Wir reisen gen Norden am Donnerstag und besuchen Nordische Gottheiten
Headbangers Ballroom 19.30 Uhr
radio-crosstime.de.tl
Songschnipsel Falkenbach - When Gjallarhorn will sound
#headbangersballroom #radiocrosstime #dyingvictimsproductions #metal #metalradio #oberhausen #ruhrpott #heavymetal #metalhead #metalgirl #metalbands #thrashmetal #blackmetal #rock #underground #undergroundmetal #newcomer #speedmetal #powermetal #radio #lautfm
Morgen geh ich euch schon wieder auf den Sack........... Headbangers Ballroom ab 19.30 Uhr nur auf radio-crosstime.de.tl
#headbangersballroom #radiocrosstime #dyingvictimsproductions #metal #metalradio #oberhausen #ruhrpott #heavymetal #metalhead #metalgirl #metalbands #thrashmetal #blackmetal #rock #underground #undergroundmetal #newcomer #speedmetal #powermetal #radio #lautfm
I’ve kicked off this year with a good old-fashioned death binge. My putrid immersion has taken me around the world so far: first to Chile, then across the Pacific to Australia, and now back across continents to Sweden. Next up is Stockholm-based duo Harrowed. Consisting of dual-threat drummer and vocalist Adam Lindmark (ex-Morbus Chron) and guitarist/bassist Tobias Alpadie (VAK and former live guitarist for Tribulation), the pair linked up through a past project to pay homage to the SweDeath sounds of olde. With only a demo and a split to their name, their debut album, The Eternal Hunger, unleashes Harrowed’s fetid disposition upon the world with a fresh edge, proving these Swedes are more than just HM-2 clones.
But rest easy—no HM-2 pedals were harmed in the making of The Eternal Hunger. Instead, Harrowed delivers enough primitive-drenched filth to satisfy any SweDeath devotee craving the crunch. Alpadie’s serrated tremolos and lacerating riffs cut like rotary blades, while Lindmark’s feverish blasts and tribal tom rolls drench highlights like “Blood Covenant” and “The Cold of A Thousand Snows” in a heavy layer of cavernous abrasion, tearing through the speakers with surgical precision. The Stockholm sound’s hardcore punk DNA is also front and center, as the duo rips through tracks like “Ultra Terrene Phantasmagoria,” “Bayonet,” and “The Reins” with high-octane skank beats and wailing dirges. Lindmark’s vocals are a caustic mix of barbaric regurgitations, adding formaldehyde-infused dressing on Harrowed’s cadaver sandwich. Tied together by a punchy production that preserves the weight of the muddy sound of yore while also maintaining a modern, nimble edge, every disgusting note on The Eternal Hunger lands with maximum impact.
The Eternal Hunger by Harrowed
The Eternal Hunger channels the spirit of ’90s-era Entombed, yet Harrowed also weaponizes influences from far beyond Swedish borders. The duo frequently abandons standard old-school formulas to explore a diverse palette of unbridled savagery. On “Blood Covenant,” Lindmark’s stampeding, guttural-punctuated rhythms and turbulent transitions coalesce with Alpadie’s blazing fretwork, leaning closer to classic thrash than typical SweDeath. Pivoting from there, “Ultra Terrene Phantasmagoria” and “The Cold of A Thousand Snows” embrace a blackened speed identity where icy tremolos, demented double-bass attacks, and progressive ride patterns imbue a sinister edge outside typical HM-2 purism. Harrowed also pulls from the American scene. “The Eternal Hunger” mirrors the swampy, gore-soaked roots of early Autopsy and Death, while the haunting, clean arpeggios driving the title track and “The Haunter” resurrect Slayer’s “Seasons in the Abyss.” Strategic moments of suspense, where the duo strips away the distorted crust in favor of suspenseful intros and bridges, only make the final blows feel more devastating as hammering half-time grooves (“Blood Covenant”) and esoteric patterns (“Formaldehyde Dreaming,” “The Reins”) work well to keep the listener off-balance.
While Harrowed’s varied songwriting is largely airtight, certain songs reveal minor cracks. “The Reins” suffers from a disjointed bridge that briefly stalls the track’s momentum, though Lindmark’s technical drumming and visceral vocal attack do well to anchor the chaos. There are also occasional moments when tracks feel like retreads, suggesting Harrowed may have hit the bottom of their bag of tricks. “Formaldehyde Dreaming,” for instance, relies on a riff set strikingly similar to those found in “Bayonet” and “The Cold of A Thousand Snows,” while the clean intro of “The Eternal Hunger” echoes “The Haunter.” Furthermore, the title track’s brooding build-up fails to deliver a proportional payoff, indicating the track would have benefited from more editing. Despite these slip-ups, however, The Eternal Hunger remains 36 minutes of grime-soaked efficiency that favors memorable songwriting over high-concept filler.
Harrowed successfully pays homage to the Swedish spirit without merely exhuming its grave. By channeling a wide-reaching spectrum of influences and pushing them through a modern SweDeath filter, they’ve created a record that is easy to like and refuses to grow stale. Much of The Eternal Hunger’s success stems from Harrowed’s balanced and varied songwriting, with Lindmark and Alpadie both pulling their weight equally to flex their creative muscle and produce material that sounds both familiar and surprisingly fresh. A debut with this much power is impressive, especially coming from only two people. If this is what the new wave of SweDeath sounds like, I’m on board—and you should be too.
Rating: Very Good!
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Websites: dyingvictimsproductions.bandcamp.com/album/the-eternal-hunger | facebook.com/harroweddeathmetal
Releases Worldwide: February 27th, 2026
Donnerstag Headbangers Ballroom wie immer ab 19.30 Uhr geht es los Thema diesmal 3 From 1
Soundschnipsel : Status Quo - Safety Dance
#headbangersballroom #radiocrosstime #dyingvictimsproductions #metal #metalradio #oberhausen #ruhrpott #heavymetal #metalhead #metalgirl #metalbands #thrashmetal #blackmetal #rock #underground #undergroundmetal #newcomer #speedmetal #powermetal #radio #lautfm #deathmetal
Morgen beginnt die Fastenzeit das ist ein Grund wieder mehr Bier zu trinken, passende Musik dazu liefern wir bzw. ich Stonecold
#headbangersballroom #radiocrosstime #dyingvictimsproductions #pyogenesis #metal #metalradio #oberhausen #ruhrpott #heavymetal #metalhead #metalgirl #metalbands #thrashmetal #blackmetal #rock #underground #undergroundmetal #newcomer #speedmetal #powermetal #radio #lautfm #bärnserker
As a musician, sometimes you just want to blow off some steam with a fun, low-stakes side project, free from the genre trappings or expectations of your main gig. Karloff is a band born of such an impulse, serving as the vehicle for Graveyard Ghoul’s Tom “Tyrantör” Horrified to deliver some vintage metal/punk. The band’s last full-length, 2021’s The Appearing, was an enjoyable but unimpressive throwback to the halcyon days of punky heavy metal with a blackened twist. Now Mr. Horrified and his team storm back from the grave with another fist-swinging slab of tight, nostalgia-soaked riffage, built to crack open some beers and rattle your damn crypt to rubble. Can Karloff rise above their debut, hit harder, and unleash a truly skull-splitting dose of heavy metal warcraft?
From the moment you press “play,” it’s clear that Revered by Death is bursting with punk energy and metal spirit. Opener “A Pessimistic Soaring” wastes no time before hitting you square in the face with a simple, but effective power chord riff panned to one channel before the full rhythm section bursts in. We get a tasty, phased-out guitar lead before landing on a fun, punky verse riff, complete with blackened rasps about “a world consumed by darkness.” This sets the stage nicely for what Karloff is all about: no-nonsense, kitschy retro metal/punk with plenty of energy. Their bread-and-butter is like if a less-gaudy Midnight crashed into the punked-out thrash of early Nasty Savage and sprinkled it in a blackened layer of late-era Darkthrone. When it all comes together, the result can be oodles of fun. Karloff isn’t reinventing the wheel, but they’re definitely spilling some beer on it and decorating it with fake cobwebs and candles.
A lot of Revered by Death’s charm comes from the no-nonsense attitude on display from Karloff’s members. At their best, the riffs have the sort of quality of alcohol-fueled basement jams, with Tom Horrified providing some flavorful leads to spice things up and laying down punky power chords that find a sweet spot between uncomplicated and straight-up ignorant (“Crown Cult Fate,” “Die Wiederkehr der Dunkeleit”). H.T Steinbrecher’s drum performance is effective and workmanlike, rarely veering into blastbeat territory and keeping things classy with variations on rock beats, aided by the occasional d-beat (“Prince of Parasites”). Karloff maintains their core metal/punk sound across much of the album, but a few effective variations help to keep things fresh. “When the Flames Devour You All” is a mid-tempo, blackened banger, with swirling black metal arpeggios meeting sludgy power chords, and “Elisabetha’s Revenge” continues this thread, amping up the cinematics and dynamics to make for a memorable closer. Throughout it all, there’s a distinct sense of personality that helps maintain a sonic cohesion.
My only real complaint with Revered by Death is that some tracks aren’t quite as tightly executed as others. Karloff largely hit the mark, and none of the songs are complete stinkers, but some of the B-sides fail to get the blood pumping as effectively. At 4-minutes, “Regicide” is a tad longer than average and lingers on its main riff for its entirety, lacking a lead or meaningful variation to keep things interesting. “On Weathered Altar” is a surprising turn towards instrumental horror ambience and lands smack in the middle as an interlude that runs for about twice as long as it should. These aren’t total deal breakers, but on a short album, they feel longer than they otherwise would and distract somewhat from an otherwise solid package.
With Revered by Death, Karloff has delivered a lively batch of blackened metal/punk rippers. Nothing here will boggle your mind, but the band’s distinctive attitude and kitschy execution are plenty entertaining. The next time I want to feel like I’m in a metal party scene from an 80s horror movie, I’ll crush a beer can on my forehead, pull out my ripped jeans, gel my mullet, and throw on some of the best tracks from this latest Karloff.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Website: facebook.com/karloffpunk
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026
Review:Pagan altar- Mythical & Magical
Release date: 2/27/26
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Greg D.
Hello, my name is Greg. I’m 44 years old, and this is the first full Pagan Altar album I’ve ever heard. Now, color me a poser if you’d like, but I think a real poser would lie about that. I’m late to the party, but at least I showed up, right? Regardless, this reissue seems to be fortuitously timed as the band has also been excellently covered in tribute on the recent Orodruin/Iron Void split release on Nameless Grave Records. “Mythical & Magical”, as you may already know, is a collection of songs largely written between 1978-1983. As such it comes off as almost evolutionary to what metal was, and what it was becoming. A very unique journey given that timeframe, and makes it extra interesting.
The album opens with an ominous soundscape of wind, laughs and church bells. It ruled then, rules now, will rule tomorrow. Some tropes just work like a great movie. It leads nicely into the first proper song “Samhein”. The track marches along with confident purpose, and really sets the tone for the rest of the album to come, while also not showing their full hand. “The Cry Of The Banshee” hits next with a little more intensity and I could tell already that the vocals of the late Terry Jones were gonna keep me locked in. It’s earthiness is refreshing. His voice seems more rooted in the proto metal or progressive rock style, which would make sense given the era of band formation, and it really behooves these songs well. Gives me a little bit of a Mark Shelton vibe, which isn’t a bad thing for sure.
As the album continues, I found myself getting more and more engrossed by the layers of the onion peeling off. Songs like “The Crowman”, “The Sorceror”, “Dance Of The Druids”, & “The Erl King” really lay into that epic, lush, progressive feel. Seeing that some of these songs are almost 50 years old, I think these tracks are where a certain timelessness kicks in. Restraint, shade, build. These are all hallmarks of compositional mastery. I don’t know if the female vocals were in play back in the late 70’s/early 80’s for them, but if they were it had to’ve been quite novel. That said, for all the braininess of this album, it doesn’t shy away from knocking around some heads. “The Witches Pathway”, and “The Rising Of The Dark Lord” provide all the knuckling a proper hardrocker or metalhead could want, the latter track starting with some classic guitar heroics from Alan Jones. The Heavy Metal genre as we know it was still kind of in its nascent stage, and as such there wasn’t really any “rulebook” yet. Bands were bold, chances were taken and they probably didn’t even know they were taking chances. This band could just as easily appeal to Judas Priest fans as it could to Opeth fans.
If I had to identify a “weak spot” on the album, I’d just say the production could’ve done with a little more muscle at times. A pittance of a gripe because when the songs are good, who gives a fuck, right? Not I. Performances by all involved in this album are well done. Save for the aforementioned vocals, nothing really grabbed me as extraordinary, but why do they have to? How many times have you heard a band with shit songs, but an awesome guitarist, or drummer? Too many times for this author to count. What we have with Pagan Altar, as I am learning, is that the whole is indeed greater than the parts. Everything is right where it needs to be, and that’s ALWAYS more important than one fantastic thing floating in a sea of mediocrity.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skRic6mnELw&list=RDskRic6mnELw&start_radio=1
Conclusion
In my eyes, Pagan Altar is a great example of “too soon”. It’s usually a present loss, and if you’re lucky, a future win. Luckily they’re tied in with a movement that has only picked up more interest with time, and so long as people are interested, people will find Pagan Altar. Great labels keeping them in print will only help keep them in the sphere of the cult follower, and recruits. The term/genre NWOBHM often just means “they sound like Maiden” to someone, which as anyone who really knows will attest, is inaccurate. The NWOBHM was an era in a certain location, not a singular cut & dry style. Pagan Altar had/have a approach that certainly takes more time & attention than your Diamond Heads, Jaguars, Venoms, Satans, Tokyo Blades, Tygers, etc. would demand, but maybe that’s why they still carry interest? Their initial strike may have come late in the movement, but in creating something transcending time, it’s apparent Pagan Altar was playing the long game.
TheNwothm Score: 9/10
Links
Bandcamp:The Story of Pagan Altar | Pagan Altar (Official)
Facebook:Official: Pagan Altar – Alan Jones | Facebook
Instagram:Official: Pagan Altar – Alan Jones (@paganaltar1) • Instagram photos and videos
Label:Dying Victims Productions – German Underground Metal Label
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_CgujIAgk&list=RD8N_CgujIAgk&start_radio=1
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#DanceOfTheDruids #dyingVictimsProductions #HeavyMetal #mythicalMagical #NewAlbum #NewWaveOfTraditionalHeavyMetal #paganAltar #thenwothm #thenwothmCom
Sometime in the 2010s, I started disliking music with too many flourishes and began seeking out stuff that was more stripped-down, unpolished, and primitive. At this time, Barbarian were the perfect find. Depending on the album, this Italian trio has referred to themselves as “Regressive Metal,” “Absolute Metal,” or, in the case of their sixth album, Reek of God, “Retrogarde Metal” (typo and all). Led by vocalist and guitarist “Borys Crossburn,” their sound is essentially early Celtic Frost if they were fronted by a guitar-wielding grizzly bear who had a bizarre penchant for the occasional Running Wild-style melody. I’ve had many a fun time cranking my stereo and greasing my ear canals to 2014’s Faith Extinguisher and 2019’s To No God Shall I Kneel, though I agree with El Cuervo that 2022’s Viperface sagged a bit in the hookiness department. After several years on Hells Headbangers Records, Mr. Crossburn and crew have now jumped ship to a new label, Dying Victims Productions, for Reek of God, their first album in four years.
Despite the shift, Barbarian seem to have lost none of their belligerence. The album’s intro, aptly titled “Warning,” is a reimagining of the intro of the same name from the 1993 Ice-T album Home Invasion, and it helpfully informs listeners that they are listening to a Barbarian LP before instructing them to take out the tape if they are offended by phrases like “may the Almighty choke on all my sins.” From there, the first proper track, “Maxima Culpa,” roars in with burly and unapologetic guitars, throttling drums, and Crossburn’s gruff roars. As before, the sound is regressive, pulling lovingly from speed metal, thrash, black metal, and even bits of classic heavy metal with its brief majestic leads. While not the most memorable cut, it’s clear this unwashed bunch still have plenty of piss and vinegar to offer. The follow-up, “Sledgehammer,” further beats this home, with its big chunky riffs and pummeling proclamation of the track title helping the song live up to its blunt moniker.
Sadly, as Reek of God continues, it starts to stink in ways that perhaps it didn’t intend. It soon becomes apparent that Viperface’s shortage of standout hooks seems to have continued on this album—only here, it’s more of an issue. Viperface still succeeded in spite of that hangup because the songs were well-developed and took interesting turns, even if not everything was the most memorable. Here, however, the band have shortened their average track length to around three minutes, and rather than use that abbreviated format to write tight, catchy bangers, the group instead almost always eschew notable refrains in favor of simply tossing together an assortment of decent, aggressive riffs they seem to have had lying around the practice room. The result feels like an album of brief speed metal vignettes that largely pass by without much note. The production only amplifies this issue, as it sounds like the guitars and vocals are fighting for space in the mix, with the guitars having a blaring tone that I don’t love.
Fortunately, there’s still some good here. The last proper track, “Retrogarde Metal” (yes, it’s actually spelled like that), finally does feature a fun shout-along refrain, and closing the album with the horror-synth instrumental “Crurifragium” was a cool touch. “Freak Magnet,” a cover of the all-female rock band L7, is also a solid cut that adds a bit of punky energy late in the runtime. I also enjoy some of the classic heavy metal licks that appear on “Cancer Cross,” though such ideas generally seem to be less prevalent on this album than on previous ones. Crossburn also delivers some nice attitude in his vocals, with at least one “UGH!” and a self-referential shoutout of “Tell them what’s up, Crossburn!” before a ripping solo.
Overall, though, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed here. By doubling down on their no-fucks-given attitude, Barbarian seems to have taken an even moar primitive and less refined approach, resulting in shorter songs that have plenty of energy but not as much that sticks to the ribs. In their best prior works, the band excelled at combining mighty riffs and melodic leads into wholly engaging compositions. Only time will tell if we’ll ever see them do that again.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Websites: linktr.ee/barbarianmetal | facebook.com/barbarianmetal
Releases Worldwide: January 23rd, 2026
Band of the day: Angel Sword (Finland)
The Nwothmhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dms0PctjVk
Band: Angel Sword
Country: Finland
Label: Dying Victims Productions
Members: Jerry Razors – Vocals, Guitars Lightning Mike – Guitars Eviltaker – Bass Alexander Depraved – Drums
Album: World Fighter
Track Info: 1. Vigilantes 00:00 2. Weekend Warrior 03:20 3. Dangerous Games 08:00 4. Church of Rock 11:39 5. Powerglove 15:35 6. Against All Odds 18:18 7. Afterburn 22:28 8. World Fighter 26:42
Angel Sword is a heavy metal band from Helsinki, Finland, formed in 2010. Channeling the energy of the golden era with sharp riffs and uncompromising attitude, the band has carved out a place in the modern scene while staying true to traditional heavy metal roots. With releases ranging from their early demo Where We Are Going You Cannot Come to full‑length albums like Rebels Beyond the Pale, Neon City, and World Fighter, Angel Sword continues to uphold the spirit of classic metal while pushing forward with their own identity.
Links
Bandcamp: http://angelsword.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angelswordmetal
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelswordmetal
Label: https://www.facebook.com/dyingvictimsproductions
#angelSword #BandOfTheDay #dyingVictimsProductions #HeavyMetal #NewWaveOfTraditionalHeavyMetal #NWOTHM #thenwothm #tradMetal #worldFighter
Chalice announce second album “Divine Spear” out February 2026 via Dying Victims Productions
On the 27th February 2026, Dying Victims Productions will release the highly anticipated second album from Finland’s Chalice, “Divine Spear,” available internationally on CD and vinyl LP formats.
Formed in Helsinki in 2016, Chalice have swiftly established themselves as a beacon of esoteric heavy metal. With members connected to bands such as Ranger, Satan’s Fall and Vincent Revenge, the group first unveiled a demo in 2017 followed by an EP in 2019, before delivering their acclaimed debut album “Trembling Crown” in 2020. That record showcased a dramatic and dynamic style which earned widespread recognition.
Now Chalice return with “Divine Spear,” a work that surpasses their debut in scope and ambition. True to its name, the album is a finely honed creation that reveals layers of sonic and emotional depth. Forged in the harsh Finnish winter, the record refines the band’s elegant approach, blending the spirit of classic European heavy metal with cinematic progressive elements and the sombre atmosphere of northern melancholy. While some passages unfold with patience, rewarding attentive listeners, the album ultimately paints a vivid landscape of light and shadow, pushing beyond the boundaries of the so‑called new wave of traditional metal.
Highlights include striking transitions into cleaner, quieter territory, heightening the drama that defined their first album. Chalice demonstrate masterful control of their craft, using their formidable skills to create awe‑inspiring compositions that invite listeners to immerse themselves fully in the narrative flow.
With production that is both crisp and natural, “Divine Spear” achieves a sound that is powerful yet warm, diving deeper than appearances suggest. Chalice continue to raise the banner of heavy metal high, offering a record that is as commanding as it is captivating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la_6oQ8FSsI
Cover art and track listing are as follows:
Track listing for Chalice (Finland)’s Divine Spear
1. Mare Imbrium
2. Dwell of a Stellar Trance
3. Hollow Curtain
4. The Pact
5. Age EtherealChalice announce second album Divine Spear out February 2026 via Dying Victims Productions
6. The Divine Spear
7. Empyrean Liturgy
8. In From the Cold
9. Alioth
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChaliceFIN
#ChaliceFinland #DivineSpear #DwellOfAStellarTrance #dyingVictimsProductions #HeavyMetal #NewAlbum #NewWaveOfTraditionalHeavyMetal #NWOTHM #thenwothm #thenwothmCom #tradMetal #traditionalMetal
Stonecold
Angry Metal Guy
The Nwothm