Bethlehem – Mein Weg (2 x Vinyl) Label: Prophecy Productions – PRO 107LP Format: 2 x Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue Country: Germany Released: Jul 8, 2022 Style: Doom Metal, Goth Rock
Experimental Black/Doom Metal band from Grevenbroich, Germany, active since 1991. They call their style «Dark metal», which is the term they coined in the debut album title.
Until Dictius Te Necare, Bethlehem faced censorship and was even banned from playing in some German cities. It started when Matton gave one copy of their first demo to a 14-year-old boy. After a while his mother started to call the band, saying that because of their music, her son became aggressive and built a «Satanic altar» in his room. In cooperation with other parents, they started a crusade against Bethlehem and their «satanic» music (ironically, Bethlehem were never satanic).
Nordvargr – Pyrrhula (Vinyl, LP) Label: Cold Spring – CSR98LP Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Limited Edition, Remastered Country: UK Released: May 21, 2021 Style: Dark Ambient, Drone, Doom Metal
Recorded winter/spring 2008 at Villa Bohult, Sweden.
This edition has been restored from the original masters, and further refined for the vinyl format.
Based on Swedish doomlord mythology.
Partly based on an old Swedish folktale, Pyrrhula (“doomlord”) is a pitch black journey into utter darkness. This is a tale of foreboding doom… a portent of dark times to come… a blight on the face of this earth. These eight Black Ambient / Doom / Droneworks were brought forth from the abyss of Villa Bohult exclusively for Cold Spring and contain the malevolent vocals of Lord Nordvargr himself!.
“Beware the small creatures of light, they only bring misery and death upon the enlightened ones. For they will paint their breast with blood and reap your unborn angels.”
Ltd x 500 copies on pale amber vinyl. Black Fruit Of The Loom Heavy Cotton t-shirt with front and back print.
Composed By – Henrik Nordvargr Björkk Recorded winter/spring 2008 at Villa Bohult, Sweden. Artwork – Abby Helasdottir Mastered By – Martin Bowes
Reviews:
«What is most remarkable about ‘Pyhrrhula’ is given how unrelenting it is, it is an easy album to listen to. There are some pretty great melodies hidden in there… If ‘Pyrrhula’ was colour it would be vantablack, or more correctly the spectrum of darkness, and black, ending in vantablack. It’s an album that feels like it sucks the air out of the room. It makes you sit still and take notice, but most importantly, it still sounds as epic and devastating as it did 13 years ago.» (Vital Weekly)
Laser Dracul – Hagridden (Vinyl, Clear/Red Blood) Label: Majestic Mountain Records – MMR-011 Format: Country: Sweden Released: 25 Sep 2020 Style: Doom Metal, Stoner Rock
«After a successful and highly acclaimed self-titled debut album at Vân Records (2016), the Swedish doomsters ‘Laser Dracul’ is back with their sophomore album Hagridden! 6 new songs that are slower, heavier and even more groovy this time or as fellow countryman Yngwie J Malmsteen would say; ‘More is more!’. «
Tracklist: 1. Ashes & Dust 2. High tide striding 3. Into the night we go 4. Now you see it 5. Ill in Spirit 6. Mother Midnight
