Black Metal

A cross-generational meeting of two very old souls, Wandering Forlorn brings together two Australian hordes who’ve been following the voice of blood longer than most have been alive. RUNESPELL mainman Nightwolf has been forging steel in the glare of burning churches since 2017. In feverish succession, his three albums for IRON BONEHEAD have poignantly presented pagan black metal in an authentically old yet refreshingly new hue, and with his three equally epic tracks here, RUNESPELL shows that the fire is far from extinguished – in fact, its flames soar ever higher like spears hunting heaven. By comparison, FOREST MYSTICISM put Down Under paganism on the map nearly 15 years ago and then retreated into the shadows in 2011, honor intact. Come 2018, the Hearken EP indeed hearkened the band’s rebirth, and the three stout-yet-sumptuous tracks here continue that noble trajectory. And aside from a single-track split last year, Wandering Forlorn marks the most extended FOREST MYSTICISM recording since the no-less-considerable Hearken, a true fire of awakening.

Black Metal

TEMPLE OF THE BEAST is the work of one DarkWvlf, well known in the black metal scene as Blackthorn, founding vocalist/drummer of the long-running Thornspawn. But those expecting a blitzed assault of classic Norsecore will be in for a surprise with TEMPLE OF THE BEAST: oft-lumbering ritualism that slithers its way into hammering primitivism, recalling the earliest works of Samael, Mystifier, Demoncy, and Drawing Down the Moon-era Beherit but exuding its own strange, ethereal identity.

Black Metal

TROLLDOM is a name that goes back many years. While the band’s date of origin is unknown, the first demo, Av gudablod röd…, was released in 2016. That TROLLDOM played authentically vintage second-wave black metal should hardly be suprising considering it came under the banner of Ancient Records linchpin Swartadauþuz (Azelisassath, Bekëth Nexëhmü, Muvitium, Greve, MUSMAHHU, Digerdöden, Gnipahålan, Mystik, Summum, Daudadagr). Back then, his rabidly prolific nature was just starting to blossom, and TROLLDOM was yet another new-yet-old creation that contributed to his wider cosmology whilst standing on its own.

Black Metal

TROLLDOM is a name that goes back many years. While the band’s date of origin is unknown, the first demo, Av gudablod röd…, was released in 2016. That TROLLDOM played authentically vintage second-wave black metal should hardly be suprising considering it came under the banner of Ancient Records linchpin Swartadauþuz (Azelisassath, Bekëth Nexëhmü, Muvitium, Greve, MUSMAHHU, Digerdöden, Gnipahålan, Mystik, Summum, Daudadagr). Back then, his rabidly prolific nature was just starting to blossom, and TROLLDOM was yet another new-yet-old creation that contributed to his wider cosmology whilst standing on its own.

Black Metal

By now, UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN require little introduction. For nearly 25 years, this Chilean cult have built a commanding canon of eldritch death metal DARKNESS. From their early demos to later splits and especially their preceding five full-lengths – not least of which, 2014’s Baphomet Pan Shub-Niggurath, 2017’s Keziah Lilith Medea (Chapter X), and 2019’s Teufelsbücher, all released by IRON BONEHEAD to widespread critical acclaim – UNAUSSPRECHLICHEN KULTEN have explored the furthest reaches of primordial dread and ancient mysticism, all through pure ‘n’ authentic Metal of Death. That their vision has only become more intense and mesmerizing, after so many years (and when so many bands sputter to obsolescence), is some strange magick indeed…

Black Metal

Formed in 2020, out of the ashes of two projects coming to an end, Los Angeles’ VAAMATAR was born with one intention: to play black metal in its purest form. Raw and fast and free of frills, the full-length Medievalgeist is the follow-up to their debut EP, Evil Witching Black Metal. Immediately, old sensations are awakened and recast anew. The spectre of the second wave of black metal during the 1990s drapes its wings across Medievalgeist, but VAAMATAR’s strong songwriting eludes easy categorization. Instead of early Darkthrone, one can hear here contemporaneously early Dødheimsgard; instead of early Enslaved, the ’90s work of Norway’s Hades; instead of prime Marduk, comparably prime Arckanum, and so on. Which is all to underline that the duo of VAAMATAR are old souls to the bitter end, having imbibed ancient wisdoms and now spilling them freely across their own teachings in the form of Medievalgeist.

Including booklet.

Black Metal

From the earthen tomb the sepulchral shadows of the Varcolaci cultus, reaches with wolfish claws and burning eyes towards the moon. Storm-clouds darken and envelop the sky, bringing the shadows and nightmarish spirits of night.
Varcolaci is Vampyric Magick woven in sound, obscure black metal and ambient waves of the tomb and darkened skies.
Varcolaci is a conceptual manifestation of the deep knowledge and ancient powers associated with Vampyrism from Slavic and Pagan magical practices and religion. The depths of meaning are as the vast green vines and snakes which enter the dark earth to find balance between the chthonic and the skies of both storm and night.

Varcolaci is an entity created by Akhtya Nachttoter & Azgorh, both are well known for their work together in Black Funeral & Strigoii, as well as their various other entities such as Valefor, Darkness Enshroud, Akhtya, Drowning the Light, Harvest, Ghosts of Oceania, Forgotten Kingdoms – to name a few.

Black Metal

One of the deepest gems of the always-vital Greek black metal scene, WAMPYRINACHT began unholy life back in 1995. Their first demo arrived the next year, followed two years later by an EP released by Melancholy Promotion, the precursor to the infamous ISO666 label. Thereafter, WAMPYRINACHT more or less returned to the crypt, as members drifted off and mainman Necrolord sought to establish a new lineup. Mind you, Necrolord kept busy in myriad bands in the meantime – truly, he is one of the most prolific veterans of the Greek underground – but it was not until 2017 when WAMPYRINACHT would return with a new recording. Thankfully, that record bore fruit in full-length form, under the title We Will Be Watching: Les cultes de Satan et les mystères de la mort. A dynamic and dazzling display of canonic Hellenic black metal but infused with a melancholy that was indeed vampyric, We Will Be Watching became a late-days essential of Greek classicism.