CD

Scars From A Dead Room are a mysterious Canadian project that release their debut on the equally mysterious but unique French label Distant Voices. The latter are known for their mostly original releases, and then I am talking about the physical copy of each release. Once again, this album comes in an extremely limited edition; this time it concerns 69 copies only (with no repressing) (good news, however, for this specific album will be available too on cassette, via BLWBCK).

Scaphandre are the brainchild of a Frenchmen who calls himself Spasme. He formed the project in 2011 and one year later, Scaphandre self-released two EP’s, one at the very beginning of that year and one at the end of 2012. I will review both of them. First this. Both of them were originally self-released, but now they will be re-issued via Misandreproductions.

Protestant from Milwaukee are a very productive entity within the Extreme Music scene. In less than a decade, they recorded and released hands full of EP’s, several splits (with the likes of Get Rad, Northless or Suffering Mind), and four full albums; most of the stuff, by the way, was done via Halo Of Flies (also based in Milwaukee), sometimes in collaboration with another label.

Mortis Mutilati are a young French project by Macabre (formerly of Skog and Decrepitude, and actually active in e.g. Septentrion, Moonreich, Charogne -which actually is another solo-outfit by him- or Gratzug amongst others), formed in 2011.

Honestly, I did not know Morar before, and apparently this band (or project) seems to be rather mysterious. But I do not care, because the aural result is what finally counts. And in Morar’s case I am truly blown away. What you will read right now (or maybe you won’t; shame on you, because Morar deserve all support they can get!) is about the first, and I guess the only thing they recorded until now: the demo / EP Chants Of Ossian.

One of the most unusual Extreme Metal acts from Finland are Funerary Bell, formed in 2007 and creators of some pretty obscure and weird stuff in the past (amongst which a split with Blood Red Fog and a first full length, called The Coven, released in 2011 via the great German label Undercover Records). Last year Funerary Bell self-released the four-track cassette Horrific TransCosmic Overture, which apparently was sold out very quickly.

German duo Ewigeis (meaning something like ‘eternal ice’ but beautifully (and that’s my honest opinion) written in incorrect German language) started in 2008, and they self-released a demo in 2009, Wolfsmond, (‘mouth of the wolf’), and one in 2011, Abgrund (‘abyss’).

Dråpsnatt are a Swedish act that were formed almost one decade ago out of the ashes of Maleficium, i.e. by Narstrand (also in e.g. Sangre / Blodritual and Nivlhel) and Vinterfader. They recorded five albums in mean time, but the first two haven’t been released.

Following the -in mean time legendary- Brethren. Bound Of Blood.-series (a series of split-EP’s with cult-act Amenra and one of the other projects involved within the Church Of Ra-alliance), it was time to create another highlight, going further than the four former splits. As a matter of fact, this is not just a split with individual material from the collaborators, but rather a unique project of magical proportions.

I have to admit that I had not heard of this Russian act before, but apparently Bastion were formed more than a decade ago in order to pay tribute to the cultural and historical roots of their nation. In the earliest years, they seemed to perform a catchy mixture of Heavy and Power Metal, injected with elements from Folk, but as a natural process their sound evolved into a rather Pagan-Folk-oriented one.