Cave Altar's new EP continues the musical journey of the debut material "Impermanence" to the fullest. Not only does it continue, but it even imitates it, as two songs are included again on the cassette edition. This time, Fekete Terror Productions released the more than 12 minutes of material, which was limited to 66 killer looking blue cassettes. There is no change in the line-up either, so G.V. (vocals, guitars, bass) and Kryptagonist (drums) bring what and how they should, i.e. a very slow, super dragged doom/death metal mix. "Trembling Seas" opens the tape with sad guitar harmonies that slowly transition into funeral drum beats and otherworldly growls. It consists of 5 or 6 guitar parts that alternate cyclically during the 7 and a half minutes. The whole sound production is not overcomplicated or overproduced, it is made similar to the underground metal albums of the 80s. Thanks to this, it is free from modern clichés and thoroughly enjoyable. The second track is titled "Digesting Insanity". The song starts with an effected bass part that hits really well. This composition is a little shorter, but more intense and varied if I may say so, and also features an ethereal solo at the end. This is definitely a good continuation, and of course I still think the number of songs is few, but sooner or later the time for the LP will come. Until then, I can only recommend the new Cave Altar EP to all doom/death metal fans around the world!!!

Ever since ISP announced the reissue of this killer album on cassette and CD, I've been anxiously awaiting its release day. This day fell on April 25, 2021. For me, Dementor is the best Slovakian death metal band ever, so I definitely needed these reissues in my collection. "Kill the Thought on Christ" is the second full-length release from these blasphemers, originally released in 1997. The recording lineup then was as follows: René Blahušiak (guitar/vocals), Roman Calpaš (guitar), Joseph "Pike" Piroš (drums) and Hans Šeliga (as session bass player). With this nearly 39-minute material, Dementor became even more brutal and antichristian, both musically and, of course, lyrically. Songs like "In the Name of God", "Kill the Thought on Christ", "The Lost Humanity", "Fate of Emptiness" and "Suppuration of My Soul" represented the band's new musical direction, while "The Law of Karma", "Rotting God" and "Mortal Melody" were taken from their debut album "The Church Dies" (1994) and naturally took on a much more brutal form here. The sound production is not polished at all, quite raw, but regardless, it sounds solid, I must say. The last track of the album is nothing but a cover of the legendary Tublatanka song "Prometheus", which turned out to be quite interesting and also includes additional guitar parts by Miro Šulavík. The cassette is red in color with stickers on both sides, and believe it or not, this edition was limited to 50 copies, so if you're interested in this special reissue, you'll have to hurry to make sure you don't miss out. It has an extensive full color J-card with lyrics, a band photo, the obligatory thank lists and information about the recording itself. By the way, the CD reissue was limited to 100 copies, if you want to know. I definitely recommend buying both for Dementor fans. This is the way!!!

Destruction's ultimate 9-tape box set is finally available to fans. Like the previously released "Tales of Morbid Brains" box sets, this includes the early arsenal of the Teutonic thrash metal horde, i.e. recordings between 1984 and 1990. The most precious part of the box is the massive 184-page hardcover-book, which contains many previously unseen photos, album reviews/articles/interviews from old magazines and fanzines, all the lyrics, new liner notes, memories & opinions from fans & friends, and quite recent but extremely detailed interviews with the four members of the band (Schmier, Mike, Tommy and Olly) about the early days. Because of the superior interviews, this book turned out to be much more interesting or exclusive than the HRR version, though it is also excellent in every way. Also included in the box: a metal pin, 2 regular patches, a shaped backpatch, a flag, 4 double-sided posters and a hand-numbered certificate, all housed in a heavy luxurious matte black casewrapped box with silver hot foil stamped printing. And all these Destruction relics are simply beautiful and high quality. But unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the quality of cassette recordings/dubbing, as they suffer from using poor quality tapes. Previously, there were no such problems or complaints about DSR releases, but here they made a big mistake. Other than that, this is a well-made box set that, in addition to the picture LPs and CDs already released by HRR, now includes the following material on cassette: "Bestial Invasion of Hell", "Sentence of Death", "Infernal Overkill", "Eternal Devastation", "Mad Butcher", "Release from Agony", "Live Ruins (Dynamo '87)", "Live Without Sense" and "Cracked Brain". You may be wondering if this new box set is a must have for Destruction fans? Yes, this is it!!!

"Rebirth" is the comeback and also the second full-length album of the Hungarian black'n'rollers Diecold. The 10 new songs were recorded in 2021 by Ódium (vocals), Shadow (guitars & bass) and Peták (drums). Music-wise they play some kind of plain, dirty, punk-influenced black metal that can be described as a mix between the old classics like Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer and Motörhead spiced up by Darkthrone's vibe. Their lyrics are written in Hungarian (except the last song "J. A. Must Die!") and mostly talk about the underworld, but there's a big dose of black humor and misanthropy there as well. Maniacs of old-school will definitely like this over 33 minutes long evil stuff. It sounds great and with the appropriate atmosphere. Of course, the shell of the cassette is black and the b/w J-card has all the lyrics and credits included. This superb cassette release was limited to 100 copies, but thanks to Total Därkness Propaganda it was also pressed onto CDs with a limitation of 300 pieces. In a word, it's definitely a worthy release, so buy it or die in the cold! Preferred tracks are: "Tartarosz", "Sápadt özvegy 1614" and "A vírus koronája".

Hungarian Malediction is a pretty old death metal horde, so to speak. It was formed in 1996, and after many member changes, their current line-up looks like this: István Dinnyés (vocals), Ákos Várhalmi (guitar), István Rákosfalvi (guitar), András Gábor (bass) & Balázs Cseresnyés (drums). Thus, with this line-up, on February 11, 2023, the 11 songs of this tape were recorded live at the Blue Hell club in Budapest (Hungary). I can safely say that their live set sounds quite impressive and balanced, thanks to Tamás Vincze, who recorded, mixed and mastered it. Most of their live performance consists of songs from their debut LP "Reductio ad Absurdum" (2009), namely "Reductio ad Absurdum – Intro", "The Army of Those Begging for Mercy", "Nameless", "Flood" and "Hymn to Destroy". But there is also a song called "Draconis" from their EP "Whirl Evoken by Prayers" (2002) and 3 relatively new songs namely "Valley of Death" (I think this track was heavily influenced by Morbid Angel, but it's also one of the catchiest songs they've ever written), "Faceless God" and "Reflections of Hatred". At the end of side B, we have an old track called "Nammtar" from the cassette release of "Eritis Sicut Deus..." (2000), which was my first Malediction stuff back then. And stylistically, the closing song comes from the same release, which is none other than the great acoustic guitar piece "Ashes – Outro". There are many live photos in the booklet, but what struck me most visually was the white cassette itself, which looks absolutely killer, with blood splatters all over it. A must for all Malediction fans!!! This FTP release is limited to 55 copies, so you better act now!!!

Marblebog from Hungary was established in 1998 by Gábor Varga. It's an ambient black metal project that seeks for the grim soundscapes of nature and from time to time goes even beyond that. "Tova" is the newest creation by G.V. (vocals, guitars & synth) and Khrul (drums). It features two songs in approximately sixteen and a half minutes, which were recorded from January 2021 to May 2022. The first one is "Beyond Time". It's a cold mid-paced black metal tune with really ethereal synth passages in the background. G.V.'s screams are rather dry and come in a speaking manner. The drums are sounding aptly and balanced. The second track is "Forest of Galaxies". It's a lengthy song with over 12 minutes of playing time. This one comes with more variety and ambience, especially I like how the first part, the black metalish one, turns into the otherworldly keyboard parts and then afterwards is followed by a marching almost funeral-like guitar melody with respective drum patterns that slowly but firmly end the song. Epic stuff for sure! This simple-looking white cassette has been limited to 50 copies and by now it is fully sold out, so you can enjoy only its digital version at the band's bandcamp profile. I am personally looking forward to the sixth full-length album of Marblebog, hopefully it will arrive shortly...

This split release contains two of Hungarian Marblebog's latest compositions, which are part of their "Relinquished" EP. These two tracks were recorded between February and June 2023 by G.V. (vocals, guitars, bass, synth) and Kryptagonist (drums). The over 10-minute long title track opens the tape's A-side, a straightforward Scandinavian black metal tune with razor-sharp guitar riffs that circle the song quite a few times. In the middle of the song, the mood is pretty relaxing due to the keyboard passages, which are quite simple but do the job well. The fact that in some riffs the bass is louder than the other instruments creates an interesting overall effect. In addition, G.V.'s vocals are quite grumpy in this song. The other track is "Mindgate" with its more than 8 minutes. This song has a measured tempo and is less monotonous than its predecessor, it even has a great melodic guitar solo followed by some really epic, almost heavy metal riffs. Side B of the tape is reserved for another veteran of the Hungarian underground, namely Odvas. They present the 3-song "Orchestra of Bloodshot Dawn" material. The first track is titled "Orchestra of Mgerradyo", a black metal-influenced, keyboard-oriented ambient composition with rumbling vocals in the background. The second track, "Barangolás a Völgyben", is an all-instrumental track with ambient keyboard parts and cyclic noises in the background. It's quite a calm piece. This is followed by the third and last song of Odvas, entitled "Awakening of the Bloodshot Dawn". It's more of an industrial piece full of crazy shamanic noises. In summary, both bands produced quality material that I can only recommend to fans of ambient black metal. The shell of the cassette is golden and trust me, it looks really cool, but note that it's limited to 100 copies, so be quick if you want one!!!

Mutilation Case is a newborn band from Hungary that spreads Dadaist death metal. Their members are Jim Jones (vocals) aka Dr. Growlinger and Mr. N. (all instruments) aka The Riff-keeper. Their debut album "MMXXIII" is divided into 9 chapters, of which three are keyboard instrumentals. The album is about 46 minutes long and musically presents a strange but rather atmospheric death metal alloy with HM-2 guitar sound. The lyrical side describes the darkest murders in the Carpathian Basin. These crimes are presented in written form and illustrated with archive photographs in the 12-page, black-and-white A5 booklet. It's quite a sick sight to say the least, but the musical part is not so morbid, as their music is distinctly melodic. Here and there I could feel the influence of Grave, not only because of the guitar sound, but also in terms of the riffs, drum parts and even the vocals. The sound of the material is very good and the mixing is also interesting. The keyboard parts and effects largely define the band's musical concept, which is mostly somber and at this point well connected to the lyrics. The album also features four session musicians, who contributed to the material some quite melodic solos, as well as vocals. I think Mutilation Case is the Hungarian equivalent of Macabre, although only in terms of lyrics, as their music is very different. This cassette edition is limited to 50 copies and comes with a slipcase and 2 pins. So hurry, if you want one in your collection!

"Utolsó vágta az Univerzumban" is the first album of the Romanian monotonous black metal masters from 2009, which at the time was released on CD by Sun & Moon Records. Since then, it has gone through a couple of reissues both on cassette and vinyl. The current one being the latest, which was released in 100 copies on nice dark blue cassettes. The interesting thing about this release is that it also contains two bonus songs from 2007, namely the instrumental demo versions of "Talán" and "Bizonytalan ideák". In addition to the two permanent members Béla Lugosi (vocals, lyrics, visualization and artworks) and Pestifer (guitars, bass, music and arrangements), a guest musician – Khrul – can play drums on these songs. So with the 6 songs of the LP, a total of 8 are included on this cassette release. The design of the booklet looks similar to the 2019 vinyl version and, of course, contains all the lyrics in Hungarian. Their music has an immeasurably monotonous vibe, both because of the guitar riffs and the rhymer vocals. The tempos are mostly marching, kind of medium-tempo black metal all the way, which sometimes mixed with pleasant acoustic guitars. This type of music is about the beginnings of the genre and its roots, so don't expect modern things from them. This rerelease has a completely professional design and is the result of a collaboration between two underground labels, Fekete Terror Productions and Sun & Moon Records. Shortly, this is a warmly recommended item for all the fans of Siculicidium!!!

Tomb Portal from Budapest (Hungary) debuts with a rather cryptic 2-song cassette edition, strictly limited to 30 copies. Both the music and the band's line-up are shrouded in deep obscurity. The two compositions, "Lithoid Fetus Ritual" & "Blóð úr tóminu", recorded live have a very coffin-like sound and evoke in me the early materials of cult death metal hordes such as Incantation or Autopsy. Not only lyrically, but also musically, the name Tomb Portal fits them perfectly, because while listening to their songs, they open a kind of portal to the grave-like world. The almost 10-minute long material exudes darkness and its sounds rise up from the depths, we are dealing with real death metal, no modern shit here, just dark riffs, distant death growls and bone-penetrating necrotic sound. The lyrics of the songs were written in Hungarian, they turned out to be quite morbid, but that's what fits here, right? It is interesting that we are now dealing with a simple project, or will there be a continuation of this debut demo with live performances and later a full album? In the meantime, it is certain that the musical path has been found well. You can try to get this super limited tape directly from Fekete Terror Productions, but until then listen to their songs on the bandcamp site of the Bone Chapel Collective!

"Fekete Sámán" is Zurkulet's debut demo. It features three songs recorded live at XYK3Z studio. These songs come in their rawest possible form and have a very dark yet evil vibe. The musical aura of Zurkulet is pretty much focused on monotonous instrumental patterns, thus structuring an atmosphere similar to a shamanic ritual. The repertoire and the sound of the Hungarian horde is closer to black metal, although the vocal parts are quite death metalish. The first song "A kozmosz mögül" has a super plain structure, with an almost one-dimensional drum beat throughout the whole song. Still, it's a very cool track and that's for sure. The second song "Sötétben fogant" opens with a very massive guitar riff and this song is much more varied than the first one. Of course, while keeping the musical solutions as homogeneous as possible. The last song of the cassette edition is entitled "Rontástánc". There's a lot of groove in this one, supported pretty well by the basslines, even if it is the shortest piece on the tape. The almost 13-minute material is repeated on both sides and the release was limited to 30 copies. In short, if you're interested in this stuff, contact the Bone Chapel Collective or FTP immediately!!!