"Invisible Queen" is officially the last and farewell album of German thrash metal legend Holy Moses. It was recorded with the line-up of the previous album "Redefined Mayhem" (2014), i.e. Sabina Classen (vocals), Peter Geltat (guitar), Thomas Neitsch (bass) and Gerd Lücking (drums). The album's twelve songs represent a professional and highly technical thrash metal material that lasts over 47 minutes. If you compare the band's albums from different eras to this final album, you will realize that overall there are huge musical changes, but somehow, thanks to Sabina's charismatic voice, whatever the music is, the end result always tastes like Holy Moses. The same goes for the sound production, which for me was a little strange this time, mostly due to the very synthetic sound of the drums and cymbals. Nevertheless, Peter's tricky guitar riffs, Thomas' crazy bass lines and Gerd's precise drumming make the album's musical production flawless. Out of the twelve tracks, I liked "Cult of the Machine", "Invisible Queen", "Alternative Reality", "Visions in Red", "Outcasts" and "Too Far Gone" the most, because they were perhaps the most similar to what I liked about their early records. Don't get me wrong, the other songs are also very good, but they combine more modern influences and approaches, which sometimes even border on progressiveness, and that's a bit much for me, ha-ha... I have the 2CD digipak edition with the bonus "Invincible Friends" CD. Which is none other than the album's 12 songs performed by guest vocalists, i.e. close friends of the band. Here are the ones I liked the most: "Cult of the Machine" featuring Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of Overkill, "Alternative Reality" featuring Tom Angelripper of Sodom, "Forces Great and Hidden" featuring Gerre of Tankard. This killer digipak edition includes 2 booklets: the 16-page "Invisible Queen" booklet containing all the lyrics, 2 great band photos, individual photos of the members, recording information, long thanks lists and Gyula Havancsák's fantastic cover artwork, while the 12-page "Invincible Friends" booklet contains great stories about Holy Moses directly from the guests as well as some cool photos. All in all, it's a beautiful and perfect ending from the queen of thrash metal. My deepest respect to Sabina and most importantly, Holy Moses will always be a part of our metal hearts and souls!!!

The French Horoh is a one-man death metal unit that draws on the raw sounding death metal of the 90s. This is a fairly young formation, as only one 4-song EP was released earlier, in 2021. The mastermind behind Horoh, J. (all instruments and vocals) is very capable of recreating the horror and gore feel of bands like Autopsy, Cannibal Corpse, Deceased, Impetigo, Macabre, Necrophagia and even adds his own musical approaches here and there. His music is not about the technical side, it's more about creating the right atmosphere, but musically and even cover-wise it reminded me a lot of Cannibal Corpse. "Aberration" is the debut full-length material, consisting of 9 well-arranged but also very sick death metal tracks. The 29-minute CD sounds rather obscure and faithful to the early demos and albums of the aforementioned bands. Still, beyond the obvious old-school feel, the riff structures contain a lot of exciting experimentation and avant-gardeness. In my opinion, this is an area that needs to be explored more thoroughly in the future. All instruments were played at a good level, although I found quite a few mistakes in the drum parts. The latter should therefore definitely be improved for future releases. The growls and screams, which are the highlights of this album, are executed in a completely malevolent way. I really dig them. Also don't forget J. did all the recording, mixing and mastering, so hats off to him. In that respect, it's a very decent debut album, not flawless, but honest. I made a reference to the cover comparison earlier, so let me just say that what Seb Mocky did for "Aberration" pretty much reminds me of Vincent Locke's cover of Cannibal Corpse's "Worm Infested". Speaking of Seb, he also did some killer guest vocals on "Devour the Saviour". This aptly designed 6-panel digipak CD is limited to 200 copies, so act fast if you feel this release might interest you!!!

"Acts of God" is the eleventh studio album by New York death metal legend Immolation. Musically, they continue where they left off with "Atonement" in 2017. Their line-up has not changed since then and continues to combine the darkest forces of Ross Dolan (bass/vocals), Robert Vigna (guitar), Alex Bouks (guitar) and Steve Shalaty (drums) with perfect chemistry. I can state that the 15 songs and more than 52 minutes of material became the longest album in the band's history. With this album, the quartet perhaps delved even deeper into the musical embodiment of abstract darkness. The way they combine eerie riffs and melodies is completely unique, I think only they can create the most ominous musical formulas of the death metal style with such great precision and devotion. In terms of mood, this record became incredibly abstract, in which, of course, their old colleagues, Paul Orofino (engineering & tracking) and Zack Ohren (mixing & mastering), played a big role. The aural production of the album is crystal clear, powerful and balanced, I especially liked the way the drums and cymbals appear in the final mix, because they sound so natural to me. Ross consistently delivers the most anti-religious lyrics and evil death growls, his manner has remained the same for years, simply hats off to him. The way Robert and Alex share their riffs and structure the songs is absolutely remarkable. Then there's Steve, who always brings the beats and fills in the craziest way possible. Well, let me call it death metal perfection! The 16-page booklet has a fantastic layout thanks to Rob Kimura, but it wouldn't be as great without Eliran Kantor's stunning cover artwork and Santiago Jaramillo's inside artwork pieces. Oh, and you can hear Dan Lilker's additional vocals on "Let the Darkness in". This is obscure death metal at its best, a must for all death metal fans worldwide!!!

Dark Symphonies have made another worthy dig from the past, reissuing Immortalis' only album along with the entire demo archive. "Indicium de Mortuis" was originally released in 1991 by Morbid Music on LP/CD/MC. These originals can still be found for sale, but the prices are usually exorbitant and the conditions are very poor. So it was definitely a blessing that Dark Symphonies did justice to this exceptional death metal album three decades later. And not only have they re-released this amazing album, they've added a second disc with bonus material. Unfortunately, the German Immortalis was a rather short-lived band. They were formed in 1989 under the name Blasphemy, and between 1990 and 1994 they operated as Immortalis. In the past, only the cassette demo "My Requiem" (1990) and the already mentioned full-length album circulated in the underground spheres. But now, thanks to Dark Symphonies, we have the full audio arsenal from these Germans. Disc 1 contains 10 songs from the debut album "Indicium de Mortuis" (1991). The album is around 42 minutes long and presents an impressive mix of atmospheric death metal with the following line-up: Sebastian Bielecki (vocals/guitar), Thomas Scharm (guitar), Karl Dittel (bass), Stefan Hartmann (drums) and Ulrich Dammer (keyboards). Thanks to the latter, the music of Immortalis belongs to the category of non-typical death metal bands. The eccentricity and uniqueness of the keyboard additions can be verified not only in the two instrumental tracks, but also in quite a few other places. These Germans also played a technical type of death metal, which was something special even in 1991, especially for Europe. The production of their material is top notch thanks to Andy Classen. In addition to their killer own compositions, at the very end of the disc you will also find a great death metal version of Venom's "Countess Bathory". Disc 2 contains 3 demos with a total of 16 songs with a running time of approximately 80 minutes. It starts with an unreleased demo from 1993 called "Final Death". The six songs of this demo show a different line-up and musical approach. The members of the demo are: Sebastian Bielecki (vocals/guitar), Gregor Zelazny (guitar), Olaf Sichler (bass) and Marco Gebert (drums). Their music is still very technical on this demo, but their riffs aren't as catchy as on the album. This is followed by five songs from the 1990 demo "My Requiem", recorded in the same line-up as the debut album, except that Ulrich Dammer did not play keyboards on this demo, but was in charge of the recordings. This demo is super awesome, even if quite a few parts of the tape are rendered in poor quality. An interesting fact is that the titles of some of the songs were changed after they were re-recorded for the debut album. It was also funny to notice the opening riff of the Slayer classic "Black Magic" at the end of "My Requiem". Disc 2 closes with five songs from Blasphemy's only demo, "Blasphemy Resistance" from 1989. This now cult demo was recorded by Sebastian Bielecki (vocals/guitar), Karl Dittel (bass) and Karsten (drums). Musically, death metal still has quite a thrash influence on this material, but you can see where it all started. The twelve-page booklet contains lots of band, live and rehearsal photos, the old demo covers and an interview with Sebastian from 2020. A decent reissue, that's for sure!!!

My good friend Coro of Axa Valaha Productions sent me this CD of Insepultus' debut album to review. The one-man Romanian black metal band is led by Robert "Sepultus" Pieptan (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards & effects). An interesting fact is that the band was formed in 1998 and had a 4-song demo in 2002 called "The Hell Will Rise Again". After a little more than two decades, the long-awaited debut album of Insepultus has arrived, which was definitely worth waiting for. The debut album consists of 7 masterfully composed songs, which can be said to be conceptual not only lyrically, but also musically. The musical side is maximally atmospheric, but also very sad, as it must fit perfectly with the lyrical ingredients, which are excerpts and adaptations of various war poems. Robert's songwriting skills are amazing, as he was able to combine the gruesome facts of war, the fear and horror that a young man can experience on the front, and even a near-death experience, with an incredible musical undertone. The album opens with the slow, marching rhythm and cold guitar harmonies of "The Last Battle I", which here and there are very similar to the opening parts of Mayhem's "Freezing Moon", but when the trumpet comes in, everything changes into a completely surreal soundscape. This is followed by "The Last Battle II", which is done according to black metal standards, albeit with some modern sound effects. The third track is entitled "The Wreckage of the Earth". The basic Norwegian atmosphere is there, but the keyboard parts hidden in the background create an interesting effect, and the well-composed guitar solo is also not to be neglected. Robert's vocals are quite harsh and gloomy, but they fit the music perfectly. Opening with air raid sirens, "The World's Heart" is perhaps one of the most varied songs on the record. It's mostly mid-tempo, with pounding kick drums, measured vocals and a scene reminiscent of an air raid at the very end of the song. Coincidentally, as I'm writing this review, there's an air raid alert going on outside. Welcome to the horrible reality! Well, this is followed by "Hell upon Earth", the album's most epic and heart wrenching song, with accompanying acoustic guitars and lyrics taken from J.B. Priestley's "Great War Letters Home". The sixth track on the disc is "The Old Lie". A kind of super melodic composition, in which the inclusion of weird trumpet melodies turned out to be simply fantastic. The approximately 29-minute recording closes with a slow piece called "The Trumpet Sound". Obviously there are trumpets in there which sound amazing, but this tune has some killer death metal growls and even haunting whispers. In conclusion, "Deadly Gleams of Blood, Steel and Fire" is a flawless release with some great avant-garde solutions that I highly recommend to those who are not afraid to experiment within the black metal genre. In addition to Robert, the following people participated in the recording of the album: Nikola Dušmanic (drums), Ezequiel Lagrotta (trumpets) and Jeremy Diener (narration). The 12-page booklet contains all the lyrics, as well as the matching cover art and illustrations by Costin Chioreanu. Romania's Loud Rage Music took care of the CD release, so contact them or the band directly to get your hands on this exceptional yet experimental black metal masterpiece!!!

Since their previous album "Firepower" (2018) is, in my opinion, Judas Priest's best album in decades, and they set the bar very high with it, I was really looking forward to seeing if the new album would surpass it, or in what direction would take it on musically. So the title of the long-awaited new LP is "Invincible Shield", which I think fully continues the musical formula of "Firepower" and can be considered a logical continuation in every possible way. However, I have to admit right away that the new material is very well done, but not nearly as flashy as its predecessor, so this is their second best album in decades. In terms of sound production, we got another flawless work from Andy Sneap, which can easily be considered the twin brother of "Firepower". Mine is the deluxe hardcover digibook version which has 3 bonus tracks over the regular digisleeve CD version. So this version has a total of 14 songs in nearly 64 minutes. The album opens with "Panic Attack", a super punchy tune with flawless energy, dynamism and insanely melodic solos from Richie Faulkner, clearly one of the best songs on "Invincible Shield". This is followed by "The Serpent and the King", another damn good song with catchy vocal harmonies from the metal god himself – Rob Halford. The third is the title track itself, which has some old-school vibes with a slight "Painkiller" touch. This kind of mix is simply great and very enjoyable. Anthem at its best! By the way, this is the longest track on the album. "Devil in Disguise" continues at a measured pace, focusing more on the weight of the riffs and the variety of the vocal themes. "Gates of Hell" is the fifth. Another mid-tempo song packed with plenty of melody. Next up is "Crown of Horns". It's a super soft metal anthem if you ask me, where the guitar melodies are matched with the proper vocal parts. With "As God Is My Witness" we return to heavier and more crushing metal songs, which is pretty similar to "Hard as Iron" due to its opening riff. The solos are awesome there and the whole track just rocks. The eighth cut is called "Trial by Fire", which is the second best song on the album. These guitar riffs are so catchy and majestic along with the super cool vocals that once you hear them, you'll definitely never forget them. "Escape from Reality" opens with a hellishly heavy riff where Ian Hill's bass lines come through crystal clear yet massive. The vocal effects used there are also very remarkable from an atmospheric point of view. The tenth song is "Sons of Thunder", a typical Judas Priest tune if you ask me. The grooves are great and the guitar riffs are quite heavy sounding. "Giants in the Sky" starts with a Black Sabbath-esque riff before transitioning into "Children of the Sun"-like guitar and vocal harmonies. Then there are the bonus tracks. "Fight of Your Life" reminded me quite a bit of the "Ram It Down" era because of the vocal arrangements. The "Vicious Circle" follows with an unadulterated Priest atmosphere, I really like the hymn-like character and heavy sound of the guitars there. The last song on the CD is "The Lodger". A rather strange and unusual tune, the writing of which is attributed to Bob Halligan Jr. So overall, I really enjoyed this new Judas Priest release. Which is accompanied by a fairly thick booklet with lots of high-quality visuals and all the lyrics. A must for any Judas Priest fan in this damn sick world!!!

Kouristus is a grindcore band from Finland. They have been spreading their kind of musical chaos since 2013. This release, which is a compilation of sorts, by the way, contains 15 tracks clocking in at just over 15 minutes. Two short songs from their 2022 demo start the disc. Both tracks explode straight away, there's no time to catch your breath, ha-ha... That's what I call dedication, hats off to them. To my surprise, the sound production is very good and enjoyable. Then we have 5 songs from their 2019 demo. These short cuts sound a bit rawer, nastier and crazier, partly because of the hysterical vocal outbursts. It's really cool when they suddenly slow down to break the fast pace with some ultra-heavy and groovy riffs and then explode again with new energy. It's not a mindless mess, it actually has great riffs and song structures, just played really fast. The second half of the disc is the 8 songs of the "Teurastamo" EP from 2018. This EP sounds incredible. I'm not sure of the purpose of this disc, but it's limited to 50 copies, so Kouristus fans should act fast. In any case, I warmly recommend this Finnish band to grindcore, hardcore and punk maniacs. They are definitely worth investing in. I hope we get more music from them in the near future, but in the meantime, try to get this stuff from Visceral Circuitry Records!!!

This release is a very cool compilation of early Tormentor and Kreator work. Although both Tormentor demos were available on various bootlegs prior to the official release, this was definitely the first time I heard these Kreator rehearsals. Needless to say, High Roller Records did justice to these antiques by giving them the best possible sound and packing the rarest of photographs into the booklets. All tape transfers, audio restoration and mastering were done by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony. The CD opens with Tormentor's famous second demo, "End of the World" from 1984. It was recorded at Zeche Carl Studios and consisted of "Armys of Hell", "Tormentor", "Cry War" and "Bonebreaker". This is a very good thrash metal demo with a chaotic performance as it was played at the time. Next comes Tormentor's first demo, "Blitzkrieg". The songs on it are "Armys of Hell", "Cry War", "Satans Day" and "Massengers from Burning Death", recorded live at Inferno in 1984. They were played even more chaotically, and in these songs you can still hear the strong influence of heavy metal, which later completely disappeared in favor of thrash metal. The other part of the compact disc contains two Kreator rehearsal recordings, both from 1985. Ten songs in about 43 minutes with a super raw sound and some out-of-tune instruments here and there. However, I have to say that I really enjoyed the early versions and rehearsal vibe of these later thrash metal classics. The track lists for the two rehearsals are "Endless Pain", "Command of the Blade", "Storm of the Beast", "Death Is Your Saviour", "Living in Fear", "Son of Evil", "Tormentor", "Total Death", "Storm of the Beast" and "Endless Pain". And if that kind of "blast from the past" isn't enough for you, there's also a bonus DVD with 11 songs. These songs were recorded live at Rudis & Neudis Heavy Metal Battle on January 11, 1986 and restored from a VHS copy by Patrick W. Engel. A nice dig from the past, that's for sure! Every recording has the same line-up, namely Mille (guitar/vocals), Rob (bass) and Ventor (drums/vocals). This so-called export version comes with 2 booklets (8 pages + 24 pages) and a slipcase, which are also a must-see. By the way, High Roller Records has cleverly released these demos and rehearsals on 3 separate vinyls with new covers and excellent layouts (hand lettering) provided by Alexander von Wieding. So Kreator/Tormentor fans should get them all and that's not debatable!!!

The Brazilian blasphemers of Krisiun systematically break into the underground spheres with a new album every 3-4 years. "Mortem Solis" is the title of their latest masterpiece, which contains 11 songs in the explosive death metal style they are known for. These infernal brothers – Alex Camargo (vocals & bass), Moyses Kolesne (guitars) and Max Kolesne (drums) – have been firmly spreading Krisiun's sonorous brutality for over 3 decades now. On this album they collaborated with Mark Lewis (producer, mixing & mastering), Hugo Silva (producer & engineer) and Otávio Rossato (assistant engineer). The production of the new album is quite solid, yet it sounds crystal clear. I guess the band's loyal fans have noticed that for nearly 20 years now, as they have been coming up with less chaotic productions, each of their new works is cleaner, more melodic and perhaps more thrash-oriented. Which is not a problem, because the trio is constantly developing and trying to steer their already brutal death metal repertoire in a new direction. So the one thing you have to remember once and for all is that Krisiun always represents quality death metal. Marcelo Vasco provided the cover art and layout for this excellent death metal creation, which definitely adds to the visuals. In short, the approximately 44-minute album will not disappoint fans, that's for sure, so get this record in time! Krisiun rules as always!!!

The Florida gods of death are back with a new EP called "Tri-pocalypse". Led by legendary singer Kam Lee, Massacre has been more active than ever since 2019, releasing new material mostly in the form of EPs. The 7" vinyl version of "Tri-pocalypse" contains five tracks, while the CD includes two additional bonus songs. The latter was released in a well-designed 4-panel digipak courtesy of Czech Doomentia Records, complete with a killer mini-poster and lyrics. The music of "Tri-pocalypse" is maximally faithful to the early period of the band, supplemented with a little Swedish flavor, which mainly affects the sound production. As the title suggests, this is an EP directly influenced by horror director John Carpenter's three apocalypse films: "The Thing", "Prince of Darkness" and "In the Mouth of Madness". So the lyrics, the cover, and the whole musical concept are all based on the aforementioned apocalypse trilogy. The CD opens with the intro "Into the Tri-pocalypse". It's a minute and a half instrumental piece with a foreboding start/end feel, plus some nice old school drumming and grinding riffs in between. This is followed by "Terror at Outpost 31", inspired by "The Thing". It's an extremely great song with just the right vibe, perfectly representing late 80's/early 90's Florida death metal as it should have always been. Next up is "Begotten Anti-god", a cut inspired by "Prince of Darkness". It's more groove-oriented and focuses on the heaviness of the riffs. The vocal parts also fit well with the dynamics of the song. The fourth song is titled "Hobb's End Horror", which was influenced by "In the Mouth of Madness". It has quite ethereal guitar melodies, and even the slowest parts can be found in it, almost doom metal. The outro that marks the logical end of "Tri-pocalypse" is entitled "Escape from the End of the World", composed exclusively for this EP by Rob Reider. It has a perfect soundtrack character, interwoven with elements of horror and despair. As a bonus, we can also listen to remixes of two previously released songs, the terror remix of "They Never Die" and the horror remix of "Beyond the Dunwich Hills (The Dunwich Horror Part 2)". Both are truly fantastic remixes that extend the CD's playing time to 22 minutes. I also have to highlight Timbul Cahyono's artwork as he did a great job creating the perfect visuals for Massacre's musical and lyrical horrors. "Tri-pocalypse" was recorded by Kam Lee (vocals), Michael Borders (bass), Jonny Pettersson (guitars/keys), Rogga Johansson (guitars), Jon Rudin (drums) and Rob Reider (composer), mixed and mastered by Jonny Pettersson at Studio Unbound in Sweden. To be clear, old school death metal fans should invest in this stuff right away along with the recently released second EP, "Evil Dead Rise"!!!

Mocs & Cucs (also known as Milford Mocs & Gunther Cucs) was founded in 2010 in Lleida, Catalonia. "Cremem los putos bancs" is their second full-length album with a total of 10 songs. The members of such a strangely named formation are: Guillem Tugues (bass/vocals), Jordi Castells (guitar/vocals), Marc Pérez (lead guitar) and Txus Nogales (drums). Almost everything about this band is pretty weird, at least at first glance, or if you look narrowly, otherwise there's nothing wrong with them, neither with their music nor with their visual world. The music they play is quite heavy, especially the sound of the guitars is quite close to the thrash metal genre, but since they have a kind of gangsta in-your-face lyrical and vocalizing attitude, I would classify them in the hardcore and somewhat punk rock-influenced camp. So, as you might have guessed, their musical crossover is diverse, like mixing Anthrax, Agnostic Front and Rammstein together. The latter came to mind because of the Catalan lyrics and the language in general, as it adds some rigor to songs with a harder tone. The nearly 45-minute material was recorded, mixed and mastered by Gerard Porqueres at Heartwork Recording Studios (Barcelona, Spain). Needless to say, Gerard gave these songs a super brutal yet breathtaking sound production. There are actually 9 new songs on the album, plus a radio edit and a shorter version of "El candidat" at the end of the disc. And of course there's an intriguing cover art by Sergi Díaz, so you're sure to be in for a little surprise with Mocs & Cucs' new album, so get ready!!!

The new Morta Skuld record, "Creation Undone", has finally arrived, which is also the band's seventh studio album. It was recorded in the line-up of the previous album, i.e. Dave Gregor (vocals/guitar), Scott Willecke (guitar), John Hill (bass) and Eric House (drums). The CD contains 10 ultra-crushing death metal songs with a playing time of over 44 minutes. From the first riff of "We Rise, We Fall" to the last riff of "By Design", this album literally captivates the listener with its relentless energy. Their songs are full of grooves and brutally pounding death metal madness. The sound production is so killer, yet crystal clear and proportionate, with a so-called bulldozer character, that it is simply a joy to listen to. Dave's vocals are not too brutal, more of the rougher kind, but their music is so heavy and full of brutality that they don't even need to be toughened up. The entire repertoire radiates an old school death metal attitude. It's not about the super speed or the mind-blowing techniques, it's more about the heaviness of the riffs and the dynamism in general. It's mostly the usual Morta Skuld kind of slamming death metal, but the song "Perfect Prey" has a riff that reminded me quite a bit of a combination of Celtic Frost and Mortician vibes. Then there's "Soul Piercing Sorrow", which suddenly has a very atmospheric keyboard passage in the middle, an interesting solution that gives the moment a haunted feel. Eric is a great drummer and loves to bomb blast in the songs, that's for sure. I must admit, I really enjoyed listening to "Creation Undone". The 8-page CD booklet includes all the lyrics, an awesome band photo (by the way, there's another great band photo on the back), the usual recording info and a sick cover art. A must for all Morta Skuld fans worldwide!!!

This is the latest reissue of Naglfar's timeless debut album. "Vittra" was originally released by Wrong Again Records in 1995. This Century Media version comes in a 6-panel digipak with a 16-page booklet and a remaster by Dan Swanö. It looks good and sounds good, but I still prefer the way the booklet looks and the album sounds on the first press of the CD. Even the cover of the album was properly modified here, Kenneth Johansson's cover photo became smaller and got a thick black frame around it, plus the logo and the album title got a different color. Unlike the Necrophobic reissues, which I really liked because they tried to get as close as possible to the first press releases, here you can say the complete opposite, but I know, it's a matter of taste. All this does not change the fact that "Vittra" is a flawless album and also my favorite from the band. This fantastic debut album contains 9 songs recorded by Peter Tägtgren at Abyss Studio in July 1995. The recording line-up was as follows: Jens Rydén (vocals/keyboards), Morgan Hansson (guitar), Andreas Nilsson (guitar/keyboards/vocals on the title track), Kristoffer Olivius (bass/backing vocals) and Matte Holmgren (drums). The more than 46-minute long album can be defined musically as melodic death metal, of course with a large black metal influence, which primarily affects the vocal parts, close to what their colleagues from Gothenburg were doing at the time. Although Naglfar's repertoire always contained rougher and more extreme content. This reissue includes the bonus track "12th Rising". This promotional track, recorded in 1996, has been part of the "Vittra" CD reissues since 1998. The reissued CD booklet includes all the lyrics to "Vittra", photos of the band and members, and liner notes by Chris Dick. In short, a highly recommended album for all fans of melodic death and black metal!!!

I think it was really time to release all the early Necronomicon stuff together. Sure, the "Blind Destruction" demo was a bonus on many reissues, and the two "Break Out" compilation tracks were already part of a vinyl reissue, but exhuming the "Total Rejection" demo was a really commendable idea. Needless to say, hearing the songs from the "Total Rejection" demo for the first time was pretty cool. The strong punk influence is clearly felt there, but it is also noticeable that the metal side continues to develop. This demo with 6 songs and about 21 minutes of playing time was recorded in 1985 with the following members: Freddy (vocals/guitar), Lala (bass) and Axel (drums). Just a few months later in the same year, they recorded the second demo "Blind Destruction" with a second guitarist, Jürgen Weltin. It was the demo that outlined the signature Necronomicon style and also landed them a record deal. All songs from this demo were re-recorded for the debut album, except for the intro. Then there are the two compilation tracks from 1986, namely "Possessed by Evil" and "Blind Destruction". These versions are different but definitely awesome. All audio was compiled, restored and mastered by Patrick W. Engel at Temple of Disharmony in January 2022. The CD has a total of 14 tracks in 49 minutes. The 12-page booklet has a new and very cool cover courtesy of Thomas Pinheiro, but includes the old demo and compilation covers and four band photos, as well as an interview with Freddy about the past. I found a few typos, which is normal for Vic Records releases, but that doesn't change the fact that this is a must for any dedicated Necronomicon fan!!!

Let me start by saying that I consider Century Media's 2022 Necrophobic reissues to be very successful in every way. These reissues have been expertly crafted with dedication and are as close as possible to the originals in sound and design. Well, it should be known that there have been many other re-releases of these classics in the past, but none have been as good as these latest ones. So what follows will be a sort of comparative review. I would also note right away that regardless of the many excellent Necrophobic albums, "The Nocturnal Silence" will always be my favorite from them. OK, now let's listen to the audio production of the current CD and compare it to the original Black Mark Production version. To my surprise, the levels are audibly the same (although some normalization has been applied to the waveforms compared to the original), and only a tiny bit of brightness (read: high frequencies) has been added to this current reissue, which makes the entire production a bit sharper. It's definitely a good twist if you ask me, especially if you listen to the vinyl version as well, because that little element of sharpness comes out even better there. The other great thing about this reissue is that it includes all 10 tracks from the 1993 recording session, and no more messing around with "Inborn Evil" and "Shadows of the Moon". So the final length of this blackened death metal masterpiece is 46:23. This current booklet and its graphics have a few changes from the original, but nothing too drastic if you ask me. First, they all have higher contrast. Second, the 8 pages of the original booklet have now increased to 12 pages, so now each member's photo is on a separate page, whereas previously there were 2 members' photos on one page. Then there are no background motifs for the lyrics of the reissue, which makes them easier to read now, ha-ha... However, the biggest graphic difference can be seen on the CD itself, as the current one contains the color necrogram of the cover image, without the band's logo, the album and the song titles. It was an interesting move and to be honest it looks pretty cool. Then there is an additional black and white necrogram image that can be seen on the insert below the CD. Oh, and let's not forget about the awesome looking slipcase, because it really is a killer addition to this reissue. All in all, I'm completely satisfied with this reissue and recommend it to all Necrophobic fans to get it with the vinyl version. The latter comes with a 4-page booklet and a double-sided A2 poster.

Necrophobic's "Spawned by Evil" EP was originally released in 1996 by Black Mark Production with 4 tracks: "Spawned by Evil", "Die by the Sword" (Slayer cover), "Nightmare" (Venom cover) and "Enter the Eternal Fire" (Bathory cover). Over time, these 4 songs have been expanded, with almost every reissue, and now the latest version from Century Media Records already contains 10 tracks. So this is the most extended version of "Spawned by Evil" to date, with a running time of 39:43. If I compare the sound of the first 4 songs of the current reissue with the 4 songs of the original CD, I can immediately admit that they sound a little louder and thicker thanks to Dan Swanö's remastering. Since 2012, four more bonus tracks have been added to this EP, namely "Ridden with Disease" (Autopsy cover), "Moonchild" (Iron Maiden cover) and two songs from the '94 demo, "Bloodfreezing", i.e. "Black Moon Rising" and "The Call". The most recent addition to the EP are two previously unreleased demo tracks recorded at Montezuma Studio on December 30, 1994. These tracks are "Darkside" and "Into the Crypts of Rays" (Celtic Frost cover). This is a very good addition for sure. If I compare the design of this reissue with the original, I have to say that there are a lot of changes and of course expansions. First of all, the cover of the reissue is black and white, while the original had more colors, but both have a silver logo. The same goes for the backs when comparing them by color. Secondly, while the original booklet was only 2 pages long, the reissue has expanded to 12 pages, including the lyrics of their own compositions and two more super cool band photos. Thirdly, the label side of the reissued CD is completely different from the original and, like "The Nocturnal Silence", it also features Urban Skytt's cover art. If you ask me, these latest modifications have turned out to be pretty good, and of course, this reissue is also equipped with a beautiful slipcase. In short, a must for Necrophobic fans!!!

The masters of eerie blackened death metal are back. Their new album, "In the Twilight Grey", continues the musical journey of the previous two records, "Mark of the Necrogram" (2018) and "Dawn of the Damned" (2020). What I'm reviewing here is the standard jewel case CD version, which consists of 10 songs. Musically, this is a refined and improved version of the two previous records, as the quintet always tries to expand its sound world and technical possibilities. Four members remained intact, namely Anders Strokirk (vocals), Sebastian Ramstedt (lead guitar), Johan Bergebäck (rhythm guitar) and Joakim Sterner (drums), but they have a new bassist in the person of Tobias Cristiansson. I'll tell you, it's a very good addition, because both the bass parts and their clearly audible sound are outstanding on the record. So on this album, the band continued to develop their haunting harmonies and expand their sonic arsenal. There are typical Necrophobic songs like "Grace of the Past", "Clavis Inferni", "Stormcrow" or "Cast in Stone". Then come the more experimental ones, but only in a few small details that mostly touch the mood aspects, giving a new angle and approach to their songs. Such is the case with "As Stars Collide" with its super epic atmosphere and otherworldly solos. It definitely doesn't have a typical black metal structure, which is why it stands out. "Shadows of the Brightest Night" is another one that focuses mainly on atmosphere and mysterious guitar harmonies, I especially loved Sebastian's palm-muted guitar melodies which, along with the solo, are the highlights of the actual song. Then there is "Mirrors of a Thousand Lakes". This is a next level Necrophobic song thanks to the well-crafted guitar parts and fantastic solo. "Nordanvind" is the slowest, but also the most ethereal track on the album. The whole song is dominated by medium tempos, marching drum beats and a special cold atmosphere. Anders' voice takes on a new dimension there, more evil, yet deeper. The ninth song is the title track itself, which is also the longest. Due to its length, it shows many changes in rhythm and mood, so it is one of the more experimental ones. The 54-minute album ends with "Ascension (Episode Four)" on an epic note, the other three episodes were on the "Darkside" (1997). If I had to sum it up, it's a very solid record with great songs and an absolutely captivating atmosphere. The only thing I didn't like was the strangely gated sound of the overheads, so if a crash or a Chinese cymbal is hit on the right, a pressure gap appears on the left. It's pretty annoying to be honest. This jewel case edition comes with a thick 20-page booklet with lyrics, band and member photos, and flawless cover art and graphic design by Jens Rydén. But since the limited edition digibook CD has two more killer songs, one of which is a cover, I decided to order it right away.

This is Nile's debut album on Napalm Records and what a debut it is. I mean, the members of Nile went absolutely crazy on this record, and it's obvious after the first listen. Not that their previous album "Vile Nilotic Rites" (2019) wasn't great and flawless in every way, but this new material contains unexpected and truly exciting ingredients that add a refreshing twist to the established Nile soundscape. On the one hand, "The Underworld Awaits Us All" is such a super phenomenal album that it is very difficult to put into words all the subtleties of its true musical and lyrical essence. But on the other hand, I can try to list the few but quite effective modifications that make this material absolutely exceptional. First, there are enough riffs that aren't over-orchestrated or over-complicated, and are simple enough that the melodies transcend the beloved brutality, and are often colored by various cymbal accents, giving the listener a better sense of the underlying mood. Secondly, the heavily emphasized role of grooves and dynamics, which reached a new level on this album. For example, listen to the fourth song called "Naqada II Enter the Golden Age". Those ultra-groove-oriented drum patterns, their occasional progressiveness and the extremely catchy guitar riffs behind them, not to mention the super-crazy solos and vocal arrangements that lead to serious goosebumps with their dynamism at the end of the song. Definitely the highlight of the album! My other favorite song is "True Gods of the Desert", where you can hear the choppy riffing that is not particularly characteristic of Nile, and of course the title track "The Underworld Awaits Us All", which is also the longest and most varied composition on the CD. The songwriting triumvirate of the album is Karl Sanders (guitars, keyboards & vocals), George Kollias (drums) and Brian Kingsland (guitars & vocals), and this time their creative cohesion is absolutely mind-blowing. The talents of Zach Jeter (guitars & vocals) and Dan Vadim Von (bass) strengthen and unite them for the album's 11 songs and approximately 54 minutes of crushing sound. The clarity and transparency of the sound production also greatly contributes to the absolute success of the album, for which Mark Lewis was once again responsible. To complete the impact of the massive sound production, it is worth paying attention to the monumental visuals provided by Michal "Xaay" Loranc, because these are truly unique creations. The digipak version comes with a thick 28-page booklet containing the prologue, liner notes and lyrical content accompanied by fantastic images. In short, this is a must have album for all death metal fans worldwide!!!