Valkyrja - 2005 - Funeral Voices

Out of Sweden comes this Black Metal band with their first demo. Three tracks of mid-paced to fast Black Metal are presented to us on this release, plus an intro and an instrumental interlude. The material here is actually quite good. Slightly melodic Black Metal which reminds me a bit of Marduk, Satyricon and Borknagar, but mostly of a more varied Dark Funeral.

The vocals sound similar to those done by Legion when in Marduk, with a slight touch of those from early Borknagar.

This demo has a really good production. The instruments and the vocals can all be heard clearly. The material presented on this demo shows that there are still new bands out there worth checking out. This is a band to keep your eyes on. Limited to only 50 copies, so act fast!


Standout track is "Another Prophet to the Wolves".

Sunday July 10 2005, by :Vragh:

Valaskjalf/Hrodvitnir - 2005 - Under the Ban ner of Vinlandic Heathen Might

Presented on this split effort are two American NS Black Metal bands. Each band contributes with four tracks.

Valaskjalf presents us with Black Metal ranging from slow to mid-paced, slightly melodic Black Metal in the vein of the real early '90ies bands, but with a melancholic sound rarely found. I find both Kvist, Beherit and Root influences here. Also presented on this release is a cover of Hellhammer's classic track "Euronymous".

The vocals mostly sound like a more guttural version of those done by Legion of Marduk and also somewhat like those done by Akhenaten of Judas Iscariot and Quorthon.

The soundquality is quite good, with all the instruments being audible in the mix.

Standout tracks are "Grove of the Neoliths" and  "Black Forest".

Hrodvitnir play a mid-paced to fast, more Viking / Folk themed Black Metal, and is the band I liked best on this release. Musically this sounds like a mix of Falkenbach and amore Black Metal oriented version of Borknagar, with vocals that mostly remind me of those done by Garm on the first Borknagar album. Some traces of Wyrd are also present in the overall sound here.

The soundquality on these four tracks varies a bit, which I found to be slightly annoying. You can hear the instruments and all, but the two last tracks have a murky, slightly distant sound to them, and the volume is lower.

Standout tracks are "Dawn of a New Aryan Empire" and "Hrodvitnir (The Wolf Unleashed)".

Quite a good split album, actually, with both bands being quite able to handle their instruments. This release is limited to 500 copies.

Friday December 2 2005, by :Vragh:

Satanic Death - 2004 - Black Mass

From Argentina comes this Black Metal horde. Just recently they released their second demo containing four tracks. Presented here are three tracks of thrashing, mostly mid-paced Black Metal with blastbeats, and an outro.

Musically there are traces of Ophthalamia and early Marduk, with lots of Blodulv like riffing in it. Throw in a few guitar solos for good measure as well and you have Satanic Death. This sounds like very early '90ies Black Metal with a chaotic twist to it all.

The vocals are similar to early Marduk as well, being just a bit more guttural and with a bit more echo to them. The soundquality here is not at all bad. Something to get, I would say.

Standout tracks are "Demonic Chronicles" and "Sadistic Ritual".

Monday January 10 2005, by :Vragh:

Orcustus - 2002 - Demo

Orcustus is a Norwegian Black Metal band with a few rather known names in the ranks. Tormentor (Gorgoroth, Gaahlskagg), Dirge Rep (Gehenna, Enslaved) and Infernus (Gorgoroth) are members of this band, along with newcomer Taipan. This demo is really great, retro Black Metal at its finest.
The soundquality and vocals give a feeling of classic 1992-93 era Black Metal with the vocals sounding reminiscent to those of Emperor on their split with Enslaved and Marduk on their Those of the Unlight album.

The music is midpaced to fast with influences from the Emperor part of the aforementioned Emperor / Enslaved split and early Gorgoroth. The last track, "Lucifuge Damnation", could very well have been from Zyklon-B's Blood Must be Shed MCD. This is very interesting, and the coming fullength, to be released probably towards the end of 2004, certainly is something to look forward to.

Two of the three tracks from this demo, "World Dirtnap" and "Death Becomes You", have also been released on a 7" by Southern Lords in 2003. Unfortunately both of these releases are sold out. Both the demo and the 7" were limited to 1000 copies.

Standout track is "Death Becomes You".

Thursday May 20 2004, by :Vragh:

Ljå - 2002 - Vedderbaug

This is the Norwegian Black Metal band Ljå's only demo so far, but it is indeed a promising piece. This was originally released under the band name Knøfflihei. Fierce Black Metal with acoustic parts is what they play, and it works very well. Musically it sounds similar to Ulver's Bergtatt, early Borknagar and early Marduk, the latter mostly due to the drumwork, with some folkmusic influences added just for the Hell of it. The vocals sound like those on the first Borknagar album. Not at all a bad mix.

They have managed to get a good production on this demo, it reeks of dirty, old-school Black Metal, and it fits the music just right. These guys handle their instruments very well, all of them have been in other bands since the early '90ies. I suggest you do yourself the favour of getting this demo.

They are going to record a fullength album during 2004, and they released a split 7" with Koldbrann on Aftermath Music in April, with a track from the demo. This demo was rereleased on CD in 2008 with four extra demo tracks.

Standout tracks are "Skamslaadte Engler", "Vind", "Udenomskjaersk Faen" and "Victorinox".

Monday May 24 2004, by :Vragh:

Livjatan - 2004 - Witchcraft

Out of Denmark comes this Black Metal act with this cassette presenting three tracks of mid-paced to fast, very well executed thrashing Black Metal. The material on this tape sounds like a mix of mid '90ies Marduk and Disiplin with both Celtic Frost and Bathory in the music as well.

The vocals remind me of the ones done by Ausslavia on the Disiplin debut album, yet sounding more desperate and somewhat distant in the mix, which adds a haunting atmosphere to it all.

The soundquality on this recording is quite good. As I said earlier, the vocals are a bit in the back here, but that's not really so much of a problem, since it actually fits very well with the music. This is definitely a demo that grows on you. Be sure to check it out. This is a rerelease of the 7" released by Ancient Darkness Productions in 333 copies a while back.

Standout tracks are "Midnight Congregation" and "The Seventh Book of Moses".

Saturday February 12 2005, by :Vragh:

Kill - 2003 - Horned Holocaust

Swedish Black Metal act Kill have, after some delays, released their first fullength album, presenting 7 tracks and 30 minutes of necro Black Metal. Treble is the first thing you notice with this recording.
The second thing you notice is the killer melodies. The last track in particular stands out from the rest. The production on this album sounds somewhat like Von and Nifelheim, and also slightly like Ulver's Nattens Madrigal, if you will.

Musicwise they remind me a bit of Craft from their Total Soul Rape era and also some Under a Funeral Moon era Darkthrone at times (and some early Bathory thrown in for good measure),
with vocals sounding mostly like a mix of Legion formerly of Marduk, and Nocturno Culto of Darkthrone. This is necro Black Metal, just the way it should be - grim, yet catchy.

Standout tracks are "Virgin Sacrificed", "The Devil" and "Fields of Devastation".

Thursday February 5 2004, by :Vragh:

Iconoclasm - 2005 - Iconoclastic Warfare

Out of Belgium comes this Black Metal outfit with their second full-length album. On this album are twelve tracks of fast, slightly thrashing Black Metal. I find quite a few influences in their music,
earlier Marduk, Dissection and Sargeist, with some slight Darkthrone riffing here and there. Quite interesting, especially with their own ideas thrown into the mix.

The vocals mostly remind me of the ones of earlier Marduk, with some Nattefrost and Dissection,  harsh and desperate sounding, slightly in the distant.

The production has a lot of bass in it and sounds slightly muffled. I would have prefered a slighlty clearer production, so you could hear a bit more of the drums, but that is just a minor detail. We get
good musicianship and strong material. A good album indeed.

Standout tracks are "Iconoclastic Warfare", "Welcome to Hell", "Daemonz" and "Screams of the Banshee".

Monday May 24 2005, by :Vragh:

Horn of Valere - 2004 - Blood of the Heathen Ancients

From the U.S comes this Black Metal horde with their first official release containing their two demos so far, the first one being recorded with the bandname Basiliskk. Their music is wellplayed, slightly melodic mid-paced to fast Black Metal with influences from Bathory, Enslaved, earlier Satyricon and Thornium. The overall feeling is of slightly progressive and epic mid '90ies Scandinavian Black Metal. Not at all bad for an American band.

The vocals mostly remind me of those by Grutle of Enslaved with some earlier Marduk and also some slight Nocturno Culto from back in the early days, at times.

The soundquality here is quite good. The instruments can all be heard clearly, and the vocals are slightly in the background of the mix, which is quite good here. The bassdrum is slightly unclear, perhaps, but this is nothing that I feel is a problem. There is a slight difference in the soundquality between the two recordings, and I must say I prefer the older, slightly rougher sound, if I were to choose between the two.

Almost all of the tracks on this CD are longer than 7 minutes, with half of them being 10 minutes or longer. The shortest track is a cover of Bathory's "Call from the Grave".

Standout tracks are "Ageless Winds of Infinite Wisdom", "...of Pure Blood", "Eternal Desolation of the Weak" and "A Prophecy of Ivory Skies".

Friday December 2 2005, by :Vragh:

Glorior Belli - 2004 - Evil Archaic Order

This French Black Metal act recently released this three track demo. Fast and slightly melodic Black Metal is what we get here, along with some furious sounding vocals. This recording reminds me of early Marduk and the first Trelldom album, Til Evighet..., with the vocals very similar to those done by Gaahl on that album.

The soundquality is slightly muffled, which is very suiting for the music, it just adds to the feeling of it all. These guys present their Satanic material convincingly. This is a very well played and well executed demo. Keep your eyes out for this band!  Yet another great release by Satanic Propaganda Records that also released the Obscurus Advocam demo sharing two members with Glorior Belli.

Standout track is "Eternal Torments".

Tuesday January 4 2005, by :Vragh:

Frozen Shadows - 1999 - Dans les Bras des Immortels

Here we have the first album by Canadian Black Metallers Frozen Shadows, an album well worth to check out. Aggressive northern style Black Metal with keyboards that are not used excessively. I find traces of earlier Emperor, Marduk and Ulver as well as Gorgoroth here, but this album actually reminds me mostly of Enslaved's second album Frost, and the vocals are very similar to Grutle's Black Metal vocals on that album.

The music is mostly fast, with the occasional midpaced parts. The soundquality on this album is also very similar to that on Frost. You can clearly hear the drums and the vocals, the bass is a bit muffled and the guitars are slightly in the back of the mix. Some longer tracks are on this album, clocking in at around 8-9 minutes each. These Canadians have actually managed to catch some of the Northern spirit that usually just is not present on so many albums.

Be sure to also check out their recently released second album, Hantises.

Standout tracks are "Dans les Bras Des Immortels", "Au Seuil des Tenebres" and "Lunes Funebres".

Tuesday June 22 2004, by :Vragh:

Eschaton - 2006 - Causa Fortior

Out of Greece comes this Black Metal horde with their first fullength album. We are presented with six tracks of mid-paced to fast and slightly melodic and depressive Black Metal. The music and sound has changed quite a bit since the demo from 2004, but this is still very good. This reminds me somewhat of Taake, for some reason, as well as the music presented on the 1349 mini cd. Some parts earlier Marduk are also present.

The vocals are rather reminiscent of the vocals by Garm on the first Borknagar album, if a bit more guttural, with parts Chuck Schuldiner of Death.

The soundquality here is slightly muffled and a bit chaotic, and there's more bass in their sound now than on their demo. The sound reminds me of the 1349 mcd mentioned earlier, as well as of that specific sound many of the Eastern European bands have. Very nice.

Standout tracks are "Glorious Crusade", "Transfigured Visions" and "Steel Glowing in Darkness".

Saturday October 21 2006, by :Vragh:

Dom Dracul - 2004 - Genocide in the Name of Satan

Here we have the latest demo from this Swedish one man Black Metal horde. Presented on this tape are four tracks of midpaced Black Metal and an intro. The soundquality is a bit murky, but still not at all bad. You can clearly hear the instruments and the vocals.

The vocals remind me of a mix of Satyr of Satyricon, Quorthon's Black Metal vocals and early Marduk, the music is somewhat similar to a slower Armagedda but with a bit more melody. The material is quite good, and there are many memorable riffs here.

The tape looks very professional, and is adorned with a very oldschool cover. There's at least one more tape by Dom Dracul, and that one should also be worth checking out. If I have to complain about one thing here it is the drumsound, but still I have heard far worse.

Standout tracks are "Die", "Weak Soul" and "Hellfire".

Monday July 19 2004, by :Vragh:

Dawn of Division - 2005 - Awaiting the Dawn

Out of Greece comes this one man Black Metal band with a second demo. Slightly atmospheric and melancholic, mid-paced Black Metal with keyboards is what we get here. This demo seems to be rather well thought through with interludes linking the tracks and setting the mood for the next track. Of the five tracks on this demo there are only two "real" tracks, the others being intro, interlude and outro. These three very well played Metal / Classical compositions remind me a lot of the Neo-Classical / Soundtrack project L'Orchestre Noir.

The two remaining tracks are well rooted in Black Metal, having a slight touch of regular Metal to them, with parts somewhat reminiscent of Ulver's more acoustic explorations. There is quite a bit of Burzum and Transilvanian Hunger-era Darkthrone here, with the music being somewhat repetitive, and I even find some traces of latter day My Dying Bride.

The vocals sound like a mix of Nocturno Culto, Legion and the vocals of Frediablo and Condatis
Svarthjerte in Svartpest.

The production is really good on this release, it has a dark atmosphere to it, and the drum machine
is not at all annoying. Definitely a band to keep an eye on, I would say.

Standout track is "Bride of Winter".

Wednesday July 27 2005, by :Vragh:

Blessmon - 2007 - Under the Storm of Hate

Out of Austria comes this Black Metal horde with their first album. Nine tracks of fast and aggressive Black Metal is what we are presented with. This is blasting almost from start to finish, similar to bands like Immortal, Marduk and Antaeus, with some interesting breaks and shifts.

The vocals mostly sound like Abbath of Immortal, though less strained and slightly less raspy. There are some similarities to Mannevond of Koldbrann, and Nocturno Culto of Darkthrone at times, as well. The vocals are quite audible, as opposed to quite a few other vocalists out there.

The soundquality is quite good and the instruments can be heard clearly. The vocals are slightly to the front of the mix, followed by the drums. There is a somewhat bass oriented production to this album, a fuller sound than is usually the case when it comes to Black Metal. Crushing guitar sound, I must say. Also released as a limited digipak with extra demo tracks as bonus. Highly recommended!

Standout tracks are "Dark Hordes", "Odessa", "Under the Storm of Hate", "Blood of the Fallen"

and "Irsgarh". 

Sunday August 23 2009, by :Vragh:

Angst - 2003 - Divine Wrath

Swedish Black Metallers Angst have some really raw and catchy riffs here. On this release Angst were forced to utilize a drum machine, since the drummer suffered a knee injury. I am not that fond of drum machines, but this one isn't as in your face as many can be, and the guitars cover up the more inorganic sounds of it. On the forthcoming 7" a new drummer has been added to the ranks, which will be very interesting to hear.

Presented on this promo are four tracks, and they sound like Swedish Black Metal of today. Slightly catchy, a good production, some parts remind me of Watain other parts remind me of Shining. Not bad at all. Mostly midpaced to faster Black Metal here, with some slower parts and some Metal influences as well.

The production is good and clear. The vocals remind me a bit of those of Carpathian Forest and earlier Marduk. A new album is to be recorded in 2004.

Standout tracks are "The Aeon of Genocide" and "Deathraped".

Tuesday May 25 2004, by :Vragh: