The scene from New Zealand isn’t that known in our countries, and that’s a pity for there seems to be quite a vivid and interesting scene out there. 8 Foot Saliva, Ulcerate, Dawn Of Azazel and maybe a (child’s) hand full of others; everybody knows these, but there are plenty of superb bands and projects dwelling at the other side of Mater Terra (down under and then to the right…).
When I saw the title of this album, I wondered what was going on, what was coming next. I do ‘follow’ French act Monolithe as from their first album, which was called I (2003), and their next releases were called, indeed, II, III (review posted on February 6th 2013) and IV (see update on October 26th 2013).
Albez Duz are a German duo the recently joined Iron Bonehead’s roster. In 2009 these guys self-released an untitled debut album, mixing elements from Doom and Occult Rock into a mostly unique, extravagant creation.
Zifir are a Turkish band with two full lengths and a split in their discography. In 2007 Zifir released You Must Come With Us (via Poem), and in 2011 Protest Against Humanity (through Dunkelkunst, a sub-division of Kunsthauch). And in 2012 there was the split with Belgium’s top-act Cult Of Erinyes, a side-project of Psalm.
Weisshorn is the solo-outfit of Swiss guy K.M., named after the so-called mountain (I think). Apparently this project was originally called Winkelried, but somewhere in 2012 the current moniker was chosen. The sole recording / release until now is this one, Au-Delà Du Soleil Invaincu, a four-tracker (sixteen minutes of length), released under the protective and highly interesting (Aryan-Helvetic) wings of Asgard Hass.
Totenheer are a band from Lucerne, Switzerland, formed as a quartet in early 2010. The band’s moniker means something like ‘army of the dead’ in the Alemannic language (Swiss-Germanic). In autumn 2011, the band entered the Helvede Studio with Stefan Walker in order to record their debut full length, Wüetisheer (‘wild army’ or ‘wild hunt’), but it took another year to have the material mixed and mastered. This was done by nobody else but Gurd / Pulver-frontman V.O.
Skygge were formed a couple of years ago in the mighty city of Bergen, Norway, by multi-instrumentalist and composer Kuldegys (of Viðr-fame) and vocalist / lyricist Dáublódir (think: Doedsstraff or Gandreid). They released a first demo in 2012, called Heksekunst, which drew attention of Naturmacht Productions.
Sanctophoby are a very productive solo-outfit of Andrius ‘Blasphemathor’ Ataraskevicius from Lithuania, whom you might know from his former collaboration with Binan Ath or Moonrise. In the past Andrius released several demonstrational recordings, and with Sanctophoby he contributed on several splits with the likes of Sexblasphemy, Mincer Serenades and Blackhorns.
In their early years, Reverorum Ib Malacht were part of the anti-cosmic Black Metal community in Sweden. However, in 2009 Lundin (formerly also known from Dödfödd, Ofermod or Emit) and Mikael converted to Catholicism (nobody’s perfect; no further comment). When it comes to this band specifically, well, they call their style Roman Catholic Black Metal.
Ragnell are a young Mexican collective with one single official recording on their name: Black Requiem, released via one of the strongest Russian labels, Satanath Records. Black Requiem clocks less than half an hour, and it was recorded by the trio Eduardo (b, v), Carlo (d) and Mauricio (g, v) in early 2013.
