“I’ve learned over the years that, when it comes to my own musical creativity, the truth of today is rarely the truth of tomorrow.” Vindsval

The wonderful 16th album from legendary Avant Black Metal paragons BLUT AUS NORD is the culmination of a 30-year vision – as mainman Vindsval connects each element of the band’s history to launch yet another intrepid exploratory evolution.

“Ethereal Horizons” is BLUT AUS NORD fully realised: richer, deeper, grander, more enigmatic and simultaneously more human than ever. Intermeshing the earthen and the futuristic as a vessel for the dark dreamer, soaring and ascending to vivid realms.

After spending the preceding few years immersed in the wyrd and uneasy world of Lovecraft, this guitars-forward and melodious new album feels more akin to the organic, intoxicating terrain of 2014’s “Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry” or 2019’s “Hallucinogen” – a cosmic and consonant antidote to our incessant psychic battering from the bleak, cacophonous biosphere in which we reside.

“Ethereal Horizons” incorporates otherworldliness from all eras of BAN – traces of churning dissonance, subtle industrialised elements, the weeping of celestial leads, V’s spectral & subliminal snarl – but brings in a suite of new and more grounded feels too. Far-reaching melodic themes turn inward and outward, frequently resolving into the swing of classic, prog and post rock. The warmth of swirling psych-organ and expanses of kosmische synth provide a bed for emotive themes to build and release into full-throttle ruthlessness. Vocal stylings are wide-ranging as ever, utilising the distinctive cloudbusting cleans and choirs, but this time with a lazer-focus on wistful transcendent melodies, refrains and even out-and-out hooks.

Essential.

Recommended if you like: ENSLAVED, EMPEROR, ULVER (Bergtatt era), KING CRIMSON…

Side A: 01 Shadows Breathe First 07:16 / 02 Seclusion 08:18
Side B: 03 The Ordeal 07:17 / 04 The Fall Opens The Sky 07:48
Side C: 05 What Burns Now Listens 06:22 / 06 Twin Suns Reverie 02:21 / 07 The End Becomes Grace 12:24

Record 1 pressed on lily pad vinyl. Record 2 pressed on limeade vinyl. Side D contains no music but features a digital print. Comes with a 16-page booklet and a download card. Colors on final records may vary to a degree from the mockup.

Black/Grey Vinyl Edition

Mayhem need no introduction. The legendary band has been a league of their own ever since their formation in the eighties. “Wolf’s Lair Abyss” was originally released in 1997 and is now proudly being re-issued on clear vinyl via Soulseller Records. Carefully constructed from its original release with an extensive 8 pages booklet and including the “Ancient Skin/Necrolust” ep as bonus tracks this ultimate re-issue is a gem not to be missed.

Side A :
The Vortex Void Of Inhumanity / I Am Thy Labyrinth / Fall Of Seraphs / Ancient Skin

Side B :
Symbols Of Bloodswords / Ancient Skin (May 1997 Recording) / Necrolust (May 1997 Recording)

Colored Green & Purple Limited Edition – Etched Side D

DRUDKH is a venerated entity in the realm of atmospheric and pagan black metal. Renowned for their evocative storytelling and profound musical compositions, DRUDKH stands as a paragon of artistic depth, seamlessly melding the corporeal with the ethereal.
With ‘Shadow Play’, DRUDKH offers a mesmerizing odyssey through themes of exile, the cyclical dance of life and death, and a poignant yearning for one’s origins. An album which invites you into a realm where silence battles storm, and light intertwines with shadow. A 6-track journey – “Scattering the Ashes” stirs the soul with its introspective melancholy, while “April” envelops you in a meditative trance. The narrative evolves with “The Exile”, capturing the essence of displacement, and continues with the poignant echoes in “Fallen Blossom”. “The Eve” stands as a meditative contemplation on life’s fleeting beauty, and the expansive “The Thirst” culminates this exploration with a profound reflection on human yearning.
‘Shadow Play’ is an evocative experience that challenges you to confront your shadows and revel in the intricate dance of light and dark. Let

DRUDKH’s newest release illuminate your path through the bleak human experience.

For fans of AGALLOCH, WINTERFYLLETH, SAOR.
Cover painting by O.L. spring 1994.

Tracklist:
Side A: Scattering the Ashes / April
Side B: The Exile / Fallen Blossom
Side C: The Eve / The Thirst