Black Metal

CRIMSON EVENFALL is the oft-overlooked predecessor of one of Finnish black metal’s most cult names, Musta Surma. As Musta Surma, the duo of Thyrgrimmr and Strigoi Mort have spent the better part of 25 years releasing demos, EPs, and splits but never a full-length record, with rumors frequently abounding about the band’s status, unreleased recordings, and general air of elusiveness. However, what Musta Surma lack in quantity, they more than make up for it it in quality: dirty-yet-mystical black metal time-locked in the ’90s, a veritable portrait of Dorian Gray forever covered in the ashes of the past.

Black Metal

rom their demos in the late ’90s to the fever of work from 2016 onward, this Finnish entity has created a vast and magickal world like no other. Naturally, it should come as no surprise given that mainman V-Khaoz is an incredibly prolific veteran of the black metal underground for over 25 years now, and concurrently numbers the likes of VARGRAV, EMBRYONIC SLUMBER, and GRIEVE among his endeavors. With DRUADAN FOREST, however, the emphasis has always been on atmosphere and its transportative qualities. Whether the medium is ominous, titanic-gait black metal, cosmic ambient, pure dungeon synth, or some symbiosis of those, it matters not: the story – and the voyage – from this realm to another is paramount.

Black Metal

By now, DRUADAN FOREST should require little introduction. From their demos in the late ’90s to the fever of work from 2016 onward, this Finnish entity has created a vast and magickal world like no other. Naturally, it should come as no surprise given that mainman V-Khaoz is an incredibly prolific veteran of the black metal underground during the past 25 years, and concurrently numbers the likes of VARGRAV, EMBRYONIC SLUMBER, and GRIEVE among his endeavors. With DRUADAN FOREST, however, the emphasis has always been on atmosphere and its transportative qualities. Whether the medium is ominous, titanic-gait black metal, cosmic ambient, pure dungeon synth, or some symbiosis of those, it matters not: the story – and the voyage – from this realm to another is paramount.

Dungeon Synth

Featuring two stalwarts of the dungeon synth genre, this split also brings together Finland’s foremost purveyors of the resurgent style. DRUADAN FOREST, of course, should require little introduction for those who follow the banner of WEREWOLF RECORDS: in 2019 did mainman V-Khaoz (also of labelmates VARGRAV and GRIEVE) release the staggering atmospheric black metal monolith Dismal Spells From the Dragonrealm, and shared an all-dungeon-synth split album with THE TRUE WERWOLF in 2108. Here, DRUADAN FOREST deliver two epic-length tracks of the purest, most fantastical dungeon synth. Unlike so many two-note/one-loop charlatans, V-Khaoz’ dungeon synth creations are symphonies unto themselves, neither understated nor overstated, with fugue-like compositions revealing a wealth of adventure and mystery equally.

Black Metal

Hailing from Finland, while EMBRYONIC SLUMBER may be a brand-new entity in name, the duo are longtime veterans of the underground: VARGRAV / DRUADAN FOREST mainman V-Khaoz and Hellwind Inferion, an incredibly prolific drummer but more recently known as the vocalist for both Sargeist and Desolate Shrine. And while what they create together as EMBRYONIC SLUMBER may show slight shades of their collective pasts, the resulting recording – the full-length In Worship Our Blood is Buried, the band’s bolt-from-the-blue debut – handily transcends comparisons altogether.

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