Metal 293 Items

The Rifts is the 3rd album of Swedish duo A Swarm of the Sun and was originally released in 2015. The Rifts is sombre and brooding, heavy and melancholic, crushing and fragile in equal measure: a bleak and beautiful journey through the battered inner landscapes of the heart and soul: a dolorous tale of lost hopes, dreams falling apart, final moments of clarity and redemption... and appositely reflecting the current state of the world 5, years after its release – isolation. The Rifts is the sonic manifestation of a heavy black cloud of abstract yet overwhelming feelings, thoughts, hopes and fears-- a collection of intimate reflections on a very specific, profound and personal struggle which needs to stay somewhat untouchable and diffuse, as further verbal explanations would be divesting this immense work of art of its sheer and raw emotional impact. What initially was a handful of piano sketches, nine song titles, a few lines of lyrics and a notebook full of script-like visual references slowly evolved into something much more dense and layered. Karl Daniel Lidén (The Old Wind, ex- Terra Tenebrosa) was added to the lineup on drums, and he also recorded the album. The sessions culminated with the recording of the pipe organ. The result is absolutely massive, overwhelming, cinematic and pummeling; a sinister foreboding of the emotional truths at the core of this tremendous album. A Swarm Of the Sun is Erik Nilsson and Jakob Berglund. In 2007 the debut EP The King of Everything was released, followed by the critically acclaimed full-length album Zenith in 2010. The Rifts was written and produced by the band and recorded by Erik Nilsson, drums performed and recorded by Karl Daniel Lidén at Studio Gröndahl, mixed and mastered by Magnus Lindberg (Cult of Luna, Refused, Pg.lost). Further contributing musicians are Anders Carlström (The Isolation Process) on bass, Anna Carlsson on vocals, Minna Heimo on pipe organ and Robin Bergh (Aoria) on vibraphone. All artwork and videos directed and produced by the band's own Jakob. Why are we releasing this, 5 years later? Because everyone here at Pelagic agrees that in the nebulous world of post-metal, The Rifts is one of the 5 best albums ever made. We're honored to add this masterpiece to our catalogue.

High Roller Records, reissue 2023, black vinyl, ltd 250, insert

High Roller Records, reissue 2023, aqua blue/ white splatter vinyl, ltd 250, insert

Founded in 1990 in Helsinki, Finland-based melancholic metal masters AMORPHIS wrote music history, incl. classic albums like f.e. their debut The Karelian Isthmus (1992), their breakthrough Tales From The Thousand Lakes (1994) and Eclipse (2006), their first album with the new vocalist Tomi Joutsen, which marked the beginning of a new era in the band‘s history. Regardless of their relentless touring schedule, they secretly returned to the studio to write and record their forthcoming, twelfth record with famous producer Jens Bogren (SOILWORK, KREATOR etc.) at his Fascination Street Studio in Örebro. The result of this two-month recording session is once again a heavy, melodic statement, called Under The Red Cloud . During the recordings, the sextet was joined by some famous guest musicians: Chrigel Glanzmann (ELUVEITIE) played flutes on 'The Four Wise Ones', 'Death Of A King' and 'Tree Of Ages', Martin Lopez (ex-OPETH drummer) played percussions on 'Death Of A King' and Aleah Stanbridge (TREES OF ETERNITY) sang guest vocals on 'The Four Wise Ones', 'Sacrifice' and 'White Night'. “It was a great honor to have such talented musicians appearing on Under The Red Cloud ,“ guitar player and founding member Esa Holopainen comments. “Each one of them puts his/her personality and character in the very right spot.“ The whole recording process was a time full of extremely intense work for AMORPHIS. “It was the first time, that I woke up at 08.00am to start recordings. They went on until 06.00pm in the evening - every day! But the result was definitely worth it,“ the guitarist continues. “It was a great experience and Jens made us playing more aggressive and working really hard“, drummer Jan Rechberger adds. Jens Bogren also handled the mixing and mastering of Under The Red Cloud . A perfect example for the variety and feel is the first single 'Death Of A King'.It starts with an oriental melody & crashing drums, and has a lot of dynamics.

RSD First, Limitation: 2500

The second-ever vinyl pressing for The Black, Asking Alexandria’s 2016 album, with deluxe foil reflective packaging.

Red marbled vinyl. Cover with small beginning of seam split on top spine. Copy closer to NM

Clear vinyl

Cover closer to NM. Copy n° 31 / 30

Brown vinyl. Limited edition. tiny wear

An official reissue of the 2015 album by Caligula’s Horse, originally issued on Inside/Out Records. Caligula’s Horse are among the vanguard of the new generation of progressive rock artists. The Australian band has been often compared to the likes of Opeth, Haken and Porcupine Tree, and original copies of In Bloom on vinyl have already reached high prices on the collector’s market. The Svart reissue comes with a gatefold jacket and the 1000 copy pressing is split into two color variants, the more serene clear vinyl option and the more expressive red and green marble edition.

High Roller Records, 2nd 10inch pressing, black vinyl, 4 flat PMS cover, ltd 334

Lime green vinyl. Copy n° 085 / 205

As with a choice few truly great bands, the first self-financed cassette recording by Cathedral - made available in October 1990 - was a pioneering underground masterpiece in its own right; the sound of a young band exploring its newfound chemistry, finding confident variations on a flawless list of influences and cultivating a sound and style that would prove hugely inspirational throughout the 1990s and beyond, being a major influence on everyone from Electric Wizard through to Reverend Bizarre.
Where most demos are little more than a dry run for the first album, "In Memoriam" still has its own distinct and important identity in the Cathedral canon. The debut LP that followed, "Forest Of Equilibrium", has a sombre, devout, melodic and mystical grandeur all of its own - but 'In Memoriam' has a far murkier, earthier, more deathly intent. Creepy, cryptic and bowel-looseningly heavy, it represents the first time that the doom metal stylings of Trouble, Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Witchfinder General had been rendered in a new, more extreme metallic form. At the beginning of the new decade, it was really only Cathedral who were proud to assert the influence of true doom metal - a perennially unfashionable genre, but especially in a turn-of-the-decade metal scene so obsessed with speed, technicality, brutality and modernity.

Tearing down the barriers of extreme metal limitations, Code have taken a daring plunge into the unknown following their urge for further unhampered expression, and have delivered a dynamic progressive post-rock album that is sure to cause a stir.

Cynic's vinyl reissues including bonus material to be released via Svart Records in February 2025

American progressive metal band Cynic's 2010 EP Re-Traced available on 12" vinyl for the first time ever, including a memorial tribute track to the late Sean Malone.

Cynic was formed in Miami, Florida by Paul Masvidal in 1987, incorporating elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal. Their debut album Focus was released in 1993, after which they disbanded in 1994. The comeback in 2006 resulted in the sophomore album Traced in Air (2008), of which the four first songs on Re-Traced are re-interpretations of. Svart Records in co-operation with Cynic now proudly present Re-Traced reborn on a 12" vinyl, including three alternative versions of the songs and liner notes by Martin Popoff.

Paul Masvidal comments the reissue: “Seeing Re-Traced pressed on a legit 12” vinyl is an exciting first, especially with the inclusion of bonus tracks like Sean Malone’s beautiful, never-before-released bass rendition of Wheels Within Wheels and his magical performance on Integral, which I initially released digitally as a memorial tribute to him. The electronic renditions of Traced in Air tracks like Space, Evolutionary and King take the songs into entirely new realms. It’s also synchronistic that I’m now playing these songs in my solo acoustic ambient shows, finally bringing them into a live format. Altogether, it feels quite special to see these two records reborn.”

"Fans of Traced in Air and Cynic in general should buy this. It’s not even a question of whether or not this is worth your time and money. The sheer talent of this band turns me into a blithering fanboy and this EP just gets me excited for more new Cynic." -Angry Metal Guy, 2010

Cynic's vinyl reissues including bonus material to be released via Svart Records in February 2025

American progressive metal band Cynic's 2010 EP Re-Traced available on 12" vinyl for the first time ever, including a memorial tribute track to the late Sean Malone.

Cynic was formed in Miami, Florida by Paul Masvidal in 1987, incorporating elements of progressive rock, alternative, and metal. Their debut album Focus was released in 1993, after which they disbanded in 1994. The comeback in 2006 resulted in the sophomore album Traced in Air (2008), of which the four first songs on Re-Traced are re-interpretations of. Svart Records in co-operation with Cynic now proudly present Re-Traced reborn on a 12" vinyl, including three alternative versions of the songs and liner notes by Martin Popoff.

Paul Masvidal comments the reissue: “Seeing Re-Traced pressed on a legit 12” vinyl is an exciting first, especially with the inclusion of bonus tracks like Sean Malone’s beautiful, never-before-released bass rendition of Wheels Within Wheels and his magical performance on Integral, which I initially released digitally as a memorial tribute to him. The electronic renditions of Traced in Air tracks like Space, Evolutionary and King take the songs into entirely new realms. It’s also synchronistic that I’m now playing these songs in my solo acoustic ambient shows, finally bringing them into a live format. Altogether, it feels quite special to see these two records reborn.”

"Fans of Traced in Air and Cynic in general should buy this. It’s not even a question of whether or not this is worth your time and money. The sheer talent of this band turns me into a blithering fanboy and this EP just gets me excited for more new Cynic." -Angry Metal Guy, 2010

Since their 2008 debut Ritual IX, the ensemble known as Dark Buddha Rising has mastered its craft album by album, show by show. Ominous riffing, colossal doom, swirling psychedelia, repetition, repetition, repetition. The recipe is carved in stone, yet it leads to different endings—or bottomless shafts. Tension, tension, tension, lunacy. Inversum, their fifth studio full-length, is the opening of the Third Cycle of Dark Buddha Rising. It acts as an initiation for the new members V. VATANEN (guitar, vocals) and J. SAARIVUORI (keyboards), and is the first release through Neurot Recordings. Most of all, Inversum is the first album recorded, produced and mixed by the band themselves in the depths of the Wastement, the asylum of eternal feedback. The process that led to the manifestation of the Inversum, heavily guided by both intuition and determination, takes the band’s musick further down its chosen path. Inversum is a monument built upon the foundation of their past work and is sculpted with the initial principles of Dark Buddha Rising to celebrate the Black Arts of Psychedelia. Hold tight. The winds are gathering.