Ivan Tibos.

Svart Records do surprise me time after time. This time it goes for Sammal’s self-called album, a nine-tracker with a sixties-attitude.

German thrashers Witchburner are active for two decades in mean time, yet still they haven’t gone soft or surrendering. After a couple of line-up changes (new vocalist + new lead guitarist) and after signing to a new label (High Roller), the band returns with full length number seven, Bloodthirsty Eyes. The new stuff lasts for about thirty six minutes.

These guys from Finland are sick after having drunk too much contaminated milk. They stopped menstruating, apparently, and are trying to get to the most kidney stones. Who will finally produce breast milk and urinate chocolate milk?

Philosophical life questions, spiritual contemplations about man’s human nature and their raison d’être. I want another glass of warm, white stuff… Do I?

Aaaahrghhh, my sweet Desaster! Creators of one of my all-time favourite albums, A Touch Of Medieval Darkness (1995), and owners of lots of other ex-cel-lent releases in between their formation during the end of the eighties and their actual presentation. Deutsche Gründlichkeit!

A new epos, done by Odin (b), Infernal (g), Tormentor (d) and Sataniac (v), with Teutonic harshness and Barbaric mercilessness. Hail the goat!

The Ajna Offensive is not such a well-known label, but you might know them from splendid releases from bands like Weapon, Acrimonious, Plecid-I or Ultra, as well as some nice split records.

Fifteen years after its original release through Relapse, Hells Headbangers re-releases this beautiful full length on vinyl (double-LP available on black and silver / blue marble wax edition).

My personal meaning about German Paganers Wolfchant is an ‘up-and-down’ opinion. Both first albums (Bloody Tales Of Disgraced Lands and A Pagan Storm, released in, respectively, 2005 and 2007, through CCP) were acceptable, yet nothing more. Then they signed to Massacre. 2009’s Determined Damnation for sure was their best effort to date, but Call Of The Black Winds (2011) was a disappointing step backwards.

There are not that much internationally known Metal acts from South Africa, but one of the most interesting ones is a pretty young act, Bloodbeast, formed in 2011 by some (current or former) members of Bile Of Man, Demented Martyr, Fuck The Corpses, Architecture Of Aggression and Divine Plague. With gratitude to Infektion, Bloodbeast will be able to penetrate the metallic spheres of the Northern hemisphere.

Australia’s Denouncement Pyre gave me another aural orgasm in 2010 with their debut full length World Cremation, released through Hells Headbangers (review posted on 07/07/2010 and still available on Concreteweb’s archives section).

Katalepsy hail from Russia, and in their home country, they seem to be one of the most active and one of the most appreciated Death acts nowadays. With their international debut full length Autopsychosis, these guys will try to convince the rest of the dead worlds as well. I wonder if they will succeed. For sure they deserve to succeed!