Kataklysm Release First Track from New Album

Canadian death metal veterans Kataklysm released the lyric video for the song 'Guillotine' off of their upcoming album today. The new album, titled "Meditations", will be out on June 1st. Kataklysm are always a good bet to release a heavy, well done album and I doubt their thirteenth effort will be any different.

Necrophobic - 'Pesta' Video

Necrophobic have very recently released the official video for the track titled 'Pesta', from this year's Mark of The Necrogram album. This band represents some of the best aspects of a blackened approach to death metal, and this video is worth watching. 

Belphegor - The Devil's Son Video

There's something about the imagery that Belphegor conjures that most bands struggle to match...

Körperlose Stimme: Making of 'Souls Of The Forest' video

Körperlose Stimme have just wrapped up a handful of tour dates supporting their debut full-length album, 'Souls Of The Forest', with upcoming dates in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton in the next few weeks.
Personally, I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this album as I've been following this blackened death metal act basically since their inception as a band. If you get a chance, I highly recommend going out to see Körperlose Stimme live. You won't be disappointed.

Körperlose Stimme Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/KorperloseStimmeMetal/

Evocation - 'Condemned To The Grave' Video

As a frequent listener of the Swedish variety of death metal, I have a hard time believing I haven't listened to more of Evocation's material. They're set to release a new album titled "The Shadow Archetype" on March 10th. After hearing the already released tracks, 'Condemned To The Grave' stands as my favourite so far.

Give 'Condemned To The Grave' a watch:

Mongol - 'River Child' (New Single)

A few days ago, Canadian folk-metal band Mongol brightened up the winter with their latest single titled 'River Child'. It's taken from their upcoming EP, "Warrior Spirit", which will see an April release. I always look forward to new material from this band as they always offer an energetic and intriguing brand of folk-metal. 

Körperlose Stimme At Metalocalypstick Fest: Video

One of my favourite lesser-known bands, Körperlose Stimme, have put together a neat video clip showcasing their experience at Metalocalypstick Fest this past August. Körperlose Stimme are a blackened death metal band from Edmonton, AB, Canada and I feel fortunate to be able to catch their sets on a fairly regular basis.

While I was lucky enough to catch a few great sets at this festival, I hope that in the future some changes are made to increase attendance, have better organization and provide a covered merch area for those bands who make the long trek out to play. With such a gorgeous backdrop, as evidenced in the video Körperlose Stimme has shared, it's a bit of shame that the inaugural edition of this festival lacked in so many areas. My personal thoughts aside, check out the video:

Wolfchant Set to Release 'Bloodwinter'

One of Germany's best folk-metal bands, Wolfchant, is set to release their newest effort titled 'Bloodwinter' on January 13th. 

I was a little disappointed in their last album, 'Embraced By Fire', as it seemed to depart from the sound of the first several Wolfchant releases, perhaps being a bit too polished. However, if you're looking for epic, melodic folk metal I highly recommend 'Bloody Tales From Disgraced Lands', 'A Pagan Storm', 'Determined Damnation' or 'Call Of The Black Winds'. (I'm still trying to get my hands on a hard copy of 'A Pagan Storm'). I'm awaiting the release of 'Bloodwinter' with some excitement and the tiniest hint of apprehension, hopeful that it will live up the rest of Wolfchant's material. 

Wolfchant's official merchandise shop is offering a few different pre-order options, and these appear to be the best bet for getting your hands on a copy of 'Bloodwinter'. 

As a precursor to the album, Wolfchant has released a video for the title track. While the video isn't too interesting, the song itself is intriguing. 

On The Radar: Eye Of Horus

I first caught Eye of Horus opening for 3 Inches of Blood and Goatwhore back in 2013, and was immediately impressed, One of my favourite local bands, they bring a tightly constructed style of melodic death metal. In the vein of Bloodbath and At The Gates, this is a band that should continue to do great things. They typically pack any show that they headline and become favourites at any festival they play.

'Infernal Calling', their debut album, was released almost exactly one year ago. Crushingly heavy, I would highly recommend it for any death metal fan. Eye of Horus have just released a video for one of the album tracks, "Hexagammatron".

Check out the official video here.

Grimmer - Mörkets Hem Video

The band writes on their Facebook page:

Brothers and sisters!Before we go on tour, out of the blue comes our new music video, the second video from "Frost Mot Eld"! This time it is a visual adaptation of the song "Mörkrets Hem" (Home of Darkness), which tells of an ancient creature, awakened in its tomb by a trespasser. This creature is a draugr, ancient beings of evil, greedily guarding their threasures and killing anyone who comes close. We hope you will never fall victim to one of them...

Grimner has created an album that is easily a contender for one of my favourites of 2016, and 'Mörkets Hem' is the latest song to be accompanied by a video.  The video certainly does the description justice, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of the song.

On The Radar: Tartarus

While I haven't found much motivation to write lately, I've still managed to find a few new bands to check out. Tartarus managed to catch my attention. A black/death metal outfit from Pittsburg, they have recently released an album. A little more black metal influenced than what I typically listen to, I was intrigued by the video for the song 'Thanatos':

On The Radar: Körperlose Stimme

If you enjoy blackened death metal and you haven't heard of Körperlose Stimme, you're missing out. This newly released video provides some insight into the lyrics, themes and music of this wicked up-and-coming Canadian band. 'The Dark Man' EP is excellent; I'd recommend getting your hands on it if at all possible.

Mortillery - 'Torture' Official Video

Edmonton's own thrashers, Mortillery, have just released the video for 'Torture'. A track from their upcoming album titled "Shapeshifter", set for release on May 27th, it serves as a preview for what promises to be more thrashy goodness from this band. With a few international tours under their belts supporting some pretty big names, this is a band worth giving a listen if you enjoy in-your-face thrash.

Fejd - Härjaren Video

Having only discovered Fejd recently, I'm quite excited about their upcoming album titled "Trolldom" which will be released toward the end of May. Leaning a bit more towards the folk side, with the perfect amount of metal mixed in, it promises to be good for those of us who enjoy folk metal. 

A video for one of the tracks, Härjaren, was recently unleashed upon the world:

Körperlose Stimme - The Dark Man Video

Körperlose Stimme have quickly become a band that people are taking notice of in the local scene. Their sound can be described as blackened death metal with paranormal themes.

Just over a week ago, Körperlose Stimme released a music video for the song 'The Dark Man'. I quite like this video; it's just the right amount of creepy and very well put together.

Månegarm: 'Odin Owns Ye All' Video

Chainmail, battle axes, drinking horns, vikings, and of course Odin…

I actually quite like this video. It's fairly simple yet it creates the perfect atmosphere for the song. While it still seems a little strange to hear this band singing in english, it works. 'Odin Owns Ye All' is a good choice as a preview to the album as it's quite accessible and anthemic, although not quite as much so as a few of the tracks from their last release, "Legions Of The North".

I always look forward to new material from Månegarm and this video serves to increase my anticipation  of the release of the new self titled album later this year.

Belphegor - 'Black Winged Torment' Video

One of my favourite blackened death metal bands, Belphegor, released a new video yesterday. Taken from the 'Conjuring The Dead' album, released last year, 'Black Winged Torment' is the latest in a series of strange, fucked up videos from this band. Featuring blood, feathers and all sorts of other strange things, the video has a bit of an esoteric feel.

VARG - 'Rotkäppchen' Official Video

VARG released the official video for the song 'Rotkäppchen' a few days ago. I love this song and the EP release with different versions and some bonus material is a neat idea. As for the video, it's definitely interesting and a little unexpected. Take a look if you haven't already.


The video comes as a prequel to the Rotkäppchen EP to be released on October 9th. After the EP comes the new album, Das Ende Aller Lügen. This album will be released in January of 2016. There are some nice pre-order bundles available, although to my disappointment, the best one is already sold out on the North American website.

Children of Bodom - 'Morrigan' Video

Children of Bodom's latest offering, "I Worship Chaos" is due out on October 2nd, a mere few days away. I definitely haven't minded what I've heard so far, and I will be getting myself a copy of the album.

The video for 'Morrigan' was posted a few days ago and seems to have met some pretty mixed reviews. Honestly, I almost wish I hadn't watched this video as it taints what I liked about the song itself. I am definitely not a fan of the video; it seems really cliche without offering anything interesting. I get the concept, but I don't like the execution. And using an MMA fighter in the video? I just hope it doesn't attract more douchebag fans to this particular band as there already seem to be enough of those. (Can you tell I'm not a big fan of the type of person that is stereotypically attracted to MMA?)

If you're looking for a little background on the video, take a look at this article:
http://www.songfacts.com/blog/writing/behind_the_video_morrigan_by_children_of_bodom/