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With an inception going back to 2019, Defacement rapidly gained momentum within the underground realms with two full-length records marked by an intense and experimental take on death and black metal, Deviant (2019) and self-titled Defacement (2021). Three long years after their latest output, the international band flares its cryptic head yet again with an epic tome of twisted and gnarly emanations, an immersive pathway into the void entitled Duality.

Defacement's third studio record is challenging and confrontational in its invocation of primal forces lying dormant in the world below. Inspired by the unfathomable, shadowy corners of human existence, Defacement hatches a penetrating sonic journey, unpredictable in its own dynamic, ever-changing form. Intricate and complex riffing lay as a basis for dexterous melodies, making Duality the most complete and mature among the band’s outputs. The cold and experimental interludes entangled between tracks, serve as halting moments that further the conceptuality of Duality and broaden the gist of the main songs.

The tremendous rhythmic section, a complex and throbbing pulse of drumming fierceness and serpentine bass playing, is superiorly captured by the dynamic and organic production, a vigorous sound that evokes both an oppressive aura and wistful solemnity. Gabriele Gramaglia (Cosmic Putrefaction, Vertebra Atlantis) and Simon Da Silva (Aversio Humanitatis) took care respectively of the mixing and mastering, finely crafting the details of Defacement’s new album. 

With an inception going back to 2019, Defacement rapidly gained momentum within the underground realms with two full-length records marked by an intense and experimental take on death and black metal, Deviant (2019) and self-titled Defacement (2021). Three long years after their latest output, the international band flares its cryptic head yet again with an epic tome of twisted and gnarly emanations, an immersive pathway into the void entitled Duality.

Defacement's third studio record is challenging and confrontational in its invocation of primal forces lying dormant in the world below. Inspired by the unfathomable, shadowy corners of human existence, Defacement hatches a penetrating sonic journey, unpredictable in its own dynamic, ever-changing form. Intricate and complex riffing lay as a basis for dexterous melodies, making Duality the most complete and mature among the band’s outputs. The cold and experimental interludes entangled between tracks, serve as halting moments that further the conceptuality of Duality and broaden the gist of the main songs.

The tremendous rhythmic section, a complex and throbbing pulse of drumming fierceness and serpentine bass playing, is superiorly captured by the dynamic and organic production, a vigorous sound that evokes both an oppressive aura and wistful solemnity. Gabriele Gramaglia (Cosmic Putrefaction, Vertebra Atlantis) and Simon Da Silva (Aversio Humanitatis) took care respectively of the mixing and mastering, finely crafting the details of Defacement’s new album. 

WINDSWEPT is yet another creative vehicle for the esteemed Roman Saenko, known worldwide for his pioneering work in Drudkh, Precambrian and Hate Forest among others. While most of his musical creations stem from black metal, thankfully, WINDSWEPT is consistent in this regard and unapologetically restrictive, retaining Saenko's characteristically hypnotic riffing coasting atop a wintry atmosphere.

Now, after a couple albums with Season of Mist, WINDSWEPT join forces with PRIMITIVE REACTION, who released the debut album of his PRECAMBRIAN project in 2020, with the brand-new mini-album Der eine, wahre König.
Uniquely, this four-song / 28-minute recording features two equally esteemed vocalists - Winterherr of Paysage D' Hiver, and Meilenwald of Ruins of Beverast - with both men splitting duties evenly. Indeed, with such a structure, Der eine, wahre König is a portrait of evenness: unwavering, unflinching, immovable, engrossing.
Movement manifests in subtlety, as is Saenko's stock in trade; further and deeper listens reveal a wealth of nuance even if it's not always apparent.

All four tracks comprising the record feature all-German lyrics, evoking a different-yet-related sense of austerity from the mainman's proudly Ukrainian ruminations, and both vocalists rise to the challenge of pushing their respective throats to the limit whilst remaining rooted to WINDSWEPT's core consistency.
That Der eine, wahre König attacks from the very first second and successively expands, concluding with the near-11-minute "Jedes Todes Lohn," and retains its astute balance of urgency and epicness speaks to Saenko's never-faltering mastery.

The album is named The Cursed Land, and features two parts titled Wandering in The Darkness of Night – epic long-form tracks of raw medieval atmospheric black metal that take all the most triumphant peaks from Blood Magic and run amok with them, with riffs pulsing as hard as your blood will be pumping once this adrenal hit is in your veins.

Over half an hour, this relentless torrent of savage battle melodies keep the torch fires burning fiercely, steel blades sharped to a deadly edge, and the horses on hard canter all the way through, never once dipping in momentum or euphoric intensity.

Beautiful and decrepit dungeon black mastery with some hints of Slavic old school on the black metal sections.

Black metal band from Chile.

Raw Atmospheric Black Metal from Sweden.