Malist is a one-man black metal band formed in 2017 and hailing from Moscow, Russia. In only six years, talented multi-instrumentalist Ov Frost released four full-length studio albums, keeping an unrelenting pace.

Of Scorched Earth is the fifth record by Malist, which also marks the beginning of their collaboration with Avantgarde Music. In the words of its mastermind, “Of Scorched Earth tells a tale of mankind, and why it shall inevitably die in nature's grasp. The ships of those seeking conquest shall be forever buried in the sands of time. Only the few blessed by the primal deities shall be granted passage through the gates of apocalypse”.

Malist signature formula of atmospheric yet riff-driven black metal is brought back with the addition of a few elements of symphony and post-metal into the picture.

Sgàile is the artistic endeavour of Scottish multi-instrumentalist Tony Dunn, of which Avantgarde Music released the overlooked, yet greatly crafted debut Ideals & Morality in december 2021. Two years later, the talented Scot is back with his sophomore opus, Traverse The Bealach, which he describes as follows.

“When I started the Sgàile project in 2018, and through the writing and recording of Ideals & Morality, I wasn’t sure that anyone would take to the style, or even care. This time around I knew I had a small audience that enjoyed what I was doing so I felt free to create from pure instinct. 

With that freedom came focus and direction, which led me to create a concept album, a venture that I had never previously attempted. What this did was create a driven narrative that brought a maturity to the Sgàile sound.

Through the recording process, there was a feeling of refinement, taking the lessons I learned from Ideals & Morality and carefully honing them to improve the overall production. Working with Mike Lamb (Sojourner, Remina) for a second time really helped to pin down the sonic quality that I was looking for. 

The story of Traverse The Bealach is that of a nomadic traveller in post-apocalyptic Scotland, trying to figure out his fate and facing the elements while travelling north, battling inner demons along the way. Thematically, the inspiration came from the events of the pandemic, our ongoing battle with climate change, and my fascination with long distance trekking.”

Handnumbered Digibook. Limited to 333 copies worldwide
 

Known for his massive productivity over the last few decades, this goes to show the well isn’t empty quite yet.

Two new releases in the by now well known KÊRES vein; Finnish Black Metal straight to the point of a freshly sharpened knife. Effective in its primitivity, these albums is a pure questionable delight in their harshness. For those who know what to expect: you get what you expect.

Known for his massive productivity over the last few decades, this goes to show the well isn’t empty quite yet.

Two new releases in the by now well known KÊRES vein; Finnish Black Metal straight to the point of a freshly sharpened knife. Effective in its primitivity, these albums is a pure questionable delight in their harshness. For those who know what to expect: you get what you expect.

Compilation of the songs from the Split CDs with Oprich (2005) and Velimor (2006).

In 2020, NÔIDVA arrived with the full-length Windseller. A then-brand-new entity, the Finns featured members of labelmates SACRIFICIUM CARMEN and RIIVAUS. Although detectably Finnish black metal in sound and style, NÔIDVA uniquely focused on Laplandish shamanism - and now they return to further flesh out that vision.

Tellingly titled Lappish Shatanism, NÔIDVA's second album bears many of the same traits as its predecessor: a mysticism both magickal and more so folkloric, and a melodicism that stirs the more courageous side of one's spirit rather than immediate and irrevocable bloodlust. However, despite featuring the same four-piece lineup, Lappish Shatanism heads toward rougher, daresay-rowdier territory - more earth and dirt rather than the atmospheric undercurrents of Windseller - with that rowdiness rendering their folk affectations all the more austere and severe. Still, NÔIDVA reveal themselves to be astute practitioners of tradition, poignantly imparting a favorably late '90s aspect in form and feel; whether one wants to qualify it as "pagan" black metal matters not when faced with such stellar quality. Leads prominent but parceled out, Lappish Shatanism is thus a work of undeniable passion - never belabored, but refreshing as it is reverential. The past is still alive across Lapland!

Limited to 200 copies. Housed in a gatefold jacket.

"Lurker Of The Void" was written and recorded from the Winter misery of 2022 to the Summer rot of 2022. "The Ghost Of A Flea" was written and recorded between the decaying Autumn of 2022 and the Summer rot of 2022.

#72

Limited Gold Nugget Edition, 108 pieces in all (58 single, 50 in the wooden Box)
THIS special edition comes with an exclusive silkscreened hand-printed and numbered slipcase, an A2 poster and a download card. Pressed on exclusive gold nugget heavy vinyl. Limited to 58 copies.

Other 50 pieces come along in the Limited wooden Box with a bottle of wine.

Formed in early 2020 and featuring individuals from bands such as ABYSSAL VACUUM, DYSYLUMN and OMINOUS SHRINE, French Psych-Black Metal voyagers BACCHUS present their intoxicating debut full-length, a fever dream where mysterious grandeur meets occult ritualistic madness. Following hot on the heels of their head-expanding January 2021 self-titled debut EP, II is a hadron collider of emotive trance-like melodies and raw power - a vortex of swirling spaced-out synth, astral-travelling leads, hypnotic swinging rhythms and an array of vocal styles from wild on-the-edge yelling and possessed roars to throat-singing, subterranean growls and anthemic unison refrains. Melancholic, atmospheric, awestruck and self-possessed, II is a Dionysian inward and outward trip into mind-altering Black Metal.