OCTOBER FALLS should require little introduction. Formed in 2001 by Mikko Lehto and expanding to a full band lineup later on, OCTOBER FALLS have built up a considerable canon of unparalleled power and passion, their epic, folk-inflected black metal both reverential of tradition whilst blazing new trails into the beyond. Amidst their all-enveloping album works, the trio have also concurrently released somber fully-folk releases, displaying the depth of their character and the boundlessness of their vision. In short, OCTOBER FALLS have come to represent the enduring face of Finnish nature-oriented black metal.
It has now been an interminable seven years since their last full-length, The Plague of a Coming Age, and now OCTOBER FALLS dive back into the underground which birthed them by aligning with PURITY THROUGH FIRE for the release of their long-awaited A Fall of an Epoch. Thus, the album's title takes on even greater significance, but linger under no assumption that "underground" means "underproduced" or similar. Far from it, of course, when dealing with OCTOBER FALLS: nothing but the most strident, splendorous reaches of the spirit, painted with poignancy and vibrancy, racing across myriad shades and sensations, evoking an engrossing narrative which spans windswept speed and achingly beautiful acoustics, all done with the fire & fury for which the trio have made their name so canonical. If anything, A Fall of an Epoch is a tri-dimensional experience that distills past, present, and future into one breathtaking whole, the album's five-song/48-minute runtime the perfect configuration for their magick to take deepest hold - and never let go.
Time moves forward, every second committed to the past, memories fading into irrelevancy. Through these ever-shifting mists stands the firmament of OCTOBER FALLS, ageless and eternal, heralding A Fall of an Epoch!
Since their formation in 2007, MINENWERFER have pursued a proud 'n' pure vision of black metal idiosyncratically focused on World War I - idiosyncratic, in the sense that the band hail from America but mostly sing in German. What has resulted is a startlingly accomplished canon that has quietly built itself into prolific proportions, with their first album arriving in 2010, followed by albums in 2012 and 2019, and a slew of split releases and EPs in the interim.
Reissue from the 2007 EP. Follow-up to the classic “Vado mori” album and my favourite material from the band. Originally released by NWN and Bird Of Ill Omen. Available again by NWN and Heidens Hart with 23 minutes of bonus material on side B, making this basically a full length at 47 minutes. All records come on white/grey/black marble vinyl and include an insert with lyrics etc. Great Pest sound at its peak.
500x bloodred 7" (42g) in a microtene innerbag, innersleeve printed black & white on 200g art paper (gloss), jacket printed black & white on 350g carton, coated paper (semi-gloss), all assembled in a plastic overbag.