Hailing from Denmark's revitalized (and rising) black metal underground, the shadowy entity known as GEISTAZ'IKA revealed their first public recording, Trolddomsejd I Skovens Dybe Kedel, at the very end of 2018, but only digitally. So impressed by its windswept wonder, Signal Rex eagerly stepped forward to release this debut album unto the worldwide stage less than a year later.

Five years on from that fresh breath of old air, GEISTAZ'IKA return with their second album, Midnatsbøn Ved Djævelens Port. Continuing the windswept wonder of its not-inconsiderable predecessor, Midnatsbøn Ved Djævelens Port lays bare an even-more-poignant landscape of mysticism and melancholy. Here, GEISTAZ'IKA put pronounced emphasis on delicate acoustics, amplifying their already dynamic sound, still recalling the likes of both the Norwegian Perished and Hades but also early Isvind, Helheim, and Ulver. But to reference such immortal names only underlines the authentically ancient ground upon which GEISTAZ'IKA walk, and they duly back up such bravura with their most windingly epic songwriting yet; two tracks on Midnatsbøn Ved Djævelens Port top 10 minutes each, with the closing "Fortabt Moribund" just eking past 20 minutes. Uniquely, the band even incorporate the "singing" saw into their foggy atmospheres, which are already dense with a swirling blanket of choirs. Fittingly, the production across the album carries the aura of classic Nordic black metal circa 1995 - otherworldly to the extreme, but nevertheless the work of actual humans (and actual bass guitar can be heard, too) - with the mastering courtesy of Henri Sorvali and Trollhouse Audio no doubt helping.

Not so much a rejection of the modern "black metal" scene as it simply ignores the last 25 years of such, GEISTAZ'IKA continue creating their own solemn, sensorial world with Midnatsbøn Ved Djævelens Port. To celebrate this new album's release, Trolddomsejd I Skovens Dybe Kedel is concurrently being reissued by Signal Rex.

In the meantime, MetalBite is proud to present new track 'Bestænkt Af Syndes Vievand' from the upcoming GEISTAZ'IKA's second album, Midnatsbøn Ved Djævelens Port coming out this December 8th, 2023 via Signal Rex on CD, vinyl LP, and cassette tape formats.

GEISTAZ'IKA is:

Geistaz - everything

MORE INFO AND PRE-ORDERS:

https://signalrex.com/
https://www.facebook.com/signalrex
https://signalrex.bandcamp.com/

Nattverd - Styggdom

"Styggdom" is a sophomore record from Norway's NATTVERD that will cement band's place at the mountain's peak of the second wave of black metal. Cloaked with malice and filled with hate while flawlessly executed, this sonic storm delivers howling winds of the freezing snowstorm of cataclysmic intensity. From impervious walls of blasts to use of lavish soundscapes that creates harsh and cold atmospheres, NATTVERD delivers first standout black metal album of 2020.

NATTVERD's "Styggdom" is going to be available on January 31st, 2020 via Osmose Productions.

Ensnared - Inimicus Generis Humani

Another sophomore release, this time from Sweden's ENSNARED - "Inimicus Generis Humani" comes three years after highly acclaimed feral onslaught "Dysangelium" and immediately unravels its rotten and violent roots. And while exploring miasmic, death-ridden waters, ENSNARED twists, crawls and slithers its ways through underlining alien landscapes discovering more eerie and entwined corners of their craft.

"Inimicus Generis Humani" is set for international release on February 14th, 2020 via Invictus Productions / Dark Descent Records.

Saltas - Mors Salis: Opus I

SALTAS falls under death/doom category but this two members band, that includes guitarist N.R. of Runemagick and The Funeral Orchestra, and drummer C.J., known for his work in Irkallian Oracle, steps outside of the comfort zone and with waves of dissonant sonic blasts conjure ceremonial atmosphere that is still based on deathlike tenor but in more arcane and trancelike environment. The ritual is dense and suffocating, consuming the listener in its hypnotic daze exploring the fears and frailty of the mind.

SALTAS' "Rotting Paradise" will hit the stores on March 15th, 2020 via Nuclear War Now! Productions.