklet 

“A house, high on a hill, filled with a mystical air.”

Emerging from the burgeoning Ordo Vampyr Orientis circle, black metal entity Bad Manor's energetic and whimsical debut The Haunting weaves a series of dark tales surrounding the band's titular mansion. Inhabited by dark spirits and curses alike, Bad Manor's vision of black metal looks not to grim forests and minimal musical ideas but rather vivid, imagination-driven scenes, curious tales, and sinister, active musical ideas alike. Featuring a paired book illustrated by artist Landis Blair and with stories recounted by the mysterious author and medium Stephen R.C. Sicreeve, The Haunting's multidisciplinary approach to black metal – filled with secrets and hidden passages – is as sprawling and chaotic as the house itself. Lose yourself in its hallways, but don't let yourself disappear. Listeners and readers alike: beware.

Each new homage becomes a portrait, each new portrait becomes our legend.

100 copies limited - black double vinyl in gatefold cover

Pioneering French dark atmospheric music since 1996, Dark Sanctuary is back with their eighth album, Cernunnos, the first in fourteen years. Following the EP Iterum released in 2022, it marks the group's return to the front of the stage.

Cernunnos is an ancient Gaulish god who embodied the biological cycle of nature, simultaneously reflecting life and death, germination and decay, like the deer, the animal that represents him, who loses its antlers in winter to recover them in spring. This title perfectly symbolizes the history of Dark Sanctuary after these years of artistic break and this rebirth.

Composed during the year 2022, the 11 songs of this album make it one of the most varied that Dark Sanctuary have made so far, oscillating between what has characterized the band for two decades and new musical horizons. Both dark and emotional, Cernunnos is a new milestone in the history of the group.

Mixed and mastered by Øystein G. Brun at Crosound Studio in Bergen

Cover Artwork by Valnoir/Metastazis

Second press, same vinyl color, shipping on / around 15.02

Since their inception in 2010, Grá has relentlessly worked to shape their music to be both a perfect example of Swedish black metal and a very personal interpretation of its classic sound. Their new studio album will mark the first cooperation between the band from Stockholm and Avantgarde Music, and we thought best to leave frontman Heljarmadr complete freedom to introduce the opus.

Lycaon is our fourth full length album and ever since we started Grá in 2010, we have been striving for constant evolution, to challenge ourselves as musicians and composers with every release.

Where our last album Väsen was extremely intricate and bombastic, with an "all in" approach to keyboards, orchestral parts, acoustic guitars and choir arrangements, Lycaon is heading in the opposite direction. It has fewer layers and with that, every layer needs to be meticulously measured and well thought out to carry the right atmosphere forward.

This sophomore album by Urkraft celebrates darkness and the lights that shine in it, be they campfires, streetlights or the stars. Through seven tracks, the listener is taken on a journey through forests rife with wondrous complexities, where the blackest of nights are illuminated by the cold glow of the moon.

Urkraft's music is a relentless assault of savage riffs and haunting melodies, driven by thundering drums and punctuated by anguished screams that echo across the barren wastelands.

With "Lyset skinner best i mørket", Urkraft delivers an uncompromising ode to the beauty of darkness and the power of black metal to channel its primal energy. Prepare to be embraced by the shadows that lurk within. The darkness awaits...