Issue #6 Winner

The most obvious feature first: Yes, the German newcomers Avgrunder are somewhat reminiscent of a very specific Swedish band from Linköping, and the embedding of dark, blasphemous lyrics in the rock music of the late 60s, the old-fashioned sound effects, the use of organs and the bittersweet, catchy choruses, these are all attributes that are also known from the superstars Ghost. However, Avgrunder go a few steps further in the direction of the traditional styles of heavy metal than Tobias Forge and his nameless ghouls, because the motto on The Fallen One is clearly "more doom, less pop". Future releases will have to show whether the Bandcamp tags black metal and death metal are meant seriously or just reflect the musical background of the musicians involved, but even without obvious borrowings from extreme metal, The Fallen One already has that certain something that appeals to metalheads who are usually absolutely not enthusiastic about clean vocals and occult rock, or hard rock in general.

Bandcamp / YouTube (full EP stream)

Issue #9 Winner

Baltum is a new death/black metal quintet hailing from Portugal, and upon closer inspection, the name of the project founded in 2021 reveals an additional clue to its more precise geographical origin, as 'Baltum' is the old name of a Roman settlement that was renamed to Al-Buhera in the early 8th century by Muslim conquerors and eventually became Albufeira. The formula 'power metal + growls = melodic death metal', adopted in inflationary manner by legions of Scandinavian and Finnish melodeath bands in particular, doesn’t work for the five Portuguese, instead it's a self-confident 'death metal + melodic black metal + a pinch of folk influences = Baltum' statement - and that's a damn good thing, because the result sounds a lot darker and more menacing than what we're usually accustomed to hear from the genre. Furthermore, the Portuguese are well aware that there is only one really effective way to stand out from the sheer mass of nowadays releases: good songwriting. And there's plenty of that on this EP, as evidenced in particular by the strong closer "Darkest Corners".

Bandcamp / YouTube (full EP stream)

Issue #10 Winner

Autumn isn't necessarily everyone's favorite time of year, but if there is a metal genre that can only truly unfold as the harsh autumn wind sweeps the last leaves from the branches so that only the rigid, gnarled skeletons of the trees remain, then it's death/doom. Boulder Grove have delivered the perfect soundtrack for the cold, wet and dark season with their first EP and it is no exaggeration to say that the two Russians fully live up to the expectations raised by the truly beautiful and atmospheric cover artwork. Is that Paradise Lost's Greg Mackintosh on guitars? It almost sounds like that, but no, the man's name is Vitaly, he is also responsible for all the other instruments (apart from the drums and the lute), and he has a strong musical instinct for creating a musical framework that is reminiscent of the genre's great role models and pioneers, but without copying them. Bandmate Dmitrii fits perfectly into this ensemble, because as soon as his raspy but powerful vocals set in, you can literally feel the damp autumn mist rising from the ground and sending a cold shiver down your spine.

Bandcamp / YouTube (full EP stream)

Issue #2 Winner

By now, you really should have heard the name Erech Leleth before. If not, then you have not only overslept his main band Ancient Mastery, but also missed several issues of our Clandestine Cuts series, featuring Narziss, Grandeur, and Bergfried, plus two raving reviews of the brilliant Summer Haze '99 debut Inevitable and Narzissus' first full-length album Akt III: Erlösung. It seems that Erech Leleth just doesn't run out of ideas, and also his project Carathis shows his special talent for integrating the most diverse musical influences into his music, no matter how incompatible they seem. The Moonstone Temple begins much like its predecessor The Amethyst Fortress ended, with a balanced mix of punk (raw black metal) and pomp (melodic black metal). So far so good - but who would have thought at that moment that the synthesizers would quickly take over and, despite the harsh vocals, turn the second track into a symbiosis of catchy power metal hooks and Eurodance?

Bandcamp / YouTube (full EP playlist)

Issue #11 Winner

Chullachaqui is a new progressive black metal one-man project, whose first release is just one song, titled "Oblivion". It stretches over 14 minutes in length, and throughout this duration it sonically and lyrically depicts the story of a person leaving their human husk and descending to hell to become the heir of Lucifer. The atmosphere is dark and cinematic, and it is imperative to read the lyrics while listening, in order to better understand the multiple musical layers, the infernal vocals, the choral arrangements, the ritualistic drum patterns, and the overall build-up. The bass tone is gritty and playing notes of impending doom, while the lead guitar parts are almost schizophrenic and tastefully dissonant, especially in the spectacular outro. "Oblivion" sounds as if Austin Lunn of Panopticon had decided to plunge into the depths of hell, but he met Enslaved and Akhlys there, and they all started jamming together. Like the mythical creature that the band takes its name after, Chullachaqui crafted a shapeshifting song that takes you by the hand, and lures you into an abyss from which you will never get out.

Bandcamp

Issue #3 Winner

Dissonant death metal, and particularly when overlapping with technical death, is a genre some might claim is prone to prioritizing maddening chaos over satisfying songwriting when left in less competent hands. Crown Of Madness very much do not fall into this trap; the Canadian duo do incorporate complexity and dissonance into their death metal, but they also have an appreciation for rewarding song structures and hooky riffs. With hints of melody and intuitive ebbs and flows within tracks, Crown Of Madness do not sacrifice memorability for extremity; slower passages allow room to breathe, or to headbang along to grim, trudging grooves, and melodic layers or leads within the more intense portions ensure they don’t become overwhelming. Elemental Binding is a brief yet accomplished EP that gives promising signs for the full-length debut that is scheduled to follow.

Bandcamp

Issue #1 Winner

A Day Of Sorrow is a debut EP, but the man behind Druids Of Eld, Matt Dodds, is not a musical novice; not only is he a guitarist-vocalist in Arbrynth, but he’s also previously performed live in Be'lakor, and that past experience can be heard in the maturity of this record. The melodeath of Be'lakor and the blackened folksiness of Arbrynth can be heard in A Day Of Sorrow, but this is arguably more of a melancholic doom effort, with hints of gothic metal in there as well; ‘Be'lakor-meets-Swallow The Sun-meets-Agalloch’ might give some idea of what to expect from A Day Of Sorrow. The touching melodies, the melancholic atmospheres and the power of the album’s more extreme elements blend together quite sumptuously on what is a highly accomplished first offering from Druids Of Eld.

Bandcamp

Issue #7 Winner

With the sheer volume of post-metal bands around, if an up-and-coming group wants to stand out, it helps to have a little something extra to their sound to distinguish themselves. In the case of Louisiana’s Fauns, they opt for a post-doom hybrid in the vein of groups such as Process Of Guilt and Ortega; the structures and various aspects of the textures on Surcease owe themselves to post-metal, but doom has more than a supporting role too. The type of doom can vary a bit; there’s bits where the sludge origins of post-metal coalesce into a sludge/stoner doom sound, but Fauns owe more to death/doom and gothic doom. The deep growled vocals fit nicely with the dirgier death/doom passages, but some of the cleaner slow passages, particularly one running through the middle of “Ashen”, bear some influence from groups such as Draconian and Swallow The Sun. Together, these ideas come together very effectively, with Surcease offering crushing heaviness, melancholic atmospheres, and menacing aggression in almost equal measure.

Bandcamp

Issue #8 Winner

For the nerds, 'Grimsever' is a unique glass sword found in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim video game. For the metalheads, Grimsever is a newborn, blackened speed metal band with a thrashy aggressiveness and a punky punch; a one-person, rapid and relentless assault, with riffs like silver bullets and leads like leather whips lashing from left and right. The 'Motörhead-and-Venom-walk-into-a-bar' main riff of “By The Strike Of The Whip” gets you hooked. Immediately after, the chorus of “Death In Leather” with the gang shouts and the Halford-esque screams has you completely sold. The other three tracks of this self-titled EP follow suit with abundant sleazy energy and tons of raw fun. It’s no wonder the band has the song titles in all caps over at Bandcamp, because ALL CAPS is the only way to describe this black ‘n’ roll attack. Fans of Bütcher, Bewitcher, Hellripper, and Midnight will surely enjoy these snappy and immediate tunes. Granted, there is a crowded market in this scene and this music is not unpredictable, but do you know many people who don’t enjoy a nice shot of turbocharged Motörhead?

Bandcamp

Issue #12 Winner

The German quartet Inherit The Curse are generally labelled as blackened (death metal) hardcore purveyors; this surely can be considered as one of the subgenres that defines their 8-track debut EP, Condemnation, and there is so much going on that you can barely follow. The relentless portrayal of hardcore, including unavoidable yet not excessive breakdowns, sits side-by-side with grindcore/powerviolence sections that unleash additional power and momentum. With a top-notch production and all instruments tuned to the highest levels of loudness, listeners are condemned to suffer plenty of noise. Combined with the fearless execution of vocal ferocity by Stephanie Brettmann, Condemnation will not leave listeners equanimous; rather, it is likely to induce neck breakage.

Bandcamp

Issue #4 Winner

Savage Oath are going to be fairly big fairly soon, since they feature guitarist Leeland Campana of Visigoth fame, vocalist Brendan Radigan of Sumerlands, guitarist Carlos Llanas (ex-Eternal Champion), and bassist Phil Ross (ex-Manilla Road). Relatively speaking, this is a supergroup. And Savage Oath is a tasty specimen of epic, galloping, thunderous, melodic, but also gritty heavy/power metal. This EP is playing in a superior league; you just need to check out the opening track, and you’ll be hooked. “Warlock's Trance” starts with the bass and the drums playing off of each other, then a killer riff joins the fun, and, finally, the soaring vocals come on top. How can someone not keep listening until the end? A full-length is supposed to be coming soon, and you cannot claim that you have not been warned.

Bandcamp

Issue #5 Winner

Vuosisata (formerly Unohdus) is a one-man atmospheric black metal band from Finland, which on this short but sweet demo manages to cram in a bunch of interestingly varied elements. “Niin Turhaan Tähdet Valaisivat Meitä” opens with a melodic, hypnotic dirge that wouldn’t be out of place on Silencer’s Death - Pierce Me, although the vocals on here aren’t nearly as theatrical, rather a raw, icy scream that fits the mood very well. The song goes on to transform into something like an atmospheric black take on Godspeed You! Black Emperor, with a heavy post-rock vibe to the twanging guitars, and a mid-song break that, just as the music seems to be on its way to intensify, dies down completely for a lonesome violin to enter. “Pohjatuuli” starts out as a more upbeat number, with the same sort of twangy post-rock guitars being played in a mid-pace tremolo above blast beats. It’s an intriguing blend of styles, well-executed and showcasing a great sense of variety and thoughtful chord progressions that carry the song from minor to major keys and back to create a sense of majestic drama that leaves one hoping for more.

Bandcamp