From the devil's hand

  On February 20, 2026 , Nytt Land (New Land) released their latest album, Aba Khan , via Napalm Records . This is the band’s 10th studio album to date. In the pagan–folk metal scene, many bands have emerged following the success of Wardruna , Dannheim , and Heilung . However, only a few have managed to achieve similar recognition. Nytt Land undoubtedly belongs to this select group. The duo, Natalya “Baba Yaga” Pakhalenko and Anatoly Pakhalenko from Kalachinsk, created a truly unique dark folk and shamanic production. They began their distinctive musical journey in 2013 and have been remarkably active ever since. In this relatively short time, they have delivered ten studio albums, alongside numerous singles, EPs, and even a live album. Few bands can claim to have released so much material in such a short period. In addition, Natalya is also known for her project Kiberspassk , a grotesque cyber–neo–folk–dark production that blends industrial music with Russian folk eleme...

  This March, across three weekends, Patriarkh will once again go on tour on home soil in Poland. 03. 13. Wroclaw - Zaklete Rewiry 03. 14. Zabrze - CK Wiatrak 03. 15. Krakow - Studio 03. 20. Łódz - Scenografia 03. 21. Warszawa - Proxima 03. 22. Bialystok - Zmiana Klimatu 03. 27. Gdynia - Podwórko Art 03. 28. Szczecin - Kosmos 03. 29. Poznan - 2Progi

  T o my great heartbreak, I only managed to attend one date of the entire The Prophet’s Source tour — the Barcelona show. That hurt even more considering that three of my all-time favorite bands were performing on the same night. Still, at least this much worked out. I’m not particularly fond of Mediterranean cities, but I chose Barcelona because it meant I could escape minus 10 degrees and suddenly find myself in plus 10. Five bands performed that evening. The only one unfamiliar to me was Sanity ; I believe I’ve already seen Halls of Oblivion , probably in Budapest. Sanity caught my attention during soundcheck — they were good. As a symphonic metal band, they stood out from the rest of the lineup in my opinion. It’s not really my genre, but despite that, they weren’t bad at all. Doors opened at 17:30 and Sanity started at 17:50. Unfortunately, very few people arrived that early. That didn’t bother them in the slightest — the drummer sat down and cheerfully greeted everyo...

  At the end of January, I once again headed toward Poland, as Vltimas took the stage in three Polish cities—Szczecin, Gdynia, and Kraków—organized by Gryf Events . It had been more than a year since I last saw them, so it was definitely time. This was the 8th time I managed to see them live. Over the past 14 months, there hasn’t been a single month when I wasn’t on Polish soil—often several times a month—so it almost feels like home by now. The atmosphere of the concerts, the sound, and the lighting are all much better than in Budapest. I don’t know what exactly is (or isn’t) going on at Klub Kosmos in Szczecin, but that venue guarantees a 100% concert experience. So, if anyone can only attend one show on a given tour and that show happens to be at Klub Kosmos —go there. Another huge positive about Gryf Events shows is that they don’t publish the concert schedule at the very last minute. Not like in Budapest, where in a good case you find out 3–4 days before the show, maybe...

  On May 2, 2025, the Polish band Hate released their latest album Bellum Regiis via Metal Blade Records . The title, translated from Latin, means “War of Kings.” It is interesting how many death and black metal bands come from Poland. It is by no means easy to achieve major popularity when a band constantly has to exist in the shadow of — and be compared to — Behemoth or even Vader . Hate has had to struggle with this a great deal. They are often labeled or mocked as a Behemoth clone. Personally, I don’t really understand this, as they don’t have much in common beyond being Polish and sharing some stylistic similarities. This album is the follow-up to Rugia (2021) and is also Hate’s 13th full-length release . This time, they have created a much bolder and more aggressive record than ever before. It is possible that the subject matter itself brought this aggression along, as well as the far more monumental and mature sound. The album’s themes draw deeply from questions of ...