A couple of years ago, I can in touch with Alexey Korolyov, a very sympathetic guy from Saint-Petersburg who ran (and still runs) the label Satanath Records, and the guy behind the very interesting projects Satanath and Abigorum. In mean time he also founded Symbol Of Domination Productions, another excellent label from Russia. Both labels characterise diversity, yet with a certain darkened, f*cked-up attitude. All kinds of extreme Metal are like welcome on both labels.
The Italian trio Nyx (A. Sathsiva, S. Flagellyon and G. Azelyoth) recorded this new album at the Sottomarino Giallo Rec Service studio during summer 2014, with mixing / mastering assistance of Luis Varo. The result, called Hairesis and, unfortunately, lasting for only half an hour (and some seconds, all right), gets released by two of my preferred East-European labels, i.e. Vacula Productions and Satanath Records.
Sea Of Despair are a Russian combo that did celebrate its tenth anniversary earlier this year. Throughout the past decade, they did record and release a handful of EP’s as well as two full lengths. One of those, Mоре Отчaяния (aka More Otchayaniya, which means ‘sea of despair’), was released in June 2009 via Wolfshade Records.
In order to ‘celebrate’ the split of Russia’s premium sadness Combo Emptiness Soul, I promised myself, and the labels involved, to write down about cheer and happiness provided the aural way by these doomsters.
Grimorium Verum (or ‘grimoire of truth’) are a Russian duo named after the ‘legendary’ book of ceremonial magic. They were limitedly active at the end of last century, and they took a five-year break. But in 2006 this Syktyvkar-based act returned, with Retaliation (2008) and Reborn (2011) as result.
The Russian one-man army Error gate was founded by Rigor in 2010 as Eg, and that’s why the current name still gets spelled as Error gate and not Error Gate – I understand that might seem quite irrelevant, yet purists amongst us will surely appreciate this worthy information. Or not… The project does not stand for (excerpt from their own bio:) ‘just music; it is the concept of perception of the world, nature, thoughts and consciousness’.
When I listened to Ragnell’s debut, I was quite enthusiastic about the result. That mini-album, called Black Requiem, was, just like the one this chronicle will deal with, released via Satanath Records, and the review was updated on September 27th 2014 – check it out!
Despite almost eight years of existence, Epitaph For Life isn’t but the first full album, and their second official release. Once again kindly offered to the audience by mighty Russian top-label Satanath Records, this time in co-operation with Black Plague Records (from California), it saw the light at the very end of 2014.
Transmissions is a split-album by a Finnish and a Hungarian project. The album lasts for almost fifty minutes and gets released via mighty Russian Satanath Records, once again in co-operation with two other highly professional labels: Metallic Media and Black Plague Records.
After some years of relative silence, Vologda, Russia-based band My Darkest Fury return with their second full length album, which was recorded in 2010 and 2011, produced by band vocalist / lyricist Artem and I. Sobolev; mix and mastering were done in between 2012 and 2014 at the Portal Records Studio in My darkest Fury’s home town. Hectic Existence clocks half an hour, and that’s a pity for the quality begs for more; at least if you’re a fan of this kind of un-beauty.
