Metal 358 Items

Over the past near-decade, Lancashire’s medieval metal phenomenon Wytch Hazel have been honing an uncommonly wholesome, rustic and devotional brand of timewarped hard rock that’s all their own, with 2016’s Prelude and 2018’s II: Sojourn summoning to mind fevered images of Robin Hood and his Merry Men grooving to Jethro Tull and Thin Lizzy. Yet within moments of pressing play on their third LP, III: Pentecost, the musty mystical minstrelsy takes a back seat in favour of a rich, sumptuous, anthemic late-night drivetime vibe, passionately embracing the most high-end smash-hit classic rock and metal circa its late 1970s heyday. “I thought I put a lot into the second album, but this album has been an absolute obsession,” stresses the band leader, Colin Hendra. “Every aspect had to be as good as possible. We’ve gone back and forth, Ed was tinkering with it for months on end. There’s quadruple tracking going on with the rhythm parts, then we’ve doubled, tripled and quadrupled all our lead parts to get that richness and fullness of sound, all meticulously planned with pages and pages of organisational notes. It wasn’t just ‘get in the studio and see how it goes!’” he laughs. “One day I did 14 hours of vocal recording. All vocals are double-tracked, I can’t express how much hard work that is. The last album feels like a breeze compared to what we’ve done with this - and I don’t plan on ramping it down!” Musically, there are gorgeous self-professed touches of Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Ac/dc and early Scorpions—“With the soloing I was trying to go for Michael Schenker” beams Colin—while the scampering headbanger I Will Not initially took a nod from Angel Witch, who Hendra was helping out on second guitar back in 2015 when the track was composed, before studio treatment made it sound “a lot more Wytch Hazelly”. But perhaps the most lateral comparison is to a band from the opposite spiritual realm, with Archangel an explicit homage to Swedish faux-Satanic devil cult Ghost. “I find them fascinating, Ghost; musically great, the songwriting is spot-on,” enthuses the frontman. “We share an intrinsic connection, with [Bad Omen honcho] Will Palmer being the person who discovered us both. “Music is created for all, it’s a common grace for everyone,” he affirms, “which is why the music that shows the glory of God the most, in my opinion, is not music created by Christians. It’s Black Sabbath!”

"Six tracks of apocalyptic black metal, Wode's newest record unleashes five years of outstanding potential, finding the band on deadly form, wielding enough surprises to suggest that its work in service to the counter-cosmos is far from done."

"Six tracks of apocalyptic black metal, Wode's newest record unleashes five years of outstanding potential, finding the band on deadly form, wielding enough surprises to suggest that its work in service to the counter-cosmos is far from done."

For Sleepwalker, we wanted to come up with an original take on the stoner/doom genre. The use of heavy riffs and melodic harmonies conveys a unique listening experience that feels both new and familiar. We felt like we had a lot to say on this album, and we hope it speaks for itself.

Re-recording of the bands demo tape from 2006, now on vinyl!
Mastered by Jonas Lindström (Ereb Altor, Isole, etc).
Includes a free CD in cardboard sleeve with the original demo from 2006.

German Black/Death Metal Legion Voreus Debut With "The Proclamation" Mini Album, A Twentythree-Minute Light-Devouring Hellscape Of Complete Chaos And Inhumanity That Establishes The Band As An Implacable Rising Force In The Elite Of German Extreme Metal. With A Massive Cavernous Sound, A Delivery Of Pure And Unbridled Ferocity And Atmospheres Of Complete Lightlessness And Abandon "The Proclamation" Evokes Complete Hell On Earth, Conjuring The Same Otherworldly And Hellish Realms Of Aural Obliteration We've Seen In Highly Elitarian And Evocative Blackened Death Metal Entities Like Teitanblood, Temple Nightside, Vassafor, Impetuous Ritual, Pseudogod, And Proclamation.

Vinyl issue of their inaugural release from early 2018. Raw and passionate, at times evoking a similar essence of certain Urfaust recordings. Single-sided 12" vinyl with an etching of the band logo on the B Side.

Originally self-released in 2017, extreme progressive metallers VINTERSEA's “The Gravity of Fall” was hailed by No Clean Singing as “dynamic and genre-bending!” The album – which has never been offered on vinyl until now – was recorded by Justin Phelps (The Mars Volta, Joe Satriani) and mixed by Evan Sammons (Last Chance To Reason). As a special added bonus, the 2LP pressing of “The Gravity of Fall” will also include VINTERSEA's five-track debut EP 'Constellations' which was originally released in 2014 when the band was known as Asterion. A download code for those songs will be included with the CD. Both formats will include expanded packaging and updated layouts with lyrics, photos and more.

‘Primeval’ is the third recording by Venom Prison on Prosthetic Records and comprises both new and historic material from Venom Prison, bringing new life to favourites such as “Usurper of the Throne” from their Defy the Tyrant EP and “Babylon The Whore” from their ‘Primal Chaos’ EPs respectively, both of which were released in very limited pressings during 2015.

Out of the blue comes Vástígr, the Vienna-based project of guitarist and vocalist Þ. Without any warning nor notice the one-man band unleashed upon the world its first full-length studio album called Aura Aeternitatis, a musical “journey of an unyielding, solitary spirit striving through melancholy and desolation”.

Vanguard is a metallic hardcore band based out of Houston, TX; formed during the Covid-19 quarantine of 2020. Vanguard is unapologetically a vegan-leftist band, and actively supports and promotes a host of critical social and political causes, both lyrically and through the direct action and activism of its members. The band is ideologically tied to the animal liberation movement, endorses socialistpolitical theory, is vehemently anti-fascist, and believes and fights for the political, legal, educational, and economic equality of all people, regardless of race, gender, orientation, or class. Their message and sound come exploding out of the gates with a style that nods to the storied militance and aggression of metallic hardcore from decades past, while injecting the sound with their own unique modern ferocity and urgency.

Riding Easy is now in the double digits of brilliant long-lost, rare, and unreleased hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal tracks from the ’60s-’70s and clearly this has become a bonafide archaeological movement as each new edition leads to more exciting new discoveries. Like the label has done throughout this series, all of these tracks were painstakingly licensed legitimately and the artists were paid. Here are just a few of the delights herein: This Trip opens with Adam Wind’s “Something Else,” featuring groovy crooning and a very acid-damaged guitar riff that meanders across key signatures like it ain’t no thing. This 1969 single by the Tacoma, WA band predates grunge by 20 years, but the band’s heavy psych and murky tones are just the stuff Northwest heroes Mudhoney sought so fervently at their peak. Lead singer Leroy Bell’s excessive vibrato gives the tune its charm, but the heavy breakdown in the middle is the real payoff. Later, Renaissance Fair take things in a very weird, very fun and undeniably heavy direction with an insanely distorted organ that sounds like a monstrous vacuum cleaner over dirge rhythms and growling vocals on their—let’s reiterate—weird 1968 track “In Wyrd.” Think if someone left a copy of The Doors’ Strange Parade out to warp in the sun on a blown-out toy record player, and then visiting space creatures attempted to imitate what they’d heard. Finally, Crazy Jerry sends this edition off on a high note with “Every Girl Gets One,” featuring crunching riffs, rollicking electric piano, stop ’n’ start rhythms and a curious telephone call sounding like a creepy answer to the Big Bopper’s “Chantilly Lace.” Crazy Jerry is the alter-ego of guitarist Jerry Ciccone, who can also be heard on a few soul / funk and rock records from the ‘70s, including The Left Banke’s second album. But here, Jerry is…well, simply crazy. Get comfortable and prepare for yet another deep, deep dive into the treasure trove of dank, subterranean, wild-eyed and hairy rock ’n’ roll.

Finally back in print! One of our most sought after albums "Hour Of The Nightingale" by Trees Of Eternity is soon to be available on vinyl once again.

Born out of the partnership of singer-songwriter Aleah Starbridge and guitarist-composer Juha Raivio, Trees of Eternity began as a quiet acoustic collaboration but then sprouted into a full band, with the Norrman brothers (ex-Katatonia, October Tide) on stringed instruments and the ubiquitous Kai Hahto on drums.

Three years of work on the group's debut album were tragically cut short when Aleah passed away during the album's final post-production phase. The work got finished, and Svart Records are proud to present it to the world once again to honor the legacy and artistry of Aleah Starbridge. Cover art is by the incomparable Fursy Teyssier (Les Discrets). Juha and Fursy had long nightly conversations about the ethereal magic of Aleah, and Fursy's work manages to capture the essence of the album perfectly. "The art contains such power and calm beauty, so many hidden messages. It is mystical in the same way that Aleah always was", comments Juha Raivio.

"This is a celebration of the music, lyrics and life of Aleah, who so tragically and suddenly crossed the bridge of stars and left this world so young and so early. There really are no words to describe the ultimate weight of the darkness, or the rays of the brightest of light that this album holds within its songs and lyrics. In so many ways this album turned out to be the most important album I've done in my life, and we both loved it from the first note to the last as we wrote it.

We were very proud to record "Hour of the Nightingale" together with our friends, band mates and amazing musicians, Kai Hahto, Mattias and Fredrik Norrman who all played their hearts out on this album. And working with another good friend Jens Bogren producing, recording, mixing and mastering the album we’re ready to take this music to the world and play it to you all. Sadly, that never happened... But this is the point where we can finally start this long journey and celebrate our Queen Aleah Starbridge whose words and music will live forever on."

-Juha Raivio

Trees of Eternity are:

Aleah Starbridge: vocals Juha Raivio (Swallow The Sun) : guitar Kai Hahto (Nightwish, Wintersun) : drums Mattias Norrman (ex-Katatonia, October Tide): bass Fredrik Norrman (ex-Katatonia, October Tide) : guitar