The Metal Storm Demo/EP Spotlight
Brand New Independent Metal Lives Here.
Welcome to the Clandestine Cuts!
Welcome to the Clandestine Cuts!
Is independent, unsigned, and underground metal what you seek? Weary traveller of the metal world, rest here a while. Clandestine Cuts are the best demos and EPs from these bands, the heart and soul of metal music. These musicians are slaves to their passions, and their blood keeps the metal machine alive and turning. Support them with a simple listen, and discover the future.
Metal Storm users: you can vote in the poll below to choose your favourite demo/EP of the issue. The winners each year are nominated in our annual Metal Storm Awards, so exercise your rights: this is the one category chosen completely by YOU the readers. Make sure your favourite independent metal is recognized each year!
(Do you think your band has what it takes to be featured in the Cuts? Email demos at metalstorm dot net to submit your music.)
In case you're new to this, go back and enjoy our last few issues:
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 15 #2
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 15 #1
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 14 #12
And now to the new music...
Hel Hath Fury - From Ashes (USA)
[Melodic Death Metal]
Hel Hath Fury's From Ashes EP is a delightful time warp to the early 2000s when Gothenburg metal ruled the airwaves. The Denver-based quartet borrows heavily from the Arch Enemy playbook... you know, right before it lost all face value and became as hollow as a pamphlet from your local religious cult. But back then, it was a blueprint for greatness, something that Hel Hath Fury now expertly channels: think shredding solos, harmonized leads, riffs so sharp they could peel paint off walls, and a minion-of-Satan-wide vocal versatility. It’s a criss-cross between harshness and melody, with enough fresh energy to invigorate your ears and make you wanna hit play again the second it’s over. Like finding an old mixtape in your car’s glove compartment – familiar, yet somehow exciting all over again.
by Thryce
Speedpvssy - Black Speed Death Rock And Roll (USA)
[Black Metal | Speed Metal]
Reading the title of this EP and looking at its cover art will give you everything you need to know about the music that is on here; Black Speed Death Rock And Roll is filthy, sleazy, vile, degenerate, and belligerent. It is music to start bar brawls to, keeping alive the spirit of usual suspects, such as Venom and Motörhead, and walking on the footprints of bands like Midnight, Hellripper, Bütcher, and Bewitcher. Sporting 'Speedpvssy' as the band name, and with song titles such as “Beer And Darkness” and “Witchfvcker”, one understands that the lyrics are no philosophy lecture notes. But this is not music to make you smarter; this is fast-paced aggression, extreme metal onslaught, and rock and roll swagger. All you are expected to do is to "play loud or fucking die”.
by nikarg
Dejecter - Oblation Husk (USA)
[Death Metal | Sludge Metal]
With Oblation Husk, their third EP in three years (plus a couple of covers to boot), Dejecter currently seem content to release their music as and when it’s ready, rather than compiling it all for a full album, and I’m not complaining, since it means I get to give the group some well-earned exposure in this article. At its core, the EP’s style is a dissonance-tinged and occasionally progressive form of death metal, but with elements of sludge and other styles thrown into the foray. The extent to which these various styles contribute fluctuations from song to song, each of which have very distinctive identities. “Fiends” is bruising, lumbering and menacing, while “In Fathom” briefly explores americana before blasting out vicious death metal. “And Dissonance” pounds with its grooves, and lives up to its name in its closing minutes, but it is closing track “Void Song” that is the real ace in the hole, a melancholic, doomy effort that sounds destined to appear on a Wayfarer during its twanging acoustic opening minutes before ultimately going in a gloomier direction. This amount of range, and this aptitude at writing each distinct sound, offers plenty of promise for what the Kansas City group might be capable of when they eventually release a full-length record.
by musclassia
Purging - Purging (USA)
[Death Metal]
This is a release that managed to grab my attention as soon as I saw the brilliant Alien/Giger artwork and the unreadable logo adorning it. I couldn’t gather any more info about Purging except that they are from California, but that’s not important because as soon as the minute-long intro of echoing voices led to the first brutal riff, my mind was somewhere else entirely, and I loved every second of it. The people behind this project clearly know what they are doing with an excellent production that balances the technical riffs with the gritty sound of the old school and boy does it elevate the drums to colossal levels too. There is more than meets the eye at first when it comes to categorizing Purging. Sure, it’s old school death metal at its core. But progressive undertones make themselves known, especially on the near nine-minute track “Magnificent Hallucinations”, which I can not describe any better than the title already does. The blastbeats hit hard in black metal fashion, only for the music to suddenly crash down into apocalyptic doom metal territories. Purging debuted with a demo that is seven minutes away from being a full-length album. If that were the case, I would have gladly nominated it as the best death metal album I've heard so far this year.
by X-Ray Rod
I, Dronepiper - Munkás Kezek (Hungary)
[Avantgarde Metal | Industrial Metal]
Hailing from Hungary, I, Dronepiper play some kind of avant-garde industrial techno metal. If that doesn’t get you interested, I don’t know what will. To be honest, this description only really half-fits the EP at hand, as Munkás Kezek takes us through very different soundscapes within only 20 minutes. The atmospheric techno sections of the album create a really wonderful ambiance that contrasts nicely with its heavier, more straightforward metal parts, some of them reminiscent of Havohej’s later work. That last sentence should tell you that even those riff-heavy sections contain their fair share of experimentation, mostly coming from the layering of electronic elements, but also with the use of unconventional instruments like the Jew’s harp (yes, I had to look that up). The only stain on this otherwise promising and interesting debut release is the cover art, which looks very much AI-generated. Beyond that, I strongly recommend Munkás Kezek to anyone interested in the more experimental side of metal.
by Roman Doez
Odion - Narcissus (Hungary)
[Progressive/Gothic Doom Metal]
There are always countless ways to tell a story. One could, for example, describe Odion as a very young band, founded by members of a Paradise Lost cover band and a Type O Negative tribute band, which played its very first concert just a few days ago, in March 2025. But one you could just as well say that Odion consists of particularly seasoned musicians who have been active in the Hungarian metal scene for over 30 years, and who have played (or still play) in bands like Thy Catafalque, Reason, Agregator, Mind's Mirrors, and Rivers Ablaze, to name but a few. Both versions of the story create different expectations and kinds of surprise: on the one hand, you wouldn’t expect such a professional, crystal-clear production or such a strong personal touch in the songwriting from a cover band; on the other hand, you wouldn’t necessarily expect veteran musicians to bring such a fresh breeze into a relatively dusty genre. But even if you approach the band's first EP, Narcissus, without any expectations at all, you'll be pleasantly surprised, because a blend of the aforementioned influences that is this instantly catchy, spiced up with a touch of gothic death/doom à la early My Dying Bride, varied drumming, gloomy yet rocking guitar riffs, and a beautifully fitting cello is truly something you don’t come across every day.
by Starvynth
