The Colorado-based Excommunion were one of the too many unsung heroes of the underground ‘dark’ death metal scene. MIA after only one monstrous full-length, ‘Superion’ in 2001, their vocalist Christopher ‘Christbutcher’ Clark moved to Finland in January 2007 after a tentative reunion with his first proper band Dethroned fell apart. But in no way did this mean he gave up completely.

“I started looking the very day we had set it in stone that we were emigrating. I emailed like-minded musicians who were in the area and eventually put together our first line-up, although it seemed at first that the north Savonia region in the middle of Finland was the wrong place to play death metal!”

Even if it took Maveth three years to come up with their first EP (‘Of Serpent And Shadow’), that recording and its follow-up ‘Impious Servant’ proved to be of such high-level that they soon got re-released together on one single CD by Nuclear Winter Records in 2011. And with their now first proper full-length, ‘Coils Of The Black Earth’, ready to hit the stores later this year through Dark Descent, Christbutcher feels he’s come full circle.

“At first, I made a conscious decision to use all the … Read More

Bastard Sapling could easily be described as the best American black metal band you’ve never heard, but this would be selling them short, they’re the best black metal band from anywhere that you’ve never heard of. Formed in 2007 by ex-Cannabis Corpse guitarist Drew, who was in need of a new direction to channel his energy and aggression after being left without a band and living in squalor, He was joined by drummer Elway (ex-Celebrity Murders, ex-Murdock and ex-War Torn), guitarist Steven (Inter Arma), vocalist Mike (Inter Arma, ex-Dick Butkis) and bassist Peter (Battlemaster). The quintet plays brutal black metal in the truest of senses, stripping away all pretence, gimmicks and other nonsense that gets in the way. The raw beauty of Drudkh, Immortal and early Enslaved pulses through their veins, but these Yanks they have their own voice, and it’s fucking loud. They’ve spared no time in tearing the scene apart since they made their first unholy appearance at 2008’s Heart Of Winter festival in Richmond, Virginia. Here they made available a raw rehearsal demo and this exposure saw them head off on a nationwide tour, to conquer new turf and corrupt the minds of the innocent. They quickly followed … Read More