Merch of the bands

 so this one was absolutely unexpected. I didn't know about this until my partner's son mentioned it. I thought I could have a look, since there were supposed to be metal bands at merch of the bands. 

I was in for a treat!! i met there again my former boss and drummer in Kawir, Hyperion. That was awesome and we could exchange a bit news and moan about the covid situation, haha!

I went to purchase a book about led zeppelin, too, and it wasn't even too expensive. 15 euro for a huge biography. can't wait to read that one, led zeppelin are one of my favourites and they were my second huge rock love after aerosmith. 

and well, who do i spot then?? sakis from rotting christ!! i finally caught up with him then and we had a chat. he asked about my daughter right away <3 it was so awesome to meet some metal family at this event, because it's been ages since the last huge concerts or festivals, so this was the next best thing. 

and so I left the event, grinning from ear to ear, with a fantastic book in my hands and some great memories. i really hope concerts come back next year.. 

Livet i Mørke

 it's been quite a while.. the Covid virus is still holding a tight grip on us all. There are no bigger festivals, concert tours and sport events yet. it is slowly getting better with people getting vaccinated and some events taking place. 

this actually happened end of may/june, but i'm not sure why i didn't write about it then. but now it's time for it!! so i had been to park tritsi to do a virtual half marathon and was nearly finished when i get a phone call from dennis. he tells me there is a metal festival going on at the small park next to his shop. so although i was dead tired i headed over to the park, with a few euro and a shirt from his stock, haha, and there i was!! 

it was massive fun, finally after such a long time, a festival again!! there was a quite interesting band, one that played only instrumental and was kinda boring after a while, but this here is about livet i mørke, because they are black metal!! 

oh boy, it was awesome. i've missed this so much! i afterwards checked facebook and even wrote them, but they don't have any material out yet. i grabbed the few live videos they have to be able to listen to something. but yea, this is fresh, underground greek black metal (with a scandinavian name, haha) and it's awesome!

just one weekend later i went to another mini festival with two metal bands. there was no black metal, but toxic pub played thrash metal classics, so mostly cover songs but that was SO fun, too. lots of head banging going on there :)

anyways, it's end of august now, since then there hasn't been anything else I heard of or went to, because summer in greece means that everything stops, haha. but there is something else I must write about, but that in the next blog post then, hehe!!

alrighty, laters then!! 

Album list 2020

 album list 2020

what kind of year was that?? did we ever think that something like this could happen, not just in the apocalypse movies but in real life?? it’s been crazy, it’s been insane, i’ve been frustrated so many times, angry, sad, disappointed.. but what can you do. life goes on. and with it music. wardruna’s new album was postponed to 2021, i was really pissed about that. but here is the rest, some really awesome gems amongst them. 

mortiis - spirit of rebellion

this album is based on, as the name already tells us, Ånden som gjorde opprør, but mortiis soon realised that the album started to develop into its own, individual work. it’s such a great album, it does remind of era 1, it’s of the same spirit and highly enjoyable. I’m so happy to see mortiis is continuing and it actually doesn’t matter where he’d going, i’m following and i love everything i hear. 

kawir - adrasteia

Kawir!! i love them very dearly from the moment i discovered them. if you remember, their drummer is actually my former boss :D so yea, also this work is fantastic. i love how they take some theme from greek mythology and create their masterpieces with a concept behind it. 

aherusia - NOSTOS~An Answer (?)

and then aherusia!! same goes for aherusia. they use traditional greek elements and their music is also a work of art in a way, tying together old and new. absolutely fantastic music, glad to see they continue in their own niche and with their own style. 

oranssi pazuzu - mestarin kynsi

finns are represented here, too, with oranssi pazuzu. their newest album didn’t strike me immediately, but also with their previous albums it’s like this. they need time to develop and you need to concentrate on them and let the music suck you in. astonishing new album!

solstice - angleland

this is a compilation of live tracks, some demos, rare tracks and such. i’m always eager to hear unreleased stuff from them, because until now i loved whatever they put out. here it’s a great mix for the true fans.

nomagik aka akizzbeatzz - urbanized desert stories

my former workmate and his great project is continuously evolving. he put out a new full album and it’s great relaxing music, full of rhythm, drums, beats. something really different from the rest of my discography, but i love it!

emyn muil - afar angathfark

WOW!!! i fell in love with this album immediately. yes, it’s very summoning oriented, but it’s so so good! i think the best until now. it catches the spirit totally and is full of great moments. 

dwarrowdelf - evenstar

Also dwarrowdelf released a new album and i like it a lot. It has some clean vocals and some unexpected parts, but it’s really good and it’s a great evolution of dwarrowdelfs sound. well done!!

in slaughter natives - skända din nästa

this is a compilation kind of album with older assorted songs. i love this one, so dark, so hypnotizing, so soul crushing!!

Árstíðir lífsins - Saga á tveim tungum II: Eigi fjǫll né firðir

these icelanders were my newcomers this year because all other bands were already known to me. this album is great metal inspired by iceland, vikings, traditions. beautiful to listen to their language, what a fantastic album. 

ulver - flowers of evil

I love ulver! even more so since I’ve seen them live. their new album is the same style than their last and it’s very catchy music. danceable, electronic, very entertaining!! this is a must!

havukruunu - uinuos syömein sota

oh, some more finns! havukruunu have created a great album with also a huge fanbase, according to bandcamp!! i’m very happy for them, their album, the artwork, the specific Finnish metal sound, it’s all there! 

EPs

yoth iria - under his sway

a new project by jim mutilator!! fantastic two track with slow, menacing sounds, exactly what i like. can’t wait for the full album!

ville valo - gothica fennica vol.1

ville is back!! i’ve been so excited to hear his new EP and it’s very much alike HIM and it’s so good. it’s what we’ve all been missing since HIM quit!

ihsahn - telemark \ pharos

ihsahn has become one of my favourite artists, who would’ve guessed! but seeing him live played a huge role here. his new EPs speak to me even more, since one is titled after his birthplace in norway and the second bears a greek name. so that’s pretty cool. and the songs are fantastic with the title track pharos being my favourite. and some fun cover tracks thrown in, too :D

mortiis - the shadow of the tower (full), remixes, the great leap remixes, bleed like you remixes, sins of mine, blood becomes water

ok, mortiis put out the full album and then a bunch of other stuff. i think i didn’t even write down all of it here. i can’t get enough and he’s been fantastic in sharing with us everything he’s working on. that’s also part of the cult of thee black wizards i’m part of, a secret mythical club, of only initiated wizards and witches, hehehehehehe!! :D

encloaked - isolation suite, beacons burning on the winter horizon, hyperborean hands

I discovered also encloaked, this is synth music, very hypnotic and drawing you into another world. beautiful music to relax and escape. 

xelyruth - where pages scream

this is a greek project and this album was part of the book/music project called the metal chapters. i read the book and some of the songs accompany small stories. really great concept and awesome metal!

live concerts

well.. there wasn’t going on much due to corona.. but at least in the beginning of the year i still managed a few concerts. 

rotting christ heretics tour 

rotting christ had to postpone the athens show due to weather problems on sea. so the concert moved to the new year. it was so great to see them again, i had missed them!! the tolis brothers are now accompanied by two new guys and i was first sad to see vagelis and george go, but actually they found good replacements. this was so fun and i enjoyed this so very much!!

under the pagan moon II

i’ve been to the first, of course i had to go to the second instalment, too!! i saw sear bliss. black metal with a trumpet!! and this works so well, it really surprised me! and then kawir. oh yes!! it’s been a joy to see them live again, as well as my former boss. they played music from their entire career. i’m more into the mythological stuff than the pure black metal tracks, but there is something for everyone. great evening!

ved buens ende

this concert was on march 6th. just a few days later we were hit with a lockdown. we were so incredibly luckily to see them live. they are a band who do not play many live shows and they decided to come to athens!! how awesome. this was a fantastic concert, and i didn’t even know their stuff previously. absolutely fantastic, so happy i got to see this all star norwegian black metal band :D 

and well.. then everything stopped. and i haven’t seen any more bands this year. hoping for a better 2021, hoping that the mortiis/mayhem show will actually take place. let’s keep our fingers crossed!!

best song of the year

emyn muil - hall of the fallen

wow, simply wow!! this is so much in the vein of summoning and it’s SO good. love this song so very much, really reminds me of the best summoning songs ever composed. 

Ved Buens Ende

Holy crap!! So this is a band that has been around since the 90s and managed to only release one full album. They broke up, having played live only a couple of times. They reunited just to disperse again. Their recent reunion was accompanied by a handful of festival appearances. And then Greece!! How blessed are we!

I'm saying that because this band consists of the quite legendary Norwegian musicians vicotnik and Carl-Michael eide. So of course I had to go see them! Arriving at fuzz club I still caught a bit of the opener insect ark. Heavy, droning, repetitive sounds, something quite extraordinary!

Ved Buens Ende Hit the stage with a small delay and from the beginning it was a very intense experience. The clean singing of eide with the rough singing of vicotnik complemented each other perfectly. Musically it is avantgarde black metal, very creative and still dark. Brilliant!!

Vicotnik ended the night with informing us that there are no other encores because they actually have no more songs, haha!! Well, let's hope they think about creating new music for next time then!!

-Daedin
Listen, hear my demons dance,
after a view and a fallen star, they gather

edit: how even more lucky are we, that this concert was scheduled right before the corona virus ended all concerts and festivals. now let's hope for some summer festivals at least to take place..

Under the pagan moon II

Sear Bliss - Kawir

this festival comprised of five bands actually, but i only saw two of them. but those were awesome! well, kawir was the band i came for, having seen them live before and also their drummer being my former colleague.

so it was also a case of supporting a friend. gagarin was nicely filled by the time i arrived and sear bliss had already started playing. they are hungarian and they are awesome! it was really a surprise for me. they have a live trumpeter and that mind sound really strange. black metal and a trumpet?? but actually it really works!! it was so fun!!

kawir started their set with three girls dressed in ancient robes and performing some pagan fire-ritual-dance and that was pretty cool. they started to play first some more raw black metal songs and changed into their more folk oriented songs for the second part of the show.

i enjoyed those the most with artemis, dionysus, trimorphi thea and hermes being one of my favourites. oh, there was also to kavirs and agamemnon!! i wish i could have stayed until the end, but the concert had started half an hour late and it was already going to be one a clock until i'm home, so i left before the end.

still i was happy to see them again, to also get the new album and to discover a new band!! can a evening get much better than this??

- Daedin

ελθε μακαρ διονυσε
ος χιφεσιν χαιρεις
ελθε μακαρ διονυσε
ος αιματι χαιρεις

Rotting Christ Heretics tour

this concert had been planned for november but was cancelled due to bad weather conditions that prevented the band to bring their gear safely from italy to greece via ship. so the concert was postponed until january. just a few days prior to the concert the co-headliner moonspell dropped out, not being able to leave portugal for personal reasons.

well for me that was no big deal, i was there for rotting christ anyway. piraeus academy was sold out anyway and the place was packed by the time i arrived. there were two support bands which i missed. rotting christ entered the stage with ΧΞΣ and the place already went nicely nuts, haha!!

there followed many songs i personally love, like απαγε σατανα, ελθε κυριε, δαιμονων βρωσις, νεμεσις, societas satanas, grandis spiritus diabolos and the ever amazing κατα τον δαιμονα εαυτου.

i must say that i really love how the band has become even more ritualistic, mysterious and spiritualistic than they were before, it seems they really soak this up. there are so many chanted parts, so much liturgic stuff, absolutely fantastic. it creates such a deep and dark atmosphere.

i had to leave before the encore because of my daughter being sick at home, so i missed non serviam, but that's ok. it was a most remarkable night, with two new members of the band, with lots of head banging and screaming and an awesome feeling leaving the place. rotting christ are an institution, they are of the old league, they are legends!!

- Daedin

ΦΡΙΚΩΔΗΣ ΤΕΚΝΑ

ΚΑΤΑΡΕΣ

ΔΑΙΜΟΝΩΝ ΒΡΩΣΗΣ

ΣΚΙΑ ΑΝΑΙΜΑΚΤΟΣ

Album list 2019

this year has not been as busy as other years. mainly because i couldn’t focus much on it, i didn’t have enough time. but still there are enough albums i bought, listen to and love. 

Full-lengths

rotting christ - the heretics

rotting christ have been one of my favourites, ever since i started to listen to black metal. with their last three albums they went into a direction that i absolutely love. it’s this ritualistic feeling, this deep, rooted, spiritual element. their newest album is a concept album and it’s again brilliant. i’m so glad this band is still around.

Týr - hel

Týr have transformed a few times. i must say that i liked their doom phase the most and wasn’t that impressed by the more heavy metal feeling that came later on. it seems that this album is a better combination of both, still very awesome viking battle metal or something, haha! 

deadspace - dirge

deadspace are delivering again! whatever they release, i always like it. the music is heavy, full of agony and pain. 

swallow the sun - when a shadow is forced into the light

beautiful album!! swallow the sun started their career with a brilliant album. after some albums that didn’t stick much to my memory, the last years have seen them find their unique, very diverse style. well done!

darkthrone - old star

ok, fenriz is god. :D i love how he focuses more on nature, heaviness and blackness in the last albums and this one is another true gem. awesome tunes.

gaahls wyrd - GastiR - Ghosts Invited

gaahl is back!! oh how i loved the news! it took a while for the first album to come out, but there it is and it’s brilliant. it’s like you pair wardruna with trelldom and spice it up with just a hint of gorgoroth. definitely worth the wait.

dwarrowdelf - of dying lights / from beneath the fells

dwarrowdelf released two albums. the new album of dying lights, which is again beautiful tolkienesque black metal, and the from beneath the fells album, which is dungeon synth influenced and a very interesting new direction. both are great albums!

insanity cult - all shall return to chaos

insanity cult also released a new album and they stick to their recipe of despair and darkness. loved it!

abbath - outstrider

abbath released his second solo album and it’s just as strong as the first!! abbath just recently went into rehab and it’s all been building up, it seems, with king leaving the band.. i hope abbath gets his shit together, comes clean and continues this musical journey! 

order of the ebon hand - VII : the chariot

this band has been around for so long, but only released their third full album this year. it’s how greek black metal should be, the way we love it. well done, i hope they’ll get the tarot deck done in quite some years to come :D

mayhem - daemon

yessss!! i was really excited for new mayhem, because they were so fantastic live and i discovered them anew. the new album is brilliant and i love to see how they defied all odds and still make great music. 

EPs - compilations - demos

mortiis - blood and thunder EP with bonus songs / visions of an ancient future (excerpt from upcoming album spirit of rebellion / doppelgänger+geisteskrank+the shining lamp of god+demons are back full album versions / cintecele diavolui: one soul less for the devil / the awaken: the forgotten songs from smell of rain 

erm, ok, so.. i don’t even know how to count those all, haha!! so mortiis started to seriously empty his attic, haha!! there are so many unreleased songs from different phases, from cintecele diavolui, from different eras.. and it’s all gonna be released!! also mortiis started the cult of thee black wizards, which i am part of and thus got a lot of exclusive material. well.. what can i say really?? i’m salivating, i’m happy.. SO MUCH MORTIIS!! i love that man. :D

Úir - Óenach Tailten

this EP is awesome. i love to discover metal artist that sing in celtic languages. here we have scottish gaelic and it’s a feast for the ears. 

Solstice - White Thane

so solstice have a new singer, a woman!! to commemorate this they rereleased two songs with her on vocals. very interesting path we’re following here, let’s see what they are up to next!!

Evalir - the awakening

want some tolkien black metal? want some atmospheric black metal? here it is!! yet another great band with a promising EP

Heather Wasteland - Tre Sverd

very interesting project with pagan sounds. mortiis took over some local parts in norwegian, which is something thrilling! apart from Vond, we normally don’t hear mortiis in norwegian :) 

Dreams of nature - Naturaleza Ancestral

this is a compilation of songs that were previously only released on some split albums. this is a great idea and i’m glad i could get a collection of all these songs. lovely atmospheric music, full of love for nature. 

Kalmankantaja - Ruumiinvaellus / Kuoleman kehtolaulut 2014-2017

a new song demo and a compilation of songs that were most likely released on splits etc. this was a true bargain, so i had to get the album. kalmankantaja always deliver and their style is just solid, crushing, depressing music. i didn’t listen much into this direction this year, but kalmankantaja is a must.

Marwolaeth records - bristish black metal vol.2

after their first compilation, this welsh black metal label released another compilation this year with more underground bands. awesome. i really enjoy supporting some small scenes, like the welsh.

song of the year:

mortiis - methuselah

yep.. this is a song from the smell of rain recordings and it wasn’t released until now. and i have no idea why. it’s such a brilliant song!! it’s exactly the kind of stuff that made smell of rain so fantastic. can’t wait for more unreleased stuff! :)

concerts:

ihsahn / order of the ebon hand

i haven’t been to many concerts this year. having a toddler means i have to pick my concerts and just go to the ones i absolutely NEED to see. this was one of them. ihsahn, the emperor, the black wizard!! i didn’t know his solo stuff well, but listened to it prior to the concert. it was fantastic. he’s formidable live. he sings parts in emperor voice. he is a stage presence that you will remember forever. absolutely smashing. 

order of the ebon hand were support and i wanted to see more, but because of heavy traffic i only made it for a few songs. still i’m happy i saw them again and also got the new album!

wardruna 

wardruna!! kvitrafn doesn’t need much introduction. once drummer of gorgoroth, he started wardruna and it’s such beautiful music. it’s deeply rooted in tradition, paganism and shamanism. simply fantastic! i enjoyed this concert immensely and i’m so happy i could go see einar. 

marina

yep, no metal here, haha! but i will put this here, too, because she was fantastic. marina is half greek, half welsh and was known as marina and the diamonds. the concert was fantastic, was dancing along to all the songs. she also sang one song in greek, which was so emotional! enjoyed this so very much :)

Ihsahn / Order of the ebon hand

In September there were going to be two interesting black metal acts, namely Ihsahn and Dimmu Borgir. I don't really know either of them, just having heard a few songs. Finally it turned out that I wouldn't be in Athens for Dimmu Borgir, so I chose to go see Ihsahn.

It was a great choice. I did listen to his albums before the concert of course, but not with paying so much attention. I thought I liked what I heard without being too fascinated.

Arriving late to Fuzz club because of celebrations in Aigaleo, I managed to catch only a few songs of Order of the ebon hand. I wanted to see more of them, too bad. But I bought their new album and will give it a listen soon. They are awesome guys who play black metal the way it should be played.

Ihsahn hit the stage exactly on time and the concert started off with some great tunes. I have to check the setlist later, I have no idea what he played, but it was a great mix. I love that he incorporates so many styles and still it is metal, still it is heavy, still Ihsahn. And his voice!! He has enough parts in his Emperor voice and I love it! Really makes you feel connected to the past and his black metal roots.

I also had Mortiis flyers with me and left them at Fuzz. So it was kind of an Emperor night and it felt fantastic. I wish I could see Emperor one day, but until then, this was the closest I can get to it and it was formidable.

Give in to the hunger
Give in to the solitude
Give in to the rapture of life
Give in to the darkness
Mass darkness

- Daedin

Wardruna

It's been a while for me to go to a concert, because of the birth of my baby daughter. But I couldn't let this one pass by me.. Wardruna! I was so excited when the concert was announced and got my ticket right away.

Now most of you probably know that Wardruna's mastermind, Einar Selvik, is also Kvitrafn from Gorgoroth. He played drums in one of the most notorious black metal bands coming from Norway.

This is Einar years later on the same spot with his son, just love this image so much!

Also in Wardruna for the first two albums was Gaahl, bandmate in Gorgoroth and interested partly in the same things than Einar, old Norse tradition and lore.

After quitting Gorgoroth, Kvitrafn formed Wardruna and in this found his true calling. He recreated old Norse instruments, learned to play them and also studied old songs, runesongs, magic and power of the runes etc. The music he created from this is not a copy of old songs, but something new and truly amazing.

The Runaljod trilogy is one song for every rune in the old futhark, the resulting three albums are fantastic. I love them very much and I was delighted to recognise many songs they played in athens. The sound is fantastic, so ritualistic, spiritual, full of rhythm. It makes you feel in connection with nature, with your pagan roots, with your ancestors. It was a true experience!!

I'm so glad i could go to see this concert and dive into this music fully. it's just so more powerful live. gotta listen to all wardruna albums again now. it's for people like Einar that traditions, old knowledge and mythology is not dying out, yet.

who shall sing me into the death-sleep sling me
when i walk on the path of death
and the tracks i tread are cold, so cold

- Daedin

Non serviam

I must say that I always wondered if anyone was ever going to write a book for rotting christ. they are greece's most influential and famous black metal band. it finally happened with the help of dayal patterson, of course. in a previous post i showed all his books that i possess and he is, for me at least, the best black metal journalist out there.

it was announced that he would come to athens on december 15th and sign books, together with sakis, themis and jim. there was no way i'd lose this opportunity! so together with my daughter we arrived at bowel of noise record store for the signing.

we met sakis, dayal and jim, themis hadn't arrived yet and i didn't stay around to wait because of my girl with me who started to get hungry. but it was great to meet these three gentlemen and have the book signed! chatting with them a bit was great, too and i enjoyed the nice conversations.

i forgot to ask jim for a picture, but i later found this screenshot of a video where we are all at the same spot, so this has to do for now.

i read the book already and it was amazing! it covers the 30 year span of the band's career and shows how persistent sakis was to keep the band going. we are lucky to have them still around and to still give us new albums! i'm also happy that i could help dayal with some scans for the book and thus have my name in the thank you list. how awesome :)

the new album will be out shortly and i cannot wait. the songs that have been released already promise much! non serviam indeed.

- Daedin

In the name of Satan, the ruler of the earth, the king of the world,
I command the forces of darkness to arise from the depths to attend us…

Best of 2018

another year went by! it’s been a year with lots of music, but not so many concerts due to the birth of my daughter :) still, we went to see tonis sfinos at the burger festival, we went to under the quarry III (a metal festival!), onirama at the christmas light opening and some other street festivals! all this together with the little pumpkin :D i’m glad i could at least get a small taste of concerts and festivals :) now on to music!

Full lengths

Summoning - With doom we come

i remember my excitement when this was announced. so many years with silence from camp summoning and then this spectacular album!! it got mixed reactions, but i love it so much. there are a few songs that just make me weep with joy. melodies and riffs that grab hold of you and won’t let you go until you succumb to the atmosphere. no wonder i chose one song from this album as my song of the year. i’m so happy they are back and i hope they will not vanish again in a decade long sleep..

Solstice - white horse hill

solstice finally wrapped up things for this album. it’s a solid solstice record with everything we love from these masters of doom. epic soundscapes, epic tunes. lyrics you want to scream along to. did i say epic?

make a change…kill yourself - IV

there cannot be a year without some suicidal black metal, right? make a change… kill yourself with their fourth album, as always just numbered, as always a work of finest depressive shit.

Ghost - Prequelle

new ghost album!! :D this has been another huge highlight. what an album it is!! it’s poppy, yes, but it’s SO good, so catchy, so retro, so freaking entertaining. Ghost definitely did it again. i hear “see the light” and get goosebumps. what a song!

Zeal and Ardor - Stranger fruit

zeal and ardor have been a favourite of mine from the beginning. their new album taps into the same vein, but is short from being boring. the same stomping rhythms, the same undeniable dark ritualistic charm. it’s great to see that their unique idea wasn’t something that just works for one album. there surely is much more in store for them.

the dead creed - pieces… to heal a soul in the darkest hour

i was really excited for this one. the dead creed is something special and unheard of. he calls himself monasteric death metal or something like that, but it’s just a guy with a guitar, doing incredible things with it! fantastic stuff.

Behemoth - I loved you at your darkest

behemoth didn’t have an easy task. after the satanist, how could they continue? for me the satanist was near perfection. now ILYAYD got some bad reviews, which i cannot understand, though. i admit i’m not into it as into the satanist, but still.. a song like bartzabel just crushes into you, slowly, heavy, this is the stuff i love!

Daimon - …from the black caverns

a greek project that was recommended to me. some solid greek black metal there! awesomely dark and haunting.

Bahkauv - Et Bahkouv kütt

now this is some dungeon synth from aachen! fantastic stuff, really glad i discovered this. it’s based on stories from the region. now i would really like to know the stories and reading them while listening to this haunting stuff!

Iselder - Gwaglewch

welsh black metal! i do love how they seem to be more in touch with their welsh roots than other acts. great album, menacing but melodic! if celtic druids would go to the dark side, this is what it would sound like ;)

Dwarrowdelf - the sons of Fëanor

how cool is this! when browsing for some tolkien black metal i stumbled upon this guy. what a fantastic album! this is exactly what i want in music! i love the concept, one song for every son, for every death. brilliant! the songs are epic, the soundscapes are menacing, full of grief but beauty.

Acherontas - Faustian Ethos

acherontas is a band that has been around for some time and i had heard about them, too, but never really got into them. during a bandcamp sale i decided to get their new album. that definitely was a good idea! this is the greek occult black metal sound right there.

Lucifer’s Child - The Order

george from rotting christ plays in lucifer’s child and they released their second album this year. very occult, very dense and gripping. this is the left hand path, this is The Order and it is hauntingly good.

Shibalba - Stars Al-Med Hum

i had seen shibalba open for dodheimsgard. live this was really difficult, you need another atmosphere for it, the songs are slow, minimalistic, building up. later on i listened to them at home, though, and came to love them. this is their new album and this is the kind of meditative, ritualistic stuff that can give you chills.

Magmakammer - Mindtripper

norwegian doom!! stumbled upon them by pure chance. what a great album!! it’s been a while since i explored some doom, since i had moved into other directions, but here is an album that shows me exactly why i’ll always be a doom metal girl at heart.

Wardruna - skald

i love wardruna! their trilogy was something absolutely stunning. now skald is more acoustic, more lyric based. i must admit i prefer the trilogy, still this is fantastic music, a norse legacy, this is here to preserve verses that otherwise might be lost.

DreamLongDead - umbra

i love DreamLongDead. they are a band that truly doesn’t fit in any category and they don’t give a damn. they have doom elements i love, they can be death, punk, thrash, black, everything. their newest album is again a crazy trip, pounding in your head.

EPs - live - remix

dreams of nature - 4 band split “mater natura excelsa”

i love dreams of nature! here we have a four band split, dreams of nature added two songs. this makes me long for a new full length! the other three bands were great to check out, too (elderwind, sorrow plagues, de la nostalgie)

kalmankantaja - tuulikannel EP

kalmankantaja are the only finns so far, i think! what happened to my list?? where are my finns at?? i think last year i had five or so, this year i see norwegians and greeks conquered my list, haha! but yes, as always some awesome tunes from kalmankantaja.

Mortiis - the perfect reject

mortiis is again in this list, ha!! and this time with remixes from perfectly defect. this is so awesome, i sometimes like the remixes more than the original, haha! i just wish mortiis would do some new stuff! but ok, as long as he feeds us something every year to keep us salivating more, we’re all good! xD

Behemoth - Messe noire - satanist live

this live album is special for me. i saw them on that tour here in athens and this has kind of started a small musical revolution for myself. i’m forever grateful. i’ll always get chills during o father, o satan, o sun.

Deadspace - live and feral / mouth of scorpions

deadspace, those crazy fuckers! awesome live album, wish i could catch them some time live, but that’s difficult, them being australian! they also released a new EP this year and i must say that i have gotten into them again after a little break.

daagh - EP

who says the norwegian black metal scene is dead? who?? this here proves that norway will always be spearheading the black metal community and i don’t care what others say. you just have to find the gems!

Iselder/Merciless Savage - Annûn

Iselder not only released a full album, but also a split with another welsh band, representing the south and the north. here i must mention marwolaeth records. if you want to find welsh black metal, here is the place.

Best song of the year:

Summoning - Silvertine

this song opens with a melody that makes me weep elven tears. genius, absolutely genius! i listen to this sometimes when going for a run and i have to hold myself back to just start dancing to it. this is what tolkien black metal is all about. THIS. SO MUCH.

Black metal publications

i did an entry on the ultra damaged zine, because it also featured a signature from maniac and was a truly good read. i have many more books and magazines, though, and i thought i would share them here, because it's a quite big and interesting collection :)

secrets of my kingdom, the first and only book of mortiis in its rereleased form. i also have the original one in my collection. this is based on mortiis' imaginary world, a very bleak and hostile environment. it's like a collection of short stories entered around this world and our main character. this is very important to understand era 1 and the whole lore around it. the rereleased edition is absolutely gorgeous, with huge prints, interviews and a great cover, by david thierree.

and that is the second book, a book about david thierrees art, which has been used by many black metal artists. beautiful, very nature oriented and dark art.

the death archives has been collected and written by necrobutcher. a truly amazing collection of pictures from mayhem's most notorious time. also stories that show you this truly chaotic time, the time of mayhem.

black metal - hellenic cult was written by lord marganor, the owner of mexican azermedoth records. this was the first book i could find solely dedicated to hellenic black metal, and it's written by a mexican! this is self-released, but a work of dedication and love for black metal. so glad i found this.

blasphemous the book is the fanzine of the magus, best known for necromantia. i just had to get this, since this is a fanzine from greece and i wanted to see how the scene was here back then, what bands were known here etc. really interesting read and great effort from the magus.

the slayer mag diaries. do i have to say much even? this is a huge tome, it's massive. 20 issues of the zine, a book to kill people with, haha! metalion must be one of the most dedicated people to black metal. i don't always agree with his views and he later on started to mostly write about trash metal, not black metal, but this book is just written history. legendary.

letters from the dead was written by the old nick. he wrote letters to dead, mainly for business purposes. but dead opened up to him about many things that interest him. this shows well how troubled dead really was, how much he felt lost and in the wrong place on earth. very insightful small book.

the metal chapters is a greek project, combining songs with short stories. this features only greek bands, one of them being rotting christ. what a nice idea!

pirunkehto is the story of Finnish black metal. when i saw that there will be a book about this, i just had to get it. it's a massive tome and it was so interesting to read. loved every page of this.

masters of metal is a greek book about metal in general, but also featuring enough black metal bands. every band is introduced with a small text, but the focus is on pictures. i got this very cheap on sale, and it's nice to have it!

behemoth! here we have the biography of behemoth as well as nergal's personal book, dealing much with his struggle agains leukaemia. both of these books were fantastic and i enjoyed them immensely. makes me so happy to have seen them live and gotten to know so much through them.

the cult never dies series by dayal patterson is something truly inspiring. he released his first book on black metal, which has been translated in many other languages until now and gave him motivation to continue. people were hungry for this. and since then there have been countless new publications. here are the four i have, as well the first two pictures in this post, which have been published by dayal, too.

Death to light, to law, to love

Cursed be moon and stars and stars above

May darkness the everlasting old

Drown Manwë, Varda and the shining sun

-Daedin

Annual best of lists

at the moment i can't go to shows since i'm pregnant, so for something else now :) my two best of lists from 2016 and 2017, which i published on facebook, but decided to put them here now, too.

Best albums of 2016

I decided to do this one and list my favourites of this year. There will follow some honorary mentions, because they are either tribute albums, EPs or singles/splits or a live album and I cannot count them fully. So here it is, my top 10 this year. Musically it was a great year guys!

Mortiis - The Great Deceiver

What can I say.. did we fans ever think to hear this one? nope! I remember in 2011 when it was announced and it took some fucking 5 years to come out, haha! Needless to say I was ecstatic and I still am.

Abbath - Abbath

Black metal rock’n roll in your face! Just awesome.

Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä

This band always surprises you, mostly live, where they are an assault to all your senses, a positive but disturbingly beautiful assault, mind you! This is excellent Finnish metal.

Black Tomb - Black Tomb

Now this is some heavy heavy doomy shit and I love it.

Deadspace - Gravity/In Ecstatic Sorrow

Deadspace gave us two releases this year, one being older recordings and one the new album. Both are awesome. Both are depressed, dark, deep.

Grá - Ending

My personal surprise this year! Awesome band live, works perfectly on CD, too. Blasphemy, dark black metal tunes, great stuff.

Rotting Christ - Rituals

This is exactly what I want. Ritualistic, driving music, full of haunted sounds, chants, dark vibes.. Satanic lyrics, powerful, pounding.

Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

Moonsorrow, just like Oranssi Pazuzu sing in Finnish and I appreciate this a lot. Most bands sing in english for commercial reasons, but not those two! Well done! This album is amazing, epic, mesmerising.

Eldamar - The force of the ancient land

Norwegian epic black metal. One of the best I have heard, exactly what I love and want when thinking of Tolkien black metal.

Kalmankantaja -Tyhjyys

Depressing Finnish music. I just realise the third band in my top ten with finnish lyrics, great! This band is simply amazing and fulfil my need for depressed, suicidal, funeral music..

Now the honorary mentions..

DreamLongDead - 4 band split

Awesome greek band, pretty underground, playing a vicious mix of doom, black, and.. death? punk? no idea.. xD Their song on this split, Vomit Earth, is genius stuff.

Mayhem - De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas Alive

Mayhem Alive!! Perfect album there, cannot wait to see them live in Athens. This is the right way to celebrate this album..

Tribute to Emperor - In honour of Icon E

Awesome tribute with quite known bands like Taake and Horna.

Solstice - To Sol A Thane

I cannot wait for Solstice to give us the whole album. This is the little taste they give us of what is to come. Finest british doom.

In Mordor where the shadows are - Homage to Summoning

What an album! Summoning are basically my heroes in epic, Tolkien black metal and I’m surely one of thousands who think the same. Finally a worthy tribute with so many awesome bands participating that I love myself, too.

Ghost - Popestar

This EP is genius and so so good! Ghost.. I cannot even say much about them, they are so unique and so perfect. Waiting for the new album!

Best albums of 2017 (plus concerts)

another year went by, with awesome music! last year was the first year i did this, because i became so obsessed with finding new underground music, which has probably never happened on this scale before in my life. and this year has been even more fruitful! so here we go, my best of 2017 full lengths, plus some extras like EPs, remix, demos etc.

edit: included a top ten of concerts and the song of the year, too

mortiis - unraveling mind

Mortiis has to be number one again, haha! and in 2017 he even threw three releases into the screaming masses, haha! (two more further down) unraveling mind is an old recording, but only now released. it’s the closest to era one he has done in years and it’s absolutely stunning. i have the LP, but not the digital files and i told him two times already but he is reluctant to release it. DAMN! xD

satyricon - deep calleth upon deep

what can i say.. one of the first black metal bands i listened to, back in 2002.. and their new release is so good. the cover made headlines and this just shows how uncompromising they are. well done, you are the true northern black spirit!

insanity cult - of despair and self destruction

a friend of mine introduced these greek masters of depressive black metal to me. really great music and absolutely to my liking.

kalmankantaja - demonwoods / routamaa

these Finnish depressive masters are the most productive band i know. they use to release two full lengths a year and here we talk about quality and quantity! what a band indeed.

nargaroth - era of threnody

this band should be known to any black metal fan. they introduced the term “black metal ist krieg” and also have the most iconic song “the day burzum killed mayhem” in their repertoire. after a long absence nargaroth is back and it’s a great return.

carach angren - dance and laugh amongst the rotten

also dutch horror symphonic black metal trio carach angren gave us a new album and it’s like its predecessors a work of beauty and horror in one. awesome.

the order - lex amentiae

the order hail from norway and consist of ex-mayhem members. can only be good, right? right! it sure as hell is.

emyn muil - elenion ancalima

tolkien black metal, ahhh beautiful! i cannot get enough of this kind of music and emyn muil once again deliver with their second full length. mesmerising!

aherusia - prometheus

greek folk black metal band, if you will. i saw the theatre for their newest album and it was a great experience, although hard to understand since they sing in an ancient greek dialect of alexandria. i bow to aherusia for this idea and their vision!!

hexer - cosmic doom ritual

hexer from germany, ruhrpott area! awesome doom and if i remember right, their first full length album. awesome debut!

havukruunu - kelle surut soi

another Finnish depressive black metal band that sings in Finnish and makes my heart rejoice, for i truly miss the Finnish darkness, despair and melancholy.

tuhonsiemen - ajaton, nimetön, kasvaton

on we go.. with more finns! it seems i found more and more from my second most beloved home, finland. they also deserve more recognition..

nergal - ΝΥΚΤΑ ΓΕΜΑΤΗ ΘΑΜΑΤΑ-ΝΥΚΤΑ ΣΠΑΡΜΕΝΗ ΜΑΓΙΑ

greek classic black metal outfit nergal! they are one of the oldest greek black metal bands and they show that they have still more to give. a great album, full of that black magick we all crave!

Eldamar - A dark forgotten past

my favourite norwegian tolkien/epic black metal band! this is his second full length and it’s just as good as the first. beautiful music, enchanting!

Our Banshee - 4200

and now for something completely different! this is my colleagues band and yes, this has nothing to do with the other black metal acts.. but this is awesome music to sing along and dance!  after so many years, finally the debut is out

Kawir - ΕΧΙΛΑΣΜΟΣ

why did i last year not speak at all about ΠΑΤΕΡ ΗΛΙΕ ΜΗΤΕΡ ΣΕΛΑΝΑ? last year i tried to do a top ten, which i discard now and list all of them, because kawir should have been there for sure! because they are a great band and i love them! one of the oldest greek black metal bands, specialising in pagan/folk black metal. and well.. my former colleague plays drums in this band  you see how musically fruitful my workplace is, hehe!

Lleuad - I pass into the stars/Wildered against the gloom

one could count these as two full lengths albums, both are more than 30min long. Lleuad is from wales, finally i can include a welsh black metal band here, yay!! and a very productive project with two releases in the span of three months. this is exactly my stuff, ambient, melancholic, atmospheric, but also fierce, raw and powerful. nice work! will for sure continue to follow this guy.

Nortt - endeligt

this will be probably the last entry this year, because it was just released before the end of the year. after 10 year silence, Nortt is back. this danish one-man-project has brought forth some of the finest funeral doom available and the new album does not fall short. it’s grand, it’s depressing, it’s the soundtrack for a night in a mausoleum.

Extras - EP, demo, remix, split, live

Mortiis - the great corrupter

remix album of last year’s the great deceiver. it’s just not a bunch of remixed songs, this is a masterpiece and i almost listen to it more than to the deceiver. the involved bands explain all.. die krupps, godflesh, apoptygma berzerk, in slaughter natives, wumpscut.. only the finest!

VOND - AIDS to the people

what a charming name! mortiis’ side project had three full length releases as well as one EP. this second EP was never released though and in 2017 it was finally lifted from its grave. mortiis’ depressed side project, a mixture of depression and dungeon synth.

Icewind forest - the approach of winter

this is a demo and it promises much! let’s see if this will be the next epic black metal sensation for me.. (edit: i actually later found out that this project changed its name to -22 Celsius to reflect the change to a much grittier, guitar orientated black metal sound, moving away from the previous epic synth sound. too bad, i would have loved to hear a debut album in the same style as the demo.)

Ghost - Ceremony and Devotion / He is EP

so here i though that we will have to wait for the new year and then ghost all of a sudden release a live album as well as an EP! so so awesome. the EP does not feature anything new but is highly entertaining. the live album reminds me of manchester, where i saw them live together with my sister. unforgettable moments 

Liittouma - Oleva

awesome EP, this is yet another Finnish black metal band and what would be Finnish black metal without depression!!

Wedard/Wintergeist - Schnee und Eis (split full length)

wedard are from almost my home area and when i found about this project, i had to support it. awesome to see that quality suicidal black metal can also come from this area that is not really famous for metal acts.. ^^

AkizzBeatz - Ramal EP

this is yet another colleague of mine and he’s a DJ, also composing his own music. this is world music, taking influence from african rhythms, latin american vibes and much more! last year he released the “i’m an african” EP, another awesome release, and this year he got this EP out which surely makes your butt swing!

Honorary mention

Darkthrone - Arctic Thunder

this was released in 2016 but late in the year and i bought the album too late to include it in last years best of list. what a big mistake! i came to love this album very much. darkthrone are true legends and i of course love their black metal trilogy. in between they went towards a style that is not really mine, but with this album they kind of found their way back to the bleakness of norwegian landscape and i truly love it!

Favourite track of the year

Satyricon - Black wings and withering gloom

what a black metal hymn! i did not expect this at all. i was hoping the new album would be good, but for it to feature this kind of a song, that makes you want to scream along, shake your fist, headbang yourself into oblivion and roar to the mighty freezing norwegian winds that you can almost feel while listening to this song.. glorious!

TOP TEN CONCERTS

Mgla - The dead creed

the main act actually was akercocke, but i was not really interested and the place Kyttaro was so packed, i decided to skip them. i anyway got all i wanted with mgla and the dead creed. both of them were brilliant and mysterious in their own ways.

Mortiis

actually this was going to be the last show of mortiis in its then current lineup, although i did not know that then. mortiis, levi and tim played their last show in london and it was awesome! so much dancing and singing, headbanging and meeting all the band. perfect! now mortiis will for the time being concentrate on era 1 shows where he alone hits the stage.

Rotting Christ at piraeus academy and rockwave

they played at piraeus academy and it was a 2,5 hours set. that was SO massive, i’m still so happy i witnessed that. it was my first time seeing rotting christ and i loved every second of it. i saw them just a few months later at rockwave once more and then i was really close to the stage. i headbanged myself into oblivion since there was enough space and it was SO good, i cannot begin to describe it!!

Ghost

ever since i got to know them i wanted to see them live. since my sister got into them, too, we decided to go see them in manchester. it was spectacular and surely one of the best shows i ever saw.

Zeal and Ardor

they played in a smaller club in athens called ilion plus. the place filled up quickly and the show was phenomenal. the rhythmic slave music together with pounding black metal.. genius! it was like a ritual you witness and feel like your soul has vibrated and you have changed.

Aherusia

not really a concert to be honest, but actually a theater for their new album prometheus. since it featured all the album played live by the band in the background, i count it here, too. it was a very different experience, not easy due to the ancient alexandrian dialect used, but very remarkable!

Diamanda Galas

wow. this woman is amazing. she is the opposite of easy listening, her concerts bring you to the edge of what you can sonically endure. and this has nothing to do with loud speakers, it’s her voice alone! but she is the embodiment of avantgarde darkness and despair. was great to meet sakis tolis of rotting christ after the concert at the megaron mousikis

Mayhem

what can i say?? do i have to say much? the fathers of the second wave of black metal, if you will, the majestic mayhem in athens and it was breathtaking. they played the whole de mysteriis dom sathanas album. the place was more than packed. legendary show. just to hear freezing moon live was something that is hard for me to describe.

Ulver

one of the few legendary norwegian black metal bands that are still around, although they moved away from black metal after only three albums. but they are so awesome in their recent format, too! it was a feast for your ears and eyes, they played their whole new album “the assassination of julius ceasar” plus one song more.

Apocalyptica

they came around to celebrate their first album, “plays metallica by four cellos”. for that reason antero joined their ranks again. the first part was the complete first album, the second part compromised of other metallica songs they covered. i loved them so much, before they had singers and the cellos lost their significance. so it’s hard for me to describe how awesome this was. the audience was singing and replaced the singer. it was fantastic. i wish apocalyptica would return to that.