CD

High Roller Records, booklet, slipcase, poster, mastered by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY

Whilst admiration of the US American masters is unquestionable, Ageless Summoning display a jaw-dropping level of originality in their approach to the sub-genre. “Our goal has never been to just imitate what has come before, but we’re not trying to hide our influences either. We include plenty of deliberate references, but we’re also trying to develop our sound and continue the exploration of vast and desolate otherworlds.”

Featuring members of such long-running U.K. acts as Of Spire & Throne, Haar, Úir, Scordatura, and Abyssal, the band has several combined decades of desecration under their belts. Wrapped in one of the most stunning and sinister Paolo Girardi artworks in recent memory, Corrupting The Entempled Plane is not to be missed.

Brand new EP, comprised by 20 min of prime black metal from Ecuador.

Dedicated to all the nocturnal entities of the sinister side, who roam the shadowy southern temple.

Compilation of both demos, vinyl coming later in conspiracy with URTOD VOID.

All demonstration material recorded at the Apocalyptic Sunrise Family Bunker in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.

Jewelcase CD.

Recent output has seen OCTOBER TIDE tone down on the doom particle, and throw the listener in a colder embrace of a melodic death metal rainstorm. This trend remains consistent on "The Cancer Pledge", and overlaps with the direction spearheaded by guitarist Fredrik Norrman (ex-Katatonia, ex-Trees Of Eternity, Thenighttimeproject), keen on rejuvenating OCTOBER TIDE with a touch of the past. "It's a direct continuation of the previous album," states Norrman. "Less doom and more death metal, yet melodic and with more layers. I’ve searched for inspiration in records I listened to in the 80’s and 90’s when I grew up. But it still sounds like October Tide."

The sound of OCTOBER TIDE, aside from being doom intertwined melodeath, is fronted by emotionally compelling guitarwork, known to subside into melancholic and introspective tones. Even though the band has shapeshifted over the years - starting off as a duo of Katatonia fame musicians, Fredrik Norrman and Jonas Renske, back in 1994 - it has retained and evolved its trademark formula. The present-day line-up, intact since 2016, features said guitarist & founder Fredrik Norrman, second guitarist & Fredrik's brother Mattias Norrman (ex-Katatonia), vocalist Alexander Högbom (ex-Demonical), bassist Johan Jönsegård (Letters From The Colony) and drummer Jonas Sköld (Letters From The Colony / Thenighttimeproject).

"The Cancer Pledge" was recorded and produced in 2023 by OCTOBER TIDE and Karl Daniel Lidén (Bloodbath, Katatonia). The latter mixed and master the album, whose cover artwork was designed by Albin Högbom.

Contains the "Return Of The Empire" album + the "Can You Still See Reality?" and the "Limited USA Tour Edition" 7" singles as bonus tracks.

With a past that stretches back to the late '90s and a patient path that began in 2013 with a moniker change, Brazil's THE KRYPTIK burst forth into brilliance when they aligned with PURITY THROUGH FIRE. In the autumn of 2019 came their acclaimed second album, When the Shadows Rise, a startlingly immersive gem of symphonic black metal, and many finally took notice. A year late came the 40-minute Behold Fortress Inferno, which poignantly expanded on their vast canvas despite "only" being a mini-album. Between these two records especially, THE KRYPTIK proved that "symphonic black metal" need not be a dirty word; with no outside influence from the nowadays "black metal" scene, the duo dependably practiced their mystical arts and erected a grand citadel of sound - an atavistic awakening of when all was simply BLACK METAL, heedless of appellations. 

And so it goes with THE KRYPTIK's massive third album, A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom. Truly titled, the seven-track/70-minute A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom reveals the duo's grandest vision yet: neo-ancient symphonic black metal drenched in the dark waters of the cosmos, a castle of crystalline ice whose spires reach into boundless space. The band's ebon flow continually crests and cascades, synths swirling all about and with utterly magickal effect. The production here in this Darkest Kingdom is clear and sharp - all murk excised for maximum immersion, gorgeous swell, and pulsing violence - altogether sounding incredibly vintage and era-authentic yet somehow fresher than most nowadays black metal recordings. But, that magick largely resides in THE KRYPTIK's songwriting, as each song is an epic in its own right and then are all threaded together as one fever dream: melodicism, majesty, and malice in perfect balance. Thus, A Journey to the Darkest Kingdom follows logically in THE KRYPTIK's continuum whilst pushing their creativity to even-more-breathtaking heights. Have they delivered a classic on par with Witchcraft, The Sad Realm of the Stars, or even Stormblåst? Only time shall be the judge...