One-woman black metal project Machtklang unveiled their new single ‘Herbsthymne’ in anticipation of the release of the self-titled album on December 24th!
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News Posts
UK extreme metallers Abduction released second single ‘Razors of Occam’ from their upcoming album ‘Existentialismus’, set for release in February 2025 via Candlelight Records!
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Finland’s degraded fiends Scumripper are finally back with their highly anticipated second album ‘For a Few Fixes More’, set for release in February 2025 via Dying Victims Productions and Headsplit Records, and shared a teaser medley to get you totally excited!
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Finnish artist Vermilia released her latest single/music video ‘Kansojen Kaipuu’, taken from her upcoming album ‘Karsikko’, set for an early 2025 release! Come and see her live tomorrow at our very own venue Asgaard!
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Tolminator, the metal summer holiday festival you want to put in your schedule if you’re looking for a good time with even greater music, has confirmed 8 more names for their 2025 line-up a couple of days ago! If you want to see Me And That Man, Villagers Of Ioannina City, Midnight, Psycroptic, High Parasite, Mimi Barks, Slug Gore and our friends of Brutal Sphincter among many other exciting names, you might want to get your tickets ASAP!
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Siberian atmospheric black metal legion Grima is set to release their 6th album ‘Nightside’ via Napalm Records in early 2025 and shared a first captivating single with ‘Skull Gatherers’!
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Scottish atmospheric black metal outfit Saor invites you to rediscover its country’s ancient legacy with lead single and title track ‘Amidst the Ruins’ from their upcoming new album, set for release in early 2025 via Season of Mist!
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French Lovecraftian black metal outfit The Great Old Ones ventures further into the darkness with us with their new single ‘In The Mouth of Madness’, the 2nd they unveil of the upcoming album ‘Kadath’ set for release early 2025 via Season of Mist!
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Alcatraz Festival is a strong and outspoken supporter of the local, Belgian music scene and shared over the weekend their “Under One Flag” selection of amazing Belgian bands for the 2025 edition of the event!
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Swedish black metal witches Völva have unleashed a second single ‘Asmodeus’ from their upcoming album ‘Desires Profane’, set for release later this month via Grind To Death Records and Fiadh Productions!
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Album Reviews
Omegaeternum’s debut full length album “1248” binds epic and mystical atmosphere by unfolding eerie melodies, the Frenchmen have crafted a unique black metal album. Out since November 25th via Ván Records.
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Mörk Gryning’s newest album “Fasornas Tid” offers unrelenting aggression and rawness packed with the 90s black metal quality. Out via Season of Mist tomorrow, December 13th.
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The uniqueness and quality crowns Djevel’s new album “Natt Til Ende” as one of the best black metal albums of the year, the chant passages are saturated in the grimness of 90s black metal as each riff and melody offers many epic moments. Out via Avantgarde Music.
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Finland’s symphonic/melodic black metal outfit Pestilent Hex crafts the traditional sound of Scandinavian black metal on the second full length album “Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow”, out via Debemur Morti Productions since last week’s Friday.
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Paysage d’Hiver’s third studio album “Die Berge” is nothing short of brilliant and conveys the imaginative art of Nordic black metal. Out via Kunsthall Produktionen since November 8th.
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Gaerea unveils its composition and musical faculties with remarkable quality on their fourth studio album “Coma” and show an interesting new approach from these musicians, shifting somewhat towards a more generally extreme metal with an atmospheric post-black vibe, turning this into their best effort yet. Out via Season of Mist since October 25th.
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Polish black metal pioneers Arkona return with a supreme and majestic album. ‘Stella Pandora’ is one of the best releases in the genre this year. Out on Debemur Morti Productions.
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After thirty years Adorior slithers out from the depths of hell to convey its satanic wicked album ‘Bleed On My Teeth’ through the medium of raw fucking metal. Out via Dark Descent Records and comes highly recommended for fans of Slayer, Absu and Angelcorpse!
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1349’s new studio album ‘The Wolf & The King’ is impressive and engaging, full of dynamics and fiery tremolo riffage, delivering unrelenting aggression. This is a great return of one of Norway’s prominent black metal acts and out via Season of Mist.
Catch them on tour right now with Kampfar and Afsky, with a stop at Helsinki’s Ääniwalli tomorrow!
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The new and highly anticipated eleventh album “Nyx – Hymnejä Yölle” from the Finnish black metal icons Horna is a pure definition of evil. One of this year’s top black metal releases, out via World Terror Committee tomorrow, September 13th!
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Photo Reports
12 Episodes on the counter for Full Moon Fest in Belgium, and this one was the second Black metal edition for them. Of course, we were there too with a line-up put together of great Belgian acts like nether, Nyrak and Sapovnela, and extreme metal icons from France Necrowretch and Seth!
We checked out the first day of the second edition of Hell’s Balls Belgium festival… With banging names like Triptykon, Primordial, Vltimas, the unofficial inclusion of the “Night Eternal tour” with Dark Tranquillity, Wolfheart and Moonspell, Carpathian Forest, Hellripper, Dead Head and The Monolith Deathcult, it was a true fest for any extreme metal fan!
1349 and Kampfar joined forces to invade Europe with their Norwegian black metal onslaught and brought along the Danes of Afsky, and we caught them at their stop at Ääniwalli in Helsinki for a much needed black metal fix at the start of our week!
Pictures of the first day of Alcatraz 2024, with on the Swamp Stage a serving of extreme metal with Fleshgod Apocalypse, Benediction, Lord of the Lost and Watain!
After a well-deserved summer break, the new season opened with a bang. Fat Bastard Promotions and Asgaard managed to book 1914, one of the most interesting bands of the last decade. Bokkerijders was chosen as support. No wonder the tickets flew out the door. After a few days, the event was hopelessly sold out.
Back in March, we found the popular Danish black metal outfit Afsky teaming up with the just as popular Finns of Havukruunu for a co-headline tour in Finland with the support of Qwälen, bringing one of the most progressively welcoming black metal shows to On The Rocks in Helsinki!
An alternative way to celebrate Easter weekend with Rytmihäiriö and Finntroll at their stop at Tavastia in Helsinki on the “Jesus är död, nu ska vi dricka” tour!
Turmion Kätilöt came to Tampere’s Pakkahuone for a big Easter party. Along came Japanese black metal legends Sigh and Finnish melodeath doomsters Marianas Rest. An event by Nem Agency and Tullikamari Tampere.
In January, as it happens on the regular, we hosted a night with local talents at our Asgaard venue in Gent, Belgium, with Powerstroke, Hudiç, and what ended up being the last show of Beyond Our Sight!
The El Corazon venue in the center of Seattle came alive with a burst of energy when Greek extreme metal legends Rotting Christ took over the stage there a couple of weeks ago!
Gig Reports
August 30 20224 was like an unholy pilgrim for any and all metalheads around Finland (and even beyond) when Beherit, one of the most revered Finnish black metal bands of all time, played one of their rare live shows at Ääniwalli in Helsinki. The greatest black metal concert our reporter has ever witnessed.
Cradle of Filth has been showing Europe why they are considered legends of the metal scene and killed it at the stop in Tampere, Finland where we caught their show at a packed Pakkahuone. And with the very special guests Wednesday 13 playing Murderdolls and Sick ‘n Beautiful, it was a night that many won’t forget soon!
A report of the captivating performance piece that was the theatrical black metal show of Witch Club Satan!
Last month, we got to go to the very last stop of the Polish black metal collective Batushka “Black Pilgrimage tour 2023” at Vanha Ylioppilastalo in Helsinki, with the good company of Arkona, Aeternam and Varang Nord!
Earlier this year, Hexvessel released their new album ‘Polar Veil’ via Svart Records, taking the psychedelic folk rock towards the black metal origins of their leader Mat “Khvost” McNerney. And to celebrate the release, they did a few release shows in Finland, of which we got to enjoy the captivating Helsinki show in Kuudes Linja, with support from Unfyros.
The amount of intensity and energy that came from Igorrr at the Pakkahuone venue in Finland last month, and with them Amenra and Der Weg Einer Freiheit, was something that was perfect to start off the week! If we still somewhat had the Monday blues, they made sure to absolutely blast it away!
Gaerea finally made it to Helsinki and they came, saw and absolutely conquered! With support from local black metal outfit Venenum Dei, the sold out On The Rocks turned out to be an intense evening of stellar music and performances! A production by Nem Agency and Loose Mind Productions.
Saor amazed us at Tiivistämö in Helsinki a good week ago with their mesmerizing soundscape, very special guests …and Oceans and support from Marrasmieli!
Imperial Triumphant came to Helsinki, Finland to get our minds blown with support from the Finnish prog death act Devenial Verdict!
