Black Metal

Blood Fire Death is the fourth album by the Swedish band Bathory. It continued the band’s transition towards more epic songwriting, and includes some of the first Viking metal recordings, although is still mostly black metal. Bathory was formed in Stockholm in 1983. Founder Quorthon, a seventeen-year-old guitarist, was joined by bassist Hanoi and drummer Vans. After various name changes (beginning with Nosferatu, then Natas, Mephisto, Elizabeth Bathory and Countess Bathory) they finally settled on Bathory. Their first recording deal came that same year, when Quorthon managed to secure the consent of Tyfon Grammofon’s boss to record two tracks for the compilation Scandinavian Metal Attack. The tracks which he recorded gained unexpected attention by fans.[citation needed] Soon afterward, Tyfon Grammofon contacted Quorthon and asked him to record a full-length album. Although Venom’s Black Metal, released in 1982, was the first record to coin the term, it was Bathory’s early albums, featuring Satanic lyrics, low-fi production and an inhuman vocal style, that defined the genre. Many fans have speculated Venom was an influence on Bathory; however, Quorthon has said in an interview with Kick Ass magazine in 1985 he only heard of Venom after the first Bathory album was released. He also expressed dislike for many influential and popular heavy metal bands at the time, such as Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. He has also stated the band’s early work was influenced primarily by Black Sabbath, Motorhead, and punk rock. Bathory’s self-titled debut album, and the subsequent releases The Return and Under the Sign of the Black Mark, are now regarded as major influences on the Norwegian bands which extended black metal’s musical progression and popularity in the beginning of the 1990s.

Reissue 2023 from Black Mark.

Black Metal

One of the most imposing and revered bands in black metal’s underground for the past decade, BEKËTH NEXËHMÜ have built a literally towering body of work. The band is yet another creative vehicle of  Ancient Records linchpin Swartadauþuz (Azelisassath, Digerdöden, Gnipahålan, Musmahhu, Mystik, Summum, Trolldom, Daudadagr, as well as current labelmates GREVE and MUVITIUM), but it’s largely BEKËTH NEXËHMÜ where the man has most built his legacy. Only two official albums have been released – 2011’s de dunkla herrarna and 2019’s De fördolda klangorna – but it’s the band’s myriad demos, each one arguably greater and grander than most band’s actual albums, that have equally put a frightening new(er) face on Swedish black metal, by turns becoming the nowadays face of the form.

Black Metal

1995 debut “Ultima Thulée” initiated BLUT AUS NORD’s bold journey toward transcendence through Black Metal. One of the first albums to emerge from the now-legendary French underground scene, “Ultima Thulée” showcases a cold and primitive yet no less uniquely atmospheric BLUT AUS NORD compared with the twisted, dissonant trailblazer evident on more recent releases. The ground-breaking decadence of “Ultima Thulée” is presented here with artwork as close as possible to the original release and with enhanced audio mastered specifically for vinyl.

Pressed on aqua blue / electric blue cloudy effect heavy vinyl. Comes with a 2-page 12″x12″ insert and a download card. Colors on final record may vary to a degree from the mockup.

Black Metal

The first full-length album of Cosmic Church available again on quality LP.

Black Metal

Alongside contemporaries Dissection and Marduk, DARK FUNERAL are among the most important Swedish black metal bands ever. In fact, when one merely mentions the phrase “Swedish black metal,” thoughts immediately turn to their name: since their formation in 1993, DARK FUNERAL quickly came to define the shocking sound of cryogenic melody and cruelly blasting fury. Though their six albums to date have been patiently parceled out over a considerable amount of time, their works endure to this day and have influenced countless bands over the past 20 years.

Originally released in early 1996 on the pivotal No Fashion label, DARK FUNERAL’s debut album,The Secrets of the Black Arts, was an incredibly powerful first full-length statement. From its iconic cover art on down to the sharp, powerful production by Peter Tägtren at Abyss Studios, it could be easily argued thatThe Secrets of the Black Arts was THE defining record of ’96, when black metal was climbing out of its sensational days and etching a new language into the wider metal landscape. DARK FUNERAL were there, armed with an arsenal that was shockingly fast yet still exceptionally memorable. Even with all that blastbeaten aggression, there still existed a wealth of atmosphere to the album, proving that the band were no one-trick ponies.

Black Metal

Both triumphant and melancholic, violent and resigned, hysteric and finessed, Queen of Frost brazenly displayed the full swathe of FUNERAL FROST’s considerable arsenal. With a raw-yet-robust soundfield neither dampening nor exaggerating any of their dynamics, here did the Swedish trio spelunk in dungeons and raze battlefields alike, their screaming-into-the-nightsky sound surprisingly medieval and moody. Likewise, compared to so many of their blastbeating-all-the-time contemporaries, FUNERAL FROST shifted speeds often and never lingered too long in one, with the drums in particular ringing with authentically analog clarity. Add to this a subtle daubing of synths and Queen of Frost stands as a crucial tome for those into classic Arckanum, Kvist, Sorhin, and Norway’s Perished.

All the material they have recorded is now published in quality gatefold DLP.

Black Metal

GNIPAHÅLAN is one of the main projects of Swartadauþuz – lynchpin of Ancient Records and also in such esteemed cults as GREVE, BEKËTH NEXËHMÜ, Trolldom, Musmahhu, Azelisassath, Digerdöden, Mystik, Summum, and Daudadagr among many others – handling all voices, strings, and synths and various session drummers. As GNIPAHÅLAN, modernity is choked dead in favor of staunch ‘n’ strict mid-’90s classicism, specifically the retroactively-applied “second wave” of black metal across Scandinavia. With half a dozen demos, a couple splits, an EP, and a debut album from 2016, Swartadauþuz and cohorts have pursued a breathtaking vision of boundless traditionalism draped in hues of purple (and purple-blue).

Black Metal

In 2017, GOATMOON truly etched its name its Finnish black metal legendry with Stella Polaris, a monument of cosmic, snow-capped majesty. The entirely dungeon synth Silver Serpent followed in 2021, but now arrives GOATMOON’s full-length return to black metal with What Once Was… Shall Be Again. As presaged by its title, there’s an undeniably yearning and nostalgic aspect to the band’s characteristically epic ruminations, occasionally/often dusted by folkloric synths. But if one were to assume that What Once Was… Shall Be Again would further continue that refinement – and indeed, in large part, it does – the album equally takes GOATMOON back to their earliest, rawest roots, here temped by the steely-eyed austerity of older age and wisdom. It’s a skillful balance pulled off with aplomb, proving that the band honor their history but rarely repeat themselves. And more than anything, it provides another dazzling new canvas on which warriors and dreamers can explore…but no safe spaces here, of course. No other words necessary: What Once Was… Shall Be Again!

Black Metal

From the polar wastes, from the lands of eternal winter, a white storm is coming, a furious north wind colder than the pale starlight, the king and queen of arctic storms,
unleashed by hateful spells. A stellar white that absorbs darkness and light.

So kneel and greet the blessed polar cold before it pierces your hearts with ice daggers! Here comes the time of cold and ice when all that is weak must die.

Black Metal

Epic. Colossal. Majestic.
The 1995 masterpiece finally re-issued!
In The Woods… originally started out as the death metal band Green Carnation, until the bands lead member (main composer and guitarist Tchort) left to join the black metal legends Emperor. After Tchorts departure, the remaining band members formed In The Woods…, releasing their first demo in 1993. They released their much praised first full length album, HEart Of The Ages, in 1995. It smells of pagan myths from the deep, eternal forests. A true melancholic atmosphere, haunting a hidden world.

Black Metal

The band was founded, rehearsed and recorded based off our interpretations of early 90’s Black Metal. The era of murder, arson, Black Magick and spite. I firmly believe what you hear on these recordings, are the same chaos that fueled the originators, and is as genuine as the old classics. I was sitting right there alongside H. “Sarath” Dalen, while he recorded this on tape in the basement of our record store Apocalyptic Empire, in the heart of Nidaros back in 2005. Reminiscing back, I’ll never forget the intense atmosphere, dedication and focus the band had, something I’ve never experienced since, just like their live shows. Nothing will ever compare. The store was very much exactly what Helvete was in the 90’s: a record store ran by us for us, with a basement where recordings were happening non stop, even during the opening hours. The basement was a collective ground for us where lifelong friendships arose, parties ensued, and inspirations were endless. Imagine locking up a bunch of miscreants devoted to the same cause, with no boundaries, no thought or respect for anyone, just all focused on one thing: BLACK METAL. This was always for ourselves, hence why releases are so sporadic. I am truly grateful to not only having been there throughout the beginning, but to have been granted the exclusive right to release several of these gems, and to be able to call these genuine artists and individuals my close friends to this day.

We present to you the restored version of the one and only KAOSRITUAL – Svøpt morgenrød, plus the infamous Rituell katarsis demo and more, remastered by our friend M. of MGLA/No Solace. A special thanks to him for adding his magick to these incredible recordings, and I want to personally thank Blix and Tvedt for letting me finally unleash this upon the world.