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With a past that stretches back to the late '90s and a patient path that began in 2013 with a moniker change, Brazil's THE KRYPTIK burst forth into brilliance when they aligned with PURITY THROUGH FIRE. In the autumn of 2019 came their acclaimed second album, When the Shadows Rise, a startlingly immersive gem of symphonic black metal, and many finally took notice. A year late came the 40-minute Behold Fortress Inferno, which poignantly expanded on their vast canvas despite "only" being a mini-album. Between these two records especially, THE KRYPTIK proved that "symphonic black metal" need not be a dirty word; with no outside influence from the nowadays "black metal" scene, the duo dependably practiced their mystical arts and erected a grand citadel of sound - an atavistic awakening of when all was simply BLACK METAL, heedless of appellations. 

And so it goes with THE KRYPTIK's massive third album, A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom. Truly titled, the seven-track/70-minute A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom reveals the duo's grandest vision yet: neo-ancient symphonic black metal drenched in the dark waters of the cosmos, a castle of crystalline ice whose spires reach into boundless space. The band's ebon flow continually crests and cascades, synths swirling all about and with utterly magickal effect. The production here in this Darkest Kingdom is clear and sharp - all murk excised for maximum immersion, gorgeous swell, and pulsing violence - altogether sounding incredibly vintage and era-authentic yet somehow fresher than most nowadays black metal recordings. But, that magick largely resides in THE KRYPTIK's songwriting, as each song is an epic in its own right and then are all threaded together as one fever dream: melodicism, majesty, and malice in perfect balance. Thus, A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom follows logically in THE KRYPTIK's continuum whilst pushing their creativity to even-more-breathtaking heights. Have they delivered a classic on par with Witchcraft, The Sad Realm of the Stars, or even Stormblåst? Only time shall be the judge...

Collector's Edition in 4-panel digipack, limited to 500 copies.

Hån's third album "Conquering Magnificent Halls" marks a significant evolution in the band's song structures while maintaining their trademark infectious melodies and steadfast aggression. Mixed and mastered once again at Liquid Aether Audio Studio, this album promises to showcase Hån's relentless dedication to pushing the boundaries of Black Metal.

Collector's Edition in 4-panel digipack with 12-page booklet, limited to 500 copies.

Boréalys is a black metal project formed in northern Québec (in Abitibi). It was around 2015 that Abstrus (ex-Brumes) gave birth to the first guitar riffs, which will eventually serve the EP "Là où les eaux se séparent" (label: Winter Sky/Les Fleurs du Mal/ Non Posse Mori, recorded in the ''Black Amp Studio'' and ''Dans l'Antre'') and the first album "L'héritage" (label: Northern Silence Productions, recorded in the ''Black Amp Studio'' and ''Dans l'Antre''). Somewhere in 2018, Julius (from Black Empire) joined the project for the drums, and later K. (from Wendess) for bass and mix/mastering. In 2020 K. left the band and it is Abstrus who took over the bass for the album "L' héritage", now making Boréalys, a duo.

Only in French, Boréalys is rooted in its history, these tales, and these legends of its terroir. In a defined atmosphere that tells you the memories and customs of their past, the wounds and efforts of their ancestors who colonized this land, but also, a feeling of freedom coming from the infinite forests and the many rivers that make it their fortress. In order to pay tribute to its native language, faithful to its Francophone origins, Boréalys is, and will remain, a project only in French. 

In a heavy and melancholic atmosphere, Boréalys draws its influences from the Scandinavia of the '90s and bands such as Drudkh and Abyssic Hate.

Wintereintritt (2008) - Full Lenght

Winter Suicide (2007) Demo
Verzweiflung (2008) - Full Lenght
Ambient Stuff

A still-mysterious quintet hailing from the black metal hotbed of Finland, AGANTHROS formed in 2021 and digitally released their debut demo a year later. Those two songs served as a swift foretaste of the band's forthcoming debut album, Syntiset Saatanat Kurjat, which is at last at hand.

Unlike the vast number of bands honoring their homeland's prevailing black metal paradigm, AGANTHROS walk their own left-hand path both lyrically and especially sonically. Those lyrical themes of course include Satanism and the left-hand path; others more or less include the noble tragicalness of humanity and life. Gazing within instead of outside and walking the sewers of the individual and collective subconscious, AGANTHROS on their debut album musically illustrate such pathos through a wide-ranging but always-melodic sturm und drang style of black metal that bears similarities to Finnish iconoclasts Enochian Crescent and Trollheims Grott - or, thinking further afield of Finland, the avant-garde angularity of Ved Buens Ende meeting the spiraling melodicism of Mgla. However, such references are merely a springboard from which to meet AGANTHROS on Syntiset Saatanat Kurjat. From its disarming folk-inflected opening on through the rest of its 41-minute runtime, the album bracingly balances a whole host of extremities that the band masterfully wrangle to their own design, reaping triumphant rumbling on to twisted nightmare psychedelia. You never quite know what's coming next, but AGANTHROS thread it together with punishing physicality and serpentine flow. Refreshingly different and yet timeless all the same, Syntiset Saatanat Kurjat sounds the trumpets for the new/now sound of Finnish black metal.

Jewelcase

Following the incredible success of the debut, the second full length, entitled ”Militant, Penitent, Triumphant”, builds on this rock solid foundation. It showcases the unique sound and song structures that so many people appreciated about “Six Voices Inside”, thus making it instantly recognizable as none other than Faidra. To keep that typical sound and atmosphere was indeed a very conscious decision. The familiar structures, ambient synth sounds and slow tempos from the first album are present and continue that tradition, while also including occasional new elements and influences.

The work on this new album started almost immediately after the release of the debut album, knowing that it would take a long time to complete because of rather limited free time. The project was worked on from time to time during almost three years without a consistent work flow, where sometimes months passed by without a single note recorded.

Where the debut tackled a lot of different subjects, the new album has a very specific theme running through almost every track. The larger concept handles the themes of sin, penitence and redemption; also mirroring the title of the album, which are the three states of the Catholic church.

While work continues towards materializing Aethyrick's fifth full-length album, the two-headed serpent strikes from the womb of spring with a new EP entitled Kolme veljestä. As the name of the EP already suggests, on this special release the band pays homage to their Finnish roots with lyrics entirely in their native language (physical releases come with English translations). Released on April 9th, the Day of the Finnish Language, Kolme veljestä EP contains three monoliths of atmospheric black metal witchcraft with a total playing time of 27 minutes

Forndom was born as a reflection of bygone days – of the forests and open landscapes of central Sweden, as well as its historical heritage. Similarly, coinciding with the project’s nine-year anniversary, Ludvig Swärd muses over his own musical past.

Following the enthusiastic reception of “Och med vinden ack de gunga” – Ludvig’s re-envisioning of his droning masterpiece “Jag vet ett tempel stå" - comes “Alster”, a piano work of contemporary classical with a distinct Scandinavian atmosphere. Six Forndom compositions in brand new interpretations alongside "Aska", a fresh take on an old unreleased song.

In the remote forests of north-eastern Finland, a primal force has been unleashed. Noitila, translated roughly as ‘Witches’ Bay’, resonates with the ancient echoes of a sacred land where worlds and energies intersect.

Conceived and recorded in a family cabin, employing minimalist equipment and instruments, “Langennut” captures an authenticity that is as powerful as it is pure. The band used an old leather chair as a bass drum, recorded acoustic guitars in the open forest, and wrote lyrics through psychography. No metronome, three microphones, and a passion for the ancient sounds of Ildjarn, Ulver, Isengard, Bathory, Satyricon, Tulus, and Beherit – this is black metal distilled to its essence. Primitive, soulful, and unfiltered.