Tag Archives: kharkiv oblast

Album Review – Nokturnal Mortum / Біль | Hurt EP (2026)

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Behold the new EP by this iconic Ukrainian Symphonic Black Metal horde, offering more than forty minutes of first-class heavy music, and a very good indication of what to expect from their upcoming full-length strike.

Initially a pure Death Metal project under the name of Suppuration formed in 1992 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Symphonic Black/Folk Metal Nokturnal Mortum started to gain real attention from fans under their new name  in 1994, with the album Twilightfall (1995), Lunar Poetry (1996) and Goat Horns (1997) presented a unique blend of Melodic and Symphonic Black Metal with the heritage of Ukrainian folk music. Now in 2026 the band currently formed of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Knjaz Varggoth, guitarist Wortherax, keyboardist Surm, bassist Karpath, and drummer Kubrakh returns with a very special EP titled Біль | Hurt, following up on their 2022 opus До лунарної поезії, offering more than forty minutes of first-class heavy music, and a very good indication of what to expect from their upcoming full-length strike.

To Those Who Went Down the Tysyna River is an absolutely atmospheric and cinematic track, working as an extended intro to Eight Days to Spring, one of the most emotionally charged songs the band has ever made, born after protesting people getting shot down by criminal government forces at Maidan in the last days of February 2014, where the band blasts their trademark fusion of Black and Folk Metal spiced up by symphonic and epic elements. Then after the also experimental interlude First Steps of Freedom… The Flavor of Doom in Eight Years, we face Weltanschauung, with the scorching riffs by Knjaz Varggoth and Wortherax, and the massive beats by Kubrakh, exhaling Blackened Folk Metal magic. The Forgotten Ages of Victories offers a more epic vibe, with Knjaz Varggoth declaiming the song’s dark words like a beast from the underworld, followed by Ukraine, a vibrant live take on one of the band’s classics, where the keys by Surm sound striking from start to finish.

The year of 2026 is going to witness two new metal storms by  Nokturnal Mortum, starting with the excellent EP Біль | Hurt, and culminating with their still untitled upcoming full-length album, which doesn’t have a release date confirmed yet. If their new album is just half as good as what they have to offer in this awesome EP, we can rest assured the gods of Black Metal will be extremely happy, just like us mere mortals, fans of extreme music, and you can get in touch with those talented Ukrainians via Facebook and Instagram, and of course, grab a copy of their new EP from Oriana Music. Біль | Hurt is the perfect representation of the past, present and future of such a resilient Ukrainian band, keeping the fires of Black Metal burning bright, and pointing to an even more exciting future ahead of them in the coming years.

Best moments of the album: Eight Days to Spring and The Forgotten Ages of Victories.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2026 Oriana Music

Track listing
1. To Those Who Went Down the Tysyna River 7:34
2. Eight Days to Spring 4:51
3. First Steps of Freedom… The Flavor of Doom in Eight Years 9:06
4. Weltanschauung 8:42
5. The Forgotten Ages of Victories 6:45
6. Ukraine (live) 7:28

Band members
Knjaz Varggoth – vocals, guitars, keyboards, weellyre, drymba, telynka, kobza, percussion
Wortherax – guitars
Surm – keyboards, dulcimer, pipes
Karpath – bass
Kubrakh – drums

Album Review – Drudkh / Thaw EP (2026)

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Ukraine’s own Black Metal entity returns with an introspective three-track EP, continuing to illuminate the path for those who dare to wander, to question, and to dream.

Born from the whispering winds and the brooding landscapes of Ukraine, a realm steeped in history and draped in the enigma of folklore, emerges Drudkh, a beacon of profound expression in the vast expanse of Black Metal. In the wake of their 2025 full-length album Shadow Play (or “Гра тіней” in their mother tongue), the band formed of Thurios on vocals, guitars and keyboards, Roman Saenko on the guitars and bass, Krechet on bass and keyboards, and Vlad on drums and keyboards extends this same creative breath with Thaw, or “Відлига” in Ukrainian, a three-track EP recorded during the album’s sessions and conceived within the same emotional horizon. If the album traced the tension between shadow and illumination, Thaw inhabits the fragile interval between stillness and movement, where change begins almost imperceptibly beneath a frozen surface, being therefore highly recommended for fans of Hate Forest, Windswept, and Agalloch.

The first song of the EP, titled Пам’ять (Memory), already brings to our avid ears the band’s harsh and piercing sounds, with Thurios delivering Stygian vociferations while Roman slashes his guitar and bass in great fashion; followed by the also obscure and harsh tune Десь, колись (Somewhere, Sometime), which begins in an introspective manner before morphing into a feast of Atmospheric Black Metal led by the caustic riffage by Roman. And last but certainly not least, Мить у вічності (A Moment in Eternity) is a full-bodied Black Metal attack by Drudkh, blasting our ears and minds with their devilish roars, scathing riffs and hammering drums while also presenting a good dosage of Doom Metal to give the whole song an even darker vibe, closing the EP on a visceral note.

Drudkh’s journey is one of introspection, seeking to create music that evokes a profound emotional resonance that stirs the depths of the human experience. In Thaw, they continue to illuminate the path for those who dare to wander, to question, and to dream, and you can easily follow such an exciting path by checking what the band is up to on Facebook, by streaming their unique creations on Spotify, and of course by purchasing their new EP from Bandcamp, from Season of Mist, or by clicking HERE. Thaw is a very complex and multi-layered EP, overflowing all types of emotions during its 20 minutes of music, and we can rest assured we’ll hear a lot more from Drudkh in the near future with another blast of excellence like what’s found in their striking new release.

Best moments of the album: Мить у вічності (A Moment in Eternity).

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2026 Season of Mist: Underground Activists

Track listing
1. Пам’ять (Memory) 7:07
2. Десь, колись (Somewhere, Sometime) 5:51
3. Мить у вічності (A Moment in Eternity) 7:02

Band members
Thurios – vocals, guitars, keyboards
Roman Saenko – guitars, bass
Krechet – bass, keyboards
Vlad – drums, keyboards

Album Review – Bras D’Honneur / Hate Speech (2026)

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Behold the debut opus by this veteran duo from Ukraine, a 13-song, 35-minute torrent of primitive Black and Death Metal.

The latest creation of the duo R. (aka Roman Saenko) and V. (aka Vladislav Petrov), who are jointly infamous for bands like Drudkh, Precambrian, Blood of Kingu, and Rattenfänger, among others, Kharkiv, Ukraine-based Blackened Death Metal entity  Bras D’Honneur (an obscene gesture used to express contempt, roughly equivalent in meaning to phrases like “fuck you” or “up yours”) is unleashing upon our rotten society their debut opus, titled Hate Speech. Musically inspired by the likes of Von, Profanatica, Havohej and Belial, the new album by the aforementioned R. on vocals, guitars and bass, and V. on drums and keyboards is a 13-song, 35-minute torrent of primitive Black and Death Metal, adorned by the primeval, ruthless  artwork by Warhead Art to give the whole album an even more menacing and rebellious vibe.

R. and V. seem to be on their most devastating mode in the opening tune Trench Knife, with their devilish vociferations and blast beats sounding inhumane; and it looks like the entire album will be savage, which is the case in Scum of the Earth, where V.’s demented beats and fills match perfectly with R.’s deep guttural. Their violence only grows stronger in Regicide, with R. not only vomiting the song’s evil words, but his riffage is also caustic; followed by Main de Gloire, another ode to classic Black Metal with their primeval Death Metal twist, and they go full Death Metal in the poetically titled Eaten Alive by the Pigs, a lecture in the style led by R.’s venomous riffage. Crown of Nails offers one and a half minute of pure madness, a Black Metal extravaganza where V. shows no mercy for his drums, and in Stench of the Rotten Blood the duo continues to pave their path of absolute chaos and hatred, with V.’s raw beats kicking us hard in the head.

R.’s menacing, razor-edged guitar sets the tone in the bludgeoning tune Poisoning the Hearts with Malice, while his vociferations sound as if they’re coming from a beast that inhabits a sinister cavern, and they continue their metallic storm of Black Metal in Disemboweled, two and a half minutes of absolute obscurity and heaviness led by V.’s unstoppable drums. Goat Rapists continues the same darkened path from its predecessor, with its hybrid of demonic Black and Death Metal sounding as heavy as hell, whereas Judas Cradle also presents their classic visceral sonority, with the duo smashing their instruments like there’s no tomorrow. Bras d’Honneur, the song that carries the name of the band, couldn’t have sounded more hellish and pulverizing, a lecture in vile, unrelenting Blackened Death Metal with R. roaring like an evil creature, before all comes to an end with Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing, one minute of an instrumental devastation that would have been even more powerful with R.’s vocals.

In a nutshell, rough, rude, and unrepentantly so, Hate Speech sonically lives up to its title, stripping the primitivism of bands like Hate Forest down yet further, hammering through approximately two riffs per song, and making “blunt-force trauma” sound fanciful. Hate Speech is the record this modern world deserves, and you can purchase such a harsh and scathing album from the Primitive Reaction’s BandCamp or webstore, keeping the fires of Ukrainian Black and Death Metal burning and, therefore, inspiring R. and V. to continue their craft of darkness under their new project for the delight of everyone who knows how fucked up our world is today.

Best moments of the album: Regicide, Eaten Alive by the Pigs, Disemboweled and Bras d’Honneur.

Worst moments of the album: Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing.

Released in 2026 Primitive Reaction

Track listing
1. Trench Knife 2:55
2. Scum of the Earth 2:15
3. Regicide 3:17
4. Main de Gloire 2:31
5. Eaten Alive by the Pigs 3:04
6. Crown of Nails 1:35
7. Stench of the Rotten Blood 3:17
8. Poisoning the Hearts with Malice 4:28
9. Disemboweled 2:42
10. Goat Rapists 1:36
11. Judas Cradle 2:24
12. Bras d’Honneur 3:06
13. Sheep in Wolf’s Clothing 1:11

Band members
R. – vocals, guitars, bass
V. – drums, keyboards