CD

Darkenhöld emerged in 2008 as a trio composed of Aldébaran, Cervantes and Aboth, with the ambition of creating a melodic, epic, atmospheric Black Metal imbued with the spirit of the 90s from which the band has always drawn most of its influences. The band's universe was established from the beginning around a dreamlike medieval imagination, roaming the deep forests, high mountains and mysterious caves of the South-East of France where the band is from. The old stones of fortified castles, fantastic bestiaries, tales and legends, the dense and complex landscapes of the Côte d'Azur are the sources of inspiration for a Black Metal that first stood out with the release of two self-produced split-CDs in 2009, mixing covers with original compositions. Introducing the group's emblematic animal, the Wyvern, and laying the first foundations of its universe, they prepared the ground for the release of a first album, "A passage to the towers...", released in 2010. The group would then release a second album, defended throughout a French tour, before introducing the French language in its third album, "Castellum", which would open new horizons for them. The release in 2017 of their fourth album, "Memoria Sylvarum", released as a self-production, would see the group access larger stages, culminating in a well-received performance at Hellfest in 2018. The year 2020 marked a further step with the signing of the group to the label "Les Acteurs de l'Ombre Productions" and the release of their fifth album, "Arcanes et Sortilèges".

Los Angeles trio Faetooth sophomore album Labyrinthine is a deeply felt exploration of emotional weight: grief, memory, uncertainty, and the quiet work of growing around your own wounds.

Following the band’s 2022 debut Remnants Of The Vessel, which introduced the band’s signature blend of heaviness and mysticism, Labyrinthine pushes further inward. True to its name, the album winds through a maze of feeling and form, where meaning is never handed over easily. It’s rooted in self-discovery through disorientation, the idea that understanding comes not from escape, but from getting lost.

• Los Angeles-based doom outfit blending shoegaze with crushing heaviness

Re-issue of LEVIATHAN’s infamous “True Traitor” album re-mastered from the original mixes and for the first time properly mastered for vinyl, in turn this re-issue being is the definitive vinyl edition of the album and the album’s first proper vinyl release the way it was supposed to be presented. “True Traitor” re-issue also features new artwork courtesy of Abomination Hammer and features the “Now Nigredo” bonus track.

• Experimental, highly idiosyncratic take on black metal from Oakland California / Olympia Washington two piece
• Recorded, mixed and mastered by Nicholas Wilbur (The Microphones, Have A Nice Life, Planning For Burial)
• Previous releases with on cult DIY label An Out Recordings
• 2018 split release with Thou
• For fans of Mt. Eerie and Wolves In The Throne Room

Pythagoras, the new Pyramids album nine years in the making, is set for release in 2025 via avant-tastemakers The Flenser. Yet another daring study in genre synthesis, the band continues to push boundaries in both sound and aesthetic, blending jagged fragments of black metal and shoegaze as they have done since their influential 2008 Hydra Head Records debut, only this time adding the unconventional layers of reggaeton and neoperreo to both voice and rhythm. Named after the ancient Greek philosopher, Pythagoras represents the band’s ongoing commitment to innovation, and the perpetual juxtaposition of the delicate and the devastating, embracing complex musical structures and rhythms that both challenge and captivate the listener. At the heart of the album lies an intricate balance between aggressive blast beats and the syncopated pulse of reggaeton’s signature dembow rhythm—a concept born from founder Rich Loren Balling’s own immersion in both extreme music and pop genres.

• Previous releases on Hydra Head and Profound Lore Records

! The follow up to minimalist black metal weirdos BOSSE-DE-NAGE’s self titled debut. This album was recorded in 2010 by JUSTIN WEIS and features a HUGE sound along with the Lousiville-styled post rock (think Slint not Godspeed) and black metal weirdness that made Bosse-de-Nage’s debut a divisive genre defying classic. This is black metal, but black metal tinged with 20th century minimalism and outlandish vocals.