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    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Darvaza - We Are Him (2025)

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    Unleashing one of the most hellish Black Metal releases of 2025, today we have International duo Darvaza and their sophomore full-length release “We Are Him”. Delivering over 42 minutes of cavernous and nihilistic music, spread in seven piercing tracks, the band continues their onslaught with a crushing sound that is both visceral and punishing. For fans of raw and pummeling BM, this release sets a new bar for the band, once that sets them apart from the rest.

    Opening with dramatic atmospherics, “Holy Blood” quickly transitions into raw and in-your-face riffing onslaughts. Wraath’s snarl is as piercing as always, modulating between a harsh stance and some more demented screams. The band’s furious pace makes tracks like “A Last Prayer in Gethsemane”, “Lazarus”, and “Chaos.Fire.Devotion” be as pummeling as possible, with some masterfully crafted tempo changes and momentum building passages.

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    Lamp of Murmuur - The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy (2025)

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    Unleashing a timeless ode to the early days of Symphonic/Melodic Black Metal days, today we have Lamp of Murmuur and their latest opus “The Dreaming Prince in Ecstasy”. Featuring a sound reminiscent of Tartaros, (early) Limbonic Art, and most recently Moonlight Sorcery, this release unleashes nine tracks of superb catchiness and haunting melodies with a hefty dosage of rawness.

    Setting a very dark and sinister mood with the opener, the album quickly escalates with the crafty “Forest of Hallucinations”. In this track we get that old-school sound of the genre, perfectly captured by lively keyboards/synths alongside M’s harsh snarls around engaging tempo changes. The playfulness behind tracks like “Reincarnation of a Witch”, and “Hategate (The Dream-Master's Real)” show the band’s timeless influences of gaudy (to some extent) atmospherics alongside fierce Immortal-esque riffing onslaughts.

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    Bell Witch & Aerial Ruin - Stygian Bough: Volume II (2025)

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    Unleashing one of the most demoralizing and gut-wrenching releases of 2025, today we have Bell Witch pairing with Aerial Ruin to deliver the second volume of “Stygian Bough”. Featuring four tracks and nearly one hour of monumentally crushing Funeral Doom Metal, this album is as bleak as they come. Erik Moggridge of Aerial Ruin perfectly complements Bell Witch, creating a very punishing and lush release that won’t easily be forgotten.

    Opening with the moody vocals of “Waves Become the Sky”, they perfectly blend into the weeping Doomy riffs, creating a very desolate and punishing atmosphere. The tempo slowly drowns the listener in misery as the opener seamlessly blends into the bleakness of “King of the Wood”, a more atmospheric piece. The band’s ability to create slow and very uneasy soundscapes is just magical, as these tracks fly by and they are over 12-minutes each.

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    Waldgeflüster - Knochengesänge (2025)

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    Unleashing a massive double full-length release, Waldgeflüster showcases their multiple facets in a very emotional and devastating manner. With the first album clocking in at nearly one hour and the second around 50 minutes, we get to hear the band’s heavier and more complex amalgamation of Black Metal with Post Metal/Rock elements in the first, and a more stripped down version of them in the second. Very emotionally charged, this release is truly a journey into the band’s psyche and trajectory.

    Opening the first album with “Krähenpsalm”, we get lively Post-Black Metal riffing and massive atmospherics, reminding us a bit of outfits like Austere, Heretoir, and Harakiri for the Sky. This style is very predominant in this first album, with highlights of very emotional tracks like “Bamberg, 20. Juni”, the hypnotic “Von Hypnos und Thanatos”, and the dreamy “Lethe - Der Fluch des Schaffenden”. The mixture of harsh screams, fast riffs, is very nicely offset by lush clean vocal arrangements, and crafty atmospherics.

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    Häxär - Teufelskult (2025)

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    One-man battalion Häxär is ready to unleash its third full-length release titled “Teufelskult”. Featuring an interesting combination of different Black Metal subgenres, like Atmospheric, Melodic to some Pagan influences, this release delivers over 36 minutes of uniquely crafted and very engaging music. With the scene releasing more than one album a day, on average, it is refreshing to find releases like this one that challenge the status quo and mark their own path.

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    Outlaw - Opus Mortis (2025)

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    Hailing from Germany, but with Brazilian members, today we have Outlaw and their late 90’s/early 2000’s inspired ravaging Black Metal onslaughts. With “Opus Mortis”, the band brings back the days of crafty BM similar to Old Man’s Child, Thulcandra, and Dissection. Featuring seven tracks and nearly 45 minutes of intricate music, the band showcases creativity and masterful execution while creating interesting atmospheres and plenty of headbanging moments.

    Blasting things wide open with the pummeling onslaughts of “Blaze of Dissolution”, we get that nice old-school BM vibe, with melody oozing from the band’s guitar attacks. There is something magical about melodic guitar driven BM, as the band showcases in “Through the Infinite Darkness”, “The Crimson Rose”, and “A Million Midnights”, creating some blistering tempos while adorning them with subtle atmospherics, bringing those Dissection vibes front and center.

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    Centinex - With Guts and Glory (2025)

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    Keeping the flame of old-school Swedish Death Metal alive, Centinex returns with their crushing latest full-length release “With Guts and Glory”. Unleashing eight tracks of chugging riffs and alongside a stern snarl and crafty drumming, the band shows no signs of aging. Recommended for the nostalgic metal head, this release brings back the days when bands like Grave and Entombed ruled the scene, with fierce guitars and plenty of headbanging.

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    Mystic Circle - Hexenbrand (2025)

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    Since their 2021 return, Germany’s Mystic Circle has come back with a vengeance, releasing several full-length albums. With “Hexenbrand”, their latest effort, the band returns with their explosive Melodic Black Metal onslaughts for over 45 minutes in ten masterful tracks. Featuring an old-school sound with modern production values, the band creates very theatrical and playful atmospheres along the way.

    The release blasts away with the superbly melodic “Luciferian”, setting a very engaging and crafty pace. Pummeling through “The Scarlet Queen of Harlots” and its lush atmospheric arrangements, “Boogeyman” with its playful interludes, and the melancholic “In the Sign of the Goat”, the band takes the listener back to the early days of the genre, when bands like (early) Cradle of Filth, Hecate Enthroned, Theatres des Vampires and Agathodaimon were starting this subgenre of Black Metal.

    • Posted By: Dark Emperor
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    Afsky - Fællesskab (2025)

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    Having taken the Black Metal scene by storm in the last few years, Denmark’s Afsky returns with another piercing release filled with violence and oozing melancholy titled “Fællesskab”. As a one-man battalion, Ole Pedersen Luk, has managed to unleash some of the rawest and most demoralizing BM of the last couple of years and the tradition continues with this masterful release and its over 45-minutes of punishing music.

    Opening with a playful children’s song sample, “Velkommen til livet” quickly transitions into a full-on cavernous exercise of intricate riffing and unsung melancholy. The blistering guitars and melancholic tempo immediately lets the listener know they will be in for a treat. Ole’s ability to create crushing melodies is front and center as “Den der ingenting ved tvivler aldrig” and “Arveskam” continue leveling everything in their path. The band’s signature guitar driven nature is even more precise and deadly as on their previous releases.

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    Evoken - Mendacium (2025)

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    Showcasing that the USA can also unleash punishing Funeral Doom albums, today we have the legendary Evoken and their latest opus “Mendacium”. Seven years have passed since their last full-length release and the band returns with some gargantuan slabs of Doom, split in eight tracks and over 60 minutes of music. For fans of slow and painful music, this release has that grainy old-school vibe of outfits like Thergothon and Morgion, with hauntingly simple and effective atmospherics and deep growls.

    Opening with the cavernous explorations of “Matins”, the band sets a glacial pace with distorted riffs and subtle atmospherics. As the release progresses to the chugging Death Metal riffs of tracks like “Lauds”, and “Terce”, the listener can appreciate the band’s core influences in a slow and demoralizing way, creating a bleak atmosphere while providing rays of light through crafty guitar leads or instrumental passages. The band has perfected their tempo switching, to combine superbly slow parts with some hellish onslaughts of speed and punishment.

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