Hierophant Nox

STYGGELSE : HEIR TODAY, GOD TOMORROW Unexploded Records Sometimes, when you really want to get your point across, it’s counterproductive to explain your logical and philosophical arguments. Taking a shotgun to your opponents is just way more direct. If you want to get the girl, a romantic courtship might be considered inefficient when dragging her [...]

WARBEAST : KRUSH THE ENEMY Housecore Records So after a long wait, this excellent debut album by Warbeast, freshly signed to Phil Anselmo’s own label, (and excellently produced by the man himself), is finally with us. This is thunderous, head-butting, muscle-pumping American power/thrash metal. It is by no means going to change the face of [...]

SYMBIOSIS/ANCIENT TUNDRA : THESE ENGULFING WINDS NEVER DIE Hypnotic Dirge Records Another well-designed package from Canada’s Hypnotic Dirge Records, this time a split between two one-man ambient acts, Valerio’s Symbiosis and label owner Nick Skog’s Ancient Tundra. “These Engulfing Winds Never Die” goes way beyond your usual CD-R release, incorporating as it does not only [...]

UNHUMAN DISEASE : INTO SATAN’S KINGDOM Black Hate There’s something distinctly nasty brewing in Oklahoma, and it’s spearheaded by an individual who goes by the title Nocturnus Dominus. Active also in Rituals of a Blasphemer and Goat Terrorism, this profane being is dedicated to spreading the filth of “the one and only – himself”, or, [...]

MISCONDUCTORS : NEW BLOOD Self-Released When Da Big Ed (aka “She Who WILL Be Obeyed”/Scary Head Honcho) sent me this, I’ll be honest and tell you I was expecting either something drone or something noise…(as that is what I usually know to expect from her). Imagine then my surprise, on finding instead a three song [...]

AVSTAND : MOTSTANDEREN Misantrof Antirecords Here’s a secret; I don’t always do what Daniel Vrangsinn tells me to do. I mean, a lot of the time I do – I resist organised religion, and I most definitely think outside of the standard record industry box – but I don’t, for example, bake him cakes. When [...]

INHUMAN HATE : TWILIGHT OF A LOST SOUL Eisenwald Inhuman Hate have been kicking around for quite a few years, having formed in Brandenburg in 2006, and having already released two prior full-lengths, 2007’s “Propagation of Chaos” and 2008’s “Merciless Misanthropic”. Eisenwald point out that “Twilight of A Lost Soul” marks a distinct escalation in [...]

WATAIN : LAWLESS DARKNESS Season of Mist Oh, there’s been a new Watain album this year? Really? I never noticed… Alright, sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, so I should really acknowledge a sterling promotion effort on the part of SOM, and admit that maybe hype happens because people are genuinely, arm-wavingly excited about [...]

CHROME HOOF : CRUSH DEPTH Southern At last… at LONG last… Chrome Hoof are back with their sophomore release! If you’re not already au fait with this extraordinary outfit, the first link is to the mighty Cathedral. Why? CH were/are founded around the talents of Cathedral bass guitarist Leo Smee, and his equally talented sibling [...]

SEHNSUCHT : WUSTE Cold Spring “Come, dive into my skull again”, said Maniac, “Alright”, said I, though I knew it would be a dark and dangerous adventure which might nibble a little bit at the edges of my soul. Sehnsucht is a dark ambient project put together by the aforementioned vocalist of suspect sanity, featuring [...]