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    Tulus - Fandens kall (2023)

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    As one of the most underrated Black Metal bands from Norway, Tulus carved a path with excellent releases in the late 90’s and went on hiatus for a while. With their music being raw and punishing, one can argue that Tulus should have been as recognized as Darkthrone, Immortal, Satyricon and Enslaved. With that signature frosty and incisive brand of BM, the band has nicely baked Black’n’roll elements into their sound to create superbly catchy music, and “Fandens kall” is a brilliant example of this.

    Opening with the album title track, Blodstrup and Sarke waste no time to unleash waves of vicious riffs, nicely enveloped in highly melodic passages and a hellish snarl. The band’s core sound is simple and yet quite effective, keeping the old-school Scandinavian Black Metal sound alive while delivering bangers like “Lek”, “Slagmark”, and the chaotic “Allstøtt”. Perfectly balancing funky melodies with the sinister bass guitar of Crowbel, the band creates some engaging and yet powerful tracks like “Isråk” and the Darkthrone-esque “Snømyrkre”.

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    Oceans of Grief - Pale Existence (2023)

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    Delivering waves of melancholic guitar leads and demoralizing Doom riffs. Today we have Greece’s Oceans of Grief with the excellent “Pale Existence”. Clocking in at 47 minutes, this release feels like a genetically engineered mixture of Insomnium with Hanging Garden, creating seven crushing songs. If you are a fan of the genre, this band perfectly balances melody, melancholy, and musicianship in one extremely polished package.

    Opening with “Poetry For The Dead”, the band sets a very somber mood with atmospheric keyboards and crafty melodic passages. As the band warms up, “Dale of Haunted Shades” and “Unspoken Actions” perfectly deliver that blend of Melodic Death Metal with Death/Doom tempos, creating very cinematic and lush aural experiences. The third track even features Jari Lindholm of Enshine unleashing some excellent weeping guitar leads.

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    Vermineux / Prieuré - Split (2023)

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    Delivering a quick and swift blow to the listener's morale, today we have Vermineux and Prieuré unleashing a hellish split release with two tracks from each band. Showcasing some of their most promising bands, Purity Through Fire created a very unique pairing and the perfect teaser with this release. If you like hellish and punishing Black Metal, this release will introduce you to two very interesting one-man battalions.

    Opening the split we have Vermineux, hailing from the USA, and its crushing “Ashes” track. With a piercing lo-fi production, the BM riffing in this track is excellent and it pairs wonderfully with Spectre’s intense shrieks. The second track is a pretty decent cover of “Holocaust to the Natural Darkness” from Vlad Tepes, again showcasing raw power around a gritty sound.

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    Morwinyon - Wastelands (2023)

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    Unleashing a masterful Atmospheric Black Metal masterpiece, today we have Italy’s Morwinyon and their sophomore release “Wastelands”. Featuring both members of Falaise, this band is more of an outlet for more traditional Atmospheric BM without (too much of) the shoegaze and Post-BM elements. Think more along the lines of Saor and Winterfylleth, with tons of atmospherics. If you are a fan of the genre, the band manages to deliver quite engaging and immersive tracks that will transport you for a magical forty-plus minutes.

    The release kicks-off with towering atmospheric keyboards and the crafty riffs of “Devouring Flames”. There is a certain ethereal mood that quickly sets, even after the harsh vocals and aggressive drumming start to gain momentum. The release is very well mixed, with the atmospheric layer front and center, while the guitars and screams provide additional textures and change the tempos, as we can hear on “Wastelands” and “An Agonized Look”, both of which remind us a bit of Lustre.

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    Memoriam - Rise to Power (2023)

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    Fronted by Karl Willetts, Memoriam has consistently released in-your-face old-school Death Metal releases for a few years now, and with “Rise to Power” they continue leveling everything in their way. Featuring eight tracks and over 45 minutes of headbanging bliss, this release brings back nostalgic times while keeping up with the times with a superb production and a more melodic edge.

    Opening with “Never Forget, Never Again (6 Million Dead)”, we get a high-octane track with punishing guitars and crafty drums, perfectly paired with Karl’s signature snarl. There are definitely some Bolt Thrower influences here and there, but the band zeroes in on heavy, well-crafted, and intense pieces like “Total War”, “I am the Enemy”, and the sinister “The Conflict Is Within” and its chuggy riffs.

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    Oerheks - Landschapsanachronismen (2023)

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    Storming the listener with waves of melancholy and aggression, today we have one-man project Oerheks and their 2023 demo “Landschapsanachronismen”. Delivering nearly 25 minutes of music in two crushing tracks, this release showcases a very promising band with excellent ideas and a knack for oppressive atmospherics paired with lush interludes.

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    Frøkedal / Sâver - Split (2022)

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    Delivering a very interesting concept of covering tracks from each other, today we have Norwegian artists Frøkedal and Sâver. In this split release we get two very unique pieces, one highly atmospheric, the second with a Folkier edge, creating a dark and engaging release that we found ourselves playing in repeat a few too many times.

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    A Diadem of Dead Stars - Emerald Sunsets (2023)

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    Unleashing a very interesting compilation of some of their earlier digital material, today we have A Diadem of Dead Stars with “Emerald Sunsets”. Hailing from Greece, this band has a very unique and at times gritty sound that perfectly blends influences from bands like early Ulver, Empyrium, and more modern Atmospheric Black Metal elements from outfits like Heretoir and Saor.

    Opening with the blistering “The Furrow of Woes”, we quickly get aggressive BM guitar riffs and a moody tempo. This track nicely evolves into some eerily magical (early) Ulver-esque passages of clean vocals and powerful guitars. There is a certain Doom-ish magic to the band’s sound that nicely keeps things interesting and different, as we can hear in songs like “And Swallows Flew Away From This”.

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    Hate Forest - Innermost (2022)

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    After being broken up for 15 years or so, Hate Forest returned with a punishing release in 2020, and before we even knew it, they dropped “Innermost” this past December. Featuring six tracks and around 35 minutes of punishing Black Metal, this release keeps the band’s mythos alive and well by unleashing their signature demoralizing style. If you are a fan of the band, and/or bleak and ravaging BM, you can’t miss out on this release.

    The release quickly goes for the throat with “Those Who Howl Inside the Snowstorm”, a blistering piece of traditional Black Metal in the vein of Immortal, with piercing tremolo picking and crushing drumming. The album’s savagery level is quickly showcased as pieces like “By Full Moon's Light Alone the Steppe Throne Can Be Seen” and “Ice-Cold Bloodless Veins” provide no respite except for the occasional atmospheric interludes. Hate Forest has always been characterized for their relentless brutality and this is front and center on this release.

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    Forlesen - Black Terrain (2022)

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    After blowing us away with their 2020 debut “Hierophant Violent”, Forlesen is back for more with a poignant sophomore release titled “Black Terrain”. Clocking in at nearly 60 minutes of crushing and yet experimental music, this album perfectly blends elements of Ambient music and Doom/Black Metal to create a massive slab of enigmatic atmospheric brilliance. Better digested after more than a dozen spins, this release is a killer follow-up to their antics.

    The release opens with the 19-minute behemoth “Strega” and its slow burning approach, flanking distorted guitars with crafty vocal arrangements and additional subtle instrumentation. The solemn combination of male and female vocals alongside a super slow tempo creates a very unique and devastating aura as more colorful guitar leads are introduced. The song reaches an excellent climax and we will definitely not ruin it for listeners here.

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