Articles & interviews – The Wild Hunt

Posted on 4 January, 20234 January, 2023 by The Hunt

Signing: The Wild Hunt announces the Ukrainian atmospheric black metal act Colotyphus

The Wild Hunt proudly announces two releases by the highly epic and totally massive Ukrainian atmospheric black metal act Colotyphus. Together with the band, we release two of their epitomes of atmospheric black metal, namely “My Nostalgia” and “Spiritual Nostalgia”. We had a chat with the main man and vocalist Monolith about Colotyphus and Ukraine.

Colotyphus plays atmospheric black metal and hails from Rivne, Ukraine. The main man behind the band is Gennady Kovrizhnykh (Monolith). The war Russia started in 2014 triggered the start of Colotyphus and in 2015, Colotyphus released their first epic “Forgotten in the Past”. In 2016, the band was completed with a bass player and a keyboard player. Then the recording of of the first full-length album called “Spiritual Journey of The Forlorn Soul” was started. A large number of concerts were played in Ukraine, and from 2018 to 2021, in parallel with gigs, the second album “My Nostalgia” was written.

In 2021, Colotyphus played at a very cool festival called Taras Bulba, the name is taken from the person Taras Bulba who is considered the quintessence of the Ukrainian spirit and strength. This concert was recorded and is now being released as “Spiritual Nostalgia”, since songs from the two previous albums were played and “Spiritual Nostalgia” concludes the trilogy about the journey of an unknown traveler, who is also depicted on the covers of previous albums.

After the release of “My Nostalgia”, the writing of an album with a darker direction, concerning the theme of the war, but also concerning the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Then on February 24th 2022, my life and the life of every Ukrainian changed radically, with the second invasion of Ukraine. However, Colotyphus never stopped – in March 2022, about 2 weeks after the restart of the war, we gathered in our studio. To the sounds of air alarms and nearby detonations of cruise missiles, we recorded the drums for the forthcoming full-length album. Currently, in the breaks between electricity black outs, we are finishing work on a new full-length album. Title is not decided yet, but working name is “Hatred Throughout The Ages”. Regarding the music, I can say only one thing: previously, the message was more spiritual, abstract and metaphysical like about the interaction between man and nature, vices of humanity etc. Now the message is more than real – and every Ukrainian will understand the message by reading ‘between the lines’ so to say.

The main thing is the thought, the idea, and it is something that cannot be stopped! Glory to Ukraine!

My Nostalgia & Spiritual Nostalgia releases

My Nostalgia will be released in two limited vinyl versions, for the first time ever:

black vinyl
blue-clear cloud vinyl

These are not far away and should be available before winter is over…

Spiritual Nostalgia is now being offered as digipack CD and the vinyl version(s) should be available quarter two 2023. More details regarding vinyl release to be shared closer to release.

Posted on 29 December, 20224 January, 2023 by The Hunt

Article: Aspaarn – experimental black metal rawness

Aspaarn is a one man raw black metal project from Switzerland, which has been existing for a couple of years. In September 2021, the self-released “Ancestral Genocides” album was released on vinyl, to be followed by the second full lenght, “Between Loss And Hate” which was released in 2022 on tape.

In Aspaarn, there is a strong prehistoric and naturalistic theme. The name of the project itself is actually a slightly altered version of the name of a place in the alps where a neolithic mass grave was found.

“I’ve always been passionate about ancient history. Very little is known about that time and how people lived, and that time of the roots of our kin remains shrouded in mystery. Nature has a very important part in my life, and when you visit certain places that have been left untouched I think you can feel a connection with those ancestral times. Also, negativity, violence and darkness have always been a part of us, and make up for a sizeable chunk of the themes covered in black metal.

In prehistory, the hostile environment and the absolute supremacy of nature over man are what drove our ancestors to compete for resources and survival, at first against nature itself, but then more and more against each other, often leaving behind their own humanity, as can be confirmed in a lot of archaeological findings. “Ancestral Genocides” is exactly about that: it must have been an absolutely nightmarish time to be born in, forced to relinquish your humanity to survive nature. If you dig in a bit in the findings from that age, you can come across some absolutely savage stuff those people did to each other. One could say, this was the most black metal era of mankind… Haha!”

“Ancestral Genocides” artwork

Aspaarn comes shrouded with both rawness and experimentiality, which seems to be a result from searching and exploring the black metal universe…

“I’ve been listening to black metal since I was a teenager. What has always captured me in this genre is its expressive power. I think it’s one of the few genres that are really able to make you travel and imagine places, feel determinate emotions, almost like a painting you could see with your own eyes.

In the past years, I’ve been listening to more and more underground and obscure projects, and noticed how the raw and improvised production not only added a lot to the atmosphere, but made every different recording unique it it’s own. So that’s what pushed me to try out my own brand of rawness and darkness.“

The Wild Hunt is proudly offering the “Ancestral Genocides” LP for both wholesale and distribution. Do not hesitate to get in contact.

Posted on 14 November, 20226 January, 2023 by The Hunt

Signing: we announce the release of Nazghor’s seventh album

NOTE! Release party is Saturday 26th of November at Klubb Fredagsmangel, Drabantvägen 11, Järfälla/Jakobsberg.

“Seventh Secular Crusade” is Nazghor’s seventh full-length album. This time, they have really heightened a level or two, especially regarding song-writing and production, by delivering seven tracks of pure classic satanic Swedish melodic black metal. To highlight this, we interviewed one of the founding members Nekhrid…

Please begin by telling us a about Nazghor and the band’s background.

Nazghor emerged on a dark winter night in November 2012 from the unholy city of Uppsala. Since then, Nazghor has released six albums bringing a pure, and still melodic black metal of death. The band has toured and played at several festivals across Europe as well as acting as support band for Batushka and Uada.

Ok, cool. What first got you into this genre, and what motivates and inspires you to create the music you do?

Both founder members had like-minded philosophy and the aspiration to create something heavy, evil, melodic and with at distinct purpose. The motivation to keep doing this is something that we create for ourselves by adding new elements to our music. The inspiration comes from different kind of music genres, books and our own opposition to the religious world.

Very intriguing, would you like to elaborate on your “distinct purpose” and religion?

It is simple. With Satan as a kind of savior from the religious world to complete the nullification of their pollution. Our message is “ temptation and darkness” and thus is every “crusade” a secular yet blasphemous one.

Your new album, “Seventh Secular Crusade”, is a true melodic black metal killer – or how would you describe it?

“Seventh Secular Crusade” is a massive experience of darkness and light. This is our best record to date, and we could not be more ready to share the result with you. It has everything that people expect from Nazghor – excellent melodies, dark atmosphere and raw power. We have raised the bar in both songwriting and production. We believe in this album, and we want to make sure that no one miss the opportunity to witness our greatest opus to date…

I can only agree to that, what do you think made it possible for you to raise the bar so dramatically?

We wanted to do something less raw and more powerful, and for that you need the right professional touch. Since this album took several years to complete, we really had the opportunity to find the right person for the job.

Tracklisting:

Massive Omen Paradox
Fulminating Fire
A Crown Soaked in Blood
Sons of Shadows
Beyond The Grave
Primordial Lineage
Seventh Secular Crusade