Raphael Alecto - Hessian Firm

Some excursions into Atmospheric Black Metal – Part 2

I Shalt Become - Wanderings (1998) Although the band’s affinity with Burzum is frequently stressed, we must add the important caveat that the band for the most part drains the…

By Raphael Alecto September 12, 2021Review

Review

Film Review: Possessor (2020), by Brandon Cronenberg

Possessor is the latest and second full-length film by Brandon Cronenberg, son of the celebrated director David Cronenberg (whose name should be familiar to most hessians). This kinship deserves mention…

By Raphael Alecto September 5, 2021Review

Label News Podcast

Hessian Scrum Special: Mike Smith from Suffocation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL9nBK5iomc The latest episode of the Hessian Scrum podcast is already available on our youtube channel, featuring one of the most legendary figures in death metal: Mike Smith, founding member…

By Raphael Alecto August 16, 2021Label News, Podcast

Review

Tau Cross – Messengers of Deception (2020)

Rob Miller has been treading an interesting and consistent path in music, starting as one of the pioneers of crust punk through the highly influential Amebix, redefining their sound through…

By Raphael Alecto August 4, 2021Review

Review

Empire Auriga – Auriga Dying (2008)

Despite the vague and throwaway "metal" descriptive usually attached to it, what Empire Auriga present on their mysterious debut album is firmly set within the purposes and methods of ambient…

By Raphael Alecto July 26, 2021Review

Label News

Mefitis release music video for “The Witherways”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiwVEuw0lwI&ab_channel=Mefitis Mefitis have just unveiled the music video for the song "The Witherways", from their latest album Offscourings. Like the accompanying music, the short portrays a sinister and mysterious foray…

By Raphael Alecto July 11, 2021Label News

Review

Some excursions into Atmospheric Black Metal

It is easy to understand the maligned reputation of the "atmospheric" epithet in black metal (or metal and music at large), first given the low bar of quality established by…

By Raphael Alecto July 2, 2021Review

Review

Unholy – From the Shadows (1993)

Finland’s Unholy gained a reputation in underground metal for their unique take on the funeral doom genre, itself a very specific niche that might come off as inherently limited but…

By Raphael Alecto June 20, 2021Review

Podcast

Hessian Scrum: Nisse Karlén from Sacramentum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiUqAaiol2w The latest episode of the Hessian Scrum podcast is already out; this time, I step in to interview Nisse Karlén, vocalist of Sacramentum. Topics include: his early tape trading…

By Raphael Alecto June 4, 2021Podcast

Podcast

Hessian Scrum: Yusaf from Dødheimsgard

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkp64RlNdC8&ab_channel=HessianFirm The Hessian Scrum podcast returns with a very special guest: Vicotnik (Yusaf Parvez), from legendary and boundary-pushing norwegian band Dødheimsgard and other projects such as Ved Buens Ende and…

By Raphael Alecto May 21, 2021Podcast