Vargsheim are a band from the Baden-Württemberg region, formed in 2004 as Blutrunst by Harvst, Kaelt and Blutwolf. After the release of the demonstrational recording Eine Nacht In Düsteren Nebeln, guitar player Blutwolf left the band, and Blutrunst changed their moniker into Vargsheim.
Of Things Seen & Unseen is the sophomore full length by UK-based Serpent Venom, after Carnal Altar. This new full album was recorded at the Skyhammer Studio in Autumn 2013 with nobody else but Chris Fielding at the helm - think Conan, Moss, The Wounded Kings, Ageless Oblivion or Electric Wizard, amongst tens of others.
The Norwegian trio Purple Hill Witch (Kristian-g, v; Andreas-b, and Øyvind-d) was formed in 2011, and their 7”EP Alchemy was received with open arms within the Doom-underground. They were recently signed by The Church Within Records, and they now release their self-titled debut full length, which lasts for forty seven minutes.
Somewhere in the midst of the nineties, Ron Vento left Death / Black act Lestregus Nosferatus in order to form a new band. It meant the end for that band, but FYI, they reformed (without Ron) a couple of years ago with an adapted moniker, Le Streghe Nosferatus. But that’s another story…
Taken their name from an old Dismember-song (or was it Carnage???), Deathevokation were born (created by Götz Vogelsang) nine years ago in order to pay tribute to the Old School.
Finland’s Demilich were an important name during the earliest nineties. Their demo tapes got distributed all over Europe and abroad, and in 1993, Necropolis released the band’s debut full studio recording, Nespithe. This album has been re-issued a couple of times in the past, both officially and bootlegged, by the way. The band broke up a little later, and reformed in 2005 for a couple of months.
Spanish act Onirophagus (currently with members of Decapitated Christ, Entropia and Empanadilla De Pus) was formed about two years ago (September 2011) in order to pay tribute to the early-nineties Death and Doom-Death scene. Last year there was an EP (Defiler Of Hope; I’m still searching for this material), and just like that material, the new stuff on Prehuman was done at the famous Moontower Studio with Javi Félez behind the knob-panel.
At the end of the eighties / early nineties, I was quite ‘active’ within the underground scene. Not as musician for sure, but I did some promotion for bands that back then were still young and unexperienced (now some of them are ‘huge’, like Arcturus, The Gathering, God Dethroned, Ancient Rites, Samael, Mantas (pre-Death), Demigod, Morbid Death (sort of pre-Enthroned), etc.).
This Italian band should not be an unknown entity in the Gothic Metal community, as the Brescia (North of Italy, West of the Lago di Garda – Garda Lake – roughly in the middle between Milano and Verona) based Epic/ Progressive band has been about since 1996!
Holy smokes, is this Oakland, California based band on fire, or what?!
