[1][2] Thulcandra's rise to power ignited when the Germany-based outfit unleashed their debut album, Fallen Angel's Dominion, upon metaldom in 2010.

The group, still fronted by founding member and visionary Steffen Kummerer (also of Obscura fame), have only tightened their hibernal grip on blackened death metal since.

The desolate melodic emanations in follow-up albums Under a Frozen Sun (2011), Ascension Lost (2015), A Dying Wish (2021) and Hail The Abyss (2023) solidified Thulcandra as a superior force, expertly thrusting the magic and mystery of mid-'90s Nordic black-death metal into the modern era.

Co-produced by V. Santura (Obscura, Dark Fortress, Triptykon) and Kummerer at Woodshed Studios, Thulcandra skillfully captured the frostiest of winter vibes.

At the same time, famed illustrator Kristian "Necrolord" Wåhlin (Dissection, Dark Tranquillity, Emperor) was on-boarded to engulf Thulcandra's sonic malice in his trademark downhearted blue.

Written under a flurry of acclaim—meanwhile, Obscura's sophomore album, Cosmogenesis, had smashed riff first into the US Billboard charts—Thulcandra's response was bleaker and more aggressive yet surprisingly musical.

The winning combo of Santura and Kummerer at the production helm returned, as did Wåhlin, whose blue-hued apparition perfectly encapsulated the fiendishly rimy sounds it embraced.

When Under a Frozen Sun was released in the fall of 2011, fans and critics praised the album, with Rock Hard's Björn Thorsten Jaschinski extolling Thulcandra's increasing supremacy.

The shivering riffs and brumal solos of Kummerer found their mark, but it's the foundation that offered up more groove, a learned trait from ally Tom G. Warrior (Triptykon, Celtic Frost).

Vaunted Metal Hammer scribed Martin Wickler called Ascension Lost, "A flawless homage to the Swedish legends of the early nineties."

The newly reconfigured three-piece ensconced on Thulcandra's first European headline tour with death metallers Nailed to Obscurity.

To keep the band's icy heart fit, they plunged into a successful 21-date European tour with Obscura, God Dethroned, and Fractal Universe in early 2020.

The group changed up the artwork—this time illustrated by German artist Herbert Lochner—and pulled in famed producer Dan Swanö (Dissection, Bloodbath, Opeth) and his studio, Unisound, to push their fourth album over the edge.

From opener "Funeral Pyre" and mid-album rager "The Slivering Silver" to "Scarred Grandeur" and the epic title track, Thulcandra proved yet again why they're atop death metal's malefic vedette.