Reaper Agency deliver their latest event; Tynebound. A two day event packed with some of the finest extreme metal from around the globe.
TYNEBOUND
There has been real excitement around Reaper Agency’s newest event. It promised two days of black metal from some of the world’s most exciting bands, all housed in one of the more well renowned breweries in the North East, Anarchy Brewery. And it absolutely delivered. You could tell, in the lead-up to the first band playing, that this was going to be a special weekend.
As for the music, we were treated to some of the hottest names in the black metal scene, with bands travelling from Canada, Czech Republic and the UK. It promised a great weekend of decrepit sound, set against the backdrop of a beer festival too.
SATURDAY
MAGNETAR
This was a new band to this writer. Listening before the show, I was impressed by their blend of styles within extreme music. It has it all: death riffs, blackened shrieks and one of my favourite components, heavy metal leads. Their debut, There Will Be No Peace In My Valley, was released in 2024 on Vendetta Records (At The Barrier review here), and their performance set an incredibly high bar for the rest of the weekend. Whilst also being the first band to take the stage, this was the live debut of Magnetar.
The line-up includes current and former members of bands such as Winterfylleth and Foetal Juice, and that pedigree really comes through in the music. They closed their set to acclaim and made for a great start to the festival. I got to chat with Dan after the show, and it was great to hear he’d enjoyed it too. Hopefully, Magnetar book some more live dates, as they have a lot to say in their music.
THE SUNS JOURNEY THROUGH THE NIGHT
Many people’s most anticipated act of the weekend, TSJTTN, hailing from Birmingham, offer an exciting blend of black metal, theatrics and ambience. Their shows are always lively, and I’d argue they have a stage presence that makes the performance shine even brighter.
They are Reaper veterans, having played across Fortress Festival and other Reaper events over the last few years. Their set was gripping and visceral, and frontman No One gave the crowd a warped ride through the sound of one of the UK’s more refined extreme metal acts.
LYCHGATE
Lychgate are a band with something of a veteran status compared to their bill-mates today, having released their first album back in 2013. They’re signed to Debemur Morti Productions, who put out their last record, Precipice, back in 2025, a label responsible for some of the more interesting material in the genre, and I was pleased to hear some of it played tonight.
They commanded the stage with real authority, their presence closer to a funeral procession than a gig. That avant-garde quality shone through, illustrating their warped sound perfectly, and I believe they won themselves some new fans with this show.
THE INFERNAL SEA
There was real anticipation in the air for the return of The Infernal Sea, this time maskless. They play their record, The Great Mortality, in full. It is a genuine step back in time in more ways than one. And it ripped. Losing the masks did nothing to dent their stage presence; if anything, it felt more raw and real, letting the music do the talking. Their blend of black ‘n’ roll with a more classic black metal sound got the room moving more than any previous act, and the energy in the venue exploded.
This was one of their first shows of three this year, after the quiet of the last two years, having barely played since their last album, Hellefic. The band were truly on form, and it left me excited to hear more from a group the UK scene holds in such high regard.
Photo: Andy Pountney
VESPERAL
Arguably the most anticipated act of the day (alongside their sister project Conifère the following night), after their performance at the mother festival, Fortress, everyone knew they were in for a treat. The Québécois band, whose album La mort de l’âme came out in 2025, quickly climbed high on many people’s album-of-the-year lists.
The sound was incredible. You’d never guess this was only their fourth gig as a band. Frontman Nakkabre commanded the stage with real presence, and they drew mostly from their latest record, delivered with venom. There’s a danceable quality to the music, something rarely heard in the black metal world. This was a special performance, and the crowd looked genuinely in awe of the Canadian band’s sonic force. For many punters, it was the highlight of the day.
ARISTARCHOS
Another band carrying huge expectations after their Fortress performance in 2025 were Scots Aristarchos. Their atmospheric sound shone through here, backed by a wall of noise and a static yet powerful stage presence. Their shows have a ritualistic quality, and from talking to people around me, this was another act they’d been most looking forward to.
Opening with Artium, from their 2024 album Martyr of Star and Fire, the set brought a fresh angle to black metal, there was a real sense of ceremonial magik in the air, and it felt like being pulled into another realm.
INFERNO
There was a good kind of tension building ahead of the final band; their dissociative, avant-garde style can be a little disorienting for some. The sound was dense, crunching, with industrial edges running through it. This was one of the acts I’d been most looking forward to all weekend, their strange record The Anthropic Sophisms, released earlier this year, has already cemented itself as one of my albums of the year.
The sound was heavy and immersive, and vocalist Adramelech’s performance stole the show for me. Draped in layers of material, only the hands visible, he screeched into the cosmos. Like the band before them, the set felt more like liturgy than a gig, and you genuinely felt transported into the dark edge of space they’d created. Truly mind bending.
SUNDAY
OAKENTHRONE
I was especially looking forward to watching Oakenthrone, with their new album due out at the end of the year. Released on Vendetta Records, we got to hear one track from the upcoming record, Monolith, alongside tracks spanning the band’s history, their atmospheric take on black metal really is a unique one.
One thing I love about Reaper’s events in general is that the crowd is always early, giving the opening bands a real platform to win new fans. The reception at the end of the set was great; Oakenthrone certainly set a marker, and I’m now even more excited for their new album (and tour) at the end of the year. What a start to the day.
VACIVUS
Today leaned more into the death metal end of the spectrum, and the North East’s own Vacivus were here to pummel the crowd into dust. Nick Craggs, also of Nemorous and Sulfuric Deity, launched himself around the stage in a frenzy, delivering a lively wall of sound set that felt like a nice change of pace in the programme. They’ve been going for over a decade with a couple of full length albums, but the last one landed in 2019. Could this mean new material is on the way? I really hope so. This set was a ride through waves of death.
CNOC AN TURSA
One of my most anticipated undercard acts of the weekend, Cnoc An Tursa play black/folk metal built around themes of Scottish history, made clear from the off as the band took the stage in kilts and other props. The music blew the crowd away. Following the release of their new album earlier in the year, A Cry for the Slain, expectations for the band were already running high. The folky elements worked perfectly, and a real sense of battle and history ran through the whole set, which was absolutely brilliant.
BLOOD COUNTESS
Now for one of the more visceral, cult bands in the UK right now, Blood Countess’s performances always leave a mark. Furious, hate-fuelled material forged in the North East around the deeds of Elizabeth Bathory, they’re consistently one of the most fun bands to watch, thanks in no small part to the incredible stage presence of The Countess shrieking the place down.
The band tore through 50 minutes of classics alongside material from their newest album, released earlier this year, and the reception throughout was immense. Blood Countess made clear exactly why they’re one of the UK’s favourite bands, marking a perfect step into the evening. If you haven’t caught them live yet, you need to.
Photo: Andy Pountney
COSCRADH
The Irish death metallers, whose album Carving the Causeway to the Otherworld came released this year, came out of the gates with their brand of dissociative death metal. It was hard and visceral, built around a structure rarely heard elsewhere in the death metal scene. Their stage presence, closer to old school death metal, crushed the crowd. Their set rarely stopping for breath as they beat us down with ferocity.
One thing I took away from their performance was how effectively the band demonstrated raw brutality, a set of death metal additions that acted as an excellent palette cleanser in a weekend otherwise dominated by black metal.
CONIFÈRE
A band that definitely piqued my curiosity was Vesperal members’ other project, Conifère. Their 2024 album L’impôt du sang again sat at the top of a lot of people’s album of the year lists, proving the musicians’ versatility across the genre. This version of the band, with members spread across different instruments, feels more raw and punky, while still carrying that infectious energy.
They worked through L’impôt du sang, and the most recent split was shared with their alter egos Vesperal, the vibe throughout was immaculate. It’s rare to find a black metal band able to carry a sense of joy inside such an extreme sound. It’s easy to see how highly this collective of musicians is regarded. The set was jaw dropping.
MOONLIGHT SORCERY
What to say about Moonlight Sorcery. Ever since they appeared on the scene in 2022, they’ve carved out their own corner of melodic black metal. The music is fun, precise and ultimately transportive. It takes you to an icy realm filled with blackened power metal riffs and cold solos. The Finns had a real platform here to let loose. After such an amazing weekend, this was the icing on the cake.
From the first song, the guitars carried you on a journey. It genuinely felt like an hour-long solo through their incredible discography. Plus, we also got to hear a new track from them, which was a lovely surprise. This was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.
It feels like Reaper Agency can do no wrong. It was also great to see fellow Fortress regulars and catch up with people. This felt like Fortress’s community festival, and paired with the excellent Anarchy Brewery, it added up to an overwhelming success. As of writing, it seems this won’t be a one off. Already excited for year two of Tynebound!
Reaper Agency UK: Website