CD

Sear Bliss delivers their opus magnum after a 30 year long journey of epic darkness!

Welcome to a journey into space itself in which its divinity is formed by progressive components and blackened chaos: Sear Bliss’s “Heavenly Down”. Externally mighty and internally filling, Hungary’s metallic frontrunners once again apply their signature formula of conjoining elegance and evil; two separate worlds that flawlessly connect into one special entity of supreme distinction. A galactic quest in which Sear Bliss rewrites the rules of experimental metal is found within “Heavenly Down” and the trip is very exciting, believe us.

Though containing common Black Metal qualities, “Heavenly Down” shows a neat shape of Sear Bliss’s own originality mixed in with several usual endowments. As expected,
Sear Bliss preserves their blackened roots intact with epic tremolo picking sections, firing blastbeats, and András Nagy’s graceful shrieks, yet the use of beautiful clean guitars and majestic keyboards add to the already-mighty picture. But don’t fear for too much soft stuff, because there are some massive head-banging riffs that just shred your eyeballs out of their sockets. The harmony between two separate musical extremes is reached in precise unison, and such a joyous tension is never broken from its state of wonder; this is how Black Metal and empyrean moods are supposed to wed. During the voyage, Sear Bliss keeps the ride interesting with the band’s hidden weapon that seems a bit odd at first, but ends out working excellently: the trombone. Zoltán Pál‘s strange position in Sear Bliss is not that of a clueless musician hitting symphonic notes, but rather an individual that can intelligently wrap the trombone around the harsh guitars and ethereal surroundings superbly. The thing is, however, that the trombone takes absolute control of Sear Bliss’s music whenever the master permits its freedom: you’ll be enjoying a cool riffing section, and then a blast of brass just explodes like no other instrument. It’s truly a unique experience that needs to be heard to be believed.

Overall, we dare to say “Heavenly Down” is a fantastic album with countless incidents of atypical independence and atmospheric delight. Everything is solid as a rock, and the
consistent display of cosmic instrumentation definitely make this record a highlight in Sear Bliss’ discography. Those looking for something outside the musical norm will most
certainly appreciate “Heavenly Down” and its metaphysical significance as a Black Metal recording unlike most of the genre itself.

Nadsvest is a black metal entity based in Serbia, comprised of Serbian native S and NewZealander A.
S (Gorgoroth) and A (Barshesketh) crossed paths in 2015, and after a clear musical symbiosis had become evident, formed Nadsvest.
After an EP and a split with Portugal’s Necrobode, Nadsvest crafted their definitive debut album.
Musically, Nadsvest is a hellish combination of the first, second-wave and bestial black metal scenes, with unhealthy doses of heavy metal and nods to Serbian folk music.
Lyrical themes deal with the black arts through the lens of the darker aspects of Serbian folklore.
Conceptually, Slovo meseca i krvi is an epic poem exploring the stages in the process of awakening the primal werewolf force in the warrior, the triumph of the spirit and the ultimate sacrifice of the flesh.
Sound was forged in Sonorous Studio with the goal of evoking the noise of the tortured soul.

SARKE continue to exploit their unusual mix of 70`s rock, 80`s speed metal and 90`s black metal, resulting in an album full of heavy-rocking and groovy metal while not forgetting the unique psychedelic, doomy and dwelling passages. A monster of an album by a beast of a line-up ft. (ex) members of Darkthrone, Enslaved and Khold!

“Endo Feight” , the 8th full-length of pioneering Norwegian metal act SARKE, covers everything from SARKE’s lightest parts to the hardest. Prepare for a unique musical journey that breaks barriers within the metal scene, of course featuring Nocturno Culto from the legendary DARKTHRONE on vocals.

“Endo Feight” was recorded and mixed at H10 Productions by Lars-Erik Westby and mastered by Sofia von Hage and Thomas Eberger at Stockholm Mastering. The cover illustration was created by Kjetil Nystuen.

Remastered and joined together in a single release, the first two Nest EPs see the light again! Fabled Lore and Hidden Stream, originally released in 2000 and 2003, will finally be available on vinyl as part of a comprehensive reissue work via Avantgarde Music!

Nest is an atmospheric folk / acoustic group from Finland, formed in the summer of 1999, mainly focusing on the use of the Kantele, a traditional Finnish instrument. The project, led by multi-instrumentalist and visual artist Aslak Tolonen (also member of Syven and several others), has always kept a shy behaviour, releasing three studio albums along the quarter of a century and playing selected live gigs.

Fabled Lore / Hidden Stream is the first instalment in Nest's vinyl and cd reissue schedule on Avantgarde Music and will be followed by the releases of Woodsmoke, Trail of the Unwary (with bonus) and Mietteita - this last one for the first time ever receiving a physical release.

On the ninth full-length with the tell-tale title of "Subject to Change", XASTHUR took a musical leap of faith: Mastermind, multi-instrumentalist, and singer Scott Conner abandoned black metal as a form of musical expression for the time being, and turned to something stylistically rather comparable to acid folk and neofolk instead. Keeping the minimalistic approach of his previous albums, but embarking on a long journey through the dark underbelly of the American dream, Conner created his own brand of dark Americana. XASTHUR were originally conceived by Scott Conner in California, USA in the year 1995. The project started out in the vein of bleak black metal in the tradition of the Nordic second wave. Over the course of nine albums and a host of split-singles, EPs, and occasional demos, XASTHUR's individual, particularly depressive style became highly regarded within the extreme genre. In 2010, Scott announced the end of XASTHUR and returned with an acoustic dark folk project under the banner of NOCTURNAL POISONING. In 2015, the American artist returned to the name XASTHUR, but insisted that his black metal days were over. On his so far latest album, "Inevitably Dark", XASTHUR have partly lifted the self-imposed ban on black metal, simply because Conner simply did like he felt.

A new and mysterious project from Finland. Raw and captivating black metal with a pinch of dungeon synth.
Feel the ancient flame…

A festering entity (de)composed of dwellers from the Viennese underworld.
Let their ri -laden, rotten death metal lead you on a pilgrimage into the furthest corridors of morbidity.

Metalstorm‘s Review (metalstorm.net) about Prigrims of Morbidity:
´This release is irresistibly repugnant; it is dripping all sorts of revolting liquids, and you can bet your ass that they all smell disgustingly awful.
If you ever feel like lurking in a suffocating, dark, and bat-filled cave, or if you get an urge to open up a coffin at your local cemetery and desecrate its content, Pilgrims of Morbidity should be on your headphones.
The band has a knack for groove, and the fact that Brenton Weir from MOLTEN CHAINS is behind FESSUS explains a lot.
The cavernous riffs are paired with sickening growls and some blazing drumming, and this demo is pure delight for fans of old-school, rotten death metal, who get satisfaction when the riffs make them pick up their jaw from the floor´.

To understand the defining traits of Greek Black Metal, one need only to listen to “The Tressrising of Nyarthotep” by the mighty Varathron. This track, first appearing on the “genesis of Apocryphal Desire” demo, possesses all of the victorious grandeur and tragic melancholia that are the essence of the early 1990’s Greek Black Metal sound. Along with contemporary releases by Rotting Christ and Necromantia, Varathron’s demo material firmly established a style that is thoroughly Grecian in character. Thick with a damp and heavy Hellenistic darkness, Varathron explored a sound that was infused with the epic and the ancient. As with so much of the most evocative and potent Black Metal, the ancient currents are revealed through the expression of the modern. Varathron’s music is as mystical as it is visceral. The recordings on this compilation comprise the earliest seeds of what would become one of the greatest bands in the history of the genre. This collection contains all of Varathron’s work leading the band toward the creation of their monumental debut LP, “His Majesty at the Swamp.” The two demos, “Procreation of the Unaltered Evil” and “Genesis of Apocryphal Desire” reveal the steps that Varathron took that would later come to fruition on their first album. This collection also contains the more refined tracks that were utilized on their first vinyl releases – the “One Step Beyond Dreams“ EP and “The Everlasting Sins” tracks from the split LP with Necromantia – and three additional bonus tracks recorded during the early years. As with the forthcoming Rotting Christ demo collection that NWN! will soon release, the songs on this compilation of Varathron’s early recordings reveal the painstaking emergence of a band’s identity. Absorbed in the context of early works by Varathron’s Greek contemporaries, one also witnesses the development of a sound uniquely specific to a geographic region, so specific, in fact, that it is impossible to imagine such a multidimensional approach to Black Metal originating anywhere else. Both the Regular and Die Hard editions of this release will feature gatefold jackets with artwork by Manuel Tinnemans and layout by Tilmann Benninghaus as well as a 48 page zine booklet. The Die Hard edition will also come with a separate LP (with jacket) featuring the “Live at the Swamp” demo material. Originally released on tape in 2004, “Live at the Swamp” features a live recording and rehearsal recording from 1991. These recordings have been remastered and cleaned up by James Plotkin and the sound quality on this LP, although still quite raw, is markedly better than the original tape version.

Jewel case CD, 12 pages booklet

Bilwis is a Melodic Black Metal solo-project from Germany. 

The concept of Bilwis comprises old European fairy tales and myths, clothing them in a garment of raw, yet melodic and atmospheric Black Metal with German lyrics - a journey to the world of forgotten dreams, wolves, ghosts, dwarfs, mermaids, trolls, elves, vampires & giants.

When Bilwis started the songwriting for the new album “Hameln”, it soon became apparent that in terms of songwriting he needed to return to the debut EP, but with improved sound. The last album “Pan” ended up very melodic and playful, whereas the concept of the new album required a darker and oppressive sound and songwriting to express the grim themes that the lyrics deal with. Musically, a big inspiration have always been Dissection, and while not always apparent, the occasional nods to “The Somberlain” are quite distinctive.

In order to visually express the dark themes of the fairy tales and myths which are told on the new album, particularly that of the title song, it was decided to get the cover artwork done by the very talented German artist Julian Bauer, who captured the essence of the music and lyrics perfectly in his image of the “Rattenfänger von Hameln”.

‘Rotten mindcrushing death metal from the underground, most important and influential bands. A brutal compilation that sickens your soul’. That was the original promotional line for this compilation album in 1991. It’s still valid to this very day. ALL bands are up till now active, recording new albums and performing worldwide. And all with their own serious fanbase. This cd re-release features Unleashed, Asphyx, Tiamat, Morgoth, Grave & Loudblast. All with rare or special tracks from 1990 – 1991, 15 in total. The 12 page booklet contains interviews with all bands, done by Pim Blankenstein (Sinister, Bodyfarm, Infernal Majesty). Complete booklet and original artwork remake by ACW (Tiamat, Ceremonial Oath).