Dark black metal duo HULDER are streaming their new record Verbolgen in full via Black Metal Promotion’s YouTube channel, released on August 7th through Season of Mist and 20 Buck Spin. Over the course of 9 tracks, the album journeys seamlessly throughout the three realms before galloping onward, toward the glow of dawn.
Verbolgen is Hulder’s third full-length and the first to formally welcome Necreon as co-leader, a status their creative process has reflected in practice for years. Keld (Majesties, Obsequiae, Celestiial) contributes hurdy gurdy, additional guitars, and keys throughout, with drumming duties split between Vapula and Vrolok across the tracklist, and Ianuaria appearing on session flute.
Recorded at Elektric City Recording in Portland, Oregon and at various locations by the band, Verbolgen was mixed by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studios in Kemi, Finland and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki. Cover artwork was painted by Morrigan, her first metal commission since 1996, with logo design by Jannicke Wiese Hansen and photography by Liana Rakijian.
Dark black metal duo HULDER have released “In Blood and In Earth,” the second single from their forthcoming album Verbolgen, set for release on August 7th, 2026 via Season of Mist (Europe) and 20 Buck Spin (North America). The track is accompanied by an official music video directed by Newfoundland filmmaker Justin Oakey, arriving as the final preview before the full record drops.
Running just over seven minutes, “In Blood and In Earth” is an act of communal rite set in motion by the landscape itself. The track builds from foreboding restraint into sweeping, storm-gathered momentum, as Hulder’s vocals call out in invocation to named elder trees: Aiken, Natilon, before the full weight of the arrangement bears down. Lyrically rooted in the Belgic war cry barritus and the sovereignty-granting goddess Cathobadua, the song frames endurance and bloodshed not as tragedy but as covenant: a pact between flesh and earth that the living inherit from the ancient dead. The band describe it plainly: “This second offering from the forthcoming album stands as a warning and a spell. Speak these words as the land below bellows forewarning… Shall you fall upon your knees?“
“In Blood and In Earth” is lifted from Verbolgen, which will be released on August 7th, 2026 through Season of Mist and 20 Buck Spin. Recorded at Elektric City Recording in Portland, Oregon and at various locations by the band, the album was mixed by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studios in Kemi, Finland and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki. It marks Hulder’s third full-length and the first to formally welcome Necreon as co-leader of the project: a status the duo’s creative process has long reflected in practice.
Verbolgen was produced by Hulder, with drums engineered by Charlie Koryn at Elektric City Recording in Portland, Oregon. Guitars, bass, and vocals were engineered by Necreon, with additional instrumentation engineered by Keld and Hulder. The album was mixed by Ahti Kortelainen at Tico Tico Studios (Kemi, Finland) and mastered by Mika Jussila at Finnvox Studios (Helsinki, Finland). Cover artwork was painted by Morrigan, with logo design by Jannicke Wiese Hansen and photography by Liana Rakijian.
The music video for “In Blood and In Earth” was directed by Justin Oakey and produced by Black River Pictures. Of the project, Oakey says: “I am beyond honoured Hulder trusted me with putting together something for the new album. Inspired by folk horror, it follows a family clinging to an inhospitable landscape and slowly reveals a dark, sinister atmosphere. The colourist of the video Clinton Homuth introduced me to Hulder in 2019 with some of the early demos. The balance between the bucolic and raw sounds felt incredibly original while staying true to the roots. I reached out and we stayed in touch, finding ways to collaborate. It’s inspiring to see the new, creative directions Hulder and Necreon take with each release.“
Dark black metal project HULDER release “View From Nemeton”, the lead single and accompanying music video from their forthcoming album Verbolgen, due August 7, 2026 via Season of Mist (World ex-North America) and 20 Buck Spin (North America). The single opens the album’s campaign and marks the first visual statement from what stands as the project’s most fully realised work to date.
“Captured on analog mediums in the forests of the Pacific Northwestern landscape and woven together by Liana Rakijian and Hulder, ‘View From Nemeton’ serves as a glimpse from the eye of the otherworld,” the band states.
“View From Nemeton” moves through the ceremonial and the spectral, its lyrics evoking a sacred site in the realm of the otherworld where the living and the dead converge: “In realm of the otherworld where undead and living shall meet / View from Nemeton as veil of soma is thinned.” The track builds on a foundation of layered riffing and atmospheric density, anchored by the recurring incantation “Bone to Bone / Limb to Limb / Blood to Blood”, before opening into sequences of hurdy gurdy and keys that widen the piece’s ceremonial register.
Emerging from the American Pacific Northwest, HULDER built a devoted following across a series of releases marked by their commitment to ancient craft, uncompromising production, and a sound rooted in the Northern European black metal tradition. Verbolgen sees the project expand its instrumental palette: drawing in hurdy gurdy from KELD (Majesties, Obsequiae, Celestiial) and split drum contributions from VAPULA and VROLOK (Aeternus, Gorgoroth), while sharpening the dual creative core that has defined its most compelling work.
“View From Nemeton” is available now across all platforms. Verbolgen will be released on August 7, 2026 via Season of Mist (World ex-North America) and 20 Buck Spin (North America).
Season of Mist is pleased to announce the forthcoming reissue of four releases from the HULDER back catalogue: De Oproeping Van Middeleeuwse Duisternis (2019), Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry (2021), The Eternal Fanfare (2022), and Verses in Oath (2024). The four titles span the full arc of the project’s development, from its earliest tape recordings through to the most fully realized statement to date.
De Oproeping Van Middeleeuwse Duisternis brings together HULDER‘s first two tape releases: the Ascending the Raven Stone demo and the Rehearsal 8/13/18 session, onto a single compilation. Raw and deliberate, these eight tracks document the project’s origins in the icy traditional black metal of the nineties Scandinavian and French scenes, anchored by tremolo-picked riffs, a cover of Celtic Frost’s “Into the Crypts of Rays,” and a songwriting instinct that was already, at this earliest stage, pointed and purposeful.
Track list:
De Oproeping Van Middeleeuwse Duisternis (00:46)
Heksensabbat (Rehearsal) (02:36)
Bestial Form of Humanity (Rehearsal) (04:06)
Implements of Hell (Rehearsal) (05:36)
Into the Crypts of Rays (03:48)
Heksensabbat (05:27)
Bestial Form of Humanity (04:50)
Implements of Hell (07:45) Full runtime: 34:56
Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry, HULDER‘s debut full-length, was released in January 2021 via Iron Bonehead Productions. Across eight tracks and roughly forty minutes, the album expanded on the early tape material with greater structural ambition and textural range: blast-driven passages sitting alongside acoustic guitar, medieval keyboard, and unhurried melodic development. The Belgian geography of the project surfaces directly in “De Dijle,” named for the river running through Hulder’s native Mechelen, giving the lyrical content an anchor in specific landscape and folklore. Clean vocal passages, most notably on “A Forlorn Peasant’s Hymn,” showed a broader expressive range without altering the album’s essential character.
Track list:
Upon Frigid Winds (03:24)
Creature of Demonic Majesty (03:38)
Sown in Barren Soil (04:49)
De Dijle (06:37)
Purgations of Bodily Corruptions (04:23)
Lowland Famine (05:28)
A Forlorn Peasant’s Hymn (06:03)
From Whence an Ancient Evil Once Reigned (05:09) Total runtime: 39:41
The Eternal Fanfare, released in July 2022 via 20 Buck Spin as HULDER‘s first release for the label, is a five-track mini-album that refined and extended the debut’s approach. The production carries more low-end weight and definition; the songwriting is more varied in register, moving between the atmospheric patience of opener “Curse From Beyond,” the stormblast ferocity of the title track, and the mournful, synth-layered arc of closer “A Perilous Journey.” A guest guitar solo from Philippe Tougas appears on “Burden of Flesh and Bone,” one of several moments on the record where expanded instrumental scope serves the composition rather than decorating it.
Track list:
Curse From Beyond (02:54)
Burden of Flesh and Bone (05:27)
Sylvan Awakening (04:49)
The Eternal Fanfare (05:34)
A Perilous Journey (06:58) Total runtime: 25:54
Verses in Oath, the sophomore full-length released in February 2024 via 20 Buck Spin, is the most complete realisation of the project to date. Recorded during the winter of 2023 at De Pestkerk Studios, the album spans ten tracks and forty minutes, moving between furious tremolo-driven passages and passages of near-ceremonial stillness with a cohesion and confidence that sets it apart from everything that preceded it. “Hearken the End” is the album’s centrepiece, a waltz-paced track that opens with ethereal clean vocals before escalating without seam; the title track returns to a more layered black metal mode, and the two short interludes: “Lamentation” and “An Offering”, function as genuine structural caesuras rather than padding. Mixed and mastered in Finland at Tico Tico Studio and Finnvox Studios respectively, the record’s production allows the dynamics of the writing to carry their full weight.
HULDER, the dark black metal outfit from the USA, will release their new album Verbolgen on August 7th, 2026, in a co-release with 20 Buck Spin, who will handle North America exclusively, while Season of Mist will cover the World ex-North America territories. Spanning nine tracks and just over forty-eight minutes, Verbolgen is HULDER‘s most fully realised statement to date, drawing on themes of ancestral memory, natural sovereignty, and ancient ritual across lyrics written in English, Flemish, and Proto-Germanic.
Rooted in the traditions of Scandinavian black metal while reaching toward something more atmospheric and ceremonial, Verbolgen moves between driving, riff-driven passages and slower, more meditative stretches, with acoustic instrumentation and hurdy gurdy woven into the fabric of the record. The multilingual approach to the lyrics is not merely ornamental; it reflects the album’s sustained engagement with the mythological and folkloric traditions of the pre-Christian world, from the Germanic lowlands to the Celtic fringes of northwestern Europe.
The album marks a significant shift in the band’s structure. Long positioned as the solo project of HULDER, “Verbolgen” formally brings Necreon into the fold as a full creative partner, following several releases in which he contributed as a session musician. The record also features contributions from Keld (Majesties, Obsequiae, Celestiial) on hurdy gurdy, electric guitars, and keys, as well as drum performances split between Vapula, the band’s touring drummer, and Vrolok (Aeternus, Gorgoroth). Session flute is performed by Ianuaria.HULDER, the dark black metal outfit from the USA, will release their new album Verbolgen on August 7th, 2026, in a co-release with 20 Buck Spin, who will handle North America exclusively, while Season of Mist will cover the World ex-North America territories. Spanning nine tracks and just over forty-eight minutes, Verbolgen is HULDER‘s most fully realised statement to date, drawing on themes of ancestral memory, natural sovereignty, and ancient ritual across lyrics written in English, Flemish, and Proto-Germanic.
Rooted in the traditions of Scandinavian black metal while reaching toward something more atmospheric and ceremonial, Verbolgen moves between driving, riff-driven passages and slower, more meditative stretches, with acoustic instrumentation and hurdy gurdy woven into the fabric of the record. The multilingual approach to the lyrics is not merely ornamental; it reflects the album’s sustained engagement with the mythological and folkloric traditions of the pre-Christian world, from the Germanic lowlands to the Celtic fringes of northwestern Europe.
The album marks a significant shift in the band’s structure. Long positioned as the solo project of HULDER, “Verbolgen” formally brings Necreon into the fold as a full creative partner, following several releases in which he contributed as a session musician. The record also features contributions from Keld (Majesties, Obsequiae, Celestiial) on hurdy gurdy, electric guitars, and keys, as well as drum performances split between Vapula, the band’s touring drummer, and Vrolok (Aeternus, Gorgoroth). Session flute is performed by Ianuaria.
Tracklist:
Drie Raven (Intro) (2:18)
The Crowning (6:28)
Thy Binding Oath (5:38)
Verbolgen (4:01)
…And We Shall Sing (6:01)
In Blood and In Earth (7:09)
Den Nacht Zijn Lied (6:45)
View From Nemeton (5:23)
The Glow of Dawn (4:48) Full runtime: 48:33
In support of the forthcoming release, HULDER will embark on an extensive European summer tour, taking in headline shows and major festival appearances across Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal and beyond. The run includes stops at Graspop Metal Meeting, Hellfest, Resurrection Fest and more. Full dates below.
HULDER – Europe Summer 2026 Dates:
05 June: Mulfingen, DE @ Boarstream Open Air 06 June: Gdansk, PL @ Mystic Festival 08 June: Berlin, DE @ Mikropol 09 June: Munich, DE @ Backstage Club 11 June: Wiesbaden, DE @ Kesselhaus 12 June: Munster, DE @ Zappenduster Fest 13 June: Nijmegen, NL @ Waalhalla 14 June: Neunkirchen, DE @ Gebläsehalle 17 June: Tilburg, NL @ Lucky Devil 18 June: Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat* 19 June: Dessel, BE @ Graspop Metal Meeting 20 June: Clisson, FR @ Hellfest 21 June: Aarau, CH @ Kiff** 22 June: Milan, IT @ Legend Club** 23 June: Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse** 24 June: Vienna, AT @ Viper Room** 25 June: Kosice, SK @ Collosseum 26 June: Mártély, HU @ Lowland Festival 27 June: Spalene Porici, CZ @ BasinFireFest 29 June: Chambery, FR @ BrindeZinc 30 June: Marseille, FR @ Le Molotov 03 July: Galicia, ES @ Ressurection Fest 04 July: Lisbon, PT @ RCA Club 08 July: Stuttgart, DE @ JuHa West 09 July: Torgau, DE @ In Flammen Open Air *w/ Oranssi Pazuzu & Sólstafir **w/ Uada
Season of Mist is proud to announce a new partnership with HULDER, the Pacific Northwest-based dark black metal project, in a co-signing arrangement with longtime North American label 20 Buck Spin.
Founded in 2018 with the release of the Ascending the Raven Stone demo tape, Hulder has built one of the most consistent and uncompromising bodies of work in contemporary black metal. On debut album Godslastering: Hymns of a Forlorn Peasantry, Hulder’s distinct penchant for crafting harsh anthems of mystical grandeur and abyssic depth began to fully congeal, weaving threads of pagan folk, ethereal symphonic majesty and the scraping raw melodicism of the most discordant and ghastly kind. A pivotal 2022 saw the release of The Eternal Fanfare, a five-track mini-album marking a new phase in the project’s rapid development, followed by extensive touring across North America and the band’s first dates on European soil.
While black metal has evolved into myriad offshoots and subgenres, Hulder remains resolutely steeped in the genre’s destructive preeminence, rituals and traditions, carrying the torch of its origins and heritage. That fidelity to the form reached a new apex with 2024’s “Verses in Oath“, a record both unsparingly savage and wistfully evocative, its ancient sorrow-filled melancholy and seething spirit permeating every passage.
Named after the seductive forest creature of Scandinavian folklore, Hulder is the project of the Belgian-born musician of the same name, currently based in the Pacific Northwest. What began as a solitary recording endeavour in an uninsulated Portland garage has since grown into one of the underground’s most talked-about names—a live presence to match the records’ ambition, and a creative vision that has only sharpened with each release. It is precisely that combination of integrity and singular purpose that drew Season of Mist to the project.
“Few artists working in the black metal underground today carry the kind of integrity and singular vision that Hulder and Necreon have brought to this project,” the label notes. “We couldn’t be more excited to have them on board—and what’s in store will be worth the wait.“
In support of the forthcoming release, HULDER will embark on an extensive European summer tour, taking in headline shows and major festival appearances across Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria, Spain, Portugal and beyond. The run includes stops at Graspop Metal Meeting, Hellfest, Resurrection Fest and more. Full dates below.
HULDER – Europe Summer 2026 Dates:
05 June: Mulfingen, DE @ Boarstream Open Air 06 June: Gdansk, PL @ Mystic Festival 08 June: Berlin, DE @ Mikropol 09 June: Munich, DE @ Backstage Club 11 June: Wiesbaden, DE @ Kesselhaus 12 June: Munster, DE @ Zappenduster Fest 13 June: Nijmegen, NL @ Waalhalla 14 June: Neunkirchen, DE @ Gebläsehalle 18 June: Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat* 19 June: Dessel, BE @ Graspop Metal Meeting 20 June: Clisson, FR @ Hellfest 21 June: Aarau, CH @ Kiff** 22 June: Milan, IT @ Legend Club** 23 June: Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse** 24 June: Vienna, AT @ Viper Room** 25 June: Kosice, SK @ Collosseum 26 June: Mártély, HU @ Lowland Festival 27 June: Spalene Porici, CZ @ BasinFireFest 29 June: Chambery, FR @ BrindeZinc 30 June: Marseille, FR @ Le Molotov 03 July: Galicia, ES @ Ressurection Fest 04 July: Lisbon, PT @ RCA Club 08 July: Stuttgart, DE @ JuHa West 09 July: Torgau, DE @ In Flammen Open Air *w/ Oranssi Pazuzu & Sólstafir **w/ Uada
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