Slovenian funeral doom duo Forged Relics (feat. ex-Leechfeast members) presents debut album »Portal«; out now on vinyl via Rope Or Guillotine!

Slovenian funeral doom metal duo Forged Relics (feat. former Leechfeast members) has just released their debut album »Portal« on April 28th, 2025 via Rope Or Guillotine. Available now on 12″ vinyl and digital.

Tracklist:
01. Borrowed Forms (Eternal Sea)
02. Portal
03. Catacombs For The Broken Stars (Eternal Desert)

Courtesy of Rope Or Guillotine:

Last Friday saw the 7″ release of Slovenian powerviolence/grindcore duo Propad, but we’re kicking off this week with something completely different. Another Slovenian duo, but this time it’s funeral doom.

It’s been too long since we had been a proper slow release, but here it is: Forged Relics – »Portal«!

From the ashes of Slovenia’s finest sludge-punk miscreants Leechfeast emerges a new, eerie project. Forged Relics summon music that gestures towards both the Divine and Heretical, stripping doom down to an austere and minimalist arrangement of drums, vocals and organ, that is rich in understated majesty and devout apostasy.

Mired in censer smoke-laden atmosphere, slow, cascading drums peal out alongside plaintive, regal organ notes as guttural vocals slither and expel into the ether. A sense of looming presence permeates, the ineffable paired with crushing unorthodox heaviness.

Across its 37 minutes, »Portal« utilises the repetition and ritualism of Doom Metal, Chamber music and Drone. Hinting at the baleful works of Profetus, Abandon and Mournful Congregation and also the stark, ceremonial beauty of Kali Malone and Sarah Davachi.

Mesmerizing and sonorous – beckoning towards something truly ancient.

To listen is to be transported, emerging from the throng and wooden pews, into the light, keenly watching across the haze of Adriatic horizon that is unending. Infinite. Eternal.

– Michael Douglas (The Ansible)

Recorded, mixed & mastered by Marcus Ferreira Larsen at No Master’s Voice, Copenhagen.
Produced by Forged Relics & Marcus Ferreira Larsen.
Additional vocals on »Catacombs For The Broken Stars« by Solveig Roseth.
Artwork, design & layout by Jaka Vatovec.

Pre-order »Portal« LP here:
ropeorguillotine.com | forgedrelics.bandcamp.com

Last but not least, there’s still 2 packages left of the Slovenian powerviolence renaissance trilogy left. It features CarlxJohnson’s »HESOYAM« 12″, Green Crack’s Flexi 7″ and Propad’s »Žrtve Modernega Časa« 7″ for €25.

Order here: ropeorguillotine.com

Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well