Everto Signum are a very young Portuguese three-piece; young because they were formed in 2012, and young, because the members are in between 22 and 25 years of age. In 2012, they independently released a first album (back then Everto Signum were a quartet, with another line-up), which was called Enneachotomy, and now the band returns with a four-track EP, which includes a Lux Ferre-cover.
Germany’s Downfall Of Gaia were originally formed as D-Beat / Crust / Grind / Punk act, but throughout the years, they evolved into a much more oppressive and obscure Metal-focused entity. I was enormously pleased with their 2012-album Suffocating In The Swarm Of Cranes (also via Metal Blade Records); the review for that record was updated on December 23rd 2012, by the way.
My first acquaintance with Desiderii Marginis was in 2007, when this project released its debut via mighty (and sadly, very sadly, defunct) Cold Meat Industry. As from then on I tried to follow this solo-outfit of Swedish artist Johan Levin as much as possible. Several other albums followed, mostly released via Cold Meat Industry, and two years ago Desiderii Marginis signed to Canada’s Cyclic Law, actually one of the greatest Industrial-labels around.
Under the mystic working title Beyond Bloodied Banners Far And Haunted Winters Graven, Frostwork and Cruelty’s Heart release their first split via upcoming and intensively growing label Ukem Records. Oh yes, great cover artwork too…
Praise the Horned One! Pandemonium are back… At least, that was my first erotic thought when I received this album. Yet then again, Devilri… Wasn’t that something old…? So, I checked it out, and there are two observations: 1 this indeed deals with very old stuff (my mind, after decades of [self-censorship] and 2 WTF, but I seem to have missed this band’s last album?!
Germany’s Ichor did surprise me a lot with their Benthic Horizon-album (in 2010), which made me search for their debut The Siege (which wasn’t as strong and convincing as its higher-mentioned successor). Since then, however, the audience couldn’t enjoy any new material anymore (though they did play live a lot, including appearances on some notorious festivals).
Young Berlin-based label Bleeding Heart Nihilist Productions release this interesting split, intelligently entitled Split The Indifference (Geteilte Gleichgültigkeit). The first two tracks are done by Wigrid (aaaaahrgh, do they still exist?), the four others by joyfully named Sunshine And Lollipops. And it’s a rather confusing album, I think, for both projects do perform pretty distinctive (Black) Metal. But that contrast might be a statement, a convinced f*ck-off in the face of the ignorant / arrogant establishment.
Earth Ground is my first meeting with Polish act Thaw, but there seems to be a first album, called Decay, released in 2010, and a second one, simply called Thaw, in 2013. Apparently the band was able to perform live on stage with notorious acts like Altar Of Plagues, Behemoth or Jarboe, so they are about to become quite a noticeable name within the Extreme Metal scene.
At the very end of 2011, string master Will Peplinski started the outfit Malignant Abomination with a friend, but that didn’t last that long at all. Will continued, but since Malignant Abomination was a solo-outfit now, he changed the moniker into Hypoxic. Then he joined forces with Devin Alford (vocals and drums), and under the Swine Overlord moniker, things started getting better.
Scolopendra Cingulata (named after a centipede) were formed in 2013 by Kazakhstan-born Andrey ‘SS’ Kozlov, but in mean time he moved over to Russia (to the city of Ufa, not that far from the Kazakh border). His solo-outfit grew out to a band in mean time, with members from Ukraine and Russia involved. In January this year Grotesque Sounds Productions and Nitroatmosphericum Records released the project’s first demo-tape, and under the same collective constellation the second demo gets released, i.e.
