Release Dates

May:
1782 s/t, Heavy Psych Sounds, 24/05/2019 – FB, BC
ABRAHMA "In Time For The Last Rays Of Light", Small Stone Records / Deadlight Entertainment, 24/05/2019 – FB, BC
BRIGHT CURSE "Time of the Healer", Ripple Music, 10/05/2019 – FB, BC
DESTROYER OF LIGHT "Mors Aeterna", Argonauta Records, 24/05/2019 – FB, BC
DOOMSTRESS "Sleep Among the Dead", Ripple Music / DHU Records, 10/05/2019 – FB, BC
DUEL "Valley Of Shadows", Heavy Psych Sounds, 17/05/2019 – FB, BC
EARTH "Full Upon Her Burning Lips", Sargent House, 24/05/2019 – FB, Home
GREEN ORACLE s/t, Argonauta Records, 31/05/2019 – FB, BC
LORD VICAR "The Black Powder", The Church Within Records, 03/05/2019 – FB, BC
MONASTERIUM "Church of Bones", Nine Records, 06/05/2019 – FB, BC
MOUNT SOMA "Nirodha" EP, self-release, 01/05/2019 – FB, BC
OCTOBER TIDE "In Splendor Below", Agonia Records, 17/05/2019 – FB, Home
SAINT VITUS "Saint Vitus", Season Of Mist, 17/05/2019 – FB, BC, Home
THRONEHAMMER "Usurper Of The Oaken Throne", Church Within Records, 03/05/2019 – FB, BC
June:
BURNING GLOOM "Amygdala", Argonauta Records, 14/06/2019 – FB, BC
MAMMOTH STORM "Alruna", Argonauta Records, 28/06/2019 – FB, BC
SLOMATICS "Canyons", Black Bow Records, 14/06/2019 – FB, BC
July:
HEX "God Has No Name", Transcending Obscurity Records, 05/07/2019 – FB, BC

OPHIS: Im Walzertakt wider die Perversion der Moderne | In Waltz Time against the Perversion of Modern Age


(Scroll down for English interview!)

OPHIS ist eine der bekanntesten und finstersten Death-Doom-Bands Deutschlands. Ihre ersten Schritte machten sie in den Jahren 2001/2002 und veröffentlichten die ersten Demo-Aufnahmen unter dem Namen „Empty, Silent and Cold“. Es dauerte weitere fünf Jahre um mithilfe von Imperium Productions das erste Vollzeitalbum „Stream Of Misery“ fertig zu stellen. Das darauffolgende monolithische Werk – „Withered Shades“ – wurde auf dem russischen Label Solitude Productions herausgebracht und stellte den nächsten Schritt aus dem puren Underground dar. Auch die Split mit den Holländern OFFICIUM TRISTE muss an dieser Stelle erwähnt werden. OPHIS sind zu Meistern für düstere Stimmungen und böse Albträume geworden. Den Beweis treten sie auf dem neuesten und gerade erst auf Cyclone Empire erschienenen Album „Abhorrence In Opulence“ an. Was versteckt sich hinter dem Gebrüll, den Gitarrenriffs und dem Grollen? Frontmann Philipp Kruppa hat unsere Fragen beantwortet.

Bist du entspannter, seit ‚Abhorrence In Opulence‘ draußen ist?
Unglücklicherweise bin ich zurzeit mit Arbeit eingedeckt und habe weniger Zeit für die Musik, als ich mir wünsche – das ist die Kehrseite, wenn man kein Vollzeit-Profi ist. Natürlich fühle ich mich erleichtert, seit das Album draußen ist. Wir haben viel Arbeit in die Veröffentlichung investiert und hatten dafür einiges zu regeln. Ich spreche hier vom Label-Wechel.

Was waren eure Erwartungen damals, als ihr OPHIS gegründet habt?
Als ich die Band ins Leben rief, wollte ich lediglich ein paar Songs aufnehmen, die ich auf einer Demo hatte. Ich wollte sie veröffentlichen und hundert Exemplare an hartgesottene Underground-Freaks verkaufen, und ein paar Konzerte in unserem Heimatort spielen. Ich habe nie damit gerechnet, dass mehr daraus werden würde. Das Ziel war einfach die doomigen Sound-Ideen in meinem Kopf Realität werden zu lassen. Es war ein künstlerisches Ziel und ging nicht um Karriere. Wenn mir jemand gesagt hätte, dass wir einen Plattendeal bekommen und durch Europa touren würden, hätte ich ihn für verrückt erklärt.

Ophis bedeutet Schlange. Sie wird oft mit dem Teufel assoziiert und ihr habt ja auch dieses stilechte Pentagramm im Bandlogo. Wie interpretierst du die Symbolik im Zusammenhang mit eurer Musik und den Texten?
Du darfst nicht vergessen, dass ich damals, als die Band entstand, zwanzig Jahre alt und meine spirituellen und religiösen Ansichten noch auf einem anderen Level waren. Ich verstand OPHIS als eine anti-christliche Band, was ich immer noch so sehe. Der Unterschied liegt im Blickwinkel der Songtexte, der viel weiter geworden ist und sich viel erwachsener mit der Thematik auseinandersetzt. Wenn ich eine neue Band starten müsste, sähe die verwendete Symbolik nicht mehr so klar und einfach aus.
Das Logo gehört einfach zu unserer Geschichte und haftet für immer an uns wie eine hässliche Narbe. Natürlich sind wir keine satanische Band und haben das auch nie behauptet. Auch heutzutage beschäftigen sich einige unserer Songs mit religiöser Unterdrückung und anti-christlicher Einstellung. Irgendwie passt das Bandlogo immer noch, auch wenn die Texte weiter gehen als die Symbolik.

Für mich klingt ‚Abhorrence In Opulence‘ finsterer als eure vorherigen Alben. Verfolgst du beim Komponieren neuen Materials ein bestimmtes Ziel?
Nein, niemals. Wir kehren einfach in uns und versuchen eine Art Mimesis zu erreichen, also unser Inneres in die Musik zu packen. Das passiert nicht absichtlich nach dem Prinzip: ‚Lasst uns was Melodischeres machen!‘, oder so ähnlich. Selbst wenn wir wollten, wären wir dazu nicht in der Lage. Zum Beispiel habe ich versucht einen Song zu komponieren, der wie OBITUARY klingt. Das hat nicht funktioniert und hörte sich wie ein grauenhafter OPHIS-Punk-Mix an.

Eure Songs haben eine ziemlich negative Stimmung. Macht ihr destruktive Kunst?
Das ist eine gute Frage. Für mich ist es reinigende Kunst, eher therapeutisch. Die treibende Kraft und das Grundgefühl ist mit Sicherheit destruktiv, ein negativer Ansatz, der das gute Gefühl blockiert. Wir packen das aber in die Musik anstatt Telefonzellen zu zertrümmern oder uns sinnlos zu betrinken. Wir machen aus dem Negativen etwas Produktives.

Unsere Kunst ist selbst nicht zerstörerisch, sie hat einen destruktiven Ursprung, aus dem sie hervorgegangen ist.

Das ist mehr, als ich erwartet habe! Das Artwork von ‚Abhorrence Of Opulence‘ ist ziemlich wiederlich, findest du das auch? Ich frage das, weil es mich an das Computerspiel ‚Suffering‘ erinnert, in dem so etwas wie geisterhafte tote Junkies vorkamen, die Spritzen im Rücken und ziemlich hässliche Gesichter hatten.
Davon habe ich noch nie gehört. Ein junger Künstler namens Leenke Zander hat das Artwork exklusiv für das Album gezeichnet. Es entstand nach unseren Ideen – die Intention war die zunehmende Verschmelzung des Menschen mit dem Kapital darzustellen. In unserem neokapitalistischen Zeitalter werden die Menschen immer mehr eins mit der Industrie. Zuerst passierte es mit den Massenprodukten, dann mit den Lebensmitteln, mittlerweile betrifft es auch die Kommunikation, die von der Industrie beherrscht und diktiert wird. Die Menschheit erschafft Industrie und die Industrie formt die Menschen. Das hat sich in den letzten Jahrzehnten nicht gerade zum Vorteil der Menschheit ausgewirkt. Auch die Kunst ist kaum frei von kapitalistischen Einflüssen. Das ist grob, was das Artwork darstellt.

Es erinnert mich auch an Jack Londons Undercover-Reportage ‚Die Menschen des Abgrunds‘, in der es um die Lebensbedingungen der Arbeiterklasse und Bettler in den Slums von London geht. Gibt es ein soziales Element in euren Songs?
Ja, absolut! Nicht alle Songs beschäftigen sich mit dem Kapitalismus oder Industrialisierung, aber die meisten besitzen einen starken sozialen Bezug. Auf dem Album befinden sich nach wie vor sehr persönliche Stücke, die sich mit meinen innersten Gefühlen und Gedanken auseinandersetzen, zum Beispiel ‚Somnolent Despondency‘. Aber die anderen Stücke handeln meistens von sozialen und politischen Themen. Das Artwork mit seiner instrumentalisierenden Darstellung stellt nur einen Aspekt dar. Es handelt sich nicht um ein Konzeptalbum, aber es zieht sich auf jeden Fall ein roter Faden durch die Themen.



OPHIS kommt aus Hamburg, eine der größten Hafenstädte Deutschlands. Habt ihr etwas mit seiner Industrie zu tun?
Nein, überhaupt nicht. Natürlich wird die gesamte Stadt vom Hafen beeinflusst, aber wir arbeiten dort nicht oder an einem anderen Ort, der mit dem Hafen in Verbindung steht. Wenn man sich den Hamburger Hafen genauer anschaut, wird einem klar, wie stark die Industrie über den Menschen und die Natur gestellt wird. Er wurde immer wieder auf Kosten von Lebensräumen oder Gartenkolonien erweitert, welche den Fluss entlang zerstört wurden. Jedes Mal flehten die Einwohner, dass mit der Erweiterung aufgehört wird – selbstverständlich wurde das immer ignoriert.

Death Doom steht, wenn man seinen Aufbau betrachtet, der klassischen Musik näher als dem Rock'n'Roll. Eure neuen Songs besitzen ebenfalls eine theatralische Atmosphäre, wie zum Beispiel ‚A Waltz Perverse‘ und ‚Ressurectum‘. Wie siehst du das mit den dramatischen Elementen in eurer Musik?
Ich mag deine Art den Death Doom mit klassischer Musik zu vergleichen, weil ich die dramatischen Ähnlichkeiten in der Struktur auch sehe. Trotzdem lass uns nicht vergessen, dass der überwiegende Teil der klassischen Musik zur reinen Unterhaltung von Königen komponiert worden ist, die dafür bezahlten. Auch damals gab es kommerzielle Musik.
Um ehrlich zu sein, kann ich deine Frage nicht zufriedenstellend beantworten, weil ich eigentlich nichts Theatralisches in unserer Musik sehe. Möglicherweise definiere ich den Begriff anders als du; es gibt keine falsche oder richtige Definition, wenn es um Musik geht. Ich betrachte deine Interpretation als Kompliment, auch wenn ich unsere Musik etwas anders sehe. Es freut mich sehr, dass du es so betrachtest.
Was die dramatischen Elemente betrifft, bemühen wir uns Spannungen zu erzeugen, um das Interesse an einem Song aufrecht zu erhalten. Diese werden dann gelöst, um sie erneut aufzubauen. Es geht darum die Stimmung des Songs über seine gesamte Länge aufrecht zu erhalten. Aus diesem Grund dauern die meisten unserer Songs mehr als zehn Minuten. Es hängt mit dem Spannungsbogen zusammen, den wir aufzubauen versuchen.

Kannst du erklären, was sich hinter dem Song ‚A Waltz Perverse‘ verbirgt? Warum habt ihr euch für den Walzer entschieden?
In dem Song geht um ein paar sehr unschöne Träume, die ich hatte. Keine wirklichen Albträume, eher Träume, in denen ich mit schlimmen Fehlern aus meiner Vergangenheit konfrontiert worden bin – für die ich mich geschämt habe und welche mich depressiv stimmten. Der Songtitel ist eine Metapher für mich selbst oder für meine Gedanken, die sich mit den Träumen und meinen eigenen Dämonen auseinandersetzen. Ich habe mich für den Walzer entschieden, weil der Song im Dreivierteltakt komponiert wurde, genau wie ein Walzer eben. So einfach ist das!

Phil, kannst du überhaupt Walzer tanzen?
Klar weiß ich, wie das geht, aber ich mache es nie. Als Teenager musste ich Walzer lernen und habe es gehasst.

Eure Alben sind bei unterschiedlichen Labels erschienen; gab es wesentliche Unterschiede in der Zusammenarbeit?
Ja, es gibt signifikante Unterschiede. Dabei muss zuallererst gesagt werden, dass Solitude und alle anderen Labels in der Vergangenheit sehr gute Arbeit im Rahmen ihrer Möglichkeiten geleistet haben. Wir verließen kein Label, weil wir unzufrieden mit ihm waren. Der Grund war immer, dass sich einfach Chancen boten, uns professionell weiterzuentwickeln. Cyclone Empire haben einen starken Vertrieb und die Werbung in externe Hände gelegt, die wissen, wie das Business funktioniert. Das war in jeglicher Hinsicht spürbar, angefangen bei der Kommunikation bis hin zur Präsenz in der Presse.

Haben eure Songs einen dokumentarischen Charakter in der Art, dass OPHIS umso düsterer werden, je miesere Zeiten du hast?
Ich habe immer solche Zeiten und schlechte Laune! Die Stimmung eines Albums ist nicht nur von mir abhängig, weil alle dazu beisteuern. Ich schreibe zwar sechzig bis siebzig Prozent der Gitarrenriffs, aber wir arbeiten gemeinsam an den Arrangements der Songs. Diese wirken sich wiederum maßgeblich auf die Atmosphäre eines Songs aus. Tatsächlich sind die Songs das Ergebnis aus allen Bandmitgliedern. Selbstverständlich dokumentieren sie unsere Gefühle und Phasen zu einem bestimmten Zeitpunkt. Das war von Anfang an so und gilt entsprechend für unser altes Material. Wenn die neuen Sachen düsterer klingen, bedeutet es, das wir uns kompositorisch weiterentwickeln haben. Die Motivation ist immer noch dieselbe wie damals, aber wir sind mittlerweile in der Lage, die Motive effektiver einzufangen und umzusetzen. Das vermute ich zumindest.

Wie groß ist der Anteil der einzelnen Bandmitglieder an den neuen Songs?
Martin und ich beginnen fast immer mit dem Komponieren. Olly hilft dann beim Arrangieren und bringt Bearbeitungsideen für das existierende Material ein. Manchmal hat er auch ein Riff, aber meistens hilft er uns bei der Aufbereitung. Seine eigenen Basslinien unterscheiden sehr von den Gitarrenriffs. Er ergänzt alles auf sehr intensive Weise. Da Nils nur Schlagzeug spielen kann, trägt er beim Arrangieren der Songs und Rhythmen bei, welche im Doom Metal besonders wichtig sind. Das ignorieren oder vergessen viele Leute. Auch wenn das Schlagzeug im Doom limitiert zu sein scheint, unterscheidet es eine Top-Band von einer mittelmäßigen. Dasselbe gilt für die Arrangements. Nils Beitrag ist wichtig, auch wenn er nicht am anfänglichen Schreibprozess beteiligt ist.
Ich schreibe als einziger Songtexte. Das ist ohne Abstriche meine Aufgabe. Aber die anderen haben ein Veto-Recht, wenn ich jemals Müll fabrizieren sollte.

Wen hast du als Kind angebetet und wie nahe bist du mittlerweile an diesem Ideal dran?
Ich hatte einige Helden, aber mein absoluter Favorit war Batman. Nur komme ich nicht annähernd an sein Geld und die körperlichen Fähigkeiten heran, haha! Eine geheime Identität besitze ich ebenfalls nicht. Trotzdem haben wir ein paar Dinge gemeinsam, das geht schon bei der schwarzen Kleidung, der Neigung zum Alleinsein und der Bevorzugung der Nacht an. Und wir werden beide von unseren inneren Dämonen angetrieben – gute Taten vollbringen, um eine innere Schuld oder einen Zwang zu bekämpfen. Andere Superhelden fand ich nie so gut, aber als Kind fühlte ich mich irgendwie zu Batman hingezogen.

Bist du jemals davon ausgegangen, dass die Hörer alle deine Gefühle verstehen, die du in die Songs steckst? Ist es dir wichtig die Dinge mit anderen zu teilen?
Ich bin mir ziemlich sicher, dass so gut wie niemand komplett versteht, was ich in die Songs packe, und das ist gut so. Ich liebe es, wenn Hörer erzählen, was sie in den Songs sehen. Besonders interessant ist, wenn sie etwas völlig anderes empfinden, was beweist, dass ihnen die Musik so sehr gefällt, dass sie eigene Gedanken und Betrachtungsweisen investieren. Mir ist wichtig, dass Menschen das tun. Das Ergebnis dieser Auseinandersetzung ist dabei nicht ausschlaggebend. Mir ist wichtig, dass sie die Musik fühlen und dass sie ihnen etwas gibt.



----------------------------------------------------

ENGLISH

 In Waltz Time against
the Perversion of Modern Age

by Aleksey Evdokimov

OPHIS is one of the most famous and sinister Death Doom bands of Germany. They did their first steps in 2001/2002 and released a demo record called “Empty, Silent and Cold”. It took about five years more to create the first full-length album “Stream Of Misery” with the help of Imperium Productions. The follow-up monolithic work, „Withered Shades“, was released on the Russian label Solitude Productions, which was another big step out of the pure underground; also the split-release with Dutch OFFICIUM TRISTE has to be mentioned. OPHIS have become quality specialists of darkest moods and worst nightmares, which can be heard on their newest output, which were published by Cyclone Empire under the name “Abhorrence In Opulence”. What do OPHIS hide behind their roars, riffs and grumbles? Bandleader Philipp Kruppa is here to answer. 

Do you feel relaxed after the new OPHIS album, ‘Abhorrence In Opulence’, is released?
Unfortunately I am too busy with work and I have much less time for music than I’d wish, but that’s the downside when you are not full-time professional. Yes, I feel a certain relief since the album is out. It took a lot of work to get it done and also lots of things to manage to get it out. I am talking about the label-change here.

What did you expect when starting OPHIS back in the days?
When I started this band, my only goal was to record the few songs I had on a demo, release it, maybe sell a hundred copies to some die-hard underground freaks, and maybe play a few shows in our hometown. I never expected it would go beyond that. The goal was simply to find an outlet for those doomy tunes I had and to get them out of my head into reality. It was an artistic goal, not a career one. If you had told me that we’d get a record deal and tour through Europe, I would have called bedlam.

Ophis means snake. How do you interpret this image for yourself in the context of your music and lyrics? Snake is often associated with the devil and you still have that stylish pentagram in the band's logo. Is it only a trend or a meaningful symbol?
Well, you must keep in mind that I was 20 years old when this band was formed, and that my spiritual and religious views were in a different state back then. I always saw OPHIS as an anti-christian band, and I still do so today. The difference is, that the lyrical focus has become much, much broader today and deals with the topic in a much more mature way. I would not go for such a clear and simple symbolism again, if I had to start a new band. 
But this logo became a part of our history and it is attached to us likes an ugly scar that you wear your whole life. Of course, we are no satanic band and we never pretended to be. Even to this day a few songs deal with religious suppression and anti-Christian attitude. In a way the logo still fits, although the lyrics go beyond that symbolism.

For me personally ‘Abhorrence In Opulence’ sounds more sinister and darker than your previous works. Do you follow a certain goal when composing new material to reach a specific result?
No, never. We just reach into ourselves and try to achieve some sort of mimesis, you know, turning something within us into music. There is no volition behind it, like for example: ‘Let's do a more melodic one now!’, or something like that. By the way, even if we wanted to, we probably couldn't really do it. I explicitly tried to write an OBITUARY sound-alike. It didn't work and sounded like an awful mixture of OPHIS with Punk.

Your songs have a certain negative vibe. Would you consider your art to be destructive?
Hm, good question. I think I consider it rather as cathartic art, or therapeutically. The driving force and emotion surely is a destructive one, a negative approach that stands in the way of feeling well. But we turn it into music instead of going out and smashing phone booths or slowly killing ourselves with mindless drinking. So we turn the negative into something productive.

Our art has a destructive root but is not destructive in itself and has an originative outcome instead.

You have told even more than I expected! The artwork of ‘Abhorrence In Opulence’ has really disgusting image, how do you find it? I'm asking, because I remember the computer game ‘Suffering’, there were kind of ghostly dead junkies with syringes in their backs and such ugly faces.
I never heard of it before. A young artist named Leenke Zander exclusively painted the artwork for the album. She did it on our ideas – the intention was to depict the ever-increasing immersion of human and capital. In our neo-capitalistic age people and industry become more and more affiliated. It was only consumer products first, then also food, now it is even communication which is heavily dominated and dictated by industry. Mankind creates industry and industry creates mankind. In the past decades, this was not really to the advantage of mankind. Also art is only extremely seldom free of capitalistic input. This is roughly what the artwork depicts.

It reminds me of Jack London's ‘The People of Abyss’ with its stories about the condition of the working class and beggars in the capital of the United Kingdom. Do you see a social element in your songs?
Yes, definitely! Not all the songs are dealing with capitalism or industrialism, but most of them have a strong social aspect. There are still some very personal tracks on the album that deal with my inner emotions and personal thoughts, such as ‘Somnolent Despondency’, but the other songs mostly deal with social issues also political ones. The artwork with its industrialism-depiction is only one aspect. It is no concept album, but there is, for sure, a red thread through the topics.

OPHIS is based in Hamburg, which is really one of biggest ports of Germany, are you involved in it's industry?
No, not at all. Well, I mean the whole city is of course affected by the harbour, but we don't work there or at any place that is related to the port. You can see clearly how much industry is superior to people or nature when you observe the Hamburg port. It was extended several times at the cost of biotopes or garden colonies that where destroyed along the river. Every time the citizens pleaded to stop the expansion. And, of course, it was always ignored.

Death Doom in not like catchy Rock'n'Roll, it's closer to classic music by its construction. And your new songs also own kind of theatrical atmosphere – like ‘A Waltz Perverse’ and ‘Ressurectum’. How do you see these dramatic elements in your songs? 
I like the way you compare Death Doom to classical music, because I agree about the dramatic structural similarities. Although let's not forget that a whole lot of classical music was written for pure entertainment of kings who paid for it. So, even back then, there was also commercial music. 
To be honest, I cannot really answer your question in a satisfying way, because I personally don't see something theatrical in our music. Probably I have a different definition of that term than you. But don't misunderstand me; there is no wrong or right definition when it comes to music. I see your interpretation as a compliment even though I have a different view on our music and I am really happy that you see it this way. 
As far as dramatic elements go, we just try to keep a song interesting by building tensions, which we then release, just to build them up again. It is just a question of keeping an envelope over the distance of the song. This is also reason why most of our songs are over 10 minutes long. It is caused by the tensions we try to build.

But can you clarify what you put into the song ‘A Waltz Perverse’? Why did you choose particularly waltz? 
This is a song about some very unpleasant dreams I had. Not really nightmares, but rather dreams in which I was confronted with big mistakes of my past – that made me feel very humiliated and depressed. The song's title is basically just a metaphor for me or my thoughts dancing with my dreams and my own personal demons. I simply chose the waltz, because the song is written in ¾ measure, exactly like the waltz. Simple as that, haha! 

Phil, do you dance waltz at all?
Okay – I know how to dance waltz, but I never do so. I had to learn it as a teenager and I hated it. At least, it got me laid, haha!




Different labels released all your albums; do you feel some cardinal differences in the collaboration?
Yes, they are some significant differences. Let me put straight first that Solitude and all other labels in the past did very good jobs to the maximum of their abilities. We never left a label, because we were unhappy with them or so. We always left labels, because we simply got offered chances to develop professionally. Cyclone Empire has a very strong distribution and handed the main promotion over to an external company, which also has a very strong arm in the business. Sure we felt this in every way, starting with the communication and ending with the presence in the press. 

How close are your songs to a documentary? Can we suppose something like ‘new OPHIS is darker, so Phil has bad period as well’?
I always have my period, and thus a bad mood, haha. Well, you cannot pin the outcome of an album just on me, because we all contribute. I may write 60 to 70 percent of the riffs, but we all work on the songs and arrangements. And the arrangements heavily influence the atmosphere of a song. So really, the songs are a result of each of us in the band. Sure, the songs are and have always been documentaries of our moods and periods, but that happened from the very beginnings, so it was also the case for the older stuff too. If the new stuff sounds darker, it means we progressed as composers. The motivation to write is the same as in the past, but maybe now we can capture and transgress these motivations more efficiently. I suppose.
Can you tell about the contribution of each member in the new songs?
Martin and I do almost all of the initial writing. Olly contributes in terms of arrangements, and he often adds ideas to editing the material Martin and I wrote. Sometimes he adds riffs too, but mostly he helps us editing. He also writes his own bass lines, which often differ a lot from the guitar riffs. So his input is additional, but pretty intense. Nils, our drummer, can only play drums, so he can not write or edit riffs, but he contributes in terms of arrangement and rhythmics. Those are very relevant in Doom Metal. Many people tend to ignore or forget that. But even drumming in Doom seems limited; it separates a great band from a mediocre one. Same goes for the arrangement. His contribution is important nevertheless, even though it does not include the initial writing process.
I am the only one to write lyrics, though. That's my job and only mine. But the others have veto-rights, if I should ever write lyrical crap.

Who was your hero when you were a kid and how far are you now from this ideal?
I had some heroes, but I think my real fave was Batman. I am far from him in terms of money and physical condition, haha! And I have no secret identity. But I think we also have some things in common, beginning at the ever-black clothes, a tendency to solitude, and a preference for the night. And we both are driven by inner demons. Doing good things to fight an inner guilt or pressure, you know, I never liked other superheroes that much, but I always felt some connection to Batman as a kid.

Did you ever think that listeners recognise all feelings that you put in your songs? Is it important to share you’re the things you put in your songs with someone else?
I am very sure that almost no listener recognises everything that I put into a song, and that is a good thing. I really love it, when people tell me what they see in the songs. It is especially interesting, when they feel something different, which proves that they appreciate the music so much that they invest own thoughts and contemplation. It is important to me that people do that. The outcome of that contention is not so important to me. It is important to me, that they feel the music and that they take something out of it.


Past Releases 2019

January:
HELEVORN "Aamamata", Solitude Productions / Bad Mood Man, 23/01/2019 – FB, BC
HOLLOW LEG "Civilizations", Argonauta Records, 25/01/2019 – FB, BC
LUMBAR "The First and Last Days of Unwelcome" (re-release), Argonauta Records, 11/01/2019 – FB, YouTube
OTHUUM "The Astral Horror", self-release, 01/05/2019 – FB, BC
QUERCUS "Verferum", MFL-Records, 01/01/2019 – FB, BC
SLOW "IV - Mythologiae", code666, 25/01/2019 – FB, BC
WITHERED FIST "This Is My Mountain", self-release, 01/01/2019 – FB, BC
WOORMS "Slake", Hospital Records / Sludgelord Records, 18/01/2019 – FB, BC
February:
BLCKWVS "0160", This Charming Man Records, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
CANDLEMASS "The Door To Doom", Napalm Records, 22/02/2019 – FB, Home
COSMIC PLUNGE "Dealing with the Harvester", self-release, 06/02/2019 – FB, BC
DEAD WITCHES "The Final Exorcism", Heavy Psych Sounds, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
ENDLESS FLOODS "Circle The Gold", Fvtvrerecordings / Bigout Records, 15/02/2019 – FB, BC
EREMIT "Carrier of Weight", Transcending Obscurity Records, 25/02/2019 – FB, BC
LEFT HAND SOLUTION "Through The Mourning Woods", Massproduktion, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
MAESTUS "Deliquesce", Code666, 08/02/2019 – FB, BC
THE MOTH GATHERER "Esoteric Oppression", Agonia Records, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
NEGATIVE WALL "Gammagelu", Black Doomba Records, 08/02/2019 – FB, BC
OLDD WVRMS "Codex Tenebris", Cursed Monk Records, 15/02/2019 – FB, BC
PRIMITIVE MAN / HELL split, Translation Loss Records, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
RED BEARD WALL "The Fight Needs Us All", Argonauta Records, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
RED EYE "Tales From The Days Of Yore", Alone Records, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
UN / COLTSBLOOD split, self-release, 15/02/2019 – FB, BC
WOLF COUNSEL "Destination Void", Endless Winter, 22/02/2019 – FB, BC
March:
0N0 "Cloaked Climax Concealed" EP, Transcending Obscurity, 03/03/2019 – FB, BC
11PARANOIAS "Asterismal", Ritual Productions, 15/03/2019 – FB, BC
AMBER TEARS "When No Trails", Solitude Productions, 29/03/2019 – FB, BC
ATARAXIE "Résignés", Deadlight / Weird Truth / Xenokorp, 08/03/2019 – FB, Home
BLACK LUNG "Ancients", Ripple Music, 08/03/2019 – FB, BC
BLACK VULPINE "Veil Nebula", Moment Of Collapse Records, 01/03/2019 – FB, BC
CARDINALS FOLLY / LUCIFER'S FALL split, Cruz Del Sur Music, 22/03/2019 – FB, BC
DUN RINGILL "Welcome", Argonauta Records, 01/03/2019 – FB, BC
FANGE "Punir", Throatruiner Records, 01/03/2019 – FB, BC
GREEN THUMB "There Are More Things" EP, Acid Cosmonaut Records, 18/03/2019 – FB, BC
HIGH REEPER "High Reeper", Heavy Psych Sounds, 22/03/2019 – FB, BC
ILLIMITABLE DOLOR "Leaden Light", Transcending Obscurity, 20/03/2019 – FB, BC
MAGIC CIRCLE "Departed Souls", 20 Buck Spin, 29/03/2019 – FB, BC
NIXA "Opus Tierra", War Anthem Records, 29/03/2019 – FB, BC
OBSIDIAN SEA "Strangers", Ripple Music, 22/03/2019 – FB, BC
OREYEON "Ode To Oblivion", Heavy Psych Sounds, 15/03/2019 – FB, BC
ORO "Djupets Kall", Endless Winter, 01/03/2019 – FB, BC
RADARE "Der Endless Dream", Golden Antenna Records, 29/03/2019 – FB, BC
SLOTH HAMMER "Superbia Ira Acedia", Cursed Monk Records, 30/03/2019 – FB, BC
TAR PIT "Tomb Of Doom", self-release, 01/03/2019 – FB, BC
TEL "Lowlife", Aural Music, 29/03/2019 – FB, BC
TEMPLE OF THE FUZZ WITCH s/t, Seeing Red Records, 08/03/2019 – FB, BC
THE DEVIL AND THE ALMIGHTY BLUES "Tre", Blues For The Red Sun, 29/03/2019 – FB, BC
URZA "The Omnipresence of Loss", Solitude Productions, 15/03/2019 – FB, BC
April:
ANCIENT ALTAR "Cosmic Purge/Foie Gras", Black Voodoo Records, 19/04/2019 – FB, BC
BLIND MONARCH "What Is Imposed Must Be Endured", Black Bow Records, 05/04/2019 – FB, BC
CHALICE OF SUFFERING "Lost Eternally", Transcending Obscurity Records, 19/04/2019 – FB, BC
CITIES OF MARS "The Horologist", Ripple Music, 05/04/2019 – FB, BC
CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC "Evil Eye", Kinda Like Music, 30/04/2019 – FB, BC
CONJURER "Sigils", self-release, 05/04/2019 – FB, BC
FALSE GODS "The Serpent and the Ladder" EP, self-release, 19/04/2019 – FB, BC
GRIEF COLLECTOR "From Dissension To Avowal", self-release, 01/04/2019 – FB, BC
HIGH PRIEST "Sanctum" EP, Magnetic Eye Records, 19/04/2019 – FB, BC
OCEANWAKE "Lights Flashing In Mute Scenery", Lifeforce Records, 26/04/2019 – FB, BC
RED MOON ARCHITECT "Kuura", The Vinyl Division / Grey Beton Records, 05/04/2019 – FB, BC
SMOLDER "Times Of Obscene Evil And Wild Daring", Cruz Del Sur Music, 26/04/2019 – FB, BC
SUNN O))) "Life Metal", Southern Lord, 26/04/2019 – FB, BC
THE WELL "Death and Consolation", Riding Easy Records, 26/04/2019 – FB, BC
WITCHFINDER "Hazy Rites", Black Bow Records, 01/04/2019 – FB, BC

Past Releases 2018

January:
ABYSMAL GRIEF "Blasphema Secta, Terror From Hell Records, 13/01/2018 – Homepage
ANGUISH "Magna Est Vis Suignah", High Roller Records, 28/01/2018 – FB, BC
BELDAM "Pasung", Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, 26/01/2018 – FB, BC, YouTube
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY "Grimmest Hits", Spinefarm Records, 19/01/2018 – FB
BLOODMOON "Supervoid Trinity", self-release, 31/01/2018 – FB, BC
CLAMFIGHT "III", Argonauta Records, 19/01/2017 – FB, BC
DJINN AND MISKATONIC "Even Gods Must Die", Transcending Obscurity, 10/01/2018 – FB, BC
FAAL "Desolate Grief", Ván Records, 26/01/2018 – FB
GREYFELL "Horsepower", Argonauta Records, 12/01/2018 – FB, BC
HOODED MENACE "Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed", Season Of Mist, 26/01/2018 – FB, BC
IRON PIKE "Demos: I & II", Seeing Red Records / Widowmaker Tapes, 26/01/2018 – FB, BC
KAYLETH "Colossus", Argonauta Records, 12/01/2018 – FB, BC
SINISTRO "Sangue Cássia", Season Of Mist, 05/01/2018 – FB, BC
SLOW "V - Oceans", Code666, 26/01/2018 – FB, BC
WITCHCRYER "Cry Witch", Ripple Music, 19/01/2018 – FB, BC
February:
APOSTLE OF SOLITUDE "From Gold to Ash", Cruz Del Sur Music, 23/02/2018 – FB, BC, Homepage
BIBLE BLACK TYRANT "Regret Beyond Death", Argonauta Records, 16/02/2018 – FB, BC
COFFIN TORTURE "Dismal Planet", Sludgelord Records, 16/02/2018 – FB, BC
CORRUPTED "Felicific Algorithim" LP, Cold Spring, 16/02/2018
CRUTHU "The Angle Of Eternity", The Church Within Records, 23/02/2018 – FB, BC
EYE OF SOLITUDE / MARCHE FUNÈBRE split, Hypnotic Dirge Records / Cimmerian Shade Recordings, 22/02/2018 – FB, BC
GODWATT "Necropolis", Jolly Roger Records, 09/02/2018 – FB, BC
GREEN LUNG "Free the Witch" EP, Deckhead Records, 19/02/2018 – FB, BC
MY SILENT WAKE "There Was Death", Minotauro Records, 16/02/2018 – FB, BC
SABEL "Re-Generation", Kozmik Artifactz / Oak Island Records, 28/02/2018 – FB, BC
SATIVA ROOT "Oneirod", self-release, 16/02/2018 – FB, BC
SEVEN SERPENTS "Garden of Eyes" EP, self-release, FB, BC
SPACESLUG "Mountains & Reminiscence", Kozmik Artifactz/ Oak Island Records, 28/02/2018 – FB, BC
SWAMP CORPSE "Bone Mill", Black Bow Records, 02/02/2018 – FB, BC
THAL "Reach for the Dragon's Eye", Argonauta Records, 16/02/2018 – FB, BC
WINDHAND / SATAN'S SATYRS split LP, Relapse Records, 16/02/2018 – FB, BC
March:
BENEATH OBLIVION "The Wayward and the Lost", Weird Truth Productions, 27/03/2018 – FB, BC
BESVÄRJELSEN "Vallmo", Suicide Records, 27/03/2018 – FB, BC
DAUTHA "Brethren of the Black Soil", Ván Records, 16/03/2018 – FB, BC
DESERT STORM "Sentinels", APF Records, 16/03/2018 – FB, BC
DDENT "Toro", self-release, 23/03/2018 – FB, BC
EAGLE TWIN "The Thundering Heard (Songs of Hoof and Horn", Southernlord Records, 30/03/2018 – FB, BC, Home
ET MORIEMUR "Epigrammata", Transcending Obscurity Records, 20/03/2018 – FB, BC
FORMING THE VOID / PYRESHIP split, Endhipendit Record Co, 09/03/2018 – FB, BC
GODTHRYMM "A Grand Reclamation", Transcending RecordsFB, BC
HEMELBESTORMER "A Ring Of Blue Light", Ván Records, 02/03/2018 – FB, BC
LEECHFEAST "Neon Crosses", Dry Cough Records / Rope Or Guillotine, 30/03/2018 – FB, BC
MOURNFUL CONGREGATION "The Incubus of Karma", Osmose Productions / 20 Buck Spin / Weird Truth Productions, 23/03/2018 – FB, Home
NEST "Metempsychosis", Sludgelord Records, 02/03/2018 – FB, BC
OWL "Orion Fenix", Zeitgeister Music, 23/03/2018 – FB, BC
SLOMATICS / MAMMOTH WEED WIZARD BASTARD "Totems" split, Black Bow Records, 29/03/2018 – FB, BC
SOLDAT HANS "Es taut", Wolves And Vibrancy Records, 30/03/2018 – FB, BC
SUNNATA "Outlands", self-release, 23/03/2018 – FB, BC
THE WATCHERS "Black Abyss", Ripple Music, 09/03/2018 – FB, BC
THRONELESS "Cycles", Black Bow Records, 23/03/2018 – FB, BC
TOWARDS ATLANTIS LIGHTS "Dust of Aeons", Transcending Obscurity Records, 05/03/2018 – FB, BC
April:
AEONIAN SORROW "Into The Eternity A Moment We Are", self-release, 11/04/2018 – FB, BC, Home
ASSUMPTION "Absconditus", Everlasting Spew Records, 20/04/2018 – FB, BC
BLACK SALVATION "Uncertainty Is Bliss", Relapse Records, 06/04/2018 – FB, BC
KING GOAT "Debt of Aeons", Aural Music, 20/04/2018 – FB, BC
GREENBEARD "Lödarödböl", Kozmik Artifactz, 20/04/2018 – FB, Home
MESSA "Feast for Water", Aural Music, 06/04/2018 – FB, BC
MONSTERNAUT "Enter The Storm", Heavy Psych Sounds, 27/04/2018 – FB, BC
NAMED BY THE SUN "Deathcap" EP, Superhot Records, 27/04/2018 – FB, BC
RADIEN "Syvyys", Black Bow Records / Bunkkeri Records, 20/04/2018 – FB, BC
SOLSTICE "White Horse Hill", Invictus Productions, 06/04/2018 – FB, BC
TONS "Filthy Flowers Of Doom", Heavy Psych Sounds, 20/04/2018 – FB, BC
May:
AGE OF TAURUS "The Colony Slain", Rise Above Records, 18/05/2018 – FB
BODY VOID "I Live Inside A Burning House", Crown And Throne / Dry Cough Records / Seeing Red Records, 11/05/2018 – FB, BC
BOGHAUNTER "Writhe" EP, Seeing Red Records, 04/05/2018 – FB, BC
BONG "Thought And Existence", Ritual Productions, 04/05/2018 – FB, BC
CANDLEMASS "House of Doom", Napalm Records, 25/05/2018 – More infos HERE!
CHRCH "Light Will Comsume Us All", Neurot Recordings, 11/05/2018 – FB, BC
COLTSBLOOD "Ascending Into Shimmering Darkness", Black Bow Records, 15/05/2018 – FB, BC
DESTROYER OF LIGHT "Hopeless" EP, Heavy Friends Records, 11/05/2018 – FB, BC
DOPETHRONE "Transcanadian Anger", Totem Cat Records, 25/05/2018 – FB, BC
HIGH PRIESTESS s/t, Ripple Music, 18/05/2018 – FB, Home
KAISER "1st Sound", Oak Island Records, 25/05/2018 – FB, BC
NOMAD "Feral", APF Records, 31/05/2018 – FB, BC
OMMADON "End Times", Dry Cough Records / At War With False Noise / DGRecords / Medusa Crush Recordings, 01/05/2018 – FB, BC
SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF "Terra Solus", self-release, 14/05/2018 – FB, BC
WITCHSORROW "Hexenhammer", Candlelight Records, 25/05/2018 – FB, BC
June:
AMAROK "Devoured", Translation Loss Records, 22/06/2018 – FB, BC
APE VERMIN "Sonic Monolith", self-release, 13/06/2018 – FB, BC
DOOMED "6 Anti-Odes To Life", Solitude Productions, 22/06/2018 – FB, BC
DRUG CULT s/t, Ritual Productions, 21/06/2018 – FB, Home
ENHAILER "Dumb Enough To Care" EP, Burnout Records, 14/06/2018 – FB, BC
EYE OF SOLITUDE "Slaves To Solitude", self-release, 01/06/2018 – FB, Home
FRAYLE "The White Witch" EP, Seeing Red Records / Lay Bare Recordings, 15/06/2018 – FB, BC
HAUNTED "Dayburner", Twin Earth Records, 08/06/2018 – FB, BC
KHEMMIS "Desolation", 20 Buck Spin / Nuclear Blast Records, 22/06/2018 – FB, BC, Home
KING HEAVY "Guardian Demons", Cruz Del Sur Music, 22/06/2018 – FB, BC
KITE "The All Penetrating Silence", Sludgelord Records, 08/06/2018 – FB, BC
LESSER GLOW "Ruined", Pelagic Records, 08/06/2018 – FB, BC
MIST "Free Me Of The Sun", Soulseller Records, 01/06/2018 – FB, BC
RAUM KINGDOM "Everything & Nothing", self-release, 01/06/2018 – FB, BC
SLOMATICS / CONAN split, Black Bow Records, 01/06/2018 – FB, BC
SOLILOQUIUM "Contemplations", Transcending Records, 01/06/2018 – FB, BC
THE AGE OF TRUTH "Threshold", Kozmik Artifactz, 29/06/2018 – FB, BC
THE RED COIL "Himalayan Demons", Argonauta Records, 22/06/2018 – FB, BC
VOID OF SILENCE "The Sky Over", Avantgarde Music, 11/06/2018 – FB, BC
WITCHSKULL "Coven's Will", Rise Above Records, 01/06/2018 – FB, BC
YOB "Our Raw Heart", Relapse Records, 08/06/2018 – FB, BC
July:
1968 "Ballads of the Godless", HeviSike, 06/07/2018 – FB, BC
CAMBRIAN "Mobular", Oak Island Records, 27/07/2018 – FB, BC
KIELKROPF "Ignorance Is Bliss" EP, Sludgelord Records, 06/07/2018 – FB, BC
LUCIFER "Lucifer II", Century Media Records, 06/07/2018 – FB
SPACESLUG "Eye the Tide", BSFD Records, 20/07/2018 – FB, BC
WEED DEMON "Astrological Passages", Electric Valley Records, 27/07/2018 – FB, BC
WITCHKISS "The Austere Curtains Of Our Eyes", Argonauta Records, 13/07/2018 – FB, BC
August:
ANCESTORS "Suspended In Reflections", Pelagic Records, 24/08/2018 – FB, BC
ANGUS BLACK s/t, Discos Macarras Records, 24/08/2018 – FB, BC
BEERWOLF "Planetfall", Ripple Music, 24/08/2018 – FB, BC
DEATHBELL "With The Beyond", Kozmik Artifactz, 17/08/2018 – FB, BC
FORMING THE VOID "Rift", Kozmik Artifactz, 17/08/2018 – FB, BC
LURK "Fringe", Transcending Obscurity Records, 05/08/2018 – FB, BC
PRIMITIVE MAN / UNEARTHLY TRANCE split, Relapse Records, 17/08/2018 – FB, BC
SPIRIT DIVISION "Forgotten Planet", self-release, 31/08/2018 – FB, BC
September:
ACOLYTES OF MOROS "The Wellspring", Nine Records, 24/09/2018 – FB, BC
DEAD HAND "Reborn Of Dead Light", Divine Mother Recordings, 07/09/2018 – FB, BC
DRUGLORD "New Day Dying", Sludgelord Records, 14/09/2018 – FB, BC
ENNUI "End Of The Circle", Non Serviam Records, 05/09/2018 – FB, BC
HANGMAN'S CHAIR "Banlieue Triste", Spinefarm Records, 28/09/2018 – FB, BC
KOMATSU "A New Horizon", Argonauta Records, 07/09/2018 – FB, Home
PILLARS "Onward To Nothingness", Seeing Red Records, 28/09/2018 – FB, BC
SOLEMN CEREMONY s/t, Nine Records, 17/09/2018 – FB, BC
UN "Sentiment", Translation Loss Records, 28/09/2018 – FB, BC
VESSEL OF LIGHT "Woodshed", Argonauta Records, 21/09/2018 – FB
October:
ALASTOR "Slave To The Grave", RidingEasy Records, 31/10/2018 – FB, BC
ALKYMIST s/t, Indisciplinarian, 05/10/2018 – FB, BC
BLACK LOTUS "Sons of Saturn", Inverse Records, 19/10/2018 – FB, BC
BURN RITUAL "Blood of the Raven", Cursed Monk Records, 01/10/2018 – FB, BC
CULLED "Thin the Herd, Fail to Learn", Hibernation Release, 26/10/2018 – FB, BC
CARCHARODON "Bukkraken", Argonauta Records, 26/10/2018 – FB, BC
DEADBIRD "III: The Forest Within The Tree", 20 Buck Spin, 12/10/2018 – FB, YouTube
DIRGE "Ah Puch", self-release, 19/10/2018 – FB, BC
DOMKRAFT "Flood", Blues Funeral Recordings, 19/10/2018 – FB, BC
SHALLOW GRAVE "Threshold Between Worlds", Sludgelord Records / Black Voodoo Records / Cursed Monk Records / minoRobscuR, 31/10/2018 – FB, BC
SILVER GRIME "Healed by the Dark", Inverse Records, 26/10/2018 – FB, BC
SORROWFUL LAND "I Remember", Solitude Productions, 26/10/2018 – FB, BC
UNDER "Stop Being Naive", APF Records, 30/10/2018 – FB, BC
WINDHAND "Eternal Return", Relapse Records, 05/10/2018 – FB, BC
November:
DISRULE "Sleep in Your Honour", Seeing Red Records, 16/11/2018 – FB, BC
HOLY GROVE "Holy Grove II", Ripple Music, 09/11/2018 – FB, BC
HOREHOUND "Holocene", Doom Stew Records, 30/11/2018 – FB, BC
HUATA "Lux Initiatrix Terrae", Seeing Red Records / Sludgelord Records / MusicFearSatan, 23/11/2018 – FB, BC
MIRROR OF DECEPTION "The Estuary", self-release, 09/11/2018 – Home, FB, BC
NIGHT GAUNT "The Room", Terror From Hell Records, 02/11/2018 – FB, BC
OLD MAN LIZARD "True Misery", Wasted State Records, 30/11/2018 – FB, BC
ONSET "Unstructured Dissemination" EP, Weird Truth Productions, 28/11/2018 – FB, BC
ØLTEN "Ambiance", Hummus Records, 02/11/2018 – FB, BC
PAINTHING "Where Are You Now?", Solitude Productions, 09/11/2018 – FB, BC
URSA "Abyss Between the Stars", Blood Music, 02/11/2018 – FB, BC
WHEN THE DEADBOLT BREAKS "Angels Are Weeping ... God Has Abandoned", Sliptrick Records, 02/11/2018 – FB, BC
December:
COMATOSE VIGIL A.K. "Evangelium Nihil", Non Serviam Records, 14/12/2018 – FB, BC
DAWN OF WINTER "Pray For Doom", I Hate Records, 07/12/2018 – FB, YouTube
DAYGLO MOURNING / BLUDY GYRES "Rope Enough For Two", Black Doomba Records, 07/12/2018 – FB, BC
DEATHKINGS "Ex Nihilo" EP, self-release, 07/12/2018 – FB, BC
DOOMCULT "Life Must End", Loneravn Records, 03/12/2018 – FB, BC
EVANGELIST "Deus Vult", Nine Records, 20/12/2018 – FB, BC
GOBLINSMOKER "Toad King", Sludgelord Records, 14/12/2018 – FB, BC
JUNIPER GRAVE "Of Hellions & Harridans", Wasted State Records, 07/12/2018 – FB, BC
MANSION "First Death of the Lutheran", I Hate Records, 07/12/2018 – FB, BC
SQUALUS / SHADOW LIMB "Mass and Power" split, Translation Loss Records, 14/12/2018 – FB, BC
THUNDER HORSE s/t, BC/TX Records, 14/12/2018 – FB, BC
TUSKAR "The Tide, Beneath, The Wall" EP, Riff Rock Records, 07/12/2018 – FB, BC
VANHA "Melancholia", Black Lion Records, 30/12/2018 – FB, BC

Past Releases 2017

January:
AATHMA "Avesta", Underground Legends Records – Listen
BANTHA RIDER s/t, self-release, 07/01/2017 – Listen
DEMONIC DEATH JUDGE "Seaweed", Suicide Records, 13/01/2017 – Listen
DOOM'S DAY "The Whore", PRC Music, 13/01/2017
DSW "Tales From The Cosmonaut", Acid Cosmonaut Records, 15/01/2017
ENDLESS FLOODS "II", Dry Cough Records, 06/01/2016
EPHEDRA "Can'-Ka No Rey", Argonauta Records, 30/01/2017
FREEDOM HAWK "Sunlight" (re-release), Ripple Music, 27/01/2017
FROZEN PLANET....1969 "Electric Smokehouse", Pepper Shaker Records / Headspin Records, 11/01/2017
HEREM "III", Inverse Records, 13/01/2017
JOHN GARCIA "The Coyote Who Spoke In Tongues", Napalm Records, 27/01/2017
LIZZARD WIZZARD "Total War Power Bastard", self-release, 01/01/2017
MAGNET "Feel Your Fire", Soulseller Records, 27/01/2017
MANGOG "Awakens", Argonauta Records, 09/01/2017
MIRES "Loom", self-release, 13/01/2017 – Listen
PSYCHEDELIC WITCHCRAFT "Magick Rites And Spells", Soulseller Records, 27/01/2017
WRATH OF ECHOES "A Fading Bloodline", PRC Music, 13/01/2017
February:
1968 "Fortuna Havana", Black Bow Records, 10/02/2017
ASOFY "Nessun Luogo", Avantgarde Music, 22/02/2017
BATHSHEBA "Servus", Svart Records, 24/02/2017
BATTALIONS "Nothing To Lose", Black Bow Records, 27/02/2017
BURIED FEATHER "Mind Of The Swarm", Kozmik Artifactz, 10/02/2017
CONCRETE JELLY "Getting Noticed", Sliptrick Records, 07/02/2017
CRANIAL "Dark Towers / Bright Lights", Moment Of Collapse Records, 10/02/2017
DDENT "آكتئاب", self-release, 13/02/2017
ELECTRIC AGE "Sleep Of The Silent King", Argonauta Records, 27/02/2017
ESCAPE IS NOT FREEDOM "Goldsmith", self-release, 24/02/2017
GLOSON "Grimen", Art Of Propaganda, 13/02/2017
GRIM RAVINE "The Light Is From Below", Black Bow Records, 17/02/2017
HORISONT "About Time", Century Media Records, 03/02/2017
KINGNOMAD "Mapping The Inner Void", Ripple Music, 24/02/2017
KING WOMAN "Created In The Image Of Suffering", Relapse Records, 24/02/2017
MARCHE FUNÈBRE "Into The Arms Of Darkness", MFL Records, 20/02/2017
NULA "Kenoma" EP, Black Bow Records, 24/02/2017
RHINO "The Law Of Purity", Argonauta Records, 13/02/2017
R.I.P. "In The Wind", Riding Easy Records, 03/02/2017
RÜCKWATER "Bonehead", Inverse Records, 24/02/2017
SANTO ROSTRO "The Healer", Discos Macarras, 03/02/2017 – Listen
STINKING LIZAVETA "Journey To The Underworld", Translation Loss Records, 17/02/2017
STRANGE BROUE "Seance" EP, Sunmask Records, 24/02/2017
TETHRA "Like Crows For The Earth", Sliptrick Records, 11/02/2017
THE DARKHORSE "The Carcass Of The Sun Will Sleep", Attic Records, 24/02/2017
THERA ROYA "Stone And Skin", self-release, 17/02/2017
UNEARTHLY TRANCE "Stalking The Ghost", Relapse Records, 24/02/2017
VOIDCRUISER "Wayfarer", Argonauta Records, 27/02/2017
March:
ALUNAH "Solennial", Svart Records, 17/03/2017
ALASTOR "Black Magic", Twin Earth Records, 24/03/2017
CALLIOPHIS "Cor Serpentis", Solitude Productions, 27/03/2017
CLOUD CATCHER "Trails Of Kozmik Dust", Totem Cat Records, 13/03/2017
DESERT KINGDOM s/t, Black Bow Records, 04/03/2017
DOCTOR CYCLOPS "Local Dogs", Heavy Psych Sounds Records, 31/03/2017
DREAD SOVEREIGN "For Doom The Bell Tolls", Ván Records, 03/03/2017
DRUDE s/t, self-release, 03/03/2017
FANGE "Pourrissoir", Throatruiner Records, 17/03/2017
FORMING THE VOID "Relic", Argonauta Records, 17/03/2017
HOLLOW LEG "Murder" EP, Argonauta Records, 03/03/2017
ILLIMITABLE DOLOR s/t, Transcending Obscurity Records, 22/03/2017
KREYSKULL "The Bird Of Bad Weather", Sliptrick Records, 30/03/2017
MOTHERSLOTH "Moon Omen", Argonauta Records, 03/03/2017
MOUNTAIN GOD "Bread Solstice", Artificial Head Records, 24/03/2017
NUDIST "Bury My Innocence", Argonauta Records, 20/03/2017
OCEANWAKE "Earthen", VicSolum Records, 10/03/2017
OHHMS "The Fool", Holy Roar Records, 31/03/2017
OTUS "7.83Hz", Argonauta Records, 20/03/2017
PALLBEARER "Heartless", Profound Lore Records, 24/03/2017
SHOW OF BEDLAM "Transfiguration", PRC Music, 31/03/2017
SPACETRUCKER "Launch Sequence", self-release, 31/03/2017
TELEKINETIC YETI "Abominable", Sump Pump Records, 17/03/2017
TELEPATHY "Tempest", Golden Antenna Records, 31/03/2017
THE HAZYTONES s/t, Sunmask Records, 24/03/2017
WITCHSTONE "Mortal Fear Of Infinity", self-release / Sunmask Records (distribution), 03/03/2017
April:
ALTAR OF BETELGEUZE "Among The Ruins", Transcending Obscurity Records, 15/04/2017
ARCTIC SLEEP "Arbors" (re-release), The Church Within Records, 21/04/2017
ARCTIC SLEEP "Passage Of Gaia" (re-release), The Church Within Records, 21/04/2017
CRACKHOUSE s/t EP, Argonauta Records, 07/04/2017
CURSE THE SON "Isolator", Ripple Music, 07/04/2017
CURSUS s/t, Artificial Head Records, 28/04/2017
DARSOMBRA "Polyvision", Translation Loss Records, 14/04/2017
DAUTHA "Den Förste" MCD/EP, Ván Records, 21/04/2017
DEMON HEAD "Thunder On The Fields", The Sign Records, 07/04/2017
DEVIL "To The Gallows", Soulseller Records, 21/04/2017
ELEPHANT BELL "Gates Of Dawn", Argonauta Records, 28/04/2017
EVOKE THY LORDS "Lifestories", Solitude Productions, 24/04/2017
FUNERALIUM "Of Throes And Blight", Weird Truth Productions, 12/04/2017
GREEN METEOR "Consumed By A Dying Sun", Argonauta Records, 21/04/2017
IMINDAIN "The Enemy Of Fetters And Dwellers In The Woods", Weird Truth Productions, 12/04/2017
KITCHEN WITCH s/t, Kozmik Artifactz, 14/04/2017
LIFE OF AGONY "A Place Where There's No More Pain", Napalm Records, 28/04/2017
MOONBOW "War Bear", Ripple Music, 21/04/2017
OBELYSKKH "The Providence", Exile On Mainstream Records, 21/04/2017
THE OBSESSED "Sacred", Relapse Records, 07/04/2017
THE RIVEN "Blackbird", self-release, 14/04/2017
WITCHAPTER "Spellcaster" EP, Black Bow Records, 07/04/2017
May:
BEASTMAKER "Inside The Skull", Rise Above Records, 19/05/2017
BELOW "Upon A Pale Horse", Metal Blade Records, 19/05/2017
BELOW THE SUN "Alien World", Temple Of The Torturous, 26/05/2017
BLACKBIRD HILL "Midday Moonlight", self-release, 05/05/2017
DESCARADO "Odd", Oak Island Records / Kozmik Artifactz
DRUG HONKEY "Cloak Of Skies", Transcending Obscurity Records, 05/05/2017
FROM OCEANS TO AUTUMN "Ether / Return To Earth", Argonauta Records, 05/05/2017
HARVESTMAN "Music For Megaliths", Neurot Recordings, 19/05/2017
HEAVY TEMPLE "Chassit", Ván Records, 26/05/2017
HEAVY TRAFFIC "Plastic Surgery", Twin Earth Records, 26/05/2017
HUMULUS "Reverently Heading Into Nowhere", Oak Island Records / Kozmik Artifactz
MAHAKALA "The Second Fall", Supreme Music Creations, 26/05/2017
MERCHANT "Beneath", Black Bow Records, 12/05/2017
MONOBROW "The Nacarat", Trill Or Be Trilled Records, 30/05/2017
MORASS OF MOLASSES "These Paths We Tread", HeavySike Records, 19/05/2017
NORSKA "Too Many Winters", Brutal Panda Records, 26/05/2017
PYRESHIP "The Liars Bend Low", Black Bow Records, 26/05/2017
RED BEARD WALL s/t, Argonauta Records, 12/05/2017
RED MOON ARCHITECT "Return Of The Black Butterflies", Inverse Records, 19/05/2017
SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT "One With The Universe", Electric Magic Records, 12/05/2017
STEAK "No God To Save", Ripple Music, 19/05/2017
SUMMONER "Beyond The Realm Of Light", Magnetic Eye Records, 12/05/2017
WARCRAB "Scars Of Aeons", Transcending Obscurity Records, 01/05/2017
June:
AKATHARTA "Spiritus Immundus", Pulverised Records, 23/06/2017
BURY THE MACHINES "Wicked Covenant" EP, Midnite Collective, 09/06/2017
CIRCLE "Terminal", Southern Lord Records, 23/06/2017
DEATH THE LEVELLER s/t EP, self-release, 12/06/2017
DEMONAUTA "Tierra Del Fuego", Kozmik Artifactz / Bilocation Records, 09/06/2017
ENTER THE SOIL "That Ember Lit Morning", self-release, 09/06/2017 – Listen!
FIRE DOWN BELOW "Viper, Vixen, Goddes, Saint", Ripple Music, 23/06/2017
HOLLOW LEG "Crown, Murder Edition", Argonauta Records, 30/06/2017
LÂMINA "Lilith", Raging Planet, 02/06/2017
MARS RED SKY "Myramyd" 12-inch-EP, self-release, 17/06/2017
SAPATA "Satanibator", Inverse Records, 02/06/2017
SPACE WITCH "Arcanum", HeavySike Records, 09/06/2017
VOKONIS "The Sunken Djinn", Ripple Music, 09/06/2017
WASTES "Into The Void Of Human Vacuity", Code666 Records, 15/06/2017
WEIRD TALES s/t, self-release, 01/06/2017
WITCHTHROAT SERPENT 7-inch-EP, Svart Records, 16/06/2016
July:
A STICK AND A STONE "The Long Lost Art Of Getting Lost", Sentient Ruin / Breathe Plastic / Spirit House, 21/07/2017
BORIS "Dear", Sargent House, 14/07/2017
BRUME "Rooster", DHU Records / Doom Stew Records, 15/07/2017
CAMBRIAN "Mobular", Taxi Driver Records – Listen!
CONTRA "Deny Everything", Robustfellow Productions / Shifty Records, 01/07/2017
DESTROYER OF LIGHT "Chamber Of Horrors", Heavy Friends Records, 14/07/2017
FLESHPRESS "Hulluuden Muuri", Kult Of Nihilow, 14/07/2017
GRAND DELUSION "Supreme Machine", Minotauro Records, 14/07/2017
GOD ROOT "Salt And Rot", Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, 11/07/2017
HAIR OF THE DOG "This World Turns", Kozmik Artifactz / Bilocation Records, 14/07/2017
KABBALAH "Spectral Ascent", Twin Earth Records, 07/07/2017
KING ZOG s/t, 28/07/2017
KROH "Altars", Minotauro Records, 14/07/2017
NIBIRU "Caosgon" (remastered), Argonauta Records, 07/07/2017
POSEIDON "Prologue", Ripple Music, 21/07/2017
SEER "Vol. III & IV: Cult Of The Void", Art Of Propaganda, 07/07/2017
SHROUD EATER "Strike The Sun", STB Records, 07/07/2017
THE MIDNIGHT GHOST TRAIN "Cypress Ave", Napalm Records, 28/07/2017
August:
CANYON OF THE SKULL "The Desert Winter", self-release, 19/08/2017
CARONTE "Yoni", Ván Records, 25/08/2017
DEMON EYE "Prophecies And Lies", Soulseller Records, 11/08/2017
DEVIL ELECTRIC s/t, Kozmik Artifactz, 11/08/2017
FALSE GODS "Reports From Oblivion" EP, self-release, 18/08/2017
HELL s/t, Sentient Ruin Laboratories, 11/08/2017
HOWLING GIANT "Black Hole Space Wizard (Part 2)", Magnetic Eye Records, 25/08/2017
THE JUDGE "Tell It To The Judge", Ripple Music, 04/08/2017
LOW FLYING HAWKS "Genkaku", Magnetic Eye Records, 25/08/2017
OLDE "Temple", Magnetic Eye Records, 11/08/2017
TUNGA MOLN "III", Hevisike Records, 11/08/2017
September:
71TONMANN "Earthwreck", Black Bow Records, 22/09/2017
BIG | BRAVE "Ardor", Southern Lord Records, 15/09/2017
CARDINALS FOLLY "Deranged Pagan Sons", Nine Records (CD) / Topillo Records (LP), 04/09/2017
CHURCH OF VOID s/t, Argonauta Records, 15/09/2017
CITIES OF MARS "Temporal Rifts", Argonauta Records, 29/09/2017
CRAWL "This Sad Cadav'r", Black Bow Records, 01/09/2017
DEADSMOKE "Mountain Legacy", Heavy Psych Sound Records, 29/09/2017
FACES OF THE BOG "Ego Death", DHU Records, 22/09/2017
HANDS OF ORLAC / THE WANDERING MIDGETSplit, Cruz Del Sur Music, 08/09/2017
MAHARAJA "Kali Yuga", self-release, 22/09/2017
MENIN "Lord Of Pain" EP, Doom Stew Records, 15/09/2017
MESMUR "S", Solitude Productions, 15/09/2017
MINDKULT "Lucifer's Dream", Transcending Obscurity Records, 20/09/2017
MONARCH "Never Forever", Profound Lore Records, 22/09/2017
MONOLORD "Rust", RidingEasy Records, 29/09/2017
PARADISE LOST "Medusa", Nuclear Blast Records, 01/09/2017
PROFETUS "Coronation of the Black Sun" (remastered), Weird Truth Productions, 27/09/2017
PROCESS OF GUILT "Black Earth", Bleak Recordings / Division Records, 22/09/2017
RED MOUNTAINS "Slow Wander", All Good Clean Records, 01/09/2017
SATOR "Ordeal", Argonauta Records, 01/09/2017
THREE EYES LEFT "The Cult Of Astaroth", Argonauta Records, 15/09/2017
UFOMAMMUT "8", Neurot Recordings, 22/09/2017
USNEA "Portals Into Futility", Relapse Records, 08/09/2017
WITH THE DEAD "Love With The Dead", Rise Above Records, 22/09/2017
October:
APOTELESMA "Timewrought Kings", Solitude Productions, 27/10/2017
CRACKHOUSE "Ne No One. Be Nothing", Argonauta Records, 06/10/2017
ETERNAL ELYSIUM "Searching Low & High" (re-release), Robustfellow Productions
I KLATUS "Nagual Sun", self-release, 13/10/2017
IRON MONKEY "9-13", Relapse Records, 20/10/2017
JARED JAMES NICHOLS "Black Magic", Listenable Records / Edel, 27/10/2017
KALIBOS "Hexa", Darkest Age Productions, 01/10/2017
KROH "Pyres", Devizes Records, 13/10/2017
OBESE "Anamnesis", Argonauta Records, 20/10/2017
ODRADEK ROOM "A Man of Silt", Hypnotic Dirge Records / Solitude Productions, 12/10/2017
R.I.P. "Street Reaper", RidingEasy Records, 13/10/2017
PRIMITIVE MAN "Caustic", Relapse Records, 06/10/2017
PROCESSION "Doom Decimation", High Roller Records, 31/10/2017
SNOWY DUNES "Atlantis", Hevisike Records, 27/10/2017
STONEBIRDS "Time", self-release, 20/10/2017
YEAR OF THE COBRA "Burn Your Dead" EP, Magnetic Eye Records, 27/10/2017
November:
BLACK CAPRICORN "Omega", Stone Stallion Rex, 02/11/2017
BONG CAULDRON "Binge", APF Records, 30/11/2017
CATAPULT THE DEAD "A Universal Emptiness", Doom Stew Records, 15/11/2017
DAXMA "The Head Which Becomes the Skull", Magnetic Eye Records, 17/11/2017
DEADNECK "Levitation", Kozmik Artifactz, 10/11/2017
ELECTRIC WIZARD "Wizard Bloody Wizard", Witchfinder / Spinefarm Records, 10/11/2017
FISTER & CHRCH split 12-inch, Crown and Throne Ltd, 17/11/2017
FREEDOM HAWK s/t (re-release), Ripple Music, 17/11/2017
HIGH REEPER s/t, self-release, 03/11/2017
I AM FIRE "From Ashes", Elevation Denmark, 10/11/2017
JUPITERIAN "Terraforming", Transcending Obscurity Records, 15/11/2017
LORELEI "Shadows Of October", Solitude Productions, 24/11/2017 – FB, BC
LUNA "Swallow Me Leaden Sky", Solitude Productions, 10/11/2017 – Home, BC
MAGMA RISE 10-inch vinyl, Daredevil Records, 03/11/2017
MONOLITH CULT "Gospel Of Despair", Transcending Records, 17/11/2017 – FB
PROFESSOR EMERITUS "Take Me To The Gallows", No Remorse Records, 13/11/2017
PSYCHEDELIC WITCHCRAFT "Sound Of The Wind", Listenable Records / Edel, 03/11/2017
PURPLE HILL WITCH "Celestial Cemetery", The Church Within Records, 10/11/2017
REDEMPTUS "Every Red Heart Fades To Black", Lost Pilgrims Records, 17/11/2017
SPECTRAL HAZE "Turning Electric", Totem Cat Records, 24/11/2017 – FB, BC
THE MOTH "Hysteria", This Charming Man Records, 10/11/2017
THE OBSESSED s/t (re-release), Relapse Records, 17/11/2017 – FB, BC
UR "Grey Wanderer", Droneburg Records, 24/11/2017
V "Pathogenisis", Suicide Records, 08/11/2017 – FB, BC
VESSEL OF LIGHT s/t, Argonauta Records, 03/11/2017
WOLF COUNSEL "Age Of Madness / Reign Of Chaos", Czar Of Bullets, 17/11/2017
YLVA "META", Pelagic Records /Translation Loss Records, 17/11/2017
December:
ÆSTHETICA "Sonorous Æon", Esetiske Studier / Fysisk Format, 08/12/2017 – FB, BC
HAWKMOTH "Godless Summit", Black Bow Records, 14/12/2017 – FB, BC
HOODED PRIEST "The Hour Be None", I Hate Records, 01/12/2017 – Review!
INTERSTELAR "Resin", Kozmik Artifactz, 08/12/2017 – FB, BC
IRON WALRUS "A Beast Within", Redfield Records, 15/12/2017 – FB, Home
KING GOAT "Conduit" (re-release), Aural Music, 08/12/2017 – FB, BC
LES LEKIN "Died With Fear", Tonzonen Records, 01/12/2017 – FB, BC
PALE HORSEMAN "The Fourth Seal", Black Bow Records, 08/12/2017 – Review!
SNOWCHILD "Age Of Change", Kozmik Artifactz, 22/12/2017 – FB, BC
SORROWFUL LAND "Where The Sullen Waters Flow" EP, Solitude Productions, 15/12/2018 – FB, BC
THE HOWLING VOID "The Darkness at the Edge of Dawn", Avantgarde Music, 18/12/2017 – FB, BC

TOP POSTS

DOOM OBSERVER

REVIEWSoundcheck

INTERVIEWS

LIVE Reports

DATES | Tours & Festivals