Satanath Records

Next year, in 2025, In Loving Memory will celebrate their 20^th anniversary. Despite two decades of existence, however, they have never been the most productive act on our planet.

For many years, the scene from Quebec, Canada, is blooming and shining (un)bright.

[released on May 25th 2020, yet the scroll-down menu does not go back that far anymore...]

Recently I was listening to A Dark Shining Light again. It is almost exactly four years ago that this album got released. Since I did not write a review on this recording yet, but seen the fact that it is nothing but a masterwork, I will write down some of my ideas and thoughts about it.

I have to admit that I did not know the band Wardra. However, this act from Moscow did release a full-length in 2017, an EP in 2018 and a split with Logos (defunct in the meantime) in 2020. But it never came my way. Wardra was formed as a duo in 2016 and evolved throughout the years into a ‘real’ band (nowadays a quartet). Original member W (Vladimir Snegotsky) was part of the Aethyr line-up too, and collaborates with Majestat.

Location: Singapore

Members: Andi (the talking that accompanies the dead into the Lahad = lead vocals) / Khairil (the emptiness upon excavation of Kubur = all guitars) / Edi (the embedding of the Nisan = drums & percussions)

Formed: 1991-1993 / 1999-now

Recorded: at Studio 47 by Nizam Aziz

Artwork: Armaada Art (Andreas Christanetoff)

Format: jewel-box CD with twelve-page booklet & digital

Edition: 1,000 copies

Location: Ukraine

Members (sort of anonymous): M. (guitars) / J. (drums) / V. (bass) / A. (vocals, synths)

Mix / recording studio: Forest Den Studio

Artwork: Hellcatfairy Art (logo: Paint-It-Black Design)

Type: jewel-box with eight-page booklet

Edition: 500 copies

Duration: 37:29 minutes

Genre: Second Wave Black Metal

[another ‘older’ recording which this review will deal with, so I’ll keep it short; yet this material is worth being promoted anyway]

(released May 21^st 2020, yet the scroll-down menu does not go back that far anymore…)

Country (for what it’s worth): Romania

Members: Alex Costin (bass guitars), Flaviu Roșca (synths & piano), Xander Coza (vocals, guitars, synths), Liviu Pop (guitars), Luca Breaz (drums & percussions), Cosmin Farcǎu (guitars), Florentin Popa (backing vocals & field-recordings)

Lyrics: Florentin Popa

Older release, shorter review (yet written with passion)

Country (for what it’s worth): Russian Federation

Members: WV (lead vocals, basses, guitars), Namiros (guitars), E.J.C. (drums, basses, backing vocals)

Music: WV & Namiros

Lyrics: WV

Mix & mastering: E.J.C.

Cover artwork: Taya Rostovtseva

Layout: Aleksey Korolyov

Design: WV

[another review for an ‘older’ release, but then again: what’s the problem???]

I used to follow the Russian formation Sterbefall during their earlier years. Weg Nach Nichtigkeit, Plattensee and even Die Lawine (an acoustic reinterpretation of the past) could surely caress my eardrums. Yet as from 2016, things turned into an ear-deafening silence.