Written by:	nikarg, musclassia, Starvynth, AndyMetalFreak
Published:	04.11.2023

Clandestine Cuts Volume 13, Issue #10
The Metal Storm Demo/EP Spotlight



Is independent, unsigned, and underground metal what you seek? Weary traveller of the metal world, rest here a while. Clandestine Cuts are the best demos and EPs from these bands, the heart and soul of metal music. These musicians are slaves to their passions, and their blood keeps the metal machine alive and turning. Support them with a simple listen, and discover the future.

Metal Storm users: you can vote in the poll below to choose your favourite demo/EP of the issue. The winners each year are nominated in our annual Metal Storm Awards, so exercise your rights: this is the one category chosen completely by YOU the readers. Make sure your favourite independent metal is recognized each year!

(Think your band has what it takes to be featured in the Cuts? Email demos@metalstorm.net to submit your music.)

In case you're new to this, go back and enjoy our last few issues:

Clandestine Cuts Vol. 13 #9
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 13 #8
Clandestine Cuts Vol. 13 #7

And now to the new music...

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The newly formed Dutch melodic black metal group Forlorn Hope announce themselves to the world with their six-track debut EP, Humanitas Vincuntur. At just shy of a half-hour in length, this ferociously melodic EP is a blast to the past, bringing to life the classic Swedish meloblack era in the most authentic and exhilarating way possible. Containing heavy influence from Dissection in particular, you're treated here to an endless bombardment of highly melodic tremolos, ferocious wild leads, evil menacing shrieks, furious blast beats, and cold atmospheric interludes, mixed and mastered to bring all the traditional, raw, and sinister energy back to the surface. If classic Swedish meloblack is your scene, then Humanitas Vincuntur has it all, and Forlorn Hope are well worth keeping an eye out for in the near future.

by AndyMetalFreak

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Pilgrims Of Morbidity by Fessus is a slab of aggressive, crushing, and vile death metal. The demo starts with a few notes of the bass, before the first face-melting riff (distantly reminding of Pantera’s "Cemetery Gates") kicks down the front door. This release is irresistibly repugnant; it is dripping all sorts of revolting liquids, and you can bet your ass that they all smell disgustingly awful. If you ever feel like lurking in a suffocating, dark, and bat-filled cave, or if you get an urge to open up a coffin at your local cemetery and desecrate its content, Pilgrims Of Morbidity should be on your headphones. The band has a knack for groove, and the fact that Brenton Weir from Molten Chains is behind Fessus explains a lot. The cavernous riffs are paired with sickening growls and some blazing drumming, and this demo is pure delight for fans of old-school, rotten death metal, who get satisfaction when the riffs make them pick up their jaw from the floor.

by nikarg

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Meloblack and melodeath, in their purest iterations, are a long way apart from one another, but there is potential for overlap between them, and Venit Mortem do a solid job of exploring the more nebulous regions when it comes to melodic extreme metal. With four lengthy songs on debut EP Deliverance, the Czechs offer up a sound that utilizes cold blackened chords, but also chunkier riffs, and while there are tremolos, they can veer towards blackgaze territory in terms of tone. With splashes of keys and symphonics thrown in to further expand the scope of their sound (particularly with some of the more dramatic synths on “Dying Moon”), Venit Mortem deliver a rich and melancholic tone on highlights such as “Hangman’s Thoughts” and “Forest Of Suffering”.

by musclassia

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I’m not sure how ‘still’ God Of The Mind is, but this debut EP absolutely feels like the sound of a dying world. Stillness Of A Dying World, the one-man project from Scotland, perform a form of black metal that is cavernously lo-fi, dense and hellish, with vocals that sound like demonic utterances escaping from the void. While there are occasional snippets of clean guitar and softer sounds, the bulk of God Of The Mind is suffocating in its bleakness; the lo-fi production turns the black metal tremolos into evil swirls of sound. Intriguingly, on the closing title track, a hint of melody emerges within those tremolos, particularly when the synths come into play. Still, at its darkest, the sound of the guitars, reverberating drums and grisly vocals in tandem is utterly sinister.

by musclassia

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Bladespell’s self-titled debut EP is a fantasy-themed piece of music, as you can tell from its name and from its cover art that features a book of spells, various potions, and a sword. While containing styles that are by no means innovative, the way this release blends them is quite unique. Bladespell has death metal vocals, doom metal pace, blackened riffs, and a mystical atmosphere, courtesy of the dungeon synths. It sounds like Summoning and Darkthrone recorded songs together with Martin Van Drunen on vocals, while Varg Vikerness contributed with synths he recorded when he was in prison. The sound is raw, as a result of the absence of post-mixing, and it fits the music like a gauntlet. Bands that try to incorporate different elements like these usually end up with a patchwork of different fabrics that do not gel, but Bladespell has a very interesting concept with an even more interesting execution, and it is a very engaging listen.

by nikarg

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Autumn isn't necessarily my favourite time of year, but if there is a metal genre that can only truly unfold as the harsh autumn wind sweeps the last leaves from the branches so that only the rigid, gnarled skeletons of the trees remain, then it's death/doom. Boulder Grove have delivered the perfect soundtrack for the cold, wet, and dark season with their first EP, and it is no exaggeration to say that the two Russians fully live up to the expectations raised by the truly beautiful and atmospheric cover artwork. Is that Paradise Lost's Greg Mackintosh on guitars? It almost sounds like him, but no, the man's name is Vitaly, he is also responsible for all the other instruments (apart from the drums and the lute), and he has a strong musical instinct for creating a musical framework that is reminiscent of the genre's great role models and pioneers, but without copying them. Bandmate Dmitrii fits perfectly into this ensemble, because as soon as his raspy but powerful vocals set in, you can literally feel the damp autumn mist rising from the ground and sending a cold shiver down your spine.

by Starvynth

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