Erzfeynd (DEU) / Celestial Sword (USA) – Split GOLD LP

Black Metal

One of the most accomplished newcomers Signal Rex has come across in recent years, the shadowy entity of Valais burst from the voidal womb fully formed in the middle of 2021 with their self-titled debut album. Despite existing in the vast (and vastly inconsistent) wilderness of Bandcamp, Valais in fact imparted a power and poignancy that takes most bands at least a couple records to reach, if at all. Both classically composed and forward-thinking, Valais understood right from the start the core tenets of true black metal, but equally understood how to inject their own personality and poise into such to create something that adds to the language of BLACK METAL rather than mimics its speech patterns (and sloppily so).

No, Valais as a work is a towering monument of tension and release, skillful contours and subtle dynamics, richly malevolent melody and slipstreaming violence. Aesthetic touchstones include the likes of Slidhr, latter-day Leviathan, and even Blut Aus Nord at their wiliest, but Valais also exhibit an understated sense of the pagan – perhaps stemming from their native Ireland, or perhaps from some strange cosmos far beyond our comprehension… Either way, all of this coalesces into a whilrlwinding five-song/37-minute experience that feels far vaster than that succinct runtime otherwise suggests. As such, Signal Rex is honored to rightfully release this tome in all physical formats.

Black Metal

Negros Manifestos de Ordem Venusiana, a split LP presented on noble vinyl, to honor the ancient ways.

Indeed, both hordes wholly honor the ancient ways, and understandably are two of the mightiest and most respected hordes in Portugal’s nowadays raw black metal scene.

Negros Manifestos de Ordem Venusiana is something of an intergenerational pairing, however, as MONS VENERIS have been prolifically polluting the underground since 2003 while ORDEM SATANICA, by comparison, started their near-equally prolific onslaught in 2014.

Nevertheless, as representatives of the Portuguese Black Metal, here on Negros Manifestos de Ordem Venusiana do both hordes create provocative portrayals of their unique darkness and despair.

ORDEM SATANICA are on Side A and unfurl three haunting and medieval tracks, roaming the castle with that spectral rawness they’ve truly made their own the last few years.

MONS VENERIS are on Side B and offer an epic, side-long track that roams the rawest dungeons, spanning punkish bash and hypnotic hysteria alike, torrents of noise to ruin your soul.

Black Metal

Two great bands together in a covenant of Black Metal, each one parading its unique approach and both building a strong split, a brilliant release.