CD

The Italic spirit returns… Winter Medieval Black Metal from the Mounts of Sibylla!

Blackened death metal one-man band Light Dweller will release their new studio album through Unorthodox Emanations. After making waves in the metal underground with four studio releases, Light Dweller is poised to unleash its fifth full-length album titled The Subjugate, which will see the light in early 2024. Since 2017, the project has forged a distinctive path within the dissonant realms of metal, evolving with each release by seamlessly blending dissonance with melody and juxtaposing aggressive onslaughts with haunting, deliberate passages. The Subjugate will represent Light Dweller's boldest sonic statement yet, marking a significant evolution in sound and cementing their status as a formidable presence in the modern metal landscape. "Cessation Of Time" is the first single from Light Dweller new record, which will see the light in early 2025 via Avantgarde Music death metal division, Unorthodox Emanations.

One-off press in digipak with 12 pages booklet, limited to 300 copies

Sivyj Yar is a post-black metal band formed almost twenty years ago in the countryside south of St. Petersburg. Since 2014, multi-instrumentalist and composer Vladimir Vishniakov has been working closely with Avantgarde Music to release his music endeavors, and A Scarlet Sunset Over The Horrid Abyss marks a new milestone in the artist’s path.

Sivyj Yar has always been about the history and darkest times of the Russian people, and this new album makes no exception. In Vladimir’s words, this work is about the innocent, the tortured, the murdered, the broken, and the forgotten. About those who were destined for unbearable suffering. About the sacrifice that they made. The wheel of terror turns faster. The darkest parts of history repeat themselves if they are erased from human memory or replaced with false images. Entire nations can easily be plunged into darkness for years. Icy fear fetters souls, mutilates them.

A Scarlet Sunset Over The Horrid Abyss features poetry by Andrei Bely, symbolist Russian poet from the early XX century, as well as archival photographs taken in the Kolyma camps — one of the most terrible places in the new history of Russia, a remote, eastern area of the Russian country where dozens of gulags held Soviet POWs and political prisoners in extreme conditions until the ‘70s.
 

Tellingly titled, The Awakening displays yet more sides to this still-unfolding entity. To be sure, Valravn's poise and power are firmly accounted for here - you can still FEEL every note, so vital, virile, and vivid - and they've even added a bit of death metalled muscle, too, but the songwriting itself is where their second album truly takes flight. Sharp and yet never sterile, thanks to a production that's on the right side of polished, there's an acute balance of contrasts across The Awakening's 44-minute runtime; each of the album's eight songs features some twist of melancholy and militancy, of bursting color and bristling monochromatism, of stoic resignation and steadfast determination, of man-on-the-mountain spaciousness and stuck-in-the-catacombs claustrophobia. Concluding with the literally breathtaking "Charge of the Last Cavalry," The Awakening consolidates all the strengths of its predecessor and indeed leads Valravn into a new charge for glory. 

"Original Finnish Heavy Rock recorded 1987: Where Thunder Meets Steel"
Born from the roar of unyielding spirit and electrifying riffs, this is heavy rock that resonates across decades. A long-lost gem blending grit, melody, and epic attitude — echoing the golden age of Finnish rock glory and reigniting the spirit of an era when thunder roared and steel reigned supreme.

2-CD hardcover book (18 x 18cm, 36 pages) + excl. bonus CD with 4 bonus songs and additional artwork

With their seventh studio album "Otra", Norwegian avant-garde metal stalwards IN THE WOODS... might surprise their listeners – and particularly those, who have not followed the remarkable evolution that the band from the southern Norwegian city of Kristiansand has undergone since the early nineties. The tracks of "Otra" are surprisingly captivating with melodic tunes dominating the present sound of IN THE WOODS... – although progressive elements and the occasional rough reminder of the Norwegians' harsh past are also regularly shimmering through the fabric of these songs. What sets "Otra" apart from the average heavy work of music is the excellence of composition that shows expert level experience and comes with a seeming ease that makes the achievement even greater. Lyrically, "Otra" revolves around stories connected to the eponymous river that winds for 245 kilometres through the South of Norway and spills into the Skagerrak, the strait that separates the country from Denmark and Sweden, at the band's home in Kristiansand. There is hardly a need to introduce the name IN THE WOODS... to any adherent of avant-garde and black metal. Their coordinates within the scene are also well known: The Norwegians were among the bands that have participated in the burgeoning evolution of black metal in the early nineties and have had a large part in the shaping of the sound of a strong subgenre. Their first full-length "Heart of the Ages" (1995) has a lasting impact on black metal and is rightfully regarded as one of the genre's early classics. Refusing to rest on their laurels, IN THE WOODS... progressed further into different musical dimensions with "Omnio" (1997) and "Strange in Stereo" (1999). Following a long hiatus between the years 2000 to 2014, the Norwegians returned with vocalist James Fogarty, who continued to front the band until December 2021. With a new line-up and singer Bernt Fjellestad completing IN THE WOODS... a fresh direction was taken with the album "Diversum" (2021). With "Otra", IN THE WOODS... demonstrate the full strength and artistic maturity of the Norwegians' third incarnation. Enticing and highly pleasurable to listen to, this exciting record is nonetheless crammed with glorious details and surprising twists that reveal themselves only after many spins.

With their seventh studio album "Otra", Norwegian avant-garde metal stalwards IN THE WOODS... might surprise their listeners – and particularly those, who have not followed the remarkable evolution that the band from the southern Norwegian city of Kristiansand has undergone since the early nineties. The tracks of "Otra" are surprisingly captivating with melodic tunes dominating the present sound of IN THE WOODS... – although progressive elements and the occasional rough reminder of the Norwegians' harsh past are also regularly shimmering through the fabric of these songs. What sets "Otra" apart from the average heavy work of music is the excellence of composition that shows expert level experience and comes with a seeming ease that makes the achievement even greater. Lyrically, "Otra" revolves around stories connected to the eponymous river that winds for 245 kilometres through the South of Norway and spills into the Skagerrak, the strait that separates the country from Denmark and Sweden, at the band's home in Kristiansand. There is hardly a need to introduce the name IN THE WOODS... to any adherent of avant-garde and black metal. Their coordinates within the scene are also well known: The Norwegians were among the bands that have participated in the burgeoning evolution of black metal in the early nineties and have had a large part in the shaping of the sound of a strong subgenre. Their first full-length "Heart of the Ages" (1995) has a lasting impact on black metal and is rightfully regarded as one of the genre's early classics. Refusing to rest on their laurels, IN THE WOODS... progressed further into different musical dimensions with "Omnio" (1997) and "Strange in Stereo" (1999). Following a long hiatus between the years 2000 to 2014, the Norwegians returned with vocalist James Fogarty, who continued to front the band until December 2021. With a new line-up and singer Bernt Fjellestad completing IN THE WOODS... a fresh direction was taken with the album "Diversum" (2021). With "Otra", IN THE WOODS... demonstrate the full strength and artistic maturity of the Norwegians' third incarnation. Enticing and highly pleasurable to listen to, this exciting record is nonetheless crammed with glorious details and surprising twists that reveal themselves only after many spins.

The flickering light of fragile hope battles the crushing weight of despair in Fields of Mildew’s fourth release, “IV”. With its signature minimalist dark folk, the project delves into the innermost recesses of human emotion, offering an unflinching reflection on loss, resilience, and the stark beauty of barren landscapes.

On “IV”, Fields of Mildew shifts its focus inward, exploring the fragmented psyche of a solitary soul caught between the oppressive weight of reality and fleeting moments of imagined relief. Themes of love and loss, fragile dreams, and the slow erosion of hope thread through the album, painting a harrowing yet tender portrait of inner struggle.

Amidst the sorrow, glimmers of solace emerge as the music itself offers moments of reprieve. Immersive melodies are shaped by the same austere minimalism that defines the project’s essence – from its stripped-down instrumentation to its visual aesthetic, inspired by the desolate Teufelsmoor region of Northern Germany.

Since its inception in 2015, Fields of Mildew has stood as a testament to the human spirit pushed to its limits. Helmed by a musician known only as R, the project began as an ode to the resilient souls who eked out a living in the unforgiving lands of the Teufelsmoor. Over time, its thematic scope expanded, but the core remained unchanged: an unflinching portrayal of human existence in its most vulnerable and honest form.

“IV” is the culmination of this evolution – a quiet yet powerful meditation on despair, resilience, and the fleeting beauty found even in life’s harshest moments. For those seeking music that channels the depth of mortal experience with haunting clarity, “IV” is a profoundly moving journey into darkness and beyond.

MORSURE is a French Black Metal entity created in 2018 by Hygdahell. “Naissance d’un empire” follows his first EP “Prima Materia” and contains a 35min length single track of pure Raw Black Metal hate, in the vein of early LLN releases.
MORSURE is a promising band and should quickly establish itself in the French Black Metal scene. To be followed carefully !
“Naissance d’un Empire” now available in a 2 part CD Digipack, containing an 8 pages booklet and a picture printed CD