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Byelobog reissue 2010

1. Sognariket sine krigarar 05:35
2. Det som var Haukareid 05:40
3. Morket sin fyrste 07:26
4. Sognariket Si Herskarinne 04:17
5. I ei Krystallnatt 05:15
6. Rovhaugane 05:32
7. Likbor 08:08
8. Soknardalr 05:42

From moniker to visual aesthetic and especially to the sonics themselves, HERALDIC BLAZE are encapsulating the oft-nebulous "medieval black metal" idiom with startling aplomb. While it's often difficult to discern exactly what medieval BM is other than a pithy "I know it when I hear it," HERALDIC BLAZE leave no doubt as to their intentions.

Witness their debut demo, Blazoned Heraldry. The duo of American multi-instrumentalist Argent Pale (vocals, bass, flute) and Norwegian guitarist Peregrinus (HJEMSØKT, SOLUS GRIEF, KVAD, UNHOLY CRAFT) create a spellbinding tapestry of rustic tones and textures. In fact, on texture alone - kinda clean and clanging, yet with more than a hint of ghostly grit and almost surfy reverb - HERALDIC BLAZE stand out, but it's how they utilize those textures in the service of songwriting: winding and wild, frothing up to an almost-dangerous delirium, but more often than not leaving wide-open spaces to let their medieval melodicism bend and sway with bravado and bittersweetness. And as actual flute flutters in from time to time, the sum effect, more often than not, is ALIEN - unsettling and alluring in equal measure.

While "merely" a demo recording, HERALDIC BLAZE's first work already trounces most modern works of "black metal." Unorthodox and unbound, Blazoned Heraldry is mandatory listening for fans of Sühnopfer, Ungfell, Grylle, Heltekvad, and particularly mid-2000s Peste Noire.

Post-black metal duo Olhava is back with Sacrifice, a new studio record, almost two years after the release of their acclaimed album Reborn.

Clocking in at the megalithic length of eighty-six minutes, Sacrifice is a collection of long, mesmerizing and melancholic anthems for longing souls which will carve deep into the feelings of any blackgaze fan.

As Olhava themselves describe it, “Sacrifice is the necessary step for one to be Reborn. It’s the ultimate point of no return. Everything one used to value will turn to ash and be forgotten. For only by stripping ourselves of everything we know and have can we truly separate our Self from our Ego. Only by burning ourselves can we enjoy peace among stars. But the end is also the beginning. Beginning of new values, a new self built from dust”.

199 copies on sea blue/grey galaxy vinyl, incl. gatefold cover, logo sticker and download

With a seemingly endless dungeon full of heavy metal influences channelled through Darkthrone’s dynamic riff-machine, plus increasing inspirations taken from their own back catalogue, Darkthrone has become very much its own beast within the metal world. Though sprinkled with atmospheric touches, such as synthesisers and mellotron, the Darkthrone sound remains stripped to the core, primitive and organic.

Astral Fortress was recorded at Chaka Khan Studios in Oslo, the same location used for the Eternal Hails album, with Ole Øvstedal and Silje Høgevold.

From their formation back in 1986, to becoming one of Norways’s finest musical exports (with a number of highly revered black metal masterpieces released in the early 1990s helping to solidify their legacy), Darkthrone has continued to evolve and challenge in equal measure, throughout their illustrious recording career spanning over three decades. And now, the ever-productive duo of Nocturno and Fenriz continue their own metallic saga with a new selection of fine, vintage sounding headbanging classics in the making.