Vinili

Finnish black metal is an acquired taste. It's chaotic, noisy and pure evil.

This is a more mature release musically. The song structures have come a long way since Satanic Black Devotion, but still maintain everything this band is known for. There is definitely more of the signature intertwining guitar work, that weaves in and out amongst the chaos of the drums and ghastly vocals. It's that guitar work that takes the listener for an emotional roller coaster, especially on songs like "Burning Voice of Adoration", which has the ability to stir up absolute sadness and sorrow.

As for production, the formula is still the same. Turn everything up beyond reason and comprehension, almost to a breaking point. Seriously, prolonged exposure to this will probably make your houseplants wilt and die.

Re-issue, 500x heavyweight marble milky clear with black 12" (180g) in a microtene innerbag, printed innersleeve, full-color on 220g carton, poster A2 full-color printed on 150g art-paper, jacket full-color printed on 350g carton, all assembled in a plastic overbag.

Soft touch, gatefold sleeve with poster

The Sinister Initiative is proud to announce that the 11-year re-issue of SHINING's infamous "8 ½" compilation has been scheduled for release in the cold month of November. This anniversary edition features the now celebrated five tracks of demo recordings on which BEASTCRAFT/URGEHAL maestro Lars Erik Frøslie added his nightmarish keyboard soundscapes, raising the bar of creepiness a few steps higher on the ladder. Meanwhile, for each composition, one specifically appointed frontman lent his very own horrifying and "feverish" ideas, guaranteeing every listener a mental downfall into the bottomless, dark depths of the human psyche.

Regarding the specific guest vocalists, Maniac (SKITLIV) and Pehr Larsson (ALFAHANNE) contributed wholly unique touches. The remaining three revered artists leapt even further into the realm of the unexpected by translating the original lyrics into their respective native tongues, offering audiences a taste of what SHINING could have sounded like if Kvarforth wasn't born Swedish: Attila Csihar (MAYHEM/TORMENTOR) therefore performed in Hungarian, Famine (PESTE NOIRE) in French and, last but certainly not least, Gaahl (TRELLDOM) in Norwegian!

Soft touch, gatefold sleeve with poster

The Sinister Initiative is proud to announce that the 11-year re-issue of SHINING's infamous "8 ½" compilation has been scheduled for release in the cold month of November. This anniversary edition features the now celebrated five tracks of demo recordings on which BEASTCRAFT/URGEHAL maestro Lars Erik Frøslie added his nightmarish keyboard soundscapes, raising the bar of creepiness a few steps higher on the ladder. Meanwhile, for each composition, one specifically appointed frontman lent his very own horrifying and "feverish" ideas, guaranteeing every listener a mental downfall into the bottomless, dark depths of the human psyche.

Regarding the specific guest vocalists, Maniac (SKITLIV) and Pehr Larsson (ALFAHANNE) contributed wholly unique touches. The remaining three revered artists leapt even further into the realm of the unexpected by translating the original lyrics into their respective native tongues, offering audiences a taste of what SHINING could have sounded like if Kvarforth wasn't born Swedish: Attila Csihar (MAYHEM/TORMENTOR) therefore performed in Hungarian, Famine (PESTE NOIRE) in French and, last but certainly not least, Gaahl (TRELLDOM) in Norwegian!

Niklas Kvarforth has, on countless occasions, mentioned the month that he spent together with Christian Larsson and Yusaf Parvez (DHG) in an apartment that they rented in Finland's capital. The three resolved to use this space as a base in which to write, experiment and cause various forms of unspecified damage before heading to Varberg to record the new album. For years, the band has wished that these infamous demo tapes could be released officially somehow. We here at TSI, who recently issued the definitive edition of the very album for which these songs were created, feel that the time has now come to release the recording that the band themselves have stressed: "Is in so many ways far superior to the actual album itself".

Niklas Kvarforth has, on countless occasions, mentioned the month that he spent together with Christian Larsson and Yusaf Parvez (DHG) in an apartment that they rented in Finland's capital. The three resolved to use this space as a base in which to write, experiment and cause various forms of unspecified damage before heading to Varberg to record the new album. For years, the band has wished that these infamous demo tapes could be released officially somehow. We here at TSI, who recently issued the definitive edition of the very album for which these songs were created, feel that the time has now come to release the recording that the band themselves have stressed: "Is in so many ways far superior to the actual album itself".

Limited edition ocra-dark yellow vinyl - 200 copies

Blackened death metal one-man band Light Dweller will release their new studio album through Unorthodox Emanations. After making waves in the metal underground with four studio releases, Light Dweller is poised to unleash its fifth full-length album titled The Subjugate, which will see the light in early 2024. Since 2017, the project has forged a distinctive path within the dissonant realms of metal, evolving with each release by seamlessly blending dissonance with melody and juxtaposing aggressive onslaughts with haunting, deliberate passages. The Subjugate will represent Light Dweller's boldest sonic statement yet, marking a significant evolution in sound and cementing their status as a formidable presence in the modern metal landscape. "Cessation Of Time" is the first single from Light Dweller new record, which will see the light in early 2025 via Avantgarde Music death metal division, Unorthodox Emanations.

One-off edition, limited to 150 copies

Sivyj Yar is a post-black metal band formed almost twenty years ago in the countryside south of St. Petersburg. Since 2014, multi-instrumentalist and composer Vladimir Vishniakov has been working closely with Avantgarde Music to release his music endeavors, and A Scarlet Sunset Over The Horrid Abyss marks a new milestone in the artist’s path.

Sivyj Yar has always been about the history and darkest times of the Russian people, and this new album makes no exception. In Vladimir’s words, this work is about the innocent, the tortured, the murdered, the broken, and the forgotten. About those who were destined for unbearable suffering. About the sacrifice that they made. The wheel of terror turns faster. The darkest parts of history repeat themselves if they are erased from human memory or replaced with false images. Entire nations can easily be plunged into darkness for years. Icy fear fetters souls, mutilates them.

A Scarlet Sunset Over The Horrid Abyss features poetry by Andrei Bely, symbolist Russian poet from the early XX century, as well as archival photographs taken in the Kolyma camps — one of the most terrible places in the new history of Russia, a remote, eastern area of the Russian country where dozens of gulags held Soviet POWs and political prisoners in extreme conditions until the ‘70s.
 

Velvet purple vinyl limited to 300 copies

With their seventh studio album "Otra", Norwegian avant-garde metal stalwards IN THE WOODS... might surprise their listeners – and particularly those, who have not followed the remarkable evolution that the band from the southern Norwegian city of Kristiansand has undergone since the early nineties. The tracks of "Otra" are surprisingly captivating with melodic tunes dominating the present sound of IN THE WOODS... – although progressive elements and the occasional rough reminder of the Norwegians' harsh past are also regularly shimmering through the fabric of these songs. What sets "Otra" apart from the average heavy work of music is the excellence of composition that shows expert level experience and comes with a seeming ease that makes the achievement even greater. Lyrically, "Otra" revolves around stories connected to the eponymous river that winds for 245 kilometres through the South of Norway and spills into the Skagerrak, the strait that separates the country from Denmark and Sweden, at the band's home in Kristiansand. There is hardly a need to introduce the name IN THE WOODS... to any adherent of avant-garde and black metal. Their coordinates within the scene are also well known: The Norwegians were among the bands that have participated in the burgeoning evolution of black metal in the early nineties and have had a large part in the shaping of the sound of a strong subgenre. Their first full-length "Heart of the Ages" (1995) has a lasting impact on black metal and is rightfully regarded as one of the genre's early classics. Refusing to rest on their laurels, IN THE WOODS... progressed further into different musical dimensions with "Omnio" (1997) and "Strange in Stereo" (1999). Following a long hiatus between the years 2000 to 2014, the Norwegians returned with vocalist James Fogarty, who continued to front the band until December 2021. With a new line-up and singer Bernt Fjellestad completing IN THE WOODS... a fresh direction was taken with the album "Diversum" (2021). With "Otra", IN THE WOODS... demonstrate the full strength and artistic maturity of the Norwegians' third incarnation. Enticing and highly pleasurable to listen to, this exciting record is nonetheless crammed with glorious details and surprising twists that reveal themselves only after many spins.

Embossed gatefold cover, printed inner sleeve, black vinyl limited to 100 copies.
Recorded in 2016-2017
War Cry by Set, Magnus, Andreas & Henke