41 products
41 products
41 products
Nocturnal Breed - Carry the Beast (vinyl)
Regular price Sale price €33,50 Save 0%Taking one step forward and three steps back, Alfahanne returns home to Dark Essence Records with their most furious and heavy release to date! Marking exactly 10 years since the band’s debut, the new album “Vår tid är nu” will see the dark of night in February 2024. Loaded with the catchy melodies that has become the Alfahanne signature, the album combines a punk attitude, melody and groove with a bleak atmosphere somehow both reminiscent of the 80s and the early days of black metal. Adding such noble and notorious guests as Nattefrost (Carpatian Forest), Spellgoth (Horna), Nattfursth (Sorhin) and Doedsadmiral (Nordjevel) into the mix, you have an explosive cocktail fit for the end of days.
On “Vår tid är nu”, Alfahanne looks back while leaning forward, staring deep into the abyss. The band quotes “Our time is now, this is the beginning of the end.”
Taake - Et Hav av Avstand (vinyl)
Regular price Sale price €33,50 Save 0%<Et Hav av Avstand> is the 8th full-length studio album from the legendary Norwegian Black Metal band Taake. It consists of four songs clocking in at 42 minutes, displaying some of the finest songwriting yet from this epic one-man band. Fierce, but melancholy. Vigorously old-school but also progressive. retaining that unfiltered sense of unique rawness that is synonymous with Hoest’s charismatic sound and musical identity.
Taake still manages to stay relevant and at the forefront of the genre and Hoest, who plays every instrument on the album, has ensured that the album is imbued with the unique Taake sound whilst at the same time developing it further.
This is unmistakably Taake, and as always, an intense work that surprises and enthrals.
Endezzma - The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder (vinyl)
Regular price €32,45 Save -1%With a massive, grandiose but also a very raw sound, the Norwegian black metal band Endezzma returns with their third album entitled “The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder”. Recorded in Vika Studio and Malpherno Studio in Norway, the album was mixed and masted by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studio in Stockholm.
With “The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder”, Endezzma takes a huge step forward in songwriting. Mixing the raw grimness of the early days of black metal with the epic grandeur of later bands, the album bridges the gap between the dark anthem and primitive aggression.
Taake - Taake (CD)
Regular price €13,54 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The band’s self-titled 4th fulllength studio album has everything that defines True Norwegian Black Metal, from the ice cold all Norwegian melodies to catchy and foul necroriffs.
Oak - The Third Sleep (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The 4th Oak album “The Third Sleep” continues the development from “The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise lyrically, delving deeper into the dark corridors of the mind. The form is suggestive and poetic, with room for interpretation within certain boundaries.
The album is also more outward facing than its introspective predecessor, with socially critical lyrics that demand the listener’s attention and an ability to read between the lines. Extensive use of modal scales, intricate vocal harmonies, and polyrhythms characterize the compositions. One goal has been to use these techniques in a way that does not feel forced or complicating, but allows the music to flow and captivate, while also challenging and offering the listener multiple layers to explore.
Genre-wise, the album spans from folk-inspired acoustic rock to the brutal, bordering on black metal, yet always with a clear, red thread and musical unity.
Lethe - Alienation (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%After some years of focusing on several other projects, Anna Murphy (Cellar Darling, ex-Eluveitie) and Tor-Helge Skei (Manes, Manii, etc) are back with the 3rd Lethe album. “Alienation” is a continuation of the special soundscapes of Lethe, while also testing new territories.
Taking their name from one of the five rivers in Hades in Greek mythology, the Swiss/Norwegian duo formed in 2012 as a home for Anna and Tor-Helge’s musical and artistic experiments – and right from the beginning, the main rule has been that there are no rules, no expectations, no compromises. The band has been categorized as a lot of things, i.e. genre-bending, style-bastardization, eclectic, and just plain weird, but even if experimentalism and fuck-all-rules is an important factor, the band is not afraid to incorporate melody and catchiness into the music. Lethe is something unique, something personal and quite different. The result is a melting pot of dark rock, pop, electronic, experimentation and metal, filled with a cold and harsh atmosphere, beautiful melodies and mesmerizing grooves.
“Alienation” is about being outsiders, outcasts, and alienated in various forms, mentally, physically, ideologic(ally) and musically. Expect the unexpected!
Oak - The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise (CD)
Regular price €16,69 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Oak is a Norwegian progressive pop/rock band that originally emerged from a folk-rock duo. The four members have a diverse background spanning from classical piano to electronica, prog- and hard-rock, with references to the alternative scene as well as progressive rock – something that has combined to make a distinguished and unique sound
Musically, The Quiet Rebellion of Compromise is the most dynamic Oak album so far, with a wide range of influences showing through. We’re still in very familiar Oak territory, but with some sharper edges and some surprising twists and turns. After their previous album False Memory Archive, the band set out to write some shorter songs for a change – and ended up with their longest songs yet. As on their other albums, there are subtle hints to both past and future songs in the Oak universe.
For this album, the band decided to write about an important and touchy subject – Suicide and psychic health in general. Music as an art form can be very open for interpretation, so to be sure that the message comes across, they’ve asked for advice from experienced scholars on the subject. The font used on the album cover is partially made of handwriting from two real suicide notes, to underline the concept.
The band has a wide source of inspiration – Everything from classical music and impressionism to movie soundtracks and prog-rock.
No wonder Oak really doesn’t sound like anything else.
The album was recorded in Ljugekroken, mixed in Ghostward Studio by David Castillo (Katatonia, Leprous Opeth, etc.), and mastered by Tony Lindgren in Fascination Street Studio.
Helheim - HrabnaR / Ad vesa (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Helheim, one of the founding pioners of the Norwegian viking metal genre, are ready to release their 12th studio album “HrabnaR / Ad vesa”.
On this record, Helheim has made a split album with themselves. For the first time, the main songwriters V’gandr and H’grimnir have divided the album in two where they solely take care of the vocals on the part they represent musically. This has resulted in two very different expressions – not uncommon for this band, but never as clearly as here.
The first half “Hrabnar” contains four stand-alone songs written by H’grimnir.
The second part “Ad vesa” is about the four components in Norse mythology that we know collectively as the human soul. In pre-christian Norway, the concept of the soul was not a singular, unified entity, but a composite of many elements – of which the four key components was Fylgja, Hamr, Hugr, and Hamingja.
Founded in 1992, Helheim are known and renowned all over the world for their authenticity and integrity when it comes to portraying their Norse heritage. Constantly growing and evolving, and staying clear from musical trends and fads, they’ve carved their own way for more than 30 years.
This split album is no exception. Recorded in Duper and Solslottet Studio in 2024/2025, the album was engineered, produced, mixed and mastered by Iver Sandøy.
1. Geist
2. Sorg er dødens spade
3. Livsblot
4. Mennesket er dyret i tale
1. Fylgja
2. Hamingja
3. Hugr
4. Hamr
Taake - Noregs Vaapen (CD)
Regular price €13,54 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The past few years, Taake has been more active than ever with tours around the world and a steady live line-up. The fifth studio album, “Noregs Vaapen”, sees the band refine their True Norwegian Black Metal sound, but also take a step further and include some new elements. The album is filled with Hoest’s trademark riffs, melodies and vocals, but also includes more unpredictable parts more black’n’roll grooves, ice cold mellotrons, and white trash banjo.
This time, Hoest has invited his live line-up, consisting of Thurzur, V’gandr, Aindiachai and Gjermund to contribute on some songs, and also have guest appearances from people like Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone), Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Demonaz (Immortal), Bjørnar Nilsen (Vulture Industries) and Skagg (Gaahlskagg, Deathcult).
Hoest himself is behind all music, lyrics, instruments and vocals as usual.
With its intense, unique, Norwegian and otherworldly sound, Taake delivers their most diverse and unique album to this date!
This is the perfect weapon for True Norwegian Black Metal.
Nyrst - Völd (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%From the depth of in Iceland’s Reykjavik NYRST has forged a new blackened creation by the name “Völd”, an album that pays homage to the immense volcanoes of Iceland.
With “Völd” which roughly translates to “Force, power or might”, NYRST conjures forth music with the unrelenting and unforgiving harshness that the forces of nature have wrought upon every living being in their land through the ages. Written and rehearsed only a few kilometers from a lava spewing active volcano, they sought inspiration in the beauty and perilousness danger of the stark and chaotic surroundings, wishing to portray their material accordingly.
As the band says themselves:
This release marks a big milestone in our career as a band. We’ve developed a lot as musicians since the release of “Orsök” and we took a very different approach to writing and composition. Our intention was to bring all the best elements of our previous work and implement new ideas along with a different theme, which in turn resulted in a much heavier, grim but melodic album.
Reykjavík, Iceland-based black metal act NYRST was formed in the year 2013 with the aim of creating the coldest, most eerie and barren soundscape possible. After the release of their demo in 2016 and a full-length debut album in 2020, a dense atmospheric experience which gained much praise for perilous melodies and intense vocals, NYRST display a vicious prowess in their craft, unusual in a band so early in their career.
Madder Mortem - Old Eyes, New Heart (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Reaching the end of a strenuous journey beset by turmoil and loss, Madder Mortem is finally ready with their 8th studio album “Old Eyes, New Heart”. Emerging five years after its predecessor “Marrow”, the time in which “Old Eyes, New Heart” was made has been a troubled one for the Madders – and in the winter of 2023, Agnete and BP’s dad Jakob passed away. Having always been a huge supporter of the band, Jakob’s backing was essential in launching the band’s recording career almost 30 years ago. Being an artist himself, Jakob had prepared two paintings especially for the album and with the adaptation and additional design by long-term Madder collaborator Costin Chioreanu, the cover artwork for “Old Eyes, New Heart” was completed. Even though Jakob didn’t live to see the finished album, he would have been immensely proud to see his art on the cover, and the album is dedicated to his memory.
Lyrically and musically, the album deals with hope, disappointment, and the ambivalence between them. It is music from old hearts and deep roots, with new eyes open to the unlimited possibilities of 12 notes, but always with the desire to write a good, honest song.
Recorded and produced by guitarist BP M. Kirkevaag, it shows one of Norway’s most interesting bands embracing a multitude of directions spanning from post-metal heaviness to soft Americana grooves and everything in between. Fronted by one of the genre’s greatest and most unique voices, it is an album full of surprises, but at all times unmistakably Madder.
Taake - Stridens Hus (CD)
Regular price €13,54 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%“Stridens hus” takes the unique Taake sound and develops it further. Still true to the spirit of the old Norwegian Black Metal, Hoest breathes new life into the genre by introducing different elements that ensure the sound remains fresh and relevant. Some parts are more groove and rock orientated, whilst some have a distinctly punk attitude. However, this is still unmistakably Taake and, as always, we’re treated to a varied album with intense, unique and unpredictable dynamics.
Once again, Hoest plays all the instruments himself, but this time the Taake live band has contributed to the recording, alongside producer Bjørnar E. Nilsen.
Endezzma - The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%With a massive, grandiose but also a very raw sound, the Norwegian black metal band Endezzma returns with their third album entitled “The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder”. Recorded in Vika Studio and Malpherno Studio in Norway, the album was mixed and masted by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studio in Stockholm.
With “The Archer, Fjord and the Thunder”, Endezzma takes a huge step forward in songwriting. Mixing the raw grimness of the early days of black metal with the epic grandeur of later bands, the album bridges the gap between the dark anthem and primitive aggression.
Taake - Et Hav av Avstand (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%“Et Hav av Avstand" is the 8th full-length studio album from the legendary Norwegian Black Metal band Taake. It consists of four songs clocking in at 42 minutes, displaying some of the finest songwriting yet from this epic one-man band. Fierce, but melancholy. Vigorously old-school but also progressive. retaining that unfiltered sense of unique rawness that is synonymous with Hoest’s charismatic sound and musical identity.
Taake still manages to stay relevant and at the forefront of the genre and Hoest, who plays every instrument on the album, has ensured that the album is imbued with the unique Taake sound whilst at the same time developing it further.
This is unmistakably Taake, and as always, an intense work that surprises and enthrals.
Bismarck - Vourukasha (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Vourukasha is the third album from Bergen-based doom metal band Bismarck. It is a work born from curiosity, hard work, and sheer determination. Four years in the making, Vourukasha will take you on a metaphysical journey through space and time – From the darkest depths of the sea to the endless cosmic void.
BISMARCK’s trademark sound is an uncompromising mix of sludgy riffs and psychedelic nuances, inspired by a wide array of genres and styles. The end result is an amp-melting form of stoner doom combined with atmospheric post-rock, with hints of Middle Eastern folk music and the Norwegian black metal they grew up listening to. With music that alternates between intense, fuzzed-out heaviness and clean, atmospheric drones, and with a lyrical content that explores Western esotericism, altered states of consciousness and a mystical apocalypse, BISMARCK is now ready for Vourukasha to be unleashed upon the world.
CODE - Flyblown Prince (CD)
Regular price €13,54 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Jewel Case CD.
Flyblown Prince pulls you into a cinematic, dark and ghoulish landscape, guiding you past twists and turns into what can most accurately be described as a nightmare fantasy… A perverse fairytale…. Alice on a journey through Dante’s Inferno….
After a few years of silence, legendary UK-based progressive black metal band <code> are back with their 5th album, and their first for Dark Essence Records. With “Flyblown Prince” they are as uncategorizable as ever, with ever-shifting soundscapes of moods and violent aggression. This might be one of the most intense and extreme albums the band has created so far, without losing the essence and feeling of the <code> sound.
The line-up of <code> consists of Aort on Guitars, Lordt on Drums, Syhr on Bass, and Wacian on Vocals, with guitarist Andras providing support on the recordings. With “Flyblown Prince”, the four-piece have managed to create a mind-blowing album, the like of which hasn’t been heard in years. It’s an extremely progressive album, both in technicality and musicality, and the vocals of Wacian are hard to match. This is arguably their strongest statement since the “Resplendent Grotesque” album.
Koldbrann - Ingen Skånsel (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%CD in jewelcase cover.
Includes bonus track: Elevert Hinsides Tilstand (CD only track)
After an almost decade-long period of dwelling in the shadows, Koldbrann returned with a series of select festival appearances in 2022/23, premiering new material and proving that they’re still full of cold grimness and misanthropy, and completely void of compromise. After last year’s 2-track 7” single “Den 6. Massedød (Manna fra en annen himmel)”, their long-awaited 4th album “Ingen Skånsel” is ready to be unleashed – and Koldbrann is sounding rawer, harsher and better than ever.
Even though deeply rooted in the True Norwegian Black Metal tradition, Koldbrann has carved out their own sound within the genre confines and it sounds fresh, raw and different. There’s a fierce nerve running through the album, and the songs stand out from today’s typical black metal sounds. You can feel the aggression throughout the whole album.
“Ingen Skånsel” is one of the most interesting, aggressive and fierce Norwegian black metal albums in modern times!
Seven Impale - SUMMIT (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Long-awaited third album from Seven Impale is finally here, seven years after “Contrapasso”.
The new album “Summit” continues in a well-known Seven Impale style, blending jazz and progressive rock with more heavy influences into four juggernaut tracks. Without leaving the madness of “City of the Sun” and “Contrapasso” behind, the album gives the music and lyrics the space and time needed to captivate and dazzle.
Seven Impale might have reached the summit on this one, but does it mean they have nowhere to go from here?
Black Magic - Wizard's Spell (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The legendary “Wizard’s Spell” by Black Magic.
Tracklisting:
Wizard’s Spell
1. Black Magic
2. Rite of the Wizard
3. Voodoo Curse
4. Thunder
5. Death Militia
Reap of Evil Demo
6. The Ritual
7. Night of Mayhem
8. Possessed
9. Embraced by the Occult
Vulture Industries - Ghosts from the past (CD)
Regular price €16,69 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%While maintaining their unique sound, there’s a new direction for Vulture Industries on their fifth album, as they lean towards the dark side of hard rock. “Ghosts from the Past” was written over a long period, and in a time of big changes both in their personal lives and in the world around us. This album is somehow a mirror of this. It reflects fear of a world spinning out of control, and a sense of powerlessness in the face of a world order falling apart. Crumbling only to be replaced by old ideas fronted by autocratic warlords with no sight in mind but their own power and legacy.
Pulling on a wide range of influences; From dust riddled Spaghetti Westerns accompanied by Ennio Morricone, past the monochrome melancholia of apocalyptic post punk, through deep valleys and steep hills shrouded in progressive darkness and a Nordic noir looking to solve the unexplained murder of the truth. Landing on something once described by a fan as “This is how Nick Cave would sound like if he made metal.”, Vulture Industries has long since established itself as something singular, yet once familiar, strangely recognizable.
With a writing and production process that was the band’s longest haul to date, for a long time they felt lost and struggling to find a sense of direction. Now, we can say it is their strongest album to date and we hope you will enjoy what is essentially a piece of their soul.
T.O.M.B. - Terror Winds (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%“Terror Winds”, the latest album from T.O.M.B. is the storming follow-up to “The Thin Veil”, which was released in 2020 on Dark Essence Records. “Terror Winds” sees T.O.M.B. return to their graveyard roots with six tracks that reek with the stench of old, raw, blasphemous black metal, infested with a spellbinding symphonic ambience, and necromantic noise soundscapes.
Terror Winds serves as an epic progression for the band – and promises to indulge the listener with an album that is authentic in its dangerous feel of early 90s black metal, while entrancing the senses with a powerful wave of ambient keyboards and classic cryptic T.O.M.B. noise.
The album was recorded live at the Ossuary Studios in New York City, and mastered by Tore Stjerna at Necromorbus Studios in Sweden.
Over the course of the band’s 20+ years of history, T.O.M.B. has continuously crossed the boundaries of extreme music by crafting together elements of dark ambient, doom, death industrial and power electronics into a unique style of terrifying black metal noise. It is a style that has earned the band a well-deserved place as one of the top innovators of modern-day Black Metal.
Alfahanne - Alfapokalyps (CD)
Regular price €13,54 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%With a mix of Black Metal with Classic Rock and Punk, and topped off with some New Wave and Goth influences, Alfahanne has created a style of music that is powerful and beautiful, yet ugly at the same time. Alfahanne might be a fairly new name to a lot of people, but the band’s members, which include Pehr Skioldhammer on Vocals and Guitar, Fredrik Sööberg on Guitars, Niklas Åström on Drums and Jimmy Wiberg on Bass, have been around the Black Metal scene since the early ‘90’s, playing in bands like Vinterland and early Maze Of Torment. Formed in 2010, Alfahanne’s debut release came in 2013 with the appearance of the “Grym” split 7” with Sweden’s Shining.
The debut album, “Alfapokalyps”, contains 10 tracks that stands on their own, all sung in Swedish. There’s a lot of variation on the album, and the songs goes off in very different directions. The overall sound combines a unique mix of the dark and grim atmospheres of Black Metal, the attitude and energy of Punk and Classic Rock and the melodies and feeling of 80’s New Wave and Goth.
The band has been able to attract the services of Taake’s Hoest, Shining’s Niklas Kvarforth, and Helheim’s V’gandr as guest vocalists, on one song each.
With Alfahanne, there is one way in and no way out!
If Nothing Is - If Nothing is (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Warning! Listening to If Nothing Is demands your full and undivided attention! This is not elevator music. Trying to perform menial tasks while listening to this album will turn your brain into scrambled eggs.
Melding sharp technical skills, creative and splendid songwriting, a keen eye for detail and a streak of madness, the debut album from If Nothing Is is a whirlwind of everything within extreme and technical metal music, from thrash, speed, death to black metal. Intersected with progressive, experimental passages and rich jazzy parts, that can remind you of the early efforts of bands like Atheist and Cynic, each song is in itself a journey.
Originally released in 2015 only on digital platforms, the debut album of If Nothing Is has gotten a full make over to give it the presentation the material deserves. With new original artwork, the album has been re-mixed and remastered to finally be released in physical forms. If Nothing Is is the brainchild of Dødheimsgard bassist Lars Emil Måløy and started out in Trondheim in 2008 from the ashes of the band Revocation. After working relentlessly on the debut album, they got help from Vicotnik from Dødheimsgard to help out with synths, beats and samples.
This almost forgotten masterpiece is finally available in all formats again, and if you love your music extreme, complicated and experimental, you will love If Nothing Is.
Koldbrann - Ingen Skånsel (Music Cassette)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%After an almost decade-long period of dwelling in the shadows, Koldbrann returned with a series of select festival appearances in 2022/23, premiering new material and proving that they’re still full of cold grimness and misanthropy, and completely void of compromise. After last year’s 2-track 7” single “Den 6. Massedød (Manna fra en annen himmel)”, their long-awaited 4th album “Ingen Skånsel” is ready to be unleashed – and Koldbrann is sounding rawer, harsher and better than ever.
Even though deeply rooted in the True Norwegian Black Metal tradition, Koldbrann has carved out their own sound within the genre confines and it sounds fresh, raw and different. There’s a fierce nerve running through the album, and the songs stand out from today’s typical black metal sounds. You can feel the aggression throughout the whole album.
“Ingen Skånsel” is one of the most interesting, aggressive and fierce Norwegian black metal albums in modern times!
Nocturnal Breed - Carry the Beast (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%All hail the kings of denim! Since the mid-90s, Norway’s Nocturnal Breed has spread terror and destruction through the metal scene with their extreme take on blackened thrash metal, and they still do with their 7th album, “Carry the Beast”.
Nocturnal Breed is now a trio consisting of S.A. Destroyer, T. Terror and I. Maztor, but they’re shredding like ever before, and have even thrown in some awesome old-school heavy metal in the mix. So, there’s a small evolution in the sound, without straying too much from the path. This is pure Nocturnal Breed delivering it yet again for all the Speed Metal Legions!
This album mirrors a lot of the darker sides of humanity that has crept to the forefront these last 2-3 years. And it shows in the intensity and vileness bleeding through this composition. Recorded without modern equipment, the sound of this creation is mercilessly unbridled and raw as a war wound. A wholehearted look back at what inspired the band and the extreme metal scene. As the band says: Give’em Hell, take no shit from anyone, and Carry the Beast with splendour your own way!
METAL TO THE BONE!
Blodhemn - Sverger Hemn (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Since its inception in 2004, Blodhemn has been working tirelessly to further the sound of Black Metal with a distinct concept and an aggressive approach. Sole member Invisus has again played all instruments and done the vocals for the fourth Blodhemn album, “Sverger Hemn”.
“Sverger Hemn” is a result of a long production time and years worth of songwriting. There are several red threads through the whole Blodhemn catalogue, with topics like drowning, to be taken by the sea and themes centered around the area Holmengraa on Fedje in Norway, which are continued on “Sverger Hemn”. The observant ones will find threads in both the musical and the visual elements. “Sverger Hemn” is true to the distinctive aggressive Blodhemn sound, but on a couple of tracks Invisus has gone out of his comfort zone with different kinds of vocals and keyboards, thus experimenting with exploring elements and themes. The result is a splendid mix of black metal and thrash, seasoned with rock’n’roll.
The drums were recorded in 2020 at Conclave & Earshot Studio, and the rest of the instruments and vocals were done in Over Even Studio. Mix and mastering were done in Crosound Studio by Øystein G. Brun.
Virus - Memento Collider (CD)
Regular price €13,54 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%As one of the most unique bands coming out of Norway, Virus has built themselves a big following in both the metal and rock scene throughout the world. From the debut album, “Carheart”, in 2003, they’ve developed their otherworldly style for over a decade
Vulture Industries - The Malefactor’s Bloody Register (CD)
Regular price €13,54 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The progressive and experimental extreme metal band Vulture Industries, is ready with their 2nd album called “The Malefactor’s Bloody Register”. With excellent reviews all over the European press, the band has been on several tours all over the European continent.
Their debut, “The Dystopia Journals”, got excellent reviews all over the European press, which resulted in several tours alongside bands like Dark Fortress, Taake, Helheim, Atrox, Panchrysia, and more, as well as festival appearances at Inferno Festival and others. As a live band, they’ve got great reviews for their technical and tight performance, and they really stick out with the weird antics of vocalist Bjørnar Nilsen. The band has a unique and special sound, which is both very complex and at the same time catchy and to the point. With this 2nd album, they’ve really made their style their own. “The Malfactor’s Bloody Register” was recorded at Conclave & Earshot Studios with Bjørnar Nilsen, and was mastered by Brian Gardner (Isis, NIN, David Bowie). The album also features a guest performance by Herbrand Larsen (Enslaved) on hammond organ, and performers on cello, viola and saxophone. With a highly energetic live show, a very distinct sound and the manic performance of vocalist Bjørnar Nilsen, this is a band you won’t miss out on.
Recorded and mixed in Conclave & Earshot studios, Bergen, Norway in 2009 and 2010.
Mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood, USA.
The Vulture Industries “The Malefactor’s Bloody Register” CD, is a CD in jewelcase cover with booklet.
Taake - Kong Vinter (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Taake “Kong Vinter” as Jewelcase CD. Seventh full length album from Taake.
From the rugged, rain-swept coastline of Bjoergvin, enclosed within the looming embrace of seven mountains, emerges the seventh full-length album from Taake, rising from the gloom like the beacon of traditional black metal. It is fresh, yet traditional in spirit. It is familiar to the ear, yet unexpectedly proceeds to wind its sinuous and unpredictable way through a soundscape that only a mother could love. A soundscape underscored by a nasty groove, that at times can appear deceptively playful. Taake still today manages to stay relevant and at the forefront of the genre, and, true to form, Hoest, who plays every instrument on “Kong Vinter” himself, has ensured that the album is imbued with the unique Taake sound whilst at the same time developing it further. “Kong Vinter” is both progressive and straight forward, with a touch of the devil’s own music – rock’n’roll. This is unmistakably Taake, and, as always, Hoest has produced an intense work that surprises and enthrals.
Brace yourselves for a freezing journey through the merciless Norwegian winter, because the winter takes it all.
ALBUM DISCOGRAPHY
1999 Nattestid Ser Porten Vid
2002 Over Bjoergvin graater himmerik
2005 Hordalands doedskvad
2008 Taake
2011 Noregs vaapen
2014 Stridens hus
2017 Kong Vinter
Taake
Feversea - Man Under Erasure (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%Man was meant to replace God as the universal measure. The events of the 20th and 21st centuries, however, have brutalized the creature once known as Man beyond recognition. There is no going back. We are left with an erased image, a misnomer—a sacred animal wasting away in a profane world. Man is both insufficient and irreplaceable.
Man Under Erasure is a musical exploration of this new, uncertain universe, where the last remnants of humanist hopes and dreams have been reduced to embers—barely legible carvings etched into eroding earth. Our trust in ourselves has been misplaced. Everything weever knew will be erased.
Feversea is a post-metal band from Oslo, Norway drawing on influences from black metal, sludge metal and shoegaze. FEVERSEA’s music lies at the intersection where the ferocity of black metal meets with ritualistic and ethereal soundscapes. Musically, their debut album Man Under Erasure draws from various forms of metal while incorporating influences from neofolk and post-punk. The album is melancholic, despairing, and cathartic. Haunting and melodic while maintaining a strong sense of structure with recognizable riffs—an element often lacking in atmosphere-driven music.
Fluctuating between song and scream, the voice is both from beyond and from below. Lyrically, it is deeply personal but delivered through impersonal images, parables, and riddles—like a spiritualist or Orphic medium carrying messages from beyond. A muffled scream buried under several inches of ice. The album begins in sardonic despair and ends with uneasy, desperate acceptance.
Superlynx - Electric Temple (CD)
Regular price €15,64 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 135): Computation results in '-Infinity'%The third album from Oslo-based Doom/Psych trio Superlynx is both a continuation of what they’ve been doing before and a further development into moods not previously explored. The tragic death of a close family member has also made a deep mark on the album.
The title of the album is a reference to Jimi Hendrix ́ way of looking at music. “He said “We call our music ‘electric church music..Because it’s like a religion to us.” And that is much like how we feel about ours. In music we find so much of what people seek in temples, religions or other spiritual forms – strength to endure trials, peace of mind, ecstasy, safety, hope, community, joy, transcendence etc. In the process of writing our third album this truth only become clearer to us. Music is our temple”
The album is mixed by multiple Grammy Award winning producer Marc Urselli, who has done sound for Nick Cave, Mike Patton, Lou Reed, Keith Richards, The Black Crowes and countless more.
Taake - Noregs Vaapen - Box Set (3xLP)
Regular price €103,75 Save 0%3LP Box Set containing “Noregs Vaapen” and the “Kveld” EP on 180g black vinyl, with 16-page booklet.
TRACKLIST, KVELD:
1. Nordbundet
2. Motpol
3. Hordalands Doedskvad 1
4. Over Bjoergvin graater Himmerik 4
5. Nattestid ser Porten vid 1
TRACKLIST, NOREGS VAAPEN:
1. Fra Vadested til Vaandesmed
2. Orkan
3. Nordbundet
4. Du ville ville Vestland
5. Myr
6. Helvetesmakt
7. Dei vil alltid klaga og kyta
8. Die when you die
9. I am The Black Wizards
“Noregs Vaapen” is the fifth studio album from the legendary Norwegian black metal band Taake, considered by many to be their strongest album. The album saw the band refine their True Norwegian Black Metal sound, while also taking a step further, including some new elements. The album is filled with Hoest’s trademark riffs, melodies and vocals, but also includes more unpredictable parts, more black’n’roll grooves, ice cold mellotrons, and a now legendary banjo solo. The album features classics like the catchy “Nordbundet”, “Myr” and the controversial, anti-religious “Orkan”.
Hoest himself is behind all music, lyrics, instruments and vocals as usual – but the album also features contributions from Taake’s live line-up at the time; Thurzur, V’gandr, Aindiachai and Gjermund. There are also some prominent guest appearances from people like Nocturno Culto (Darkthrone), Attila Csihar (Mayhem), Demonaz (Immortal), Bjørnar Nilsen (Vulture Industries) and Skagg (Gaahlskagg, Deathcult).
After being out of print for a few years, Dark Essence Records is now releasing a very special edition vinyl box set – Containing a fully remixed & remastered version of “Noregs Vaapen” spread across two LPs, with the first (and probably last) ever repress of the “Kveld” EP – as well as a 16-page booklet, featuring lyrics and photos.
One-time limited pressing of 500 copies
Nyrst - Völd (Lava smash vinyl)
Regular price €33,50 Save -34%From the depth of in Iceland’s Reykjavik NYRST has forged a new blackened creation by the name “Völd”, an album that pays homage to the immense volcanoes of Iceland.
With “Völd” which roughly translates to “Force, power or might”, NYRST conjures forth music with the unrelenting and unforgiving harshness that the forces of nature have wrought upon every living being in their land through the ages. Written and rehearsed only a few kilometers from a lava spewing active volcano, they sought inspiration in the beauty and perilousness danger of the stark and chaotic surroundings, wishing to portray their material accordingly.
As the band says themselves:
This release marks a big milestone in our career as a band. We’ve developed a lot as musicians since the release of “Orsök” and we took a very different approach to writing and composition. Our intention was to bring all the best elements of our previous work and implement new ideas along with a different theme, which in turn resulted in a much heavier, grim but melodic album.
Reykjavík, Iceland-based black metal act NYRST was formed in the year 2013 with the aim of creating the coldest, most eerie and barren soundscape possible. After the release of their demo in 2016 and a full-length debut album in 2020, a dense atmospheric experience which gained much praise for perilous melodies and intense vocals, NYRST display a vicious prowess in their craft, unusual in a band so early in their career.
Lethe - Alienation (vinyl)
Regular price €30,98 Save -24%After some years of focusing on several other projects, Anna Murphy (Cellar Darling, ex-Eluveitie) and Tor-Helge Skei (Manes, Manii, etc) are back with the 3rd Lethe album. “Alienation” is a continuation of the special soundscapes of Lethe, while also testing new territories.
Taking their name from one of the five rivers in Hades in Greek mythology, the Swiss/Norwegian duo formed in 2012 as a home for Anna and Tor-Helge’s musical and artistic experiments – and right from the beginning, the main rule has been that there are no rules, no expectations, no compromises. The band has been categorized as a lot of things, i.e. genre-bending, style-bastardization, eclectic, and just plain weird, but even if experimentalism and fuck-all-rules is an important factor, the band is not afraid to incorporate melody and catchiness into the music. Lethe is something unique, something personal and quite different. The result is a melting pot of dark rock, pop, electronic, experimentation and metal, filled with a cold and harsh atmosphere, beautiful melodies and mesmerizing grooves.
“Alienation” is about being outsiders, outcasts, and alienated in various forms, mentally, physically, ideologic(ally) and musically. Expect the unexpected!
Alfahanne - Vår tid är nu (vinyl)
Regular price €30,98 Save 0%Taking one step forward and three steps back, Alfahanne returns home to Dark Essence Records with their most furious and heavy release to date! Marking exactly 10 years since the band’s debut, the new album “Vår tid är nu” will see the dark of night in February 2024. Loaded with the catchy melodies that has become the Alfahanne signature, the album combines a punk attitude, melody and groove with a bleak atmosphere somehow both reminiscent of the 80s and the early days of black metal. Adding such noble and notorious guests as Nattefrost (Carpatian Forest), Spellgoth (Horna), Nattfursth (Sorhin) and Doedsadmiral (Nordjevel) into the mix, you have an explosive cocktail fit for the end of days.
On “Vår tid är nu”, Alfahanne looks back while leaning forward, staring deep into the abyss. The band quotes “Our time is now, this is the beginning of the end.”
Helheim - HrabnaR / Ad vesa (vinyl)
Regular price €33,50 Save 0%Helheim, one of the founding pioners of the Norwegian viking metal genre, are ready to release their 12th studio album “HrabnaR / Ad vesa”.
On this record, Helheim has made a split album with themselves. For the first time, the main songwriters V’gandr and H’grimnir have divided the album in two where they solely take care of the vocals on the part they represent musically. This has resulted in two very different expressions – not uncommon for this band, but never as clearly as here.
The first half “Hrabnar” contains four stand-alone songs written by H’grimnir.
The second part “Ad vesa” is about the four components in Norse mythology that we know collectively as the human soul. In pre-christian Norway, the concept of the soul was not a singular, unified entity, but a composite of many elements – of which the four key components was Fylgja, Hamr, Hugr, and Hamingja.
Founded in 1992, Helheim are known and renowned all over the world for their authenticity and integrity when it comes to portraying their Norse heritage. Constantly growing and evolving, and staying clear from musical trends and fads, they’ve carved their own way for more than 30 years.
This split album is no exception. Recorded in Duper and Solslottet Studio in 2024/2025, the album was engineered, produced, mixed and mastered by Iver Sandøy.
1. Geist
2. Sorg er dødens spade
3. Livsblot
4. Mennesket er dyret i tale
1. Fylgja
2. Hamingja
3. Hugr
4. Hamr
Lumsk - Fremmede Toner (2xLP)
Regular price €37,70 Save 0%It’s been 16 years since the last album from Norwegian progressive folk band Lumsk last released an album, but that won’t say they haven’t done anything the last years. Actually, they started working on this album not long after they released “Det Vilde Kor”, and the first recordings started as early as in 2009. However, life came in the way and since then they’ve been working on “Fremmede Toner” on and off until they finished it in 2022.
“Fremmede Toner” is the name of a collection of poems by Norwegian author André Bjerke. He has translated and re-authored poems from some of the most famous poets in Europe and North America. This record is based on some of these poems. The idea was to compose music to the Norwegian versions, and then try to mirror these songs using the original poems. The songs are not the same, but in a way similar.
On “Fremmede Toner”, Lumsk welcomes new guitarist Roar Grindheim and vocalist Mari Klingen, who both makes great contributions to the unique sound of the band. This is a highly anticipated return and a huge step forward for Lumsk.
Koldbrann - Den 6. Massedød (Manna fra en annen himmel) 7 inch vinyl
Regular price €16,69 Save 0%Uncompromising, with their backs to the world and a fierce grin! KOLDBRANN has been at the forefront of the Norwegian Black Metal underground since the band was formed in 2001.
Now a new chapter is at hand! Expect a relentless display of pitch-dark disharmony!
This 7” single contains two exclusive tracks, not included on the upcoming album.
Led by Mannevond’s characteristic, strict vocals and Kvass’ cunning Norwegian lyrics, KOLDBRANN has delivered the real goods from day one. With obscure and unique riffs, free from all trends and plagues. From the raw and cold debut “Nekrotisk Inkvisition” (2003), to the varied and distinctive “Vertigo” (2013).
KOLDBRANN has been a notorious live band since the beginning, touring with bands such as TAAKE, URGEHAL, ENDSTILLE, MARDUK and SHINING, and making a mark at principal festivals such as Hellfest, Inferno, Party.San and Wacken.
T.O.M.B. - Thin The Veil (vinyl)
Regular price €20,89 Save 0%Over the twenty plus years of their existence T.O.M.B have skilfully crafted their own avant-garde style, which is characterised by an eclectic mix of Ambient, Doom, Industrial, Noise and traditional Black Metal. It is a style that has earned the band a well-deserved place as one of the top innovators of modern day Black Metal.
“Thin The Veil” features MAYHEM’s Hellhammer on drums, alongside collaborations with musicians such as Craig Smilowski (Ex-IMMOLATION), Andy Winter of WINDS, Duncan McLaren of VENOM WOLF, and with spoken necromancy spells recited by Maurice De Jong (“Mories” of GNAW THEIR TONGUES). All in all fans can expect “T.O.M.B’s unique harsh atmospheric death-industrial style to be combined with a relentless, fierce and primitive form of musicianship reminiscent of the old glory days of 2nd Wave Black Metal.
Dwaal - Never Enough
Regular price €32,45 Save 0%Dwaal is a six-piece from Oslo, Norway, that plays heavy, atmospheric sludge, doom, post-metal or whatever you might like to call it. Their dense wall of sound fluctuates between aggressive, suffocating, melancholic and hypnotizing. Formed in 2014, they’ve become known as a captivating live act, with performances at legendary festivals like Inferno and Mystic in their bag.
When Dwaal’s debut album “Gospel of the Vile” was released in early 2020, the future was bright. Little did they know, the agenda over the next couple of years was about to include: 1 surprise pandemic, 1 rehearsal space eviction, 1 rehearsal space flooding, 1 booking deal evaporated into the covid mist, an unknown number of cancelled gigs all over Europe, 2 covid related layoffs, 3 breakups, 5 mental breakdowns, 5 hospitalisations, 1 near-death experience, and in the end, 1 new full-length album. The sophomore album “Never Enough” is the culmination of all the pent-up rage and frustration of the past 3 years, and it marks a hard reboot of the Dwaal machinery. Angrier, hungrier, more ruthless and more personal than ever before.
Vestindien - NULL
Regular price €25,00 Save 0%With a name taken from the last know brothel in Bergen, the band Vestindien was formed in 2009 as an up-and-coming hardcore band with a heavy metal twist. But only one year after the release of their 2011 EP “We are the Lords of Hellfire”, and despite having built up a solid following eager to experience the band’s frenetic live shows, Vestindien called it a day.
Some years later, though, the band re-emerged and changed their style quite a lot. The band’s current lineup consists of Torjus Slettsnok on vocals, Simon Skøien on guitars, Karl Johan Johannessen on drums and Pål Eirik Veseth on bass, and their debut is demonstrating an introverted and less hardcore aggressive approach to their art.
With the new sound, the band started playing around the venues in Bergen, and supporting bands like Taake among others.
There are still hints of their hardcore roots, but the band has engulfed themselves in a dark shroud conjuring the essence of black metal, punk and old school rock’n’roll. The songs are dark, desperate and desolate, but there are also hard punches of energy and groove.
With the debut album “NULL”, they present a quite unique approach to a dark, harsh and sinister old-school metal sound.