Ivan Tibos.

I can be quite short and concise about this release. Why? Because this might be one of the most amazing surprises lately.

Very recently I got in touch with the human being behind Polish label Fluttering Dragon Records, which I used to follow in their early years (formed at about half of the Nineties). I did (and still do) deeply appreciate material from the likes of Puissance, Umbra, Northaunt, Ildfrost or Ontario Blue, for what it’s worth. Then things turned silent, yet apparently the label did sort of resurrect, resulting in more than just one hand full of appreciable new material.

Forme is a collaborative work by two of Italy’s most notorious Experimental / Industrial artists: Maurizio Bianchi aka M.B. (experimenting with sounds and noises for about forty-five years) and Raffaele Pezzella aka Sonologyst (a clever human organism with a multi-tentacled angle).

Warhymn (or WarHymn, with capital ‘h’) were formed five years ago in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania. After Gnosis (2020, Narcoleptica Productions) and Cult Of Primordials (their debut-EP for Loud Rage Music, released in 2022; link for the review: see below), they recently came up with a new EP, which is sort of a teaser or special compilation, if you want.

There’s a duo from Pennsylvanian soil that intrigues me for quite some time: DD and MZ. These two entities are active under several monikers, such as Sun Wound, Infestation Ritual, Teeth Engraved With The Names Of The Dead, Desolation Swarm, Six Billion Light-Years and several more. I know that what follows right now is a purely personal, and therefor subjective, statement, but: I do adore about all of these outfits.

Embrace the power of the mountain, feel the magic of the Vanir, and hide in our magical forest from Ragnarök…

When talking about Nordic Folk Music, one usually thinks about bands from European soil; from Sweden, Norway, Russia, Germany, Scotland, you know… I am quite open-minded and I don’t get scared that easily anymore (I dwell around this planet for more than half a century in the meantime), but hey, a Viking / Folk act from Uruguay, of all places?

Hear me, O Death, whose empire unconfined, extend to mortal tribes of every kind. Oh thee, the portion of our time depends, whose absence lengthens life, whose presence ends. (source: Thomas Taylor’s translation of Orphic Hymn 89 to Thanatos; fragment used from this collaboration’s biographical description)

MesmuR are an international act, consisting of experienced (I mean that these musicians participate in different -often well-known- bands as well) members from Italy, the U.S. and Australia (and in the past, also from Norway). They did three albums in the past: the self-titled debut in 2014 (Code666), S in 2017 (via Solitude Prod.), and Terrene in 2019 (also via Solitude Prod.).

Next year, in 2025, In Loving Memory will celebrate their 20^th anniversary. Despite two decades of existence, however, they have never been the most productive act on our planet.

Dutch act Dystopia will celebrate its twentieth anniversary next year; okay, there used to be a hiatus somewhere during their first years, yet this band recorded their first demonstrational material during the start of the second half of this century’s first decay, eh, I mean decade (got it?). Initially, this outfit was created as a rather Thrash-oriented alternative for Pulverised.