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Atmospheric black metal union GRIMA return with a dark ritual of ancient forest magic!

With 10 years of scene-stealing experience behind them, looming stars of Siberian atmospheric black metal, GRIMA, will release their sixth album and Napalm Records debut, Nightside, on February 28, 2025. After several shows accross Europe (one with highly-uprising german death metal force Kanonenfieber), the band is set to honor the spirit of the Siberian Forest, Taiga, with their impending next chapter.
While fans of their deep, melancholic sound can look forward to tales like in “Flight Of The Silver Storm” and “The Nightside”, GRIMA also showcases focused effort and skill on the album’s more brief, accessible offerings. “Beyond The Dark Horizon“ and “Curse Of The Void” are as dreamy and complex as their big brothers, but also satisfy as more direct black metal anthems. The band shows a wide range of variety: First single “Skull Gatherers” is infused with the mesmerizing cold of the Siberian evening wilderness, constructed with folk instruments like the Russian accordion bayan but GRIMA also use death metal-like growls into their delivery on “Impending Death Premonition”.
Mixing, mastering, and helming the album’s clear, powerful sound is black metal-experienced producer Vladimir Lehtinen. The two driving forces behind the band’s unique sound, Vilhelm and Morbius, both deliver different aspects of the band’s impactful, massive guitar riffs, leads and melodies, while Vilhelm also soars as vocalist. Guest musicians Vlad (drums) and Serpentum (guitars) also join the fold both in studio and on stage. In addition to their unforgettable sound, the band’s eerie, piercing look – towering like living trees with intimidating carved wooden masks and branched fingers – adds another haunting element to their brutal yet beautiful output. With their mysterious visual aura and intriguing sound, on Nightside, GRIMA continues to prove themselves as an unmissable band to watch within the genre.

Siberian atmospheric black metal duo Grima is back with their third long player! 

"Will of the Primordial" contains eight ice-cold tracks, filled with gloomy atmosphere, bringing the fragile beauty and hostility of Siberian nature to life. 

The album was mixed and mastered by Vladimir Lekhtinen.

“Angelus Exuro Pro Eternus” is the fifth satanic symphony by the Swedish black metal overlords and was originally put out in 2009. Once again produced by longtime sound master Peter Tägtgren (Hypocrisy) it was a more traditional masterpiece offering blasting tempo and hymn-like melodies to equal parts. Accompanied by five fantastic live tracks recoded in Buenos Aires (for the first time on audio CD) spanning the band's entire history it furthermore features remastered sound, new layouts, liner notes and unseen photos. A timeless black metal classic!

Re-issue, CD jewelcase, 16 page booklet on 135g art paper.

Since their formation in 2007, MINENWERFER have pursued a proud 'n' pure vision of black metal idiosyncratically focused on World War I - idiosyncratic, in the sense that the band hail from America but mostly sing in German. What has resulted is a startlingly accomplished canon that has quietly built itself into prolific proportions, with their first album arriving in 2010, followed by albums in 2012 and 2019, and a slew of split releases and EPs in the interim.

Of those many short-length releases, Kriegserklärung can conveniently be seen as a companion to an album release – in this case, 2012's thick-yet-throttling Nihilistischen. And yet, where that album saw MINENWERFER inching closer to a palatable professionalism, the 24-minute Kriegserklärung fully bursts through those doors with a startling clarity, setting the stage for the band's grand 2019 full-length, Alpenpäesse.

Odium is a name that hasn't been talked about much in the symphonic black metal scene. Formed in 1994, the Norwegian band didn't release much besides a demo, a single, and their only studio album "The Sad Realm of the Stars". The 1998 album received little recognition when it was first released since it was seen as more of a Limbonic Art knockoff. However, when you give the album a listen, you'll see that it's more than just a cheap ripoff of Limbonic Art. Not only does it expand upon the Limbonic Art sound, but it also stands out in its own ways.

Let's start off with the instruments. As I've stated before, the instrumentals take large inspiration from Limbonic Art, but it does have its own merits. The guitars sound more raw, but still maintain a clean production to fit the symphonic themes. Speaking of which, the symphonic elements are easily one of the strongest elements on this album. The keyboards sound beautiful with its melodic tunes, and gives the overall atmosphere a grand theatrical tone. One instrument I find a bit weak though is the drums. It's decent it terms of the blastbeats it plays, but the production softens the loud banging a bit, so it feels weak. Some of my favorite instrumentals come from the tracks "Towards the Forest Horizon", "Thy Eternal Nightfall", and "The Sad Realm of the Stars", since those tracks execute the symphonic themes the strongest and have some powerful riffs. While the drumming can feel weak, every other instrument does not fail in bringing in an epic and dramatic atmosphere.

Another great thing about the album is the vocals. Sechtdaemon does the vocals here, and he stands out in his own ways. Sechtdaemon's high shrieks sound very angry, and the occasional demonic screams only further enhances the evil personality in him. One of the stronger vocal moments is from the track "Through the Sorrowfilled Forest". The album goes for a more abrasive and chaotic tone, so the guitar riffs have more darker sounds and the symphonic synths have a more grim tone in them. This fits perfectly well with the vocals, as the shrieks flow well to the cold instruments and further execute the grand atmosphere. Sechtdaemon's vocals are excellent in flow and delivery, and his vocal skills are right up there with Ihsahn of Emperor.

Overall, this is an album that will surprise a lot of people, especially since it's a lot more than just Limbonic Art worship. The symphonic elements strengthen the cold and dark atmosphere, and the vocals have a strong delivery and execution. Odium would go on a hiatus shortly after the release of the "Altering the State of Being" single, and they only just recently reignited the band. It's unknown of the band is gonna make new music, but as of now, "The Sad Realm of the Stars" is an album I highly recommend for those seeking an unique take on the Limbonic Art sound.

Slater922, July 8th, 2021 - METAL ARCHIVES

Reprint, 500x heavyweight neon violet 12" in a black poly-lined innersleeve, gatefold jacket full-color printed on 350g carton, all assembled in a plastic overbag.

DIGIPACK

1997 osmose

Prior to their legendary Death/Thrash masterpiece, MERCILESS cut their teeth recording two demos, Behind the Black Door and Realm of the Dark. Released in 1987 und 1988 respectively, both are naturally rather raw affairs but what they may lack in proficiency and sound quality, is made up for by unbridled ferocity and MERCILESS’ youthful enthusiasm.

These two demos are important historical relics and a peephole into times long past by one of Sweden’s pioneering bands that alongside e.g. OBSCURITY or MORBID paved the way for the Swedish (and beyond) Black- and Death Metal scene.

Jewel-case CD with 24-page booklet including an in-depth interview with Erik Wallin and many never seen before pictures.

Transparent/black marble vinyl

Seen Through The Veils Of Darkness (2^nd Spell) is GEHENNA`s first full-length album which was originally released in 1995.
They kept their characteristic sound intact, yet stepped each and every element of their sound up a notch or two. The highly melodic sound which has over the years become one of the band`s trademarks, presents itself refined with subtle details.
For the first time, GEHENNA dare to incorporate fast-paced passages into their songs too.
Considering the high compositional level of the album, one is simply awe-struck by the band`s enormous development within only 2 years since GEHENNA`s inception.
Seen Through The Veils Of Darkness (2^nd Spell) is a symphonic Black Metal masterpiece and a highlight of the genre.

The songs were completely new remastered by Patrick W. Engel at the Temple of Disharmony to ensure the best possible sound for this timeless Black Metal classic.

This release will include a huge 20-page 12” booklet including an in-depth interview (divided into 4 parts, this is part 3) with all 5 original bandmembers and many never seen before pictures.
An A2 poster will be added to every vinyl too and a download-code.

Great shape, slight storage wears and a light ring impression on cardboard sleeve, conservative rating though!