Czarna magia is Polish for ‘black magic’, so when I did receive an album from a band with that specific name (I got it from The End Of Time Records’ chieftain Dev), I knew this wouldn’t be a Pop or Rock album, yet something that might tease me. Well, believe me: it does!
The story of Hermann starts in 2014, when four musicians joined forces. Amongst them are former or actual members of e.g.
After two albums that were released via Cephalopagus Records, Portuguese one-man army Sílení signed to Eighth Tower Records (creating superspectrum sounds from ultraterrestrial dimensions), run by Sonologyst’s Raffaele Pezzella, to have this next album released.
The young Russian label Distorted Void has a small yet very interesting roster. It houses material by acts like Psionic Asylum, Onasander, Hiemal and Uzbazur, and they did compose and release some very attractive compilations too. I recently wrote a review for the first Forgotten, Abandoned, Desolated compilation, and this review deals with another compiled sampler, consisting by thirteen pieces by as much projects from all over our globe.
I do not exactly exaggerate when defining Distant Voices as a very unique label. Okay, about the musical taste one can discuss (I do not discuss, for I adore about all releases), but each single release is like a unique thing, almost like a collector’s item. Every release is handmade and extremely limited, with no repressing whatsoever, so all copies must be adored, idolised.
When composer / guitarist David ‘HellRazor’ Meza and bass player / vocalist Maria Alejandra ‘Blasfemia’ Pacheco Zambrano started playing under the moniker of Lucifera (it was somewhere in 2008), they did play cover songs in the first place. Everything from AC/DC to Metallica, or from Rock Goddess to Motörhead passed the revue. Yet soon, the band started writing, recording and playing self-written stuff.
If I am not mistaken, Haiku Funeral were created in 2008 in the south of France by two guys, Dimitar Dimitrov (vocals, electronics, keyboards, hailing from Bulgaria) and William Kopecky (fretless bass, vocals, sitar; originating from the U.S.) under the influence of hallucinogenic and psychotropic pleasure. After three official recordings in the period 2008-2010, the duo signed to Aesthetic Death, and those trusted with this mind-blowing label will not be surprised.
Negre PlanY is a new sub-label by Negra Nit Distro from the country of Catalunya – oops, I mean from the region of Catalunya. On June 21st 2019, this label brought out two things as first releases, being the debut full length for Melangia (unfortunately this album did not come my way (yet), so I can’t write down my thoughts on it) and a split which this review will deal with. Tetrarchia Ex Bestia is a four-way split, gathering four pretty interesting acts from Spanish soil.
Ethir Anduin are a productive formation, formed in 2006 in Leningrad by Alexey ‘Fenrir’ Veselov (currently also in Bestial Deform, by the way). Throughout this decade, Ethir Anduin (being a solo-outfit) recorded and released quite some stuff, including a hand full of full-length studio albums (many of them being self-released) (amongst them: I Magen Av Svart Kaos – link below)
(actual release date: 2007)
