After the well-received EP “Sovereign Heresy” Martin van Beek (Non-Divine, Netherlands) reckoned it was time for a full length album with his project Lucifer’s Cold Embrace. And with “The Elegy of Lilith” he delivers impressive work! Especially regarding the fact that all guitars, vocals and programming are solely performed by Martin himself. Musically we are […]
Netherlands
Heidevolk – Vuur van Verzet

If you have any familiarity with the folk metal genre, you will know Heidevolk. The Dutch band has been active in the scene for roughly 16 years and conquered its rightful place on countless tour posters and festival line-ups. Although the band’s own lineup has changed over the years, two pillars – drummer Joost and […]
DODECAHEDRON – kwintessens

Dutch experimental black metal formation Dodecahedron (inspired by Mayhem’s Ordo Ad Chao and French metallers Deathspell Omega) are about to release their antagonizing sophomore record upon a metal scene that is unaware of Armageddon that is heading their way. Where the self titled debut was a hint of the band’s technical prowess and explorations beyond […]
Report: Gorgoroth, Melechesch and supports

And so it began, again… Off we headed to see perhaps one of the stranger combinations of darkness lined up to play at the Iduna in Drachten (NL): Gorgoroth, Melechesh, Earth Rot and INCITE.. Read all!
Report: Kampfar, Vreid
It’s a Wednesday night after work. You have the choice of going home and trying to relax with a beer, or.. emptying your head with some sinister black metal tunes from the north! For a couple of us, the decision was easy, so we headed down to Eindhoven to catch the Profane Solstice of the […]
Show report: Sonata Arctica and Twilight Force
As you could have read on our site recently, there has been a lot going on in the Finnish Sonata Arctica camp. They just released their ninth studio album named The Ninth Hour and are doing a big European tour for this. You can read more about this in our interview with lead singer Tony […]
Fumes of Decay – Rotten Deformity
It has been awfully quiet at the Fumes of Decay camp for quite some time since the release of their debut album Devouring the Excavated in 2011. This due to some line-up changes, which is a shame because their debut was a great piece of brutal death metal with some great slams in it. Thankfully, […]
Soulburn – The Suffocating Darkness
Soulburn are a veteran name in the Dutch scene. They’ve been around since ’96 and had a nice debut album that came out two years later. Other than that, the band usually remained in the shadows, while most of the members are handling their original bands, like Asphyx. Sixteen years and countless other musical projects […]
theName – Unchained
The genre of female fronted metal/rock is a crowded place to be in. Most definitely in the Netherlands. So, each time a band in this genre brings a demo to my doorstep, the thought of: ‘another one..’ is unavoidable. Luckily, the music is sometimes powerful enough to steer you away from those thoughts. theName does […]
A Day with Tristania
Writer/photographer Michael Brookhuis followed Tristania for a day! “I know a lot of readers are curious about what a band goes through while they are on tour. Also, a lot of people will not quickly experience the backstage area and what happens there. So here I am, being given the opportunity to share my day […]