Tag Archives: elektric city recording

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 – Funebrarum / Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence (2026)

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Renowned worldwide for blending traditional American Death Metal with European and Scandinavian Death Metal, this deadly ensemble will attack armed with their ruthless third album.

Formed in 1999 in Clifton, New Jersey, the unrelenting Death Metal horde Funebrarum is renowned worldwide for a dark and heavy sound that blends traditional American Death Metal with influences from the European and Scandinavian Death Metal scenes of late 80’s and early 90’s such as Bolt Thrower, Demigod, and Abhorrence. After a long (but temporary) five-year hiatus due to the pandemic, career and familial responsibilities, the band formed of vocalist Daryl Kahan, guitarists Sam Osborne and Phil Tougas, bassist Kyle Winslow, and drummer Charlie Koryn is finally back into the battlefield with their third studio album, titled Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence, following up on their 2001 debut Beneath the Columns of Abandoned Gods, their 2009 sophomore The Sleep of Morbid Dreams, and their 2016 EP Exhumation of the Ancient. Recorded by Charles Koryn at Elektric City Recording, and mixed by Steven Di Acutis at Sound Spa Productions, the album is perfect for fans of Incantation, Tomb Mold, and Autopsy, among others, keeping the fires of classic Death Metal burning majestically.

As if it was taken from a Sci-Fi horror movie, the intro The Arrival opens the gates of the underworld for Funebrarum  to kill us all in Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence, a lecture in Black, Death and Doom Metal showcasing an overdose of sluggish beats by Charlie while Daryl delivers deep, inhumane roars nonstop. Ša Nagba Amāru, the opening line of the standard Babylonian version of the Epic of Gilgamesh, translating from Akkadian to “he who witnessed the abyss”, is an absolute Death and Doom Metal feast blasted by the guys, whereas Through the Barren Halls of Grieving Emptiness continues their path of devastation and chaos, with Sam and Phil breathing fire through their riffs and solos. And Into Dark Domains is one of the heaviest and most doomed songs of the album, with the vocals by Andreas sounding utterly demonic.

It looks like their plan was to split the album in two acts, as we face the atmospheric interlude Ancestral Manor before all hell breaks loose in the incredibly heavy Anhela Odor Mortoruom (The Adepts), led by the massive bass and drums by Kyle and Charlie. Put differently, it can’t get any heavier than this. Then presenting a wild fusion of Death and Doom Metal we have From Rotting Burial Shrouds, with their vocals and riffs sounding primeval and intoxicating; and Kyle keeps blasting his bass without a single drop of mercy in Turning the Stones of Torment, keeping the album as incandescent as it is obscure. Last but certainly not least, they bring forward their most detailed, multi-layered and demonic composition to date, entitled The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue, with the riffage by Sam and Phil darkening the skies in the name of extreme music until all fades into a climatic, vile finale.

After all is said and done, you’ll feel absolutely disoriented when the last notes in Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence penetrate deep inside your rotten soul, proving how demolishing yet intricate and detailed the music by Funebrarum can be. If you want to know more about those guys, their tour dates, plans for the future and so on, you can find them on Facebook and on Instagram, and don’t forget to also stream their ruthless music on Spotify and on Apple Music. Beckoning The Void of Eternal Silence can be purchased directly from their own Bandcamp, or you can also get it from the Pulverised Records’ BandCamp or webstore. But be warned Funebrarum do not fool around when it comes to crafting Death Metal. Their music is deadly, and once it hits you, get ready to be crushed into tiny pieces.

Best moments of the album: Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence, Anhela Odor Mortoruom (The Adepts) and The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue.

Worst moments of the album: Ancestral Manor.

Released in 2026 Pulverised Records

Track listing
1. The Arrival 1:53
2. Beckoning the Void of Eternal Silence 5:30
3. Ša Nagba Amāru 6:56
4. Through the Barren Halls of Grieving Emptiness 4:26
5. Into Dark Domains 5:48
6. Ancestral Manor 1:32
7. Anhela Odor Mortoruom (The Adepts) 5:03
8. From Rotting Burial Shrouds 3:50
9. Turning the Stones of Torment 5:28
10. The Whispering Cathedral – Epilogue 8:44

Band members
Daryl Kahan – vocals
Sam Osborne – guitars
Phil Tougas – guitars
Kyle Winslow – bass
Charlie Koryn – drums

Guest musician
Patrik Fernlund – lead guitars