Besprechung -Mørkeskye-Fanzine / Ausgabe 20

Wo fange ich nun am besten an bei meiner ersten Rezension dieses Print-Zines? Namentlich war mir das Mørkeskye schon seit einer gefühlten Ewigkeit, bestimmt aber seit mindestens 20 Jahren ein Begriff, in der Hand hatte ich tatsächlich noch nie ein Exemplar, aus welchen Gründen auch immer, sollte es eben 30 Jahre dauern.

Denn tatsächlich gibt es das Zine seit dem fernen Jahr 1995, Herausgeber Thor Wanzek, teils auch unter der halb-pseudonymsierten Abwandlung seines Namens als Thor Joakimsson bekannt, hat u. a. auch für das Orkus, das Deftone bzw. Legacy (für das ich auch mal sechs Jahre schrieb), das  Hammerheart Fanzine und Avantgarde-Metal.com geschrieben. Zudem veröffentlichte er unter dem Labelnamen Trollmusic einige Werke von Bands wie Gràb, Bald Anders (mit ex-Lunar Aurora-Leuten) und De Arma (mit Andreas Petterson von Armagedda) und weist wohl eine Verbundenheit zu Prophecy Productions auf, was sich auch im so manchem Signing einer Band auf diesem Label nach einer dementsprechenden Empfehlung seitens Thor niederschlug.

Meine Berührungen mit Printzines waren in jüngerer Vergangenheit das Krachmanifest-Zine, ebenfalls mochte ich dessen Quasi-Vorgänger Campaign for Musical Destruction - Zine doch sehr, ansonsten würde ich glatt lügen, wenn ich behaupten würde, dass ich regelmäßiger Leser von Printzines sei, auch wenn man im heutigen Zeitalter die Macher und Macherinnen solcher Publikationen natürlich umso mehr für Ihren Idealismus unterstützen sollte.

Thor, ursprünglich aus dem Sauerland stammend, verschlug es nach Köln und im Kontakt per Messenger stellte sich zu meinem Erstaunen heraus, dass er nun in Brühl, meiner früheren Heimatstadt im Rhein-Erft-Kreis, gelegen vor den Toren Kölns, wohnt. So klein ist also die Welt! Ich kam nun also zu den letzten beiden Ausgaben 20 und 21, wobei hier nun chronologisch zu erst die Nr. 20 besprochen wird, Nr. 22 wird übrigens in wenigen Tagen veröffentlicht und natürlich auch unter die Lupe genommen.

Review Triste Tage "Auf ferner Höhe steht er kahl..."

This time, I'm introducing a band that I stumbled across quite some time ago, but I only just got around to listening to their second album “Auf ferner Höhe steht er kahl...” ("It stands bare on distant heights..."). I'm talking about Triste Tage (Sad or dreary days) from East Frisia, a solo project by Draugr that has been around since 2022, through which he realizes his artistic ambitions. After a first sign of life in the form of an EP in 2022 (the two songs included there were also used on the debut album), the first full-length album “Und die Hörner des Sommers verstummten” ("And the horns of summer fell silent") was released the following year, before its successor recently saw the light of day. So you see that the factotum Draugr, who relied on the support of guest musicians from Convictive, Asarhaddon, and ex-Eïs for vocals and drums on this work, seems to be a busy spirit. 

Review Eternal Darkness "Eternal Darkness"

At this point, I would like to present one of the absolute highlights of the year, even though its release was several months ago. We are talking about the debut album by the doom death metal band Eternal Darkness from Eskilstuna, Sweden, which was released last July on the tasteful Singaporean label Pulverised Records. The band, whose ranks include former members of such illustrious bands as Svartsyn, Unpure, and The Black—or rather, used to include, as I'll explain in a moment—was founded way back in 1990, released several demos, and finally, in 1992, a 7“ single with two tracks, whose cover, incidentally, also decorates Dimmu Borgir's debut album "For All Tid", published three years later. In August 1992, the band recorded an album entitled "Twilight in the Wilderness", which was supposed to be released by Necropolis Records but never saw the light of day.

Review Eldfödd "Risen from the Flames"

Eldfödd, which means “fireborn” in Swedish, is a new band formed in 2025 by Sebastian Ramstedt, best known as the guitarist for Necrophobic, but also for his other great band called In Aphelion. He has gathered other deserved veterans of the Swedish scene around him, who have played or helped out in such illustrious bands as Firespawn, Witchery, Under the Church, General Surgery, Interment, In Aeternum, and countless others—a lot comes together in such a musical life. This first official sign of life from Eldfödd was released by the Norwegian label Edged Circle Productions, which also released In Aphelion's first EP. The four tracks, which clock in at just under 20 minutes and also include the two tracks from the “Beyond the Fire” demo released digitally in early March 2025, are available on CD, limited edition colored vinyl, and as a very limited edition box set (only 30 copies) with vinyl, tape, shirt, and other items. The latter of which is already sold out and is sure to be a much -in-demand collector's item.

Review Achathras "A Darkness of the Ancient Past"

Once again, I stumbled more or less by chance across a band on the vastness of the internet that piqued my attention and appealed to me with their music. This time it's Achathras, who released their debut album a few weeks ago—without a prior demo or EP—directly through Cult Never Dies. Achathras surround themselves in the best manner of the golden era of black metal in the 90s with a touch of mystery, although this is actually a clear understatement. Apart from pseudonyms, nothing is known to the public about the three band members, not even the origin of the band is clear. So many unknowns – in today's age of information overload and the need for recognition, this is refreshing. However, the band didn't want to completely abstain from media presence, so they have an Instagram and Facebook account as well as a Bandcamp page. 

Review Runemagick "Circle of the dying Sun (Dawn of ashen Realms)"

Runemagick, who have been around since 1990, are still an underground phenomenon and have never really made the leap into the ranks of bigger bands. However, they are all the more popular and respected among a devoted community of fans of doom-laden death metal sounds. Of course, the band's sound has undergone certain changes and differentiations over the decades. Their debut album “The Supreme Force of Eternity,” released on Century Media, was much more closely aligned with regular death metal sounds, which specifically means that the tempo presented there was considerably faster. However, many of the subsequent albums, although significantly slower in tempo, were often more death metal-oriented or maintained a balance between death metal and doom metal elements. However, the last four albums after the band's new beginning in 2017, including the 2018 album “Evoked from Abysmal Sleep,” lean even more heavily toward doom metal, particularly through the increased incorporation of atmospheric, tranquil elements. 

Review Fimbul Winter "What once was"

Fimbul Winter, hailing from the Stockholm metropolitan area, is a band that has been around since 2023 and consists of three-quarters ex-members of Amon Amarth. With “What Once Was,” they now present their debut EP, which features five tracks with a playing time of 24 minutes, released independently by the band.

When former members of a well-known band start something new, or musicians pursue a side project alongside their main activity, they are intuitively compared to their previous or current main activity. This is, in a sense, in the nature of things, and Fimbul Winter (not to be confused with the Norwegian band Fimbulwinter, written as one word, which released the great “Servants of Sorcery” in 1994 with a certain Shagrath in their ranks, later known from Dimmu Borgir) deal openly with this fact and communicate it—and why not, after all, they were part of one of the biggest and most famous death metal bands ever.