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Album Review – Hulder / Verbolgen (2026)

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This up-and-coming Black Metal entity is back with its most compelling work, once again deeply rooted in the Northern European Black Metal tradition, always sounding fresh, grim and furious.

Emerging from the Pacific Northwest, Washington, United States-based entity Hulder built a devoted following across a series of releases marked by their commitment to ancient craft, uncompromising production, and a sound rooted in the Northern European Black Metal tradition. Now in 2026 the indomitable vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Hulder, alongside bassist Necreon, returns with Verbolgen, the project’s third full-length opus, and the follow-up to the highly acclaimed albums Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry (2021), and Verses in Oath (2024).  Mixed by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studio, mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios, with drums engineered at Elektric City Recording, and displaying a dark and enfolding artwork by Morrigan, Verbolgen sees the project expand its instrumental palette, drawing in session musicians Keld on hurdy gurdy, lead guitars and keyboards, Vapula and Vrolok on drums, and Januaria on the flute, sharpening the dual creative core that has defined its most compelling work.

The ominous folk-infused intro Drie Raven will drag our souls to the dark realm ruled by Hulder until we’re crushed into pieces to the sound of The Crowning, where her she-demon roars match perfectly with the infernal Black Metal beats by Vrolok, also presenting haunting keyboard passages, courtesy of guest musician Keld. Thy Binding Oath offers a stunning fusion of Black, Folk and Doom Metal, and you can feel the atmosphere getting heavier and more suffocating while Hulder and Necreon deliver truly haunting vocals; followed by the title-track Verbolgen, bringing forward a more direct Black Metal attack by Hulder and her horde, with even her vocals sounding harsher and more infernal. And …And We Shall Sing is a true storm of extreme sounds by the band where Vapula takes the lead with his pulverizing beats and fills while the guitars by Hulder breathe fire.

Then a sinister intro morphs into a Melodic Black and Folk Metal extravaganza entitled In Blood and In Earth, where the keys by Keld sound majestic from stat to finish, followed by Den Nacht Zijn Lied, which should translate from Dutch as “the night’s song”, a fitting title for a classic Black Metal tune where Vrolok once again sounds ruthless on drums supported by the hammering bass by Necreon. View From Nemeton is a hurricane of Black Metal insanity by the band, with Hulder darkly vociferating the song’s caustic words (“In inhuman plane where flora nor fauna shall dwell / Everlasting winds rustle golden glades though grace not the mortal flesh / In the embers of olden days and those which have yet to come / Forsaken effigies stand guard for the rites of the sacred blot / I rede thee wanderer / Hear thou my rede”) in a lecture in the style, before the expansive instrumental piece The Glow of Dawn closes the album on an epic mode, leaving us absolutely disoriented after all is said and done.

With the release of the excellent Verbolgen, Hulder cement their place among the greatest names of the current Black Metal scene worldwide, sounding sharper and more obscure than ever, while remaining loyal to their roots. If you want to know more about this up-and-coming Black Metal beast, you can find the project on Facebook and on Instagram, including their live dates (like the incendiary upcoming tour with the mighty Dimmu Borgir), stream their music on any platform like Spotify, and above all that, purchase Verbolgen from BandCamp or by clicking HERE. Verbolgen is a Dutch adjective that translates to “enraged,” “furious,” or “incensed,” describing a state of intense, seething anger, often stemming from a feeling of being wronged, and all those dark feelings are exactly what Hulder offer us all in their new album, a scathing blast of Black Metal that will reach deep inside our blackened hearts.

Best moments of the album: The Crowning, …And We Shall Sing, In Blood and In Earth and View From Nemeton.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2026 20 Buck Spin

Track listing
1. Drie Raven (Intro) 2:18
2. The Crowning 6:28
3. Thy Binding Oath 5:38
4. Verbolgen 4:01
5. …And We Shall Sing 6:01
6. In Blood and In Earth 7:09
7. Den Nacht Zijn Lied 6:45
8. View From Nemeton 5:23
9. The Glow of Dawn 4:48

Band members
Hulder – vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards
Necreon – bass, vocals

Guest musicians
Keld – hurdy gurdy, lead guitars, keyboards (session)
Vapula – drums on “Verbolgen”, “…And We Shall Sing”, “View From Nemeton” and “The Glow of Dawn”
Vrolok – drums on “The Crowning”, “Thy Binding Oath”, “In Blood and In Earth” and “Den Nacht Zijn Lied”
Januaria – flute (session)

Album Review – Vanhelgd / Relics Of Sulphur Salvation (2014)

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Death Metal from Sweden has never been so amazingly tormenting.

Rating4

vanhelgd_relicsWhile some bands are on a mission to bring love and peace to our hearts, others were simply born to torment our souls with their dark and obscure music. That’s exactly the case with Swedish Death Metal band Vanhelgd, who have just released their third full-length album, the furious Relics Of Sulphur Salvation. And believe me, this Mjölby-based band reached such a bestial musicality in this album that they make all Melodic Death Metal bands from Sweden sound like Babymetal.

Recorded back in November 2013 at Studio Underjord and mastered in Necromorbus Studio, Relics Of Sulphur Salvation is a lesson in old school Swedish Death Metal. Let’s say there aren’t many music variations or creative breaks throughout the entire album, but the band’s powerful performance and the intensity found in each song will prevent the listener from getting tired after a while. Quite the opposite, it will be hard for you to not remain totally excited from start to finish.

To begin with, Vanhelgd couldn’t have chosen a better way to open the album: the strong and evil sonority found in Dödens Maskätna Anlete, with its devilish vocals, awesome riffs in the background and the addition of many Black Metal elements (moving its musicality closer to what’s known as Blackened Death Metal) is 100% effective in informing the listener this album is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Then we have the good The Salt in My Hands, which is even heavier due to its fast beats and a very raw instrumental; the extremely dark Where All Flesh is Soil, where it’s impossible not to love its obscure intro, Black Metal riffs and captivating rhythm; and Ett Liv I Träldom, another good song, albeit not as powerful as the previous ones, with a good chorus anyway.

vanhelgdThe sickness continues with another very traditional track “beautifully” named May the Worms Have Mercy on My Flesh, showcasing an excellent performance by drummer Björn Andersson and vocalist/guitarist Matttias Frisk, with highlights to the cool “slowdown” at the end of the song. And if you still think this album is not that heavy, simply listen to the title-track, Relics of Sulphur Salvation, the most demonic of all songs that will disturb the ears and minds of the less courageous for sure with its totally boisterous riffs, harsh vocals and thrilling chorus.

Lastly, Vanhelgd offer us another sonic massacre, Sirens of Lampedusa, one of the fastest songs of all with desperate vocals, drummer Björn Andersson truly on fire and a very melancholic ending. I’m pretty sure after 2 minutes or even less you’ll already feel tormented, in a good way of course, but in case you consider yourself a tough person you’ll have to face one last song, the fast and direct Cure Us from Life, full of Thrash Metal elements, which will surely leave you eager for more of Vanhelgd’s dark and evil music.

Even the album art, designed by Mattias Frisk himself, is very old school and represents what the band’s musicality is pretty well. In conclusion, if you’re a fan of that primeval Swedish Death Metal that conquered the world many years ago, Relics Of Sulphur Salvation (which is already available in different formats at Pulverised Records, 20 Buck Spin and Ljudkassett) is an awesome choice for you to go absolutely crazy and bang your head nonstop. As I mentioned before, their Death Metal was created to torment your life the best way you can imagine.

Best moments of the album: Where All Flesh is Soil,  Relics of Sulphur Salvation and Sirens of Lampedusa.

Worst moments of the album: Ett Liv I Träldom.

Released in 2014 Pulverised Records/20 Buck Spin

Track listing
1. Dödens Maskätna Anlete 5:43
2. The Salt in My Hands 4:25
3. Where All Flesh is Soil 4:22
4. Ett Liv I Träldom 6:07
5. May the Worms Have Mercy on My Flesh 5:24
6. Relics of Sulphur Salvation 5:23
7. Sirens of Lampedusa 6:21
8. Cure Us from Life 3:21

Band members
Mattias Frisk – vocals, guitar
Jimmy Johansson – guitar, vocals
Jonas Albrektsson – bass
Björn Andersson – drums

Album Review – Cauldron Black Ram / Stalagmire (2014)

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The music from Down Under has never been so obscure and devilish.

Rating5

CoverIt’s time to visit our friends from Down Under in search for some well-executed heavy music. However, this time our focus is not the traditional Hard Rock from AC/DC or Airbourne, but the extreme music from Australian Black/Death Metal band Cauldron Black Ram and their new album, the 100% evil Stalagmire.

The band has been on the road for quite a while, more specifically since 1996, having already released a couple of demos and full-length albums, but of course due to their raw, unpolished and gruesome musicality, it was pretty hard for them to reach a bigger and more diversified audience in the past. At least the Internet has evolved a lot in the past few years  and nowadays even headbangers from the other side of the world (like here in Canada) are able to enjoy the music from bands like this obscure Australian crew.

The opening track is a very good sample of what Cauldron Black Ram are capable of doing:  Fork Through Pitch is a diabolic mix of Death and Doom Metal, with traditional instrumental and harsh vocals that will please all fans of extreme music, especially because of the band’s previously mentioned rough production. The following track, Maw, goes on with the obscurity with its melancholic intro, good old-style riffs and vocals even more devilish than the previous song, while Discarded Death is a more Black Metal tune, where the good pace of drums and the deeper growling make it pure evil.

A Litany of Sailors Sins is a really slow-paced and dark tune, sometimes so macabre and heavy that I think people who are not really into Death and Black Metal will feel bad after listening to it. Well, that’s one of the main objectives of this type of music, right? Anyway, the nice guitar solo mixed with fast drumming by the end of the song gives it an extra dose of energy, which ends up preparing us for Bats, the fastest track of the album, full of awesome screaming and twisted riffs heavier than hell, and in my humble opinion one of the best songs of Stalagmire.

Cauldron-Black-RamCavern Fever is pretty decent instrumental track similar to Cannibal Corpse’s “Relentless Beating”, showcasing the talent of the musicians, while From Whence the Old Skull Came should be chosen as the perfect soundtrack to apocalypse: it might have a very simple and repetitive riff, but it’s at the same time extremely effective in sending the message desired by the band.

Finally, we have another extremely rudimentary track, The Devil’s Trotters, which not only sounds like the Devil himself is singing in it, but it also has some excellent rude bass lines that make it stand out from all other tracks of the album; and the obscure Speliogenesis, a song that could easily summarize pain, agony, sadness and despair in music if someone asked you to do that. Moreover, its pure Doom Metal vocals and extremely dense riffs help closing the album in the most demonic way possible.

The album art is as primitive as their music, and besides that, one interesting characteristic I could notice in their music was the addition of many elements from Stoner Metal the likes of Down and Crowbar, and even some hints of the Doom Metal played by Danzig and Black Sabbath, which in the end is undoubtedly healthful for the band and its future in heavy music.

In short, if you enjoy “evil” music, Stalagmire is a very good option to invest your hard-earned money, which can be done at the 20 Buck Spin official webshop (both the CD and the LP versions of the album are available there) or you can stream it and download it at the 20 Buck Spin Bandcamp page.

Best moments of the album: Fork Through Pitch, Bats and The Devil’s Trotters.

Worst moments of the album: Maw and Discarded Death.

Released in 2014 20 Buck Spin

Track listing
1. Fork Through Pitch 3:19
2. Maw 3:20
3. Discarded Death 4:07
4. A Litany of Sailors Sins 4:16
5. Bats 3:37
6. Cavern Fever 2:35
7. From Whence the Old Skull Came 3:13
8. The Devil’s Trotters 4:13
9. Speliogenesis 4:23

Band members
Esh – drums, vocals
Alim – guitar, vocals
Ben Newsome – vocals, bass