Welcome to MMM 32, which comes replete with a new, very spiffy logo! As ever, there’s a mountain of metal to ge through so I’ll keep chat to a minimum. Enjoy the madness!
HELVITNIR
Helvitnir, the Norwegian black metal act forged in the icy depths of 2023, is set to release their highly anticipated debut album, Wolves of the Underworld, on March 14, 2025, through the esteemed Italian label Dusktone.
There’s a high level of anticipation for Helvitnir due to the pedigree of its members. The band is being described in some quarters as an “all-star band,” which naturally brings expectations of quality and innovation within the genre… To help you decide for yourselves, I’ve included the vid for the first single to come from the album, Throes Of Transformation, below!
The band was born when the superbly-monikered Hellcommander Vargblod, Bjarkan, and Ihizahg parted ways with Ragnarok, carrying with them years of shared creative synergy. Determined to continue their collaboration, the trio brought along a treasure trove of raw material, which they meticulously refined in the months that followed.
The band officially announced their arrival in November 2023 with the release of the single and video Helvitnir, which immediately set the tone for their uncompromising style. Shortly after, they recorded a seven-track demo, which quickly caught the attention of Dusktone. The momentum continued with the December release of a second video single, Void of Emptiness.
The band solidified its lineup at the end of 2023 by enlisting the legendary drummer Jan Axel “Hellhammer” Blomberg, whose technical prowess and iconic style brought an additional layer of ferocity to the band’s sound. With the lineup complete, the band set its sights on the future.
In June 2024, Helvitnir released an EP featuring four tracks from their demo. The EP was met with acclaim, showcasing the band’s versatility — a masterful blend of raw, chilling aggression and majestic, grandiose compositions. Now they are set to ascend to the next level with their blasting debut full-length!
SUPERLOADER
From Norway to Denmark, and the new EP from ‘bruiser rockers’ Superloader; Here’s a band that despite coming as a fully-formed proposition with couple of full lengthers under their belt and a near-ten year history to boot, continues to defy expectation. Their soon-come new EP, Reckless Hearts Bruiser Club, is a superb collection of rousing rockers that really doesn’t sound too much like anything else out there in the market at the moment.
At the heart of the matter is the fact that these blokes really know how to put together a good tune. To this end they employ a variety of tactics, utilising whatever it takes to achieve the end result. Consequently opening track Dance With Me sounds like an unknown swamp rock band that’s somehow come into contact with Queen; this, in actuality, isn’t a s bewildering a sound as you might think, but at the other end of the spectrum, the superb Leaving You/Leaving Me is simply a consummate slice of driving, melodic hard rock that’ll have the hairs on the back of your neck standing to attention within seconds of first contact.
And Then Another Ship Goes By is another highlight, and when the EP is finished the only complain you’ll have is that it’s finished too quickly. I’m already looking forward to their next album!
DEAD MALL
Aussie punks Dead Mall have returned with their latest single Gasoline, a fiery, two minute belter that lyrically draws from a classic twenty-year-old comedy skit.
Dead Mall have been working away at a fresh batch of songs since the release of their previous single way back in 2023, and its immediately obvious on Gasoline that the band have evolved ten-fold during the process. Not straying too far from their hardcore influences, Gasoline is still full to the brim with breakneck riffage – but the production and songwriting as a whole is a significant step up from the raw, chaotic sound found in the band’s earlier output.
Recorded, mixed and produced by band guitarist Darcy Long, with mastering from Alan Douches (Every Time I Die, Misfits, Bad Brains), the track’s vocals were the first from the session to be written by frontman Ruairi Burns, who looked to legendary post-hardcore band Rival Schools as a source of inspiration for the melody.
Says Burns: “We spent the majority of the last twelve months working on new material, and this was the first song I wanted to work on vocally. We generally divide up the lyrical duties in the band, but originally, this song had no vocals, just riffs. But every time I heard it, I could imagine the melodies really naturally, so I pushed for words. I’m a huge Rival Schools fan and I remember trying to dial in a similar flow to Walter Schriefels. As soon as I had his voice in my head, the song came together really quickly”.
OBSIDIAN FALL
Obsidian Fall is a death metal band founded in January 2023, born from the creative mind of guitarist Promether and the exceptional support of bassist Nanse. Their early melodic experiments underwent a radical transformation in November 2023 with the arrival of Mira, whose gritty voice became integral to the project’s essence. In 2024, the lineup was completed by drummer Iskandar, the final piece of a mosaic already teeming with ideas and passion. In September 2024, the band entered the studio to record their full-length album, Elegy from a Dying World, which is set for release later in 2025.
The band’s sound is rooted in melodic death metal, enriched by experimental elements. Their music alternates between sharp, high-energy metal and more atmospheric, contemplative passages, featuring clean vocals, polyphonies, and harmonisations. The lyrics embrace the theme of finitude, presented as an essential, melancholic, and twilight-like element.
It’s clearly early days for the band, but it’s exciting to hear the evolution of what is clearly an original take on the melodeath blueprint in what amounts to real time; This is clearly a band with interesting ideas, not to mention a large amount of talent, and there are enough point of difference apparent on the track the band supplied to us, Pale Yellow Sun, to suggest that this is a band well worth keeping tabs on as the year progresses!
Okay, that’s Episode thirty two done and dusted. See you all in a fortnight for episode thirty three!
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