Afsky, is Ole Luk's (also frontman in Solbrud) solo project, which is based on traditional black metal, mixed with elements of folk and doom as well as a mixture of wildness and melancholy.

Afsky saw the light of day back in the fall of 2015, when the first release, an EP of 3 tracks was self-released digitally and later on CD. A couple of month later, a music video single followed, which was later re-released on the EP in a vinyl edition by German Vendetta Records.
Afsky's first full-length "Sorg" (Grief) was released in 2017 on Vendetta Records as well; where Afsky's upcoming full-length "Ofte jeg drømmer mig død" (often i dream myself dead) is also released.

Although the band was not initially intended to be a live project, Afsky nevertheless ended up playing concerts throughout Europe and with names such as Endstille, Auda, Moonsorrow, Winterfylleth, etc. . Most recently on the Europe tour in 2019, with Canadian Spectral Wound from Montreal.

With him, Ole Luk has different musicians from the Danish metal scene, and not always the same crew. On drums Martin Haumann (Mother of All, Final Hour, Essence mf), Simon Frenning (Morild), Dennis Stockmar (Hydra), on guitar Simon Skotte (Sunken), Christian Friis (Serpents Lair, Gestapolis), Rasmus Ejlersen (Udånde, Hexis) There have also been guest appearances from eg. Myrkur and Troels Dueholm from Asynje and Huldre.

The upcoming album "Ofte jeg drømmer mig død" is written from a number of old Da

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Six pagan metal veterans from Gelderland redrafted by Wodan to pay musical hommage to their native history, nature and folklore once again.

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BEZWERING invoke and voice the spirits from the corpse-filled soil of their native Gelderland. Risen from the ashes of WEDERGANGER in 2018, BEZWERING plays Gueldrian Undeath Metal exclusively.

BEZWERING is:
Alfschijn - lamentations and mumblings
Onmens - beatings from beyond
Onzalige - curses and rumblings
PLG - sadistic garroting

Live:
MR - forbidden chords

Discography

Voortekenen (demo) - 2019
Aan de wormen overgeleverd (album, Ván Records)- 2020
The tower fiend / Lijf noch lijk (split with The Rite, Headkick Music) - 2022
Dodenkroning (album, Ván Records) - 2022

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Black Messiah is a German Viking / symphonic black metal band, founded in 1992.
Having started as a pure black metal band, Black Messiah`s sound has evolved to Viking metal with the release of their Oath of a Warrior album. Four full-length albums have been released so far. On 24th of February the fifth longplayer, named `The Final Journey` was released.



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Black Metal band Depressive Witches was formed in 2018 in Picardy, France by brothers Sick Bab on vocals and guitar, and Torvuus on guitars and drums. Linked by both blood and a passion for black and extreme metal, creating music together was only natural.



In 2021, they released their debut album “Bad Flask”, which leaned heavily into the traditional black metal influences of the duo and contained lyrical themes revolving around witchcraft, curses, and epic fights. The release was recorded by Jonas Sanders & Ivan Houben, and mixed/mastered by Jonas Sanders at Blackout Studio, in Brussels.



2022 witnesses a new album from the band "Distant Kingdoms" again recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jonas Sanders. In contrast to the first album, it pays homage to its rock influences and contains more solos and clean vocals. An anomaly in the black metal scene, it is a mix of black metal, punk, heavy metal, joyful & darkened riffs, like black’n’roll but more festive and epic. Lyrically it looks into adventures, magic battles/war, and high fantasy which take inspiration from RPG video games with medieval themes, nature, and black magic.



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Enisum was born as one man band founded by Lys in 2006. It is the first Arpitanian black metal
band from Valle di Susa e Val di Lanzo lands. Project name comes from Musinè mountain in Val di Susa. After some self released and demo productions Enisum became a band in 2014 with insert of Leynir (Bass), Dead Soul (Drum) and Epheliin (Female voice). Enisum music talks about landscapes, cohabitation between man and nature and depression, pain, melancholy.

Discography

Enisum - Enisum recorded in 2006
Enisum - Sedlec Kostnice recorded in 2006
Enisum - Mountain’s Breath recorded in 2010
Enisum - Black Autumn recorded in 2012
Enisum - Desolation recorded in 2013 - 2014
Enisum - Samoht Nara recorded in 2014 release by Dusktone Label
Enisum - Arpitanian Lands recorded in 2015 release by Dusktone Label
Enisum - Seasons of desolation (2017 Avantgarde Music)
Enisum - Moth's illusion (2019 Avantgarde Music)
Enisum - Forgotten Mountains (2023 Avantgard Music)

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Fimbulvet
Thuringian Pagan Metal

Foundation:

- Autumn, 2003
- Initially thought as a one-man-project ( Stephan Gauger )
- November, "Diana Mathesie" became the newest member (keyboard)
- February 2004, "Marco Volborth" (bass) joined the band (acquaintance from school days)
- during this period rehearsals took place in "Stephan's apartment
- completion by "Christian Hopf" (drums)
- July, moving into the first rehearsal room
- October, recording of the demo CD "Gjallarhorn" in the studio "Powertrack" in Schmalkalden (Menhir, Odroerir, ...)


First gigs & changes:

- January 2005, first live gig near Bad Salzungen
- September, Christian Hopf left the band (musical differences),
as well as Diana Mathesie (studies)
- short time later we met "Felix Zimmermann" (drums)
- after some complications we decided to stay as a threesome
- December, gig at the Kallewerk in Bad Salzungen (Hard as Iron 3)
- February 2006, start of the recordings for the debut album "Ewiger Winter".
- it contains 11 tracks, two songs of the demo CD were re-recorded
- July, invitation to the "Riedfest" in Rohr
- August, first gig outside Thuringia (WGSOAF in the Erzgebirge)
- as unfortunately suspected for a long time, Felix (drums) left the band (studies)
- October, "Danny Rubner", former drummer of the band "Sinwist", found himself to fill the left position again
- February 2007, since a long time again a gig (Villa K in

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FIRN was founded in 2020 as a solo project of singer and composer Horda (Waldtraene, Odroerir...).
In February, with the support of Einheit Produktionen and Schattenpfade, the debut album "Frostwärts" saw the light of day, which is praised by colleagues and magazines in the highest tones.
Independent of Waldtraene and Odroerir, Horda enters new realms with FIRN and presents his spirituality and an animistic worldview by means of black-tinged, epic-atmospheric Pagan Metal.

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The Frost band was formed in May 1996 in Kazincbarcika, northern Hungary. Today, Frost is one of the oldest and best-known Hungarian black metal band.
The founding members of Frost left the band Prophecy, which plays melodic death-black metal: Ferenc Mocsnik- drums, Gábor Dévényi- guitars, Krisztián Békei- bass.
The band released three demos in the early years and then appeared on the EP cassette "Songs Of The Ancient Gods" in 1999, released by Stygian Shadows.
During this time, several members changed in the band, leaving only Ferenc Mocsnik from the original members, who switched to bass guitar.
The first Frost album, "Extreme Loneliness-fragments" (2002), was also released by Stygian Shadows Productions, but was re-released in 2005 by american Paragon Records.
In the following years, the band's performance was hampered by constant member changes,
but new albums and EPs were released and the band performed continuously.
After his self-released album "Black Shining" (2007), american Black Plague Records and Metallic Media co-released the third Frost album, "... From The Dark" (2014).
In 2018, Ferenc Mocsnik decided to end the band, but 1 year later the album "Deathtree Mystery" (2019) was released, featuring only Ferenc and the band's previous singer, Tamás Deák. The album
was released by Metal Ör Die Records and as a result of the success of the album, Frost continued with a new line-up,
which is still current: Tamás Deák- demo

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Translated as “hatred” in Gaelic, FUATH is the atmospheric black metal offshoot of SAOR’s Andy Marshall. Taking inspiration from arguably black metal’s most fertile and explosive period — the early to mid-1990s — FUATH channels the unrelenting tenor and iciness of forebears DARKTHRONE and MAYHEM. Originally slated as a one-off project after the release of 2016’s ‘I’, Marshall has decided to turn FUATH into a serious project. Early 2021 will see the release of the band’s second album, ‘II’, via Season of Mist’s Underground Activists sub-label.

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Combining the emotional and atmospheric elements of Black Metal with progressive rhythm-laden modern Metal structures and the beauty of Post Rock and Shoegaze, HERETOIR is a nostalgic, melancholic and soothing soundtrack in a mad world. Founded (in Augsburg/Germany) by David C. in 2006, Heretoir conceptually and lyrically deals with existence, self-reflection, fears and dreams – life in all its facets. It is a musical universe set for the discovery of one’s deepest thoughts and the soul that rests in each of us…
After a first demo and EP (“Existenz” (2008) & “.Existenz.” (2009)), multiple compilation contributions and a split release with the band “Thränenkind” (“Wiedersehen – unsere Hoffnung”, 2010) Heretoir released their eponymous debut album “Heretoir” on February 25th, 2011 through Northern Silence Productions.
Melodizing the topic of loss, “Heretoir” was very well received by fans and press around the world, not least because of the powerful and atmospheric cover artwork of exceptional French artists Fursy Teyssier (Les Discrets) and Metastazis (worked for Alcest, Anathema, Enthroned, As i lay dying, Gorgoroth and many more).
With the release of the debut album Matthias S. (bass), Max F. (guitar) and Emanuel D. (drums) joined the line-up and Heretoir evolved into a full band. It didn’t take long for the band to share stages with acts like Agalloch, Alcest, Eluveitie, Graveworm, Sólstafir or Secrets of the Moon. In parallel wi

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Centuries ago a force unknown to mankind lurked in the deep, icy caves of Blekinge. The world was tormented by the insidious star and its followers. The lies of light, fire and life infested the earth.

The cold snowy mountainsides and the vast polar caps melted. The situation was changing into a way that was not acceptable. In Blekinge, where the sun could not reach, Fjalar started to build up an army that would be strong enough to destroy the sun and every single worshipper that followed it. Fjalar then recruited the four warlords Gjallar, Morg, Aurgelmir and Draugar to erase what should never have been at all. The force is now known as Istapp and the war that would engulf the world has just begun. When the cold winds sweeps over the earth and the screams echoes from the dying worshipers of the sun, it's too late for regret. Now is the time to choose side or suffer eternally!

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Originally founded in 2004 by Blutaxt and Mightyraven in Northern Germany as an acoustic side project of Black Unicorn, Jarl was on ice for a long time ...
Almost forgotten, the ice was broken after Black Unicorn's dissolution in 2016 and Jarl found new strength. Mightyraven, Natt Kongen and Blutaxt formed Jarl into a black metal band and completed it with Aestus and Hrimthur.
2019 the debut WIEDERGÄNGER was released.

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Founded in 2004, the northern Bavarian pagan metal band caused quite a stir in the pagan metal wave, which was still in the throes of birth at the time, with their 2005 debut mini-album "Kveldridhur". Not a few saw KromleK as the German answer to Finntroll due to the combination of catchy, rousing folk melodies, driving songs and humppa-oriented off-beat rhythms.
With the follow-up "Strange rumours... distant tremors" and increasing live presence at home and abroad, the troupe earned a firm place in the pagan scene as well as a reputation as an energetic live act before, after numerous ups, downs and controversies, the multi-layered and polarizing album "Finis Terræ" released in 2011 broke down genre boundaries, sent important impulses and initiated the final chapter of the band.
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of their parent label Trollzorn, KromleK returns to the stage after 12 years of abstinence for two selected concerts to celebrate their common path with a cross-section of their musical work.

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In search of battles and victories Morgarten has been touring Europe since 2005. The band from the French speaking part of Switzerland is named after the famous Battle of Morgarten in 1315, where the Swiss defeated the Austrian army. With their harsh yet melodic folk- and black metal Morgarten brings back the forgotten glory of the time of knights.

Slowly the reputation of the band was rising. Besides several short European tours with bands like Wind Rose, Welicoruss and Nightland, Morgarten appeared on international festivals, like Occultfest (NL), Brainstorm Festival (NL), Devils Rock For An Angel (BE), Mannried Open Air (CH), Warhorns (UK) and Rise Of Trolls (BE). Also the band was asked as opening-act for Finntroll on their visit to Switzerland in 2018.

Morgarten returned in 2021 with their new album “Cry of the Lost”, which surely won’t leave fans of folk- and black metal disappointed! The recordings were mixed by Jens Bogren (Opeth, Dimmu Borgir, Amon Amarth) and the mastering was done by Tony Lindgren (Opeth, Eluveitie, Sepultura). For the drums Morgarten visited Fascination Street Studio’s to let David Castillo (Carcass, Opeth, Leprous) handle the recordings.

The result is a high quality release that will please fans of bands like Ensiferum, Eluveitie and even Wind Rose. Morgarten proves to be the leading folk- and black-metal band from the French speaking part of Switzerland. With their new album Morgarten is ready to march upon the Europ

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NALAR float around between Death and Black Metal, without thinking whether and how this band can be categorized. The influences of all participants are as diverse as the thematic outpourings of the singer, who sinks into the music with completely unique vocal delivery and live performance and thus lets every cliché of metal pass by untouched by means of German lyrics. Still 2013-2018 under the name PARASITE shared the stage with bands like Debauchery, Fäulnis and Disbelief and played festivals like the Gahlen Moscht and Wonnemond, so in 2019 the band name changed to NALAR and went on stage together with bands like Illdisposed and Macbeth. After the cultural silence of the last two years, it went back on stage at the end of October at the Brutz and Brakel Stromgitarrenfest in Berlin which was honored with a decent review in deaf forever. The first concert in the new year Nalar played with Ellende and Humani Generis and on the Frostfeuernächte outstanding response.

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Forming nearly thirty years ago in Sweden, Necrophobic fast became one of the leading purveyors of blackened death metal with dark sounds and razor-sharp riffs. 2018s Mark of the Necrogram served to solidify their stature within the scene with a record that was widely well-received and laced with dynamism.

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With “Rise of the Northmen” the long-awaited debut of the metal band Nordic Raid from Kiel, Germany finally appears. The album, which was produced entirely in-house, combines smashing death metal with melodic riffs.
Inspired by classic Swedish death metal, Nordic Raid also incorporates modern elements into the songs, which gives the quintet its very own sound.
Nordic Raid has already been able to stand on stage with well-known bands such as Surface, Durothar, Debauchery or Endseeker at a large number of festivals and concerts and win numerous fans.

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1991: The band, at this point named Mortus, place an ad looking for a vocalist in a well-known underground metal shop in Dublin. It is answered by a young A.A.Nemtheanga and in August of 1991 the band become four and begin work on writing songs for their debut demo. It becomes obvious that the band have far more in common with the burgeoning second wave of Black Metal which is lurking in the shadows of the underground.

1992: The process of song writing continues. Many songs are discarded as the band try and find their sound. Looking back to the 80s the band finds inspiration in the old Gods like Bathory, Candlemass, Sabbat, Celtic Frost, Hellhammer and Kreator amongst others. This mixed with the sound and energy of the second wave and a growing interest in Irish traditional music, history and culture helps forge the beginnings of the band’s sound. The band also begin to play some shows in Dublin under the name Forsaken. In December of that year they change their name to Primordial.

1993: In the summer the band record their first and only demo, the now classic “Dark Romanticism”. Recorded for 50 pounds, on 8 tracks in about 6 hours it becomes a strong and serious statement of the band’s intent and they begin to spread their name through flyering and tapetrading. It goes on to sell 1200 copies and the band start to get label interest from various countries.

1994: The band keep on writing songs and in the late Summer of 1994 sign with Cacophonous Rec

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Saor is the one-man project of Scottish songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Andy Marshall. The word "Saor" means "Free" in Gaelic.
Marshall’s music is "Caledonian Metal" – a unique blend of atmospheric black metal and Scottish/Celtic folk which takes you on journey through the mist-covered landscapes of the Highlands.
Inspired and influenced by traditional Scottish music, poetry and history, the music and lyrics delve into ethereal experiences, hiking, heritage, and the epic nature of Marshall’s homeland.
Formed in 2013, Saor began as a studio-only project but in 2015 Marshall decided to take his music to the live stage and has since performed on some of the biggest stages in Europe including Hellfest Open Air, Ragnarök Festival and Steelfest, amongst many other festival appearences and headline shows. 2019 will see Marshall release his 4th studio album ‘Forgotten Paths’ on legandary Italian label Avantgarde Music; with many notable festival appearences, headline shows and world tours already scheduled.


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Skratte was founded as a solo-project by Hevnbrann in 2012 in order to materialize his musical vision. Skratte's words treat hatred, misanthropy and damnation - a lyrical reflection of a world that is devoid of any deity and can only be held in place through the devotion of every single natural spirit.

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Epic Pagan/Folk Metal from Dutch soil.
Stormy elemental forces meet danceable rhythms, hard neckbreakers and sublime melodies. An energetic mix of epic Pagan Metal and the classic, catchy Folk Metal, crawls under your skin and gets you moving, whether you like it or not! With their ''The House Spirit'' EP they have already played on many stages in Europe and now with their new album "Een Verloren Verhaal" a new chapter in the band's history opened. The new songs from their concept album released in February will pull you deep into a long forgotten story. A story of human, mother nature and an ancient giant tribe trying to protect their ancient empire. Be captivated by ancient lines from a weathered book, written in a forgotten language. With their rousing live show and the new songs in their luggage, Vanaheim now brings this story to you... are you ready?

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Venator was founded in 2016 in Linz by the two guitarists. In 2019 they had the whole band together and played their first concerts that year. Sounding true to the motto "Steel City Heavy Metal in't Fressn" they released their EP "Paradiser" as a split LP with Angel Blade in 2020 and their debut album "Echoes from the Gutter" in 2022.

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After their second demo entitled "Dawning of a New Age" (1996) WAYLANDER gained a prominent position in the fledgling Folk Metal scene thanks also to the addition of a full time tin-whistle player in the line up. Their position was cemented when WAYLANDER released their debut album "Reawakening Pride Once Lost" in 1998 with Century Media. The band made their mark and are recognised as one of the pioneers of Irish Folk / Pagan metal. After overcoming some line-up changes, the bands sophomore album, "The Light, the Dark and the Endless Knot" was released in 2001.



In the last few years notable festivals and tours followed including Summer Breeze, Hammerfest, Hard Rock Hell, Bloodstock, Cernunnos Pagan Fest, Black Trolls Over Europe and Ultima Ratio Festival, as well as gigs all over Europe with some of the biggest names in the industry.



In 2008 WAYLANDER signed to Listenable Records and released their acclaimed third album, "Honour Amongst Chaos", which received a fantastic reaction worldwide. This set the tone for their fourth studio release, "Kindred Spirits". "Kindred Spirits" is claimed to be the bands strongest work to date and helped push the band’s sound to a much heavier and more distinctive place.



The band will once again enter Stone Circle studio to record the 5th full length album in April. This will be WAYLANDERs first concept album which will bring the listener on a journey through the wheel of the Pagan year, beginn

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Come, friend, close your eyes…

Let yourself be transported to an enchanted forest scene, draped in twilight. Moonshine permeates the boughs above, casting your surroundings into undulating shades of bright silver and haunting dark, rippling shadows dance along as the music enfolds you, pulling you into the arms of the waterborn, of wazzara.

Uniting Post-Metal, Doom and Psychedelic Rock, wazzara is the culmination of a themed solo project from the former lead singer of Folk Metal band, Caladmor. Taking inspiration from the natural poetry of water in motion, enrapt listeners have found themselves moved by the otherworldly, ethereal and magical offerings of Swiss-based composer/songwriter Barbara Brawand since 2015.

In 2019, Barbara collaborated with a kindred spirit in the form of Icelandic composer and musician, Árni Bergur Zoëga (Helrunar, Arstidir Lifsins, Carpe Noctem), to give the world wazzara’s first EP. A show quickly followed in early 2020, alongside Grift and Wolcensmen, the first and last to grace the stage before a long and terrible silence descended over the concert industry.

Nevertheless, instead of allowing weeds to choke the banks of creativity, wazzara has continued to wind its course and meets this year’s end having grown even stronger and become a full band.

The now initiated writing process led to exploration of wider musical horizons, incorporating spellbinding, doomy riffs into the EP’s legacy of melancholic, dr

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XIV Dark Centuries was formed back in 1998. However, some of the band members had been playing in other metal bands before.

Their first sign of life was the demo tape "for your god" which was released in 1999. Due to good connections to some Thuringian bands, e.g. Menhir, Die Apokalyptischen Reiter and Eisregen, there have been a lot live concerts in their early years. Their first big concert was in 2000 when they played at the Party.San Open Air. The same year, a new guitar player breathed new life into the band. In 2002, a second guitar player joined them to help perform the increasingly complicated songs on stage.

In June 2002, their first in-house production, the demo tape "Dunkle Jahrhunderte", was finally finished. The album consisted of mostly unreleased, older titles. After they finished their work on their second demo tape, the band locked themselves in their recording studio where they worked on their first full length album "...den Ahnen zum Gruße". This album contained 13 pagan songs which were written in 2001-2002. Compared to their previous releases, the songs were more refined and professional. From that point on, the band described their style as Thuringian Pagan Metal. The vocal styles range from melodic chanting to growling and screaming. The lyrics deal with stories and myths related to our ancestors and their nature religion and are exclusively in German.

In June 2003, they signed a 3 year contract with CCP-Records from Austria, who

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