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Back in stock - Extreme Metal and Dark music
Second album of the trilogy on CD in deluxe Digipak with Pantone silver print with 16-page booklet.
Had GREEN CARNATION never returned from hiatus, the Norwegian bards would always be remembered for completing one of the most ambitious individual epics in metal’s historic archives. However, there was one tale — or three, to be exact — that eluded them for more than three decades. Now, after reaching crushing new highs during its opening chapter, they’re descending into deeper, darker and more personal depths with part II of ‘A Dark Poem’.
If ‘The Shores of Melancholia’ set sail from a familiar place of melancholy, then ‘Sanguis’ opens with GREEN CARNATION far out at sea, fighting to stay afloat against the storm that’s raging in their minds. Over the course of nine minutes, the album’s epic title track vows to forgive and forget familial wreckage, washing away the bloody stains of the past with impassioned cleans and a chorus that radiates conviction — only for a traumatic memory to come flooding back during its doomy coda. The newfound heaviness from the first part of ‘A Dark Poem’ continues to age like a fine wine, balancing sweet meaty riffs with an underlying bitterness. “I Am Time” demands immediate recognition with a guitar melody that winds like the winds of change. But part II reveals the band at their most raw with ballads that unfold with the grace of a wilted flower.
“The end justifies the means, you’ll see”, Kjetil Nordhus sings with an eerily quiet confidence. As its final tale seeps beneath the moonlight, ‘Sanguis’ leaves fans hanging in suspense over where this trilogy will end.
For fans of OPETH, PARADISE LOST, KATATONIA, PAIN OF SALVATION.
THE EPIC NEW STUDIO ALBUM FROM THE LONG-STANDING JAPANESE METAL PIONEERS, INCLUDING GUEST APPEARANCE FROM OPETH'S MIKAEL ÅKERFELDT.
Japanese metal pioneers Sigh formed in 1989/1990. Their genre-classic Black Metal debut ‘Scorn Defeat’ arrived in 1993, & with a subsequent journey through the strange & the psychedelic, incorporating a whole eclectic mix of genre styles & ideas throughout their career, Sigh has remained a vital creative force in the avantgarde field whilst maintaining their old school roots, as witnessed on the 2022 album (& first for Peaceville Records), ‘Shiki’. This was followed by the remaking of their ‘Hangman’s Hymn’ album as part of the band’s 35th anniversary celebrations, in the shape of ‘I Saw The World’s End: Hangman’s Hymn MMXXV’ (2025).
Considered as somewhat of a natural evolution, yet an even more diverse leap over the already compositionally & dynamically accomplished ‘Shiki’ opus, Sigh returns with ‘Goh-ka’; a new highlight of atmosphere, technical mastery, & meticulously arranged epics of metallic grandeur.
Main-man Mirai Kawashima notes this as being as equally personal an album as ‘Shiki’, both musically & lyrically. From a musical perspective, if you were to place the main ingredients of Celtic Frost, Voivod, Black Sabbath, horror movies & Japan into a cauldron & stir it, you will get ‘Goh-ka’. Numerous additional spices such as psychedelic rock, prog rock & classical music are also evident over the album’s close to one-hour duration.
The primary theme permeating the album is Kuso-zu; a series of Buddhist paintings or illustrations depicting the nine stages of a human body's decomposition after death, created to encourage meditation on the impermanence of life, the inevitability of death, & the detachment from physical beauty & worldly attachment. It openly shows the harsh reality that no matter how beautiful you are, you’ll be dead & rot sooner or later. And Kuso-shi is a poem based on these paintings. The artworks on the cover & in the booklet of ‘Goh-ka’ are therefore Kuso-zu themselves.
Among the additional contributors to the album, Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth notably delivers a special guest guitar solo on the track, ‘Unputenpu’.
Limited edition light green and blue combination double vinyl.
Includes free 10-track Sigh CD sampler.
Pressed on deep blue marble effect heavy vinyl. Comes with a 12-page booklet, A2 poster and download card. Colors on final record may vary to a degree from the mockup.
The electrifying 9th full-length from Czech avant-Black Metal voyagers INFERNO distils the bleak grandeur of 2021's "Paradeigma" into another disturbed and profound psychological trip, where the listener takes the role of 'silent witness to the chaos within our cosmos'.
1995 debut "Ultima Thulée" initiated BLUT AUS NORD's bold journey toward transcendence through Black Metal. One of the first albums to emerge from the now-legendary French underground scene, "Ultima Thulée" showcases a cold and primitive yet no less uniquely atmospheric BLUT AUS NORD compared with the twisted, dissonant trailblazer evident on more recent releases. The ground-breaking decadence of "Ultima Thulée" is presented here with artwork as close as possible to the original release and with enhanced audio mastered specifically for vinyl.
Comes in a 4-panel digipack w/ a 20-page booklet. First batch comes in black polycarbonate CD.
SÜHNOPFER, hailing from France, return with their most fully realised release to-date of blasting, emotive, edge-of-seat Baroque Black Metal.
"Nous sommes d'Hier", the band's 4th full length since formation in 2001, finds sole member and multi-instrumentalist Ardraos continuing to explore a medieval universe in his quest to restore the tarnished glory of the Bourbons - marching between the Middle Ages and the modern era to weave compulsive tales of dark times, remembered legends and places that resonate with the death of an age.
Five paeans of hypnotic, metamorphic and dangerously addictive Black Metal. A perfect juxtaposition of meticulous craftsmanship and frightening pandemonium.
Comes in a 6-panel digipack with an 8-page booklet
Comes in a 4-panel digipack w/ a 16-page booklet. First batch comes in black polycarbonate CD.
Madrid's AVERSIO HUMANITATIS follow-up 2020's white-hot "Behold the Silent Dwellers" with another stunning slice of unrelenting, modernist and oft-dissonant Black Metal.
Third full-length "To Become The Endless Static" finds the band on devastatingly intense terrain: a hammer-blow of astounding riffing, warped leads, riotous drumming and ultra-committed vocals all wrapped in an oppressive atmosphere as serious as your life.
Comes in a 4-panel digipack w/ an 8-page booklet and a download card. The digital download includes an exclusive instrumental version of the album as bonus. First batch comes in black polycarbonate CD.
ERSHETU was formed in 2021 by conceptualist/lyricist Void and composer Sacr to create cinematic music which merges epic, obscure and atmospheric Metal with the poignant dramaticism of film scores.
Evocative debut album "Xibalba" - which focuses upon Mayan folklore - revolves around an impeccable orchestral core swathed in folk instrumentation, from which the unmistakeable impassioned singing and entranced chanting of Lars Are Nedland (BORKNAGAR, SOLEFALD) soars skyward before cascading down into an arid undertow of textural Black Metal guitars performed by Vindsval (BLUT AUS NORD).
Comes in a 6-panel digipack. First batch comes in black polycarbonate CD.
A continuation of preceding EP "The Forlorn Soldier", 3rd full-length "Hymn to the Woeful Hearts" is a wounded, epically emotive exploration of timeless grief which ascends to the next level - simmering down past symphonics and ramping up the bitterness, aggression, textural dynamism and melancholic conviction.
Again featuring skilled and energetic guest drumwork from Yurii Kononov (ex-WHITE WARD), PURE WRATH have here produced their deepest, darkest, most organic and engaging work to date: perfectly balancing howls of primal rage with tear-stained, hymnal sung passages, simultaneously vicious and yearning guitar-work, poignant synth, evocative acoustics and heartfelt thematic realism.
The legendary "Memoria Vetusta I - Fathers Of The Icy Age" captures BLUT AUS NORD in the remarkable embryonic phase of an evolutionary process that would culminate in one of Black Metal's great enigmas.
Finally available again on CD with its original front cover, "Memoria Vetusta I - Fathers Of The Icy Age" is canonical primeval Black Metal from another age. Essential.
Comes in a 4-panel digipack.
Nightmares have never sounded so beautiful! Swedish grandeurs of melancholic heaviness, KATATONIA, return with Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State, set for release on June 6, 2025 via Napalm Records. Once again, the Stockholm-based unit masterfully navigates the tightrope act between nocturnal darkness and Scandinavian despair while subtly weaving a sense of hope into the listener’s heart. Since emerging in the early nineties, KATATONIA has projected a beacon of light for the forgotten and the lonely ones, offering solace to those willing to lose themselves in the band’s immersive soundscapes. From their roots in death-doom metal to the post-metal entity they embody today, their art remains as haunting as ever. Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State marks the next step in KATATONIA’s evolution, building upon the foundation of their previous album, Sky Void of Stars (2023). Crystal-clear production highlights the interplay between silence and intensity, while the contrast of heavy riffs, delicate guitar harmonies, ethereal synthesizers, and atmospheric nuances create captivating tension. Tracks like ""Thrice"" and ""Warden"" pulse with dynamic energy, while ""Lilac"" sees Jonas Renkse’s unmistakable vocals intertwining with hypnotic rhythms and progressive elements. A near-ceremonial piece, ""Wind of No Change"", merges subtle electronic textures with KATATONIA’s enigmatic soundscapes, while ""Temporal"" balances fragility and strength - its intense verses culminating in a soaring, emotionally charged chorus. The breathtaking ""Efter Solen"" (Engl. After the Sun), featuring Swedish lyrics, evokes echoes of Jonas Eika’s 2018 short story collection, with minimalistic yet striking instrumentation.
Even after more than 30 years, KATATONIA continues to redefine the emotional spectrum of their genre, effortlessly shifting between haunting vulnerability and commanding artistry. With sonic landscapes that evoke dystopia, inner demons, purity, and beauty alike, Nightmares as Extensions of the Waking State stands as a testament to their enduring brilliance. The album was produced by Jonas Renkse, recorded by Lawrence Mackrory at NBS Audio and The City of Glass, mixed by Adam Noble, and mastered by Robin Schmidt at 24-96 Mastering.
