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“According to Desolate, Austere technically started before 2005 as a solo project of his, but he did not release anything until 2007, when Sorrow had already joined the project. The band eventually split up on May 19, 2010 and returned in 2021. Austere played their first live performance on July 28th, 2022 at the Dark Bombastic Evening in Alba Iulia, Romania.”
– Metal Archives

 

Realized (now) that they played their very first gig ever last year at Dark Bombastic in Romania. One of my favourite festivals and I wasn´t there!

No Dark Bombastic at all this year, but if Doru (the main guy) ever puts together another festival, just go! Always a great experience.
Anyways, got to hear this band for the first time now:) Just beautiful! Will definitely go and see again if possible.
Note: Aleksi Schorn, the vocalist from TOTALSELFHATRED played guitar on this set.

 

 

[Live clips by Gronn Onland & H C S E. And as an extra bonus: The very first livegig in full by @raulnegoita. 28-07-2022 Alba Carolina Fortress, Romania]

 

Collected notes & links:
– Latest release: Corrosion of Hearts Full-length 2023
– Label: Lupus Lounge
– Interview 2023 by RAUTA (youtube)

 

facebook.com/OfficialAustere
austere-official.bandcamp.com/
instagram.com/official_austere/
metal-archives.com/bands/austere
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Satanic Black Metal from Finland since 1992 (As Nocturnal Feast to begin with, changed -93 to Black Dawn, added “True” to it in 2002)

Approved by Infection & Spellgoth of HORNA:) Their bandmate VnoM also being the drummer of TBD. I heard about the “Meathook Mystery Theater” at the 2018 Steelchaos, but this one was without any side show. Not needed. Good stuff! And again…there is so much to Finnish Black Metal I had no idea of. Especially the true underground side of it. Steelfest being my main source of education in that field the past couple of years:)

 

“True Black Dawn have been doing Satan’s good work for nearly a quarter century, since the 1992 release of the Hymn to Darkness demo under the name of Nocturnal Feast. Add to that Finland’s penchant for raw, black metal filth, and these guys have got some serious anti-Christian heft (/scene cred).” – Decibel Mag. 2016

“Spectrophobia (fear of mirrors) and Dementophobia (fear of becoming insane) come to mind as fitting mental aberrants. A distorted reflection lurking in the looking glass, a shadow self grinning in the dark recesses of the mind, a soundless laughter echoing inside.” – Wrath describes True Black Dawn in an interview October 2018

[Live clips below by Gronn Onland, Saatanan Aslakki]

 

 

Collected notes & links:
– Latest release: Come the Colorless Dawn Full-length 2016
– Label: World Terror Committee Productions
– Band: Wrath Vocals Syphon Guitars VnoM Drums TG Guitars Cult Bass
www.facebook.com/trueBlackDawn
soundcloud.com/w-t-c-productions
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/True_Black_Dawn/3411
music.apple.com
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From Paris, France. “Founded by guitarist Perversifier aka Amfortas in 1994 with a clear vision to keep the black metal flame burning as an act of aesthetic terrorism – as adamantly based in the underground as opposed to any attempts to co-opt, commercialise or turn the style into a self-parody” – Bio @ Season of Mist
“Merrimack means infinite depth/abyss, taken from a Graham Masterton book, where it refers to a great marine chasm swallowing up every human travelling near its borders, as explained by Perversifier in an interview”

 

Fantastic gig!! I saw MERRIMACK in 2010 at Party.San with a very young Vestal. Met  Perversifier himself when he was talking to a friend of mine and just had to ask  if the front guy was still the same.  He told me that the PSOA gig was one of the first live with Vestal. Maybe even THE first.
13 years  and counting and the guy was absolutely furious and brilliant. Stayed around for most of the set. Good stuff and convincing even in full sunlight.
Something about the French bands…so many cool ones.

 

Band: Perversifier Guitars  Daethorn Bass   A.K. Guitars Vestal Vocals Blastum Drums

Collected notes:
– Latest album: Omegaphilia Full-length 2017
– Current label: Season of Mist Underground Activists
– Mortuus (Marduk, Funeral Mist) did some (additional) guest vocals on the 2012 album “The Acausal Mass” (Abortion Light)
– The drummer Blastum is also live drummer for Osculum Infame, one of my favourite bands @ the last years festival!
– Interview w. Perversifier @ thisisblackmetal.com 2019

[Live clips below by Tales From The Frontline & Gronn Onland. Check out their channels!]

https://www.facebook.com/merrimackofficial
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Merrimack/7714
https://www.season-of-mist.com/bands/merrimack/
https://merrimack.bandcamp.com/album/omegaphilia
https://open.spotify.com/artist/3XWKabUW6Y9pm9vyNGlrhV
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Black/Death from Hamina, Finland. Existing as WITCHCRAFT since 2013. They started up as Black Feast (2009-2012) and in 2013 name change to Blasphemous Witchcraft. For a short while.
The past decade they´ve released a whole bunch of ltd edition demos (mostly cassettes) and some splits.

 

 

Collected notes & links:
– Latest release: Evil Manifests Compilation 2022 (cassette / Ltd 50 copies)
– Label: Escafismo Records
– The German quality tape label Darkness Shall Rise got some of the tapes in stock darknessshallrise.de/product/witchcraft-fin-black-imprecation/?v=f003c44deab6.

A couple of cd/lp @ levykauppax.fi.

There are several places you can still find WITCHCRAFT tapes so just google for them.

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Can´t find so much information of these guys but VORNAT was formed in 1993 in Kotka, Finland. Lyrics about Occultism, Darkness, Satanism & Anti-Christianity.

 

Released a couple of demos (-94 & -96), a split (w. HELLFUCKED from Germany) in 2002 and a compilation in 2020. After 20 years of absence they played live at Haukka Winterfest 2019 ((w. Thaukhnifur – Guitars, Vocals; Behemoth – Bass, Vocals; Erektor – Guitars; Nekroblaster – Drums). » 3 songs recorded by Baltic Sea Productions. Most (or all, really) info is from the Metal Archives.

 

Really liked this band and been listening to whatever I could find on the web after I got home. Lots of good songs! Was already hooked on “Unholy Evil One” when they played it so good thing that is also the one in the live clip so you can get the idea:) VORNAT don´t play so much, basically never, but at least the status is now “on hold” instead of “split up”.

 

[Live clip by Gronn Onland]

 

Collected notes & links:

– SATANIC WARMASTER recorded a (VORNAT cover “Korppi”) in 2014. // The original from a 1994 demo
– The compilation is available right now at least @ Horror Shop
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The one and only Roger Nattefrost ! Dunno what to say more than it was a blast and the best CF show I´ve seen so far:D Such an awesome band and Nattefrost totally ruled on stage.
[Live clips by Gronn Onland, SilesianWoods Promotions, HCSE]

Collected notes & links:
– Latest release: Likeim EP 2018

www.facebook.com/carpathianforest
shop.season-of-mist.com/band/carpathian-forest
spotify.com
– Interview Carpathian Forest/Nattefrost 2023 w. Rauta @ Steelfest
www.metal-archives.com/bands/Carpathian_Forest
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The band existed already 1994-1996 as Lords of the Left Hand.
“Behexen adopts to highly satanic lyrics and imagery.
Vocalist and lyricist Hoath Torog identifies himself as a satanist. Torog explained in an interview following the release of their album Nightside Emanations, “Behexen is a magical tool and channel formed in 1995, which brings the voices of our gods to be heard, and works as an intermediary for their destructive emanations on this world. Our journey has taken nearly twenty years, and has included many phases, but today our temple shines the light of our lord brighter than ever before.”
 – nordicmetal.net

Brilliant gig and closing the outdoor stage for friday. I do like the all the albums a lot, but the first BEHEXEN album i ever heard (in a car while driving with friends between 2 Watain gigs in Spain 2011) “My Soul for His Glory” from 2008 will always stay on the top. Immediate impact:)

[Live clip by Gronn Onland, Tales From The Frontline & sarvi. Full albums: Debemur Morti Productions via Black Metal Promotion]

Collected notes & links:
– Latest release: The Poisonous Path Full-length 2016
– Label: Debemur Morti Productions
– The band (live): vocals –  Hoath Torog (also in BYTHOS, for many years vocalist in SARGEIST)  guitar –  Mynni “Infection” (also in HORNA, BYTHOS, CHAMBER OF UNLIGHT etc)   Kristiina “Evisc”  has been the live bassist in the band the past ten years after Sargofagian (Lord Sarcofagian of BAPTISM that is) left the position.  Horns – the drummer has been in the band ever since the Lords of the Left Hand days (also in SARGEIST for a bunch of years)

www.facebook.com/behexen.official
debemur-morti.com/en/29-behexen-shop
open.spotify.com
behexen.bandcamp.com/
www.metal-archives.com/bands/behexen
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“WITCHTRAP is an old school thrash metal power trio band formed by the two brothers Carlos Uribe a.k.a. Burning Axe Ripper & Hugo Uribe a.k.a. Witchhammer in Medellín – Colombia. The band started in early 1992 under the name “Dark Millennium”, playing classic death metal, but a year later changed their style to thrash metal and the band’s name turned to WITCHTRAP.” – Bancdamp bio

Great live band!! Very expressive individuals all the guys in the band, so besides they sounded good, they were also very entertaining to watch:) GO Colombian thrash!

[Live clips below by WITCHTRAP official, Tales From The Frontline]

Collected notes:
– Latest release: Evil Strikes Again Full-length 2020
– Band: Witchhammer Drums Burning Axe Ripper Vocals, Guitars Enforcer Bass
– Interview by Rauta (Youtube)

https://www.facebook.com/WITCHTRAP/
open.spotify.com
https://witchtrap-official.bandcamp.com/album/evil-strikes-again
https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/witchtrap
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Depressive Black from Helsinki since 2005.
“The band was found to create truly melancholic and desperate soundscapes and to unravel the blackened thoughts, the blessing and the curse of the inability to think either black or white nor inbetween. To narrate about the ability to find clarity in madness positivity in the negativity shelter in the dark…” – Osmose Productions

Have seen them only once before at Stockholm Slaughter 2019. Kinda lost them back then but this time I got to be more focused.  Festivals are a bit tricky when it comes to get the best out of bands you never heard before. But this time, super gig!
One of my favourite songs in the first clip below↓ Just harrowing and beautiful.

Band: Aleksis Laakso (I) Drums Alex (A) Vocals, Guitar, Keyboard Mikko Rissanen (N) Bass Juuso Heikkilä (J) Guitar

[Live clips by Gronn Onland & Tales From The Frontline]

Collected notes:
– Latest release: Solitude Release April 2018
– Current label: Osmose Productions
– Merch: @ Osmose productions
– Interview by Rauta https://youtu.be/hIlc2RsiuyI 2022

https://www.facebook.com/totalselfhatredofficial
https://osmoseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/totalselfhatred
https://open.spotify.com/artist/155cULXraV93ztC81ncvBz
https://www.instagram.com/totalselfhatred_official/
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Melodic Death from Canada (Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador). Quite a new band, formed in 2018.

Not too much info to find, but some bits & pieces: Lyrics are about War, History, Anti-religion & Politics and musically they are inspired by inspired by “the controversial US band Aghroslent” according to a review. The band calls their style “Sentimental Death Metal”. The vocalist Adam Sharr is also in a black metal band called Nocturnal Prayer.

“Mount Pearl death metal outfit GRENADIER are one of the newest extreme metal groups to emerge from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
While releasing their first full-length album, GRENADIER are easily pushing the standards of melodic death metal to a higher level. “Trumpets Blare in Blazing Glory” grants you with tons of groovy riffs, epic vocals and blasting drums.So load your musket, grab your sword, run into the battle and get ready for a devastating charge!”
– Drakkar Records

[Live clip by Gronn Onland]

Collected notes & links:
– Latest release: Trumpets Blare in Blazing Glory Full-length 2022
– Label: Drakkar Productions

https://www.grenadiernfld.com/
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