Sep 202023
 

Our friends at Nordic Mission are back with a new edition of their own metal festival, Nordic Fest will be held 28th. October 2023 and the place is as usual in Sub Scene, Oslo downtown, Norway. They checked in with the following:

Nordicfest is coming up!…

 

These past weeks we had to make a serious decision concerning this year’s Nordic Fest.

In the spring time we were enthusiastic and made an optimistic budget based on the good ol’ glory festival times. However, we had too much going on and were late with band announcements, ticket sales and most importantly: PROMOTION!

So should we just CANCEL Nordic Fest this year? It might have been an easier thing to do since the risk was too high with the current line-up, but at the same time a decision we really did not want to make. Instead, we give you a one-day festival on the 28th of October. There will be 4 bands on stage: WYTCH HAZEL from the UK, MORGARTEN from Switzerland, CRIMSON MOONLIGHT from Sweden and Norway’s fresh new doom metal band ZEBULON.

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Jernlov – “Resurrection”

 Posted by on June 18, 2023 at 19:52  No Responses »
Jun 182023
 

Resurrection is the second album from Jernlov, which was a little surprising since I had not heard of them until recently. Their first album, Crucified, was released to some underground acclaim but it never reached a wider audience or as wide as it deserved. So, Nordic Mission signed them for their sophomore release.

I couldn’t find a lot of background on Jernlov, but I was able to make some connections. The band sprung from another band, Heidre, that released an album of Christian hymns set to female-fronted metal in 2019. If you get a chance, the music they made is very soothing and sung in their native Norwegian. From that project, two of the musicians, Alf Petter and Zuriel, wanted to try something a little more extreme and started Jernlov. Without a dedicated black metal vocalist, they turned to some well known names to provide vocals for their debut album Crucified, which Resurrection follows suit.

My first reaction was that this is a standard black metal release, however with each subsequent listen I fell more in love with this record. It is a perfect blend of raw black metal fury with just enough melody to soften the bludgeoning to my skull. The keyboards, clean vocals, and melodic guitar lines act as accents to the intense metal taking it just over the line as melodic black metal. The melodic elements not only soften the beat down, but provides a haunting escape from the black metal textures.

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Dalit – “Moksha”

 Posted by on May 25, 2023 at 01:04  No Responses »
May 252023
 

Melodic death and doom metal band Dalit have released the physical version of their acclaimed 2021 release Moksha.

Back in 2016, I had my first exposure to Dalit, reviewing their sophomore release Descent, which I found myself enjoying despite my general dislike for doom metal. What struck me was the variety of influences that came through in their sound, making the tracks more enjoyable than the doom metal I had previously been exposed to.  The band itself hails from Norway and formed in 2006 with a great mission statement of “striking the raw nerves of the listener with a portrait of the abused, oppressed and derelict souls”. Taking that into account, if fits well that their chosen genre is a combination of melodic doom and death metal, and one can see how that mission would fit nicely.  For Moksha, the band produced the album which was mixed and mastered by Endre Kirkesola. Drums, guitars, bass and vocals were recorded by guitarist Jon Ivar Larsen with Simen Daniel Børven recording the violin.

A lonely piano opens the album, but that is quickly swallowed up by a slow, plodding, heavy doom guitar riff.  Eirik Hellem’s rough, growled vocals come in shortly after  and the listener quickly knows  where the track is going until the quieter interlude with clean guitar straight out of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”.  Guro Birkeli comes in to provide clean female vocals which contrast nicely with Hellem’s death metal growls.

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May 062023
 

This band impressed the whole scene in the middle of the covid-shutdown worldwide their debut album “Crucified” in late 2020, but did not get the recognition it deserved. We are talking melodic black metal with both symphonic and progressive elements mixed with raw oldschool mentality

NOW, 2,5 years later, the band signed a deal with Nordic Mission to release the 2nd onslaught of a metalbeast! We are talking black metal ofcourse, guests appearing from bands such as Antestor, Sacrificium, Renascent, Slechtvalk and more, and a spectacular artwork created by Jani Stevanovic (The Weakening, The Waymaker, Miseration etc).

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Mar 302023
 

Nordic Mission is proud to announce that the 3rd Dalit album will be released on May 5th this year! This is very well played doom metal by one of the world’s most underrated bands! Slow, atmospheric and spiritual! CD and limited edition vinyl can be pre-ordered now! By both formats for a great deal!

Death/doom band Dalit from Norway is one of those underground metal gems that more people need to hear. “Moksha” is their third full-length album and charms with its brooding atmosphere and melodic riffs.

The Members of Dalit has for the last 20 years been involved in acts such as Aspiration, Cloth and the newly founded “Nattmannen”. But Dalit has always been the main drive, and with small tours and several gigs around Europe the band have harnessed a small but dedicated following that is certain to grow with “Moksha”.

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