DARKWOODS

01/10/2026

“Exemplum Doloris” by Echo des Ruines is now available in full on our YouTube channel.

If you have only heard fragments so far, this is the place to discover the complete work, six pieces of oppressive atmospheric black metal where haunting melodies, dissonant textures and suffocating darkness surround themes of memory, loss and desire, carried by Le Salicant’s theatrical lyrics written in French and Alastor’s deeply immersive compositions.

Listen to “Exemplum Doloris” in full and let its darkest shades unfold.

Alastor Alastor

Official EP stream of “Exemplum Doloris” by Echo des Ruines, releas...

25/09/2026

A closer look at “Exemplum Doloris” by Echo des Ruines in its physical form.

A stark, nocturnal object steeped in the melancholy and isolation at the heart of this French atmospheric black metal EP, carrying its haunting visual world into every detail of the edition.

Issued as a limited CD pressing of 33 hand-numbered copies.

Find this shadowed expression of memory and loss on our webstore: www.darkwoods.eu

24/09/2026

“Exemplum Doloris” by Echo des Ruines, an introspective atmospheric black metal journey through memory, desire and loss.

Darkwoods welcomes Echo des Ruines, a new presence from the Parisian extreme metal underground formed by Alastor and Le Salicant, two musicians whose work has already left its mark across the French metal scene through their involvement with Temple of Baal, Glorior Belli, Devious Lust, End of Mankind, Dernier Souffle and Pyrecult.

Exploring a deeply personal territory shaped by isolation, memory, dreams, sadness and desire, Echo des Ruines brings together immersive, highly oppressive atmospheric black metal with fascinating French lyrics. Across its six pieces, “Exemplum Doloris”, their debut EP, moves through ghosts of the past, fading beauty, longing and nocturnal visions, gradually drawing the listener into an introspective sound world where melancholy and darkness remain ever-present, while featuring an extraordinary collaboration with Amduscias of Temple of Baal on one of the songs.

The physical edition has been carefully developed to reflect the same sense of immersion, presented in a luxurious oversized 4-panel digifile, built around heavyweight cardboard with a soft-touch matte finish, with a printed cardboard sleeve and a shining black polycarbonate CD.

A beautifully dark object, in keeping with the melancholic world held within, featuring the stark, haunting photography of Sebastian Lovat, capturing the isolation, darkness and melancholic beauty that permeate the entire recording, alongside a striking artwork by el dios perezoso for PuertaOskura, created especially for this release.

Released in a single pressing strictly limited to only 33 hand-numbered copies worldwide.

The CD edition is now available exclusively via our webshop: www.darkwoods.eu

Alastor Alastor

21/09/2026

“Exemplum Doloris”, a glimpse into the colder depths of French atmospheric black metal by Echo des Ruines.
There is something deeply unsettling at work in this debut, where haunting French vocals and immersive atmospheric black metal gradually draw the listener beneath a veil of darkness, into a place where beauty grows increasingly fragile and the light seems to recede with every passage.
Something in the shadows is waiting to take form, soon in a physical edition via Dawn of Murk (Darkwoods).
Step closer... and listen for what is stirring...

26/08/2026

Into the darker side of Hellenic black metal!!

We continue our journey through the Greek black metal underground, this time heading towards a much rawer and more obscure side of the scene with two releases just added at Darkwoods: Deisidaemonia's "Khthonian Hymns" and Winter Eternal's self-titled debut album.

Deeply rooted in the traditions of early Hellenic black metal, "Khthonian Hymns" draws on the spiritual legacy of ancient Greece and the sound of the scene's first generation, while "Winter Eternal" takes a more melodic approach, built around sharp guitar work, sombre atmospheres and the cold spirit of old-school black metal.

Two different takes on the Hellenic tradition, united by that unmistakable Greek sense of darkness, and both are now available at Darkwoods webstore: https://darkwoods.short.gy/NewArrivals

Winter Eternal (Official)

24/08/2026

The legacy of Rotting Christ, back at Darkwoods!!!

Few bands have left such a distinctive mark on the evolution of extreme metal in Europe as Rotting Christ, from the raw Hellenic black metal of their early years to the epic, atmospheric and unmistakably personal sound they have forged over the decades, the Greeks have never stopped expanding the boundaries of their own identity.

We've just made a major update to the Darkwoods catalogue, bringing together a wide selection of Rotting Christ releases on both CD and vinyl, including studio albums, the exhaustive "The Apocryphal Spells" compilation in several formats and the massive "35 Years of Evil Existence - Live in Lycabettus", alongside different chapters from their extensive discography.

Whether you're discovering the band for the first time or looking to complete some gaps in your collection, there's plenty to dig into, explore the Rotting Christ selection at Darkwoods: https://darkwoods.short.gy/RottingChrist

Rotting Christ

22/08/2026

The apocalypse is back in stock!!

After being sold out for a long time, "Apocalypchrist" by Spanish masters of darkness Profundis Tenebrarum is back at Darkwoods.

Their third full-length is a furious descent into black metal at its most violent and blasphemous, driven by relentless drumming, razor-sharp guitars and an atmosphere soaked in darkness and hatred. But "Apocalypchrist" doesn't simply throw thirteen tracks of unrestrained aggression at you: its two lengthy instrumental passages plunge the album into a colder, more oppressive dimension before the final stretch drags everything back into the abyss.

Fast, technical, vicious and deeply atmospheric, this is the sound of the apocalypse according to Profundis Tenebrarum, now back in stock on CD at Darkwoods: https://darkwoods.short.gy/NewArrivals

20/08/2026

Profanatica's blasphemous crusade reaches Darkwoods!!

We're pleased to welcome Profanatica to the Darkwoods catalogue with "Crux Simplex", the sixth full-length from one of the most uncompromising names in American black metal.

Led by the indefatigable Paul Ledney, "Crux Simplex" takes the band's primitive and utterly blasphemous black/death metal through the first ten Stations of the Cross, unleashing dense, corrosive riffs, thunderous drumming, cavernous vocals and an atmosphere so filthy and oppressive you can almost smell the damp walls. Rabid assaults collide with slower, slimier passages, preserving the primordial filth that has defined Profanatica since their earliest days.

A genuine immersion in the most savage side of first-wave black metal, now available on CD at Darkwoods: https://darkwoods.short.gy/NewArrivals

https://www.facebook.com/profanaticausa/
Profanatica

18/08/2026

Death metal from the depths, back in stock!!

The underground never runs out of ways to make death metal sound filthy, sinister and genuinely exciting, so we've brought three long-sold-out titles back to the Darkwoods catalogue.

From Bane's melodic black/death metal divided into three contrasting chapters, through Rogga Johansson's gloomy and melodic take on Swedish old-school death metal with Dead Sun, to Necrosavant's monumental 45-minute blackened death metal epic, these three records approach extreme metal from very different angles while sharing the same underground spirit.

Three records, three visions, one dark corner of the catalogue. All three are now back in stock at Darkwoods: https://darkwoods.short.gy/NewArrivals

Bane [Serbia] Necrosavant