Slovenia’s Hellsword came together a dozen years ago, dedicated to the sounds of first-wave black metal, drawing inspiration from the likes of Venom, Bathory, and Hellhammer. With two well-received EPs to their name — 2011’s Blasphemy Unchained and 2014’s Sounding the Seventh Bell — Hellsword are now on the verge of launching their first full-length strike: On September 24th their debut album Cold Is The Grave will be discharged by Emanzipation Productions, and today we’ve got the premiere of all nine tracks.

Lyrically, the band deal with topics such as devil worship, the end of the world, death, desolation, mortality, and the absurdity of human existence. And with such happy thoughts in mind, and a take-no-prisoners attitude, Hellsword deliver 42+ minutes of blazing heavy metal hellfire. Continue reading »