Irillion – Fatanyu (Self-released, 2019)

by Johan Pettersson on November 9, 2019

Ostensibly positioning themselves somewhere between the exalted primitivism of Demoncy and the “flowing” school of Eastern European black metal, Irillion emerged as one of the more promising black metal-acts of recent years with 2016’s Egledhron. Not so much for their choice of style, but for displaying courage to move beyond established forms in intuitive pursuit of the most effective and far-reaching mode of expression. This recently released second EP entitled Fatanyu retains the sonic signature and raw, essentialist approach evident on the debut, but trumps the debut in terms of composition and stylistic refinement.

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Feral Viscera – The Nuclear Death Cult

by Nicholas Vahdias on November 3, 2019

Phil from Nuclear Death returns with his new project Feral Viscera which continues on the path originally set out by the band but without the influence of the other members. The Nuclear Death Cult consists of eleven rerecorded Nuclear Death songs and two brand new songs. Songs remain the same in regards to composition but are produced in a much more modern manner. Gone are the demented screams of Lori Bravo, now replaced with a cold heavily distorted growl. The guitars are much louder and though are just unpolished are easier to make out due to the overly compressed nature of the music.

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Blitzkrieg – Demo Tape

by Nicholas Vahdias on November 2, 2019

Blitzkrieg’s three song demo, released during the height of the NWOBHM era and showing a harder side to the genre slowly edging towards full on Speed metal. Though known mainly due to Metallica’s cover and its influence on the American Speed metal bands. Blitzkrieg offer a combination of the triumphant riffing found on Stained Class and the theatrics of Focus’ Moving Waves.

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Fester – Silence (Lethal, 1994)

by Johan Pettersson on October 22, 2019

Back in the day, this Norwegian band was derogatorily referred to as a “life metal”-band by scenesters. Especially their sophomore effort Silence suffered a reputation of being an exceptionally weak, pretentious and – above all – boring release. Although recent years have given rise to sporadic reevaluations of the band’s work, Fester remains largely neglected to this day (and some would say deservedly so).

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Sarcasm – Esoteric Tales of the Unserene (Chaos, 2019)

by Johan Pettersson on October 21, 2019

One of many promising acts who fell by the wayside in the early 1990, Swedish melodic death/black band Sarcasm made a somewhat unexpected return in 2015 with the long overdue release of their 1994 debut full-length Burial Dimensions. Then in 2017 came their return proper with Within in the Sphere of Ethereal Minds, an aesthetically pleasing marred by haphazard assembly. With Esoteric Tales of the Unserene (2019), Sarcasm return to previously explored territories; maybe in the hope of striking a better equilibrium between the style’s main constituents: black-, death- and heavy metal.

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Angel Witch – Angel of Light (Metal Blade, 2019)

by Johan Pettersson on October 20, 2019

Mighty influential NWOBHM’ers Angel Witch is about to unleash their greatly anticipated follow-up to 2012’s As Above, So Below. The album, entitled Angel of Light, will hit the market on November 1 and will be available in a plethora of formats. Together with countrymen Satan, Angel Witch count as one of few returning old school metal acts who’ve managed to modernize their sound without having it reflect negatively on their past efforts. However, since As Above, So Below consisted primarily of re-recorded material from the golden days, this new effort could be seen as the true testing ground for the band.

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OPHTHALAMIA – A Journey in Darkness (Avantgarde Music, 1994)

by Johan Pettersson on October 19, 2019

While primarily known for his work with black metal/noise-pioneers Abruptum and assorted non-musical activities in the – at least locally – infamous “True Satanist Horde”, it is the strange entity of Ophthalamia that remains as Tony “IT” Särkkä’s (RIP 1972-2017) greatest artistic achievement. Ophthalamia’s debut album A Journey in Darkness stood out in the early 1990s black metal-environment with its anachronistic and all-around peculiar mode of expression. In rough terms, the music can be described as a blend of black-, doom-, and heavy metal with the conceptual and structural trappings of 1970s progressive rock.

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Orcrypt – Dice and Damnation (Self-released demo, 2019)

by Johan Pettersson on October 16, 2019

In wait of their sophomore full-length album, premiere Pure Goblin Black Metal (PGBM) band Orcrypt released this demo recording some time ago. Dice and Damnation retains the sound and vibe displayed on the previous effort Mercenaries of Mordor; a fearless blend of cavernous black- and heavy metal that somehow dodges the obvious trappings of such a composite. But rather than settling into a comfortable template, the band choose to approach the material from a slightly different angle.

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COMPILATION REPORT: Ultra Metal (Monitor, 1990)

by Johan Pettersson on October 14, 2019

Back in the 1980/90s – a time when underground metal wasn’t just a click away – buying compilation albums was a fun and affordable method for discovering new music. As introductions to specific styles or scenes – some of which otherwise remained restricted to the tape trading community – they’re the perfect option. Also, compilations occasionally featured alternate takes or tracks that couldn’t be found on the albums proper. Ultra Metal serve both functions; presenting the then current state of Czechoslovakian underground metal and offering exclusive versions of specific songs.

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