Preordine

Belenos, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2025, returns with the 10th studio recording  "Egor", meaning "space" in Breton. This album is the last part of a trilogy on the 3 elements among the Celts. It started with "Kornog" (2016), the water element, with mainly Breton legends about the sea, followed by "Argoat" (2019), the earth element, bringing together more varied themes linked to life on earth, and finally "Egor", the fire element, but the stellar fire seen on a large scale. It is composed of 12 tracks with 63 minutes playing time, the longest Belenos album recorded to date, still sung in Breton with only one short text in french. Musically, it is similar to Kornog and Chemins de Souffrance (2007), a mix of dark and melodic black metal with doom and death touches in the well-known Belenos style.

Limited edition of 280 copies on amber vinyl, incl. gatefold cover and download. Co-release with Brilliant Emperor Records.
One of Australia's longest-running and most respected black metal bands, Pestilential Shadows have been building a towering canon of work since 2003. Whereas many of their native land's extreme metal exports either tend toward the chaotic or too clean, the shadowy collective led by founding vocalist / guitarist Balam consistently create compelling swathes of drama and darkness, all-enveloping emotion and regal-yet-gritty grandeur. Truly, Pestilential Shadows are black metal classicism par excellence.

And while the last handful of their albums the past decade-plus have seen sizable gaps between them, Pestilential Shadows strike while the iron's hot with Wretch. Simply and substantially titled, Wretch follows from last year's Devil's Hammer and continues the band's progression / regression toward uglier, gnarlier expanses. Mind you, it's a lateral development rather than a vertical one - the "form" is still BLACK METAL, and its attendant contents are ruminations on death and the beyond - but the fact that Pestilential Shadows can subtly-to-significantly shift their sonic palette whilst conveying their characteristic melancholy and tragedy speaks to the enduring strength of their songwriting. What's more, the album's production is palpably professional, feeling effervescent and crisp even when running through those uglier, gnarlier expanses. If anything, said recording style of Wretch - mastered by Krvna mainman Krvna Vatra, who played on the aforementioned Devil's Hammer, with mixing done by Balam - gives the record a uniquely ethereal aspect, even when the band have kicked into ultraviolent overdrive. Above all, the eight songs that comprise the 49-minute Wretch prove Pestilential Shadows as masters of pacing, doling out the sublime and the profane with equally windswept aplomb. Of especial note is the solemn procession of "Where Sunlight Goes to Die," which features guest choral vocals from Dis Pater of Midnight Odyssey.

As always, totality is key, and thus has Greallach Art been brought back to provide stark & austere cover artwork for Wretch. On the strength of this album alone, Pestilential Shadows continue to assert their position as a classics-minded black metal vanguard.

One of Australia's longest-running and most respected black metal bands, Pestilential Shadows have been building a towering canon of work since 2003. Whereas many of their native land's extreme metal exports either tend toward the chaotic or too clean, the shadowy collective led by founding vocalist / guitarist Balam consistently create compelling swathes of drama and darkness, all-enveloping emotion and regal-yet-gritty grandeur. Truly, Pestilential Shadows are black metal classicism par excellence.

And while the last handful of their albums the past decade-plus have seen sizable gaps between them, Pestilential Shadows strike while the iron's hot with Wretch. Simply and substantially titled, Wretch follows from last year's Devil's Hammer and continues the band's progression / regression toward uglier, gnarlier expanses. Mind you, it's a lateral development rather than a vertical one - the "form" is still BLACK METAL, and its attendant contents are ruminations on death and the beyond - but the fact that Pestilential Shadows can subtly-to-significantly shift their sonic palette whilst conveying their characteristic melancholy and tragedy speaks to the enduring strength of their songwriting. What's more, the album's production is palpably professional, feeling effervescent and crisp even when running through those uglier, gnarlier expanses. If anything, said recording style of Wretch - mastered by Krvna mainman Krvna Vatra, who played on the aforementioned Devil's Hammer, with mixing done by Balam - gives the record a uniquely ethereal aspect, even when the band have kicked into ultraviolent overdrive. Above all, the eight songs that comprise the 49-minute Wretch prove Pestilential Shadows as masters of pacing, doling out the sublime and the profane with equally windswept aplomb. Of especial note is the solemn procession of "Where Sunlight Goes to Die," which features guest choral vocals from Dis Pater of Midnight Odyssey.

As always, totality is key, and thus has Greallach Art been brought back to provide stark & austere cover artwork for Wretch. On the strength of this album alone, Pestilential Shadows continue to assert their position as a classics-minded black metal vanguard.

Limited edition of 198 copies on white vinyl, incl. gatefold cover and download.
Isen’s debut album delivers a powerful blend of melodic black metal, diving deep into the aggressive essence of late Norwegian second wave while weaving in melodic elements reminiscent of classic Swedish black metal, yet with a unique twist. Cutting riffs, bleak atmospheres, and organic production converge to form an album that honours the genre’s golden era, yet forges its own dark and evocative path. Each track unfolds like a puzzle piece in a haunting journey through frozen emotional landscapes, where melancholy and fury coexist in eerie harmony. A must-have for any fan of the genre

Isen’s debut album delivers a powerful blend of melodic black metal, diving deep into the aggressive essence of late Norwegian second wave while weaving in melodic elements reminiscent of classic Swedish black metal, yet with a unique twist. Cutting riffs, bleak atmospheres, and organic production converge to form an album that honours the genre’s golden era, yet forges its own dark and evocative path. Each track unfolds like a puzzle piece in a haunting journey through frozen emotional landscapes, where melancholy and fury coexist in eerie harmony. A must-have for any fan of the genre

Since the unholy reunion between the two MYSTIC CIRCLE founders A. Blackwar and Beelzebub in 2021, the Germanic black metal gods of war are stronger than ever. What began anew in 2022 with the self-titled “Mystic Circle” album and was rewarded with a sensational #78 place in the German album charts, was continued the following year in “Erzdämon” and now completed in “Hexenbrand 1486”. “More serious, more respectful and more authentic” is the definition of this new MYSTIC CIRCLE epic ‘Hexenbrand 1486’ - a statement that also applies to the band's attitude. The band's tenth studio album is largely about the “Malleus Maleficarum”, the witches' hammer, which was written in Speyer in 1486. A pitch-black mix of death, black and traditional heavy metal with a horror soundtrack flair.

Since the unholy reunion between the two MYSTIC CIRCLE founders A. Blackwar and Beelzebub in 2021, the Germanic black metal gods of war are stronger than ever. What began anew in 2022 with the self-titled “Mystic Circle” album and was rewarded with a sensational #78 place in the German album charts, was continued the following year in “Erzdämon” and now completed in “Hexenbrand 1486”. “More serious, more respectful and more authentic” is the definition of this new MYSTIC CIRCLE epic ‘Hexenbrand 1486’ - a statement that also applies to the band's attitude. The band's tenth studio album is largely about the “Malleus Maleficarum”, the witches' hammer, which was written in Speyer in 1486. A pitch-black mix of death, black and traditional heavy metal with a horror soundtrack flair.

EP CD in deluxe Digipak with 16-page booklet.

Formed in 2003 in the southern province of Limburg, Netherlands, CARACH ANGREN have built an unshakable reputation for fusing black metal’s ferocity with the grandeur of symphonic arrangements and the drama of storytelling. Their work draws heavily from historical legends, ghost tales, and the macabre, creating immersive worlds within each release.
On ‘The Cult of Kariba’, the band return to the mythos that first defined their identity in 2008’s ‘Lammendam’, expanding it into darker, more elaborate territory. The new EP unfolds as a five-part horror tale rooted in the folklore of Schinveld’s White Lady, now entwined with the sinister figure of Kariba: a poisoner and alleged witch. Through haunting orchestration, blackened aggression, and cinematic scope, the listener witnesses an underground cult’s rituals, a brutal sacrifice, the resurrection of Kariba, and the catastrophic vengeance that follows. Each track builds on the previous, from the ominous opening “A Malevolent Force Stirs” to the apocalyptic closer “Venomous 1666”, where the witch claims the living for her grave.
Expertly produced and conceptually unified, ‘The Cult of Kariba’ is both a return to roots and a bold expansion of CARACH ANGREN’s narrative universe.

For fans of DIMMU BORGIR, KING DIAMOND, CRADLE OF FILTH.

Swedish Viking metal pioneers MÅNEGARM celebrate their 30-year career with the release of their most evocative album to date, Edsvuren, out August 29, 2025 via Napalm Records! As one of the leading bands in the genre, they once again bring their inimitable style and the blood oath of viking, black and folk metal back together for an unforgettable and diverse sonic journey. Pensive and dreamy atmospheric monsters meet songs for a proper mead binge - this mixture has brought the band a loyal international fan base and highly acclaimed appearances at prestigious festivals such as Ragnarök and Summer Breeze Open Air.

Recorded and mixed at NEHTRON STUDIOS from March 28th, 2024 to April 24th, 2024.
Mastered by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in March 2025.

Recorded and mixed at NEHTRON STUDIOS from March 28th, 2024 to April 24th, 2024.
Mastered by Patrick W. Engel at TEMPLE OF DISHARMONY in March 2025.

Limited edition of 150!

Vintersorg returns with their long-awaited new album “Vattenkrafternas Spel”! Merging old and new with a captivating mix of athmospheric Metal and Folk!

Sweden’s elemental force Vintersorg returns with their new album “Vattenkrafternas Spel”! “Vattenkrafternas Spel” merging old and new with a captivating mix of atmospheric Black Metal and Folk! It doesn’t just retrace old steps... it digs deeper! This is not the “let’s drink ale in the woods” version of Folk Metal,Vintersorg deals in frostbitten grandeur and soaring melancholy.

As always, Andreas Hedlund (aka mr. Vintersorg himself) leads the charge, balancing razor-edged riffing with layered clean vocals, icy shrieks, and a knack for songwriting that’s as cinematic as it 
 ispunishing. There’s no scientific concept this time around, no tangled progressive detours, just full immersion in atmosphere, feeling, and elemental force. Call it Folk Metal, call it Black Metal, call it Vintersorg at full power!