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Italian Death Metal worshippers VALGRIND return one year after their widely acclaimed "Speech Of The Flame" with the new blood claiming EP "Seal Of Phobos".

For fans of Morbid Angel, Pestilence, Monstrosity, Cruciamentum.

Doedsmaghird, the new project from Yusaf “Vicotnik” Parvez, the mind behind longstanding leaders of the Norwegian metal scene, Dødheimsgard, and esteemed French multi-instrumentalist and Dødheimsgard guitarist Camille Giradeau, will release their debut album Omniverse Consciousness, set for release on 11th October on Peaceville

Building upon the symphonic Black Metal stylings of their masterful 2022 debut "The Ashen Abhorrence", enigmatic Finnish duo PESTILENT HEX return with second opus, "Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow", to herald a new era of malevolent grandeur and melodic aggression.

The work of multi-instrumentalist L. Oathe (DESOLATE SHRINE, CONVOCATION, ORDINANCE) and vocalist/lyricist M. Malignant (CORPSESSED, TYRANNY, PROFETUS), "Sorceries of Sanguine & Shadow" is still primarily inspired by legendary '90s second wave Black Metal but diverges from the neoclassical and baroque undertones of the debut into more contemporary, complex and exquisitely labyrinthine realms.

Averaging an album per year since their 2018 formation, this latest expression from the rightly-revered Swiss Atmospheric Black Metal band AARA shows no drop in quality, nor let-up in their perpetually questing sense of purpose.

In follow up to 2023's "Triade III: Nyx" - the climatic installment of the 'Melmoth' trilogy based on Charles Robert Maturin's classic Gothic novel - the band now break away from the literary and apply their stunning musicality to real-world events.

"Eiger" is conceptually focused on the 3967 meters mountain of the same name in the Bernese Alps. Since 1935, at least 64 climbers have died attempting to conquer the Eiger’s sheer, ice-covered north face which has earned it the nickname of 'Mordwand' ('murder wall'). The album specifically examines an attempt to climb the Mordwand in July 1936 which ended in tragedy, as four young mountaineers succumbed to treacherous conditions and disappeared, presumed caught in an avalanche.

AARA's music has evolved dynamically in tandem with the subject matter, becoming more visceral, tangible and hauntingly powerful. An organic and spacious production allows the trademark elegiac, spirited leads and reverberant acoustic guitars of main-composer Berg to give increased emotional weight to a performance of on-the-edge savagery from vocalist/lyricist Fluss. The icy melodies, pensive moods, vibrant plummets and shifts/drifts contrast the wonderment of the natural world with a heightened sense of existential malaise and ultimately horror.

Vafurlogi is rooted both spiritually and literally in the early 2000s black metal movement, as the earliest songs were written nearly twenty years ago. Like the stalwarts of that era, Vafurlogi draws inspiration not only from the staunch traditionalism of the ‘90s but also from its rebellious spirit of discovery and creation.
Fronted by guitarist Þórir Garðarsson of Sinmara and Svartidauði, who now also takes on vocal and bass duties, Vafurlogi presents a new chapter for him as a songwriter. Throughout years of activity with his other bands, the essence of Vafurlogi slowly cultivated in parallel below the surface. Initially a vessel for accumulated works not suitable for Svartidauði or Sinmara, Vafurlogi developed into an avenue for him to freely explore different creative ideas and moods. While touching on the apocalyptic, nightmarish realms of Svartidauði and the haunting atmospherics of Sinmara, Vafurlogi places greater emphasis on triumphant and unabashedly melodic flourishes through a comparatively stripped-down compositional approach.

In Vafurlogi, Þórir has joined forces with drummer Ragnar Sverrisson, a seasoned veteran of the underground metal scene, having played in various bands both in Iceland and abroad, such as Helfró, Ophidian I, Abyssal, and Valkyrja. After the album recordings, the lineup was reinforced with Eysteinn Orri Sigurðsson of Nyrst and Úlfúð on guitars and Samúel Ásgeirsson of Volcanova on bass. “Í vökulli áþján” was produced at the esteemed Studio Emissary by Stephen Lockhart of Rebirth of Nefast between 2020 and 2024, presenting songs written mostly between 2018 and 2020.

Vafurlogi is Icelandic for ‘flickering flame’, but the name can also be literally translated as ‘wandering light’ – and therein lies the key to the project’s thematic essence. Vafurlogi explores man’s incessant and despairing search for meaning and the ever-elusive sacred light while condemned to roam spiritual wastelands.

Remastered 10th Anniversary re-release of SYLVAINE's debut album.

Limited Digipak CD with album download

Returning from time apart to a world forever changed, dread-fuelled duo A SWARM OF THE SUN bring with them their fourth studio album, ‘An Empire’; its brooding, yet beautiful, melancholic narrative arc allows the band to dig ever deeper into desolation whilst a newfound lyrical focus adds a tenderness that is both harrowing and heartwarming at once.

With the early bones of forthcoming ‘An Empire’ tabled by events beyond their control in 2019, Erik and Jakob came together years later and scrapped them in favour of creating something entirely new; something distinctly different to break the cycle, defy categorisation and reflect the uncomfortable uncertainties of the times we now live in. The result is astounding; continuing the thread of narrative composition seen on ‘The Woods’, ‘An Empire’ is a six-track tale told in four distinct movements that are nothing short of devastating, from plaintive piano ballads to raw, full-band fury.